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Rehabilitation 3 By: Light Clark Synopsis: Another attack is behind her, but Ash's problems are far from solved. Fear and frustration lead to more conflict, but a glimmer of something is starting to show from the other side of that negativity. Maybe there's some hope for her, after all. Warning: This story is a continuation from Rehabilitation 2 and picks up immediately after that story's end. As such, this story assumes that you have read its predecessors. 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 A gentle knock pulled me from my slumber just enough to get my eyes to crack open so that I could glare at the door. Luckily, I was already on my side facing that way, so I didn't need to move to do so. That didn't stop me from letting out a low rattle of annoyance a moment later, though. After all, I really wanted to go back to sleep. I even started to close my eyes again, but it wasn't to be. "Ash, dinner's ready," my brother, Brett, declared through the door. "Right," I mumbled under my breath as my head started to put together a few thoughts. I had told Brett that he could wake me for dinner. Plus, I was hungry; probably best if I just got up, even if I didn't really want to. Lifting my head a little, I called out. "Be there in a couple minutes." "Alright," came my brother's reply, followed by the sound of him moving away. With the exchange finished, I slumped back into the bed, snuggling down into the pillow and covers. It was all just so warm and comfy, and I was so tired. Fighting that crazy masked woman, breaking my arm, dealing with the hospital staff and my brother healing me, it had all just worn me out. It had been hard to even stay awake through my shower long enough to get clean and flop into bed. Just as I was about to drift off again in spite of my hunger, something shifted next to me. It was warm, small, and had up until that point been nestled up against my chest with one of my hands draped over it. Now, however, it unburrowed itself from that comfy nook moved up to my head and then proceeded to start rubbing against. "Meow," the creature chirped, sounding a bit plaintive at the moment. Apparently, she wanted me to get up, too. "Yeah, but you just want pets," I grumbled even as I tried to resist the pest's efforts to wake me. It just wasn't to be, though. Fur might be soft and pleasant to pet, but it was also good for tickling. Eventually it got me, causing me to twitch as one rub caught me the wrong way. Then, my grand plans to go on sleeping fell apart. "Fine!" I huffed, forcing my eyes open this time to glare at the new intruder on my slumber. The creature in question was a cat, as one might guess from the sound it made. It was a rather small one for an adult with gray fur, the tip missing from its left ear, and big blue eyes. It was the last of those things that peered at me, then. Their emotion was hard to read, but it felt like some mix of begging and impatience. "Damn pest," I muttered, really wanting to cling to my anger, but it couldn't hold up against the cute, little feline. Soon, I found myself giving my pet, Mini, a good scratch behind her ears as a soft smile curled my lips. For her part, she just nestled up next to me, laid down for the pets, and purred. "I can feel you rattling, you know," I remarked as every purr vibrated through her and into the cheek and throat she was nestled up against. "It tickles, too." As was her way, Mini gave my complaints not even the tiniest bit of notice. She didn't look my way. She didn't stop purring. She didn't even so much as move a muscle. As long as I was petting her, she was happy. "Well, that's gonna have to go on hold for a moment, kitty," I warned her right before I removed my hand. After all, I needed it to help scoot me out of bed. Once I'd done that, it was up in the air as I stretched out my paltry five-one frame as high as it would go. Muscles sore from the combat earlier protested but also rejoiced as all sorts of kinks worked themselves out. A moan of mingled pain and pleasure even escaped from my lips before I finally dropped my hands back to my side. "Mew!" Mini whined immediately as my stretch came to an end. All the while, she rubbed herself along my calves for attention. "Yes, yes, I didn't forget about you," I assured her as I bent over to scoop the cat up off the ground. Nestling her against my chest, I resumed her oh-so-needed pets. "There. See? Was it really so hard to wait for that for two seconds?" Like before, my only real answer came in the form of her shifting around in my arms so that she could best use one of my breasts as a pillow. After that, it was just purring. She had what she wanted. Rolling my eyes, I let out a little sigh and walked over to the door. From there, it was out of my room and down the stairs toward the kitchen. Along the way, I picked up the savory smell of food that set my stomach to grumbling. There was also the sound of silverware in use and two people, a man and a woman talking too quietly to be easily overheard. As I rounded the corner, I came into sight of the two that were chatting, both seated at the table as they ate. One was my brother, Brett. He was as obnoxiously handsome and charming as always, with an easy smile on his perfect face. The woman, Abby, sat across from him, and was no less attractive. Her beauty was colder and more striking, though. She was tall and lean with skin as pale as snow and eyes and hair of an icy blue. There was one spot of warmth on her, though, her lush lips which, like my brothers, were curled in a smile. That was no surprise, though. Just being around my brother usually had girls so giddy that they couldn't help but smile. Spotting my approach, Brett glanced my way, offering a quick head bob and a, "Hey Ash. Everything's on the counter." "Thanks," I replied, eagerly starting off toward the food. "I like your dress by the way," Abby added, a hint of mockery in her voice. Stopping, I mumbled, "What dre-? Oh ..." as I glanced down at myself. While I did own one dress, I knew that I wasn't wearing it at that moment. What I was wearing, however, was one of my old t-shirts from before I'd found the bracelet that had transformed me. I'd kept a few because they were so comfortable to sleep in. At the same time, they were also huge on my short, slight, teenaged frame. The sleeves went past my elbows, the shirt itself hung so loosely that even my full bust was hardly noticeable, and the hem extended further down my thighs than most of the skirts that I'd been convinced to buy. As such, it served more like a dress than a top, which was important, because I wasn't wearing any pants underneath it. Having started getting used to skirts, I hadn't really even noticed that fact, but I certainly did now that it was pointed out, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit with discomfort. "You look very cute in it," the blue-haired woman complimented, letting even more of her amusement leak into her tone. "It's comfy," I responded, shrugging off the mild embarrassment. As I did, I started off toward the food again, only to have to stop one more time. "Alright, Mini, down you go. I need to use my hands for eating," I cooed childishly, giving the cat a little eskimo kiss before I set her down. To my relief, she accepted this without protest or claw usage. Behind me, I heard Abby snickering at me. "You two are just adorable." "Shut up," I spat while grabbing a plate to load it with food. "Actually, now that you're here, we should probably start talking about what we're going to do," Brett spoke up to disarm any potentially brewing bickering and move onto a more productive topic. "I already explained what happened to Abby." "Yes, he did, and we just figured out how to allow him to continue his work, which just leaves us with you," Abby furthered. Chuckling