by Melissa Wong
“That pompous, self-righteous fool,” she growled, “She’ll never see results befriending the creatures she’s trying to dominate! Why can’t she see that my way is the most efficient?”
She turned, throwing her long black cape off her arms. “And where is my minion? He was supposed to be back here a half cycle ago! What kind of Princess can’t hire good help? Honestly...”
She threw open a new screen and began typing frantically on the control panel. Originally she’d been delighted to learn that Cretora was in over her head. It should have made things easier on her, in fact! But she hadn’t been prepared for her to be so stubborn—for her to dig her heels in when she had to know she was wrong. It was like dealing with another Tana!
She couldn’t let that waste of power get to her—not now, not when her plans were so close to completion.
“Oh Tana,” Vetrina sighed, her fingers hovering over holographic keys, “If only you were a better sister, it wouldn’t be like this. I would have given you a very cozy position in my new regime—maybe a planet or two of your own to manage.”
She locked down all incoming communication with a swipe.
“But alas, no,” she continued, the sound of her own voice comforting her. “You had to be difficult. You know, I really only came out here for your credits; my last employer underpaid me. Even after selling his ship it still wasn’t enough. Can you believe that?”
The mercenary market was over-saturated, fresh faces coming in and undercutting the value of more experienced fighters; forcing beautiful, talented Kaheenians like her to take on menial tasks to scrape by! It was disgusting.
Then she found out who Tana was working for, and an idea came to her. The marriage of the Darvorian Princess and the Tronatian Prince was major news, spreading across multiple galaxies before the wedding had even been finalized. If she could use Tana as an in, she could get in on the bottom deck during the honeymoon voyage and land herself a nice supervisory position by warming up to the Prince and Princess.
When she’d arrived she was shocked to discover the ship half-dead in orbit around Solis Three, the four remaining remaining crew members struggling to take over the small planet. Tana was less than welcoming, the Princess was belligerent, and her little Kuroniti servant was completely useless. Not to mention the Prince may as well not even be there for all the good he did.
Their inexperience was glaring—and her skill was obviously wasted on the likes of them. After she’d successfully gathered data from the schools she began to formulate a new plan, one that before she’d set foot on the ship she wouldn’t have had any business entertaining. After capturing Tana and faking her desertion, she’d kept a close eye on communications between Darvori and the ship. Cretora was falsifying her reports and declining aid, which made things so much easier for her. She pretended to go along with their wishes, and while they played human down on the surface of Earth she’d been advancing her own agenda. It was a shame the little cloaked being hadn’t returned, but it was getting to the point where she couldn’t use the threat of Tana’s demise to control him much longer. He was too suspicious. He’d have to go too—and she had the perfect final job for him. But first, to tie up another loose end.
Vetrina shook her head as she reached into her bodysuit to retrieve the crystal Tana was trapped in. Father would have been disappointed in her if he were alive. If there was an afterlife, perhaps he’d scold her once she arrived.
Her brows furrowed and she scanned the room hastily before pulling apart her breasts and looking between them. Where had she put her? She couldn’t shatter something she couldn’t find!
“I’ll bet that little twerp took her when I was distracted,” she grumbled, chewing her lip as she thought. If he showed Cretora what she’d done, her plotting would all be for nothing! That meant she’d have to move up the timeline, and rearrange a few events. But one thing could remain the same—now all she had to do was go create a disturbance large enough to draw the Feline Warriors out to it so that they didn’t have time to get in her way.
Green Jaguar arrived at the scene at the same time as she and Pink Ocelot did, but he had a few more seconds to take in the situation.
“What the...?” he breathed, looking around. Even though he’d stopped talking his mouth still hung open in disbelief.
The entire freeway around them was destroyed, cars strewn across the dry hills just outside Sweet Step like toys. Purple Tiger and White Lion were bouncing between vehicles, helping people escape the wreckage.
