Chapter 14: Mad With Desire
One evening in New Rushland, Mikhail was just finishing dinner for his family when he heard the door to the basement slam. "Someone's hungry." He thought to himself. But once he turned around, he saw his adopted ward still in costume. Cyan had wrapped her cape around her waist and taken off her domino mask, revealing her bright red cheeks. Concerned, Mikhail turned off the stove and knelt down in front of her.
"Cyan, what's wrong?" He asked.
"... uh-rrp-m-soo…" She mumbled, bashfully.
"Sweetie, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." Mikhail said, patiently.
With a sniffle, Cyan leaned closer to his ear and kept her voice down. "... I ripped my suit…"
Mikhail understood her embarrassment. After the girl's thirteenth birthday, she had experienced an uncomfortable growth spurt that had made it harder to fit into her Azure costume. Unfortunately, Dr. Oobleck had been out of town dealing with Crimson Enterprise's business, and was unable to resize the outfit for her. Mikhail hugged her tightly and carried her up to her bedroom and shut the door behind him to give her some privacy. With that, he made his way back to the kitchen to finish dinner.
Meanwhile, Svetlana had remained downstairs in the cave to follow up on her present case. She was fully aware of Azure's situation, but remained silent about it to spare her the embarrassment. Making a mental note to have the talk with her ward sometime in the future, the Crimson Crusader took out one of her radio's to speak with her secret partner within the NRPD.
"We have a few leads on Trickster's whereabouts." Detective Cash called out. "The police cruiser he stole was found outside the financial district. Once we've narrowed it down, I'll give you a call."
"Thank you, detective."
"Feels weird working with the police, huh?" Magenta's voice declared from another radio.
"Not really," Kransaya declared with a shrug even as she recalled how she and Azure had given their fellow vigilante his own com system so as to coordinate with one another a while back. "I technically already had done so with one Jane Maroon for a while."
"Wait, when did this happen?!"
"Last example I could think of was when we coordinated a response during that business with the assassins the Cult of Grimm hired and thus ensured the safety of one Hope Vatika."
"Wait, really?! I…I mean, why am I just learning about this now?"
"Simply put, Jane doesn't really have access to our comms like Detective Cash does, so it never came up, so I suppose in that regard, this is something of a unique experience, though I won't say that I'm against it."
"Yeah, me neither."
A knock on Boris' bedroom door alerted the teen vigilante. "Boris? You in there?"
He panicked as he realized he was still in costume, sitting on his bed. As he heard the door begin to creep open, Boris swiftly pulled off his mask, grabbed his blanket, and threw it over himself, and tucked the mask and communicator under the covers just before his mother could see him.
"MOM!" He snapped, trying to sound embarrassed. "I'm not decent!"
Reflexively, Jane covered her eyes and closed the door again. "Oh, sorry! Sorry!" She stammered. "Just wanted to know if you wanted me to order takeout for you before I head off."
"Uh, no thanks." Boris rechecked his communicator to see if Krasnaya was still on the line. "I had a late lunch at school today, so I'm not really hungry. I'll just fix myself a sandwich later, or something."
"Alright. See you in the morning." Jane called back. "I love you."
"Yeah, love you, too! Thanks! Go catch crooks, goodbye now!" Boris kept quiet until he heard the front door of the apartment close, allowing a sigh of relief to slip out before putting his mask back on.
Suddenly, the alarm on the communication device - aka the "red-wave" - went off; Detective Cash sent an alert stating that one of Trickster's goons was spotted in the projects section of New Rushland. Magenta propelled himself off of his bed and out his bedroom window. Once he landed on the street, he heard a familiar engine rushing towards him. The Crimson Crusader pulled up in front of him and motioned to the passenger seat.
"Get in."
"Happy to help." Magenta nodded. "Hey, where's Azure?"
"She's unavailable tonight." Krasnaya remarked. "Sorry to disappoint."
Magenta cleared his throat, trying to play it off as a joke. "I wore a new mask and everything." He muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
A few minutes later, the Warthog pulled up alongside a developing toy factory. Krasnaya and her partner snuck inside through the vents until they heard a distinct menacing laughter echo from below. Krasnaya silently instructed Magenta to stay in the vent while she stealthily made her way down to incapacitate the common thugs guarding Trickster's office. However, once they didn't check in, Tic, Tac, and Toe had been sent out to inspect the problem. Krasnaya finally drew her hammer as the more muscular goons circled her.
While his archenemy was busy fighting the trio, Trickster decided to make his getaway. But as he looked back, he smiled to see Krasnaya wide open for him to attack. He drew a pistol out of his back pocket and almost got a clean shot before someone shouted.
"Hey, Silver fox, here's a neat trick for ya!"
Trickster looked up just in time to receive a purple boot to the face. Magenta propelled himself off of the former mercenary while simultaneously reaching into one of his belt's pouches. Once he flipped upside-down, he threw a handful of marbles at the floor just as Tic and Tac chased after him. The acrobatic vigilante planted his feet on Toe's chest as he landed, watching Tic and Tac slip on the marbles.
