Karma Houdini Tom Matthews, Odell Briggs, Carla Meadows, Cash Tankerson, Rocka Khan, Reginald Piper/Phantom Frog, Texas Tilly, Silver, Dr. Bengali, Pisa, Henrietta, Bureau of Superheroes belong to MojoRover Jenna Ronfouni/Strikira, French Rose, Mistress Milk Maid, Lady Hatcher, Blanc, Noire belong to WolfRider Erin Flaherty/Miracle belongs to SamGwosdz Bryon Walden/Phantom belongs to LeafThornton Miranda Scopes/Laser Vixen co-owned by SamGwosdz and LeafThornton Erica Decker/War Wolf, Spectra, Silverwings belong to Vivavulpes Slipstream, Vesara belong to GameGod210 Kuwanna Moore/Ranger, Gloria Summers/Lady Liberty, Colmaton universe belong to TRAIN Rajput, Aisha Thomas/Lightshow, Joseph Thomas/Combat belong to Jrcarter Gila Monster belongs to Computer Dinosaur All other incidental characters belong to The Canidean Do not copy or steal. All creative rights to the characters, places, and organizations belong to their owners --- The city of Colmaton, California had many claims to fame. For one thing, it was the biggest city in the United States, sprawling over entire counties. It also had the highest concentration of metabeings in America, both registered members of the BOS, and unregistered vigilantes, working in relative harmony thanks to an official truce. Not all of its sources of fame, however, were points of pride for the vast metropolis. Tom Matthews, host of the guilty pleasure show "Superheroes Unmasked", was carefully maintaining his "duck's ass" hairdo while listening to a police radio scanner. Next to him, his long-suffering cameraman, Odell Briggs, sighed at his boss's preening. "Boss, don't you think we should be getting actual news, for once? I mean, three days ago, you nearly broke your nose getting pictures of Miss Fortune after she was forced into a v-kini. Two days ago, some nutcase held you at gunpoint while you were trying to catch another up-skirt shot of Texas Tilly. That night, War Wolf threw you out a window after you messed up her surveillance of a gang. And yesterday, you were trying to catch pictures of Miracle's bottom, and we BOTH got attacked by fire ants! Hasn't it ever occurred to you that your shtick is going to get us killed some day?" "Odell, who cares about that? What matters is that the viewers can't get enough of our coverage! We don't get the big bucks for political rallies and town hall meetings." The jackal grinned at his reflection, stashing his comb away and making a clicking noise with his tongue. "Who cares if we put our butts on the line if we get what they want?" "Actually, Carla Meadows gets paid more, and our numbers have been falling since that incident in Japan..." "Shut up," Tom snapped at the ferret, turning up the volume on the scanner. "I thought I heard something." "...All available units, a [number]-S in progress. Participants are Mistress Milk Maid and an unknown dragon, distinguishing features: nine foot tall, H-cup..." "Money time," Tom shouted, starting up the van. "Not one, but TWO supers with racks that huge? We could get millions of watchers with that, and not just online!" He brought the van into gear, and floored the accelerator, tongue hanging out of his mouth in excitement. Odell clung to the rests of his seat for dear life and closed his eyes. "Tom, you know if the supers don't wind up killing us, your driving will?" "Quiet, I know what I'm doing!" The ferret yelped as the van tilted on two wheels briefly from the sheer g-force generated by a turn. "We have to get there fast, or the fight may be over before we get a single picture! Besides, who gives the paychecks around..." "TOM, LOOK OUT!" Tom gasped as he noticed a squad car pulling out right in front of him. Swerving and slamming on the brakes, he managed to avoid colliding with the policeman - only to slam into the side of a building as the van jumped the curb. The two furs grunted as the air bags inflated and their seat belts tightened, accompanied by a loud crunch. Adding to Odell's humiliation, the squad car pulled up, and a Great Dane wearing dark shades stepped out, observing the scene. "Well, well, well. Tom Matthews. Cash Tankerson should have known you'd crash someday - your reckless driving tickets have been piling up." "This from the guy who's wrecked the most squad cars in Colmaton," Odell mumbled to himself. His neck was sore, but he was pretty sure he was okay. "Tom, you okay?" He looked over, and noticed that Tom wasn't moving, and his face was in a rictus of pain. "TOM?" "My back," he whimpered, "I think I heard my back snap..." "Tom, hold still!" "Cash Tankerson will call an ambulance!" "Odell," Tom grunted, "please..." "I'm here, Tom. What is it?" "Make sure the camera is okay...and try to get some pictures of those two..." --- In the secret underground bunker of Colmaton BOS, the plight of the perverted jackal was the least of anyone's concerns. Several agents were rushing to intervene in the fight. Others, however, were more interested in the new arrival. Stepping out of Ranger's Hummer, a lithe mongoose looked around wide-eyed, while the Bionic Bruin emerged at her side. "Impressed, Indira?" "Very," the mongoose said. "Dr. Bengali's description of this place doesn't do it justice. It's absolutely huge! The entire Indian base could fit in this room alone!" "You're exaggerating," Ranger laughed. "I've visited the Indian BOS, so I would know." As they made their way into the main compound, Indira held up her hand. "Hang on. Better change into my costume." "Oh, well, the women's locker room is..." "Don't worry," Indira said, gripping a large bracelet around her wrist. "This will be quick." In a flash, Indira's tank top and exercise shorts vanished, replaced with a red wrap-around skirt and a revealing top held in place by a ring nestled just below her cleavage. More gold jewelry appeared around her wrists, ankles, and neck, accompanied