Avenger Assembled
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Alone in her dorm room for the moment, Neko sat in a lotus position and mastered her fear and disgust. When she opened her eyes again, the illusory cockroaches had disappeared from the walls and the blood had started dripping down them. She looked inside herself and found the source of her reaction, a loathing and disgust for the girl outside that she'd never known before. Well maybe she had. She remembered Geisha, the foul, disgusting woman who had stood by Katana's side, the piece of city trash who could use her powers to make people hate her. And love her. It had been fitting, in the eyes of the Crimson Katana, to pair the old and the young with the similar powers together. It was only after her awakening in the present, with Geisha in a deep grave long since, that Neko had come to realize how much she loathed that woman. She sat alone in her room and gradually came to realize that nobody was coming. They were all talking to the new girl outside; she could hear easily enough with her keen ears. Well that was all right. She wasn't a dog who needed to be coddled; she'd only have been shamed if someone had come looking. After a time she exited by the window, climbing down the wall as easily as up it, and went looking for adventure elsewhere on campus.
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Neko stared deep into Rot's eyes for a long moment, her tail twitching behind her, then circled the other girl. When she came around, she looked and sounded exactly like Consuelo herself. "Two can play at that game." She smiled, showing pointed teeth that didn't look like Consuelo at all. "Would you like it if I pretended to be you, but stupid?" She stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes - then she was herself again, still moving. As she moved, she was joined by cats; white shorthairs with bobbed tails and brown spots on their fur that looked up at Consuelo with bright yellow eyes the same color as Neko's. "If you want to see what a cat is like," she added impulsively as an idea came to her, "we can show you..."
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Neko introduced the boys one after the other, recognizing most of them from Owain's stories about the boys on his floor. They'd all seen her sneaking around and talking to Owain in the common room when it was technically late at night, though no one could exactly prove anything since she was never really there to begin with. (Nothing unsavory was happening; Owain didn't seem to be the type interested in girls.) "We have an international student body," she explained to Michael. "I am from Japan, Lawrence is British - and there are some people here from even more unusual places." She smiled at Gamma Buzz, who she actually liked well enough. She'd have preferred to meet a glowing cricket than a cockroach, but people that looked like animals. "Where are you from?" she asked Michael, her tail now flat and contented as it wrapped around her lower leg.
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Despite herself, Neko had been about to intervene in the altercation between the two underclassmen before it was quickly broken up. "It is dangerous to do that here," she said cooly, tail gradually stilling behind her. "But it was not your fault. Some abilities are a curse, not a blessing." What a girl who could at best pass for a very talented cosplayer thought about that, she kept off her face as she said "The library has many books in many languages; it is very helpful if you want to learn." She pointed to a tree in the middle of the quad and said seriously, "That is where they strap the students who will be flogged. It hardly ever happens now, though." She smiled wide, showing off her front teeth. "So what are your powers?" she asked curiously.
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Sea Devil found herself in a tough moral quandary as she poked the fallen monster again. She knew perfectly well that Surfacemen with guns, especially those with power, feared and tried to destroy the things that they didn't understand. She could easily have found herself in a place not unlike this woman, hiding in the water, eating what she could, hunted and feared by all and killing those who oppressed her. But on the other hand, Aquaria Innsmouth also knew that monsters ate babies. She had seen it happen. And one predator owed nothing to another except an obligation to make sure the herbivores didn't put it in a zoo. "What?" she croaked.
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Neko stared at Consuelo, her yellow eyes wide and tail twitching behind her. She counted to ten and took the time to translate her words into English rather than Japanese. She knew intellectually that the dislike she felt around Consuelo wasn't real, that she had a responsibility to offer care for the girl with the terrible powers. Which was why she didn't say any of the many unpleasant things running through her head. Instead she said, her words dripping with ice as she stared at Consuelo. "What. Do You Think. You Are Doing."
