TGAM: ATTACK OF THE 650 FOOT FROG QUEEN!!!! (Kei Kawade)

[John Kilroy]

Waco Texas

This had to have been the weirdest bounty that Laura had received. Granted she hadn't been a bounty hunter for a SUPER long time, but still most of her jobs consisted of taking down drug dealers, pedophiles maybe the occasional super-powered criminals that escaped custody from a state prison. In this particular instance, however, she wasn't after a criminal or monster of any kind. She was after a kid. Now she wasin't a stranger to taking jobs involving kids, parents who's kids went missing that they wanted found. 

In fact there was one particular mission that still haunted her. it was the only instance Where Laura straight up failed to get her target back. Her name was Abigail Mcnair. 14 year old Long brown hair, gorgeous silver eyes and a cute Brace filled smile.

Four years ago not too long after the SRA was implemented the girl disappeared without a trace. Laura searched and searched relentlessly but only found her shattered glasses. The parents accepted that as proof that their little girl was dead and offered Laura the bounty for proof of her death, something to bury. Laura however would not accept the money. She didn't like taking money anyway for situations like this and she certainly wasn't going to take money for failing to bring that girl back alive. That was two years ago. Abigail would be 18 now and it still haunted Laura. She still kept the number of her parents. She still talked to them on occasions. She still kept a copy of the kid and her parents in her satchel. A reminder of her failure. 

This mission was quite a bit lighter. A rich mother offered her $150,000 to find a boy that rumor had it could summon anything. The mother wanted him to perform at her daughter's birthday party. Laura to be frank thought the whole thing was stupid but 150 grand was still 150 grand, and she could use a lighter job that did not involve gutting the worst humanity had to offer or looking for missing kids. The only thing she had to go on was rumors of various strange creatures coming out of nowhere and seemingly disappearing without a trace just as fast. the only common link was some kid in a hoodie Her leads took her to an arcade and bowling alley.

"Kid goes to an arcade. Go figure," she said chuckling to herself. With that, she went inside and was greeted by the guy at the front desk. She talked to him for a bit before buying a game card and looking for a kid in a hoodie.

[Zeronone]

Texas, ughh why did it have to be Texas? Kei sighed as he leaned his head back against the velvet wall, eyes closed. The sound of arcade games and kids running around filled the air. Kei's mother had dragged him down to Texas to visit a great aunt of his who had gotten hurt and needed looking after for a couple of weeks. And since he was homeschooled, he was dragged along. Texas was hot, not as bad as Arizona but still HOT! It was also boring, New York had life and so much going on, interesting people and there was always some baddy doing something. Waco was nothing like that at all, it was spread out, small compared to the Big Apple, and the people were way more polite. That was a nice change, but he did get some looks. Being half White and half Asian seemed to be a not common occurrence around here.

For now, Kei was stuck in an arcade his mother told him to go to while she got his great aunts medicine and instructions on how to use it. So, here he was, stuck in Texas with a bunch of overly rowdy kids in an arcade of all things that somehow hadn't gone under with the creation of smart phones and PS5's. His hand moved on its own as he drew the scenes in front of him. Faceless kids running around, a Pac-man arcade game flashing with life, the vending machine surrounded by kids eager for an Icee to cool down.

It was the same as yesterday and the day before and the day before. Three days and he was ready to bang his head against the wall. His hoodie was pulled up over his head, orange in color with two eyes on the front. His messy black hair hanging down and in front of his face. The sound of a womans voice made his head come up, his hopes dashed as he saw it wasn't his mother finally coming to free him but some lady. He sighed and went back to his sketch pad.

[John Kilroy]

Laura smirked and shook her head as the poor teen girl at the "Sweets N Treats"  frantically tried getting all of the kid's orders, their moms accompanying them. She thought back to her own mom. What could life have been if Sarah had managed to escape the facility with Laura after she was created and had gotten to raise her like a proper mother? Would her mom have taken her to places like this? Would Sarah have played with her, could Sarah and James Logan Howlett have met and fallen in love? Could they have been a family? 

