On 9/20/23 10:57 PM, Dave Van Domelen wrote:
> [The cover shows the Morning Stars battered and beaten as seen
> from between the furry legs of a shadowy catperson who looms
> over them. "The first fight against Bathory...and the last?"]

D: Dun dun dunnnnn!

> "We need to go after Bathory now! We're ready!" Julie insisted. "The
> longer we wait, the more time she has to...do things...to Chachi. And anyone
> else she's suckered into her furry cult!"
> "Chachi," or Jaqui, was Julie's older brother, who had gotten involved
> in the Snow Leopards a few months ago. Given that Bathory tended to turn her
> favored minions into catpeople under her mental domination, odds were pretty
> good he was already significantly furrier than when Julie had last seen him.

hawt

> Maddie frowned. From what Tee had said of her encounter with Inky-Doo
> the shadow-stealer, it had been a pretty close fight. A lot closer than Tee
> seemed to think it was now.

X>;;;;

> "So, what? We wait until we get more powerful, but she's getting more
> powerful too? We'll never go after her at that rate!" Julie slammed her fist
> down on a workbench, cracking it.
> Maddie added it to the chores list for later. "Wait until tomorrow
> night."

X3

> "How does one day help?" Tee frowned.
> "The fireworks," Tammy nodded to Maddie. "While it hasn't been as
> significant a holiday during our generation, especially thanks to its
> proximity to July 6th, the 4th of July is an American holiday that
> traditionally involves displays of pyrotechnics."
> "Right, one of those Old People holidays," Julie nodded.

a.) Lovely worldbuilding, delightful worldbuilding
b.) lol, I want kids to think of it that way

> "Indeed," Tammy continued with her lecture, "The Jolly Molecules that
> remain in Manhattan may not be particularly patriotic, but they *are*
> pyrotechnic enthusiasts. They will continue their tradition of using any
> excuse to 'blow shit up,' without suffering consequences.

heeheehee

> Maddie nodded. "There would be enough to keep any captives or wavering
> hangers-on in line, and we do have to worry that Bathory herself will still
> be home if she thinks fireworks are beneath her, but it's probably the least
> sui...ill-advised an attack is going to be for the foreseeable future."

X3

> "One more thing," Maddie went to an armory locker and pulled out a
> bandolier full of little spheres. "Orange essence bombs. Catboys are good
> trackers, but they don't like oranges any more than real cats do.

Oh, love it. :3

> "Aren't all the catboys weak-willed by definition?

I mean, looking at a few places online, it definitely seems like they're all
bottoms.

> That'll
> put some hurt on Bathory..."
> "And save your brother," Tee nodded.
> "And save my brother, yes."

X>;;;

> "It's a BIG snake," Julie countered. "Fortune favors the bold, but that
> just means we might get lucky and have a shot at fighting her while all her
> bodyguards are out watching the Molecules get jolly. If we don't, we don't.
> Bathory running or completely forting up help us in the long run, because
> either way she's reacting and we're forcing."

Good thinking. :D

> A third finger went up. "Finally, we still don't know where some of
> these new paragangers are coming from, like Killgamesh and Inky-doo and oh my
> GOD is that supposed to be Enkidu? Gah.

XD XD XD

> I hate that I'm using something from lit class.

X>

> It also had a rather good view of the fireworks in Central Park, which
> the Morning Stars hoped meant that anyone still inside would be watching
> through the East-facing windows and wouldn't pick up their stealthy approach
> as the emerged from the tunnel network several blocks West of Broadway.
> "Why wouldn't they all just watch from inside or on the roof?"
> Icosa-Pink asked as they crept out onto the street. "It's a really good view
> and they have air conditioning inside and it's kinda nasty and muggy tonight.
> They could all still be inside, yah?"
> "Pssh," Octa-Green snorted. "It's not just watching the fireworks,
> it's an excuse to party, especially with some people they haven't been living
> with for months."

True, but she's got a point...

> She only had limited camera access in the neighborhood, in large part
> because Bathory's gang had been disabling what traffic cameras and private
> security cameras still worked in the area, or linking them to their own
> network. Maddie was pretty sure she could get into that network, but less
> sure she could do so without it leaving any tracks, which meant it was a
> one-off she didn't want to burn yet.

Mmmmmm, yeah.

