A cold, dark spiral whirled rapidly into the heavens, freezing torrents of powdery white passing like clusters of stars in a dark blue nebula. The baleful, howling wind leeched warmth from the very bones of every creature caught in its wintry gale.
Though the materials of the train's roof were much more forgiving to be slammed into than those of his own time- a paltry bright side by any measure- the rustic cult superhero Cap'n Comet rose to his feet regardless. Through the dark blizzard attacking his vision, he could make out a massive shape that looked vaguely dragonoid- the same monster that had dragged him on top of the mass transit vehicle. He vaguely remembered kicking its already cracked beak before being dropped, but not much else.
Now the grey-blue beast trundled toward him, wings spread, head darting side to side, as if trying to decide how best to flay him. It let out a horrid, ululating alien cry that rang out like a rock band in a library, even amidst the deafening wind.
"You're not so handsome yourself," he jibed as he crouched to keep from falling off the train, which was climbing what looked like a huge series of buildings several hundred feet in the air. He instinctively reached for his yo-yos for the dozenth time that day, cursing their absence on the back of his belt. Instead, he tensed, spring-loaded and bouncing on his toes.
Jacent's opponent struck like a snake, face slamming into the spot where he was an instant before. He rolled on his shoulders, landed on all fours, and shifted himself back up to a crouching position as it shook off the impact. It seemed that whatever this creature was, it had incredible resilience despite- or perhaps because of- a marked lack of intelligence. Rising as high as he dared to against gale force winds, the costumed crime fighter lifted his leg and sent a boosted stomp right into the middle of its skull, bouncing it against the train like a basketball. It screamed angrily, its head rearing back and lifting Jacent clear off of his feet.
Far too much train passed underneath when the wind caught him. He willed himself downward, using momentum gained by gravity to slam into the roof again- this time protected by the force shield projected while his powers were in motion. Motion didn't last forever, unfortunately, and as soon as the air cushion between the shield and himself let up, he again found his chest pressed against wind-chilled plastic. "Nngh..." Instinct- not to mention the ear shredding shriek of the monster- brought him to his feet, revealing that he'd fallen several cars behind the thing. The red-maned boy peered from behind arms raised to protect his face from the snow and wind. "Your place or mine, gruesome??" he taunted.
Something strange caught his eye. A humanoid silhouette appeared, which the creature turned toward, forgetting him entirely. It was hard to make out who it was- all he could see were colors in the snowstorm... black, white and pink...
"Gah! Stupid!" Of course. It didn't care about him whatsoever- Natalie was the important one to take out, what with her inkling leading the rebellion! He was just an irrelevant obstacle. "Natalie!!" As the creature made vaguely threatening movements toward the canine girl, his legs pushed him hard against the wind. He called on his powers of telekinetic acceleration, propelling himself forward faster and faster. His shield snapped to life in front of him like a big dome, snow bouncing off of it, redirecting the wind and giving him a clearer view of the monster he was careening toward at reckless speed. He hopped one car, then another came twice as fast, the next like hopping a crack in the sidewalk, then-
~BAM!~
He saw Natalie's face for an instant before plowing through the faux-dragon's legs like a force of nature, pulling them out from under it and thus smashing its face into the roof of the train. What he hadn't counted on was running headlong into Carrie, who'd taken position to flank the thing. He congratulated her on her good tactics, but it sounded a lot more like him plowing into the cat at whatever speed was left over from impacting their mutual enemy. "OOF!"
Strangely enough, she caught him. It was 'catching' in the loosest sense, certainly, what with her whole body stiffly standing sentry as he hit. As ever, no injury befell the fortified feline, her strategy of standing stone still reigning supreme for defense. The red-haired hero suffered no serious harm either; probably because Carrie was by default a comfy stack of frilly fabrics, fur and breasts- the latter sprung back to shape almost comically as he bounced off of her and landed on his ass. "What was that??" She hollered over the wind.
He shrugged. "I really wanted a hug, but this big flying thing got in the way."
"Guys??" Natalie beckoned. "We've still got trouble!" A glance back revealed that the huge beast hadn't had enough- it shook off its injuries and reared up once more. It screeched and struck toward Nat, who offered it a boosted uppercut in return, just barely in time. The blow sent its head away, but the wind caught her and knocked her backward as they continued the spiraling climb into the air.
