Jakey_K

YES!

I like these ideas! The Carnival is a bit scary, but you know the villain mistresses want that look, :P (well some of them, others may shoot me for suggesting such a thing)

Can you knock together some kind of jester/carnie look for guys? don't leave the boys out of playing dress up, they enjoy it just 'so' much.

very classy!

You cannot stop the Presses!!

Author's Note: What's funnier than a lemur with a stick? Answer: NOTHING!

"Gaze, Gaze come in!" Muse banged his radio against the tree branch he was standing on and shook it before trying again. Another blast of high-pitched, painful sound emerged from the speaker, making him wince. Jakey and Esher clambered up onto his branch, the foliage above and around them tinted the light green.
"What the hell is that noise?" Jakey put his ears back in distaste, glaring at the radio like it had personally insulted him. A small cough came from behind them and they looked round. Immemoria was sitting amid the wildly orange and yellow flowers, swinging his legs in an almost child-like fashion.
"They're explaining to you that death is all that awaits those who oppose the Sovereignty of the House of Unpronounceable."
"The house of what?!" Muse blinked. Immemoria watched a scarlet hummingbird drink from the flower next to him.
"No translation, I guess it's a name."
"How do you know the language?" Jakey asked, tartly. Immemoria rolled his eyes.
"I'm a fairy." Apparently that said it all, as he jumped off his branch and landed on theirs, "Gaze and the others are in trouble, or the Unpronounceables wouldn't have her radio. That was three Epic heroes and a high ranker. A frontal assault didn't work, so we're going to need to do better to get them out of whatever trouble they're in. Any ideas?"
Jakey's tail snapped back and forth at the authoritive tone Immemoria had taken. Who was this Rogue Islander chump to order him around. Muse, however, looked thoughtful.
"Esher, can you think of a few diversionary tactics we could use?" he asked, turning to the younger man. From what little they could see of his face, Esher was beaming.
"Esher think music man never ask! Esher am make teh best trapz0rs evah! Need teh Kitty though. Him am make they fall into Esher traps!"
Muse nodded.
"Alright, Jakey, you do whatever Esher needs you to do. Immemoria, you're with me. You just yell out when you're ready, Esh." The tone of command from Muse was a little easier to bare. Jakey approved of his best friend finally having the nerve to tell others what to do. He was a natural leader who inspired a lot of confidence in people. Jakey looked at Immemoria while Muse's back was turned and stuck his tongue out. Immemoria just lifted his eyebrow.
"Come on, teh Kitty!" Esher said even as he jumped off the branch into the thick gloom of the jungle floor. Jakey made a muted hiss and followed him in a whisk of movement.
Muse eyed Immemoria a second.
"So how serious is it? Between you and Gaze, I mean?" he asked suddenly. Immemoria blinked. This surely wasn't the time and place for such a conversation. He noticed that Muse was starting to move towards the crash site and he hurried to keep up, jumping easily from branch to branch.
"I'm not sure how humans gauge it. I love her and want to be with her forever. That answer it?" The jungle air was muggy and hot, he was sweating under his heavy jacket. He could smell the more stringent smell of human sweat on Muse, a smell that always seemed vaguely peppery to him. Well, there was no real need to hide his nature here. He shrugged off his leather jacket and left it in a clump of blue flowers. His iridescent wings, crumpled after so long under clothes, flared.
"You intend to marry her?" Muse asked, watching the fairy fan his wings with amusement. There was something comical about how pretty his blue/green wings were compared to his powerful physique. Tiny sparkles of aqua light tumbled off the wings as they fluttered.
"I … haven't asked her to." Immemoria rubbed the back of his neck, his wings fluttering to help him reach a further branch when he jumped. Muse raised his eyebrow.
"But you mean to, don't you?" It was less a question and more a statement. Immemoria felt besieged.
"Yeah. I do. If she'll have me. I know she could have her pick of just about anyone in the world …"
"But how many of them would be fairy generals, I wonder?" Muse grinned, soaring overhead. Immemoria said nothing, focussing on keeping pace with him.
The pair of them finally came to the fringe of trees around the ship and they crouched in the foliage, watching intently. The dark green and grey armoured crew were clearing the fallen branches off the ship, dragging them to a bonfire in the torn up furrow behind it. Muse frowned tightly, noticing that it only took one armoured individual to drag the huge branches. Immemoria faded out of view beside him, maybe just on instinct. Muse unhooked his radio, bringing it to his mouth and pressing the talk button.
"Esher, how are the traps coming?"
"Esher am need more time. Is art."
Muse just nodded, even though the young man couldn't see him. While it was hardly the time for art, if Esher said he needed more time, he needed more time.
"Alright, be aware: the invaders are strong. Not as strong as Avenger, I don't think, but stronger than me definitely. Maybe as strong or stronger than you."
"They am need to catch Esher first!"
Muse could almost see Esher's expression at that, he grinned.
"They're wearing a kind of armour, I imagine it's probably combat worthy, like Shingi's."
"Will be longer now. Esher am needing more potential energy in traps. No talk now, work." The radio pipped as Esher turned it off. Muse hooked it back onto his belt and turned his head to where Immemoria was crouched.
"Alright, time to go closer and see what we can see. Ready?"
Silence stretched out after his words and Muse frowned. Then he stared at the ship. He reached his hand out to where Immemoria had been and waved it about. When his fingers found no fairy, he swore internally and hoped Immemoria knew what he was doing.

