Growing up is difficult.

Especially for a cat like myself, who was very different from any of the other cats. In fact, the only cat who really seemed able to look past my differences was Rum Tum Tugger. Maybe it was because he himself was rather different from the rest of the Jellicles. Whatever the reason, whenever I was suffering from the teasing and scorn of the other cats, he was always there for me to run to, and he would, if reluctantly, offer his sympathy and allow me to take refuge from my tormentors. If they came after me to where I was sitting with him, he would get rid of them himself. I adored him.

And yet, even with Tugger's help, I had my troubles. I was almost solid black, except for a distinct white pattern on my chest, whereas most of the other cats had a great conglomeration of different colors, excepting a few of the older cats. This, in addition to my alleged relation to Macavity, and my personal affinity for Tugger made me mostly an enigma among the other younger cats. I was very different in another way, too, as I found out in a shocking and frightening way one night.

I'd had a rough day as it was, taking flak from this and that, and being the target of multiple pranks played on me by the other kittens. Tugger had been rather elusive all day, spending time with one of the queens, and by the time the sun had dipped below the horizon, I was exhausted and haggard, angry at all the other cats in the junkyard for the way they treated me, and in no mood to tolerate any more abuse.

And so naturally, when Alonzo and Pouncival caught sight of me as I was heading back to my own little niche of the junkyard, they simply couldn't resist pulling just one more stunt, to round the day off right.

I was tired, so I immediately went over to the old trunk I slept in and fell asleep almost instantly. Less than a minute later, I awoke to find myself completely drenched in motor oil, with a rain of feathers still falling around me and settling on my now-sticky coat.

I was horrified and furious. I shook vigorously, futilely attempting to rid myself of the disgusting oily mess. I knew it would take a real bath in water to get it off, since I couldn't safely lick myself, and even after my fur was clean, it would be slick and disgusting for days afterwards. Needless to say, in addition to the grief I had suffered all through the rest of the day, this was the last straw.

I furiously searched for the poor souls who had committed this crime, intent on making them pay dearly. Alonzo and Pouncival were only a yard or so away, falling over each other in laughter, pointing at me and throwing random insults around.

I wasn't listening. In a rage completely unlike my typically quiet and patient manner, I balled up my fists, gritted my teeth, and went after them.

They hadn't been expecting me to retaliate, and so when I swung, I caught Alonzo squarely in the jaw, knocking him to the ground, stunned. Without giving him time to recover, I leaped onto him and started to rail him with all the pent-up fury I'd been harboring all day.

Naturally, Pouncival came to his friend's aid and threw me off, and I stumbled back a few paces. Pouncival helped Alonzo up, and then turned to attack me.

But I'd had enough. I felt a massive charge of heated energy building up in my paws, and as Pouncival started towards me, I didn't think, but only did what I instinctively knew to do and held both paws out towards him.

At first, I had no idea what I was doing, and felt rather foolish for it. Pouncival looked as though he was going to make a smart remark, but suddenly, his face contorted in horror as twin bolts of blue-white lightning flashed out of my fingertips and towards him.

One bolt missed and hit a tire behind him, lifting it off the ground and throwing it a few yards. The other almost missed, too, but one tendril caught him in his midsection and threw him a yard or so, landing him in Alonzo's lap and knocking them both to the ground.

Both cats stared at me. I stared at my paws. The attack had just surprised me, but it had terrified them. They both jumped up and took off, screaming bloody murder. But I just stood there, still staring at my own two paws. I sat down, hard. It was incredible. It was something completely unbelievable, and entirely unprecedented. In all the stories of the legendary cats I'd heard of – the Rumpus Cat et al. – I'd never heard of any cat who could shoot lightning from his fingertips. It was both exciting and terrifying at once.

I then realized what kind of power I now held; my fingertips still tingled from the blast. Had either or both bolts struck Pouncival squarely, I'm convinced he would have been killed where he had stood, without question. Luckily, I couldn't control my aim at all, so I had mercifully missed.

