Chapter Three

A long and exasperated sigh left my lips. Had this happened a week ago, I would've probably just killed the girl.

Completely glossing over the potential of being mastered was a mistake. I blamed it on my overconfidence in my power and it didn't help that when I stared into the abyss, it could not stare back.

But knowing was half the battle and as soon as I realized I was being carted off by a parahuman, I stopped in my tracks. Whatever she was doing to my emotions was inconsequential when I put my mind to it.

"Hey, what are you-"

"If you continue to use your power on me, you will die." Being heavy handed was necessary, but I kept my voice down so as to not draw attention.

The stranger jerked to a stop, shoulders tensing. "Oh, so you noticed that. I guess we'll have to do this the hard way."

She was going to amp up her powers, I could tell that much. While I was confident in my ability to regulate my feelings and actions, I didn't want to put it to the test.

Ripping my arm from her grip, I pulled her close to me. I snaked my arm around her side and rested my forehead on hers. Naturally, this was intentional. Hidden beneath my 'heartfelt' hug was a deadly threatening weapon.

A plush rabbit.

At a closer glance, one would realize it looked a little off. It's limbs were elongated, twice the length of the body. The faux-fur was matted and dirty with blood-like stains in the ears. Most disgusting of all was its face. It had a single eye that was reminiscent of a human's, with the muscle tissue visible. Its smile was riddled with small human teeth, 20 for both the top and bottom jaw.

"The Agent will first burrow under your skin. After which, it will slowly replace all of your insides with synthetic replicas made of cloth. When it is done, everything organic will have been assimilated into the rabbit, where your mind will forever be trapped. Make your next decision carefully."

Her attention was finally mine. She didn't take me seriously before, but now she has no choice. "Shit- what the actual fuck! Fine, I get it, I'll stop okay."

As her manipulation receded, I felt… different? Less inclined to brutally and mercilessly torture her. Weird, and not particularly fun.

Placing the Agent back into my hoodie's pocket, I let go of the girl. "See, we can be reasonable adults. Mind explaining while we evacuate?"

Rubbing her upper arm, the girl suppressed a shiver. "Jeez, I was just trying to get us away safely."

"By mastering me?" I didn't deadpan, but the intent was received.

"You were interesting, alright? It's not everyday you see someone so apathetic towards a potential S-class threat." She gave a sardonic smile, but most of the effect was lost by her fear.

Emotional manipulation and emotional detection—isn't that one of the Heartbroken's power sets? Cherish, or something like that.

"S-class, huh. Didn't realize it was that big of a deal." I gave a weak shrug; the girl clearly didn't believe me.

Rolling her eyes, the girl clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm Cherie, by the way."

"Morgan."

My worthless ID would have read otherwise, but I had no intention of using my actual name in this world.

The conversation teetered off, with neither of us knowing what to say. It was not how I was expecting the day to go. Spending any more time with Cherie wasn't ideal, with her master power, but if I found a way to secure her aid…

What did I know about the girl. She's one of the Heartbroken; has an emotional based power; sociopathic tendencies; and joined the S9. Ah, we do have some common ground. I could use her desire to join the Nine in my favor.

I was going to offer an alliance of sorts, since her power would be great for avoiding the attention of the authorities, but the screams of civilians distracted me.

The intersection up ahead was a bloody sight to behold. An assortment of limbs, organs, and other body parts streaked across the ground. People ran in all directions and not a single officer was in sight. Either the town's police force was incompetent, or they were busy elsewhere. I guessed it was the latter.

The ones who actually did the killing were a striking bunch. Their attire was a mishmash of different cultures. Colors ranged from blue to red to yellow. A notable and shared feature of the group was the adornment of bones and teeth.

"Uh, while I'm good at using my power, I can only do so much. We should get moving." Cherie considered tugging my sleeve, but held off. Her voice was strained, but she didn't sound too scared.

Removing my backpack, I gave a noncommittal grunt. "'Good' you say? Definitely showed that earlier."

