Interlude 2-3b: Canary

The waiting was the worst part, Paige mused. On second thought, perhaps the worst part was the claustrophobia. The containment foam pressed tightly against her, trapping her immobile inside the PRT transport van. The transport van taking her to... no, she couldn't think about it. The van had accelerated briefly a moment ago, and was now stopped. Paige had lost all sense of time along the way, couldn't even speak through the tinkertech gag. She was alone, trapped in the dark, held in a seated position in an uncomfortable restraint chair, covered in containment foam. Her skin chafed from the orange jumpsuit. The prison jumpsuit that she wore on her way to... no, bad thoughts, bad thoughts! Paige tried to hum to herself, but the gag paralyzed her vocal cords.

There was an odd thump at the back of the van, and she stared as hard as she could, trying to peer through the darkness. She wanted to call out, but no sound came out of her lips. Another thump, and the van shook. A creaking sound, and then a scream of twisting metal heralded a bright ray of noon sunlight that seared Paige's eyes. The entire back of the van was ripped away and wadded into a ball by a mammoth figure, silhouetted by light. He, and it had to be a he from the build, had to have been nearly eight feet tall, and muscled like an overachieving bodybuilder. As Paige's eyes adjusted, she saw that his skin was dark gray, and visibly tough, and that he only had three broad fingers and a thumb on each hand.

"Canary, I presume?" he asked, his voice a smooth bass deep enough to vibrate bone. He shifted, and the light hit his face, showing rough, coarse features, as gray as the rest of him, with a broad, prominent nose. Paige nodded desperately. "A pleasure to meet you, although the circumstances are somewhat less than desirable. My name is Bullpack. May I interest you in a hasty egress from these unpleasant surroundings?" A long, skeletal arm with spindly fingers snapped out, and slapped the massive man in the back of his bald head.

"Quit trying to impress her and get out of the way, we're on the clock!" the voice was high and slightly sibillant, with an odd hissy quality.

Bullpack chuckled, and stepped out of the way, bowing low and beckoning at the open door. Paige saw he was wearing khaki cargo fatigues and a black wifebeater shirt with what had to be a bullet hole in it over his heart. Then the next figure was silhouetted, and she shuddered. If Bullpack was huge and intimidating, this person was downright terrifying. The lady, and it had to be a lady from the shape, was over six feet tall, but skeletally thin, with elongated limbs and a small slender torso. Her hands were enormous, spidery things with long talons for nails, and hung nearly to her bony knees. Paige looked at her head, and nearly screamed. Four black beady eyes were set in two pairs between a pair of bone ridges drawn back from a pointed, flared nose to elaborately folded ears the size of the woman's entire head. A long mohawk of brown hair cascaded halfway down her back. The woman wore tight black spandex, but was festooned with several brown belts and bandoliers covered in pouches. An odd silver pistol hung halfway down her thigh. "Like what you see, girl?" the woman whispered, and Paige saw that her mouth was far wider than it should be, and filled with razor-sharp teeth.

"She's just startled, Echo, there's no need to be impolite." Bullpack stated firmly.

Echo, if that was her name, shrugged, her angular shoulders moving expressively. "She, of all people, should be more tolerant of those who appear different." She looked sharply at Paige's bright yellow hair, interwoven with natural yellow feathers. "Isn't that right, Canary?"

Bullpack sighed. "Just let her loose before backup arrives. As you said, we're on the clock."

Echo nodded, and stepped into the van, hunching forward slightly to keep from bumping her head. She reached in one of her pouches, and pulled out a long silver spike. "Hold still, girl. This may...tingle." She shoved the spike into the containment foam, it's tip lightly contacting Paige's chest, and touched a chromed button on the top. There was a sensation of vibration, and a low hum that quickly rose to pitches inaudible to human ears. Gradually, the foam started to dissolve around the spike, going quicker and quicker, until it fell loose. Echo grabbed it gingerly, and dragged the tool through the foam restraining Paige's limbs, revealing her heavy hand restraints and straps trapping her limbs. Echo blinked, and Paige noticed that the outermost pair of eyes blinked slightly faster. "They were serious about restraining you. Sure you don't have a brute rating?" Paige shook her head, and heard a low growl from Bullpack.