dryly, I glanced over at my brother. "Told you she figure something out for ya." "And that's not a bad thing, Ash," Brett replied, sounding judgemental. "No, of course not," I agreed emphatically, ignoring the argument that the two of us had had just a few hours ago. I didn't even really feel the way that I'd claimed to back then anyway. "If she hadn't figured something out. You'd be stuck in the house with me all the time, and my sanity just couldn't take that." "Yeah, that might've been rough," my brother agreed with a smirk. "Still, we didn't think it would be good for you to be stuck here either, so I called up Tony. He said he'd be glad to escort you." I screwed up my face incredulously at that offer. "Escort me? I may look like a kid, but that doesn't make me one. I don't need a babysitter." "I know that, Ash," Brett agreed, sounding a bit exasperated. "I just thought that with a murderer coming after you, that it would be a good idea if-" "Whatever, it doesn't matter," I cut him off, gesturing down at myself. "I mean, where the fuck would I even go like this? It's not like I can go drinking, and I don't have a job. Hell, anyone that sees me out during the day will think I'm some teen playing hookie - a friendless one at that - and at night, what am I gonna do crash high school parties? Hang out at the mall and wait for some pubescents dipshits to hit on me?" Clearly taken aback, Brett didn't have an immediate response, but he didn't take too long to find one. "What are you going to do then, Ash?" "I don't know. Play with my cat, watch TV, maybe practice some of the things Tony's been teaching me," I list off unconvincingly. "I could give you a few books about magic to red," Abby offered. "Might help your understanding and use of your abilities." I shrugged disinterestedly. "Sure, why not? Couldn't hurt." "I'll get them after dinner," the blue-haired wizard promised. "Great, and speaking of dinner ..." I segued as I finished loading up my plate and walked offer to plop into one of the seats at the table. "I'd like to eat mine, so can we be done with this topic? I've had enough of that blonde bitch and the mess she's making of my life for one day." While he looked at me uncertainly, Brett nodded in acceptance. "Yeah ... alright ... " *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 02 A heavy groan escaped my lips as I looked up from the weighty tome that rested in my hands and rubbed at my eyes. For the last hour or so, since daytime television had proven too horrendous to distract me, I'd been trying to unravel some of the esoterica that Abby had left for me to study. However, it wasn't easy to do, in spite of the fact that these were supposed to be relatively beginner resources. That wasn't to say that I was too stupid to do it or anything, just that I had never been a diligent student, even in my youth. Now in my thirties, I was decades from having studied anything, and possibly about that long since I'd even read a real book. It was not a task that I was well- practiced in to say the least. As if sensing an opportunity, I felt the bump of a furball on my arm as Mini burrowed under it to get access to me. "Kitty ... I'm not finished reading yet ..." I grumbled even as I felt the cat climb up onto my chest, positioning herself between me and the book. When my hand fell from my eyes, I was greeted by the sight of my cat just sitting there, looking at me. "I mean it," I reiterated. "I want to finish at least one of these before the grownups get back and start talking down to me again." It was all but a certainty in my mind that Abby and my brother would do exactly that. Thinking about it, in spite of my real age, I kind of did feel like I was actually a teenager whenever those two were around. Brett, especially, had always acted like some aggravatingly overprotective parent, and the current situation had done nothing to improve that. Still, maybe if I read one of these stupid books, pretending like I'd accomplished something that day in the process, they'd back off a little and let me live my own damn life. Somehow, I doubted that, but I was bored enough to try anyway. While I was committed to my task, Mini apparently had other ideas. "Nyah!" she whined plaintively while pawing at me with one foot. "Oh alright ..." I sighed with a shake of my head. After all, it had been quite a while since I'd played with her, and she'd been good and quiet up until then, so that I could read. It had absolutely nothing to do with my being pathetically incapable of resisting her cries for attention. That certainly wasn't the case at at all. "You know you're going to make me have to sit through another lecture tonight," I complained even as I marked my page in my book. Once I had, I flipped it close and then strained a little to get my short arm to reach from my spot on the couch to the coffee table without upsetting the cat on top of me. Somehow, I managed that, allowing me to finally turn my attention to the feline. Oddly, Mini didn't just sit there expectantly, while she waited for me to do all the work. Instead, once I'd settled back down, she actually walked a little further up me so that she could reach my head with hers. Once she could, she rubbed her cheek against mine, almost like she was trying to comfort me. She even added a little lick that sort of served as a kiss. "Oh god ... am I really so pathetic that I need to be reassured by a runt like you?" I asked the feline For her part, Mini just stepped back and peered at me with her head cocked to one side in the way that she was so fond of doing. I could almost imagine her letting out an exasperated huff of, "Seriously? I was just trying to help you feel better, y'know?" It was even said in that high, cutesy voice she had when she transformed into a cat girl. Although, I'd never actually heard her use that voice to say any real words. All she'd ever done was make cat noises. Thinking about the feline's other form, I furrowed my brow thoughtfully. "Huh ... wonder if I could teach you how to speak english?" I mused, looking at the little cat on top of me. "Not sure I want to know what you have to say, though." As if aware that she had just been insulted, Mini narrowed her eyes and let out an annoyed little rattling sound. Laughing lightly, I shook my head and reached out to start petting the feline. "Sorry, of course I wanna hear what you have to say. At least that way I would know if you weren't listening to me because you don't understand or just because you think I'm an idiot." Unlike my previous remarks, this one garnered no response from Mini. She was too busy flopping onto her back to get belly rubs while purring to bother. She didn't have time to waste on me anymore. "Or if you really just think about pets and food all the time ..." I muttered at the reaction, but I didn't stop the petting. In fact, for the next several minutes, all I did was play with the cat, appeasing her various whims. That lasted right up until her purring suddenly stopped. Twisting her head out from under my hands, Mini looked off toward ... something that had drawn her attention. I didn't hear or see anything myself, but it must have been something. After all, the feline had abandoned pets, squirming away from me and back to her feet to hop down to the ground and hurry off. "Mini? Where are you going?" I questioned the departing cat while sitting up on the couch. I received no answer, though. The feline didn't even look back my way. She just left the room off in search of whatever had snatched her focus. Left in confusion, I just sat there for a moment, too bewildered by the strange behavior to know how to react to it. By the time my mind got over that, a new concern thrust itself to the forefront of my thoughts. It was the sound of someone ringing the doorbell. "Who could that be?" I questioned at the sound. It