Tailor's house was perfect.

At least, that was Idle's first impression of it.

A pretty split-level painted white, with a little fence around a nicely-kept front yard. There was even a well-pruned crabapple tree on the grass just far enough from the sidewalk that bisected the lawn that the branches wouldn't bother anyone who walked up from the little gate to the front step. There was no garage, but a long driveway up to a side door.

Tailor parked the car and got out. "I'll open up and disable the alarm."

"Idle?" came a small voice from the back seat when the driver's door closed.

"Yeah, what's up?" Idle turned and looked at her lover.

"Are we sure this is safe?"

Idle laughed. "Tailor's had us both under. We're well past the point of her messing with us, I think. What are you worried about?"

Midnight shrugged. "I don't know, I just... I grew up in, uh, not poverty, but nothing this nice, and I'm used to... well, you've seen my apartment. This is nicer than anywhere I've been and... y'know... stories..."

Tailor's head popped back out of the door. "All clear, come on in whenever you like."

"Pretty sure things are cool around here," Idle said, undoing her seatbelt as Tailor disappeared inside the house again. "Besides, if anyone has a problem with you, I'll take 'em the fuck apart." It was just standard suburbia, it wasn't like a super-wealthy subdivision. There wasn't a single security gate or guard in sight.

Midnight giggled and opened the door. "Thanks, that actually helps."

Idle followed her from the car. "Is that sort of shit still a problem?"

Midnight sighed. "I mean, it's getting better, but it's always getting better, y'know? It's never not a problem. Like I'm pretty sure I've missed out on jobs because I don't have a certain look." Midnght held her right hand out in front of her, as if examining her nails. "I dunno, some of it may just be me being paranoid? I'm not the best at what I do yet, I don't have a reputation, I'm only nineteen, and—"

Idle wrapped her up, cutting her off. "You're the best dancer I've ever known. Let's get inside."

Midnight put her arms around Idle. "After the hug."

"Yep, after the hug."

The hug didn't last all that long, and the two women followed their host, politely removing their shoes at the door. They stepped into a kitchen that looked to be straight out of a homemaker's magazine from a couple generations back: white lace curtains over a small window with some sort of small leafy plant sitting on the sill, unpainted wooden cabinets and shelves lined with various jars of spices, a fruit basket (empty) hanging in the corner out of the sun, a little table for two in a recessed nook with the expected napkin-holder (full) and salt-and-pepper shakers (clear glass, both mostly used). The white fridge had a small collection of decorative fruit magnets, four of which held up pictures, none of which were of Tailor alone; there were three of Tailor with another woman who look a lot like her and two young girls, and a fourth of Tailor with those same two girls, the smaller on her shoulders and the bigger one on the shoulders of a good-looking tall young man.

"Family?" Idle asked, waving at the pictures.

"Sister and her two kids," Tailor replied, wandering over to the cupboard. "Can I get either of you a drink?"

"That one doesn't look like a sister or kids."

Tailor sighed. "My ex. It's just too good a picture to get rid of. Can I get either of you a drink?"

Idle knew when to back off a subject. "Nah, I'm good, Midnight?"

"Thanks, maybe later," Midnight said, looking around. "This is so nice."

"Thank you, Midnight." Tailor got a glass from a cupboard and ran water from the tap. "It's been a nice home for a few years."

Idle nodded. "Can I look around?"

Tailor gave a shrug as she filled her glass. "Be my guest, there's not a lot to see." She took a sip. "My life is basically here and in the living room. A lot of nights I don't even make it up to bed, and just crash in front of the vidscreen."

Idle smiled thinly. "I guess if I had to go upstairs I might just fall asleep in my computer chair a lot more."

She headed toward one of the doorways and found herself in a fairly small living room facing out towards the street. Heavy curtains blocked a large window and let in only very dim light even at noon. A large screen hung on the wall at a right angle to the window, bigger than the large monitor over Idle's treadmill. Two comfortable armchairs pointed directly at it from the middle of the room. Opposite the monitor was a small entry hall with a door out to the front steps. and a coat closet that Idle had no interest in exploring. A narrow staircase led to a second story, and Idle decided to take a peek upstairs, only to find three closed doors, likely two bedrooms and a bathroom, and opening closed doors felt like an invasion.

But what was one more? The corpie had seen her entire apartment, other than...

Idle frowned. Other than Spin's room. Midnight hadn't even been in there. That was a step too far. And it would similarly have been a step too far to walk into Tailor's bedrooms uninvited.

