XLV

This new suit of hers is more practical for stalking in the night, I reckon. Her new costume contains a lot more black fabric to help her hide in the shadows, and if not for my super senses, I wouldn't see her. Wonder Wolf thinks, watching Cat Tastrophe sneaking into the ominous tower, while she is hiding on a rooftop nearby.

She doesn't know why, but she can't stop thinking about it. Argh! What's the matter with you girl? Can't get her stupid costume out of your head — and why are you taking so many notes on it? Whatever, just get over it and focus on the mission, the only thing that matters is saving Casta. But seriously, I don't think for a second that's really her size, what did she get a boob job while we were gone? I can't even tell if she's wearing a bra… Perhaps her bosom looks like it is about to pop out, because all the thieving tools are stored there? She mulls longer than she needs to.

This provocative look that both shows every curve of her body and prominently displays her breast without regard for modesty is meant to distract her foes, yet she seems overwhelmed by the fact that she goes around with such a wide cleavage exposing so much of her breasts without any shame at all! And this wouldn't bother her in the less if Keith weren't in this bubble.

I'm so glad he didn't want to come. She admits to herself, scowling in her mind at the absurd and senseless jealousy and insecurity she feels by her presence.

While Cat Tastrophe sneaks behind the tower, she has the very interesting job of distracting the guards by bashing on their front door.

Break as many bad guys as you can, eh? I guess could only be that kind of hero, she meditates as she unsheathes her sword, ready to jump into battle, holding it the way her brother taught her earlier with both claws — a grip that grants a lot of control over the sword as well as very powerful attacks, with the right hand placed right below the crossguard and the left hand placed a slightly above the wolf head shaped pommel. Setting her left foot forward and her right foot back, she feels more like a warrior princess than ever.

Just like when I was a kid and I played with my brothers in the backyard, only these are real baddies, she tells herself.

Due to the darkness of the night, it is difficult for even Polterghoul to see anything beyond vague movements and it is only due to her electronically enhanced googles that Ms. Dead Fast can see anything. However, with her extraordinary sight, Wonder Wolf can clearly see the form of the will-be attackers coming out from the fortress.

"I got visual on the enemy," she calls out in the comlink Ms. DF has just given them. "Great… more golems! And they're… flying?"

Four stone golems, smaller than the first one she fought, but still large, seemingly modelled after dragons… or rather their skeletons? Dragon skeletons, or perhaps they're actually skeletons assembled to look like dragons — hard to tell but is all meaningless to her, they're the villains and she is the hero, thus she must play her part and smite them all with all her fury if she hopes to save her friend.

Can't believe she has such low self stem she created a world where she is supposed to be everyone's superhero, but ended up as damsel in distress… I guess Ghoulia was right when she was ranting the other night at the movies, that tables can always be turned for heroes no matter what. Let's see if we can turn them again.

A shrill sound between a shriek and a roar splits her silent contemplation, the skelitcal dragon golems descend upon her from all directions. With a wild and arrogant grin baring all her fangs, Wonder Wolf leaps forward — sheer power, green and purple, bursting out of her body — and destroys one slashing its neck then lands atop of the closest one, achieving perfect balance on its back in spite of its fluttering wings and squirming, hacking down the two by her right side with a single slashing motion, then bashing her shield on the head of the last one splitting it in half.

The composed body collapses to the ground, but she jumps onto the sidewalk gracefully before it plummets.

It all takes no more than ten seconds for her to finish — and she's amazed at how wonderful are her new powers.

I'm really digging into this superhero thing, I see now why Ghoulia loves it… except she never really gets any superpowers when she's cosplaying, so I'm sure she's gonna be crying them for a while. She muses herself briefly, bitting back a small laughter, while staring at the bones and… red tar it seems, that composed her slain foes.

"Damn... there are more!" She spits as she sees a flock of them soaring from the fortress, while humanoid and non-humanoid golems flood the streets.

"Girls… I know I said I'm the brawn of the team and that I could take whatever they throw at me, but I need you to know I'm not digging this plan anymore! Not complaining, just saying."

"Don't worry ghoul, I got your back!" Webarella says, as she swings over their head, trapping them all with silky and sticky threads that spin out from each her six wrists.

The golems try to pry out of the web, but fail as they realize it is much stronger than they are. With them immobilized and distracted, she sees the opportunity to end them all throwing her shield and as it did with the wraiths, it homes in to their head, hitting and ricocheting on each of them, then returning to her hand.

"Thanks for the assist. I mean I could have taken them all… but I don't wanna spend the whole night here."

"You're welcome," Webarella strides to her side. "Think you can pull that off with them?" asks aiming at the flock of skeletical dragons and wraiths flying over them.

"Can you spin a web large enough?"

