Sylvia Wayne "Wildcat"
New Orleans
June 23rd, 2011
Day after day, I have spent refining the program to find her, predicting her movements is not easy. I have spent all of thirteen days thwarting my brother's tracking, perfecting the program, finding new variables to incorporate, fixing my own mistakes in calculations and programming over and over. But today, it finally found a city, and I am going rooftop to rooftop with my mother not far behind as I used my heightened sensed to track Tori. I listened for her voice, the one that so kindly spoke to me when I was confused. I was always confused. I smelled for the scent that was ingrained in my mind the day that we met in that freezer. I scanned the streets and windows for any sight of her wild blond hair or those ocean blue eyes that I could never forget. I had to find her.
"Any luck?" My mother asked as I sniffed the air, jumping to the next roof.
"No, not ye-" I cut myself off, finally picking up a scent of fresh cotton garments and lavender soap. It was her. I sniffed in every direction, allowing my senses and instincts to take over as I found a direction. "This way!" I called to my mother as I sprinted, vaulting from building to building as fast as I could. It had been an hour of us sprinting across New Orleans until I heard a very faint sound of humming. The more I honed in on it, the more I realized it was the song, the one I would hum in the program, the one she would hum every time she was taking care of me under Savage's orders. My eyes widened.
"What is it?" My mother asked as tried to hone in further on the sound and scent.
"It's definitely her, she's humming my song!" I said, realizing I probably sounded like a lunatic as I bolted, nearing her location. When I stopped, the only thing between us and her location, was Bourbon Street. Not many people were out this late at night. Bad if we wanted to disappear into a crowd, good if we don't want a lot of eye witnesses. My mother stopped next to me and started scoping out the place. Most of the windows upstairs were dark, but when one room's lights flickered on, I saw her. Tori was wearing a white cotton dress, her wild curls contained in a french braid that fell over her shoulder. As I watched her, she pulled open the window, giving her access to the little flower box outside of her window. I watched as she discreetly willed water from another room into the box. She seemed happy, tending to the white chrysanthemums. I noticed her rearranging some of the flowers slightly, trying to hide the one lone flower with pink petals. I snapped out of the trance I was in, watching her, and scanned the house with infrared binoculars. I could see two guards in the front, two in the back, six upstairs, and a massive looming figure in the basement. There was a large screen generating a lot of heat. He must be pre-occupied with a meeting, contacting the Light. My mother returned from scouting and stopped next to me.
"There's a lot of surveillance and manpower. If we do this, we have to be prepared to fight our way out. I'm gonna need you to cram some food down your throat now, because we aren't going to have a lot of time. We have to get in, get the girl, and get out. Sure, we could just pull her out through her window, but one, she might not be able to do that as well as us, and two, " I nodded, reaching into my pack and pulling out a protein bar. I wolfed it down and took a moment to take a step back. My mother was waiting for me to move as the signal to follow. I took a deep breath, and sprinted. As I sprung into the air, my body arched right through the cool Gulf wind. It was only a few seconds before I felt my claws elongate, allowing me to dig into the wall and cling, just to the right of Tori's window. The lights were now off, so I silently, slid the window open further and did my best not to ruin her flowers as I climbed inside. Tori was laying on the bed, trying to fall asleep. I knew she was awake, because I could hear her heartbeat, not yet slowing. I silently approached her in the darkness, quickly putting my hand over her mouth to ensure her silence. She flailed in her bed for a moment, trying to scream.
"Shhhh, I need you to be quiet." I whispered to her, crooning her almost. I pulled back my mask. "Tori, it's me. I've come to rescue you." I assured her. She stopped screaming, and instead of fighting, she lunged to hug me.
"I knew you'd come." She said quietly, her voice muffled by my shoulder. I pulled her off me and grabbed something out of my bag and I heard footsteps and voices downstairs. Something about the silent alarm.
"I need you to put this on." I told her as I handed her an all black jumpsuit and a pair of slip on boots. She nodded and didn't hesitate to strip down, putting on the black gear. "Easier to disappear when you blend into the urban nightlife." I explained as my mother climbed in through the window. That was when the real alarm went off. I ran for the window but Tori stopped me.
