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Devil Seed

By

Gemma the Ice-Wolf

12

Six days later...

Secord Residence

Friday 9:43am

Terry watched intently at the small television set in the kitchen. There had been several reports of the recent activity happening across the state and now it looked like the inevitable was about to occur. He sat on one of the stools in front of the long counter, he had just finished breakfast which consisted of six buffalo wings and a donut. He wasn't the most traditional person in the ways of morning meals which was just how he liked it.

The commercials ended just as Spike and Cain walked in. He nodded to both of them. Cain propped himself up on the counter while Spike sat next to Terry.

"So what's on?" asked the human.

Terry put a finger to his lips and pointed to the screen. A female news anchor, a cheetah, came on. Cain and Spike turned their attention to the TV.

* * *

"During the past two weeks several reports of strange disturbances have been occurring all over the southern California area. Most of these reports have been minor but, after the incident one week ago when a group of spider like machines appeared from out of nowhere and started attacking a local Los Angeles hospital, citizens are starting to wonder if there will be more attacks like this to come."

Aerial footage of the aftermath from the attack started playing on the screen. Debris from the buildings, cars, and the robots themselves were seen. Strewn across the streets in a derelict heap. A males voice continued the topic.

"Just last Friday people ran screaming down these usually quiet streets when four large robots appeared and started firing upon the hospital and any bystanders or vehicles in close proximity, killing thirty four people. Officials could only describe the scene as horrific."

The screen changed to a human male in his mid fifties wearing a police uniform. He was talking to one of the reporters off camera.

"By the time we got to the site we had people clearing rubble and moving cars out of the way. It is probably the most horrible thing I have ever seen in all my years on the force. We lost several people on the streets but, the worst was the hospital which, when we saw what had happened, I think about half the men I had with me were just absolutely terrified. All we could do was try to lend a hand and wait for the rest of the emergency vehicles to show up. It just confounds me that someone else was able to handle the situation before we got there."

The screen shifted to a male ferret in a suit. He started walking down the same street while continuing the report.

"Witnesses claim that during the attack a group of what appeared to be soldiers, fought off the first two robots and radioed in for choppers to back them up."

The screen changed to an interview with a female husky in her late forties. She pointed out to the street.

"I was up in my apartment just a couple of floors from the street. I was looking out the window and suddenly this armored truck plows through the street and these guys in combat suits start firing at the robots. I never got a good look at any of them but, they sure had some heavy weaponry."

The screen shifts back to the ferret who is standing just outside the hospital where the building was damaged.

"Just after the incident occurred FBI and local law enforcement have come to the conclusion that the whole incident was nothing more that a terrorist attack. But if that is true then who are we dealing with and can we expect another attack in the near future?"

The TV cuts to a commercial.

* * *

Terry picked up the remote and put the TV on mute. He looked to Cain, and then to Spike. They were all silent for a moment. Knowing now that these operations they were doing had started getting media attention things seemed rather bleak.

"So now the feds are involved." said Cain.

Spike stood up from his seat.

"I suppose it was inevitable." he said. "With all the noise going on out there it's hard to miss."

Terry stood up now and walked over to the sink and rinsed off his dishes. He then placed them in the dishwasher and leaned up against the counter.

"You know what this means right?" he asked. "We're likely to have them interfering with this operation and I wouldn't be surprised if they started sniffing around here. God knows we act suspicious enough."

Cain harrumphed.

"Yeah. After all this time they still think we're some terrorist organization."

"They don't know who we really are." said Spike. "Any other government organizations we've worked with have been sworn to secrecy and disallow any knowledge of our existence. Unfortunately that isn't good enough anymore."

Cain nodded.

"Right, our still unknown enemies."

"From what you two told me it sounds like somebody is out to get us."

"The real question is who and why?" said Terry. "You guys have any ideas?"

Spike shook his head and shrugged.

"Not a one."

"I have a theory," said Cain. "but I'd rather not say until I'm sure. Aaron suspects it could be our old friends "Black Maelstrom"."

"It wouldn't be the first time they tried something like this."

"Except there hasn't been a trace of those guys since the incident in Paris." added Terry.

Spike headed across the kitchen and took a donut out of the refrigerator.

"Regardless, we have to keep an eye out for anything. The robots and assassins are probably just the beginning."

Garrison High School

Friday 12:15pm

Aaron, Mia, Tracy, and Gary sat at one of the cafeteria tables in the far back. The four of them had just finished lunch and were in the midst of hearing the story of how Tracy had to pull Gary's head out of a bucket. All four of them were laughing when a lemur no taller than Gary came over to the table. He was slender and wore a black tee shirt and blue jeans with a pair of red sneakers. All eyes were suddenly on him as he shyly waved to them.

