Songs Recommended
[1] Tongue Tied - Marshmello X YUNGBLUD X blackbear (1:45 to 2:02)
[2] Go - The Chemical Brothers
[3] Adebayo (from the Peacemaker Soundtrack) - Clint Mansell & Kevin Kiner (repeat from 0:00 to 1:16)
[4] Redemption (from The Bad Guys) - Daniel Pemberton
Chapter 9 - Really A Fan of Redemption Arcs
Nathan is apathetic the entire time as he drove the truck across the road as the sun slowly rises during the very early morning. Just a couple of bombs he needs to plant in the Bad Guys' deserted HQ and he will make sure to blow it the hell up this time. Marmalade gives him the task very clear that they have to continue to 'destroy their hopes' to make sure they never get up again since their loot being taken away isn't enough. [1]
Well, as long as he is paid good money for this, Nathan is more than willing to do the job. Besides, the Bad Guys deserve what is coming for them. For all of their noise and blunder, they are just second-rate criminals after all. Taking them down would give him character. Besides, it is better than just standing outside doing nothing and not getting to fight any intruders.
Rock music booms from the radio. He is never really a music fan, but he finds this song to be a good one. Surprisingly, he recognizes the vocals singing it. It sounds like a crow he heard of from the past concerts he went to before. Speaking of which, he believes that he can hear this particular crow screeching right here and it's getting closer to him… [1s]
SMASH!
Kitty and Doom scream as Kitty drives her fancy, red Ferrari right into the car body of Nathan's truck.
It spins the truck around while also spinning themselves out of control as well.
Using a Ferrari is not the ideal vehicle to use to do a head-on-collision course, though it's surprisingly resilient. Kitty immediately hit the brakes and twists the steering wheel, braking the Ferrari to a slow and burnt stop.
Nathan is unlucky. His truck went spinning along with the other half of the truck. Since the two are flimsily connected to each other instead of being merged, they end up hitting each other during its spin before tipping over on its right.
A dumbfounded Kitty with a dumbfounded Doom hugging her face can only watch as the truck falls over, dumbfounded. It seems that most of the damage happened to the car body of the truck, glass windows broken as evidential pointers.
"...I can't believe we survived that!" said Kitty.
Doom realizes how long he was holding onto her for, flapping back into his seat. "Yeah…"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good…because you are SO DEAD!"
"Don't need to shout. At least we didn't die!"
"We could have! You could have just used that dart gun and knocked the driver out. Now we're in the middle of nowhere and we are making a scene!"
True to his word, they are in the middle of a ghost town. They are currently in a huge free space where cars can freely drive around. This should be one of the many passageways to the Bad Guys' HQ. Though, this place looks like an empty car park as the nearest buildings are not so near to the two vehicles.
"I don't exactly have good aim," said Kitty. "Never bring a knife to a gunfight they say. That man could have had one!"
Doom glances back at the truck. "I can't believe that truck didn't explode. We could have triggered all the bombs."
"That can't be possible, knowing how they must be technologically advanced today."
Steam starts to pour out from the broken engine of the truck.
Doom squints his eyes, trying to see if Nathan is still inside. It's impossible to see with the underside of the truck facing them. "Do you think he is dead?"
"I don't think so," said Kitty. "These coyotes, they are as tough as wolves. One hit, then they can use their ability to come back to life."
"Uh, I don't think so," deadpanned Doom. "Canines don't have nine lives."
"Yeah, only the greats."
"No, that's not something that happens."
"Yeah, it has. Coyotes are said to be known to be some of the creators of the world, saving it from the ten evil moons that cause an everlasting winter."
"Animals don't have superpowers."
"Well, one or two probably have god powers. Nathan might have a couple if he is the descendent of the creator of all animals."
"Nobody ever has the ability to die and come back to life!"
"Guys, come in," said Hornet's voice.
The Bad Guys, now along with Diane and the cat Wolf rescued, drive through the highway. Diane loves this part of the city. The highways outside of the city are composed of several bridges, all split into different lanes. The sun is slowly rising from the sky, early in the morning. And there aren't many cars at the moment, so that gives them a clear path to drive to without worrying about being caught. In fact, it even gives them the right time to celebrate, whooping all the way.
Now, they can hear Hornet's voice through Diane's watch and Tarantula's laptop.
