Chapter Text
I woke up uncomfortably, my bed feeling harder than normal. I reach out for one of my pillows or stuffed animals, mistaking the metal slab I was on for the hard floor that I might have fallen off my mattress onto. Failing to find anything soft, I shifted around as I woke up due to the jarring sensations my body was experiencing.
My body was responding easier and faster than I could ever remember. My muscles were easily able to handle each motion as I pushed off the metallic bed I was on, limbs and joints unstressed as my eyes adjusted to the room; a dimly lit storage room with a chilled temperature, probably to help preserve whatever was in here… like the bodies on the bare on gurney next mine, and the one past it and so on. I inhaled the cold air sharply as I counted dozens of all sizes and shapes, most had sheets over them and were presumably human(oid), a few lacking a limb or an oddly colored or affected one sticking out. I saw scales.
I swallowed down my panic and went into my best approximation of response thinking. I didn’t know how long I had until this room was checked again but I could hope it wouldn’t be any time soon, seeing as I was in a morgue of some sort and this isn’t a location that screams the best place to hold social gatherings of any sort. I patted myself down, realizing I was in a white gown, searching quickly for any pockets and failed. My legs were smoother and far tanner than I remembered and when I checked what the tugging sensation was on my neck I found a collar with a tag in the front that I couldn’t read without a reflection. It felt like soft leather, but when I attempted to unlatch it my hand froze at the clasp and my heart started racing before I pulled my hand away.
Deciding to shelve yet another question, I easily swung my legs over the edge then hopped gently down on the floor where I immediately collapsed from the fall’s height surprising me. Everything looked normal from my previous perspective, but now I realized that I had shrunk to about four feet. Or I was de-aged, going by the smoothness of my arms and legs. That was a hell of an idea to consider as I ran my hand through my solid black bangs (no longer dyed) and attempted to run it over the rest of my head when I was a new appendage. I felt a wave of new feelings overwhelm me as I tried to figure out what was going on and after a few probing pokes concluded that I had ears on top of my head. Fur covered ears. Cat ears
Holy shit.
I felt them twitch, the sensitive triangles shifting around as echoes of my movement traveled across the room and back to me, hearing them in a clarity I suspected was above the human peak. My joy at being an actual, factual, motherfucking catgirl gave me renewed vigor as I scampered across the room, rapidly checking floor cabinets I could reach, seeing as my new eye level was barely above the tables and workstations bordering the room. I found some bandages to cover up some of the open wounds I’d noticed on my forearms in the search, blood slowly pooling to eventually scab over that I was only aware of after jostling my possibly previously dead body. Mad science experiment thoughts later, I cut myself off from continuing that train.
As I passed one of the corner gurneys again, I felt a strange hum when I neared it, like all of existence was being vibrated. I’d been near large machines before where you knew they were nearby just from their powerful activity and thrum of power, and this felt so similar except there was no noise to accompany it. I slowly approached the body that was a man in his forties in a matching gown to mine but he had a tie also. His left hand was also clutching a deck of cards with intricate backs and it gave the impression of more the same way a photo editing with a higher resolution addition stands out.
I weighed my options about the possibly cursed item, but the pull I felt towards it didn’t feel malicious so much as unloved and unappreciated. It emitted a feeling of being discarded, something I now even more sympathized with as I closed the distance to the gurney.
I wiped my hand, further ruining the gown before taking the magical(?) deck of cards in defiance of every warning and trope I’d ever learned. Nothing happened, and then I brought my other hand to more securely hold it when I felt a connection. My other hand still had blood on it, I noted as a glow emanated from the deck and I felt a connection that I could guess was soul deep for the first time as my existence could be best described as “mundane in a mundane world” prior to the last ten minutes.
The good and bad news hit as I got a small information dump into my mind about how the deck worked. The Deck Of Many Names, or as I more cheekily referred to before, the Combino Cards, were a common power/artifact I’d seen a couple of times in fanfictions. I recognized this, which suddenly increased the chance I was in a world I’d seen through a fictional lens, and now I’d stumbled onto an artifact of power, pretty much gave blind confirmation that I was going to have an Adventure with a capital fucking A.
It was a fascinating power to have access to, and also, somehow, way down on the bottom of “powers I’d be happy to have if I got iseaki’d somehow’ because items weren’t my go to. I’d loved internally fueled abilities, stuff that couldn’t be taken. Sure, the Combino Cards could be munchkinned with effort, but-
I cut myself off. I had superpowers now and they were one I was happy with. Thank fuck there wasn’t a rolling mechanic because I was a sucker for scratch-off cards, random prizes, and wow did I dodge a bullet from some nebulous entity that might have offered me the chance for greater powers for extra drawbacks: I’d cripple myself for the chance to taste godhood and double down when I missed.
I decided to make a single attempt at something extra, trying to say “status” out loud because who would pass up the chance at some Gamer powers? Well, it wasn’t in the hand I dealt as I coughed at the first syllable, my vocal chords feeling odd and unable to form even that. I thought it prominently this time, then “system” and a few others before giving up.
I doubled back to the supply cabinets and grabbed a mostly empty tub that I started dumping an assortment of medical supplies in. Labeled pills of all kinds, more bandages, alcohol, tools, and everything I could squeeze in before slapping the lid on. I looked around for the deck, realized I’d been using both hands to gather my loot without remembering setting it down when I felt a tugging from inside me. I flexed a muscle, then tried to flex a more metaphorical muscle related to my existence and a card sprung into my hand. I felt two dozen more still inside. Purple base with gold swirls around the edges on the face, a box near the bottom empty where a name or summary of its contents would fill in on the card.
I exerted my will and the tub vanished, the card now sporting a picture of the plastic storage container and it read “Medical Supplies” on the bottom of the card. I knew if I wanted anything from it, I’d have to summon the entire card then search but at least I wouldn’t be using a card per bandage. I was about to gather more when I saw a flicker of shadow in my peripherals. The bottom of the door had a small gap, poor design if you asked me, and the other side of it was brighter and I’d just noticed someone walk past. A second person stopped in front of the door, but instead of opening it they wandered off.
That was too close for me; I resolved to no longer linger. I held up the card, positioned like I would throw it before snapping it back towards me, the card going into my hand and then into my soul through the palm. One last stop as I left was a box of clothes where I found a small pair of boyshorts, yoga shorts, whatever you want to call them to throw on under my gown, the rest of the clothes being too mixed up to sort through. I pulled them out, grabbed another card and stored the crate of clothes with another card.
The thick, flexible, and tight underwear was approximately my size. I started to shimmy both legs up and braced myself for the final tug when I realized one more fact I hadn’t noticed, or acknowledged yet. I had the proper equipment for a girl my size, more specifically my age, and no longer had an “outie” that had caused me no small amount of distress over the years. Holy gender euphoria, this trans catgirl just got superpowers and now she’s got to make a great escape.
My thoughts kept racing and I knew they wouldn’t stop, my good mood a distraction from my distressing location. I gave myself a quick pat on the ears, still there. I tried a lower section and it was still (not) there, my heart beating out of my chest from joy. I felt my legs tapping softly as I awkwardly leaned my head against the door, not detecting any more noise. I was holding the largest scalpel I could find in my left hand as I slowly eased the door inwards and peaked both ways. The coast was clear and I bolted to the nearest intersection.