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Somehow I retained consciousness while my skull and brain knit themselves back together. I might have marveled at that, but I was seeing red. With a feline roar I spread my wings and extended my claws. Several men went flying and I started biting and clawing the rest. I felt no pain as I tore through the men with abandon. I tore the head off of one man while my tail lifted another by the leg and smashed him headfirst into the ground with a sickening crunch. My wings kept anyone from getting at me from behind.

In moments the fight was over. The surviving men were huddled against the walls in terror. Paul was standing by the entrance over the unconscious bodies of two others. I spotted the commander of the ship on the ground. His left arm had been torn from the socket, but he was still alive and moaning. I grabbed him by the throat and squeezed until I heard a popping sound. His eyes glazed over and his head lolled to the side at an unnatural angle when I released him. I think I was about to feed on him when I heard Paul's voice.

"Cat. Cat! It's over!" he yelled. I got the feeling he'd been saying it for a while. I looked down at the body of the commander and shook myself.

I looked around at the other men huddled against the walls of the cave. They were so terrified some of them had actually wet themselves. None of them would look at me. "Don't try that again!" I growled and stalked out.

Outside the cave there were two more men, both riddled with bullets from Jill and Vincent's rifles. "Are you okay Cat?" Jill asked worriedly.

Paul had followed me out. I looked around at all three of them and saw only concern. I looked back at Paul and stuttered, "I…I almost…I almost ate him!" before breaking down and wailing on his shoulder as he held me.

"Shh, it's okay." Paul reassured me. "You stopped, and he would have deserved it anyway. How badly are you hurt?" he asked once I'd calmed a bit.

"Uhm, I think I'm okay…" I began to say, and then everything went black.

I awoke in our bed. Paul was sitting next to me. "Uh, what happened?" I asked.

Paul smiled, "It's good to see you awake. You've been unconscious for several hours. When you passed out we checked you for injuries, but what you had were healing right before our eyes. I guess between the fight and your injuries you just needed lots of rest. I'm guessing you'll be hungry soon, too."

My stomach took that as a cue to grumble. "Yeah, I am hungry." Then I remembered what I almost did in the cave. "I don't know if I can eat right now, though." I said with a shiver. I had totally lost control. If not for Paul…

I felt Paul's arms around me. "It's okay Kitty Kat. It didn't happen." He murmured into my ear as he held me. I realized tears were streaming down my face and soaking Paul's shoulder. "Your instincts just took over when he shot you. There's nothing to be ashamed of." He said softly.

After a short eternity I managed to stop crying and pull back. "I'm sorry." I said.

"For what?" he asked with a smile. "Everybody gets a little emotional now and then. You have more reason than most. I'll always be here for you."

That earned him a good long kiss! "You expended a lot of energy healing yourself. You need to eat." Paul said insistently after we came up for air. I nodded dreamily without even realizing, or caring, what I was agreeing to!

"Good!" he said, and pulled me to my feet. "Off you go!" He slapped my rear end as he pushed me out the door. I squeaked and spun around but he had wisely closed the door!

Reluctantly, I flew off to hunt. He was right, I was starving, but I didn't want to be reminded of what I almost did. While I was cleaning up afterwards I reflected on that. I realized it was rather silly to get so upset over almost eating a human corpse, when I do the same with various animals all the time. The difference is purely societal, but I was raised in that society. I wasn't going to go eating any human corpses any time soon, but I resolved not to let it bother me.

When I got back to the village Paul was preparing dinner in the square. "Hey, babe, feeling any better?" he asked after a quick kiss and hug.

"Much, thanks! What happened after I passed out, anyway?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Not much, really. We got you back to the house once we realized your wounds were healing up so well. Jill and Vincent didn't have any more trouble with those men; they spent most of the time whimpering in fear if you hear them tell it. Mike and Greg are over there now."

"Do we have any idea of what kind of damage I did?" I asked. I didn't really remember the fight other than a few flashes here and there.

"A lot." Paul said with a grin. After an elbow from me he grunted and continued, "Their commander is dead, along with fifteen others. Two of which were killed by Jill and Vincent when they tried to rush them. I beat up a couple when I came in to help, but they're not seriously hurt. I think there are about eight more that are seriously hurt and we don't know if they'll make it. Then there are another ten or more with less serious injuries. So between us we injured or killed over half their number. Not that we contributed all that much, of course."

I stared in shock. "That much?" I whispered.

"Well, they did try very hard to kill you. That head shot pretty well shut off your conscious mind for a while. Personally I think they came off light." Paul said angrily.

