by L. Fergus
Kat grinned. “You’re really cute when you blush.”
“Get in the damn shower,” said Rabbit.
Kat laughed and entered the coffin-like space. The water hit her from three directions, causing her to flail momentarily. Once she understood how it worked, she touched the dispenser labeled Soap. She wiped it across her and washed it off. She hit the shampoo and dabbed it into her short hair.
“All done!” she yelled as she turned around to find Rabbit waiting on her.
“Neptune’s rings. Tina said you were helpless, not incompetent. You need to rub the soap everywhere and the shampoo through your hair.”
“You could come in and show me,” Kat said playfully.
“Keep dreaming, dingdong.”
Kat did as Rabbit instructed. The water stopped when she stepped out. Rabbit tossed her a towel.
“Do I need to tell you how to use that?”
“I think I can figure it out. You didn’t like the show?” Kat said drying off.
“What show?”
“You didn’t stop looking at me.”
“That’s because I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss any spots. You didn’t see how black the water was going down the drain. You’re going to have clogged the water purifier.”
Kat looked down at her skin and all the scars. She frowned and wrapped the towel around her.
“Hey, wait,” Rabbit said gently. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Nothing,” Kat said firmly.
“Those scars aren’t nothing. Where did you get them?”
“It doesn’t matter. Give me my armor, and I’ll go put it on.”
“A minute ago you were giving me one of the worst peep shows ever, and now you’re shy?”
Kat stormed passed Rabbit.
“Hey, come back. I’m just curious.”
“No, you’re not. You’re going to do exactly what you were doing, staring at me. I am not a freak,” Kat yelled.
“I’m not saying you are. It’s just an impressive resume,” Rabbit said defensively.
“Leave me alone,” Kat said, tears welling up in her eyes. She turned the corner, where her armor and weapons sat neatly on a table. With a swipe of her arm, she sent it all flying across the room and stormed out of the shower room.
“Kat, wait,” Rabbit yelled. “You’re not ugly, you’re beautiful.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Kat wailed. “I know what I am.”
Rabbit ran to catch up with her. She stumbled over a body, crashing into Kat, and knocking her towel off. A groan came from the guard Rabbit had tripped over.
“What the…?” he muttered as he looked up to see Kat standing over him naked.
“Corporal Grimm,” Rabbit said quickly.
“Jess…?” Grimm replied looking around confused. He looked to his left to see Rabbit standing over him.
“Sorry,” Rabbit told him. She kicked him in the face, and he went unconscious again. “Kat, come on. We’ve got to get going before more of them wake up.”
“I don’t want to go,” Kat said, turning around.
Rabbit looked at the scars on Kat’s back. “Neptune’s rings. What have you been through? Most of these would be lethal.”
“I don’t know,” Kat said tearfully.
“We’ll find out. That’s what we’re setting out to do, right?”
“Yes,” Kat whispered.
Rabbit reached up and touched Kat’s shoulder. “Listen, I know you think they make you look ugly, but they don’t. You should be proud of them. You don’t get that many without having done some impressive stuff. That you’re alive to tell the tale means you’re brave, skilled, and tenacious. I really wish you could tell me how you got them. I don’t have any good scar stories or any stories, really. I’m just a young commander. My best story is: At the academy, I tripped in the dorm, landed at the end of a bunk, and broke a rib. That’s all I got…and I now have getting my ass kicked by you.”
Kat laughed lightly and smiled shyly.
“Come on,” Rabbit said, holding out her hand. “Let’s go get you suited up.”
Rabbit stopped at a room marked SUPPLY. “Wait here.” She disappeared inside and came out with a package. She tore it open and shook out a bodysuit. She changed the color from white to black. “That’ll look great under your armor.”
Kat took Rabbit’s hand and followed her back to the shower room. With Rabbit’s help, she put on the armor and bodysuit.
“This is really interesting,” Rabbit commented, holding up the fitted leather back piece to show two sets of laces. They went down from the middle of the shoulders to above the shoulder blades. Two, two-inch holes sat between the shoulder blades and spine.
