"I’ll call you," Greg said to Nick. "Let me change my clothes and get the stuff safely put away. Then I’ll give you guys a call, we can have another meeting and decide what to do from there."

"Okay," Nick said simply. "See you." He started the engine, shifted into gear and pulled away from the curb.

Greg waved good-bye as his friend drove off. He turned and, despite his fatigue, briskly climbed the stairs to his apartment. He opened his front door, closed it and fell heavily against it, nearly collapsing in a combination of exhaustion and relief. It’s over…it’s over…it’s over… he silently repeated to himself, like a mantra. I can’t believe it…I just can’t believe it…but it’s finally, really over at last! Finally! He began to chuckle, from relief and elation, very softly at first, then gradually louder,. He had finally triumphed over Cat! It had taken months, it had brought him to the brink of madness, but he had finally beaten her at her own game! With luck, and with the help of his friends, he had done it! Together, they had pulled it off!

A shudder ran through Greg when he remembered the mess he’d left in Cat’s apartment. As soon as Cat saw it, she’d know that someone had been in there, Greg knew. Well, he thought, trying to remain hopeful, she won’t necessarily suspect me… I mean, anybody could have burglarized her apartment, not just me… He smiled as he pulled the rubber gloves from his hands with loud snapping sounds. And no fingerprints! he thought. Even if she calls the cops, they won’t find any proof that I did it!

Greg pulled himself away from the door, and walked wearily into the kitchen. He opened the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink and carefully placed inside the canvas bag containing the shattered remains of Cat’s herb plants. He unzipped a pocket of his coveralls, reached in and retrieved the one lone vial of Cat’s potion he had managed to salvage. He held it up before his eyes. This is it! he thought, in growing excitement. The stuff! The invisibility stuff! Right here in my hand!

Greg began to tremble all over, as he recalled the months of mistreatment he had suffered from Cat and her abuse of the invisibility potion. He felt conflicting emotions. On the one hand, the accumulated rage of the past several months filled him with a strong urge to smash the vial against the walls or against the floor. At the same time, he felt an overwhelming desire to use the potion himself, immediately. But as he thought about it, he realized that the sensible thing to do would be to save the potion, conserve it, until he really needed it. He returned the vial to his pocket. I’m not going anywhere without this thing! he thought. So if Cat does corner me again somewhere, this time I’ll be ready for her! Anywhere, any time! And won’t she be surprised!

Greg then began to reconsider Norma’s suggestion about taking revenge on Cat. Although he had originally resisted the idea, and only wanted to put a stop to Cat’s torments, he now began to feel differently. He now wondered if perhaps Norma was right, and that he should use the potion to exact revenge. He would certainly be well-justified in doing so. His thoughts then took an uncharacteristically dark turn.

He shook his head, as if to dispel the dark notions. No, no…he thought. That’s crazy thinking… I must be more tired than I thought… I can’t even think straight! He yawned and stretched. It had been a long day; a long, exhausting, nerve-wracking, terrifying day! It was a nightmare; the past several months had been one long nightmare. But it was over now. Thank God it was over…

He unzipped the overalls, preparing to undress and take a shower, when the doorbell rang. Who could that be? he wondered. Oh…I know who it is… It’s probably Nick or Norma, checking back to make sure everything’s all right… But why are they here now? I told Nick I’d call them later… He quickly zipped up the coveralls again and walked to the front door.

He looked through the peephole and a jolt of sheer terror shot through him. There, on the other side, was Cat! And, by the expression on her face, she was clearly not happy. But she looked different somehow, different from the way she normally looked when she was angry. Now she looked possessed, almost demonic, in fact.

Oh, dear Lord! Greg thought. She knows!! She knows everything!! She knows it was me, that I’m the one who broke in & trashed her place! Dammit…dammit, I must have dropped something, forgotten something or left something behind, something small…! How else could she have known it was me? How…? Dammit!