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Her tail thrashing and visibly puffed, Neko frowned as Rot approached them. "Helloooo there! Don't forget that cup!" she said cheerfully, pointing to a discarded piece of styrofoam that was probably out of Rot's line of sight. "You don't want to get into more trouble!" she added, folding her hands together demurely. Turning back to the conversation with the new boy, she added, "There are clubs. I am president of the anime club and the Future Farmers chapter." She smiled at that, showing pointed teeth. "There are no franchises here," she added, "it is an old-fashioned experience." She made air quotes over the second-to-last word, seeming to find the very idea amusing.
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"When I was a sophomore," said Neko easily. "I was very young then." She smiled at Michael. "Oh, hockey, that is the game with sticks on ice, no? The Freedom City - Blades!" She smiled and said "Maybe when it is colder, you can show me your moves." Moving on, she added, "As for your brother, here is my card," she said, showing off a card with a QR code surrounded by images like a white cat wearing a Santa hat. "If you scan that with your phone, it will show you all the items from my partner stores." Many people had been more than happy to sponsor her show, once they saw just how profitable a real catgirl could be.
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Neko pocketed the card and thanked him politely, her tail lashing behind her. She looked at him with those huge yellow eyes and smiled, showing off her pointed front teeth. "Oh, the show is just a little thing," she said bashfully, looking away as her cheeks seemed to blush a little. "But people do like it," she added smoothly. "How old is your brother? If he is over sixteen, he can come to one of the live shows next year on his own - or your parents can bring him," she added warmly. This routine was the sort of thing Bernadette had seen her try with boys before - and between her pretty face and practiced manner, it usually worked. "Do you play sports?" she asked. "I never watched any till I came here."
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Neko considered her options. She could have poured a hundred punishments on the man, each more terrible than the last, as much for the disrespect to the elder as the theft. But that would have meant dropping her disguise and letting the world see that she was not just another girl but the heir to nekomata and bakeneko. And she didn't want to do that! Hours of pouring over outfits with Raina, using an actual water shower (not something she did for just anyone!) - a great deal of work had gone into planning this night. Frankly, she preferred the idea of enjoying her all-important date over catching a robber - but Erik was right there, not to mention Leon. She wound up giving Erik the sort of look she gave him when she really wanted to emphasize that a small doe-eyed kitten like herself shouldn't take out the trash when there were so many strong men in the house - but mostly as a precaution. She was confident that Jack of all Blades had this well-handled.
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From around the corner came padding another student, her voice audible before her face. "Thanks to all my fans and everyone in chat!" she said brightly, speaking into what looked like a mechanical insect hovering just in front of her face. "Please remember to like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review for Catgirl Reacts! Super kawaii!" She flashed a double-V victory sign for the camera as it blinked out, reached out and snatched the bug out of the air, then seemed to catch sight of the other two. "Oh hi Bernadette," she said brightly as she tucked the bug into her purse. "This must be your new student." She was a petite young Japanese woman with a distinct accent to her speech, her hair hanging loose on either side of her head and down her back. "Hello!" she said brightly, her eyes tightening into slits as she smiled at Golden Star. "I am Neko Musume. Welcome to Claremont." This was, on instant's inspection, no ordinary girl. Her eyes were huge, almost bigger than a person's should be, and yellow with huge vertical pupils. Her whiteish hair was spotted with brown and visibly shaded from fur to hair as the eye moved down from her head to the rest of her body. Behind her twitched a tail about as long as her legs, white and brown furred, poking out above her brightly colored slacks. Atop her head were set two big triangular ears, which swiveled and twitched as she looked at Golden Star.
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Judy lit up at the tone of Carmen's question, though she never lost her gentle grip on Ashley's baby. "Yes, Ah've been trying to organize bible study groups wherever Ah find people who want to listen. Not everybody wants to hear about Jesus in other dimensions or alien planets, but the Farsiders have been around humans enough that they like what we have to say." "...if you don't want to go," said Ashley, following on Judy's words almost immediately. "We can stay here. I don't want you to think I'm just dragging you into dangerous situations for, uh" she looked at the baby and said, "crap and giggles." She hesitated, then went on, keeping her attention focused on Carmen. "I had some - difficult mentoring when I was your age. I don't want you to think I'm just training you to be a soldier or some - crap. There's so many wonderful things out there in the world, even if super-fights ruin them half the time, and you deserve a chance to see them before you turn into an old lady like me."
