14 Years Ago...
Riverside
Whisper sat on a dock jutting out over a small lake. A river fed out into the ocean but was tucked away enough to not be so noticeable to outsiders. She heard the planks creak softly and her ears perked. A friendly scent filled her nose and she smiled, knowing exactly who it was.
"Hey, Tangle," she greeted without looking back.
"Whisper," the ring-tailed lemur said as she dropped next to her, dangling her feet over the edge of the dock. "It always amazes me how good your senses are, but I'm not so surprised anymore."
"Not surprised?" Whisper asked. "I'll have to try harder, then."
Tangle smiled and looked out at the water. "This is nice, isn't it?"
"Yes. But it can't last."
"Why not?"
"You heard the stories. About where we came from. You think we won't be hunted down and captured again?"
Tangle exhaled through her nose. "I prefer not to think about it."
"Well, I have," Whisper said as she pulled a capsule for her rifle from her jacket. It had a red liquid inside. "I found a poisonous flower and refined it into this. One shot and the target's dead."
The lemur chuckled. "Wow. Dark. Isn't that a little... much?"
Whisper put the capsule back in her jacket. "You say that now. Just wait until we need it."
Tangle nodded. "Well, it's almost time for breakfast, and I don't wanna be late this time." She then stood up and patted the fox's shoulder. "Come on." She then turned and began heading back to their village.
Whisper sighed and got up, too, taking one last look at the water. After she was satisfied, she turned and began to make her way back to the village as well. Just as she stepped off the dock, there were a few explosions near her home. Tangle stopped suddenly and turned to run when there was another explosion close by that sent her and Whisper flying. The wolf landed hard on the dock and tumbled across the wood with grunts and groans. She could feel the heat from the fire as she weakly looked up.
She gasped when she saw a tall, metallic hedgehog with its foot on Tangle's back. A slightly chubby human with a red coat, black pants, goggles, and the bushiest orange mustache she ever saw walked up to the robot.
"Good work, Mekka," the man said. "Put her with the others. Then, I believe it's time you met Jason."
The robot nodded. "Acknowledged," the hedgehog said, before it reached down to pick up the squirming lemur.
As the robot walked away, Whisper found her second wind and got to her feet. Knowing her options were limited, she pulled a small capsule with a needle out of her jacket and ran at the human. She quickly leaped at him and clung to his back, making him yell in surprise. The robot hedgehog stopped and whipped around as Whisper stabbed the man with her capsule, extracting some of his blood. He quickly elbowed her in the face, knocking her off. As she hit the ground, he gave her a hard kick, knocking her away. When she was clear, the hedgehog raised its arm and fired a rocket. The wolf scrambled to her feet and jumped away before the explosion knocked her into the lake.
As she submerged, she pulled out the red capsule she showed Tangle and cracked it in her hand. Above the water, the man saw the red liquid in the water and sighed. "Well, one less Mobian isn't a problem," he said as he turned and left. "Come, Mekka. Let's get this show on the road."
When they left, Whisper swam to the edge of the lake and climbed out, flopping on her back as she tried to catch her breath. She held up the blood sample she took from the man and coughed up water. "I got you. And when I find you... you're dead."
PRESENT DAY
After dropping over $9,000 for a week's stay at The Plaza, Whisper entered her suite and looked around. She entered the living room section and looked to her right where there was a sliding partition. Heading over to it, she slid the doors open to reveal the bedroom. To the right, she saw what she assumed was the bathroom and to the left was a large window. On the other side of the room was a desk with a reading lamp. She went over to it and set her rifle case down on it and her suitcase on the floor beside the chair.
"This'll do," she said to herself.
She knelt down and undid her suitcase to pull out her tactical mask. Putting it on, she set it to search for humans with DNA similar to the blood sample she acquired 14 years ago. Once the mask was properly set, she removed it and set it on the table with her rifle. With a stretch of her arms, she walked over to the bed and sat down with a sigh. She then kicked off her boots and laid back as she stared up at the ceiling.
"I'll find you, Tangle. And I won't stop looking 'til I do."