He took a deep breath and tried to think. Okay…okay, calm down… he thought. She couldn’t possibly know that I did it… But then why is she here? No…no, she knows, all right! Wait…wait, maybe if I just keep quiet, she’ll think I’m not home! Yeah, that’s it! I’ll just…

"Greg, you son of a bitch!" Cat yelled from the other side of the door, banging loudly on it with a fist. "You’d better open this door, goddammit! I know you’re in there, and I know you broke into my place today! You’d better open this goddamn door right now or I’ll call the cops!"

Oh, shit! Greg thought. What’s the use…? But wait a minute…wait a minute, what have I got to be afraid of? There’s nothing she can do to me now! Not now! I’ve got her "ace in the hole," and she knows it! Or if she doesn’t know it, she soon will!

Immediately, the terror began to subside in Greg, and a broad smile appeared on his face. Just once, he thought, as he placed a hand on the doorknob. Just once…I want to be able face her down! Just once! He unlocked the door and opened it, letting Cat inside. She stared daggers at him as she stepped past him and into the apartment.

"All right," she said quietly, when he closed the door behind her. "Now look, you: I don’t want to fight, I don’t want to play games, and above all, I don’t want to take any of your shit! Do you understand me? Just give me back my property, and you won’t get hurt. Is that clear? Give it to me, and I mean right now!" She held out an open hand, palm up.

Greg said nothing and merely looked at her, the faintest trace of a smirk on his face. "I don’t know what you’re talking about." he said, casually.

Cat erupted like a volcano, her green eyes flashing with a bright, fiery brilliance. "You know goddamn well what I’m—" she began, before her demeanor abruptly changed to that of a parent dealing with a disobedient child. "Look," she said, quietly, as though trying to control her temper. "I said I don’t want to play games with you. I’ve had just about enough of you, after the other night! When you grabbed my arm and hurt me, remember?" She glowered at him as she rubbed her arm. "I didn’t forget about that, and I’m not going to forget about it, either! So don’t give me any of your crap today, because I won’t take it!"

She paused, taking a deep breath, as though to calm herself. "Now," she went on, in a slightly cooler tone of voice. "You and I both know that you were in my apartment today. We both know you tore the shit out of the place, and we both know why. You were looking for my potion. You were looking for it and you found it. I know damned well you took it, so don’t bullshit me!"

She paused again, staring him right in the eyes with the coldest, hardest stare Greg had ever seen on her. He met her gaze just as steadily, his eyes never wavering. When he failed to respond, she went on:

"You ought to know by now that I have no intention of letting you keep the potion, and I’m sure as hell not going to let you use it, either. You know what I mean by that. I’ll do whatever’s necessary to get it back." She paused again, dramatically, then continued. "So we can do this one of three ways: We can do it the easy way, where you give me back the property that’s rightfully mine, I don’t break your neck and we’ll call it even. Or we can do it the hard way: I go to the police and file criminal charges against you. You do have a police record of disturbances, you know. It won’t be hard for me to convince them that you deliberately trashed my place out of spite from a broken love affair. I mean, everybody knows how obsessed with me you are; just ask anyone."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of her mouth twisted upward slightly. "Or we can settle this the really ugly way. And you know what I mean by that." She took a step closer, and as she did, Greg thought he detected a strange gleam in her eye, that he had never seen before. "Remember what you got in the parking-lot the other night?" she said with a smirk. "Consider that a sample of what you can expect now if you keep pushing me! Now hand it over!" She thrust her hand out again, palm up, a clear indication that she wasn’t about to wait any longer.

Greg merely looked at Cat’s empty hand and chuckled. "You’re shooting blanks, Cat. You don’t frighten me anymore." He leaned over close to her and looked her straight in the eyes. "Because, my dear, you don’t have the advantage over me anymore."

"Oh, so you admit—"

"I don’t admit anything." Greg countered. "But let’s just suppose I did take that stuff of yours; do you honestly think I’d be stupid enough to give it back to you? Knowing what you’re capable of once you use it? I know you think I’m a real dummy. Well, maybe I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I’m not that freaking stupid!"

