ALTERED STATES - EPISODE 2

Tom , glanced at Kitty and gestured discreatly towards the door of the kitchen. They both moved with the spped and stealth of their breed. As Tom skirted past one of the fallen and wounded peace keeper, he reached down, picked up a shotgun and two automatic pistols. Extending a claw from his hand he sliced through the Peace Keeper's throat, then his bandelero and ammunition belt, unseen in the confusion. "Just borrowing these." Tom said as he handed the automatic pistols and ammuntion belt to Kitty. Sliding the bandelaro over shis shoulder, within moments they were through the kitchen door. Tom looked at Rarmon and said "It is nice to see you again, I see we're all doing as good as ever .... Who's your friend?"

Even as Plymuth rose from his chair and started for the kitchen doorway bullets whizzed past his ears. A drunk's head erupted to his right as another man trying to flea was struck in the back. It was chaos, and Plymuth knew if he didn't make it to cover he'd be next one lying in a pool of his own blood.

In order to make himself less of a target, Plymuth dove the last three strides of the distance, pushing the revolving doors open with his hands and landing on his feet after a smooth shoulder roll. Springing to his feet he immediately noticed that the kitchen was vacant and a table had been pushed under a high, open window. The server and the cooks had obviously escaped through it, but would the exit still be passable? Still in motion, Plymuth leapt atop the table and crouching low, quickly peeked out of it. He barely managed to pull his head back before some peacekeeper took a shot at him.

"Shit!" Cursed Plymuth.

He should have gotten out when he had the chance now he was trapped with a pack of trigger happy soldiers. Anxiously he searched for another way out, but it seemed the window was the only way. There was another door in the back, but he knew it was only cold storage room; a death trap. Plymuth was about to take another look out the window when a barrage of heavy caliber rounds came bursting through the wall forcing him to duck and cover on the table top. Clouds of plaster filled the air obscuring the vision of the people that entered into the kitchen, and taking advantage of their temporary blindness, Plymuth unslung his spear gun in one smooth motion and trained it on the strangers. Lying on the table with his gun trained on the biggest one, he held his fire, since he wasn't sure if they were friendlies. Little did he suspect that the two people who had ran in were Tom and Kitty, but the white haze was clearing fast. He thought maybe the big one was that cyborg and even if it wad he wasn't sure how that old heap of scrap would react.

"Keep yer guns off o' me or I'll pin ye to the $%&#ing wall!" Growled Plymuth in his distinct English timbre.

As the place went to hell in a hand basket, Kitty was more than happy to follow Tom where ever he wanted to take her. When Rarmon noticed them and asked them if they were gonna stay or go, the choice was obvious. Go and go now. So when Tom quickly made his way towards the room in the back, Kitty was more than happy to follow. Of course Rarmon cleared the path for them, which Kitty was very happy for, so when they finally made it into the back room with the dust settling, Kitty was a little unnerved to hear the threat from Plymuth.

As a reaction to his words, Kitty instantly held her hands up in front of her as a gesture of surrender but a low growl did slip past her lips. She recognized the voice and the scent of the man that was mingled in with the plaster dust, blood and gun powder smell but she really couldn’t see him fall that well.

Daring not to approach or go any further, she waited for Tom and Rarmon to realize they had a weapon of some sort trained on them to see what the next step was going to be. If there even was one to be made.

Gavin took the beer tentatively as he listened to the man's explanation. He'd seen the people in the lab drink these and begin to act silly after a few, but he'd never given thought to the idea of trying one. He took a surreptitious whiff and wrinkled his nose in surprised dissatisfaction before he took a sip. The bitter taste made him screw up his face but he recovered quickly and choked down the swig before returning his face to its usual passive expression and passed the beer to his other hand out of Salem's sight.

When the jingling pouch landed in Gavin's lap, the passive expression on his face faltered and he blinked for a moment behind his dark glasses. He turned and looked back at Salem, a conflicted expression falling over him though there was no way Salem would be able to see the true nature as to why. For a long moment, he could say nothing, his mind churning in ways it never had before. Gavin had been created and bred to be a soldier: A specialized covert fighter to work as an invisible nightmare to a now destroyed organization that nearly fizzled from his mind when the world fizzled from being. Now, he was left confronted with what would have been his only purpose after what felt like a whole second lifetime of freedom. Now, faced with a decision, he found himself conflicted. Being a soldier was all he had known up until recently. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with it now that it was presented voluntarily.

After a while, Gavin became aware of the pause and smiled appreciatively. Picking up the pouch, he handed it back to Salem.

"Can I get back to you after I've looked around?"

Salem gave Gavin a uncharacteristically bright smile, in fact the man had some of the cleanest teeth the hybrid soldier had seen in a while. Taking back the bag of money, he then reached into his pocket and tossed Gavin a smaller purse of coins.

"Keep it." he told him, "The pawn shops are merciless and you'll end up bartering half you own for a few coins. You should..."

"Salem! You there!" Interrupted a voice over the radio.

"Yeah?" Answered Salem, the man's tone of voice concerning him.

"All hell is breaking loose at the Dozer!" The man informed him, "We've got some rogue soldiers mixing it up with a team of Death Troopers and a few Peacekeepers."

