The Vespidian
Arc 5, The Pussycat and I
Chapter 5
To her credit Den Mother was delicate as she carried me like a princess. If only she was a man, I may have enjoyed it. I watched the two closely, it appeared that there was something of a power struggle and yet there was not. Hard to explain exactly. Den was higher up on the totem pole, so to speak and I noticed how Nibbles was sucking up to her. Yet the gerbil would still order around her superior. It was puzzling. Then it fit together, Glitter Kitten had given authority to the little coward for this task. The rat was good at manipulating those stronger than her by playing off how weak she was, it made Den Mother want to protect her. It seems I had been underestimating the subhuman's intelligence. They were down right cunning, or maybe Den Mother is just an idiot.
We popped out of the sewers, clear in the Slums. They had been using it sort of like an underground highway to infiltrate the city. I had my suspicions, but now I knew that they regularly used the irradiated tunnels to get around. I guess they are already mutated, so more radiation won't hurt them that much. Which made me question if the Atomic Apostles were their allies. I had heard that they fought on a few occasions, but I had also heard they teamed up. Maybe one day I would find out, but for now I had better things to worry about. Hopefully they would not turn on me before I could escape.
The Slums were, well a shit hole. Like post apocalyptic style. Buildings were in disrepair, weeds grew in the streets and there were only a few places with power. The craggy concrete was split in many places where trees had sprouted and other foliage had started expanding. To think they lived in such squalor. Old dead vines crept along telephone poles, the wires stripped and stolen long ago. Boards covered windows in half destroyed buildings, scars from the brutal fighting just a few years ago.
At one corner an outpost of sorts was set up like a military blockade. Rusted tanks sat with holes gouged in the sides, one was flipped over and the last looked like somebody was living in it. What I guessed were alligator skulls, but that did not really seem right... they were bigger than they should be. Seven or so of them had been placed on pikes in the center of the formation. Sand bags piled up forming a circle. The ground around here was cratered from explosions.
To our approach there was a rustle and out of the tank hatches popped five nearly identical rabbit girls. Usually when one thinks of bunny girls it inspires images of scantily clad dancers, grinding on stripper poles or carrying drinks to customers in a bar. These were not that sort at all. All of them wore lopsided army helmets, there were a few holes in it letting their ears stand tall. They wore military fatigues that were falling to pieces, I assume stolen from the dead bodies of the former owners of this checkpoint. They seemed more human than most of the Subhumans in that I could tell that they were not covered in hair. Their legs were strange below the knee though, reversed and the feet were clawed. If I had to put money on what their power was, it would be speed.
One was taller than the others, though they were all just about five foot, not counting the foot tall ears. She appeared to be the leader. There was a scar running up her face ending at an eye patch over her right eye. She had a sniper rifle, it looked well worn and I got the feeling it had seen its fair share of killing. Might be the trophy carvings in the side of the stock. Her whiskers twitched as she gave me a good look.
“Thumper,” nodded Den Mother.
“Everything quiet,” she reported with a slight salute.
“No movement from the Scalies?” asked Den Mother.
“Nope. Well, none in our direction. I saw a few scouts going into the sewers earlier today.”
“Who the fuck are the Scalies?” I asked.
“Don't worry about it,” said Nibbles.
“You know what to do if they come our way,” nodded Den Mother.
Thumper nodded in agreement and we left without another word. I felt way out of the loop. The Mad Dogs were the only subhuman gang right? Then who are they fighting? Although if they had other enemies it would explain why they had been leaving the city alone for the most part. I get the feeling this is something like a secret, or maybe I am just an idiot with out dated information. It could easily be either or, maybe even both. There was a lot I did not understand. If I used this chance to probe around for information it would be rather beneficial.
The more that I looked the more this place seemed like a war zone. Streets were blocked off with piled cars and collapsed buildings. The settlements I suppose you could call them were walled in areas with guards rotating shifts around the clock. Honestly I did not think they were this organized. Then again we did lose the war and were only able to contain them to the slums. There was a strangely pristine road. It was in a bad way, but it was maintained so to speak. The sides were boarded up making it like a corral. Street lights and power lines were working along this main street. I knew because I could hear the low buzz of electricity. It was still the middle of the day so the lights were off.
