Mad Dog stood outside the door to his captain's bedroom, shocked at what he just heard. My captain has daughter and he doesn't know anything about it? he thought trying his very best to keep himself from storming into the room and confronting Jasmine about what he just heard.
"Mad Dog, what are you doing here?" Karnage asked as he came walking toward his room with a tray of food in his hands. Mad Dog stared at his captain, thinking on what to say. So he thought up and thought it up quick.
"Oh, I was just hoping to find out if your ex-girlfriend was single." Don Karnage cocked his head, looking at Mad Dog and then the door to his room. "I also was hoping to get a little alone time with her also," he added quickly.
And his lie fooled Karnage. "Then get back to your work, Mad Dog," Karnage said, opening his door, then closed it behind him.
Well the first thing he saw was that Jasmine had been crying, for her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks were stained with tear drops and her hair was damp around the front from her crying, the look of sadness on her looked wrong and unnatural, she was too strong to cry, it was one of the few reasons why Karnage had respect for her. Seeing her in this state upset him; very badly.
Putting the food down on the night stand beside the bed, the captain sought to try comfort Jasmine. "Jasmine, why are you crying?" he asked her. She looked at him, saying not word. "Why are you crying, Jasmine?" Karnage asked, this time raising his voice a bit. Finally, she spoke.
"Because you are Anna's father."
Karnage's jaw dropped, his eyes frozen with fear in a long, dead pause. "What did you just say?" he asked, almost whispering.
"She's your daughter, Donovan." Jasmine replied.
Karnage stood there in shock, mouth still agape, frozen like a statue of ice. He couldn't believe what he had just heard from Jasmine's mouth. He gulped, his throat beginning to burn and his stomach started tying up in knots. "What do you mean she's my daughter?" he demanded.
"Anna is yours, Donovan," Jasmine replied, somehow regaining her calm.
This cannot be happening, Karnage shook his head in horror and disbelief. "Why do you think that? How could this have happened?"
"Well..." Jasmine trailed off and stared into the distance.
"What?" the captain firmly demanded.
"You do remember what we did after our prom night?" Jasmine nervously began.
Well, that brought back all kinds of memories to Karnage. Both good and bad. He could still remember the smell of her hair as they danced. But then her father showed up and ruined their night.
"Yes, I do," he said, then looked over at Anna. "I guess I better learn how to be your father now."
"You better learn alright," Anna said. "Now, why don't you show the rest of this ship."
"First, you two will eat, then I show the rest of my ship." Karnage replied.
Anna and Jasmine shrugged in agreement, they were after all very hungry. When they finished eating, Karnage led them through the ship. Along the way, some of the crew who were know to be sexual predators watched Jasmine and Anna closely, but they dared not make a move without their captain's permission. That was until...
"Let me go!" Jasmine screamed as one the crew grabbed her. Her cries brought Karnage to a halt. Turning he saw his ex-girlfriend being assaulted. Without even thinking, the captain drew his sword and attacked the other pirate.
The sword came down and cut right through the pirate's arm, severing it from his body. Crying out in agony, the wounded pirate fell to the floor. Jasmine looked on at her attacker, but turned to Karnage who now was holding out his hand to her.
"Thank you, Donovan," she said, Anna rushed to her. Don Karnage looked around at his crew, his eyes show no remorse toward them, but they could see death in them. It was now clear that if any of them tried to touch Jasmine or Anna, then there would be more missing arms or worse. Some of the crew stepped back and retreated to their room, while the rest stood where they were.
"I want you all to listen and listen good!" The captain shouted. "If anyone tries to lay a hand on my daughter, or Jasmine..." his gaze then shifted to the severed arm on the floor. "You will all end up with an arm missing."
When the crew heard their captain's threat, they got message and quickly went back to their work. After that, Don Karnage finished showing the girls around the ship. The last stop was the command deck. "And this is where I command this crew from this spot up." Karnage smiled. Little Anna quickly looked out the window and saw all thing her father would see.
Birds flying around the Iron Vulture. Islands surrounded by the sea. And a yellow sea plane taking off from one of the islands.
Anna smiled. "I see a plane." she said. Karnage quickly looked out window and was thrilled to see the Sea Duck as well. With a smile on his face, the captain turned his ship into the clouds, ready to intercept Baloo.
And speaking of Baloo...
"Baloo, this is the last time I will go on a lunch date with you!" Rebecca Cunningham shouted at Baloo. Once again, he had found a way to ruin a day of fun for her. Kit sat quietly in his seat waiting to see how Baloo would handle himself this time. Molly stood behind him, just as eager to Baloo talk his way out of trouble.
"You're the one who wanted to eat at Joe's fun house," Baloo laughed. He turned to Kit. "Think we should have ordered out instead?"
"Are you kidding, Baloo?" Kit smiled as he pulled out a map. "It's more fun to see you dress in drag and dance around, then just sit quietly as you eat."
Rebecca shook her head. Kit was no doubt picking up some of Baloo's bad habits, but that was least of her worries. Because at that very moment, the Iron Vulture came into view.
Ten minutes later...
Baloo, Rebecca, Kit and Molly all stood before Karnage who was smiling as Mad Dog and Dumptruck checked the cargo. The two pirates ripped open a box to find a set of golden bells.
