Surrounded by enemies on all sides, you struggle to play it cool as you see how vile they really are

On your left is Hot Cross Bunny. Despite her white hair, she looks quite young, no older than her 20s. And sure enough, her organization has only been in the city for a few years. But both she and they have risen to incredible heights of infamy in that time. True to her name, there are a pair of rabbit ears poking up through her long hair, and two 'X' symbols on her white waistcoast, which does nothing to hide her voluptuous figure squeezed into a purple "showgirl"-style leotard. Her enormous tits look like the slightest jiggle could cause them to pop out of the skimpy cleavage-baring cups they rest in. An oversize pocketwatch always hangs from a chain on her coat, and she often pulls it up to check it when she's feeling peevish - and she definitely is right now.

The buxom villainess pulls up the pocketwatch and looks at it, and clicks her tongue. "Thunderbird. Weather Watch. Do you reprobates not realize that being early is only a little less rude than being late? Do you bumbling bob tails know how badly you have just thrown off my schedule? Damn that wood-working layabout, Carpen-Terror! She's scarceley even begun the deathtrap for Dr. Rainbow!"

Rabbit ears drooping, she begins stomping around in a circle, high heels clacking on the bare concrete floor. "And now, I will have to reschedule orientation for the latest shipment of Bangladeshi prostitutes, which means there will be no one competent to oversee bookmaking for the dog fights, OR the bum fights. And Cheshire is still nowhere to be found. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." She frets over her watch. "Bill? You're going to be on accounting duties again. Those cheeky Bulgarian mafiosi I just finished meeting with paid for the nun and the angel in dirty money, and I shan't have time to cover it myself now."

"Just my luck." Bill says with a put-upon sigh.

Hot-Cross Bunny is quite dangerous. She isn't a fighter... you'd overheard more than a few male heroes bragging in the halls about 'overpowering' her, with all that implies. But her ability to conjure and control rabbits is more versatile and dangerous than it seems at first, being able to deluge both you and Mood Ring (and her useless sidekick) into submission. And more importantly, she's their planner.

But she isn't the one you're worried about. You feel like your heart is about to give out as you turn and look at the other woman, who has been standing still and quiet, staring unnervingly at you since she stepped in.

Standing a touch shy of five feet tall is a very petite young woman, about on par with Doc. If it weren't for the noticeable curve to her hips and her frilly corseted red-and-black princess costume lacking a bra, exposing modest but noticeable swells and pointy protrusions on either side of the line of red heart symbols running down the middle of her dress, she'd almost look underage. She is wearing a gold crown with red hearts on the tip of each tine, and her flowing chestnut brown hair and black lace gloves and stockings lend her an air of dignity. But one look into her wide, staring eyes underlined with dark circles tells you there's something wrong. Her hair is frizzy and tangled, looking like it hasn't seen a comb in a long time.

And when she speaks, Queen of Hearts has a discordant, warbling tone of voice like you'd expect from an exaggerated Hollywood caricature of a mental patient. "Oh do SHUT UUUUUP, rabbit." Just like when you met her before, seething contempt drips from every syllable that comes out of her mouth. "Don't SPOIIIIL this for MEEEEEE. I see a cocksure, sucker-punching LITTLE SHIT who I can clear off your itninerary." She hefts the massive, rusty sword which is never far from her side, holding it aloft effortlessly in one hand.

Your eyes feel like they're about to pop out, but your limbs are like they're frozen. "Snowflake! Red Balloon! We need to make a fighting retreat! Hit Queen now with everything you've got!"

There's agonizing silence except for a 'swish' as Queen of Hearts chops the air at head height, menacingly staggering towards you like a horror movie killer. Her movements are limp and uncoordinated, which only makes her seem more deranged. She's coming closer. No snowballs, gusts of wind or lightning bolts are forthcoming.

