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Nat Foster immigrated to the United States in the spring of 2010 with her mate Benjamin Foster. Seven years would pass before Medusa would come to tear Nat apart and put her back together as something she was never supposed to be. The origin of the suit she now wears is a mystery, as it seems to have been custom built just for her.

"The layover in Alaska is gonna be another two days", Benjamin sighed, watching his mate through the web cam, "I'm very concerned about what might happen if they have to remove bags from the plane, if they do, it could be a problem."

"Why is that?", Nat asked in reply, though she couldn't help but grin on the inside, because she knew what was up.

"I've got my SOPMOD with me", Benjamin said quietly, "40mm, Suppressor, SBR and automatic? Hon if they catch me with that thing my ass is going away for a long time."

"Don't you have all of your stamps with you?", Nat asked, a grin beginning to consume the edges of her lips.

"Of course I have all of my stamps with me", Benjamin said, "but you know how the TSA like to cut locks off the crates. If they do that and find it, no telling what they might extort me for."

"Given the lawyers your company has on hand?", Nat smiled, shaking her head at her mate's unfounded worry, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. But for god's sake leave that thing at the house next time. I'm surprised the ATF isn't up your shirt about it."

"They were at first, but I suppose like you said, Lawyers always get them to back off. Anyway, what's going on with you at the house?"

"Getting ready to go to the range with my friends, two of them have never shot either an AR-15 or a full auto piece, hoping I can convince them to buy some this afternoon. Did you see the news last night?"

"No I didn't", Benjamin shrugged, "anything interesting?"

"China threatened Russia again", Nat sighed, "demanded they be allowed to keep the buffer zone between their countries. Vladimir Putin is not happy about it, neither is Trump for that matter."

Benjamin shook his head, "I just hope I'm at home by the time the first bombs fall."

"There's not gonna be a war Ben", Nat reassured, "they'll get into another bloody firefight and bicker to a stalemate like they always do, assuming the Africans don't get involved. If that happens...then yeah, there'll be a war for sure."

"There already is a war dear", Benjamin shrugged, "there's a reason I'm currently only sitting on one eye that works."

"Get home soon Ben", Nat said smiling, "I miss you."

"I miss you too sweetheart, tell the kids I'll be home soon."

"I will", Nat said, "love you."

"Love you too dear", Benjamin said closing the connection. Nat sat back in her couch, an old tan leather four seater that faced her TV, currently tuned into Fox News, one of the only sites that was reporting on World War Three mostly unbiased. The ticker tape was showing something about the incident between Russia and china that happened late last night, while the main story was President Trump speaking to a large crowd on the white house lawn.

"The Chinese have been so violent and so dictatorial for the last 14 years, to the point where I'm certain a peaceful resolution to this war can't be reached", President Trump said. Someone in the crowd raised their hand, among with many others.

"Yes you", The President said addressing a younger sounding male Coyote with a US Army uniform on.

"Mr. President, the Chinese have threatened Nuclear Strikes against the Russia and the US several times this month alone if we don't surrender, what's our course of action should they decide upon a preemptive strike?"

"It won't come to that Staff Sargent", the President assured, "but, in horrible event that it does...our options are, strike back or surrender, neither are good for this country or it's allies."

Nat was stirred from the TV by a flurry of blue and grey fur rolling from the hallway and slamming into the wall with a loud thud. Unintelligible arguing was erupting from the tiny ball of fury, there was no telling what had started the fight and an even greater mystery was how they'd managed to both roll themselves into a ball and roll so effectively.

"How the heck did you two do that?", Nat smiled at herself as she got up and picked up both her puppies by the scruffs of their necks, "what's going on now?"

"Mom!", Joey balled, "Tia took my DS and won't give it back!"

"You have to share with me!", Tia squawked, "Mom says so!"

"But you can't just take it while I'm playing it!", Joey protested.

Joey and Tia were carbon copies of each other, for the most part. The only difference was that that Joey's fur was blue and Tia's was a soft grey. Benjamin called them the Twin Terrors, since they were both constantly getting themselves into trouble that scared the crap outta him. They bot had the same soft green eyes, floppy ears and energy levels that could make a robot jealous.

"Tia", Nat said sternly, "did you take your brother's DS while he was still playing with it?"

Tia looked down, "yes."

"Then give it back and tell him your sorry", Nat said putting her cubs down. The two of them walked back into their rooms, Joey with his head held in smug pride and Tia with her head down in shame.

"It's only 14 more years", Nat thought to herself, finding another one of those creeping grins beginning to take up residence on her face, "I wonder if anyone will get suspicious if I put them in a very long time out?"

Laughing at herself, she picked up her AR-15 off the couch, slung it over her shoulder and got her boots from near the door. While she was lacing them out, the news quickly cut away from President Trump's speech, going to a single Fox in the news room.

"Followed by...blinding flashes...I'm trying to get confirmation."

"What the...", Nat whispered to herself.