"Hey guys."

"Oh hi Lucian," Tracy greeted. "you look a little shook up."

The lemur smiled weakly.

"Yeah. I haven't taken the history test yet. How do you think you guys did?"

Gary leaned back in his seat.

"It was a breeze." he said.

"This coming from the guy doesn't study until the test is about to be passed out." said Tracy.

"It wasn't too bad." said Aaron. "It's mainly multiple choice and a couple of essay questions. I just took my time."

"You'll be fine Lucian." added Mia. "Just take it one question at a time."

Lucian shook his head.

"I'll try. I'm just really nervous about it is all. Thanks though."

He started off down to the other side of the cafeteria then abruptly stopped and came back.

"Just one thing, Aaron.?"

Aaron looked up at him wondering what he needed now.

"A friendly heads up. Rumor has it that Bruce is gunning for you. You might want to watch your back."

Aaron shrugged.

"I'm not in the least bit surprised. Don't worry. If he does try something I'll be ready for him. Thanks for the heads up."

Lucian nodded and headed back across the cafeteria. Aaron propped his head up in his hand and leaned on the table.

"Well that's just lovely."

"Do you really think Bruce will try something?" asked Gary.

Aaron shrugged.

"I don't know but, I wouldn't put it past him. I know his type. If he doesn't do something today he will soon enough."

"I suggest that you just steer clear of him." said Tracy. "If he starts coming your way just run. I'd hate to see you get suspended over that jerk."

Aaron shook his head.

"Sorry Tracy, but if I back away he'll just start on Mia again. I'm the only thing standing in Bruce's way and he knows this. That's why I can't run. Besides, guys like him, hit them in the right spot and they drop like a stone."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." said Mia.

"I'm fully expecting it to come to blows."

"You're not afraid at all are you?" asked Gary a little bewildered by the whole thing.

"I fear no man or beast Gary. I know what hell looks like and let me tell you, Bruce's wrath is nothing to me."

"But what if his three buddies try to jump in?"

Aaron stood up and picked up his tray. Gary, Tracy, and Mia followed close behind.

"If they do jump in, which I expect them to, I'll just have to take them down as well." he finally said.

"I almost forgot that Gary hasn't seen you fight." said Mia.

"Is he good?" asked Gary.

"He's more than good." Tracy cut in. "He broke a mans leg when we first saw him. Bruce has no idea what he's in for."

Aaron grinned at this as they headed out of the cafeteria.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Tracy but, I'm only going to rough him up, not kill him."

"Don't think that Bruce will be thinking the same way." said Gary. "He used to bully me around. He'd use his claws on me."

"I'll keep that in mind. I wouldn't worry too much though. I used to spar with Terry and Cain. They used their claws too."

"Jeeze, what kind of sparing did you guys do? I'd think you'd look like hell coming out of something like that."

"Well Terry was just practicing. I got torn up a couple times taking on Cain though."

"Why not just have him fend off Bruce then?" asked Tracy.

"Terry and I hold back when it comes to fighting. Cain on the other hand is extremely aggressive. He'd rip Bruce to shreds."

"I don't think you'd hear anyone complain."

"Ha. No Tracy I think I'll handle this one myself. If I can bring him to his knees just by twisting his arm round, I shouldn't have any trouble knocking him out."

The group headed down a flight of stairs and down a hallway to their lockers just as the bell started to ring. Quickly grabbing their books they headed for their next class without another word.

Garrison High School

Friday 3:35pm

It was ten minutes after the bell rang to end the last class when the four friends made their way to the parking lot. Aaron and Mia walked arm in arm while Tracy and Gary kept a short distance back just watching the two and smiling to themselves. Gary was about to say something when someone shouted from behind them.

"Hey heads up!"

Gary was abruptly struck in the side of the face by a football. The force of the blow caused him to fall to the ground and Tracy, out of instinct, screamed. Aaron and Mia turned around to see what had happened. Bruce and his three cronies that were a fox, panther, and black bear, were about ten yards away and closing. The four walked past Gary and Tracy, the fox kicking dust at them. Aaron looked to Mia. Neither of them said a word as Aaron reached into his pocket, took out his keys, and handed them to Mia. She needed no more instruction than that. Taking the keys, she walked up to his car and unlocked the door and climbed in. She then closed the door and locked it. By the time she was in the car the four unwelcome jocks were already surrounding Aaron.

