The problem with Mr. Bunny
The phone rang twice before
Moon Psyche could answer it, so absorbed he was in reviewing the Apocalypse
accounting records for the last year.
“Hello?”
“You have to come to
Brickstown Infirmary right away Moon, I think we found Bear Cat.”
Spoke Blue N Gold, the most specialized tracker the Knights of Apocalypse
could provide. Navy trained to be dropped behind enemy lines, he had
become aware of his powers during a mission. After a long period of
adaptation to learn to control his blasting abilities, he finally
became a Knights of Apocalypse, using his training as a crime fighter
and his military expertise to track down the elusive foes of the city.
Moon Psyche had sent him after Bear Cat and the Hunters of Apocalypse,
with specific orders to locate as many as he could. Blue N Gold, aside
from being able to get the job done, had gathered such an array of
contacts from all walks of life in the city, that he was the perfect
choice, and was now proving it once again.
“That was fast.” Replied
Moon Psyche to the tracker
“I had nothing to do with it sir, I just
followed a hunch when I heard about an unknown super-powered being
involved in a deadly accident, here in Brickstown, with a city bus.”
Replied the blaster, as he eyed a nurse passing by in the hospital
corridor. She looked over her shoulder and flashed him a smile. He
smiled back, once more certain that he still had it with the ladies.
Although, the fact that he was dressed in hospital garbs and wearing
a fake doctor ID might have helped the matter, he dismissed the thought
entirely.
“Do you have him in custody?” Asked Moon Psyche, as he got
up and grabbed his fedora hat.
“No sir, the police does.” Replied
the energy blaster.
“That’s a problem, I will try and get him transferred
to our care. In the meantime, I want you to keep a close eye on him,
if he attempts to flee, stop him.” Said Moon Psyche as he hung up
the phone and headed for Cavalier’s office. Having the head of the
ECPC in your super group always had its perks, one of those being
that Cavalier could request on his authority that any prisoner or
suspect, be relinquished to Apocalypse for questioning on matter of
city security. Approaching the famous scrapper office door, he heard
a loud and muffled snoring coming from the inside. Stopping short,
he knocked on the door gently, and waited for cavalier to wake up.
A few second passed, and the snoring remained constant. Moon Psyche
then knocked loudly on the door, with a close fist for good measure,
and was satisfied to hear Cavalier’s voice asking in a childish tone:
“Mommy?”
Then in a manlier manner:
“What is it?”
Moon opened the door
and walked in the office, surprised at the tidiness of it, for a change.
“Cymbaline did some cleaning again?” He asked with a knowing smile
on his face, remembering the first time she had done so.
“Shaddup.”
Replied a grumbling Cavalier, as he was sitting up on the old leather
couch.
“Your head tracker has located Bear Cat, in Brickstown, under
police custody.” Said Moon, hoping Cavalier would understand right
away what was needed of him, and he did.
“Oh, I see. Let me make a
few phone calls to fix this. Are you going there yourself, to take
charge of him right away, or are we sending someone else over?” Asked
Cavalier as he got up and hit the empty beer bottle that was on the
floor, next to the couch.
“I’m heading there right now, just clear
him over to us, and I’ll bring him back here.” Replied Moon Psyche.
“Oh, and Cavalier…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t ever call me mommy again.”
Bear
Cat, lying in the hospital bed, feeling the throbbing pain racking
his body, was looking around at all the faces there. Aside from the
doctor and a nurse, two police detectives and seven policemen were
standing in the room, looking at him while waiting for the medical
staff to be done. Another doctor entered the room, but only stood
by the entrance, unnoticed by the others. His eyes were piercing and
Bear Cat gathered right away that whatever he was, he was more than
a doctor. Maybe a Crey agent?
“I’m detective Hill from the Paragon
PD, what’s your name son?” Asked an old and gruffy looking man well
into his fifties, who took out a badge and showed it to Bear Cat,
before putting it away in a casual manner, as if he had done that
motion too many times in his life. Bear Cat pondered a few seconds
before answering, knowing full well that he couldn’t run without hurting
some of them, accepting the fact that for now, he was a prisoner by
choice.
“My name is Bunny, Bugs Bunny.” He simply replied as he looked
straight ahead at the far wall. One of the policemen chuckled at that,
then steeped forward and said :
“Listen Mr. Bunny, you’re in big trouble
right now, and without papers or even a registered ID in the super-powered
data bank. You just killed a bus driver and injured a lot of people
when you stepped in front of that bus, so start talking now. Why did
you stop that bus, what are you doing in the city.”
Bear Cat remained
quiet, looking at the wall, debating what to do next, then answered:
“Canada, I was looking for Canada. I thought it was south.”
The policemen
who had chuckled at his first remark turned around and looked at the
sergeant, then said:
“Forget it Hill, let’s just send him to the Zig
until a judge can sentence him.”
“Son, you have to help us here. You
have to understand that under the circumstances, things are not looking
up for you, and unless you cooperate, they won’t get any easier.”
Spoke the old detective as he came to lean closer to Bear Cat, looking
him straight in the eyes, and seeing no emotions.
“I have the right
to remain silent, anything I say can, and will be held against me
in a court of law. I have the right to an attorney, and if I can’t
afford one, one will be provided for me. I understand these rights
as I have just stated them to you. I am now under arrest.” Bear Cat
then looked ahead once more, with no intention of speaking one more
word.