Jacent rejoined the fray, boosting himself into a slide under the monster's legs, coming to a stop next to his black-furred friend. Carrie stood her ground, grabbing at the thing's thick tail. It noticed immediately and tried to flick her off, but the cat held fast. She crouched as if water-skiing, Cap's boots skidding heavily against the train top as she was pulled from side to side.
Nat's mind worked furiously as Cat gave them precious seconds to recover. Whatever this thing was, it was taking anything they could dish out. Being so high in the air gave them a huge disadvantage, keeping them on unsure footing. "AANH!" She cried as the dining car lurched to the left. Green sparks flew when the track buoys slammed into it one after another, destabilizing the rest of the train. The thing's movements were tilting the car now, leaning this way and that to dislodge the tenacious cat. If only the wind wasn't keeping them pinned... ah! Eureka! "Jacent!" She called, even as she climbed up on her surprised comrade's back. "I need another Comet Crash! Go straight ahead!"
Jace nodded, immediately dashing forward with the whole of his powers. He grunted, leaned almost horizontally forward as his feet hit constructive plastics, his shield protecting them from the wind and snow. The monster drew closer and closer.
Natalie drew her legs up, standing on Jacent's back at a crouch as she tensed her legs as hard as she could. "Captain..." A fury overtook her as she called out the name of his signature move, building up for one sole purpose. "Comet..." Moments passed like minutes, her head ducking down just enough to keep her enemy in sight. "CRAAAAASH!!!" Natalie sprang forth like a bullet, a shield appearing in front of her as she rocketed into the air, rolling forward and smashing into the faux-dragon with the force of a small vehicle. Upside down, she heard bones crack, felt the overwhelming shockwave of impact, saw the creature's feet lift off the train. She rolled forward again, catching a glimpse of its shocked face. She just kept pumping power into the charge, bowling up and away from the train faster and faster. Out of instincts not completely hers, she curled into a ball as she rolled, somehow feeling where she was despite the motion... an almost meditative state of simplicity.
It was then that the thing slid off of her meteoric ascent, spiraling as it fell, attempting to fly on a collision course with the sea. Natalie uncurled, Cap's borrowed experience coaching her to catch maximum wind resistance as her shield dissipated. For a few moments, she was free. Clouds flew past, the moon's immense shape glowing in the sky like a silver sentinel. Nat floated upward, feeling like she'd somehow lost her corporeal form.
And then she fell.
-
- -
-
"Hang on!"
Jacent had seen the entire affair- Natalie's use of his Comet Crash, her flight into the air, and subsequently, Carrie being nearly thrown off the train as the creature's tail whipped her away like a ragdoll. Dashing into a baseball slide, he snatched Cat's hand before she could plunge over the edge. "Gotcha!"
"Ngh!" She thudded against the side of the train, then cried out in surprise as her fleshy comrade handily tossed her back onto the roof. "Anh, thanks... where's Natalie??" They both squinted as they looked up into the sky, seeing the Natalie's silhouette against the pale moon. "Oh, damn... Cap, I didn't know you could straight-up fly..."
He blinked. "I... can't."
Cat screamed when the wolf girl slowed, fell and disappeared in the night sky.
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-
Natalie's entire body inverted completely. Where the sky was before, the city now beckoned below, wind rushing past her ears forebiddingly as she fell far from the train. "Oh, crap..."
Her mind raced as seconds ticked away, her fate- and the ground- drawing closer, rational thought becoming all but impossible. She willed herself to shut her eyes, which was almost more terrifying. "Don't panic don't panic don't panic- ECHELON! I could really use your help right now!" She threw her hand out in front of her, but her inkling companion's cold fingers never took hold. "Dammit!" Echelon couldn't help her, and neither could her friends.
... Or maybe they could yet! She still had the bow and the gloves! Looking down at the oncoming city made her stomach flop, but she had to find a safe place to Comet Crash into. All she could see were dark streets and dimly lit buildings. It was then that the flaw in Natalie's plan became apparent- while the cushion of air would protect her, she couldn't guarantee the safety of any other poor soul being hit at well over terminal velocity... even through several stories of building. She could never live with that.
