I had gotten entirely too used to waking up in empty abandoned dumpsters. They were by far the best and most secure hiding places though, especially when fitted with your own lock. It wasn't very strong, but did work to deter even the small-time villains and punks who frequented the back alleys from snooping. Not because they couldn't get in, but because even locked dumpsters were usually just full of trash, so cracking one open was wasted effort.

I only ever locked the dumpsters when Jess was acting as my lure, and since she was full-on helping me this time today was no exception. The lid could still be opened just wide enough for me to barely be able to unlock it with my copy of the key, so I wasn't trapped even if she were to be held up in some way. But for now, all I could do was wait.

I reached under my cape and took out the Oculus box that I had stashed in one of its hidden pockets. Might as well get used to piloting this thing around while I wait. But as I searched around for it I felt something strange. A hard, distinctively not box-shaped lump in one of the pockets that should've been empty. Confused and a bit nervous I grabbed the unfamiliar item and held it up in front of me.

It was a toy. More specifically a plastic army man, clad in the Utopian military uniform and a radio in hand. Before I could dedicate brainpower to figuring out what that thing was doing in my cape the little soldier raised its arm and gave me a salute. Of course. Of course, it was one of the Toy General's little minions. I did tell him and his friends to watch out for my next run, maybe this was somehow their way of doing that?

In any case, I didn't really feel all threatened or suspicious about it, so I held the toy up to my shoulder which it promptly hopped onto and sat down on.

"Make yourself comfortable, little fellow." I murmured and finally pulled out my Oculus.

I carefully opened the box and once again got a good look at myself from the front. Well, maybe not a "good" look, since the light pouring in through the slits of the closed dumpster was quite dim indeed, but a look nevertheless.

For an outfit that was cobbled together out of the stuff I already wore anyway and actual literal trash it worked quite well, I thought.

I pressed my hands against the lid and pushed it open a tiny bit. Slowly the Oculus rose from its comfortable velvet pillow and disappeared into the light beyond my hiding place.

I instinctively tried to blink when the offensive brightness assaulted my third eye, but its lack of an eyelid made that impossible. What a miserable experience.

The dumpster was located in a little enclosure that used to be the backyard of a hidden restaurant/bar combo that doubled as one of EATR's early hideouts. Now it stood abandoned, and had been for close to 40 years. The old bar itself was often used as a temporary hideout for minor villains, especially since heroes never patrolled here, but everyone ignored the old dumpster in the back.

I floated the Oculus around the perimeter, feeling out how to best direct and control it, change its speed, and make a quick stop. About 10 to 15 minutes passed before I could see Witchling landing in the backyard from above.

Once she got off the broom she merrily skipped toward the my hiding place when she noticed the eye. With a bright smile, she bent down.

"Hello there. Almost missed you."

The voice that spoke wasn't Jess. She did open her mouth to say something, but before she could another woman spoke from behind her. She turned around and I had the Oculus sink near the ground. My plan was to get a quick glance at whoever this new arrival was and then hide the Oculus in the shadow of the dumpster, so I maneuvered it between her legs to peek through.

.

Before us was not one person, but six. Great. I forgot that this was her territory.

"You're that one hero, right? Soldier Ant or something?" Jess asked. "How did you find me?"

3 of the 6 bodies chuckled. "It's Army Ant, actually. And never mind how I found you, I'm surprised this place isn't teeming with heroes at this point. When I got the dispatch from 777 that a rogue witch-themed villain was on the loose I genuinely honestly thought this would be a wild goose chase." one of them started. Another continued. "But just a minute later I see you just flying over the city in plain view of everyone who thinks to look up. I'm honestly a bit disappointed. It's like you asked to be followed."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Oh, Jessica. Poor thing. That was a big blunder.

A Third one stepped forward. "But no matter. An easy patrol means easy money so I'm not complaining. I am legally obligated to ask you to surrender but to be perfectly honest....I hope you refuse." All six grinned widely as she said that, the unsettling effect being heightened by the insect-like eyes of her half-mask..

This wasn't good. I had to think quick. I had only one real option. My go-to, nowadays. Possession. But how would that even work on Army Ant? She was one consciousness controlling six bodies. Would I take over all six? Just one? Was it possible at all? Would my mind split into six or would I just be booted out again?

Question after question raced through my head as Jessica nervously raised her wand. "B-Bring it on, bug."

