The Time Manipulator
The Time Manipulator It was dark. Despite her night vision, the
unnamed snow leopard was terrified, wandering through the city parkade trying
desperately to find somewhere to hide. Security Guards wandered the parkade,
watching over the dozens of cars parked in stall on the five levels of the
concrete structure. Whenever she heard one nearby, the leopard would hide
behind a car, waiting for them to pass, before moving onto the next. She didn't even remember coming to
this place, with all these machines around her. In fact, she didn't even know
how she knew what they were! She had no memories, no clue who she was or where
she had come from, just remembering waking up, cold, wet, alone, stumbl-ing
through darkness, a strange energy emanating from her every so often, and
finally, she could at last remember waking up at the very top of this concrete
structure, in the black of night, and now was trying to find her way back out. She saw a gate of steel bars,
leading out to a ramp that led down to the ground below, but when she tried to
squeeze through the bars, she found even her slender form couldn't fit between
them, and almost got stuck at the ribs and the hips trying to get through. When
she finally got free, she lost her balance and fell against a car; her heart
felt as though it jumped from her chest into her throat when the car alarm
suddenly went off, scaring her half to death and making her cover her ears at
the noise. "Who's over there?!" A male voice
yelled; she turned towards the voice, and blinked as a light was shone in her
eyes. "What the...? Miss, are you...?" The leopard didn't wait for him to
finish; she bolted, taking off into a run and fleeing from the guard. "Hey,
stop! Wait!" The guard shouted before running after her. She heard him talking,
although felt his words were not directed at her as she kept running. "Edgar,
we've got someone in the parking lot; young woman, anthro-feline and she's
fleeing across the third level. Call it in; I'm in pursuit!" "Copy
that; is she armed?" "No; she's unarmed, and also nude; I think she may be in trouble," the
guard returned to the unknown second speaker. "I'll try to calm her down." "10-4,
Nick; proceed with caution." "I will." And then, his voice raised as he kept running after the
leopard even as she fled to the next level. "Miss, please wait!" The two kept running about the
fourth level until the leopard, almost out of breath, ran up to the fifth level
and towards the concrete rail at the edge, nearly falling into it and getting a
good look at the drop to the ground below. She fell back from the wall, turning
and about to run again, when she saw the guard had caught up to her, just as
winded as she was by the look of things, and keeping his flashlight low and out
of her eyes, but not on her naked body. "Miss, please, I am not going to
hurt you!" The guard assured, keeping his other hand where she could see it,
showing he was unarmed. "Please, don't run anymore." "Stay away from me," the leopard
said, sliding back against the wall. Even if she could survive the fall to the
ground below, the wall was too high for her to climb over; the guard would be
able to grab her before she could climb over. "Please, just don't come any
closer." "Don't worry, I won't," he promised.
"Are you alright; are you hurt? Did someone attack you?" "I... I don't know," replied the
leopard, holding her arms across her chest. "I can't remember anything. I'm so
afraid..." "It's okay, miss; I can help you,"
the man said in assurance, kneeling down so that his eyes were level with those
of the leopard. "My name is Nick; I'm a Security Guard. Do you remember your
name?" "Something... keeps repeating in my
head... 'T'... it's all I can remember..." "T; is that the first letter of your
name?" Nick asked. "I don't know... possibly... I just
can't remember." She grabbed her hair in aggravation, sliding down against the
wall until she was sitting on the concrete floor. "There's nothing!" "It's okay, miss; I promise, help is
on the way," Nick tried to reassure her more, standing back up to his full
height. "Now... I'm going to take a step towards you, okay?" The young lady made no protest, and
slowly but gently, the guard took a step towards her, before he crouched back
down again, going no further when he saw the leopard flinch at his approach.
"Now... are you injured at all; did someone attack you and take your clothes?" "I... I don't think so; I don't
think I'm hurt... my head is aching though," she rubbed the side of her head.
"And I feel so tired..." "Do you remember how you entered
this parkade?" The guard asked. "The gates have been closed since eight PM; did
you come before the sun came down?" "No... I can only remember dark;
it's been dark since..." She rubbed her head again. "I don't remember seeing
any daylight." "Okay," returned the guard. "Now,
I'm going to take another step towards you, alright?" If the guard came any closer he'd be
near enough to grab her. "No, please don't," the leopard begged, causing the
guard to stop just as he returned to his full height. "Please, just leave me
alone." "I wish I could but you're currently
on private property," the guard pointed out. "You can't stay here; the police
will be along soon. They'll find out who you are, and they'll take you home."
