"Oh, it's like a superhero origin story. Cool, dude."
Those had been Ajax's words when Wednesday discovered and revealed, with Enid's permission, the lycanthrope's true nature as the custos lupus of her generation, the guardian wolf. Wednesday was not fully versed in the gorgon's pop culture references, but from mere context she could appreciate the sentiment his words were trying to convey.
Much of Enid's life had been her own story of personal hardships. Born into a family in which most of its members only professed a purely conditional variant of love. A love and affection that was only received if you fit into the pack structure and met their expectations. And for many years, that was not the case for Enid Sinclair.
An outcast among outcasts, a werewolf "ignored by the moon" as one of her brothers had cruelly remarked once.
The reality was that Enid had not been ignored by the moon. Rather, the wolf that awaited its awakening inside her didn't give a damn about the moon and its whims. The guardian wolf would only awaken to protect the person who would be the center of its existence.
Wednesday could see the heroics in the concept (and also the potential for unhealthy obsession, but that was her nature as an Addams looking for nuance). Enid had gone from being a nobody in the werewolf community to one of the greatest forces her species had ever produced. A force that had never given up in the face of adversity again.
That was why, in the mere instant that the Shadow Hyde made his appearance, before he had even jumped onto the stage, Enid was already on her feet ready for a fight.
She didn't even stop to think about her clothes or the other people around her. Her mind was focused on Wednesday, on the monster threatening her and on Dora's shout revealing that it was the same creature that captured Friday.
The standard lycanthropic transformation process can last anywhere from forty-five seconds to a minute and a half depending on multiple factors (age, size, health, etc.).
Enid's transformation since learning to master her gift had never lasted more than five seconds. Five seconds in which a young woman about five and a half feet tall turned into a mass of muscle and fur over eight and a half feet. Her clothes literally exploded around her body just before she launched into the leap that sent her ramming into the Shadow Hyde in midair.
In the chaos of students and their families fleeing the scene, the rest of the Nightshades witnessed the moment while attempting to assist in the evacuation. As always, Yoko couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as she watched her best friend demonstrate how formidable she really was. Ajax let out a "Fuck him up, Enid!" like the cheerleader he had never been. Eugene joined him with an exclamation of glee, ignoring his mothers' attempts to withdraw from the area. Beside him, Lenore watched her personal heroine almost worshipfully. Xavier, Bianca and Divina just rolled their eyes at their friends' antics.
And Kent... Kent was just Kent.
Among the Addamses, Pugsley and Gomez broke into applause and cheers as they watched Enid deliver slash after slash on her opponent. Morticia applauded more restrainedly, but there was a pleased smile on her face full of motherly pride. The she-wolf was as much her daughter now as Wednesday, and she would always celebrate her prowess.
"That's our lobita!" exclaimed the Addams patriarch, "Look at her, Tish! She's using the tricks Fester and I taught her last Christmas to misdirect her opponent!"
And the twins? Theo and Dora were... gobsmacked.
"So that's what they meant with that guardian wolf thing...," Theo mused.
"Fuck, Dad can't do something like that in broad daylight," Dora said, "No werewolf I know can... I certainly can't!"
"Feeling envious, sis?" asked Theo.
"You bet your collection of shrunken heads I do!" replied Dora, growling. Her hands were tense, letting her claws surface, "I'd love to be able to get even with that thing myself."
"Well, nothing's stopping us," Theo replied. The young warlock smiled as a steely expression shone in his eyes. He turned to Gomez and Morticia, "Grandmother. Grandfather. Dora and I are going to go play with that monster."
"Oh, of course darling," Morticia said, "Have fun."
The twins looked at each other and exchanged a nod, before darting toward the stage. Gomez and Morticia watched them fondly.
"Ah, I know we've only been acquainted with them for a short time, but they're good kids," Gomez said. Morticia nodded in response.
"If our girls someday decide to have a litter of their own I hope they are just as lucky as their counterparts, mon chère."
“Tish! French!”
With a sigh, Pugsley merely ignored the eternally R-rated show that were his parents. The youngest of the Addams family exchanged a glance with Thing, sitting on his shoulder (as much as you can exchange a glance with a living dismembered hand).
"You want to bet?"
Thing replied gesturing quickly, "If we do I don't intend to bet against Enid. It would be indescribably stupid, and that's not even taking into account what Wednesday would do to me if she found out."
"Mmm, yes, best to leave the betting and just stick to watching the show."
Although I wonder what the twins will do, he thought.
§§§
Gomez and Fester's training had worked. Enid's already acute reflexes in her lupine form were now sharp to the extreme. In all the time she had been in combat against the Hyde made of shadows, the creature had barely managed to graze her with his claws on only two occasions. The being, on the other hand, had his dark surface furrowed by white and luminous marks where Enid had slashed him repeatedly with her claws.
Claws now splattered and covered by the same viscous and grayish substance that had soaked Wednesday's dagger when she had thrown it against the creature.
And yet, despite her apparent advantage, Enid did not feel at ease.
Despite the Shadow Hyde's continued cries of pain and rage, his movements had barely slowed, and the being seemed to show no signs of fatigue. And she, despite her amazing abilities, was not an inexhaustible machine. If this went on for any longer, the monster would begin to have the upper hand again. It also increased the risk of making a mistake or a fatal slip.
