Sticks and Stones
A story by Jazzfoxrules/Strikevalkyrie



"Jasmine?

"Jasmine!

"Jasmine, you need to get up already! It's 7 AM, how do you expect do get to work on time when you have not even an hour to get ready and not even a full set of pyjamas on, you big slob?"

Jasmine Smith opened one eye with titanic effort. The lovely voice that returned her to reality so smoothly belonged to girlfriend Jeri Garcia, who was in fact not related in any way to any world-famous actress of the '50s. But Jasmine would argue she was just as elusive, as she was one of the very few creatures treading on this planet that could not only stand, but love the albino vixen, who at this moment was a victim to heavy sleep deprivation.

"Ooookay... So maybe watching the whole Claw Master trilogy in one sit wasn't such a good idea" she murmured while struggling to open her second eye. She didn't even want to think about the pain of removing the comfy bed covers. Why did she have to suffer so much so early in the morning?

"I'm awake! I-" The foxgirl stopped to yawn, "...really am!"

Jasmine finally gathered all her Ki in one spot of her body and jumped off the bed, ejecting the flexible parts of her sleep station like a reactive armour. She instantly regretted it, but at least her landing could be heard in the kitchen two rooms away, where Jeri was currently residing, judging by the echo of her voice.

"Good. Cover yourself up, I'm coming over to you." the girl announced as her steps navigating the corridor cemented her short arrival.

Jasmine puffed the chaos of her white hair off her face. "Yeah, like there's anything you haven't seen already left in here." She said in between hastily buttoning her shirt, which was a bit of a challenge with most of her right hand and forearm covered in a plaster cast.

"Good point," the black panthress admitted as she entered the room without knocking, "Wow, you look like a walking mess. Someone sure had a rough night here." Jeri whistled in admiration.

"And someone's sure in a good mood today." the vixen rolled her eyes once the last button was defeated.

"More like in an 'I told you so' mood," the feline tilted her head that rested atop a formal suit-wearing pitch-black body. "I warned you not to hog the video the entire night, but look what you did. Yeah, totally didn't see that one coming."

"Well you could've always turned it off yourself and stuck the remote into your gown's cleavage."

"Like that would keep the remote safe from your paws. Besides, I was already asleep by the half of the first movie, so I was hardly in a position for Panthera Ex Machina."

Jasmine barely resisted the urge to tell her about all the great action she missed by going idle, but decided now was not the best moment to be playful with her lover.

"Ugh, I'm sorry about sleeping in. I know I should be more responsible about reaching work on time." she fiddled with her wild unkempt tail a bit.

"At least you're up now, and that gives us a good start for the rest of your preparations."

"I guess... what do I do now, Supervisor?" Jasmine asked cautiously.

"Hit the shower and fire up the fur drier. I'll pick up some clothes from your dresser and then go back to finish making the breakfast. If we hurry, you'll still catch your bus." the cat said.

"Whatever would I do without you, my hero." Jasmine hugged her gently. To her surprise, Jeri's skin vibrated in sync with her soft purr.

"Probably kicked the bucket a few dozen times by now. But luckily I'm around, and luckily my twisted mind enjoys helping you out despite better judgement. I dunno, maybe it's my way to fill the unfulfilled motherly care quota or something." the panthress smiled.

Yes, Jeri was indeed a very unique, special type of creature. And probably the only one giving the white canine the motivation required to bath, dry up, dress up, and reach the kitchen in under twenty minutes.

"Here" Jeri said as she gently yet firmly shoved a homemade BLT into her snout while her other hand docked a cup of coffee into the albino's left paw.

"Dankz" Jasmine replied while trying not to choke herself with the food.

"I hope you remember the schedule for today?" the cat asked carefully.

"Yeth Ah thoo." she replied before swallowing. "Go to work, leave an hour earlier for the hand check up like I arranged with my boss, come back here ASAP and prepare you a meal that does not involve reheated Chinese. I'll probably have to stop at Walrusmart Express for that last one..."

"I'm not coming back from hospital until 6 PM, so you should have enough time to pull it off."

"Or you'll do some ER action on my poor back bumper, I know," the albino sighed.

"Or? I'd say that's only happening if you are a good foxy," Jeri smirked diabolically before smooching her. "I'm off, now. Don't miss that bus. Love you." she stood up and left the apartment with grace typical for her species.

"Jeri Garcia-Smith, M.D." Jasmine smiled as she eyed the closed door, she just liked the sound of it rolling off her tongue.

Yes, the vixen was definitely in good hands. But she reasoned she had better make a proper use of all the handicap she received already that morning or these gentle paws would close around her like a heavy duty trash compactor, and she did like the current, overall not-mutilated shape of her body.

She finished her meal, assimilated the whole volume of her coffee in one gulp, and stood up. Maybe she had episodes of laziness, but at least she still had enough foresight to pack up her business bag in the evening. She lifted it up from the bedroom table, strapping it over her shoulder. It was a tad too heavy for her taste, but her body, trained to endure such a load over many years, relaxed a bit once it established the bag would ride on it for the next 35 minutes or so. She adjusted her dress and high-heels, and lifted off for a brand new day of excitement... that most likely would be available everywhere but at her newspaper's offices. Adventure Ho!

At least she arrived on time to catch the bus, and to catch it by the front doors for a change.

The ride was no different than on any other day, and after convincing herself she had indeed actually locked the apartment she shared with Jeri, she was able to ride to work in peace, listening to her favourite band via an MP3 player, and going through some 15 micro-naps in the process.