That was it, then. Only one option remained. Natalie untied the purple bow, wrapped it around her fists, held it to her chest and closed her eyes, plunging silently through the night sky. Images of her friends flashed before her. Sam, Max, Erwin. Cap, Mom. ... Cat. She whispered silently into the howling wind, "Protect me, Carrie..."
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-
"Carrie, wait!" Jacent cried as he witnessed the girl resist all forces to break into a run, stopping at the edge of the train.
"Fuck that!" she replied curtly. "Throw me!"
"Carrie, I can't just toss you out there-"
"Bullshit you can't!"
"That's not what I-"
Cat stared hard at him. "I relieve you of any responsibility for my death, legal or emotional! Now DO IT!!"
Her determination temporarily stunned him. Was this the power of love? He stared out at the city, then nodded. "Get on my back!"
"Hey, I said-"
"You can't steer in midair! You need my help."
Cat looked at him for a moment before jumping onto his back, arms wrapped around his chest and neck. "GO!!"
Jacent crouched, tensing as hard as he could, and launched toward the last place they'd seen Natalie.
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- -
-
"Wow... she saved our lives..." Erwin shook his head in awe, watching the holographic replay on his PET.
After a moment, Max climbed back in through the window, having recorded the event. "Dude, they all jumped off!"
"After Natalie? Of course they did." Sam shivered from the bitter cold. "Carrie could never let her go off like that, and it's best that Jacent go with them." The sound of a trilling flute came out of nowhere. She answered her PET, and the holographic image of an older male bat, sporting a goatee and wearing a white outfit, appeared in front of her.
"Samantha?" he queried.
"Oh! Yes, Papa, it's me," she smiled faintly.
"I read your messages, dear, are you alright??"
"Yes," she answered. "Thanks to those 'hooligan girls,' as you call them."
"Well, hooligans they remain, but they've got my gratitude for saving your life, if not your health." His stone face was immovable, but she saw the emotion behind it. "Are you going back to the Burger Dictator?"
"Yes, that's where the train is headed..."
"Good. I'll see you there, we can fit you with a prosthetic once you arrive."
"Oh, Papa!" She exclaimed, frowning with concern. "You ran across the city just to see me?? That was foolish..."
"It turned out that people needed me here," he explained. "... No. It was foolish. But I was worried. Your mother's here with me, too."
"Thank you." Her eyes glistened as she felt a smile coming along. "I'm sorry to say, though, that I'll need to head back to help Carrie and Natalie once I have that leg replacement."
The tall man simply stood stoically for a moment, mist from his pipe wafting as he pondered this. "I was afraid you'd say that. All the same, I know you wouldn't go off and do something dangerous if you didn't think it was absolutely necessary." He removed his pipe and blew out a puff of mist. "Just... try to stay safe. Please?"
"Yes, Papa. I'll try." She smiled and ended the call.
"Hey!" Erwin suddenly interjected. "Have you guys seen Shelly anywhere??"
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Pain was a funny thing. It could be embraced, cried over, even cursed at... or it could be ignored. Suppressed. Shelved for later. Eventually, however, it would come back to demand its message be heard.
Natalie Grayswift was hearing that message, loud and clear. "Ugh... hurngh..." She opened her eyes and saw dark sky. As the girl tried to rise, she realized a few things. One, she was on the roof of a residential building, and had dented the constructive plastics. Two, she'd survived the fall, no doubt thanks to the bow clutched in her hands. And three, she was in no small amount of agony. She let a small canine whine escape as her body remembered all the minor injuries she'd incurred- two fights with Cedric, countless monsters mobbing her, a terrible battle with Inked Hendrix... the last two days had been an awful beating, and if she was perfectly honest, she would've just preferred to lie there. Not for too long, just, you know, a week or two.
Time waited for no man, woman or child, however, and it wouldn't wait for her, either. Powering through the pain, she rose to her feet, a series of pops and cracks punctuating the use of her joints again. "Ugh..." The small release of adrenaline helped her ward off the sloth of hurting for the moment. Natalie looked down at Carrie's gift to her and realized... she had no idea how to tie a bow. "Ah, crap." Instead, she plucked the hairband from her head, folded and pocketed it. In its place, she tied the purple decoration in lieu of her hairband, its long silky trails falling with her hair.
She heard breathing.