"H-Home?" She asked. "I... I
don't think I have a home." "Are you homeless?" Nick asked. "Is
that why you came in here; just looking for somewhere to sleep?" "No," she replied. "I... just don't
remember!" Nick watched her for another moment,
before he tried inching towards her again; the leopard looked up as she heard
his foot grinding against the pavement, and she screamed before, all of a
sudden, everything around her seemed to slow down. She saw the guard, still approaching
her but moving at a very sluggish pace, his foot elevated off the ground but
not falling. Immediately, the leopard shot to her feet, running past Nick, but
unable to resist looking back at him, to see him still moving sluggishly,
before very suddenly, he jerked as if whatever had been impeding his movement
had lifted, and his step was complete, still looking where the girl had been
but no longer was. "What the hell?" Nick demanded,
looking around for her; he looked behind him to see her sprinting away, having
not even seen her move from the wall before. He groaned before sprinting after
her. "Miss, wait!" He was close enough that he could reach out to grab her
shoulder, placing his hand upon it. Something snapped in the girl;
everything seemed to slow down, just as it had when she had moved before and
once more the guard was slowed, almost standing still as he tried to speak
again but his lips were just as slow as his body. The leopard broke away from
him and leapt several feet from the man, before he was back at his regular
speed again, eyeing her with bafflement. "How do you keep doing that?" He
asked. "I... I don't know!" She cried
before she broke off running again, and once more the guard was forced to
sprint after her... ~~~~~ "Dispatch
to any available units, check your screens; we have 10-66 reported at 108 36th
Avenue; requesting officer 10-49 location. Subject is 311 and refusing to heed
Security personnel." A hand covered in amethyst coloured scales reached for the radio
transceiver on the dashboard bringing it to a muzzle of the same colour. "This
is Charlie 2-0-6; I'm in the area and can head over; ETA three minutes." "10-4,
2-0-6; update when you are 10-97. Proceed code 3 and 10-0; suspect is 12-1A." "10-4; over and out," the reptilian figure returned before returning
the transceiver to its holstered position on the dashboard, before she reached
into her breast pocket and produced a phone, picking out a speed-dial number
and raising it to her ear. "Hey, it's me; there's a possible superhumanoid in
the area. Can you come keep an eye on things?" "I've
got Pavan with me; just tell us where to go." ~~~~~ Moments later, Obsidian arrived on scene at the parkade, parking her
cruiser across the road from the concrete structure before she climbed out,
leaving the flashing lights on as she approached the scene. She found one of
the security guards waiting for her as she approached the garage door gate. "What's the situation, sir?"
Obsidian asked. "We found an unknown young woman
wandering the parkade a few hours ago. My partner's been trying to catch her or
talk with her but she's terrified, and has some unusual powers." "Can you describe them?" Obsidian
asked, pulling out her notebook and beginning to write down the details. "Super speed, by the look of it;
she's faster than the blink of an eye," the guard returned. "Every time my
partner manages to get close, trying not to scare her, she's off again and can
reach the other side of the parkade in seconds." "I see," returned Obsidian, writing
down the info as needed. "Has she said anything?" "From what my partner has told me,
she's scared, and seems to be suffering amnesia; she doesn't know who she is or
how she even got into the parkade," replied the guard. "Off the record, what, in your
personal opinion, do you think happened to her?" Obsidian asked. "Given that she was nude when we
found her, my first guess would be the victim of a sexual assault. I know
sometimes that can be a significant shock for some." Obsidian nodded, agreeing that was a
likely possibility, given the situation. But it was never good to make
assumptions; Obsidian just preferred to know all possible scenarios so she
would have an easier time exploring all possibilities. "Alright, if you can let
me in, I'll head up and see if I can have an easier time convincing her to calm
down." "Go right ahead," the guard replied,
brandishing his keycard and approaching the gate; he held the card up to the
small scanner on the right-hand side, and after a single 'beep', the gate began
to open, raising from the ground until an opening large enough for a car to
pass through was revealed. "Thank you," bade Obsidian before
she began to walk into the parkade. "Keep an eye out, okay?" "I will." With that, the dragoness began to
make her way through the parkade. She walked past numerous cars on her way up
to the other levels, spotting makes and models of various years all around her,
even some classic cars were among them. She knew this parkade well; it wasn't
part of an office building like other parkades were; this one was for renting
parking spots for vehicles to use, either as a place to park their cars on
their way to work or to keep extra ones they couldn't park at home. Obsidian reached the fifth level,
and saw the other Security Guard standing hunched over a few meters away,
gasping for breath. She approached the guard. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked
him. The guard turned to her, looking up
with some alarm. "Oh, hello officer," he returned. "Sorry just... let me catch
my breath. That girl has... given me a good... run." "How long have you been chasing
her?" "Since we called you," he replied.