was the middle of the afternoon. I couldn't imagine that Abby or Brett had ordered something and not told me to expect a delivery. Door-to-door salesman maybe? Suddenly, a more worrisome possibility hit me. What if it was something from the mysterious masked woman? Abby had said her place was magically defended, but I didn't know what those defenses entailed. Would they stop an unsuspecting delivery man from carrying a bomb to the front door? Warily, I slid off the couch and started toward the door. Along the way, I wondered if I shouldn't activate my bracelet's power, and then maybe use some sort of defensive spell. I would look pretty foolish if I did that just to find a couple of girl scouts on the other side trying to sell me cookies. Fortunately, as I rounded the corner, putting the door into view, I was given a hint about what to do. Across the way, I saw my wayward cat by the door. She stood right next to it, patting at the wood with one paw. As I approached, she even glanced back at me and let out a whiny little, "Mew," seeming to indicate that she was very eager for me to open the way. "Why would you be so eager, though? What could be out there that's so special?" I asked Mini as I walked over. "You were already getting pets." The feline offered no answer, but she did stop scraping at the door to move out of my way. Giving up my worries with a shrug and a sigh, I reached forward to do as the desired. When I did, I was immediately glad that I hadn't suited up. "Hey, Ash," the handsome hispanic man outside, my brother's hero friend, Tony, greeted brightly. At the same time, the waiting cat darted out to rub against his leg, prompting him to add, "And hello to you, too, Mini." "Meow!" the feline chirped out in reply before sitting down at the man's feet to peer up at him expectantly. Bending over, Tony started to reach down to pet the cat. However, to my surprise and his, Mini did not just sit there and let him. In fact, as his hand drew close, she reared up to bat at it with her paws. "Ow!" the hero yelped, yanking his hand back and looking to me. "What the hell? Does she not let anyone but you pet her or something." Giggling softly, I shook my head. "No, Brett and Abby both play with her a lot." "So it's just me she hates, huh? Great," Tony surmised, peering down at the cat once more. For her part, Mini had settled back into her crouch, staring up at the man in a manner that looked alert and ready. "What I ever do to you?" "I don't think that's it," I remarked. "I mean, she was real eager for me to open the door, so it would be weird if she hated you." "Then why is she trying to claw me?" the hero asked. I shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like she talks, but I'm guessing she's hoping your here to do some more martial arts stuff. She seemed to really enjoy that last time." "Oh ..." Tony mumbled before offering the feline an apologetic shake of his head. "Sorry, kitty, not here for training." Mini just cocked her head to the side. To me that indicated that she didn't understand and was wondering why the man wasn't reaching down to try again. It was hard to tell for sure with her, though. Shaking my head at the silly feline, I turned my attention to Tony. "Well, what are you here for? Don't tell me my brother asked you to check up on me." "Unfortunately, I can't do that, because he did ask that," the hero admitted. "Ugh ... damn it, Brett," I huffed in frustration. "He needs to learn how to fucking butt out sometimes, Jesus." "Yeah, I know what you mean," Tony agreed. "But I also know it can be kinda rough being stuck in the house by yourself all the time. I had to do a stint of that myself a little while back." As he spoke, the man reached into a bag he held in the hand that Mini hadn't clawed. When it came out again, it did so holding a bottle of rich amber liquid. "But as consolation, I did bring something he wouldn't approve of." "Whiskey!" I exclaimed in delight at the sight of the bottle. "God, it's been weeks since I've had a drink." "Yes, and your brother would be furious with me if he found out I was helping you break the streak," the hero remarked before shrugging. "But, I figured with everything you've had to go through, you've earned it." "Damn right I have," I concurred, stepping back to leave the doorway open. "Come on in." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 03 "Ah ... I've missed you," I sighed in delight as I held my glass in front of me. Of course, Abby didn't have any shot glasses or tumblers, so I'd ended up using a wine glass. I wasn't going to let that get in my way, though, not as I looked at the rich whiskey it contained, savoring the moment before the first taste. Seated in one of the nearby chairs, Tony chuckled at me. "Jeez, living with a couple of teetotalers like those two must've been rough on you." "You have no idea," I sighed wearily before bringing the glass to my lips. Eager to end the lament of weeks without, I tipped my head back to take my first gulp. Until this whole incident began with the bracelet, I had been a pretty heavy drinker, one that loved whiskey. Trying to chug down a full bottle of the stuff might've been a challenge, but not a single drink. I expected the usual satisfying and smooth burn. However, I did not get that - not at all. The moment the amber liquid hit my mouth, I could tell something was wrong, but I was committed to the whole gulp. Disgusting bitterness shot through my taste buds even as a gag inducing fire hit my throat. Instead of a smooth swallow and satisfied sigh, I convulsed mid way through, doubling over into a haggard, coughing fit that had me spitting up as much as the stuff as I'd managed to swallow. "Jesus, you alright?!" Tony exclaimed at that reaction. "No *hack* *wheeze* I'm not fucking *cough* alright!" I spat in between abdominal contortions, all while trying to fight through the trouble. "Want some water or something?" the hero offered in concern. Still coughing, I just shook my head fiercely. Not trying to talk helped me get a little more control, but my throat still burned. Furthermore, as the pain and discomfort faded, I was better able to notice the sour after taste that lingered in my mouth, an aftertaste that shouldn't have been there. "What sort of shit did you buy, anyway?" I finally managed to ask once I'd put the coughs behind me. "It's not shit at all. This stuff's a couple hundred dollars a bottle," Tony told me. "Then why does it taste like rat piss?" I demanded. Shrugging, the hero lifted his own glass to take a test sip, smacking his lips a little after he'd finished. "Doesn't taste that way to me. Pretty much perfect, really." Crinkling my brow, I peered at my own glass. It was empty now, so there was no more to taste, but maybe there had been something on it that caused the weird flavor. With that idea in mind, I extended a hand toward the man and asked, "Let me try yours then." "Alright," Tony agreed, leaning over to hand his glass to me. "But maybe take it a little slower this time, alright?" "Whatever," I muttered, more focused on the beverage than the words. For a moment, I just held it, peering at the liquid, but I saw no differences between it and the stuff that I'd had just a few moments before. With nothing else to do, I raised the glass for a drink. Even that had my nose crinkling from the reek of the alcohol. Still, I tilted it back to get a small taste. The moment the liquid hit my lips, I jerked away, fighting the urge to gag and spit up the disgusting fluid. I managed to get myself to swallow, but it was followed by a groan of disgust at the awful taste. It was like I'd tried to drink rubbing alcohol or something. "That's not the look of someone enjoying a fine liquor," the hero remarked. "In fact, you sorta look like my six year old niece did when she got my brother to give her a taste of his scotch." At