“Is it for weapons?” Kat said, confused.
“I don’t think so. There are straps and loops for a weapons harness here and here.” Rabbit pointed them out along both sides of the spine. “It’s almost like they were meant for,” she paused, “don’t laugh…”
“Ok,” Kat shrugged.
“I think they’re meant for wings.”
“Wings? I don’t have wings,” Kat said quickly. “I’m cursed, but I’m not a mutant.”
“Tina had wings, pretty white ones that glittered. I bet you’ll have gorgeous white ones, too.”
“No. I’m not a mutant.”
Rabbit sighed. “There are no such things as mutants or curses. That’s a mental game meant to cause people to lose faith in themselves and let others gain control over you. No one has control over you, right?”
“Not anymore…?” Kat answered, unsure of herself.
Rabbit put the armor down and stood in front of Kat. “Look at me,” she said.
Kat looked at her slowly. She had trouble keeping eye contact. Rabbit reached up, took Kat’s chin in her hand, and locked eyes with her.
“You need to be a leader. If a leader does not have faith in herself, the fight is lost before it begins. The enemies out there don’t doubt themselves or their leaders. You can’t doubt yourself. You’re not cursed. You’re not a mutant. You’re not stupid. You’re bold, fearless, and cunning. I’ve seen it for years. Everything revolves around you. Trust yourself—believe in yourself. You’re the greatest there’s ever been. It’s time to reclaim what’s yours. The only thing you have to fear is yourself. Are you with me?”
Kat nodded slowly.
“Are you with me?” Rabbit said louder.
“Yes,” Kat said quietly.
“Are you with me?” Rabbit yelled up at Kat. “Let me hear it.”
“Yes,” Kat said firmly.
“Louder. Make me believe it.”
“Yes!” Kat barked.
“What? Louder. Get angry.”
“Yes!” Kat yelled.
“Not good enough.”
“Yes!” Kat roared.
“You’ll never get us out of here, and you’ll remain some stupid, cursed, slumling forever because you’re too pathetic and stupid to learn how to help yourself,” Rabbit yelled.
“I am not stupid,” Kat snarled.
“You’re not? Then why are you letting some psychological cage General Lyakhova put you in, keep you in, when I just gave you the key?”
“I’m not…” Kat’s yell died away. “…I’m not stupid.”
“Everything around you tells you something,” Rabbit explained gently, “even these two holes in your armor. I’d bet Neptune’s rings that you had wings at some point.”
Kat frowned and nodded.
Rabbit held up the armor top. “Put it on. It’s silk-lined. I’ve never heard of armor made to be comfortable.”
Kat shrugged.
“I’ll put you in space armor, and you’ll know hot and uncomfortable,” Rabbit threatened playfully. She jammed the top over Kat’s head and pulled her arms through. After lacing up the sides, she turned Kat around to lace up her back. “Hey, you know these two large bumps back here…”
“Oh!” Kat cried, as she turned around embarrassed. “They’re not
hing. I promise.”
“Like I said, you probably have wings just like your sister. They fit in the holes in the armor. I wonder what happened to yours.”
“I cut them off,” said Kat in a whisper.
“Neptune’s rings, that must hurt. Why would you do that?” Rabbit exclaimed.
“I’m,” Kat made an unhappy sound, “I thought I was cursed. I didn’t want to be branded as cursed.”
“Brilliant bit of social engineering on the General’s part,” said Rabbit as she finished lacing Kat up. “Alright, strap on those pads, and we can get moving.”
“What about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you have armor and a weapon?”
Rabbit frowned. “Standing orders are to take you alive at all costs, so they’ll be using nonlethal weapons. I guess I can take one of the smaller assault rifles. They’re easy to conceal and can kill a guard with a single round.”
“You’d kill your own side?” Kat said naïvely.
“The moment I chose to help you, they stopped being my side. Galina won’t kill you, but she will kill me. I wish I could take my BEAR suit.”