"Are you sure that you stopped the heist?" asked Hornet, his voice laced in worry.
"Marmalade can't control the guinea pigs if he doesn't have the meteor," said Diane.
"If that is the case…why are the trucks still going?"
The crew exchanged confused looks before spotting many white trucks carrying the charity money in the opposite direction. All of them heading towards Marmalade's compound. Inside each of them is a group of guinea pigs with glowing cyan blue eyes, appearing quite stiff and robotic.
The Bad Guys look back at the meteorite.
"The meteorite…" said Diane.
"It's still transmitting!" said Wolf.
"I don't think that is the case," said Hornet. "The transmitter machine should be powered off by now, but I detected that there is a…similar energy power to the meteorite back at Marmalade's."
"Wait, if so, what is he using?" asked Shark.
"It's either a backup power battery contained some of the meteorite or Marmalade got an extra. I think it's the latter since the power connected to Marmalade's brainwashing helmet and the guinea pigs is REALLY high at this point!"
Wolf grits his teeth. "We gotta stop those trucks first! We can worry about Marmalade later since we have the meteorite. Webs, is there some way to override the trucks' navigation system?"
"Sure," said Tarantula. "But we would need some kind of magnetized-cross-circuit interceptor. These trucks require much more power since they don't exactly run on advanced technology."
Diane smirks before whipping out a couple of metal discs. "You mean like these?"
"Yep! They should do it!" [2]
Wolf does a huge U-turn and they went speeding right after the trucks. It is easy to catch up to them as the car is much faster than the trucks, however, they are still far away. They suddenly split up into two groups.
"I've sent coordinates of the trucks to your devices," calls Hornet's voice. "There are 12 of them, but they are split into two halves. Wolf, you're driving to one group, but we have to deal with the other half as well."
"Not a problem," said Diane, taking out a silver suitcase from her suit. She turns to Tarantula-wait, it's Webs with a smile. "Webs, you feel like a girls' trip?"
Webs stared at her, surprised by this offer. "Um…yes!"
"Hold on tight! This will get really wild!"
With her hood and mask back on, Diane places Webs onto her shoulder and climbs out of the car. As Webs says farewell to the others, Diane hops off the meteorite and goes flying towards the lane where the other half of the trucks are on. Quickly, she presses a button on the suitcase and it transforms into a motorcycle.
She hasn't ridden her motorcycle in months! Now she is back!
With Webs making a comfortable and hopefully strapped seat in front of her, Diane rides the motorcycle, catching up to their chosen group of trucks. Every time they pass by one of those trucks, Diane quickly places interceptors on each of them. Webs gets herself ready, pulling out her laptop and connecting it to the interceptors, checking the map of the 12 trucks Hornet sent to her.
On the last few trucks, they nearly got hit when they got close to one truck.
The guinea pigs inside notice and try to steer right.
"LOOK OUT!" cried Webs.
"Hold on!" called Diane.
She jumps upwards in a spin as her motorcycle briefly turns back into a suitcase. Using it, she slides right underneath the truck and places an interceptor on its underside before emerging on the other side. As the motorcycle pops back to shape, Webs is shown to not be injured, looking no worse for wear.
Finally, the entire team managed to place the interceptors on the trucks. Webs whoops before pressing a button on her laptop. Looking behind, Diane sees the trucks suddenly halting as all the interceptors turn red. They slowly turn around and drive right back to the city, hopefully heading back to where they are supposed to bring the money to.
"Great job right there!" said Diane, taking off her head. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"Oh, I'm kind of a natural," said Webs, before shrugging. "Mostly YouTube."
"But you did pretty well with cracking the code right there."
"Oh yeah. Maybe we should have another girls' night. Probably do…a heist?"
Diane thinks about it. "I'll sleep on that."
She steers her motorcycle beside the Bad Guys' car and helps Webs hop back into the car safely.
"Nice work," said Wolf, grinning.
Diane smiles. "Meet me at the police station with the meteorite. Don't be late."
She speeds off, jumping off the bridge and racing across the mountain. She has to change, so she needs to find a safe space. As soon as she can confirm that she is out of the public eye, she stops by a forest. [2s]
Standing up, she stretches her limbs before jumping up and down giddily. She can't help it. She is already feeling giddy. There is still some leftover energy from all the moves she pulled off and needing to stay concentrated when catching up with the trucks. But she is excited that she managed to do all of this! All in her Crimson Paw outfit. Her outfit is shining brightly in pride.
