Kid Vs Kat: Split Personality (2018)

''Author's Note: What you are about to read is a 2018 remake of Kid vs Kat: Split Personality, written by yours truly. I know a guy named Gardevoir Pikachu ruined the story with memes, but just to let you know, This is not the original story, but rather a retelling.''

All characters (Like Coop and Dennis who are now 17) in the story and plotlines all go to me, the original author.



Bootsville
The sky was overcast and the weather was muggy. The gray skies seemed to punctuate Coop's mood. He was not thrilled to have Kat return here on earth. Their home was beautiful though, a true example of his father’s new found success, but still, after Kat came living with them, it wasn’t the home he’d known anymore.

The sky was a crisp and gorgeous blue, and although the Bootsville heat was playing its usual cruel tricks, the friends decided that a morning bike ride to explore the area would be just the right ticket to combat the slight pangs of dread that they’d both been experiencing over the last week.

The two teens left their houses to mount their bikes and explore around a bit more. As it turned out, the subdivision they moved into was rather close to a cluster of stores in a small shopping center.

Within these were a pizza parlor, a Chinese restaurant, a tobacco store, an phone and app store, and, what Coop and Dennis were most excited about, a video store.

“We’ll have to get your dad to come down here and open up an account so we can rent movies.” Coop mentioned as Coop flipped a box over to read the description of a horror movie.

“Shit, you’re right.” Coop said, feeling a bit of frustration at this thought, but brushed it off. He knew getting his dad to actually come down here and set up a membership would take forever, since his usual after work routine was to go off into a separate room until he got hungry enough to come out and speak.

Coop glanced over at the girl working behind the counter, “Maybe I can go over there and sweet talk her into giving us accounts,” he joked.

“Yeah right Coop, one look at you and she’ll probably ban us,” Dennis remarked back, a smile broad on his face.

“Oh, you doubt me little man?”

“Doubt you? The guy who’s kissed two girls and almost touched a boob, never, please go on over and lay on all the charm.”

“Whatever, I totally could have banged that girl, but her parents came home and….”

“Last time you told me that story, you said her parents were out of town and her sister came home…”

Coop became flustered and while in the process of trying to make yet another come back, the girl behind the register removed all doubt by speaking to the boys herself.

“Hey, aren’t those your bikes?” the young woman asked, pointing towards the glass window.

Kat
Coop and Dennis looked over and saw Coop's sister's purple Sphynx cat outside, who was riding around on Coop's bike.

Coop and his Asian friend made their way towards the doors of the video store, when the hairless cat saw them coming. Coop could see the cocky smile on it's face, but it made some sort of gesture while laughing, and then dumped the bike where it lay, and walked towards the sidewalk on it's hind legs, directly towards the two boys.

Coop, determined to make a good start here, tried to change the course of this confrontation.

"Kat, don't start. Kay? I'm trying to start a new, and you're really not helping."

In that moment, a look of determination replaced the smirk that had rested on Kat’s face throughout this entire exchange. Perhaps he wasn't used to being stood up to for his crimes.

“Well, I guess I could have called you a fucking asshole but I figured I would give you the benefit of the doubt.”

Kat's eyes narrowed, his pointed ears down and has claws ready. Obviously he didn't like what Coop said under his breath.

“Oh I’m sorry, was that language too adult for you?” Coop asked. “Ay, we know you shouldn't of came to Bootsville,” Coop stated to the cat that had reminded him of his locations, “because in Bootsville, you would already have gotten your asses kicked for touching someone else’s shit.”

Coop knew this part. And while he wanted quite badly to sock Kat around, a real concern suddenly invaded his mind. If he and Dennis got into a fight with Coop's bratty sister's cat, she and her dad would freak. He could practically hear it now. And while things had been far from perfect, even after the time he and his friends were kidnapped and sent to Kat's home planet, there was a peace that had fallen over the family, and Coop, fighting his urges, decided to do his best to keep it.

Coop looked over the cat and dismissed him. “You're boring, come on Dennis, let him continue his play date without us.”

Dennis laughed at that and followed behind his friend towards the bikes. However, Kat would have none of that. He moved towards block Coop and his friend once again.

Kat scratched Coop. Coop could tell that scratching has no real conviction. Kat was trying to figure him out, seeing where his buttons were. He’d push harder eventually, but Coop swallowed the slowly building anger within him once more.

Dennis took a bit more exception to the scratch.

“We’re going to yo momma’s house, me and my friend here saved up a couple dollars from doing chores, and we hear she doesn’t charge much.”

In fact, Kat, the target of the insult, stepped forward, fist balled, eyes squinted in anger, and took a wild swing at Dennis.

Dennis, who was both in better shape and had sparred with Coop a time or two during his time spent boxing, was able to avoid the punch, but just barely. Had that been all, it may have once again ended there. Kat was clearly taken by surprise at Dennis’ speed, and actually didn’t attempt another punch. However, this was an alien, an alien that ran in a pack for a reason. The cat threw a punch that connected with the left side of Dennis’ face.

Coop had seen enough. He’d been shocked at how quickly this evolved into blows, even though he’d expected it from almost the start. When he’d first saw the cat, he’d been curious. From there he’d developed an annoyance with him, and slowly that annoyance had evolved into anger. However, upon seeing Dennis punched, seeing the small trickle of blood form on his friend’s lower lip, upon seeing the smug look of satisfaction on Kat’s face, that anger that Coop felt, suddenly exploded into a rage that he’d never felt before in his life.

