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Young Writers Society


Stripess Part 1



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Points: 621
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Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:10 pm
Dingobabee says...



I can’t do it! I can’t betray my friends! That was what I was thinking the whole time, but it was already done… I pull my tail spike away and walk off with Slash. Slash grins evilly at me. Little does he know that something entirely different from what he thinks just happened, something that would make him very angry if he found out.
“Come, Stripess.” He said. “The next one is too close to not have heard about this.”
How did I get into this situation? How did I get to the point that I would slam my tail spike into one of my friend’s chest? And most importantly, why am I walking away from it all with one of my worst enemies?
I guess it started when I started remembering. I call it that because I was never officially “born”…
* * * * * * * *
It was only a few years ago that she fell from space. She, at the time, looked like a big hulking beast from a place not of this earth, and the local super “heroes” were quick to respond, bursting into the scene to stop her from destroying anything more… Meanwhile though, I was working through intense pain that had been overtaking me ever since she had crashed into the road. I thought a piece of shrapnel had hit me, but I hurt all over, and I could hear my bones grinding against themselves. Finally, I blacked out from the pain…
I woke up and there were people staring at me. They were all around me, keeping a distance from me usually reserved for dangerous animals that haven’t done anything threatening… yet.
“What happened?” I grumbled as I reached up to rub my head, which was pounding. As I said it, though, I heard a deep, primal noise from close by, something normally associated with a threatened predator. I spun around to see what it was, but I only saw people running away. Some of them even dove to the ground and covered their heads…I swung my tail around to-…wait a second… I HAD A TAIL! I immediately fled to my home so I could confirm this in a mirror! Everyone who saw me did a double take and fled into the distance or hid behind a random object. The thing I saw in the mirror was a tiger, but also human. My hands were bulkier, and my nails curled around my fingers, ending in a point. I could extend them and retract them... my tail, the most startling feature I had gained, was long and graceful, but near the end, there was a wicked looking silvery spike that was almost the size of my arm! My face was more tiger than human, my teeth were sharp, and I was covered from head to toe in orange and black striped fur. There were some good points, though. I felt stronger, more powerful than before, and I could smell see and hear things that I never knew existed, but… I just couldn’t bring myself to admit that I was a freak, so different from the norm and so ferocious looking that people fled in terror at the sight of me… At least superheroes and villains have their secret identities to fall back on when the pressure becomes too great and they no longer want to be a freak for a while, but what does one do when they can’t blend in with even the thickest crowd, when people notice you, and are scared even when that alien creature should be what they focus on…
That alien did this to me, I think as I go over the night’s events in my head; she was the only thing that could have... and those “heroes” did not even look around to help those injured- or changed- by that stupid alien’s crash landing! How can one claim to be a hero and not even try to help those that the super villains hurt with powers or technology? Is catching the bad guy really more important than helping those they might have hurt? I felt anger growing inside me at these thoughts. I couldn’t blame every hero in the world, since I didn’t know how they handled these situations, but those heroes had just left without even looking around. I checked the news; maybe the heroes hadn’t gotten the chance to help, maybe they were defeated by the alien in some sort of battle, or maybe they had defeated her and were heading back to help now… Not even close. Those, those, “heroes” formed a team with the alien! The Alpha Crew was going to protect the city from villains and disaster! I slammed my tail into the television screen and screamed. They would suffer for leaving me like this and for siding with that stupid alien who had broken the streets and my life to pieces, Shifter.
I spent the next few years watching the Alpha Crew fight the local crime and the occasional super-villain. They won every battle. There were a few close calls to make me hopeful, but they always escaped. I learned a lot about their fighting style and limits:
Gray wolf: A quiet man with white hair and bright blue eyes. Has a lightening-shaped scar over his right eye.
Powers- Cobalt lightening.
Weakness- Insulators, and he needs to rest between uses
Ruby gargoyle: Large woman, very fierce, has blonde hair and green eyes.
Powers- can cover parts of her body in a red substance that always gives it a gargoyle shape e.g. hands= claws
Weakness- melee fighter, can’t fight effectively from a distance
The Flash Ranger: Tall skinny man with blonde hair and brown eyes, doesn’t seem to trust anyone
Powers- Can create energy weapons that cause mental pain decidedly non-lethal but can knock out a large opponent for hours, prefers throwing daggers.
Weakness- over confident, can’t change weapons rapidly, not proficient with anything but daggers.
Hidden dragon: Tall man with black hair and golden eyes, moderately muscled
Powers- can create an aura-like shield that is as far as I know impenetrable, can breathe fire.