"I do have coming in...confirmed reports of nuclear detonation in Moscow and other parts of Russia... My god, I am sorry for having offended thee."

The TV screen cut to black as Nat's blood ran several different kinds of cold. All her fur stood on end and goosebumps littered her body as she sat there on the couch, frozen in fear, unsure of what to do. It took what felt like forever for her mind to return. She picked up the cell phone and dialed out to Benjamin, who picked it up immediately.

"Hello?", Benjamin asked.

"Are you watching the news?", Nat asked quickly.

"Yes", Benjamin sighed, "those bastards really did it. Get the kids and get to the shelter in the basement, you'll be safe there."

"Get home soon Benjamin", Nat pleaded, "and please, stay safe."

"I will", he said, "I promise you."

The phone line went dead. Nat sighed and stuck it in her pocket just in case. She finished tying her boots and grabbed her vest from the closet. Slinging her rifle over her shoulder, she ran down the hallway, locating her puppies in the play room in a state of complete unawareness of what was going on.

"Hey guys", she said putting a fake smile on her face, "why don't you guys get some extra clothes and follow me?"

"Why Mom?", Joey asked looking up from his DS.

"It's a surprise", Nat said smiling wider, "you'll see."

Tia and Joey, smiling, grabbed some spare clothes from their dressers and stuffed them into their school bags, following their mother down the stair case towards. On the second floor, she met a few of the other tenants, local SWAT members in their own gear, trying to get into Mr. Reynolds room. Mr. Reynolds was a paranoid WW2 Veteran who'd aged well and could still foot his old M1 Garand and a full kit even at nearly 120 years old, but his problem was that his service in Korea and Vietnam had made him paranoid to the point he despised other animals, except for Nat, she was the only one he trusted, and even then only because Benjamin had combat experience himself.

"Nat help us!", one of the group said, a younger Cat, skinny, but agile, "Old man Reynolds has locked the door."

"He may not be home", Nat said pounding on the door, "Mr. Reynolds! Open the door! The bombs are coming!!"

"Huh!?", Old man Reynolds deep, hoarse voice came from inside, "what bombs?"

"The nukes!", Nat replied, "the Chinese have finally done it! They set a bomb off on Russian soil and that means that their allies will be bringing bombs our way any minute! We gotta round everyone up and get into the shelter."

There was the sound of boot steps from the other side of the door and metal buckles clanking. Several locks unlocked and the door opened, A large wolf with pitch black fur was standing with an M1 Garand in his off hand.

"They did it huh?", Mr. Reynolds asked stepping out and shutting the door behind him, "fucking commies can't leave well enough alone. I'll go with you kids and round up everyone else. Nat, just get your puppies to safety."

Nat nodded and hurried Joey and Tia down the stairs. Finding once she arrived in the lobby that the doors to the shelter were locked from the underside, about six larger animals were trying to get inside.

"What happened?", Nat quickly asked.

"Denis happened!", one of the foxes barked kicking the door, so stressed out all of his fur had turned grey, "that mother fucker locked himself inside the shelter along with all of our food, water and ammunition! We're gonna die out here because of him!"

Nat's puppies went wide eyed and buried their faces into their mother, so did a bunch of the other kids that lived in the apartment. Sobs of fear started to fill the lobby, pissing off a lot of the males, who were practically foaming at the mouth as they pounded and beat on the thick steel door to the basement.

"Mother fucker if we get in there we'll rip you to shreds!", a large male Fox shouted pounding on the door, "there's not enough ammunition in that bunker for you if we get this door open!"

"Just give it up Dad", one of the older kids said with a sigh as he slumped back against the front desk, "we're done for."

The lobby went strangely quiet after that. The kids stopped crying, the guys all stopped raging and it seemed as though everyone was just beginning to accept their fates. Two guys did continue to work on the door however, refusing to accept it so easily, but ultimately, it proved worthless. At 4:55 PM, sleeper cells of an unknown faction detonated Medusa in downtown Burlington. A bomb so large it was disguised as a building and had to be assembled in place, it would have done more damage in New York city, but was to large to effectively disguise above ground. If it didn't work, bombers would nuke the city anyway. A deep boom rolled through the city. The normal, softly lit lobby flashed to a level of brightness comparable to the bare sun as the shockwave with a tsunami of nuclear fire riding on it ripped through the thin walls of the building, showering all inside with splinters, rocks, slivers of metal and broken glass. The building that Nat lived in was far enough from Ground Zero that Medusa's fire wasn't enough to incinerate them, but Nat found herself wishing it was. The fire stripped skin from bone and melted the tile floor under foot. Screams like none heard before ripped through the air, even overshadowing the crackle of the mighty Nova itself. Nat could feel layers and layers of skin peeling from her bones as the shockwave and hot wind picked her up and threw her like a rag doll into the debris of the building, Joey and Tia both screaming as the irradiated fire stripped off their clothes, fur, skin and blew their organs from their bodies in chucks. Nat couldn't see them due to the light, but she didn't want to.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Joey sobbed through the light, "it hurts it hurts!"

