[Tawny Vokes]

Tawny burst from the nightclub, gasping some much-needed fresh air into her lungs. She stumbled out into the side alley, cursing as one of her heels snapped beneath her and sent her careening toward the uneven ground. She just barely caught herself and hissed at the feel of rock and grit cutting into her knees and palms. Rather than immediately standing up, she simply lurched toward the building's wall and slumped to a sitting against it, closing her eyes and tipping her head back while she willed the wild thrum in her chest to a quiet, more manageable beat. She brushed the gravel from where it embedded itself into her skin and then pressed the balls of her hands into her eyes, smearing tears and mascara across her cheekbones.

She hated this fucking club. When Matty had called her and begged her to accompany him out, she'd suggested somewhere else. He'd been a little offended but agreed, then all their other, alternative haunts had been at capacity, and she'd finally given in and let herself be dragged here. And like usual, it had been a disaster. The club had a reputation, one that Tawny didn't favor but Matthew thrived in. Most of its occupants were high, the music was too loud, and there'd been too many grabby people, too many forward touches and seething aggressions. Only a few drinks in, with Matty no where to be found, a touch too many had sent her spiraling from memory to memory — struggling miserably for control and unable to find it amid the press of so many people, reaching for her or for anybody. She felt as if she had to practically claw and elbow herself to safety, battling against unwanted imagery as she did so, with not a single person truly aware enough to note her desperation or brimming tears.

Tawny sighed and brought her knees to her chest to examine her scuffed skin. It wasn't bad, no blood, just the promise of an ugly bruise. She pulled out her phone and contemplated sending Matty a message, letting him know she was going home. He wouldn't be surprised. It seemed something always came up. Always an inexplicable something to send her slinking away. As she typed the beginning, however, there was a small skittering that snapped her attention to the large, industrial dumpster a couple of paces away from her. She reached for the bag at her hip instinctively, preparing for the worst as her eyes widened.

A small, pathetic shape poked from beside the dumpster, followed by the thin body of a dirty kitten. It screeched a tiny, pitiful mew and then teetered in her direction, steps stilted with the fluid gait of uncertainty. Tawny relaxed and pulled herself into a crouch. She outstretched a hand toward the tiny thing, wiggling her fingers enticingly as she chittered. "Hey there, sweetie." It paused, nose wriggling on the air and tail raised high with question, then lopped toward her decidedly.

She ran her hand gingerly along the kitten's spindly body, her heart clenching at the little knobs of its spine and the grimy, gritty feel of its fur. It twirled (moving fast as if it expected she'd move away as soon as its back was turned) and butted against her hand again; smothering its tiny face into her palm with a force that seemed almost impossible for its little, bony frame. "Aren't you the most adorable thing?" Tawny chuckled, tears springing once more to her eyes as she lifted the kitten and held it to her chest. Its body vibrated with a strong, raspy purr while she examined it, noting the tiny specks of fleas that weaved through its pelt — which appeared to be white beneath the dirt and oil.

There was another soft, disgruntled mew from the direction of the dumpster and Tawny lifted her head. The kitten gnawed at her fingers with sharp, tiny teeth as she stood and stepped forward. With the kitten tucked in the crook of one arm, she lifted on her tiptoes and managed to flip open the dumpster's lid. Peeking in, her lips parted with surprise at the sight of two more kittens — equally as filthy and tiny as the first — peering up at her with wide, frightened eyes. They flinched away at the sound of the lid banging against the side of the dumpster and cried out imploringly as they stumbled across the top of the garbage. "What the— who would—" Tawny's lips pressed in a firm, disgruntled line as she set the first kitten into the dumpster among his littermates and began fishing through the discarded cardboard boxes, looking for one in a good enough shape and a decent size to tote the cats around in. When she found one, she pulled it out and examined it. It was partially soaked with some rancid, unidentifiable dumpster juice, but it was by far the best bet from such slim pickings.

After slipping off her thin, flimsy jacket and padding the bottom of the box with it, she lifted the three kittens into it — amused by the fact that the first kitten had already half-clambered out of the dumpster again, obviously being the most nimble and headstrong of the three. "Well. Let's get you lot cleaned up and fed," she said while petting and prodding at the three tottering creatures, making sure none of them had any injuries. She pulled out her phone and took a quick picture of them, sending it off to Matthew with a quick message about finding her crowd, babysitting, and to swing by later if got too drunk and struck out, then slipped off her heels to add to the box. She stepped out from the alley and onto the sidewalk, cringing at the feel of the dirty, rough concrete under her bare feet. She shrugged her shoulders closer to her neck and shivered. Even though the night was still decidedly warm, she was used to the extra layer and the slight breeze lifted the hairs on her arms.