"Very creative." Krasnaya complimented.
"Well, we don't all have fancy huntress weapons." Magenta remarked back.
"Speaking of which; duck." In one fluid movement, Krasnaya threw her hammer straight at her fill-in sidekick, who ducked out of the way just in time to see it collide with Trickster. The villain had been sneaking up on him, and Magenta hadn't even noticed.
"Huh, thanks." Magenta nodded with a deep breath of relief. "Good to see we still make a pretty good team, eh?"
Krasnaya maintained her neutral expression as she tied up Trickster. "You're improving. Let's leave it at that."
Twenty minutes after Krasnaya sent Detective Cash an alert that Trickster and his men had been captured, she and Magenta stealthily followed the police as they escorted the mad assassin to Ironwood Asylum. "Thanks again for your help, red." Cash remarked over the comm. "Hopefully this time he'll stay locked up and let the new psychiatrist do her thing."
"Ugh, shrinks." Magenta groaned in disgust after Krasnaya hung up.
Krasnaya couldn't help but take notice of his tone. "Problem?"
"My mom used to send me to psychiatrists after my dad was killed." He explained. "Just a bunch of quacks who thought that being asexual means you're autistic, and running a blog about the Red Woman makes you a sociopath."
"Yeah, I'll admit that not every psychiatrist is the best at their job - heck, there were actually a few that I've personally met that I'd want to punch in the face if I ever ran into them again - but I also won't deny that it's a job that should be appreciated when the person in the position does, in fact, know what they're doing." Krasnaya remarked. "Besides, I know for a fact that there's at least one patient here that very much would appreciate someone being there for her right now."
"Right, Emerald," Magenta said with a nod. "Yeah, I suppose that a shrink really would be about the only person who could potentially tell us how to reverse what Loki did to her, but you'll have to forgive me if I have doubts of it working."
"You're forgiven," Krasnaya declared before gaining a teasing grin. "By the way, if you're as asexual as you claim, why were you so interested in how Azure was doing?"
"... I said 'asexual.' Not 'aromantic.' There's a difference." Magenta simply blushed in reply. "Shut up."
At that very moment, Dr, Esmerelda Cream was in the middle of a therapy session with Emerald Sustrai.
"So, how are you doing today, Emerald?"
"I'm doing alright, I guess," the former thief declared. "Food could use some improvement, but at least it's slightly better than having to eat out of the garbage."
"Right, you've mentioned struggling to find a decent meal in your childhood prior to being found by Cinder in some of our previous sessions."
"Yeah, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't know anything about my biological parents, but I'd have some choice words for them if they purposely left me to starve on the streets. Say what you will about Cinder, but she kept her word when she promised to make sure that I didn't go hungry."
"Yes, she might not have been an ideal guardian, but it's not hard to see why a part of you remembers her fondly."
"Yeah, especially as I've met worse people in my life like…"
Esmerelda blinked upon seeing her patient suddenly froze in place. "Emerald?"
"No…not again…"
Dr. Cream sucked in a breath upon realizing that Emerald was seeing some hallucinations of Loki at this point in time, having long since learned that Emerald was unique in how Loki's gas had affected her. "Emerald, sweetie, it's going to be okay…"
No sooner had she said this, Emerald flung herself out of the chair and dashed into a corner of the room, looking a lot like someone who was trying to get away from someone who was about to hit her. "No! Leave me alone!"
Without an ounce of hesitation, Esmerelda rushed up and pulled Emerald into a hug, hoping to smother the visions that were haunting her patient. "Shh, it's okay. Loki isn't here. You're safe. You're Aunty Esmerelda is here for you."
"...still not calling you that." Emerald seemed to reply even as she calmed down a bit.
"Never say never." Dr. Cream teasingly declared, before looking at the clock. "Anyways, I think we still have a bit of time before I have to see my next patient."
Emerald gained a teasing grin upon hearing this. "You sure you don't want to end things early so that you can get to Ivy faster?"
Dr. Cream just blushed in reply. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me: I've seen you checking her out during some of our group sessions."
"Yeah, well, I don't believe in patient/doctor relationships."
"Why not?" Emerald couldn't help but ask. "You're already in one, what with your insistence on my calling you my Aunt."
Dr. Cream simply blushed some more upon hearing this. "It's…complicated."
Meanwhile, on the other side of Ironwood Asylum, the guards were fitting Trickster with a straightjacket and removing his prosthetics while his henchmen were being processed to be taken to Red Cell. The anarchist could only lament how his latest plan had been foiled by a mere child. "Hmph…" He grumbled to himself. "I bet things'd go smoother for me if I had a sidekick."
As he said that, Tic, Tac, and Toe glanced in Trickster's direction, seemingly offended by his remark.
Trickster took notice of this. "You're not sidekicks! You're goons at best."
Tic, Tac, and Toe frowned, sadly.