20 minutes later she dropped off on the bus stop she liked to call Point Of Lost Hope. She never had any real need to go to this part of the city except for work, so the description seemed justified enough. She glanced at her wristwatch: still had decent amount of time to spare. A quick walk would get her to the office before anyone would notice she wasn't there yet. And her co-workers and superiors simply loved to notice her absence mere seconds after her work hours began.

She strolled down the square not far away from her office building thinking how she needed to create some kind of super-resume that would allow her to leave this stupid job behind with a wide grin and a well-deserved middle finger raised. She had talents, a flexible mind, and other attributes that had no way of shining through in her current occupation. Sure, first job after college, so she shouldn't be complaining. But there were bad jobs and then there was the news industry. She longed for an opportunity to be something much more professional.

A chunk of her mind not controlling her navigation and not being busy with nagging spotted a small grocery shop through peripheral vision. She made a mental note that her relationship relied on remembering to pay a visit to the store on her way home. On a whim, she dug her left paw into the bag and fished out her wallet. It was unpleasantly empty. Jasmine mumbled. She could of course pay for the food with her card, but she hated not to have physical money with her, as there were still many places that mistrusted the small plastic piece of capitalism.


Then, she spotted a solution. Just a few buildings down the square was a bank that she remembered had a compatible cash machine. She glanced at the watch again. How long could that take, three minutes? She would still make it to work in time.

With that resolution, she walked up to the entrance. As she entered the corridor that led to the main bank hall, she turned right and walked inside a small booth made of dimmed glass that contained the cash machine. Many banks used such booths as they allowed the customers to retrieve their money in the safety of the building's interior without forcing them to enter the establishment full-scale where every other client could see them.

The vixen crossed the glass door and closed them behind her, hearing a small buzz right afterwards. This particular bank had a simple safety measure where the doors electro-locked as soon as motion sensors in the booth detected someone inside. To open them again, the user would have to press a button next to the door handle. This supposedly was arranged so that no one could barge into the booth when the user's link to their account was open, which was the perfect time to usurp the customer's savings for a potential thief. Of course the dimmed glass obscured the content of the booth to most, but some species had eyes that countered that difficulty with ease.

Jasmine allowed the unit to swallow her card and went through the safety checks, arriving at the "select operation" screen. She chose "retrieve funds", but then stopped. How much would be enough? It's one thing to carry cash on board, but carrying too much was problematic, as she believed that could attract fate's mischievous streak towards her. She was taking out the money for shopping, but how much would she need to make the perfect meal for Jeri, exactly? Decisions, decisions, decisions...

She was swimming in her thoughts when she heard a commotion outside of the booth. Someone was entering the bank in quite a hurry, it seemed. Maybe the incoming customers are more desperate for time than she is, it happens. What rarely happens afterwards, though, is a gunshot being fired, followed by screams coming from the direction of the main hall.

Jasmine twitched and dropped her bag. She pressed one ear against the glass wall of the booth and closed her eyes for better focus.

"Everybody hit the floor! This is a stick up, ladies and gents!" shouted a male voice.

She grimaced. A bank robbery.

"That's right, my good citizens, we came here to retrieve ourselves some funds and we'd appreciate if you didn't mind." A pause followed, "Of course, you can mind, but as you just saw, these guns we're holding here aren't toys, and should any of you interfere, we'll be happy to help you double-check their authenticity in person."

Jasmine heard another shot being fired with a scream following instantly as the fur on her neck bristled.

" See? Mr Guard here just volunteered for the first demonstration. Now you know, Mr Guard, and knowing is half of your chance for survival today. Now, please hit the floor like the rest and don't try anything stupid again. Next time I won't be aiming for your arm. And the same goes for you lady, don't even think of hitting the silent alarm. We know where its hidden and we will not stand for you getting too close to it, if you know what I mean."

Jasmine bit her lip. Bank robbery with thieves that are armed, dangerous, and likely not caring for the lives of those involved. She was lucky they went past the booth so fast they didn't notice her inside or she would likely have been kissing the floor herself right now.

She whined. This was not the way she wanted to start her day, but she had to consider the facts. The robbers meant business, and the police weren't coming to their aid with the silent alarm inactive. But Jasmine was there, and so far her presence was unknown. She picked up her cellphone and checked reception. With signal reach confirmed, she dialled 911.

"Police? I'm calling from Grand Gordon Bank on Jupiter Square." she tried to make her voice sound neutral and uncharacteristic, "There's an ongoing bank robbery inside. The perpetrators are armed and dangerous, with multiple hostages at gun point. One of them was already injured. Please come here as soon as possible, there's no way of telling what will they do next. This is not a prank call. Hurry." with that she disconnected, switched the phone to offline mode, and hid it back into her pocket.

Given the length of the corridor, she reasoned she could probably dash out of the building before any of the thugs detected or intercepted her. Then she could have walked to work, safe in the knowledge the police would take care of the rest. The problem was, how quickly the police would respond or not, and how their potential ETA gave enough room for the armed and twitchy criminals to go crazy on the scene.

And she could not allow that to happen.

Not when there was something else she could do instead of help it.

Making sure the booth was secure for the moment and that no goon was coming to check it, she undressed to her underwear and quickly shoved all of her clothes in a small plastic pouch which she hid behind the cash machine. Then she reached for the business bag. There was a reason for the heavy weight it made on her shoulder. She moved her hand underneath it and opened a zip that was carefully sewn into its bottom. As the gap in her bag grew wider, she grabbed something concealed on the other side, and removed it: a small medical cast shaped like a wrist guard. She pushed her left hand into it until her digits were all protruding from the other end of it and gave a testing wiggle.