“Is that the bear on your bed?”
Rabbit laughed. “No, that’s Brownie. BEAR stands for Biometric Enhancement Armor. Only commanders and the fast reaction containment team have them. But, they require a heartbeat from Command. Otherwise, they lock up.”
“A heartbeat?” Kat said curiously.
“A signal that asks how the suit is doing and sends telemetric data back, so Command can monitor us.”
“Doesn’t the suit have a combat override in case the suit is damaged and can’t receive the signal?” said Kat. Where did that bit of knowledge come from?
“Not from me,” said Kita.
“I…I would think so. We’ll take it to the armory and have a look.” Rabbit picked up the BEAR case and a rifle.
“You want me to carry it?” Kat asked about the case. It was nearly as big as Rabbit.
“I got it,” Rabbit huffed angrily.
“Ok, then,” Kat said cautiously.
“Sorry. I have a thing about carrying my own weight. I was often accused of favoritism.”
“Just because you’re tiny?”
“No. It’s because I was considered a prodigy by Command and they fast tracked me. I finished Academy a year ahead of my class. Only a handful of people have finished faster. I’ve been given the top assignments and best training since.”
“This is a top assignment?”
“Very. Guarding a blacker than black asset is considered an honor. All the guards you took down have ten times the experience I do. All of them can kill you in a bunch of different ways.”
“You could have fooled me. They were sloppy upstairs. It’s how I got in so easy.”
Rabbit grunted. “The city guard isn’t my problem. How’d you get through the door and hatch?”
Kat gave her the details on the open hatches.
“Morons, but clever on your part. Your profile says you’re the devious sort. Well, not my problem anymore,” Rabbit shrugged as she opened the door to the armory.
Rabbit opened the security door to the back half of the armory. A set of benches, with parts of rifles, lined the walls. She put the case and rifle down and swept aside the parts, then opened the case to reveal five pieces of armor.
“That’s it?” Kat asked. A big case for five, thin pieces.
“The case is lined with enough explosives to bury this place if it’s opened by the wrong person.”
“Paranoid much?”
“You have no idea.”
“So, how does it work?”
Rabbit picked up a piece meant for her shoulder. “There’s a thin biometric suit you wear so you can interact with the armor. Then, you put on the pieces, and they extend to create an entire suit, helmet, and maser cannon.”
“All that from these?” Kat said as she went to pick up a round disk. When she touched it, a black tendril of fog rose and entered her nose, and she rose from the floor.
A giant, muscular man, with white eyes and flowing hair, appeared in her mind. He changed into a white bear. The bear stood up on its back feet, reaching nearly thirty feet tall. It let out a long, powerful roar. It returned to all fours and walked toward a crate.
A tiny shadowy silhouette leaned against it. It looked like a girl with wings. She was too small to be Tina.
“One of our most awesome star-powered inventions ever,” the tiny Angel said. “Here, you might need this.” She opened her hand, and a black ribbon flowed into Kita’s forehead. She disappeared.
The crate opened, revealing a metal ring. The bear stepped into it. The ring clamped down on the bear’s middle and extended. Bands of metal covered the bear from head to toe. A helmet formed around its head. On its back and flanks Gatling guns, missile packs, and mortar pods appeared. The bear turned and said, “Kita, friend of Frostbane.”
“Frostbane,” Kat cried as she fell to the floor.
“Are you all right?” Rabbit asked, trying to help Kita to her feet. “What is a frost bane?”
“Frostbane is the name of a shapeshifter friend of mine. He turned into a great white bear and wore armor similar to yours. I…I think the inventor was there, and she gave me everything she knew about the armor.” Kita paused. “Frostbane, my old friend. What happened to you?”
“I’ll take any help I can get,” said Rabbit, ignoring Kat’s question. “My suit didn’t come with an instruction book or schematic.”
Kat ignored her. He was loyal to me through everything. And I don’t know what happened to him. How can I not know what happened to my friend?
