Slipping Home

((Contributions/written by Karnal Sin, Chimera II, Noctis Phasma/Umbra, Rakescar, Chronicler, Xanatos, Fearghas, Machina Shard, Ghost Widow, Judge Album))


Karnal Sin sat in silence, an uncommon occurrence, as those around her spoke indistinctly in the hushed voices of the room. It had taken weeks, nearly two months, for her and Judas to accomplish their assignment. She didn't know what exactly Judex were holding out in front of Judas's face to entice him into cooperation beyond some vague platitudes, but with finally bringing them Sebastian Kain, it was all she could do but demand that they hold up their end of the bargain. She wanted this body to herself and Kathryn wanted out.

The passing two months was a flurry of activity. She had developed interesting and aimless contacts in her drunken daze spent in the Pocket D, participating in some would-be end-all plan of Baron Blitzman's, with her new bizarrely placed bodyguard - Misnomer.

The man both intrigued and infuriated her as she had been unable to get any significant information out of him at all. There was no agenda she had in discovering his ambitions and motivations, more sheer habit and years of training of intel gathering, but he was a skilled dancer in the waltz of misinformation. The thought of him got her mind turning once again as the black and white clad individuals gathered around her.

"Lay back," one of the indistinguishable individuals said.

Blinking, she did as she was told, unsure if it was a good or a bad thing that she had become accustomed to lying back on medical tables to be tampered with. It had all started with Neutron One and the Dominion's enhancements of her skills nearly a decade ago, Noctis Phasma and Sister Psyche’s vain attempt in fixing her multi-consciousness problem six years ago, only to be followed with the removal of one of those technological implants years later by the K'Tar. She hoped that the current meddlers would be gentler in their ministrations.

One of the Judges spoke up, the soft, lyrical voice of Judge Niveum, "Do not worry yourself, Sin. Removal of the persona shouldn’t take any time at all."

"I'd appreciate you not reading my mind, darling," Karnal spoke up towards the blinding light that was the only significant illumination in the room.

"Such feelings will be eliminated once your conditioning is complete," the petite Judge said with the tone of reassurance, but the words were anything but comforting.

Judas had already started his conditioning within Judex and while he had maintained much of himself through the process – he had definitely changed. She wondered if she was even able to be conditioned to their system, or if the three years of Dominion training would hold stubborn and true within her.

A musky odor wafted over to her and she felt the presence of Judge Album. He was the most unnerving of the Judges she had met and the most she feared of becoming when she was to go through the conditioning. Soulless, charmless, nearly robotic. The hulking form of Album loomed over her and much to her surprise he placed one of his large, gloved hands on her shoulder - not pinning her to the table, but resting, "This is what you wanted." His words were soft, but firm, as if warning her, "And this is what we need."

Murmurs filled the room and then quickly dissipated as the Judges filed out, leaving only Niveum, Album, herself, and the blanketed form of a body on the operating table next to her.

With her head turned, she peered at the shapely form of the soulless body next to her, a wave of thoughts pounding into the shoreline of her mind. She didn't know what was coming next - would the psychological construct that was Kathryn Moore, the fake persona created by the K'Tar thrive in a hollow shell? Would they remove all of her? Some of her? Will she really be free of her and the lies?

"We are ready. Prepare yourself."

Niveum had moved to stand next to Album, her hands cupping Karnal's flushed cheeks. The female Judge's masked face seemed calm as ever, her mouth slightly open as she began to breathe slowly and methodically. A few short moments passed before she felt the pang of her psychic connection jar her mind to stillness, all of her thoughts abruptly stopping. Her eyes, locked onto the white light of the room, blurred their vision until all she saw was a canvas of white, like snow blindness, but instead of a searing coldness, the heat of psychic energy transferring between the two women burned hotly in her mind's eye. A distant memory echoed in her thoughts…

::Bright::
::So bright…::

Her body was still, completely numb, with only the slight pressure from Album's hand fading into a flimsy memory as she felt, almost mentally watched, Niveum categorize, organize, and shuffle through her mind, unwinding the threads of the lies the K'Tar had woven, separating Karnal Sin from the false persona.

Images and memories of the last six years began to move away from her as she began to no longer share her consciousness. An emptiness was forming in the crevices of her mind, some of the bonds of her personal interactions and recent battles losing their edge in the process.

Without breaking a sweat, Niveum skillfully traversed the tapestry that was Karnal Sin’s psyche, her hands deftly untwisting and re-anchoring the necessary threads of consciousness in the blonde woman. Everything was going smoothly until she encountered a unique thread – a dim, golden glow making it stand out from the rest of them. She reached a tentative hand out to it only for a bright shockwave pulse from it with a deep, resonating psychic sound reminiscent of a howl.

::What the hell is that?::

Furrowing her brow slightly, Niveum clenched her jaw and grabbed a hold of some other memorial elements in Karnal’s consciousness before reattempting contact with the thread which had now begun to eerily glow in the maze-like abyss of Karnal’s consciousness.

She was rebuffed yet again, this time more forcefully, causing her physical body to lurch backwards as the psychic wave ventured outside of both of the women’s minds. Album took a step away from them, “Judge, is there an issue?”

::No, just give us a moment::

Niveum got as close as she could to the thread, examining it through the now blinding brightness of its defenses. The thread was thick, strong, and taut like a strained tendon – on both of its ends it was attached to a multitude of other lines knotted haphazardly in a mess.