**********
Anne Thrax led Viper, Sam, and Myst into a lively Mobian bar tucked away in an alley near Michael's New York on West 55th Street. "This way," she cooed, leading them through the bar towards the back room.
She opened a door and led them down a flight of stairs to the basement. Down below, the three rebels were greeted by three other Mobians. One was a red fox wearing a black crop top and black leather pants with a studded belt, the second was a purple weasel with a cowboy hat, brown crop top with brown cargo pants, and the third was a green swallow with a black tube top and black cargo pants.
Viper's eyes fell on the swallow. "Another swallow?" She asked. "Looks like..."
"Wave, I know," the swallow sighed, sounding irritated. "I get that a lot. It's not my fault swallows are rare."
"That's Raze," Thrax introduced. "The fox is Fiona and the weasel is Nicolette. Everyone, meet Viper, Sam, and Myst," she said, pointing to each one as she said their name. "They were responsible for the subway hijacking."
"Ooo, I heard about that," Fiona chuckled. "Nice. Shame you couldn't take a few of the humans out while you were at it."
"We just wanted to send a message," Viper explained. "Believe me, I would've loved to have let the train crash, but... that would've killed us, too."
"Fair enough."
"Now, that we're acquainted," Thrax said with a smile. "Let's get down to business."
**********
That night, Jason got comfortable in bed, wearing a thin shirt and shorts for pajamas. Blaze then left the bathroom wearing a purple bra and panties. "Some day," she said as she climbed into bed and nuzzled up to her human.
Jason smiled and hugged her close. "I'll say. The attacks are getting worse."
Blaze was silent for a moment, clearly thinking. "You don't... think we made a mistake, right? Sparking the whole... Mobian-human thing?"
Jason sighed. "We should be allowed to be with who we wanna be with. With whoever makes us happy, right? Be it human or Mobian. I will admit, I'm still not used to the size difference," he said, making Blaze look him in the eyes. "You're so short."
"Well, maybe you're just too tall," she snapped back playfully.
Jason smiled as the two just stared into each other's eyes. "I, for one, don't find this weird at all. Kinda feels right."
Blaze smiled back. "It does, yes." She then nuzzled up to his neck. "Let's get some sleep. Who knows how crazy tomorrow will be?"
Jason nodded. "Night, kitten."
Blaze gave him a playful bump with her fist. She wasn't a huge fan of being called kitten, but she didn't mind it when Jason did it. She knew he meant it in a loving way.
**********
The next morning, after a nice, warm shower, Whisper grabbed her mask and clipped it to her belt. She then pulled on her jacket and left her room. Once she flipped her door sign to Do Not Disturb, she left to go on her recon mission.
**********
Jason and Blaze sat down at a table just outside Frenchy Coffee on the corner of Lexington Ave. and East 102nd St., both with their own cup of coffee, and leaned their E-Gears against the table. "So far, peaceful," Jason pointed out, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Be better without all the humans taking pictures of us."
"We're celebrities, Blaze. Plus, we did sort of fly in on our Gears. Not very inconspicuous."
**********
Whisper walked down the sidewalk, looking all around at the humans and Mobians. Any one of these humans could share DNA with the man who attacked her village. Alternatively, she could also be in the completely wrong city. Or maybe the man had no offspring and her journey was pointless. She sighed and stopped to lean against a street light. Glancing over, she saw a newspaper stand with a man selling the papers. She walked over to it and glanced at the front page. It read: Freedom Fighters Stop Subway Hijacking.
"Freedom Fighters," she said, before she glanced up at the human. "Who are they?"
"The Freedom Fighters?" The man asked. "A group of Mobians and a human. They're sort of like superheroes, fighting to keep everyone safe."
"Really?" Whisper asked. "Where are they?"
"They have a tower on the corner of Central Park."
The wolf gave him a nod. "Thank you," she said, before she walked off.
The man watched her leave before he held out a paper. "Sure you don't wanna buy one?!"
**********
"So, a subway hijacking?" Fiona asked as she leaned back in her chair and rested her feet up on the table.
Viper sat across from her. "Yeah. Took a while planning it out."