While she feels sad that Snake hasn't moved over to their side, she feels satisfied. She can do this all day. She even worked with the Bad Guys - said to be the most diabolical criminals in Los Angeles! This is pretty good since this is just like them doing their heists, but instead using their abilities for good. Though, when Webs does ask her if they can try doing a heist together, Diane wonders if she still has the 'bad girl' vibe to her.
This really beats being a mercenary-for-hire. She can do whatever she wants as the Crimson Paw.
Her heavy breathing - one that might make her laugh to herself for no reason - slowly turns to silence when she looks back at the trees around her.
Those…trees. Those woods. She remembers that she used to stay in the forest before. [3]
It was the one place she felt at home when away from the busyness of the city.
She and her family used to stay in the forest. They didn't set foot in the city unless it was for work or needing to buy food. While it was a bit hard considering their upbringing, they found comfort in their own makeshift homes and built a community for themselves. She remembers the kindness her parents gave and taught her, telling her that no matter how much the world wants to shake you, that doesn't mean it isn't going to change unless you make a change.
Her chest tightens when she remembers the last time she ever went into the woods.
They hunted foxes. For fun. Because they think they are worthless dirty thieves who don't deserve to live. All due to everyone seeing them as tricky foxes who lie behind people's backs. Diane had no idea of that fact before; her parents were the last people to ever lie to her or anyone! But sadly, that is a fairy tale as she quickly hid behind the bushes, watching hunters on horses laughing quietly and searching out with shotguns in their hands.
Diane looks at her feet. Then at her outfit. She remembers why she chose to be the Crimson Paw. And remembering back to how the Bad Guys are treated in the public eye, they all must have gone through the same thing to a certain degree. Wolf and Snake must have got it much harder as Webs, Piranha and Shark had their own reasons for turning to crime. When it looks like they don't have what it takes, they turn toward much more drastic situations. To make a name for themselves.
She lost everything. And for the longest time, she was angry. She kept going, moving into Los Angeles. The orphanage wasn't so kind to her. The adults there did their best, but not enough to sway the other kids' opinions about her. Even when going through high school and university, all everyone called her is the tricky fox that is going to backstab them. These insults went towards known foxes she came upon. Even the other fox girl she knew a long time ago.
It is a miracle what she did, compared to how she started. Even surprising how she got elected to be a governor, hopefully, to help foxes all over the world. She isn't sure if there are still hunters, but she hopes that all foxes will be alright. But if the fox girl is shown to be having a good life with a boyfriend and welcoming people, then that means she is doing something great.
Diane suddenly feels tired. She feels like she wants to break down. She doesn't know why she won, but she can't help feeling sore from all the hits she went through. As she closes her eyes for a few seconds and leans against a tree, she spots what nearly looks like another fox hiding in the woods.
She blinks.
That's strange. There aren't any strays hiding out here.
But this fox…he looks transparent. Like a ghost.
Diane recognizes that fox as her deceased father.
He mutters something. It sounds like him whispering to her that…maybe the Bad Guys can become her new family she can turn to.
And with that, the ghost disappears.
Diane isn't sure if she is hallucinating or actually seeing the ghost, but she can see light in this dark forest.
With the Bad Guys, after getting to know them a bit well, Diane hopes that they can find the right path. She isn't sure now if they can continue to be good or bad, but she really hopes that they can find the path they feel is right for them and something that can benefit them. For helping others while not sacrificing what they enjoy. Either way, she now seems to not mind anymore of what they do.
"Ironic of what I used to think," she thought. "Maybe just a few things I need to let criminals know what they are not allowed to do."
Nodding to herself, she proceeds to take off her outfit and adjust the governor suit she is wearing underneath. She hopes she won't be late too. [3s]
After several minutes of waiting, Kitty and Doom decide that they shouldn't do nothing.
"Maybe it's dumb for us to be waiting for him to come out," muttered Kitty. "He is probably dying now."
"Yeah," said Doom. "I feel stupid for staying here like this."
The two slowly went out of the car with Kitty checking the front. Aside from scratches of the paint, her Ferrari doesn't look too banged up. From her back, she pulls out a long and sharp katana, raising it above her head. Doom flaps right next to her, bewildered.
