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Rehabilitation 2 By: Light Clark Synopsis: Ever since finding a strange magical bracelet, Ash has had to deal with a lot of changes, but she still has a lot of room to grow and a nemesis that just won't leave her alone. Warning: This story is a continuation from Rehabilitation and picks up immediately after that story's end. As such, this story assumes that you have read its predecessor. It is also 'technically' set in the Whateley universe. It uses no characters or places from that universe; just borrows a few terms and general thematics. It is certainly not canon. Chapter 01 "Don't ever scare me like that again," I chastised. "Understand?" Laying on my lap, the little, gray cat that I talked to showed no signs of understanding my words in the slightest. It was hard to tell if she'd even heard me at all. She did tilt her head, already a little lopsided because of her missing the tip of her left ear, at me curiously, but that probably had more to do with the fact that her belly, currently exposed to me, wasn't getting scratched, than any actual listening skill. I wondered if she even remembered how badly she'd been hurt not that long ago, or if that had been forgotten as soon as she was healed. Now, all she seemed to care about was getting attention. "Alright, fine, I'll pet you ..." I sighed in exasperation, reaching a hand over to start scratching the cat's tummy. Almost instantly, she started purring and squirming with delight. "I really do mean it, though. No more getting hurt." While I certainly did want the cat to stay safe, at the same time, I knew my command was pointless and silly. Neither of us had had any control over that mysterious masked woman attacking my brother's home where Mini just happened to be. I certainly hadn't had any control over the cat when she'd leapt to my aid. She'd done that all on her own, and I suspected, would do so again if I was in danger. The problem was, she was just a cat, a rather runty one at that. Getting into fights with superpowered people was bound to get her killed. I may have wanted to get rid of the pest when I'd first taken her in, but I certainly didn't want to lose her, now. She was the closest thing I had to a friend. "Thanks for being there for me, though," I added softly, smiling down at the happy little feline. She'd certainly earned all the pets she ever wanted, saving my life like that. The sound of a door opening snapped me from the moment, jerking my gaze up and over in an instant. That jumpy reaction proved especially pointless when my brother, Brett, walked into the examination room. As he did, the obnoxiously handsome doctor smiled at me apologetically. "Hey, sorry about the wait," Brett said. "I had to finish taking care of things with the vet. You ready to go?" "Yeah," I answered, stopping my petting long enough to pick up Mini and clutch her to my chest before getting right back to it again. The cat didn't seem to mind the change in position at all. If anything, she seemed quite happy with it, nuzzling her head against the cushioning that I had there. "Did Tony have a place for us to stay?" Brett shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. He apparently relies on police safehouses when he needs them." "I guess that means we're going to a hotel tonight?" I remarked, glancing down at my cat. "Do hotels allow pets?" I'd been thrown out of an apartment for that reason already, so it seemed like an important thing to check. "Some do," Brett answered simply before adding, "Luckily, Abby said we could stay with her for a bit, so we can skip the hassle of finding one." A smirk curled my lips at that news. "Abby's going to be okay having a malignant tumor like me stay in her house? Brett chuckled at the joke. "I think you've grown on her, recently, which I suppose is a very tumorous thing to do." Joining in the mirth, I giggled, only to end up cutting myself off as I realized how girlish that sounded. I supposed that I should really just get used to things like that, though. After all, in spite of when and how I was born, I looked like a fifteen year old girl, and I sounded like one, too. That wasn't going to change, not as long as the bracelet that had made it so remained on my wrist. From what I knew about the thing, that was going to be the rest of my life. "Anyway, she was the one that suggested staying there," Brett continued once we'd both had a moment to laugh. "Apparently, she's warded the place against magical detection and has considerable defenses against intruders. It sounded about as safe as we're likely to find, especially on short notice." "Sounds good to me," I agreed before hefting the cat in my arms a little. "We're going to have to pick up some cat food along the way for Mini, though, unless we want to listen to her whining all night." Chuckling, Brett nodded. "Alright, we'll stop for cat food." *********************************************** *********************************************** "Thanks a lot for letting us stay here, Abby," Brett offered sincerely as he stepped through the door into Abby's home. Smiling, the icy beauty dipped her head graciously. "It's my pleasure. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I sent you off to some hotel and something happened you." "Yeah, what would the world do without my brother around to make girls weak in the knees," I joked laconically as I stepped inside behind my brother with Mini still cradled in my arms. Turning her attention to me, Abby narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "I meant all of you, especially this little hero," she clarified as she reached out to rub Mini's head. That earned an immediate purr from the cat as she rubbed up against the blue haired woman's hand. I gasped in mock indignation at the cat's reaction. "Oh, so you'll just take pets from any woman now, huh? Some loyal companion you are!" The words prompted absolutely no reaction from Mini, who remained a hundred percent focused on the hand that was petting her. Laughing lightly, Abby retracted her hand, prompting Mini to peer the woman's way with her head tilted to one side as if confused about why she'd stopped. "Speaking of loyalty, is she alright? Brett said something about her getting hurt while helping you fight off the masked woman that attacked you." "Yeah, she did, but Brett fixed her up," I told Abby as I raised a hand to take the place of the one Abby had removed, petting the cat. "She might be a little lethargic for a couple of days, but otherwise, she's perfectly fine," Brett added for clarity. "It was close, though." Not wanting to think about what almost was, I quickly segued, "Anyway, I'm kind of tired. Which room is mine?" "Oh ... uhm, whichever you want," Abby answer, stumbling a bit over the sudden topic switch. "There are two guest bedrooms upstairs. They don't see much use, but I cleaned them up and put fresh sheets on the beds before you got here." "Sounds great. Thanks," I chirped quickly before turning to walk away. As abrupt as that was, I was sure that Abby and Brett were staring at my back as I left, but I only cared enough to not hurry and look like I was running away or something. Upstairs, I easily found the two guest rooms that Abby had mentioned. The decor was a little different in each, but otherwise the only real difference was one was closer to the bathroom than the other. Preferring to have to walk less, I took the closer one, closing the door behind me as I stepped inside. Sighing heavily once I felt alone, I walked across the room and set Mini down on the bed. The cat roamed around the cover a little as I crawled on behind her. Propping up one of the pillows, I settled in to get comfortable, sighing once again as I did, albeit a more relaxed on. That was the exact moment that Mini chose to return, hopping up on top of me so that she