YES! Finally, with the mystical power of will (AKA: getting off my butt and doing work) I have finished the episode. I sincerely hope what you are about to read was worth the wait.
See you all on the other side. I have some stuff to talk about there!
Episode 2: Here, Siddy Siddy.
[PART 2]
Ronnie Anne rushed down the empty sidewalks as fast as she could. The street lights above illuminating the side walks as she searched for her friend. "Okay, don't panic. Sid couldn't have gotten too far." She reassured herself as she turned down an alley and walked over to a large dumpster. She opened it and peered inside, hoping to find Sid. Unfortunately, she was only greeted with trash and the putrid scent that accompanied it. Ronnie Anne gagged as it overwhelmed her nostrils. "Ugh. Sid, where are you?" She asked herself desperately.
As Ronnie Anne was searching, Sid was still chasing after the same rat from before. Still running on all fours like an animal. "Come here, you little squeaky stinker! I'm hungry." She hissed as she picked up her pace. The rat tried desperately to out run her, but it stumbled across a crumpled newspaper ball that was left on the street. The rat fell over and rolled across the ground due to its accident. Once he recovered from dizziness, he turned around and saw Sid looming over him. Sid's green eyes and sharp teeth inflicted a sense of terror on the poor rodent. "Don't worry little guy. I'll start at your head so you don't feel a thing." Sid raised up an arm and unfurled her claws, preparing to grab the creature.
However, before she could snatch her prey, a streak of black zipped by and tackled the rat. Surprised by the intrusion, Sid looked over to what got in the way. Before her was a black alley cat, holding the rat by its tail as it clawed desperately at the ground to escape. The cat had a smug grin on its face, as if it didn't even care about nourishment or survival. Sid narrowed her eyes. "Hey, I saw him first! Go find another rat." She yelled in annoyance. The cat looked up at her and snickered.
"Hey toots, the city is a cold place. It's first come first serve around these parts." It spoke in a slick and raspy tone of voice. Sid's hair stood up on end as she started to lose her patience.
"Don't 'toots' me! There's more than enough rats for everyone here!" She fumed. The cat stared at her and blinked in astonishment. He raised his paw up and the rat ran off without a second of hesitation.
"Did you just understand what I said?" The feline asked.
"Duh." Sid replied casually.
"But you're a human aren't you?" The cat glanced up and down, getting a better look at Sid. His eyes narrowing as he got a closer look at Sid's features. "Or is that not just some silly costume?" He asked quizzically.
"Oh, it's real. But this is a dream. So the term 'real' might be kind of subjective, you know?" Sid explained with a small chuckle. The cat stared at her from a moment before snickering. His chuckles started to grow more frequent and intense before he eventually broke into full on laughter. Sid, completely oblivious to the reasoning for the cat's outburst, began to laugh alongside him. "Yeah, it's kind of funny when you think about it. By dream logic this is real but…"
"A DREAM!? Hey fellas, get a load of this kid!" In response to the black cat's call, several other cats started to appear. They crawled out from the shadows and started to rally behind the leader. Sid backed away slightly as the mob began to grow larger and larger. "You think this is just a sweet little dream? Well news flash, lady! It's about to become a nightmare for you real soon." The cat taunted. The other cats laughed at Sid like she was a fool on a stage. The leader slowly walked towards Sid before making a fierce leap onto her chest, knocking her down. Sid bit her lip as the cat loomed over her face. "You know, peppy kids like you make my fur itch something nasty." The cat raised a paw and a single claw popped out like a switch blade. "Let's fix that shall we?"
Sid panicked as the cat reached down and drew the claw closer to her face. In a moment of desperation, Sid flailed her arm upward and scratched the leader's face with her claws. The cat screeched in pain and was launched off of Sid and down onto the ground. He got back up, holding his right eye in pain. "You…" It hissed as it lowered its paw to reveal its closed eye and a pair of fresh red scratch marks. Seeing the damage she inflicted, Sid felt her confidence rise and she smiled.
"What, want some more? Come at me, bro!" Sid taunted. The cats hissed and started to close in around Sid. A look of intense fury present in every single one of them. Sid remained undeterred as she crouched down, claws at the ready. Before the cats could start to attack, something caused them to stop and they quickly became frightened. The cats slowly backed away and let out scared and timid meows. Sid scoffed as the cats quickly took off running in the opposite direction. "That's right, run! I am the alpha cat! None shall challenge my reign!" Sid shouted excitedly while thrusting her arms into the air. Sid panted heavily as a shadow loomed over her.
Sid noticed the shadow and turned around, only to have a small cloud of greenish dust thrown into her face. "Ah! Hey what was… that… frrrr….?" Sid immediately felt calm and relaxed as a goofy grin appeared on her face. She looked up and saw a large and burly man in front of her.
