Kitty Hero Chronicles

Chapter 17

"Well, well, well," a high-pitched, fiendish voice said from outside the cell.

Java was groggy as she awoke to the sound. Upon opening her lazy eyes, she saw that she lay in a small cage of some kind, located down a long hallway of similar cages. The light was barely visible, with shades of a deep orange cast from low hanging lights upon the dark stone walls. Once she saw the bars, she realized with a powerful dread where she was: the Pound.

It was the one place she absolutely did not want to be, super hero or average citizen. The Pound was Kittyville's answer to crime in the quaint little town. Located in the recesses of Dog Patrol Station, the Pound played host to the many criminals who had dared to wreak terror or havoc in Kittyville over the years. Java remembered Manx, her would-be attacker from several weeks back, and how the Masked Avenger had put him in the Pound.

Her reeling mind was spun into further confusion and anxiety when she suddenly remembered the Masked Avenger's true identity. It had been Doctor Tom all along who had taken on the role of Kittyville's very own super hero, only to be captured by the very villain they had tried so hard to overcome; the same villain whom Java now recognized standing just outside her cell.

Stepping out of the shadows into the light, Vincent Vladimir looked even more fierce than she remembered from the picture Twitchy had shown to her. His albino fur was spotless as his searing red eyes, one of which held the thin rim of a monocle, stared at her as if into her very soul. If the reputation as she knew him hadn't preceded him, Java would have thought him to be royalty.

Attached to the monocle was a golden chain which ran down to the left chest pocket of a formal red vest that matched his blazing eyes. A white fur with black spotted ermine trim lined the vest's collar. Red rubber gloves donned Vladimir's claws. One claw rested upon an odd-looking staff made of some sort of metal Java couldn't identify. A solitary smooth, round ball was seated at the top of the staff. In its mirrored surface, Java saw her reflection, and the reality of her situation became even more real.

"I see you've fully regained your senses. Miss Java, is it?" Vladimir spoke. His voice dripped with the kindness Java knew he didn't possess. If Java hadn't known any better, she might even have been taken in by his sly trickery. Still, she knew is wasn't in her or her friends' best interest to confront him if she hoped to get them all out of this unharmed.

"My name is Java Gray, daughter of Henry and June Gray," she said, now sitting up in the cell. "But you already know them."

"Tsk, tsk," Vladimir said. "That's hardly the way to start a conversation with your warden." He wasn't alone; there were two more of his goons standing on either side of him, wearing what appeared to be guard uniforms no doubt stolen from the Dog Patrol Station's locker rooms. The uniforms were nothing more than black vests similar to Vladimir's (though not as elegant), equipped with utility belts round the waist.

Java recognized one of the goons as the rat who had captured the Masked...Tom. The other was unfamiliar to her, at least at first.

"I see you recognize one of my most trusted associates," Vladimir said. "Allow me to introduce you, seeing as how your most recent meeting was a little too rushed for formal introductions. Java Gray, meet Thrash. Thrash, Java Gray."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Thrash said in mock sincerity.

"And this," Vladimir said, gesturing to the rat on his left, "well, I'm sure you recognize him as well, if you look closely, that is." Vladimir laughed a sinister laugh. Java did so and understood what he meant.

The other rat was Matty, Thrash's accomplice behind the dumpster back at the Catnip Cafe; the one she had interrogated. Only, now his face was swollen from the beating Vladimir had either inflicted himself or had ordered from another of his goons.