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A group of mutants does what they need to do to survive. |
| [Introduction]
It starts with a bank robbery. The police come. Suspects run, and split up. The police give chase, and split up. One officer chases a suspect in to a building. A little while later, the building blows up. An investigation turns up some human remains, too far burned to be able to give any usable D.N.A. but the officer's badge is found. The conclusion; there was a firefight, and one of the rounds must have hit a gas line, triggering the explosion. At least, that's what people were told, and a funeral for the fallen officer was held a week later. The Truth is more complicated: upon entering the building, both the officer and the bank robber found that they had stumbled across something that was really big, which involved the kidnapping of some homeless people, and the two were fired upon by the kidnappers. The pair fought back. At some point, one member of the mysterious group took a tranquilizer gun, and managed to dart the pair. Seeing the potential in the two, the group took them both, and set the place to blow. When the pair woke up, they found that they'd been mutated, and they, and the others, were not human anymore. Reluctantly, the pair decided to work together, and staged a break-out, freeing a number of mutated humans, and animals, and lead them out of the place. Realizing that it would be difficult for him, or any member of the group, to go to the police themselves, the mutated officer decides that the group would need to bring the organization down themselves. They also realize that some of the female members are pregnant, and that they'd need a doctor soon. Thus, the former police officer and former bank robber decide to rob a bank that holds the mysterious organization's physical assets, among other things, in order to bring the organization's actions into the light. Reluctantly, they also agree that they need to get some doctors for the pregnant females. Rules: Mutated Animals are common animals - cats, dogs, rabbits, excetera - nothing exotic. (Easier to get with less attention) Mutated Humans can be mixed with any real-world animal. Anything else goes. |
| The van was parked in the alley. The figures inside watched as the armored truck left. "That truck carries at least two million in cash, and we're just letting it leave," said the one figure with a sigh. "We're not after the money of the average citizen," said the second. "Besides, if this works, we'll be getting a hundred times that much." "This office doesn't normally carry more than a hundred thousand," said the first. "Payday's are different of course. It just isn't fair, watching that much money leave." "If life was fair, you'd be in jail, and I'd be on patrol, eating a doughnut," said the second. "Fat chance of that," said the first. "And here comes another person, coming in to get some money." The second looked at the person that entered the bank. "Can we shave two minutes off the time frame?" "If you asked me if this crew could rob a bank three months ago, I would have laughed," said the first, as he looked at the others behind them. "But now, if we push it a bit, I think we could shave two minutes. Cut it a little close though." He looked at the second figure. "Why do you asked?" "Because that was my partner," the second said. "Between Officer in Trouble, and a Bank Robbery in Progress, the police are going to step on the gas a little harder than they normally would." "Why do you say that?" the first figure asked. "He carries a pager on him," said the second. "One press of the button, his phone calls the police department, and everyone is listening. Standard procedure really." "And of course, don't hurt him more than necessary," groaned the first figure. "Same with everyone else." "We just disarm the guards, and the cop, and knock them out if need be," the second one said. "We were them once; working for a paycheck, complaining about bills, shopping at the grocery, and all of that stuff. I'd like to do that again." The first figure sighed. "Prison would have been better." "Just remember one thing," said the second figure. "This robbery is a distraction. While we take the physical stuff, Harrison will hack the bank's computers, and transfer the money we're really after to the agreed upon accounts. After that, we'll be very careful at spreading the money around, before settling them in a few others." "Too bad you won't let us use guns," said the first figure. "You've got the strength to pick up a three hundred pound weight with just one hand," said the second. "Besides, it would limit the cops' responses - they can't just shoot an unarmed suspect." "Can we go now?" a third figure asked. "Just remember to put on your ski masks," said the second figure. "We don't want to scare anyone." "Yes; like seeing six masked figures isn't going to be scary enough," said the first, as he put his on. "Never thought I'd be wearing one of these," said the second, as he put his on. "Remember, take two minutes off the time. Get what we are after, and get out. No fighting, just running." |
| The one in the Group called Harrison. The Hacker of the Group was a Genetic Hybrid of Homo Sapiens and Chocolate Labrador Retriever when once he had been a Teen Genius mostly playing video games but also hacking in his spare time, he had been kidnapped for getting too close to certain secrets and turned into a Dog-Human Hybrid (I hope it's OK to have Harrison be a Dog,and something else wasn't in mind for him) |
| (Hertz - had to edit this - Outside of the group that escaped the labratory, the people are humans, not mutants, or anthros.) Sargent Joe Leon, a dark-skinned man with African ancestry along with Corporal Frank Tong, who clearly had Asian ancestry, are on patrol "Hey Joe, heard about that bank robbery?" Frank said. "Yeah," Joe says, "I can't believe one of our own died in that warehouse explosion." Frank says "I recognized him by the badge, It was Lt. Simmins. Worst part is, he was going to be a father soon." |
