Turnabout

by Melissa Wong

  Everyone shot him a strange look.

  “What?”

  “You sound like a try-hard dystopian sci-fi novel...” Green Jaguar grumbled.

  “So what if I do?” he retorted.

  “Clokua, remove the petroite,” Blue Caracal said.

  The little cloaked being pulled the shard from her chest in one go, tossing it to the side. Cretora collapsed, clutching at the back of Criatan’s uniform as she did so. Tears welled up in Blue Caracal’s eyes as she understood what the fallen princess was asking.

  “I’ll try my best to save him too,” she whispered before rising to her feet. She held the Lapis Strobe before her and closed her eyes.

  Great Power, I don’t know exactly who or what you are, and I don’t know the scope of your powers or mine. I am not even sure if you can hear this prayer. But if this reaches you and you have any kind of empathy... please let this heal all of them, and make them human for the rest of their days.

  The sound of an echoing water drop was her only response. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, swinging the strobe in a circle around her before thrusting it high in the air.

  “Strobe. Aqueous. Restoration!” she called out.

  The orb flared to life as light flowed from it, coating the area in an azure glow. Criatan, Cretora and Clokua’s bodies all shifted wildly, pulling and stretching like taffy before finally shimmering into their final form.

  Chase Claravon pulled something from his head—the remains of the cloak which was now much too small for him. Christopher Claravon sat up, placing a hand against his chest in confusion.

  “I feel... strange,” he said.

  “You did it!” White Lion and Purple Tiger cried in unison. Pink Ocelot ran to her, and to her surprise picked her up and spun her around.

  “I can’t believe you pulled it off!” he exclaimed.

  She felt a warm sensation move up her chest and settle in her cheeks as he set her down. “It’s just what I’m supposed to do as Blue Caracal, right?”

  Christina Claravon reached out and pulled her husband into an embrace, her oversize purple gown sliding around her much smaller form. Blue Caracal smiled, wondering how weird it was going to be having them in the city; after all, nothing about the Claravons had changed—they were still pseudo-famous. She’d have to remember to call them by their human names when talking about them.

  “Hey guys, this thing is getting hot...” Red Panther said nervously, holding the shard of petroite that had Tana in it in her hand.

  “Drop it!” Green Jaguar told her, “It’s not worth losing a hand over.”

  “It’s completely unstable!” Chase warned. “Do as he says.”

  She set the crystal on the ground gingerly, running away from it when they heard a loud crack. The petroite shard exploded into purple dust, an iridescent light shooting from it and congealing into a form they recognized.

  “Tana!” Chase and Chris shouted. She looked at them in utter shock.

  “Criatan? Why are you in human form? Wait—is that Clokua?” She pointed at the dark-haired teenager. “Why did you give him a—look out, we’re surrounded!”

  Apparently, she’d just noticed them standing there.

  “Let me get on my engenerator and—it’s gone!” Tana cried.

  “It’s alright. We’re not going to hurt you,” Red Panther said, reaching out tentatively.

  Tana’s brows furrowed as she started looking around. “Where is my backstabbing older sister?” she finally shouted.

  “She trapped you in petroite,” Chase told her. That information only seemed to make her angrier.

  “That slovenly, two-faced—”

  “Hey, sorry to interrupt,” Green Jaguar interjected, “But didn’t you have orange hair?”

  Blue Caracal blinked at the realization. He was right! Tana’s hair was a light brown now—similar to hers.

  Tana pulled a strand in front of her eyes and examined it critically. “Was I trapped in my human disguise?”

  “My hypothesis is that she was included in Blue Caracal’s spell,” Chase said. Red Panther nodded in agreement.

  “So what does that mean?” Tana asked, touching her rounded human ears.

  “You’re a human now,” Green Jaguar said, tapping the arm on his lenses. “The scans confirm it. All four of you, one-hundred percent human.”

  “I-I’m not sure I want to be human,” Tana said.