"Well." Said Salem, somewhat relieved, "I think they can take care of themselves." Then a small smile curled the side of his mouth, "Tell the men to hang back, Gurder. If the Peacekeepers drop the ball we'll move in and clean up the mess."

"Got it, Salem. Over and out."

Salem swung his head wearily toward, Gavin. "You might wanna steer clear of the Bull Dozer tavern." he told him, pointing down the street, "Big fire fight going on. Welcome to Stonehaven!"

Tom stepped in front of Kitty, leveled the shot gun at the man who had voiced the threat. Tom's eyes were black as two chuncks of coal and a soft, barely audible growl rumbled in his throat. "Now just take it easy there." Tom said in his gravely voice. "My sister and I don't want any trouble. We've been attacked by large flying bats, treated like criminals since we got here, beeen shot at and just covered your ass in that fire fight. So what do ya say we cut the macho bullshit and get somewhere safer than this damned kitchen?"

Plymuth had thought that his ears were deceiving him but as the fine mist of plaster dissipated, he recognized the faces of the two that were closest to him. Honestly he wasn't really that surprised. Stonehaven was probably the only remnant of civilization around these parts and it made sense that they would have been drawn to it.

"Well now." Said Plymuth, "If'n it ain't the wolf-boy and the cat-woman. See you must 'a checked out early at the Oasis, too then?"

Still laying on the table with his back to the wall, Plymuth lowered his gun and motioned with his eyes to the window above him. "That's the only way outta here but those Peacekeepers are out there, just waitin'." he told them.

He then slid off of the table, landing on the floor. Keeping low he made his way toward the two, walking straight toward Kitty as if to formally greet her, but he brushed on past. His eyes were trained on the ceiling, focusing on the faint outline of what appeared to be a hatch in the small hallway between the kitchen area and the cold storage room.

Sure enough, it was a door that had been sealed and painted over several times making it barely visible. As Plymuth recalled, the establishment had a flat roof top, so if they were able to get through it, he figured they'd end up outside or possible in a small maintenance shed or something. At least they'd be in a safer position.

The two ex-soldiers paid no attention to Plymuth continuously shooting out of the kitchen in turns the two Rarmon stopped to smile at Kitty. “The friends an old mate of mine called Jack ex-sniper and watch yourself, Jack used to be part of the mutant exorcism squad which was in Mexico for almost 5 years.” Jack gave a nod the sides of his lips almost in a smile as he reloaded the sniper a second time Rarmon firing as the sniper stood up from his sitting position moving to the window... he quickly sent covert messages telling Rarmon possible exit not advised for total extraction. Rarmon stopped firing to look to Jack remembering Plymuth would be in the....way he looked to the storage room to see he had found a second exit a hatchway. “Tom your turn to cover.” Rarmon walking away from the door moving to Plymuth leaving the door for the wolf-man to fire from to suppress the Death troopers from moving into the Tavern.

Rarmon nodded to Jack telling him to quickly glance out the window while he looked to this second exit Plymuth had uncovered standing behind the man he lightly tapped him on the shoulder. “Nice little door you found seems to be missing a doorknob. Jack leaped backwards from the window after a volley of rounds hit the edges a silent linked message between them telling Rarmon it would be stupid to dare such an exit. “Jack get over here!!!” The soldier looked to Tom to check he was holding his end everything seeming fine. “Jack...” The sniper had walked over before Rarmon could even start telling Jack what he had planned the sniper had already unsheathed his knife staring at the hatch. “Might have to borrow your chainsaw if this doesn’t work.” The two set to work Rarmon giving a boost to Jack who began to stab at the roof flakes of paint falling from the ceiling the knifes keen edge working quickly stabbing through the paint he cleared the edges then stabbing his knife into the centre he told Rarmon to let go. He hung there for a second a slight creak coming from the hatch before it popped open Jack still hanging from the blade moved it slightly and the slid out the serrated edge had been holding him. “Worked like a charm.” Rarmon look down at himself seeing no possibility of him being able to climb the narrow space. “Jack I’m gonna have to find another way.” The sniper looked to the soldier a frown on his face it was true that one of them would have to stay behind for them to lift each other into the hatch. “We’ll risk the window if we get them out of the way they won’t be killed when the building is rushed.

The two set to work Rarmon telling Jack to take Tom’s place Rarmon giving a whistle to Kitty. “You’re getting out of here this way.” Pointing to the roof he put himself in the classic boost position letting her place her foot he lifted her up to the hatch she climbed up next was Plymuth the man once again agilely climbing through the roof then Tom, Rarmon smiled to the wolf-man. “Good luck mate.” Rarmon giving a firm handshake to the soldier Rarmon wondering if this would be the last time boosting Tom up Rarmon set to work reloading his rifle. “Jack gives me the footage of you looking out that window.” The sniper gave a small laugh as he shot another Death trooper from a window. “It’s already in your inbox I already known we were going to go through that way the hell’s fire is Rarmon’s way.” The huge soldier accessed the file showing in detail what the single biotic eye had seen the alley was narrow one soldier on the left, three on the right. Rarmon slowly stepped across heading to the left his steps carefully measure.