Coop Burtonburger did not hesitate. He stepped forward, his feet automatically falling into the correct stance that he’d learned from the boxing classes his father once enrolled him into, and delivered a powerful right hand to Kat’s face. The purple alien cat had no time to register shock or pain. The punch caught him by surprise, and his knees buckled. Kat went down to the ground in a heap of confusion and dawning fear.

Coop then moved in, pummeling three stomps to Kat’s stomach. The alien’s eyes went as wide as pie pans, a fitting analogy, Coop thought. He staggered back, clutching his throbbing stomach. Coop wasted no time, and stepped in once more, fetching a sharp punch to Kat’s jaw, causing Kat to promptly fall on his ass.

He stood over the now shocked and frightened cat, feeling something new forming inside of him. He still felt the anger, the rage actually, at the antics of this asshole. He had the nerve to mess with their bikes; the nerve to use, and abuse two kids, and of course, the ultimate offense, lay a single claw on his friend. However, mixed in with this rage was also a sweet, enjoyable pleasure. Not only was he finally kicking his ass, but he was loving every second of it. It was as though the joy of showing him up was perfectly blending with the rage he felt towards them. Together, it formed into a sadistic, controlled sense of power.

That was, until Dennis stepped in front of him. “Coop, stop, that’s enough!”

“Why stop now Dennis, he wanted this.” Coop replied in a flat voice that Dennis had never heard come from his friend’s mouth.

“She’s calling the cops, look!” Dennis shouted again, and this time, Coop came back to reality long enough to listen. He glanced over at the video store clerk, and saw her on the phone, talking frantically and pointing towards the parking lot. Suddenly, Coop’s strange sadistic haze collapsed, and he regained his former self.

“Fuck, let’s go!” he stated quickly, and he and Dennis mounted their bikes and rode towards the parking lot exit.

A few blocks down the street they dismounted their bikes and began to walk them together. At first, neither teen spoke, then Dennis broke the silence.

“Coop, thank you for standing up for me back there, thank you.”

“Yeah, that guy's a piece of shit, he had it coming,” Coop replied, looking down at the street as they walked.

“What... what happened? I’ve never seen you like that before?"

“Just defending myself Dennis, what was I supposed to do, let him beat you up?”

“I bet we’ll see him back at your house, and he won’t forget this."

“Who cares? We didn’t ask for any of this. Dad just wanted a nicer family, and we were along for the ride whether we liked it or not. Think I give a shit what this asshole thinks of us?” Coop stated, and went back to looking at his feet.

“Think we’ll get in trouble?” Dennis asked.

“For what, defending ourselves?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, he did started it,” Dennis answered, and to the friends, the matter was closed.

However, things were far from over.

Corruption in Action
They found that the trouble they believed they’d escaped was in fact waiting for them at their front door. Coop and Dennis saw the police cars well before they arrived at their driveway. Two cop cars, both parked in front of Coop's house. Both of them felt their stomachs drop, as they well knew why the police were there.

The friends entered the living room, to see Coop's dad, Burt, sitting on the couch, the two cops standing up, leaning on the wall, writing in their notebooks.

“What did you two do?” Burt practically screeched as the two boys entered the house.

Dennis began to fall on the defensive, “Your daughter's cat tried to jump us down by that video store, it was messing with our bikes, and when we went outside, it got in our faces!”

“That’s not the way I heard it!” Burt's now thirteen year old daughter Millie interjected, her voice firm and ripe with anger and dissatisfaction.

“No dad, that’s what happened,” Coop began to explain. “We were down at Blockbuster Video, looking around the store, when Millie's cat started riding around on my bike. All we did was walk outside, and the cat started trying to provoke a fight. When we tried to leave, it punched Dennis.”

Finally, one of the two cops spoke. His name tag read Ferguson. “Boys, we have some serious complaints about the two of you. From what eye witnesses at the shopping center say, you two started the confrontation with Millie's cat, who probably got out.”

Coop took notice at how familiar the cop’s tone was when he said Millie’s cat. This was a small town after all, and there was a good chance that this cop coached Millie in little league, or drank drinks with her dad. Hell, it was even possible that this cop could be a friend to Millie.

“No sir,” Coop replied, “we didn’t start it, the cat did. We just wanted our bikes, we just wanted to leave. It blocked us.”

Ferguson continued, as though he’d heard nothing Coop said, “Several witnesses, including the video store clerk, say that you swung first. They that this cat was minding it's business. What does that tell us?"

“What does it matter?” Dennis demanded.

“Well son, if the cat was just minding it's business, you can’t exactly blame it or Millie, now can you? It’d be different had you secured it somehow, but you just beat it to a pulp.”

“Dad, you’re not buying this crap are you? You know me and Dennis don’t start fights, when have we ever? This dickhead messed with us, and if you can’t tell that these cops are taking his side, then you need to open your eyes!” Coop knew he was skating on thin ice, but that rage, it demanded some sort of satisfaction.

“Cooper, do not speak about these officers in that tone of voice, and do not speak to me that way either. Now, it’s pretty obvious that you aren’t happy with our cat, but starting fights in the street isn’t going to change anything!” Coop’s father snapped back.

