Charlatans of Revenge

7. Dress Up Games and Internal Screaming

CW: murder, dismemberment, cannibalism mention, blackmail/threats

The man tried to fly out the window but a hand grabbed his ankle, keeping him from escaping. He was hyperventilating to the point it was hard to run or yell. He was yanked to the ground, slamming harshly against the hard wooden floor that he owned.

"No, you can't do this! I have a family!"

The body fell down as Mous pinned him. They turned away when their coworker cut off his feet. The man wouldn't die, but he might wish that he did. He was crying silently, as Mous tied a scarf around his mouth. Magnus and Mous walked out the building, one of them holding two feet. It took a while to track down someone who could fly in the way he could. And now, someone else would get it. The house remained silent as they walked away, but they knew his wife would come back and scream... Maybe call a S.A.F.E. agent, but the deed was done. That was their last mark before going to the ball.

They reached Mous's apartment when Magnus said, "So I was thinking I'd wear a sash?"

-

As soon as Kat mentioned the letter to Merlin he called up Prin and Arish. Apparently the ball is very important or something. He immediately took the letter and read over it. Kat felt immediately that something was wrong. She thought back to the shapeshifter. She didn't know anything about them, but could they be included. It said it was sent by the Vigor family themselves. And after a quick google search on her laptop, nothing came up.

"They invited you by name, Kat. That means you can't turn it down or they'll, like, kill you. I'm not really sure what would happen, but I'd never see you again." He said frankly, looking Kat dead in the eyes. Kat could tell he was very serious. "Now, I'm assuming you know nothing about the Vigor Ball?"

Kat shook her head and Merlin nodded gravely, readjusting his glasses.

"It's a yearly party full of dancing and masquerade masks if you're a guest but there's more to it then that. Mostly, it's just to entertain the rich, Cassandra and Precious Vigor, the heirs to the lineage. You've been assigned bodyguard to Precious, so you've become a pawn to zir. The goal of the S.A.F.E. Agents who get invited are usually to stop the larceer trade that will most likely try to happen. I was invited as a guest when I was younger and it is brutal out there. Luckily, you don't have a power so you're less likely to be targeted by anyone. Just make sure that Precious is entertained and stop any trade you can."

"I... okay, I'll try."

And that's why she decided to meet up with Prin and Arish to find a good outfit for the dance of illegal trade. Arish had already picked out a dress, but Prin and Kat had not. They went to a quaint looking store. It had a variety of clothing that Kat could help but look around. She didn't know what she wanted but her poor retail therapy heart wanted everything.

"So how did you guys get invited?" Kat asked, touching a poofy dress by playing with the rim of it. "Like a guest or a bodyguard? Or more if I miss anything?"

Arish shrugged, "All dancing for me. I'm a guest so I just have to look cool I guess." They looked through the ties. "So what kind of look are we going for? Fancy jumpsuit, a dress, maybe a suit and tie?"

"I personally think I'd look good in a skirt or suit. I haven't decided." Prin joined Arish looking through the ties. After going through about three, he lifted up a purple tie with swirls of different shades. "Oh, this purple one looks nice, but way too expensive. I guess I could use the same outfit as last year..." He looked a little disappointed and put the tie down.

"No you got blood on it from last year, remember?"

"This sounds like a great party..." Kat trailed off. The two nodded but she could tell none of them really answered honestly. She let out a sigh and picked up a black dress. "If I'm going to be a bodyguard I should probably have something I can move in. So, should I do this short poofy dress or the blue one with a high leg slit?"

"Try them on first!" Arish and Prin exclaimed.

She tried them on and chose quietly. When Kat finished she sat down next to Arish while Prin went in with his pile of clothing. He had way too much but, to be fair, he would look good in a lot of them. Kat checked the price tag and made a face. Sure, she had a better paycheck but it sucked that she had to spend it for a formal dance she was forced to go to.

"So, what's a larceer?" Arish's eyes widened and breathed through her teeth. "Yeah, I expected it was bad. I just,,, I was told specifically that I have to stop those from being traded or bought and I don't think I can do that unless I know what they are."

"Well, they're not great."

-

Mous was pulled aside after another meeting. Lion promised to meet up with them after, just in case they need help. Owl walked, with their walking stick feeling for anything in the way. They followed after silently, as they usually were. The one thing that sucked when with the Owl was that, she was blind. And Mous was mute. So the communication between The Owl and Catnip had to happen via translator. Who it was would change so no one person knew what went on. Today it was Deer. Mous wasn't even aware that she could sign.

"Deer you can sign?" Just to try it out.

Deer nodded and took her hands out of her pockets. "My mother is deaf. Had to learn."

Eventually they reached a room that the Owl was happy with. Mous felt themself become numb when they saw what remained inside. Deer opened the door as the Owl continued walking. Mous saw their parents behind one sided glass. They were gagged and passed out currently.

"Catnip, these two people were caught stealing from one of our suppliers. When put into custody, the tall one Tansy I believe, decided to pull you into their criminal careers." Mous gulped loudly and Deer glanced at them with a sympathetic look. The Owl gripped her cane tighter. "Normally I would just kill them but this provides a wonderful opportunity for you. Since I hired you myself, I know that your ability is to do almost anything proficiently. At the cost of your brain going too fast for you to keep up with it, of course. I want you to create something for me. Your major is engineering, correct?"

"Yes." Their hands were shaking but thankfully, Deer didn't translate that part.

"I want a device that can stop an ability from functioning. Not anything too horrible but one can't be more powerful than another without the abilities that they've grown up with their entire life correct?"

"It might make them way weaker than before but-"

"But is it possible?"

"Yes."

"Then you're going to do it, or your parents will face the consequences."

-

"A larceer is... a liquidized version of an ability." Kat already felt sick. So the body parts would be... "Because every power is located in a definite part of someone's body, hypothetically, you could cut off that body part and ate it, you could have that power. So someone tried it and it worked. The crazy part about larceers is that you don't experience the side effects of someone's power when you consume it. Powers greatly hurt the body it's in, but because a larceer is more limited, the body doesn't break down as quickly as the original did. But they're illegal because it's basically cannibalism."

"...Oh."

Prin opened the door holding all the clothing on one arm. "Alright so I decided that I'm going to wear heels but the dress is a bit too much. I found a nice bowtie to match them and-" He saw the horrible looks on the two. Kat was holding her hand over her mouth while Arish just looked concerned. He quietly placed the clothes on the rack. "Y'all had an important conversation without me?"

"Yup." Arish popped the p while staring at the floor.

"Oh thank goodness I couldn't do that emotionally." He let out a sigh of relief. Prin looked back at Kat who still wasn't looking that great. Kat felt almost as sick as she did when she was on the boat. "Hey Kat? We're going to a party where a lot of things are morally wrong and horrible. But you're not going to be alone. Okay? We're here for you."