When I came too I saw Heroes running about, and emergency services scanning the area. I was heaved onto a stretcher, the darkness tugging at my mind again, so I gave in.

I didn't know how much time had passed when I woke up, but I knew where I was.

A Hospital.

A woman with short blond hair sat next to me. She seemed somewhat familiar, but I couldn't quite place her.

My mind was still reeling, still racing. But I had to put it off, at least until I was out of this hospital. Luckily, I didn't have to change up the way I acted too much.

The Overwhelmed Villain shouldn't be too far apart from the Overwhelmed Civilian.

"Uuuuugh..." I groaned. "Who.....who are you?"

The woman, whoever she was, appeared absolutely miserable.

Downcast gaze, black rings under the eyes, a tinge of red from repeated crying, unkempt hair.....she had certainly seen better days.

"Oh, uhm......It makes sense if you don't remember me.....We....uhm....we only met once." the girl stammered.

Her voice sparked my memory instantly.

It was a lot more timid, a lot less haughty and arrogant, but there was no mistake.

"Army Ant?" I asked.

Her eyes lit up for a second.

"Yes!" she blurted out excitedly, only for her tone to immediately fall again. "But...I guess it's just Casey now."

My mind went through several stages in quick succession: Panic, Confusion, Caution, Recognition.

Oh my god, they got me! It's over now!.....

Wait, how the hell did she know what I look like under the mask?

In any case, I have to be real careful what I say and do next.

And then I remembered.

The last time I engaged with Angelica, when I brutalized her like she deserved, Army Ant had tended to me as a victim of that attack. It was was so long ago, and I hadn't thought about it much since.

Did she suspect? This was the second time I was in the vicinity after an Incident involving Angie. Was that why she was here? But if yes, why like this? I needed a bit more info.

"Right....right. Where is the rest of you?" I asked, scanning the otherwise empty room.

She scratched her head.

"A lot has happened since then. You probably heard of the tour bus robbery. Where the Yellowbricks got trounced. By cowardice, but still."

I wrinkled my nose reflexively. Hostage-taking isn't cowardly if it is your last resort. It's just good strategy.

"We....we caught up with the culprits when they made their getaway. It was stupidly easy too. And we would've got them if they hadn't gotten backup at the last second."

She took a deep breath and continued.

"That's when it happened. The Master Controller took over my body, and....."

Her lips started to quiver and I could see the beginning of tears form in her eyes.

"....it separated me. From my sisters, I......I'm alone now."

Her face sunk into her hands and quiet sobs reached my ears.

I was taken aback.

Separated?

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I dislodged her from the Hivemind?

I...hadn't even been aware that that was possible.

"Oh wow, I had no idea, I'm so sorry. Is that why you.....why you and your...sisters, no sister, I guess, went on hiatus?" I reached out to touch her shoulder, acting compassionate when I was really mostly dumbfounded about the whole situation.

She nodded and looked at me.

"Yeah. Turns out, our durability came from me, and it's gone now. For them...her. I still have it. Sister, she....she is off training, developing new strategies to...make up for the loss."

Her voice was resigned, defeated.

"What are you going to do now?"

She shrugged.

"Probably manage the office. I guess I could still be a Hero, but I know from when I was a part of Sister that she doesn't work well with others. We are used to flawless, instant coordination with our partners. I'd just slow her down or get in the way. And without being by her side, I don't want to be a Cape."

I nodded along to her explanation.

"That sucks. I bet you'll do a great job though."

"Thanks."

An awkward silence stretched along for a minute or two until I broached the topic.

"So....why are you here?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know. I thought about you a lot since I was torn off. Not in a weird way, I just....felt like you were someone I could talk to."

Right. I remembered. I dove into her mind and established a strong bond of trust between her and my civilian persona. I thought I did it to Army Ant as a whole, but as she was already her own person, it must've been reduced to just her.

Damn. I don't know how useful she'd be to me as an asset.

Then again, she still might have access to some good info as the manager.

I would just have to deal with the cards I got handed.

"I'm flattered, I really am. I'd be glad to lend an ear now and then. How did you find me though?"

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"I waited for you to call for a while, but you never did. So I've been asking a few Hero friends to keep an eye out for a civvie matching your description during their engagements. Got a few false positives, but..it worked eventually, right?" she chuckled humorlessly.

