An Author's Note: So, I got distracted.
Ever since I wrote that one chapter with the Mighty Ducks these damn Duck based stories kept pounded in my brain, refusing to shut the hell up. So, after letting one marinate for a bit I ended up writing it. And publishing it. Both here and on Ao3. It's called the Turn and it's the first ever Mighty Ducks/Animorphs crossover in existence and no I don't know where it came from. It simply is. And now it is on my page and now I have to deal with the world I have chosen to live in. It has no comments yet I have written six chapters of the damn thing.
So, I mean, do check it out if that's your thing. I don't think it's one of my bad ones. I actually am almost proud of it. Like an ugly dog that is still trying its best out there even though it has like, one eye, three legs and snaggle teeth.
Anyway, back to the stuff you came here for.
Chapter 25
A True Friend
The was dark, but one would hesitate to call it stormy. No clouds slide across the sky. No wind howled. No rain fell. The moon was absent from the sky, and the stars twinkled merrily above, managing to cut through the pollution of St. Canard like desperate lifelines in the night.
Then the sky seemed to explode. For a moment lightning, golden and bright, crackled above, forming into a small ball that shot downwards. Fading almost as soon as it appeared the golden lighting faded from view, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
And the night remained silent.
The Liquidator flowed over the grass of the park, gathering up random wrappers, empty soda bottles, papers and cigarette butts in a mild whirlpool of garbage and oil. He shuddered a bit at the feel of nasty garbage floating around his person, and as soon as he knew his watery form could hold no more grim he shot upwards and flowed into a large dumpster. Separating himself from the muck he splashed out of the dumpster, unable to keep the disgusted look off his face.
"You would think, with the amount of trash cans around, a few people would learn to put their garbage in the correct bins" The Liquidator shook himself, the grimy feeling still sliding against his water even though he knew he was clean. "Yuck."
"Yeah, but I swear certain people's goons go around and dump out trash bins on purpose." Megavolt grumbled as he tied up a bag bulging with trash. "I know I've seen this one big guy in a Hawaiian shirt going around with his little kid tipping them over like it's a normal park activity."
"Oh, you've seen them too?" Bushroot said, turning away from a tree he seemed to have been communing with. After a few seconds the tree uprooted itself and started to pluck trash from its leaves and place them in a nearby dumpster.
"It's weird." Megavolt said "He keeps muttering something every time he turns the garbage over. Not sure if it's something to be concerned about or not."
"Who knows, but I'll ask the plants to keep an eye on things." Bushroot pondered.
"So, you're going to keep an eye and an ear out?" Quackerjack asked, pulling out a small plastic corn cob and a small plastic potato.
"Hey, if it works it works." Bushroot said with a small chuckle.
Megavolt stretched and yawned. "Man, it's late. It's almost dinner time." He looked around the park. It looked pretty good, at least much better than it had this morning. There had been trash everywhere, even up in the tree's branches. It was like someone had gone through the place and dumped everything out and just strewn it around. What's worse, Megavolt almost thought that someone must be deliberately dumping oil and sludge into the small pond. They had been working on cleaning it up (with only one break to stop a robbery. It was a slow day)
"Do you guys want to- "
"Mew!"
Everyone paused for a second as the tree froze from picking garbage out of its leaves. It seemed to root around for a bit, when it parted some of its leaves to reveal a fluffy golden ball curled up in its upmost branches.
"MEW!"
"…aww, it's a kitten." Quackerjack peered up at the stray (non-anthropomorphic) cat. The poor thing was clinging to a branch, mewing plaintively every time the tree gave a twitch. The tree gently tried to extract the kitten, but it clung to the bark and continued to wail pitifully.
"Well, we should probably get it out. That tree doesn't want to hurt it, but it doesn't want it in its branches. It can tell it's not a squirrel." Bushroot said.
"I'll get it, just ask Mr. Tree to stop wiggling." Quackerjack leaped up and grabbed a now still branch. Like a demented spider monkey Quackerjack easily scrambled up the tree. Once at the branch continuing the cat he began to make soft noises at it and attempted to pet it on the head to calm it.
The cat refused.
With a fierce hiss the cat rapidly swatted Quackerjack's hands, who sighed and pulled his hands back. He didn't unbalance, keeping his knees gripping the branch. It would take more than a few kitten swats to make the acrobatic clown fall to the ground.
"It's okay little guy, you-YEOW!" Quackerjack had to duck as the kitten's whiskers suddenly sparked and a small bolt of gold lightning emerged from its mouth and almost hit Quackerjack in the forehead. "Okay! So, you got electricity too…good to know."
"Wait, did that cat shoot lightning?" Megavolt blinked. "How…when…what?!"
"Okay, maybe less shouting until I can get the sparky baby kitty out of the YIKES!" Quackerjack yelped again as the cat simply launched himself at the clown with a sharp high-pitched cry. He caught the kitten in midair, but this did manage to unbalance him as he felt the lightning hit him as he fell. Quackerjack managed to keep enough common sense to curl up into a ball, protecting the animal that had just shocked him and absorbing the impact. He uncurled as soon as he landed and the kitten leaped up, only to be caught again by Megavolt. The cat hissed and shocked Megavolt, who blinked.
"Huh…that actually felt kinda nice." He said.
"I'm sooooo glad for you, Megs." Quackerjack said as got to his feet. "To us nonelectric people it hits like a truck."
The kitten mewed again and buried its face into Megavolt's shoulder, trembling in clear fear. It clung to his clothes, but its claws didn't actually penetrate flesh. Instead, it clung to Megavolt like static, occasionally letting out sad little mews as its tail fluffed up. Instinctively Megavolt started to scratch the cat behind the ears. It began to purr frantically.
"Interesting." Bushroot sort of observed the creature from a distance, not wanting to scare it. "It has little horns. Take a look."
Megavolt peered behind the cat's head. Sure enough, there was a tiny pair of horns, barely more than little nubs.