The staff removed Trickster's artificial legs and strapped him in a straightjacket before escorting him to his cell. As they moved down the hallway, he spotted a familiar-looking psychiatrist and gave her a flirtatious wink and toothy grin. She turned away, trying to hide her smile.
The next morning, Dr. Cream arrived early and found a beautiful bouquet of roses sitting on her desk. Her heart gave a flutter as she initially thought this was the work of her favorite photokinetic patient, but once she read the card, her smile wavered slightly.
Trickster lay on his bed with his arms resting beneath his head. He was awoken by the sound of tapping on the plexiglass wall of his cell.
"Care to explain how these got in my office?" Dr. Cream asked as she held up the bouquet.
Trickster shrugged with a coy smile. "Simple, really; I put them there. What, you don't like flowers?"
Dr. Cream crossed her arms. "I think the guards would be interested to know that you've been out of your cell."
Trickster giggled. "Oh, my dear doctor, if you were really going to tell, you'd have done it already."
"How do you know I haven't?"
"There's something about you I like." Trickster scooted himself forward with his hands; his artificial legs being impounded. As he leaned forward on the glass, his grin grew wider. "Something almost… enchanting. I've had doctors poking around in my head before, but none of them were ever like you."
"Are you saying you'd be willing to let me analyze you?" Dr. Cream smiled. If she could analyze the Trickster, she might be able to help him. Doing so would make her famous in the world of psychiatry.
"Hmm… well, I'm not much of a 'something for nothing' kind of guy, doc." Trickster laughed. "If you want to talk, you'd have to do something for me, first."
"... name it."
The next day, Dr. Cream had requested the higher ups at Ironwood Asylum to design Trickster a pair of unarmed prosthetic legs. The former assassin claimed it was tiring to walk around on his arms, and even went so far as to accuse the staff of being abelists. After much discourse, the majority agreed under the condition that the prisoner remain under strict video surveillance.
"I understand and sympathize with what you're saying, Dr. Cream, but are you sure about this?" one of the higher ups in the asylum couldn't help but ask. "Even if the prosthetics you requested aren't weaponized, there's no guarantee that Mercury, Trickster, whatever won't try something with the ability to walk around freely."
"I understand that there's a risk involved, but I'm hoping that this will give him an incentive not to try and kill his guards to get his weaponized legs back," Dr. Cream replied. "Besides, you said it yourself that the legs I requested aren't like the ones that we took from him, so what's the worst that he could do with them?"
"Alright." He sighed. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
One week later, the legs arrived and Dr. Cream insisted on delivering them to her newest patient, personally.
"I got what you wanted." Dr. Cream held up the basic prosthetics and allowed Mercury to put them on. The former mercenary walked a few laps around his cell to get a feel for them, seemingly satisfied with them.
"I must admit, I'm impressed you got the warden to approve this." He remarked.
"Well, now that I've done what you asked, what do you say we sit down and have a little heart-to-heart?"
"Hmmm…" Mercury shrugged and playfully laid down on his bed. "Oh! Where do I begin?"
Dr. Cream sat down with her notepad. She was prepared for anything Trickster threw at her.
"My old man hit me a lot."
Except for that.
"Trained me to be an assassin since I was just a snot-nosed brat." He went on, sadly. "And every time I stepped out of line… POW! Right in the face. He's actually the reason I don't have a semblance, y'know…"
"Wait, how does that work?" Dr. Cream couldn't help but ask.
"It was his semblance." Mercury bitterly growled at the memory. "He told me he was trying to toughen me up. So that I wouldn't rely on a crutch. Swore that if I could ever beat him, he'd give it back… but he never did. Honestly, I think he just didn't want me to be able to fight back whenever he went on one of his drunken rampages. Sometimes, he'd even let his buddies get in on the action."
"...I have several questions about how a semblance could do that and/or how he was able to get away with such blatant child abuse, but I can tell that this is upsetting you, so I'll leave it be for now until you feel like talking about it some more."
"Appreciate it, though you'll likely be waiting a long time."
"I've been told that I'm a fairly patient woman," Dr. Cream declared with a teasing grin. "In any case, and if I might ask, where was your mother in all of this?"
"Couldn't tell you," Trickster answered with a shrug. "She just up and vanished early on in my childhood. Not sure if that means that she simply left to get away from my father or if he had her killed…and honestly, I'm not sure which scenario would upset me more."
"Well either way, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Eh, it's fine: hard to miss someone who wasn't a big part of your life, and either way, I can't really hate her, as either way, I know that it wasn't truly my fault that she wasn't around. But I can definitely hate my dad. It's hard to remember a time he didn't come home drunk off his ass, beating the shit out of me with his belt. There was only one time I ever saw my dad truly happy." He smiled, fondly. "During one of his missions, he had to go undercover as a spectator in a circus. And during the clown act, he actually started laughing! And I don't mean his usual act, but I mean, he was really into it! I thought he was gonna bust a gut!"
Esmerelda smiled warmly as her patient got up from his seat and began to act out what happened next.
