Vivian was struggling to find the words to answer her friend.

“What do you mean? Isn’t it obvious?” was what eventually came out, but Amy looked at her completely bewildered.

“Maybe it’s the baby brain, but… no?” She shrugged. “What’s freaking me out is how fast this is coming,” she said, gesturing at her swollen belly. “Aitan was… just a bit of fun.”

“A bit of fun you blew off saving the world for,” Vivian retorted. Amy blinked in confusion.

“I didn’t,” she retorted. Then, after a few moments of silence, “I didn’t,” she said again, but the confidence was gone from her tone. “Did I?”

A year ago, if somehow the two of them could have ended up in this conversation, Vivian would have torn into her there. Would have mocked her without reservation, have wielded her words like they were weapons. Since her reprogramming, Mercy had not just been her costumed identity but it had become the core of how she felt - at least when she wasn’t in the presence of her Master.

“You… well, you kinda did,” she said softly, putting out a hand to Amy’s arm. “Think about it. All those times you broke off your day to go home and suck cock or get fucked? Not that I can’t relate,” she added hastily, considering what her friend knew about her programmed fetishes. “But I’ve been pretty good about not doing it, you know? Not until things are done.”

“It… I…” Amy swallowed. “Ah, fuck, that’s not fair. I always know when this is happening.”

“Apparently not…” Vivian sighed. “I really want to offer you a drink, but…”

“Yeah.” Amy sighed in her turn. “You know the bit that really sucks?”

“I could guess a few things, but I’d rather hear your real version.”

“You might not know this yet, actually,” Amy said. “I think you only ever had trouble with Saintly Sadie, and I know she works different. Why is it heroines get mind-controlled so much more than villainesses?”

“You want the actual answer?”

Amy blinked in surprise. “There’s an actual answer?”

“Sure.” Vivian shrugged. “It’s a pretty simple one, too. You don’t piss where you eat. There’s, what, maybe two mind controllers in the costume game who can be confident their schtick is always going to get them what they want. The rest of them, sooner or later they’ll want specialist skills they can’t actually access, or they need an army when they can barely control a team, or whatever. And if you make a habit of controlling the people who might help you, it kinda goes badly.

“Whereas, well, if you need to get something from a hero, it’s mind control or blankmail anyway.”

“Blankmail?”

“Athena,” Vivian said, “for one. Or the Phenomenal Five, you know, with all those gadgets built into their costumes. Can’t control Athena, controlling the Five is a gamble. Any one of ‘em breaks free, they can remotely activate a bunch of stuff, most likely one of them will work on whatever influence you’ve got.

“People like that, you can’t just make them do what you want by taking over their minds. But you can definitely find someone close to them control them. With the Five, anyone the younger three are romancing ends up on TMZ, so you just keep up to date on that if you want to use the Five. With Athena, it’s Wesley Wyndham. Professor of archaeology at Columbia, or used to be.”

“I met him once,” Amy said slowly, nodding to herself. “In connection with a case I was working with Athena, actually. Wait-” She turned her eyes back to Vivian. “Are you saying those two are dating?”

“Married, actually,” Vivian said. “He’s her kid’s father. We thought the powers weren’t going to take because she had a boy, but-”

“You’re kidding me,” Amy said. “Pallas’ dad is a mortal?”

“I’m not convinced they both aren’t,” Vivian said. “But it’s definitely magic. Mentat worked out when Pallas’ powers kicked in, and it was about three weeks after she came out as trans on her social media.”

“Mentat worked that out?”

“Oh yeah,” Vivian said, and grinned. There was something about telling tales on her old villainous friends that was fun for her former attitudes and felt good and righteous to her new self. It was a lot easier having this conversation than the one she’d allowed Amy to change the subject from. “And since I know you’re going to ask, no, mind control doesn’t work on Pallas any better than her mom.”

“I’m just… how do you guys know more about Athena’s social life than I do? I’ve been working with her since I got my powers.”

“Yeah, but you don’t pry more than you feel is right. For us, it’s important information, if we can get it. And Athena’s been around long enough now that some of this is literally hand-me-down stuff. The Death Man found out about Wesley Wyndham before they got married.” Death Man had died, for the last time, nearly twenty years ago now; it was easy to forget how long Athena had been around, because she didn’t look any older than when she’d got started. “Anyway, that’s blankmail. Pick a target and brainwash them. Have them use themselves as leverage.”

Amy was quiet for a long while after that. “How much do you know about me?” she asked in the end.

