Melinda sniffed. She looked around and saw one of the recruits fighting with Lieutenant Gatti.
The recruit was a woman with pale-orange colored scales. She was obviously from the sea, having a lean swimmer's build and orange-golden hair which shifted to blue mid-way, but was at least a head shorter than Gatti. Goldy snarled, showing her sharp teeth, and sent a right hook up at Gatti's head, but missed.
Gatti shifted to the side and kicked at Goldy's shin, staggering her, then rotated and swept kicked her from behind, sending her to the floor. To Goldy's credit, she rolled away, dodging a swipe of Gatti's claws, and got back to her feet. But now, she leaned more to her right and limped. Melinda glared and bared her teeth.
“Is that Felina? Fighting that recruit?” asked Chloe.
Melinda responded with a deep, primal growl, fueled by her ferocity.
“What are you going to do?” asked Chloe.
“First, I'm gonna rescue Goldy there,” said Melinda. “She's way out of her league. Second, I'm gonna kick some sense back into Felina.”
“You know we have to arrest her, right?”
Melinda did not hesitate and nodded. “Yeah.”
"Be careful."
“You too.”
Melinda ran off towards them and took in the scents in front. She picked up notes of blood mixed with a fishy scent from Goldy and only sweat from Gatti. Not good. No point in a stalking approach here.
Goldy took a couple steps back, anchored her feet, and took a long, deep breath. Gatti lunged forward and kneed her in the gut, making what was supposed to be a strong scream into a wavering wheeze. She got in close, pulled her in and launched knee after knee into Goldy's body. After the fifth hit to her torso, Goldy's legs wobbled. She might look strong, but the recruit didn't have the fortitude of a seasoned lieutenant.
Melinda leaped and landed in front of her.
"Rrrrrrrr…" the two growled and hissed at each other.
Goldy remained on her feet with gritted teeth and a hand across her stomach.
"I was about to end it," she said.
Melinda glared. "You mean you were gonna run and get some help."
Goldy fell to her knees, doubled over with hands on the ground.
“Or, just stay down and rest,” said Melinda, then she turned toward Gatti. “Hey Felina, remember me?”
Gatti panted. “You survived Thomas. Why am I not surprised?”
“His name is not Thomas. He's some villain or mercenary guy who does sketchy odd jobs. I'll give him credit for his con work though. As for you, don't ya have better things to do than to bully recruits?”
“I'm doing my duty.”
“No, you're not. If that were true, we'd both be taking down Wats right now.”
Gatti didn't respond, but kept breathing heavily. For someone who just delivered a beat down, she looked worse for wear, mostly by the disheveled demeanour and her red eyes.
"I thought you changed for the better when you started working in security,” said Melinda. “The master took ya for someone who was destined for great things. Even after you disrespected him when you left the dojo, he still believed you would do good in the end and you did, until now."
Felina frowned, and her shoulders slumped. “My dream of becoming the new leader of the Panthera Style was lost, but I was well on my way to the next one: to lead my own team in the security field and develop my own fighting style. Ebony ruined everything.”
“Doesn't change the fact that you made the wrong choices. Congratulations Felina, you got what you wanted and hurt a lot of people along the way. The cost of that is standing right in front of you, Ms. Dealbreaker, raring to kick your ass!”
Shoulders tightened, and tails whipped across the ground. Both Melinda and Gatti stood tall in their stances. Felina's breathing calmed and her movements flowed smoother as she shifted from side to side.
Wasn't she ready to pack it in a minute ago?
They both got into a stance and raised their arms, circling each other. The moment felt nostalgic for Melinda, remembering their first match in the fighting ring. That was the beginning of a long friendship that extended to this day and kept them training with each other. Even though their work and lives went in different directions, their fighter's bond kept them competing against each other as they reached greater heights in their skill. As for the here and now, things had come full circle. This could be their last fight together, as they both had a job to do.
As Melinda took a sniff, she picked up that fishy note from Goldy. She didn't leave at all, did she? What a stubborn girl. Kind of reminded her of herself when she was her age.