"I think… I did it on the way here with a small group of wraiths — and it is so much easier when they're not flying. So… how do you feel about tactical retreat? I mean, I'm sure they have to be all —"

"Withdrawal my ass!" States fiercely, holding her sword with both hands, ready for more scrap.

"Fine, but I'll take the wraiths."

Wonder Wolf agrees as something surges through her, and she does not know if it is elation — or terror but she embraces the feeling, letting it wash all over her.

The Skeletal Dragon Golems land around them, forming a wall with claws and fangs and hunger for their flesh and blood.

Building up her new and immense power in every muscle of her magnificently shaped legs, she jumps ahead as a dashing bolt of deadly fabulousness, crushing the pavement beneath her feet, leaving behind the echo of a bark. Wonder Wolf charges in a straight line at her pray, more than a werewolf warrior she's becoming a speeding cannonball of singing steel and green-pueple glowing fur, a blur that wrecks havoc on its wake, shattering the golems as though they were poorly made pottery. Surprising it is for Webarella to see them fall so easily, as they have flied through walls before her eyes, unscratched and unfazed, yet for all the might they have they're only fragile dolls of stick and mud in her paws. Another golem attempts to crush her with its immensely large body, but Wonder Wolf is only upset by the thought of this creature made with bones and brown substance of unknown origin ruining her hair, and simply roars and launches her sunken body upwards, blowing the puppet aside, and moves on to bash the next one.

Strange how this night has turned out, until now Clawdeen Wolf has never ben a very good fighter, it is said that wolves are wild beasts that love fighring, but no myth about wolves and werewolves could be more distant from the truth as this, particular individuals aside, they're pacifist who avoid conflict at all cost and end them as quickly as possible, is only when a pack member is threatened when they show their enemies what it means to be savage, she even dropped out of self defense class because she could not customize her gi when she was younger, a decision she came to regret later in life, she kept as little as she learned but it wasn't anywhere near enough. The first serious fight she had didn't end well for her, thus she avoided getting into any as much as possible ever since, though she worked on her footwork as her brother said she had to, just in case, and then the last she had… but here she is, now she has become a fearful fighter.

Her motions would seem to contain not an ounce of elegance, just brutal and savage blows and slashes and bites, being something closer to a berserker — some wild beast with this goal in mind and only this one goal in mind, with any complex thought being only for the sake of that goal, yet her fighting style (if one can call it that) echoes those of a monster warrior of ancient times, dodging when she must and striking hard only where an opening is made — with equal parts of savagery and grace, even the little swordsmanship she has, which is only the posing her brother taught her so she would hold her sword propperly before the cameras, has now evolved into something more complete and complex.

The sword bites the bones like a wolf starving for a pray, yet not lacking any flair in its wildness. It's only in this world where she can be this good, and only this world that makes her this good as any actual technique there is behind her blows and strikes, comes only from the information the Reality Bubble has absorbed from the Akashic Record, ingraining it in her skin to make her the hero she is supposed to be, that is the change she noticed when she first got in, and the longer she stays here the stronger and more real this change becomes.

This is weird, I've never liked this kind of fighting… or any fighting at all, and yet I'm enjoying it. Is it because I'm not the everyday Clawdeen anymore but a superhero? Because I'm no longer Clawdeen Wolf but… Wonder Wolf? She wonders in that part of her mind that's not hazy and red as she howls at her enemies the loudest she's ever howled. Speaking of berserkers.

Welcoming the flock of skeletal dragon golems with the edge of her steel, she snarls in a fury so primal, surpassed only by her desire for more — more chase, more hunting — losing herself in the music of battle with each swing of her sword and every blow and throw of her shield in the ecstasy of combat, and as she suspects to the character of Wonder Wolf imprinted on her.

Fascinating to see how in this little bubble world of dreams, the information of a… I want to call them Heroic Character but I might chage my mind — is downloaded into the body of that who walks in here disguised as such. Physical information is expressed based on the idea in mind emulating powers perfectly up to the last detail recorded in their minds, even the paraphernalia that complemented the costumes becomes the real deal such as Webarella's spinnerets which were only prop until this world came to be, or Wonder Wolf's shield which wouldn't swing back to her hand outside in the real world should she throw it at somebody who pisses her off — say Toralei for instance — and yet here it does, for that is how Wonder Wolf's mighty shield is supposed to work, a thing so beautifully and perfectly balanced it bounces off the targets and ricochets all the way to her paw as though guided by divine providence; is even more effective for those who have a clear and strong idea and bountiful knowledge of their hero, yet very dangerous for they seem to get lost in the spirit of the character, something similar to the dangerous and rarely seen phenomenon of summoning a tulku within a living host working as a vessel, only here the spirit of the hero seems to be more of a shell with all their imaginary battle experience stored and accumulated, personality traits (at least from a preferred incarnation or period in its history) and personal abilities embodied and reproduced as far as the power of the Reality Bubble allows it, while the hosts they remain themselves safely inside their shell with soul and mind untouched, not truly conscious of what's happening but rather living a dream cut between hazy and vivid were they make decisions that come not from within but from without, and this is why she's so right to feel she's losing herself to the character of Wonder Wolf… but she's also wrong.