Surprised, Natalie turned her head, and spotted, of all things, a small goat girl in rain gear, carrying a school satchel. She was a tiny thing, around twelve years old, swimming in the big rubber boots she wore. It wasn't at all fitting for the blanket of snow on the ground, but predicting the weather had been impossible lately- she must have been dressed correctly when she set out. "Hey... hey, kid." It came out a bit strained, and immediately the girl tensed. "Hey, what're you doing up here?"
She just stared back, as if trying to decide whether to speak or not. Her eyes indicated she'd been crying for a while.
"Wait a minute... I know you." Nat smiled with recognition. "We live in the same Residential Struct. You live with Mr. Murcbee, right??"
She nodded slowly, hesitantly.
"Yeah! We're neighbors." Natalie walked through the snow slowly. "Ooh, holy crap, that's cold..." She pulled out her PET and began adjusting a few settings.
[Climate Control
)-Cooling-(
_Moisture Wick 0%
_Thread Space 3%
)-Heating-(
_Static Power Recycle 100%
_Static Heat 100%
_Powered Heat 100%
(Battery 42%) ]
The wolf girl shivered in relief as a cascade of warmth traveled up through her clothes, powered by the PET on her hip. "Mmnh. Sorry! Anyway, my name is-"
"Natalie," the girl finished. "I know who you are. The bigger kids say you're like a superhero." She sniffled from the cold.
"Ah, close enough!" She cheerfully agreed. "So what's your name, and what're you doing out here by yourself, anyway??"
"Grendolyn Murcbee," she replied in a practiced tone. "Everyone calls me Gren, though. Grandpa says there's not enough food for everybody, so I thought I'd try to get some, but it's too hard. Some scary monsters started chasing me, and... and now I can't get back..."
Natalie nodded in comprehension. "I understand. You did a good thing trying to help people, but I'm sure your grandpa is worried about you. Where is he now??"
"With everyone else. Everybody put up a camp site in Park Circle."
"The Circle??" Nat's eyes widened. "That place is right out in the open- that's not safe at all." She looked back at Gren. "But don't you worry! We're gonna get you back to your grandpa, no sweat."
Gren drew back from Natalie's extended hand, shivering and shaking her head, eyes wide with memories of terror. "N-No, I don't wanna go back out there! The m-..." She blushed, at once embarrassed that a girl her age would say the words, and yet terrified that they were true. "... The monsters'll get me..." she finished in a tiny voice.
A sympathetic 'aww' escaped Natalie. "Listen," she half-whispered, "I'm not gonna let any monsters getcha. I promise."
The goat girl looked up, sniffling away tears. "H-How?"
"Pfft, 'how,' she asks." Nat gave the most overconfident eye-rolling smirk of braggadocio she could. "Don't you listen to your classmates? I'm a superhero."
Gren looked up quietly for a few moments, searching for signs of deception on the older girl's face. "... Like a real one?"
"Of course." She shrugged arrogantly for the little girl's benefit. "Oh, but you know what? Shoot, I used up a ton of my power beating up that last bunch of monsters." She pretended to concentrate on mystical forces beyond their ken. "Yeah, feels like I'm running low."
The goat gasped. "Really??"
"Yeah..." Natalie shook her head, mulling over the imaginary crisis. "My powers come from hugs, see, and I'm pretty far from my friends and girlfriend. I haven't recharged in a while."
Gren frowned and shook her head, assessing Nat's claims with doubt. "That's not true," she accused. "Nobody gets their powers from hugs. That would be dumb..."
Natalie just smirked and insisted, "I~'m tellin' ya!"
The girl stood there in her big rubber boots, mulling this over. Finally, she stepped toward Natalie and gave her a hug with a very serious caveat. "Th-... This doesn't mean I believe you."
Nat simply shrugged, smiled and returned the girl's embrace. "Mmm, now that's better!" She took a deep breath and cuddled the poor thing for a long moment, until the shaking stopped. Finally, she pulled away. "I think that'll do it- I feel pretty recharged! Thanks for putting up with me." She winked knowingly.
Gren nodded slowly, smiling. "Even if it wasn't true... I liked the hugs."
"You're a real skeptic, aren't you?" The wolf girl simply chuckled. "I'll fix that in no time. Meanwhile, let's go find old Mr. Murcbee."
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"Hang on! Ow, ow, ow!"