first, that comment just annoyed me, but then suddenly something clicked in my head and my gaze jerked up toward the man. "What did you say?" "I said you looked like my niece when she tried scotch," Tony reiterated. Having heard him the first time, I didn't actually needed the repetition, but it helped solidify the thoughts in my head. As it did, rage bloomed. "God fucking ... argh!" I growled in frustration, nearly chucking the glass in my hand against the wall. I pulled myself back from that, but only because that wasn't what I wanted to smash. What I did want crushed was the piece of jewelry on my wrist. "You piece of fucking shit!" Taken aback by my outburst, the hero leaned back, peering at me in confusion. "Uhm ... what?" "This fucking thing changed my taste buds!" I spat, smacking the bracelet that had bonded to me. "I should've fucking known something was up when I started craving fucking candy! Fuck fuck fu-!" "Whoa! Calm down!" Tony interjected, holding his hands up to stop my tirade of curses. "Calm down?!" I demanded incredulously. "You know what would help me fucking calm down? A god damn drink! But no, this fucking thing turns me into a fucking teenage girl, it's the reason some psychopath is trying to kill me, and it decided that wasn't enough to fuck with me, so it took drinking away too! Fuck that!" That outburst sent a wince rippling across Tony's features, but it wasn't enough to get him to give up. He just continued in a calm, soothing voice, "I understand why you're upset, but ranting and raging about it isn't going to help. Just sit down, take a few breaths, and can talk about it." "I don't want to fucking talk about it, so just get the fuck out!" I screamed, jabbing a finger toward the door. "And the next time my brother asks you to check up on my like I'm some kinda incompetent child, tell him to go fuck himself!" Rather than wince again or hop to do as I'd asked, the hero's features just stiffened as he said one single, resolute word, "No." "No?!" I blurted in disbelief. "It wasn't a fucking request, asshole! This isn't your god damn house!" "It's not yours either," Tony countered calmly. "And if you're getting this angry over something as small as not liking whiskey anymore, then your brother is clearly right about you needing help." I could feel what little self control I'd clung to snap at those words. "My brother is not fucking right, and you are leaving," I muttered as I stood up, voice full of loathing. Chucking away the glass I held so that it could shatter against the table, I raised my braceleted hand. "Magical bracelet so strong and bright give me the power I need to fight." Green light spilled forth from the emerald on my wrist in response to that silly rhyme. It rushed across my body, encasing me in a brief cocoon before shattering. In its wake, it left the absurd outfit it always had, but I didn't care. Not about the stupid, tiny, strapless green dress. Not about the ridiculous floppy witch hat. Not about the useless cape that draped down behind me. All that mattered was the scepter that it left in my hand, a scepter that I leveled at the man seated across from me. While that scepter was a very real threat, and I was pretty sure he knew that, Tony didn't even flinch. His gaze remained leveled, staunch, and focused on me. "What are you going to do now, Ash? Try to blast me out of here? Do you think it'll even let you?" While the hero seemed unperturbed, that comment cut through me. It meant that Brett had blabbed to Tony about the new limitation that I'd discovered in my fight against the masked woman. That sort of thing certainly seemed like it should be confidential, but my brother didn't care. He was too busy trying to get his friends to harass me to worry about something like that. Just thinking about it had my grip on the scepter so tight that my hand ached and my knuckles were bone white. "I guess we'll find out," I hissed threateningly. Without any further warning, I began a spell, "I call upon my inner power, to bla-" Long before I could finish, the scepter jerked out of line. I tried to fight it, to wrestle it back into position, but the scepter mocked such efforts, moving my hand as if I wasn't even resisting at all. Only once I'd abandoned the cast did it let me jerk it back up again. "Fucking useless piece of shit!" I growled, before sending the scepter flying just like the glass before. It hit the ground, bouncing off the carpet with a bright, chime-like ringing. "Are you willing to listen to me, now?" Tony inquired. "Because this tantrum isn't making you seem any less like a child." Burning with impotent rage, I shot a glare at the man with eyes alight. "Don't make me sic Mini on you. She won't betray me." Unlike my other threats, this one did break the hero's unflappable facade, although, it wasn't with fear but a slight smirk. "No offense to her abilities, but it's hard to be scared of something so cute." Chuckling, I slouched wearily, anger deflated by the humor of the remark. "Yeah, that's sort of both our problems. Not exactly intimidating. That's probably why you don't want me to be your sidekick." "What? Who said I don't want you as my sidekick?" Tony questioned, furrowing his brow in confusion. "You did with the way you reacted to me, my costume, the cat, plus the hesitance about me getting involved in fighting the woman after me and all the rest," I listed off. The brief moment of mirth vanished from the hero's face, leaving only earnest seriousness in its wake. "I didn't mean to act in a way you found demeaning. Any criticisms I had were meant to be purely constructive in an effort to promote awareness and safety. And while I am worried about your involvement in law enforcement, it is because of things like your past and how you're acting right now, not your appearance or capabilities. I believe you could do very well in the job, if you were willing to dedicate yourself to it. I just doubt that you are willing to do so." "Really? You don't think this," I questioned incredulous, sweeping a hand down at myself, "is going to be a problem when dealing with criminals." "No, and I didn't say that it wouldn't be," Tony answered honestly. "Obviously, having an appearance that doesn't command respect or fear will be an obstacle that you'd have to overcome. Just like a hero that lacks flight or superspeed or similar would have to overcome her limited mobility or a hero without significant offensive capabilities would have to figure out other ways to incapacitate enemies. You have a powerful and diverse set of abilities with strength far beyond what your appearance would suggest. It is certainly possible to compensate for your inability to intimidate." "Pfft, whatever?" I huffed dismissively. "It's not like it matters what you think or what I think for that matter. I don't have any fucking choice, not in my appearance, not in being a hero, not in sparing that bitch's life, hell, apparently, not even in what drinks I can enjoy." "Must be very frustrating, not feeling like you have a say in your own life," the hero remarked. I let out a despondent puff of a laugh. "Heh, you're telling me." "Actually, I was hoping you'd tell me," Tony replied. "After you maybe change back to some more normal clothes and give me a second to clean up this glass." My eyes narrowed at that offer. It was obvious what the hero was trying to do, get me talking like some kind of therapy session. I didn't want any therapy, though, and certainly not from some pompous jerk that my brother had sent to harass me. At the same time, I didn't see any good way to make him leave, and I'd already exhausted one of the stupid ways. "Do what you want," I muttered in defeat before turning to walk away. "Mini! Come here, girl! We're going upstairs!" *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 04 "Magical bracelet so strong and