Snapshots from Elsewhere

Chapter 10

The Same Coin

15 years ago, Helena Daniels watched as a young boy, Carter Ellis, was abused and broken down a cruel man in charge of the orphanage he lived at. Motivated to action, she convinced her organization to allow her and her husband Vic to adopt the boy.
But unlike Mr. Bennet, Helena Daniels had no intention of treating her new child like a burden. No, she would protect Carter, and should he show the development of powers, bring him into the fold and train him to be an agent like her.
And so, a week after rescuing her son, Helena Daniels sends her partner Marshal Wise to Dallas, to take revenge on the man that injured her baby so greatly.

(Earl Cage, Head of the Dallas Orphanage- Dallas, Texas)

Midnight

"Stupid thing!" Earl shouted, throwing a paperweight at the puppy that was currently seated on his chair, wagging his tail. He had tried to get the little brown and white dog to move for five minutes, but it remained watching him with its big brown eyes, tongue lulled out as it panted.

The paper weight fell right at him, the pup letting out a yelp as it jumped from the chair. The dog looked at Earl and whimpered, tail between its legs. The head of the orphanage gave the puppy a lock, then raised his leg to punt the stupid thing down the hall.

ROAR!

Earl's eyes bugged out of his head as the puppy leapt into the air, body twisting and enlarging into it took the form of a large puma. The dark feline snarled as it strike, knocking him into the wall and snapping its jaws at his throat. Earl just managed to avoid the razor sharp teeth, scrambling towards his deck.

"What the hell?!?" He shouted, stumbling back as the cat reared up. The Puma's legs began to twist and shift, hips shifting forward, head lowering, as the creature began to look more and more humanlike. 'I'm dreaming…I must be dreaming…I must be dreaming…'

"You aren't dreamin'." The Puma Man said with a Georgia accent, cracking his neck and watching as his paws turned into long fingers. "Not by a long shot." The feline's muzzle slowly receded, taking the form of a human's face. The fur that had covered his body shed away, skin lighting till it was a light tan beige. Dark brown hair topped his head, face clean shave and youthful. Blue gray eyes twinkled as he crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his bare foot against the floor. "You got a coat or somethin'?"

Earl Cage shakenly pointed to the coat rack that stood next to the door. Marshal Wise nodded, grabbing the long canvas jacket and slipping it over his nude frame.

"Thanks…oooh, nice…expensive." He ran his hand along the side. "Guess you can afford to buy coats like this when you are pulling the Oliver Twist routine here." Earl just stared at him. "Oliver Twist…beat the orphans, starve them, use the money for yourself?" He shook his head. "People told, know nothing of the classics." He took a step forward, Earl still wigging out. "Are you scared of me?"

"N-no." Earl mumbled.

"That's too bad…because you should be." He gave him a smile, teeth elongating into fangs for a moment. "You see, you hurt this kid…Carter…my partner didn't like what she saw. Sent me to make sure you weren't doin' that to other kiddies…you aren't doing that to other kids, are you?"

The head of the orphanage shook his head.

"Not smart to lie to me." Marshal replied, stepping forward. "I get kinda wild, ya know?" His eyes became yellow, slitted like a cat's. As the black fur began to grow along his body once more, his voice grew deeper. "You chose the wrong child to hurt…"

"I must agree with the American."

Marshal whipped around to see a man dressed all in black from head to toe, save for the green goggles he wore over his eyes. The new man, a Frenchman by the sounds of it, walked towards the two, a gun resting easily in his hand.

"And you would be?" Marshal asked.

"Seth." The smoker maker said, pointing his gun at Earl, the man whimpering. "Am I correct in assuming that this simpering man is Earl Cage?"

Marshal nodded, feline eyes showing mirth as the fur slowed its growth. "That's him…and if I am allowed to ask the Frenchmen with the gun why he is here…"

Seth cocked the weapon. "The stupid American and I must have words about his treatment of a boy I have been looking into."

"Let me guess…Carter Ellis?" Marshal said, raising a dark eyebrow, voice rumbling. "What a shock…I've come to discuss him too."

Seth shook his head, turning the gun on Marshal. "Well, since I have the gun, I suggest you allow me to deal with this sniveling fool, no?"

Marshal raised his hands in defeat. "Of course…of course…" In the next instant, he had morphed fully into his puma form, snarling and knocking Seth down. His gun flying out of his hand, the mysterious man in black opened his mouth as Marshal's jaws neared his throat, firing a blast of black smoke right into his eyes. The puma roared, leaping away and shaking his head as Earl took off, trying to escape the two.

Seth grunted, giving chase after the man, firing off a massive column of high speed smoke that knocked the man off his feet and left him wheezing. "Now tell me, why would you run away such as that, Mr. Cage?" Seth asked, grabbing him by the throat. The next instant, Seth was screaming as Marshal, recovered from the smoke blast, drove his razor sharp teeth into his calf. The other hero threw his head down, driving his smoke shots into the puma and causing the beast to become dizzy once more.

Marshal growled, eyes burning. 'no way the frog licker is gonna beat me!' His body shifted again, gaining rapid mass and muscle. Letting out a bellow, the puma-turned-grizzly-bear shaking Seth away just as the Frenchman had gotten his hands around Earl's neck.

"Please…Please…" Earl cried out, backing away from the two of them. Seth was clutching his ribs, but preparing for another blast of smoke, ready to suffocate both Earl and Marshal in one shot. The morpher was back on all fours, jaws opened wide as he approached the head of the orphanage. "He's just a stupid kid…why do you people care."

Seth saw red.

"A kid!?! You foolish, stupid American! Carter Ellis is a king amount paupers, and you would do him harm? His lineage alone makes his worth more then yours…more then the worth of this entire city!" Marshal paused for a moment, soaking up this interesting bit of trivia. "The dishonor you do him is a dishonor to us all…and I for one will not let it stand!" He turned to Marshal. "You have claim to his hide, no?" The bear's great head nodded. "Then let us share, if only for tonight, as brothers in arms, against this fool that dares harm the miracle child."

Marshal, realizing that he had gained valueable information this night, saw no harm in sharing the bloodbath with this other man. 'Besides…best to know how he works, so when we find this Seth again we know how to imprison him.'

Seth was thinking a similar thing. 'Let this misguided fool aid me…perhaps then, when next we meet, I will not be caught off guard!'

The two slowly approached the whimpering Earl, the head of the orphanage crying out as they neared. The irony was lost on him that he sounded much as Carter had when the boy had received his first beating.

Much would be lost to him over the next few hours, as his life was slowly sapped away.