First Hybrid
by Shrike
Part 5
After my
little nap I jumped back into the air and headed toward Kansas City. Late in the
afternoon I spotted the city and veered off to my right, towards Raytown. Though
it was already getting a bit dark, I had no problem spotting Longview Lake and
I-50 behind it. I decided to get a bit more altitude to spot my next point and
soon saw the distinctive the shape of some farm storage piles, like a pair of
white clover leaves near my parent’s home. Right after that I spotted the
airfield as well and made my way to the house.
I
didn’t go in just like that though. Landing in the top of a nearby tree, I
watched the house. I couldn’t see anybody around, but it didn’t mean that
there wasn’t anyone there. The secret service mostly watched the place, and if
not then there should still be someone around, probably Barry Evans an old
family friend and former secret service, or Sandy Schofield, my old nanny.
I
watched the house patiently until it got really dark outside. The lights stayed
off, except for the automatic ones that meant that probably nobody was home.
Still, I didn’t want to take any chances, so gliding down the wall to where I
knew the telephone cable would be, I cut the line and quickly took to the air
again. This time I circled above the house looking out for signs if someone was
in the house. Still, everything was quiet, so I guessed that nobody was home.
I made a
soft landing on the balcony of my own room and found the key I’d hidden there.
Because I’d coated it in grease and oil it was still free of rust. I let
myself in my room and quickly went over to the security system panel. Quickly, I
typed my code and the system shut off normally. ‘Good,
my codes still work. Now a shower is in order. I feel dirty and icky all over.’
I took
off what little I was wearing, the makeshift panty and oversized cut off T-shirt
being in pretty bad shape. I looked at the discarded clothes. I didn’t like
them, but they were all I had. I didn’t think any of my old clothes would fit
me.
As I
walked towards the shower, I saw myself in the mirror. I stopped for a moment. I
was dirty and my hair was a mess. Still I was quite a looker. If I had seen
myself when I was still a boy, I would have hit on me in a heartbeat. Staring at
my reflection, I was torn between admiration and sadness. ‘I am a girl now.
That’s a fact I can’t deny any more.’
I hadn’t given any thought yet to what I would do after I faced my
parents, but now that I was about to do just that, I found myself thinking about
it.
Shaking
myself out of my reverie, I went to the big shower in the main bathroom. Dad had
it specially built to let several people shower at once. I took my time and
really scrubbed myself clean. Not only did I want to get rid of the dirt and
gore from the fight, but also the semen and sweat from the love making with Bear
was still icky-sticky. ‘Darn, now even I call it love making.’ I
shook it out of my head and scrubbed myself some more.
Finally
I thought that I was clean enough and as I dried off, my eye fell on an old
hairbrush Mom kept here. I picked it up and straightened out my hair, brushing
it while using the hairdryer I also found. As I was busy with that I looked into
the bathroom mirror and suddenly I realized, ‘I’m acting just like a
regular girl. Well, as regular as any girl with wings that is.’
After
grooming myself I wanted to wear something comfortable and since I didn’t have
anything to wear in my wardrobe, I went into my parent’s bedroom. Going
through Mom’s clothes I found some new unused underwear and a nice neosilk
dress. It was even backless, which meant it was perfect for me. I even found
some bras that fit me well. I had never dreamed I would wear such a garment,
much less be happy with the support it gave my breasts. I had been getting used
to the swinging motions that my breasts had made, but now it was better, as they
were a bit restricted and not so much in the way anymore.
After
getting dressed I cleaned up and went down to the living room. I poured myself
some whiskey from my Dad’s stock and relaxed on a nice recliner. It felt
really good to be back home again. I was winding down quite nicely now. I even
dozed off a bit. I had kept the lights out in the living room, which was only
illuminated by the automatic outside lights. Suddenly the door opened and a man
with a drawn gun charged in. He couldn’t really see me in the dark corner
where I was, and though every fiber of my body wanted to react and fire a
feather at him, I used all my willpower to keep still. Then I recognized him. It
was Barry Evans. He used to be secret service but’d had to leave on mandatory
retirement. Mom offered him a job doing the same for her exclusively.
As he
searched for intruders and followed a standard search pattern I silently pulled
one of my feathers and when he was looking the other way, threw it right past
his head into the wooden wall. He froze and put his arms up a little. I still
kept sitting down in the chair making no move and softly said, “Please put
your gun down, Barry.”
He
turned a little in my direction, “Who are you and what are you doing here,
Miss?”
‘Darn
it, I didn’t even think about it anymore. My voice is girlish and he doesn’t
know me!’ “Please put your gun away and sit down with me. You can turn
on the lights if you want. If I’d wanted to hurt or kill you, I already would
have.”
Barry
slowly put his gun back into his holster and after flipping the light switch,
made his way over to me. Still suspicious and wary of me he sat down on a tip of
a chair, ready to grab his gun or jump out of the way. He examined me and gave
some indication of surprise as he noticed my folded wings. “Who are you, that
you seem at ease here and broke in here without setting off the alarm?”
I
sighed, he obviously hadn’t heard of the new me. “Barry, it’s me, Orrin.
Or it used to be. Now I have started calling myself Oriana. I know that the
government refers to me as Raven.”
Barry
gasped at hearing my name, and then he looked more closely at my face. “I can
see a little of your old self in there. And you look lovely Orri...Oriana.”
I felt
my cheeks redden as I blushed, though with my dark complexion it hopefully
wasn’t too visible. “Thanks, though lots of people disagree. I know that
I’m quite a looker, but I’ve been attacked several times already.
Fortunately I’m quite a fast healer.”
“So
what are you doing here, Oriana?” Barry asked with confusion. “Why aren’t
you with your parents? Do they even know where you are? All I heard is that you
died. Now you’re sitting here as a new and different person.”
My
features hardened and coldly I said, “I was kidnapped from the White House
when I was down with MORFS. Somehow I was taken to Antarctica and was tortured
and treated like a lab rat. They even wanted to kill me. Now I’m on my way
home to find out who is responsible, and why.”
I took a
swig from my glass, almost emptying it. Barry stood up, “Want a refill of
that? You’re drinking your father’s bourbon, right?”
I looked
at my glass and then held it out to him. “Yes, thanks.”
Quietly
he refilled my glass and took one for himself. “So have you tried to contact
your Mom?”
