The Hideous Pink Carrier
Cat sat in her carrier and wondered absently just how she was supposed to read the Archie comic Quatre had stuck in her carrier without proper lighting. For that matter it was an Archie comic for Christ sakes. Swatting it to the back of the carrier Cat considered shredding it but that just seemed like a waste of time to her. Instead she decided to do another of her favorite pastimes which constantly annoyed the guys to no end. Especially now that they realized she knew how annoying it was. Moving to the side of her carrier Cat began sliding her claws across the plastic carrier causing an ear aching sound that had the other animals around her stirring up quite the racket. Encouraged Cat kept at it till she heard a loud male voice telling her, the cat, to quit it. Stopping Cat walked over to the front of the carrier, looking out to see who the hell was talking to her. There shouldn't be any humans down here and how did they know a cat had started the whole thing? She didn't see anyone. Going back to the scratching Cat stopped again when the voice came again, threatening to feed her through a paper shredder if she didn't stop. "Is someone there?" Cat called out, feeling stupid since to everyone but the boys and Maia she'd sound like she was meowing.
#)#
"Ya and if you don't quit it I'm going to find the nearest airlock and push you out of it. Stupid cat." Came the rough male voice then a long pause. "Wait a minute...how come you can hear me?"
"I could ask you the same question." Cat shot back, amazed to find out that there was someone nearby who could hear her and actually understand her. Well wasn't this an unexpected turn of events? An interesting one too. "Are you an angel or something?"
"Hell no. Are you?" The voice replied, obviously finding even the idea very funny.
"Dear God no. I'm a human...in a cat's body. What the hell are you? No one but my boys and Maia are supposed to be able to understand me when I'm talking. Well them and my pyro maniac angel guardian but you are definitely not Colin." Cat amended, straining to try to figure out where this voice was coming from.
"People can actually hear you? Guess you weren't as bad as I was then. No one but you has ever been able to understand me since I got this lousy deal. I'm the human in the fuzzy bunny body by the way. To your left in the hideous pink carrier." The voice added and straining her eyes Cat could just make him out at the front of his ugly carrier, one she'd been ignoring since it made her stomach turn just looking at it.
"You poor, poor bastard." Cat said as she looked at the carrier he was in with horror and pity. "What the hell did you do to warrant that lousy deal? I offed people for a living and I ended up as an okay animal with guys who would never stick me in something like that. How do you not go insane in that thing? I'd rather die then be seen anywhere near that. That's why they turned you into a rabbit huh? So you couldn't easily off yourself?" Cat asked, sympathy plain in her voice. "Those bastards."
#)#
"Ya, you can say that again." Came his response, the sound of movement coming from the cage and his voice seemed closer, suggesting he'd moved closer to the front as she had. "And this isn't the worst of it. The bastard actually put a pink bow around my neck and threw this hideous stuffed animal in here to keep me company. I swear to you no matter how hard I try to chew off it's face it still grins at me. I swear to you I'd rather have a Jason action figure in here."
"I thought I had it bad with the Archie comic Quatre put in here for me." Cat said, seriously horrified at the thought that this could have been her fate. Dear God but thank you for sending me to normal people, Cat thought and would have crossed herself but one she was a cat and two she wasn't entirely sure she remembered the right order to do it in even if she wanted to.
"I'd trade you in a minute." The rabbit agreed as he sent the maniacally grinning pink stuffed rabbit a dark look. "And as for what I did...well I pretty much screwed my life up good. Got hooked on the Irish curse when I was young and kept at it till I croaked when I rammed my car into some people on the way home from a party. The car...well it was filled with kids coming home from a birthday party. Three kids and the mom dead...only one of the kids survived that I know of."
"Oh...well..." Cat began, not really sure what to say. From her point of view the guy was kinda deserving of the ugly pink carrier now. She may have killed more people but she'd never killed a kid in her life and never would have even if she hadn't died. A person had to have their standards and even she would never have sunk that low. Or at least she hoped like hell that she wouldn't have.
"Ya, I deserve to be stuck in this thing. I'm even suffering withdrawal in the body of a rabbit if you can beat that. No one's gonna slip a drink to a real live Bugs Bunny." The voice said with a harsh laugh before cutting it off abruptly. "So what's you're name kitty cat?"
"Cat ironically enough. Saint Pete and I don't get along so well." Cat said with a smirk as she laid down in her carrier. Don't get along was an understatement in fact. To say she'd love to drag good ole Petie down to hell with her was another major understatement. In fact she love to tie him to several weights and drop him into piranha infested waters. Those little buggers took off an inch of flesh every time they bit down after all. Petie could stand to lose some weight, Cat thought with a rather feral grin on her face. "You?"
