The Fast and the Furious

It usually starts in a bar. Somebody has one drink too many, he makes a boast, somebody else calls him on it, and the next thing you know five shifters are lining up at the track behind the Talbot’s Peak High School. The patrons who had followed them from Rattigan’s took seats in the bleachers.

“Here’s how it’s going down,” Gil said. Inside, he was thinking, Figures. They always have to get rowdy while I’m behind the bar. As Mayor, Gil didn’t have to work at Rattigan’s any more. He did so because Louie was his friend. He wasn’t always so wild about the drinking crowd.

At least this particular bet could be easily settled without violence. “When I say go, you run around the track. The winner’s species gets declared fastest animal alive. Everybody good with that?”

“Why even bother?” Barry said. “Everybody knows the cheetah is the fastest beast on earth.”

“Yeah?” Jay the antelope smirked. “Then why is it you guys can’t catch us guys half the time?”

“We’re running on a track? No fair.” Pietro jabbed his finger at Wally and Bart. “The horse and the greyhound have the advantage.”

Bart smirked. “I thought bunnies always ran in circles.”

“Hare. It’s hare, you anorexic mutt!”

“Okay,” Gil said. “We’ll do it this way. Winner gets a free lunch buffet. Eddie eats the losers.”

“Fine. Wait, what?”

“He’s joking,” Wally said. He looked uncertain. “Aren’tcha, Gil?”

Gil smiled thinly. “Depends on whether or not the whining stops.”

Wally, Pietro and Jay cast nervous glances toward the bleachers, where Eddie the Komodo dragon shifter lounged among the onlookers. Eddie grinned, flicked his tongue at them and waved.

“I’m good with a track,” Pietro said. The others nodded.

“All right, then,” Gil said, “if everyone’s ready … ”

“I will be,” Barry said, “just as soon as Santa’s Little Helper here quits sniffing my ass.”

Bart bristled. “Well, if you’d quit farting—”

“You know, Eddie eats predators. It’s all meat to him.” The words cut off in mid-snipe.

“Now then.” Gil stepped to the starting line. “You’re all sprinters, so one lap around the track should be enough. Agreed?”

Jay raised his hand. “How do we determine start positions?”

“Uh … do we have straws, or sticks, or—”

“I got some straw.” Wally dug into his pocket and came up with a handful. “What? I like to snack.”

“No more outside food in Rattigan’s. I don’t want to have to institute searches.”

Wally muttered, but handed over the straw. Gil selected five long stalks. He snapped off bits until he had different lengths. The contestants drew their lots. Wally neighed when he got the long straw. He popped it into his mouth.

“Can he do that?” Bart asked.

“You all can, once you know your positions.” Gil tried not to groan. Bart frowned at his stubby straw and passed it over to Wally. The others did the same.

The contestants shed their clothes and took their lanes: Thoroughbred, cheetah, greyhound, antelope, hare. “See you at the finish line,” Barry said.

Jay made a face at him. “Bite me.”

“Plan to.”

“Well, we know where you’re ending up,” Pietro sneered over at Bart. “Behind me. Just like in every dog race ever.”

“Hump my leg, bunny boy.”

“Assume your shapes,” Gil called out. The racers shifted. Five disparate animals glared at each other. “On your mark … get set … go!”

And they were off. Wally bolted into the lead, only to be passed by Barry. Barry held the lead all the way to the second turn, where his speed started to flag. Jay bounded past him. Bringing up the rear came Pietro, who had succumbed to instinct and was zigzagging all over the track, and Bart, who seemed to have forgotten about the race and instead pursued the hare. Up in the bleachers, Eddie watched these two especially. He leaned forward, licking his lips.

By the third turn, it looked like the race had come down to Jay and Wally. Jay might be inherently faster, but Wally was used to track racing and knew how to pace himself. Barry had dragged himself over to the side and lay in the grass, panting. Meanwhile, Pietro was cutting across the field with Bart right behind him. Gil clapped a hand to his forehead. Why didn’t I bring my gun?

Suddenly someone blew past him from out of the bleachers. The new racer blazed down the middle lane, kicking up a cloud of gravel and dust. He streaked around the turns and hit the home stretch at the same time as Wally and Jay. They might as well have been statues. The latecomer breezed by them and crossed the finish line in a flash of brown fur and a whiplike, hairless tail.

Gil couldn’t even make out his species until he finally slowed, out beyond the first turn. He got up on his hind legs and strolled back toward Gil with a huge, crap-eating grin on his pointy muzzle.