::Maybe if we detach those first…::

Moving her mind to the lower end of the thread in question, her mental projection of her body floated through Karnal Sin’s consciousness like a sinking rock. She landed in front of a rather rambunctious knotting and reached a cautious hand out towards it.

No amount of bracing could have saved her from the onslaught of a power and force that ripped through her, knocking her violently despite her grip on the threads of Karnal’s mind.

::Get out::

The voice was neither that of Karnal nor her own and she opened her mind’s eye in a frantic and defensive search of who had joined them. As she saw the path in which she had created in her efforts of organizing the Vixen’s mind, she saw the neatly categorized and straightened threads slam into each other once again, binding and twisting around one another, knotting and winding like they had volition of their own.

She suddenly heard a heartbeat – it was not her own – and looked up at the golden thread to see it pulsing with each thump. A hushed howl, not that of an animal but a human, grew in intensity and she stood, defenseless in the abyss – terrified. Whispers of broken phrases taunted her from the shadows of Karnal’s mind, “happened before….cannot…nothing changes…” she was attacked by such a massive wave of psychic energy that her body screamed, her hands flying to her temples while was painfully knocked out Karnal Sin’s mind, her corporeal form being flung quickly back away from the operating table and into the nearby wall.

Blinking, Karnal Sin turned her head towards Niveum, “What happened?”

The Judge stood, dusting herself off. Breaking Judex protocol, she ripped off her mask and looked Karnal in the eyes, barking at her, “You tell me!” As far as Niveum was concerned, she had not signed up for this, and whatever it was that she had encountered in the dark crevices of the recruit’s mind scared the hell out of her.

Karnal narrowed both of her eyes, lifting her upper body so that she was seated, her head hanging a bit, speaking through her teeth as her irritation was now fully blossomed, “You said you could help me.”

Album had since walked to Niveum, lifting her off the ground onto her feet, “What’s the problem, Judge?”

Niveum looked up at him, her hair flying against her quick movements, “She has something IN there that we were not given any information on. And it is powerful.” She shot an accusatory look at Karnal, her mind awash with fragmented thoughts, memories, and images that did not belong to her.

Judge Album straightened, nodding to Niveum for her to regain her composure, then slowly approached the patient, “Why don’t you start from the beginning, Sin?”

Sighing, Karnal shook her head even though she began to tell them what she knew – information that no one had been privy to in full – only snippets ever making it to any sense of public knowledge.

“As I am sure you aware, you are the not the first to think they could help me – and neither were the K’Tar. Before my husband ever got involved in trying to ‘fix’ me there were a bevy of others…”

“Kathryn.”

“Yes, sir?” With her head lowered, her eyes burned holes into the ground. Any attempt Kathryn had at keeping her composure was quickly losing to her nerves. Her knees, unpadded, ached against the cold and rocky surface that was the initiation circle on the Dominion Stronghold on Earth Prime.

The Gauntlet, a large hallway leading to the throne room, was truly massive – the stone arches loomed, in a crescendo casting blackened shadows that flickered in unison with the firelight that emanated from the walls. It was designed to make whoever was coming down the hall feel progressively smaller. It was working.

A large, black-clad hand extended, a single finger tucking under her chin, lifting her face, forcing her gaze onto the man known as Overseer to many, Quinn to her. So much had changed since her assignment to Prime Earth.

The Dominion, also called The Dark Dominion by Hero Corps, was an inter-dimensional organization spanning hundreds of “planets” – all different realities of Earth. Kathryn’s home, Theta-Seven, had been taken over by the Dominion years ago and in Overseer’s conquest of her planet he had plucked her from the masses with the single-minded agenda of turning her into a weapon. While not the strongest, the smartest, or even the most skilled, Kathryn had created a special niche for herself in the ranks – with the inception of the Vixen Branch, designed for gathering intelligence and compromising security in their targets.

The Dominion’s agenda itself was somewhat noble – they purged the different realities, forcefully when necessary, of the sicknesses and undesirable elements: crime, poverty, illness, immoral vexes, ethical ambiguity. Each planet was allowed autonomy after the purge, but they swore oaths of faith to the Dominion and to Overseer. It was an absolution of each realm, and after, the Dominion would transform the planet into an oasis free of conflict, establish a calm harmony, and vastly improve the lives of their subjects.

When Overseer set his sights on Prime Earth, he knew he was in for a long and complicated struggle – so he brought his, at the time, single Consul, Neutron One with him to assist in breaking down the intricate threads of supers located en masse in this reality. He also called in Kathryn from assignment and tasked her with blurring the lines with her Vixens – he wanted her to foster psychological warfare. He wasn’t expecting his most loyal and trained, now called Karnal Sin by heroes and villains alike, to have stumbled so badly, forcing him to call together the ranks located on Prime Earth for an audience.

Keeping her lashes lowered, and her eyes unfocused away from him, she cursed to herself when he commanded her, “Look at me.”

She did as she was told.

“Have you forgotten your task so soon?” the voice held both authority and purpose and Kathryn looked away. Overseer’s words were always chosen and groomed before spoken and while she had grown accustomed to it; his usual affectionate trappings were removed.

She knew it was intentional. She knew that he was, in his own personal way, punishing her for her mistake. It wasn’t a mistake that compromised their agenda, but it was a mistake that affected him – the both of them.

