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Bitter

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The Girl With N...
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Bitter

This is the longest fan-fiction I've ever written, and also the first one I tried to do seriously. With that said, if you have any critiques, I'd really appreciate them. Still, I hope you enjoy it...

 

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Tachyon's fist pounded against the mirror to no effect. She knew as a scientist that converting matter into a mere reflection was a physical impossibility, but the illusion was so strong that even she was beginning to doubt it was all just a trick.

 

In the hall of mirrors, Glamour stared back at her from the other side of the glass. As always, her mask left her face totally blank. There was nothing for Tachyon to read - no way to guess what was going through the magician's mind. Once more, she hammered away at the glass.

 

"Damn it, Glamour!" she cursed. "Let me out of here!" Even as she spoke, she realised how stupid a thing that was to say. No self-respecting supervillain would ever trap a member of the Freedom Five and then casually let them go. It was, therefore, a bit of a shock when Glamour actually replied. 

 

"Once upon a time..."

 

Glamour paused. Her eerie singsong voice, Tachyon noticed, was quavering ever so slightly, as if just talking was an emotional experience. The villain took a deep breath and started again. 

 

"Once upon a time, there was a hero. She belonged to a team of heroes they called the Freedom Four; later, the Freedom Five, but that's besides the point. This hero spent time with some of the greatest heroes the world had ever known. Every day, she counted her blessings, looking forward to a fun adventure with her best friends. Her... only friends. 

 

"But one day, she couldn't make it to her team's meeting. Life, as it so often does, had thrown her a curveball. 'It's no problem,' she thought. 'My friends will come for me soon.'" Glamour leaned forward, almost pressing her face into the glass as she glowered at Tachyon.

 

"They never did."

 

"As it turns out," she continued, backing away to pick up something outside the speedster's point of view, "her friends didn't much care that she was gone, because they had someone to take her place. And all the former hero could do..."

 

Glamour revealed the remote she'd picked up to Tachyon, pushing a button. To the superhero's surprise, every mirror behind the illusionist flickered before displaying a news channel. Each one was tuned to a different station, but all showed the Freedom Five in battle. 

 

"...was watch, as the people she thought loved her and cared about her went on, barely noticing she wasn't there."

 

Tossing the remote to one side, Glamour pressed against the mirror. Her hands trembled in what Tachyon could only guess was rage. 

 

"Do you know... who that hero is?"

 

Tachyon looked to one side.

 

"Please..." Glamour urged, almost sounding like she was begging, "tell me you know..."

 

"...I don't know." It wasn't the answer Tachyon wanted to give, but it was the truth. She swore she heard Glamour sigh as she stepped back from the glass. The supervillain seemed to take a moment to collect herself before she once more locked her eyes on Tachyon. A ripple spread across Glamour's body, and to her horror, Tachyon found herself staring at a mirror image of herself. It smirked cruelly.

 

"The answer... is you."

 

In what looked like a burst of speed, Glamour vanished, leaving Tachyon alone in the hall of mirrors. 

Phantom5613
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Good work. I could easily imagine this conversation taking place in the comics somewhere. This scene is based on the incapacitated side of Tachyon's foil card, correct?

The Girl With N...
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Yes, that's right. The scene with Glamour in the hall of mirrors. 

liarliar
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That was really cool! I like the way you played with expectations, it’s fun.

The Girl With N...
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In my mind, this was like Glamour's last-ditch attempt at redemption. So she actually was describing herself for the majority of the time, genuinely hoping Tachyon knew who she was. As soon as she admitted she didn't, Glamour went through with her plan. 

 

It doesn't fit at all with Aislin murdering the previous Glamour, since by that point she's clearly pretty far gone, but I thought it could be interesting anyway.