"Nanotech, sir?"
Natalie stood on the snow-flecked grass of Park Circle, stunned and confused in a way she could not have predicted despite all of the incredible events that had unfolded. Cedric Onyx, the magma-slinging Badger who'd fought against her bitterly her entire life, held a disdain for her deeper than the ocean, and had even tried to murder her the day previous, was standing before her now.
"Yes, nanotech. You know, my geothermal projection device, Alliston's elemental control unit, Coul's stealth suit. She obviously found something that does... well, that. Right, Natalie?"
... And he was trying, apparently, to bail her out of a terrible situation. "Oh! Yeah, I... sorry. It's these gloves." She held up her hands. "I found them in an old subterranean bunker. I was afraid I was doing something wrong by taking them." Lying was a terrible thing... unless it saved her life. She didn't think they'd really fire those fusion cannons at her, but there was a desperation about them that gave her mixed messages.
"I dunno..." the honey bee soldier tilted his head. "Are you sure about that? They look pretty beat up."
"Yes, yes," Cedric waved them off, yawning from what seemed to be genuine fatigue rather than a sarcastic wit. "Stand down, Beta Squad, at ease."
The insectoid man raised his rifle and nodded. "Yes, sir." And with that, they all disbanded, setting off to retake old posts. That left the two of them, alone, out of earshot of anyone else.
"... Well?" He smirked expectantly.
She hesitated a moment. "... This is usually the kind of thing I'd kid about, but I mean this as literally as possible... who are you, and what've you done with Cedric??"
He chuckled under his breath and shook his head, stretching. He was wearing the same outfit the others had, but he wore it under his clothing- she could tell from the padding. "It's been a crazy couple of days. I guess you wouldn't expect it. Walk with me."
She did, keeping up alongside him as they began a slow walk around the perimeter. "Well, yeah, you did kind of try to kill me!"
"Ah, yeah." He recalled it as if it were a distant memory. "Sorry about that."
Natalie stared at him incredulously. An apology?! "Oh god, I'm getting dizzy, where am I? Nothing makes sense."
That got a laugh out of him. It was the same cackle as before, but less baldly malevolent. "Right, okay. If it makes you feel better, I was covering my own ass there, too. I mean, we both have a dirty little secret after all, don't we?" He smirked with a shade of his old self. "I tell on you, you tell on me, we're both up a creek."
She blinked. He was straight-up admitting to having an Inkling. "But... so the nanotech...?"
"Utter crap. I couldn't have everyone thinking I was helping the enemy. So I told a little lie. I'm sure that was a lot easier for me than it was for you, little miss good guy."
"Wait." She creased her brows. "So you're fighting against Osoth, too?"
"Duh, seat-stuffer." He even insulted her more like a loving older brother than a maniac. It creeped her out. "I don't like the sound of being cattle, either."
She struggled for words. "Well then why did you try to murder me?!" She demanded in a hushed tone.
"Osoth, Natalie," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Wh-... what... ?"
"After that fight, Allie, Coul and myself wandered the streets, trying to find out more about the weapons caches. But as we went along, I started wondering about things. See, I've always seen people as weak. I know now that that was because of Emnas, my inkling, who wanted to raise an army again. We chatted a lot-"
"-In dreams?" she guessed.
"Bingo. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure out where the urge to kill you came from. I'd never had it before that day of the attack, at school."
That surprised her. "... Really? I just assumed you had it out for me."
"Meh. You pissed me off, but in the long game... well, look at us. We're accidentally on the same side. Why would I try to rub out a valuable ally?"
"... You're so rational right now, it's terrifying." She couldn't help but let a laugh out.
He gave her an amused smile and shrugged. "Right?" The Badger continued walking. "Then, I put it together. Do you know what Osoth's ability is?"
She considered it. "Uh... no, actually. I have no idea."
"Control, Grayswift." He became serious again. "She can control any Inkling. And by proxy anyone with an Inkling."
Natalie stopped. "Holy shit, really??"
He nodded gravely. "Holy shit indeed. That's how she rules. If you oppose her, she uses you against your own forces. She just takes you over and won't let up until you surrender. And if she can't find you, she sabotages you with nightmares." His face became resolute. "She's a monster."
"So she used us against each other..." Natalie put it together. The nightmares made to turn her against Echelon, the suppression of Echelon's memories painting her suspiciously, Cedric's sudden murderous intent... it all made sense.
"It's not tough when you hate each other's guts." He smirked. "That's why I'm forcing myself to be nice. So she can't control me again. I've got this growing army ever since that old politician told me where the caches were, Emnas is satisfied, and you know what? Being the hero feels pretty good. I get why you do it all the time."
"You sound... happy. It's really unsettling."
"It's nice to find your purpose in life."
"... Yeah, um... good for you."
A long silence passed between them.
"... I hope you're not expecting a hug or something," she joked. "Look, I... I need to make a call."
