A few hours later, Amy thought she was about ready to cast her first spell. It was going to be a spell to cause a small gush of water to form out of the air when the cat crosses a circle she would put in front of the door. Cat steps in, FWOOSH! Wet kitty! It sounded all perfect... or purrrrrfect even! But first she needed some ingredients.
Amy headed outside, and started looking for some of the cat's hair. Since she had already washed the porch she didn't expect to find any there, but maybe there was some on the fence, on a hole the cat used to get into her yard. It was dark out so she had a flashlight in hand... but stepping outside, her foot landed with a soft sploosh... the cat had pissed on the door again! That nails it! Amy angrily thought, That cat is going to GET it! Kneeling down, she looked around for some hair before she washed the porch again... and was lucky enough to find a few strands stuck in the door frame! She quickly grabbed them, put them into a piece of paper, folding it up and putting it in her pocket. Then she dutifully went around and got the hose to wash the door down again. When she was done, she took the piece of paper with the hairs in it, and dragged it along a small circle in front of the door to mark the area to be enspelled.
When she got back upstairs, folded paper in hand, she locked the door and shut off the lights. She went into her cabinet and pulled out 5 white candles, a large sheet of paper, and a red marker. Drawing a large circle on the paper, she put 5 dots evenly spaced around it with a large dot in the center. Placing the candles on the dots, she lit each one in turn. Next, she took out the piece of paper with the cat hair in it, opening it up and dumping the contents onto the circle. It was dark, however, and she didn't notice that one of her own hairs had fallen onto the paper.
Tossing aside the piece of paper, she picked up her 'spell' book, already dogeared to the right page. Reading it over again, confirming the directions, making sure she had it right. Amy picked up a small glass of water she had sitting on her dresser, dipped her finger in it, and let the drops fall on the dot. While she was doing this she muttered the 'incantation' as it were, to activate the spell.
In the back of Amy's mind, she really didn't think this was gonna work but was gonna give it a shot anyway. But as she started speaking the words to the spell, she felt a strange chill creep up her back, making her hairs stand on end. Wow I think this actually might work! she thought, and continued on. Sticking her finger onto the dot, she rubbed in a circular motion, to make sure the cat hairs got completely wet (and getting part of the strand of her hair wet as well). Finally, finishing the incantation, she sat back, and looked around the room. Nothing was happening. The chill had left her, and there was no movement in the room, no sounds at all.
Shoot... I don't think it worked... Amy thought. Crap! I knew this was a waste of time! With that she blew out the candles and went into her bathroom to get ready for bed, leaving the materials on the floor. She got out of her clothes and put on her nightshirt. While she brushed her teeth, she scratched a slight itch at the small of her back, but didn't pay much attention otherwise. Amy looked at herself in the mirror, wondering what she was gonna do about that pesky cat, about having to do her brother's chores, and a million other thoughts going through her head. She picked up her hair brush to get the tangles out of her long blonde hair, with some hot pink highlights she had put in just for fun. She thought they looked cute. Oh well, she sighed. There's always tomorrow... just another day... With that, she took off her glasses, set them on the counter, and sauntered off to bed.
While Amy slept, the spot where she had itched had slowly grown a slight bulge. It was slowly getting bigger and bigger, and then started elongating, growing outward, forming a nub of a tail. Sleeping on her back, she began to feel the pressure on the mattress, and rolled to her side, becoming somewhat perturbed in her sleep. The nub kept growing, a light layer of hair had started to grow on it. In fact, hair all over her body had started to grow, becoming thicker by the hour. In her sleep, she started feeling slightly hot, so she kicked the covers off subconsciously. She had started itching as well, scratching under her chin and on her chest. This somewhat woke her up, so she sat up groggily, stretching her arms up high above her as she let out a big yawn. Getting off her bed, she put her hands on her hips and stretched backwards, then headed to the bathroom.
