Summary: Macavity- where did he come from, and how did he get to be the infamous criminal we all know? A few OCs. Warning- will contain "filtered" rape scene later on.
AN: I have always wondered this, and I'm sure that some of you reading this have pondered it too. They call him the "Napoleon of Crime", the "Mystery Cat", the "Hidden Paw", and, my personal favorite, the "Monster of Depravity", but they never actually tell us why he was ever named that. Well, now here's his backstory, tragic and ultimately leading up to the evil cat was all hate, and yet come to love.
Disclaimer: I do not own CATS, only my OCs. If I did own CATS Tugger would have more screen time. So would Macavity. ;)
"What are you saying?" the queen asked, her disbelief etched with shakiness. She was clearly concerned for the bundle of thick fur mewling at her feet.
"You heard me," the elder cat replied with a simple nod. "He is a magic-wielder. He must be killed soon, or he will certainly devastate this Tribe." The queen gasped and started to weep into the fur of her mate's shoulder. Her mate, a large, muscular tomcat named Deuteronomy feebly attempted to comfort her, all the while speaking to the much older tom.
"Orminateeze," he addressed the elder cat. "You know we cannot do that. If you send him out to die, I will leave," he argued. The trio of elders retired to discuss the matter.
"He will become like my children! We cannot let him remain in the Tribe," an elder named Mornameaze proclaimed. Two of his three children had been named magic-wielders, and had been charged with the murder of the third, normal child. Mornameaze had then been forced to exile his own children in protection of the Tribe.
"There is no telling if this kitten will behave like your children did. I am in favor of the parents," Orminateeze argued. "What do you say, Charnozandsa?" The third cat, a queen who was also Orminateeze's elderly mate, spoke up calmly.
"His powers will not be honed until he is fully grown. He will not be a danger until then. Besides, Deuteronomy said he will leave if we exile the kitten. And I believe he will hold by his word. I do not want to lose our most treasured defender." Deuteronomy was the Tribe's most adept fighter, and had taken an oath at a young age to protect the Tribe in times of hardship. By leaving, he would be breaking that oath, but the elders knew he would follow his mate, and his mate would follow her kittens. "We cannot afford to lose Deuteronomy over a kitten that might not even be dangerous," Charnozandsa said. The three elders spoke a few more words, and then returned to the embracing couple, who looked over nervously at their entrance.
"We have decided to allow the kit to stay until adolescence," Orminateeze declared. The queen was ecstatic, and thanked the three old cats for their benevolence.
"We will watch Macavity closely," Deuteronomy said in parting. The elders nodded briefly in acknowledgement. What they did not know was that their innocent son would become the Tribe's worst nightmare.
My fur fell, once again, into my tear-stained eyes as I tried to escape the nightmare that was my social life.
"Nice mop, Macavity," Jellylorum taunted.
"I guess fleas need a home too," Jennyanydots said coolly.
"Hey guys, leave the mop-head to his loner ways," my brother, Tugger, said, dismissing the older queens as they swooned at him. We were barely out of the nursery, and already, he was tugging at the queen's hearts.
"Thanks a lot, Tugger," I muttered. My brother could at least just say what he wanted and leave, but instead, I saw him striding up to me.
"You know what? I'll give you some advice- you need a new style. I could help you, and then you know you'd look great like me." There he went, flaunting his popularity again. I swear I could just kill him, I thought angrily.
"Won't you be shunned for talking to me?" I asked, attempting to creep away from my insolent brother.
"Nah, I have a right to! You are my brother after all," he said it as if we were some great buddies. I noticed my other brother edging closer, almost cautiously. "Munkustrap!" Tugger greeted the silver tom.
"Tugger, Macavity," he nodded to each of us in turn. "I just wanted to tell you that I will be trained under Father to become the Tribe's next protector," he said proudly. Tugger gave him a congratulatory slap on the back.