She took a few moments to admire what had to be more family pictures hanging in the hallway, most featuring Tailor's sister or nieces or an older woman Idle presumed to be Tailor's mother. It looked like some pictures were missing, given way they were laid out, and Idle guessed that they might have also been of her ex, and perhaps his family or friends. One last look around, and she headed back downstairs.

"... a dancer," she heard Midnight saying in the kitchen, "and I'm good enough at singing to get into chorus lines and stuff, and I hope in a little bit I can teach, too."

"Sounds like you've found work that's just right for you." There was an odd note in Tailor's reply that made Idle stop on the last step and listen, eavesdropping instead of walking in on the conversation.

"Yeah, I mean, I was always athletic, right? And since I was a kid I was always happy on stage."

Tailor chuckled. "Sure, I've seen how you like to show off."

Midnight giggled in reply. "Okay, that's fair." There was a little pause, and then, "What about you, Katherine? Do you like working for the police?"

There was a silence, then the sound of something solid hitting something else solid. Idle guessed that Tailor put her glass down on the counter. "Yes," came the reply, a little hesitant.

Isn't that interesting, corpie, Idle thought, sitting on the steps. Someone's not thrilled.

"I mean," Tailor continued, "it's not like it's why I got interested in Alterations, to be a fact-finder for police operations, but it's a good job, and I'm happy to work where my skills are valued."

Cold-voice, Midnight had called it. Idle could hear it from the other room.

"Why did you become an Alterist, then?" Midnight asked.

Tailor sighed. "As a kid? Honestly, I thought mind control was kind of cool, you know like... did you ever watch VirtuWorld? And yeah, they all have those disclaimers, and I knew it wasn't really like that, but that's how I got the bug."

You and me and Spin and ninety percent of this generation of Alter fanatics, regardless of whether they want to Alter or be Altered. Idle shook her head. So you're a normal person.

"After that..." Tailor hummed a bit. "It's... tougher to tell."

"What do you mean?" Midnight sounded genuinely curious.

"Well, once you're studying it, and subjected to it, and working for AlterLogic, it's a little tough to be all that sure about what's going on in your own head sometimes."

Not something that bothers me or anyone who isn't in corporate, as far as I know.

"Anyway, where's Idle?" Tailor asked.

Idle took that as her cue to head back to the kitchen before she was caught eavesdropping. She casually walked into the room. "Just got finished searching through your underwear drawer, why?"

"Just wondering how long it would take you to scope out my living space," Tailor replied with slightly uncharacteristic bite and a bit of a playful grin.

"Hey, I'm a big girl, I move slow."

"That's not what Midnight says."

The dancer laughed. "Don't get me involved!"

Tailor seemed to be blushing. Her stance was a little tense, but she was trying to look relaxed for some reason. You weren't expecting yourself to say that, were you, corpie. Idle chuckled. "Ooh, the cop has some chops." She sashayed forward a little. "Wanna see how fast I can go? Or should I take it slow and gentle?"

To Idle's surprise, Tailor stepped up from the counter, moving to stand... not quite toe-to-toe with the other Alterist. Blond hair swirled around to shocking effect. "You think you got anything to show me, Brainhacker?"

Adept in reading the body language, Idle could tell that part of the bravado was just that, bravado. But only part. It wasn't hollow. Give her her moment, Idle thought to herself. "I think we have a lot to learn from each other." Not backing down, but giving Tailor the chance to—

Midnight clapped and giggled. "Do I get to watch?"

And all tension in the room fell apart as the two Alterists started to laugh, and Midnight joined them almost immediately. Still, Idle was aware of Tailor's very real relief. The strong front, not just solid and confident, but aggressive and determined, was a stretch for her, and she didn't really know how to get out of the situation. Her mouth had written a cheque that her adorable ass couldn't cash, and Midnight had just handed her a loan. Idle frowned internally at the awkward metaphor as the two of them stepped back from their confrontational pose.

"I promised you both lunch," Tailor said, moving to the fridge. "Any dietary restrictions I should know about?"

"I can't have strawberries," Midnight said, "But, uh, otherwise, nothing I'm too worried about."

Idle just shrugged, pulling out one of the little chairs from by the table. "Other than shellfish, I'm just picky." She sat the wrong way on the chair, drumming her hands on the ornate wooden back.

Tailor opened the door and looked inside. "That's fine, I don't have a lot to offer you. I have cold cuts, carrot sticks, uh... bread?" She closed the fridge. "I don't keep a lot of food around."

"Anything is good," Midnight said, and Idle made a noise of agreement.

