Ch. 28
Selina lead her escapees down the hall towards the weapons storage. "We load up, get some gear and move to the center to meet Tygrus and the others. Minerva put the building's lights out, so they should be making their move."
"Won't the weapons storage be guarded?" Leonard said as they quickly moved down the blackened corridor. Their eyes had no trouble seeing in the dark of course, but any guard would have a hard time of it, even with flashlights.
"It's a skeleton crew here. Almost their whole force is out there, trying to kill us. So we slipped away to take their base here!" She whispered back. "Still we'll be careful." The lion nodded back, his red mane bobbing slightly.
As if on cue, Selina raised a hand to stop them, the large group of padded bare feet behind her sliding to a halt. Footsteps echoed up ahead. "Crud, they're moving faster than I thought...let's take another route." This was risky, she hadn't been here in forever, she was relying on how well she recalled Tygrus' descriptions, but she was pretty sure...
Someone screamed. "Flashlights! They're-"
"Shut up!" She rebuked a worried calico. But too late. Off in the distance, the footsteps began to head their way.
"Go!" They shot down the way, many on all fours over the hard concrete as the shouts grew louder. They turned a corner, into a room and...
No.
No Exit.
She cursed herself. This was some sort of break room. "Quick, against the wall!" She ordered them all out of the line of fire as she took position outside against a wall. They would all be coming around the corner soon. She raised her ears high, counting the footsteps. 4, no 5 men, all with rifles. Now check the weapons belt...gone! It must have come loose as she ran. She was going to die. What's more, these people were going to die. Because she was stupid.
And yet, she felt a calmness sweep over her. Her mind focused with almost perfect clarity. The part of her that she had found in the forest...when she ambushed the soldiers, maybe that could save her. Save everyone. She listened, mentally placing them in the hall by the sound of their heavy boots as they came. Lowering herself to the floor, her legs and spine were a spring. Time seemed to slow. She bore her claws on every digit. The first guard would appear in 3 seconds. Her ears lay down against her head, her fangs gleamed as she opened her mouth, and an inhuman hiss came as she leapt forward, feeling glee at the look of terror on the guard's face.
Toward the main entrance, another battle was taking place. Dark as it was, the main hall roared with sound and horror. Feral rage and gun blasts echoed against the walls, along with cries of pain. They traveled down to the end of the lobby, where two mercs in full armor hugged the wall, and their weapons.
"Did you see them? They're using our weapons!"
"I know, look we have to-"
"We have to get out of here! This whole mission is a disaster."
"If we get out of this castle alive, then what? We're on an island!"
"We can get a boat by the docks."
"The fight is still-"
"The fight is a blood bath. I heard other guys have already bugged out. Those scientist *&%# have vanished. We leave now or we get left behind to get devoured by these things."
"We can't just leave our teammates!"
Sounds of the crunch of bone and spurt of blood echoed down the hall. They silently ran the opposite direction, taking cover in the cafeteria. They turned over a table and pointed their guns at the door.
"Okay...rear exit...that's...gosh...how are we going to get through all this?"
"Keep your head on Bill. They're animals, we're human. We can..." He coughed.
"Man...what's the smell in this place..." He coughed as well, then hunched over, grabbing his stomach. The other grabbed his chest, yelling in pain as he pulled off his gloves, then his vest. Their flesh was on fire.
In a few minutes there were no humans in the room. The radio clicked on with a buzz of static. "Welcome to your new life. We are abandoning the castle...for now. Leave and rejoin the rest of your new pack at the forest line. This is my command." The tall, powerful wolven men nodded to each other and sniffed the air as they cautiously opening the cafeteria door. The scent of the cats was almost visible. The path out was clear. They strapped their weapons on their fur covered backs and went to all fours, darting for the exit.
Batman and Batgirl ran down another hall toward the sound of gunfire, pausing briefly only to knock a guard unconscious and take his flashlight. The sounds came to an abrupt halt just before they turned the corner.
Batman stopped and stood, silent. Batgirl stood, wide eyed, whispering as she illuminated the scene with the flashlight. "Oh no."
Catwoman stood over her prey, wearing red over her hands and down her wrists like they were long gloves. 5 bodies lined the hall. Other cats were slowing coming up behind her, some looking shocked, others relieved. She raised her field of vision at the light, her emerald eyes dilated wide. Human scent...furless faces. Her lips reared back, her mouth impossibly wide, fangs born, a truly animalistic visage. She short forward claws out.