Jack moving back from the kitchen door towards the window fumbling from his small pack a grenade pressing down on the black globe he chucked it into the main room. Climbing up to the sill the silent message on the chat box.... “On your mark.” Rarmon took the go-code leaping through the wall the thin plaster exploding with his force the unsuspecting Death troopers face open wide in terror as Rarmon’s hand wrapped itself around his throat squeezing mercilessly the crunch easily audible his other arm extending holding the rifle one handed a long burst of almost 10 rounds picking up the troopers at the end of the alley on the right. Jack dropping out the window at the end of the burst and on queue a heavy explosion his grenade had blown a healthy portion of the tavern apart. The two began to head down the alley hoping to increase distance from the Dozer the two unknowingly heading onto a main street not the best place to lose the heat.

Oddly, the hatch lead into a narrow shaft. The walls were of a smooth metal but in the tight space a person could easily climb up by pressing their body and limbs against the sides. Approximately ten feet from the entrance the exit to what had to be the roof was outlined with daylight that filtered in through the poorly sealed door.

Plymuth's leap into the hatch was a little premature and an over-zealous boost from the cyborg pushed him directly into Kitty. The force of the blow would have caused just about anyone to lose their grip on the smooth walls and for a brief moment her entire weight balanced on Plymuth's shoulder.

"Sorry." Grumbled Plymuth as he twisted his head to the side under the cat-woman while she regained her grip. At the moment with her tail in his face, the man couldn't help but look for one, out of curiousity. He had never seen humanoids like her and the wolf-man who scrambled up beneath him and he wondered how they came to be. He himself was the product of an enhanced mutation that allowed him to adapt to the sea, but for what reason would producing wolf, tiger, human combination's be?

Plymuth of course knew nothing about the 'Hybrid' experimentation's. While the creation of his own people was inadvertently caused by a mutant virus produced by a lab not unlike those that had produced creatures like Tom and Kitty, the mariner could only speculate of his own origins.

It was immediately obvious that the two could see well in the dark, an adaption that Plymuth shared. His was, however, developed for deep dives allowing his eyes to utilize the smallest amount light available, an adaption that often meant the difference between life and death.

As they inched their way closer to the hatch, Plymuth looked down to Tom. "Brace yerself." he told him and placed a boot on the wolf-hybrid's shoulder. He then braced his back and pushed his brawny arms against the side of the shaft. "Alrighty." he said looking up at the tigress, "Stand on me arms and give a look, that way you can 'ave yer hands free."

The hatch was locked from the outside with a small rusted padlock. From the perspective of the roof top it was obvious that the shaft that the three escapees were in would have been a chute and the kitchen area below them was probably once a storage unit. Above the roof top of the Bull Dozer Tavern was a tower of steel supports beneath an ancient trough that had once been used to carry ore or whatever was once mined.

As Kitty considered opening the hatch, three Death Troopers were cautiously making their up a ladder on the side of the building with the intent of finding a way in from the roof top for a surprise attack. They had no idea, that the very entrance they were seeking was currently being used as an escape route.

Kitty growled softly when Plymuth was practically shoved up behind her in the narrow passageway. It was all she could do to maintain her hold with her claws and the strength of her legs in the thing. When he caused her to lose her grip her weight was settled onto her shoulders for a moment until she could get it back. When she finally got her hold once more she glanced down at him and saw he was looking at her rear end. Knowing what he was looking for, she wished she could talk right then and there and tell him that was the one thing her makers had removed from the DNA.

With a shake of her head, Kitty resumed her climbing to reach the top of the shaft as quickly as she could so she could assist the others in getting out. When she reached the top she pressed her back against the shaft wall, bent her knees and flattened her feet against the opposite wall to support herself and pushed on the hatch. Feeling it move slightly then stop moving entirely she was able to figure out nit was locked. But exactly what was locking it, she didn’t know.

Kitty had just pushed on it once more with a little more force and was feeling something begin to give way when she heard something that made her stop. Tilting her head to one side she listened more intently. When Plymuth started to say something about being cramped behind her, she shushed him right away and put her finger to her lips in the universal quiet sign.

By now Plymuth, Tom and she could hear the sounds of foot steps on the roof and the voices of people talking to each other. Kitty’s sensitive ears could hear they were going to shoot open the lock and knew she had precious seconds to react. With a small sound that alerted Tom she quickly signaled to him. He pushed a gun up to Plymuth with instructions for him to hand it to Kitty. The water man hesitated a second before he handed the gun to Kitty who then signed to Tom yet again.

Tom quickly relayed the message to Plymuth what Kitty was getting ready to do explaining to Plymuth he would need to quickly follow Kitty out the hatch. The Tiger-human pulled herself into as tight a ball as she could and prepared for the sound of the lock being blown off. Shortly after the sound of the gun firing followed by the sound of the lock being removed, Kitty held the hand gun Tom had given her ready.

As soon as the hatch was thrown open, Kitty fired striking the lead Death Trooper in the face. In the blink of an eye, the Tiger hybrid used her coiled muscles to propel her out of the hatch with more gunshots being exchanged. Kitty fired at the other two Death Troopers but her shots were wide and short. One of them fired at her grazing her thigh with a bullet causing the hybrid to let out a small snarl of pain.

Plymuth watched as the tiger-humanoid woman, blew a Death Trooper's face apart and leapt high into the air as the stinking corpse fell backwards.

