ATTN: Infinite Defense

[AmbushCat]

*sweatdrops* Miss Lyra, do you feel up to fielding this one? All of our information on the Brotherhood comes from our ex-boss, and since one of the organization's former leaders was her brother by adoption, we think some of her claims are a bit ... biased.

[Whatevr89532]

"Hmm..I think their heyday was before I first encountered this world, honestly," says Lyra, who's returned to 'drinking' her milkshake some more with a finger by now. "As far as I understand though, they were a criminal organization--you know, like the mob or mafia such--and were so powerful back then that they were more or less the real rulers of this city. This is just off the cuff without asking Lexica to go looking through archives. Their fading into obscurity for a while seems to be a result of the strongest members losing interest in this universe in general, or otherwise disappearing mysteriously, rather than any kind of actual defeat. The recent resurgence is spearheaded by that ex-boss if I'm not mistaken--I hope that isn't a surprise since she was rather public about it. She inherited the position of 'leader of Brotherhood' from seemingly the last of those powerful old members, during her...well, some kind of fading-out event."

((Bleeeh, very busy real life lately.

On an OOC perspective, I don't really know that much about the Brotherhood's past existence myself and I'm not completely sure where to look (or if the threads necessary to look to even exist anymore) to get as much information as Lyra should technically have available about it, besides not really having time to go archive digging at the moment. So I have to cop-out a bit and make some educated guesses.))

[AmbushCat]

*blinks* Now that you mention it, there used to be a lot of infighting among them, too. It was said that they fought each other as much as whoever it was they opposed, that is, people who were advocates of skirts, dresses, and skimpy clothing in general. In addition... *looks up at seemingly nothing* Curtis, could you get me some 4th-wall breakage, please?

*A video screen with this ancient character thread appears at an angle where all of them can see it.*

They're packing some heat in the form of the Cosmic Plushie Forge. You can also glean a bit more of the Brotherhood's history from this if you're good at reading between the lines.

[xGoggles]

Darren hums, not understand all of it, as some things just sounded a bit strange and random, but he understands that was just part of this world's reality. "Hmmm... Sounds more like a super-villain organization like in those shows than any mafia I know... Sorry, but the 'Cosmic Plushie Forge' is that code for something, or are we actually talking about plushies now?"
Meanwhile, Saiya was all for understanding who and what they might be facing up against, was falling short on a lot of contexts, especially some of the more modern-time words like 'plushie'. None the less, stopping a chaotic criminal organization from ruining the city would be one of the first tasks she is looking forward to accomplishing.

[AmbushCat]

Sentient plush dolls. Smaller, cuter and fluffier than the real thing, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous... depending, of course, on who they're based on. If they made one based on me, for example, you'd have a plush version of yours truly that's 1-2 feet tall at most, cute as a button with the friendliness to match, and possesses enough psychic power to level multiple city blocks at once. The Brotherhood leader's personal bodyguard is the only known exception to the height rule that we know of, but we'll get to that in a bit.

*dismisses the video screen* There's not a lot of explanation on how exactly the Plushie Forge works, just that it somehow gives life to the subject in question. Any knowledge of its operation vanished with the Brotherhood's previous leaders; its current commander knows, of course, but she isn't telling.

[xGoggles]

"So one of their big assets is a forge, that creates adorable plushies with the same powers as the person they are based on?... Hehe, never thought I'll ever have to face plushies that were part of a criminal organization.", Darren says, seeing some humor in the idea. Saiya does tell him, even minions that mimic skills and abilities are no laughing matter and can be extremely dangerous. "Hmm, may I ask, are they considered as robots or actual living creatures? As in how do we fight them if we have to face any? Do we need to destroy them or.. arrest.. ermm.. capture them somehow?"

[Whatevr89532]

Lyra adds her own question to the pile: "Hmn..does their allegiance just default to The Brotherhood, or does a newly-made plush like that have to be convinced to join their side?" Her shake is almost gone by this point.

[AmbushCat]

"So one of their big assets is a forge, that creates adorable plushies with the same powers as the person they are based on?... Hehe, never thought I'll ever have to face plushies that were part of a criminal organization.", Darren says, seeing some humor in the idea. Saiya does tell him, even minions that mimic skills and abilities are no laughing matter and can be extremely dangerous. "Hmm, may I ask, are they considered as robots or actual living creatures? As in how do we fight them if we have to face any? Do we need to destroy them or.. arrest.. ermm.. capture them somehow?"

The BH's higher-ups treat them---that is, those that are mass-produced---as cannon fodder. All the same they are rather resilient due to their origins, so blows that would annihilate them in most cases would instead render them unconscious. So in short: if they can be captured, great, but if not than it's no big deal. As far as their intelligence goes, they're the same as the source material; if the Source had an IQ of 100, for example, then the resulting plushies would have the same brainpower.

Lyra adds her own question to the pile: "Hmn..does their allegiance just default to The Brotherhood, or does a newly-made plush like that have to be convinced to join their side?" Her shake is almost gone by this point.

