"The Factory (II)"


"Tigress."

No response.

"Ti come on…"

Nothing.

"For Scrolls' sake will you just look at me?"

Po roughly grabbed her arm back, seeing a clear image of her face - the first time he had seen her within the past hour or so since Shifu had came.

After Crane and Mantis had done their best to stitch up everyone's wounds - or at least anything they could seal up, and slow the bleeding - Shifu had insisted on proceeding towards the Cannon Factory as soon as possible. Within perhaps thirty minutes of trekking across a large stretch of grassland underneath the graceful moonlight, while stealthily avoiding the wolf guard patrols situated outside of Gongmen - Po, the Five, and Shifu had managed to locate a heavily patrolled grey building located at the outskirts of the city. Tall billows of smoke blew out from the factory, which confirmed Shifu's suspicion - all the metal and cannons were being collected here, before being shipped out.

Yet despite the quiet, fragrant silence of the grassland around himself while the rest of the Five and Shifu formed a small group, planning a way in - Po was only concerned with two things: Alf, and Tigress' face.

Tigress' face, like everyone else, had mostly healed. Most of the scars and bruises - even the new ones Shifu had given her - had managed to seal themselves. Yet Po was more curious about the ones underneath the surface, the ones she wasn't talking about.

Alf was a different story. Po perhaps found it difficult to believe that the Seekers had anything to do with the pandas being gone - but there was something about Shen's voice that night, the intensity with which he said it.

Po shoved those thoughts aside. He would worry about his feelings toward Alf later. He would worry about whether his best friend was even alive - later.

Right now only one thing was important.

"You've barely said a word since we headed for the Factory," Po noted, satisfied to be outside of earshot of the rest of the Five and Shifu. "We're about to get in a huge fight. If you're distrac - "

"I won't," came the silent response. "I'm focused."

Po shook his head, fearing that she took it the wrong way. "No! Not like that… I mean Ti come on… I know you've gotta be feeling shitty since - "

"He was right," Tigress whispered, staring back at Shifu and the rest of the Five discussing the attack plan a safe distance away. "He was telling the truth, Po."

"Whaddya mean?" the panda genuinely asked.

"I've become distracted since you and the Seeker came here," Tigress jutted out, gulping while still refusing to stare directly at Po. "I've - lost my way of being a leader… a warrior…"

"What happened to Alice?" Po asked in surprise. "Allison? Angelina?"

"That's the thing, Po," Tigress noted, finally looking back at the panda now. "I've become too - relaxed. Too easygoing. I - I am a servant of the Jade Pal - "

"Tigress you're sliding back into who you used to be," Po forced, grasping both of her arms tightly. "Quiet. Heartless. A freakin' machine. You're not - "

"I've lost who I was," Tigress silently countered. "I've lost who I was meant to be."

Po was growing infuriated, staring hard into her amber eyes. "This isn't you. Not anymore. Please - please don't - don't go back to being - hardcore."

"Why?" Tigress squeaked out, voice throttling a bit. "Look at what's happened. To - to the Seeker. To us. To - everything and us failing to get Shen…"

Po sighed.

Trying to untangle her from this sort of haze of feelings was near impossible. There were so many layers to it - the guilt from not rescuing Alf, the pressure Shifu had been putting on Tigress her whole life, the pressure of leading a team which increasingly saw her as growing unfit to lead - Po even wondered whether the Dragon Scroll, him being the Dragon Warrior instead of her had come up in Tigress' mind within the last hour. She was hurting, and hurting bad - and Po knew that she was trying to find a place of stability again, a place where she wouldn't experience any of these negative emotions.

But that would mean the old Tigress would be back.

Hardcore. Emotionless.

Master Tigress. Leader of the Furious Five.

Nothing more.

"Tigress you - you're taking what Shifu said, what Shifu did…" Po started, desperate now. "... too seriously. You're - "

"He was right, Po - maybe being who I used to be - maybe that's who I'm supposed to - "

"I love you."

Then nothing.

More nothing.

Po's brain took a few seconds to process what had just happened. Maybe it was the growing sense of helplessness that he felt, knowing he wasn't able to help Tigress - or maybe it was because of all the hours he had spent alone with her, all the nights he had spent sparring with her, or that night in the boat, or an hour ago when he was protecting him from Shifu, or any significant moment they had.

Which was every moment.

