It was a simple thing, really: thick, creamy paper, engraved with a bit of good news. It was also trouble, and Mace Mac Hine knew trouble.
To be fair, he did not know that it was going to set off a chain of events when it was discovered by one of his "Teammates" in the Infamous after he dropped it. Especially since he had no intention of doing so. Heavy injuries from a battle with the Marcone Family after it was delivered to him made his intentions moot.
The innocent little paper sat wedged behind the medical pod in the Infamous' Super Base, its message waiting for the next person to pick it up:
THE Mac Hine and Emily Nagurski Heisman
Are pleased to announce the upcoming nuptials
of their respective children
Minuet Mac Hine
and
Orenthal Bronko Heisman
Mother Meyai hummed to herself as she danced the upright vacuum cleaner about the Super Base. Simply because the base was a former warehouse did not mean that it should remain filthy! She finished tidying up the control center and glided into the medical center, her stiletto heels clicking in syncopated rythym.
Except for that affectation, she was the very image of a domestic goddess. Her somewhat dowdy red and white dress encased a figure that supermodels would kill for, and red hair cascaded in a demure style that framed her symmetrical features and alabaster skin. Lightly tinted glasses framed her clear blue eyes, and bright yellow rubber gloves protected her slender fingers and their expensive manicure from the vagaries of housework.
She dusted the dispensary and cleaned the countertops. She scrubbed the bloodstains from the "interrogation" equipment and placed the specimen jars from that unfortunate Council Archon who had entertained the Infamous last week in the appropriate place.
"Such a clean room!" she squealed to herself. "My Obie will love me again when he sees how well I keep house!" She set her mind running along its well-worn tracks. Sure, her boyfriend hadn't gotten into Aeon University like he wanted and had to attend some lesser college, but she had made it in and gotten her psych degree. Her boyfriend had become a hero in Paragon City, like his bitch of a sister, and went by the sobriquet of Wide Receiver.
Meyai, on the other hand, had been sent to the Zig for that sorority party where she had claimed the Medean mantle from the previous house mother.
"The poor dears deserved to die, anyway," she said. "They were planning to take my Obie away from me!" She finished her top-down inspection of the medical reclamation unit and found a slip of paper. Curious, she opened it and began to read...
A scream of inarticulate rage split the night in Cap au Diable.
The room was overly ornate for the purpose for which it was being used, but since the other occupant in the room could not partake of the tea, the ceremony was largely for show. Of course, Ghost Widow was not performing it properly since she wasn't Japanese, but Lady Nogitsune appreciated the effort anyway.
After she finished the tea and said the proper things, Nogitsune decided to speak her mind.
"Ghost Widow-dono, to what does this one owe the singular honor of you performing a tea ceremony?" she asked in a voice that flowed like honey.
"My Fortunatas have determined that the chance of Project Destiny's success can be increased by two of the other Destined if we nudge upcoming events in the favor of one of them," the spectral entity replied. "Despite our falling out a few weeks ago, you have proven yourself equal to the task we would set before you."
Nogitsune frowned by a millimeter. The so-called "Villains" of the Rogue Isles were often too direct for her liking. But Ghost Widow could be forgiven, since she was one of the dead. "What is this task you would have this one accomplish?"
"Lord Recluse has authorized a payment of several hundred million yen if you should lackey Mother Meyai for her next trip into Paragon City. The normal restrictions Arachnos places on activities there would be lowered for both you and her."
Nogitsune nodded thoughtfully. There were several projects of hers that could be accomplished with those funds and perks. "Very well, Ghost Widow-dono. What is this one to do for her?"
A Night Widow stepped from the shadows and placed a GPS unit in front of Lady Nogitsune.
"You merely need to bolster her strength," Ghost Widow said. "You need not participate in her scheme, but you are not to interfere in any way until she is returned to the Rogue Isles."
Nogitsune rose from her kneeling position in a fluid motion that quickened the breathing of the Night Widow. "This one shall do as you have requested. As our business is concluded... Sayonara." She walked from the room with calculated grace and smiled to herself as a musky scent wafted through the air from the Night Widow. She now had a potential lover/quisling in Ghost Widow's organization again. How... convenient.