After a brief beat of deliberating, Tawny stepped off in the opposite direction of her apartment, intending to make her way to the nearest store so she could buy a couple of cans of kitten food before heading home. With her new mission, the terrors of the nightclub were all but forgotten, except for the bits of smudged mascara that still clung stubbornly to her cheekbones.

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker had gone to the club for scientific purposes: he needed to learn how to control his power. In order to do so, he needed to face reality and its obstacles. He had achieved his goals by working hard and by not turning away when things became difficult and this was one of those cases.

Controlling his new power, although technically it wasn't a new power but more like an evolution of his existing power, it had turned out to be more difficult than he had expected. He was a bit disappointed in himself like he always was when he believed that he was underperforming.

The loud music, the loud voices, the crowd, but worst of all: the technology used in the club. It was too much. Everything was trying to communicate with him. Some whispered, some were more direct, but things got worse when the mic connected to the DJ station started talking by itself. Acker had turned towards the DJ stand and bargained with the piece of technology to stop talking or it would give him away.

In that moment he felt his power acting as one and forcing itself onto the DJ station to stop it from talking, as if the power was strangling the mic. Oh, there was silence alright. Everywhere. The music suddenly stopped and everyone started complaining. Meanwhile, Acker's nose started bleeding, without intention to stop.

Zeus and Apollo were waiting for him outside. They were is robo-dogs. They looked, and behaved, like the real deal, but in reality they were machines. They were also sentient now thanks to the power's evolution. The dogs observed their creator getting out of the club while holding his nose and concluded that their creator was in distress. So, they trotted towards him and barked. Those barks mutated into words in Acker's mind. Which added to the headache and nosebleed.

"I'm fine, I just need...I think there is a store nearby" Acker was wearing his classic black suit with gloves. For a moment, he was annoyed that his assistant wasn't around because he would have taken care of this. On the way to the store, dogs in tow, Acker saw someone holding a box. He wouldn't have cared if it wasn't that the dogs started growling at the box.

"Something wrong. Smells wrong" they barked "Like prey" and that made Acker stop on his tracks. Left hand around his nose, Acker approached the woman and the box. Had the woman cried? And she wasn't wearing any shoes. No matter. Acker was wearing thin black glasses that looked too small for his face, the lens focused on her face and gave this info: Tawny Vokes, The Sector. That was it. A Sector employee? He worked with them from time to time as a freelancer. Not that he had a choice. If the Government asked you for help then you had to comply, especially if you had secrets.

Acker put on his Villin persona, and looked in the box where there were kittens and a pair of shoes "Excub be" he pretended that he didn't know who she was "Brer bib diu finb dese kddens?" the dogs growled again, but Acker rose his free hand and the dogs stopped. His voice sounded funny considering that he was holding his nose. He asked her where she had found those kittens.

Argh. He didn't have time for this. Holding his nose was working for now, but soon the blood would start flowing down, it would stain his moustache. Considering the situation he was in, there had to be a serious reason why he had stopped. The Lads believed those kittens weren't actually kittens.

//ps. if you rather acker not know about Vokes' identity and that she works for the sector, i can edit that part out//

Tawny Vokes

[Tawny Vokes]

Tawny made her way down the sidewalk, occasionally lifting a hand to coax the first kitten from clambering out of the box. She wondered briefly if any store would let her walk around with them or even allow her in without shoes. Perhaps she would have to wait outside until someone was kind enough to lend her a hand — either watching the kittens while she ran in herself (hobbling on broken shoes) or picking up a few things for her while she waited.

The thoughts quieted as she became aware of a man walking in her direction, dressed in a black suit, glasses, and gloves. He looked annoyed. Or perhaps on a mission. Somewhat familiar, though she couldn't quite place it. One hand he held to his face and two dogs trotted at his heels. Her gaze fell to the Dobermans and her chest tightened warily. Dogs were unpredictable. Strong and scary. Even the friendly ones always seemed a bit too big and loutish for her tastes. Always throwing their weight around carelessly and demanding attention. Her gait slowed and she stepped sidelong, preparing to give the trio a wide berth while they passed one another.

