"This is a mess," came a voice, filtering through the veil of darkness that had been your bodies attempt to shut down and recover.
You were fairly certain at this point that this was how it was working, that it was utilising the same biological mechanisms that were normally associated with recovery from serious injury to go into the same state where it could more rapidly repair itself.
Or as was the case, recover from the strain of your powers.
You felt as if you had perfect clarity in this moment, and then there was this voice, piercing the inky blackness.
"You're telling me, we have to rouse her though, we don't have long to question her before one of those two assholes out there goes ape-shit and throws their weight about," came a second voice as you steeled yourself, noting that you were lucid despite how your body was curently still not responding.
You weren't concerned though, you knew that you were okay, that you were laying down and that you were warm.
Why couldn't you have been dreaming though, why couldn't you have some scenario playing out where you were being pampered by grateful people, fanned with palm leaves.
A little dream of how you'd saved the people of a lost civilisation from extinction and they were worshipping you as their god, while you made reasonable requests of them.
Fan me, show me the sights of your wonderful tropical paradise, teach me all about your wonderful culture.
You'd never have that outside of dreams.
"Miss Smith, it's time for you to wake up," came the first voice as you felt a hand against your shoulder, the steady rocking of your form telling you that they were trying their best to rouse you, gently.
"I'm glad we're dealing with her instead of that... Thing she came in with," came the second voice as you slowly felt the haze lifting.
"You're telling me, apparently it's registered and all that's why we didn't just shoot it on sight."
"Even its boss seems terrified of it."
"You dare shoot Millicent," you mumbled as your eyes opened, the back of your hand moving to rub at your eyes as you sat upright.
You were laying across a few chairs in a break room by the look of it, atop and under a pair of blankets.
It was as you snapped back to full awareness that you could feel that state of perfect clarity fade away, as if it was both just a dream and that your senses had overwhelmed it and taken away from it.
Distractions, too many distractions to maintain that state of being.
You were certain that in that moment you could have quantified anything, reduced things to their interconnected links and classifications, peeled back the facade of the world and seen the workings underneath.
And now it was gone leaving you feeling a vague sense of regret.
"Ah, you're awake Miss Smith, are you fit to answer a few questions?" came the first voice, the officer it was attached to a soft spoken man with brown hair and eyes and slightly tanned skin.
"I, um," you rubbed at your eyes as you glanced at the second officer, a man whom appeared to be of indian decent. "Am I under arrest?"
"No Miss Smith, we simply want to have a statement on record from you over a few details related to the incident, if that is okay with you?"
"Okay... I," you paused as you swung your legs down. The blood that had soaked your new jeans had dried and ruined them. Not that they would have been salvagable given you'd been shot in the manner you had.
Still, it was enough to get a look of concern from the officers.
"Are you hurt, Miss Smith?"
"Not anymore, I don't think," you paused you glance between yourself. You could see the holes in your jeans, you could see dried blood over flawless skin telling you that your injuries had healed.
"Okay, if you'll... If you'll follow us, we'll bring you to speak with-"
The mans efforts to direct the conversation were disrupted as your stomach growled noisily, leaving you glancing to the side to avoid eye contact as you awkwardly shifted your weight from one foot to the other.
Of course, your body didn't like the fact that you were doing something other than feeding it after this.
"Um, sorry, I don't know when I last ate," you mumbled as you turned your attention back towards the officers.
"Ah, I suppose it wouldn't hurt for us to bring you a sandwich or something while you're being spoken with about the incident."
"Cake."
"Huh?"
"I was going to eat cake and then we were hit by a car and... Can I have cake?"
"If that's what you want, we'll see what we can get," then second one responed this time, before the pair of them started you along the corridors towards yet another room.
The room you were ushered into was enclosed and intimidating.
The ceiling was covered in polystyrene tiles by the look of it, with square lights framed by grimy white plastic breaking up the uniform pattern to bathe the room in their baleful glow.
The walls where clinical white - or had once been, and the carpet was a tan colour that looked as if it had seen better days.
On the far wall there was a cork board with various papers pinned to it and in the middle of the room there was an old office table with several chairs tucked under it.
It was like every grim drama's portrayal of an interrogation room and you were being ushered into it alone.
"Someone on the case'll be along to question you soon, we'll get your cake in the meantime, make yourself comfortable," came one of the two's voices.
Comfortable, yes.
You could see yourself being comfortable here.
Making the most of this moment's silence you shifted to settle down at one of the chairs facing the door.
Hands clasped before you, a stern expression.
You were the interrogator now.
Or at least you were until the officer who had been sent to question you arrived.
The woman that arrived to speak with you lacked height, but she carried herself with confidence that made you mentally falter.