"What do you four bozos want?" Aaron asked, knowing full well why they were here.

"Oh nothing." said the panther. "Bruce has something to say though."

Aaron eyed Bruce in a way that could only be described as deadly. He had daggers for the tiger now. Obviously this was going to get ugly in the next few minutes. Of that he was certain. The fact that he was surrounded by them said it all. To his right, the fox was getting a little edgy. He'd be the first to jump in after Bruce. It wouldn't take much to topple them all like dominos. Aaron clenched his fists a few times.

"You really think you're hot stuff don't you?" Bruce taunted. "That whole thing at the cafeteria was just a warm up. Now I'm gonna take you apart and then Mia and I are going to have a nice little chat."

Aaron stayed perfectly still.

"Why don't you get it through your thick skull, Bruce?" he said. "She has no attachment to you whatsoever. If you think you can win her over by beating me up you're sorely mistaken."

"I beg to differ."

"The only way you're getting to Mia is through me, Bruce."

Bruce grinned at those last words.

"You got that right."

Without warning he lunged at Aaron with one paw out, his claws extended. Aaron jumped to his right to dodge and just as he had predicted, the fox came at him with a left hook. Aaron kicked the fox in the chest, doing the same to the black bear to his immediate left. Both staggered back as Bruce came at him again. He caught Bruce by the arm and then kicked the panther behind him. The then kicked Bruce in the stomach twice and shoved him away.

"Looks like school hasn't let out for you idiots yet." Aaron taunted. "Allow me to teach you your final lesson of the day."

With that, the fox and black bear came charging at him. Aaron ducked under a right hook by the bear and jabbed him in the face twice followed by an uppercut. Quickly he turned to the fox. He blocked a right punch then a left and caught the fox by the arm. Pulling him forward, Aaron punched him twice in the stomach and then tossed him into the bear who was just recovering. The panther came up from Aaron's left and proceeded to attack with a flurry of punches and kicks. Unlike the others the panther obviously had some martial arts training under his belt. It wasn't going to be enough however. Each time he threw a punch or kick Aaron could see just how sloppy he was. He kept his feet too close together and his balance was off. With a quick drop to the ground Aaron attacked with a foot sweep, knocking the panther on his back. Aaron then swung his leg back just in time to hit him in the face. Standing up he turned to Bruce expecting him to be coming next. He mentally kicked himself when he was nose to nose with the tiger. It was too late to dodge as claws slashed through Aaron's shirt and into his skin, leaving four long slashes across his chest. Bruce grinned as he moved in for a second swipe. He wouldn't get that chance. Aaron caught him by the arm and threw the tiger over his shoulder. Bruce hit the ground hard and Aaron followed up with a fist to the center of his chest. He gasped for air as the human let go of his arm and stepped away from him. The other three jocks were slowly picking themselves up, cautiously watching Aaron should he decide to come after them. The three slowly picked up Bruce and started walking away. Aaron didn't move until they were on the other side of the parking lot.

Gary and Tracy walked up next to him as he dusted himself off. Mia climbed out of his car and rushed over to them. She let out a horrible gasp at seeing the claw marks across Aaron's chest.

"Oh my god," she said horrified. "what did he do to you?"

Aaron looked himself over, then looked back to Mia.

"What? This? Just a cat scratch. Nothing I can't handle."

"I don't know man," Gary started. "that looks pretty painful."

Aaron shrugged.

"Nah, it just stings a bit. Bruce got it worse than I did."

"You let him off easy." said Tracy. "All you did was knock the wind out of him. If it were me, I'd have beaten the snot out of him."

Aaron shook his head.

"If Bruce is the trouble maker that Mia described to me a while back and I had done just as you suggest, I'd probably be speaking to the superintendent and principal on Monday."

"What makes you think that won't happen?" asked Gary.

"I only hurt Bruce's pride. If he were to take this to the principal, he'd be the one in trouble regardless. I have three witnesses to the incident, and he drew first blood. In the laws of violence against humans and furs, the first one to draw blood could be charged with assault, and sentenced to at least a year in prison. No, he won't say a word. Not if he knows it will get him into trouble with the law."

"And you're just going to let him go?" asked Mia.

"Why not? He won't bother any of us again if he knows what's good for him. We'll be seeing very little of Bruce from now on. Now that he realizes that I could crush him like an ant, he won't dare try anything like that again. I guarantee it."

Mia took a closer look at the scratches on Aaron's chest. They weren't deep and certainly not serious. It still bothered her though.

