Janet lifted the last WildKat by the scruff of its neck and handed it to the police officer collecting them. The officer tagged the creature then placed it in a small pet carrier in the back of the police van alongside its previously caged companions.
"Thanks, Shedra. Don't know what we would have done without you, " said the grateful officer.
"No problem, officer. Happy to help, " said Janet as she puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips, striking what she hoped was a heroic pose.
It had been a relatively successful fight. Other than a few cars crushed by the tank, there was not much damage to the city street. Janet had been able to disable the tank pretty quickly, before the WildKats could get off a single shot. It definitely helped that the small kittens had a tough time moving and loading the heavy shells. Most importantly, there were no civilian casualties. A small crowd began to form as the people slowly returned to their street. Janet couldn't help but smile as they cheered her. If only they wouldn't chant that stupid name.
"Shedra! Shedra! Shedra!"
Janet suddenly felt very tired. The battle had taken longer than she expected. There were alot of the kittens and they liked to scatter whenever she neared them, making her chase each one of them down individually. It felt like it took forever to round them all up. It was almost like a game of tag with small children.
Janet chuckled at the thought.
"Laugh it up now, Shedra. But you will be joining us in here soon. The only difference will be the size of the cage, " said the WildKat.
"Quiet you!" said the officer as he rapped his baton on the bars of the cage, smashing the little kitten's fingers wrapped around the bars.
The cat hissed and retreated to the back of the cage, rubbing its sore tiny paws.
"Don't pay any mind that little vermin, Shedra. You know how much we appreciate your help, " said the officer.
The bells of a clock loudly chimed in a small tower at the end of the street.
Crap, my time must almost be up, thought Janet. I better get out of here. I am bound to start changing back any minute. Just how long have I been fighting?
Janet looked up at the hands on the large face of the clock in the tower and was shocked to see that two hours had passed since she changed into Shedra.
That can't be right, thought Janet. The serum is supposed to wear off after an hour. Something is wrong....
Janet turned pale and her heart started to race. Her tail wagged behind her as she nervously fidgeted, shifting her weight from one clawed foot to another.
"Something the matter, Shedra?" asked the officer.
Janet looked down at him and saw an equally pale officer staring up at her. Sweat was dripping off his brow and his eyes were narrowed suspiciously, carefully looking her up and down. It was the second time today she had seen fear on the face of a human she had sworn to protect. She could even see his hand resting on the butt of his gun.
"It's nothing, Officer. I just need to be somewhere. Crime never rests, you know, " said Janet nervously.
The officer moved his hand away from his gun, but still looked skeptical. Despite her own fear, Janet couldn't help but get a little annoyed. She had literally saved the city just a few moments ago, and here he was treating her like the villain, like some kind of monster.
"Okay, you can move along. We'll take care of things here, " said the officer as he started to close the door to the van. The WildKat peered out from inside its little cage, holding onto the bars and smiling smugly at Janet.
"See you soon, sister. See you real soon," said the WildKat just before the van door closed and hid it from view.
Janet had to suppress the shudder she felt racing up her spine as she turned and retreated back to the alley to retrieve her bag.