"Huh…maybe it's not a cat. Maybe it's something else?" He sighed and started to pet the kitten, whose purrs became more intense. It gave Megavolt's ear a gentle lick.
"Well, it looks like it likes you." The Liquidator said from a good distance away. He knew cats didn't like water usually, and he doubted an electric cat would feel any differently.
"Yeah, great. It likes me. But what are we going to do about it? I don't think we want to give it to a shelter. I don't think they have the capacity to take care of a possible mutant or alien or magical monster kitten thing. We have no idea what it is, what do we do with it?" Megavolt sighed as the kitten attempted to crawl onto his shoulder and drape itself there.
"Well, what do you usually do when you find a stray cat?" The Liquidator said.
As it turned out none of them had ever really owned a pet before.
So, the four of them, crammed into a bench at the vet's office, felt very out of place, even if they had been a normal group of people. Being who they were, and very recognizable, it was even more awkward. The fact that everyone at the vets was staring at them didn't help.
The clientele at the vets mostly consisted of people with dogs and the occasional cat, with one very fluffy pet bunny in a cage at one end of the waiting area and someone with a bright blue pet parrot. They had nothing to contain the strange kitten, so Megavolt just kept a gentle hold on it. It didn't seem interested in escape, in fact at this point it had fully curled up on Megavolt's shoulder and was snoring. Very very loudly in fact and right up against his ear. You would think that an animal that could fit in his palm would be lighter but somehow the thing managed to put all its weight into sleeping like sleep was a serious mission that must be completed. It was like a furry growth just sitting there making sounds that normally only were made by large farm equipment.
"Ummm, Mr. Megavolt?" The…did you call a vet assistant a nurse or what? Megavolt didn't know but they were being called. Cupping his hand over the cat in case it decided to spring to life and start sparking everywhere, Megavolt got up, only Bushroot got up to go with him.
"Not sure I should get too close to him. Water." The Liquidator said. "I'll be waiting for you guys."
"Yeah, it's someone else's turn to get scratched." Quackerjack gave the cat a wary look.
"Okay that's fair." Megavolt admitted.
To her credit the vet assistant didn't seem at all bothered by the two mutated individuals in the vet's office. Instead, she was focused primarily on the kitten. "Where did you find him?" She asked as she attempted to gently take him off Megavolt's shoulder. The cat awoke, let out a savage hiss and clung to Megavolt's shoulder, still missing his flesh, and just digging into cloth.
"Oh, stop that, she's trying to help. Good grief, you're like static cling, let me go…" Megavolt managed to pry the animal off his shoulder so the nice lady could get a better look at him. The cat made angry growls and rrrrrs at the vet assistant but didn't actually bite or claw her. Just made very complaining noises and hissing and spitting. The assistant laughed and offered a square bite of…something soft that the cat instantly sniffed, then lapped up. The kitten seemed to decide that this was sufficient tribute and settled down while the lady looked him over. Megavolt sighed and finally answered the question. "Found it just now, at the park. Didn't really know what else to do with it."
"He." The lady corrected as she examined the kitten's…well it's back end. "This is a boy."
"Oh yeah?" Megavolt asked.
"Oh yeah." She nodded, a small smile starting to grow on her duck beak. "He's about, oh, seven, maybe eight weeks old. Just old enough to start being weaned I think." She moved towards a little scale and gently placed him on it. "Mmm, average weight, that's good. He doesn't look malnourished. He's not even that dirty honestly…some fleas, but that's to be expected…" Megavolt watched, fascinated, as she peered at the kitten's ears and poked and prodded him. All the while the kitten gave her disgusted looks but didn't hiss or swat again. Until she brought out the thermometer and he hissed again, but she just grabbed him by the scruff and did what she needed to do.
"Umm, he also has those little horns, see?" Bushroot pointed out. "And he can shoot lightning."
The woman looked at him and laughed. "Oh, can he? Did you find any other kittens? Or a mother?"
"No, just him. Up in a tree." Bushroot said.
"Well, we can't do anything about horns or powers. We just handle basic heath here. If you need any specialized care you need to find a scientist or someone who understands mutations. Unless we have someone who can tell us what his baseline is we can only guess on what we know about non-mutated pet cats." She placed another cat treat on the examination table, which the kitten slurped up. "Give me a second, I'll get the vet for you. He can tell you more."
She left and Megavolt sighed. He looked at Bushroot. "She's almost talking like we're keeping him."
"Are we?" Bushroot extended a vine and dangled it in front of the cat's nose. The animal let out a delighted mew and began to bat at the vine. He stood on his hind legs and swiped with both paws, churning the air with a kitty expression of sheer delight.
"I've never had a pet, what about you?" Megavolt said.
"No, unless you count Spike. I probably shouldn't take him with me. Not sure how he'll react to my more active plants, and hate for him to get into something in my greenhouse. And I doubt he can stay with Likky. All the water, you know."
"I know…where does he go when he's not hanging around the greenhouse?" Megavolt asked.
"Pretty sure he just sort of flows through the pipe system. Not sure why." Bushroot placed his vine on the examination table and sort of wormed it, making it twist around like exciting prey. The kitten lowered itself and wiggled his rear. He lifted a paw and then leaped, biting, and nibbling at the vine.
"And I doubt Quackerjack's place is any safer for pets. Not that he'd ever hurt it on purpose it's just…accidents happen…" Megavolt sighed. "It's going to end up staying with me, isn't it?"
"Well, can you think of anyone we can give him to?" Bushroot asked.
"Well, if it were a normal cat I'd just take it to a shelter or something, but it can shoot lightning and it has horns. I don't know…it has my powers, Bushroot and I don't like that."
"Is there any way he could have gotten powers similar to how you did?"
Megavolt gritted his teeth. No way a kitten could have recreated his experiment. Maybe if it was a cat person, but an animal? No way.