He went back to working on dinner after that. Shawna and Arachne found me soon after. "We heard about what happened, are you alright Cat?" Shawna asked worriedly.

"I'm fine Shawna, I heal very fast." I assured her.

"Were you not shot in head?" Arachne asked in awe.

"Like I said, I heal very fast. I'm less surprised that I survived the shot than I am that I retained consciousness. Well, sort of." I replied.

"What do you mean, sort of?" Shawna asked.

"I don't really remember much after the shot, but Paul says I was pretty much running on animal instinct alone. I'm just glad Paul got through to me when he did." I mused.

Shawna looked baffled at that. Arachne did too, at first. "Ah, you almost do as I did?" she asked. I nodded. "I am glad he there for you." She said softly.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shawna asked, confused.

"When instincts take over, enemies become prey. Natural to feed on prey." Arachne explained.

Shawna gasped. "You almost ate one of those guys?" she asked in shock. Then after a moments thought she said, "It would have served him right!"

I laughed weakly at that. "Paul seems to feel the same way." I said.

"Do you think they'll cause any more trouble?" Shawna asked.

"I doubt it. I think most of those men were just sailors, not soldiers. And those are the ones who were probably the first to back off, if they were ever involved at all. I suspect that most of the soldiers are dead or at least injured now. With all the injured men they have to care for, they should be kept too busy to try anything else. Besides, it sounds like they're too scared of me for that." I replied.

"As they should be! You're like a super hero!" Shawna said.

I laughed at that. "Hardly a super hero. I'm just dangerous, that's all. And I'm going to be especially dangerous if anything happens to my parents before I can get to them." I said.

"Will you bring them here?" Arachne asked.

That gave me pause for thought. "I…don't know. I'm not even sure if I should tell them who I am. But I have to make sure they're safe, at least." I replied.

Paul called out that dinner was ready, so Shawna went off to eat while Arachne left to hunt. Paul brought his dinner with him and sat next to me. "Have those men had anything to eat since this morning?" I asked him.

"They should be fine, you brought enough food for fifty six people, they have maybe half that many that are conscious. They will need water, though." He replied.

"Okay, I'll take it to them." I said and started to stand. Paul grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Cat, don't you think someone else should do that?" he said.

"I'm not letting anyone else go in there. They're a lot less dangerous now, but there are still too many of them to send anyone else in." I replied.

"Then at least wait until I'm finished eating. We can take Mike and Greg their dinner while we're at it." He suggested. I nodded and wrapped a wing around him.

Once he'd finished eating we collected food for Mike and Greg and enough water for the remaining men from the ship. We also brought more medical supplies; apparently Mike threw some into the cave for them after I passed out.

At the cave Mike gave his gun to Paul so he could eat while Paul took his place. I took the water inside the cave. The first thing I noticed was that all of them fled to the farthest corners of the cave as I entered and looked at me like I was a wild animal. Then I noticed the remains piled up at one end of the cave. I counted twenty two dead. At the other end of the cave were the injured. There were three who looked pretty bad, the rest were less seriously injured. That left just about twenty people who weren't injured.

I dropped off the water and medical supplies and left the cave without difficulty. "Any problems?" Paul asked. He was still standing guard, but now Greg was the one eating.

"No, they're too afraid of me to get anywhere near me. I don't think we'll have any more problems with them. It looks like six of the injured didn't make it, though." I answered.

"Don't worry about it, they brought it on themselves." Paul said. I nodded and we returned to the village.

In the morning I went flying for a while to think. I was worried about my parents, but also about how they'd react to me. Should I tell them who I am, or just warn them they're in danger, or what? I was pondering this when I saw another ship approaching. This one was much larger. I flew over to take a look at it.

Men were pointing in my direction, but not with weapons. Encouraged, I decided to land. I came in slowly so as not to alarm them.

Everyone in sight was gawking at me, but they quickly scattered when an officer yelled at them to get back to their posts. "Excuse me ma'am, but what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you weren't answering a mayday from a smaller ship that would have been transmitted the day before yesterday." I replied.

His eyes narrowed. "Yes, that's why we're here. Do you know something about this?" he asked suspiciously.

"You could say that. That ship sent a group of men to kidnap someone from my island. After that, I was shot at while returning to the island. In order to protect me and my passenger one of my friends stuck some grenades to the underside of its hull and set them off. Much to our surprise, he managed to sink it." I replied angrily.

The officer blinked in surprise. "They attacked you? Why would they do that?" he asked.