Melinda took a glance to check up on how Goldy was doing, then something smacked her left arm. It felt like someone had shot lava into it and burned deep in her bones. She hissed and staggered to the side, and Gatti charged at her. Melinda roared and slashed her right claws across in front. Gatti dodged to the side, eyes widened in surprise. Melinda glanced down at her open hand, claws drawn, then sheathed them, forming a fist instead. That was the only apologetic gesture Gatti would get for her instinct leaking through, aside from being rewarded for catching her distracted. Had Melinda been just half a foot shorter, it would have been a fight-ending kick to the head.
Gatti snarled and roared back, taking the offensive once again and charging at Melinda. They got into a clench, both Pumans pressed against each other with their paws firmly on the ground. Melinda pushed off and jumped back. She reset her stance and raised her arms up, still wincing from the sting on her left arm. She took two steps forward, tail still, closing in on her opponent. As she took a third step, she sent a jab which connected with Gatti's face.
Gatti threw her own counter punch, then followed up with a one-two combo, both connecting in the chest. She went for an uppercut. Melinda leaned back, dodging it and swung her left leg into Gatti's torso. It hit with a loud snap against her body. Gatti winced and bared her teeth, guard down. Melinda threw a straight punch at her face and connected with her cheek. Gatti stumbled back with wide eyes that grew redder. Her claws unsheathed for a moment before retracting.
Melinda pounced on Gatti with her near seven-foot, six-hundred-pound body. She pushed forward with her legs to take her opponent down and for a moment; she drove Gatti back step-by-step. Melinda grunted and pushed harder. This was it. If she could get her to the ground, it would only be a matter of time before locking in a rear-naked choke and putting this all to bed. The pushing momentum slowed with Gatti pushing against the advance. Both combatants dug in their heels until the forward motion slowed to a halt. It felt like Melinda was pushing against a solid wall now. Gatti roared and shoved her back with such force, it sent Melinda tumbling onto the ground.
Melinda's eyes widened and her ears rose to attention at Gatti's sudden increase in strength. She got up to her paws and braced herself just in time as Gatti reached and clenched with her again. This time, it was her rival who pushed her back and Melinda who struggled to keep her stance stable. The momentum shifted, and Melinda's paws slipped. Gatti's hand gripped her hip, and the other grabbed one of her legs, then pulled up and back. Melinda's feet left the ground and her vision rotated along with the rest of her as the striped Puman lifted her. Melinda moved and jerked hard. The pressure on her shin and the side of her hip grew to overbearing. Her heart raced and in a last-ditch effort, she jerked herself to the side just enough to put Gatti off balance, making them both fall to the ground. After slamming onto her side, Melinda rolled away. It took her a couple seconds to get back to her feet with more intense stinging sensations on her left shoulder and leg. When she looked up, her gaze met with Gatti's now bloodshot eyes.
"What are you doing here, Master Cheetro?" growled Gatti.
Melinda looked around and then back at Gatti with disbelief. "The master is here?"
“Stay out of this, it's between me and... where did she go? Where's Melinda?”
“I'm right here, Felina.”
"Stop with the illusions and the li
es, Cheetro." Gatti pointed at Melinda. "If you're judging me, then judge me as I am now, not as how I was."
"Felina, I'm not the master. He's not here. He passed on years ago."
"Why won't you acknowledge me?" she roared, gripping her head “Grrowl... my head.”
It was nonsense. What was happening to Gatti? She’d never been this strong, let alone able to lift Melinda like that with no leverage. Was she witnessing a breakthrough? A soon to be High-Powered Puman? Melinda gently walked backwards the way she came and kept her eyes on Gatti. If Melinda was dealing with a potential breakthrough, it was going to be a helluva lot harder to get out of this fight on her own. Gatti followed her with a confused expression on her face and looked around, then back on Melinda again.
"What's wrong? Why are you backing away, Cheetro?" Gatti stomped the ground and left a deep paw print.
"Use your senses, Felina and you'll find the truth."
Felina took a whiff of air. Then smelled a couple more times, and she shook her head.
“Melinda? No, it can't—how did you—you can't be her.”
“It is me, Felina. I'm Melinda, not Master Cheetro.”