"Hey, Captain!" Mad Dog shouted, "we hit the jackpot this time." Holding up one of the bells, Karnage smile faded when he got a good look at it.
"That bell is just gold plated!" the captain drew his saber in a fit of rage, pointing it at Baloo. "Where is the real bells?!" he demanded.
Baloo smiled. "Go fish," were the only words that came out of his mouth.
A sigh of disappointment escaped Don Karnage as he lowered his saber in defeat. How could he get Baloo to talk unless he... Then it came to his attention that Baloo would do anything to keep Kit or Molly safe from harm. With a smile on his face, Karnage took a knee in front of Molly.
"Does Baloo know where the real bells are?" he asked the little cub. She nodded, but said nothing. Turning his gaze to Kit, the captain placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "And does Baloo know what I'll have Dumptruck do to you and her if he doesn't tell me where the bells are, Kit?"
Kit felt cold as Dumptruck walked up behind him and Molly. The pirate looked at the cubs then at his captain for his approval. The order "Drop them" was heard and Dumptruck picked both cubs off the floor and held them over the open emergency exit.
"Just tell him where the bells are! Do it now Baloo!" Rebecca shouted. Baloo gave in and looked at the Sea Duck's right wing pontoon. He didn't need to say, because Mad Dog was already ripping the pontoon apart. And sure enough, there were the real golden bells that Karnage wanted.
"Good things come to those who cheat for the prize," Karnage smiled, but then said something that shocked his crew and his prisoners. "Now pay them for the bells," that was a shock to everyone who heard him.
Mad Dog and Dumptruck looked at each other and shook their heads. Hacksaw began to question his captain, but Don Karnage told him to be silent and get back to work. It was very strange, and some of the crew began to wonder if had anything to do with Karnage's new family.
It was right about that time when Anna came in to see who was being robbed this time. She saw Baloo, Kit, Rebecca and, "Molly!" she said, rushing up to her friend.
Both little girls hugged one another and began giggling and talking about how much they loved Danger Woman. It wasn't until Anna told Molly that Don Karnage was her daddy that anyone felt like pulling the two apart for minute.
Rebecca took Molly by the hand and told her to stand by Baloo. Jasmine came in and was happy to see her BFF, but Rebecca wasn't as happy to see her.
"Hello Jasmine," she greeted in a friendly way. "Your daughter says that her daddy is Don Karnage. No way that is true."
But the look Jasmine gave her told a different story. "He is her father. I made the mistake of not making him wear a condom on our prom night." she said.
Rebecca was shocked. "What are you going to do now?" she asked Jasmine. The lovely vixen thought for a minute.
"I don't know," she said.
"I think it would be nice if everyone would join me for coffee and cake," Karnage said, as he pushed a cart with fresh brewed coffee and a chocolate cake.
Well, now this was shock to everyone, but mostly to the rest of the crew. As Karnage sliced the cake, he couldn't help but feel the hate and confusion coming from his crew like a bad vibe. Hacksaw turned to Mad Dog.
"The captain has really gone nuts," he whispered. Mad Dog nodded and signaled the other pirates to fallow him.
Once the pirates were out of ear range of their captain, Mad Dog was the first to speak. "This is crazy." he said. "Our captain is treating Baloo and his friends to coffee and cake. He should be killing them or just be doing bad things he likes doing."
"Damn right!" Gibber snapped. "He has really changed since he learned he was a father."
Hacksaw pulled out a knife and slid the sharp blade across his arm, cutting the skin to draw some blood. "Then maybe we should get rid of the captain's ex-girlfriend and her little brat." he smiled, licking his bleeding arm. "After all, I loved the old Karnage."
Dumptruck agreed. "So, did I,"
Soon, the whole room was filled with angry crew members. There were some who wanted nothing more than to see Anna and Jasmine get turned into fish bait. Others like Mad Dog, felt that killing the two girls was not the way to go, but that did not mean he didn't want them gone.
That night, after Baloo and the others were free to leave, Don Karnage sat in his room, thinking hard about what transpired that day. One could say he had turned over a new leaf, but in his heart, Don Karnage would always be the prince of pirates. The captain's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock at his door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"Just me," came Anna's small voice from the other side of the door. "May I come in?"
Karnage smiled. "Do come in."
The door opened and in stepped Anna. She stared at her father and smiled back at him. "I just wanted to say thank you for the cake," she said.
"You're welcome, Anna," Karnage replied. For some strange reason, the captain felt happy. "Would you like to hear about how I became a pirate?" he asked.
Anna thought about that, she did in fact want to know about her father's life as a pirate. "Ok," she said, then climbed into her father's lap. Karnage was surprised by this, but he rather enjoyed having her in his lap. The captain felt a real bond growing between him and his daughter, but he kept that to himself.
After awhile, Anna fell asleep to hearing stories of her father's adventures in the sky. Being ever so careful, Karnage picked up his daughter and carried her back to her room, where Jasmine was sleeping. "Sleep tight, Anna," he whispered, placing her beside her mother.
Turning to leave, Jasmine reached up and grabbed his hand. Karnage looked down at her. "Please stay," she said. "Be the father Anna needs."
"Very well," Karnage nodded, then climbed into bed with his daughter and ex girlfriend. Soon he too was sound asleep, never knowing that tomorrow he would be faced with a real threat to his power.