“Why?” Blue Caracal cried, holding her hands out helplessly.
“Because Mistress Vetrina wants you dead,” came a gruff voice from behind her.
She turned to find a stocky, bearded man wearing a mantle made of the shiny black shards she recognized as petroite. The same violet-black pieces covered his arms and legs, forming weird armor-like boots, and gloves that ended in claws.
Four more figures appeared behind him, all covered in petroite armor and wielding weapons made of construction site materials—metal pipe, a sledgehammer, a length of chain with a large metal hook on the end, and some kind of circular saw.
“So Vetrina found a whole construction crew or something?” Green Jaguar grumbled, activating his lenses.
“They were already doing work up here to add a new lane as far as I know,” Pink Ocelot said, “But now they’re going to have to redo the whole thing.”
“Yeah, it’s all petroite,” Green Jaguar reported. “Definitely Vetrina’s work.”
The work crew rushed them, and Purple Tiger used Cloaking Nightfall as they leapt over to the opposite side of the freeway.
“Well now what?” White Lion asked as she landed beside him.
“They want to kill us now, so that’s a change.”
“Yeah, before they just wanted to know how fast we showed up,” Pink Ocelot said. “But that doesn’t make sense with what the Claravons said last night.”
“Hey, so the place is already destroyed—can I just go nuts on these assholes?” Green Jaguar asked.
Blue Caracal looked at the others. “I guess so—but don’t kill them. I can change them back if they take enough damage.”
“Hell yeah!” White Lion cried, slapping his hand into Green Jaguar’s. “Let’s wreck these—”
Blue Caracal coughed loudly and fixed him with a pointed look.
“—these, uh, jerks!” he finished with an eye roll.
Green Jaguar smiled as their spell grew behind them, leaves and what looked like sharp crystalline shards whipping around them as they spun faster and faster. She didn’t like that look in his eyes, but it was better than forcing him to suppress it. Red Panther would probably be better equipped to handle him when she arrived.
“Really?” Purple Tiger shouted, “They can do combo spells now?”
“Razoredge Vortex!” they called out, launching the attack.
It struck the unwary construction crew head-on, tearing chunks of petroite from their bodies as it threw them down the incline where two three-lane overpasses had once been.
“I guess being so similar has its perks,” Blue Caracal said, offering her own hand. “Our turn?”
“Definitely,” she replied.
“What about me?” Pink Ocelot asked as they stepped forward.
“You use your attack too. Back us up!”
The one that looked like the leader suddenly shot from the rubble below, brandishing his petroite claws as he closed in on them. Purple Tiger raised her arm, and Blue Caracal was about to summon the Strobe when she heard Pink Ocelot from behind them.
“Prismatic Blast!”
A shimmering arc of light shot forward and sliced through the man, shattering the remaining petroite on him. He fell to the ground and rolled to a stop, his back to them as his teammates made their way up the hill.
“Is the petroite coming back?” Green Jaguar asked, dodging several circular saw blades that had been flung at him.
“It had better not!” Purple Tiger y
elled, gripping Blue Caracal’s hand tighter as their spell built behind them. “Twilight Squall!”
The storm lashed out, the lightning within it instantly drawn to the construction crew’s weapons. Violet-tinged electricity snaked down them, sending vaporized crystal into the air with a satisfying pop as they flew back to the bottom.
“Can you heal them now?” White Lion asked. Unfortunately, a few of them were already clambering back to their feet.
“Not yet. They have to stay down first!”
“Uh, I hate to be the bearer of bad news...” Pink Ocelot said, “But more enemies just showed up.”
Blue Caracal turned to see several shadowy, humanoid shapes with purple eyes closing in on them from the remains of the northbound lane. She shuddered, reminded of when Maria lost herself to the Petroite. Were those things even human any more?
“Where the hell is Red Panther?” Purple Tiger growled as they backed up against one another.
