Moon Shadow #4 Thanks Grieving
Moon Shadow
Issue #4
"Thanks Grieving"
An Oriental dragon balloon resplendent in its golden splendor as the mascot of the Wu Hu Lee chain of fast food Chinese restaurants leads a dozen or so other oversized balloons down Fat Street towards City Hall as part of the annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Perched on a roof top watching the parade are a pair of weird figures more suited to the darkness of Halloween than the bright and shiny festivities of the day but they are also the city's unofficial guardians with the ninja attired fox woman being the enigmatic Glitter Shade and the demon winged wolf man attired in black body armor that the city fondly calls its "Angel of Darkness" the Moon Shadow. Ironically an international super hero, the mega martial artist Sun Guard and his wife, the daughter of the CEO of Wu Hu Lee whose contributions to the city's coffers made the parade as vibrant as it is today rides in a float celebrating Pacific Rim culture in America that accompanies the dragon as the same company made the float to ensure it's place of prominence in the parade.
Wendy "Glitter Shade" Wu weeps as she watches her cousin and her husband play to the crowds below. Moon Shadow comforts his lover as best he can as he knows the situation all too well when they were human once upon a time that seems so long ago. He was a cop and had to clean up after a super hero or super villain blew through town or figure out a baffling crime was committed before the fact that a super crook did came to light.
Now Detective Michael Jaeger is a super hero of sorts even if the resident retired super and Christian fanatic, the Templar, does his best to dissuade the populace from seeing him as such. The Wu Hu Lee got its position by political graft pure and simple but there is no evidence that can be brought into a court of law to prove this so their float gets prominence leaving other mobile displays with less prominence including one reminding everyone that during this time of hyper consumerism that there are still those who won't be feasting tonight and may even go to bed hungry as they do every night. Moon Shadow grabs Glitter Shade and flies over to that float on which is situated their friend, the arch-wino and uber urban shaman: the Rat Catcher.
This is actually a calculated move on Moon Shadow's part as he draws the attention of the humans attending the parade to the shabby float made flashy only by a liberal application of Magic. Creating the float was a major undertaking from all three entities and for today it steals the spotlight from the gaudy glitz and glamour of the corporate machine to shine that light on a float showing the homeless shelters for the shambles they are and appeals to the better nature of humanity to support their brothers and sisters who have fallen on hard times. Behind the scenes, fat cat business magnates are screaming at politicians for not having something in place to prevent the coup that Moon Shadow pulled off but it's also dangerous for the heroes as certain figures get a good look at them.
Professor Einstein Moreau whose process transformed both heroes takes not what both of them look like for future reference. His lab is still in shambles from the backlash of events he set in motion a few months ago [way back in Issue #2 Weaver Alone dear readers and true believers-Ed.] and the mad geneticist still has vengeance on his mind. The scene amuses him but he goes back to looking at his vats producing monsters to see what he can whip up on such a "special" occasion.
In the fortress Cathedral of the Sacred Martyr, Father Cid "Templar" Quixote is less than enthused by Moon Shadow's display. The Cathedral is preparing its own Thanksgiving feast for the poor which brings in accolades and generous donations from across the country and around the world. Moon Shadow's float draws attention to this event and suggests the Templar has ulterior motives for the feast that have little to do with charity.
The Templar will never admit it but this feast is as much to boost his own ego and reputation as a hero as it is to perform a charitable work in the name of his god. Maria especially made that portion of the float and made the "Good Father" seem like a fake preacher and con man rather than a hero. [go back and read #1 of the Issues for that story-Ed.] It's this aspect of the float that gets certain eyes the Templar wishes to avert trained on him and he feels the need to keep the money making portions of the even less prominent as he prepares his sermon that he will give throughout the day.
Professor Moreau donates some money via paypal to Templar because of that message and adds the snarky comment of "from one villain to another" that nearly sends Father Quixote into a fury of righteous rage but maintains his temper if barely. Of course this is why Moreau did it, since often the Templar has railed against the evils of science and evolution. Moreau chuckles to himself as he makes calculations on how to best make a giant turkey monster and how big he should make it.
As the two villains make their preparations more visiting malcontents make themselves known. A biker gang attired as ghostly pilgrims race onto the scene with broad beam energy blaster rifles disguised as blunderbusses that they use to shoot up balloons and floats indiscriminately but Moon Shadow's float takes more than its fair share, enough to destroy it and sending a backlash against Templar implicating him as being behind the Griever Gang even if he's not. Also buzzing the balloons is the avian inspired flying terrorist calling himself Commodore Condor even if his costume leads many to call him "Chicken Man" of "The Turkey Vulture Terrorist" of which neither term he finds endearing.