"What do you know? Catnip actually works. And all this time I thought it was a sham." The thug mused. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt something brush against his legs. Looking down, the man saw Sid nuzzling against him and letting out a long purr. Her eyes opened revealing her pupils were now slightly dilated. Seeing Sid in such a state, the man couldn't help but feel something tug at his heart strings. "Aww." The thug reached down and gingerly scooped the girl into his arms. Sid didn't resist at all as she nuzzled against the large man's chin.
…
Elsewhere on the streets, Ronnie Anne was still searching for Sid. "I don't get it. I looked everywhere for her. The park, the back alleys, that one dumpster where the alley cats hoard fish bones. And there is still no sign of Sid." Ronnie Anne vented to herself. The tomboy soon stopped when she heard something from around the corner. Pausing, she put a hand to her ear and listened closer. Her pupils shrank as she realized what it was. "You have got to be kidding me." Immediately on cue, the alley cats dashed into view and barreled towards her like a tidal wave. Fearing the worst, Ronnie Anne braced herself for the felines' attack.
However, to her surprise, the cats all just ran past her. "Weird. It was almost like they were… afraid of something." Ronnie Anne mused. "This is either really good or really, really bad." The child rounded the corner the cats came from and gasped in horror at the sight of a large thug in dark clothing carrying her friend in his arms. He walked over towards a large red van and placed Sid inside through the trunk door. Once the doors were closed, the man walked over towards the front of the vehicle and entered through the passenger door. The engine started, and in a matter of seconds, the van was on the move.
Ronnie Anne blinked and looked on in bewilderment. Slowly, she shifted her gaze towards the watch on her wrist. "Whoever that was, they are going to lose some teeth."
…
In the van, the man was looking back at Sid as they were sprawled on the floor of an oversized cat carrier. "Isn't she cute when she's asleep, boss?" He asked as he observed the cat girl shuffling about in her catnip induced slumber. His superior scoffed at the notion.
"I will admit that Subject Nine's current demeanor has a bit of an appeal." He confessed reluctantly. "Although I'm more excited over the prospect of her potential. She'll be the figure head of what can be achieved through science. And with proper mental conditioning, she'll make a great minion to boot." The driver noted.
"Oh, so we didn't do this to get a neat little half human, half cat pet for the office?" The van grew quiet as the minion's question just lingered in their minds.
"And people said I was weird." The leader grumbled. Suddenly, the van shook with a loud thud from behind. The driver checked the rearview mirror and saw Relay clinging to the van, trying to open the trunk doors. The driver squinted their eyes as they tried to get a better look at them. "Why does that girl look so familiar?" He asked himself. Sid opened her eyes and glanced up towards the window to see Relay struggle with the doors. Sid smiled and gave her a friendly wave. Relay saw it and grew more determined seeing how naïve her friend appeared.
"Don't worry, Sid. I'm getting you out of here!" Relay gripped the handle of the door and strained to open it. "Locked. Alright, there has to be another way to get her out." Relay made a fist and prepared to smash open the window on the door. Before she could throw her punch however, the van violently started to swerve from side to side in an attempt to shake her off. Relay clung on to the handle, desperately avoiding the outcome of being thrown off.
Inside the van, the passengers were being swung around by the momentum. Sid couldn't help but laugh with delight. Her brain was incapable of registering the danger of the situation due to the catnip still running through her system. However, Sid's cheerful outlook soon faded as she began to feel a strange sensation overwhelm her. Sid closed her eyes as the sensation started to morph into pain. "My head…" Sid groaned as the pain dragged her out of her delirious state. The sensation grew more intense and spread through her whole body, causing Sid to cry out in agony. The brute in the passenger seat heard Sid's moaning and turned around to see her roll around in her carrier.
"Boss, I think you're driving is making her upset."
"Just give Subject Nine more catnip, it will calm her down." The leader instructed. The brute nodded and opened the glove compartment. He pulled out a small bag of green powder.
"Alright little girl. This should help you calm down." The brute bent down and was about to give Sid another dose of catnip when the back window of the vehicle bust open. Relay flung herself through the newly made hole and glared up at the man. "Hey! What are you doing?" Relay grabbed the cat carrier and smirked.
"Sorry, but you might want to try your luck with a real cat." Relay taunted before vanishing with both the carrier and Sid inside of it. The man tugged at his collar and turned towards the driver.
"Uh, boss…"
"I saw that through the rearview mirror." The driver snarled. In a furious rage, he slammed the brake and the van came to a violent skid. When it finally came to a complete stop, the driver checked the rearview mirror and saw Relay sitting on the sidewalk with the carrier, trying to open it. "Curse that Relay. You and I are not leaving without Subject Nine!" He growled. The large lackey gulped as he got out of the car and started to run back towards Relay.
