Subject: I believe you asked for this... Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 03:21:44 -0600 From: Rindimo Organization: L.O.S.T.-- C.A.U.S.E To: loganlkw@citynet.net Well, a while back, you asked for a continuation of the story "The Bionic Cat". Being I was never commissioned for such a thing, I thought you might want to take a look-see at it first, and tell me what you think. I decided to go along with you ending up like poor Logan- AKA, Wolverine... because that's what you used in your story, falling down... only in the story, it's you, and not Logan. ANy way, here goes somethin'! If this story fits your liking perfectly, just send it on, and tell 'em Rindimo wrote it. The Bionic Cat: Throwing a Wrench in the Works Training had become an every day routine for poor Rindimo- it was always "Climb the walls, shoot the enemy; climb the trees, rescue the civilian; and on and on." And while doing this, all sorts of military high hats would watch on, as Rindimo would do things way beyond human ability- like jump 8 feet into the air, or see in what seemed like pitch-black darkness. One of the all-time favorites was to run on all fours at sixty miles an hour. The scientists had done well in choosing the abilities of the two donor animals carefully. It truly was the best of both worlds. He stuck with the name Rindimo. After all, he really was no longer the person he used to be. The scientists who rescued his body from the wreckage thought he actually was glad to end up the way he did- what with how hard he works in training. True, it had always seemed a forbidden wish, but that was besides the point. Rindimo figured the only way to get out of this place, was to learn as many skills as he possibly could. The only way to do that, was to cooperate. And so, he did earn the title he chose for his screen name on a forgotten mailing list: "Noise of Thunder." He truly did become a powerful weapon. After taking out all the targets with acute accuracy of his rifle, and defeating an assembled group of "enemy troops" in hand-to-hand combat for the demonstration, Rindimo began his little ritual of grooming himself... and instinct he had grown accustomed to. "Look at that! Now that's a polished warrior for you!" one general exclaimed. "Yes, he's quite the innocent looking, isn't he?" the scientist replied. "Now if only our new guest would cooperate as good as our friend here, we might finally have our technology down pat for your "special forces", general." As the two walked away chatting about more finances for more top secret programs, an ear pricked up at what it heard. New guest, huh? That's something I shall have to take a look into. As the guards escorted Rindimo inside the building, his mind wandered elsewhere. One thing that was Quickly learned of the compound/laboratory, was that freedom was an illusion. Rindimo /was/ allowed to walk around where ever he pleased as long as he stayed /inside/. something that's horrribly torturous to a wild animal such as himself. Whenever he was outside, there were always five guards within tranquilizer-firing distance to stop him, if he ever took a chance at escaping. But it didn't matter so long as he kept his mind busy. Many of the local scientists were happy to have him ask questions of what they were doing- being they couldn't tell anyone, except someone who was stuck in the research facility for life. Luckily, hobbies weren't off limits either. Rindimo always liked to carve- especially after he had claws surgically attached. He also looked into amatuer electronics... but had everything he did with that to be heavily examined- no one wanted him to build a radio to communicate to the outside world for fear of him divulging top secret info. But the one hobby no one Knew, was the planning of an escape. Hopefully, the "guest" will be an elemental part of it. It wasn't hard finding the room of the latest occupant. there were two guards standing at the door holding stun guns. "Hey, what ch'ya got behind door number one?" "Very funny, freak. No one should get near this live wire- not before he's heavilly sedated, that is." "Well, what's his story?" "How the hell should I know? Why don't you go in there an ask hi- wait! No NO NO! don't even think about it!" "Hey, I didn't say anything!" "Just keep away, furry butt, or I'll fry your-" "Let him in." Everybody turns to see a bemused scientist gazing at them. "Sir, are you crazy?! This guy's a total psycho!" "I said let him in! If anyone can talk sense into this man, It's Rindimo. He ought to listen to a fellow brother, instead of us the "antagonists"." Begrudgingly, the guards opened the door to let the felinoid