Crosstime Caper 7: Evening at the Museum

The guard at the customer service desk at the entrance to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum frowned as the sword-carrying, violet-haired, leather-clad opossum femme broke away from the lines and headed toward them, her eyes glowing blue and her right hand reaching into her jacket pocket. This didn't look good – but she -was- coming to the desk, not charging into the museum. With luck, she was one of the good guys. He hurriedly typed in a search for Bureau agents of her species. “Can I help you, miss...?”

“Endopossum, Bureau of Superheroes, St. Louis Region. I need to get inside -now-.” She finished retrieving her Bureau identity card, and the guard nodded in relief as he saw it, just as the list came up on his screen – her picture was the third one down. “Certainly, ma'am. What's going on?”

“We're not sure yet, but that group that just went in, with all the hyenas? We think it's a new super-villain and his minions. Don't hit the panic button just yet, but get started on whatever you need to do to prep for an evacuation. If they're what we think they are, it could get nasty in a hurry.”

He was already leading the way toward the bypass gate, the opossum hard on his heels. “Will there be more agents arriving, ma'am?”

“There'd better be. I'm not going to be able to take down a dozen of them by myself.”

* * * *

The half-machine armadillo picked up the phone on the second ring – caller ID had already told her that this was likely to be official business. “U.S. Marshal Service, Special Deputy Marshal Shashenka speaking. How may I help you?”

“This is BoS Capital Center. That you, Olga? Disruptor here. We're calling a Level Three alert, with potential to go to Two and possibly all the way to One.”

“Possible Level -One-?? What in tarnation is goin' on, Disruptor?”

“That business with the extradimensional visitors in Colmaton last weekend? They appear to be back. A dozen of them just went into the Smithsonian Natural History building pretending to be tourists, and Morningstar says they may be after a major necromantic artifact.”

“Necro-whatsit?”

“Black magic, involving undead. If they get hold of it, supposed to be all kinds of World War Z things that could happen.”

“So much fer a quiet weekend. What do ya know about 'em?”

“Not a hell of a lot. There's the chief necromancer himself - he's a white mouse, of all things - two magic-users, hawk and vixen, a ferret-femme who does some weird kind of teleportation involving shadows, plus a bull and a bunch of hyenas who are just minions as far as we know, probably experts with medieval weaponry but no special powers. They have the potential to be extremely dangerous. We don't believe there are any others, the ones at the Smithsonian match the number that our specialists picked up as arriving.”

Olga finished typing. “.. and hyena minions. Got it. Alert goin' out... now.” All over the greater Washington area, text messages began arriving, putting the Cybermarshals on standby status and activating the half-dozen on call for a Level Three alert. “Clark and Anderson should be there within five minutes.”

“Excellent. And now I've got to start coordinating -our- people. Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

* * * *

Bill Thompson, the raccoon who was the weather-controller Coriolis in his Bureau identity, was in the middle of showing his cousin and her friends around the Hall of Meteors when his BoS communicator buzzed for attention. He frowned as he pulled it out, and suppressed the urge to swear when he read the message. His cousin noticed how he tensed up. “What's wrong, Bill?”

“We're gonna have to cut the tour short, I'm afraid. Duty calls. Can you kids find your way back to where Percy left you?”

Jacob Randle, Techrat in his bureau persona, nodded to the older raccoon. “No problem, Mr. Thompson. They don't scan for weapons on the way out, do they?”

“No, you'll be fine. I'll see you in two weeks, and we can pick up with the Aerospace Museum.”

Bill's cousin Sally Yeager, whose oversized metallic body was currently hidden under a hologram of a Clydesdale mare, frowned. “Wait a minute. It's still over an hour 'til closing. Why do we have to leave right away? It's not like we -need- an adult with us.”

“I...” Bill floundered, trying to come up with something that would convince his younger cousin. She shook her head after a few seconds.

“Nope. You want us out of the way 'cause whatever it is, is coming -here-. Not gonna happen, cuz. Jacob, Nandi? What do you think?”

Nandi Moore, a feline-ursine hybrid, shook her head. “I haven't got a costume, and you know I'm still sorting out my control over my powers. I'm not sure I can help.”

Jacob nodded. “I think we can help with the evacuation if something starts here, Nandi, even out of costume. But..” he gestured at the crowd. “...there's lots of -civilian- kids here. Sally's right. We're not gonna run away and leave them behind, Mr. Thompson. We'll stay out of the main fight, if you want us to, but we can still help.”