"I tried not to scare her but she suddenly took off running; I followed, trying
to make sure I didn't lose track of her." "Good work," complimented the
dragoness. "I'll take it from here; head back down below. I have some backup
coming that may be able to help calm her down and take her somewhere safe." The guard nodded. "I leave it in
your hands, officer. If you need me, I'll be within earshot." Obsidian nodded, and watched as the
guard left, heading down to the levels below, and waited until he was gone
before she reached out with her telepathy, and: <All clear, guys.> Seconds later, a pair of winged forms
descended from the darkness of the air above, revealing two avians; one red and
gold in colour, and the other a light brown, shorter and much skinnier than the
first. Both of them were unarmed, but the bigger one especially did not look,
by any means, helpless. "You guys make good time,"
complimented Obsidian. "For the record, I got here first,"
remarked Pavan, earning him a punch in the shoulder from Volcan, which made the
smaller Wind Phoenix wince. "Ow." "So, where's this superhumanoid?"
Volcan asked. Obsidian looked over her shoulder,
and pointed towards the opposite end of the parking lot. "She's over there,"
the dragoness replied. Volcan and Pavan followed where she
was pointing, searching along the walls of the opposite side until they spotted
a small figure huddled against the wall near a corner, barely visible as she
was hidden behind a green pickup truck. From what they could see, she was
young, barely in her late teens if even that far along, with the pointed, often
flicking ears of a feline. She was covered in gray and white fur, with silver
scalp hair and her body was covered in black spots, not like that of a cheetah,
but more like that of a leopard, with circles of various sizes. Volcan used his
telescopic vision to get a closer look at the leopardess without actually
having to go nearer and saw that she had the same kind of eyes as common wild
cats -large, glassy eyes with round pupils barely the size of a pea even in the
darkness. "Gray and white fur, black spots,
feline anatomy including wild-cat eyes..." muttered Volcan. "A snow leopard." "Snow leopard?" Pavan echoed with a
baffled tone. "Don't they live in Asia?" "So do Wind Phoenixes," Volcan
pointed out. "You're Indian, aren't you?" "Half Indian, half English,"
corrected Pavan. "Priorities boys," interjected
Obsidian. "We still have to try and reach her before she takes off again. Come
on." She motioned for them to follow her. The Fire and Wind Phoenixes complied,
keeping pace with her. The snow leopard watched their every
step warily, ready to run again at any moment if she had the chance. Soon, when
they were only twenty meters away, Obsidian motioned for Volcan and Pavan to
stay back and wait, before she carefully approached the snow leopard, keeping
both hands where the girl could see the to show she was not armed. When the
girl flinched, Obsidian stopped approaching, and simply knelt down. "Please... just leave me be," the
leopard called. "I am not here to hurt you,"
Obsidian spoke gently, trying to reassure the girl. "My name is Obsidian
Kimoyama; I'm a police officer. I'm here to help you." She looked past Obsidian. "What
about those avians; are they officers too?" Obsidian looked over her shoulder at
Volcan and Pavan briefly before looking back at the girl again. "No, but
they're friends," replied Obsidian. "I asked them here because they can help
you as well." "Help me how?" The girl asked. "I
don't know who I am, or where I am." "You're in the city of Unity Falls,
Alberta," replied Obsidian. "Do you know how you got here?" "I don't remember," she replied.
"All I remember is stumbling through darkness... things slowing down around me,
feeling lighter and heavier, off and on..." She held her hands over her eyes.
