Mission briefing

"Hey, wake up!" You recognize the woman in red's voice as you come to. You're seated and your head is resting on a table. You're back in the first room they were holding you in, except this time your hands are not magically bound to the table. You're so relieved to be able to have freedom to move your sore limbs again and you look up at the woman in red who's leading against the wall opposite you.

As your eyes adjust to the fluorescent lights in the room and you stretch your arms, you realize that you're no longer naked. You're clothed, although not in the clothes you had been taken in. No, instead you notice the long sleeved button down shirt you're wearing is pink. Strangely, it fits you perfectly and even feels like it could have been tailored for your body. As you look down, you see that your pants are the same pink color too and so are your socks and suede shoes. You pull at the waistband of your pants to peek inside and even your underwear is pink. You can only imagine how silly you look like from any other person's point of view.

"I look like the Pink Panther!" you exclaim at the woman in red, who barely manages to suppress a laugh.

"Well, since I'm your handler, I figured pink would be a suitable color for you. Don't worry, if you do exactly as told, nobody outside of the Bureau of Oddities and Abnormalities will see you. Now, are you ready to learn about your mission?"

"Do I have ****?" you ask grumpily, shaking at your right ankle where the magical bracelet is. It doesn't match your pink clothing.

"No," the woman in red says. "Now, before we begin, I need to have a full understanding of your abilities. I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer truthfully. If you lie, I'll be able to tell."

You nod, although you're not sure if you believe her or if she's just trying to intimidate you.

"Your teleportation ability. Can you bring someone with you?"

"Yes."

"Can you get into anywhere?"

"Sort of. I need to be able to visualize it. Like a picture."

"What if you imagine what the place would look like?"

You shake your head.

"Good to know. Now, invisibility. Does that work with other people as well?"

"Yes, as long as I'm touching them or any object when I activate the ability," you respond.

"Good. Then I can go with you."

"As a babysitter?"

"As your handler. If everything goes smoothly, we'll be in and out without incident. but if not, it could be dangerous."

You narrow your eyebrows at the mention of danger. "Sounds like this is a heist," you say.

"It's a retrieval. The Bureau of Oddities and Abnormalities is charged with safeguarding and securing magical items to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands."

"Why haven't I heard of the Bureau before?"

"Because we do a good job of not being heard or seen. I don't have time for a history lesson right now. Maybe after the mission," the woman in red says. She leans forward off the wall and comes to the table, pulling out a photo from the folder she's holding. It looks like a satellite photo. She pulls out another photo and lays it on top of the first 1. It's a picture of Mount Rushmore. "The location we're going to is right here," she says, pointing at a spot on the satellite photo. It's on the other side of Mount Rushmore."

"This is starting to sound like a Nicholas Cage movie..." you say.

"It's not. Trust me, this is serious."

"Okay, fine. So, we're going to this secret location at Mount Rushmore? Let me guess, it's a secret government facility?" you say mockingly. However, the expression on the woman in red's face means you have it exactly correct. "Seriously?" you ask.

"Yes. The US government has come into possession of a item that we must retrieve without letting them know of our existence," the woman in red says.

"What's the item?"

"That's... need to know."

"Oh, come on! We're going to break into a secret government facility and you're not going to tell me what we're there to steal? What are we working against the government anyway? Aren't you... I mean, it's not like the chief is American, right?"

"Retrieve," the woman the red says with a glare. "And the Bureau serves the good of all people. We don't pledge allegiance to any country." She checks her watch. It's a red watch with a red leather strap. "We'll leave in 2 hours when it's dark in South Dakota. Get some rest."

"Can I leave this room at least?"

"No. If you teleport away before I return," the woman in red points at the security camera in the corner of the room. "My associate will shoot the bulldog." She doesn't stick around for you to protest as she exits the room promptly.