| "Hard to believe it's been three months," said Joe. "You're telling me," said Frank. "Problem is, I always thought that there was something off about it." "Don't tell me; you're a conspiracy theorist, and you think that Simmins was abducted by aliens, who set the place on fire, right?" Joe asked. "No, but what if there's this shadowy company going around kidnapping people, and Simmins saw something he shouldn't have?" Frank asked. "What about the bank robber?" Joe asked. "He see something too?" "Maybe," said Frank. "It would explain why the remains we found were so messed up." "Why would aliens kidnap people?" Joe asked. "Um, specimens for an intergalactic zoo?" Frank suggested. Joe groaned. "Why did I get you for a partner?" "No one else wanted me," said Frank. "I can see why." That was when Dispatch came on the radio. "Bank Robbery in Progress. Off-Duty Officer on the scene, requesting assistance." "Perfect timing," Joe muttered. "Let's go." Meanwhile, at the bank, the masked figures moved quickly, disarming the two security guards, and tying them up. The off-duty officer was on the ground, having pressed the button on his pager, and slowly reaching for his service pistol. "Hello, Jimmy." The officer froze. "Richie!" "Move your hand away from your side." "You undercover, in some sort of deep operation?" the officer asked. "I wish. Move your hand away." "Don't tell me that the man I trusted my life with was a dirty cop!" "I wasn't then, and I'd like to say that I am not one now. Your hand." "What if I don't decide to listen to you?" "Do you still read 'The Little Engine That Could' to little James?" The figure stepped on the officer's hand. "You might have a little trouble doing so if I break your fingers." The figure removed their foot. "Think about it." James moved his hand, and tried to look at his former partner. "You do realize that PD will send everyone." "I know," Richie said, as he moved around, in front of the officer. "Of course, since everyone is going to want to know it was me, I'll give you something for the sketch artist." He squatted down, and took the ski mask off. James gasped at what he saw. "What happened to you?" The face that stared at him grinned, revealing a lot of teeth. "I still don't know all that detail myself. One moment, I'm a human, next moment, I'm part of the Canine family. It's kind of funny, isn't it." He put the ski mask back on. "Less scary, this way." "What happened?" James asked. Richie chuckled. "That, my friend, is a very good question. I'd behave if I were you; the others are likewise affected, albeit with different animals. Then there's the animals who became humanized, or something, while we became animalized. They have fewer manners. So, just stay put, and you'll be able to read to Little James." |
| Harrison Brown The Labrador Hacker kicked open the door that led to the computers he needed to hack with a piece of sweet bread in his mouth. "Child's Play?" The 18 Year Old Hacker Dog chuckled in his mind as he began the process He began to think back to the moment he was brought to the organization for learning too much about them. He remembered the sneering face of a Blonde Blue Eyed Girl with too much plastic surgery and in his mind if she wasn't an actual leader of the organization she was at least the...Spokes girl or something. "So...The scrawny nerd boy likes playing with fire eh?" She said "You're a no-good dirty dog so that's what you'll be!" Harrison chewed the bread in his mouth more aggressively and typed faster as he remembered |
| James looked at the masked figure. "Richie, what happened to you?" Richie chuckled. "One moment, I'm chasing him," he said, pointing over at a figure that was busy opening a safety deposit box. "The next, I find a bunch of guys in black outfits in the process of kidnapping a bunch of homeless people." "That sounds a little out there," said James. "I don't blame you," said Richie. "I guess they thought that we saw too much, because they decided to shoot at us. One of them got a tranquilizer gun, and then, lights out. Next thing I know, I'm in a tank, with some sort of liquid. I'm not sure what was going on, or what they were going to do to us, because they'd already done something to us. All we knew was, we had to get out. So, we did." He looked at his watch. "Three minutes!" "What are you doing?" James asked. "They took our lives from us," said Richie. "We're making them pay. We're only taking their things, not the stuff belonging to everyone else." "Why don't you hack their bank account instead of robbing a bank?" James asked. "Hacking doesn't bring as much attention as robbing the bank," said Richie. "Besides, we have that angle covered." "We're going to be after you, you know," said James. Richie chuckled. "Be sure to check on those we rob, while you are at it." |
| Harrison ran in "I got everything we needed!" He said The Three Minutes were over they began the escape |
| Joe and Frank, passed in front of the Bank seeing a strange-looking van Frank picks up the radio "Dispatch this is Unit 75, investigating a possible 459(Robbery) at the United Savings Bank downtown." the lady on the radio says "10-4, sending a back-up unit to assist." |
| James chuckled, as he heard the sirens. "Seems the cavalry is here." "Yeah - strange-looking van across from the bank is highly suspicious," said Richie. "We won't be going out that way anyways." That was when a section of floor started to mound up, and fall, as a hole appeared. A furry face with a strange star-like nose popped up. "Good timing, Sammy," said Richie, as the rest grabbed what they were after. "Give us a hand." "Right," the mole said, getting out of the hole. "This it?" "This is the physical haul," said Richie. "You should see the digital," said Harrison, as he tossed some stuff down the hole. "Three hundred and fifty million. We could hire a small army with that." "Fifty thousand for the doctors," said Richie. "As for the rest, charity." "None for us?" asked the one masked figure. "Thomas, we've been over this; we're not keeping any of that money." Richie looked at Harrison. "Make sure that it looks like it came from multiple sources." "It's all set up," said Harrison. "Good. Down the hole." The group started jumping down the hole. "Do you think that you can get away with this?" James asked, when Richie was the last one above ground. Richie looked at him. "I expect you to follow." He jumped in, just as SWAT came through the doors. He looked at Sammy. "We good?" "Escape route is all set," the mole said. "Good. Let's get this tunnel backfilled quick!" "You got it." |
| As they traveled along the tunnel, the masked figure who had previously been a criminal tripped over a stone and tore his ski mask, revealing the shaggy face of a Lowland Gorilla. "Whoa!" Exclaimed Harrison "You kay?" |
| Harrison says "I'm fine, just a little embarrassed that I tripped." Back in the bank, Joe and Frank spots James, Joe says "Jimmy, did you spot the robbers?" James says "Sorry fellas, they gave me the slip." Frank spots the tunnel "Joe, over here. Looks like they dug their way out." |