"Was it worth it?"
"I would have preferred more carnage, but..."
Fiona smiled. "I got a few ideas."
"Same," Nic said as she pulled a chair up next to the hedgehog. "My plan has more... explosives."
Fiona shrugged. "I'm old-fashioned. Beating the crap out of them suits me just fine. Feeling their skin bruise against my fists..."
"Wow," Viper chuckled. "Seems I found the right group." She eyed the weasel and fox with a devious smirk. A low "hmmmm" escaped her lips. "Say, what's the sleeping situation like?"
"Anne has the apartments above the bar bought out," Fiona explained. "We each have a room."
"We each get our own bed?" Viper asked. "That sucks."
Fiona and Nic eyed each other, before they gave each other a smirk.
**********
Silver flew around the park with his levitation powers, playing catch with a group of kids. It really wasn't fair since he was using his telekinetic powers but the kids didn't seem to mind. Sonic was doing laps around the park while Tails sat in a tree, enjoying the sun. Whisper observed all of them through her mask as she rested on a nearby rooftop, holding a cup with the Frenchy logo on it. She took a sip as she focused on Silver, finding him to be the biggest threat. Sonic, second.
She kept watching when she heard the sound of whooshing air. Looking down the street her building was on, she saw Jason and Blaze on their E-Gears. When Whisper looked at Jason, she gasped. The human's body was glowing red, meaning a match for her DNA search. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around for her case. She quickly remembered she left her rifle back in her hotel room and let out a low growl. Instead of attacking, she simply observed the human and the cat landing by the tower. The man then entered a code into a keypad before he opened the door, both he and the cat heading inside.
**********
That night, Viper sat up in bed with a gasp. She then let out a groan as Nic sat up, too, both naked. "What's wrong with you?" The weasel asked.
"Ahh," Viper sighed. "Memories."
"Memories of what?"
"Of my parents. Of the humans killing them. Of their dying screams while all I could do was hide. And watch."
"Oh, god, you're a fountain of depression," Fiona said as she sat up on the other side of Viper, also naked.
"What about you two?" Viper asked as she laid back down.
She held her arms out as the other two cuddled up to her. "I didn't have anyone," Fiona said. "I grew up alone and I trained alone. Once I was captured but I broke out of there all by myself. Because I knew no one, not even the Freedom Fighters, were coming for me."
Viper looked over at the weasel. "And you?"
"I evaded capture but I saw the devastation the humans were causing. Saw a lot of Mobians captured. Some didn't make it."
The black hedgehog nodded. "Seems we all have a reason to hate the humans. What about Anne?"
"Thrax?" Asked Fiona, and shrugged. "She doesn't really talk about it."
"Huh..." Viper muttered in thought.
The fox then smiled and climbed atop her. "Come on. Time to forget," she cooed as she leaned in for a kiss.
**********
Whisper returned to an alley near Freedom Fighters HQ, using the cover of darkness to conceal her movements. She pulled out a small disc and chucked it at a parked car. She quickly backed into the alley before the car exploded in a ball of fire.
After a few minutes, she heard the sound of approaching E-Gears. She looked up and saw a fire escape. With a huge leap, she jumped up and grabbed hold of the fire escape before hoisting herself up. She then moved up the stairs for higher ground. When she got to the roof, she knelt down and held her rifle in both hands.
Jason and Blaze flew their Gears over to the burning car, with Sally clinging to Jason tightly as she did her best to stand on the back of his board. "Don't know why you wanted to tag along," the human chuckled as he lowered his Gear to the ground.
"Because," Sally began as she hopped off. "if this is a Mobian, I consider he, or she, my people."
Jason smiled as he hopped off his board. "Let's hope, if it is a Mobian, that they're up for conversation."
Blaze looked around before a sound made her ears twitch. It sounded like a gun cocking. She quickly looked left and right before she looked up. She could make out the barrel of a rifle. A rifle aimed at Jason. She quickly leaped at him and knocked him down just as a dart struck the ground where he was standing. Jason sat up and looked at the roof of a nearby building. Another shot rang out as he rolled to the side.