"So I thought, 'if they could make him laugh, maybe I can, too!' So the next day, I grab a pair of his trousers he wore for undercover assassinations, slip them on, and go 'hey, daddy! Look how much weight I lost!'" Mercury dropped his pants for a proper reenactment, earning a giggle from his psychiatrist. "And then - hehehe! - and then-! Ha ha ha! I-I tripped on the sagging pant leg, and the next thing you know, I'd torn the whole crotch right out of my pops' best Sunday slacks! AH-HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
As Mercury laughed, Esmeralda began to laugh along with him. So much so that she actually started crying from the strain. It sounded so ridiculous to her that she couldn't help it.
"And then he broke my nose." Mercury sighed, earning a concerned look from Esmerelda. "But hey, at least I learned a valuable lesson; that's just what happens when you waste material on folks who just… don't get the joke. Just like my old man… or Krasnaya."
Esmerelda adjusted her glasses as Mercury's tone grew darker. She scribbled a few more notes on her pad and watched him stroll over towards the barred window, looking out over the city.
"She's crazy, you know." He muttered, bitterly.
"Who?" Esmerelda blinked. "The Red Woman?"
"No, the tooth fairy." Mercury replied, sarcastically, before spinning around to show the anger in his eyes. "OF COURSE, THE RED WOMAN! Always the Red Woman! I've seen it in her eyes just before she beat me unconscious with her hammer! She goes galavanting around with children, beating on the homeless and the poor who are just trying to get by!"
"That's-" The doctor was about to protest, but thought over something he had said. "That's… that's really insensitive!"
"Then you understand!" Mercury dropped to his prosthetic knees and desperately gripped the doctor by her hands. "You know why I do the things I do! I'm trying to save this city from that masked maniac! I've tried drawing her out into the open, but every time I get close, she slips through my fingers!"
From that day on, Dr. Cream became Mercury's full-time psychiatrist. She had spent over an entire week, sitting in his cell for hours at a time, asking him questions and listening to his stories. While he did reveal bits and pieces about himself, he mostly talked about the Red Woman and how much he hated her. But Esmerelda always managed to get what she wanted.
"You know, Emerald talks about you on occasion." Dr. Cream informed her patient during one of their sessions.
"Oh? What does she say?"
"Well, I obviously can't tell you everything," Dr. Cream informed Trickster. "Doctor/patient confidentiality and all of that. What I can tell you though is that she noted that you drove her nuts, that she felt like you had a bit of an ego, and that you were fun to mess with back in the day."
"Yeah, well, the feeling's mutual. I'll be the first to admit we got on each other's nerves, but I'll also admit that we did work well together. I actually miss those days on occasion, and I'd like to think she does as well."
Dr. Cream couldn't help but snort here. "Sounds like the two of you were practically siblings."
"You…could say that." Trickster couldn't help but declare, not quite meeting her eyes as he did. A sinister grin briefly crept over his lips before putting on a more depressed demeanor. "In fact, it just pains me to see her like this… locked up in this prison while the one who beat her into submission is still free!"
Dr. Cream rolled her eyes here. "I know what you're trying to do here: you're trying to convince me that Krasnaya is the real criminal for beating up your former coworker. Well, joke's on you: it was actually one Alex Rojos who was responsible for her condition when she first arrived and she's already on thin ice as a result."
Trickster shrugged. "Fair enough, though that does make me wonder how much the NRPD actually cares for helpless individuals like myself."
Dr. Cream couldn't help but scowl here, already aware of how Alex was still on the force even after what had happened with Charr Coal, before shaking her head, trying to keep herself focused on the current discussion. "I can't really say either way, but as for Emerald…well like I said, I can't tell you everything, but she was affected differently than you were. All I know for certain is that I'm not sure what would happen with her if she was out on the street right now…especially as I'm still helping her through the night terrors she has."
"Well, I'm glad that she at least has you in her corner."
"...just out of curiosity, you don't see hallucinations of Loki, do you?"
"No, but I'm guessing that Emerald does," Trickster remarked.
Dr. Cream just returned the teasing grin. "You know I can't tell you that."
The two of them just shared a brief laugh after that.
"Tell me something…" Mercury grinned once they had calmed down. "Do your friends ever call you 'Izzy?'"
Dr. Cream blushed. "Uh… w-well, I-I don't really have a lot of friends."
"Well, Izzy, you've got one now."
"From then on, it was all clear to me. Mercury Black was born into an unforgiving lifestyle; abused by his father and abandoned by his mother, his only option was to fight back against the world who had turned its back on him. The abuse he suffered at the hands of Salem and Cinder Fall did nothing to help. And then, of course, there is the infamous Red Woman who, whatever intentions she might have initially had, ignorantly and brazenly continues to torment him, trapping him in the role of villain. But I've seen more in him. Underneath his inherited compulsion to harm is a greater desire; a desire to live life to the fullest. He calls himself 'the Trickster' because he takes delight in playing tricks on his would-be abusers. And in the process, bring joy and laughter out of pain and suffering. One of the noblest crusades I've ever heard of."