“Listen boys, you’re lucky. Your dad doesn't want to press charges. This will be reported as a simple domestic disturbance. But be advised, you’re both on notice. This is a quiet town, not like New York. We don’t tolerate this sort of behavior over here. I highly suggest you tell Millie you’re sorry. We’ll be keeping an eye on both of you, so don’t let this happen again. You don’t want to have an arrest record, do you?”

Coop felt his anger bubble over, and he could not hold his tongue. “Who is she to you Officer Ferguson? Is Millie your friend? Is she your biological daughter? Or maybe you go over and screw our mom while you’re on duty before she died? Which one is it Officer?!”

“That’s it, go to your room!” Burt apparently found that he wasn’t a mute person after all, as he ordered his son out of the room. Coop walked up the stairs, however, he refused to hang his head in shame or feel any regret.

Neither Burt or Henry spoke to their sons for the rest of that day. Coop and Dennis stayed in touch, venting their shared frustration to each other on walky talkie's. They’d been screwed over, even at their young ages, they knew that. They took some solace in the fact that they at least hadn’t been arrested or cited, but still, they saw what was really going on here.

“That cop, he was protecting Kat.” Coop whispered to his friend.

“No shit.” Dennis replied.

“We have to watch ourselves; we have to take care of each other. You saw it down there, even our parents didn’t stand up for us."

“Yeah, what the hell was up with that?” Dennis asked.

“Imagine, their fucking image, that’s what’s up with it. All he care about is fitting in here. He wants to make sure he'll blend in with the rest of the families. No more fighting, if we see that fuckhead again, we just walk away, okay?”

“But Coop, you can kick the shit of him, why would we walk away?” Dennis asked.

“Because I can’t kick the shit out of the cops Dennis, I can’t kick the shit out of Millie and dad, and that’s what would get us. Fucking Kat is protected here, you and me, we’re not. So, if we see him, just avoid him, okay, please?”

Dennis nodded, “I feel like a little bitch though, I owe Kat for hitting me.”

“No you don’t, I paid him back for that. I hope he'll just leave us alone now.” Coop sighed.

Absent Compassion
Coop and Dennis didn’t hear from their fathers for the rest of that day. They remained in their rooms late into the night, and finally came down to eat after they were sure their folks had gone to bed. Dennis said that he felt relieved about that, but Coop had a sinking feeling that the worst was yet to come. Coop was correct, the next morning, when Dennis came the Burtonburger home; family was already sitting at the kitchen table, staring at each other, approving of nothing they saw.

“Sit down, Dennis.” Burt stated flatly.

The Asian teen complied without further question.

Burt began his diatribe, “Whatever that was yesterday, beating up our cat for touching your bikes, mouthing off at the police, disrespecting both me and your sister, that stops today!”

“We didn’t beat anyone up for touching our bikes!” Coop blurted.

“Shut up Coop, this is a one way conversation!” his father barked. “That cat did nothing! But let me you in on a little secret, Officer Ferguson is a partner at my firm, did you know that? Did you even think about that when you were assaulting him over your godforsaken bike?”

“You just didn’t think, did you Coop?” Millie added.

“How could I have known that?”

Burt continued, “Well, I’ve spent the entire morning talking to Ferguson on the phone. He is willing to let it all go, but shit son, I have to deal with that at work now. Do you have any idea how much damage this could have done to me, to our family?”

Coop felt that rage coming back, and fought with all his might to keep it stifled.

Instead, he once more tried to appeal to the adult parental side, “Dad, look at Dennis’ face, he split his lip, can’t you see, it’s still swollen!”

Dennis turned his head to better showcase the injury.

“My god Coop, so some kid must've played a little rough with your friend, is that any reason to fight my cat? I wanted to make friends with some of the other families in this neighborhood but thanks to you... I just don’t know…”

No sooner could Coop or his friend construct a proper defense, than Coop's father began speaking again. “So, I have thought this through. Since there are only a couple weeks of summer vacation left, we’ve decided that Dennis should spend the rest of the season at his dad's house. I’ve already spoken to Henry, and he is willing to let him come out there and stay.”

Both Coop and Dennis were floored by this decision. Both boys began to protest at the same time, but they saw the look on Burt's faces. The decision was made.

“Why can’t we both just go then?” Coop asked, a last ditch effort to at least get away from his dad.

“Marcy doesn’t want both of you there, she says you two are too rambunctious, and frankly we agree,” Burt answered.

And so it was, Dennis went back home and stayed away from Coop. Coop watched his friend leave, and then walked back to his bedroom. He felt that rage; however, it began to feel almost... pleasant to him. He couldn’t explain it. He was furious at this turn of events, his father and sister had turned their backs on their own spouse. However, through it all, these new feelings he was experiencing weren’t all terrible. This anger for example, he could almost taste it. It felt like thick, sweet syrup, stirring around in him. Of course, he knew the extra ingredient that would complete the flavor. That satisfying joy he’d felt when he had Kat on the ropes the day prior, that mixed perfectly with the anger, to create some intoxicating product that Coop almost craved now. He fell asleep lying on his bed thinking about that syrup, that thick, viscous that seemed to work its way into the very fabric of his soul. He wanted it, yet he knew that it was destructive, and that nothing good could come from sampling it again.

