"God, this is stupid. I don't want to do this. I'm not your assistant. I'm not your secretary. I'm a research professional! Why are you making me do this? I want to go out with my friends!"

"You're acting like a spoiled child, Nikki. Erica needs your help with this. She's very nervous about this little meeting and I promised her I would do everything I could to make sure her power doesn't go out of control again. You don't have to do anything. Just sit here and watch her like I told you. That's all you have to do."

"Ugh!"
"Look, you're already here. I'll try to speed things along, okay? You can play on your phone or something. I don't care."
"Whatever," sulked Nikki.

Nikki's voice was a bit too bratty for a girl her age and her face was so thick with make-up it made it hard to take her seriously. She had dyed blonde hair and tanned caramel-brown skin, and she was wearing a cheetah-print crop top and a black miniskirt in open defiance of the Chosen Ones' professional dress code. Not that it mattered. Miss Planner was her boss and let her wear whatever she wanted as long as she showed up to work on time.

Miss Planner sat across from her in a straight-backed chair, dressed in a plain dark blue button-up shirt and slacks. Her blazer was neatly folded over the back of her chair. She looked impatient and a little tired. She was twirling a black pen between her tiny fingers. There wasn't a lot of work for her to do today, really, but she still tried to keep herself busy doing paperwork and checking the status of various projects.

Spiritland was close to finishing its last few installations, she was trying to finish the paperwork necessary to re-open the rebuilt distribution centers, she was still waiting for the Knife Maniac to get approval for her consultation contract, her Soul Shell project was in limbo due to lack of materials, the renovated Grand Temple would open its doors as a training camp for Chosen acolytes at some undetermined point in the distant future...

Everything was taking forever to get done. Miss Planner longed for the day when she wouldn't have to worry about these trivialities anymore. She was tired of having to deal with the petty nonsense that the rest of the organization threw at her every single day. She'd been hoping the new executives from Farha-Smith could help pick up the slack, but they still had very little understanding of what the Chosen Ones' business was all about.

What was the Chosen Ones' business all about, anyway? They were trying to enslave humanity and take over the world, right? How were they supposed to do that if they couldn't even take over one little city? The Chosen Ones needed to sell more Nuke. Lots and lots of Nuke. If only there was an easy way to do that...

"Are we done here?! God, why does she have to be so slow?!"

Miss Planner sighed and glanced at the clock. It was nearly five o'clock... well past the end of the working day for most people, although for her, the 'working day' sometimes stretched for weeks. Milly had left a while ago, leaving behind a half-finished cup of coffee. She leaned forward, resting both elbows on the table and clasping her hands together.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Miss Planner pressed a big red button on her desk and the door to her office swung wide open. There was little Erica, hunched over as always. She was covered in shiny black bandages and her arms and legs each carried five big metal bands made of psychic materials to neutralize her powers. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. She was swaying slightly as she stood in front of the doorway, slowly walking towards the desk.

"Hello, Erica! Please come in. Come and sit down. I asked Nikki to sit in with us today to make sure your powers behave themselves. Is that alright?"

Erica nodded with a soft smile, but didn't say anything. She was feeling a little funny from her new regimen of hardcore psychic suppressants, but she knew better than to complain. The alternative was far worse.

"How are you feeling?"
"Nnnn... I feel weird, but I'm okay. My power has been pretty quiet, for the most part. It was kind of loud last night when I took the bandages off to take a shower, but it didn't do anything bad... it just... talked to me."

"Oh, that's great news!"
"Yeah... there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about, Miss Planner... I think it's important."
"Yes, Erica?"

Erica was blinking rapidly and her voice sounded shaky. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Um... I just want you to know, I've always looked up to you, and admired you... and, that's kind of what started this whole mess for me. I've always wanted to be like you. And that's all my psychic power was trying to do. Make me more like you. I don't understand how it got so powerful or why it turned into this horrible thing..."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Erica. I know it must have been scary, but you did the best you could."

"And... um..."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry..."

Erica's face contorted in pain and she began to cry. Miss Planner reached into her desk and pulled out a box of tissues. Nikki rolled her eyes. She did not want to be involved in this crazy psychic melodrama.

"Oh, dear. Erica, it's okay. You don't need to apologize. I've known how you feel about me for a long, long time. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, so I tried to keep our relationship as professional as possible... but, I guess it's out in the open now. Thank you for being so brave and just telling me."