But something forced Po's mouth to begin moving before his mind gave an order. His heart was speaking without his permission.

"What?" Tigress repeated, dumbfounded. "What did you say?"

And Po didn't mind letting it.

"I love you," the panda repeated perfectly. "Always have. From - from the first time I saw you fighting some boar dude when you were a teenager, and the first time you saw me at the Dragon Warrior Tournament - I - "

Po was growing concerned, because Tigress' facial expression remained completely static.

"I - I love you, Tigress," Po continued, grasping her paws softly. "I - I don't want you to go back to - being who you were."

A pause.

Po took every moment to scan each of her features, searching desperately for an affirmation.

A smile.

A nod.

A head tilt.

Maybe even a blink.

A breath.

"I have to be what I was raised to be, Dragon Warrior," Tigress noted, standing up from her kneeling position. "You - you be what you were chosen to be."

Po stood up alongside her, feeling a massive pit of weight just sink in his chest.

She hadn't even acknowledged it. But in a way she had.

It was even worse that not reciprocating.

It was acceptance - acceptance of the "fates" they both had.

Their "destinies".

And just then, Po remembered Alf's hatred of prophecies, Shifu, Oogway, destinies, and predetermined fate. He didn't understand it all before. He didn't understand what was so morally wrong about all of it.

Now he did. Bit by bit.

"Okay we got a great plan," Crane's voice came in. "Guys, you ready?"

"We're ready," Tigress spoke at once, voice unusually harsh and cold. "What's the plan?"

Another weight sank in Po's chest. He was starting to see Tigress' old personality slowly replace all the good work he and Alf - and so many others - had put in over the two years. The rest of the Five and Shifu didn't appear to notice, forming a small circle around himself while addressing Po and Tigress.

"We sneak past the right entrance guards," Viper started, tail still a little sore as she pointed out a lightly armed pack of wolves far away. "They seem inexperienced, young, and tired."

"We scale our way to the top of the Factory," Mantis continued, pointing out a tip of the chimney at the roof of the building. "Dive in and ruin Shen's day!"

Shifu leapt atop his staff now, turning to face Tigress. Po felt conflicted - a part of him wanted to instinctively inch closer to her, but another part of him felt like something had fundamentally changed about her.

Maybe for good.

"Do you think you can follow the plan, this time Master Tigress?" Shifu spat, paw already preemptively twitching behind his back.

Tigress nodded mechanically at him. "Yes Master, I will follow the plan."

The voice was blank and static. Po's heart sunk even more.

"Good then," Shifu admitted, partially satisfied. "Let's move."

Po wanted to wait a bit. One by one, he watched each of the Five follow behind Shifu as they headed towards the side entrance of the Factory - camouflaging themselves in tall grass. He was really waiting for something from Tigress - maybe a backward glance, a silent whisper, perhaps even a reluctant sigh.

She followed the others, not even turning back.

Po shoved his feelings into the same area where he had kept his thoughts about Alf. He would analyze both at a later time.

Right now there was work to do.

A flash out of the corner of his eye. Po stared up into the sky.

A green cloud.

. . .

"What do you mean he hasn't reported in yet?!"

"I - I - "

"You don't know."

Shen stopped himself, confused. The young wolf quivered in his place.

"Uh - yeah that's what I was going to say," the wolf answered, turning to the peacock. "How'd you know boss?"

"I - " Shen started, walking away. "I - just did."

The peacock ignored the young, confused soldier. Shen was feeling a portion of his head hurt - for some reason, it felt like he somehow already knew what the wolf was going to say - not that Shen predicted it, but that he knew it.

He turned back to his factory, happily seeing the legions of wolf workers laboring underneath him, heaving heavy bags of metal into places while large cauldrons swung on conveyor belts - all headed to a massive pit of boiling metal. The atmosphere was dim and dull, but bright at the same time - the reflections of fire and shiny metal cast all around the multi-storied area.

"Uh so boss, you uh - " the wolf started again. " - want me to track down Zhong, or not?"

"No…" Shen started, feeling random thoughts emerge - things he didn't quite understand. "... no get all the men you can, and prepare for an assault from the ceiling."

"What?"

"JUST DO AS I SAY!"

Shen delivered a searing slap across the young wolf, as he trounced away after - shouting to all nearby wolves to ready themselves.