"Christ!", he cursed to himself as he had little choice but to follow her into an unknown situation and burdened with his gear, he wouldn't be moving as fast. With one foot resting on the wolf-man's solid shoulder, his other sunk into the pliable metal giving him the leverage necessary to propel himself right behind Kitty. As he flew out, Kitty had fired a couple shots at two remaining troopers and Plymuth who was unarmed did what he figured was better than pulling a knife in a gun fight. He reached down the shaft and caught Tom's arm as he was already propelling himself upward. Adding his strength to the hybrid's ascent he was able to throw him into the air, where he directed him toward one of the Death Troopers that had sought cover behind some sort of cooling unit.

As the raging wolf man flew into the air, the earth bound Plymuth soon found himself in the sights of the other Death Trooper. Unsure, how extensive the damage of his shot was to Kitty, the trooper turned his attention to the stationary man and opened fire. Bullets ricocheted off metal and bit into the concrete as, Plymuth launched himself over the open hatch, using the open lid as cover from the hail of bullets.

Gavin wandered the town in a kind of serene disbelief, his face locked in a soft smile as he gazed around the civilization. Having gone from a cage in a lab to the wasteland that was now the world, he had literally never seen anything like it before. The buildings, relatively intact stood in even rows and pulsed with life. A constant buzz echoed in his ears which took him a moment to realize that this was what life truly sounded like, rather than the skittering of his rodent comrades and stomping and swearing of their keepers. This was a combination of so many things Gavin had only imagined: The bustle of people, the hum of vehicles, the jingling of money, wind, chatter, he'd never realized the world had been so . . . noisy . . . and full of life.

People pushed past the rat-hybrid without a second glance and he couldn't help but admire himself as the scientist's handiwork; he really did resemble the humans. Perfectly. As the sun sank behind the buildings, the sky was that bloody sort of fire that always lingered as though reluctant to let go of the daylight and more and more things were coming into focus as though slowly showing life as it should look to Gavin's eyes. As he turned down a little side street, however, the peaceful buzz of the city around him was broken by the all-too-familiar sounds of shouts and gunfire. Looking up, Gavin raised his eyebrows in mild interest, finding that he had stumbled upon the aforementioned Bull Dozer Tavern. Backing up a bit, Gavin sank himself into the shadows out of pure instinct and watched as armed soldiers crawled over the building. He could see the chaos in little blurs behind the broken glass and, in spite of himself, felt a twinge of curiosity.

Slowly, he lowered himself to the ground and crouched low, keeping himself within the darkness cast by the building across the way. He then reached out with his mind, letting it travel like little tendrils to every tiny, pattering heart beat he detected around him . . . and there were many in this reborn city.

Just look and see, he told them, no need to put anyone in harm's way.

Tiny shadows began to dart out of the tiny nooks of the city, scampering towards the fray and sneaking unseen into the little corners and holes new and old in the tavern's walls. Immediately, Gavin began to form a picture in his mind as he held its connection to theirs. Drunken brawls, soldiers everywhere, no one seemed to be on anyone's side. Everywhere from the inside to the rooftop there was fighting and chaos. . . and a very large, armed cat?

Gavin furrowed his brow and tried to hone in on the rat that had found its way up to the roof. Hadn't that man Salem said they didn't allow hybrids? Could it be? As his curiosity traveled from the brawling to the rooftop, Gavin released his connection with the rats and concentrated on a select few, pushing them carefully towards the roof. The little group of rodents found their ways up little passageways, through the walls, and along the building's very facade. They emerged in various dark corners around the roof, their beady little eyes watching intently while their tiny muscles twitched, ready to dark out of the way if danger came towards them. Gavin had to smile at their noses' findings alone, if for no other reason than sheer creativity.

A large, armed cat, an unarmed man, and a flying dog.

As Tom flew from the hatch like a bullet out of the barrel of a gun, Kitty felt the burning pain in her thigh and sought cover anywhere she could. Which really wasn’t all that easy to find considering they were on a roof. Thankfully the trooper that shot her turned his attention to Plymuth which allowed her the chance to regain her bearings. But when she saw the way the trooper open fired on Plymuth, the human feline didn’t particularly like the way things were going.

With another snarl Kitty brought her weapon up and cradled the gun in both hands, steadying her aim. With the troopers attention averted from her she was able to take the time and place her shot carefully. As the trooper fired again in Plymuth’s direction, Kitty fired her gun as well and was rewarded when she saw the spray of blood and gray mater erupt from the front of the trooper’s head.

With the immediate threat out of the way, Kitty could then turn her attention to the wound in her thigh. While the bullet had grazed her skin it had left a fairly deep trench in it’s wake. Considering her skin was thicker than the average humans to begin with, the fact the bullet left a trail of where it passed over her hide was testament of how close she came to having her thigh shattered in many pieces.

Blood flowed freely from t he wound and she knew she had to staunch the flow soon or she would lose too much blood and become a hindrance to the others. If she didn’t out right die from it. Placing her hand firmly over the wound, she pushed as hard as she could since she didn’t have anything to wrap around it and tie it off for a bandage.

Letting out a howl of pain she clenched her jaw tight to keep from making anymore sounds for fear the locals would realize what she was and jeopardize Tom and Plymuth if for nothing else than being a mutant sympathizer.