A mouse. A five-foot mouse.

By the time he returned to the finish line and shifted, Gil had guessed his identity. “Gonzalez?”

“Hola. I wasn’t part of that crowd, so I didn’t hear about the race until late. Naturally I couldn’t let it pass.”

Gil lowered his voice. “It was supposed to be for Earth shifters. Blade Runner’s going to be ticked when he hears you’ve been violating the Prime Directive again.”

Gonzalez shrugged. “If it stops these yoyos from beating on each other, it’s all good, eh?”

“Can’t argue there.” Gil raised Gonzalez’s hand. “We have a winner.”

Naturally the others weren’t happy, but what could they do? The mouse had outrun them fair and square, and with a late start, yet. “Due to the circumstances,” Gil announced, “nobody’s getting eaten. Sorry, Eddie.” Eddie pouted, but took it in stride. “The next round’s on the house. Oh hell. Where are Pietro and Bart?”

Barry pointed to the other side of the track, and the frantic hare dodging the determined greyhound. Gil swore. “Somebody want to—”

“I’m on it.” Gonzalez took off like a shot.

Gil relaxed. Knowing a rat with connections, including otherworldly connections, sure did come in handy sometimes.

Special bonus trivia question: what’s the significance of the racers’ names? Hint: “Barry” and “Pietro” are the giveaways.

Operation UFOS Are Real

Hot summer howls and yowls, shapeshifter lovers.

*Continued from last week, a short flash scene 'cause that's all I can manage.* ... To Quote from last week: "Our Talbot's Peak saga continues. The bad guys have made pests of themselves, and are harassing our beloved mayor, Gil. Well, they just might be real sorry after Operation Crunch."

But first, Blade Runner, ET rabbit shapeshifter, has his ornery-alien way with the bad guys.

~~~~~~

Operation UFOS Are Real

Blade Runner performed a low aerial circle above the ambush spot. The highway sharply curved limiting visibility for the driver. Stands of tall trees on both sides all but guaranteed no human prying eyes. Except for the odd hiker, and who would believe their alien-rabbit story?

Blade Runner had already shut down cell phone service to this immediate area. No vids allowed.

"X marks the spot." he amused himself with the Earth saying. After recording the area, he repeatedly beamed the images to the two satellites surveilling this section of road -- thus masking *Operation UFOS Are Real*.

"Targets estimated to be one mile away." Kitty's sweet yet purrfectly serious voice  came over his com system, as if she stood beside him.

"In position. And ready," Blade Runner reported, keeping his tone professional. Cosmic-holy patch of carrots, never mess with a catwoman on the hunt, no matter how fluffy and cuddly her exterior. That was one of the top rules in Talbot's Peak territory, especially among the male shifters and supernaturals.

"Monitor is on and working," Kitty informed. "I see the road as if I'm on scene."

"Stay tuned for the space alien show. No ancient aliens involved," Blade Runner quipped. "Descending now."

Hovering just above the height of a car's windshield, Blade Runner waited the few secs of time. Once the state officials' black car appeared from the highway curve, he swooped toward them, blasting the expected white light -- really a frequency that would temporarily kill any vehicle's engine within a three mile radius. Except, of course, Durk and Zeo's motorcycles.

Brakes locked, and tires screeching, the car slid enough so it partly blocked the road  -- that is, before the engine froze. Blade Runner grinned and settled his disc craft in front of the state agents, not ten feet away. On his monitor -- which penetrated their black-tinted windshield -- he watched their eyes widen to saucer-size, and they were practically hugging each other, paralyzed by fear.

Blade Runner initiated the craft's ramp, and with blaster in hand, he strolled downward, then walked the short distance to the driver's window. "Greetings, earthlings."

Waggling his rabbit ears, he continued, "Take me to your leader."

Inside, the two men leaned backward as far as their seats allowed, and from the nasty smell of it they'd already released their bladders. "Take me to your leader. Or I will have to extract the information from your pathetic brains."

Blade Runner aimed the blaster at the driver's head. Both men made panicked mewling sounds, and hyperventilated so fast Blade Runner wondered if their lungs were about to burst.

With a touch of the trigger, he activated the car's automatic windows, lowering them. "Brain extraction begin." Blade Runner spoke in his sinister alien voice. He hardened his expression to *I'm a bad-ass Bunny*, and pointed the blaster at the driver's forehead.

The man on the passenger's side bolted first, nearly falling on his face as he scrambled out of the car like a space rat escaping a doomed ship. The driver followed on his heels, desperately crawling over the empty seat. Still on all fours he launched himself onto the baking asphalt, then nearly toppled his cohort in bureaucratic crime.

Finally gaining their feet in a cartoon-like fashion, the two state officials raced toward a thick stand of trees, quickly disappearing from view. Star-hole hell, humans could tail-high run when it came down to saving their thin hides.

Busting out in laughter, Blade Runner doubled over. He only straightened when he heard the machine-roar approach of Durk and Zeo on what some called their crotch rockets.

TO BE CONTINUED...
~~~~~~


