Beginnings of the Cat Burglar
“Do I even matter to you?” Kristen asked as her voice cracked. Did she ever?
With an exaggerated sigh, her friend pushed back her hair and finally sat her phone down. “Of course, Krissy, but it’s my parents that have money. Not me.”
That wasn’t what the girl said last week, or even the other day when she bragged about her two thousand dollar purse, or the five-carat diamond necklace hanging around her neck. “Can’t you ask them? I can pay them back, eventually. I swear. You know I can.”
Her best friend rolled her eyes with a scoff. Her. Best. Friend. “They’ll just say no. Sorry Krissy, but they just don’t like you.”
Probably because Rosie had lied to them again. “We’ve been best friends since primary—” She bit her tongue, and looked down at the ground, hands clenched in fury and sadness. “She’ll die without this treatment…”
“Can’t you just fill out some paperwork and get it for free?”
Something they had already done. That she had just told her an hour ago that her mom had been denied.
“Oh. You want anything when I head in?” They were parked outside the girl’s favorite coffee shop. “You can just pay me back next week. You still get paid on Thursdays, right?”
The car door shut before Kristen could get a word out, and the girl jangled away with that damned fluffy, purple purse. Why was she always her friend’s chauffer? She didn’t even like coffee, or going shopping, or taking care of the dogs when Rosie’s family went on vacations. She was never paid for any of that. Not even a penny towards gas. Never even asked about…
Before Kristen knew it, she was back on the road, leaving her friend at the coffee shop after throwing the girl’s things out the window. Screw her. And her parents too. Screw them all! “I’ll show them. I’ll help mom without anyone else. Screw everyone!”
Kristen pulled at her old leotard. She really should have planned this better. But still, here she was, slinking through an office with a mask on in her old gymnast’s outfit, modified to fit and cover more skin. “Honestly, what was I even thinking?” That was the fourth time she had thought those words. This bank was where her mother had worked before getting sick. She knew the other employees. They had always treated her well when the babysitter had abandoned them for the day. But she also knew the place had insurance. They’d get all the money back. They wouldn’t miss it.
She had shattered a window on the second floor and snuck in, thankful that her normally useless power was actually helpful for once besides sleeping uninterrupted. Every sound within five hundred feet was made silent when she activated it. Most of the people she knew, Rosie included, mocked her for it. Yet, for once in Kristen’s life, she was actually thankful for it. There was no way she’d be able to pull off this breaking without it. Well, that and knowing the alarm code that hadn’t changed in over two years.
Still, one half of her mind raged against the other. Her mom had taught her for years that stealing was wrong. Yet here she was, stealing from her mom’s old job in order to save the woman who had raised her. As she stood in front of the now opening vault, she knew which side had won.
Most banks didn’t have much cash on hand anymore, almost all of it was digital. But sitting before her was still a nice pile of dough, well in the boxes at least. She wished it was a real pile. Kristen had always dreamed of swimming in a pile of cash. She stepped into the main vault, using her swiped master key to unlock each of the boxes, throwing the cash into her bag, and putting any personal items back in. By the time she was halfway done, he was actually considering leaving. Her bag was stuffed to the brim, and the money should be enough to help her mom.
“—maybe say, paw in the air?” She whirled around, grabbing her chest in shock, and gaping at the man standing behind her. “Oh, can you hear me now?”
Her power! She made to reactivate it, but the man waved for her to stop. “Hold on a minute. You know how long I’ve been practicing my lines? At least have the common decency to listen to one before I arrest you.”
Arrest her? She squinted at the man. He definitely looked familiar but… “Who says you’ll catch me?” Kristen was sure she was busted now. There was no way she could escape whoever this was.
“Seriously?” He stepped forward, and she could finally see his eyes. His bright orange eyes.
“Cameron…” she breathed in shock. The man that every kid looked up to, the hero of heroes. He practically towered over her as he moved closer, backing her up against the safety deposit boxes.
“Finally recognize me then? Now then, where was I? Ah, right. Paws in the air, Kitty Cat, your days of cat burglary are meowver.”
She cringed at the last joke and cursed herself for grabbing the cat party mask to hide her face. “How’d you find me?” Eyes darting around, she looked for any and every opening to get past this Class Six Hero.
“Complete accident.” He shrugged. “Was yawning in the alleyway when you shattered that window. Was curious when I didn’t hear any sound. I’ve been practicing my lines behind you this entire time. Had a few really good ones… but I forgot.”
It was funny. Kristen would have given anything to meet this man growing up, and here she was finally meeting her hero. He was the man everyone loved, the man who had a heart of gold. He was one of the few heroes that had actually come up from nothing… just like her.
“Please let me go.”
