It was an accident, just to be clear. When you'd made the path to your base a literal hell path with more traps than it should have had for a basement with an empty fridge and an abysmal empty plan board, you didn't actually expect anyone to try and get in. So when you found Infista crashing through the walls of your alleged home searching for you, you weren't ready for her to be slammed into a titanium wall at the speed of 310km/h.

She wasn't invincible, not really, and its one of the reasons you were so, so careful when you were fighting her. Jane- that was her real name; it wasn't so difficult to find- wasn't the most durable of heroes, but she was smart, and her combo ability of brief physical enhancement along with invisibility lent to sneak attacks that tended to stop any further fights. The impact hadn't killed her, and you thank the gods for it every day, but just the sight alone of her on your medical bay barely breathing and covered in a cast you had one of your servants wrap her in.

You had thought of taking her to the hospital, say she got caught up in a super powered fight- it was reasonable, really, but that would catch the attention of the higher ups of the heroes organization, and there hadn't been any fights that day that would cause this severe an injury. She was alive, and as conscious as one could be. It was easy to tell, with the way her eyes tracked your movements and the several attempts of getting away from you that always failed.

For a while, it was actually pretty cute how she kept trying her best to at least roll off the surgery table when you'd pick up your tools. It never worked, of course not, and you took the time to be smug about it every chance you could. When you were analyzing her mind, replacing bones with alloy you'd had in store, fixing the several places where her skin was ripped apart from the force- the way her eyes looked through it all left you breathless.

A kind of alertness that surprised you, and as time went on the straps on the bed weren't enough to keep her down. She once managed to rip the leather off in a moment of peace, having healed enough that enhancing herself no longer left her nearly comatose with exhaustion, and ran for it with her invisibility. She never made it out because the poor girl practically had a panic attack when she ended up right where she had gotten hurt. You took her back in, of course; it would have been a horrible thing to do, to just leave her, and she seemed to approve of your choice when she had clutched onto your arms so tightly.

Despite how sad it all was, the whole thing made changing her perception of you quite a lot more easier. She never even noticed when she had stopped seeing you as Ephemera, and instead just Mary. Sweet, sweet Mary who was always there for her. Who always held her close when old memories came back, and took them away for her. Who went to their room every morning to hand a beautiful spread for breakfast, who made Jane feel so much better about it all, and who was just so kind to let her stay without any expectation of payment in return.

And she was right to believe so, after all, nobody else would have done what you'd done, right? No, they would have just handed her off to the local hospital to be taken advantage of by the first nurse that saw, not like you, nothing like you, who had seen poor Jane as the mess that she was and doing all you could to help her. Even when you were the one who hurt her so badly, it didn't really matter now, did it? Jane was happy to be by your side for all of eternity, you'd made sure of that.

I've done terrible things in my life. I'd driven men to madness, shattered them into a thousand pieces, killed them slowly enough that I could hear the progression of their torment from whimpers to bloodcurdling screams. But nothing, nothing, made me feel as monstrous as what I was considering doing.

I didn't mean to hurt Fixit that badly. It was our usual fight, with quips and her silly drones. But then that building collapsed on her, and before I knew it, I was nursing her back to health in my hideout. And now I didn't want to let her go. I was becoming Annie Wilkes--and the only ending to this story I would accept was the one where Fixit stayed forever.

I looked into the mirror and saw three copies of me, standing before me with eyes full of judgement. It'd been happening a lot these past couple of days, as if my powers felt the need to emphasize my mind turning against me in a very literal sense. One of the reflections said to me, "You know you want to do this."

"You know I can't," I fired back.

Another reflection said to me, "All the blood on your hands but this is where you draw the line?"

"If I keep her here, then how am I any different than the shitheels that gave me these powers in the first place?"

The third reflection shrugged. "Who cares? They're dead, we already won. And on another note, if you weren't going to go through with this, we wouldn't be here."

"You three are the worst consciences ever. You know that, right?"

The first reflection chuckled. "That implies you have a conscience at all. Face it: if you let Fixit go, it's business as usual. You go back to fighting her every day, and this all fades into a bittersweet memory. Into something you can't get back. And you know deep down that holding onto Fixit is the only. Way. Forward."

SMASH!!

I punched the mirror, fed up with my copies. As I let the shards fall off my protective gear and hit the granite countertop, I heard a voice to my left say, "Reflectika? Is everything okay?" I turned to face Fixit and replied, "You know me well enough to know I'm far too disturbed of a woman to answer any other way but no."

Fixit, still concerned, had one of her drones sweep up the mess as I said, "You're looking much better. I imagine you can go back to the Fraternity any day now."

Fixit was silent for a while before she responded, "I'm not going back."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean the Fraternity can suck a dick and fail at it for all I care. I spent my whole life wanting to be one of them, but what do I find when I get there? Popularity polls, sponsorships, and a pyramid that I'd been jammed into the bottom of with no way to climb up. It's a goddamn reality show over there. And when I get injured in the line of duty, what do they do? Throw me far enough under the bus that they're halfway across the country before I can even get back on my feet. I'm done with them."

I was stunned; Fixit was the picture of a good Samaritan, and she was capable of being this resentful? Before I could form a response, Fixit looked at me and quietly said, "Besides, I...I really like it here."