While that is the case for those who came as their favorite comic hero, it is not for the Power Ghouls, for starters they're not particularly sure where there costumes and character ideas came from, their best guess or rather fuzzy memory, is they came from one of Ghoulia's fanfics where they were normally fabulous high schooler ghouls by day, monter superheroines by night which then became one of Clawdeen's lines on time for a school festival or costume party or something, thus when they became their costume's characters they were able to remain mostly themselves, because their characters were them in the first place with Ghoulia herself being the only one who had any noticeably change in her core character, until Clawdeen came along, since she always wrote her Ms. Dead Fast character as the fearless and assertive leader she wishes to be in the real world… except maybe for the part of being the leader since that means she's the responsible one and she's happier leaving Cleo with that burden, as for the caster of the spell… they're not usually affected the same as others so she's on the same boat even though she's dressed as her movie character, she's still clear of who she is and who she isnt, she can actually switch at will, like having two operative systems in a CPU, that's an annoyance, any Window's better than any Mac, or Linux, I'm trailing off.

But what does all of this mean for Clawdeen? She is Wonder Wolf now, but how are they any different? On the first place there is the fact that Wonder Wolf is supposed to be the super fast, super strong, and super fashionable heroine of Monster High showing up with shield in hand when needed most, thus the super powers. That one is easy, but that's only on the surface. As far as personality goes it would seem the only difference between them is Wonder's prompter to fight with fangs and claws and shield to save others, whereas Clawdeen, who has never had the need to actually fight — or most specifically beat anyone to save her friends, usually finds a friendlier and healthier way to solve their issues and has always been able to pull back and leash those wildest impulses of hers… until recently that is, when she, for the first time in her life, let go of her chain and unleashed the feral beast she carries deep within herself to fight an unthinkable evil like she has never seen before. That is one of the two obvious differences between theory stories, but he way. She, Clawdeen Wolf, has not lost control again ever since that night, not even in full moon nights, but even then she fears that she might lose control of herself at the least expected with the lightest provocation, and can't help but to see the worst of her true werewolf nature, that wild beast, lurking deep inside her on every mirror, but Wonder Wolf does not! Wonder Wolf embraces it, for she's a though and brave warrior, a howling force for justice heeding the prayers of those who need aid and saving, jumping into action without hesitant thoughts or little regard for them should they dare speak, always fighting to save them all with her mighty indestructible shield from any unspeakable and unthinkable horror, thus she mastered the one thing Clawdeen was unable to learn, balance.

That balance is what you must learn, her mother Harriet told her once, but she was not what you call adept at it, instead she suppressed it and focused all her energy and impulses into something constructive, like shopping and partying (and we known how well that ends now) and of course sewing, but her mother also warned her suppressing your beast is never meant to be a long term solution, but rather like holding your need for going number two, sooner or later you'd have to let it out and it won't be pretty. Truth in point, when it came out it wasn't pretty.

Wonder, she knows the dark side of her nature better than Clawdeen, each and every aspect of her life is steeped in it, but she can use it as a tool, a mean to an end, she's both beast and master and therefore she can stay herself — unlike the true Clawdeen who always represses her wild side lest she risks getting lost in it. The sword she carries now so valiantly also changed Wonder Wolf's image in her mind a little bit too, emphasizing the warrior aspect of her character by making her a skillful swordmaster while boosting and balancing her capacities for now she can protect and attack, defend and avenge where and when needed most. A whole new balance brought forth from a new unsavory and unexpected but perfectly fitting accessory.

Her boyfriend Keith, who watches the fight from afar had other similarly fitting words that simplify all: Fear all who are wicked… for she fights evil with hatred and saves lives with love… those are his words of augur for her foes, and perhaps there's more truth behind them than they will ever realize.

And now, surrounded by countless enemies, all who threaten to harm her friends, she realizes the emotions to which she is oh-so joyously giving full rein have been perhaps — only perhaps — dormant within her for a long time, that maybe the reason why she enjoyed so much playing a hero on stage is because that hero was what she wishes she had been that fateful night, and now here she is in her skin which is also her own, with all the power to save them in her paws.