Wishing you love and passion on the wild side ~ 

Savanna 

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance

Meeting of the Pointy Ears

March howls and yowls, shapeshifter lovers.

Wow, what a hellacious day! For the sake of time, yours and mine. I won't go into details. ~but, I'm still shaking my head~

Anyway, somehow I wrote a flash scene today that I hope you enjoy.

~~~~~~

Meeting of the Pointy Ears

Blade Runner, ET rabbit warrior, zipped through the early morning Montana skies in his scout space craft. He tested out a rudimentary device he'd been able to procure on Earth, due to Dante's always sharp lookout for such advanced tech.

To be hoppity, carrot-crunching real, it had been the AI assassin, Kalina, who discovered the Tesla-tech treasure while scanning the depths of what Earthers called the dark net. With the help of Dante's cousin, Zortega, the small ET woman had easily settled into life at the Pleasure Complex.

She'd immediately taken over the bank of computers in the concealed room surrounded by a Faraday cage, which was near Dante's office-den. Given digital-age complexities and dangers now ruled much of life, Kalina had swiftly gained the alpha wolf's ear. And trust.

Because Blade Runner was another extraterrestrial, and had assisted in rescuing her from the cold, miserable streets of Chicago -- where she'd been abandoned... Kalina -- once she sized him up – had flung herself at him, hugging him with her little arms. Blade Runner had never felt anything quite like it, even with all of his previous lovers, and his current one and only love, Xakara, a fae fox shifter.

That is, after Kalina had clung to Zortega and shivered the whole flight back to the Pleasure Club. Which had been lengthened by several black-ops attacks. Three of their disc fighters had given chase -- mere fun and games for Blade Runner. He'd relished every moment of the battle-evasion, using his trickster wiles to return to the subterranean complex safely. And untracked.

Once Kalina gained her confidence, they'd become natural confidantes, even though their races had never made contact. Now he had an ally who possessed the ability to search out underground, black-market tech. And true to his/her/its word, Anonymous had delivered the untraceable package to the Talbot's Peak post office, unobserved.

Satisfied with the performance of said tech, so far, Blade Runner tapped in some quick adjustments, then banked hard. Yep, and 'what's up doc', give whomever a crispy organic salad. The craft's flight speed increased by twenty-one percent with a nary a blip of a problem. Huge numbers when it came to surviving enemy encounters.

Blade Runner swooped low over the mountain range where several castles had been built by those who had made Talbot's Peak territory home. Hidden by the craggy spires of rock, some enhanced by holo projections, the castles were recognizable to his eye.

In his preferred human-rabbit form, Blade Runner wiggled his long ears, a sign of his enjoyment. He checked the craft's invisibility cloak, then shot straight up. Might as well put his beloved little ship through her paces.

"What's up doc?" A male voice behind him spoke.

With his heart trip-tripping, Blade Runner spun around. He grabbed his light sword at the same time. What met his eye had him blinking in rapid succession.

"Yes, I am Spock."

No arguing, the man before him bore a strong resemblance to the Star Trek character he'd seen recently, only because of the actor's passing, and because a TV played in his favorite juice bar. Xakara had insisted they stay and watch one of the Star Trek movies.

Arching a black brow, the tall man raised his hand. "Live long and prosper."

"You're fictional," was all Blade Runner could think to say, while noting the look-alike appeared to be fully humanoid, and more importantly, absolutely weaponless. Unless he concealed a weapon beneath the regal white robe he wore.

Blade Runner clutched his light sword more tightly, prepared to run the intruder through.

"Ah, yes. An explanation is required. May I address you as Blade Runner?"

"Mind meld?" Blade Runner joked, now cool as the cucumbers he liked on his salads.

"There is no need for a mind meld." Spock -- or whoever his uninvited guest was -- steepled his hands. "The name you use is quite clear in my mind."

"I'm an open book, eh? As they say."

"To a degree, rabbit warrior."

Reaching back, Blade Runner palm-touched the stabilizer, bringing his craft to a hovering stop. "Sure, Spock rhymes with doc, address me as Blade Runner. What are you doing here?"

"I am making contact."

"Contact is established. Do explain more." Blade Runner allowed his blade to lower. 
Again Spock lifted a brow. "To explain, Blade Runner, my life as a human on Earth was the true fiction."

"How so? And do tell." Blade Runner cocked his rabbit ear.

"I was allowed to incarnate on Earth for the specific purpose of acting as my true self. To be more specific, to play the role of Spock. The plan was to bring forth as much of my true nature as possible in the role."

"Fascinating," Blade Runner imitated the character, Spock, for his own amusement.

"Fascinating," Spock returned the imitation. A hint of a grin curved one side of his mouth, vanishing quickly.

"The planet, Vulcan, not in my star data base. Where is your homeworld?"

"You would know my homeworld as Vespuchia."

"Located in the neighboring solar system," Blade Runner instantly recognized. "I have never visited."

"We are selective as to contact. It was decided by my people's high council to initiate contact with Earth humans. First, by bringing awareness to the population on Earth in the guise of their fictional programming."

Blade Runner eased his stance, beginning to feel a certain affection for the pointed ear ET. "Ah...well, did it work as expected?"

"Perfectly. However, expectation is illogical."

"If you say so, fellow pointy ear. Say, is this contact between you and me only? Or is there someone else on the ground I'm allowed to spill this tale to?"

"The one known as Dante. However, speak to whomever will lend a listening ear. If you will excuse me, Blade Runner, my time is over."

"Come again, pointy ears," Blade Runner invited, even as he watched Spock dematerialize, and heard him say, "Beam me up, Scotty."

