FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is a new idea I've been kicking around for a while. This introduces a new world and establishes the background for the two main characters. While their story will continue, I'm open for ideas on other stories within this setting. I'd also like to thank those who've donated and commissioned me; anyone who's interested check my commission link to find out how.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy my new story. All constructive critcisim, as always, is welcome.

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Bound to an old fashioned torture rack, surrounded by criminals and with a dull ache in the back of my head. When I had planned on a surprise for my one year anniversary with my girlfriend Katie Felid, this was not exactly how I pictured my day ending.

"Silly doggie; that's what you get for trying to stop the Mewstress' Kittens." The catgirls surrounding me giggled as I tried to break free of the ropes tying me down. Their exact breeds and levels of furriness varied; the girl immediately to my right just had black ears and a tail to go with her raven black hair and otherwise human body, while a tiger morph to my left was covered in fur and lacked any kind of human hair. In fact, the only thing uniform about the women that surrounded me was the simple white dresses they all wore and the collars around their necks. Some of them had little metal nametags hanging off their collars, while others had little jewels of various shapes and sizes.

Somewhere behind me I heard a door opening. I couldn't see who it was, but judging by the way all the girls eyes immediately snapped toward that direction, it was a safe guess it was whoever was in charge. That and the feminine voice that followed told me this was probably the Mewstress.

"So, my beautiful kittens..." A soft purr filled the room as my sensitive canine ears picked up the sound of padded feet slowly moving closer to us. "I see you bought back a present for me."

"Yes, Mewstress." I caught a glimpse of my wallet being handed off to someone out of sight as the black haired girl spoke. Her tone was very brief and to the point. "This is Xavier Spitz. He was there at the jewelry store. He tried to stop us."

"Did he, now?" Try as I might, I couldn't move my head to get a better look at the Mewstress as I heard her moving behind me. She read the information off my driver's license, confirming my identity. "Brown eyes and hair, silver and white fur, husky morph, 5'10"... hmm; looks like he's lost a little weight since this picture was taken, but yes, this is him. You say he tried to stop you?"

"Yes, Mewstress." Another girl out of my sight spoke, but I recognized her voice as the girl who grabbed the necklace that I was planning on purchasing for Katie. I know it was stupid, but when I saw her about to get away with the necklace I'd been saving up to purchase as a surprise anniversary gift, I reacted and tried to grab it back. We had a brief tug of war battle, a battle I quickly lost when one of her cohorts knocked me out cold from behind. Goodbye, Sapphire City jewelry store. Hello, creepy dungeon.

"Well, that was quite foolish of him. Don't you know you should just let the thieves have what they want, silly dog?" A slight yelp escaped my throat when I felt a sharp claw gently and suddenly run down the length of my arm. I briefly caught a glimpse of a black furred paw and a golden bracelet around her wrist before it was pulled out of view. "What should we do with him, girls?"

That question sent off a flurry of excited responses. Each girl seemed to have their own ideas, none of which sounded too appealing to me.

"Turn him into a Kitten! We can always use help getting things for Mewstress!"

"No, Mewstress! Make him a pleasure pet!"

"Make him a servant! Mewstress can always use more servants!"

"Hmm; all good suggestions, my pets, but I have a better idea." The Mewstress purred gently as she waived off her pets requests. "It's been a while since I've had a good scratching post..."

"Huh?" The girls shared a look of confusion; this didn't seem familiar to them. A few of them even looked a little bothered by the suggestion, a feeling I could agree with.

"Yes, that sounds lovely. I'm afraid you're all going to have to leave me and my new toy alone, though." Behind me, I could hear something that sounded like a switchblade being flicked open again and again. I could imagine the Mewstress sliding each of her retractable claws out, one by one. "It's been a while since Mewstress had something to take out her frustration on, and I know how much you girls hate seeing me being violent."

Sharp claws dug into my shoulder as that black furred hand grabbed me tight. A second later the owner of that hand was straddling my waist, her other paw sliding onto my other shoulder and squeezing tight. That was the first time I got a good look at the Mewstress, and what I saw both amazed and terrified me. She was a beautiful woman, moved with a grace that seemed unnatural even for a feline, and her jade green eyes entranced me even as they looked me over like a helpless prey animal.

