Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - [Fiction] Proof in the Park

[z-Penny Mann]

"Are ya sure this is alright?" Randy asked nervously, pulling his collar higher on his neck with his free hand. He looked around warily, as if he expected wild animals to swarm him at any moment. Since they were here to meet two anthropromorphic tigers, he had a bit of a right to look concerned.

"Yes," Penny said, trying not to shiver or fall asleep. This was way too early in the morning for her, especially after the party last night. Randy had been at the same party, but unlike her, he looked as rested and ready as if he'd gotten his full eight hours. She'd fallen asleep, leaning against Mike, watching Randy and Jason Culler match each other shot for shot. At least he looked a little cold, Penny noted with vindication. The only warm spot on Penny was the mug of cheap roadside coffee in her left hand, its warmth slowly pentrating her mitten. Shaking a little, she curled her other hand around the cup. She longed for the warm car, left behind at the parking lot. "It's fine."

"And they're expecting us, right?" he asked, stooping suddenly to snatch up a thick stick. He tested its wieght and balance for a second before being satisfied.

"Randy... what's with that stick?" Penny asked.

"It's a walking stick," he said, giving her his most innocent smile and starting to use it as one.

"Alright," Penny said relunctantly. "But don't go all macho-machismo on me, ok?"

"Penny, machismo is Spanish for macho," Randy pointed out. "You just asked me to not go macho-macho."

"Perhaps you need a double reminder," she said, flipping him a roguish grin.

"Humph. I'm wounded," he said. "Yer bein' mean, and after you dragged me out into the woods on a Saturday morning so that I can meet the dangerous Man-Tigers."

"You wanted to meet them," Penny said, glancing around. She leaned against a tree, putting it between her and the chilly wind that was blowing.

"Seemed like a better idea in Brooklyn," Randy muttered as he leaned against the tree next to her, but turned so that he was resting his side, not his back. It put him close to her, and had it been Mike, Penny would have taken advantage of the moment to make out. But it was Randy, and Penny tried to ignore his proxmity. A moment later, and it was all she could do to not burrow into him; he was warm and another layer of insultation between her and the wind.

This is weird. She tried to shrug it away, and found it to be easy. Bemused by the ease with which she had schooled her thoughts, she focused on maximizing the effectiveness of her shivering and waited for the tigers to appear.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole smiled as he watched Penny and Randy walk thorugh the woods. He looked to Ramani and nodded. "I'll go left you go right. Claws sheathed. They are not a threat."

He drops down from the branch of the tree he was resting on and lands heavily on the ground. He stalks over to the pair and Emerges from behind one of the trees. "Hello again Penny, is this the friend you wished to introduce to Ramani and I?"

Cole drew himself up to his full Six foot height and nodded. He wore only a pair of grey shorts and a white tanktop. The colors seem to blend in to his stark white and black fur, his clear blue eyes seemed almost human.

he looks to Randy and smiles, showing a hint of his large teeth. "I am Cole, it's a pleasure to meet you."

[Ramani]

Ramani smiled at Cole and went for the other side but unlike him she didn't let herself down with her full weight but remained mostly quiet and stealthy instead. Just after Cole made his entrance she slowly moved into the humans field of vision making almost no sound at all and joined Cole.

She was wearing the same outfit as he did but had a more savage overall look which mostly reflected in her eyes that had a predatory piercing quality. Aside from that her tanktop held what seemed to be a pair of female breasts which gave away that she was the female tiger. She didn't say anything but purred audibly which usually was a sign of approval, yet it felt strange coming from a six foot tall bipedal tigress.

[z-Penny Mann]

Randy turned pale and started to skip a step back, but when Penny didn't move, he stopped his motion. He swayed back to her side as his fingers went white on the stick. After a moment, he said, "Wow."

"That's Ramani," Penny added, waving at the she-tiger.

"Clearly," Randy said, looking at her. Realizing how it sounded, he backtracked, "Umm, I mean, he said he was Cole..."

"It's ok," Penny said, giving him an encouraging smile. "You're doing better than I did."