Looking around quickly and seeing the immediate threats subdued, Tom made his way quickly to where Kitty was sitting holding her leg. He quickly ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt tail and secured it tightly around Kitty's leg wound. "You keep this up and I am going to have to start stealing shirts." he said with a smile. "Now I think it would be a good idea if we got off this roof and find us a place to hide for a while. Don't you think?"

Kitty couldn’t agree more with Tom and nodded her head vehemently to put emphasis on the face she really liked his idea. Thankful for the bandage he made using his own shirt, she got to her feet with his help and pushed the pain aside, limping slightly as she stood and looked around for an escape route. The roofs of the local establishments were close enough together they could leap from rooftop to rooftop to put some distance between them and the Death Troopers.

Looking over at Tom, she thumbed at Plymuth then signed a quick message.

the roof tops make good escape route. put distance between us and hostiles. let pretty boy know?

The shouts from below told Kitty they didn’t have much time to get their show on the road. Knowing she would have the most difficult time with the whole process, she took a few steps back then took off running as fast as she could and leapt into the air, landing on the adjacent roof. The pain in her leg talked to her but she couldn’t waste time giving into it now. She had to hurry up and get the hell away from these people or they would find out what she really was and….well…..Hard to say exactly what they would do to her but none of the scenario’s that quickly played out in her minds eye were pleasant ones.

"Pretty boy?" Plymuth repeated with a twisted face, obviously in disagreement of the word being applied to him. He spoke directly to Kitty figuring Tom was the translator, then the two mutants took off and leapt into the air, landing on a nearby roof.

Plymuth ran to the edge of the roof top after them then stopped. It was a ten meter leap and he was in full gear! "Bullocks!", shouted the mariner, who was literally out his element.

Below more of the soldiers known as Death Troopers appeared. They had seen Tom and Kitty as they sailed across the ally and were no attempting to pursue on the ground, trying to head them off.

"Get that one there!" One shouted and two more men started to climb the ladder.

Plymuth looked across the distance and grit his teeth. He had two choices, take his chances with the armed soldiers or try and make the leap. He quickly ran back, giving himself as much running room as possible and propelled himself as fast as he could. The aquatic mutant was strong, his adaption to moving underwater at great speeds naturally translated to his movement on land but this leap put his abilities to the test.

His foot caught the edge perfectly and he pushed off with a roar, screaming as he flew across the alleyway. The soldier below raised their rifles and took a few shots but their target was moving too fast. The edge of the other building came fast and Plymuth tucked his legs in, rolling in the air allowing him to just clear it and skid onto the surface.

Rolling to his feet he smiled triumphantly but it was wiped off his face as he saw the other two mutants continue and leap across another gap. Thankfully this one was a shorter distance, but Plymuth wasn't sure if he could make another long leap if he had to. Looking down he could see the soldiers scrambling along the ground keeping up with them. They were highly trained and determined.

"Oy! Y'guys better think 'a something fast before these bastards surround us!" Plymuth shouted.

The mariner was fresh out of ideas for the moment and just going with the flow. He hadn't broken any laws that he could think of, but he didn't believe that really mattered to the soldiers. They associated him with the other criminals and struck him as the shoot first, talk later sort of people. Seemed he didn't have much choice but to team up with the cat and wolf for the time being.

Ahead of them, was a tall building and short leap away was the third story landing of an outer fire escape. To the left and right were more flat roofed buildings that eventually stretched into greater leaps that would challenge even the leaping ability of the most agile creatures.

The two headed into the main street more death troopers closing on them the two easily recognizable in the crowd the crack of a rifle caused panic the death troopers not planning out what would happen Jack nodded to Rarmon they were lone wolfing it Jack seemed to sink into the crowd. Rarmon barged his way through people instantly catching the trooper’s attention. The yells of the trooper as they ordered men to thin out the crowd to get to Rarmon who barged shoved even the delight of picking people up and depositing them in street side stalls for a market. Rarmon turned back finding the crowd was regaining their senses moving away from him and the death troopers a clear path was forming rapidly. Rarmon continued to back away his hands reloading the two weapons he searched the crowd hoping to find any sign of Jack….none.

Rarmon’s back finally hit a wall the crowd had split nine death troopers aimed at him from the crowd another ten of them were sitting on balconies, roofs and other higher vantage points. Rarmon was surrounded by the text book nowhere to go only hell’s fire in front of him. “I’m sure we can discuss this…” The death trooper’s cold stares as they looked the cyborg up and down. “Where is the little guy who was with you earlier?” Rarmon looked around himself finding no one… “Guessing he got away!” The allocated spokesman from the guard came closer yet the two staring each other down….it was impossible for the man to know what Rarmon could be feeling after all he was a machine... “We gonna stand here all day or make ourselves a war?” Rarmon pressed the small button on the side of the collar he wore the plated shock helmet closing round his head the biotic glow coming alive as he lifted his rifle level with the nine foot troopers the remaining on the roofs began shooting early dirt and sparks in the air.