could nuzzle my chest. "Silly cat. There's a whole new room to explore and all you care about it playing with my boobs," I joked, smiling down at the feline's cute, little face as it rubbed against me. "I guess I can't blame you, though. I'd do the same thing in your place." For her part, Mini didn't seem to let my words distract her. She did, however, find a spot she seemed to particularly enjoy, because she flopped onto her side and settled in rather than keep squirming about. Reaching up, I petted her for a bit until it looked like she'd fallen asleep. "Had a rough day, huh?" I remarked, talking to the sleeping cat. "Me too. Scary even." Obviously, there was no answer, but that didn't make it any less comforting to just talk. It was comforting to have Mini's warm little body snuggled up against me, too, especially after what had happened that night. She'd nearly died. I'd nearly died. Hell, that masked woman might've killed Brett too just to spite me for fighting back against her. Any little change, Mini not helping, me being a little slower to remember a rhyme or say the words, and everything would've been different. "Too damn close," I muttered, glancing over at the bracelet on my wrist. Because of that thing, I'd nearly died twice. I knew that wouldn't be the end of it either. That masked woman wasn't going to just give up because I'd managed to chase her off with the help of some tricks. She'd be back, and even if she wasn't, I was going to go after her. After all, there was no way for me to know for sure, and she'd hurt my cat. "I need to get a lot better at using you first, though," I noted. If the obnoxious artifact was really going to make me do the whole hero thing, and after the night I'd had, I fully believed that it would, I definitely needed to do a better job than I had. I couldn't rely on a cat to save me every time I struggled to remember a rhyme in the middle of a fight. "Abby did warn me about that being a problem." A knock on the door tugged me from my thoughts, causing me to look up and call out, "Come in." Cracking the door open, Brett poked his head to speak, "Hey, you alright?" "Yeah, just tired. I did get hassled by teenagers at the theater, then, you may recall, there was that whole thing where I fought a supervillain and the house got destroyed, and after that we had the emergency trip to the vet," I joked. "It was kind of a busy day for me." Brett smiled at the humor. "Yeah, I'm a little run down myself," he told me before sticking out a hand, holding a plastic bag bulging with a few objects, through the door. "I did bring in the stuff we bought on the way here for you. The bags for the kitty litter and the food are in the bathroom." "Thanks, bro. Just set it on the floor there," I replied. "Alright," Brett responded as he set the bag down just inside the door. Once he had, he looked up at me again, pausing for a moment before adding, "Good night, Ash." "Night," I answered. With a nod, Brett closed the door again, leaving me alone in the room again. A sigh slipped from my lips before I muttered, "Actually, I should get that all set up, so you don't wake me up in the middle of the night," I remarked to the sleeping cat as I reached up to pick her up and set her off to the side. She whined a little at being moved, but thankfully didn't dig her claws in or anything. "Good girl," I told her, giving her a quick scratch behind the ears before I scooted off the bed. Standing up, I walked off to set up food, water, and a litter box for the cat. Once I had that all done, I could plop back on the bed and get some much needed sleep. *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 02 Diving to the side, I tumbled into a roll, trying to keep the movement controlled. Trying wasn't the same as doing, but I managed to tumble over to where my feet were mostly under me. I used that to prop myself behind the cover of Abby's couch before extending my right hand out over the top. In spite of that hand being empty, I chanted out, "I call upon my inner power, to blast my foes until they cower." Without the scepter, naturally, those words created no burst of magical force and energy. At that moment, they were just a silly sounding rhyme, but they were every bit as important to practice as the acrobatics before them, more so even. That was why I'd said them. It was also why, as soon as they had left my mouth, I was moving again, dodging imaginary retaliations with another roll to the side. This time, rather than spring up, I stayed low, as my mind picked a spell at random for me to recall. "Elements indulge my pleas, and let me fly like the ... uhm ... breeze," I chanted out my flight spell, muffing it a bit as I tried to scramble to my feet at the same time. The mistake had me wincing in frustration, but I didn't let it stop my movement. I was already moving into the next action, darting across the room toward a lounge chair that would serve as my next cover. I slid into a crouch behind it as I spun to angle in a new direction and start my next spell. Before I could utter even a syllable, however, those words died on my lips. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, Abby looked out into the living room, watching me with an amused smirk on her face. When I spotted her and ground to a halt, she even chuckled slightly. "Aw, don't stop on my account." My jaw clenched at the mocking tone the woman used as I shoved myself upright. "What do you want?" "Nothing," Abby replied, still smirking at me. "I was just watching the show. What were you doing anyway?" "Practicing," I stated gruffly as I walked around in front of the lounge chair so that I could plop into. All the rolling about had worn me out a bit, leaving me breathing hard as I slumped in the chair. While I may have wanted to just slouch there, Mini saw her opportunity, hopping up into my lap and whining at me as soon as I was seated. Absently, I raised a hand to pet her as I continued talking, "I can't exactly rely on Mini here to save my ass everytime I get into a fight." Abby raised an eyebrow at that claim. "Why not?" The question was so unexpected that I furrowed my brow in confusion. "Why not? Because she's a cat." "I'm aware of what she is. I'm not sure you are, though," Abby remarked mysteriously as she walked over to sit on the nearby couch. Crinkling my brow even further, I looked down at Mini, wondering if I was missing something or if the woman was just messing with me. Everything about the cat looked perfectly normal, other than her rather runty size and missing ear tip. Even those traits weren't exactly unheard of for cats. Sighing, I lifted my gaze again to look at Abby. "Alright, I give up. Why don't you just spell it out for my dumb ass?" "I wouldn't call you dumb, just unobservant," Abby corrected in a rare effort at tact. I shrugged. "Same difference." That got Abby to shrug as well before she moved on. "Alright, but what I mean is that Mini is clearly not just a cat anymore." "How so?" I asked. "She sure looks like a cat." "That's true, but cat's don't follow their masters around all over the place, nor do they leap to those masters' defense," Abby pointed out. "You were probably too busy to notice, but she was even rolling around on the ground with you just now, imitating your movements. Maybe that would be reasonable for a very well trained dog, but an untrained cat, much less one that is a fully grown stray that you've known less than month? That's just not possible." Again, my gaze dipped to my lap where Mini was acting just like normal, ignoring the stupid humans' conversation and purring softly in delight at the petting. She seemed to be just an ordinary cat, but Abby did have a point. I'd never heard of cats doing any of the things that she'd just described, but Mini certainly had. "Do you remember us talking about familiars?" Abby inquired. Looking up again, I