Carrie made a conscious effort to draw her claws back in, lest she rend the costume- and flesh- of her airborne ally... but it wasn't easy. Invulnerability or no, flying through the air at break-neck speeds was nerve-wracking... flying mostly downward, doubly so. "How are you gonna land?!"
"Trust me!"
As they descended past the tree canopies, snapping off branches, Jacent drifted them toward a tall building. He slid down its side for a moment before kicking off of it, shooting toward another building across the street. He hit this one as well and kicked off at an angle, at which point the plan became obvious: they continued falling, but each sidelong ricochet slowed their descent within an ever-tightening circle of trajectories. Finally, Jace hopped off an illumination ring around one of the larger buildings and landed on the snowy street.
"Whoo! Bitchin' ride, Cap!" Carrie ruffled his hair and slid off of his back, happy to be on solid ground again. "Now where's Natalie? Holy shit it's cold out here..." Cat began adjusting settings on her PET.
Jace shivered, regretting his choice to wear just socks and spandex. "Y-You can say th-that again... What are you doing?"
She shut her eyes and shuddered with pleased relief. "Mmmm... Giving myself a little warm surge. Here, I'll set it up on yours." With a few adjustments, she set it on his hip again. "How's that?"
"A-... Am I supposed to be feeling different??"
"Oh, duh." Cat smacked her forehead. "Your clothes don't have thread links. Hold up a sec." She lifted her tank top with some difficulty.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about-..." Jacent's thought cut short as Carrie's large breasts bounced free of the garment, still covered by a snug spaghetti-strap undershirt. Its white color gave the impression of nudity for a brief, startling moment.
She handed the tank to her friend. "I insist! Put this on."
He did, and though it was tight on him, he could feel a warmth spreading across his back and chest. "Incredible... that's much better, thank you."
Cat smirked. "Yeah, yeah, gush on me later, pretty-boy; in the meantime, you can thank me by helping me find Natalie!"
"... Why do we not just call her?"
Carrie gave him a blank look. "... Oh, yeah! Why don't we?" She took out her PET and playfully glared at his wry smirk. "Don't get smug, I saw you run into that door earlier."
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-
Jazzy pop. That was Natalie's ringtone. It was from an ad she'd passed by riding the bus one day- some kind of fur sheen shower additive. She'd always liked the relaxed happiness of it.
"... Are you gonna answer??" Gren asked curiously.
"Uh??" It took the wolf girl a few moments to fully register the fact that, yes, the music meant she was being called. "Oh right, whoops."
A holographic projection of Carrie appeared in front of them. "Natalie! Are you okay?"
The wolf girl nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright, thanks to your powers." She absently ran her fingers down a purple ribbon trail and smiled sweetly.
"Oh, man. Good, I'm so relieved." She smiled back. "Where are- Cap, just hit the group talk button. The big green circle! There." She looked back at Natalie as Jacent's hologram appeared as well. "Where are you now??"
Natalie looked around. The building she was in was huge, a many-storied tower with rounded edges and a glut of one-way windows looking outside. Each floor was very large, having the look of a grand hallway with apartments on either side- one family lived on one side, a second on the other. Each side ended in either stairs or an elevator. Nat remembered a time when she'd lived in one, happily playing in the halls, heading down to go into town with her mother, or heading up to the roof to wait for the bus. "We're in an apartment building. I'm not sure where, but I think it's close to Park Circle."
Cat digested that for a moment. "Looks like we missed our mark, then; we're near Gross Lee's."
"Then we'll need you to make a detour." Suddenly, Natalie's mother appeared on the channel. "Max told me what happened. I'm glad you're safe, girls. Carrie? If you're that close to Lee's, I need you to get some supplies for us."
"Supplies?"
"Yes. We've had an influx of injured people here- we need bandages, pain regulators, anti-infection agents, the works. Dr. Masterson is here, but without those supplies, he can't do much for us."
"Isn't that looting, though?" Nat asked.
Suddenly, a familiar face popped into frame with Lorna- a panda in his mid-50's. "It's not stealing if it's my store and I told you to!" He smirked. "Please, girls, I've heard of your bravery fixing the Climate Station- if you do this for me, there's a couple of pairs of Grav-Skiff sneakers behind the counter with your names on them, on the house!"
Nat blinked. "Wow! Really, Mr. Lee??" She and Cat had been saving up their allowances to afford those shoes for several weeks- they'd been special-ordered and kept on layaway for about as long.
