In front of the huge door, Celeste felt small, weak, unimportant. Even in the moonlight, its polished surface shone with golden inviting thieves to try to steal them, and poisoning the rich in their own envy at such a display of opulence. A door fit for a king, carved by hand in the most noble of minerals.
From the first moment she saw it, she fell to its charms with sighs and curses.
And since that day, a question never uttered assaulted her every second, demanding an answer that will never come. "Why can't these doors be mine?" She asked herself over and over again. Looking for a justification. One reason she could not found.
After a week of plans and speculations, she decided to act. Envy was poisoning every corner of her little soul. Nothing was safe from its corrosive progress. She felt like dying. At least she determined to punish the owner of the doors for having something she did not.

Her whispers echoed through the silent night. And the echo was also repeated in her head. The echo of an echo. "Golden." Her words barely audible, her voice was a hissing plead. The song of a forgotten ritual. Her concentration was absolute.
Under the spell of her commands the color slowly escaped from its former prison to form a nest in her nail.
At the end, she chose another random nail and press it firmly against the remaining door. Her nail was dressed in gold after completely draining the glory of the door.
Out of breath, she looked at the result of her witchcraft, and for the first time, she enjoyed seeing that awful gray. She felt extreme pleasure while looking at the doors stripped of all life. Now both looked like giant stones painted with a horrifying gray, naturally impossible. A dead gray. Artificial. Sad and empty.

Before leaving, she slipped a letter under the giant doors. Addressed to "The proud owner of the golden doors."
With a stylized calligraphy, Celeste explained that she heroically claimed the essence of the doors for herself. She did not say how. But she left very clear that all the golden was in her possession, if they have any hope of seeing its doors with its former glory, they will have to follow her instructions. Two days after receiving the letter, they must give free cakes to all who pass by. The improvised shop must be on the sidewalk. Almost at the end of the letter, she gave precise instructions requiring ten different kinds of cakes, and a steady stream of them. Whoever was in charge of the give away must dress as a maid or a butler. Depending on the case. If a passerby could not get a slice of cake, its gates will never return to normal.
Under several polite regards, there was her signature. The Queen. Written in cryptic letters of gold.

Venus got the Call from Lisa, who was at her desk late again and in spite of Venus initial surprise that the woman was calling him at this late of an hour, she was not in fact calling him to finally take him up on letting him help her let her hair down. She was just too professional. He heard the letter over the phone, and was troubled by it someone was calling them out and taking their emblem hostage. He could only think of one person with the moxy to leave a letter after he started the trouble.

Venus had company so he left the troubles for the morning….or the afternoon. The doors could wait that long surely. He picked up his cell phone after watching a dark haired vixen walk out his door. His eyes followed her until she turned the corner, she was a firecracker.

The phone rang a few times and when the phone was answered Venus couldn’t help but feel that he had been paid a compliment, the cat was hard to track down. Yet her at a whim he had him on the line."Hey Kitty cat, this is Venus. How are you?"

"I was just wondering, I got a call about the doors to the sanctuary, seems they have gone grey, would you know anything about that?"

The kid skipped right over the pleasantries and got to the point, such fiery youth. "I have no idea what you're talking about." His go to answer was out of his mouth before the question got past his ears, but they caught up and he answered what Venus couldn’t help but think of as honestly, He certainly knew better that to think he or any of his brothers would punish him for something so petty.

~~” No, yeah. Really don't know. So... they're still there? Someone just scrapped off the paint?"~~

Yeah, according to Lisa its like the gold color decided to leave, according to one of the kids at the Sanct the paint is still there, it’s just l the ugly. It didn't quite feel like your style, but I thought I'd touch base."

“so, not you, good enough for me. we should get lunch sometime or something, catch up, it has been too long.”

Then just like it came it went, the mischief was back in his voice and the Chaos the kid seemed to attract took over.~~"Venus, it's never me. But yeah, we should definitely--Lupe! Lupe, no! Drop it. Venus, can I, ah, call you back? Bad Lupe! Bad!"