"When the motion sensor is triggered by someone entering, there is a silent alarm. If there is a second entrance, kiss the escape route goodbye." She said as a metal sheath closed over the window and an alarm blared. We were out of time.
"Halt!" I squad of guards had opened the door to Tori's room and pointed their guns at us. I immediately figured out a plan.
"Don't shoot!" I yelled, pulling down my mask once again, sauntering towards the squad of five men.
"Hold your fire, this one is one of Vandal's pets." The supposed leader ordered the men. I wore a feeble expression.
"Take me to Savage. His little princess has returned." I told them, forcing my voice to sound impatient needy.
"Come with us." The man ordered as the men surrounded me as an escort. Just as we started moving, I discreetly took them out, one by one in a matter of seconds, knocking them all out without signaling the rest of the guards downstairs. Tori looked confused and my mother nodded approvingly in the strategy. I let Tori lead the way through the house. The second we made it down the stairs into the foyer, the entirety of the guards were upon us. The only way out was the front door, and they were between us and our goal.
"Ready for battle, Mother?" I looked to Selena, and she smiled.
"We were bred for moments like these." Her smile twisted as both of us attacked, using nonlethal force to fight the men. I slashed and bit and kicked, fighting tooth and claw against gun wielding men. I did my best to grab one, and force all of his shots into the wall with the occasional flesh wound of his comrades. After throwing him to knock out a small group, I grew tired and knew we were running out of time, and energy. I threw a rebreather to Tori and she stuck it in her mouth. My mother and I did the same just before I let loose a small arsenal of gas pellets. When the green fog cleared, everyone was on the floor, but someone else had joined the party. Vandal loomed over me with his massive shadow. I put up a hand and Tori ran to hide behind my mother.
"Go!" I yelled as them, and they blew up the metal door, making their escape.
"My little princess has indeed returned." The large neanderthal reached out to stroke my cheek, but my body jerked, avoiding his touch. "That's no way to behave little girl." He growled as he backhanded me. My face throbbed as I took another step back.
"You know I'm too fast for you to land another hit. Even if you did, you'll fail to capture me. After all, you did create what I am." I laughed, taking another step back as he lunged to grab my small frame. I kept skirting around him, distracting him as my mother took Tori to the rendezvous point that I had fed to my father in the encryption that my brother had been trying to break. The goal was to have the heroes pick us up. Vandal wouldn't dare try and go up against a force that would outnumber and overpower him. No matter how brutish he fought against us with his savagery. I heard my comm in my ear as I started shifting my evasion to attack.
"Cat, they're pursuing us to the point. We need help." I heard my mother's voice and gunfire in the background.
"Sorry to cut this short, Savage. Give Klarion my regards, or don't. I don't really care." I blew a kiss and flipped him off in the process as I ran out the blown open front door. As I sprinted, I found someone stopped at a light on a motorcycle, so I shoved them off and stole it, riding off on the route that my mother and Tori would be taking. I could hear the shouting of the man behind me whom I stole the bike from, and I could hear the gunfire ahead of me. I revved the engine of the bike and pushed my luck on the accelerator, leaning with the bike to make sharp turns. When I was finally trailing the men chasing my mother and Tori, gripped the handlebars of the motorcycle tightly, and stood up, placing one foot on the seat, and only letting go of the handle bars when I hand the other foot safely planted to lock the front wheel in place. I straightened out my entire body, perfectly balanced as I came close to the truck pursuing my family. Before, the even knew what was happening, the bike went right up next to the truck and I dove onto the roof. I grabbed the gunmen who was standing through the sunroof and threw him behind the car, to roll in the street. This was my moment to climb through the opening. First I took bother the gunmen on the left and right, and bashed their heads together, just enough to knock them out. I dove into the back seat and slashed my claws at their hands, forcing them to drop their guns. I tossed each firearm out of the car, but one pulled out a back up and began firing. I was hit once in the shoulder and once in the side. I felt both and they were through and throughs. I was stronger than that. The man sat in shock as I growled, grabbing him by the neck, my claws digging into his skin. I threw him out the door and into the street. The other guy had climbed up to the front with the driver, who was gaining on my family.