She flicked on the light, and instincively shut her eyes to the bright light until they had time to adjust. When they did she stopped dead in her tracks, staring at herself in the mirror. Oh... my... god... she had no idea what to think, what to make of what she was staring at, What the hell happened to me! She reached a hand slowly up to her face, which was now covered with a light mat of pink fur! She brought both her hands to her eyes to rub, perhaps she was dreaming, then stopped and stared at her hands, they were covered in fur too! She was completely covered, from head to toe in the stuff. Amy put her hands on her temples in panic, pulling her hair outwards from her hair... which she just realized had lost its blonde color and turned a pale white... even the pink dye was gone! She was freaking out at this point, and then she noticed her ears... the tips had started growing into a point! They weren't sharp, and had some slight rounding, but definitely pronounced and noticable.
"Oh my GODDD!!!" Amy said almost too loudly, and instantly covered up her mouth with her... 'hands'. I can't let my parents see me like this! What am I gonna do? Twirling around to go out of the bathroom she felt something hit the counter... something that was attached! Looking over her back she nearly fainted at what she saw. Sticking out of her lower back, just above her tailbone, was an honest to goodness bona fide TAIL... covered with the same pink fur on the rest of her body. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch it... and FELT the touch, pulling her hand back in shock. "Oh my god I have a tail," she muttered. "I have a TAIL. A TAIL!!! What the f..." As Amy spoke she unconsciously flexed her muscles, and the tail actually -twitched-. And she felt that too!
Needless to say Amy was freaking out about all this. Her brain was running a mile a minute trying to figure out what happened. She walked back out into her room, trying to sort it out. Then, accidentally, she kicked one of the candles from the spell she had tried earlier. Amy ran over and turned on her bedroom light, then knelt down on the floor next to the sheet of paper. She looked closely at it... 5 candles, red circle, cat hairs, water. Everything that she needed was there... Wait... her eye had noticed something. Bending closer, she sighed, and picked up a strand of what looked like her own hair. But it was bleached white now, not blonde anymore. I... I must've messed that spell up... my hair shouldn't have been there... and somehow... somehow it affected ME instead!!! She had calmed down slightly now... Well, as calm as anyone who just turned herself into a cat could be!
She sat back on her rear, folding up her knees in front of her and wrapping her hands around them. What am I gonna do? Oh! She had a sudden epiphany, Maybe there's a counterspell or something in that book! She picked it up from the floor and started thumbing through it. After about 10 minutes of searching, she threw the book across the room in frustration. Nothing! she thought. Not one damned thing. Gaah! Amy was starting to get very stressed now. She had no idea what she was gonna do, definitely no way she was going to get back to sleep now. On her dresser her eyes ran across a picture of Tim, her boyfriend. What am I gonna tell Tim? He'd never understand what I got myself into! With a sigh, she slumped into her bed. Looking at her clock, the time read 3:15am. Middle of the night. What was she gonna do? She was gonna have to leave. She was gonna have to leave until she could figure out how to get herself fixed, so to speak.
It was going to be the most difficult thing she'd ever done. Taking a deep breath, she went into her closet to dig out a small travel bag. She started packing some clothes and some belongings in, including a picture of her family and her boyfriend. She also stuffed the book of spells in her bag. She picked up the candles and put them away, and crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it away. She grabbed another piece of paper to write out a quick note on it, tears forming in her eyes as she wrote.
I'm Sorry-
Something horrible happened to me and I had to leave.
I'll return once I fix it, but please understand I had to
go. I love you all very much, and don't worry, I'll be
safe.
Love,
Amy
-----------------
((that's all for tonight folks. chapter 1 - Arrival in Paragon, tomorrow! 
And of course, as always, comments/feedback/criticism WELCOME! ))
The first colors of dawn loomed on the horizon, and Amy stared blankly into space, sitting in the doorway of the rail car she had stowed away on. Her bag was sitting safely behind her, the only other things in the car were some piece of debris and garbage from whatever was it in previously. The wind blew her pale white hair around her face, but she didnt pay much attention. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Earlier, after she had managed to sneak out of her window and out into the world, she had no idea where to go. She wandered aimlessly for a bit. It wasnt a big town, but it wasnt that small either. Backyardsville Indiana she always called it, but its real name was Evansville. Stuck in the 'butt-end' of Indiana, the one corner outside the box that was even in a completely different time zone. She hated that place. She had always wanted to leave, but didn't know where to go. College? Maybe... she was certainly smart enough and her grades were pretty good. But what would she do? What kind of career was she supposed to lead? Amy was one of these people who delved into a little bit of everything but never became a real expert. She knew a lot about this and that and the other, but nothing ever really caught her attention.
