# Born of Dreams

Author: Volcan MacAingeal
Tags: Colmation Universe, Lioness, Monster, Salamander, Superheroes, The Warp, Whiptail, caribou, kaiju, lionheart, super powers

-City of
Toronto, basement of unknown building-
09 October,
2015
            "Where are the other opium crates?!"
The leader of the trucking crew yelled as he arrived and saw, all around him,
men who should have been loading boxes of materials into the backs of several
disguised shipping trucks, were doing nothing. There were no crates, several
trucks were sitting empty, and the men were distressed by the arrival of the
crew boss, not wanting to face his wrath at this moment.
            They turned, and with quiet stares,
wondered who the unfortunate fool who would have to tell him the news. He
watched them, quietly fuming as he waited for one of them to give him an
answer, until one stepped forward and shakily explained, in their native
tongue. "The... trucks from the docks have not come, sir," he said. "We have
tried to call them but... they do not answer."
            The Arabic fox growled angrily
before he punched the jackal across the face, sending him reeling to the floor
almost comically. He lay there, groaning as he held his broken nose, two of his
co-workers coming over to help him as their leader began to address the rest of
the group. "Keep trying!" He commanded, before pointing at three of them. "You,
you, and you; come with me! We're going out to find them and, if they are not
yet on their way, motivate them to travel faster! The rest of you, arm up and
protect what we have; if we lose this shipment
as we have the others, the master will eviscerate us all!"
            The spurred into action, following
his directions. Those set to guard whatever opium they had left hastily armed
themselves with firearms from a nearby weapons locker; AK47 rifles and even one
with an RPK, fitted with a drum magazine, scurrying about to take up positions,
while the leader and his three followers collected their own armaments and
headed for the exit door, entering the stairwell and heading up to ground
level, pushing open the door out to the parking lot...
            A flash of red, and stars exploded
across the eyes of the leader followed by a searing pain across his face as his
muzzle was crushed by the fist, breaking his nose and, quite possibly a tooth.
He was sent spinning to the ground, howling in agony as the pain set in, curling
up and putting both paws over his face. His followers looked in horror as their
leader hit the ground, and then elevated their gazes to see the white and red
clad caribou standing before them, shaking his fist. 
            "Thanks for showing me the way in,"
he said in English.
            They both screamed something in
Arabic, raising their weapons; The Warp vanished in a blink of light, sending
their bullets flying into nothing but the concrete wall of the entry ramp for
the underground garage. They both felt powerful hands grab their heads from
behind, and then grunted as their heads were smacked together noisily, both of
them falling to the ground with a groan.
            He turned to the downed leader, who
was trying to raise his AK47, but Warp seized it, ripping it from his hands and
yanked out the magazine, snapped the bolt, and discarded the now unusable
rifle. He repeated this for the remaining two, rendering the weapons useless,
but the leader was not unarmed yet; he rose up while Warp wasn't looking,
drawing his Jambiya with the moon symbol on it -an item carried by every member
of the Desert Moon syndicate. Just as practical as it as symbolic, the deadly
sharpened blade was ready to draw blood, and with a belly of fury, the
Syndicate lieutenant charged at Warp, brandishing the large knife and slashing
at Warp's throat as he turned to face him.
            Warp brought up his arm, letting the
dagger hit his glove; with a metallic clang, it glanced off, and before the fox
could bring his weapon back to strike again, Warp non-chalantly punched him in
the face once more, reigniting the agonizing pain he already felt and sending
the fox collapsing to the ground, practically crying. With that, Warp kicked
away his knife, and hauled the fox to his feet, looking him square in the eye.
            "Your boss," he said. "I want him...
now!" He bellowed.
            The fox, despite his pain, let out a
weak chuckle. "You are truly a fool... if you think I will betray the master,"
he said. "What he would do to me is
far worse than any of you men of the north-west could ever muster."
            "Try me," stated Warp. "How about I
drop you off of the top of a skyscraper?"
            The fox only laughed again, but the
fear was apparent in his voice. "That would be act of mercy," he returned. "Go
ahead; spare me his wrath... drop me
from top of precious tower. But I will never betray the master."
            "If you're so terrified of him, even
with him not being here, what's the harm in telling me his name?" Warp asked,
changing his approach. "Because if he's as dangerous as you're making him
sound, clearly I'd be no match for him, correct?"
            The fox eyed the caribou as if he
were insane, pulling his head back from him with an expression of disgust. "You
say that honestly, yet still wish to pursue him?"
            "It's what I do," replied Warp. "So
tell me, what is this leader of yours called?"
            The fox was silent for a moment, his
gaze meeting that of the Canadian's for a moment, silent and still, until finally
he released a defiant his, baring his bloodied teeth and bristling his fur.
"Never! I will not betray him; long live the Desert Moon!" He swung at Warp
with his fist, nicking the caribou across the tip of his nose as he leaned his
head back to dodge it.
            Warp delivered an uppercut to his
jaw in retaliation, knocking the fox out completely. "Stubborn vulpine," he
grumbled as the fox went still, shaking his hand to relieve the ache.
            "I
guess my suggestion about appealing to their egos didn't work either, did it?" Akio's
voice buzzed in his ear.
            "Not so much, unfortunately,"
replied Warp. "This is getting ridiculous; I've tried everything to get the
name of their leader out of them, and I'm still no closer to finding out his
identity." He ran a hand down his face. "Where's a detective when you need
one?"
            "With
how secretive these guys are, I doubt even the greatest investigators in the
world could shed any light on the identity of Desert Moon's leader," stated
Akio. "Not without resorting to some
pretty drastic measures."
            "What could be more drastic than what I've tried already?"
            "Torture."
Akio replied bluntly.
            Warp fell silent.
            "Hey
you asked. I'm not saying you should actually try it."
            Warp sighed. "Either way, I'm still no closer to getting these
narcotics dealers out of my city," he said, annoyed. "Their leader is probably
hiding out back in the Middle East; maybe this whole thing is just a wild goose
chase."
            "Maybe
chasing the leader is, but you've... what's that word? Botched? Yes, botched up
enough of their operations that they've ground to a halt."
            "They can always get more drugs from their suppliers -I don't even know
who those are," Warp pointed out. "Take out a thug, they can be replaced, take
out a lieutenant it sets things back but they too can be replaced, but take out
the leader, the whole operation comes crashing down. It worked when I took down
Takeo Kameyama; it may not have beaten the Yakuza as a whole, but it drove them
underground, and since then, J?sh? was the last one to reveal himself; no one
else."
            "Not
yet anyway. If there is one thing I know about my own countrymen -especially
those in the Yakuza, is that some of us are prone to bearing grudges," remarked
Akio.
            Warp rolled his eyes. "Great," he
said, exaggerated. "I suppose I better go deal with the rest of these punks in
the garage here."
            "Hai,
you should. But don't forget; you need to finish up early tonight," Akio
stated. "You've got a holiday to get to
after work tomorrow."
            Warp perked up at Akio's words, his ears flicking out and his eyes
widening behind his mask. "I completely forgot; thanks for reminding me."
            "Not
a problem. Want me to cut off the electricity into that garage and leave your
targets in the dark?"
            "I certainly wouldn't mind it," replied Warp.
            The rest of the night went just as planned; Warp got the drop on the
other Desert Moon members, ambushing them in the darkness of the underground
parking garage. Many of them had flashlights, making it easy for him to zero in
on them, carefully calculating the reaction times of each of them as he picked
out his targets, and using the flashes of his own teleport to find those who
did not have lights for him to track. In the meantime, Akio sent out a dispatch
on the police networks, directing them to the underground parking garage, but
by the time they got there, all they found was a room full of battered men and
broken guns.
            With that, Warp returned to the
Bunker, appearing as he always did in a blink of light; Akio turned from his
station to greet him. "Welcome back, Daniel," he said.
            Warp lifted the corners of his mask,
retracting the nanites that disguised his fur to their hiding places within the
confines of his mask, and when he lifted it free, he was back to his natural
colour of brown. "Thanks, Akio," returned the caribou.
            Akio turned away as Daniel began to
take off his costume, unzipping the sleeves from the collar down to free his
arms and shoulders. "So tell me," he began. "What is this Onota... Onotee...
Um..."
            "Onöta'ke," Daniel corrected.
            "Yes, that. What is that place?"
            "It's the village where my dad's
side of the family comes from; the side that gave me my powers," the caribou
explained. "It wasn't until after I got my teleportation that my aunt taught me
about it; it's a well-kept secret, to keep the outside world away. Onöta'ke
itself sits on a range of privately-owned land, and although is still part of
Canada, it's mostly an area of independence; nobody bothers them out there."
            "Hai... and this festival you're
going to?"
            "The Harvest Festival, held every
Autumn," replied Daniel. "All Iroquois tribes celebrate it, and ever since
visiting the village the first time, I decided it was only right I start
attending the festivals whenever I can. I am, after all, one of them."
            "From what you tell me, the village
elder doesn't seem to think so," remarked Akio.
            At the mention of the elder, Warp
grimaced. "Ohanzee is from a very old line of thinking, neck-deep in
tradition," he said. "Don't get me wrong; he's a very wise man, and knows much
about our abilities, but he considers the modern world beyond that village to
be the greatest abomination since the dawn of time."
            "How can he hate the modern world so
much?" Akio asked, baffled. "We've got computers, global positioning, advanced
tools that can work at a microscopic level..." He grinned and licked his lips.
"And juicy Alberta sirloin hamburgers! How can he hate the modern world?"
            "Well... aside from the burgers,"
Daniel began, eyeing Akio quizzically for a second. "What he hates is how
dependant on the modern times we are; fossils fuels remove the need to learn
how to make fire, GPS stops us from learning how to navigate the land, and how
paved roads tear down wildlife habitats to allow 'mechanical monstrosities' to
drive on them."
            "So he's an environmentalist?" Akio
asked.
            "Yeah, more or less. He feels that
straying from the old ways of survival and learning make us weaker," replied
Daniel. "I've studied the ways of the Iroquois; I've practiced what I could. I
know how to make a fire from two stones and I can make a raft out of some vines
and logs; I respect the old ways, but the modern times aren't the abomination
he thinks. Look at how far medical research has come? There are fewer deadly
illnesses in the world every day, there are no longer tribal chieftains or
monarchs squabbling for wealth and resources to lord their positions over
everyone, machinery has boosted agricultural production tenfold and there are
hardly any wars anymore, when centuries ago we lived in ages of endless war;
conflicts that just never seemed to end. Modern times are what brought all of
that about.
            "There are times I can see where
he's coming from; if we don't respect the old ways we won't have them when the
time comes we need them," he carried on. "But his stance on the modern world is
just as naive as how most people of modern times neglect the older ways. He
just doesn't believe that he can be wrong."
            "And that's his reason for not
getting along with you? Just because you live in modern-day cities and live
like any average person?" Akio asked.
            "That about sums it up, yes,"
replied Daniel. "If tradition didn't forbid him from doing so, he'd probably
never let me into the village. But since I am Iroquois, he can't stop me from
going unless I do something criminal while I'm there, and that is never going to
happen."
            Akio nodded. "Alright. How long will
you be gone?" He asked.
            "The festival usually lasts a few
days, but I'll only stay for one or two; can't leave the city for too long,"
replied Daniel. "But, thankfully this holiday also grants me a week off of paid
vacation; I intend to make the best of that."
            "If anyone has earned it by now, it
is definitely you," stated Akio.
            "Will you be okay without me for
that long, though?" Daniel asked.
            "It's only two days, Daniel; go!
Have fun. Bring me back a souvenir if you can."
            Daniel chuckled. "I'll see what they
have this year."
            Akio nodded. "If any sort of big
emergency happens, I'll text you. But I'll make sure it's something big before
I consider interrupting your vacation."
            Daniel chuckled. "Then let's both
hope nothing that big actually happens."
            "Hai,
indeed," returned Akio.
            ~~~~~
            The next day, at McKenzie
accounting, Daniel Tonraq was hard at work at his desk; he was only working a
half day that day, before he'd be leaving for his vacation, and so he urgently
made certain that he was caught up on all of his work, ensuring that he didn't
leave any pressing issues that would build up while he was gone. He checked the
transaction records of his clients, emailing them off to said clients, and then
filed away the hard copies into the cabinet behind his desk, locking it
securely.
