"You're kidding!" Victoria murmered once Alonzo had finished telling the tale. They sat across from each other in a little clothes dryer. "He said that?"

Alonzo only nodded solemnly. Victoria stared. In all the time she'd known Misto, he would never have been so brazen as to say something like, "Munkustrap, Shmunkustrap." It was absurd! It was a little scary, too. With his powers, Victoria did NOT want to think about what Mistoffelees might do in such a freakish mood. "I can't believe that, 'Lonzo!" she finally said. "That's so NOT like Misto. I mean, listening to Jemi's thoughts like that? I didn't even know he could do that!"

Alonzo looked away. "I didn't know he could do that either. I don't think he even knew he could do that," he muttered, "And usually I'm the first one he tells things like this."

"And I'm the second," Victoria whispered.

"But still," Alonzo continued, "Not telling anyone about new powers is one thing. But using them to spy on another cat? There's got to be something wrong with him!"

Victoria smiled. "Yeah, there's no way he could have done something like that without inviting you to come listen in," she said jokingly. Alonzo didn't respond (he actually had been thinking something like that). "But I know what you mean," she went on. "What could have happened to make him do something like that?"

Alonzo thought, and finally replied, "Maybe it's his magic." Victoria didn't say anything, only looked away. "Think about it, Vicks," Alonzo murmered, "Misto's been using his powers a lot, lately. A lot more than usual. Not to mention Munkustrap's kinda been getting on his case for it. Maybe he's been experimenting a little too much, and it's kinda making him–"

"Don't say that!"

"Really, think about it!" Victoria still looked away. Alonzo ignored that and asked, "Vicks, how many other magical cats do we know of?"

"There's Coricopat and Tantomile!" she cried, with a sudded eagerness to prove her tom innocent.

Alonzo sighed. "Yeah," he admitted, "But they don't have powers like Misto does. And there's only one other cat who does..."

"Don't say it!"

"You've gotta think about what happened to him..."

"Alonzo!"

"Maybe somebody ... taught Misto ... these new powers."

"But Misto wouldn't–"

"Vicks," he interrupted, looking her in the eye, "He just left you stranded on a roof, listened in on Jemima's deepest thoughts, and told me off. I think Misto did."

Now dejected, Victoria huddled against the wall of the dryer, not wanting to come to grips with reality. "He wouldn't..." she still whispered.

Alonzo took her chin and turned her to face him. "Victoria," he said, "Will you at least admit there's something wrong with him?" It took a moment, but she finally nodded her ascent. "Will you come with me to tell Munkustrap?" he asked. After another pause, she agreed to that, too. "All right, let's go," he said, and started to get out of the dryer, but Victoria stopped him.

"Hold on, 'Lonzo," she murmered as she resumed her position against the dryer wall as a few tears came to her eyes. "I need a minute."

Well, there's no harm in that, Alonzo thought as he sat back down again. She looks like she could use a minute, anyway. Victoria looked a wreck. Her fur was mussed up, and she was starting to cry, the tears leaving dirty streaks down her face. In a friendly gesture, Alonzo reached out to wipe one of them, but she quickly shrunk away. A little put off by that, Alonzo leaned against the dryer and sighed. It was very awkward, sitting there with the crying kitten and simply not doing anything. Very awkward. Well, maybe he could cheer her up? Make small talk? Something...

"Jemima's gonna be pretty mad at me, huh?" he muttered (nothing else came to mind!).

To his astonishment, Victoria actually giggled. "Alonzo," she muttered between alternating tears and snickers, "Jemi's been fawning over you for weeks! She won't even remember by this time tomorrow!"

"Really?"

"Really, really!"

"Huh!" Alonzo exclaimed, pleasantly taken aback. "Here all this time I was trying to win her over!" He thought that would help to cheer up the poor kitten, but reminded of Alonzo's love interest, she quickly remembered her own, and went back to sobbing. "Victoria!" Alonzo uttered in desparation. "It's going to be okay!" Victoria only shook her head and continued sobbing. Completely devoid of any better ideas, he reluctantly scooched over to her and put his arms around her, gently rocking her back and forth to try to get her to calm down. Suprisingly, she didn't pull away, but actually rested her head on his shoulder (though she did keep crying).

Alonzo's last thought was, I really hope Misto doesn't find out about this!

Speaking of Mistoffelees, the young tuxedo was at the moment strutting around the junkyard, his head held high and his tail swishing about whenever he felt like it. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he had been happier or more at ease. Everything was going right for him!

But you just told off Alonzo!

Pft! Who cared!? Soon enough, Alonzo would realize that, of course, he was wrong, and Mistoffelees, as usual, was right, and he would come groveling back to him to ask for forgiveness. It was only natural, right?

