Some Storm Hawks and a Wallop
Note: A Storm Hawks fan fiction involving a poor abandoned baby Wallop that Junko names Canary. Canary is involved with some rather harrowing troubles before she lands in the caring arms of her surrogate parents.
Chapter 1--Little Wallop Lost
It was summer in the world of Atmos, and it happened to be the rainy season. The rains would come heavily and last into the night, washing away the allergens in the air. Hardly anyone was out and about except for a few kids splashing in puddles until the rain became a downpour. A poor Wallop mother, having gone through ridicule and exile for 'having a child out of wedlock' had recently been exiled from her own terra. She could never return, and as far as she was concerned, she didn't ever want to return.
Finch, as she was called, hated her own terra. They looked upon females like herself as nothing more as chattel. Simple beasts of burden that were good for two things: cooking and having children. Finch had endured enough of it as well as abuse from her to-be husband Grackle, so she planned to start living a free life in the lower plains as a metal-smith fixing broken transports. Her baby, who was also an outcast, sadly, she could no longer care for. She loved her little baby dearly, but she had to leave her. She abandoned the vulnerable infant in a junk bin on the outskirts of the city with only a note attached to her baby's blanket.
Unlike normal children, baby Wallops didn't cry. This little girl was getting hungry though and had begun wasting away. The rain was causing her to shiver in the cold. Junko, who was rummaging around the scrap to find parts for a skimmer he wanted to build heard something sneezing and fussing.
"What is that ?", he thought to himself investigating. He saw a bundle, shivering in the rain.
"Oh my goodness ! You poor little wallop !", he said, picking up the infant girl and re cradling her in his arms. He saw the note that was attached to her blanket.
"Please, take care of my baby. I am an outcast and can no longer care for my precious baby girl. Please don't condemn me for what I have done. I did what I had to do in order to survive. Whoever you are, blessings to you. I trust you with my child's care. Sincerely, Finch". Junko's lip trembled a bit, but couldn't think of sadness for long after noticing how pale the baby's yellow skin was and that she wasn't fussing much at all.
Luckily he had some fruit juice he had been carrying around with him and he fed it to the baby. Her pale yellow color had become a full-fledged yellow-orange and she opened her eyes and smiled at him.
"By Atmos you are pretty…I think I know what I am going to call you. Your name is going to be Canary. I hope you like it, because I really think it suits your cheery demeanor and angelic little face of yours.", he said, nuzzling his horn with her little one. She giggled and cooed in his arms.
"Wait 'til the guys back home see you !", he said, poking her in the belly, which was now full and happy. It was lucky Junko had come at that time because if he had been much later, it was possible that poor little Canary couldn't have survived the cold and wet of the rainy summer season.
Chapter 2--A Baby in the Hangar
Radar found the infant intriguing, but not half as curious as she found the strange 'pet' that the Storm Hawks kept around. She pulled his tail, played with his ears and stretched his mouth out as far as it could go. It snapped back into place, causing Radar to yelp a bit. Frightened and a bit hurt, the little hybrid hid behind a couch somewhere, feeling he'd be safe there for a bit. Little Canary, who had been through quite a terrible ordeal, crawled to the top of a very comfortable velvet chair, sighed and rested. She also seemed pleased with the size and length of the hangar itself. She knew, sooner or later, she would have to let her curiosity guide her to the intriguing sights, sounds and smells the hangar had among its plentiful nooks and crannies.
Piper had come home with Stork, Aerrow and Finn after sweeping the area for Talons. Strangely, there hadn't been much complaint of them lately. Seemed as if Master Cycolnis was taking a bit of a break, which was unlike her. Knowing Cyclonis though, she was up to something and was probably plotting some sort of nefarious scheme to destroy them and rule all Atmos with an iron fist. Needless to say, there would be a time when she would crumble under her massive power and most likely, be crushed along with the Talon empire.
"Why is there a baby in the hangar ?", came Piper's inquiry. Junko, who smiled awkwardly explained everything by showing them the note.
