Lizy Toplin (a.k.a. the incredibly humble, yet magnificently awesome Ultra-Kitten!) currently found herself stuck in the most dire of predicaments yet. Namely, her apartment window; more specifically, the one that led from the fire escape to her living room. It was early morning and after experiencing a thrilling first night of superheroic crime-busting, she was trying to sneak back into her home without arousing any kind of suspicion from her building neighbors. Instead, she became wedged into her window frame by a deadly combination of her thick shoulders, powerful arms and ample bosom. As of now, she's been essentially lodged in her windowpane for the past hour and a half.
"Oh man," pouted Lizy woefully to herself. "This bites. How am I gonna get outta here?"
Lizy originally had the idea of just forcing her way through the frame, but if she did that, she'd tear apart the window and maybe even a good chunk of her wall. It was bad enough that she obliterated some of her own furniture, the last thing she needed to do was smash through her own home like the Kool-Aid guy. That kind of behavior brings in apartment investigators and landlords; and Lizy definitely didn't want that. So with that idea thrown out the window (pun not intended), Lizy had to come up with something else. Something that didn't involve ripping apart concrete like tissue paper.
"Wait, I know!" declared Lizy upon reaching an epiphany. "If I can lubricate myself, I can literally slip right out of this mess! And canola oil is a great lubricant! All I have to do is get into the kitchen and..."
Lizy quickly discovered the flaw in her plan, and became despondent once again.
"Oh...right," declared the rather disheartened catgirl. "I can't get over there since I'm stuck in here. Now what do I do?"
At that moment, an angel came onto the scene. An angel that looked very much like a brown rabbit named Arthur.
"Lizy, I got some good news!" declared Arthur joyfully as he practically burst through the front door. "I think I finally know what..."
"Oh thank God you're here!" interjected Lizy ecstatically upon seeing her savior. "Quick! Slather canola oil all over my chest! I need the lubrication!"
Much like the day before, Arthur just stood there dumbfounded as he tried to fully register what she just said.
"Slather what on your where now?" inquired Arthur, still completely flabbergasted by his friend's seemingly shameless request.
At that moment, Arthur quickly discovered a whole new level for the term, "awkward".
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Minutes passed and after applying a liberal amount of canola oil, Lizy was finally extricated from her window with little to no damage made to her wall. However, it should be noted that application of said canola oil was mostly done via pouring onto certain areas. It was never slathered/rubbed/massaged onto any part of Lizy's body; especially her heaving bosom, much to Arthur's relief (but to some extent, also to his chagrin).
After that, Lizy decided to take a shower; all in the hopes of washing out the vast amounts of oil that covered and gunked up her fur. Arthur waited for her in the living room. He took a seat on the couch (read here as strategically-placed seat cushions on the floor) and watched TV to help pass the time; as well as to help fight off the urge to sneak a peak while Lizy took her shower (seriously, when did he become such a gigantic pervert?).
Anyway, a few more minutes passed and the sound of rushing water soon stopped entirely. Lizy had just finished bathing.
"Hey Artie," bellowed Lizy from her bedroom/shower area, so as to make sure that Arthur could hear her from all the way in the living room. "Thanks for helping me out of the window! You're a good friend and I really appreciate it!"
"Oh! Uh, you're welcome Lizy," replied Arthur back rather anxiously. "I'm just glad I could..."
It was then that Lizy entered the living room, covered in only a white bed sheet. A bed sheet which she fashioned into some kind of toga-like garment. She took a seat next to Arthur, as he stared at her with amazingly wide eyes. Lizy soon noticed his rather stunned expression.
"What?" she queried innocently, not fully aware just how closely the fabric of her makeshift toga clung to her powerful, yet supple figure; accentuating every glorious curve and feature that her body seemed to possess.
"Nothing! It's nothing!" quickly retorted Arthur, even more flustered than he was before. After a moment or two, Lizy figured out why Arthur acted so disconcerted; especially after she promptly realized just how revealing her current attire truly was, despite it covering up most of her physique.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" exclaimed Lizy hurriedly with a most tumultuous blush. "I-I didn't have anything else to wear, so I just put this thing on! I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable or anything! Really!"
