I looked left then right as I ducked into the dark alley. I turned more than once, just to be absolutely sure I was not being followed. The pain in my feet thudded against the pavement as I ran swiftly but silently through the musty-smelling place. I wondered absentmindedly about my ability to sneak quietly without a sound. It might have been the tiger genes, but I couldn't tell anymore. I was too mixed up to care about my alternate personalities now. The slightest rustle of oncoming wind, or soft clang of a hungry animal rummaging about in the dumpster frightened me. This was because I knew she was coming.
She'd caught up to me many times, yes, but I vowed that this time would be different. I used the utmost care to grapple myself up onto the nearest building to get my bearings. It would be difficult to hide from her up here in plain sight, but I thought that with my seeing abilities it would only take half a second. As soon as I could see escondite, I began my leaping descent to the outskirts of the city. Each time my boots hit the solid material of a rooftop, my heart raced faster and pounded against the inside of my chest. My body kept tensing for attack, even though it was highly unlikely that she'd seen me.
To me it felt almost natural now, jumping across buildings in a single bound. This was just another one of those powers that evolved as time went on, and I was getting used to it more and more with all of the escapes I have to make now. She'd been too powerful for my father and granpapi combined. It was no use fighting against her myself since I found that it tore at my heartstrings to raise a claw in her direction. I remembered that day clearly...
The sun was shining brightly, another typical day in Miracle City. As my best friend Frida Suarez-A lump rose in my throat as I thought of her-and I were walking home from school, we spotted El Oso, a rotten flea-ridden villain, running down the street with two large bags of stealings. I scowled, spinning my belt buckle. With a loud roar, I transformed into El Tigre, pouncing on El Oso with claws extended. I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder to check if Frida was okay. After a heated battle with El Oso, he sank to his knees, crying. Automatically, Frida was at his side, comforting him.
"Oh, shhshhshh... It's okay Oso..." She murmured, patting him on his hairy head. She threw me a quick glance of disapproval.
I rolled my eyes, walking forward. "C'mon Frida, you can't really be feeling bad for El Oso, can you?" I asked doubtfully.
Her behavior was typical, I thought. This usually happened whenever I got a little too carried away with my crime-fighting. Although she didn't seem to care if anyone got hurt when we were the ones committing the crimes. She looked at me with disappointed eyes, still patting the sniffling El Oso.
"Manny, villains need love too." She said defiantly, closing her eyes. She held her face to the sky, almost arrogant.
I sighed. "He'll get 'love' in jail, Frida. We have to take him there." I said, plopping my arms to my sides, making sure to retract my claws first.
Frida looked at me directly now, eyes open this time. "Y'know what? I'm going to give him proper care. I'm taking him home with me." She said, determined. She patted El Oso's shoulder lovingly. "Let's go, Oso."
El Oso looked up at Frida innocently and nodded.
To my disbelief, Frida took the villain by the finger and walked him down the street towards her house. "Are you loco? Your dad's el jefe de policía!" I exclaimed, running out in front of her, blocking the way.
"Manny, it's for a good cause." Frida said calmly, and merely walked past me silently, El Oso in tow.
For the next few days, it seemed like Frida was spending more time with El Oso than with me. I got somewhat used to her not being around, and lived out those days alone. Of course I had my family, but I tended to pay them less attention with Frida not there. If that wasn't enough, I started noticing changes in Frida's behavior. She was becoming more and more like a bully than the kind girl I'd known before. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see kids avoiding her wrath as much as possible. I saw that she wore a certain black jacket with her name written across the back in diamond letters every single day.
Then one day, out of the blue, Frida rang my doorbell. I answered it, expecting some sort of peddler of some kind, and I gasped when I saw the blue-haired girl at my doorstep. "Um... Hi?" I said halfheartedly, watching her moves closely.
She was peering over my shoulder now, trying desperately to see into the house behind me. Finally she focused in on my face. "Is your family here?" She asked, cocking her head to one side slightly.
"Yes, but..." I started. Why would she want to know?
"Cool! Let's have some fun, buddy!" Frida exclaimed, pulling me by the arm into the living room. The minute she saw my dad and granpapi, her eyes narrowed and she let go of my arm. She peered around the room nervously now, glancing from time to time at the people in the room. She fidgeted with the collar of her jacket, almost seeming like she was trying to rip it off. Her expression said that, too, but I couldn't imagine why.
With a gasp, she suddenly dropped her hands from the collar, her arms falling loosely at her sides. I watched in horror as her eyes turned blood red. She shoved me out of the way, lunging at my family.
"Frida...!?" I stuttered, still in shock. I saw her attacking them, and they transformed into their alter egos. Puma Loco and White Pantera faced off against the marauding Frida with narrowed eyes.
To my surprise, I could only stand rooted to the spot. I was frozen, and couldn't make my hands reach the belt buckle that would possibly save us.
With a great kick, Frida sent them both flying against the back wall, forcing them back to their normal forms. She turned to me, her eyes burning with rage. For a moment, they returned to their blue color, and she lost her offensive position. "Manny... I'm... So-sorr..." She whispered, but the red flames rose in her eyes once more. She turned and pounced on my dad and granpapi, taking their objects of power. As I watched, she put on granpapi's sombrero and my dad's boots. Having these ultimate powers as her own now, she moved in on me, smiling strangely.
I backed away a bit, turning into El Tigre now. But I couldn't bring myself to fight her. Why? I jumped out of the building, the only escape route being a window. I made a hard landing on a windowsill, dropping to the street soon after. I sat there rubbing my head for a while. I looked up, seeing Frida's shape flying down toward me, the same flames burning in her eyes. I stood and ran as fast as I could, not ever looking behind me.
On the outskirts of town, I'd found a cave I could hide out in. I lived out my days foraging for food and such in the city when I could, seeing as how Frida had taken it over with her unstoppable powers. It was sort of ironic, prowling about and hunting for food. At least I got more in touch with my tiger-self. My hearing abilities were enhanced, as I was always trying to avoid the screams of city folk pointing me out.
Yes, Frida had put posters all over the buildings advertising me as a wanted criminal. Again, very ironic as she was the overlord of all of this. I had to avoid being seen at all costs, or I was taken by Frida's skeleton banditos that she'd acquired when she'd defeated Sartana of The Dead. I knew the only reason she wanted me was to get a hold of my belt, and that was the only thing I would not give to anyone.