Chapter 13
Selina tried not to run over the hill. What Tygrus had said was almost impossible to believe. He said there were more people like him, like both of them. That they were being kept in his father's old castle and that he had freed three of them. It just seemed incredible. Finally she reached over the top of the hill to overlook a small clearing in the trees, next to a narrow brook that flowed at the foot of the hill. She immediately saw that Tygrus was wrong. He had said there were three cat people just like them, at the foot of the hill.
There were four.
"Selina!" cried out Barbara Ann Minerva, who was sitting by the water. She ran on all fours to them, while the other three also began climbing the hill. The Cheetah arrived and stood before them both.
Selina was surprised but happy, "I didn't expect to find you here,"
The Cheetah gestured to her right "My parachute landed just north of here. I followed the water, and ran into these folks late last night."
She then turned to Tygrus. Her eyes widened as she arced her neck to look up to him. "And you…must be Tygrus."
Tygrus nodded, "Yes, I am Tygrus. Selina has told me much about you Barbara Minerva."
She laughed and moved in closer, placing a hand on Tygrus' chest. "Please, call me the Cheetah, or just Cheetah. It fits me better, don't you think?"
"Very well…Cheetah" Tygrus said, seeming unsure how to react. He then moved forward, gently brushing Cheetah aside, and gestured to the others, who were just arriving. "Selina, these are the others I spoke of. We have been together four about half the cycle of the moon."
"Two weeks, he means," said one. "May I introduce myself?" Without waiting for a response, he continued, "I am Dr. Sebastian Ballesteros. Unlike most of the other subjects, who were kidnapped homeless people, I was a scientist who signed up for this project, not fully realizing the ethically atrocious nature of the experiments occurring at the compound. I knew we were studying the work started by forerunners such as Dr. Minerva, and I have no objection to the controlled guidance of human evolution, but the use of unwilling human subjects appalled me. I declared my intention to expose them, and they decided to make sure I kept quiet by changing me from a scientist to a test subject."
As he rambled on, Selina observed that he had the appearance of a cheetah, just like Dr. Minerva. He was about six feet five inches, with round, dark brown eyes and a lean build. He had been talking to Minerva when Selina and Tygrus had come over the hill. She glanced at the other two, who seemed to be especially bored with the introduction that was quickly becoming a lecture. Clearly he had told this story several times before. One was stocky in build, though not fat; his square shaped body was pure muscle. He comparatively shorter, about six feet tall and covered in jet black fur. At first she thought of a panther, but on closer inspection, she realized he was closer to a black leopard. He had his arm around what had presumably once been a woman. In her new form, her fur also sported a leopard pattern, but her colors were different from any leopard she new of. She had fiery red fur with black spots, with a streak of white covering her front, extending from below her neck to the start of her legs. She was slightly smaller than either her or Minerva.
"And as I was just speaking with Dr. Minerva, er, the Cheetah, I suppose she truly deserves that title, being the pioneer that she is, really, I can't tell you how much her work has meant to me and to finally meet her is an honor." He smiled at her as he said this. Minerva for her part seemed amused at the flattery. Selina noticed he had discreetly walked between Tygrus and Minerva as he talked. He continued, "Anyways, I was just saying that while although the crimes here are unforgivable atrocities, the actual experience for me has for been truly enlightening. I feel like I've gained access to a whole range of experiences and potential that had been lost over the course of our evolution into a race of couch potatoes."
"Thank you Sebastian," Tygrus spoke firmly, cutting him off. Dr. Ballesteros gave him an offended look, but quickly wilted away after one harsh look from Tygrus. "Paul, Dorothy? This is Selina. I mentioned her to you. She's changed back, and as Cheetah must have told you, and she came looking to be cured again."
Paul spoke first, "Yeah, she explained that." He moved forward, extending a clawed hand to Selina, "Pleased to meet you." Selina shook it, and did the same with Dorothy.
Paul continued, "Me and my wife were some of the homeless folks the doctor mentioned. They grabbed us one night while we were sleeping in Gotham Park, and we woke up here. Those first few weeks were hell on earth. It's difficult to talk about." He tightened his grip around Dorothy, who placed a hand on his shoulder, a pained look on both their faces. "But Tygrus, he got us out. They've beefed up security since then. There's still about forty or so people being held captive in there. Big jungle cages, like those at the zoo with see through glass. Most of the people I talked to were the same as us. Homeless, few relatives. I'm not sure what they're doing in there. It's like they're…playing with our minds. Trying to pair men and women up, encouraging some people to fight. They don't give us real food, they release wild stuff in there (sometimes dangerous animals); make us kill it and eat it raw. Those people still in there…they might be completely insane by now. I know I'd be."