Cat began to tremble all over with rage, her face gradually reddening to match her hair.

"But that’s beside the point," Greg went on, savoring the experience of finally being in a position to toy with Cat for a change. "The point is, from what you said, you’re apparently missing your invisibility stuff, and you think I took it. Whether I did or not is irrelevant; the point is, you don’t have it anymore. And, since you don’t have it, you don’t have the power to terrorize me anymore!" His smile broadened. "And if you do decide to try anything—" he leaned closer to her, still grinning, his nose almost touching hers. "—And oh, Cat, how I really wish you would, sometime! Just to give me an excuse! If you do try anything—" he hesitated, as though considering his next words very carefully. "Well…let’s just say I think you’ll live to regret it! And that’s all I’ve got to say to you!" He pulled away from her and straightened up. "Now…get the hell out of here!" he said, pointing to the door.

Cat continued to stare in silent fury at him, quivering with repressed rage. She then blinked twice, as though awakening from a deep sleep, and the corners of her mouth gradually twisted into a chilling grin. "Okay," she said quietly, as she reached into her purse. "If I don’t have it anymore, then what’s this?" She produced a small glass vial containing a gray-green liquid, and held it up for Greg to see. He reached to grab it, but Cat stepped back and pulled it away from him.

"Not so fast, Mister smart-ass!" she said. "You thought you had it all, didn’t you? You thought you could outsmart your Cat, didn’t you? Well, you can’t!" Her twisted smile grew, and she bared her teeth. She shook her head contemptuously. "Oh, you poor, dumb slob! When will you ever learn? Don’t you get it yet? You can’t beat me! Not now, not ever!" She started to turn away from him.

Greg rushed Cat to try and grab the vial away from her. She quickly turned back to face him and raised a knee, connecting with Greg’s groin area. Greg immediately doubled over in pain. Cat stepped back with a smile and slipped the vial down the front of her blouse. "Just try and grab it now, smart-ass!" she said. "Try it and I’ll not only call the cops, I’ll call the whole damned Marine Corps!"

Shit…shit…shit… The word reverberated in Greg’s mind through the waves of pain streaming from his nether region. I knew it…I knew it…I knew it!!! I knew she must have had more of the stuff stashed someplace! Dammit! I should have known this couldn’t be all of it! Okay…okay, calm down…she’s not as tough as she thinks she is…but then, neither am I!

Cat stood by and waited patiently for Greg to recover. When at last he was able to stand up straight again, he tried to assume a passive, emotionless exterior, so as not to reveal his true feelings. He tried to decide what his next move should be. He thought…and thought…but only one alternative stood clear before him. Well, he thought, in final desperation. There’s only one thing to do…

"So what’s it going to be?" Cat said, breaking the silence. "Are you ready to be reasonable and hand over my stuff now?" She made a movement as if to retrieve the vial from the front of her blouse. "Or do I have to take it from you? The hard way?"

Slowly, Greg’s hand crept down into the pocket of the coveralls and retrieved the small vial he had placed inside. He raised it to chest-level, holding it in an open palm, as if in abject surrender. Cat’s eyes brightened when she saw it.

"Aha! So you did take it after all! I knew it! I knew I couldn’t trust you! I should have known you’d pull something like this one of these days! Now, give it here!" She rushed Greg and tried to snatch the vial from his hand.

Now it was Greg’s turn to play keep-away, holding out his other hand to block her progress. "Not so fast," he said. "Okay, okay, so now you know I have it. So what’s to stop me from using it right now? What’s to stop me from using it later on? When you least expect it? What’s to stop me from using it to make your life miserable, the way you’ve made mine?" As Greg spoke, the timbre of his voice began to change, from the casual, carefully-modulated tone he had managed earlier, to one with a hard, tense edge, a product of months of pent-up anger and outrage. "What’s to stop me from taking it right now, turning invisible, and breaking your neck?"