She handed the tissue box to Erica, who sniffled as she wiped her face. She looked up at Miss Planner with a pitiful frown.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I tried to keep it a secret, even from myself sometimes. I was so scared of losing your respect, I even tried to... I tried to..."

Her words trailed off as her tears continued. She looked away and lowered her head in shame. She felt like her heart was breaking. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her own inadequacies.

"I'm so pathetic."

Miss Planner sat quietly for a moment. She looked down at her hands, wringing them together. Then she turned to look Erica in the eye.

"Don't be silly," she said gently. "You know, I admire you too. You're not pathetic. You're sweet, kind, considerate... you're a good person and a good friend, and I think you're perfect just the way you are... and I'm sorry that I haven't been a very good friend to you. I took you for granted."
"No... That's not true..."

"Yes, it is. But that ends today. From now on, I'm going to be the best friend I can possibly be."
"Really?" squeaked Erica, wiping her nose on a wad of tissues.

"Really," replied Miss Planner with a smile. She held out her hand and Erica hesitantly reached for her. Miss Planner placed her small hand atop the girl's and squeezed tightly. She held it for a moment, then released it.

"I want us to make a promise. A pact of friendship," said Miss Planner softly. "I want us to be there for each other. No matter what happens in the future, I want us to promise to always be friends."
"Y-yes," whispered Erica, nodding.

"I want there to be no secrets between us. We're going to share everything with each other and we're going to stick together through thick and thin. No matter what happens. No matter who tries to come between us. Do you promise?"
"I- I do."

"Do you swear on the God of Destruction?"
"I swear."

Miss Planner smiled.

"Good," she said. "I swear, too. I will always be your best friend. I'm going to take care of you and protect you. Always. And I'm going to tell you exactly who I am. Everything. Every secret. Nothing hidden."

Erica nodded and sniffled. Miss Planner stood up and pulled Erica into a hug. She held the girl close and stroked her hair.

"No more secrets, Erica. What's your favorite color?"
"P-pink..."

"Mine is black. What's your favorite food? Chocolate cake, right?"
"Y-yes.."

"Mine is steak. You knew that already, didn't you? What's your favorite book?"
"Umm... The Young Wizards at War..."

"Mine is The Energy Delivery Service. What's your favorite TV show?"
"I... I don't watch TV often, but I do like... umm... I recently saw a show where they helped people with their love lives... Lovetalk? It was okay..."

Miss Planner patted Erica on the back and slowly released her from the hug. She looked at her and smiled. Nikki was getting sick of this and started loudly tapping her feet. This was taking forever and she wanted to go hang out with her friends already.

"Now I'm going to tell you a very, very special secret, Erica. I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone else about it. Not Alex, not Maxwell, not even the Sages. Promise?"
"I promise!"

"Good. Nikki, come over here and take off your shirt."
"What? You can't be serious."
"Just do it, please."

Nikki sighed and slid off her shirt. She tossed it aside, then unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor, covering herself with her hands. Miss Planner squatted down and pressed a hidden button on Nikki's back. Her chest compartment swung open, revealing a nest of wires and metal boxes. Erica gasped.

"Miss Planner, wha-wha-what's going on? Nikki's a... Nikki's a... a robot?"
"Not a robot, Erica. A psychic puppet. She has a human soul, but an artificial body. She's made of steel and plastic and ceramic parts, but she's just as real a person as you or me. She's got feelings, she's got thoughts, she's got a life. She's not a robot. Do you understand?"

"I... yes... but who is she? I mean, what is she?"
"She's a person. That's all she is. But her body is a little special. I made it to contain her soul after she was stabbed in the heart by a drug dealer and left for dead. And she's not the only one of her kind. Milly's a puppet too, and Black Wolf, and several others. You can put your clothes back on, Nikki. Thank you for indulging me."

Nikki sat down and began to re-fasten her bra.

"You didn't tell me I'd be doing a strip show in here. You little creep. I'm going to report you to the Elders."
"Oh, stuff it, you... puppet. Stop complaining. I'll make it up to you. I promise. I'll give you some extra spending money or something."

"You're disgusting. You know that?"
"I don't care. Stop being such a baby."

Erica watched the two of them argue and wondered why she ever thought Miss Planner was nice. She didn't understand any of this. She felt a sudden urge to run away and hide.