The Mewstress purred as her claws gently traced over my body, the panthers claws leaving their marks in my brown t-shirt as she explored. Her red dress looked much more exquisite and made of a nicer material than the simple dresses the Kittens wore. Also unlike the Kittens, she wore no collar. Instead she wore a pair of golden bracelets around each of her wrists, a large jade gem imbedded in each of the large bands.

"Go ahead, girls. I'm going to take some time to enjoy my new toy now." The Mewstress' tail flicked back and forth against my legs as her girls started to leave. She had no hair on her body beside her fur, her rounded ears easily visible atop her head. Her dress covered most of her body, but couldn't completely downplay her feminine attributes. While not overly large, her breasts filled out the dress quite nicely, and the large rump that was resting against my groin as she straddled my waist was hard to ignore. Honestly, it was kinda arousing, minus the threats of slicing me up.

"That's it, girls. I'll let you know when I'm done." I swallowed hard as her eyes watched her servants leaving, the muscles in her slight arms shifting subtly as her claws continued to lightly scratch their way across me. Despite her slight and feminine frame, with those claws I knew she'd have no problems following through on her threats exactly as described.

"Too bad; you seem kinda cute too." I heard the heavy door swing open behind me as the Mewstress gently ran a claw underneath the side of my muzzle. I tried hard to keep my composure and not show how scared I really was. "Still, I have to make an example of you. No one interferes with the Mewstress and gets away with it!"

Suddenly she bought both hands up, claws fully extended as she prepared to strike. Her eyes flicked toward the door as it closed with a solid slam, leaving us alone in the torture chamber. A second later her claws slashed down toward me, beginning their terrible, bloody work.

SHHRIP! SHHRIP!

I closed my eyes and muzzle as tight as I could, not wanting to watch or give her the satisfaction of listening to me scream as she started to tear me up. I started to apologize to everyone who had wronged me in the past and those I had wronged, giving and asking for forgiveness as I prepared to meet my maker. My biggest regret was my last interaction with Katie, a woman I was seriously considering spending the rest of my life with, had left her feeling cold and ignored.

SHHRIP! SHHRIP!

...Huh. I would think getting torn up like this would hurt a lot more. Not that I'm complaining exactly, but still, I'm not really feeling anything at all.

SHHRIP! SHHRIP!

"Oh my Goddess! Puppy! Are you O.K?! My girls didn't hurt you too bad, did they?!"

"...What?" I slowly opened one eye, then another at the mention of the pet name Katie calls me. The Mewstress was indeed slashing away with her claws, but her attention seemed entirely focused on the ropes that bound me to the rack. They had already suffered some damage, and a few more cuts fully severed them and freed my arms.

"Hold on, I'll have you out in a second." The Mewstress slipped off me and moved down to my legs, making quick work of the ropes there. When I was fully free, she helped guide me up into a sitting position. "Are you hurt bad?"

"N-no..." The Mewstress smiled as she removed the last bits of rope from my limbs. If she noticed my confusion, it didn't show. "My head still kinda stings, but I think I'm O.K."

"Good, good..." She paws slipped around me, hugging me firmly. The loud purr she let out reverberated through her chest as she pressed against me. I gently hugged her back in reflex, my brain still trying to process the fact that I wasn't dead.

"Hey, wait a minute!" The happiness in her voice was quickly replaced with annoyance and anger as she pulled away, her lips pulling back in a slight growl as she gave me an angry glare. "What the hell were you doing in that store in the first place? You told me you had to work all day today!"

"I did? No, I had taken today off. I was going there to pick up an anniversary gift for my girlfriend Katie." It was slowly dawning on me what was going on, but her accusing tone put me on the defensive. "There was a necklace she wanted there; I was gonna surprise her with it and take her out to dinner..."

"You were? Aw..." Her face softened as she hugged me again, her purr even louder than before. "And to think I was so mad at you for forgetting our anniversary. You know, for an honest guy you sure can lie when you need to."

"Yeah, about lying..." She seemed confused when I trailed off, having finally put all the pieces together. "Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

"Huh?" She seemed genuinely confused. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know, Katie... Maybe something to do with the fact that you're A SUPER VILLAIN?!"

