A Metroid Among Zoanthropes

A Metroid/Bloody Roar Fan Fiction Crossover

by Derald Snyder

Part 3- Meeting With Jenny

*WOC Headquarters*

"So Hajime Busuzima turned out to be a dead end," Adam spoke via radio uplink from Samus' starship. "Unfortunate, but at least we stopped him before he could cause any trouble on his own."

"Yeah, Mommy kicked his butt!" Uriko chimed in.

"So we're back at square one," Yugo sighed. "Hopefully Jenny manages to find something..."

"I cross-checked any reference the term 'XGC' with the Federation database, but came up empty," Adam continued. "I am attempting to search through public local databases in any hopes of clues..."

"Yeah, well, a lot of stuff related to zoanthropes is relegated to old books and legends," Shina sighed. "According to what Father told me, anyway. Me, I don't care for reading that much..."

"Maybe we should try the library?" Uriko suggested.

"We already did, and came up with nothing," Yugo groaned, running his hands through his hair. Just then his phone rang... "Oops, hold on... Hello? Oh, Jenny! Did you find out something? ...You want to meet? Where? ...Yeah, I know where that is... Someone not high profile with WOC...?" He glanced over at Samus. "Actually, Uriko's mom is here, would she work? ...Okay, great. All right, tonight it is. Thanks, bye." He then hung up. "Samus, can I ask you to meet with Burtory at the dinosaur museum?"

"The museum? Adam, where is that?" Samus queried.

"In the neighboring city, Lady," the AI replied, showing a map with the museum's location marked. "I would recommend driving a ground-bound vehicle, if you wish to stay low-profile."

"Right," Samus nodded. "Looks like I'm borrowing your car again, Shina..."

"No problem," Shina nodded. "I'll help babysit Uriko while you're gone, then."

"But I wanna come!" Uriko whined.

"Not this time, Uriko," Samus denied her, gently but firmly. "Burtory wants to meet at night, when you're supposed to be in bed. Besides, we're just going to talk, you'd get bored very quickly."

"But I like dinosaurs," Uriko tried to argue.

"Then I'll take you there during the daytime, after this crisis is over. Does that sound good?"

"...Okaaaaay," Uriko caved, looking down at the ground.

"Good girl. I'll leave her to you two, then," Samus nodded to Alice and Shina.

*That night...*

Samus drove up to the museum, parking as close as she could without taking a handicap space. Getting out, she checked herself over... she was dressed in a white blouse and dark slacks, her hair still up in a ponytail... stylish, but not too fancy. She then put on a dark-colored jacket over her blouse, her paralyzer pistol hidden in one of the inner pockets, just in case. "All right, here we go..." She strode to the museum's entrance, trying her best to look relaxed and casual.

As she approached, she heard a tone from the cell phone Yugo had lent her, taking out to see a text message: 'Balcony, 2nd floor'. Samus looked up, seeing the balcony in question... (Burtory must have spotted me from up there.) Texting back 'On my way', she put her phone away, proceeding into the museum proper...

Once inside, it took her a minute to find an elevator, going to the second floor, then making her way around some dinosaur exhibits, soon emerging onto the balcony proper. "Burtory," she intoned, the short-haired blonde turning to face her, wearing a short red dress and thigh-high high-heeled boots.

"There you are, Lady," Jenny greeted with a smile. "Nice casual style, I must say."

"So, what have you got?" Samus asked bluntly.

"Straight to business. Well, that's fine," Burtory smiled. "I've made contact with some shady customers, who seem to have a bit of knowledge about the mark of the beast. They asked me to look for something called the Tabula of a Thousand Beasts. Apparently it's some sort of ancient artifact that's connected to these marks..." As she spoke, she pulled up the hem of her dress slightly, an intricate bat tattoo visible on her right thigh.

"Tabula of a Thousand Beasts..." Samus pondered. "Maybe I should have Adam search the local databases for any information on that... Do you know what this Tabula is, exactly?"

"An ancient artifact, or so I was told," Jenny replied. "And apparently it can fit in your hand comfortably. You can see why they asked me for help..."

"Yes, something that small won't be easy to find," Samus nodded. "Especially if you don't know what it looks like... so if we find this Tabula and destroy it, it make the XGC marks go away?"

