The first thing I saw was white. Pure white. Nothing.

Then, like a jolt, everything returned all at once. An immense barrage of Vertigo nearly brought me to my knees as colors, sounds, and sensations took their proper places, but I just barely managed to stay on my feet.

My right hand was burning. It felt like I was holding my palm over a lit candle. My head still swimming, I glanced down at it. The halo was clasped in my closed fist.

I had let it go to grab onto Antonio, but never heard it hit the ground. Now it was back in my clutches. My left hand was still missing its glove. That was the one he had poofed. Which meant that, most likely, the things he made disappear had not returned after all.

Slowly but surely my vision corrected itself and I felt secure enough to take in my surroundings. Upon raising my head I came face to face with Ray.

My blood froze, and so did I. Panic started surging in my heart but I managed to calm myself. First off, I was in possession of the halo. So I was most definitely not a Hero. And while Ray stood in front of me, he was perfectly still, eyes closed. That could only mean.......

A quick glimpse around confirmed my suspicion. I was still at the Memorial Hall of Legacy. Duchamp hung near the ceiling, eagerly looking down at me.

Yes, Antonio did mention that hitting the Hall and doing something with Ray's corpse was originally Duchamp's idea, didn't he? Great.

The Odd Gentleman was still manning the camera, but this time Jess was right behind him, giving me a thumbs-up with a bright grin. And while I couldn't see Nitsch or Boneyard from this position, the branch-like bone lodged deep into Ray's leg told me they were here too.

But if we were not here to erase Ray, what were we planning to do? Suddenly, I heard a voice from above.

"Master Controller, for the third time, are you ready?" It was Duchamp, and he sounded none too pleased.

" Uhm....yes, I'm ready." I blurted out, immediately regretting it. But I just couldn't let the Master Controller look like this much of a dumbass. The annoyed artist pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"Remember, keep it short and snappy. We will not have a lot of time after the broadcast begins."

I nodded but then realized he probably couldn't see that from that far up. "I got it. Leave it to me."

I still didn't know what exactly was going on, but I had an idea of what my role here was. An intro, of some kind. Antonio said that reality likes to keep things as similar as possible, so I guess it made sense. I was standing in front of Ray before the shift to confront Antonio, so I needed a reason to stand in front of him afterward.

This was a dangerous game. I was putting myself in the spotlight, which was the opposite of what I wanted. But refusing to do my part here would without a doubt make the rounds, tanking my reputation among the other Villains and robbing me of any and all lucrative team-ups and run-offers in the future. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Well, at least I wasn't the main attraction here.

"Alright, alright. No one look at Nitsch. She needs to be unobserved for this to work. Odd Gentleman, do your thing." Duchamp shouted, and the Masked man giggled.

"With pleasure."

The Odd Gentleman had the strange ability to take over screens. I didn't know if it was his Power or magic, but it was reported by many of his victims that every screen they passed as he was chasing them through the streets at night turned on and showed him creeping ever closer. I wasn't aware he was able to do it on a large scale, though.

He pulled a long cane out from under his cape and placed it under the camera. Blue sparks shot out from its tip and both objects began to rise up into the air.

"Oh Milady of Fate, grant me your strength once more. Let all souls in this country witness your greatness." A bolt of blue lightning struck him in the chest and he fell to his knees. "Yes.....thank you." He looked up at Duchamp. "As much as I enjoy this, I will not be able to hold on for long. 20 minutes at most, I think. Do your thing and do it fast." The camera then floated in front of me. "We are live in 3.....2....1..."

Alright. Showtime.

"Welcome, one and all. You are probably wondering what is happening right now. Don't worry, hehehe. I will explain. I am the Master Controller. You may know me as the one who sent the Yellowbricks back to Oz, or got rid of L.A.'s little ant problem, but...." Something bright blinded me. It took me a second to figure it out.

The halo. I had completely forgotten about it as soon as I realized I had to be the center of attention. Just now I raised my right hand for emphasis, and now here it was....directly in the frame.

.....What to do now?

The Me of this World probably did intend to use the thing in the intro, otherwise, she wouldn't have pulled it out....or maybe she was planning to put it on Ray's head or something. In any way, whatever that Mallory wanted to do, I was the one who had to deal with it.

I couldn't just let it go uncommented. The cat was out of the bag. Even if I said nothing, people would speculate, and it wouldn't be hard to come to the correct conclusion. Or at least in the general ballpark.

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No, they probably would make the same assumption Antonio did. That the murders were part of it too. Goddamn it. I had to set the record straight. Me saying nothing would be infinitely worse in this situation. Stupid Mallory. Why can't you think before you act?

"....but that is not all. Yes, you're seeing right. This beautiful, shiny trinket is the lovely Miss Angelica's halo. But how did I get my hands on it, you ask? Easy, I ripped it off her head myself!"

I paused a second for impact. I hated every second of this.

"Yes, you heard right. It may have been Leotigris' body that did the deed, but I was pulling at his strings. The poor kitty had no idea what hit him. Of course, I wasn't the one who made him go on a rampage In the first place. That was all him. I merely took the opportunity he offered me to display my dominance. If he had been in the driver's seat, the Herald Queen would have made short work of him, I'm sure. But as soon as she showed up, I took over, and....you all know the rest."

I shook my head dramatically, with a shrug.