The inside of the ship was dark and the armoured invaders were clustered around in the corridors, repairing bits of it. Immemoria sidled past a group of three of them as they fixed a panel back onto the wall, covering up the wires and pipes within the bulkhead. His long ears twitched as a ship-wide announcement was made.
"< Perimeter is established. Initialising planet-side protocols. All soldiers not on duty to report to medical. >"
Immemoria had to flatten himself to the side of a bulkhead as two 'soldiers' marched past him. The corridors were wide enough for three abreast but only at a pinch. It was dark enough that he imagined a human would have problems seeing properly. Being fey and from an underground city, Immemoria found the darkness to be almost comforting. When only the dimmest of lights came on, he wondered if the invaders were very photosensitive, if not nocturnal. Speculating as to their nature stopped him panicking about what sort of trouble Gaze could be in. He had to keep his cool, he'd be no use to anyone if he lost it and went barging around kicking up a fuss. An intersection in the corridor gave him pause. He wondered which path was best to follow. If only the invaders had thoughtfully posted up a map of their ship to help him find whatever they used to contain prisoners.
"< Those strange creatures weren't here last time I touched planet-side. Do you think there's a civilisation here preliminary recon didn't pick up? >"
Immemoria turned his head as the voice came closer. Two soldiers were walking towards him from the way he'd come, mud on their boots and hands.
"< There's only ruins on this rock. They must be here for the technology too. >" said the other. Immemoria fell in behind them when they passed, maybe they'd be helpful.
"< One of them was wearing primitive battle armour. It looked like it was wired up by a madman. >"
"< I know. Fancy only sending one soldier to protect a queen. Crazy! >"
"< Maybe they crashed, like we did. What's the word on them, anyway? >"
"< I haven't heard, but rumour from Unit Eighteen is that the captain is going to let them come with us when we leave. Can't leave a queen here with only one soldier and two drones to protect her. >"
Immemoria frowned as he listened. Keeping in the soldiers' wake meant he didn't have to flatten himself against any walls when they passed others. The inside of the ship was a convoluted system of corridors and intersections at irregular intervals. It was confusing to try and remember his path but he was fairly sure he had it down.
"< Have you ever served on a queen ship before? >"
"< No. Have you? >"
"< A few times. We won't be allowed to be so lax until she's transferred to a more fitting vessel. Queen ships are really big on protocol. The captain's probably panicking over appropriate quarters.>"
"< I don't envy him the task. You ever seen a queen before? >"
"< Once. When I was serving on the Meridian, we were addressed by her. >"
"< Are all queens so beautiful?. >"
"< How should I know? The one we found here, she's the more beautiful, not that I'm speaking ill of our queen. She is very lovely too. >"
Immemoria paused, letting the two soldiers pass ahead, their conversation dwindling in his ears. He flattened himself to the wall of the intersection and listened intently. Distantly, down the even darker corridor, he could hear a voice.
"I expressly demanded a wake-up call at six thirty! I want to speak to management over this shocking treatment!"
The fairy grinned and slipped down the darker corridor. It was empty of soldiers and curled tightly around itself in a spiral. At end of the spiral was an open doorway covered with a pale green glow. On the other side of it, Chillblaze was pacing back and forth. He took a deep breath and turned to the doorway again.
"Haven't any of you heard of the Geneva Convention?!"
"Chill, why would they have? And it's not like they're torturing us or anything."
Relief so intense it was painful flooded through Immemoria when he heard Gaze's voice. He slipped closer to the doorway and peered in, careful not to touch the energy field.
The room on the other side was not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination. There was a straight bunk against the left wall and a table with a single chair against the right. Shingi was lying on the bunk, still unconscious, while Gaze perched on the edge of it, tending to him. Avenger sat on the chair with his feet up on the table, battered hat tipped forward over his eyes.
"Shoehorning the four of us into a tiny little room could be considered torture on some level," said Chillblaze. He didn't sound particularly angry about the situation, so Immemoria took it to mean he was just being contrary for the sake of annoying the invaders.
"Just pipe down and be good until the others get here," said Avenger from under his hat. Chillblaze sighed loudly and sat down against the wall.
"What makes you think they can even get in?"
"Because I turn invisible," said Immemoria. He was pleased to see Chillblaze jump with surprise. Avenger tipped his hat back with a finger under the brim and Gaze looked around at the doorway.
"We've been here for hours! You took your sweet time." Avenger grinned as he spoke, to take the sting of his words away. Immemoria turned his attention to the door frame. He was surprised to see a very blocky attachment to what he assumed was the door activation. It looked like the field had been jury-rigged and was not usual.
"Esher needed extra time to make traps capable of dealing with the soldiers' armour. And I may have gotten a bit lost. It's a regular warren in here. Are you guys all alright?"
"We're fine, just some bangs and scrapes. The soldiers use energy draining weapons," Gaze turned back to Shingi, putting her hand over his black eye and the swelling visibly receded. Immemoria gave a lop-sided smile none of them could see.
"Yeah, you've confused them a bit, but I'll tell you about that later. Jakey and Esher are going to try and draw off most of the soldiers, but they won't be able to get all of them."
"Why do you say that?" asked Avenger curiously.
"Because I get the impression that to leave a 'queen' unguarded would be an unforgivable offence in their eyes." Immemoria pushed some of the wires to the side and peered at how the box was connected to the panel.
"'Queen'? What?" Chillblaze looked confused and Immemoria didn't blame him.
"Gaze. She's female. They think she's a queen. Seems it quite alarmed them to discover she was here with 'one soldier and two drones'. They're very concerned for her well-being." Now that he was saying it, Immemoria couldn't help but grin. It sounded very silly yet somehow appropriate.
"I'm concerned for her well-being too, concerned enough to fight our way out of here." Avenger took his legs off the table and stood up.
"This is not going to dissolve into another testosterone contest. As soon as the signal goes, we get out as fast as we can. What is the signal?" Gaze looked at the doorway, eyes probing as if they could penetrate both the darkness and his invisibility.
"Ship announcement. Radio isn't working in here, I think they're jamming the signal."
"Can you deactivate the field across the door?" Chillblaze asked.
"Looks easy enough. This is just a plug-in module."
A groan from Shingi coming round drew attention away from the doorway and the man sat up, leaning on his hands.
"What hit me?" he asked. Gaze smiled.
"Just about everything."
"Why didn't they take my armour?" Shingi put a hand to his chest, the metal clunking softly on contact. Avenger shrugged.
"Maybe they were afraid you were naked underneath it."
Immemoria's long ears twitched and he looked over his shoulder as the ship-wide alert came.
"< Attack on the starboard flank. Units Seven through Twelve pursue. >"
Immemoria looked back at the room and was surprised to see everyone holding their hands to their ears with expressions of extreme discomfort.
"Ow! I take it back, they're torturing us!"
"Uh … that was just the announcement. That's how they speak," he said. Gaze winced.
"Alright, it's time to go then. Unplug that field!" She stood up as she spoke, stretching her hand out to Chillblaze. He turned invisible, fading away from view. Avenger was next and then Shingi disappeared. Immemoria pulled the module out of its sockets as Gaze focused her skill on herself and faded out.
"Time to get the hell out of here." Immemoria reached out a hand to Chillblaze, who was groping about wildly. He really pitied the poor humans with their terrible night-vision. He seized the flailing hand as Avenger found the other one.
"Why does it always come down to us holding hands in the dark, anyway?" Shingi muttered as Gaze took his wrist. She promptly changed her grip to his exposed ear and tugged.
"Quiet now, class. Let's not cause a disturbance."
Immemoria shook his head and led the four heroes out the way he'd come. They had to flatten themselves to the walls several times as soldiers ran past. Their escape had not gone unnoticed and the soldiers were in a state of panic. Immemoria wondered if there was a terribly severe punishment for losing a 'queen'.
The jungle at dusk was almost too bright after so long in the dark ship. The smoke from the bonfire made the air thick and hard to breathe. Immemoria looked around and nearly swore. Chillblaze was visible. Behind him, just fading into view, was Avenger.
"Stealth time over, RUN!"
The soldiers had seen the two men and were running for them, the heavy boots of their suits splintering the remaining foliage under their feet. Avenger's expression darkened as he turned to face them. His mouth pulled into a thin smile and he braced himself.
"Do as the general says. I'll keep their attention off you."
Shingi, for once, didn't argue, his suit humming as the jet pack unfolded from its cramped housing on his back. He kicked off the ground and shot up, closely followed by Chillblaze and Gaze. Immemoria turned his head.
"They're clear!" He opened his wings and kicked off the ground, leaving a trail of displaced smoke and fine glittering sparks in his wake. Avenger clothes-lined one of the soldiers just to make a point and shot after them before anyone could unsling their sapping energy weapons.
"Damnit, Jakey, GO LEFT!" The radios on their belts suddenly crackled into life when they passed out of the dampening field.
"I AM GOING LEFT!"
"YOUR OTHER LEFT!"
There was the sound of a crash in the distance and birds spilled upwards, shrieking in alarm.
"Are you alright?!"
"Yeah, fine. No rain of logs is gonna hit this cat!"
"Pwnz! It am booka booka tyme! Traps is l33t!"
Gaze grabbed her radio off her belt.
"Muse? What's the situation?"
"Gaze! Glad you could make it. Jakey's leading the invaders through Esher's traps. I'm hovering over some kind of old temple. Watch out, the soldiers are armed to the teeth!"
Gaze squinted, she could just make out a dot in the distance, but it was hard to tell with the aurora starting to flare up in the darkening sky.
"We're coming, hold on!"
Avenger was already teleporting ahead, anxious to get to his lover, not liking the sound of 'armed to the teeth' at all. Gaze looked down.
"Immy, are you still with us?"
"I'm in the canopy, I'm fine."
Gaze nodded. Immemoria had earned an enthusiastic thank you for the rescue. She tried to keep from grinning like an idiot, but she couldn't help but think it was awfully heroic of him to come rescue her like that.
In the sky ahead, there was a flash and a scream over the radio jolted her out of her thoughts.
"MUSE!" Avenger nearly howled, she didn't even need the radio to hear him. She saw her twin brother dive into the foliage with a crash of breaking branches. She hurriedly teleported ahead in three short hops, soaring down through the hole he'd created.
Muse was in Avenger's arms, saved from a potentially lethal plummet to the forest floor. Avenger looked fit to pull up a tree and bludgeon Muse's attackers with it, but had his hands too full to act on that impulse. Gaze was glad of that at least. She couldn't make out a thing on the forest floor, twilight above the canopy meant almost full night under it. She hovered next to her brother as Esher hurtled past her, dropping down from the branches. Below she could hear Jakey's alley-cat yowl. The pair of them had evidently found Muse's attackers. She turned her attention to the unconscious man in Avenger's arms, holding her hands over his chest.
Gaze did not like to probe too far into the memories of Muse's flesh. There were horrific injuries and abuses he'd suffered that Avenger could only guess at. The remembered agonies were like a knife edge to Gaze's extra senses. She wondered if Muse had ever told anyone the extent to which he'd been brutalised in his life. She honestly doubted it. Muse barely acknowledged his young adulthood, let alone talked about it.
Tears ran down her cheeks as she forced his broken ribs to knit back together. Collision with the tree branches. She soothed away the burn on his leg. Impact of the weapon. She dealt with the shock before it could set in. Automatic physical response to the burn.
She felt more in control now that she had dealt with his injuries and hastily pulled her senses away from him. Avenger couldn't see her tears and his worry for his lover kept all his attention there. She reached up and wiped tears away with the back of her hand.
"What the!?"
"What just jumped over my head?!"
An explosion of fire below tore Gaze's attention downwards. She heard Muse come round, murmuring to Avenger and pushing away. His lover, now free of the obligation of holding him up, dived down to help Jakey and the others.
"Lemurs?! I thought they didn't fight?"
Gaze blinked and then dived down. She pulled up just before the ground and nearly looped over herself. Jakey, Esher, Shingi, Chillblaze, Immemoria and Avenger were standing by, looking vastly confused. The last attacker still standing was flailing about awkwardly, pirouetting wildly. Three lemurs were running all over him, the one on his head was bashing his helmet with a stone tied to a stick. One whisked around his arm and flowed onto his back. It must have found some ***** in the armour, as a second later, the soldier dropped like a stone. The three lemurs bounced off him and surveyed the party of heroes.
Gaze stared. The lemurs had chaotic stripes and circles and markings on their fur, the leader had some of the fur on his head pulled out in the suggestion of a Mohawk. He raised his stone on a stick and pointed it at them.
"The Lost Ones greet you, Light Warriors. You are invited to stay the night at our village. Travelling in the dark is not advised with the enemy about. Come!"
Gaze opened her mouth, then closed it again. Muse took over, leaning on Avenger as he still felt decidedly shot despite Gaze's ministrations.
"Yeah, sure, why not?"
The leader nodded and made a chattering sound. Gaze jumped when a medium sized jungle cat padded out of the shadows. She was amazed to see the lemur jump onto its back and tap its side with his feet. She wasn't sure, but she assumed it was a jaguar, if jaguars were in fact bright pink.
"You follow us, Light Warriors. We have much to discuss." The leader nodded to his two hench-lemurs and they disappeared into the dark. Muse started following the leader as he urged his jaguar to pad off. Dumbfounded, Gaze and the others followed into the darkening jungle.