"Definitely not. Someone could have used him as a test subject, but he couldn't have done it on his own…" Megavolt sighed and watched as the kitten rolled on his back and kicked at Bushroot's branches. "Of course, he might have gotten his powers some other way. Doesn't even have to be science. With those horns he might be, I don't know, some mythical animal."
"True…so what do you want to do with him?" Bushroot asked. "If you don't want to keep him I mean?"
Megavolt sighed. He might be connected to Megavolt's powers. If he were that meant that someone must be using animals as test subjects and given a kitten his powers. If that were the case he was going to make sure that person paid for it. His memory was spotty but he was pretty sure that to give his powers to animals would involve some pretty unethical experimentation. Of course, there was also the question of why this hypothetical person would do that in the first place. There was also the possibility that this creature wasn't connected with him and had electrical powers from some other source.
"At least until we figure out what he is and why he has powers we should probably keep an eye on him." Megavolt sighed. "I guess we'll keep him around."
Bushroot nodded and tugged his vines away, only to dangle them again as the kitten leaped and grabbed. "…I think we should name him Static."
"…what?"
Bushroot smiled gently. "Well, you did just call him static cling earlier and we can't just keep calling him 'the cat'."
"Fine, fine…" Megavolt agreed as the cat somehow managed to launch himself off the examination table and into a box of flea med samples on the counter. "Gah! No!" He grabbed for the cat. "Stop causing chaos!"
The cat looked up at him with wide, innocent little golden eyes and gave the cutest, most adorable tiny mew. Megavolt sighed. "Oh, this is going to be fun…"
Megavolt ended up leaving the vet's office with what they called a 'kitten package'. Apparently, the vet doubled as a small store for your general pet needs. A few cans of kitten food, a small scratching tower, a litter box and litter, two bowls, kitten flea medicine and, they were nice enough to vaccinate the thing. Also, if he was keeping it, they really wanted it to be 'fixed' at some point when it reached a certain weight. It was a lot to take in.
They had also included a printout sheet of general information about kitten care, and numbers to call in case the cat started to exhibit strange behavior like talking in a low demonic voice or attempting to lay eggs in his chest.
The fact that they needed dedicated numbers for these issues scared Megavolt more than anything else today.
Fortunately, he had friends who could help him cart cat things up his lighthouse and arrange them so he didn't have to do it himself.
"I dunno, maybe don't let the cat outside, just in case he tries to fall off the lighthouse." Quackerjack pondered, staying out of range of the cat's claws. Bushroot might have been fine with being chewed as a plant duck but Quackerjack was still made of soft flesh and feathers, thank you very much. He wasn't sure what the animal had against him but since the creature didn't want to play nice with Quackerjack he wasn't going to mess with it. He didn't want anything bad to happen to it (unless it turned out to be malicious), but he didn't want to play with it if it insisted on hissing at him and trying to claw his eyeballs out.
"Yeah, just help me finish shutting the windows. I'm not letting this little ball of destruction out of this place unless I'm with him…" Megavolt put the cat on the top of his little scratching tree. The post was little more than a tube with a small circular platform on top and a little dangly mouse toy hanging from the platform. The kitten mewed and circled on top of the post. He dug his claws into the platform and started to scratch enthusiastically. He then plopped down on the platform, let out a tiny yawn and flicked his tail over his nose. Within seconds the cat had started to purr/snore like a motorboat.
"Aww, it really is cute when it sleeps…and isn't hissing." Quackerjack, unwilling to wake the cat up and be hissed at again, backed away. "You going to need anything else?"
"No, think we are good for now. Just have the others wake me up in case of a problem. If not I'm going to sleep." He gave his friend a slight frown. "You going back to your home?"
"Yeah…we haven't seen a sign of…you know. Can't keep having people hanging around it when there's nothing there. Besides, I have enough security cameras set up in my place by now. Just in case." Quackerjack sort of squinted out the window, and Megavolt couldn't help but notice the duck's slight shiver.
"You sure?" He asked.
"Yeah…it's just…you ever feel like you're being watched?" Quackerjack asked.
"Not…really. Quackerjack, if you think she's still lurking around-"
"She probably is, but I haven't seen any sign of her. I've got a pretty good system set up and even if she is still watching me I'll know if she gets to close it's just…" He shook his head and gave Megavolt a reassuring grin. "It'll be fine. I'm a grown up. I can handle myself."
"Yeah, but if it gets to be too much than."
"Then I'll just wander around the rooftops and look for…I don't know. Jewel thieves. Carjackers. Jaywalkers. Something." Quackerjack grinned, and it almost looked like his normal grin. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."
As Quackerjack left Megavolt couldn't help but feel his own chill. But, like Quackerjack said, there was nothing there.
As Megavolt went through his usual evening routine and got ready for bed the cat continued to sleep. At least until Megavolt went to lay down to sleep himself. As if summoned the cat suddenly leaped on Megavolt and crawled up towards his head. He blinked and Static placed his head right next to Megavolt's, the cat's nose an inch from Megavolt's ear. The cat sort of spread out, his claws reaching forwards as he stretched as he once again began to snore.
"…yeah, okay. Whatever." Megavolt turned his head away from the animal's breathing. "I thought cats were supposed to be aloof you tiny little pest…"
A few seconds later Megavolt heard a tap on his window and a sloshing noise. Keeping his distance, the Liquidator formed in his room.
"Hey, we got a problem downtown and oh my that's adorable…" The Liquidator laughed. "Look at him, he thinks you're his mommy!"
"Yeah, I know, just give me a sec…" Megavolt attempted to lift the cat up but the kitten extended his claws till they were an inch from his neck. He snorted at Static. "Don't even think about it, hairball."
The kitten let out the loudest wail of protest that Megavolt had ever heard. It sounded like the cat was dying.
"Oh, come on you overdramatic fluff I have work to do, you have a post, you have a warm blanket, I gave you that blanket not an hour ago, now get off so I can go save the city!"
"MRRRRRROWOWOWWO!"