bright, Give me the power I need to fight," I mumbled out the rhyme to summon my scepter, letting the green light envelope me. Once it had come and gone, leaving my costume behind, I ran through a few quick motions, hops, twists, and a bend down to touch my toes. Popping upright again, I frowned slightly, shook my head, and began the reversal spell. "Hurry now there's no time to waste, Return the clothes I seek with haste." The moment I was back in my regular clothes, I repeated the whole sequence all over again, transforming, testing, returning. It wasn't the first repetition either. I'd been at it a little while by that point, going round and round as Mini lay on the bed near by watching me work. It was right in the middle of one of those cycles that a knock on the door interrupted my efforts. Scowling, I glanced that way and shouted, "Go away!" In spite of that very clear refusal, the door swung open as if I had been welcoming, revealing Abby's icy features. "I think no-why are you in your costume, Ash?" "Testing," I answered curtly. "Now could you just leave?" Still unconcerned with listening to my requests, the blue-haired woman titled her head curiously. "Testing what? You're not casting more spells on Mini, are you? Because, I warned you about using magic so rashly." Rolling my eyes, I let out a loud sigh of frustration. "No, Mom, I'm not casting spells on the cat or myself." Unlike all my previous words, Abby winced at that remark. "Ugh ... I did sound like some overprotective mother there didn't I?" "Yes, you did, but you're hardly alone. Brett's playing the overprotective Dad right along side of you," I replied. "Ah, yes, that's actually why I'm here," the woman admitted, sounding just a touch guilty. "But before we start yelling about that, I do really want to know what you're testing." Another heavy sigh slipped out of me. "FIne. I'm trying to make adjustments to my costume." "Oh, really? How interesting ..." Abby mused as she looked me over, brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Hmm, not much difference, but I don't remember your dress having slits on the side like that. I take it that means you succeeded?" "Yes, although, only barely," I muttered in annoyance, looking down at myself. My outfit did look almost the same with only a few very slight modifications. "Thing's stubborn." "Well, that's no surprise. The real question is, how did you manage to get it to change at all?" the blue-haired woman inquired. I shrugged. "Well, I tried to convince it to use some other template, but that was no good, so instead I tried to tweak the template it did use, by sort of ... arguing with myself, I guess. It wasn't easy, but I basically had to point out to myself things that are true in the ... uhm ... source material but aren't currently true in reality." "Such as," Abby prompted. "Well, like, girls in that stuff can do this, without flashing their undies," I explained, spreading my legs to adopt a fighting stance. Before, this would've hiked the short skirt up dangerously, but now there were slits on the sides of it to accommodate the leg movement better. "Or hop up and down without popping out of their tops," I added, doing a little hop. This was the other major change that I had managed to make the outfit, creating a sort of built in bra in the dress to help coral my assets. I'd tried to just change the strapless, demi, push-up bra that was also part of the costume, but that had proved impossible. Frustratingly, the template the outfit was based on apparently insisted that I had to wear impractically cute underwear. The roundabout method wasn't as effective as a sports bra, but I no longer felt like I was going to pop free every time I tried to do a somersault or a hop. "Haven't had much luck with anything else, though." While I had expected some of her usual teasing, the woman just nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Well done." "Uhm ... thanks," I mumbled awkwardly at the praise. "Anyway ... that's all I've been testing, so ..." "Right, that means I have to explain why I'm here," Abby picked up my lead. "Brett figured you wouldn't want to talk to him after what happened with Tony, so-" "He sent another lackey to harass me rather than trying to understand anything at all," I finished for her, shaking my head in frustration. "Fucking asshole." Chuckling helplessly, the icy beauty shrugged. "I tried to explain that this wasn't a great plan, but he wasn't willing to do nothing, and I didn't have a better option to offer." "Of course, he wasn't willing to wait," I huffed angrily. "Always has to be fucking meddling." "He's just worried, Ash. And can you really blame him?" Abby questioned rhetorically. "You've been through a lot, including three near misses with that masked woman. Then, last night, you pitched a fit, and today, you screamed at Tony over trying to be friendly before locking yourself in your room like some angsty teenager who's mad at her parents. You're not exactly acting like a paragon of mental health and stability at the moment." "The only thing impeding my mental health and stability right now is a trio of patronizing assholes that keep treating me like there's something wrong with me even when I say there's not!" I retorted. As if to prove my point, Abby smiled at me in a very patronizing way. "Yes, but are you saying that because there's actually nothing wrong or because your ego would rather suffer alone than accept help." "Ego?!" I blurted incredulously. "What ego?! The only claim I might make to greatness is being the world's greatest fuck up!" "Yes, and isn't it just so easy to be nothing but a fuck up," Abby spat derisively. "No one expects anything of you, including yourself. You can just waste away through life in a self-medicated haze without a single shred of guilt, because what else could you do? You're just a fuck up." "You think I liked living in shithole apartments swilling bargain basement liquor in front of a TV that would've been out of date twenty years ago?!" I demanded. The blue-haired woman shrugged. "No, I'm sure you would've rathered wealth had just fallen into your lap, but it wouldn't have changed your wasteful days. It would've just surrounded you with nicer stuff." "Yeah, because I'm sure a beautiful, magically-gifted woman like you knows so much about the struggles of normal people," I sneered. Rather than have the sting I was hoping for, Abby just smirked and wagged a reproving finger at me. "Ah, ah, you can't pull that kinda shit anymore, Ash. You're a beautiful, magically-gifted woman, too, now," she countered before looking me over imperiously. "Well, more of a girl really." "Fuck you!" I spat in a voice full of venom, as I gestured down at myself. "Don't try to pretend like the shit this fucking bracelet did to me is some kind of good thing. I didn't ask for this. The fucking thing just decided to fuck with me all on its own, just like you, and Brett, and Tony, and that fucking psycho bitch who keeps trying to kill me, all do. It's like my life is just some sort of communal toy to played with at a whim." "Oh please," Abby huffed dismissively. "You're the only one pretending here. You're obviously better off, and you're not even upset about about how you've changed. No one makes you wear cute outfits or grow your hair out or play with your adorable cat." "Just because I'm trying to make my situation livable doesn't mean I'm happy about it!" I yelled. The icy beauty rolled her eyes. "No, of course not. You were so much happier being perpetually wasted and alone. You weren't incredibly jealous of your brother or anything, no not you." I'd been angry through the conversation, but true rage bloomed at the blue-haired woman's most recent point. My pulse raced. My jaw and hands clenched. My eyes narrowed. Every fiber of me wanted to just punch the woman in front of me; drive