Read Or Die Fan Fiction / X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Read or Die: Shadowcat! ❯ Chapter 13

Shadowcat: Read or Die!

Part Thirteen

"This is not the sort of place that I'd expect you to go," Drake Anderson remarked mildly as they stood at the door of what could only generously be called a dive.

The bar was in the middle of a bad part of town, the occasional drunk still sleeping away a night of hard drinking in corners and alleys. The sign above the door was a bit battered, the place giving an overall sense of disrepair. In the afternoon sun it looked like the sort of place that you probably wouldn't admit visiting to your friends.

"Not my style," Kitty agreed, the black leather clad young woman giving him a smile, "but it is the sort of place Yukio might hang out."

Yomiko didn't comment, busy reading some of the adult business cards stuck in the seams around a phone booth nearby. "That's interesting," the blushing woman shook her head, her brown hair swinging as she turned back to feel Kitty and Drake's amused looks on her. "What?" she asked, pushing up her glasses.

"Never mind," Drake shook his head with a sigh. "Shall we go in?" the muscular blonde haired man said with a wry smile.

From the concealment of a nearby rooftop a woman dressed in old fashioned clothes watched, her short brown hair fluttering around her. "This is Amelia," she softly said into the small communications device that she carried, "it looks like they're about to enter one of your template's usual haunts."

Soft swearing came from the other end. "I'm heading out there," she said firmly, "I'm not skulking around them any longer."

"But our orders are...," Amelia started.

"Our orders be damned," she answered, "I want my shot at Pryde!" With that the link was cut off with a squeal of static.

"Lovely," Amelia muttered, her brown wings swiftly stretching out from her back. She glided carefully down to street level, intent on keeping an eye on them until her associate arrived.

Kitty pushed the door open, the scent of cigarette smoke wafting past as they went in. Everyone in the bar turned to look at them, the men and women cautiously watching them enter. They paced by occupied tables, a pool game going on in the back. There was a soft sound, steel sliding on steel in the near silence and the three stopped.

"I really wouldn't recommend doing that," Kitty said conversationally, "or you'll be eating for the rest of your life with the other hand."

A long moment of silence and they could hear the knife being slipped away. "Not bad," Drake remarked mildly.

"Logan taught me everything I know," Kitty answered.

"Got that right," a amused woman's voice called out. She was perched on a stool by the bar, the slim woman wearing a leather jacket and long black pants. She moved across the bar with catlike grace, looking Kitty and her allies over, "Friends of yours, Kitten?"

"Yukio," Kitty smiled back at her cautiously, "it's been awhile." She waved to her companions, "I'd like you to meet Drake and Yomiko."

"Hello," Yomiko beamed.

Yukio ignored that as she gave the two a thoughtful look, a mysterious little smile teasing her lips. She casually reached over to stroke the false leather that made up Kitty's outfit as she purred, "Nice costume, but it isn't quite your style."

Yomiko stiffened, eyes narrowing as she saw Yukio so casually stroking Kitty's shoulder. "Easy," Drake murmured, holding her back.

Yukio saw that and removed her hand, murmuring, "Well, isn't that interesting." She tilted her head to the side as she looked at Kitty, "I kind of doubt this is a social call."

"I need some information," Kitty confessed.

"Then let's go to my office," Yukio chuckled, leading them across the bar with a swing of her hips. The table was over in a corner, secluded from the rest of the bar and shielded from direct line of sight. "Grab a seat," she waved them to sit.

Yomiko sat beside Kitty to block Yukio, bringing a soft chuckle from the other woman. Her humor seemed to fade away as Kitty quietly explained some of the details of 'Ogun's survival, leaving out any details about the Library.

"Damn," Yukio muttered, sitting back casually in her chair. She drank some of her mug of beer, looking over at them thoughtfully. "I haven't heard anything about him," she conceded, "though I did have a odd job recently."

"Oh?" Drake raised an eyebrow.

"It was supposed to be a standard in and out operation," Yukio related, "but there was some weirdness related to it." She chuckled, "The guy wanted a blood sample, for some reason." There was a long beat of silence as she asked them, "What?"

