How to make a hideout

Over the course of the day Andree had searched for an idea. An idea of where to make herself a hideout. Her apartment just wasnt going to cut it much longer. She needed a place to keep her weapons, her suit and the vehicle she was looking at. Her company had a prototype armored car that would be perfect for her other activities. She was planning to borrow it without asking. They were a high profile company, its not like things never got stolen. She ran through options in her head. Sewers? Too dirty. Warehouse? Its pretty easy to take a look in a warehouse. Cave? Please, where is there a cave in Chicago? The Subway Tunnels! Thats it. Theres enough space in certain areas. Ill go scout out an area today and bring equipment down slowly.

Darkness. Thats all Andree could see as she descended into the abandoned subway tunnels below Chicago. She was here to start construction on a hideout. The subway tunnels seemed to be a perfect choice as they were uninhabited, hidden and spacious if you found the right spot. She was confident she would. She was dressed in a black jumpsuit that was very minimalistic. It was all black but had some straps and buckles so that she could attach herself to a harness. Her bo staff was on her back, that was all she had brought with her. The tunnels were uninhabited so there was no need for too many weapons or for her armor. But a few weapons never hurt anyone. Her eyes scanned the tunnels to find a wider open area, a turn around point or something. It would have enough space for computers, equipment, escape routes, a vehicle and doors to keep out anyone who may wander into the tunnels and near her lair. She walked along the tunnels, looking for the perfect spot.

Gwharrs massive brow furrowed in concentration, as he kept working on his newest masterpiece. Most people that knew him would say that he was definately not the sort of cave-guy that was very good at concetration or at extended projects at all for that matter. However, there was one exception to this normally valid argument. Gwharr liked to paint. By the standards of his old tribe he would probably have been considered something of a stone-age michelangelo, but with the standards of this day and age, he was mediocre at best. His 'drawings' where actually carved into the walls before getting filled with a mixture of dogs-blood and white paint he had snatched from "the world of lights" up above. Despite the sharp, chemical odour of the paint, he felt as if he was back in his own day and age when he painted. He felt that everything was as it should be, for some reason when he drew. More modern folks would probably call the sensation he was experiencing a form of meditation, but no matter what it was called, it felt good.

He needed to make this place more homey. After all, it was his 'summer house' so to speak. His true kingdom may be in new york, but with all the intruders and other problems lately he had decided he needed a change of venue for a while. Especially considering that the police where searching through the tunnels since that street had collapsed inthe middle of manhattan, as a result of yet another of the pesky invadors that had plauged him.

The Primitive primates hobby was interupted however, by the noise of footsteps no less. Gwharr knew that this could only mean one thing, and it was not something he was happy about. Intruders. He snorted to himself, hurriedly picked the lid back on the paint-bucket and got to his feet, rushing out of his chamber, reaching up towards the roof, grabbing ahold of one of the big, strong pipes that followed the tunnels and got to climbing along it. Gwharr was a fast climber. He could probably cimb faster than he could walk, but he knew that the humans could not, wich is why he had lined certain parts of the corridors with broken glass and old, ripped-apart tin-cans, in case anyone decided to intrude. Of course, these things did not bother his invulnerable foot-soles, but he could still crush the glass and bend the tins out of shape to make them less efficient.

Last time someone had entered, it had been the fire-god. He had burned Gwharr with his horrible fire and even caused apart of his kingdom to collapse. Before that, it had been the Red Hunter. He had liked Red, but Red had shown him that there where even more intruders, living on the edges of his precious kingdom. That was why he had moved here. Chicago might not have nearly the same amounts of tunnels as new york, but it did not have nearly the same amounts of superhumans either, so there where less people who came down here, trying to irradicate him or to intrude on his kingdom.

He was almost there now. The footsteps had been pretty far off to begin with, but fortunately sound carried well down here, and Gwharr had an excellent hearing. His heart sank as he saw the outfit of the woman. It looked very superhuman. The annoying kind of superhuman that picked fights and burnt him horribly too. However, he was not going to let her wander straight into his inner sanctum just like that.

The caveman growled loudly as he dropped from the ceiling, walking into the chamber, in the same manner as a gorilla, using his hands support his body. Today he was dressed in a pair of loose-fitting jeans, and the usual, coat patched up with dog-pelts wherever it had been damaged. The sleeves had been removed, and so his inhumanly massive, ape-like arms where bare, to make movement less restricted. His gaze was on the woman, apparantly ready to react to whatever move she might make.

To not like intruders! These tunnels are belong to Captain Caveman! All who come here are food for Captain. He said with a bestial snarl, hoping that this little display of agression and threats of violence and cannibalism would be enough to deter her from remaining here for long.