Several days passed, and tensions were high between Coop and his family. Without Dennis around, there was nothing for him to do except sit in his room and play video games. He went outside but didn’t venture far from home. He knew if that purple gremlin showed up again, it would likely result in another fight.

For a few days, that worked well, and Coop believed he could get through this. However, his father changed all of that on an early Saturday morning. Coop was awoken suddenly by sharp sunlight striking his face. Even in his half sleeping state, he knew that humming was forced. He was doing it to wake him up, and figured the added sunlight would get things there even faster. When she noticed Coop’s eyes cracking open, he sauntered over to his bed, and began speaking in a tone that simply oozed false joviality.

Meeting Brandon
At first Coop had refused. Could his mother be serious, did she really expect him to go over and make friends with Ferguson? He was still in bed when his father stopped his incessant humming long enough to tell him to get up and get dressed. Once he learned why, he’d told him no, no way in hell. However, his father can be a shrewd manipulator sometimes, and he’d know exactly what would get the job done. He promised Coop that if he did this for him, went over and made it work with Ferguson, that Dennis could come back to visit and play the next day. He’d sandbagged Coop right into the corner with that one. He’d no choice but to agree.

A short time later, Coop and his dad were pulling into Ferguson’s driveway. Ferguson answered the door.

“Hey, didn't expect you being here” he greeted.

Coop smiled wanly and confirmed that was in fact who he was.

“Hello, nice to meet you again!” Coop’s dad announced, barging past his son and extending a hand to Ferguson.

“Sorry to hear that your son had a little mishap the other day. You know how it is though with teenagers, hormones going crazy and all. My son Brandon never gets into fights, but he explained to me that Coop and Dennis haven’t quite learned how we do things in our home town in Mandeville yet.”

Coop couldn’t resist a small jab, “Yeah, sorry about that Ferguson. Me and Dennis had no idea that it was okay for Kat and mess with our bikes without asking.”

“Ferguson, he gets that mouth from his uncle Fred, never knows when to shut up. How about you and I go in and have some coffee and you can tell me all the great gossip around Mandeville while our boys get to know each other the right way.”

“Brandon is in his room Coop, upstairs, second door to your left. I’m sure you’ll hear the sound of his video games or something,” Ferguson stated with very little humor to her voice.

“Thank you ma’am,” Coop answered, and entered the house.

Coop knocked and heard Brandon answer with, “Come in.”

“Hey, so, I guess you heard, our parents want us to hang out, get to know each other.” Coop stated with little conviction.

“Yeah, that’s my dad alright, he doesn’t like mommy and daddy issues. Honestly I think he worries too much, I mean, I’m cool if you’re cool.”

Coop sat down on the floor next to Brandon and struck up a conversation. “So, turns out your dad is my dad’s boss, he freaked out about the fight in the parking lot. He was actually worried that he’d get fired or something.”

“My dad is like, everyone’s boss. I fucking hate it. I think half the kids at my school talk to me because their parents are somehow connected to my dad’s firm.”

“Why do you hate it?” Coop asked.

“Because it’s fake, this whole damn town is fake. You’ll figure it out as you go, but trust me; everyone who lives here is just trying to pretend they’re something else. My parents make me do all this shit, all the trophies and stuff, just so they can brag, that’s it.”

Coop smiled, “I know how you feel. My dad had me in boxing class a year ago, because some co-worker of his had a brother that worked at the place or something. As soon as that guy quit though, I was out of that gym the next week.”

“I wish it was that easy,” Brandon responded, “I hate playing baseball, but my dad will sure have me out there again next summer, and the summer afterwards. It’s like, he knows I hate it, but wants to make sure I’m out there with his stupid company name on the back of my jersey.”

“Brandon, what is your response to Kat fucking with our bikes the other day?”

“Hmm. Need I remind you again that this town is fake, and boring as shit? There is nothing to do here. We have to find stuff to do. I mean, there are only so many times you can go hang out at the video store, or ride the dirt paths in the woods. All the girls here are stuck up, all the stores close early, there’s no mall and the movie theatre is across town. We were just bored man, so, sorry for that I guess.”

“It’s cool,” Coop replied, “I guess I’m sorry for that too. Things went too far.”

“You mean the fight with me and Kat?” Brandan asked, “That shit was actually cool. That cat though, he just leech on your sister because of my dad. I know because I have a book on aliens, and Kat's species is on a page somewhere. I don't remember what page it's on, but I do remember the race being a hostile species.”

The afternoon went on, and Coop soon forgot that this was a mandatory arrangement. He actually started to find himself liking Brandon, he was coming around to the guy, finding that he wasn’t so bad once Coop forgot about the whole ordeal with Kat in the parking lot.

About an hour later, things took a new turn.

Coop heard the twin pops of two car doors shutting in near unison, and then heard the engine start up. He dropped the game controller and peered out of Brandon’s bedroom window, just in time to see his father and Ferguson backing out of the driveway.

“Our parents are leaving!” Coop said.

“About time, I figured my dad would eventually talk your dad into going shopping, or going to get coffee, or something like that.”

Coop heard Brandon pause the game.

“Hey Coop, come down stairs, I want to show you some cool stuff.” Brandon invited, and Coop followed.

Brandon led Coop out to the garage. It was hot in there, with the main door shut. The garage was well kept though, and Coop observed stacks of magazines underneath a work bench, as well as tools and various other utility items stacked about.