Laura shook her head. She still wanted to bring back her mom, not only would it give Laura a chance to atone for killing her mother in a berserker rage (Whether or not that was truly her fault) but she couldn't help but think that Her mom would more than jump at the chance to atone for all the things she did while working for the Facility and maybe someday that chance would come for both of them.

But even if Sarah Kinny came back from the dead, it wouldn't change anything at this point. Laura had long accepted her trauma, and a... certain encounter with Romulous and a sadistic telepath caused her healing factor to go out of whack causing her to fully mature physically and mentally into a full-fledged adult in a matter of a minute. Laura Kinney never had a childhood, and she was never going to have one. She accepted that fact and there was no point in dwelling on What If's. She could just take solace in the fact that somewhere in the vastness of the multiverse there was a Laura Kinney Howlett that did have that childhood with a married Sarah and James that loved each other and her and were a happy family together. That and keeping a strong relationship with her dad. 

Still, since her maturing, she did seem to have dreams of becoming a wife and mother. Maybe it was animalistic maternal instinct or maybe it was just due to having lived a life of killing and drifting from place to place with no real home, but the idea of settling down in a nice house in the suburbs or the countryside, becoming a Mrs. with several kids and doing all of the things a normal healthy family did (At least as normal as a superheroes family could be) had its appeal. Funny really of all the things Laura could be...she wanted to be a Super Wife...a Super Mom, one that could give her kids the kind of life she herself was denied. It was a wonderful dream...but for now, it wasn't within her reach. 

Snapping out of her mini daydreaming she decided to go over to that "World's largest Pac-Man" machine, figuring she'd occupy herself while looking for this kid. She swiped her card and the game began. The controls were stiff, very stiff. She had to pull the thing insanely hard just to get Pac-man to move in fact she was fighting the thing so much, that she was darn near sure she was going to break the darn thing. It didn't take long for her to lose all her lives on the first level and considering she was normally really good at Pac-man, it was embarrassing.  

"Come on! Come on Turn! Arrgh! Lousy piece of...!*SNIKT*" She unsheathed her claws and growled, ready to slice the thing into ribbons. But she thought better of it. First of all, throwing a temper tantrum like that would look silly and second of all she didn't want to get banned from the premises. Besides, chances are she was not the only one that had issues with it, and considering there was only one tech guy in the whole building it was probably a case of not enough manpower to get things fixed promptly. She took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth and sheathed her claws back in.

"Well, there goes 8 credits I won't get back...ugh, these things are just gimmicks anyway." 

as she turned away she noticed from the corner of her eye a kid with messy black hair and an orange hoodie leaning against aw wall drawing on a sketch pad. She took a sniff in the air and smirked. It shared the same scent she found when following the strange creature sightings. "Found you," she mumbled to herself. Still, where were the kid's parents? She stealthfully walked over to him. "Hey kid you ok?" she asked leaning against the wall. "Normally I'd expect someone your age to have parents around.  Need help?"

[Zeronone]

Kei sighed as he looked around the arcade for inspiration, he was thirteen years old so he could leave. But he didn't know the city well and his mom would be frantic if she came here, and he was gone. He had a cell phone but after last time he ducked out somewhere he had been grounded for a month. Better not to tempt the wrath of a mother. So, for now he could at least draw. His gaze followed the woman who entered for a moment, figuring she was someone's mother or older sister here to pick them up. But instead, she went to the Pac-Man game, a bad idea. That thing was busted, the controls were practically glued in place and Kei had witnessed more than one kid lose his shit at the game's wonky behavior.

He looked away, not wanting to be labeled a creep by staring at an older woman's backside too long. He shook his head pushing the thoughts away. His gaze moved back to the concession stand and now the long line, he was getting hungry but wasn't sure how much he trusted arcade food. Besides the poor worker looked like she was about to melt down from all the Karen types throwing fits about food quality. This was an arcade not a damn five-star restaurant!