Selina's eyes widened. What on earth was happening here? Who would want to continue Dorian's work?
Dorothy turned to look at Selina, revealing a slightly forced smile. "But we get along pretty well now. The guards don't really search for us out here anymore, they're scared of Tygrus." She stroked Paul's chest slowly. "Tygrus has even shown Paul here how to hunt. He's really good at it! Two days ago he caught this bird, as big as an albatross!"
Paul smiled lovingly at her. Husband and wife, Selina thought; that explained why their scents were so intermingled. Like some natural wedding band.
Tygrus now spoke, "The first men came to this island six months ago. At first I stayed out of their way, but as I watched them closely, I found out they were bringing in people as Selina was brought in years ago. I decided to try and do something. My attempt to break in was clumsy, but I did escape with the people here."
"No one else escaped?" asked Cheetah.
"Actually" Sebastian interjected. "A few others did get out. Or if they didn't then a few others might have somehow escaped since then, though that's unlikely with the new security measures they have. We're not sure how many are running free on the island. There's several to the north and northwest, at least one to the south of here, and we think a few might be hiding in the jungles directly west of here. There could also be others on the other side of the island but we'd never know, as we've stayed on this side since our escape. The problem is they won't let us get near them. The psychological trauma of the transformation, combined with their new feline tendency toward territorialism, has made them hopelessly paranoid. Most live by themselves, although I think we saw one couple, and one pair of females. Fortunately for us, we've managed to maintain our human 'social' tendencies."
Paul continued, "We've seen at least seven, seen evidence of more. But we're pretty much on our own out here."
"I'm glad to meet you all." Selina said. "Now I guess the next question is what to do next?"
Paul spoke first, "These people you came with, if we found them, could they call for help?"
"They may have already," Selina said. "But we can't know for sure. I think finding Batman and Batgirl would help us out regardless."
Sebastian interjected, "I imagine their signals are being jammed. No outside radio contact was allowed except by the administrator. Also if we move from our part of the island, the mercenaries might move against us. We'd be totally outnumbered. And we have no idea where to search. If you landed near here, they can't be too far themselves. We'd be better served staying put."
The Cheetah spoke up, "He makes a good point, but I still think we could scout our general area."
Tygrus looked to Selina, who finally nodded, "I will personally continue looking in our area. Those who wish to help me may do so if that is their choice."
"And plan B?" Paul spoke up, "What if we don't find them? Or if we do and they can't help?"
Selina spoke up, "We could try another run on the castle, maybe even find a way to contact the outside world there? Or at least help a few other people, disrupt their project."
"No!" Tygrus said firmly, "It is too dangerous."
"But you did it before…"
"And nearly died," Sebastian said. "And now security is even better. I've seen it myself."
Selina moved next to Minerva's side, "Ah but…" she said slyly, "Now you have two of the world's greatest experts in breaking and entering with you. What do you think Cheetah? Wouldn't you like to at least check it out? I'm willing to be we'd find hundreds of flaws in their security system."
Minerva seemed intrigued, as well as flattered by Catwoman's comments. "Might be worth a look over…"
Sebastian jumped in, "While I still say it's extremely dangerous, I trust Cheetah's judgment on this matter. She and Catwoman surely ought to be able to evaluate the feasibility of another raid.
Dorothy spoke up, "I want to be rescued as badly as any of you, but isn't even getting that close to the castle dangerous?"
Paul placed a hand on her shoulder, "We need to take some risks at some point."
Her voice was pleading, "But can't we wait a little bit? At least see if we find Batman and Batgirl. You remember them Paul? They saved us from a gang once, in that alley on Baker Street. They could probably break into that castle and take down all those guards by themselves."
Selina stepped forward, placing a hand on her other shoulder, "I appreciate your concern. You're right; we should look for Batman and Batgirl first."
"Then it's settled," Tygrus said in a tone which preemptively dismissed any objection. "Our first priority is survival; our second is to find Selina and Cheetah's friends. We will choose what to do next when we find them…or when we give up searching."
