by R. J. Ross
"And you are Kid Liberty!" Amara says, shaking his hand. "I look forward to seeing your heroics."
"Um, thanks? You're Panther's wife, right?"
"I am!"
"He's one of the ones my Dad insists on me studying closely," Trent says. "I've been watching his work since I was little."
"Oh? Have you learned much?" she asks.
"A ton," Trent says.
"Chinaza will be pleased to hear that," Amara says. She moves on to Max as he drops down from the sky into a full-out bow.
"Lady Panther," he says. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Your husband is one of my role models, you know." He peeks up, grinning wickedly as Amara starts to laugh.
"I can tell," she says. "Thank you for assisting my daughter, Max."
"It's my pleasure," Max says, standing. He's shorter than she is by a good bit, but he doesn't seem to mind.
"Now," Amara says, turning to Zoe. "You!" she says, dragging the girl into a hug. "Thank you so much for becoming my kitty's friend," she says quietly. "I am sure spending the week with you will be a wonderful experience. You will take care of her, will you not?"
"I'm ah, not sure it'll include taking care of her," Zoe admits, "but I think we'll have fun!"
Sunny holds up his arms, clearly expecting a hug, which makes Amara laugh again. "You'll keep your brother from teasing my daughter too much, at least?" she adds with a smile.
"Absolutely," Zoe swears.
"I get a hug, too, right?" Sunny asks in a pathetic tone.
"I suppose," Amara says, letting go of Zoe and hugging the teenage boy. She whispers silently, right next to his ear, "I think her kitten form is adorable, too, you know." He's bright red as she pulls away, looking as if he's been caught red-handed. "You will behave yourself around my daughter, young man," she says more loudly, tapping him on the nose. "Right?"
"Yes ma'am," Sunny says.
"Good. Now I need to say--" she turns, looking at Adanna who has suddenly been attacked from behind by her little brother.
"Danna no go," Cubby says, latched onto the girl tightly.
"Cubby," Amara says, sighing.
***
Tap.
Tap tap.
The picture on the screen gets larger, zooming in on the woman standing next to Death Canyon. For a moment a large, ringed hand hesitates, holding a handful of popcorn to an open mouth. The popcorn falls from his fingers as he focuses on his satellite view. "It's her!" he says. "It's her, it's her--wait--wait--there--" He jerks the controller moving it to the young girl heading for the car. The picture goes to the girl's face, zooming in closely on her light gold eyes.
For a moment he watches her, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Of course he's interested in the school for supers, he's known about the plans for YEARS, but he didn't know that THE Amara Panterus, world famous supermodel had a daughter! Who--oh, how brilliant! Who was a super! Not just supermodel beautiful, no, an actual super!
"I must have her," he says. His hand fumbles for his smartphone, almost knocking it onto the ground as he picks it up. He doesn't dare take his eyes from the screen as he taps on the phone, tapping the first number on the list. "Procurer? Yes, yes, of course you know who I am--yes--I've got a job for you. Money is no object."
***
I will admit to you--not anyone else, of course, but my little brother evokes several feelings from me. He's taken my name, so I find myself resenting him half the time, but the other half--I stare into his blue eyes (I had blue eyes myself until I was five, it's part of the panther ability) and let out a sigh as I crouch down and hug him.
"Cubby," I say, tapping him on the nose. "It will only be for a little while, okay?"
"No go," he repeats urgently.
I reach up, patting his fluffy afro. My brother, as much as he can irritate me, is probably the most beautiful little boy in the world. He has huge dark blue eyes and cocoa colored skin, and a perfectly adorable little nose--okay, maybe I'm biased. But he is way too cute for his own good, that much is true.
"Cubby, I have to go," I say gently. "But it won't be long and you'll get to meet a new kitty, okay? It will tell you all sorts of stories! Then when you get home you can tell them to me," I promise. It's not working--he's starting to cry now.
"Hey, little guy," Sunny says, making me glance up as he comes over. "You want to see a trick?" He stops as Cubby looks at him. "Wow, those eyes," he says, looking stunned.
"Trick?" Cubby asks.