She was ready.

"No thug will point a gun at innocents when I'm around." she whispered with a resolved face. She clenched her cast-covered hand and pressed it hard against the cast protecting her right limb.

"Sticks and stones may break our bones, but wounds to honour hurt far worse. From ill intent I shall not shy, let Ivory rise, and evil defy!" she recanted firmly.

Both of her casts began to glow with gold light, beginning to rapidly expand all over her body. The sensation was always very strange and it took years to fight off the natural reflex of trying to get the growing mass off her body. But this was a small price for the benefits that came with it, and she gladly offered herself to the moment.




"Hurry up you stupid slacker! It's dollars you're packing into these bags, not porcelain figures! Put some life into it!" the thug nudged an antelope lady with the tip of his gun's barrel as he oversaw her removing all the money from under her counter.

"I'm trying!" she cried with welling tears in her eyes.

"Well then, try harder, missy, we're not on unlimited time here, and I'm sure you don't need a third nostril between your eyes." he said with a cruelly playful voice.

The fox with the gun turned his head towards a hyena aiming an Uzi at another female clerk, "Oi, Timmy, how's it going on your end?"

"Awesome, dude, it's a shame you can't seen how fast her hands are moving. It's almost as if she's already got some experience in this!" he cackled.

"Mike, Teddy, all clear over there?"

The shotgun-wielding porcupine and bear nodded in unison from their respective posts. They were the team's spotters with a simple mission: shoot at anything that tried to disrupt the operation while their teammates gathered the money.

"All clear, Jonny," Teddy grinned. "But where I stand, it looks like we're not getting much green from this so far. This does not cover even little mansion on my wishlist."

The gun-using fox laughed. "True enough! I bet there's much more booty to collect here. Perhaps it's in that big shiny safe over there?"

Jonny shot another round into the ceiling. "Pardon, can I have your attention for a moment, please? Which of you good people would know the combination to that vault over there? We really think we should get in, preferably before anyone else gets hurt."

A short beaver raised his hand, still lying on the floor. "I'm the bank's manager. I know the codes. Just please don't harm anyone."

Jonny gestured at Teddy to bring him over. "We will certainly try to be as civilised as possible, sir. But accidents just happen and we will have to protect ourselves if anything silly occurs. That sounds plausible, don't you agree?"

As soon as he finished that sentence, Mike, who has guarding the hall entrance, was shoved across the room like a screaming rag doll fired from a slingshot. Jonny looked dumbfounded as the porcupine ungracefully halted his flight with a help from a marble support column, sliding down to the floor.

The fox glanced at the exit and instantly found out what had enough power to blow away a full-grown adult with such an ease. Though he was not very certain what exactly he was looking at.

The entrance was blocked off by something that very much resembled a vulpine-shaped golem, a walking block of thick white mass with several spikes protruding from its back, with more forming around its ears, elbows and feet. There was a minimalistic face composed of two diagonal slits for eyes with one more posing as mouth but nothing else defining to the white mass.

"And what. In the hell. Are you supposed to be?" Jonny spoke slowly.

"Look! It's Ivory! She came to save us!" a young mouse hostage shouted with hope before his mother pushed his head down to be quiet.

"Ivory?" Jonny repeated, looking askance at Teddy and Timmy. "Ok, seriously, what is this, some kind of premature Halloween prank?"

"Boss..." Mike moaned from the floor, still upside down as he reached out with a shaking hand, "Gotta watch out... she's... hero..."

Mike fell unconscious before he could finish, the rest of the porcupine's body flopping over himself to hit the floor, but before anything else could be asked, it seemed the white fox had something to say.

"Drop your weapons. The police are on their way. You can still walk out of this relatively unscathed if you do as I say." the golem's words carried a great echo-like resonance that had no resemblance of femininity. It sounded more like a cave animated into life.

Jonny finally remembered who he was in this whole ordeal and pointed his barrel like an extension of his index finger at the new figure.

"Hey, Ivory, or whatever they call you, newsflash. There's three of us, surrounded by dozens of hostages and packing enough heat to melt the federal treasury. You think you can just walk in on us and tell us what to do?"

Quickly the fox instead grabbed the antelope lady by her horn and pushed his gun against her temple. "I think not."

The golem adjusted its head slightly, steam leaking out of its slits. "Don't do it. Robbery is one thing, but if you pull the trigger on her, no court will give you less than a life sentence. Do you really want to live with this kind of mental burden in you?"

"Mental burden? Heh, good one. But hey, I just said something, you walking piece of chalk!" he bared his fangs, "You don't get to tell us what to do!

"...But maybe you're right, tunnelling her skull won't do me no good." Johnny paused, just a second to recompose himself, as his hold on the antelope seemed to loosen, his eyes roaming back and forth at the two remaining thugs beside him, "But maybe this will. Gentlemen?"

Without a further warning he tossed the antelope away and all three thugs begun shooting at the golem in a continuous rain of bullets that gradually began eating away at the golem's body with a flurry of white dust.

"How do you like that, huh?!" the hyena laughed maniacally over the bullets as a faint cloud of powder shrouded their enemy, "Shatter already!"

Brief moments later, all that echoed in the room was the sound of three clicking triggers. Jonny wasn't happy they wasted so much ammo, but at least it did the trick. And it certainly made him feel better for one as he nodded to the other two goons.

"Teddy, Timmy, check it's dust, then we go back to work."

"Who's 'dust'?" spoke out of the white cloud.

The cloud suddenly vanished as if sucked out by vacuum, revealing a much thinned and cracked figure of white standing in a pile of its own shards and pieces.

