MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Dena smiles at that last comment. "I'm not saying that you're wrong, but VIGIL is more of a military force than a law enforcement so I don't think they'd hesitate to call them or any other vigilante every time there's a demonic invasion without any moral conundrums. Beating up demons is easy if you're strong enough. Trying to make them obey the law though? That's a lot harder." Sounds like she has some experience with that.

"But Malechnar wouldn't even need to be elites to be suspect, their whole aesthetic just screams 'evil'. However, as long as they keep to our guidelines I don't mind taking money from them. There could be worse people in charge of the city, like AMEN or those dragon-people in southside."

Then she turns her phone to take another look at the picture featured in the article. "But... not to come off as insulting or anything, I was just under the impression most superheroes dressed like this? Either little in the ways of clothes or super-tight spandex." She gestures at Reina. "You did point out how good Magtok's butt looked in it."

[Morty]

[Fairy Investigation]

"You're looking pretty good too. I like a sharp-dressed man," Olvisin says as she takes his arm. "Close to the sea? Just like home, then. Lead on."

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Dragonpeople?" Reina hadn't heard of them. Then again, she's not that in touch with Riverside politics. Sure, the big invasion hit the news, but that was about it. "What exactly are our guidelines anyways?" Dipsnig was a little light on the orientation!

"Pfft. PLEASE." Reina scoffs and sputters. "My costume is a work of art. There's nothing wrong with looking good on the job. And I said nothing about Magtok's butt. I'd never look at it." Reina crosses her arms defiantly. "Spandex just makes you look good. Try it on sometime. Ambush Kirk in spandex, see how he reacts."

"... You two still a thing right?"

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Dena raises two fingers. "I can summarize our gudielines by two principles. One, don't work with anyone keeping slaves. Two, or anyone with a really awful reputation. And I mean AMEN bad here, someone who would drag our own reputation through the dirt by association. Like say, working for literal demons or other embodiments of evil or whatever they're supposed to be."

She shrugs. "As for Kirk, he and I got a open relationship. I don't want to stand in the way of his grand ambitions after all." A grin, Reina getting a glance at her fangs. "But speaking of which, you got a picture of that costume of yours then? Since I don't think I've seen it. I certainly didn't say that I minded sexy costumes, or clothes in general for that matter." The gorgon taps her chin. "I mean, one of your clones certainly seemed to appriciate my dance clothes."

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Reina nods slightly, though aren't those two principles... the same principle? She blinks a little, wondering if she's hearing double. She hasn't had that much to drink in the last twenty minutes. God, it's been so long without a drink. You think Dena would offer her some of whatever the gorgon's keeping hidden under the desk.

"A picture? Not... that I can share. And all the newspaper shots are blurry and black and white." Honestly, who hires teen interns for important newspaper camera jobs? "I could always just put on the costume if you want to see. I'm sure there's some advantages to MERC having a superheroine on payroll."

She taps the arm of her chair with her finger. "You dance?"

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"I can think of a few advantages, yeah." The fact Reina had her costume on her was a surprise at first but upon further consideration that was superheroes deal, wasn't it? Had their costume at hand at all the time and she apparently still considered herself as one.

She probably just had it up some hammerspace that Dena couldn't see, like her pocket. Or underneath her normal clothes, that had to get warm though.

Either way though... "But of course I dance, you didn't know?" She stretches out her legs underneath her desk again. "It's actually a fighting technique where I'm from, as it always involves a sword, but it can be adapted to all sort of purposes. These days I mostly use it for those other purposes, but it's a good way of keeping fit."

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Cats like the warmth quite a bit. Perhaps Reina is indeed wearing the outfit right now under her regular clothes.

Reina shakes her head. "No. Had no idea. You'll have to show me some time. I can't say I ever had the time to learn out to dance. Well... I mean, I guess the stuff I learned for superheroing is kind of like dancing? Ish? Not really. But at least I can throw a punch if I need to." Which is more than the other Reins! "So are you good with swords too then? I don't think I've ever seen you with a weapon."

