FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Merc's Metamorphs

copyright 2024 comidacomida

Chapter 19: Lackeys

Frank and his boyfriends spent the rest of the day scouting out the city in their human forms, just a trio of college students "pushing their luck in a city under siege". That was Chance's way of putting it, using his best 'movie announcer' voice to describe what turned out to be a relatively boring day-- as expected. They all knew fully well that the early morning attack on a bank meant that the offending Metamorphs wouldn't be able to do anything else that day. The fact that the city essentially stayed in lock-down meant that they encountered few other pedestrians and only a sparse amount of traffic.

One thing the walk-about did for them was to get their eyes on the bank heist location. They remained in constant contact with Christopher who, true-to-form for a 'guy in the chair', remained safely at home, communicating with them remotely. While passing by the bank (the cops had it closed off and Frank didn't want to attract any attention) they started answering numerous questions from Cy about the crime scene; Frank heard the sound of keys on a keyboard being struck rapidly as the newest member of their group took copious notes.

Their patrol continued past when Frank would have had it end because Cy asked them to check out something else: according to his records the bank had just received a shipment of money the prior night and based on Christopher's research, there was a another bank and high end grocery store across town that were both set to receive funds and inventory that very night. They all agreed that it was worth at least a casual glance and they added that to a very round-about route on their way back to campus.

Frank talked Christopher through the surroundings of each location and, even though Cy wasn't willing to rule out either site he proposed that the jewelry store was the most likely target if the Metamorphs attacked the following morning-- and morning WOULD be the most likely time for them to stroke. Juan asked how Christopher came up with that logic, and their 'guy in the chair' spent ten minutes of their trip back home explaining how he came up with the conclusion. Chance thought most of it sounded like crap, but Frank was willing to give Cy the benefit of the doubt.

With little left to do that day, the three of them relaxed in their dorm for the afternoon and evening. Getting some extra time out of classes was one thing, but they ended up using most of it for work. Settling in, Frank elected to spend the evening as they did before any big job: a hearty dinner, a few TV shows or streamed movie, and sex... lots of sex. They accomplished all of it and went to bed early with a plan of awakening with the sun.

The following morning started off quietly but there was an early announcement on the news channels and radio stations that the city offices would be closed again, as too would be the schools, colleges, and universities. The mayor indicated that it was out of an abundance of precaution, and it gave the trio more free time to complete their task and so they headed out just after dawn, each carrying a sports bag for their clothes also containing their Metamorph suits.

In order to play it safe, Frank chose a patrol route between the proposed bank and jewelry store, favoring the store by nearly a block. The three of them repeated their prior day's seemingly 'meandering college student' activity as they chatted one another up discussing anything and everything that a trio of college students might discuss, but it was anything but. The many months they'd spent hiding in plain sight as humans had helped them to create a subtle code of sorts, allowing them to hide the meanings of their discussion with double-speak disguised as casual bro-talk.

While it was an imperfect communication style it did help get a few ideas across as they firmed up their plans. There was very little intel about what to expect but they had to be ready for anything so they went over a few different tactical plans, most focused on the jewelry store, with a few taking the bank into consideration just in case. As it turned out, however, the plans for the bank didn't turn out to be needed; the three were turning the corner to walk onto the same boulevard as the jewelry store when a loud boom caused all of the nearby store front windows to shatter and Frank stumbled from the surprise shock wave.

The impact of the pressure was far too weak to be an explosive device and he stepped back more from surprise than anything else, but they all quickly took cover. It was Juan who spoke quietly "Cheetah. I saw her on the street. It's Redshift."

Frank had heard of Redshift well before becoming a Metamorph himself-- she'd worked with a lot of Legendary Hero teams and had even run with a few different Metamorph groups but, last he'd known, she was NOT a net-negative Metamorph. Realizing he didn't have time to consider things too closely, he simply motioned to the nearby alley and all three of them raced into it, getting ready for the change. If the net-negative group was hitting the jewelry store they didn't have a lot of time.

Once Merc had assumed his Kangacobra form he made a call not to activate any of his powers; without knowing what Metamorphs they'd be facing he didn't want to dedicate anything. After all, he was part kangaroo, so he made solid use of his strong legs, bounding up to a fire escape so he could drop the ladder for Bruiser and Demon. Once they were in place they moved as one, heading over in crouched postures so they could gaze over the lip of the building to get a better look at the goings on down at street level.

Merc noticed right away that the Cheetah had stopped in front of the jewelry store and stood there, as if waiting for something. Bruiser's mind speak called out "There's someone invisible on the street by her-- I can sense another mind."