Michael and the ghostly Maria recognize Commodore Condor from their former lives as detectives.
"Shouldn't you be covering this?" Moon Shadow asks of Glitter Shade once they make sure Rat Catcher is safe.
"Wait for it," Glitter Shade returns with a smirk seconds before her beeper goes off. "And there it is time to shape shift and make overtime!"
"Just don't call Commodore Condor something derogative," Moon Shadow warns firmly, "I have ten bikers to take care of while all he does is pop balloons. Keep him harmless while I take out the Grievers."
"You mean don't call him the Turkey Vulture Terrorist?" Wendy Wu mockingly whines. "You're no fun, Mike."
"Don't do it, Wendy," Maria growls. "It's more trouble than it's worth."
"I know, Maria," Wendy Wu intones as she sighs, "I just hope some bored exec isn't on the switchboard. I might be asked to stir the pot."
"Do what you gotta do," Moon Shadow says as he flies off and a new chopper picks up Wendy.
"This is Wendy Wu reporting live for Channel Six news," Wendy states to begin her broadcast. "We are currently hovering over the remains of the float for the Homeless Awareness Organization; wrecked by the Griever Gang again acting against persons and objects that show the Templar negative connotation. Fortunately, the Moon Shadow is on hand to clean up messes like this."
Sun Guard throws one of his Wind and Fire Wheels at a biker and knocks him from his vehicles as Moon Shadow torches a bike out from under another. Up in the helicopter Wendy gives a running play by play commentary of the action without referring to Commodore Condor as the Chicken Man or any of the unflattering soliloquies that will engage him. But as entertaining as she watches Sun Guard and Moon Shadow take down pale skinned punks the executive producer isn't satisfied.
Things get even more interesting when Moon Shadow blasts a member of the Griever Gang with Hellfire to prevent him from shooting into the crowd and he melts into a puddle of gray goo. Wendy sees this and makes an off comment on-air about how Moreau likes making weird temporary life forms and suggests that Templar and Moreau are working together on this caper. She also makes a concession by referring to Commodore Condor as the Turkey Vulture Terrorists menacing the balloons as his "big thing" to make with the mischief.
Commodore Condor responds to this insult by buzzing the news chopper which in turn earns him a blast of Hellfire from Moon Shadow. His feathers seared as well as rattled, Commodore Condor launches a set of razor feathers at Moon Shadow, none of which penetrate his armor. Moon Shadow launches himself at Commodore Condor and executes a flying tackle that almost splatters the avian inspired villain against the stone walls of City Hall.
Meanwhile back at the Cathedral of the Sacred Martyr, the Templar is incensed by Wendy Wu's comment. Wendy is protected by Moon Shadow now whom Father Quixote is biding his time before making another attack upon [See Issue #2-Ed.] but Moreau is relatively undefended or so he thinks as he sends another team of the Damned [Also in Issue #2-Ed.] to teach the monster maker a lesson in humility. Azrael, the Angel of Vengeance, a mortal mutant with angel wings and similar flame powers as Moon Shadow, leads the team of five with the others being Jehovah, who can make multiple copies of himself, Speed Demon, Censor, who can negate the powers of others, Centurion, a kind of super soldier in SWAT gear and Slaughter, a clawed menace who looks more like some video game demon than Moon Shadow with horns and burning skin as well as a spaded tail.
Centurion drives a black van with Jehovah by her side with the other three behind them. Under Azrael's direction their church van, which looks like as any other armored vans, the Cathedral uses to collect alms for and distribute to the poor, drives out to Moreau's facility and parks out front. Speed Demon is the first out using his super speed to distract the automated defenses Moreau has left as the rest get out of the van.
Moreau is in his labs when the Damned attack checking on his projects both short term and long term. When the lights flicker it dawns on him to check his monitors and finds folks in costume attacking his facility. He heaves a heavy sigh of annoyance and throws a lever to unleash some bugs he created for just such an emergency.
Beetles the size of cars with proboscises like mosquitoes, the claws of lobsters and the stinging tails of scorpions emerge from hidden recesses to attack the intruders. It turns out the proboscis is a flame thrower that chars Censor and takes her out of the fight early. Jehovah gets her to safety at the expense of many of his clone bodies but it buys the team time.
Centurion was laying charges while the rest of the team engaged the monsters and when she finishes she detonates them but not before losing an arm to one of Moreau's bugs. The fireworks display distracts the crowd watching Moon Shadow and Sun Guard but not the heroes. One of the gang members who was turned to goo rises again and moves to attack Sun Guard as something out of a combination horror-sci-fi movie.