~~~~~~


Wishing you love and passion on the wild side ~ 

Savanna 

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance

We Are Not Alone... Skyflash...

Rabbit Warrior by Tweekt~deviantart.com

Summer-hot howls and yowls, shapeshifter lovers.

Gosh, so sorry for the late posting. I just can't get my act together these days. However, I hope the following flash scene, another aerial adventure above the rampaging mutant mammoth-werewolf, is worth the read.
~~~~~~

We Are Not Alone... Skyflash...

Blade Runner, the Peak's own extraterrestrial rabbit shifter, carefully maneuvered his small UFO craft, staying close to the top of the mountain. Upon arrival, mere moments ago, he'd activated the sharp spire of granite with a resonance frequency that kept his disc craft hidden. Enemies lurked everywhere in the unfriendly skies, especially the so-called 'visiting' otherworld races.

With Pachyderm-wolfzilla quaking the ground toward Talbot's Peak, Dante had contacted briefly, both of them aware of a galaxy-sized problem unknown to most. So, despite his earthquaking tryst with his fox-fairy lover that had him sleeping like a newborn rabbit, Blade Runner hopped out of bed. In a matter of minutes, he'd booted up his trusty, pie-pan craft, and soared to the best mountaintop vantage point he'd discovered.

"Skyflash," he identified the incoming ET ship. The quick explosion of light faded as fast as it filled the western quadrant of the Montana sky. "Not good," Blade Runner muttered in his lingo. Immediately, he put on his rabbit ears -- the tech from his world that would give him listening access to the crew -- auto-interpreting their language.

***

"Brother Qiy, the genetically modified mammoth has a most impressive profile. The Earth scientist must be a rogue."

"I see what you mean, Brother Xuon. The beast has certain advantageous capabilities."

"With a few tweaks we would dominate not only sections of Earth, but there are other planet worlds we could trample... hehe... into obedient slaves."

"My thoughts exactly. Do you recall the primordial-stage planet we discovered three-point-five-eight years ago?"

"Yes. I understand. A perfect breeding ground for a pair of weaponized mammoths. The other mutated canine beast riding astride, are his genes useful to us?"

"Perhaps, more than I first realized. He is controlling our future weapon. I will program the retrieval probe to gather both samples."

***

Knowing he didn't need any more information than what he'd just heard, Blade Runner rapidly punched in his own program to intercept the collection probe, and to take evasive action. No doubt, the Crugriox would attempt to laser-burn the hide off him and his craft, about one-tenth the size of their atmospheric cruiser.

Blade Runner grinned, his own rogue nature coming alive. He lived for these David-Goliath contests, as some humans called them. On screen, he watched the probe, tiny as a sliver of glass, deploy.

He darted out of the resonance field, diving his craft like a bat out of hell, as the saying went. Given timing was crucial, Blade Runner flashed toward the now popularly named Hellephant, whose rampage down the highway was leaving  potholes that could eat a small car.

Within a split second, the Crugriox detected his presence. Invisible to the human eye, beams that would make him invisible sliced through the air toward his craft.

"Yahoo and screw you, wabbit killers." With the skilled swift precision that made him excellent with a rapier, Blade Runner dashed through the pelting rays. "This is one rabbit you won't fry up for dinner."