"You don't go down easily, now do you..." the fox grunted.

"No." the golem agreed. Several of its backs spikes folded down and collapsed into its body. The creature, receiving this new mass boost, started to quickly expand as cracks vanished and it began to regain its original structure, but even before the process was completed, it dashed towards the nearest enemy in sight: Teddy.

The bear tossed aside his shotgun and took a well-rooted stance to intercept the incoming beast even as his companions rushed out of the way, "I get it. That was plan from start, eh?”

A second later, the bear made a daring dodge and passed Ivory's hardened fist by inches, manoeuvring around her as she passed him and grabbing her by the armoured tail, body tensing as he pushed his own weight against the golem's. "Taunt us to use ammo, lose bullets, make room for you to punch, eh?

"Let us see how heavy you really are!" Teddy said as he spun her around like a throwing hammer, only to send her on an ice-breaking meeting with another support column, content with the crack sound he heard.

"Heh. Imposing, but not sturdy. Typical." he charged at her with clenched fists.

"Look who's talking." the golem swiftly stood up to face him and performed a frontal somersault. Just in time to bludgeon the bear's head into the ground with a swiftly spinning tail before he could even turn to see her hit. On that day Teddy learned that even seemingly light objects can pack a serious punch with enough momentum given. The bear was out cold before he even hit the floor.

Ivory effortlessly regained her balance upon landing and demonstratively rested one leg on the fallen enemy. "I'm giving you one more chance to surrender. There's no need for all of this to happen."

Then came the characteristic sound of a sub-machine gun completing reload. She moved her head to grasp the sight of a hyena aiming at her.

"I was careless with that first volley." Timmy adjusted his stance to accommodate the Uzi's now-extended stock. "But I'm just dying to find out if that armour of yours can take a whole barrage fired only at your head!"

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Ivory swung her right forearm backward and immediately catapulted it forward at incredible speed. When it extended to its full reach, the shell's top layer of coating slid off of the arm and fired forward like a high-velocity anti-tank projectile.

Timmy tried to change its trajectory with concentrated fire, but all it did was to carve an irregular pattern at the missile's tip that made it hurt even more once it connected to the hyena through his abdomen. He didn't even have the lungs to let out a whine, flying through the air for several feet before falling to the floor with the rocket punch still digging into him.

Jonny now began to feel he was losing control over the situation. He stared in turns at his fallen comrades before shifting to the white warrior just in time to see her limb armour grow back to its standard thickness at the cost of another few spikes melting into the body.

"I warned you. You didn't listen. Now face the consequences of your decision." the golem spoke dryly.

The fox nonchalantly fired a single bullet from the gun he reloaded in the meantime. It struck where the armour wearer's heart should be, but it didn't go in deeper than half an inch. And that was by far not enough to make an impression on the walking statue.

"What do you expect to achieve? All of your buddies are downed and your gun can't harm me. There is nothing you can do to leave this place in one piece apart from coming quietly. Surrender now." Ivory's voice was infuriatingly calm.

He looked at the still hot barrel of the weapon with raised eyebrows, and rested on the counter behind him, scratching his head with the pistol's safety lock. "You may be right there...

"This was supposed to go smooth and fast, but our plan of course didn't take a comic book hero popping up into account. You just never know when a friendly super-neighbour drops by." he said with a smile. "But I don't think I'm out of options just yet-"

With that, he unloaded the rest of the gun clip into her in a single unannounced burst. While the hero assumed a defence stance, she didn't come any closer, at least until her armour refilled all the gaps and cracks that had just been acquired.

"I see I'm wasting my time on negotiating with you. I'm done with being nice." the golem clenched its fists, seemingly ready to charge at him.

"Maybe you're wasting time, but me? I'm learning new tricks here." Jonny jumped behind the counter and dragged the antelope woman into the open again.

The clerk screamed, trying to undo his grip on her shoulder, but he just tightened all the more, pushing his gun's barrel beside her cheek.

Ivory slowly, but steadily began moving towards the thug. "Let her go or I'll redecorate the walls with your fur. No more kid gloves." steam began flowing out of her face slits for the second time.

"Uh-uh-uh," he waved his gun at her like an adult reprimanding a child. "You come any closer and I will redecorate this hall with her." he squeezed the panicking woman even harder. "I'm dead serious too, but if you make one wrong move this pretty thing here will be just dead."

"You're threatening her with a gun that's out of bullets."

"I am," he nodded without dropping a beat, loosening his grip from the antelope. She went to move, but he quickly grabbed around her neck with the gun wielding arm, holding her in front of himself as a shield, pulling out a second gun from his belt with the opposite hand. "But hey, no worries. Look! I've got a spare with me!"

Ivory halted, but her body language clearly indicated she was waiting for the next chance to attack him.

"Good whatever-you-are, stay there if you want to avoid adding this lady to your, how did you call it? Oh yeah, mental burden!" Jonny fox grinned, "You know... not to bore you with a monologue, but while I'm kind of pissed at you for punching the lights of my buddies out, you did give me a great opportunity to see you in action. And guess what I figured out? Those spikes on your back don't just vanish when you fight for a dramatic effect. They're the ammo for your powers.

"And their number is just as limited as rounds in any weapon clip we've seen today." Jonny finished proudly.

She just stared at him in silence, but that was enough for Jonny to assume his theory as good as confirmed.

"Now, let's play some Jonny Says." he drew lines on clerk's throat with his pistol. "Jonny says: fire that rocket punch of yours at the wall. Oh, and if I forgot to say before, there's a time limit to this game! If you fail to do the right moves for over five seconds, you lose. Starting from now."