Kei didn't notice the woman who had seemed to zero in on him, his attention elsewhere so he didn't see her as she moved closer. However something else did, before she spoke the two eyes on the hoodie shifted around to his blind spot, looking at her... and blinked. The eyes were blue and up close one could see they were real.

The woman's voice made him jump a little and he turned his head to look at her. It was a strange sight as the eyes on the hoodie never moved but even as he faced her the eyes stayed in place till they were back on the front.

"hello, umm... no. I am fine." His hand turned a page, resting his pencil on it, the front was a large white tiger but one ear was missing. He looked around, was this some kidnapper trying to get him alone?

[John Kilroy]

She couldn't help but smirk as she noticed that notice that the kid was staring at certain aspects of her. so was seemed to be both the blessing and the curse of someone who was *eh em* "Extra Thicc." like Laura was. the kid looked about 13 hormones were probably raging, she didn't blame him for staring but she was going to let him down gently before he got ideas of developing a crush on her.

"Uh kid no offense but I'm 21 your 13, you're too young for me. Talk to me in 5 years kay?" She then offered him a handshake. then realized that the mask might be making him nervous. "Here one sec"


She took off her mask and offered her a handshake

"Laura K. Howlett"

she blushed as her texas accent really came out when she said her last name. There was really no point in hiding her idenity cosplayers came in and out of the building all of the time. As far as the average joe was concerned she was a young superhero fan doing a good Wolverine cosplay. She then looked at his drawing

"Nice drawing, wonder what his story is. Was he part of an ambush or was he abandoned and as a cub? did he get those injuries fighting a predator or was he trying to take down a hunter that killed his family. What all did he see?" in his eyes she saw an old tiger that had seen many battles, in her eyes she saw lost, determination, loss triumph. This tiger was an alpha a warrior, a king of beast.

[Zeronone]

Kei stared at her, watching for the minute twitches he had learned about before someone did something. Her words made him blush as he realized he had indeed been caught staring. Couldn't really help it, the woman was sexy in that costume, but it was still a bit embarrassing to be called out on it. The woman offered a hand, Kei looked down then looked around. The place had people of all kinds so if he yelled for help, he would probably get it. But the woman didn't seem to be threatening. He watched as she realized he was uncomfortable and removed her mask. She was quite pretty and being twenty-one she was probably chased by many guys. He took the offered hand, giving it a shake as she introduced herself, well she gave him a name, whether it was real or not would be determined later.

Taking the offered hand with his free one, he shook it then pulled back. "Kei." Was his only response as he didn't want to give a last name to someone he didn't know. These days people could find you on name alone and it was freaking terrifying and annoying. As she mentioned his art, he looked down to see what she was talking about and then realized she meant the unfinished ear. The reason it wasn't finished wasn't a deep philosophical idea of the nature and power of the wild. Simply put, if he finished it then it would leap off the page. He had several slightly unfinished drawings in his notebook and on his tablet and phone so he would always be able to summon his monsters when the time came.

"Um, those are impressive ideas and guesses but he just isn't done yet. I apologize for being rude but umm.. is there something I can help you with?"

His pencil was placed on his drawing pad right where the ear was, if this got violent, he could finish it really quick and summon an ally to fight for him. He was trying to be polite but at the same time Kei never lowered his guard anymore. After being hunted in New York by a psycho named Kraven the Hunter, Kei had sworn he would never be taken advantage of again.

[John Kilroy]

Once Kie said his name Laura couldn't help but note its Japanese roots. She decided to do something on a hunch. If her hunch was wrong she was going to look like a total idiot. If her hunch was correct then it'd give them a bit of common ground with each other.

"こんにちは、圭。日本語は話せますか?"  Many young adults who have heard her speak Japanese have said when  Laura spoke Japanese she sounded very similar to the Japanese voice actress that played Cynthia in Pokémon which kind of added fuel to the fire of her being Waifu bait. Kie proceeded to explain that the drawing was simply not finished Looking at him add more detail to the tiger it all of a sudden clicked as to why the drawing was not complete.