"Let's just go home." she said a little shaken.

Kusanagi Residence

Friday 4:05pm

It was a little after four o'clock when they finally reached Mia's house. The two had a quiet ride all the way, which was a little abnormal for them. Of course after what had happened at school neither of them could think of anything to say. It wasn't until they pulled into the driveway that Mia spoke up.

"Won't you come inside? You really should have those scratches treated."

Aaron shook his head.

"I don't think that's necessary. It isn't that bad."

"You're still bleeding a bit, and besides that your mom would probably freak if she saw that. Please Aaron, just come inside?"

He turned to look at her. Her eyes were glistening in the light. She was certainly on the verge of tears. He wasn't sure why this bothered her so much. Could it have been that she thought that the reason for his injury was her fault? That couldn't be it, Aaron knew she had nothing to do with it. Still, when he looked into here green eyes, his heart melted. He finally took her paw in his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Alright." he said.

The two climbed out of the car and went inside the house. Mia guided him upstairs to the bathroom and had him sit down on the toilet while she grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink. Opening the kit she took out some bandages, some rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab.

"Take off your shirt would you?"

Aaron shrugged and removed his black leather jacket, and set it aside. He then removed his shirt and set it on top of the jacket. Mia hadn't been paying attention to him as he did this so when she turned to look at him she started to blush. He wasn't the big masculine guy that the jocks were, but he certainly was well toned. Aaron noticed this an grinned.

"So that's what this is all about." he said playfully. "You just wanted to see me without my shirt on, didn't you?"

Mia giggled.

"Well that wasn't the original plan, but now I'm glad it played out like this."

She took a cotton swab and dampened it with rubbing alcohol. She then started applying it to the scratches which Aaron reacted by hissing through his teeth.

"Does that hurt?" she asked.

Aaron shook his head.

"Nah, just stings a little. I have to say I've had a lot worst than this."

"Really?"

"Yep. A couple of years ago I was in an accident. Got laid up in the hospital for three weeks."

Mia was a bit surprised by this.

"My goodness. What happened?"

"Some wacko cut me off and I ended up flipping my car over. The doctor said I had twenty five broken bones. I'd never been in so much pain. They had me hopped up on morphine for the first two days."

"I can only imagine the look on your mom's face when she found out. I bet she was just relieved that you were alright."

Aaron chuckled.

"She was. Although when she met with three people who witnessed the event and got the license plate number from one of them, she was absolutely miffed. She sicked the cops on the guy and had him put away for a long time."

"Wow. Remind me never to cross your mother."

"Just don't run me off the road."

The two laughed. As they continued talking Mia treated the scratches, cleaning them off as best as she could before applying a few bandages where the scratches were their worst. Aaron looked himself over once before putting his shirt back on while she admired her handy work. She giggled when he looked her way.

"You certainly did a good job." he said. "It feels a bit better now."

"My mom taught me basic first aid when I was little. This is the first time I've ever had to really use my skills."

Aaron smiled.

"Well, now that that's done, what do you say I go get us some dinner and a movie for tonight? I'm thinking I can whip up of my famous chicken parmesan."

Now Mia was the one to smile.

"That sounds great. How about a monster movie tonight? I'm up for something scary."

"After the horrors we went through a short while ago you want to watch a scary movie? You're braver than I thought."

She giggled.

"You'll find that I'm full of surprises."

"Being coy are we? Alright, sounds like a date to me. I'll be back in a little while. I just need to change my shirt and then order dinner."

The two started for the stairs.

"I thought you said you were going to cook."

"That depends. How fast is the local fire department around here?"

"You can't cook?" she asked with a grin.

"Does water and toast count?"

Mia started to laugh as they made for the door. Aaron turned to her as he opened it.

"Alright, I'll be back in a couple of hours. I just need to get things together. My mom won't be home tonight so she won't mind."

"Why don't we do this at your place then?"

Aaron chuckled.

"Would you rather it be just us two or do you want company? I can guarantee you the guys won't mind at all."

"Ooh, good point."

"Right. Like I said, I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Aaron stepped out the door and closed it behind him. He dashed across the street, leaving his car in Mia's driveway, and marched into his house closing the door behind him. Mia watched him as he went inside. She sighed and started back up the stairs. Tonight she just wanted to be with him and nothing more. But as she walked to her bedroom, she couldn't shake the feeling that the fight between Aaron and Bruce wasn't as over as they all thought. A tear fell down her cheek.

"I hope I'm wrong." she said to no one.