There was little talk over the slapdash lunch. Comfort settled over the trio, an uneasy comfort, but comfort all the same.

"So," Tailor was the first to break the silence. She had sat in the chair opposite Idle, properly at the table, after sorting everyone's food out. Midnight had hopped up on the counter near the sink. "Spin is—"

Idle interrupted her almost immediately. "My roommate, my best friend since high school, missing, and definitely not my lover." She bit the end off a carrot loudly to punctuate the point.

Tailor nodded. "Glad to have that cleared up." Smearing margarine on a piece of bread, she continued, "Spin is a professional Alterist, yes?"

"Oh." Idle finished chewing the bit of vegetable and swallowed. "Yeah, they work for a dentist. Painless drilling, y'know?"

"Right. Seems unlikely that that would get them in any trouble."

"We can always ask if they had any upset customers or something, I guess."

Midnight scratched her head. "How bad does a root canal have to be that you kidnap the Alterist?"

Idle scoffed. "That's a whole different meaning to an extraction."

"Has anyone talked to their work?" Tailor asked. "Their boss might want to know."

"I don't think the office is open on the weekends," Idle replied. "I'll call 'em in the morning, I guess."

"Might not be a bad place to start. See if anyone's noticed any unusual behaviour or anything."

Idle gave her a withering glare. "If I didn't notice anything..."

"Uh, Idle?" Midnight started, hopping down to the floor. "Spin's been messing in our heads, right? And if they didn't want us to know something was wrong..."

Idle's angry look met the small dancer. Midnight stepped back, her hands against the counter, startled. The Alterist bit her lip, then sighed. "Fuck. Fuck. You're right, fuck." She consciously composed her expression, but still rapped her knuckles on the back of the chair. "Sorry, Midnight. And Tailor. I'm out of line, you're both right." She stood up. "Bathroom, second floor?"

Tailor nodded. "Middle room, straight across from the stairs."

"'Kay, I'll be back in a couple."

Idle didn't really need the bathroom, but she did need a minute to cool down, and there was no reason to waste a convenient excuse. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she admonished herself softly, climbing the stairs. "I should've thought of that. I shouldn't be so..." She let out a wordless growl, frustrated, as she pushed her way into a well-appointed, spacious washroom. The half-fulfilled personalization of the rest of the home continued into the light-green-and-white assault on her senses; no photos this time, but brightly coloured and patterned hand towels, two plastic cups in shades of purple, and decorative soaps—multiple decorative soaps, Idle noted with a sigh of disgust. And despite those, a simple glass reservoir with a pump held the liquid soap people were no doubt expected to use when cleaning their hands.

"Why can't I get my head around this? This should be fucking routine." Idle furiously pushed her pants and underwear to her ankles and sat petulantly on the toilet. "Question everything. Get it in your head, girl. Question. Everything." She put her head in her hands. "Anything, everything might be something that Spin's been messing with." She sighed. "Maybe I just need to step back and... not... Rrgh."

She took a deep breath. "No. Not giving up. There's no cavalry coming. What can I work on?" The muddling in her own head was a definite 'no,' but that was far from the only piece of the puzzle.

Midnight. Her strange word. The relationship between her and Spin. The way Spin had kept that information from them by deliberately working more in hypnotism than Alteration.

The best leads she could think of.

Idle finished up her business in the washroom and cleaned up, preparing herself mentally and emotionally for the next round of conversation. She calmed herself down, hoping that the rest of her conversations with Tailor would go smoothly; there had been a lot of fight in her life for the last couple days, and she had to admit, it was getting exhausting.

I think we have a lot to learn from each other.

The words had been ringing in Katherine's head since Idle spoke them. All through the small talk over lunch. The few moments it took her to climb the stairs. The process of undressing, which took longer than it ought to. Standing naked in front of the full-length mirror.

What do you want to teach me, though? Katherine asked herself. She wondered if Idle found her attractive. She knew Peter did, strongly suspected that Midnight did, understood that any number of friends and co-workers thought she was pretty. So why did it matter if Idle cared?

Her fingers slid down between her breasts, trying and failing to imagine Idle's hands imitating Kyle's. She didn't really know why someone else's would be so very different, though it had been long enough that it was hard to imagine Kyle's hands in the first place. Still, the act of pretending was itself of benefit, though she stopped short of actually caressing her breast, tempting though it was; she had guests.