"Huh?" The Mewstress and my girlfriend Katie, one in the same, blinked a couple of times before she realized where I was going. "Oh. OHHHH..."

Katie pulled away, looking down at her feet as I got to my own. I could swear even through her dark fur I could see her cheeks turning red in her embarrassment.

"I was so surprised to see you, and then I got so mad for you lying to me, I kinda forgot about all this." Katie tried to explain as I glared at her. "O.K., in my defense, I never actually lied, exactly. I mean, you never specifically asked if I was a super villain, right? I just never really got around to telling you the truth."

"Well, that's not exactly something most people would think to ask!" She rubbed her arm nervously as I looked around at the dark, dank room. The room was littered with various torture devices and tools. I noticed a set of knives hanging on the walls next to a whip, and an iron maiden sat half open in one corner of the room.

"O.K, we obviously need to talk. Can we do it somewhere else, please?" I glanced to the floor, half expecting to find bloodstains on it. "The atmosphere in here isn't exactly friendly."

"Huh?" She shook her head when she saw me eyeing the various devices nervously. "Oh, most of those are fake. Only a couple of the knives and the whips are real... but O.K, let's go to my chambers."

Katie led the way out of the room, slowly opening the door and glancing both ways before waving for me to follow her. I didn't know exactly where we were as I stepped out of the room, but judging from the broken windows, wooden floors and occasional piece of broken machinery, some kind of abandoned factory or warehouse seemed like a fair guess.

We passed a few finished doors as Katie guided me along. I couldn't tell exactly what was going on behind them, but I could make out voices, enough to know that there were definitely quite a few people here, and mostly if not all female. When I paused to try and get a better idea exactly what I was hearing, Katie grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

"Come on!" She whispered as she half dragged me towards a room at the end of the hall. "We need to get to my room before someone sees you! I can't exactly explain to my pets and servants my boyfriend's off limits!"

She bought me toward the room at the end of the haul, practically shoving me inside before slamming the door shut behind her, letting out a sigh of relief as I surveyed the room. A large, heart shaped bed was the dominant feature in the room, with red satin sheets and heart shaped pillows to match. A red rug lay in front of a small dresser made of ornate wood sat to one side, a small set of candles atop it casting more light into the room than seemed possible.

"So, this is kind of a long story. Where do you want to begin?" Katie asked as took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Well, let's see..." I glanced over toward the head of the bed. A pair of small tables sat on either side of it, one with a plate of various fruits and one with a golden pitcher and chalice. My stomach rumbled as I remembered how little I'd eaten so far today. "Mind if I get something to eat first?"

"Sure, hold on. I got some protein bars and some bottles..." Her eyes went wide when she saw me start reaching for the fruit in the bowl. "NO! Don't eat those! Or drink that water, either!"

"Why?" I picked up one of the banana's sitting in the bowl, turning it over as I checked for brown spots. "Seems like everything's fresh."

Katie sighed as she shook her head. "Goddess, this is going to be a long day. You should really avoid consuming anything in a villain's lair if you can, but you really shouldn't eat or drink anything sitting in plain sight. Just trust me on this one."

I placed the banana back in the bowl, wondering what exactly could have happened to me as Katie went over to the dresser. Instead of clothes when she opened the cabinet, there was a mini-fridge and a small pile of protein bars next to it. She withdrew a pair of bottled waters from the fridge and grabbed a bar before coming back to the bed, handing me a bottle and the bar before taking a swig of her own bottle.

"Don't worry; these are from my own personal supply. They're safe." I didn't really have much choice but to take her word for it, though I did check to make sure they were sealed in their original packaging before opening them. "What do you remember about the day we first met?"

"The day we met?" I chewed on the bar for a minute as I tried to recall all the details. "It was the Friday after the Ultra Bowl. I tossed a couple of bucks in a gambling pool my friend made up, and ended up making a clean sweep. Normally I avoid bars, but I was flush with cash at the moment and felt like spoiling myself, so I went to Stanley's Pub that was a couple blocks down from my apartment."

"And when you stepped in the door, you told the bartender you were buying a round for everyone in the place." I nodded before taking a drink of water myself. "That's when you got my attention."

