B2 — 18. Troublemaker

Rachel frowned as Fiona left, and a conversation made her ears twitch nervously; the Succubus had slipped her escort on the way to the bathroom.

“Oh, and what is your name?”

“T-Tom … are—you supposed to be out on your…”

“No, no—of course not, I mean, I’m so dangerous,” Maëlle teased; there were a few mutters as people noted that she’d touched his arm, but no one intervened.  “Look at these slim muscles; although, I do have rather tone legs, don’t you think? I could do some real damage, right?” She giggled.

Tom cleared his throat, tone nervous.  “I—um … where were you going?”

“I was going to freshen up; I heard Julia mention something about a Mythickin meetup.  Have you heard anything about that?”

“Uh,” Tom clicked his tongue.  “Yeah—I guess.”

“So, it’s true!”  Maëlle breathed a sigh of relief.  “I was hoping to meet more; after hearing about the Incubus Mythickin and some rumors about a few others coming in last night, I was beginning to feel less lonely.  By the way, Tommy, what do you do here?”

A few of the female office workers that were lingering mumbled about him not liking that pet name, their tones smug.

“Tommy?”  He muttered.  “I,” he cleared his throat, tone deepening, “I’m a Supervisory Special Agent in charge of a group here in the Florida district.”

“That’s wonderful,” she clapped her hands.  “I’m Maëlle; it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she paused for a moment.  The sound that followed made Rachel’s brow furrow; the shocked responses of the people in the hallway confirmed it.  She’d kissed him on both cheeks, and French was thrown around a few whispers.

“I-it’s my pleasure,” Tom mumbled.  “I umm—I’m married.”

She paused for a moment.  “I see—that’s a beautiful wedding band; can I see?  Hmm … white gold, and what are these symbols around it?”

Tom cleared his throat.  “Uh—Celtic—Celtic knots … my wife really likes history.”

“How fun,” Maëlle giggled.  “You should tell me more about her while we walk; you can guide me to that meeting.  I am a Mythickin, after all. I think I’ll be the last one there, but being fashionably late is fun too.”

“Uh—yeah, I guess,” he hesitated before walking down the hall with her.  “My wife’s name is Amara…”

He paused as Sherry, the Special Agent assigned to Maëlle, caught up; she was out of breath.  “H-hey … you—aren’t … Tom? A-are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Tom said dismissively.  “You were supposed to be with her,” Special Agent Sherry.  That was careless.”

“I—I know, but … I just turned away for a second.”  She muttered, but Tom cut her off.  

“Anyways, there’s a meeting between the Mythickin happening on the third floor.  I’ll escort her there.”

“A-are you sure?  Didn’t—David said…”

“Yes, I know what David said, but you’ve already made a mess of the situation.  I’ll take care of it from here.”

“But…”

“That’s enough, Special Agent Sherry.”  Tom’s tone turned harsh.

“Oh, Tommy,” Maëlle said with concern.  “Don’t be too hard on her; it was my fault.  I just grew so curious and wandered off without looking to see if she was with me … I can get distracted when I see handsome men.”  She giggled.

“T-Tommy?”  Sherry asked in horror.

“Handsome?”  Tom cleared his throat.  “Right, well,” he scratched the back of his head, letting go of a soft sigh.  “I suppose accidents happen. Alright, Sherry, go report to Darik. He’ll assign you to a new post.”

“B-but…”

“Did I stutter, or are you disobeying a direct order?”

“No…”  Sherry meekly replied, hesitantly retreating down the hall before calling David.

Rachel kept track of the situation as she greeted Kyle, trying to smooth over Maria’s statement and Scarlet’s embarrassing exit. 

“I’m sorry for barging in like this, Kyle.  My name is Rachel, and yes, we are Mythickin.  Please forgive my friend’s statement; we’re here to discuss your abilities with you.  Perhaps we can help.”

He latched onto her latter statement, forgetting all about the strange entrance they’d made.  “You—you’re serious? You can help me?” He asked, tears forming in his eyes. “This has been—it’s been a nightmare.  Do you know why this is happening?”