Wind and fire wheels are not so effective on a shape shifting mass of sinisterly sentient protoplasm until Sun Guard channels his chi and sets them ablaze as he fights back. Glitter Shade is in her fox woman form to help out with taking down the Griever Gang. Her ninja-to is sheathed in Holy Shinto energy to help cut better as she tumbles about the battlefield and leaps from foe to foe.
The camera crew she left behind is filming this as they wonder where Wendy is as they miss her commentary. Glitter Shade soon realizes this and dives into the shadows and sneakily makes her way back to the crew; staggering in as a battered Wendy Wu. Moon Shadow sees the fireworks and recognizes where it's coming from to which he shakes his head which gives Commodore Condor the opening he needs to sucker punch Moon Shadow.
Commodore Condor soon finds out his little stunt was a big mistake as it pisses Moon Shadow off something fierce. Moon Shadow sets parts of Commodore Condor's costume on fire as a distraction to set him up for a series of strikes pushing him up, then down, then up and finally sending him crashing into the river near Moreau's laboratory. A very wet and cold Commodore Condor crawls out of the river where he finds a paddy wagon waiting for him as he gratefully surrenders to the police.
Moon Shadow's ulterior motive for finishing off Commodore Condor was a way to get a look at Professor Moreau's lab and assess who did it, why and how long it will take for Moreau to rebuild; again. For all the Damned tried to do the damages is only superficial and Moon Shadow catches the church van taking off when he arrives. Professor Moreau's pets are easily dealt with as a car-boat takes off from the beneficent professor's private dock which disturbs Moon Shadow as it means Moreau is up to mischief again.
Moon Shadow is about to follow Professor Moreau when Glitter Shade calls him on his cell. Apparently he is wanted at the main Wu Hu Lee restaurant in Chinatown for a celebrity dinner in his honor. It will do the city good and Glitter Shade tells him that the Rat Catcher will be there to accept a donation from the Wu family for a community center for the city's homeless.
The fact that this is a publicity stunt is obvious to Moon Shadow but Rat Catcher is a friend and will need moral support if nothing else so ultimately Moon Shadow is obligated to attend. Plus it's a free meal on Thanksgiving, and since his transformation he has been thought dead by his own family, which for their protection Michael is inclined to let them grieve his disappearance and probably passing. He then thinks of Glitter Shade and how difficult it will be for her which adds another reason and obligation for his attendance.
Jun Wu, the elderly matron who started the company with Harry Lee and Charlie Hu, hosts the gala event in a lavish upper ballroom jokingly referred to as the "Jade Palace" by society reporters. The Wu family actually requested that Wendy NOT attend as she is an embarrassment to the family. Ironically they delighted to see Glitter Shade accompany Moon Shadow to the event, something that annoys her no end.
In honor of the day, the meal served is General Tso's Turkey with fried rice and an optional side of cranberry sauce and green tea by the gallon to wash it all down. Both furry heroes turn down the sauce but secretly snicker at first at the choice of entrée. Sun Guard has a little bit of everything and is very flattering to their hosts.
Rat Catcher is demure for the most part although someone in the organization thinks it would be fun to spike his tea with sake. If they were expecting him to make a fool of himself after getting sufficiently intoxicated they were going to be disappointed as alcohol opens up Rat Catcher's third eye leading him to become more insightful and philosophical. His claims that he can speak with the spirits are given more credence as he carries on conversations with the dearly departed in the room and delivers messages that readily believed by the gathered.
Elsewhere Professor Moreau is about to launch a retaliatory salvo at the Templar for the attack on his lab. Mutant turkeys loaded with explosives are catapulted into the fortress compound that is the Cathedral who hit the ground running at congregants and detonate upon impact. He lobos about a thousand of them before returning home keeping mobile all the while so Father Quixote has no clue from whence the attack comes from
This tit for tat terrorist exchange has unforeseen consequences in that the container caging the Carrion King [See last issue-Ed.] is damaged enough for the vampire lord to make good his escape. Altar boys and nuns are killed along with those homeless attending the service for the free meal afterwards. By the time a response can be organized to look for the perpetrators of this "act of sacrilege" as Templar terms it, Moreau is long gone so it's only in dissection of the weapon that the city's resident monster maker's handiwork can be discerned. .
In a fit of rage the Templar in full costume, of a modern day version of the Crusaders who assaulted Jerusalem in an attempt to oust the Muslims who were occupying the Holy Lands at the time, storms into the banquet hall towards the over all completion of the event to flat out accuse Moon Shadow of being behind the disruption of his event.
"UNHOLY DEMON!!!" Templar screams. "How dare you conspire with that insane geneticist to disrupt my services for the betterment of the poor and destitute of this fair city!?!"
