The mime - chapter 2
The act started with what Psychie liked to call a "mission date."
She and Knighthood walked through the city streets, not chasing supervillains or fighting monsters, but stopping small crimes — purse snatchers, robbers, street fights. Normal hero work.
At one point, a robber tried to run past them with a bag of stolen money. Knighthood simply extended his leg slightly, and the man tripped and rolled across the pavement. By the time the police arrived, the robber was already tied up with Psychie's psychic bindings.
One of the officers walked up to Knighthood while taking the robber away.
"Hey, Knighthood," the officer said, "we got reports of a supervillain causing trouble a few blocks from here. You mind taking care of it… your way?"
Knighthood nodded calmly.
As the police left, Psychie looked at him.
"So… we walking, or are we finally acting like normal people and calling a taxi?"
Knighthood thought for a moment.
"Taxi," he said.
Psychie smiled. "Progress."
Knighthood pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
A few minutes later, instead of a taxi, a golden pathway opened on the street, and Road Ranger walked out of it, looking confused.
"You called me," Road Ranger said. "What do you want?"
"We need a ride," Psychie said.
Road Ranger stared at them.
"You called me… as a taxi?"
Knighthood nodded.
"To the villain problem."
Road Ranger sighed, but opened another golden path.
"Get in."
They walked through the glowing path and emerged on a different street, where a strange figure stood in the middle of the road.
It was the Mimie.
Road Ranger looked at him and said flatly,
"Oh. It's the Mimie. Wow. Scary."
Psychie facepalmed.
Knighthood looked at Road Ranger.
"What does he even do?"
Road Ranger shrugged.
"My theory? He turns his brain waves into physical momentum or constructs. Something like that."
Then he turned around.
"Anyway, not my problem. I'm going back to the Castle."
And he walked back into a golden path and disappeared.
Psychie and Knighthood looked back at the Mimie.
The Mimie started moving in a circle around them, hands stretched out like he was touching invisible walls. He pressed his palms forward slowly, as if pushing something heavy.
Psychie immediately formed psychic blades in her hands.
"Can I kill him?"
Knighthood shook his head.
"Let's wait and see."
Psychie squinted at the Mimie, then sighed.
"It's obvious. Invisible wall. Have you never seen a mime before?"
Knighthood shook his head.
"I'm from Iraq. If we have those, they're just clowns."
Psychie paused, then nodded.
"Fair enough."
Knighthood brought his arms together and charged forward, slamming into the invisible wall. The wall shattered like glass under the impact.
Normally that shouldn't have been possible — the Mimie's constructs were mental and subconscious. But even the Mimie's subconscious believed Knighthood could break it, and that belief weakened the wall.
The Mimie made a strange motion, as if holding a sword, and swung it through the air. The motion itself became a destructive force wave flying toward Psychie.
Psychie formed psychic blades and threw them forward while Knighthood rushed in, slamming his shoulder into the Mimie and smashing him into a wall.
Another invisible strike came toward Psychie, but Knighthood stepped in front of it and took the hit with his ultimate defense — perseveration. The force shattered around him.
The Mimie quickly formed the motion of driving a car — and suddenly a physical car construct appeared. He jumped into it and tried to escape.
Psychie laughed and formed a psychic dagger, throwing it at him. The dagger hit, and the Mimie became visibly angry, trying to run them over.
Knighthood simply stepped forward and stomped the front of the car into the ground, stopping it completely.
The Mimie jumped out and tried to punch Knighthood, but Knighthood just extended his arm and held the Mimie's entire face back with one hand, completely stopping him.
With his other hand, Knighthood pulled out his phone and opened Meet-A-Hero, then video-called Supergirl.
"Hey," Knighthood said as the camera turned on.
"I think you forgot your nemesis rampaging around my city."
Supergirl appeared on screen, raising an eyebrow. Then she flipped the camera to show she was sitting in a nail salon.
"As you can see," she said casually, "I'm busy doing my nail polish. I'm sure he can understand. And you can understand too — just take care of him until I'm done."
Knighthood looked at the Mimie, who was still trying to punch him but couldn't reach past his arm.
Supergirl added,
"For your information, he's silent because he literally can't speak. Try not to intimidate him."
Knighthood looked down at the Mimie, who was currently being held in the air by his face.
Psychie started laughing
Later that day, Knighthood and Psychie took the Mimie with them to a nearby café — a familiar place. Flameboy usually sat there, and the café cashier, Sara, was Knighthood's childhood friend.
No one in the café was surprised to see two superheroes sitting with a rogue villain. The café was famous for this kind of thing — heroes sitting, villains visiting just to drink coffee, or people coming to take pictures with Flameboy when he was around.
Sara brought them tea, then looked at the Mimie, who seemed angry and was making motions like someone struggling against a rope.
She blinked.
"…Is that normal?"
Psychie nodded calmly.
"Wait a bit."
She reached over and pulled out the psychic dagger that was still stuck in the Mimie's body. As soon as she removed it, the Mimie's anger disappeared immediately, and he relaxed.
Sara looked even more confused now.
Knighthood gestured to the empty chair.
"Sit with us."
Sara asked her boss — her dad — and he agreed immediately. After all, this café had hosted much stranger meetings.
She sat down, and Knighthood asked,
"How's your college?"
She shrugged.
"It's fine, I guess."
Knighthood nodded.
"Just so you know, I recommended Flameboy to join the same college. Expect it any day."
She smirked slightly.
"I guess if we can't return the past, we can build a new one."
She stood up happily and went back to the counter.
Knighthood then looked back at the Mimie. They tried speaking to him, but he only responded with hand signals and motions. They had no idea what he was trying to say, so Psychie suggested something.
"Let's play a guessing game," she said.
The Mimie immediately seemed interested. Finally, someone was playing his game.
They gave him a piece of paper so he could write, but he immediately ripped it apart, clearly not liking the idea.
Knighthood watched carefully and then seemed to understand something.
He leaned forward slightly.
"Raise your hand if I'm correct," he said.
"Your inability to speak comes from your superpower DNA — it's part of your power's function. And now you hate writing or drawing because people used to mock you for it."
The Mimie slowly raised his hand.
Psychie smiled.
"I'm proud of you. You did a smart thing again."
Knighthood ignored the compliment and continued.
"Raise your hand if this is correct," he said again.
"You become a villain mostly because people don't understand you."
The Mimie raised his hand again.
Psychie leaned back in her chair.
"Ooooooh… that's actually sad."
Knighthood looked directly at the Mimie.
"Do what suits you," he said calmly.
"I won't force you to be good. But if you cause problems on my ground… I will trouble you."
The Mimie nodded. He understood that wasn't just a threat — it was also a form of respect.
A few minutes later, the café door opened, and Supergirl walked in with Flameboy.
The atmosphere immediately became a bit awkward between Knighthood and Flameboy. Flameboy still believed Knighthood hadn't fully forgiven him.
Psychie noticed the tension, formed a small psychic dagger, and threw it into Flameboy's shoulder — not to hurt him, but to force the situation.
"Talk," she said calmly.
Flameboy looked at Knighthood.
"…Thank you," he said quietly.
Knighthood nodded once.
"That's enough."
Supergirl then grabbed the Mimie by the shoulder.
"Come on," she said. "Your villain vacation is over."
The Mimie waved goodbye to Knighthood and Psychie before leaving with them.
Knighthood finished his tea like nothing unusual had happened.