“Hey, get back here!” Lionel tackled a feline man to the ground. “Shit, you’re a real piece of work to deal with. Guess you’re still not in the mood to tell me anything yet, huh?”
“Fuck you Lionel, just a little wannabe playing hero like always. This is way bigger than you think it is. Don’t think your puny little brain can even start to understand what’s going on here!” the feline man wriggled around.
“Oh I know what’s going on. You contracted with that mask chick, didn’t you? Man, you have to give me more credit for that. I’m not just a meathead,” Lionel countered, hauling him up after snapping handcuffs on the man.
Lionel handed him over to the local authorities and planned to head home. After five minutes, he noticed a group of five people trailing him. Ducking into a convenience store, the hero picked up a magazine, reading it near the entrance. The men following him soon entered the store two minutes later. They spread out, each one going into a different aisle.
“Hey man, think you can help me decide what drink to get?” a woman held up two cans of beer.
“Left one,” Lionel replied before catching the woman’s fist as she swung at him.
He shoved her away and ran towards the exit. Lionel preferred to take the fight outside and not bother the store employees. However, the hero crashed into a barrier, preventing him from leaving the premises.
“You’re not going anywhere!” a well-built man grabbed Lionel and hurled him at the storage room door.
The hero crashed through the door and landed on a stack of cardboard boxes. Lionel returned to his feet, dodging a well-built woman’s tackle, and rammed his shoulder into her chest. The feline hero spun behind her and pushed his opponent into the freezer door. Another opponent then landed a glancing blow on Lionel’s head. Shrugging off the strike, Lionel tripped the man and then grabbed his left leg. He swung the opponent into the woman.
“You guys really had to ambush me like this!” Lionel opened the freezer door and slammed it multiple times on both opponent’s heads.
However, the feline hero had no time to rest as another opponent dived into the storage room. Lionel grabbed an empty crate and jammed it onto their head. He slapped it five times before lifting them up. Using them as a battering ram, Lionel exited the storage room and barreled through the two remaining opponents. Tossing the unconscious opponent aside, he focused on the remaining two.
They surrounded him but Lionel wasn’t scared. He landed five consecutive punches on one of them before lifting them up into the air. Displaying his strength, Lionel powerbombed them into the other one.
“Come on, just stay down!” Lionel leaped back as the final opponent lunged at his feet.
The feline hero stomped on their hand and then hauled them back up. He bashed their head into the food warmer cabinet, breaking the glass. Fried chicken, steam buns, and baked goods spilled out of the display. Pulling out the stainless steel shelves, Lionel slipped them onto his opponent’s hands and started stomping. With a swift kick, Lionel sent the opponent flying into the cash register, knocking them out.
“What a waste of time,” Lionel grumbled and pushed open the entrance door to leave.
Once outside, Lionel collapsed to the ground, ambushed by a heavy blow to his head and stomach. The feline hero coughed up blood and gasped for air. His blurred vision prevented him from recognizing the assailant. Lionel crawled towards his attacker, attempting to grasp their leg. Lacking the energy, his right hand only struck the ground.
“Sweet kitty, this is your first warning. Don’t meddle in my affairs again!” a female voice stated.
When Lionel regained consciousness, Tess sat near his hospital bed, her left leg crossed over her right. She glanced over after seeing him move. Placing her book on the seat, the Gatekeeper then stood up.
”Ah, you’ve awaken. I’ve come in place of Lilith who is away on a mission currently. Please provide more clarity on the situation for me,” Tess said, inspecting the IV drip attached to Lionel’s arm.
“Not much to say really. Got jumped by that masked lady’s thugs. At least, I’m pretty damn sure it was her. Didn’t get to actually see her face,” Lionel replied, wincing as he sat upright in the bed.
“She’s becoming bolder with her actions. You were here today on assignment after what occurred in *, correct?” Tess handed Lionel a tray containing three pills and a glass of water.
“Kinda weird you’re acting like my nurse, Tess. Hold on, I shoulda guess, you probably know a little something about being one, don’t you?” Lionel swallowed the pills and drank the entire cup.
“The hospital’s staffing is limited at the moment. Allow me to check your heartbeat,” Tess requested, pulling on gloves before grabbing a stethoscope.