"I can't believe it, but… I've fallen in love with my own patient." Dr. Cream wiped her eyes. "Pretty silly, huh?"
"Not at all. As a career-oriented woman with an intense desire to help others, you've had to maintain a serious demeanor and strong focus to get where you are now. It's only natural that you'd be attracted to someone who could make you laugh again."
Dr. Cream smiled. "I just knew you'd understand!"
"Anytime." Trickster grinned.
The next day, Boris and Cyan were taking a break from their tutoring session by watching one of Boris' favorite movies; Agent Atlas: The Kingdom War. It was a biopic about Atlas' most decorated soldier - Reginald Ivory Lapis - and his exploits during the war between Atlas and Vacuo. Currently, the film was at the plot's climax where the enemy was trying to break Agent Atlas, but proved unsuccessful.
"Your kingdom sent you." The Vacuan general sneered. "Not an army. Not a platoon. Just you. Why? What makes you so special?"
"... nothing." Agent Atlas smirked. "I'm just a kid from Mantle who cherishes peace with all his heart."
"Who writes this stuff?" Cyan couldn't help but scoff.
"Well, this is just a remake." Boris replied. "The original from thirty years ago is way better."
"I'll take your word for it," Cyan said with a shrug before getting up to stretch a bit. "Well, that was a good way to kill a couple of hours: want to grab a snack before we get back to studying?"
"Yeah, I'm cool with that," Boris declared with a smile as he too got up. "Let me just…"
What happened next was something that neither of them could have predicted: with his legs feeling a bit stiff from sitting for so long and not noticing a stray piece of paper on the floor, Boris ended up slipping and falling forward. Cyan quickly sprung forward to catch her friend…only for Boris to accidentally knock her to the floor, their lips touching as this happened. Their eyes widened for a moment as this happened before they fluttered shut as they unconsciously began to make out with one another.
"Wha…what are we doing?" Cyan couldn't help but ask after they broke the kiss to come up for air, noticing for the first time how much Boris' eyes resembled Magenta's.
"I…I don't know," Boris admitted as she noticed how much Cyan's jawline resembled Azure's.
"Are you complaining?"
"Not really." And that was the last thing either of them said before they went back to making out with one another.
Just then, both of their scrolls went off at the same time. They sat up and turned away from each other to check the alert; it was the Red Wave. Trickster had once again escaped from Ironwood Asylum.
"Excuse me, I gotta go." They both said at the same time, leaving the apartment in different directions.
That night, Krasnaya, Azure, and Magenta all stopped the Trickster from blowing up the Rushland water reservoir, beating him to a pulp after he threatened to kill children he'd taken hostage. By the time the police delivered him back to the Asylum, Dr. Cream was the first to inspect the criminal, angrily glaring at the officers who brought him in. Boris had slipped out of his costume and watched with unease as Dr. Cream screamed and cried out while Trickster was dragged away. He snuck inside and made his way to Weed's cell.
"Hey, Ivy, could you do me a favor?"
"Depends on the favor, especially with how I'm limited to what I can do in here."
"That's fair," Boris said with a shrug. "Anyways, could you maybe keep an eye on Dr. Cream for me? She's been behaving a bit strangely the last few times I was here and I'm starting to get worried."
"I'm sure you're just being paranoid, but sure: I can keep an eye out on the hot doctor."
"Oh, you find her attractive, eh?" Boris asked with a teasing grin.
"I like to talk to her." Ivy remarked with a cold grin, evidently not rising to her friend's taunt. "She doesn't interrupt me when I tell her how I'm gonna kill your mom. Don't think I've given up on that, buddy. When she least expects it, I'll be there."
Boris sneered at his former best friend. "And I'll be waiting." He huffed, angrily slamming his fist on the plexiglass wall before walking away.
"You can walk away, Boris!" Ivy called out, mockingly. "But you can't get rid of weeds! We just keep coming back!"
"That's the thing: I want you to come back, String Bean," Boris declared, looking back at her friend as he did, "but I don't want your life to be dedicated to revenge. I know you're better than that, which is why I haven't given up on you, sis. You're not a weed: not to me, at least."
Ivy merely blinked before giving a small smile. "I appreciate you saying that…bro."
The next day, Ivy waited for Dr. Cream to deliver her medicine and proceed with their daily session. When she first met the psychiatrist, she could hardly believe that she was working at such a cutthroat place like Ironwood. Esmerelda couldn't be any older than nineteen and was far too sweet to deal with the dangerous crazies in the prison. She was pulled out of her thoughts when said doctor walked into her cell with the medicine.
"Hey, Doc, if it's not breaking protocol, I actually have a question for you."
Dr. Cream only blinked upon hearing what Ivy had said before nodding. "Go ahead."
"Is everything alright back home?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well an old friend of mine thought that there was something different about you lately, and now that I've had some time to observe, I find myself agreeing with him," Ivy admitted. "I mean, you hadn't been wearing your hair down the last few times I've seen you."