Yanking the trigger the heavy rifle gave its thumping as he continued to move sideways to the nearest alley he held the trigger lifting at least four of the troopers in sprays of gore and blood they were definitely dead on their feet. Sharp cracks could be heard rooftop troopers were falling in a pattern starting from left to right of the plaza men trying to find cover but the bullets seemed to not understand the meaning of cover seeming to bend or slice through cover none could be sure. Rarmon reached a different street unknowing that he was heading for the tall building in the mass of low roofed slums. “Jack we are leaving!” A whisper seemed to come from behind him causing Rarmon to turn he swore his scanners had said no targets Jack stood there his rifle empty hung on his back his hands glued to the colt.45. “Ok lets go.” The two moved quickly Rarmon looking back wondering if the death troopers had anything heavier... “Let’s hope they don’t have any RPG infantry or a technical.” Jack nodded uncaring as he walked on one side of the alley hugging to the wall with Rarmon on the other.

Kitty saw things were falling apart quicker than she had anticipated. That was the trouble with being out in the open. Exposed to your enemies. There was no dark holes to hide in to catch your enemy by surprise. Just the wide open space of the sky. The burning pain in her thigh was really pissing her off and each time she leapt to another roof top she was reminded of what she was so pissed off about.

It wasn’t a good combination. A (basically) cornered human tiger that was injured and running for her life. Kitty could feel the tiger within her gaining more control of who she was each passing moment and it was the last thing she wanted to have happen. She was better than this. She was a human who had tiger characteristics. She was NOT an animal.

Oh but she was. And right now, that animal wanted to be freed. Needed to be free. And the more Kitty fought to control the animal within her, the harder it fought to get free. If she allowed that animal to break free, it would be many hours before she could be trusted to be around her friends. Even Tom was in danger.

Hearing Plymuth call to her and Tom caused her to make a skidding stop as she looked back to the man she’d met back at the Oasis. Tom saw the look in her eyes and knew she was close to losing control of her animal. Especially as her wild looking eyes darted in all directions looking for an escape route.

Just then Kitty heard the sound of gun fire and shouts from behind them as much as she could hear the soldiers that were pursuing them from the ground. With a quick glance around at an area she didn’t know, she saw the taller building in the short distance but all she could think was ‘down’. Something was telling her she had to make her way to the ground and from there, find a place that would allow her to use the darkness as her shelter.

Even now as her claws, fully extended from her fingertips, flexed in an effort to help her grab a hold of what ever it was she was going to need to grab a hold of, Kitty closed her eyes for a brief moment then focused on Tom. Signing quickly, she tried to convey to him what she was thinking. Even Tom had trouble keeping up with her signing as the human hold she had on herself slipped a little further away.

down… darkness…cave…tunnel…..cover….hide….safe…

Gavin followed the figures as they darted across the tops of the buildings. Some part of him just couldn't be surprised that they had ended up in what could very well have been the only civilization left in the world. The soldiers were on their tails for no reason he could see other than simply trying to gain control of a chaotic situation. His concentration was split as he watched his old friends and maintained his connection with the rats when more shouts and fresh gunfire erupted around him.

Instinctively, Gavin ducked into the shadows with others fleeing and squeezed through some impossibly tight spaces until he'd found a little dark corner where he perched alone. There, he searched the buildings again until he found the Tiger girl, the Wolf man, and the man whom he couldn't recognize from that far away although he seemed to be going along with them. The group had paused and it was here that Gavin re-connected with the rats and hesitated himself. The buildings were rather infested, especially along the safe ledges of the rooftops and he could easily give them a little assistance. Still, why had they left him? Part of him couldn't help but wonder if it was intentional, if some other danger was about that he'd skirted.

Gavin stiffened, furrowing his brow and narrowing his eyes, surprised at himself. Even if they had left him, there were a thousand reasons they could have had and anyway, who was he to fault anyone for doing what needed to be done to survive? After all, he'd wandered off too. Gavin shook his head slowly, swearing never to let his suspicions overcome him again. He'd found his comrades, they needed help, and he could give it.

Pushing his sunglasses a little further along his nose, the Rat-hybrid ducked away and moved along the current of people, swimming his way into a shadowy group of little buildings. He then called to the rats again straining his neck to see the little figures that stood above him. He hesitated to approach the Tiger after seeing her quickness to hunt but the stranger might not recognize their significance. He decided to push them towards Tom. A small group of three or so skittered out from the shadows and pawed at the man's leg while two others urged toward Gavin had found the shadowy patch. If they could just get to the ground, they could move through the people and duck into the crevice in which Gavin hid. It was a cramped hiding space but between the chaotic movement that crowded around it, they could wait there until it blew over. But first, he had to get the message to them that they had a friend in those shadows.

Standing at the edge of one of the flat roofed buildings Plymuth kept a wary eye on the tigress. There was something very unnatural about her, as if she was at odds with herself. He had seen this one time before, long ago when he was a much younger man and he knew at that point just what the tigress and wolf-man were — 'hybrids'. It explained a lot about their mannerisms as they were literally two species spliced together. Plymuth had read all about them in the archives of Avalon when he was trying to understand the origins of his own people. Unlike his own kind which were the result of accelerated adaptive mutations caused by a man-made air born virus, Kitty and Tom were created in a laboratory. He was the result of several generations of a mutated people and had the advantage of growing up with a culture that defined his nature. Kitty was not so fortunate.