"Selina!" Batgirl shouted. Batman stayed perfectly still though, as Catwoman stopped right in front of him, her face relaxing slightly, her breaths deep. "Batman...I'm sorry..." She stepped back. "You're alive...that's good..." She managed to smile. "Not that I thought you were ever in danger, you being you," she joked, but then she looked at her paws, then up at him.
Batman reached forward to put a hand on her shoulder but she lightly pushed his hand away. "Cheetah and I met up with Tygrus and...well as you can see..." She took a deep breath. "Dorian has been making more cats. Tygrus, Cheetah, myself and some escapees came to free them."
Leonard came up behind her, seemingly dazed by the carnage at first, but after a moment of staring blankly at Catwoman, Batgirl and Batman, his eyes suddenly grew wide. "Wait...is that...Batman? What the heck is Batman doing here? Hey guys!" He walked back to the others. "Freakin Batman is here! We're saved!"
Catwoman paused, looking at Batman through the corner of her eye. Unreadable. All these senses and he was still horribly unreadable. "They were killing us Batman...hunting us one by one. We had to take the fight to them."
Batgirl spoke up, "Selina you don't have to..."
"I got to these people without any trouble but then we were trapped. I had to make a quick decision and I...cut loose." She just stood there. Here she was, like with cat kidnapping lady she had scarred years before...he had seen her violent, hateful side unleashed. But now...this...It was one thing for him to see her as a thief. She didn't care, she found his rigid morality charming. But for him to see her as a cold killer...
He simply shook his head. "I'm happy to see you alive Selina. Now let's move. You said you were working with Tygrus?"
"Yes, he planned this. We were going to meet up with him."
Catwoman suddenly stopped and sniffed the air, then turned her head, a smile come over her face. She shot down the hall and felt herself caught up in the air by two massive, blood soaked paws. Her enthusiastic growl matched his in greeting her. The response surprised her. Perhaps she was happy to get out of Batman's line of sight but...she was incredibly happy to see him again as well.
Several other cats followed behind them. Paul, the black leopard. Dawson, the aged gray cat and former vietnam vet. Leona, a giant of a siberian cat woman who'd killed as many as any of them so far. Townshend, a recently discharged army brat and cougar. Karen, an orange jaguar stood protective of her silver jaguar friend Mariah, as did the young panther Tom. Behind them came the two newly pregnant cats, the red spotted leopard Dorothy, by Paul, and the lynx Yolanda, by the late Hector. And finally the Dr. Sebastian Ballesteros, a cheetah brought up the rear, holding a pistol and first aid kit he had salvaged when they first entered.
Incredibly, they'd all made it. The few guards on duty had failed to kill even one of them. Some had wounds, Leona was shrugging off Ballesteros' attempts to mend her, but they were alive. They didn't seem phased by Selina's work. She suspected the scene was worse where they came from. Her heart swelled with pride. Despite everything...they, having not known each a few days ago, mostly not having these bodies a few days ago, had cut through the enemy humans again. Her eyes told Tygrus without saying it out loud. "We did it. You did it."
Finally Tygrus set Selina down and approached Batman, Batgirl and the freed cats. Still wary of his gaze, Catwoman fought the urge to simply stand behind Tygrus and stood at his side. Fortunately Batman wasn't looking at her for the moment, but at Tygrus. His face was stone.
"Batman," Tygrus began, "I remember your prowess as a fighter. At least we are on the same side now?"
"I'm on the side of saving lives," He said flatly. "Not starting a war. I understand this attack was your idea."
"Batman..." Batgirl interrupted, "We just want to help save Dorian's victims with as little loss as possible. How do we get out?"
"Out?" Tygrus smiled, "No, we are here to take this castle from the enemy. That is our plan. Once we have this place secure, we can contact the mainland and your human police."
"Well that makes sense, right?" Batgirl looked back to Bruce.
He didn't acknowledge her, looking square at Tygrus. "I appreciate wanting to save people here and ask for help. But this was reckless. Had you waited, we might have found a way without losing so many lives."
Tygrus frowned, and seemed about to respond when Catwoman spoke up, "I told you Br-Batman! We were being murdered! They skinned us...left our hides out to see!" The sight of Hector's pelt flashed across her brain as she stepped in front of Tygrus. The fear of his gaze was suddenly gone. She didn't care about Bruce's judgment anymore. "Yeah, we did what we had to, not just for ourselves, but for all the people here and all over the island that were being tortured and killed. We couldn't just wait to be saved by you two while you were held up here. We didn't even know you were alive."