that arrogant, condescending look from her face. I was done with words. "Mew!" came a plaintive little whine as something small and soft rubbed up against my leg. The sound cut through my anger. I tried to cling to it, but it slipped through my fingers, and when I looked down in vanished for good. At my feet, Mini looked up at me with huge eyes that were so clearly full of concern. She kept rubbing her head against me, and letting out more little whimpers all in some effort to ease my torment. Even though she couldn't understand the conversation, she could still tell that I upset, angry, frustrated. "Seems your cat wants to meddle now, too," Abby remarked. "Are you going to scream at her like you did Tony and me? After all, she got forced on you, as well." Twitching, I tossed one last glare at the woman. "Yeah, but at least she's here for me, not because the guy she has the hots for wants her to do his dirty work." Finally, one of my retorts hit home, and Abby stiffened. "That's not-" "What are you gonna pretend you actually care about me now? The malignant tumor?" I questioned mockingly. "Don't make me laugh." "You're right, I don't care about you, Ashton. You're a petty, selfish, cruel person who would never have even considered doing a good deed without having been magically coerced," the woman answered scathingly. "But I care a lot about the unsure, reasonable, even hopeful girl who I took clothes shopping and taught magic to. When you're willing to stop clinging to that useless, spiteful slob you used to be and give her a shot again, let me know. She had a lot of potential, and I'd like to see her live up to it someday." "Potential to be another stuck-up, preachy asshole like you," I hissed back. Shaking her head sadly, Abby turned to go. "Whatever, Ash. Just wallow up here and play with your cat. I think we've worried her enough for one night." Almost at the exact moment she finished those words, the blue-haired woman closed the door behind her, robbing me of any opportunity to retort. I glared at the door impotently for a moment, but I couldn't maintain it. Another whine from the cat at my feet meant my attention was needed elsewhere. "Sorry about all the yelling, Mini," I apologized as I bent down and scooped the cat up in my arms. Cradling her against my chest, I gave her a vigorous belly rub and a warm smile. "I wasn't mad at you." Normally, I would've expected the cat to have already forgotten her worry for me. Any other time, she would've been lost in the scratches, purring like crazy. This time, though, she lay there on her back in the crook of my arm just staring up at me, seeming to not even notice the attention I was lavishing on her. Those big blue eyes of hers were still full of worry. "I'm alright, Mini," I assured as I sat on the edge of the bed. "Everything's alright. I promise." The cat relinquished to those words, letting herself enjoy my attention, but somehow I knew, she could see right through my empty claims. That only made them, and me, feel all the more hollow. *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 05 Something was wrong. I could tell it the moment that I woke up. Not necessarily a bad wrong, but certainly not what I'd expected to find that morning. Normally, I woke to the thought that the bed I was in was huge. It wasn't actually huge, just a standard queen size, but that was pretty gigantic for just my very small self and an even tinier cat. I could almost lose myself in the blankets if I tried, burrowing away from the world into an isolated little cocoon. That day, I did not feel isolated and the bed didn't seem to have such an absurd amount of extra space. That wasn't because of any difference in me. I was the same small girl in an oversized t-shirt as usual. There was a whole other person, though, someone pretty close to my size who was partially draped over me from behind, as if they'd been hugging me in my sleep. The first few moments of that realization passed in a whirlwind of emotion. It all started with drowsy confusion. What followed was a moment of panic as I jerked fully awake and twisted about to both break free of the embrace and to face this unknown creep. Finally, I let out an exasperated sigh as all that fear faded away. After all, the person in question wasn't a threat to me. "What are you doing like that, Mini?" I asked in bewilderment. Beside me, the feline was already wide awake, but she was not her usual self. Instead of the tiny cat, there was a similarly tiny cat-girl. She looked all of twelve years old with a lithe body a few inches shorter than mine. Most of that was hidden by the blankets, but her head, with its adorable face, shaggy hair, and out-of-place cat ears poked out as did her hands which were curled up in front of her almost like paws. At the moment, that head was cocked against the pillow in one of her usual tilts while her big, blue, cat eyes stared at me with incomprehensible intent. "Why am I even asking?" I muttered to myself, letting out a heavy sigh. As I did, I flopped onto my back and wiped at my eyes while the tense moment lapsed into weariness. With my vision blocked by that action, I had only a brief rustling next to me as warning before, suddenly, the weight of the catgirl flopped on top of me. A grunt puffed out of me at the hit while my eyes burst open. Then a whole different kind of assault started, one full of soft embrace and the ticklish feel of hair as the partial feline rubbed her head against my neck. "Mini ... what's gotten into you, today?" I huffed in annoyance at the cat's peculiar behavior. Well, I supposed the jumping on me and the nuzzling me was perfectly normal morning activities for her. It was just that she usually did them as a cat. They were a lot more awkward when done as a catgirl, though. "Meow!" Mini chirped brightly, pausing in her affection long enough to push herself up on her arms. From that position, she could peer right down at my face. I, however, was looking somewhere else. "And why are you naked?!" I exclaimed, going from spotting the catgirl's small and very bare chest to jerking my gaze to the side so quickly that my neck actually hurt a bit from the whiplash. Unphased by her state of undress and apparently uninterested in answering the question, Mini laid herself down on top of me again to go back to nuzzling my neck. This time, it was joined by soft, little purrs. Whatever her reasons, it was clear what the cat wanted to do. I had different plans, however. "Alright, stop!" I ordered, getting my hands between us. With them, I grabbed the catgirl's shoulders and pushed her back. Then, I very pointedly looked her in the eye with as commanding a gaze as I could manage. "Stand next to the bed." To my considerable surprise, Mini hopped to obey. She scrambled off of me, bounded out of the bed and was right up to her feet. Then, she turned around to look at me expectantly, although, what she expected, I couldn't have said. Shaking my head, I let out a sigh and used a hand to block my vision of the naked girl. Once that was done, I scooted my way out of bed as well. The moment my feet hit the floor, I was off toward the dresser. There, I grabbed another of my oversized t-shirts and turned back. "Alright, hands up," I instructed, pantomiming the order I was giving. Thankfully, Mini remained obedient, doing exactly as I said. That let me quickly tug the shirt over her head, allowing its tent-like mass to cover everything that needed covering. "Ah, much better." Perhaps bemused, the catgirl just tilted her head at me and softly hummed, "Mew?" "Nothing," I muttered, too exasperated with the feline at the moment to try to explain the situation to her. She wouldn't even understand anyway. Instead, I turned away, trying to gather myself after the stressful morning. Doing so brought a pile of gray fur on the floor into my peripheral