She had slept on the couch of one of those guests the night before. And while she had, both her guests had been in the bedroom. At one point, a soft moan had emerged from that bedroom. Katherine didn't know who had made that moan, or under what circumstance, but her mind could conjure a few scenarios. More interestingly, perhaps a touch distressingly, Katherine couldn't seem to stop her mind from coming up with ideas, and it had only gotten worse the more time she'd spent with Idle and Midnight. Idle seemed almost confrontational in her sexuality, teasing and taunting and tempting the more straight-laced. It was only too easy to view Idle as some sort of femme fatale, sent to draw her into some sort of web of...

Of what?

Katherine had to fight to keep from laughing. Idle wasn't part of some grand conspiracy. She wasn't there to drag Katherine into some sort of sinful hedonistic life. Idle was aggressive and confrontational because she was trying to get under Katherine's skin. It wasn't anything deeper than that. Idle thought she was a prude, and thought that flaunting her body and her relationship with Midnight would bother the 'corpie.' And Katherine had tried to push back, and that had gone less well than she would have hoped.

But, Katherine had to admit to herself... it had been fun. She was perversely looking forward to heading back downstairs and continuing the discussion, almost hoping for the next confrontation. A chance for the button-down every-day jobber to prove herself worthy of rebellious on-her-own firebrand. She wasn't sure why that had become important to her, or even why it should be. She told herself that she was just here for the mystery, trying to help solve the problems that had been laid before her, that nothing else was going on at all. That she hadn't just been trying to imagine Idle's hands all over her. That she wasn't even vaguely intrigued by Midnight's obvious flirting. That she wasn't physically resisting the urge to throw herself on her bed and—

She took a long, slow, deep breath. She put her hands at her sides. She looked in the mirror; she looked stiff, uncomfortable.

She thought of Midnight, the dancer's grace and efficacy of movement even when just walking down the street. Something to aspire to. She tried a bit of a swish, and immediately shook her head, grinning at the impossibility of it. It wasn't her. She wasn't smooth, not like that. Regal, Kyle had often said, and she tried for regal, turning a bit, tilting her head, straightening her back. She was solid. Immovable. Untouchable. Even naked, she was dignified; her hair flowed like a cape around her, and while she wasn't muscled like Midnight or ... top-heavy like Idle, she looked good.

When she wasn't stiff and uncomfortable.

She sighed, deflating, watching herself deflate. Her two guests didn't deflate. Which was a silly thing to think, of course they weren't always the way she saw them. Idle wasn't always forceful and dominant, Midnight wasn't always graceful and artistic. And Katherine isn't always regal and aloof, she reminded herself.

"Hey Princess!" Idle's voice floated up the stairs. "Everything okay? You get a tangle in your hair?"

Katherine smirked, headed to and opened her door, and called back down, "Nah, just can't decide on what colour underwear I should put on, you wanna come up and help me with that?"

"If I want to see you naked, Tailor, I'll just put the suggestion in your head next time you're on my treadmill."

Katherine could faintly hear Midnight's giggle. She couldn't think of a good response, so she said nothing back, just quietly closing her door and taking the hint. She stayed away from the mirror, and kept her mind on the task at hand, until she had herself dressed in a light blue top with a white button-up sweater, left open, and a long light blue skirt to match. Her good white sandals would finish the ensemble. Finally turning back to the mirror, she swept her hair back from her eyes and pinned it in place, framing her face and leaving the rest to flow free.

Everything in order, she made her way downstairs, somewhat unsurprised to find Midnight sitting on Idle's lap. "Can't wait until you get back home?" she teased.

"Nope!" Midnight answered, hopping to her feet. "Why wait?"

"Fair, I suppose, I did take my time."

"It works," Idle replied, also getting to her feet. "Have to admit it, you look like you just threw that together, and it's stunning." The brainhacker swept a critical look up and down the analyst. "I'm a little jealous."

Katherine fought, unsuccessfully, to keep the flush from her cheeks. "I have to do something, since I don't have either of your looks."

"Stuff it, corpie, I'd kill to have hair like that, or your shape. And before you start arguing, we should plan the rest of the day."

"Yes, of course." Katherine sighed. "What do we know, what do we need to know?"

"Spin's missing," Midnight said, counting points on her fingers. "They messed with me and Idle. They vanished after a game of Fives, left their phone behind, smashed, with no card in it. They sent a message to Idle sometime after that. Then we went to the police and met you."

"And from then I was there. Mostly, I think."

Idle shook her head. "You weren't there for Midnight writing down those weird letters."

"And you were asleep when I woke up in the computer room," Midnight added.

Katherine nodded. "I guess my real contribution is finding the emotional gaps in Idle's thought patterns and discovering Spin's notable lack of Alteration tracks when it comes to Midnight."