> "Someone must've been on Bathory's shit list to get guard duty on the
> side that can't even see the fireworks," Octa-Green observed over the comms.
> "We take him down quiet and hard before he can alert..." Dodeca-Yellow
> started to say, but was interrupted as Tetra-Red stepped out into the light.
> "We are the shadow warriors of justice!" she proclaimed. "Surrender or
> face our fury!"

Dangit. X3

> Not all of the Upper West Side cameras inaccessible to Maddie were
> controlled by Bathory, and through one of these Rex Umbrae watched the
> unfolding scene and resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands.

XD XD XD

> The girls have power and some
> skill, but my concerns about the psychotropic effects of the gems were well-
> founded, they're being...." Umbrae trailed off in annoyance.
> "Dumbasses."

X3;;;

> "Yes. Still, if this turns into a massacre, I can at least use it as a
> pretext to move directly against Bathory without upsetting the power balance
> too badly. And the Morning Stars may well bleed Bathory enough in the
> process to make the job less costly in terms of manpower."

Ohhhhh dear.

> "Code orange!" Maddie ordered, and several orange essence bombs burst.
> "Ugh, and to think I used to like oranges," Ligerjack batted at his nose
> with one hand.

X3

> "Still getting used to the new size," he grinned. "I like it, but I had
> to ditch all my old wardrobe."
> "Not complaining," Octa-Green purred.
> "Not the time for your libido," Hexa-Blue sighed.

X3

> "And I'm awesome! Bathory's the best thing to ever happen to me, and to this
> town! No more disappointed glares from my folks or snide comments from my
> sister, I have a new family.

Oh, there it is, there it is.

> Tetra-Red retreated a few paces, her body language screaming hesitation
> and confusion. She had noticed something about her opponent, clearly.

Yeeeeeeep. ^^;;;

> Tetra-Red interposed herself, and Yellow barely stopped before
> colliding. "No!" she said over the comms. "It's Chachi!"
> "Oh fuck no," Dodeca-Yellow snarled. "This mission's gone straight to
> hell. I'm out," she added, bounding for the darkness.

Welp. ^^;

> "No way!" Octa-Green replied, her fist glancing off a rapidly interposed
> forearm. "This is the best fight I've had in weeks! Supernaut was just a
> big zombie punching bag!"

Girls... @-@;

> "SO HELP ME," Tetra-Red shouted, "if you don't disengage NOW, I WILL
> find a way to send your Solar Max/Triton hurt/comfort fics to SULTRY!"

XD XD XD

> "And here I thought I wouldn't get to see any fireworks," Ligerjack
> chuckled.

A lot of good lines in this series. n.n

> "That could have been worse," she sighed after making sure she'd muted
> her microphone.

It's true.

> Good news, they knew what had happened to Jaqui.
> Bad news, he went by Ligerjack now, and did not want to be rescued.
> Worse news, he was a lot stronger and faster than any of the catboys
> Maddie had encountered while working as Hellhound, so either he was a latent
> paranormal, or Bathory had some way of giving her minions even more power
> now. That would explain Killgamesh and Inky-doo coming out of nowhere.

Indeed. o.o;

> All five were dangerously unbalanced now, focused on a single trait and
> practically exemplifying it. At least Julie and Tammy seemed likely to
> return to the Cave without further prompting, but two out of five was NOT
> fine.

Yep. X>;

> Maddie pulled a slim black box out of the drawer next to her control
> setup and opened it to reveal the shining metal pectoral on its golden chain.
> It had five depressions in the shapes of the five gems the girls wore, and
> had once contained those gems in both a literal and a figurative sense. If
> Jessa's MetaPsych para-archaeology analysts were right, donning the plate of
> metal would let Maddie moderate the effects of the gems...but it wasn't a
> decision she could take back. They were also pretty sure it would bond to
> her the way the gems bonded to the girls. And what if she took on their
> insanity as a way of protecting them from it? When the voice of reason goes
> crazy, what happens next?
> "Screw it, send her the fics," Octa-Green's voice came over the comms.
> No more time.

Oh fuck yeah. :D

> Maddie lifted the chain over her head and settled the golden plate
> against her chest...
> ...and SCREAMED as the metal burned its way through her shirt and into
> her flesh!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :D :D :D

> Author's Notes:
>
> And so ends the second arc!

Hell yeah. n.n

> Ligerjack is the name of a Japanese-version Transformer from about 20
> years ago (Leobreaker was his American name), but I figured it would be a
> good name for Jaqui "Jack, not Chachi damn it" Li as an empowered minion of
> Bathory's.

Oh, very nice. n.n

Drew "good progression" Nilium