Rachel shook her head.  “It would be best if we sat down to discuss it; I can tell you some of what we know, and we can try to find a way to help you solve what’s troubling you.  Would this room be appropriate?”

Kyle cleared his throat, wiping back the tears that threatened to leave his eyes.  “Yeah—yeah, wherever you like.”

Rachel motioned to Bree, Serah, and Mick, the Special Agent assigned to Kyle.  “We can pull up some chairs around the couch.”

“Well,” Mick smirked.  “That was quite the entrance?  Are you sure your friend wasn’t affected?”

“Oh, was—was that my fault?”  Kyle asked with concern.

“Na…”  Maria began, but Rachel cut her off.

“No, absolutely not, Kyle.  It was Maria’s fault; I understand that you don’t wish to be the lady killer your abilities have made you.  Is that right?”

“Umm—yeah, I don’t like it.  I don’t want to hurt girls or—or force them to like me.  It’s been … stressful, to say the least,” a humorless chuckle close to his lips.

“I’d like to talk about your abilities, but before that, there’s a situation brewing on the floor above us.  Bree, could you call David and let me talk to him?”

“Yeah,” Bree quickly pulled out her phone, immediately calling the contact.  “What’s going on?” She asked, handing her the device.

“You’ll find out in a moment,” she paused as David answered.

“Something wrong, Bailey?”

“David, it’s Rachel; there’s a slight problem.”

“Give me a moment … I’ll be right back,” he said to another person.  After a short pause, she heard him move away from talking to a group of agents, closing the door to an empty room.  “What’s going on? Is it serious?”

“I’m not completely sure,” Rachel sighed.  “Maëlle’s found her way to one of your Supervisory Special Agents, Tom.”

“Shit … do you think she has malicious intent?  What happened to Sherry? I believe she was last assigned to Maëlle.”

“Malicious intent, I don’t know, but Tom sent Sherry off to get a new assignment from Darik.  Maëlle seems to have heard a rumor that we were meeting with Kyle and wanted to join us. I think the wise move would be to allow it; we can handle her if things get out of hand.”

“That seems like the best decision; thanks for all the support you’ve been giving us, Rachel.  Do you still want me to send you the people that were initially infected? Maria handled a few cases before, but I have received reports about some people asking about her whereabouts, wanting to meet up with her.”

Rachel hesitated for a second.

That could be a dangerous move, but how dangerous could it be?  She could have abilities like Maria, that center around how many people are under her influence in an area.  Any physical actions ordinary people could take isn’t that big of a deal for us, besides hostages, and Maria could instantly cut her connection to them, but who knows how strong she is.

I don’t sense any ill intent with her voice, but … that’s a troubling aspect, too.  She’s way too casual and upbeat. It’s like she’s totally in her element, almost like she’s embraced this change … kind of like Relica.  That doesn’t make her bad, but it could present its own problems. If it’s hormone-based, than she’d probably need direct contact to manipulate people; it’s not like Relica’s mind control abilities … at least, I don’t believe that’s a likely case; it is still a possibility.

Sending them here to receive treatment might be the best case; if there are enemies or hostages, then it’s best to have them close.  If they’re within reach of Maria’s light, then it’s problem solved.

Does she have malicious intent, though?  What would she gain from showing up? I don’t think she knows we’re all female; she could be after strong slaves for the worst-case scenario.  She does know about Kyle … could he be her primary target? I don’t know what kind of relationship is between Succubus and Incubus, but it could be a hostile one or even an attraction.  I haven’t heard them connected in any way. She could just be curious, but it’s best if I’m prepared for a fight.

After weighing some of the options, Rachel said, “I think it would be best to keep any potential hostages or enemies close.  She might just be curious about other Mythickin; she’s indicated that in her responses, but … there’s something about her tone of voice that’s throwing me off.”

“Such as?”

“I can’t place my finger on it; it’s almost too natural, but there’s something more.  I can tell a lot of things about how someone talks, but there’s something unique about her voice.  The subtle emotion in voices is hard to mask; give me time with her, and I can give you a more definite answer.”