I looked
down, “I sent her a message from an Embassy in Argentina. But the people that
held me captive said that Mom had signed my death warrant.”
Barry
looked at me with incredibility, “I can’t believe that, and neither should
you. Your Mom isn’t like that. Your Dad, well I don’t know, he might. If you
want, I can call your Mom right now.”
My
emotions flared, “No, I’m on my way to DC anyway, so I’ll talk to her
myself. Besides, I already cut the phone lines. Now give me your eCom. I don’t
want you to warn them.”
Barry
was apprehensive and hesitated to give it to me. I lost my patience and said
menacingly, “You should know that my feathers are highly poisonous. So give it
to me now!”
If his
looks could kill, I would’ve been a goner. He scowled at me, but threw me his
eCom. I put it into a small purse that I’d borrowed from Mom’s bedroom.
“And your radio as well, Barry. I know you, remember?”
He
growled an insult at me, but threw me his radio. It went with the eCom. “Look
Barry, I’m really sorry, but I don’t want them waiting for me, ready to blow
me out of the sky.”
Barry
snorted, “What makes you think they haven’t already put every agency and
military on high alert and are ready for you?”
My face
fell, “I know, but if they are waiting for me with all guns out, then I know
that they had something to do with it. I mean, my change wasn’t natural. I
overheard someone saying that they shouldn’t have tried the drug they used. So
someone did something to me that made me like this.”
I
swirled the drink in my hand, “Let’s just enjoy the drink okay? Oh, and I
won’t get drunk, part of my constitution is that I’m immune to any and all
toxins.”
Barry
looked at me and then relaxed a bit visibly. “Okay Oriana, let’s enjoy the
drink. How about the night? Are you going to tie me up or tie me down to the
bed?”
“Do I
have to? Listen Barry, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’ve already killed
people with my toxins. I feel really bad about it, okay?” I looked at him with
a glint of a tear in my eye. I quickly wiped it away and hoped he didn’t see
it.
Barry
cleared his throat, “Okay, I get it, so people haven’t been nice to you
along the way here.”
I
nodded, “Well there were a few nice ones, but also some very bad ones.”
“Who
in his right mind would want to fuck with you? I mean, you’re deadly with
those feathers.”
I looked
at him with wide open eyes. ‘How did he know that?’ “Well there was
this Bio-elemental med student.”
Barry
interrupted, “What did he do to you?”
Outraged,
I snarled, “He fucked me!”
Barry
blushed, “Oh you mean, he …oh, sorry I asked.”
I felt
my emotion boiling again remembering what Bear did. “He seduced me and took my
cherry. I was a virgin, dammit.”
Barry
defensively said, “Sorry, what do you want to do about it? Did you already do
something to him?”
I sagged
back into the chair, “Just as I was arguing about it with him, we were
attacked by some stupid militia. The last I saw of him, he’d just been blown
through the air by an explosion. I wanted to go looking for him, but they had
reinforcements coming.”
Barry
said apologizing, “Sorry, did you like him?”
I
searched my feelings. Part of me really liked Bear and his care for me, part of
me hated him, for treating me like he did. “I don’t know. I did like some
things, but why did he have to fuck me? I mean, I…”
I let
the words trail off as I started to think back at Bear. ‘He wasn’t so bad after all. I would have liked to spend some more time
with him. Maybe … or maybe no., I still resent him taking advantage of me.
Dammit Bear, why did you have to die!’
Barry
poured me another glass, “Tell me from the beginning, please. You said you
were in Antarctica?”
I sipped
from my drink, “Yeah, I broke out of my cage and that’s when they all fled
through a portal after activating the self destruct.”
“Oh,
tell me more, please.”
I told
him all about the adventures I’d had during the past weeks. Barry didn’t say
much, just asked a few questions sometimes. I think my tale got to him, as he
smiled sometimes and really seemed to care about my hardships. At the end he
said, “Well you’ve certainly had your fill of adventures. I had no idea.”
I
relaxed, “Well I hope to end it tomorrow. But I don’t want an army
waiting.”
Barry
softly said, “I can understand that. I shouldn’t have pushed, wanting to
call your Mom”
I smiled
at him, “That’s okay, I know you mean well. So can I count on you not to try
to contact Mom or Dad?”
Barry
smiled back, “Sure, I promise. Can I have my eCom and radio back now?”
I
laughed, “Nice try, but not yet. Maybe later.”
I yawned
and Barry commented, “Maybe we both should get some shuteye. It looks like you
need some.”
I agreed
and I went to my old room, feeling weird. Here I was a girl with wings, going
into a boy’s room, about to brush my teeth and take off a dress to go to
sleep. I heard Barry say, “Good night, Oriana.”
“Good
night, Barry.”
I must
have been tired, because just after feeling my head hitting the pillow, I woke
up to birds singing, sleeping on my stomach with my wings hanging protectively
over me. I scrambled up and saw that it was already late in the morning. I
hurriedly put on the dress again and saw my reflection in a mirror. ‘Darn, is that my hair? It looks awful!’ I quickly scooted into my parent’s bedroom and brushed my hair out
again. As I did I smelled something good. ‘Waffles and fried eggs?’
I left my purse in there and hurried downstairs, finding, as I expected,
Barry being busy in the kitchen. He’d already baked a plate full of waffles
and some fried eggs. “Good morning, Oriana, would you like some breakfast?”
“I’d love some. My constitution requires me to eat a lot. It smells
good. Say, when did you learn how to cook?”
Barry grinned, “Well I did pick up some things being alone here with
Sandy. And here she is, speak of the devil.”
I heard a gun being cocked behind me, “And who might you be Miss?”
I didn’t move, but Barry answered for me. “This is Oriana, which is
the name she is using now. Before she got MORFS she used to be Orrin.”
I turned to Sandy, who was lowering the gun and looking intently at me.
“Orrin? But you were reported dead! How … You do look a bit like him, but
…”
I interrupted, “Yes Sandy it is me. Can I ask you not to contact my
parents, please? They are involved in this somehow. I want to find out first how
and why.”
Sandy looked at Barry, He nodded, “Please humor her. Give her your
eCom so she’ll be at ease.”
“Okay Orrin… I mean Oriana. Gee I need time to get used to that.”
Sandy smiled saying it while taking out her eCom. “Say isn’t that one of
your mother’s dresses?”