Bill sighed. “Should've figured. We did figure that, in fact. All right, let's find a place to change and I'll fill you in...”

* * * *

The shadow-walker emerged from a poorly lit side corridor to rejoin the rest of the group and return the glamour-concealed swords that she'd carried past the metal detectors. “We may have to move quickly, Master. I believe we've been noticed by one of the local paladins. She was watching when you went through the gate, and went to talk to the guards just before I left. They were not alarmed even though she was openly carrying a sword.”

The mouse nodded. “We got this close without opposition, but it wasn't going to last. The next floor up, I believe, and back away from the entrance.” He pointed. “That way, once we've climbed. Where are the stairs?”

* * * *

Endopossum pulled her communicator out as it buzzed. “What is it, Disruptor? Kinda busy. I'm trying to keep them in sight without being spotted myself.”

“I assume you warned the museum staff on your way in?”

“Roger that. How soon is backup going to be here?”

“Coriolis and the kids from Colmaton are already in the building, Swarm has a few members there, but they're near the food court and won't be able to get to the upper floors quickly. Exit is on her way, and the CyberMarshals tell me they can get two of their people there in five minutes. Morningstar is scrambling her duty squad and getting Vortex to set up a portal, that's probably going to be about ten minutes from now. I'm patching the comms together.”

“They sent the -kids-... No, they were already here, weren't they?”

“Just visiting, yeah. Bad timing.”

* * * *

Ferric fielded the conversation while Coriolis finished changing and Techrat fiddled with her hologram projector to allow it to cover Nandi in an equine image a good deal smaller than the raccoon's. “Where are they headed, Miss Endopossum?”

“At the moment, up the stairs. Dunno if they're going to stop on the second floor or go up to the third. Saw 'em pointing, though, and according to the maps of the place, they'll be headed toward the minerals exhibit if it's the second. Seems like a reasonable place to hide a lump of obsidian.”

The raccoon frowned. “You don't suppose that this thing is disguised as the Hope Diamond, do you? It -is- supposed to be cursed.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, kid. But... yeah. They're stopping at the second floor. Looks like you're up to bat.” The opossum gave up on stealth and pelted up the stairs behind the Orterrans as they moved toward the exhibits.

* * * *

The Master nodded to himself as they reached the second floor landing. “It is close, now. This way...” He moved off toward a series of rooms filled with all manner of crystals and rocks and lumps of metal, the others fanning out to protect him if necessary.

Marwyn glanced behind and noted the rapidly climbing opossum. “We are out of time, Master. The paladin is running toward us now.”

Vanya nodded, pointing ahead. “And she's not the only one, unless I'm mistaken.” They had just entered a room dominated by the display of a huge chunk of iron that appeared to have been scorched and pitted somehow. Entering from the other side were a trio of the local paladins; one so shrouded in gray that even his species was concealed, a rat in armor like a knight's, and a staff-carrying raccoon in blue whose very fur glinted of metal.

The mouse scowled. “It is here, in this chamber, I can feel it, but that lump of iron - ” He gestured to the Willamette Meteorite. “ - is interfering.” Ahead of him, the local paladins, if that is what they really were, ordered the pilgrims to leave, their words translated for him and his senior aides by spells. “They are too concerned with the peasants, but they will fight eventually. Kill them if they attempt to stop me.” He began to move around the display cases, trying to follow the signature of necromancy through the distortions created by forty tons of cold iron, as his guards spread out, shoving the local pilgrims away from their leader and interposing them between the Master and his enemies.

* * * *

Coriolis moved to confront the Orterrans, flanked by Techrat and Ferric, nervous about the possible collateral damage. <The last thing we need is a pitched battle in a crowded museum.> “This is the Bureau of Superheroes. Everyone please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion.” Behind him, Nandi prepared to pull the emergency alarm.

The response of the mouse's minions was to start shoving tourists away from the exhibits and into the line of fire. Panic spread immediately, and the heroes were forced to move to the side to allow them to escape. Endopossum used the delay to call the security desk. “It's them all right, they're after something! The meteor exhibit, start the evacuation!” A few seconds later, the alarms started to ring and a recorded voice advised everyone to move to the nearest emergency exit. She waited until the flood of fleeing tourists died down, and discovered that the delay had allowed the ferret and three of the hyenas to bar her way. She smiled and activated the plasma sheath around her sword. “Right. We have no intention of allowing your boss to make off with anything, but you're going to make us fight about it, aren't you?”