If his words had any impact at all on Cat, she gave no indication of it. Her face remained completely passive and devoid of emotion in the long silence that followed; Greg felt very uneasy by it. Cat made no sound, betrayed no emotion whatsoever, yet there was a definite tension in the air, an electricity such as before the break of a thunderstorm. It felt to Greg as though either one of them were about to be struck by lightning at any moment.

Finally, after what seemed like the passing of eons, Cat’s demeanor finally changed. The eerie, twisted smile returned to her face, morphing slightly into a taunting smirk. "All right, Greg. All right. Go ahead." She gave a slight wave of her hand. "Go on. If you want to take the potion, then go right ahead. Be my guest. If you really want to be invisible, then take it!"

Greg returned her smile, and in one quick motion, removed the cap off the vial and brought it up to his lips. He was just about to swallow the contents, when he hesitated. Wait a minute, he wondered. Why is she telling me to take it? What’s her angle? I don’t get it… Does she want me to turn invisible? If so, why? For months, she’s been trying to keep me from taking it…and now? Maybe this isn’t the invisibility stuff after all… But it must be! If it’s not, then why is she so upset that I stole it? And why did she try to grab it away from me just now? It must be the potion…but if it is, then why is she telling me to take it? No…no, she’s just trying to fake me out, that’s all… She’s trying to mess with my head again…or is she?

Greg pulled the vial away from his lips and looked at it. It sure as hell looked like what he remembered the potion looked like. But he had only caught the most fleeting glimpses of it, and that was several months ago. Could he be sure that this was the right potion? And that it wasn’t something else, something poisonous?

"What’s the matter, Greg?" Cat said tauntingly, as he stood frozen by indecision. "Are you scared? Huh? You were talking so tough a moment ago, a real brass boy. What happened? Have you lost your nerve? Huh?" She let out a brief, derisive snort. "Yeah, you always were a chickenshit coward, weren’t you." She shook her head, as though pitying him. "I don’t know why I ever put up with you. You were never worth it; never." A brief glint appeared in her eyes. "You weren’t even good in bed!" she added quietly.

Greg looked Cat right in the eyes. His own eyes narrowed, and the features of his face hardened.

"You’re pathetic, you know that?" Cat went on. "I mean, look at you. You went to all the trouble of stealing my potion…and now that you have it, you don’t even have the guts to take it!"

She stepped closer to him, and her eyes now resembled that of a jungle cat stalking prey. "You don’t have the guts, do you? Do you?!?" she taunted. "What are you afraid of? Huh coward? Huh?" She reached a hand out to his shoulder and shoved him, as if to further provoke him. "What, do you think maybe I poisoned it or something?" She laughed contemptuously and began to pace back and forth in front of him, like a tiger in a cage. "As if I have to stoop to that. Hell, if I really wanted to hurt you, Greg, I sure as hell wouldn’t do it the cowardly way by giving you poison. I’m not the coward, you are, remember? Unlike you, I deal with things directly! I don’t run sniveling away, whining like a whipped pup! Not like you!"

She stopped and faced him directly, her smiling, taunting demeanor now replaced by one of cold, hard steel. "So what’s it going to be? Huh, Tough Guy?" She shoved him again. "Don’t you want to be invisible? Or are you too scared? If you are, then you’d better give it back to me right now! Because if you don’t, I’ll never give you a moment’s peace in your entire life! You can depend on that! Now give it to me!!"

Cat lunged one last time for the vial, and Greg stepped back from her, lifting the vial to his lips and downing the contents in one quick swallow. The fluid trickled over his palate and down his throat, leaving a spicy, minty aftertaste behind. This is it! he thought, in growing excitement. I’ve taken it! I’ve actually taken the potion! Now I’ll be invisible and have the advantage! And then…look out!

Greg stepped back from Cat, beaming widely at her, his self-satisfied grin spanning from ear to ear. Cat stood by, watching him intently.