Chillblaze rested his arms on the well-preserved metal railing, looking through his shades down the gargantuan drop below. Nearly a mile below, the awesome rings of the generator were roiling, spinning within each other's confines in different directions. At the heart, blinding in its intensity, was the star. Even behind his eyewear, Chill's eyes watered and he looked away. He slid a finger behind the lenses and rubbed the negative spots from his eyes.
"Silly weatherman! No look at sun. Make eyes all [censored]!" Esher said from where he was lying half in what must have been a service hatch. Chill half smiled at the lemurs who were all clustered about on the stone blocks that to his eye served no purpose whatsoever. They were all watching Esher with pricked ears and wide eyes, fascinated by him. Chill sat down with his back to the railing, arms resting on his knees.
"Find anything useful?"
"Machine alive."
"Oh? How can you tell?"
"Ffs, j00 n00b. Has puls0r."
Chill rubbed his neck with his hand and wiped his eyes again.
"That's kind of gross."
"J00 find where we at yet? Music man want to phone home. He are ET." Esher popped his head out of the service hatch and wiped gunk off his goggles. Chill watched as a violently blue centipede slipped out of the hatch and scurried away.
"Yeah, Shingi just threw me out so he could build the transmitter in peace. It wasn't easy though, let me tell you."
"No plz, Esher am needing teh candy. Give candy instead."
Chill laughed, as he hadn't intended to tell the young man anything of the sort. He checked his utility belt and found a packet of sweets.
"Here, I was saving them for if I got bored on a long flight. Eat them slowly, don’t know how long we'll be here after all."
"J00 am not need to tell Esher." The young man nearly grabbed the packet out of Chill's hand and then squirreled it away in a compartment of his large gauntlets. Chill's grin deepened. He was about to say something when a deep, concussive blast made the entire building shake. Chill had to grab the railing as he canted dangerously backwards.
"Whoa!"
Esher had grabbed his leg, seeing the other man start to fall backwards. They looked at each other, shades and goggles not hiding their surprised expressions. The lemurs had vanished, probably startled by the distant explosion.
"Chillblaze, Esher, this is Avenger, get out here now." The radios on their belts spoke simultaneously, putting Avenger's voice into stereo. Chill recovered from his surprise and scrambled up.
"We're on our way." He was relieved to find his voice calm and steady. He chided himself for the fright as he ran behind Esher to the ever-open exit, passing other blocks that served no function. He'd been able to fly for a good while now. Still, he was human, and humans had an instinctual fear of falling. Nothing wrong with a man having instincts. He half-grinned to himself, wondering who his inner monologue was trying to convince.
It took a few minutes to get out of the reactor, the cat-walk was obscenely long just from the sheer size of the place and after that was the corridor out. Rooms long deserted and devoid of any function other than centres of the lemurs' spirituality stood open on either side of them, vines and branches growing through the walls as they did everywhere but the reactor room itself. It may have made things a lot easier for the lemurs to get about, but scrambling over the branches slowed Chill down. He watched Esher pull ahead, the young man's incredible agility making the branches no obstacle.
Finally Chill emerged into the bright sunlight and looked around. Hovering over the building he'd come to think of as 'Space Lemur Control' were Avenger, Gaze, Muse and Shingi. He kicked off the ground and soared up to join them.
"Find out anything new?" Shingi asked, his visor pushed up. Chill shrugged.
"Esher says it's alive."
"What is?" Muse tore his gaze off the horizon and looked around at him.
"The reactor, he says it has a pulse." Chill let his own gaze stray around the horizon until he saw what had caught their attention. A thin column of smoke was rising from behind the hills.
"So maybe it needs a doctor rather than an engineer. Would you and Gaze take a look later?" Chill continued, still looking at the smoke. Gaze nodded.
"Muse should go ahead, I'm still inoculating the lemurs."
"Sure, I'll have a look. Not that I know a damned thing about reactors, but hey, nothing to lose, right?" Muse drifted closer to Avenger. Gaze nodded, then adjusted her hat.
"Right, Muse, you stay here with Immy, Jakey and Esh. Venji, Chill and Shin, you're with me." Gaze had her hand on her radio, making sure her instructions passed to everyone.
"Be careful, Gaze." Immemoria's voice came from the radio. He was down somewhere in the jungle, as were Esher and Jakey, but Gaze could almost picture his expression of concern.
"I will be." Her assurance gave Muse the time to squeeze Avenger's hand before diving down to the foliage. Shingi flicked his visor down with a grunt.
"This better not be some kind of alien invasion."
"Oh damnit, Shingi, now it's going to be one," Chill laughed. Gaze set off for the distant smoke, disappearing in a flash of light and reappearing some distance away. Avenger followed her, keeping close to his sister.
"How do you figure?" asked Shingi, as he and Chill settled down to a more sedate pace than the zappers.
"Murphy's law."
"That *******."
Gaze and Avenger were hovering over the trees when Chill and Shingi finally caught up to them. The four of them stared down at the ripped up trees in silence. A long furrow, maybe half a mile in length, had been torn up through the jungle. Lying in a smoking, steaming pile of fallen trees, was a ship. It was faintly triangular, but with organic curves and lumps on it. If it weren't for the fact it was crashed and half covered with tree trunks, it would be quite a graceful design.
"This is so your fault, Shingi," murmured Chillblaze under his breath.
"Like hell it is."
"Something's opening. I'll check it out." Avenger dived down and dropped to the ground, crouching for a moment. He straightened and adjusted his hat as he picked his way under the trees to the body of the craft. Gaze looked upwards.
"Venji, just be aware that the lemurs said they were under attack. These may be hostile."
"Yeap, sure, no problem."
"But if they need help, we'll assist."
"Yes Gaze."
"But be careful."
"Uh huh."
Chill and Shingi exchanged glances and Chill hoped he wasn't the only one tempted to grin widely at the siblings' exchange. He tipped his head back as he hovered, eyes half closed. There was another rain storm coming, the air pressure was rising and in the distance, thunderheads were gathering. He let his mind wander, considering the probable course and duration of the storm. A loud explosion below suddenly snapped his attention back to the here and now.
"Venji! What's going on?!" demanded Gaze, as surprised as Chill.
"Well … I'm guessing they're hostile. It was the way they fired a bazooka at my chest." Avenger sounded light, like an incendiary to the chest was a mild annoyance and nothing more. To be fair, they'd seen him take far worse and barely notice. Gaze suddenly dived down, shimmering into invisibility as she went. Chill and Shingi followed her. Shingi shut his jets off and his suit whined a bit as it powered up the defences.
"Hold on, Venji, we're coming-"
"Oh [censored]! DON'T COME IN HERE!" A strangled noise cut off his radio and Shingi barrelled into the ship.
"Venji!"
Chillblaze swore and darted after him, still flying. He reached out and grabbed Shingi's shoulder spar to be towed along by the armoured man. There was a 'tshing' sound as Shingi's carbon claws snapped out. The corridor in the ship was dark, and cables were hanging down in the way, probably knocked loose from the crash. One sparked dangerously close to Chill's hair and he flinched away. Ahead they could see three people lying on the floor. The poor light and occasional spark of electricity gleamed on armour plating covering the sprawled people. They were humanoid, slightly shorter than Chill. Shingi jumped over them without a second thought and hurried over to where a more familiar form was sprawled out on the decking. The Midnight Avenger lying on the ground was a rare sight, rare enough that it set both Shingi and Chillblaze instantly on guard.
"Move aside Shingi, you're blocking me," Gaze's voice muttered from Shingi's other shoulder. The scrapper moved aside apologetically, squinting down the dark corridor.
"I don't see anyone else here."
The air started to shimmer around Chillblaze as he cooled it around his body and heated it around his hands.
"What took him down?" he whispered, unable to see Gaze.
"Hang on, I'm finding out." Gaze was silent for a few moments, then they heard a sharp intake of breath down by Avenger. "We have to get out of here, now. He was forcefully drained."
Shingi muttered a black curse and sheathed his claws, stooping to lift Avenger onto his shoulder. It was always a surprise how small and light he was. They'd all seen Avenger brush off things that would kill a normal man, so much so that he always seemed bigger than he really was. Chill scooped up the purple duster from the floor, knowing Avenger would thank nobody for leaving it behind.
Clanking started to sound down the end of the corridor.
"I think it's time to get the hell out of dodge. Take Avenger and go. I'll hold 'em." Shingi suddenly heaved Avenger onto Chill. The blaster hadn't expected it and nearly fell out of the air when he struggled to keep hold of him.
"What? Leave all the fun to you?! No way!" Chill was tempted to dump Avenger back onto Shingi. Gaze made an exasperated sound.
"This isn't a testosterone contest! Get out both of you!"
"But who's going to hold them off?!" Both Shingi and Chill chimed in unison. They were luckily unable to see Gaze's expression.
"Avenger is."
The spark of consciousness shuddered through Avenger's body, surprising Chill into dropping him. The shorter man groaned and picked himself off the floor, taking his duster off Chill without even thinking about it and putting it back on his head.
"What hit me?"
"Some kind of sapping beam. We have incoming." Gaze took a deep breath after speaking and there was a radiant glow that outlined her invisible form for a second. The three men felt stronger and more alert immediately. Shingi unsheathed his claws and Chill ignited his fists. Avenger cracked his knuckles and stood at the fore.
"Um … guys, you're supposed to be leaving."
"Never!" Shingi declared fiercely. Avenger just grinned amiably.
"We'll be fine if we just stick together."
"I'll lay down suppressing fire. Not to mention suppressing ice." Chillblaze grinned winningly and nobody could see Gaze put her hand to her face and drag it down, shaking her head at them.
The clanking ahead grew louder and movement in the darkness betrayed the approach of the ship's crew or security, whichever they were. Shingi switched to night vision mode.
"Twenty inbound. Corridor only three wide. Time for that suppressing whatever, Chill."
"Ask and ye shall receive." Chillblaze threw his hands forward and a burst of super-heated air rocketed into the group, exploding violently against the metal wall. The bits of metal and melted electrics splattered out across the corridor, sizzling and pinging off the armoured attackers. Avenger set his stance and made a beckoning motion in a universal invitation to come get some.
"Let's see if you can knock my stylish hat off."
"Venji, they already did …" Shingi muttered. Avenger blinked.
"Oh … yes, you're right. That wasn't very nice of them." He then ran down the corridor at the wave of approaching crew, bringing his fist up. Shingi kept pace with him, lunging into the fray while their attention was solely on Avenger. Gaze was alarmed at the rate her friends and brother were getting hurt. The enemy's weapons were viciously effective, firing a kind of energy shot. She ducked when Chillblaze was thrown backwards by a violent explosion on the ground, turning immediately to lay her hands on his chest.
"I've got you, don't wor-"
Something hot hit her back and all she felt was the impact of Chill's chest on her own and then darkness.