nodded. "Sure, but you said there was some complicated ritual involved in doing it. I certainly didn't cast anything like that." "I also said that I didn't know what all the bracelet was doing on its own," Abby noted. "It would seem that it has done quite a bit, enough so that I'm pretty sure, if you're ever in danger anywhere near Mini, she'll try to defend you from it like she did last night." My eyes widened at that revelation. "But ... she'll never be nearby like that again." "She won't?" Abby questioned. "Where else would she be? Admittedly, I haven't spent all that much time around you, but she seems to follow you everywhere. I've rarely even seen you two in different rooms." "That doesn't mean I'm going to take her out with me to fight crazed supervillains!" I retorted defensively. "I didn't take her shopping with us or to the movies last night either!" Abby laughed softly at that claim. "I'm sure you don't intend to, but she's probably not going to want to be left alone all the time, and I've seen her do a pretty good job of clinging to you when she wants to." That fact wasn't one that I could really argue with. Mini was quite stubborn and impulsive. She couldn't exactly break through doors, but she would claw and whine if I tried to leave her out of things. There was a decent chance that she'd be even worse if I started neglecting her. That would be hard to deal with, plus it wasn't like I wanted to upset her. "Alright, then is there some way to, I don't know, break ... whatever bond the bracelet gave us?" I asked, looking down at the cat in my lap. There had to be something I could do to keep her out of danger. Abby screwed her face up uncertainly. "Maybe? Hard to say without knowing what it did and how it did it. That said, do you really want to? I mean ... you do like her, right?" "Of course!" I answered loudly and immediately. "Which is exactly why I don't want her to die fighting people with superpowers." Hearing that, Abby's expression shifted to a warm smile. "I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. It's just ... she's a stray cat. They aren't typically affectionate or trusting. You break whatever bond you have, and she may not like you anymore. Didn't you say that she used to do nothing but hiss at you?" Listening to Abby's words, I suddenly felt a tightness in my chest. Mini had been pretty awful to me before I'd saved her, no, before the bracelet had made me save her. She'd warmed up to me pretty quickly after that, but that might've been because of of the artifact's magic, just like I'd turned into a girl because of it. If so, she might hate me again if that magic went away. Seeing my reaction, Abby's smile faded into a look of concern as she offered, "I can try to do some research into it and see what comes up." Shaking my head, I scooped Mini up from my lap and rose from my seat. "No, that's alright. I'll just ... uhm ... " I mumbled, looking around. Finding a decent spot I bent over to place Mini on the ground. "Stay here for a second, okay, Mini?" My request earned a curious tilt of the head from the little cat. That didn't keep her from doing as I said, though, waiting right where I put her. It was rare for the cat to be so obedient. Usually, she'd just rush forward to rub on me or mewl to be picked up. Thinking about it, now, though, she never did that stuff when I actually needed her out of my way. She was always very well behaved during those times. "Ash?" Abby began questioningly. "What are you doing?" "Finding another solution," I answered as I stepped back from Mini a couple of steps and said, "Magical bracelet so strong and bright, Give me the power I need to fight." Unlike the other rhymes that I'd chanted that morning, this one actually did work while I didn't have the scepter. Immediately, the emerald on my bracelet flashed, sending green light leaking out of it to crawl up my arm. Before long, I was enveloped in a blinding cocoon of the stuff before it burst apart in a flash. Prior to the chant, I'd just been wearing my clothes from the night before, an attractive but normal skirt and top. Now, I was dressed in my costume, a tiny, little, strapless green dress with a copper colored belt and matching boots, gloves, cloak, and floppy witch's hat. In my hand was the scepter that powered all of my other rhymes, a slim, three feet long stick of copper capped by a fist sized emerald cut in the shape of a flame. "Ash! Stop!" Abby exclaimed as I finished my transformation. "Magic shouldn't be used rash-!" Raising the scepter, I pointed it at my cat. "I find myself in a terrible plight, please transform my cat so that she can fight." The emerald on my scepter flashed, and then, suddenly, there was a loud poof. In time with the noise, a cloud of gray smoke burst forth around Mini, enveloping her, and much of the area near her. For a moment, worry gripped me as my cat was hidden by the cloud, but the smokescreen didn't last for long. It quickly started to fade away, not just dispersing, but vanishing back from wherever it had come. As the smoke faded, a shape started to appear from within. It was far too big for a cat, though, and shaped all wrong - tall and upright. A moment later, details started to show, and my jaw dropped open. Standing where Mini had once been, a few wisps of smoke still clinging to her, was a young girl. She was quite small, at least a few inches shorter than my five-foot-one, and waifish with skinny limbs. For clothes, she wore only what appeared to be a gray fur tube top and a matching loincloth that clung to narrow hips and small breasts along with some matching slippers. That attire wasn't the only oddity of the girl, however. For one, she had huge, blue eyes, with vertical pupils. Another was that poking out from her shag-style gray hair were a pair of fur-covered, triangular ears of the same color, the left of which was missing its tip. Lastly, she had a long furry tail that was a perfect match to the ears. Curling her hands up in front of her in an imitation of paws, the girl peered at them. As she did, she tilted her head curiously. That movement did nothing to alleviate the perplexed express that had taken over her face. For a few moments, I could only watch the girl, blinking in surprise. Finally, though, I got enough of my thoughts together to murmur a single word in question, "Mini?" At the name, the catgirl perk up, twisting her head to look at me. Instantly, a smile burst onto her face. "Meow!" she chirped, her high voice creating a near perfect imitation of a cat right before she darted toward me. *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 03 A satisfied purring sound filled the otherwise silent room. It was a sound that I was quite used to hearing. Often, it radiated out of Mini whenever she got pet or scratched behind the ears or even just snuggled up against me. However, I was not used to those sounds emanating from a cat-eared girl, especially not when she was in the middle of nuzzling her cheek against my neck while her hands pawed at my chest. Stunned as I was just by the catgirl's presence, I had no idea how to react to her actions at all. I could only stand there, thoroughly befuddled by what was happening while my brain tried to catch up to the situation. It was moving pretty slowly, though. "Well, this is awkward ..." Abby's voice remarked from her seat, not sounding at all awkward. In fact, she seemed to be quite comfortable, even chuckling softly to herself as she spoke. "Should I give you two some privacy?" That question proved the jumpstart that my brain needed, scattering my daze at least enough to jerk my gaze around to the blue haired woman. The expression on my face must have been quite humorous, because her half-suppressed chuckles burst out into a full on laugh at the sight of me. Personally, I didn't think the situation was very funny. "What that