"I thought you said, 'never bring a sword to a gun fight'!" he said.
Kitty shrugs. "Just in case."
"Yeah, hopefully, you can use it to block the bullets."
They approach the truck quietly, hoping that Nathan wouldn't pop up to attack them. They are surprised that they don't hear any breathing inside the car body. As Doom swoops over to check the cracked window, he can see that Nathan's body is nowhere to be found inside. However, he notices that the ceiling has a hole in it, pointing in the other direction.
Nathan broke through that to get out.
Kitty gulps once she sees that Nathan isn't inside. She and Doom exchange looks before looking in front of them to find Nathan himself. The tough and creepy coyote is…
…crawling himself across the ground. Realistically, he is bruised up by the collision, feeling like jelly. While he can't lift his face upwards to see where he is going, he keeps trying to crawl his way away from his two opponents.
"Stay where you are!" warns Kitty, slowly replacing her katana with a baseball bat. "Stop!"
But Nathan barely heeds, desperately trying to get away.
"I said STOP!"
Nathan pants, his voice cracking.
Doom growls and flies toward the coyote. He swoops in, pecking repeatedly on Nathan's head. With every peck, Nathan lets out high-pitched, awkward squeals of agony, stopping from crawling forwards. Doom even starts biting on Nathan's ear, trying to make a tear in it.
Not wanting the crow to be swallowing up any meat, Kitty pulls him back.
"What do you think you are doing?" she hisses.
"Making his fate more suffering," grumbles Doom.
"Well, he already looks like he is dead."
But Nathan suddenly keeps moving, grunting in pain.
Kitty sighs. She swings her baseball bat right at his head.
CLONK!
He drops down for a second…
"Nergh…neEEERRGGHH! Ergh…" squeaked Nathan, muffled by his face planted at the ground. His voice tends to go high-pitched as he squeals some more.
Kitty is anxious about this. "C'mon. Really?"
She hits Nathan once again in the head.
She then quickly backs away.
"He isn't going to explode!" said Doom. "He's already down."
"We don't know that," said Kitty.
They slowly approached the now still Nathan. Kitty presses her baseball bat onto Nathan's back, trying to see if he is going to respond. However, he is already out like a light. Doom lands and places his wing over Nathan's wrist. There is still a pulse. He is unconscious.
Kitty laughs, surprised that they managed to bring Nathan - a bodyguard - down! All without needing to fight!
"Kitty Kat, mother ducker!" brags Kitty, pointing her bat at Nathan.
Doom raises an eye at this. "Let's just clear the trash now before he wakes up."
Diane arrives at the police station as soon as she can. Turning her motorcycle back into a suitcase, she finds Chief Luggins fuming with Tiffany Fluffit and her camera crew at the scene. It seems that they are confused and lost about the charity money being stolen earlier. She hopes that the charity money is now heading to where it should go.
She feels a ring from her watch. It is from Hornet again.
Congratulations, everyone! The trucks are already at their destination and the guinea pigs are cleared from them. Looks like Marmalade won't be able to get them again next time. - Hornet
Diane smiles. She owes Hornet this. It looks like Marmalade's evil scheme is placed to a stop.
"Chief!" she called. "Thank you for getting here so quickly."
"What is going on?" said Chief, obviously stressed out. "The Bad Guys broke out of prison, an apocalypse of guinea pigs was running across the city and the trucks meant to deliver for charity went AWOL! You know something about this?"
Diane shrugs. "I don't know. However, I received word that it was the Bad Guys who didn't steal the meteorite and now returning it here!"
"Look!" called Tiffany, turning the camera. "Can it be? The Bad Guys are RETURNING the meteorite! Perhaps this is the feel-good story we all need!"
Right on time, the Bad Guys' car appears around the corner with the large glowing meteorite still sitting at the back. Chief is understandably surprised by this. Diane watches hopefully, though she notices that the Bad Guys seem to realize something. They suddenly stop before getting into a conversation together.
The fox raises an eyebrow. What now?
She looks back at the meteorite. It is still glowing, so it might be transmitting. But Hornet said that there is still a power source back at the compound. And with Marmalade and Snake still out there, controlling the guinea pigs…
Before she can understand why the Bad Guys stop, they suddenly drive away, sacrificing clearing their names. Chief yells out Wolf's name, angry by this second betrayal. Diane can only shrug, hoping that the Bad Guys will be able to finish what else they have to finish.