Dr. Cream briefly panicked as she felt at her hair, which lately she'd been letting down to try and get Mercury's attention. "W…well, so what? Can't a girl change her appearance every so often?"
"Hey, don't get the wrong idea: I love the new look," Ivy said with a wink that got the doctor blushing, "but I've also noticed you coming in with angry looks on your face, and well, I don't want you to do anything rash that might potentially put my friend, my brother in all but blood, in danger."
"I appreciate the concern, but trust me, I'm fine," Dr. Cream declared with a gentle smile. "And as to your other concern, don't worry: I don't plan on ever hurting someone who didn't deserve it."
Throughout the rest of the day, Dr. Cream dealt with her regular patients; some rather tame, others downright deplorable. But a few hours with her precious "Mistah Tee" put a pep in her step and a smile on her face. At the end of the day, she was just about to head home, but forgot her car keys in her office. When she opened the door, she found the asylum's warden going through her desk.
"Wha…Dr. Cream: what are you doing here?" Warden Ice couldn't help but ask upon noticing her.
"Uh, I work here, and was actually hoping to grab a few things before I headed home," Dr. Cream deadpanned. "What are you doing here in my office this late at night?"
"I…you see…" …and that was as far as the Warden got before Izzy gasped upon realizing that her filing cabinet was open and there was a series of papers in the Warden's hands.
"Are… are these my notes?" Izzy seethed with rage.
"I-I review all reports our doctors submit!" Warden Ice pathetically tried to defend herself, but accidentally knocked a pamphlet off of her desk.
Izzy hastily picked it up and realized that it was a publisher's agency. "You work me to the bone, then you steal my work to make a profit off of it?!"
"Dr. Cream, as your superior-!"
Izzy quickly shut her up by grabbing a pair of scissors off the desk and stabbing them into the warden's neck. As her former abusive boss fell to the floor, Izzy grabbed the keys from her desk and quickly rushed towards Mercury's cell. There was no turning back now.
Once freed from his cell, Mercury walked back to the warden's office to confirm Izzy's claim. As he saw the pool of blood spilling out of Ice's neck, a mischievous grin spread over his lips. His ears perked up at the sound of a guard drawing his weapon. Seconds later, the former assassin paced in front of the woman who had freed him.
"Tell me something, Izzy…" Mercury hummed as he circled around the psychiatrist. "Would you die for me?"
"... of course." Izzy nodded.
Mercury seemed dissatisfied with her response. "Nah, too easy. Would you… live for me?"
"Yes." Izzy nodded again, putting more effort into her tone.
Mercury wagged his finger in front of her. "Do not take this promise lightly. Promise becomes surrender, surrender becomes acceptance… now, a harder question… would you… kill for me?"
Izzy hesitated for a second before, spurred on by the thought of helping the man that she'd grown attached to, she nodded once more. "...yes."
Mercury smiled his sinister smile, handed her a gun, and stepped out of the way to reveal the guard he had tied up. "Prove it." He requested.
Dr. Cream recognized the guard; Paul Pumpernickel, one of Rojos' men who opened fire on Coalface and then the child working with Krasnaya. Paul had a wife and child of his own, but he had been known to smack both of them around, especially when drunk. And under Rojos' same orders, he was also known to abuse the inmates at Ironwood Asylum she had sworn to care for. She lifted the gun and placed the barrel against his forehead. With no remorse, she pulled the trigger, and soon felt the warm splash of blood on her face. Something about seeing the hole in the domestic abuser's head awakened something in Izzy's mind, and she began giggling at the sight.
The Trickster grabbed Izzy from behind and roughly pulled her in for a kiss. "Oh, I love you." He whispered before laughing. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Izzy's only response was to laugh even harder, pleased to have made Mercury happy here. They both kept laughing as they danced in the blood of their latest victim. Such noise drew the attention of another guard who rounded the corner. Before he had time to draw his gun, Mercury spun and dipped Izzy, giving himself a chance to fatally kick the guard in the neck.
"Ooh, thanks again for arranging these legs, Izzy." Trickster couldn't help but remark as he looked down at the guard he'd just killed. "I'd still prefer some with some guns in them, but still: these are a treat."
Another guard hit the silent alarm on the wall, prompting Izzy to shoot him in the back.
"Gods, I really love you." Trickster smiled again before kissing her once more. "But, we must now prepare for the arrival of the Red Woman."
Seven minutes later, the warthog arrived at Ironwood Asylum before the police could. Azure stretched in her new outfit, pleased to see no new tears or rips. As the trio entered the asylum, they found a quartet of orderlies tied up and severely beaten. The Crimson Crusader ordered the Girl Wonder to untie them while she and Magenta investigated the Trickster's cell. Magenta inspected the lock, but saw no signs of forced exit. Using her Huntress Eyes, Krasnaya discovered Dr. Esmerelda Cream's fingerprints on the cell's lock. Just then, Azure arrived.
