The Animal Squad: Dawn of Wolf O'Donnell
By Neil Vanbot
Chapter 1
The early morning on Christmas was so peaceful, as we were spending the night at Robin and Marian's house. Then, in the silence, little Aki came barreling through the house on a rampage, excited to be celebrating her first Christmas with a large family. "Wolf, Wolf!" she exclaimed, "Wake up! It's time to open presents!"
"No Aki" I mumbled, "it's time for sleep."
"But I want to open presents now!" she whined.
"Go ask your mom and dad" I groaned.
"Okay, Wolf!" she said, walking away.
Aki allowed me to sleep for a few more hours, then later that morning, I walked into the living room greeted by a large pile of presents that had been placed underneath the beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Marian had us take turns opening presents, starting with the youngest. Fox was given his first present and James sat with the baby vulpine, in case he needed help opening the present. "What did Grandma get you, Fox?" James asked, having helped open the box. What James pulled out of the box was a little toy figure that looked like a humanoid insect.
"Oh, wow Fox!" dad said, "That looks like a fun toy for you to grow up with."
"Can I see that?" I asked. The toy was passed to me and upon seeing it, I felt as though the toy figure looked familiar.
"What's wrong, Wolf?" dad questioned, noticing me looking confused.
"I've never seen a toy like this before" I stated, "it looks so lifelike. Where'd you get it?"
"Alright, Aki, it's your turn to open a present" Marian said, ignoring my question.
Aki ripped open the package and pulled out her own action figure. The toy was very muscular and its body was purple. Aki held up the toy with so much joy in her eyes. "Oh, look at that!" James said, "The toy looks kind of like Thanos."
"Thanos? The guy who kidnapped you and dad?" I asked.
"Yeah, but there's no way this really is a Thanos action figure" James stated.
"There's no reason you should be worrying about that" Marian stated, "Wolf, sweetie, it's your turn to open a present."
I was handed this long rectangular box. As I began unwrapping the present, I started to feel a little nervous about what I was going to get. I opened the box and pulled out a large, double-edged sword. My eyes grew wide. "Please tell me this is just a toy sword" I stated, turning to Marian.
"Actually, I got that for you" Robin interjected, "I thought you would like it."
"Wolf, what do you say?" mom asked.
"Thank you, Robin" I said, getting up and hugging the fox.
"You're welcome, kiddo" he replied.
As I went to go sit back down, I glanced at mom and upon seeing her, I screamed. "What's wrong, Wolf?" dad asked.
I looked at dad and noticed his fur was covered in dirt and one of his paws was stained with blood. I shook my head looking back at mom, who was also dirty and had a large stab wound through her chest. Mom dropped to the ground and I tried running toward her but couldn't move for some reason. "Mom!" I cried out, "Mom, please wake up! Mom…"
"…Mom!" I screamed, being startled waking up.
When I sat up, I looked around to figure out where I was. I noticed that I was lying on the ground and surrounding me was a large cage. I got up and walked to the edge of the cage and saw someone sitting outside the bars. The figure stood up and towered over me, with a wide frame and large muscles. He began talking saying, "I see you're finally awake. Are you ready to begin your training?"
"Where are we?" I asked, looking at the giant.
"We're almost at my base, known as the Sanctuary" he explained, "you are going to be receiving training to become one of my greatest warriors."
"Father" Andross stated, walking in "should I head back to Corneria to make sure people don't suspect me being involved in the invasion?"
"That might not be a great idea, my son" Thanos answered, "with both James and Maverick being alive, you won't be safe there."
"Oh, crap!" Andross said, smacking his forehead "I completely forgot about those two. What should I do, Father?"
"I have a base on the planet Halfworld I'd like to send you to" Thanos instructed, "a colleague of mine needs help with an experiment that he's been working on for several years now. If you're there, I have the utmost confidence the experiment will get done properly."
"Okay, I can help out there" the ape smiled, "when do you need me to head out?"
"I'd like for you to wait until we get to the Sanctuary and get this little one secured" Thanos said, turning to me.
"Yes, Father" the ape stated, "I'll prepare for our arrival."
About half an hour later, Andross entered my room, accompanied by a small group of Sakaaran soldiers. "Well, pup, we've arrived" he said, "let's get going."
They bound my paws together and led me off the ship. The door opened, revealing an asteroid filled environment. "How are we breathing right now?" I asked.
