by Roaming Tigress and Shelley Inks, creator of Keleen Vanderchill
Chapter Twelve:
Meeting Keleen Vanderchill
Javert was just about to head out and take care of the Steelbeak business, but as he passed the F.O.W.L Ready Room a young she-duck had grabbed his attention. He placed his gun back into the holster and approached her, mistaking the woman at first for an intruder. For some reason or another, she was carrying a cage containing a large and fluffy white rabbit. With an unintentional irony, he had saved the life of his enemy by this distraction.
What is zis? Bring your pet to work day? I could have stolen a Komodo Dragon from ze zoo if I knew zis. I need to check the memos . . .
She looked like one tough cookie, who Javert guessed wasn't much younger or older than he was. Her hair was a deep reddish colour with white streaks in the bangs, and her eyes were a piercing ice blue. She had a few tattoos to add to her tough girl appearance, one of a dragon on her left arm and some wavy ones down both of her flanks. Her attire -- black jeans, purple tank top, dog collar, combat boots and fingerless gloves -- made her look like a punk on a mission. She lacked any resemblance to the well-dressed agents he often saw in the hallways.
"Excuse me, who might you be?" Javert asked with suspicion, leaning his back up against a locker. "One of zem biker chicks looking to cause trouble?"
Biker chicks? Hah!
The girl let out a chuckle and replied with a cold tone. "I am the daughter of High Commander Jerold and daughter of Isis Vanderchill! The name is Keleen. I was accepted into F.O.W.L shortly before tin face and little miss firepower took over."
Realizing this, Javert immediately became apologetic. He had so much respect for his mother's associates that he didn't even want to offend their relatives. "Sorry . . . Jumped to conclusions. Ze name is Javert Adair, son of High Command Matriarch, Seige."
So this is the infamous Javert everyone's talking about! Realizing who he was, Keleen cooled herself down and extended her hand out for him to shake. Hrm, he's a son of a High Commander, he is sexy, and bad ass. Not to mention, he's a murderer. My favorite kind of guy!
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Adair," she smiled, gradually warming up to him. "I appreciate a man who can murder and talk about it as if it were a walk in the park."
"Keep up with ze praise, and my ego will simply burst!" Javert laughed. "What kind of things do you do villain-wise? Like, what are you really into when it comes to committing crimes?"
"Allow me to demonstrate!" Keleen answered with a cruel grin. "I like to do things that involve drawing blood, such as this . . . "
She reached into the cage and firmly grabbed the rabbit by the scruff of the neck. With a sly grin in Javert's direction, she approached a large tank containing a school of hungry piranhas and dropped the unfortunate animal in. Both villains watched as the water with red.
"Impressive!" Javert crooned, following her out into the hallway. "I like your style already, Miss Vanderchill."
Keleen shrugged her shoulders, flicking a chunk of rabbit fur off her shoulder. "Eh, It was nothing. Wait 'till you see me on the job."
It was now that Javert wanted to know more about this Vanderchill lady. What was her upbringing like? Why did she become a villain?
"I simply must know more about you, Ms. Keleen Vanderchill."
Flattered, Keleen decided to let the cat out of the bag. "Alright, if you insist. My mother wanted me to be a become a beauty pageant star. I didn't live up to her expectations, and she abused me and starved me. Finally she abandoned me, and I was out on the streets when I was twelve years old. When I turned seventeen, I worked at a restaurant cleaning dishes. Between that crap job and studying, I took up combat training and joined F.O.W.L."
For the first time in his life, Javert felt sympathy for another. He looked down at the ground, feeling bad for Keleen, and angry towards Keleen's mother. How could she do zis to her? Keleen . . . Is such a beauty. When Steelbeak is taken care of, a certain Isis Vanderchill will be on my list to get rid of . . .
"I'm sorry zis has happened . . . "
"There's no need to feel bad. That was then, this is now," Keleen spoke with a cold tone to her voice. "Now what about you? Surely you have an impressively interesting background."
"Non," he muttered indifferently. "My how-I-became a villain story isn't at all interesting, really. I didn't turn myself into water, or accidentally turned into a hybrid. I was always a villain."
"Oh, that's bull!" She exclaimed, loud enough to attract the attention of a passing Eggman. With a quick glare, she sent him slowly edging away.
"I can tell just by looking at you that you have had an fascinating background. I don't think you just signed up and decided to be one of us."
"Alright, if you insist . . . "
Javert did not know the whole truth into how he was originally brought in, but decided to tell her what he knew. "The guards of F.O.W.L brought me in when my mother abandoned me, and the High Command Matriarch adopted me. She raised me to who I am today, and did a very good job if I do say so myself! So much, in fact, that I would lay down my life to defend my organization. I am that devoted to it."
"That is very noble of you, Javert," she spoke up with a nod, wanting to know more. "Not to make this sound like the Twenty Questions game, but . . . Just how did you develop such a hatred for Steelbeak?"
"When I was four years old, he tripped me down the stairs," Javert growled, clenching his teeth at the very mention of the powerful poultry's codename. "From that day on, I hated his guts. I might not have been as mentally developed then as I am now, but I sure knew what hatred was. When I was ten, I had the joy of spilling his intestines on the floor and eleven years later I long to finish the job."
Keleen's eyes narrowed into slits as Javert gave his reason. "I can't say I can't blame you for feeling that way. For some time I have had thought on taking on that rooster, to get back at him for stealing my father's job. If we can team up, maybe we can get rid of him once and for all."
Javert
liked the sound of this, and perhaps, for Keleen, he was more than just
a menace to society.