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'Female of the Species' is performed by Space.
She ran, her breath ragged and her heart ready to rip from her chest, hammering against her ribcage. Her clothes and skin were torn, but she paid no need to them or the branches that reached towards her to open new ones. Adrenaline flooded her system, letting her ignore the pain of the cuts and the burn of the lactic acid that seeped through her tired muscles. Insidious roots conspired against her, grabbing for her bared feet while jagged rocks lay in wait to add another cut to her already bloodied extremities. Trees blurred by her vision as she dodged and weaved through the trunks and she only saw flashes of brown and green, lacking any real distinction. Her vision narrowed only permitting her to see what was directly ahead of her. Even as all other her sensations fled like cockroaches before the light, the splintering of wood thundered in her ears and the panting of another echoed behind her. Growling out a series of vile oaths, she leapt for the nearest branch that was capable of supporting her weight and she hauled herself upwards. Climbing wasn't any sort of serious obstacle to her pursuer, but she hoped, nearly prayed, that the branches would be too frail to support his weight.
As she settled into the topmost branches, crouching in relative safety, she craned her neck and peered about, scouring the landscape for any signs of the base, the city, anything besides the endless forest. There was the distant vision of the sea, but trees blocked out any view of the base or anything else potentially helpful in her vicinity. There were no beautiful colors of the day on her roof with Eddie, the sky was a cold grey, the sun hidden by clouds. For all the times she had jogged through the arboreal realm, forging her own path with each dawn and returning to the base, free of complications or problems, she could not manage the feat now when she really needed it. Now though, everything seemed new and foreign, devoid of anything remotely familiar. No toppled tree, its roots still caked in dirt and thicker than her arms; no nest of red-tailed hawks who screeched at her as she streaked by on the forest floor marking her way.
There was a crisp snap beneath her and she froze, stilling even her breathing as her grip tightened about the branch. Leaves rustled and crunched as a snuffling sound accompanied with a low growl drifted up from the ground. Her hunter circled about the tree, its presence obvious when everything suddenly seemed to still. A burning sensation filled her lungs as they failed to introduce new oxygen into her blood stream, but she fought the twitches of her lips as they yearned to open and let in a new rush of air. Suddenly, a fearsome howl filled her ears and she winced at the sound that sent all other animals of the forest for cover. Birds took to the skies, squirrels leapt from branch to branch, and all other manner of beast took whatever path they could to flee the monstrosity that prowled the leaf-ridden floor, firing off to search for his quarry elsewhere.
Blessed oxygen flooded her lungs as she heaved in a breath and then let it rush out along with obvious relief. She gave a chuckle, the sort given when one has managed to, against all odds, scraped by by the skin of their teeth and survived an all-too-close clash with death. Her shoulders slumped as the tension ran out of her body, and she hung her head, wincing as pain seized her with the flushing of adrenaline from her system. Any peace she had collected was short-lived and disappeared without a trace as her tree suddenly trembled under a powerful impact and she nearly lost her perch, clutching the trunk with both hands to secure herself. Terror opened the floodgates of adrenaline once more as branches snapped, splintered, and their remnants thudded upon the ground as the hunter ascended, permitting no obstacle to slow him.
The sounds suddenly stopped and she closed her eyes, offering whispered pleas as she tried to ignore the panting, moist breath beneath her. Willing her eyes open, she lowered her head to stare at the soulless eyes that drilled into her and the gaping maw stretched into a hideous grin, filled with eager fangs. He was an aberration, a crude portmanteau of wolf, reptile, and several other members of Earth's bestiary with stiff fur ranging along his elongated snout, face, and broad back. Talons stabbed into the trunk, securing its massive body, easily quadruple her mass, to the thick tree. A sinuous tail, tipped with a plume of feathers and lined with spines, wrapped about the circumference of the stalk. Misting breath and a steady, raspy growl poured from its throat and Rose Wilson gulped as the emerald beast eyed her hungrily.
Four Hours Earlier
Gar whistled a jaunty tune to himself as he dug a shallow path in the dirt winding from the base's door to the beach. Several feet off to the side was a picnic table that he had dragged from the basement, a remnant from the times when Rita used to enforce a 'family' dinner at least once a week. They had been bizarre but overall enjoyable affairs he was eager to resurrect. Eddie diligently stood post at the grill, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as soy variants, while Rose lurked over his shoulder, relentlessly mocking the boy's skills with a teasing grin. It did not go unnoticed the way she hesitated before touching his back or the familiar sort of way she rested her chin on his shoulder, and Gar reminded himself to keep a closer eye on the young pair. His eyes needed no such reminder as they drifted over to observe the golden beauty who lounged in the lawn chair not far away, eyes hidden by shades even while much of her was left on display. Her initial intent had been to bask in the full glory of the sun without any obstructions, but he had managed to convince her to partake of some modesty in the form of a still rather revealing black bikini. Beside Gar, on the ground, was his favorite brick who offered an occasional comment as Gar worked.