"Heh... Yeah." Cedric nodded and turned to walk away. "I should get back to patrolling. See you. Oh, and uh. Sorry if you're hungry, food's a bit scarce around here."
-
- -
-
With the help of Natalie's mother, Jacent had located the establishment known as Gross Lee's. It seemed to be a grocery store and general supermarket located on the edge of the residential sector, closer to the homes than most other businesses in Locksmouth. Unlike the majority of other buildings, it was both mostly undamaged and had managed to keep the lights on. That was sure to attract more of the odd alien creatures, but he didn't much care about that- or his own personal safety for that matter.
As he wandered into the store, he noted how clean and polished everything looked. Even in an apocalyptic landscape, these... post-humans, he supposed, had a style of design, architecture and lifestyle that was at once clean and shiny, yet robust and organic. It was definitely 'The Future,' but a kind, welcoming one rather than the cold, clinical metal-scape he'd imagined. Boxes with bright, simple designs advertised foodstuffs both familiar and not. Everything had a packaging to it- a kind of clear plastic outer structure... but it was thin, easily opened and felt nice to the touch, like a sort of silk. Some of it even seemed designed to help the user consume the contents- as if the very idea of it being stolen was laughable. To top it off, he was pretty sure he remembered seeing Natalie and her friends tossing this material into a bin and seeing it disintegrate into nothing once exposed to a certain frequency of light- no doubt it was designed to. The entire experience was one of making things nice for the customer, rather than the distrusting, magnetic alarm-rigged blister packing he was used to.
It just served as a reminder of how little he fit in. The dichotomy was agonizing- on one hand, this world had no place for him. It said goodbye to his dirty, violent reality long ago. If they successfully defeated these invaders, his purpose would vanish, and very soon, they would realize how backward and ignorant he was. Worse, they might grow to fear him, and decide that he was too dangerous to have around... again. Even thinking about that day made his chest heavy with grief and betrayal.
On the other hand, he realized... he wanted it so badly. He needed this future, this world and its people. His heart ached for it desperately, to be accepted into the fold and treated as one of their own... the plucky wolf and tough-as-nails cat girl had forced his jaded mind to soften and believe that the ideals he fought for all those years ago might have been worth it after all.
His mind drifted to a group of people he'd met once in the old days. They'd offered him a place to stay for a week while his injuries from a recent battle had healed. Hanging around, he'd noticed that they liked wearing strange things- cat ears, fox tails and the like. They drew pictures of their 'idealized' selves- human animal hybrids, often in styles from cartoons he thought he'd recognized- and called each other by names they'd given themselves. They were a bit cagey about why exactly they idolized these animalesque fantasies, but it became rather apparent after a while. Loneliness, a dreamer's sense of wonder, odd sexual fetishes... but most of all, a dissatisfaction with the world the way it was.
As a costumed social outcast, he could relate. Well, except for the sexual aspect. "Er... then again..." His mind wandered to Natalie's projective backside, tail wagging in the air, and blushed. "... They're still humans, they said so!" he defended himself from the accusatory silence, and rolled his eyes. "I'm embarrassed by nobody. Great."
He'd spotted a bunch of brightly colored yo-yos and various other old-timey toys in a small side section. "Ah! I must have these. I wonder if Mr. Lee would-... of course, I'll just ask him!" He unclasped the PET from his borrowed shirt... and stared at the indecipherable mess of options. "Crap. Oh, you had voice activation, didn't you? Ah... computer!" He waited for a response, but didn't get one. "Computer... call Mr. Lee!"
"Which Mr. Lee would you like to call?" it chirped back.
"Oh. Uh... You know! The panda!"
"Sorry, I couldn't find Thepanda Lee."
"Ugh... No! Mr. Lee, the store owner!"
"Sorry, I couldn't find Thestoreowner Lee."
He smacked his forehead. "I don't know, he's Mr. Lee! Call Gross Lee!"
In the corner of the store, a ringing sounded.
"... Fffff-..... I'll pay you back, Mr. Lee." He piled toys into a backpack he'd found.
-
- -
-
Carrie Oakenfield laid atop a pile of broken, unconscious monsters, panting tiredly. She'd busted up all of them herself, having invited their attention in the first place. But exhaustion was setting in- she'd been walking and fighting all day, and hadn't caught a single nap for it. Not to mention that without treatment, asthma was beginning to wear her out- not taking enough air in was devastating to her stamina.
Then she remembered something. "Oh, yeah... the secret stash..." She dug into the underside of her breast underneath her shirt and pulled out a med stick, primed and full. Pressing the activator, she took a deep breath of throat-cooling moisture and blew out a long plume of mist with a satisfied sigh.