by a fine circlet that dangled a gem in the center of her forehead. Completing the outfit was a simple red mask that concealed her identity, and short red boots. "Didn't realize you could make your costume appear." "I can't," Indira giggled. "It's something our tech-heads over in India came up with. It's encoded to my fingerprints, and swaps my clothes out with my costume. We call it a quantum costume interchanger." "An interesting trick," Ranger said with a smile. "I bet a lot of the female agents would appreciate being able to have one of those. Well, here's the rec room." Inside, a pair of vixens were playing ping-pong, while a bear was working on a crossword puzzle with intense concentration. A blindfolded panther hovered in a corner, legs crossed, his head moving to follow the taps of the ping-pong ball. A wheelchair-bound hyena was watching a cooking show, and off in a corner, a wolf-raccoon hybrid was engrossed in the latest Benjamin Shook novel. One of the vixens, clad in a lime green halter top and skirt, deftly caught the ball as she turned around to see who had shown up. "Everyone, this is Indira Jarii, a new transfer from India," Ranger said. "Call me Mandala," the mongoose said with a smile and a wave. All of the agents looked over, except for the hybrid, who simply gave an absent-minded wave of his own. "Sorry," Ranger said as her communicator squawked. "Seems I'm needed. Make sure Mandala gets a good tour of the headquarters, will you?" "Yes, ma'am!" The panther gave a salute drifting over to grin at the new arrival. "I'm Slipstream. The lovely ladies over there are Miss Fortune and Laser Vixen, the bookworm is Eldritch, the big guy is Clay, and..." "I AM MINDWALKER." The wheelchair swiveled around, revealing its occupant, missing an eye and an arm. He typed another brief message into his computer. "PLEASE DON'T STARE. I FIND IT IRRITATING." "O...kay," Mandala said. "Nice to meet all of you. So, are you going to help me get oriented around this big place?" "Sure thing," Miss Fortune chimed. As they left the recreation room, she decided to ask a pretty standard question. "So, Mandala, what do you do?" "I'm a physical therapist and a yoga instructor." "I think she was asking what your powers are," Eldritch mumbled. "Oh. Well, you guys know what the chakras are, right?" "Only because I'm an Avatard," Miss Fortune laughed. "Well, I'm not sure why, but mine are constantly in overdrive. As a result, I'm substantially stronger, faster, more agile, and more durable than your normal furson, and I also heal faster. I can also transfer this effect to others if I want. It makes for a major boost in superpowers, especially psychic, magic, or energy-based ones. Only problem is, the boost gets weaker the more I'm moving around, and it only reaches maximum effectiveness when I'm meditating." "Still," said Laser Vixen, "that sounds like it could be a really useful power. So why did you get transferred?" "Disciplinary reasons," Clay interrupted. "Evidently, she has attracted numerous complaints in India for how revealing her costume is, she was caught sleeping with the Minister of the Interior's son, and most recently, she demonstrated something called the Punjabi Trick while the Dalai Lama was visiting the headquarters." When he was met with the questioning gaze of his team-mates, along with the angry glare of Mandala, he simply remarked "I do my homework." "You didn't have to go into quite so much detail," Mandala hissed. "Hang on hang on hang on," Slipstream said, floating to the front of the group. "Punjabi Trick? What exactly does that mean?" "Here," Mandala said with a grin, "I'll show you. No hands," she continued, shaking her hips rapidly and erratically, "And..." A pair of red panties fell to the floor around Mandala's ankles. Mindwalker, Laser Vixen, and Slipstream cracked up, while Clay went completely still, eyes wide, with a look of terrified shock on his face. "Great," Miss Fortune grumbled. "You made Clay go into a Blue Screen Of Death." "I know," Mandala said with a smirk, pulling her panties back up. "I did my homework, too." --- Three weeks later, Tom Matthews was grimacing at his lunch when his doctor came in. "Dr. Scott? I hope you've got good news, because one more day of having to eat dry turkey and Jell-O would be driving me to suicide." The doctor, who happened to be a chameleon, smiled as he looked at Tom and his clipboard at the same time. "It is good news, Mr. Matthews. When we operated on your spine, there was no sign of nerve damage. You simply snapped a few of your spinal processes - you know, the spiky bits on your back that anchor your muscles. Needless to say, we were kind of surprised that a simple car crash was enough to do it, but considering how rigorous your...ahem...occupation can get, it's not impossible. We were able to pin all of them back in place, and there seems to be no sign of infection or other complications." "Thank god," the jackal whined, trying to get up, before Dr. Scott held up his hand. "Hang on. Your bones are all back in place, but we also had to dig around in your back a bit to get them. As a result, your back is pretty weak at the moment. Given your medical history and record for injuries on the job, going straight back to work could result in an even worse injury, possibly even breaking your back badly enough to paralyze you?" Tom's wince said it all. "So...I'm going to recommend at least a month of physical therapy." Dr. Scott flipped through his notes again, and was briefly surprised enough to fix both eyes on the writing. He hid it well, though, and soon looked back up at Tom. "This is interesting. We have a new arrival who's taken interest in your case. Her name is Indira Jarii. Specializes in therapy by yoga." "Yoga?" Tom's face was a mask of incredulity. "Yoga's for women! No way I'm going to be going