"Where do you think you're going?"
"You didn't hear? Well, I can't say I'm surprised. It's obvious Hordak's been less than impressed with you lately. He just gave me a promotion. So, I'm on my way to Luna. We're starting a new chapter. And we're getting Adora back. So get the hell out of my way."
Pain exploded suddenly in the side of her face. "You little bitch. What makes you think you deserve an ounce of it?"
She was already used to this, but the high of being given such a great opportunity was enough to make her feel like she was on top of the world. "Fuck. You. I'm out of here. The next time you see me, I'll have her back, and a crew of loyal soldiers."
"That's adorable." She laughed sarcastically. "Oh, and Catra? If you fail? Don't bother coming back."
Catra pressed the cold beer can against her skin. It hardly mattered if her bruises hurt like hell, today was a day to be remembered. Weaver could knock her around all she liked. Hordak had just given her a huge promotion. It was time to expand the Horde, and she was leading the advance crew that would start staking out territory in Luna. And while she was at it, she was also supposed to keep an eye out for Adora, and drag her back by any means necessary. If that didn't work, well... he left it vague at that point. No need to be specific.
Lonnie shook her head, clicking her tongue. "That's pretty cold... Are we seriously supposed to merc her if she won't play along?"
Poor, sweet Kyle's face immediately contorted. "Wh-! There is no way I'm going to kill Adora!"
"Yeah, to hell with that." Rogelio quickly wrapped a comforting arm around him and held him close. "I know she abandoned us and all, but... this is Adora we're talking about!"
She shot up to her feet and quickly drained the rest of her beer. "Would you all just fucking chill for a second!? It won't come to that. If we have to, we'll just drag her in and make her understand. I know how she thinks."
That didn't completely put everyone at ease, but at least Lonnie seemed to be on-board for whatever came along. "Pfft, yeah, I think we all know how bad you want her back." Okay, scratch that, Catra was considering killing her too.
"Say that again, I dare you. See what happens, now that I'm in charge." She strode up to her, growling softly.
She wasn't even phased, just crossing her arms and scoffing. "Go ahead. Cut down the size of your own team by twenty five percent. I'm sure that will go over great with Weaver and Hordak, never mind the strategic stupidity." She leaned in and poked her gently in the center of her chest. "You wanna go chasing after her and drag her back. That's fine by me. But don't treat us like idiots, Catra. We'll respect you more."
Catra's immediate inclination was to lash out. If Lonnie was going to be a huge jackass, then maybe she deserved a good beating. But she had a decent point, as much as she hated to admit it. "Fine. Whatever. Be a smartass, as long as you follow my orders." With that, she stormed off to sulk for a while, feeling thoroughly humiliated. So much for being a competent leader.
With an old junker of a car and a few basic supplies, the troops were sent on their way. They already had a temporary headquarters waiting for them in Luna, along with some new crew members to help them get settled. It wasn't terribly impressive, little more than a crudely converted warehouse. Catra carefully guided the rust-bucket through the delivery door and parked it next to a much nicer car. Waiting beside it was an incredibly buff girl with short-cropped dye job, heeled boots, and a surprisingly pretty dress. She offered them a winning smile and a friendly wave.
Everyone climbed out and began stretching as the amazon walked over to Catra, immediately and shamelessly pulling her into a powerful bear hug. "You must be Catra! The name's Scorpia. It's a real pleasure to meet ya!"
By the time she was able to comprehend what had just happened, she was already being released. Still, she had to give a short growl and put some distance between the two of them. Already Scorpia was moving on to pull Rogelio and Kyle into her arms next. "Uh, yeah, don't know if anybody warned you, but I'm not exactly the touchy feely type. So you won't be doing that again."
"You say that now, but you'll get used to it!" She laughed and moved over to Lonnie, who was very quick to backstep out of her reach.
"You'll find my threats are a little less empty than Catra's. I don't do physical contact. Ever." To Catra's shock, Scorpia actually listened and left her alone.
That wasn't particularly good for her own sense of self-confidence. She stamped her foot – knowing full well it probably didn't help her image any. "Scorpia! You're a lieutenant, just like me. You don't have to treat them like you're a fucking... shift manager at Macy's! Show at least a little bit of... I don't know, fucking decorum?"