Echo produced a set of lockpicks and swiftly unlocked Paige's restraints before helping her to her feet and leading her out of the ruined van, and into the sunlight with a low hiss of discomfort as the light hit her eyes. Paige blinked, staring around with a sense of almost absurd wonder at the long distances around her. It was a pleasant, sunny day, and they were in the middle of nowhere. She glanced at the van, and realized it was decorated to look like a small Uhaul truck, the two PRT troopers in jumpsuits laying on the side of the road, spooning and snoring deeply. The van was parked on the side of a long highway that stretched on for miles without curving. Echo firmly gripped Paige by the chin, turning her head gently as she inspected the tinker tech gag that wrapped around her throat and covered her mouth and nose.

"Hmm... aha!" With a quick twist of a pick, Echo unlocked the lock at the back of Paige's neck, and the gag powered down and fell off. Paige gasped, and smiled broadly before throwing her arms around Echo.

"Thank you, Thank you, thank you!" She rushed over to Bullpack and hugged him tightly, her blushing cheek squeezed tightly against his iron hard abs. "What can I ever do to thank you?"

"I have an idea." drawled a voice from behind her, followed by a hissing snicker, and Paige spun around to see two more people behind her. Her first impression of the first man was 'wings', and she was right. Instead of arms, the first man had a pair of long wings covered with brown feathers that he held folded up close to him, leaving him looking like he was wearing a reddish brown colored cloak. He was slender, and fairly short, only a little over five feet tall. His skin was tanned darkly brown, and he had striking, attractive features that were only offset by a nose that could be charitably called 'beakish'. The man's eyes were a brilliant amber. He strode up to Paige, and grasped her hand with a two fingered hand coming from the top joint of his wing, kissing the back of it. "A pleasure to meet you, miss Canary. My name is Thunderhawk, and my preferred payment would simply be an hour of your company and a pleasant meal." Canary blushed.

Thunderhawk's companion elbowed him in the ribs, and he winced. "SSSorry about him, he'sss a real charmer." The speaker was about Paige's height, but she was much curvier, and covered head to toe with bright green scales. Bright red hair cascaded to her waist in casual curls. Her outfit was little more than a skimpy bikini made of metal and leather, with a rapier slung in a belt at her waist. "I'm Trance, and I think we're going to be..." Her wide, bright blue eyes seemed to light up, and Paige felt herself get drawn in. "friendssss."

Thunderhawk brushed Trance with a wing, and there was a loud crackle of static as she twitched and her hair sprang apart in a wave of strands. "And the lovely Trance is a bit of a tease." Trance pouted.

"Ssspoilsssport. What if little birdy wantsss to play?"

"Cool it, Trance. We're not done yet." barked Echo. She snapped her long fingers twice, the noise echoing like a gunshot, and a silver plane, obviously tinkertech, shimmered into visibility in the field next to her. "We need to get out before the replacement capes get here." A hatch on the back of the plane opened, and she hustled Paige inside, helping her buckle into a comfortable seat, before heading to the cockpit. Trance sauntered in, every step fluid and effortless. Paige felt absurdly jealous. The serpentine lady was followed by Bullpack and Thunderhawk, the latter shivering as he entered the plane. Echo called back over the intercom. "Liftoff in two, ladies. Buckle up!" The three... Paige wanted to call them heroes, but they had stopped a legal prisoner transport... Anyway, whatever they were, Bullpack, Thunderhawk, and Trance buckled up quickly

Sure enough, two minutes later, there was a silent surge of inertia, and a brief sense of weight that subsided into the faintest sensation of motion. Paige glanced at her rescuers. She felt suddenly overwhelmed, and tears streaked her cheeks. "T-Thank you!. I-I wasn't gonna make it t-there."

Thunderbird smiled gently. "How could I leave such a lovely lady to languish in such unpleasant circumstances?"

"B-But why me? Y-You know what I did." Paige hugged herself tightly, trying to keep from shaking. There was a click, and she felt a sudden warmth across her shoulders as Trance wrapped her in a hug.

"It'sss ok, Paige. One lady to another, who hassssn't wanted to have sssome prick do jussst that?" Paige giggled slightly.

"Frankly, your court case was the result of gross negligence at best." Bullpack stated. "At worst, you were the victim of a railroading scheme. Was there anyone you had upset recently?"

Paige had managed to stop sniffling. "Ummmm... Well, we were making a lot of money, and the record companies weren't very happy that we wouldn't sign with any of them." She paused. "Wait, could the record companies really have done this to me?"