The dogs let out a bark as they neared and Tawny jolted, the captive kittens crying out their displeasure at the abrupt movement. The man at their helm paused, then with sudden decision, approached her. He was almost a foot taller than her and she fought the instinctive urge to step back as he eyed her then looked appraisingly into the box held in front of her. She was almost taken aback by the forwardness of the whole thing.

The words he spoke were made nearly incomprehensible by the hand he clutched at his nose. She blinked at him dumbly, her mind churning as it took her a moment to work out the garbled inquiry. "Uhm?" She eyed him, uncertain of his interest. With their tiny, pathetic bodies caked with fleas and grime, she couldn't imagine someone was looking for the kittens. They didn't show signs of ever being properly cared for and they hadn't ended up in the garbage by accident. "In the alley beside Heatwave." Her eyes crinkled at the corners with disdain as she spoke the club's name. The dogs growled again and Tawny defensively angled the box further away from them, her mouth tightening with apprehension. But they quieted at the man's lifted hand and she settled marginally. At least they were well-trained. "They were in a dumpster." She flickered a pointed glance at the dogs. "And they're not snacks."

Tawny tipped her head, her eyes drawing again to his covered nose. She could see shiny wetness beginning to peek through the slats of his fingers; a nosebleed being held at bay (but only just) by the clasp of his gloved hand. Had he been punched? With his hopping up to lone women on the street with little hesitance, she could imagine it wasn't exactly unlikely. A punch in the nose for being nosy, perhaps? "Here, hold these. Don't feed them to your dogs. And watch the bigger one, he's a climber." Tawny shoved the box of cats unceremoniously into the man's one free arm so she could pull the bag at her hip in front of her. She rooted inside for the pack of travel-Kleenex she always kept on-hand, blatantly ignoring the phone lighting up and buzzing with a phone call (Matthew had gotten her text, she supposed).

She took the box of kittens back from him then offered the pack of Kleenex with an outstretched hand. "Here. For your... nose... situation."

---

Nicholas Acker Villin - All good with me! Lemme know if you want anything here changed!

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker noticed the displeasure in the woman's eyes when the name of the club was mentioned. He secured the information on a shelf in the back of his mind. Probably something that he could use later on. Vokes seemed weary of him and the dogs which he didn't blame her for. All of this had to be awfully peculiar from her point of view. Not that he truly cared about the woman's feelings, it was the kittens he was interested about, so he had to keep the woman on his good graces if he wanted a chance to grab those kittens.

"Kiddens ad'nt od der died, id gids dem gaz" he sarcastically replied which just sounded ridiculous considering the nose situation. Translation: Kittens are not on their diet, it gives them gas. Even though he was being sarcastic, he also meant it. He wasn't interested in those kittens for their snack value.

Suddenly, Acker couldn't help but flinch. Sharp pain squeezed his precious brain from the inside out. He squeezed his nose even harder as reaction to the pain. Having to deal with this kind of pain all over again was bringing him back to memory lane when he had had to learn how to use his original power. He had gone through that period without any prior experience, it was different now, better equipped.

Suddenly, Acker found himself holding the box of kittens "Go! Run! Take the kittens with you now so that you won't have to deal with this woman!" he thought. The only reason he hesitated was because of Vokes' employer. It seemed that she hadn't recognised him, but if she told this story to fellow colleagues and described him someone would put two and two together sooner or later. A Villin stealing kittens wasn't exactly something he could find a suitable excuse for. Also, Vokes could see his picture somewhere and recognise him. He didn't like dealing with PR teams. So, he had to stay.

The mad scientist caught the opportunity and observed the kittens. The dogs stood on their fours, in their alert pose. Acker glanced at the Lads and then back at the kittens. Okay. There was definitely something wrong with these kittens. The Lads' prey wasn't normal animals or humans, but Gifted. The Lads believed that there was something prey-like with the kittens meaning that there was probably something Gifted about them.

They looked like normal kittens, but never judge a book by its cover. The climber did indeed climb out the box and clawed its way onto Acker's arm which he didn't appreciate. Who knew what this thing could do. Suddenly, he felt his power automatically reaching out to something...a phone. Hers. He didn't do anything to it. Didn't even connect it to the glasses to check who was calling. It didn't matter now. His attention was on the cat that was now balancing on his shoulders.