The peacock felt his head throb again. He wasn't even sure what was compelling to do all these seemingly random things - but there was some intuition, some key element of foresight that was going off like crazy - from the wolf's speech, to Zhong, right down to the slap - so why did he feel like something insane was going to happen? The Factory was well away from all of Gongmen, and there was no way the Five and the flabby panda could have escaped from his wolf forces after the Tower collapse - and of course, the fleshling was firmly imprisoned in the cave.

But something felt off. Something felt too familiar.

Shen had learned to trust his instincts after all these years.

A group of nearly twenty wolf soldiers - the strongest the young scout could find - had suddenly formed a circle on the highest level of the Factory, standing around Shen as the peacock kept a fierce gaze at the ceiling.

"Archers," Shen noted. "Fire at the ceiling."

A group of ten wolves stepped forward and unsheathed their bows, but they seemed hesitant to waste precious arrows shooting at nothing.

"DO AS I SAY!" Shen roared.

The ferocity in the peacock's voice was enough. The archers promptly fired multiple rounds of arrows straight into the ceiling.

CRASH.

THUNK.

CRUNK.

WHAP.

Shen felt his head throb again, remembering the glass shattering - the roof becoming destroyed.

But this time felt different.

As the glass ceiling gave way, seven limp figures fell gracefully through the air - arrows embedded in their bodies.

They fell to the top floor of the Factory with agonizing noises.

SQUELCH.

"What the - " one of the soldiers started. "LOOK! THE PANDA AND THE FURIOUS FIVE!"

"AND - MASTER SHIFU!" another wolf yelled out. "LET'S GET 'EM!"

Shen watched the twenty soldiers rush forward across the metal railing in a burst of speed, quickly reaching the seven downed figures. The soldiers began a whirlwind series of kicks, punches, and slices at the downed figures. Shen was satisfied to see no resistance.

"Stop!" Shen called out, bored - when in truth, he wanted to go closer to observe. "Let me have a look…"

As the soldiers made a small entrance for Shen to squeeze through, the peacock observed several things.

The downed figures were indeed the Five, the panda, and Master Shifu - which greatly surprised Shen. Nevertheless, all had arrows wedged into their ribs - or in Mantis' and Crane's cases - their heads, with large pools of blood spreading rapidly from each individual, no doubt helped by the wolves' vicious attacks.

The peacock was happy. Masters Mantis, Crane, Viper, and Monkey were instantly dead - Tigress seemed moving but weak, while Shifu skillfully tore an arrow out of his chest while wheezing. The panda stared at Shen - in great pain, but also great sadness.

Defeat.

"Surprised to see you here," Shen noted, withdrawing his silver blade while staring at Shifu. "Shame we won't get the chance to meet in better conditions…"

Shen shoved his blade forward, cutting right through Shifu's chest effortlessly.

"NO!" Tigress called out. "FATHER!"

Shen casually tossed aside the discarded blade and Shifu's corpse. He turned his attention to Tigress - who was still weak to fight physically, yet growled at Shen with pure loathing as he approached - another blade already withdrawn.

"WAIT!" Po called out, tears flowing down his face. "LET HER GO! JUST - PLEASE!"

Shen slashed viciously across Tigress' neck, splitting it open. A burst of blood spilled out immediately. She collapsed to the floor, motionless.

"NOOO!" Po roared, clasping his broken forearm in rage. "YOU - YOU MONS - ERGH!"

Shen effortlessly brought the blade atop Po's skull, cleanly causing a fissure while he left it wedged in his head. The panda gasped for breath as the rest of the surrounding wolf soldiers laughed.

The peacock grinned. "Hmmm - I guess it took a while, but finishing off the pandas… guess my job's done now…"

Shen kicked the panda heavily in the chest, watching him roll backward and off the metallic railing. Po's body fell for approximately ten feet before splashing into a moving cauldron of molten metal.

The peacock turned back, sudden odor catching his nose.

A green mist spread through the factory.

. . .

"AHHHH!"

"SHUT UP!"

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Zhong was growing irritated. The sheep was completely being uncooperative - granted, he was going to kill her so perhaps her reaction was to be expected - but still, it made his job very hard. The scenery outside Gongmen was a nice change from the the disordered chaos of the city - lush green bushes, a large stretch of grassland, some trees, and even a small river!

The same river where he would shoot the crossbow and dump their bodies.

"ERGH - PLEASE!"