Well done for winning Creative Genius!

Immemoria pushed open the door to Jakey's room, the corridors behind him quiet with the sounds of night. Jakey hadn't come around from his fit earlier and Gaze was still sat on the mess of leaves and downy fur that constituted his bed. She had Jakey's head in her lap and was silking some of his fur-like hair between her fingers as she looked out of the rubbled window.
"Still not awake?" Immemoria asked, watching her jump slightly. She looked back at him, her smile weak in the darkness.
"No, he's been out all day. Did anyone think of what to do with the reactor?" she asked. Immemoria closed the door behind him and walked over to her, climbing over two branches.
"Stalemate, right now. Nobody has a clue, unfortunately. I think Esher said something to the effect that maybe we could power it with candy."
"Heh, things must be getting desperate if even he's grasping at straws." Gaze looked down at Jakey. She sighed. Esher was an unconventional genius, but even he'd know that you couldn't power a star on sugar. It seemed hopeless that even his fevered imagination was coming up blank.
"Kate, you've been up for hours. You need some rest. I'll watch over Jakey for you." Immemoria didn't bother hiding his concern. Gaze closed her eyes for a moment.
"If he wakes …?"
"I won't call you. You need sleep. Now go to bed, general's orders."
"I'm a doctor, I can over-rule you."
"Only in matters of health, and your health is just as important as everyone else's. You're no good to anyone dead on your feet. Now go to bed." Immemoria smiled, but his tone was firm. Gaze half chuckled.
"Alright, alright. Fine. But when he wakes up, I will know about it. And I will come see him." She stuck her tongue out at him. He put his hands up in defeat.
"Ay ay ay, you women." He watched her as she walked past him and leave. A wistful expression crossed his face for a moment.
"Keep the thoughts clean, buddy," growled a voice from the bed. Immemoria jumped a bit, startled. He snapped his head around.
"You're awake?"
"For about an hour now."
"Oh." Immemoria climbed over a branch and sat in it where he could see the bed. He rested his arms on his knees. He hadn't expected Jakey to be awake and shamming sleep so well he'd fooled even Gaze. Or had she just been so tired that she hadn't noticed.
"Jakey K, we need to talk," he started. Jakey uncurled and stretched liberally, yawning wide to show his teeth more than was necessary.
"About what? You better be asking permission to court."
"You're not Kate's parents," said Immemoria flatly. He might not be so clued up onto human courting rules but he knew enough to know that one didn't have to ask permission of family members. However, he wouldn't feel right without at least meeting her parents or another senior family member.
"Good for you, hmm? That would make her a cat." Jakey started to lick his arm fastidiously, as if to make a point. Immemoria struggled to mask his annoyance. He hated talking to cats. They could be so … so … difficult.
"I want to talk to you about that 'fit' you had earlier." His tone clipped off, final. Jakey's ears pricked at it and he scowled, lowering his arm.
"Sometimes the magic-"
"That wasn't magic. Least not the variety people use daily. Your runes can't hold it any longer, can they?" Immemoria was bold enough to interrupt him, and it got his attention. Jakey's tail lashed.
"So you know?"
"I was sent here to kill you."
Silence stretched between them. Jakey had been caught off guard, a rare occurrence for him. He blinked.
"They sent you to kill me? Who's 'they'?" He sounded smaller. Immemoria sighed and jumped off his branch, landing on the bed and sitting down in easy mauling distance of the cat.
"'They' is the Fey Realm. They sent me because I'm General Immemoria Cinnamon, the most competent warrior in the army."
Jakey's expression was outright disbelieving as he stared at the fairy. Immemoria gave a small laugh and rubbed his temple.
"Yeah, I know I don't seem like much. One of my brothers convinced Father that I should have a suppressor chip implanted. I wasn't there for the discussion, so I don't know his reasons. But that's neither here nor-"
"You consented to having your powers suppressed when you knew you'd be facing me? Are you devoid of the merest intellectual spark in that thick, cavernous skull of yours!?" Jakey hissed, his tail puffing up. Immemoria blinked. Of all parts of the conversation, that hadn't been the part he'd expected the cat to latch onto.
"Uh … well … keeping our nation secret is-"
"A moot point! Everyone in arcane circles knows it's there. Jeez Louise, you bonehead! Your brother's trying to off you! Are you above him in line to the throne or something?!"
Immemoria was shocked and he opened his mouth before closing it. He pushed his fingers together.
"Uh … a little."
"How little is little?"
"I'm the crown prince," Immemoria reached up to scratch at his long ear. Jakey grabbed his hair with both his hands and let out a long, high groan sound.
"By all that's sacred in the world, why, why why why did you not question the sanity of going after me with your powers suppressed?!"
"Because it was the condition. I had to come. You're a danger to everything and everyone." Immemoria pushed aside Jakey's objections to him being suppressed. It wasn't relevant right now who did what and for what reason. Jakey hissed again, his tail lashing from side to side.
"I have it under contro-"
"Your control is slipping. That much was proved today. Damnit, Jakey, why did it have to be you?" Immemoria looked down at his hands, his voice bitter suddenly. Jakey was surprised again, his ears coming back up.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Immemoria laughed a little, still looking at his hands.
"I gave up everything, even my powers to come here and destroy you. And now I've found you and I … I can't kill you."
"Well, I am rather more than a matc-"
"It'd break Kate's heart." Immemoria said it quietly, like he hadn't even heard Jakey start his put-down. The cat closed his mouth, staring at Immemoria.
"You know what I am. It's your duty to kill me."
"I can't do it. She loves you. I won't hurt her like that. I can't hurt her like that."
"You romantic fool," Jakey hissed, but softly.
"You are the Light Bringer, Jakey K, the conduit by which Chaos enters the world. But you have no balancing force. Your attempts to stem the tide by yourself have bought time, nothing more. That time is running out. I know this. I can smell it on you. But I can't kill you."
"Nobody else knows," said Jakey flatly, "Human mage-craft hasn't reached the stage where they can monitor the deep cosmic balance. A few more decades, maybe, but now, they have no idea. You've been given your task and you have to do it. You can't throw away all life in the Universe for one woman."
"Maybe this one woman is worth it." Immemoria gasped when Jakey suddenly snapped his hand out and grabbed his arm, digging his nails in. He met the hard green eyes, fancying that for just a moment, he could see white fire burning deep in the pupils.
"You can't think like that. I can't kill myself. I tried. I couldn't do it. I've done everything I can to throw myself into danger, hoping that something would get me. I've gone up against the strongest, the fiercest, the most vicious opponents. Nothing's killed me yet. Something, someone always saves me." Jakey said it in a rush, his grip on Immemoria's arm painful in its tightness. The fairy stared at him.
"The runes are failing. I can't strengthen them any more. Even though I've set my minion and her apprentice on the right path concerning cosmic research … it's too late for me. General, you were sent here to do a job. If you love Gaze, you will kill me. She deserves life and to live. Don't you think I love her too?"
"I can't … not me …"
Jakey gave a small yowl and pushed Immemoria away, standing up sharply. The fairy looked at him, nursing his hand but already his intrinsic magic was sparkling through the bruises, wiping them away. The cat's tail lashed from side to side.
"If you won't kill me by choice, then I will force you to. Gaze is a wonderful woman, to be sure, but she is one woman. There is a Universe at stake. If I die, the balance is reset, and she'll live. If you ignore your duty and I survive, everything will fall apart."
"That's cruel."
"That's life, General Cinnamon." With that, Jakey turned and fled out of the window, disappearing into the night-time jungle. Immemoria gazed at the open ruin of the window and hung his head. He pulled his knees up and rested his arms on them then buried his face in them in total silence.

XD, that was great, Dante.

nicely done, very nicely done.

Go for it, Patriot! I want to see what you're going to come up with. X)

The trouble with comics is that you have to strike a balance between visual and literary impact. I write and draw a comic myself, and it's incredibly demanding, both in time and sheer work-load.

Prose structure allows for more 'waffle' if you will. Taking for example my prose story 'Cosmos', it's close to 60,000 words all told. Now, if I were to make it into a comic, it would take a week to do chapter one.

I've found that basically, comics are a brilliant medium for telling short stories. You don't overcrowd your art with words if you're telling a very simple, very quick story. My comic's first issue was a six page script, but when it came to drawing, three pages became 20.

Try not to compare novel writing and comic scripts against each other, they are two totally different disciplines. Each has its pros and cons. If you feel ambitious, do an epic comic, if you feel wordy, write a prose piece.

Basically, do whichever feels right to you at the time.

Since the answer about photobucket's already been answered, all that's left for me is to say I hope to see your drawing soon!

Drawing is fun for all!

XD yeah

Intriguing!

Nice hook and well paced. I sympathise with Green Scorpion. So could take them, yeah! Chew them in the ankles! They'll know true suffering, X)

D: daily bandwidth exceeded! Noooooooooooo!

*pauses, pistols smoking*

Me? Express emotion ever? XD

Yeah. I thought the music you used was a particularly nice touch.