“It doesn’t matter!” Green Jaguar said, “What matters is that Vetrina wants our asses dead, and I’m not about to let that happen!”
He fired several shots from his lenses, disrupting the shadow creatures. They quickly reformed and continued marching forward.
“They might not be human,” Blue Caracal said as she lifted her hand. “Raging Stormtide!”
“Prismatic Blast!”
Both attacks hit the creatures and scattered them into a dark mist that began to merge into shadows again almost immediately.
White Lion cried out in frustration, peppering one of the workers with his throwing stars as he ducked beneath its metal pipe.
“Seismic Strike!” Green Jaguar yelled, sending the remaining three back down the hill.
“This isn’t working,” Pink Ocelot said, gripping his wand. He fired a few short blasts into the pile of workers to keep them down. “They don’t seem to stop—we’re going to get tired and they’ll overtake us!”
“Green Jaguar, what do your lenses say about the shadowy guys over there?” Blue Caracal asked.
“Not much,” he muttered, tapping one of the buttons on the arm of them. “Petroite. Trans-dimensional. Incorporeal. That’s it.”
So they definitely weren’t human. What would happen if...?
“Guys, I have a plan. Can we drive them together and do two joint attacks at them?”
Purple Tiger looked over her shoulder. “If we go higher up the hillside and at an angle, they should line up.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“Will two joint attacks be enough?” Pink Ocelot asked as they ran up the hill. “I mean, we’re already hitting them pretty hard from what I can tell.”
There was a thud from behind them and Blue Caracal looked back to see Green Jaguar fall, the chain of one of their enemies wrapped around his feet. She dug the heels of her boots into the ground as she prepared to turn around and assist him, but the others were already on it. Purple Tiger and White Lion focused their attacks on the hands of his assailant, forcing him to release his weapon. Pink Ocelot dropped to his knees and yanked the bindings off before pulling Green Jaguar to his feet and pushing him ahead of himself.
They really were coming together as a team, weren’t they? Hopefully her plan worked so she could pull her own weight as well!
As they reached the crest of the hill the two forces merged together as Purple Tiger had predicted, forming an arc beneath them.
“Okay! White Lion and I will hit them with our attack, then Purple Tiger and Green Jaguar, you guys follow it with one of your own,” she commanded. “Pink Ocelot, you do your elemental attack as well, for added impact.”
“Wait—us?” Purple Tiger asked incredulously, pointing from herself to Green Jaguar then back again.
“Yes, you,” Blue Caracal said, “You can’t link with anyone else here and you already have history with him! Based on that it should work.”
“Do we have to hold hands though?” Green Jaguar asked, looking down as he reached out his hand tentatively.
“Hold her damn hand! She’s your teammate, she doesn’t have cooties!”
“Fine,” they both sighed, bringing their hands together in a grip that looked lukewarm at best.
That last thought about coming together as a team? Canceled. They still had a long way to go.
As she turned to offer her hand to her brother, she caught a glimpse of Pink Ocelot looking down at the chain in his hands.
“What are—why do you still have that?” she yelped. He shrugged and dropped it at his feet.
The enemies were in close range now, and hopefully they would take extra damage from that. All she needed to do now was to focus.
She held out her hand to White Lion. “Ready?”
With a sharp nod he placed his hand in her own and the familiar storm built behind them, the spray of the spell leaving cold drops on her skin.
“Hightide Hurricane!” they called out, raising their hands in unison.
The attack struck hard, sending the construction crew sliding back into the shadowy beings behind them.
“Go! Now!” Blue Caracal called out, summoning her Strobe. What happened next depended on if those two could put their animosity aside for two seconds.
“Prismatic Blast!”
“Crashing Starlight!” Purple Tiger and Green Jaguar cried in unison. As Pink Ocelot’s attack cut through the crowd—striking the petroite armor from them once more—the sky grew dark, as if a heavy black curtain had been drawn around the immediate area. Suddenly pinpoints of light shone vividly through the darkness, quickly turning into meteors that rained down on the group of enemies like a fiery shower. The impact of each one rocked the ground beneath them, leaving smoldering craters and sending the enemy flying in all directions.
