Author's Note: This is my first Storm Hawks fic (I don't think I need to tell you that.) and I think I'll do okay on it.
Disclaimer: Storm Hawks and all characters belong to Nerd Corps Studios and Cartoon Network. I own the main character, and my friends own the main character's friends.
Part One: Mammalia
Chapter Thirteen
Spitz felt a shock run through his cold blood, turning it to ice. Attack Repton? Yes, he'd given her a drained crystal instead of the promised, fully functional one, but there was no reason for her to sick any "Beast" Ibis could become on him. What "Beast" were they talking about? He looked at Ibis now, her dirty, lanky pink hair hanging around her cheeks in sad, little strands and her eyes looking just as questioning as he felt. She gazed at Cyclonis first, and then at Repton. Repton's expression would have been comical if they weren't in such a serious situation; his eyes bulged from their sockets in clear fright and his mouth was set thinly set in a grim line. Spitz fought back the slight urge to laugh at his eldest brother's face and returned his attention to Ibis.
"…As you wish, Master." Her soft blue eyes sharpened as she glared at Repton through her hair. Twinkling sparks of fuchsia lit up behind her irises and Spitz was forcibly reminded of the day he had come into the dungeon and she had unknowingly pinned him with those glowing orbs. She had said that she had been hoping her visitor that day was Repton. Did she mean to make him pay now for going back on his word then? Ibis stepped back several steps and lowered her head, keeping her eyes locked on Repton beneath her brows. Her shoulders were tense, her arms and legs recalling images of coiled springs. Repton gasped as he glanced at Ibis's predatory stance and then spluttered out a complaint to Cyclonis, who waved away his attempts to change her mind.
"You were brainless enough to let your group be beaten and you failed to retrieve a charged shadow crystal for me. If she does indeed kill you, then you are simply too weak and stupid to lead any Cyclonian branch and you are a disgrace. If you survive, then perhaps I will allow you to step down from your position as leader to grunt." Cyclonis turned to Ibis. "Proceed when you are comfortable, girl."
Spitz held his breath as the air around them became tight and constricted. He watched Ibis lift her lips to form the beginnings of a snarl. Now her pretty face began to look menacing, and a shiver of awe mixed with shock rattled up his spine. Her eyes glinted brightly in the dark room, their original stormy blue completely swallowed by burning pink. A faint mechanical whine grew in the room, its origin unknown. Master Cyclonis smirked wider and stepped away from Ibis back to the raised dais. Ibis knelt down into a crouch with her back hunched over and her head low, and, as if from an instinctual warning, Spitz, Hoerk, and Leugey backed up several feet from Repton. Only Repton seemed rooted to the spot and unable to move. His scared, vulnerable eyes were trapped within the web of Ibis's hypnotic stare and the tip of his long, powerful tail twitched in a rapid, nervous motion.
Time seemed to slow as Spitz finally located the source of the whining. He glanced away from his older brother and watched Ibis's visible skin erupt with pink light. The faint, blood vessel-shaped lines made her look smaller and thinner than she actually was and a low, guttural growl tore out from between her clenched jaws. Finally the tension in the air was broken as Ibis seemed to gather herself on the inside and burst into the shape of the Beast with the same bloodcurdling scream that Spitz had heard the night of her kidnapping. Long, hot pink spikes thrust out from the bottom of her skull to the tip of her tailbone, talons that stabbed cruelly into the floor grew from her hands and toes, and sharp magenta fangs forced their way through the enamel of her teeth.
Now her bloodshot, irritated red eyes flickered across Repton's face and her unhinged jaw closed as she levered herself up on all fours, her much-longer legs raising her backside into the air. She snarled loudly and the last spike on her tailbone drooped and lengthened into a glowing, pink, whip-like tail. The tail rose and fidgeted angrily between her legs, and Spitz cast one more glance over her transformed body. A dark thrill made his slow pulse race with heady passion; she looked just like every female Raptor that he had seen during mating season back home in the Tribe. Her raised bottom and false tail evoked the images and sounds of animalistic, primitive loving in his mind. Underneath all the fearsome body language, she was beautiful and powerful.