"The orderlies said they saw Dr. Cream leave freely with Trickster." Azure reported. "What would he want with her?"
"He saw a vulnerable person he could bend to his whim." Krasnaya surmised. "Someone he could use for a few laughs until he got bored with."
"And tune in next week as Krasnaya explains the dubious implications of Night Terror's witch cap." Magenta joked, earning a stern glare from his idol.
"Let's move." Krasnaya ordered. Magenta rushed ahead towards the exit, but Krasnaya's Huntress Eyes detected a tripwire right in front of him. "WAIT!"
But it was too late; Magenta triggered the bomb and the explosion sent him crashing back into Azure. The robin Faunus gripped him tightly as they were thrown back towards a wall. Thankfully, her semblance kicked in and cushioned their landing, allowing her to safely set him down. The purple-clad vigilante recovered just as two silhouettes appeared from the smoke.
Trickster's sinister smile shone in the dim hallway, but what drew the trio's attention was Dr. Cream. The psychiatrist held a surgical scalpel under a guard's throat before splitting it open and letting his limp body fall to the floor.
"See, Mistah Tee! I told you that would blow them away!"
"That you did, my dear. AH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Dr. Cream?! Why are you doing this?!" Magenta couldn't help but ask.
"Because no one else was going to be there to stop folks like Rojos from abusing my poor Mercury," Izzy readily called back, "I don't know about you, but I think he's suffered enough already."
"I'll be the first to admit that Mercury's past is tragic, but that doesn't give him the right to do what he's done." Krasnaya called out.
"Maybe, maybe not, but what he needs is someone who'll be there for him, not a thug in a mask that just wants to beat him up!"
Krasnaya simply glared at the person in front of her. "You know that that's not who I am, Dr. Cream."
"All I know is that right now, I'm your opponent…and by the way, from now on, call me the Enchantress!"
"Ha ha! That's my girl!" Trickster called out with a manic grin.
Krasnaya had heard enough; she threw a bola at the Enchantress, tying her up, before lunging at the Trickster. The maniacal assassin easily dodged each of her blows, and finally managed to kick her in the stomach, firing a round into her gut. While the blast had pushed her back, Krasnaya's aura shielded her from serious injury and she swung her hammer once more, grazing her opponent's chin. She swept her leg under his feet to trip him up, then used her hammer to knock him against a wall. Trickster tried to get up, but Magenta and Azure used their own ropes to lasso both of his legs and spread them apart, giving Krasnaya an opening to punch him.
But the Enchantress had broken free from her restraints and grabbed a taser-prod from the glass case on the wall. She stabbed it into Krasnaya's back and turned it on at full power. When the Crimson Crusader collapsed to the ground, her partner's were too distracted to notice Trickster push himself onto his hands and begin spinning around, allowing his legs to drag them through the air and roughly slam them into the ground.
"Sorry, kiddies." Trickster grinned as he cocked one boot-gun and planted the heel against Magenta's head. "But this is where your story ends."
"Mistah Tee, they're just kids!" Enchantress pleaded. "Plus, I thought we were gonna blow up the police station?"
"You? Ordering me around?" Trickster sneered, angrily. "Don't get any bright ideas, cupcake! If you get too big for your britches, I can drop you like a bad habit! Got it?!"
"Yes, sir." Enchantress whimpered. "Sorry, Mistah Tee…"
Trickster paused, briefly, before flashing a gentler smile. "Aww… you little minx! I could never stay mad at you!" He playfully pinched her cheeks, making her giggle. "But you do have a point. We've got bigger fish to fry! To the police station!"
With that, Trickster ran to hotwire a car while Enchantress kept a lookout.
"Dr. Cream, please: can't you see that he's using you?" Krasnaya pleaded.
"If it means getting rid of corrupt cops like Rojos, I'll let him use me however he likes!" Enchantress snarled out.
"Well said, sweetheart! Now get in!" Trickster opened the passenger door of his getaway car. "Let's go get rid of a couple of those corrupt cops!"
Enchantress eagerly hopped in the car with her new boyfriend, and the duo sped away. Krasnaya soon recovered and checked to make sure her sidekicks were still alive. Using the remote built into her hammer, she summoned the Warthog to come and pick her up. She loaded Magenta into the passenger seat and laid Azure down in the backseat before taking the wheel and speeding after the psychotic couple.
Krasnaya growled as Trickster and Enchantress tore down the street, throwing grenades at cop cars as they went along. Thankfully, her purple partner woke up just in time. "Magenta, take the wheel." She ordered. Before he could question her, Krasnaya launched out of the warthog and landed on the roof of Trickster's car. Enchantress pulled out her gun and fired at the attacker. Trickster tried to shake her off, but was so distracted that he couldn't see that he'd driven to the docks and was heading straight for the pier. Krasnaya grappled away just in time and fired at the rear tires to slow it down.
"Mistah Tee?" Enchantress shrieked as they drove towards the end of the pier. "Mistah Tee, I can't SWIM!"
