Chapter 17. The Hunter
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As the new years were passing, as the world was being rebuilt, companions were being found, mammals were falling in love and in that love came new generations. It was something that everyone saw coming, it was only natural afterall, however there were two things no one could see coming. One was incompatible DNA being somehow compatible. Something they learned from the world of humans thanks to the faction of discovery was the notion of incompatible species, yet there were mammals that wouldn't let that stop them from developing and acting on those feelings of attraction, and to their surprise it led to the birth of their children. The other was the development of new Meta Mammals and new powers.
This led to something new to study and learn, the first focus being on this sudden compatibility of DNA and what it could mean for their new future as the development of new Meta’s would come later as their powers would not awaken until a later date.
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“Hya!” Jackson thrusted his fist towards the wolf's face only to meet the side of his blade, getting pushed back.
“HRAAGH!” The wolf drove his sword at Jackson, the feline ducking below and uppercuting at his chin, the canine blocking with his arm and following up with a kick.
Jackson managed to guard but the force of the blow knocked him back a few feet. “Gah!” Managing to stay on his feet, he equipped his piston gauntlets.
“Jackson, you good!?” Mitch asked.
“This guy’s really strong!” Entering Break-point, he came in.
“Any idea on his power?”
As he was closing in, the wolf thrusted his fist and shot out his metal glove, nicking Jackson’s cheek when he swiftly tilted to the side. “Huh?” He noticed him move that same hand back. Quickly he remembered the first time the wolf shot his glove and moved down, avoiding the recall of the gauntlet. His assailant slid forward and took the opportunity to strike with his sword. With the motion of his jets, he quickly got above, the edge crashing through were he once stood. Jackson punched his piston right towards him, making contact with the wolf's gauntlet. There was no damage, much to his annoyance, jumping back before the retaliated slash could hit. “He's manipulating the metal he's wearing, so I’m thinking metal-kinesis or something?”
“One, that's not a thing, two, won't that put you in danger?”
“How do you mean?” Jackson asked, creating his claw shields.
“The items you use are made of metal, aren't they?”
“I…I do-URK!!” While he was talking, the enemy leapt forward and slammed his sword down. Jackson managed to use his shields to block, but the force of the slam made him kneel. Before he could be overwhelmed he turned on the turbines for the shields, bringing out the claws to grip the blade..
“Dude!?”
“I'm fine!” With a grit of his teeth, he pushed back, powering the shields and launching them.
“What the-!?” The wolf was taken by surprise by the sudden push, tilting back, trying to keep hold of his weapon. “GOF!” His stomach was open, lightly armored and vulnerable, and Jackson took the opening, his piston breaking through. Reluctantly, he let go of his sword to block the follow up, glaring at Jackson and starting to brawl.
“Managed to do something to him!” Jackson stated, staying in Break-point, striking and blocking.
“Hey,” Mitch spoke, “can you describe him for me?”
“Sure I- UGH!” He groaned, managing to sturdily block the wolf's hits but still feeling them pierce through and damage his gear. ‘Damn he hits hard!’ Jumping back, he remade his gauntlets and entered his Counter-point stance. “He's about…a few inches taller, HAH!” He was mostly dodging and going for openings, trying to find some weak points in his armor, “He’s mostly covered but he's black fur and,” He ducked and did a spin, twirling behind and kicking him in the back, glancing at his tail, “he’s got a gray stripe on his tail.
“Taupe!” The wolf yelled, swinging back.
“Huh?” Jackson asked, leaning back and thrusting at his face.
“Not gray, taupe! It's a different color!” He yelled, blocking and responding in kind.
“O-ok Taupe!”
“Picky with colors,” Mitch commented, typing the descriptions, “Go on!”
“His fur is kinda thin and he's about my build!” While he was saying that, he tried to push a punch away, barely able to do so and getting pushed slightly himself, “But he hits like his thrice my build!”
“Try using Counterpoint!”
“I am!”
“Oh sorry, go on.”
“Big black cloak…. wearing…. metal armor….with boots and gauntlets…centers a bit…” While he was tussling and explaining, he remembered his blow earlier on the wolf's middle and got an idea. He flew back and created two short single curved swords with a cylinder handle, jagged blades, and a simple flat hilt. “Try this!” He threw one of them.
“No effect!” The wolf easily deflected and rushed forward. That's exactly what Jackson wanted, making a new one and combining it with the other. With a swing, he pressed a button and had one one of the blade staff come off, wrapping the wire around his legs. “What!?” In his hasty motion, he fell forward.