“Yeah, anytime.”…Lupe? hopefully that was a coincidence.

Venus got dressed and made his way down to the sanctuary and as disgusted by the doors. “ the queen wanted to let them eat, cake. Anyone who passed by…who did she think owned these streets? The order owned these streets, anyone who wanted to risk passing by to get a piece of cake could feel free to grab a slice.

Venus glared at the doors, this woman had messed with the wrong place. But hey he might get to dress up out of it.

Aura had also gotten a call about the doors being drained of their glorious color. Aura had at once set out to find wetnesses, only to find no real information. Aura had made sure those who questioned were being honest with her. With no real witnesses to the act Aura, with her pet skunk in tow made their way back to the now gray doors of sanctuary. Aura barely covered her outrage at the idea, she came through the doors and looked around the foyer.

She saw Venus on of the abyss brothers she knew less well then some of the more violent brothers. Still Aura could see he was rather annoyed and Aura was happy to see the door theif had a simmeler effect on him then it had her. "No witnesses, i even made extra sure" Aura said shaking her head. Aura was at a loss what the person really wanted. Maybe embarrassment, or maybe something else, either way.

The crime seemed questionable in nature and it seemed like their was far better methods to send a message. "What kind of idiot steals the color from the doors and thought up this plan? Aura asked aloud though she figured nether Lisa nor Venus would know the answer to that question. With a Sigh she looked down at her own Aura and wonderd if it's color could be stolen as well.

If it was cakes this fool wanted, they would get their cakes, very few had ever seen Aura cook and even less wanted to know what often went into her cooking. She smiled, she had the perfect ingredient snuck in just hours before. She had planned to eat the orangutan but felt this might be a more fun useage of the beast. One thing confused her. "What is a maid? she asked confused.

Meanwhile, somewhere in NY ...

She continued her dark arts in the presence of her beloved Peter, not her royal guard, but her old and beloved teddy bear. Owner of the first object "enchanted" by her magic.
After the horrible nightmare of gray circles, she decided to use him as watchdog. Of course someone as educated as her, knew it was just a teddy bear, yet she had great affection for that animal, and his presence gave her peace of mind.

The first six pages of the small notebook were filled with ease. The color flowed gracefully from her nail to the first page, her thoughts were tamed quickly under her strong mental orders. The first two were painted with the color taken straight out of the old doors. Once the second page was completely golden, she cuts one end of the sheet. A very small piece. A triangle as golden as the rest. And then she extracted its color to use it in the next sheet. Repeating the process she got six sheets from the two original samples. Celeste tried a seventh sheet, but she just achieved a golden circle in the center of the sheet. Her concentration failed, many thoughts penetrated the barrier of unanimity needed for the process. Her roaring stomach and throbbing headache contributed to destroy the little concentration that remained on her. It was time for a long rest and a generous meal in the safety of her castle.

A glance at his niece and a smirk. “ I have an outfit that would fit you, but my brothers would kill me for putting you in it. No, something a bit more modest for you I think. A maid is a servant at a mansion. As is a butler, the part I will be playing. So are we going to play this game and let them eat cake? We could make one slice and then just shut the street down so no one passes, if they don’t pass and don’t ask for cake then we still played by the rules. We just changed the rules beyond them. Regardless of whether we play along or not there will be vengeance to be had. I also considered poisoning the cake. Every passerby that asks for a piece dies. I think its fair.”

He looked to the young woman fuming before him. “If we are going to play, then we should get baking. And Lisa, could you find Aura something to wear that won’t show off too much.”

Perhaps poison is a poor way to go, what id we had a bit more fun. I think We can have our cake and eat it to" she said with a smile as the idea raced through her head. "We can even please Lori i think, we do as the note says, however we lace the the cakes with the M drug. Mutants won't be effected and Humans will get a taste of glory far better then anything we could make. We can pose it as a charity event and when thing's go wrong, theirs always a mob or two to blame she said with a smile.