It wasn't exactly hard to get the cat off; he didn't weigh much but the sad screaming didn't help. "Are you trying to get a part in the opera, just stop. I'll be back, I promise! Geeze…" Finally, Megavolt managed to get the cat off. Gently he placed it on the platform of the cat post and raced to get to his night job. "I promise I'm coming back!"
The Liquidator smiled at Static. "Well, you got him trained already. Nicely done." Still chuckling he followed Megavolt out the door, leaving a poor despondent helpless kitten to fend for himself in the cold cruel world.
Static registered his disproval by throwing up on Megavolt's spare boots.
The next morning saw Megavolt stumble into the lighthouse, tired and mad from dealing with petty thieves all night. He was cranky and mad, and he had to remind himself he had to feed the small helpless animal living with him.
The small helpless animal which was no longer in the lighthouse.
Megavolt felt a jolt of panic. Did he forget to fully secure the lighthouse before he left? Where was the kitten? How did it get out? Did it fall on the ground? Into the bay? Oh no, did the poor thing drown?
"MEW!"
Megavolt raced out of the lighthouse and looked up. The kitten was on the roof of the lighthouse, peering down at him with casual innocence.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"
Thirty minutes later Quackerjack was staring up at the cat on the roof as well. He looked from the cat, to Megavolt, then back to the cat.
"This is going to be a habit, isn't it?" Quackerjack asked in exasperation.
"I hope not." Megavolt shook his head.
"Fine. You owe me." Quackerjack sighed and started to ascend the roof. "Alright, come here you little -zap- SHIT!" Feathers fell from the top of the lighthouse roof to land at Megavolt's feet.
Megavolt winched as Quackerjack managed to grab Static by the scruff and land in front of Megavolt. He thrust the kitten into Megavolt's arms, bits of somewhat bloody feathers falling from his arms. "Here you go." Static latched onto Megavolt and snuggled.
"Sorry." Megavolt said sheepishly.
"It's fine. It just doesn't like me. Not sure what I did but he doesn't like me. Please tell me you have a sink and some soap, right?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Great." Quackerjack turned and went inside the lighthouse, Megavolt following. He let the kitten down and watched as Quackerjack spread soapy water on the scratches on his arms. "He's very pointy for a little guy."
"Sorry."
"It's fine, he doesn't know any better." Quackerjack turned from the sink just in time to witness a cloud of smoke appear behind Megavolt. "Megs, look out!"
Megavolt turned and backed away from the smoke cloud, gripping Static with one hand and gathering his electricity in the other. The kitten, as if sensing a potential threat, growled and sparked from his own whiskers. However, once the smoke formed into a somewhat familiar serpentine shape Megavolt lowered his hand. The cat continued to spark.
"You…do you people not know what doors are for?" Megavolt asked. Wraith, the alien lizard sorcerer they had met a few weeks ago, blinked sheepishly and looked behind him.
"Ah, my apologies. I didn't actually know where it would lead me." He said.
"Where, what would lead you to?" Quackerjack asked, folding his still slightly damp arms and narrowing his gaze at the alien.
"I sensed a presence enter this world the night before last. An ancient and powerful presence. It took me a bit to track it down, but here it is." Wraith's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the still sparking kitten. "Where did you find that creature? Is it…native?"
Quackerjack and Megavolt looked at each other, then at Static, who was still growling at Wraith.
"Well, I guess that answers the question of if it's a mutant or not." Quackerjack chuckled.
"We found it yesterday in a park, we have no idea where it came from, but it does look like a local pet cat. It can shoot gold lightning and it has these little horns." Megavolt turned the cat and pointed out the tiny horns.
"Hmmm…may I examine it?" Wraith asked.
"Long as you don't plan on hurting him." Megavolt answered.
"No, but I think that this creature might be important in some way." Wraith said, still eyeing the creature.
"I'll call the others…" Quackerjack said as Megavolt continued to study the wizard. It's not like he didn't trust the alien. Wraith had come across as at least generally trustworthy the last time they met, but they didn't know him that well and Megavolt couldn't help but be protective of the small kitten. But at the same time he knew that if the wizard could help and knew what Static was then he should probably listen.
"Alright, you can look at him."
By the time Quackerjack returned with the Liquidator and Bushroot Wraith had already spent the time with a single claw placed on the kitten's head, muttering and glowing an odd red color. Megavolt, still holding Static, stood there, his fur slightly lifted as the magic sort of tingled around him, but didn't touch him. By now Static was no longer growling but was lashing his tail back and forth. After a second Wraith took his claw away and frowned.
"This creature was once something great. Powerful. A mighty, heroic soul, but it lost its last fight with a great evil. Some sort of amalgamation of dark souls, twisted by lust for revenge on the living. It was…a lot of souls, packed into one dark frame. This creature was…a guardian of some sort. I'm getting the impression of three heads, gold scales, and lightning. Nothing really concrete though. It was always meant to protect, but it was sent into battle far to young, and was killed. I do not know if the evil it fought was defeated, or if it was killed before he could succeed. All I know is that it was…reformed, reincarnated, and for some reason its soul made its way here. Perhaps it knew that it would be safe here. I can't tell." Wraith sighed. "It's power, and its true form, are dormant. I don't know why it was reformed to look the way it does, but it reflects its youth. Its power might awaken in time, but for now it's weak. I do know that it's not dangerous or malevolent."
By this time Static had moved from Megavolt's arms to perch on his shoulder again. He seemed to have mostly calmed down and was now mewing insistently in Megavolt's ear.
"Okay, so, what do we do with him?" Megavolt asked as the kitten pawed at his ear gently.
"…I think it wants food." Wraith said with slight sarcasm as Static continued to mew. In fact the kitten was making a sound that suggested he had never seen food in his life.
"Eh…oh, right." Megavolt put the kitten down, who began to circle around his feet like a desperate shark. He ignored the fact that everyone was smiling at him in various states of amusement as he fed the kitten. The small beast dove at the soft food with another mew of glee.
After a few moments of watching the kitten eat, Wraith turned to Megavolt. "I would like to see the area you found him, if it's not too much trouble?"