I remember that part pretty clearly. It was about two minutes later when I noticed the red-headed human that had slipped into the bar stool next to mine. The black halter top and jean shorts seemed an unusual choice for the late winter weather, but she seemed comfortable and looked good in it. While I'd never really had a thing for humans, I've got nothing against them, either. Her eyes seem to draw me in as we spoke, and I couldn't help but feel an attraction to her.

"Let me take over here, since what actually happened and what you remember aren't going to be the same thing." I gave Katie a puzzled look as she went on. "My powers are at their fullest when I'm Mewstress, but even in my human form I still have access to a bit of power. It'd been a while since I'd gotten my own hands dirty with a theft, and when you came in seemingly loaded with cash, I decided it was a good a time as any to get some of the rust off."

"You were gonna rob me?!" I exclaimed.

Katie's ears folded back a little. "Yes. Please, just let me tell my story before you judge me, O.K? This is hard enough as it is."

"Alright..." It was still kind of hard to reconcile this super villain and my fun, caring girlfriend were the same person. Still, if she really wanted to do something bad to me she'd had plenty of chances in the torture room. I suppose I at least owed it to her to hear her out.

"Like I said, I do have some power in my human form. Not a ton, but I could work a simple entrancing spell to keep you from noticing the potion I'd poured in your drink." I had to bite my tongue from expressing my displeasure at being drugged. "My plan was simple; you drink the potion, then I lead you outside and free you of your possessions before leaving you in an alley. You'd wake up broke and with no memory of what happened a few hours later. The first part went off without a hitch."

Thinking back, I do remember feeling really woozy after finishing my drink. It's true that I usually end up as the designated driver because of my light drinking habits. Still, that one drink hit a lot harder than I expected it to. I chalked it up to the bartender going heavy on the alcohol at the time.

"I left a couple minutes later, but I let you sit at the bar for a little bit before I started chanting my spell outside. Someone might have gotten suspicious if you'd followed me out right away, and the last thing I needed was some upstart, 'superhero', getting the way of my work." Katie added a look of annoyance to go with the air quotes at the mention of superheroes. No surprise that a super villain wouldn't look too fondly on superheroes, but objectively I could understand her caution.

Sapphire City didn't earn the nickname Super City for nothing; everyday there'd be reports about Winged Wolf's latest rescue of a falling citizen, or if the debris from Brick the Bull's last battle was going to interfere with traffic. New heroes and villains would pop up all the time, and while some would become really popular or notorious and leave their mark again and again, there we also a lot of one-hit wonders that no one would ever hear from again after their one moment in the spotlight.

In fact, a lot of money and advanced technology was invested into the city to research where these heroes and villains came from, not to mention repair the damage they would cause. Some of that advanced technology and research also spawned more heroes and villains (intentionally or otherwise); it's a vicious cycle. While super-powered individuals made up much less than 1% of the population at the latest estimates, that still left potentially tens of thousands of people who might have some kind of superpower in a city of millions.

"I waited outside for a couple of minutes, then started walking and chanting my spell. You stumbled out about a minute later and followed me, just as planned. There was an alley a few blocks down where I planned to rob and leave you. You followed like an obedient little pup about a block behind me, and soon the alley was just steps away. That's where things went off the rails."

"You mean Shanks, right?" Shanks, or more properly Shaun Jackson, was a petty thug that was known to have an affinity for knives. He mostly did small crimes like purse snatching and breaking and entering, using a knife to keep his victims in line while he took what he wanted. Most of his victims were too scared to testify, and it was suspected that he was responsible for a lot more crimes than he'd been convicted of. All of this I would learn later from the police.

Katie sighed as she nodded, clearly disappointed with herself. "That was a rookie mistake; I got so wrapped up hunting my own prey, I wasn't watching my back to make sure someone wasn't hunting me. The next thing I knew, I had a knife against my throat and a hand on my shoulder shoving me into the same alley I was planning to trap you in."

"You're a super villain; you couldn't fight him off?" I asked as I tilted my head.

"Probably, but it would have been hard. I only have normal strength in my human form, and while I can still cast spells, Shanks was threatening to kill me if I made a sound. He could've slit my throat before I even got the first words out. And..."