*If this is the kid I'm looking for, and I'm 99% sure that he is, then if He finishes that then it's going to spring to life and I'm going to have a big problem. Well honesty seems like the best policy in this situation. Besides, I took this job mainly to get a break from the heavier stuff so it's not like I'm losing much of anything if Kei or his parents say no.*

"Well full disclosure, I'm here because a stupid rich family here in Waco hired me to find and bring to them and I Quote "the cool kid in the hood that can make his drawings come to life." Given your appearance and your scent, you fit that bill. and they are willing to pay me $150,000 if I brought you to them to discuss a job offer. They are willing to pay you $150,000 if you are willing to perform at their kid's birthday party for a few hours. Basically, go in draw some creatures, entertain for a few hours, and then leave. So, my question is... are your parents around so that I can talk to them and discuss my client's proposition with all three of you? I mean no offense but you're only 13. Last I checked you can't exactly work for anyone without your parent's permission. If the answer is no, that's fine, I took this job to get a break from heavier stuff I don't care about the money."

[Zeronone]

Kei stared at the woman as she spoke in Japanese, was she testing him for something or just curious? He sighed and responded "はい、そうします." He looked at her for a moment before deciding this was not some kidnapper looking for a score. It made it easier to relax but it still was a bit nerve wracking when someone you didn't know just came up and talked to you, more so when it was an adult.

His eyes widened a little when she mentioned some family paying her to come find him, that was just absolutely creepy and if she accepted that job it meant she was here to do just that. Her following words helped ease the tension and he gave a shrug. "Honestly, pass. Last thing I want is people gawking and pointing at me, besides. These things I summon aren't tamed unicorns and fairies you know. They are sentient self-aware deadly beasts that I have no real control over. So, sorry for the missed pay day but I am going to say no thank you."

He felt bad she would miss out on her paycheck but really, he had no desire to put himself through that. Besides, if he summoned a monster and told it to do a trick... odds are it would burn the house down and leave as a *trick*

[John Kilroy]

"hey fair enough." Laura said. She didn't care about the money. There was always low life scum to go after. Her eyes widened a bit when she said these creatures were sentient. "Wow their sentient? Like monster's from Yu-Gi-Oh? Dude that's cool. Have you ever thought about drawing Tarot Cards and creating a monster deck that you could use on the fly? Is their anything you can't draw or summon, could you do a horde of skeletons or summon say Darth Vader or Bowser?"

She was getting real excited. His powers were every geeks dream come true, but she also knew that one person's dream gift was another man's curse. She also noticed the eyes on Kie's coat and she saw them move and blink and realized that the thing was alive. In a normal world that should be freaked out, but for Laura this was mundane.

"Well hey there little guy..." She looked to Kei "one of your drawings or did you find him? May I pet him or will he eat my hand if I try?"

[Zeronone]

Her nonchalant throwing away a hundred-and fifty-thousand-dollar job made him smile. He watched her go full geek when he mentioned the monsters weren't some shadow miasmas given form but actual sentient living beings. Her ideas were ones he had thought of more than a few times and it caused him to laugh. Geeking out was one thing he could do quite easily.

"A hoard of skeletons is a big possibility, but Darth Vader is another story. I don't usually draw people because I am not sure what would happen. If I did draw Darth Vader and he immediately decided to force choke me there would be nothing I could do to stop him. So, I tend to avoid possible villain types."

At her suggestions of Tarot cards or a battle deck like Yu-Gi-Oh he gave a shake of his head. He had tried something like that, and it had been disastrous. He couldn't finish a single one without the monster jumping off the page and getting mad at him for summoning them for nothing.

"Think of me more like a summoner from Final Fantasy. I am summoning actual sentient beings with their own personalities and ideals. They help me because we have a, well the best way to describe it would be a connection. But they don't have to listen to me if they don't want too. As for the limit, I have never really pushed it too much. Last thing I need is to experiment with my powers and something that would be a problem for the people around me or worse something that would involve the Avengers."

