2426/Cat back in the bag

Cat back in the bag
Date of Scene:	23 March 2025
Location:	Obsidian Tower - Dark Laboratory
Synopsis:	After Catra's recent... betrayal... Dr. Tomoe finds himself shorthanded and invites Riventon to help him with the current project, Nyx. In addition, he holds a rather... seductive carrot in front of the Dark Mahou... One he never intends to deliver.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Takashi Agera

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Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
It wasn't often that Takashi was called into Dr. Tomoe's laboratory... And today? The mad genius seemed to be working on... something. Three of the witch's 5 staves were there, along with Kaolinites. Two of them were missing.

More concerning, however, was likely the fact that Tellu's picture was on the wall...

Along with one of Catra. Catra had been missing for a while...

"Ahhhhh, Riventon, I'm so happy you could join me. Tea?" he asked, as he poured out some boiling hot water from a benson burner into a glass... Sending steam into the air.

The lab itself was shrouded in darkness, with so many different flashing lights, and... things... in jars...

Mistress 9 and Viluy were nowhere in sight.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon was very familiar with the Tomoe Laboratories, even though he hadn't been there for now over a year - ever since his unwilling transfer to Beryl's department, and then from there to Precia's. The dark lab, the flashing lights, the weirdness; it was a little bit nostalgic. Riventon kept his own lab brighter; to avoid accidents, he discovered it was best not to try to manipulate shadowy energy in a place also covered in more shadows.

    Still, he walked in after being requested, his hands clasped behind his back, wearing his labcoat, and looking around. His eyes fall on the pictures... the Catra picture gets his eyebrow raised. The cat had been missing but it wasn't the first time, and Riventon really didn't fret. Cats, after all, would do what they liked.

    "Tea is fine, thank you, Director Tomoe." Takashi said, perfectly polite for now. He knew what had happened to Hotaru and wondered if that is what this was about specifically; he'd always had some suspcions about Tomoe's motives, sitting in the back of his head, and they had only increased when Mistress 9 had... hatched, perhaps, was the right word? But he was capable of faking politeness. He did it every day after all. "You... have a request for my assistance?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Dr. Tomoe nodded, before sliding over the mug of... still boiling tea. "Here, help yourself," he offered. "Indeed. You see, after the recent loss of a fourth member of the Witches 5, in which your prior assistant, Catra, aided the sparkles in her death, I've found myself a bit short handed with our newest project. Mistress 9 and Viluy are busy in the old lab, readying for their next project, while Nyx is currently... well, the subject."

He then motioned behind one of the glass cases... To Kaolinite's staff. "Mistress 9 has ceased being patient and wishes for her to be prepared to absorb Kaolinite's staff. And that requires rather... precise applications of energy. I believe your device will be quite useful for this, Mr. Agera. I assume you have no qualms with assisting?"

There was probably a lot he needed to parse right there.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon looked at the tea - and he gets the distinct feeling the cup on its own might burn him if he hadn't arrived in henshin. So he decides, probably wisely, to not drink it at this time. Instead he blows lightly on it and sits it down.

    But then Tomoe starts talking and... Riventon could probably fake the shock on his face, as good as he is at wearing his mask, but this time, he doesn't need to. "CatradidWHATNOW." he sputter, looking at Dr Tomoe with a deer-in-the-headlights look for a moment. On some level it might be impressive how quickly he collects himself. "She certainly was neither ordered nor permitted to do such a thing, although Catra often acts as a ... free agent." he says, his annoyance clearly dripping through his tone, and he doesn't need to fake that either.

    "I ... the nature of the assistance? Do you just need me to help apply energy?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Dr. Tomoe smiled, and it was that... eerie smile. Where his smile was seen... but the rest of his face wasn't. As if it was independent of his face. "You weren't aware of your underlings performance?" he asked. "Well... that is good to know, at least. Mistress 9 felt that you might have become... compromised considering your prior... affiliations. But I managed to assuage her doubts, for the time being. You truly weren't aware that Catra helped kill Tellu, though? You really should manage your people more... There's already been talk of how to... dispose of her. Fortunately, she's been using one of our black cards, so keeping an eye on her has been quite easy... But I understand if you'd prefer to do the deed yourself."

"I hear Joker has even considered taking an interest in her disposal..." Joker had not, in fact, taken any such interest. But as he started working on the project... wlellll... it was nice to keep Riventon on his toes. Especially when he was able to see the... focus of this project.

Nyx. The body of Molly. "I wouldn't worry about her," Dr. Tomoe said. "She was dead long before we found her. But, as they say... a body is a terrible thing to waste," he said before he laughed, that maniacle cackle... And then...

"Mistress 9 has assured me, should this body become a more... useful host..." And then, for a moment, he seemed almost normal. Human. The light illuminating his face... just... the face of a man. "... Then she will leave my daughter in peace... and allow her to continue her life once again. Free even of the injuries she suffered due to my folly... Depending on how successful we are, Riventon... you might finally be able to achieve one of your first projects... and help me cure my daughter."

Before he got to work.

Takashi Agera has posed:
    Riventon face turns from shock to a frown, and to an annoyance. "I'm sure your people did several things you were unaware of." Riventon snaps back. He knows they did. After all, he was 'their people' once and absolutely did things Tomoe was unaware of. "As a vice-director there's business I have to attend to that doesn't entirely include babysitting every movement of my employees; same as you have your own experiments you attend to." he says.

    "I think I shall absolutely have to deal with this myself." Riventon says. The various forms that could take are running through his head, from how Tomoe intends it to trying to punt her through a portal or just get her to lie low until the interest faded like it had for Hinoiri.

    But weith what Tomoe said? Well. There was probably some sort of ethical quandry Riventon wouldn't even consider about using Molly's body - the body of the girl he scoured the Dusk Zone - but he wouldn't be in Obsidian if he didn't agree with at least some of Tomoe's logic. Like that a body was a terrible thing to waste. After all, Riventon had refused to let an arm go to waste to this day.

    "...let's deal with this first, then. Getting Mistress Nine a more compatible body can take priority over dealing with the stray cat." he says. He's careful not to make it too clear that this is for Hotaru more than anything, but the Doctor does know how to manipulate his former employee.