"And?..." I tilted my head as Katie trailed off for a moment, looking down at the bed. After a moment, she took a deep breath and continued.

"I froze. Sure, me or my girls have captured people and bought them back here, or fought with law enforcement and heroes, but only to get information out of them or to disable them long enough for us to get away. We've never killed anyone or hurt them bad; torture gets you bad information, but the threat of torture works wonders. To suddenly have someone threatening to kill you, to be the prey when you're so used to being the predator...it was quite a shock. Plus, I detest violence."

"A sudden role reversal would probably make most people freeze up." Katie seemed a little reassured by my understanding. "It's good that you don't get violent, though."

"Yes, though don't get me wrong; it's more for practical reasons than anything else. Any thug can grab a gun and start blasting away security guards to get to the precious jewels in the museum display case. It takes real skill to slip past the security, lift the jewels and replace them with a replica that's still there to this day, with no one ever noticing the switch. Plus, the bigger the mess you make, the better the odds someone will catch you."

"That makes a kind of sense, I suppose. So what happened next?" I asked.

"Well, Shanks started by going through my purse with his other hand while he had that blade against my throat. He took what little money I had, and my bracelets." She gently tapped one of the bracelets on her wrist. "These are the main sources of my power, by the way, but I'll save that story for another time. He wanted more than money, though. He slid the knife against my skin and started slicing into my clothes, with his other hand tight around my throat. The irony that I wanted a hero to stop a crime in progress for once was not lost on me, but a hero did show up soon after."

"They did? I don't remember anyone..." Katie smiled a little at my confusion.

"That innocence is so charming... I mean you, silly. One second the knife was biting in my breast, the next you had him out cold on the ground. Aikido, right?" I nodded, recalling how happy I was my rusty martial arts knowledge from my teen years had paid off for once. The first thing I remembered clearly after finishing my drink was seeing Katie getting forced into the alley by a scary looking guy and thinking something was wrong.

"I'm still not sure how you reacted so fast." Katie's eyes scanned over me as if she was searching for an answer to that mystery. "You stopped following me when I stopped chanting the spell, but the potion should have still left you groggy and confused for a while. Either the alcohol killed the potency more than I thought it would, or you have a really high magic tolerance."

"Search me. I was just glad you were O.K." I called the police once Shanks was out cold, and paramedics took Katie away to check her wounds. I figured that would be the last I'd ever see of her. I certainly didn't expect to see her wandering into my store a couple of days later.

Katie gave me a sly smile. "Well, I guess you know now that I'm used to getting what I want. I made sure to get my bracelets back while you had you back turned calling the police, and contacted my girls once I left the hospital. They had no problem tracking you down, though I never told them why I wanted to find you. I doubt they even remember that now; they're nice girls, but for the most part they're ditzy and have the memory of a goldfish."

"But getting back to the story, yes, I tracked you down to the Secret Lair Comic and Game store in the mall where you worked. I'm no saint, but even I felt like I owed you something for saving me, especially since moments before I was planning to rob you blind. I was getting annoyed when you kept refusing the money I was offering you. I'd been at it for over an hour when I realized that no one else had come in the store, even though it was the middle of the day."

Yeah, the store had been doing really badly at that point. The old owner left his son in charge after the financial firm he worked at went belly up. He was never satisfied with what we did; if we sold 5 packs of cards, he wanted to know why we didn't sell six. He removed the demo game boards to make room for more products, our pleas that it'd be harder to sell games if we couldn't show them in action to customers falling on deaf ears. He refused to order new stock until we sold what we had on hand, even though it was clear it would never sell for one reason or another. All the other full time employees had left by the time Katie showed up, and I had seriously been considering turning in my two weeks notice.

Soon Katie was asking me about how things were going in the store, and how I liked working there. I told her I loved introducing people to new comics and games, and how the store used to be packed with people. But then I told her about how hard it was now, that management was making stupid decisions, and that I didn't know how much longer we could stay open if things stayed like this. This store had been my favorite place to visit growing up, and being employed here was like a dream, but now it had become a nightmare.