"Yeah, I don't see why not." Megavolt agreed. He leaned down and scooped Static up. "I don't trust you to not end back up on my roof again, you little gremlin." In response to this statement the kitten draped himself over Megavolt's shoulders and purred loudly.
Megavolt sighed.
"WHAT THE! WHO! WHY! WHEN!"
"It must have happened last night." Bushroot frowned.
"I take it from your expressions these places are not…supposed to be covered in…waste?" Wraith frowned as Megavolt seethed in secondhand embarrassment.
If anything the park was now worse then it had been before the Four had cleaned it. He could swear whoever did this had taken out a hose and sprayed down the trees and bushes with oil and purple-black colored sludge. Trash of every kind littered the park so thick he couldn't see the ground. A paper bag from a fast-food place blew past them in the breeze like a stray tumbleweed.
Bushroot winched. "This kinda hurts. It's awful."
"No, they aren't supposed to look like this. Something is up, and I want to know what." Megavolt growled.
"Mmmm…I can sense a presence here…the, you call it a 'kitten', yes? The kitten's aura overshadowed it, but there is something here…no, wait, two things…who are you?" The wizard turned and sort of spoke to the air, and to the Four's shock another small pillar of smoke appeared beneath the same tree that once held the kitten. Lurking underneath the tree was what at first looked like an elderly green duck. Then Megavolt noted the single large red eye and the black claws on his hands…and the fact that he looked like he was dressed like a vampire. The newcomer eyed Wraith with some caution.
"I'm all for cooperation between the magical community and Normals, but I don't recall ever seeing or sensing you before. And I think I would have noticed you. You have a good amount of talent." The newcomer said.
"Why thank you. I try." Wraith smiled slightly, but there was a hint of caution in the alien's stance. "I wasn't on this planet until a week or so ago."
"Ah, an interdimensional visitor?"
"Space, actually."
"You traveled here through Normal means?"
"Well, I wouldn't describe Siege and his methods as terribly normal, but if you mean non magically, then unfortunately yes." Wraith admitted.
"Ummm, okay, can we just…pause the mutual wizard appreciation society and get a few things cleared up. Like you, who are you?" Megavolt asked.
"Moloculo Macawber, pleased to meet you all." The man said, and blinked in surprise as the Four of them gave him various looks of horror. "I take it you've heard of us?"
"We, uh, know a Morgana." Bushroot said cautiously.
"Ah, my daughter! How is she and her little apprentice? I was so proud when she finally volunteered to train a youngster. She was always so…focused on her own studies shall we say." The man beamed in pride and Bushroot felt his heart sink. He looked around at the others, who were all in various stages of wincing.
"She's ummm, kinda…dating a…crime lord." The Liquidator put himself forwards. If this wizard ended up hexing the messenger he'd rather it be him.
The man stared at them for a long moment then laughed. "I'm sorry, what? The Normal vernacular must have changed in the years I've been away from your society. I thought for a second you meant she's dating some sort of bandit or something." He chuckled again.
"She is. His name is Negaduck. He runs the biggest criminal gang in the city." The Liquidator said.
Moloculo frowned at him. "You must be mistaken." His tone indicated that if the Liquidator knew what was good for him, he'd better be mistaken.
"I…look, I can understand if you don't want to believe me. I have a son and you never want to hear something like this but…she is dating Negaduck. And that kid you mentioned. The werewolf boy? She kicked him out months ago." The Liquidator watched as Moloculo glared at him, hand twitching as if ready to hex him right there. His red eye started to glow in a sinister manner, but the Liquidator didn't back down. "If you don't believe me, you can ask her yourself."
"I just might. And you had best hope your slander against my daughter is founded on a misunderstanding. I might just turn you into a slug if you are spreading rumors deliberately…"
"If I might interject." Wraith gently inched between the two of them in an effort to break Moloculo's eye contact with the Liquidator. "But I can guess the reason you showed up here wasn't to hear news. You sense the other presence here as well, correct?"
Moloculo straightened, his eye dimming. "Indeed. I could sense something exceptionally powerful enter our realm, as well something else growing here. The…state of this park is connected. Perhaps not with the powerful one, but something else. Something evil."
"Wraith thinks the powerful thing you guys are sensing is this kitten." Megavolt held up the cat, who mewed. "But we aren't sure what the other thing you guys keep talking about is. All we know is we found the kitten in that tree you're under, and yesterday we spent the entire day cleaning up this park. When we showed up here it was like this, but it was clean the day before."
"Don't forget, we've also seen at least two people, a man and a kid, dumping garbage cans around. We thought they were just vandalizing the place." Bushroot mentioned.
"Hmm, sometimes a ritual of some kind can be mistaken for vandalism, or vice versa." Moloculo mentioned, deciding to let the matter of Morgana drop for now. "Perhaps if you aid me…" He looked at Wraith, trailing off slightly.
"Wraith, and I would be glad to help."
"We might not be magical, but this is our city. Tell us what you need us to do." Megavolt said, trying not to think how silly he probably looked with a kitten snoozing on his shoulder.
"If there is a ritual we might be dealing with cultists of some kind. And if we are dealing with cultists there is certain to be a fight." Moloculo said. "If so than your help would be appreciated." He gave them a little smile. "Many of my kind refuse to see how useful, and how capable, Normals can be. Honestly, radio, airplanes, the gas oven? Brilliant. I can only imagine what your people have come up with in the seventy years I've been handling my own affairs…"
"Perhaps, while the two of us work to learn more of this…presence, the four of you can fix the park back up. That would lure our cultists out. It is clear this ritual requires the summoning area to be tainted with filth. Therefore, cleaning it will bring our enemy forth so we can ambush them." Wraith suggested.
"No problem. One clean park coming right up or your money back!" The Liquidator sloshed forwards, eager to fix the place back up.