The mad man hadn't even noticed the blood slipping down his nose. His eyes were looking at the cat's tail which was now around his neck. Even though it looked adorable, Acker's expression was worried as if that tail could strangle him at any moment. Vokes worked for the Sector, so he could be honest about the situation. She had to know about Gifted.

The woman took the box back, although the climber cat was still on his shoulders, then offered a pack of Kleenex "Dangyu" he thanked her and immediately used a hanky to deal with the nosebleed situation. Blood was still coming out, but he wiped it. It was much better than keeping his nose shut.

"This is better..." finally he could speak properly "I know you work for the Sector, so you must know about Gifted" he pointed at the cat on his shoulders "I'm Doctor Villin, I work for the Sector as a freelancer" he pointed at the Lads "They believe there is something wrong with the kittens, that's why they were growling before" and why they were on alert now.

Acker tried to get the cat off his shoulders but the cat hissed and was ready to bite. For all he knew this cat's bite could have serious harmful effects, so he kept his hands away from the cat.

---

Tawny Vokes   -- All good! : D

[Tawny Vokes]

Tawny grinned as she watched the kitten clamber across the man's shoulders. He seemed somewhat unsettled about the situation as he wiped at his nose, but that only served to make the whole thing a bit cuter. But then the man was speaking, saying he knew that Tawny worked for the Sector, and her smile faltered.

She felt her eyes widen and her lips part as the casual admittance swept through her. It felt somewhat akin to the time she'd sat across from Noah in his kitchen and he'd — just as offhandedly — told her that he was aware she was Gifted. Pursing her lips, Tawny pinched her eyes shut and tipped her head, stifling an abrupt, incredulous laugh. How ridiculous. She prided herself on being a private individual — how were these people coming up to her and slapping her with her most-guarded information? When did she become so transparent? Or was this just a line of peculiar, happenstance interactions, inexplicably crammed in the span of a single month?

The shock, or more likely the sheer absurdity of it, made her fumble, but she scrambled back to awareness to mull over the other information the tall, black-adorned man had offered. "Doctor Villin" — ah. With his moustache now visible, it all clicked together and she realized why he'd appeared familiar. The Villin family was known to be a pillar of charity within the community of Los Eurosia. Had made donations to her father's soup kitchen various times throughout the years. Tawny wasn't particularly familiar with the Doctor as an individual, but she knew him by name and appearance. Was aware that the Sector occasionally hired him, though to what purposes, she couldn't surmise. How he could know who she was was a bit of a mystery — Tawny was far too low on the totem pole to be involved where he was and it surely wasn't as simple as him recognizing her from around headquarters.

He pointed at his dogs and told her they believed something was wrong with the kittens. She followed the point of his finger and studied the two Dobermans, her brow creasing. What the fuck did that mean? His mentioning her knowledge of Gifted left her reaching for an explanation. Was Nicholas himself Gifted and could speak with his dogs? Somehow his dogs could detect something off with the kittens? Her eyes raised to the tom now throwing a fit on the Villin's shoulders and she shifted the box's weight to one hip so she could reach out and pluck up the kitten by its scruff. It dug its tiny claws into his jacket but she pulled it free and held it between them while it squirmed its displeasure.

"Something wrong with them?" Tawny echoed inquiringly. They were filthy and neglected but otherwise seemed fine to her. Nothing a little bath and a bit of love couldn't mend. "What do you mean? Like they're sick?" She twirled the kitten between them, eyeing its flea-ridden body with concern. Perhaps his dogs could detect some underlying disease that her eyes could not. The cat hissed and Tawny felt a heavy, cold stone form in her stomach as she watched its teeth momentarily elongate in its open maw, for a single second becoming something macabre and alarming. She blinked hard, trying to dismiss the imagery as a trick of the mind. She hastily placed the cat back among its littermates and held the box between them, looking down at its contents and blanching as she realized the three kittens were now completely silent, staring up at both their captors with hard, unblinking and too-intent eyes. Looking suddenly more dangerous than cute. "Okay, wait... what do you mean? Tawny said again, voice edged with uncertainty, as she lifted her eyes back to the Villin.

Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker raised a brow observing Vokes' reaction. However, he soon had other matters to focus on. He suddenly had to sneeze. Thankfully, he was wiping his nose when it happened, so he didn't sneeze blood on Vokes' face. The napkin was so bloody that he had to change it, however he noticed the cat on his shoulders eyeing the bloody napkin. Mh.

