//------------------------------// // Gathering: Take 12 // Story: Dressed to Steal // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Penelope's plane proved to be perfect to transport us all to St. Canard. Not only was it roomy enough for us all to sit comfortably, its pitch black aerodynamic design let us slip across borders and into the 'Capital of Crime' with no one the wiser. Once we found a safe place to land and take off from, we used the plane itself as our hideout - properly concealed beneath a large circus tent just outside an actual (if closed) circus - before we began our investigations into what was going on. Despite all the descriptions of St. Canard as being such a dangerous city and home to so many villains, it's surprisingly mundane at first glance. The buildings are like buildings in any city, with houses and office buildings with restaurants and grocery stores interspersed, and various other city staples...and all the banks and other 'find loot here' locations all the criminals hit. To be perfectly honest, I had to keep reminding myself where I was to keep from getting sloppy while giving the place a cursory look over before we began our full investigation. Our first step was to find Mrs. Ruby, so we could learn what she needed help with. That proved to be difficult, not only because we didn't know where to begin looking, but the one idea we had to find her for certain...simply didn't work. Coco sat in meditation, Mask of Dark Earth on her face and Staff of Moonfire in her hooves. She glowed with the power of the Dreamtime as she slipped out of her body, sending passive pulses of her own magical energy across the city like sonar. No one would notice the energy hitting them unless they were powerful mages in their own right and were actively looking, had a natural affinity for Earth magic, or knew her magical wavelength. So Mrs. Ruby might notice, but hopefully no one else would. If she did notice, she could get in contact with them. If she didn't notice, then Coco would locate her. At least, that had been the plan. Unfortunately, when the waves came back, Coco was surprised to see in her mind's eye lights all over the city representing those with power that could be defined as magical. As the imagery began to overload her senses, she slipped out of the Dreamtime to focus her mind back into reality, and move back into her body. "So how did it go?" Sly asked hopefully as Coco opened her eyes. "Not well," Coco answered apologetically. "I got too many signals. I count...at least four powerful natural magi, more Gifted, dozens of Talents, and far too many Touched." "...come again?" Carmelita asked in confusion. Coco flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry. Terminology Mrs. Ruby and Guru taught me. Magi are those who are naturally attuned to command a wide variety of magic. Gifted are those who aren't naturally magical, but have become attuned to magic through training. Talents are those who are naturally magical but can only do one or two certain things with their magic. Touched are like Talents, but didn't get that way naturally." "Considering how many superheros and supervillains are known to be based in St. Canard, I suppose we should have expected that," Bentley allowed. "That sounds exactly like origin stories for all sorts of supers." "But wasn't the other side of the plan Mrs. Ruby noticing you sounding?" Murray asked hopefully. With so many other signals, it is unlikely she received a clear signal, Guru offered, only Coco getting the clear, undiluted message while the others got the sense of it. Unless she was actively hoping to feel Coco's magic, she likely assumed it was one of the other Magi in the city. "So what do we do, then?" Carmelita asked worriedly. "I can't assist here. St. Canard is S.H.U.S.H. territory. If they caught an Interpol agent running around, there'd be hell to pay with inter-agency politics." "I guess that means it's time to do more footwork," Sly offered ruefully, getting to his feet. "Coco, you stay here with everyone else. If there's that much magic power here, we don't want to draw attention like what happened in Prague." "Da~ad!" Coco whined. "I only made an army of rage-fueled dark magic golems once!" Wait, you did what? Guru asked in shock. "That was you?" Penelope gasped in amazement. "Once was enough, Coco," Sly insisted. "Those things were terrifying." "You were all in prison," Coco complained. "What was I supposed to do? I had to get you out of there fast." "Why was speed so important?" Murray asked curiously. "I get that you missed us-" "It was a co-ed prison, and I'd already heard from Mrs. Ruby that the Contessa dabbled in hypnosis officially," Coco explained. "I'd seen enough of Uncle Bentley's Hentai to know what was going to happen if you stayed in there too long." "BENTLEY!" Sly, Murray, and Carmelita all roared out angrily. Penelope glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "...god dammit, Coco..." Bentley whimpered as he pulled his head into his shell. After Dad finished yelling at Uncle Bentley, he went off to investigate the city. Uncle Murray cooled down pretty quick - he's been careful about his anger ever since he recovered from the spice overdose, something Guru's training helped him with - but Mom wasn't disposed to let it go so easily. Thankfully, Penelope managed to convince Mom that letting Uncle Bentley hack local networks was more important than yelling at him about not hiding his porn better. Once Mom had calmed down and Uncle Bentley was hacking...Penelope took me aside and asked if I remembered any specific titles from what I'd seen of Uncle Bentley's files. Guru said she was kinky. I don't know why. Her tail looked straight to me. It wasn't long before Dad and Uncle Bentley both had a report. Apparently, the major event happening in St. Canard was some sort of battle for magical dominance between two witches, Morgana Macawber and Magica De Spell. Apparently it wasn't the first time they'd clashed, and Morgana had come out on top the last time. This time, however, Magica had somehow enlisted some heavy duty help to overwhelm Morgana... ...Mrs. Ruby.