After a few days, I kinda got used to the hallucinations (that’s what I’m gonna call em anyway). To be honest, I started to look forward to them a bit. In one of them, I saw some girls at the beach wearing 'Trance Chic' bikinis.

Big news today. Apparently, the police got an anonymous tip off about a local mafia boss named Enrico Barzini who was smuggling military grade weapons through the harbor and was supposed to receive a shipment of them early this morning. They found tens of millions of dollars worth of goods at the docks, machine guns, rocket launchers, armor piercing rounds, you name it. They took Enrico into custody at around three in the morning.

His daughter Francesca’s supposed to be talking on the evening news in a few minutes. The TV station only heard that she wanted to talk to them a few hours ago so it’s a bit sudden. I’m with my friend Lola at an Italian place right now watching the broadcast. Alright, Francesca’s on. She’s a girl a few years older than me, olive skin with curly black hair.

“Miss Barzini, I’d imagine news of the raid has been something of a shock to you. Do you think your father will be out of custody soon?”

“No.” she said back. The anchorman seemed a bit off put.

“I’m sorry, do you mean that the raid wasn’t a surprise or-”

“Both.” Francesca replied. Something about her seemed off. “My father’s arrest is no shock to me since I was the one who informed the police on the orders of my master, Hypnoman. I am also certain that neither my father nor his men will escape prison.”

There were gasps all around the room. Lola’s jaw dropped.

“Ma’am, are you saying you’re under Hypnoman’s control…right now?”

“Yes. I have been under his influence for nearly a month now, feeding him information on my father’s operations. My father was planning to use these weapons to carry out a gang war against the other crime families of Engine City. In his arrogance, he targeted Hypnoman as well. I reported to my master immediately upon hearing of this and I was ordered to inform the police.”

“And how do you feel about…what you’ve done?”

“A few things. I feel satisfied having followed my master’s commands. I am relieved to see that my father is no longer a threat to Hypnoman’s safety or the people of Engine City. I am also proud to announce that my master intends for my family’s wealth to be redistributed to those my family has harmed.”

“And what about you? The rest of your family?”

“Hypnoman has given me instructions on what I am to do following my father’s imprisonment. However, I am forbidden to divulge information that may hinder his plans or threaten his safety. As such, I will make no further comments on this topic or any other that falls under those conditions.”

The anchorman looked somewhat flustered.

“Do you feel any remorse for what you’ve done?”

“No. Up until my father planned to move against Hypnoman, he was still one of the most important people in my life. Hypnoman was, obviously, the most important. However, in threatening my master, he is beyond my forgiveness. I am only Enrico Barzini’s daughter genetically. In spirit, my ties to him are now cut. Lastly, I wish to address the crime families of Engine City. My father sought to kill Hypnoman. Think about what you’ve just seen. Think about how my father’s syndicate became undone and ask yourself if you want to make the same mistake. What has befallen my father is a warning, any moves against Hypnoman will be punished.”

When we were walking out of the restaurant all I could say was ‘that was…weird.’ Lola looked at me dumbstruck.

“Weird? Weird? Are you kidding me? Hypnoman’s a freak!” I felt like I just got hit in the stomach by a baseball bat. Those three words hurt so much. Lola kept going.

“He’s turned that poor girl into a puppet, made her turn on her own father and now he’s had her on TV, bleating her loyalty to him! Who the fuck knows what else he’s got planned for her?!”

I tried to act like I was just thrown off by her response and we started moving away from the restaurant. Mustering my composure was no easy task.

“I mean, yeah, that was spooky to watch, but you know that the cops found when they raided the docks last night. Do you think someone like Enrico Barzini would give a shit about how many people got caught in the crossfire if he wanted to use weapons like that in a gang war?”

“What are you getting at?” Lola asked me.

“I’m saying that Hypnoman might not’ve been a hero this time around but…” I looked at the ground.

“But what, Nichole?”

“He saved lives doing what he did. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people won’t have to worry about Barzini turning the city into a warzone and…Hypnoman’s the reason why.”

“So I should fucking thank him? Should I be happy that all it took was turning the guy’s daughter into a mindless zombie?”

I shook my head, trying not to cry or show that I was upset.

“You don’t need to do either of those things, Lola. But regardless of whether or not you approve of what Hypnoman did, he might’ve spared the city something really ugly.”

Lola snorted angrily and walked off, leaving me to head back on my own. I felt so hurt. Lola was one of my closest friends but what she said about Hypnoman wasn’t…it wasn’t right. Yeah, he’s a supervillain and for all I know he only did to get rid of a future rival.

But no matter his reasons, it wouldn’t change the fact that I actually feel a little bit safer because of it.