"And you got us into the theatre," Idle said.

"And you got us some nice food," Midnight added.

"You looked great in trance in my computer room."

"You did a good job Altering Idle, too!"

"Can we just..." Katherine held up her hands, feeling her face getting warm again. "Can we just accept that, yes, I have contributed?"

Midnight giggled. Idle put her fists on her hips. "What's the matter, scared of having a good time?"

She just wants to see you rattled. "Do I look scared?"

Idle shook her head. "Not scared. A little flustered. Excited. Curious, I think. Not to mention," the brainhacker stepped up, closing the space between them, "dead sexy."

Even knowing it was coming, it still felt good the hear the compliment. Propriety demanded a response. "So you keep telling me. You tease a lot, Idle, but whenever you have the chance, you don't take advantage. Sounds to me like you're all talk."

Midnight gasped. Idle raised an eyebrow with a look of something like admiration on her face. "You know, if Midnight wasn't here..."

"Oh, now you're worried about witnesses all of a sudden?" Katherine felt a feral grin cross her face. This isn't like me, she thought, but she was enjoying herself far too much to back down now. She turned on her heel, letting her hair flow out behind her. "Pity we've got a job to do."

"Or what?"

"Or I might show you the difference between talk and action." Katherine headed towards the door. "We should head back to your place, Idle. I want to work on Midnight's cryptic word, and we might need to put her in a trance to do it." Midnight cheered at the idea, but Katherine didn't turn back, expecting the other women to follow. She could tell Idle was maybe a step and a half behind her. With practiced ease she sat on the bench by the door and picked up her sandals. Sure enough, the others were right there, ready to get their footwear on and head out.

"I'll set the alarm once the two of you are outside."

"Don't want us seeing your passcode?"

"Don't want you having another run-in with the police."

"Don't want the police having another run-in with me, you mean."

"I just don't want blood on my doorstep. Yours or theirs."

Idle smirked. "That's fair." She pushed the door open as Katherine stood to go to the alarm panel. "We'll be waiting outside." And with that, Idle and Midnight disappeared out the door.

Katherine let out a slow breath. Her hands were trembling. The adrenaline rush of banter trumped anything that she had experienced at work. It was very much like a solid game of Fives. Like her last match of the night. The match against—

Right. Spin.

There was no more hesitation. The code was input to the keypad, the beeping began, and Katherine was out the door. Without a word she turned the key in the door lock, processed to the car, scanned her thumb to let Idle into the passenger seat and Midnight into the back behind her, and the three women were on the road, driving back to Idle's apartment.

"What are we going to do for supper?" Midnight asked when they had been driving for about two minutes, breaking the silence.

"Hm. Dunno," Idle replied. "Do you mean 'we,' you and me? Or 'we,' all three of us?"

Katherine could feel the other Alterist's gaze, even without looking away from the road.

"Well if Katherine's helping us solve these puzzles we should feed her, right?" Midnight's tone suggested both that Katherine would be helping, and that they should arrange for dinner.

"How about we figure that out when we get hungry?" Idle replied. Her eyes were still on Katherine. "And if Tailor wants to stay." Her tone, meanwhile, was much more ambiguous and hard to read. It felt less friendly, which was a bit confusing on its own.

Katherine chose her words carefully. "I hope I can help sort out these questions and find Spin. I'm prepared to spend my time with you both, if you like."

"Nothing better to do, huh?" Idle snickered.

"My life isn't all that interesting," Katherine confirmed, ignoring the implied insult. "I sit in my little office eight hours a day, Tuesday through Saturday, file my reports, head home, cook for myself or bring home some take-out if I'm tired. Sometimes I go out to play Fives or meet friends. But I haven't had any real excitement in my life since..." She was about to say, since I parted ways with my ex, but she realized that one of the reasons for that parting was because there wasn't any real excitement in the relationship. "Well, for a long time, anyway."

"Boytoy in the picture didn't do it for you?"

"Let's... not talk about that, alright?"

"Okay, fine." Idle, a bit surprisingly, backed off. "Still, you ever consider batting for the other team?"

Katherine smiled a bit. "I've never been much of a team player, when it comes to attraction. Boy, girl, in between or outside..." Why am I sharing this with these two practical strangers? "Just because I've never dated outside the hetero pool doesn't mean I'm not interested."

"So when Midnight offered to let you into her beautiful mind while showing off her stunning—"

"Definitely curious," Katherine admitted, the heat rising in her cheeks. "If I were a less scrupulous Alterist—"

"Ooh!" Midnight piped up from the back. "Tell me what you'd do!" She giggled.