| "How many was there?" Joe asked. "At least six," said James. "They seemed to have been well trained, and prepared." He paused for a moment. "I think one of them was a cop." "Undercover?" Frank asked. "I don't know," said James. "But, he knew me." He looked down the hole, and saw that it had been backfilled. "We can't follow behind them that way." "They must have planned this in advance," said Joe. "Interesting. Reminds me of when I find out that moles had been digging in my yard." "That would be one big mole," said Frank. "Must be those alligators in the sewer make good eating." "I didn't say that this was dug by a mole," said Joe. "I said it reminded me of one." Some hours later, Richard was outside an apartment, standing in a darkened alley. He watched the woman in the window. He sighed as she walked away. "Why don't you talk to her?" Richard turned, and looked at Thomas. "And let her see me like this?" Thomas shrugged. "If she loves you, she wouldn't care." "Best she not see me like this," said Richard. "We don't want Them to find out about her." "She's pregnant, you know," said Thomas. "I noticed that much about her." "Six months," said Richard. Thomas smiled. "Something to look forward to." He looked at the window. "You could slip a letter under the window, or call from a payphone." Richard grinned. "Tempting, but I don't want her to know, at least, not until I can be sure they'd be safe." Thomas nodded. "I guess I can understand that." He looked at a watch. "Best get going. We still have to pick those doctors up." "I wouldn't bother doing this if those scientists hadn't done this to us," said Richard. "I don't like kidnapping people to get them to help us." "We can't take those three to the hospital," said Thomas. "They need someone to check up on them. No one in the group knows all that much about pregnancy, beyond needing hot water ant towels." |
| Hertz Harrison wasn't the one who tripped, it was the bank robber who had become a Gorilla Mutant who tripped Harrison was asking if he was OK Back at the lair one of the Pregnant Females was a White Rabbit with a Black Patch over her eye named simply 'Grass' she was one of the Mutants who was originally an Animal First |
| The van was towed to the impound yard for identification, but the officer on duty found one problem. Not only the van is missing the registration papers, there was no license tag. Nothing on the identity of who owned it. |
| "Seems to me that the van was stolen," the officer said, as he looked at the vin number. "Even this has been scratched off!" "You can trace it though, right?" James asked. "Possibly," the officer said, as a technician came forward with a bottle. "Watch this." The technician took a brush out of the bottle, and brushed the metal where the vin number had been. The acid at the metal, save for the area where the numbers had been made. "Now we have a possible lead." The officer looked at James. "You're the one who was inside the bank when it went down. Did you see something that a sketch artist might use?" James remembered Richard's face, and shuddered. "Nothing of any real use. I think they wore masks under the ski masks." The officer blinked. "Why would someone do something that stupid?" "Intimidation purposes," said James. "Scared me, that's for sure. Also, I think the one was a cop; he knew who I was, and that I had a son." "Fifty-fifty guess on you having a son," the officer said. "You were in the paper last week though." "Save one kid from drowning in the river, get your picture taken, and everyone knows me," muttered James. |
| Grass and the Other Pregnant Female Mutants were busy eating the last of the scraps brought to them by Richie and the other males |
| At the St. Regis Hospital, Doctor Louis Kramer, a known pediatrician, is about to go home for the night. As he makes it to his car a white van pulls up, the door slides open and two massive arms grabbed him with one holding his mouth, pulled him in the door closes and the van speeds out like a bat out of hell. |
| "Alright," said Richie, as they got away from the hospital. "Two blocks, and then we get into the real escape vehicle." Thomas chuckled. "Never thought I'd like working with someone like you. Big vans attract peoples' attention, while those PoS things don't." "A self respecting criminal wouldn't be caught in one of them," said Richie. "I hate wearing the clown wig though," said Thomas. "Again, no criminal would wear one of those things," said Richie. He then picked up the CB. "Hey Breadman, this is the Good Doctor. Did you pick us up some snacks?" "All paid for," came the reply. "Should last us through the Big Game." Thomas chuckled. "Paying for stolen food with stolen money." "It will confuse the police if nothing else," said Richie. "Hey Animal Doctor. Do you have an opening for a Pregnant Rabbit?" "We've got a problem there," said the person on the other end. "MRI showed twins." Richie's eyes widened, as he looked at Thomas. "Any other complications?" "Won't have to worry about any trauma for a while," said the other. Richie sighed as he hung up the CB. "The veterinarian went out on a date with that trauma surgeon, when our guys snagged him, and thus, we had to snag her as well." "That was the contingency plan," said Thomas. "You're still talking about abducting three people," said Richie. "I don't like doing that." "It's not like we could just go to the hospital," said Thomas. "Right," said Richie. "Now, to talk to the good doctor." Richard got into the back, and picked up a briefcase. He opened it, and showed it to the doctor. "Do what we say, and this is yours to do with as you please; spend it, save it, toss it, burn it, give it to the police, whatever you want, so long as you do what we say. Do that, and you'll be free to leave, with this money. Twenty-five thousand dollars, to do with as you please." The doctor looked at him. There was a look on his face. "Let's put it this way," said Richie. "There's some women who need your kind of help, and Healthcare won't cover them." |
| Just so we're clear Thomas is the bank robber right? When they reached the lair Harrison carried the bags of groceries he quickly put them away where the Animal Derived Mutants wouldn't find them and eat them all. Thomas sighed and looked at his face in a cracked mirror "Once I was the pretty boy in my family..." He said "...Today I'm freaking King Kong!" |
| Right. "This coming from the person who thinks that I still have a chance with my wife," said Richard. "You had a foundation of some sort, before you married her," said Thomas. "Besides, you look more like Fido than something out of the Wolfman." Richard chuckled. "I don't think she was allergic to dogs." "I never had anyone to even have the basis of a foundation of a relationship with," said Thomas. "I guess you got lucky there." "Maybe you'll meet up with a blind woman, although, from what I hear, even the blind figure things out fairly fast," said Richard. "Well, in any case, we'd best check on the doctors," said Thomas. "See if they've accepted our offer. Fifty thousand is a lot to think about, especially to help three women give birth." "Better get the masks," said Richard. "They're going to figure out that something is wrong with our faces," said Thomas. "Even with ski masks." "Less scary this way," said Richard. |