through a bunch of ridiculous poses, tying myself in knots! I'm just as likely going to break my back doing that! In my opinion..." "Yoga is also known to boost sexual performance," Dr. Scott interjected as Tom continued his rant. "In *both* sexes." "And...where do I sign up?" --- All of the girls did a nigh-simultaneous double take on hearing the news. "TOM MATTHEWS?" "That's right," Mandala enthused on their way back from a Bureau meeting. "I'm going to be teaching yoga to Tom Matthews. You see, he broke his back a couple of weeks ago..." "I'd prefer if you broke that jerk's back the rest of the way," growled Miss Fortune. "That hijo de puta doesn't just humiliate the BOS with his compromising footage of us. He's also attempted to blackmail multiple operatives when he learned their identities!" "Yeah," remarked a gold-clad Savannah cat called Lightshow. "Recently, he had to have his mind wiped after he found out Pisa's identity while she was visiting Colmaton on business." "HE TRIED TO DO THE SAME TO AN UNREGISTERED HERO NAMED PHANTOM, TOO," Mindwalker remarked through his computer. "FORCED HIM TO TAKE PICTURES INSIDE A SPA. I WAS TEMPTED TO MAKE HIM FORGET HOW TO HOLD HIS BLADDER." "AND, he's a racist," Miss Fortune continued. "Have you seen the footage? He called a Japanese officer a 'Jap'. On television!" "Okay, okay, I get it. He's a jerk," Mandala said, holding up her hands defensively. "You think I haven't seen some of his stuff in India? But honestly, he's kind of cute. Hehe, he couldn't take his eyes off my butt whenever I bent over. And when he realized I had noticed, he had this absolutely adorable look of utter terror on his face!" All of the heroes stared at Mandala like she had grown a second head. "What in tarnation is wrong with you, girl," asked Texas Tilly. "Have you got a crush on that low-down, no-account cow patty?" "ELEVATED BODY TEMPERATURE INDICATES THAT THIS IS A POSSIBILITY," remarked Tilly's cybernetic steed, Silver. "HOWEVER, THIS COULD ALSO BE THE RESULT OF..." "I don't have a crush on him, okay?" "YOU KNOW I CAN READ MINDS, RIGHT, MANDALA?" Mindwalker shook in silent laughter. "THIS IS TOO RICH. A GIRL CRUSHING ON THE MOST FAMOUS PERVERT IN COLMATON." "Well, it's none of your business, anyway. Folks can crush on worse folks. Like a certain love-crazed skunk, for example?" Eldritch snapped his book shut, blushing profusely. "Er, uh...I'm just...curious about the gem that fuels her powers, that's all...it's nothing..." "That was a low blow," Miss Fortune snapped. "Besides, Eldritch doesn't have a sexual bone in his body. Show him a porn flick, and he'd be commenting on the furniture." "Really? I seem to remember his pants looking a bit tight when I showed of the Punjabi Panty Trick." "My brain and my other brain aren't on speaking terms," Eldritch protested. "Enough!" Everyone fell quiet as Ranger loomed over all of them, imposing in her body armor and cameo. "In case you've forgotten, some of you have to get ready for a raid on a suspected smuggling warehouse. We got a tip that somebody's been importing stolen jade, and the Chinese government would be VERY grateful if we were able to recover those artifacts before they get into the hands of black market collectors." "Do you think The Link might be involved?" Miss Fortune rolled her eyes, while Ranger crossed her arms. "IF The Link exists, there's no evidence that it's involved in this case." "Um," Lightshow interrupted, "what is The Link? I've heard Combat talk about it from his time in Japan, but he never explained it." "It's an urban legend," Miss Fortune said dismissively. "Is not," retorted Mandala, before Ranger held up her hand, cutting them both off. "You have to understand, Aisha, there's no evidence that The Link exists. In fact, it's the sheer lack of evidence that's led to people believing in The Link. Ever since World War II, there have been over a hundred cases of smuggling, ranging from goods with high tariffs to drugs, weapons, and fursons. The only thing they had in common was that nobody was able to figure out who was smuggling them. The money trails led to dead ends, there was no physical evidence. Not even the fursons recovered from trafficking could remember who was instructing them. They could remember someone, but they couldn't recall the species, or even if it was a man or a woman." "Like I said," Miss Fortune scoffed, "an urban legend. Basic rule of police work says that everyone leaves a trace. It's just laziness, or an inability to identify it." "Well, we've got a job to do. We can leave discussing hypothetical criminals for later." --- That night, Laser Vixen, Miss Fortune, Ranger, Phantom Frog, and Rocka Khan were congregated near an inconspicuous door. Laser Vixen frowned as she continued to focus her laser sight on the door, to no effect. "Jeez, what is this door made of? My laser is barely making the dumb thing warm." "Mandala," Ranger said, "This might be a good time to show off your powers." Seemingly turning to nowhere, she added, "Mindwalker, are they still inside?" =Affirmative,= a psychic voice echoed through their heads. =They must have some magic trinkets in there, because I can't get my avatar inside. But I can definitely sense them.