Chapter Forty-Nine
Close Call
Back in Mutopia, Freya slept peacefully in her bed hugging a red dragon toy in her arms, one she had had since she was a baby, and in fact the very first toy given to her by April and Casey when she and Loki were born.
After a few minutes, her eyes fluttered open as she began to wake up and she turned over to look at the twin bed where Loki was sleeping in.
Yet as she did so, she couldn't see her brother, and it didn't look like his bed had been slept in.
The female Geckoling awoke with a start and reached over to a Chizard shaped lamp and switched it on, which lit up the room dimly.
She then saw clearly that Loki's bed was untouched, and she frowned wondering where her twin brother was.
Climbing out of bed and placing her feet in some red slippers and pulling on a red dressing-gown over herself, she walked towards the door of the bedroom and walked into the hallway of the residential quarters of Mutopia.
She walked down a few doors until she saw the light on in Loki's little workshop.
She quickly walked over, and she saw her brother, he was laying with his head down on the table in the middle of the room, a small screwdriver in one hand and his head resting on the other.
The young Geckoling boy was sound asleep and snoring away, showing he must have fallen asleep.
Also on the table were different tiny models that looked like spiders, birds, flies and other small creatures, there were about ten in total, and it appeared he had been working non-stop to put them together after their father had given him the job to do so.
"Loki!" Freya gasped then walked over to her brother and touched his shoulder.
"Hey! Little brother! Wake up!" she said.
Loki snorted and he started to stir before sitting up.
"Huh?" he asked then he saw Freya looking over him.
"Loki?" she asked "Are you alright? What are you doing here?"
Loki blinked and shook his head as he tried to wake up.
"What the…?" he said, "Oh man!"
"What are you doing here?" Freya asked concerned "Have you been in here all night, or day technically?"
Loki looked around, he still wasn't quite with it as he tried to shake away the cobwebs of sleep, but then he realised where he was and looked at his sister.
"I…I, Gods! I think I fell asleep whilst working on these!" he said looking at the little models in front of him.
Freya shook her head.
"Loki!" she scolded "Sonia and I told you that you shouldn't stay up so late! You've been working on these things since yesterday!"
"Sorry sis!" Loki said, "I just…" he paused as he yawned "I wanted to get them ready before dad sent the Knights on their next patrol!"
"Well, you've done just that!" Freya said as she looked at the models on the table.
"Yeah! I have!" Loki grinned then he yawned again.
"Come on little brother!" Freya said, "Let's get you back to bed!"
"Alright, Alright!" Loki moaned as he stood up "But when mum and dad wake up! I want to be the one to show them my creations!"
Freya nodded and she took her brothers arm before leading him back to their bedroom and turned out the light in the workshop.
As the twins left the room, they heard sounds coming down the hallway.
"I think the others might be stirring!" Freya said as she turned to look behind her, as she did, she saw a green tail disappear into one of the rooms.
"Hey, I think Pandora's up early." She spoke.
Loki also looked around and he saw the bedroom door of Pandora's close.
Freya bit her lip as she observed the door and decided to check in on the Hybrid.
"You go back to our room, I'm gonna check on Pandora." She announced.
Loki nodded.
"Good luck." He muttered "It's been almost a month since Mum, Dad and the Knights saved her and her family from the Foot, and she's still not herself."
Freya didn't hear him say the last part as she walked towards Pandora's room.
Meanwhile, in her room, Pandora quickly slipped out of her black cargo pants and hoodie as well as took off her weapons and hid them under the bed as fast as she could.
She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a knocking.
"Pandora?"
"Shit!" Pandora thought as she quickly dived into bed and pulled the covers over herself.
The knock came again.
"Pandora? You in there?"
Pandora glowered as she realised that Freya wasn't going to leave her alone, so she turned towards the door.
"Freya?" She spoke.
"Yes, It's me!" Freya called through "Are you alright? I saw you coming in, where you been?"
Pandora felt her heart racing, fearing she had been seen by Freya.
"I…I..." Pandora stammered, she took a deep breath trying to control her breathing and she got out of bed and wrapped her tiger stripped dressing gown around herself and walked to the door wondering what to say to the Geckoling.
Pandora opened the door and she looked at Freya who looked rather shocked.
"Pandora!?" she exclaimed.
"Freya…I…" Pandora said but Freya placed her green paw against Pandora's forehead "You sure you're not feeling poorly?" Freya asked, "You're very sweaty and hot."
Pandora felt her heart slowdown in relief as she heard that, and she let out a sigh.
"I…I did feel a little queasy earlier, I went to the bathrooms and puked up, must…must have been something I ate?"
Freya frowned.
"Hmmm, I see." She said then looked over her shoulder "I think James might be awake, shall we go and see him quickly?"
"Okay!" Pandora said a little too quickly then she eyed Freya with suspicion.
"What are you doing up so early anyway?"
Freya chuckled then told Pandora how she had found Loki in his workshop and how he must have fallen asleep whilst working and hadn't come to bed.
A small smile crept onto Pandora's face as she listened and walked with Freya to the medical room.
"Man! I never knew Loki would do that!"
"Me neither, well dad gave him a rather important job since your Uncle Donnie isn't up to the task."
"Huh?" Pandora asked, "What do you mean?"
Freya silently cursed.
"Nine Hells! Freya you idiot!" she thought then she forced a smile and chuckled.
"Oh nothing, it's just to help the Knights with their spy missions, you know, get the crack down on criminals topside." She pointed to the roof.
"I see." Pandora said and she began to ponder to herself.
"Hmmm, I always knew Loki had taken up engineering as well as putting together gadgets like Uncle Don, I wonder what it is Tyroth asked him to do? And better yet why do the Knights need them topside? It must be important."