It turns out, she doesn't need to find out when her watch buzzes.
Hornet! Are you still here? We need to get Snake back! - Wolf
Already on it, don't worry. I found Snake with Professor Marmalade riding on a helicopter. They should be around the freeway nearest to you on your right. - Hornet
Diane gasps to herself, quickly hiding her watch before Tiffany turns to her. She is surprised by this. Despite Snake's betrayal, the Bad Guys are returning to him. Remembering that the team are close to each other, she shouldn't be surprised that they can't leave one of theirs behind.
The police found the Bad Guys racing against a huge wave of guinea pigs trying to drown them down. A helicopter flies far from them before grabbing onto the meteorite. The news that they are going near the large crater of the city horrifies Diane. As she joins along the police and the news team to arrive where the action is taking place, she can only pray silently that they won't be killed.
When they arrive, Diane can see that the sun is already rising high and the sky is turning a bright blue color. She sees some sort of smoke streaming from the bottom of the crater. As she climbs out of the police car, she finds Hornet - all geared up with his helmet and signature black shirt - arriving as well, buzzing around in worry.
"Hornet!" she said. "Thank, God, you're here."
"W-Where are the others?" he asks. "A-A-Are they O-OK?"
Their answer has come true when Wolf's head pops up from the edge of the broken bridge. However, upon seeing Chief glaring down at them, he tries going back down. Judging by the mutters, the Bad Guys pull themselves back onto the bridge to face the Chief herself.
"That's it!" growled Chief. "There is absolutely no way you're getting away this time!"
"Wait!" called Diane, stepping forwards. "Chief!"
Chief Luggins spun around. "Governor Foxington? Mr. Hornet?"
"Don't do this! They didn't steal the meteorite. They were bringing it back."
Chief snorts, rolling her eyes. "How could you know that?"
In response, Hornet throws his helmet right in front of her feet. It displays a large hologram screen, apparently recorded down the entire highway chase through the cameras of Webs' camera. Everyone is able to see the Bad Guys planting interceptors onto the trucks before they were hijacked and controlled to drive back to their original destinations.
"We broke the Bad Guys out because I found out that Marmalade stole it," explained Hornet, shaking his fists. "We went to his compound to return it. How could you explain how they controlled the guinea pigs if they never even used the meteorite before?"
There are some murmurs of agreement from the cops as they watch the footage. The Bad Guys all let out a sigh of relief with Piranha winking at Hornet.
However, Chief notices something is off.
"What about you?" she asked Diane. "If you are agreeing to all of this, are YOU…conspiring with a bunch of known criminals?"
Diane gulps. She didn't realize this might happen. After all she built, she neglects to turn herself in. She wants to be healed, but she feels scared of entering prison. However, as her conversation with Wolf made it clear that she shouldn't be lying anymore, she has to face the music. Sighing, she takes off her glasses.
"Well…" She hesitates. She knows that she is going to lose everything, but this is for the greater good. "As a matter of fact, it's time…I came clean about something." She hesitates again. Why does it feel so scary to say the truth to everyone? "The truth is….I'm really…really-"
"Really a big fan of redemption arcs," interrupted Wolf. "Yeah, Governor, we know." [4]
Diane glances at him. He gives her a look as if saying to trust him. As if it wasn't enough, he passes the cat to her. The pet looks up at her, meowing in curiosity. Wolf calmly walks towards Chief and lifts his hands up.
"We're done running away," he said. "Chief, do what you need to do."
Chief Luggins can't believe what is happening now. "You're…turning yourself in?"
One by one, the Bad Guys lift up their arms, willing to do the right thing.
"We might not have stolen the meteorite, but we did steal a lot of other things. It's time we take responsibility and start a clean slate. Take us in, Chief."
Nobody can even express how surprised they are with the Bad Guys taking responsibility for all the heists they did in the past. Diane would have protested, but seeing this, it is a sincere indication of their own redemption. To start and figure out a new life instead of giving in to the stereotypes they wore for a long time. While Diane isn't sure if that would mean Marmalade would get away from it, it feels less like a defeat.
As Wolf encourages Chief to enjoy the moment, a stunned Hornet flies toward Diane.
"So…you're actually the…" he said.