"Oh god, what I wouldn't give for a carbolate and Natalie's butt for a pillow." Another drag, another plume. "I'm gonna OC you so good, puppy. Just you 'n me." She waved her med stick in the air. "Then again, Sam's probably gonna want some comfort nookie after all this- and a chocolate parfait. Poor batty's all shook up." She took a drag and let it come out of her nose, remembering their self-appointed responsibilities as pack alphas. "Not to mention we've been teasing the hell out of Erwin; you should probably throw the poor kid a bone before he explodes." The cat held in the next drag, but a sudden chuckle coaxed it out of her. "Max is playing up the goofball angle really hard- he's scared out of his wits. Maybe we can all go play a game or something soon. Better make his birthday a good one." That left... the newest member of their little group. "Cap... haha. What the hell is your problem?" she mused to herself, puffing thoughtfully. "The rest of the gang's scared of fighting monsters in dark alleys. You like the dark alley monsters and get scared by big round asses." The cat simply chuckled amidst plumes of mist. "Pre-splice people were crazy."
A dirty blues saxophone interrupted her inventory of close friends. She pushed a button on her PET. "Yeah?" The image focused, and Natalie blipped into view. "Oh, hey, Sugarbutt, I was just thinking about you."
Natalie smiled. "Carrie? Hey! Are you getting closer?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty close." She sat up and sighed with relief now that her lungs were moistened. "Sorry, my chest was getting heavy."
"Aww, needed a puff break?" She smiled sympathetically.
"Yeah," she nodded, sliding down the pile of foes and walking down the street. "Didja get the kid back?"
"Yeah! She's safe and sound. There's a ton of people at this camp site. Some of them have recovered weapons and armor. They're really suspicious of people who're Inked- you better come in really low profile. At least, that's what Cedric made it seem like."
Carrie blinked. "Cedric? He's there??" She suddenly broke into a run.
"Yeah... he's apparently some kind of commander or something." She looked around before whispering, "He helped me lie to get in..."
"Natalie, it's a trap, don't trust him! He tried to kill you!"
"That's what I thought! But... he says that Osoth made him do that."
"How convenient for him!" she snarled.
"Well... it kind of makes sense of a lot of stuff. My nightmares, his sudden bloodlust, among other things."
"You're trusting him way too much!"
"Maybe, but..." she shrugged. "He's not attacking. What do I do, kill him?"
"I vote for that!"
Natalie rolled her eyes. "Just... get here as soon as you can, okay? I'd feel better if you were with me, regardless."
"Right!" Her boots clopped loudly down the street and into the night.
-
- -
-
"Jacent!"
"AAH!!" The costumed hero dropped a bag of marbles on the floor, then looked up at the newly-projected hologram of Natalie's mom. "Oh! Dr. Grayswift, hello. You startled me."
The wolf woman was down to her pants and undershirt, a pair of goggles on her head as she worked on something he couldn't recognize. "Sorry about that. Did you find the medical supplies?"
"Ah, right... I'm having a hard time identifying them. Nothing looks quite the same in this time..."
"Alright, well, it would take forever for me to explain what everything does- just head into the back and start filling up a cart with everything in the white section with the red shelves."
With a little legwork, he took a stray cart over to the section she'd indicated. "This one?"
"That's it!" she confirmed.
"No problem! I'm on it."
Lorna watched him dump box after box of medicinal aid into the cart, and almost signed off... but hesitated. "... Jacent?"
"Yes, doctor?"
"These creatures... the Inklings..." She contemplated her question. "Can we trust them?"
"You mean the ones bonded to Carrie and Natalie," he intuited.
She nodded. "You've had to... fight plenty of villains, right?" The educated scientist felt silly even saying those words in sequence. "You have to have some sense of whether they're on the level."
Jacent paused a moment. "When dealing with questionable people, the key is not to figure out if they're telling the truth, but rather, to discover what they would gain by lying. If Echelon is deceiving us, what can she hope to gain? At most, I could see her using a victory over Osoth politically, to gain favor amongst your people, as well as her own."
Dr. Grayswift nodded, grunting with concern.
"At the same time, the worst possible scenario I foresee leading from that is Echelon trying to take over where Osoth left off. And... in my experience, if your current problem is the worse possibility, you should tackle that one first."
"What if she's a harbinger?" Lorna countered. "Someone working with Osoth to let our guard down."
"Then she's a bad one," Jacent concluded, lifting a heavy bag of medical epoxy into the cart. "She's done a terrible, clumsy job of trying to win our trust. I definitely see more of an idealist in her than a mastermind. And more besides, if Echelon goes away at this stage, Natalie loses a good share of her power to fight back, making her an asset to us until proving otherwise. Personally, I have a good feeling about her. Though, I find it more interesting that you seem to trust me, despite knowing me for exactly as long." he noted.
She just laughed. "I read your stories to put my daughter to sleep since before she stopped calling me 'Mommy.' I know you a lot better than I do some sentient tar puddle living inside of her in secret." The doctor cleaned her glasses on the edge of her shirt. "... She had a crush on you, you know," she remarked, giggling softly.