Demon's mind spoke up next. "That's only two. Didn't Christopher say that the Chess Master said there'd be four?"

Nobody had a chance to answer him as the Cheetah turned into a blur for all of a half-second, quickly moving out of position then returning to that same position, creating another sonic boom and causing the glass in the windows of the jewelry store to shatter. The alarms, of course, went off. Merc couldn't help but comment "Hardly a good use of powers... a rock could've done the same thing."

Bruiser continued his narration, apparently ignoring the Kangacobra's critique. "Invisible one's heading into the store... still can't tell much more about who it is."

Demon, Metamorph fan that he was, began mentally listing out the various names he knew of Metamorphs who had any kind of power that could result in invisibility; whether it was camouflage, light bending, creating darkness, or pigment-changing fur/skin/scales, the Pit bull did not stop until Merc called for metal silence with a directed statement of "Look."

Using his mind, Merc didn't actually have to point for his teammates to understand what he wanted them to see. A large figure stood on a two story building adjacent to the Metamorph's targeted building. Whatever lurked there was hard to make out as it was hunkering down among the HVAC unit, and exhaust vents, making it hard to see exactly who or what it was. The Kangacobra made the call. "Whoever that is, we gotta get moving. That's still only three, so keep your eyes peeled."

With that, Merc's Metamorphs jumped into action; in Merc's case it was literal. Demon slipped through the floors in the building on which he stood and stepped out through the wall, just a few seconds behind the Kangacobra. As usual, Bruiser kept himself under cover, letting the other two get noticed so he could join the fray at an advantageous moment. The Kangacobra glanced toward Demon and nodded his head with a wink; the Pit bull would be announcing their presence. He did so with verve. "Hey! Didn't'cher mama ever tell you not to take what don't belong to ya?"

The Cheetah turned around to face them immediately, feline eyes locking onto them as she moved into a defensive stance. Beside her, two large cloth bags appeared, followed a moment later by a barely five foot tall Chinchilla. Merc remembered seeing him at events but it'd been awhile. He pointed the overburdened rodent to his companions in their private mind speak. "Looks like it was Fade. Good guess, Demon."

The Dog grinned. "Third on my list... weird seeing him steal stuff though."

Merc acknowledged it. "Right. Not normally Redshift's go-to either. Neither of these two are known for being net negative... what gives?"

Nobody was able to provide an answer before the figure lurking atop the roof adjacent to the jewelry store sprang up and over the parapet and fell the two stories to the sidewalk below. It was a broad, bulky, muscled Elephant woman and when she landed the entire ground shook. The concrete on the sidewalk around her exploded, but not due to the impact; it rose up and encased her body in a set of stony armor. Bruiser finally countered Merc's question. "Shit. It's Petra... that explains it."

Net negative Metamorph groups weren't entirely common but they also weren't super rare. What WAS rare however were individual Metamorphs who ran net negative activities solo. Petra was one such individual, only occasionally taking on additional Metamorphs for one-off odd jobs. Merc had never tussled with her before but, as the Elephant approached the Cheetah and Chinchilla to offer her support, he could tell that they were running a team up; they were definitely together.

Demon quickly interjected "I still can't see a fourth though."

One again Bruiser provided the answer. "I can sense a fourth mind... same roof as the one Petra was on."

The first member of the opposing team to speak up was Redshift, and her tone of voice suggested hesitance. "It's Merc's Metamorphs... what's the plan, Petra?"

Out of the many things Petra was, a tactician was NOT one of them, and of all of the things Petra was known for, patience was also not one. "Fuck em up, girly-girl... or are ya afraid of breaking a nail?"

Fade took a step back. "You didn't say anything about fighting other Metamorphs, Petra."

The Elephant extended an arm and the stone armor on it extended to block off the Chinchilla's movement. "Either you fight them, pip squeak, or you don't get your cut."

Bruiser emerged from cover, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "There doesn't HAVE to be violence... can't we talk this over?"

Petra got right down to business. "Is THAT it? Fine... how much of the cut you want to look the other way? If it's more than 25% you're asking too much?"

Merc took over, taking a step forward so he could draw the attention of the other team. When he spoke he made sure to show off his fangs to further accentuate that he could very well be a threat and was worthy of their focus. "Actually, we were thinking more along the lines of putting back what you're taking and slinking off before the cops show up so nobody has to The Box."

Flexing, the Elephant woman was obviously not about to relent. "We can handle a few cops... wadda you think we are, Henchies? Well? What're ya waiting for? Get em, now, or you lose your share, you worthless shits!"

Despite how obviously reluctant Redshift and Fade appeared to be, the Cheetah renewed her fighting stance and the Chinchilla sighed, setting down the bags of ill gotten gains and disappears from view. His voice spoke up "I swear I'm not running away, Petra."