“No, sir,” Kathryn offered meekly.

“He seems so predictable. I’m surprised this became an issue for you, Vixen,” he paused for just a moment, “Predictability? Is that what you want?”

“No.” All the eyes of the Dominion were locked onto her form, though many of the Vixens kept their gaze on Overseer, vying for his attention and approval since Kathryn’s fall from grace.

“Dear, I need more than single word answers,” he said with a sneer in his voice – mockingly expelling the affectionate term.

“You’ll have to choose, you know,” the sneer was gone, replaced by a casualness that unnerved her, as he leaned back onto his throne with his legs spread apart, knees bent, in a wide, comfortable position. The oversized seat was befitting of a man of his status as a ruler of many dimensions, allowing him to relax back into it as he awaited her response.

Kathryn knew she was going to have to choose, and she knew that either choice came with its own set of consequences, “Yes.” The pressure was getting to her and she hadn’t worked through her own thoughts to be able to answer him any further.

Machina Shard stood from his seat to the right of Overseer, an emotionless expression on his perpetually war-painted face. He was an overbearing individual who had earned his status within the Dominion by brute force – he was Overseer’s right hand man, one of his Consuls, and his personal bodyguard. His boots were heavy against the floor, and in the silence following her answer it was all anyone could hear as he sauntered in his full Dominion regalia to the kneeling ex-Consort. He looked down his nose at her, his heavy cape creating a cast shadow that covered her tiny frame, “What’s it going to be, Kathryn?”

And while she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she already knew the answer to their question.

::Dark…::

::So dark…::

“Kathryn…”

She blinked her eyes open, hearing a gentle voice coming from the shadows.

“Kathryn…”

“Are you okay?”

She couldn’t move, she just fell – faster, deeper, into the brightness.

::Bright…::

::So bright…::

Port Oakes, Arachnos Hospital

“How long has she been in this condition?” A brunette, white-coated man stood at the foot of the bed where Kathryn was resting. Her eyes were closed, peacefully, her mouth a thin line as a slow, methodical, but purposeful breath was entering and exiting her body.

“She was brought in three hours ago, doctor.”

Dr. Yulis nodded slowly, looking over the patient’s chart, “Metahuman, definitely. Who brought her in?”

“She was found in front of the E.R. entrance,” the nurse’s voice was submissive and quiet, knowing to answer just what she was asked lest she receive a hearty reprimand from the physician.

He grunted at that, half expecting that answer, “Alright, run the usuals, I’ll come back after lunch and look it over.”

“Understood,” the nurse turned on her heel quickly and began the testing procedures in a vain attempt at finding out what was wrong with the Jane Doe patient. Metas were always the worst and the hardest to figure out what was wrong with them – she was thankful that this one was unconscious.



“What’s wrong with her?!” Yulis had just taken a bite of his lunch when he was paged, forcing him to rush back to the E.R. to see what was causing such a ruckus. Reaching forward he placed both of his hands on either of Kathryn’s shoulders, pushing her back down on the hospital bed.

“AUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“I don’t know! She just started screaming!” The nurse was desperately putting her weight against the woman’s, trying to hold her still, scrambling for the bindings attached to the bed that she hadn’t thought was necessary before.

Kathryn thrashed violently, clutching her head, her face contorted into a painful sneer, “AAAAHHHHHHH! STOP IT! STOP!”

The nurse looked at the doctor in bewilderment.

“Did you try th-” he started.

“YES!” The nurse nearly barked at him, all sense of professional decorum gone, “NO EFFECT!”

Gripping her firmly, he started to shake the patient, “LADY! CALM DOWN!”

“STOP IT!” Kathryn cried out once more.

“Doctor! I don’t even think she’s awake!”

He matched the nurse’s look this time.


::I just want to go home::

::And where is home?::

::With him::

::It won’t change anything::

::I know::




“STOP IT! PLEASE!”

Yulis shook his head, tightening the last restraints on the bed.

Kathryn’s eyes were still clenched shut, her golden hair whipping around with each turn of her head as she battled both the bed and whatever was going on inside of her.

“Let’s move her down to the psychiatric wing, Donna.”

The nurse nodded her head quickly, moving to take the strolling hospital bed towards the doorway of the room.

“I’ll see if I can’t call someone in to check her out. Not sure if any Seer is going to want to take a look inside of there, though.”

“PLEASE STOP!” Kathryn began to cry.

Nurse Donna smirked, “I wouldn’t…” she looked irritated at the woman’s cries of help, “Can we do anything to shut her up at least?”

He shook his head again, “Not really, save we risk the chance of her choking on her tongue.”

Grunting, the nurse wheeled the patient out, the woman’s sobbing and screaming bouncing off the plain walls, traveling rapidly down the empty halls.




::Are you sure you can do this?::

::Do I have a choice?::

::No::



Kathryn shot off the bed, breaking the restraints that the nurse had finally managed to get on her. Flying down the hallway in nothing but a flimsy hospital gown, she knocked everything down in her path. She crashed into cabinets, doors, carts, clutching her head with her eyes shut – she’d fly through a wall if it would just stop.

“SECURITY!”

She didn’t know where she was going. All she knew was she wanted to be someplace safe. She ripped around a corner, upon seeing a window, she charged more energy behind her, bolted towards the metal frame, knowing it would hurt, but not particularly caring.