"For a couple of nice girls like you? Of course." He smiled.
Lorna nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Lee. Natalie, I'd like for you to meet up with them to help, if possible."
The wolf girl took a deep breath. "... Sorry, Mom, Gren here needs to be taken to the Main Camp in Park Circle as soon as possible."
"Oh! Gren, I didn't see you there. Okay, then you and Jacent will have to go without her, Carrie.
Cat frowned. It was obvious she wanted to come to Natalie first. "I..."
"It's okay, Carrie," Nat smiled. "It's not easy, but it's the right thing to do."
"Y-... Yeah, okay..."
Jacent piped up, "Don't worry about it, Carrie- go to Natalie. I will make the supply run."
"Whoa!"
"Hold on!"
"By yourself??"
He nodded. "I have determined how much force is necessary to incapacitate these foes. I will not have to go easy on them any longer." He raised a fist seriously. "And in any case, risking someone with no family is better than someone with- I have no other purpose in life but to protect the innocent, and I will not be swayed."
Lorna blinked. for a moment. "Well. You really do take this hero thing seriously. Alright. Carrie, catch up to Natalie. Natalie? Try to get back as quickly as possible, but if you're in a tough spot... you should stay with the group."
"No problem, Mom." She nodded. "I'm heading out before we attract any attention." With that, the call ended. "Gren, you ready to-" She noticed the goat girl clinging to her out of concern. "What? What's up?" She followed her gaze to look up and see- "Shelly Iverson??"
The social butterfly sat dejected at the front step of an apartment. "Oh. Natalie Grayswift. Hey..."
"What're you doing here?? It's dangerous. You should still be on the train!"
Shelly looked up and sniffled, tears running down her eyes. "I... I was in a dream with your other friends. I think I was an officer on a starship with Erwin or something. Anyway, I hid so they couldn't see me. I... I saw they had these goo things with them... Inklings, right??"
Natalie gasped. Her friends did have Inklings. It made perfect sense of their abilities, now. And they'd come to them in a dream, no less. "I... yes, that's right. We all have them."
"I... on the crashed ship, I met... well, and I just thought maybe I could be a superhero, too, and come rescue Dad... but he wasn't in our apartment anywhere." She sniffed. "... Sorry. I'll get to Park Circle on my own. But before I do..." She produced a small pair of cosmetic scissors and clipped a lock of her hair, handing it to Natalie. "... Somebody I ... met recently... they told me you could totally use this."
Nat took the lock of hair and watched Shelly walk upward toward the roof- to fly to safety, no doubt. She stared at the red-tipped black tress for a moment, then pocketed it. "Good luck, Shelly."
-
- -
-
"Alright, you bastards..." Carrie muttered, taking a few deep breaths. She knew approximately where her girlfriend was, and that she had a kid with her. Jacent had left to grab some much-needed medicine. The only thing that made sense... was to take the heat off of them. "Come and get me!" She walked down the snow-smattered streets of Locksmouth's Residential Sector, being as loud and obnoxious as she knew how. "Come on! What're you waiting for??"
It didn't take long for them to heed her call. One, two, three crawlers made their way down from an open balcony window, tossing themselves down at the cat. She sidestepped their aerial assault and let them hit the ground. "Dumbshits." Cat slammed a boot down on one of them and heard it scream in protest, as the other two began climbing up her legs.
"Uh-uh!" The feline pugilist grabbed the second arm-heavy monster and flung it into the wall of a house. Feeling the third on her shirt, she dropped onto her back, sandwiching it between herself and the ground. "Hahaha... FUCK you." Rising, she saw a pair of shufflers making their way toward her from down the street. "More? Good, good! C'mon, too slow!" Her heavy boots clopped loudly as she ran toward the cyclopean creatures. They raised their arms- they might've even hit her- but she didn't notice due to jumping just before reaching them and shoving her feet forward as hard as she could, her entire body's worth of momentum slamming right into their faces. They toppled like toys, their signature honking twinged with pain.
Carrie pushed to her feet with an energy that grew inside of her. It was vicious, electrifying. She burned with hatred at these horrible things and the alien invaders that drove them. Her entire way of life had been taken away, her school wrecked, her future uncertain. It enraged her... and Arus would help in her vengeance. She marched on, trudging up a hill.
