ic Moonshine Madness

[Supercape]

GM

 

17th October, Early Afternoon

 

Freedom City Zoo

 

Arctus and Slipstream had formed a friendship of sorts, and had, on a brisk and cloudless afternoon, found themselves in Freedom City Zoo for fun, japes, and perhaps even entertaining the chimpanzees and gorillas (of which there were both). 

 

Halloween was still a week or two away, but the hints of festivities to come were there. Adverts of special halloween events, pumpkins on sale, and so on. And, with this being a full moon night on a cloudless day, there was a certain ambience. 

 

The sun was low, and setting. In a half hour the stars would be twinkling. The moon was already in the sky, and full to the brim. 

 

The mysterious spirit Sunshade, a shadow who fed on repressed anger, had not bothered Jack since their first encounter, with Jack leaving him bloated and obese, so stuffed he could hardly move. And yet, like an itch, or an inkling, Jack knew the spirit was there. Sunshade himself had said that he had never, in centuries or millenia, had such a feast as Arctus - who was repressing the bear rage within. 

 

But! for now, the snakes were hissing, the wolves were howling, and the chimpanzees were going "ook" in a delightful way!

 

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

Lynn had been rather quiet during the Uber ride from Claremont to the zoo, something that was not necessarily atypical for the blonde teen, who often had a rather downcast demeanor on campus. While she had been quick to accept Jack’s invitation to go with him to the zoo, the sixteen-year-old had been experiencing some…uncertainty about the outing.

 

It had nothing to do with Jack, at least not directly, but was more to do with Lynn's own issues related to her home timeline, particularly her feelings of guilt. But by the time they had arrived at the zoo, she resided herself to not dwelling on those feelings and doing her best to enjoy the moment. Jack deserved nothing less.

 

The blonde teen was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a red sweater, over which she wore a light-grey windbreaker, a pair of white tennis shoes rounding out the outfit. As was typical of her wardrobe, her entire outfit appeared brand new (as it in fact was).

 

Looking up at Jack as the pair walked into the zoo, Lynn managed one of her faint smiles. "Thanks for inviting me to come along Jack. I'm not sure how long it has been since I have been to the zoo." She said, though in the back of her mind she was wondering what differences she might find between the zoo in this timeline and the one from her own.
 

[Jack]

Jack shifted uncomfortably in the Uber's back seat, the silence heavy between him and Lynn. His fingers traced patterns of frost on his thigh as his mind replayed the chaos at the art gallery. The memory of transforming into his bear form in front of everyone gnawed at him. He glanced at Lynn's reflection in the window, catching glimpses of her distant expression.

 

She'd accepted his invitation to the zoo, which had surprised him. After witnessing his wild side, he'd expected her to keep her distance. Most people did. The zoo felt like a safe choice - he'd always found peace among animals. Though that thought made him pause. Was choosing the zoo just proving how different he was?

 

The car pulled up to the entrance. Jack unfolded his large frame from the vehicle, his worn cargo shorts and sleeveless hoodie a stark contrast to Lynn's put-together appearance. 

 

"Yous look nice today," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yous outfits, they always look amazing." 

 

The Uber pulled away as Jack dug into his pocket, retrieving some crumpled bills for their tickets. Lynn's quiet thank you for the invitation brought a genuine smile to his face.

 

"I yam happy you vanted to come," he chuckled, "after disaster of last time ve vent out." His expression softened as he studied her face. "Everything okay vith you? You seem... quiet today."

 

They entered the zoo proper and Jack noticed the festive decorations. In all the commotion of starting school, being a superhero and moving to Clairemont, he had forgotten what time of year it was. A refreshing breeze swept across the zoo grounds, though he found it peculiar how other visitors appeared to shiver and huddle as if chilled.

 

 

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

At Jack's comment about her outfit, Lynn blushed slightly as she looked down at her new, and somewhat expensive clothes. The blonde teen never particularly thought about her clothes, but knew she had grown up in very privileged conditions (which had not changed since this timelines version of her mother had taken her in), so she always had plenty of options in terms of clothing.

 

"Thank you." She replied. "But, to be honest, it is not hard to look good when you have the money to spend on clothes." She then added with an almost dismissive shrug.

 

She had another of her half smiles when Jack mentioned the events of their visit to the art gallery during the summer. "Well, not an uncommon situation for people like us. My mom told me plenty of stories about having to duck out of dates and parties in high school and college."