"Yeah!' Sunny says, crouching down next to me. "Watch this." He plunges a finger into the solid, dry dirt, then pulls it out again. A flower starts growing, literally unfurling into a full bloom right in front of our eyes. It's the same blue color as Cubby's eyes. Sunny reaches down, plucking the flower and handing it to Cubby. "Here you go."
Cubby lets out a laugh, taking the flower and snorting it rather than smelling. The tears are completely forgotten just as easily as that. I hate to say it, but I owe Sunny one now. I give him a sharp look and earn a silly grin. "It's got to be worth something, right?" Sunny asks.
"Thank you," I say stiffly as Cubby runs to show Mama the flower. Sunny yawns and stands, offering me a hand.
"It's not a problem," he says. "Your brother's cute."
"So it would be a problem if he wasn't cute?" I ask, ignoring the hand as I stand up. He's shorter than me. I've known that since I started going to this school, but it's pretty obvious this close. Big green eyes and longish black hair with a streak of white hanging over one eye, he's going to grow up to look like Nico, but for now he can be classified as cute, I guess. Especially when he's trying to backpedal like he is now.
"No, it wouldn't be a problem--I mean, I don't think any kid that age isn't cute, that I know of, right? But even if he was ugly it's the same thing--" he stammers out.
"And you think I could have an ugly little brother, now?" I ask. Okay, it's wrong to be enjoying this, but really! He always catches me at my worse moments, I'm going to take advantage of his!
"Absolutely not," he says, raising his hands in front of him in a warding motion. "I mean, that's impossible, right? Especially when he's little like he is--maybe when he's older he could--"
"Oh, so now you think he'll grow up to be ugly!" I say.
"Adanna," Mama says with amusement. "While I understand the urge to pick on him, he will be one of the people taking you in for the week, you know."
"And it's time for school to start," Nico adds. "So we should get going. Tell your mom and little brother goodbye, Cub." I jerk, looking at Mama as he calls me that, but all she does is smile slightly and walk over.
"Take care, kitty cat," she says, hugging me and kissing me on the cheek. "I will see you again soon, with a new family member."
I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my head against her chest. "Have a safe trip," I say.
"We're supers, my love. Even if the plane wrecks, we'll be perfectly fine."
I laugh, hugging tighter for a second before letting go to crouch down in front of Cubby. "You be good for Mama, okay?" I say as he shoves the flower in my face. I laugh, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. "Bye bye, Cubby."
"Bye bye, Danna," he says, leaning forward and kissing me on the lips.
"Mama, he did it again," I complain as he runs for the car, laughing.
"I know, I know," she says. "But he's just a baby, you can't blame him. He loves his pretty big sister. Now goodbye, kitty. You be good!"
I roll my eyes and wave as she gets in the car and the driver takes off, then get in line for the security check leading into the school. "I didn't mean your brother's going to be ugly," Sunny says guiltily from behind me.
"Of course he won't be," I say. "Both of my parents are very good looking."
"Yeah, and you're--" he stops abruptly and I glance back at him, questioningly. "Um... really pretty," he says, not looking at me.
I feel a blush coming on as I turn and touch the panel to enter the school rather than responding to that. He's probably j
ust thinking that because he saw my mother, you know. Sometimes people get ridiculous around me after seeing Mama, although I have no clue why. I'm just me. I'm not nearly as beautiful as Mama is, not with my simplistic braids and boyish body. I've got good muscle structure, not curves.
"Go on, self study time," Nico announces as we go down the steps built into the canyon wall. "Cub, I've set your playground up behind the science building, since you like it so much--"
"I want to see it!" Sunny says, yawning again. "I can stay awake that long."
I don't want him seeing it. I'm pretty sure it's going to be another one of those cat towers like we have in the sanctuary. But he did just help me out a lot, so it would be really rude to go "no, you can't come and look at something your father made for me," right? So silently I trudge along behind Nico as the entire group heads to my little area behind the science building.
It looks like a tree house village, I think, staring in shock at the three small huts built at several different levels on poles. They're big enough for humans, with wide porches all around and connected by ramps and ladders and even rope bridges. There's even a few hammocks hanging from the porches of the huts, swinging lazily and large enough for me to use in human form, much less my cat form. And there are toys everywhere. They hang from the buildings and scatter the ground below.