            It was almost the end of his shift,
so time was running short. He doubled his efforts, cleaning up his office to
make it look as tidy as possible, all the while bearing a light smile on his
face. He often looked forward to these events, attending the festivals of the
seasons; it was gratifying to see the traditional ways of his ancestors, the
music, singing, dancing and giving thanks to the spirits of old for their
prosperity and continued existence. It was virtually identical to Thanksgiving
in Canada, but with a Native American touch.
            Finally, he finished. He powered
down his computer, packed away some items in his briefcase, and then stood up
from his desk. "Done," he muttered, before he began to leave his office.
            Halfway out the door, he nearly ran
into Colin, who was approaching with two coffee cups in hand. Daniel nearly
reacted, but he held back; his persona as Daniel Tonraq was that of a kind yet
clumsy caribou, and if he were to display his honed reflexes, he'd risk
revealing that he wasn't as careless as he pretended to be; he forced his arms
to stay down, and simply let Colin run into him.
            Predictably, some hot coffee spilt
onto his shirt. "Hey!" He yelped
            "Crap! Sorry Danny!" Colin returned.

            "No problem... good thing I didn't
wear a white shirt under my suit today," returned Daniel. He quickly removed
his overshirt before the coffee could seep through and dampen his button-down
shirt underneath, folding the removed piece over his arm and adjusting his tie
before turning to face the fox again. "Did I smell hazelnut coffee in that
cup?" He asked.
            "You did," replied Colin, passing
the partially-emptied cup to his friend, which Daniel graciously accepted.
"Just the way you like it; a little send-off for you before you leave us."
            "Colin, I'm only gone for the week,"
Daniel reminded, sipping the coffee in his hand. "I'll be back next Monday."
            "I know, but we like having you
around the office," replied Colin.
            Daniel smiled. "Well, I appreciate
that. But I only go to these festivals twice a year and I hate to miss them.
I'm proud of my ancestry, and would like to keep at least one tradition in my
life. The festivals make for great stress relief too."
            "You should take me along sometime,
then," stated Colin.
            The caribou chuckled. "Would if I
could, but I'm afraid the people of the village are fairly reclusive
-especially the elder. He's pretty strict about his stance on non-Iroquois and
people in the modern world."
            "Old bastard," muttered Colin,
before looking apologetically at Daniel. "Oh uh... no offense, of course."
            "None taken; there are times I want
to call him that straight to his face too," admitted Daniel. "But, he is the
elder and I must respect him, just as I was taught."
            "I guess," said Colin, sipping his
own coffee as he walked with Daniel to the door. "Well, see about bringing us
back some souvenirs, eh?"
            Daniel chuckled. "You're the second
one to ask me to do that in the last twelve hours... I'll see what they have
this year." He downed the rest of his coffee, and carefully passed the mug back
to Colin. "Alright; I better scram. I have to catch the next bus back to my
condo to pack up and leave this afternoon."
            "You the man, Dan; don't forget
about us."
            "Just a week, Colin," Daniel called as he headed for the door, waving
goodbye to everyone he passed on his way out.
            ~~~~~
            200
south-east of Toronto, shore of Lake Ontario...
            Daniel had long since left sight of the rest stop after disembarking
from his bus, trekking between the trees in a high rise overlooking the
beautiful surface of the great Lake Ontario. He could see for countless miles
across the water, knowing only that the United States lay at the other side.
He'd never actually travelled over the border and seen the country neighboring
his own, but he'd never really wanted to; Canada had plenty of things to see,
for those who knew where to look for them.
            He continued up the path... or at
least what could be seen of it. The trail he was following wasn't exactly easy
to spot, but he knew it well, and it was the only way to Onöta'ke village. He
had changed his clothes at the rest stop, adorning a traditional Iroquois garb
his Aunt had given him when he had first begun attending Onöta'ke's festivals,
although his village made their clothes out of linen or cotton instead of
Deerskin -it would seem rather strange for a tribe of caribou anthro's to make
clothes from feral deer, wouldn't it?
            His garb consisted of a
short-sleeved shirt, inlaid with patterns of beads along the sleeves. The shirt
was long, hanging down past his waist, where a belt pulled it tight and made it
like a tunic. He wore cream-white leggings, and a pair of calf-sleeves around
his legs that fit snugly -his calves had developed some muscle since he had
last worn these sleeves, and were tighter than last year, but they still fit
well enough to make him presentable. The last piece of his costume -and oddly
reminiscent of his hero costume, was a red cape inlaid with hundreds of golden beads
forming symbolic patterns. He wore it over one shoulder, across his back and
over his left arm. This cape was almost weightless compared to the one he wore
as the Warp, and he barely felt it swaying as he walked.
            His hooves noisily crushed sticks and
leaves along the trail as he walked, kicking some dirt with each step. Soon, a
smell reached his nostrils; the unmistakable smell of corn porridge with a hint
of maple. He smiled; he was almost to the village. Quickening his pace, he
broke into a half jog, eager to get to the village to sample some of that
porridge, and...
            A flash of movement out of the
corner of his eye, and he felt himself ducking as something sprang into view,
launching itself towards him. Falling into a hand-sprint after dropping his
suitcase, Daniel flipped back onto his feet after one somersault, and turned to
face his would-be attacker, finding another caribou like himself staring back
at him, only this one had slightly dark hue to his fur and a bushier collar of
it around his neck, revealed from the inside of his uniform -he was dressed in
the clothes of a Park Ranger, minus the hat and gun belt, carrying instead a
machete that was still protected by its scabbard. His antlers were trimmed
down, smoothed manually by tools to fit through the wide-brimmed hat he wore
upon his head.
            The other caribou lunged forward,
swinging his fist, but it was slow and Daniel easily teleported before the
attack reached him, appearing behind the second caribou before kicking him in
the buttocks and sending him falling onto his face with a grunt.
            "Is that any way to welcome me back,
Han?" Daniel asked, crossing his arms.
            The other caribou chuckled as he
turned over and sat up, looking up at the older and larger caribou with a pair
of green eyes much like his own. "What better way to welcome Toronto's greatest
hero than with a little adrenaline?" He asked before Daniel helped him to his
feet, and the two of them exchanged a one-armed hug. "Welcome back, cousin.
Good to see the garb still fits you, putting on all those muscles." He pinched
Daniel's arm playfully. "Is that a bicep or a pineapple? It's huge!"
            Daniel laughed heartily and gently
pushed Han's arm away. "Good to be back," he returned. "How're the festivities
looking this year?"
            "Fantastic; we had a bumper
crop this time around," replied Han as he picked up Daniel's suitcase and
walked alongside him, dusting off his uniform with his other hand. "They're
making lots of your favorite; you can just smell that porridge, eh?"
            "That I can," replied Daniel. "So
how's the ranger business?"
            "Oh you know... boring. Nobody ever
comes around here, so I rarely have anything to do but practice my
sneak-attack."
            "Spend a week of training with me,
and you'll know what a real sneak
attack is," Daniel returned, smugly.
            "Bragging, Daniel, from you of all
people?" Han asked. "Did my head hit a rock when you kicked me over or
something?"
            Daniel chuckled. "No, not at all,"
he said. "But sneak attacks are my specialty, you know. It's why they call me
'the Ghost' of Toronto, not just because I'm dressed all in white."
            "And you can teach me how to do
that?"
            "Ever heard of Whiptail?"
            "The guy with the rubber tail I've
seen on the news?"
            "Not necessarily rubber, but more or
less accurate," replied Daniel. "I helped train him."
            "Really? You never mentioned you had
an apprentice."
            Daniel chuckled. "We didn't work
together for long. Not for lack of getting along, mind you; he just wanted to
go his own way. I taught him some of my tricks to get him started, and sparred
with him to refine his technique. He's actually become quite famous in the
northern part of the city. He's the only 'official' hero from the Bureau
operating in the city full-time."
            "Why haven't you joined the Bureau
then, like he did?" 
            Daniel's pace slowed a little at
that question. "To be honest, the thought has crossed my mind," he admitted.
"But... I don't know. The heroes of that group operate globally; they bear the
weight of the world on their shoulders. I'm not sure I'm ready for a responsibility
that heavy..." He sighed. "Besides, Toronto's become a better place; I'm doing
some real good there, I just know it."
            "Well, think about it, cousin,"
urged Han, patting his shoulder. "The Bureau could use someone like you; you
already have the skills, the experience, and hell, like you just told me,
you've even trained one of their
members, without expecting anything in return but an ally of justice like
yourself, and you did just that. You've got what it takes, and they need all
the people they can get." He sighed. "I'd join myself if I had the skills for
it, but my powers aren't exactly special like yours."
            "Whiptail thought that same thing
about his, and I taught him how to make
them special," replied Daniel. "Why don't you let me train you, too? If I could
make a hero out of someone fresh out of high school, I can certainly make one
out of someone with Forest Ranger training."
            "You really think I have the
aptitude for it?" Han asked.
            "You're twenty-three years old;
possibly the youngest Park Ranger in all of Canada, and you've always been a
quick learner," replied Daniel. "But you never know anything for certain until
you try, right?"
            Han grimaced at that, but the tilt
of his head was a sign of intrigue. "I suppose I could give it a shot
sometime... when should we start?"
            Daniel chuckled. "It can wait a
while," he assured. "You know where to find me."
            Han smiled warmly at him, but then
he frowned as another thought seemed to cross his mind. "So, uh... how's my
mother been doing?"
            "She's okay; I was talking to her on
the phone just a few days back," replied Daniel. "Why do you ask?"
            "Well... you know how my dad never
let me go visit her after they divorced?" Han asked. "It's because my dad was
scared of her, once he knew about her heritage despite, just like with your
dad, she never showed any sign of having powers. But my dad didn't care; he
took me away, and told me to forget I ever had any connection to a 'freak
line'."
            Daniel scowled. "The day you told me
that, made me want to pay my 'uncle' a visit... so I could kick his ass," he
said. "How could he be so judgemental?"
            "It got worse after that, as you
know," Han remarked.
            Daniel's scowl turned to a sad
frown. "Yeah, I know... when you found out you had superpowers too your dad tried
to throw you out, but you were only fifteen, and so doing so was unlawful."
            "Moment I graduated highschool, he
kicked my ass out the door; told me that no freaks were ever living in his
house again," said Han. "Haven't seen him since, and can't afford the money or
time to go see my mom."
            Daniel put a reassuring hand on
Han's shoulder. "If you would like, I could invite her out some weekend; maybe
you could book time off?"
            Han smiled back. "That sounds like
an idea," he said. "Thanks, cousin."
            "No problem; we're family after all.
Now, let's get to the village. That porridge is calling my name, and my stomach
is crying out for it."
            Han chuckled lightly. "Right; let's
go. I know a few others who are dying to see you too."
            ~~~~~
            Onöta'ke was just as Daniel
remembered it; stepping into the village was like going back in time, to the
era of the aboriginal people of Canada. The village was very private, being
ringed by a large fence -or maybe more of a wall of upright logs bound
together, the inside filled with several longhouses and many dome-shaped hovels
resembling old-fashioned wigwams, with some modern improvements, such as tiled
rooftops and wooden walls to repel the weather. Despite the upgrades from
traditional Iroquois homes, they emanated a feeling of nostalgic wonder of
their own.
            The entire village was filled with
caribou folk like Daniel himself; men, women and children of all ages, many of
the latter whom remembered him and flocked over like wild geese to meet him,
pawing at him as he greeted them joyously, reminded once again why he loved to
come here; a haven away from the noise and frustration of the city, but a place
where everyone knew him and what he was -here, he didn't have to hide. They
considered him as much a part of their village as anyone else, even if his
visits were few and far apart.
            After managing to get away from the
crowds for a bit he wanted over to the crafter's hut, easily recognized by the
fact it had a table outside, covered end to end with various trinkets -necklaces,
bracelets and headdresses alike, all made by the skilled hands of one of the
village women by the name of Nijlon, who stood there working as Daniel
approached, organizing the various items she had lain out across the table.
            She looked up as she heard Daniel's
hooves crushing the dry dirt of the village, and beamed when she stared into
that smiling, green-eyed face of his. "Meoquanee; you have come back to us!"
She said gleefully as she walked around the table and approached Daniel,
embracing him tightly.
            'Meoquanee'; a Cheyenne term,
meaning 'Wears Red'; a few people in the village knew of Daniel's persona as
'The Warp', but Nijlon was one of the ones who did. In fact, she had been the
one who had crafted his original cape before he switched to using the kevlar
one he wore in his newer uniform. He still kept the cape around, in case he
ever needed it -although 'needing' might have been a strong word, since the
cape in general was more symbolic than practical.
