Chapter Text
(Art by @lilithsblackcat on Instagram, commissioned by me.)
It was a pitch black night, and the milky way could be seen up above Catra’s worn, beat up car. She drove past dark silhouettes of the decimated forest, hundreds of enormous black spikes jutting from the ground on both sides as she drove past. A massive wildfire just three years ago ravaged the area. Catra missed it.
She was twenty miles from Bright Moon, her sleepy little hometown at the edge of Whispering Woods National Park. She’d been gone a long time.
She passed by more dark forests along the highway towards the town. Her radio had only static, and she didn’t own any CDs, so it was just the hum of the engine and wind whistling through the small crack of the open windows.
Catra kept her heterochromatic eyes on the road, but she started to falter, eyes becoming half lid. She cursed the fact that caffeine was toxic to her, it would help so much. Mild jealousy came as she thought of Melog, who was comfortably snoozing in the backseat.
That was when the bright flashing light woke her up, and caused her to skid to a halt. The bright light in front of her! Another car? No! A person! Now fully awake, Catra swerved out of the way, then she pulled up to the side of the road, calming Melog down. Catra got out of her car, closing it shut and ran out to the light, to see if the other person was hurt.
Then, Catra saw her.
—
Two days later…
“You really think you saw She-Ra?” Adora, the park ranger and Catra’s old friend, asked. “Come on Catra, She-Ra’s not real, she’s just a fairy tale.”
“You calling me a liar?” Catra harrumphed. “I know what I saw. She-Ra is real!”
“Come on Catra, I thought you were smarter than that!” Adora raised her arms into the air. “She-Ra doesn’t even make sense! She can’t exist.”
“Well, I’m a talking cat.” Catra pointed a clawed thumb at herself. “So I’m pretty sure I know what can and cannot exist.”
Adora scoffed. “You’re the product of illegal and immoral genetic experimentation. All completely scientifically feasible. She-Ra is a freaking magical cryptid. Completely different.”
“Dead of night, I was able to see her very easily thanks to my tapetum lucidum. Even then, she glows,” Catra said.
“Well—”
“Keep it down!”
The two of them turned around to see Glimmer, the mayor’s daughter, scowling from behind the Madame Razz Visitor Center gift shop counter. Surrounded by Whispering Woods National Park mugs, stickers, tokens, rocks, and a Penny Passport machine, the woman looked out of place.
It was probably because she was dressed in what Catra would call “candy punk”. Sickeningly sweet pink and purple, but with spikes and a couple chains, fingerless gloves, and purple and pink hair dye. Catra was constantly resisting the urge to snort and scoff, she had met so many pretentious artists and musicians that looked like her, ready to rebel against something.
The woman had taken off her headphones and said, “Get a room, you two. Or at least whisper in the Whispering Woods.” She went back to her Nokia smartphone, typing whatever song lyric she was coming up with while secretly listening to an economic policy podcast.
“There’s no one else here, Sparkles,” Catra replied. Wednesday mornings were like that.
“I’m here, and working.” Glimmer leaned back into her chair, still typing.
Catra rolled her eyes and asked Adora, “Why do you keep her?”
Adora gave a small smile and pointed to the badge on her dark green uniform. “Park rangers don’t have firing power. And even if I did, she’s the mayor’s daughter.”
“I didn’t vote for her,” Catra said.
“You’ve been gone for ten years,” Adora replied. Out getting her degree.
“God, can you even vote?” Glimmer asked, trying to sound mocking but was genuinely curious.
“I am a proud Talking-Cat American, according to my very own special category on the census.” Catra smiled as she proudly pumped out her chest. “I can even run for Senator if I wanted to.”
“Not president?” Adora asked.
“Technically, I immigrated to the US from non sapience,” Catra said, “But I was born here, so I didn’t need to apply for citizenship. They were trying very hard to make sure normal house cats and dogs couldn’t vote or run for office, but allow me to.”
“I’d vote a dog into the Oval Office,” Glimmer said.
“You wouldn’t, most dogs lean Republican,” Catra said.
Glimmer gasped. “No! They wouldn’t!” She frowned. “Would they? You’re lying!”
“You’ll never know~” Catra’s smirk grew wider. “You’ve got to hear their chants in the original Dog.”
“I refuse!”
