A Clockwork ‘Tail’

A journal by Rowr

Rowr had been running around most of the day, working with one of her contacts, a certain Wyatt Anderson, to try to figure out the source of the Clockworks' power. Having just returned from Wyatt's lab where she had originally brought a number of deactivated robots for him to study, she came to find out that overnight the robots somehow reactivated themselves and had started rebuilding each other! She raced to his lab to stop this menace before they could destroy the computers and all the research done up to this point.

When she got to the scene, Rowr found the place in complete disarray. Lab equipment smashed and broken, apparently scavenged for parts, and lab personnel scurrying about like headless chickens.

"Am I too late?" thought the tigress as she smoothly slid along the slick silvery walls of the lab. Rounding a corner she came face to face with several of the robots, but without hesitation she immediately jumped the closest one, slicing thru the servos in its neck before it could respond. Then the others turned and attacked, shooting out streams of debilitating electrical pulses, which Rowr deftly dodged as she rolled to the next robot in line. Letting out a snarl, she sliced viciously at the thing, severing a leg and an arm, ducking to avoid a nasty roundhouse coming from the other arm. She sensed something coming up behind her, so she ducked her head and rolled underneath the outstretched arm, pulling it back and pinning it behind, holding up the robot as a shield as another took a slice where she had just been standing.

"Nice try metal head!" she yelled, tossing the Cog at the other robot, knocking them both down. With a flip through the air, she landed on top and tore the two robots to shreds of scrap metal.

Rowr was breathing hard, so she took a moment to catch her breath and take stock of the surroundings. She could hear the screams of the lab workers in the distance, intermixed with sounds of electrical blasts hitting metal. Sighing, she got up and ran down the hall to face the rest of the menace.......

.... After all was said and done, Rowr stood victorious over a small pile of clockwork, which she had quickly piled and had removed any power sources she could find.

"Hopefully Wyatt will take better precautions next time. I'd better get back to see him and let him know his lab and his research is alright." Rowr said to no one in particular. Everyone had already managed to flee the building by now.

Coming back to Wyatt, she relayed what had happened, and watched him turn white with shock. "I.. I.. I thank you Rowr, without you my lab surely would have been demolished!" He said. "But I think there's more to this than we thought. While you were in there, I was reviewing some security camera footage from overnight. When they started rebuilding and reactivating themselves, it also looked like something in their heads was glowing, but… I couldn't get a clear view."

Rowr nodded, also realizing that she'd noticed the same thing, but never really took note.

"I think the Clockwork King controls his minions through some sort of psychic or telekinetic power," He continued. "We HAVE to find the source of..." His voice suddenly trailed off as he stared off behind the tigress. "W-w-what's that? Oh my god Look out!!" He screamed.

Looking behind her, she saw more than half a dozen Robots charging in their direction. With a gasp she pushed Wyatt out of the way, and charged to meet the robots in the middle of the street. Claws extended, fangs bared, she snarled her way into the midst of overwhelming odds, slashing here, tearing there. The robots were pounding her from all sides, some closing in tight to swing at her legs, while others kept their distance to fire bolts of electricity, hoping to disable her. Rowr was acrobatic enough to avoid most of the blows, but when one landed it threw her off balance, allowing the others to quickly take advantage and move in.

Rowr had to jump away at one point, running a short distance down the road, but the robots were relentless. They obviously knew what she had done in the lab and were out to get their revenge. Taking a deep breath, and knowing she might not come thru this alive, she unleashed herself back at the robots, jumping thru the group, claws outstretched to sever one at the neck, before tackling another and rolling along the ground. With bloodlust in her eyes, she let loose a volley of swipes and slashes upon the poor beast, rending it into two dozen pieces before another robot jumped her from behind, forcing her to the ground.

"Get off me!" She screamed, bucking upwards with her hips, flinging the robot a short distance. Rising up onto all fours, she prepared to pounce on the Clockwork, then she felt the fur on the back of her neck suddenly stand on end and she knew an attack was coming, so she instead tucked her left arm and leg, rolling off to one side. Good thing too, as the cackle of electricity slammed into the ground where she was just a moment ago. Looking up, hovering several feet above her head was another flying robot, this time with what looked like razor sharp propellers. She quickly got back on her feet and using the strength in her feline legs she jumped up and sliced thru its helicopter blades, causing it to fall to the ground, cracking itself in two.

It was suddenly very quiet. She looked up, and saw just 5 more standing in a half circle around her, looking at her with empty mechanical eyes. "Alright,” She said between breaths. “Who's next?” She inquired. One pulled its arm back, a ball of electricity forming in his hand, and two others started advancing. Rowr snarled, and then charged the nearest one. But just at the last second, she did a dive roll into its legs, tripping the robot, and then plunging her claws upward into the next. She held the metal body up on her claws, using it as a shield for the ball of electricity coming her way, but she didn't let go soon enough and waves of shock coursed through her body, causing her to shudder uncontrollably.

Rowr slumped to the ground, a little dazed. The remaining Clockwork sensed that she was almost finished and moved in closer for the kill. Rowr stared at the ground, apparently helpless. The apparent leader of the group approached her, then started reaching down with one outstretched arm

Suddenly Rowr leaped back to life, grabbing the arm and lifting the robot off it's feet, swinging it around like a baseball bat into the other two robots, then letting go and watching it spin off a short distance, crashing into the ground. With the three robots temporarily subdued, she bounded from each one slicing their heads off cleanly at the neck.

Finally... triumphant. Rowr collapsed to the ground breathing hard, blood from several wounds dripping, making a mess of her fur. She sat there for a few moments to collect her thoughts. She had barely survived this encounter. Letting out a relieved chuckle, she thought to herself, "Well... I guess I only have 8 lives now..."

Brushing off street dirt, she rose after many long moments, and limped back to Wyatt, who was cowering behind a bush. "It's okay now....I took care of them," Rowr informed him. "I'm... going to go home... and have a bath. I'll check back with you later, go take care of your lab now..."

With that, she limped her way back to her apartment, bruised, battered, but alive.