hell hap-?!" I started to ask, but I didn't get to finish. Instead, I choked off my words into a yelp of surprise as the catgirl apparently figured out how to go from patting my chest to grabbing it, giving one of my breasts a good squeeze in the process. "Eh! Mini! Stop it!" "Myew?" the catgirl mewled, shifting around so that she could peer up at me with her big blue eyes. She even added her typical quizzical head tilt, making it seem like I was being unreasonable for wanting her to stop groping me. That exchange did not help Abby's self control as laughter further devolved into outright guffaws. The normally austere woman was even curled up a little clutching at her stomach almost pained by the humor of the situation. So much for help from my magic expert. I barely had time to be annoyed at Abby's reaction before the catgirl pulled my attention to here yet again. Apparently, she took my lack of immediate answer as leave to return to her play. As such, she returned her hands to my chest as she nuzzled against my neck affectionately once more. It was the cool wetness of the little lick that she gave me that finally pushed me over the edge. "No!" I barked, managing to sound reproving if not commanding even with my teenaged girl voice. At the same time, I got my hands up, inserting them between me and the catgirl so that I could push her out to arm's length. "I said stop!" Again, the catgirl just peered at me with her head cocked to the side as if I was the one in the wrong. I actually sort of felt like that was the case, too. There had been no reason to yell. If this really was Mini, which seemed likely, she wasn't doing anything that she didn't normally do. She was just ... bigger and more ... human than usual. "Sorry .. uhm ... just give me a second," I mumbled to the catgirl, holding my hands up in a mix of apology and warding mechanism. Once I was done talking, I turned my attention back to Abby who was still struggling with her laughter as tears sparkled in her eyes. "Will you please stop laughing and help!" Trying to bite back her laughter, Abby managed to get down to snickering as she wiped at her eyes. "Help ... hehehe ...do what? You're the one that turned her into a ... snerk ... catgirl!" That was all the more I got before my magic expert once again completely lost herself in her mirth. Rolling my eyes at the blue haired woman, I turned my attention back to the catgirl, who had stayed at arm's length as per my instruction. She clearly didn't like it, though. Her confused expressed had shifted into a pout, and her shoulders had slumped Combined, it made for a rather adorable image that made me feel like some kind of monster for refusing her, but I shoved that feeling aside. I had to concentrate. Abby was right that I was the one that had changed her into this so I should be able to- "What's with all ... the ..." my brother's voice entered the scenario, starting out normal and trailing off into shock before finally blurting, "Who's that?" "You mean ... the catgirl?" Abby remarked, struggling to control her amusement long enough to speak. "That's Mini!" She barely got that out before she was right back to laughing. "That's Mini?!" Brett questioned incredulously. Huffing in frustration, I turned again this time to face my brother in the doorway to yell. "Yes, it is! Now, if you could all be silent for a moment, I need to fix it!" No stranger to situations that required focus, Brett clammed up immediately. Abby didn't do quite so good of a job, but she did at least get a hand over her mouth to stifle some of her uproar. That left things quiet enough for me to turn back to Mini and try to think. First, on my mind was to try to just release the spell. For most of my spells, like my flight and my forcefield ones, that worked - at least the spells that lasted more than a second or two. All I had to do was will it, and the spell would fade. When I tried that, though, nothing happened to the catgirl in front of me. That probably meant I needed a spell to revert it like I did to undo my own transformation. "Alright ... uhm ... let's see ... no that doesn't work ..." I mumbled as I searched for a rhyme to use. It took a moment before I, finally, found something and raised my scepter to point it at the catgirl. "The danger has passed, I am alright, so return my cat until the next fight." While I was pretty sure that I'd managed a proper rhyme, there was no flash like before nor a puff of smoke to indicate a change. The catgirl just continued to stand there, although, she had changed back from pouting to peering at me quizzically. "Damn it!" I cursed, immediately diving back into the search for a rhyme. Sometimes, that sort of thing happened with my attempts at new spells. Many just didn't work for reasons that weren't entirely clear. "Alright ... let's try ... this human form is very good at befuddling, but please return the form that I love for cuddling." "Awww," Abby cooed from behind me as I finished that rhyme, but I ignored it to focus on the catgirl. However, just like the last time, nothing happened. "Double damn it!" I spat, adding stomp of my foot in frustration. Then, I was right back into trying to come up with another rhyme. I didn't get far this time, though. Barely a second into my search, Mini apparently had had enough of obeying me. She stepped forward again, quickly closing on me. Distracted as I was, I didn't even notice until, once again, I found a cat girl pressed up against me. This time, though, she wasn't trying to fondle or lick me or anything else like that. She just leaned against me, with her hands resting comfortingly on my shoulders and the side of her head resting against my cheek. Like before, I was shocked by the sudden intimacy, but unlike before, it wasn't for long. I didn't try to shove the catgirl away either. I just sort of slumped, feeling the tension drain out of me. Smiling faintly, I reached a hand up to pat the catgirl on her head. "Mini ..." I sighed, trying to sound at least a little upset at the interruption. "I need you to stop for a second. I have to figure out how to get you to change back into a cat." To my surprise, Mini actually shifted at those words, leaning back a bit so that she could look at me for a moment. It was only for that moment, though, before she leaned back in, thrusting herself up on her tippy toes in the process. The combination got her up high enough to rub her nose against mine. The next thing I knew, there was a soft poof, and then, I was surrounded by a dense cloud of gray smoke. At the same time, I felt the weight and presence of the catgirl that had been leaning against me vanish. Startled, I gasped and lurched back in surprise, stumbling out of the cloud even as it started to dissipate. A couple of seconds later, it was gone, revealing the tiny little form of a cat that was sitting on the floor, looking up at me with her typical quizzical head tilt. "Aww ..." Abby whined unhappily at the sudden end to the fun. "She turned back." "But ... the rhymes didn't work ... how did she ...?" I stammered, looking between the little cat on the floor and the blue haired woman. Abby shrugged. "Don't look at me. All I can do is guess." "Well then guess!" I insisted, wanting any explanation that I could get. "Well, there may have been a time limit on the transformation," Abby mused. "Or ... " "Or what?