Cats and Condors

Riker’s Island prison facility.

The guards fled from their posts at the parking lot gate kiosk, running for their lives when a transport bus rolled through like a bowling ball and demolished the buildings and stop gate with a shower of wooden splinters and stone debris blasting out from the impact. Walking up to the ruined entrance of the tall brick walls and former guard towers, tugging at her fingerless gloves after throwing the vehicle over her head, Kraven the Huntress chuckled to herself at the damage she caused, and casually walked over the remains of the fenced-up entrance to the prison and made her way onto the property.

Walking down the concrete path to the gated entrance of the prison, now blocked off by the bus she threw with her bare hands to make an entrance with, the tall woman looked to her right and left and smirked at the attention she was getting. Seeing hundreds of prisoners ogling her after her little stunt. The whole lot of them cat calling her as she made her way deeper into the prison, loving the attention as she eyed the bigger ones leering at her from the fence line. She knew full well each and every one of them were here for a reason, and likely in her own universe she’d be right there with them… In an isolated cell to keep her from killing them all out of amusement. She was a lioness, an alpha predator showing off to the local hyenas.

If they truly knew who and what she was, they wouldn’t be whistling at her to show off her chest or how they would offer her the night of her life. They’d be scurrying to the furthest plot of land in the prison yard and dig a hole deep enough so they wouldn’t be seen by her. She was a hunter, a predator, a woman who challenged herself by killing worthy prey. She had eaten the hearts of men she had killed in the past, raw, and had Dr. Octopus have not found her, she would have been caged up like an animal like these men. Now she was the most powerful huntress in the multiverse. She had eaten the hearts of the Hulklette, the Chrome Colossus, Captain Canuck. She had taken all their power after she ate their hearts. But this stone man, that… THING. Yes, he managed to keep up with her. It made her wonder if his heart was as stoney as the rest of him.

By the time she was already halfway through the parking lot on her way to the main entrance, a cadre of armed security were already blocking her way and aiming guns right at her.

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND GET ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!”

Finally stopping in place, Kraven’s smile revealed fangs as she rested her hands at her sides, eyeing the guards who tried to keep up a brave front at the sight of her. Looking up to the sky, Kraven looked back to the guards and raised her chin.

“No. If you value your short lives, you will flee from me and my compatriot.” Looking back up into the sky, she nodded to the guards to look up. “She comes now.”

A screech like some terrible harpy alerted the guards to a winged thing diving down at them from high overhead. An elderly woman in a wing harness flew down and stopped with a flap of her mechanical wings, the downdraft alone was so strong the men were blown back. Then the scream came. The sonic pressure so great the guards fell to their knees clutching at their ears as windows exploded all around them and metal buckled as if it weathered a terrible storm, eventually it was too much and the men collapsed to the ground, just as Condor took to the air again and circled the prison. Alarms blared as speaker phone demanded inmates to return to their cells.

Those speakers went silent when Condor flew past guard towers, her metal wings slicing through the stone and metal with a burning red streak before it collapsed. Sliced in half by her adamantium feathers as she flew up and dived to take out another. Her screaming call made everyone duck as she circled the prison taking out more guards along her flight path.

“Every hunter has a bird of prey at her beck and call…”

Approaching the fence, Kraven simply grabbed hold of the metal frame and ripped it out of its foundation as if it was all made of tin. Throwing the ten-foot-tall fence aside and stepping back to look back at the orange jumpsuit wearing inmates staring up in shock from the ground.

“Well? Do you need invitation to be let out?” Kraven scoffed, pointing out towards the shoreline where boats were ready. “Go off and riot already!”

Seeing the swarm of inmates flee through the makeshift exit she created, Kraven watched as they made their way to the boats, picking up weapons from the guards as they made their way to head back to shore. Behind her, Condor perched by a lamp post, folding her wings at her sides as the two women traded looks and smiled.

“All according to plan.” Condor grinned, her voice course and phlegmy as she stood to her feet atop the light post, tracing a gloved finger down one of her wings. “I wonder how the others are faring their side of the plan?”

“They’ll do their part, then we will reconvene.” Leaving, Kraven travelled to the docks at Riker’s Island, seeing the boats had all been taken. “Seems our ride is gone.”

“Fine, like always I have to carry YOU around like some big angry house cat.”

Jumping off her perch, the Condor extended her leg out for Kraven to grab hold as the winged crone took to the sky with her ally in tow.