One day, however, when she was in a bookstore, she happened across a little book about witchcraft and spellcasting. Amy always kind of like the arcane and the occult, but never really made that knowledge public. After all, admitting to something like that in her little neck of the woods probably would've made her an outcast... and then she'd have to wear all black and go hang out with the weird crowd. She wouldn't have that. So she bought the book discreetly, took it home and thumbed through it every now and again. Something she'd have to play around with, someday. Try a few little cantrips, a few little blessings and such, just to have some fun and see if they would actually work. She'd always been something of a skeptic, Amy would have to be shown in order to believe it.
But right now, she was definitely believing it. She looked down at her arms and her hands, idly tugging at the pink fur covering them, as if trying to confirm she wasn't dreaming, or maybe that the fur would somehow fall off of its own accord. Where could she possibly go now... she'd never be accepted anywhere in her current condition. If the doctors didn't lock her up or send her off to the government for experiments, she'd probably be tossed out into the streets and left to rot.
The train tracks turned slightly, coming parallel to an interstate highway. Looking up, there wasn't much traffic at this time in the morning and this far out into the country, but the day was getting brighter. She'd soon have to close the traincar door so she wouldn't be seen. But then, she noticed something. A highway sign, showing distances to offramps and to the next town... but a line stood out for her. Paragon City - 783 mi. Paragon City, hmm... she thought, I've heard about some of the neat things happening there, all the superheroes and whatnot... maybe someone there could help me?. Digging out her mini pocket map, she looked and noted that the rail line she was on headed straight there... apparently some major shipping route to the eastern seaboard. Her outlook brightened as the sun broke the horizon.
((forgot to cross post these ))
As the train pulled into the Paragon City loading docks, it had been a whole day. Amy had been sleeping uncomfortably on the floor of the rail car, but was jolted awake as the train rumbled to a stop, the hiss of the brakes pulling her from a restless sleep. She got up and slowly inched the door open, peering around. It was night again, and a quick glance at her watch told her it was almost morning. She could hear the station workers talking, starting to open the doors of all the rail cars to start unloading the cargo. She had to move fast so she wouldn't be seen. Hopping down, she clutched her bag tightly to her, and looked around, trying to figure out where to go. A few trains away she saw what looked to be a passenger train, the lower cargo doors open and men unloading luggage and suitcases. Carefully she creeped over, looking over everything, when her eyes alighted on several garment bags. Amy reached over, unzipping one, finding a tan hooded coat. Perfect... she thought, as she carefully worked it out of the bag, discarding the hanger. None of the men had noticed, they were casually milling around, catching up on old times apparently. She retreated back into the shadows between the trains, putting on the coat and pulling the hood tight over her head to cover her face.
Casually, she hopped up on the train platform and nonchalantly walked out of the station, keeping her head down and trying not to attract attention. Reaching the street she saw the lights of Paragon City for the first time, and she was absolutely awed. There were skyscrapers everywhere. The eerie blue glow of the Rikti War Walls also caught her eye, because she had no idea what they were. The streets were buzzing with cars and people walking around, cops waving to citizens, construction workers hauling around large loads of lumber on their shoulders. There was so much activity here she didn't know what to make of it. Across the street was a bus stop, she figured that'd probably be her best bet to find somewhere to go. But where? Darting across the street, avoiding some rather poor drivers who seemed to not notice her crossing, she stepped into the small covered stop, eyeing the map on the wall. You are here an arrow pointed, near what looked like some docks or a port of some kind. Well, that makes sense, train goes to dock, cargo goes to ship, and off to the world, she thought. She looked at the bus schedule. It seemed that after a few stops here, it went on to a suburb called Galaxy City. It looked like there was some kind of central administration building there, maybe a library of some kind, perhaps she could find something there.