I smiled, “Yes it is. My clothes suddenly don’t fit me anymore. So I
had to improvise.”
“Well it looks good on you, Here’s my eCom.”
She handed the eCom to me and I thanked her before putting it down next
to me on the table. I got back to the breakfast and quickly devoured several
eggs and waffles. I think I ate a little too much, so I went to the living room
with my former nanny and Barry. There, I gave Sandy the short version of my
story. She was really upset hearing what had happened. I assured her that I was
fine and was going to confront my parents with the new me.
We talked a little more on current affairs and how they had been, till I
realized that an hour had passed already. I got up, “Well this is it. I have
to be going.”
Sandy was about to give me hug, but I warned her, “Better not do that.
I’m extremely poisonous, remember?”
She pouted a bit, I think she really wanted to hug me. But my wings
would make it too dangerous. Actually I wanted to be hugged. ‘Where is that coming from? I never felt like being hugged before.’
I went out with the both of them before jumping up into air. Barry and
Sandy were outside and said goodbye and good luck to me. I yelled back,
“Thanks, hope to see you later.”
**************************
The night before, when Sanura alerted her
forces, one of the ASA telekineticists positioned a special ASA observation
device about 100 miles over Washington DC. Others relieved her from time to time
to keep it there without moving. It was looking for many things, but in
particular, any flying objects entering the area larger than a pigeon.
This was a backup for Trance, who was remote viewing the area as well.
At the same time, a relatively old satellite owned by the DOD was
repositioned over the equator, almost 25,000 miles away, and set to watch the
same area, but due to the greater distance of its synchronous position, didn’t
have nearly as good a view.
Then another satellite, this time one put into orbit by the NSA joined
the DOD satellite. . It was getting crowded up there. When yet another satellite
joined them, the operators controlling the DOD satellite became a bit worried,
even thinking of pulling theirs out,. The latest arrival didn’t have any
markings and was hard to identify. It could be a MI6, Chinese, or any other
nation’s satellite.
The ASA wasn’t worried. Being so much lower and closer, their far less
expensive unit had better resolution, and their telekineticists could reposition
it if they found anything of special interest, or anything such as a building
blocking their view.
**************************
A portal opened in an alley and almost twenty people stepped out, all
wearing black suits and helmets. The only difference was a different color, and
a sign in that color on their helmets. Their dark raincoats also served to mask
their appearance somewhat. They quickly fanned out and took up positions around
the edge of the White House Lawn. Several of them were looking at their eComs,
which were showing a satellite picture of the DC area.
When Blitz sighed, Molten, standing close to him, knew why! It would be
a long wait, as both knew from experience. Blitz installed himself on a crate
and took something from the small bag he carried. He offered a wrapped snack to
Molten. “Snack? Try this one. I want to know what you think of it.” Molten
took the small bread roll and took a bite, then he raised his eyebrows in
appreciation. He gave Blitz one of his rare quiet smiles and nodded his head in
thanks before he leaned back against the alley wall, contentedly munching on it.
**************************
I flew due east, fast and a little higher than tree top level. I knew my
topography quite well and weaved my way around the larger populated areas,
especially the big cities like St Louis and Cincinnati. I only stopped a few
times underway to get some food and water at a small diner.
**************************
“Heads up, people!” came from the eComs the elementals carried.
“The satellite just picked her up as she was passing Woodstock. And she’s
hauling ass, we estimate her speed close to that of a jetliner. ETA within a few
minutes.”
Sanura’s voice acknowledged, “Copy that base, keep us informed. Void
out.”
**************************
Three very noticeable persons had taken up positions in a now abandoned
building between East Street and New York Avenue. They would have preferred to
be closer to the White House lawn, but Jet didn’t want to take a chance that
some security device might penetrate the illusion she was creating. So though
hardly in a good position, they had decided to wait there for what was to come.
Wolf, however, noticed that they weren’t alone in the building. He smelled
some other people nearby, and he didn’t like their smell.
When he told Jet & Quartz about them, Quartz said, “Though it’s
not legal to be in here, they’re not illegal in looking for a place to stay.
So don’t bother them or with them.”
"Yeah, yeah," Wolf growled, but leaned against a wall to wait
for things to come. He was already frustrated from the delays at Dulles Airport
and the drive to this location.
**************************
General
Hastings quickly answered when his eCom buzzed, “Yes?”
A
holographic image said, “Our satellite just picked up something flying low and
fast. We’re zooming in now. Yes, it is confirmed. It is Raven, she’s flying
really fast, straight towards Washington DC. Expected time to arrive is about 20
minutes.”
Ellis
sighed. He hoped that they were prepared enough for her. General Hastings cut
the connection and opened another. He quickly spoke, “Alert all the men to get
ready. Within 20 minutes, the target will be here.”
**************************
When General Watts answered his eCom, a calm looking woman appeared in
the holographic image. “The satellite picked up a low flying object with a
high speed. We can’t zoom in enough to see clearly, but we definitely think it
is Raven. She’s only 20 minutes away from the White House.”
General Watts looked at Iris, “Mrs. President?”
Iris sighed, “Give the order to get ready. They need to be prepared
for everything, but if possible I don’t want her hurt.”
The general spoke in his eCom, “Start warming up the silent Guardian,
and ready the troops. Raven is expected in about 15-20 minutes.”
**************************
The
young woman leading the tour told the tourists, “And with this room, we are
almost at the end of the tour. We will be leaving shortly. Please observe any
directions from the security people and stay with the group.”
The
rebellious teenager with pink dyed hair whined, “Mom can we get a burger soon?
I’m hungry”
Amanda
Wilson who wore an illusion as a disguise sighed. ‘What did I do to have such a rebellious daughter? Why does she take so
much after her father? Like him, she so feisty and arrogant.’ “Sure
Dorothy, we’ll get a burger later. Now pay attention and don’t try to wander
off like you almost did before.”
The
teenager snorted, while making a face, “My name is Ro! Please remember that,
Mom.”
Amanda
sighed again. At least the tour was almost over. Why didn’t her youngest
daughter have more appreciation for something interesting like the White House?
Yet her own attention wandered. She found herself looking at the other people in
the group. Something wasn’t right about one of the women. She was a single
woman ,very polite, didn’t smell bad, and looked plain, but good enough.