"I assume they were operating under the orders of the group or groups that have already tried to kidnap me on multiple occasions." I replied.

The officer shook that off and asked, "Where are the men who were on that ship?"

"We're holding them in a cave on the island. We'll be happy to hand them over to you, but you'll understand if we don't want more people, especially soldiers, coming to the island. We'll put them in the lifeboats they came ashore in and send them to you." I replied.

"Alright. How many are there?" he asked.

"I believe there are thirty four left alive. When I last checked in on them there were two or three who were badly injured that might not make it." I said.

"Only thirty four! There were at least sixty people on that ship! What did you do?" he demanded.

I glared at him and let out the growl I felt building in my throat. "I defended myself. They ambushed me when I was delivering food and water. After being stabbed multiple times and hit with rocks and fists from all directions I was shot in the face by their commander. Normally I would have simply knocked them out, but I was not fully conscious so my usual restraint was absent."

He gulped and backed away from me. "You killed over twenty people on your own? After being shot in the face?" he asked weakly.

I nodded. "Yes."

He stopped backing away and looked at me curiously. "You're Kittyhawk, aren't you?" he asked cautiously.

I sighed. "Yes, I've been called that." I replied wearily. I guess I wasn't going to get away from that name.

He shook his head in wonder. "You rescued a mutant from a gang of mutant hunters, you broke up a bank robbery by a gang of mutants who made mincemeat of the police, and now you've torn up half a ship of men after sinking that ship. You're a very dangerous woman, but I have to wonder; whose side are you on?" he asked.

"I'm on my side, and that of my friends. We've been living peacefully on this island for over two years now. We would have been happy to remain undiscovered here for the rest of our lives, but that's not what happened. Now we're just trying to keep ourselves safe." I replied.

"Well, if you really send those men back I might just believe that." He replied.

"I'll go get them ready now." I replied. He nodded, so I took off and flew back to the village.

I went looking for Paul and found him gathering firewood. "Paul, there's a ship here to pick up our prisoners." I told him after I landed. "We need to get everyone together so we can move the men to the beach and get them packed up in their lifeboats." Paul nodded and sped off to gather the others.

I found Arachne and Shawna grabbing a snack from the storage house. "We're gathering everyone to transport our prisoners to a ship that just arrived. You two don't need to be involved with that, so I suggest you stay in the village until we get back." I told them.

Before long everyone was gathered in the square and we started off for the cave. Sarah and Connie were already there guarding them. They were surprised to see us all there, armed to the teeth. We led the men out to the beach. We had them help us carry out the injured and dead. The dead went into one boat and the rest into three others. Then we sent them off and I flew up and watched them until they were collected.

That taken care of I returned to the village. I told Shawna and Arachne that we were back and then pulled Arachne aside. "Arachne, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." I told her once we were out of earshot of Shawna, which is quite a ways.

"What favor?" she asked curiously.

"Once that ship leaves, or maybe even before that, I'm going to go find my parents and make sure they're okay. I was wondering if you'd watch out for Shawna while I'm gone." I replied.

"Gladly, but why me?" she asked.

"I know you can keep her safe, and doing so will keep you out of the worst of any trouble that comes, which I think you would prefer." I replied carefully.

"I appreciate concern. I am willing to help others, but will keep Shawna safe." Arachne replied.

"Thanks, I'll feel better knowing you're watching out for her." I replied gratefully.

Arachne went back to Shawna and I talked to Paul. "When the rest of you are eating dinner I'm going to go to the ship and make sure they aren't going to stick around." I told him.

Paul nodded. "And once they're gone you are, too, right?"

"Yes. I have to make sure my parents are okay. I'm still not sure how I'll handle that, but I have to do something." I replied.

"I understand. Just be careful and come back as quickly as you can." He said.

I stayed with Paul until dinner time and then flew off to the ship. My reception wasn't as cordial as last time. Several were yelling at me as I came down for a landing, though at least they weren't armed. The same officer came out to talk to me. "I'm surprised you waited this long to come back." He said in a neutral tone.

I shrugged. "I thought you'd need time to get all those men settled and treat the wounded. I'm afraid we don't have much in the way of medical facilities on the island." I replied.

His expression softened slightly. "I appreciate that. I'm afraid you aren't very popular with most of the crew right now. Word of what you did to those people has already spread."

I nodded. "I expected that. I'm not trying to win any popularity contests, just take care of my friends. What I need to know now is what your intentions are."