The mad scientist wanted to test something. Acker threw the napkin on the ground and the cat bounced at it. The cat walked around the napkin for a few seconds, then it sniffed at the napkin, afterwards the cat started licking the blood off the napkin as if the creature was starving.

Interesting. Very interesting. And the cat wasn't on his shoulders anymore which was a good thing. He shrugged his shoulders up and down, enjoying the weightless sensation. Until the cat stopped licking the blood and skilfully jumped back on his shoulders "Argh NO! Maybe it wasn't such a good idea letting the cat lick my blood, now it has a taste for it, but I needed to know!" he thought. His thirst of knowledge often put him in dangerous situations, sometimes even awkward situations which was worse.

Luckily, Vokes grabbed the cat. Villin almost stopped her to remind her that she was handling something potentially dangerous, but he bit his tongue because he wanted to observe what would happen. However, by doing so he was putting himself and Vokes in danger. Science demanded sacrifice. Apparently, his jacket had been sacrificed already because of the cat's claws. He glanced at it for a second, annoyed.

Vokes seemed confused about the dogs and about what he meant. He rolled his eyes, but the glasses kept them hidden from view. Usually people were slower than him, he was aware, but he hated dealing with it. So, he had to start explaining.

"The dogs are trained, so I can understand their cues" which was true and a reasonable explanation "And no, I don't mean they are sick...you don't know what Gifted are? You work for the Sector, correct?" perhaps this Vokes was so low in the hierarchy that the organisation hadn't disclosed that kind of information with her yet.

No matter. Vokes was going to find out tonight. He needed to deal with this and unfortunately he had to involve the Sector considering Vokes' involvement in the situation. Acker wiped his nose again, although the nosebleed was getting better. It was time to involve someone higher on the Sector's ladder. He moved his free hand to fetch the phone when his head hurt again. He had to expect some headache considering he wanted to use a technological device.

The dogs barked again when the cat's mouth changed. Acker didn't exactly have the perfect view, but he noticed something was happening, especially judging the situation by Vokes' reaction. Acker looked down the box and stared back at the kittens. He was glad that the glasses were recording. Then he looked up at the same time Vokes did "Put the box down, slowly" he didn't know what the kittens had in mind. An attack? Maybe the creatures were hungry and believed Vokes and Acker to be their snacks, quite ironic.

"Time to call your superiors" before the creatures acted out. The dogs got closer to Acker, although carefully. He reached out for his phone and again his brain went in pain-mode. He bit his lip and was about to use the phone when the kittens jumped out the box.

"You know...maybe they could be trained, it would be useful to have Gifted animals working for me" the mad scientist couldn't help but think, even though those kittens were probably ready to kill or something. The Lads put themselves between Acker and the kittens, ready to defend their creator. But, only the cat that had tasted Acker's blood was facing the mad scientist "Someone left these kittens in the dumpster...who? Need to find the who and where in order to learn more about these creatures" the mad scientist said while staring at the cat.

The other kittens were facing Vokes, but all of them started changing their shapes. The bodies were becoming bigger. The eyes changed colour and their teeth became sharper and longer. While the shapeshifting was happening, the mad scientist started theorising that maybe the creatures had shapeshifted into kittens to lure fresh prey.

Acker could have used his power, but he had to pretend that he didn't have any, so his only option was voice activation, but what if it incited the creatures to attack. He had to risk it, the creatures were shapeshifting for a threatening reason anyway.

The creatures were still shapeshifting. Perhaps, it was taking so long because the creatures had other powers interfering with the process? The mad scientist couldn't know, so he had to consider every possibility.

Acker opened his mouth to call the Sector, but unfortunately excruciating pain raided his head and mind. The nosebleed got worse, blood was dripping down his chin. He had to step backwards until his back was against the nearest wall. He wanted to warn Vokes to call the Sector, but everytime he opened his mouth to speak the pain got worse.

Tawny Vokes

[Tawny Vokes]

"Of course I know what Gi—" Tawny began to retort, to explain to the Villin that she knew about Gifted, but that his initial observation that the cats were 'off' didn't necessarily point to them being Gifted. Not to mention she'd never been aware of animals possessing Gifts. But the argument fell away with the development of more pressing matters and she all but dropped the box as the cats jumped from it. One cat faced the Villin, the remaining two faced her, and all three of their bodies began shifting; becoming larger and more menacing by the second. She took a step back as the two padded closer to her.