Still, something was off, Amanda just couldn’t put her finger on what that
something was.
**************************
It was already nearing the evening when I finally recognized Washington
Dulles Airport. I had to veer a little to the south to get around it. The
populated areas started to grow very dense and I increased my flight level a
bit, trying not to be seen from the ground. But I didn’t realize I was also
being watched from above by three satellites 25,000 miles away, and a tiny
device hanging directly above the DC area. I wanted to increase my speed as I
neared my destination, but I was getting tired. It would be better if I rested
for a moment, but my burning need for answers, and maybe, revenge, pushed me
onwards to the White House.
As I flew between Theodore Roosevelt Island and Arlington Cemetery, I
slowed down a lot, out of respect for my ancestors buried there. It still took
only seconds to reach the Lincoln Memorial though. As I flew along the
reflecting pool I slowed even more. It made me think, and reflect about why I
was here. ‘All the memorials here for all those deaths, and I can kill even
more before they kill me. Maybe I should just turn back and have Barry call Mom.
But I’m here already now! Oh hell, why did I have to get MORFS?’
But as I thought that I flew on. Above the National World War II
memorial I slowly turned to my left and flew across the ellipse, bearing down on
my parents who were already waiting outside the house, on the lawn, as were a
lot of other people, most of them military. Some of them were handling machines
of some kind.
**************************
Private John Clinton could still hear the order he’d been given.
“When you get a clean shot at the freak, take her out with extreme prejudice.
She has already killed a fellow soldier.” When he saw the flying girl
approach, he didn’t even notice that she was good looking. At the tone that an
IR signature was recognized and a firing solution was calculated, he pressed the
button, firing the Javelin IR guided RPG towards Raven.
**************************
As I neared the fountain in the lawn, I saw a flash from the corner of
my eye and realized that some kind of rocket had been fired at me! I quickly
changed direction, going straight up, beating my wings furiously to get
altitude. I cursed in myself, ‘Damn I went too slow, now I can’t get high
enough fast enough.’
Looking down I saw that the rocket was following me up at high speed. I
worked harder at getting enough altitude, and I was still ahead of the thing.
But as it was nearing me I knew I couldn’t outrun it, so I changed strategy
and changed direction from straight up to straight down. I hoped I could go past
the rocket fast enough that it would miss me. Well it mostly worked. The sudden
change in direction made it miss me. But as I whizzed past the thing, it
exploded.
**************************
Meanwhile President Iris Pratt yelled, “Who fired that shot? Nobody
shoots till I give the order. General, have the man that fired that rocket
caught and charged with attempted murder.”
Already some personnel were running towards Private Clinton. He
hesitated between fleeing and defending himself. His indecisiveness made the
decision for him and he was soon handcuffed and taken away.
**************************
Blitz saw the rocket being fired at the flying girl and started to power
up. A police officer saw the flickering of the lightning that started to dance
between his fingers and came running, “Hey you! What the hell do you think
you’re doing?”
Molten intervened and pulled out his Federal ID. “Official business,
we’re a backup for the president’s protection.”
The policeman looked at the ID and badge, and grudgingly said, “Oh
well okay then. But I do have to verify this with my superiors.”
Molten smirked, “You do that.” Keeping an eye out for what was
happening in the sky, he pulled out a mean looking gun.
**************************
As the tour group was being guided quickly out of the building, Amanda
saw a flying girl going straight up in the sky with a rocket chasing her. The
security personnel tried to usher them quickly passed the soldiers away from the
scene. Ro was stubborn, wanting to see the battle starting out on the lawn.
When Amanda hissed, “Little D, come here. We need to get out of
here,” Ro just stuck her tongue out and stepped even further away from the
group.
That was when Amanda noticed that the strange woman also wasn’t
following the others. She was running towards the lawn as fast as she could,
while the security people were too busy noticing that.
Amanda looked around, saw nobody looking at her, and became invisible
before she started following the strange woman. ‘Just what is bugging me
about her?’
**************************
I screamed out in pain as the shrapnel tore through my flesh and wings.
Several feathers were knocked lose and eddied downwards. I plummeted down, but
managed to spread my wings enough to slow down my descent till I could glide
towards Mom.
As I came close to Mom, I circled around her and looked for a place to
land. A general near Mom shouted at me, “That’s close enough, please keep
your distance.”
When I glided even closer, the general signaled to a woman behind a
machine. The next thing I knew was screaming in agony as every nerve on my skin
felt like on fire. I stopped dead in the sky and crashed hard onto the ground.
I had crash-landed quite close to people and the machine that was
sending the waves was shut down. Probably so the others wouldn’t be hurt. I
felt like shit, but I tried with all my might to get back on my feet. As I did,
my Dad yelled, “She’s about to attack the President, fire at will.”
Dumbfounded. I heard it and then I heard guns being cocked. I looked
around and saw regular guns as well as non-lethal weapons pointed at me. Mom
furiously yelled, “Belay that order! Ellis. You prick! You’re
going to pay for that!”
She motioned to someone and some soldiers went over and stood very close
to Dad. I looked at Mom with appreciation and scrambled back to my feet. Before
I could say something, I saw some movement from the corner of my eye and heard
someone yell, “Watch out, she’s not human!”
**************************
Amanda Wilson quietly and nearly invisibly followed the strange woman
who was stealthily making her way toward the President. Then suddenly, as the
winged girl fell from the sky and landed hard on the ground, the woman stopped,
and raised her hand in a weird manner. As almost every gun was pointed at the
black winged girl Amanda felt a lot of angry, anxious and nervous emotions
around her. Then it hit her. The strange woman didn’t show emotions. In fact
she didn’t read any emotion from her, and as an empath she should have.
Realizing that the woman wasn’t a woman, she wasn’t even human, she yelled,
“Watch out, she’s not human!”
**************************
Whipping my head around toward the sound I saw a vague reptilian hybrid
pointing at a woman about 15 feet away from her. As the woman pointed at Mom,
her wrist kind of fell downwards as if hinged or something. I screamed, “Mom!
Watch out!” Turning around I stepped in to block the way between that
woman, or whatever it was and Mom.
**************************
Several things happened all at once. Suddenly a fire started to burn
around the strange woman, who didn’t seem to notice. Then something metal shot
from her open wrist. She was aiming straight for the president, but instead, hit
Raven as she stepped into the path of the projectiles.