"We've accomplished our mission here. We'll be returning to the nearest naval base to drop off the survivors, and the dead. You realize that someone's likely to be sent back out here after the damage you did." He replied.

"I know. There's not much I can do about that except make sure we're ready for any more attacks." I said.

"For what it's worth, I'm inclined to believe you." He said.

"It's good to know someone doesn't think I'm a murdering animal." I said with a weak smile. We said goodbye and I returned to the island. It sounded like they'd be gone soon. I told Paul what he'd said when I got back.

"Sounds like they'll be gone soon." He commented.

"I think so. Once they're gone I'll go to Boston and check on my parents. I just hope they're alright." I said worriedly.

"They are. If anyone is looking to use them against you they'll want them alive, after all." Paul pointed out.

"Good point. I guess I'm going to have to tell them who I am, aren't I?" I said sadly.

"Why so sad? At least you'll get to see your family. The rest of us have to stay clear of ours in order to protect them." Paul replied.

"Not necessarily. We could bring them here." I said.

"Maybe." He shrugged.

By noon the next day the ship had moved on. I decided to wait until the following morning to leave. I'd need all the daylight I could get to make the flight to California. It would probably take me a few days to get to Boston from there. I asked everyone to stick around after dinner.

"I'm going to head out for Boston tomorrow." I started. "Sooner or later they're going to use my parents against me. I think the only way I can deal with this is to bring them here. I wanted to know if any of you have a problem with that." I looked around as I said that and noted that no one seemed surprised.

Jacob snorted. "Of course I've got a problem with it! But you'll all ignore me like you always do!" he grumbled.

"What exactly is your problem?" I asked him, not really expecting anything other than his dislike of me.

"I want to bring my own family here." He replied. "But they're safer where they are because whoever's after you don't know who I am."

"Sounds like you've already answered your own objection." Paul said.

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though." Jacob groused.

"Anybody else?" I asked.

Nobody else had any problem with me bringing my parents to the island. Everyone wished me good luck, even Jacob! I was starting to think that guy might actually turn out to be alright. Maybe.

I spent the rest of the night with Paul, since we wouldn't be seeing each other for at least a week.

After hunting in the morning I set out. I didn't try to fly as fast as I could; instead I focused on keeping up a decent speed and doing lots of gliding. It was a lot less tiring, but would cover plenty of distance, too. I probably could have gotten there without that precaution, but I wanted to make sure.

The first day of flight was very boring. I arrived in California in the late afternoon. I was feeling alright, so I continued on. I think I was around the middle of Nevada when I found a place to sleep for the night. I was rather surprised I hadn't been intercepted. I assumed I could be detected by radar, but there was no sign of activity. I started to worry that they were purposely keeping everyone off my back so I'd go to my parents where they would have a trap set for me.

I was somewhere over Kansas the next day when I spotted another flyer. This mutant had silver wings but looked normal otherwise except for her silver hair. When she spotted me she started flying towards me, so I turned to meet her. She motioned for me to land on a nearby hill, so I followed her there. She landed gracefully while I did my usual dive and flip to land on my feet. She staggered when I hit the ground and looked at me in shock. "Are you alright?" she asked me worriedly.

I smiled. "I'm fine; I usually land like that when I can. It's faster."

"Wow!" she breathed. "You're as impressive as the news paints you out to be. You are Kittyhawk, right?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah," I said with a groan, "that's what some people call me."

"Sorry, I'm sure that's not your real name. Everyone calls me Kestrel, but my real name is Melissa." She said.

"I'm Catherine. Most of my friends call me Cat." I replied.

Melissa laughed. "I can see why! So what brings you to my neck of the woods?" she asked curiously.

"I'm headed to see my parents. Some people are trying to kidnap me so they can figure out how my mutation works. They've already tried to kidnap a friend from the island where I live to use as a hostage against me, so I figured I'd better get my parents closer so I can protect them." I replied.

"Someone's been trying to kidnap you?! That sounds kind of stupid, to me!" Melissa exclaimed.

"Well, it hasn't worked out too well for them so far." I admitted with a wry grin. "They keep trying, though."

Melissa fidgeted a moment before saying, "Um, would you like some company?"

"Why do you want to go with me?" I asked.

"People really don't understand or accept me here. They're always putting me down and I've been attacked a couple of times. Fortunately I can fly, but I still don't feel very safe here. I thought if I stayed with you I'd be a lot safer. I'll help you with your parents or whatever else you want me to do." She said hopefully and with a tinge of desperation.