Not that the Crugriox dined on small mammals, their diet being mostly crustaceans. That hardly mattered in the heat of battle, in gaining his prize -- the probe now aiming for the franken-mammoth's monstrous butt like a hypodermic needle equipped with a nano jet pack.

Blade Runner avoided another blast from the Crugriox ship, this one meant to destabilize his power source and disrupt his craft's flight path. Deploying his own catcher beam as he called it, once the hyperspeed calculations completed, Blade Runner quickly lessened his speed.

In a sweeping arc, he flew about half a mile above the Hellephant and its malformed werewolf rider, who appeared to be clutching some very unlucky woman beneath a hairy brute arm. "Heroes desperately needed," he muttered, hoping Dante and crew were on the case. His aerial rabbit butt was about to be roasted, if the Crugriox had their way.

"Gotcha!" Blade Runner triumphed seconds later. With the gene-collecting probe in containment, he flipped his craft upside down, his magnetic boots holding him in position.

On screen, Blade Runner watched the unsuspecting group gathered below never gaze skyward, except Dante, who gave him a brief salute from astride his ultra-tricked out Harley.

An onslaught of microwaving beams struck the bottom of his craft, as expected. Unexpected, the interior steam-heated quick, even though it was protected by a sheet of specialized foil.

"Defcon one, scramble, scramble," Blade Runner repeated the military mantra, thinking fast. "Time to play tilt-a-whirl."

To save himself and fight another day, he tapped the large gold button. Instantly, the craft spun, righted itself, then zoomed across the sky while wobbling madly.

"Riding the whirlwind." Blade Runner shouted. "Cook me now, shrimp breaths." Even as his head dizzied, and his eyes took turns crossing and uncrossing, Blade Runner pumped his fist.

Minutes passed one click at a time. Then, as if a giant hand reached down, his craft stopped its spin and ascended straight up. The loud buzz signaled Blade Runner he was out of range, or the Crugriox halted their pursuit. A swift glance at the instrument panel, once his gaze steadied enough, had Blade Runner hopping up and down with glee.

His hand flew over the weapons' panel preparing the strike. One sizzle and bang to the power unit of the Crugriox's ship, and they'd be the prey. Blade Runner collected every last ounce of energy from the craft's systems that wouldn't cause him to fall unceremoniously out of the sky.

"Butt-whipping about to take place." Stealthily, Blade Runner positioned himself above the cruiser, now concealed by a large cumulus cloud. Likely, the Crugriox waited for another chance to steal the lab-brewed monster's gene material. Enough to risk an attack.

"Pow, pow..." Blade Runner crooned, and palmed the shoot-to-destroy button. He pushed.

Streaks of red pulsed through the cloud. "Wow! Target is attained... target is attained," Blade Runner celebrated. On screen, he watched the neon stream blast the exterior of the cruiser, then penetrate the power unit.

Wise enough not to push his luck, or his craft, Blade Runner unlocked. Zipping high into the sky, he returned to the mountaintop, and hovered. Just in case...

~~~~~~


Wishing you love and passion on the wild side ...

Savanna 

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance

Blade Runner ~ Rabbit to the Rescue

Howls, yowls, and hops, Shapeshifter lovers.