Monte Cristo at Croatoa

I just love this.

Two weeks later

"Red! Red, stay with me!"
Hands grabbed the lapels of his coat and he felt Finch shaking him. It felt like it was coming from far away at first, gradually increasing until he stopped feeling so cold and numb.
"Finch …? I don't feel so good …" he mumbled.
"Red! Are you alright?!" Don Gerise's voice was laced with concern. It was rare for her to sound so emotional. Red forced his eyes to move to her, struggling to move his body.
"I think … I think it's in me." His words made both women go pale. Hands grabbed him up. Todd and Alex, his two 'dogs', helped prop him up on his feet.
"Are you okay, boss?"
"I've just been possessed, of course I'm not alright, you great banana." Red forced a smile. In the back of his head, he could hear a malicious whispering. There was something unholy loitering on the fringe of his consciousness.
"We need to get it out of you, and fast!" Finch sounded worried, more worried than she generally ever let herself sound. Red was touched.
She's first. We'll kill her first.
"The doc said I'd find extraction and containment equipment here." Red tried to ignore the whispering in his head as he pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Todd. Todd handed it immediately to Gerise, keeping his attention on keeping his boss standing. Gerise's icy blue eye narrowed as she glared at the card.
"Then let's get there fast." She turned sharply on her heel and headed down the tunnel to the entrance of the Council base.
"That [censored] set you up!" Finch nearly yelled, her cool completely out the window.
"Yeah … I was just considering that," Red murmured.
We'll kill her too when we're together. Stop resisting, I'll win in the end.
"She'll have to wait. First we get it out of Red's head." Gerise did not stop and look around as she spoke.
The reinforced Council tunnels gave way to bright sunlight. Red tilted his head down so the brim of his hat protected his eyes. He heard Gerise pulling on her stolen Raptor pack and let Finch help him into his.
"[censored] man, we'll meet you guys there." Falcon, Finch's hired muscle, bullied the other gangers away from the entrance. Red just nodded to his 'dogs' as they assured him they'd be waiting at the address for them. He pulled the control sticks around to the front and clicked them into place. There was a thudding whir as Gerise took off. Finch dithered, hanging back to make sure he took off safely. Red activated his pack.
Too slow
Red didn't get a chance to even yell before the world stripped away and black cold nothingness crushed in on all sides. He felt like his eyes were about to pop out of his head and he struggled to breathe. It couldn't have been any more than a second later that he tumbled out of the black nothingness over the airstrip in Cap Au Diable. Before he got a chance to yell for help, he was crushed into the void again. It was like he was being torn out of the world and slammed back into it. He popped back into the world next to Gerise and crashed into a wall, staggering wildly.
"Red, what the hell was THAT?!" Gerise grabbed his arm and steadied him. He coughed, his face an unhealthy pale colour.
"I don't even know …"
Finch landed by them a second later, pulling off her pack and dumping it on the ground. She didn't like Red's colour at all, he looked like that thing in his head was already screwing him up. She bit her lip against the multitude of curses she wanted to impart and instead put her fingers in her mouth, whistling sharply. Falcon and the rest of her boys came running.
"We're ready boss." Falcon gave Red a dubious look. Gerise nodded sharply and helped Red into the building.
"Joker, go ahead and see what's happening," she snapped. Her most muscled goon headed off around the corner without a word. Red smiled as brightly as he could.
"Hey, what's with all the tension. You'd think someone was in serious trouble here." He reached into his pockets and dumped extra clips in the hands of his dogs. Todd shoved them into the pockets of his jeans, making them stand out obviously. Alex checked his guns.
"Can we have cooler names, Red? Like Diamond and Joker?" he asked. Red rolled his eyes.
"Fine, Todd's 'dog' and you're 'wolf'. Ben, you can be 'cat'."
Ben just shrugged, code-names were not something he was particularly interested in. He was only around because he owed Red his life, having bet it on a hand of cards.
"Enough squabbling over names, get in now!" Finch bullied her men through the doorway and half dragged, half supported Red into the building. The clinical smell of the lab clashed with the smell of gun oil and the musty smell of combat fatigues. The Wild Cards all saw the Council soldiers marching towards them at the same time. Dual pistols were drawn, Red's shaking slightly but still raised.
The man at the head of the column smiled coldly, ignoring everyone but Red himself.
"Did you really think we'd let you go that easily? Kill everyone but the carrier. We're taking him back to base." With a flick of his hand, the commander motioned his men forward. Gerise scowled, she did not like to be ignored in these situations.
"Boys, teach him a little respect."
Gerise's goons grinned and lunged forward. They were flanked by Finch's men and Red's dogs formed a defensive line in front of their boss. Bullets flew in all directions, the ground became littered with spent shells. Finch pulled Red down out of the way of pressurised flame from one of the Council soldier's throwers.
"Don't worry, Red, I won't let them have you …" she whispered. Perhaps she didn't want him to hear it, but wanted to say it anyway. Red didn't answer her, just in case. He appreciated it though.
Kill them … kill them all … watch them scream. It's such a beautiful sound. You will regret trying to take me.
I'm already regretting it, you demon. Not for much longer though, eh? Either way.
In that, we are agreed.
Red pushed himself to his feet and emptied his clips into a soldier's face. He doubted he could resist the alien for much longer. Dr Percey had said something to the effect that there was a ninety minute grace period, but after that, the alien would have control. Red could almost hear the clock ticking away the precious seconds. His life, no, his very soul was in jeopardy.
How amusing … you are afraid for your soul. You.
I know true evil when I smell it, and you stink of it.
You flatter me. I think I will enjoy taking you for myself. You have interesting thoughts.
If I don't get there in time, I'm putting a bullet through my head. I'm not yours, and I won't ever be.
Oh don't be tiresome. If not you, I'll just take your … sister is it?
You're really bold now you've got some soldiers around trying to save you …
They are better trained than you, lowly little human. They will succeed and you will be mine. Let's end this little charade, shall we? There is no escape.
Red tried to ignore the insidious little voice in his head, reloading his guns. The sound of gunfire in an enclosed space was nearly deafening, he didn't hear the soldier break through the line and come at him until the very last moment. He yelled and threw himself backwards, slamming out his hand. Black energy shot from his palm and slammed into the man, throwing him backwards.
"What the [censored]!?" Finch must have seen it. Red remembered the exhaustive training his grandmother had given him. An attack from behind was usually more successful. Red went to jump over the man's head, but the world stripped away and slammed back. He realised that he was behind the entire row of enemies. He blinked and brought up his guns, emptying the fresh magazines into the backs of their heads. Caught in a crossfire, the soldiers went down. The commander fled, only to be brought down by two rounds square in the back of his neck. Finch blew the smoke off the barrels of her Desert Eagles and looked at Red.
"We need to find that extraction equipment."
"What was that … stuff, Red?" Gerise was frowning at him as she marched to him. Red shrugged.
"I don't know, and I don't want to find out."
"Fair enough."
The lab had more soldiers in it, clearly the Council desperately wanted their Nictus back. Despite the foul thing's whispers to the contrary, the Wild Cards gave the troops no quarter and presented less a group of thugs and punks and more a moving wall of bullets.
Finch and Gerise looked over the extraction device they'd found, figuring out how to work it while their henchmen guarded the doorways into the lab.
"Red, lie down on the bed," said Gerise finally, tapping a few buttons. Red took off his hat and laid it down on the side. He trusted his Don to know what she was doing. He pulled himself onto the bed and lay down on his back. Finch pulled a helmet-like pad on an articulated arm over Red's head. He lay still as she positioned it over his forehead.
"Containment field active, power supply good, we're good to do this." Gerise flicked more switches and turned a dial.
"It'll be over soon, Red. Just hold on a little longer." Finch was using her quiet voice again. Red smiled crookedly.
"Not about to let go just yet."
Oh very droll. This is quite sickening. I will almost be glad to leave your weak, human body.
You're just sore because you lost.
For now, Fukkatsu. For now. But I don't forget a bad turn, nor do I forget a smart-alec. I'll come for you one day-
I'm not afraid of dying, Nictus.
You misunderstand, I won't kill you. I'll make you live, thoroughly against your wishes, ninja.
The sudden silence after the Nictus' harsh rebuttal filled Red's head. Blessed solitude. As quickly as the feeling of sickening evil had seeped in, it had seeped out. He pushed the apparatus away from his head and sat up stiffly.
"There, it's all in the containment field. Dr Percey had better be paying you a hell of a lot for this, Red." Gerise made sure the floating mass of black energy was safely contained and turned to him. Red looked over her shoulder at the Nictus. It didn't look so harmful now, just a slowly whirling tangle of energy. He pushed aside the sensation it gave him. The Nictus had prowled through his memories, but just as easily, had revealed itself to him. He didn't want to dwell on what he'd seen.
"Best go and collect then." He pushed himself off the bed and pulled his hat back on, his grin returning. Finch scowled.
"Yes. Let's go collect." Her tone promised pain for the doctor. Red didn't comment, as far as he was concerned, Percey probably deserved a black eye or three. He unclipped the containment jar from the extraction machine and hooked it under his arm.
"Can't keep a lady waiting. Off we go!"

Author's Note: there have been some unfortunate comments about my mastermind's 'prettiness'. The Author does not approve, but does acknowledge that yes, he is short and he is pretty if you like that sort of thing. :P It's not his fault! He doesn't have good genetics for tall, 'get the hell out of my face' presence.