“I’ll take your advice and pass down the information to the other agents.”

“It might be good to call Tom, the agent, not the general, and give him instructions, as well.”

“Oh?”

“I suspect that she made him more accepting with her aura; he was quick to trust her.  Ask him to take her to us, and when he says he’s already on top of it, praise him. Maria can purify him once he’s here.”

“It seems like a reasonable plan … alright, I’ll relay the message.”

Rachel hung up, handing the phone back to Bree.  “Thanks.”

Mick was shifting uncomfortably, glancing back at the door.  “The Succubus is coming here, eh?”

“Yes,” Rachel replied, moving a chair by the couch Maria was in.  Sitting down, she waited for everyone else to get comfortable. “It shouldn’t be long until she’s here; Maria, how much energy do you have?”

Maria folded her arms and crossed her legs.  “Uh—fifty-six percent; I healed a ton during the day.”

Bree directed a smile at her, sitting with Serah.  “Thank you.”

“I told you, it’s nothin’,” Maria mumbled, looking away.

“Fifty-six percent,” Rachel’s tone was low, placing her hands in her lap.  “Do you think you can be near a hundred by tomorrow night?”

Maria’s lips pursed into a grimace.  “Maybe … it depends on how much I do tonight and in the morning, especially tonight.”

Serah, Bree, Mick, and Kyle seemed confused at her reply.

Rachel nodded with a slight frown.

If there’s a serious incident sometime within the next twenty-four hours, Maria might need to take action; however, Tom would rather prioritize her saving energy for the Montana operation.  Even if it were a few thousand hurt around us, that pales in comparison to the threat of a hundred-thousand people. Not helping could put stress on Maria and our relationship we’re building with the FBI.

It’s not like David and Ruth wouldn’t understand why we aren’t helping, but the problem would be the other agents.  The news that we refused to help thousands of injured would be pretty bad for our overall reputation, and since the OP won’t be made public knowledge, it could really put a strain on our public image.

It would be worse if it happened outdoors, given that Maria’s healing is diminished in moonlight.  That’s such a negative aspect to our group synergy. Although, it does help having someone that can operate during night and morning.  There are pros and cons to that stipulation, and it’s not like she can’t heal in moonlight.

A big threat would be Maëlle’s goals; if she’s embraced her Succubus nature and just wants to go after guys, then it would be a problem for the FBI, and in turn, a problem for us since Maria is the only one that can counter her.

Kyle was shifting a little in his seat, vision sliding between Maria and her.

This Incubus … I could learn a lot about Maëlle’s abilities through him.  It might not be the same, but there’s bound to be similarities. He appears to be the nervous type, and he doesn’t seem to like his new abilities.  However, just like us, minds can change over time. He could be hiding his true desires behind a mask to fool the FBI into letting him go free, but that’s a bit of a stretch given how his abilities affect the public.  It is a complicated situation.

Her ears shifted a little, following Maëlle and her escort taking the elevator; David had just started spreading the news about her joining their group.  Out of mild interest, she turned into Anthony’s room, across the fourth floor. He seemed to be getting ready to head to the cafeteria to get food.

First thing’s first, I need to figure out this situation with Maëlle and Kyle.

Her lips lifted into a pleasant smile, only a few seconds passing as she thought.  “Kyle,” she said, turning to face him.

“Erhm—ya?”  He asked, his body stiffening slightly as he stared into her eyes.

“This may sound strange to you, but could you please ask these questions to yourself and tell me the responses you get?”

“I guess…”

“What Trees do you have?”

After a moment, Kyle’s eyes widened.  “I have one Tree, Incubus.”

“Ask yourself what kind of attack skills you have.  You can switch up the question a few times if it doesn’t give you answers.”

Rachel kept her guard up, ready to move at any moment.

He lifted his left hand in shock as his blue fingernails extended three inches, thickening into sharp claws.  “I have … that’s crazy. What about … I can retract them. My tail has something called piercing, too. Does that mean I can turn off my hormones?  Why didn’t I get an answer?”