Chimera II, a dark-haired, one-eyed praetorian assassin, had joined the ranks of the Dominion after his group had been absorbed by his now-girlfriend’s organization. He and Kathryn had been dating for a weeks now, and while he knew she was involved with the hero Xanatos, he somehow let her convince him it was purely for work. It was often that he ran into her at the Pocket D when they didn’t have formal plans together – it usually ended up in some heated argument over him being cryptic about himself and her being overly flirtatious – their relationship was full of conflict.

But tonight, instead of the usual seductive drawl she would casually throw his way, he was met with something else entirely. He turned towards Noctis Phasma, a psychic villainess he knew only vaguely, “There’s something wrong with her mind. Go in there and find out what the trouble is, but if you screw anything up, I’ll end you.”

Chimera’s face was serious and worried, but Phasma just smirked and assured him she’d be careful. Somehow it didn’t calm him down. He’d been through a lot during his short lifetime, but he couldn’t remember anything more surreal than encountering a younger version of Karnal Sin. Kathryn had told him about her past, but she’d always been closed off about it. There was something awe-inspiring about actually meeting her past self. ‘If it weren’t the symptom of a shattered mind, this might even be exciting,’ Chimera thought scornfully.

::Talk to her:: Phasma’s voice rang in his mind. ::Keep her distracted::

“So, uh,” Chimera began awkwardly, dozens of intimate questions plagued him, questions about who she was, questions that might shed more light on the woman she’d grown into. “Where do you work?”

“TGI Friday’s,” Katie said simply, “I wash dishes.”

Chimera nodded slowly, feeling as awkward as ever, “I see…and how old are you?” he asked dubiously.

“Fourteen,” Katie responded matter-of-factly, pressing herself against the railing, “How old are you?”

Instinctually, Kathryn had fled to the Pocket D after shattering through the Arachnos hospital – to her it was a safe haven. But right now, she didn’t know where she was, and the safe haven of the familiar faces was a sea full of strangers. She was not herself.

“Twenty.” He smirked, but the look of concern in his eye unnerved her.

Chimera felt ungodly uncomfortable, he tried to give her a reassuring smile, only to have it come out twisted.

::You cannot help her::

A genderless voice spoke to Chimera in his mind. Relatively used to communicating with Kathryn telepathically, he responded in kind.

::I can try.::

He saw Phasma get closer to the distracted ex-Consort and watched as the psychic reached a tentative hand out to her.

“So what kind of name’s-AHHHHHHH!” Katie collapsed to the floor, clutching her head, her mouth opened in a mock cry, but after the initial outburst, no sound escaped her lips.

Chimera rushed forward, kneeling down and wrapped his arms around her, holding her up, “Kathryn!” He shot a fiery look up at Phasma. With his hand cradling Karnal’s face on the side, he spat harshly at the psychic, “What the hell did you do?!”

But Phasma was already in a trance.

Kathryn’s body began to jerk and spasm on the ground, her eyes rolling randomly in all directions. She suddenly stopped her movements, whispering to him, “Not again.”

::You cannot help her::

The same genderless voice spoke, but this time to Phasma.

::Why?::

::Because it has already happened::

::What?::

Noctis Phasma was inside of Kathryn’s mind, frantically trying to navigate the maze of thoughts and misdirection. She started to sweat a little, as the woman’s mind worked against her, putting up mental barriers, and more walls. Something was blocking her and whatever it or they were, it was powerful.

Stepping into the mind of this woman, Phasma was taken aback. This was something she had never seen before. This place was a black abyss. Far below her, Phasma could see a 14-year-old girl. The girl was holding onto two strings, one in each hand. They rose up, up far above Phasma, where each was wrapped around the ankle of a woman. The two women were joined at the hip, like Siamese twins. They spoke to Phasma as one, their voice an eerie cacophony, but the voice was not theirs, "You cannot help her."

Phasma could not pull the two women apart without killing them both. When she tried to pull the strings out of the little girl's hands, all three entities faded, and forced her to quickly restore them. She tried reasoning with the women, but they would not hear it. Her trance was broken and the abyss of the mind gave way to the lights and noise of the Pocket D.

Phasma looked at Chimera, who looked back expectantly. She shook her head, this was not so simple.

The blonde began to mumble while in Chimera’s hold, “Quinn,” she said, “Xanatos?”

“Kathryn…?” Chimera’s voice came out quietly, desperately, “Kathryn, it’s me, Chimera.” He saw what looked like a glint of recognition in her eyes.

“Chimera…”

Katie shifted in her daze, rising off the floor of the club to her feet, unsteadily. Her lashes fluttered, looking around awkwardly, not fully aware of what was going inside of her mind, “Uh…is…there…a bathroom around here?”

Chimera had worry stricken all over his face, but pointed to the far end of the main dance floor, “Down there.”

Katie nodded, “Thanks, mister.”

A few minutes passed by, the silence thickening around Chimera and Phasma, “I’m going to go check on her,” he said gruffly, turning on his heel and stalking towards the double doors of the restrooms.

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Katie burst out of the bathroom doors, her eyes wide with horror, screaming.

Chimera jumped back, startled for a moment, but quickly regained his place again, “What’s wrong?”

Her hands were clutched to her chest, cupping her buxom breasts, “What did you do to me?!”