* * * *

Mahk stood with two of his squad and the shadow-walker against the single opponent. She said something in her odd language, sounding disturbingly confident in spite of the odds. Marwyn understood her, but just chuckled and nodded back. “Aye, that we are.” The opossum's sword started to glow, and Bokan stepped forward to test her skill.

His sword-thrust was easily parried by the femme, and his weapon sparked against the glow with a bright flash, a horrid buzz, and the smell of lightning. He drew it back with a chunk missing from the blade and his eyes wide. Mahk felt his stomach drop into his boots at the evidence that she was -not- being overconfident about the odds. <This is not good... How can I parry a weapon that chews on my own?>

Marwyn hissed at the display. “Better let me take her, lads. My sword should stand up to hers. Magic versus magic, y'ken.” She went forward to meet the opossum, and their swords met in a flurry of sparks and crackles. The ferret's blade flickered in fiery red in contrast to the opossum's steady blue glow, but she was right – her sword held up to whatever magics the local had on her blade. They began to exchange blows, parry and thrust and counterthrust, neither able to score on the other. “Well, don't just stand there gawking. She's only got the one blade, you take her from the side while I keep her busy.”

* * * *

Coriolis and Techrat left the ground as the herd of frightened civilians fled the scene; Ferric withdrew to the side, Nandi sheltering behind her until the flood was past. The raccoon gestured behind them after the last civilian had gotten clear. “You stay with the normals, hon. You don't have the armor or control to mix it up with these guys.”

“I'm not going to abandon you, Ferric.”

“You're not abandoning us. You're protecting -them-. A crowd like that, someone gets knocked over? You'll need to pull them out before they get trampled. It's not make-work.”

“You sure?”

“Yep. Besides, when the rest of the Bureau folks get her, you can lead 'em back to us.” She swung her staff into the ready position and moved up to meet the advancing hyenas. “Now go!”

* * * *

Pelleas just stared as two of his three opponents left the ground. “How...?”

Vanya growled at him. “Doesn't matter. You and your boys take the one on the ground, I'll have to deal with the others myself. Unless you've got a crossbow...?”

“Sorry, milady. Not the kind of thing you carry when you're trying to be inconspicuous in a crowd of unarmed furs.” The bull raised his voice. “Advance!”

Four hyenas converged on the oversized raccoon, swords out. The bull was right behind them, mace held at the high guard position, ready to deflect a thrust from his opponent's staff or to attack if she presented him with an opening.

* * * *

Casual visitors to the Bureau's Washington branch were frequently puzzled by the presence of a dozen large rodent cages in as many rooms, connected by travel tubes that led through the walls. Less casual visitors were usually surprised to discover that the inhabitants of the cage network were feral rats rather than hamsters or gerbils or some other 'normal' pet.

Only Bureau personnel were aware that the rats could talk, or that the cages and tubes were optional.

Three of the rats, all very pregnant females, were currently perched on the edge of a table about twelve feet away from where Disruptor was seated. A fourth nursed her recently born pups inside the Monitor Room's pet cage. The quartet were in the process of conversing with the pronghorn buck whose power was to shut down other's powers.

“Working on it, yesyes.” “We usually stay near the food court, y'know. Nothing to nibble on -that- floor.” “Shiny rocks, but not tasty.”

Disruptor nodded as the entity that called itself Swarm reported on its progress. “Understood. Just let me know when you get there.”

“Soon now.” “Easy to find. Noisy, they are.” “They know about us, right?”

“Well... Coriolis does. The others are from outside DC, they might not.”

The four feral rats... grinned. “Ooo! Practical joke time!” “-After- we deal with problem.” “Aye. Zombies are no fun at all.” “At all.” “Nopenope.”

* * * *

Endopossum slashed at the ferret with a vicious underhand thrust, only to be stopped by the flame-flickering blade of the Orterran. Two of the hyenas moved out to either side, trying to come at her while she was engaged with the ferret. She raised her left hand and fired her grapple at one of them, hitting him point-blank in the chest and knocking him off his feet. She pushed against the weaker ferret, forcing her to give ground, and took a step back to free herself long enough to slash at the remaining hyena, her plasma blade sparking as it cut through that femme's sword, leaving her with only half a blade. The third had recovered from his shock at what had happened to -his- weapon, and was moving forward again, and she retreated back toward the door of the exhibit room to cover her flanks.

On the opposite side of the hall, Ferric eyed her four hyena opponents warily. These were no mere street thugs, but trained warriors. For their part, they moved in cautiously, unsure of what the raccoon could do. They had all seen enough of the variety of powers when they had first arrived in Colmaton to be very careful.