A final, soft hiss escaped Ibis's maw, and her tense muscles relaxed into a dangerous prowling stance, her tail still flicking back and forth. In response, Repton slowly began backing away, panting rapidly and holding his arms up to shield himself. Ibis's eyes crinkled up from her stretched lips forming an effigy of a smile, and she gathered her muscles in one last crouch before she flat-out raced at her retreating prey. Repton steeled himself and swept an arm out to smack Ibis as she came close. The sound of flesh hitting flesh was too loud in the room now as everyone held their breath. Ibis took advantage of her moving weight and used the momentum from Repton's attack to whip around and strike him in turn across the face with her tail. The bright, strangely solid light snapped over his cheek and nose, drawing blood immediately. She skidded away from there, hissing in warning. Repton clasped his bleeding cheek and a dark cloud descended over his features.
His fear gone, he tackled Ibis and let out a snarl of his own. Ibis let out an angry screech like an animal whose tail had been stepped on and clung to Repton's thrashing frame with her claws dug in. Spitz watched with horror as his eldest brother's rage consumed him. Repton's jaws opened wide as he and Ibis wrestled and tumbled across the floor, and he sank his teeth into her shoulder. From between Ibis's lips, a bark of very human laughter rang out, bordering on morbid amusement, and Repton howled with pain as Ibis's talons bore into the tender flesh on his skull and pulled down towards his neck. Thick, dark gouts of blood began flowing down his shoulders as he threw Ibis from him. Spitz could see the gums surrounding his bared teeth were starting to swell slowly; Spitz remembered observing the quick effects of the poison and immediately felt ashamed of Repton for letting his anger get the better of him and biting to draw blood.
Ibis stood and grinned in what was plainly a seductive way as she licked the blood from the tips of her claws. Spitz felt a shiver run through him again at her open, dangerous, animal sexuality, and the urge to pin her down and fight her for the right to take her body was very strong. Her eyes were a strange mix of blue and pink now, glittering like multicolored gems in the poorly lit throne room. Ibis withdrew her claws from her tongue and laughed sharply, mockingly, in Repton's direction. His pupils dilated as he shook with ire and barreled at his challenger again, clearly blinded to the point where he could no longer think straight. Whipping out his boomerang, he raced like an animal, panting furiously and allowing saliva to gather at the corners of his mouth and foam. Ibis stood still, facing him point blank, with a slightly disgusted, superior look to her features as Repton charged. The boomerang lit up with a fiery impatience, and Repton swung it at Ibis. At the last moment Ibis raised her left hand and grasped the keen edge of the blade. As the molten metal touched her fair, bright skin, she screamed in what appeared to be pain, and then swung her free fist into Repton's cheek. Hard. The sound of cracking bone resounded in the room and the stench of scorched flesh quickly followed. With growing alarm, Spitz kept his eyes on the now diminishing crystal flames as his brother collapsed on the floor. When he saw those same flames flickering in the luminous veins under Ibis's skin, he knew instantly that she had, in her own defense, absorbed the crystal's energies.
Ibis drew in a steadying breath to quiet her gasps of pain. She let out the breath in a huff and tried to resume her cool calmness from before, but the indignity of being burned came to the surface and erupted from her throat as a growl. She leaned down and, with amazing strength that she shouldn't have possessed, hauled the stunned Repton up from the ground and flung him angrily at the nearest wall. His shoulder connected with the stone and another snapping noise made everyone save Ibis flinch. He woke from his paralyzed state and howled in agony as he fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder tenderly. Soft, but dry, sobs echoed in the throne room. Spitz could feel Hoerk and Leugey's disbelief and shock. It had been so long since they had heard the sound of Repton crying that they might have forgotten that he was only mortal. He had always seemed so powerful that they probably assumed he wasn't capable of feeling pain. Now they were shaken, and Spitz had to admit that even he was a little moved.