            "Good to see you, Nijlon," Daniel
returned her greeting, both vocally and physically, with warmth, hugging her
tightly. "How are you?"
            "This year has been well, young
one," returned the elderly doe. "I am pleased to see you could attend the
festival again this year."
            "I always try to make sure I can get
here," he assured her. "But, I did promise a couple of friends some souvenirs;
what do you have this year?"
            "Of course; step over!" She
exclaimed, guiding him over to the table. "Maybe they are looking for a nice
necklace or bracelet?"
            Warp hummed in thought as he
examined the hand-crafted accessories, consisting of beads and shiny stones,
with different sizes depending on where they were worn on the body; the
headdresses he didn't imagine Akio or Colin liking much; they'd look pretty
silly wearing them... of course they could always just use them for decoration,
but the accessories seemed more practical. "I'll take two of both; whatever
ones they take I'll keep the others," he decided, fishing out his wallet.
            Nijlon nodded to him, and accepted the
payment for the items. Daniel thanked her, and put the items into his pocket
for the moment. He once more smell that porridge, and just had to go get some;
saying goodbye and thanking Nijlon again, he headed to the center of the
village, eager to partake.
            Until he heard that voice; the
gruff, thoughtless voice coming from his left that had him pausing mid-step.
"Daniel... so you're here."
            He forced himself not to scowl as he
heard that all-too-familiar voice, and slowly he turned to face the owner of the
voice, coming face to face with an elderly male caribou, sullen and bent at the
back, wearing a mohawk headdress, and a grassy skirt to cover his legs. Around
his neck he wore two different necklaces, one that looked just like one of the
ones Daniel had just purchased from Nijlon, and the other one decorated with
the teeth of a shark -how he had obtained those, Daniel didn't know, but there
were two dozen of the yellowed things on the accessory.
            Ohanzee, the village elder, with fur
paled and eyes wrinkled with age, leaning on a walking stick. Daniel could
easily see the male's open disapproval of his presence in the village. As
Daniel had spoken of with Akio, he had never gotten along with the old man, his
open disdain for the outside world and how Daniel was 'tainted' by it the cause
of their somewhat spiteful relationship. Few in the village shared his
opposition of Daniel's presence, most of them elders or adults from the same
line of thinking, but it was only by tradition that Ohanzee had to allow Daniel
into the village at all.
            "Hello, elder," Daniel returned
respectfully.
            "Here to once more defile us with
your presence, I see," said Ohanzee.
            "And I see your dislike of me hasn't
waned in the past year," retorted Daniel.
            It was at that moment the young
adult caribou noticed the small figure standing at Ohanzee's side. A small
female, not even into her adolescent years garbed in a traditional child's
garment, looking up at Daniel with tired, bagged dark-brown eyes; she was
unhealthily thin and appeared ready to fall over as Daniel stared at her,
feeling a pit in his stomach at the sight of the poor girl.
            "And who's this?" He asked.
            The elder put his hand in front of
the girl. "Her name is Kaniehtiio, and she is none of your concern."
            "She looks sick," Daniel stated.
            "We are taking care of her," Ohanzee
retorted. "Now go back to the festivities; the sooner you are gone the better."
            Daniel's scowl finally found its way
to his face as the elder harshly grabbed Kaniehtiio's arm and turned them both
away from him, his eyes burning into the old man's back and his knuckles
cracking audibly as he clenched his fist in irritation. "Withered old bastard,"
he muttered, too low for the elder to hear.
            "Daniel?" Han's voice caught his
ear, and he promptly turned to face his cousin. "You okay?" He asked, but
didn't even need Daniel to answer as he noticed the elder. "Oh... old man
Ohanzee up to his usual?"
            Daniel nodded. "Yes..."
            "And, he's got Kaniehtiio with him
again."
            "Who is she?"
            "A girl from here who just recently
started showing signs of her own gifts," replied Han. "Ohanzee and the village
Shaman are helping her learn to control them, and see if they can be used
productively."
            "Why does she look so exhausted
though?"
            "I'm not sure; Shaman says it's some
sort of sleep condition she has. Apparently she doesn't rest very well."
            Daniel grimaced. "That's not healthy
for a little girl."
            "Certainly isn't. But there's not
much we can do; there's no place out there that can help her."
            Daniel looked at him oddly. "Of
course there is," he said, firmly.
            "There is; where?"
            "In Colmation there's a care
facility with supers who need certain treatment for side-effects to their
powers," said Daniel. "You really think they wouldn't consider something like
that when the Bureau was formed?"
            Han scoffed. "Good luck convincing
Ohanzee to agree to it though."
            "Too true; only way he'd agree is if
someone showed up with a court order," said Daniel, rubbing his chin in
thought. "But we risk exposing the entire village doing that, and even then,
knowing him, he'd use that brain of his to make them forget they ever found
this place."
            "You really think he'd go that far?"
            "I'd bet my antlers on it."
~~~~~
            That
night...
            The first night of the Harvest Festival was just as much fun as Daniel
remembered it. The music, the dancing, the chant-like singing, the food and all
of the companionship; it was as good as he remembered. Some heroes had hobbies,
families and friends to cope with their undertakings, something to help them
deal with the stress. This was what the Warp entitled himself to; one to two
times a year, at this quiet, peaceful village, where the stresses and dangers
he faced in Toronto did not exist.
            It was paradise, and it was enough
to help him persevere.
            He took part in everything; he
danced, he feasted on that porridge he loved to eat every time he came here -to
him it was like tasting tradition itself... with just a hint of wheat and
raisins. It was such a simple dish, yet he loved it for that very reason; it
was simple, it was filling and it was made with the hardworking hands of the
village cooks, and not by machinery or by boiling the contents of a paper
package. He even took part in playing some instruments, shaking a pair of
rattles while he danced, working up quite a sweat from the combined effort of
movements and playing.
            He retired early that night. It had
been so long since he'd been to one of these festivals, he had forgotten how much
they could take out of him, and proceeded to Han's shack, accompanied by his
cousin. The younger caribou got a cot from his closet, and set it down in the
corner of the shack, where Daniel was laid down to sleep while Han returned to
rejoin the festivities.
            It was well into the night by the
time Daniel awoke; his early sleep had led to an early rise. He sat up from his
cot, noticing Han asleep in his own bed on the other side of the room, and
quietly got up to stretch, placing his hooves carefully to nullify the sound as
much as possible before rising up to his full height, stretching out his arms
and holding back a grunt before he decided he wanted some fresh air and so
water. With that, he headed for the door, pocketing the spare key, and stepped
outside into the night air.
            He glanced up at the sky, and guessed
it was probably after midnight if not later. He took in a deep breath of night
air, and started to turn his attention towards the lake, when he felt
something... strange. Like a strain in his body, not do to a sore muscle or any
kind of effort,  but like the very land
around him had changed... somehow. Visually, it all looked the same; trees with
yellowing leaves, browning grass, dead flowers...
            Wait... dead?
            Daniel walked over to the flowers,
kneeling down and looking at them closely. Daniel wasn't any sort of expert on
plants, but these flowers he knew from biology class. They were Asters; purple
flowers that bloomed from late summer to late autumn, but the weather wasn't
yet cold enough for these flowers to be wilting.
            Now that he thought about it... most
of the plants around him seemed to be a little premature in their stages; the
leaves of the trees were already fully yellowed, and the grass wasn't just
dying... it was already dead.
            "These plants were healthy when I
arrived this morning," said Daniel. "Why're they all dead all of a sudden? It's
hardly even cold out here."
            Something was very wrong here, and
for some reason, the distortion felt stronger towards the heart of the
village...
            Daniel turned to face the inside of
Onöta'ke village, and his eyes fell upon the healer's hut across the heart of
the town. Something about it seemed... off. The air around it was shimmering,
like heat waves. It certainly wasn't warm enough to cause those this time of night. Furrowing his brow, Daniel teleported,
crossing the village in an instant, and stood before the flap that served as
the door, suddenly feeling a hundred pounds heavier. He nearly fell to his
knees as he stood there, feeling that overwhelming pressure, as though gravity
itself had increased the closer he got to the hut.
            'God
damn it... what is this feeling?' He thought. 'Feel like I weigh a ton all of a sudden and it isn't from all that
porridge.'
            Through the flap, he heard
something. Chanting, and the moaning of a young voice. Curiosity was getting
the better of him, and slowly he opened the tent flap and peered inside the
hut.
            He saw Ohanzee, and the village
healer, both knelt down at the head and side of the same little girl he had
seen earlier -Kaniehtiio, he recalled, with her shirt rolled up to expose her
belly where the healer was applying a salve over her stomach. Ohanzee had his
hands upon her head, and the moans Daniel had heard were coming from her, her
face contorted as if in pain. Daniel narrowed his eyes in suspicion, watching
as the two continued... whatever it was they were doing with Kaniehtiio. He
didn't know... but the look on Kaniehtiio's face told him it wasn't pleasant...
            Suddenly, Kaniehtiio began to
thrash, nearly pulling her head out of Ohanzee's hands as she did. He held
firm, even as her moaning intensified to loud groans, as if trapped in some
kind of nightmare. Ohanzee muttered something to the healer in the language of
the Mohawk, a language Daniel himself didn't speak, and pressed his hands
firmer against Kaniehtiio's head, forcing her to go still. Her eyes flared
open, and Daniel saw a shocking colour of electric blue emanating from her
eyes, followed shortly by a scream and more thrashing, throwing out her arms
and trying to pull away from Ohanzee.
            Finally, Daniel couldn't take it
anymore, and pushed through the flap. "What's going on in here?!" He demanded.
            Ohanzee looked up in shock.
"Daniel?!" He demanded, before his gaze shifted back to Kaniehtiio. "No! You
broke my focus!"
            A blue stream of energy seemed to
appear out of nowhere around Kaniehtiio, starting to form around her, enveloping
her in a field of energy like a shell that seemed to be fighting to take shape,
but it could not complete its coverage of Kaniehtiio; it touched Ohanzee's
hands, and stopped, unable to push past them. The healer was forced back as the
energy touched his hands as if burning, but Ohanzee remained firm, his elderly
face becoming ablaze with determination as he continued his efforts.
            Kaniehtiio finally stopped
thrashing, and the blue energy around her began to recede, cracking like an
eggshell and each piece of the 'egg' shrank rapidly until fizzing out
completely. In a moment, the intensified atmosphere became more tolerable
-Daniel no longer felt like he was in an intensified gravity field, an took in
a breath, suddenly realizing he'd been holding one while the spectacle before
him was unfolding.
            Daniel took a step forward, but then
Ohanzee elevated his gaze, glaring at Daniel with a face that would stop the
heart of a lesser man, and suddenly the younger caribou felt as though he'd
been hit by the explosion from a bomb, sent flying back through the tent flap,
through the air and hitting the ground hard, skidding across the dirt as if it
were ice. The fall ruined his native dress, tearing open the back and making
him grit his teeth as he felt rocks digging into his ribs from behind.
            Letting out the warrior in him,
Daniel flipped over, throwing his legs over his head and flipping around to
land on his hooves, taking a stance in readiness for a fight.
            Ohanzee stormed out of the hut,
without even his walking stick in hand, crossing the village center where
Daniel had been thrown. "You imbecile; you nearly caused a calamity that could
have destroyed Onöta'ke!"
            "What calamity?" Daniel demanded.
            "Kaniehtiio!" Ohanzee barked. "I was
trying to keep her powers under control; you distracted me and they nearly got
loose!"
            "How can Kaniehtiio already have her
powers?" Daniel demanded. "Neither Han or I gained ours until we were fourteen;
she's too young!"
            "Powers manifesting one or two years
early is not unheard of," Ohanzee pointed out. "Hers started appearing when she
turned eleven years of age, and since then she suffers recurring nightmares
that cause her powers to go out of control. I use my telepathy to keep them
suppressed; I keep the nightmares at bay, but because of you it almost erupted
again!"
            "She was in pain; I could see it on
her face!" He pointed past Ohanzee at the hut. "How can a little girl be so
dangerous she needs to be put through something like that?!"
            "If you saw even a sample of the
power she wields, you'd know that what I am doing is an act of mercy," retorted
Ohanzee. "My first priority is to the safety of the village, and that is what I
am doing!"
