Curiosity Made The Cat

I grimace as I walk down the street, hood over my head as I try not to reach for my backside. Turns out, simply severing the tail isn't enough to remove it with my new constitution, as it almost immediately started growing back, albeit at a slow pace.

I'd been forced to cauterize the wound to nip it in the bud, add the alcohol and my new metabolism that flushed the crappy painkillers out in minutes and I was incredibly uncomfortable. I'd put my tail's sensitivity somewhere between your genitals and your fingers, so you could see how I'd begun to regret my decision after the first chop.

Regardless of how I felt and how painful the bandages rubbing against what was left of my tail felt, I needed to get a handle on my new abilities. My destination was the ship graveyard, which should have been completely empty this early in the morning. It was sort of cliché due to how many people on PHO assumed that's where capes went to test their powers, but to be honest, it was the best place for it.

Technically in Merchant turf, it was so trashed and worthless not even the lowest scavengers bothered with it. Add all the shortcuts, places to hide, and the police's reluctance to even approach the area, and it was a perfect testing ground for me.

My impression of my capabilities was only confirmed when I finally got there. A punch against a discarded concrete block cracked it with little difficulty. Trained humans could do this, but the lack of even a scratch on my fist could likely only be matched by those weird monks in the mountains.

I was some level of Brute, if my ability to regenerate my tail wasn't obvious enough. But my most prevalent talent was my new agility... I could easily jump six feet into the air while standing, and reaching ten with a running start was effortless.

My attempts to bounce between walls to 'wall run' were disappointing, but that was mainly due to my lack of experience with this sort of thing. A parkour expert I was not, and had never been... Despite this, I could pull off front flips, back flips, and most other tricks I could think of. It was like my brain had been rewired to move like this, I was as comfortable in the air as I had been standing before my trigger...

Testing my new claws was next, and somewhat embarrassingly it took around ten minutes straight to even bring them out. Laugh at me if you want, but it's counterintuitive to have to flex your wrist and hand in a certain way to bring them out... I felt like Wolverine with Parkinson's.

The claws themselves were harder than steel from what I could tell, though not particularly sharp or long, leaving them as a hold-out weapon at best. Hopefully no one would get the bright idea to literally 'disarm' me when they realized this.

My senses were all boosted to the max, to the extent that I could smell a half-rotten rat a hundred or so meters away. To be honest, I could do without this power as Brockton Bay stunk ever more like shit than usual.

Last my list of abilities to test was the big one. Magic...

...

I had literally no fucking idea how to use it.

This was magic from Devil May Cry, as unexplored as it is unexplained. The most I remember is the fact it required magic circles to use, as was seen whenever Dante double-jumped. That's not to say I couldn't feel it, the strange ephemeral, almost gaseous energy filling every part of my body... I could move it too, but my attempts to create any visible effects were futile.

Without someone to teach me, I'd either need to upgrade my skill trees, particularly the devil's imagination magic one if my assumptions of what it was were true. Or, practice it until it clicks naturally.

Obviously, I sincerely doubted I had the time to go that route. So, my arguably most powerful was useless for now.

The only other thing I needed to do before I went back home and waited for the ABB's next move was to see how badly my powers affected my mind. Not something I could find out easily, the only thing I'd managed to nail down so far was an intensifying of negative emotions... Thinking about the ABB, E88, Merchants, or even the PRT put me on edge, like magma was bubbling below my skin and threatening to erupt.

...

With my testing done, I went back home and quickly noticed two ABB gangsters standing at the door to my apartment complex, crossed arms and stern expressions. I'd planned to call Amy or the hospital to check how Mr Hotaro and Takeshita were doing, but I supposed this would come first.

"He wants me then?" I take an educated guess.

-----------------------------

"Nishihara." I greet with a stony face as I sit opposite him in his office.

"Kaibyō-kun. Are you settling down well in this new form of yours?" he gives me a once over, eyes looking at my ass and distinct lack of tail. "I suppose not?"

"Kieu. My name's Kieu."

"Not anymore. Your name is now Kaibyō, forget any affiliation you had with your old life. Your new one begins now." he states as if it was already fact, "Speaking of which, congratulations. You are now the proud owner of a penthouse apartment with a beautiful view of the bay." he tosses some keys in front of me.

"Great..."

"Don't give me that face Kaibyō-kun, you're one of us now." he smiles.

"I wasn't one of you before?" I snort in response, "I recall you saying that once."

He shrugs, "You know what I mean. Before you were a piece, now you're a player. But don't take your favourable situation for granted, you belong to the ABB, move a toe out of line and it won't be me you have to deal with, but Lung and Oni Lee."

...

