Disclaimer: Only own Merine.

Author's Note: Eons later, I update. Yeah. Kudos to TabbyGirl Toby for giving me a good kick to get me going again!

Chapter 2: The Glowing Comic

BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING- SMASH tinkle tinkle

An orange, furry fist shot out from the mass of blankets in the box bed, smashing the alarm clock in one downward swing. A few moments later the large form within shifted, burrowing his way out of the cloth and peeking an eye out at the world outside.

It was morning. Great.

After a few more moments of hesitation he stepped out of the self-made tunnel, drawn out by the smell of his food dish nearby. It was pretty much the only reason he got up in the mornings, other than to begin his daily routine of pestering Jon.

Just as he was about to sit down to inhale his meal he felt something clamp onto his tail, pulling it down to the floor. This had surprised him a little, and he quickly glanced behind himself to see a younger, similarly striped cat- a little over six months old in age- looking up at him with big eyes. She was on her back, her front paws around his tail and just managing to look over the large black tip. She smiled happily at him.

'Morning Daddy!'

Rather than chastise her for pouncing on his tail, or for even disturbing him while he was about to eat, he did the next best thing- he sat down anyway.

All the happiness in her face disappeared when she felt his weight settle on her tail. Her front paws flailed as she twisted around in an attempt to escape, her small claws digging into the floor as she tried to pull herself free.

'Daaaaaaaad!… You're on my tail!'

'I know,' came the nonchalant response as he started to eat.

After a few more attempts, she gave up and inhaled deeply for her next resort.

'MOM!'

Arlene came quickly trotting around the corner, knowing full well what was going on. This wasn't the first time her daughter had called for help while being pinned by her father, nor would it be the last.

'Garfield, how many times do I have to tell you to NOT sit on her!' came her admonishment as she shoved the fat cat over, making him topple onto his side.

Now free, the adolescent kitten took a few steps away before sitting to lick the fur on her tail straight.

'But she was bothering me first!' came his rebuttal in his defense.

Arlene rolled her eyes. Out of all the cats to live with…

Her tail fur sufficiently straightened, the kitten looked between her parents. 'Where's Jon?' She hadn't seen him yet that morning, and he would usually occupy himself during this time by dragging a string around the house for her to chase. It was an activity she enjoyed, as sometimes her mother would even join in.

'Having breakfast with Liz, I think,' came her mother's answer as she sat down beside her. 'He should be back soon.'

Garfield sighed in disgust, clearly jealous of the human's amount of attention being given to the woman. 'Great. That just leaves us with the mutt and-'

The door to the house suddenly burst open.

'IT'S HERE!'

The orange tabby tensed and lowered his head in annoyance at the sound. '… Nermal.'

The streak of gray was fast to approach the group, almost not stopping in time. Excitedly he clutched a magazine in his paws- the latest issue of Pet Force- and practically bounced around them.

'It's here; it's here; it's here! Merine! Check it out!'

The kitten bounded after the gray cat as they moved towards the living room, jumping up onto the couch- Merine with more effort- and both sitting down to read it together. Carefully Nermal removed it from the package and opened it to the first page.

Merine studied the first page, which was a one-panel illustration. It showed Garzooka- the muscle-bound leader- locked in a struggle with a large dog. Her head tilted to one side slightly in thought. She had always thought that the superhero looked a bit like her dad, but had never thought much of it beyond a strange coincidence. Nermal turned the page.

'Alright!' he cheered, seeing the superhero of the battling duo gaining the upper hand in the next panel.

Arlene and Garfield soon followed, the latter bringing with him the brown teddy bear Pooky. The pair had begun another one of the "duel of the words" and were tossing snide comments and insults back and forth as Garfield prepared to settle down for a nap on the chair. Odie was apparently participating in a viscous staring contest with the wall, and seemed otherwise preoccupied. All in all, a rather average morning within the Arbuckle household.

Until the special edition, extra-sized, glow-in-the-dark, foil-covered 100th issue of Pet Force hanging on the wall began to glow.

The illumination caught their attention, and they all turned to look at the disturbance. Merine wasn't quite sure what to think; after all, it wasn't everyday a comic book began to glow in broad daylight. Unsure as to how to react, she turned her attention to the others. They appeared just as surprised as she was, staring at it with disbelief. Nermal turned towards Garfield and Arlene.

'Why now?!' he asked, sounding a bit frantic.

What?

Before the kitten could voice her question, the glowing turned into a brilliant flash that filled the room, swallowing her whole and blinding her…

To be continued…

Author's Note: Short chapter, but I got it started at least. Need ideas for a baddie; any suggestions would be appreciated. I have a basic idea of how I want things to go, so all I need to do is work out the details.