Cheetah descended the stairs quietly, to the run down lab in the castle basement, where Sebastian was running some tests. His ears perked up.
"Dr Minerva! I heard about the mission! So it's true, it was a success?
Cheetah nodded. She'd just finished briefing Batman and the others on the situation. Clearly word had traveled fast. "If things go well…we may not have a war with the wolves."
"That's great!"
"In fact…they may help us take down Ras' forces…"
Sebastian ran up and hugged her. "Dr! We did it!" Her ears stood on end as she was squeezed and gave a small hiss.
"Oh," the slim male cheetah said, stepping back sheepishly. "Sorry about my enthusiasm, it just seems like a time to celebrate. But…you don't seem too happy?"
Barbara Minerva walked to the lab and began bringing up various canisters and vials to examine, her back to him. "There's still much to do, and much that could go wrong."
"Right…" he turned and tapped at the computer panel. The lights briefly blinked. It was anyone's guess how long their reserve power would hold up. "They said Tygrus and Catwoman hadn't returned yet, are they okay?"
A vial nearly slipped from her claws. "Ah, they wanted to take their time coming back. Enjoy the scenery I think…" Her eyes strayed up to a green vial, amidst several others. It seemed to mock her.
Sebastian didn't turn around. "Well they had best be careful, it is dangerous out there." He looked at a large, broken glass containment pod. "I was going through some of Dorian' old notes and...whew, I really hope athe quirky monsters he made in his earlier experiments are all dead. I'm not really sure what he was thinking using squid and lion and bear-"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!"
Sebastian turned with a jerk, ears turned down and seeming to curl up into a ball. "I'm sorry Dr Minerva! I..."
"IT'S CHEETAH!" She shot across the room and grabbed him by his throat, pinning him to the wall and holding him there, both of them breathing heavily, until Minerva gently set him down.
"I'm sorry Sebastian I...I don't know what happened there..." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "The pressure must be getting to me."
Dr Ballesteros nodded meekly. After a moment's silence, he looked down, rubbed his hands together and said, "You know...I don't see why Tygrus would stay with her when he could have you."
Cheetah simply stared at him for several seconds, and then smiled, gently bringing his chin up to her gaze with a claw. "Oh Doctor, you do see through me. Truth is, it's a little strange for a cat to get jealous like this right? Too human of me." She leaned in closer, "But you are hoping to catch me when I get over him right?"
Sebastian gulped.
"You think the only advantage he has over you his that strong body? That you have the brains to make up for it?"
"Perhaps..."
"He has confidence Doctor. Assertiveness. Qualities beyond just being strong."
"Well...if I had his strength I'd...well..."
Dr Minerva flashed a fang filled grin. "You forget...we can be whatever we want...You want to be as strong as Tygrus, Dr Ballestros?"
Sebastian sheepishly looked at her. "Well...maybe..."
She leaned about an inch from his face. "Then let's get to work."
The black rabbit like creature dashed through the brush, his four glowing red eyes scanning furiously for pursuers, long ears twisting quickly. Suddenly a blond, feminine figure landed in front of it and hissed harshly, giving a playful swipe, sending it scurrying in the other direction.
He was quite the agile and evasive little creature, no doubt cooked up by Dorian and left to reproduce and thrive as challenging prey for his creations. Though she wasn't hungry, Selina couldn't help but enjoy pursuing and play hunting it. It was part of her new instincts, like all cats, she now had a drive to hunt and stalk even apart from satisfying her hunger.
She loved it.
The small creature didn't go far before he was snatched up in the massive claws of Tygrus, carefully grasping the creature, before letting it go and watching it scurry away. He turned his gaze to Selina. Large, glowing amber orbs above gleaming fangs, breathing deeply, growling lightly, as he went to all fours and began slowly moving to her.
She smiled as she hissed at him, emerald eyes glinting and ears laid back. With a jerk she turned, flicking to her tail up at him and sped into the woods with her pursuer hot on her heels, dodging trees and bushes, darting past trees. Like their game of tag days before, she was the prey again. But this time Tygrus was chasing her with wild abandon, smashing through branches, huffing, growling as he snatched and snapped at her, just out of reach.
She slid down a hill, kicking up sand and dust as she slid down to the island coast. She turned to see where he was. Hmm, had she lost him? Disappointing.