Catra started laughing, and after a moment, Adora joined in. The two of them chortled.
“Oh my God, Sparkles!” Catra clutched her stomach. “Oh cat, can’t believe you fell for that.”
Adora was more reserved in her laughing, but still said, “Dogs don’t understand politics, Glimmer. Don’t worry.”
Glimmer glared at the two of them before huffing and going back to her phone.
“Seriously though,” Adora continued. “She-Ra’s a myth. A cryptid made up by well wishing weirdos and crazy cryptozoologists, Catra.”
“Look.” Catra sat down on a stool. “I’m not a fan of pseudoscience. I’m not going to make up facts or twist evidence to support my conclusions. I get it, I’m overhyping anecdotal evidence because it’s my own. What I need is concrete evidence, as bias free as possible.” Catra gave a smirk. “Which is why, Adora, I want to ask you to help me.”
Adora raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Don’t tell me…”
Catra’s smile widened. “What better way to show I’m not cherry-picking evidence or being biased than to have park ranger and noted She-Ra skeptic Adora Grayson look over everything? You’ll even get co-authorship on the paper if I ever bother to write it up.” She held out a clawed hand. “So, partners?”
The use of Adora’s full human name next to the phrase ‘She-Ra skeptic’ took her out of sorts. Was this really her life now? Adora cursed herself for being sloppy. She should have stayed in human form instead of rushing to save that deer.
Her She-Ra form just had to grant incredible physical abilities and stature well beyond that of a human. Why did humans, and her human form, have to be so small and weak?
Adora turned back to Catra, who despite wanting to play it cool, was looking at her with an expression full of excitement and wonder along with an earnest smile. Her blue and yellow eyes were positively twinkling.
She was beautiful.
Adora couldn’t say no. There was no way she could. She took Catra’s furry hand into hers. “Partners.”
—
Actually beginning a research project was hard work. Catra shuddered at the thought of trying to obtain a grant again, it was something she would rather never ever do. Luckily for her, the massive wildfire that destroyed half of Bright Moon also burned down the Spinner Estate, which besides the laboratory where Catra was born, raised, and genetically modified, she didn’t much care for.
The insurance money, on the other hand, she quite did. Catra was never more glad Shadow Weaver took out a massive insurance contract years before she was born. It also helped her pay back her student loans, allowing her to take the admittedly not-so high paying position as the Whispering Woods National Park’s resident zoologist without any hesitation.
This led her to have to talk to the other resident scientist, botanist and ecologist Doctor Perfuma Plumeria.
“Welcome to our laboratory, Doctor Meowmeow,” Perfuma greeted Catra with open arms, a wide smile on her face. Catra’s initial impression of her was that of a hippie, but even more chill but also somehow more hygienic. Perfuma had achieved the platonic ideal form of hippie, save for the lack of a guitar.
“Hello, Doctor…” Catra squinted into her palm, as a black smudge was all that remained of the marker message she had written on her furred paw hand. Because of the fur.
“Plumeria,” Perfuma said patiently. “Doctor Perfuma Plumeria, Professor of Biology with a specialty in botany. I researched plasmids in perennial plants for my PhD. Please, pick some of my plump pickled peppers from my purple pot next to my pink potted plants.”
She pointed to a bag. Catra just stared for a moment until Perfuma giggled. “I am kidding.” She gave a wave of her hand. “Welcome to the site. I’m here until the fall, when I go back to my position as associate professor at Plumeria University.”
Catra raised an eyebrow at that. “Interesting name.” Plumeria University was the closest university to Bright Moon, but it was still over two hours away.
“I come from old money, I don’t pretend otherwise,” Perfuma said airily. “But botany is my passion, and my trust fund doesn’t even open until I’m fifty.”
“Right.” Catra nodded. She winced when she realized. “Sorry.”
“It’s alright. If I wanted to, I could have gone to another university, or changed my name, or any number of things. But my parents supported me by building the nation’s premier botany program, which I always did find sweet.”
Catra snorted. “I’ll say. All my parents ever did was teach me how to hunt mice, or force me to read a whole textbook every day for weeks.”
“I suppose we’re in the same boat then,” Perfuma said. “I haven’t really talked to my parents in some time. Ever since… well.” She cleared her throat, subconsciously moving her pink and blue pride pin.