vision. "Ah ... so that's what you did with your clothes." Staring at the discard pile for a moment, I tried to piece together some explanation for what was happening. Obviously, sometime after I fell asleep, the cat had decided to transform, take off her clothes, and cuddle with me. That seemed pretty evident. However, I had no idea of when or even how that had happened. Well, I supposed the cat had turned herself into a catgirl once before of her own volition, and while she hadn't been able to handle the hooks on a bra, she could put on and remove simple clothing like the stuff she wore by default after she transformed. Obviously, cuddling was something she did all the time, so that was hardly new or unexpected. I supposed the only question was the why of it. That mystery, as always was the case with the cat, was not an easy one to solve. "You really need to learn how to talk," I remarked as I turned to look at the cat again. "It would make figuring this stuff out a helluva lot easier." Like most sentiments, that one earned me no useful reaction from my pet. She just continued to stare at me with her head cocked to the side. Her only movements were an occasional ear twitch at some sound or a swipe of the back of her hand across her cheek. Slouching wearily, I felt a heavy sigh leak from my lips. "My only friend in the world, and we can't even understand one another." With my attention lax and no sound being made, Mini closed the gap between us in an instant. The touch of her hands on my shoulders pulled my gaze up again just in time for her to push herself up on her tippy toes. A moment later, her nose rubbed briefly against mine before she pulled back and smiled at me with reassuring warmth. "Oh ... you're trying to cheer me up, aren't you?" I guessed. It made sense, the cat had seemed worried about me after my arguments with both Tony and Abby. She probably figured that since pets and cuddles made her feel better they should make me feel better, too. Of course, I'd played with her after each altercation, but apparently that hadn't been good enough for her, so she'd decided to try again as a catgirl. "Myeh," the feline breathed softly as she continued to stare at me. Smiling wanly, I reached up to scratch the catgirl behind one ear. "That's sweet, Mini, but transforming like that isn't going to help. It just makes it weirder." While I doubted she truly understood what I'd said, she seemed to understand that it was some indication of failure, because her eyes narrowed. In unison, she growled out a very frustrated sounding, "Mrrr!" and even shook her head fiercely to dislodge my hand from its spot by her ear. "Mini ..." I sighed in exasperation. The catgirl was having none of it, though. Once my effort to pet her had been foiled, she reached up to attempt the same on me. I didn't have big, obvious ears sticking out of my copper locks, though, so she just rested a hand atop my head and stroked my hair. This pulled a helpless little laugh out of me. "Well, this is a new low for me, making my own cat give me pets." Mini didn't offer any judgement. She just kept right on petting me. Truth be told, as embarrassing as it was, it did actually make feel a little better than I had the day before. "Alright, stop," I finally commanded after letting things go on longer than I should have. The catgirl actually complied, removing her hand and returning to just looking at me. I looked right back for one long moment, before finally stepping forward. Wrapping my arms around the feline, I pulled her into a snug embrace. "Thank you, Mini. You're really just a way better pet than I deserve." "Myew," came the catgirl's reply as she pushed herself up on her tippy toes to give my cheek a little lick. Giggling at the show of affection, I released the cat and stepped back, rubbing at my now damp cheek. "Alright, well, anyway ... I think that's enough silliness for one morning. You mind changing back into a cat now?" "Nyah!!" Mini chirped just before there was a poof of smoke that hid her from view. A few seconds later, there was just a crumpled shirt in front of me with a little gray cat slipping free of the pile to look up at me. "Thanks," I told the cat, reaching down to scoop her up in my arms. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, so let's go find some breakfast." The cat gave another bright meow in response and then we were off, ready to face the rest of the day together. *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 06 "I'm no more interested in talking than I was yesterday so why don't you stop sticking your fucking nose into my business, turn around, and just get the fuck out of here," I spat, glaring at the man standing on the porch in front of me. The man in question was Tony, and he was quick to hold up his hands to forestall my tirade. "Whoa, whoa, calm down. I'm not here to play therapist or babysitter or anything else you might be thinking. I'm not even here for you at all." Instantly, my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're not? Then why are you here? No one else is home." "Not true. There's one other person here," the hero replied, pointing down at my feet. "Hi there, Mini." Glancing down, I saw the cat sitting on the ground right in front of me. Her head was tilted up to look at the man that was talking to her, but she didn't appear to welcome the attention. She was hunkered down cautiously, with a narrow-eyed, downright angry expression on her face as if she planned to leap out and attack the hero at any moment. "Uhm ... is she upset with me, too?" Tony questioned uneasily in the face of the feline's glare. Chuckling, I bent down to scoop the cat up in my arms and scratch her by the ears. "I think she's just being protective. I did get pretty angry yesterday because of you." "Oh, well, I do apologize for that," the hero replied, bowing his head graciously. "I had no right to try to force the situation like that." "Uhm ... thank you," I responded, surprised and glad to have someone involved with the debacle that was the previous day actually apologize for it. "Anyway, why would you come here for her?" "Ah, right ... that ..." Tony mumbled, straightening up and snapping his fingers. "You see, yesterday, you said she probably wanted to spar, and with this being the safest place you can be, I figured I'd come over and make amends by picking up those hero lessons again." My lips curled in a knowing smirk. "Sounds like something that's more for me than her." "Hey, if you don't want any lessons, I'll just tussle with the cat for a bit," the hero assured me. "No pressure." "Alright ... Mini would probably enjoy kicking your butt," I allowed warily. "And I suppose I am eager to learn a little more. After all, I've had a few too many near misses lately." "Yeah, you've had to be pretty death-defying," Tony acknowledged. "I'm not sure you're ready for super on super tactics, though, and I know this house wouldn't survive it." "Well, Abby seems pretty confident in whatever spells she's cast on it, but yeah ... we'd probably burn it down," I agreed. "And she'd be livid about it, like I would literally never hear the end of it," the hero joked. "It would just be yelling from here to the end of my days." "Which probably wouldn't be very far away with Abby pissed at you," I added. A hearty laugh burst out of the man. "You're right about that!" Laughing right along, I stepped back to clear the doorway. "Yeah ... anyway, come on in. Might as well get this lesson started." *********************************************** *********************************************** "You're such a good cat," I cooed as I treated Mini to a vigorous scratching behind her ears. "Yes, you are." For her part, the cat laid there on the kitchen table, legs tucked under her neatly. Behind her, her tail swished back and forth, and in front, her face was twisted