"Jeffrey, nice ta metcha." The rabbit replied with a smirk at the idea of a girl named Cat getting turned into a cat. Guess the old farts upstairs had a sense of humor occasionally. All set to start having a conversation with the cat across from him Jeffrey paused when he realized something. Something very important. "Wait a minute...did you say you're with people who can hear you?"
"Ya, so?"
"Then you have to tell them to tell security to arrest my owner!" Jeffrey yelled to her, straining against the bars. "He's going to kill people!"
#)#
Two hours later Cat was pacing her carrier as she waited for the guys to come get her. Hearing the door open Cat watched as the woman came to retrieve one of them and breathed a sigh of relief when the woman came over and picked up her carrier. "I'll tell them right away, Jeffrey!" Cat called out as she left the room. "We'll get the bastard! I swear!"
Waiting patiently for their cat the boys were relieved that the cat apparently hadn't caused any major trouble as far as they knew. At least the plane hadn't had to land or be evacuated unexpectedly. Watching the woman set Cat on the desk they all breathed a sigh of relief when she came to the front of the carrier looking absolutely fine. "Hey you, looks like you behaved." Quatre said as he picked up the carrier.
"Listen, guys, you've got to go to security and now. There was a guy on our flight and he's planning to kill people!" Cat said as soon as they started walking. Talking in front of other people would have been too dangerous since they were bound to react when she told them her news. They damn well better act anyway or she was gonna get out a can of whoop ass. Cat or not she had teeth and wasn't afraid to latch onto any of them "He and his wife divorced three years ago and she got custody of their two children and she's recently remarried. This guy is planning to go to their house and kill them all! Even his kids! His name is James Talbot and I know where his ex wife lives and stuff if we need to go save the day! He hid knives in a stuffed rabbit that Jeffrey got stuck with and in the carrier from hell!"
"Wait a minute..how do you know all of this?" Heero demanded to know as they all came to a stop to form a circle. "And a carrier from hell?"
"Jeffrey told me. He's a guy just like me only Saint Petie stuck him in a rabbit's body. The guy, not Jeffrey, but the other guy is totally whacked apparently and I do mean that to the extreme. Now make like the road runner and get the hell over to security. The guy's got three guns stashed in his overnight bag for Christ sakes. At the very least we can nail him for that and warn the family." Cat said impatiently, her voice full of urgency. "What are you idiots waiting for? MOVE IT!"
"You know she's mean enough to lie about something like this." Duo pointed out even as they started to scan the area for security personnel. "And we could get into serious trouble if this rabbit was just putting you on."
"Hey, I know the difference between a lie and the truth Mr so not Einstein." Cat said as she stuck her tongue out at him as she glared out of the bars. "Now lets kick some crazy guy ass and I don't mean Maxwell's!"
#)#
It wasn't easy alerting security when your information was coming from a cat but using their position of Preventers soldiers they managed to get security to detain the guy and as Cat had said the weapons were found on his person and the carrier which of course was a big no no. As it turned out it didn't take much to pull the whole story out of the guy since he seemed to think everyone would agree that his ex wife deserved to have her head blown off for taking his kids and remarrying. Unfortunately for James no one agreed with him resulting in the boys and Cat having the pleasure of watching James being taken out in handcuffs, followed by another officer carrying the hideous rabbit carrier where Jeffrey called out his thanks as he passed by.
"See, I told ya I wasn't just playing with your heads." Cat said with a smug tone as they stood on the sidewalk as they watched the police cruiser drive away. "Score one for the animal kingdom, baby!"
"You know I was just thinking and maybe we've been eating people when we eat animals like they believe in Buddha and all that." Duo said thoughtfully with his hands tucked into his pockets, a thoughtful look on his face. "I mean since people can really get stuck into the bodies of animals. Some of them could get killed by mistake and end up on someone's dinner table."
"I could be wrong but I doubt God would be quite so foolish as to reincarnate people as livestock and not expect them to be eaten." Wufei said dryly as he shook his head at the stupid things that went through Maxwell's head on a regular basis. "I'm surprised the security wasn't already after him. Sloppy work on their part."
"Well after the lecture Heero gave I doubt they'll be so lazy again." Duo said with a chuckle, playfully punching Heero in the arm. "I swear to you that captain was ready to get down on his knees and beg for mercy two minutes in. Your icy stare alone was enough to have him itching to run for cover, Heero, my man."
"He should just be lucky he caught me on a good day." Heero said with a faint smirk on his face, appreciating the humor of the memory even if he'd never do something so human as to actually smile over the idea.
#)#
"Hey, Quatre...what do you think will happen to Jeffrey now? I mean since his owner is going to jail and all that? They won't put him down or anything right? He was a city boy before he was a rabbit so there is no way on God's green earth he'd survive if they let him loose in the wild or something." Cat said from the carrier, wondering absently when they were gonna get her out of the damn thing already.
