I know, Lucas, it's just...the damage I've caused in the underworld of Weston. Not only that, but. . .But. Katy stopped herself. Her hand twitched yet again, only more of a movement than before, her hand closing and then opening. Lucas, could you call Helena? I feel like making amends is the first step. This was odd. The Katy before wouldn't have apologized to Mirage for anything. There was never a need to.

It was Helena who saw my potential. She was the one that introduced me to Friday, and trained me. It was Helena who helped me take down my first criminal, and it was Helena who introduced me to Captain Jordan. In more ways than one, Lucas, Helena has been a sort of mother figure to me. Katy explained. If she won't forgive me, Lucas, who will?

Lucas nodded in acknowledgement of Katy's comment.

"I'll call her Katy....she and I were both working on a big case involving a man called The Builder. He framed a young man and young lady for the murder of his mother, and we're trying to gather evidence that will exonerate them."
Lucas then got out his phone and dialed Helena's number.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:10, Wed 21 Sept 2011.

Lucas frowned as the voicemail came on and he left his message. He had hoped to talk to Helena, but it seemed she had been preoccupied with other things. He hung up the phone and then sat down next to Katy.

"I know Mirage has been working pretty hard on this case, so it shouldn't surprise me that she didn't pick up right away. Hopefully, she'll be here soon."

>>> From NPA HQ

Mirage reappeared in a swirl of crimson smoke and dark skirts.  Rather than taking up her customary seat on the desk, she was standing, the points of several crimson coloured knives poking through her fingers.  She was smiling in a less than friendly way.

Smoke flowed around the room as Mirage kept her power levels up.  She did not trust Psy-Witch and was expecting a trick or a trap of some sort.  Knowing how Psy-Witch was more powerful than she was, Mirage was not going to take any chances.

Lucas could see from Mirage's less than friendly entrance that she was prepared for a fight. And rightfully so. In their first battle, Katy...then as Psy-Witch, had taken them to the limit.

He looked into the eyes of his newfound lover.

"Easy Mirage....the force that was controlling her has been dealt with. I saw to it myself."

He then tapped the side of his head.

"I can prove it...both by her chi...and by what I witnessed inside of her own mind."

"Step aside, Lucas.  Or hold her down.  Either works." Mirage said in a low growl.  Her psionic knives grew longer.  "Psy-Witch is dangerous and she could be playing you."

Lucas stepped to the side of Katy, looking at Mirage intently, then gesturing to Katy's sleeping form.

"It's no game Mirage...but if you don't believe me, ask her. Her mind is still active even though she's asleep."

"OK Katy...it's your show now. You wanted to make amends...now's your chance.."

"Ask the telepathic psychopath who was randomly going around killing people?  You can't seriously believe that.  You saw what she did.  Let me put a few of my knives into her, just for good measure."

"I believe what I saw. If you don't believe me look into my mind's eye...and see what I saw.....see what transpired.." Lucas replied.

Katy had expected it to turn out like this. Mirage was never one to readily give back trust when it was betrayed. After all, it didn't help that Katy had gone insane over the course of that time, making everything Mirage said true. Even though the situation was tense, Katy did not rouse her body. She could easily defend herself without moving, but she didn't want it to come to that.

Helena, listen to me. Brain had tricked me, drew out the worst parts of my subconscious and formed a complete personality that overpowered my own. If you don't believe me, look. With that, a small part of Katy's defenses lowered and recalled the memories of what had transpired. Though memories could easily have been conjured up, they couldn't have been faked with the quality that Katy displayed them. It was like she said, the personality Brain had created within her had taken control, and Katy's own mind took a back-seat to the happenings.

Helena, I regret what I did and what I said immensely. I know it looks bad, but please, see reason. Why would I lie to you? Her tone was beseeching and earnest. The words, though mind-spoken, were from the heart.

"Psy-Witch can play around with your perceptions as easily as I can, Lucas darling.  Maybe even moreso.  You forget that I taught her, and have been regretting it ever since she turned."  Mirage replied coldly.  It Psy-Witch had been manipulating Lucas, Mirage was going to be very, very upset.

She whirled on Katy with a snarl, pressing the point of one of her psionic daggers to the womans throat.  "You don't get to call me that!  Not after what you've done, Psy-Witch!"  Hearing her real name spoken by the woman that had betrayed her trust was more than enough to make Mirage angry, or rather angrier.  She had liked Katy, so much so that she had been a mentor to the young woman.  For Mirage, Katy becoming Psy-Witch was like having a close friend betray her.

The crimson of her knives grew darker, the blades edging towards a deep pure black.  Don't listen to anything that she's saying.  Put the knives through her.  End her.