Her ears twisted at the sound of a splash. The wind turned and a rush of powerful, awful scent washed over her. She turned with a jolt and looked up.
What she saw repulsed and horrified her senses. Tygrus and herself would no doubt be seen as abominations to nature by many people, as well as the prey animals, the winged cats, the rat hybrids, the four eyed rabbits, even the gazelle/impala. They were all man made creations, but they all somehow fit in the strange new balance and ecosystem of the island. They all made some degree of sense, at least. There was beauty in Dorian's mad creations, she had come to understand. But what stood before her was truly grotesque. On its hind legs, it stood nearly 10 feet tall, and had the vague shape of a grizzly bear, with night black fur and huge claws, but along its side ran a string of green florescent eye like lights, continuing down a massive furred tentacle of a tail that snapped on the sand beach behind it as the monstrous thing roared, an open mouth with drooling fangs, a strange squid like tentacle tongue waving about, spraying black liquid, a hideous mane of tentacles circling its head.
The jolt of the sight, its echoing roar, its putrid stench, knocked her off her feet and onto her side, reaching a hand up defensively as she tried to regain her senses, when suddenly a massive dark figure moved between her and it. Tygrus roared, his arms spread out and claws born.
The two cheetahs stared at the vials of purple liquid in front of them, then at each other.
"Well according to everything we have in front of us, this should...well, goodness Cheetah this concoction is quite the brew."
"Indeed," Dr Minerva said, an air of satisfaction with her work. "In record time, but then I have been planning this particular formula for years."
"Cheetah this is...this is a step above what Dorian was doing with Tygrus or the cats or even the wolves." He glanced at the empty canisters. "I hope we're not taking a step too far."
Minerva set a hand to his cheek and smiled warmly. "You know Sebastian, I saw him briefly before he fled the castle as we invaded it...we spoke about what it is to be on the 'inside' of this change in humanity as a species vs just creating new creatures as he did. I...we Doctor, are the true people to continue his work. Not Ras or any other human. Only we can truly see the change to its full potential because we live it. Do you understand?"
Sebastian nodded slowly. "I think so. I don't know if the others will understand us doing this though...maybe we should wait until everything is resolved with the wolves and the rest of those ninjas on the island."
"No...I'm tired of waiting around Sebastian. I think you know we both got into this place not by being cautious but bold. For good or ill, that is who we are Doctor."
She leaned closer, forehead against his. "Come Doctor...trust me...
It was one of the monsters. Discarded projects of Father. Sometimes made to test his creations, more often experiments in what was possible or could work. Most of them died. A few, the especially strong, endured. He'd made a point to steer clear of them in his time on the island. Not worth the risk.
The abomination reared itself back and swung its tail is a sweeping motion, which Tygrus leapt over. A massive paw of a foot slammed the beach in front of him, shaking the ground despite it being mostly sand, spraying the beach in a mist about them. Tygrus closed his eyes and relied on his ears and nose to keep track of the beast for a moment, crouching below a swinging paw. It was large and clumsy, but even for him, one strike could do serious, maybe fatal damage. The beast roared again, tongue snapping at him like a whip while his mane of tentacles quivered in anger. Dashing to one side, he drew the creature into shifting his weight, before sliding in low and striking a deep gash across the left thigh with his claws, leaving it falling off balance onto all four. Tygrus circled around, sliding underneath and cutting a long wound in its belly, entrails hanging out and dark blood coating the sand. It roared in pain but continued on sheer will, smashing the ground wildly. As it snapped desperately at its opponent, Tygrus recognized an opening. The beast gave a swing of its paw powerful enough to shatter bones that hit nothing but air, and a deft swipe by Tygrus sliced through tendons and muscle, crippling the foreleg and sending it to the beach floor. Braving the tentacle mane about the beast's head and the huge teeth, Tygrus moved to its back and put it in a full nelson. Bracing his arms and using every ounce of his strength, he twisted the monster's skull on its axis harshly, firmly, out of place. The massive, thick neck cracked, then snapped, and it fell to the beach, lifeless.
Tygrus, stood over the dead monster, breathing heavily, a snarl in each exhale, before rearing his head back, bloody claws outstretched, and roared at the night sky with a voice that shook the sand they stood on.
He turned to see Catwoman. She had not gotten up, still laying on her side, having watch him kill the creature with his bare claws. The rush of the kill still burning through him, he snorted and held his eyes with hers. There was no fear or shock in her gaze.
