Chapter 89: The Wolf and the Diamond

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  The tuxedo had form-fitted my new form after the transformation. It looked a little weird, but I wasn't here for a fashion show. I dropped to all fours, my cws clicking softly against the floor as I inhaled deeply. New scents flooded my consciousness. Perfumes, cleaning chemicals, more perfumes, the musty odor of ancient artifacts, and beneath it all, something distinctly female with notes of leather and... pheromones?

  No way I can smell that. The cat was excited.

  I followed the scent through the winding corridors, passing through the Egyptian wing where massive statues of Anubis stood sentinel over sarcophagi and dispy cases. The irony wasn't lost on me.

  "Great, even the decor is mocking me," I growled under my breath. "Cousin rivalry between wolves and jackals goes back millennia."

  The scent grew stronger as I approached a darkened dispy room. Security guards shouted in the distance, responding to the cascade of false arms. Through the confusion, I heard the faint sound of a dispy case being opened.

  I burst into the room to find her.

  The Bck Cat, true to her name, crouched gracefully over the now-empty dispy case that had held the Twilight Star.

  “Hmm-mm-hmm ?” she was humming to herself with a rexed look. She wore a skintight bck outfit with white fur trim at the wrists and colr, a mask obscuring the upper half of her face. Ptinum blonde hair cascaded down her back, catching the dim emergency lights.

  She wasn't wearing that earlier. She really was swift with her actions.

  She whirled at my entrance, green eyes widening behind her mask. For a split second, she froze, taking in my lupine form with a mixture of shock and… was that interest?

  "A werewolf?" She recovered quickly, voice smooth as silk. "Halloween came early this year."

  "Says the woman in the cat costume," I retorted, my Blitzwolfer voice a rumbling growl. "At least my transformation is authentic."

  She smirked seeing me talk, much of her shock subsiding, straightening to her full height. A brilliant blue stone the size of a golf ball twirled on her fingers. Then the diamond disappeared into a pouch at her hip. "What can I say? I'm committed to my brand."

  "And I'm committed to returning stolen property." That sounded much cooler in my head. I wasn't some police dog meant to stop every robbery. I was just here to help Jessica out.

  “Tell you what, you look really scary for a hero. Is Spider-Man also a human spider under that mask?”

  I stepped forward, blocking her path to the door. "Hand over the diamond, and maybe we can discuss reducing your sentence.”

  I was threatening her, but I didn't exactly want to put her in jail. It's not as if she's killing someone and… In her defence, she has Kleptomania. It's a psychological thing. Can't really help it, you know?

  ‘....’

  Okay, fine I'm caught.

  She's hot. And she's the Bck Cat. Call me out if you want to, but you wouldn't send Bck Cat to jail either.

  "Mmm, tempting, but no. I'll pass." She shifted her weight, muscles tensing for a fight or flight response. "I've got pns for this little beauty."

  Still, I gotta take that jewelry back.

  I bared my teeth in what might have passed for a beastly smile. "So do I. It's called 'Exhibit A.'"

  Her eyes narrowed, calcuting. "You know, you're not what I expected when they said someone was looking for me. Muscly werewolf in a tuxedo.”

  "Sorry to disappoint." I wondered who'd notified her

  "Oh, I didn't say I was disappointed, wolf boy."

  The flirtatious undertone wasn't lost on me, that was just her natural self. But before I could respond, the air split with the sound of gunfire.

  The dispy case beside me shattered as bullets tore through the gss.

  Men in tactical gear poured through the doorway opposite us. Six of them, armed with military-grade weapons. Their faces were obscured by bacvas, but their movements spoke of professional training.

  Now, what's this about?

  "Uhh, they're not with me!" Bck Cat shouted, diving behind a massive stone sarcophagus.

  I unched myself at the intruders, cws extended. "Yeah, I figured that out!"

  The first mercenary went down with a well-pced swipe that shredded his weapon and sent him sprawling. The second got off a burst of gunfire that I barely dodged, bullets whizzing past my ear. I grabbed him by the front of his tactical vest and hurled him into his companions, buying precious seconds.

  Hey, wait.