Raising an eyebrow at the brutish creature in front of her Andree asked the being "Are you trying to scare little kids? Move out of my way already." She snapped the last part and took her bo staff off of her back in case. "Im not here to fight you, just let me past." She ordered, analyzing the creature. He appears to be strong and well built, possibly a bit thick and slow. I can out run him but he is taking up a lot of the tunnel. His neck may be a weak point. The pressure point there may be enough to subdue him but I doubt it. My staff will adjust to hurt him as if he were normal which he obviously is not. But I really dont feel like fighting today. Hopefully he doesnt either. I just want to find the perfect spot for my hideout. Her mind was also deciding on how to attack and defend if needed. He probably isnt too fast and has a brutal fighting approach instead of a martial arts form. Ill have to avoid his arms, possibly through more acrobatic attacks. Lets just hope it doesnt come to that.

Gwharr couldn't help but to feel a little insulted by the fact that the woman didn't even shy away from his appearance. After all, he was much bigger than her, he could probably apply enough preassure to squeeze her into soap if he really wanted, but was not the typeo f guy who would want to kill her just because she wasn't afraid. He wasn't a monster or anything, despite what those little news-letter things had called him back in the old place he had lived.

It did not take a genius to realize that this one wouldn't be frightened of as easily as the homeless that came in sometimes would be. After all, she seemed to have more than enough confidence in her abilities to not be scared off with mere words. The caveman slowly moved closer, raising his fist, punching the floor just to give a sample of his strength. There was enough power behind the blow to cause quite a few big cracks to appear around his fist, and several smaller one to spread out across the room, some of them even climbing up along the walls.
Normally THAT sort of display was usually enough to cause people to think twice before getting into fisticuffs with him. Most people presumably realized that if the caveman could punch concrete to dust, then he could probably do the same to their fragile bones.

He rose to his full height again, his eyes narrowing slightly and his lips parting to reveal a set of uneven but nasty-looking teeth, that strangely enough where a glamorous, pearly white, despite what normally was expected of people living in tunnels, eating dogs raw on a daily basis without ever even seeing a toothbrush. From his throat came a deep growl, as he clenched his fists. "To say this is my KIngdom! You no be here! Go away!" The caveman continued, his inhumanly deep voice echoing throughout the tunnels.

Andree was taken back a bit by the feat of strength but maintained her composure so that she didnt look frightened. Most people would probably be impressed and frightened of him now and they would possibly run away. But Andree was not most people, though she was a bit impressed by his strength. "Look big guy, Im not here for a fight. Im not here to bother you, Im just looking for a spot to call my own, got it? Now, i would appreciate it if you would move out of my way. Though some help would be appreciated if you were to offer." She told the hulking, brutish creature. Her hand leaned against the wall, admiring the cracks. Deciding to flatter him in order to butter him up she told him "Nice punch by the way. Lots of power behind it." Hopefully this would make him happy for now and he may help. He didnt seem too bright so he may be easier to manipulate.

Andree knew it would take ages for her to find herself the perfect spot for her hideout. But if this monster lived down here, he could speed up the process by a lot. "So, what do you say? Will you help me?" She asked hopefully, a weak smile on her face.

The expression of rage and barely-restrained bloodlust left his face, giving way to an expression of annoyed thoughtfullness. The massive caveman lowered and unclenched his fists, seemingly trying to let the girl know he was not really wanting to fight her. Despite his earlier display of brute strength and his rather violent temper, he was actually not really as brutish as he liked to portrayed himself, but he had noticed that if people thought he was really daft and violent they usually didn't bother him all that much. He carefully looked the woman up and down, She did not look like the dangerous sort, but the lack of respect for his attempts at intimidation and the way she kept defying him was not really what he considered appropriate behaviour. He scratched his massive chin in a thoughtfull manner that looked somewhat out of place when it was performed by a an apelike caveman.

He snorted slightly as he squatted down, slowly and carefully holding his hands up, showing her that he carried no weapons in his hands, before putting them down on the floor. It was how he and his people had showed that they where ready to negotiate. Or rather, "Parley" was the right word to use. He motioned for her to take a "seat" opposite against him, as a show of good intentions

"To wonder why you come. Thinlings belong up in "World of light". It where your kind dwell." he asked, his inhumanly deep voice bereft of all the animalistic noises and rage that had spiced up his speech earlier. He figured it would be easier to decide wether to allow the woman to stay by asking her her motives. Maybe she had a really good reason, or no choice than to dwell in the depths rather than her own kind up above. After all, the surface was a very confusing, occasionally place, even to an invulnerable, superstrong, regenerating caveman like himself, so he could not imagine what it would be like for people like her.