This was just the kind of thing that would happen to her. Actually, no. More accurately, this was just the type of thing that happened to other people, that she would simply witness through their eyes as she made the memories of such bizarre events more believable and ordinary. It wasn't the type of thing that happened to her. She'd just wanted to mother some poor, neglected kittens. Not be chased by freaky creatures through Downtown streets! God, she wished she had shoes.

Dr. Villin seemed to be handling the shock of the situation extremely well — his mutterings more concerned about learning about the creatures rather than the more reasonable, pressing matter of getting away from them or fighting them off. Her eyes flitted daringly from the creatures to him, watching the way his dogs stepped protectively in front of him as he backed into the wall of a building. His nose was bleeding once again, more profusely now, and it occurred to her that such things often accompanied the use of one's Gift. Could be a symptom of overuse or unfamiliarity with one's powers. For a suspended, horrified moment, Tawny wondered briefly if this whole thing was his doing. The cats had seemed perfectly normal until he'd approached, after all.

His earlier words about calling her superiors rang again in her ears and she lifted a hand to the bag at her side, returning her gaze to the stalking creatures before her. Who the hell was she supposed to call? It wasn't as if she had the proper people on speed-dial. Just the Sector hotline? She drew the phone from her pocket and navigated half-blindly to the information of her handler — the taciturn, monotonous man who handed her assignments. Who decided how much she needed to change and what to change it to. If he couldn't act himself, he'd pass the situation onto those who could.

She called his number and lifted the phone to her ear, taking slow steps back from the two cats — twins of twisting shape and morphing bone, looking less cat-like and more hungry by the second. Their shoulders had already reached past the height of her knees and their growth showed no sign of slowing.

There was the distinct click of someone picking up on the other end and, before any word or greeting could be uttered, Tawny's lips parted. "Erik!" He hated it when she used his first name but she didn't care and (in a few seconds) he wouldn't either. "Erik! I'm in the middle of a situation!" In as few words as possible, she began to describe the shapeshifters, but suddenly one of the cat-things launched at her. She flung herself to the side with a clipped shriek, phone dropping to the sidewalk as she caught herself on the building. "Downtown!" She yelled frantically toward the phone, eyes wild as she watched the cat circle back around, a low growl in its throat. "13th and... and... Adams!"

The cat-thing's stride shifted and it settled a hefty paw atop her phone. "I'm with Nicholas Villin!" she shrieked, just before the beast stepped its weight more intentionally onto the device, cracking the screen and making it go black. Her eyes widened and she inwardly grimaced. Not only was it the second phone she'd have to replace in the span of a single month, but the fact that the cat-beast sought to sever communication spoke to it possessing some sort of intelligence rather than primal instinct alone. If they were intelligent, why had they been in a dumpster? Why had they let her fawn over them and put them in a box with the intent to bring them home?

Her thoughts subsided once more into panic as the cat, shoulder-to-shoulder now with its twin, slunk closer. It made another leap at her and she dodged out of the way, right into the waiting launch of the other. Its weighty body pinned her in a second, its shifting, slobbering maw shooting forward to snap at her face. She lifted an arm just in time, screeching out as its jaws closed around her wrist.

She was shocked when her Gift activated and sent her into a spiral of memory. The pain and distress brought her immediately out of it and she blinked up at the cat's snarling face with a whimper as its paws pressed on her shoulders, pushing her painfully into the sidewalk. Her Gift didn't work on animals. In a panic, she forced herself back into the memories.

Cages. Iron bars and bodies pressed close to one another. The space far too small, too cramped, to shift into anything else. Tawny shifted back, somewhat aware of pain biting into her waking body as she mentally gritted herself not to fall out of the memory's stream. She forced herself to leap back in time and only found more cages. Days passed with no way to gauge time. Whimpers and pleading, animal cries. Teeth whittling as they gnawed at the bars of their imprisonment. She skipped back. Cages. Skipped further back. More cages. She took a massive leap, skimmed as far as she dared, and there — a human child. Dirty and half-clothed in filthy rags. Tear-streaked cheeks. A woman with cold eyes and a doctor's coat looking over him and his brothers.