            "And the others approve of what
you're doing to Kaniehtiio in the process?" Daniel asked.
            "Of course they do!" Ohanzee
retorted. "Everyone in the village knows of this!"
            Daniel scowled at Ohanzee. "I wish I
could believe you, old man, but I'd have an easier time doing so if I didn't
know you were a telepath, capable of erasing memories."
            "I am bound by the oath of my
forebears never to turn my powers upon my own unless necessary," Ohanzee
returned, his own scowl deepening. "You, however, are testing the limits of how
much I wish to honour that oath."
            "Have you seen what was happening while you were in there?!" Daniel demanded,
throwing out his arms. "Every piece of vegetation around this village was
dying! I know that wasn't because of you, so that means it had to be
Kaniehtiio's doing. If her powers are capable of doing something like that
they're in a complete league of their own!"
            "I will keep them under control, so
long as you don't get in the way
again," the old caribou returned. But just as soon as he finished that
sentence, he grinned widely. "In fact, your act of interrupting my work put
this entire village in danger, and I have a witness to prove it; the healer."
            "I didn't know Kaniehtiio had powers
already; how could I have?!"
            Without even answering Daniel's
question, Ohanzee continued. "Daniel Tonraq, for your act of reckless
endangerment to the people of Onöta'ke, then by the power vested in me by the
will of the spirits and the ancestors," his attempt to hide his satisfaction as
he spoke was easily detected, as there was still much pleasure visible on his
face as he finished. "I now banish you
from ever setting foot in Onata'ke again. As of tonight, you are no longer one
of us." He then added silently. "As you never were."
            Daniel's heart sank, but his rage as
still billowing. "You cannot ban me for an accident!" He protested.
            "I can, and I have," returned Ohanzee. "Return to the wretched world
of the defilers where you belong, and never set foot in Onöta'ke again. If I
find you here, the consequences will be dire."
            Daniel opened his mouth to protest
further, but he knew that this would get him nowhere; the village healer was an
elder just like Ohanzee, and after what had nearly happened he would never
defend Daniel, and nobody else in the village had seen what had transpired; no
one could protect him and allow him to keep coming back to this peaceful
hamlet... the one place where he could rest peacefully and enjoy himself. The
idea made him feel... empty, and hollow. He considered these people to be his
family, as much as his aunt in Ottawa, but now he would never get to see them
again.
But he pushed those thoughts aside; this was about
more than his holiday life, this was about a child in distress and in need of
help. With a defiant glare, he faced Ohanzee again. "This isn't over, old man,"
Daniel warned. "I'll be back, with child services and the B.O.S, to get
Kaniehtiio away from you; you can count on that. If it means saving her from
you, I'll gladly give up my visits here."
"By all means, try," retorted Ohanzee. "One outsider
sets foot through the village gate, I will erase their memories of all of this,
and leave them comatose and lost in the wilderness." He stuck a bony finger
into Daniel's chest. "No one is going to take one of my people from here, not
even the mighty Warp, not while I draw
breath." His scowl deepened. "Now... begone!"
The veins around Ohanzee's eyes pulsed, and once
more Daniel found himself sent flying through the air; he was caught so off
guard by the telekinetic assault that he didn't even have time to speak again
before he was carried out of the village by unseen forces, the ground falling
away from him as he soared above the tree line, flapping his arms and kicking
his legs wildly through the whole ordeal.
At this speed the caribou would have every bone in
his body broken when he hit the ground! He had to do something, fast! Once he
was out of range of Ohanzee's telekinesis, perhaps he could teleport backward,
let his momentum slow and somehow land...
He couldn't teleport.
Try as he might to activate his powers, they would
not work. He couldn't teleport!
Suddenly fearful for his life, he screamed. It was
all he could do without his powers, no doubt locked out by the old man. On an
on he flew for what seemed like a long time, until he was completely clear of
the trees and saw shoreline, water, and suddenly knew exactly where he was.
The caribou male braced himself, angling his head
forward and putting his hands around the back of his neck to brace it against
whiplash as he hit the surface of Lake Ontario, skipping across the water like
a stone for several dozen feet until he finally slowed and simply plunged into
the cold water, feeling it hit him like a sledgehammer. His entire body ached
from the ordeal, and continued to ache as he struggled to realign himself and
figure out where the surface was in this dark water.
He forced himself to calm down; panic now, and he
would drown. Keeping his eyes clenched shut he spat out a bubble of air; it was
too dark to see clearly even if he could open his eyes in this great salt lake,
but he could still hear it moving through the water and followed which way it
travelled, letting out another bubble and confirming it was going the same
direction he was. Finally he felt his head break the surface of the water, and
he took in a deep, filling his lungs with air and coughing out some water he'd
taken in.
He didn't know which way the shore was; hitting the
water had thrown off his bearings, but he knew he couldn't possibly have flown
further than his powers could reach. He only hoped Ohanzee could not still
block them from this range. Shutting his eyes, he pictured Han's cabin in his
mind, and then willed himself to teleport there, vanishing from the lake in a
flash of light.
~~~~~
            "Ohanzee did what?!" Han demanded. "He threw you into Lake Ontario all the way
from the middle of the village?! My god if you'd hit a tree on the way out
you'd be dead!"
            "So will you help me confront him?"
Daniel asked.
            "Damn right I will; that old fuck
has gone too far this time!" Han said in ready agreement as he went to put on
his ranger hat, almost impaling it on his trimmed antlers in the process
instead of carefully maneuvering them through the holes. "I'm going to haul him
to Toronto kicking and screaming if I have to!"
            "Forget about him; Kaniehtiio's the
one we need to help," said Daniel. "If Ohanzee was telling the truth, and
everything I saw last night wasn't some dream, then she needs help; she's a
high class meta-furson, and if we don't get her some help it could lead to
disaster."
            "I'm still going to make sure he
goes down for nearly killing my cousin," Han reaffirmed, and Daniel doubted he
could change the younger caribou's mind on the matter.
            Out of the cabin they went, and
turned towards the village, but they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw
that the gate was closed; the door, normally meant for sealing the village at
night to keep wild ferals out while everyone was asleep, was closed well into
the morning, preventing entrance. Han stormed up to the gate, cupping his hands
around his mouth and bellowing out for the door to be opened, but nobody
responded to his call.
            "Dammit," said Han. "This is
definitely the old man's doing; he's locked us out."
            "He finally got an excuse to get rid
of me; he's not going to let it be compromised while he knows I'm still here,"
said Daniel. "But he's going to have to do better than a gate to keep out The
Warp."
            Han grinned. "Then make like a
burglar and let's bust in there," he said with enthusiasm, placing his hand on
Daniel's shoulder.
            Daniel shut his eyes, and began to
picture the village in his mind, getting a mental picture of the inside to...
            His eyes reopened, and his
expression turned to horror. "Oh no..." He said.
            Han tilted his head. "What's wrong?"
            "I..." Daniel began, raising his
hands and placing them upon his head. "I can't remember!"
            "Can't remember what?"
            "I don't remember what the inside of
the village looks like!" Daniel replied.
            "What?! But you were just in there
yesterday; how could you forget?"
            Daniel looked at him. "How else?" He
asked, plainly. 
            It took Han only a second to
understand what Daniel was implying. He rolled his eyes, and groaned. "Damn it
that bastard thinks of everything!" He exclaimed. "But how?! How could he erase
your memory of the village while you were out here all night?"
            "He must've done it while I was
confronting him," replied Daniel. Try as he might, he had no recollection of
what Onata'ke looked like inside; every attempt to remember led only to a black
void as he stared at the wooden fence that rose higher than some of the
buildings within, preventing him from even spotting a rooftop to teleport onto.
"Since I wasn't thinking of the village then I didn't even notice he'd done
it." One thing Daniel had to hand to Ohanzee, he was thorough, and precise; to
access a memory that Daniel wasn't even thinking of and erasing it like a file
from a computer hard drive was no small feat, and only spoke volumes of how
strong the elder really was."
            "Can you..." Han began. "What about
teleporting into the air above?" He suggested.
            "I teleport, Han, I don't fly,"
Daniel pointed out. "The sky looks the same virtually everywhere; I need a
mental picture of where I'm teleporting to or it could just send me off
somewhere random -or just not work at all."
            "So Ohanzee even knows how to stop
The Warp," Han stated. "...Maybe, I could knock the gate down?"
            "No," Daniel stated firmly. "Someone
could get hurt if you use your powers to do that, plus you'll be breaking and
entering -your property is outside the village, not in. You do that, and he can
ban you from here too." Daniel hung his head, sighing. "There's nothing we can
do... he's locked us out of there."
            "Then what do we do about
Kaniehtiio?"
            Daniel hung his head sadly, his ears
flattening against his skull. His answer was simple, but his voice was pained
as he replied to Han's question.
            "I have no idea..."
            Defeated, Daniel said goodbye to Han
that afternoon as he packed his things and left the village behind. Han was
sorry to see his cousin leaving so soon with two days of the festival left, but
there was no other choice... Daniel could no longer attend the festival,
Ohanzee had sealed the village for the rest of the duration and already banned
Daniel from ever setting foot in the village again. His one escape -his one
retreat from his stresses back in Toronto, were forever lost to him...
            Han promised he'd do everything he
could to try and make Ohanzee reconsider, but even he knew it was futile.
Ohanzee hated Daniel -hated the world he came from. He'd never go back on his
word now that he'd finally be rid of the younger male; the old bastard was
probably celebrating in his own way even as Daniel wandered up the trail, back
in his civilian attire as he began to make his way home to Toronto.
            At the bus stop, the same one he'd
arrived in, he used the payphone at the convenience store to call Akio, letting
him know he was on his way home. "Already?
But you have only been gone a night; what about the festival?"
            "I've been kicked out of the village," replied Daniel. "Ohanzee's
harboring a dangerous meta-furson and I saw him in the act of trying to
suppress her powers; he forbade me from ever coming back and even erased my
memory of the village so I couldn't teleport back in."
            Akio's response to that was more or
less how Daniel expected. "He found a way
to stop even you? Kuso, who is this
old man?"
            "A powerful psychic," replied
Daniel. "All the works; telepathy, mind reading, mind wiping and even some telekinesis -he's even got some ability to
suppress the powers of others. He actually locked out my teleporting when he
launched me out of the village like a rocket."
            "Are
you okay?"
            "I'll be fine, but Kaniehtiio won't be if I don't find some way to get
help for her," replied Daniel, leaning his forehead against the phone. 
            "We'll
think of something, Daniel," Akio assured. "How soon will you be back?"
            "Bus should be here soon so, hour, maybe more; depends on if they're on
time or not," replied the caribou. "I'll swing by the Bunker on my way home."
            "Hai, I'll see you then," bade Akio. "Do
not be worried my friend; we'll find a way to help that child."
            "I sure hope so," replied Daniel.
            A voice spoke back through the
earpiece that didn't belong to Akio; it was the electronic female voice warning
the caller that they were almost out of time. "Quarters are used up; I'll see
you soon."
            "Safe
travels, Daniel."
            Mere moments after the caribou hung up the phone, his ear caught a
sound; he looked over his shoulder and saw the bus approaching the stop nearby.
He took a glance at the illuminated lettering on the board above the
windshield, the posted address Daniel recognized for downtown Toronto. At least
the timing was convenient that day.
            Picking up his luggage, Daniel took
only one more look back into the woods in the direction of Onata'ke, knowing he
would never see them again... and it made him fight back a tear that tried to
creep into his eye as he walked over to the bus, never looking back again for
fear of falling into melancholy...
~~~~~
            On the bus ride back to Toronto,
Daniel took a brief nap in his seat, awakened by a disembarking passenger and
realizing that this was his stop. Ignoring the soreness in his neck he
scrambled off the bus and waited until it left. He was about to teleport, but
then he decided he wanted to sit down for a moment, and reflect on everything
that had transpired for the last day.
            He was ablaze in emotions at that
moment; sad he would never see Onata'ke again, heartbroken that Ohanzee had
stripped him of the memory of the village itself so that he could no longer
even remember what it looked like, only the faces of the people within -that at
least brought him some comfort. He was concerned for Kaniehtiio, her health and
safety, and the safety of everyone who lived in Onöta'ke; could she be that
much of a threat? And if she was, what would happen to her if Daniel did report
her?