"I don't know anything..." "It's okay," assured Obsidian. "That
is what I am here to find out; we can help you, if you let us." The snow leopard looked at Obsidian
for a moment, a long silence stretching out between the two until the leopard
spoke again. "No; you can't... I can't stay here; I can't trust anybody," she
said. "Please just go away." Despite the purple dragoness' soothing voice the
leopard was still too scared to listen... But Obsidian wasn't giving up. "I
can't, miss; I can't simply leave you here," returned Obsidian. "You need help,
and I..." Before she could finish, the leopard moved, and suddenly was a blur
as she rushed past Obsidian, heading towards Volcan and Pavan. Instinctively, Volcan made a grab
for the leopard, and felt his fingers brush against her fur, but he missed her
otherwise, and then she raced past Pavan, startling him and making him fall
over, before she was across the parking lot and running again. Obsidian ran up
to Volcan and watched the girl get further away. "Damn it... what do we do?" She asked. "I can't get
her to calm down; her mind is so scattered and she's so confused and afraid she
won't listen.""Not to mention she's even faster than Pavan," said
Volcan. "Nobody's as quick as him, least of all you or me.""Actually, I'm not so sure that was speed," Pavan
remarked, catching the attention of the two as he stood back up. "There was
something a little bit off when she ran past me.""What do you mean?" Obsidian asked."Well, normally, when someone runs past you there's
often a bit of a draft behind them, right?" Pavan asked. "The speed that girl
was going should've tossed up our feathers -in your case, hair, 'Sid- a little
bit when she ran past us, yet when she ran past me I didn't feel a draft at
all, like she was barely moving.""Is she immaterial?" Obsidian asked. "A ghost?""No; my fingers brushed against her fur when I tried
to grab her," replied Volcan. "It felt real; she's alive, and not a spirit." He
turned his gaze towards the girl, triggering his infrared vision, evident by
his eyes as they glowed a bright yellow colour. "She's also got body heat;
spirits are cold. Something else is odd though.""What?" Pavan asked."Speedsters usually generate more body heat due to
the increased friction caused by their movement," replied Volcan. "Because of
that the heat coming from her legs should be higher than average, but it's
still regular. I think Pavan's onto something; I don't think she is a speedster."Obsidian turned towards the girl, eyeing her with
curiosity as she stared back at them in fear. "Then... how is she able to move
like that?" Volcan blinked, and his eyes
reverted back to normal again, peering at the snow leopard with his
fluorescent, sky blue orbs. "I have no idea..." "Maybe I can catch her," Pavan
stated. "Even if she isn't using super speed I'm still the fastest bird in this
city." "No; we're not here to chase her,"
Volcan returned. "Go cover the ramp; make sure she doesn't go down below. 'Sid
and I will think of something." "Alright, but don't expect me to
stand around all night," Pavan pointed out. "Yanno I hate standing in one place
for too long; like I always say..." "On the move to keep your groove; we
know," Volcan interjected. "Just get your arse over there and don't let her
past you." "Alright, alright," Pavan returned,
grumbling as he took to the air, using his wind powers to carry himself over to
the ramp that led below to the fourth level. Volcan looked at Obsidian. "Let's
keep trying to talk to her," he offered, earning a nod of agreement from
Obsidian. They approached the girl again, once
more Obsidian leading the two. She backed up against the wall as they neared,
and stopped a short distance from her, as before. "Miss, don't run like that
again, please; I promise that we're not here to harm you." "How can I know that?" The girl
asked. "How can we prove it to you?" Volcan
asked. "I... I don't know." "Look," began Obsidian. "If I remove
my belt and set aside my tools, will that help?" The girl thought about it for a
moment, looking at the dragoness' belt of equipment, most especially her
sidearm, and with that, nodded to her. Obsidian unbuckled the belt, and walked
back several steps, setting the belt down before returning to where she was
standing previously, just in front of Volcan. "There; that any better?" Obsidian
asked, smiling pleasantly. The girl nodded. "A little..." "Can you remember anything about
yourself?" Volcan asked. "Name, where you live or where you were before you came
to this parkade? Think hard; take as long as you need." The leopard shut her eyes, and for
several moments, she was silent. Volcan and Obsidian waited patiently, giving
her all the time she needed. During that time, they didn't move any closer to
her, not wanting to spook her again, and when she began to speak once more,
they listened. "I remember... a dark room. I was in
a confined space, surrounded in some sort of liquid but I wasn't drowning," she
explained. "Sometimes, I could hear people outside... 'T' some said when they
addressed me, but eventually they stopped coming. I was alone, and all I could
do was keep sleeping until one day, I was able to get out of the confinement I
was in; some sort of glass cylinder. I kicked open the door, and fell out onto
a metal grated floor... "I walked through this place... I
remember seeing some kind of monster inside; I hid from it, and eventually I
managed to find my way to open air. I ran away, descending down a steep slope
until I came to this city; I could see its bright lights but I don't remember
arriving, or coming into this... parkade?" She looked around. "Everything is so
unclear." Volcan looked at Obsidian, a
startled look of realization on his face. "Hey... you thinking what I'm
thinking, 'Sid?" "I haven't read your mind, so I
don't know," the dragoness jested, earning a scornful look from the phoenix.
