Jenny thought for a moment. "Um, who's that?"
"A family in another part of town," Hawkins said. "There was a disturbance at their house where a group of monsters broke loose from a portal of some sort. Going by the reports, there was a girl matching your description who closed it off. Was that you?"
"Oh, them!" she said. "Yeah, that was me...I was with Muriel, an' then Tetra came to me and showed me how to become a magic girl; she says I'm Four...but the mommy and daddy got sucked in and I hadda go get them..."
The agent nodded. "Hmm. You mean you went into the portal? What did you find in there?"
Jenny frowned. "No, the hole was closed up - I had to make a door like Tetra showed me. It was kinda scary...it was all rocks and it was cloudy, and there were more monsters...but I stayed where they didn't see me, and we got out okay."
"I see." Hawkins noted that apparently Jenny could manufacture some kind of portal herself...interesting. "The monsters you saw in there, are they what you're facing?" From the reports they had been more goblin sorts of things than the dog-creature they'd faced today - just what was this group of "magical girls" up against?
The white-haired girl thought for a moment, then looked at Tetra questioningly. The little cat-girl shrugged. "I...don't exactly know. I don't think they were the driving force, if that's what you mean. What we're facing...I know there's something outside our world that's trying to break in, but I don't quite know what, or exactly what they want..."
"Hmm. If I may ask, how is it that you know even that?"
The cat-girl frowned, then sighed. "It...it's just something I know, like I knew that Jenny was Four when I found her, or like how I knew to look for her in the first place. I don't know why I don't know more, but I don't."
He nodded. "You said she's 'Four?' That means there are others like her, I presume?"
Tetra nodded. "Yeah, there are...I don't know how many, though, and we still haven't met any of them."
"Four, at least," Hawkins mused. "If I were you, I'd be trying to find them...the more time you spend training as a team, the better integrated you'll be."
Tetra was about to respond, but Jenny gave a sudden cry and dashed abruptly from the table. Both of them turned to see where she was going. By the mall entrance was a woman with patches of what looked like armor plating, and jointed, insect-like antennae. Hawkins smiled; by the girl's reaction, this must be Muriel.
Muriel couldn't quite hold back tears as she opened her arms and picked up Jenny. "My God, I was so worried about you..." she said. "Don't ever take off without telling me, okay?"
Jenny felt remorseful when she saw that Muriel had been crying. "'m sorry..." she said. "We were just gonna practice patrolling..."
The policewoman nodded. "It's okay...I'm just glad you're safe. If you really do have to do this, then I guess I'll have to get used to it...but make sure you let me know where you're going, okay?"
"Okay," Jenny said, clinging tightly to her. She'd been so scared during the fight...but it felt worse to think that she'd scared Muriel...
Muriel gently set her down and extended a chitin-plated hand to the figure in the trenchcoat. He accepted it, glove meeting armor. "Agent Hawkins, was it?" she said. "I can't thank you enough. I hope she wasn't too much trouble..."
He smirked. "Considering the circumstances, she did quite well, actually. Handled herself like a real pro." He paused to reflect on that - she had, hadn't she? He'd of course been a bit busy with facing down a dog-thing that wanted him for lunch, but it hadn't escaped his notice how she'd calmed herself and focused on holding a steady aim and leading the target...interesting. Hawkins had a feeling that there might be more to this girl than met the eye...even aside from the whole "magical girl" thing.
Muriel frowned. "'Circumstances?' What circumstances?"
"Oh, we fought a monster!" Jenny said. It was still scary to think about...but now that it was over, now that she'd gotten to take care of the problem and sent it home where it belonged, it felt kind of good, too.
The policewoman gasped. "You did WHAT!?"
Jenny nodded. "We fought it! An' Tetra showed me how to send it home!"
Muriel paled. "I...I think I need to sit down..."
Andy tugged at the leotard, trying to find where the seam was. The doctor had helped her put it back on before they'd left the hospital, since it was the only clothing she'd come with, and at least better than a hospital gown. But still...she felt exposed. It wasn't really skimpy, except in that it showed off her legs more than she was comfortable with and was somewhat low-cut (not that she had a whole lot in the way of cleavage.)