“Uhh yeah.” Catra coughed into her hand. “I don’t really talk to my mom either. She’s in prison, but like, one of the lower security ones, so it’s not too hard.” She scratched the back of her mane. “It’s been awkward ever since she, you know, experimented on me and my sibling and then did it again on someone else while I was in college.”
“What about your other parents?” Perfuma asked.
“They were old house cats,” Catra said wistfully. “They just sat and lounged under the sunbeam lamp Entrapta made for me.”
“Oh?” Perfuma’s eyes lit up. “Detective Entrapta?”
“Yeah, she’s a, uh, family friend.” Catra said.
“Then you must know Deputy Scorpia.” Perfuma surmised.
“Oh yeah, she and I go way back,” Catra said. “Why? You want to know some juicy details?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Perfuma lied, as airily as ever.
Catra smirked. “Well then I suppose I’ll have to keep mum on all of her likes and dislikes. It’s a shame, I plan on seeing her later.”
Perfuma side eyed Catra for a moment, then relented. “I have an academic interest in our town’s deputy.”
Catra snorted. “Oh yeah, ‘academic’. Like how much she can bench press.”
A slight tinge of pink crept onto Perfuma’s cheeks, hidden to the side of her freckles. “If you’d please.”
Catra’s grin only grew wider. “It’s gonna be good working with you, Perfuma.”
—
Going into town always felt like a grand adventure when Catra was younger. Back before Shadow Weaver experimented on her, she was just another normal kitten, where the travel time for a dozen miles was a day’s journey.
Now with a car, Catra could do that journey in half an hour. She bought some supplies from the hardware store for her small house (a window was cracked, a door hinge was loose, and some paint needed to be patched up), and some groceries for herself (taking the time to check the ingredients for anything she couldn’t eat).
It always amazed Catra to know that Bright Moon was, on the grand scale of things, just a small town. One Main Street where half of the businesses lived, and a street grid of houses and miscellaneous buildings that wrapped slightly around the nearby rivers and national park.
Near the town’s center, just a bit off of Main Street, Catra was able to find both Entrapta’s and Scorpia’s workplaces, next door neighbors. As Catra parked, she saw both the sheriff’s office and Entrapta’s private eye office.
Catra sighed at a memory. It was a long time ago, when Entrapta first moved into Bright Moon. A lifetime ago.
Now, she and the sheriff held a tentative peace. Entrapta solved crimes and got paid, working as essentially CSI and as a consultant, and the Sheriff got to share in the glory. Scorpia was there to smooth the relationship over, and keep Entrapta in line.
Just as Catra got out of her car, she was wrapped and pulled into a big hug. “Wildcat! You’re back!”
Deputy Scorpia deGarnet was a sight for sore eyes. And a squeeze for sore backs.
“Good to be back.” Catra wheezed out.
“Sorry!” Scorpia let go of her, letting Catra take in a breath. “I’ve been putting all my force into my biceps these days, after I got the new claws.” She snapped her pair of large red-violet prosthetic claws. “Don’t want to accidentally cut someone in half.” Her entire family was made up of people born without hands, so they all used prosthetics.
“Like I’d let you. I let you hug me.” Catra smirked.
“Wow, on the prowl as ever, huh?” Scorpia grinned. “Come on, let’s go see Entrapta. She’s been waiting for you too, you know.”
As they walked into the worn down shop space that was Detective Entrapta PI, Catra felt a twinge of nostalgia for the small room. It was exactly the same as it was ten years ago, just even more cluttered with knick knacks, scientific equipment, and newspaper clippings of cases that made the news. Catra wasn’t sure about placing framed newspaper clippings on the floor, but it did save room for the fume hood.
Detective Entrapta herself was in the room’s center, sitting just next to the single other chair, a therapist chair to be precise, intended to be used by potential clients. The therapist chair currently held stacks of manuals for repairing clocks. Entrapta held a pair of tweezers as she picked at a small watch she clutched in her hand. “Nyeh, I need a smaller pair,” she mumbled.
“Entrapta! Catra’s back!” Scorpia announced. Entrapta didn’t respond, still mumbling and picking at the watch.
A moment passed before Catra, annoyed, grabbed Entrapta’s watch and flicked out a single sharp claw on her pinkie finger.