| Beside Grass the Rabbit the other two Pregnant Females were Human Females converted into Animals. One was Lily a Homeless Girl Converted to a White Tailed Doe and Mira converted into a Grey Heron, despite being crossed with a Bird, Mira kept a mammalian reproduction system Harrison winched thinking about passing a baby with a sharp beak and talons |
| The doctor came in and saw Grass and the others, "Now I see why these women wasn't covered by healthcare, look at them? They look like they're going to pop out and any moment. Now relax ladies, and I help guide you through labor with little pain as possible." He says to himself, "Is this guy one of those mad scientist, conduction human/animal crossbreeding experiments?" |
| "No, we're the guy's victims," said Richard. The doctor turned, and looked at him. "Victims?" Richard took the ski mask off. "Do you think a sane person would do this to himself?" The doctor's eyes widened. "Unlikely." He then noticed the other two people, who were being held by Thomas. He recognized the woman as a trauma surgeon, but hadn't worked with her much. "What about them?" "We weren't sure just what kind of doctor we'd need, so we also picked up a veterinarian," said Richard. "As for the woman, they were about to go out on a date when the pick-up took place. On the plus side, you never know when you need a trauma surgeon." "So, just what are were supposed to tell people?" the doctor asked. "I'm certain my abduction was caught on camera." "Simple; you got kidnapped because a gang of criminals needed a doctor for one of their own, and gave you a share of their loot after the job was done," said Richard. "Afterwards, you headed to the police, and gave them the money, where it turns out, the money came from a bank robbery from the other day. You get a nice recognition, and all that. While you're at the station, look for a James Carter, and tell him that Richie says 'I hope you read a good story to your boy.' He'll know who I am." "What do you mean?" the doctor asked. "The less you know about us, the better," said Richard. "Suffice to say, there's a dangerous group out there; keep your ears open." |
| Richard walked up to the veterinarian. "You going to help? Twenty-five thousand dollars; bound to be a reward for its safe return." "How is any of this even possible?" the veterinarian asked. "I mean, the bird looks mammalian enough to give live birth, and not just lay eggs." "I'd leave the science bullshit to the real freaks behind this," said Thomas. "You don't want to know about them too much." He then glanced at the trauma surgeon. "Especially if you don't want them to do to you what they did to us." "You going to help?" Richard asked. "I guess." The veterinarian looked at the trauma surgeon. "Just don't harm her." "We're not in that line of work," said Richard. He nodded, and Thomas let the veterinarian go. The trauma surgeon looked at them. "Why would anyone do this to you?" Richard sighed. "Me and him, we saw the group abducting some homeless. As for everyone else, no one much cared about them. Why they did this thing to us, we don't know. Extra Top Secret weapons, sex slaves, clothing industry, some perverted fantasy; we don't know." |
| "This may be difficult." Said the Vet "I don't know what would happen when a baby with a sharp beak passes through the birth canal." |
| After an hour the vet did it, helped with the childbirths with a little pain as possible, even the bird woman managed to give birth carefully. Grass' babies happen to be fraternal twins. The trauma doctor cut the unbillable cords. |
| Out of the shadows a maimed figure appeared he was another Mutant Rabbit (Possibly the Father of Grass's Children Rich didn't like to think about it) He was gray and scuzzy and had one ear and eye missing everyone called him 'Old Scuzz' and he was regarded by most everyone as the raving loony of the band driven mad by the experimentation Scuzz giggled as he looked wildly about from side to side "I have seen it!" He cackled "I've seen the God of Death! He lives at the great mountain!" "Can you do anything for him?" Rich asked the vet |
| "Seems to be that way with a number of the older animal derived mutants," said Richard. "Don't know why. I'll leave that to the real fools." "How did you escape from wherever you were held?" the trauma surgeon asked. "Police officers learn how to escape from being held prisoner by gangs and the like," said Richard. "And smart criminals make sure they always find a way out." |
| The Trauma Guy squinted looking at Rich's face "I can't tell if you're a dog or a wolf." He said "You look like a combination of the two." |
| Rich says "I'm more canine then lupine if you want to know." The vet says "What's with this Robin Hood scenario then?" |
| "They stole our lives from us," said Thomas. "Such as they were. We're making them pay!" "It's complicated," said Richard. "But, that does sum up most of it." |
| Grass the Rabbit, Lily the Doe and Mira the Heron all began to suckle their young and looked at each other with worried expressions, what would happen to their babies? |
| "So, what's going to happen now?" the pediatrician asked. "You three can leave, and take the money," said Richard. "We'll take you to an abandoned subway ramp, that you can exit out of with minimal difficulty. After that, go to the police." "Why would we go to the police?" the veterinarian asked. "It's a bad idea to spend stolen money," said Thomas. "Return it, and you'll get a ten percent Finder's Fee." "The story you say is that one of our members was injured, and we abducted the trauma surgeon, with the vet being the backup, and the pediatrician was an accident," said Richard. "Since our guy is going to pull through, we gave you some money as payment. Of course, being law-biding citizens, you turned the money over to the police, so that they can try to track us down. Get the picture." "Let me guess; by the time the police find this place, you'll be elsewhere," said the trauma surgeon. "That's the idea," said Richard. "Other than some questioning, you should be fine. Remember, you were victims, you were kidnapped, and you were forced to help us. Keep it simple." "What if they ask us to describe your faces?" "Tell them that you don't believe that your descriptions will be very reliable, as we always wore masks, even the patient," said Richard. "You should be fine." |
| Harrison Brown was looking at Old Scuzz and was beginning to feel something more the Grey Rabbit than simple madness |