"Um... Your Grace..." Elliot, who has been standing unobtrusively against a wall, takes a half step forward. "I would strongly prefer that you didn't. I had business, remember? This material that I have... you should take a look at it before you do anything rash. Bunny! Please!" You can tell that his normally slick, unctuous voice is tinged with considerable fear and worry.

Damn him. He really should be doing more to save his own fucking sister. Granted, it's not like he can fight on Queen of Hearts' heavyweight level. Or at all, really. But you still feel betrayed, and even more disgusted with Elliot than you already were when the trench-coated man stops before actually getting in Queen's way, letting her brush past him and towards you.

"Snowflake! Balloon! Now!" you feel sweat beading on your face as the deranged little imp of a woman in front of you comes closer, her lips splitting into a frightening, toothy rictus-like smile. Her teeth are yellowed and unhygenic-looking. Distantly, it occurs to you that it's likely no one has ever had the courage to tell her she needs to brush her teeth or tell her she has bad breath.

"Don't trifle with me about your pocketwatch, rabbit." Queen of Hearts hisses through her teeth in a lower, less shrill voice than usual. "Because it's SNICKER-SNACK O'CLOCK!!!"

Struck by terror, you see her draw back the sword with vicious glee. You wait and wait for elemental attacks that never come. Just as you are clenching your fist in your sonic power-glove and about to make a last-ditch desperation attack, Hot-Cross Bunny reaches out and daintily grabs Queen's sword hand.

"Cards? Pawns?" Bunny snaps with her other finger. From the same doorway she came through, three more playing-card men (one of whom rather looks like he doesn't want to be here) and four black-armored pawns tramp into the entry hall, blocking off both the way forward and the way back.

"What is the MEANING OF THIS IMPUDENCE?!" Queen of Hearts shrieks. "You said THUN-der-BIRD needed to DIE! Out of my way, rabbit! Let me split that pretty pale NECK of hers! I'll dye that yellow eyesore she's wearing CRIM-SON RRRRED!"

"No, no, no," Hot Cross Bunny says in her usual posh, contemptuous tone of voice. "This isn't the time for that, you unbalanced nitwit. That was to be done properly, when she came to rescue the rainbow-hued physician from being mangled with circular saws, eleven and a half hours from now." She holds up her giant pocketwatch with her free hand as if that should be obvious. "We can't simply kill her where she stands when some other villain has dropped them off on our doorstep gift-wrapped."

"WHY in the BLOODY BOWLS OF HELL can we not?!" Queen of Hearts' free hand trembles. "Get out of my way, because I strongly believe that I can do EX-ACT-LY THAT!

"It just isn't done." Bunny says, tut-tutting. "What symbolism is there in the demise of a hero or two dropped helplessly on our doorstep? That signifies nothing to anyone. We are not cheap murderers, my dear friend, we are supervillains. I am sorry that I got your hopes up, but we simply can't kill her now, not like this." Bunny says in a conciliatory one, patting her on the shoulder. "Let's have some tea. Shall we have some tea? There are still ways within the bounds of proper villainess conduct that we can make her and her weathervane lackeys suffer appropriately."

Queen of Hearts' manic smile dies on her lips and is replaced by a girlish pout. "Oh pooh." she says in a small voice. "I never get to do what I want. I'm supposed to be the Queen." She stamps one of her feet on the ground. "SCONES! SCOOOOONES! Don't you dare forget this time!" she shouts at the henchmen, who all jump nervously whenever she looks at them.

"Sooooooooo..." Isaac, who's been quiet until now, clears his throat. "Like you surmised, brilliant leader..s... the Weather Watch has defeated and rendered incapable of resisting by Dr. Demise. She sent them as a token of goodwill. I mean, uh, evil-will. To do with however you wish."

Elliot, in his guise as the villain 'Shush', gives you a guilty look. You glare at him with burning hate. He then turns back to Bunny. "I might be able to be of some service... Hot-Cross Bunny... should I call you 'Miss Bunny'?"