walk in to horrible snarling sounds. "Let me go! Let me GO! Ya rotten pieces of puke! ... So's I can tear you to pieces!" Screamed a man that was secured to a table equipped with shackles. "Hi, my name's Rindimo, and I'm here to-" "Get me the hell outta here!" "...help." "Ya wanna help, then get me the hell outta here!!!!" "Well, If you calm down a second, then maybe I can!" THe man quieted down a bit with his ravings, and for once stopped trying to break off his shackles. "Okay, so whatta ya got?" "Not much, for starters..." "HELP! I want Help, for crying out loud- you idiot!! RRRRAAAAHHHRRRGGG!!!" And with that, the man began struggling again to break his bindings, but this time, he screamed in pain as huge claws shot out of his hands. "Holy Toledo! where did you get those?!!" "Where do ya think? A SEVEN-ELEVEN?!!" "I wouldn't mind hearing a life story, if that's what you're driving at..." The man spat in disgust. "Fine, bub, if THAT's all you came for..." "I had somethin' of a life ahead o' me. I was a good hard worker, if that was all to be said o' me. But then, all hell broke loose. Suddenly, bills I ain't never heard of come pilin' in my mailbox. Then, these guys with the white lab coats made me an offer I couldn't refuse at the time- to pay off the bills- in exchange for me becoming an "intern", let's say... FOR LIFE! So's I'm now tied to a table, due to me probably duped into such a scam as what been done to me. I guess I'm the next step in their voodoo, being they gave me more advanced senses and appendages and all. You must be the "older Model" now... that is, when they're done with me. But I'm gonna give them hell all the way, just like they're givin' me!" Rindimo sat silently for a while, before replying. "Now I may be wrong, but if you really wanted to get out of this palce, wouldn't you want to cooperate, so as to give them a false sense of loyalty?" "Yeah, so?" "Well, you might as well, make the way to freedom less painful, right?" A smile spread the man's face as understanding crept in. "Go with the flow, ya mean?" "Exactly. and in the mean time, I'll think of something for our "extended vacation" that we so greatly deserve." "I got only two words to say to you, bub: Think Fast." "Don't worry. With a major overhall of my neural network, my brain is operating at over 90%. I believe it's sufficient enough." "Hmph. We'll see." "By the way, what is your name, anyway?" "'Name's Logan." "Well, Logan, I'd shake your hand if I was sure there wouldn't be a claw shooting out at me." Logan laughed. "Yeah, that's what happened to one of those guys when I was in that "Area 51" place." "What? You've been around, I take it?" "Heck yeah! What, you think this was my first bus stop? Everyone's been trying to fix that problem with me ever since they first implanted them. But I hadn't let 'em even try to get near me." "Well, think of it this way- at least then you'd be able to keep them under cover." "That was the plan all along. I'd pass as a normal guy, and then wham! I do a little number on whoever I'm supposed to kill! See, guys like you are a little harder to hide... That's why they turned to making guys like me." "Interesting point. Well, I leave you back to your screamings. Have fun!" Logan relaxed for once, and thought out what was said. "Yeah, I'll be the best patient they've ever seen... so's I can controll my claws rippin' them to shreds! I hope that cat figures out somethin' fast- I hears that if I am perfected... he's outta the picture, and the pound don't keep strays too long." Logan's bedside manner did indeed improve- to the point where he was allowed to wander the premises... with guarded supervision, of course. But it was enough for him and Rindimo to become good friends. They even began to train together- something that would prove more valuable in the future. It was a rainy day when the generals convened to witness yet again the Bionic Cat, and the new attraction- Logan, who liked to be called the "Tazmanian Devil" "WOLVERINE!!!" "Same thing!" the scientist sighed. "My, I wish we hadn't given them such acute hearing." The scenario was going according to plan- the two biological weapons were peforming nicely in adverse conditions. "Aren't you afraid of them escaping in this weather?" "Not at all! We have guards standing next to a very tall electric fence that would take a couple of bolt cutters to get past= let alone getting shocked. Not to mention we have them injected with a tiny transmitter that we can use for tracking. Plus, we have infra red vision goggles, so if they do escape, we can just follow their foot prints left behind in the form of heat." "Out standing!" And with