Arthur quickly countered her statement.
"No, no! It's okay! Don't worry about it!"
"I-In fact," continued Arthur. "You uh, a-actually look very nice."
After hearing that, Lizy's anxiousness began to fade away; but inversely, her blush began to turn an even darker shade of red.
"Oh, um...thank you!" responded Lizy emphatically with a slight giggle. That was probably the first time he actually told her "she looked nice"; and she liked it.
Her revelry didn't last long however, as an awkward pause descended upon the both of them. All was silent for the next several minutes, as Arthur was now far too embarrassed to say anything or otherwise react in any way that could possibly make him seem even more like a fool.
"So...um..." began Lizy, all in an attempt to bring the conversation back up and running. "Y-you said you had some good news?"
"Oh! Yes, that's right!" declared Arthur, remembering why he came into Lizy's apartment in the first place. "Well, after spending all night looking for information, I think I finally discovered what you were exposed to."
"Really?" queried Lizy, genuinely intrigued by his statement. "That's great news! What it is?"
"Well," began Arthur intelligibly. "As far as I can tell, it was some kind of serum created for a program called 'The Olympus Project'. It was developed during World War II and apparently, it's purpose was to create super soldiers meant to fight in the war."
Arthur then began to trail off however.
"But unfortunately, that's all I could figure out," he stated solemnly, almost in shame. "All the records I could find on it were either heavily edited or corrupted in some way. There wasn't anything more I could really learn about it."
"Really?" asked Lizy with a bit more sorrowful a tone in her voice. "You couldn't find out anything else?"
"Well," repeated Arthur, once again rubbing his neck. "I did find out one other thing."
He continued his revelation as Lizy listened to him intently.
"As near as I can gather, there aren't any major side-effects to the serum. But...the changes the user undergoes ends up manipulating their entire body on both the genetic and atomic level. Meaning that the transformation can never be reversed. Ever."
"So, you mean..." she began to ask dolefully.
"Yes Lizy," interrupted Arthur. "It means the change is permanent. You can never go back to the way you were."
Lizy immediately turned away from him and appeared to be both dejected as well as contemplative. In response, Arthur tried to comfort for.
"Lizy, I am SO sorry," he declared as he gently placed his hands on her arm. "B-but everything will work out somehow. I just know they will!"
Another moment passed as the two sat there silently; just keeping each other company.
"That's..." started Lizy with an air of seriousness about her; but that sense of gravity quickly changed into one of pure jubilation.
"THAT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!" she exclaimed exuberantly as Arthur stared at her in utter befuddlement.
"...what?" asked Arthur confusedly as he watched Lizy giggle and bounce in her seat like an excitable five-year-old.
"Don't you see, Artie?" asked Lizy gleefully. "I can be a superhero forever now! That's so cool!"
"Oh you're still on about..." started Arthur. But then remembered what happened earlier.
"Wait a minute," he said as he pointed his finger scornfully at his friend. "Being a superhero? Was that why you were stuck in your window and wearing a green costume? Were you out crime-fighting last night?"
"Oh, uh..." stated Lizy, upon realizing that she might have confessed to being a masked crime-fighter; a hobby which directly violated her promise with Arthur, which was just made last night.
"Well...that is, you see..."
"We interrupt this program for a Special News bulletin," declared a familiarly effeminate voice; essentially cutting off Lizy entirely without warning.
Apparently the TV had been left on, and the rather voluptuous Mindy Carson, of Channel 14 News fame, was now on screen. Both Lizy and Arthur turned away from each other momentarily to watch the newscast.
"After nearly thirty years of silence, a new superhero has finally emerged within the Hyperion City area."
The lovely Ms. Carson continued her report.
"Police accounts indicate that this new super refers to herself as 'Ultra-Kitten', and merely hours before, she was spotted successfully foiling the attempted robbery and break-in of a local corner store off Maybury and Barksden. Here's what the original shop owners had to say."
The news feed then went over to Sergei and Natasha, the two shop keepers that Lizy saved that very night.
"She just appeared out of nowhere and saved our lives," stated Sergei with a soft smile and humbled sincerity. "Truly, she was a godsend."
