“Run along and get some disinfectant on that,” Nikola ordered, mutely remembering the sirens in the background. Either a police squadron or an ambulance. Maybe a mix of both. Seeing the nametag on the woman, Nikola identified her as Olivia Walker. A name to remember for the report. “Go on, now! We don’t have all day.”

After another glance toward the incapacitated victim, the lady finally ran off. Nikola wondered about the connection before getting on one knee to investigate further. The man was bleeding from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. It wasn’t extreme but the woman could see the blood starting to pool already. That wasn’t good.

More importantly, the waves were still going strong. A bit weaker than before but still strong enough that the woman could feel it on the hairs of her skin. Actually… channelling the energy to her eyes, Nikola tried to look deeper than mere skin.

It wasn’t directly an x-ray ability. Even with many weeks put into it, the Hero hadn’t been able to copy those machines. Yet, she could do something very close to it. She looked past the bits of flesh that made up the face, past the bone that hid the brain, and right into… where the brain should’ve been.

No brain could be found. At least not the one humans were meant to have. Instead, a frenzied piece of flesh seemed to be writhing in the middle, lashing out at the neurons around. It was killing the man. Maybe he was already dead, the damage certainly enough to leave a regular human as a vegetable. There was only so much the healers could do for brain damage and the man certainly seemed to have reached beyond the boundaries with that.

Nevertheless, Nikola put a hand to the man’s face before sending a strong but controlled piece of lightning inside. With a quick flick, the Parasite was dead with only minimal damage to the surroundings. The stillness in the man wasn’t appreciated.

“I’ve found and eliminated the threat,” Nikola reported into the radio as the sirens outside became ever louder. “It wasn’t a Mind Control ability but a Parasite of some sort in the man’s brain. It has been killed but it seems the man is dead as well.”

“Good work, Tesla,” Skip finally said. “Since it’s still showing signs of being a variant, however, do the standard protocols and interviews.”

“Of course,” Nikola said with some level of annoyance, having hoped to be done already. As the paramedics were waved in, carrying off the various injured, the Hero started to find the woman she’d seen before. It was best to start somewhere familiar, and the name Olivia Walker just seemed to stick with the Hero.

Finding the woman was rather easy, all the injured settled outside the actual building. Most of them only had a few scratches or bite marks, the people around having enough sense to run away the moment one of them became rabid. Everybody except one, that is. Seeing the woman at the end of the line, Nikola saw her chance.

“Hello again,” Nikola said as she stepped in front of the lady, ignoring the fearful whispers. Even when wearing bright colours, people couldn’t help but look at her with some level of horror on their faces. Thinking for another few moments, maybe it was due to the blood smeared on her left hand. “I have some questions for you. Would you mind if we went somewhere more… private. If this place has such a thing at least.”

Looking around, there wasn’t much else but the different farms. There was the administrative building behind them but the Hero doubted she could make the lady go in there again.

“There’s a break room for the guards at the gate,” Olivia answered when Nikola continued failing to find a proper interviewing area. To be fair, the hero had mostly worked in the bigger cities. Being so far out in the country was new to her. “We can talk there.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Lead the way then,” Nikola ordered politely, following along as the woman guided her towards the gate she had come in from. Going into the small building attached to the outer wall, a small room with a table and a few chairs were entered, both women sitting on each side. “So, tell me who you are to the victim, Markus Fletcher.”

With a double-press on her radio, everything started to be recorded.

“I am one of his direct subordinates and one of the people he works directly with on a day-to-day basis,” Olivia answered. “Is he alright?”

Thinking for a moment about whether, to be honest, or brutally honest, Nikola chose the former. She was being recorded, after all.

“It is with a heavy heart I must confirm his demise,” Nikola replied, letting her eyes fall onto the table. “I tried to eliminate the Parasite that had nestled itself inside his mind but it had destroyed too much of the man before I could get to it. On that note, however, did you see any changes to his behaviour in recent months? In these cases, the Parasites usually lay dormant for months or even years but they rapidly develop at the late stages of taking over the host.”

“No, I didn’t notice anything,” Olivia said, shaking her head at the suggestion. “I was talking to him before I went to lunch and he was completely fine. He even made suggestions about increasing worker morale by taking care of some of the criminals and-”

“Criminals?” Nikola cut in, making the woman flinch. “What criminal activity are we talking about here?”

“Uhm… you’re with the police force, right?” Olivia questioned, sounding worried. How interesting.

“I believe I am at the same commanding rank as the local police chief. Maybe above in some situations,” Nikola answered, not able to remember all the protocols. “Why do you ask?”

“We’ve had issues with recreational drug trades in the last few years,” Olivia explained. “Too many of the day-workers have been buying and selling. None of them is lethal or too illegal but it has been a growing issue. Markus and I have been trying to stop it with warnings and assistance in getting out of the pattern but we haven’t been able to do much.”

Life in the outer parts of the sectors truly was too different from the ones in the big cities. Nikola knew that unregulated drug trades wouldn’t be looked at too kindly where she was located. That the local police had been stopped from acting was… unrelated to the current objective. Nevertheless, it was something she would remember later.

“Has anybody else shown any signs of changing their personality?” Nikola asked. “Any changes in their daily patterns counts. Eating habits, when they work, how much they work, anything that could be taken as peculiar. Anything.”

Olivia looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly trying to think it over. Nikola appreciated it. With how little promise there was in the current info, she could simply send in a request to have all the cam data sent over to the analysts and try to get something from that. While there was a chance at something bigger, it wasn’t something she had to stop at the current moment.

“I know that the resident Biomancer has changed the amount of time he works to an extreme degree,” Olivia started, making the Hero perk up. That was slightly worrying. “However, Markus and I were able to attribute the changes to the man wanting more money for his alcohol habits. That man is attached to the main group that deals out the drugs so money troubles were expected from him from the start.”

And with that, interest waned drastically. Double pressing the radio again, the recording stopped and Nikola rose from her seat.

“Thank you for doing this,” Nikola said, handing the other woman her business card. She always kept a few on her person, though she rarely needed to give them out. “If you notice a larger group of people changing, call it.”

“I will,” Olivia said, grasping the card in her hand hard. Nikola wondered if she needed to give her an extra to make sure the first wasn’t accidentally destroyed but she decided against it.

Walking outside yet again, the rescue vehicles seemed to be driving off once more. The more serious cases of injuries had been removed but a few were still sitting around touching cleaned wounds. Truly the height of brilliance.

“No signs of large-scale Mind Influence. There is no obvious evidence of a Collective Mind scenario,” Nikola sent in, doing a last sweep for any abnormal signatures in the electromagnetic spectrum. Other than a faulty satellite tower a few kilometres away, the woman found nothing. “Everything is done here. Bring me back.”

As the pull on her mid-section was felt, the Hero relaxed herself. She was back in the big city, away from weird farms with strange fluctuations. Pulling herself together, she got out of the official areas as fast as she could. Half an hour had been wasted and there was no chance she would allow herself to be called out again.

Though… as Nikola changed into her casual wear, she noted the sight of the farm once again. Thinking back, it had looked familiar to something she’d read about in the past. The actual subject eluded her, the image of the farm being the only thing that could reach the forefront of her mind.

But, if it was so important, then the woman was sure she would remember it eventually. For now, she had to get herself out of the building. There was no chance she would go for round three.