"First of all, Thinlings is not a real word. Second, World of Light? Are you talking about the surface? Maybe you should get out a little more big buddy." Andree told him, slightly sarcastically at the last part. This guy was massive. She didn't want to make an enemy out of him. He looked like he could flatten a truck with a punch. If her guess was true, she didn't want to fight a hulking mass of meat like this. "So, are you going to help, get out of my way or fight? I'd prefer not to fight though."

Gwharr snorted as she spoke to him, critizicing his use of their language and the very awesome names he had decided to give the city above. It had taken quite a bit of creative thinking to come up with those names. In a way he felt like explaining his reasoning behind the names for the places up above, but he refrained from doing so, since she'd just tease him about it anyway. It was not his fault they had decided to create such a pointless, annoyingly complex language for themselves. A language with too many words, rules and far too much grammar for his liking.

"To think name is good name. To see it always bright in world of lights, even at night. To not be my fault you'se language stupid." Gwharr said, his deep voice booming through the caves. It was obvious he was becomming annoyed. He snorted in frustration as he reflected over his rather limited linguistical abilities. It would be so much easier if he could just make her understand what he meant, but then again. . . Her and her kind would be dead sooner or later, and then the language would dissapear along with those who spoke it. Why should he bother to learn a language of a confusing, somewhat evil breed of people that wouldn't be here for much longer anyways. After the collapse of civilization he would gather survivors around him and teach them the tounge of his people, and they would admire and love him, and everything would be like it used to be!

However, his thoughts of the future where interrupted by the woman's voice again, repeating the same old statements she had done last time. This annoyed him. She aught to show him the respect he was due to a king, yet she had the audacity to ask him to step aside, as if he was nothing but a bothersome punk! "To be king here! To not let you stay, if you no show respect! To answer question I ask!" he roared angrily, slamming his massive, trashcan-lid sized palm in the ground, for empaphis. This time no cracks appeared, but it was enough power in the blow for it to cause some pebbles to jump a little bit into the air. Once again, the mighty but rather daft "King of the caves below the city of lights" showed his remarkable ability to make his temper turn around on a dime.

Oh god, this mans speech is killing me. Thats what his big weapon is, he will kill people with is stupidity. World War Three will be fought with sticks and stones? No Einstein, it will be fought by this guys stupidity. Andree thought to herself, it would have been much more funny if the man wasnt six to seven feet tall and looked pissed enough to kill her. Maybe I should just go back. The logical side of her brain decided before the more fun loving side interjected. Come on, it will be fine. If you need to fight the guy fight him or run away. No shame in trying, right? Listening to the fun side of her brain, she stood ready to battle just in case. Okay, okay big guy, no need to be so pissed. You are the king no where dumbass. Just get the fuck out of my way, this is just annoying now. She thought to herself, his stupidity no longer amusing but irritating. "You know, I have as much of a right as you do to this area. You may have been in this part first but if I just got he other way then why cant I be king or queen there?"

Gwharr snorted once more as his kingship was once again questioned by this rather despicable woman from somewhere up in "The world of lights". How dared she argue with him? He was older than her entire species, dammit! Oh, thats young people for you these days! No respect! No sense of tradition! However, no matter how young and impertenent she might be, he had to admit that she did have a good point. He did not actually need all of the tunnels beneath the city. He was pretty happy staying in this part of the tunnel-complex, where he had already decorated them after his own liking. Even if he was still mighty suspicious of the woman he figured that he might as well try to solve this peacefully. After all, if he led her to the tunnels out towards "the dirction where the sun rises" he would probably not have to kill her. Despite his rather bloody past he had never really aquired a taste for killing unless it was nessecary or the one getting killed was some sort of an evil person.

He scratched his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing slightly as if lost in deep thought. If he offered her to stay down here he might bring her friends down eventually, and Gwharr did not like that prospect at all. However, the result might be the same of he drove her away. She knew he was down here now, so if he fought her off she might return with reinforcements. That left killing her. Although, he had no idea wether anyone knew she was down here. She might have people that would come looking. It annoyed him to realize that no matter what he did, it might have unplesant consequences. He really hated Consequences!

"To have decided you can live in tunnels. To show you you'se reservation, yes?" He said, nodding gracefully, as if he had done her a great favour or something similarly grand.

