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Crimson Claws

10.

Francine came out of the examination room followed by Maggie. Neither looked particularly pleased.

"Well?" Thomas asked, blowing a very gentle crocodile kiss on his wife's cheek. Francine Whitby - who had joined them as a nurse in 2002 and was now a general practitioner (training and salary kindly sponsored by Xanatos Enterprises) acted as the Labyrinth's doctor and although she also had a practice above ground where homeless or impoverished people with health problems could drop in, she spent more than half her time down here. The fact that she and Thomas were romantically involved had thrilled and baffled everyone at the time, but it worked between them. Most people didn't know that Francine had been a reformed former Quarrywoman or that she was the woman who had helped keep Nashville alive back then, but her previous experience with non-humans had qualified her for both the job and the partnership.

Maggie had sat down with a sigh, immediately resting her swollen legs on the coffee table, though she usually didn't consider that decent. Her due-date was near and she cut herself some slack.

"She's telling the truth. I mean- I've never had hands this big and my claws don't stand this far apart when I spread my fingers- but no knife or weapon we could think of has ripped open Nora's side. And her hands under the abrasions are burnt like from our electricity. She even smells like she's been electrocuted."

"I've given her more painkillers and re-stitched and bandaged her wounds. According to the scans, she has increased electrical voltage in her body as if she had been exposed to your electricity. She's not faking it."

"Why would Fang - um, I mean Fred attack his own sister? Just because she's not helping him with one of his schemes? He was never ... good. But has he really sunk that low in recent years?" asked Maggie, rubbing her stomach.

"He never mentioned he had a sister," Derek pointed out.

"Yes ... he has. ... To me." A computer voice announced, reminding everyone who knew the movie a little of Hal 9000. Claw hadn't seen the movie, had found the voice pleasant, soothing, a good counterbalance to his appearance, and had Lexington program it into the device. And then when he was asked about it - well - he didn't use the tablet THAT OFTEN in the restricted circles he moved in anyway. He preferred sign language but only his clanmates could sign really well (except for the male clones) and he didn't want to exclude Francine. He almost never used sign language when he knew people wouldn't understand him - he found it rude.

"He told you he had a sister?" Derek repeated and Claw smirked.

"Fleetingly ... when we were working in the lab," he typed and let the program say it.

"Okay - so - what do we do with her?" asked Erin, who had sat down next to Maggie and was tugging uncomfortably at her skirt. Her foster mother took her hand in her own, squeezing it comfortingly as she spoke.

"If her story is true, then she really can't rely on the police. Her story must be true - why would she lie?"

"Family tradition?" Thomas grumbled, letting Francine stroke his biceps reassuringly. He had been an adult when Fang had persuaded him to follow him. Into the clutches of the same doctor who had mutated himself. It gnawed at him and made him angry - even after all these years. Only Erin took it worse especially because she was a girl and almost in her mid-20s. A girl had dreams. What was a girl without ever having known love? She had tried dating. But she didn't have much choice between perverted TMNT enthusiasts and people who pretended to like her because they wanted some inside-information about the community. She still talked to her therapist about the journalism student who had dragged her to one of his lectures on the pretext of a date - she had really liked him.

Derek scratched his chin.

"We need to patrol," he decided, "keep an eye out for Fang and nail him. Mutants aren't outside the law anymore - this time he's going to jail."

"Isn't that the Manhattan Clan's job?" asked Francine.

"Fang is both our problem and the Manhattan Gargoyles' problem when he hurts people in their territory," Derek explained.

"I'll call the clan," offered Maggie.

"Yeah ... and his sister?" Erin probed. "Do you want to ... let Elisa pull something or ... use your old police contacts and organize a stay in a safehouse for her- I don't know?"

"Protection," I reminded my clan and they all looked to me. I rushed to type and was thankful for the program's spelling correction before it gave my words out.

"She needs protection and shelter ... until we find Fred or the police catch him... She was right... She's safest here where diurnal mutants and nocturnal gargoyles keep an eye on everything."

"Although apart from Delilah, there's not much going on with the Gargoyles right now," Thomas said.

"But Fred doesn't know that. Even if he has somehow realized that Nora has sought refuge here - he's not stupid enough to seek this confrontation. Hopefully," Maggie said and gave her husband a feline grin, which he returned fondly. Before swearing and excited loud talking could be heard in the next room.