He cocked a brow skeptically. "I very much doubt that."
"It's true!" she insisted. "Carrie, too. When they were little, before they got serious with each other, they'd take turns pretending they were you so they could 'practice kissing.' In retrospect, Natalie did the better impression."
He laughed. "Now I know you're putting me on."
"Oh, yeah? Ask Carrie about her Spidress costume sometime." The older woman winked mischievously.
The costumed crime fighter blinked in confusion before looking back down at the full cart. "... Doctor, I've taken up too much of your time. Where do you want these supplies?"
She simply chuckled. "There should be a pneumatic freight tube in the back. With Erwin's help, I finally got the pump network up and running, so you can just load it in there."
"Will that take any complicated machine handling?"
The doctor put on her goggles and lit a blowtorch."It will require lifting heavy things and putting them back down."
He smiled. "Just my speed."
-
- -
-
"Good, I look forward to getting those supplies. Goodbye, Jacent." Lorna hung up and set to welding two pieces of metal together, having placed all the moving parts previously.
A refined-looking bat gentleman walked forward through a mess of people, puffing on his pipe. "Was that your Captain Hero person, doctor?"
"Yes," the wolf managed between welds. "That was Jacent. He says the medical supplies are soon to be on their way."
"Are you quite sure he can manage the dangers by himself? It's very important..."
She chuckled. "Vincent, those supplies couldn't be safer with a battalion of grav-troopers. Relax."
"Incredible. I'll need to document his physiology at some point." He nodded. "My apologies for the pointless questions- I'm just worried about Samantha..."
A bat woman of short stature in opposition to her husband's lank tallness squeezed him sidelong. "That makes two of us. I don't understand all this inkling nonsense, I just want little Sammy back."
"I know, my dear." He turned to squeeze her hand in his own.
The door to the Burger Dictator- now far past its occupancy limit with refugees in varying states of wellness- was kicked open by a plucky iguana carrying a bat on his back, ferret in tow. "Special delivery! One feisty fashionista, signed and sealed!"
"Mama! Papa!" Sam cried out joyfully, beckoning to be let down. She landed on her good leg and hopped on it shamelessly to meet halfway with her parents, who joyfully embraced their little girl.
Her father especially dwarfed her, holding Sam as delicately as he might a porcelain doll. "Oh, dear... your leg..." He looked at her thigh stump with concern and pity even as he hugged her lovingly.
"It's okay, Papa." She smiled. "I'll be fine, it doesn't hurt at all."
He smiled back at her, his stoic face cracking. "So brave, my little girl... Thank you, boys, for bringing her back to me."
Max just shrugged. "Ha! Don't thank us..."
"Thank Natalie! She saved all our butts." Erwin finished. "I hope she made it off the train okay..."
"She's fine, Erwin," Dr. Grayswift interjected, holding up a strange robotic-looking appendage. "And soon, Sam, you'll be fine, too."
Sam gasped. "Oh, dear, Dr. Grayswift, is that my new leg??"
The proud roboticist beamed. "Yes! It's fully functional, actuates realistically, and I put in a tension regulator override if you need a little extra..." she grinned, eyes wide with a touch of mad science. "Kick."
"Wow..." Max marveled at the shiny metal thing. "You made that outta grills 'n bun warmers?"
"Oh, no, we need those to feed people," Lorna explained. "Dr. Masterson here gave me all the medical knowledge I needed, whereas the part fabrication... well, I couldn't have done it without Kei." She gestured to a red-furred fox boy with East Asian features who stood behind the counter shyly. "He's got a real knack for finding parts! I need it, ten minutes later, he's got it."
Erwin beamed at Kei. He knew the boy from school- he was nice, quiet, and shy enough to make him feel like a socialite. He was also rarely without some kind of origami creation nearby him, as currently evidenced by the napkin cranes on the counter. "Hey, Kei!" The fox boy was also really cute- he and Erwin had noticed each other many times at school. He worked at a gaming café outside of school hours.
"Oh, hi, Erwin!" He waved back, adjusting his glasses. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Yeah, I'm fine," the ferret blushed a bit at the concern. "Too bad about this monster stuff- I was looking forward to our date, too."
"Y-Yeah..." Kei noted quietly with a frown. He'd planned on keeping the café open past hours so they could have fun by themselves.
"It's okay, though. After all this is over, we'll try again, alright?" He rested a hand on Kei's chest, his cheeks warming.
Kei's pulse raced as he, too, warmed up to the idea. "I-... t-that sounds great!" They both blushed and smiled at each other for a long moment.
"... And that should do it! How's the link, Sam??" Lorna inquired.
The bat girl stood on two feet again, one of which was made of heavy metals. "Ah! The link seems really natural, Dr. Grayswift," Sam commented, bouncing on the artificial knee easily.