that, a flash of lightning erupted across the sky, followed by a blackout. THe moment has come. With guards always following Logan, Rindimo was granted even more freedom to places he was normally never admitted. Thus, he was able to rig a device to detonate an electrical substation on the roof of the facility when there was an electrical storm- such as lightning. the troops frantically searched for the two using the infra red and the trackers. Much to their dismay, the group with the tracking devices were heading in a direction far different than the infra red group. "I don't understand, sir. The only way this would happen, would be if they removed the transmitters. the only way to do that would be- " The scientist froze. He began to recall Rindimo playing with an electro magnet some time early tis morning. That, and sharp claws would be all one would need to remove a transmitter from the blood stream. The only alternative would be to follow the infra red- fast. As one of the guards followed the footsteps of Rindimo, he stopped, and stared. The footsteps ended in the middle of a clearing, but there was no bright, heat emitting humanoid form to go with the foot steps. "Now!" Came a shout from out of nowhere, as the gun of the lead guard was ripped out of his hands. Instantly, from the side came charging Logan, who finally got to use his claws for vengeance. "Nice bit o' thinkin' for an older model." The image of a cheetah slowly emerged out of a haze of distorted light waves right where the footsteps were. "Thanks! You'd figure that when a guy carves out some custom fitting armour that looks just like the stuff he wears daily, and adds a bunch of wires and stuff to it, you'd think they'd begin to wonder if he was building a cloaking device." "Nah, just wanted to get the local TV stations better." Logan grinned. As the two reached the fence, a similar circumstance of happennings befell the guards who guarded the perimeter fence. All that was left was the huge electric fence itself. "What're ya doin' now?" "Well, I have to use some of the parts of the suit for my plasma rifle." "What? you didn't make enough parts!" "Well, It was kinda hard to conceal as much as I did- It ain't everyday a guy has to smuggle a tesla coil, a feul cell, and a couple other extras under his coat." "allright, allright. Just hurry up. I don't see why you couldn't just use a grenade." "They just scatter shrapnel around. we need to melt a huge hole in this mega-voltage fence without touching it." "Well hurry it up! I can hear them coming!" "And," Rindimo continued as he finished assembling the parts onto his machinegun, "the fire works aren't as good as /THIS/!!" As another team armed with infra red goggles slowly avanced on the duo, and began to aim their tranquilizer guns, on them, The plasma rifle burst out a blindingly bright white light, and intense heat that vaporized the fence into oblivion. When the guards were able to see ckearky after the painful magnification of the goggles, all that was left was a hole in a fence. "What do we do know?" Moaned a scientist. "Nothing", replied a general. "What?!" "Because nothing happened here, understand?" "Yes," sighed the scientist as he gazed into the nearby woods, "Nothing at all." "Besides, they can't hide forever. at least, not our feline friend. The wrench they threw in the works only slowed down the machine- not stopped it. we still have the data we collected from them to use for the next ginnea pig." Suddenly, heads turn as shouts are coming from the laboratory. a fire was burning where all the data was stored. "Good thing," said the scientist, "that there was nothing that happened that was worthy to record, huh?" **** Epilogue: Logan was able to sell his life story to some comic Company, and now lives a happy life in miami. Rindimo found a place to fit in after all- some broadway show that he signed a life contract to. It was something that dealt with a disney movie... and he didn't even need to wear a costume! THe End. --  The Tiger is made to kill and hunt, The Lion too, but more towards fight. The Leopards and Jaguars were made to climb, And Cheetahs made for earthly flight. But there is one creature of forgotten lore: Shrouded in mystery, be that it's trade, Of other virtues, it has all four- Respect the Puma, and what God made. -Rindimo E-mail Address: Rindimo@bellsouth.net *If you can read this, then I am still an eligible bachelor!*  Founder (and only member) of: The L.O.S.T.- C.A.U.S.E. (League Of Simplistic Technology- Causing All Unforseen Solutions Evident) K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple, Stupid. (Long neglected scientific principle)