Unperturbed, Ibis began examining the searing wound on her palm and the warm fire licking its way through her nervous implants. The pink of her poisonous energy gradually peeked through the inferno energy, then swallowed it altogether. She drew another breath and let it go with a satisfied sigh, then locked her eyes on Repton's hunched form. A flash of gentle pity seemed to consume her at that moment, and her uninjured hand reached out for him as the pink in her eyes faded a little. When she reached him, he struck out at her burn with sharp claws and a look of defiance. The pink light resumed with full force, and the Beast took over completely with a snarl of discomfort. Repton was dragged by his cranial spikes to the middle of the room and every inch of visible scales was scored with the stolen inferno energy.
Spitz knew that his respect for his eldest brother would never be the same. Repton's weak pleas for mercy and wet crying noises were the only sounds aside from the slight whoosh of Ibis's fiery claws moving quickly through the air.
Then, just as soon as the whole fight had started, it was over. Ibis powered down and stepped over Repton, who cowered in a fetal position, to stand at the end of Master Cyclonis's dais. She bowed slowly and held herself there to await further instructions. Master Cyclonis's cruel features glowed in the light from her remaining shadow crystal, and Spitz could see that she was very pleased with what she saw.
"My dear…I don't believe I ever caught your name. Pray tell, what do they call you?" Her silky voice was a purr of satisfaction.
"Ibis, my lady." As Ibis straightened up, Spitz felt a flutter in his chest at the sound of Ibis's beautiful voice.
"Well, then, Miss Ibis, I must say that…you are quite the weapon. I take it that your haste to perform my request adequately is the acceptance of my offer?"
"It is."
"Then welcome to the Cyclonian ranks, my dear!" Cyclonis stood and opened her arms warmly, which was unusual. Cyclonis never showed such preference of her inferiors. Maybe she was proud of her good fortune for securing such an asset. "Of course, there is some legal business to attend to, but for now, do not worry yourself over it. I can see that you are past due for proper treatment, and I won't delay you in reaching your new home."
"New home, ma'am?"
"Why, yes. Since that useless bag of meat on the floor over there isn't worth much as a leader, you may take over the leadership of the Raptor Rogues, but only if you wish. If not, there are plenty of other, better places available to you." Pausing to give Ibis a moment of thought on that subject, she gathered her staff and descended the dais to stand before her new employee.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ibis's face glowed with happiness. "I would be honored to take over the Rogues for you, Master." She knelt at Cyclonis's feet. Cyclonis ceremoniously tapped the lighted end of her staff on each of Ibis's shoulders, and Ibis stood with the help of Cyclonis's hand.
"Oh, yes, Ibis. I believe you and I will become great allies in the fight for power." With a glance at Repton, who was now collecting himself and standing up gently, she finished in a thinly disguised tone of disgust, "And on your way out, please ask one of my guards to send a janitorial team in here to cleanse my precious carpet."
Spitz thought Cyclonis meant that there was an excess of blood on her floor. The true meaning of her words came into view as he saw his eldest brother cover his crotch on the way out of the throne room.
Poor Repton, in his brief moment of fear and weakness, had had an accident all over the rug.
"I'm sorry you had to see all that. I didn't mean for the Beast to be so…"
"It'th okay. I knew you were jutht getting back at Repton for hurting you latht week. He detherved it, though." Spitz gently held Ibis's burnt hand as he reached for the little bowl of burn salve next to him. They were in the infirmary on Terra Bogaton, and luckily, Spitz was the only one of Ibis's new inferiors who knew how to mix a healing poultice from the plants in the jungle. He told Ibis he had picked it up from his mother when he and his brothers still lived on their native terra.