Hopefully she would not have to stay with Mother Meyai for long. She found her presence jarring.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
To be fair, he did not know that it was going to set off a chain of events when it was discovered by one of his "Teammates" in the Infamous after he dropped it. Especially since he had no intention of doing so. Heavy injuries from a battle with the Marcone Family after it was delivered to him made his intentions moot.
The innocent little paper sat wedged behind the medical pod in the Infamous' Super Base, its message waiting for the next person to pick it up:
THE Mac Hine and Emily Nagurski Heisman
Are pleased to announce the upcoming nuptials
of their respective children
Minuet Mac Hine
and
Orenthal Bronko Heisman
Mother Meyai hummed to herself as she danced the upright vacuum cleaner about the Super Base. Simply because the base was a former warehouse did not mean that it should remain filthy! She finished tidying up the control center and glided into the medical center, her stiletto heels clicking in syncopated rythym.
Except for that affectation, she was the very image of a domestic goddess. Her somewhat dowdy red and white dress encased a figure that supermodels would kill for, and red hair cascaded in a demure style that framed her symmetrical features and alabaster skin. Lightly tinted glasses framed her clear blue eyes, and bright yellow rubber gloves protected her slender fingers and their expensive manicure from the vagaries of housework.
She dusted the dispensary and cleaned the countertops. She scrubbed the bloodstains from the "interrogation" equipment and placed the specimen jars from that unfortunate Council Archon who had entertained the Infamous last week in the appropriate place.
"Such a clean room!" she squealed to herself. "My Obie will love me again when he sees how well I keep house!" She set her mind running along its well-worn tracks. Sure, her boyfriend hadn't gotten into Aeon University like he wanted and had to attend some lesser college, but she had made it in and gotten her psych degree. Her boyfriend had become a hero in Paragon City, like his bitch of a sister, and went by the sobriquet of Wide Receiver.
Meyai, on the other hand, had been sent to the Zig for that sorority party where she had claimed the Medean mantle from the previous house mother.
"The poor dears deserved to die, anyway," she said. "They were planning to take my Obie away from me!" She finished her top-down inspection of the medical reclamation unit and found a slip of paper. Curious, she opened it and began to read...
A scream of inarticulate rage split the night in Cap au Diable.
The room was overly ornate for the purpose for which it was being used, but since the other occupant in the room could not partake of the tea, the ceremony was largely for show. Of course, Ghost Widow was not performing it properly since she wasn't Japanese, but Lady Nogitsune appreciated the effort anyway.
After she finished the tea and said the proper things, Nogitsune decided to speak her mind.
"Ghost Widow-dono, to what does this one owe the singular honor of you performing a tea ceremony?" she asked in a voice that flowed like honey.
"My Fortunatas have determined that the chance of Project Destiny's success can be increased by two of the other Destined if we nudge upcoming events in the favor of one of them," the spectral entity replied. "Despite our falling out a few weeks ago, you have proven yourself equal to the task we would set before you."
Nogitsune frowned by a millimeter. The so-called "Villains" of the Rogue Isles were often too direct for her liking. But Ghost Widow could be forgiven, since she was one of the dead. "What is this task you would have this one accomplish?"
"Lord Recluse has authorized a payment of several hundred million yen if you should lackey Mother Meyai for her next trip into Paragon City. The normal restrictions Arachnos places on activities there would be lowered for both you and her."
Nogitsune nodded thoughtfully. There were several projects of hers that could be accomplished with those funds and perks. "Very well, Ghost Widow-dono. What is this one to do for her?"
A Night Widow stepped from the shadows and placed a GPS unit in front of Lady Nogitsune.
"You merely need to bolster her strength," Ghost Widow said. "You need not participate in her scheme, but you are not to interfere in any way until she is returned to the Rogue Isles."
Nogitsune rose from her kneeling position in a fluid motion that quickened the breathing of the Night Widow. "This one shall do as you have requested. As our business is concluded... Sayonara." She walked from the room with calculated grace and smiled to herself as a musky scent wafted through the air from the Night Widow. She now had a potential lover/quisling in Ghost Widow's organization again. How... convenient.
Hopefully she would not have to stay with Mother Meyai for long. She found her presence jarring.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
![[Image: devil.gif]](http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/devil.gif)
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will RogersGlobal: @Jimmy Amp