“No! Give it back! That watch is incredibly delicate!”
Catra ignored her, before lightly poking the backside of the watch, moving a tiny gear to the side. After a few seconds, with Entrapta holding her breath and ready to reel, Catra pulled her claw out, with a tiny scrap of paper stabbed straight through.
Entrapta gasped. “You got it!”
She plucked the tiny piece of paper off of Catra’s claw with her tweezers, then ran towards her desk, putting it underneath her microscope. After fiddling with the magnification and focus, she squealed. Then, she mournfully decried, “It’s blank.”
Scorpia peeped over Entrapta’s shoulder, looking at the tiny paper. Entrapta scooched over slightly, allowing Scorpia to look into the microscope. “Darn. And here I thought we found the right one this time.”
“For crying out loud, let me look.” Catra pushed Scorpia to her side, and looked into the microscope, adjusting it slightly. “Wrong side, dumbasses.”
Catra carefully flipped the paper over using Entrapta’s tweezers, then adjusted the microscope again. She paused after looking inside. “I can’t read it.”
Scorpia took her turn to look. “Aww, it’s colored ink on colored paper. It says ‘GHT SPI R MS’. There’s a tiny bit missing before the ‘G’ and after the ‘I’.”
“Ooh a partial code!” Entrapta’s eyes twinkled as she wrote it down on a notepad. “The possibilities!” She giggled as she started to gather supplies for the next leg in the investigation.
“Neat.” Catra noted. “What are you guys even investigating?”
“A secret!” Entrapta said as she packed a lithograph, a microfilm reader, and her library card into a suitcase.
Scorpia looked at Catra sheepishly. “Yeah, it actually is one. Sorry.”
Catra shrugged. “I’m just here to say hi. Although if you have free time…”
“No free time! We have to get to the library as fast as possible!” Entrapta wrapped her suitcase and fanny pack around herself, ready to march out the door.
Then Scorpia said, “I think the library won't be open for another hour.”
Entrapta stopped mid step. Then she shrugged her suitcase and side bags to the floor. She turned 360 degrees around, walked back to her swivel chair, dusted it slightly, and sat down. Scorpia walked up and began moving the piles of clock manuals off the reclining seat.
Catra eased into the therapist chair, leaning back as Scorpia moved the last of the books.
“So Catra, what can we do for you?” Entrapta leaned in. “What puzzles or conundrums, what mysteries or crimes do you want solved by yours truly?”
Catra blinked as she stared at the ceiling. “So, I’m hunting for She-Ra.”
“I see. I prescribe some antipsychotics and a good old reality check.” Entrapta tapped her clipboard repeatedly.
Scorpia bonked Catra on the head. “Ow! What the fuck, Scor?”
“Wrong, Scorpia!” Entrapta waggled a finger. “That was five taps, you need to hear six or seven!”
“Oops, sorry.” Scorpia grinned sheepishly. “Are you okay, Wildcat?”
Catra rubbed her scalp. “You owe me food.”
“Anything for you.” Scorpia laid her claw gently on Catra’s shoulder.
Catra nodded. “Also, Melog saw her too.”
Entrapta was scrutinizing the floor. “Hmm I see. Could be group psychosis, although I doubt it would be possible for two different species to see the same thing. Although… ah ha!” She picked up a newspaper clipping from the southwestern corner of her office space. “The thirtieth anniversary of the last known She-Ra sighting in Whispering Woods National Park, made by Bright Moon’s own Madame Razz!”
“Didn’t Madame Razz die years ago, before the fire?” Scorpia asked.
“Exactly! The sighting was made back in the 1980s.” Entrapta turned to Catra. “Tell me, how old did She-Ra appear to be?”
Catra blinked. “I dunno, adult? Twenties or thirties maybe?”
Scorpia picked up a book from a nearby shelf and flipped to the S section. “Here’s the book on local stories and legends. She-Ra’s been a Bright Moon staple since long before the town was founded. Indigenous peoples called her ‘the giantess’ or ‘the first woman’. There have been sightings in the town’s initial Mexican settlers, and in the later American waves during the gold and silver rush. Sightings were rare, but always consistent, except the last two, which had blonde hair instead of gray.”
“It’s either a reverse aging situation, or at a recent point, blonde hair entered their gene pool and became the predominant phenotype,” Catra said.