"I..." Katherine swallowed, still watching her driving. "I don't really know, to be honest. I don't think of Altering in that way, it's just not..." She trailed off, trying to think of a good way to change the subject and not getting there.

Idle chuckled from the passenger seat. "Let's have a little mercy for our poor driver, Midnight honey."

"Thank you," Katherine breathed. She felt like she'd lost the round. She didn't really mind the feeling. It gave her a chance to plot revenge.

"'Sides, we have to leave her some room to figure out what she's gonna do with us, when we're under."

And the fluster was back. Katherine said nothing, not trusting her voice, focused entirely on the driving while Idle and Midnight laughed. Still, the mood seemed to lighten, and Katherine found herself mentally, if not physically, joining in the laughter at least a little.

When she found her voice, the joking had died down again. "So, you said Spin is your coach, are they also a Brainhacker?"

Idle nodded. "Best one I know. Best Alterist I know. Retired, though."

"Retired? At your age?"

"They had a bad match." Idle sighed. "Do you know who Caden Collier is?"

"I think I've heard the name."

"Brainhacker. Also retired, less willingly. Not allowed near the sport for being... well, just a general shitheel, among other things. I don't really need to get into it. Point is, he had a way of brutalizing his opposition, terrifying them, then offering them safety of a nice, comforting trance to lose the game in. And there was... well, another aspect to his work."

Katherine took a turn and waited patiently for Idle to continue.

Which she did, after a pause. "Caden targeted people with threats, things he could and would do to them after the match. He also had this little swarm of rats that followed him—probably still do—and learned his methods. And when Spin beat one of his favourites and had the temerity to brag about it, Caden challenged them to a match."

"I'm going to guess," Katherine ventured, "that it wasn't a clean match."

"He hurt them." Idle's mirth was entirely gone. "Deliberately. Dangled the win in front of them, teased them with it, just enough hope to let them continue, encouraging them, insisting that they go forward. All the while he was also attacking their ego and intention. Imagine a boxing match where you hit your opponent just hard enough to cause damage, but not enough to knock them down. That was the point. Constantly pressing them to the ropes, then easing off. Battering and bruising, but letting them think they still had a chance so they wouldn't just forfeit. And all while he was at it, devaluing them. Attacking the ego. Creating memories of the damage he was doing, or could be doing, that would last past the clean-up phase of the Alter gear. I've seen the transcripts, could barely read them. Spin needed therapy, honest to goodness actual therapy for dealing with that."

"I can see why they would be reluctant to go back to the sport after that."

"Reluctant doesn't begin to fucking—anyway. If I ever get my hands on that weasel..." Idle shook her head again and sighed. "The biggest problem is that it leaves them open to another attack like that just by calling back to the memories of the first attack. We even have a secret signal between us for when I'm brainhacking in case someone tries to do it to me—don't worry, it's legal, most coach/hacker teams have a killswitch, and communication to the coach from the hacker is above-board—and if I give it, they'll forfeit the match for me and pull me out." She put her fist lightly against the window glass. "He had them bouncing on his string for fifty-two minutes before finally pulling the plug and dropping them. I wasn't able to be there until after. I got to clean up his mess, and live with his consequences, and for all that? Nothing. Until a couple months after he threatens and literally assaults a big name at a convention, and then, finally, lifetime ban, of course not for any of the shitty things he did in a game. But there are always more assholes, unfortunately. Just that their lord and saviour got himself fucking martyred, which doesn't make them any less assholes."

Katherine turned onto Idle's street and started looking for a parking space. "Do you think that might be related to the situation?"

"Fucked if I know," Idle snapped, turning in her seat to face forward. Then, after a moment, she continued, "No, I'm sorry, that's not fair. It might, I guess. I don't know anyone who's a big enough asshole to take this sort of fight offline and into the real world, but if there's someone local who knows where we live..." She trailed off.

The car assessed a space and parked with automated ease next to the curb. "It's a lead, anyway," Katherine offered. "Something to look into. Let's go inside, I might have a couple ideas bubbling up worth trying out."

"Yeah. Good."

The apartment felt unfamiliar. The lack of Spin's presence made everything strange.

Idle flopped onto the couch with a sigh. Midnight sat right beside her, ready to provide comfort and support. Tailor sat in the armchair, looking unintentionally perfect. "So what's these ideas?" Idle asked, weary.

"There are... some advantages to corporate training and a proper educa—"

Idle cleared her throat to encourage Tailor to get to the point. "Just... what's on your mind?"