  Blue Caracal looked over at Pink Ocelot, who shrugged.

  “What am I supposed to do for work now? I can’t be a human mercenary!”

  “Well, you were our daughter before—why not continue to do that?” Christina said. “After all, we made ourselves independently wealthy and gave ourselves fame. That’s all humans need to survive!”

  Purple Tiger smacked her hand against her forehead as Green Jaguar and White Lion laughed. Man were the Claravons in for some harsh life lessons! But, having to hold their hand through everyday life for a few months was definitely better than fighting them for control of the planet!

  “Thank you Cre—er—Christina.”

  “Dude, just call her Mom,” Green Jaguar groaned. “Calling her by her name is stupid.”

  Purple Tiger walked over and covered his mouth with her hand. “That’s enough commentary today, funny boy,” she said with a small smile.

  “I promise I won’t be a burden on you!” Tana exclaimed, bowing her head. She quickly stood upright again, in a panic. “Are all my social media accounts still active? I can’t influence anyone if I’m banned!”

  “Well, this ended better than expected,” Pink Ocelot said. Blue Caracal turned to find him standing beside her. “There were several times I was sure we were going to die. Then in the end we convert our enemies into allies? This is crazy.”

  “Being superheros named after cats and colors is crazy,” she told him with a smile. “Getting powers granted to us by a disembodied voice that only communicates when it wants is crazy. The two of us being forced to face our feelings is cra—”

  “Only you had to face your feelings,” he told her, one eyebrow raised.

  “Whatever—okay, I had to face my feelings!” she admitted, waving a hand at him. “But this here... this is the least crazy part of all of it.”

  She looked at the sun sinking low in the sky, shades of periwinkle fading to orange and gold behind pink-bottomed clouds. If Vetrina weren’t still on the loose it would be the perfect end to the drama of these past few weeks.

  She felt his hand reach for hers. It was a little rough from the fight, but then again, hers probably was too.

  “I love you,” he said quietly.

  “What?” she exclaimed, looking up at him in shock.

  “I said I wish I had my camera,” he laughed. She wasn’t sure if his cheeks were pink from what he’d just said, or the light from the sunset.

  “You’re such a bad liar,” she said, putting her head against his shoulder. In the distance sirens wailed, indicating that it was time for them to go. However, she chose to linger a few extra moments, wanting to savor their hard earned victory just a little bit longer.

  Chapter 14

  Life Goes On

  It was a bright, clear Saturday afternoon when Melissa and Sable stepped out of the tea shop and into the outdoor seating area at the Sweet Step Mall. The place was absolutely packed—mostly with other teenagers weaving in and out of stores or hanging out at the metal tables with their friends.

  “This is nice,” Sable commented, taking a sip of her green tea smoothie. “A peaceful day, a cold drink, and all the time in the world to waste. It’s good to be a regular teenager again!”

  “Even with school starting again on Monday?”

  “Ugh. Don’t remind me. They finished the repairs super fast!”

  “Right? My mom was surprised too—she said the city council usually screws around and delays funding, but not this time.”

  “I heard my mom and Luke talking about the Claravons making some kind of huge
donation. Maybe it was for that?”

  “Oh yeah!” Melissa exclaimed. “I bet they feel bad for all the damage Vetrina caused.”

  She picked up her medallion by its chain, briefly letting it dangle from her fingers before letting it fall back against her chest.

  “It’s been a few weeks since we saw her last,” Sable groused, “I bet she’s biding her time until we get used to this and then she’ll show up like—bam—and everything will be chaotic and stupid again.”

  “Maybe she had an accident out in space and exploded,” Melissa grinned before taking a sip of her purple drink. Taro with boba! It might be a tuber or whatever, but it still tasted so damn delicious—especially today.

  “We can only hope!” Sable laughed as they stopped in front of a store, sipping their drinks.

  Mannequins were set up in the large window, wearing all sorts of lacy undergarments that were prominently displayed by their poses. A large poster on the lower right advertised a buy-one-get-one-half-off sale.