“Oh, like Patricia Paddywagon!” Scorpia smiled, “The tragic story of a woman aging in reverse, while the man she loves is aging like a normal person!”
“Oh yeah,” Entrapta said. “I remember, I hated it. The original was so much better.”
“There’s an original Patricia Paddywagon?” Scorpia gasped.
“It wasn’t called that but yes.”
Catra quietly zoned out, which she usually did when people made references to pop culture that she wasn’t privy to. Mostly because she didn’t care.
She thought about elephants. And a hippo.
“Wildcat?” Catra came back to attention.
“Huh?”
Entrapta leaned in, really close to Catra’s face. “Soooo what do you think about Patricia Paddywagon?”
Catra shrugged. “Never saw it. I think it came out before I was born?”
“So does all the good stuff!” Entrapta shouted. “The vast breadth of human culture exists out there, an endless chasm of millions of hours of entertainment, available at everyone’s fingertips. And thousands more hours added every single day.”
Catra shrugged. “Neat. So, She-Ra?”
Entrapta paused. Then she said, “Right. Uhh last sighting was here—“ she pointed at the park map on the far side of the room, which was unhelpful until Scorpia walked over and marked the actual spot with a pencil she held in the grip of her claws. “—Along this peak. If you mark your location…”
Catra walked over and pointed at the spot she parked her car.
“That means that you have everything in between to search! Better place to start than any, unless you want to interview the last person who saw her, but she’s dead and surely you don’t believe in ghosts!” Entrapta chuckled until she asked. “Do you?”
Catra frowned. “No?”
“But you do believe in cryptids.”
Catra rolled her eyes. “Not cryptids, a cryptid. And only this one because I actually saw her. She’s eight feet tall, wore some strange armor, and literally glows. Here, let me show you.”
She grabbed a pencil and some scratch paper and sketched for a few minutes. She then showed Entrapta and Scorpia. Scorpia whistled. “That is some talent, Wildcat.”
“And a waste too, on a philistine such as yourself,” Entrapta bemoaned.
It was a highly detailed sketch, but Catra didn’t think much of it. She didn’t have the facial features right for one, and she knew her color vision wasn’t as good as a human’s. She thought the body positioning was alright, but it’s hard to be exact after two full days. It was simply like practice, like what Shadow Weaver had her do to test her new opposable thumbs.
Entrapta took a long look, analyzing every aspect of the sketch, every mark and smudge. “Alright, I think you saw something. I’ll help, but I don’t want you to fall down some superstitious pseudoscientific rabbit hole. You need to apply the scientific method. Hypothesize and gather evidence first, then make conclusions.”
Catra nodded. “I’ve got Adora, she’s a skeptic and I’m trying to figure out what it was I saw.” Catra tapped her chin. “It’s an eight foot tall glowing person in armor. If I can get pictures and more evidence, I could piece together something.”
Entrapta hummed. “I’ll help too, in my spare time.” She glanced at her watch, before realizing she had dismantled it in her search.
She looked at the wall and realized her clock needed new batteries. Scorpia pulled out her phone, only to drop it on the floor.
Entrapta looked out the window and tried to estimate based on the sun casting a shadow, but it was a partly cloudy day.
Catra then showed Entrapta her phone’s lock screen.
“Thank you very much,” Entrapta said, as Scorpia picked up her phone and put it away. “We must be going, the library is opening soon. We can take some time to look for She-Ra factoids, but you’re likely going to have to start fresh. There just hasn’t been a sighting in decades.”
“I suppose I’ll have to start looking for clues, then.” Catra smirked.
—
After a few days in Bright Moon, she decided it was time to bite the bullet and go to the veterinarian. It was an old run down building next to the post office, and Catra walked in, signed some forms and sat down.
Melog purred as it sat down next to her chair. Catra always wondered why Melog was so calm at the vet. Didn’t it hate needles and tests? A sour thought entered her mind: maybe Shadow Weaver was more gentle with Melog than she was with her. It made sense even, Catra was the first test subject.
“Catra?” A well built man in a white coat called out her name.
“Bow. You’re the new pet doctor?” Catra smirked. “Archery not paying the bills anymore?” She glanced up at the shelf displaying Bow’s Olympic gold medal.
