"BEAR, get back here!"
May charged into the dark, a glimpse of brown and black fur just out of sight. The dog was strangely quiet, as if afraid to call attention in this place.
"STOP!"
A burst of thrusters brought her into the air, a challenge for the suit's A.I. She twisted above the madcap animal, one hand extended. A snatch and pull drew Bear into her arms, a relief that loosened her shoulders.
"How many times do we have to work on your recall!"
She squeezed the puppy tight, a twitch of worry in her heart. A scan up the tunnel showed no sign of Stormy. The wiley cat was faster than anyone in the group, he'd long left Bear behind.
"Where is your brother?"
May raised the puppy, his struggles useless against her grip. Bear stilled, then pointed ahead with a small paw.
"That way?"
May peered into the dark. The same, drab tunnel continued, nothing different to explain the animal's behavior.
"Alright, but you better listen!"
She set Bear down and continued, after the source of all this trouble.
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"Miserable cat..."
Dan leapt over broken rocks and fallen debris. This tunnel was little used, if Stormy came this way, it would be trouble if it narrowed too much for Dan to follow.
"I need to get Ultron to make leashes."
Both pets were now kryptonian beings, whatever that meant, but he still worried. They'd only had about a week in the sun, enough that he felt like a strong adult. The suits were a great help, but the force could affect the mind.
The path closed around him and soon he was compelled to crawl. Hands and knees against one rocky surface, back against another. If it got any tighter, he would be out of luck.
"STORMY! BEAR! Are you down here!"
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The darkness parted before his eyes like a velvet curtain. The tunnel blurred as his paws found their way toward his need. A scent in the air, strong and familiar, hunted his mind like a ghost. A taste of the past, a compulsion that drew him on wings of thrusted fire.
The surprised face of a black-hearted witch passed by, a moment of amusement to break apart the hunt. These humans were slow, turtles in the sand. His body was light, changed from before the flash.
Stormy trembled. The light that brought them here created a block in his mind. That power was a deceptive thing, deadly in the quietest way.
Suit at full throttle, the determined cat plunged into an open cavern, eyes set on his prize. Settled in tangled clumps, planted around the base of a mighty pyramid, was a series of thorny, green plants.
There you are...
Claws extended, Stormy shed his armor and plunged into the fragrant greens. Stomach extended to the sky, he drew in his deepest breath. A relaxed sensation, numb but with a wonderful edge, crept up to the ends of his whiskers.
Catnip, my love... I thought I'd lost you!
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"Yup... I'm stuck as hell."
The path had narrowed beyond sensibility, but he'd continued on. The rock was tight, jammed against him, chest and back. Ahead, the path seemed to open, a dim blue light to lead the way for the damned.
"Damn lantern fish tunnel..."
The lure had brought him to a point of no return. Backward or forward, he had to deal with the rock.
"Time to test this armor," Dan opened his fists, palms aimed behind him. "We'll see if Ultron's boasting can hold up!"
An explosion of plasma rocked the cavern, a solar ejection that tossed Dan toward the summit of a large, blue pyramid. Hands extended, wreathed in fire, he came to an unsteady halt.
The smooth stone remained unscorched by his aggressive stop. A luminous varnish that provided the source of the lantern fish's glow.
"Found you!"
"MEOW!"
A furry missile landed on Dan's face, an inflated tufted of wrathful chaos. He pried the cat from his face, a firm hand on the creature's scruff.
"WHAT THE HELL," Dan poked Stormy's nose. "First you run off, then you give me the biggest jump scare of my life!"
"Meow..."
Stormy shrugged, one paw pointed toward the base of the pyramid. A large group of nightsisters gathered there, Stormy's armor in hand.
"Why did you leave your suit... whatever, just stay here!"
Dan plopped the cat onto the blue stone and stomped his way down the slope. The women below raised their hands, a green glow that rushed towards him.
"Hey!"
Dan flew, propelled by the unusual energy to careen into the closest wall. His armor held, but an unpleasant tingle coated his skin.
System, I thought I asked for a perfected bloodline, shouldn't I have magic resistance?
"You do," The system laughed. "But it's all relative. You're too weak right now, so your resistances don't amount to much!"
"Great..."
Dan raised a hand, plasma cannon locked on target. He'd tried to play nice, but he was done being polite. A stream of blue-white energy slammed from Dan's fist, into the crowd of nightsisters.
Each blast was enough to melt rock, a downpour that changed the ground into a molten river. Spell work disrupted, the green light faded. Each woman fended for herself, a scrabble to find a stable shelf of rock.
"Technology one, magic zero!"
Dan hovered above, his gauntlets still involved in a deluge of fire. The air in the cavern thickened and Stormy cried out a complaint.
"Yeah, yeah," Dan scooped up the cat and shoved him into his abandoned suit. "Keep it on this time!"
Smoke and fire had replaced the air, a dirty haze that dropped the nightsisters to their knees. Only two women still stood, both with dominating auras.
"Foul intruder," A taller, older woman cried. "How dare you defile this sacred place!"
"Together, Master," The younger witch raised her arms, coated in pale green. "We can still take him!"
A whirlwind of toxic fire soared through the air, guided by the nightsisters' hands. Vision blocked, Dan struggled to pull away.
"Warning, internal temperature has reached critical levels, please leave the current environment."