Derek and Francine hurriedly entered the room where the others huddled in the doorway.

Nora Sykes was perched on the examination table where Fran had left her.

She clutched her bag with clothes spilling out of it and glared angrily at Benny, who had just stood up again.

"What's going on here?" Derek demanded even louder than Nora, silencing her rant, which was eighty percent cursing.

"She kicked me and I fell down."

"Did you hurt yourself?" asked Erin, who had moved forward and was pawing at him (always a big sister, even if he did annoy her from time to time) as if it were possible he had seriously hurt himself. He chuckled. His chitin and sclerotin armor covering his body was stronger than stone.

Nora found her voice again.

"I don't want Creepy Crawley rummaging through my damn things! With his twitchy antennae and a million insect legs - or arms or whatever."

"My name is Ben! And to correct you - wood lice are not insects. They are crustaceans. And apart from my normal arms, I only have four limbs left and right, which are largely non-functional and feeble." He waved his shorter non-humanoid legs sticking out of his tank top in Nora's direction, who leaned so far back in obvious disgust that she nearly fell off the table before he continued mockingly cheerful. "Together with my leg-legs that I use for walking, I have 12 limbs-whereas real woodlice have 14. I told you I'd go through your things under your supervision. Weapons and drugs of any kind are forbidden in the labyrinth."

"Congratulations on totally owning the Wikipedia thing." Nora Sykes quickly caught herself. "Trust me, bug boy, you don't want to see me without my meds." She gave Benny a look under which the big not-insect mutant stepped back and looked like he wanted to escape behind the coattails of his sister, who was a head shorter. Normally, he was able to rattle people who were stupid to him in the long term.

"Can I have a look?" Francine asked. "I'll hand you the bottles back, I swear."

Grumbling, Nora handed her the pill bottles and Francine looked at them.

"Carbamazepine and lamotrigine are antiepileptic drugs and ... Olanzapine and Quetiapine are atypical neuroleptics, the last one - painkillers from the hospital," Francine said and before she could explain further, Benny asked, anxious that he had almost taken away someone's vital medication.

"You're epileptic?"

Nora Sykes huffed, her iron-hard grip on her bag loosening.

"Dude, epileptics wouldn't want to trade places with me."

"This combination is often given to people with bipolar disorder. They're mood stabilizers," Francine said.

"Oh," Benny replied, looking to the others. Some of the Labyrinth Clan's charges had mental health issues. That often went hand in hand with homelessness. But people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder - they often brought trouble when they were in unstable phases. Trouble that put others or the sufferers themselves in danger and had sometimes led to these people having to be removed from the labyrinth.

Claw summarized these thoughts in a grumble.

"I'm stable! As long as I have my meds and no one fucks me up, I'm not going psycho," Nora insisted, looking at Claw as if she had understood him.

Everyone exchanged a few puzzled looks.

"You need to keep your meds locked up at all times. And don't let anyone see the painkillers. And get back to me if you need more," Francine said.

"Sure, I won't be ripped off," said Nora, who took her pills back and put them in her bag.

"Every two days at lunchtime after you have showered, you come here - don't take off the bandages to shower. I will then treat the wounds again," the doctor finished.

"That means I can stay?" An uncertain smile stole across the woman's bruised features. Claw wondered how someone managed to look relieved and unhappy at the same time, but Nora Sykes pulled it off.

"Okay," Derek grumbled, positioning himself in front of Nora with his arms folded. Derek didn't want to appear threatening per se. That was just his no-nonsense posture. Instead of being intimidated by it, Nora Sykes raised her head stubbornly and gave him a weary look that spoke of how unimpressed she was with him. Something that made Claw grin, which didn't escape Maggie's notice and made her smirk too. Nora Sykes was bound to bring hassle. But seeing their cherished clan leader a little out of his comfort zone was usually quite entertaining. As long as it didn't get dangerous, that was something they could appreciate.

"You can stay in the labyrinth until we find and apprehend your brother. I'm Derek, this is Maggie, Claw, Thomas, Erin, Bennie. Delilah will be introduced to you after nightfall. If there's something wrong, come to one of us. Don't cause trouble, lie low and everyone gets along here."

"Cool, like the Care-Bears in their Care-a-lot land for freaks and bums, sounds great," Nora voiced.

Derek rumbled deeply from his chest. "The words freaks and bums are taboo down here. And anything else that makes residents and clan members feel bad. There's no shame in needing support or temporarily losing your footing in the society up there. Being different is not a flaw but an asset to the community. Do you understand that, Miss Sykes?"