= "Alright. Stand by and be ready to intercept anyone who gets out." Mandala had assumed a lotus position, looking completely serene. "Ready," she said. "Try it now, Laser." Laser Vixen raised her paw to her glasses, pressed the button, and nearly staggered at the enormous release of energy. The door handle melted in an instant, followed quickly by the deadbolt, allowing Ranger to quietly push the door open, directing the heroes into strategic positions. "Bureau of Superheroes! You're under arrest!" The group rushed in, coming face to face with a large group of thugs. Some of them picked up guns and started firing, while others ran. Mandala picked out her target and took off after him. "Hold it right there!" The fugitive didn't bother acknowledging the heroine, merely continuing to run. It was a fool's errand - Mandala easily outpaced him and tackled him, bringing him to the ground. Her captive, a raggedy mutt with rotten teeth, easily managed to push her relatively light frame off, but was quickly stopped when Mandala grabbed him by the neck. "Right," she said, briefly touching one of the necklaces around her neck. "Answer me, and you might convince me to drop the resisting arrest charge. Who's the jade for?" "I-I-I ain't talking," the mutt whined, followed by a squeal as Mandala's fingers shifted and squeezed a nerve. "Wrong answer." "L-Lady Hatcher! It's for Lady Hatcher!" "Now, think carefully. Who brought it over." "I dunno..." he squealed again as Mandala returned to the pressure point. "No, really, I dunno, I swear! We got a call from a phone, the voice was scrambled! The guy on the end just said that the jade was coming! We met 'em at the dock, but nobody saw his face!" "So it's a guy? What species is he?" "Err...err...I don't remember! I can remember all of his workers, but for him, it's all just a blur! You-you gotta believe me, I swear!" "Okay. Big question here. Is he bringing in any more?" "P-Please...he'll..." "Do you want me to demonstrate a little trick I learned in New Delhi?" "There's another coming two nights from now! It's BIG! Just about everyone's got a piece of it! Please don't hurt me!" Mandala touched her necklace and happily slung the hapless mutt over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, striding back into the main room, where the last gunfur was desperately trying to clear a jam in his gun. This was countered when he was slammed into a pile of empty crates by a couple of large chunks of raw jade, hovering and acting like boxing gloves. "Bien trabajo, Rocka Khan," Miss Fortune smiled, releasing the last of the jinx energy from her fingers. "Gracias, Miss Fortune," the wolverine replied with a grin of her own. "Hey, I got news from this one! There's another shipment coming in in two nights! He says it's big. And I got more proof about The Link!" "Oh, about The Link again." "No, seriously, he remembers details about the scene, but he can't even remember what the head honcho's species is! Go ahead and read his mind, if you don't believe me!" =Can't. One of these jade thingies is still interfering with me.= "I'll handle it," Phantom Frog said, putting his hand on the mutt's head. "Okay...weird...I'm getting pretty clear memories of the people who helped offload the jade, but nothing about the captain. There's just a huge blur there." He removed his hand beginning to rub his chin instead. "Somebody's selectively wiped his mind." =Caught a runner,= Mindwalker added. =He was outside, so I was able to poke around a bit. Same story - can't remember who was in charge of the ship. Or details about the ship, for that matter.= "See! This proves The Link exists! And if she's coming back, we can set up a sting!" "I'm afraid it's not that simple," Ranger said sadly, holding up a small box. "One of these guys hit this the moment we identified ourselves." "What is it," asked Laser Vixen. Mandala picked it up with and sighed. "We've seen these in India. We've taken to calling them bug-out buttons. It sends a pre-determined message to whatever they're using to communicate, telling them they've been compromised, and any future plans should be scrapped. We've found them in the hands of Allah's Path and workers for the Shiva's Eye pirates." Her eyes brightened up. "But he also said that it was big! He said everybody that's anybody in the underworld has something showing up! We could at least set up some surveillance at the docks and..." "Sorry, Mandala. We can't spare the equipment or the manpower. There was a riot at Bastille Supermax, and we're spread a bit thin cleaning up the mess and going after all the crooks who went on the run." =Yeah. Especially 9T9. Last thing we want is that maniac teleporting all the way to Washington DC and blowing up the Oval Office.= "Besides, this isn't even proof that The Link even exists," Miss Fortune pointed out. "It could be a single smuggler with telepathic powers." "But the size of the shipment-" "I'm sorry," Ranger said, "but we can't commit BOS resources to this problem, and that's final." --- Indira sighed as she closed the door to her apartment. After placing a small array of fruits and vegetables in front of a shrine to Vishnu the Preserver, she slumped unenthusiastically into her chair, opening up her laptop and turning on the television at the same time. Click. Click. Her screen was suddenly flooded by a massive diagram. Small notes on various arrests, supervillains, and stolen objects were scattered over a map of the Pacific Ocean, lines crisscrossing between them in an elaborate, multi-hued spider web. They all passed through a single point, that was blank except for a massive question mark. She had been studying The Link ever since her first case, where Sepoy and his fleet, Shiva's Eye, had managed to sell a national treasure of India to an African warlord, while his fleet had been under constant surveillance. That in itself was no mean feat - Shiva's Eye was notorious for using advanced technology to make themselves invisible to most means of detection. It had taken three aquakinetics, a telepath, and a living metal detector just to locate the pirate flotilla. And yet, despite nobody seeing a single ship enter or leave, the transfer had been made. The only indication that Sepoy had even been involved was a transmission where somebody said the transfer was successful. She clicked through more of the giant web. The only places where there were no nodes for this massive tangle were on the Atlantic Ocean. Several arrests