I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I've sick with writer's block and life in general! Sorry if anything is not accurate here, it's been a while since I read the earlier chapters.
"Well, don't just stand there gaping," said the lion-thing. "Get us out of these fucking cages!"
Eagle had found his voice. "What are you?"
"A genetic hybrid of falcon and cheetah. Scorpia operated on my vocal cords and brain, yes I can speak, and can you please shut your faces and try to look vaguely intelligent?"
"Bu-but you look like a lion!"
"Not the issue."
Alex started sawing at the padlock and before long, the door swung open. In one graceful leap, the animal landed on the floor next to them. Alex saw that it was, indeed, a cheetah. What they had taken for the lion's mane was actually the feathers of two falcon-wings that had been bent forward.
"Thanks," said the cheetah, stretching. "Now, free the others."
"Not til you tell us why you can talk," said John.
"I explained, didn't I? My brain and vocal cords were operated on. Most of us can talk. I understand English, Slovakian, Arabic, Spanish –"
"Get to the point!"
"Well, Scorpia wanted an army of genetically modified humans, and the scientists worked out a theory they tested on different animals. Along the way, they decided an arsenal of genetically modified super animals would be nice too. They took DNA from me, my mate, and some of the others in here as well, I'm assuming for the human tests."
Alex suddenly realized that this was probably the cheetah his DNA had come from. The cheetah continued.
"We'll explain more later. My mate is in one of the cages in that corner. Please get her out." A touch of desperation entered his voice as he indicated the far right corner of the storage crypt. So they went through the towers of cages, unlocking the lower ones, and some of the higher ones as well. Soon they had a retinue of extremely odd animals following them. An owl with its feet replaced with steel. A bloodhound with a beak. They came to a cage with another cheetah inside, this time with six-inch fangs that folded back and a snake's tail replacing her own. At the sight of the male, she leapt at the bars, staring longingly. Alexandra tugged off the lock and the female jumped forward onto her mate, rubbing her perfect golden fur against his, purring ecstatically. The human cheetahs moved onto the other cages. After a good ten minutes, all of the animals were free, and the stacks and stacks of cages pushed together in one corner.
"So I hope you know Scorpia's plan," said Alex, rubbing iron filings out of his nails.
"Oh sure," said the peacock-like bird he'd seen before. "Those idiots would yammer at us like there was no tomorrow. I guess the only people they can gloat at are prisoners. So we've got to stop them."
"And now we have a small army of genetically modified animals to help us do it. Do you have names?"
"Not to the Scorpia operatives we don't. But we named ourselves. We can tell you on the way up."
Pathetically short for a week-long effort, I know. Blame Key of Awesome. But I seem to have overcome my writer's block, at least partly. Anybody got any good cheetah names? Or maybe a rule I can name them all to?