Cat on the Run: Cat of Death!

**Cat on the Run in: Cat of Death!** is the first book in the Cat on the Run series. It released on September 1, 2023 in Australia, along with September 5, 2023 in the U.S.

## Description

What happens when the world's biggest cat video star gets accused of a crime she didn’t commit? She becomes a cat on the run, that’s what.

But how do you avoid capture and prove your innocence when you are the most famous feline on the planet? Well, it ain’t easy.

Follow Princess Beautiful -- for that is her name -- as she goes from meme megastar #1 to public enemy #1 and cheer her on as she fights to clear her name.

Is she a super villain? An internet-famous buffoon? Or a butt-kicking gal who's just been seriously underestimated?

YOU be the judge . . .

## Plot

Inside an almost empty and unknown building, a cloaked trio and bull are monitoring numerous tv programs on a myriad of screens. The bull then points out Princess Beautiful’s Vid-E-Gram account, notably the billions of interactions it has. After the trio determine her to be “absolutely perfect”, the perspective switches to Princess and her entourage—Devon, Brick, and Seth—in Times Square with Princess demanding a vanilla latte. She scolds her allies until she is reminded of her date later tonight with Catrick Cash, when she reluctantly goes to act in a video shoot. Before she films, she demands the presents of her personal trainer, Rusty Nuggets, though must wait as he’s en route after abandoning his wedding. Devon informs Princess that another typing cat video is planned, with her being stuffed in a sweater and boggle glasses, much to Princess’s displeasure. She goes on to rant about Catrick’s acclaimed success from his heroic deeds whilst upset at her foolish portrayals, until eventually proceeding with the filming. Whilst sat at the computer desk, an image of a red scorpion symbol is at the screen. The filming is quickly cut upon Catrick’s unexpected arrival, in which he expresses his gratitude for their relationship and the two decide to start their date early. Now motivated to impress Catrick and finish filming, she resumes her catty act and proceeds to act mindless for comical purposes, unknowingly downloading nuclear launch codes in the process. The video is posted to initial massive praise, but quickly turns to panic as a second video is posted by the cloaked trio, which reveals the process of Princess downloading the nuclear launch codes.

Princess, her entourage, and Catrick leave the filming studio for the couple to proceed with their date, which is interrupted by the sound of Incident Response Sirens blaring across the city. A Channel 6 News special report is shown, with Tiffany Fluffit and Chuck Melon reporting on Princess’s crimes, the social media backlash, and the deployment of the Armed Forces in response. Princess’s team notice that all billboards have been replaced with demonized depictions of Princess, with Princess running away in a panic and being quickly detained by police. Another news report follows, with Princess having been sentenced to 1000 years of imprisonment along with testimonies from her entourage. Devon, Seth, and Rusty comment on her mistreatment towards themselves, Brick misinterpreting Princess’s previous mention of her “hidden depths”, and Catrick refusing to comment out of dismay.

Princess is taken to a prison bus and is en route to the Super Max Prison. She’s stressed and confused over the situation, especially when remembering the red scorpion, and pleads her innocence, though the accompanying guards refuse to listen. One member of the cloaked trio drops tire spikes across the road, causing a massive derailment leading to the total destruction of a nearby truck dealership and the Super Max Prison. Princess manages to escape unharmed, drawing the scorpion onto the floor.

Tiffany makes yet another report, this time on Princess’s escape and her now being #1 on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. At the scene of the disaster, Deputy Marshall Cheeseman commands his officers to search all houses within a 10 mile radius. Meanwhile, Princess is disguising herself in a department store while encouraging herself to prove her innocence. She dons a wig, floppy hat, shapeless dress, sunglasses, and bejewels her broken handcuff before drawing the scorpion symbol on the dressing mirror, walking outside only to be instantly recognized as she runs away. Cheeseman travels to the store and discovers the symbol before being alerted of Princess’s whereabouts, with the culprit on bike and being chased by the Armed Forces. She finds the scorpion symbol on the back of a van and pursues it, but her bike is damaged and she steals a nearby pizza delivery vehicle. Whilst driving, Princess discovers the previous driver left behind his phone, and she uses it to call Catrick. He picks up, and she gets emotional whilst explaining her innocence once more, this time with Catrick truly believing her and vowing to prove such, with the conversation culminating in a mutual love confession. Before the call can continue, part of the bridge that the chase is taking place on collapses. Princess narrowly escapes falling and steps out of the car with her finally surrendering to the police. However, she is targeted with a tranquilizer from behind, with her passing out and falling to the ground. With the police unable to find her location, the scorpion-marked van kidnaps the unconscious Princess and drives away as the book ends.

## Trivia

* This is the first installment of the franchise to take place in a real life city—in this case, Times Square is located in Manhattan, New York City.
* There are multiple parodies within the book:
	+ LQ, the magazine shown on page 18, is a parody of GQ.
	+ Vid-E-Gram, Princess’s main social media platform, has the format of YouTube whilst having a name spoofing Instagram.