Weakness- fire is very extinguishable, can’t keep shield up indefinitely
Shifter: Normally an average looking woman with brown hair and brown eyes
Powers- shape shifting into any biological being can copy behavior exactly and can combine DNA to create a new creature
Weakness- weakness of whatever form she’s taken, electrical currents seem to cause problems with her shape shifting
But I thought the biggest reason I didn’t attack them wasn’t to gather information at the time was because I was afraid, afraid of Shifter mostly. She did this to me, and I had a feeling she could, and would, do much worse, especially with the help of her newfound teammates. Early on, I thought about just asking her to change me back, but I remembered the pain of changing and I thought about how she would have complete control of my form while she changed me. I could become a toad if she chose, or any number of unpleasant things. She might not even be able to change me back. I almost attacked when Shifter became a super-villain in her own right by taking on the name Viper and almost destroying her friends due to the influence of a villain with some sort of nano-virus in the Alpha Crew’s members. Unfortunately, she wound up only trying to protect her friends and defeat the villain, so I lost my chance to attack…
One night, luck was apparently on my side. I saw Shifter leave the Alpha Crew’s headquarters through a window and fly off in that alien form I first saw her in. She left so swiftly, I can understand the size of the dent still in Velvet Avenue. I watched as her teammates read a note that she had left in her room (something about doing something against her beliefs. I really didn’t care). The important thing was that she was leaving for good, and I would soon have an opportunity to strike, to make them pay for leaving without even trying to help…
I robbed a bank the next day purposefully moving slowly so that the Alpha Crew would show up, I was far too unusual and deadly for the normal police and if I went as fast as possible I wouldn’t get to fight the Alpha Crew on my terms. When they did show up, they apparently didn’t expect someone like me they all did a double take at my appearance and I took that instant to strike! I quickly slammed my tail spike (which I had learned contained a non-lethal poison that stuns an opponent for an average of ten-minutes) into the side of The Flash Ranger and leapt up out of the grasp of Ruby gargoyle and, into a corner…I had picked this spot so that I could corner them not the other way around, I was trapped and I knew it, I had prepared but my plan had mostly counted on me taking them down one at a time. Hidden dragon was checking The Flash Ranger’s pulse while Grey wolf and Ruby gargoyle approached me cautiously Gray wolf was juggling some lightening menacingly. I leapt forward and to the right I grabbed ruby gargoyle, brought my tail spike and claws to her throat and backed away, slowly. I knew Ruby gargoyle’s throat was one of the few places she couldn’t protect with her power…
“Let me go or the hero dies” I said as clearly and menacingly as I could my voice like a growl but still clear enough that my meaning would get across. I really would kill her, it was better to take one of them down before I was hauled away to some prison that likely couldn’t hold me... if I escaped from there I would at least have one less hero to deal with. The heroes of course backed away they would never let a colleague die while they could prevent it. I walked slowly past them never turning my back on them. I was almost by when I was struck in the back of the head by one of The Flash Ranger’s energy daggers! 5minuts I noted as I slumped to the ground, fireworks exploding in m y head, I needed to remember the differences in metabolism rate, if I got away….
Ruby gargoyle lifted me to my feet with a single scarlet claw. The room spun and I struggled to remain standing as one of them hand cuffed me and Ruby gargoyle grabbed my tail near the base of the spike, they weren’t taking any chances even if I was still seeing more stars than should exist in reality. They herded me towards the police station every one of them keeping a wary eye on me, Ruby gargoyle’s grip on my tail was painfully tight and her glare could have dissuaded a vampire from making eye contact.
My head finally started to clear enough that I could see something other than stars and the pain in my tail, and I noticed that the lock on my hand cuffs was rudimentary at best, apparently handcuffs aren’t really what they normally need, I could defiantly pick the lock with my claws, but, if I did pick the lock what then? Ruby gargoyle still had my tail in a death grip and I was surrounded by super heroes who had proven stronger than I had originally guessed. I knew that if I could just get a ten second opening I could probably get away scot free, I knew my way around well enough and I was an extremely fast and agile runner.
Suddenly, a hooded figure leapt from a low roof, touched the pavement for a mere second then sprang back onto another roof! The heroes looked away for that brief moment and I picked the locks almost reflexively, my claws working diligently to turn like a key. The hooded figure returned and kicked Ruby gargoyle in the gut; she doubled over in pain which freed my tail! Without a moment to lose, I ducked under gray wolf’s lightening and bolted for a low roof; I sprang upwards and landed on the roof sprinting, but due to my head still being fuzzy I almost slipped right back off the roof! The hooded figure landed next to me gracefully and we were off ducking in and out of alcoves and diving into alley ways. Surprisingly he kept up very well with me even once my head cleared; he was seemingly just as strong and agile as I was, maybe stronger…
Soon we stopped the heroes obviously left in the dust and questions swirling in my mind. “Why did you help me?” I asked bluntly this person had obviously taken a big risk.
“You sure know how to thank a guy.” He said. “Honestly, you impress me. Not many people can warrant a personal escort to jail from The Alpha Crew. And well…” he pulled off his hood and I gasped. He was, like, me mostly, he was more, human looking though; his face was, less like a tiger, his claws were more like sharp black finger nails than curved claws and he didn’t even have a tail! The only thing that would really make him stand out in a crowd was his orange striped fur and his, beautiful piercing green eyes. “You shouldn’t have been caught” he stated bluntly snapping me out of my shock.

“What do you mean?” I asked
“You’re too fast they shouldn’t have been able to get to whatever crime you committed fast enough to stop you.” He explained, he was too observant for his own good.
“Actually” I said rather angry now “I wanted to fight them that is why I as you so plainly put it committed a crime.”
He looked impressed and handed me a small card that is embossed with SVS in plain red letters. “They teach super powered villains how to fight there; I think you could benefit from it. My name is Slash, by the way.”
“Mine’s Stripess. I only lost because The Flash Ranger’s metabolism is faster than most peoples.” I stated “But I’ll check it out anyways”
He smiled cockily and then left without another word.
I actually did go to check it out a few days later the building was huge and ominous but not something that would particularly stand out in this neighborhood. I was greeted warmly by a tall excessively thin man wearing a robe and round foggy glasses.
“Hello” he said a little too warmly “My name is Dr. G I am the teacher here. Slash told us you were likely coming. Now if you will please follow me, I’ll introduce you to Mind and then we will begin our tour.”
“Mind?” I asked ready to bolt back out the door
“Oh, just a formality we have to deal with before we show you anything important.” He said offhandedly.
I followed him cautiously through many winding halls and dark corridors to a room that was poorly lit and had a dark figure…She was not only cloaked and hooded in a black material that smelled of death and blood; she herself gave off an, aura of malicious intent.
“This is Mind” Dr. G said eerily “She will scan your consciousness for what your true purpose in coming to our school is. She is very thorough so I wouldn’t resist if I were you…Than again I don’t know who you are yet.”
Slam! Mind’s consciousness rammed into mine with vicious force and began meticulously scouring every corner of it even places I don’t think about. I didn’t fight her mostly because I didn’t care what this woman found but partly because the force with which she entered scared me, she would have no qualms about leaving me a vegetable…
“It seems that the only thing she wants to do is destroy the Alpha Crew, and she wants to do this whether we can help her or not.” She said when she finally pulled out, she looks uneasy though and she eyes me with suspicion.