| Joe and Frank, talked to one of the Doctors, "We appreciate that you returned the stolen loot," Joe said, "but how did you come across it?" |
| "We got kidnapped by this gang of thieves, who had us work on a hurt friend of theirs," the one doctor said. "Afterwards, they gave us this money, and dropped us off." "What kind of injury?" Joe asked. "The kind that takes nine months," the doctor. "Specifically, one of the members was a woman, who was in the late stages of pregnancy, and they needed a doctor real quick." The police looked at each other. "Did you get a look at them?" "They all wore masks, of some sort," the doctor said. "As for describing the kid as a way to try to locate mommy and daddy, I didn't get much of a look." "Did you get any names?" "I think the guy that did most of the talking was called Richie, or something like that," the doctor said. "He said he had a message for someone called James Carter. It was, 'I hope you read a good story to your boy,' whatever that means." |
| As James was relayed about the message he drove out, "You think you can get to my son Timmy before I do, you have another thing coming Richie. Have to get to the school and pick him up right away." |
| Kid's name is Jimmy, as in James Jr. James was outside of the school, watching for his son. On the plus side, it was about the time when the kids were going to be let out, and he could claim that he wanted to take the boy to his favorite arcade, and buy him some pizza. On the negative side, he couldn't see Richie, although with a face like that, he'd stand out anywhere. That was when his phone rang. He looked at it. The number was unfamiliar. He put it down. "Telemarketer." The ringing stopped. The ringing started again. James looked. It was the same number. He answered it. "Hello?" "Hello, James." "Richie?" "That's right." "What have you done to Jimmy?" "Nothing. The boy's leaving the building right now." James looked up. "Besides, it's not him I'm interested in; it's the two guys in the blue Taurus behind you. Look up at your rear-view mirror for a moment." James looked. "What about them?" "They've been following you for a bit. They work for the group that mutated me. They're interested in you. Pick up your boy, and have a normal day with him. Act as if nothing is wrong; they must not know that you are onto them. If they realize that, it's not just you that you'll have to worry about them taking." "I don't like having my boy in danger." "Just have a normal day of father-son bonding, and go inside the arcade, so that they have to get out of their car to follow you," said Richie. "They'll soon have other issues." "What kind of issues?" "A busted taillight for one, which will get them pulled over by the first patrol officer they see, and then they'll find fifty kilos of product, a hundred grand in hundred dollar bills, plus several automatic weapons, which they won't have permits for, in the trunk." "How can you be sure of that?" James asked. "The bank wasn't the first place we've robbed," said Richie. "See you around." He hung up. |
| Harrison awoke to find Old Scuzz had died, blood was flowing out of his mouth like the rivers of Babylon, and then something else came out of a silvery dog tag. Harrison picked it up it read 'Clan is One' |
| Joe and Frank drove up to the school, "James," Frank said, 'you went AWOL. What happened?" James said "Sorry, had to pick up my son from school. Wife's in a meeting." James whispered to Joe, "Can you run a trace on who owns that Taurus behind me? it was following me." |
| "Anything else?" Joe asked. "Got a phone number you might want to check out." James gave them the number Richie had called from. "Why do you want to know about it?" Joe asked. "It made the call that told me that I was being followed by that car," said James. "I think it was that one cop I told you about." "The one you think is either undercover or dirty?" Joe asked. "There is another alternative," said James. "The cop could be a ghost." This got Joe to laugh. "Why would a ghost rob a bank, or call from a phone?" "Good question." |
| Harrison showed the dog tag Old Scuzz had puked forth to the two Moms who were originally Humans, Lily the Doe and Mira the Heron "It says 'Clan is One' Said Harrison "Any idea what it means?" |
| "Could be a company name, or a project name, or some other name, or a code even." |
| Harrison Brown decided to take the Dog Tag to one other one Human who had been Mutated and was left kind of sickly. Morris the Naked Mole Rat |
| James drove home with his son with Joe's cruiser following. Joe says "Look behind us and see if that Taurus is following us." |
| Frank turned his head, and saw the Taurus turn to the right. "I think he's either not following, or, he's taking a break, while someone else follows." "Makes sense," said Joe. "Folks notice if someone follows them everywhere, but if four or more cars take turns, one will have forgotten what the first one looked like, by the time it appears again. Do we have the camera on?" "Yeah," said Frank. "We'll have someone check the footage for cars that keep following us, as we follow James," said Joe. "Funny enough, there's a beater car following us, about four cars back," said Frank. "Why would you say that?" Joe asked. "Because it keeps its distance, doesn't speed up too fast, or anything, as if it is trying to stay unnoticed." "Can you make out the driver?" Joe asked. "I'm lucky I noticed it in the first place, and that's only because I keep seeing it whenever I did look." |
| Harrison Brown took the Tag to Morris the Naked Mole Rat looked at it. "I vaguely remember seeing this phrase before.." Morris said |
| That was then that Frank noticed something about the other car. He pressed the Zoom on the camera, to get a better look. "Oh shit!" "What?" Joe asked. "Take a look." Joe glanced at the camera. "What the Hell? That looks like a dog!" "And you say that my theories were crazy." |
| Morris looked back into his memories to remember where he first saw 'Clan is One; "I think..." Said Morris "...Where I saw it was etched into the Lab Wall..." |
| Morris winces at the memories, "Sorry, it's just too painful to even talk about it." Harrison says "That bad, eh? Now I know where it came from, the very lab where we were experimented on." |
| Meanwhile, Richard turned off onto another road, one that ran parallel to the one he'd been on. He had a feeling that the officers had made his car, if nothing else. |
| Morris coughed as he scanned his memories, "The wall this phrase was etched on...I saw from my cage...It was at the other end of a hallway..." |
| "What's going on?" his wife asked. "A rather difficult case," said James. "I can't talk much about it." "What can you tell me?" she asked. "Keep note of any cars that follow you for long periods of time," said James. "Is this related to the bank robbery you were witness to?" "It's connected." |
