Wow, thanks for the reviews! XD Sorry it's taken so long, but I'll be cranking out a few more chapters now that I have more time.

Chapter Four – Of Mice and Men

Agatha was surrounded by darkness. Above, she could see the moon and felt as if she would die from the cold. Her inner voice kept telling her that she was useless without the sun…she needed it as if it were water, a vital part of her life. She heard evil laughter from behind her and gasped, turning around.

"Who's there!" she demanded, but no one answered. Suddenly, Gazerbeam's face, or his mask, at least, appeared in her mind. "Why---?" And she was enveloped in a large burst of red light.

--

Agatha awoke with a start. She found herself staring at a white ceiling, and could feel her cold sweat soak into the cotton sheets that were upon her. With a massive headache, (no doubt from the alcohol) Agatha forced herself to sit up and figure out where she was. She had been sleeping on a couch, she realized, and slowly got up.

Whoever the decorator was, Agatha thought, he or she was probably a huge fan of the minimalist style. There was very little furniture in what she gathered to be the living room, and the walls and ceilings were a dull white colour.

In horror, she realized that the person could now know her identity, and Agatha instinctively grabbed the top of her head to feel for the mask. She sighed with relief when she felt that it was still there.

"Come now, Apogee. I may be curious as to your identity, but not that curious." An amused voice drawled. Whirling around quickly after hearing Gazerbeam's voice, she instead saw the last person she'd ever expect to see.

Mr. Paladino. Agatha's mouth hung open in shock. "Gazerbeam!" Her boss was Gazerbeam. Mind spinning, Agatha tried to calm down. At least he didn't know who she was. Gazerbeam, or rather, The Boss, was dressed in sand-colored slacks and a white button-up shirt, open and showing his chest. He was a lot more muscular than she would've figured. To her surprise, he wasn't wearing sunglasses, or any other sort of glasses for that matter.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't really hurt for you to know who I am," he shrugged. "Just don't tell anybody, I guess….what are you staring at?"

"Your beautiful home decorating." She replied, totally deadpan. When The Boss continued to stare at her incredulously, she sighed. "You, of course. You're not wearing anything over your eyes."

"Oh…I don't have to." When he saw her face, he added, "I only 'burn things to a crisp' when I concentrate on them a lot." There was a long awkward silence. The question Agatha wanted to ask was stuck in her throat. She felt weak, as if she hadn't totally woken up from her nightmare. As though sensing what she wanted to say, The Boss said quietly, "Bomb Voyage escaped." He gestured for her to sit down, and as her knees were feeling especially weak, Agatha complied. "Me and Incredible went first to try to stop him, but he used this weird smoke bomb and got away. Stormicide actually got pretty sick with the smoke poisoning."

"I wish I could've been there." She whispered.

"It wouldn't have done any good, really. I know it pains you to hear that, but it's true. It was dark out, and you were drunk." He tried to be gentle, but the words still stung.

"So how did I end up here?" Agatha abruptly changed the subject.

Not missing a beat, The Boss replied, "Well, after things got a little less chaotic, I took you here to my house, since I'm sure you wouldn't want Gamma Jack looking after you. And I don't know where you live, since I don't know who you are, and I didn't think it right to violate your privacy."

"Heroes…really can't do anything, can they?" she asked weakly.

"I don't think so. We're more mice, than men. We have more to fear, more to hide from…more worries. If the rest of the world found our identities, we'd never have a moment's peace. And yet we're spending our lives running around, saving people from disasters and even death."

"I think I need to go now. To work." Agatha said in a mechanical voice. The fact that her boss was Gazerbeam, the crushing feeling she had where her heart was, her feeling of complete uselessness…

"Not in your condition!" The Boss argued. Agatha shook her head. "You mean real work? It's Saturday."

"I don't…I need to leave." She replied simply, sluggishly.

"I…understand." The Boss got up and walked Agatha to the door. "I…" he paused, as if contemplating the consequences of what he was about to say, then decided to not say it. "Take care of yourself, Popo." With a nod, Agatha walked out of the apartment and into the sun.

Instantly, she felt rejuvenated. In the sunlight was where mice and men belonged.

Author's Note

I know this sounds like the ending, but it isn't. xD