“Not enough,” Vivian said. “Not enough to make a difference, anyway. With Athena, she was careless a couple times, and she’s pretty recognisable in her wedding photos. That’s enough to pin it down. You… well, I worked on the assumption for years that you wore a wig in your civilian identity.”

Amy shook her head. “People notice wigs, even the good ones. I don’t mean they know it’s a wig for sure, but it always stands out. So if I’m out in one and I need to change fast and go into action, I’m in people’s memories. I tuck some of it up under a ball cap so it looks shorter and the shape of my face changes a bit, but mostly I just wear baggy clothes.”

“So you just vanish out of everyone’s attention anyway.” The two women shared a smile. “You know, it’s weird,” Vivian said, “but I always felt closer to you than most of the other villains. Like we thought nearly the same way. By the sounds of things, we really do.”

“Yeah. I should’ve got you brainwashed years ago.”

Both women laughed. Neither commented on how uncomfortable anyone else who knew them would have been to hear that exchange.

There was a companionable silence for a few moments before Vivian spoke. “What I don’t see is what Aitan gets out of getting you pregnant.”

“Couldn’t that be an accident?”

Vivian looked at her for a moment. “Seriously? You’re months into your pregnancy in just days, you think that’s an accident? He’s got to have done something.”

“Maybe…” Amy didn’t look like she believed it herself, but she persevered. “Maybe it’s something to do with the timestream?”

Vivian hadn’t considered that, not when there was an obvious conclusion to jump to. “Maybe,” she allowed. “But that’s not the obvious answer, and I don’t think we need to go looking for anything weird. Although maybe you do.”

She could see Amy shift uncomfortably, and the other woman’s eyes abruptly wouldn’t meet Vivian’s. The veteran heroine mumbled acknowledgement, if not outright agreement.

It wasn’t uncommon with mind control devices to set up compulsions that the victim would look for any other explanation, change the topic wherever they could, and generally that their mind would push away from anything that might help undo the changes. Amy had been through this often enough that she knew this, but knowing didn’t mean she could avoid the compulsion - especially not Amy, who accepted compulsions so easily as a habit that Vivian’s Master had been able to give her several orders even after his hold was broken.

Vivian knew, really, that she couldn’t be the only one trying to help. The problem was, the other people who could help were largely going to be the Justice Guard, or… maybe…

“Do your parents know?” she asked abruptly. “About your powers and stuff?”

“Huh? God, no…” Amy gave a short laugh. “I don’t see them as much as I should, I guess. When I went full-time with the Justice Guard we faked up me landing a job with a smallish charity… it gives me a good excuse for not visiting often, and even cancelling a trip at short notice. Too small a charity that I can leave it well enough alone, you know? And I’m involved with enough of them locally that I can talk about it like I do the job, plus it doesn’t really feel like a lie with the amount of charity work I do.”

Vivian nodded. Probably couldn’t try using a worried mom on her, then. No, it was going to be her and the superheroes.

She should really get in touch with them that evening, nervous as she still was around most of them…

*

Unfortunately, Old Green Eyes chose that evening to manifest, and Mercy was needed in the field, not at a communicator. Doubly needed in action with Ms Miracle not around; she actually found herself racing through downtown Memphis by the end of the night, chasing each possessed victim of Old Green Eyes down until the spirit could be banished from them and finally appeased, thanks in no small part to Siren, who usually did her work in New Orleans but had appeared midway through the battle.

They’d never met before - not while Vivian had worn Mercy’s mask, anyway, and only briefly when she was Macabre - but her presence was enough to worry Vivian. After the brainwashing she’d undergone from Master, she knew just how important it was to his safety that his conditioning not be broken. She knew just how angry her old self would be, and she wouldn’t take into account the satisfaction and pleasure Mercy had experienced since then - she’d go all out to destroy Master.

Siren was a relative novice as far as magic went, but Vivian didn’t understand magic at all, and so many of its users seemed to have extra senses that she couldn’t anticipate or understand.

Every time they’d been in the same place, Vivian had worried in case Siren would somehow realise that the other heroine was under mental influence. It seemed like a sure bet that if she did, she’d try to dispel it, and all hell would break loose.

When Old Green Eyes was finally dealt with, though, the two heroines were of necessity in the same place. Mercy had just taken a big hit; she was sprawled on the sidewalk, half-against the wall of a thrift store which had dented when she’d crashed into it. It had stung, it had rattled her, and her mask was slightly off-alignment, but as she got a moment to catch her breath it became clear that taking that hit had bought Siren just enough time to finish the job.