"Put it out!", Tia screamed, "it burns put it out!!"

Nat tried to call out to them, she didn't know what she'd say, but she'd say something, try to comfort them, but she found she couldn't hear her own voice over the sound of the explosion. She soon found herself being peppered with small, white hot chunks of metal that lodged inside her, burning with an excruciating pain that could be felt over the burning of the fire. Nat found herself soon smacking into the ground, hard enough that it knocked her unconscious.

Sometime later that night, much to her surprise, she awoke. The first thought in her head was that it was all just a nightmare, and that she were still laying in her bed at home, but that thought quickly faded when she realized she was outside and her feeling returned. Nat had been brutally burned from head to toe and the only remnants of her clothes were pieces of the wire collar she liked to wear melted onto her neck, immovable now. Somehow, she hadn't died, and even more incredibly, her perception, both of feeling of the atmosphere, and of her body despite the burns, remained rather unchanged. She didn't open her eyes yet, still wishing that she was just dreaming, but eventually, she did work up the courage to sit up and take a gander of what had happened. When she did, she saw nothing. As far as she could see, it was ash, nothing more. A thick fog of it hung over the area like a shroud. The entire area smelled like smoke and death, it wasn't a pleasant scent. Sighing, Nat glanced down at herself. Her skin was black, layering off her chest, arms and legs like aluminum foil that had been in the oven for too long. No pain was present, given her sister was a veterinarian, she knew the reason for that was likely all of the nerve endings she had were killed from the fire. Glancing around, she spied her rifle and combat vest, covered in ash, but somehow still in one piece, laying a few feet out of her reach. She tried to stand up, but collapsed from the surprising weight in her torso and legs. Upon further inspection, and the removal of some of the dead skin, she found a large gash that traced from her right shoulder, all the way down her entire torso, around her hip and ended at the base of where her tail had used to be. The inside of the gash was glowing with a sinister copper light, and the more of the foil like skin she pulled off, the more glowing cuts she found. Her heart rate began to quicken, just what the fuck had this bomb done to her? Had she mutated in some way? If so, then how? Mutation from nuclear bombs was just Hollywood...right? She didn't know. All she knew was that she was alive, at least for the time being, and that she wanted some kind of protection from this ash. She rolled onto her stomach and started trying to crawl towards her gear, finding that though the vest was pretty singed and black in some places from having melted, it was still wearable. Her rifle had somehow made it out the blast un harmed side from a sizable scratch in the lower receiver from where it had landed.

When Nat reached out to grab her rifle, she quickly recoiled, not because the weapon was hot, but because contact had parts of the grip melt the second her fingers came in contact with it. Her rifle wouldn't do her any good if it would melt in her hands, and she figured that if she could melt the grip just my touching it, the stock would probably melt in her shoulder. She needed something that wouldn't burn or melt to keep the heat, or radiation, whatever it was, away from her weapon. She didn't know how'd she'd get a hold of that, but she figured she had better start looking. She carefully pulled a road flare from her vest and used it to mark the location of her gear, feeling she was safe doing it. The odds that anyone else had survived the blast were damn near zero. So Nat set off into the night, looking for anything she could use to protect her gear from her changed body. And after some days of searching, finally did. It was buried in a glass and metal tube under the ash, looking like it was a military thing that was protected from the blast, some how. She'd found other pieces of junk the past few days, though nothing any larger than a tin can. Walking up the glass tube, kicking up hot, radioactive ash as she approached it, she inspected the glass case. The item inside appeared to be some sort of CBRN suit, given the symbols for all of them were present and a piece of somewhat blackened paper seemed to indicate that all known WMD's were impassible by it. She picked up one of the near by glowing pieces of metal, having found days ago she could safely handle them, and set it on the glass, using it to melt through it just enough that she was able to pry open the lock at the base. Once the door was open, she pulled out the suit and put it on piece by piece, finding it felt comfortable against her charred body and more than resisted the radiation that leaked out of her. It fit very well, almost too well. To the point where she began to feel like stumbling upon it was way too big of a coincidence. This had to have been put here...but by who?

"It didn't matter", she thought, "what matters is that now I can figure out exactly how to get out of this mess."

She shook her head as she dawned the helmet. It wasn't the best made, she couldn't turn her head, and the weight was absolute hell on her weak shoulders, but somehow was still comfortable for the most part, it beat being naked and breathing in the ash, which had been her situation for the past few days. Nat returned to where she'd been camping, which wasn't really a camp site, but more of a single piece of sheet metal propped up by two pieces of rebar with all her hear under it. She had discovered days ago that she could no longer sleep, despite her attempts to tire herself out, she no longer grew tired, a curse in of itself in her eyes. She did figure though that sleep would just be plagued with nightmares of Joey and Tia burning before her eyes and being unable to do anything about it, so maybe it was for the best. She picked up her vest, put it on and then took up her rifle, starring out into the Fog. Wondering what she'd do next.