[b]Carolle Manor Yorkshire, England 103 Local Time[/b] [center][color=7ea7d8][i][h2]The Alice[/h2][/i][/color][/center] [color=bc8dbf]"An hour until two, Mistress,"[/color] came Aida's muffled, and ever-present reminder of the time. The Mannequin had no mouth to speak with, but somehow retained the ability to converse, though it was rarely used, present circumstance asides. Nodding, Charlotte put down her pen and put aside the documents she was working on. She was getting sleepy, in any case, and she could afford putting off some work for later. But before that . . . [color=7ea7d8]"Aida, switch on the telly for a moment, will you please?"[/color] she said, wheeling herself to her cabinet for clothes. She actually had three large screen television sets in her room, but Aida had been with her long enough to know that she meant to turn them all on. Dutifully, she switched them on and as several news channels came on display, she listened without looking. Back before the "incident" she had already grasped an understanding of the importance of having information, but later on realized how superficial that understanding was. She had only glanced at the news with passing interest, focusing on information that interested or pleased her. After the death of her parents and her subsequent legal battles to reclaim her inheritance, she understood the true value of processing information. Every small detail could be used to ones advantage, every gen and insight was an asset to your benefit. Since then, she had moved almost all the televisions in her manor to her room, and permanently kept them on the news; one for local, the other two for international. She listened without really looking, a habit she developed in order to multitask, and hopped into bed. Sleep never came to her easily anymore, so it would be awhile before- [i] “. . .escaped earlier this afternoon while being transferred to a more secure facility, killing two police officers in the process. Ned Dryden had been imprisoned last year on seventy-three counts of murder committed in an effort to take over the Melbourne underworld. Better known as 'Tinhead Ned', Dryden used several sets of experimental powered armor in order to intimidate gangs and organized crime syndicates into appointing him as their leader. However, the superhero group known as the Champions dismantled his organization in one of their earliest missions.”[/i] Charlotte bolted upright and stared at one TV in particular, eyes wide. [color=7ea7d8][i]"Red, Spade club cards from ace to ten, Cheshire, Haigha, my room."[/i][/color] Issuing a telepathic message to her family, Charlotte shot out of bed, a silently anxious Aida immediately at her side to help her back into her wheelchair. It took only seconds before her "children", as she called them often, arrived. The first to come was Cheshire, unsurprisingly. The cat could move faster than any of her cars could. [color=662d91]"You rang~?"[/color] he meowed in that drawl, sing-song tone he always defaulted to. [color=7ea7d8]"Wait for the others first, Cheshire."[/color] With a bob of his head, the stuffed cat leapt into her lap, and she accepted him easily. Stroking his fur, she waited for the others to arrive. The next to come were Haigha and the Rats. They swarmed into the room, before assembling in front of her in an uneven line. None of the rats could stand perfectly still, always twitching and moving or scratching themselves. One was even chasing its tail around in circles. Still, all of them gave Charlotte their utmost attention . . . even if it really did not seem like it. When they spoke, they all did so at near the same time, garbling up their sentences and becoming near unintelligible. "Here!" "Hullo!" "Cookies?" "Get yer tail off'f me mouth!" "How 'bout you take yer paws of me foot?!" "Wheeeeeee!" "She called us! She called us!" "That means we're special lads!" "We're special! We're special!" Haigha the Hare sighed and ignored her tiny companions. Looking up at Charlotte, and Cheshire on her lap, she tilted her head. [color=a0410d]"Yes? You called, Missy? Is something the matter? Oh!"[/color] Her nose twitched violently with excitement, a quirk of hers that Charlotte could never quite understand. [color=a0410d]"Is it a mission? I LOVE missions! So exciting, don't you think Cheshire dear?"[/color] [color=662d91]"Yes, quite,"[/color] he drawled. The Alice giggled, unable to help herself. Her children were so quirky and unbelievably strange that they always livened her spirits when they gathered. Their strange habits and weird attitudes clashed and blended so vividly that it was like looking at a cartoon come to life. They were the only things left in this world that could make her laugh, and she treasured each and every one of them with all her heart. "She laughed! She laughed!" "We is funny yes!" "I'mstillchasingmytailWheeeeeeee!" "NaiWa!NaiWa!" [color=8882be]"Calm down you louts, we're here to discuss something, not clown around, ain't that right miss?"[/color] A new voice, high pitched, with a strange, echoing quality, came from the doorway. A large teddy bear with a floating sword to its side entered the room, parting the crowd of cat and mice. The large teddy knelt in front of Charlotte, before standing up again. [color=ed1c24]"You called, Charlotte,"[/color] his voice rumbled in a smooth baritone. It was not a question, it was a statement of fact, in the same way that his coming here was a natural occurrence. She called, and he came, as natural as the sun following the moon. [color=7ea7d8]"We have an opportunity to make contact,"[/color] said Charlotte. The heads of everyone in the room looked up at her in surprise, excitement glimmering in their eyes. It was known that her life goal was to see the resurgence of the Champions, and heroism in general, but so far, there had been no chance to make meaningful contact with anyone who could help. [color=7ea7d8]"A villain has recently escaped in Australia, and despite Nagoya, I've no doubt that there will be heroes who will respond to the crisis. In particular, I want you to observe any Champions that respond, and see if their still worthy of the name."[/color] With a nod of understanding, Teddy got up from the ground, and Haigha began bounding around, unable to contain the energy that came with news of a new mission. That brief summary was all that they needed, and they knew the rest. Nothing else had to be said between them. Before they left, they swarmed Charlotte, burying the solitary girl in hugs and fur, a tradition they all went through whenever they left for some place far from her touch. For her part, she embraced them as if never wanting to let them go, and only reluctantly parted with them after a long moment. [color=7ea7d8]"Good luck,"[/color] she whispered as they left.[hr] [center][b][color=ed1c24]Red the Teddy Knight[/color][/b][/center] Red hated going off on missions like these, because it meant leaving Charlotte. Now he knew she wouldn't be too lonely; Aida would never leave her side, and neither would Jabberwocky, but still, he wished that they didn't have to leave for these missions at all -- Charlotte shouldn't have to concern herself with the games of heroes and villains, and should be spending her days laughing and playing, like she used to. Unfortunately he, more than anyone else except perhaps Aida, knew how strong Charlotte's convictions were, second only to her sense of justice, and the two were not even close to being mutually exclusive. She had set her sights on revitalizing the world of heroes, and she was not going to stop until she saw it happen, or burnt herself out in the attempt. [color=black]"So, you're leaving are you?"[/color] A voice, deeper than humanly possible, resounded menacingly in his ears. Red and the rest of the leaving party looked to the side, where a giant stone dragon began its descent. Jabberwocky, who was without a doubt the strongest among the Animated, lowered his head towards them. Most of the time, he was a rather arrogant fellow, but he showed respect when Red or Aida was in his presence. He valued their experience as the eldest among them, and recognized that though she never said so out loud or even in her thoughts, they were Charlotte's favorites. [color=ed1c24]"Yes, perhaps for a week. Look after her while we're gone."[/color] [color=black]"That is needless to say."[/color] Of course it was, but he would ask it anyway, and because Jabberwocky knew why, he didn't take issue with it. With a nod of approval, Red stalked towards the family's private jet. His thoughts wandered to the heroes they were tasked to observed. Should they commit the gravest of sins by disappointing Charlotte, then he will not hesitate to uproot their whole organization, until nothing was left of them, with no hope of resurgence. He didn't know how he could do it, or if it was even possible, but he would not stop until it became so.