"You realize that being around me is dangerous. I've been attacked several times already." I cautioned her. She seemed like the type of person we should be inviting to the island, and she would be helpful with carrying my parents home, but I didn't want her coming without knowing what she was getting into.

"I know!" she rushed to assure me. "But I've got nothing here. My parents…they were killed last week. Everyone else I know doesn't want anything to do with me because they're afraid it will happen to them, too. Mutants can't even get jobs here."

I wish I could do something about the way people treat mutants… I thought. "Okay, if you're sure you want to come with me, you can. But you've got to do what I say! If I tell you to run for it, you have to do it. Can you handle that?" I asked her. "I'm expecting trouble when I get to my parents place." I added.

Melissa nodded happily. "Yes, I understand! I'll do whatever you say!" she replied enthusiastically.

Sighing, I replied, "Okay, you can come with me. Is there anything you want to get before we leave?"

"Yes, there is, if you don't mind?" she asked hopefully.

"So long as you can carry it and someone else, I'm okay with it." I replied.

"Cool! It won't be a problem, I promise!" she said happily. "Do you want to come with me, or would you prefer to meet back here?"

"Are you expecting any trouble?" I asked warily.

"Um, I'm not sure. My aunt and uncle are living in my parents' place right now, and that's where my stuff is. They're not going to be happy to see me, but I don't think we have to worry about violence or anything." She replied uncertainly. The more I saw of her the more I felt she was younger than she looked. She looked like she was in her early twenties.

"I'll go with you, just in case." I replied. She seemed happy with that answer, so she took off and led me to her parents' house.

It wasn't far, at least not for flyers like us. The house was a fairly large two story with a large yard. We landed in the back and walked around to the front. There were two cars in the driveway. "Looks like my aunt and uncle are both here." Melissa commented as she pressed the door bell.

It wasn't long until a middle aged man answered the door. He frowned when he saw Melissa, but positively cringed when he saw me. "What are you doing here with that." he snarled.

Melissa sighed and said, "I'm just here to collect some of my stuff, then I'm out of here, for good. I'm going to help Kittyhawk here and live on her island, so you won't ever have to see me again."

He was still frowning, but he grudgingly opened the door and let us in. Melissa led me up the stairs to her old bedroom. "Um, would you mind waiting out here?" she asked hesitantly. I looked at her curiously and finally put together why she seemed so young.

"If you're worried that I'll notice that your room doesn't look like one a girl would have, you don't have to worry. Lots of men that mutate become women, it's no big deal." I said, hoping to put her at ease.

Her eyes widened in shock and she tried to stutter out a denial but finally dropped her head and mumbled, "Yeah, I used to be a guy."

I leaned towards her and whispered conspiratorially, "I was, too."

She looked at me in shock again and whispered, "Really?"

I nodded. "So why don't you let me help you pack?" I suggested.

She smiled weakly at me and led me into her room. It wasn't as stereotypically male as I thought it would be. There were several distinctly feminine touches that I presumed were new. What did surprise me was the main thing she wanted to bring with her. "Swords?" I said.

She smiled shyly. "Yeah, I like swords. I know I can't bring them all, but I can bring my favorites." She replied. She had several sword belts and harnesses and had apparently adapted some for her wings. She strapped on two harnesses that, together, allowed her to carry two swords on her back. Then she put on two sword belts that had two scabbards on each. She also secreted several knives and daggers about her person and in a backpack she wore backwards so it wouldn't interfere with her wings. She filled the pack the rest of the way with clothes and photographs of her parents.

She took off her sneakers and replaced them with black knee high boots and sheathed two more daggers in them. "You look like you're ready for a war." I commented.

She smiled and said, "From what you've said, I should be. But mostly I just don't want to leave them behind. I just wish I could bring my claymore, but it's too long." I could see what she meant; it was as tall as her!

"Do you have another backpack I could use?" I asked her. She nodded and dug out another bag and threw it to me. I strapped it on backwards as she had.

"Let's get some food for you; I doubt you'd want to eat like I do." I said.

She looked at me quizzically. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I hunt the same way a wild animal does. Cooked food doesn't do much for me." I replied sadly.

"Oh." She said quietly. "I guess I got off easy." We went down to the kitchen and raided the cupboard for non-perishables. After making sure to pack a couple of can openers and a box of matches we left. Melissa's uncle was obviously very glad to see us go.

"So where to now?" Melissa asked eagerly.

"Boston." I replied. She nodded and we took wing and headed east.

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 To Be Continued…
 

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