Depends on their morality alignment. If the source was somewhere in the entire Lawful range, then they wouldn't be inclined to join at all. The Brotherhood's forces are mostly in the Chaotic spectrum, with a few outliers in the Neutral range; if there's something they believed they could gain, then they're most likely to stick with those who created them.

[xGoggles]

Darren nods, then listen to what Saiya has to say, and asks P.K. afterward, "Is there a way to siphon the energy the plushies use to stay animated, or a way to render them harmless without fighting them? Because like my partner has said, if they are as powerful and skillful as what they were based on, there will be very powerful ones among them, but they all have the feature of being a plushie, so they might have a common weakness we could abuse?"
The fox-girl grabs the milkshake, bit more hesitant now after that recent brainfreeze, playing a bit with the straw. "Well if Infinite Defense already has enough information on that though.. Or is there still a lot of research needed to be done on their working?", she asks before sipping again from the milkshake.

[AmbushCat]

That much we don't have information on, I'm afraid, though if someone's familiar enough with whoever they're based on, it's possible to neutralize them with whatever weaknesses they might possess from that angle.

That brings us to their boss's personal bodyguard. *brings up a picture of... a pony*

This is Applepills. She's a combination of the Plushie Forge's magics, the Color energies prevalent on the Muffin Continent, and technology stolen from Muffinville's black market... essentially, she's a bio-android pony plushie. From what I understand, she cost the boss a small fortune to put together. Burn this face into your memory, because she's one of the three members of the Brotherhood you're most likely to come across at any given time.

*P.K. sits back and sips her drink, opting to let the others speak their minds before continuing.*

[xGoggles]

The fox-girl was about to chuckle a little upon seeing the picture of the pony, but restrains herself given the seriousness of the situation, and how even harmless looking things can be quite dangerous as well in this bizarre world. Saiya in the shadow didn't seem all that impressed by the pony, though she didn't understand what bio-android meant either. Regardless she'd prefer to see an opponent in action before judging them. "Hmm, given they are likely very strong... Are you suggesting we try to fight them or warning us to avoid them at any cost when we do meet?", Darren asks with some concern.

[Whatevr89532]

Lyra listens, considering things for a moment while finishing her drink. "Hmn...I should probably avoid direct contact with their leader, so they're not familiar enough to make one of those of me. The resulting disaster for them would be entertaining in the short-term, but a plush me with my powers is effectively just another me who might disagree with me, and that'll cause a mess even if we're both aligned roughly the same. I've gone this far without an 'evil' or 'alternate' twin, so there's no reason to tempt fate."

[AmbushCat]

Lyra listens, considering things for a moment while finishing her drink. "Hmn...I should probably avoid direct contact with their leader, so they're not familiar enough to make one of those of me. The resulting disaster for them would be entertaining in the short-term, but a plush me with my powers is effectively just another me who might disagree with me, and that'll cause a mess even if we're both aligned roughly the same. I've gone this far without an 'evil' or 'alternate' twin, so there's no reason to tempt fate."

Smart move.

The fox-girl was about to chuckle a little upon seeing the picture of the pony, but restrains herself given the seriousness of the situation, and how even harmless looking things can be quite dangerous as well in this bizarre world. Saiya in the shadow didn't seem all that impressed by the pony, though she didn't understand what bio-android meant either. Regardless she'd prefer to see an opponent in action before judging them. "Hmm, given they are likely very strong... Are you suggesting we try to fight them or warning us to avoid them at any cost when we do meet?", Darren asks with some concern.

If you come across them and they're actively doing something malicious or otherwise anything that freaks out the public as a whole, you're more than welcome to try to nab them. If they're just wandering about and shooting the breeze, not really bothering anyone, then leave them be and don't deliberately antagonize them. *shrugs* Of course, keeping an eye on them never hurts.

And speaking of keeping an eye on them... *erases the Applepills picture and replaces it with that of a sheep girl* This is Bahija. On the surface she's a nice girl, if a bit reclusive... friendly and polite, the sort of person you'd expect to see doing charity work in a soup kitchen. However, she pulls double duty as the boss's second-in-command and head coordinator, is fiercely loyal to the Brotherhood, and secretly hates anyone who disagrees with her. No combat abilities that we know of, strangely: aside from above-average endurance, her physique matches that of the average citizen.

[xGoggles]

"Right..." Darren says not all that enthusiastic with facing an opponent that might be way out of their league, hoping deeply it wouldn't come to a hostile encounter. Saiya sensing this emotion assures him that there was nothing to worry about, and she'll be able to keep them both safe.

The fox-girl gives a soft sigh, then says, "Maybe keeps some surveillance on the both of them is the best we can do for now. Though, I guess I have a history of being quiet and unnoticed as a museum security guard... But I don't think that qualifies me enough to call myself a spy." Darren shrugs and continues the milkshake that was almost done.

[Whatevr89532]

Lyra almost looks like she wants to say something during the explanation about Bahija, but then, possibly, remembers something and decides not to. Instead the subject is shifted slightly: "Uh, are you two getting hungry by now? We haven't actually ordered anything but the shakes." You two is a bit vague, but seems probably directed at the two people sharing the fox-girl body.