"Just kidding... but," her face turned serious, "I think we're of a mind on the
subject; it sounds like she came out of a laboratory." "An escapee from Rex?" "No; the fact she was addressed as
'T' seem to indicate some kind of codename; not Rex's M.O. from what we know,"
replied Obsidian. "And that leaves only one person, Nero." "She's a Project?" "Looks that way," replied Obsidian.
"We won't know for sure unless Ayane takes a look at her and checked for
nanites." Volcan nodded, and turned to the
girl, stepping past Obsidian. "Miss," he began, but stopped walking when she
flinched. "I think I know who can help you find the answers you need." "Who?" The girl asked. "A very close friend of mine,"
replied Volcan. "She can help you find out who and what you are, but more than
that, there's another friend of mine who is just like you, and you could have a
home with him." Volcan knelt down to eye level with her, giving her a
sympathetic look as he continued speaking. "I can't promise you that you'll
like what you find, but I can give
you my word that you won't be forced to face it alone. All I ask is that you
trust me, and give me a chance." The leopard girl looked at Volcan
for a moment; he could tell just by looking into her eyes that she was fighting
between her basic instinct and trusting him, confusion and desperation in her
mind; confused as to who she was or who she could trust, uncertain if she could
actually trust this avian before her, but desperate to know if she had a place
in the word. Slowly, she rose to her feet, and stepped towards Volcan. The
phoenix's eyes met hers with every step she took; he didn't move, simply
letting her come to him at her own pace, until she was only a few short feet
away. He stood back up to his full height, utterly dwarfing the girl with his
large size, but she was no longer afraid of him. Abruptly the girl threw herself at
Volcan and wrapped him in a tight hug; he was slightly surprised at first but
hadn't been entirely unexpecting it. He put his arms around the girl gently and
covered her with his wings, blanketing her in warmth and his soft feathers,
which helped relax her. In his arms, despite not even knowing him, the girl
felt safe, and pulled herself closer to him, almost wishing she could hide in
his feathers forever... Obsidian watched the spectacle for a
moment before she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked back to see Pavan
standing there, holding out her belt of equipment to her. She nodded to the
wind phoenix and put the belt back on before she picked her phone out of her
pocket and dialed a number before holding it up to her ear, waiting for an
answer. "Vinson." "Greg it's me," returned Obsidian. "I
got the girl at the parkade; had some help from Volcan too. We're going to need
to set something up for her." ~~~~~ Later on that night at the hospital,
the nameless girl was sleeping quietly in one of the rooms, having absolute
privacy except for occasional check-ins by nurses, bringing her anything she
asked for, and making sure she was comfortable. Volcan, Obsidian, Gregory and
Pavan all stood in the waiting room, discussing everything that took place
while they waited for two others to arrive at the hospital. "So you think she is one of these...