            But most of all, he was angry. What
he was angry about needed no explanation, he felt. There was only one to blame
for his sadness and Kaniehtiio's suffering, and it was no supervillain this
time... Daniel had fought thugs, crime bosses, a destructive monster and a samurai
warrior faster than the eye could see, and always through might, willpower and
determination he had overcome them as The Warp, but never had he felt so
defeated before; even fights he had lost hadn't felt as bad as he did now...
            Well, moping here at the bus stop
would get him nowhere. He stood up, picking up his belongings, and after
checking to make sure the coast was clear, he ducked into a nearby alley, and
teleported before anyone might have seen him, reappearing inside of The Bunker,
where he saw Akio in his usual place. The weasel looked up at Daniel appeared,
his face sympathetic as he folded his hands across his lap.
            "Are you okay?" He asked.
            "Not really," replied the caribou.
            Akio's gaze shifted off to the side,
and Daniel suddenly heard a footstep to his left. More out of reflex than
concern he turned to face it rather swiftly, wondering who or what could be
doing in his bunker. The person approaching him was a casually dressed brown
salamander with dark green eyes that hard big, round pupils. The salamander was
slender, most of the musculature focused to his legs, and he had an unusually
long tail swinging about behind him as he stepped into view, hands in his
pockets.
            It took Daniel less than a second to
recognize the smooth skinned face looking back at him with a friendly smile.
"Pierre," he said.
            "Bonjour, Dan," the salamander
replied before approaching Daniel. The two hugged each other tightly, in a
brotherly manner, and Daniel felt a little better. "Akio told me what happened;
I'm sorry your holiday got ruined."
            Pierre Chappelle, better known to
the public as a salamander who sold movies and video games at the local
shopping mall, but secretly known as Whiptail, a new member of the Bureau of
Superheroes in Canada, and once short-term sidekick to The Warp while they were
training together. It had been a few months since Daniel had seen Pierre, and
it felt good to see his young friend again, especially at this time when he
needed him most.
            "I'm glad you came," returned Daniel
before they pulled apart. "But don't you have work today?"
            "It's Sunday, Dan, and tomorrow's
Thanksgiving," Pierre pointed out. "I got the day off. And good timing too,
no?"
            "I called Pierre thinking he might
know someone in the B.O.S who might be able to help Kaniehtiio," said Akio. "I
also figured you might need a couple of extra ears to listen, even if one set
of those ears can't be seen."
            Pierre eyed Akio incredulously, but
still had a light smirk on his face. "Akio, leave the jesting to me; it just
sounds wrong when you do it."
            Akio scowled, and not even Daniel
could hold back at laugh at the weasel's expression -god how he needed that
laugh. He looked at Pierre hopefully, and asked, "What do you know?"
            "Not much, sadly," admitted Pierre.
"I'm afraid I'm still too new to the B.O.S to give a suggestion. Taking
possession of the little girl is going to require nothing short of a court
order, and they'll want proof of what's happening there."
            "There's a telepath who's watching
Kaniehtiio's every move," explained Daniel. "And anyone who tries to take her,
he'll probably wipe their memory to keep her away."
            "If a meta-furson is involved, then
I'll have to ask Mighty Moose how we'd proceed," replied Pierre. "Hell, maybe
she'll go down there herself."
            "You think she'd be able to handle
Ohanzee? He's powerful, you know."
            Pierre arched a brow. "Daniel, she's
not called 'Mighty Moose' for effect; she's powerful too, and there's a hundred
other heroes she could call in as well. Somewhere out there, there's got to be
a Psionic at least as strong as Ohanzee if not stronger." He clapped a hand on
Daniel's shoulder. "Trust me; we'll get that girl away from that old creep."
            "What will Mighty Moose do if she
finds out the whole village is inhabited by meta-fursons though?" Akio asked.
            Pierre looked over. "Say what now?"
            "Akio!" Daniel barked, making the
weasel cringe. "Wrong time to mention that!"
            "Sorry!"
Daniel let out a sigh before turning to face Pierre
again, and saying plainly, "superpowers aren't uncommon on my dad's side of the
family. I have a cousin who lives out there, named Han; he has powers too."
Pierre blinked a few times before he grinned.
"Awesome." His smile then faded. "Wait... the entire village is full of
unregistered supers?"
"Well to be accurate only half of the villagers
there actually have powers; Han, Ohanzee and of course Kaniehtiio are three
such people. The rest don't really use their powers for anything; they have
them, but they only scarcely acknowledge them. I actually don't know who else there
has any sort of superpower; they've never shown them."
"I'll... try to keep that to myself," promised
Pierre. "Right now Kaniehtiio's our focus, right? Not to mention making Ohanzee
answer for his crimes." He nodded. "I'll contact Mighty Moose as soon as I get
back home and see what she says."
            Daniel nodded gratefully. "Thanks,
Pierre," he said.
            The salamander nodded back. "Anytime,
Dan."
            "How about we all head out for some
lunch? My treat," said Daniel.
            "Sure I should be going out?" Akio
asked, warily.
            "Akio, the Yakuza are not going to
come after you," assured Daniel. "By now they've probably forgotten all about
you. Even if they haven't, both Takeo and Masaru are in jail and you said
yourself Ren, who's probably the one leading them right now, is a coward." He
looked at Akio with a serious expression. "You can't hide here for the rest of
your life. Lack of sun and proper food
is going to kill you sooner than the Yakuza will."
            Akio swallowed nervously, but Daniel
knew the weasel missed being able to walk out in the open, and the idea was
clearly tempting to him. He tapped his fingers on the desk in thought for a
moment before he eventually shrugged a long shrug, sprang up from his chair,
and walked around to join the two.
            "Alright, you talked me into it;
where we going?" Akio asked.
            "There's this diner a few blocks
away that serves an amazing breakfast," said Pierre.
            "Was thinking the same thing," said
Daniel. "I could really go for some pancakes."
            "Oui."
            "Hai."
~~~~~
            The
following morning...
            Daniel had set his alarm clock to
radio when he had retired at home for the day. The police scanner was quiet
that evening except for a few robberies, and so both Akio and Pierre encouraged
the Warp to take another night off. Normally Daniel might've refused, but he
felt oddly tied that day after the recent ordeal, so he took them up on it, and
went home. He watched a few movies he'd been saving for a night in before he'd
retired to bed and slept through to the morning.
            "Happy
Thanksgiving, people of Tor-on-to!" The voice chimed. "This is your favorite voice on the radio, Zackie Zone! That's
Double-Zed for those who want to keep it short!"
            "Ugh... wish they'd fire that guy," grumbled Daniel as he rolled onto
his back and sat up, yawning as he stretched. "His voice is more annoying than
whining clients at the firm."
            "Going
to be a cold Thanksgiving tonight as our temperatures, though not too bad for
this morning and afternoon, drop into the negatives tonight at a low of minus
five degrees Celsius. Winter's coming folks, and tonight will be our first
taste of it. Try not to let that block out the taste of turkey for those of you
who didn't celebrate early this year. Oh! And speaking of early celebrations, I
have a interview here today with someone  sounding like something out of science
fiction. Apparently some boaters who were out celebrating on Lake Ontario had
an uninvited guest to their little get-together!"
            "Teenager driving his dad's overpowered speedboat?" Daniel asked
rhetorically as he stood up.
            "I-I-It
was unnatural; there's no way this thing was a living creature," a new
voice spoke over the radio as Daniel went through his drawers to pick out his
outfit for the day. "It was huge; it
looked like some kind of shark but it was way too even for a great white; it
ate one of our boats -swallowed it whole in one freaking chomp. I see that look
on your face; I'm not exaggerating -this thing was huge! I can't believe
something that big is in freakin' Lake Ontario I mean what the *beep!*"
            The voice switched back to the regular anchorman. "Please excuse the interruption; appears our interviewee hadn't
recovered from his traumatic experience yet. Now, I won't lie to you, people; normally
we might pass this off as some wild imagination brought on by a certain drug we
all know can cause hallucinations like this, but I don't believe that was the
case." 
Hearing the man's tone, Daniel stopped what he was
doing and listened. "Six youths, all of
whom were confirmed by witnesses to have been out on the Lake with our
anonymous interviewer -nine people total, only three of whom returned. One of
our own field reporters even went down to the civilian docks and was shocked to
find that the docks were damaged, like something had run through them, and
nobody believes it was a boat! Ladies and gentlemen we may have our own Loch
Ness Monster living in the lake." 
Then the man laughed. "If you believe in such things that is! We'll be right back after we
delve a little deeper into this mystery."
            One minute he sounds like he's being serious, the next he sounds like
he mocking the superstitious, thought Daniel with a scowl. One thing Daniel
knew for sure, not everything was as it seemed, and after encountering The
Gremlin some time ago, the lines between reality and fiction were starting to
blur for him. There were mysteries the world had yet to solve, and this unknown
creature of the lake could be one such mystery. Of course, it was out of
Daniel's field to be concerned with; whatever this creature was he would not be
the one to find it.
            The phone rang, catching his ear. He
stepped over to the cordless, cradled phone on his nightstand, picking it up
and holding it to his ear after tapping the talk button with his thumb.
"Hello?" He asked.
            "Dan,
it's Pierre," the voice on the phone replied. "You watching the news?"
            "Listening to it, more like; that stuff at the Lake?"
            "Yeah.
What do you make of it?"
            "I fail to see if it's a concern of ours," said Daniel.
            "The
B.O.S thinks it's a Kaiju," replied Pierre.
            "A... what?" Daniel asked. 
            "Kaiju.
What, you don't watch Japanese monster movies?"
            "Only ones dubbed in English."
            "At
least tell me you know who Lionheart is."
            "Sure, she's a B.O.S agent."
            "She's
a Kaiju Fighter," Pierre explained. "And
Mighty Moose just called her over from Japan to be on standby in case their
suspicions are right. There's some evidence the news didn't mention; some of
the remains of the boats returned. They were bitten right in half, and the
patterns of the bites suggest all three were bitten simultaneously with teeth
marks big enough to belong to a Megalodon Shark."
            Daniel looked at the phone curiously. "Pierre, that's impossible; the
Megalodon has been extinct for millions of years," he stated. "And Lake Ontario
isn't big enough to support a creature that size, especially not for so long."
            "I'm
just repeating what the investigation team uncovered," Pierre replied. "I shouldn't be telling you all this to begin
with, but I thought you'd want to know that Lionheart's coming to town." He
then mumbled something to himself that Daniel couldn't quite pick up, but he
had little doubt it was something like 'Hope she signs an autograph for me'
knowing Pierre; he idolized many heroes in the Bureau not the least of which
being some of its most famous heroines, Lionheart included.
            "What's that you said, Pierre?"
Daniel asked.
            "Nothing!
Anyway, just thought you should know to keep your head down. Remember, you're
unregistered so by law, she has to arrest you if she sees you. Mighty Moose
isn't exactly a big supporter of that law herself, but I don't know if
Lionheart is or not, and you don't want to get into a fight with a Lioness that
can grow to fifty feet tall."
            "I have no intention of picking a fight with any B.O.S Operatives,
Pierre," assured Daniel. "If she ends up fighting some... monster shark, I'll
stay out of her way, I promise. Let's just hope that there isn't really one out
there in the lake."
            "Oui;
I'm getting shivers just thinking of it," replied Pierre.
            With that, Daniel, said goodbye to
Pierre and hung up the phone. Although he'd expressed disinterest in
investigating, he knew he should however much he didn't want to; he knew why.
He was still letting the events of the day before bother him, but he was not so
weak as to let his own anger stop him from doing the right thing... even though
he had failed to do the right thing yesterday...
            No! Don't think about it that way,
he thought. It was out of his hands; there was nothing he could have done...
was there? No... Don't think about it...
            Before he allowed his thoughts to betray
him any further, Daniel decided that he would go down to the docks that night,
and see if he could collect any evidence of his own...
~~~~~
            Lionheart slowed her steps to allow
the investigators accompanying her to keep pace with her as they approached the
docks where she saw the damage caused by the suspected Kaiju attack. Though it
was not yet made public knowledge in order to avoid stirring panic, as a
veteran Kaiju fighter herself, Lionheart knew the signs. Destroyed docks,
trails of debris leading out to the lake even though the water was calm that
day on account of the still weather, as if something large moving through the
water had dragged them out with the current caused by its movement.