She looked ready to bolt at any moment but her many side glances at the dumpster that was harboring me made her motivation to stay clear. I couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

With the Oculus I focused on the Army Ant that was furthest in the back and established a connection. I mentally braced myself for an onslaught of six different voices talking over each other but what I got was different than what I had expected. It was different in that it was basically no different from any other mindreading. A singular train of thought.

"Come one step closer and all of ya are gonna feel my wrath!" Jess yelled, trying to come off as confident.

Six "Oooooooooh"'s came from the singular crowd in perfect unison. One of them, the furthest at the front, stepped forward. "Do it. Show me your wrath. Hit me with your best shot." She spread her arms wide open, inviting Jess to attack.

While this spectacle was going on I deepened the connection with the Army Ant I had targeted. Like the other 4 who stood back, she was clapping and hollering for Jess to engage. It took only a few seconds to achieve Thought, and the whiplash that hit me was indescribable.

It was weird enough to be actively aware of the sensations of 2 bodies at once, but 7 was a whole different beast. Was that what Army Ant felt like all the time? Good God, the poor woman. While I was momentarily stunned by the stimulus overload the sorry situation played out further.

"A'ight, ya asked for this." Jess pointed her wand at the frontmost Army Ant and lifted her 3 feet in the air.

"Is this your wrath???" she laughed. "It's kinda tingly." one of the others said.

"No. But this is." Jess swung her arm to the right and the hero was flung into the wall. The body fell onto the dumpster and rolled off it on the ground. The loud noise snapped me out of my daze.

"How was that?" Jess asked, face plastered with the smuggest of grins.

It faltered quickly when the downed cape got up and dusted herself off like nothing happened.

"Pedestrian." was all she said.

"Weak."

"Lame."

"Boring."

"Disappointing."

"Just like you."

the other 5 added one after another.

"Damn." Jess whispered and took a step back.

"Well, this has been fun, but I really should stop playing around."

Just as all 6 began slowly moving forward I felt my mind slip away again.

When I came to I was lying on the ground. Massive waves of pain flooded my brain and I had difficulty breathing.

"What's the matter? Not as tough as ya thought?" I heard Jess taunt from what seemed like far far away but when I lifted my head I saw that everyone was still in the same position they were before I assumed control.

I could also see the other 5 Army Ants similarly groaning on the ground. Their agony seemed to be synchronized with each other but not with mine, so the one thing I could most definitely glean from this unusual circumstance was that I was not in control of all of them. Just the one. But why the pain? Something like this had never happened before. And why were they in pain too? Try as I might I couldn't think of a reason.

But I had no time to sit around and analyze the precise details of Possessing one part of a hivemind, I had to help out my partner. The confusion was quite manageable by now and the pain was ebbing away bit by bit, so it was only a matter of time before Army Ant was up and about again.

Gathering what little mental fortitude I had left after a day like this I got up on both feet. Jess readied her wand and pointed it at me. "I'd stay down if I were ya. I was just playing around earlier. Ya don't want me to take this seriously."

I couldn't help but smile. All of Jess' trepidation and nervousness seemed to have vanished the second her opponent showed a moment of weakness. It reminded me of myself in my first outing as a newbie hero. She really was a rookie.

"It's me, Witchling. MC." I forced out, still a bit wobbly from the pain. It must've been real bad because the others were just now starting to right themselves. Jess put her wand down. "No! Keep it up. We'll need it." I slowly walked toward Jess and kicked one of the Army Ants in the process of getting up square in the ribs. All 5 groaned and she went down again. "Army Ant is an All-Rounder. A mild one, but still....she can take a bit more of a punch than regular people so don't hold back."

All-Rounders were the few lucky souls who were born with Enhancements in 6 or more categories. Army Ant had all her physical attributes boosted slightly, not enough to compete in the Enhanced Olympics, but enough to be deceptively tough to deal with.

"What have you done to me? Give her back!" the Army of 5 yelled as they finally managed to stand back up.

"2 against 5 won't be easy, I don't think. Ya sure we can handle it?" Jess asked, still eyeing the dumpster nervously.

I gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "We took out one team already, what's another to add to the pile?"

Jess nodded and raised her wand as the 5 heroes charged. She seemed to have been calmed a bit by my words, but to be honest I shared her worries. But there was nothing I could do about it except square up, do my best, and hope it all worked out in the end.

"Let's do this."