“Perfect,” Dr. G said while steepling his fingers. “We will begin training tomorrow after registration. I suggest you take our strategy class it might help you in your future encounters with the Alpha Crew.”
Having said this he led me to my room, a small sparsely furnished place with almost nothing in the way of comforts. Over the next few days I did learn a lot about strategy and even about the limits of my own strength and, eventually, within a year of having enrolled at the super villain’s school I was able to over-power or out-smart any one I was set to spar against even Slash but more often than not Slash and I were equally matched. I became more graceful stronger and above all more calculating. I was the top of my class, better even at this point I could probably take down every super on the planet if I wanted to, for some reason though I felt compelled to stay.
Somehow I still felt out of the loop. I felt like they were hiding something from me, something important… I went to see Dr. G about this and he seemed to be expecting me because for one thing he didn’t seem surprised at my dropping from his ceiling after sneaking past his guards (it’s how you get an appointment with Dr. G who am I to judge) and he immediately told me that if I wanted to know about the school’s secret plans I would have to learn restraint, and I would have to prove that I had it. That way if I heard anything I found upsetting, then I could keep myself from shooting the messenger.
. “I do have restraint!” I said rather offended. I had never once lost control over anything, and I knew better than to shoot the messenger. When I think about it I was showing restraint just by talking with him rather than attacking him for making that assumption.
“Then prove it” he snapped at me “I want you to abduct a member of The Alpha Crew without killing any of them! Then, and only then, I will know that you have restraint!”
I gasped. He had really asked me to do something not only impossible, but also entirely against my own personal goals! I felt my claws flex out just a little further than usual, but I stopped myself. He was baiting me and I knew it and since I knew it I wasn’t going to let him get to me, smart tigers set traps, they don’t walk into them. “I’ll be back” I seethed and I left to go catch me a hero. Dr. G was of course snickering as I left, he didn’t expect me to come back anytime soon…

* * * * * * * *
You know when I said that this particular mission would be impossible? Well, I meant nearly impossible. I knew their habits well enough that, in theory, I could pick one off when they were alone or when they were all distracted… There was the fact that they had those pesky communicators that had trackers built into them, and the fact that The Flash Ranger was the only one whose metabolism rate I knew and he almost never left their headquarters…I decided to kidnap Hidden dragon. He bought his own groceries periodically instead of sharing supplies with the others, (I’ve never confirmed this but I think he has allergies) and walked to and from the store when he did, so he would be the easiest to get alone, assuming that the streets wouldn’t be overly crowded, large amounts of people make fighting difficult.
I waited along his normal route on the corner of Emerald creek and Golden, a spot that not many people travel, especially on such a gloomy day, it had an adequate hiding spot as well which was a convenient little door way that was oddly shaped probably designed by a paranoid store keeper that let me see the areas around me without being seen. Eventually, he did come strolling by, looking as though he didn’t have a care in the world. I sprang out behind him and swung my tail around to poison him barely kicking a small pebble as I did I cursed myself for making a noise as he turned around at the last second! I was sure this would ruin my plan, but for some reason his armor didn’t surround him; my spike slid cleanly into his side and he fell to the ground completely stunned. I quickly bound him and gagged him (REALLY didn’t want him to breathe fire on me when he regained control), threw his communicator into a nearby car in hopes that the owner would drive away soon to lead the Alpha Crew down the wrong track, and fled towards the school as fast as I could while caring the heavier than he looks Hidden dragon. About halfway to the school though I stopped; it had been much too easy to capture Hidden dragon. From what I had seen of his powers, his armor should have been able to block my tail with less notice, I have seen him put up his shield within a millisecond of sensing danger. I did a quick search of the now squirming captive and found a small blue tracker! They had expected someone to come and abduct him and soon! I grabbed a bird that was flying over head without injuring it, tied the tracker to its leg with a piece of thread that happened to be loose on my shirt, and took Hidden dragon back to the school he of course put up a bit more violent struggle when he realized that the tracker was no longer on him…
Dr. G was obviously surprised to see me, especially since I was carrying hidden dragon (who was by now struggling quite forcefully) I had only been gone for about two days, this task would probably take anyone else at least a week and I doubt there are many people who could do it at all..
“I do not like being kept out of the loop,” I said icily narrowing my eyes and placing Hidden dragon on his desk.
“I can see that,” Dr. G said regaining his composure quickly. He pushed a button on the intercom and said “Alcazar, please come in and take the tied up super hero to the dungeon. We need to discuss a delicate matter, and the hero might escape later. You know how it is.”
Alcazar was very large, his jaw was very long, like that of a dragons and his skin was always gray, almost as if he was made of stone… He lifted Hidden dragon like a potato sack and left without a word. He never had to sneak past the guards because they would never get in his way.
“Now” I said calmly “About this plan of yours…”
“Yes” Dr. G said settling back into his chair “It’s complicated, you might not like what you hear and I want you to give me your word that you will restrain yourself until the very end and you have verbally given me your opinion on the matter”
I nodded still glaring and said “You have my word, however, I have a feeling that if I want to leave this building in better condition than the hero, I will refrain from attacking you anyways”
“My, my you are intelligent aren’t you?” he said smirking. His face then became more serious “What we intend to do is take over the world, but, you know that already. What you don’t know is the how. Am I correct in my assumptions?”
“Yes…”
“We have found a method of mind control both more, and less, advanced than Mind’s powers. This method, while able to completely control multiple people’s minds for an indefinite amount of time, will not work on someone that agrees with us in our purpose, and we do not know how resistant a mind it can control.”
“Which is why you needed the hero?”
“Yes and no, we do need the hero to test on someone who fights us often and vehemently believes that what we are doing is wrong, but I honestly did not expect you to capture one of them, especially in so short a time… I have no idea how you managed it and, I’m not going to ask. Before you say anything though; let me say that it was not that I didn’t trust you enough to tell you all of this; I simply did not want to include another person in my already too crowded, secret circle... Now that you do know however, I would like you to guard the hero and prevent him from escaping.”