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes with worry. Abby grinned at me. "Maybe Mini did it." "Myow!" Mini cut in as if she understood the conversation. Focusing fully back on the cat, I blinked in surprise. "You did it?" Mini didn't have an answer to that question. All she did was step forward so that she could start rubbing against my legs. Apparently, cat or catgirl, she only really cared about getting pets and snuggles. With no answers coming from the cat, I twisted back to Abby. "How could she do it?" "Again with the questions I can't answer," Abby snarked. "All I know is, you tried some rhymes, they didn't work, then you said you wanted her back as cat, she gave you an eskimo kiss, and poof she's a cat again." "But ... how could she ... she's not ...?" I muttered in confusion. "she doesn't have any magic. Right?" Abby rolled her eyes. "You're the one that just rashly cast a spell on her, even though, I tried to warn you not to. Who knows what you did to her." That was a good point. I had just cast an untested spell on the little cat. There was no way to really know exactly what it had done to her. Suddenly worried, I looked down at Mini, but the cat looked perfectly normal and was acting perfectly normally, too. "She seems to be alright, at least," Brett spoke up. "Yeah, luckily," Abby agreed. Having those two sharing my assessment of the situation was certainly comforting. "Is she going to turn back, though, and why did she even turn into a catgirl in the first place?" I inquired. "The rhyme said to transform her, so she could fight. How was that skinny, little body any better for that?" "I told you, I don't have answers for you, but I think you're forgetting how that scepter of yours works," Abby commented. "You're a lot stronger than you look. Of course, since you look like some teenybopper in cosplay that's not saying much, but I imagine the same holds true of Mini. She probably just followed your mental template of what a cat warrior should look like just like you did for your transformation into a magic-wielding hero of justice." Hearing that explanation, my shoulders slouched wearily, and I sighed, "Clearly, I need some new mental templates." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 04 "So everyone's fine there then?" I doubled checked. On the other end of the phone, my old boss, Duncan, answered, "Yeah, nothing happened here." "That's great," I breathed in relief. "After what happened, I was worried that maybe she'd hurt someone to find out where I lived." "If that bitch threatened anyone, they didn't report it, and no one's missed any shifts recently," Duncan assured me. "Real sorry to hear about what happened to you, though, Ash - both the attack and, y'know the ... other thing." "Thanks," I replied. "It's ... uhm ... different, but I'm pushing through." "Good, good," Duncan mumbled unconvincingly. "Anyway, I need to get back to work, so I should let you go." Understanding how the older man might feel awkward with me sounding like some high school girl, I nodded. "Yeah, of course. Stay safe, man." "You too," Duncan told me, and then, the call was over. Sighing, I set the phone down and slouched against the propped up pillow that I was leaning against. In spite of the awkwardness of the conversation, talking to Duncan, and consequently learning that my mystery attacker hadn't hurt anyone else, had been a relief. Of course, I was also frustrated to not know how she'd learned where I was staying. However, that wasn't too unexpected. After all, she'd known that the bracelet had been delivered to the museum, so it seemed likely that she had some information source within the staff. Given the amount of people that worked there, it probably wasn't feasible to learn who that source was, though. That fact was pretty annoying. "That's one lead down," I muttered, wondering where I was going to find another. I had no idea, but I did know that I needed one. That masked woman had to be stopped. Otherwise, she'd probably try again, and I still owed her for hurting Mini. Thoughts turning toward the cat, I glance down. As she often did, Mini was laid on out top of me, enjoying some tummy rubs from the hand that I hadn't needed to hold the phone. At the same time, she rubbed her head against my chest. "You know, this is a lot weirder after what happened this morning," I remarked. "Mrer," Mini murmured softly, something halfway between a purr and an actual meow. That was the extent of her reaction to my words, however. She even kept right on nuzzling me. "Don't care, huh?" I interpreted, smirking at the little cat. She knew what she wanted, and she wasn't going to let my hang ups get in the way of that. "Still such a needy little pest, aren't ya?" Just as I was reaching up to getting ready to just waste some time playing with the cat, a knock on the door interrupted me. Sighing in annoyance, I looked up and called out, "Come in." A moment later, my brother poked his head head into the room. "Hey, I was just about to head by my place with Tony. He wants to give the crime scene a once over, and I figured I could pick up some clothes and stuff for us. Anything in particular you want?" "Oh ... uhm ..." I mumbled as I considered the question. I could probably use a change of clothes or two, and maybe some of Mini's toys, and ... "Actually, can I go with you?" "Sure. Why?" Brett agreed questioningly. "Don't trust me to pick out your clothes?" "Well sparing both of us from the awkwardness of you going through my underwear is certainly a benefit, but no," I joked. "I want to get that bitch, too, so I want to be there in case I can help Tony with anything." Brett nodded in understanding. "Good idea. In fact, I should probably ask Abby to come along, too. She might be able to magic up a clue or something." "If she can stop laughing at me for long enough to cast a spell," I remarked acerbically as I grabbed Mini to scoop her off of me. "Alright, kitty, play time's over. Time to- ow!" I gasped in pain as the little cat's claws dug painfully into the breast that she'd just been nuzzling, forcing me to set her back down. "Mini!" "Mrrr," Mini growled out a defiant sounding noise. Hunkering down on top of me, the feline kept her claws at the ready as she squinted her eyes my way. It was a look that said that she had no intention of letting herself be moved. "Mini, stop it," I chastised, wagging a finger at the cat. Mini made no move to relax her stance. If anything, her eyes narrowed a touch more. Clearly, she wasn't interested in listening to me. "Oh, come on!" I exclaimed in frustration at the cat's defiance. "I have to go, you silly, little furball!" Still, there was no movement from the cat. There was, however, the sound of my brother speaking, "Uhm ... I guess she wants to come along?" "Don't be-" I started to huff only to cut myself off. Abby had mentioned something like that earlier, something about the cat clinging to me when she wanted to. I didn't want her to go, though. The last time she was in that house, she had nearly died. Sure, there wasn't likely to be any trouble in the middle of the day, but there could be. The other option, though, was to just rip her off of me and lock her in Abby's house. How would she react to that? "Ugh ... fine, you can come too," I finally agreed, wrapping an arm around the cat to hold her against me as I scooted off the bed and onto my feet. "You better behave yourself, though." "Meow!" Mini chirped brightly, snuggling up against me affectionately. "Damn pest," I grumbled before turning my attention to my brother. When I did, I saw him looking at me with an amused little twist to his lips, causing me to narrow my eyes at him. "What are you smirking at?" "Nothing," Brett replied, even as the smirk in question broadened a little into a full on smile. Knowing that wasn't true, I rolled my eyes and stomped past him. "I'll be in the car." *********************************************** *********************************************** "Brett!" Tony called out as my brother brought his car to a stop in his driveway and opened the door. "How's it going?!" "About as well as it can be given last night," Brett answered, hopping out of his car. "How's your day been?" "Great, until you called with this mess," Tony replied before his eyes widened in surprise as Abby slid out of the passenger side of the vehicle. "And it might be