<Well, it's not going to do you any good to wait until they decide to come at you together, girl. Time to start this dance.> She had significantly more reach than any of the hyenas, due both to her size and her weapon, so she took a quick step forward and brought the titanium staff up, thrusting the tip into the stomach of the second from the right. His eyes went wide as his parry failed to deflect it in the slightest – muscles capable of lifting an armored car barely registered the attempt to push her thrust off course, and only the leather armor hidden under the hooded jacket saved him from ruptured organs. As it was, he collapsed, curled around his stomach and trying desperately to inhale. Ferric stepped back, resuming her guard position even as the bellowing bull came forward to take the place of the downed hyena.

The vixen had kept her focus on Coriolis and Techrat. A murmured spell generated a spray of bolts of pure magical energy which only scorched the surface of the young rat's armor but were far more effective against the gray-clad one. He yelped in pain as the levinbolts struck, then gestured, pointing at her. There was no magic, he did not chant or use a wand, but somehow he produced a miniature bolt of lightning and her fur stood on end as she dodged it. The rat pointed his arm, his fingers folded down, and levinbolts of his own streaked toward her. Except that they -weren't- levinbolts after all, and they ignored her shields against magic. She was knocked off her feet and back into one of the display cabinets, and she felt blood dripping from her muzzle as she scrambled out of the way of a second barrage. <Right. Physical attacks don't work, I'll try something else.> She wiped the blood onto her hand, and focused on it. <Nice of them to provide what I needed for this spell...>

* * * *

Mahk got back to his feet, his chest sore where the grapple had impacted his hidden armor, and nodded to his two companions. They spread out, trying to circle around behind the opossum while Marwyn held her in swordplay. Unfortunately, she was too smart for that, and retreated to the doorway to the chamber. There was room to pass, the doorway was wide enough for the pilgrims to come and go at the same time, but... not enough to pass while staying out of reach of her metal-destroying sword. <And I can't help feeling that she's toying with us, somehow. That she's just waiting for the right moment to unleash something worse than what she's already done....> Marwyn's sharp command brought him up short. “Stay on me. If she retreats to the door, the Master gains time. We're not worried about a paladin who keeps us here, eh?”

Endopossum scowled as she overheard the ferret's side of the conversation. <Oh, fookin' great. They're playin' for time, I have to take the fight to them before their boss finds whatever it is he's lookin' for. And I think we've just run out of minutes...>

* * * *

The Master ignored the noise of the panicky departure of the crowd and the beginning of the battle, following the Orb's siren call. Two rows of exhibits had played him false, but his minions were keeping the locals away from him while he searched, and this time... He smiled as he got close enough to feel the presence of the Orb directly. “At last. At last!” He smashed the glass of the case, shaking his head at the label [Anomalous achondrite meteorite – Bolivia] which made no sense to him even through the translation spell, and started to reach in to pick it up, only to snarl in frustration as the gray-clad paladin gestured and sealed it up in ice.

Coriolis nodded to Techrat. “Looks like your blaster gets through her shields. Keep her busy for a minute!” The mouse had found what he was looking for, and broken open the display case to take it. The raccoon focused his power, straining to the limit, and blasted the case with hail, sleet, rain, and freezing air, blocking access with a mass of ice. The mouse snarled at him in frustration and began hammering away at the frozen mess to retrieve the apparent meteorite, while Coriolis shook his head and recovered from the exertion.

Ferric managed to parry the bull's attempt to slam her with his mace, and knocked one of the swords away as well. Combat's martial arts training let her dodge one of the remaining warriors, but the last got through, his sword slashing across her stomach. She grunted as the blade cut through her jumpsuit, but the Kevlar weave and her own steel-wire fur reduced what should have been a crippling strike to a mere scratch across her abdomen. Her return stroke drove through his guard and put him out of action with a half-dozen broken ribs, and then the vixen cast her magic.

Vanya chanted the spell while the raccoon battled with Pelleas and his squad and the gray paladin harassed the Master. The blood puddled in the hollow of her palm swirled up into vapor, vaguely seen eldritch shapes briefly visible in the scarlet mist.

Blood to blood, and will to will,
Courage drain and fear instill,
Nothing here but death and sorrow,
Flee this field and live 'til 'morrow.

