[Vfw-times] story: Critter-Man, conclusion and epilogue

[Oren Otter]

In case anyone is wondering, the epilogue references another
Intense-Universe story, Heroes Inc.  Captain Crimson, incidently, is based
on the Crimson Crusader, who is especially fascinating to me because he was
real.  I've been working on a Captain Crimson story, and though it is not
furry or TF, I think it will be interesting anyway.




Part 5

	Renny checked the body.  The creature's heart had stopped, and it was
growing cold.  "Dead." he said.  "This time for sure."  He wondered idly
what he should do with the corpse.  "I'll call the pound or somebody." he
said, dismissing the problem.  "Right after I finish a nice relaxing smoke."
	"Pounds are for dogs, Renny."
	The doctor's blood turned to ice as the cigarette he had placed in his
mouth fell to the floor.
	"You don't want to put your partner in the pound, do you Renny?" asked the
monster as it propped itself up.  The holes in its body were irissing shut,
sealing in seconds.  It's heart was beating again.  Renny could hear it.
	Townsend stood transfixed as what the creature had said hit home.  It had
called itself his partner.  Quivering, he squeaked "S-s-simon?"
	"Yup."  Rising to his feet, the beast began slowly advancing.  "When you
stabbed me with the critter serum, I started becoming like a critter...
Super strong, agile, sadistically violent... but most of all, I can heal
instantly!  I AM IMMORTAL!
	Like a terrified animal, Renny bolted down the hallway.
	"Go ahead and run, Renymede, you knee-biter!" Simon screamed in his
rasping voice.  "I'LL FIND YOU!"  He strode nonchalantly towards Renny's
home lab, pausing to admire a picture of a young super-heroine which the
doctor had tacked to one wall.  He'd let his ex-partner sweat a while, the
better to draw out the anticipation.  At last, unable to resist any longer,
he stepped into the lab.
	"Stop!" shouted Renny from his position in the corner where he cowered on
the floor.  A small green tube was in his hand.  "This vial is full of
chlorine.  One step closer, and I smash it!"
	Simon obediently stopped.  If Renny released that chlorine, they would
both die very quickly, and there would be no regenerating.  The poison gas,
he knew, was the only thing that could kill a critter, or himself. 
	Despite the fact that Simon had obediently halted, Renny threw the vial.
"DIE!" he shouted.
	"RENNY, YOU IDIOT!"  Simon leaped forward, propelled by his thin but
superhumanly- strong legs.  Time seemed to grind almost to a halt as the
vial made its way inexorably to the floor.  Simon prayed that he could
catch the thing, but he suddenly realized that his palm had become
incredibly small.  Fractions of a second before it hit, his razor-like
claws found their way underneath it and curled around the glass.
	His heart pounding with fear and rage, Simon put the vial gently down and
picked Renny not- so-gently up by his collar and tie.
	"What are you going to do to me?" Renny sobbed as he tried to lift himself
up on Simon's thin arms to keep from choking.
	The veins in Simon's bulging eyes throbbed as his furred lips pulled back
to show his needle- sharp teeth.  "Every fiber of my being screams for me
to tear you limb from limb!" he growled.
	"No!" Renny pleaded.
	"But... lucky for you, I'm still Simon Gerfallen... the good guy."

	* * *

	At a Philadelphia police station, an officer stood staring out the window,
his eyes wide with surprise.  "Joe?" he called to a fellow officer.  "Come
look at this."
	A moment later, a monster in a blood-soaked toga stepped through the door,
pulling with him a tied-up human.  The policeman's hand drifted toward his
gun until he heard the monster very calmly say "Officer, place this man
under arrest.  The charge is the murder of professor Simon Gerfallen."  
	Dumbfounded, the policeman complied.
	"See also that he gets some psychological help."
	"Who are you?" asked the policeman, a bit more loudly than necessary.
	Simon hesitated to answer.  He stood in silence for a moment until his
gaze fell upon the wanted poster of an old super-villain. With a slight
smile, he turned to the door and said "Just call me Critter- Man."
	As he leapt away upon the rooftops of Philadelphia, Simon, Critter-Man,
thought moodily to himself.  "Tonight, my life takes on a darker shade. I
can never return to being plain old Simon.  The night is full of Shadows.
Tonight, I'm one of them."

Epilogue

	Critter-Man had a good workout tonight.  He'd come across a street gang
advancing on a luckless paperboy.  This had happened a lot, lately.  It was
as if he had developed a sixth sense that drew him toward violent
situations.  At any rate, he enjoyed handing those punks their behinds, and
he even got a free paper out of it.
	There was another article about the recent rash of monster sightings.
Simon chuckled to himself about that.  It was another article which grabbed
his attention, though.  A group of celebrities on the West coast had come
together to form a crime-fighting band.  He saw the former wrestling
champion Mr. Beautiful, as well as a famous inventor referred to as
"Doc-Boy", a singer and dancer known only as "Moonwalk", and the famous
medical anomaly, the enormous wrinkle-skinned man who had been nicknamed
"The Lump".  The one which really got his attention, though, was the fat
man in the three- cornered hat.  Captain Crimson.  He remembered Captain
Crimson from long ago.  He had been one of the first real-life superheroes,
but fell from grace when he turned to thieving.  He had been the poster-boy
for disgrace, and yet, here he was, fighting for truth and justice once again.
	"If he can do it, I can do it." said Simon.  He launched himself up to a
high rooftop and looked out over the city of Philadelphia.  "It won't be
easy." he said to himself.  "The powers which I have been given have left
little else in my heart except the desire to kill and maim.  But I make a
promise this day.  Philadelphia and the world will see that Critter-Man
fights on the side of good."  He struck a dramatic pose and stood above the
city like a silent guardian.
	Until his stomach rumbled.
	He said to himself "I wonder if I can find a pizza-delivery guy who needs
rescuing?"


	


-Oren the Otter
8=-3
tlhaQ biQ Ha'DIbaH
The Changing Workplace: http://www.geocities.com/duster_skunk/strips.htm