Meanwhile, Relay finally managed to open the cage. "Got it!" Relay celebrated as she peered inside and began to drag Sid out. As she was, she noticed something unexpected. "Wait, weren't you part cat?" Relay asked confused as she noticed all of Sid's feline features were gone, and she seemed to be fully human. Sid's eyes fluttered open again, the sclera now a normal white, and she looked upward at Relay. A state of confusion evident with her half conscious face. She didn't say anything as she lost consciousness and closed her eyes again. Relay wiped her forehead and sighed in relief seeing her friend okay.
"HEY!" Relay looked up to see the man that put Sid into the van. Her eyes narrowed in anger as he started walking towards her. "Listen kid, you better run off and forget you saw anything. Otherwise you're not going to be on the news for a good reason." The thug threatened as she reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. Relay was not amused and shook her head.
"You have got some serious…" She paused before she finished her statement. "Actually, no you don't." She quipped. The criminal looked rather confused with the heroine's statement.
"What are you…?" The criminal was cut-off was Relay teleported in front of him and kicked him in the crotch as hard as she could. The man whined in pain and dropped his gun onto the ground.
"Because their broken." She spat viciously. As Relay watched her opponent fall to the ground, she kicked the gun to the side and caused it to slide down a sewer drain in the side of the street. Satisfied with the disposal of the weapon, Relay vanished again before reappearing with a pair of handcuffs. As she put them on the criminal, their leader got out of the van and started walking over to them.
"That's enough, Relay. Subject Nine is mine!" They cried out as they pulled out a gun of their own. Relay mentally cringed in disgust at the way he spoke.
"Subject? This girl is not some subject. Just who do you think you are?" Relay questioned as she turned to face them. Relay's anger quickly turned to shock as she saw the culprit's face. Their dark skin, glasses, and neatly combed hair instantly brought back the unpleasant memories from the day she and her family received their powers. "Epimetheus?" She asked in horror.
"In the flesh." The mad scientist joked. Relay trembled as she was having trouble coming to terms with the psycho's return.
"But you're supposed to be in jail."
"Really? Well guess what? I. GOT. OUT! All thanks to someone who appreciates my work and ambitions." Relay still couldn't believe what was happening.
'Not him. This has to be a nightmare. He can't seriously be out doing those twisted experiments again!' She mentally panicked. Epimetheus chuckled darkly.
"Of course, don't think I forgot about what happened last time. I owe you some well earned agony for you and your stunt and my old lab." He threatened. "But first, I must recover Subject Nine." Epimetheus' gaze drifted to Sid, and he paused in bewilderment when he saw her cat features were gone. "Wait a second. Why is she fully human again? The formula I slipped her was supposed to changer her DNA permanently. What went wrong?" Epimetheus growled before yelling in frustration and throwing his gun on the ground. As he did this, the sound of sirens was heard and blue and red lights began to flash in the distance. "Oh great, not the police too." The mad scientist groaned.
Reaching into his pocket again, Epimetheus pulled out what looked like a hand grenade. "Listen, Relay. Because Subject Nine appears to have reverted to such a… USELESS state, I'll let you have this victory." He spat. "But the next time I find someone to bring humanity prosperity, stay out of my way!" With that parting message, Epimetheus pulled the pin on his grenade, causing a heavy cloud of smoke to continuously spill from it. He checked it towards Relay as hard as he could, and the smoke immediately invaded her body. Not only was she coughing as the smoke flooded her face, but Sid also started to cough as well as she slept. Unable to see Epimetheus and not wanting to get Sid tangled up with the authorities, Relay simply teleported back to the apartment.
When she opened her eyes, Relay found herself in Sid's bedroom. She let out a heavy sigh as she hoisted Sid back into her bed and looked out the window. "How am I going to explain this to everyone?" She asked herself before vanishing back to her room. Mentally exhausted, Relay pressed a button on her watch, turned back into her normal clothes, and collapsed into her bed.
…
Sid was awoken by the electronic tones of her alarm clock. She got up and stretched with a long yawn. "Wow. That was the craziest dream I ever had. I can't wait to tell everyone about it." Sid felt her energy come to her as she leaped out of bed and walked over to her bedroom door. Yet, just before she walked out, something caught her attention. Her gaze was fixated on a desk mirror that just barely reflecting her within the glass. Sid walked closer to it, entranced by her eyes having diamond pupils and green sclera. Sid shut her eyes tightly and rubbed them with her hands. When she opened them again, her eyes seemed to be normal once again. Sid grinned and shrugged the abnormal occurrence off, blissfully unaware of the truth.
So, I bet you're a little curious about that ending. Well for starters; Yes, that mirror scene was more than just for laughs. Sid may not have cat ears or a tail anymore, but everything else is still in there somewhere. And I want to have it come back in the future.
Also, expect a hiatus from full episodes from both this and The Sound Barrier for a few weeks. It's not that I am taking a break. It's the OPPOSITE actually. Something I wish to do as a little something for the holiday season.
Speaking of holidays, I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving. It wasn't the turkey that I enjoyed, it was the people I spent it with... (and the mashed potatoes). ;)