-You're going to hit a pipeline if you don't pay attention.-
"I am paying attention."
-To your work. You need to pay attention to your work.-
He grinned as he scooped aside the dirt, "Hey, keeping up with the pretty lady is work."
"Gar, you do know that I can hear you, yes?" the object of his admiration asked as she lounged in the sunlight.
"You're worth every second of it, my blazing queen," he beamed to which she gave a short chuckle.
-That must be a rather impressive ass for you to kiss up to it that much.-
Pausing in his work, Gar sat back on his haunches and rubbed his hands on his jeans as he considered the brick and noted, "Wow. You've gotten pretty snarky there, Danny."
-I've spent the last several years as a brick, locked in a dark, cluttered room with a bunch of other strange, occasionally semi-sentient objects. On that note, I'm fairly certain the Painting tried to flirt with me. I have the right to be as 'snarky' as I please.-
"All right," he nodded as he set back to work and the shadow of Rose Wilson fell over him. "Fair enough."
"Isn't there some animal or something that would make that job a whole lot easier?" Rose pondered as she observed his slow but steady progress.
"Or there's a rather lazy lil' nestling who could pick up a shovel and help out," he suggested without looking up, smiling to himself as he deposited more dirt along the edge of the trail.
"Not it you want that shovel up your ass," she retorted.
"Is that the word of the day or something?" he rolled his eyes and then sighed, finally looking up to the girl. He gave a half smile and haltingly explained, "Some stuff, it's just best to do for yourself. No powers, no fancy gadgets; just you. And, well, whatever you're working on. Shows that you're more than just your powers."
He grimaced as he struggled in the search of the words to convey his jumbled thoughts, his hands raised and posed as though to illustrate his point but frozen. Turning his gaze skyward and scouring the clouds for the right phrases, he found nothing to help. With another sigh, he threw up his hands and grumbled, "You know what? I just don't like having to deal with any extra instincts telling me to eat the grubs or anything while I'm digging."
"Garfield, if you eat any of those Earth vermin, your lips will not be touching me for a week – if I'm feeling forgiving," Blackfire informed the shape shifter at which Rose cocked her head in consideration.
"I'm sorry, but wouldn't that encourage him to wolf down the bugs? Oh, wait. For some reason, Gar actually enjoys making out with you," Rose sneered.
"Maybe if you could cease your infantile mewling, you'd find a boy willing to press his lips to you too," retorted the sunbathing woman evenly.
Rose gave a threatening growl and her hand drifted towards her hips, and presumably her knives, when Gar enunciated, "Girls, how many times do I have to say it? Play nice."
Putting a finger to her chin, Blackfire pouted and mimicked a confused tone, "But, Gar, I thought you liked it better when I was naughty."
"Whoa there, Gar," snickered the teenaged girl, "What sort of games are you two playing behind closed doors?"
"All right, all right. That's enough out of you, psycho chick. Look, I think Eddie's burning the burgers," he grumbled. "I can smell them smoking from here."
She gave a short-lived glare before standing and striding to the red-skinned boy as she shouted, "Eddie, my burgers better pristine, or I'm going to shove that tail up your ass!"
-I like that girl's style.-
"When did you get so vindictive?" Gar marveled as he resumed his digging.
-I'm a brick. I'm completely and entirely justified in any vindictiveness.-
"I'm fairly certain that you can't just keep using the same excuse over and over," he protested.
-Just watch me.-
"You realize that you might not be able to use it if this all works out as planned."
-And if it does, I'll stop. Till then . . .-
"Got it."
"Hey, everybody, first batch is now done. Eat and be happy," Eddie called as he lifted the platter into the air even as Rose criticized his efforts.
Blackfire rose from her lounge chair and swooped towards the horned youth as Rose separated the paper plates and opened the buns and rolls. Setting the plate upon the table, he assembled his own burger, drowning it in condiments before retreating to the grill where he set up the next array. At the table, Rose placed pickles upon the cheeseburger as though she were adding the finishing touches to a piece of art to rival any of the Renaissance masters' marvels. Two plates in hand, Blackfire floated over to Gar who diligently kept at his work and looked up in surprise only when her shadow fell across him. He grinned as he accepted the plate from her, and she urged, "Join us at the table. Continue your work after eating."
"As much as I'd like to-"
"The brick can wait," she assured him.
-The 'brick' has a name, sister. It's Danny.-
"You are rather uppity for a crude lump of construction material. Maybe turning you into a pile of dust would adjust that unseemly attitude," she snarled, a glow building in her eyes.
Laughter brought an abrupt halt to the argument and a question mark decorated Danny's surface as the others looked on with equal wonderment at the shape shifter who clutched at his stomach. Mirth wracked his body and he dirtied his shirt further as he rolled about, though he managed to save his lunch. As the shuddering and laughing faded away, he sat up, wiping away a tear that was forming in his eye and trying to offer an explanation.