"Since Uncle Don is still suffering PTSD, Tyroth felt he couldn't ask him, so he asked Loki instead." Freya went on.
"Makes sense." Pandora quipped.
After a few minutes they arrived at James's Medical room where they found the Chimpanzee sitting at a desk sipping some coffee as well as turning the pages of a large medical book, he murmured as he read the book, and occasionally slurped his mug.
He then saw the hybrid and Geckoling and he looked up.
"Ah good morning girls." He said with a smile putting his coffee down and leaned on the desk, resting his chin on his folded fingers.
"Morning James!" Freya smiled pulling Pandora into the room.
"What can I do you for?" James asked then he saw how sweaty and hot Pandora looked.
"Why Pandora, you don't look too good!" he stood up from his desk and picked up his stethoscope and pulled back a curtain to the side where a medical bench sat.
"I felt a little sick earlier." Pandora lied as she walked over.
James patted the bench.
"Well hop on up here and I'll give you a check-up!" he said in a cheerful voice.
Pandora did as she was told and lowered her dressing gown slightly so the tops of her shoulders could be seen as well as her upper chest.
James put on his stethoscope and placed it on her chest to listen to her heart and breathing, he then checked her temperature, then he looked down her throat.
"Hmm." He mused "You seem pretty healthy, and I don't see any physical problems, how's your tummy?" he asked.
Pandora placed her hand on her stomach and looked at James.
"Doesn't hurt." She said, but she did feel it panging, given that she was feeling nervous.
"I see." James said tapping his chin "Well, from what I can see you seem fine, and whatever made you ill, you expelled it."
Pandora gave a relieved smile and slid off the bench.
"Thank you, James." She said, "I feel alright now."
"My pleasure." The Chimpanzee smiled "Now run along and take care!" he winked.
"We sure will!" Freya said then took Pandora's hand and lead her outside.
"Come on Tigress, let's see if Sonia's awake yet."
James watched them go and went back to his desk to continue his reading as well as sip the rest of his coffee which thankfully didn't turn cold.
On the way back to the Residential Quarters, Pandora soon felt herself calming down, she felt relieved that no-one had found out what she was up to, and that Freya didn't spot her, and she felt terrible as she knew it wouldn't be long before she was caught, but she couldn't stop, especially after she found out some information from those thugs she chased.
Flashback
Pandora chased the thugs through the alleyways, leaping on the sides of buildings and running on them as well as running on the ground.
The thugs looked over their shoulders every so often to see her gaining on them.
"Holy shit! She's still coming for us!"
"Don't look back!"
Pandora kept on pursuing them until she saw a couple of dustbin lids and grabbed them off the tin cans and threw them both like a frisbee and they hit the thugs sending them flying and falling flat on their faces!
"Strike!" she crowed them she roared and leapt on top of them like a predator catching their prey.
"Gotcha!"
The thugs looked up at Pandora's painted face as she crouched over them.
"So, you mentioned a boss of yours?" she snarled as she grabbed the first thug's chin "Who are you working for?"
"What?"
"You heard me!"
"No-one!"
"Don't fuck with me! Who employs you?"
Pandora dug her claws into the thug's cheeks as she squeezed them, and at the same time she held her tail blade up above the other thug's face ready to stab him if he tried anything.
"Alright! Alright!" the first thug yelled "We're part of the 95th Street Gang! Our leader is Kamaru!"
"Cliff!" the second thug cried in shock yet Pandora placed her bladed tail at his throat.
'Shut up!" she hissed then turned to the first thug.
"Kamaru eh?" she asked, "He's your leader?"
"Yes! He is!" Cliff screamed "He and his bitch are at that abandoned school, South Chicago! Team Englewood Academy High School!"
"I see." Pandora snarled "And who's his bitch?" she licked her lips "Like Arashi has a whore, this dude has one of his own?" she thought to herself.
"I won't speak!" Cliff spat.
"Oh you will!" Pandora shouted as she lowered her other clawed hand to his eyes "Who is his bitch?"
"Valentina!" the thug yelled closing his eyes "Her name is Valentina! They hold underground fights at the school!"
"And what do you do for this twisted couple?" Pandora asked, her claws and tail blade still poised to strike.
'Nothing! We just do what they tell us!"
"Like robbing? And raping and attacking women!?" Pandora snarled as she lowered her claws to the thug's face.
"Would you do what they said if they told you to jump of a bridge?" she demanded "More than likely no!"
She slashed the thugs face.
"Little bastards!" she snarled.
The thug screamed in pain.
"You bitch!" The second one shouted as he pulled out a gun, but Pandora swiped it away with her tail and she stabbed him in the leg making him scream.
"Thanks for the information, dudes!" she hissed "You've been great!" she snarled then held up her claws.
Both thugs stared in horror.
"No! No wait! Please!" both begged but Pandora swiped at them, slashing their throats like she did with their leader and stood up.
"Three less thugs off the streets to cause harm to innocents!" she whispered and smirked standing up and running off leaving the bodies lying in the alleyway bleeding out.
End Flashback
"I really have to be more careful!" she thought to herself "Both to make sure no-one down here finds out what I'm doing, and Now I know more of the gangs topside and the leaders, I will go and seek them out!"
Meanwhile Freya, unaware of Pandora's thoughts smiled at her cousin.
"Oh my Gods, I'm so happy I'm speaking to you like before cousin! I've missed you so much!"
Pandora smiled back at her cousin and squeezed her hand, pushing her thoughts away, hoping to keep up appearances until she could sneak away again.
So Pandora had a lucky escape there! But thats just first! Will she be lucky a second time?