Chimera winced, “Uhh…puberty?”

Her hands flew to her backside, grabbing her rear, her face awash with bewilderment.

All the commotion and yelling was starting to form a crowd around the three – some familiar faces like Fearghas, Rakescar, Yuvie, and others.

Phasma quickly joined the couple, taking another opportunity to peer into the woman’s thoughts.

Kathryn’s body burst into a brilliant raging shield of energy, swirling around her entire form, the eerie red glow spiking off in several directions as she lost control.

“Get out of my MIND!” She snarled at Phasma.

“No, I’m going to fix you.” The telepath set her jaw stubbornly.

Rakescar, Fearghas, Phasma, Yuvie, Chimera and a few others crowded her, backing her farther into the railing. The faint sound of a man throwing up dwarfed at the deafening shot of energy emanating from her.

Her eyes opened, staring at the telepath, unblinking, the blinding light of energy peering into her threateningly, “You’ll ruin everything.”

She had gone through several manifestations of herself, but the red took control. Not the Kathryn that everyone knew, the socialite that got along with nearly everyone, the woman who would seamlessly move in and out of groups of people, skillfully talking everyone up.

No. Karnal Sin took over - muting out Kathryn, Katie, and Kat.

Bracing her leg, she shot over them, leaping her body over the sea of people trying to ‘help’ her.

“Katie, stop this!” Rakescar’s voice boomed at her as she exited the club, Chimera close behind him.

Kathryn stopped to address her friend, the golem rockstar she had helped only weeks before, “Mmmm, feels good to let go sometimes doesn’t it, Tyler?”

He reached for her, but she was already in the air, not looking back. And then she was gone.

Chimera stood with the others in silence, trying to focus and digest everything that had just transpired.

‘This is not my area of expertise,’ Chimera thought, feeling a slight hint of panic welling in his stomach. It was true; he knew nothing of this world of telepathy and possession. He longed to do something to make things right, but he knew he was out of his league – a sword couldn’t fix this.

‘Out of my league,’ he thought, silently cursing the entire concept of telepathy.

Karnal Sin was once again kneeling in silence in The Gauntlet of the Dominion Stronghold, her eyes gently closed with the light from the Initiation Circle flaring up on occasion, casting shadows sporadically around the empty Throne Room.

It had been weeks since Overseer had left to an undisclosed location without either of his Consuls, leaving Machina Shard in command of the legions on Prime Earth. With Karnal’s public breakdown, whispers had been circulating amongst the supers as to the reason and Machina was having none of it, wanting only to get to the bottom of the mishap. He was sick of Kathryn’s procrastination and didn’t fully believe the rumors he had been hearing. He called together the ranks.

All she heard were heavy footsteps on the cold, hardened floor of The Gauntlet, a multitude of them – her training kicked in and she was able to discern the distinctness of sixteen people.

Machina Shard led the group – Fearghas, Chimera II, Kichi, Reiraku, Chronicler, Yuvie, Neutron One, Exotic Faith, Imperial Reign, Erotica, Atrox, Seven, Flea Mark Evil, Fey Deux, and Captain X. Gathering around Kathryn in a circle, Machina was first to break the silence.

“Kathryn, I’ve been hearing some disturbing rumors of you making a spectacle of yourself.”

The woman in question looked up at him, “I…I…” she couldn’t possibly come up with a reason that would sate his irritation and explain as she had no idea what was going on with herself.

Chimera stepped forward, “Sir, if I may…” his voice was firm but tentative. Machina wasn’t Overseer, but in his absence he was to treat the man as he would their leader, “With no psychic currently in the ranks of the Dominion on Prime Earth, Fearghas and I have employed the help of an outside source in an attempt to stabilize her.”

“I can see your efforts are not producing results, Chimera.”

The assassin narrowed his one good eye, continuing, “We’ve had but one opportunity…”

“I do hope you weren’t tampering with my toys,” Neutron’s digitized voice was perky and highly inappropriate, as was his manner, “Perhaps as the resident scientist, I’d have better luck.”

Chimera attempted to keep his cool and patience, “This isn’t a scientific problem.”

“What you may call magic, I call science. Come!” Neutron stalked out of the room with pep in his step.

Machina looked to the legions, “Atrox, Faith – until further notice, you two are to stay with her and make sure she does NOT leave the Stronghold, is that understood?”

Stepping forward at the call of their names, the two responded in unison, “Affirmative, sir.”

“In the meantime, Neutron, Chronicler and I will be going through the Dominion database to see if we can’t fix your little problem – yet again.” He sneered at her momentarily before nodding to the rest to exit with him.

Kathryn was given her orders and hung her head, demoralized into submission. She knew that the Dominion was capable, but it didn’t change the fact that she felt she was slowly rotting away from the inside.

Days would pass and she still hadn’t heard anything from the Consuls or Chronicler in their efforts and she began to question whether or not they were even really working on finding a solution or simply waiting for Overseer’s return – whenever that would be.

The days wore on and her mind began to feel like it was unraveling, and the voices in her head were all but driving her into further madness.

She was thankful when her thoughts were interrupted as Exotic Faith knocked on her door, “Kathryn? I have your dinner.”

The blonde stood up, unsteadily, “Have you heard anything, Faith?”

“No,” The vixen smirked at her former leader.