            The initial reports she had read
stated that the bite marks from the wrecked boats, found further along the
shore beyond the city limits, were unlike any creature known to exist in the
modern world today; some initial experts had claimed the bite marks matched
fossilized records of a long-extinct shark. Lionheart was no marine biologist,
but she knew that was very unlikely; such a massive, prehistoric beast could
never live in one of North America's great lakes, not even the massive Lake
Ontario. If one had, why had it waited this long to appear?
            But an even bigger question, if the
B.O.S was right and this was a Kaiju,
perhaps having been lying dormant at the bottom of the lake for thousands of
years, then why hadn't it come ashore? Why had the damage only been confined to
the lake shore, when clearly the creature could navigate in shallower waters-
like those of these docks? One of the investigative agents handed her a written
record of the witness statements, which she read over again. All of the
statements were consistent, but made little sense. They described the creature
as a humongous shark, with a body glowing bright blue like a giant neon light;
no two Kaiju were ever the same but this was like nothing she had ever seen
before.
            "Ms. Lionheart," one of the
investigators spoke to her, catching her attention and waiting until she turned
to him before continuing. "Our divers arrived too late; the sun will be down in
an hour or so and the water will be too dark to navigate. What should we do?"
            "If the creature didn't appear
during the day, it may have returned to the bottom of the lake," replied
Lionheart. "Far too deep for them to travel; tell them to pull back for now
please, and they may try again tomorrow."
            "I'll relay your instructions to
them," the investigator returned before heading off.
            She had only just arrived in
Toronto, she still suffered from some mild jet lag, but she didn't let that
stop her from doing her job. It was dusk, the sun was already beginning to set
again, and since the shark-creature hadn't reappeared during the sunlight
hours, if it intended to make another appearance, it would be at night. It made
sense, actually; if the creature had been dormant at the bottom of the lake for
a long time, or was some sort of deep water dweller, it stood to reason light
would bother it.
            But now, the sun was almost down,
and if her theory was correct, it would soon emerge again...
            She walked along the pier, examining
the scene from afar. The wrecked boats and docks didn't seem to suggest a
deliberate attack, as nothing had any severe damage. It simply appeared as
though a fish too big for the area swam through, possibly thrashed about trying
to get back out to deep water. No boats were bitten or torn up, just flipped
over and the hulls dented. It hadn't come here looking for food; it had simply
been wandering, maybe looking for deeper waters or naturally drawn to try and
find its natural habitat.
            Time passed, and not much seemed to
be happening, but suddenly Lionheart began to feel strange. Her shoulders
ached, like she had overworked her arms, but she hadn't done anything strenuous
that day; an after-effect of jet-lag? Well, that didn't make any sense. But as
she looked around, she noticed other people showing signs of it as well. Some
were even leaning on one another for support while others sat down, catching
their breath.
            Something struck a chord with the
lioness. A foreboding sense of familiarity... hadn't the witnesses of the
previous attack mentioned feeling tired just before the creature had appeared
the night before?
            Lionheart turned her gaze out
towards the water, and saw something that immediately set her on high alert.
There was a wave in the water, coming towards the dock -not a wave like a
tsunami, but like something big was moving through the water, just beneath the
surface, and it was coming fast.
            Immediately, the experienced Kaiju
fighter in her took over. "Everyone, away from the docks, hurry!" She called
with concern, trying not to sound too excited so that nobody panicked, while
she remained where she stood.
The investigators and police who had quarantined the
area reacted immediately to her call, spotting the approaching mass in the
water and knowing what was coming, they backed away as much as they could. The
creature was returning, and it was up to Lionheart to stop it if it turned
violent. She watched it closely as it approached, the red-pink lioness staring
with her sky blue eyes, waiting. The strain she felt seemed to increase as the
creature came closer and closer to the shore. At one point, she saw the head of
the monster emerge from the surface of the water just briefly before it started
to thrash slightly and disappear below the water again.
As Lionheart had thought, the beast was too big for
the shallower waters close to the shore. But that brief glimpse confirmed the
reports; a creature with a body ablaze in a blue glow like a neon light,
resembling a shark-like beast and larger than a pair of buses sitting
side-by-side. It wasn't a Kaiju as she knew them, but it was a monstrous and
terrifying thing none the less. Still, as long as everyone was away from the
water, they were safe...
What happened next had Lionheart's jaw dropping in shock.
The shark-creature dispersed as though it were nothing but mist, but in its
place, a whole new creature sprang out of the water, flying through the air as
if coming out of a mighty leap before landing on the street and landing with a
thunderous crash onto top of one of the police patrol vehicles that were parked
near the docks, with only one foot needed to do the deed.
The beastly creature was huge, standing more than
thirty feet tall at least, stand on short, muscular hind legs and bearing
disproportionately long arms, each one ending with a powerful hand much like
that of an ape, but skinnier and with longer fingers -three on each hand - and
thumbs, each one ending with scythe-like claws. It had a head like an ape,
witch a slightly elongated cranium, and covered in fur, including a patch
growing like a beard from its chin, and a mouthful of fangs, including
tusk-like ones protruding from the bottom row of teeth at the front. It
maintained the previous, seemingly incorporeal form of the shark -a creature
the glowed blue as though it were actually made out of condensed energy.
People backed away in terror, Lionheart stood her
ground. It wasn't the largest creature she had ever fought, but it was still
big -more than big enough to cause tremendous damage to the city if she didn't
stop it. Furthermore, from what she had just witnessed, this creature could
instantaneously change its form. Shapechangers, Lionheart knew of, but had never
fought one that could change shape and size
at the exact same time.
"Everyone, get off the streets!" Lionheart called
with assertion as she activated her powers, and began to grow. What changed
first was her size, followed immediately by her overall girth, planting one
foot and shuffling the other to the side as she continued to grow larger by the
moment. Her outfit expanded with her, stretching to match her increased size,
and she continued to grow until she was roughly the same height as the creature,
where she shifted her stance to a combat-ready pose.
The creature opened its mouth to roar, throwing out
its arms as it did, but the sound was dull and drawn out, more like a long moan
than an actual roar, but the gauntlet was thrown, and the massive, muscular
monster charged at her. It attacked like a primal beast, swiping at her with a
claw as it drew close; she dodged, and waited until at attacked again before
catching it by the arm and executing a Judo throw, flipping the beast around
and slamming it down on the street.
The behemoth seemed to cry out in pain, once more
only coming out as a moan, before it swiped at Lionheart with its other hand,
going for her legs. She let go of its arm to instinctively dodge the attack,
and the creature flipped over, pushing itself up on its hands before using them
as well as its feet to propel itself at her, tackling the giant lioness. Were
it not for her super durability, she would have had the wind knock out of her,
but she held firm. Though her eyes soon widened with shock as the creature
reared back and threw back its head, launching Lionheart through the air; she
yelped as she was sent soaring over four city blocks before she neared ground
again, spotting people who had failed to clear the street.
Placing her hands carefully, she caught herself on
the office buildings on either side of the street, ignoring the concrete and
glass shards that poked her hands like slivers, and landed on both feet,
successfully stopping her from landing on the street and accidentally crushing
innocent civilians.
"All of you, get off the streets!" She barked
harshly at them, more out of her stress from the current situation than out of
anger; she was afraid for their safety. This creature she battled was stronger
than she had imagined, and if this fight was to end without too many civilian
casualties, they had to get clear of the danger zone.
Turning to face the beast again, she saw it was
already charging her way, both arms out as if to grab her in a tight embrace,
but the flexing claws at the end of its fingers told another story. She stood
sideways, shifting weight back into her back leg, and when the creature came
near, delivered a powerful kick right to its face that immediately sent it
careening backward, stopping its charge completely as it fell onto its back.
The creature was cross-eyed and dazed from the kick,
and Lionheart quickly pounced it and tried to hold it down until she could find
some way to incapacitate it, but she would soon regret this decision as, very
suddenly, the creature went still and dispersed again, as it had when it first
became the creature she was already battling. In its place was a beast not
quite as big as its previous form. It had turned into a monstrous snake, longer
than she was tall, and with a mouthful of hooked teeth as it hissed at her.
Sliding out of her hand it threw itself around her arm, and immediately she
felt powerful muscles constricting the limb.
She stood up, and tried to shake the creature off as
it squeezed her arm, gritting her teeth from the pain. She remembered something
she had seen on television in a historical documentary about constrictors; how
to get them off of you if they managed to coil themselves around any part of
your body. Finding the creature's head, she seized it with her paw, squeezing
its neck to hold it in place before readjusting her arm to unwind the coils
from around her limb.
But she had failed to notice the tail while doing
this, and suddenly felt both of her legs pulled together by it. She lost her
balance and cried out as she fell over, landing on her back and then again in
pain as she felt the powerful muscles of the giant snake squeezing her legs;
she held onto its head, refusing it let it coil more of itself around her. It
hiss, spat, even tried to bite her several times as she held it by the neck,
but it was a losing battle; if she didn't get out of this situation soon, it
was going to completely crush her legs, and then she would be helplessly
pinned...
~~~~~
            With the news ablaze about the clash
near the docks, it was only a matter of time before The Warp would appear on
one of the buildings overlooking the street where the fight was taking place.
He looked around, and quickly spotted the ensuing battle, shocked to see what
was happening. Instead of Lionheart battling with a huge shark as he had
expected, or a massive ape-like creature like the news had reported, he found
the giant lioness wrapped in the coils of a snake, her paws around its neck
desperately trying to keep it from coiling her any further. In her current
position, she was in a losing battle, and soon the snake would gain an
advantage.
            He had to do something!
            "Warp!"
            The caribou looked over his shoulder
in time to see a figure swinging by their tail off of a nearby flagpole,
launching themselves through the air where they performed several somersaults
before dropping onto the rooftop nearby. He spotted a salamander clad
head-to-toe in a form-fitting, flexible body suit covering every part of him,
including a pair of cloth 'boots' that seemed to merge seamlessly with the rest
of the suit, and gloves to match the rest. He wore an eye mask, actually
similar to Warp's but clearly nothing more than a piece of fabric, and after
landing, his oddly long tail seemed to retract back to his lower body, becoming
a more average length.
            "Whiptail," said the caribou.
            "I told you to keep your head down;
what if Lionheart finds you?" He asked.
            "She's the one in trouble right
now!" Warp replied, pointing down to the street.
            Whiptail followed Warp's finger, and
his eyes bugged wide open as he saw Lionheart pinned on the street by a
larger-than-life snake, still fighting for her very life. He shook off his
shock and turned back to Warp. "What do we do?"
            "You say she has the ability to grow
and shrink at will, right?" Warp asked.
            "Yeah."
            "I need you to try and distract that
serpent -any way you can. I'll take care of the rest," instructed Warp.
            "What'll you do?"
            "No time for questions; just go!"
Warp snapped before he teleported away.
            Thinking quickly, Whiptail looked
around and spotted an anchorpoint for him to grab with his tail. Whipping it
over his head like... well, a whip, he snagged the flagpole of neighboring
structure, before he leapt off the building and went into a swing, keeping the
rest of his body still and straight as he swung himself towards the ensuing
battle. 
In an amazing display of acrobatics he hurled
himself into the air, catching himself on the leg of a water tower before he
swung around again, planted his feet on the leg of the tower and, after
uncurling his tail, leapt away again, sending himself flying towards the snake,
where he took careful aim before performing another aerial somersault, and
lashed out his tail sharply, striking the snake in the eyeball with the
snapping appendage.
Likely more out of instinct than actual pain, the
serpent recoiled, realizing that it had another threat to contend to and was
quickly distracted. Warp, who had teleported to a building nearby to get a
better view of the situation, teleported again down to Lionheart herself,
appearing next to her head; the flash of light emitted by him caught her
attention, and she turned her head to look at him. He cupped his hands around
his mouth before he called out. "Brace yourself!" He called before running up
to her and placing his hands upon her collar.
The flash of light that emitted from the teleporting
Lionheart was enough to blind the snake; its coils fell askew and tangled as,
instantaneously, the figure it had been constricting had simply vanished into nothingness,
leaving the serpent disoriented and forced to try and right itself again.
Lionheart, along with Warp now hanging off her shoulder awkwardly, reappeared
up the street, and Lionheart fell to her knees as the soreness of her legs
caught up with her. Her lowered height let Warp drop back down to the ground
harmlessly, where he turned to her with concern.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes... just need to let some feeling get back into
my legs," she replied.