That was the terrifying part. The exciting part was that I now had a means to keep other cats from bothering me as long as I lived. I could threaten to electrocute them where they stood, and they would undoubtedly leave me be. Also, I had the ability to rule over all the other cats. The possibility of such power was unbelievably intoxicating. Not only could I rule the Jellicles, but with my powers and their numbers, I could easily rove about the city, finding and crushing other cat tribes until the Jellicles stood above them all, with me at the helm. The very thought made me dizzy.

Suddenly, I shook my head. I couldn't believe what thoughts were surfacing in my own head. Visions of power and control? That wasn't me at all! I didn't want power. I didn't want to lead the Jellicles. I had no desire to be famous, or influential. I wanted to be…vague. Yes, that was it, vague and aloof. I nodded. That was more like me. I sighed, feeling better.

But my happiness didn't last long. Suddenly, seven of the adult cats and four kittens appeared in random places around my niche. I did a quick double take, and my stomach suddenly sank. I remembered what I'd done to Pouncival and Alonzo, who were cowering behind Skimbleshanks, and I knew I was in for it. What "it" was, I wasn't sure, but I knew it couldn't be good.

Munkustrap stepped forward first, tentatively coming a few feet closer, obviously afraid of what I might do to him. I offered my paws in a gesture of peace, and instantly, every cat dove out of sight. I realized that they were terrified of the power I held in these paws and I sighed sadly. Putting them behind my back, I stood up and called out to the tribe. "It's okay; I won't hurt any of you. I…I didn't really mean to hurt Pouncival, anyway. It was an accident. Honestly!"

Munkustrap's face reappeared from behind a pile of scrap metal. "Accident or not, if it's true, then it's dangerous. Magic is a serious matter."

Magic? It made sense, in a weird, convoluted sort of way. I held my paws up again. "I only did it because I was mad at him. I'm not mad anymore. I swear I won't do it again. On my honor as a Jellicle, I swear."

This seemed to satisfy most of the bystanders, and they all reappeared again, one by one, as Munkustrap came out from hiding and came a little closer. When he was close enough to touch me, he tentatively took one of my paws and examined it. Finding nothing particularly unusual, he frowned down at me. "We have to take you to Old Deuteronomy. He'll know what's going on. Come on."

"Right now?"

Munkustrap nodded. "Now."


Deuteronomy looked at my paws carefully, and then looked up into my eyes just as carefully. He instructed me to turn around slowly, examining me from every angle. He then sat back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "How did you do it again, Quaxo?"

I retold my story as I had for Munkustrap as we had been walking to come see Deuteronomy. "I was mad, because everyone had been playing jokes on me all day, and when I went to go to sleep in my trunk, Alonzo and Pouncival dumped some oil on me. I woke up, attacked Alonzo, and Pouncival threw me off, and I stood up and…did it. It just happened. It was like it was automatic. I didn't-"

Deuteronomy cut me off. "I know, I know, you didn't mean to." He dropped it at that and continued to stare at me. Munkustrap was a few feet away, watching from a distance. Finally, Deuteronomy gave me a grave look and shook his head. "Well, I know what it is. And I know what we have to do."

I gulped. This couldn't be good. "Wh-what?"

He held the frown for a moment longer, and then suddenly broke into a wide grin. "It's magic. You're a magical cat, Quaxo, and the most powerful I've seen in a long time. Unquestionably more powerful than me, even."

Munkustrap's jaw dropped open. Mine did too, I think. "I'm what? But…but you're…I'm just…I can't…what do we have to do?"

Deuteronomy's eyes twinkled. "We have to train you, so you can control that power, and put it to good use."

This was definitely more than I'd bargained for, but I wasn't about to protest. If it could be put to good use, I was all for it. "Wow! When can we start?"

Deuteronomy laughed and waved a paw. "Whenever you like. Right now, if you wish." I nodded vigorously. Deuteronomy nodded back and smiled at Munkustrap. "You go back to the Junkyard. We'll be here for a while. I'll send him home when we're finished."