By the time the Four had cleaned the park back to almost new the sun was falling in the night sky. For the most part the two wizards didn't seem to do much. If he didn't know better, it had looked like both had just spent the day snoozing while the Four did all of the work. Megavolt didn't think that was the case. He might not know either of them that well, but he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
"This summoning, whatever it is, is connected to filth and rot, as I suspected." Wraith sort of unfurled from where he had been sitting and, apparently, meditating. "I cannot determine its form. We should, perhaps, proceed with the stakeout plan. Wait for these cultists to arrive and see what they do."
"That's not all. Whatever is coming, it is not being stopped from merely cleaning the place up. The ritual must need several days to work, and it is growing in power." Moloculo looked down at Static. "Had this kitten creature not appeared, we might never have noticed this presence until it was too late. We were only aware of it because we both could sense the kitten's potential power."
"Aww, he's only been with us a day or so and he's already helping us save the world." Quackerjack attempted to pet the kitten who hissed and swatted at his hand. He pulled it back just in time. "Yeech, still don't like me."
"Great, can you two tell where this ritual might be happening?" Megavolt asked as he picked the cat up and walked him over to his electric van. He stuffed the suddenly protesting animal in and shook his head. "No, kitty, the grownups are working here." He went back to the others, ignoring the kitten's sad mews.
"Believe it or not, it's this tree here." Wraith pointed at the tree where they had found the kitten. "Or at least very close to it. It might be why the kitten was drawn here in the first place. We should wait and see who or what shows up. But don't show yourselves until the ritual starts. It's best to interrupt these things mid cast. They would have to start all over if it is interrupted instead of preventing them from doing it at all. They could pick it right back up at a later night."
"Alright, let's get in positions everyone." Megavolt ducked into a bush, joined by Bushroot. Quackerjack leapt into the tree's branches, giving the poor abused thing a pat on the bark. The Liquidator spread out on the ground until it just looked like slightly muddy earth. Both wizards pressed their backs against the bark of the tree and vanished. Megavolt assumed magic of some kind.
As soon as the last rays of weak sunlight had sunk below the horizon, Megavolt heard the roar of motorcycle engines. Peering through the bushes his eyes narrowed as he saw a pair of bikes park on the curb. The first was a large duck, the rider of the other bike was a slender chicken woman. Neither of the riders wore helmets, because why would they be sensible, even with a younger child sitting in front of the male duck. All dressed like bikers, but they were also carrying two large bags in their side cars. The child looked around with a sudden angry look on his face.
"Look at all of this! Those dratted do-gooders ruined all our work for Lord Negaduck!"
"It's alright, Honker." The big guy patted the child on the shoulder. "The creature will be ready tonight, and Lord Negaduck will be pleased to see it can be done. It might even give those fools a nice run for their money." The male laughed and began to spread more garbage around the park. "Just a few minutes more…"
Megavolt itched to leap out of the bushes and confront the miscreants, but he knew that he needed to stay put until they started the chanting or…whatever they were doing. He looked closer. Apparently, they were creating a circle in the middle of the park made of pure garbage, right next to the tree that others were hidden near. A symbol was being sketched in garbage in the middle of the circle and Megavolt couldn't help but shiver slightly. They didn't chant, instead they simply conversed among themselves like a family preparing decorations for a celebration.
"MEW!"
Megavolt hissed in annoyance. How did Static get out of the car! Why was Static out of the car! The silly thing was charging the big man, fur sparking aggressively, and tail fluffed up. The kitten skidded to a halt and shot a small bolt of lightning at the man's foot.
The man laughed and scooped up the sparking cat in a garbage bag, the sparks unable to get to him through the bag. "Oh, look Binky! It's a willing sacrifice!"
"Oh, how delightful!" The woman's eyes were alit with mad glee. "It's such a darling little freak too!"
The man laughed and reached into the pocket of his leather jacket, handing a lighter to the boy. "Why don't you do the honors, Honker."
The boy happily flicked the lighter and pressed it against the circle of garbage. Laughing in glee the boy started to jump in victory as the fire spread through the garbage, releasing a horrible smell. The man started to swing the bag containing Static, and then let go.
Megavolt charged, not sure if the damn ritual was at the point where it could be interrupted, but frankly he didn't care. They were going to hurt Static! He leaped, grabbing the bag out of the air and landing on the other side of the circle, rolling to a stop while protecting the bag containing his kitten with his body. He quickly tore it open and pulled the kitten out and held Static against his chest while the kitten mewed.
Megavolt turned, still clutching Static and watching with horror as…something began to crawl its way upwards from the flaming circle. It looked for all the world like a huge slimy pile of sludge, bulging and gigantic. He could hear the man cheering about how it was working and wouldn't Lord Negaduck be so pleased, but Megavolt was a bit more concerned about the fact that it indeed seemed to be working. He thought he could hear Wraith yelling at the others to attack, attack now, but all Megavolt could think about was getting Static out of there. He was just a helpless kitten now, no matter what he had been before, and Megavolt wasn't going to let him be hurt.
Slimly, smelly tentacles began to grasp and reach for Megavolt's feet, and he ran backwards, dodging the slime and muck as it reached from the circle to try and snatch him up. Behind the growing monster he could see the others attacking, Quackerjack's toys, the Liquidator's water, even bolts of flame and magical energy from Wraith and Moloculo, but the thing's trash bag like body blocked any decent view of the action behind him.
A single misstep and Megavolt felt his right leg being snagged. He fell, pushing Static away from him and away from the monster as he did so. He could smell burning rubber as the slimy mucky tentacle began to eat through his boot. He could feel immense pain coming from his ankle as whatever it was the muck monster was made from begin to dissolve his skin. He couldn't help but scream. Huge, disgusting red eyes glared at him from the monster's sickening frame.
A beam of golden lightning shot through the air above him. He turned his head just in time to see Static leap over his head and land on his chest, hissing in fury.