Ivory just stood there for two seconds, but then raised her left arm and made a new ventilation shaft in the nearest vertical surface with her self-made projectile. The fox watched in amusement as another spike melted into the golem's main body, adding the lost mass to the arm.

"Great work so far! Now, with both hands!" he commanded.

Before five seconds passed, two new gaps appeared in the wall with an audible crack.

"You're really good at this! You need to enter a tournament in your spare time." he joked. "In fact, this is so cool to look at I want a few more go's! Jonny says: shoot, whitey, shoot!"

Several more white bullets penetrated various elements of the hall before the fox rocked his head slightly with a widening grin on his face.

"Perfect! That was one great show. I'd salute to you, but both of my hands are kind of full..." he laughed. "Oh, wait, did that little demonstration just consume the last of your armour's spare spikes? Oh dear. That's too bad.

"Now there's no way you can attack me from where you're standing... and considering you can't cut the distance without making certain someone go 'bang', I'd say the only direction you can advance is to the rear." He mused.

"So, here's my advice." he pressed the barrel harder onto his squealing hostage's skin, "Hands up where I can see them, and step back, one foot after the other, until you're at the entrance. Once you're there, you may as well get out of the building and never come back. You're done here anyway, and I can make you regret every single idea you might get to miraculously save the day.

"Because if I'm not mistaken, you are more than vulnerable to that whole burden thing than I am." He tapped on the gun trigger with his index finger.

The golem just stood there for a few moments, barely moving in any way.

Jonny raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're still here? I thought I made it clear to you what's going on."

"Even if I walk away, you'll still have a small battalion of cops on your tail in less than five minutes. You think you'll be able to boss them around like that? They'll likely have a sniper in tow, and there are windows here, so I think not. Even if they keep their distance, they win." the statue noted.

"I'll worry about the future when the time is right, whitey." the fox puffed and adjusted his grip on the weapon. "But that future is none of your concern. You won't be here by then if you know what's good for you and for this pretty missy. And if you're on the fence about it... well, Jonny says: hands up, fall back."

Ivory raised her arms in a surrendering gesture, and started to walk toward the bank exit, always keeping her face turned towards the thug.

"That's right, you're doing great. Keep at it and everyone will be alright." Jonny said.

Then, the golem stopped.

"Oh, what now, you've stepped on a piece of gum or something?" he moaned in irritation.

The armoured hero said nothing.

"Bad hero, bad!" he forced the woman into a kneeling position and placed the gun on the back of her head. "You know the rules, and you're breaking them on purpose! You know what happens if you break the goddamned rules!!"

"You won't shoot." the golem said.

"Oh yeah? And what's there to stop me from it, eh?"

"Yourself. You think you're the only one with observation skills around? I've been watching you carefully this whole time and I finally figured you out. You're just a show-off. All appearances and no real guts. You can bark and you can point, but you won't shoot."

"You're testing my patience for the last time. I'm a show off? Fine! " he growled at her, "Let's check how much you're right the fun way! No more Simon says, whitey! Now it's one-way Final Countdown! 5!"

"You try to be tough and in full control of this situation, but deep down you take into account you may be caught today. And that part of you is fully aware that if you take this life, there will be nothing to stop the law enforcers from ruining your own life. All of it."

"4!" He continued, "3!"

"I know you're not an idiot. You're just desperate for an emergency escape now that you realise how trapped you are. When you came here today you didn't intend to kill anyone and while you may strike a different pose, you still don't want to kill anyone. You're a robber, but not a murderer. That's not what you do."

The fox was now close to tears. "How many friggin times will it take to crack and reach your thick skull?! You're not telling me what to do!!!"

He then screamed in pain as the hall filled with a heavy sound of metal connecting to fur-coated flesh. Jonny turned around to see the bank's manager holding a fire extinguisher like a mace right behind him.

Jonny growled and turned the gun at the new challenger, stretching out his gun-holding arm to achieve immediate point-blank range on the beaver.

"You little-" he sneered while locking the barrel on his face.

That was his last sentient action. An instant later, he dropped cold on the floor, releasing his grip both on his weapon and the clerk.

She collapsed on her knees, panting heavily, not caring about how two small waterfalls coming down from her eyes messed up her uniform and make-up. She looked at her employer, still holding the makeshift weapon, glancing at the other end of the room. Many extreme emotions were erupting in her, but she still followed his gaze.

He was looking at Ivory. She was still standing where she originally stopped, with her arms raised, but the surface of the underside of her forearms rippled with bulges that were slowly retracting and smoothing over again. Only then the antelope looked at the heroes head. Jonny had made a mistake in assuming that Ivory only had as many attacks as armour spikes on show. The area where her ears should be was now flat and empty.

The antelope then turned her head towards her almost-executioner, her pupils growing a bit larger. His back was covered in hair-wide needles that concentrated in several points between his neck and tail.

"He's new in this city, that's for sure." the manager dropped the extinguisher and sat on the floor with a heavy, tired sigh. "...if he'd seen you in action before, Ivory, I'm sure he wouldn't have tried his luck as much with Ms. Feathermain."

"Indeed," The golem spoke, with a weary sigh disguised among the echo, "Clearly he didn't know I could use my whole body for ammo."

The beaver meanwhile looked at the clerk with apologetic eyes. "I'm very sorry, Ms Feathermain. This must have been a horrible experience for you."

The antelope woman just stared at the body of Jonny in silence as she was helped to her feet.