The spell rippled outward, washing over her enemies, and she allowed herself a smile. It was not an easy one to use and required her own fresh blood to activate it, but it had never failed her. The armored rat squealed in terror and flew away with a burst of noise, and the gray one froze in place, fighting his own sudden compulsion to run, and she began to prepare another spell to finish him off even as he drove his powers into a protective whirlwind.

Ferric had managed to disarm a third hyena at the cost of a second cut, breaking his sword arm in the process, and was holding her own against the bull and the last hyena. They were the best of her opponents, their skill able to compensate for her strength, and then they took a step backward as the vixen began her chant. They'd heard that spell before, and knew that the battle would be over as soon as it was finished.

Graff was quite surprised when the raccoon ignored it and took advantage of his momentary relaxation to pick him up and throw him at Lady Vanya.

* * * *

Ferric felt the spell wash over her, a moment of arcane voices whispering in her ears, telling her to run and hide. She frowned and ignored it, and then realized that her last two opponents were waiting for her to obey the voices. She grabbed the hyena and threw him at the vixen, then jabbed at the bull. He had not relaxed his guard completely and successfully dodged the blow, but one-on-one he could not stand against her for long – he -had- to dodge, since even his strength was unable to parry her blows and he no longer had a partner to distract her while he regained his position. He gave ground before her, retreating back toward the Master.

Marwyn was not familiar with Vanya's spells, and was not expecting her opponent to be disabled by it. The hyenas were, though, and Endopossum took advantage of the lull in their attack to cut Bokan's sword off at the hilt and drive Mahk back again before returning her attention to the ferret. Both sets of minions were now being driven back toward the spot where the Master and Heikio were frantically trying to melt the Orb loose from Coriolois' ice storm.

Vanya had only a moment to be surprised when the raccoon scooped up the last hyena and used him to smash her back into the display case again. <What? How did she...??> She swallowed, suddenly frightened herself as she looked more closely at the glittering femme. <By the Gods... She's bleeding -black-. That's why the blood magic didn't affect her...> She glanced across the room, where the sounds of battle were also continuing. <Must be the same for that one. Whatever they've got for blood, it isn't what the rest of us have...> “We need to get out of here, Master. We can't hold them back much longer.”

“Get everyone together, Heikio. As soon as we deal with -that- one's attempt to block us, we will be gone.” The hawk nodded acknowledgment and started to prepare his own spells, even as the mouse's glowing hands sank into melting and steam-hissing ice, breaking the lump containing the Orb away from the rest of the frozen display case.

* * * *

Swarm was annoyed by the fear spell. “Can't scare all of me.” “But -can- scare part of me that is there.”

Disruptor nodded. “Understood. Are you going to be able to break through it?”

“Yepyep. Soon now.” “Big raccoon and the 'possum don't mind it.” “No idea why.”

“Endopossum and Ferric?”

“Them, yep. Others ran away.” “Well, weather raccoon is too scared to move, looks like.” “Either way, is not fighting any more.” The tone of the hivemind entity shifted, suddenly serious. “And... through.”

* * * *

Neither Endopossum nor Ferric was expecting the appearance of two or three dozen rats from under the display cabinets, but neither was inclined to argue when they swarmed over the Orterrans. Endopossum took advantage of the distraction to stop-thrust the ferret and knock her down. The hyenas were already in full retreat, backing up to where the mouse was cackling in triumph. And then the hawk completed his spell, and most of them vanished, leaving behind the ferret and one critically injured hyena.

Ferric got out her communicator out. “Disruptor? They vanished, nearly all of them, as soon as the mouse got his hands on whatever he was after. We need a medic, he left two of them behind and one of them is hurt bad.”

“Understood, Ferric. Two of the Cybermarshals should be there in a few minutes, and Exit is on her way. We need to find out where they went.”

The voice of the Swarm echoed through the communicator as rats on both sides of the radio spoke simultaneously with the full focus of the hivemind. “That we know. Two of us stowed away on them when they left. Arlington National Cemetery.”

Ferric barely registered the talking rats as the implications hit. “But... he's a necromancer.”

Endopossum nodded from where she was keeping the ferret at sword-point. “That's what they told me, too.”

The raccoon sounded, for a moment, like the young girl she still was. “What are we gonna -do-??”



* * * *



A Colmaton Universe fanfic.
The Colmaton Universe, Nandi Moore, and the CyberMarshals are intellectual properties of Train.
The Bureau of Superheroes and Techrat/Jacob Randle are the intellectual properties of Mojorover
Endopossum/Maxine Clark property of arvanas_sorrat
Swarm inspired by Robin Bobcat.
All other major characters original to me.