Hector's attention was turned caught as he heard thrashing noises from behind him. [i]What the hell?[/i] Alloyant looked like a mess, and with how much he was moving, the thief wouldn't be surprised if he managed to break something else. Rolling his eyes, Hector knelt next to the sleeping man, he couldn't even sleep peacefully. He could nudge him around by the shoulder, or he could get a glass of water and dump it over his head.... or... there were other ways..... Hector stared down at the man with a grin. Gently, he pressed both hands on the superhero's chest, pressing him further into the couch and brushed his mouth against one of the superhero's ears, "Alloyant," he moaned into his ear lowly.

Nick woke with a start, still reeling from his nightmare. Someone had said his name. Who...? He looked around wildly, his gaze settling on his rival, practically on top of him. Something about having him there felt comforting, but Alloyant was immediately ready to fight. Scrambling to get up, everything came flooding back. “Kitten! What are you doing?” Gasped Alloyant, still surprised to be wearing his mask, nothing appearing to have been touched. [i]Did my enemy just [b]respect[/b] my wishes while I [b]slept[/b]?[/i]

Le Chat easily let the other man scramble away. "You were having a nightmare," he shrugged as if he hadn't done the man any favors, "You looked like you were about to hit your head on the side of the couch and you don't have enough brain cells to loose any more." Sliding around so his back was facing the other man, Hector sat on the floor, leaning up against the couch. "If your done with your dramatics, we need to figure out what to do next."

“Right,” Alloyant sighed, “I’d agree that I’m being such a [i]drama queen[/i], but I don’t think that was any normal nightmare. I... I saw your boss or whatever in my dream. She said she’ll find me and... and break me.” He shuddered. “It was so pleasant up until she showed up too,” he mused. “We need to be careful, Kitty. I’m not sure how she got into my head from the safety of my own lair, but she’s dangerous. And something tells me that she doesn’t have the best intentions for you either. I really hate to say it, but... I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

[i]I don't want anything to happen to you.[/i] Why did the man actually care? Hector flung himself up from the floor and turned to snarl at the superhero. "You know [i]nothing[/i]," he growled at him before turning and running out of the man's lair. Forget this. Forget all of this. Le Chat didn't need his help, he didn't need him at all. What was he thinking, not only [i]flirting[/i] with his nemesis but not using the opportunity to actually learn who the man was. With quick steps, Hector retraced his way to the animal shelter. There was no way Laurel would be there now, she wouldn't be expecting him there, and it while it was the last place he should be, it was the first place to discover her secrets.

“Wait!” Nick yelled, rushing to catch up with his nemesis. Didn’t he know it was dangerous to go out alone with that woman still at large? But he was too slow. Stopping at the entrance of his lair, Alloyant cursed and threw down his mask in frustration. He went back inside to put on his street clothes. It was time to look for le Chat incognito. Coming up out of the abandoned subway, Nick looked around to make sure nobody would spot him. Certain that he was safe, Nick began his search.

Making it safely to the shelter, Hector barely paused for breath before slamming the door roughly open and stopping dead in his tracks. "No, no, no, [i]no![/i]" Hector chanted, seeing the slumped brown and gold form of what he'd thought had been a happy, healthy dog that he'd come to [i]love[/i]. Scooping up a barely breathing, emaciated brownish dog off of the floor, he held her close, ignoring the smell wafting up. Clutching what felt like a bag of bones close to his chest, Hector let out a howl of frustration. What was wrong with this woman?! Why had she done such a [i]terrible[/i] thing? Was it so hard to care for another creature?! Ignoring anything else around him, Hector cradled the dying dog close to him, whispering apologies and ignoring the glazed over look in the animal's eyes.

Nick ran through the streets, wondering where le Chat had gotten off to. Maybe he had gone back to the warehouse or perhaps he had ran home. Nick had no way of tracking him down. Eventually, he slowed down to an aimless wander. Just as he was ready to give up his search, an inhuman wail came from inside the animal shelter. [i]Someone must be in danger[/i], Nick thought immediately stopping his search to enter the closed building. When he tried the door, it was unlocked to his surprise. Entering cautiously, the smell of death immediately crept up on the hero. He gagged, but quickly regained his composure. “Hello?” He called out, entering the building further. There, in the middle of the room, a figure crouched, huddled over a scrawny, heaving little creature. Nick hardly recognized it as a dog. Coming closer, the smell only got stronger. The figure was sobbing, blue hair hanging limply over downcast purple eyes. Tears could be seen, escaping from the hold of a mask. [i]Le Chat![/i] Nick rushed up to him. “Don’t cry, I can heal- oh...” As he got a closer look at the animal, he realized that even his healing abilities wouldn’t be able to fix this. The dog had clearly been starving for a long, long time. It was moments away from death. Nick dropped to his knees and placed a hand on the puppy. “I.... I’m so sorry.”

Hector ignored the words he was hearing. At the mutter about healing, he assumed it was Alloyant anyway, the only thing he could focus on was Ruby. Bypassing the unseeing look he was getting, he just kept murmuring to her through the tears until she breathed her last breath. Ruby would at least have a burial. Reverently, he set her still body on the floor. Hector let one last tear escape with a sigh before turning to his nemesis. His first thought was [i]Green, all that green, such beautiful eyes,[/i] followed swiftly by [i]I know that hair.... I know that face....[/i] "[i]Nick?![/i]" Hector demanded, hands clenching into fists as he sprang away from the other man. His nemesis was [i]Nick[/i]? Of all people, it was [i]him[/i]?

Nick froze. How did le Chat...? He shook his head, scrambling to cover for himself. “I’m sorry, do you know me somehow?” He cautiously stepped away from le Chat and the dog, preparing to run. He didn’t have his armor on and he knew just how dangerous his nemesis could be. Encountering him in plain street clothes could be fatal. His mind flashed back to how the mysterious lady had called le Chat ‘Hector’. Nick’s heart raced. Purple eyes. Blue hair. [i]That voice.[/i] Shock stunned him in place as the question fell from his lips. “Hector?”