Projects?" Gregory asked. "What makes you so certain?" "Her powers don't seem to be
natural," replied Volcan. "I've met Speedsters before; Pavan's one, Xavier was
another -someone I fought alongside during the war. Speedsters generate
friction as they run due the increased rate their muscles are working, and so
generate more body heat. This girl, however, stayed regular body temp every
time she moved. For a speedster, that's impossible; even if their bodies were
naturally cold like a vampire, they'd still generate some heat." "So, our only conclusion then is
that she's like Rikyuu; a test tube baby," Pavan remarked. Obsidian glared at
the Wind Phoenix angrily, making him recoil. "Hey, what? What'd I say?" "Something rather disrespectful,
Pavan," stated Obsidian. "Just because Rikyuu's not born to
parents like you and I are doesn't make him any less of a person," added
Volcan. "Do not refer to him as any less around us." Pavan sulked, but looked
honestly apologetic as he said he was sorry. "Just call him 'Project' from now
on," replied Volcan. "He prefers it." "Right; mentally noted." The doors alongside the waiting room
opened; the group turned to see two dragons, one a red, female Eastern-type
without wings or horns, and with little fins where the ears on a human would
be, dressed in a knee-length black skirt and a white tanktop. The second
dragon, a blue Western-type, much taller than the red and fairly muscular as
well, dressed in a red vest and black pants, the former of which was closed and
zipped up for the sake of decency; he wasn't one for wearing shirts. "Glad you guys could come," Volcan
said to Rikyuu and Ayane. "So... another of Nero's works are
here?" Ayane asked. "Where is she?" Volcan glanced up the hall. "Third
room on the right; follow me." He said, before leading the two up the hall to
where the leopard was. Everyone followed, with neither Rikyuu nor Ayane
knowing what to expect from this visit. Ayane had, carried in her hand, a small
scanning device that she brought along to detect nanites; it looked like a
common TV remote at first, except with fewer buttons, no sensor light at the
tip, and a flared upper portion with a small screen, currently dark.The group reached the room, and Volcan pointed in
through the window. Obsidian, and Pavan kept back; they had already seen the
girl, after all, but Rikyuu, Ayane and Gregory had not. They peered inside, and
saw the sleeping form of the leopard, laying comfortably on the hospital bed,
an empty plate on her side table where food had once been, and a half-empty
bottle of water rested next to the plate. Through the white blanket, her
slender form could still be seen quite clearly, and only now did Volcan notice
just how skinny she was."My god..." Rikyuu breathed."She looks so young," Gregory remarked."Her growth acceleration process mustn't have been
finished," remarked Ayane. "Either that, or something in her design made her
stop aging at adolescence, causing her to begin aging normally. This is all, of
course, assuming she is a project.""Hold on; this Nero person accelerates their aging?"
Gregory asked."Believe it or not, Rikyuu here isn't even half the
age of your daughter, Greg," Volcan pointed out, gesturing to the blue dragon,
who gave the hawk a sheepish grin in return.Gregory blinked. "What controversy it would cause,
if the world knew a four year old destroyed the flagship of the Advanced
Military..."Ayane glanced at Gregory. "Suppose it's possible I
can go in, so I can run the scan?""Think you can do so without waking her up?" Gregory
asked."I can move pretty quietly when I need to." After a moment of thought, Gregory
nodded in agreement. "Then, I suppose so. But please, do everything possible to
not wake her up." "I won't be long," returned Ayane
before she left the group, and entered the hospital room through the bedroom
door, silently approaching the leopard's bed and tapping a few buttons on the
device she was carrying. The screen blinked to life, casting a light over her face
as she held it in alignment with the leopard, staying a good foot or so from
the bed as she waited. The others waited outside, watching
with interested Ayane performed her diagnostic on the leopard. Only minutes
passed before Ayane was on her way out again, stepping out of the hospital room
with the scanner in her hand and rejoining the group. "What'd you find out?" Volcan asked. "That your suspicions are right,"
replied Ayane. "She's a Project, alright; a powerful one at that." "How powerful?" Rikyuu asked. "Well, the nanotech in her body
seems to emit a powerful field that causes a warp in space and time around her,
making the entire passage of the continuum decrease its pace dramatically." "...What?" Pavan asked. "She said the leopard is slowing
down time itself," replied Volcan. "Oh that's what she... wait, what?!" Pavan barked, prompting both
Obsidian and Volcan to shush him. "You're in a hospital, son," reminded Gregory, keeping his voice level. "Sorry," whispered Pavan, meekly. Volcan looked at Ayane. "So...
you're telling us that this girl wasn't running really fast, we were all just
moving super-slow?" "That about sums it up, yeah,"
returned Ayane, nodding. "I've never seen another Project with an ability like
that; the nanites in her body may even be more advanced than Rikyuu's, and
that's saying something." "That's a dangerous gift," stated
Gregory, peering into the room. "Can she control it?" "Based on what we saw at the
Parkade, she can't use them for long," Obsidian replied. "Seems to only happen
in bursts." "I noticed that too in my scans; it
seems the power output of the nanites still have limits," remarked Ayane. "It's
likely she'd be considered a 'Prototype' by Nero and his people; still under development
but, a sign of progress." "How'd she escape then?" Obsidian
asked. "If she was that far along with a successful power, there's no way Nero
would let her go so easily." "True... unless even he couldn't
stop her," said Rikyuu. "Remember, I was
freed from him too, thanks to Obsidian. Perhaps she found a way to use her
powers to escape; once she was out of the capsule, there'd have been little
anyone could have done to keep her from leaving with an ability like that." He
peered into the room. "Now... all she needs is a home. I think she'd be safest
living with me." "It's going to start to get crowded
at your place if we keep finding these Projects, buddy," remarked Pavan. "You
need a farm or something." "Do I look like the farm type?"