The ex-Consort looked like a broken woman, the worry written all over her face. Faith put a hand on her shoulder in an act of faux comfort, “Trust me, when I hear something, you’ll be the first to know…Mistress.”

Kathryn stood tall quickly, grabbing Faith’s arm and flipping her over her shoulder, the plate of food shattering on the floor as she loomed over her defenseless comrade, her steel heeled boot on the dark-haired woman’s throat, “Do not mock me, child.”

Exotic Faith looked up at her with bewildered eyes, the change in her demeanor jarring and frightening as the eyes of the ‘prisoner’ glowed unstably with energy, a sick smile on her face.

“I will not wait around for them to eliminate me.”

Faith tried to yell at her partner, “A..atro-,” but was unable to, due to the weight of the boot on her throat. She tried to watch, in vain, as Karnal leaned down and snatched her Dominion teleporter off her belt, punched in coordinates and in an instant teleported out of the Stronghold.

“ATROX!”

Karnal Sin appeared suddenly at the Paragonian side of the bar in Pocket D, momentarily blinding some of the patrons there, inadvertently knocking into the bartender.

Wincing, her eyes fluttered for a moment before the voice of the child returned, “Oh god, not here again…” Frantically, Katie turned to the bartender, “Lady, I need to get home to King’s Row. How do I get out of here?”

The justifiably confused barkeep pointed down the stairs, “There’s an elevator down there…but…” without waiting for further explanation, Katie raced down the corridor.

“Heroes only.” The guard at the door didn’t even look at her.

“Listen mister! I need to get home! Let me through!” Katie struggled against the guard posted at the Pocket D’s Paragon side entrance. With his one arm wrapped around her waist, he barked the words, “Heroes only!” and, “No villains past this point!”

A man in a white top and black slacks approached them then, casually, “Is there a problem here?” His eyes passed over her as if he recognized the girl, but he didn’t say anything of it.

“Yes!” She immediately answered, flinging off the guard and taking a step back from the doors, “This ‘guard’ won’t let me go home!” She nearly whined with that, crossing her arms and glaring.

It wasn’t until this moment that she realized the man who was now talking to her was blue. And that he had two females with him at the time. The second of those facts bothered her to some degree she didn’t quite understand.

The blue man regarded her briefly before motioning to the bartender who had since followed her down, “Take her back upstairs, I will be along shortly.”

“What? No! I want to go home. Who are you?” Katie glared at the well-over-six-feet-tall blue man.

“Xanatos,” he said simply as the bartender now ushered her upstairs with frantic hand motions.

Completely confused, Katie shot an icy glare at the guard once more before doing as she was told and sulked back upstairs.

“Let me get you a drink, little one…”

“My name’s Katie.” The young-minded girl plopped onto a barstool, crossing her arms defensively.

The woman smiled at her sweetly, “I’m Regina, or Fallen Rose, what do you want to drink, hun?”

Pursing her lips, she mumbled, “Chocolate milk.” Her mind wandering as she peered around the room, Regina busy, making her drink.

“Who is Xanatos, Ms. Regina?” Katie sucked on the straw of her drink hard, the chocolate milk traveling up the plastic and into her mouth quickly.

Fallen Rose started to speak, but paused for a moment, “He’s a man who is trying to help us all.”

This kind of statement was far too vague for Katie to really wrap her mind around, she shrugged it off, leaning on the bar.

Of all the people around her, Regina was the only one who hadn’t known her name, or assumed to know her. She felt comfortable around the somewhat lady-like bartender, being that she met her as ‘herself’.

“Red wine…” a voice came from behind Katie’s left shoulder.

Without looking up, Regina grabbed a bottle of wine, adeptly pouring the liquid into a glass. She looked up and began to hand it to the customer, “Here you g-…” but she stopped herself, staring at the man before her.

Katie, idly took a sip of her chocolate milk, looked behind her, and then up. If the blue man had startled her, the red man scared her.

Some people began whispering, “Emperor Xanatos,” around him. She felt like she knew him, but couldn’t quite put a finger to it.

He claimed to her know her father, said he was a hero and he was there to help her. Some others felt otherwise. Several people had gathered around Katie, one in particular, a short statured brunette called Luficia.

“Get out of here, now, Katie!” Luficia glared furiously at the red man, though Katie didn’t know why.

“Uhhh, I need to uhh, go to…the bathroom!” Katie exclaimed.

One of the many people around her, leaned over, whispering to the ‘young girl’, “I’ll escort you.”

Katie had no idea what was going on, but she did as she was told, looking to Regina for guidance. The bartender nodded at her reassuringly, and with that, Katie, and her escort, took down past the ramp.

“Run.”

She stopped, looking around, “Wha?”

“RUN!”

Her escort began to sprint across the club, motioning for Katie to follow suit. She had no idea why she was running, or where she was running, but the escort was leading her around corners, through the sea of dancing people.

“Oomph!”

The door to the restroom was slammed behind her, and she was alone.

What was transpiring at the bar was a slew of threats from both sides – the people who were defensively around Katie and ushering her away from Emperor Xanatos kept their verbal onslaught peaked. The praetorian was nothing but calm and collected, swirling his red wine in his glass, sipping periodically between insults.

Twenty minutes passed as Katie stayed in the bathroom alone until finally Regina knocked, “Hey you can come out now. I think he’s too busy to bother...”