Shouting outside the cell was the first indication that not all was well in the Zigurski Prison. Red sat up from where he'd been lounging on his berth, listening to the guards yelling frantically. Their voices held a note of panic he didn't often hear. A smile curved his soft lips. He was sharply handsome with a trim beard and well tended hair, handsome enough to have problems in the all male wing of the prison. Over and over again, he'd blessed his grandmother teaching him a variety of highly unpleasant ways to jab someone with your fingers. He got hassled, but nobody had dared go through with their crude threats or suggestions. Not yet, anyway.
"The Longbow squad is inbound!"
Red watched as a prison officer ran past his door. A moment later, a man with black armour and a distinctive helmet ran past. Out of Red's sight, he heard a meaty smack sound. He got to his feet, slipping his hand under the pillow where he kept a large, razor-edged shard of glass. His dark, slanted eyes narrowed as the armoured man came back, holding what looked like a mace. The end of it crackled with red energy. The man turned his head to look at Red. The fang-like prongs at the front of the helmet and row of beady red 'eyes' caught Red's attention.
A soldier of Arachnos. Curiosity called Red to his feet, but the soldier left. Red drifted to his cell door and craned his neck to try and see down the walkway where he'd gone. A moment later, his cell door hissed and slid open. Red snapped his hands back and looked at the door dumbly for a second. Then every nerve-ending seemed to turn on and his heart raced. He felt alive again after months of being as the living dead.
It was time for a jail-break!
He darted out of the cell without looking back. His clothes would be in the locked storage room. He didn't have to worry about how to get through the door though, as another escapee was already ripping the door off its hinges in a display of inhuman strength. Red hung back. That must be one of the 'super' villains he'd heard so much talk about, the ones that lived in the special wing. Red was no fool, he stayed well clear until the powerful man had gone in and taken what was his. Once he was gone, Red slipped in and looked around the storage room. Huge racks of industrial strength shelves stood at regulated intervals. It was very boring and ordered. Red found the box with his own affects finally, in the 'F' shelves. He took the clothes and looked around. The corner of the room looked like it offered enough privacy to get changed. He nipped into it and started pulling off the bright orange coveralls that constituted the prison uniform. He knew this was a dangerous time. The chaos of a prison break could serve as cover for any number of foul deeds and settled scores, it was a time of anarchy and natural selection.
As if his anxious thoughts summoned them, a gang of older men burst into the room.
"Get your [censored] and be quick about it, you [censored]. We're getting out of here." The speaker sounded breathless with excitement. Red hoped it was his imagination, but he thought he could smell blood. The sound of rummaging and clatter of boxes didn't cover the chatter of the men.
"Gonna bag me a Longbow. Those bastards got it coming!"
"I'm gonna find Officer Norbert and break his head."
Red pulled on the coat that was his trademark and gave him his name. It had been a gift from Gerise Senior, the only father he'd ever known. He grabbed his hat up and stuffed it onto his head.
"Hey!" The rough voiced leader's voice made Red start. The man hurried around the corner of the shelves and blocked off Red's only exit. His smile was small and brutal, "Don't you look dapper?"
Red drew himself up, his Japanese parents had granted him none of the height required to be imposing.
"Get the hell out of my way," he said sharply. The man's smile widened a bit and he cracked his knuckles. On the left breast of his vivid orange coveralls was the icon that placed him in the meta block. He was a meta-human. Red was not.
"Who's going to make me, princess?" The man eyed him with the look of a man who'd been inside so long that anything concave would do. Red flicked his hat up slightly and gave the man an amused smile even though a feeling of dread was welling in his stomach.
"Didn't you know? Lady Luck works for me."
"Does she now?" The man looked honestly amused, prowling closer. His hands started to flex and Red could feel the concrete under his feet shift. He snapped his eyes down and swore. He tried to lunge away, up onto the shelves, when the concrete burst and briars snapped up and lashed around his lower legs. The thorns bit in through his trousers and Red grabbed onto the shelf, trying to pull free.
"I think she's favouring me right now, she's a fickle one," the man drawled. He thought he had the advantage, which to be fair, he did.
"What is it, boss?"
"[censored] off and meet me in the yard, you [censored]-eating losers. Something's come up and I want to see to it." As the man barked at his subordinates, making them scatter, Red closed his mouth tightly and tried to work up some saliva. As he did so, he muttered something in Japanese.
"Saying your prayers?" The man was unzipping his coveralls as he came closer, looking eager. Red opened his eyes, letting him come within touching distance. He felt the wall slam against his back as the man shoved him into it. As their bodies pressed together, the man's hands groping down his sides, Red lunged forward and bit the soft skin where his neck met his shoulder. His fury was enough for his teeth to break the skin, letting his saliva into the wound.
The man screamed as the wound flared with white hot pain. The thorns raked Red's legs and he had to lock his arms around the man to keep him from pulling away. The poison in his saliva worked its way through the man's body and the briars loosened, falling away. Red dropped the man with contempt. When his body crumpled onto the concrete, Red rearranged his coat huffily and wiped his lips.
"Yes, actually. Next time you get horny, don't pick a poison ninja as your victim." Red took great care to stamp on the man's face as he left. There was always one who thought he could take whatever he wanted. Metas were just about the worse for it. If they weren't a 'Hero' and beating you up for 'justice', they were some bullying *******. Red hurried out of the storage room and ran towards the infirmary. He didn't want to have to go around biting anyone else who gave him grief, not just because people left a funny taste in his mouth he would rather do without. As he rounded the corner of the infirmary, he saw a tall, red-headed woman in a white suit. Even if she'd been looking away, he'd know her just by her stance.
"Don!" He broke into a smile as he ran over to her. The tall woman blinked and looked down at him, her one remaining ice-blue eye looking him over.
"Red." As if they'd not been separated for months, she looked over the chaos of escaping prisoners with a distant expression, "have you seen any of the others?"
"No, heard we were all split up into different prisons," Red said. Don Gerise turned a small canister over and over in one hand. The motion of her fingers made the tattoos on the back warp and twist. She nodded sharply.
"We need to get out of here and start over. Any ideas?"
Red thought fast.
"The Rogue Islands. We can probably blag a lift from the nice gents who are breaking out the metas."
Don Gerise frowned tightly, her finger hooking itself into the ring on the canister almost of its own accord.
"Isn't that where Arachnos makes base? I have no intention of grovelling to that one," she said. Red nodded.
"We don't have to. I know a guy we can talk to. We could do worse than being a small fish in a big pond for a while. Build up our man power again, recruit among the Rogue Islanders, safe from crazy vigilantes." Red was rewarded by a rare smile from his leader. Gerise might have been beautiful if it wasn't for the livid scars on the left side of her face. 'Formidable' was a word that better described her, but to Red she was family.
"You know a guy everywhere. Very well, let's get our pieces and blow this lousy joint."
"Sure thing."
It was not even ten minutes later that Red Coat and Don Gerise were running down the length of the prison exercise yard. They didn't stop for a moment, even though other prisoners were breaking out all over the place. Prisoners, high on the taste of freedom, came lunging for them every so often, to be brought down by four handguns. Red ducked when a man swung a piece of piping at him, rolling forward as Gerise fired both her pistols into the man's face. She grabbed his arm and helped haul him to his feet, running on.
A pilot for one of the Arachnos fliers was screaming orders at the milling confusion of metas and his troops. Red slipped through the mess and found the pilot.
"What's the hold up?!" he asked. The pilot turned to him in irritation then looked him up and down. Whatever he saw, it seemed to be enough for him to answer Red.
"I can't take off without my co-pilot, Jenkins. The idiot was supposed to be blowing that radar dish so we can make a clean getaway."
Red turned to look where he was pointing. Gerise caught his eyes and nodded slightly. Red looked back at the pilot.
"We'll go see what's taking him so long if you take us to the Rogue Islands, me and the Don."
The pilot gave a ghost of a smile.
"Sure. Just knock out that dish and drag my co-pilot here kicking and screaming if you have to."
Red resettled his hat and nodded to Gerise. She backed away from the metas, glaring at one until he thought better of arguing with her and just got out of the way. Red slipped after her. They reached the radar station easily and Gerise grabbed the back of Red's collar when he opened the door.
"Red, just remember you don't just represent yourself."
"Yes Don." Red grinned up at her. She lifted one eyebrow, the eye-patch covering her missing eye rising with it.
"I mean it. You are often hasty when you should stand back," she said. Red nodded. It was a fair assessment of his disposition, but things were different now it was just the two of them. Gerise let go of his collar and entered the station. He hurried to follow her.
Inside, the station was quiet but for the hum and blip of machinery down the corridor. Red unholstered his twin Desert Eagles and ghosted close to the wall, Gerise a step behind him. Voices close by made him frown and crouch by the corner, turning his head to listen.
"Who are you here to bust out? Talk!"
"I'm a trained Arachnos soldier, I could eat you two for breakfast!"
There came the sound of a rifle being prepped.
"With a side of pineapple fritter."
Red straightened and cocked his guns. He looked back at Gerise and nodded. She half smiled and they both broke cover at the same time. Their guns spoke simultaneously. One of the two Longbow sergeants went down, grabbing at his chest impotently. Gerise threw one gun up and grabbed something off her belt. She brought the canister to her mouth and tore the pin out with her teeth, lobbing it in time to catch her gun again. The home-made grenade exploded, smothering the remaining Longbow with a cocktail of polymer strands and resin glue. He swore and tried to scrape the muck off him as the two gangsters opened fire.
The Arachnos soldier peered down at the two fallen Longbow.
"[censored] … that was quick."
"Are you Jenkins?" She looked to Red when the man nodded, "check him over."
Red approached Jenkins and found he had several bruises on his face from a rifle butt being slammed into it. He reached into his pocket and took out a vial.
"Here you go, some good poison to pick you right up." He squirted the slightly gooey substance onto his hand and rubbed it over the bruises. Jenkins flinched and blinked at the tingling feeling on his skin.
"Who the hell are you guys?"
"The ones saving your [censored]. We have a bomb to set, let's go." Gerise strode off, her guns still out. Red hurried after her, grinning.
"I see they let you near a work bench for two minutes." He nodded to the small canisters hanging from Gerise's belt. She smiled crookedly and glanced down at him.
"Where did you get a chance to mix up your poisons?" she asked.
"I volunteered to play 'nursie' in the infirmary." Red grinned wickedly. Gerise chuckled, ignoring the Arachnos soldier who tagged along behind them.
"They clearly didn't know us very well."
"And they deserve everything they get tonight because of it," Red said. They entered the control room and four pistols and a shock mace flattened the three security guards in there before they had a chance to even reach their own guns. Gerise holstered her matched Desert Eagles and took out a cigar. She lit it as Jenkins wheeled a barrel of flammables into the control room. Red tweaked a timer on the side, but to be honest, most of the work had already been done. He attached it to the barrel and set the time.
"Alright, time to get the hell out of Dodge."
"Excellent." Gerise followed them out, flicking the cigar back over her shoulder as she went.