So, our villain from Pat's Monday flash scene, Cochrane, is loaded for bear and werewolves, and heading for the fair town of Talbot's Peak... but doo-do-doo.... what really happens to the monster hunter?
~~~~~~

Blade Runner ~ Rabbit to the Rescue

Blade Runner caught the glint in Dante's eye as soon as his alpha wolf friend entered the Pleasure Club's fight arena. Leaping, he morphed to rabbit humanoid, then dispatched his latest opponent with a rapid, continuous thump-thump of his feet.

True, the boar humanoid staggered backward one drunken-like step at a time as Blade Runner pounded his jaw, as he punished the hulking man-beast's face with his kicks. Soon enough to suit the referee, the brute's smallish eyeballs crossed, spun like wormholes, and disappeared upward. He bellowed a defeated grunt, then crashed against the curved side of the arena wall.

"Timber!" someone shouted from the whooping, cheering crowd.

"You will excuse me," Blade Runner acknowledged the ringmaster. "I must tend to a matter of business." He gave a nod toward Dante, who leaned arms folded, waiting for him.

"Yeah, go ahead," Jarrod, the gator shifter dismissed. "When the boss man wants ya, no questions asked."

Pausing only to slide into his fighter's robe, then shift to his human form, Blade Runner made quick work of moving through the crowd. The semi smirk on Dante's face clued him in. The alpha had an offbeat mission in mind, and obviously required Blade Runner's assistance. 

"The wolf man with a plan?" Blade Runner raised his brow.

"Fresh organic carrot juice," Dante tempted, arching his brow.

"You know I am unable to resist such a delight." Blade Runner fell into step beside Dante as the wolf pivoted, striding down the corridor. "Is there a danger to the Peak? To our territory?"

"You could say that. Monster hunter named Cochrane has a grudge large as a bull elk against Vernon and the former mayor."

"Ah, yes, I recall that amusing tale. I will assume this Cochrane wants his brand of revenge."

Blade Runner followed Dante inside one of the club's herbie juice bars -- this one obviously closest to the fight arena. His nose twitched uncontrollably, filled with the fragrance of  freshly delivered carrots. He'd developed quite the fondness for the Earth vegetable, especially the heirloom varieties. 

"Revenge, yeah," Dante growled, once Blade Runner had savored a tall glass of juice. "Cochrane has a car trunk full of serious weapons. He plans on playin' the hero for humanity by going Rambo on Talbot's Peak."

"Rambo?" Blade Runner's inner rabbit ears stood tall.

"Never mind." Dante grinned, and leaned his elbows on their corner table. "Forgot you're still learning about our culture, space bunny. Speaking of, is that UFO craft of yours operational right now?"

That perked Blade Runner's ears even higher. "I took a spin the other night. Quite operational. What manner of mission do you have in mind?"

"Got backup plans in place." Dante grinned like a wolf who knew his prey was helpless. "But scat, I like this plan a whole lot better. You know how we discussed those abductions by the Grays, and keeping those little bio-bots and their masters outta our skies."

****

Enjoying the aerial chase, his blood sizzling fiercely, Blade Runner soared above Cochrane as he sped down the highway toward Talbot's Peak. Of course, at this point the monster hunter didn't realize he was the hunted -- the one being tracked not only by the space rabbit, but by Dante's ground team stationed along this stretch.

Just for his own amusement, Blade Runner hummed the tones from the movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Ah, humankind and their imaginings... they had no idea about the breadth and depth of life in their solar system let alone life in the surrounding galaxy.

Be that as it may, Blade Runner had allowed himself to be attired in one of Lamar's silver, stretch jumpsuits. He also wore an alien Gray Halloween mask made out of something dreadful called latex. Just to add his own sense of the weird, he poked his rabbit ears through two holes in the mask.

Once Cochrane traveled over a long straight section of the road -- so anyone else driving could easily spot his stalled car -- Blade Runner made his UFO move. He blasted Cochrane with a cone of white blinding light. At the same moment, he touched on a specialized laser beam shutting the car's engine down.

