Daddy's Girls, Chapter 17

Chapter 17 "An Unveiling and a Proposal"

     I simply couldn't stand it any longer!  I was busting with a secret, a BIG one, and I absolutely had to tell someone!  But I also wanted to keep my word.  And so, I told the one person I could trust to not tell anyone else.
     I went to Daddy's, and told Tunk.
     "Tunk, sweetie," I said to him quietly, after making sure there was no one else around.  "I have a secret I want to tell you, but you have to promise you won't tell anybody, ok?"  He nodded.  I leaned close and whispered my secret.
     "Jack's going to ask Cat to marry him!"
     Tunk nodded again.  Now, I don't know exactly what kind of reaction I was expecting from a little robot, but he'd simply nodded as if…as if he already knew!
     "Tunk!" I exclaimed. "Aren't you surprised?"  He shifted his feet.  I put my hands on my hips.  "You already know!" I said indignantly.  He looked around the room, everywhere but at me.  I had to laugh.  "Did Jack tell you, too?" I asked, not really expecting a "yes".  Tunk shook his head.  Well, then, someone else Jack had confided in had also told Tunk.  And there was only one other person who not only spent a measurable amount of time with Tunk, but would also consider him a good secret keeper…

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     "Kult!"  I said, coming to stand at her worktable at the base.  She looked up and blinked at me from behind her goggles.
     "Hey Soph," she said, flipping them up to her forehead.  "How're the gloves doing?  Need an adjustment?"
     I shook my head.  "No, they're fine."  I said, then pointed a finger at her.  "You know, don't you?"  She stared at me.
     "Uhm…I know a lot of things, Sophie," she said, "Could you be a little more specific?"
     "You know…the thing you told Tunk!"  I didn't want to come right out and say it, just in case I was wrong.  But she rounded on Tunk, who was hiding behind my legs.
     "Why you little sneaker!"  she laughed.  "You told Sophie?"  He shook his head vigorously.
     "No, he didn't tell me," I said, hopping up to sit on the edge of her table.  "I told him, and he already knew!"  We looked at each other for a moment, then Kult smiled.
     "We are talking about a certain nervous gentleman waiting to pose a certain romantic proposition to a certain fair and feline lady, aren't we?" she said. I grinned.
     "Tunk, guard please," I said, pointing to the entrance to Kult's lab.  He marched to the doorway and scanned.  When he turned and gave me a thumbs up, I jumped off the table to Kult's side, and we indulged in a moment of girlish glee.
     "Omigod!" we both squealed, bouncing on our toes.
     "It's so romantic," Kult said in a low but excited voice.  "He made her a ring!  He needed my help, finding chemicals and stuff, it was really interesting.  And the ring turned out so awesome!"
     "I know!"  I sighed, "He showed me.  And he borrowed my hand to make sure it would fit.  He took all sorts of measurements before he had the ring!"
     "I've often wondered how guys who just decided to surprise their girls with an engagement ring manage to get the right size," Kult pondered.  "Not everyone has the benefit of a cloned sister to get the ring size from!"  We laughed.  Then Tunk sounded a warning, and we quickly masked our excitement as Shimmer and Suka came around the corner.
     "Hi, Tunky," said Suka, with a pat to his head.  He beep-buzzed a greeting to both girls and came back to stand with me.
     "Heads up, girls," Shimmer said.  "We have an assignment.  We're to meet the ments at Faultline.  It's a rescue mission!"