Just watched this, man, it was brilliant.

And now I HAVE to play my MM. Thugs for life! XD

You remind me how GOOD it is to be bad.

Author's Note: Freddy Mercury told me that it's a kind of magic. I'm not sure what he meant but Alice Cooper invited me to a house of fire and then Iron Maiden screamed no more lies. I'm pretty sure that sums up my thought processes somehow.

"Okay, we've been to the reactor, this is what we know." Shingi stood up from the floor and went to the wall. He took out a piece of chalk and started to draw large rings around a squiggly ball in the centre. Chillblaze leaned back against one of the branches of the vines that ran through the room, eating grapes. Gaze, with Immemoria by her side as ever, looked attentively at the looping lines.
"It's very pretty, Shingi, but what does it mean?"
"It's a star, alright. The fuzzy butts had it bang on right." Shingi glowered at his diagram. Avenger put up a hand tentatively.
"A star? How'd they get a star in a building? Aren't they supposed to be massive?"
"They are. It's basically some kind of hyper condensed star seed if you will. It would have enormous potential energy, and that's what's powered everything for who knows how long." Chillblaze sat up so he could reach for the mangoes. Muse passed them to him absently, staring at the diagram.
"So what does that mean?"
"It means there's nothing we can do." Shingi sat down grumpily next to Esher, rubbing his beard. Immemoria frowned.
"Nothing at all?"
"Our technology is nowhere near compressing stars to pop them into massive gyroscopes. I think it's just dying, like it's just too old."
"Stars are basically big nuclear explosions, right? Can't we work on that?" Immemoria pressed, looking concerned. Shingi gave him a black look.
"It'd take an explosion of all the warheads on Earth multiplied by a thousand just to make it flicker."
Gaze put her hand on Immemoria's.
"Might your people have a solution?" she asked. Everyone looked at Immemoria speculatively, except Jakey who sat hunched up in the branches of a vine, looking distant.
"You know my people don't get involved in the affairs of others. Besides, I have no way to contact them." Immemoria gave Gaze an apologetic look. She sighed and squeezed his hand. She hadn't meant to remind him that he was, to all intents and purposes, abandoned by his people.
"So we can't fix the generator … should we start looking into alternate forms of energy for the lemurs?" asked Muse. Shingi rubbed his beard again, staring out of the open wall at the lush jungle and ruins.
"I don't know how we're going to make any new form of energy interface with the existing tech."
"The lemurs don't really need all that stuff though. Maybe it's time they stopped depending on their ancestors and started advancing for themselves."
"Their whole culture is based around this stuff, you can't just strip that away, it'd be more damaging than us bringing the common cold here!"
"You vaccinated them against the common cold?"
"And you against lemur pox."
"Is that what that was?"
"Ew, fuzzy butt pox …"
Motion caught Gaze's eye and she looked away from the argument of the others to see Jakey suddenly dart out the open wall, fleeing through the branches. She frowned tightly.
"Please excuse me guys, call of nature."
The others didn't even notice her small comment, Immemoria and Shingi now in heated argument over the merits of religion for species cultivation. She shook her head as Muse tried to break up the increasingly fervent arguing, glad someone was trying to play peacemaker. She slipped out of the heavy wooden door. It seemed the moment to wonder what the Ancestors had treated the wood with that made it last for countless ages. Some of their furniture even survived. She patted the wood as she closed the door. They must have been so advanced. She sighed inwardly at that thought. So advanced that they didn't have a clue how to fix their machines. She felt like a caveman being called out to repair a car.
She started picking her way through the corridor, stepping over thick branches that had grown across it and ducking under others. Occasionally a lemur would scamper past, usually a mother with her young. The inner halls, where it was safer, were usually the domain of the mothers and expecting mothers. It made Gaze smile a little at such alien chivalry. But of course, it only made sense for the lemurs to protect the next generation as much as they could, to ensure their survival. Gaze preferred to think of it as more high-minded than basic instincts.
She cleared her throat when a mother passed her, the tiny infant clinging to her back.
"Excuse me?"
"Eee, hello, hello. My baby is sick. The spike you gave him has made him ill." The mother sat on her haunches. Gaze bit her lower lip, kneeling down so she could look the lemur in her wide eyes.
"Yes, he'll be a little ill, but it will make him much better in the long run. There are bad sickness where we come from, and we don't want you all getting them." She had explained this earlier, but mothers could get fretful over the health of their offspring. The mother.
"I believe. The healer said you used medicine."
Gaze blinked.
"The healer?" She hadn't met any lemur claiming to be the healer. The mother nodded.
"In the chamber of healing. She say 'inoculation'. I believe. Giant female is also healer."
Gaze stored that information away for a bit later. She'd very much like to be introduced to this 'healer'.
"I'm looking for one of my friends, the littlest one, who wears the patterned metal over his skin. Do you know where he is?"
"Always know where that one is. He smell like danger, like the shadows that creep behind silent until they strike too fast to avoid … oh dear, oh dear." The mother started scrubbing at her face in a gesture that Gaze had come to learn meant fear. She felt bad for the lemurs, but Jakey couldn't change what he was any more than they could.
"Where is he?"
"That way. In chamber that is his."
Gaze nodded her thanks to the mother and wished her infant a speedy recovery. She straightened and headed for Jakey's room.
"Jakey, J … are you alright?" Gaze pushed the door to his apartments open, looking anxious. It wasn't like Jakey to suddenly run out of debriefing. What was wrong with him these days? She stopped sharply when she saw him hunched over on his knees in the middle of the floor. His arms were locked around his middle and blood glistened faintly on his lip. The carved runes on the metal of his armour were glinting unnaturally.
"Jakey?!" She ran into the room and crouched by him.
"Get away …" he spat, like he was forcing the words past an obstruction in his throat. Gaze ignored him, putting her hands on his shoulders. She had to know what was wrong with him. She gently opened her extra senses to him. The feelings hit her like a sledgehammer, making her head spin.
Pain.
Grief.
Fury.
She reeled back slightly, like she'd taken a physical blow to the face.
'Get away from me! Get Esher! I need Esher now!' It felt less like his thoughts, more like her own. There was a sound of bending metal, a long, popping groaning sound.
Violence.
Gaze could feel something building in Jakey and almost on reflex, an emotion of her own suddenly exploded out of control.
Fear.
She felt the wall smack against her back before she realised she'd moved. She pressed against it, her hands scrabbling against the stone. This wasn't a fear she'd encountered before, it was primordial, from the deepest part of her brain that slept most of the time. There was a predator close by, a hunter who had claws for striking, teeth for tearing. She could almost smell her own blood now.
"ESHER!" She barely recognised her own voice, it sounded hysterical. Once voiced, she couldn't stop screaming his name. It seemed too long before the door banged open. She saw Avenger running to her and threw herself up, launching herself into her twin's arms. He'd keep her safe. Behind her, there was a sound of metal popping and she snapped her head around.
Jakey's gauntlet was lying in razor-edged pieces on the carpet. His hand was curled in pain. White fur and black stripes stood out starkly as his hand crunched, the fingers thickening and nails spearing into hooked claws. His shoulders were straining in the metal, she could see it starting to give like a seed's covering on time-lapse.
"What the Hell's going on!?" Shingi's voice demanded. Gaze could only watch as Jakey's mouth opened, revealing his sharp, killing tearing teeth. He let out a bellowing roar that belonged to a tiger, not a house cat, only deeper, louder. It shook the stones.
Esher suddenly ran past she and Avenger, skidding down in front of Jakey. He grabbed his head in both his hands and planted his forehead to his. Gaze wanted to scream at him to get away. Jakey was in no way himself. He was an animal designed to kill other animals. She watched in horror as Jakey's hands seized Esher's shoulders, the claws screeching on the metal plates that protected them. He panted, making low growl noises. Esher did not move away from him, just held his head and Gaze could barely hear him whispering something to the cat.
"I … I have no idea!" Avenger's voice sounded distant, even though he was holding his sister against him, his shoulder turned towards the pair on the carpet.
"Gaze, what the hell happened?!" Chillblaze arrived, or had he been behind Avenger the entire way. She felt too disorientated to tell.
"He just … he just … " She couldn't begin to put it into words. Jakey, her friend and comrade through more dangers than she could count, terrified her. She gulped, trying to master the fear. A hand rested on her shoulder.
"It's alright, Gaze, we're all here with you." Muse's voice was comforting. The twisting knot of fear loosened. This was no time to lose her cool.
"What happened?"
"I think Jakey induced panic in her to get her to go away." Muse's voice sounded a little distant. Gaze felt suddenly ashamed and swallowed, her body shaking after the mess of too-strong emotion. She felt like she'd run five miles too fast.
"Kitty am sleepy-tyme now." Esher's voice drew their attention. He was holding Jakey against him where the cat had slumped. His hand was back to normal and he no longer filled the room with his presence. The runes on his armour smoked slightly and there was the ticking sound of heated metal cooling. Gaze stepped out of Avenger's arms, startled to find everyone grouped around her.
"I'm … I'm alright. Esher, what did you do?" Her voice shook more than she wanted to.
"Kitty and Esher know." From the final tone in his voice, Gaze knew that was all he'd ever tell her. That the two of them knew.