Somehow, the sheep managed to break free of her bindings and collapse onto the dusty ground.

"I have a husband! I - I - I have two baby boys - they - "

BANG.

Zhong was thrown back by the force of the noise, feeling a wallop of air collide into his back. The Wolf Boss flew at least fifteen feet away, struggling to get his bearings as fresh dust settled into his nostrils. He blinked any residue dirt out of his eyes, standing up gradually as his eyes were blinded by a strong green light.

The sheep was shell-shocked and still standing. Two figures - clad in dark, overwhelmingly thick black robes - moved past the amazed sheep and moved onto Zhong.

The Wolf Boss started to emerge upwards, but was shot down viciously as an arrow lunged straight through his cranium.

CRICK.

"AAAH!" the sheep screamed in horror, watching Zhong's body collapse onto the dusty ground. "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!"

The two figures said nothing, forms gently fading away into air with puffy black smoke emerging beneath them. The sheep felt a cold chill in the air as China's sky darkened - a green cloud made its way over Gongmen.

. . .

Alf was bleeding.

He had bleeding for the last few hours, but the pain was so recurrent that it would come and go as it pleased - sometimes, it felt almost normal and escapable. On other times, it felt like a searing knife was cutting through every inch of his flesh. The cave of course was the worst place in the world to feel this way - strapped to some cold metallic table, with nothing but the massive cave stalagmites and the looming metal ship in the distance to offer him some company. The same white chill that ran through him (probably from blood loss) was not leaving him anytime soon - but more than that, Alf had taken his captured body and mind in a positive manner - mostly, for reflection.

It had become increasingly apparent that no one was coming for him. The Seeker had entertained a fantasy for a while that any second now, Po and Tigress would come bursting in through some entryway into this idiotic space - preferably with the Five in tow - and cut him free.

That fantasy felt delusional at this point.

Several things ran through his mind. Although being down here and subject to Shen's "treatments" meant that he had gradually lost track of time, Alf could tell that it had been many days since the Tower had collapsed - and yet, there wasn't even an inkling of the fact that Shen was defeated, much less captured. And consequently, any semblance of a "rescue" effort seemed to be predisposed to follow only after Shen's forces were defeated.

But the peacock - ever the showman - promised Alf at the end of his last series of "experiments" that he would be back.

And that was just an hour ago.

Alf fidgeted, feeling hot liquid run down his face as a crack in his forehead skin threatened to burst again. One part of him was satisfied that at least the Five and Po knew where the cannons were - or at least some cryptic message where they were - so that was comforting.

And then there was the metal ship, standing nearly a hundred feet away. Compared to the rocky cave surfaces all around Alf, the ship was so randomly placed, so much of a mystery that the Seeker fought between contemplating where the Five and Po were and what the ship was all about.

Shen asked him for his hand.

Something happened.

The ship talked.

It knew he was a Seeker.

It didn't accept him?

Alf groaned. A small part of him wanted to see Yu again, and tell her just how horrible the last few days had gone - between forced to play a prostitute, then having Shen beat the absolute skin off him, then being forced to take off his -

The mask.

The identity.

The secret.

It was out.

He just remembered.

He moaned again. He would think of those repercussions later. Now, everything had to be focused on keeping all the blood inside him from leaking out.

Ah - at long last, the connection's back.

"What the - " Alf tilted his head up from his uncomfortable position. "SHEN! WHERE ARE YOU!? JUST GET IT OVER WITH AND KILL ME YOU COWARD!"

Alf frantically looked around the enormous space, seeing nothing but stalagmites and the looming ship in the distance. It was frustrating to be tied down, especially since it allowed him to only see a fraction of what he usually saw.

I am not the peacock, fool.

Get up.

Hopefully you'll prove more apt than the snow leopard.

Alf searched around, trying to see any sign of feathers or the flash of a silver blade. "Your trippy mind games are boring the shit outta me peacock - just get me - "

Obedience.

You need to learn some.

A terrible sensation as the voice went silent for a second.

The pounding of a million knives.

The bursting of a million fires.

All was going into Alf's head.

"ARGH!" he screamed. "ARGH - WHAT THE - STOP, PLEASE!"

Be silent.

I shall take the pain away.

Alf gasped for breath, letting his head hit back to the metal table as the pain slowly slid away. "What - what the hell?"