His eyes were sad, “Sorry kid. But we’re both on camera. Even if you dropped the money now, you’d still probably have to pay for the window. The breaking and entering part. They’ll need to know how you got in, the codes and everything. Minimum’s a massive fine.”
“My mom’s sick. She needs this treatment.” Her mom needed her. Damn the money.
“Maybe we could work something out. But for now, drop the bag.”
A thousand thoughts ran through her mind as she tensed up.
“Don’t try it.” He warned.
Kristen twisted, planning to throw the bag, but she froze as Cameron’s eyes narrowed and his ears flicked.
“Hold on.” He whispered. “Can you make the radius of your power smaller?”
What? “Uh, yeah?”
“To just yourself?”
“I just have to concentrate?”
“Good. Do it.” He turned around, putting his hands in his pockets, and strutted out of the vault. She did as instructed, but stepped up to the door and peeked out. With enough of a squint, she saw a dark figure walking through the darkness over Cameron’s shoulder. She couldn’t make out the face.
“Mike!” her hero shouted. Mike, as in Mike Minoda? Another member of Cameron’s Hero Group? “What are you doing here?”
A half muffled voice echoed from the dark. “How’d you know it was me?”
“You know how good my hearing is!” Cameron shouted back. “So, what’s your answer?”
“Answer?” the man finally stepped close enough to where Kristen could see him. And while his face was covered, she could easily see his agitated twitching from here.
“Mike… what’s going on?”
“Nothing. Nothing… But listen, I need some help. I’m injured.”
“Injured?” Cameron shuffled forward, hands still in his pocket. But she could easily hear the worry in his voice.
“Yeah. I saw you come in. Just uh. Come here one second. I need to lean somewhere.”
Cameron took two steps forward, but something caught Kristen’s eye. In the shadows, something was moving.
“Where are you injure at? How?” Cameron was asking as he strode forward.
No. Nothing was moving in the shadows, the shadows themselves were writhing, heading straight for the Hero.
“Look out!” She screamed, but nobody moved… Her power! She threw the bag of money at a nearby table, knocking down a computer, sending it clattering to the floor. Cameron turned, confusion on his face. But it was good timing. He twisted and a crystal shield leaped from his feet, stopping the hardened darkness from skewering him.
“Damn it!” Mike shouted and rushed forward, a knife made of shadows forming in his hand.
Kristen jumped behind the desk, grabbing for the money as the sound of fighting roared into existence. She squeezed her eyes shut as crystal shattered, and the building shook. There were gasps, and guttural cries, but still, she merely ducked her head into her arms, and wait. And waited until a hand found her shoulder. She jerked up, staring fearfully at the bloody man.
“Hey, hey,” he muttered, “it’s me.”
It was Cameron, covered in cuts and bruises, with a solid black eye. “Are you—”
“Listen kid. You need to go, now.” He pulled her to her feet.
She felt her worry creep up once more. “But the cameras?”
“What cameras?”
She looked around and couldn’t believe her eyes. The entire second floor was gone. A large chunk of the first floor as well. She looked down at her desk and noticed a small wave of crystal jutted out, surrounding it as a protective barrier. The wall behind her was no more. “What happened?”
“Two Class Sixes just went at it.” He muttered. “Now go kid. You can’t be seen anywhere near here.”
“Why’d Minoda attack you?”
“Go!”
“But—” Sirens wailed in the distance, and Kristen bit her lip.
“Go help your mom, kid. I’ll handle this. Consider it her lucky day.”
Finally, Kristen relented and spun, taking off toward a pile of rubble to slide down, fear tugging at her heart. At least she could finally help her mother.
Three days later, from her mom’s hospital room, she had to turn the tv on after a Nurse shouted about the news. And there she saw Cameron, looking dead on his feet, staring into the sky as a chopper circled above him. All around him was rubble, and Kristen recognized it as the man’s base. It was heart wrenching to see. But then a video began to play, but there seemed to be no volume. She frowned as a newscaster narrated the events. One of the other heroes was livestreaming near the entrance, a guest that was visiting the world’s strongest. He panned his camera towards the entrance, just as Cameron walked in, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. The other heroes looked almost… stressed. They were glancing between each other, shuffling awkwardly. Several even glanced at their visitor as he filmed everything. But just as Julia, Cameron’s girlfriend, stepped forward, everything went downhill. Benny was nearest to the entrance, and a wave of crystals skewered him. The other five froze, which was their downfall, as Julia and Sogin perished next. The streamer ran at that point, and the way the news castor spoke, it seemed like he had made it out alive. But as he ran, the building shook, and the rest of the heroes finally stepped forward, ready for a fight. After the stream cut off, the camera switched back to the helicopter, as Cameron continued to stare hollowly into the sky.
Kristen didn’t know what to think. She just knew her stomach was twisting as the stream rewinded and started again.