**************************
I heard only a soft hissing sound, and simultaneously felt several
things slam into my back, almost every one of them punching through deeply
despite my reinforced skin. I had read about a gun like that, it was called an
HEFW7 (High Energy Flechette Weapon), and the arm probably contained the gauss
driver, or the coil of the shooting mechanism. As I screamed out in pain again,
I wanted nothing more than to drop down on the ground. But then Mom would be
unprotected. So I stayed up, standing still. Then I heard a loud crackling noise
like lightning.
**************************
Blitz saw the hand of the strange woman sort of drop down as if it was
hinged. And near it was a barely visible person yelling something. Then he saw
metal darts shoot from the woman’s arm into the winged girl who had stepped
into the path between the woman and the President.
He didn’t hesitate for a moment and while Molten next to him raised
his gun, Blitz raised his arm, with the maser Synergy had made for him strapped
on his sleeve. He aimed it at the woman and released a massive electrical
charge. The air crackled with the lighting discharge and the artificial woman or
android began to twitch and sizzle. The electrical charge was massive, but still
not enough to fully incapacitate the android. It was built very sturdily, and
capable of withstanding a lot of damage. But then the android was blasted from
several directions at once by a number of different weapons.
Inferno released a bolt of
fire that only increased the fire already burning around her. Flutter put up a
mini tornado around the woman, forging the fire into a firestorm, increasing the
temperature. Sizzle increased the heat even more and the android began to glow
red hot. Molten fired his gun in the meantime, and the bullets changed into red
hot molten globs, causing more damage when they hit the android . Echo had
released a sonic laser that ripped through the layers of the Android, ripping a
hole through and through. But the defining blow came from two single blasts
arriving at the same time from opposite sides, from both Void and Quartz. As
each of those blasts was easily capable of destroying a armored battle tank, the
android didn’t stand a chance. It exploded into tiny particles of dust that
were quickly sucked up in the tornado Flutter created and deposited on the grass
field in the Ellipse.
**************************
Jet burst into the room coming just back from taking care of some
personal business. “What'd I miss, I heard you fire a lance, Quartz.”
Quartz was about to answer when a portal appeared and Void stepped through. She
said, “As I thought, The Improbables. I'd know that blast anywhere. How are
you doing?”
Wolf didn’t respond, as his acute hearing picked up a heated discussion
elsewhere in the building. Then he heard a woman say, “The Android failed. We
need to escape!”
A man said, “No, we came here to have the President killed. I say we fire a
Javelin rocket at her.”
Wolf smiled, and dashed away, leaving the three women gaping after him. He
dashed down to the room where he had heard the voices. When he got there,
he arrived just in time to see a large man about to heft a Javelin Launcher to
point it out the window. There were three others in the room as well, all
armed.
His
first act was to fling his coat at the man with the launcher, fouling his aim.
Then he slipped his staves,a variation on the old world weapon, the Lepip, free
from its sheath. Only instead of being a metal bar wrapped in leather,
this was a ceramic bar wrapped in impact foam. It allowed him to hit full
strength, yet not kill baselines, quite useful when he DIDN'T want to kill the
idiots.
His first move took out the guy with the Javelin. He leapt forward, and
swung for the head, just as the man got himself free of the coat. The blow
smashed his head back, and slammed him to the floor.
As he did this, the other three were making alarmed noises, and drawing their
sidearms.
Jet,
Quartz, and Void all arrived at the same time. Jet just held out her hand,
“Let him have his fun, ladies. He's had a rough day.” To Wolf,
she called, “Leave them alive, we want a few for questioning.”
Wolf
smiled, a predatory baring of teeth, and turned to the remaining three, who had
all drawn their weapons. Now that the others had arrived, they had no way of
retreating.
But
they refused to go down without a fight.
As
Wolf moved towards them, they opened fire. Wolf ignored it. The
bullets hit him, but since they were loaded with AP rounds, they just went right
through him, and he hardly even noticed.
He took out the woman first, with a chest hit right under the ribs as she tried
to back away, followed by another to the back of the head as she buckled, and
she was done. Next was a thin black man who went down with a backhanded
blow to the face that sent blood and teeth flying, and left him unconscious on
the floor, with a very flattened nose. The last was an older man,
bald, but with a white beard. Wolf came in overhand, but the man shifted,
trying to dodge, and he caught him on the shoulder. The sound of snapping bones
meant that he had shattered a collar bone, and the second hit, a sideways blow
to the ribs, finished the matter.
He stalked over to his coat, put away his toys, and tossed the long coat over
his shoulder. “There you go, Void. Would you like them with a
bow?”
Void
laughed, “Not necessary, but throw them through the portal, please.” She
opened a portal back to the lawn. “Now the authorities will be asking
questions, and I know how much you like that. I’ll handle it and these
terrorists, and we’ll talk later.”
Jet
stepped forward, “Okay, we’ll go home, but give this to Raven. We want to
talk to her.” She gave Void a digital card.
**************************
I heard a lot of noise behind my back and the shooting stopped. But I
couldn’t turn around to see. I just felt tired and hurt. Maybe this assault
was too much for my healing power. Maybe I was going to die now. I sagged to the
ground and looked up at Mom. “Mom?”
She looked at me with big eyes, “Orrin? Is that you?”
I felt a force pull the objects from my back and I screamed again from
the pain. Despite the pain, I turned around and saw a woman in a black suit with
a helmet point at me and the rest of the foreign things just pulled out of me.
**************************
Alloy saw what happened as a strange woman pointed at the president and
a nearly visible woman standing not too far from her yelled, “Watch out,
she’s not human.” Before Alloy could react, the strange woman fired
metal darts into the black winged girl’s back.
As she was about to try pulling the metal objects flying toward the
winged girl back to the human woman shaped android, it was blasted by her team
mates. So instead she directed her attention to the winged girl that was sagging
to the ground. She pulled the metal shards from the girl’s back, and hoped
that Poison could get there soon enough to heal her. She got attacked and still
protected the President. She couldn’t be a bad girl, no matter how dangerous
it was said she was.