She was still not happy with the Russian mob and if they could pin this on them it would be even sweeter. "If things get out of hand, between us im sure we can handle it" she said, her Aura flickering around her with her excitement finally settling on a barely see through outline of her body.

"Of course we could also just buy new doors" she said as more of a joke before a thought occurred to her. "You know whoever this lunatic is, she will have to be close to make sure we do the job right? What if we set up some camera's or whatever, to see if we can't catch this person before this farce ends" she said thinking to herself. She had no idea what a maid uniform was but she also cared very little about clothing. She had worn a sailor Jupiter outfit to the battle of KP.

Venus observed Aura carefully, if she was turning down poision he was afraid it would be fore glass, the girl liked her violence in the form of ultra. But he couldn’t argue with the smile that appeared on her delicate porcelain features.

“That, well that is simply splendid.” Venus nodded to himself and Aura as he thought it over some more. “ I have to say I like that very much. I am impressed.”

“I’ve thought of that as well, we will place a couple of groups at each end of the road as well, we are also going to put a camera permanently on this door, if something like this ever happens again we will know who to look for."

Venus put a phone to his ear after dialing, “ Saturn, I need a big batch of M. we are going to do a giveaway promotion. Cake, actually. Power brownies. Yes, something like that.” He hung up the phone and turned to Lisa who was quietly typing away.

Lisa spoke even before the man had asked. “I have already made some calls and we will have the ingredients here in less than an hour, I am sure you can provide your own suit, but I have taken the liberty of ordering a uniform that won’t leave Aura exposed to the elements out there.” Lisa took a breath and as if for the first time he had ever seen had to get the courage up to ask.

" Also I was wondering if I might get a small bottle of M as well, I obviously will need to find out what I am capable of first, but I was thinking it could be useful in situations where I might need to help defend the sanctuary. "

Aura has happy that Venus seemed pleased with the plan and not only that, had been thinking down similar lines as well. Her worries about working with the byssi of Love evaporated. "A good plan" she said the more people they reached the better. Aura beleived that though forced into doing this they were still managing to do a service for the community by granting as many humans as they could a chance to be relevant to life. Poisen might have hurt mutants or those whose powers were still sleeping within.

She had no idea what a power brownie was nor did she understand how to make cake. Aura knew how to cook meat mostly from nearly any animal she captured. She however also knew she would likely be learning it, which was fine. She waited for Venus to get done with his phone call to Saturn. Looking back at the door she had to wonder what type of person would come up with this plan, even to Aura it just seemed a bit weird.

Aura cared little about the outfit though she listened as Lisa spoke about it. Then Lisa asked something that took her entirely off guard. If she could have a bottle of M as well, even knowing the effects M could have, the idea brought a smile to Aura's face. She often forgot Lisa was the only human in Sanctuary. She simply assumed Lisa had some power no one noticed as she always seemed far to good at her job.

"It could be very useful at that Aura agreed with a nod. Aura was curious what kind of Power Lisa would end up with. Still the M drug was not in her control and so she looked over to Venus to see what he had to say on the manner. "Could also help when the local populations gets out of control" she said considering the various amounts of power control and even the ocastional fight.

Lisa smiled at them both, it was interesting to know that no one around here really knew which way to call her, human or mutant, those two obvious thought she was human as they thought the M would compliment her. She would keep it in her desk, and she could still play it both ways.

The next hour or so consisted of preparation, the sanctuary cafeteria was turned into a makeshift bakery. crates of ingredients arrived to Lisa's specifications, she also handed Aura a recipe for a simple but delicious cake. the addition of M shouldn't hurt it any.

Venus rolled up his sleeves and put an apron on. it had been a bit since he had cooked anything beyond breakfast and that was typically for two. His sleeves were rolled up and his apron was covered in flour. after the work started he realized he was actually having fun. this was by far better than going to the mansion and trying to murder who ever tore them off the hinges.

