Cat-22 (ID)

[DanteMGalileo]

"And now I fully understand why they wanted to keep tabs on you."

Mara glared at the scent, but complied, partially materializing, head and front claws spawning from underneath the couch, the rest of its body apparently still in the shadows below. "So, I take it you are, in order, Cat Cackowski, Micket Bennett, and Rio VonFelden." That was not a question, it was a statement. "Hmm. I must say, I was expecting... exactly this." Sliding from the shadows with half of her body still shrouded, the cat's grin grew larger.

"Do you remember seeing a stupid-looking human with glasses? That acted with no sense of grace? Oh, there was a reason for that. And not just natural clumsiness." Mara's shadow briefly passed through Rio's, settling on another chair. Her grin grew toxic as she continued. "Why, I reckon that he may have been bugged by something. And by something, I mean a spy probe smaller than a bug." She moved again, this time her shadow passing through Cat's.

"But he was the wrong guy. Who was the right guy? Why, I'm staring at him now." Mara's eerie green gaze looked directly at Rio.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Hey, look," Cat joked as Mara revealed herself. "It's Kitty Pryde. Hahah... Wow, that was a really geeky one. I apologize. Wiki it."

Cat resumed her scowl as Mara started expositing, raising an eyebrow the further along they went, less out of confusion and more out of irritation. Well, okay, with a little bit of confusion. She flinched when the shadow passed through hers, waving her Pandemonium-charged flyswatter at the dark figure. "Hey, hey, I will swat your friggin' kitty litter...!"

Seriously, though, what was this about someone getting bugged and Rio almost getting bugged himself? Cat was just about at wit’s end already, and this weird cat had only been talking for two posts. Fed up, Cat planted herself between Rio and their guest and pointed Goldenhand at the creature. "Quit dat jibbah-jabbah, foo! Either get to the point or I will! Now get snappy with the who, what, where, when and why! In any order; I don't give a frig!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

Rio cocked his head and raised his eyebrow, finding himself unsettled as he listened to Mara. Not so much because what she was saying was freaking him out, but just because of the dubious circumstances surrounding this meeting. She knew their names, so there was a distinct possibility she was onto something, but whether or not there was any truth behind that something was well worth questioning, especially given how amused she seemed to be as she rattled off her cryptic information. After a day like today, it was hard to tell whose side anyone was on and what anyone's intentions were.

As the faerie fire faded, Rio prepared another spell. He didn't care if this cat could sense the abjuration magic he was channeling. If she truly had anything worth proving, then she had nothing to fear, and it was clear that they both knew this.

"You seem to think I'm someone worth targeting. Wouldn't be the first." Blue light swirled around his fingertips. "I don't suppose you could be so kind as to tell us who you are and why any of this should matter to you or to us."

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Yeah, why should we believe anything you say?" Mickey hissed, perching atop the back of the couch and glaring down at Mara like a predator looking to defend its territory. "Typically speaking, dark, spooky critters who lurk in the shadows aren't to be trusted easily. I should know. I am one."

He raised his nunchuck-mace, ready to swing at a moment's notice. "Start speaking sense-talk. We've beat up cuter things over less than this. What do you want with our mage?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Temper, temper." Cat and Mickey's threats did not seem to phase Mara, who simply narrowed her eyes in disdain. "As for why I would want your mage, that's simple. I don't." Her approximation of a smirk declared the three before her a collective bunch of idiots, it seems.



The cat's smile grew poisonous, her head twisting in a full circle. A circle formed below her, eldritch runes in a toxic hue. Her tendrils extended above her. A sensation of weightlessness may have been felt, quickly washing over...