"Everyone, you can stand up now, the situation is over, the robbers are dealt with, there's nothing left to fear," The beaver said, prompting a small rumble as over twenty people rose from the floor. Many of them instantly started clapping their hands and cheering for their saviour.

"That was very brave of you." he heard Ivory's resonating voice from afar. "I don't like putting anyone else in danger to win a fight, but you gave me the opening I needed, at great risk to yourself. Thank you."

The manager smiled faintly. "Thank yourself, dear. Only thanks to your distraction I was able to sneak up behind him without being noticed in the first place."

"Then we can say that foiling this robbery was a team effort." there was some echo of a smile in her voice. "And... sorry for the damage I caused to the building. I wasn't in a position to say no at the time."

"Our insurance will cover the repairs. Or will once I find a plausible explanation for these holes. I think we need to review the super section of the contract... but that's a small price for keeping everyone alive." the manager smiled wearily.

"Is he.. is he dead?" the antelope asked. The hero tilted her head downward slightly as she looked at Jonny.

"No. I don't kill. Golden rule in my line of work." Ivory finally lowered her arms, allowing them to thin slightly to regain her ears. "The needles I fired at him were all aimed at pressure points that would knock him out. He'll be sore, but he'll wake up a while after the police pick him up."

"Thank you for all you did for us today, Ivory." The manager slowly stood up to give her a respecting bow, "Without you this day could turn into a nightmare. If there is anything..."

"There isn't. Really. Helping people is the only reward I fight for." She looked at the entrance for a second. "Then again, it would be a great help if you'd allow me to leave by the back door. The police will be here shortly and I don't want to probe their attitude towards my activity in person just yet."

"Please do, that's the least we can do for you." the beaver nodded.

"Much appreciated." she turned towards the corridor and stopped. "I think I saw an ATM booth when I was entering the building. Just hold on here a moment... The last thing we want is to find out they have a lookout waiting there to get away."

With that, she turned into the passage, returning some twenty seconds later.
"The booth is clear, no civilians either." she reported. "Please wait just a little longer, I can already hear the police sirens."

"At least they're in time to take these thugs away," the bank manager sighed. "Well, off you go, dear. Like you said, you don't want to be here when the boys in blue arrive."

"Will do. Take care." she shook his hand and sprinted towards the back door, carefully jumping over one of the counters and exiting the room.

The beaver watched the spot where she had vanished from sight for another few moments and turned back to the security guard who was already being tended to, keen to ensure everyone else would be alright.




The door in the alley behind the bank opened slightly as a pair of red eyes looked left and right through their narrow slit. The coast was clear, Jasmine decided. Like a lurking predator, she slowly slipped out of the building. Her eyes were sweeping the area around even as her distance from the building increased. Thankfully it didn't seem like anyone spotted her. Everyone in the vicinity was gathering in front of the establishment, rather than on its rear, to see what's the commotion, giving her a nice and safe escape window.

She adjusted her skirt and fastened the last button on her business outfit. She was now back to normal, looking perfectly average for an albino vixen again, and when she'd walk back into the square, she'd be just another bystander citizen attracted by the misery of others. Definitely not an undercover superheroine of few words and much butt-kicking in the name of justice.

With a relieved smile, she adjusted the grip on her bag. And twitched. It was oddly light for the weight she was used to. She probed the bag's bottom with her fingers and for a second panicked. Her cast morpher wasn't there.

Only then she looked at the hand itself. There it was. It was easy to lose track of that thing after a stunt when adrenaline was still cruising around her brain. That and once she found another cozy room to Cast Out in, her main concern was to dress into her get up as fast as possible. Nothing raised suspicion like a mostly naked vixen spotted in the back of a bank that just been almost-robbed.

She quickly removed the item from her healthy hand and stuck it back into its secret compartment. Another quick glance to the sides. Yes, still no one in sight. And now the bag was dragging her shoulder down just the right way.

Now to re-enter the square at walking pace that would not give away her involvement in the foiled crime, and she could literally return to the society.

As she went back into an open space, she casually looked at the police officers that were now crowding before the bank entrance like ants, moving between the building and their various utility vehicles and trying to herd the curious passerby's. There were normal officers, special-ops in their black combat gear, stereotypical lieutenants in their clichéd coats... the complete set of Justice Enforcers all in one mint package. So they did pay proper attention to her phone call. Too bad they missed all the real work by some six minutes. Still, at least they were here now to get the bad guys and see everyone was safe, she thought, smiling slowly.

She stopped on front of a phone booth, looking at her reflection in a plate of glass.

"So that's you, huh? Normal lady by day, masked hero by the time of need." she whispered to herself. The image looking at her didn't match the description at all. When not wearing the Ivory armour, she was as plain as a white vixen could be. No one would ever credit her as a person who could make a difference. And that would sound just about right even to her. Which kind of helped in this line of work, all things considered.

Feeling a gentle breeze of wind touching her right hand through the cast's breathing holes, her thoughts drifted towards Priscilla Diego, the one responsible for the birth of Ivory's myth. Her grandmother.




When Jasmine was born, she never really knew why her mother and grandmother would never get along. All she knew was that some great drift had appeared in the generations that kept the elder fox from seeing her, yet despite it all, parents protests or not, Jasmine still maintained some contact between them both.

It was on her eighteenth birthday that she was at her Grandmother's house. Only slightly scrawnier than she was now, she had sat at the table, legs dangling and kicking, one clad in a plaster cast from the knee down and the other with a criss-cross of bandaids that covered her knee. Happy and chipper, she sat nonetheless when the other fox entered the room with a present.