"Don't worry about that, pup" Andross stated, "you won't be staying here. Thanos asked me to transfer you to his traveling base."
"But, scientifically speaking, we're in open space so there shouldn't be any oxygen for us to be able to survive" I stated.
"Aren't you supposed to be ten?" Andross questioned, "How are you so damn smart?"
"I was raised by James McCloud and Maverick O'Donnell" I stated, "they tend to be influential."
"That's nice" Andross stated, "now you're going to be influenced by Thanos."
When we got onto the new base, I tried to take in all my surroundings. They were leading me through the base to my new room. On the way there, I saw this girl who looked a few years younger than me, with blue skin, punching a large punching bag. "Who's that?" I asked, gesturing toward the young girl.
Andross looked toward the direction I was pointing. "Oh, her?" he questioned, "That's one of my sisters, Nebula."
"Nebula?" I asked, "As in what is another name for a cloud of gas found in space?"
"Okay, pup, I get it you're smart" he stated, "you don't need to use scientific terms all the time to prove it."
The young girl stopped and watched as we walked by. "You're bringing in another new kid?" she questioned.
"Good to see you too, Nebula" Andross stated.
"He better be less pathetic than the last newbie" she stated.
"Nebula, back to work" this large, blue-skinned woman stated.
"Yes, Proxima" the little girl stated.
"Don't worry, she's not that threatening" a large, pale being chuckled, glancing at me "wait, Wolf?"
"Yeah, that's me" I replied, "who are you?"
"I'm Corvus Glaive, I'm an old friend of your dad's" he stated, "Andross, what happened to Maverick?"
"Maverick is fine" Andross replied, rolling his eyes "not for a lack of trying."
"What about James?" Corvus asked, sounding anxious.
"Why does it matter to you, Corvus?" the ape asked, judgmental.
"Just answer the damn question, Andross!" Corvus demanded, as he began shaking.
"Calm down, Corvus, your little foxie boyfriend is completely fine" Andross stated, "he's the one who saved Maverick. The pup's mom is dead though."
Corvus crouched down to my level, giving me a hug. "I'm so sorry about your mom" he stated, quietly.
"Get over it, Corvus" Andross said, rolling his eyes "you've been part of these kind of missions before. Casualties like that happen all the time."
"Yes, but I've never been this close to any of them who got killed" Corvus explained.
"You'll get over it" the ape shrugged, turning to me "both of you will. It's a weakness."
Andross and the Sakaaran soldiers continued marching me through the base to, where I assumed, was where they were going to have me live. We walked past a door and my ears picked up on someone crying. "Who is that?" I asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about" the ape stated.
"I can hear someone crying in there" I replied.
"Alright pup, here's the deal" Andross began, "you're going to have to learn real quick that around here, you'll need to take care of yourself more than caring about others."
"Here we are" one of the soldiers said, as we got to an empty room "this is going to be your room while you're living here."
I sat on the bed, as to not make any trouble. "Do you have any questions, O'Donnell?" Andross asked.
"When can I get some food?" I asked sitting quietly.
"You are free to get food whenever you feel like it" the soldier explained, turning to Andross "you can leave, we've got him under control."
"If you're sure" Andross stated, "then I'll go get ready to leave for the planet Halfworld, Thanos told me about."
Once Andross had left, the Sakaaran soldier turned to me saying, "Alright, kid, let's get you out of those chains."
"You're not worried that I'll escape?" I mocked.
"Not at all" he chuckled, "there's a lot of us here and only one of you."
When the shackles were removed from my wrists, I grabbed them and started rubbing them. "So, can I go get some food?" I asked.
"Yeah, follow me" he said, motioning for me to follow "I'll show you the way to the mess hall."
We walked past the bedrooms and got to the mess hall, where some of the other residents of the ship had flocked to. The little, blue-skinned girl, Nebula, was there. Then I saw another girl, who looked to be around my age with green skin and dark brown hair, with pink tips, worn in twin buns. "Who is that?" I asked, pointing at her.
"That's Gamora" the soldier replied, "she's new to the Sanctuary, like you."
"Oh, did Thanos kill her parents too" I asked, as I found myself staring at her.
"I believe so" he said, noticing I stopped looking at him "would you like to meet her?"
I looked up at the large insect and awkwardly nodded my head. He smiled and said, "Hey, Gamora, would you come over here for a second?"