Purple Tiger and Green Jaguar looked at one another in shock, then they both grinned.
“Nice!” Green Jaguar commented as Purple Tiger nodded in agreement.
Blue Caracal gripped the Lapis Strobe in both hands and held it out before herself, a familiar feeling surging through her. This was it!
“Strobe Aquatic Remedial!” she cried, swinging it in a wide arc before pointing the top of the orb at the enemies lying before them. The jewel shone brightly before releasing a wave of sparkling light that engulfed the whole area, washing the petroite from the humans and dissolving the shadow creatures. They let out a shriek as they vanished, their bright violet eyes the last thing to fade away.
“She never showed up...” Green Jaguar said quietly, putting his lenses away.
Look—EMTs are here!” Pink Ocelot pointed at the yellow trucks that had pulled up to the scene.
“That means the news isn’t far behind,” Blue Caracal said. “We should go.”
“Hey! Over here!” Purple Tiger yelled, waving both her hands in the air to grab attention. After a brief huddle a team of two medics picked up a box and headed their way.
“There are five men down over there,” she told them, pointing at the construction crew.
“They were directly attacked by an alien and forced to fight us,” Blue Caracal added, “We undid the alien’s control but they need medical attention.”
The medics thanked them and rushed down to the workers. She watched them for a few moments before turning to the others.
“We really should get out of here.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty tired,” Pink Ocelot said, stretching one of his arms. “For some reason I didn’t expect that chain to be as heavy as it was.”
“Pffft, that chain was nothing!” Green Jaguar turned on him.
“Says the guy that had to be helped out of it by three people!”
“Okay, come on you two,” Purple Tiger sighed, putting one hand on her hip and glaring at them. White Lion crouched down and tried to lift the chain, but only got one end off the ground.
Blue Caracal was trying to figure out how to intervene as they continued to bicker, but her eyes were drawn down to her medallion, which was glowing again.
“Guys...” she began. No one heard her over their own arguing.
“Listen here, Pinky—”
“Call me that again, and I’ll—”
She put her fingers in her mouth and let out a long, sharp whistle. Everyone’s head turned towards her.
“What are you Dad now or something?” White Lion said, pulling on one ear.
“We’ve gotta go,” Blue Caracal said, holding up her medallion. Green Jaguar groaned at the sight of it.
“They’re busy today,” Pink Ocelot commented.
“I can’t wait to see what they throw at us next,” Purple Tiger said sarcastically, running a hand down her face.
Chapter 12
Where Loyalty Lies
“What... is it doing?” Blue Caracal asked, looking out at the large alien monster sitting atop a familiar-looking cell phone store.
They were standing on the roof of a business across the parking lot, looking out over the smashed storefronts as yellow ribbons of crime scene tape fluttered in the breeze. The alien was perched directly on top, each scaled foot gripping the crumbling facade with three black claws the size of park benches. It was covered in long iridescent feathers that went from pale lavender at their base to deep indigo at their tips, and she could watch its wings shift as it breathed, its five eyes blinking out of sync.
“I have no clue,” Purple Tiger said, “But I’m pretty sure this is the same place where Vetrina first showed up and shanked—”
“Yes, we all remember the time I almost died!” she snapped.
“The first time,” White Lion added unhelpfully.
“We’re right down the street from Twin Tides, so that means this is where Sa—er, Red Panther—joined us,” Green Jaguar said, activating his lenses.
“So it just wrecked the place and stopped to wait?” Pink Ocelot asked.
“Nah, scans indicate this is all old damage from the first encounter,” he said. “In fact, they also indicate that thing is just a physical manifestation of light.”
“What’s that mean?” White Lion asked.
“It’s a hologram,” Blue Caracal replied.