"Grrrrowll… stop lying to me," cried Felina, gripping her head. With eyes squinted, she charged at Melinda.
Melinda quickened her backward pace and followed the notes of Goldy's scent, weaving left and right.
"Goldy, if y'all can hear me, I need that scream of yours right about now," she shouted.
"Get down and cover your ears," said Goldy.
Melinda crouched and covered them as best she could. Then a high-pitched scream blasted over her head and hit Gatti. Gatti staggered back and swerved from side to side, dazed.
Melinda charged full steam, right fist back, arm tensed and hammered Gatti with a right hook under her chin. Gatti stood still, her bloodshot eyes connected with Melinda's and snarled, teeth clenched with fiery rage. She balled up her fist and pulled back, but her eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground, unconscious.
Melinda panted hard and hissed. She turned her back on her rival and looked back twice just to make sure she stayed down, then collapsed, rolling in pain.
A couple of hands held her steady, and coolness filled her right arm, numbing the pain. Once the pain calmed, warmth then replaced it. Melinda looked up to see Goldy holding it with glowing hands.
"You heal too?” groaned Melinda.
“I'm not really good at it,” replied Goldy. “It's just something I picked up in first-aid class.”
“Dang, I owe ya one, Goldy."
"My name is Oriana, not Goldy," she said. “Thanks for saving me.”
"The feeling is mutual. Most street fights don't give a lot of time for formal intros. I'm Ms. Dealbreaker."
"What kind of name is that?"
"It's my hero name. Weren't you paying attention to the Market Maidens' introduction earlier?"
"You're actually a superhero?"
“Yup.”
“You don't look like you have powers.”
“I'm good enough.” Melinda sat up. “Are you able to move faster?”
“I've recovered a bit.”
“I need you to go get a couple security people here with high-level power restraints.”
“What about you? What if she wakes up?”
Melinda sniffed and glanced around the area, seeing more security officers helping the hostages evacuate the building.
“Someone's gotta stay behind and keep her entertained, if she does. You won't need to go far. I can see a few just over there. They'll have communicators. Just tell ‘em Melinda Calanke sent you. They'll know who I am.”
Oriana nodded and ran.
Melinda held her right arm. She was in no shape to do much and would only risk making her injuries worse if she tried. She rotated and faced the other way to try to see her partner in heroism. It’d remained oddly calm during her fight with Gatti and from the crowds of people evacuating the surrounding buildings; it meant only one thing.
Chloe's fight was going to be a big one.
Chapter 10
Chloe’s fight with Wats had taken them farther down the street. So when they stopped, it was a welcome opportunity to get her bearings. She pressed her feet into the ground and channeled her energy to activate vibration. With her eyes open, her vibration vision enhanced and added sharp lines to objects and areas. She glanced farther ahead, towards the movement of people a block south, then to her right towards Building 770, just making out security leading another group of hostages away from the building. On her left, other groups of people ran away from the area with other security people.
They still needed more time.
Chloe spotted an outdoor sports field, which looked like the perfect place to take the fight. But it was a web of cracks and unstable surfaces, with a crater in the center sprinkled with massive pieces of rubble.
“Was that where you trapped Bridget?” asked Chloe.
Wats still had his arms up and breathed heavily. He wiped his brow with a forearm.
“It was the only place where we could do it,” he said. “You're not familiar with this campus, are you? The field is hard to miss.”
“It's my first day at GVU,” said Chloe.
“Welcome.”
Chloe glared. “Thanks, I think. I almost forgot that I was fighting you.”
“You're the one that's stalling to get people out of the area. It's what I would do if I were in your shoes, not literally, since you're a couple stories tall.” Wats let his arms fall. “I get the sense you're a strategist?”
“Director of Macmor Products, I used to do Project Management at Puracorp.”
“Puracorp? How ironic.”
Chloe kept to the topic at hand. “Melinda is the Director of Macmor Sales. Building 770 was supposed to be our new headquarters until you came in.”
Wats nodded. “Right. I guess that's bad luck on my end. But I think I made my point. The money would have been nice. But Ebony already did the work I needed her to do.”
“Which was?”
