Chapter 29 - Travel

I just dropped off the Old Lady at her house, a little brick townhome, and now people are gathering around. I mean, they were before but in lesser numbers, the old lady just didn't seem to notice anything. She might have some impairments now that I think about it. Maybe I am a bad man, taking advantage of impared elederly people to increase my rank on the social ladder. But that's beside the point. I need to get out of here. I can already hear half a dozen people calling the police. 

I go invisible and climb the old lady's house to get away. Time for some roof running. Hardcoure Parkore!

=<>=

1 hour later…..

That felt...unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, I can definitely see the usefulness of parkour in practicing for a fight, but it was exhausting imagining enemies that aren't there or making up a reason to do random flips and wall runs. Where the hell even am I? I've been running pretty mindlessly. I should really stop doing that. 

It was a quaint neighborhood like most places in New York City. From the voices going around and the signage, I'd say this is little Russia? No it's Little Ukraine. I get a lot of languages mixed up, though in my defense, they share quite a few similarities. 

I learned quite a few languages back in my earlier years. Once you learn the major ones, the rest come easy as long as you have the memory for it. I wanted to find out why the human race added unnecessary complexity to language  that they didn't even use. Rather than the conclusion that humans are dumb, i came to the conclusion that humans are lazy, and they just went with whatever was easiest and whatever they could find in their environment. That study really changed how I felt about the vast majority of humans. Rather than looking down at the masses, I came to understand them and myself far better. I enjoy the variety that we produce as a species. Maybe a little too much, if my cooking is any indication. Oh god I want some food. All that parkour makes me crave some food, just the sensation. The running and jumping was easy, but the thinking. Random, but purposeful thinking. Oh, it's hard. 

I jump into one of the few unpopulated alleyways and morph into some clothing. Then I start following smells so I can find a food cart. One around the corner sold nalesniki. Basically crepes but they are much thinner and are filled with sweet or savory fillings. 

I bought two for a couple dollars of my card. It's replicable enough, and it's far more genuine than making fake currency. I'm not a monster after all. I stood against a wall to eat my chicken and blackberry nalesniki in peace while watching the crowd. The chicken nalesniki was very savory, well worth the price. The blackberry one on the other hand, it was good, but the berries were a little overripe. 

 

A black cat with beautiful shimmering fur and hazel eyes casually walks over to me.

"Mreow"

"What do you want?"

"Mreow" It looks at my chicken nalesniki, sniffing the air.

"You want my food? What if I want to eat it?"

"Mreow" It brushes against my leg and likes back up to me.

".....no."

"Brbrbrbbrbrbrbrbbrbrbrb" it falls on top of my shoes and looks up to me, purring unceasingly.

"This is bribery, I just want you to know that." I sit down and feed it some of the chicken, which it gobbles up like a friend.

The cat continues to purr as I feed and pet it. The fur is so soft  and thick. It doesn't have a tag or a collar, so it's probably a stray. 

"I bet you're a girl. This fur and those eyes are too pretty to be a guy." I'm not gonna check, that's weird and very rude, even to a cat.

"Mreow"

"I'll name you Katya for pure. I wish i could take you with me, but i can't handle that responsibility right now."

"Mreow?"

"I'll be back every now and then. Maybe i can even bring some fish." It jumps onto my shoulder and curls around my neck, going limp.

"Brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrb"

"Sorry Katya. I have too much going on." I take her off my neck and hold her up at eye level.

"Mreow." 

"Ok, how about this. I'll make you a little shelter so you can stay safe from the rain and cold."

"Mreow." 

I look around for a place that has easy roof access for a cat. One for sale building does have a spiral staircase to a flat roof top. This will have to do for now, everything on the ground has too many humans about and it's just not conducive for a warm shelter. I set up a little enclosure, enough for 5 adult cats, with a slatted roof and vents at different heights to promote air flow. I put some warm padding down, and make a bowl to collect rainwater in. And it's done. 

"There you go Katya, a new home."

"Mreow.* She brushes against my leg, before looking at the little enclosure.

"I have to go, but I'll be back to visit you. Bye Katya."