If you are done wasting my time, I have things to do.

There is a switch right above your head.

Press it to free yourself.

Alf began hyperventilating, feeling an awkward fear come up. Something about the voice - which he had no idea how it, or whatever was - was speaking to him, making him cringe, reminding him of the nightmares he had so often for the last two years or so.

Ever since Tai Lung.

Alf inched his bound head upward, seeing a mild button atop him - this shocked him even more. "I - I - I'm going crazy - I'm going crazy… how, how - how the hell can I reach the - "

Dislocate your wrist.

Use its broken form to squeeze through the narrow locks.

Alf shook his head, looking at his bloodied wrist - already a bit split from Shen's instruments. "I - I can't - I - "

Oh for goodness' sake…

"ARGH!" Alf roared.

CRACK.

Alf's wrist pressed inward, fracturing the delicate bone structure inside. Alf howled in pain.

Get your wrist out now.

Be quick, I cannot interface much with this wretched world.

So much distance between us.

Not for long.

Alf struggled, feeling every instinct of doubt and fear creep up against the voice as he managed to pull his wrist out of the narrow lock. Alf whimpered as his bloody hand flopped meaninglessly, wrist bones no longer anchoring it in place. With a herculean effort, he swung his sore arm behind him - gratefully colliding his fingers with the button.

SNIP.

SNAP.

CLICK.

CLACK.

CHUCK.

Alf felt the metallic restraints slowly wrap away from him. His arms and legs felt mobile now, as the metallic locks unlocked and receded into the metal table.

The peacock cannibalized such a - primitive instrument from our technology.

And ironically - used it to keep one of our own captive!

I am grateful we have moved past such ancient devices…

Though judging by this world, even this might be far too advanced for such…

low forms of life.

Alf coughed and coughed, breathing out large breaths of blood. He wasn't even thinking about moving out of his lying down position.

"What - What - " Alf moaned, breathing heavily. "What the hell is going on?"

Too much for your small mind to comprehend.

Even if it Seeker.

Get up, boy.

We have work to do.

And despite every fiber of his being saying no, Alf felt compelled to slowly edge out of his table. He collapsed onto his knees, feeling hot breaths make their way out of his lungs - for the first time in many hours - feeling his limbs and body move independently.

"Have - have to find the Five…" Alf started, coughing out dust. "Have - have to find Po…"

He was hoping that the random, delusional voice would go away once his blood loss stopped.

Go near F74.

Alf shook his head, frustrated that the voice was continuing. "Whatever this is - whatever or whoever you are - get the hell outta my - "

It is imperative that you listen now.

Go near F74.

Activate the emergency bypass.

It is the only way to restore your dimension.

"I don't understand any of that bullshit," Alf muttered, feeling silly as he stood up and felt the blood in his head rush. "I need to find my friends you - you weird, creepy voice guy."

Your friends are dead.

The peacock has killed them.

Listen to me.

Alf growled, suddenly feeling the pain slip away and morph into anger. "SHEN! WHAT DID YOU INJECT ME WITH!?"

His voice echoed throughout the empty cave, bouncing off and reverberating with the massive metal ship.

The homing beacon around your neck interfaced with F74.

When the peacock was torturing you.

Your world is now in permanent quantum flux.

There is only one way to fix your predicament.

Auto-target the reality of designation, and zero all possibility functions.

Even via boolean semantics, you must properly plot the principal components.

Alf fought a burgeoning urge to laugh. He looked around again, desperately hoping for the peacock out of somewhere - perhaps with a syringe. He saw no one however, so Alf elected to ignore the voice's rambling nonsense and proceed to the edges of the cave - there was a good chance an exit pathway was somewhere. This was made difficult by the lack of light entering the massive space - nothing but jettisons of rock and the reflective metal ship, of course.

I understand you may feel confused.

I shall simplify.

Go the giant ship you see behind you.

Alf scoffed loudly, listening his tones echo through the tall cave. "Who - the hell - are you? What's happening? Answer me!"

A pause.

Alf sighed. He was truly feeling out of place with reality.

It felt like a nightmare.

In time.

Once we reach.

But for now, understand that while you may not know who I am…

I saved you.

"You broke my wrist," Alf spat, infuriated that he was actually entertaining this mystical nonsense.

Regrettable.

But the distance between us limits how well I can interact with this planet.

So listen to me, if you want your friends alive again.