Standing in the small, closed in garage, with the late summer heat lingering about, Coop began to feel a bit uneasy. Despite the fact that he and Brandon had seemed to bond over the last few hours, Coop couldn’t ignore a sense that things were different now that the adults were gone.

“What did you want to show me?” Coop asked.

“Hold on, let me get it.” Brandon replied, moving the magazines out to reveal a small, red box.

Coop watched as Brandon removed the box and opened it.

“Check it out.” Brandon announced.

It is revealed to be a jar of purple substance with darker spots on it. Almost the same color as... as Kat's skin.

“Woah, what is that?!” Coop shouted, more out of shock than real concern.

“It’s fine dude, don’t be a pussy.” Brandon said with a chuckle. However, Coop watched as he places the jar on the work bench. Brandon then continued to admire the jar.

“Just think.” he announced. “This jar of skin can absorb the Kat Nebulan's machine-like skeleton in factories, becoming like costumes on Halloween. It's fascinating isn't it?"

The change in Brandon’s voice and demeanor was impossible to ignore.

“Okay, well, cool. Let’s get back in the house though, it’s hot out here, plus, I’m getting hungry, what do you have to eat?”

However, as Coop turned to walk through the small door leading back into the house, his path was suddenly blocked by two more familiar faces from the past.

Vile Intensions
“Where you going Cooper?” one of the Kat Nebulan soldiers blurted out through a mechanical collar, as he and his partner stepped forward into the garage.

“Took you two assholes long enough to get here, I’ve had to babysit this faggot all day,” Brandon shouted, a wicked joy was present in his words.

“Sorry Agent 27B, but Agent 45A here had to use the litter box.” the soldier said, a sheepish tone to a voice in the collar.

“It’s cool, we’re here now,” the other soldier said.

“What the fuck is going on?” Coop asked, staring at Brandon. He noticed that Brandon ripped his face off like a mask, and it is revealed to be Kat, wearing the same color that spoke perfect English.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on Coop; you owe me an apology for what you did. You sucker punched me, and then ran away. You didn’t even have the balls to fight me fair, so now, you’re going to pay me what you owe!"

“I’m not going to fight you, okay, I’m done with that shit!” Coop replied as he glanced about the room for an exit.

“You’re right about that, you’re not going to fight. You’re going to stand there and let my boys get their licks in. Then I get mine, and when that’s done, you get the fuck out of my house. I’ll tell your dad that you got sick and walked home, and after that, if you see us again, you better walk the other way.”

“I’m not going to stand here and get hit by you motherfuckers, so just let me go home, how about that. I’ll tell my dad that we’re cool and everyone wins, okay?” Coop asked.

Kat then raised a flare gun towards Jeff. “Haha! No way, you stay pussy; you stay and take your licks.”

Coop felt that sensation once more, that sick, rich dark matter that swirled about inside of him. He could taste it now, it was heaven. In his mind, he imagined himself diving into it, swimming in it, letting it swallow him whole. He looked around and the sensation only grew. He saw Kat, standing there holding the flare gun. It was limp in his hands though, and the hammer was not cocked back. Coop knew that Kat had no intention of firing it. He looked over at the two Kat Nebulan soldiers. He felt that pleasure begin to mix with the rage, forming the perfect product. He tried to avoid sampling it; he knew that only regret could come from indulging in it. However, when it was placed so close, when the aroma and the promise of that sweet savory flavor was only inches away, Coop found that he could no more to stand against it than a ship in the ocean could stand against a typhoon.

Coop began to smile.

“Why are you smiling at me, you queer for me or something?” Kat asked, a slight nervous tinge in his voice.

“Am I smiling Kat? I guess it’s because I’m just having so much fun.” Coop announced, and suddenly lunged towards the unprepared cat holding the flare gun.

Coop punched Kat once in the nose. Kat’s arms dropped, yet he kept hold of the flare gun. Coop, without even needing to look, realized that the soldiers had actually taken a step back, instead of advancing as they should have. Coop delivered another strong blow to Kat’s jaw, causing the evil cat creature to drop to the floor.

Coop now turned his attention to the soldiers, they had yet to actually make so much as a move in his direction. The one on the right actually backed up a step and stumbled over the stack of magazines that Kat had moved earlier. Coop took this opportunity and stepped forward, once again introducing the soldier's belly to his fist. The soldier tried to stay on his feet, but Coop’s punches, combined with the stumble over the magazines, caused the soldier to fall back, landing hard and striking his head on the concrete slab that was the garage’s floor.

The other soldier was actually trying to back away. However, Coop was currently standing between him and the only exit to the garage, since the carport door was closed. Coop took two quick steps towards the Kat Nebulan, and felt the most intense joy at seeing the soldier stagger backwards, knocking his back into the wall. That perfect blend of pleasure, control and rage had come together. Coop felt as though he was floating above the world. Somewhere in his mind, he knew there would be hell to pay for this, but at that exact moment in time, he couldn’t care less. He didn’t care about Dennis, he didn’t care about being arrested, and he didn’t care if his dad got fired. All he cared about, in that fraction of time, was hurting Kat and his two henchmen.