"I-I'm sorryehehehe . . . It-it's j-just that this reminds me of the old days. Cliff and Larry always used to bicker like that. I'm good, I'm good now," he relaxed his breathing and sat up again, an easy smile still on his face. He rolled to his feet and picked up Danny the Brick along with his plate before following after Blackfire and settling across from her, beside Rose. He placed Danny alongside his plate and picked up his book from the bench only to be awarded with a sharp kick to his calf. Turning to the one-eyed girl, he delivered a brief scowl that she returned.
"No reading at the table," she scolded.
"Excuse me?" he chuckled, "All the swearing, the smoking, the corrupting of adolescents, and you're berating me . . . for reading? . . . Actually, in a weird way, that does kinda make sense."
"Look, my mom always said that there was no reading at the table. It's just proper manners," she returned.
"You have those?" Eddie asked from his position at the grill, surprise evident in his tone.
Without missing a beat or even bothering to acquire a visual on her target, Rose grabbed several pieces of plastic-ware that she launched at the cook, each striking with unerring accuracy and making him jump with a yelp. He scowled at her as Gar laughed through his soyburger and wrestled Blackfire's toes with his own under the table. A small smile flitted across her face, touching her violet eyes, which Rose made retching sounds upon noticing. The comely alien scowled at her junior and launched into a tirade as Eddie completed his work at his station and joined them at the table, flashing a grin at Rose.
The relative serenity of their afternoon was abruptly ruptured by a boom that left their ears ringing, a blinding light that forced them to shield their eyes, and a blast that toppled the grill and sent the table turning end over end. Their instincts saved them as they slipped from their seats, Gar even managing to save Danny though his book was not so fortunate. As their vision returned and they dropped into natural combat stances, the heroes made out a set of shadows emerging from the pulsing rings of light.
"Boom tube," Gar growled in recognition of the portal that had been ripped open in the air.
"Of course, this would be the day I don't have my knives," Rose hissed.
"Not that they would've done you much good," remarked one of the shadows, her voice snide but controlled. A barrage of ice shards blasted from the gateway, but Blackfire and Eddie met them head on, turning them to water as they cut through the air. In return, a larger inferno screamed from the boom tube and engulfed their own assault before dwindling back down into nothingness. The quintet stepped onto the ground as the boom tube shrank away and disappeared.
Leading the invaders was a short girl, well than head smaller than her teammates, with soft brown hair gathered into a pair of pigtails and held by pink ribbons. She looked young, barely a teenager, but her face was adorned with a cruel smile that was hungry for pain and suffering. Attired in a pretty yellow dress decorated with red designs, which were skulls upon closer examination, she looked as though she were ready to attend a Sunday school class. Presuming one could ignore the homicidal grin that stretched across her face as well as the wavering shadow that peeled off of the ground behind her.
To her side stood a juxtaposed pair, both of them curvaceous and smirking deviously at the heroes before them. Short jagged blue hair, stiff and interspersed with ice, hung like icicles from the first girl's head, long bangs framing a face that could've been beautiful were it not for the utter lack of human emotion. Her companion was just as beautiful and marginally more natural with a small grin more teasing than menacing, and crimson hair that descended past her waist and danced like real flames. The former was attired in a navy blue suit that clung to her shapely body and lined with white fur, complimented by gloves that extended past her elbows while the red head's voluptuous frame was squeezed into a red-nearly-brown tanktop with a circular hole for her bountiful cleavage and tight pants with tall boots. A globe of ice danced in the former's palm while flames sprang to life in the latter's, her red eyes sparking eagerly.
On the other side of the child stood a girl who seemed to be the next youngest member of the team, another redhead with full, wild hair and a curvy body despite her youthful face. Strips of flesh were left open along the side of her suit, her tanned skin crisscrossed by white strings. Ironically, it covered the entirety of her form otherwise except for her young, pretty face with her full lips closed in a small vicious smile. She was well-proportioned and Eddie could feel his internal temperature building as Gar wrinkled his nose and shook his head as though he had picked up the scent of something distasteful.
The final member of the group was a face that was all too distastefully familiar to Gar, a pale blond who seemed to be perpetually looking down her petite nose. She'd grown up since their last encounter, matured into her features, her blue eyes sparkling like crystals but hard and cold as diamonds. In place of the pink prom dress she'd favored in their previous encounters, her slender frame was guarded by a slender suit of black traced with geometric lines containing a crimson glow. There were raised ports on the top of her armor's forearms and despite how it fitted to her, it had a robotic sense about it.
"God help us all," Gar breathed.
"What? What's wrong?" Rose demanded.
"You've grown up nicely, Beasty Boo," Kitten purred at the shape shifter. "It's going to be a real pity killing you."
As much as we love watching Ira sit in front of the computer and scream at people to review, we really want to get the story arc started up soon but we need to get these things out of the way first. We hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We considered making this one, but that would've been too much going on at once. Besides, we like this cliffhanger.
I Be Sporks: Lux wishes you luck in dealing with any mental trauma the previous chapter may have induced, but otherwise refuses to apologize. You have our condolences. You also have our welcome for completeing your life. Just keep up the reviews :)
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