Diane nods. "I…don't understand why…"
Hornet shrugs. "I don't know. Perhaps they need someone on the inside when they get out?"
That sounds about right.
As Chief makes a speech, Wolf exchanges a smile with Diane.
"I'm proud of you, Wolf," said Diane.
"You know," said Wolf. "A fox and a wolf are not that different. You've got a good thing going here, Governor."
Diane smiles. After all that she went through, she finds that maybe she can be relatable after all. It is not perfect, but she can have a better understanding of the criminal world.
Hornet appears crestfallen, wiping a tear from his eyes.
"Don't worry, Hornet," said Wolf. "We'll keep in touch."
Hornet sniffs. "You better."
"Make sure to write letters to me, my abejerro!" said Piranha, jumping up and down to catch Hornet's attention. "Spread the word about our adventure! You even did a good job detecting those trucks and butt rocks!"
('Abejerro' means 'bumblebee' in Spanish)
Hornet blushes, smiling. "Thank you. Call me as well."
Wolf smiles before looking firm. "But seriously, Diane, Hornet. Don't let us fall behind with the rest of the world or we will be living under a rock."
Diane nods. "Promise."
"Will sure do," said Hornet.
"Me too!" said Piranha, jumping up to give Hornet a kiss on his cheek.
A loud whirring fills everyone's ears and they can see a frazzled-looking Marmalade carrying the meteorite from his helicopter. When Tiffany turns the camera to him, he realizes that he is being watched and orders Cuddles to land the helicopter. The helicopter lands on the bridge for all of them to see.
The look of insanity disappears from Marmalade as he forces a smile and jumps off. [4s]
"It's Professor Marmalade!" said Tiffany. "He's bringing the meteorite back."
"Yes!" said Marmalade. "Yes, bringing it back! That's precisely what I'm doing!"
"Care to comment?" asked Tiffany.
As all cameras go on Marmalade, he puts back on his 'innocent' look. "I tried to help them, but in the end, it's the same old story: bad guys bad, good guys good."
"So true. So wise."
Diane shudders. How can these people believe what he is saying?! Even the others are disgusted by this and could only watch in disbelief. Even though Hornet has evidence, Marmalade is always one step ahead of them by exploiting his appearance.
"Furthermore, for the good of the city, I have generously decided to take the meteorite back to my compound for safekeeping." The people around them are already drinking the idea, cheering. "Thank! Gosh, you're kind. Give it up for me!"
He claps for himself…but as he does, the cyan spots of the meteorite flash on and off.
What?
"Wait a sec!" said Chief. "This isn't the meteorite!" She claps and the cyan dots turn on like lights. "It's a lamp!"
"So…the meteorite is back at the compound the entire time?!" said Hornet.
Snake suddenly snickers.
Diane couldn't believe that Snake went out of his way to pretend to be betraying the Bad Guys. With the full story, he reveals that he actually decided that they shouldn't be monsters for too long. He joined Marmalade to sabotage his scheme from within. Oh, the guinea pig is so gullible himself. When he got the mind-controlling helmet, he swaps the meteor with the lamp in the shape of the meteor - making sure to paint it to make it look like the real thing - then places the real meteor back in the machine. To make sure that it would NEVER be used again, he cranks it up to overdrive.
"The old switcheroo," said Snake, snapping his tail.
Hornet is definitely right that the meteorite's power is REALLY high at this point.
KA-BOOM!
A large light beam shoots up to the sky as an explosion rattles the entire city from far away. For the entire city to see. Guess that means Marmalade's compound is done for. Diane isn't sure how much damage that causes, but rest assured that the meteorite is no more.
Marmalade himself could only stare at the explosion in horror, his pupils shrunken.
As the shockwave clears, Wolf goes up to him and pats him on the head before joining the other Bad Guys as they enter one of the police cars. Even Piranha turns around and mouths 'butt' right at the guinea pig. Diane and Hornet glance back at each other, now satisfied by what they have achieved.
Marmalade can barely sputter another word as the Bad Guys were driven away.
Out of nowhere, the Golden Dolphin, somehow still intact from the explosion, dropped out of the sky and hit the fake meteorite. It lands right on top of him, preventing him from escaping. The diamond he stole from Diane rolls right out of his pocket.