"Professor Moreau is on my list of people that need to be taken care of, Templar," Moon Shadow says with a smirk, "But what exactly has you delusional, so-called, 'mind' determined I have perpetrated this time?"
"A thousand of these," Cid Quixote tosses the remains of one of Professor Moreau's mutant turkeys onto the table with a growl, "were launched on the Cathedral of the Sacred Martyr."
"I saw an armored van from your Cathedral speed off from Moreau's lab after it was assaulted," Moon Shadow asks point blank, "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"
"The coffin you bolted in my bedroom [See Last Issue for this one-Ed.] was destroyed in the attack," Templar says as a means to deflect the question or at least attempt to as Moon Shadows gives him a hardy stare and is joined in this by both Glitter Shade and Sun Guard. "I have nothing to say on the matter. My conscience is clear."
"Clearly lacking," Glitter Shade grumbles to which Moon Shadow smirks and Templar glares at them.
"You brought this on yourself," Moon Shadow announces, "I have no sympathy for you."
Templar goes for his pistol and Moon Shadow blasts him with Hellfire.
"Go home, Templar, The bottom line is that you put the lives of your congregation in jeopardy with your actions. You may think you are righteous but not to me and not to the ghost of the woman you raped and murdered."
"You have no proof," Templar growls, "The dead do not..."
"FUCKING BASTARD!!!" A voice in the room screams. "Moon Shadow tells the truth!"
"The voice of the dead speaks," Rat Catcher intones. "Leave, Templar, while you can still salvage your reputation."
"Well played, demon," Templar says with eerie calm and a sinister smile before turning and walking off.
"There will be a reckoning between these two," Sun Guard says privately to his wife and her family that Glitter Shade with her superior hearing, "I kind of hope I won't be around when it happens but I will want a recount of the fight."
"I see an epic battle waged in places few care about save the homeless and the antiquarians," Rat Catcher intones in prophecy, "One will die and the victor will stand trial for his murder. Evil will be thwarted from beyond the grave as a victim of the fallen will come forward to tell her tale. It will spark new legislation but the Angel of Darkness will stand Sentinel for all time."
"Oh great," Glitter Shade mockingly giggles in a whisper mostly for Moon Shadow, "You're going to become immortal."
"If that's true," Moon Shadow whispers back, "For the sake of my sanity I better have you with me."
"Awe," Glitter Shade whispers back sardonically, "Will the Big Bad Woofie get lonely without his foxy fuck toy?" She then nuzzles him. "I hope so too, the afterlife would get boring otherwise."
"I see you in the shadows helping Moon Shadow keep his sense of honor and justice," Rat Catcher whispers to Glitter Shade and Moon Shadow, "The two of you together make a great team that the city's spirit is not eager to see sundered."
"I may kill Templar," Moon Shadow says lowly with a smirk, "But I sincerely doubt I'll ever get rid of Professor Moreau for long."
"Honey," Glitter says half-jokingly in a low tone, "If he hasn't figured our how to clone himself yet, it's only because he's bust with other projects."
"I had a vision once," Rat Catcher admits, "Where Professor Moreau was monitoring futuristic tubes of high density plastic that contained nude versions of himself. He may have unlocked the secret already but that may have been a vision of things to come. I can never tell."
"Something you'd like to share with the rest of us?" Sun Guard asks with a semi-annoyed tone.
"Just confirming that in the vision I see two protectors of the city," Rat Catcher states with a smile but in a matter of fact matter, "Glitter Shade being Moon Shadow's mate even if they never have children."
"How quaint," Mai Wu, the Sun Guard's wife and an exec in the organization says with a nasty smirk, "A shame the same can't be said for my glory hound of a cousin, Wendy."
Everyone laughs at this although the smirk on Glitter Shade's muzzle perplexes and perturbs Mai. Mai begins to inquire what Glitter Shade's smirk is all about when Rat Catcher tells those gathered that the time is not right for such a reveal. She is annoyed that going to have to wait for her answer, Mai none the less presents Rat Catcher with a multimillion dollar check for the homeless shelter and community center.
Moon Shadow and Glitter Shade escort Rat Catcher out of the facility and over to the Sand Dollar bank with whom the organization has a non-profit account to deposit the check. Melvin de Mille, the bank owner personally lets them in after hours and makes sure the money goes where it should. Rat Catcher and the bank owner are actually drinking buddies and a vision Rat Catcher had allowed Melvin the opportunity to get where he is now so he actually cares for the Rat Catcher as a friend.