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     What a waste of time and effort!  Jack, 2 Hot and Dog met us at the Faultline transporter drop sight, and Gondor flew in soon after.  He came to mentor Shimmer, since E was in New York doing business for Daddy.  The officers didn't even mind that I'd brought Tunk with us, and we headed off to an abandoned office building, to find and rescue a young heroine who'd gotten in over her head.
     WE did everything we were supposed to do in a search and rescue mission.  Even Tunk was wonderful help, scouting ahead and keeping an eye out for ambushes.  We found the girl, the dumbest blue-headed…well, I was too much Cat's clone to say what I really thought of her, but Shimmer certainly had a mouthful!  Even little Tunk had enough of her when he skillfully warned us in plenty of time of an ambush just before the door out, and she flew ahead of us, and right into them!  He flailed his arms, shook his fists and stomped his little metal feet at her!  We managed to get her out just in time, although from the looks on everybody's faces, we would have been just as happy to let the Freaks have her!
     When we got back to the base, 2 Hot said something that made it all worth the while!
     "Well, you were great back there, ladies," she smiled, "I don't know what the guys are doing to get Fiasco-Fushionette out of their systems, but as for you four, you're coming with the rest of us girls on your first Girl's Night Out!"   We were given the rest of the afternoon off, to "rest"  (sure!).  I let Tunk stay at the base, while Gondor escorted us to Cat's townhouse, which was fast becoming my second home.  Shimmer and Suka danced ahead of us, Kult behind them, and Gond and I strayed a little behind.  I casually slipped my hand into his, and smiled when he brought it up to his lips, and kissed my fingertips.  I was so relaxed with him now, I couldn't believe how nervous and awkward I'd been before.  And I couldn't believe I'd actually thought he'd consider me his sister!  In the past few weeks, since our first kiss under the misteltoe, we'd gone out a few times, only we'd yet to go out alone together.  We'd doubled with Cat and Jack, or tripled with Cat and Jack, and Annja and Duncan.  Once, even, an exceptionally nervous Ice had begged us to double with him when he finally got the sense to ask Kult out for a date.  
     "I've got a confession, Sophie," Gond murmured.  I looked up at him.  "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out tonight.  With me.  Just us."  I smiled.  
     "I would've loved to," I whispered, squeezing his hand.  "But I'm kind of glad you didn't, too."  He chucked and nodded.  The "Girl's Nights Out" were famous in the base.  My first one wasn't something I should miss.  We'd got to the townhouse, and as the rest headed inside, we waited a bit, enjoying the rare moment to ourselves.  He slipped his arms around my waist, while I leaned my cheek against his chest.
     "It's ok, cuore dolce," he said, kissing the top of my head.  I grinned up at him.  I loved when he spoke Italian, and he'd taken to calling me his "cuore dolce", his sweetheart.  "We've got plenty of time to have our first real date."  I smiled, and hugged him as I grew a little chilled.  He kissed me goodbye, which warmed me back up again, and waved as he flew off.  I waved, and as always, watched until I could no longer see him, then headed into the house.  
     Once inside we shamelessly raided Cats closet, knowing we could at least accessorize our own outfits with treasures found in Cat's things.  The girls had taken to spending so much time with me, either at Daddy's or here at the townhouse, where Cat had made me up my own room, that they all kept a couple changes of clothes at each place.
     Once we were cleaned up, dressed up, and properly glitzed up, we used our personal transporter devices to head back to the base.  It was "tradition" for the guys to at least escort the ladies to their "night out" destination, so rendezvousing at the base was the best way to all meet up.  We were all so wired up with excitement, no one ever expected that this Girl's Night out was never to happen.