Go to the ship.

"My friends are busy destroying the cannon factory," Alf retorted, huffing. "I've gotta meet up with them before - "

As I told you, your friends have already been killed.

Wait.

Your current reality has changed again.

The snow leopard has destroyed this city.

"Tai Lung?" Alf reiterated, shocked. "He's dead!"

Not in the timeline you are in.

This reality allowed the snow leopard to kill you two years ago.

He has brought this continent under his rule.

Alf's eyes were suddenly drawn to the reflective surface of the metal ship, feeling an odd sense of inescapable curiosity run through him. So much of it seemed to be speaking out to him - and that was even before this mystical voice nonsense had sprouted up. Alf took the moment to better study the metal ship - see the tall, five hundred foot height along with its broad metallic frame.

Please listen.

I have no intention of harming anyone.

Especially one of our own.

The snow leopard experiment proved that coercion is rarely optimal.

Go to the ship.

Fix your world.

"One of our own…" Alf repeated, quietly. "Are you - are you a Seeker?"

That is an ancient name.

We call ourselves - humans.

Alf's breath was shaking. The mere word felt like something old, something very deep and dark - he tried to analyze every inch of the voice's tones.

"Where are you?" Alf started, eagerness starting to brim - although a large majority of him still felt he was dreaming. "Wait! I - "

No more questions.

Go.

To.

The.

Ship.

Alf immediately sprinted off in the direction of the ship, ignoring the blood loss and all the mayhem over the past few hours.

He wasn't sure whether this was a delusion or not. He wasn't sure where Shen was. He had no idea what to make of the voice - and found the facts it spouted so unbelievable, so uncharacteristic of his life so far that finding it out - it was the same rush of adrenaline and excitement Alf got when the book had been delivered to him from his mysterious contact.

Two years of research.

Two years of searching.

He was finding something.

He didn't know what.

But it was there.

Alf stopped his gait, staring up at the massive metal ship tower over him and stretch to the ceiling of the cave.

"I - I'm not going crazy, right - erm - what do I call you?" Alf started.

No need to divulge that.

Yet.

Press your hand to the ship's glass paneling.

Alf observed the tall twin doors, seeing the rectangular glass panel sit there in silence. "That didn't work last time - it - "

Trust me.

Alf shut down his rational side again.

He complied, pressing his bloodied hand to the glass as thin trickles of red liquid ran down the glass.

The same booming voice that he remembered came back.

[ACCESS DENIED: DESIGNATION NOT FOUND]

"See?" Alf sighed.

Press both hands to it.

Move them up and down.

Alf did exactly that.

The next sequence of movements shocked him.

CRICK.

BANG.

WHAM.

RING.

The ship was evolving.

Something seemed off - the metallic roofs and pointy ridges of the ship were slowly decreasing, receding into themselves. Alf watched in amazement as two large, cylindrical pillars came out of the corners of the ship - nearly hundreds of feet above his vision. The pillars swiveled, rotating faster and faster until the very essence of the pillar features disappeared - nothing more than moving metal blurs. This continued for a while, until the spinning stopped in a fraction of a second - and the pillars retreated and the corners of the ship emerged once more.

Green mist began spreading from the glass panel.

"What the - " Alf started. "Why can't I go inside? What just happened?"

Your timeline is being reconstructed.

Do not fear anything.

"What's the green stuff?" Alf called out in fear, watching it wrap around him and obscure all of his vision.

Payment for freeing you.

Thank you for initiating the next step.

"Payment whaddya mean payment?" Alf breathed, bending down as the green mist started to completely obfuscate his field of view. "What's happening?!"

I help fix your timeline.

I get something from you.

Now that I have it - I can help fix your problem.

Thank you.

"Whaddya get from me?" Alf noted dangerously. "What? WHAT?!"

The green mist wrapped itself further around him.


A/N

Ahhhh - the speculations continue! I love writing chapters like these! Lots of dense drama and plot...

Aside from the obvious plot complexity, I hope everyone enjoyed the characterization in this chapter. It's actually enormously rewarding to think of Tigress as a character study - she has so many layers and so many ways to her that I think just writing her is very rewarding. She has so much juicy character drama with her backstory!

and I'm still not revealing anything about the plot. However I hope this chapter confirms that - this won't be about aliens! XD.

Support is amazing. Simple :)

~TW