New York City! What a city it is. Aside from all the trash, rats, crime, crowding, and traffic, it's a pretty cool place. At least, that's how a girl named Callista, preferring to go by Callie,  saw it. She lived in an apartment building with her two moms and pet cat, Mr. Midnight.

It was a fairly cold night, so Callie decided to put on her black sweatpants and zip up jacket of the same color. She pushed up her glasses and moved her short, black hair into a messy bun before getting to work on her physics homework. Callie wanted to get into a good college when she graduated, so she decided to takes all Honors and AP classes. Other kids would call her a geek, or a nerd, but it didn't bother her. It was just who she was.

Callie's faithful companion was on the bed with her when the sent of food filled her nose. It began to distract her. She could never resist her mamá's cooking. Note: Callie is not biologically related to either of her mothers; she was adopted. That doesn't stop her from celebrating her family's culture, traditions, or heritage, her mamá being Hispanic, and her mom being Irish-American. Anyway, Callie decided to go up to the rooftops to study. On her way, she went to the kitchen and saw that they were going to have quesadillas for dinner.

"Mamá, I'm going to the roof to study for my physics exam," Callie said as she took some cheese dip on her finger and licked it.

"Alright, but be careful. I heard that there's been some dangerous activity going on around the neighborhood. Te quiero hija mia."

"Yo también te amo, Mamá," after that was said, Callie went to the rooftops, taking her cat and work with her. When she got up there via fire escape, she started petting Mr. Midnight and looked at the stars. After a few good minutes of enjoying the scenery, the blueish-green eyed girl got to work.

Callie had worked for about half an hour when she heard fighting. It sounded like laser guns and metal clashing against metal. "Is someone having an outdoor laser tag party?," is what Callie thought. Then a container holding a glowing, green substance rolled to her feet. She picked it up and carefully examined it.

The container burst open by unknown means and its contents spilled all over Callie. She began to scream. Her body felt as if it was on fire and being electrocuted at the same time. She watched helplessly as her hands turned into paws. She grew a tail, cat ears, black fur grew across her body, her eyes were no longer blue-green, but now just green, and her over sized clothes now fit as they should, as her entire body grew in height. Callie's glasses fell to the ground, the lenses and frames both breaking.

The now mutated girl looked at herself and didn't know what to do. She ran back inside with her cat and called her parents for help. "MOM!!! MAMÁ!!!! I need help!!!!" As the girl's parents rushed in to see what was wrong, they both had a horrified look on their faces.

"What are you?! WHERE IS OUR DAUGHTER, YOU FREAK?!?!"

The words stung like a knife going through her heart. They couldn't recognize her in her new form. Callie stayed frozen for a few moments. Afterwards, the two older women started threaten their daughter unbeknownst to them. Callie jumped out of the window to avoid being hurt and ran away from the apartment building making sure that no other people saw her.

The days that followed this incident weren't any easier. Callie neither slept, nor ate. She was utterly exhausted. What really didn't help was the fact that she was being chased by alien robots that kept calling themselves, "The Kraang." At least her mutation made her faster than them. Unfortunately, Callie took a wrong turn and ended up in an alley. With no way out, she decided her only way to go way up. It took her a bit, but she figured out how to unsheath her claws and wall climbed the nearest building. She struggled a bit, but managed to get to the roof. 

"Take that you stupid alien robot things," Callie laughed. She did a little victory dance to herself before yelping in fright when one of the robot's blasters went off right past her ear. Then she heard the same fighting sounds as the night she was mutated. When the cat mutant peered over the edge, all the robots were slashed into pieces and demolished. Callie was completely confused. She lowered herself from the building and looked around the scene. After a minute or so, she noticed a manhole cover. It was getting close to night, and she actually wanted to sleep somewhere.

"If I'm right, then there should be some abandoned subway tunnels, or sewers systems down there," Callie said to no one in particular. After struggling to get the manhole cover off, Callie descended into the depths. While trudging through the sewers, both her sight and hearing got fuzzy. She knew that her exhaustion was getting to her. She just had to find a safe place to sleep first.

It took her a while, however, Callie was able to find a place. She could tell it was loud, but she couldn't clearly hear, or see anything. The area was very spacious and smelled like pizza. It reminded the girl of her home. Callie layed down on the ground, not caring if it was cold, dirty, or made of concrete. As she fell asleep, she failed to notice the four shadows surrounding her.