into the smuggest expression that I'd ever seen on an animal. All the while, purs rattled out of her in an endless symphony of self-satisfaction. "You keep praising her like that, and she's just gonna thump me even harder next time," Tony remarked while he walked over with two glasses of water in hand. The way he said it was mostly joking, but there was a touch of real complaint in there as well. After all, Mini had dismantled him in their sparring matches pretty handily. Snickering at the hero's bruised ego, I shrugged. "You could always try using whatever other powers you have next time. She should probably learn how to fight against that sort of thing, anyway." "True, and I've thought of that, but ..." Tony began as he sat down only to shake his head and slide one of the glasses over to me. "I'm not sure if she'd understand my power, and even if she did, unless she has some secret powers of her own, there's not much she could do about it. No sense in risking her hurting herself for that." My brow crinkled at the answer. "Why wouldn't she be able to understand it?" "Well, my primary power is a reflective psychokinetic shell," Tony explained. "Basically, any sort of physical or electrical attack that is thrown at me will just bounce of off of me, and often right back at the person that launched. That's how I got the codename Mirror." "Wow, that's ... " I started only to trail off as something hit me. A moment later, my eyes narrowed. "Wait ... is your costume white and blue?" "Yeah," the hero confirmed. "Why?" "You're the guy who started all of this!" I blurted in disbelief. "That night at the museum, you're the hero that deflected the energy blast that smashed my shoulder!" A wince shot across Tony's face. "Yeah ... I am. Sorry, I didn't-" "That's how I ended up bonded to this stupid fucking thing!" I interrupted, smacking at my braceleted wrist as I continued on with ever growing fervor. "I had to so that it could keep me alive until I got to the hospital!" Cringing, the hero averted his gaze guiltily and nodded. "I am truly sorry." "You're sorry?! I'm a fucking girl because of you!" I retorted viciously. "I'm gonna have to spend the rest of my life looking like a fucking teenybopper while I constantly throw myself into peril for the 'greater good' because you couldn't fucking watch where you threw shit!" "What do you want me to do, Ash?! I didn't see you! I was busy with a super of unknown origin and powers! In fact, I was so focused on that, I didn't even notice when you got hurt or I never would've just left you there!" Tony blurted in frustration before shaking his head. "Still, that's no excuse. If you want some kind of revenge, fine. I'm sure Abby can even cook up some spell to turn me into a girl if you want. Want money? The city covers this sort of damage. I'm sure they'll give you a nice settlement. The only other thing I can think of to offer you is an apology, and I already gave it. Want another one? Will that help?" That outburst made me stiffen, but it didn't tell me how to respond. For a moment, I just sat there, staring at the man who had, apparently through simple carelessness, ruined my life. He was offering all sorts of compensation for it, too, including what seemed to be very genuine regret. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked quietly. Tony shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to just go up to someone in the middle of a major life struggle and say, 'hey, sorry I ruined your life. Wanna go out back and practice some tumbling now?' It just seemed easier to wait, to let things settle while I caught the woman responsible, so I'd have some sort of ... peace offering, I guess. Of course, that would've required me to actually catch her, not let her nearly kill you twice without getting any closer to finding her." Again, I found myself without a good response at the ready. I wanted to be angry, to just scream out pointless demands, but I didn't. Over the last day, I'd spent plenty of time being angry, and it had just left me tired and my cat worried. Nothing would come of such rage, anyway. The hero could no more change my situation than I could. The damage was done and no amount of torturing him in revenge would change that. Hell, I doubted the bracelet would even let me. It had already denied me vengeance against the masked woman. That sort of thing just wasn't very heroic. Finally, a heavy sigh slid from my lips. "Fine ... I accept your apology." "Really?" Tony asked with very obvious surprise. "Yes, I will, although, I was pretty tempted to make you go through the whole girl thing with me for a moment. I could just see Abby's delight while she was dressing you up in skirts and frills," I confirmed facetiously. "But I think I'll spare you that." The hero shuddered at the idea. "You have my undying gratitude for that." "Yeah, well, all I want from you is a chance to catch that bitch that's after me," I told him. "I'm sick of having to cower in this house." That request prompted a sigh from Tony. "I know how you feel and I want to find her, too, but we just don't have anything to go on. All we know is that she's after you." "Like some kind of ..." I began only to trail off as, yet again, something caught in my thoughts. "Ash?" the hero inquired at my unexpected fall into silence. Barely registering the name, I furrowed my brow and glanced down at my wrist. "No ... she's not after me." "What?" Tony queried. "She's after this," I clarified, holding up my hand to indicate the bracelet I wore. "Which you can't be separated from short of death, right?" the hero pointed out. "Yes, but that hasn't always been true," I countered, tapping the piece of jewelry. "This was why she came the museum that night. When I stumbled on her intrusion, she made me help her look through the crates for it." Tony nodded slowly. "Alright, and ..." "Well, between that night and the attack at my brother's house, weeks went by," I explained. "That probably means that she didn't know I had it." The hero shrugged. "Brett said that you told your boss about it, though, so that's probably how she tracked you down." "Right, but how did she even know the bracelet was at the museum in the first place?" I asked. "It couldn't have been listed in the donation manifests or noticed by one of her lackeys, because then she would've known what crate to look in. She had me tossing through shit at random, though. Tracking the item itself must not be an option either, because then she would've found me sooner, or hell, probably been able to find the right crate in a snap." "So, she had to have known it was there some other way," Tony followed my reasoning, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting ..." "It gets better," I continued. "I'm pretty sure the guy that last owned this thing was that wizard guy you were talking about the other night, the one Abby used to be apprenticed to. The masked lady is probably someone who knew him, and Abby might know who." *********************************************** *********************************************** Chapter 07 "Hmm, nice bit of detective work, Ash," Abby complimented my efforts. "There's just one problem ... I have no idea who all might have known Rich had the bracelet or about his death." "What?!" I exclaimed incredulously. "You were his apprentice for years, weren't you?!" The icy beauty nodded in confirmation. "Yes, but that doesn't mean that I knew every intimate detail of his life. He was like a college professor to me, someone I worked with and respected, but we didn't interact all that much after I left his tutelage. At most, we spoke a couple of times a year about some magic-related quandary." Growling in frustration, I clenched my hands into fist. "But surely you know something about him, right?" "Of course, Ash," Abby answered patronizingly. "I know he had a family. His wi