At the top, she saw a bigmouth- her makeshift name for the awful tortoise creatures that almost killed Sam. Sam, her best friend. It opened its mouth threateningly and trundled toward her. Her muscles all tensed with rage as she remembered how casually its ilk changed Sam's life. Her teeth gnashed. "C'mere, mother FUCKER." Unceremoniously, she drew back and punched it in the throat, tensing as hard as she could. It choked for a moment before remembering to slam its jaw shut. Her arms might as well have been solid titanium- its jagged teeth shattered like cheap glass. "Hurts, don't it?!" She screamed. "It's only the start!"
Grabbing its grotesque tongue, Cat grunted. She found something incredible- her muscles were stronger than they should have been if they didn't move quickly! With this new-found knowledge, she slowly but surely lifted the lock-jawed monster in front of her. Noting that the shufflers from before had risen again, she swung around and slammed one creature into another, sending the injured shuffler sliding away along the cold, slick ground. Cat swung again and clocked the other one, knocked to the ground with a tired, defeated honk.
Carrie stood high on the hill, holding the bigmouth over her head. "Ride's over. Get off." She viciously dug her claws into its tongue. It released her, gurgling in pain. She released it to fall down onto the street below, taking satisfaction in hearing its frame crack wetly as it hit.
Carrie Oakenfield's slow march of pain continued. "That was for you, Sam..."
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Terrain was becoming more treacherous. Snow solidified puddles that hadn't evaporated from the rain previously. The madness that was the weather had produced the terribly hazardous path Natalie now walked on, hand-in-hand with Gren. "Easy, kiddo, just stay as quiet as you can and keep to the corners with me."
"N-Nuh-Natalie??" Gren pointed behind them. "Somebody's following us..."
The hooded girl slowly turned, spotting a dalmatian in a fireman's uniform, walking slowly toward them in a daze. "Crap. Okay, Gren, we're gonna have to run, I want you to-"
"There's someone else!" The scared little goat girl pointed ahead to a giraffe woman holding a set of gardening shears.
"Dammit." She herself spotted a few more people coming out of houses and yards from various directions, hidden at first by the dim light. It was like something out of a zombie flick- people with no sense of awareness were coming out of every place a person could, and making a shuffling beeline for them. "Not good..." A terrible thought was beginning to occur to her- she could beat on monsters with tough hides, and inklings that came out... but these were ordinary people. If she used brutal tactics against them, she would be seriously injuring innocent people. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"
"Natalie??" Gren asked worriedly, "You can fight them, right?? You can, can't you??"
"..... Gren, gimme your bag." She unzipped the satchel and began rooting through it. "Come on, come on... Ah-ha!" She triumphantly held above their heads... a bright pink yo-yo with iridescent sparkles all over it.
Gren furrowed her brows, annoyed. "What's that gonna do?"
Natalie threaded her finger through the loop, then regarded her with a dead serious face. "It's gonna save us."
Nat had gotten pretty good with yo-yos in the past. Her favorite comics glorified them when she was younger, made them 'cool.' But Cap'n Comet was an absolute master. With his experience and years of practice coursing through her, it was less a yo-yo than an extension of her arm. The first zomb-ink she lashed out toward received an expertly-placed thud to the forehead, boosted just enough to incapacitate them. The spinning toy lost no momentum thanks to the psychic shielding, and returned to her easily. She didn't even wait to retrieve it- a flick of the wrist, and it looped tightly around her hand to smack another possessed person hard enough to stun. She let it land in her palm this time.
"Whoooaaa..." Gren marveled.
The wolf girl just smirked, again summoning that confident face for Gren's benefit. She interrupted the thought, smacking away a 'gator in overalls with the girl's bag. Suddenly, she lifted the little goat, arm under her bottom. "Alright. We're getting outta here!" She flicked the plastic toy out and swept their attackers' legs out from under them in a wide circle, clearing the way. "Alley-OOP!" A boosted hop took them sailing over the horde and landing on the street ahead.
Natalie didn't even bother looking back. She shifted Gren into both arms, carrying her princess-style as she dashed faster and faster over the midwalk. Cap's powers boosted her even further until she was traveling speeds normally reserved for powered vehicles. Buildings passed by. Falling leaves bounced off of her force shield. She began something more akin to bouncing than running, the shield acting as a rubber ball might as she turbo-skipped down the path.