"Happy Birthday, Jasmine," Priscilla would greet with a kiss on the girl's forehead. While Priscilla was white-furred, her white coat had been earned from years of experience rather than genetic blueprints and there hadn't been much family resemblance between them otherwise. And yet, the ties still bound plenty as Jasmine tore the packaging apart.

Her face fell however when she saw the contents, as a grayed and grime covered cast sat on the table before her, "I don't get it... What is it, gran?"

Priscilla Diego smiled as she sat down on the opposite end of the table from the other fox, tail low and swaying as she sighed, "Almost fifty years ago, I was a young medical officer serving with a unit stationed on Haiti, and I'd broke my wrist in a training exercise and was forced to stay back from the field, you see."

Priscilla's eyes glistened and roamed the room, as Jasmine would also to see the various old and frayed photos framed on display of the fox in younger days of redder fur, in full military regalia and medical badge proudly displayed. At least one they both fell upon showed her saluting with her arm in a cast.

"One day, a dying native woman arrived at the base and begged for treatment. The staff turned her down, afraid of complications between the base and the natives should a local die under their care, but I couldn't let her perish without at least trying to help.

"Smuggling her into the med wing, I cared for her as best I could... and somehow, she managed to pull through. When she recovered, I remember how hard she tried to repay me, she asked how she could show her gratitude and I just told her I was just doing my duty, that saving her life was all the reward I could ask.

"But this woman was proud, and her culture would not allow such an act to go unpaid in return. I just never expected how she would repay me, I must say..." Her eyes turned back to Jasmine and the cast on the table, "You see, Jasmine, she was a shaman for one of the many villages that neighboured the base. Seeing my broken wrist, she took the cast in her hands and mumbled a prayer upon it.

"At first I thought she was just wishing me a quick recovery, little did I know, she had granted me a special bond."

"A bond? With who?" Jasmine asked, ears perked and intrigued as many of the long toothed vixens' stories oft held her attention.

Priscilla withdrew a photo album from beneath the table and kept palm firmly upon the cover to keep it closed, "It took me some time to discover it, Jasmine. But that cast you see there before you, is the same one I wore all those years ago... from that faithful day, wearing that cast allowed me to bond with it, it would protect me and grant me the means to protect others as well, gifting me with a combat costume and giving me many powers related to the cast material's physical and chemical properties-"

Priscilla stopped when a laughing noise came from the girl across the table, "Combat costume? Powers?

"C'mon, Gran, what's this really about?" Jasmine shrugged, playing with the cast in hand, until the elder vixen slid the photo album forward, the cover falling open and the younger girls eyes widening in response.

"When I returned to America, there were many other heroes, and even more villains who terrorised the general populace, so I decided to make my powers to use, helping out those in need wherever I could find them. I donned a new identity in the armour as Ivory, a masked persona that allowed me to still live a normal life when not fighting crime." Priscilla spoke, far more solemnly as now Jasmine moved through the pages.

The younger fox stared at the old newspaper clippings and saw it. The masked figure caught in fights, against mobsters and robbers, saving damsels in distress and so many other depicted feats where the vaguely familiar fox stood posed upon the front covers with a massive white gauntlet.

"This..." Jasmine's hand ran down the front of the covers, looking up to her grandmother, "This was you...?"

Priscilla nodded. "And now it is you, Jasmine."

The girl's eyes went wide, looking up silently and mouth hanging open as she tried to form a reply.

"Or rather..." Priscilla mused, "It COULD be you. If you decide to be.

"When Lucy- your mother was born, I lost my abilities... the cast no longer took my bidding. I thought I was freed for my part... that I could retire now happily, so I just wrapped the cast up, bundled it away in the attic and forgot about it for many years to come.

"It was then when she was just the age you were now that she found it whilst rummaging through the attic, and through whatever playing around with it she did, she placed it on. She discovered that she had inherited the gift."

"My mother... was a superhero too?" Jasmine spoke, her words slow and chosen.

Priscilla bit her lip, turning her eyes downward, and shook her head. "I said you have a choice, Jasmine. Your mother, she was afraid of the power. She decided not to don Ivory's mask. And when she learned the truth- When she learned who I was- who SHE was, she decided it was for the best that the truth remain hidden.

"She left and never looked back, for fear whoever her children would be, that I would try and convince them too, to take up the mantle of a vigilante. But I believe that you have a choice- no, that you have the right to know who you are Jasmine. And that this is an important part of who you are."

Jasmine stared at the cast... and slowly, as if heeding an unspoken voice, slipped her hand inside, feeling the cast material. So many decades and it still felt warm, soft, secure, and before her very eyes the grime vanished, a sweeping white light regenerated the surface of the cast and made it brand new before her... as slowly she turned to her grandmother, "So... If I take this cast... It will give me powers too?"

Priscilla breathed deep, "If you do Jasmine, remember... that this is a bond, a two-way pact. The cast will grant you power, but you will grant it sustenance to maintain its abilities. It feeds on calcium, the calcium in your bones.

"Perhaps... I had thought in my days, it was a way of teaching humbleness, not to exploit the gift, to show life was fragile.

"This is a serious bond. And a serious commitment, if you choose to accept it. And it should not be taken lightly, but this decision is yours, my dear granddaughter, to make..."




It wasn't easy.

Being an albino. Being the first open lesbian in the family's record, struggling with bones that broke like plate glass, graduating and finding a job, trying to mend great fractures in mother-grandmother relationships, maintaining a healthy love life, and then trying to save someone's day in the spare time...

When her grandmother had first revealed the truth about her heritage, Jasmine took several months before she could give her an answer, but eventually she had made the decision. That was years ago.