The group definitely didn't look like they had the kind of cohesion as his but, then again, Merc reminded himself, few did. Nodding to Demon, the Kangacobra approached, ready to engage a combat before he was pushed off his game by a mental exclamation from Bruiser. "It's Torpedo! HE'S their fourth?"

Merc looked up and, true to form, Torpedo had grabbed hold of a downspout and slid down to the ground floor. Their eyes met and the Dolphin glanced at the Kangacobra and his group, then immediately turned tail to flee. Merc considered for almost a full five seconds before deciding that he was past letting them get away; activating his first selected power the Kangacobra created a huge sticky organic glue puddle right in front of Torpedo. The Dolphin stepped into it and fell forward, landing on more of the gunk chest-first; he wasn't going to be going anywhere.

The sound of a rapid drumming of impacts announced that combat had started. Looking over his shoulder, Merc saw that Redshift was unleashing a lightning series of blows against Demon, who managed to weather them but the speed at which she landed her strikes suggested that the poor Dog would end up black-and-blue if it kept up. Every time Demon attempted a counter attack the Cheetah would end up on another side of him and take advantage of the newly created opening. Merc put a quick stop to it by summoning a fresh glue puddle to the rear of Demon and, like clockwork, Redshift zipped behind him only to get caught in it.

The Pit bull turned around to face her once she cried out in surprise and he raised his fists. She flinched immediately and he just stuck his tongue out at her. "Yeah right... like I'm gonna fuckin' hit a lady when she's already outta the fight."

A moment later, Demon received his reward for his chivalry: Petra straight arm punched him upside the head with a rock-covered fist and sent the Pit bull flying. The Elephant woman gloated. "Well that just makes MY job easier!"

Merc, who had been more focused on the Dolphin turned back to help, and Bruiser did the same. The Orca kept Petra distracted while the Kangacobra sprang to aid Demon, who was on the ground with his jaw hanging at an odd angle. Selecting his second power for the day, Merc reached out and quickly set the Dog's jaw, using rapid cellular regeneration to not only put it back properly in place, but to abate the concussion that had knocked the Pit bull out cold. Demon jumped up, at the ready with an emphatic "That damn bitch!"

Bruiser came soaring through the air at them, having been thrown mightily by Petra. Both Merc and Demon caught him, setting him back to the ground. Even as the Elephant came stampeding in at them, Merc's Metamorphs assumed a defensive posture in unison and, thanks to their mental connection, both of Merc's boyfriends knew what he had planned. Right before Petra came within swinging distance a large pool of adhesive appeared beneath her feet. Readying to attach once she was stuck in place, the three Metamorphs were caught by surprise when Petra just yanked one foot up then the other, pulling asphalt along with her; a moment later she collided with the three and everyone went sprawling.

All four of them went flying in various directions; Petra's velocity coupled with a stumble from the added asphalt and colliding with Merc's team meant that she ended up sprawling onto the street while Bruiser collided with an adjacent building, Demon skidded along the street across two lanes on is back, and Merc was launched up into the air, spiraling tail-over-ears. He had long-since learned to be at home in the air and that, combined with the natural flexibility of is Kangacobra form, Merc had the wherewithal to twist his body, getting his feet beneath him before he came down, and landed expertly on his feet.

Spinning around to face Petra, Merc quickly spread out a large pool of adhesive beneath Petra t keep the Elephant on the ground; unfortunately she just picked up the concrete with her and melded it into her earthen armor. Petra was capable of pulling a layer of earth off the top of the ground and mold it to fit her body so realized then and there that he'd have to find another way to get her to stop. As Bruiser shook off dust from the cracked building wall and Demon griped about the case of road rash on his back, Merc's Metamorphs gathered up again. Merc wanted to make sure that his companions knew the plan.

He sent it to them in a simple, matter-of-fact mental broadcast. "Remember what we did to that Altered group in Atlanta?"

Demon grinned wide. "I loved Atlanta."

Bruiser was a little more reserved. "Just be careful, Demon-- you can only afford to take so many hits to the head."

The Pit bull switched over to speaking aloud. "Don't worry, guys... I got this one."

Petra spread her earthen armor back across her body and slammed two of her rock-covered fists together in front of herself. "Bring it, doggy!"

Merc and Bruiser often complained that Demon only really had one method of fighting and, in truth, while the Pit bull was headstrong and usually took the frontal approach once the fighting was underway, he seemed a master strategist compared to Petra, who only seemed to have a single tactic: charging. Demon and Petra ran at one another full speed and the Elephant lowered her head, squaring her shoulders like a stony pachyderm battering ram. Merc had no doubt that she could probably have charged through a wall, but Demon was not about to take the blow head-on and, at the last minute, he turned his body aside, narrowly avoiding contact with the enraged Elephant.