"I guess the Enlightened aren't all they're cracked up to be. And to further prove that point, I am here to announce a little collab, so to speak. We are transmitting live from the Memorial Hall of Legacy, the bleeding heart of the Hero vanity project, and it is time for the show to begin. This video's sponsor is someone I'm sure all you have heard of, and I am all too glad to spread the good word. I want you to give a big hand to the stars of the evening, A Petite Group of Nobodies Delighting in the Creation, Observation, Distribution, and Discussion of Fine yet Macabre, Thoroughly Unique Paranatural Art Pieces. Enjoy the show."

I ended with a chuckle as the camera moved from myself over to Ray's corpse. I was mortified. This was entirely too much exposure.

My thoughts were interrupted by Ray's voice.

"Don't listen to her. These Villains don't know what they are talking about."

Once again, my blood froze for a second, but this time I snapped out of it almost immediately. The voice was Ray's, that was.....unmistakable. But it didn't come from the body. It came from below, where Nitsch and Boneyard were standing.

So that was Nitsch's contribution. Not that Boneyard was dragging behind. Ray had opened his eyes and was smiling that same exact smile he had used in all of his TV appearances. That was outstanding control for someone who presumably couldn't even see the thing they were puppeteering. Especially synching his lip flaps with Nitsch's speech. It was seamless.

"Yes, my children, you see correctly. It is me, The One. I have been brutally taken from you, much too soon." My hair stood on end. I knew this wasn't Ray talking, but....just seeing him speak made unwelcome emotions boil up inside me. "But lo and behold, I have risen again. Three long years later, on my day of birth, I have climbed out of my tomb to reunite with you all. There is much yet to do. I still have so much to give. My fortune, my love, and...."

Suddenly his ribcage burst open, splitting apart the front of his costume and revealing the dead, yet still preserved organs inside. He reached in, grabbed a particular one, and pulled it out. "...above all, my heart."

Then something strange happened. He repositioned himself in a very particular way, his posture and even his expression. He held his heart in his left hand and gestured toward it with his right.

Next, another of Boneyard's bones snaked its way up his body and buried itself in his back, unseen by the camera. I wondered why until it emerged from the hole in Ray's chest and wound itself around the heart. Little thorns grew from it, and it must've pierced the heart from behind because a small, white cross burst from its top.

The Odd Gentleman, still on his knees, pulled something from his pocket and threw it upwards. On closer inspection, it was three things. Jess caught them in midair with her bracelet, giving me an opportunity to see. They looked like...sweets, maybe? Small, sugary treats. Two were shaped like a little light bulb, one like a flame. I found out what they were really for when Jess smashed them down at three precise locations.

The light bulbs impacted on the back of Ray's head, and the back of his heart, causing the tiny objects to split open and unleash a torrent of light. The other landed on top of the organ, in front of the cross of bones, igniting a wild flame.

"The Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pompeo Batoni." someone beside me said. I turned to look and saw Duchamp letting himself down to my left. "There are many versions of that painting, but his has always been my favorite."

He showed me a picture on his phone. An oil painting. Comparing the two, they were almost identical. Sure, Ray didn't have Jesus' hairstyle and had always been clean-shaven, but everything else was on point. Even his cape fit perfectly.

"Hey, if you're finished, can I do something real quick?" This was definitely a better plan than erasing him, but comparing Ray to Jesus, while it made sense as an artistic statement or whatever, still didn't sit right with me.

"Sure. But make it quick."

I hesitantly walked up to Ray, not sure if I was really going to do what I just thought of. But then he actually turned his head to look at me. And I saw red. I grabbed him by the collar of his ruined costume, dragged him down, and rammed the halo against his neck. The cut was seamless and the sound of sizzling flesh reached my ears. The severed head dropped down from the neck, but before it could hit the ground I caught it by the hair. Triumphantly I held it right in front of the camera.

"Here's your savior."

In a moment of improvised teamwork, Boneyard retracted her finger bones from the body and connected to the bit of spine showing under the head instead. Before the Odd Gentleman shut off the camera the last thing the public saw was Ray's separated head smile and say "Merry Christmas."

As soon as Boneyard detached from it I carelessly threw the head away. Just then someone ran into the room. It was Smear, in the same outfit I had seen him in earlier.

"What's going on, boss?" Duchamp asked.

"I'm glad you're done here because Heroes are at our heel. Morisot's shield has kept them busy, but she can't hold them off much longer. Everyone, let's go!"

Duchamp nodded and everyone began to run. Boneyard grabbed the still-weak Odd Gentleman with her ribs as she passed him and Jess dragged me onto her broom.

"Ya were amazin', Mal." she whispered and I held tight.

We flew past the others but made a stop to wait when we reached the lobby. Everyone was excitedly chattering, even the receptionist seemed a lot less annoyed than usual.

"Oh, boss, there you..." she started right as Smear entered the room, but he gave her no time to finish.

"Later, Hatakeyama. Do it now!"

She grinned. "If you insist." From her purse, she pulled a small photo camera and aimed at the ceiling. "How do the French say? Bomb Voyage?" She clicked, and at the same time as the photo was shot a huge explosion rocked the building. A smoldering hole was all that was left of the roof.

"Fliers first!" Smear yelled, and Jess didn't need to be told twice. Next to us a few of the other artists rose from the ground and followed. Some just like that, but two sprouted wings.

We hadn't even fully left the room when I heard the second explosion. The Heroes would be too busy with that to chase after the first escapees.

"Let's split. We'll meet back at the base." One of the Winged Villains shouted. With that, we all flew separate ways.

Jess and I flew through the night for quite a while. It was....nice. I didn't realize until now how much I had missed her.

"I'm so glad ya persuaded me to do this, Mal. I've never felt this alive."

"Yeah." I said slowly, a strange feeling growing in my gut. "This was for the best."

...

I hope.