“Let me get this straight; you used me, had a total lack of confidence in me and NOW you want me to play babysitter to a scared and perfectly ready to fight super-hero? Do you know what happens to villains who keep super-heroes around so they can toy with them or experiment on them?”
“Yes, I am perfectly aware of this and I fully expect him to escape unless our method of controlling his mind succeeds; meanwhile, we are prepared to move our base at a moment’s notice and to destroy any evidence that would be left behind of our plan. Now I have a question for you.”
“What do you want to know? Keep in mind that I am under no obligation to tell you anything that I don’t want to.”
“How did you capture the hero? I know that I said I wasn’t going to ask, but, we’ve sent teams after him, not our best teams but powerful teams, and after the other super-heroes, but none of them have succeeded or even come particularly close. You however, seem to have captured Hidden dragon with the greatest of ease.”
“Honestly, he wanted to be captured. The Alpha Crew put a tracking device on him and he let me get in what would have seemed like a lucky shot to anyone else. I assume there was another member not far off to make sure no one actually killed him. I would have captured him without his being prepared; they just made it easier for me. He probably wouldn’t have been captured by a team simply because the risk of serious injury would be too great to let a lucky shot in”
“That being the way it is, I still think you are the most qualified for guarding him; you really are my top student. I don’t have anything else to tell you so you may go relieve Alcazar of guard duty; that is, if you do not wish to attack me now.”
I turned and walked away slowly. He infuriated me and he had used me, but I didn’t really trust anyone else to keep an eye on Hidden dragon’ he would likely escape within a week if anyone else guarded him.
Alcazar left without a word when I walked in (he always has been the silent type but I know that he can speak…) and I noticed that while Hidden dragon was in a high security cell, he was untied and his mouth (which as previously mentioned shoots fire) was uncovered!
As I took a step back he said “Don’t worry about me I’ve already tried breathing fire didn’t even make the bars red, and hurting my guard doesn’t seem like a productive course of action.”
It didn’t make sense; he should have been furious and possibly panicked and he had to know that I was the one who captured him in order to put him into this situation. But he was just sitting there calmly apparently totally content with the world. There was some charcoal dust on the bars so I knew he wasn’t lying about breathing fire earlier…
“You know I found the tracker right?” I said coldly
“Yes I am perfectly aware of this. I told my teammates that a tracker was a bad idea. I am curious though, what did the Alpha Crew do to earn your animosity? You attacked us long before you joined this lot, I would think…” he paused, waiting for my response.
“You don’t really seem to be in a position to ask questions” I growled “Besides; you lost your chance to do anything about it a long time ago. You would think heroes could do more than fight…”
“I don’t know what happened to you but, I’m sorry; we’re not paramedics and none of us have healing powers; all any of us can do is try to make sure that as few people get hurt as possible in any given situation. If a super-villain has a power paramedics can’t handle then they usually send the victims to us but that’s really our limit…”
I snorted and turned away, he just wanted me to let him out of his cell and I knew it… so why did I feel so bad?
For about a month it was the same routine breakfast, brought in by someone different every day, Hidden dragon being taken somewhere (presumably to be controlled by the device but he always came back the same way he left except maybe a little tired), lunch brought in by a trainee usually, training for about an hour out of sheer need to do something (I would post another guard while I was away), sitting around guarding Hidden dragon for several hours (he didn’t speak much after that first day he just sat there meditating), then dinner, finally ending with me posting a night guard and going to bed the night guard was usually Alcazar since he likes to move around at night, it’s useful even if it is kind of creepy. My training sessions got a lot tougher when they added computers; I used to be a programmer so I was really able to push myself both physically and mentally often by putting in complicated situations involving the Alpha Crew and/or the villain’s school members.
Soon however, I was summoned to Dr. G’s office while Hidden dragon was at one of his “sessions”. Dr. G looked displeased…
“The hero has neither escaped or fallen under our control yet and I believe you are the problem” he stated “You are the only variable that we did not plan for and I think that you either fortified his mind somehow or are doing too well as a guard.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about but you can have Mind read my mind if you want, I have nothing to hide.”
“Actually, we have already done that. You see, it is not optimal when someone I need knowledge from refuses to have their consciousness scoured. We did not find anything which is why you’re here. I find it necessary to warn you that the hero will likely escape soon and I want you to be aware. I want you to be careful…”
“Thanks, I guess… By the way, while I may have nothing to hide I still don’t appreciate anyone reading my thoughts without my consent, the next time this happens it may be, unpleasant for the one wandering where they are not welcome.” And with that I left to continue my guard duties; as I left though, I heard Dr. G and Mind talking faintly. Mind apparently had been close by the whole time.

“-Too dangerous”
“Doesn’t care-”
“Our plans-”
“-Tonight… Stripess-”
I only heard bits and pieces of the conversation, but what I did hear made my blood run cold. They were talking about me which meant that I was most likely in more danger than they had warned me about…I was in danger from them. One thing was for sure, I was going to sleep lightly that night, if I slept at all.
About midnight that night, while I lay in m bed pretending to sleep, I heard a quiet hissing noise coming from the vents; I held my breath and made my way up into my closet where I kept a gas mask (call me paranoid if you want but I lived in a place where how to betray your colleges is a class) and waited. Two minutes later Slash came in and sank his claws deep into my bed! Blood oozed out (once again call me paranoid but my bed had blood packs in it I made them to be indistinguishable from the real thing) I had bought myself three seconds and an alibi since Slash would inevitably call his success in before making sure it was me he killed.
Slash pulled a radio out and said “Stripess has been eliminated, the threat has been neutralized” He then checked under the blankets and I saw surprise cross his face.