So to answer the question, what does it mean for Clawdeen? The simple answer would be freedom to be the beast she is within but she despises so much as well as whatever she wants to be — in this case the hero her friends need her to be, but is more than that, more to the point, is more complex than that. In this world she's free to be herself while not being truly herself, in this world she can get pleasure when enraptured by battle, satiate the thirst only a relentless and long wild hunt can, pleasing the needs of her soul doing what nature demands… in this world she can be more of a werewolf than in the real world, and it means once this is over, she has to go back to repressing herself — and that she must enjoy every minute of it, and that she does!

Breaking the enemy formation in half, Wonder Wolf swings her two-hand sword with one hand, leaving her other hand open to catch the fist of a golem with perfect reflexes that would never meet any match in the real world, and tears it with ease along with half the arm, then beats the rest of the golem with it. Approaching from behind comes another Dragon Golem, this one with two heads, both aiming to bite her, but even with all its speed, they only succeed in biting air and dust, for she has moved to its side with the speed of a bullet leaving only a green and purple flashing stele behind, then there is another burst of green light and she is on the other side, then behind it, then in front, then to its right, and both heads fail to follow every time — they could not see when it happened but in that instant she had slashed their wings, tail, and heads and now they lay on the ground, motionless as she sneers and grins pridefully.

This is CLAWESOME! I'm like supremely faster than ever! Even faster than that golden stag chick from our class… whatever her name is, I wanna see her do this, she thinks.

Gilda Goldstag, that's the name, not like she really cares.

Turning her head as if controlled by an invisible force, she sees another golem ready to attack but rather than throwing her shield or a punch or even blocking with the former as she should, she instead throws her sword — the very heart and soul of the warrior — at athe dragon golem coming from above, skewering it, then avoids the attack of the other in a movement so swift and smooth is almost as though she were sliding on ice letting her attacker get smashed by the fallen dragon. Effortlessly stopping the punch of a third golem with her shield, moving not an inch and utterly unfazed, Wonder gives a shout and throws her attacker away — sending it on a collision course with the rest of the slain golems and causing them all to be shattered. Plucking her sword out from the debris, Wonder Wolf resumes her onslaught, becoming a living steam locomotion, bashing against all the remaining humanoid golems, reducing them to dust.

"Yeah, that's how you do it!" A supremely enthusiastic snarl splits the night. "Ha! Is that all you've got?! Give me more! Bring me your biggest, bring me your baddest and bring me your ugliest! I'll fight them all! And for the big ugly bastard who kidnapped my friend I swear I'll hunt you till the earth's end should you prove coward enough to dare escaping me!" She barks basking in the splendor of the full moon, her body magnificent, pristine and barely dusted, standing victorious over the bodies of her fallen enemies, halfwit and barely sentient creatures who marched to their deaths, and to his eyes she has never been more fabulous, more glorious or more beautiful than now.

"And here I thought Ghoulia was getting way into it, but alas! You bested her enthusiasm! Just remember none of this is real." Webarella points out, striding to her side from a dark alley.

"Is that why you were hiding? Why do you think I'm letting myself go this way?" asks while beating a skull with the shield. "Got a lot of… anger… pent up tonight…" explains, emphasising with every punch and blow. "I got a lot of steam to work out. Now, don't ruin it for me, let a wolf enjoy some wild hunting."

"Okay, dully noted, that's very healthy — "

"It is cathartic! I picture them with Clawd's face." Clawdeen explains joyfully. I am guessing there might also be a bit of that too, since she can't punch her annoying brother, these punching bags do well as replacement.

Another shriek erupts from above.

Wonder Wolf brings her sword to bear without a moment's pause, skillfully — masterfully parring the blows of the largest dragon golems whose claws are in effect crescent-shaped sables of their own, with the slender long sword and blocking with the shield her other brother has given to her, thinking I am so keeping these!

Then comes a thunderous boom and for a second they think the heavens have split in half as the biggest and ugliest of these skeletal dragon golems comes forth.

"You had to ask for more, didn't you?" Webarella asks her with a peeved glare.

"Where is your sense of adventure?"

"I realize you're new to this, but we've been here for three nights! So my spider sense of adventure is quite satisfied."

"Well, I haven't done anything weird or stupid, so BRING IT ON! Heard me?!" Wonder Wolf barks at the moon. "BRING! IT! ON!" Shouts, slaying the smaller one.

Because this world is ever so giving, it gets brought!

Answering her calling, a massive creature rushes past Wonder Wolf's body, and after hovering before them, it landing rumbly on the ground. This composite entity stands sixteen meters tall, made of countless human and monster bones with the skull being a single giant dragon skull as with its brethren, glued together by the same dark red oozy and sticky substance as the other golems. Its tail and paws lightly thumps the ground with each step, then powerful roar erupts from its thorax, its breath — the smell of death, decay and decomposed flesh — hits them as a nauseating gust of wind.

"Feeling satisfied yet?"

"We'll see if he makes for a good hunt," answers with the same unfading grin, not caring for the stench wafting her super nose in the less..