***
"God DAMMIT!" came the annoyed growl. Nene Romanova paused, paused the video she was watching, and wandered down to Leons office, watching as a
manila folder was tossed across the room, papers scattering in a variety of interesting directions.
"Well, it seems that you're making progress on whatever case that is," she said dryly.
The detective slumped back into his chair, not even giving her an annoyed look. "It's the damn Yarnball case again," he grumbled. "None of
it makes any damn sense at all." He gestured at the papers on the floor. "That just came from MAGI. They swear there's no magic involved in this
crap."
Nene raised an eyebrow. "Okay... so, some terrifyingly advanced nanotechnology or something?"
"DATA says otherwise," he grumbled. "They're saying it's a white powder. And you know what's even better?" Nene tilted her head
to the side, waiting. "It's chemically inert. It's no more a narcotic then talcum powder."
The computer genius raised an eyebrow. "... Have they seen Robin lately?" she asked.
"Yeah, there's no way in hell that body could be the result of hidden drugs and toxins," Leon replied, eyes unfocused for a moment. Nene
suppressed a slight smirk, before he snapped back to reality. "There is basically no way to explain how Yarnball can act as a powerful narcotic for
catgirls..."
"And turn other people into catgirls," Nene finished for him.
"Bingo," he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Even by this citys standards, it doesn't make any sense... and what the hell would the
Family do with a horde of drugged out catgirls anyway?" he asked. "Half of them were so out of their damn minds they couldn't do anything. Sure
as hell couldn't pay the Family for their fixes for long."
"A short term money grab?" Nene frowned, but she was already shaking her head as she said it. "Whatever the secret of this stuff is, it must
have cost a lot in money and hours. Even reinvesting that into Dyne research..."
"What if it was a failure?" Leon wondered, eyes gleaming. "They made something they don't really understand or control, and there's no
real profit in it. The Family never toss something aside if they can help it." He stood up and went to retrieve the papers.
"So they release it onto the streets?" Nene replied. "What good would that do them..." her voice trailed off as Leon held up the paperwork
with a smirk. "Ohhh..."
"Research and development of countermeasures, investigation, attempted vaccinations of officers and heroes at risk of exposure, stopping shipments,
hitting labs... All pulled away from other police and hero investigations," Leon said.
"And it would happen, because people freak out," Nene continued. "Word leaks out that if you mess with the family, they won't just kill you,
they'll change you. Transform you into a catgirl so hooked on their crap that you'll do whatever they want..."
"And the PPD busted a Family run catgirl brothel last week," Leon pointed out. "Which they don't think was actually running a profit, but
it's very existence gives their enemies a mental image of a fate worse then death. Some people might be willing to wear cement shoes, it's over
relatively fast, but this... This is slow, prolonged torture."
The redhead paused. "Are we in a Nemesis plot here?" she considered.
"The term isn't recognized as a trademark anymore," Leon replied, so caught up in the subject matter, he was able to banter with Nene without
ending up on the defensive. "So, intimidation, distraction, general scare tactics... Depending on how much it's costing them to make, this might
actually be saving them money compared to time and effort in sending goons out for conventional violence..."
Nene paused, then motioned for him to follow her. Curious, Leon did as he was told, as the young woman returned to her own desk, then opened an FTP program and
started searching. "Okay, all the Family bosses captured and questioned about this say its coming from the Rogue Isles, right?" she said. Leon
nodded. "While the Family is mostly unified over here, over there the Marcones and Mooks are in all out war at the moment."
"Again," Leon noted dryly.
"Of course," Nene said. "But here's the thing... there's nothing in the Rippers records, or the Arachnos Civil Security Divisions for
that matter, about a sudden upswing in catgirls in Port Oakes."
Detective McNichol paused. "... How did you get access to those?"
"Rippers don't waste money on security, and Longbow takes their job seriously," Nene replied casually. "Now, maybe it's just me, but
Emil and Guido seem like the sort of brutal thugs that would love to use this on each other."
"It's not just you," Leon agreed, frowning and looking over the files Nene was opening. "Neither or them has the Yarnball... then where the
hell is it coming from?" he wondered.