Munkustrap looked completely perplexed, but nonetheless bowed to the Jellicle leader and departed, leaving me alone with Deuteronomy. I looked to the old cat. He smiled back. "Shall we begin?" I nodded.

And we began.


We worked for nearly a week, and when we finally finished, I was wasted. Practicing magic and learning all there was to know was exhausting. Even so, however, it had been invigorating, and incredible. Magic was such an unfathomable subject that even Deuteronomy himself could not teach me everything, and I had to learn quite a lot on my own.

On the last day of training, Deuteronomy sat me down and smiled. "Well, you've done it. It took a couple of days, but you've done it. You are now the most magical cat I have ever had the privilege of training. I cannot fathom what may have invoked your powers, but I do know that because of it, you now have an enormous responsibility. I know I said this to you on the first day of training, but it is exceptionally important that you remember it."

I nodded. "I remember, father." He wasn't really my father, but I'd sort of taken to calling him as such anyway, as a means of showing respect.

"Do you, now? Repeat it to me, then."

I did. "Magic is a supernatural power, and must be treated as such. Magic must never be used for destruction or injury, only construction and healing. Magic mustn't be used to directly alter others' feelings or emotions; every cat's mind is his own. Magic must be taken seriously, and never toyed with." Reciting the guidelines and rules was depressing; it only reminded me of what I couldn't or shouldn't do.

But Deuteronomy instantly lifted my spirits with eight words. "Good. Now let's see what you can do!"

I grinned, only too glad to show him. For the next half hour or so, I did all I knew how to do, lifting heavy objects with ease, making things appear and disappear at will, vanishing and reappearing wherever I desired, creating lightning storms and lighting up the alcove we were secreted in. For a finale, I lifted two tires and a full-length mirror into the air and reflected lightning bolts off the mirror into the tires, melting them in seconds. I then dropped all three, making them disappear before they hit the ground. I bowed.

Deuteronomy clapped vigorously. "Fantastic! Wonderful! You have indeed learned all I can teach you. Of course, you will continue to learn and grow as you get older, but for now, I feel that you have enough control that I can send you back to the junkyard with confidence." I smiled. Finally, I'd get to rejoin my peers, and they would almost certainly treat me with higher respect now that I had shown them what I could do to them. I grinned evilly to myself. I may not have been permitted to use my powers against them, but they didn't know that.

But suddenly, Deuteronomy crushed all my dreams in one phrase. "But you can't let the other Jellicles know you have magic."

I was stunned. My mouth opened and closed a few times before I could actually speak. "What? Why!"

Deuteronomy's face was sad and stern at the same time. "Because if they do, they will shun you. They will fear you, and you will suffer for it. So when you go back to the Junkyard, the first words you should speak to anyone on this matter are 'I no longer have any magical powers. I am a normal cat.'"

I shook my head. "But…but I need them to know! How can they respect me if I'm not magical?"

Deuteronomy looked me straight in the eyes. "How can they respect you if you are?"

I was about to explain my plan for stirring fear in the souls of the other cats as a means of keeping them off my back when I suddenly realized what he meant. They wouldn't respect me; they would be terrified of me. They would avoid me, reject me, and I would have had even fewer friends than I had then. I lowered my head and sighed softly. "I understand."

I felt a reassuring paw on my shoulder. I looked up to see Deuteronomy's encouraging smile. "Don't worry, young Quaxo. I'm not saying you must stop doing magic. Just make the other cats believe you have."

"All of them?" I was thinking about Tugger, and Munkustrap.

Deuteronomy shook his head. "No. Munkustrap knows you are magical, and he also knows it cannot be quelled. He will keep it to himself, though."

I nodded, and then carefully ventured a question. "What about Tugger?"

Deuteronomy considered for a moment. "I don't know…can he keep a secret?" I nodded. He shrugged. "Then I don't see why not. You can tell anyone you know for a fact won't tell anyone else, and won't fear you because of it." I must have grinned then, because he laughed softly and patted my back. "Now, go back to the Junkyard and tell everyone how you've lost your powers." He winked.

I grinned and nodded and took off for the Junkyard.