The woman on the table flashed a shit eating grin.

"Sounds great! Love the philosophy! So wise- wow. Frickin inspiring. Big merci for the support. You guys will so love me, I have an assload of assets. Up to the fucking tips of my hair. You can call me Nora now that we're all friends in the cancel culture. Do you feel bad with Boss-Cat?" Nora asked chipper and seemingly guileless, batting her eyelashes like a fucking sarcastic, rather battered Negaverse Disney princess, making Claw laugh out loud in earnest (or snort and chortle which was his laugh). Nora pointed at him with a grin.

"There! Stripey already appreciates my charm!"

Derek turned around, huffing with a suffering grimace that made some of the others giggle.

"I recognize the family resemblance," he grumbled before pointing at Erin.

"Erin, give Nora a tour and then she can rest. Far away from us."

Nora Sykes' eyes widened just as much as Erin's at the prospect before the girl squirmed.

"Um, I - can't I rather-"

"Yeah, can't she rather-" Nora said with a disparaging look at the turtle mutant.

"You can bond over the collective hatred for Fang. Or Fred. Or whatever. It'll be fine for ten minutes," Derek said, opening the door to the anteroom of the Labryrinth's examination room, through which Erin shuffled and Nora stumbled on her crutches with a suffering frown that made it impossible to tell if it was from her pain or the whole situation. It was obvious that this woman had problems with mutants beyond measure. Claw found it understandable - she had experienced massive violence not only at the hands of her brother, but also at the claws of a mutant. Maybe she was ... traumatized? No matter how Nora Sykes felt, she didn't have many choices. That was clear to her - it was clear to the clan members. Her hostile attitude? - Something she would have to quickly shed.

.

"This is the library. Books are only checked out when a member of staff is there to record it, otherwise we lose track. The children also get tutoring from volunteers in there. Every weekday between 2 and 6. Do you have any academic talents?"

"Nothing that would help the little shits at school. I could teach them to kick ass but ... meh. And I was once told that no one in their right mind would let me near children," Nora dead-panned without a hint of embarrassment and let the double doors to the library slide shut.

"Sounds like it," Erin agreed softly. " ... These are the restrooms and shower facilities that belong to women's dormitory wing 2. Because of your limited range of movement with your crutches, you're most likely to use these."

"Wow, just as nice and cozy as for dorm wing one, like the main hall restrooms, the ones on level one and two of the family dorms, the ones by the guys' wings albeit without the urinals."

"This isn't about cozy. The most important aspect is that the areas are functional and as clean as possible."

"I'm all for clean. Although women usually leave toilets dirtier than men - in my experience. I don't know why, we don't usually piss while standing up."

Erin grumbled discontentedly, watching Nora limp around the room and scan the shower cubicles.

"Everyone knows they have to leave the communal areas in good condition. It has something to do with respect for the other residents. Besides, everyone gets a turn at cleaning duty. Everyone has to live together harmoniously here - men and women of all races, species, backgrounds and circumstances. And treating each other well is just as important as treating the things we all use well. And the men know that they have no business in the women's rooms and vice versa. Part of the security concept. The labyrinth is supposed to be a safe haven for everyone."

"Ha," the woman laughed and grinned at Erin. "That all sounds great. Have you practiced it by heart? You could do friggin commercials, Morla."

"My name is Erin," the young woman grumbled and pinched the skin on her upper arm to stop herself from storming off. This woman had kicked and insulted her little brother and didn't even look like she knew it was necessary to apologize. She didn't look like she regretted it. And if she didn't like everything here and didn't appreciate anything or anyone - then what was she doing here? She should be grateful. "I don't need to mention the point of single men and single women being in separate wings," Erin said coolly.

"If I'm looking for a fuck, it's definitely not down here at the bargain bin. God knows what you might catch here," Nora muttered, pushing open one of the toilet cubicle doors with a crutch and peering inside. With a critical expression. How she had critically looked over everything and everyone during the tour. Plus the often sarcastic or simply nasty comments.