  This isn't right, I was supposed to capture Bck Cat, not help her fight against authorities…

  Sure they didn't look like good guys, but I shouldn't judge people based on their covered faces. Nah, they shot to kill. Killing a small thief was going too far.

  "Who the hell are these guys?" I growled, backing toward where Bck Cat had taken cover.

  "Oscorp security," she hissed, peering around the edge of the sarcophagus. "Private contractors. Very bad news."

  Another spray of bullets chipped the ancient stone protecting us. I grimaced, my ears fttening against my skull. "Friends of yours?"

  "I told you they're not with me. They're more like professional stalkers." She said, "I've been trying to shake them for weeks."

  "Yeah, that’s why I asked if they’re your friends or not. Why else would a tech corporation care about a jewel thief?" I demanded, dodging another spray of bullets.

  She didn't answer, focusing instead on the fight. We moved in unexpected synchronicity, taking down the mercenaries with surprising efficiency.

  Four remained, regrouping for another assault. I caught Bck Cat's eye, a silent understanding passing between us. When the mercenaries rushed our position, we moved as one. She went low, I went high.

  Her agility was breathtaking. She slid beneath a mercenary's legs, sshing at his ankles with retractable cws hidden in her gloves. I unched over the sarcophagus, unleashing a sonic howl that sent two more flying back into dispy cases.

  We fought back-to-back, her fluid grace complementing my raw power. When a mercenary fnked her, I covered with a swipe of my cws. When another tried to blindside me, she incapacitated him with an acrobatic kick that defied physics.

  "We need to move!" she shouted as more footsteps echoed down the corridor. "There's an exit through the restoration room!"

  Do we? I wasn't really fighting with my all. I could have defeated the six of them with ease, I didn't need her help. But let's see where she went with this.

  I nodded, grabbing a fallen mercenary's weapon and crushing it in my cws. "Alright, lead the way."

  We sprinted through the exhibits, arms bring around us. The naughty kitten moved with the confidence of someone who'd memorized the floor pn, leading us through a byrinth of dispys toward a service stairwell.

  "By the way, why are they after you?" I demanded as we climbed.

  She vaulted over the railing, cutting across to the next flight of stairs with inhuman grace. "The diamond. Or rather, what I pn to do with it."

  "Which is?"

  Her pace didn't falter as she spoke. She was quite talkative for someone who was being chased. "Normally I wouldn't say, but it benefits me if more people know about this. Oscorp has medical research data I need. Data that could save some lives. The diamond is my bargaining chip."

  We burst onto the roof, the cool night air a welcome relief after the chaos below.

  Sirens wailed in the distance. The police responding to the museum's security alerts. Behind us, the door to the stairwell crashed open as the remaining mercenaries pursued.

  “Stay behind me,” I said and stepped in front of Bck Cat, chest swelling as I unleashed a sonic howl powerful enough to make the entire rooftop vibrate. The mercenaries clutched their ears, dropping to their knees as the sound overwhelmed them.

  “W-whoa…” that seemed to stun her.

  Since she looked a little more scared now, I turned around and cornered her, my cws extended. "Enough games. Why is Oscorp after you?"

  "T-that's my business," she snapped, eyes darting for escape routes.

  I let out a warning growl, my patience wearing thin. "Not anymore. You've dragged me into this, as well as innocent people who’ve been hurt in your attempt at causing distractions. What if someone died?"

  She stood defiant, weighing her options. Could she win against this supernatural wolf who could release sonic bsts? Fortunately, she was a smart girl and soon let out a sigh. "Fine. The diamond is leverage. Oscorp has medical research data I need… experimental gene therapy. They wouldn't sell, so I offered a trade."

  "For a sick retive?" I guessed, noticing the subtle change in her posture.

  Her eyes narrowed. "My father. He's dying."

  The vulnerability in her voice seemed genuine, but I wasn't convinced. "So why send armed men instead of making the trade?"

  "Because they never intended to honor our deal," she said bitterly. "The research is illegal… human trials without consent. The diamond was just to get me in the door so they could silence me. I already had a feeling they’d do this, so I was prepared. That’s why I left trails so that Jessica Jones could follow me. I was hoping she’d protect me during this battle. Turns out, a strange wolf took her pce."