“Hey, focus. He’s most certainly dead. We’re not and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Kat remained quiet. I will miss him. True friends are hard to find. They can’t be bought or coerced. But, Tina forced Jess to help me. How much can I trust her? She’s not my friend.
“Come on,” Rabbit said, grabbing Kat’s arm. She shook Kat hard to break her trance. Kat refused to budge. “I’m here to help you, but I can’t unless you help yourself.”
“I don’t want your help,” Kat said forcefully. She shook off Rabbit’s hand.
“You’ve got it if you like it or not.”
“Not like this,” Kat said firmly. “I’d rather go it alone than get stabbed in the back.”
“I’m not going to stab you in the back. I thought we went over this with Tina.” Rabbit let out an annoyed sigh. “Come on, before my guards start waking up.”
“I was taught you can’t buy or force loyalty, and you must be loyal to your friends and to those sworn to you.”
“I got my arm twisted hard to help you, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to swear some allegiance to you. I don’t care who you are,” Rabbit said firmly.
“I don’t want you to swear allegiance to me,” Kat snapped.
“Then what do you want?” Rabbit huffed.
“I want you to be my friend,” Kat demanded. She turned around quickly and shook her head, mad at herself. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”
Kat waited for Rabbit to say something. “Jessica?” When Kat didn’t get an answer, she turned around and found Rabbit crying silently. “Jessica, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out that way.”
Rabbit shook her head and tried to rush out of the room, but Kat caught her.
“Whoa, what’s wrong?” Kat said gently.
“It’s stupid. Go away,” Rabbit whispered.
“Nothing is stupid. You’ve listened to me all night without saying anything but positive things. It’s my turn. What’s wrong?”
“Nobody has ever wanted to be my friend before.” Rabbit whispered. “No one talks to me off duty. At the Academy, they kept me separate from the other cadets. At my previous assignments, I tried to talk to people, but they didn’t want anything to do with me. Nobody likes the special girl, and they all resent me for it. I’ve tried and tried, but…they all h
ate me for being me.”
“Obviously, you’re just hanging around with the wrong people,” Kat said reassuringly. “I know how you feel. I was a duke’s daughter, and it’s a lonely existence, especially for someone like me. My father wanted nothing to do with me. I was treated like a doll by my mother and the staff. No one cared what I wanted. Later, when I hit puberty, and expressed no interest in boys, everyone shunned me, and if I hadn’t been the duke’s daughter, I would have been forced to leave. It was only when I met my adoptive parents Glen and Barb and joined the Shadow Guild that I found true friends.”
“Your life is so interesting. Almost like a fairy tale.” Rabbit sighed.
Kat sighed back. “A Grimm fairy tale, maybe.”
“Would you prefer life chained to a system?”
“Let’s not argue over whose childhood sucked more.”
“At least you found friends,” said Rabbit, depressed.
“You just need an opportunity to look someplace else. That’s what I did.”
Rabbit groaned. “I don’t have anywhere.”
“You’ve got me. I’m somebody.”
“You really want to be my friend?”
“Hey, I’m awesome. I’m my own best friend,” Kat replied proudly.
“I swear you’re bipolar or something,” Rabbit said under her breath.
“And of course, I want to be your friend. Stick with me, and we’ll go places.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“You know what?” Kat said, cocking her head to one side.
“What?”
“Chicken butt. Quit worrying about planning our first slumber party and let’s go fix this armor of yours.” Kat walked back into the armory, and Rabbit hurried after her.
“Ok. We need to find the communications module,” Rabbit said, coming up behind Kat, who stood over the armor pieces.
“I don’t suppose you’ve got an automated repair and construction machine around here?”
“An ARCM? Sure, it’s over there. Why?”
“Oh, good. That’ll make it simple.” Kat scooped up the pieces and threw them into the machine’s raw material bin. She flipped open the keyboard and monitor.
“What are you doing?” Rabbit cried.
Kat smiled. “Trust me.”
“Not with that. I need that! I can’t get another one,” Rabbit said frantically as Kat blocked her way.