“No,” Bow said. “I just wanted to help my folks, you know? Take over my granddad’s practice.”
“I can tell. I was expecting the other Doctor Archer,” Catra pointed out, “You should change the sign.”
Bow scratched his head. “I’ll get on it. Want to come in?” He gestured at the door leading inside.
Catra nervously shifted her eyes back and forth. She looked at Melog, who simply stood up and walked over to Bow. Catra took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
They walked inside and Bow let her sit on a cold table, while Melog lazily curled up in a nearby chair. He said, “Sorry if it takes some time, one of my assistants is out sick.”
Catra snorted. “All the time in the world.”
“I’ll get you off soon. Just sit tight.”
Catra nodded. “Just don’t let my ability to understand the concept of patience lead you to seeing too many other patients, you hear?” She pointed a clawed finger toward him.
“No promises.” Bow said as he hurried off.
A few minutes passed, and Catra spent them reading a cat ownership magazine. She scoffed at the incorrect assumptions made, but did feel weird about that one article by a so-called cat whisperer guessing exactly how she was feeling at the very moment (peckish, bored).
After a while, a large woman in a faux fur coat came in carrying a small dog, probably a chihuahua mixed breed of some kind, who was whimpering quietly.
Bow set them up on the table next to Catra. The dog owner looked at Catra for a moment in confusion, until an expression of recognition came over her face. Catra was mildly surprised she was still remembered even after a decade away. She then decided to focus on the dog.
The dog with a hurt paw stared at Catra with wide eyes, whining before giving a very soft woof.
Catra rolled her eyes. “No, I won’t vote for Rush Limbark.”
Bow frowned, signing some paperwork. “You can talk to dogs?”
She shrugged. “They’re always trying to sell me on something. The one on Dryl Lane has been trying to sell me an old chew toy for some kibble.”
“Huh.” Bow said.
Melog made a purring sound.
Catra looked at her sibling. “I know it’s a bad deal, that’s why I never took it.”
The dog whined a bit more.
Catra nodded before talking to the owner. “Did you recently switch dog food brands?”
The owner nodded and smiled. She spoke in the most outrageous midwestern accent. “Yes dear, I did! It’s more expensive but definitely more nutritious, all for my little snookums!”
“Well, he’s telling me he liked the old one better. Maybe you can do half and half?”
The owner tittered for a bit before saying. “Oh yes, I can. I didn’t know, dontcha know. Thank you very much, Miss.”
“It’s Doctor, actually.” Catra said. She held out her furry hand out, which the owner took and gave a shake. “Doctor Meowmeow.”
“Oh my! Of medicine?”
“Biology,” Catra said. “I’m a zoologist, focusing on mammals.”
“That’s very impressive. Your parents must be very proud.”
“Well, they were cats, so they didn’t really know what biology is,” Catra said.
The dog owner nodded, noticing a subtlety. She decided to lighten the mood, so leaned in and whispered. “Truth be told, I don’t know either.”
Catra laughed. “I get that.”
“Is that panther looking fella yours?” The dog owner said, referring to Melog.
“My sibling, Melog. I’m legally its owner, but we’re twins. Same litter.” Catra smiled.
“You look so different!” The owner pet Melog’s mane, eliciting some purrs and a wave of color change across its entire body, from violet to blue to green.
“I was experimented on first, then it was Melog’s turn. Different gene mods, different results.” Catra gave a light chuckle. “Melog’s supposed to be smarter than the average cat, but honestly, you couldn’t tell.”
Melog snorted.
The dog owner kept petting for a few minutes longer before she saw the wall clock. “Oh my! I must be going! And so sorry for taking your time!” She scooped up her dog, who whined after Bow was finished with him.
“Don’t worry, ma’am, I just finished up on Rex here,” Bow said as he put his measurement needle away. “Besides the slight loss in weight, he’s otherwise healthy.”
“Oh that’s very good to hear.” The dog owner hugged Rex and the two of them left.
That just left Catra, Melog, and Bow.
“Let’s get started,” Bow said. “Lift up your arm please.”
Catra shut her eyes closed, took a deep breath and stuck her right arm out. It was silent in the room. Too quiet.
“Bow?” she whispered.
“Just hold still.”
Then, she felt something poke her in the arm.
