'Mask is a friend of mine from my street days. He was--well, still pretty damn much <i>is</i>--the only person who ever bothered to look at me as a person, and not a PI or a Nether or an anthromorph. To this day, I can't figure out why. Anyway, in his later years, he ended up becoming a sort of outlaw among the City population because of his choice of business. Mask may not have been a Nether, but he was a human with an uncanny ability to fake any identity he wished, and then he was able to hone his skill to the point that he could do the same for anyone else.
'Why haven't I arrested him yet? Well, for one, he hasn't committed any crimes, two, he's my friend, and three, as long as he can do what I was heading to him for, I'll let him keep his job.'
The two protectors walked through the alleyway, the smoke from a nearby grate blowing through the corridor.
"You're taking me to the MASK?!" Kitten was incredulous.
"Jeez, Kitten, what's the big deal?"
"He's a CRIMINAL, Fox! That's the problem! You and I are supposed to be taking people like him off the street, not giving him service!!"
"Right, Kitten . . . You just keep on believing that . . . Listen, Mask doesn't like that Darkheir running a drug house so close to him. It lowers his reputation amongst the elite of his customers. He's a good guy, and one of the few people I know who treats Nethers like mundanes, instead of some kind of freak or hero. Trust me, Kitten, you get to know him, you'll like him. You <i>are</i> both illegal, after all."
"Don't you DARE draw parallel between us, Fox! He traffics in fakery and illusion! I protect the population of the City!!"
Fox blinked, smoothing his hair back into its normal position. "Whew, vigilante . . . You've sure got a lot of air in your lungs."
Kitten growled. "What do you have against us, anyway?"
"Fine," Fox muttered. "You want to know? I'll tell you. One of <i>you</i> blew up a building in the middle of a case I was working on, while I was still <i>inside</i> it. Put me in goddamn traction for two <i>whole months</i>. You wanted to know <i>why</i> I don't like you? Because every goddamn place a vigilante shows up, something blows UP! Something always goddamn BLOWS UP!! Why can't you guys just let people alone, and let someone handle the situation with<i>out</i> causing an explosion?!"
He had backed Kitten up against a wall in the alleyway, his teeth bared and a low growl issuing from his throat. Her tail was twitching, and her eyes were moving rapidly. Her breathing was shallow.
"R-r-relax, Fox," she stammered. "I-it's not me-you're angry at--Calm down! C'mon, Fox," she pleaded, "don't do anything you might regret . . ."
Fox blinked, then growled and shoved her into the wall, spinning away and slamming his hand against the opposite wall.
"Dammit!" He turned back to Kitten, who was holding her hand over her breast, trying to calm her heart down. His eyes softened. "It's . . . not your fault . . . I know it isn't you, Kitten. It's just . . . there's more to that story than you should know right now . . . I'm sorry."
"Ahh, it's okay . . . You couldn't have hurt me anyway."
"What?! Then . . . why were you just so scared . . . ?"
Kitten's self-assurance was back in full force. "I was scared I would have to hurt you . . . You may not be as strong as me, but you probably wouldn't have been easy to beat."
"Damn vigilantes . . ." Fox cursed under his breath.
"I heard that."
"I don't care. Let's go. We mustn't keep Mask waiting."
"He's not waiting for us, you only just thought of him."
"Go to hell."
The two walked on a little bit farther, then Fox opened up a door. Kitten walked inside, and Fox followed her into the lair of the Mask.
"FOXIE-KUN!!"
Fox found himself bowled over.
"Hi, Freddie," he muttered. "Are you hanging around Mask while he's working again?"
"Hai! Kawaii Mask-kun let Freddie stay for night!"
"Oh boy . . . Please say you haven't done anything to him again . . ."
"Nani?"
"Will he be in any condition to do what I want?"
"Foxie-kun hentai?"
"NO no NO, Freddie . . . I need some . . . alterations done."
"Like Freddie-chan?"
"Arrgh . . . Freddie, where is Mask?"
"In back, working."
"Thank you."
Fox shoved hir off of himself, and he stood up, wiping the dust from the floor off his coat.
"C'mon, Kitten. Let's go in back."
They walked farther into the lair, leaving Freddie to wonder what they were up to, in hir own odd way.
Fox opened yet another door, and Kitten wondered why there were so many doors.
"Because Mask likes privacy."
The two of them opened the door, and as they walked in, the floor creaked--
BLAM!!
"Whuh--uh . . ." Kiten's eyes almost fell out of her sockets, as she realized her ear was now dripping wet blood onto her bright uniform. "What the hell?"
"MASK!! Relax!! She's a friend!"
The pale, skinny man known as Mask lowered the gun. "A vigilante? She's more likely to lock me up than to be a friend! I thought we both knew better than this."
"She needs our help. And since the 'help' involves my current case, she and I have reached an agreement for the moment."
"And? There's always an 'and' with you, Vic."
"Okay, look . . . Kitten here has a friend running spy in the local drug ring. You and I both know that place is too hard to get into to get any dirt on the Darkheir who runs it, but with the proper I.D.s we'll be passed through in no time."
"All right, Vic. Sounds easy enough. What do you want this time?"
"Dress my friend here up as a <i>human</i> prostitute, and turn me into her pimp. Shouldn't be too hard."
"WHAT?! I'm not going to be a prostitute! Much less one owned by <u>you</u>."
"Kitten, do you want your friend out of there or not? I could never get her out of there on my own, even Mask can't change your facial structure, and I'd be too obvious otherwise. You'll provide the credibility."
"Oh, all right . . . Fine."
Kitten turned to Mask. "Well, what does this entail?"
Mask grinned, spreading his long, pianist hands out wide. "First, my dear, you need a shave."
Kitten grumbled, but she followed Mask into the door nearby. Mask popped out for a moment.
"Vic, don't worry, this won't take long. You'll both be ready in no time."
Fox smiled, and he snickered, knowing just what Kitten was about to go through . . . It was going to be the most invasive experience she'd ever felt. There were reasons Mask had over fifteen doors in his lair, and not all of them were pretty.
He sat down in the chair Mask had just vacated, and waited.
_________________
*Proud Member of the Cult of America and Acolyte of the Cult of Conquest*
*Head Acolyte of the Cult of Piccolo*
"Why a spoon, cousin, why not an axe?"
"Because it's dull you twit . . . <i>It'll hurt more</i>."
EDIT: Aggh . . . Forgot to mention . . . Freddie is copyright Ghastly . . . go read his comic, he's got it in his sig . . . See ya.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kitsune1527 on 2002-10-02 15:12 ]</font>
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