Though Aura did not understand the finer methods of cooking, never touched an actual oven or used a pan, she cought on quickly enough, She even learned to form an Aura rolling pin in the process and quickly diced apples with uncanny easy, using a more knife like projection. Aura was to busy to notice the kitchen staff's dismay at the large nicks she made in the counter top even through the cutting board. Aura stayed clean through the virtue of her Aura alone, it kept flour and dough and other ingredients off of her.

Aura had taken a bit of convincing, that robin eggs and chicken eggs were not interchangeable, nor were they savable for a rainy day. Lisa had convinced Aura to toss these out. Aura however slipped random ingredients into a few of the pie's including something called ex lax. Aura considered once again if she should have removed it from the bottle first, shrugged and went on with the pie making.

Aura had no idea how many pies they made, though she had found out that beer was not a substitute for water while cooking, and those few pies did not turn out well at all. Aura did however make sure to include the special ingredient in all the pies. She ahd helped test the stuff and knew just what it could do. TO Aura she was giving these poor humans a shot of being a brief but flickering star, they would likely die eventually but before that they would matter. Helping humans, she thought to herself, wondering when she had gotten soft.

Venus may have found a couple of women to playfully toss flour at and stand close with during some of the cooking. It was too easy sometimes. Showing any gentle side that collided with his frame and it was like bait on a hook, He is such a bad boy maybe I can change him? whatever they were thinking he wouldn’t change it. With the majority of any passerby getting sent to the sink to wash their hands and help the mixing went fast, it wasn’t until the crazy bag lady with temperature control came by that the baking finished up as well.

The cakes were glorious, the pies were glorious and the chaos that would in sue would be off the charts. Venus had thought of a way to up the ante with the super powered madness, send the humans over to their rivals neighborhood little Russia for a second cake, it was a scavenger hunt; the first to collect all the things on the list would get a prize. Depending on how it worked the humans might get more done that day than he Jupiter had in weeks.

They had enough to feed a small army…and more importantly make one. Whoever was messing with them set a chain events that might never leave NYC the same. Golden door cake chaos day!

Aura took on a similar, nearly blind determination to the cooking itself. It was not combat, but Aura discovered t still had a way of distracting her in a way hunting and cooking her own food never did. She smiled though watching Venuses antics, was that what it took to get woman? Aura wondered to herself, missing the bad buy aspect of Venus entirely. Distracted aura missed the apple entirely and accidentally cleaved a plastic blender nearly in half. Swearing a few times, she tossed the blender in the trash without much care.

Aura smiled looking over the pies and cake's they had made. She failed to understand where she might use the rolling pin other then this, but it gave her a slightly expanded repertoire and could keep the fly swatter and ice cream scoop company. She reminded herself mentally that learning more objects for her Aura to emulate might not be a bad idea at all.

Aura quickly dressed in the maid uniform and Lisa even helped to redye her hair black. Lisa had said something about root's showing which Aura did not quite understand but she let the woman do what she needed anyway. Aura felt her hair tied back in a length of pink ribbon and Aura did her best to greet people as she began to serve the pies and cakes. She smiled anticipating the grand destruction that would result from the whole thing. Aura's smile became wider as she considered Venuses plan that was now in the mix as well, perhaps their was something to subtlety after all.

Butler Venus gave out flyers announcing the ten thousand dollar prize if they found all twenty objects in little Russia. give them power and send them to their enemies neighborhood, it was genius. He might have to thank whoever took the gold out of their door at this rate. so long as they put it back, they wouldn't have thought of such a plan with out them and while he wanted to break them for the audacity, he was one to forgive quickly if one knew how to apologize gracefully.

giving out cake and pie was amusing and he couldn't help but laugh as he managed to get pair sisters numbers for Aura and himself. The younger sister for Aura after all. So far they hadn't seen any rash reaction to the cakes, no one turned purple and exploded. yet.

Aura smiled brightly with ever cake or pie she passed out, and the smile was genuine. Sure someone was messing with them, but the chaos that was about to start would be well worth it. Aura watched as more and more people arrived to the tables of food. It was almost impossible to find anyone in the crowd much less someone likely trying to stay hidden. The hard part was not simply letting her aura out, as her Aura would have exposed who she was and then the panic might be for the wrong reasons.

