Dusk let the humanoid caboose, CB, carry her home. Normally, she would have just walked, but with her just recovering from surgery, she would have to take it easy before she is fully healed. This world was strange, yet it fascinated her. Perhaps she could explore this world even further once she recovers. She rested her chin on his forearm, and slowly fell asleep.
CB chuckled softly as the cat fell asleep in his arms, and unlocked the door to his shed, accidentally waking his animal companion. He was given his own shed because Control did not want anyone else to get hurt if he should snap in the middle of the night, and to prevent him from hurting himself from... his curse. The cat looked up at him, and meowed. He smiled, and opened the door.
"Here we are little buddy! Home sweet home!" CB gently placed the cat down on the floor. The cat sniffed around for a little while, and then laid down on the rug in front of the couch. CB smiled, and sat down on the couch. Now that that was out of the way he had to come up with a name for for his new friend.
"Hmm..." there weren't very many decent names for a cat like this. She was awfully lucky someone had found her, but Lucky wouldn't fit her appearance. "How about.. Jinx? That sounds nice." CB looked down at the cat, who was looking up at him. CB chuckled, and patted the couch cushion next to him. "Come 'ere Jinx! Come 'ere!"
Dusk bunched her muscles, and leapt onto the couch beside CB. Her side throbbed a little bit, but it wasn't the worst she had been through. She actually liked this new name, but she knew it would be a matter of time before he discovers her true identity. The best she can do for now is put up a ruse to prevent him from becoming suspicious. She arched her back, and purred as CB gently stroked it. She meowed, and bumped her head against his hand, trying to make it look more realistic. She stiffened a little when she realized she had left her satchel back where she transformed. She would have to go out, and search for it, but she couldn't just leave CB. He was too attached to her at the moment. Besides, she had to wait until the next full moon for the portal to open again. CB seemed to notice her break in character, and gave her a puzzled look. Dusk meowed, and rubbed against his side, hoping he would forget about it. It seemed to work because CB chuckled softly, and scratched behind her ears.
"You silly cat." CB's smile faded when he realized Jinx wasn't shedding at all like a normal cat. He stroked her back again, and looked at his hand. There wasn't a single strand of fur on him or the couch.
"Huh." CB picked her up, and looked at her icy blue eyes. That was an unnatural eye color for a cat. This cat... it wasn't normal.
After a few hours, CB fed Jinx some chicken from the rations he was given. The poor cat scarfed it down. She might not have had anything to eat all day. The cat perplexed him. Jinx was... sleek, much more than an average cat, not to mention she seemed to have more muscle, but he couldn't worry about it for very long. He needed to rest for, what little, work he had tomorrow. He gently scratched Jinx's head.
"G'night Jinx." CB headed off to bed. Dusk sat there, and waited to make sure CB was truly asleep. Once she was sure CB had fallen sleep, she jumped onto the window sill, unlocked the window, and opened the window just wide enough for her to squeeze through. She slipped outside, quietly closed the window behind her to prevent raising any suspicion, leapt from her perch, and took a rather hard landing. She grimaced and hissed as her flank throbbed, but she had no choice but to grin and bear it. She looked around, making sure no one was watching, and triggered her transformation.
Some of her skin gave way to black armor accented with red, the color of the blood of her enemies, as she grew in size and muscle. Her paws became more like huge clawed hands, and her adrenaline levels soared through the roof as she felt a surge of power course like liquid fire in her veins. She stood on her hind legs like a man, signaling the end of her transformation. She was now in her battle form. She took a large breath of fresh air. Oh how she relished the freedom she now greatly missed. She towered over human in this form, and this only made her feel all the more powerful.
Greaseball was headed back to the diesel shed to have some quality time with Dinah after a hard day, when something rushed past him, and bumped into his elbow. He yelped in surprise, and came to an abrupt stop. He looked around. Nothing. Maybe he was imagining things. He considered taking the other track instead when a huge dark figure skulked into view. He felt a mix of fear and wonder as the figure stepped into the moonlight, revealing a strange and powerful beast. Its icy blue eyes were cold as stone, and its fur was black as night. It had a huge white snout, powerful white paws, and a white tail tip baring blood red spikes like a mace. Its white under parts however, looked soft and vulnerable compared to the rest of the creature. The creature had a muzzle shaped similar to a cat's, same with the creature's pupils, but it could easily be mistaken for a were-wolf if the one witnessing such a great beast just looked at its physique. He could see the creature's muscles ripple under its thick fur, and the spiked collar gave it a comedy relief of sort, making it look like somebody's pet. This creature was heavily armored, built to fight, born to kill. The beast simply gazed at him with immense curiosity. The creature tilted its head to the side, and let out a strange noise.
Dusk held back a smile at the humanoid diesel's reaction. The scent of his pomade, and cologne was strong, almost overpowering, but that wasn't what drew out a chuckle. The diesel resembled a greaser. Boy, did that bring back memories. The nineteen fifties was the golden age of rock 'n roll, and the decade where cars were works of art, but it wasn't near as fun as the nineteen twenties though. She regained her focus. She was loosing moonlight, and she needed to find her satchel before dawn.
Greaseball rolled back a little as the creature went down to all four paws. It whipped around, and raced away. It was lightning fast, and just as quick as it had appeared, it had disappeared into the darkness. He was frozen in both shock, and fear for what seemed minutes, and then raced home as fast he could. Did he really just see that?
Dusk barely felt the pain in her flank as she raced to the portal's location. Adrenaline was her friend, just like the silence of solitude. She felt she could run for miles in this form. She finally reached her destination, and sniffed around on the ground. It didn't take long to find her bag. She quickly snatched it, and raced back to CB's shed at the outskirts of the train yard. When she returned, she reverted back to her cat form. The pain in her flank was much more noticeable now, but that didn't mean much to her. She leapt onto the window sill, opened the window just wide enough for her and her bag to squeeze through, quietly slipped inside,closed the window behind her, and locked it. She froze when she heard what sounded like sobbing. Her ears swiveled, and her tail twitched. CB was awake. She leapt from her perch, hid her bag under the couch, and then poked her head out from underneath the couch.
She listened. It sounded like CB was in his bedroom. She barely knew him, but she was concerned about him. She raced to the bedroom door, and her heart sank at the sight. CB was holding his head in his hands, crying like a young child. He seemed so cheerful when she first met him, but that was clearly an illusion. She cautiously approached him, who knows how he truly behaves. It was risky, but the caboose needed her help.
A/N: This chapter contained a fun fact about were-cats. Were-cats cannot shed their fur, which is both good and bad. The good part is they are very low maintenance. The bad part is if they have a very thick coat of fur, they will be miserable in the summer. And CB has a shed away from everyone else to make sure no one gets hurt. How's that for an introduction with Greaseball? It seems our little caboose is a little distressed, but what is causing his troubles? Find out in the next chapter!