Kitty and Yomiko exchanged a look, silently asking who was going to tell her. With a tired sigh Drake took it out of their hands as he said, "If this is who we think it is, he may be doing some... dangerous stuff with that blood sample."

Yukio sighed, "This is more of that X-Men related stuff, then?" She looked at Drake with an oddly predatory look, "And who's he, 'Buff' man?"

"No, but he is married," Drake answered gruffly.

"Pity," Yukio sighed. With that she calmly began to relate details of her supposed 'in and out' job, including who hired her and the item she was to steal.

"Amelia Earheart's clothes?" Kitty blinked, looking thoughtful.

"It does fit the pattern," Yomiko quietly noted, "there were several great figures of history we faced previously."

A figure entered the bar and Yukio smoothly slipped from her seat, pausing only to run a hand across Drake's broad shoulders. "Business," she nodded to the woman who had walked in, "but if you need my help, contact me."

"Thanks," Kitty nodded as the three of them moved off towards the entrance, talking so that others couldn't easily hear.

"She seemed oddly familiar with you," Yomiko frowned at Kitty then looked over at Drake, "but why was she so... with him?"

"My rugged good looks?" Drake offered with a slight smile as they left the bar, finding the alley beyond oddly deserted.

Kitty chuckled softly, "That, and she's supposed to be bisexual." Yomiko gave her an odd look and Kitty shrugged, "Logan probably was more than friends with her and a female friend of mine is awfully... cagey about talking about her time with Yukio."

"Wow," Yomiko was blushing furiously.

"Hsssss!" It leapt out from the shadows before any of them could react, a slim figure that was sheathed head to toe in midnight black fur. Claws flashed in the sunlight as she attacked, moving with inhuman speed and agility.

"Ahh!" Kitty's cheek blossomed red as three streaks appeared, phasing fast enough to evade the second blow. They stood still a second and Kitty reached up to wipe away the blood on her face. "Yukio?" she asked.

She straightened up, smiling so that fangs gleamed slightly between her lips. In the light she looked almost human,. black fur coating a decadently naked body. Her eyes glowed golden, but her most inhuman feature was the long black cat's tail that lashed against the back of her legs.

"It'll do for a name," she smiled, Yukio-cat almost purring as she said, "but I'm so much more than that human." Her eyes narrowed, "Or you, Pryde!"

Yukio-cat leapt but this time Kitty was ready, blocking her attack smoothly. They fought back and forth in the dim alley, moves from many martial arts being used against each other. Yukio-cat had the advantage in speed and agility but Kitty refused to give any ground, taking the occasional hit to lash out at her opponent.

"Let me help...," Yomiko started.

"No," Kitty blocked a blow with her forearm, "don't interfere!"

Suddenly gunfire rang out, Yukio-cat leaping away nervously. The woman stood in the mouth of the alley, her brown wings stretched out, pistols from nearly fifty years ago in each of her hands. "We'll have to settle this some other time," Amelia kept her guns on the three as she continued, "it's time to go, Yukio!"

"Let me finish this, damn you," Yukio hissed at Amelia.

"We're under orders," Amelia kept a wary eye on Kitty and the others as she said firmly, "I'll force you to go with me if I have to."

"All right, damn you," Yukio-cat ran at Amelia as the woman rose into the air. She leap, catching Amelia's hand as the two woman smoothly rose into the air. "This isn't over, Pryde," she yelled as they disappeared behind a building.

Drake had his gun out, searching for a target as soon as they took off, a few shots ringing out without much success. "Damn," he scowled and lowered his arms before looking to where Yomiko was fussing over Kitty.

"Looks like Sinister didn't stop with just the Ijin," Yomiko noted softly. She pulled a cloth from her pocket to dab gently at Kitty's cuts as she asked, "Do you think that was Amelia Earheart?"

"We'd better contact the Library," Kitty blushed as Yomiko's faint scent washed over her, "Joker is going to want to know about this."

To be continued...