Y̲O̗U̺̻̘͚̣̝ ̥̝͢A̹̣͓̟Ŗ̹̻͎E̥̫ P̻̘̮̭̪L̸̻͙̞̪͎͍̝A̘̻̜̥Ṉ̣̗̗̘͇̮̀N̗̗̼̥̗̯̰E͇͕̝͎̳͕̞D́ ͕̝F̣͕̝O̪̙͈͚̠R̶ ͏͖̪EX̵̟T̶E̸R̟̻̖M͖̰̮I̺̼̠N̠͞A̵͈̬͓̞͔̻TI̞͓̯͜ͅO̕N̝͍ ̠̜̦̰̰̞B̦͖̭̞͓͈̗Y̩̠̳͙̼͜ͅ ̢̲͍A̫͍̰͉͟ͅ ̖͓̖̹̜̖͈͘S͖̩̭̤̼͍H̟̲̬̝͜A̷̤̩̲Ḍ̮̠̲͞Y͚̭̳̯͈̞,̯̩̮̙͔́ ͎̜A͍̘̯͕̙̳͈͢N̟̻̲͚̼͟ͅT͉̦͜I͝-͈̩̞͝MA̤̩͇͍̕G̦̫̹I̧͓̤̙͇͔̣C̴̬̟,̝̞̹͓̻ ̷̺̫ÀN̪̗̮͇̥T͍̳͇̟͖ͅI͓̣̦̥͇͜-̟͙͠S̱̯̟͙U̳͔̱̰̞̹͟P͡E҉̜̪͚̫̼̬R̼̼̱̙N̨AT̖̗͈̫̙̙̯͘U̸̫̗̰̰̘ͅR̸̞͔̣̲À̞̮̝̘L ̧̯̱OR̮G͎̙̣͕̤̯͝A̦̻͍Ń̫̬̘͇ͅI̙̣̼̮͖͎̞Ź̹̰̯̻̳͇A̠̣̱͉̦͖͡T̶͉͖̻I̠O̙͇̤͎͞N̨͍̖̬̱.̯̘͘ ͙̹̫̲̪T̮̀Ḫ͓̳͍̪̘͔͘A͝T̪̱̼̹̙̠ ̖̳̗̭̼̭̭͞B̡͉͖̪Ò̜Y̷̜͇̺̙̺̜̰ ̯͖͚͕̬̭͢Y͉͎͍̤͔O̯̖̟U̞̗͓ S̘A̴͚̜̭̞V͡E̺͚̖̳D̨͙͎͙̻͍̯̹ ̗̠͓̻̮͈EA̢̝͚̗͙̹R̞̦LI̭̗̮E͖̰͍͚͇̘R̵?̴̞̗̝͔ͅ H̭̞̞͠E̸̻̝̰̖ͅ ̶̲̘̯W͍̜͉͡A͈̱̺S͓͖̥ ̪͉̞̱͈͓̰́T͈͈͖̠̳̦̺H̛̰̙̙̥̳͓E̬͔̮͕̼̘ ̗͝WR̳̬͠ͅO̘̰̩̮͎ṊG̘͖͓̼̤̖ ̩͎͕̭̼̜͕T͚͈̭̗͙A̲̰̭͍̰̥R̥̯̟G̘̮E̛̫̻T̳.̜̼̱̹ͅ ̙͕͖̤̘̟B̩͚͎͉͡Y̦͖ ̘̟̠̀T͕̺͕̥H̷͉̜̭̩̳̳ͅE̴ ̹͡N̙̮E̜X͔͢T̫͍̪̖̻ ̘̻̗͕͕̕E̯͎̭͓̕V͙̟E͕͈̙͞ͅN̹I̮ͅNG̼̤̰̰̠͕, ̹̖̻̖̼R̝̳̘̩I̹̯͖̹̣̥O͚̘̺̥ W̠I҉͉̱̩͚̳̼̦L͇̠̱͟L ͓̜̗̰̼̠̹B̳E̠ ͕I̬̘̬͢N͔͇̪̪̫J̝̣̥̖̗̖͉E̢̦͙͉̳̦̭̤C̹̘̺̮̱̜͖T̬̼̬̪͞Ẹ̮D̗.͇͈̪͝ ͙͈͕͓̹̰͡ͅH̴͖̺͖̹̲E̵͎̜̗͚̖ͅ ̣̞W̗I̤ͅL̤̲̰̯̻̰̰L͠ ̯͙̟͓̜̼̬H͞A҉͙V̮͇̰̻͚͠E̞̮̖ ̫͎͉̰̭H͖̞̬̻̦̻̀Ḭ̴̙̙̦S̙͙̲͙̳͈͔ ͟P̶̳̮̯̤̦͕O̥̰̞͙͓W̺̲̜E̬R̨̭͈S͈͞ ̫̘͚̠͖L̞͓̹̞̥Í͖̻͙̘̤̤M̵̖Į͓͙̫̦͖͍̜T͈̮͙̦͢E̹̥͍͕̦͟D͕,̨͕͚̰ ̤A͈̖̞͕ṈḒ̵̼̞ ̘̖̩̖I͔̤͡Ṯ̤̻͈͘ ̮̙͟W͍̺̪̱͈͔͝I͎̭̙͇LL̲̦̼͇͍̞̟̀ ̙Ṣ̬̬P̝̙̕R͇͖̰E͙̻̳͔͕͇A̶̪D̜̞͜ ̞̼̯͍̤͚ͅT̖O̲̤ ̙͍̜C̳͎̬A̳̲Ţ͖̲͖̺͚̲ ̬̖̺̼̹̯A̯̦͍̤̯̩͙N̺͍Ḏ̰̗͡ ̙̙̱̼͚̭M͔̻͈̜̬͠I̛͇C̝̞͈͔͔K͎̯̮̲̮̖̝E̵̬̗̞̩̼̣̜Y̹̻͖͉̟͎̱.͚̻͎̪̲̻̤́ ̹͓̟̯͍͕Y̝͡O̧͕͍Ṳ̤̤̠ ̩̦̼͉̖̩̣͠M̝̱̤A̟͔͚Y̬̦̮̭̻ ̤̖͉̻̣E̻̦̖͇̞͝V̜͚̠E̮͎͢N͚̗̲̦̪͚ͅ ̮͚̘̫͖͓͍D̠̖Ị̻̖͓͔E,͙̺̻̰̗͔̰ ̭̫͞R͕͖I͇̬ͅO̯͚͉̙.̩ Y̭Ơ̝͍̦̥̪U͝ ̶̘̥̣̭͍H̯̝͉A̘̥̜͍̹̦V̟̳͔͔̳̼E̫̱̘ ̞͔̱̩̯̘B͇̬̱͇̞ͅE̜̩̭̹̰̰͈͜E̝̱̦͎͚̪͝Ņ͚͇ ̛͔͇Ẁ͇̣̥̻̮̰̗A͎̼̫̲̭̻͖͞Ṟ̬̩̹̮N̶̝̝E̯̯͉͚̪͉D̟͙͓̟͇ͅ.͚̪̙