Tailor didn't look disturbed in the least to be interrupted. "Well, you saw some of it earlier. If Spin's been using regular hypnosis techniques, so can I."

"Gonna get your pocketwatch out or some shit?"

Tailor smiled in a way that felt condescending in how uncondescending it seemed. "Nothing so... cliché, I guess. Just like I did earlier with Midnight, I'll borrow Spin's work. Obviously there's some pretty deep programming in there, some that could only be accomplished with Alteration, but using classical hypnosis for triggers and conditions. Hm. You said Spin works for a dentist?"

Idle nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Well..." Tailor stood up and started pacing. "Seems to me that in a dentist's chair, you wouldn't have room for all the dental equipment as well as a full Alteration setup. AlterLogic doesn't contract with medical organizations, so I don't really know how it would exactly, but I bet you'd probably still want the Alterist on hand during the procedures to make sure nothing goes sideways. If someone's conditioning starts to fail while they're having a tooth drilled—"

"I get the idea."

"Right. Well... You see what I mean? Spin's training for sure included some non-Alteration hypnotism, which means that those are the tools we can hopefully use to unlock some of this mystery."

"Um..." Midnight cut in. "I'm kinda thirsty, anyone else?"

Idle smiled and patted her shoulder. "You know where glasses and drinks are, you go ahead, I'm good. Tailor, you want something?"

"Water would be great." She smiled back, self-effacingly. "I've been talking an awful lot."

"And if what you're saying is right, you're about to be talking a lot more."

Tailor's expression turned rueful as Midnight headed to the kitchen. "Yes, I would say so."

"So what's first? That weird word?"

"I'm more curious about her waking up in the computer room, myself, and anyway I think that's the easier point of attack."

"Sounds good."

Midnight handed a glass of water to Tailor. "So what do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Uh..." Tailor took a drink and scratched the back of her head. "We, uh..." She seemed to be blushing a bit.

Idle was genuinely curious. "Tailor? What is it?"

"We need to recreate the conditions of last night, when whatever triggered in Midnight's head... triggered."

"How closely?"

"As close as possible." Tailor sighed. "I, uh, I get it. I do. It could be uncomfortable. But we don't know what exactly set off Midnight's programming, so we need the conditions to be the same."

"Doesn't bother me," Idle said. "Midnight?"

The dancer giggled. "Honestly I'm kinda looking forward to it." She took a drink of her water.

Predictable, Idle thought, and saw the same thought cross Tailor's face. The two of them shared a look. Tailor shook her head in a way that said, I should have thought of that.

"We were in bed," Idle said.

"Then you should both be in bed," Tailor replied.

"We weren't dressed."

Tailor nodded.

"At all."

"Thank you, I understand the situation." There was a hint of irritation in Tailor's reply, the first that Idle had heard despite the abuse she'd leveled at the corpie, but also perhaps... some hope? And if she didn't want to admit that to herself, let alone to Idle or Midnight, that would explain some of the irritation.

"Then you'll probably be relieved to know that lying in bed naked was pretty much all that we got up to," Idle said.

Tailor smirked. "That is something of a relief."

"Aww, you're missing out," Midnight giggled.

"We'll save that sort of thing for another time," Tailor said, with a lot more patience and acceptance than she was showing Idle. Which wasn't a concern, it just gave a little justification to Idle's needling. The blonde took a drink and let out a slow sigh. "This is awkward enough for me, I have to admit. I'm not sure whether I prefer your aggression or your teasing innocence, honestly, but I'm doing my best."

Idle decided to cut her some slack. "You're doing fine. Truth is, no one's good at these situations. We're all handling them the best way—well, no, the only way we know how, I guess. Midnight's just being Midnight, I think, I'm pushing your buttons because I wanna see what you'll do—"

"And because you're having fun at it," Tailor replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, that too, because it's fun. It's a little stress relief. Blowing off a little steam. I'm not super into the idea of just lying there naked while Midnight cuddles me to see if you can trigger a hypnotic response, so my defensive hackles go up a bit."

Tailer grimaced. "Which you express by taking it out on me. I get it." Her hands went to the hem of her shirt in what had to be an unconscious gesture, then, as if realizing what she was doing, she looked Idle straight in the eyes. "Would it make you feel more comfortable if I stripped, too?"

Challenge accepted. "Alright, corpie, I'll take you up on that, let's see if you look as good undressed as you do in that stunning outfit."

"Oh, I just threw this on, and it'd be just as easy to throw it off."

"Yeah, I fuckin' bet. Don't forget, I saw you in your underwear this morning."

