Cats, Bats, and Butterflies: A Halloween Anniversary

This latest installment of the SSU is live! Check your Story Lovers folders!

Chapter 1 - Not The Hero She’d Dreamed Of

Cat—no, Savannah—was out on patrol in the Inglewood suburb of Los Angeles. Its pre-Shard Strike crime rate was through the roof by American city standards, and the appearance of paranaturals had... well, it didn’t exactly make it worse. Just escalated the violence.

But she herself was far better equipped to handle the escalation as well.

She stalked through the city rooftops on all fours, clad in full black leather with a mask to match. A pair of hard, black cat ears on her head band completed the ensemble. Her body rippled, lithe and graceful, as she pushed off with her coiled hind legs and stretched to full, beautiful extension, flying over the small gaps of the alleyways in between buildings. Her landings were soft as silk, her body pliable as her natural instincts and flexibility, even more so than her padded costume, silenced her hand and footfalls. She was only visible from below on nights with a full moon; otherwise, she was a stealthy predator, hunting out petty crime and rooting out evil.

And the full moon was shining in all of its glory tonight.

So far, it had been quiet. Savannah expected a little more activity. The glowing, circular ball in the sky usually brought out some crazies; even she could feel something in the air tonight—a frisson of excitement. A strange, electric scent. Not everything was as it should be. Or maybe the moon was just making her crazy too.

Smoothing her hair back into place with the padding of her gloves, letting it brush against the hard nub of her graphite kitten ears, Savannah continued her Vigilantis (TM) sponsored patrol. A few more leaps, and Savannah leapt over the McCluckens fast food chain below. She peered off the side of the building at the metal bars that protected the takeout window. Only money exchanged hands. The car drove on peacefully.

Catherine C. Cole ceased her feline pose, removed her black mask, parked her butt down on the edge of the roof, and sighed. She’d been lucky enough to have been granted superhuman reflexes, a supremely flexible, bendable, malleable body, and nails as sharp as razors. Her nickname had become her reality. Not that she’d minded. It was just that, after being lucky enough to be struck by the Shards out by Catalina Island where some of the pleasure boats had infamously burned down, (lucky was a relative term—the ones who hadn’t burned to death may very well have drowned or developed perhaps a lasting PTSD), Cat had finally attained that holy grail: superhuman paranatural abilities!

They just weren’t... super great.

Her extended her claw-like fingernails with a harsh, metallic shing and carved them dangerously through the air. They gleamed in the moonlight as she slashed the concrete she rested on. Large chunks of it sheared off and dribbled down into the drive-thru below.

Cat could also heal like nobody’s business. Hell, she’d witnessed a huge gash in her arm close up before her very eyes. Her bone was exposed, the blood flowed, but her flesh stitched itself back together as if the wound were playing itself in reverse. But it was nauseating, and hurt like a fuckin’ bitch. Why couldn’t she just be like Marathon? That fucker had won the entire fucking jackpot for fuck’s sake.

She sighed. Yes, she was jealous of the power... but also of the reality of the business. Vigilantis, funded by a bunch of LA billionaires to put a hero on every street, paid her a reasonable stipend. Certainly better than her old plodding desk job, and she got to live her little adrenaline junkie fantasy. But the fantasy was more fantastical in her mind. And with the Golden Guard around, sucking up all the glory and having all of the extravagant powers to show off, Cat would always just be a minor player. There was power, and then there was POWER.

Cat watched the palm trees sitting perfectly still against the skyline against the background of glowing stars. She slipped her mask back on and swung her dangling legs back onto the rooftop.

A few minutes later, she found her first criminal.

The smash and grab had just taken place. Savannah leapt down and frisked the perpetrator for weapons before he could even realize that he’d been stalked and ambushed by a fierce kitty. She’d learned to pick pockets as a college party stunt, but her paranatural agility made her world class. She found a knife, which she promptly slid into her own durable belt.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Savannah announced her presence as she ran on all fours, side by side with the criminal.

“Wha—oh fuck!!” he screamed in startled terror. His body jerked as his heart beat twice as fiercely. The bag of jewelry and whatever opportune things he could grab slipped from his hands.

Before it could all drop onto the concrete sidewalk and shadder, Savannah grabbed it by its closed top, making sure not to shred the burlap sack into pieces with her nails.

“Tsk tsk... won’t be worth anything if you break it all before the pawn shop, nya?” Savannah licked the back of her free hand.

“You’re one of those rent-a-heroes!” He reached for his knife.

“Looking for this...?” Savannah pulled out his blade.

“Oh! Oh fuck! Please, let me go! Just... don’t hurt me!”

“Hissss...”

A flash of her talons against the sharp end of the knife emitted a horrifying shriek. He covered his ears as glowing sparks bounced off of his blade.

“Not quite up to par,” Savannah judged. She’d torn huge grooves into the metal.

“Help!” he screamed, completely neutralized.

Before he knew it, Savannah swept his legs out from underneath him, making sure to trip him onto the relatively softer dirt. The Vigilantis handbook stressed minimizing hospitalizing injuries. He landed on his back with a loud “Oof!” Then she turned him around, applied as much of her lithe weight as she could against him, pulled his arms behind his back, and grabbed a zip tie from her pouch. A swipe of her nails detached the spool from the thread, and she had her burglar, all wrapped up neat and tidy against a street pole.

Savannah pulled out her phone, opened the Vigilant App, and signaled that she’d picked one up and fed them her current location.