The bank is also an investment house handling all kinds of stocks and bonds. Melvin gets a little more business as Moon Shadow for the bank to handle his long term financial investments in case Rat Catcher's prediction comes true and they both become immortal. The bank owner considers the pair superheroes and is only too glad to make the arrangements.
Glitter Shade is a little nervous at the arrangement but Melvin is vouched for by Rat Catcher and him they do trust. As a test they let Melvin in on their secret and after the initial shock, he laughs as he remembers Mai's comment and is understanding of Mike's dilemma. Once their financial business is concluded, the heroes escort Rat Catcher to the area he now calls home.
In an abandoned ancient electrical plant near the lighthouse that Michael's family had a controlling interest in before the company went belly up, Rat Catcher has temporarily set up shop as his home and sort of high tech communication station with the spirits of the city. Unfortunately, Templar has been look at the place as a possible staging area to assault the lighthouse again [See Issue #2-Ed.] and so he is here poking around. Fortunately for Moon Shadow, Templar is alone but fully armed and takes umbrage that Rat Catcher is practicing his "Godless Heathen Ways" in the place he wants for himself and so creeps about as stealthily as his costume will allow.
Glitter Shade goes down from pistol fire as Rat Catcher wisely dives for cover. Moon Shadow stabilizes Glitter Shade with his magic before he goes hunting for the shooter. Rat Catcher mystically heals Glitter Shade but the shock keeps her unconscious for now.
Unbeknownst to Templar, Moon Shadow knows the ins and outs of the abandoned plant a lot better that Father Quixote does as he used to play here as a child. Moon Shadow is looking for the shooter and finds Templar crouched in an office overlooking the turbines where Glitter Shade got shot. Templar is paranoid and looking for trouble so he watches his surroundings as much as he waits for a chance to take the Rat Catcher, Glitter Shade or both as he makes the beginnings of a sniper's nest.
Moon Shadow takes umbrage to this invasion and replies by blasting Templar with Hellfire that the ultra zealous fanatic was not really expecting as he is thrown back into a wall. Templar rises slowly as a swarm of mosquitoes surrounds him like a dark cloud. He loudly recites scripture which causes the cloud to move towards Moon Shadow who burns it with Hellfire and then it tries to move to the turbines and attack Rat Catcher and Glitter Shade when the squadron forms an exclamation point, then a question mark before flying off in the form of a hand flipping someone off and leaves Templar and Moon Shadow to continue their fight.
Templar pulls out a micro-Uzi and turns it on Moon Shadow who ducks ou8t of the way in time. What Templar is not aware of is that Rat Catcher is very powerful here and his command over the spirits is complete within this facility. Flickering lights are not something one pays much attention to, but when the electronics he's using to help him aim as well as give him night vision starts to lose power he starts to get suspicious.
All his batteries drain at once as if the electricity is just leeched out at a phenomenal rate. Templar finds his guns jam on him without the battery back up to help make sure the bullets cycle properly. He pulls out a taser baton to strike Moon Shadow only to find the taser function completely unwilling to function.
Caught in a fight he knows he can't win, the Templar activates his jet pack which relies more on chemical fuel than anything else and flies away, cursing Moon Shadow all the way. Once Templar leaves the electrical devices return to normal which he amuses and annoys him no ed. As a final insult Templar prepares a rocket with a small nuclear payload as its warhead and aims at the power plant.
Mosquitoes by the hundreds clog his afterburners, forcing Templar to abandon his plan as can fire the missile and crash or make the necessary adjustments to make it home safely but not both. Laughter fills his ears as he makes good his escape which leads Templar to speculate that Carrion King is taking an especial interest in him. Carrion King is well known for his utter contempt for the Vatican and any and all capes that profess to server her in some capacity.
While Templar is dealing with harassment above, those in the power plant are not immune to trouble either. Giant cockroaches with the bio-hazard symbol on their carapaces in yellow rise from the basement to seek out Rat Catcher and kill him. Moon Shadow has little trouble squashing the trio although the blood of the things is positively toxic.
Moon Shadow feels the effects immediately after splattering the last one as he comes down and drops to his knees. Rat Catcher hands Moon Shadow a bottle of shampoo and directs him to bathe in the river in a ritualistic fashion. This he does immediately as Glitter Shade finally awakens.
The shampoo is actually hand made and does the trick as Moon Shadow does as he was directed to do by Rat Catcher. Professor Moreau's pet monster lurks nearby but as the shampoo invigorates Moon Shadow it sickens and poisons the monster. Exactly what it was will never be known as its nightmarish form dissolves under the positive enchantments of the shampoo which the Rat Catcher designed to purify the user.