“What happened? Who are those people?” Katie hopped off the vanity in the restroom and carefully walked towards the door.

“Bad people. Look, you need to get out of here, if he-…”

As if on cue, he appeared directly outside of the restrooms.

“Kat! You need to hurry up! They are trying to kill me!” Emperor Xanatos exclaimed at her suddenly.

Luficia, Regina, and company surrounded him, their eyes narrowed, their stances firm.

“Stay away from her,” Luficia nearly hissed out.

He reached for Katie, grabbing her bare arm, “Come on!”

Katie tensed at his touch.

“We haven't much time...I can explain everything later...they are trying to kill us both,” Emperor Xanatos and company continued on, as if still speaking to the child.

Karnal gained her footing, looking around idly before resting her gaze upon the hulking red figure.

Luficia pressed on, “You must trust me! He is a bad man!”

None of them noticed. Yet.

“Please, Katie!”

"Emperor…" the title rolled of her tongue in a sultry fashion, nearly moaning his moniker. And while the others didn’t catch the change, he most certainly did.

“Miss Sin, a pleasure as always,” a smile inched its way across his mouth.

Karnal Sin smiled deviously in return, "Mmmm, no darling, the pleasure is mine."

He relaxed a bit, obviously feeling a little more at ease with the villainess in her own mind, “I must say I'm disappointed...hiding behind the heroes you cut down in Recluse's Victory.”

Luficia rested a hand on Seiken's hilt, the heroes around them ready for anything.

Karnal bowed in deference to Emperor Xanatos, “Why don’t we continue our discussion elsewhere,” he said to the kneeling blonde, “You lead, I’ll follow.”

And with that the two villains walked calmly away from the battle-ready heroes, leaving them confused and staring at each other dumbfounded.




Emperor Xanatos grabbed her throat, her eyes fluttering back, like the shutters of a camera, spasming, her body jerking on the bed.

“No, please, don’t!”

Karnal Sin had taken them to her apartment, as it was the only private place she could think of that wasn’t in the Dominion Stronghold. She had wanted to converse with the Emperor about her predicament in length as she had gotten a better idea of what was going on and wanted his help. She didn’t want the other consciousness she shared to catch on, so time was of the essence.

But as soon as they made it to the foyer of her apartment, Emperor Xanatos, knowing of her familiarity with his Prime Earth double Xanatos, and seeing an opportunity to torment him more, had other ideas. He had grabbed her throat, Star of America coming to the forefront, begging him to release her as he dragged her across the apartment and slammed her onto the bed.

He hesitated, gripping her throat tighter, choking her, and not allowing her to speak, nor breathe as he stood by the bed. “I won’t…just know I could have.”

He let her go as soon as the relief hit her, letting her relax for a moment, “Bring Karnal back,” he commanded her.

“I don’t know how.”

He growled, his patience running thin, lunging at her throat a second time with his hand, gripping her tighter than before.

A smirk came across her face, though she couldn’t breathe or speak; the woman had changed, and she seemed to be enjoying the situation.

::Decided to join me then?::

He understood now; understood the change. Or at least how it worked. And with that in mind, decided it had been a while since he had some form of fun and release.

::Emperor?::

Karnal lifted a single brow at him, still not able to breathe, but completely at ease.

Oh yes. It had been a while.




She grinned at her comrades.

“Kathryn?”

Chimera, Machina Shard, and Fearghas all exchanged worried looks. “Katie?”

The grin widened, and she nodded pleasantly to them, “Karnal.”

“You know what's going on, right?” Chimera immediately began to question her.

“Of course I know what's going on, Chimera” his name rolled off her tongue languidly.

He looked a little relieved. "Good."

“We're stuck in here.” She stated matter-of-factly.

Chimera quickly followed her on that, “So, how do we get you unstuck?”

Her grin faded for a second, “I don’t want to get unstuck, pet.”

“Why?” They all asked in unison.

She smirked at them, “Because there is something He needs me to do.”

“What the hell is that?” Karnal pointed at the computer screen with her gloved finger, standing a distance from the medical machinery and Machina Shard.

She held the teleporter in hand, ready to jump if her comrades tried to bury her back inside of her host body.

The Dominion had deduced the pattern to her behavior. Physical contact was the catalyst, touching her would change her. Something was definitely not right with the pattern though, it had started as cyclical, but as they pressed on in their testing, Karnal Sin was showing up more and more frequently.

“I don’t know…” Machina stared at the computer screen in confusion with her. “I don’t know what any of this means…”

“Simpletons! Do not worry yourselves with the details. Nothing is broken!” Neutron One proudly exclaimed from the other side of the scanning equipment.

Chimera sighed, “Sir, no offense, but how can NOTHING be broken? This isn’t normal.”

The armored man was gruff in response, “Well, I don’t know what’s going on with her, but as said, my toys are not broken.”

The entire room groaned in unified frustration.




There was some party going on at the Giza and despite the Dominion’s wishes, Karnal had decided to go. A sea of people gathered celebrating something or another and she deftly dodged them before making her landing at the edges of the crowd. She grinned at Chimera as she passed by him, spotting Machina Shard at the party.

She glided her body over to him, landing on the stone ground with a click of her heels, “Machina, didn’t expect to see you here.”

He looked at her warily, "I didn’t expect to see you here either, Karnal…"

And before she could respond, fate got in the way.