"My protector..." She whispered, a small hiss in her voice.
He moved closer to her as she lay on the beach, kneeling down as he held up his claws, coated with blood. Tenderly, she brought them to her mouth and cleaned them with her tongue. Finished, she rolled onto her back, as Tygrus took her by the shoulders, and then gave a firm bite on the scruff of her neck. They embraced each other on the beach, the sea lapping the shore as the tide came into it in rolling waves.
"Stay still now..."
Cheetah stuck the needle into Sebastian, who winced slightly, watching her inject the fluid into his veins by the arm. He tried to keep his breathing clam.
"Wow...we really did it. When should I feel the changes?"
"Oh...this should act quickly."
"How-Gah!"
He fell off the table and began rolling around. Every cell in his body seemed on fire! He was growing, expanding, legs swelling like tree trunks, shoulders bulging like bowling balls. His rib cage cracked violently and expanded, his voice deepening as he roared and hissed, beginning to develop the distinct reverb heard in the larger cats like Tygrus. His face pushed out, jaws growing, teeth lengthening. A mass of thick fur grew about his neck. Atop it all, his mind seemed afire. He could feel the wiring in his brain rerouting.
When Sebastian Ballesteros looked in the mirror in their lab, he saw himself anew, now for the second time in a few weeks.
He had doubled in size. Nearly, though perhaps not quite as tall as Tygrus, with broad shoulders, massive arms and powerful legs. His legs still bore the distinct cheetah fur pattern, but along his back he sported tiger stripes, and he had grown a handsome lion mane. His tail had developed a lion's tuft of fur. He popped the claws in his huge hands, admiring the daggers coming from his fingertips. Finally, his mind seemed...less clouded now. More directed. He hardly had to choose to let out a snarl and stretch his body, and then shoot a smile at the female...at Cheetah. It was so clear what he needed to do next. He realized how loaded his mind had been with second guesses and ponderings and doubts. Things seemed simple, streamlined, direct.
Cheetah touched his now deep chest, looking up at the reborn Sebastian. "There, my Chimera. Do you like your new body? How do you feel?"
Selina felt amazing, rolling on her back, eyes closed, purring in delight at the reverberating waves of joy running through her body. Tygrus sat next to her, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. As her eyes opened, and met his, they said nothing, but exchanged much. They were truly a mated pair now. She was his, he was hers.
How had this happened? How long ago was it that she had been a human, stealing trinkets in cities, desperately seeking to fulfill a thrill and challenge? How had her perspective changed so quickly that all that was starting to seem like a dream? How had she ever once seen this beautiful creature as something to run from? To leave him alone on this island with no hope? The need to become human again had seemed so strong then and yet...she could not remember why anymore. Perhaps that part of her was now lost. That thought seemed like it should be sad, perhaps it was, but how does one mourn the loss of a feeling they can't quite remember? All she could remember now was the pain in his eyes when she had left him here. She latched her gaze to his, a sense of longing and regret in them, giving a simple, unspoken message:
Forgive me, I should never have left you alone.
Without speaking, Tygrus sensed her thoughts. Without speaking, his leaned in and nuzzled his nose to her forehead. His own unspoken message clear in her mind:
There is nothing to forgive, you follow your heart. You are worth waiting for.
She purred and he growled as they embraced again, time seeming to stand still.
Eventually, the haze of the spell they were working on each other lifted enough for her to take in her surroundings again. She leaned her head back on the beach and chanced a glance at her mate's kill. The carrion birds were picking at the bizarre corpse. He had slain it like a warrior defeating a demon. She had said that him defeating Batman in combat would not have won her once, and it was true...but seeing that display of raw power had certainly had an effect on her. Part of her wondered, if they did fight...
Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw the sun was emerging from the sea...the sun! It was morning. Had they really been together that long? Surely the rest of the group at the castle was worried.
Tygrus sensed her thoughts and reluctantly lifted her to her feet with him. "We should return, love." Together they ascended the hill atop the beach...wait...something was there...carefully they looked over the horizon and saw what their smell indicated.
"Tygrus, Catwoman." Romulus said simply, flanked by Athena and about 6 other wolves. Their posture was neutral, though he kept a rifle strapped to his back.
"Your scent led us here...the pack as a whole has decided...we attack the Demon's forces...the humans, tonight. We will drive them off this island."