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Sea Devil stood over the fallen woman, staring down at the creature with gigantic eyes with yellow irises and black pupils, looking like nothing so much as a large, angry frog studying a particularly troublesome horsefly. She hadn't heard anything about strange creatures of any sort - at least, no stranger than what one usually encountered on the surface. She raised her trident and poked the being in the chest, most ungently. "Are you the one that killed the dog?" she demanded in a voice like rumbling thunder. I am not even sure if it can hear me, she thought.
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Neko approached the green-haired girl, wrinkling her pert nose. Something definitely didn't smell right as she got closer; but she was too polite to say anything. (Plenty of people in Freedom City had very bizarre smells, after all.) She got closer still and said hesitantly "Oh, ah, hello. I am Neko Musume, welcome to Claremont Academy." She took a deeper scent yet - and suddenly her back went up. Her brown and white hair, which shaded towards fur on top of her head before turning into an artfully-styled ponytail in the back, stood up as she took a step away. Disgust and loathing for this hideous abomination filled her as her yellow eyes bugged wide and a low, angry growl came from the back of her throat. She raised her arms above her head, bared her pointed front teeth, and a voice like a high-pitched squeal from beyond the grave seemed to echo from all around them. "OMAE WA KURUSHIMUDRO , YANKIPIGGU!" And then suddenly, mortified, she turned and ran.
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Okay, would you mind editing this into the initial sheet? It'll make it easier to find later.
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Does Aquaria know what this is, @Spacefurry?
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Ashley nodded. "That's part of why we're going there. If you only meet people when they're at their worst, you're going to think they're a bunch of assholes. It's the same reason cops, and supers, should live in the neighborhoods where they work. Don't worry, those werewolves are still in the same moon prison where we left them." "The Moon people, the Farsiders, they can all read your mind," piped up Judy. "It's a mutant thing. But they're real nice. Ah actually started a church group with some of them, they think it's real interesting." "Hm," said Ashley, not looking like she wanted to comment on that. "Yeah, they're all mind-readers; even the babies. Good thing that's not true for human babies, right Phil?" The baby, sucking on a bottle, had no comment on that. "But if you're worried, they do speak an actual language, they're not just all-telepath freaks or something."
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"Oh, just a normal time machine," said Eira brightly. "In any event, I think I am finished here; I just needed to be here for - well, you will see." She smiled. "It was nice to see you again, Bernadette! Remember, if any of you are looking for jobs, give me a call!" With that she turned and marched smartly off on her heel, exclaiming audibly a loud "Jävla skit!!" as the stairway door closed behind her. By this time, Neko had climbed back into the corridor, having finished a short livestream with her fans that had (from her likes and shares) gone very well indeed. #CatgirlNeedsFriends was already trending on TikTok. Once back inside, she caught sight of the green-haired girl and of Carmen and crouched uncertainly in the windowsill, not sure what to make of all this.
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Hm - Thrown is not really the power feat you want for long-distance punches, as IIRC that has a component of "something you throw and then go get." You might possibly just want Blast there.
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They talked about Carmen and her studies, Ashley asking some careful questions about how exactly the cat-girl was getting along now that her time in high school was almost over. Over in a corner of the room, Judy had shaken up a bottle of milk from the fridge and was settling in to rock Phil. Ashley shot a few looks that way, her expression hard to read, but the younger girl looked happy to be doing what she was doing. "So once you're done," Ashley offered, "I was thinking we'd take a little field trip." She grinned. "It's funny we've been talking about space so much, because it just so happens that I know people on the Moon." "Aw you'll like it there," said Judy from where she was rocking with the baby. "Do you, ah, mind mind-readers? Lots of them up there."