This road led from the neutral zone clear over to a towering building that looked to be six stories high. To make things even stranger there were humans walking along it as though it were nothing, granted they were all in groups of five or more. I looked back to the building and it dawned on me what it was, it was the Sparkle Kat Kafe.
To say the Sparkle Kat was the diamond of the slums would not be an understatement. Signs dotted the sides depicting cat, rabbit, dog and even a couple of rat girls. These figures lit up at night, I could tell from the neon light tubes. Arrows incessantly pointed to this paradise among the rubble. The building was in impeccable shape, granted parts looked a little ramshackle from added defensive structures, like lookout towers. They had cobbled together a few search lights from an assortment of car headlights. We did not go in through the main entrance. Instead a side building connected in through a basement.
The farther we went the more animal people I realized there were. There must be a few hundred here. The smell was a bit musky and the stench of ammonia was layered in a few areas. I get the feeling they don't have a decent sanitation arrangement. Other than the watching guards just about all of them were sleeping on one another.
We ascended the spiraling stair case clear to the top. There was not really anything to see since they did not bring me into the main building, more or less the back way in. They stood in front of a door and for some reason both were elated. Nibble's stump like tail was wiggling and Den Mother's bushy tail was wagging with excitement. It is good to know their tails and ears betray their emotions just like real animals, but that still left the question, why were they happy? The gerbil girl knocked and she opened the door after there was no answer.
The room reeked of cat, like one had been spraying on the walls for a while and nobody had bothered to clean it up. At this point not even a good bleaching would do the trick. It was enough to make me gag, which is pretty hard. There was a large bed with shed hair dotting the covers and roughly eight pillows scattered across the surface, one looked like it had been mauled. Speaking of which deep claw marks ran over the walls as though a cat had been sharpening its claws. Other than that there was not much else in this room. Oh shit, this is Glitter Kitten's room isn't it? To the right there was another door though and that is where I was carried.
Nibbles eagerly opened the door, within was a humming computer off in a corner and it appeared to be some sort of living room. A huge tv that took up a whole wall was set up in front of four leather couches that had been scratched to hell. Little heads with pointed ears peered up warily from behind the couches, there must have been twenty of them. They were so soft and fluffy with sparkling wide eyes. They were the kittens I had seen in pictures. A few were looking out from the sides, they had been sitting on the floor. They were dead silent, but the tv was set on cartoons, Nicky Mouse no less.
A low purring hum and a long tail danced up from the center of the room. “Nya, nya, nya. Nicky Meowsy, meowsy, meowsy. Nicky Meowsy.”
The hair on the tail puffed out and it slunk down when the humming died. Slowly a pair of ears rose up, scanning like satellite dishes before concentrating in on us and a face I knew from photos peeked up. It was Glitter Kitten. She had large green cat eyes, the pupil was huge and diagonally slit. Her whiskers twitched around her nose as she sniffed the air. Those adorable eyes fell on me and gaped.
“Who is that Nyah?” she scrabbled to the top of the couch, crouching there as the tail flicked back and forth with agitation. Oh boy, she looks pissed.
“This is Mecha Fairy,” happily said Nibbles moments before her ears tucked and she realized that Glitter Kitten was not happy at all.
“You care to tell me why you brought a hero here? To my home Nyah? Where my Kittens are?” she asked as her voice grew darker.
Den Mother answered, flopping me on the floor. I lay there still mostly paralyzed. “She has a map to the Cocaine stash.”
Glitter Kitten snarled, “Shut up Nyah! You stupid fool. You know better than to reveal plans in front of our enemies,” she blinked a few times then stepped towards me and cringed seeing my mangled form. “Is she even alive?”
“Not feeling so hot,” I waved slightly.