"I'd imagine he'll likely go to an animal shelter or to a pet store, Cat." Quatre said with a considering look on his face. At least that's where he hoped the rabbit..err man ended up. "And hopefully this time he'll be taken in by a good person who will treat him well for his time on earth."
"Yeah, we both agreed that I fell into gravy in comparison." Cat said with a nod of agreement. She hoped Jeffrey ended up in a good place too.
"So you like living with us huh? Despite all your complaining and bitching to the contrary? I'm so touched, Cat." Duo said with a teasing grin while Heero went about hailing them a cab. "Guess this means you love us too huh?"
"The fact that a female cat is the only female who will ever like you, much less love you is sad and nothing to be proud of, moron." Cat shot back with a smirk on her face at the look of shock then outrage appeared on Duo's face. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"
"The fact that a cat can so easily out burn you is rather sad." Wufei commented with a smirk as he watched a cab come to a stop in front of them, the driver popping the trunk for their luggage. "It's a wonder you can show your face in public."
"At least I have a face that doesn't send the public shuddering in fear." Duo shot back as he stuffed his bag in with the rest of them. "You send people running just by looking at them for a mere second, Chang."
"That's because they think that they're looking at a pre teen girl when they see you coming, Baka." Cat shot back from her carrier causing all the guys to smirk, even Duo who had to admit that no one burned him better then the damn cat.
#)#
After stopping at their hotel to drop their stuff off and get settled the guys got another cab and headed for the hospital with Cat sitting impatiently on Quatre's lap. For everyone's sake and so that people wouldn't think the guys were nuts Cat kept quiet and didn't speak until they were standing in front of the hospital and Quatre informed her that she was going to have to be wrapped up in his coat for a while.
"Look, Cat." Quatre began sternly having already mentally prepared for this argument. "There's no way they're going to let us bring a cat in there and you know I'm right. We'll wrap you up in my coat and I'll carry you in. When we get to your room we'll let you out. Promise."
"Oh ya, like a guy never lied to a girl before." Cat said bad temperedly but she allowed herself to be covered by Quatre's coat and soon they were in the hospital and making their way to the elevator. The guys had already accessed the information to where she was so that they could avoid having to talk to anyone and answer questions about her. That and getting caught lugging around a cat. Arriving at the correct floor the boys soon found their way to the correct room and waiting till there was no one in sight the guys let themselves in then quickly closed the door behind them. The room was quiet except for the faint sounds of the machines that surrounded Catherine Rorake, keeping the shell of her body functioning.
"Well we're in. Aren't we? Guys?" Cat said crossly when no one spoke for several minutes, the guys all moving to stand around her hospital bed.
#)#
She's so small, Wufei thought to himself as he looked at the pale as death girl laying there on the bed, her skin as pale as the sheets that covered her. She looked so young too, common when most people slept but she wasn't sleeping, Wufei thought with sadness he hadn't expected to feel. And she would never wake up.
She didn't look like much of an ass kicker now, Heero thought as he watched the machines monitor her vitals, relaying that the body in front of them was still functioning though he knew it lacked its soul and would never regain it. Would never get out of that bed on her own steam and live out the rest of her life. No, Catherine Rorake would never truly live again.
My God but she's so young, Quatre thought as he stared at her, his eyes fixed on her pale face. He'd read her stats, knew that she was in fact just a little younger then them but seeing her like this, her real face...drove it all home. This shell before him had been Cat's body, this girl before him was essentially, even if only technically, Cat. She really had been a person with parents and a life, she was more then just a human voice coming from a cat's body. She was a human being, a young girl who'd made some mistakes. A young girl who was on her way to hell if things didn't change in the next couple months. But either way...she was going to die. She was going to leave them like she'd never been there in the first place.
"Well you were definitely a babe, Cat. I like you this way though cause you can't talk." Duo said jokingly though there was an edge to his voice, a sadness to it. Truth be told he'd give quite a lot for the girl laying there, so helpless and alone, well he'd give a lot for her to wake up and call him an idiot. For Cat to be able to do that someday.
"Oh you are in for it, Maxwell." Cat said as she started struggling in Quatre's arms so that Quatre set her down on the bed, coat and all. Struggling free of the material Cat hissed and surfaced to see her still body in front of her. Her human body. Staring at it stupidly Cat didn't know quite what to say. "Well at least they could have cut my friggin hair. I haven't had it that long in years. I was gonna get it cut before I bit the bullet." Cat said quietly, almost to herself, not able to think of anything else to say.
"Excuse me but who are you?" A male voice said from the doorway and everyone turned to see a couple, both dressed in business suits with a young boy clutching a very large pick teddy bear to his chest.
"Son of a bitch...that's the guy I was gonna off!"