"It was clear you loved the place, even though it frustrated the hell out of you. I just used a little magic to get out your true feelings, and the rest just spilled out on its own. It was clear you needed help to stay in business." Katie smiled and snapped her fingers, producing one of her business cards from seemingly thin air between her fingers. "Good thing I'm the owner of Felid Consulting."

"You offered your expertise as a business consultant for free. I was happy for the help, and my boss loved the free part." A thought occurred to me. "Are you really a professional business consultant?"

"Why would you as-" Katie looked briefly down at herself as she acknowledged why I was questioning her profession. "Oh; right. Honestly, I am actually a professional business consultant. To be totally honest, though, I started the business as a way to get into secure office buildings and scout their security for future heists. It seemed like a brilliant idea when I first came up with it, until one of my girls asked me what a business consultant was. When I couldn't give her a good answer, I realized I would actually need to learn how to be one to pass as one."

"When I first came into your store, I just wanted to repay you. When you wouldn't take money, I figured I'd help you save the store you love." Katie smiled gently to herself. "Besides, it'd been a while since I had a good challenge."

"A challenge?" I asked.

"Yes, a challenge. I'm not going to get into my whole back story tonight, but originally I stole out of necessity. As my coffers and vaults grew, so did my desire for even finer things. After a while, the money and treasures didn't really matter as much as the satisfaction of beating the smartest security systems and my fellow thieves to the prize. Even that had become boring, though. I figured this would be something new to keep me entertained."

I'm not sure if she was entertained, but she had some good ideas, and even managed to convince my boss to fix some of the things I had been saying were wrong. She didn't stop with just changing the store and its business plan, though. She said I needed to change, too.

More people would be willing to come in if the guy behind the counter didn't look like he spent most of his time living in his mother's basement, she said. I didn't think I was that bad, but I had to admit I hadn't exactly been keeping a strict diet and exercise program. She got me a personal trainer, and with his help I'd made a lot of improvements. I don't think I have a future in modeling or anything, but between the diet changes and exercise I'd lost a lot of fat and toned up quite a bit.

Katie spent a lot of time in the store over the next few months, checking on my progress and working with the owner to attract more customers. She had me show her different types of comics that would be good for first time readers, casual fans and serious collectors so she could advertise them properly. She also had me teach her some of the games that we sold so she could have a better idea of how to market them. At least, that's how she explained it when she saw something that caught her eye, but after a while it became clear her interest in them was more than just professional.

"Remember when Mage Battle came in?" Katie asked. Of course I did; that was the first game we played seriously. "I knew that was my chance to break free of my debt to you. The store had started to turn around, but a part of me still felt inferior, weak for having to rely on something outside my control for help in my time of need. Intentionally or not, you stole my pride when you saved me. I wanted to crush you under my heel, and what better way to do that than destroy you in the game you were so looking forward to? Then I would be in control again, and be free of my debt to you for good."

Man, I had never caught on to any of that. Katie always seemed so happy and pleasant; I never thought anything like this was going on in her head. I thought maybe she felt a little indebted to me for helping her that night, but it seems like she hated me more than anything else. When she offered to help me break in my copy as soon as the store closed the night it arrived, she must have seen it as her ticket out of there. What I did next, she explained, was the worst thing imaginable.

"You won! I'd studied up on the preview rules, made strategies; hell, I even tracked down where the games were being stored and stole a copy a week before the release to practice with my girls, and you still won! The first game was bad enough, but then you won the next two on top of it." Katie sighed as she recalled that night.

I definitely didn't see any of this frustration that night, though I do remember her staring blankly at the board and the cards in her hand for a good minute when the first game ended, as if she couldn't believe she'd lost. She demanded a rematch soon after, and I had barely made the winning attack the next game before the next rematch demand came. We probably would've played a fourth game that night if mall security hadn't made us leave when they realized we were still there an hour after closing.

"When I came back in the next day, I was still going over all the games in my head, trying to figure out what where I went wrong. When you came in for your shift, I told you I wanted another game that night. Do you remember what you said?" Katie asked.

"I think it was something like, 'Sure. I guess you must have had a lot of fun last night.'" I rubbed my muzzle a little as I thought back. "That sounds about right. You did, didn't you?"