In those first few months as Ivory, Jasmine had manifested the superpowers in ways Priscilla could never have imagined. Perhaps it was the commitment Jasmine had felt, or maybe it was just her own imagination, but where the first Ivory was simply a masked woman in a combat costume with a power-embedding gauntlet, Jasmine had created a full-body battle armour that not only hid her identity better, but had become a far more effective weapon of justice.

She trained hard, both physically and mentally to imagine her new powers and manifest them, the idea of creating excess mass in her spikes to use as ammunition to cast, manipulating even the armour's very base material to her will when necessary. She adjusted her diet for high calcium intake to balance out the enormous needs of Ivory that Priscilla never had to face. If it was only to drain fuel from her bones like it did her grandmother, Jasmine would have likely ended up in a real bodycast after just the first few missions.

But she was happy she had chosen all the same. Jasmine doubted many others could have lived so full a life as she did every second she was awake, but even just living with the effects of her decision now fuelled her onward.

She, of course, knew that Ivory was no child's toy and that whenever she entered the fray, people’s lives were at stakes. She was reminded of that more often than she liked, and today was no exception. She made a huge gamble in the bank and the border between rescuing and killing a woman was very blurry. Everything ended happily, but she never knew what were her odds.

Some would call it thrilling. She called it a lesson in humility. Every time she made an intervention, she was able to understand the value of life more, and to acknowledge how fragile it was. That was where she drew the will to act from. To help. To protect. To do all in her might to keep the miracle of existence out of harm's way.

Yes, it was definitely tricky - challenging would be an understatement - but whenever she was in doubt of her present course, she thought about Priscilla. About Lucy. About Jeri. About all the people who were dear to her, and who gave her the strength to go on. One day the very people who gave her life a meaning might need her to protect them in a way they can't on their own. And she had long sworn to herself that she would live until that day comes, and that she will be more than ready to face it ever since the day her Grandmother taught her the oath that she still spoke this day to activate her powers.

She blinked twice and looked around. She was still standing next to the phone booth, facing the reflective glass that composed it's side.

She smirked to her mirrored image. She was hopeless, letting herself get caught up in memories just like that in the middle of a crowded open space.

Her ear twitched, prompting her to look around. The commotion in front of the bank still went on, with small groups of armed policemen escorting medical teams that were taking into the ambulances both the recently freed civilians and recently foiled unconscious thugs. She could swear she saw one such team dragging Jonny's numb frame out of the building, with paramedics wildly gesturing in what seemed like a heated discussion over the way he was taken down.

That sealed it. Ivory saved the day. Jasmine was glad she did, even if no-one would ever know about it, nor about how the saviour was still around, closer then they'd expect...

Which reminded her that standing in one place like a pillar near a crime scene was not necessarily the smartest idea. Someone might notice her and get the wrong idea about what she was doing there. She started to walk away casually, like she was just a random passer-by. Which technically, she intended to be when she first entered the square not so long ago.

"Never mind me, I'm just a plain ol' gal walking through this place to get to work-"

A goofy grimace suddenly decorated her face as if she had forgotten about something so obvious it boarded on stupidity. Work. She quickly glanced at her wristwatch and checked the currently displayed hour.

"...Crap!" she whined.




Epilogue:

Urban myths are some of the greatest inspirations for those that dwell in the concrete and steel jungles of modern societies. Perhaps even moreso than the real events that should have far greater impact on citizens lives around them. And yet, people thrive on these few, ghostly shards of imagination born from word of mouth and fleeting sightings, longing to make their personal universes richer, more exciting, and perhaps full of hope for a brighter, more exciting future.

Urban myths can instil their recipients with unjustified fear of monsters delving in the unexplored; or inspire them to search for phenomenon hidden in plain sight that no-one can ever find to validate their efforts no matter how long they search. But they also fill people's hearts with bravery to live on in the cruel world and its harsh reality. For they are not alone, and against the worst odds, heroes may arise to create a better day.

>"Sticks and stones may break our bones, but wounds to honour hurt far worse. From ill intent I shall not shy, let Ivory rise, and evil defy!" she recanted firmly.

Okay, I was wondering what genre this was...


>Feeling a gentle breeze of wind touching her right hand through the cast's breathing holes, her thoughts drifted towards Priscilla Diego, the one responsible for the birth of Ivory's myth. Her grandmother.

I smell origin!


>When Jasmine was born, she never really knew why her mother and grandmother would never get along.

Well, that's not surprising. Maybe "when Jasmine was young?"


>All she knew was that some great drift had appeared in the generations that kept the elder fox from seeing her*, yet despite it all, parents protests or not, Jasmine still maintained some contact between them both.

*Is this Jasmine or her mother?



This was a very fun read. Thanks!

xD I liked the contrast of it starting so suddenly then just diving in

But, yes, lol, you're very right on the born/young line, and the line refers to Jasmine, not sure how I'd adjust that line then to fit her better =o


Thanks also just for the comment, so fleeting are comments on stories, I wasn't sure what to expect in a collab as well, but make sure to toss Strike a hello too, he's the main author of this piece =3

> and the line refers to Jasmine, not sure how I'd adjust that line then to fit her better =o

Pronouns typically aren't anyone's friend. Here you're talking about three characters, and all are female. They're in different generations. So it's not clear which generation has the rift, you use the word "elder" instead of "eldest," and the sentence contradicts itself: you state Jasmine and her grandmother don't see one another, but then you say they do.

>All Jasmine knew was that some great rift had appeared between her mother and grandmother that kept her grandmother away. Despite her parent's protests, Jasmine had sought out her grandmother and maintained some contact.