The eyes blinked again as a bit of the sleeve seemed to ooze away from the cloth and form a hand out.

"This is Shell, he is a monster I summoned. For some reason he seems to be the only monster that doesn't vanish after a certain amount of time. My guess is that he fused with my clothes and became part of it. He is pure defensive."

Kei's own inner geek was coming out, his smile growing the more he talked, and he became more excited and animated.

[John Kilroy]

As the two were talking, a man in a wheelchair approached them. "Are you guys doing ok do you need any help? he asked.

"Naw we're fine. Thanks." She looked at his Name tag. "John."

"No problem. If you need help just let me..."

*Thud*

John looked around as the ground started to shake.

"... know. What the heck?"

A crowd started to gather as the ground to began to shake more and more. The parking lot literally exploded as what could only be described as a monstrous 650 ft tall Frog Queen looking Kaiju rose up and let out a thundering deafing roar.

"HERAH MEERAH!"

(OOC note: she does not wear a crown)

"That... that's a Kaiju... that's a freaking Kaiju." John stuttered.

Laura looked to John. "Do you have a place to evacuate these people?"

"Um the bathroom maybe?"

"Then hurry."

John gathered some of his co-workers and they quickly got to work.

Laura looked to Kei. "You don't happen to be able to summon a blue eyes white dragon can you?"

[Zeronone]

Kei turned his head as a new person approached. Due to the shirt, Kei guessed this man worked for the arcade. He wondered if the guy had been weary of a grown woman talking to a young boy who was alone and decided to come over. That southern hospitality was an amazing thing and Kei felt a rush of warmth towards the guy who may have put himself in harm's way.

He gave the same answer that they were fine when a tremor hit the building. Kei gripped the chair he was sitting in and looked around. Did Texas have earthquakes? Another one followed almost immediately after the first. This time the ceiling shook, and the games bounced. Kei stood up, looking around as he wondered if he should find a doorway to stand in. The last one that hit was more of a shockwave, Kei found himself on his ass on the floor, a bellowing ear-splitting scream filling the air caused him to grab and cover his ears.

The sound was accompanied quickly by the screams of those outside and inside. Someone yelled the word Kaiju and Kei quickly looked around wondering if someone was referring to him. But he had only been called that by one person and that sure as hell wasn't in Texas!

He moved to look out the window, eyes wide at the sight of a massive, bloated frog. It looked like a skyscraper of green and warts. Laura threw out the idea of a blue eyes' white dragon. Kei was amazed she was still thinking about Yu-gi-oh at a time like this. But it wasn't a bad idea. Then a horrible thought hit his brain. His mother was only across the street. Kei took off running, pushing through the crowd until he got near the door, dodging the front desk guy and ran outside.

He looked around quickly before spotting the pharmacy, he felt the weight come off his chest as he saw it was still there and standing. He gazed back at the frog woman, wondering what he should do if anything. Did Texas have superheroes? How long until someone swung in and saved the day?

[John Kilroy]

"Kei wait! Come back here!"

Laura ran after him and trying to get him back inside. If he just started running without a plan he was likely going to get himself killed. Before she could do so however the Kaiju began to spit acid. Quickly she shoved Kei out of the way before the waterfall of acid engulfed her and she blacked out. Moments later she took a deep gasp crawling out of the acid pool that had covered her. Even as she crawled out she felt the acid attempt to burn her but she managed to shake it off and the burns quickly healed. Her Suit however was not so lucky.

"Shoot shoot shoot!" She cursed hoping that Kei had not seen her. The last thing she needed to do was... oh forget it that ship long sailed at this point she wouldn't be surprised if she started seeing ink clones of herself in the future. Going in she managed to find a black crop talk and a pair of leather pants and boots.

"Alright, Croaker it's on!"

