Mr Mirage/Dreams and Destiny
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Dreams and Destiny
Paragon City, RI. Seven Years Ago
The Morway Theater was filled with anticipation as Lucius McCoy took to the stage. He had been touring the country taking his magic show from city to city. Many of his fans flocked to Paragon City to catch his next stop including Jocelyn Powers. She made her parents buy their tickets in advance, and Joss had been counting down the days. When the night came, she dolled herself up and dragged her parents Thomas and Evelyn Powers to the show.
"Welcome one and all to this magical evening," Lucius greeted. "For my first act, I would like two volunteers from the audience." Lucius scanned the crowd and pointed to her father. You, sir. How about you and your beautiful wife come and join me on the stage?"
Thomas was reluctant at first, but Jocelyn insisted, "Come on, Daddy. Go for me, please." Thomas looked to his wife who only smiled in return. By this time the crowd began chanting for them.
"Alright, sweetie," Thomas replied realizing the number of popularity votes he would receive for his stage appearance. It would be just the push he would need for when he ran for mayor next year. He glanced back to his daughter as he reached the aisle. "I love you, Princess," he announced bringing a large smile to her face. The crowd burst into a loud roar as Thomas took his wife's hand and escorted her to the stage.
As the couple made their way onto the stage, Lucius addressed the audience, "My first feat of the evening will be to make our lovely volunteers disappear." Lucius walked behind Thomas and Evelyn and stood behind them throwing his arms around their shoulders. Lucius looked straight into Jocelyn's eyes and told her, "You have nothing to worry about."
Jocelyn began to squirm in her seat. The way he looked at her was creepy. She watched as Lucius walked away from her parents. He turned to Jocelyn again and explained to her, Now when I say the magic word, I will make them disappear."
Jocelyn watched her parents on stage smiling and having the times of their lives. She felt something was terribly wrong. She wanted to warn them, but she could not move from her seat nor open her mouth. Evelyn saw her daughter trying to signal them but ignored the warning with a friendly wave in return.
Now without further ado, Lucius replied. "Abracadabra!" In a flash her parents' happiness was replaced by blank stares. Their flush cheeks were now pale. Thomas and Evelyn both placed pistols in their mouths and slowly pulled the triggers.
"Noooooooo!" Jocelyn screamed escaping from the nightmare as she sat up in bed.
Present Day
Jocelyn Powers left the Eternals' makeshift base in Skyway. She felt a walk would do her some good. She needed rest due to the current threat facing the Eternals, but she couldn't get back to sleep. She wandered the streets until she came across a late night diner. As she walked through the front door she was greeted with a familiar face. Eden Sparks sat at a nearby booth dwelling over a late night cup of coffee. Eden too was surprised seeing Jocelyn in the doorway. Eden was unaccustomed to seeing Lady Cardinal out of uniform, but offered her to share her booth if she needed company. Jocelyn accepted. The waitress greeted her, "Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"Sure,"Jocelyn replied as the waitress fetched her a cup.
The waitress returned with her coffee and was off again. Eden watched as Jocelyn poured a couple of packets of sugar and cream into her coffee as her mind was off somewhere else. Eden thought Jocelyn looked a bit fatigued and decided to ask, "Can't sleep either?"
Jocelyn only shook her head as she took a sip from her cup. Her unsettling look gave Eden chills. She had never seen her so undone. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence until Eden decided to break it, "I just had the strangest dream. Well, nightmare really," Eden began noticing Jocelyn not taking any interest. She continued anyway, "I was chained to a wall of this castle. I watched as this woman slowly killed Mr. Mirage. Funny thing is that I have only seen this woman once and it was in a picture of her and Mirage. Isn't that strange?"
"Not at all," replied Jocelyn. "The fact that you were bound meant you found yourself in a situation that you could not control. Seeing this woman killing him only means that you disapprove of this woman as a match for him. You know? You should really tell him how you feel for him. I met him yesterday. He seems very charming."
"Thank you, Dr. Phil," Eden replied taking offense. Eden never told anyone how she felt for Simon Caine. She found it not to be anyone's business. She quickly tried to change the subject. "And what about you? What nightmares does the great Lady Cardinal have?" she asked and muttered sarcastically over the tip of her coffee mug, if any."
"My nightmares are the same as they have been for the past nine years," Jocelyn began. She sighed deeply to ease the pain of her past. "My parents were murdered when I was fifteen."
Eden paused at the news. She was never any good at sharing condolences. She never knew what to say or how to react around others who have experienced loss. She tried her best, "Is that why you joined the CIA? To seek closure?"