I saw red. Slash had betrayed me when I trusted him! I jumped around him causing him to spin around as he watched me still too startled to act, and out the door into the hall and said “Computer activate program #12 codename: Armageddon” the building started shaking from an unseen source and I knew everybody but me was now at the mercy of the security systems that were apparently linked to the training computors. (Fear the paranoid computer programmer!) I ran through the building trying to escape but several of the students were blocking the most direct routes! It wouldn’t have been a problem except their fighting with the security system effectively created a war zone! I eventually found myself in the dungeon catching my breath since even I couldn’t convince the security system that someone locked in a high security cell was a threat.
“Hey, if it’s not too much trouble could you help me out here I think the buildings going berserk!” I heard hidden dragon say; he didn’t sound serious but I felt a twinge of, something, in the back of my mind, I soon waved it off. I felt that if anyone could help me get out it was one of the people who had given this school so much trouble.
I flung the cage door open and said “Computer activate program #13 codename: the enemy of my enemy is my friend; DNA sample #763” that would include Hidden dragon in the security immunity. “We have 15minutes until this building falls apart; we have to get out of here NOW!” Hidden dragon looked surprised but followed me almost step for step as we ran for our lies and fought off panicked students; we made it out just in time; the building fell to pieces just as we made it out the door.
“You have some explaining to do, Stripess…” Hidden dragon said after we had finally caught our breath.
“Basically I just took down the entire villain’s school because you took more than a month to escape.” I stated only half seriously.
“But why save me?”
“Honestly because you were there you were strong enough to help me and…”
“And?”
“And… I’ve been thinking about how you said there was only so much a hero can do”
Hidden Dragon smiled. “So, you’re rethinking the whole villain thing?”
“Yes… I don’t want to go face the consequences for my crimes or anything cheesy like that though”
“Well… that’s kind of part of the whole admitting your mistakes thing, though…”
“I’m not admitting anything… I may have overreacted without a full explanation though.”
“Well, you’ll kind of have to admit your mistakes if you want the rest of the Alpha Crew to think you’ve turned over a new leaf-“
That’s about when I blacked out due to fireworks exploding in the back of my head…
* * * * * * * *
I woke up in a moderately sized cage that appeared to be electrified, with The Flash Ranger standing outside it. My head was pounding as I stood up; I was also very angry.
“Where am I?” I said furiously
“You’re in Alpha Crew headquarters. Now, if you please, don’t try to escape, that cage was designed to keep shifter in so you would only wind up hurting yourself quite badly.” The Flash Ranger said
“Guess that’s what I get for trying to help a hero” I muttered under my breath
“You helped Hidden dragon? Hah! Hello, earth to villain, you’re the one who kidnapped him in the first place!”
There was that twinge again; maybe it was that word, help, coming from Alpha Crew members? I had no idea what it meant but the twinge took longer to fade that time…
“So, what are you going to do with me then? I don’t think you’ll torture me especially since Hidden dragon probably knows more than me about the school’s plans, and I don’t think you will keep me here indefinitely either, at least not without a fair trial, that would be expensive and if word got out it would ruin your guy’s reputation… And you probably can’t just let me go either since I’ve committed crimes including making a threat on Ruby gargoyle’s life.” I said
“That about sums it up, the others and I have been deliberating on it for the past couple of days apparently you had a more adverse reaction to a high power energy dagger than I thought you would” The Flash Ranger said “Hidden dragon says you’re rethinking your choice to be a villain but I don’t buy it; There is nothing I can think of that would make someone change sides, especially when they hold a grudge against the other side.”
“Maybe I just want to hang with a more trustworthy crowd, I mean I was almost assassinated the night Hidden dragon and I escaped”
“Or maybe you just want to lure us into a false sense of security. I don’t really care how reformed you think you are, I will never trust you”
Ending there he left and Gray wolf came in with a tray of food, apparently they were guarding me in shifts. Gray wolf put the tray down inside the cage apparently not affected by the electrical charge and sat down facing the door.
“Thanks” I said as I dug in even though I had been unconscious for the past couple of days I had still worked up a fierce apatite; I regretted though that most of the food consisted of fruit and veggies, of which I could no longer digest in large quantities.
“Excuse me, but I feel I should inform you that, not that I know if you’ll care but, well… My, diet; I kind of have to eat mostly meat or I’ll get sick. It’s kind of a side effect of being so uh… similar to a tiger…” I said awkwardly. He didn’t say anything the entire time he was guarding me; he just sat there until Ruby gargoyle came in at which point he picked up the tray said “hello” to Ruby gargoyle and left…
It terrified me that I was now at the mercy of Ruby gargoyle; she could hold a grudge and I had threatened her life…
She leaned on my cage, obviously enjoying having me under lock and key.
“You know, I don’t normally take hostages” I said hoping to get a response. The silence that Gray wolf had imposed was driving me insane.
“So I was a special case than, or do you mean that you don’t normally get into tight situations?” she said sounding very annoyed
“You were a special case”
“How so?”
“Well, I’ll speak bluntly and honestly here but… I wasn’t really out to rob a bank…”
“You were trying to kill us but were outclassed” well she was forward, and at least I hadn’t dug my own grave.
“Yeah” I said cautiously “But I do stand by my word, if I had gotten away I would have let you go and ran for it”
She huffed but then said “What did you do to The Flash Ranger that day? You floored him but, after five minutes of being totally out he recovered almost instantly.”
I thought for a moment before responding; how much information should I give them about my powers and limits? Should I ask them to trust me if I didn’t trust them… They were the good guys though and I didn’t really plan on fighting them. “My tail contains a non-lethal poison which normally takes an average of ten minutes for a person to recover from, it usually gives me time to think or get away. There is never any permanent damage” I finally said
Suddenly Hidden dragon came in; I could tell that it hadn’t been the normal amount of time between shifts.
“We have reached a verdict and it is similar to what you suggested Ruby gargoyle” he said, sounding formal. (This could not be good at all!) “Now Stripess if you could please refrain from attacking me this will only take a second.” He opened the cage door reached in and… pulled a piece of fur out!