"We can give her back to her mother.", Aerrow stated, logically.
"No. We can't. She's gone into hiding somewhere, and Atmos only knows where she is. Wallop intuition dictates that if one wants to be found they make themselves available. I have no clue as to where Finch might be. Perhaps we'll find her in the future, but until that time we have to care for her.", Junko stated, rather seriously.
"Junko, we have no idea how to care for a baby ! We're just adolescents !", Stork contested. The others agreed. Poor Radar, who had been tormented by Canary earlier, ran up Aerrow's arm and chattered in his ear.
"I'm really sorry about that buddy. She's just a baby. Don't let it get to you.", he said. Radar still crossed his arms and pouted. It'd be a while before he ever got close to little Canary again, for fear his poor tail would be yanked off his body.
The Hawks weren't happy with having to care for Canary at first, but soon they grew used to her. She became more gentle with Radar and played with him nicely under Junko's tutelage. Caring for a baby wasn't easy, but Canary soon grew to be a fine young girl with a strong intellect, tremendous musculature and a love for all her surrogate family members.
As Canary learned to walk and talk, Junko became her surrogate father, and equally important maternal role came to Piper. She learned speaking from an early age from all the stories the Hawks had told her from birth and she began reading when she was about one. Her first words were "particle accelerator", "mama" and then "dada". The first word really knocked the Hawks off their feet, and they knew they had a tiny genius on their hands. As soon as she could walk and talk, she began asking questions about her mother's whereabouts and how she could find her. It wasn't time for her to be out on her own yet, because she wasn't yet strong enough to go searching alone, but soon, faster than the Hawks believed, that day would come.
Chapter 3--The Journey to Find Finch
Despite the fact that Canary knew she was loved, she had always been curious about the note the Junko had found when she had been abandoned.
"I know she loved me, Stork, but why did she just toss me aside like rubbish ?", she asked one day, fiddling around with some tools while she was helping Stork make repairs to the Condor, which had been in pretty shoddy condition since its last battle against the Talons. Cyclonia had been trying to annex another terra through the conception of a ruthless form of Olympiad where no rules existed and those who survived won the prize.
Sadly, quite a few athletes died for their home, but the Storm Hawks had been able to save some lives. The Talons were so sore over their loss that the Talons had a bit of a dogfight with them. The Condor had a bit of a beating, and Canary felt its pain. But soon, it would be as good as new.
"I don't know, but now you're old enough to start searching for her.", Stork said as the two finished the final repairs. Radar, who was like a nurse handing implements during a surgery, stood back and looked at the newly refurbished Condor. It was sleeker, faster, and more light-weight.
"I don't know why I didn't see it earlier, Canary. You really are a whiz with machines.", Stork said. Canary knew that she would miss her surrogate parents but this was a journey she would have to do so alone. It would be arduous, but she would take only what she needed and live by her wits. She'd have no trouble finding her. The question remained, did her mother, Finch, wish to be found ?
After a bit of a tearful goodbye from her surrogates, the intrepid Canary, packed with only the essential elements to keep her alive, set out on her journey. She had never met the Cyclonians before but she felt she would have no trouble avoiding them. Little did she realize that Cyclonia was a master of disguise and possessed a powerful illusion crystal.
Finch, having made a new life with an Atmosian named Falcon, had found metal-smithing a tremendous career. Falcon, a human, was a devoted husband and hard worker in the crystal mines, loved his wife dearly and the two were planning on welcoming a baby boy named Robin into the world. They lived in a small village called Shale, where every person was close to the earth. Many of them had jobs involving the earth in some way, shape or form. It's like they could hear the earth speak and understand it.
Coming to a small rivulet, Canary thought it would be best to find a place to set up camp and rest. She filled her water bottle and ate a little bit of her rations and found a place to set up her small tent to rest for the evening. Her sense of smell caught on to an aura that was familiar to her.