Ibis was silent for a time as she relished in the soothing cool of the green paste. Her eyes flickered over the bits of salve that clung to his scaly fingertips as he traced the mixture over her tender skin. She was strangely relieved that she had ordered the others to their respective rooms instead of having them witness what she felt could be a tender moment between her and Spitz. She felt a pair of eyes on her then and looked up into his rice-shaped pupils. Heat suffused over her face at his expression: it was both soft and fierce at the same time, a pure combination of what she assumed to be endearment and lust.
"S-so, that's feeling pretty good. I'm so lucky to have you here to help me. I've always hated burns." She felt suddenly self-conscious and lowered her gaze to her palm. "Um…what did you think of the Beast? I know I can be pretty scary when I'm like that."
Spitz's fingers loosened their grip on her wrist, like he had been disappointed. She knew he had been. But almost as quickly, they regained strength, like new resolve had been found. A tingle went through her stomach when she realized that that was what she had wanted; she wanted him to fight for her affection and earn it. He continued spreading the salve into her hand, and she could hear the honesty in his rasping tone.
"I loved it. I can't theem to get enough of theeing you when you're thweet and kind, but I didn't regret theeing you unleash your wilder half…" He paused for a moment while he let the thin layer of salve sink in. When he dipped his fingers into the bowl again, he continued. "You thay that the thientithtth who gave you that thythtem intended to make you into an animal, but if you athk me, I thay you would be jutht ath dangerouth and ferociouth if you didn't have the program. I think the only reathon you're tho feral and animal-like is becauthe you were alwayth like that naturally."
At his words, Ibis was reminded of that dimly lit bar and the sound of the bartender's skull being dented beyond repair against his own counter. The ferocity she had felt then, the power that had coursed through her veins so refreshing and true that she had been saddened by the sensation of it fading away. She had felt real and whole then, perfectly in line with her own self…A soft gasp woke her from her thoughts, and she looked up. She hadn't realized that she had gripped Spitz's hand tightly. The salve that hadn't yet sunk in was now pressed between their clasped hands and was oozing out past their fingers. She glanced up apologetically, but before she could say the words, Spitz smiled wickedly at her. "You know you've alwayth been different, huh?"
"Yeah…how'd you know?"
"My brotherth and I are different from our tribethmen back on our home terra. It'th not a hard trait to recognithe." He concentrated on applying the last bit of salve and setting the empty bowl in the infirmary's sink. Then he turned back to her and leaned against the lip of the sink. "Tho what made you…different?"
Ibis lowered her eyes and kept quiet. Sure, the Raptor Rogues were separate from the tribe they came from, and probably were separate for a good reason, but what she did…would it be acceptable? Better yet, she wondered, would Spitz find it acceptable? "I don't really want to say," she replied. Glancing up, she felt a shiver rack her spine as she got an eyeful of the look on his face. It was the same mixture of craving and adoration as before. This time, though, she could tell he was about to act on his feelings.
He pushed himself up from the counter and came closer to her with a slow, predatory prowl that made a band of heat sizzle on her body somewhere down below. Her heart wriggled in her chest as he leaned down and brushed her hair away from her ear. The tremble that ran through her body wrung a tiny, pleading whimper from her throat, and she could see Spitz silently take in a sharp breath. Her eyes watched the movement of his chest as he did. Suddenly the impulse to place her hands on the smooth, cool plates of armor on his chest was overwhelming; the urge to press herself up against him and feel his arms wrap around her small waist was almost too great to resist, but she fought it.
"Are you thcared that I won't like what I hear?" His rough, hissy voice was practically substantial as it ran a course across her skin. For a split second, she imagined his hands taking the place of the words and skimming down over her bare back. Just the thought made her forget what he had asked. He didn't repeat the question; instead he hooked a finger under her chin and made her look in his eyes. Raw, unadulterated desire radiated from him as she nodded slowly. "You could cut me to ribbonth, and I thtill wouldn't give a damn about what you'd done; I'd thtill like you," he said.
Her tongue flicked out and wet her lips unconsciously. His eyes drank in each swipe across her pink mouth and, as she stopped, he closed them with a guttural moan a second before his mouth pressed against hers.