"Hah!" The good doctor took pride in her handiwork. "I knew it would work!"
"Indeed, doctor, it's incredibly practical," she nodded. "I really appreciate it! It's just... well, you know..."
"Ugly," Lorna laughed, fully prepared for the critique. "Here, Margaret made this earlier." From out of her pocket, she drew a stocking the length of an entire leg.
Sam took it and pulled it over the new leg, then gasped as the fabric stiffened a bit to take the shape of her old leg. "Ah! Wow!"
Margaret stepped forward with a pair of shoes for her. "Here you are, dear- I understand you lost the other one of those pair."
"Thank you very much, Mrs. Oakenfield." She smiled. "And you, Dr. Grayswift!" A pause as she turned to hug her father. "And you, Papa."
"Now let's go help our friends!!" Max cheered.
"Sorry, kids." Sully walked in, looking haggard and strung out. "I don't think I can make it tonight. I'd fall asleep at the controls."
"Captain Sullensky?" Lorna asked. "You look terrible. And you kids look exhausted, too. You should stay and rest."
"But-" Sam began to protest.
"There's nothing we can do for them right now, dear," Margaret shook her head. "You can get back at it tomorrow. I'm sure they can handle themselves until then."
"Yeah, I hate to say it, but that nap didn't do anything for me, guys." Erwin yawned tiredly.
"Mm... yes. I suppose it really can't be helped," Sam conceded, staring out the window into the wintry night. "We'll come back for you, friends, I promise we haven't forgotten you."
-
- -
-
The night was cold. Even with the heated tents giving off an undertow of warm fronts as she walked through the improvised settlement of survivors, Natalie felt the chill of a wrongly-placed Winter on her. This was partly because she'd switched her PET on standby to recharge itself with the various bands being broadcast through the large congregation of people.
The other reason was, simply, uncertainty. Humans as a general rule felt safer in groups, and Natalie was a prime example of this. Though she had a close-knit circle of good friends, she was a ubiquitous figure at school and in her neighborhood- as easily evidenced by the number of faces she recognized walking around. She didn't greet them, however- in fact, she tried her best to remain unnoticed. Being inhabited by Echelon had filled her with unease, a fear of being discovered as an... 'ink-drinker,' as they called it. Nat wasn't sure if she trusted Echelon completely, but at the very least she didn't suspect her of wrongdoing. She could see the reason for fear in these people, though- they wouldn't know how to differentiate a good blob from a bad one.
A long string of high-pitched cursing caught her canine ears from a distance. She turned toward the disturbance and found Carrie, arguing with the lion and bee guards from before. "Lemme in already!" she complained. "This place is for survivors, right? Well, I'm stayin' alive!"
"Miss, we understand, we just need to verify that-"
"Verify what?? I'm cold!" she said crossly.
"Yes, but-"
"And thirsty!"
"Alright, but we-"
"And I have to take a huge dump, right now!"
"Excuse me!" Natalie walked over to them. "I can vouch for her. This is Carrie, she's my partner."
Both of the newly-minted soldiers looked at each other and sighed, wanting very much to wash their hands of this. "Go on through."
They began walking together back into the depths of the encampment. "You have no shame, Kitty," Natalie teased, hugging her.
"What shame??" she asked incredulously. "I wasn't lying! Where's the bathroom??"
"Haha, get out of here!" She pushed the cat toward a big grass-covered enclosure in one corner of the park that looked like a hill with a door, then waited outside, lying diagonally against its snow-flecked structure. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the low din of residence now that Carrie was with her. Reactivating the climate control on her PET, she noticed a message.
[Brushferret: Got to BD, everyone's OK. Stay warm! =) ]
She smiled. Then, a crowd descended upon her.
"Natalie!"
"Natalie Grayswift??"
"Hey, Nat!"
"Awesome, Nat made it out!"
"Where's Cat??"
"I thought you were a goner!"
Little miss Grayswift quickly found herself the center of attention when a large group of students from her school recognized her and began to congregate. They were friends in the sense of any positive acquaintance- one girl played dodgevolley, a boy she was in band class with, a kid who she'd rescued from his own locker many a time... "Oh! Hey, Geoff, hi Jordan, what's up Bo?" She laughed a little as the group accosted her.
Carrie emerged from the bathroom wiping sweat from her forehead. "What's going on?"
"Hey, Carrie!"
"Hi Cat!"
"Yo!"
She just smirked. "Hey, Sugarbutt, what's up with the fanclub?"
"We just wanted to say 'thanks!'" the beaver boy Nat recognized as Geoff spoke up enthusiastically. "We heard about you going around town kicking butt!"
"Yeah." An older weasel boy from the netball team, Jordan, smirked. "I saw you whip up on Cedric a lot, but I didn't know you guys were heroes for real."
"It's true, though!" A bundled-up ewe named Bo mentioned. "Cat rescued my baby brother from the library."