She turned to us and started walking a little slowly. I could tell from the red in her eyes, she had been crying. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Hey now, don't give me that" the Sakaaran said, "you should be happy you were given some time to rest while Thanos was gone."
"Oh yeah, you're right" she replied, sarcastically "I should be so grateful that I wasn't training with the man responsible for killing my family and taking me away from my home."
"He did that to you, too?" I asked.
"Yeah" she said, gazing at me "who is this, our new pet?"
"No" the Sakaaran stated.
"This is Wolf O'Donnell" a stern voice echoed from behind us "he's a new member of the family."
Everyone in the room turned and bowed, except for Gamora and I. "My Lord" one of the other Sakaaran soldiers stated, "to what do we owe this blessed appearance?"
"I wanted to make sure my newest son had gotten some food" Thanos stated.
"We were just getting that taken care of, Sir" the soldier, who had been escorting me, explained, "I was interrupted because he wanted to meet Gamora."
Thanos turned to Gamora, who was glaring at him, and said, "Ah, I understand, my son. Gamora is a magnificent girl. Everyone should want to meet her."
"Is there anything else I can assist you with, Sir?" he asked.
"While I'm here, I might as well assign Wolf the one I have selected train him" Thanos stated, gesturing toward the entrance "Wolf will be trained by, my son, Corvus Glaive."
The large, pale being walked in saying, "I will do my best to train him to your standards, Sir."
"I know, my son" Thanos smiled, "you helped train his father, so I know he has it in him."
Thanos left the room and Gamora turned to me saying, "Congratulations, you've joined the family. I look forward to kicking your ass, as much as I do the others around here."
"Lotta laughs from that one" Corvus said, walking up behind me.
"Did you really help train my father?" I asked, as I watched Gamora walk away.
"I did. Both him and James" Corvus stated, "both were amazing to watch grow in skill."
"What are you training me for?" I asked.
"Thanos wants to have you, Gamora, and Nebula trained to be elite and skilled warriors to use as part of his army" Corvus explained, "just like my sister Proxima and my brothers Cull Obsidian, Ebony Maw, and Andross, as well as myself."
"Does this mean that you're my brother, too?" I asked.
"According to Thanos, yes" he replied, "although, he already made your father my brother, so just call me your uncle."
"When do we start training?" I asked.
"First thing tomorrow" he stated, "I will see what will determine the intensity in which I train you."
"Okay" I said, looking for something to eat.
Corvus leaned down and whispered in my ear, "If we're lucky, not only will you be skilled enough to join our army, you'll be skilled enough to survive and escape."
I turned to him, about to say something, but he held up his finger to his mouth, signaling for me to stay silent. Once I had finished eating, Corvus escorted me back to my room and said, "Get some rest, bud, you've got a long road ahead of you."
"Hey Corvus" I said, before he walked away.
"Yes, kid?" he asked.
"If you're training me and that large, blue-skinned woman is training Nebula, then who did Thanos pick to train Gamora?" I asked.
"He decided to take that task upon himself" Corvus stated.
"How often does he train 'his children' without having someone else do it for him?" I asked.
"As long as I've been here, I can tell you it's rare" he stated, "I'm the last one I remember him training himself."
"Then she must be special to him" I stated.
"I guess so" he said, "get to bed kid."
"Night, Corvus" I said, walking into my room.
"Good night, Wolf" Corvus replied.
I was about to crawl into bed when I heard a knock on my door. I opened it to see Gamora standing on the other side. "Hi, Gamora" I stuttered, "what's up?"
"I'm sorry about earlier" she apologized, "I know it wasn't your choice to be brought here."
"Well, I'm sorry about your family" I replied.
"So, why did you want to meet me so badly?" she smirked.
"Oh!" I blushed, "I just saw you in the café and thought you'd be the most approachable of the bunch."
"Does that theory still stand?" she asked.
"Aside from Corvus, yeah I'd say you're one of the easiest for me to talk to" I stated.
"Good" she smiled, "I hope the two of us can be allies here."
"That'd be great!" I exclaimed.
"We've got to watch each other's backs" she stated, "because no one else will."
"Sounds like we've got a partnership" I said.
"If that's what you want to call it, then sure" she chuckled, "I call it survival."
"Um, okay" I stated, unsure of what to say now.
Gamora sighed, "Alright, get some sleep, newbie. The shit show starts for you tomorrow."
I closed my door and crawled into bed, laid on my side and curled up. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fall asleep, but I slowly drifted off.