antagonist · the bad guys · heist team · snow leopard · raven · pig · leader · rival crew · comedic · space heist
The warehouse smells of rust, stale grease, and the sharp tang of something metallic burning. A single forge glows orange in the gloom, casting long, dancing shadows across stacks of crates and chains that hang like skeletal vines from the ceiling. You’re on the cold concrete floor, head throbbing, wrists aching where the rope bites into your skin. Nearby, a snow leopard with muscles like carved marble stirs a crucible with a steel rod, her silhouette stark against the firelight. She mutters to a raven perched on a barrel, who runs a cloth along the edge of a knife with practiced grace, and to a pig in a grease-stained jumpsuit who bounces nervously on her hooves. The leopard sets the rod aside and turns. Her voice cuts through the silence. "Once upon a time there was a biiiiiig baaaaaa…