For seconds, Blade Runner let Cochrane stew in the juices of his own terror. "Having fun now, monster hunter?" he muttered, before activating his *beam me up Scottie* tech, which was really only for gathering rock and flora specimens. It should work without scrambling too much of the idiot human's genes and particle matrix.

Of course, the man's garments wouldn't survive the trip aboard his craft. Blade Runner prepared himself mentally for the ugly lumpy sight. Mirth also caused him to chuckle at the big bad hunter's *I'm bare-ass naked* predicament.

"Ah yes, I need the proper probe, don't I?" Blade Runner reminded himself.

Cochrane landed with a decided thump on the flat surface Blade Runner used to prepare meals. "Hover. Shields up," he spoke to the craft's control core. A soft buzz sounded  letting him know they were now invisible to advanced-tech sweeps.

"On with the show," Blade Runner bolstered himself for the task ahead.  Neural wand in hand -- especially effective against humans -- he moved within his kitchen.

Menacingly, Blade Runner pointed the silvery wand at the blinking but surprisingly alert Cochrane. "What's up, doc?" Blade Runner greeted, his voice muffled by the mask. Inside, he grinned at his Bugs Bunny imitation, most probably lost on his captive.

The beast-distasteful human lifted his head, staring the proverbial daggers. "You fucking alien freak, where am I?"

Blade Runner zapped the bravado-stupid human between his blackhole-looking eyes. His over-large head hit the hard surface. Crack!

"Obedience is required, pathetic creature," he intoned, using a semi-robotic voice -- the affect likely unheard due to the mask.

Cochrane stayed dead still for several minutes. "Probe me," he dared in a voice like a buzz saw, a term Blade Runner now understood. "Get it over with. I know you alien freakazoids aren't allowed to kill us."

"Your knowledge astounds me, mere human." Blade Runner moved so he stood beside the ghastly smelling monster hunter. He pointed the wand at his ape-hairy chest.

By the cosmos, Cochrane's odor could knock out planetary life for miles around. Blade Runner resisted the urge to douse him with a cleansing ray bath. For that matter any shapeshifter worth his nose would have scented the hunter's arrival, and cleared out, or taken the mental midget down.

"What?" Cochrane challenged, his tone nasty as a bulldog with a rotten tooth... Blade Runner had crossed paths with such a beast once. "Alien motherfucker? Aren't you going to turn me over, and stick that probe up my butt?"

Blade Runner winced at the thought. "Your genes are hardly worth a butt probe. Although... come to think of it, your genetic code could serve as a warning of how not to seed another planet world."

"Wait!" the monster hunter's voice boomed like a crack of thunder, and fear edged his tone. He eyed Blade Runner's rabbit ears for long seconds, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. "You're... you're one of those mutant hybrids. From the secret lab. That hell-mad doctor is real. So, you cowardly ugly aliens are collaborating..."

"Collaborating!?" Blade Runner boomed back, the sound carrying despite his mask. "Why would we bother with a mad scientist on Earth? Those are a dime a dozen, to phrase it in your colloquial terms. Our labs are quite sufficient --"

Cochrane writhed in an attempt to leap up. Blade Runner zinged a pulse into his heart muscle, lightly shocking him. The big bad monster hunter gurgled a scream, laying inert as unformed clay. 

"You crude beasts never learn," Blade Runner reprimanded. "No wonder your planet is a prison world."

Given the allotment of time had passed for Dante's crew to liberate Cochrane's cache of weaponry, Blade Runner decided he'd endured enough. About to press his palm device and activate the return beam, he heard the smelly, hapless hunter croak, "What's up, doc? That's what you said."

"Eh, what's up, doc?" Blade Runner cartoon-voiced. Indeed, amusement was where you found it.

"I got it," Cochrane sneered. "You're in league with those filthy bastards, the Chinese. They got that Jade Rabbit rover on the moon. This is some sort of creepy inside joke, right... Bugs Bunny?"

"You're brainy assessment is quite wrong." Blade Runner waggled his rabbit ears. "With all of your research on monsters, don't you know?" He paused for dramatic affect. "Bugs Bunny, as you refer to him, is one of us."