Whiptail suddenly dropped down from above, landing
next to them and addressing Warp as he started at the fluorescent creature in
bewilderment. "First it was an extinct shark, then a behemoth and now freaking
Titanoboa -what the hell is this thing; how does it keep changing shapes like
that?!"
"I wish I had an answer," replied Warp. "But there's
something... familiar about that creature; I can't place it but it's like I've
seen it or something like it before." He rubbed his chin in thought. "But I
can't remember where."
Lionheart began to stand up, taking in a deep breath
before rising fully to her feet. "Regardless, this fight is not over yet; I
still have to stop this thing before it hurts anyone else," she stated with
firmness.
"We'll help however we can, Ms. Lionheart," Whiptail
offered.
She looked down at him, having to lean forward
slightly to see him better. "Then do what you can to get all civilians clear of
here; we can protect ourselves from this beast, they can't. Can you do that for
me?" She gave him a smile, and the reaction from the salamander had Warp
arching an eyebrow at him as he spastically readjusted his stance to a
straight-up salute to the giant heroine.
"Yes ma'am!" He returned.
'Seriously,
Pierre? Have a little pride,' Warp thought to himself.
"Good," returned Lionheart, before elevating her
gaze. "It's changing again!" She warned.
Warp and Whiptail turned, and saw that once again
the creature had transformed as its previous form literally turned to mist and
vanished as though it never were. This time, it had taken an avianic form, nearly
reaching the height of the ten story office building it stood next to, with
wingspan so massive they dwarfed even that of a Boeing-777 Airplane, covering
entire streets in shadow as it stood, flexing out its wings and threw back its
head as if to shriek, but again there was only that moan. It had a muscular
body, built like an Olympic furson but made larger than life by whatever force
comprised the creature. 
Growing from its head was a huge mane, like a lion,
so dense that it covered its entire neck and even part of its back, and when it
turned to face them, it had the head and face of a feral hawk. It 'screeched'
again, before expanding its wings and flapping them, shattering the windows of
buildings with the sheer wind emitted by the wingbeats, forcing the three
heroes to brace themselves as it carried itself skyward, flying above the
buildings.
"Now what the heck did it turn into?" Whiptail
demanded.
"It's a Garuda," replied Lionheart. "This is
something I'm more familiar with." She began to grow again, continuing to increase
in size until she reached a total of fifty feet in height -Warp estimated
anyway- and then her expression once more turned to that of determination
before she stated, "Here I go again!" and then she took off, surprising both of
them as her body was practically a blur as she sped towards the beast, making a
mighty leap at it before it could get too high and seizing it by the legs.
The Garuda beast flailed its arms as it tried to
keep control of its flight, but no bird was built to carry multiple body
weights, only their own; Lionheart successfully dragged the winged kaiju, even
if it wasn't a real Garuda, down from the air above the buildings and back to
ground level, where she forcefully attempted to throw it to the ground. It caught
itself on a pair of structures before lunging at her and delivering a
heavy-handed punch to her face, sending her reeling, but not enough to knock
her down. She wheeled herself around and charged, slamming into the Garuda with
her shoulder, slamming into the creature and sending it stumbling backward.
At some point, the Garuda's feet found no purchase,
and instead continued to drop into ice cold water; the fight had moved back to
the shore of the lake, and the Garuda, losing its balance, fell backward and
plunged into the water, soaking its feathers -if such physics applied to a
creature evidently not composed of organic matter. Lionheart stepped into the
water as well, flinching from the cold but she didn't let that stop her as the
Garuda emerged from the water, glaring at Lionheart.
The battle of fists was on, the two giants -the
Garuda still the larger but not the stronger- trading powerful punches that
seemed to shake the very air upon meeting their targets. Large waves were
thrown onto the shore as they moved, sending boats crashing onto the pier and
on top of a few cars -even the boat rental house was not spared as Lionheart
fought to defeat the Garuda. 
Warp and Whiptail used this time to do a sweep
through the blocks closest to the battle, making sure everyone had evacuated to
a safe distance from the lake, checking everywhere they thought people might be
hiding. After finishing their sweep, they returned to the shore and watched the
unfolding battle. Lionheart seemed to have the upper hand; the Garuda was big,
but she was stronger and faster; its advantage was when it was airborne and she
had already robbed it of that edge.
But the fight still took a turn. As Lionheart moved
to punch the Garuda, and the creature itself was in the midst of taking a swing
at her, it suddenly changed again, causing her to pause mid-swing as she beheld
the horrifying thing that emerged from the haze where the Garuda had once been.
A monstrosity, bigger than even the Garuda, with a body of smooth skin over
powerful anthropic musculature, with hands ending in clawed fingers, shorter
than the Behemoth form it had taken before, and legs proportionate to its size
equally muscular and straight.
But it was above the shoulders where the terror
emerged. The creature had a head like a giant octopus, with a dozen short
tentacles growing from its face. Two bright eyes, these ones actually a
different colour than any of the forms before, glared out in bright orange at
Lionheart. From the creatures back, a dozen more tentacles, these ones as long
as the giant snake that the beast had been earlier, extended into view, waving
and writhing about behind it as though each one had a mind of its own.
Lionheart stared, paralyzed, at the eldritch horror
staring back at her, and failed to react as those tentacles lunged forward like
striking snakes, whipping around her upper arms and her thighs; she started to
react, but then a fifth wrapped around her neck, squeezing tightly and blocking
air from reaching her lungs. She grasped it with a hand, trying to pull it
free, finally a sixth lashed around her belly, all of these tentacles squeezing
her tightly, and beginning to pull her towards itself, those lifeless, blazing
eyes all the while glaring at her as the tendrils growing from its face elevated,
waving towards Lionheart's face like grabbing fingers.
Whiptail stood, jaw wide open, at the spectacle as
he and Warp stood helplessly watching as Lionheart was reeled in by the
creature's numerous tentacles; it was too big for them to help her this time,
and Warp wasn't certain he could teleport Lionheart at the size she was
currently -even when she was at only thirty feet height it had been a gamble,
but now that she was fifty feet he wasn't sure his powers would affect her.
"Mon dieu is
there no end to what this thing will change into?!" Whiptail demanded. "That
thing is like something out of a recurring nightmare!"
Warp's eyes shot wide open, those two words
-recurring nightmare- ringing like alarm bells in his ears. Before his very
eyes, memories began to flash before him, playing like a movie in fast forward
as he relived memories he had somehow forgotten. The night of the harvest
festival, he peeking into the doctor's hut, seeing a little girl strewn out
across the floor, suddenly surrounded by an energy barrier, only for it to
recede again within seconds, and the angry face of Ohanzee glaring at him, and
just as suddenly the memories stopped, and the caribou still stood, mouth
hanging open and eyes wide in horror.
"Warp? Warp!" Whiptail exclaimed repeatedly.
"DANIEL!"
Akio's voice screamed in Warp's ear, the pain of his eardrum this time enough
to snap him out of his trance.
"Ow! Damn
it; quit screaming at me!" He snapped.
"Quit standing around like a post and I will!"
Whiptail retorted. "What the hell is wrong with you; you're standing around
all..." he imitated Warp's previous position, but exaggerated it strongly with
crossed eyes and his tongue hanging out, letting a long-drawn out 'duh' before
he shook his head and resumed what he was saying. "While Lionheart is getting
strangled by fucking Cthulhu! Get your head in the game man; think of
something! We have to help her!"
Warp turned to look at the glowing, blue creature,
the memory of that girl flashing across his mind again, before he said plainly.
"I know what," he caught himself, "I know who
that thing is."
Whiptail's face fell to a blank expression. "Say
what now?"
"You know what
it is?" Akio asked.
"Yes... that night at Onata'ke, I saw her; she was
surrounded in an aura just like that creature," explained Warp. "It didn't have
a shape; it was just enshrouding her like a protective shield, before Ohanzee
suppressed it. But I remember the colour and the light exactly, and this
feeling of suppression the creature emits... there's no doubt about it; that
monster is Kaniehtiio."
Whiptail looked at the Cthulhu creature
incredulously. "You're telling me that abomination is a twelve year old girl?
Warp, that's impossible! No child could have that much power!"
"Look, I have no time to argue the point," stated
Warp. "I know I'm right, and I have to save her; Lionheart doesn't know what
she's fighting!"
Before Whiptail could protest, Warp vanished, his
name being called out by the salamander falling on deaf ears as the caribou
teleported down to the short, staring up at the creature desperately. He was
running out of time; Lionheart was only inches from those reaching, short
tentacles, where the creature would surely end her. He squinted his eyes as he
stared at the creature, trying to find where Kaniehtiio could be inside of it.
It wasn't likely he could spot her, but maybe there was some way -some trace he
could follow, back to the source of the strange beast's life.
"Daniel, even
if you are right, what do you plan to do? That thing is too big for you to fight,"
Akio warned.
"I'm not going to fight it," replied Warp. "I'm
going to teleport inside of it, I'm going to get Kaniehtiio."
Akio's response was garbled as the weasel was no
doubt screaming his protest into the microphone. "You have no idea what could happen to you; just being near that thing
feels like being in intensified gravity -you said so yourself! We don't know
what the inside of it could be like; it's too risky!"
"I failed Kaniehtiio before, I won't fail her
again!" Warp asked. "I may not be her family, but I should've stopped Ohanzee
when I had the chance; I should've just grabbed her and left! Right now I'm the
only one who can save her, and I'm not going to let her down again!" He calmed,
and then spoke calmly into his communicator. "If I don't make it back, Akio...
it's been an honor."
"DAN...!" 
Warp shut off the communicator before Akio could
continue to try and talk him out of it, before he looked up at the creature
again. After searching carefully, he spotted it; deep inside the distorted blue
body of the Cthulhu-cloning beast, he saw a dark silhouette at the very
epicentre where the heart was located in the body of a living being. He fixed
on that spot, not sure what would happen to him once he did what he was about
to do. He wasn't aware of Whiptail coming up behind him, moving at full speed
as he ran at the caribou from behind, and sprang at him to tackle him.
Whiptail hit nothing, simply falling to the sandy
beach awkwardly as Warp disappeared just before he reached him.
The instant he appeared out of teleport, Warp felt
as though his body was being bombarded with small explosions, bursts of kinetic
energy assailing his very fibre of being. His head pounded, his organs hurt -places
where he didn't even realize he could feel pain were hurting. He couldn't see;
any attempt to open his eyes was met swiftly by an invisible fist right to the
orb itself, and despite feeling no ground or air around him, he wasn't falling.

He could not breath, he could not move from where he
was, only shift his body about as if floating in zero gravity. What brief
glimpses he got of the space around him were all blue, but it was not the blue
of the sky. Every passing second felt like he was enduring a beating from an
angry mob of thugs wanting payback for him bringing about their arrests in the
past, but he felt nothing but force hitting him -no sound, no shape of fists
impacting his body, no feet kicking his ribs. It was all simple force assailing
him from every direction...
He flailed his arms about instinctively, vainly
trying to ward off his billions of invisible assailants, until his hand landed
on something warm... Soft fur -baby soft, a bony hand, muscles tense and stiff.
The hand was not his own, but based on where he had teleported, there was only
one person it could belong to. In his mind, he saw a flash memory of her again,
remembering Kaniehtiio's restless, sleeping form the night he'd first seen her.
He knew it was her; it could be no one else.
With renewed vigour filling him, Warp grasped that
hand tightly, and once more he teleported, vanishing from the inside of the
beast...
Lionheart was nearly seeing black as she began to
rapidly run out of air in her lungs, trying desperately to pull off the
tentacle from around her throat as the other slimey, cold appendages dragged
her closer to her opponent, who spread the tentacles of his face out wide to
reveal a beak-like mouth, opening wide enough to engulf her entire head as she
was pulled closer. The sight of that mouth made her realize what it was about
to do; it intended to take her head, and eat it like a morsel.
Pure survival instinct drove her actions; she did
not even notice as the creature suddenly froze, its countless appendages
immediately falling limp as it stood unmoving. Lionheart did not hesitate for
even a second, delivering a mighty fist to its chest, only for the creature
to... explode.
Or, not so much explode, as simply burst, its blue
body turning to a powdery haze reminiscent of a bag of flour being broken open
in the air, and the blue 'powder' simply fell towards the water, but never
touched it; it continued to get thinner and thinner until there was nothing
left. And just like that, the creature was gone without a trace, no sign of it
having ever existed remaining except for the red spots on Lionheart's body
where its tentacles had bound her, or the bruise her cheek now sported from the
punch she had suffered from its Garuda form.