Bullpack shrugged. "Who can know the hearts of petty men? Regardless of the cause, your conviction was unjust." He smiled. "When an old rival contacted me, how could I resist coming out of retirement?"

Paige smiled weakly. She couldn't help but like these people, no matter what they looked like. "So who are you anyway?"

"We, my dear lady, are the Menagerie, mercenaries extraordinaire!" Crowed Thunderhawk. He wiggled two feathery eyebrows. "Wanna sign up?"

Paige chuckled. "Why not? I owe you so much anyway."

"Then welcome to the team, Canary." Echo said over the intercom. Paige jumped a bit.

"How did she hear us?" she whispered.

Echo's amused voice came back over the intercom. "These ears aren't for show, you know."

Paige blushed. "So, I guess I'm a fugitive now..."

Bullpack shrugged. "Perhaps. You would be surprised how many in our circle would shelter you. Many independents and rogues followed your case with great interest. Thunderbird is a huge fan."

Thunderbird held a hand to his heart. "So beautiful, sweet, and delicate. My heart thrilled when you were performing." he winked. "Your music was quite good as well."

Paige giggled as Bullpack continued. "It was a tragedy when you were convicted, and it was only by a hair that the cooler heads, myself included, kept most of us from uprising. Only the blind and the foolish couldn't tell something was wrong." The gray mercenary sighed. "A number of years ago, I was an escape facilitator, a villain who other villains hired to break them out of prison, kept on retainer like an insurance policy. It was a good living, but uncomfortable. I was working for some of the worst scum imaginable, and when one of my colleagues was finally caught, I retired and started a new life as a mercenary, gathering my Menagerie." He chuckled. "And wouldn't you know that I get an email two days ago from someone calling himself AngryBowler, with the details of your prison transport. My withered sense of justice couldn't resist." He clapped his broad hands together. "So, you'd like to join the Menagerie?"

Paige nodded. "I can't go back, they'd just throw me straight in the Birdcage. I'll do what I can to help you out, but it can't be much. I'm just a singer who can be a bit persuasive."

Trance, still draped across her shoulders, giggled. "And I can be a bit persssuasive when I look sssomeone in the eyessss. It'sss not a huge power, but it helpsss. Hypnotic gaze, compelling ssssong, those are both advantagessss, little bird."

Paige nodded slowly. Thunderbird piped in. "Besides, us Case 53s have to stick together."

"Case 53?" Paige asked. The term was slightly familiar, but only in passing, she only remembered because a particularly annoying reporter kept asking her.

"You know, us? Capes with non-standard biology, show up out of nowhere with no memories of our past, unusual tattoo somewhere on your body? Any of that familiar?" Thunderhawk asked incredulously.

Paige shook her head. "Nope, got all my memories. Daddy bought me a drink that gave me my powers. The feathers came in then." The plane went very still.

"I think..." Bullpack said slowly, his forehead wrinkled in thought. "That we have a lot we need to discuss."

AN: AND GUESS WHO'S BACK, BITCHES! That's right, Automatonation, author extrodinaire, is back to Human Resources, refreshed, recharged, reengaged, and raring to go!

That being said, here's an interlude, inspired by some of you guys who had a very valid point. Hope you like the Ocs. Here's the breakdown:

Bullpack: Brute/Breaker. Strong, tough, smart, and able to manipulate his own inertia to a limited degree. He can run nearly 8o miles per hour with a run up, and shrug off most anything less than an anti-material round. He's been a cape for quite some time now, and was friends/rivals with Madcap. Leader of the Menagerie. Cauldron tat is on his left calf.

Thunderhawk: Mover/Striker. Feathered Casanova, flies with his wings, can build up and release electric charges. In case you can't tell, a bit of a flirt. Don't mention his height. Don't mention his height. Cauldron tat is on his right shoulder.

Echo: Thinker/Tinker. Superhearing and sound analysis, coupled with expanded low-light vision. Decent agility, tinker specialty is vibration and sonic technology, both sound production and dampening. Second in command, very goal oriented. Cauldron tat is on the small of her back

Trance: Master/Changer. Hypnotic gaze, capable of elongating and unhinging her limbs to a limited degree. Hardened scales can stop knives and small-caliber rounds. Very sultry and kind of promiscuous. The speech impediment is fake, used to play up the snake thing. Very skilled with the rapier. Has a website for those of... interesting tastes. Cauldron tat is on her right breast.