Setting Out

"What was she thinking?" Lucy cried, crumpling up the paper she'd been writing on.

"I'm not Sabrina so I wouldn't know," Dawnie replied, ducking the thrown paper ball.

Lucy started pacing. She ignored the girls who had gathered on the closest sofa. Court was hiding in his little tech nook, busily working on the task Lucy had given him the moment she'd heard about Sabrina's ridiculous little scheme. It was only on her fifth pass that Cassidy and Aarti entered, arms laden with supplies. Lucy didn't pay them any attention beyond a quick glance, her hand massaging her temple.

"Okay, so what set her off this time," Cassidy drawled as she entered the hideout, Aarti in tow. Aarti was idly playing with a robotic kitten. "Would you put that thing down?"

"My dog needs company, and this is so cute," Aarti replied. She put the kitten on her shoulder where it generated a rusty purr. "Just how do you get it to do this?" She turned and looked at Cassidy who rolled her eyes.

"Sabrina was out there," Leilani volunteered, chewing on a rope of red licorice. She took another ferocious bite.

"'Was' out there?" Cassidy asked.

"That's what has Lucy unhappy." Leilani's fingers clenched on the licorice, squeezing it into a thinner tube. "She got picked up by the overlords."

"Bait! She called herself bait," Lucy snarled, coming to a stop. She heaved a deep sigh. "This messes up the original plan. We can't wait for those people at that shop place."

They fell silent. While they had a plan, they weren't that confident that it would succeed. Lucy had been pouring calories upon calories down Don and Dawnie's throats, trying to keep up with their caloric output. Soon, they had hit upon the simple expedient of making them sleep. The twins didn't seem to move at superspeed while sleeping, their metabolisms calming. But the sleeping meant that they weren't immediately available.

"How long have they been out?" Lucy asked Rena who was uncharacteristically not shopping on her phone.

"Only an hour," Rena replied, checking her phone. "Are we really doing this?"

"If we don't, we will wind up in cylinders, and our mind-controlled butts will be destroying this planet," Lucy retorted. She chewed on her thumb. "Let me think. There has to be some way we can do this with the least amount of damage."

"I know of one way," Aarti said, staring at Lucy who gave her a mean look in return.

"Not that, but perhaps if we use the one-shot thingies for three separate groups, we can cause enough mayhem at different positions, at least one of the groups can find the others and get that stupid hat." Lucy ran her hands over her head, ending with tugs on the ends of her twintail hairstyle. "This could work."

"There's only nine of us, ten counting Trolli," Carol said. She was absently twisting a piece of candy in her fingers, treating it like malleable putty. "That would mean sets of three, if we're letting the runt go with us."

"I'm not a runt," Leilani said peacefully. She leaned against Carol, shivering. "I just haven't finished growing yet." She snuck a glance at Lucy. "I'll go, but I'm not going to fight. I'll just find someone else to do that for me."

Carol patted her on the head. They all smiled at her. The tension being released was almost palpable.

"You do that, runt. Best thing in the world," Carol agreed.

"Let's get ready then. We'll go in an hour," Aarti said to the room at large.

They dispersed, leaving Aarti and Lucy alone. Lucy glanced at Aarti as she sat on one of the barstools she'd newly liberated from a dark corner of the warehouse. Aarti circled the island to stand opposite her.

"Why aren't you the leader?" Lucy asked, slumping across the island. Her forearm thumped on the countertop in a slow beat.

"Because that's not my role," Aarti replied with a smile. "Lucy, are you really not going to?"

"I don't need to. We will get all this done without any outside interference," Lucy said, peeping up at Aarti from behind a lock of light green hair. "We should find you a bow and arrow."

"Really?" Aarti replied, amusement stamped on her face. "I suck at swords, so you're going to see how bad I am with bows?"

"If you've never practiced, then how would you know?" Lucy returned. She sat up and took a deep breath. "The adults are moving into place as well. Court's been monitoring their communications since Dawnie told us about Sabrina."

"That's only been what? Twenty minutes or so?" Aarti pushed away from the counter. "That's why you're the leader. I wouldn't have even thought to have him check."

"Because you just need to learn. I'd be happy to teach you! Then I could drag Court off into the sunset and live a normal life of mayhem and carnage, just like my parents!" Lucy nodded, her eyes brightening.

"Lucy, I can't even imagine you knocking a plane out of the sky," Aarti scoffed. She picked up the robotic kitten that had jumped to the island and was batting at an empty cupcake wrapper. "Don't play with that, Buricoo. It'll get your paws dirty."

"You named it Buricoo?" Lucy seized on the new topic gladly.

"Short for 'Cerebus' Cutie.' Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" Aarti cooed at the little kitten.

"It's made out of metal," Lucy felt the need to point out.

"But it's made out of Cassidy's living metal which is different. Plus, I don't have to feed it, so it's perfect for my puppy dog," Aarti explained. She plopped the kitten back on her shoulder. "Come along now, little one. I'll show you where you'll have to stay for a little while, and then we'll go home...I think."

Lucy watched Aarti walk away. Then she absentmindedly started clearing up the kitchenette area. She had a feeling that this was going to take them longer than she initially thought.