She placed her hands on her knees to steady herself
as she gasped for breath, panting desperately to refill her starved lungs with
air. Though her mind was nagged with questions, she needed to recover from her
ordeal, barely able to remain standing as she carefully turned about and began
to limp back to shore, one hand rubbing her neck.
Whiptail stared, shocked, by what he had just
witnessed... the creature had vanished, as if it had been nothing but an
illusion all along, but the damage to the city behind him was real enough to
remind him that what he had seen was not some cheap trick. It had been as real
as himself and everyone in Toronto...
A cough caught his ear; he spun around, and saw Warp
down on his knees nearby, clutching something to his chest. Whiptail strode
over as quick as lightning, literally stirring up sand as he crossed the beach
full-tilt over to caribou, falling to his side and seizing him by the
shoulders. "Daniel! Are you okay?" He'd mentally kick himself later for
accidentally using Warp's real name, but for now he was just glad to see his
friend was alive.
Warp was panting for breath, his face showing he was
still in a lot of pain. There was actually smoke coming off of his suit, and
yet nothing was burning, but everything was damaged; pieces of his antlers were
missing, he had dozens of little welts on his face reminiscent of being shot by
airsoft guns over and over again, his gauntlets were misshapen and damaged, and
his cape was torn in places. He looked as though he had just walked through the
middle of an active gang war, despite having not even been gone for more than a
minute, and the fact he was even still conscious was a miracle.
Meanwhile, the young female caribou cradled in his
arms was completely unharmed, garbed in a night dress. She seemed somehow at
peace in her dreams, as if pulled out of her very nightmares by The Warp, but
most of all she was unharmed, and the rest of the crisis was averted...
Warp eyed her with pain in his eyes, a tear finding
its way to his eyelid as he whispered to her, "Kaniehtiio, I'm sorry," and held
her tightly against his chest. "I'm sorry I didn't save you sooner..."
            "Mr. Warp?"
            Warp didn't turn, but Whiptail did,
and he saw Lionheart standing nearby, looking keenly at Warp with a firm stare.
She walked around him slightly, and it was then she saw the child in the arms
of Warp. The sight of Kaniehtiio made Lionheart's brow furrow, and Whiptail saw
her hands tighten into fists again when she saw the child. "Who is that girl;
what did you do to her?"
            "Ms. Lionheart..." Whiptail began,
but stopped as Warp abruptly stood up, turning to face Lionheart with a hard
stare.
            "This girl," he said plainly. "Is
what you were just fighting."
            Lionheart's eyes shot wide open as
those words left the mouth of the caribou. "What?"
            "He's telling the truth, Ms.
Lionheart," Whiptail defended Warp's statement, stepping forward. "This little
girl... her name is Kaniehtiio. She's the..." He paused. "The beast you were
fighting."
            Lionheart cupped her paws over her
muzzle in horror as the truth of Warp's words were backed by a fellow Bureau
agent -she had no actually met Whiptail but she knew of him, and knew that it
was him addressing her. She stared in shock at the unconscious girl as suddenly
she felt weak in her knees and collapsed, landing on her knees in the sand as
she mumbled something incoherent behind her paws.
            Warp looked at Kaniehtiio again,
before he turned to look at Lionheart once more, and slowly, he approached her,
cradling the child protectively, and though his face was firm, Lionheart could
see the pain in his eyes as he approached her. "Can the Bureau help her?" He
asked.
            Lionheart barely even hesitated with
her answer, springing to her feet again and nodding. "Yes. I can arrange to
have her taken to a proper care facility. The people there are specialists;
they'll take care of her."
            "I will not allow that."
            The three supers spun towards the
voice, and saw a figure with a wooden mask hobbling over the three, crossing
the beach and leaning on a walking stick with every crooked step he too. The mask
was in the likeness of a hawk, covering his face with a wooden beak over his
muzzle and also over his eyes, with a mohawk of feathers over the back of his
head, covering his face and neck. The untrained eye would be unable to see the
antlers growing from the skull of the stranger were natural and not part of the
mask, but Warp didn't need to see the face of the man to know who it was.
            "Ohanzee," he growled with spite.
"How did you here?" The decrepit old
telepath could never have made such a journey on foot; the way he moved, he
would take several days to travel to Toronto, yet here he was...
            Without even answering Warp's
question, Ohanzee spokehis response in a commanding tone of voice. "I'll be
taking Kaniehtiio home with me now," the old caribou, hidden behind his
bird-mask, stated plainly. "Bring her here, Daniel, now."
            Warp held Kaniehtiio protectively
against his chest and took a step back. "Over my dead body, old man," he
retorted. "You have put her through enough; she needs help."
            "And she'll get it," returned
Ohanzee. "But she will be helped by her people,
not the Defilers of the land."
            "Your old ways don't work, Ohanzee!"
Warp shot, losing his patience rapidly. "If they did, this would never have
happened! I'm not going to let you risk the lives of innocent people just
because you hate the outside world!"
            Though Warp could only scarcely see
Ohanzee's eyes, he could see the hellfires raging in them as their gazes met,
the tension between them reaching boiling point quickly. Warp didn't care if
every bone in Ohanzee would shatter by the effort; he would not hesitate to
knock the old man down if he didn't back off...
            But it seems he didn't need to,
because Lionheart stepped in, placing herself between Warp and Ohanzee. "This
child is under the protection of the Bureau of Superheroes now, and I can have
child services here in less than an hour to put her under their care. Don't
think I won't."
            "Go ahead," returned Ohanzee taking
a step forward. "Your idle threats are nothing to me, she-cat; they'll come,
and then they will forget about everything they were doing, while I leave
quietly and take the child home. Now step aside, else I will erase your mind
and leave you no more intelligent than an infant.
            Whiptail stepped in to stand beside
Lionheart, crossing his arms and keeping his gaze firm as both he and the
lioness stared back. "If you want her, you'll have to go through both of us
first," he warned.
            "You underestimate me, boy," Ohanzee
retorted as he raised his hand. "A mistake that will cost you dearly..."
            Before Ohanzee could do anything,
however, there was a clap of hands, and the very air itself seemed to distort
as Ohanzee was stricken by an unseen force that sent him careening to the
ground, falling to the sand in a heap and grunting as he put a hand on his mask
to keep it from falling off his face. He shook his head to clear it before he
turned to face his assailant, seeing a rather oddly garbed figure had arrived
on the scene, wearing a casual clothes including a button-down shirt and jeans,
but his face was wrapped in cloth to conceal it as he shook his hands around,
relieving the pain of what had to have been a very hard clap.
            "Ow, that hurt," the masked stranger
remarked, confirming the suspicion.
            "Hania! You dare attack me?!" Ohanzee
snapped as he lifted himself back up.
            "Damn straight, old man," retorted
the masked stranger, who now Daniel knew was none other than his cousin. "I'm
not going to let you take Kaniehtiio back to the village."
            "She belongs with her people!"
            "She belongs where she can be cared for; I spoke to her parents. They
agreed!" Han retorted. "Let the lady take her where she can receive the proper
care until she's mature enough to control her powers!"
            "I will not let her be defiled by
this wretched outer world!" Ohanzee retorted, waving his hand towards Toronto.
"These fools have evolved into abominations, forsaken their ancestors and
continue to cover the world in filth; does she belong with such people?!"
            "The only monster I see here is you,
Ohanzee," Warp stated. "You're so stuck in the past that you refuse to believe
there is anything good about the modern world. Whether you like it or not, as
long as Kaniehtiio's parents approve of us doing so, we are giving Kaniehtiio
the proper care she needs, and you are not her legal guardian, therefore by law
you have no say in what happens to her!" He pointed harshly at Ohanzee. "I
don't care if you are the elder of the village; if you don't stay away from her,
don't think I'll even hesitate to take you down, do you hear me?"
            Ohanzee clearly realized the
advantage was not his. It was him, an elderly psychic well past his prime,
against four youthful -and angry superfurs; he may have been able to handle one
or two of them but all four of them would easily be able to overcome his
powers. His eyes stared into those of Warp for the longest time, the dead-gray
orbs of the younger caribou filled with spite, and no indication that anything
would change his mind...
            Ohanzee scowled deeply. "So be it,"
he said. "Kaniehtiio leaves with you... but know that if you ever set foot near
Onata'ke again, Daniel..." He pointed his staff at Warp. "It will be the end of
you."
            "Not so fast; you're not leaving!"
Han protested.
            "Yes I am," returned Ohanzee plainly
before, very suddenly, he shot skyward, carried up by unseen forces and
hovering forward as he angled his body to a horizontal position, and with that,
he flew, straight and true, away from the scene, across the lake and to the
wildness beyond, leaving four baffled heroes to stare after him...
~~~~~
            With a few calls, Kaniehtiio was
soon to be on her way to a care facility endorsed and supported by the Bureau
of Superheroes; Lionheart claimed the place was reputable and reliable, and
assured Warp and Han that Kaniehtiio would be well cared for there, until a way
to help her control her powers could be found...
            First, though, she had to be taken
to the hospital for examination, to find out just if any harm had been done to
her physically during the ordeal. The three heroes and the fourth, who kept his
mask on, watched as Kaniehtiio was loaded onto an ambulance gently by
paramedics; Warp wished he could go with her, but he had to stay out of sight,
simply watching, and silently hoping the best for her.
            Lionheart was standing nearby,
watching with her hands folded over her chest as the ambulance doors closed and
the paramedics got back on board. Warp waited until it was gone before he
turned to her. "Will she be okay?" He asked.
            She looked at him and nodded.
"She'll be well-cared for," she promised. "But since she'll have to be relocated
to Colmation, I imagine there'll be some complications in her parents visiting
her."
            Warp sighed. "Sad, but true... but
it's for her own good."
            "You did a good thing, Warp,"
Lionheart complimented.
            The caribou eyed the lioness warily.
"I suppose now is when you try to arrest me?" He asked. "I warn you, I cannot
be restrained."
            Lionheart smiled at him. "I'm not
going to arrest you," she returned.
            "You're... not?" Warp asked.
            "I don't support the B.O.S's stance
on unregistered superheroes, especially not after what I saw here today,"
replied Lionheart, honestly. "You've shown you are not a risk to anyone here in
Toronto; you're willing to lay your life on the line to help those who cannot
help themselves. I think that makes a
hero, not whether or not they work for the Bureau." She folded her hands behind
her back. "I'll be heading back to Japan soon."
            Warp smiled warmly at her as she
glanced back over her shoulder at him, and said softly, "thank you,
Lionheart... for all your help."
            "And thank you for yours," she
returned. "If you ever consider joining the Bureau, I'll make sure to sign a
recommendation for you."
            "I second that," Whiptail piped up.
            Lionheart smiled at Whiptail as
well, before she looked at Warp again. "Good luck, and goodbye for now."
            Warp, too moved for words, answered
her only with a wave, and watched the lioness as she departed. He smiled again
as he noticed Whiptail following her -probably to ask for an autograph, and
when they were out of earshot, he turned to Han. "What happens to Ohanzee now?"
He asked.
            "Somehow I doubt the old bastard
went back to the village," returned Han as he finally decided it was safe to
take off the wrapping he used as a mask. "He knows I'll arrest him the moment I
get back; probably long gone by now."
            "Would he really leave Onöta'ke,
though?"
            "I doubt he'll venture far," replied
Han. "He loves the village, but not enough that he'll be incarcerated for it.
One day, I'll find him, and I'll bring him down."
            Warp nodded to his cousin. "Be sure
to call me when you do; I want to see him brought down too," he returned. With
that, Warp adjusted his posture, crossing his arms and giving Han a wry smile.
"So... decided to make use of your powers, have you?"
            "What makes you think this isn't a
one-time thing?" Han asked, rhetorically.
            "Because you seem to have a knack
for laying the smackdown on scumbags when the need arises," replied Warp. "My
offer still stands, cousin; if you're willing to learn then I'm willing to
train you. I can help you become a hero."
            "And my job as a Park Ranger, for a
village a hundred kilometers away?"
            "Part of being a hero is to manage a
double-life," replied Warp. "It's not an easy living, and you certainly don't
get paid for it. But to some... the justice you serve can be its own reward."
            Han chuckled. "Well, I've never been
one to knock something without trying it," he returned, smiling broadly at
Warp. "So when do we start, boss?"

Source: https://sofurry.com/view/921667