"Do you have a death wish?" I snarled, leaping to the front of the truck and gripping the wheel from the driver.
"No! But you do!" He yelled as he left on hand on the steering wheel, grabbing a knife and slashing at me. I gave up and grabbed the blade, my hand bleeding, but I felt nothing. I ripped the knife from his hand and jammed it in the other, piercing through the flesh of his hand into the leather of the steering wheel. He screamed in agony as I felt a blade pierce my back. In a fit of rage, I spun around to the man who escaped me in the back seat, slashing my claws across his face, distracting him before kicking him out of the car, the door swinging open at we moved. I gripped the steering wheel once more in one hand, the other, at the driver's throat. I turned the wheel as quickly as I could. Just as the car went sideways, I saw mother turn aside, slamming on the breaks. The car rolled twice before I got the timing just right, diving out through the sunroof, soaring high enough to land safely on the street as the car rolled. I sprinted to my mother and climbed in their stolen getaway car.
"You alright?" My mother asked as we sped off into the night. I touched my wounds and assessed myself.
"GSW to the shoulder, bleeding is slowing, through and through. GSW to the side, also slowing and a through and through. Lacerations on the palms are starting to scab already. Stab wound to the lower back… still has a knife in it… whoops, I'm gonna leave that in to keep from increasing the loss of blood." I sighed. Tori looked at me in horror, reaching for my face. I glanced into the rearview mirror and saw that it was splattered with blood.
"We're almost there. I have your father on comms and it's safe to say he is not happy." My mother told me, reminding me that now the cat was out of the bag. I guess common knowledge will now have to include that I know who my mother is. Though, the less secrets I keep, the more trust I have in my life. I reached into my bag and pulled out another protein bar, eating away the fatigue. Just after I swallowed the last bite, the car finally stopped. We were out in the middle of the Louisiana Bayou. I could feel the mush of the swamp as we all stepped out of the car. I looked back at my seat and saw that it was soaked in blood, but not as much as I would've expected with my injuries. I saw my father, M'gann, Superboy, Kid Flash, Robin, Martian Manhunter, Aqualad, and Black Canary, everyone we requested incase Savage followed us minus Superman. He had Watchtower Duty. I could tell that everyone was staring at Tori and I. The only thing I couldn't distinguish was whether they were staring at my wounds or the new girl who had taken off her black jumpsuit, dressed in stark white clothing with her golden hair and pale skin illuminated in the moonlight. She looked a bit like a goddess. If only they knew she sorta was one. Master of water, an ocean goddess despite the dna of an Atlantean Sorceress. My father stepped forward.
"Get on the BioShip, I'll debrief you on board." He ordered, and I just smiled and hugged him. I really did miss him.
"I'll totally debrief with you, but I'm gonna need a hospital." I pulled apart from him. "I may not be able to feel it, but most of this blood is mine." I sighed, stumbling. I turned and showed him the knife in my back. "I really need someone to secure this in place before it falls out and I bleed more." I gestured to the knife, stumbling and my speech slowing. One thing that wasn't failing was my hearing. Savage was coming, but I didn't have to warn them.
"They're coming, we need to get out of here." Superboy heard them, even confirming it was them with his infrared vision. I felt my brother wrapping the gauze from his utility belt around my waist, securing the blade.
"Flash, take her to the zeta tube, we'll meet you at Gotham General. There's a doctor there that's privy to her physiology and knows to keep her identity a secret." My father ordered. I felt Flash pick me up, careful to hold me without touching the blade. I glanced back to Wally in his Kid Flash costume. He might not forgive me, but I had hope from the look on his face. But right now, I just had to stay relaxed, and be ready to comply with whatever doctors and superiors have in store for me after my actions.
A/N: Don't forget, please Review!