Jackson came right up to him, tensing his body in Smashpoint, slamming both his fist into his stomach, one above, one below. “HRA!”
“GAG!” The blow smashed through his abdomen armor and knocked him to his back.
‘That get him!?’ Jackson thought to himself.
“Urg!...” He groaned, raising up, feeling his stomach in pain. “Damnit.”
‘That wasn't enough, but it did something! C'mon keep it u- URG!’ He slid to his stance but cringed, feeling pain in his shoulder, wrists, and ankles. ‘Damnit, I still haven't fully recovered and his hits are starting to take effect, not to mention using Smash has some recoil.’
“Ugh,” The wolf grabbed the binds and pulled, breaking them with some struggle and getting back up while holding his stomach. He reached back, “You’re quite the tough one, Artisakat.”
“Who are you? Why’d you attack me?”
“Heh…thought It'd be easy to take down a tired out newbie, but…” His sword flew towards his hand, the shield claws still on it, “Apparently,” He took hold of the claws and pulled on them, “I was…in over my head!” He managed to break off one of the fingers, allowing him to pull one shield off.
‘He pried it off….’ Jackson took note, “You gonna answer me?”
“Hm?” Before he could pry off the other shield, he reached into his pocket, taking out his phone, “Tch,” Irritated, he stepped back, putting the device away, “you lucked out today, Meta agent,” Turning, he made a dash.
“Meta agent? Hey wait!” Jackson was about to give chase until the wolf threw something back, a capsule that exploded and expelled a heavy amount of smoke. He started coughing and was blinded. “Wa-hait! COHAG AHACK!” Trying to endure and wave it away, he pushed through to the other side of the cloud, seeing just open space. “Damn!”
“He got away?” Mitch radioed.
“Yeah…”
“Artisakat!” The voice of Cleansing Night was heard above.
“Huh?” Looking over, he witnessed the bat swinging in uniform, “Cleansing?”
“I was passing by after we seperated and saw a huge blade crash down from above. Next I get reports of some Mammals hearing loud crashes above this building from the police that came in.”
“Sorry. Someone attacked me,” Jackson reported, holding his shoulder.
“You ok?”
“A little bruised but fine.”
“You were just healed too,” Cleansing chuckled, coming to Jackson and patting him on the back, “Let me drive you to your agency. Give you some rest.”
“I'd appreciate that,” Jackson smiled, reaching for his earpiece, “Get that Mitch?”
“Copy. By the way, I got something on your attacker,” Mitch answered.
“What ya get?”
“Patch me through to Cleansing.”
“Why?”
“He’s a bit involved.”
“What?”
“Something wrong?” Cleansing asked.
“Oh, um, my navigator wants me to patch you in.”
“Let's get to my car first,” He walked to the edge, “Mind if we take the expressway?”
“I'd prefer it,” He fired up his boots and flew down while Cleansing jumped down, sending his tendrils up to hook on the roof, slowing his fall, “Where’s your car?”
“Right there,” He pointed to a dark purple car. It looked normal with no noticeable features, just having a typical sunroof with a tail wing.
“Huh. Nice car.”
“Not what you expected? It can convert.”
“It can? I see a sunroof though.”
Chuckling, Cleansing unlocked the doors and went in, turning on the vehicle, “No, I mean it's able to transform, for whenever I need to get somewhere or engage in a pursuit while I’m in civilian form.”
“Oh cool!” Jackson commented, taking the passenger side. He noticed a console above the dashboard that had a M-key slot in the front.
“Go ahead and put your M-key in there, I'll patch your navigator through,” Cleansing suggested, reaching below the radio and pulling out a keyboard.
“Ok, Mitch, patching you through,” Taking his device, he slid it in the port with a click.
“Ok…” Cleansing typed a few buttons and an icon of the Sky Limits Agency appeared on the screen with Mitch’s name and who he was a navigator of shown below, “You're patched,” He told, starting to drive.
“Alright,” Mitch spoke through the console, “I looked up who attacked you and based on what you told me, I got something.”
“Whatd ya get?” Jackson asked.
“A name popped up, well it's more so a tag for now, but he’s known as the Meta Hunter.”
“Meta hunter?”
“That guy!?” Cleansing said in surprise.
“You know him?”
“Not personally. One of the heroes of our agency was attacked by him once, I knew him so I was told about it.”
“So he's done this before.”
“Only recently,” Mitch said, “You’re the fourth attacked by him.”
“The fourth? So he’s a new Meta Villain.”