"Here? As in... with me?"

Fixit blushed but nodded. "Y-yeah. You, u-um, make me feel safe and valued and cared for, and that's...not really something I've had a lot of in my life."

I couldn't stop myself from pulling Fixit into a hug and tearing up. "I want you to stay. I want you to stay here, with me, and I know deep down that I'm capable of something awful if you say no, and I absolutely don't deserve your...your..." I trailed off when I felt Fixit wrap arms around me. She pulled back slightly and gazed into my eyes and softly said, "I'm not so sure I would've said no."

Fixit's words echoed in my mind like the most beautiful symphony. With her hands on my face, Fixit pulled me into a soft kiss. My heart absolutely soared as I pulled her into me. Once she let me come up for air, Fixit whispered, "Will you keep me, Reflectika?"

"Until my dying breath."

It was a month before Agatha regained consciousness. Just one slight push off a building was all it took to end her career as a hero. I only meant to slightly injure, maybe break a bone. Unfortunately for both of us the cat and mouse game was ended with her failing to catch herself and bouncing her head on the pavement. I still remember her black hair a cacophony stuck to her skin in the gentle October rain. Under the guise of being her girlfriend I was there when the doctor told her family and I that it was unlikely for her to wake up, and even more unlikely for her to ever take her characteristic confident strides ever again. I stayed there by her side: longer than her father, and even her mother. If we were ever to spar again I would personally need to strengthen her, invigorate her with the demonic blood I too had been given all those years ago as a young adult. Then a couple weeks later I was roused from a nap at her bedside by a gasp of pain. "The pain should only last for a few more days" I said. Despite the no doubt deafening wall of agony she was able to force out a few words and a faint smile. "I don't know what you've done to me, but I know you went too far this time. I will kill you." I stepped over to her and placed my hand on her head and lulled her back to sleep and the world. The air in the hospital was stale and smelled of bleach, but for that instant when she threatened me the world felt alive and that same air trembled with a spark. Unsure if the demonic influence had coaxed her into such a statement, or if she truly had been capable all along, I was intrigued. It was then I had her transferred into a private facility. one week later she awoke once more with me in the room.

"Why are you here, Eleana?" she asked me while being restrained to her bed under white silk sheets.

"I'm just a concerned citizen nursing a dear fallen hero back to health" I said putting my hands over my heart.

"I'll rip that heart out the first chance I get." Never before had I seen her conscious without a smile. It was almost enough to bring a tear to my eye.

"Then I'll let you out of those restraints and we'll have one last dance" I said as stepped across the room towards her.

I didn't mean for this to happen. Why is this happening? You thought to yourself as you knelt, pushing rubble aside till you found her. You looked at the crumpled body of Love Struck. Her pink skin blemished with cuts and scrapes, and her wings tattered and torn. The occasional grunts and raspy breaths were the only things telling you she was still alive.

Without thinking, you picked up her limp body. Forming a forcefield around the two of you, you made your way through the collapsing buildings. You soon made it to your get-away vehicle, a large cargo plane. As you say one of your henchmen opening the hanger door, you shout, "MEDIC, I NEED A MEDIC!"

When you get to the plane and got Love Struck strapped into a stretcher as one of your henchmen tries to disinfect the bulk of her injuries. As you sat down, you finally let yourself 'look' at her and her condition. You cringe at how 'wrong' she looks, her breathing ragged and uneven, her legs bent at odd angles.

How did this happen?! You thought to yourself. It had been an ordinary day, you had a few hostages and a bomb you were never planning to use, but it went off anyway. The building started to come down around you as you threw up a shield to save yourself from the debris. And now you were here with Love Struck lying unconscious as you flew to your hideout.
When you landed, you rushed Love Struck to the medical wing, the pink-skinned heroine groaning with the motions. You got one of your best scientists to work on her injuries. Her wings would never truly heal, but they did what they could to stabilize her breathing and straighten and cast her legs.

It wasn't long before she awoke. As you looked through the glass in her room/cell you saw a shell of the hero you knew. You saw someone that didn't understand why they were restrained to a hospital bed and didn't care.

You learned her name when she was unconscious. Her name's Alice. When you finally faced her, curiosity was in her gaze as she said, "Hi, I'm Alice. Who are you?" You looked down as your fears were realized. She doesn't remember me. You knew it was a possibility, but you had hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't happen. "I'm Agatha, and I'm here to help you."
She gave you a sad smile as she said, "Ok, Is this for my skin or my wings?"

"What!" You hadn't even realized you had said that out loud until Alice gave you a confused look. "NO! Why would we be trying to 'fix' that?! No, you had an accident. I'm going to help you heal."

Over the next few months, you learned about how as a girl Alice had been sent to multiple doctors to try and 'fix' her. and with each story, you grew more and more sorry for what you did to her she had had a life where her powers were idolized and now she didn't remember any of that.

But you were going to make it right you would give her the life she deserved, one of love and safety. Sure, she whined at first when she could wake again, and you wouldn't let her leave, but she learned it was pointless to resist. She got everything she asked for anyway. What did she need from the outside that Agatha couldn't get for her? You were all she needed.

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