~~~~~~

 

Wishing you romance on the wild side… 

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~

Blade Runner ~ Rabbit With a Rapier

Yeah, you try finding a decent picture of a rabbit holding his nano-tech blade.

Greetings, Shapeshifter lovers, may tomorrow’s Full Moon in the water sign of Cancer assist you in bringing forth the practical goal you desire most.

Last week, Blade Runner, my outer space rabbit shapeshifter, made his first appearance in Talbot’s Peak. I get to blame the following flash scene on our beloved Pat Cunningham.

And, I quote from last week: “A kick-ass bunny in a world of carnivores ... yeah, he'd better be tough. I'd love to see him take down one of the Tiger Yakuza. Then head out for the Pleasure Club for some time with the ladies afterwards.”

Okay, the scene didn’t quite turn out that way. However, Pat is very inspiring.
~~~~~~

Rabbit With a Rapier

Blade Runner slid his translucent weapon from his sleeve. The flash of movement temporarily halted the rapid stealthy approach of a Ninja type – so he assumed by his study of Earth warriors, movies included.

The pungent-meat smell of tiger caused panic to grip his belly. That is, before his warrior training kicked in, and the power of his legs doubled.

With the Goddess Moon nearing her full display of beauty, Blade caught the shadow-like movements easily. By the hungry odor of the tiger ninja, he knew he was being hunted as prey. Not as an enemy.

On the trail of a wealthy heiress who frequented the Interspecies Pleasure Club of late, he’d obviously stepped into more of a turd-pile situation than he’d bargained for.

Aware it was too late to make a weaving dash for it, or summon up his ability to time-phase, Blade stood his ground in the large clearing near the club.

He sliced the night air with his wand-slim weapon, preparing to win. Super-speed moving from tree to tree, the tiger human stalked him.

With ultra-quick precision, Blade performed a series of martial art moves. Prism colors ribboned from the swift spin of his weapon. Still, the hidden tiger looked for his opportunity to attack, and dine.

Sensing the ninja’s rush toward his back, Blade whirled. He met the tiger-man’s leaping flight, and their blades collided. In a frenzy of moves, they counter-attacked each other, looking for weaknesses.

Using the clearing as a battle arena, they moved back and forth in near silence. The punishing blows of their blades as they struck each other only fueled Blade.

With his blood a ferocious heat, he jumped, kicked off his expensive loafers, and formed his rabbit feet. Whirling like a mini cyclone, the ninja morphed to part tiger, part human. He sprang, his fangs shining in the moonlight.

Blade spun across the clearing with his own tornadic force. Leaping high, he whipped around in mid air. As the tiger-headed ninja launched, ready to snap him in half, Blade thumped him between the eyes. Hard.

Huge claws scraped his sides and Blade rapidly pistoned his legs, kick-boxing the beast’s eyes. With a split second’s advantage, he threw his weight forward, plunging his weapon between the tiger’s glazed, but savagely feral eyes.

Even though, it rubbed his ears the wrong way, he let go of his prized blade to somersault backward, then land on his feet. Jerking it free would not have allowed him to stand clear as he did now.

“It won’t kill him.” The feminine voice confidently spoke from behind him.

Blade dived for his weapon. Pulling it free, he whirled to face another possible enemy. However, a wolfen man he recognized as Brandon Wayne’s good friend, and the G&B crime reporter, approached.

“Quite a story, if I were to write it for the Guts and Butts Gazette.” White Fang’s dry tone was a good-natured tease. Although, his expression remained close to grim. “There’s a special containment area for members of the Yakuza I’m aware of. I’ll take care of it. Go see to your wounds. Blade Runner, isn’t it?”

Tilting his head in formal acknowledgment, Blade straightened to his full height, then bowed his head slightly. “Yes, that is my name, Mr. Kent.” Instinctively knowing when to leave well enough alone, especially since it involved the Yakuza, he added. “Thank you.”

“You can thank my associate, Xakara. She heard your fight as she passed by.”

“Your hearing must be superior.” Blade bowed at the waist, as the diminutive woman minced over the forest floor toward him.

Dainty in the extreme, her filmy garments fluttered around her like the mists of his meadowland home, now three light years away. Unabashedly, Blade stared at the beautiful, orb-round shape of her breasts. He honored her tiny waist, then the ripe flare of her hips with his appreciative gaze.

Once Xakara stood before him, she smiled like a vixen. Blade wondered if she was a fox shifter, even though, he detected no telltale scent. Instead, the fragrance of summer wildflowers enveloped him, and made him want to roll with her all night long.

“Blade Runner,” she sang soft as a breeze. Her eyes were pure sorcery as she gazed at him. The large shimmering pools, the color of smoke and wild iris, invited him to dive in for a vigorous and lengthy swim.

“At your service, most lovely one.” Cupping her delicate hand inside his, he lifted her palm to his lips and touched a kiss. “If you’ll excuse me a moment.”

Keeping his gaze fastened on Xakara, Blade took a few steps back. He shifted back to full human, the cold ground reminding him he was barefoot.

Thinking to recover his loafers later, he raised his arms. With a twirl of his weapon, and flick of his wrist, he placed the blade back inside his sleeve pocket.

“Oooh, a rabbit with a rapier,” Xakara cooed. “From what I witnessed your fighting prowess is impressive, Blade Runner.”

She swayed toward him, while his male ego expanded to the size of the universe. “Are you as talented,” she paused, her gaze alighting on his fluffed cock, “with another rapier?”

“I am a rabbit, lovely one. You’ve never heard of our well-deserved mating reputation?” he bantered.

“Your shoes, Blade Runner,” White Fang hollered. An instant later, they landed beside him. “You’re safe inside the club. Xakara will take care of you.”

“I will.” With obvious flirtation, she shook her cascading waves of ebony hair, then slanted a seductive look at him.

Fascinated by the silvery blue shimmer of her tresses, Blade couldn’t determine if it was the magic of the moonlight, or because of her kind – still a mystery to him.

Their hands met and clasped. Blade had never felt this weightless over a woman.
~~~~~~

~ HAPPY SHAPESHIFTING NEW YEAR ~

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
~~~~~~