A bus pulled up, the doors open and Amy got on, dropping a pair of quarters into the fare box. The bus was empty, a little strange at this time of morning, normally back home people would be heading to work right about now. Home... it seemed so far away now. But, nevertheless, she was here now, and there wasn't going to be any way back, at least not any time soon. She took a seat near the back of the bus, keeping her head down and the hood low around her face, keeping her features obscured in shadow. She had no desire to let herself be seen by anyone, she had no way of knowing how people would react.
Rumbling down the streets for about a half hour, the bus finally came to a stop in front of a large building, with an even larger statue of some heroine behind it. Freedom Corps Headquarters was the banner across the front, and there were several people milling about in front, including a rather large brawny looking man. Amy slowly walked up towards him, trying to gather in everything that was going on around her. Off to the sides of the big man, were two quite smaller women, dressed in red and white tights. Apparently they were of some importance, since there were quite a few oddly costumed folks clustered around them. Beyond them were the doors to the building, and Amy decided she maybe should go inside and see if she can find some kind of information desk.
Walking inside, there was a large line formed off to the sides, half of the people standing there had on bright costumes of their own... apparently other superheroes looking for information as well. More than a few folks were zipping back and forth between the doors, and down a massive staircase at the other end of the hall. Figuring her best shot was the line, she took her place at the end, all the while keeping her head down.
After what seemed like ages, Amy finally reached the desktop, where a dreary-eyed receptionist lady tapped away on a computer, finishing up the paperwork of the last person. She looked up at Amy without breaking her typing rhythm, and said noticed the hood pulled around her face. "Well pull that hood down dear," she said almost sarcastically, "so I can see who I'm registering."
Amy hesitated for a second, and then slowly pulled it back far enough to show her face but not to those behind her. "Hi..." she said, "listen, I'm looking for-"
The lady interrupted her. "Name?"
"N-..um Amy. Amy Pierce... look, I just need-"
"Superhero name?" The lady obliviously continued.
"Sup... what? I don't have one, I'm no supe-" The lady looked up at her because she wasn't getting quick and concise answers that she was expecting. She noticed immediately her ears. "Well you look like a pink kitty. I'll put in SuperKitty, alright?" Amy stood dumbfounded, opening her mouth to say something but was quickly interrupted again. "Powers?"
"P-p-p... Um.. look, I'm just looking for some help here. See I cast this spell and-"
Amy was again interrupted. "Magic based. Got 'cha." The lady kept typing, then finally hit enter. A small camera on top of the desk flashed, making Amy blink, then and a printer behind the counter started buzzing to life. In a few seconds, a small already laminated card popped out, which she handed over to Amy. "This is your hero registration card. Go down the stairs and to the left to the MAGI offices to talk to your first contact, Gregor Richardson" she said monotonically, as if she had said the same thing a million times before. "Have a nice day, and welcome to Paragon City. NEXT!!!"
At this point Amy was somewhat pushed aside by the next person in line. Unsure of what to do she started confusedly walking over to the staircase as she was told to, staring at this hero card. SuperKitty? she thought. What did I just do? What's a MAGI? She wandered down the steps, looking at the offices there, with giant signs above each...DATA... GIFT... SERAPH... ELITE. Finally, looking to her left she saw the MAGI offices... the Modern Arcane Guild of Investigation. She walked inside, knocking lightly on the door. There didn't seem to be anyone present. "Hello...?" Amy tentatively called out. "Is there anyone here?"
"What? Yes... Hello!" Came a voice from behind a row of artifacts in display cases. "Yes, can I help you young miss?" A man stood up, an bunch of dingy looking scrolls stuffed under one arm.
Amy looked at him, and continued, "Yes... the lady at the front told me to come here and talk to you... Listen, I'm just looking for some help-"
"Listen, kid, if you want to help," the man interrupted. Seems to be a pretty common thing around here. "I want you to run this artifact to a buddy of mine. I need him to tell me some more about it. Can you do that for me? If so then I'll help you with whatever you need. Okay?" He took what appeared to be a small statue off another counter, handing it to her. "He's just up the road a ways. You be careful on your way, there's lots of thugs around and they wouldn't hesitate to rip you into pieces. But nothing to worry about! You look like you can take care of yourself!" With that he placed a hand on her shoulder and roughly turned her around to head out the door. "Let me know what he says!" Then he turned around and apparently got back to whatever he was doing.