She was a woman whom looked to be older, a woman with deep set frown lines and grey streaked hair, yet her skin contrasted the apparent age by appearing flawless apart from seeming to be lightly weathered.
Bar the scales.
You could just about catch the sight of scales against her neck, making you wonder if she was another of the-
"Alyssa Smith?" came her voice, with the same tone devoid of emotion that the Guardian had used with you.
"That's me," you confirmed as the woman made her way towards the table with papers beneath her arm. A woman thats eyes seemed older still than her hair suggested she was.
She stood for a moment.
Hands gripping the back of a chair as impossibly strong fingers made the frame creak in protest.
Those eyes, those ancient eyes reflecting the faintest hint of confusion.
"Is there something wrong?" you asked as this moment drew onward, prompting the woman to shake her head slowly.
"You remind me of somebody I once knew. Regardless, I am Joy. Comments about the irony of my name will not endear you to me," came her words as she pulled the chair out to settle down opposite you. "Now, as we understand you were involved in an incident earlier today. While the majority of the details were cleared up while you were unconscious, there are a few remaining details that concern us," Joy paused as she set the papers she had brought with her down.
You knew where this was going.
"There are reports that you spoke with a-"
"Is that the transcription?"
"Yes."
"If you pass it here I can verify it's accuracy," there was a pause before the woman pushed the paper across the table towards you, a paper that you merely had to glance at before you slid it back. "That's correct, yes."
"Then the problem we have has become all the more complex. Your companion stated that you were presented with a revolver cylinder that we recovered at the scene. Can you confirm this?"
"I was, but I don't-"
"Please do not interrupt me," came Joy's words, prompting you to draw your arms about yourself. "That was part of one of the weapons carried by an individual during the victorian war. It was considered lost, likely destroyed, until today."
Joy fell silent for a moment as she shuffled the papers about.
This woman, it clicked, was the one you'd read about in the library.
She was THAT Joy, she was-
"Joy?"
"Yes Miss Smith?"
"Was this one of the weapons belonging to the thousand-"
"Eurochkoles. That was his name."
"I've seen a little about him in books, and-"
"Miss Smith, I believe you were presented with that component mistakenly."
"But you said I remind you of-"
"A reminder, yes. A sorry echo of what once was. You were presented this component mistakenly, I see this now. I am sorry to have wasted your time," came Joy's impassive words as she went to stand.
A sorry echo?
You'd show her a sorry Echo.
"An echo?" you snapped "A sorry echo?" you responded as you pressed your hands to the table, rising as you tensed your shoulders. "What gives you the right to so disdainfully cast me aside after you use me to sate your curiosity?"
"Miss Smith, please calm down," came her words as she tucked her chair back under the table.
"No, you used me. You wanted to know if I could be something you lost, you wanted to see if it could be true that I am him and then you callously cast me aside once you'd sated that curiosity."
"Miss Smith-" Joy stepped backwards as you stepped forward. You could feel a chill in your legs as your heart raced, the edges of your vision blurring as they went black, as purple and red sparks crept into that blackness and faded.
"I've been asking myself questions since I was brought to this damn city, who am I, what am I, why is there a connection between me and that man?" you hissed as you prodded your chest with one finger to punctuate each of those questions. "And you... Your fixation with him, you don't care about me, you just... You just... You want to wash your hands of the guilt you feel for running away when you lost him."
"His death almost cost us the war, he was the only thing I could trust in this world at the time-"
"SILENCE!" you roared as you felt pain lance through your head. You could feel the room tremble as the lights flickered, as one hissed and went dark. "I am not to be used," you whispered as you trembled with conviction, another step taken forward as Joy stepped away from you.
You could see fear in this womans eyes now, a woman who had no doubt seen horrors you could only dream of and she was-
She was afraid of you.
"I'm... I'm sorry, I..." you reached out with one hand as you took another step forward, feeling the chill receed as you became dimly aware you'd just walked clean through the table. Joy continued to back away, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as she pressed her back to the wall of the room.
"No, you're not him, he was... He was warm. I hated him, but he never stopped trying... And then he was gone before I could tell him I forgave him for all he had done. She took him from me, she took the only friend I had from me and I... I walked into the oceans holding him as I tried to wash the sorrow I felt from me."
"Joy, I'm sorry," you whispered as you watched the woman sink down to the floor as your vision slowly cleared. The pain in your head remained, along with a dull ache in your chest that reminded you that you'd just exercised your powers again - this time without intending to. Even as you knelt beside the woman she brought her legs up to her chest and buried her face against her knees.
"You're not him... Even at his worst he wasn't a monster like you," she sobbed as you recoiled away from her as if you'd been burned.
You weren't a monster, were you?