"Gah, you're growing up!" he said overenthusiastically, and almost ended up hugging him. "Soon, you'll be as popular with the ladies as I am," I rolled my eyes, but Munkustrap only grinned. Great, he's corrupting my sane brother, I thought, and groaned inwardly.
"Hey, Tugger, Munkustrap… you'd better get away from the mop-head before his ugliness rubs off on you!" cried another cat, a slightly older tom named Asparagus. Tugger and Munkustrap slunk away; Tugger was snickering. I scowled and retreated to the empty nursery, through which I snuck out of the hidden hole in the back.
I proceeded through clumps of bracken and sword ferns, and tugged my bushy tail from the clutches of sinister brambles and blackberry bushes. I trod underneath a blossoming oak tree, which conveniently dropped one of its charges on my head. I grunted and rubbed the sore spot, then kicked away the acorn.
Finally, I arrived at the place where I could achieve seclusion. It was a secret clearing bordered by thick briar patches that only ever seemed to accept me, as well as a softly running glacier stream. It was pure beauty, especially in the summertime, when the sun shone dappled through the surrounding maples' leaves and the stream ran clear and rapid with melted ice from the mountains. It was also the only place I ever felt truly at peace.
I searched the surrounding bushes for a suitably-sized branch. Upon finding one, I drew it back with me to the center of the clearing and deposited it, then stepped back to begin my proceedings. In my head, I thought of how the supreme cache of energy surrounding me could also force the branch aloft. It worked. I held out my paw to steady the stick as it raised itself into the air. I moved my paw left; the stick moved left. I moved my paw right; the stick followed. Gently, I placed the branch down, back in the center and released it from flight. I sighed as I did so, thoroughly proud of my accomplishments. I'd indeed made much progress.
Unbeknownst to young Macavity, two cats were prowling around the immediate area.
"Hey sis, I bet we can get a better look up in that tree," the male of the pair said. His pelt was a dark, cold, glossy hue, darker than midnight on a new moon. His fur rose in a threatening mane along his spine, from the base of his ears down to the base of his tail. His eyes shone a rusty orange, almost red.
"I'll go, and tell you if I see something," said the tom's sister. She dashed over to a tree, a tall maple, and scurried up it. Like her brother, her eyes were a deep orange color. She also wore a mane, though much less conspicuous, that ran down from her ears to the small of her back. However, unlike her brother, she was a tortoiseshell; her pelt was a scaly-looking tessellation of intermixing reds, oranges, browns, and gold on a black background.
From her vantage point up in the maple tree, she spotted something she never thought she'd see.
"Hey, Blakuskath," she addressed her brother. "You should come up here." She beckoned him with the paw not grasping the trunk of the tree. Blakuskath scowled.
"What is it, Salszara?" he called to her.
"You'll see," the queen named Salszara replied, not taking her eyes off of what she'd spotted.
"This had better be good," he clambered up the tree, far less gracefully then his nimble sister. "What?" he asked, annoyed, as he finally reached her. She merely pointed in response. "Oh," he exclaimed.
A couple tree lines in front of them was an open clearing, lined with brush. In the middle was a sight that rendered the two cats speechless- a very young tomcat practicing levitation.
"It wasn't until we were older that we could do anything like that," Salszara commented in an expressionless voice, impressed by the young tom's concentration.
"No kidding," Blakuskath said idly. He turned to her. "I wonder if he's Father's son, and therefore our brother." Salszara shook her head at this musing.
"Remember what he said to us? 'I vow never to have any other children in fear they might be like my other problem kids,'" she mimicked Mornameaze's deep voice. "I'm paraphrasing of course."
"You realize what we have to do, right?" Blakuskath inquired, not taking any notice of his Salszara's childish comment. When his sister didn't answer, he continued. "We need to get him to join us," he hissed. The two climbed down from the tree and raced away to their den, where they would think of a way to incorporate the young tom's magical abilities into their plan for destruction of the Jellicle tribe.