"Hopefully, it will," Jenny shrugged. "But like I said, we have to find it first..."

"Heeyy, what's a couple of lovely ladies like you doin' out here so late?" the two women turned to see a group of lowlifes dressed in torn jackets and jeans, a few wielding improvised weapons like 2x4s and chains. "How 'bout we show these girls a good time, boys?" The others voiced their lustful agreement.

"Clearly security needs to be improved at this museum," Samus deadpanned.

"Are you sure you can handle us, boys? We might be a bit too much for you..." Jenny said in a sultry, teasing voice.

The leader understood the veiled threat, declaring in response, "Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered ten to two!"

"Please. You'd need twice as many to stand a chance against me," Samus shook her head. "We're not exactly human, you know."

"What?! Are you two... beast-men?!" A few of the thugs took a step back in fear.

"Th-they're bluffing! Don't fall for it!" the leader insisted.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Jenny taunted, before rushing forward and downing one of the thugs with a jump kick! Samus quickly followed, hitting the leader in the nose with a right straight, snapping his head back, then dropping him with two body blows!

It was a complete and utter mismatch, the lowlifes all being laid out in just over two minutes. "Pathetic. I didn't even need my paralyzer," Samus sighed as she dusted her hands off.

"Nice work, Lady," Jenny complimented, kicking a thug in the head to ensure he stayed down. But then the duo's attention was drawn to the sound of slow methodic clapping, looking over to see a thin man with short black hair, wearing purple slacks and a long red shirt which was unbuttoned, showing off his well-toned chest. He had red eyes and slightly pointed ears, giving the impression of a feral feline predator.

"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant," the man spoke, "But maybe you'd like a tougher challenge?"

"Sh... Shenlong?!" Jenny gasped in recognition, taking a defensive position.

"Shenlong? The leader of the ZLF army?" Samus asked as she did the same.

"Not anymore," the tiger zoanthrope shrugged. "These days, I'm just a vagabond frequenting bars and other places, looking for a good fight. You there," he pointed at Jenny, "weren't you the one escorting that little cat girl that actually made me break a sweat?"

"I happen to be that little girl's mother," Samus growled. "Does the name 'Samus Aran' mean anything to you?"

"Samus...? Oh, yes, Buzujima's little pet project," Shenlong smirked. "So the little kitty rescued you, did she? You think you stand any more chance against me now than you did back then?"

"I was out of practice," the hunter shot back. "But unless you know anything about the Tabula, we've got bigger fish to fry at the moment."

"Excuse me? Unless you're thinking of committing suicide by jumping off the balcony, you're not going anywhere," Shenlong taunted. "But don't worry, I promise not to murder you outright. Don't need the cops actively hunting me down, after all. Just try to keep it interesting, won't you?" He then took a fighting stance.

"You want interesting?" Samus said, suddenly drawing her pistol and firing, Shenlong staggering from the paralyzing charge. "GO!" She broke for the balcony's railing...

"Right!" Jenny grunted, transforming to bat mode, Samus jumping and grabbing her legs as they went over the railing... while she wasn't quite strong enough to fly carrying a full-grown adult, Jenny was at least able to glide down to the parking lot below, the two landing with nary a scratch, Burtory reverting to normal as soon as she touched down.

"You cowards!" Shenlong yelled from over the railing as Samus and Jenny got into the car and promptly drove off...

"I don't pick fights I can't win," Samus muttered as they sped down the road. (Well, most of the time...) she added internally, recalling her struggle against Raven Beak...

"Well, that was quick thinking on your part," Jenny chuckled. "Even out of your suit, you're quick on the draw..."

"I didn't become the best just because of my Power Suit," Samus asserted. "I assume you don't want to go back to WOC headquarters, so where do you want me to drop you off?"

"Just somewhere at the city outskirts will be fine," Jenny nodded. "I'll see what I can do to try and find where the Tabula is, or who has possession of it..."

"Right, and I'll have Adam do a database search, to try and narrow down where to look," Samus concurred. "Whoever this person is, they'll regret putting Uriko in harm's way in their lust for power..."

*To be continued...*