had been made five years ago in various Polynesian islands, but attempts to gain details were stalled by the laser-guided amnesia typical of these cases. A few spots, highlighted in red, indicated people who were suspected of being involved in the black market, found dead in odd ways. Most of them had scratch marks on them, or were drowned. A few had their skulls split open horizontally, like somebody had pried them open with a crowbar. Indira started tearing up a little as she recalled her superiors and peers berating her for her obsession. "Conspiracy theories only work out in novels and movies." "Stop wasting your time on something that does not exist." "Enough with your crazy research!" "It's an urban legend." Indira pounded the armrest of her chair, sobbing in frustration. Here it was, the biggest break on The Link since she had first appeared, and not only did nobody believe her, she couldn't devote a single dollar's worth of BOS resources to it! "I'm just...trying...to do...my job!" She lamented to nobody in particular. How could she prove this was The Link? How could she hope to make even the slightest difference in this case? She raised her head...and was met with the sight of a familiar, patriotic pair of panties. Her hand quickly dove for the remote, and unmuted the television set. "...pledge allegiance, to the flag, of Lady Liberty's underwear! And if you think that's a one-in-a-million shot, wait until you see what other embarrassing moments we've caught on our hidden cameras. Up next on 'Superheroes Unmasked'! Stay tuned!" "THAT'S IT!" Indira whipped out her phone and quickly dialed in a number. "Hey, Andy? It's me, Indira. Yeah. I know it's probably not in the regulations, but can you try to get a stealthy mind-reading on Lady Hatcher? Yeah, it's about the shipment. I know, no BOS resources. But I've got an idea..." --- "WATASHI NI ANATA NO SEIEKI O ATAERU!" (Give me your semen!) Tom Matthews sat on his couch, panting excitedly, watching as a skinny, but incredibly busty female with green hair was being joyfully assaulted by an enormous beast with many tentacles. The sound effects were incredibly lewd, and the jackal was thoroughly enjoying himself, regardless of how bizarre the plot or incomprehensible the dialogue. *ding dong* "Tom! It's yoga day! Are you home?" "Oh shit," Tom whispered. He quickly turned off his television and wiped his mouth. Nothing more embarrassing than getting caught panting over animated porn. Taking a moment to check himself over, he opened the door to a smiling Indira. "Hello, Tom!" Indira noticed a brightly colored DVD case on the table and gasped. "Is that a hentai DVD?" Tom's heart dropped. He had forgotten to hide it! He broke out in a cold sweat as the mongoose walked over and picked it up, looking at two more ludicrously proportioned girls with technicolor hair, with purple tentacles pulling at their bras and panties. "Oh boy," Tom thought to himself. "Here comes the shrieking." The sound that came from Indira's mouth, however, was closer to a squeal than a shriek. "Inoue and Iwazaki? I LOVE those guys!" "Wait...you...like hentai?" Indira gave Tom a cheerful grin as she put down the cover. "Sure do! Got my first one the day I turned eighteen. It was a Gainax. I couldn't help but crack up over how over the top it was, but it was still hot! Since then, I've gotten a hold of thirty five of them! But, we'd better get to business. How's your back been feeling?" "Oh. It...it's been getting a lot better. The pain's gone down a lot, and I've been able to turn it around a bit better." Tom demonstrated by looking over his shoulder. Indira smiled again. "Great," she chirped, unrolling her yoga mat. "Let's start out with a few basic centering poses." As the session went on, Tom couldn't help but reflect on how incredibly lucky it was that he had run into a woman like Indira. Most women seemed to have an innate dislike of the jackal, which only intensified when they learned what he did for a living. He'd only had one girlfriend in the past, and that had been less of a relationship and more of a hostage situation - an enormous hippo named Henrietta had caught him taking pictures of Hot Spot and blackmailed him into being her boyfriend for a few years, until a careless remark caught on tape triggered an angry (and violent) break-up. But this mongoose seemed to actually enjoy Tom. Whenever she smiled at him, it was completely genuine, and she seemed to actually enjoy his typical perviness. She'd occasionally remark on some of the images he posted on his website, and frequently commented on his latest episode of Superheroes Unmasked. True, she wasn't as incredibly endowed as some of the superheroines around the world, but her body was still incredibly hot. When they both transitioned into an upward dog pose, Tom had to choke back a whine as his privates dug into the floor, triggered by the sight of her legs and backside gently straining. Not only that, but she enjoyed hentai. And she actually had thirty five videos. Thirty five! And Tom only had twenty seven titles! If this feeling roiling in his stomach wasn't love, he concluded, he would have to pick up some antacids later. As the pair finished their routine with a simple lotus position, Indira turned to look at Tom, a slightly hesitant look on her face. "Tom...I'm going to tell you a secret. A BIG secret. And I'm going to ask you for a favor in return." Tom was so awash with hormones and feelings of unfamiliar intensity, that he was only half-listening, nodding vacantly. For the impulsive mongoose, that was confirmation enough. She placed her fingers in specific spots on the large bracelet she was wearing, and in less time than it took to blink, her yoga outfit was gone, and her costume was on. "Surprise, Tom. I'm Mandala." Tom's jaw dropped in utter amazement. In less than two seconds, he