Merc was distracted for a moment by a mental comment from Bruiser. "Fade is heading off down the street with a bag of loot... about twenty yards out."

The Kangacobra responded casually, glancing that direction. "Got it."

The Chinchilla appeared with a dejected groan, his feet stuck to the street as he acknowledged his predicament with a plainly stated "Well, shit."

Glancing back to Demon, Merc was pleased to see that the Pit bull had managed to grapple Petra from the side and, as he struggled to keep hold of her as she attempted to break free, Demon maintained his grip as he used his phasing ability and began to sink into the ground, taking the Elephant with him. With a worse hold due to the ground no longer providing him leverage, the Dog was ultimately pushed back as Petra earned her freedom.

Without Demon holding onto her, however, she no longer phased through the ground and she ended up with everything below her hips submerged. The Pit bull, however, was able to step right back up out of the ground. Petra, despite her great strength and control over the top layer of earth, had been caught fast and, just like that, combat was over; Merc's Metamorphs stood victorious.

All four of their opponents were immobilized with no real chance of escape; Merc was happy enough to call that a win, but still wanted to confirm it. Since their opponents were up to thirty yards apart, the Kangacobra made sure to shout so all of them could hear. "Alright you four. Time to give it up!"

Fade was the firs to do so, making use of the universal Metamorph sign for surrender: he returned to his Human form. Fade, despite being a short, pudgy little Chinchilla as a Metamorph turned out surprisingly to be at least six inches taller than Frank was as a Human. He was a rail-thin black man and, since all the Chinchilla had worn was a pair of pants, they ended up fitting him well enough as a pair of shorts. Bruiser went to take him into custody with a pair of shackles designed for Powered individuals.

Demon, in the meantime, went to apprehend Redshift who had also resumed her Human form. The Cheetah had been wispy of build and, even though she was model-thin as a Human, her spandex suit was barely large enough to accommodate. Merc would have classified her as 'pretty' if he weren't a professional; he had other concerns in mind. Even as he made his way toward Torpedo, he shouted to his companions "Both of you deal with Petra-- no last-minute problems, right, guys?"

They responded in unison "Right!"

Approaching the Dolphin, who had yet to change back, Merc knelt down a short distance from Torpedo's head. "Well damn, man... I thought you were one of the good ones, and here I find out you're net negative. What the hell?"

Torpedo had stopped struggling, but didn't bother responding. Behind him, Merc heard Petra (back as a Human) shouting profanities at his teammates, but he tuned that out, choosing to focus on the strange situation in front of him. "So... you gonna tell me what your deal is, or what?"

Torpedo finally spoke, his voice coming out as a terse "Not much to say."

Sighing, Merc countered his adhesive power and he grabbed hold of the Dolphin's arm to help him up. "Now's a good as chance as any to come up with something to say, man. Last I heard you were getting your contracts through N.A.L.E. and staying far away from 'net negs' like Petra... so what gives?"

Free of the goo trapping him to the street it could have been possible for Torpedo to break free and make a run for it, but the Dolphin, despite not returning to Human form, didn't bother trying to escape. "What differences does it make? It's not like you'd understand."

Merc didn't like getting the cold shoulder. "Try me."

Letting out a deep sigh through his blow hole, Torpedo rubbed at his chest as if trying to brush off adhesive that was no longer there. Taking three steps, the Dolphin leaned back against a street light. "They canned me."

The Kangacobra thought that he was joking. "You mean... like what tuna companies do to wild dolphins?"

He got a dirty stare for his trouble, and Torpedo elaborated. "No, you ass... N.A.L.E. did. They had an administrative shift in staffing. Their governing board decided that there was no reason to have a pay differential between Metamorphs and Altered. They increased Altered benefits like providing free room and board without it coming out of their salary and, to make up for it, they lowered benefits for Metamorphs."

The statement caught Merc by surprise. "No shit? Fuck."

Torpedo folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah. Like I said: you wouldn't understand. Merc's Metamorphs can do freelance work-- you're a known name and you have your own team. Getting black listed by N.A.L.E. means I don't have a lot of options."

Something didn't add up, and Merc called him on it. "Wait... you said they just changed the pay scale. How does that get you blacklisted?"

Torpedo pushed himself off of the light pole and moved to stand in front of Merc, hands on his hips as he stared down the Kangacobra. "A dozen of us signed a petition demanding clarification and requesting a hearing. Out of the twelve, they put three on notice and released nine of us from service with a 'no hire' rating."