Rikyuu asked, matter-of-factly. "Still, you have a point. I just might need to
get a bigger place." Obsidian rubbed her chin in thought.
"There's dozens of acreages and such outside of the city, some with small
houses or big ones, others a blank lots." Volcan stepped in. "Hey, hold on.
Maybe this is a conversation for another time; we still don't know what the
girl might want..." He looked into the room. "And, we still have to think of a
name for her; can't just keep calling her 'T' like she said the guys at the lab
do." "Well, Volc, you've always been good
at coming up with names," said Rikyuu. "What're your thoughts on what we should
call her?" Volcan rubbed his chin in thought,
shutting his eyes and going through numerous names in his head. He liked giving
unique names to anything he bothered naming at all, so it had to be something
that stood out to him. Eventually he found his mind running through some
Japanese words Hikari had taught him during the war, and one stood out to him.
"Slow..." he muttered. "Call her 'slow'? That's kind of..."
Pavan began, but didn't finish before Volcan spoke again. "Yurui." "Yuri? That's a common name in
Russia," Gregory remarked. "Not like that; spell it
'Y-U-R-U-I'; it's the Japanese word for Loose, Lenient and Slow; I figure the
'slow' part suits her because she slows down time," explained Volcan. "Yurui," repeated Rikyuu. "It sounds
perfect for her. Let's see what she thinks of it when she wakes up." Obsidian smiled. "I'm sure she'll
like it." ~~~~~ The Snow Leopard was left in the
hospital for a few more days until she was healthy enough to go out again. The
group has asked her about the name they had chosen for her, and the leopard
found she liked it; henceforth, she was called 'Yurui', and now that she was
healthy enough to leave the hospital, Volcan called on his friend, Tsume, to
lend her some clothes until they could go shopping for something more her size,
something Tsume was happy to help with. On the day of her release, Tsume and Obsidian picked
Yurui up from the hospital, and offered to help her get freshened up. They took
her to a barbershop in C-Plaza, where she was given a haircut to suit her
appearance; she cut the back of her hair short, but left two stylish bangs in
the front that hung on either side of her face, giving her a rather tomboyish
look that actually complimented her features well. Afterwords, the three girls
went shopping at several stores around the area, starting with a clothing
store. The girls tried on countless outfits together, and eventually Yurui
found a look she liked; a pink tanktop with dark blue jeans, adding to the
tomboyish look her hair already gave her, and really bringing out the colour in
her fur surprisingly well.After their day of shopping, the girls took Yurui
out to see Volcan and his band mates, including Pavan, Vinge and Brent, at the
home of the lattermost in the countryside. The boys were practicing in the yard
when they saw Tsume's car pull up, and set down their instruments to go and
greet the girls. As they neared, Yurui's eyes fell on the white avian in the
group."Who's that?" She asked Tsume."Oh, him? That's Vinge; he's kind of the new guy on
the group," replied Tsume. "He comes across as serious and maybe a little stern
but don't let that fool you; he's quite gentle, and really, really smart.""Not to mention, a phenominal singing voice," added
Obsidian. She noticed a slight blush on Yurui's face as she watched Vinge,
still huddled down in the back seat where the windows were tinted and the Ice
Phoenix likely couldn't see her. The dragoness smiled. "You find him rather
handsome do you?""What?! Well sure, but...!" Yurui flushed. "Hey,
don't read my mind!""I'm not," returned Obsidian. "Your face is giving
me all the information I need." Both her and Tsume began giggling at how
flustered Yurui was getting.Yurui sighed in exasperation, but found herself
smiling as well. "Okay... yes; I do find him quite handsome.""Well, then, come and meet him!" Tsume urged,
opening the door to the car and stepping out, so that she could slide the back
seat forward enough for Yurui to climb out.Yurui hesitated, but eventually nodded, and with a
helping hand from the Earth Phoenix, the snow leopard stepped out of the car,
and walked with the girls to go and meet the members of Winged Fury... More adventures await for Yurui and her newfound family the Os-Nàdarra
Sentinels. But who is Nero really, and what are his motives or creating an
entire race of Superhumanoid beings?That's something we hope to find out someday...Volcan and Rikyuu