“Well, you had your phone call, and we gave you a chance. But
seeing how you don’t want to help yourself, you are right. You are
now under arrest.” The old detective stepped back a few steps and
looked at one of the policemen.
“Cuff him and read him is right.”
Bear Cat listened as the policemen did his work, but remained icy
and still. He knew it would have been too easy to simply break their
arms and necks, then escape to disappear into the city. But the rules
of engagement he had been enforcing prevented him to do so. His only
hope remained with the phone call he had made, the only help he could
get from walking away clean rested in the hands of the lawyer he had
contacted. After all, if the firm could handle WinterTech’s legal
problems, they could handle his situation. It was the first time since
the Hunters of Apocalypse's existence, any of its operatives had used
that phone number. The card had been given to all of its members in
case of trouble, no one but Bear Cat knew who had passed it on in
the first place. And he knew that if he revealed the identity of that
person, the shockwave of that revelation would cripple an entire super
group for a long time. So, he remained quiet, keeping his secrets
to himself, while waiting patiently for someone to show up and get
him out of here.
The cellular phone of detective Hill then rang, and
he answered promptly.
“This is Hill… Yes sir?... I understand sir,
but… But sir, he refuses to… Yes, sir.” Then he hung up, in a frustrated
manner he turned around and looked at Bear Cat.
“If you thought you
were in big trouble before, think again Mr. Bunny. The Riders of Apocalypse
have just taken custody of you.”
Meanwhile, back at the Apocalypse
HQ, Cymbaline had just walked in the lobby. Crossing paths with Moon
Psyche, she flashed him a smile, while he commented on her lack of
proper attire, for the humpthieth time. She had come in wearing a
pair of tight jeans shorts and a white t-shirt, her hair loose, she
looked more like a wet t-shirt contestant than a hero. But such was
her spirit, free and wild. As she stepped into the elevator, she was
greeted by Colette, the head dispatch for the day shift. She listened
to her telling about her man problems, all the way up to the 40th
floor, and as she stepped out of the elevator, she truly felt for
Colette and said:
“Men are dogs, girl. Keep them close and they bark,
kick them away and they come back whimpering.”
Truly annoyed at males
in general, and considering her track record also, Cymbaline felt
frustrated that men were so predictable and obsessed with sex. Cymbaline
walked into the lounge, which she had cleaned no more than two days
ago, to find that a tornado had once more turned the place over. Growling
deeply, she walked to the coffee machine, and was about to pour a
hot cup of coffee, to find a note left by Pro-Pain Tank:
“Someone
get more coffee please.”
Slamming the glass container on the counter,
she walked out of the lounge angry that men always relied on someone
else to do the dirty jobs. They are big pictures people, Xanthion
would say, and sometimes forget about the little things like buying
coffee or cleaning up after themselves.
Speaking of which, she thought
to herself, I wonder what Cavalier wanted with me this morning.
Walking
along the corridor, wondering how and why men were so immature and
careless, she could feel the heat of her thoughts building up. Maybe
a long swim in the Olympic size pool would calm her down after she
talked with Cavalier. Upon reaching his office door, she was stopped
short by a muffled conversation coming from the inside.
“…So long
and heavy, I don’t think I can handle it, sir.” Spoke a female voice,
while giggling a little.
“Of course you can dear, it won’t hurt you,
all you need to do is spread your legs like so, and keep it moving.
And call me Cavalier please, none of that “sir” business when we are
in private.” Replied Cavalier with a certain maleness in his tone,
while the woman giggled once more.
“But, this thing is so big, I don’t
know…” Went on the woman, and Cymbaline could hear the strain in her
voice at this point.
“One thing for sure, it’s not your regular school
kid’s equipment, you have to hold it with a certain respect.” He replied,
voice quite pleased with his comment. Cymbaline felt the fire build
up at that last one.
That… That pig! Cymbaline thought to herself.
He was taking advantage of his status as a leader to have his way
with a student. She felt the fire inside her build up to a boiling
point, anger was taking over her demeanour.
“All right, let’s give
it a try.” Spoke the woman in a hushed voice. That was all it took
for Cymbaline to roar like a lion and kick open the door with a flare
ready to fire in her hands. That pig of a scrapper would learn that
one didn’t abuse the power one was given.
Cavalier’s head snapped
towards the door as it crashed open, to see Cymbaline standing there,
eyes ablaze and a small fireball in her hands. Icy Heart, who was
standing in the middle of the room, holding Cavalier’s broad sword
at the ready, was so surprised by her entrance that, she let it drop
to the floor.
“You pig!” Screamed Cymbaline as she fired her flare
directly for Cavalier’s crotch, realizing the moment it left her hand,
how mistaken she had been. They had been talking about Cavalier’s
sword all that time, and he had been explaining to her how to handle
it.
Throughout the floor, everyone heard a wailing scream, long and
sorrowful coming from Cavalier’s office. Soon after, the sprinkler
system fired up, and the whole area was washed down by water, soaking
everything that wasn’t put away. Hair wet and eyes wide opened, Cymbaline
kept repeating to Cavalier how sorry she was, while he was cursing
the earth she walked on. Icy heart, ever the cool one, was already
on the phone calling for a healer.
Nether Spirit who came rushing
to scene, turned pale when he saw Cavalier on the floor and caught
the scent of burnt hair and flesh. He looked at Cymbaline's flushed
face, then at Icy Heart's amused smile, shook his head in disbelief
and said:
“I’m so glad that wasn’t me.”