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Relieved to talk about herself and not her doppleganger for a moment, the older version of Eira said agreeably, "That is right." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card, which she handed off to Rot with the air of one who had done so many times. The card, made of a stiff, sturdy stuff that wasn't quite paper or plastic, displayed the contact information for KATASTROFF CONSULTING, a small business elsewhere in Freedom City. "Though professionally, I am a scientist and engineer. If you are ever looking for a part-time job, I have all sorts of uses for Claremont students." She smiled winningly, showing off perfectly white teeth. There was a flash and buzz from the other room; and closer inspection revealed that it was now completely empty, just a typical abandoned dorm room. "There, the machine is gone, there is nothing to worry about, yes?" said Eira, a little too cheerfully. "Do not worry, it will not appear in that space again - she knows that it's not vacant." She considered a moment, then handed out copies of her cards to everyone. "If you happen to see her again, please give me a call and I will get rid of her. No, ah, no need to make a disciplinary issue out of it," she added, even though it was hard to say what threat a high school had for a woman in her early twenties.
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Eira smiled at Rot and kept sidling by without a care in the world. "Do not worry. I hate everyone - and I'm not people." She seemed to regard the last sentence with particular pride. "I-" When Bernadette recognized her, Eira's eyes widened as she gave the red-haired girl a startled look. "I...am just visiting, yes?," she said. "You...should help the new girl move, don't you think, ...carrottop?" she asked brightly and a little questioningly. Just when her escape seemed certain, the hallway's fire exit door flew open. At the top of the stairs stood a blonde, sturdily-built young woman with brilliant golden hair, a piercing in her nose, and a white labcoat on. It was clearly Eira; a version of Eira in her twenties, wearing a Claremont visitor's ID badge on a lanyard. She hissed something in Swedish at her teenage counterpart, who responded with a rude gesture before hissing at Rot. "You see! This is what it's like! It is a jail for the clever!" "Are you really going to be stupid about this, knowing I remember this entire conversation?" spat the older Eira in reply. That got her what sounded like an extremely rude remark in Swedish from her counterpart, who said "FINE" before storming back into the empty room. The older Eira ground her teeth with a sound like steel rubbing on steel before she said, "Ah, hello - Bernadette, and friends. You must be new," she said to Rot. "Do not worry. She will be gone in a moment once she reverses the polarity of the machine. So are you enjoying campus?" she asked solicitously.
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No sooner had Rot indicated her door than it opened and an unusual figure stepped out. Her spiky blue hair, nose piercing, and weathered denim jacket looked fit for a punk rock concert; her white labcoat, goggle, and faint air of energy looked more at home in a high-tech laboratory. "Ohh, this is your room?" she said, a look of barely concealed excitement on her face as she padded out into the hallway. "I must...have been confused, yes?" Her accent was heavy, distinctly Northern European, and she was smiling like she was hiding a very large cookie jar under her jacket. She smiled at Rot as she tried to slip around her in the hallway. "It is very nice to meet you. Welcome to Claremont."
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Sea Devil closed her eyes and let the darkness take her. "Stay here," she rumbled in a voice deep like a summer storm. It was too dark for Surfacers to see - too dark for her to see, for that matter. But her suit's sensors sang in her round ears, and so too did the sounds of the park, the wild melee, the calling voices, and the hiss and snarl of their enemy. It was dark. But not so dark as it was at the bottom of the ocean, where her people ruled. With a bellow she leapt high in the air, her armor kicking to life with a sound like rushing waters, crashing feet-first to the ground just behind the blood-drinker as she attacked Nightscale. Having eaten flesh of man and beast, Aquaria had no particular horror of a cannibal - instead of fear, she felt the righteous fury of a warrior. I bet this is the one who killed the dog! She came up behind the woman and caught her around the neck with her trident, jerking her backwards and bouncing her head off a cavernous skull designed to absorb the blows of an outraged whale. It didn't hurt Aquaria a bit - but the woman went down almost immediately.