Rachel’s ears shifted a little; Maëlle turned the corner as Fiona and Scarlet exited the closet.

This is bad; she got here a lot faster than I anticipated.  Tom knows the exact room we’re meeting in, so I should have predicted that he wouldn’t ask for directions; he is a supervisor.  From what I can tell from Kyle’s reactions, they’re genuine. He honestly didn’t know how to use The System. Is he a Mythickin, then?  He could be an Aberationkin.

“Kyle, ask it what Type, Race, and Kind you are.”

Her ears twitched, and her vision shot to the door as Maëlle closed the distance with Fiona and Scarlet; she listened to the sound of Maëlle kissing Scarlet on the cheeks, which didn’t shock her but made her worry.

I’ve already heard others mention she’s French and talk about their customs, but the problem is if its a subtle form of attack.  So far, she hasn’t shown the ability to affect females, but she could have been saving that skill for a golden opportunity. She also sent Tom back, which wasn’t part of the plan.  We won’t know if he was influenced by a skill now; was that planned or just luck on her part?

Maëlle shouldn’t have that many points at her disposal unless she’s somehow gotten an achievement.  She hasn’t been as active as us and should have a lot less experience. If she does have skills, then it should be more base Tree and Racials, similar to my burst of speed and strength when we were going to the hospital.  Her proficiency in those skills could be maxed, possibly in the Rookie stage, if one or two skills are level five.

In any case, she shouldn’t know how powerful Scarlet or Fiona are; I haven’t heard any indication that she’s received any classified information on them or the incident in South Beach.  If she could control Scarlet or Fiona … we’d be in trouble. Scarlet seems flustered, no surprise, given what she’s said about herself.

She listened to Fiona, and Scarlet’s response as Kyle worked through her request.

Scarlet had lost all composure.  “W-w-what—you just—you k-kissed—why’d you…”

“You’re so cute,” Maëlle’s light French tone and heart rhythm held no hint of deception.  “I forget that la bise is not a common thing in America.” She chuckled. “It is a friendly greeting in France, you must forgive me, and is that a wedding dress?  Mes félicitations!”

Fiona chuckled nervously, floating over to Scarlet’s side.  “It’s okay, and, umm—Scarlet’s not getting married.”

“No?”

Scarlet swallowed hard, shaking her head, still trying to comprehend the situation.

“Yeah,” Fiona mumbled.  “Kissing someone out of the blue would catch a lot of Americans off-guard … even be considered sexual harassment.”

“Really,” Maëlle gasped.  “How tragic.”

“T-tragic?”  Scarlet repeated in confusion.

“Of course, a kiss is to show affection and a warm welcome!  It should not be banned; I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t kiss a boy’s pretty cheeks when we meet.  So, you must tell me,” Maëlle said with fervor, closing the distance with Scarlet again. “What is the gown for?”

Scarlet took a deep breath, hands pressed against her chest as she retreated a step.  “I—umm, just—I just wanted to try it.” She mumbled defensively.

“Oh?”  Maëlle hummed, circling Scarlet.  “The blue doesn’t look bad, but … I think a deep rouge would be stunning!  We should go to the Designer District sometime; we’d have so much fun … and the boys,” she giggled.

Rachel’s focus returned to Kyle; it seemed like he was trying to work through a hard to swallow response.  He nervously looked up at her ears before moving back down to her eyes. “I’m—not human anymore—am I?”

She shook her head.  “No. What response did you get?”

Kyle tightly folded his arms together, hunching over as he stared at the ground.  “It said—I’m a Mythickin Type … it’s like—how could this happen? What’s the difference between a Mythickin Type and an Incubus Race?  I don’t—I don’t get it. People said I was a Mythickin, but I didn’t really know what that meant.”

How did they know he was a Mythickin if he didn’t know himself.  I suppose they could have pieced it together if Maëlle told them she was a Mythickin; from the descriptions I’ve gotten, they’re fairly similar in appearance, subtracting the color scheme.  Still, that’s an inaccurate way to determine it.

Rachel folded her legs, leaning back as Scarlet and Fiona retreated toward the room.  “You shouldn’t worry about the differences at this point; it all must be confusing. What is your Kind?