Only there was something in Katy's tone, the way that she was pleading with Mirage.  Was she really trying to apologize?  Mirage hesitated.

It had to be a trick.

Or was it?  Could Katy be sincere?

Lucas looked at Mirage, even as she had her blade to Katy's throat.

"Don't listen to the negative, Helena. Katy is being sincere, and I freed her from the influence that had taken her over myself."

Katy's body didn't move, nor did it look scared. Her physical limit had been stretched to the limit time and time again when Brain brainwashed her. Her mind didn't even cower at the psionic energy. Katy knew that she could deflect the blades if or when Helena decided to attack. Katy knew she would act like this. It was understandable, especially when Helena had given out all her techniques to Katy.

Helena, Katy mind-spoke, Please stop calling me that name. I'm no longer Psy-Witch. I'm just....Katy Hanson. Will you please look into my mind? I'll let you have free reign...Search for yourself. I'm free of Brain's influence. Helena, please, just trust me.

Mirages hand clenched tighter around her blackened psionic knife.  She didn't trust Psy-Witch or Katy Hanson.  The betrayal was still too fresh.  The smart thing to do would be just to kill her, drive her knife through Psy-Witchs throat.

Was it the smart thing to do because Psy-Witch was evil or because Mirage was afraid of her?  Psy-Witch was more powerful than Mirage and that had been more than a slap in the face on several occasions.  Mirage had pretty much ducked out of the Legacy towards the end of their time together because there was nothing that she could do that Katy Hanson couldn't do better.  The Legacy didn't need two of them, so Mirage had chosen to spend more of her time prowling about solo.

That was what made it easy to hate Psy-Witch, not just for her cruelty, or for the fact that she had taken Mirages teachings and twisted them to her own purpose.  It was that Katy Hanson seemed better than her.

No, this had to be a trick of some sort.  Mirage hated Psy-Witch because she was evil.  Even if delving into Psy-Witchs mind was a trap, Mirage decided to take the chance, to prove that she was not afraid of her.

"I'll find out the truth.  You can't hide your thoughts from me.  I know you too well." Mirage snarled as she reached out with her mind to touch Psy-Witchs.

Lucas looked on, unsure if the two women were going to start fighting, whether in the physical realm, or in the mental realm. He hated going from the status of savior to mere helpless onlooker.

And only time would tell as to what would happen between the two women on the mind-scape.

It appeared that Lucas was going to come along for the ride, however, as his mind also came along with Mirage and Katy's, entering the mind-scape.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:54, Sat 01 Oct 2011.

When Mirage, and subsequently Dragon Fist, touched her mind, their senses exploded. Vision went bright white, they momentarily went deaf, their feeling became numb, they experienced every pleasant aroma they had ever smelled along with every pleasant taste they'd ever encountered. If this was a trap, it was an extremely pleasant one....for now.

But that all lasted for only moments. An instant later, a scene burst into view. A large fountain stood in front of them, and around them a temple with a glowing white hue could be seen. They were in the courtyard. Dragon Fist would notice it as the mind he'd recently freed, while on the few occasions that Mirage had entered Katy's mind, it looked similar, only more cultivated and brilliant than before. A mind-scape directly correlated to the state of the person's mind, provided there were no Gilding. That is, the person perceiving themselves as fine when the mind was truly ready to fall apart.

A woman dressed in a long white priestess' robe sat at the edge of the fountain, dangling her fingers in the water. The colors of the water would change, always a bright color. Her body and hair distinguished her as Katy, only...something seemed better. Maybe it was her mind's self-image, but she looked absolutely breathtaking. She turned to face the other two, not moving from her position, and determined to stand her ground.

"Could Psy-Witch do this, Mirage? She was a madwoman. Now what memories do I need to show you in order to convince you?" Her voice was powerful, authoritative. She was in her element. Though Mirage could strike her down in the physical realm, Katy had control of both her friend's minds as of this moment. She grasped at the water, throwing a sphere of pure water up. At the apex of it's ascent, it burst into thousands of tiny drops, each one enlarging and appearing as memories. Of her childhood, of her joining the Legacy, of every part of her life. Though they couldn't be twisted and manipulated right now, every dirty secret, every minute detail about Katy could be discerned. Hell, if Helena or Dragon Fist looked at the right memory, they would notice certain levels of admiration, even attraction, to several of the Legacy members, even people they hadn't met before.

"Take your pick, Helena, Lucas. I won't stop you from perusing," she said.

"Dios....Mio..." Lucas muttered, seeing this visage of Katy. It was almost as if he had gone to Shangri-La, shortly after he "died." This place seemed to be pure in almost every aspect, and it was absolutely breathtaking.

