"Cassii, you do understand that changing Glendale's name is up to the City Council and the Mayor's office, not me, and certainly not up to private citizens like Madame Serenity and the Hardys," Gill warned before the wolves in what was presently the reflective surface of his window.
"It is the only way to kill the curse," Cassii spoke, "Killing the turns will only leave the Game angry. Once it finds a new spiteful victim, it will start all over again."
"Why would you help Serenity when you support that monster?" Felicity growled.
"I support Jensen because he, as Jennifer Smith, was one of the few people I counted as a friend, when I was Rick, even if some of the things might not be considered what a "friend" would do," Cassii answered, "And I'd prefer it if he and his Pack could be left free in some way... but I'd suppose some things can't be bent."
There was a silence for a moment as it was clear to Cassii that while Brian had lost his bet and promised not hurt Jensen's Pack, the two lions didn't like it, and would likely use a loophole, namely trying to kill Jensen, but leaving the Pack alone.
"But I also support Serenity because I know how bad the Curse is," Cassii added, "Ending it will end its victimization of unwilling victims. It wouldn't end the forms that Jensen's pack and the abilities of the pack's pups, nor anyone that willing join's Mr. Hardy's pride, because that will be done before the Curse is destroyed."
"Then the curse wouldn't be destroyed," Serenity spoke grimly, "whatever abilities Jensen gave his pups likely depends on the Curse's powers to work."
"Does nuclear radiation require magic to alter things?" Alice wondered.
"The cancers caused by nuclear radiation are uncontrolled," Brian spoke, "and they don't cause complete species changes."
"But does it require magic to do that?" Alice asked again, genuinely curious.
"No," Brian admitted in a growling voice.
"Think of their abilities to be more like a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly," Cassii spoke, "a caterpillar changes from what is essentially a worm into a winged insect that looks nothing like what it was before. And all of it is natural. Powers given to the Pack's pups is a natural part of them... although I can not fully explain how they work."
"I trust they won't be using their abilities on anyone, now," Felicity threatened, "Otherwise..."
"They will only use their abilities on those who are willing," Jensen answered, "If you intend to arrest me and those that broke into the Hardy's home, you will have arrested most of my Pack's males. The females will be coming into heat soon... they will need replacement mates, and I must insure that my race survives."
Serenity didn't like that. Even if Jensen had been made good she didn't like the idea of his Pack growing. Her idea was to strip the Pack of its children and place them in the care of the state miles away from Glendale. It may not pleasant for Julie to lose her daughters, but if they could add to the Pack without using the game, they needed to be away from an environment that would condone that behavior. If Jensen's pack had more then seventy already, Serenity figured that was MORE then enough for long term survival, although she was no biologist.
"Don't you have enough already?" Mary growled, "After stealing Uly from me!"
"A race needs five hundred minimum to insure long term survival," Jensen spoke, "and if the people who are to join the pack now are to be willing, it will take a long time to reach that number. And with only two mated lions in your pride, you are presently at the end of your genetic road... unless you intend to mate with your biological father when you grow up."
Mary shuddered. She didn't want to do that.
"We should be going for now," Alice spoke, "I will bring Jensen back later."
Gill and the others then watched as they left, Cassii came out to grab Cindii and returned to the mirrorverse. Once their images were gone, the conversation changed greatly.
"This gives plenty of room for thought," Serenity commented.
"On what?" Gill asked, "Jensen even said his entire pack was guilty of kidnapping."
"You know that that could be questioned in a court of law if most of the people transformed were members of the Smith family staff," Serenity warned, "any good lawyer would say that they're living there to serve the Smith family, aside from the brainwashing, as part of their standard work contracts. It may not stick entirely, but it's an argument."
"There shouldn't be an argument," Brian and Felicity growled together, "Jensen should be killed. He was the monster that started all of this."
"Remember that Kyle Perkins transformed him before she became Kaylee," Serenity countered, "Ashley told us that. That makes Jensen a victim just as much as the rest of his pack. And besides, you placed a bet with him that if Cassii enjoyed her form, you'd leave his pack alone."
"I will live his pack alone," Brian promised, "I said NOTHING about Jensen himself. He WILL DIE LIKE THE DIRTY DOG HE IS!"
"Then I'll have to arrest both of you for attempted murder," Gill spoke from behind his desk, "You just threatened to kill someone in front of the town's chief of police, and we have rules about how suspects are treated... and considering the Game's involvement, I doubt any criminal charges against Jensen's pack can be laid that would carry the death penalty."
"But we're here to stop him," Felicity gasped, "stop his evil."
"And it may already be stopped," Serenity commented, "with their wolf forms sealed, just as your lion forms are, this is legally about all we can do."
"And as an officer of the law, I can not allow vigilantism," Gill added, "Serenity holds a special license and certificate to run her agency and works with me to try and police this thing."
"Please don't fight the police, daddy, mommy," Mary pleaded, "Jensen's beaten and will go to jail for a very long time... maybe life. Don't take our pride away."
"I doubt he'd get anything as long as life," Gill spoke, "As Serenity said, a good lawyer will be able to whittle the charges down... possibly even through a plea bargain if he chooses to plead guilty. I'd think that at present he could be looking at anything from a large fine, house arrest or community service, for a very long time, or prison term of up to five years... and something in the way he spoke struck a nerve with me..."
"What?" Serenity gasped.
"Oh, make no mistake, what he's done is wrong," Gill spoke, "but it seems that much of what he did was caused by the game, not by himself, and that he seemed concerned about his "victims". Even referred to them as "family". People who truly deserve prison rarely refer to their victims as family. I think he suddenly found himself a wolf and could think of no other way then to make more like him."
Mary thought back to her first talk with Trevor, when she had proposed to do the same thing with her parents and her friends. Of course then, she wanted to be human, and now, that argument was a moot point. She couldn't be human again, and Trevor had even betrayed his earlier urge not to do something like this. Part of it then made her wonder if her decision had more to do with the game's powers then with Uly...
+++++
"I wish they'd let us in," Trevor commented as he continued to lay beside Lance, Mary's stuffed animals, "I can hear things, but not well. Wall is too thick and the door is practically airtight. I can't make anything out clearly."
"Eeeebbbs...dir...oooop...ing is rrrr...ong," Paul said quietly. He never really answered Trevor's earlier question as he had been in Bobbi's car and thus didn't hear the second part of Ashley's interrogation.
This left Trevor still wondering if the girl he had had a crush on was now the "Master" of a pack of wolves he'd been fighting to stop.