Back in his lab, Moreau gets a vague feeling of loss as the chemical remains of his creation washes out to sea. Underwater cameras catch bits and pieces of the drama as it unfolds and he feels the need to weep as he watches the demise of his best creation. Moreau is undaunted as he goes to see how his newest creation is coming along.
Carrion King goes back to his other swarm form as his efforts to zombify the Templar fail utterly. Masses of his body in the form of a swarm of cockroaches travel about the forgotten places in the city as the vampire is just thinking for now. He contemplates his next move against the defenders of the city and a way of keeping them fighting each other instead worrying about him.
In Chinatown the Griever Gang is back as all ten of them in the same attire as before assault the Wu Hu Lee restaurant. As Sun Guard takes them down one by one using his wind and fire wheels as shields as well as weapons he sees that the members of the gang are not really human but some kind of goo like creature able to take a semblance of human form. He somehow manages to give them a good enough thrashing to drive them off but not before they do enough damage to the restaurant to close it down for renovations.
Back on Professor Moreau's island fortress laboratory the gray goo humanoids rise in front of the mad geneticist. Professor Moreau hears the report of the Griever Gang's latest attack and praises them when they are finished. Still taking the forms of Puritans they receive their next target assignment with glee: the Cathedral of the Sacred Martyr.
At the Cathedral of the Sacred Martyr the actual feast portion of the festivities are in full swing as the Templar himself eats with the Damned as well as those less fortunate desperate or stubborn enough to remain after the suicide turkey bomber attacks. Ironically the presence of the mutant Azrael actually helps Templar retain some semblance of order as the gathered think he is an actual angel which enforces the legitimacy of Templar's claim that he is empowered by Heaven to wage war on sin on Earth. But if Templar thought his event's troubles were behind him he is sorely mistaken as the "Ghost Pilgrims" which the Griever Gang are still posing as rise from the grounds and start shooting indiscriminately.
Immediately the Damned and Templar rise to challenge these invaders to their home and hearth. Bullets do nothing to stop the Griever Gang as their bodies just absorb the impact and move on. Templar attempts to affect their minds but finds that the Griever Gang operates as one with a hive mind that protects them from situations the Templar wants to induce.
Physical attacks pass through their bodies of the Griever Gang as if they were indeed noting more than phantoms. Azrael channels energy into his strike and manages to knock two of the ten down where they pool together into a larger creature. Censor tries to negate the powers of the Griever Gang but is stymied by the very nature of how they were created.
Professor Moreau watches it all unfold from his lab as he has pirated most surveillance feeds in town to keep himself abreast of everything happening that affects him. He also starts a recording to go up on YouTube later. But any hopes of a slaughter he might have had when Templar starts using his own psychic powers to disrupt the neural matrixes keeping them cohesive and thus routing the Griever Gang.
Surprisingly, Moreau is not disappointed in his creations as he welcomes them home after their defeat. He bids them rest as he analyzes the data to figure out what adjustments he needs to make. They merely obey their creator as he attends tome computers to rejuvenate the Griever Gang, start the final processes on his big project for today and crunch the numbers to find a counter to Templar's psychic abilities where the Griever Gang is concerned.
Glitter Shade and Moon Shadow are enjoying each other's bodies in a 69 position while all this is going on in Moon Shadow's mobile home. In the spirit of what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about the pair give thanks to one another for each other's company with their collective sexual act. The two are thankful that they have tolerated each other and have come together as a married couple in all but name.
They end up ejaculating at the same time which they both find rather amusing as Glitter Shade shifts shits position so Moon Shadow can suckle at her tits as he is wont to do. She massages his scrotum as he helps himself to her tits as Glitter Shade wants a second helping of his seed; this time between her legs. He massages her clitoris as he suckles like a newborn at her rack; an apology of sorts for the fact it will take him a bit before he is ready to give her what she wants.
"I wonder," Glitter Shade wonders aloud, "Even if we wanted to, could we get married?"
"Outside of Templar," Moon Shadow responds, "What obstacles would we have? Gender is not a problem, despite what we look like, we're a straight couple."
"There's something else, I'm sure," Glitter Shade starts to say then moans, "Cheater, you're going to give me an orgasm before I get you hard again."
"That's sort of the idea," Moon Shadow states with a goofy grin, "I'm very thankful I have you to cuddle with in addition to the sex."
"Likewise," Glitter Shade says with a lusty grin, "Our times together have always been special. If Maria still had a physical body we could double team you again. I miss that." Glitter Shade gets pinched in sensitive places she knows doesn't come from her lover. "I mean it, Maria." A strap-on floats over to the bed. "I like how you think, Maria," The she turns to Moon Shadow. "I'm going to fuck you hard and then you fuck me."