| Harrison says "A bald woman eh? Wait, I remember her. Thick Russian accent, it was Dr. Dina Varennikov." Shudders just thinking about her. "A very unpleasant woman." |
| Richard showed up just then. "What's going on?" Harrison looked at him. "Scuzz died. Seems he chocked on this, or something." He handed the former cop the tag. "'Clan is One'. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked. "I'm not sure," said Harrison. "I'll see about passing it on to someone," said Richard. "I hope I can trust him." |
| "Morris here was remembering the phrase etched in a wall when we were held captive." Said Harrison |
| One of the officers from Dispatch called in to Joe, "I ran a trace on the place from that Taurus that was following James, has he upsetting a member of the Russian Mob? It belonged to Dina Varennikov." |
| "Anything else?" Joe asked. "The other car that was following you was reported stolen." |
| The three Maternal Mutants Grass, Lily and Mira were talking about whey they remembered from the Lab |
| "The only thing that I care to remember about about that place was that we had to get out," said Richard. "Stole a diamond-tipped chisel, and cut my way out of that chamber, and we got lucky with that. After that, me and Thomas took out the first two guards, and we just sneaked everyone out. We got lucky there too!" |
| "Remember the Bald Woman?" Asked Mira "Oh yes." Said Lily "She seemed to particularly dislike us Female Mutants..." |
| Joe went to his crime desk and looked up Dina Varennikov and got a hit, it shows a bald woman and his mouth dropped as it showed her records. "Genetic science, field of study: creating hybrids from animals." Frank was behind him "Ugh, talk about bad borscht." |
| "Funny enough, it was her assets that got robbed the other day, not only at the bank, but online," said Frank. "Why would she have someone follow James?" Joe asked. "James said that the bank robbers were wearing masks under the ski masks," said Frank. "What if they weren't wearing masks?" Joe looked at him. "I don't like that idea." "Let's check the camera footage." |
| Joe and Frank squinted at the footage. "Do those guys look like they have...Muzzles?" Asked Frank |
| Joe says "Yeah, I suppose it's her experiments claiming revenge on her. Let's see, we got what looks like a dog, a gorilla and what else is there?" |
| "They move fairly quick as well," said Frank. "Hey, it looks like the dog one might be talking to James." "Wish these things had sound," said Joe. "Still, we can talk to him when he comes in." |
| James came in and Joe called him over, "James, we just saw security footage of the bank robbery, one of those mutant robbers looked like it talked to you. Do you know why?" James just gulped and said, "I don't want to say this in front of the chief, but that mutant is Richard." Joe says "Richard? As in Officer Richard Franklen?" Frank says "I heard he worked undercover, but this? Oh my. He'll be facing charges for his crime." |
| "I don't think he did it willingly, in a manner of speaking," said James. "We all thought he was dead - you, me, his wife, everyone. He claims he was abducted, and turned into this." "Why wouldn't he have contacted us?" Frank asked. "Maybe he was trying to protect us," said James. "If someone could do that to him, they could do it to anyone, even ones' loved ones." |
| "I don't think he did it willingly, in a manner of speaking," said James. "We all thought he was dead - you, me, his wife, everyone. He claims he was abducted, and turned into this." "Why wouldn't he have contacted us?" Frank asked. "Maybe he was trying to protect us," said James. "If someone could do that to him, they could do it to anyone, even ones' loved ones." |
| Joe and Frank remembered reading about something on the internet they had dismissed as only as conspiracy that a bunch of the richest people in the world were part of a secret cult in an attempt to take over the world |
| Joe says "We need to stop this cult at all costs, so far they been robbed of their money, but we need to take away their freedom." |
| "What proof do you have that they did anything?" James asked. "All we know is that Richard and the group he's with robbed them. A lawyer would paint this woman and her friend as victims." He looked at the video. "On the other hand, there's nothing to prevent us from asking her to give a statement as to why someone would not only drain her electronic accounts, but her physical ones. Most thieves don't bother to do both." "Why would this woman want to tell us anything?" Frank asked. "Because we want her to think that we are her friends, and that cooperating will help us understand why these thieves targeted her specifically," said James. "Maybe she won't see us as friends, but I don't want her to think that we are enemies, especially if there is indeed any truth to the idea that she mutated one of our officers, among other people." |
| That was when James' phone started to ring. He looked at the number. "I think this is Richie." "Why would he call you?" Joe asked. "Think about it," said Frank. "Are you sure it's him?" "Different number, but it's fairly easy to get burner phones," said James. "I'll put it on speaker." He answered. "Richie? Is that you?" "You're getting better at this," came Richard's voice. "Got Frank and Joe listening," said James. "You remember them, right?" "The one's a conspiracy nut," said Richard. "He'd love this one. Cop chases a suspect into a building, where he sees a shadowy group abducting people, and both he and the suspect get knocked out and mutated. Then the two have to work together to break out of an underground lab, freeing other test subjects along the way. Sounds like a stupid made-for-TV-Movie to me, but it's really real." "Richie, does the name Dina Varennikov ring a bell?" There was a pause. "Yeah," said Richard. "The name rings a few of them." "Listen, come in, and we can work on this," said James. "We can stop her before she does this to anyone else." "All I want is my life back," said Richie. "We all do. We want to be with our families. We want to be normal again." |
| Meanwhile...Joe and Frank heard screaming coming from the place the homeless frequently parked themselves |
| Under the highway, Dina Varennikov and her goons were rounding up all the homeless, "Okay boys," she said in a heavy Russian accent, "Get our latest Guinea pigs rounded up for the experiment, it's time Richie and his friends pay for their mutiny." |