Stonehaven had its own 'mutant' population which were referred to simply as 'Humanoids' but for the most part but Plymuth could hardly tell them from the Humans. If there were other 'Hybrids' about, he had yet to come across any and really didn't know how these people would react to their kind. Plymuth on the other hand, could blend in, in the way that Tom could but the wolf-man's bestial nature would in time betray him as well. This was the only reason that Plymuth could reason why the Death Troopers were still pursuing them from the ground. Maybe they were after Kitty? Her animal traits were, however, very subdued in comparison to an outlawed 'Animal Mutant' so he then assumed that the Troopers were simply acting out of instinct like a dog chasing a squirrel because it runs away.

Watching Kitty quickly sign with wild eyes, Plymuth could make out for himself that she wished to descend to the ground and hide. It seemed to him that her instincts were kicking in, no doubt intensified from the pain of the wound in her thigh. Funny, Plymuth always thought that cats preferred to be in high places but maybe it was just too exposed for her.

The descent to the alley before them was only a mere ten feet down, but noting her ailing leg, Plymuth gestured to landing which was only a short stride away from them. From there they could either choose to climb higher or down to the ground.

"You're not lookin' so spry there 'Stripes'." he told her, then leapt over to the landing and proceeded to slide down the ladder to the alleyway below.

The Death Troopers were frantically searching the alleys around them but they had for the moment lost sight of the three runaways. In the dark alleyway they would have some time to plan their next move but would not be able to stay within its confines for long. They would need to find somewhere to hide and quickly.

At first, Tom wasn’t sure what to think of the strange occurrence of the rats around him. His first instinct was to swat them away but there was something about their appearance at such a critical time that he thought better of doing such a thing. Hadn’t he seen something like this before? Yes! He had! Gavin! As Kitty tried to control herself Tom began to look around for the sunglass wearing rat hybrid. Where was he?

Kitty snapped her head around to look at Plymuth when he referred to her as Stripes. She wasn’t offended about being called that, she was just surprised he was talking to her. What he said actually made it through to her logical mind and she couldn’t help but wonder for a brief moment, can he see how close I am to losing it here? The answer, of course, was obvious. Claws extended. Pupils dilated to the point where the normal goldish color of her eyes was all but gone. Panting (without the extended tongue). Startling at each sound. All of the signs were there, damn near screaming things were getting hairy.

Just then she felt a light touch to her shoulder and when she whirled around she saw Tom standing out of reach, holding a…..rat? Now was not the time to try and calm her with food! Couldn’t he see she wasn’t hungry????!!!!! She was frightened and wanted to get the hell away from here. NOW. It was as those thoughts were going through her mind that she saw Tom gesture to the other rats around them. Kitty glanced around and became totally confused now. When she looked back up at Tom with a puzzled look, he nodded towards the place Plymuth had jumped from. As gently but as urgently as he could, he pointed out to her the rats were guiding her that way as well.

Wit one more glance at her hybrid friend for reassurance, she quickly followed Plymuth and before she knew it, she was on the ground beside him. The rats were moving along quickly and would stop from time to time and turn to raise their twitching noses in the air before turning and scurrying along again.

As Tom brought up the rear, he quickly relayed to Plumth what the rats were doing, hoping his instincts were right and that Gavin was someplace nearby. He would have to trust the rats to lead him to where ever it was Gavin knew they should go.

Kitty followed Plymuth as Tom instructed and Tom fell in behind her keeping his hand lightly on her hip to make sure she didn’t get completely out of control. The rats, as it turned out, were leading them into a darkened corridor. While Kitty was very cautious she was starting to pick up on a familiar yet faint scent. While she was still ready to bolt and attack at any moment, her human side kept the last thread of hold it had on her by telling her over and over again she knew that scent and it wasn’t an enemy.

Gavin could not have been more accurate in his assumption about Plymuth as he kicked at the rats scurrying about his feet. Land mammals confused the aquatic humanoid at the best of times and he had no idea what the creatures were up to and when Tom had explained that the rats were leading them to safety the mariner at first considered that he too was going feral on him. He, however, couldn't deny that the little critters were moving with an uncharacteristic intelligence. Whether or not someone was controlling them was debatable but they seemed to headed toward a place that would serve as port in this storm and so he followed them.

Plymuth smoothly swung under a pipe running through the narrow alleyway and rounding a corner found the alley suddenly ended. The rats maintained their course, though, passing into a dark three by three foot opening in the wall.

"Bullocks.", he cursed silently to himself as he crouched down and peered into the blackness. There was a faint light source radiating from the other side of where ever the tunnel went which allowed Plymuth to see fairly well but he didn't let on that he could see into the dark. Maybe it was instinct or perhaps it was just the paranoia generated by having a bestial woman literally battling her inner demons but Plymuth thought it wise to conceal as much about his nature as possible. As he crawled into the old shaft and carefully made his way through with the guidance of the rats they steered him down a side passage which lead them into a slightly taller crawl space illuminated by a few shafts of light radiating from grates in the ceiling.

"Well, well. Home sweet home." Commented Plymuth as he rose to a crouching position still unable to stand up straight in the subterranean which seemed to run under some sidewalks.

Kitty was grateful for the tighter confines, even if the man before her was having some issues with it. If need be, she’d push him right out of the way and take the lead herself. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. Plymuth kept following the rats, after his initial reaction to them, and they led the three fugitives into a nice little tunnel like area below the surface of the area.