She lept so high up she latched onto the ceiling screaming. “HOLY FUCK Nyah!” Her kittens scattered, tripping over one another and bolted out of the room.
“Well shit, I did not think I would scare you like that,” I laughed for half a breath, the carapace stabbed into my lungs. “Yeah that hurts.”
“What have you done!” yelled Glitter Kitten. “Your incompetence is astounding.”
“But she already knows. Richard told her and gave her the map,” retreated Nibbles, hiding behind Den Mother's leg.
“Where is Richard?”
“Still in the hospital.”
Glitter kitten nodded, ripped the remote up from the coach. She switched the channel to the news and her eyes gaped. Her tail stood straight up and she quietly watched. I could smell her rage building.
“Channel Nine News. This morning at eleven thirty the Mad Dogs, members Den Mother and Nibbles, staged a vicious assault on Down Town's Hospital right across the street from the Fire Station. Twenty are reported dead so far, due to power failure the life support was cut for floors three and up. The attack itself was unprovoked, deadly and even claimed our newest Junior Hero, Mecha Fairy. It is speculated this was a hit against Mr. Richard who was rescued from the slums not a week ago by Fire Chief, Mecha Fairy and Medavac; who was also caught in the attack. Clearly this was an act of revenge for defying the subhuman monsters of the slums. It is believed that Mecha Fairy is still alive, however that might not be for long. As you can see here, if she is alive she is in bad shape.”
A video began to play of the outside of the hospital. I saw my top half crash through a window five floors up, break through a support beam and then Den Mother burst out, she used me to break her fall. The camera zoomed in on my cracked, yellow stained helmet, blood oozing out of the broken seals. She lifted my form up bullets beat against the suit, not many got through though. She tossed the car and ran away crushing me into the ground every time her left hand came down. Golden streaks were left in our wake in a grizzly trail. I watched as Medavac jumped down from the window, he rolled, chasing after her. His gun fought his grasp as he fired desperately. He was just a little too slow to catch up, he even chased them into the sewers. It was a little heart wrenching really.
“When asked Fire Chief told us that the yellow substance is the servo lubricant and fuel, which means from the sheer amount leaking out, Mecha Fairy's suit was catastrophically damaged. That does not bode well at all for her. Unfortunately if she is alive she won't be for very long with such extensive damage. The other problem would be the suit. This could mean that the containment field of the atomic core has been compromised and could explode.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Glitter Kitten turned, staring at me. She looked lost, “I said do this quick and do it quietly. You did the opposite of what I told you to do. You rampaged through the streets, kidnapped a hero, killed people and essentially just let the whole damned city know we are up to something. Do you even realize how much this just hurt the status quo? We had a fucking sweet deal going here. To top it off the hero might as well be a nuke set and primed to go off. What have I told you about dragging in toys?!Now then Nyah, there had best be a map, you had best have gotten the only thing I even sent you out to get!”
“They were waiting for us, it was not as cut and dry as it was supposed to be. We did what we had to,” shakily said Den Mother, lowering her ears and showing her submission.
“Idiots!” snarled Glitter Kitten. “Why is it so hard to find good help? You should have known they would guard him. That is why I sent you, so that Nibbles would not fuck this up again! I guess I have only myself to blame for trusting something as delicate as this with you. I should have just done it myself, this is what I get for relying on idiots!”
“At the least we got the information,” said Den Mother, turning her head away.
“And that is why I am not about to beat both of you within an inch of your lives,” she rubbed her temple.
Nibbles tried to speak up, but Glitter Kitten put up a finger to silence her. She shook her head, then looked down at me. “Mecha Fairy?” asked Glitter Kitten lowering herself to my level. “How exactly are you still alive?”
I figured I should be honest here, this was the boss of these people she seemed somewhat reasonable. That and I had already told her goons, so if I did not say anything they would. “Oh well, I am a regenerator so, I should be alright if left alone. Maybe, not too sure. I have never been hurt this badly before. All my bones are kinda mush at the moment.”
“A regenerator? That is rather rare. You have that map right?”
“Yeah. I will give it to you after I have recovered a bit and you let me go.”
