Millions of years ago, before the dawn of civilization, powerful beasts roamed the Earth. No one knows where these beasts came from, but one thing is for certain: their abilities far beyond the capabilities of what man could do. They had the speed to cross continents in a flash, they had the power to destroy mountains, and many more fantastic abilities. These beasts, who threatened the existence of mankind, came to be known as The Lunites! However, as quickly as they appeared on the scene, they disappeared; their existence being relegated to legend and simple campfire tales. That is until now……

“This is Team A! We’re in position!”

“This is Team B! Ready and waiting to strike!”

“This is Team C! No sign of her yet, but I got a good feeling we’ll catch her this time!”

The radio crackled as Jim leaned back in his chair. He was listening to the reports of his teams while staring up at the 9 screens in front of him. 

They displayed various views of the bustling streets of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, cars whizzing by as pedestrians waited patiently to cross. 

He swiveled his chair to glance at his friend Phil, who was too busy reading a Playboy magazine to even glance up at the other set of 9 screens on his end.

With an exasperated sigh, he said, “Hey Phil, don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“I beg your pardon?” Phil replied, eyes trained hard on the voluptuous pictures in front of him.

“I mean, think about what we’re doing this for. It’s not some wanted criminal we’re trying to capture. You think this might be too excessive?”

Phil sighed, finally taking the time to look away from his magazine to look at his partner.

“You’ve seen how she is Phil! She may look like an innocent little puppy, but you know as well as I do that she doesn’t act like one. We can't treat the Golden Flash the same way we do the others!” he exclaimed. “We gotta treat her like the police treat a criminal who’s just escaped from Guantanamo Bay. And right now, I have a good feeling we’re going to catch her this time!”

Jim wasn’t too sure about that but didn’t care to protest. Turning back towards the monitors on his side, his eyes widened.

“Phil! I see her”, he exclaimed with excitement. Getting out of his seat, Phil rushed over to his partner’s side as he pointed excitedly to the center monitor.

Cotton trundled down the street, making her way through the sea of people crowding the sidewalk. She sniffed the air, looking for something to eat. She could already feel hunger creeping up on her, like an ugly shadow boring a hole in her stomach. 

Her nose ended up leading her to a teenager, sitting on the stoop of a church eating a box of Wendy's fries. 

Cotton smiled as she approached him. The teen was on the phone with someone, too occupied to notice her snatching away his fries. She slowly snuck closer and closer, almost in reach of the greasy treats.

But just as she was about to take a bite, the boy spotted her and moved the fries out of her reach. 

Thinking quickly, she knelt and gave him the classic puppy dog eyes. They always worked, at least for her.

At this, the teen’s stern look softened.

“Sorry about that little guy,” he smiled. “Guess you must be hungry.”

Looking down at his box, he tossed a fry in her general direction. Cotton jumped into the air and caught it in her mouth, eager to soothe her raging hunger.

As Cotton watched him get up and walk away, she grinned cheekily. She had done this trick so many times. Humans were just so gullible.

‘Still, if only he hadn’t looked away. I’d have a whole meal,’ she thought to herself.

Cotton was too busy relishing in her small victory to notice the man watching her. 

Concealing himself back behind the large oak, he turned on his walkie-talkie.

“This is Team C!” he whispered. “I have the Golden Flash in my sight on the corner of Flatbush and Church. Should I intercept?”

“Negative! We gotta keep to the plan,” said Phil through the walkie-talkie. “I want you and the rest of Team C to congregate at ground zero. And that goes for Teams A and B too! We can't let her escape!”

Phil sat back in his chair, a small smirk plastered on his weasel-like face. Things were going perfectly.

“Ground zero?” Jim repeated, cocking an eyebrow at his friend.

“What? I gotta have fun somehow,” he laughed.

Cotton continued with her quest, sniffing the air in her attempt to find food, when her nose picked up on something. Something good. Something really good.The type of smell she would only catch when passing a fancy restaurant. 

That smell meant only one thing. Dinner was near. 

Driven by hunger, Cotton raced down the sidewalk, following the scent like a bloodhound. She plowed through the streets, knocking over unsuspecting bystanders and running through traffic.

Turning a corner down a dark alleyway, she finally spotted the source of that wonderful smell. On the ground lay a basket draped in a white blanket, hiding the treasure from the outside world. 

Cotton looked at it with a raised eyebrow. This seemed a bit too suspicious. 