"Taurus helped," Nico says. "Since none of this is mechanical it's not something I can put together as easily as I usually do."
"Oh, wow," Zoe says. "This looks amazing!"
"I call the hammock!" Sunny says, only to get grabbed by Nico.
"You sleep in the sun on the dirt," Nico tells him. "Leaving you in the shade and out of reach of the dirt is pointless for your growth. Now go take your nap."
"Yeah, yeah," Sunny says, looking mournfully at one of the hammocks before walking away.
"The rest of you," Nico says. "Git."
They head off, leaving him, me, and Taurus, who's lounging in the shade of the tree. Somehow the tree Sunny pulled out of the ground has gotten bigger since yesterday. It's large enough to cast a decent shade over the playground. I look at them both, then down. "Thank you," I say. "But I don't know how much use I'll be able to get out of it--"
"You'll get plenty," Nico says, patting me on the head. "Maybe not at first, but when you get older. And once you're too old for it, your little brother won't be."
"You're right. Cubby will love it," I say, grinning. Impulsively I hug Nico. "Thank you," I say before pulling back and heading for the first hut. I climb up the ramp and slide down into the hammock, getting my balance before I shift into my panther form.
"I do believe she just said the hammocks are all hers," Taurus says with a laugh. I can't help the smug feeling I have as the wind gently rocks my hammock. It's so big that I feel no fear of falling out, so I roll over onto my back, knowing I'm hidden by the tarp material, and promptly take my own nap.
What? Just because I disapprove of Sunny sleeping all the time doesn't mean it sounds like a bad idea! And technically I'm practicing!
CHAPTER THREE
Someone's scratching my chin. I feel my back leg twitch as I wake up slowly, looking up at whoever's petting me. Sunny looks back down, grinning slightly as he pulls his hand away. "We came to visit," he announces.
"This place is awesome," Emily says, walking across the rope bridge that leads to the hut I'm at. I sniff. Not Emily, Ditto. I wonder if she realizes I can tell the difference between them. Then Emily peeks out of the hut. "They have more cat toys in here, Adanna! And what looks like a tunnel!"
I roll over, a bit irritated at being caught off guard so easily, and scramble up the hammock and onto the porch. A flash of light catches my eye as it flicks back and forth in front of me. A part of me wants to yell at her for trying to treat me like a--a--
I pounce, trying to catch the light. I hear Emily laugh as the light slips away again, but I find myself following the light, my tail twitching behind me as I stalk it. I've never realized how fun this game was when you're in cat form. I pounce as it goes still for a second, only to roll head over tail when I overestimate the distance. A hand reaches out, stopping me from going over the edge.
"Whoops," Sunny says. "That would have been bad." I sit up, get to my feet, and stick my nose in the air, strutting past him with my tail raised high. I clearly meant to do that! Not. I am so embarrassed, even more so as he starts laughing. I head for the ramp, wondering why it's suddenly easier to move.
"That nap really helped, didn't it?" Taurus asks, appearing next to the ramp I'm walking down. "You didn't shift back once." I'm still having a bit of trouble with uneven surfaces, I think, trying to keep my balance as I start down. There's another hut in front of me, and I hop onto the porch as soon as I'm sure I can make it, grateful that it's an even surface. Ditto appears in front of me, poofing into existence and making me sneeze at the sudden smell change. I look at Taurus.
"I can make them leave if you want," he offers. "But they offered to help you learn to play. Do you want to take them up on it?"
Light flashes in front of me, dancing over the wooden planks and I look at Ditto and her mirror--then go cross-eyed as the light climbs up my nose and stops between my eyes. She lets out a laugh. "It'll be fun, Adanna!" she says. "And it'll help you--and if I can watch you, maybe I'll be able to change into an animal someday," she says seriously. "It'd be really useful, right?"
So it was a mutually beneficial thing? I hesitate, glancing over at Taurus, who's just standing there leaning on the ramp and waiting for my reaction. Then I look at Ditto and nod. Then I look at Sunny--who has fallen asleep in my hammock with one leg hanging over the side. MY hammock. I head up the ramp back to the porch and jump down on him from above with a nice, loud, "ROWR!"