"Hey, I'm Randy," he said, taking hold of Penny's mitten. Through their gloves, she could feel a slight tremble as his primal brain wanted to have a violent reaction to the two predators. She squeezed his hand and felt him calm a bit.

"Thanks for meeting with us," Penny said. "I was wondering... if you guys wouldn't mind. Where are you guys from? You may have told me, but... things have been crazy. I have a lot of questions, and I was hoping that you could answer some. Like, how old are you?"

[Cole Mulvaney]

"We're both from around here, I call New York City my home, Ramani is from here in the park. This is really her territory not mine. In answer to your other question, we're both eighteen near as my parents can tell."

He chuckles, a deep rumbling sound from his broad chest. "Yes, your first meeting with the two of us was much less pleasant."

[Ramani]

Ramani sniffed curiously at the two humans taking in Randy’s scent and committing it to her memory. Then she looked at Cole and nuzzled him briefly while she made him understand using their body-language that she wanted to get a closer look at the humans.

She slowly approached Penny who seemed more comfortable around the tigers than the boy who just met them and smiled at her as good as she could. Ramani increased her purring and moved very carefully closer within arms length of Penny tilting her head down in a friendly gesture. Still her eyes watched carefully what the humans were doing and the muscles under her fur twitched as if she was ready to pounce them any moment.

[z-Penny Mann]

As Randy watched Ramani moving closer, Penny asked, "But where do you guys come from? I mean... I've never heard of anything like so, so what change in the rules of Things That Are allowed you guys to be? Were you changed from a human? Born like this?"

Suddenly Randy picked her up and put her down on the other side of him. Ramani had moved too close, and the nervous human put himself between the tiger and his friend.

"Randy! It's ok!" Penny said, getting a little exasperated and forgetting her bad reaction to Ramani. "She's not going to hurt us." But Randy didn't look at all apologetic; he looked suspicious.

[Cole Mulvaney]

"My mother says I was born this way, and that it's highly likely Ramani was too."

He looks to Ramani and his eyes narrow as if to say "take it slower."

He looks back to Randy and smiles. "You'll have forgive us at sometimes. cats are naturally curious about new things, and we are if anything, very large cats."

His nostrils flare momentarily. "There's no need to be affraid. If she didn't like you or feel she could trust you, she'd have never shown herself."

[Ramani]

Ramani furrowed her brows at Randy's reaction and a low growl escaped her as she exposed her teeth for a matter of seconds. The growl sounded more like she was swallowing it down which made her exhale the rest of it through her nostrils which duffled the sound a lot. She didn't want to scare the humans, but there was a hint of confusion in her eyes just before Cole spoke.

After he explained her reaction she relaxed again and came back to arms length as if waiting to be stroked a little. Her purring returned this time a little quieter though.

[z-Penny Mann]

"Born how?" Penny said, her tone fighting exasperation. "Look, I know that this is normal for you, but I'd really like to know how this works. How did your mother get pregnant with a tiger? Why didn't the hospital see you when you were born? I have a million questions."

Randy, while still eying Ramani, added, "A Penny-to-everyone-else translation is: tell me your life story, please."

[Cole Mulvaney]

"There was no hospital Penny. I was born in the Central Park City Zoo." He looks at her and his eyes seem to look as if the next words are very hard to say.

"My Adopted Parents are Theresa and Connor Mulvaney, Senior Veterinarian and Biologist in residence at the Zoo. My Mother was a Tiger at the zoo, and I am the only cub from her litter that survived. She died shortly after giving birth to me."

He looks to Ramani. "I do not know the circumstances surrounding Ramani's birth or mother, but it's likely she belonged to a Private collector, and managed to escape and gave birth in the Wild. A Mountain Lion, from the description she's given me, found her and took her as her own and raised her."

He smiles. "This is why we are the same species, but have completely different attitudes and dispositions. I was raised under the watchful eyes of human parents in secret, Ramani by a wild predator in this Park."