“Ow! Hey, what was that for! I mean I know I haven’t been the nicest person, but seriously that could not, be your whole plan for me!” I screamed rubbing my arm where he had pulled it out (it had not been loose!)
“It’s not; we just need a DNA sample… Now come with me please and I’ll show you to your room.” Hidden dragon said as he stepped back from the cage door
“You already trust her enough not to restrain her Hidden dragon? That is quite unlike you…” Ruby gargoyle mused
“She saved my life when she didn’t have to, that counts for something… Besides there isn’t much she can do to me when I’m on my guard, you know that” Hidden dragon stated while letting his shield flicker to visibility for a second… “Besides it’s not very productive to harm your jailer right” he whispered to me as we walked away. I almost laughed but settled for a friendly smile instead since there probably wasn’t anyone in the building who would approve.
I followed him through the headquarters, saw lots of rooms and security implements, a lot of them more advanced than those at the villain’s school. Eventually he showed me what would be my room. It was comfortable looking, nice bed, tan walls; large throbbing round metal object in the ceiling, nothing too special but a bit friendlier then my room at the school. Hidden dragon put my fur into the object and pushed a few buttons making it whirr to life.
“Let me explain” he said as he turned to look at me “this device you see here will create a barrier specific to your DNA that the members of the Alpha Crew can control; so as you gain our trust you will get more room to roam within headquarters. My trust at this point gives you this room and a path to the kitchen; we heard about your diet and we all agree that it’s not something we want to mess up.”
“Th-thank you” I said. It was all I could say; I was flabbergasted; this was a much better chance than I expected, even in my wildest dreams!
“Don’t thank me” he said “Ruby gargoyle is the one who suggested we give you a chance” and he left without another word…
I didn’t know quite what to do at that point… I was hungry but it felt weird to go get food when I wasn’t doing anything to deserve it. I went to bed that night still thinking about this predicament…
The next morning, I had an idea; I had access to the kitchen and I was a decent cook so, I could cook for the Alpha Crew members! I leapt out of bead and went straight to the kitchen and started cooking like a mad woman; I finished just as a bleary eyed Alpha Crew (I guess when you live together so long you just get up at the same time) walked in and sat down; some of them, seeing me, seemed to get angry but they said nothing.
“I made you guys your favorite breakfasts, so, enjoy” I said Sitting down to my eggs and bacon (so healthy!). Gray wolf began to bite slowly into his toast with bacon grease and biscuit gravy, but the others just stared at their plates or at me. “So, only Gray wolf trusts me enough to eat the breakfast I made?” I asked feeling a little insulted
“No, actually” The Flash Ranger said bluntly pushing away his own pancakes with raspberry jam “Gray wolf out of paranoia has built up immunity to every poison in the building”
“Except the poison in my tail” I said coolly. I know it probably didn’t help to mention but I didn’t want Gray wolf eating the food I prepared just because he thought I couldn’t do anything to it.
“The poison in your-”The Flash Ranger started to say then stopped he glared at me and I heard Gray wolf choke a little; he obviously hadn’t thought about that either.
“Don’t worry though, the venom in my tail isn’t toxic if ingested so even if I did use my tail on your food you would be fine” I said stabbing a piece of bacon with my tail and eating it.
“We can’t really trust you on that can we” said The Flash Ranger smirking “It is highly likely that you are immune to your own poisons”
“I’m not” I said quietly “It does have, a bit of a, different, affect on me, though…” I remembered the last time my tail had pierced my flesh all too vividly and it wasn’t something I was particularly proud of… not something I ever wanted to do again.
“I don’t buy it” said Ruby gargoyle “Besides we don’t need your help with breakfast anyways”
That word help; this time it did something different, I did something akin to fainting but I kept a certain level of consciousness. I spun to the floor and felt darkness close around me; I heard the others speaking but, vaguely as if through a thick wool blanket under water…
“You are no longer a threat, why?” I heard a voice say from the darkness
“What do you mean?” I screamed “Who am I no longer a threat to?”
“The Alpha Crew” The voice boomed “You were supposed to be a threat until I could take control again”
“I make my own decisions! Who are you to say I can’t befriend the Alpha Crew?”
“I am Shifter” She said stepping out of the darkness, she was in her normal form that she takes around the alpha crew with a dark cloak as if she had been trying to hide in the darkness in the depths of my mind “and you, are one of the many forms I can change into. I gave you control and a set of memories to go along with my goals! You did not exist until the day I left the Alpha crew for going against my people’s beliefs!”
“How did they go against your beliefs?” I asked trying not to believe her but despair was keeping just as close as the darkness. I realized then that even though it was absolutely pitch black I could see her clearly.
“They told me to replace myself totally and utterly” she said solemnly “when you come from a community of shape shifters this is the one thing you must never do, especially not with a person you made yourself… However, instead of betraying my friends by completely abandoning them in a time of need, I replaced myself on my own terms. If I was not allowed to know, they could not know for the same reasons, Mind was not to know that we were spying on them… I can’t understand why or how you came into this situation and I won’t delve, but let me tell you something, if you kill them, I will seize control in the most painful way possible for you and you will no longer exist in any way shape or form… I’m not worried about you telling the others since I didn’t have you think that way, Now, I want you to escape soon and I want you to go learn the villain’s plans I won’t tell you why and I know you hate me so, break a leg”
I woke up in my bed with Gray wolf apparently standing guard; he looked much paler than usual.
“Hey” I said, my voice crackling “I promise I didn’t faint because of my tail poison so you can calm down now”
“She’s awake” he called down the hallway. The rest of the Alpha Crew was there in an instant, eying me suspiciously.
“I have one question and one question only” Ruby gargoyle said slowly while looking me straight in the eye “Is Gray wolf going to-” she trailed off there obviously not willing to say die, not wanting to believe that he could.