"I didn't realize it until you said it, but yes, I did have fun. After beating every security system I came across and slipping through the hands of law enforcement and heroes trying to catch me, my life as a thief had gotten effortless and boring. Then you came along, and stole my pride when you saved my life. Not only did you steal from a thief, but when I tried to steal it back you kept rebuffing me. It frustrated me, but it also made me want to try twice as hard next time. Each game against you was a knock down, drag out fight that forced me to be on my toes at all times. Each defeat was heartbreaking, and each victory was exhilarating. I had found a worthwhile adversary, and as I realized later on, a friend."

"Well, I had considered you a friend for a bit before that. I do remember that's when we started to hang out outside the store, and things progressed pretty fast from there. You were a beautiful girl, you were smart and you liked a lot of the same stuff I did, that I started to see you as more than just a friend." I blushed a little as I recalled the first time I had asked her out to dinner. We'd eaten together before, but a nice dinner at a restaurant is a lot different than pizza or Chinese food during a marathon gaming session.

"I know. I remember how nervous you were when you first asked me out; you were stumbling over the words, sweating like crazy..." Katie giggled as she recounted my first date proposal. "I thought you were gonna have a heart attack when I said yes."

"Yeah..." Our relationship quickly blossomed from there, and her feelings for me seemed to be as deep as mine were for her. Of course, now with all this coming out... "Katie, I really don't want to do this, but I have to ask. Do yo-"

"Stop." Katie shook her head. "I know where you're going with that question. I have lied and hid the truth about a lot of things, but since we started dating I've been totally honest about my feelings for you. I love you, fully and truly. You're innocent without being naïve, smart without being arrogant, and overall a fun, good looking guy."

"In fact, that innocence that attracted me is also the reason why I never told you about me being Mewstress. I don't think I'll ever be up the white-picket fence and 2.3 kids lifestyle, but I do want something a little closer to a normal life and a little farther away from being a thief and super villain. I knew I'd have to tell you one day about all this, but I was trying to figure out how. Guess fate kinda forced my hand."

"You're trying to be less of a thief? Then why did rob that store today?" I asked.

"That was because old habits die hard. I'd gone months without a theft trying to stay on the straight and narrow, then you went and forgot our anniversary. I was so hurt and upset..." Katie thought for a moment as she tried to explain her actions. "Some girls eat a pint of rocky-road ice cream when they get heartbroken; I steal. I normally don't do daylight robberies, but I just really wanted to treat myself."

"You weren't the only one who was surprised, trust me." It seemed like we covered pretty much everything about how our relationship developed. "So...where do we go from here?"

"Well. I need to think about how I'm going to explain to my girls how you got away with minimal damage to my reputation. You need to get out of here." Katie went over the carpet in front of the dresser and threw it aside, revealing a trap door underneath. She gave me directions on how to get out and head toward a nearby subway station.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Katie sighed heavily, her head hanging down as I ran through the directions in my head. "It's been nice knowing you, Xavier."

"Nice knowing... wait, you're breaking up with me?" I whimpered a little. "But I'd made reservations for us tonight..."

"What?" Katie blinked as she looked up at me. "No, but I thought... I mean, we met when I planned to rob you, I lied about who I really was, and I'm a wanted criminal. I figured you'd be breaking up with me!"

"No! I mean, we obviously still have a lot to discuss, and I'm not exactly thrilled about you being Mewstress, or how I found out about it..." I rubbed the back of my head as the dull ache at the back of my head suddenly flared up a little. ", but I love you, too. I don't care about the details of how we first got together, so long as it bought us together. It's not gonna be easy, but I want to try and make it work."

"You mean you don't want to break up with me?..." Katie's eyes started to water, fighting back tears as she hugged me tight. "Thank you, Puppy! Thank you so much!"

Katie's purr reverberated through her body as I held her tightly to me. So, my girlfriend was a super villain. She had minions of unknown origins, magic powers, and sticky fingers. Most of her past was still shrouded in mystery, and who knew if any of this would affect our future? There was still so much I didn't know.

There were a few things I did know, though. I loved her, and she loved me. Things wouldn't be easy for us from here on out, but nothing that's worth it ever is.