Chief lifts it up. "Hold on…this is the Zumpango Diamond! But that was stolen…" She gasped. "The Crimson Paw?!"
"Wait, what?!" said Marmalade, confused.
A loud honk interrupts him attempting to protest. A Ferrari appears and Kitty and Doom come out with smirks on their faces.
"We even found something!" shouts Kitty. She unlocks the boot and pulls out a tied and gagged Nathan, dropping him on the ground. "He was found storing explosives, planning to plant them at the Bad Guys' hideout."
"What?!" said Marmalade once again. "Nathan?!"
Nathan could only grin sheepishly underneath the duct tape covering his mouth. "Sorry…"
Hornet smirks, making his way over to one of the cops to present the footage he recorded. "He's a goner."
Diane doesn't know how to respond to this. One moment, she was about to explain the truth and NOW they are framing Marmalade for being the much taller and stronger Crimson Paw? Well, she isn't sure if she is wrong for not doing anything about this, but she decides to let this one pass for now. Besides, Marmalades needs to be focused on because HE was the one who did all of this.
Their deal is now officially over.
"OMG!" reported Tiffany. "In a shocking twist, the notorious bandit known as 'The Crimson Paw' has been revealed to be none other than Professor Marmalade'!"
As all the reporters crowd around in the shocking 'reveal', Chief grabs the wailing Marmalade and tosses him right into the back of a police van nearby. He tries to scream that Diane is the Crimson as he is driven away, but nobody listens to him. Diane could only watch and wave in amusement. Looks like she gets to keep her secret for longer. Well, that is unless Hornet won't spill the beans as he is already explaining what happened to a cop, writing everything down on paper. But knowing that Hornet was on Diane's and the Bad Guys' side, he won't reveal it for now as there is a bigger fish to fry.
Nathan doesn't even know that Diane is the Crimson Paw, so she doesn't need to worry as he is apprehended. And Cuddles wouldn't be able to give a clear answer as he is tackled down by the police when he tries to run.
"Aww, that is a cute kitty right there," cooed Kitty as she and Doom walk to her.
Diane chuckles, looking down at the cat Wolf trusts her to take care of. It miaows again and snuggles deeply into her chest.
"I don't know about you, but it looks like you," jokes Diane.
Kitty laughs. "You know that I'm a different breed of feline."
"I didn't expect this to happen," said Doom, perching on Diane's shoulder. "Can you really believe that the Bad Guys actually turn themselves in?"
Diane just smiles. "It's their choice. I just hope that they will be OK when they serve their life sentence. And I'm looking forward to helping them if they need me."
Kitty pats the fox on the back. "I am proud of you, Diane. I don't know what kind of craziness you did as a mercenary with them, but it really pays off."
"I agree," said Doom. "When in this business, it requires more action than behind microphones."
"That's true," said Diane. "But I'll be careful next time. You told me that I have to choose a path and well…I think I know which one would be suitable to use in these kinds of situations. But above all, no decision goes unpunished."
Doom has a thoughtful look. "Diane, Professor said that you were the 'Crimson Paw'. Is that true?"
Diane decides not to answer to that. Someday, she'll tell them. She isn't sure yet, but she'll find the right moment to.
AN: Now, I know what you are thinking. 'Why didn't Diane tell Doom and Kitty about her secret? Why leave them out?' Well, given that this is all short in the span of days and that Diane is hiding behind a mask, it would take much longer for her to admit and risk everything she has. You can see it right there and if she gets arrested, like what Hornet said, she might lose her position as governor and thus unable to help the Bad Guys in any other way. Besides, while Doom might be a bit more understanding, this might feel as a huge shock for Kitty.
But no worries, Diane revealing the truth to her friends will be explored in the future, but not for this story...
The entire scene of Kitty and Doom crashing Nathan's truck is probably my favorite. It is actually a reference to Peacemaker. The mental image of Nathan crawling across the road while getting pecked by Doom and whacked on the head by Kitty is hysterical.
And being faithful to some elements of the book, the short flashback of Diane's is similar to Agent Fox's in the book series.
Rumors say that if you review about what you think about this chapter, you earn a nuzzle by Wolf. Feedback and criticism are welcome to help with any improvements needed. If you dare to be rude or send any flames, they will be doomed by Piranha's fart gas if deemed to be toxic, and you'll end up looking like a fool.
Until next time, keep on rocking!