"I'm not... I'm..." you started to protest as Joy looked up from her knees, the redness about her eyes telling you how she was crying in earnest. Oh, how that hurt you to see.
"Scarecrow child, leave me," she hissed with bared teeth as she pointed to the door.
You felt it was in your best interests to do so at this point, that stepping outside the room and waiting for the officers who had gone for cake to lead you out was wise.
You struggled to your feet as you felt your stomach turn.
You could feel your anxiety getting the better of you now, making you wonder if her choice to call you a monster could be correct after all.
Had she called you such out of digust and anger, or did she see something about you that you yourself didn't see yet?
It didn't matter, you had to leave this room.
With that you opened the door, stepped into the hallway and inwardly cursed as you saw a number of armed police rushing down the corridor towards you.
Of course!
Every time you used their power they were all over it.
"Put your hands on your head and get on the floor!" came one's voice as the armed and armoured police fanned out about you, assault rifles pointed at you as slowly sank down to one knee, then the other.
You wanted to do your best to appear unthreatening, you didn't want to end up shot again.
That was an experience you were in no way keen to repeat.
Especially as you could feel your anxiety giving way to fear in this situation.
"Ignore them. Stand down officers," came another voice as a slender, balding, suited man pushed through the group towards you. "So, you're the one tripping our warning systems. I was expecting someone more... Impressive."
"Uh, Director-"
"Dismissed."
"But-"
"Unless you wish to be placed under review, you are dismissed."
"Yes sir," came the mumbled response of the group as they awkwardly backed away.
"Ah, but you-" the man paused as he levelled a finger with the man who had spoken. "Can escort her down to the front desk."
"Uh... Yes Director Ego, Sir," the man mumbled as he offered you a hand to help you back to your feet.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Officer Joy," came the mans words once more as he stepped into the room you'd just left, leaving you with the confused first response group.
"Well... Uh. This way, Miss." came the mans mumbled words as he lead you towards the end of the hall.
It wasn't far from there to the front desk - just a walk down a hall, down the stairwell and down a further hall to the reception area where you could see two people engaged in a shouting match.
You recognised the boss, a man you made a note never to learn the name of given it was the same level of respect he held for you.
He was a tool.
Not the kind you wished to use, the kind kind you had no respect for.
The other figure was yet another suited man, one that made a point of jabbing at the boss of the agency that had picked you up with one finger every time he shouted at him.
It was your arrival that had a break in that shouting match, doubled with the fact you'd arrived with an armed escort.
That silence didn't last long.
"Alyssa, do you know how much trouble you are in now?" came his words as he shifted his anger towards you - you had the feeling that his anger was being directed towards you as you were the easier target, the weaker in his eyes. He was a small minded bully, looking for an easy means of venting when he couldn't possibly hope to win the argument he was having with the other person.
"Is he from H-M-S-O?" you asked as you ignored the initial outburst, prompting a smirk from the other man.
"I am a representative from-"
"You assholes attacked and shot me," you gestured towards your legs, knowing full well that the blood stains were visible even from the front. "And you," you snorted as you turned towards Millicent's boss, "sent chavs to trail us, you slack jawed classless fuck."
There was silence from pair of them that was finally broken as Millicent's boss raised his voice once more.
"When we get back you are going to be punished accordingly-"
"Yes, punish the person that doesn't work for you, I mean, I'm pretty sure the guy right beside you is hiring."
"I am authorised to offer you-" the other man started, only for you to hold a finger up.
"You assholes shot me, these assholes want to punish me for you assholes shooting me. Why should I care about either of you?"
"Alyssa, we can talk about this-" the boss started, only for you to laugh.
"Wi-kan-terk-ehlerseh!" you mocked as you wiggled your head from side to side with each syllable. "Fine, lets talk. Why are they trying to forcefully poach me from-"
"That was a mistake."
"You're damn right it was a mistake, you lost four people because your agents went gun crazy and-"
"We only sent three, this is a further complication," came the mans response, his expression souring as he reached into his pocket for his phone. Even as that man stepped away the boss was once more attempting to smooth things over.
"Alyssa, why don't you come back and-"
"Shut up. The LPD offered me cake, I'm not moving without it or answers. Are you going to offer me answers?" you tilted your head. "No?"
"Very well," he sighed as he moved to settle down on one of the nearby chairs. "What do I have to tell you to get you to co-operate with me again?"
You pursed your lips, folded your arms over your chest and frowned. You hadn't actually expected him to fold in such a manner.
He really was desperate, wasn't he?
It did mean that you had a chance to get answers or dismissively brush him off.
Or anything else really. Everything was a mess, but you were sure you were going to come out on top regardless.
What remained was for you to decide your next course of action.