She struggled to her feet as the younger heroine approached. “Thank you,” she said, and was surprised to find she now meant it. “Siren, right?”

“Yeah. And you’re…” The younger woman smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK,” Mercy told her. “I’m new. My name’s Mercy.”

“Pleasure.” Siren held out her hand. “Seriously. I’d’ve been out cold or worse if I’d taken that shot.”

“It’s not the part of the job I enjoy the most either, if that helps,” Mercy returned, smiling ruefully under her mask. “But if it came down to you or me, glad it was me.” She shook the other’s hand.

“Don’t suppose you know where the local celebrity is?”

“Huh - oh! Yeah, Ms Miracle’s got the night off. The future was a messy place from what I hear.”

“Yeah, I believe it,” Siren said, and nodded. “Well. Happy to take up the slack.” She paused, considering. “Actually… you don’t suppose you’d have a night free later this week?”

“It’s all a bit up in the air right now but I can definitely try. What do you need?”

“I’ve been having trouble with some smugglers at home. They’ve got a couple of powered thugs helping them out, and I’ve not been able to take them down.”

“I’ll… yeah. Unless this other thing I’m working on just blocks out my time, I’ll be there.” Mercy was aware she was blushing faintly; she was so glad for the metallic faceplate whenever she was dealing with heroes and heroines.

When they parted company, she went home on autopilot, and didn’t think to call the Justice Guard until morning. It was a pain in the ass to call anyway; she wasn’t part of the team and D.A.N.I.E.L. had only given her so many contact privileges.

*

There was a call queue for people who weren’t part of the team. An actual queue. Sure, there were only five people in it when she joined, but it was still surreal.

Vivian sat and waited and felt totally out of place wearing her costume and especially the faceplate in the privacy of her own home - but nothing about this call felt private, and she felt hopelessly out of her depth.

Before Master, if she could have been persuaded to make this call, she knew it would have been no trouble at all. Not because the old Vivian was more effective, or better at bureaucracy, or even that she’d have done as well in solving Amy’s problems. It would just have been that she didn’t care enough to feel nervous.

“You’ve reached the Justice Guard. D.A.N.I.E.L. speaking. Hello, Mercy.”

“Good morning, D.A.N.I.E.L.”

“How can I help you this morning?”

“I’m worried about Ms. Miracle. Has she…” She took a deep breath. She already knew the answer; she just didn’t want to. “Has she updated you on the fallout from her trip to the future? Since yesterday?”

“No. Is there something of concern?”

“Uh…”

Vivian sighed. She’d known, really, that Amy was lying when she’d agreed to update her team. That a compulsion would prevent her. But she’d hoped she was wrong all the same, hoped she’d have the weight of this lifted.

Confronted with the reality of the situation, doing this over a call just didn’t make sense.

“I’m thinking we need to visit,” she said. “Can you arrange for some scientists to be on site?”

“Professor Mordecai is on monitor duty today, as it happens,” D.A.N.I.E.L. informed her.

“Good enough. I’ll bring her in and be there soon.”

*

This turned out to be easier said than done. Amy didn’t want to go, and not only that but she looked almost ready to give birth in any case. Still, Vivian set her jaw, stayed determined, and eventually backed the other heroine into a corner by playing her trump card. “You’re probably going to need a doctor soon,” she pointed out. “Professor Mordecai is in New York. You got any better ideas?” With that said, she picked up Amy’s costume - at least the part that wasn’t the boots - and underhanded it to her. Mordecai’s work itself, the fabric would stretch and stay comfortable the same way it didn’t tear under knives or bullets.

She stayed in the room as Amy changed, not wanting to run the risk that her compulsion might have her slip away through a window or something.

Superhuman pregnancy, it turned out, still gave stretch marks; Vivian made a mental note with a sigh, but couldn’t complain too much; the bodies of the superhuman had so many advantages, not just in capability but in looks. If they were missing one, that wasn’t so bad.

Her attention sharpened as Amy turned to pick up her tights. “Wait,” she said. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Amy turned back to face her, and Vivian had to put a gentle hand on her friend’s bare shoulder and turn her around to see it again.

Apparently attached to her, in the small of her back, was a small metal disc, about two inches across, its edges seemingly melded with her skin. A single small pink telltale light blinked on and off at its centre. “Did you know this was attached to you?”