  "Oh…” I was a little surprised. All of this, getting caught and leaving behind a trail, was part of her pn? Just how good was she really, then?

  I didn’t have time to think. We both heard more footsteps coming. “Time to go!" I grabbed Bck Cat around the waist and leaped to the neighboring building's roof, clearing the alley between them with ease.

  We nded safely, immediately taking cover behind a rge air conditioning unit. The night sky stretched above us, stars barely visible through New York's light pollution. For a moment, we simply caught our breath, the adrenaline of the fight still coursing through our veins.

  "That... was something. Whew, now I can finally rex." Bck Cat admitted, a genuine smile pying on her lips. “You're full of surprises, wolf boy. Helping a criminal escape.”

  "Don’t rex too much, I didn’t help you escape. I just captured you instead of letting them,” I said. “You’re going to jail next.”

  “Noo~” she whined. “You really want to betray my feelings for you just because of a diamond?” She reached into her pouch, presumably to check on the diamond, when I noticed something else – a small fsh drive partially hidden in her suit.

  "What's that?" I demanded, gesturing to the device.

  She tensed, both because her attempt at flirting hadn’t worked and because I’d noticed that strange thing. "...Insurance. I managed to download partial data during my st infiltration at Oscorp. Enough to expose them, but not enough to help my father."

  "So that's why they're hunting you," I realized. "You're a loose end with evidence."

  "And they'd rather kill a cat burgr than risk exposure," she admitted, pulling out the drive. "See for yourself. I've been trying to understand it, but the data is... complex."

  I took the drive, stepping away briefly to transform from Blitzwolfer to Upgrade. I was away from her line of sight, but if she tried to escape, I could easily follow. As I interfaced with the device, what I found sent a chill through my liquid metal form.

  "Cross-species genetics," I muttered, my voice mechanical and echoing. "They're using recombinant DNA to create human-animal hybrids. Enhanced strength, agility, predatory instincts... But it's unstable. The mortality rate is over 90%."

  Her expression darkened. "They promised my father a cure. Said his genetic condition made him a perfect candidate."

  "They lied," I said bluntly. "This wouldn't cure him - it would turn him into a b experiment, if it didn't kill him outright."

  Her composure cracked for just a moment, revealing genuine fear beneath the bravado. She turned away, the diamond appearing in her hand as she prepared to flee.

  Before I could answer, she turned away, the diamond appearing in her hand as she prepared to flee. In a fsh of green light, I transformed into my human form once again and then to a different alien. This time into XLR8, my Kineceleran form built for speed.

  She was already thirty feet ahead, but I intercepted her effortlessly, circling her in a blur of motion before using a loose cable to bind her hands.

  "How–" she gasped, genuinely shocked by my speed.

  "Calm down, thief. Stealing glittering gems is one thing, but doing this… now you're putting your life in danger," I said, my voice now raspy behind XLR8's visor. "Oscorp doesn't make fair trades. If they wanted the diamond, why send armed men instead of meeting you as arranged?"

  She struggled briefly against her bonds, then slumped in defeat. "Because they never intended to give me the data. They just wanted to clean up loose ends."

  I nodded, pulling out my phone to call Jessica. As it rang, I looked down at my captive, struck by the complex mixture of defiance and vulnerability in her eyes.

  "I got her," I said when Jessica answered. "But let's meet at the apartment first before you decide to throw her in jail."

  "What? Why? Wait, so it is a her. Now I know why." Jessica's suspicion was clear even through the phone.

  "Hey, no. I'm not that typa dude. There's more to this than a simple theft, just hear that for now. I'll expin everything when I see you."

  As I ended the call, Bck Cat looked up at me curiously. "Why the change of heart, wolf boy? I was about to cry, thinking I’d have to eat jail food. Do you even know how bad it is? Yuck- ah."

  I transformed back to human form, my rental tuxedo still pristine. Bck Cat looked stunned, blinking several times. "In this huge world, the real criminals often aren't the ones stealing the diamonds. And shut your jaw, you’re too surprised.

  “Wait, no, no,” she said rapidly, stunned and confused for some reason. “You… you’re Benjamin Tennyson?!”

  “Um…”

  Why and how did she recognize me?

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