Her eyes narrowed, her face contorted back in a feline expression of primal anger. Her voice grew harsh, almost a whisper. "You know what..." something in her mind was...stirring. "They deserved it. I'd do it again. And again and again. I'm glad they're dead."
Batgirl stepped between her and Batman, "Selina, you're angry, not yourself, they were people. People that you had-"
She cut her off, "People? You mean humans?" Selina heard herself say. Where...where was this coming from? This sense of rage, it felt...freeing. To tell off that smug, self righteous...furless...face after all this time. "They're animals! What made them so special? Killing and torturing us for money? Those people," She pointed a bloody finger at her rescued group. "Want to hear what they've been through? What they did to them? Because they didn't see us as people. Just animals. Cats. Well we showed them what cats can do." She stepped forward, holding up a bloody hand, claws still borne. She wasn't ashamed of it. Not now. It represented several saved lives, right in front of her. Worth a lot more than the...human filth on the floor.
She pushed Batgril aside to get closer to Bruce. "You have a problem with this Batman?" She wiped her palm across her chest, leaving a smear of blood over her pelt. "Deal with it. This is our island now."
"That's my girl..."
They hadn't noticed Cheetah come up. Selina looked at her, confused. Before she could say anything more, Tygrus stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Enough Selina..." He looked to Batman. "Catwoman, like all of us, has been through much these past few days. But...she is right in this: We have fought for and earned this place. These are our people and we will do what we must to protect them."
Batman spoke up, "She isn't-"
"You are welcome to stay," he continued with a growl. "I will see to it that no one dies unnecessarily. But if the humans try to return, we will not show them mercy. Our survival is too important."
"Perhaps Dorian completed his work after all."
"Batman!" Batgirl shouted, "Can we not do this now? They're still guards out there."
"No...can't you smell it? Hear it?" Cheetah said, knowing full well Batgirl couldn't. "They're leaving."
The cats in the hall sniffed the air and nodded in agreement. "Yes...they are. Wait!" Tygrus said. He looked at Batman. "There is another scent in the air...strange. Do you smell it?" Everyone, including the humans nodded.
"Oh no..." It was a new voice. Dr Ballesteros bringing up the rear, pistol in claw. "That's the activating agent. Released in the air vents. They actually did it..."
Batman spoke up. "Who's he?"
Cheetah replied, "Used to work here," she snarked. "What's the situation Dr?"
He actually smiled at that, albeit briefly. "The hired security personnel were being prepped with a mutagenic agent that, upon completion could be activated by a final air born-"
Suddenly a gray wolf man in torn clothes was caught by the throat by Tygrus' hand, just inches from Sebastian's face. He lifted him off the ground, flailing, snarling loudly. After a quick glance at Batman, he slammed him against the wall, then wrapped the wolf into a sleeper hold. Despite the unusual anatomy to deal with, the pressure did its work and the wolf soon slumped to the floor.
"They turned the grunts into wolf men." He finished, his spots practically turning white.
Batman rushed to wolf. "Out cold. But alive."
"Why should you care, it's not human, right Selina?" Cheetah commented.
Neither Batman or Catwoman acknowledged her. "These clothes...this was the man we knocked out on the way here..."
"This is crazy..." Batgirl rubbed her temples.
Cheetah broke in, casually, "Dorian mentioned this." Now everyone paid attention. "I ran into him briefly as I shut off the power. Didn't explain exactly but he hinted as much. They're supposed to be for the guy who busted him out."
"Ra's al Ghul's personal army of dogs." Batman closed his fist tightly. "Take this one to a holding cell, I want to question him-"
"Tygrus is in charge here."
Once again Selina found herself surprised at what she said. "He led us here, his plan freed these people. We follow him."
"I would follow Batman."
Everybody looked back at Leonard, who was suddenly looking rather sheepish. "Nevermind."
Tygrus shrugged. "Well I agree with Batman's plan. He is free to question the wolf when he awakes. For now, Towshend, make sure all south exits are locked, Leona, take the north ones." The young cougar and Siberian tiger quickly took a team each. "Karen, Dawson, take these released cats to the infirmary where our cheetahs will look after them and anyone else."
"There is still another group of imprisoned cats..." Karen said, cocking her rifle. Tyrgrus nodded back. "The ones who were showing signs of mentally breaking, you said? I know. We will deal with them last. But only after this place is secure. After we see what can be done with them and wounded are taken care of, we will begin cleaning up the castle and restoring power."