“I am sorry, but I need that map. If you give it to me now, I will ensure your safety.”
Normally I would have said not a chance in hell, but Fire Chief had given me one intense trump card. I am a living bomb now, so there would be no way that she would keep here as a prisoner. I knew full well that shit was a lie, but these villains did not. Sure the core was radioactive but it was inert and could not blow up. “Sounds good to me. It is in the pouch right above my left ass cheek.”
Den Mother yelled, “You lied to us!”
“Of course I lied to you,” I sighed. God talking hurt. “You were going to leave me to die in the sewers! Besides why the hell would I deal with lackeys when the boss could just say no to any deals?”
Glitter Kitten nodded and her hand opened up the compartment, pulling out the crinkled map. It was soggy with my blood and almost melted in her hands, to both of our dismay. She lay it flat blowing on it desperately. It was too far gone. Oh shit.
“Our deal is still good right?” I cringed.
She looked it over and her mouth was tightly pressed in a scowl, she was thinking, “Slight alteration. I am going to ransom you for Mr. Richard.”
I wanted out of here, but something tells me he would not escape from here alive if he came back. “You can try, but I doubt that the guy even knows anything. He was so sloshed out on drugs last I saw it was impossible to have a coherent conversation with him. He would be strung out for days.”
Her eyes glinted as her frown twitched, Glitter Kitten had a dimple on her left cheek. Don't think it is adorable, don't think it is adorable... damn it. “So are you telling me that he did not tell you anything? Was that map even real?”
“He did not directly say anything, but I put two and two together.”
“So we are back at square one,” she licked her paw. It was rather cute, though I am starting to get some bad vibes. “You better tell me everything you know or I am going make you wish you could die easily. I will get creative so to speak.”
“Wait what?!” I cried out. A piercing pain filled my lungs. I croaked out, “I am a bomb you know?”
“Are you now?” She replied, smelling me. What is she a bomb sniffing cat? Her face wrinkled up. “Wait, nyan are you even human?! It is you! I was wondering what the hell that smell was.”
Her hand grasped my helmet and started tugging. It felt like my head was going to come off. “Stop it will you? You trying to kill me?”
I seemed to have caught Glitter Kitten's attention as she tilted my head all over trying to find the release mechanism. It took her a moment, but she found it and I was powerless to stop her. The seals gusted, spurting my yellow ichor like blood out. She lifted it off and the hair stood up on all three of them. Nibbles dived over the couch, Glitter Kitten hissed and Den Mother growled at me. What is this about? Am I that fucking ugly to scare super villains? Is this normal subhuman behavior? They were staring at me for a good twenty minutes, circling like animals. What the hell is going on here?
The cat girl procured a long stick and started poking me with it, “One of us? Never seen a bug before though.”
“I am not one of you, alright? So just calm down.” I squirmed and they reared up unsure of what I was doing. “Look I just want to go home.”
“What are you? What is wrong with your head?” asked Nibbles, peering out of a cardboard box at me. Thanks that is real nice to say. Fuck you, you little rat bitch.
“A mutant wasp woman?” I said, a little unsure if that was going to pass or not. I certainly was not going to tell them it was Mutigene that did this to me.
They sniffed at me. “You smell like a wet dog.”
“Sometimes I do. Sometimes I smell like fruit too.” I glanced them over.
It was rather intimidating, being so low to the ground with them circling me. My antenna waved and they froze, eyes locked onto the two feelers. It was strange to the say the least. I made them wiggle and I noticed the cat's tail perk up. It seemed that Glitter Kitten was rather attracted to movement, just like a real cat. This got me thinking and I experimented. The more erratic the movement the more attention I garnered. She had lowered into a crouching position and her tail swished as her eyes followed. Isn't that the position that cats do just before they attack? I froze and so did she. That is not good. I would have to keep my antenna from moving around, which I sort of did unconsciously.
Glitter Kitten rolled over, she seemed to have shaken off her cat like tendency. “You are one of us. Hey join my gang.”