No!

Oh, come on! Mistoffelees was always right!

What about the time when–

Shut up! Mistoffelees was always right!

Told you! Really, there was nothing more important than Mistoffelees right then. With his new powers, he had the means to do whatever he wanted, and was entitled to do it! Why, he had to have these powers for a reason, right? What better reason than that he was always right!

What about Munkustrap?

Puh-leez! Munkustrap wouldn't know! There was nothing to stop him from having what he wanted, and really, nothing else mattered!

Not even–

No! Nothing else mattered!

You're only saying that because Macavity told it to you.

Hey, without Macavity he wouldn't even know the extent of his powers! Last night in his dream, he had spent hours with Macavity, learning how to control the rush of magic within him and discovering the extent of its ability. Practicing gave him a feeling of sheer ecstasy; just to be able to do something he'd never been so free to do in all his life was a rush! Anything he wanted was within his grasp: all he had to do was envision the outcome, relax, and let the Power do the rest. Of course, some things were harder to do and required more strength than others, and if he expended too much magic, he was liable to faint. But still, as he experimented more and more, he found he could control the tangible rush of magic, and bend it even further to conform to his will. Sometimes, the Power even had a mind of its own, and seemed to suggest even better ways to accomplish what he wanted to do than what he originally thought, which was fine with him! It was usually right anyway, and he was usually amazed that he hadn't thought of what it pointed to.

Of course, learning to control his Power hadn't been the only exhilarating part of his dream. Throughout the entire dream, Macavity stood by him, looking over his shoulder, and shepherding him as he tested the boundries of limitless ability. His presence felt like a guiding force in his life, something he had always longed for, but never really had. In that short time, Macavity had become sort of a surrogate mentor for Misto, and to Misto, nothing could have felt more right. It was like Macavity filled the void that had existed in him for so long, yearning for something familiar, yet unobtainable in the limited junkyard. He actually wondered why he hadn't thought of this sooner! Sure, maybe he might have been able to figure out his Power by himself, but with Macavity himself guiding him, it was so much easier! Macavity, he'd explained, had had to learn to use his powers the hard way, by sheer experimentation and instinct, and was happy to do whatever he could for Mistoffelees to ease the process.

And it was not only his guidance Mistoffelees appreciated, but something more, much more: a deep gift Macavity showed to him that only magical cats can share. Macavity held out his paw before Mistoffelees (in a motion that would have otherwise been interpretted as "stop"), and told him to put his own paw against it and let go with his Power. Mistoffelees, thinking that Macavity only wanted to share with him the greeting that all Jellicles did, assented, and found to his elation that he was mistaken. The moment he let go of his Power, Macavity did the same with his, and all of a sudden a surge of magic from the Hidden Paw rushed into him, and filled him with a feeling he had never felt before in his life! Ecstasy! Pure ecstasy! Foreign magic rushed through his veins like electricity, filling every cell of his body with an exhileration not unlike his own Power, but different, as though a new variation of the same flavor. This new Power streamed through him, until he was completely charged with white lightning, and could hold no more. Exhausted, he broke contact, and sat panting for a moment. When he finally opened his eyes, he found that Macavity had a queer look on his face: a combination of shock and amazement, and the expression he'd have if he'd been kicked in the stomach. Mistoffelees knew that Macavity had felt the same rush that he had, and wondered no longer at why he felt so connnected to Macavity. They were connected. The same electricity that ran through Mistoffelees every moment of every day ran through Macavity, too, and he felt the same rush of ecstasy that came with pulling off tricks that would dazzle even the most skeptical. They shared something beyond the comprehension of any mere mortal cat. It was just –

Misto!

What?

Think for a minute! This is Macavity we're talking about here!

So?!

Macavity is evil!

Oh, come on!

No! Think, you Power-charged knuckle-head! You know this! He's a criminal! He'd stop at nothing to take over the junkyard, or get revenge on Old Deuteronomy, or try to recruit -

Hey, I what's good for me! And this is good for me!

No, it's -

This feels right!!

With that settled, Mistoffelees headed off to one of his favorite parts of the junkyard, to do something he'd always wanted to do...

A/N: I love this chapter!! Hope you enjoyed it. And a little note: when I put this up on other places, I make Misto's "inner thoughts" font smaller than the rest. I think you can guess why...

Scrawler: Like I said, I'm ecstatic that you're updating your fics! Thanks for reading mine, lowly as it is... And who wouldn't love Alonzo?! He's my second favorite cat (next to Misto, of course)!

Chi: I actually haven't read anything farther than the first Harry Potter book, so you can't acuse me of stealing story-lines! (J/K!)