The statement caught Merc off guard; of course he'd heard of 'no hire' ratings, but those were rarely issued, and usually only for extreme transgressions. Something like filing a complaint wouldn't seem like a suitable offense. A pang of indignation began to grow within the Kangacobra. "What about... like.. whistle blower protection or something?"

The Dolphin rolled his eyes. "They'd have to be doing something wrong and, technically, any Powered organization gets to set their own HR rules. That's not even the worst of it though, if you think about it."

Merc was surprised by Torpedo's casual announcement. "Worse then getting fired and being black listed by any registered agency?"

Torpedo stared him down. "The nine of us they let go all had icon status in marginalized groups... me, Tigra, Flare, and Sapphire--"

The Kangacobra recognized all of them for their work championing the LGBTQ+ community; they had, in fact, at one time had a short-lived Metamorph Group put together by Tigra (a lioness, funny enough) called 'The Pride'. Merc saw where the statement was going. "I'm guessing the three who weren't fired..."

The Dolphin nodded. "Yeah... 'run of the mill normies' you could say... except for the whole Metamorph thing. As for the others, Zulu and Hawk were both outspoken as being African American and I know that Thorne was one of the few N.A.L.E. workers who didn't hide his Human identity--"

Merc remembered hearing about that. "Enrique Garcia... he's from Guatemala. Parents moved here when he was three, right?"

Torpedo offered a humorless 'ha'. "Oh, you saw the documentary too?"

Merc hit the lamp post Torpedo had been leaning against. "This is fucking discrimination. Someone should--"

The accusatory stare returned. "Do what? File a complaint?"

The Kangacobra had lived his life as a homosexual Hispanic and he knew enough to realize that Torpedo's jaded doubt was well-founded. Rather than focus on resolving the problem, he dug deeper to figure something else out. "Why though? Why now?"

The Dolphin shrugged. "Does it even matter? It's happening. The whole administrative change means that N.A.L.E. has a better employment plan for Altered that they can treat like slaves, and any Metamorphs who want to continue working there do so at a discount. I mean, given the choice I probably would have ended up quitting but, since they black listed me it's not like I can get another job."

Merc filled in the blanks. "Except with 'net negs' like Petra."

Torpedo let out a defeatist sigh. "Right... but, hey, I can look at the bright side: once I get into The Box I get free room and board, right? Almost makes up for being registered... I guess."

The statement made Merc wince; a Metamorph's Human identity was one of the most closely guarded secrets and, with few exceptions any Metamorph arrested and put in The Box lost that anonymity. He didn't envy Torpedo and, in truth, he wished he could have done something to help. "I'm sorry, man... I really am, but you have to shift back to Human for the arrest. If I could do anything I--

The Kangacobra didn't get a chance to finish his statement as a gloved hand appeared on either side of the Dolphin's head and, with a quick, singular motion, gripped melon and beak, then twisted; Torpedo's neck snapped cleanly and the Dolphin dropped like a sack of potatoes, body returning to Human form before hitting the ground. In Torpedo's place stood a smiling General Glory. "Well, Merc... looks like we ended up working together again sooner than expected.

Merc screamed "What the FUCK?!?!"

The Legendary Hero simply dusted his gloved hands off against one another. "Taking out the trash, as they say. You and your team did a fine job of apprehending most of the Net Negative group... shame the porpoise didn't surrender... but I suppose this was one time that homosexual chose NOT to roll over."

There was no doubt in Merc's mind that General Glory knew full well that Torpedo had surrendered; the fact that the Dolphin had remained in his Metamorph form was a technicality. The Kangacobra balled a fist, his black glove creaking from strain. He was just about to uppercut the asshole but Demon took hold of Merc's wrist before he could. The Dog's warning was provided mentally, reminding the Kangacobra that attacking a Legendary Hero was a sure way to go Net Negative in one go, but what Demon said was far more casual. "We're done here, Merc... Come on... let's go close out the contract."

The Kangacobra remained where he was for far longer than he probably should have, staring down General Glory who, in all his self-satisfied pomp, looked like he was eagerly inviting the Metamorph to try something. Biting back the pure rage, Merc cleched his paw even tighter, so much so that black goo burbled out between flesh and fabric. Not trusting himself to say more than a few words, the Kangacobra stuck with hissing out. "You're an asshole, Glory."

The Legendary Hero was all smiles. "I look forward to continuing this wonderful relationship, Merc. I'll be seeing you around!"

Gritting his teeth, Merc ignored that his fangs were biting into his own flesh as he hissed his final words under his breath. "Not if I see you first..."