"That must be my mother. I remember her…slightly, but the odor of clay is getting stronger…I must be closer.", she thought to herself as she slept and her nose focused on the scent. Little did she know that the scent was coming from the opposite direction and Cyclonis had set up a plan. She had been watching with her crystal staff in the distance and thought that capturing this little Wallop girl would be perfect to bring them out into the open and have her army attack them all at once. They would never know what hit them, since they were all under invisibility shields, watching and waiting and ready to strike.
Watching and waiting, Cyclonis and her minions planned their attack. Canary soon found a metal-smithing shop with someone she believed to look rather familiar.
"Mother !", she called, rushing up to the female Wallop who had been working hard at forming weapons for battle.
"At last, you've come home.", Cyclonis said, hugging her. Something didn't seem right to Canary, though. Her nose twitched and she noticed the Wallop in front of her didn't have the kind of aura she suspected. The metal-smithing facility didn't look as inviting as the ones she remembered when she was a newborn.
"Wait, you're…Master Cyclonis ! Aren't you ?", she said, catching on immediately. The cover dissolved and she gripped her staff tightly, with some irritation.
"It was my scent, wasn't it ? Should've known your nose would give me away.", Cyclonis said. Before Canary had a chance to run, Cyclonis had whistled and her cronies surrounded Canary. No matter how hard Canary fought back, she was subdued and the Cyclonians captured her.
"With you in my grasp, the Storm Hawks will likely come looking for you. They'll be overcome and soon…all Atmos will bow to me.", Cyclonia thought to herself. Ace had to admit it was her best plan thus far and it made her admire, respect and love her even more dearly than he ever had in the past. Canary, not weeping for her fate, knew she would be rescued and somehow, the Storm Hawks would be successful.
Meanwhile…Finch's senses were reeling and she had no idea as to why.
"Falcon, did you hear someone scream ? It sounded like a girl !", Finch stated, becoming quite concerned. Falcon had heard nothing. Unlike his wife and soon-to-be mother of their child, he didn't possess acute hearing like she did.
"No. I'm sorry. I didn't. But I have a feeling something terrible is about to happen.", Falcon stated, grimly.
"I think we should go.", Canary said, taking his hand, firmly, yet gently.
"What ? In your condition ? No, we have to be careful.", Falcon said, letting go momentarily. She looked snubbed, and a bit hurt.
"I'll be fine, Falcon. We're both going to find whomever it was that was screaming. Wallop intuition tells me there's someone in dire need. We need to help him.", Finch said, with conviction. There was no need to stop her, she had her mind set on going. With that, Finch grabbed her weapons and Falcon took his as well. They couldn't afford to be too cautious in the untamed wilds outside of Shale.
Chapter 4--Storm Hawks and Some Extra Help
Piper was searching her mailbox for a message from Canary, yet found nothing. Since it was likely there were no computers where she would be staying, it was likely she would send a messenger gecko to take her letter to her. No geckos had arrived today, and she was alarmed.
"It's not like Canary to leave us uninformed…", she said.
"Not at all. I think we should go looking for her !", Junko agreed. It wasn't much later that the Storm Hawks rushed to the Condor, started up her engines and began searching for Canary's whereabouts. Fairly soon, Stork zeroed in on a blip on his radar.
"I'm counting 20...30...no…100 Cyclonians. The friendly among them seems to be Canary…", he said, his voice wavering.
"Canary ?! No ! We have to help her !", Finn stated, starting to get angered. The Hawks hadn't seen Finn become vehement, but he felt responsible for her too like the others. It was hard for him not to become paternal and overprotective. Before Finn could run off half-cocked, Stork saw two other blips on his radar screen.
"And we have two friendlies. They are taking on the Cyclonians alone. Definitely ill-advised, even if that one friendly is a Wallop.", he said.
"Wait, a Wallop ? I'd wager that's Canary's ma.", Junko said, excitedly. Aerrow stopped him too before he could run off and help. Stork had an autopilot and auto-rescue feature built in thanks to Canary's genius and he was itching to try both features out. Without any further idling, Stork pressed the autopilot button and had launched himself and the Hawks into their skids to meet the Cyclonians below. It seemed that they were terribly outnumbered but at least now, they had two Wallops on their team.