"Static, no! Run!" Megavolt reached to throw the cat to safety again, but the animal suddenly began to glow with gold energy. To Megavolt's surprise the cat's hissing suddenly became something…different. More of a high-pitched trill than a cat's hiss. It sounded almost…alien, like something a being from space would make, rather than a magical creature. Golden light began to form around the cat's frame, forming an outline around him, a translucent shield of energy that was taking a shape. It was only slightly bigger than Megavolt himself, but he had the feeling that it should be much bigger. The shape formed from the light had two powerful legs, long golden batlike wings, and golden scales. Three heads formed, more like the heads of three dragons instead of a cat, each wiggling and hissing and trilling at the monster still trapped within the circle. The heads shot more golden lightning at the monster's circle, sparks flying. With a sudden screech the monster faded from existence, flickering off like a broken lightbulb as the ritual circle was shattered by Static's lightning.
Static's strange shield form turned to the three villains, three draconic mouths still sparking and emitting eerie trills and hisses. One of the heads snapped aggressively in the man's face, and the man scooped up his kid before leaping on his bike and speeding off, his presumed wife trailing after him.
Static's shield creature suddenly turned all three of his heads towards Megavolt. It nuzzled him, making sad trills of concern. Soon the shield faded, and all that was left was a very tired looking kitten, who turned and pawed at Megavolt's nose, mewing in concern.
Megavolt sighed and sat up. His leg felt like it was on fire, but he was more concerned with Static. He held the kitten close, checking him for any harm done. Aside from fur fluffed up and sad noises the cat seemed fine.
"Megs, are you okay?" Quackerjack was next to him in an instant, checking his wounded leg in concern.
"I…think so. It got me and it hurts like hell, but Static…what was that?" Megavolt asked, looking at the two wizards.
Wraith rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A mere fraction of this creature's potential, reawakened to protect something he sees as a friend."
Moloculo was frowning at the four, his eye glowing slightly. "I think you should tell me as much as you can about this…Negaduck. Those three mentioned him, and if you speak the truth and my daughter knows him…he might be deceiving her. But I must know everything."
"Talk while I take a look at that leg. I don't want any side effects…" Wraith leaned down and started to examine the wound. He hissed in disgust. "That monster was a corrupter, a poison…it will take a while for this to heal."
"It's not going to turn me into a zombie or anything?" Asked Megavolt. He looked down at the red, angry wound. It looked like the sludge had eaten through his flesh, leaving a huge, oozing gash.
"Not that kind of corruption. More like…pollution. It would have dissolved you like acid, but it would have done nothing to you soul." Wraith chuckled. "Probably not a great comfort, but at least you would have had that."
"Yeah, real reassuring." Megavolt grumbled, then looked up at the other wizard, waiting patiently for his explanation. "All right, I first met Negaduck years ago…"
The sun was just beginning to rise as Moloculo Macawber stood in front of his daughter's home, skin turning uncomfortably hot in the Normal sun. He might be dedicated to the cooperation and friendship between the magical monstrous community and the Normal one, but that didn't make him any less a creature of the night. He preferred to stalk the darkness and stay out of the sun, but after hearing the Fours very long explanation he just had to meet with Morgana. He had to be sure. He had to hear it from her.
He strode in. He was her father, and she knew how much the sun could hurt him. She would not be upset if he came in out of it. He stood in the entryway, not willing to invade her privacy further.
"Morgana! Morgana! I came for a visit! Check up on you…where are you, Morgana?"
His voice echoed through the house. Nothing answered him. Not her familiars. Not her apprentice, not the girl herself. Nothing.
He gazed around the entryway. It was dusty, cobwebby and cold. Normally it would be that way but…there was something different about it. It didn't look like an effort to make the place look appropriately spooky. It looked more like the manor had been abandoned. He felt a stab of irritation towards his daughter. She had begged him to let her live her while she studied and trained an apprentice. Begged for independence and the opportunity to show him how responsible she could be. But instead, he came to this city to hear rumors about her collaborating with a crime lord, and then he comes to the house he generously gave her, to find it abandoned.
Maybe the little O'Kult boy was here?
Striding through the manor, Moloculo found that the place was almost totally empty, aside from the dust. Not even the pantry held anything edible for either magical, monster or Normal. The young werewolf's rooms were bare as well, no hint of him or his own familiars. No sign of Moloculo's daughter.
Annoyed, Moloculo reached for one of the manor's wards with his magic, brushing up against the shield with his own powers. Giving the ward's calculations a stern flick, he changed a figure, making the ward collapse. If the foolish girl was still around she would be able to sense it, and come. He sat in a chair in the living room, closing his eyes and waiting to see if she bothered to show up.
Five hours later she finally poofed into the room, looking slightly frazzled. He opened one eye and observed her, attempting to keep his temper in check.
"Well, Morgana. Nice of you to come home." He kept his voice calm and quiet, not allowing his temper to break through his low tones.
"Oh, Father…how are you?"
"Morgana, where have you been?" He asked. "This manor sits abandoned, and where were you?"
"Oh, I was just…visiting a friend."
"I see. A friend. Where is young Gary?"
"He's…somewhere." Morgana smiled at him. A nervous little smile she always used when she was in trouble with her father. It usually melted his cold dead heart and hurt his soul to see her so nervous. But after the stories he heard it just irritated him.
"I see. A young werewolf that never saw a Normal before now, let alone a dangerous Normal city. With powerful people and science users and their experiments. With creatures that come from the stars themselves, and he's…somewhere. Do you even know where?" Moloculo studied her, far fiercer than he ever had before.
"Well not precisely, but-"
"If I recall, daughter, you begged me to let you live in this place. Even though you barely show any interest in my work helping Normals. If I recall you wanted to draw a line between our castle and the village we are sworn to protect. Yet, you begged to come here and learn more about them. And I let you. I trusted you, and you abandoned it. You begged me to let you take on an apprentice. Even though you never showed any interest in your own studies. You rely on your power and strength as a Macawber, but you never apply yourself as you should. You never showed any interest in helping others, yet you take on a young boy from a good family. Why, so you could say that you had done so? Because his family could reflect well on you? Is the only reason you took Gary on was because he'd look good on paper for you? And now you've 'lost' him…unless the rumor I heard was true." Moloculo's eye glowed even brighter. "Daughter, did you banish your own apprentice from your home? Did you kick Gary O'Kult out of this house to let him wander lost in St. Canard?"