Erin had had enough, stomped out of the room and Nora rambled and whined behind her that she should slow down, she wasn't that fast and what a turtle she was if she could move that fast. But Erin was also at the end - of her tour and her nerves. She rushed through the, in the late morning, almost deserted women's dorm room 2 to the very end, throwing the sports bag she had been carrying so that Nora could halfway keep up with her crutches onto the last bed. Nora Sykes followed, groaning and with her crutches clacking, casting derogatory glances at the three or four women still lying in the beds. A dark-skinned, skinny woman with many laugh lines, who had been sitting on her bed and reading by the light of her bedside lamp, took off her glasses with the round lenses and smiled broadly. The smile felt nice and Erin waved to her and she waved back.

"Hi, I'm Latoja," she said to Nora in a gentle tone that took into account Nora's injured state as well as the fact that they would be roommates.

"Uhm, Nora, hi," Nora Sykes grunted, looking straight ahead again as she hobbled the last few yards to Erin.

40 beds. 40 lockable bedside cabinets, 40 lockable lockers for personal belongings. Nobody wanted the rearmost beds. Too far away from the toilets and the exposed pipes from the heating and cooling system that collected here meant that it was either too hot or too cold.

"Okay. This is your bed," Erin said, ignoring the judgmental furrows in Nora's forehead as she settled on it with a groan and leaned the crutches next to her. The plastic in which the freshly sterilized mattress and unused blanket were wrapped crackled. Erin pointed to the bedside cabinet and locker. " Combinations you make up yourself. If you forget them Derek or Maggie have the keys to reset the combination to zero."

"I certainly don't forget - I'm not a junkie who's fucked up her brain."

Erin stared briefly at Nora, who returned her gaze neutrally. She glanced at Latoja, who was silently observing their exchange and the new arrival, but not quite as content as before. Erin took a deep breath. It would help ... yes, if she talked to Nora and explained it to her like she would to one of the kids or snotty teenagers who just didn't know any better. "Most of the others here aren't either. Before we take someone in, they have to do a tox screen and if it's positive, a four-week detox upstate," Erin said coolly, to which Nora rolled her eyes.

"Probably with my tax money."

"Actually, it's paid for by the X-Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Addicts. Not a cent of taxpayers' money goes into it. It's a non-profit organization - apart from what Xanatos' accountants can probably deduct."

"Oh fuck- Xanatos ... do you see ... the ones where are sent "upstate" again or ... do they disappear? Or do they come back like -" Nora waved her hand in front of Erin.

The girl took a step back, her shell hitting the metal locker behind her with a resounding clank. After a moment's shock at the words, she averted her gaze and let her hair fall over her eyes so the horrible brainless woman across from her wouldn't see the tears stinging her eyes.

"We'll see everyone again. Everyone speaks well of that place," Latoja replied curtly a few beds away.

"Then why should I always lock my medication away? Never mind. All right, put me on the list for a single room but I think -" Nora bounced a little on the bed, then lifted the pillow to her face, tore open the plastic packaging and smelled it before putting it back - "this will be fine for two or three days."

Erin cleared her throat, sniffled, collected herself. She was almost in her mid-20's. She'd had 12 years to get used to stupid, mean people. Her clan, her chosen family loved her, the community accepted her and even Nora Sykes with her braindead comments would realize they were more than "the freaks". But until then... Erin wasn't a victim- hadn't had the luxury of that for years. She could take it and - yes - dish it out too. Erin grinned broadly as she raised her head again.

"How nice that we live up to your expectations. Always lock up your things, sheets are changed on Mondays and Thursdays, unless there's cootie infestation again, then every day. Shower times between 9.30am and 11.30am and between 4pm and 7pm. The same times for using the washing machines and dryers in the laundry room. In the main hall - that's the big high room from which most of the doors lead off on three levels - the weekly menu is written out. Breakfast between 6 and 8, lunch between 12 and two, dinner between 7 and nine - if you miss it, you get nothing, not that you could go far with your leg and the prospect of your brother waiting for you out there. A schedule with task teams where everyone has to sign up is also posted there - I recommend kitchen duty - we have too few people who aren't shaky or coughing into the soup while chopping vegetables."

"Uhhh into the soup - great," Nora remarked with an expression that should have been photographed as Erin turned and walked away. With no small amount of satisfaction, she heard behind her:

"Wait a sec - COOTIES?"

But she managed to giggle only when she was already out of the dormitory.

Thanks for reading ... whats up with the humans of the Series in 2009? See next week.

P.S: And Francine is like cooties! - she always comes back in every story ^^. She's my poster girl for the Redemption arc from afar.

Q.T.