One week prior:

Caroline finally managed to convince those left on the circus to seek help from the city itself in regards to the disappearing of many of the artists and the rogue circus. They had all decided to contact the Mayor and ask what he could do. No one had many hopes in finding their friends or family again, but it was definitely worth a shot. Caroline was among a small group that traveled to the Mayor's office after creating an appointment with him. It was a bit strange how that appointment was scheduled. Caroline and many others had tried many times before to schedule one, but it seemed as if the Mayor was always busy. It was the Mayor himself that called back and scheduled it. Everyone thought it was strange that the Mayor himself would call a small circus that had been close to going down in business ever since the disappearance of their best artists, but the appointment had been scheduled, and today was the day.

Caroline, her mother and three more artists were received with open arms by the mayor and brought to the office. Her mother was the one that explained the entire situation, and the mayor listened to it very carefully, For some reason though, he was mostly looking at Caroline instead of the one explaining things to him, and that made Caroline slightly uncomfortable. After a few seconds of thinking, the mayor gave his answer. 

"Well, he does look like an old [b]fox[/b]." He said while looking straight at Caroline. She didn't knew if he thought that she was supposed to say something, so she kept looking straight back at him. After another pause, the mayor continued. "I do know that circus people are good at pulling some [b]strings[/b]..." Another pause, and Caroline started thinking about what all these pauses meant. They didn't seem normal in the conversation that they were having, especially since he was staring straight at her. "Their skills are to turn others in to their [b]puppets[/b]" And finally Caroline got it, and that made her flinch. He knew her secret. The mayor knew that she was Black Puppet, but more importantly, he knew about the darkest of her abilities. The mayor, seeing a response on Caroline, explained that he would see what he could do and that he already had some ideas about how to proceed, and after accompanying them outside of his office, he just walked back. Caroline though, couldn't stop thinking about the mayor and how he knew her secret. It was when everyone was already outside on the road, that Caroline decided that she had to know more.

"Mom" She said to her mother. "I think I left my wallet on the mayor's office. Go ahead, I'll catch up with you later."

"Are you sure you don't want us to wait here?" Her mother asked.

"I'm sure. The circus needs you there as fast as you can. It's show day, remember?" After a quick nod from her mother, Caroline walked back inside and went straight for the Mayor's office. Strangely, there was no one on the way there. No guards, no secretaries, no politicians... No one. It was like she thought. The Mayor did want her to come back. She arrived at the office only to find the Mayor waiting just outside the door. He allowed her to go inside and then closed the door with the key and the blinds on the windows.

"Welcome back miss Flint; or should I call you Black Puppet?" 

The mayor asked, before sitting on his chair and inviting Caroline to do the same. Caroline though, didn't felt like sitting. She stood right in the middle of the office, starting at this man. It was obvious he wanted something from her. "How?" Was the only thing she asked, and the Mayor quickly gave his answer to that question, even if somewhat vague. 

"I have my ways. I assume you're wondering why you're here now, right? It's simple. I have a proposition for you. I want you to join a team of super-heroes that I am creating." 

This answer took Caroline by surprise. A team of heroes? Had he really made his research in to her? Black puppet was a solo player, only wanting to get revenge on the rogue circus that had made her father and many other disappear. She forced a sarcastic smile and answered the Mayor with a simple question.

"And if I don't?" 

It was clear that the man had an advantage on her. He knew her identity, and could possibly compromise her own safety and that of her family. The mayor's surprise tough, was different from what she expected. 

"You can be sure that your identity is secured. I will not reveal who you really are to the media. If you agreed to this though, I will make sure that your circus and your people will have nothing to worry about. Your circus will have enough audience to go by. Also, think about the possibilities. With a team of super-heroes, you're more likely to be able to take down that rogue circus and possibly rescue the other artists."

Caroline thought hard about what he was offering. She had already thought about having someone with her to destroy the circus. Someone like her, but the very thought of having someone around her that she had to trust was way out of her head. She knew how to trick people, so she knew that she herself, could be tricked. Even now, she was not sure if she could trust the Mayor and his promises, but this time, she decided to take her chance. If he didn't followed through, all she had to do was quit with the whole team thing, possibly even, stage an accident where the mayor would be the primary actor. Caroline agreed to the terms with a simple nod, and the mayor only escorted her out. He said nothing else, and Caroline did the same.

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Now:

Caroline couldn't believe it. The mayor had followed with his promises and kept the circus with enough audience to get by. Now, it was time for her to do the exact same thing. She had received word that she was to show up at some sort of manor and was even provided with directions as to how got there. It wasn't far from her usual hunting grounds, so she had no problem reaching the manor. She just decided to show up late.

Caroline walked straight through the main doors while wearing her fox mask and her black kimono adorned with red flowers. She looked at no one in particular, but she did take a mental note of how they looked like and what they could do. The cartoon guy was especially interesting. Still, she decided not to give anyone any kind of word and just kept moving on to the living room. After entering, she immediately took a step to the left and pressed her back against the wall right next to the door. She said nothing else and just listened carefully.