It was no use. The car crashed through the guardrail and plummeted into the water, with Trickster bailing out at the last moment. Krasnaya growled as Trickster used his recently reacquired gun legs to jump to shore before she herself attached an oxygen mask to her cowl and dove after the car, knowing that Dr. Cream's life meant more than Trickster's escape. She swam down to the sunken car, finding no sign of Trickster, but the Enchantress helplessly - and unconsciously - floating halfway through the broken windshield. She grabbed the mad psychiatrist and swam back to the shore to resuscitate her. She coughed up a puddle of water just as Magenta and Azure caught up in the warthog. While Krasnaya put her in handcuffs, Enchantress looked around for her new lover.
"He…he left me." Enchantress couldn't help but call out upon realizing that Mercury wasn't coming back. "We promised that we'd be there for one another and he just…left me."
"Lady, he calls himself the Trickster," Magenta deadpanned. "Are you really that surprised that he'd lie to people on occasion?"
Izzy's only response was to look down in shame.
The next day, Izzy had been stripped of her license and sentenced to life at Ironwood Asylum. Boris was with his mother as she oversaw the fallen doctor's admittance. As they walked through the hallway, he stopped at Ivy's cell.
"So it turns out you were right to be worried about Esmerelda," Ivy sheepishly declared.
"Don't worry: I won't say 'I told you so.'" Boris teasingly called back.
"I appreciate that," Ivy said with a nod, before turning away so as to hide a blush. "...is it weird that I found her Enchantress outfit to be kind of hot?"
"If it is, don't worry," Boris remarked with a blush of his own as he recalled his feelings for Azure and more recently regarding Cyan, making a mental note to himself to sort that out later. "We can't help who we are attracted to."
"...you do realize that I'll be teasing you about that later, right?"
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't," Boris said with a bitter chuckle before giving his friend a serious look. "Promise to look after Dr. Cream for me?"
"That won't be a problem at all, Brainiac."
Boris was about to leave, but stopped himself for one last message. "Oh, and one more thing." He said, darkly. "I don't care if you are my best friend; if you ever threaten my mom again… I will make you regret it."
With that, Ivy silently watched as Boris continued down the hallway, angrily snipping off the head of one of the roses in her pot. Meanwhile, Izzy had been admitted into the cell right next to her former patient.
"So what was that you said about not believing in patient/doctor relationships?"
Enchantress just groaned upon hearing what Emerald said from the other cell. "Leave me alone."
"No: you were there for me when I needed it: now it's my turn to return the favor…Aunty Esmerelda."
"...I thought you said that you were never going to call me that."
"Well like you said, never say never."
"Thanks Emerald." Enchantress replied with a melancholy grin. "...and for the record, yes, I do find Ivy to be kind of hot, even to this day."
A few minutes later, Esmerelda was wheeled into her own cell. As the guard locked her in, she sadly laid down on her new bed, thinking about Trickster. She thought to herself about how stupid she had been to let that madman twist her around his finger. She promised herself that she would abandon her quest to help him and move on. That she'd never have anything to do with Mercury Black ever again. Until she turned her head to see the bouquet of roses sitting on her nightstand with a note attached.
"Chin up, kiddo! We'll meet again soon! XOXO, Mercury!"
And just like that, her heart gave a familiar flutter and a smile spread over her lips.
To Be Continued
Epilogue:
When Izzy woke up, she found herself in an entirely different prison cell. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way to the metal bars to inspect her surroundings. Across from her, she could see a bald, tattooed woman in a glass cage, crying into her hands. The woman suddenly screamed in agony and burst into flames, causing a sprinkler above her to activate and put her out. Before she could question this, Izzy's cell opened up and a large, muscular arm grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Don't move." Polu Shark suggested, calmly. "It's less dangerous if you don't move."
Again, Izzy wanted to raise a question, but was prematurely cut off as she felt a small prick in the back of her neck. The female doctor dressed in purple with an eyepatch rubbed an ultrasound over her neck to check the area of insertion.
"Implant successful." Dr. Octavia Ember cheerfully remarked. "You can put her back, now."
Once she was back in her cell and the bars slammed shut, Izzy rushed forward to finally voice her concerns. "Hey, what was that?! Who are you guys?! What is this place?!"
As Octavia and Polu walked away, another woman in a blue military outfit stepped out of the shadows. Something about the way this woman carried herself sent chills down Izzy's spine. "... are you the devil?"
"... I might be." Ciel replied. She took a seat in front of the cell and took out a manilla folder. "Now, Dr. Cream, while under the Trickster's influence, you killed three people. I'm sorry to say that even with the insanity plea, that constitutes life in prison without parole. However, you have a particular set of skills that interest me. I'm working on a little project to clean up a few messes… how would you like to reduce your sentence?"
"...would I have to kill anyone who didn't deserve it?"
Ciel just smiled, pleased to see that even in this state Dr. Cream still had something of a conscience. "I swear that I'll never make you do anything like that."
"Then I'm in."