"Don't you think you should have inquired if I was married before you had intercourse with me 47 minutes ago?" Bunny says, twitching one of her ears and regarding him with coolness. "I was about, oh, 15 seconds away just now from telling you to get out of my lair, and stop wasting my time with this amateurish private-eye peepshow garbage that you call a business proposal. So whatever you have to say, Mr. Shush, do be quick about it."

"I'll take that as a yes to 'Miss'." Elliot says, waving around a familiar-looking folder. "I've got something here you can use to absolutely destroy both Thunderbird and Nightingale! The Nightingale who is coming for you in this very hideout, within a matter of days if not sooner!" Of course - he brought all the dirt that Red Balloon's mystical benefactor gave to him right here. The **** video. And the... uh... other **** video. And the photos of what he claims is you visiting an abortion clinic a few months ago, refusing to believe your (truthful) explanation that the redhead in the photo is some other heroine who you've never even met. But that is far from the worst of it. The worst is that that information tells them that you yourself used to be 'Nightingale' and that the original Nightingale is your mother, now back in costume. As if Bunny didn't have enough reason to set a trap for her.

"Elliot, you malignant fucking tumor masquerading as a human being," your eyes blaze at him as you take a step in his direction. You focus your ability so that your whispers will resound in his ears even though no-one else in the room will be able to hear the words "you told these murderous psychopathic cunts that MY MOM was coming here? Not enough for you, trying to ruin my life by showing that horrible **** tape to everyone, now you want the woman who helped raise you to die?"

There's an awkward silence, a lot of eyes turn towards you. Including the villains. What...? They shouldn't have been able to hear! You're quite sure you were using your power to restrict the sound waves to you and him!

Elliot shuffles his feet awkwardly. "Thunderbird... did you forget when I told you that my stealth-suit," he indicates the black bodysuit worn underneath his trenchcoat, "disrupts your sonic manipulation abilities when it's within close range? You just said all that out loud, to everybody." He sounds almost apologetic.

"Hmmmm." Hot-Cross Bunny drops her pet rabbit on the floor and pours herself and Queen cups of tea from the cart that has been brought up. "A family drama, is it? Rather quotidian, but perhaps I can work with it. Henchmen!" she claps her hands. "I shall be taking the rest of tea in my private study. You come too, Shush." she says to Elliot. "And you there, 4 of clubs," she points at one of the guys in a playing card suit. "Make sure you bring an extra bowl of sugar. By which I mean cocaine."

"Um, sorry Mistress," the henchman says, "Caterpillar said to tell you we're out of coke. She said we've been sold out since the state level political parties convened for their conventions in the capitol building last saturday."

"One blunder after another!" Bunny goes from calm back to irate. She stares at Isaac and shaked one of her gloved fists at him. "Can't you capering buffoons do anything right? Fine! Actual sugar then. It shall have to do. That rainbow doctor woman was rambling about how it's nearly as addictive as cocaine, earlier. Perhaps I can get a healthy, productive buzz going." You and Elliot exchange one more glance before Bunny steps smartly and exits back through the mirror she entered through. With a shrug, Elliot follows.

At least that means you can use your whispering power properly again. "Damn it. This means we have to rescue every hero in this hellhole, AND find out what the connection is with Queen, the Full House Gang and Raven Woman's shady crap, within less than half a day or else original-flavor Nightingale is going to walk right into the trap meant for me..."

Queen of Hearts grabs a baked scone off the tea tray and begins gnawing on the end of it as she regards the three of you standing there in your leashes and collars. Even the way she eats a pastry is discomfiting and vaguely feral.

You turn halfway around and glare at Snowflake and Red Balloon now that the danger seems slightly less imminent, and you can silently communicate with them again. "Thanks for jumping to my defense when Queen of Hearts there was about to FUCKING **** ME, girls!" you say, highly sarcastic.