Natalie smirked and turned to Carrie. "Really?"
"Eh, y'know." She waved it away, trying to stave off an embarrassed blush. "It's what you would've done."
Nat gave her a knowing smile and squeezed her hand. "Uh-huh. Not the hero type at all."
"We heard about you fixing the climate center," Geoff noted. "That was awesome! How'd you guys do it?"
"Wasn't there danger??" Bo asked.
"How are you surviving out there?" Jordan puzzled.
An otter girl piped up, "And who is that guy??"
They all turned to look at a long-haired fellow carrying a large blue bag and talking with the guards.
"That," Natalie explained, "Is the answer to all those questions. Hey!"
-
- -
-
The walk to Park Circle had been as treacherous as it was confusing. Stopping to ask for directions from Dr. Grayswift several times and brawling more monsters than he cared to recall, Jacent soon found himself accosted by guards.
The yellow lab from Natalie's previous encounter stopped him. "Hold it. Name and occupation?"
He stood proudly. "Jacent Danger, alias 'Cap'n Comet, urban justice field technician."
She blinked. "Urban wha-huh?"
"Superhero!" He cheerfully clarified. "It's on my resumé, but all of my references went and died on me."
The dog woman looked back at her bear compatriot and exchanged a look of confusion. "Um. Okay. Living relatives?"
"None."
"Aw, y'poor kid," the bear frowned.
"Less Christmas gifts to buy!" he countered positively.
Lab girl stared blankly at him. "Chris-... what? Kid, make some sense, already."
"Hey! Hey, Jacent!" Nat, Cat and a whole gaggle of teenagers walked over.
"Is this a friend of yours?" The yellow canine asked. "He's a little off-kilter."
Natalie couldn't help but laugh. "He's not crazy, he's..." she emphasized the lead-up, "Captain Comet!"
Resounding silence.
"... Those comics were not very popular, were they?" Jacent muttered.
Carrie shook her head. "Two words: cult classic."
"Hold on, now!" The lab insisted. "He's really weird, I don't know about letting him in."
"Well!" Jacent opened the big blue bag he'd been lugging around. "That would be a shame, considering that these people look very hungry, and I just so happened to grab all the packaged food I could carry while in the confines of Gross Lee's!"
"YES!"
"Food! Real food!"
"Captain Comet, huh?? Awesome!"
"Wow," marveled the soldier girl. "This is all dehydrated, that's probably enough to solve our food problem for a couple of days..."
Jace popped a small blue and yellow morsel into his mouth. "You must try these micro muffins, they're delicious!"
"Cap." Natalie laughed. "Those are normal muffins! You're supposed to add water."
"Oh. No wonder I'm so full... and dry!"
"So whaddya say?" implored Carrie. "Can he come in?"
"I... I dunno. We've been letting in a lot of you..."
Jacent smiled. "You may have the food regardless of whether I gain entrance or not."
"Let him in, miss Murphy!"
"He's okay!"
"C'mon, Murph!"
The labrador turned around, annoyed that her ursine compatriot was in with the kids in urging her. "Thanks for backing me up, Sanders."
The big bear grinned bashfully. "He looks honest!"
She rolled her eyes and took the bag. "Fine." A smirk cut across her face as she shook her head at the boy. "You charm your way out of a lot of trouble, don't you?"
He smiled and shrugged apologetically. "It's all I've got."
-
- -
-
Snow was so beautiful. Alliston Madriccie loved everything to do with snow- the cold, the wetness, the powdery way that it chunked when packed together.
... The satisfying sound it made when hitting someone in the head. "Gah! How did you see me??" complained the stealthy Coul Sael as he wiped the remains of his vixen companion's powdery projectile from his invisible visage.
"You're a great big loud clumsy goof, matey!" She giggled. "Plus, your footprints are a dead giveaway."
The raccoon faded into existence, looking down at his embossed sneaker patterns. "Oh. Right." He took off his skull cap and scratched his head. "Man, I need a shower."
"Yeah, you do." Alliston tousled his untamed mop. "You're getting too greasy even for my tastes."
"You could use a couple cycles yourself, pirate princess," he smirked, replacing his hat. A stillness overtook him. "Hey. Hey!" He pointed out toward an odd figure walking toward the main camp. "Out there!"
"We've got a cyclops," Allie squinted, identifying the lone shuffler heading their way.
"Don't get up, I've got this one." A burst of magma flew overhead and splattered in front of the rough-skinned creature, halting its advance dead away. It looked for a way around the thermal hazard, but two more short bursts to either side quickly convinced it to turn around.
Coul and Alliston turned to see Cedric, blowing volcanic ash out of his palm and into the lazy night breeze like a handful of tiny fireflies. "Nice work, Cedgie!" the vixen was quick to compliment him.
