I sooooo enjoy inflicting pain on my little ghost and the dreamcatcher. Surely nothing too terrible will happen to them :))
This is a longer one!
…
Phantom Pains VIII
Contents: a few near car collisions vaguely described, powers to do with emotion manipulating, passing out, human trafficking vaguely (labor)
…
Luna generally didnt like going directly into heroes or villains’ minds. The villains for obvious reasons, but heroes… they had their agency and all, and shes REALLY rather not provoke it.
Which is why her stomach sank, seeing the headlines plastered all over the city screens.
ELECTROMIGHT EXPOSED
TEEN AT SCENE OF WILLING IDENTITY REVEAL
HERO’S FACE GOES VIRAL AFTER UNEXPECTED UNMASKING
UNKNOWN POWERS AT PLAY?!
EARLY RETIREMENT FOR PROMISING HERO
ANSWERS WANTED FROM AGGRAVATOR TEEN
Luna pulled her hood tight over her head, looking down. Shit shit shit… where could she go? Spectre would have protected her… but shes missing and no one is going to care.
Well… maybe thats not true.
She stopped in her tracks, looking into a store window. She walked in, idly, looking at the clothes that were way to expensive. All week shed been looking into the dreams of different villain associates, smuggles and weapon makers and muscle for hire, hoping to catch a sign of what the Overseer was planning without alerting the Overseer to what she was doing.
But jumping to another vigilante, or a hero she thought would actually help instead of turning her in… maybe creating a network of information gatherers, or god forbid a rescue team…
… yeah sure, that will go well. “Hello people with no budget for this, nor an official license and sometimes questionable morals! Want to help me fight the worst villain the city has ever seen to rescue some girl?”
Luna chuckled to herself. Maybe she could convince them if she offered a discount for her work.
Speaking of…
The sun was setting, and Luna put on her mask. Unfortunately Shuteye couldn’t return to that diner, her main base of operations… and also the roof where she kept her stuff.
Not that anywhere else would be safe… Shuteye had no idea how long it took the Overseer to find her, or if she’d been watching her long enough that she didnt need to look. She could be watching her now for all she knew.
“Thats the trick with us psychics, Luna.” Her father’s voice rang in her ears, as if she needed to be even more sad right now. “Its not about what we know, its about what they think we know. A psychic’s greatest strength is whatever the enemy thinks it is.”
She shook her head out. She wouldnt fall for that trick- she had no idea how the Overseer found her, but she wasnt going to act like she was watching her every move before she knew for sure. Thats what the Overseer wanted- her to be afraid.
“Hey kid.”
Shuteye jumped, whipping around to see a person in a tight purple costume, and a full face mask. A hero, one Shuteye knew of course. Mystifire, a fellow psychic. They were younger- a newer hero, with empathic powers.
Shuteye wasnt stupid. She didnt waste a second bolting down the street, narrowly dodging cars and their angry drivers.
“Kid- KID!” Mystifire shouted, throwing out their hands as they chased down the dream jumper.
A great fear wrapped its claws around Luna’s heart, squeezing tight. A car came to a stop in front of her, like a deer in headlights. She couldn’t breathe she couldn’t BREATHE- people were shouting- drivers yelling at her to get out of the road-
There was a hand on her shoulder, pulling her to the sidewalk. “Kid- kid, you’ve got to listen to me…”
A sense of calm pooled through her chest… oh. A hero was in front of her, holding her shoulders in place. She couldn’t run. But Mystifire… didnt look angry like Electromight did once freed from the mind control.
“Im going to let go my powers on you.” Mystifire looked her in the eyes. “Will you be all right if I do that?”
Shuteye blinked at her.
“… right.” Mystifire sighed. “Just… try not to freak out.”
As suddenly as it came on, the calm faded away, and Luna was looking up at a hero from the very agency Electromight was from. Holding her by the shoulders- at night with no one but the cars speeding along to see.
“Oh please no-”
Luna’s throat closed up, as her vision went black.
-
“You better behave youself.”
Charlie was shoved into the room- she hasn’t seen this one before. Normally it’d be a boring looking office, nothing of note except maybe the little art trinkets on the shelves that she’d make sure to nab and sell at a pawn shop.
But in this boring office were two other people in masks. Like the Overseer though, those were the only things sealing their identities. The three villains were wearing… business casual.
… Charlie practically felt naked, just in the t shirt and bike shorts the Overseer had been having her dress in.
The Overseer pinched the inside of her arm, hard. Charlie only winced, not even realizing she had gone invisible.
“Gentlemen,” The Overseer nodded for everyone to take a seat, taking a chair for herself. There were only three places at the table. “Thank you for meeting me… though we were a bit behind schedule.”
“She giving you trouble?” One of the villains chuckled.
… oh, they were talking about Charlie.
“Nothing i couldn’t crush out of her,” The Overseer waved a hand dismissively. “And while id live to discuss those details another time, we are here for business. What did you think of my offer?”
“Thats a high price for some brat we dont even know will cooperate.” The more stoic of the two villains grunted. Charlie had always been bad at keeping her names and deeds and powers straight, and that skill did not improve in her weeks with the Overseer.
“Dont worry,” the Overseer put her elbows on the table. “Ill tail you three and make sure she stays in line. I want to see the fruits of my labor, as it were.”
“Tail us?!” The first villain hissed. “This is a sensitive operation, you cant just-”
“Oh, I cant?”
Ice shot through Charlie’s veins, even when she wasnt the one under the Overseer’s scrutiny. Her words had the same effect on the other two villains it seemed, both of them tensing up as the Overseer tilted her head.
“Sure I could deny the deal, I dont really need the money, or favors from you bitches,” the Overseer shrugged, casually. “But if you keep testing my fucking patience, I can make you regret ever stepping foot in my base, hm? So either accept my conditions, back out of the deal, or stop acting like ill bend to your wishes. Visible, ghostie.”
Charlie bit down a whimper, flicking back to light.
“… well take the deal.” The stoic villain said after a long moment, turning to look Charlie up and down. “Is she going to do the mission in her… what, pajamas?”
Mission?
“I’ll get her some better equipment.” The Overseer waved them off, standing up. “See you in a week, gentlemen.”
“Whats…” Charlie’s voice fell quiet as three pairs of eyes turned to look down at her. “Whats happening? What am I-”
She sucked in a breath as the Overseer tightly clamped a hand around her upper arm. “They need your body intact, but they dont care what I do to Shuteye, do they.”
Charlie forced her frozen neck to shake her head.
The Overseer hummed, looking back to the other two. “Looks like i habe some kinks to iron out. Feel free to see yourselves out.
[[MORE]]
@stars-hide-our-fires