With that, they began to mingle with light conversation. Dorothy seemed impressed to meet Catwoman, insisting she had seen her being chased by Batman one night across the night sky, even though Selina couldn't exactly recall what encounter she was referring to. Selina, however was distracted by the fact that Minerva was showing an inordinate amount of interest in Tygrus. Tygrus, for his part, seemed uncomfortable with her attention, while Dr. Ballesteros constantly kept trying to squeeze himself into the conversation. Selina didn't need the ability to detect pheromones by smell to see what was happening here.
After a few uneasy minutes, Tygrus excused himself and moved to Selina. Taking her lightly by the wrist, he said, "Selina, I would like to show you something further on up the river. Will you come with me?"
Selina nodded, and the two of them began to walk up stream. Glancing back, she thought she noticed a harsh look coming from Minerva, while Sebastian tried to change the focus of her attention. Paul and Dorothy, for their part, took the opportunity to disappear into the forest, hand in hand.
They walked up the stream, not speaking. Seeing Minerva talking to Tygrus had made Selina feel odd. Why did it bug her? Minerva was the one who wanted to stay a cat. And even with news of forty other members of her species trapped in a cage on this island; Cheetah's chances for companionship were limited. You couldn't blame her for pursuing Tygrus. After all, he was practically a feline Adonis.
No, she thought, stop it. She shook her head, imagining her human side screaming down her cat side. Tygrus noticed and asked if she was ok. Selina assured him she was fine. They continued walking in silence, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the river.
Batgirl had been moving for several hours now without as much as a whiff of anyone. She finished off some of her rations. They were small bars with enough nutrition to satisfy her needs with about two a day, if she took enough time to rest and not burn all her calories. She checked her belt, there was enough for six days, if she stretched them. Hopefully, that would be more than enough. Looking around, she evaluated the land she could see. She needed to develop at least some sort of plan beyond running. The trees and foliage made seeing ahead impossible however. The trees…perhaps if she climbed one, she could obtain a better view of the area.
Scaling the tree easily with a few tools from her belt, she looked out across the island. Off to the distance in the west was a large castle, which looked like it had been recently renovated. Recalling Batman's account of the destroyed lab, she surmised that someone had decided to rebuild. But for what purpose? She couldn't see much of interest to the east or north, but to the south there was a steady increase in elevation, leading to some cliffs, with a large waterfall. She decided that was the place to go. Maybe from a higher vantage point she could see even more of the island, or maybe signal someone? Perhaps a passing plane? It was as good a plan as she could think of.
Sliding carefully down the tree, she turned to begin walking, only to come face to face with a tiger. No, a lady. No, both. But more tiger than lady
"Who are you?" she hissed. She was hunched on all fours; her head low to the ground, her hips arced high with her tail up as if in warning. Had she been standing, she'd have been four inches taller than Batgirl. She had pale orange fur with black stripes. Her eyes were hazel brown, but almost totally dilated in the dim light. All her claws were out.
Batgirl stood in a defensive stance, her hand ready to reach for her belt. "I'm Batgirl, I don't want to fight you." Another cat person? This woman wasn't Tygrus obviously. But Batman and Selina said he was the only other one on the island.
The tiger woman began to circle her on all fours. "You're going to take me back! I'm not going back!"
"No! I'm not going to do that!" she said, unsure what 'taking her back' might imply. Is she being chased by the men who had chased her?
"Liar!" she hissed. "You think I'm hungry enough that I'll go back don't you?"
Barbara noticed for the first time that she looked rather thin. Her ribs were visible.
"I won't go back! I won't starve! I'll find food, even if I have to…eat…you!"
She leaped at her, claws extended, jaws wide revealing gleaming fangs. Batgirl rolled out of the way, and in one motion tossed a smoke bomb at her. It sent her into a fit of coughing. Batgirl readied her batarang. If that didn't make her decide to leave, she feared she would have to resort to more violent measures. For all she knew, the tiger woman was once human, and she knew she could talk. She was desperate, and obviously confused. Batgirl didn't want to hurt her. The cat was still pretty agile, but she looked weakened enough that Barbara could subdue her without harm.
The smoke appeared to be irritating the tiger woman's senses greatly. She finally leapt away into the brush. Barbara breathed relief. Time to move on, she thought. But she would keep an eye out for a return visit. Given that she was a cat and Barbara hadn't showered in a day or two, she could probably smell her for miles. She could only hope that with everyone else finding her on this island, her friends had to eventually be next.
