"Well....I guess we could see it positively? Ya gonna be quite famous. Your rep sure as hell won't suffer. Ya did say ya don't give a shit if a Hero dies back when ya took the strawbrain hostage. So I guess it's consistent?"

Jess had taken almost 30 minutes to calm down enough to talk. And ever since then, she tried to make me feel a bit less rotten about the situation. A nice gesture, but...

"It is what it is. No need to talk it pretty. And there's nothing I can do to rectify it. Neither the civvies nor the Heros would believe me if I tried to explain myself. The Villains might, but then I'd be known as a Patsy and lose the rep I gained while keeping the public notoriety."

"I guess..." she said, floating upside down. "But why would someone wanna frame ya?"

I shrugged.

"If you have a Mind Control or Full Possession Power, but don't want to be hunted down, pin your crimes on the only other baddie with a similar Powerset in the area. Now they're busy chasing someone else." I said, trying to come up with something convincing.

Just then, my phone buzzed. I looked at it.

"Jess. Stay here. I have to take care of something important. We'll talk more when I come back."

---------------------------

"The Master Controller, ladies and gentlemen!" the lady at the counter called out as I arrived at the BHF Bureau.

To my chagrin, a number of the currently assembled villains actually applauded.

Someone shouted, "Way to turn the light off."

"Thanks." I mumbled and faced the receptionist.

"Congratulations on your big score. An Enlightened dead, another crippled. Haven't seen a Red Cape turn Black with this much spectacle in years."

The woman seemed to be getting some kind of perverse glee out of the situation.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I'm sure you didn't call me here to congratulate me."

Her smile faltered a bit.

"Of course not." she said and typed something on her PC. "As you are now a well-established presence in the community, it's time to move out and start standing on your own two legs, The BHF wants the best for her children, and teaching them self-sufficiency is one of our number 1 goals. There are times when..."

"Spare me the marketing speech. How long do I have?"

.

The blonde frowned and righted her posture.

"You and your friend have 3 days to move out."

I took a deep breath and turned to leave.

"Thanks for the heads up."

.

"Wait." she said and held something out to me. "A minor villain left this for you. She said you knew what it was about."

-----------------------

"Damn. 3 days, huh?" I said to none as I exited out of the toilet stall.

Once I was a small distance away I pulled out the card I recieved and looked at it. I'd seen these before online. It was a W.R.A.I.T.H. membership card like some of the operatives had in the comics. The little cute ghost symbol, the emblem of their organization, that was supposed to make them seem less threatening In-Universe when they had to reveal their affiliation to civilians stared back at me, winking and thumbs up. It was clear who this was from.

I wondered for a second if the real W.R.A.I.T.H. was using this jolly specter too. I turned the card over. There was an address with a message.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Hey. Heard you need a place to stay. Meet me here, pal. I'm sure we can work sumthin' out.

xoxoxo,

Your bestest friend

There was really no point in not doing it. If it was anything other than a stupid W.R.A.I.T.H. novelty card I probably would have been a bit more suspicious, but as it stood I wasn't really nervous or afraid. Just annoyed.

With a shake of my head, I punched the address into Magic Mapper, held the phone to my head, and a little arrow appeared on the ground in front of me. As I followed it I began pondering. Just something to avoid thinking about what was actually going on in my life right now.

I'd always wondered what society would look like if we had more mages in the tech sector. Magic Mapper was the only free app of its kind, and I felt that was a damn shame.

I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't see the "Here You Are!" on the floor before it disappeared.

The building in front of me was a small apartment building. It seemed normal enough. Nothing outwardly suspicious. I passed a guy who just left and searched for the name on the card. Houser. The door clicked open after two rings.

I entered and went up the stairs. The card had specified the third floor. As I went up I passed a few other people and felt a bit out of place in my ratty hoodie and dirty jeans. It's not like they were wearing fine suits or anything, but still...clean and ironed was fancy enough of a look to make me appear like an especially fashion-averse cavewoman.

When I reached the right floor I automatically maneuvered to the only open door.

The flat was nice...well, nicer than my old room. Bigger. Actual windows. A kitchen.

"Took you long enough, Satori." a young male voice said. I turned the corner and entered the spacious bedroom.

On the bed sat a boy, he couldn't have been older than 16, one eye a shining, piercing blue.

"Am I ever going to see your real body?" I asked.

"Probably not." he shrugged. "But if you're dedicated enough, you might. I am in the building. Of course..." he smirked. "If you did, we'd have to take you out. Your call though."

I sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I don't really care, to be honest. So....you made Sidebinder off himself."

"Sacrifices must be made. That's the law of nature. And we didn't make him do anything. We made him an offer and he accepted. He could've refused. We would've found another way to up your notoriety."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Sure. So, I guess this is where you're parking me? A new inconspicuous hideout?"