[Ramani]

Ramani stopped her purring for a second as Cole revealed their origins. She was unsure if this was the right thing to do, but then again the human girl seemed trustworthy to her and her boy friend kept trying to stay outside Ramani’s reach. Somehow she mistook that for an offer to play a little and suddenly smiled while her eyes remained focused on Randy. She followed his hands as if he was about to do something with it while her tail lashed from one side to the other in excitement.

Cole could tell that Ramani was in “playing” mood which was just a showing of affection for the new acquaintances they made. A funny noise escaped from her bowels sounding like a long stretched growl that wasn’t meant to intimidate. It sounded more like a request to give her some attention. Her ears were pointed forward in full attention while her pupils had widened almost to a point that they looked all black.

[z-Penny Mann]

Penny blinked, oblivious to any threat, playful or otherwise, that Ramani was offering. Instead, she was engrossed in what Cole was saying. "So it had to be the effect of The Event. That caused die-off in all but pregnant females in animals. But that doesn't explain how this happened, still. That may never be understood, not until the basic nature of the Event is understood. Of course, humans weren't affected, apparently at all-"

"Penny," Randy interjected softly, almost gently. While keeping an eye on Ramani, he added, "You're drifting."

"Right!" Penny said. It wasn't uncommon for her to ramble along following trains of thoughts to random places. "So, thank you for telling me, Cole. I mean... there are still a lot of questions, but I shouldn't badger right? Was there anything you wanted to ask me?"

[Ramani]

Ramani was completely absorbed in her playfull mood but neither Randy nor Penny seemed to do anything which made her even more impatient. Her tail lashed out even more than before and she started to breath more elaborate. The tiniest movement of Randy’s hands was enough to make her almost jump and she lashed out with her paw, claws in safe retraction and hoped he would do something to play with her. Her ears and eyes where watching every move they made and it looked like she would pounce them any second.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole watched Ramani's antics and looked at Penny even as he reached out and made a play to grab her shoulder with his left paw. Large black claws were fully extended in his curled paw, allowing Randy to see them for the first time, as he ran them through the fur of her shoulder. The second she reacted he relaxed his hand and allowed the claws to slide back in without any harm. and beganstroking her backside. The first part was a truly feline gesture and he kept a completely straight face while he did it, the second a more human gesture that isn't normally associated with Bipedal tigers.

He noded to Penny. "What about you, Is New York your home? What's it like to live a normal life?"

[z-Penny Mann]

When Ramani swiped with her paw, Randy brought his stick up. It was all going south so quickly, and Penny grabbed at his arm. "Randy, wait!" Then Cole calmed Ramani and Penny relaxed.

Randy did not. "Why did you do that?" he asked. "You might be playing, but we're not tigers!"

"Randy-" Penny started, but he rolled over her.

"She could hurt you. She'd not even be trying-"

Penny shook her head and grabbed his arms. "Later. Later."

"Right," Randy said, turning away from her and crossing his arms.

Cole's question came at a perfect time to break the sour mood. "Yeah, I grew up in the Village. My dad still lives there. But normal? Um, wow. I'm not sure I qualify. I've got, well, my mom is a lesbian who divorced my father and married another woman. In Canada. So I am not normal. Randy?"

The tall, handsome boy shrugged. "No one's normal, Penny. No one has a Judy Cleaver home." He glanced at Cole. "You've got two parents who love you. That's more than some kids get. You're more normal than them, in some ways."

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole smiles. "If you can call not leaving my home for the first five years of my life normal..."

He chuckles. "I do understand what you're saying though. Believe me I am quite thankful for my parents being who and the way they are, and everything they have done for me, and for Ramani."

"For seventeen years I only had my parents, I was allowed to watch TV and they taught me the basics of working a computer, though I still tear up a remote and the keyboard. Those were my only contact for a very long time, and it took awhile to learn how to handle them."

He holds up one of his paws for Epmhasis. He clearly has five didgits, but he and Ramani lack opposable thumbs. He wiggles his fingers abit and shows how his claws just natural slide out when he curls his fingers, exactly like any other cat's. "We went throught alot of both in that time."