"This is SO COOL!!" Gren squealed and giggled, eyes wide.
Nat couldn't help the smirk she got on her face. "Toldja. Those hugs are wicked-powerful."
As they neared Park Circle, Natalie saw what had become of it. Tents, huts and other constructs had been erected inside of its borders, hundreds of people in various acts of survival. A few people, however, seemed off- they wore bright white padded tights with boots and gloves, and had strange pieces of headgear attached. Each one's chest featured a red logo she didn't recognize. More startlingly, they each had what looked to be very large fusion cannons in their hands... and they were lowering them at her!
"Whoa!" Natalie dropped into a slide, the shield under and behind her a bit as her sneakers dug in, skidding to slow them both down. Finally, she slid to a stop, three feet in front of the semi-circle of armed individuals. "Don't shoot, don't shoot! I've got a child with me!"
"Identify yourself!" One of them barked.
"N-Natalie. Natalie Grayswift." She'd never had a gun pointed at her before. She'd never even seen one outside of a museum or history text. "And this is Grendolyn Murcbee; I'm just taking her back to Mr. Murcbee!"
"Grandpa!" Gren spotted old Mr. Murcbee nearby and ran to him. "Grandpa, Grandpa! I'm sorry I ran off without telling you but I wanted to get some food and there were so many monsters andIwassoscared-"
"Whoa, there, squirt!" The old goat laughed, hugging her. "Easy, easy! I'm just glad you're okay. You're not hurt, are you?"
"Nope!" She smiled brightly, looking to her champion. "Natalie protected me."
He blinked. "Well, I'll be. Natalie Grayswift! You saved my grand-daughter, didja?"
She nodded, smiling.
"Well, how about that! Shoulda known, what with you playin' hero since you were a pup. Get on up off the ground and stay a bit!"
She tried to get up, but a lion with a cannon pointed it at her threateningly. "Don't make any sudden movements!" he demanded.
"What does that even mean??" She asked, annoyed.
"It means- OW!"
Mr. Murcbee rapped him on the head with his improvised walking stick. "Now you quit that, Lamont! I've known this girl and her mother for years, she ain't a threat."
"Ngh... Mr. Murcbee, please, we're just trying to ensure everyone's safety."
Another soldier, a yellow Labrador, lifted her gun away and brushed the hair from her face. "Oh, yeah! Natalie Grayswift. My son talks about you sometimes." She offered a hand. "Saved him from a detention once, I think- he got framed for stealing someone's coat."
Natalie happily took the help up, assessing the damage to her sneakers. Friction had melted the edges of the soles. "I remember that! Carrie and I found the real culprit, though."
A third soldier, a honey bee, expressed uncertainty. "Are we sure she's on the up and up?" He looked at her. "No offense, kid, but you could be an ink-drinker."
Her ears burned. She felt guilty somehow, and suddenly very suspicious. "I... don't understand. What does that mean?" Her statement was true at its base.
"There are people out there, see, since the attack? They look normal, but they've been... infested with this slime," the lab explained. "Most of the time they turn into zombies- I'm sure you've seen 'em out there."
She nodded. "Oh! Yeah, those. I'd wondered what happened to those poor people." Again, still technically true.
The lion clutched his gun guardedly, none of them still pointed at her, but all of them at the ready. "But some of them... you could never tell they were infested. They walk, talk, act like anybody else, but then when you least expect it, they strike. And they can do all kinds of weird things. That's why we're being so careful."
"Oh!" She said, stalling for time to think. "That sounds terrible. I'm pretty sure no weird jello monster's making me do anything, though." She smiled and shrugged.
"Fair enough, but..." The bee wondered, "Then how did you do that weird bouncy thing?"
Natalie felt everyone's eyes on her. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, pounded in her head. She couldn't think of a good enough lie, and the longer she remained silent, the more suspicious they looked.
"Isn't it obvious?" A familiar voice called out. "She has nanotech, like me."
Nat's face went from confused to utterly disarmed. From behind the group of soldiers came... "Cedric?!"
The badger boy returned a look somewhere between exhaustion and... regret? "Hey, Natalie. Cold out..." he stuffed his hands in his jacket and looked away. "Isn't it?"
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