“I ain't joining shit,” I wheezed.
“You are in no position to be bargaining anything. Usually it is a bad thing if secret identities get out, but seeing as how you are just an animal like us those humans won't give a fuck if I drag you out there and show the world what you really are. We just got a huge backer and everything. In fact this jumps up our plans quite a bit.”
“You threatening me? I don't care what happens, I won't join your gang. Stop telling me shit. How about this I kinda remember what that map looked like, so if I help you get that stash for you, let me go.”
She was thinking on it. “Alright here is the deal. You show us where the drugs are and I will personally show you to the neutral zone, free to go. If you fail to by the end of tomorrow then I will force you to join my gang. What that means is up to you, it could be torture, could be drugs, could be food. For the most part my policy is live and let live. You will find that, though I am harsh with punishments I am lavish with rewards.”
“Fuck that.”
“It only makes sense. If there was an incentive to lose, you would just run us around in circles. However if you now know there is a punishment for losing, well you will try harder to be successful.”
Damn it, she was making a lot of sense. She was turning this into a gamble. I did not really have a choice either. I could temporarily join and then escape, but I get the feeling that she would legitimately track me down break my legs and drag me back, kicking and screaming. I mean Den Mother, the raging bitch who destroyed me is piss scared of her. My helmet should have recorded shit right? Maybe there is an image of the map on there. That is no good, the hud screen was broken. Sub can you drag up the memory of the map in our head and look it over? You found it? Great, maybe there is hope for us.
“Hey how much drugs did he take anyway?” I asked. “I want to know what the hell I am getting into here.”
“Well that is simple. Roughly two hundred kilos of pure Columbia cocaine.”
My mouth gaped and their hair stood up again. “Holy shit. That is what? Four hundred pounds or so? How much is that even worth?”
“Four hundred forty pounds, roughly. Twenty-six million dollars conservatively. Now do you see why we were gunning for that bastard?”
“How did he even steal that much? Let alone how have you guys not found it with your increased sense of smell?”
“That is what we want to know,” she sighed. “Look we are not bad people down here. We just want to live our own lives, we can't even get real jobs since we get discriminated against so badly. Literally it is the only reason we are dealing drugs. We need money to buy food. Which is why I am wondering how the hell you managed to worm your way into becoming a hero. I mean you are way worse looking than we are.”
“It was not easy. If it works though I might be able to remove some of the bias towards Subhumans. I mean look at me, you guys are scared of how I look. If I can get accepted then cat girls or werewolves won't even get an eye bat at them. Granted you would have to be good.”
They were thinking it over. Glitter Kitten smirked, “You are a fucking fool. You think we did not try to be legit? Butch tried to reign in all the ferals and everybody else, he tried to get accepted and they rejected him. They murdered him in cold blood in a set up. Then once our numbers started to swell they sent in suppression teams and set to work scourging the slums. We rose up and fought them off. Now we make ends meat doing whatever the fuck we have to. Drugs, prostitution, gambling, mutant animal fighting, robbery, extortion, kidnappings, welfare fraud. The system is broken and we are the ones getting fucked. You think we want to live like animals? I want the best for my kittens and I will do what ever it takes to get them out of this mess. If that means I have to kill some filthy fucking humans so be it.”
“Then give me a chance. If I can make a name for myself it will be good for all non humans.”
She laughed slightly, “You know what. Alright, find my drugs and I will let you go. I want to see how this is going to play out. Just to let you know, they won't accept you.”
“I will do it, just to prove you wrong.”
“Looking forward to it,” she smirked. “By the way how long do you think it will take you to get up and moving again?”
“No idea. Hopefully by tomorrow. Hey do the words honey badger, or three dog mean anything to you?”
“Honey badger? No idea on that one. Three headed dog? That is the fighting ring for our mutant animals.”
“I will just have to see when I get out there.”
“Is there anyway to make this go faster? This yellow stuff smells awful and it is getting everywhere nyah.”
“Oh yeah about that, that is my blood. Heal faster? Food I guess?” I did not really know, this usually just took care of itself.