"I guess so." I breathed. "So, what now?

Army Ant....Casey shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to see you."

I briefly connected our minds. The thoughts were unfiltered, all over the place. No matter how much I tried I couldn't make sense of it, and in my current state I wasn't in the mood for Thought, so I let go again.

"So, do you know what happened?"

I probably could've waited her off until she left on her own, but that would've been too awkward even for me. Luckily the circumstances at hand offered a perfect replacement topic.

"What do you remember?"

I stared at the ceiling, trying to come up with something.

"Nothing much. I sat down to get a drink and watch the announcement. Before I even got it I was out cold."

She nodded.

"You were very, very lucky. You have a real problem with fainting, you know? This is the second time."

I laughed nervously.

"It's a condition. I do real real poorly under stress."

Her eyes bored into mine. "You have to be more careful."

I raised my hands and she leaned back in her chair.

"Hedald Queen Angelica freaked out. She....she killed a bunch of people."

My stomach lurched.

Keep it down, Mal!

Keep. It. Down!

"Jesus.....do you know why?"

She shook her head.

"No one does, but chances are she was affected by something. Right now she claims she remembers nothing. Just woke up after the massacre. They are having someone from the Magic Castle come in to verify that."

I nodded. That was standard protocol. Empowered who can spot lies may be tempted to cover for one of their own, especially when both parties are Heroes. As there were enough arcane methods to detect liars, a neutral Mage was usually brought on for the job.

"What are the theories?" you ask.

"There isn't a consensus right now. I heard multiple things. Spells are out, or Future Guardian would've been able to fix it on the spot. There are many Villains who can influence minds, but the problem is the trigger. Angelica spent all her time in the Tower until the conference. Someone could've prepared something on the stage, not targeting a specific Enlightened, and it happened to have hit her. Could be Mind Control. Could be Possession. Both of those options have far fewer candidates to consider."

.

I swallowed heavily.

"Yeah...I guess that makes sense. Do you think it could be.....her? The Master Controller?"

We just talked about me, so I had to ask. A child could've connected the two, so I figured it would have been more suspicious not to bring me up.

She looked up with a sigh.

"I don't know. I checked her file a lot. During her first few months, she liked to monolog to her victims at length, like a lot of these bastards do when starting out. Apparently, she mentioned her limitations often, kind of like a brag. 'I can only do this and this yet still I am unstoppable! Mwahahaha!' That sorta stuff."

I hated those days. Being an absolute Beginner at anything sucks.

"And while you should never take a Villain by their word, almost all of her crimes fit the outline she gave. Many times she had much more useful and powerful people to Possess in the vicinity, but she always chose the weak or Powerless."

As a Hero, I needed to be as efficient as possible, so it took quite a bit of work to flip my perspective to comply with my made-up weaknesses.

"But with the reveal that she was behind the Leotigris incident, we should not discount her."

Oops.

"The only other Possession candidates that could've done it with their Powerset are High Jack and Grandmistress, both of which are out of state and rarely active. So we don't know."

I turn to look out the window.

"What a mess...."

"You said it."

She tapped my shoulder and I faced her.

"So, what's your name, anyway? I told you mine. Been waiting to hear yours for months."

I chuckled and offered my hand.

"Emmery. But you can call me Em."

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

She stayed for a few more hours. Mostly small talk. She made me promise to call her, and I might actually do it this time. Cultivate the sleeper mole. There wasn't much wrong with me (physically), so was discharged shortly after she left.

I wandered into an alley and all at once everything threatened to crash down. I had to distract myself. I needed to lay low.

No more runs, not for a while. Stay away from everything. Don't think about anything. My head hurt, everything hurt, nothing made sense.

Before I knew it I found myself clinging to a dumpster. A look inside confirmed I had voided my stomach within.

The way home was long, or it felt long at least. Much longer than I remembered it ever being.

I brushed off greetings from my housemates, went to the second floor, and stumbled into our room. I thanked the Heavens that neither Smooth Criminal nor his posse were stalking the hallway at this time. I don't know how I would've handled it.

With a heavy slump I sat down on the bed and did nothing.

Just waited.

I didn't know for what exactly.

When the door opened and the soft footsteps fluttered in, I didn't look up.

My gaze remained fixed on the floor when Jess' soft voice rang out.

"Was it you?"