Jocelyn continued her story ignoring Eden's attempts of conversation, "My parents and I went to see Lucius McCoy perform at the Morway Theater. He called upon them to volunteer for one of his acts. He made them disappear. I never felt so much emotion at once. I was in awe that they actually disappeared and scared because I did not know if they could come back. The man next to me told me I had nothing to worry about, and I didn't. Lucius brought them back. However something was different about them. They were emotionless as if they weren't at all there. Even on the way home they were quiet. I didn't want to say anything to them because I thought they were upset with me. When we got home, they tucked me in and my father told me he loved me. But something was still wrong with them. I managed to finally make myself forget about their odd behavior and go to bed. Then next thing I remembered was waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of gunfire. I ran out of bed and into my parents' room to find that they had committed double suicide."
Eden was confused, "I thought you said they were murdered." Eden realized that maybe she was out of line and probably could have asked in a different way. Embarrassed she recovered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's ok," Jocelyn interrupted. "That's what everyone told me when I accused Lucius the first time. I kept telling them that they were under the influence of some spell he cast on them. The police brought him in for questioning. However they found no evidence that would convict him for his crime. The press caught wind of it and had a field day. Lucius' career was over and he fled under the pressure. No one knew where he disappeared to."
"And you still hunt him, don't you?" Eden asked. But do you really think it will bring you to a place where you can find any retribution?"
Jocelyn snapped at Eden, "Retribution will come swiftly where I am going."
Jocelyn Powers needed to escape. Her conversation with Eden had left her feeling suffocated and she needed to be alone. She didn't think that opening up to someone about her past would leave her feeling worse. For the first time she felt wrong for wanting vengeance. She took the tram to King's Row to get away from everyone. However her conversation with Eden echoed through her mind like the thunder beginning to roll in throughout the night sky.
"You're the best damned agent I know. You chose this life because of your parents' deaths," Eden had told her.
The rain began to trickle down on the city. A few drops landed on her face trying to wake her from her determined state. Jocelyn continued her journey into the night into the King Garment District. From the distance she heard the sound of men talking. As she grew closer, she could hear them devise a plan to break into the storage facility. By the sound of it, there were three men. She peered around the corner to assess the situation. By the way they were dressed, they were Skulls. There was no mistaking their skull shaped masks. The youngest of the three was holding a flashlight to the garage door which the other two men were trying to open with a crowbar. She needed to make this quick.
"You have a knack for your job, Joss. It was almost like you were destined for it," Eden continued.
The rain began to come down harder now. Jocelyn stood in clear sight of the Skulls. Their flashlight glared her in the face. One of the Skulls whistled as the other one walked towards her. She was soaked. Her wet clothes stuck to her body revealing every curve. Well, boys, I think we just hit jackpot," the Skull replied as he walked around her caressing her cheek on the way back around. He leaned in close and whispered, "It's past your bedtime, ain't it, sweetie? I think all the capes are asleep about now. Who's goin' rescue you when you scream?"
"I think the real question is," Jocelyn tightened her fists and sneered, "who is going to save you when you do." She burst into the air dropkicking the Skull at her side. The younger dropped the flashlight and ran in a panic. The flashlight rolled around on the wet concrete and finally stopped revealing the third man aiming a pistol at her chest. He pulled the trigger just as Jocelyn pulled his friend close to her. His body stopped the bullet just as a second gunshot echoed through the air. The Skull with the pistol dropped to his knees and saw that Jocelyn had pulled his friend's 9mm. His eyes became lifeless as he focused in on the smoking barrel.
She tucked the Skull's pistol in the back of jeans and walked to the garage door. She pulled the key from her pocket and lifted the door just high enough to duck under it.
"So what happens when you finally catch this McCoy guy?" Eden asked. "Will it end? Will you be able to sleep at night?"
The door landed shut with a loud crash as Jocelyn flipped on a few fluorescent lights overhead. Walls were covered with automatic rifles and shotguns. Other walls were decorated with an assortment of mounted pistols. This was her arsenal. Her sanctuary. Her home. She opened a large steel drawer underneath and tossed the 9 mm in with the rest of the confiscated weapons. She slammed it shut and made her way to the desk at the back of the room. The walls surrounding the desk were filled with marked maps and news clippings from the Paragon Times dating 1996. Her desk was also a collage of files and false leads pertaining to Lucious McCoy. She looked over each one closely. She had a single photo of him. It was blurred as were most of the photos the Times tried to take. It was like he was surrounded by a protective force. She took it and placed it on the wall with a thumbtack. She grabbed a knife of the desk and asked aloud, "What happens when I catch Lucius McCoy?"
She tossed the knife in the air and caught it by the tip. She then sent it flying through the air. The knife pierced through the picture sticking into the wall. She said with a smile, He dies."