The curious, spicy aftertaste of the potion remained in Greg’s mouth and settled in the pit of his stomach. It was a curious sensation; it felt like a warm, pleasant glow, spreading from his stomach outward to his vital organs. The warm feeling continued to grow and spread to his limbs and face. This must be it! he thought in growing excitement. I can feel it working! I can feel it taking effect!

The warm feeling spread to Greg’s hands, and he held them up before his eyes. He watched them for a long time, expecting them to fade away before his eyes. Soon now, he thought. They should start to fade very soon. The potion always took effect this quickly whenever Cat used it.

He continued to wait…and wait. Still, his hands remained just as solid as ever. The only change that Greg did notice was that the warm, pleasant glow he had earlier felt now seemed to be intensifying. Now, instead of a pleasantly warm sensation, it began to feel uncomfortably hot. In moments, an intense burning sensation swept through his veins and arteries, but focused most acutely in the pit of his stomach, where it raged like a forest fire. Greg moaned and doubled over, clutching his stomach. The intense burning continued, radiating outward from his stomach to all parts of his body.

When she saw that Greg was now in distress, Cat gave a light laugh. "What the matter, Greg?" she said. "Not feeling well?" The triumphant smile that Greg had formerly worn now appeared on her face instead.

The pain in Greg’s stomach began to rise and swell, and soon grew into nausea. He turned and staggered blindly into the bathroom, where he collapsed to his knees in front of the toilet bowl just in time to heave into it. Repeatedly, his stomach lurched its contents into the bowl, bringing up a bright green slime. Greg felt as though his insides were bursting, his brain on fire. Through the waves of agony, he became aware of only one external stimulus: the sound of Cat’s voice nearby, above him:

"Poor thing. Can’t take it, can you?" Surprisingly, her voice now contained none of the cruel mocking tone it held earlier. Instead, it sounded soothing, almost pitying, as though she were a concerned mother tending to a sick child.

In the lulls between heaves, Greg became vaguely aware of two other sounds. The first was the sound of water running, interrupted at intervals by what sounded like a bell ringing. The two sounds occurred simultaneously, then the sound of water abruptly stopped. The bell sound repeated several more times, before it too finally ceased.

Greg next became aware of a very curious sensation: a cold, moist washcloth gently dabbing at his forehead and wiping away the bitter bile from the corners of his mouth. He also became aware of a hand gently rubbing his back, comforting him. At the same time, Cat’s soothing voice spoke softly into his ear:

"There, there," she said, as though lulling a baby to sleep. "I know it hurts. I know it doesn’t feel good. But it will pass. Shhhhhh…. Shhhhh…. It’s all right… Just relax… You’ll feel better soon…"

Greg blinked away the tears in his eyes to glance at Cat, now kneeling on the floor beside him. Cat’s eyes met his own, and they were not the cruel, mocking eyes he had seen only moments ago. These were the kind, tender, loving eyes that he had first known, long, long ago, the eyes he had once fallen in love with, and hadn’t seen for far too long. Their sudden appearance here and now, under these circumstances, was extremely puzzling to Greg, as was Cat’s abrupt change of behavior. A short while earlier, she looked as though she wanted to kill him. Now, she acted as though she wanted to wet-nurse him. Greg couldn’t figure it out. But unfortunately, he had no time to ponder the matter further, as his stomach felt another series of heaves coming on.

