Of all the things that happened to Malcolm, he never expected it to turn out quite like this. The feline ducked a heavy flying object as he rolled behind a nearby parked vehicle. He peered over the cars' hood to see the opponent he had been fighting. From the start this Engagement hadn't gone at all like he had planned. If anything it had continued to get worse as it progressed. He did know one thing for sure, who ever sent this creature obviously wanted him, and badly. It was the only explanation he could find as to why this creature kept chasing only him. Another thing the cat knew for certain was that this mutation stumbling around wasn't too bright. He watched as it looked about stupidly, wondering where its target had disappeared to.
This gave Malcolm a little time to think and plan his next move. Unfortunately his mind began to stray and wandered more on how this had all started. He remembered waking up in a back alley no longer holding his once human form. Upon that realization he scrambled to find a reflective surface. He was shocked to find a half cat-like human staring back at him. His body was now entirely covered with fur. Most of his coat was a mix of different colored patches of brown with occasional black patches as well. His cheeks, the front of his muzzle, his chest and stomach was covered in white fur, as were his toes and the bottom halves of his feet. He had no idea how he had gotten there or why he was naked, aside from the fur. It appeared as if he had merely been discarded and left there to die. He had no memory as to what had happened to him or why. The last thing he could remember was that he was heading to his car from a hard day at the office then everything went dark.
After Malcolm dove into a nearby dumpster for something to cover himself he then made contact with his family. Once they saw what had happened to him they at first refused to actually believe he was who he said he was. After a little explanation and revelation of certain events that were only known to the family, they soon accepted him again. It was also at this time that he discovered that he had been reported missing for over six months.
After a while Malcolm had managed to win back the favor of his friends, and for a time his life was slowly returning to some semblance of order. However the transformation did give a few extraordinary abilities that he used quite often upon their discovery. He was telekinetic which enabled him to lift various things. Some uses were more exploratory than others. There was something about miniskirts that he just couldn't resist. This usually ended with a rather discouraging result. Another skill was his ability to control and disperse his own latent energy in a more direct form. Something his boss quickly found a use for whenever the company experienced a black out. However all that came to a halt when a hideous kind of mutation crashed through the lobby. It was this instance that something else kicked in and he immediately found himself attacking the creature almost as if by instinct.
Now Malcolm was caught in a battle desperately striving to survive. Carefully he concentrated his energy on the car he was hiding behind. At first the vehicle refused to budge so he threw a burst of energy at it causing it to fly straight towards the beast. It would have worked if the mutation hadn't caught it. Not wasting any time the cat threw a small energy wave at the vehicles exposed gas tank and watched as it ignited in a brilliant ball of flame. However the creature just stood there merely enraged by the explosion.
“What does it take to knock this guy down?” Malcolm asked himself while dodging the creatures’ fist as it soon embedded it's self in the street. “Let’s see how you like electro shock therapy?!” the cat said, as his entire body was arcing with electricity.
A burst of electricity soon erupted from Malcolm and arced over to encompass the mutated giant. With a loud roaring scream of pain the grotesque looking giant soon fell to the ground unconscious and smoking.
“Well done Coronas.” Said a voice behind Malcolm. He looked to see a man now sitting on the hood of a near by car who obviously wasn't there a few seconds ago. He noticed that the mans voice had a very heavy English accent. “I'd have thought that the behemoth would surely have you beat. What with the way you were ducking about and all.”
“Who the hell are you, and why did you call me Coronas?” Malcolm asked in an annoyed tone.
“Oh that’s right, she kept you under heavy sedation the whole time didn't she.” the man said pushing himself off the hood of the car. “So of course you wouldn't remember anything.”
“I asked you a question.” Malcolm demanded.
“Alright, have it your way.” The man said in a nonchalant tone. Without warning the man connected with an unexpected high kick that flipped Malcolm backwards onto the ground with a loud thud. “Name's Wried, Alexander Wried.” Wried then preformed a throw just as the cat was attempting to get up, tossing the cat a good ten feet down the road. “And she gave you that name, Coronas.”
Malcolm was furious now as he picked himself up off the street. He let out a loud roar of anger. The street below his feet began to crack as if some unseen amount of extreme force were being pressed down upon it. Soon he directed the palm of his his right hand at Alexander while bracing that arm with his left hand.
“You don't like it?” Alexander said as he easily dodged a ball of energy that erupted from the cat's hand. “Guess not.” Alexander retorted with a smug grin.
Immediately Malcolm jumped into the air and literally flew towards Alexander in a complete rage, his left foot hovering mere inches from the ground. As the distance closed the cat drew back his fist and swung only to watch Alexander dodge under the swing and bring his own fist up into the cat's gut. This caused the Malcolm to fold over before collapsing on the road right next to Alexander.
“What are you?” Malcolm croaked while gasping to regain his breath.
Alexander grabbed the cats’ shirt collar and lifted him until they were face to face. With a smug grin Alexander made sure to get right in the cat's face. “Isn't it obvious? You and I are the same.”
“I'm nothing like you!” Coronas chocked out only to have Alexander plant another fist to his gut.