Lucas looked around curiously, seeing all of these memories. There was the double date with him, Friday, Katy, and Aaron at Versuezzi's. The talks that they had, the occassional spat between the two of them in regards to differences that they may have had, and Katy's support for Lucas when Friday apparently died. Their views on the New Age Defenders, and the arguments those caused, and even when she joined the Legacy.

So many memories...

Lucas then looked to Mirage. "This is your arena, my dear. Where do you want to go first?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:12, Fri 07 Oct 2011.

Mirage turned to see Lucas in Katy's mind.

"Lucas?  What are...what are you doing here?"

Was this really Lucas or some trick?  Mirage wasn't entirely sure.  Lucas had no telepathic abilities that she knew of.

Lucas shrugged. It was a mystery, as Katy had been responsible for pulling him into her Mind-scape at first. This time, however, it seemed that Katy may not have been the one to bring him back here.

"I was inside Katy's mind when I dealt with the negative aspect of her personality. I'm not sure how I'm inside now though, maybe I might have been pulled in by either one of you subconsciously."

Mirage looked queerly at Lucas.  There were some times when she could feel his mind as if it were part of hers.  Could she have been responsible for pulling him into here?  She didn't like that thought.  Her new powers were still too new to her and that could be dangerous.

"Then let's be done and get out of here.  I can feel her all around me and I don't like it." Mirage turned back to the image of Katy.  She reached out and pulled one of the memory bubbles that was floating in front of her.

Lucas stayed next to Mirage as she pulled the bubble towards them, wondering which memory this would bring up for them.

The bubble began to expand, and Mind-Katy just watched as a screen easily the size of a person formed out of the bubble. The screen shimmered, then a familiar room materialized in the screen: Katy's office in the police department. They were looking through her eyes, watching as she looked through the computerized archives for anything relating to the search item "Blood - Drug".

Not even a minute had passed when a knock at the door came. "Enter," Katy said, and Mirage and Dragon Fist could almost feel themselves speaking as it happened. An elegantly dressed man walked in, ran his finger along the desk, looked at Katy, and a rush of psychic force was pushed onto her, trying to force her to "Obey" as he spoke the word.

Katy smiled and pulled out her gun, which the man casually batted away, demanding that he follow her or the entire Police Department was going up in flames. Reluctantly following him, of her own will, Katy entered into a limo at the end. As Katy sat down, she felt an overwhelmingly powerful presence attack her, and she blacked out.

When her eyes opened, she consciously tried to move, but she couldn't. In front of her was a man who looked eerily familiar: Brain. He smiled and pointed to her, before disappearing in black smoke. All of a sudden, her body moved of it's own accord, looking at her arm first, and smiling. Numerous injection sites. Looking around, it looked like a Blood warehouse. Katy tried to grimace, but she couldn't.

Casually looking around, Katy noticed two people walking towards her, pointing handguns at her. Her hands glowed purple, and she broke out of her restraints, jumping and propelling herself at the two people. Needless to say, their lives didn't last long after that. A girlish giggle emanated, before the bubble faded from view.

"Do you see, now, Helena?" Mind-Katy asked, still sitting at the fountain, "I was brainwashed, drugged, and set on Weston by Brain."

Lucas observed the memory that Katy had brought up for them. It didn't surprise Lucas that Katy, being a potent Mistress of the Mind, was able to fight off this other person's attempts at coercion. And like most villains, he used bystanders as a shield against his machinations. Such an individual, if he was indeed still out there, was very dangerous, and would need to be dealt with.

Lucas knew that Brain was dead...at least apparently. He and Mirage saw to that when they helped liberate him out of StormWalker's mind, in which he was trying to use her as a new vessel.

He then glanced over at Mirage, wondering what her action...and reaction...would be after witnessing this.

Mirage stood still while the memory played out in front of her.  The edge of her mouth twitched when she felt Brains presence wash over Katy.  Mind control and more.  Drugs.  Brain didn't need to use the drugs.  He was a powerful enough telepath to overwhelm Katy's impressive defences.  He had twisted Katy into something foul for his amusement.

Mirage wanted to not believe what she was seeing.  She was good at deceiving with her illusions and Katy knew most of her tricks.  This could all be some trick of Katy's, trying to lure them into lowering their own guard.  Mirage could feel Katy holding her and Lucas within her mind.

But the emotions in that memory were real.  Mirage could feel it and that was what made her doubt her own mistrust.  And, perhaps she wanted to believe that her friend Katy was back to her normal self.

"Maybe that's believable." Mirage conceded.

"So...what now, Katy?" Lucas said, hearing Mirage's endoresement. "What is the next step for you, Katy? If you need assistance in helping to rebuild, I'm happy to help."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:47, Sat 05 Nov 2011.