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"I don't commonly see the things you carry around in your hammerspace either." Dena points out as she gestures at Reina's pockets, or at least where her pockets might be. "Assuming you still use one of course. I do and that's where I'm keeping my weapons. The sword is not something I use much these days though. I mean, unless you're Wenomir you don't bring a sword into a gun and/or magic fight. Not unless it's enchanted out of the wazoo that is, which is a project I'm still working on." She grins and holds out her arms. "But I am armed right now, and I don't mean just my literal arms. You just can't see it. Wouldn't be much of an adventurer, retired or otherwise, if I wasn't at all times."

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"You should just steal enchanted swords. People with deep pockets and not a lot of common sense nor skill are usually the ones who make them after all." Easy marks.

Reina stares at Dena for a moment, before bursting with laughter. "Dena. Dear. You have SNAKES on your head. No one's ever going to consider you unarmed and defenseless." Except perhaps, for a mongoose-person. Like an Ermine.

She shakes her head and starts to stand up. "Anyways, was there anything else you needed? Should I show you my costume now or surprise you some time?"

[Zefir]

[Entrance]

Fade just returns from his last mission. His clothes are dirty by what he found in the sewers. He might need to find away to wash his clothes and find some replacements. Usually he wouldn't care, but he noticed that the people around him don't like the smell. He wonders if there re any MERC Uniforms he could lend for the time beeing.

Either way he got something else to do as well. Maybe he can find another member or one of the higher ranking people. He did noticed that his current skills and weapons aren't suited for fights like they had down there. Especially those far away. Who could help him?

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Dena was about to insist that she already had an enchanted sword when Reina brings up the snakes on her head. She looks almost annoyed at first but then she laughs along, if somewhat less enthusiastically. "They're hardly practical as weapons, y'know?" Nor was her gaze, too much chance of collateral damage.

"But yeah, go ahead. Show off that costume of yours. I wanna see if you can beat this gal." She gestures at the news article, or at least the one that should have been there as her phone entered screensaving mode a long time ago.

[Purple Eagle]

[Fairy Investigation]

"You're looking pretty good too. I like a sharp-dressed man," Olvisin says as she takes his arm. "Close to the sea? Just like home, then. Lead on."

[Fairy Investigation - Date]

"This way, milady." Chidi says, all gentlemanly, and leads her outside to the car park and towards his car, a navy blue futuristic sports hovercar. He leads her to the passenger seat and helps her in, presumably after she's reacted to the piece of tech that's his car.

And then it's off to Seaside! The trip shouldn't take long by car.

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Everyone sees the practical ones coming! You gotta hit em with flair." Reina winks and then heads for the door. "Right. I'll go change. Be right back."

And she heads out!

A few minutes later, Reina returns. On her face, a strapless blue eye mask that clearly modifies her normally pink eyes into a vibrant gold with a more cat-like appearance. White thigh high boots with sky blue trim rises up before ending with no top to take over, leaving a fair bit of skin showing. Particularly from the side and showing off more of her butt than necessary before the clothing finally resumes with what looks like a modified one piece swimsuit. Obviously the fibers are different, but the look is similar. This too is white, though with a noticeable blue stripe that runs down the middle, a white catpaw stamped in the middle of Reina's chest disrupting the blue line. Her shoulders are bare and this continues to her wrists, where white gloves featuring retractable claws reside. Finally, a strange belt wraps around Reina's waist that looks like its buckle doubles as some kind of button and a few pouches exist, though she rarely if ever uses them.

The cat mom takes a deep breath when she steps in. "Goshhhh, I barely fit in this thing anymore." It does seem to be straining unnecessarily. "If it hadn't been Sarah's insistence on those early morning joint work-outs she's been super into... well I shudder to think. I guess I'd better keep them up, huh?" She can get back to her former size, she swears. Especially now that she's not benched in deadtime.

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Snakes might be the most eye-catching weapon ever though, so they're best for misdirection." Dena points out before Reina disappears for what she hopes is one of the public bathrooms around the base. She'd let the cat-mom borrow hers but it was in her living quarters and she didn't like anyone else in there.

Once she returns Dena let's out a whistle. "Wow, not bad." She observes while taking a good look at the design. "And honestly, you're in great shape after being a mom for so long. Without a clan to help out I don't know how most people manage children and everything else at the same time. But as good as it looks, wouldn't you say that it's at least on theme for this lady's costume?" Dena gestures at her phone. "Though I guess you do have those pounches. What kind of equipment do you got in those?" She gestures at the pockets in Reina's belt.