There were fewer shouts around us and the Teeth finally noticed that we weren't running. Going over their numbers, I estimated there to be around 15 members. Couldn't see if there were any parahumans in the group.

"You're still hung up about that? Fine, I'm sorry for mastering you. Let's go already!" Now she was starting to get worried.

"Hold on a sec."

Unzipping my backpack, I dug my hand into the non-Euclidean space. I could feel surfaces shifting from soft to gritty. The fabric changed its geometry like a 3d model with collisions disabled. The inside was large. Larger than I probably thought, but it wasn't too hard to find what I was looking for.

I pulled out a decrepit leather book. The cover had no title or writing and it oozed of malicious intent. Cherie flinched at the sight of the book.

"What are you- are you planning on fighting them? You feel confident: absolutely sure of yourself…" The girl frowned, checking the approaching Teeth, then back to me. She was conflicted, to say the least. "I guess I'm sorta curious as to what you'll do. Try not to die, okay?"

Opening the book, I revealed that it wasn't any ordinary book. Actually, it wasn't a book at all. An oval shape was impressed into the pages; it was eerily reminiscent of a human face.

"Well," I let out a quiet chuckle, knowing just how this would end, "This seems like an appropriate way to unveil my cape persona, don't you think?"

Cherie's response was cut off when I placed the book over my face. There weren't any eye holes, yet the world shown clearly to me.

"If you're wondering: no, this book doesn't grant me any special powers. I just thought it looked cool." If anyone else tried to wear it… well, that was a different story.

The Teeth were almost on top of us. However, they were not complete fools, as they cautiously approached when spotting my mask.

Closing the backpack before it started to leak, I put it back on and reached for my pocket. Displaying the rabbit, I held it by the head and thrust it in front of me. Squeezing the head twice, I dropped the Agent and watched as it landed on its feet.

Like a doll held by strings, the rabbit ambled forward with a drunken gait. The gang members turned out to be idiots in the end. They watched the Agent slowly close in with baffled expressions.

Someone finally spoke, and it wasn't Cherie this time. "Wow… what a joke. Is that all you got? I think we need to make an example out of a clown-"

The member's head exploded.

It was gross, like, way worse than I was expecting. Chunks of skull and gray matter flew everywhere. I think I saw some of it get in Cherie's hair if her reaction was any indication.

If the Teeth weren't shocked already, then they were paralyzed with what happened next. The member's spine began to rise out of his neck. With the flexibility of a garden hose, the spine whipped back and forth. The cord of bones elongated to nearly ten times its original length; it pulled itself out of the body and winded around the body like a coiled spring.

At least two of the Teeth ran away in fear, while the rest were captivated by the macabre display. Cherie was a shade of green, but she did a good job of hiding her disgust.

"Alright, I'm ending this."

With my words as an irrefutable command, the spine burst outward. It expanded horizontally, chopping and bisecting all who stood in its way.

With the gang members dead, I picked up the Agent and put it away.

For a moment, all I could hear was the slow breath from my lungs and the squirting of life juices on the ground.

"I thought you said the rabbit went under the skin and stuff. Not… that." The girl stood next to me, wiping some blood off her cheek.

"Oh, I lied about the rabbit's purpose. But in this case, it only served as a distraction." Taking my eyes off the mess, I looked out for any witnesses. The area was completely abandoned and bereft of any life.

Not exactly what I wanted. I was trying to present myself as a powerful cape. A backup plan, if you will, in case my trip to Ravager didn't pan out.

The S9 would hear about my exploits and come to me. Especially with their numbers this low. Unless they somehow found two members between then and now.

Standing there, I wondered if I should try talking to the officers that would come around, but decided against that. Chances that I'd run into an enemy cape were too high, especially when the likes of the Butcher could be around.

"It's your lucky day; we won't be staying here any longer. It's time to hijack a car." Shoving my hands into my pockets, I spun on my heels and walked away from the scene.

Cherie let out an exasperated sigh and rushed to catch up. "You're a lunatic, you know that, right?"

"That doesn't mean much coming from you. You're still with me, after all"