“I didn’t poison anybody, and that includes me” I said as I propped myself up on my elbows; I felt surprisingly refreshed.
“Than what happened to you in the kitchen? People don’t just collapse for no reason.” The Flash Ranger said from the doorway.
“Actually, I do.” I said lying through my teeth “It’s something that started happening since I started looking like a tiger; it doesn’t happen often, but it does happen” I knew it wasn’t entirely the truth but…At that point, I remembered what Shifter had said about my thoughts; How she had, programmed me to think in a way that would make me lie to them about this; they would never have believed the truth but, the thought of it sent me into sobs. This of course startled everyone in the room, except Ruby gargoyle who looked almost, sympathetic…
She just stood up and left saying “It can be hard to be strong all of the time”
I cried for three days, no food, no water, no thought, just despair. I wasn’t human, I had never been human, I had always been a conglomeration of tiger and human, I had always been just one of Shifter’s forms and I always would be… My choices, while my own, were built on thoughts and reactions she had put there…
At the end of the third day Hidden dragon came in with a tray of food.
“Ruby gargoyle said you’re working through some, issues and you wouldn’t want to be disturbed… But I don’t think food is a disturbance after three days without it” He said quietly as he sat down next to me
“Go away” I said and then I muttered “I’m not supposed to like you” That was it though wasn’t it? I wasn’t supposed to like them but I did anyways; what did that mean? Was I thinking differently than Shifter intended? I dried my tears a bit and said “Thank you Hidden dragon, I’m not completely through this but I think I could eat”
He set the tray down in front of me with a small smile and I began to eat it slowly so that I wouldn’t make myself sick. After several moments of silence I said “I’m sorry”
“What?” he said clearly dumbfounded
“I’m sorry I tried to kill you guys’ I’m sorry I’m such a confusing case that you have to argue amongst yourselves, I’m sorry I scared Gray wolf by fainting after I ate something with my tail poison in it and I’m-”
He cut me off, stood up, and screamed into the hall “Hey guys I think we accidently broke Stripess! She keeps apologizing!”
“I’m not broken; I just think we got off on the wrong foot that’s all…” I mumbled
“Hey” He said “at this point the only one who doesn’t trust you at this point Is The Flash Ranger. Something about your breakdown connected with Ruby gargoyle and Gray wolf feels that you won’t kill him so that’s good, so… You are free to go anywhere in the building except The Flash Ranger’s room and the main computer room.” The Flash Ranger, he would never trust me, but there was something I could disprove him on; would it be worth it?
“Tell The Flash Ranger that I will prove to him that I’m not immune to my own venom, but only if he agrees to follow the terms I set” I said getting serious.
“You don’t have to-” He said before I cut him off
“Yes I do” I said firmly
Too soon I was back in the cage, ready to inject myself with my venom… “Be ready to run as fast as possible if this cage isn’t enough” I said to The Flash Ranger who was watching me intently from the doorway.
“That cage was built to keep Shifter in, so I think it can hold you especially since you’ll be on the floor stunned” The Flash Ranger said confidently
“I told you it has a different effect on me” I said but I hoped he was right about the cage. The last time my tail spike had pierced my skin had been during a sparring session; the person in question thought it would give him the upper hand and the win when he shoved my silver dagger of a tail into my arm… I had slaughtered him and half the school before three people with telekinesis and one with super strength restrained me for the remaining five minutes, I was not looking forward to this, especially since my sparring partner’s power had been invulnerability and I had only been winning because I had found one or two spots where I could barely nick him at full strength…
“Get on with it” The Flash Ranger said sounding annoyed
“Are all of my conditions met?” I asked I sincerely did not want to hurt them, any of them if I could help it…
“Yes, yes, the DNA wall has been set to this room, you are in the strongest cage we have and the security system is set to go on high alert and target you if you leave this room.” He stated non-impressed.
I slid my tail spike into my arm and felt pain course through it; pulsing up through my body and turning everything red. My thoughts clouded and my senses sharpened as I crouched to hunting position.
Trapped!
Prey scent.
Escape!
Kill…
Kill…
Kill!
The bars of the confining area snapped like tough spaghetti and the prey looked scared but it didn’t flee. I pushed my way through some sort of pain that blocked me from the prey and I charged; the prey began to run swiftly away.
Chase it!
Kill it!
More prey scent…
This prey traveled in packs apparently and while this one was closer, I could sense prey nearby that was injured… slower and more vulnerable, an easier catch. I ran to get outside the area but I was stopped by something…
Pain…
Fear …
Trapped…
Can’t see…
Fragile!
I broke the barrier with a gigantic push and stalked towards the place where the injured prey was. Unless the first prey had set off a warning of some sort I would surprise the injured prey and likely get a clean kill…
Loud!
Lights!
Pain…
Pain …
Pain!
Anger…
Something was attacking me, another predator trying to steal my prey! “MINE” I roared and attacked the direction the attack was coming from I decimated the area, there was no blood but the attack had ceased so I knew that I had won the confrontation, then I continued the hunt, faster though since I had likely lost the advantage of surprise since all the prey in this area likely knew about the predator that I had just fought off; that was ok though, this prey was injured and slow, I could likely pick it off at my leisure…
All of the prey in the area was gathered in one place now, probably to protect young ones or the injured one. I broke into their area and focused on the injured one…
Fear scent…
Prey scent…
Pain…
The prey was trying to fight back and the injured one was doing better than expected those tingly lights kept it at a distance while it defended itself, my head exploded with bright lights and pain!
Pain!!!
Pain!
Pain…
Pain …
Darkness…
* * * * * * * *
I woke up in a large, well built cage with a splitting headache and a pile of fresh meat in the corner. The Flash Ranger was standing outside the cage but he bolted as soon as he saw me move.
“Ow” I said rubbing my head then I noticed my surroundings had changed since I had injected myself “Oh my, gosh! Is every one alright?!” I asked panicked because apparently the previous cage hadn’t been enough.