| On the other end of the phone, Richard heard the screaming. "What's going on?" James looked over at Joe and Frank. "Does someone live in that place over there?" "We find the odd vagrant every now and then," said Frank. "She's after them," said Richard. "You three keep them from getting out. Me and mine have a score to settle with them." The phone hung up. "We'd better bring everyone up to speed," said James. "The three of us can't handle an army." |
| In truth Dina herself was merely a servant for the cult, long ago sometime after the Middle Ages when the rich merchants were gaining power, the Devil came to several wealthy European Merchants (Particularly the kind who sold slaves) And tantalized with promises of wealth and power beyond wildest dreams including the promise that if they did everything he said eventually they (or a descendant) would become the new gods of life the multiverse and everything. Generations went by and no one became a God but soon the entire families were trapped by the devil they couldn't stop doing horrible things or else the Demons would drag them to hell |
| The computer technician says "I ran a full description of this Dina gal, you won't like the results." The chief says, "Give us the full details." "You see, she's part of a Russian militant cult calling themselves Novyy Zakaz, meaning New Order in Russian, speciality, creating human/animal hybrids for as super soldiers for their goals, it seems Richard didn't like this idea and fought against them. She's only a pawn to the cults true leader." "And who is their leader?" |
| "Hell if I know," said the technician. "You mean, you don't know?" the chief asked. "The information isn't there?" "More like, they worship the Devil," the technician said. "Although, I think that even your average Satanist would think them to be too extreme." "And you know something about Satanism?" the Chief asked. "Collage roommate was one," the Technician said. "Funny enough, my other roommate was an Evangelical, but the two of them always got along." |
| "Not really," said the Technician. "Especially since I was going through an Atheist Phase at the time." |
| Richard walked up to Thomas. "How many able-bodied people do we have?" "At the moment, fifty-six," the former bank robber said. "Why do you ask?" "Dina Varennikov is across the street from the police station, abducting folks staying in an abandoned building." "Damn! I want to kill that witch!" "We can capture her legally, in the act," said Richard. "Do we have enough weapons?" "Five assault rifles, five shotguns, a dozen handguns, plus a few other things," said Thomas. "Of course, there is our enhanced abilities." "Well, I might have an idea," said Richard. "If that building has a connection to the sewer, we might be able to get inside. They might expect the police to show up outside, but not us from inside." "Depends on if they have a map," said Thomas. "What about afterwards?" "We'll figure that one out later." |
| Pretty soon, almost half the police force gathered in front to the old building Dina is in, the chief gets out his bullhorn and says "Dina Varennikov! This is Chief McDougle! We have the place surrounded! Come out with your hands up!" |
| "Why didn't someone check to see where the police station is located?" Dina asked. |
| "A better question is: Why did you do it in the first place?" Dina turned, and saw Richard coming out of the basement. "How did you get here?" The canine grinned. "Sub-basement connected to the sewer, in case of flooding. Wasn't hard to reopen the path, especially when one brings a mole, and a gorilla." "Is everyone of you runaways there?" Dina asked. "Only a few," said Richard. "Always have a plan, in case things go wrong." "What are you going to do?" Dina asked. "I got twenty men, all armed. You have nothing." Richard pulled out a pistol. "Thirteen shots. All have your name on them. I also have a few magazines. If I wanted to, I would kill you right now." "Why wait?" Dina asked. "You afraid about what I will order my men to do to you?" "I'm going to arrest you for what you did to me and the others," said Richard. "At the moment, you're trying to kidnap people, the police are calling for your arrest, and when I last checked, I'm still a cop, at least, where it really counts." "They think you're dead," said Dina. "And if you make a move towards me, I'll go after that wife of yours, and your unborn child." "You're trying to tempt me," said Richard. "It won't work. There's only two ways out of this one; hands up and walking, or feet first and being carried. You choose." |
| Outside, everyone waited "No response from the suspect chief," Joe said, "Shall we go in and arrest her?" |
| Dina sneered. "You're a fool. Kill him." The cult members opened fire. Richard dived back into the basement. Thomas chuckled from beside the door to the stairs. "That went well. Could of told you that she wouldn't go down easily." Richard glared at him. "So long as the homeless people get out, and the police get in." Thomas got out a smoke grenade. "These should help clear things up a bit." |
| Meanwhile Morris started hacking more and more in the lair until finally he died, Like Old Scuzz before him blood flowed out of his mouth, and also something came out of his mouth this time sparkling black jewel |
| Chief managed to get the door open with placed door charges, There was sound of gunfire, James said "Sounds like we got assistance." Chief held out his service revolver, "Quickly let's get in there before the homeless gets caught in the crossfire." |
| "We'd better be careful," said James. "Richie's in there, somewhere!" "Well, he'd better be careful or I might just write him up for something!" the chief said. "Don't know what though." |
| Thomas says "I hear the police coming." Richard says, "I hope they bought a "S.W.A.T. team. At this point we need one with all of Dina's men." |
| "That reminds me," said Richard. "Sammy! Did you get the tunnel dug?" The mole popped out. "It's under the street right now, just behind the police." "Good," said Richard. "Break through, and tell them that one of the SWAT teams can use it to get into the place." |
| Sammy went outside and hid behind a dumpster, he saw the Police chief, Sammy says "Chief?" The Chief looked around "Yes, who's there and where are you?" "Let's just say that I'm someone who wants to remain anonyms. I wish not to reveal myself at this time." "If you're one of those mutants, I know a government scientist that can undo for what Dina has done to you." "I appreciate that but first there's a tunnel access to inside the building starting from the alleyway behind your precinct. Your SWAT Team can use it." |
| "I'm going," said James. The Chief looked at him. "Are you sure about that?" "I wasn't there for him when he needed me," said James. "I'm going to be there for him now." The Chief grinned. "I thought you'd say something like that." |