great again, since I see you brought the loveliest sorceress in all of DC with you," he added, dipping into an odd little bow to the lady. "A pleasure as always, Abigail." Abby rolled her eyes at the man's actions. "I keep telling you not to call me that." "Which?" Tony qinrui with a smirk. "Abigail or the loveliest sorceress in DC?" "Both," Abby answered coolly. "It is nice to see you, though, Tony. It's been a while." "Yeah, I really should get involved with more magic villains, so that we can spend more time together," Tony remarked. Abby scrunched her face up in distaste. "I think you misunderstand. It being a while is a good thing." "Ouch," Tony responded, wincing slightly. "I see your tongue is as cold and biting as ever." "Only with you, Tony," Abby told him, smiling sweetly. Having snuck my way out of the back seat in the midst of this exchange, I coughed loudly. "Ahem, only him?" Abby shrugged. "Fine, just the two of you, then." "Somehow, I doubt that," I remarked dryly before turning to give Tony a little bob of my chin in greeting, since holding Mini was currently occupying my hands. "Hey, Tony." "Oh, hey there!" Tony greeted brightly. "I hear you chased off our masked, evil lady. Good work!" "Thanks," I answered. "Would've prefered to have caught her, though." "Yeah, I know the feeling, but it was your first time," Tony countered. "Just be glad you didn't screw it up too badly." Glancing down at Mini, I scrunched my face up skeptically. "I'm not sure I didn't, but hey, some of that tumbling stuff you taught me helped keep me from getting blasted again." "That's something, at least," Tony noted. "Anyway ... there's no sign of the attacker lurking about, and forensics came by earlier to give their look, so you're free to go in and grab what you want. Probably best to steer clear of the area of the actual fight, though. It's a mess, and I'll be looking around it." "I'm not going to be steering clear of it," Abby spoke up. "Brett wants me to poke around, see if magic can't find something that science would miss." "Well, I know better than to try to tell you what you can and can't do, so by all means, poke away," Tony joked. "Hopefully, you'll find something, because it would be nice to have a lead." Abby tilted her head from side to side uncertainly. "I wouldn't expect too much, but I might get a hint or two." "Wait, did you just say you don't have any leads on that masked woman?" I questioned in surprise. Tony scrunched his face up a little. "I'm not really supposed to reveal details of an active investigation to civilians, but seeing as how she nearly killed you ... no, not at the moment. She's good about not leaving anything incriminating behind, doesn't seem to interact much with the seedier part of society, and she's slippery when pursued. Doesn't leave much to go on." "But, then, how are we going to catch her?" I demanded. Tony shrugged. "I don't know yet, but don't worry. There are still some things to try, and Abigail is as capable as she is beautiful, so you should be quite safe until we do." "Stop calling me that," Abby interjected, before I could respond. "Aw, but it's such a lovely name," Tony complained. "Just like you're such a lovely woman." Abby let out an exasperated huff. "I take back my earlier statement. It's not nice to see you again." "Now, that's just not true," Tony countered. "I know you missed me." "In your dreams, maybe," Abby retorted. "Now, why don't you shut up, so I can get to work and away from you." Grinned at that acerbic demand, Tony dipped his head obediently. "Of course. Whatever you want, Abigail." Rolling her eyes, Abby tried a growl to show her exasperation this time before she started toward the door. As she walked by him, Tony turned to follow her. A couple seconds later, and they were both gone. "Alright, come on," Brett spoke up in the momentary silence. "I've got a couple of suitcases in my room that we can use to pack." Nodding absently, I got myself moving toward the house. "Yeah ... alright." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 05 "Hmm ... guess that does it," I remarked as I looked down at the suitcase that lay on the bed in front of me. With all the changing my physique had done recently, I didn't own a lot of clothes, so packing had been pretty easy. I'd just put all my stuff inside, and that was that. I hadn't even filled the thing completely. "Mreow," Mini added from where she stood on the bed with her front legs up on the edge of the suitcase so that she could peer inside. "What? I packed all your toys. There in that plastic bag there," I told her, pointing toward the little baggy in question that held the handful of toys that I'd bought for the cat since I'd rescued her. Rather than follow my finger, the little cat just turned to look at me. After a moment, though, she went right back to looking inside the luggage. Much of the time, I could figure out what she wanted, but I didn't have a clue as to what was going on this time. Maybe, she thought it looked cozy in there. Maybe, she wanted one of the toys. Maybe, she was just curious. "Whelp, time to close it up, so scooch," I told the feline, using a hand to nudge her out of the way, so that I could zip up the suitcase. When I did that, the cat didn't make any more fuss, try to resist, or worm her way around me to poke her head back inside, so I just chalked it up to just some random cat thing and went about my task. Once the luggage was all closed up, I picked up the case to take it downstairs with Mini following along right behind me. Being stronger than my slight frame appeared, the weight of the thing wasn't a problem. I had more trouble with the bulk of it being awkward to hold. Whenever I had carry it instead of let it roll, it would trip me up a little as it hung by my side, It would even scrape the floor if I let it dip too low. "Couldn't you have made me just a little bit bigger?" I asked the bracelet as I fought with the combination of my height, stairs, and the suitcase. "I'm not even asking for tall like Abby or anything like that, just a few extra inches would've been great." The bracelet didn't have any answers for me. It never did. As far as I knew, it wasn't even actually sentient. According to Abby, it seemed like I did all of its thinking for it, so really, I was the one that I should be asking for extra inches. "Not all magical girls are short. Not all magical girls are short. Not all ..." I tried muttering repeatedly under my breath. I didn't get any taller, but the mantra was a nice distraction for the last few stairs that I had to get down. With that diversion, I made it down to the living living room. There, I found the scene of my first battle with super powers. As Tony had said earlier, it was a mess, a far bigger one than I remembered from the night before. Huge holes had been cut through several walls, leaving jagged rings where the tears had happened. On the back side of the room, there was no barrier between inside and out, and the patio was strewn with shattered glass. Then, there was the couch which had been utterly ruined, turned into nothing but a pile of shattered pieces. It was almost like a war zone, which served to make me feel very lucky that I'd somehow survived the battle. Amidst all the mess were also two people. Abby was one of them, and she was seated in center of the room with her eyes closed and a few faintly mystical looking objects scattered about her. The other was Tony, who was off to side, presumably to stay out of Abby's way while he watched her work. Scooting along, I sidled up next to the hispanic man to quietly ask, "What's she up to?" Tony shrugged. "I don't know. You're the one that knows magic. Right? You tell me." "I do ..." I admitted reluctantly, since I technically did know a little magic. Of course, that didn't mean I really understood it. All I really knew is that it seemed to have a lot of arbitrary rules. "But, I only just started learning." "Well, all I know is that I hope it turns up something," Tony replied. "Because, I've been looking around this place for a while and there's nothing to go on. It is an impressive mess for a first timer, though." "Thanks ..." I muttered, unsure whether that was even a compliment. Still, it did at least remind me of something else I wanted to do while I was there. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that." Turning to me, Tony gave me a curious look. "About the fight?" "Yeah, I was hoping to get a little advice on how to go about something like that," I explained. "I mean ... I feel like I did alright on my own, but it's going to take better than just alright if I'm going to capture this woman the next time I fight her." "Whoa, slow down," Tony instructed, holding his hands up to forestall me. "Who said anything about you fighting her again?" "This bitch has nearly killed me twice, and she's on her way to matching that number with my cat," I spat, my voice gaining volume with its anger. "I want in on the take down." Tony screwed his face up uneasily. "I know how you feel, but you have to stay out of this." "Stay out of it?!" I blurted. "I'm not staying outta shit!" "Ahem," Abby cleared her throat at us. "I sort of need to concentrate here, so could you keep it down to a dull roar please." "Sorry," I called back her, sounding a bit insincere in my focus on Tony. "Yeah, sorry," Tony joined in the apology before adding quietly to me, "Why don't we head out front to talk?" "Fine," I huffed in agreement. With a quick nod, Tony turned and led the way out the front door. I followed right behind, with suitcase rolling behind one foot and Mini following behind the other. Once we were outside, I leveled a defiant glare at the hero. "I'm not going to just sit on the sidelines and hope someone catches that woman for me," I continued the arugment once the door closed behind me. "Look, I already told you that I understand, but you're a civilian," Tony clarified. "I can't bring you along on this." "So what?!" I retorted. "Brett said you were willing to take me on as a sidekick or whatever. Just do that, then I won't be a civilian anymore. Or did that all go out the window the moment you saw me and that stupid costume?" Tony rolled his eyes at me. "Of course, it didn't. I'd still be happy to give you a shot, but I can't just say, 'Okay!' and take you out on the job. You have no training in combat or law enforcement or anything." "That didn't stop me from beating her in a fight last night!" I countered. "I can do it again, especially if you're there to help!" Tony sighed heavily. "Look, I'm not saying you need to be an expert at kung fu or go through the police academy like I did or anything, but you can't just be a complete novice, and right now you are." "Then teach me what I need to know!" I demanded. "Teach you?" Tony questioned at the unexpected command. "Yeah. It's not like you have any leads, so it would seem like we have plenty of time," I reasoned. "That way, I'll be ready to go when we find her." "And what if I say you're not ready by then?" Tony inquired. I shrugged. "Then, I guess all you have to do is not tell me where she is while you put up with my whining about it." Tony chuckled at that answer. "I think I'm stuck with that last part no matter when I turn you down." "Definitely," I confirmed with a smirk. "Well, then, I guess there's no reason to say no right now," Tony rationalized, before wagging a finger at me. "You'd better be ready to take your training seriously, though." "There are few things that can make a man ... err woman more serious than having someone try to kill them," I pointed out, stumbling over the right gender to use for myself. That answer garnered a nod of understanding from Tony. "Alright. We can meet up once I'm off duty and get started. Bring something to write with, because you'll want to take notes when we get to the legal stuff. It's not going to sound important, but you don't want some bad guy like this masked woman getting released, or worse, you ending up in jail right there next to them, because you broke the rules during the arrest." "Bring a pencil and a notebook and follow the rules, got it," I repeated back. "Anything else I need to bring with me?" "Costume and some hustle," Tony replied. "I'm not sure what all we'll get to the first night, but you need some more hand to hand training, and I'm going to want to see what kind of combat spells you have, so I can plan around your strengths and weaknesses." I tapped a finger on the emerald of the bracelet on my wrist. "This thing brings out the costume, so it's always with me. I can't say I'm too excited about more of your workouts, though. That last one really wiped me out." "Don't worry, you're safe from a repeat of that. I was just pushing you back then to see what kind of endurance limits you had," Tony explained. "Besides, we won't have time for something that long tonight anyway." "Well, that's a relief," I breathed. "Now, all I have to worry about is that we'll never find her." "Always a concern," Tony sympathized. "If you're going to be in the hero business, you're just going to have to get used to the idea that you can't catch everyone." "Starting the lessons already, huh?" I joked. Tony smirked. "I guess so, and here's another, if all you want is revenge, it would be best for you to just forget about training and go find something else to do with your life. You go after this woman looking for blood, and you're the one that's going to be in trouble." "Don't worry," I assured the hero. "I don't want to kill her or anything. I just want to be able to come home at night without wondering if she's lurking about, ready to take another shot at me." Nodding, Tony extended a hand to me. "Then, I look forward to working with you." Smiling, I took the offered hand, although, that smile faltered a bit at how small my hand felt in comparison to Tony's. The delicate appendage certainly didn't seem like the hand of a hero. In fact, I didn't seem like much of a hero in any way. I was a jerk before and joke now, but I'd beaten that masked woman once, so there might be more to me than it appeared. Either that or it was just a fluke. In spite of that moment of uncertainty, I gave Tony's hand a firm shake. "Me too." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 06 "Worked up quite an appetite being a nuisance all day, did ya?" I remarked as I sat on my bed at Abby's watching Mini gobble the food from her nearby dish. In her typical unconcerned way, the feline ignored my commentary on her actions and kept right on eating. She must've been quite hungry, because she was really going at it. In fact, she'd even squirmed free of my arms the moment that we walked through the door, so that she could scurry up here to her food. By the time I'd caught up, wondering what had gotten into her, she was already a few bites in and showing no signs of slowing down. Smirking at Mini's self-centered ways, I leaned back on the bed and let out a little sigh. With my cat preoccupied, I used the time to think. Mostly, I tried to figure out a good way to catch the masked woman. Once that was done, no one would be sneaking into my house at night, hurting my cat, or trying to kill me over some stupid fucking bracelet that I never even wanted in the first place. "You're even worse than Mini, you know that?" I grumbled, tossing a sour look at the bracelet on my wrist. Twice, I'd almost died because of the stupid thing. Plus, it had turned me into a girl. Well, I supposed that part hadn't been utterly awful. I wasn't some fat, aging slob anymore, although, looking like I was a freshman in high school had its only problems. Still, there were worse things than being young and cute, and I'd gotten Mini out of the deal, which