"Kid stuff," he dismissed casually with a smirk. "I came to rescue you numbskulls from perimeter duty."
"We can quit??" Coul sighed in relief. "My feet are killing me."
"Yeah, apparently some long-haired doofus brought in a bagful of food. They're puffing it up and plotting a 'cuddle pile' or something. Sounded pretty gross." He chuckled. "Right up your alley."
"Awesome! Thanks, Cedgie!" Alliston grinned. "I'm starving."
"Try not to drown in gluttony and lust," he teased. "I still need you two for operations to secure the transit system tomorrow."
"Man," Coul whispered as they walked deeper into the camp site. "I've never seen him this happy."
"Yeah," she smiled. "And all it took was Armageddon."
-
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-
The promise of food could curb even the most curious inquiry. Jacent's food delivery had managed to peel the group of enthusiastic students away from them. They stood in relative privacy under an oak tree that somewhat surreally held a large blanket of snow on its leaves.
"That was really good, the way you handled those guards," Natalie commented. "Way better than how Carrie and I did it."
Jacent chuckled humbly. "Rule number one of superheroics: be a friend to the public. People in positions of power don't like vigilantes. Police might like how you can circumvent the system to nail the bad guys, but don't mistake that for trust. But as long as you have the people on your side, none of that matters."
"Sounds kinda political," Carrie noted with distaste.
"Disgustingly so," he laughed in agreement, pulling off the backpack he'd taken from Lee's.
"What's in the bag?" Cat asked, eying the contents curiously.
"Goodies!" With a little digging, he pulled two pairs of shoes from the depths of the backpack. One was pink, the other purple, both featuring tiny clear plastic tubes along the seams and soles. They looked, smelled and felt brand new.
Nat and Cat gasped in unison, eyes wide as he uncovered the futuristic footwear. "Grav-skiffs! Awesome!"
"So cool!"
"They look better than the ad, even!"
"I bet they're only 4th cycle material!"
"I can't wait to test these babies..."
"Wow," Jacent laughed. "Even in my time, girls didn't get this worked up over shoes."
Carrie hmphed, sitting on the cold grass. "That's because all shoes did in your time was protect your feet or make your ass look good."
Natalie leaned up against the tree, kicking her shoes off and touching the secondary-colored pads on the front of the new ones. The material stretched, to Jacent's surprise, and opened up the shoe. She wriggled her foot into before touching the pad again, making it contract around her ankle comfortably. "Yeah, and without anti-microbial agents, no less."
Cat worked off Cap's boots. "Hey, I'm gonna keep these weight socks if you don't mind, they're pretty awesome for kicks."
He nodded. "Sure! I'll take back my lighter boots, then- the cold was killing my feet. But, ah... so, what exactly do these things do, then?"
Natalie grinned, hurriedly programming something into her PET as Cat did much the same.
[Grav Skiff
)-Battery-(
_Left 99%
_Right 100%
)-One Touch On/Off-(
!Assigning Selected Region... Complete.]
The slate-colored wolf put her PET away and stood facing away from the others with her feet shoulder-length apart from each other. "Ready?"
Jace nodded, amused. "Yes, though I'm not sure what for."
"Here we go..." Natalie slapped her hips in unison. As well as making her buns do a short, intriguing impression of a jello mold, this action sent bright fluorescent pink light through the tubing in her new sneakers... and lifted her six inches off he ground! "Woooo! Yes! They actually work- this is SO awesome!" she celebrated, hovering steadily as a strange pink thrust seemed to come from the undersides, keeping her afloat.
"Oh my god... this really is the future..." Jacent marveled.
"Neat trick, huh?" Carrie skiffed forward on her own hovering shoes and smacked Natalie on her big pink backside.
"Awrf! Hey!" Nat complained, spinning in a slow, frictionless circle as if she were on a jewelry display pedestal. "I can't believe they managed to get pulse lift generators in these things. It's pretty incredible."
"Pulse lift?" asked the amazed Mr. Danger.
"It's what they put in trains and trans and stuff to make 'em fly," Carrie supplied.
Nat nodded, affirming Cat's explanation as she freely spun. "It uses a lot of energy, but fusion boxes do the job."
He gasped, taken aback. "You have nukes in your shoes?!"
"Whoa," Cat shook her head. "Fusion, not fission. Nobody's been allowed to split atoms for a looong time. Way too dangerous. And besides, these run on batteries."
"Yeah," the wolf girl nodded. "They can't make fusion boxes smaller than that backpack. they tried to a decade ago and hit a wall." She thought about it. "Well, I guess technically fusion cannons have them."
"Yeah, but those're shitty and don't work right." The pale feline skiffed around Natalie in a circle so as to follow her rotation. "Remember that short story we had to read in History?"
"Oh, yeah. The journal of that grav-trooper. His gun didn't work half the time. His boots were always running out of power, too... oh!" She slapped her hips again, dropping back down onto the ground. "Heh, yeah, I don't wanna run down the batteries. They recharge off of kinetic generators."