 

Her smile faded as he asked her if she was okay, mentioning her being quiet. "Sorry…I…just have a lot on my mind." She replied, while inwardly she chided herself for letting her issues overly cloud her mood today. 

 

"I promise I will try to stay focused more on the present." She added as they moved into zoo, taking in the Halloween decorations that had been put up.
 

[Jack]

Jack chuckled at Lynn's modest dismissal of her fashion sense. "Nyet, is not just money. You could vear things from thrift store and make look like runway show." The bear spirit rumbled approvingly inside him at her easy acceptance of their chaotic art gallery adventure.

 

"Is nice, having parent who understands this life." He felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Finally someone who got it, who didn't need everything hidden or explained away. His smile faltered slightly as thoughts of his own family surfaced. His parents were good people, but they lived in careful denial of what he'd become. To them, he was still their little Vanya who they'd left in Siberia with his grandparents. And while babushka and dedushka had helped him understand his shamanic heritage, they were now half a world away.

 

Jack noticed Lynn's smile dimming as she mentioned having a lot on her mind. His heart ached seeing her try to force herself to focus on their outing.

 

"Hey." He stopped and turned towards her as he tapped his temple with one large finger. "Most times up here, is just bear thinking about fish and honey. And sometimes chili..." His lips quirked up hopefully, trying to coax back her smile. "You don't have to try be anything vith me. Is nice just being around someone vho understands. If you have things on mind, is okay too. Ve can talk, or not talk. Both good."

 

He looked up at the signs for exhibits. "I yam partial to bears…obviously, but also love see de monkeys." He let the statements just float in the air, letting her take them where she wanted to.

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"And the wolves?"

 

One of the Zookeepers was just by them, feeding some snakes. He was slightly on the small side, wearing a yellow high- visibility jacket and a sour face. He looked, not precisely sleepy - but tired, burnt out. Haggard, harassed. Somebody who was doing something because they were cursed to do it, rather than chose to. And yet he did not seem cruel or angry, just, well... tired. 

 

His face was of brown complexion, maybe native American, but hard to tell. His eyes were dark, and he had not a single hair on his head. HIs scalp was a shiny as a billiard ball. 

 

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your date," he said, voice soft to the point of mumbling. "Bears and monkeys are good. Don't go by the wolves - something wrong with them here. Mean spirited, you could say."

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

Lynn glanced away for a moment as she once again blushed slightly at Jack's comment about her ability to make any outfit look good. It was not that the blonde teen was unaware that she was attractive, but she did tend to not put much thought into her looks or her outfits. Certainly not as much as her mother did (or this timelines version of her mother), or someone like their classmate Estelle.

 

When Jack mentioned having parents who understood having powers, Lynn tensed up for a brief moment. While she certainly agreed with the comment, what Jack did not know was that Lynn parents were gone, lost with the rest of her timeline, and while it was certainly true this timelines version of Megan Howell and her husband understood being involved in the superhuman community all too well, the reminder of her parents stung. Lynn somehow managed to hold back tears, glancing away again and brushing her eyes slightly.

 

Thankfully Jack gave her something else to focus on, as he mentioned some of the thoughts generally going on through his head, causing her to chuckle slightly and manage a faint smile. "It would be nice to just have to worry about the things most teenagers or people think about." She said. She was going to add a bit more, when the nearby zookeeper spoke up about avoiding the wolves.

 

Lynn glanced over to the man, before giving a small nod. "Thanks for the heads up." She stated before looking back up to Jack. "So maybe avoid the wolves. Guess we can start with primates?"
 

[Jack]

Jack felt his jaw tighten as the zookeeper interrupted their moment. The bear spirit inside him growled softly - this had been the first time Lynn had started opening up. Still, the man seemed genuinely concerned, if a bit odd. Jack forced his features to relax.

 

"Spasibo, thank you for warning." He gave the tired-looking man a polite nod, though his massive frame couldn't help but loom over the smaller zookeeper.

 

As they walked away from the snake exhibit, Jack studied Lynn's profile. The ghost of a smile still played at her lips, and some of the tension had left her shoulders. That small laugh she'd given at his bear-brain comment had been worth more than gold to him. 

 

They came to a split in the path, one direction leading toward chattering sounds and colorful signs for the primate exhibits, the other toward a more densely wooded area. Jack's eyes lingered on the latter path, where he could just make out the wolf enclosure through the trees.