was pretty nice, even if she was a pest. "Ugh ... stop it brain. If you keep going down that road, you might start thinking you're glad you found the stupid thing." That reasoning quieted my thoughts a bit. I certainly wasn't glad that I'd found the magic artifact on my wrist. Sure, it hadn't all been completely terrible, but the upsides didn't outweigh all the crap it had put me through, not by a longshot. As if to prove that sentiment wrong, a now full Mini bounded up on to the bed and then right on to me. Once there, she plopped herself right down, squirming around atop of me. She didn't move around for long, though, before she twisted her head all cockeyed to look up at me and just stare. "Alright, I'll pet you, you needy little runt," I conceded after only a moment of holding out. Smiling softly, I got my hands up, one to get the little cat under the chin as the other went after her belly. Once that was started, she was too busy purring to keep up her stare, not that she even needed it anymore anyway. For a while, I just lost myself in playing with Mini. Close as we were, though, I couldn't keep it up forever. Eventually, my mind started to drift again, wanting new distraction to keep my worries at bay. "I could really use a drink," I muttered wistfully. Abby didn't seem to keep any more vices around than my brother, though. That meant that, if I wanted a drink, I'd have to go get it, and that just wasn't going to happen with no ID and the face of a fifteen year old. Sighing, I let my hands fall to the bed and looked at the cat that was still sprawled out on top of me. "Petting's over. What do you want to do next?" Twisting her head around again, Mini peered at me as if I was talking like some kind of lunatic. I wasn't budging this time, though. I needed something more to do than just lay around petting her for the rest of the night. Even when she tried patting me pleadingly with a paw, I held firm. "Not happening, kitty," I refused determinedly. "It's time for something else." At those words, the little feline gave me a look that I would've sworn was filled with annoyance and rolled onto her feet. Hopping off of me, she dropped back to the floor. From there she started straight for the door. "What? If I'm not petting you, I'm useless. Is that it?" I questioned the departing cat. I got no answer, though. She just kept right on going before eventually slipping around the doorframe and vanishing into the hall beyond. "Where are you even going?" I tried to ask as I slipped off the bed to follow after my wayward pet. I couldn't remember the last time that she'd just up and walked away from me like that. "You're not just going off to find someone else to pet you, are you?" Mini didn't answer me, but when I stepped out onto the second floor landing, I did spot her over by the stairs. In fact, it even seemed like she was waiting for me. She was looking my way, and, the moment our eyes made contact, she started off again, bounding down the steps. "Maybe I really am the pet ..." I muttered as I followed after the cat like I was on a leash or something. Over the next couple of minutes, Mini went on quite the little adventure. She roamed all over the main floor, sneaking into every room that she could find. Once inside, she'd explore it quickly but thoroughly before darting right back out to move on to the next one. "I guess she was just curious about her new home?" I surmised as Mini went through the last room on the floor, a laundry room that adjoined the garage. While it didn't look like much, so far, it seemed to be the cat's favorite room, giving her all sorts of interesting edges to rub against, a basket full of clothes to roll around in, and tight little tunnels to squeeze through. As such, it had taken the longest for her to finish exploring before she turned toward where I was standing in the door. "Alright, kitty, what're we doing next?" Even before I could finish that question, Mini was already off. Out into the kitchen, she went. There, she found another door, the only one on the first floor that had been closed. Stopping in front of it, she pawed at it a little to indicate that was the next stop on her journey. "The basement, huh?" I remarked before shrugging and reaching out to open the door for the cat. "I've come this far. What's one more floor?" The door wasn't even half opened yet when Mini squirmed through the gap and darted off down the stairs beyond. Chuckling, I rolled my eyes at the cat's enthusiasm and finished opening the door, so that I could follow after. When I did, it was with a less hurried pace than the feline's. If I'd expected some dank, unfinished mess of a basement, I was mostly disappointed. There was a bit of a musty smell to the place, but even from up the stairs, I could see that it was very nicely decorated. As I came down, that only became more apparent. Elegant, finely crafted, wood bookcases lined most of the walls, full of the source of that musty smell - a great assortment of tomes. Tome was definitely the right word for them as most were thick, old, and leather bound. About halfway down, I heard Abby's voice remark, "Oh, hello, Mini. How'd you get down here?" brightly followed one of the cat's little meows. At the bottom of the stairs, one could turn either left or right. To the left was the sort of thing that I had imagined when I'd first seen Abby's house. The space had a tile floor that was half-filled with workbenches and cabinets that had that witch brewing feel to them. Meanwhile, the other half was completely empty of items, leaving nothing but smooth floor. The other side of the basement held reading chairs, a sofa, a coffee table, and a desk. It also held Abby, who sat at the desk with a few of those heavy books strewn about before her. One such book was currently open and had an inquisitive cat standing next to it with her head poked into Abby's way as if the feline intended to read it. "That would be my fault," I spoke up as I rounded the side of the stairs and stepped into the study area. "She was exploring the house and couldn't finish until I let her down here. I didn't realize it was some kind of wizard library." Rolling her desk chair back and to the side, so that she could look at me while watching Mini out of the corner of her eye, Abby offered me a smile. "Well, no harm done. However, you should probably not be so quick to indulge a cat's curiosity. There are even sayings about it." Chuckling, I smiled as well. "Yeah, so I've heard. This time, I'm kinda glad I helped, though. This place is much more fitting for a sharp-tongued witch like you." "Just like that ridiculous costume you summon is fitting for a pubescent, bumbling airhead like you," Abby retorted sharply. "I suppose so," I conceded with a laugh. "What are you doing down here anyway? Or is it like top secret magic stuff that I'm not allowed to know?" Abby shrugged noncommittally, "I wouldn't say it's top secret, but there are definitely books down here that should probably not be common knowledge." "One of them contain a nuclear blast spell or something?" I queried, glancing around at the collection. "Nothing quite that blunt, but there is one on demon summoning that could probably devastate a city if you had enough essence and not much attachment to your soul," Abby noted. "My topic today is far more mundane than that, though." "And what topic is that," I inquired, drifting closer to maybe catch a look at the books on the desk. Smirking, Abby tilted her head toward Mini and said, "She's currently sitting on my desk poking her nose into books that she can't read. At least, I assume she can't. It's hard to say, though, hence the research." "You're researching Mini?" I asked, before holding up my bracelet bearing wrist. "Is it about whatever bond thing you think this did." Abby nodded. "Yep. Between the bracelet and you casting magic on her, it s