Tawny pulled herself from the memories as the cat bore its jaws harder around her wrist. She tried wrenching free but it only caused more pain,so she shrieked instead, trying to kick at its underbelly with her feet while her own blood dripped on her face. "They're humans!" She cried out frantically, eyes wild as she tried looking around the massive beast atop her — for the other shapeshifters, for the Villin, for the dogs. For anything to help her.

Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

"God what a relief" thought the atheist when Vokes' phone got crashed. Any piece of technology was hurting him, even the Lads. Especially the dogs because they were communicating, but it wasn't the dogs' fault because they couldn't help it.

The Lads weren't helping Vokes at first because they didn't want to abandon the doctor, however Acker managed to point at Vokes, mentally ordering one of the dogs to protect the woman. Apollo leaped on the Shapeshifter and bit their neck. The Shapeshifter let go of Vokes and started attacking Apollo. Animals were incredible, so much so that Acker himself studied them to make his robots, but machines were better: more agile and stronger.

So, while Apollo used his mechanical advantages, Zeus was defending Acker from the other two Shapeshifters. Although, it was two against one, there was a reason why the saying praised strength in numbers. Zeus was trying his best, using his quicker reflexes to protect his owner from harm, however Zeus couldn't last for long by himself.

The pain was like a wave, Acker had his bad and good moments. The bad moment was receding, leaving space for Acker to get a grip. It hadn't been like that at the beginning, the pain had been constant, it was only after the mad doctor had decided to test his power in the open that things had started to get better. Now, the pain waves got better and better, meaning less pain and more good moments.

Acker stood on his feet, he had to act before the wave would crash against the shore. The nosebleed was improving, but the mad scientist wasn't paying attention to it. He couldn't order his Lads using his power, but the dogs could understand vocal commands if they came from him.

The mad doc ordered his dogs to howl, but not like normal dogs could do. It started like normal howls, but after a few seconds the howls couldn't be heard by humans ears anymore, however the Shapeshifters were shaking their heads frantically. The loud noise was confusing the Shapeshifters and the dogs could keep it going infinitely considering that they didn't need to breath.

However, the doctor wasn't sure that the noise was going to work for much longer, but perhaps long enough for security to arrive. Meanwhile, the other animals in the neighbourhood were reacting to the loud noise too. There were dogs barking and few cats running chaotically in the streets.

Acker helped Vokes up after reminding himself that he was supposed to be the Villin of the story "The high pitch may not work for much longer, the Shapeshifters could have other powers" then a doubt came to mind "How do you know that they are humans?" perhaps that wasn't the right moment to ask such a question, but the mad scientist's curiosity was uncontrollable.

The Shapeshifters' additional power revealed itself when they shapeshifted into animals that didn't exist in nature. Whatever creatures the Shapeshifters had turned into, they were unaffected by the high pitch noise now. Acker knew that he was supposed to use this precious time to run away, but instead the mad scientist in him couldn't help but observe. He was mesmerised "Gotta catch 'em all" he murmured in reference to the Shapeshifters basically turning into Pokemon "Mental note: invent Pokeballs...I'll call it Poketball to avoid lawsuits" he thought while his body still wasn't moving away from danger.

Acker only snapped out of it when one of the Shapeshifters grew tentacles and used them to grab Apollo. The Lad tried to avoid it, but the tentacles were faster. Even though the Lads could be rebuild, they would still remember their final moments and frankly Acker didn't want the Lads to be crushed by tentacles.

The madman took something from his breast pocket: a teaser gun of his design. Acker had to have on his persona a weapon to defend himself with for mad reasons. He pointed it at the tentacle Shapeshifter and shot. It was effective, but the other Shapeshifter was attacking Zeus. Interesting: the electricity hadn't passed through Apollo's body even though the dog's body had been in contact with the tentacles. The Shapeshifter's body wasn't a good conductor which was incredible because it should have been impossible, so the mad scientist wondered what such property implied.

Acker focused on the other Shapeshifter to help Zeus, but the Shapeshifter was too fast.

Meanwhile: Where was the third Shapeshifter?