It also didn't help that she was spending more time running after him and trying to force him to keep his attention on her. Every tenth of a second that Enid didn't assault the Shadow Hyde translated into the being trying to leap back toward Wednesday, with an almost obsessive fixation.
The Addams, for her part, watched the combat from some distance, moving continuously and with daggers back in her hands, expectantly.
Then, the creature seemed to use his brain for the first time, or perhaps he was learning as he was fighting. At one point, he charged at Enid, ignoring how her claws dug into his back to grab her himself. The Shadow Hyde lifted the she-wolf over his head before flinging her through the air against Xavier's canvas.
He then lunged at Wednesday again. The Addams dodged the assault, but she knew that the monster's size and speed would eventually give him the upper hand. This seemed to be fulfilled when, with another burst of momentum, the Hyde was practically on top of her, his hand outstretched ready to grab her by the throat.
Wednesday tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling of déjà vu that washed over her for a few moments before another body slammed into her.
Dora Addams pushed her mother's dimensional counterpart out of the line of attack by tackling her like a linebacker. Both young women fell to the ground with a muffled groan.
And before he could react, the Shadow Hyde was hit by what looked like an electrical discharge bursting over where his face would be, as if he had been struck by a miniature bolt of lightning. The being backed away, howling in pain once more, and brought its hands to where his face would have been as if to protect a non-existent visage.
Wednesday and Dora sat up, still lying on the ground, and surveyed the situation. From the front row of the stands, Theo Addams was on his feet with the fingers of his hands mimicking the shape of guns and little sparks sprouting from them, pointing at the Shadow Hyde.
"That's a gift courtesy of my Gruncle Fester!"
"Fry it Theo! Make it burn!" shouted Dora, fangs and claws visible. Any impulse Wednesday might have had to chastise the girl about her abrupt rescue vanished at that moment. She reminded her too much of Enid to be angry at her.
Following his sister's direction, Theo extended his arms again and two arcs of electricity flew from his fingertips to strike the Shadow Hyde. But it seemed that the initial effectiveness had been more the result of unexpectedness and the surprise of the attack than of any real damage caused by the electricity.
If it hurt the creature, the being was making a remarkable effort to control his pain as he began to advance toward Theo, his claws outstretched and ready to carve the boy like a piece of meat. Theo ceased his attack, but made no further move and like Wednesday a few minutes before, merely smiled.
The Shadow Hyde recognized that expression, but whatever alarm or apprehension he might have felt at the sight of it came too late.
His torso was pierced by two lupine claws entering from his back. Enid had sunk her limbs into the being's body, impaling him with her arms and lifting him into the air. The werewolf's mixture of roar and howl muted the Shadow Hyde's screams and shrieks of pain. The area where he had been pierced glowed as if an intense white light was escaping from inside his body. Splashes of grayish goo fell to the ground beneath him, as if they were liters of spilled blood.
With a final roar, Enid pulled her arms apart, without removing them from the Hyde's body. With that, she effectively split the being in two, flinging his upper torso in one direction and his hips and legs in the other.
Back on her feet, with Dora at her side, Wednesday didn't bother to disguise the smile that broke out on her face at the sight of a standing Enid, panting, covered in the remains of the fallen enemy and with her lupine eyes glowing with a golden radiance.
Though she would never admit it aloud, she was in total agreement with the cry of "Holy shit!" she heard Ajax exclaim in the distance.
Theo began to open his mouth to say something, but silence fell again when Enid let out a deep growl, resting her gaze on the spot where the torso of the Shadow Hyde had fallen.
Legless, mutilated and spilling more of that gray substance, the being crawled on the ground pitifully. Instead of trying to run toward Wednesday, he seemed to be aware of his defeat and sought to get away from the area. From his throat came whimpers that sounded almost disturbingly human, like sobbing. Sobbing that sounded familiar to Wednesday.
His voice... it sounds almost like Tyler's...
"Enid!" exclaimed Wednesday, "Try to hold him, we'll need answers one way or another."
The golden lycanthrope nodded and began to advance towards the fallen enemy. But then, the Hyde seemed to lose form, to distort. Where once was the form of a maimed enemy there was now a sphere of darkness, like a small black hole floating in the air.
"It's the same thing it did when it enveloped our mother," Dora pointed out, "He's going to disappear."
Sure enough, in barely the blink of an eye the circle of darkness seemed to vanish. A "pop" was heard, as if an empty void had been suddenly filled by the air around it. A heavy silence fell over everyone present. They could still hear the sound of the crowd of parents and students at the other end of the school grounds. Police sirens blared in the distance. Someone in their panic must have called the authorities from Jericho.
Wednesday ignored it all and advanced silently toward the stage. As she passed Enid she gently stroked the fur on her arms before continuing on her way. The Addams crouched down, having found what she was looking for.
The Shadow Hyde was gone, leaving behind a ruined day of celebration, two young people still uncertain where their mother might be, and many unanswered questions.
Or maybe not, thought Wednesday.
She stared at the dagger she had picked up from the ground, the same one she had thrown at the monster a few minutes before. She touched the grayish, cold fluid that covered it. It was not blood, but it was a part of that being.
It was a trace, a track, a clue.
And she intended to follow it.
NOTES
Translation
lobita (spanish): Little she-wolf.
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