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Description

Tiny seeds, held aloft by fluffy strands unfurled around them like a dress, floated through the restaurant, completely beneath the notice of its clientele. They drifted on the restrained indoor wind of the air conditioning, completely aimless. But still enough movement to give Vine a good view of the surroundings.

The main body of the dandelion plant was tucked below the waist of her jeans, its slightly sticky stem always in contact with her dark skin. Through that connection, she was able to focus her senses, and send a small part of them into the plant's seeds, which were still connected to the body metaphysically in a way that La Profesora had been adamant would not work when Vine had first suggested the idea. Well, now it was just another piece of evidence for who the real brains of their sometimes-partnership was!

Which is why Vine was confident she was making the right move coming to the restaurant.

It was almost certainly a trap. She was prepared for that as she could be. But her resolve was solid. Someone had to do this.

It was the heroic thing to do.

Still, it wasn't as if she would go in without precautions. Using her seeds, she viewed Hardrade's minion from every angle except directly in the eyes. Goodness knew she had fallen for the old hypnotic gaze one too many times. And a fraction of her brain remained ready to send her hearing, smell, and any other necessary sense inside the dandelion stem if she suspected any sort of mental manipulation.

And so it was that Vine was sat, palpably underdressed but for her (borrowed) gilded handbag, by the window of a Canary Wharf restaurant. Behind her already-half-necked glass of the house white sat a blonde-haired man in an obviously expensive suit. His posture and his smirk were both those of a man who believed he was in complete control of the situation. To be fair, he kind of did, but she had already called in her favours to get this meeting set up, she had no choice but to attempt to negotiate now.

Leif was a strong believer that one made ones own luck, by seizing opportunities, keeping an open mind, all of that stuff. It's how he had become a senior manager at Stamford and a right hand man to the Boss himself.

But today, the lady was so obviously on his side that there was no need for any of that clever stuff. A known hostile metahuman, with powers that would be obviously synergistic to the organisation, had opened communications with them. And it was all because she had followed a video that was such obvious bait it was clear she had actually been affected by the subliminals that Ironside had got some contractor to non-traceably add to the video.

So, rather than anything fancy, Leif relaxed and let his power take over. The lights of the restaurant seemed to reflect in gold droplets as his vision blurred. He let the mist come in to his thoughts, as the Boss had taught him to do to great effect, and allowed his cognition to ascend.

Floating in the golden mist, he knew by instinct exactly what he had to say in that moment. His arms reflexively moved to match her own half-guarded stance, an instinctual an effective mirror of body language. His mouth curved precisely, guided by the lady's tiny pulls, and when his mouth opened, he said simply the first thing that came to his head.

After all, his Luck made sure it would be the right thing.

"Look, I know this is weird for both of us, but you've done the right thing. I'm Leif, from Stamford. And you are?" His muscles tickled and he raised his hand in response, a friendly gesture at the time the woman sat across from him needed to see it most...

"Naz." She shook his hand, and somehow the way he gripped her - not at all overbearing, maybe even welcoming - put her even more at ease. "From... erm... Well, I'm working alone today. You know me as Vine, I'm sure. I must have done something to end up on your records."

She giggled with nerves, but not embarrassment. She hadn't even realised she had responded with her real name out of basic British politeness. Her brain was in too many other places at once.

For one thing, this restaurant had at least three more men than average in it who were barely eating and were built like brick shithouses. Any one of them, maybe even two or three if she played it smart, she could take down. But she didn't have anything but her smallest gadgets, and a whole half-dozen of them could easily take her down if she tried anything.

It was okay, though. She forced herself to turn her nervous energy into a genuine, diplomatic smile. She wasn't here to fight. She was here to do what had to be done.

"Let's cut to the chase then, Naz." The blonde man said. His stare was intense even when viewed from a side angle, but Vine could hardly fault him on his approach. He probably wanted this to be over, he wasn't many metahuman she'd heard about on MI6's files, so he was probably a normie who was a bit out of his depth. He gave that impression, at least, his bravado was endearing, but it was clear to her from his voice there were nerves there. That was good, she didn't like this whole situation either.

His security weren't the only weird men about though. In an opposite corner, almost in shadows on a two-person table, a scrawny lad who was clearly barely an adult picked at a mushroom risotto. He wore trackies and a two-years-out-of-fashion street jacket. But he also didn't take his eyes off herself and the Leif fellow. And Vine was sure she recognised him from somewhere.

But it wasn't like she could just get up and ask. And the Stamford goon squad would probably take care of him before he could do anything weird.

So she took a final swig of her wine and launched her pitch.

"Look, I know you guys have Spectrum." It took a moment for his eyes to widen in shock, as if he needed to process the information. They were the ones who leaked the video though! "And I'm making a sacrifice here. Me for her. She's way more important than me in the grand scheme, but I know you guys care about stuff closer to home. So that's the deal. You let her go, I do work for you. Share intel."

Well, she had finally said it. She blushed under the thin man's even, evaluating gaze. Vine wasn't remotely arrogant enough to think she was a worthy trade for Spectrum. Heck, the one signed piece of Spectrum merch she had from a meet-and-greet at the Polaris tour was one of her most treasured possessions! She looked up to the Electromagnetic Girl. And while Vine was nowhere near her on power level, in terms of immediate utility to Hardrade and his goons, she was sure she was a decent match.