She yelped, flight or fight instinct kicking in, and she pushed on her legs with all her might. She flew into the air, before landing on top of an eight foot tall filing cabinet, sandwiched between it and the ceiling.
Catra opened one eye, and saw that Bow was holding a pen in his hand. She sheepishly smiled. “Sorry.”
“It’s alright. You feel sorry for it.” Bow grinned. “Get down and keep your eyes open. It’ll be quick.”
Catra nodded, and rolled down off the cabinet and landed feet first on the floor.
—
Doctor Bow Archer, former olympian and current animal doctor, didn’t know quite how to feel about Catra.
Yes, he decided, they were friends. They’d known each other for a long time. They enjoyed each other’s company, and had one or two shared interests. Catra trusted him with her life, and the life of her sibling. He trusted her too, even if she’s never had the chance to prove it.
But there was something deep within Bow’s mind, a feeling of guilt and shame, one that derived from something else he felt about Catra: Jealousy.
It was silly. It was stupid. It was mean. Bow knew it wasn’t rational, that it was just a natural reaction, a result of years of training, working hard every single day to become a world class athlete, to become the very best. He applied that same principle to veterinary medicine: work hard every single day.
He knew Catra worked hard too. She earned her doctorate, she earned her new position in life, she earned all the good health she has.
And yet he can’t help but think, think about how her wide array of genetic enhancements had made her different, better in a lot of ways.
There weren’t many people he could talk to about this. Besides doctor-patient confidentiality, the full extent of Catra’s genetic modifications weren’t public knowledge. She has the proportional strength of a large cat. She has claws that can tear through skin, cloth, and scratch metal. She can jump higher than any human alive, landing on his tall cabinet with minimal effort, then get back down without even thinking about it. Superior night vision, and superior range as well. She can run faster than any human at top speed.
Right now, Bow knew he could beat Catra at archery. It was obvious, he was a gold medalist, had been training for years, developing his own talent through hard work and practice. But a worrying thought in his mind whispered. If Catra ever did take archery seriously, ever took time out of her day, no, even week, she could beat him. Given a few years, maybe a decade, Catra could best him.
She can hear human sounds and subhuman sounds, speak English fluently while also speak and understand various animal languages. She can understand any one of his patients better than he ever could.
It was a nasty line of thought, one he always tamped down on whenever it came. It was unfair for him to make those terrible thoughts known. It was unfair to Catra, she didn’t ask to be turned into a genetic experiment.
She can never know. And, a new thought in Bow’s head, Catra never had such terrible thoughts about him.
—
Adora had a plan. It was very simple, really. She simply had to veer Catra’s investigation off course, away from anywhere Adora had been while in She-Ra form. Simple. It’s not like she used her She-Ra form very often.
Okay, yes, to save wounded animals. But it only happened one time in the past year! Adora was more than content to let nature take its course. When it happened a few days ago, the deer was just so, so doe-eyed, looking at Adora in incredible sadness! And she couldn’t lift an entire deer by herself any other way.
In addition to being eight feet tall, her She-Ra form had proportional strength, and she gained muscle mass even when in her shorter, five foot eight human form. She also had armor that grew over her head, limbs, and shoulders, which actually felt pretty nice in the cold.
So yes, when Adora was alone and doing some of the more menial labor required for a park ranger, especially the parts involving heavy lifting, she turned into She-Ra. But it’s not like anyone noticed her! Catra’s was literally the first sighting in decades! Adora was good at this, dang it!
Adora paced in her living room, inside her cozy two-story cabin that was built after the fire. A modern home built to be one with nature, independent of the big city. She built part of it with her own… two… hands. In She-Ra form.
Crap.
Okay, there was no way Catra would be able to figure that out. It’s not like she’s an engineer. Okay, yes, she’s friends with Entrapta, but Adora made sure to never let Entrapta near, nor ever have a reason to warrant the perspicacious detective coming within a quarter mile of her home.
Unless Catra invited Entrapta along on her investigation because she knows an honest to God private detective! Who solves murders!
Adora should have asked to come over to Catra’s place instead of vice versa.
She hadn’t even started the investigation yet and already things were going south. But it’s okay! She’s going to stop Catra by following her at every step in her investigation, sweeping clues under the rug! Like a criminal!
“This is my life now. I’m a criminal covering up a crime and I haven’t even committed any crimes.” She groaned into her hands. Then the doorbell rang.