“They are all fine no thanks to you” he said coming back into the room.
“No thanks to me?” I screamed “I told you what would happen, what happened last time and you had me do it anyways! I can’t control myself in that state! And you know what? I don’t care what you think about me anymore I jump through hoops to get all of you to trust me, put the people who do trust me in danger just to prove something to you and you don’t even trust me enough to have all of the security systems focused on me!”
“Is it a crime to be cautious about focusing our security system away from the outside? Besides I couldn’t figure out why, if you’re so vicious and strong after being injected with your poison, you didn’t do that before you attacked us!” he screamed
“No, no it’s not a crime to be cautious” I said after a moment calming down a bit “I have to tell you, that while I did not know that, that would happen at the time, I still don’t think I would have done it just to get at you guys… When I’m in that state, humans are, prey; the only reason I didn’t go straight for you was because Gray wolf had an injury… I could have hurt so many innocent people that day… I don’t like losing my control sometimes it seems that it’s all I have.”
He opened the door to my cage and stepped out of the way “I think only someone I can call a friend would face their greatest fear in order to prove something to me” he said quietly “I may not trust you entirely, but, I realize that you did something that was very hard for you, to try and gain that trust”
I stalked past him and into the hallway; I would go to the training room and then than the kitchen, I had to do something to rid myself of that lingering urge to hunt…
About 10 minutes later after the Alpha Crew had left on some errand, the kitchen exploded and or it seemed to as eastern Alpha Crew walked in through the hole in the wall they had just created; they looked angry and worried. I didn’t know much about the eastern Alpha Crew except their names and that they worked with the Alpha Crew.
“Spread out” Stinger (their leader) said her long black hair fluttering about her shoulders as she scanned the room “We need to find the cause of the distress signal and hope we’re not too late” then her silver eyes locked on me; I was a known super villain and I was in the Alpha Crew’s headquarters; I doubted I would be given time to explain my situation so I ran and tried desperately to remember the eastern Alpha Crew member’s powers; I couldn’t remember but then it hit me, literally, Stinger’s whip wrapped around my legs in a second, faster than even I could react I was just lucky that she wasn’t using a more damaging whip, probably so she could get information out of me.
“What have you done to the Alpha Crew?” she snapped at me.
Then her communicator beeped when she opened it a picture of the short and completely covered in gizmos Technoid appeared on the screen and said “It appears that Stripess was here and she destroyed a good deal of the security system and cornered the Alpha Crew,… I-I haven’t been able to find any more data from the cameras after that point…be careful Stinger she might still be in the building”
Stinger’s face flitted from anger to sorrow to rage in an instant; I saw that my chances of explaining myself had just gone from slim to none. I slammed my tail into Stinger’s leg and unwrapped my own, then ran for all I was worth! I wasn’t sure where I was running to though since I doubted there was a place in this building I could get into that would protect me from enraged super-heroes. Too soon I was cornered by Stinger (7min), Tank and Silver beast, they all had rage in their eyes and I knew that I couldn’t beat them; I didn’t even really want to fight them… I guess it didn’t really matter since I wasn’t techanally supposed to exist… they walked cautiously towards me; I had been the one to corner the Alpha crew after all.
“Wait” Silver beast said as she raised one of her mithril colored hands “She’s part tiger, my power might work on her”
“I would rather have information then revenge, however, I don’t want anyone letting their guard down just because she seems compliant” said Stinger, I really didn’t appreciate them talking like I wasn’t there, but I was more concerned with remembering what Silver beast’s power was… I suddenly remembered, she controlled animals I wondered whether it would be better if she could control me or if she couldn’t!
“Sit down and be calm, we are not going to hurt you” She said soothingly; part of me wanted to resist, but the other part heard the words of a strong creature that would protect me if only I listened… I sat down since in my human mind I also knew that this might be the only way I could get out of this situation unharmed.
“Good” she said “Now I want you to answer some questions and I want you to answer truthfully, can you understand and respond to these directions in English?”
“Yes” I said, sincerely glad that I didn’t have to answer in tiger
“Good, now, do you know where the members of the Alpha Crew are?”
“No”
“Have you done any harm to them recently?”
“Yes”
“Are they alive?”
“Yes”
“Why are you in their headquarters?”
“It’s a long story”
“Summarize it for me”
“I saved Hidden dragon’s life and now they are seeing if they can trust me” I heard Stinger laugh at this statement but it hardly registered.
“Can they trust you?”
“I-I-I, don’t know”
“Why don’t you know?” She sounded angry this time
“Because…” I trailed off I couldn’t tell them could I? But I had given Silver beast too much ground, if she asked again I didn’t think I could resist…
“Why don’t you know? Tell me the truth!” She said with conviction and power
“Because I’m not real!” I screamed “Shifter replaced herself with me in order to spy on the villain’s school which involved becoming a threat to the Alpha Crew! But I don’t want to be their enemy!”
They all stood there, stunned by what I had said.
“She’s obviously lying, guess your powers don’t work on her after all” Tank said nervously “But I think we may need some help in-”
Once again I fainted…
“You disappoint me Stripess, I decided to delve this time and I can’t believe what you’ve been doing! I didn’t even know your venom did that to you! I am going to take control now since your task is over anyways and you have only caused the wrong kind of trouble. The eastern Alpha crew members are heading home because Technoid found enough data to conclude the Alpha Crew is safe.”
“You can’t just get rid of me! Doesn’t the fact that I thought differently than you made me to mean anything to you?” I said desperately trying to claw my way out of the darkness I couldn’t see Shifter so I knew she was leaving me here.
“Yes, it means that you are a much greater danger to my friends than originally planned, I still think you are evil, you were created that way and there is nothing in my experience that can change my opinion of you… Goodbye” with that her presence and voice faded away and left me in the darkness…
The Writers could rule the world. Simply because we have thought of the various ways to do it.
  








"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."
— Albus Dumbledore