Spectacular World

A Monster Called Shift

Purrfect casually raised her hands up in a mock surrender. "Relax." The cat-themed hero let out a small snicker. "I thought you and I were friends. What's with the hostile look?"

Hope felt her tense muscles ease up a bit as her mom stepped away from the hero. "Friends? We've only met a few times. Also, I've sort of been attacked by three different heroes today, so I'm a bit paranoid."

Purrfect folded her arms and gave a slight nod. "The Hero Branch doesn't seem to be kind to those who don't instantly bow down. I'm in the same boat you are, simply for siding with Battery. Though I don't regret it for even a moment." Purrfect lifted a finger in a very casual manner, and a small bit of water seemed to be wrapped around it in a makeshift thread. The liquid flowed through the air, so thin it was almost impossible to see, and carried itself all the way into the sky, where it split off into four directions, each one attached to the neck of one of the Giants. "Since joining him, he's shown me a few interesting things."

"You mean like the ability to clone yourself?" Hope questioned. She had to admit she was a little jealous about that. Mr. Larison did make at least some sort of effort to teach her. Most of her hand-to-hand skills were thanks to him, and he had given her pointers on how to use her fire and her Lord form, but he had never unlocked an inverse or second power for her as he had seemingly done for Purrfect. It stung a little. "What's it like being a clone?"

"You'd have to ask a different Purrfect." The cat girl giggled and casually threw her hands behind her head. "You're looking at the real deal!"

"Really?"

"Yep! I'm the one and only Purrfect. Those other versions of me are the clone." The girl spun around and then placed her hands on her hips, puffing her chest out. "See, Daisy City is actually the place I grew up in. This land is my home. I joined the Daisy Sub Enforcers and served under Vampirica. Though since then, my entire team besides Dust Cloud sort of died in the battle with the Beast." Purrfect's smile faded slightly.

Hope winced a bit and nodded her head somberly. She had been there when it happened. She watched Boss and the other Daisy Sub Enforcers die. It hadn't been a good death either. Then again, most heroes rarely got good deaths. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be. As much as it sucks, I managed to pull through." Purrfect gave a casual shrug and forced her fake smile back on. "And like I said, now I get to work for Battery. Pretty cool. Speaking of pretty things, though... What's with you not being in costume?"

Hope looked down at herself and shrugged. "Well, my identity was kind of blown a while ago, and I only have one suit, and due to circumstances, it's... A bit tied up at the moment. Besides, I showed up in a van that had my face on it, and most of the world already knew about me. I don't really have any reason to hide right now. Especially not here in Daisy. This place is famous for never having any bad guys."

"True that." Purrfect giggled. "Though, that does concern me a bit. After all, I'm wondering why you thought it would be a good idea to bring in a villain to our city."

Hope felt a chill hit her instantly. Purrfect knew about Meta? Was Meta more important than she thought? Was there something she didn't know-

"I saw that suit you were wearing." Purrfect's smirk grew. "Battery told me all about it. That costume used to be a villain, right?"

"A villain!" Jane's eyes went wide with shock. The woman turned to her daughter only to find Hope letting out a relieved sigh. "Is she telling the truth, Hope? Is that Kevin kid a bad guy?"

Hope sheepishly looked away. "Well... I mean, not anymore." So it was Kevin Purrfect was talking about. That was good. If Meta wasn't considered a big threat or someone Purrfect knew, then it just meant Meta wasn't a major villain. "Kevin's chilled out now. I mean, he gives me cool whips and stuff now. My old costume couldn't do that. It's like I have Golden Weaver's powers or something when I'm using Kevin."