“It says—it says my Kind is Dreamweaver; I’m a Mythckin Dreamweaver Incubus.”

Dreams … now that could be dangerous.  It must be mental based attacks, which means we’d need high resistances to fight against it; perhaps Maria could purify or nullify it herself, but that’s not a guarantee.  It can only be used when we’re sleeping, but everyone needs to rest. He’d be a troublesome foe, depending on what his skills can do. If he’s a Dreamweaver, what’s Maëlle?

She turned toward the door; the three girls entered, Fiona and Scarlet’s expressions pleading for help as Maëlle followed them in.  She looked precisely like Rachel had envisioned from comparing statements and Kyle’s appearance.

Maëlle was a few inches smaller than her, likely five-eight with long legs; she was a full-on drop-dead exotic beauty, yet looked like the definition of innocent.  There was something about the combination that put Rachel on edge.

“Oh—my, how many Mythickin do we have?”  Maëlle said with a slight grin, but her lips fell at the sight of Kyle.  “You…”

Rachel quickly got up, closing the distance in a heartbeat.

Maria’s here, and she’s not stupid; she’ll activate her Diagnosis skill.  I might as well test the waters.

Maëlle took a step back, almost bumping into Scarlet as Rachel fluidly moved toward her; by the time her foot hit the ground, she was offering her hand with a pleasant smile.  She kept her mask as her barbed tail rose like a snake at her side, but it paused as she stopped two feet in front of her.

She acted like she hadn’t seen the defensive gesture.  “Hello, Maëlle, my name is Rachel.”

“I—umm,” she swallowed with a nervous chuckle.  “My—you scared me; you’re so fast!” She giggled, hand pressed to her chest.  “And you know my name?” Her hand extended to take her’s.

Rachel took it, leaning in to kiss both her cheeks; Maëlle returned the gesture with pleasant surprise.  “Do you know me? It feels like you do.”

Taking a step back while releasing her grip, Rachel shook her head, still smiling.  “No, but you could say my ears have been following your every move.”

I don’t feel any different, and Maria hasn’t acted out about anything.  There might be a delay, but so far, she’s just really touchy and open. Her defensive gesture shows she’s not above retaliation, and to react so quickly … her senses are sharp.  At that speed, it would have been easily dealt with, which is likely the fastest she can react since she genuinely felt threatened. Physically, I do see her as a threat.

Maëlle’s lips curved a little with curiosity as she looked up at her slightly bowed ears.  “They’re fuzzy … can I feel them? Please.” She pressed with a bright smile, showing perfect teeth.

“I don’t mind,” Rachel said, bending down a little and folding her ears.

Her touch was soft, skin like silk as she gently rubbed the back of her ears; it was a little more sensitive than Rachel predicted, almost forcing her mask to break.  Hot pulses rippled back to her brain and down her spine. She only handled them for a moment, stepping back with a beaming smile.

“Si doux et moelleux!”  Maëlle squealed. “Thank you, Rachel.”

“Of course,” she said while straightening.

Maria chuckled.  “Really, Rachel? We’re worried about this chica?  I gotta say, she doesn’t look like much.”

Maëlle turned toward her, an innocent smile returning.  “I’m strong, look at this,” she giggled while flexing her left arm, showing little to no muscle.  “Oh, my horns are pretty spiky too! Better watch out.”

“She’s funny,” Maria wheezed.  “Seriously, though; what can you do in a fight, chica? Kiss them to death?”

Rachel repressed a facepalm.  “Maria…”

Maëlle’s eyes narrowed seductively as she licked her glossy pink full lips.  “I could, would you like me to demonstrate? The French way, of course.” She added with an innocent grin.

“French way,” Maria hesitated, working through her offer.  “Maldito pervertido! No, no ... I'm good, damn…”

That got a chuckle out of Fiona and Scarlet, and even the others repressed a grin.

The back of Maëlle’s left hand caressed her soft smile as she tilted her head, pink hair fanning to the side.  “Shame, I was so looking forward to it.”

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