After dropping off the stolen belongings, she used the opening in the home to climb back onto the rooftops of Inglewood to continue her surveillance. That one had been too easy. But a twitch of her imaginary whiskers, a wrinkle of her nose... she smelled blood in the air. Blood and... a strange, eerie burning smell.

The catgirl heroine followed her nose to a parking garage. She heard a man cry out in pain. But it wasn’t just pain... if she didn’t know better, it sounded like he was screaming out in ecstasy as well!

The stench of blood intensified as she grew ever closer. There were two men, one of them—was he even a man? He was almost twice the size of the other one, and his dark, shadowy form seemed to be growing right before her eyes!

The lumbering oaf moved with shocking agility toward the other, pinning his armed victim against the side of a car. Who around here carried a knife for self defense and not a gun? What was going on?!

Savannah crept closer.

“Frank! What the fuck is wrong with you! Fraaaaank!” the smothered man begged. Echoes of his scream bounced among the concrete pillars of the open structure.

The expanding monster named Frank began to eat his friend.

The poor man gurgled his death throes as Frank bit into his neck, drinking down the spray of blood emanating from his friend’s flesh. And the whole time, his triceps, her shoulders, his back... all of it was swelling with twitching, misshapen muscle. He looked absolutely grotesque, and not just from the live cannibalism.

A chill ran down Savannah’s back. Halloween was still weeks away, but this was right out of a horror movie. Maybe she should call the Golden Guard; giant zombie shit was perhaps more up to their speed.

Just as she turned away, she made her decision. No, she would fight! She hadn’t run into any “real” para criminals out in Inglewood, but she had taken three trace muggers at once. She was fast and experienced. This would definitely earn her some clout! A middle powered paranatural could perform just as admirably as the apexes—she wasn’t going to be just another tiny cog in an unfeeling machine!

She unsheathed her claws and snuck up, heart pounding. Her movement was absolutely silently save for the imperceptible rustle of soft boots on the gritty pavement. But her blood rushed through her ears like a tidal wave, rumbling so loudly she swore the entire planet could hear it.

As she neared, she realized that some seemingly dark coils of external energy were plugging into this guy. Tendrils coalesced out of the air above him. Perhaps she should sever it at its invisible source?

Savannah’s strike was swift and true. She extended her fingernails and dug those diamond-sharp nails into Frank’s shoulder blades, not being shy about gouging out a huge chunk of flesh. She’d seen what the freak had done to someone else.

The black blood that was surging into his body began to run down his back.

“RAAAAAAARGH!” Frank screamed, both in pain and pleasure. This was definitely what Savannah had heard from blocks away.

She retracted her claws and pushed her feet off of his solid back. But as she leapt away, Frank spun on his massive heels and an overlong arm grabbed Savannah by her feet!

The helpless kitty cat dangled in his pudgy grip. If she couldn’t land on the ground and regain her feet, she was going to be mincemeat! Literally! Without looking, she could already see that he was about to take a huge bite out of her leg!

Thankfully, a cornered, desperate cat was the most lethal thing in the world. Savannah extended her claws to the maximum and began to slash and flail, shredding Frank’s legs into ground meat.

A torrent of black blood was flooding out of his body. He screamed in pain, but his grip on Savannah’s legs only tightened! His head snapped back in orgasmic fury, but just as quickly, he came back for another attempt at his first bite!

“Meeaaaaaaaaat!” he roared. “Must... meat... meat... raaaaaaaAAAAA!!”

His power seemed to magnify even further! His grip tightened until Savannah howled in unbearable pain! He’d broken her ankles just by squeezing!

Oh god oh god oh god! Savannah panicked. It was either kill or be killed!

Using his powerful, unbreakable grip as leverage, Savannah bent her body in half, performing an upside-down sit up. Fighting the force of gravity, she used her adrenaline-fueled upward momentum and shoved her claws deep into Frank’s skull.

It collapsed like a wet paper bag.

Muscle freak Frank finally stopped moving. He sighed as the last ebb of life and black goo left his body, and his entire form collapsed under its own weight. Savannah was dragged down into his melting body, held in place by his rigor mortified hands until they, too, began to melt.

She lay there in the gory, icky stuff, panting for air. The stench of death, blood, and burning filled her ragged lungs. Her legs fuckin’ hurt! Like a bitch! But she knew she would be okay eventually. Just lie there, grit her teeth, and after maybe an hour of wallowing in this shit, she’d be able to walk again, albeit gingerly.

As she regenerated, a twisting, shadowy butterfly flew before her eyes, causing the pale moonlight to flicker in her sensitive eyes. The wings were wrong, like paper cut outs instead of a real animal, and the body was twisted, asymmetrical, writhing like Frank’s swollen muscles.She watched the strange blob, seeing that it had tendrils connecting to the pool of blood that used to be the thug.

Savannah panicked.

All of its shadowy substance now formed above her, it spread its construction paper wings, blotting out most of the light. Its silhouette was beautiful. She wasn’t sure if she should be afraid or enchanted. She couldn’t scream, couldn’t speak, couldn’t move.

It lowered itself, closer and closer to her vulnerable, waiting body.

And then, it dived down, swooping like a hawk ready to kill its meal.

Savannah screamed in pleasure as the swirling energies infused into her body. Her back arched in fiery pleasure, even as her blood burned. Power! The delicate black creature was made of POWER! After this, she just knew she was going to be the biggest fuckin’ hero LA had ever seen!