 

"Ve could go see monkeys..." He scratched his chin thoughtfully before breaking into a mischievous grin. "But truth is, now I really vant to see vhat makes wolves so mean-spirited." He raised an eyebrow at Lynn. "Unless you think ve had enough trouble for vun week already?"

 

The breeze picked up again, carrying the distinct scent of predators. Jack's heightened senses caught whiffs of wolf, making the bear spirit stir with interest. There was something else there too - something that made his shamanic instincts prickle - but he couldn't quite place it.

 

 

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

Lynn followed alongside Jack as they left the zookeeper and moved further into the zoo. They had not gone far when they came to a fork in the path, with one direction leading towards the primates and other exhibits, the other towards the section of the zoo that housed the wolf enclosure.

When Jack stopped at the crossroad, the blonde teen stopped as well, turning to regard him as he seemed momentarily lost in thought before admitting he was a bit curious about what might be going on with the wolves. Lynn shrugged slightly at the suggestion of trying to avoid more trouble. "From all the stories I have heard over the years, the one thing I am pretty sure of is that there is no real way to avoid trouble." Even as she spoke, the teen felt a pang of emptiness as she thought of her parents again.

 

Thankfully she was able to quickly push past that thought before it made her start to cry, instead turning to regard the path that led to the wolf enclosures. "So, I guess we might as well head straight toward potential trouble."

 

"But, if we are lucky, it will just turn out that zookeeper is a bit overworked and seeing things that are there."
 

[Supercape]

GM

 

The zoo was thinning by this time, the number of pedestrians becoming progressively scanter. A combination of the time of year, the cool weather, a touch of rain, and the darkness all conspired to make it a rather miserable time to see the animals. But the cloud cover was spotty, erratic. Stars and a full moon lit the way, only slightly marred by light pollution. It had a nice ambiance. A few couples were canoodlin' by moonlight. 

 

The wolf pen was large, and well designed, with plenty of wood and flora to scuttle around, and a faux-cave constructed in a mound in the centre of the pen. Lynn and Jack could see a few prowl, and no doubt a few more were inside the cave - they could catch glints of wolf-eyes in the darkness. 

 

Red meat, jagged, raw, lay outside the cave entrance, along with some bones. There was no doubt about it, these wolves were carnivores, hungry - and yet the meat was only half eaten. They craved something sweeter. 

 

Jack caught the smell of the restless ones. Something sickly, angry in their scent. They growled, they drooled, they looked at Jack with hungry eyes. Their build was remarkable - a mixture of skinny and muscular, with each paw raking the ground like nails across a blackboard. 

[Jack]

Jack's brow furrowed as he took in the scene before them at the wolf enclosure. The large, raw slabs of meat and gnawed bones strewn about the cave entrance should have been a wolf's delight, yet the food lay only half-consumed. It was as if the predators craved something more than mere sustenance, something that made Jack's bear spirit stir uneasily within him. His enhanced senses picked up their agitation - the way their muscles twitched beneath matted fur, the sharp tang of aggression in their scent that reminded him more of rabid beasts than the proud hunters these wolves should have been.

 

A low rumble emanated from deep within Jack's chest, an unconscious response to the unsettling sight before him. The bear spirit's unease resonated through their shared bond, making his muscles tense and the temperature around him drop several degrees. Frost began to crystallize along his exposed arms as his instincts screamed that something was deeply wrong with these wolves, something that went beyond normal predator behavior. Jack shook his head slightly, trying to push back the primal urge.

 

As he focused more on the wolves themselves, a sense of unease washed over him. Their scent carried something sickly and angry, a wrongness that set his teeth on edge. The bear spirit recoiled at the putrid smell - like decay mixed with burning chemicals and raw hatred. Even without his enhanced senses, Jack could tell these weren't normal wolves. His nostrils flared as he tried to process the unfamiliar odor, fighting back a surge of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. The wolves prowled restlessly, their lean muscles rippling beneath patchy fur. They raked the ground with each step, leaving jagged furrows in the earth. 

 

When their hungry, bloodshot eyes locked onto Jack, he couldn't suppress the warning growl that rumbled up from his throat, a sound that was equal parts human and bear. The feral intensity of their gaze stirred something primal within him, making the bear spirit bristle beneath his skin. His muscles tensed instinctively, and he shifted his bulk to stand protectively in front of Lynn, his broad shoulders forming a barrier between her and the agitated predators.