Adora was startled before realizing it was seven, right when Catra said she was arriving.
“Coming!” she said without thinking, then kicked herself for realizing she hadn’t finished getting ready.
She just needed to finish buttoning up her uniform, and eat something, and drink something, and brush her hair, and wash her face…
… At least she was already in human form.
Adora decided to bite the bullet, finish putting on her uniform and tie her hair back. Her hair poof was in decent shape, but it had seen better days. As for eating and drinking, well, she had food and water in the truck. And she had a moist towelette from that restaurant she went to a while back!
Taking a deep breath, Adora gripped her door handle. It was only Catra. Her friend, the talking cat! They’d known each other for years now, back when Adora was an awkward teen, and Catra was an awkward… everything really.
They bonded over everything to do with Shadow Weaver, bonded over movies, and books, and their love of nature. Then Catra decided to go to college, to go out into the wider world, just to see what it was like.
And Catra was back. She was back. Adora opened the door.
Catra was dressed in cargo shorts and a plain red t-shirt, and wore a black backpack full of whatever she needed most. Adora smiled at Catra, who gave a slight smirk back. “Hey, Adora.”
“Hey,” Adora said. “Come on in, I just need to grab a couple things for work. Then we can take my truck.”
“Sure.” Catra walked into the cabin. The space was oddly breathtaking. “Wow.” She walked around the living room, marveling at the mounted ranger gear, camping equipment, historical artifacts, fake stuffed moose, and real stuffed fish. A real outdoorswoman’s home.
“If the fire had a silver lining, it’s that I got a chance to redecorate from the ground up,” Adora explained as she finished washing her face.
“You built this all by yourself?” Catra asked.
“A construction company helped a lot,” Adora said. “And I had a lot saved up. And with how close I am to the park now, it even saves on commute time.”
“Very practical.” Catra snorted. “I’m sure the beautiful vistas from that balcony only factored in slightly.”
There was an uptick in Adora’s lip. A smile even. “When you build a brand new home from scratch, you’ve got to think of the bigger picture.”
“And not a TV in sight. Do you still mooch off of Sparkles?”
Adora was full on smiling now. “Glimmer giveth and she doth taketh away. I still need to get my popcorn machine back from her.”
“After all this time?” Catra crossed her arms, trying not to laugh. “Cat, that thing must’ve been the only thing of yours to survive the fire.”
“Hey, some of my clothes made it out, they were also at her place too!”
Catra grinned. “A few shirts and a popcorn machine. And instead, you built this place.” She waved a hand out. “It’s beautiful, Adora.”
Adora couldn’t help but smile back. “It is, thank you. Come on, the car’s in the garage.”
Catra nodded and followed. Adora could see it, the look in her eyes. She was raring to go, to search for something new and mysterious. An unknown animal? An unknown species? Or perhaps, an existing species, in a new variation? Even if it turned out to be something incredibly mundane, the journey, the research, that was where it all was ahead. Catra was eager to hunt for a new discovery.
Adora, on the other hand, was nervous. She didn’t want to lie to Catra, but how could she tell her the truth, when Catra was always, always so open about herself?
Who was Adora, really? A park ranger? The last of the Grayskull line? The last She-Ra?
Why was she keeping it all a secret? She was the final lorekeeper, the last protector of the archive. When she was gone, the ruins would be found anyway. It was only a matter of time.
Didn’t she trust Catra? They’d known each other for years and years. If there was anyone to reveal the secret to, to entrust with all that remained, it was her, right? But, time changes people. Ten years, in a far away city. Even if every time they talked, it felt like Catra never left, she still was a different person.
Wasn’t that a good thing? Ten years to unlearn the terrible things Shadow Weaver taught her. Adora knew that Catra wasn’t her mother. Of course she wasn’t. Catra was the one to call the police on her.
She called the authorities. Talked to the press, went on television. Worked with the United States government. And Shadow Weaver was locked up. Then she helped out Entrapta and caught criminals, time and time again. Aired their dirty laundry to the whole world. Catra finding out would mean everyone knowing about it.
Adora had to protect her secrets. Her family, may they rest in peace, depended on it. They all did. It was Adora’s duty. For the legacy of her people. For her family.
For the honor of Grayskull.