She had hoped for that to get a proper response, but instead Scorpia just laughed again. Suddenly, from elsewhere in the main part of the warehouse came another voice. "On the one hand, the angry one makes a good point. On the other hand, your leadership style does have a particular tone to it that earns its own brand of loyalty." Catra had been so distracted, she hadn't even noticed the giant multi-monitor set-up powered by a ridiculous-looking rig. The girl sitting there had a pair of massive purple twintails, her eyes covered with a pair of reddish goggles. She pushed them up over her brow and gave a friendly little wave. "Sorry for not giving a proper introduction, but I was in the middle of a job from the boss-man."
Catra looked back at Scorpia with a quirked eyebrow. The other woman grinned. "That'll be Entrapta. She's our resident tech nerd. At some point, Hordak finally admitted defeat and agreed that we needed to enter the twenty first century. So now we're actually doing some black hat jobs and improving our funding situation. If there's anything you need, there's a good chance she can get it for you."
Entrapta gave a dutifully little salute before returning her goggles back to their previous position. Just like that, she was back to work, her fingers firing away at the keys rapidly. So that was that.
Turning her attention back on the squad, she nodded her head, then went to the car to grab what few things she'd brought along. Even if these people were clearly insane, they were still better than Weaver. This base meant freedom. "We have quarters?"
"Yeppers! Right this way~" Scorpia replied eagerly with a grand sweeping gesture.
Toward the back end of the warehouse was a collection of relatively unimpressive walls sectioned off into a series of rooms. Each door was already marked with a sheet of paper and their names somewhat hastily scrawled out. But again, Catra was so delighted to just be out of that damned house. She couldn't understand why Adora had gone and ditched the Horde, but she did at least get wanting to escape Weaver's reach.
"Right, well, no missions for the time being. So everybody enjoy your downtime while you got it." She left it at that and disappeared inside the room marked as hers.
Catra dug her hands into her pockets and shifted over to the large computer set-up as casually as possible. "Hey... Entrapta, right?"
"Correct." That was all she got, the other girl only pausing her work long enough to reach for a nearby energy drink, sipping an impressive amount before slamming it back down on the cluttered desk.
"Right. So. Uh, were you briefed on the situation with Adora?"
She nodded her head, seemingly comfortable with maintaining a conversation while doing... whatever the hell it was she did. "A bit. She was on track to become a lieutenant herself, but she left the Horde instead. Our secondary mission is to locate her, and convince her to return. If she should prove to be too troublesome, she must be eliminated instead. Fairly straightforward."
She wasn't fond of being reminded of that last part. Moreso Entrapta's nonchalant attitude about it. But at least this one was serious about the job at hand. "And... have you found anything on her yet?" She found herself idly batting at one of Entrapta's pigtails. Even Catra could admit she had pretty nice hair. It looked thick and glossy. Ugh, get your head out of your ass, idiot.
"I can multitask quite efficiently. While I was waiting on some code to compile, I gave it a cursory search. It took almost no time at all. As it turns out, she has made something of a presence on social media." One of the multiple screens switched over to a web browser and an image popped up on a Facebook page. It was Adora with a crowd of others, all of them looking like yuppie assholes. Worst of all though was the pink one, winking at the camera and kissing her cheek.
Catra's chest felt tight. She had at least been able to take solace in the fact that Adora had run away here to wait for her. Even if that was never going to happen, the knowledge that the only person in the world who mattered was willing to wait for her was... well, it was something anyway. But how long had it taken her to fall into the arms of some pretty, vapid bitch? A few days? Suddenly, taking her down didn't seem like such a horrible prospect.
"...keep up the good work."
That was all she said before storming back to her room. On the small little table next to her small little bed was a picture Adora had drawn for her when they were kids. She'd brought it along for obvious sentimental reasons that she had no interest in admitting. But now, all it did was make her angry. She grabbed it up and tore it to confetti before tossing it in a shower around her. "Fine. Fine, you get one chance. That's all. If you insist on this bullshit, I'll stick the knife in you myself."
She fished out her phone and messed with it for a moment or two. There was really only one thing to be done now. To let the mind games begin. A simple phrase was all she needed. Two words.
She collapsed back onto her bed and drew up a new text for her. For a while, her thumbs hovered over the keys. Technically, she could still send her a normal message – a warning that the hammer would be dropping soon. She could. But she knew she wouldn't. Not when everything could be conveyed so simply. She typed it out and fired it off.
"Hey Adora~"