“That's the assumption, but he’s becoming a special case.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s only attacked Meta heroes so far,” Cleansing explained, “He comes in out of nowhere, fights them, and leaves before backup arrives. Luckily no one's been too seriously injured.”
Jackson felt his shoulder, knowing how powerful the wolf's attacks were. “I think I get what you mean, he was really strong.”
“There's speculation that he has super strength.”
“His Meta ability is also speculated to be some type of Metal manipulation,” Mitch added.
Remembering the final moments with the supposed hunter, Jackson thought about how he pried off the claws on his sword. “Hm….”
“Something wrong?”
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“I need to check something when I get back.”
“What's up?”
“It’s…I'll tell you when I get there.”
“Ok, but…we still need to talk about Anet.”
“What did you do to her?”
“I…well…”
“Huh?” He looked both confused and concerned, what he said before being a joke, “Did you ACTUALLY do something to her?”
“I didn't do anything to her but…I…inadvertently…told her something.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Tell you when you get back, I reserved a Resting Room for you.”
“Ok…”
“We’re almost there,” Cleansing spoke, glancing at Jackson, “Be careful when you go out. You've only been the fourth but he might come back again, we don't know enough yet to determine that, but better safe than sorry.”
“Got ya.”
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Jackson walked into the resting room, stretching and laying down on the bed. He stayed in his suit, waiting for Anet and Mitch.
The door opened and in came the two in question. “Hey dude,” Mitch waved.
Anet came up to Jackson, “Are you ok, Jackson?”
“I'm sore but otherwise I’ll be fine,” Jackson said with a reassuring smile.
“That's good. I was really worried about you, Jackson, especially when you got ALOC-ed.”
“Yeah, think I’ll hold off…on…using it…” Blinking a few times, he realized that Anet was calling him Jackson and not Artisakat. Raising up and looking at her nervously, he asked: “Um…what did you call me?”
“Jackson.”
“...Why?”
“Cause that's your name.”
“....Mitch?” He turned his gaze towards the doberman in front of him.
Mitch turned away, cautiously scratching the back of his neck, “Uhh…I..might have….yelled out your name…during the hyperjet incident.”
“Dammit Mitch,” He softly facepalmed.
“I was worried when you didn’t respond and once I heard that bang and lost connection I just…yelled it out…” Looking down with guilt he next said: “Sorry.”
“Hm…” Hearing what he said, knowing how bad the ALOC got, he too felt guilty when he thought about how his best friend would’ve felt, “No don’t be. It’s my fault for pushing it during that trial.”
“Now don’t go blaming yourself for that. You were dizzy and everything so you couldn't really think straight enough to stop.”
“Besides,” Anet spoke, “I can keep a secret.”
Jackson smiled at her, “Thanks, that's reassuring. Guess I don’t need this on then,” He disengaged his suit but kept one of his gauntlets on.
“Why'd you keep those on?”
“Wanna test something,” He faced Mitch, “You bring it?”
“Yep,” Mitch pulled out a metal detector wand, approaching the feline, “Hold out your arm please.” Jackson did so, holding out his gauntlet. Mitch waved the wand from the top of his shoulder, down his arm. It started to beep once it reached the glove. “That confirms it, it's metal.”
“Confirms two things actually.”
“Two things?”
“When I fought that hunter, I used my Claw Shields to push his sword away and when he brought it back, he pried them off with his hands.”
“So that means…”
“His power’s specific on what he can manipulate.”
“Well that's something. I’ll add that to the logs, cause it may help out other agencies.”
“Good idea. There any updates from the joint operation?”
“I haven’t been informed of anything new but I haven’t checked my work mail yet,” He took a seat and pulled out his phone, “Hang on.”
“Why does Mitch always get the info on this stuff?” Anet asked.
“It’s cause he’s the navigator,” Jackson answered, “Navigators are the ones that handle all the info for the Heroes they’re partnered with, whether it be info on missions, tasks, investigations, all that. It's to help relieve stress.”
“I think I get it. Heroes deal with alot when it comes to fighting villains and saving lives, having someone handle information and be a guide can help alot.”
“Yep. Also helps to have someone give you on time alerts, especially if something goes wrong.”
“Yeah, if Mitch wasn’t there when you tried your Hyper jet, you would’ve been screwed.”
“That's an understatement.”
“While I enjoy you realizing how lost you'd be without me,” Mitch spoke, “I got something for ya.”
“Whatd ya find?”
“Remember Nina and Asha?”