The runes vanished, and Mara's tendrils lowered. "I would normally be a bit more dramatic, but I believe screaming into your brains gets the point across. Or, if you are truly that dumb... These freaks have deemed you lot a threat and plan to, at best, neuter you. At worst, kill you from the inside."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"...What the butter balls?"

Cat seemed more... confused by the phenomenon than she was disturbed. Mara's magic circle was nothing she hadn't seen before. Her contortions were weird, but nothing horrific compared to the crap Cat had seen in the past. And the voice in her head? It was... very faint. Not completely silent, but low enough that it may as well have been spoken aloud. It didn't even seem to affect Cat physically or psychologically, creating not the slightest sensation of weightlessness or even a dull headache.

Nonetheless, Cat whapped herself on the head with her flyswatter if for no other reason than irritation, letting out a sigh of relief when Mara started talking normally again. She turned back to the demonic feline and flatly asked, "You know, if you want us to trust your word, maybe make your words a little more... oh, I don't know, trustworthy? Y'know... nicer. Less cryptic and spoopy."

She folded her arms, Goldenhand still primed and ready if need be. "But okay. Some shady group is after us, apparently. Not our first rodeo. Bearing that in mind, question number one: Why are you telling us any of this? Question two: How exactly was this hypothetical neutering-slash-killing supposed to occur? And three: Why are you telling us any of this? If I'm gonna smack some buns, I wanna know who's actually worth smackin'."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Ngh...!" The spell that Rio had been preparing faded as he grabbed his head, disorientation briefly sweeping over him as Mara projected her thoughts directly into his and his teammate's minds. Even after she relented, he continued to rub his head and stare at the floor looking dizzy and confused, more so out of concern for what Mara was saying than how she had said it.