  “My back would kill me after standing like that all day,” Melissa said, pointing at the middle one. “Supportive bra or not!”

  “I wonder if I should get a new bra,” Sable mused. “All the running, and jumping, and fighting has thoroughly trashed mine.”

  “Wanna go in and look? Ryan’s birthday is coming up.”

  Sable’s face turned bright red. “Why would you bring that up?”

  Melissa continued sipping her drink, giving her a pointed look.

  “Don’t go trying to play matchmaker with the single people because you and Sara have boyfriends now!” she cried, pointing a finger at her.

  “Man, you can see the crush you have on him from space,” Melissa replied slyly. “I bet NASA has a whole research paper on it.”

  “Shut up!” Sable yelped, giving her a shove.

  Melissa laughed and looked up at the display again. Maybe a new bra wasn’t a bad idea—something sporty for all the running and jumping being a Warrior required. Just as she was about to ask Sable if she wanted to go in halfsies on the deal she noticed a familiar couple sitting by themselves outside the crepe shop.

  “Look, it’s Sara and Chase!” she said, pointing at them.

  “Ha! They’re at their table,” Sable said dryly.

  She was right—they were sitting at the table where they’d first met. She groaned at the realization. “Could they be any more cliché?”

  “Let’s say hi to them.”

  “What, now?” Melissa asked. “Wouldn’t we be intruding?”

  “Nah, we’ll just say hello and leave,” Sable said, already heading over there.

  Melissa ran after her, but they both stopped short when they reached the fountain and realized they could hear snippets of their conversation.

  “I think it’s going to take a while for me to come to terms with this,” Sara said, “I mean, I know I said I had feelings for you, but that was for Clokua pretending to be Chase.”

  “Are we really different entities though? My mind and my feelings for you feel the same as when we first met. Only my DNA has changed.”

  “We’re eavesdropping now, right?” Melissa asked in a whisper.

  “Oh yeah, totally. We have no excuse.”

  “Some superheroes we are,” she muttered with a shake of her head as she went back to listening.

  “Maybe... can we just, start over?” Sara asked, playing with her mostly empty cup. It looked like she’d ordered the watermelon slush thing again. Why not get actual ice cream on a date? It was a date!

  “I know we can’t forget what happened, and it’s obvious we have feelings for each other,” Sara continued, “But I don’t think it’s right to build a relationship on a lie.”

  “But there isn’t a lie—I’m really Chase now!” he exclaimed, placing his hands against his chest emphatically.

  “I know it might seem a little illogical to you, but humans are like this sometimes. Please humor me.”

  “You... want me to laugh at you?” Chase asked, confused.

  “No,” she sighed, placing her forehead in the palm of the hand she was resting on the table, “It’s just in both of our best interests if you agree that we need to start over from scratch.”

  “Ah, teaching him important life skills,” Sable commented. “She lucked out—she has a completely trainable boyfriend. I’m jealous!”

  Melissa nodded and quietly continued sipping her drink.

  “Alright...” he said hesitantly, reaching out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Chase Claravon.”

  Melissa and Sable both had to stifle laughs at that.

  “You don’t actually have to start over from introductions!” Sara chuckled. “Okay, just... how about we take this slow. Let’s go on a date or two and get to know each other before we start kissing again.”

  “The mouth thing? I really like that though...” he pouted. They could see Sara’s intense blush from the other side of the fountain.

  “I’m not saying we can’t ever do it!” she exclaimed. “I... just—I’m just saying that...”

  She gave up, reaching for his shirt and pulling him across the table into a passionate kiss. Melissa and Sable glanced at one another.

  “I think we should just leave them alone...” Sable said.

  “Yeah,” Melissa agreed.

  They were headed back towards the lingerie store when her phone chirped in her pocket and she pulled it out. She’d set up a search engine alert that sent her a message every time someone mentioned the Feline Warriors online, and this time it had picked up a quiz published by Buzzlist that supposedly told you which of the anime Feline Warriors you were.