"Are you saying that I don't measure up?" The mock offense, complete with another challenge.

Idle sat up straight to reply, moving forward on the cushion. "Measure up? If Midnight wasn't here, I'd show you just how much I'd—"

"Oh, don't stop because of me!" Midnight squeaked, obviously enjoying herself at least as much as her lover was.

"Alright then, corpie." Idle put her hands on the table, leaning forward and showing off her own cleavage. "You wanna go a couple rounds before we get this show on the road?"

Tailor didn't hesitate, unbuttoning her sweater as she spoke. "Think I can't hold my own?"

"You'd better, if this is the way things are going to go. You've got two of us against just you."

Tailor looked at Midnight, shrugging her sweater off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor with an absolutely baffling elegance. "You think she's a threat? She's tiny. I could blow her over."

Idle growled a chuckle out. "She's a professional dancer. Those legs are strong."

"I won't ask how you know that."

"You'll find it out soon enough if you keep this up."

Midnight was actually starting to look a bit nervous. "I, um, I'm not sure whether I should be scared or turned on, and I'm not sure how much of both I can be without one ruining the other."

Tailor's wolfish grin shocked Idle, who hadn't imagined the stiff-necked corpie to be capable of such an expression. "Just roll with it, Midnight. Same rules apply here as anywhere else: you say 'stop,' and we'll stop." She looked back at Idle. "Right?"

Idle gave her approval with a simple raised thumb. The little nudges she'd given Tailor the night before, to get her to loosen up, be more open, have a little more fun, seemed to be taking well. Every time Idle showed some backbone, she was met with a challenge, and Tailor was having fun—that much was easy to see, in her stance, her expression, her tone, her flush—and having fun meant reinforcing those suggestions. Every rush of adrenaline Tailor got, and every approving gesture from Idle and Midnight, pushed those ideas deeper into her psyche.

And what good are claws if you don't bear them once in a while?

Still, they had a job to do. Idle got to her feet and pulled off her long shirt, showing her simple white cotton bra, her generous chest, and her exercise-averse tum to her guest. "Alright, girls, let's get naked, and see if we can find out what the fuck my roommate did to Midnight."

That feral expression softened instantly, into something resembling relief. Still not quite to my level, eh? Idle thought. I wonder if you're to the level you'd like to be?

"I'll let you two go first," Tailor said, probably more meekly than she'd intended. "Get comfortable, and, uh... I haven't seen your room, Idle, but do you have a chair in there? Or can we put one in there?"

"Not a lot of space," Idle replied, reaching back to unhook her bra and letting the girls breathe free. "If you have to sit, will the edge of the bed do?"

Tailor tried to look like she wasn't staring. "It will have to, if that's the only option. I guess I can stand."

Midnight, meanwhile, was staring unabashedly. "I'll, um, try to leave enough space?"

Tailor turned to face Midnight. "I think that you're supposed to strip too."

The dancer hid her expression behind a long drink of water. "Uh... now that the pressure's on... I mean, it was fun to tease..."

"Getting cold feet?" Idle asked, trying not to laugh. If Midnight was really upset at the idea, Idle was prepared to suggest a different method, or none at all.

"Me? no, hah, I mean... I show my body off all the time, right?"

Tailor took a slow step towards Midnight. "If you're feeling uncomfortable, we can always—"

"It's not that!" Midnight shook her head. "I just... Suddenly I feel like all that... I dunno, aggression? It feels like it's pointed at me and..." She trailed off.

Tailor smiled gently. "Not a chance, Midnight. My ire is for Idle and only Idle."

"Gee, thanks," Idle snapped sarcastically, but truthfully Tailor's admission made the brainhacker shiver internally, a chill of delight. "Yeah, don't worry, honey, I'll be rough with Tailor but I'll be gentle as you like with you."

Midnight hesitated long enough to put her glass down before slipping off her jeans and panties in one quick motion. "Uh, I don't know how to banter like you two, but, um... like what you see?"

Idle's eyes locked on that cute snatch probably said more than enough. Tailor nodded and somehow threaded the needle. "Simply beautiful, Midnight. I almost wish I'd taken you up on your offer earlier."

That bit of encouragement seemed enough to convince the dancer to quickly pull off her shirt. Idle took advantage of Tailor's distraction to quickly shed her own jeans and underwear and cross into view. "Come on, Midnight, let's go recreate last night." She took the younger woman's hand and, without missing a beat, pulled her in to a steaming hot kiss, just two naked girls making out in front of a third party. Without looking back or sparing another word for Tailor, the two of them headed to the bedroom.