But she was just so hungry, and those fries weren’t enough.

She shrugged, making her way towards her dinner. Biting down on the blanket, she ripped it off to reveal the source of the delectable scent. 

Cotton gasped. Instead of a beautiful roast chicken, before her was a scented chicken jar. 

Realizing all too late what she walked into, the net under her sprang up, trapping her inside. Right on cue, the dog catchers sprung up from the shadows, armed and ready for a fight. 

As Cotton thrashed, unable to escape, the catchers began slowly approaching the net. 

“We gottem!” Phil yelled, jumping up and down so hard that the surveillance van shook.

 Despite his apprehension earlier, Jim couldn’t help but get excited himself. The two hugged each other in celebration, finally achieving their goal after putting in years of hard work.  

But alas it was short-lived.

They could only look on in shock at the monitor screen as they watched their colleagues get decimated by a little dog. 

 As the dogcatchers brought down the net, only the plate and scented jar were still in it. No Cotton in sight. She had disappeared.

But not for long. . 

The soft pitter-patter of dog paws hitting the cobblestone street echoed around the dog catchers, barely audible at first, like rain droplets hitting the street. 

But the footsteps only got louder and louder. 

Before one of the dog catchers could react, Cotton jumped out of the shadows and head-butted him in the face, sending him flying into a building wall with a loud slam. The woman next to him watched as the Pomeranian, who was no bigger than a puppy, flung a 5-foot-something grown man 10 feet, as if he had been hit by an eight-wheeler. 

Seeing that Cotton was still midair, she swung her net from below to trap her. Cotton easily sliced through the net, disappearing into the darkness of the night once again.

The female dog catcher looked around, attempting to spot the Pomeranian before she struck.

Looking down, she spotted Cotton looking up at her with a devious look on her face. Before she could react, Cotton spin-kicked her, and she fell to the ground with a loud thunk. 

But Cotton was too distracted to notice the growing crowd behind her. 

“Take aim!” shouted a voice.

Looking up, Cotton found herself surrounded by the rest of the dog catchers, all aiming their tranquilizers straight at her heart.

“This is the end of the road for you, Golden Flash!” said one.

“We won't let you beat us this time!” said another.

Cotton just silently chuckled to herself. 

“Oh really?” she said, smirking. “I’d like to see you try.” 

She knew they couldn’t understand her verbally, but from body language alone, she hoped that they got her message.

As if she had teleported, she quickly jumped up and slashed one of the dog catchers in the face.

High on adrenaline from the fight, she proceeded to claw, kick, and punch every single dogcatcher in her sight, forcing them to shoot their tranquilizers at each other. 

In the van, Jim and Phil watched with horror as the pomeranian took down every single dog catcher without even breaking a sweat. She was a monster, a complete menace. 

After Cotton had taken down the last of the dog catchers, she looked up at the security camera and grinned, already aware  that they had been watching her.

Within the blink of an eye, she disappeared. The two slowly looked at each other, already knowing where she was going next.

Frantically, Jim and Phil ran to the front of the van, wanting to get away from Cotton as quickly as possible. 

But just as Phil was about to put in the ignition key, he looked up and saw Cotton standing several feet in front of them. Panicking, Phil slammed his key  into the slot and turned it.

The engine wouldn’t start.

“Phill, hurry up!” Jim shouted.

“I'm trying, but the damn thing won't start”, he yelled back.

Meanwhile, Cotton watched as the old van’s engine stalled. She chuckled to herself as she waited patiently for time to strike. Finally, the Van started and Phil threw it into reverse, shooting down the alleyway.

“Now!”

Cotton leaped forward, closing the distance between herself and the van within seconds, slamming into the front with her head. It flew out of the alley and into a busy street, crashing into several parked cars in the process.

 At this, Cotton laughed to herself. Sure, she could’ve made her escape after beating up those goons, but she always preferred a good fight if the situation presented itself.

“Sorry, Philly and Jimmy. Maybe you’ll get your chance next time”, she laughed, scampering off into the distance.

Phil and Jim crawled out of the beat-up van, shaken but unhurt, car alarms blaring around them They looked up to check the alleyway, but it completely empty. Cotton had evaded capture once again, only this time leaving a trail battered and beaten bodies, damaged equipment and worse, ane entire mess on a busy boulevard.

“For the record,” Jim began. “I didn't think your plan was going to work at all...”

Phil only sneered, shooting him a harsh glare.

“Shut up, Jim.”