While Cyclonis was distracted fighting against Aerrow, Canary began to make a run for it and she had a brief reunion with her mom.
"I knew I'd find you.", she said, her grey eyes twinkling.
"Good to have you back with us. I always wondered what you were like.", Falcon said, ruffling her blonde hair. They didn't have time to reminisce at the moment. They went into battle immediately, knocking out Cyclonians left and right. They couldn't stand up to the might of the Wallops, and Falcon and the Storm Hawks were holding their own.
The Cyclonians had already left, except for Dark Ace and Cyclonis herself.
"I'll win you over to my side, even if I have to brainwash you.", she thought to herself, seeing how the reunited family was hugging, kissing and chatting amongst each other. She had never known love like that from her youth and a part of her longed to have that, or perhaps a mother-daughter relationship if that was possible. But before she even had that chance, Junko had run before the Hawks who were reclaiming their breath and knocked her out.
"Don't you ever lay a finger on Canary again ! You hear ?!", he bellowed, staring down at her. Though she was unconscious, she could still hear. She definitely wasn't expecting to be clocked so hard by Junko. "Woah, dude ! Square in the jaw ! I bet she'll feel that in the morning !", Finn added, rubbing his jaw signifying he could sympathize with that kind of pain. After all, he had sparred many times with Junko and he did have a mean right hook. Dark Ace, who sulked, took Cyclonis into his arms.
"This isn't over yet, Storm Hawks. Mark me…we will be back. And next time you won't be so fortunate.", Dark Ace vowed, ominously as he mounted his skimmer and blasted off, the rest of the Cyclonians leading him.
Epilogue
After the excitement of the battle had passed the Limestone Valley could now rest easy knowing the Cyclonians wouldn't be bothering them any longer. With such sentinels as the Storm Hawks and fierce opposition like Falcon, Finch and Canary, they knew it was better just to leave such places alone and live to tell the tale.
Canary was excited her mom was going to have another baby.
"His name's going to be Robin. I'm sorry I didn't ask for your permission, but after Falcon and I were married, we didn't feel like a true family without a child.", Finch confessed, holding her daughter close. Canary didn't mind.
"I cannot wait to meet little Robin. I promise, I will do all I can to teach him right from wrong and all the fundamentals of living here in this sometimes savage world.", Canary stated, beating her chest with her fist proudly.
The Hawks got a chance to meet Canary's parents.
"So, you're Finch. I'm so glad you finally made yourself known.", Piper said, shaking her hand. She could see that Canary was the spitting image of her mother. Both of them were strikingly beautiful. All of them had a chance to sit and get to know one another back in the Shale Village, which, they had to admit, had a pleasant, homey, comforting feel about it.
It was late into the night that the Storm Hawks realized they had to return home.
"It looks like you accomplished your mission.", Junko said, getting a bit teary-eyed.
"I thought Wallops weren't supposed to cry.", Aerrow observed, his eyes becoming a little watery as well. Even Radar, the Hawks' mascot, was getting a bit overklempt.
"We're not, but allow me to be the first.", Junko stated, sniffling a bit as he hugged his 'daughter' goodbye.
"We'll see you again, won't we ?", Stork questioned, curiously.
"I hope so. I'd love to be a part of your team again, should you need me.", she responded. Just for that, Piper gave her a medallion communicator. If they were in dire straights they could reach her no matter how far away they were. She would wear it always, with a sense of inner pride. Outwardly, she was as humble as Wallops came.
The two families went their opposite ways, but as promised, Canary sent messenger geckos every chance she had, despite the fact that she was busy in her mother's shop helping to repair skimmers, flyers, gliders, and all sorts of aerial and terrain vehicles that would come into their shop. She knew the battle between Cyclonians and Atmosians would come to a stop one day and when that day came she could live out the rest of her life, happily, hanging out with her friends the Storm Hawks, who would be citizens like herself.
The End