"Mreowwwwww"

=<>=

Back at the house….

I decided to go simple for dinner tonight, just some salmon seasoned with rosemary and lemon and a side of asparagus. I took a few bites and put the rest in the fridge for the girls.

10 hours left until I meet Nick Fury, what do I do? I definitely don't want to be around when the girls get here, I need a break from the chaos. And I thought I was crazy. I may be a decent guy, but not decent enough for Gwen to stick around with all the craziness that I've attracted. What goes through her mind, I have no idea. 

I guess I'll just scout around a little and train my use in the Exterus Force. I can only manage to use it 2 cm off my skin, but the cost is magnitudes higher than the tenth of a millimeter I usually do. It's just not sufficient for all the situations I'll encounter.

*BzzzzzBzzzzzz BzzzzzBzzzz* my phone starts vibrating. It's a call from Nick Fury.

"Hey Fury what's up?"

"Where are you?"

"At home, why?"

"The plan's changed. I need you to meet me at the Robertson Shipping Facility ASAP."

"Where the hell is that? And what's the change of plans about?"

"It's rural. You have a secure phone, use it. We'll talk more when you get here. And don't get seen."

*Beep* He hung up on me.

Well now I don't have to find excuses to avoid the girls. The facility seems to be in...Paneling, NY. That's like an hour and half drive from here. I suppose I could fly, but that's still far. Maybe if I go just under the speed of sound my vapor trail won't be as visible…... Fuck it, let's just go all out. I can avoid reasonable sight if I go above the clouds. There's only so much I can do and still make it there fast.

I conceal myself, head outside, and start flying up. Thankfully, it's quite cloudy today and I can stop at what I think is 15,000 ft. At least, that's what my little knowledge in meteorology is telling me from the shapes of the clouds. FUCK! It's cold up here. I check my direction, stick in my earbuds and cover up my nose, mouth, and ears completely. Clear goggles go over my eyes. I can breathe using my use of the Exterus Force.  My body is too sensitive to survive supersonic flight without injuries, and my rudimentary nav system will get me by just fine. I make a semi sphere shield and place it above my head, and I'm off.

Just building up speed. The air turbulence keeps battering my body. The ground is a blur. I feel like a flag in the wind.

"Adjust course 5 degrees right" a smooth, Morgan Freeman voice tells me as a highlighted path appears over my eyes. That would be my nav system. Not an AI, just a series of voice matrixes to say things in the correct fashion.

*BOOM* My body vibrates, HARD. I just broke the sound barrier and I'm not feeling that much air turbulence any more. Still a decent amount on my toes, but I can just go faster.

3 minutes go by, just an endless amount of vibrations shuddering across my body.

"Slow down to under 500 mph and glide. Your destination should be 527 meters ahead and 13,569 meters below."

I flatten the tip of the shield and turn off my thrusters to start slowing down, and a shockwave rattles my body. I just exited supersonic speed. Then I slow down more and reabsorb the shield. Looking back, my cloud trail is so small, that it's already disappeared for the most part. Mission success.

Once I slow down to terminal velocity, I just fly the rest of the way and land at the front steel doors. I hear a few heartbeats and some talking, but I can't make it all out. This place must be built like a fortress on the inside.

The doors are unlocked, so I open them cautiously and head towards the voices. The hallways are mostly dark, but it's bearable. All the signs of a workplace are present with signage and poster boards. I arrive at the break room where I can hear Nick Fury and two women talking. They sound young.

I walk in and turn off my stealth.

"You finally made it. Did you get seen?" Fury asks me.

"If I did, others would have already found you already."

Fury stands over a table with two girls lounging in other seats. One has short red hair, blue eyes, freckles, and wears a red and black leather suit with straps for weapons and needles everywhere. A small red skull decorates it just below her breasts. The other girl has green eyes, long white hair with pink streaks, and another leather combat suit, this time it's mostly black with white leggings and tigerish streaks down the sides of her legs, a white triangle shape going down from her shoulder to her abdomen, and a gold coloration ringing her neck and shoulders. I look back at Fury.

"What the fuck are you bringing me into Fury?"

=<>=