 

"Someting tell me ve not so lucky…" Jack muttered, his words tinged with a mix of concern and suspicion. He was starting to regret not heeding Lynn's suggestion to visit the monkey exhibit instead. The bear spirit within him bristled, ready for confrontation, sending waves of primal energy coursing through his veins like arctic wind. But Jack knew better than to provoke the clearly disturbed animals further - his years living in the wilderness had taught him that cornered predators were the most dangerous kind. He could feel his own bestial nature yearning to answer their challenge, but he forced those instincts down with practiced restraint.

 

He looked behind him to gauge Lynn's reaction

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

When the pair reached the wolf enclosure, Lynn looked out at it, trying to get a sense of what might be going on within. Not immediately spotting any of the wolves, her gaze instead fell on the meat and bones strewn about the cave entrance, her nose crinkling slightly in disgust.

 

And the Jack was standing defensively in front of her, blocking her view of the pen. There was a part of the blonde teen that felt a slight sense of irritation, but overall she was not bothered by his protective nature, having gotten a sense, it was part of his general nature. 

 

"We rarely are." She commented quietly to his comment about them not being lucky that it was nothing. When he glanced back toward her, Lynn looked up into his eyes. "I mean, besides the ominous state of the enclosure, I am not seeing much to be concerned about, do you sense something more?"
 

[Jack]

Jack turned his back to the wolves, fighting every primal instinct screaming at him not to expose himself to predators. The bear spirit's agitation rippled through him like ice water in his veins, but curiosity won out. He wanted to see if these unnatural creatures would react to such a clear display of vulnerability.

 

Looking down at Lynn, Jack met her bright eyes with an uncharacteristically grave expression. The usual playful glint was gone from his gaze, replaced by something harder and more focused. His massive frame cast a shadow over her smaller form as he spoke in low, measured tones.

 

"Ist not right, any of it." He gestured behind him without looking. "Wolves should fight over meat like that, should tear apart, should eat every scrap. But look - barely touched. And smell..." He wrinkled his nose, struggling to find the right words to describe the wrongness his enhanced senses detected. It was a scent unlike anything he had encountered before - sickly sweet and cloying, with an undercurrent of something rotten and decayed. The odor seemed to coat his tongue and throat, making him want to gag. Even worse, it clung to everything around them, saturating the air and ground as if the very earth itself was tainted. "Is like... like something sick and angry mixed together. Not natural predator smell."

 

The temperature around them dropped a couple degrees as his agitation grew. "They move wrong too. Too skinny but still strong. Like they starving but not for meat." The bear spirit's restless energy made his muscles twitch and spasm beneath his skin, like a caged animal pacing back and forth. It was growing increasingly agitated, feeding off Jack's own unease about the unnatural creatures they faced. He could feel the spirit's primal urge to lash out, to tear into these twisted abominations with fang and claw. Jack clenched his fists, willing the spirit to settle. Now was not the time to let instinct override reason, no matter how much he longed to unleash the beast within. "Nothing about this place feels right."

 

Behind him, he could feel the weight of multiple predatory gazes boring into his back. The wolves' attention felt different from any wild animal he'd encountered before - more calculated, more malevolent. It made his skin crawl in a way that even facing down an angry grizzly never had. The sensation was deeply unsettling, an instinctual warning that something was fundamentally wrong here. Every nerve ending tingled with the wrongness of it, setting Jack further on edge. He'd stared death in the face before, but this... this was different. Unnatural. It took every ounce of his willpower to keep his breathing even and his mind focused on the task at hand.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The moonlight glistened on the wet pavement of the zoo. Everything seemed still, too still, like the deep breath before the plunge into icy sea's. 

 

"Told you..."

 

It was the Zookeeper, behind them, leaning on a broom, face as sour as a bag of lemons. "Something ain't right."
 

He looked left, looked right, then leant towards them, tapped his nose. "Listen, kids, it ain't safe here. These wolves been infected. I gotta put 'em down. And it won't be pretty."

 

A shadow slinked over the moonlit wet pavement, almost invisible. Lynne did not spot it, but Jack did - he knew it too well. The shadowy spirit that fed of repressed anger, who saw Jack as the biggest feast that ever lived. 

 

The spirit known as Sunshade. Living Shadow. Until, of course, he fed...