The Kat Nebulan tried to make a run for it, hoping to squeeze through the small gap between Coop and the door. However, Coop clipped him a hard right hand to his face, causing him to stagger back again. Coop could see that his knees were buckling, and took full advantage. He moved in, pinning the beast to the wall, and began to deliver blow after blow to the beast's stomach. The cat's eyes became as large as saucers. Once satisfied, Coop stepped back, and watched in demonic glee as the Kat Nebulan slowly slid down the wall, gasping for air.

Kat got back to his feet, but seemed to have no idea what to do.

“We done now Kat? We good, or do you and your friends need more?” Coop mocked.

“No more, no more... We’re cool..."

“How about you assholes?” Coop asked.

“It was Agent 27B’s idea…” one of Kat's henchmen said weakly.

“Yeah man, we didn’t even want to,” the other one agreed.

The debate may have continued, but the sound of a returning car broke the tension.

“Oh shit, the officer's back!” Kat shouted, his voice cracking in a humorous way. It seemed that the previous tough guy had all but shrunk back to a scared child.

“So, we’ll just say that we were all hanging out,” his henchman replied.

“No, the fucking flare gun, if he finds out that I messed with it, I’m screwed!”

“So put it back!" Coop suggested. That sensation of rage was fading again, and he felt control returning.

“Yeah, grab the magazines, please.” Kat begged. Coop found that he rather liked that tone, that begging, whipped dog mentality.

Coop was paying no attention to Kat; he was down on the floor calmly gathering the magazines. He didn’t really care if Kat got in trouble or not, however, if his dad returned and found trouble, he feared that Dennis may not be able to return as promised.

Everything else happened in a flash, both literally and figuratively.

Kat, now in a panic over the trouble he’d be in if he was caught playing with the flare gun, had begun to sweat. As his paws frantically clawed over the gun, his thumbs pushed the hammer back, unintentionally. He didn’t even notice that the gun was cocked. He was turning it over in his hands, trying to quickly disarm it. He then heard the sound of keys in the front door. He knew that he had only seconds now to hide it.

Everything else happened in slow motion. The gun slipped from Kat’s sweaty paws as he’d attempted to rotate it once more. He saw it fall to the floor, seeming to float to the ground, rather than fall. Coop, busy stacking the magazines, had only enough time to register Kat’s shocked gasp. He turned to look in the alien’s direction, just in time to see the bright red flare gun hit the floor. The gun discharged, launching a speeding ball of fire directly into the jar, splashing the purple substance on Coop’s face. Coop felt the hot flash of heat and pain tear across the left side of his face. After the initial registry of agony, there was no more thinking. Coop began to scream, clutching the left side of his face and rolling around on the floor. For a while he forgot everything, as he was plunged into that dark, rich syrup once more, the rage almost serving to dull the pain.

When he finally did come to a stable level of alertness, he realized he was in a hospital room. Half of his face was bandaged, he knew that much. He wanted to open his eyes and speak, let his family know he was awake, but the drugs still had a firm hold. He was awake, but not quite yet functioning. He could hear several familiar voices though.

Duality
“Is he going to be okay doctor?” Burt asked.

“Oh yes sir, your son will be fine, however, he will have a lengthy road to recovery, and will need your support. That unknown substance hit his face and caused some sort of disfiguration on his left side.”

“How bad is the eye?” Burt asked.

“Hard to say at this point, he’ll need to see an optometrist for further review, but the damage appears quite severe.”

“And his face? What about his face?” Burt asked, sounding deeply concerned.

“Well, we tried to fix it, but as we did so, it seemed to regenerate after cut after cut. But for now, we’ll want him on antibiotics for a while, and he’ll need to have the face cleaned and dressed on a regular basis, but all in all, your son got very lucky. The damage could have been more severe.”

“Doctor,” Burt began again, “What if there is permanent damage? What do I do about that?”

“As I said, an optometrist will have to examine the eye…”

Burt interrupted the doctor, sounding more agitated then before, “You’re not listening, not the eye, his face! What do we do to correct his face?” he demanded.

“Well sir, we have treated his face, like I said, there shouldn’t be a risk of infection so long as you….”

He cut him off again, “Not the infection, his…. his appearance? What can we do for that?”

“Mr. Burtonburger, that’s hardly a concern at this point. Once he is healed and back on his feet, you can possibly explore plastic surgery to repair some of the damage, but honestly, right now, we can’t waste concern on how he looks. What is important is that your son is healthy. He can expect to be back home in a few days, maybe sooner.”

Burt sighed, “Okay, thank you doctor. Can we have some time alone please; Henry and I need to speak.”

“Certainly,” the doctor replied.

“Dennis, why don’t you go down to the hospital cafeteria and get yourself a snack?” Henry Chang suggested.

“But I want to be here in case Coop wakes up.” Dennis replied.

“Dennis, they told us that Coop is heavily medicated. They don’t expect him to wake up anytime tonight. So, just go, and if he does come around, we’ll have you paged,” Burt replied.

Coop heard the door open and close as Dennis exited.

His dad and Henry both let out a long shaky sigh, but Coop was starting to believe it was not a sigh of relief, but rather one of stress.

“I'm going to have to home school him now Henry, that’s just what it’s going to be, I'm going to have to keep him home!” he heard his father rant, his voice sounding frantic.

“What? I mean, he probably won’t be able to start school right on time, but I doubt he’ll miss a whole year.” Henry responded.