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Misdirection shouldn't be underestimated!

"Thanks," Reina says, turning around to show off her butt, like all catgirls do, before completing the full turn.

"On... theme?" Reina's not quite sure what Dena's getting at. "Uhh... her theme seems to be archery and water. I don't think that's a matching theme at all." Reina looks down at her own costume, still confused. "I guess the blue...?"

She's not seeing it. Instead she focuses on the belt and pops the pouches open. "Absolutely nothing at the moment. Sometimes I'll put stuff in there just in case something happens where I can't get my hammerspace. Like, uh, something sharp to cut ropes with when my hands are inexplicably tied. Or lockpicks. I don't really have many gadgets like the Gizmook did. Might be worth investing into." Cat cuffs are a must.

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Like the misdirection of showing off your butt? Dena certainly had no idea catgirls had an inherit voyeuristic streak like that. "I mean..." She waves her hand. "...general superhero sexiness. Not that the costumes are similar in other ways. They're flashy and eye catching rather than discrete and practical."

She eyes the pouches as Reina opens them up. "But as I said, you do have some spare practical spaces ther-" The gorgon pauses, her eyebrow raises. "Wait, where's your hammerspace then if not in your pockets? Can you pull stuff out of thin air or something?"

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Didn't Reina already describe how Rein mooned Magtok with a lot of Reins? Cats have a need and they will fulfill it.

"Whooa, hold up. What's this about not being practical? It's actually exceptionally important to stand out when you're fighting crime. It helps the civilians trust your instructions and it keeps the police from mistaking you for one of the criminals and shooting you on sight. All the superheroes who go with super dark themes and 'blend' in ALWAYS get shot at by law enforcement at some point. Always. Sometimes the good ones survive."

There is some important value in being colorful. Not all crime fighting requires skulking around in the shadows.

Reina flicks her hand and a pouch of coins shows up there. "Yeah. I've always done it out of thin air. Oh. I guess all the Reins have a habit of reaching for a pocket to pull stuff out. That's a misdirection. Always has been." The jacket is a lie. "Remember, I used to only be an Alikil- err, cat and I didn't exactly have pockets back then. Granted, the stuff has to actually be in that hammerspace dimension we have set up. I'm not physically creating anything new."

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"There is that." Dena admits. "And as I was about to say, we might have something in common there." But as Reina summons gold coins out of thin air the doesn't clarify this statement right away.
"That's... wow, that's very useful. So you all share one space that only you can interact with? Can you put anything there or is there some kind of limit?" Sounded like this could be abused in so many ways.

[5a Violista]

[=]

A totally-not-a-succubus half-elf with silver hair strolls up to a MERC office. She goes by Carmen.

Took her long enough.

Someone recommended to her that she come here.
She approaches, knocks, enters, looks for paperwork to do, or anything else.

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Sorta. It's more like we all know the key to accessing it. But it's not like it's running out of room any time soon."

Right?

Reina shakes her head. "There's an ambiguous weight and size limit. Basically if I can't easily hold it with two hands, it won't go. I don't think you could put anything living in there either."

Least of all because of the probable lack of air. But Rein's never actually tried simply because of the huge risk.

"Also, anything that's too powerful magic wise we choose not to put in there either. Not only could it hypothetically mess with the hammerspace itself, but the last thing we need is some doom entity tearing apart our dimension for some death staff or void rock. We'd rather fight for it on this plane than risk having to recover and reorganize everything." It's just common sense that you never put the plot devices in the hammer space.

[Gullara]

[Lunch Time]

One day at noon Valerie comes into the office space, and a moment later Leis has a smiling face peaking into her cubicle. "Hey Leis, you taking lunch now?"

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Uh-huh." Dena admittedly didn't consider world-ending entities when she used her own hammerspace. But unlike Rein's endless void it did have some space limitations so she didn't believe any of those existed in there.

It was also probably a lot more cozy.

"Wish I had something like that. But alas, not all of us are born with magic. Though over here you can pretty much get technological replacements for all that, no?" Her eyebrows raise. "Speaking of which, I was about to say earlier that superheroes and adventurers, like me, got a lot in common. Both usually act outside the law, use a lot of violence, and have a spectactual sense of fashion. My armor might not show, ah, that much of the goods but it's extremely fashionable if I may say so."