Everyone went their own ways, even Batman and Batgirl, Leonard helping them carry the bound wolf. Batgirl looked back at Selina briefly, but not Batman. Alone, Tygrus put a bloody paw on Catwoman's shoulder. "Come with me." They moved away from the bodies into a different break room down the hall.
"Are you okay?"
She looked up at him, the question almost seemed funny. They were both covered in blood but...none of their own. "Yes..."
"Are you sure?"
"I..." she stared at her hands. "Tygrus I don't...when I went off on Batman, I didn't mean I liked killing those guards."
"Did you?"
His bluntness took her aback. "No!" She paused. "I mean...when it happened I just unleashed myself. Now that it's over..." She sighed in resignation. "I...think I might have. What they did, what they were going to do. I just feel so...glad I stopped them."
"I've seen what they are like more than you Selina. They would not have shown you mercy. They deserved none."
She shook her head, her voice desperate. "I don't want to become an animal."
"Oh?" he asked, taking her still wet hand by the wrist, examining it. "Animals and humans both defend their family Selina. And so do we."
She let Tygrus hold her hand a moment, unsure what he was doing. "We...us cats you mean. We are not human. I'm not human..."
"Were the guards human? What is so good about it?"
Selina thought. Now was an odd time for philosophy. "I mean, the love, the friendship humans have. It's having so much more to your life than just passing along your DNA and eating, like animals do."
Tygrus smiled. "I think, human or not, we are more than that. No?"
She nodded lightly, "Yes...I just...when I killed those...when I looked at Batman..." She looked up at Tygrus. "I saw him as...something other than me. Their furless faces, that human scent. Not feline. I feel like it was actually easier to kill those guards because they were humans. And that scares me."
"Then you are not unlike those humans-"
"I don't want to be like them!"
"...except you would not kill any human who did not look to hurt you or another. Angry as you were at Batman, you would not hurt him? No."
Tygrus brought his own bloody hand up to her line of view. "We both have spilt blood we would not have chosen to. Batman may disagree, but I think you were right in what you said."
"You do..." She wasn't sure what to think of that.
"Yes. Selina, you and I, all of us, defeated the humans that would have slaughtered us. Destroyed our race. Is it so bad to be glad for it?"
He leaned into her ear, "And..." he whispered slowly, "You kill your prey beautifully."
He took her hand close to his mouth, and began to clean it with his tongue. She waited for her gut to be repulsed by it, but nothing came. He was savage. Wild. Yet intelligent. At once beast and person. Like her now.
Selina, the thought came to her again, Selina you are human. Under this body you are still a beautiful, smooth skinned woman. You came here to find a way to get your body back. Push him away. Like before.
She leaned into his ear.
You're Human.
"You kill even more beautifully."
HUMAN!
She took his hand and cleaned it herself.
human...
She brought her mouth to his, purring softly at the warm taste of the enemy on his muzzle.
...
It was if a voice pounding on the inside of her brain was finally dying. She felt whole, undivided. Releasing her hold on him, she wiped her mouth.
"Thank you Tygrus. For clearing my head."
"We will all need time to recover from this. But I am here Selina."
"I am too...then you think it's over?"
"We hold this castle. And we will not be so easily evicted, dog army or no. And once we get the electricity up we will be able to contact the mainland, as you said, they will have the men of law you so like to deal with."
"And us? What will you do with human authorities? I'm still wanted for thievery, and Cheetah to. Plus who knows what the government will do when it finds you?"
The cat lowered his ears. "I...I do not know. I will need your advice."
"We may need Batman's help. He knows quite a few people, plus other heroes, I'm sure they could work out something."
"Will he help us?"
"If it saves lives, yes."
Tygrus nodded, standing and lifting them both to their feet. Finally, Selina thought, made they could actually relax.
A large explosion nearly knocked them off their feet. "Selina, that was..." They both ran.
The Alpha male once known as Ross kneeled at the edge of the forest near the castle, the black male wolf once known as David, dark female once known as Sarah. He greeted his new packmates as they arrived, approaching a white furred female with blue eyes and black splotches. "Their radio is destroyed?" His voice growled, emerging from the back of his throat. Learning to speak with this mouth had taken some time, and it was still awkward for him.
She nodded, grunting and panting.
"Good, they will have no contact with anyone else. Go join your brothers and sisters at our camp. We await the Demon's command."