Aura smiled as she watched a humans hair turn snow white though he demonstrated no other power, the idea it was working was enough for Aura. Judging by the stacks of goods they had, they had given away a good number of what they made. Aura once again let her eyes scan the area, looking for the culprit who had stolen the color from their glorious home. Aura was only comforted by the idea it had to have been a mutant, who else could steal a color?

Her employees had clear orders. They must go through the big event but keeping as far as possible and avoiding contact with the organizers. Basing her speculations on bad experiences, it was wise to keep her team on anonymity. she do not want any trouble for them. By avoiding a future recognition by the owners of the golden doors, she was sure to keep them safer.
Each one would pass at a time previously set, wearing casual clothes and pretending disinterest. The hours were set so each round was separated from the previous with two hours between them, thereby identifying her improvised team of spies would be much harder.
The third of the list, Peter, was the first to bring the expected confirmation. The makeshift tables were already filled with cakes of different colors, shapes and flavors. And better yet, there where a steady stream of interested people wanting to obtaining a free slice of cake. Of course, those responsible for distributing the cakes were dressed as a butler and a maid. Exactly as requested. Except for the little scavenger hunt around the city. They were plotting something but she could not figure out what. Or at least it would be impossible from the comfort of her room. So, she left.

The little girl stored the gold of the doors in her two little fingers and hidden the sparkling under gloves. Perfect for the cold. To avoid further suspicion, the limousine left her three blocks away, so she had to walk from there.
Upon arrival, she found that the event was much bigger than she expected. There were many people willing to get a free piece of cake, and a lot more people willing to go on a search throughout the city. Apparently for a cash prize which was the same amount she had in her purse for emergencies.
Everything was almost perfect, too perfect to her taste. There was no resistance from the owners of the doors, there was no attempt to fight back... it was too simple. Something was happening there. She knew it. But even when she sharpen her eyes and ears, she could not find nothing out of place. The only apparent problem was the mutant that was dressed as the butler. It looked completely normal, even handsome, but his skin was all red. As red as Mars. Or even more. She did not know what this mutant was capable of, and that terrified her. She did not know what any mutant was capable of, so she feared and felt uncomfortable around them. Therefore, she choose to receive a slice from the girl, at least she seemed human. Although her dress was too tight and too suspiciously short.
In the mob were all sorts of people. Top executives, recognizable by their neat suits, briefcases and elegant hairstyles. Mothers with grocery bags, or some other stores, children grabbing their hands and constantly asking when they would return. And demanding a slice of cake. Even some men wore clothing worn and dirty for continued use, they savored each slice as if it were the best they had tasted in their whole life. For Celeste, the cake was decent but not spectacular. Others just stood out enough to be seen, they were so common in the way they dressed or speak that they were almost invisible in the crowd. Only a few stood out enough to be remembered, and unfortunately these worthy of being remembered were mutants.
A man with one eye, which put discomfort in the nearest children. A girl with hair whiter than she had ever seen. Even whiter than snow. It was a nice color worth stealing... Someone with tentacles instead of arms. With feathers or scales, or both. With hair all over their body, with forked tongues, and eyes without pupils, with long and sharp claws. Was her imagination or there were more mutants than humans?

"It must be my imagination." Everyone knew that humans were many more. She was mesmerized by the strange crowd. The most common mutation seemed to be having animal features on their faces or hands, as the rat man who approached her. The big ugly rat opened his mouth, presumably to inform her about her dazzling beauty, but only managed a sharp growl while something like shaving cream fell from his mouth.
Almost without thinking, her hands dived into the deep purse, disappearing to emerge moments later brandishing her trusty taser. The rat man did not react to the visual threat and kept going, even more decisively. The girl had no choice but to shoot. The metal teeth easily penetrated his clothes and hairy skin, using every inch of penetration available. Once under his skin, it downloaded a relentless wave of electricity through the metal cords into the poor mutant. Crack crack crack. The man passed out in a macabre dance of involuntary contractions.