Moon Shadow complies rather than verbalizes a response as a vibrator floats into view. Invisible hands caress Glitter Shade's breasts as she ramrods Moon Shadow's tail hole as the vibrator invades her exposed slit. Moon Shadow heels his nut sack squeezed as well as he groans in pleasure.
Between the ghost and the fox woman the wolf man gets hard again in record time. He then asserts his dominance by pinning her to their bed and thrusts his phallus between the lips of her labia as he goes back to her tits. The strap-on comes off of glitter Shade and two Bad Dragon tentacle toys are brought out and inserted in both tail holes as disembodied giggling can be heard.
Glitter Shade and Moon Shadow look at each other and smirk as they enjoy the playfulness of their ghostly gal pal. Moon Shadow pounds pussy with his prick and moans in tandem with his mate as they enjoy getting fucked in the ass with the toys. His climax fills her womb as the specter sighs as she knows she can't take a turn as she once did so she does the next best thing and cleans his cock while Glitter Shade turns on the news.
The Griever Gang attack on the Cathedral of the Sacred Martyr is the top story with the other being the attack on the Wu Hu Lee restaurant by the same gang. While the attack on the restaurant is unfortunate to the heroes, the Cathedral strike is more significant the their way of thinking as it provides a clue potentially to who is behind the Griever Gang. A confirmation of sorts comes later via e-mail.
To: [[email protected]](%5C)
From: [[email protected]](%5C)
Subj: Thanks Grieving Salutations
I do hope you are enjoying the festivities today. I know I am. BTW how was dinner?
To: [[email protected]](%5C)
From: [[email protected]](%5C)
Subj: Re: Thanks Grieving Salutations
Dinner was more or less uneventful. You're pets attacked after we took Rat Catcher home with his check. But nice work rattling Templar's cage.
>I do hope you are enjoying the festivities today. I know I am. BTW how was dinner?
"I'm divided," Moon Shadow announces. "On the one hand I feel I should let Moreau and Templar have their little war and weaken each other."
"But you want to be the one to kill both," Glitter Shade says to which Moon Shadow just nods, "You promised Maria to kill Templar yourself. Would you mind if I killed Moreau?"
"You're planning to decapitate the bastard with you family sword are you not?" Moon Shadow asks which shocks Glitter Shade so much she just nods. "I've known about your "family secret" since I was still human, Wendy, I just never asked."
"Thank you," Glitter Shade says as she kises her lover on the foerehead, "But you vae a point, castrating him is not the answer."
"For all we know," Moon Shadow mock blusters, "Our boy has a already made himself a eunuch!"
"Hmmm," Maria giggles, "I think I'll go check."
The ghost of Maria leaves the trailer of Moon Shadow and invades Professor Moreau's lab. Her intrusion actually sets off an alert but Moreau is unaware of her presence as he takes care of business. It's on the toilet she finds him to discover that Moreau has no genitalia what so ever; a fact that gives her the giggles that she has to fight herself to suppress.
Maria gets to the alert before Moreau does as the latter scratches an itch in his crotch that he has to work at to satisfy. Moreau will still find the message it will just take him a few minutes as Maria goes explains a little before she leaves. What she finds disturbs her as Moreau has rather filthy moral habits.
Apparently Moreau gets off making his own porn shows with special dolls that are anatomically correct if blandly generic, She finds a database for the dolls to customize with the features of a specific purpose which gives Maria an idea. It's while she's having her thought that Moreau finds her.
"I don't know who you are, little spirit," Moreau says through the loudspeaker, "But you present too an opportunity to pass up."
"Question, Moreau," Maria asks, "How easy can you reproduce one of these dolls?"
"The production would take a week to complete," Professor Moreau admits, "But it would be a trifle at best. Why?"
"Once I take this Hispanic female off you hands," Maria says as she enters the doll she mentioned and in ding so it transforms into an exact replica of what her body was like in life, "You're going to have to make another. Good bye. Templar's forces should be attacking about...now!"
The Damned make another assault on Professor Moreau's lab due to a tip off Maria sent Templar before Maria went exploring Professor Moreau curses the detective as he is forced to defend his home and let her escape with his play thing. Once Maria gets to the trailer Glitter Shade disables any tracking software Professor Moreau may have installed in the doll that Maria can manipulated almost as if it were her old body.
For Professor Moreau the theft of the android is more than affront to his pride it also has the potential to have criminal charges successfully levied against him. Moreau stole the original models and the process for creating them from a fellow super villain in federal custody he secretly aiding and then betrayed anonymously to set him up for capture. The Feds are still looking for these android assassins and with a lengthy stint in a federal facility for the possessor.
