Ruby Red Rose (Written Together with Cat)

The falcon´s eyes were glowing amber feral as they swept the club´s entrance from the vantage point atop the building. As the strange bird spotted the scantly dressed woman storm out the door, it flicked the comring and instructed sharply, "Jim, Blair, tail Cat. Don´t blow her cover." That moment, a young blond man carrying an unconscious girl in his arms stepped out. The comring flicked again. "Jesse, to the back alley, fast." And the bird took flight after the couple, landing as the man lowered the girl to the pavement. Taking control of the situation, the bird quickly ran her gnarled hands through the girl´s body, searching for broken bones. She rapidly found the tender spot on the girl´s side, evidence of broken ribs. The girl´s breath was labored, gurgling sounds coming from her mouth, together with a thick trickle of blood worming its way down her chin.

As a strong redheaded woman and a slim brunette came running her way, the bird feral called, "Lux, Riley´s got a pierced lung!" The redhead pulled the young man from the girl´s side to give room to her boss so she could work her magic. The brunette placed her hands on the girl´s sides and her eyes slowly lit up until they reached a blazing white. The girl´s body under Lux Windsor´s hands glowed the same shade of white and her breath improved noticeably. Then, Lux pulled her hands from the girl and turned to her lioness bodyguard. Her eyes, already back to normal, rolled up into her head and she collapsed in Jax McManus arms.

The bird´s comring flicked again. "Adam, have the Med Lab ready. Riley´s down with broken ribs and a pierced lung. Lux helped, but she´s still in danger. It will be faster if we fly in." The creature than turned to the young blond man and she commanded without even realizing that she, too, was a natural born leader. "You and the rest of the gang, wrap up this brawl and we will meet at Sanctuary." She lifted the girl´s limp body and cradled it in her arms. Turning away from her friends, she slightly bent her knees and leaped, huge wings flapping in the air, as she took off and gained height, soaring above the buildings.

&&&

Cat ran for one, two, three, four blocks until the grief that clenched her heart made her stop. She staggered through a side alley with garbage bins to her right, and leaned on the grimy wall to her left, her back to the street, and felt her knees buckle under her. All that had happened was playact, but it gave no relief to the burning sensation she felt on her swelling cheek and on her bulging lip. The memories of a time not too long ago were all too real, of another man, Mark, hurting her like that and worse were all to vivid. The pain in her heart and soul was so overwhelming she didn´t even hear the three street thugs coming from behind. Only when they stopped and what seemed to be the leader wolf whistled and sneered, "Cute!" did she notice them.

She was instantly alert and conscious that the way she was clad didn´t help her a bit. Her dark blue outfit left very little to the imagination, exposing her long legs and muscular arms and back. Slowly, she stood up, wiping the tears that ruined whatever remained of her makeup, but she didn´t turn to the three man behind her, waiting for their next move instead.

The three men in black studded leather outfits and chains were leering as they anticipated an easy prey. There was fun to be had and that slut would provide it. "It seems this hooker is dressed for a party. And a party she´ll have," the boss addressed his mates, already drooling over the woman. He walked a few steps toward her and reached his hand to grab her arm.

In what appeared to be slow motion, Cat turned to her right, facing her assailants, her eyes glowing yellow in the dark alley, a predator ready for the hunt. "You want a party, boys?" she asked, her voice the snarl of a panther. "Let the fun begin." And her foot connected directly to the first thug´s chin, his head snapping to the side as blood and teeth sprang from his mouth.

The slender woman now faced the three furious men, her feet wide apart, giving her balance for the fight. The three men lunged at her, as she jumped high in the air in an impossible somersault that landed her behind them. Her foot kicked the nearest assailant in the small of the back, making him plunge into his mates. And the woman never broke her motion, turning and swirling like a devil, the heels of her boots connecting every blow, her fists smashing noses and mouths. The men could barely see her. One moment she was in front of them, backhanding one, punching the other. Next, she was climbing the walls and using their own backs as stepping stones for leaps that made her appear on the most improbable places, grabbing arms that tried in vain to stop her and twisting elbows that snapped like twigs under her assault. The three men in search of an easy target to rape and beat were reduced to a pile of moaning, sobbing flesh that begged for mercy.

From the opposite side of the street, too far for Blair Sandburg´s regular human eyes, but clear as a movie screen for Jim Ellison´s sentinel´s heightened sight, the Cascade detectives witnessed as the blue clad Hell fury destroyed three street heavy weights. Blair, unable to see the outcome of the fight, pushed Jim on. "She needs help, lets go!" Jim, a hard boiled Major Crimes detective, who had seen his fair share of strange things, was not about to be moved. "Believe me, Chief, she doesn´t need any help. Those guys, on the other hand…" Blair looked at his partner, doubt crossing his face. Jim went on, his chin hitting the pavement, "Chief, she´s turning them into ground beef. I say let her."