**************************
Instant tried to edge a little closer to where the people were waiting
for Raven. Suddenly she saw someone stealthily exit a side entrance of the White
House. He seemed to be doing his best to keep hidden from everyone, though he
was spoken to by the guards. Instant found this very intriguing. She figured the
rest of the team should be able to take care of any problems that might arise
and started following the man. She missed Raven’s arrival and the shooting
from the android. However when the android exploded, it made her forget the man
and she hurried back using her time power at the scene. When she got there she
saw Alloy pulling metal shards from the downed winged girl, and a shower of
burnt particles coming down in the field inside the Ellipse.
**************************
Mom hesitantly stepped towards me, “Orrin? I thought you were dead.
Ellis said you were so disfigured that you had to be put in a closed casket.”
I grimaced from the pain, “I call myself Oriana now Mom.”
I noticed movement to my right and turned my head a little. I even
forgot about my pain as I saw what looked like a human sized scorpion dressed in
a black suit with a helmet on, scurrying fast towards me. ‘Is everyone out to get me? Am I not hurt enough already? I might already
be dying. Maybe this thing is going to finish me off?’
As the hybrid, at least I thought it was a hybrid, got closer, several security
and military men aimed for it. But Mom told them to hold their fire. Then from
the helmet came a synthetic voice, but I thought I heard a woman’s tone in it,
said, “I’m a member of ECLIPSE. My name is Poison. I’m a bio-elemental. I
can heal you if you’ll let me.”
I laughed though it hurt so much that I started coughing and wincing.
“Don’t bother with that. I’m still afraid that it might interfere with my
own rapid healing.”
As Mom stepped closer to me again, I said sharply, “NO Mom!”
She looked at me, not understanding. “My feathers are poisonous. I don’t
want you to die!”
The scorpion woman stood up next to me, “Maybe I can help with that.
I’ve encountered lots of toxins already. Can I sample yours?”
I nodded and she concentrated on an edge of a feather. Moments later she
motioned to my Mom to come closer. “I’ve got a good sampling of her toxin, I
can give you a temporary antidote to counter it. Unfortunately it will make you
feel a bit sick.”
Mom nodded, “Do it.”
As the hybrid did what she needed, Mom winced from the feeling it gave
her. Then she sat down with me. “Orrin… I mean Oriana, what happened? Where
were you?”
“Antarctica.”
Mom looked at me while trying to comprehend. “Why were you there? How
did you get there?”
I grimaced, “I think I got kidnapped there by people who had a portal
machine.”
I could see Mom thinking. Then she snarled, “Ellis.” We both looked
at where he had been, but saw only two
dazed soldiers on the ground. There wasn’t a sign of him anywhere.
Mom looked around and ordered the general to start a search for him
immediately. Then she directed her attention back to me. “How bad are you
hurt, Oriana? Did you say something about rapid healing?”
I smiled, “Yeah, I’ve got a great body in my change. It heals very
fast, it just hurts like hell. Say, where did that reptilian hybrid go?”
Mom looked confused, “What reptilian Hybrid?”
“There was a nearly invisible woman pointing out the assassin android,
not too far from the thing. I hope she’s all right,” Poison backed me up
with that.
**************************
Amanda Wilson had just started a fire around the android after she had
yelled her warning when she was overwhelmed by surprise by all the blasts coming
from the various elementals around the lawn. She concentrated harder on her
invisibility disguise and slipped away unnoticed, back to the tour group. She
found her daughter near the group who were all watching the drama on the lawn
breathlessly .
Changing from invisible back to her regular disguise, she appeared next
to Dorothy. “Mom, don’t do that!” Dorothy said surprised. “You know I
don’t like you appearing from nowhere.”
Amanda just shrugged, “Let’s go back to the group before we’re
missed, and they make a lot of trouble about our being unattended.”
Ro sighed as she walked briskly towards the group. “Okay Mom. By the
way I saw you out there. I thought you rocked. You were really cool.”
Amanda was a bit perplexed. She hadn’t expected that. She quickly
caught up with her daughter, “Thanks I guess, so how about that burger now,
Ro?”
Dorothy smiled brightly, “Sure Mom.”
**************************
Instant was about to ask Poison what had happened, when a portal opened
and four unconscious persons were thrown through. As Void stepped through it
right after them, Instant asked, “Who are they? And what happened?”
“These are the ones responsible for the attack by the Android. They
ran into an Improbable Wolf.”
Instant just nodded, knowing the Improbables well. “Tell me about the
Android later. I was tailing a suspicious looking man from the White House.”
Void looked up at Instant, ‘Were there other forces at work as
well?’
**************************
Ellis Pratt was furious. Iris’d had him placed under arrest? As the
Android started its attack, he knew that this was the opportunity to get away.
With some quick moves he knocked out the two soldiers guarding him. And he
silently but quickly made his way to the parked vehicles. He had kept his
convertible hover car ready for a quick getaway.
He jumped in his car, not noticing something odd lodged in the seat near
his neck. He quickly started the engines and with the high whine of the Synergy
Thrusters, raced across the parking lot. The guards at the gate recognized his
car and didn’t know anything about the situation on the lawn, so let him pass
by.
While he turned onto the almost empty street, he felt satisfied. He had
got away free and he had enough money stashed to live in luxury. When he leaned
back into his car seat he felt something cut the skin on the neck. He quickly
reached back to find it and dislodged the thing to look at it. With dread, he
recognized the feather as being from his daughter. But she was deadly toxic!
Even as he realized it, he felt his arm go numb, and quickly, the rest of his
body followed. His head felt like it was swimming in thick soup and he lost all
control over his muscles. Unable to do anything, he barely noticed as his car
swerved out of control onto the sidewalk and hit a pedestrian. His last thoughts
were, ‘Don’t I know that man?’ Then the car hit the wall. The crash
would have killed him, but he was already dead from the poison.
**************************
As I looked around for the reptilian hybrid, I heard the high whine of
Synergy Thrusters. Mom heard it too and said, to the General, “That’s Ellis,
my husband. Can you send some people to apprehend him?”
The General began giving orders into his eCom, and suddenly another
person in black with a helmet on appeared near Poison. This one was female as
well, with a thin tail this time. I think she was going to say something, but
just then a quite large portal opened and four unconscious persons were thrown
through. Another person in a black suit followed. She appeared to have a tail
similar to the previous unknown. The first unknown black clad woman asked,
“Who are they? And what happened?”
Several soldiers pointed their weapons at these new arrivals until Mom
signaled to them to stand down.
