The Mask Maker

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"Alright, if three's a crowd, what does this group of two criminals, a police officer, and a suddenly violent victim make?" she asked, taking her arm off the robber. "You can go. Don't worry officer, he's walking himself right down to the nearest station to turn himself in."

Morai was true to her word. She kept her hold on the man as he walked in the right direction. The businesswoman, who was dressed in a pantsuit, was relentlessly attacking the officer. Her heels had come off after she threw the first attack. 

"Stop this right now!" he commanded, avoiding and deflecting every strike he could without striking her in return. 

"Oh no, I'm having too much fun. She was a useless victim before, but now she's a skilled martial artist," The Mask Maker said, mimicking the hand and finger movements of a puppeteer. "Not to mention the pickle you're now in. She's committing a crime at this very moment, but she has no free will and her mind is mine. You're not detaining her without a fight, which will warrant a lot of force on your part, and you don't want to do that to an innocent citizen. What will you do?"

The officer took several big steps forward and charged Morai, but she smiled and waved as his unwilling opponent came up behind him. She jumped up and climbed onto his back, hooking her legs around his waist and putting him in a rear choke. The Mask Maker watched as he struggled to break free until he lost consciousness, then she released her hold on the woman as she fell to the ground with him. She groggily opened her eyes and rubbed her head.

"Look what you just did!" Morai said excitedly as she clapped. "Isn't that cool?"

"What?" the woman groaned. She looked around, and her eyes widened with shock. Her own body was hurting from what it had been forced to do, and she pieced together what had happened with the officer. She gasped and held a bruised hand up to her mouth. 

"Now, now," Morai said, walking to her and offering her a hand. She took it and stood up, as if Morai had slightly pushed her to without taking full control of her mind. "Look on the bright side! You got to commit a crime and you'll suffer no punishment for it! I'm glad I won't end up like you, being preyed upon by people stronger than me. Perhaps this can be the catalyst for—"

Morai was smacked across the side of the face hard with a baton. She had neglected to make sure she had control of the police officer. Her hold on him was broken when he was knocked out, and she forgot to look him in the eyes again. She stumbled backward and leaned against the wall for support. Her mask had fallen off her face. 

"I think it's time I intervene," a Team Rocket grunt whispered into her earpiece. She was watching from above without Morai's knowledge. 

"No, she's been hit before," a voice replied in her ear. "Wait a bit and see what happens."

The woman, battered and shaken, made a run for it. She was blurry in Morai's eyes, and Morai was too disoriented to make her come back. The police officer called for backup and charged her, but Morai moved. 

"You've ruined my fun," she said. She didn't feel very well, and it wasn't because of getting hit. She felt nauseous and weak. "Look me in the eyes and end this fight while you still can." 

She and the man exchanged attacks, and it was clear that he was biding his time until his backup arrived. Morai found openings in his moves and clawed every area he left unguarded, but when she tried to rush in to get too close for him to strike, she was struck hard across the jaw again with the baton. This hit sent everything spinning into darkness and she fell backward

Morai heard a cry of pain from a voice not unlike her own, but she saw nothing. She could only hear, and what she was hearing wasn't from the world she was just in.