Bursting into the base, Swipe was still in a state of panic, desperately sprinting to her room with her tail tucked between her legs and her ears folded flat against her head. It felt like she was five years old again, hiding under her bed to get away from a monster. As her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, images flooded back into her mind. Images she had long forgotten, and would have preferred to keep that way. She could hear a stern voice calling her to the office, marching on instinct to appease him. She knew this man, but who he was to her had escaped her mind. Simply someone to be feared and respected, or she would face the consequences.

Swipe remembered entering his office, seeing how neat and orderly everything was. It had been a long time since she had seen the office since she was locked in her room most of the time, so she took in the sight eagerly. It was nice to have a new place to imagine for a while. The scent of the pine air freshener mixing with fine wine filled her nose as she approached the man at the desk. A slight jolt of fear went through her body as the door closed behind her, turning to see a woman blocking her escape and walking toward her.

“Did I misbehave…? Am I being punished…?”

With her own question, Swipe remembered numerous beatings she had received as punishment for various insignificant infractions. Starvation, whatever random object they could find, and degradation seemed to be their favorite weapons to use on her. She wasn’t even human. She deserved it. At least that was what she had been taught to believe. What had been beaten into her every single day by these people. Swipe’s eyes widened slightly as the man stood up and revealed a set of loppers obtained from the family gardener.

“Hold her down. I’ll make her normal. We won’t have to hide a freak anymore.”

The woman was quick to pin Swipe to the floor, holding up her tail as the man got closer. Once again, Swipe could feel her fear building, beads of sweat rolling down her whole body as tears stung at her eyes. Acting purely on primal instinct to preserve her own life, mixed with raw terror, Swipe revealed a trait she had been hiding from these people who wished to harm her. Her claws came out and dug into the woman’s arms, drawing a scream and making her let go.

Jumping up just in time to avoid the lopper amputation of her tail, Swipe sprinted for the door, but found it to be locked. The only key, of course, was in the man’s pocket. She knew it because she had seen it fall out once while he was beating her for chewing too loudly. As the man approached, taking a swing at her as if the loppers were a baseball bat, Swipe managed to duck under the attack, jumping up onto his chest and making a single slash with her claws. As soon as she saw the blood, she recognized who he was. Richard Wood. Chief of police. A panic spread through her system once more as he collapsed to the floor, clutching his eye and screaming.

Swipe grabbed the key from his pocket and ran for the front door as fast as her legs would carry her. She was almost there. Almost free of this life. She could practically taste it. But just as she got there, a knock on her door snapped Swipe out of her trance. Huntress stepped into Swipe’s room and it felt like the young catgirl was right back in that dumpster, the pouring rain drowning out every sound around them. It was just her and Huntress. No one else. Huntress knelt down, peeking under the bed with a soft smile.

“Swipe… Are you alright? I’m here. You’re safe. Just tell me what’s wrong, sweetie.”

Huntress’s tone was surprisingly gentle and soft for a woman of her reputation, and Swipe drew a familiar comfort from it, slowly crawling out from under the bed, out of the dumpster, and into her arms. Huntress, in return, cradled Swipe like a small child, as gently as she could, rocking back and forth slowly. A hand reached up to slowly comb her fingers through Swipe’s hair as she started softly humming a lullaby. The very same lullaby from the day Huntress found her in that dumpster. Every moment of it seemed to bring Swipe more comfort and she slowly stopped hyperventilating, relaxing into her mom’s embrace.

“Hush now, little one, let your tears all wash away…”

After the song was over, Swipe seemed to finally be calm enough to speak. She wasn’t that scared little girl anymore, even if deep down, she still was. Huntress pressed a soft kiss to the top of Swipe’s head, soothing her further.

“Can you tell me what happened, Swipe?”

Even now, her voice remained so soft and kind. It was a stark contrast to how cold and indifferent Huntress seemed to most people. She continued to gently pet Swipe, scratching behind her ears. As she was continuously showered in comfort and affection, Swipe nodded softly.

“I know him. From somewhere… The chief.”

The simple statement brought a knowing frown to Huntress’s features, but she dared not stop comforting her daughter.

“How much do you remember?”

“He was cruel. I remember he wanted to…” Swipe spoke as her voice simply cut off, unable to finish the sentence. She didn’t need to finish it. Huntress already knew.

“I know, dear. It’s alright. You don’t have to say it.”

A heavy silence hung over the two of them in such a tender moment, neither wanting to break the spell. However, there was a question swimming around in Swipe’s brain. The biggest one she had by far. She hated to ask it, having a feeling she may already know, but she simply couldn’t bear it anymore. One way or another, she simply had to know.

“Who is he? To me, I mean…”

A soft sigh escaped Huntress’s lips. She knew the question was coming, and the answer could bring Swipe more pain, but she couldn’t lie to her. The time had passed from when she was content to let Swipe believe what she would. It was time for the truth.

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“He is your father, Swipe. Your biological father.”

The news hit Swipe like a truck, her ears flattening again as her eyes widened in shock. She slowly shook her head, not wanting to believe it.

“No… That can’t be right. You would never be with a man like him, mama. I know that…”

Her heart breaking, Huntress lowered her head slightly.

“That’s true, Swipe. I was never with him. But he is your father.”

Swipe was brought to tears, her whole reality crumbling around her. Her father was the police chief? Did that mean Huntress wasn’t her mother? Who was she? Who was Swipe? Was she?

“I’m adopted…?”

“While now may not have been when I planned to tell you, yes. You were more or less adopted, Swipe. I found you in a position of need, and I took you in. I’m not your biological mother.” Huntress responded softly. However, she then leaned forward slightly to cup Swipe’s chin in her hands.