Author's note: Sorry it's been a while, I've been trying to get a job so my mind has been at north and south lately.

"This is ridiculous," said Shingi as he settled his suit in a chair, for lack of a proper stand. Esher started to stray near it and he turned and swatted him away.
"There's some food in the main room, why don't you go bother them out there?"
"There am no candy!" Esher did not have to remind Shingi that he didn't eat with other people. The young man jumped onto Shingi's bed and started bouncing up and down industriously. Shingi grimaced and headed out to join the others. As Esher had pointed out with much disappointment, there was no candy or anything remotely processed. Shingi frowned at the small mountains of fruits, nuts and berries.
"Don't tell me, they're vegans."
"Alright, we won't tell you," Immemoria said with a grin, his hood and mask down to reveal a surprisingly masculine face. His largely black skin showed up the white of his teeth starkly when he grinned. He picked up what looked like a mango and with a twist of both hands, pulled it into two halves. One of these, he offered to Gaze.
"They were very worried they didn't supply enough for us to eat, what with us being 'giants' and all," Gaze added. She bit into the mango and had to hurriedly put her hand up to her chin to catch the juices that dribbled down it.
"Where's Chill and J?" Shingi didn't feel hungry enough for the healthiest all-he-could-eat of his life. Immemoria jerked his thumb at the balcony against the open wall behind him.
"Discussing triangulation, or something." He made a contented noise as he ate his mango half. Shingi stalked past the pair of them, a scowl so black on his face that he might as well have been trailing a black thundercloud over his head. Chillblaze and Jakey were indeed out on the balcony, the latter was hopping along the vine branches, using his hands and feet much like the lemurs.
"J's getting in touch with his inner tiger," said Chillblaze, grinning at Shingi when he arrived.
"It's not an inner tiger if you're a cat." Shingi watched as Jakey took a rocketing leap and disappeared down into the foliage.
"If you say so."
"Where's he going, anyway?" Shingi asked, leaning over the crumbling railing to try and catch sight of the armoured cat through the leaves.
"He's hungry."
"There's masses of food in the- … oh." Shingi sometimes forgot that his friend wasn't a human and therefore not an omnivore.
"Yeah. I think Gaze tried to explain it to the space-lemurs, but … man, their huge, adorable eyes …" Chillblaze chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Space-lemurs? You know, I've been thinking about them and their cutesy ways." Shingi folded his arms, looking dark, "Come nightfall, I bet they're going to turn into huge … werelemurs or something. With massive teeth and a thirst for blood that is never satisfied!"
Chillblaze looked at Shingi through his sunglasses.
"Uh … what?"
"It happens in every Science Fiction movie. You can't trust something so adorable at face value, because when you let your guard down, they'll eat your spine out!"
"We could offer them Avenger to eat, they'll go off the idea as soon as they break their teeth on his skin."
"Who's planning to sacrifice me to ravening alien monsters?" Avenger asked as he joined them, holding a stone bowl of grapes and strange spiky fruit with a hard outer shell. Muse could be heard talking to Immemoria and Gaze in the main room behind him.
"Shingi thinks the space-lemurs are werelemurs and are going to ear our faces off." Chillblaze grinned in the face of Avenger's rising eyebrow. The invulnerable man shrugged and ate a grape.
"Well, it's not out of the realms of possibility. Permission to feed me to the savage aliens granted, but on the condition that you do my paperwork for a month."
"Oh what the Hell?! That's not any kind of fair! You're invulnerable! Pens hurt my hand!" Shingi spluttered. Avenger chuckled happily and offered him one of the spiky fruit. A second later, it burst on his forehead when Shingi threw it back out of pique.
"So anyway, I came out here to ask you if you can build a radio or something so we can call home. Muse is worried sick about Cleo," Avenger said it off-hand, but both Chillblaze and Shingi could tell that he was also worried about the baby. Even if there hadn't been a slight nuance to his tone, they'd have suspected anyway. Avenger generally made no secret of how attached to his adopted daughter he was.
"Can do."
Avenger nodded and looked up at the large planet that dominated much of the sky, eying the bands of colour that crossed it diagonally.
"Any luck we're in our own solar system?" he asked, hopefully. Chillblaze shook his head.
"From what I can see of the planet, it's the wrong colour to be Jupiter, doesn't have Saturn's rings and the sun's too big for it to be Neptune or Uranus."
"Thought not," Avenger sighed and looked out over the jungle, "J gone to kill small defenceless things for his lunch?"
"Yeap. Think that'll go down well with the natives?"
"Hey, they called us here, they'll have to just deal with it."
Night came quickly, twilight barely lingering before the sun descended and disappeared. Chillblaze nodded wisely and said that this was because they were on the moon's equator. About an hour after the sun had gone down, the planet set as well, leaving the night sky to open up in a blaze of colour.
"Whoa! Look at that!" Chillblaze pointed up at the sky, Muse standing beside him.
"What am I looking for?"
"See that ribbon of colour? That's an aurora borealis! Here, on an equator! That's awesome!" Chillblaze grinned widely. Jakey scrambled up some of the vines, crouching as he peered upwards.
"Look at all the shooting stars …"
"Must be things hitting the defence shield," Shingi muttered, rubbing the stubble on his cheeks.
"Where's Gaze?" Avenger looked around, fairly sure his sister would like to see the pretty night sky. Muse cleared his throat and slipped his arm around his partner's waist, leaning against him.
"She's probably surrounded by small adorable fluffy things."
"I are fluffy thing." Esher pulled on the end of Jakey's tail, making the cat hiss on reflex at him. With a gleeful squeak, he jumped headlong off the balcony and went streaking through the foliage with the agility of a monkey. Jakey tore off after him.
"Get back here, you bugger!"
"Whee! Kitty not catch Esher!"
Chillblaze chuckled, leaning his elbows on a branch and watching the flurry of motion that was Esher and Jakey.
"Least they're having fun."
"Esher and J could have fun in an empty, square white room. They egg each other on," Shingi growled, taking out a pad and mechanical pencil, looking up at the sky, "Hey Chill, is that Orion?"
"No, that's Hercules. I can't see Orion."
"Still, it's a start."
Muse smiled as the two scientists got down to trying to hash out their location. He rested his head on Avenger's shoulder, stilling the worry for his daughter. She was with Winter's and her 'sister'. If there was a problem, they both knew how to handle themselves and they'd take the baby to the base where she'd be surrounded by some of the finest, if not necessarily sanest, heroes he'd ever met.
"You know … it's really beautiful here," murmured Avenger, watching as Jakey and Esher's turbo-charged race through the canopy drew some of the youngest lemurs to try and match them or even catch them.
"Let's hope it stays that way," Muse sighed, making Avenger look down at him slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"Gaze is worried about cross-infection. She's off working on booster shots for us."
"Where's that Rogue Islander?" Avenger suddenly remembered they had a potential unfriendly with them and looked around, like he expected to be jumped on from the shadows any second.
"He's with her, helping her find the necessaries."
"You both seem to be trusting him very easily …" Avenger tugged Muse away from Shingi and Chillblaze a bit, finding a branch to sit on. Muse nestled against him, arms around his waist loosely.
"You couldn't see it?"
"See what?" Avenger frowned, growing tense again. Was there something he was supposed to see?
"The way they don't touch each other and never quite meet each other's eyes? They're in love." Muse said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Avenger opened his mouth, then shut it with a click. He let the words tick over for a few minutes.
"And we're okay with this?" he asked. Muse straddled his lap so he could look him in the eyes, his arms around his neck loosely.
"We are. I'm sure Gaze knows that if she ever needs her brother to rush in and uphold her honour, she'll tell you. Don't even think about holding him up against any walls until she does." Muse poked him between the eyes. Avenger looked slightly put out.
"Not even a little bit?"
"No. You've got a reputation, you might give him a heart-attack or something. Be nice."
Avenger sighed and decided to back down from this one for now. He suspected he was not going to get permission to frighten the life out of his sister's 'boyfriend' from Muse. Jakey and Shingi, however, would probably help hold him down.
"Fine. I'll be nice."
"Good. I trust you to handle this delicately. I'm going to get more of those really good cherry things." Muse kissed Avenger's forehead and got up to go back into the main room. Avenger leaned back in the branches for a moment, sighing and looking up at the stars beyond the leaves. A tendril of the aurora borealis passed over his vision and he closed his eyes. Gaze sure knew how to pick 'em.

[ QUOTE ]
MAY - Swissy, for the idea, great posture & such a great finish Orina

For when June nominations come around:

JUNE - Jakey_K, excellently drawn & painted Gingerbread Cat!


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slightly on a tangent, but Gingerbread Cat wasn't done with paint. I use pencil crayons, ^_^;;

[ QUOTE ]
His second one looks like hes got boxers on his head xD

Maybe he really should be called Pantsman

But yeah, thats the real deal alright

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I am so glad I'm not the only person to think that ...

I just love your stuff ...

that's brilliant!