Nishihara stands from his chair and claps me on the shoulder, "Now, you have a debut to get to."

"Debut?" I suspiciously ask.

He nods, "That Murata-fellow friend of yours caused quite some trouble for us. People are asking the government to step in and respond, as you know, nothing will get the public moving like a martyr, a role you played fantastically in your rant, might I add. So! I pulled some strings and now the Empire is making a move for some of our territory, 'Why should I care?' I can hear you think-"

Yeah...

"Other than the fact I'm ordering you to go, there happens to be a meeting between those who helped organize that protest with your friend. If no one acts, well, I fear for their safety."

...

"So," he continues in response to my silence, "You'll go over there, tear some of them to shreds, and make known the ABB is not lacking in strength. Understand?"

"Understood." I numbly reply. I wasn't against fighting the Empire, but doing it for the ABB was another matter entirely. I'd be cementing myself as a cape affiliated with them... Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a choice either.

He grins at me, "Do be sure to make a show of it, the bloodier the better. Like what you did to my men yesterday... Ah! Before I forget, don't bother returning to your apartment, it's already been stripped and leased to someone else. You'll find your belongings in your new home."

Where you can keep an eye on me? Gee, thanks. Tieu's gonna be pissed when she hears about this.

"When and where should I go to fight the Empire?"

"You'll receive a text an hour before, so be ready to move. You can leave, good luck Kaibyō, and remember, you are not Kieu anymore."

------------------------------

The 'penthouse' I'd been given was actually pretty impressive. It was at the very top of a shabby hotel that'd been refitted with Asian-style decorations. Everything below my place looked two stars at best, with ageing wallpaper and torn-up carpets, but mine? Freshly painted white walls, new wooden panel flooring, clear glass windows overlooking the ocean and parts of the city... They even had a fucking grand piano sitting in the corner!

Clearly, this place was meant for someone else, as they wouldn't have had the time to get this all together since I triggered. Tieu's belongings had been stacked in the hallway, thankfully leaving it all to me to unpack it.

I was only planning on staying here as long as they had Tieu, but I couldn't say it was unpleasant to feel like a millionaire. That said, I had a call to make.

*Beep-Beep...*

*Beep-Beep...*

*Click!*

"Kieu? That you? Your voice sounds. weird." the groggy and tired voice of Panacea says.

"Eh, really?..." I scramble for a response, not having noticed if this was the case or not. Nishihara certainly hadn't cared to mention it.

"Yeah, like smoother...?"

"Ah, I've been working on my vocal range, for singing stuff... Maybe that's it." I say before getting to the meat of things, "Amy, just calling to see if there was any updates on my friends?"

"Oh." her tone falters, "Would you like the good news or the bad news...?"

...

"Good, I 'spose..."

"Mr Hotaro will make a full recovery, I managed to restore his leg to full functionality, I did technically need to make him a new one below the knee but, you know." she mutters, sounding anxious.

"And the bad?" I ask, wondering just what had happened to Takeshita that THE Panacea couldn't heal.

"Well... Mr Hotaro's granddaughter, Takeshita, her blood-brain was damaged and her brain was bruised and she had a serious concussion, which caused massive swelling..." she trails off, "We drilled a hole to release pressure but by then parts of her frontal lobe had already been left too long without oxygen. We aren't sure what kinds of effects this will have on her but you can expect reduced mental abilities, changes in her personality-"

"W-wait, why can't you just, fix it?" I interject, voice hoarse.

"Because I can't do anything to do with brains! I would help if I could but-, it's impossible!"

"Why are you lying to me, Amy? A child is going to be crippled for life and you won't even try? Did you forget I know your true power? This should be well within your abilities!"

"No. Even if I could I wouldn't. Touching someone's brain would be like Mastering them! Turning them into another person! I can't! Never." she responds.

"That's bullshit and you know it! If it were you what would you want? To live with the IQ of an ape or have a HERO help!?"

"I'm sorry but I can't. I won't... A-and you, I saw what you did yesterday! The PRT is going nuts trying to find you, you need to go talk to them before they do something stupid!"

I scowl at my phone, she won't heal Takeshita and she wants me to do this? "I can't." I elect to throw her words back at her instead of cursing her out before ending the call.

This is fucked. I can't even go visit them now that I look like this, and Amy refuses to use her power for some stupid reason... The only thing I can do is pay for their medical bills, which is a worthless gesture in my eyes.

My phone beeps, both from a text from Amy and Canary... I check the latter and grimace at the pop star asking about yesterday too.

I sigh and ignore her texts for now, just as I receive one from the ABB, listing the location I need to be.

Good, just in time to blow off some steam.