A sudden clarity returned to Greg, and his eyes snapped open. 

"Welcome back," said the guy on the other side of the glass.  

The strange man had blonde hair and tanned skin with a pair of rectangular glasses. His outfit was a simple set of slacks and a white button-up. He stood there with his arms casually crossed with an infuriatingly smug smirk. Greg tried to back away, but his body refused to respond to his commands.

"About time he woke up." Stepping into sight was a blond woman that Greg instantly recognized.    

"You!" He wasn't sure if he wanted to jump up in anger or run in fear. 

Lisa Gordon tapped on the glass before looking at the unknown man beside her. 

"We didn't really need this level of containment. He's not going anywhere." She threw Greg a dismissive look. 

Fury bubbled up from the pit of Greg's stomach, but it chilled into terror when he glanced down, searching for what restricted his movement so much. It was rather simple. He couldn't feel his body because he didn't have one. 

"What did you do to me!" His voice started strong before trembling in fear. Suspicions and dark rumors had always circled a few of the Science Council members, but he didn't think one of them would mutilate him.

"You've been arrested." The man's simple answer was enough for Greg's anger to overpower the fear. 

"My body! Where is my body!" Greg screamed. 

When the man refused to respond, he ground his teeth so hard that it was surprising they hadn't shattered from the force.

"You've been disarmed for the interrogation." The man finally answered. "You're powers are too dangerous." 

Greg wanted to scream that he couldn't do anything through glass. There was no need to chop off his head. Instead, he said the one thing Jonathan told him to say if he was ever caught. 

"I don't know nothin', and I'm not saying nothin'." He closed his mouth tight after that. A small amount of delight filled him when he noticed the man's annoyance.

"We have you dead to rights. You were producing drugs for the Snow Gang in that abandoned building. Give us something we can use, and things could end up falling in your favor." He let that hang in the air while waiting for a response.  

The offer was tempting. Greg knew he was of critical importance to the Snow brothers. Their drug operations relied on him providing the product, but he doubted they'd go to war with the Science Council to save him.

His captor could see the indecision on Greg's face. That smug smile returned along with a look of absolute confidence. There was only one way Greg could respond. 

"I don't know nothin', and I'm not saying nothin'." He finished with his victorious smile. 

"He's clamming up again. This one's a bust, Morgan." Lisa spoke while glancing at Greg. 

"You're right. Let's start over." He sounded tired. "You're dismissed."

Greg was ready to scoff at the dismissal and ask where the man expected him to go. He didn't get the chance before blinking out of existence. 

~

"That approach didn't work. I knew it would feel too confrontational." I turned to Jeanie, letting my shoulders slump in relaxation.

"He's the minion of a minor villain." She shrugged, "I thought a calm and arrogant approach might make him fall in line." 

This was the second time I had summoned the head of the Alchemist. The main drug producer of the Snow Gang had to be holding on to a few secrets. Base locations, super membership, or anything that could help catch them. I was lucky enough to get my hands on him during my first day in the city, giving me access to his limbs and powers. 

I looked at the glass cell in thought. This was all stage dressing to make this super think he'd been captured. Normally, I wouldn't summon a person's head. Their mind typically blocked my powers from controlling them. It always felt a little morbid doing this, so I often ignored it as an option.  

"Good cop, bad cop doesn't work. Bad cop, bad cop doesn't work. Guess we could try good cop, good cop?" Jeanie questioningly looked my way. 

I shook my head in denial. "He doesn't want to talk about his gang. Let me try solo for this next one."

Jeanie moved to the opposite side of the cell to stay out of sight. After the first two attempts, it was easy to see her presence set him off. Intentionally taunting him didn't help, but seeing her ignited the fury. 

Preparing to summon the Alchemist's head, my posture straightened up. Reaching out, I pulled his head into existence from the recording stored inside me. His memories would only go up to the moment I first touched him, but that would be plenty.

"Good to see you're awake. We weren't sure that would be possible in your condition." I lied to the Alchemist. 

His eyes snapped open, and I could feel the commands his brain tried sending to his absent body. 

"Where am I?" His panic was slow at first until he glanced down.

"My body! Where is my body!" He screamed. 

A raised hand caught his attention. I tried to keep my body language passive without showing any signs of aggression. 

"Take a moment to breath. In and out." I said while placing my hand on my chest. 