Amy was dumbstruck. People were kind of rude around here!!! But how was she supposed to find help? She didn't even know what was going on. Looking down at the statue, she wondered what its significance was. Well... he did say that he'd help me if I help him. So let's go find this guy he was talking about. Pulling her hood down again, she headed out of the Freedom Corps building into the wild wonder that is Galaxy City.
Let me be the first to say, good story. I like Superkitty. Even if she is a cat.
I agree, this story is very well thought out, it gives a nice representation to what new super heroes might go through, as well as a very nicely detailed world.
I noticed a few mistakes, but nothing too big.
But otherwise its very good, I like it 
Mistakes? Where! *looks around*
I'm a perfectionist, I'd like to know where I made mistakes at, if you don't mind.
Btw I'll get back to writing more of her story, I still have like two more chapters outlined that I want to do, I've just had some rl issues happen that kind of took my mind off track. It'll come back soon!
(yes crossposted from the Virtue boards, but I'd like feedback from the bigger community as well!)
Journal of SuperKitty!
Rated PG for mild language and themes
Prologue
"Amy! Will you take out the garbage?" "Yes mom...." came the grumbled reply. Why can't she make John do it? He's the boy, but nooo I'm always having to do it, Amy thought to herself as she grabbed the tiestrings on the trashbag, lifting it out of the can. She wasn't having a very good day. First she missed the bus, so she had to walk to school in the pouring rain, falling in a puddle on the way there as well. Then during her first period English class, which she was late to by the way, the teacher had a pop quiz waiting for her, and of course she hadn't studied one bit. Who wants to read MacBeth when you can sit and chat on AIM all night? Then, she found that she had forgotten to get her lunch money, so she had to mooch off others just to eat. On the way home she realized that she left one of her books in her locker, something she really needed in order to do her homework for tonight. So it was kind of the straw on the camel's back for her mother to ask her to do her brother's chores.
Amy really didn't like school all that much anyway. She pretty much just did what was needed to pass her classes, dispite being really smart. She understood everything the teachers were talking about, she normally blazed through her homework but routinely got bored in class. School, to her, was just one more obstacle on her way out of this dumb town. She was sick of it all, she wanted more excitement in her life. The only thing keeping her here, besides school and lack of a car, is her boyfriend Tim. He's always been wonderful to her, always there when she needed a pick-me-up, a hopeless romantic, funny and witty, popular, all that. She might've even been falling in love with him, but the prospect of that kind of scared her.
As she opened up the kitchen door to the backyard, a cat jumped up from the doorstep and darted off into the bushes along the fence. "Dammit! Stupid cat! MOOOOMMMM! The neighbor's cat pissed on our door again!!!!" Amy yelled back into the house.
Her mom's far off voice replied, "So wash it up dear, I'm busy!" GRRRR!!!! Amy growled lowly to herself as she stepped over the small puddle of cat pee at the bottom of the doorstep. "I am SOO gonna teach that cat a lesson!!" she said. After depositing the also-stinky bag of trash in the main trashcan, she walked around the side of the house and unreeled the garden hose. Turning the faucet on she aimed it at the door to wash the stuff away.
Great... just great... Amy thought. That's the SIXTH time this week I've had to wash up this stupid cat piss. I need to figure out how to get it to stop! Aside from running it over with a lawnmower, ha ha! Walking back inside, and upstairs to her room, she noticed a small book on her dresser. 'Witch's Guide to Simple Spells' was the title. It was just a little knickknack book she picked up at the dollar bookstore, something to idly read and be minorly entertaining. Hmmm.... maybe... she thought, maybe I can try to cast a spell to do something to that cat... maybe soak it or make it change colors or something, really freak it out... Amy picked up the book, plopped onto her bed and started reading...