He nodded. "Yes, yes. It's not quite as well hidden as a BHF base, but we have less access to sufficiently loyal mages than they do. It should work though. We even have two hidden entrances." He pointed at an envelope on the nightstand. "The details are in there."

"How kind. Can I take Witchling with me?"

The boy nodded.

"Sure. Miss Chazman can have her own room if she wants. We have a few spares."

I took a moment to breathe.

"What of the other residents? Are they civvies? Or paid to stay quiet?"

He smiled and got up.

" Good question. Let me show you something."

I reluctantly followed him out of the apartment. He pulled out a small key and opened the door to the opposite flat.

"After you."

"Whatever." I mumbled and went in.

This accommodation was a lot smaller than the one I was supposed to get.

But the real point of interest was in the bedroom. Instead of a regular bed, it was situated with a hospital bed. Inside was an older man hooked up to an IV.

"What is this supposed to mean?" I asked.

"This is what the majority of the residents of this building look like. All of them, except for you, in fact."

I looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Then what about all the people I saw going in and out?"

"Doctors. Nurses. Empowered with a variety of muscle-strengthening abilities. These people are brain-dead. They are never going to wake up. But they still need to be cared for. Fed the Nutrient paste. Cleaned and diapers changed. IV's refilled. You know, the usual stuff."

I looked between him and the man in the bed.

"Why here? Why not a hospital?"

The Intruder looked at me and grinned.

"Multiple reasons. Firstly, we can make it seem like the place is full of actual residents on the official paperwork by renting the flats in their name. Secondly, the constant stream of people going in and out makes it look like it's a place where people actually live to casual observers. But most of all, it's for people like us."

I crossed my arms.

"People like us?"

"Body snatchers, Satori. W.R.A.I.T.H. has a variety under employ and this is our garden. Brain-dead people do not resist, so most of us can stay in them indefinitely. And these specific ones have no friends or family so there is no risk of running into someone they knew. And that means there's no need to adapt to a pre-set personality. You can just invent one and carry it forward. It's perfect."

I stared at the still man for a long time, thoughts running through my head.

"And...and I'll get access to them too?"

The boy pulled out another key identical to the one he used and handed it to me.

"This is a master key. Opens every door in the house, even the front. In your welcome letter is a list of every resident, their age, sex, race, specific features, Empowered status, and Power if they have any. We have a wide variety. Our youngest is 6, our oldest 64. All skin colors, and a roughly even distribution of males and females. A good number of Empowered too, but none of them are all that useful. Neat to have, but nothing groundbreaking."

I took the key and put it away in the pocket of my hoodie. I was a bit curious where and how they managed to acquire these people, but I felt it was best not to ask. If I knew, I might feel too bad to actually use them.

"And I can take over any I like?"

He nodded and walked over to a little device with two buttons, a red and a green one.

"Right before you Possess someone, press the green button. It will glow if you did it right, As long as the green button is active, the people we hired to take care of the bodies know not to visit that residence. After you are done, lay back in the bed, uncouple yourself, and press the green button again to deactivate it. Then press the red one and leave. It will call a nurse to put on a diaper and hook up the IV. They'll turn it off themselves after."

"Wow. Quite a system you have here." I said, taken aback a bit.

"Quite. But there are two more things to keep in mind. On some doors, you'll see one of these 'Please Don't Disturb' signs they have in hotels. Each room has one on its nightstand." He points out the sign in this room. "If it hangs on a door that means that body is a Regular used by one of our operatives. These are off-limits. Everyone can have 3."

"And I can have Regulars too?"

"Yes. Just hang the sign out front. The second thing is that these bodies are not to be used to commit crimes. If any of them become known to the cops or Heroes as criminals they become useless for our purposes. Understand?"

"I do." I was strangely excited by the prospect.

The Intruder smiled and left, back to my new apartment. After taking everything in for a few seconds I followed him.

An Idea blossomed in my mind, but I pushed it to the back.

Just for the moment.

"So. You know what to do."

I sighed.

"Yeah. I'm sure one of the Freaks will seek me out sooner or later. I'll...I'll do what I can."

"Such a good girl." he said and I clenched my fists.

"I'll leave you to it then. Get comfy, enjoy yourself. Your real work begins soon."

With that, he stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

With a mix of both excitement and nausea, I approached a window and leaned on the sill. As I looked out at the streets of LA I thought about my next steps.

I had to get Jess. Move our things over.

Damn, I should probably say goodbye to Toy General and Slugger.

Smooth Criminal too, I guess.

And then......then it was time to go back to the BHF.

And for my new life to begin.