had his camera at the ready, but Mandala gently grabbed it and pushed it to the side, smiling like a cat with a canary. "Hang on. Remember that favor I was asking you about?" Against his better instincts, Tom slowly set his camera aside. "Alright. I can tell that you like me. I've noticed you looking at my body and getting stiffies during our yoga sessions, and that you've blushed whenever I noticed - something my coworkers have never noticed, even when you've seen women in states of far greater undress. That tells me that you're actually harboring feelings for me. So...think you can prove that your more than your typical perv?" Tom swallowed hard, looked Mandala square in the eye and said "I know I can." "Good," Mandala said. "now here's the deal..." She explained the information she had to Tom, and then laid out the plan. With every new detail, the jackal became visibly more and more nervous. "So. We good?" "NO!" Tom was practically having fits. "You're asking me to set up cameras to spy on Lady Hatcher and some mysterious super smuggler? Both of which have huge networks of killers? I'm gonna wake up with a hole through my head, or worse! Odds are..." Mandala tuned out the rest of Tom's protests, and instead began to shake her hips. Tom's voice quickly trailed off as he watched the hypnotic movements, and came to a complete stop as a pair of red panties fell to the floor. "You were saying, Tom?" "And...Where do you want them?" --- "TOM MATTHEWS?" "I'm having the strangest sense of deja vu," Mandala said, looking over the monitors. "Anyway, yeah, he set me up with all of these cameras." The mongoose grinned at Strikira. "Mindwalker just gave me a little covert mind-reading, as a favor, so I know the deal is still on. Now I just have to wait." She paused briefly, before turning to the Australian tribal wolfess. "But, why are you here? I thought most of the BOS was dealing with cleaning up after the Bastille riot." "And miss a chance at Lady Hatcher?" Strikira pounded her fist into her hand, grinning ferociously. "That overgrown mattress isn't going to get away with anything if I have anything to say about it!" "Yeah, but...is it going to be just you and me?" "Let's just say I've got a surprise up my sleeve. And some of those surprises have surprises up their sleeves." "Unregistereds?" Mandala raised an eyebrow, but kept grinning. "Word is you have the most contacts with them in the entire branch." "Not sure about that, but fair dinkum, I do have a lot of mates that are unregistered. And they hate Lady Hatcher just as much as I do. All I had to do was mention the dumb cluck, and they jumped at the chance." They continued with small talk, but never took their eyes off the monitors. Minutes turned to hours, as the two started to become quite antsy. They were starting to think that Lady Hatcher was never going to show up, when a small convoy of limousines pulled into the docks, disgorging a large number of female avians. Foremost amongst them was a plump owl-chicken hybrid, holding a strange looking gun. She was flanked by a dove and a raven. "Lady Hatcher, Blanc, and Noire," Strikira scowled. "And they brought along her Silverwings, too." The next figure to exit made Mandala do a double take. For starters, it was a male. He was also huge! he ruffled his feathers a bit before standing expectantly behind Lady Hatcher, eyes wide and vacant. "I thought all of Lady Hatcher's goons were women!" "Not all of them," Strikira groaned. "That's her private bouncer, Owlbear. Exactly what it says on the tin. Very strong, and extremely tough." They watched as he ripped the wrapper off of a stick of jerky and began eating it with relish. "Luckily, he's a complete drongo. Makes Gila Monster look like a Harvard professor." Mandala chuckled at that description. Then she pointed to the camera as a Lynx helicoper swooped into view, dropping off a large platoon of military-looking furs with body armor and automatic weapons. The last one to offload was absolutely enormous - ten feet tall, carrying a Browning M2A1 machine gun that had been modified so he could carry it like a rifle. He looked over his dark, wrap-around glasses, taking slow puffs on a cigar. "Not sure who he is," Strikira mused. "I do. Joel Gnollsen. He's a merc out of South Africa. Kind of strange that he'd show up at this deal, though - he typically doesn't associate with furson traffickers. His two closest associates are a genuine ninja and an apostate Muslim from Somalia. Call themselves "Soekers van Justicie". Weird bunch, but deadly effective." "More hired muscle, great." A few more customers showed up - mostly low-level mobsters and crooked collectors, below the Bureau's attention. Finally, a skiff came in, manned with a mishmash of nautical looking fursons. Foremost amongst them, however, was a stunningly beautiful sea otter. Full, pouting lips and long-lashed eyes were barely concealed behind long, flowing peek-a-boo style hair. Every inch of her was sleek and toned, and clad in the most fashionable and teasing clothes possible. However, two things indicated that she meant business. One was a trident made out of a strange metal neither of them could identify. The other was a club made from green stone that flattened and spread out as it neared the end. "A mere," Mandala said, identifying the exotic weapon. "It's a Polynesian weapon. It's thrust like a dagger, then twisted to crack apart bones. It's mostly ceremonial these days, but the wounds it causes matches those found at a lot of murders with suspected ties to The Link. I'd bet my entire hentai collection that this is the fur the world's been looking for." As if to confirm the mongoose's statement, the otter gestured, prompting some of her crew to pull out several crates. Lady Hatcher took a crowbar and pried one open, pulling out part of the contents. It was a