The woman from the portal answered, “These are the ones responsible
for the attack by the Android. They ran into an Improbable Wolf.”
Both Mom and I looked at her. The other woman with a tail nodded and
said, “Tell me about the Android later. I was tailing a suspicious looking man
from the White House.”
I thought, ‘Did she tail my father? Maybe she knows where he went!’
So I asked, “What did he look like?”
The woman looked at me, “He was Caucasian male, skinny, with a goatee,
wearing a black coat and a panama hat.”
Mom sighed, it wasn’t my father then. He must have been in the hover
car with the Synergy Thrusters that we’d heard. The woman near the portal listened to a radio in her helmet
and said, “Echo just heard sounds like a crash. Instant? Can you check it out
please?” Then she pointed the direction to the other woman.
As Mom looked at the woman from the portal with a peculiar look, one of
the other women vanished. Mom seemed to be about to say something, but the woman
beat her to it. “Hello Mrs. President. I’m Void, from ECLIPSE.”
Mom shook her hand. “Thank you for saving us from that thing, even
though I had told you not to interfere.”
Void chuckled, “You’re welcome.”
The General interrupted, “Ma’am, it is best if we go inside now. You
shouldn’t expose yourself to more attacks.” Then he ordered several soldiers
to put the unconscious terrorists into custody and transport them to a jail
cell.
Mom agreed and looked at me, “Do you need help getting up?”
I grunted a little but got to my feet easily enough. “No need, Mom.
I’m healing up already.”
Void said, “We could support you a bit if you’d let us.”
“No, please, I’m dangerous with my toxins,” I cried out.
Void chuckled, “I know that and I can protect myself well enough. But
thank you for your concern.”
I accepted some help from both her and Poison, and we all went into the
Diplomatic Reception Room. As I stepped in to the room, Mom commented, “Your
dress seems a bit the worse for wear. You know, I have a similar dress like that
one.”
I chuckled, “Actually, this is your dress Mom.”
She looked at me in surprise and I added, “I think I need to call
Barry and Sandy to let them know I’m all right.”
“So you’ve been home before coming here? I should’ve known that.
Well I’m glad you are all right. But why didn’t Barry or Sandy call me?”
Mom asked inquisitive.
“Because I asked them not to!” As I sat down on a backless stool,
Mom sat down as well.
Void stepped forward, “I’m sorry Mrs. President, Raven. But we have
to be going again.” Then she turned towards me, “Here is my card. I would
like to talk some more with you later. And another group would like the
opportunity to talk to you as well. Here is their card.” She handed me two
digital cards and continued, “I know the Improbables well enough to know there
is no danger if you go talk to them.”
Then Void and Poison went to the door, but Poison turned slightly to us,
“Mrs. President. Please be careful, the antidote will expire in about 30
minutes to an hour.”
“Thank you, Poison, and thank you, Void, for coming to the rescue.
Please extend my gratitude to all your team members.”
Just then Void put her hand to her helmet, she probably got a call on
her radio. Poison hurried out of the room and Void turned back to us. “Mrs.
President. My team member Instant just found your husband. I’m sorry to say
that he is dead. He’s clutching one of Raven’s feathers in his hand, so I
think he died from the poison.”
Hearing the news, I gasped, while Mom narrowed her eyes and just nodded.
Then Void continued, “We also found the person Instant initially followed out
of the White House. Apparently your husband’s hover car hit him. Poison is
going to heal his injuries, a quite painful process, I might add, and they will
bring him here for questioning. Is that okay with you Mrs. President?”
Mom nodded, “Proceed please, and thank you again. And call me Iris by
the way.”
**************************
Poison arrived fairly quickly at the crash site.
She inspected the driver at a glance, and knew that she couldn’t do
anything for him anymore. She recognized him as the President’s husband and
Chief of Staff. Instant was standing near a moaning person on the ground. She
quickly went over and with a quick inspection, noticed several broken and
shattered bones, internal bleeding at one kidney, and three broken ribs. She
suspected that this was not an innocent bystander, as Instant had been following
him out of the White House. Well if he was she’d apologize later to him. She
quickly set and healed the bones without any regards to the pain, the man
screaming out in pain as she did so. Then she healed his kidney and some other
internal bleeding. When the man was somewhat recovered from the ordeal, Poison
and Instant took him back to the White House despite his objections and his
pleading.
**************************
I was talking to Mom about my adventures when two of the ECLIPSE women
walked in with a man securely held between them. When I saw him I recognized him
immediately. I hastily got up and snarled, “You! You son of a bitch! So it was
you and my father who engineered all this!”
Dr. Balmond looked up at me , obviously extremely frightened. He tried
to free himself, but Poison and Instant held him firmly in their grasp. Mom got
to her feet as well. “Who are you and what was your business here?”
I answered on a bitter tone, “I heard his name is Dr. Balmond. He was
in charge of the people that kept and tortured me. I think he was also the one
who ordered my death.”
Mom looked at the doctor. “Is this true? Were you working for Ellis?
Answer me, mister!”
Dr. Balmond didn’t show any indication that he was going to talk, till
he yelped from pain. I guess Poison must have encouraged him somewhat. He spat
out bitterly, “Yes, I worked for Ellis. I was working on a cure or vaccine
against MORFS. Your son was the first test subject. It didn’t work as we
expected. Instead of halting or reversing the change, it gave the change a new
direction. I still don’t know why that happened.”
I was glad that the truth had finally come out, though I was also still
furious at him. In a growling tone I asked, “And why the torture?”
Mom glared at the doctor. Again he hesitated to answer, but one short
pinch from Poison in a muscle, made him talk again. “We wanted to do some
tests on you to see how durable you really were. Since you seemed uncooperative,
we had to do it the hard way.”
I snorted, “The hard way indeed! You had me shot at, and even ordered
to have me killed. Someone said that my Mom had ordered it. Was that that man
lying on his own or did you have him say that?”
Dr. Balmond squirmed but after another yelp, answered, “Yes I ordered
him to say that.”
Mom interrupted, “And how did you get Oriana to Antarctica so fast?
Did you use a portal maker? An Elemental maybe?”
Dr. Balmond looked up to his right before answering and I sharply
reminded him, “Don’t try to make something up.”
