Future Mysticons

Kitty & Em

          "Kitty!!!" Kitty had tried to brace herself but there wasn't much to be done to stave off Piper's enthusiasm.

          "Hey Pipes." Kitty had taken to using that nickname and seeing Piper as a younger sister. She wasn't entirely sure when or why that had happened, but she was pretty sure that Piper still saw her as 'the other Zarya'.

          "I missed you so much!" Piper exclaimed, finally releasing her friend. Kitty smiled in spite of herself.

          "I missed you to." She admitted. "I also miss my nephew; have you seen any young dwarven boys, by any chance?"

          "Sure! I've got three of them upstairs; take your pick!"

          "Yeah, pretty sure that Em wants hers." Kitty supposed she should have been a bit clearer, but messing with Piper was fun.

          "Aw, so you're not going to adopt?" Piper pouted.

          "No-o-o. Two kids is plenty, thank you very much." Kitty replied, giving a slight laugh during the no.

          "I suppose." Piper's pout deepened and she looked down at the ground that she was scuffing with her boot. Kitty knew full well what she was doing and what she wanted.

          "But I did bring you this." Kitty added, holding out a sack of gold. Piper brightened pretty much instantaneously.

          "Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank-you so much!!" She cried, grabbing the sack. "But Kitty, this is so generous. How will I ever repay you?"

          "Just keep these kids fed, clothed, and out of the streets." Piper always pretended she couldn't accept Kitty's donations so she didn't sound desperate and Kitty always gave her that same, signature response. Piper had grown so accustomed to it that she even mouthed along with Kitty.

          "Right, will do. Now then, what's this I hear about Em looking for her young dwarven boy? I assume we're talking about Pyrite." Piper did not wear serious well so Kitty just gave her the outline of what they knew. By the time she was done Piper's eyes were wide and she had a hand covering her mouth. Though Kitty wasn't actually sure if she was gasping or yawning; she did look pretty tired.

          "Poor Pyrite." Piper squeaked, tears streaming out of her eyes.

          "We don't actually know anything about what's happened to him yet." Kitty reminded her. "I'm headed to the police station to touch base with Kasey now. Em and Eve are checking his favorite places, Kaddy's reaching out to our contacts and Vivyan, Kyle, Chrsysy and Copper are all at his home looking for clues and hoping he comes back on his own."

          "I'll stay here and spread the word throughout the other orphanages to be on the lookout for him, you never know." Piper decided.

          "Good move." Kitty agreed. "I better get going. It was great seeing you again, though." Piper sent her away with a wave and a grin.

          Kitty strolled down the streets a ways before suddenly tripping. Her practiced eye instantly picked out the thin wire that had been strung across the alley. She whipped out her whip and rose to a guarded crouch when a dart hit her exposed arm. She plucked it out and sniffed. It was covered in sleeping potion and her consciousness only lasted for another three seconds.

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          Em and Everyn made their way through Magi Mall. Everyn couldn't help but wonder why Em was being so meticulous. Sure, they wanted to find Pyrite; but did they really need to check inside of every single dumpster they came across?

          "What if he's switch-hiding?" Everyn finally asked in an attempt to speed things up.

          "What?" Em was on her hands and knees, crawling across the food court, checking all of the tiles.

          "What are you looking for?" Everyn asked, nonplussed and a little creeped out.

          "A trapdoor." Em sounded like that should have been obvious.

          "Is that really what one does when their child has disappeared?"

          "No, I'm just all out of ideas." Em sighed in defeat.

          "I can see that." Everyn muttered to herself. "Anyways," She continued out loud. "I am not out of ideas. You see, whenever I play hide and seek..."

          "Pyrite can't turn invisible, Eve." Em interrupted.

          "I know that, you didn't let me finish." Everyn replied.

          "Sorry." Em reflexively replied.

          "Thank you." Everyn smiled. The others may all get tired of Em's apologetic behavior, but Everyn loved it. Em was the only person who had ever really apologized to her.

          "So, what's your idea?" Em asked.

          "I used to switch-hide; going from one hiding spot to another. That's just what I do when I really don't want to be found." Everyn explained. "Maybe he's just hiding for some reason and keeps changing his location so he won't be found."

          "I suppose that's possible, but why would he be hiding? And why wouldn't Vivyan have been able to find him?"

          "I... don't know." Everyn slumped in defeat. "It was just a thought." Why didn't she ever have any good ideas?

          "A pretty good thought, too. That gives me an idea." Em declared. Everyn's head snapped up. Had she just said...?

          "Wait, you think that was a good idea?" Everyn asked incredulously.

          "Of course! Way better than mine." Em actually laughed at how desperate she'd been and Everyn joined in with her, relieved that someone thought that her ideas were worth something.

A/N I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone reading my story and say that if anyone wants, I would be happy to proofread any stories for them.

Also, as of now my ideas of where to take this story are starting to run dry, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to put them in the comments and I'll use them if they fit. Thank you!