The Epilogue

"Freeze! Don't move!" An officer shouted, though his voice cracked on the second word. His partner was already on the radio, calling for backup, his words tumbling out in a breathless rush.

Well that sure as fuck knocked Catalina out of her stupor! She looked down at the crumpled crook, whose eyes were swelling shut and whose lip was more than busted.

"I wanna go hoooome," whistled out of... somewhere on his face.

The heroine turned to face the stunned officers and the growing crowd behind them. The cat's paw design on her mound was stark and visible, and was like a beacon for the lights of all their devices to zoom in on.

"Hot damn!" a voice shouted from somewhere in the crowd.

Catalina didn't wait to hear more. She didn't want to hear more. She didn't want to see the headlines, or the videos, or the memes that were undoubtedly already being created. She instead ignored the officer, covered her bits, and let out a shriek.

Her tail moved before her brain caught up. It snaked upward, wrapping around the lowest rung of the nearest fire escape ladder with a metallic clink. She instinctively pulled herself up in one fluid motion, her asshole screaming in protest.

She didn't look back. She couldn't. If she did, she might just snap under the weight of the humiliation.

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A day later, Catalina was a complete shut-in.

She hadn't left her apartment. She hadn't answered her phone. She hadn't turned on the TV nor opened her laptop or done anything except lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, her body aching in places she didn't know could ache. Her muscles were sore all over. It hurt to sit down for the first few hours. She did everything in her power not to think about her...debut.

A crippling, consuming, soul-crushing fear of the headlines she expected to see sat with her. She had been naked. Completely naked, in all the ways that mattered at least. On the streets of Emberville. Fighting a supervillain. A supervillain that had almost completely bested her, had it not been due to some magic trigger in her amulet. A magic trigger she didn't even know existed. Thanks for that, Mom!

She had already gotten the behind-the-scenes details from her friend who worked for the local news. The headline for today's paper was already set. Her friend had texted her a screenshot, followed by a string of laughing-crying emojis that Catalina had been too mortified to respond to. She was still so surprised they were allowed to run it this way.

EMBERVILLE'S NUDE FELINE HERO!

Is she a hero? Is she a pervert? Why not both?

Catalina groaned and pulled her pillow over her face.

She was never leaving her apartment again.

[The End]