  She clicked on it then held the phone out to Sable, who laughed when she read the title.

  “Oh my god, we have to take this! Send me the link.”

  Melissa texted it to her and they both stood there, taking the quiz in silence. When her result came up, she had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming with laughter.

  “How the hell am I White Lion?” Sable yelled at her phone.

  “I got you,” Melissa snickered.

  “I’m taking it again!” Sable declared, tapping at her phone angrily.

  She sucked the last few tapioca pearls through her straw and chewed them thoughtfully as her mind wandered. Just a few short months ago, the two of them hadn’t known each other at all despite living in the same city their whole lives. But now, she couldn’t imagine not having Sable as her friend—or any of the Warriors, really.

  “Crap, I just shared it on Facespace!” Sable wailed, hitting her phone against her forehead.

  Melissa stared down into her empty cup, thinking about buying another drink and wishing that she knew exactly how many more days like this they had left before Vetrina returned; so that they didn’t waste a single one.

  A pale blue hand reached across an intricately drawn chart, the golden lights on it twinkling against a map of the cosmos. A long, slender finger reached down and broke the tension of the surface, scattering the image as it focused on a particular section. It then drew a line between two of the shining dots and they shifted position, one of them fading into darkness.

  “So it is true then,” A lilting voice said. “The Princess of Darvori has fallen.”

  An entity with long, flowing hair stood over a font, a star-shaped jewel in its palm. It was a deep sapphire blue with an even deeper crescent-shaped mark at its heart and a silver chain that dangled over the edge of a three-fingered hand. It radiated a faintly glowing light that highlighted luminescent skin and made deep shadows across a rounded face.

  “So I am the next to fall,” it said sadly. “And when I do, all of this place will cease to exist as well.”

  It sighed, addressing the stone. “You and I are already weakened, and the prophesied guardian whom is supposed to appear in times of crisis has failed to manifest. I don’t know why I am surprised—after all, the Mistress is naught more than a child’s tale.”

  It moved th
e gemstone in a circle over the map, the lights and lines shifting across it once again.

  “However, if I am reading this correctly our stars are about to favorably align. I pray that they do—I cannot let you fall into the hands of traitors, but I also cannot continue to protect you on my own.”

  Author’s Note

  Well, this time I almost lost the entire finalized and edited manuscript in a fire.

  Is that really what I want to open this with? Screw it—it’s too late now so let’s just plow ahead!

  Earlier this evening my apartment tried to burn down. It wasn’t the building’s fault—it was the fault of whomever set the fire in the crawlspace underneath it. Fortunately everyone is okay and the fire was quickly put out, but while they hosed down our porch and broke a hole in our wall I was inside frantically packing a bag while copying my work to a flash drive. [I’m usually more on top of my backups, but life has gotten the better of me lately and of course this happens...]

  So anyway, just like the last time I wrote an author’s note, the universe is still waging a war of absurdity on my life. But this time the book was finished on schedule! I’ve won this round, universe! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!

  There was a lot going on in this volume, but I loved writing every single moment of it. Unlike my Atlantis series I was able to wrap up the whole first arc of Feline Warriors within two volumes, and I am really excited about that accomplishment. I had originally wanted to do it as one volume per arc, but by the time I hit what would eventually become chapter six of this volume, I realized that it would be way too long of a book. One of the things I have trouble with is writing on the small-scale; my short stories are too long and my plots usually demand more than one book. And this is after editing things out!

  One of the interesting things about adapting a work I made as a teenager, about teenagers, is that you can really see some of the teenage mindset coming through in the character interactions. From Melissa and Sable’s vastly different internalized insecurities, to Ryan’s flippant humor being a coping mechanism, even to Sara trying to explain her strict upbringing—I’m hoping that you guys find it easy to relate to some of these circumstances, and thus the characters. And if not, then I’m hoping you can at least recognize and empathize with them and their situations.