But...it was clearly a garment designed for a woman. And, more than that, it reminded her uncomfortably of the "bunny-girl" stereotype, the Playboy bunny look. All the things she'd said about Maple...she just wanted to be wearing something else. Anything else.
Susan slithered over to help her. "No zipper, dear," he said. "Take it off over your shoulders."
The rabbit-woman complied, tentatively pulling at the straps that went over her shoulders, surprised to find that it was more elastic than she'd have thought. She worked first one arm and then the other out, and peeled it down off of her. Andy gave a little gasp when her breasts came free, staring at herself in the mirror across from the bed. She stood there in a daze...
Susan smiled and gently tugged it down the rest of the way, until it lay on the floor around her feet. Then he himself was distracted - by the sight of a petite, naked bunny-girl. Andy found her heart racing as she realized she was naked in front of a man...in front of her mate... She stared at him, then back at the mirror, seeing her small breasts, her furred mound, the cleft of her...her... She looked back at Susan, feeling herself grow flush, the strange sensations from before coming back in full force...no, stronger...
It was the snake-man who finally broke the gaze, feeling almost as headily confused as his changed husband. He could see her displaying signs of arousal, and he knew he was, too...if they didn't get back on track things were liable to get out of hand. One part of his mind was absolutely okay with that, but the kids were awake and just downstairs, and more importantly...he had no idea what that would do to Andy. She was in a fragile enough state as it was...
He turned to the dresser and begin to dig through, looking for something for his spouse to wear. She was small...smaller than Sally, even. Did they even have anything that would fit her? Andy just stared, taking in the way his tail flowed so smoothly into the small of his back, somehow suggesting a firm, taut male butt without actually being one...it looked so...
Susan breathed a sigh of relief as he found something...who knew where or when he'd got this, but it was...not the right size, but close to it. Maybe some relative's poorly-researched present...he turned back to his spouse, holding a plain white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Unfortunately, that didn't come with underwear of any kind (more evidence for the lazy-gift theory,) and Susan, while not majorly shapely as a woman, had had a completely different build from the rabbit-woman now standing nude in front of him...
Susan handed her the shirt, finally snapping her out of her reverie, and headed into the master bathroom for a pair of scissors. With these, he cut a slit down the back of the jeans, then handed them to Andy. She took them from him, and shivered slightly as her hand brushed his, then slipped them on. "Th-thank you..." she whispered.
The naga-man was surprised to find that this was only somewhat less distracting. Without a brassiere, the snug T-shirt did very little to hide the contours of her breasts or the bumps of her nipples, and the jeans only drew attention to the curve of her rump and the jaunty way her tail poked upward from it...
"I'm....I'm gonna go check on the girls..." he said, slithering out of the room in a daze.
Mrs. Daguerre placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Steven," she said, "I know you're worried about this, but...I'm going to go through with it. I don't want to live separately from you just because I'm afraid to face what you already have."
The flower-girl looked at her, lip trembling. "Mom...please..."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear, but this is really the best choice. But...I would like you to accompany me..."
Steve blinked. "Wh-what?"
"I'm doing this because I want us to be together as a family," her mother said. "I don't know if having a transformee with you when you're exposed affects anything, but just in case, I'd like you there...and for reassurance, too."
"Y-you're scared?" Steve hadn't considered this - her mom had seemed so casual about her change...
The human woman smiled. "Of course I'm scared. It's a big step, and I'm making a very impulsive decision. I'm just not going to let my fear dissuade me, that's all. Would you come with me?"
The flower-girl tried to process this. Her mom wanted her to come out with her in case it would help them stay closer...but what if it worked the wrong way? What if her mom turned into, like, an earthworm, because she was a plant? Or what if she became a tree, rooted into the ground? ...oh God, what if...what if she became a swarm of bees!?
Even if that didn't happen, if Steve went out in the sun...would it trigger any further changes? But...her mom wanted her there, there with her...she loved her mother, she wanted to be with her...
Steve took her mother's hand. Mrs. Daguerre smiled. "Thank you, Steven," she said. "Well...here goes."