"Yes." Andree said, nodding as well. She was glad that this did not escalate into a fight, she didn't feel like having one today and It would be a difficult fight due to his immense strength. Most super humans with increased strength were coupled with a high tolerance to pain, durability and endurance. If her guess was correct, this caveman had it as well. Foes with high durability and strength were tough because it was hard to hurt them and you had to avoid getting hit by their attacks. Following the caveman down the tunnels, Andree thought to herself So, what is a caveman doing here in modern times? Shrugging the question that was bugging her off, she continued to follow the hulking brute down the dark tunnels. Her footsteps echoed across the tunnels as they walked. Small dripping noises could be heard occasionally. So, how much more walking is there? I could have just run this but I need to make sure this brute doesn't squash me.

Gwharr moved forward through the long, empty corridors, passing the occasional "cave-painting" he had been working on. He had no intention of letting the woman stay near his own kingdom, after all. He did not trust her, she was one of the thinlings, and the thinlings where not to be trusted. Gwharr might be thick, but he was aware of the fact that she had about as much respect for him as she had for the average cockroach and wouldn't hesitate to betray or even kill him if given half the chance. He snorted as they walked. Maybe he should have killed her after all. But no, the dice was thrown, as an old friend of his had once said. He had made his choice, and he might as well stick with it, hoping it worked out.

Sill, even though he did not trust her, he was still curious to why she was down here instead of up with her own kind. Not many of her sort ventured down into these tunnels unless they had been forced out onto the streets by their own kind or needed to hide from someone. Gwharr had allowed them to use a few of the tunnels to the west, but hadn't allowed them to go deeper into the kingdom. It had worked well in New york, so it would probably work equally well here.

"To wonder why you want to live down here. To not be good place for you'se kind" The caveman asked as they ambled through the tunnles, approaching the place that the self-appointed King of the tunnels had seen fit to grant her a "duchy" of her own. The walls here smelled of mold and dust, and old rat-droppings, seemingly lacking the smell of smoke and meat that had been present in the tunnels Where Gwharr had made his own lair.

The creature that lumbered alongside Andree was not to be trusted. He didnt seem like the most trustworthy of people. Definitely not someone ou wold give private information or possessions to. Though, if he was as tick as he looked he might eat it or forget it. If he attacked her, sehe wold thank God for her heightened speed and sprint out of there. The sounds of her boots stepping on the tunnel floor echoed down he long tunnel. Her eyebrow raised at what he said next. It bugged her because of how he said it. It was not a full sentence, and since when is that how you ask a question? To wonder why you want to live down here. Really? Is this the best you can come up with? You are so thick you cant make a proper sentence. Man. Please, please, please go to caveman school or something. "I just need a place to hide." Andree responded as the answer to Captain Caveman's mockery of a question. The feeling she felt towards him was a mix of pity because it didnt seem he got to go to scool, annoyance at his sentences and fear that he would attempt to squash her. She doubted he would have a chance because she would just book it if this got messy and come down another day hoping he was not there.

Gwharr simply nodded when she said she needed to hide somewhere. He could definately relate to that. He himself had been in hiding for quite some time after he escaped the military base back when he got liberated from the lava that had flowed over him. back in the olden days. Back then he had hidden from the men in green and their armoured, moving shootyboxes and the men in blue and their noisy boxes of movement, the police and pretty much anyone. Technically he was still hiding, although nobody was looking for him anymore. After all, what reason would they have to do so. He escaped from that place almost sixtyfive years ago. But these where new times with new things to hide from. The boys in blue where still around, but they where slightly different than they where back then. The men in green where still around, that much he knew, and the "Armoured Boxes of shooty death" where still around, but these two factions seemed to have moved elsewhere, and the last time he faced a tank had been the first time in many a decade.

He lead here through many a tunnel. Some smellier than others, and a few ofthem even had some traces of human habitation within them, untill they reached a somewhat enlarged junction of tunnels. To those inthe know this place seemed to have once been a basement or something similar.

"This good?" The caveman said, gazing thoughtfully at the woman. Hopefully those that she hid from would not find her down here.

"This is perfect, thank you." Andree said tot he massive caveman that had just lead her down some tunnels to this train junction. It was nicely sized and circular. It would be perfect for her usage once she puts in all the technology and cleans up the place. A couple of rats were running across the floor while she pictured what she could add. Computers, retinal scanner doors, hidden closet for her costume, exit ramp and more. This was going to be perfect. A small smile crossed her lips as her mind raced, picturing what she could add after cleaning up the broken glass, water and getting rid of the rats. No one would be able to find her down here. The big caveman that lumbered along beside her on the way here was still standing beside her. She was relieved that on the way here he hadn't accidently squashed her.

Tucking a bit of her brown and blonde hair behind her ear, she hoped that the brute beside her either liked her or would never see her again. Either way, she wouldn't get squashed by it at any time. Though, the prospect that a caveman was around today intrigued her but she would not pursue this much further. People have super powers today,w ho's to say that they didn't have them then and this guy got immortality?