When the three toughs couldn´t be recognized as men anymore, Cat halted her attack and stepped back to study her job. They could barely move and their eyes were washed out with fear and pain. The fun was over, and her fury with it.

She turned around to leave the alley and saw, sketched against the streetlight at the entrance, the figure of an incredibly tall and gaunt black man, his dreadlocks reaching his shoulder blades, wearing a tight fitting strangely embroidered vest that left his long, wiry arms bare. The man seemed to be made out of vine and twine himself.

Cat recognized him immediately from the Ring´s database. That was Mumbata Ntobo, the botanical mutant that had helped spring a very dangerous foe from Cascade´s prison. She stepped ahead cautiously as the black man leaned forward till his long-fingered hand lightly touched the ground almost between Cat´s feet. As he drew his hand up again, a briar rose bush broke from the concrete sidewalk, springing up and sprouting a perfectly formed blood-red bud. The black man looked her straight in the eyes, cracked a wolfish grin that exposed his long white teeth, plucked the rose and offered to Cat with a bow. The young feline feral looked at the rose and took it in her hand. When she lifted her eyes back up, the black man was nowhere to be seen, apparently vanished into thin air. So, thought Cat, this was the second invitation to join the New Order. They´d bought it.

She picked up her purse from the corner where it had fallen, fished a band from it, tied her long hair in a knot and inserted the long stemmed rose in it. The flower looked like a ruby against her golden locks. She left the alley, never realizing that two men saw all the exchange, and set off to run all the way back to her mountain hideout. She still had steam to blow.

Hours later, already in her room, she took out her ruined dress and threw it away. The cold tap water felt good against her bruised cheek. As she looked up to her face in the mirror, she could see the purpling hues of the swelling spreading below her left eye. And she had sworn no man would ever do that again… So much for empty promises…

She picked up one of her lover´s oversized T-shirts from her closet and slipped into it, the need to be near him, feel his scent was taking her over.

The light knock on her door brought her back from her reverie. "Cat, it´s me, Brennan. Open the door, please." She cracked the door open just a little, and saw him against the hallway cold light. She opened it enough so he could come in, her head bowed, her left hand covering her bruised face.

Brennan Mulwray had been many things: thief, conman, a career criminal now mending his ways, or trying his best to. One thing he had never been, and that was a coward, a woman batterer. He lifted Cat´s chin up and delicately took her hand from her face, so he could see the result of his action. He was horrified. He had never intended to hit her so hard, but it seems he didn´t know just how strong he was. Cat´s left cheek was a swollen purple mass, hot under his caressing hand.

He slipped his hand to the nape of her neck, drawing her close to his chest and held her tight as he felt her silent sobs and her tears wet his shirt. Then, he took her by the shoulders and made her sit at the edge of the bed. He knelt in front of her, pulled her mouth to his and kissed her swollen lips with infinite gentleness, then more deeply until a soft yelp warned him he had gone a little too far. Still touching her lips with his, he felt her smile slightly as he whispered "Forgive me… forgive me… forgive me…" and only her mouth in his made him stop, as she drew him to the bed and to her heart.

Morning came and he was holding her. Only love and tenderness had managed to soothe a little of the hurt imposed on the girl the night before. Brennan carefully unwrapped his arms from the slumbering Cat and stood, deciding to let her sleep her fill. She would need all the rest she could get to go through the day, which promised to be at least as rough as the previous evening had been.

As he stepped in the hallway on his way to his own room, he ran into Adam, coming the other way. As they looked each other in the eyes, Brennan couldn´t help himself. With one fluid motion, he pinned the older man to the wall and hissed, "Never again ask me to do something like that."

Adam Kane, although fully capable of reacting to Brennan´s roughness, seeing where he was coming from, understood his emotions only too well and chose not to do anything, but only to wrap his hand on the younger man´s wrist and look him eye to eye. "Hopefully," he said, "you´ll never have to. But I needed that."

"Whatever for? Wasn´t a quarrel enough?" asked Brennan, his voice raising in pitch.

Adam replied very softly, "No. In the off-chance they had a telempath with them, some new recruit we knew nothing about, I needed her emotions to ring true." He felt the hand on his shoulder release its grip. "If she was found out acting, everything would be for naught."

Brennan let go of Adam´s shoulder and lowered his head. He saw the older man´s reasoning clearly now, but it didn´t help his guilt in any way. Drawing a deep breath, he looked again at his mentor´s eyes and asked, "How can you think of something like that? How can you imagine they might have a telempath? How…"

Rubbing his aching shoulder, Adam stepped ahead, back on his way, and with a gesture, invited the young elemental to walk with him. "That´s my job, Brennan." And he sighed. "I have to calculate every possibility, anticipate every motion, account for every variable, be ready for anything that might go wrong with the plan. Unenviable as it is, it´s my job."

And the two men went on their way, side by side.