“Sorry, Katie-Cat! Didn’t get a chance to get groceries, but promise I’ll bring you some poppers from work for breakfast. If you’re hungry, treat yourself to some of the Fun Fund. Love you!”

This note from Katie’s mom quickly establishes a lot about their financial situation and home life. Katie’s mom has to work a lot, which means Katie is often home alone and has learned to be quite independent. Katie’s mom’s heavy work hours, bringing food from work, and the fact that their “Fun Fund” savings consists of a lot of pocket change suggests that they do not have a lot of money and are getting by in whatever ways they can.

“This. Is no accident. This fire. Burns like indigestion from a justice burrito. Obviously someone thought this building was ugly. The windows. Were all wrong. And the brick color clasheIith....”

The Eastern Screech functions as a parody of superheroes. Through him, the novel pokes fun at egotism and self-importance. This is evident in the Eastern Screech’s staccato manner of speech and how detached he is from reality. He has no clue why the fire was actually started (to save the animals being tested on) because he is so focused on himself.

“I know. It’s just that I get so bored when you’re away. Nothing ever happens around here.”

At the beginning of the opening chapter, Katie and the Mousetress are juxtaposed with one another as they each break into a window—Katie is breaking into her home because she forgot her keys, while the Mousetress is breaking into the factory she is about to torch.