“Sure. Uh, they just allow you to just take over?” Lionel opened up his hospital gown.
“These are simple procedures. The difficult task is analyzing the data,” Tess answered, writing down numbers on a clipboard she unhooked from the wall.
“Am I good to go in a couple of hours? Wait, the hell is this?” Lionel finally noticed a glitter imprint of a butterfly on his stomach.
“She branded you,” Tess stated.
“Come on, are you serious? You’d better tell me that it can be washed off or something,” Lionel said.
“Correct. However, it is permanent for at least two more days, meant to seal your powers. You became a threat to her plans,” Tess explained.
“This sucks,” Lionel lamented, slinking down into his bed.
“What to do, what to do?” Ann stared at her jigsaw puzzle.
A feline man and woman hung from the damp ceiling. Ann moved away from her jigsaw puzzle, turning her attention to them. She picked up a bottle of glitter and shook it.
“I asked for two things. One, acquire the services of Professor Q from the Stellar Foundation. Two, prevent Jin and his friends from stopping you. Let me check to see if you managed to do any of those things. Oh wait, you didn’t!” Ann pointed an accusatory finger at them.
“Listen to me, Lady Ann, we got the schematics. You can build it without even needing Professor Q!” the feline man protested.
“Right, right. You did get the schematics. But, it’s all useless to me! Only one person can interpret it and that’s the one person you couldn’t get for me!” Ann jabbed his left eye in disgust.
“Lady Ann, I beg for your forgiveness. We did not account for the girl Zhuyu Long brought along. She was a pain to deal with,” the feline woman said, tears running down her face.
“Oh, was I mistaken to hire professionals? You were highly recommended to me. I don’t understand how a group with so much reputation could fail you so miserably at such a simple task. It should have been as easy as grabbing the professor and then getting out right away,” Ann chastised.
“Lady Ann, if I may have a moment?” Al entered the dim basement and handed her a folder.
“You’re not off the hook yet,” Ann snarled, following him upstairs.
Al pulled up a recliner for Ann and brought over three silver briefcases. He opened the first one, revealing two gold bangles with five indentations. The second contained a set of twenty-five different jewels, sparkling despite the lack of a light source.
”Our researchers produced these prototypes after re-examining the schematics. You may do as you wish with them,” Al revealed, placing the third suitcase near her feet.
“Impressive, immediately raise their pay, Al. What is in this third one?” Ann tapped the briefcase with the sole of her boot.
“A battle suit tailored for you, my lady. Please try it on at your convenience and let the development team if any adjustments are needed,” Al explained.
“Excellent, I am pleased there are still competent people working for me. Al, distribute the bangles to the top two and have them test out the different jewels. If they are successful, we can begin mass production and equip them on everyone,” Ann ordered and picked up the third suitcase.
“Of course, my lady. I will contact you if needed,” Al said and departed with a bow.
In a much better mood, Ann returned to the basement. She flicked on the bright floodlights, directing them at her captives. She pulled on an art smock, small bottles of paint and glitter inside of its pockets, and walked over to the feline man.
“It turns out the schematics were useful after all,” she remarked, sprinkling glitter onto the man’s exposed chest.
“Does that mean-?” the feline man shouted out in a pain as the glitter burned his flesh.
“Like I said before, you’re not off the hook. But, your punishment will be lighter. Tell me, why did you have so much trouble with Xi?” Ann splashed paint onto his arm.
“Her barriers were… aahhh.. too strong!” he cried out as the paint seared through his skin.
“Don’t you find it shameful you were defeated by such a weak girl? You’ve gotten too much attention already. It’s time to see what your wife can tell me,” Ann decided.
Ann painted concentric circles below the feline woman. She dumped an entire bottle of glitter onto it and took out a lighter. Flicking it on, the woman tossed it into the glitter. A rainbow flame spiral shot upward, engulfing the feline woman.
“What did you-?” the feline man rattled his chains as he wriggled around.
“She’s okay! Remember, I always keep my promises. It won’t be a severe punishment, just a light one. Now, let’s continue to have fun. Be grateful my team managed to make sense of that old coot’s weird designs or both of you would have ended up as test subjects!” Ann cackled as she tortured her two captives.