[Zeronone]

Kei stared at the massive frog monster, looking towards the pharmacy he felt a wave of fear at the idea of the frog kaiju stepping on it. The door opened and Kei saw his mother, the crowds parted for a second and their eyes locked, the worry in them was set with a conviction and she nodded. Running with the crowd away from it. Kei felt a rush of love towards his mother for giving him permission. He wasn't a hero or an avenger or anyone special. He was a kid who could draw monsters, but right now he was the only defense this city had!

As he looked back at the frog, it opened its mouth and shot a black ichor goo towards his vicinity. He didn't have time to draw, and Shell was only good for physical attacks. A body slammed into him, and he was thrown away, Shell expanding like a bubble to keep Kei from hitting the ground. He looked back, eyes wide as he saw Laura get splattered by the acid. His stomach clenched as he realized she sacrificed herself for him.

"LAURA!!!" He shouted.

He turned back to the frog monster; someone called it a Kaiju. That didn't settle with Kei. There was only one King of Monsters in this world, and it was him!

He stood up, pulling out his notebook. He turned a few pages and put pencil to pad. About to draw he saw the black ichor moving and from it, Laura rose up. A feeling of relief filled him before his eyes widened at her form. His entire face going beet red. He quickly verted his eyes, head down as he tried to mentally forget or save in his brain. He wasn't sure which one but now was not the time.

He saw her out of the edge of his vision disappear inside. That was fine, he looked down at his monster, the idea of Laura mentioning a dragon filling his mind. Acid was bad so a creature immune to it would be necessary.

He drew quickly, ducking behind a car to stay out of sight. Laura's voice caused him to look up and he stared open mouthed for a full three seconds before shaking his head. No! Now was not the time for any of that. He finished adding the final touch and raised his book. A glowing blue light emitted from the book and the sound of a massive thunderclap filled the sky. The clouds above swirled and from it a massive black dragon like Kaiju flew down, Eyes locked on the Frog it opened its mouth and released a roar that vibrated the very air, cars shaking, glass windows shattering. It was on a full collision course for the enemy monster.

Unbeknownst to Laura, she would be the first person besides his parents to see exactly the power Kei commanded.

[John Kilroy]

Laura looked in awe as Kie summoned the monster and she began to geek out. *Oh, that’s cool.* The first thing she began to wonder was if Kie had any weaknesses or if he was someone whose powers were essentially “Press X to Win.”. She honestly hoped for both his sake and the universe’s that he did.

*Nobody deserves the burden (or temptation) of unlimited power. Having weaknesses and being beatable is what makes us people…even the phoenix has her limits even if they are self-imposed*

She then proceed to mentally slap herself. *Focus Laura, focus on the situation at hand. She charged and jumped onto the Kaiju Queen’s leg andplanted her claws deep into the creature's thigh and began to claw her way up. The Queen let out a pained roar. Regardless of one’s size, getting stabbed with adamantuim claws hurt even if they weren’t able to cause harm.

The queen involuntarily drooled, Laura was able to dodge the black acid and watched as it feel to the concreate below. Nobody got hit, but it did cause a sinkhole sized pit in the concrete. Laura however was not able to dodge the Queens long thick tongue as it wrapped around her like a boa constricter.

Laura let out a blood curdling scream as she felt the pressure of tens of thousands of PSI crushing her bones into fragments and her internal organs into mush. Had it not been for her healing factor she’d been dead. She couldin’t help but think that even the heavier hitters would have had a time breaking free from the death frip.

Suddenly she found herself eating concrete as Kaiju Queen flicked her touge and tossed he into the ground. Three, this was now three times her healing factor saved her hide. She spit out a piece of concrete as her bones and organs repaired themselves.


“...needs salt.” she muttered. Yeah, she was definitely her father’s daughter.

She looked up at the giant creature and stood in awe of her size and power. She had severally underestimated the power of this thing and it forced her out of commision for a bit. She just hoped that the Dragon Kei summoned would be able to stop This Kaiju Queen.

…but such a title was befitting of this behemoth amphibian for a reason.