“The chain girl and the martial nut?”
“Those two, yep. They were interrogated finally and we got some info, but not alot.”
“Go on.”
“So first off, they told us who hired them.”
“Bird again.”
“Nope. A feline.”
“Feline?”
“Yeah. You should know what kind too.”
Remembering what Dynafist told him before, Jackson surmised: “A Lynx?”
“Ding ding ding. This Lynx lady hired them as bodyguards for that warehouse.”
“What were they paid?”
“Asha was given some money and some premium parts for her truck.”
“She's a trucker?” Anet questioned, imagining the bear driving around.
“Nah,” Mitch shook his head, “she was trying to form a gang with that truck as a go around.”
“Nina’s payment?” Jackson brought back up.
“Hers is unique. She got paid with fights.”
“Fights?”
“She’s an active participant in underground fighting rings, remember? She sets up her own tournaments mainly to fight who she finds interesting, plus she has a habit of challenging heroes to a fight. So her payment was Meta’s to fight in these tournaments.”
“Seeing how eager she was to fight me, I'm not that surprised.”
“That leads us to a request.”
“Request?”
“Yeah um…Nina’s willing to give us some more information in exchange for…fighting you.”
“Huh?” Jackson looked both surprised and confused, sitting on the edge of the bed
“She wants to fight you. One round with you is all she wants and she’ll spill some key info,” Mitch shrugged.
“How do we know she even has key info?” Anet brought up, curiously tilting her head.
“Well…Thing is, she has a side ability that leads them to believe she heard something important from them.”
“What's her ability again?”
“Moisture absorption. She can absorb moisture from someone or something, drying them up. It's extremely harmful against organics, not so much mechanical stuff but I heard she’s able to add moisture as well to corrode metal.”
“I think she did that to me when she fought me,” Jackson thought back, “but what's this side ability?”
“Enhanced hearing, if she focuses it enough, she can hear a conversation a good distance away, about like a quarter of a mile.”
“Really…so I guess she's bargaining-”
“What she's listened to from that Lynx? Yep,” Mitch nodded, leaning back.
“Am I even allowed to fight her?”
“Requests like these happen more often than ya think. Think of them like…plea deals.”
“Hm…” He was unsure, looking down, “shouldn't we like, hold a meeting for that or something?”
Mitch shook his head. “It'd be a short meeting, not to mention a bit wasteful. A meeting just to talk about if you take a deal or not compared to a notification?”
“Yeah, good point.”
“What about the results and what she tells?” Anet questioned.
“Now that would be meeting worth,” Mitch noted, “So, what say you?” He asked the feline.
“Um…” Jackson thought about it. He’s never been asked to fight anyone other than his Uncle but that was only for training, he didn’t know what to expect, “There any conditions or rules?”
“Lets see…Yeah actually, just four. No weapons, no powers, no armor, and most of all no holding back.”
“No armor? What am I supposed to wear then, I can't just go casual?”
“Could put you in a gi,” Anet suggested.
“I don’t have a gi.”
“We could get you one?”
“True,” Mitch considered, “there are some costume shops we could visit.”
“Let get him one from that one anime, the one revived from the human era with the guys who turn their hair golden and yell alot.”
“I'm not wearing a gi from a school of sea animals,” Jackson told them, rolling his eyes.
“What about the rivals?” Mitch suggested.
“No,” He blankly denied.
“Cmon I think youd be a good Veg-”
“If you say that I'd be as good as him because I'm the short one, I will shock sword you.”
“Your temper fits too, prince,” Mitch snidely said with a small pout. The snidey pout turned into regret once Jackson’s sword materialized, backing up and waving his hands forward in an attempt to de-escalate, “Sumimasen, Sumimasen!!” It was futile, the cat menacingly closed in and gave the Doberman a light tap with high voltage, “YEOUCH!!”
“Anyways,” With some satisfaction, Jackson took a seat on the bed, “I think putting on a costume could work, or just something very plain.”
“So you’re gonna do it?” Anet asked.
“...It’ll help get us some intel so…yeah,” Jackson nodded with some unsuredness but mostly determination, “But I’m keeping my visor.”
“Maybe add some more hair dye? Obscure your true identity?”
“Nah that'd be a bit suspicious and it would make my hair even spiker which I don't need.”
“Hm…what about a ponytail?”
“I don’t have enough hair for that.”
Mitch groaned, recovering and returning to the conversation. “Maybe you can.”
“I'm sorry?” A brow raised to his suggestion.
“We could get it growing with a Meta ability.”