Jace puzzled over this. "Kinetic...?"
"They charge when you walk," clarified Carrie, dropping as well. "Or just when you move 'em." She grinned mischievously at her girlfriend. "Like, waving around in the air with your knees up to your chest."
Natalie sputter-laughed, incredulous. "You're terrible, you know that? We're in front of a million people, including Jacent!"
Her salacious toothy grin only grew. "Aw, he doesn't mind- do ya, Cap??"
Jacent blushed deep red. "No! Ehm, I mean, I wouldn't try to stop you. B-But I wouldn't be watching! Uh, not because you aren't very nice looking, because both of you are very pretty- but I respect you! Not that I don't respect pretty girls, I just don't want you to think that somehow-"
"Wahahaha! Go on, please! I'm loving this!" Carrie's eyes lit up with amusement.
"Quit that!" Natalie hit Cat on the shoulder chastisingly. "He's trying to be nice and you're teasing him."
Jacent laughed nervously. "I... blew it again, didn't I?"
"No, it's fine," Nat replied. "She did that on purpose." Her muzzle opened wide in a long, tired yawn. "I don't have the energy for it anyway. I'm exhausted, I just want to go to sleep..."
Carrie mimicked her yawn. "Yeah. I was just bustin' your balls, Cap." She glanced down at the camp site from the hill. "Looks like they don't have enough sleeping bags to spare. Hey, does that backpack have a survival blanket?"
Natalie pulled a large cloth from a compartment at the bottom of the bag and held it out. "Alright! Looks like we've got enough for the three of us, if someone lays against the tree."
Jace flinched in surprise. "What? O-Oh, no, I couldn't. The grass will be fine..."
"But Jacent..." Natalie looked up at him with what could only be described as puppy eyes. "You'll freeze."
"Oh, it's okay, I'm not even tired!" he squirmed.
A look of understanding dawned on Natalie, and she smiled patiently. "You've... never had friends before, have you?
"I... no..." he admitted reluctantly. "Not good ones, certainly."
"Well, you said you wanted to adapt, right? And we're your friends."
"Of course," he agreed more easily.
She smiled encouragingly. "Right! So here's the thing. Carrie and I are alphas. That means you can trust us to take care of you." She beckoned for him to sit against the tree, which he did after cushioning himself with the backpack.
"So what do I do?"
"It's easy," Natalie explained, pulling her long-sleeved shirt over her head, leaving her undershirt and shorts. "If it's an area you're not comfortable in, you just sit back and let Carrie or myself make all the decisions. For instance, I decide that we're all cuddling tonight, so get comfy."
The red-haired boy, unused to taking orders, nonetheless scooted down a bit and rested his head against the backpack, shivering a bit. He found himself blushing a bit as Carrie curled up into a fetal position and laid her head on his chest, cushioned by Nat's rolled up shirt. "Oh! H-Hi, there." He was even more surprised when she began purring.
"Great." Natalie tucked one end of the big black blanket under Jacent's back before taking a very similar position to Carrie's on the opposite side of his chest, sharing her bunched shirt as a pillow. With a tucking motion, she got the other end of the blanket under Jace's back as well, covering all but their heads with it in a circle around them. "Mm, that's better." She pulled Cat closer, letting the girl nuzzle into her neck so as to better share their improvised pillow. "Now, put your arms around us."
He seemed hesitant. "What if I grab something I'm not supposed to, though?"
"Oh, no." Sarcastic mock-horror overtook her voice. "You'll squeeze my arm. Oh my god, there might even be a boob in there somewhere." She looked up at him with a tiny bit of contempt. "Did you know that on his last birthday, Erwin raspberried my butt?"
His eyes widened in actual horror. "Really?!"
She knit her brows and nodded curtly. "Blew out the candles, whispered his wish to Carrie, she bent me over the table- my own girlfriend!- and he just went to town."
"Carrie, you assisted in this??"
"Oh yeah!" Nat reported in an annoyed, high-pitched tone. "She sat on me so I couldn't move! And she laughed and laaaughed and laaaaaughed."
"He didn't even bury his face that far in the cake!" Carrie squeaked, trying to control fits of laughter.
Natalie rolled her eyes, shook her head, and huffed, though her amused smile was telling. "Anyway. Hurry up so we can consolidate our body heat."
"... Yes, ma'am." Jacent felt a strange sense of freedom, not being solely responsible for his actions. He wrapped his arms around his new friends, enjoying their warmth, their fur and the pure and simple content of surviving by closeness in a cruel climate.
"There." Natalie smiled. "Was that so bad? Goodnight, Jacent."
Far from sleeping fitfully in a cold cardboard box, he looked down at their adorable faces and intertwined bodies and thought one thing he'd never thought before:
This was a safe place.
He was safe here.
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