“Shut up and listen.” Alexander said with a cold seriousness in his voice. “For six months you were her prized experiment. She gave you more than you even realize. She changed you, made you better. She gave you the power to crush all who dare oppose you. But at the time you didn't respond to well to any of the treatments. Your body began rejecting itself. She didn't realize until recently that it was in fact doing the exact opposite. You not only accepted those changes but enhanced them to ten fold over what she had originally projected.”
“And now she wants me back I take it?” Malcolm finished.
“Right you are.” Alexander said, the smug grin returning to his face. “And I was told to do it by any means necessary. Just as long as you survive and remain intact.”
Malcolm in turn gave a smug grin of his own. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
A confused look momentarily crossed Alexander’s face, but before he could say anything the cat firmly planted his knee into Alexander’s nether region, the extreme pain caused Alexander’s grip toloosen. Not giving the man any time to recover Malcolm planted a fist into Alexander's face causing him to stumble backwards. Next he brought about a wide round kick in an attempt to bring Alexander down only to have it deflected. He followed the block with a left hook towards Alexander’s face that would have connected if Alexander hadn't dodged by preformed several back-flips down the street a little ways before stopping.
With the smug grin never leaving his face, Alexander gave a rude gesture while taunting. “Your going to have to do a lot better than that if you wanna get the better of me.”
Malcolm took flight once more after Alexander, his fist poised and ready to strike once the distance closed between the two combatants. However Alexander decided to counter by bringing his foot up and around hard onto the approaching cats head. The surprised feline had no time to avoid the maneuver and was soon slammed into the road hard enough to cause it to shatter and cave in beneath him.
“Had enough yet?” Alexander said smugly before Malcolm grabbed his ankle and pulled Alexander off his feet. Quickly Malcolm thrust himself up high into the air using his telekinetic ability for a quick boost of speed.
After recovering, Alexander leaped into the air after his prey. Malcolm paused in mid flight and began charging a wave of energy in each of the palms of his hands situated behind his back. He waited till Alexander was in close enough range before he unleashed wave after wave on Alexander only to have his opponent disappear from sight, the shots harmlessly impacting on the road below. Seconds later Alexander appeared as if from nowhere and kick-slammed the cat hard into one of the adjacent office buildings.
“You honestly think I would have fallen for that, Coronas?” Alexander taunted as he charged after the cat. He was suddenly struck hard by a huge energy wave that threw him onto the roof of the building across the street, completely caught off guard by that maneuver. A smile spread across his face and he picked himself up off the concrete roof.
“Nice shot!” Alexander said wiping his minorly bloody lip with his shirt sleeve. “I didn't see that one coming.”
Malcolm soon erupted from the newly formed hole in the office building at full speed towards Alexander. His rage building up as he approached. Not wanting to disappoint the cat, Alexander leaped into the air and quickly closed the distance till the two combatants collided in mid air, exchanging blows very rapidly. Eventually Alexander had gained the upper hand and managed to slam the feline into the street below creating a small crater upon impact.
“Just give it up already.” Alexander taunted once more. “You don't stand a chance against me.”
Malcolm didn't reply as he shot up into the air once more and was back handed into the same crater making it much bigger. It was obvious now that he wasn't going to win no matter how hard he tried. He lacked the considerable skill he desperately needed.
“It's over Coronas I can tell you can see it.” Alexander said landing near the craters edge. His eyes fixed on the injured cat that lay at the bottom of the small crater. “Accept defeat and come with me to your rightful place.”
“I'd rather die than let some psycho perform their twisted experiments on me!” Malcolm screamed back.
Alexander’s expression turned from one of amusement to one of a cold piercing hatred. “As much as I'd like to, I am unable to oblige,” he said while raising a hand and aiming it at the prone cat, “and you’re obviously unwilling to come peaceably so I guess we'll just have to do this the hard way then.”
In a bright flash Malcolm suddenly felt as if he had been struck by a semi. As he attempted to free himself from the rubble Alexander unleashed more bursts of energy slamming the feline deeper and deeper into the ground. After the third blast the cat was completely engulfed by the debris. After lowering his arm, Alexander jumped down into the crater and thrust his hand into the loose dirt and rubble pulling the injured feline out by the neck. The cat gasped for air as Alexander levitated out of the crater with his captive firmly in his grasp.
“I always hated you ya’ know.” Alexander said in a low tone while keeping Coronas at arms length. “I hated you from the moment she brought you back to the research facility. She's a very powerful woman. She could have had anything she wanted but she chose you. She considered you her prized find. Frankly, it disgusted me how she kept treating you like some helpless child floating in that tank. Before you came along it used to be just me and her. We were happy together. She gave me more than I could have possibly ever dreamed of. But then you had to come along, and just like that I was forgotten. Discarded like some kinda cheap toy. You've been nothing but a thorn in my side Malcolm. Fortunately for you she wants you back alive, and you don't dare betray someone as powerful as what she is. You don't know what she's truly capable of like I do. Even as you are now she could easily destroy you without even so much as a second thought.”
As Alexander ranted on Malcolm tried his best to stay conscious but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He had never felt so much rage before in his life. Yet at the same time he felt so powerless. He just didn't have the strength to do anything more. Eventually the darkness started to creep in at the edge of his vision. Just before he slipped into a state of complete unconsciousness he thought he heard a low inhuman growl and saw a surprised look on Alexander’s face, then nothing as his mind finally seemed to cave in to the exhaustion, the growl comforting him as he fell into the depths of his mind.