He looked up at Cat as she asked her questions, easily agreeing with all (or both?) of them. Once she had said her peace, Rio turned to Mara and offered a few questions of his own, feeling somewhat obligated to as it seemed like he was being personally attacked in this situation. "Wait, so... why me? Who are these people? How... How did any of us get involved in their business? The three of us, you, Will...?"

[ThePopcornFairy]

Mickey said nothing, simply staring off into the middle distance and hovering above his perch as Mara worked her telepathic magic. He remained there for a moment after she stopped talking, then he rather abruptly plopped back onto the couch and put his paw on his head in severe discomfort. "Gahhh... Cripes, of all the places in my body I let people insert themselves into, the brain is not one of them! As if trespassing in my van wasn't bad enough, you gotta learn some boundaries, you little gender-swap Gigi!"

He sat up straight and frowned at the cat, waiting until his teammates had asked their questions before proposing one of his own. "I presume you want us to kick these guys' butts, huh? What, do you have something to gain if we do? 'Cause I'm all for butt-kicking, don't get me wrong. I just wanna know why you're provoking us to begin with."

[DanteMGalileo]

"Oh, by the trickster creator and the Mother... You question why this anti-magic group has its eyes on you when you act like this..." Mara shook her head, apparently deeming the furred duo dumber than a dead doornail.

Oh well. When you have fur in your brain, it takes some time for even the most basic information to get through, she supposed. "The blonde buffoon, Will, was the wrong target, though I would not be surprised if I myself am being deceived and he is fully in on this plot. Unlikely, however." She shot an unamused look at Cat and Mickey. "The real target is the pilot inside the blonde buffoon. She has a darker complexion, black hair, and answers to Lydia Pendleton. But she's not the mastermind behind this plot. That would be her father, Dr. Pendleton, who looks like an older, male version of her." Breathing a small, contained burst of green flames, they formed the shape of Will, then an approximation of Lydia, and finally Dr. Pendleton. "I apologize for the crude monochromatic visuals. Side effect of breath weapons, aside from the smell."

Mara glanced at Rio, purring. "As to why they decided to target you for bringing your little group down... My guess is because you were deemed the easiest person to knock out and inject with the shrunken pilot, who is equipped with devices that can neuter not only your powers, but also those of your companions should they be in range. Or they could kill you with an electric shock from the inside." She placed a claw under her chin, as if thinking. "And what do I get out of this? I get safety. Clearly, you'd think the demonic cat that can scream into people's brains, tear out souls, and move in the shadows would also be at risk... And I suppose you lot get the pleasure of, in your own words, kicking their butts."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Hey." Cat narrowed her eyes and pointed Goldenhand at Mara, easily recognizing the demon's condescending tone. If there was one thing she hated more than lunatics out to kill her, it was people who assumed she was stupid. "Check yourself before you wreck yourself. I don't care who you are, why you know any of this, or why you're bothering to tell it to us. The phrase "don't shoot the messenger" doesn't have a whole lot of meaning around here."

Then she ran a paw through her hair and tried to sort through everything that had been dumped on them. "Alright... so... if I'm understanding you correctly, that guy we saved earlier has a tiny person floating around inside his body when really Rio was supposed to be the destination of her fantastic voyage, implanted by some shady lab for the sake of group mage neutralization and potential assassination. That... sounds... highly impractical for a mission with that intended purpose. I mean seriously, what the frig?"

Cat then started pacing in place, tapping her chin and pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Still, practicality aside, that sounds like the kind of prick move I wouldn't mind punishing. Besides, the idea of shrinking technology is... intriguing~"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"I-I'm sorry, what...??" Rio's question was asked less out of genuine confusion and more out of mortification. His hand almost instinctively rested on his sternum, his finger tracing the golden chain around his neck that stabilized his magic.