***
"God DAMMIT!" came the annoyed growl. Nene Romanova paused, paused the video she was watching, and wandered down to Leons office, watching as a
manila folder was tossed across the room, papers scattering in a variety of interesting directions.
"Well, it seems that you're making progress on whatever case that is," she said dryly.
The detective slumped back into his chair, not even giving her an annoyed look. "It's the damn Yarnball case again," he grumbled. "None of
it makes any damn sense at all." He gestured at the papers on the floor. "That just came from MAGI. They swear there's no magic involved in this
crap."
Nene raised an eyebrow. "Okay... so, some terrifyingly advanced nanotechnology or something?"
"DATA says otherwise," he grumbled. "They're saying it's a white powder. And you know what's even better?" Nene tilted her head
to the side, waiting. "It's chemically inert. It's no more a narcotic then talcum powder."
The computer genius raised an eyebrow. "... Have they seen Robin lately?" she asked.
"Yeah, there's no way in hell that body could be the result of hidden drugs and toxins," Leon replied, eyes unfocused for a moment. Nene
suppressed a slight smirk, before he snapped back to reality. "There is basically no way to explain how Yarnball can act as a powerful narcotic for
catgirls..."
"And turn other people into catgirls," Nene finished for him.
"Bingo," he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Even by this citys standards, it doesn't make any sense... and what the hell would the
Family do with a horde of drugged out catgirls anyway?" he asked. "Half of them were so out of their damn minds they couldn't do anything. Sure
as hell couldn't pay the Family for their fixes for long."
"A short term money grab?" Nene frowned, but she was already shaking her head as she said it. "Whatever the secret of this stuff is, it must
have cost a lot in money and hours. Even reinvesting that into Dyne research..."
"What if it was a failure?" Leon wondered, eyes gleaming. "They made something they don't really understand or control, and there's no
real profit in it. The Family never toss something aside if they can help it." He stood up and went to retrieve the papers.
"So they release it onto the streets?" Nene replied. "What good would that do them..." her voice trailed off as Leon held up the paperwork
with a smirk. "Ohhh..."
"Research and development of countermeasures, investigation, attempted vaccinations of officers and heroes at risk of exposure, stopping shipments,
hitting labs... All pulled away from other police and hero investigations," Leon said.
"And it would happen, because people freak out," Nene continued. "Word leaks out that if you mess with the family, they won't just kill you,
they'll change you. Transform you into a catgirl so hooked on their crap that you'll do whatever they want..."
"And the PPD busted a Family run catgirl brothel last week," Leon pointed out. "Which they don't think was actually running a profit, but
it's very existence gives their enemies a mental image of a fate worse then death. Some people might be willing to wear cement shoes, it's over
relatively fast, but this... This is slow, prolonged torture."
The redhead paused. "Are we in a Nemesis plot here?" she considered.
"The term isn't recognized as a trademark anymore," Leon replied, so caught up in the subject matter, he was able to banter with Nene without
ending up on the defensive. "So, intimidation, distraction, general scare tactics... Depending on how much it's costing them to make, this might
actually be saving them money compared to time and effort in sending goons out for conventional violence..."
Nene paused, then motioned for him to follow her. Curious, Leon did as he was told, as the young woman returned to her own desk, then opened an FTP program and
started searching. "Okay, all the Family bosses captured and questioned about this say its coming from the Rogue Isles, right?" she said. Leon
nodded. "While the Family is mostly unified over here, over there the Marcones and Mooks are in all out war at the moment."
"Again," Leon noted dryly.
"Of course," Nene said. "But here's the thing... there's nothing in the Rippers records, or the Arachnos Civil Security Divisions for
that matter, about a sudden upswing in catgirls in Port Oakes."
Detective McNichol paused. "... How did you get access to those?"
"Rippers don't waste money on security, and Longbow takes their job seriously," Nene replied casually. "Now, maybe it's just me, but
Emil and Guido seem like the sort of brutal thugs that would love to use this on each other."
"It's not just you," Leon agreed, frowning and looking over the files Nene was opening. "Neither or them has the Yarnball... then where the
hell is it coming from?" he wondered.
***