| Soon enough, James was in the basement, along with a team of SWAT officers. He found himself looking at Richie. "Nice to see you," the canine said. "Got twenty of them out there." "Sounds like they don't like you," said James. |
| Thomas says "Yeah, ever sense we escaped from her lab." (Hertz, Dina is the is the Scientist.) |
| James looked at Thomas. He then looked at Richie. "So, what's the deal with him?" Richie chuckled. "We'll figure that one out later." |
| "We take the helicopter out of here," said Dina. "Why do I have to think of everything around here?" |
| Meanwhile deep in the Lair Grass, Lily and Mira found the black jewel Morris hacked up when he died |
| Lily says "What do you think this gem is worth?" Grass says "Apparently his life." as she points to Morris corpse. |
| Richard looked at James, and smiled. "On three." James grinned. Thomas cracked his knuckles. "Three!" Richard came through the basement door, his gun ready, as did James, and Thomas. Richard looked around. Aside from the homeless people hiding, there wasn't anyone else. Then, they heard the helicopter. "They must have gone for the roof!" said Thomas. "She always did have a backup plan." "Except where our escapades were concerned," said Richard. "Another day." "I hope this doesn't mean I have to go to prison now?" Thomas asked. "I'll put a word in for good behavior," said Richard. "Hopefully my credibility is still good enough for that." "That might get tricky," said James. "You did rob a bank after all." "I think we might be able to argue extenuating circumstances," said Richard. |
| Outside, the chief heard the Helicoptor and look on the roof and saw Dina board it, "Men! Quickly! On the roof!, don't let that chopper take off!" |
| "The Chief is going to want us to get her before she gets away," said James. "She'd better move fast then," said Richie. "Let's go!" |
| James' patrol car kept up with Dina's chopper, barring gunfire from her goons. Up until she landed on top of the... |
| Russian Embassy's roof. "Well, that's a pain in the ass," said James. Richie grinned. "Maybe not. She might be a Russian national, but I doubt that she has diplomatic immunity. Besides, we could paint her as a traitor who was going to sell certain secrets for money." "What kind of secrets?" James asked. "The kind one uses to create super soldiers," said Richie. "If nothing else, make her out as some kind of nut who kidnaps and experiments on innocent people. Granted, the U.S. might not be able to try her, but the Russians can, that is, if they don't give her to us, especially if they don't want to create a big political stink." |
| "Are you sure they'd give her up?" James asked. Richie grinned. "Unless they want to look like they approve of kidnapping, they probably will." |
| If you want a campfire that involves, playing practical jokes of all kinds, I got a good idea in time for April 1st. A gopher hybrid is suddenly attracted to the black glowing jewel. |
| Richie looked at the Russian embassy. "State Department can get involved in this now; 'Flying in a No-Fly Zone' thing would be something they can deal with. Let me know if anything happens." "What are you going to do now?" James asked. "Got the others to watch," said Richie. "Need to check up on a few of them." |
| "Might want to let me come with you," said James. "I don't fancy losing you again." "Suit yourself," said Richie. "Hope you can handle the sewers." |
| Unfortunate to the police, they cannot get into the Russian Embasy without creating an international incident. For as long as she is in there, she's under Diplomatic Immunity. |
| James was on the phone. "Seriously? Diplomatic Immunity? She kidnapped a police officer, and fired on several more, and you can't do a thing?!" He hung up. "Just great!" "She must be the Ambassador's Wife or something," said Thomas. "Of course, Diplomatic Immunity is just a courtesy. Then again, I do know how to get into the Embassy." "Planning to do a job there?" Richie asked, as the three continued through the sewers. "The Embassy does house some rather valuable paintings," said Thomas. "Not my specialty, but I know a guy, or two, who deal in such things. Same with other valuables, for you never know what will net you a payday." "Hypothetically, could you get in?" Richie asked. "Hypothetically, with the right crew, it is possible," said Thomas. "I'm not hearing this," said James. "This could result in your arrest, and you not even getting your badge back." "We're already going to get arrested," said Thomas. "Well, some of us anyways. Can't get much worse." |
| Inside the Embassy, Dina was prepared for such a visit so she reports to the guards to have Richie and his mutants to be shot on sight. |
| "Shot on sight, for trespassing upon Russian soil?" the ambassador asked, after summoning her to his office. "Such an action would result in you being arrested for murder, by Russian Law. If they do come in, we will simply detain them, and then turn them over to American Authorities." "What gives you the right to tell me what to do?" Dina asked. "The fact that I was chosen to represent our country in this land," the Ambassador said. "I can buy off the Americans with the story that you believe that you'd be unfairly tried by them, but, if you engage in murder, you will be declared Persona Non Grata. You would have to go back to Russia, if you were lucky, or, alternatively, we might just toss you to the Americans, and let them deal with you. There are bigger things going on here than your experiments. Politics for one, such as us assisting one side or another in certain conflicts in various minor countries, who might be opposed, or even assisted, by those backed by the US. So, tread carefully. Also, don't go behind my back; the embassy guards have their own orders, and they don't take any from you. If you think about killing me, for instance, there won't be a trial, for they would kill you for treason. Some even now wonder why we don't just hand you over, and spare ourselves the whole political nightmare. So, think carefully." |
| "We'll deal with the Embassy later," said Richie. "We need to see what's been going on with the others." |
| Staten himself was kind worried, for the longest time people at large had stopped believing in him except for the people he had bound to serve him |
| Richard and the rest got back to the hideout. "Find out anything?" he asked Harrison. Harrison looked at them. "Morris died, much like Scuzz. Only, he hacked up a black jewel of some sort." Richard looked at Thomas. "Know anything about jewels?" Thomas shook his head. "Not my area of expertise." |
| Everyone looked at the jewel "Not many as black as coal but still sparkle like Diamonds." Harrison said |
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