large jade statue. Mandala grinned, pulling a small USB drive out of the monitors and stashing it in a secret compartment in one of her anklets. "Great. We've got the evidence we need. Now would be a good time to cue your friends." Strikira grinned, and held a small transponder box to her face as the two walked out to confront the criminals. “Chicken’s arrived, folks. Time to dig in.” --- "Just as promised," the otter cooed. Her voice sounded more like she was trying to lure Lady Hatcher into bed than conducting a business deal. "Over 500 pounds of pure jade, straight from China." "Excellent," Lady Hatcher said. "Once this goes on the black market in the States, the profit will be enormous. Owlbear?" The big hybrid swiveled his head 180 degrees to look at his boss. "Hoo?" "Bring out the briefcase." "Hoo." The Link smiled as he watched the huge creature reach into one of the limousines and pull out a large metal briefcase. That smile only grew broader when Lady Hatcher accepted it and opened it, showing stacks of fresh, crisp bills. "Just as promised. Five million American dollars in unsequenced bills. I'm sure that..." The avian hybrid was cut off when Joel gave a quick hiss and raised a hand in the characteristic sign for silence. At first, they heard nothing. Then, Mandala and Strikira emerged from hiding, smiling grimly. "Well, Lady Hatcher," Strikira said, "you've stepped in it this time. You're all under arrest." "I may not be a superhero," Joel declared with a heavy Afrikaans accent, "but I'm pretty sure you need an army to fight an army." "Don’t need one," Strikira grinned. The air was suddenly filled with a steady, droning buzz as insects began to congregate, and a horde of rats began to emerge from the sewers. Over the noise, a harmonica could be heard playing an eerie tune as an hunchbacked opossum lurched out. "Mandala, meet Vermin. War Wolf, Spectra, Vesara, Miracle, and Phantom should be around here somewhere." Strikira grinned and pulled out her tonfa. "And now, the coup de grace. Joel, did you know that Lady Hatcher and your otter friend there are known to engage in furson trafficking?" The enormous hyena narrowed his eyes at the two, giving one last puff of smoke before throwing aside his cigar. Owlbear quickly stepped in front of Lady Hatcher, while The Link just gave a negligent shrug of her shoulders. "Did I forget to mention that?" She giggled as though she was merely a schoolgirl caught passing notes in class. "Oops." "You lying fokker! Deal's off boys, assist the mongoose!" There was a loud clatter as the mercs readied their weapons, roaring in anger over being dupped. One of the mobsters raised his gun, but those around him jumped back as Joel fired a single bullet, blowing the unfortunate's head apart. Strikira grinned, and charged towards the Silverwings. "Do you dare?" The dock erupted into chaos as the Soekers van Justicie, The Link's crew, the Silverwings, and the mobsters entered a fierce firefight. Mandala weaved her way through, taking in the details. War Wolf, Spectra and Miracle were darting in and out of the shadows, picking off stragglers as they focused too much on one target or another. Occasionally, some groups would grow wise and start fighting back to back, which is when Vermin would get to work. The savvier gunfurs would suddenly find their ankles assaulted by rats darting up their pants, or wind up blinded by kamikaze diving flies and mosquitoes in their eyes. Several of the corrupt dealers, trying to avoid combat, tried to drive off, only to find their cars immobilized by cunningly placed caltrops. Vesara's wrist-mounted blades flashed in and out as she and Strikira brawled their way through the masses, the occasional Silverwing being sent flying in a flash of chi energy. Lady Hatcher had almost reached one of the limos when the door suddenly slammed shut and a rex rabbit wearing a green jumpsuit faded into view, smirking as he pulled out his own pair of tonfa. "Going somewhere?" "Owlbear, get him out of the way." "HOO!" Phantom was suddenly in a massive bear hug, Owlbear squeezing him tight. The rex rabbit struggled to fight back, telekinetically picking up garbage and throwing it at the hybrid's head. A few mobsters took aim at Hatcher, but where stopped when the avian fired at them, somehow locking them inside giant, leathery, foul-smelling eggs. Mandala would have stopped to help, but she had bigger fish to fry. Or otter. "You're not escaping this time," Mandala yelled, chasing after The Link. The otter paused and turned around, pointing her trident at the mongoose. A low thrum was all the warning Mandala had before a shockwave burst from the weapon, barely giving her enough time to dodge. "That was new," she whispered to herself as she continued to charge in. The Link began to run towards the water, but was taken down with a flying tackle. "You've been dodging the law for decades, Link," she snarled as she began to ground and pound the otter. "It's time for you to face the..." Mandala paused as she felt a small scratch on her arm, then contorted and screamed as her body was overwhelmed with incredible pain. She tried to struggle through it, but The Link merely extended her hand and scratched her again. Mandala collapsed as her muscles refused to respond. Poison, she thought, as the otter got to her feet, a few tell-tale drops of fluid still beaded on the tips of her claws. "Silly land-dweller," she chuckled, raising her trident, still speaking in that seductive murmur. "What an Atlantean wants, an Atlantean gets. You never stood a chance against me." She suddenly flinched as three rats scrambled up to her, one of them biting into her sandaled foot. She kicked it away, then was forced to duck as a steelight arrow flew over her head. She readied her mere and trident, but then paused when she heard the clicking of several