“It's pretty obvious.” Wats gestured towards the destroyed field. “We needed to expose the inequities in this company because others would have been victims of this in the future,” said Wats. “People like Ebony get treated favorably and management are willing to overlook the things they do whenever convenient.”
“I get that. But, what made you do this?” said Chloe.
“A few months ago, my team was on Planet Davos. We were assigned to do tactical observation in the sky during a diplomatic conference. Through some coincidence, Ebony was there too, and just happened to be in the area when the situation became difficult. Just after I made the order for my team to retreat to a safer area, she went in. I ordered her to stay away, but she ignored me. You know how difficult Nyxazons are when they disagree.”
Chloe frowned, knowing some truth in that.
“A moment later, we received word that the security forces were attacked and multiple distress signals were sent out. I tried to contact them to diffuse the situation, but it was too late. Ebony had already neutralized all of them. Multiple governments sent threats of retaliation to the USSA and GVU. It was the most embarrassing moment of my career and destroyed my team's reputation.”
“I'm sorry,” said Chloe, bowing her head.
“What are you sorry about?” said Wats. “You weren't even there. There was some evidence of a plot by rogue security officers, but it didn't matter. After an investigation, they decided to find fault with my command, making up a story that our failure to set up a perimeter allowed Ebony inside, which led to the incident. I got court martialed while they issued interplanetary-level reprimands to my team.”
Chloe nodded. “I did hear what happened with the negotiations, on the phone line with Fiametta. That was so cruel.”
Wats grinned. “So, you see what you signed up for? Who would want to work in an environment like this?”
Chloe's lip curled up as familiar waves of nervousness
washed over her. Was this going to be Puracorp all over again, the era of turning a blind eye towards the trouble and practices they did?
“I think what's best for us is to quit right now and go our separate ways,” said Wats. “I'm satisfied with what was done: To show just how biased Green Ventures Unlimited is towards high-powereds.”
Chloe shook her head. “You're asking me to do the exact same thing I did at my last job. Can I really ignore the kidnappings and all of this?”
Chloe spread her arms out, and showed Wats the damage their skirmish caused which were holes in the ground, craters and broken roads, admittedly a far cry from the train-shaking shockwaves she experienced this morning.
“The moment you decided to use people's lives to fulfill your purpose was when you decided to be a criminal,” said Chloe.
“In my defense, asking for only thirty million for over a hundred hostages was cheap. The amount of organic antimatter in Ebony's hand alone would sell for that much. There were more ways for me to profit, but I chose to stick with focusing on people.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes. “Which people, Wats? The ones you cared to protect, or the ones you were supposed to protect?”
Wats opened his mouth and kept silent. He looked down.
Chloe walked up closer to Wats. “There were better ways, but you didn't try to trust in that. Because of you, I had to choose between walking away and staying safe, or becoming this again.” Chloe gestured at herself this time. An energy sensitive, big, chubby, strong, and smart Silvan woman who stepped back into the role of a protector. “I made my decision and I'm okay with it.” Chloe raised her foot and stomped. The force knocked Wats off his feet to the ground. Chloe bent over him. “I'm just worried that if you don't surrender now, I'll cause more hurt to you than necessary. So, where does that leave you?”
Wats got back to his feet and barked a laugh, then looked up at Chloe as his hand went behind and under his belt. “It leaves me with nothing left to lose.”
A quick flick of his wrist shot several balls up at Chloe and they popped in her face, sending bright flashes in front of her eyes. Black blotches impaired her vision, and she wiped her eyes in vain to clear them. Then something impacted the back of her right leg, sweeping her backwards and sending her up and falling down on the ground. She rubbed the back of her head and pulled her feet back and pressed down, sending vibrations through the ground. Though her vision was impaired, she could still make out the rapid footsteps of Wats heading back in the direction of Building 770. Chloe got back up and gave chase, her longer strides and impacts on the ground helped her keep track of Wats. She spotted a parked vehicle, grabbed and lobbed it. It slammed in front of him, and he stopped and jumped in the air. The momentary pause allowed Chloe to catch up and swatted at him with her left arm. The hit shot Wats through the entrance into the ground floor of Building 845: The Research and Development Building.
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