Once more Kitty was picking up on a familiar scent and it was even stronger down here. As Plymuth moved into the larger space, she followed along and stayed in a crouched, ready to spring stance. Her muscles were coiled and ready to get her out of there in a hell fire hurry if need be.

Her head tilted slightly as she sniffed the air again and smelled the scent. Her feline eyes adjusted to the darkness and as they did, she began to move around cautiously investigating the scent. Her upper lip would quiver and curl in a snarl like gesture as she moved closer to the scent. Finally she caught the silhouette of a form crouched in the darkness and in the blink of an eye, the tigress pounced.

The next thing Gavin knew, he was lying on his back with Kitty on top of him poised to strike with her deadly claws. But something in the voice she heard from her victim stopped her. Right hand raised above her head, claws extended and practically snarling, she was a millisecond away from making that killing blow when she recognized the dark glasses and the curve of the jaw. Slowly her hand lowered, her claws retracted and the snarl eased off her face. Her left hand had a hold of Gavin’s collar and as she slowly released her hold, she leaned down and sniffed close to his neck.

Now she knew who’s scent she was picking up on. Finally giving a heavy sigh, Kitty rolled off Gavin and sat crouched away from him and the others. She’d come close to killing a person she referred to as her friend and that wasn’t good. Thankfully she still had enough of her human characteristics she was able to [prevent herself from making the blow that would have ripped out his throat.

Signing the word ‘sorry’, she decided that separating herself from the others as best she could right now was the only thing she could do to protect them. As noises from over head became louder, she grew anxious again as her eyes darted to the ceiling overhead now. Would they find them? Would they survive this and live to see another day? Had she left her protective bunker and familiar tunnels only to lose her life in her fist, and only, exploration for others?

Kitty had only one prayer: Please don’t let that be the case.

Squeezed into the shadows, Gavin watched the tigress approach but was fairly used to the predatorial look in her eye. Honestly, he'd never expected her to actually go in for the kill. Just as she pounced, Gavin opened his mouth to speak.

"I--URK!" It took a moment for the rat-man to fully process the look of death in the cat-woman's eyes but by then she seemed to have gotten control of herself and slinked away. He didn't know what the sign meant but she seemed at least regretful and Gavin was thankful enough she didn't kill him to shake the whole incident off. Clearing his throat, he shook himself off and pushed his glasses back into their place on his nose before he remembered where he was and simply took them off, his muddy brown eyes moving easily in the darkness. "I see the rats delivered my message," he said in that usual calm tone, though he kept his voice hushed. With a tentative glance over to Kitty, Gavin addressed them all again as he stepped back and held a hand out to the tiny little enclave in which he had been sitting. It looked maybe big enough for a child to sit comfortably in, certainly not a full-grown man, even one as lithe as Gavin, still he seemed to have been quite comfortable for who-knew-how-long. "Ironic that we'd cross paths again," he went on, "but it seemed like you could use a good hiding place. I'm good at finding hidden places. If your quiet, they shouldn't find you. Either way, if I move up front here, they should see me first and I can lead them away."

He motioned again toward the tight squeeze of a space behind him. "Go head," he said, as he began to inch his way around Plymuth. He was more than a little uncomfortable exposing his back to Kitty as he passed but he hoped the gesture, if he survived it, would at least serve as a hint of forgiveness. Still, Gavin didn't look at her when he made it in front of the group and settled himself at the mouth of the opening, blocking out any pinhole of light that had made it down there before and completely cloaking the fugitives in blackness. "Make yourselves comfortable," he whispered, "I managed to find some food and stored it back there for you. I assume you don't mind scraps."

While she didn’t show it outwardly, Kitty was more than grateful for Gavin’s appearance in this forsaken place. If it hadn’t been for him, there was no doubt in her mind she would most likely be dead now….and taken a few with her in the process. While the skittering rats seemed to avoid her as much as Gavin did, she welcomed their subtle noises. It was much better than the pounding and thumping of boots and the shouting of order over head.

As Gavin gestured to the small hidey hole, Kitty was the first to accept his offer and found herself beginning to calm almost instantly. While Tigers were known for their nomadic life in the wild, Kitty had never really been used to life in the wide open. She wasn’t afraid of it as a norm, but when it came to these sort of situations, she found the confines and familiar feeling of a dark ceiling overhead to be more to her liking.

An occasional loud noise would cause her to cease all movement, including breathing, as she seemed to coil up like a spring in preparation to pounce. When the noise would fade away and she could breathe again, Kitty searched the hiding place for an alternate way out….just in case.

The scraps Gavin had collected were a welcomed addition as well. Taking a few pieces for herself, Kitty made sure to hand Tom and Plymuth some of them. Rather they ate them now or saved them for later, at least she did her part. Now all she wanted was to wait for the sun to fully set so they could make heir escape from this hellish place and be on their way again.

As she sat nibbling on the scraps Kitty glanced at Gavin as he crouched and watched the opening for them. Taking a scrap in her hand she moved closer, tapped Gavin gently on the shoulder, and offered him the scrap as a gesture of good faith and apology. Hopefully he would see she was trying to make an effort here and wouldn’t reject her good will.