“But that doesn’t change how I love you. I may not be your mother, but I am your mama. I always will be, I promise you that, Swipe. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. No matter what, I want you to remember that you are loved. You’re still my little girl.”

Melting under the affection, Swipe wrapped her arms tightly around Huntress, squeezing and holding onto her like the last lifeline in a dark, unending sea.

“I still love you too, mama.”

Another moment of silence came to exist between them as they held and comforted each other. Finally, Swipe simply had to ask one final question.

“I’m Katherine, aren’t I? Katherine Wood.”

A simple nod was all Huntress gave in response. It was difficult for both of them. Swipe was dealing with her past being violently shoved back into her life along with the horrific realization that her mama wasn’t her mother. For Huntress, it was difficult to see Swipe so upset. Even if they were technically unrelated, Huntress loved Katherine as if she were her own daughter. She always had, and always would. Hurting her little girl was the last thing she wanted to do, but at the same time, she knew it was necessary. The only way to heal these old wounds was to address them properly. There was no other way.

There was an odd peace in knowing. It brought Swipe comfort in a way, knowing that Huntress wasn’t obligated to care for her, but had chosen to do so anyway. As she nestled into Huntress’s arm, Swipe’s tail came to rest on her mama’s leg and she laid down on her chest. A moment or two later, she was out like a light. Just like she was still a little girl. A knock on the door interrupted the moment, and Huntress returned to her usual stoic self, standing up with Swipe in her arms.

“Enter. She’s asleep.”

Kraken, Blaze, and Zap all entered the room. Blaze chuckled to himself seeing Swipe asleep while Kraken stepped closer.

“How is she?”

“She knows now. I think I managed to calm her down.” Huntress replied flatly.

Tilting his head a bit, Krakengently stroked Swipe’s hair.

“What does she know?”

Huntress only shook her head in response. “You’ll know when she’s ready to tell you. I only know because I have to.”

Watching from afar, Zap finally stepped closer, examining Swipe’s sleeping form.

“Is she going to be alright? I’m not sure what happened, but her reaction was pretty strong.”

“Heh. If I know our kitty cat, she’ll be alright. ‘Sides, she got us, ain’t she? What more could she want?” Blaze chuckled while bumping into Zap’s shoulder.

“Time, Blaze.” Huntress stepped back away from Blaze as he reached out to pet her.

“She needs time, and she’s going to receive it.”

Taking the hint and not wanting to piss off Huntress, Blaze backed off and stood next to Zap. Kraken followed Huntress and Swipe out of the room, leaving Blaze and Zap behind. As they walked back to their room, Kraken rested a hand on Huntress’s shoulder and turned her to look at him.

“You know they only want to help, dear.” He spoke softly.

Huntress shook her head.

“Maybe they do. But they need to respect her needs right now.” She responded, her fingers still gently combing through Swipe’s hair.

“Is this what she needs right now? Or is it what you want her to need, Anna?”

Something about that struck a nerve within Huntress and her expression hardened.

“What are you implying, love? Of course I love having her close. It reminds me of when I found her. She was so small back then, but her heart was in the right place. It always has been. I may enjoy holding her, but I wouldn’t dare do so if she didn’t need it.”

Sensing that he had lost this exchange for now, Kraken simply nodded.

“I don’t intend to make her uncomfortable. If you’re going to be keeping her company tonight, I’ll sleep on the couch. Best that she only has her mama, right?”

Huntress scoffed and stepped closer, grabbing a hold of Kraken’s arm. Her grip was firmer than normal.

“You know she trusts everyone on this crew with her life. Get your ass in bed.”

Kraken chuckled softly as the two of them entered their room, Huntress carrying Swipe in her arms.

“That she does, love. And I’m honored to have that trust.”

Blaze and Zap, meanwhile, had returned to the living room to watch a game of football. Zap, being the newest recruit, had the least idea of what was happening.

“Do you think Swipe’s going to be alright? You know her better than I do, I’m just worried. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone react like that to something I can’t even name.”

Blaze simply shrugged and glanced back at Zap for a moment.

“If I know Swipe, she’s gonna be fine. I give her hell, sure, but she’s a tough kid. We may not know what made her spaz out like that, but I’m gonna find out.”

Later that night, Huntress was in bed, holding Swipe close to shield her from the nightmares she knew would otherwise attack her daughter. As she gently stroked her hair, she looked up to her husband, who was still pacing the room, looking at the birth and death certificates of the Finnegans. Kraken’s face contorted in confusion as he tried to understand what purpose they had in that vault.

“I just don’t understand. Someone knew we were coming and placed a trap for us. And these were in the vault? I know they blamed us for those deaths. You can’t help but think it seems a bit too convenient to be a coincidence.”

Nodding softly, Huntress simply continued to pet Swipe, being as soft and gentle as she could.

“I agree. Either it was planted for us to find, or someone didn’t want us to find them. The question is, who would it be? Why don’t they want us to find these certificates? And why did they have them in the first place?”

As the pair considered the bizarre placement of the documents, Swipe stirred in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent about loving marshmallows before she started chewing on Huntress’s pillow. Huntress simply observed her for a moment before gently correcting her, moving her away from the pillow.

“I guess that explains why her pillows keep getting punctured…”

“Yes, that would certainly do it.” Kraken remarked, scratching his chin.

After a moment of thought, Huntress’s head tilted.

“You know, I believe it was Black Dragon who worked during that incident. Perhaps he can help us.”

“You want to ask a hero for help with a case that we’re believed to be responsible for?” Kraken asked, raising an eyebrow.

Huntress simply chuckled darkly and shook her head.

“No. But I know where he lives. We’ll get our answers the hard way. It’s what we do, after all.”