“I’m not talking about that Henry, I’m not worried about him missing a week or two of school. I mean his face Henry, you heard what the doctor said, his face is going to be…. disfigured!” Coop argued back.

“We don’t even know the full extent of the damage yet Burt, it could be minor, it could possibly heal, and you heard what he said, plastic surgery could be an option in time.”

“In time? What kind of time? A year, two years, and what about in the meantime? People are going to see him and they’re going to talk, is that what you want? He’s going to be a…. a pariah! You think anyone is going to want to have him around their kids?”

Coop was hearing all of this, just letting it soak in, slowly. As his mind absorbed the words, he felt that rage return. Sick, rich, dark, that syrup of raw, primal emotion. He wanted to scream at his father, to tell him to shut up, that he was the one lying here, half his face disfigured, damaged in one eye, all thanks to him forcing him to go over to Ferguson’s house. He wanted to ask him why he left, why he went off to go shopping or whatever it was that he did. He wanted to know why he’d leave him alone with a monster who just days before tried to jump him and his friend. He wanted to know how he could care more about his appearance than the fact that he was lying in the hospital.

However, there was still so much more that he wanted to know as well. He wanted to know how much more his father and sister hated him, how much more he saw him now as a, how did he put it, a pariah. He wanted to continue to swim in the thick pool of dark hatred that was starting to form from the rage and anger. That was a new one now. Before it was anger, then it was anger mixed with pleasure. But now, now it was anger mixed with hatred. And while he certainly longed to be free of it, while he most certainly preferred the false sense of love and concern he believed he’d heard from her before, he also wanted to test it out a bit more. He also began to wonder, how well would this new recipe blend with pleasure, how would it feel?

Henry began to speak again, “I just can’t believe he splashed himself in the face with some sort of chemical. I always thought Coop was more responsible than that.”

“Don’t even get me started on that,” Burt replied, “I couldn’t believe it when Brandon and his friends explained to the medics and police how it all happened. Brandon was just trying to show Coop around his house, and wanted to show him the collection of magazines his dad kept in the garage. You know boys; he was probably hoping that a couple of Playboys would be in there or something. Then he said Coop found the box containing the jar, and just wouldn’t stop playing around with it. You should have heard those other boys Henry, they told me that they practically begged Coop to just put it down before he got hurt, but he just had to show off. I just don’t know where we went wrong Henry. I thought having a nice family would make everyone happy. Coop though, he just, he just wants to fight us on everything.”

And while all that came together in Coop’s mind, he continued to swim in that black ichor of hatred and rage. The morphine drip added a nice touch of euphoria, Coop could almost see himself, plunging into the syrupy waters of hatred, and emerging changed. Each dip brought him so much twisted pleasure. And that was when he finally understood. He could sample the pleasure now. Not because he was enjoying what was happening, but because he knew he could enjoy what was to come.

Just as the doctor had predicted, Coop was scheduled to go home a few days later. During his time at the hospital, he never asked to see his face. It wasn’t until the last day that he finally asked for a mirror. The nurse had come in to change his bandages, as was the routine. She was a pleasant woman, she spoke to him, asked him how he was doing. He enjoyed her visits. So, on the final day, when she arrived to clean and dress his face, he asked to see himself.

“Are you sure sweetheart? Would you like me to call in your dad first?” she asked.

“No thank you,” Coop replied, “I think I want to see it for myself first, without them standing over me.”

“I understand,” she replied honestly, without a hint of pretension.

Once the bandages were off, she handed him a small hand mirror.

“Would you like me to step out of the room?” she asked.

Coop ignored her and looked at himself, taking stock of the damage. Sure enough, his face was a horrible. The entire left side at least. The skin burned into his own, becoming his own. At first glance, it almost looked like his left side was very much wrinkly and similar to a purple Sphynx. Once he looked at his eye, the news did not get any better. His eye was black, just a inky bulb plugged into his face. He closed his right eye, and found that he could see everything in in two colors, white and black. The wrinkly purple skin continued up the left side of his scalp. His left ear was pointed, like that of a elf or a gremlin. The damage was less severe there however. The hair on the left side of his head was burned off, leaving a few short strands to stick up here and there.

“Sorry sweetie, but I have to put clean bandages on.” she told him.

Coop smiled, “It’s okay, there will be plenty to time for me to admire myself later.”

A Man Devided
There was no joy from his father on the ride home, or upon arrival. They spoke very little, and there was a tension in the car that simply wouldn’t fade out. As for Dennis, he was thrilled that his friend was okay, but he didn’t know what to say concerning the damage to his face. So, after asking a few questions about the accident and the recovery, he fell silent as well.

They walked into the Burtonburger home at dusk and Dennis asked about dinner. He suggested they let Coop pick a place, to celebrate his return home.

“Just go to sleep, both of you boys, go to sleep,” Burt remarked. He retreated to his bedroom as well, to argue or feel sorry for himself, who knew?

Coop and Dennis didn’t speak much that night. Coop spent most of the evening staring at himself in the mirror. He kept pulling back the bandages and looking at the new face lying within. Dennis wanted to see it too, but felt that it might be imprudent to ask.

“I’m glad you’re home Coop, I really missed you and I’m glad you’re okay,” Dennis said to Coop as he stared at himself.