Of course, being already dead, Maria has no worries if she's caught but if Moreau is caught the Mech Master will realize who betrayed him and will do his best to take revenge. So after he drives off the Damned from his home again he unleashes his big project as a distraction so he can retrieve the unit Maria stole. The disabled tracking software makes it difficult and each minute he hasn't found her, Maria's spirit overwrites the android's programming so it gets the imprint of her personality that much more entrenched as its protocols.
Exactly what Maria's first priority is after reprogramming her new body so that it can do everything but bear Michael's children, which is another thing she wanted before she was murdered, should be of no surprise. [at least to anyone who's been reading this series from the beginning-Ed] The sensitivity of this new body is even better that her organic one but considering it was designed to kill in a variety of ways it only makes sense but unlike its original mission, Maria's ghost as the animating intelligence is geared more towards protection than destruction as the feeling of her lover finally where she's longer to have him would drive her to tears, if the body could adequately display it. That's something these model really lacked is emotional display which their creator was working on when he was caught, but this model is a lot better now that the ghost of an actual person is in control. [a better CPU for that sort of thing-Ed.]
The "Breaking News" almost takes Mike and Maria out of the moment in its absurdity: A 50 foot turkey rampaging downtown. It does give all three a laugh though as Wendy drives the mobile headquarters to the scene as Mike finishes up with Maria. Maria mans the monitoring equipment as Moon Shadow goes out to fight and Glitter Shades changes to Wendy Wu to cover the story.
"Can he show his hand more obviously?" Maria asks Wendy as she gets the page she knew she was going to get. "Moreau is losing it. And yeah, he's an it."
"Not surprised but we're going to have to talk when we're done with Titan Turkey here." Wendy says with a smirk. "We need to find out what that body can do."
"I'll do a diagnostic and get back to you on that," Maria promises. "But if I'm going to use a code name I think I'll chose Revenant."
"You'll show your hand," Wendy warns.
"I want him to know," Maria counters, "Especially if the opportunity comes to kill him."
The pair share a grim as Wendy goes to work and Maria's android body interfaces directly with the vehicle's on board computer. Moreau is close by looking for the android body Maria's ghost stole which gives Maria a perfect target to try out her new abilities.
Michael has a few old Halloween costumes in a neglected corner of the closet that Maria goes through as she is still nude. She combines the doo-rag/blindfold mask of the one Zorro costume with the sexy vampire she and Wendy alternated wearing with the belt and boots of a SWAT officer that she and Mike served on one before stepping out to hunt down Moreau and send him home. It doesn't take long as Moreau drives by on his own but has no time to do anything when the costumed Maria blasts him with the energy projector of the android body she's inhabiting.
The blast hits a gas line and throws Moreau from his car. Bleeding heavily but alive, Moreau is at Maria's mercy as she growls at him.
"Listen up, Moreau!" Maria yells. "I'm only going to give you the spiel once, SO PAY ATTENTION!! This body is mine now. Make another to replace it. You can take some comfort that if and when I can I will kill Templar with this body. I'm going to let you walk away, but if you try to reclaim my new body, I will kill you to keep it. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," Moreau says with a fake smile. "Sock puppet."
"Nice try," Maria grins, "But I found al your little subroutines and disabled them. I am in control. Now leave!"
She blasts a near miss that shows she means business as Moreau moves like he's never moved before. As he runs away, Moreau's mind goes through various means to regain control and realizes he undid a lot of Mech Master's programming to ensure they couldn't be used against him so with an animating spirit inhabiting the shell his programming has been undone and redone by her very presence. But when he stops to catch his breath he laughs as he realizes he's going to have the last laugh against Templar after all.
As for Moreau's kaiju turkey, it may be huge, but it's still a bird as its behavior is mostly unchanged although it does see people as potential snacks which makes it dangerous. Moon Shadow has it almost when Maria shows up and sticks the fork in it so to speak. Wendy calls the costumed Maria "Revenant" in her reporting and touts her as a new heroine to back up Moon Shadow and Glitter Shade.
The news confuses Templar as his team recuperates from their fight with Griever Gang. He thinks he gets the reference but isn't sure. But he has no more attacks from Professor Moreau or anyone else so he counts his blessings.
Back at the mobile headquarters Moon Shadow sends a threatening e-mail to Professor Moreau about Revenant before they come to the agreement that the should alter a SWAT uniform for her to wear for her protection as well as disguise the fact that her body is a self-replicating robot. But after business comes pleasure. Wendy and Maria agreed to share Michael before they were altered and this agreement goes back into effect now that Maria can enjoy having sex with Mike again.