"Who told you that?" Morgana's eyes narrowed.
"The same people who told me you are dating a crime lord. The four young protectors of this city. Daughter, do you have any idea what you've done? How many people has this 'Negaduck' hurt. How many people have you helped him hurt? How can you, a Macawber, run around this city helping some thug Normal commit crimes!" Moloculo had risen to his feet, no longer able to contain his fury.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you, Father! You go on and on about cooperating with the Normals and yet you can't handle me dating one!"
"I don't care that you date a Normal! I care that you are committing crimes! It's the crimes you shouldn't be doing, not dating Normals!"
"Negaduck isn't what you think! He's a good man, deep down. He adopted a child, did they tell you that? He's a loving man, he just has to live in this disgusting, terrible world of ours!" Morgana shook her head. "I know he's rougher than you'd want, but I can help him. I can guide him down a better path."
Moloculo stared at her, dumbfounded. "My child…do you understand how many people say that about abusive partners?"
"He's not abusive!"
"He burned down a high school when he was a teenager!" Moloculo bellowed. "You can't do this! Morgana, he already influenced you to banish your apprentice, and now he's dragging you down his path. You aren't saving him, he's damning you!"
"You don't even know him! You haven't even met him! How can you judge him! Why would you take the word of complete strangers over mine!" Morgana started to weep, and Moloculo felt himself losing control of the situation.
"Morgana…" Moloculo shook his head. "Perhaps the Four were telling tall tales. But you must understand what this looks like. I come home to find nothing here. Have you moved out to live with Negaduck? And you still haven't told me where your apprentice is. Do you see how this looks?"
"I'll find Gary, and I'll prove to you that Negaduck is a good man. I love him, Father."
Moloculo sneered. "You will have plenty of opportunity to prove it to me. I shall dwell in this manor once again. You will help me find Gary. I will…allow you prove to me that this duck is not the monster he seems."
"Thank you Father, I-"
Moloculo raised his hand. "We will start by helping the Four."
"WHAT!"
"The Four have had…encounters with magic other than yours. They have…concerns. Questions. You and I will escort them to the Eldritch Academy of Enchantment, where we will do all we can to aid in their investigations. You will not inform your…boyfriend of this. You will not hamper their investigation. You will provide all the help they need. You will be polite and kind to them, and you will not abuse them. They will help us find your apprentice. If, during this, they show their true colors, then I will know who is lying to me and who is not. If they are villains, as you seem to think, they will show their nature soon enough."
And. He thought. If you have truly fallen, you will show what kind of witch you are as well.
Morgana gritted her teeth at him, but he knew that for once he had won. "Very well, Father."
"Good. We will start tomorrow." He blinked as a felt a little crystal ball buzz in his pocket. "Ah, I must take this…Morgana, do something about the state of his manor." He briskly walked out of the room, not paying attention to his seething daughter.
He brought out the crystal ball and smiled. "Ah, Wraith. Hello. Did you get your answer?"
"I did indeed. I will be coming to your academy as well. With my own apprentice."
"What made this Normal alien agree? You mentioned she seemed reluctant."
There was a pause. "I think that's a personal matter. Not mine to share."
"Ah, very well. I will keep an eye out for you both."
"And I will help you keep an eye on…other matters."
Moloculo grinned. He had yet to meet this Negaduck, but he knew that in time he would learn the truth.
And in time he would get his daughter back.
Megavolt set out a bowl of kitten food. Static mewed in joy and started to gulp it down. The electric rat laughed and scratched his new pet at the base of his little horn nubs.
"Going to have to get you a bell and a collar or something. Maybe a tag so if someone finds you on a skyscraper they will know who to bring you home too." Megavolt yawned and sat back in a recliner, taking out a book to read.
Within moment Static had jumped up on his chest and curled his paws on Megavolt's shoulder. The kitten's claws were inches from Megavolt's throat, but that didn't bother him at all.
It didn't take long for both of them to drift off to sleep.
A/N: So here was the thought process behind this.
My brain: I should give Megavolt a cat, that would be funny. Cats are great. (says my brain as my cat cuddles my lap)
Me: Yes, that's good. Cats are the best.
My Brain: It should shoot lightning because they can be electric buddies together.
Me: Oh, that's good. Make it look a bit like my orange cat.
My Brain: It should be gold, to match the coat color.
Me: Okay, gold colored cat that shoots golden lightning…oh look, there's Godzilla GMK on tv, the one with the good King Ghidorah…
My Brain:…the cat is King Ghidorah.
Me: Yes, the cat is King Ghidorah…how did it get there?
My Brain: Reincarnation summoning magic like the movie.
Me:…Am I putting too much magic in the fic?
My Brain: You love magic, and it's your fic. Just do it.
Me: Fair.
And that's how these things happen.
And now we begin the 'Macawber magic arc' of the series. Basically Morgana has been set up to the exact opposite of her normal persona, someone who's kinda simple and easily led, but not really malicious just the kind of woman who latches onto the bad boy. Like Bella Swan from Twilight. By the time this arc is over…well, spoilers. But it's going to be heavy magic for a few chapters.
And I love Wraith, he's my favorite character in MD because he's just so damn fun to watch. You have to feel sorry for the voice actors of the Mighty Ducks in the cartoon they have to go up opposite Tony Jay and Tim Curry. It's like, not fair.
Also, funny enough this arc is going to feature Wraith apprenticing Nega Tanya and the other fic I'm currently writing also stars the not Nega version of her (but I am doing weird things over there with the backstory as well so sue me it's free real estate). Not sure what if anything that says about me.
I'm weird. I think that's what that says.
I'm really weird.