[Arkhosia]

[Lunch Time]

One day at noon Valerie comes into the office space, and a moment later Leis has a smiling face peaking into her cubicle. "Hey Leis, you taking lunch now?"

Lunch Time

Leis looks up from the book she's reading, some manner of romance novel judging from the book. "Oh, yeah! Why do you ask?" She asks rather good-naturedly with a smile.

[Gullara]

[Lunch Time]

"Well I was wondering if you brought a lunch? Maybe you wanna sit with me in the kitchen and we can chat." She suggests.

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Whaddya mean born with?" Reina shakes her head. "This is a system Calublufiok set up." Any mundane person can have their own hammerspace if they get an evil space lich to make it for them.

"Uhh..." The catgirl doesn't look particularly convinced by Dena's comparisons. "The differences in motivation are pretty substantial. I don't think they compare well at all."

Reina scratches at the back of her ear awkwardly, blushing a little. "Can't argue that you look really good in your armor though. To be fair to the armor, your figure could pull off any outfit I suspect and still leave everyone dazzled."

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Oh, I assumed it was, eh, fey stuff. Admittedly, I should do more research into Calublufiok considering his linger influence on the nexus. I didn't even know you had connections to him." Dena shrugs sheepishly.
"I will insist on the comparison though. More adventurers just happen to be anti-heroes or super-villains than actual heroes, but there's plenty of those too." She was mostly in it for the riches though but Reina doesn't need to know that and probably suspected so anyway.
But the next topic makes her grin, her fangs suddenly being put at display. "Now what are you after with such flattery?" She teases as she runs her hands throgh the snakes which make up her hair. "An early promotion perhaps? You did do a pretty good job today..."

[Morty]

[Inside Office]

[=]

A totally-not-a-succubus half-elf with silver hair strolls up to a MERC office. She goes by Carmen.

Took her long enough.

Someone recommended to her that she come here.
She approaches, knocks, enters, looks for paperwork to do, or anything else.

The front desk in the Inside MERC office is being manned by a large four-eyed person in a smart, but simple military-style shirt.

"How may MERC help you?" she asks.

[Reinholdt]

[But the Cat Came Back]

Reina blinked. She... didn't know that? Reina thought everyone who knew about Calublufiok knew of Rein's assistance in his cause. Championing it even, for different reasons perhaps, but the results were the same. Perhaps things were that separated from those days. Only Magtok and maybe Wenomir really remembered.

"Ehh... Adventurer is too broad a term to begin with. What's that even mean? Goes on adventures? Going to the grocery store is an adventure." It's too catch-all!

Invincibelle pauses for a moment. "There are promotions to be had? From what to what? I-I'm not ready..." This unknown promotion is too much responsibility! "But I simply tell the truth is all. It's best to be honest with beautiful women." Sage advice from a superhero. You can trust her!

[5a Violista]

[Inside Office]

Carmen only has two eyes, so she finds it hard to tell which of the eyes to focus on when she talks.

"Oh! Hi. Um...well, so, someone recommended I speak to MERC about this, about..."

Feeling that she is completely stumbing over her words, Carmen stops and takes a deep breath to start over. "So. Missing person report, that I want to find out where she is and if she's still alive. 'Why not talk to the police?' you're probably thinking, and, well, that's because she went missing several hundred years ago. And I'm only doing it now 'cause I've been, um...incarcerated this whole time. Haven't seen her since then."

Having gotten through all of that without stumbling over all her words, Carmen sighs in relief.

"So, um, what sort of information do you need? Or whst kinds of things do I need to do?"

[Shadowcaller]

[But the Cat Came Back]

"Ehh, it had a more specific meaning back where I'm from. Of course, the term isn't quite the same but that's nexus language for you." Dena waves her hand dismissively.
"And I'm just joshing with you, Reina. I wouldn't promote people over compliments but I wasn't lying about your performance either. Not that compliments like that will hurt your standing here." Dena grins again and gestures to Reina. "But speaking of beautiful ladies. You wouldn't be able to send a message to your, ah, Rein-collective would you? I still feel I owe you guys an apology for all that business back in MagGlog all those years ago. I wasn't used to the nexus yet back then so I probably came off as pretty ignorant. So I'd be nice if I could tell all of you that I'm sorry somehow.