Luckily, he failed to consider his lack of functioning lungs or question how he could even breathe. After a few minutes of following my instructions, he somewhat calmed down. 

"You were heavily injured while being brought in by Pawn." I injected a hint of sympathy into my voice. 

"Injured! I'm just a head! This is far beyond injured!" His anger was beginning to replace the panic that had sprung back up.

"This is only temporary. We have a super coming to repair all the damage done to your body." I lied to placate the man.

Knowing that his present condition was only temporary must have significantly eased his concerns. I watched his face slacken in relief.

"My name's Morgan." I introduced myself and waited for a response. 

He looked haggard. His tousled dirty blonde hair framed his unshaven face, his cheeks slightly sunken. I wasn't sure if he was addicted to any drugs outside of the ones he produced, but I wouldn't be surprised. 

Since he never responded to my introduction, I decided to move on.

"Could you please tell me the last thing you remember?" Finishing up my question, I watched him carefully for a reaction. 

"Nothing. I was asleep, then woke up here." He unconvincingly lied.

"Do you remember where you were sleeping? It's important to check if your memory has been affected. We need to watch for signs of brain damage. But since we don't know much about you, your capture is the only way for us to get information." Explaining the fake scenario allowed me to reveal how little we supposedly knew.

He thought over his response for a while. While The Alchemist couldn't avoid serving some time in prison, a low-ranking member of the gang might be able to negotiate a deal. At the very least, this could buy him some time to get healed and escape. It couldn't hurt to give out information they likely already had. 

"I was asleep in the collection house." He shut his mouth before saying anything else. It wasn't much, but he let something slip. 

"A collection house? What are you collecting?" I questioned.    

"I don't know. That's just what they call it." He tried to push past it without giving a real answer, but I wasn't going to let him. 

"You need to be honest with me." I could see the anger building in his eyes again. He chose to blame me instead of taking responsibility for the mistake he made. I became the perfect target for his misplaced anger.  

"I don't need to tell you anything!" He glared at me, now fully consumed by his rage.

The Alchemist had a very dark power. He could create a powder that, when consumed, could temporarily grant you certain capabilities. This substance couldn't come from thin air. His ability allowed him to convert one very specific ingredient into power powder.  

"You were collecting people, weren't you." The slightest bit of heat found its way into my voice. 

It was obvious this interrogation was another bust, but I couldn't let it go yet. 

"You were luring in the helpless and murdering them!" My fist slammed against the glass wall.  

His power required human body parts to create the drugs. I found that "collection house" by looking for a shelter. There was no telling how many others died under the same pretenses. 

By this point, he had calmed down but realized I wasn't there to help him. Thoughts of all the people who had to die to fill a warehouse with his drugs had me utilize something I swore to never use again. 

"Tell me the truth!" I screamed.

His face scrunched up in pain as I pushed my control over him. When I summon a person's brain, their mind comes with it. I have absolute control of any limb I recreate except the personality that comes with the brain. When I try to push my control over their minds, they end up in excruciating pain, attempting to fight me off.

"Yes! I-I need them! M-My power requires s-sacrifice!" He struggled against each word that slipped from his mouth but only managed a slight stutter.

Without letting up, I pushed harder. I needed more answers.

"Tell me about the gang! Where can I find your boss!" I yelled. 

"H-He's in a pocket dimension." He groaned in pain after spitting out a sentence. 

"How do I get to him?" I asked hurriedly.

A headache was beginning to cloud my mind. Continuing to push him for too long could end up seriously hurting me. I'd never gotten to this point before and was unwilling to test it. 

"T-The d-doors! T-They o-only o-open f-for o-o-one o-of u-us." A nosebleed poured down his face as his speech got worse. 

Those doors made of random junk came to mind. It was surprising to learn this gang had their own warped space, but it was the perfect base. If only they could use the doors to get in, then it had a near-absolute defense.      

The connection was fraying as I felt his brain dying. My headache had intensified to a level where I could hardly think, but there was one more thing I needed to ask. 

"Is the leader of Pawn involved? What's Henry's connection to your gang?" I forced it out past the pounding in my head.

"H-He's b-basically d-dead! O-One o-of t-them!" That was the last thing to make it out of his mouth before the manifestation completely vanished from taking too much damage. 

I tried looking at Jeanie, but instead, the ceiling came into view as I toppled to the floor, shadows creeping in and my vision narrowing to a pinprick as I felt my consciousness slipping away. 

 

Authors Note:

 

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