assault rifles being aimed at her, rounds quickly being chambered. She glanced around. Her crew was all either dead, unconscious, or captured, and Lady Hatcher and her Silverwings were nowhere to be seen. They'd left the jade behind. And the briefcase. Her speed was astonishing. Dodging trained automatic fire, she managed to snag the briefcase, then ran off the edge of the docks and dove into the ocean. The Soekers van Justicie mercenaries ran after her and fired into the water, but it was too late. The otter was vanishing from sight as she shot away faster than any boat could travel. Joel spat in disgust and whipped off his sunglasses, looking over the carnage with a look of regret. "Kak," he swore. "Not only do we not get our pay, but we were nearly suckered into working for scum. They're going on the "fok these furs in particular" list." As the steady pulse of helicopter rotors filled the air, Joel gestured to his men. The supers surged forward, but Joel shook his head. "Sorry, but we have business elsewhere. My apologies." The pilot's window opened, and a turbaned Cape hunting dog leaned out with a grenade launcher and a smile filled with missing and rotten teeth. "Achmed, if you would please get them off our tails?" "Apologies for this!" The pilot fired, and the grenade exploded into a cloud of red-toned haze that burned at the eyes and lungs of the heroes. Miracle instantly fell back, her incredible senses hit the worst as she coughed and gagged. "Criminy! That stuff is like pepper spray!" War Wolf, Spectra, and Vesara slipped on masks and attempted to fight through the haze, but it was too late. The mercenaries were beyond range, the high-powered aircraft swiftly blasting towards the horizon. On the docks, police sirens began to blare as at long last, Colmaton PD responded to the gunfire. Soon, it was a scene of clean-up. Vermin was at Miracle’s side, trying to help her stop coughing from the burning pepper dust. Police officers were cuffing criminals who had fallen behind, slicing some of them out of the rotten eggs. Others had the grim task of trying to identify casualties. Strikira, however, was kneeling over Mandala, whose features had become almost dangerously calm. "Just hold still," she said. "It will take a while for-" The Australian tribal wolf yelped as her chi energies flared, and the mongoose managed to push herself into sitting position. "Chakras, remember?" She groaned, rubbing her head. "Did...does anyone remember what The Link looked like? All of the sudden, I'm drawing a complete blank." Vermin raised his hand, but only half-way, before lowering it hesitantly. "Uh...it was...an otter, I think?" "Telepathy," Miracle said, shaking her head. "Vermin's brain structure makes him tough to crack, but you're right. I can't remember a single thing about the smuggler." "So we still have no clue who The Link is." "Not quite." Mandala smiled as she reached into her anklet's secret compartment, pulling out the flash drive. "Let's just say that The Link's record isn't so perfect any more." --- "The Colmaton BOS is happy to announce that all escaped inmates from the Bastille Supermax Prison have been safely returned to custody," Carla Meadows announced on the television. "There were no casualties, although four guards were sent to the hospital with injuries. They are expected to make a full recovery." A brief clip of The Link appeared on the screen next to the skunk. "And in a surprising turn of events, journalist Tom Matthews was instrumental in uncovering key evidence in a smuggling case, and for the first time gaining any recordings of the enigmatic criminal mastermind known only as The Link, suspected in hundreds of black market transactions over the past six decades. The BOS and Colmaton PD were able to break a major smuggling case out of China and recover all of the jade, with a value totaling over sixteen million dollars. Claudia McCluckens, owner of the Henhouse in the Red Triangle district, has been accused of being one of the buyers, but her lawyers have issued "no comment" on the investigation. Several of her bodyguards and some of The Link's crew, however, were arrested on weapons charges. Now, for today's-" Indira smiled at Tom as she hit the mute button on the television. "Well, there you have it, Tommy! You've helped accomplish what dozens of government agencies haven't been able to do - prove that The Link exists!" She wrapped an arm around the jackal's shoulders, grinning a mile wide. "Still images from your video are being sent around the world. If that otter so much as shows her face in a major city, law enforcement will be on her tail like curry on lamb. And it's all thanks to you!" "Well, not really," Tom said, blushing hard from embarrassment. Was this what it was like to be a hero? It felt...kind of good, actually. "Odell was actually the one who set up the cameras." "But you're the one who knew where to put them to catch as much detail as possible," Indira countered. "Big change from panty shots, isn't it? I mean, you've definitely got talent!" "Uh, yeah." "So, now for the yoga session." "But, my back's fully recovered," Tom said, looking quite confused. "The doctor said I don't need any more physical therapy, and-" The jackal was shut up in an instant as the mongoose dived onto him, giving him a long, toe-curling, heart-pounding kiss. "This is entirely pro bono," Indira said, guiding Tom to his feet and over to their mats. "I’ve got some free time now that everything’s been cleaned up. Plus, I was figuring we could hit the Smoothie King, maybe pop in a hentai." Tom was momentarily stunned. This woman wasn’t blackmailing him like Henrietta, and he wasn’t blackmailing her. And yet, she was not only staying in his apartment for a free yoga lesson, but also offering to take him out on a date? Needless to say, Indira didn’t have to ask twice.