I must have been going insane. Why? Sane people didn't see blue aliens with red eyes staring at them through their people and the memories of said alien in their head. Yeah, I must've hit my head or something. Maybe I got a contact high from being around those druggies. I'm not high. It would take more drugs to be able to hallucinate. Staring at the vision of Thrawn that was staring back, I slowly started backing away from the mirror.
"You are not going insane if that's what you are wondering." The Thrawn in the mirror said with a smirk that I had seen countless times in my dreams. He placed a finger on his chin. "Well, maybe a little. The line between genius and insanity are quite blurry, or so I have been told."
I look around the bathroom slowly. Was this a prank? Is the mirror some type of Tinker device that was made to prey upon the dreams of its victims? Was there a hidden camera somewhere in here? Shit, what if I was under the influence of some Master? I'm too coherent to be under the influence of a Master. Tinker devices are possible, but no known parahuman in Brockton Bay has such a specialty. Hm, what if Squealer made a mind-control truck? A possibility. The lack of a PRT presence in the area means no known parahuman presence. Parahumans could be anywhere.
"May I have your attention now that you are not plotting your escape?" The vision of Thrawn said with amusement clearly written on his face. I gave him a glance in response. "Wonderful."
"Who are you?" I took a step forward. Thrawn gave me a cold smile and pointed at me.
"I'm you. Well, I'm a figment of your imagination if you would like to be more precise." Thrawn said casually. "I'm the result of you trying to suppress our memories." Thrawn's memories, not mine.
"So you're saying that I'm hallucinating?" I frowned. What was happening to me! "Why are you in my head?!" I grabbed my head and closed my eyes shut.
"I'm saying that if Mr. Hebert walked in at this very moment, he will see you talking to a rather dirty mirror." Thrawn said calmly. I opened my eyes slowly to glare at him. "And I'm just a mental manifestation of the good Admiral's memories. Now that you are no longer attempting to push the memories out, your brain is working overtime to compensate for lost time."
"So I'm crazy…" I muttered as I sat on top of the toilet seat.
"I suppose so." Thrawn kept his ever faithful smirk etched onto his face. So now I had the memories of a genius admiral in my head along with a mental image of him. This was just...great. Triggering with the memories of a blue, male alien was always fun, said no one ever. I had read up on triggers soon after I got home from the hospital. Why couldn't I have triggered with something more obviously useful? Like Armsmaster or Alexandria. Thrawn's memories are just as useful as they result in me becoming a Thinker with all of his intellect and skill.
"W-What do you want from me?"
Thrawn shook his head, his glowing red eyes meeting mine. "Nothing in particular. As I said before, I am just a manifestation created from the memories of Grand Admiral Thrawn that are sitting in your head. In simpler terms, I am you."
A dry laugh escaped my mouth. "I'm not Thrawn."
"I never said that you were, though I am curious about one thing." Thrawn paused for a second. "What do you plan on doing?"
What did I want to do? If you had asked me a year or two ago, I could have easily answered that question. I wanted to be a hero like Alexandria. It was every kid's dream to become a hero, have your face plastered everywhere and to save the day. Now? Not anymore.
What did I have? I didn't have super strength or the ability to fly like Glory Girl. All I had was my mind.
"If you say that you plan on becoming a hero, I must say that I would be very disappointed in you." Thrawn cut me off as I opened my mouth to answer. "This world doesn't need anymore heroes does it? It's plain to see that the Protectorate and their affiliated teams have been rather inadequate. Horrors like the Slaughterhouse Nine roam around slaughtering towns, and even here in Brockton Bay. When was the last time Armsmaster caught a so-called 'villain' that successfully served their punishment? How many times has Hookwolf broken out of PRT custody? How many lives have been lost because of these heroes?"
That was all true. The news often showed reports of some criminals breaking out of their transport heading to the Birdcage.
"The world doesn't need anymore heroes." I said slowly. Sure I could dress up in some silly costume and beat the shit out of some random criminal, but what would be the end result? They would most likely head back to their old ways as soon as they could. One person couldn't make a difference. How many vigilantes died trying to make a difference by stopping crimes?
I have the memories of the greatest admiral from another galaxy. With a handful of ships, Thrawn brought the New Republic to its heels, only failing when he was assassinated at the Battle of Bilbringi. At the Battle of Atollon, Thrawn was on the verge of crushing the Rebellion when he received orders from Grand Moff Tarkin to capture the rebel leaders. I could reenacte his miracles and finally bring peace to Brockton Bay, to the world. Mom, would you be proud of the path I'm taking?
"What it needs is a conqueror."
The gangs, I will pull them apart, piece by piece.
A/N
This chapter is a bit shorter than I would have liked, but I wanted it out in time for May the 4th. I'm currently watching the Bad Batch and I'm really into it so far.
Lowkey thought Omega was a guy from the trailers, but her being a girl was a nice surprise. What do you think of the rewrite so far?