“Like Anet’s?”
Anet shook her head no, “I wouldn't be able to.”
“She can only progress a max of five seconds and the max she can burst is four,” Mitch answered.
“Plus I can only Progress movement, not something organic or physical.”
“Huh,” Jackson took in, “Well not like I want a pony tail.”
“What about a man bun?” Mitch asked.
“Uh no. I’ll just do a costume or just a plain Tee and pants.”
“Wait, what about your uncle? I'm sure he's got a spare gi.”
“Did you forget they’re weighted?”
“Oh yeah…”
“Gary has weighted Gi’s? How heavy?” Anet wondered.
“Uhhh hehehe…” Both Mitch and Jackson anxiously laughed, looking spaciously at the ground.
“What?”
“Nothing just…remembering the first time we asked him,” Jackson answered with a slight shiver.
“My bones hurt just thinking about it,” Mitch added uncomfortably.
“It was your fault for saying it looked light.”
“He carried it around with such ease though!”
“And that surprised you!?”
Tilting her head, Anet was confused, not understanding why they were acting as such. “Should I just…ask him.”
“No!” The cat and dog said in unison, looking at her wide eyed and fearful which made her hop back.
“O-ok!”
With a sigh, Jackson laid back. “Let's get back on topic. I’ll ask Uncle Ferris if he has anything I could wear. Maybe some Sky Limits uniform.”
“That could work. Represent your agency,” Mitch nodded. “When do you wanna do it?”
“Hm…what's today?”
“Wednesday.”
“Alright, let's go for friday then. Give me a prep day and the rest of today to recuperate.”
“Wanna take a nap or head home first? You've been cleared for the rest of the day off.”
“Let's head home first.”
“Can I come?” Anet asked.
“I don’t mind but I should let my Uncle know…wait,” He questionably looked at Mitch, “does Uncle Ferris know that Anet knows I’m Artisakat?”
“I told him after he asked about you once he heard about your crash,” Mitch reported, “Luckily he wasn't mad at me, he understood.”
“Ok then I guess he’s already told Uncle Gary then. Lemme just give him a heads up that you're coming along, Anet.”
“Thanks!” Anet cheerily smiled.
“Mhm,” He texted Gary, informing him of the mouse, waiting patiently for a response.
“Ok, remember what I said,” Mitch spoke to Anet.
“Don’t anger the scary cat,” Anet nodded.
“Good!” He thumbed up.
Jackson got a reply, “...Ok he sent a thumbs up.”
“Sweet, let's roll.”
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A dark wolf laid on his bed, reading a story on his phone. The room he was in was dark, the only light on his face being the one from his phone, with the ac blowing in full blast. “Hmmm….” He was gazing at the screen intensely, slowly scrolling, “cmon…Kiss already!” Before he could continue, a phone call came in with the caller id reading as: Mom. He groaned and answered. “I was on a good part!”
“Oh, were you reading?” A female voice spoke on the other side.
“Yeah and I think the characters are about to kiss!”
“I'm sorry hunny, I’ll be quick. It's about your recent attack.”
“What about it?”
“Look, I’m ok with you taking your frustrations against the privileged but I’m worried you're getting ahead of yourself.”
“I went after a rookie this time.”
“And you underestimated him, that's why you got that bruise on your stomach.”
“Hrm,” He felt a spot on his stomach, touching it gently, “It'll heal quick.”
“Don’t rely too much on your healing speed, that's how you get overconfident.”
“I… Sorry,” He slumped apologetically.
“Take it easy now, Alex. Remember, you’re important to this movement.”
“I know, I know.”
“Don't pout, you’ll be on a mission soon.”
“For that group that asked to hijack those trucks?”
“The very same. It's just a delivery job, I’ll let you know when.”
Alex’s face scrunched up unpleasantly, “I don't like working with them. Part of the system or not, they’re still villains.”
“I understand, but just think of this as a temporary partnership. We’re getting something good out of this after all.”
“Do we really need it?”
“You, me, and Nickie. Were the only Meta’s willing to aid this movement. We can’t always be there to protect them, so yes it is needed, especially when they are being violated.”
“Hrm…were not…”
“Not what?”
“N-nothing. I understand mom.”
“Ok, I’ll let you know when the job is, ok?”
“Ok,” His mother hung up, and he laid back, “...Activism isn’t always peaceful…sometimes you gotta fight for what's right…” He said that but there was a lack of trust in his voice, getting comfy and returning to his story.
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End.
Next chapter: Slow day