“I’ve got something on me?” Amy tried to twist to see it, but couldn’t turn far enough. Vivian tapped it gently with one finger - it was warm to the touch - and watched Amy’s eyes glaze for just a second before refocusing.

“I’ll be damned,” she said. “The good news is, we’ve found what’s messing with you. The bad news is I can’t take it off.”

Amy blinked three or four times, then nodded. “Okay. So…”

“The plan hasn’t changed,” Vivian said firmly. “Get your outfit on. We’re going to Justice Guard.”

Amy twitched. For a second Vivian thought the heroine would haul off and punch her, that she might end up trying to restrain a naked pregnant superhuman, and there was a brief moment of fear of the undignified. But Amy came good in the end, and dressed, and the two of them took flight together.

“Thanks for helping out with Old Green Eyes,” Amy said while airborne. Vivian thanked her stars again for superhuman senses, the only way to catch the words someone else said while both of you were flying at supersonic speeds.

“You’d do the same for me,” she said. “You always would have. I’m only really beginning to see that properly now.”

“Yeah, well,” Amy said, and her tone was light but there was a sting to her words, “if I’d known it’d mean you were going to do this, I’d probably have just been a bitch.”

Vivian smiled under her mask. “You know you’ll feel better when this is done with.”

“No, I don’t,” Amy retorted. “I’m still not convinced I’m under control.”

“You want to explain that implant on your back, then?”

Amy’s height dipped while flying for a moment, then she rose back up, blinking her eyes as they cleared. “I’ve only got your word for that.”

“Well,” Vivian said, her voice tight, “lucky for us both you’re about to have a whole set of other opinions to confirm it.”

It had to be the implant, she thought. She blanked out every time attention got drawn to it, and she seemed to forget it just a few moments later.

*

The last time she’d been inside Justice Guard headquarters, she’d still been Macabre, and she’d just spent some time fighting alongside them, not as a hero but simply as someone else who lived on Earth and needed the planet to continue to exist. Tensions had been high for everyone else there; she’d been more than usually aware of her impact on everyone else’s nerves, even after she’d helped out.

Vivian, on the other hand, had known there’d only be a fight if she started one, and she’d known she wasn’t going to start one. It had been easy for her to be calm about it, or at least comfortable.

Today was a little different.

On the other hand, Amy visibly relaxed the moment the two of them stepped into the building. She smiled more, she looked happier, she carried herself better. And even if that was basically just a psychological placebo, it was sure to help.

Maxine Power and Stormcaller met them; Maxine looked like she’d recovered from her trip to the future much better than Amy, though she’d changed her hairstyle - one of her usual reactions to anything big that happened to her; she was wearing her blonde hair short again with an undercut visible on one side. As always around her, Vivian had the feeling she was outclassed in strength even though she wasn’t. Maxine took building muscle much more seriously than most superhumans, and therefore as well as her feminine curves her close-fitting costume showed off development that most of the male supers couldn’t match.

Stormcaller was taller than either Mercy or Ms Miracle, and his beard was woven into intricate plaits. In the past two years he’d taken to dying some of the plaits pink, after an argument he’d had with Macho Mammoth while the two of them had battled together.

Vivian had expected to bear the brunt of their examination, but evidently her secret wasn’t out in the Justice Guard, and Mercy’s faceplate kept her private. They were much more interested in what was happening with their teammate, their long-term friend, Ms Miracle.

“Take a seat in the waiting room, please,” Stormcaller said, gesturing vaguely at its door. Maxine was already moving to support Amy, and she scurried away into the depths of the building with her.

“But I wanted to-” she called after them, before stopping. They weren’t listening.

She went into the waiting room with one hope on her mind. “Are you listening in here, D.A.N.I.E.L.?”

“I am,” the AI responded. “It is lovely to meet you in person, Mercy. You had more to add?”

“There’s some kind of gadget attached to her,” she said. “I’m pretty sure it’s messing with her mind, but she doesn’t remember it getting put on there.” She paused, reviewing Amy’s story of her time in the future. “Considering what she was willing to talk about like it was normal, I think that’s important. Oh, and the guy I think did this? He gave her something really weird to drink…”

“Most concerning,” D.A.N.I.E.L. said softly. “Could you please give me your account of the situation?”

Vivian nodded her head, took a deep breath, and began.

She was ten minutes into her story when D.A.N.I.E.L. interrupted her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “My concentration must be redirected at this point. Ms Miracle has just gone into labour, and my internal scanners will need full activation.”