Chapter 2: Bye, S.I.D., Hello meteor!

Where: Acmetropolis.

When: 2772, Day of meteor crash.

"Agent Panther," the chief's real voice spoke out of a man slender enough to be a skeleton and hair easily confused as a black helmet while behind his long silver desk, guarded by two buff men in black suits who obviously drank too much milk, "You said yesterday night that you quit."

Agent Panther wanted to scream 'Yes! Of course I have! Have your own witness memory blankers wiped your own memory! I quit! I quit! I QUIT!'

But since the would decrease her chance of freeing herself from the S.I.D. cold hands that practically made her real identity not exist, she simply and softly said, "Yes."

The chief was basically stunned to hear this from his top agent…not to mention from a 14 year old cat that risked her 9 lives everyday and yet came back with none of her lives taken, "Do you have a fever, young lady?"

Those words her strange to Agent Panther's pointy ears, she is young. It was just the word 'lady'. Biologically, yes. But Agent Panther never once wear a dress, nor wear lipstick…when she was little, the S.I.D.'s nanny would try to make her do all the things little girls do such as play with dolls or wear make-up, she never felt comfortable doing those things and preferred doing what boys did like playing with remote controlled cars or wear boxers underneath her army patterned cargo pants. To the S.I.D., it was good Agent Panther was a tomboy, otherwise if she was a girly girl then at the first minute of training she would cry about one little broken nail.

The chief went on with his lecture, "Do you have any idea how many boys and girls in the world want to be secret agents? - "

"482395834 boys and 389604569 girls." Agent Panther's gifted brain couldn't help but answer a rhetorical question.

"Good guess," the chief stumbled.

Good guess? She thought: That was an accurate number I figured out based on Acmetropolis's number of children and the number of those who watch spy movies and TV shows while buying spy gadget toys, it was no guess.

The chief continued despite Agent Panther's interruption, "There are children out there who dream of missions and you're doing them. You should be grateful what we're doing for you."

"Be grateful?" Agent Panther blurted…it was too late to stop now, "You took me away from the orphanage, giving me no opportunity of being adopted by a normal family! You trained me to be a lethal weapon by forcing me to leave my emotions behind! You kept me in a cramped metal room away from the outside world and fed me grey mush that I don't want to know what it was for five years of my life! And those children imagined doing those missions with a team, a partner or a friend…not doing it on your own with no friends or family, making you feel lonely and isolated!"

The chief was silent; during the silence Agent Panther was hoping her words would've gotten to the chief and finally give freedom.

Moments later the chief sighed, "If that's the way you feel, then I suppose I shall allow you to quit, but that would mean you have to give back all your gadgets,"

"Gladly." Agent Panther grumbled and slammed her back-pack of life saving gizmos (half she created) on the chief's desk.

Although she stomped her way out her feet were quite silent, she wasn't sure if it was because of her training or because she was cat.

She couldn't even tell she stopped when the chief faked coughed, "Ahem!"

Agent Panther turned around after the chief reminded her, "And the bike."

She brought out the tiny remote control out of her pocket and fiddled with the joint stick, she directed the motorcycle into the chief's office. She wondered how many people in the streets of Acmetropolis noticed a bike driving itself without a driver; she was going to miss that bike. The teenage cat threw the remote onto the desk and continued her walk out of the office she wished she would no longer see.

Once out she couldn't resist eavesdropping on what the chief had to say to his guards…her sensitive cat ears picked up one of the guards saying, "Are you sure about this? We just lost our number one agent."

"Don't worry," the chief slyly said, it wasn't a sob Agent Panther was hoping for, "She's a child, she'll be helpless out there without us. I say she'll be crawling on her paws in here, begging for her position back within a week."

She couldn't believe her own ears; the chief thought her own apprentice would not survive not being on a mission just because she was a kid! The S.I.D. trained her; they should know she's 14 on the outside, but mature and smart as an adult on the inside. The young cat continued her stomping out of the building to prove to the S.I.D. she doesn't need them.

Katarina Vester sprung out with joy and excitement drove her doing a quadruple back flip across the footpath.

"I'm free! I get to live life at last! I finally get to eat junk food, sweets and cod flavored ice-cream!" Kat squeaked happily after her last flip and ignored all the staring eyes of Acmetropolis locals.

Thrilled to taste the fresh air of freedom she danced around on her light feet at the fact that no cold hearted government agency was keeping her down. It wasn't until Kat stopped and noticed everyone was screaming, running away from where they were.

"Oh come on," Kat Vester rolled her yellow eyes with black diamond shaped pupils; "My dancing isn't that bad."

One of the runner pointed up at the sky and screamed like a little school girl in terror. Kat looked up and saw it was her dancing that didn't freak the people out completely…it was the rock fall from the sky miles away, big enough to destroy Acmetropolis. As the meteor landed it released a large cosmic energy blast in all directions throughout Kat's home.

Kat couldn't tell if she whispered or yelled at the moment the blast was heading for her, "Not now! I just discovered freedom!...and I didn't make any friends yet."

The energy didn't vaporized Kat at all, it soaked into her veins. She felt an experience she never felt before. Around her was the blast bathing the city in a white blur, inside Kat's body she sensed static electricity flowing throughout her, buzzing yet painful. As if she was shocked by millions volts from an electric fence or was struck by zillions of lightning volts. Before Kat closed her eyes fell unconscious into a black dreamless sleep, she realized her skin was glowing bright blue during the blast. What she didn't realize was that the blast was going to make her wish come true.