"If you're watching this, Ultra-Kitten," he continued as he hugged his daughter tightly. "We are forever in your debt. Thank you."
"Yes, thank you," chimed in Natasha, genuinely happy that she was alive right now.
The feed then cut back to Mindy at the Channel 14 news station.
"And there you have it folks," declared Mindy with a professional tone. "Just like in years long past, a new hero has arisen to help the people in their darkest times of need."
"But," stated Mindy with a rather quizzical look on her face. "The appearance of this newly revealed champion now raises several questions."
"Just who exactly is this Ultra-Kitten? Is she truly a hero? Or merely a masked vigilante? Will she herald in a new golden age for the superhero community? Or will she only escalate the ongoing war between the criminal element and law enforcement? Only time will tell if this mysteriously masked stranger will be a blessing; or a curse."
"This has been a Channel 14 Special News bulletin," declared Mindy, reaching the end of her newscast. "This is Mindy Carson, signing off."
With remote in hand, Arthur turned off the television and then glared at Lizy.
"That was you, wasn't it?" asked Arthur in an irritable tone. "You went out and fought crime, didn't you?"
"Um...no?" said Lizy, using a painfully obvious lie as her response.
"Lizy, you promised me you wouldn't do this sort of thing!" exclaimed Arthur. "How could you!?"
"But I..." stated Lizy, trying to get a word in edgewise.
"W-what if you got hurt!?" demanded Arthur. "What if they had guns!? You could've been killed!"
"They did have guns!" huffed Lizy with a pout. "And I'll have you know they didn't hurt! The bullets just bounced right off!"
There was a brief pause, followed by a thundering scream.
"WHAT!?!?" exclaimed Arthur shrilly, almost throwing Lizy off-balance. "THEY ACTUALLY SHOT YOU!?"
"Oh, that's right," laughed Lizy nervously. "I forgot to mention. Apparently I'm bulletproof now too. Isn't that neat?"
Arthur just spouted some incomprehensible gibberish for a few moments, and then slammed his face into his palms. He then released a hefty sigh as Lizy looked on sheepishly.
"I...I know I can't really tell you what to do Lizy," stated Arthur simply, forcing himself not to cry. "And I can tell you really did help those people there on the TV. But please, please promise me something, okay?"
"O-of course," declared Lizy earnestly. "Anything. You name it."
"Just promise me you'll be careful out there, alright? That you'll be careful when out fighting crime like that," declared Arthur weakly, almost to the point of tears.
He continued his heartfelt plea.
"I just...I just don't want you to get hurt, okay? I care about you."
Lizy replied by giving him a very soft smile. That was probably the first time he ever said he cared about her; and that touched her deeply.
"Okay, I promise," she stated as she got closer and hugged him tenderly.
"And Artie?" she continued affectionately. "Thanks for caring."
Arthur responded by returning her embrace.
"You're welcome," chuckled Arthur softly. "Thanks for not getting killed."
The two then shared a small laugh.
"So, what should we do now?" asked Lizy, slowly releasing Arthur from her embrace.
"Well," said Arthur. "We should probably get you a whole new set of clothes. I'm pretty sure the toga look has been out of style for quite some time now."
Lizy looked back down on her hastily-made garment.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she laughed shyly.
"We uh..." continued Arthur with a slight blush. "We also still need to get new jobs. What with being unemployed and all."
"Oh! Don't worry Artie," declared Lizy resolutely. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."
"Besides," she continued as Arthur smiled at her optimistically. "I'm certain two brilliant people like us can easily find work. It'll be a cinch!"
"In fact," stated Lizy with a small glint in her eye. "Maybe I can become a news reporter at a local newspaper. Yeah, that's it! Like that one guy in my comic book collection!"
Arthur's smile faded as he began to shake his head at Lizy's continued spiel.
"All I need are a pair of glasses for a disguise and a notepad for getting news, and I'll be all set! There's no way this plan could fail!"
Arthur then let out another hefty sigh.
If being friends with a superhero was going to be anything like this, then he'd probably have to start investing in some aspirin. Or maybe even some horse tranquilizers.