The concept of being injected with probes was unsettling enough, but to hear that these people were evidently trying to inject him with a living, miniaturized person was just... horrifying. Not only for himself, but for the person doing it. Sure, Rio felt affronted by the idea of having some shady organization tamper with his magic and put his life on the line from the inside out, but strangely, aside from the sheer discomfort of potentially having these things inside his body, he found he couldn't get too angry about that. Maybe it was just a product of not knowing for sure if this cat was being completely truthful with them, but in all honesty, if this really was the case, then part of him couldn't blame these people for being suspicious of him and the Trio of Three. If anything, he was more concerned about the morality of it all. Probing people was despicable enough, but to hear that this unknown group was putting one of their own on the line to do it... and not just anyone, but the daughter of the man running this crime...

Rio's eyes widened slightly. Lydia. Will and his friends had mentioned a Lydia following the rescue. They'd said something about her being missing. Whatever the full story was, Will didn't seem keen to share it. Did he know? If this Lydia character really was shrunken inside Will, mistakenly injected into the young man's body as opposed to Rio's, what were the chances that she could communicate with him and draw him away from the Trio of Three for the sake of not giving herself away to the people she was originally assigned to tamper with?

And if... someone was so willing and able to kidnap Will...

Rio straightened up and gripped a fist. A plan was being set in motion.

"Alright, listen here..." The mage boldly stepped closer to Mara, his expression stern and full of a sense of clarity that hadn't been there before. "I don't know how reliable your story is or how much of fools you intend to play us as, but I'm willing to let you go for now. We'll look into this matter, if only for the sake of putting to rest what may be a genuine atrocity. But if we find out this is all true, if this organization really did shrink a person and try to probe me, we'll deal with them on our terms. Got it?"

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Ah, whatever..." Mickey muttered, crawling back up onto the back of the couch and flopping atop it on his stomach. "Like anyone ever accused me of overthinking a butt-kicking. If these guys really were about to screw around with our mage, I guess that's incentive enough. 'Sides..." The raccoon smirked at the coyote-weasel-robin. "I see that sparkle in your eye. You could do some pretty zany stuff with miniaturization, I won't doubt that for a second."

He rested his chin in his paw and perked an eyebrow at Mara. "Still, though, I get that we're uniquely qualified to bash some buttocks, but if you're so chalked full of fancy-pants powers, why don't you deal with these nutballs? Why recruit more nutballs to do the job for ya?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Why reach out to you, my dears?" Mara's head twisted again. "Because I have other things to do with my time than to tear apart human organizations, even if it amuses me. World domination does not come to those who lay about all day and lick their nether regions." Well, at least she was honest?

"As for you lot, I have little doubt that you will find the truth for yourself, and even less doubts about giving these miscreants a sound thrashing." Mara's eye twitched slightly. Oh, the things she did for her plans! "Now, happy hunting. As for me, I have some other things to do." With that, Mara sunk back into the shadows, sliding away...

You freaks at Mexus have a special delivery incoming.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Yeah, because that makes you so much easier to trust," Cat grunted upon hearing the words "world domination." That wasn't really something that a smart person would admit to a team committed to saving the World. Not that Mara was listening to her.

Cat took a deep breath once the infernal feline had left them alone. She turned to Rio with a deadpan frown, the encounter and the information passed onto them leaving her somewhere between anxious and inconsolably angry. "Okay, so we're doing this. Question: When we get this little Lydia person outta blondie, do you think we can bargain for the shrinking tech as a reward, or do I have permission to swat the equipment out of her hand given that she did come close to violating you?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Cat, we're not gonna go swatting people unless we're certain they deserve it," Rio scolded. "We still don't know if any of that cat's story holds water, but given the circumstances, I'll agree that we need to investigate. If this all turns out to be true, we figure out the whole story, then our judgment falls on those who willingly attempted to wrong us."

The mage paced the room and ran his finger along his necklace again. Out of the corner of his eye, Rio noticed the pizza boxes still sitting in the living room, making him realize just how far gone his appetite was. "Yes, I'm unsettled by all this, considering what could've happened to us and especially to me. I want to bring to justice anyone who would attempt invasion of privacy with such ill intents, but at the same time, I don't yet know if I can fully condemn someone who was just doing their job. This Lydia person... If today's little adventure was any indication, I think she's been punished enough."