"We were juuuuuust waiting for your signal. How were we supposed to know it was being blocked?" Red Balloon asks, her voice laden with false innocence.

"And why is it my duty to leap forward and take the bullet for you, Thunderbird? Your white privilege is showing again. Brown bodies are not your human shields." Snowflake says huffily, for her part.

"Grrrrr..." you grind your teeth again. "Fine. We have to keep playing it cool for now, anyway. Give my tech-support Julia enough time to pick our signal back up from wherever we've been teleported to and she can tell us which way to go to get to Doc Rainbow."

There's a crash. After licking off the crumbs, and finishing her tea, it seems Queen of Hearts just threw her saucer on the floor, shattering it. Only one of the henchmen reacts with surprise - it looks like the others expected her to do that. She speaks again. Her voice is much smaller and quieter than before, sounding more sulky than histrionic. "What are you waiting for, seven? And all the rest of you? **** these three twats already. Brutally, if you please."

You flinch, and you hear Red Balloon make a **** noise as she pipes up: "Excuse me?!? What?!"

"Buh... uhhhhh," Isaac, wearing the 7 of spades card jumpsuit she was referring to, looks back and forth between you and her. "My queen, please forgive your loyal subject's impertinence! But... Bunny is making plans, she'll definintely want the Weather Watch girls, you know... 'fresh' for whatever she comes up with for them in the studio."

Queen of Hearts' response is a sneer and a snort. Her voice starts taking on that quavering, psychopathic edge again. "I do not CAAA-RE ONE WHIT about Bunny's theatricality. It is all disgustingly unneccessary, a COM-PLEEEEETE waste of time. There is no need to pussyfoot about with this game show routine. This is the most PRI-MOR-DIAL act of VI-O-LENCE possible. Embellishments can only detract from that! No props! No gimmicks! Just throw them on the floor and DO IT!"

After momentarily relaxing, you tense up again. It's looking like it's now or never. You didn't want to have to deal with Queen surrounded by so many of her allies, and especially not without Doc or the other hostages in hand. But it seems you may have ****... The henchmen look a little ****, even the ones who aren't secrelty aiding you. But none of them have the nerve to disobey a command from their psychotic figurehead monarch. They start walking closer...

Just then, a woman opens a side door and comes up to the table where Queen of Hearts is sitting. She leans in and whispers to Queen of Hearts, looking like she is in mortal terror. It would be almost comical if not for the circumstances, since she is wearing a rather ridiculous oyster-themed two piece bikini outfit.

Queen of Hearts groans in annoyance and upsets the whole tea-cart, smashing the remaining crockery on the floor as she stands up. "Clean that up, you lickspittles!" she sneers at the henchmen. "I have some very tedious fucking business to attend to. Make a mess of those heroines while I'm occupied. Take your time and W-ARM yourselves up if you must, but I EX-PECT these three to be a prostrated mess by the time I'm finished!" And with that, she grabs her sword and levitates her feet off the ground, floating and bobbing further down the hallway, following the oyster girl... leaving you and the Weather Watch alone with the henchmen.

This could be your chance. But... in your haste, you didn't confirm which other heroes are captured here. And now that you unfortunately blurted out that Nightingale, your mom, has been assigned a mission to infiltrate here... you have to make absolutely sure that mission has been rendered unneccesary before you leave, which means getting any and all hostages out. It would be better if you could get Julia on the line before you do anything that could raise the alarm...

"Um, uhhh," Isaac sounds unconfident as ever as he looks at the other baddies, surrounding you three girls (er, two girls and a either-or). He gamely attempts a suggestion: "What do you say we move this to somewhere more comfortable? For us, if nothing else? Like... the forest lounge, on the next floor down? Just outside the studios?"

Ah. So he is still trying to help. Maybe it's for the best that Green Streak has been bullying this poor chump for so long, at least so long as you need him to put his neck on the line. Literally, considering Queen of Hearts' predilections.