When the heaves at last began to subside, Cat spoke again, softly. "I tried to tell you," she said, as she wiped his face with the washcloth. "I tried to tell you a long time ago… the potion is for girls only. It won’t work on a man. I don’t know why; no one knows. But for as long as the recipe has been in the family, passed down from mother to daughter, it’s only worked on women, never on men. If a man takes the potion, it only makes him sick. I don’t know, but…I think that maybe my ancestors developed it that way so that the womenfolk could keep the menfolk in line. Shhhh….shhhh…. It’s all right… You’ll feel better soon…"

Eventually, the heaves stopped completely, and Greg settled back and away from the toilet bowl, leaning against the opposite wall, with Cat kneeling down beside him, continuing to wipe his face with the washcloth. A cold sweat covered Greg’s forehead, tears continued to flow down his face, and a bitter taste remained in his mouth. But eventually, his aching stomach finally began to settle down. He sat there, clutching his abdomen, breathing deeply, while Cat tenderly washed his face, making the same soothing, comforting sounds as before. Her eyes were large and moist, and reminded Greg of an earlier time, when they had first met. In fact, at that moment in time, Cat almost looked angelic, her voice, manner and expression filled with love and kindness of the sweetest, most tender nature.

After an untold period of time, Greg felt that he had passed through the worst of his nausea. As if sensing this, Cat said to him, in the most loving tone of voice he’d heard from her in months:

"Feeling better now, sweetie?" Her eyebrows arched, with a look of genuine concern. "Hmmm?" She wiped the corners of his mouth.

He nodded. "Yeah…I think…" he swallowed. "I think I’ll be all right now." He wiped at his eyes and nose with a wad of toilet paper.

"You sure? Hmmm?" She gently dabbed at his forehead.

Greg was still puzzled by Cat’s sudden concern for his well-being, but he felt too woozy to question it in any great depth. Instead, he weakly answered: "Yeah, I…I just need to rest here for a couple of minutes, before—" he swallowed. "Before I can get back on my feet."

He looked at Cat, kneeling opposite him. He felt encouraged by the softness in her eyes and manner to ask a question that, under ordinary circumstances he might not have dared.

"Tell me something, Cat," he began, pausing briefly to clear his throat. "Why… if you knew the potion wouldn’t work on me, then why didn’t you just say so in the first place? Why did you get so angry at me that first time, months ago, when I tried to find your potion?"

Cat cocked her head to one side. "Why did I get mad? Well, I hate to point this out again, but the fact is, that potion is still my property, not yours. It’s the only thing I’ve ever had in my life that you couldn’t have. It was mine… not yours… It was my little secret…and—well, I just couldn’t trust you. I couldn’t even trust you to keep your hands off it, remember? So how could I be sure you wouldn’t tell anyone about it or turn it over to some chemical lab to analyze or to some government agency or something? Hmmm?"

"Besides," she went on, as the softness in her voice and demeanor began to diminish. "I still couldn’t be completely 100% sure that it wouldn’t work on you. All that I read and researched and knew about the herbs from my family history showed that they wouldn’t work on a male body chemistry." She spoke evenly, without emotion, as though she were simply reading off a grocery list. "But I still wasn’t 100% sure, and I decided I couldn’t take that chance. I didn’t want you even touching it; I couldn’t stand even the idea, the possibility of you becoming invisible." She paused briefly, shuddering as though a particularly horrible thought had occurred to her. "Just the thought of you walking around when I can’t see you just makes my skin crawl…" She shut her eyes tightly and shuddered again.

"Until now," she went on, "I’ve never had to put it to the test. But today…well, you really left me no choice." She paused, looking quizzically at Greg. "I know I was taking a big risk by letting you actually swallow the potion. But…well, it was a calculated risk. I guess I was gambling on your bad luck. I gambled…and as I always do, I won in the end."

Several more long minutes passed before Greg was able to rise, very unsteadily, to his feet again. He still felt a bit woozy, but he no longer felt completely incapacitated. Cat rose to her feet at the same time, and reached out a hand to help steady him.

"Feeling better?" she said, with the same soft, soothing tone. Greg nodded.

"Are you sure you’re all right?"

"Yeah…yeah, I’ll be fine, now…"

"You’re sure? You’re positive?"

Greg nodded again, almost smiling at Cat’s unexpectedly caring mood.

"That’s good," Cat said, giving him a smile so kind, so sweet and endearing, that it almost melted Greg’s heart.

"Because now I’m going to kill you!" she said simply.