He shot me a hateful look before finally answering, “In a sub basement
level under the White House is an Artificial Portal. There are only a few in
existence yet, because of the costs to make one and the high power
requirements.” He produced a key from his keychain, “This key grants access
to that level using the west elevator.”
A soldier took the key from him, and after inspection, gave it to Mom as
General Watts came in the room, “Ma’am? I’ve put General Hastings under
arrest. Apparently he was under orders from your husband to shoot down Raven.
And he interpreted that to kill her with extreme prejudice.”
Mom scowled at the news. “Throw him in a cell, and put this sorry
excuse for a scientist in a cell next to him. We’ll deal with them soon
enough.”
She turned to a woman who’d followed the general in, “I am sure we
need to do a public announcement. I’m sure the papers will be full with the
news what happened here tonight.”
“Yes, Mrs. President. The guards have already called for
reinforcements to keep the media away.”
She whispered briefly with her press aide, then talked some more to
other people as Void and her team members made a quiet exit, just giving a nod
towards me. I waved back at them.
Then another of Mom’s aides came towards me with a large blanket. I
looked at her curiously. “Your dress is a bit worse for wear, and you’re
showing a little more skin than is proper. Mrs. President asked to have this
blanket brought to you. It will also help you keep your toxic wings out of the
way a bit.”
I accepted the blanket with a smile, and wrapped it around myself, with
my wings folded up very tight. Then I followed Mom and the rest of the people
out to the presentation room. There were already several members of the press
waiting, and of course, the Camera’s.
After the introduction, Mom went up to the pedestal and said, “Good
evening ladies & Gentlemen. Tonight is a night of joy and sadness. My son,
who was reported dead several months ago didn’t die, but in fact, was
kidnapped and changed into this lovely young lady.”
She pointed at me and I blushed at the sudden attention.
“So I am filled with joy that my daughter is back home. Unfortunately,
due to an misunderstanding, there was a skirmish between my daughter and the
military. During the confusion, a terrorist group made an attempt on my life,
but the secret service prevented it from being successful. I’m sorry to say
that my husband was killed during
all this. He will be mourned. Now I only have time for a few questions.”
Immediately, every reporter wanted to ask questions, but Mom singled one
out. He asked, “Under what circumstances did your husband die. I heard he was
being arrested?”
Mom half closed her eyes, “Yes my husband was under investigation of
some things that have a relation to what happened here. But I can’t divulge
much more at the moment because the investigation is still under way.”
She pointed to another reporter who asked, “How come your daughter
came here looking like she was going to attack?”
Mom looked at me before answering, and I stepped forward. “I’ll
answer that if I may. I was misinformed about who had kidnapped me. I didn’t
know if my parents were involved or not, and if so, how much. I just wanted to
find out the truth. I never wanted to hurt anyone. Though some people tried to
kill me and I defended myself, I also killed a soldier by accident. I deeply
regret that, and wish I could undo it.”
The reporters were silent for a moment, while Mom looked at me
appreciatively. Then, as they started shouting more questions, the aide stepped
in and cut them all off. “No more questions, please. We’ll issue a statement
later.”
Mom escorted me out to the private sitting room and there she asked me
if I wanted to freshen up. I bit my lower lip, “Not right now. I would like
something to eat though. Flying and healing takes a lot out of me. I have a fast
metabolism now.”
As Mom arranged to have some food brought to me I tried to relax a bit.
Then she sat down in front of me. “So Oriana, tell me more about your
adventures.”
I started telling her all about my exploits in South America, the
Verosaurs and the Wolverine/Jaguar hybrid in Mexico. Before I got further,
someone brought in a dish with food. While I was eating I continued telling
about the dragon that I’d encountered. I asked Mom, “We do know that the
dragons have their territory somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. But they don’t
have someone to speak out for them in the government. I think we need to have
someone to speak on their behalf.”
Mom chuckled, “Are you applying for the job?”
I looked at her in wonder. “What do you mean? Oh you mean that I
should speak on their behalf?”
Mom smiled, “They could do worse. I was impressed that you stepped
forward tonight in the press conference.”
“You and me both. But then, I am your child. I should have gotten some
of your characteristics right?”
Mom laughed and urged me to tell her more. I went on with the fights in
the air and how I’d met Bear. I avoided talking about what happened during
that night. I did tell her that I felt sorry that he’d died defending us
against the militia. Before I could ask her to make a law against them, Mom
surprised me. “But that young student isn’t dead. He was found very much
alive, and he made a full statement against the militia which supports your
story.”
I was dumbfounded, ‘Bear is alive? That meant… No I don’t want
to … But I … I don’t really know what I feel about that.’
Mom must have sensed something, because she asked, “Oriana? What is
wrong, don’t you think that it is wonderful news?”
I hesitantly started, “Mom, um … I … Oh hell! He had sex with me
the night before we were attacked. I didn’t even want to have sex, but he
seduced me so easily.” I started to cry a little. When Mom showed her
intention to come over to hug me, I motioned against it, and pointed to my
wings.
“I’m sorry honey, I had no idea.” Mom said apologetically.
“It’s okay, Mom. I just have a lot of mixed feelings about it. I
need time to think about it.”
Mom agreed with me, and changed the subject. “So what are you going to
do now?”
I thought for a moment, “It’s too late in the year now to start
school, and I didn’t exactly finish my last year. I would like to be tutored
till I’m up to speed to go to a university. And I might do some work as
well.”
“What kind of work?” Mom asked inquisitive.
“I don’t know, maybe some aerial surveillance or something. I’m
not good in dealing with people, what with my appendages. And I don’t like
being inside much anymore.”
Mom chuckled, “You got that right,” pointing at my wings.
I laughed with her and we really enjoyed the evening. I didn’t know
what the morning would bring, but I wasn’t too worried. I had a life again.
Though I was a lot different now, I was looking forward to it, and at least I
had my Mom to stand by me.
Extra
Info and Acknowledgements:
This is the end of this tale
for the moment, though continue to check the site for a sequel that is most
likely to appear.
Also I would like to express my
thanks to all the people that contributed to the story. Not only my fabulous
editor that keeps most of the typo’s and bad grammar away, but also several
other writers that own the characters making a cameo appearance in this story
made the last parts of this tale to such a nice whole.
The entire MORFS Universe can be found at http://morfs.nowhere2go.org/
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