Then Sub whispered something rather disturbing in my head. Blood, she wanted blood to speed things up. What am I a fucking vampire? We don't need no damned blood. Sub, this is just another of your sick fetishes isn't it? What do you mean it is legit. Sure it is. Stop trying to make a case I know you too well to believe that. Although that is true that Dr. Arbor was feeding us blood to recover.
Ah shit, you were telling the truth. So what, we are a vampiric wasp monster? Something tells me I won't be getting my own action figures for kids, once I become a famous hero. I could kind of imagine it actually. Now with extendable proboscis to suck all the blood out of her foes! That would be some nightmare fuel for kids.
“Since you are such a hero I am sure that you will be on your best behavior and not cause any problems,” mocked Glitter Kitten, laying on the top of the couch. She looked rather bored.
“You are not just going to leave me here are you?” I waved my hand at her.
“Of course not. Nibbles go get some food,” she yawned and the gerbil girl did not even question it before scampering out. “Wash her off in the shower, get that yucky stuff off of her.”
Den Mother lifted me up and carried my mangled mass to the bathroom, it was through the room that the kittens had fled. Sure I looked like a mess, but it was not that bad. Nothing was missing completely so it was just a matter of patching everything back together. The kittens were huddled in the corner behind a fort made of cardboard boxes, some were scooting around under boxes and hitting the walls. Several were climbing on cat trees and swinging from knotted ropes hanging from the ceiling.
Their hair was stood on end and they hissed at me. Clearly I was not welcome. Maybe they will warm up to me? I can hope anyway, my plots and schemes to get one of those kittens were resurfacing. The cuteness was something that should be shared with the world. It is a crime to hoard all this soft and fluffiness here!
Honestly, I would kidnap... I mean adopt, yes, yes adopt one of them, hell I might want a couple of them. Sure they seem to be terrified of me now, but if I pet them and love them and feed them, I am sure that they would grow fond of me. Then again it seems that most animals hate my guts now, so maybe not. I won't know unless I try. Not sure if they could smell my intentions or not, but they scuttled out of the room back to where their mother was. They were awfully cautious considering how well protected they were here. Must be their instincts telling them that I am a predator.
Considering how the rest of the Slums looked this bathroom was pretty good. Sheer size it was about as big as the living room and had a Jacuzzi in the center, it was covered at the moment. Marbled tiles lined the floor and white sinks sat below mirrors. If I remember correctly the Sparkle Kat Kafe used to be a casino, before it was taken over by the Mad Dogs. It would explain why this place was so swanky, it was the penthouse suite.
The shower was as you would expect, clogged with hair. These are animal people after all and they do shed, it must be a nightmare trying to keep this place clean. She slumped me down and pulled out a tangled ball of fur, tossing it to the side. Eww! You going to pick that up or just leave it there? The cold water turned on splashing across my armor. Some of it was leaking in due to the broken seals and the rips in my under suit. The water ran yellow as the massive clawed hand wiped at me with a towel. She washed out the helmet, which I am pretty sure ruined all the electronics in it. Definitely going to need to do repairs after this.
Soon I was soggy, absolutely soaked. Den Mother turned off the water and hung me up to dry. After making sure that I was secure she left me there. She had tied my feet together and latched it onto a hook in the ceiling. Now that was weird. Why would they have a meat drying hook in the bathroom? I did sort of smell blood, old blood. Maybe they hung meat up in here every now and then, who am I kidding? More likely they tortured people in here. The water steadily drained out of the suit and my blood was gathering in my head.
On the upside my carapace had sealed shut and stopped all of the bleeding, so no more yellow goo pouring out. I say goo since my blood is thicker and sort of syrupy, comes with the territory I suppose. The insides were still a mess, but it was mostly just my mid section, the abdomen had luckily been spared any real damage. The main issue was that my arms and legs were broken in multiple places. To top it off, my little time as a dog toy had snapped my spine. I could not feel anything below my stomach.
She is coming back right?