Blaze quickly got up and lit up her fists as Sally stepped back. Before another shot could go off, Blaze fired a fireball at the rooftop. Whisper rolled to the side and fell onto the fire escape with a grunt. It was time for action. She jumped over the edge and grabbed the side of the fire escape. She let go and dropped further down before she grabbed again to stop her fall. She let go one final time before she landed on her feet. She pulled out a capsule from her jacket and reloaded her gun.
Just as Blaze ran into the alley, Whisper ducked and fired. The shot was an energy blast and not a bullet, which sent Blaze flying backwards into a parked car. She dropped to the ground with a grunt as Whisper ran out of the alley. Jason ran in front of her to try and knee her in the face, but she delivered an uppercut to his head, causing him to stumble backwards. The wolf then swiped at his legs and knocked him over before raising her gun. She was about to fire when she saw a light coming towards her. She did a back flip out of the way as a fireball sailed past her.
"Stop this!" Sally yelled. "We are not your enemy!"
Whisper eyed her and then looked at Jason again. Blaze followed her gaze and realized what she was focusing on. The wolf deduced that the biggest threat here was the cat. Which meant that she needed to switch up her tactics.
"Don't try anything," Blaze warned.
Whisper gripped her rifle tightly before she ran at the cat. Blaze threw a fireball at her, which the wolf jumped over. Blaze then went to throw a fireball up at her, but Whisper fired her gun upwards which quickly pushed her back down to the ground. The fireball just missed her before she lunged at her target and delivered a kick that knocked Blaze back.
Blaze threw a punch, which Whisper blocked with her arm before she swung her rifle like a baseball bat. Blaze grabbed the barrel to stop it from hitting her. She then kicked the wolf hard in the chest, knocking her away. Whisper kept her grip on the gun, but it fell from her hand when she dropped to her knees.
"Just... stop!" Blaze yelled.
Whisper let out a low growl as she stood up, but left her gun on the ground. She then ran at the cat before the two began exchanging blocks and punches while Jason sat up and watched. Sally quickly ran over to him.
"What's happening?" She asked. "Can we stop her? I don't want to... you know..."
"I know," Jason said as he got up. "I got an idea."
Whisper got in a good punch before she grabbed Blaze by the shoulder and slammed her head against a car. The cat fell to the ground with a groan before Jason let out a yell and ran at the wolf. Whisper turned to him and got ready.
Jason threw kick, which Whisper jumped over. She then kicked off his leg and went to deliver a blow to his face. Jason, however, was ready this time, and elbowed her in the chest. While she was dazed he grabbed her and held her with her back against his chest.
"Got ya now," he said. "Now, just relax!"
Whisper struggled to free herself and let out a low growl. She did manage to sneak her hand inside her jacket. She activated a small orb and dropped it. Jason looked down just as a huge explosion of smoke filled the area. He raised his arms to cover his eyes and mouth as Whisper dropped to the pavement. She quickly grabbed her gun and slipped away.
Jason stumbled over to his E-Gear and flew it up over the smoke cloud, scanning the area. He could see Sally helping Blaze get free of the smoke but no sign of the wolf. "Dammit," he muttered before he flew over to the princesses. "She's long gone."
"Who was she?" Asked Sally. "You think she's with the ones who hijacked the subway?"
Blaze groaned and held her head as she sat down on the curb. "No. This felt personal. After all, she seemed to be targeting Jason."
"Me?" The human asked.
Blaze nodded. "I was just in her way, but her focus was on you the whole time."
"So..." Jason muttered. "Something else to keep an eye out for. Did any of you see behind her mask? Her face, or anything?"
Both shook their heads. "She kept it on the whole time," Sally said as she sat down next to Blaze.
After Blaze had recovered, they got back on their E-Gears and headed back to their tower. Nearby, a car door opened and Whisper jumped out. She then stood and stretched before she, too, made her way back home.
**********
Once back in her hotel room, Whisper removed her mask and threw it on the floor with an angry yell. Thoughts rushed back to when she had a clear shot of the human with her dart. If only that cat hadn't got in the way. Next time, she'd be ready.