Tawny Vokes

[Tawny Vokes]

Even though Tawny was searching frantically for one of the Villin's strange dogs, she still didn't see the creature until it leaped on her attacker and began snapping its jaws at its neck. The animal's additional weight forced her shoulders even more bitingly into the concrete but thankfully the cat released its hold on her with a furious yowl. It wrenched its head back to snap at its assailant and, when the dog wouldn't be immediately dislodged, stepped off her completely. Breathing hard, Tawny scrambled back until she felt the building behind her, wincing at the pain in her shoulders and back. Once this was all over — assuming she survived this bizarre assault at all — there would no doubt be large, ugly bruises across her shoulder blades, collar bones, and upper back.

Tawny cradled her injured hand against her stomach and flexed her blood-slacked fingers, relieved there didn't seem to be any damage to the tendons. At a command from Dr. Villin, the two dogs began baying in sync, the pitch of their howls climbing higher and higher until Tawny simply couldn't hear them anymore. The shapeshifters stopped, obviously perturbed as they began shaking their heads side to side. Perhaps a little belatedly, she realized the dogs weren't normal, uncannily well-disciplined dogs at all.

Dr. Villin approached her and she lifted her bewildered eyes to him and let him help her up; using the wall for support as she clambered awkwardly to her feet beside him. With an appraising glance shot toward the shapeshifters, still momentarily debilitated, she took a few steps forward to wrench her jacket from the cardboard box and then scuttled back to him, wanting to stay near him (considering the not-dogs were particularly concerned about his well-being). Quickly, she wrapped the thin, flimsy jacket tightly around her arm in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood that seeped hot from her wound. She spared it hardly a glance as she did so — preferring to save a thorough examination for when the adrenaline wore off and it truly began to hurt.

Her gaze darted to the Villin beside her for only a brief, considering moment when he asked how she knew the beasts were human. Given their current circumstances, she didn't want to spend too long weighing the pros and cons of being honest with him. The man was Sector-involved and had knowledge of Gifted at the very least, if he wasn't Gifted himself, which she suspected. Not to mention, he seemed particularly intrigued by the shapeshifting-cat-things — as if they were a marvel to be scrutinized and not absolutely fucking terrifying — perhaps knowing what she saw would help him come to some sort of conclusion. So her brow pinched and she stuttered out a quick breath. "They were human children at some point, I saw it. With my gift." It was all she offered for now and that little admittance itself made the hair on her neck lift with hesitance.

The shapeshifters shook off the dog's incapacitating howls and Tawny cast her gaze down the street, debating on if it would be safer to stay with him or to start booking it while the not-dogs kept the not-cats occupied. She didn't want to run and chance leading the beasts to other groups of unsuspecting civilians — they'd been fortunate enough already that they'd been alone so far. But she suspected that the Sector's arrival was still (hopefully) minutes out and she wasn't certain that the not-dogs would last that long. Especially when, horrifyingly, the shapeshifters grew tentacles and scooped up one of the seemingly-canines.

"Tawny!"

Tawny whipped around, eyes widening and lips parting. Jogging down the sidewalk, face somehow both stupefied with shock and lax with drugged-out drunkenness, was Matthew. He must have gotten her text and pictures about the kittens (back when they were cute and seemingly harmless) and left the club to look for her. Why he wouldn't turn around the second he saw them though, was alarming. "What the... fuck! Tawny! Are you okay?" Beside her, Nicholas pulled out a taser gun and shot it at the creature and Tawny pushed behind him to wave off her approaching friend. "Matty, stop!" The Sector had its protocol about civilians and humans in these instances, but she couldn't recall a single one of them as she called out to him. It was more important that he get the fuck out of here than anything else. If needed, she'd take care of his memory later.

She'd never intentionally looked through Matty's memories after they'd met and gotten to know one another. Never had reason or desire to tamper with them. It always felt innately erroneous to do so, when she was featured so frequently in them and would remember them (and him) differently. But the moment to feel any sort of remorse at the inevitably was clearly not now. The third shapeshifter — absent from action long enough that Tawny had all but forgotten about it — bounded across the street from where it'd been slinking about in the shadows, watching for its moment of opportunity. It planted itself between Matty and her, and she retreated with slow, shaky steps until she felt her back against the Villin's.

"You're awfully unfazed by this. What now, huh?" She breathed to him. "You... you have a plan? A bigger gun? Can your dogs sing them to sleep or something?"

- - - - -

Nicholas Acker Villin
OOC: Sorry if there isn't a whole lot to work with here! Both Tawny and I are out of our depths lmaooo. Here's an NPC we can have fun with if we want or just ignore him completely lmao, either way.