Somehow it doesn't seem as impressive as I planned it, I think as he wakes up and starts laughing. It will be impressive! It will! In... probably two years or so, okay? Right now he's rocking the hammock he's laughing so hard and I'm digging my claws into his shirt to keep from losing my balance. I climb up his chest, digging and releasing my claws on his shirt until I get to his face. Then I swat his chin. "Rowr!" I say in my best scolding tone.
"She got me," Sunny says dramatically, his head falling back, his arms going down at his sides. He closes his eyes and turns his head, sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth and playing dead.
"You killed Sunny!" Emily says, peeking down from the porch. "Adanna wins! WHOOT!"
I poke Sunny with my paw a few times, seeing if he'll respond, then clamber over his face and sit on his head.
"You kill me, then sit on my head?" Sunny asks, snickering.
Why do I find it easier to play like this than I expected? Especially with Sunny? I'm not that surprised at the fact I'm playing with Emily, but I don't like Sunny! He's lazy! I bat him in the face with my tail, absentmindedly, then climb up the hammock and onto the porch again. I'm tired, I realize. The muscles in this form are delicate and undeveloped, so I plop down on the porch and let out a sigh.
"Poor Adanna," Emily says, crouching down in front of me. "Beating Sunny up is hard work, huh?" She scoops me up in her arms, cradling me against her chest. "I thought you were trained in all sorts of fighting, though."
"Her human form is," Taurus says. "Her cub form is extremely new--and just like a real cub, gets tired quickly. This is the most she's moved around as a cub, too, so it's no wonder she's sleepy. That's what the hammocks are for."
"They're really comfortable," Sunny says.
"They're also Adanna's," Taurus says. "I don't blame her for yelling at you."
Emily is sliding down into one of the other two hammocks, still holding me, and I look at her seriously for a long moment as she sits me down next to her. "There, I'll keep Sunny from bugging you," she says, scratching me behind the ear. "I didn't think you were really mean, you know," she says, making me lift my head and look at her. "I've been bullied before," she explains. "But you're always lecturing me about being careful
about super villains. You've never even looked like you wanted to hit me."
Someone had hit her? Someone had dared hit this adorable girl that keeps trying to make friends with me? I will slaughter them, I think, my lips curling back to reveal fangs. "Hey, why are you so mad?" she asks me, pulling her hand back. "Did I say something wrong?" I reach up, patting her on the leg twice, then start to climb out of the hammock. "Where are you going?" she asks.
I shift back to human form, looking at her. "I am going to take care of your bullies," I say. "It's okay, I know how to clean up afterwards."
She stares at me in shock for a moment, her mouth hanging open, then she grabs the back of my shirt, hauling me back into the hammock. "No! Absolutely no!" she says, wrapping her arms around me to keep me from leaving. "They've already been taken care of. No excess 'taking care of' people!"
"Your boyfriend has taken care of them?" I ask.
"Well, he flicked one of them and sent them flying--they were supers. But what happened is a lot worse," she admits, looking down. "There's a bad lady in the area--we don't know who she is, but she's a super. She took their powers away somehow."
"I see," I say. "I didn't realize that was possible." It's worrisome, too. "Emily?" I say after a second.
"Yeah?"
"I don't think this hammock was built for two."
"It's okay, you fit fine in your panther form!" she says, still hugging me.
"I take it that's a hint," I say with dry amusement. She grins at me shamelessly and I sigh before shifting into my panther form.
"Heeey, I'm feeling abandoned here," Sunny calls out. "And if I fall asleep my Dad will yell at me for not sleeping in the proper place!"
I look at Emily, then climb out of the hammock and trot up the ramp back to the porch that Sunny's hammock is hanging off of. "ROWR!"
And I pounce him again, because he deserves it.
***
"She made several great breakthroughs today," Taurus says to Nico as we finish up our obstacle course class at the end of the day. "The cat tower is a big success--although I think part of it was the chance to launch attacks on Sunny whenever she wanted to without getting in trouble," he admits.