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     We had to wait a bit, while the rest arrived.  An emergency call had come in while we were primping at Cat's, and Spice, Cat, Jack, Gond and 2 Hot had gone to answer the call.  The rest of us gathered in the War Room to wait.  Dog was already waiting to escort 2 Hot.  BD was there, with Radwoman, and just after we got in, Marcus entered, flicking and unflicking his trademark lighter.  
     BD asked Marcus who he was escorting tonight.  "Nobody, actually," he replied, a more-then-usual mysterious air about him.  "It just felt like I should be here.  Besides," he continued with a wink, "You know I can't bear to miss the sight of our lovelies parading past in their finery."  We didn't get the details of the call, just something about a hero-wannabe getting stuck and needing rescue.  Soon the group came back, all in the throws of hysterical laughter.
     "Can ya'll believe that Gawd-awful costume?" Spice was laughing so hard she could barely speak.  2 Hot and Cat were having fits so bad they couldn't speak, but only leaned on the backs of two chairs, giggling and gasping for breath.  As the returning rescuers gathered and spread themselves around the War Room table with us, BD chuckled, caught up in the laughter.
     "Come on," he said, "How bad could it have been?"
     "Oh, Tiger," Cat gasped, "It…it was…bad!"  She doubled over again, giggling.
     "Ah mean seriously," said Spice, leaning on the table, "Pink polka-dotted Spandex pants and a green pinstripe jacket with a tie.  A TIE!"  We all laughed.
     "Someone really should set up some kind of beginner's hero outfitting course for these poor guys!" Kult laughed.
     "Oh come on Eva," teased Shimmer, "We had to twist your arm nearly off to get you a real look at Icon's!"
     "You know…" Gondor said slyly, tossing a wad of paper across the table at Jack.  "Speaking of secret identitites…"
     "We were not speaking of secret identitites, Cal," answered Jack mildly, as he leaned back in his chair, his hands in his pockets.  "And the answer is 'no'."
     "Oh come on," Gond teased, "You got something as bad as Technicolor Man under that coat or what?"
     "Cal, don't tease him," said Cat softly, then looked over at Jack with a smile.  "He'll show us when, and if, the time is right."  Jack only sat very still, his hand still in one of his coat pockets.  I suddenly felt a feeling of premonition, but since it wasn't the cold feeling of dread I usually felt, I didn't recognize it at first.  Then I caught Kult's gaze across the table.  She kept looking at Jack, then at me, eyes wide, and then I knew!
     Slowly Jack stood up, and placed his hands on the table before him.
     "In the world of my birth," he said, "My people, the Boetheri, are enslaved by the humans there.  The fear and distrust we have for humans is almost instinctual.  The other worlds I traveled through before reaching Paragon City weren't much better."  He looked around at the gathered Warhawks, his friends.  "This world is different.  The diversity of people here, and the acceptance I've found among strangers…I suppose since I seem to be stuck here, I should act in kind and finally trust humans, especially you who have welcomed me into your lives."  He looked over at Cat, who's eyes were shining.  "Although I must say, being 'stuck here' hasn't been all that bad."  He stood up, and back away from the table.  "Very well!"
     He swept off the long dusty-brown trench coat, and swirled it around himself with a flourish.  As it slowly drifted down in front of him, he moved with lightning speed, pulling off his hat, his gloves, his gun belts, and lastly, his large engineer boots.  Standing before us all was a strongly built humanoid, of perhaps average height.  His "skin" was actually very short, tawny fur, with darker, rust colored markings on his face, hands and feet.  His face was handsomely sculpted, with deep-set eyes, and long, swept-back pointed ears, which he'd had tucked up inside his hat.  His hair was of a medium, shaggy length, and the same rusty-brown color as his fur markings.  His hands were large and clawed, as were his feet.  The last thing he did was reach behind his waist and pull his long, furry tail out of the back of his pants.
     "Oh, that's so much better," he said with relief.  He sat back down, as we all stared with various reactions.  He propped his feet up on the table and sighed.  "You can't imagine how hard it is to stuff these feet into those bloody boots."  
     I watched everyone's faces as they all tried to comment on Jack's "unveiling" at once.  I thought he looked wonderful, and looked over at Cat, who was the only quiet one in the room.  Her shining eyes were locked on her furry gunslinger, and judging from the look on her face, Jack didn't have a thing to worry about.
     Duncan was nodding, and talking to Annja, who made motions of "awww…" and smiled over at Jack, who was talking and laughing with Gondor and Radwoman.  The girls and I were gathered around Cat.
     "Prudence was right," Shimmer said, "He is handsome!"
     "He certainly is," Cat purred softly.  Jack looked over and slowly blinked at her.  She smiled and blinked back.  She mouthed the words "I love you," to him, and his eyes sparkled with his smile.  Then he stood, and walked slowly over to us.  We backed away as he approached Cat.  She gazed up at him with a bright smile on her lovely face.  I made my way around the table to stand beside Gond, who took my hand in his.
     "I suppose I would have had to do this sooner or later," Jack said to us all, looking around at each of us,  "Since it wouldn't be right," he gazed down at Cat, and withdrew a little box from his pocket, "To ask a certain question, without the Lady even laying eyes upon her Gunslinger."  To the surprised gasps of the gathered Warhawks and Cat's wide-eyed reaction, Jack knelt on one knee before Cat, and took her hand.  "Cathryn, my Lady, my Love," he said, his voice shaking with emotion, and perhaps, a little nerves, "Would you grant me the greatest honor, and become my wife?"
     "Ohh…Jack!" Cat whispered.  She raised her free hand to run her finger along the edge of his long, pointed ear.  He chuckled, and she beamed at him, aqua eyes shining and cheeks flushed.  "Yes, Jack, oh YES!" she cried, leaning forward to wrap her arms around his neck.  He grabbed her waist and leapt up, lifting her  and spinning, to our cheers.  I grinned up at Gond, and found him smiling down at me.  
     "Wait, wait!" Jack suddenly laughed, and set Cat on her feet.  He took her hand again, and slipped the ring on her finger.  She looked at it, with a soft glow about her face.
     "Oh, Jack," she said softly, "It's so beautiful."   She showed it off to the gathered Lady Hawks, who ooed and aahhed over it.  Kult and I, of course, had already seen it, but it was, indeed a beautiful work of pure art.  Carved from a piece of golden-toned wood, into the shape of a rosevine, then chemically petrified in his native Boetheri method, it was now as solid and shining as gold.  The Hawks gathered around Jack and congratulated him, with much back slapping and male-hugging.  I looked over at them, catching Gond's eye as he threw me a wink and blew me a kiss.  BD clapped Jack on the shoulder.
     "You've got about the best girl in the world there, Jack," he said.  Jack responded by pulling him into a bear hug.
     "And I have you to thank, my friend!" he exclaimed happily.  "Nothing I can ever do would match what you gave me, when you introduced me to Cathryn!"  I watched BD's face as Jack said that to him.  I think I was the only one who saw it.  His dark eyes widened at first, then a kind of sadness slid across his features.  As I saw this, I felt an odd emotion.  It wasn't the red haze of her rage, but I definitely felt my other "sister" rise within me, with a sadness and longing that touched my own heart.
     (…Tiger…)
     I looked over at Gondor.  He was talking to Jack and the other Hawks, a smile on his face.  I realized how lucky I was to have him, and thought of how empty I would feel if I'd ever lost him.  
     (…You won't…ever…I protect………)

to be continued......