“I’m not Coop Dennis, and I'm not okay. Neither are you. None of us are really. There is a sickness here. The only difference is, now my sickness shows on the outside as well.” Coop replied, his voice as flat as that on an answering machine.

“What are you talking about?” Dennis asked.

“One day, you’ll see it too. This is what happens though, this is what happens when it all falls down.” Coop said, still peeking behind his bandages.

“Coop, I don’t know what you’re trying to say.” Dennis responded.

Coop didn’t reply though, and after several moments, Dennis left him alone. Dennis went down to Burt in the kitchen.

“Mr. Burtonburger, I think Coop is acting weird, you may want to come talk to him."

“Don't worry Dennis, I'll pop him some antibiotics in a minute.” Burt answered. Dennis, being a young teen, had no other ideas, so he returned to Coop's bedroom. He didn’t know that those would be the last words he’d ever hear Burt speak to him.

That night, Burt awoke in the middle of the night, even though both being heavy sleeper. The sudden sound a low thump did the trick just fine. Burt awoke to see a small light coming from the hall. The door was cracked only slightly, and the light source was weak. He could make out a human shape, standing over the bed though.

As his vision came into focus, he realized his son was standing before him. Millie woke to see Coop and Burt in the room. Burt reached over and flipped on the lamp next to his bed. Coop was standing there, his bandages off, his disfigured face beaming down on him, with a long kitchen knife clutched in his right hand.

“What are you doing son?” Burt asked, his mind still trying to shake out the cobwebs of sleep.

“He’s got a knife!” Millie screamed, grabbing at her father’s arm. Burt kept his composure though.

“Millie, it’s probably the painkillers, he likely got up and got disoriented, relax.”

Coop tilted his head to one side, still not speaking. He stared hard at his father, slowly bringing the knife up, ensuring that he saw it well.

“Son, what are you doing?” Burt asked.

“Scaring you.” Coop replied, with no emotion in his voice.

“Dad... do something!” Millie pleaded.

“Okay son, I realize you’ve been through a lot, but you need to go back to bed. I’m going to call the doctor in the morning and….”

Coop moved quickly across to his father’s side of the bed, his head moving about, alternating between a normal looking young man and the deformed ghoul that had been lurking in the shadows.

“Okay son, you’ve scared me, is that what you wanted?” Burt asked, adjusting to the middle of the bed to put distance between himself and his son.

“Good, now I can start hurting you,” Coop spoke again, with no emotion.

His father had time to utter a single syllable, most likely to ask another question, to try and reason with his son. Coop however, gave him time to do no more than that. Millie tried to fend off Coop with a nearby gun Burt had in his dresser, but Coop lunged at Millie, driving the knife into her stomach. Millie still attempted to fend Coop off, but the wound to her midsection rendered her into shock, and her arms fell to the side. Coop could hear his father screaming, but paid no mind. He wanted to finish with his sister first.

Removing the knife, Coop stabbed down into her stomach three more times, quickly. His sister gasped and coughed up blood, her body jerked and twitched each time the knife found its mark. After the third time, Millie Burtonburger lay still.

Burt had backed up against the headboard of the bed. He wanted to climb down, make a run for it, but he’d balled himself up between the headboard and the end table. In his frantic state of terror and confusion, he couldn’t figure out how to do something as simple as dismount a bed.

“Coop…. Why, why are you doing this to us?” he asked feebly.

“Kat started it, you must have known that, but you ignored it. Dennis had a busted lip, you must have seen that, but you ignored it. I was disfigured by that jar of skin, but you believed Kat, why?! So he could fit in with the rest of the family?!” Coop asked in a low, almost growling voice.

“No baby, I believed you, it was, just, my job…. And…. Oh God Coop please….” his father begged.

“Tell me about home school dad? Tell me all about how you don’t want to send me out in public because of my face. Tell me how none of the other kids will want to be my friend, and how none of their parents will want to be yours! Tell me about that dad, tell me how nice it’s going to be, you home schooling me…!”

“Coop please, I was just stressed, I was worried about you that’s all… please I…. I love you…”

“Dad, I think you should take your own advice, you know, what you told Dennis when we got home tonight. He wanted to do something nice to welcome me home, and do you remember what you told us to do instead?” Coop asked, as he now crawled over, cornering his father on the bed.

“What did I say?” he asked, the question coming out barely a whisper.

“Go! To! SLEEP!” Coop snarled, and drove the knife into his father’s chest. He stabbed him over and over again, and as he did, he finally found that perfect recipe, that heavenly blend. That rage, hate and pleasure all mixed into one perfect formula, and for a while, Coop became lost in it all.

Coop opened his bedroom door, not surprised to find his friend asleep. He had dozed off with headphones in, so he slept through all the shouting. That was fine with Coop. It was easier that Dennis not have to hear all of that.

Coop sat down on his sleeping bag and nudged him slightly. It took a moment, but Dennis finally opened his eyes and looked up. Coop removed his earphones for him.

“You’re free now Dennis.” he spoke softly.

“Coop, what… what are you talking about?” Dennis mumbled, still half asleep.

“You’ll see in the morning. I just wanted to let you know I love you. You’ve been my best friend, remember that, okay?”

“Thanks, I… I love you too. Now, let me go back to sleep.” Dennis replied, already dozing off again.

Coop smiled and stood up. As he left the room, he looked back at his sleeping friend one last time, before he vanished into the night.