“Karnal...”

The voice was eerie, unearthly, and tantalizing; she turned around, face to face with Ghost Widow.

Karnal immediately bowed her head, curtsying low to the ground, “Madame.”

The ethereal woman nodded to her, signaling her to rise, “I didn't expect to see you here...”

Karnal rose to her feet, sensing the silence that was spreading, focusing on them, flashing her a grin, “I heard there was a party…I had to at least stop by to see what the commotion was about…”

The pale woman didn’t answer, simply looked at her, as if peering into her, though Karnal’s eyes were averted. She knew to act with deference, “I am genuinely surprised to see you here, my Lady.”

“Indeed...”

If ever there was an opportunity for her, this was it, “Madame...might I ask you a...delicate question?”

“I suppose…”

“I was wondering if you could grant me an audience with you in the future...”

She kept her head tilted down at an angle, listening intently.

“You may find me in the Tower…” It was always difficult to tell if Ghost Widow was finished with her statement, her words, much like Karnal’s, tended to trail off into silence, as if promising something more.

"And I can seek your guidance then, Lady?" smiling sweetly, though her eyes seemed calculating, staring at the ground before Ghost Widow’s feet.

“Unless there is something you wish to ask now.”

She smiled to herself internally, though her face was well trained and emotionless, “Well…” Karnal began, “Nothing that could necessarily be spoken in such a public forum, you understand.”

That got her attention, and Ghost Widow tilted her head, her lips forming the words, the air taking them, “I see…”

Karnal steered her words to the lady’s leisure, “I am at your disposal, should you have the time, that is,” lowering herself lower to the ground in a bow.

“Very well...”

Before she knew what was going on, Arachnos’ highest ranking female flew into the air, her waist cape billowing in the wind, that same wind seemingly enveloping her into nothing.

Karnal Sin stood there in silence, unsure of what just happened. And then she was gone as well.

“We are alone...”

Karnal Sin was not entirely sure of all of the woman’s powers, but she did contain some form of teleportation, as so evident by her ripping Karnal from her location down on the promenade and bringing her to second tier floor of the Giza. It was decisively less painful than dimensional teleportation.

“Thank you, my Lady...”

Karnal immediately dropped to one of her knees, ensuring no eye contact, though she could feel the Lady’s eyes on her.

She knew Ghost Widow’s time was limited, she would have to act quickly, “It would seem that I have stumbled upon an out of body experience...”

“Indeed…” Ghost Widow teasingly let the word linger in the air, before adding, “Out of body…”

“I am...not myself, so to speak. You are the only person that I know of that has any experience with it,” she tried not to rush the words, a little thrilled at the fact that fate had been so kind to her.

“You have maintained your conscious-self whilst being....well...” Karnal trailed off into silence, not knowing exactly how to describe the Lady’s state of being.

“Yes... and no,” the Lady began, “…but the cost has been…high.”

Karnal furrowed her brows a bit, "Understandably, anything you could suggest to me would be greatly appreciated,” she hesitated before finishing her sentence, not knowing what it would entail, “and I would be forever in your debt.”

It was then that Karnal explained the vast majority of what had happened, as far as she was concerned – ending on her want of full control over the body she was housed in. Ghost Widow listened patiently, adding her opinion when needed, though even in her silence, Karnal could feel the woman’s thoughts, she could sense them.

“Being of two minds in one body is not something I would-...” her words stopped suddenly.

“…Have experience with, my Lady?” Karnal finished for her cautiously.

“Shut up, Purple!” Both of the women heard the hushed whisper from behind one of the walls of the balcony they stood on.

“I fear we may no longer be alone,” Ghost Widow did not want to be disturbed. She flew up, yet again disappearing into thin air and taking Karnal with her.

Alone again, Ghost Widow reached out and touched Karnal’s face lightly with her hand, her white, pupiless eyes glowing dimly.

Karnal had instinctually flinched from her – not wanting to switch to another persona – but the Lady’s touch had no such effect on her.

Moments passed slowly and Karnal idly listened to the quiet hum of the party below them – whatever the Lady was doing, she didn’t want to interrupt her.

Finally, Ghost Widow pulled away, “For what you are going through – Arachnos cannot help you.”

It wasn’t the response the Vixen wanted to hear, “May I ask why not, my Lady?”

“Because it has already happened...”

Karnal opened her mouth to question her further, but the Lady was not finished, “I would suggest you do not attempt to stop it either. It cannot be changed.”

“Enjoy your existence, Karnal Sin – it is better than my own...mine is not a state to aspire to.”




"Shut up, Purple!" Noctis Umbra spat out at the purple-clad mentalist who had just spoken to him and alerted Ghost Widow to his presence. He was not certain how the magenta punk had managed to see him, and he was not entertained by it. As the Widow and Karnal disappeared, Umbra cast an angry glare at the intruding man before slipping off to relocate the two (five?) women.

Nimbly he scaled the smooth brick surface of the Giza, muted voices beckoning to him from above. Reaching the outside of one of the pyramid's four small spires, he leaned back silently to listen to the conversation in progress behind him.

Noctis Umbra learned more as he listened in, more information not only about his patron the Ghost Widow, but also about the mysterious Karnal Sin. But he didn’t really understand anything that either of them said – he could hear them fine, but none of it seemed to make any sense. How could it have already happened? And what exactly was ‘it’?