He smiles at Ramani and idly scratches her back just below her right shoulder blade. It's very obvious the two tigers are are an item, but both seem fairly shy in front of others.

He looks to Randy and nods. It's true, either of us could hurt someone just by grabbing them. My parents have worked hard with me and now with Ramani as well in order to try to control our power and how our claws unsheath. It's a work in progress but we've both gotten better."

Cole smiles to Penny. "It sounds like you've lead a pretty interesting life at the very least. Getting to go to school and be around others, that's part of why the other night was so cool. I got to meet more people who are like me, at least in a general sense."

[Ramani]

Ramani enjoyed Cole’s affection and quickly focused her attention to him, oblivious to the almost heart attack Randy seemed to have. For a moment she appeared almost cute in some strange way if you neglected the fact of her physical presence. Both Ramani and Cole looked like they could rip someone’s head off just like that – or bite it off, depending on the situation.

Ramani nodded in agreement to what Cole said at the end. “Me wanted to see you.”, said Ramani nodding towards Penny. “Wanted to ask not to give away our secret. We don’t want Parents get in trouble.”

[z-Penny Mann]

"Ha, like who'd believe me?" Randy muttered.

"You believed me," Penny said simply, looking up at him.

"Right," Randy muttered. He glanced at Ramani, his knuckles still white on the stick. "Well, I'm not going to tell anyone. I mean, we've already decided not to tell Mike because he wouldn't believe."

Penny looked sad at that statement, and Randy rubbed her shoulder, and a move that was clearly friendly, but oddly mirrored what Cole had just done to Ramani. Penny didn't notice and she added, "My dad would believe me, but I'd like to keep my family as clear of this as possible. So you don't have to worry, Ramani. We're not telling anyone about you guys."

[Ramani]

Ramani nodded happily and looked at Cole. “I like red-hair-girl, she is nice.”

The large cat started purring again and saw the sadness in Penny’s eyes. Slowly she approached her and carefully extended a hand/paw to her in a friendly gesture. “We friends?”

[z-Penny Mann]

Even as Randy tensed, Penny reached out a hand. "Yes," she said firmly, "we are." She gave both Ramani and Cole a smile, even as she was vaguely weirded out to be shaking ha- pa- extremities with a humanoid tiger.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole Smiles. "So do either of you like venison?"

[z-Penny Mann]

"Um," Penny said, looking at Randy. His expression was asking the same question: if they said yes, would he leave a bloody carcass at their feet? "I don't know," Penny finally said. "I've never had it."

"I like it," Randy said. At Penny's look, he shrugged and said, "I've been hunting with my dad. Mine's not an ex-hippie."

"Dad's not an ex-hippie," Penny said, grinning despite herself. "He's a former hippie. There's no such thing as an ex-hippie."

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole smiles. "Follow me then."

He leads them both back to a clearing in the woods where a firepit lays extinguished and there's a spit with two large hindquarters of deer still on it.

"My Father taught me how to properly dress and cook deer in a lowtech situation. I like to think I get the seasoning right, but somehow my roast deer isn't the same as his."

He chuckles. "You can have some if you want, It's fresh, and I assure you, safe."

[z-Penny Mann]

"Right," Randy said, eyeing the meat with a mixture of trepidation and hunger. "But do you use a stove the rest of the time?"

"Wow. Way to imply they're barbarians," Penny said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Keep pointing that thing at me and you'll lose it," Randy mock-growled.

Penny rolled her eyes and glanced at Cole. "I'll take some, thank you."

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole removes the spit from the holders and offers it to Penny calmly, allowing her to pull off a leg. Assuming from his Comment Randy didn't want any, Cole grabbed the other half and removed it from the spit as well.

He then sat the spit back on the holders and sat across from them and began to eat.

There was little sound as the massive Tiger's mouth opened and closed peeling off roasted venison from the bone. Every now and then they heard the crunching sound as Cole's teeth demolished the bones as well. He chewed with his mouth closed like a person, and refrained from swallowing the meat whole.