Yeah, she'd have to throw some of her 'allies' under the bus, but MI6 would probably be able to sort it out.

And it needed to be done. Some people were more important.

It is really difficult to emphasise how hard it is for someone with supernatural power over luck to not be able to believe their own luck.

Leif managed to hit that feeling.

He honestly didn't even have a response. Vine had just given him everything they wanted on a silver platter. All he had to do was play a bit hard-ball, make sure she gave them a bit first, long enough for Spectrum to emerge from wherever she had actually ended up, and then they'd have their own insider.

"Share intel? On who?"

But if she was already offering her services... She could definitely be convinced to give even more, right? The basic principle of negotiation.

"La Profesora, Superia, Edifice, for a start. I know a few heroines across the pond, too, if you wanna expand into other English-speaking territories. Might be able to get some stuff on Kinesis to if we manage to link up..."

Leif wasn't actually listening (though Superia would have been a surprise member of the list if he had been). He had retreated into the fluid embrace of his instincts, looking for the 'nudge' from his senses which would push him towards the answer.

Make strong eye contact. Monopolise her attention. Don't smile so much. Stern, but inviting. Like a teacher... or a certain kind of stage performer

Ahh yes, of course. It's what the Boss would want him to do.

"And how can we be sure what you tell us is true?" He kept his voice even. Slow and calming.

Naz shrugged, and her handbag slid down her arm, revealing the line of her collarbone has it tugged her shirt with it. His power stifled his immediate response, leaving it to brew for later. "I guess the same way anyone does it with this kinda thing? Just verify I'm telling the truth until you trust I'm legit?"

He did have to wonder if she was truly naive or if this was an especially pronounced effect of the bait video.

"And you would do as we ask regarding using you and your powers for surveillance missions?" His muscles shifted as his back straightened slightly, keeping his eyes turned downwards to her. He stared as intently as possible. And as he spoke he saw her own brown orbs finally focus on him.

Just like they were meant to.

"Sure, I'll do what you need once Spectrum's back saving the world." There was no deceit there. Vine was entirely sure that she couldn't get away with feeding them false info. But she was also entirely sure that Agent Birch and maybe even the rest of the gang would realise something's up and rescue her sooner or later.

Leif knew that too, she was sure. He was just a normie, but he was smart and clearly reasonable. He'd make the right call that she could be useful to him, even temporarily.

Yep, she would be useful to him alright.

"Yeah, fine, I'll show I can be trusted. Superia's true identity is Nicoletta Alexiou. She lives somewhere north of the river, one of the nice parts, not sure where."

She heard her own voice say it, but that couldn't be right.

Of course, she'd planned to give them some info to show she was serious. But a secret identity? Of a hero she wasn't a particularly known associate of? That was pretty deep.

But she had said it. So it must have been a good idea. That was the only thing that made sense, it was just her instincts. After all, she wasn't really paying attention.

His strong gaze was too overpowering, obviously.

Vine blinked.

When her eyes reopened, she was still staring into two icy blue pools. The contact, palpable even if entirely non-physical, unnerved her. Made it difficult to think. Which could only mean...

She was being hypnotised. Dammit. She was sure he was a normie, so she'd let her guard down, and now she literally couldn't pull her gaze away from him. She even lifted up her hand to do it, but her chin just ended up resting lazily atop it. Brilliant. Which meant she had to think her way out of it. And her thoughts were remarkably uncooperative, given that they had just slowed down in time with his steady words, coaxing even more information out of her.

"Yeah, so that was actually Mesmero, I think, using La Profesora. She isn't actually onto you, we snapped her out of it around that time, but it was in some R&D place in Oxford I think..."

Great, she was still spilling everything, and she hadn't even got a single guarantee yet from them. Damn low hypnosis resistance! Clearly she had not been the right person for the job.

But she was the only one who was willing to.

In fact, Leif had a point, it really showed her dedication to the international cause that she would give up her very free will to even try to ensure Spectrum's freedom! That made her feel good. He knew exactly how to make her feel good. She felt her neck loosen even more as she collapsed into a slightly-loving gaze up into his strong eyes.

Vine blinked again.

Sooo, that gave her maybe a minute before she was professing her total obedience to this stranger. Again. She had nowhere near the focus required to send her consciousness into the plant, and the threads of thought in the floating seeds could only mentally facepalm at her goofy expression.

She needed some kind of shock.

Before she could pinch herself, a large, pale hand pinned her arm to the table. It was like he knew what she was about to do.

Oh, Mister Leif was sooo smart!

Great, she actually cooed out loud at that.

Maybe if she stabbed her heel into her toes... She lifted one foot, completely invisible under the table. She positioned the point of her inpractically-high shoes, ready to drive it painfully down.

Leif leaned forward, and she reflexively moved back. No, she was being pushed back by the force of his eyes.

It was the right timing, though. She missed, and she knew she was beaten.

How could she fight against that?

So she decided she might as well just do what he said.

Tell him everything about the Firedancer Operation?

"Of course, happy to help! What do you mean 'in return?' I'm doing this because I like you, dummy!"

How could she not? He was really handsome, and so smart. And really kind as well. He waited patiently as she explained everything she could do for him, while was super gentlemanly. Exactly what she liked in a man. Actually, yeah, this guy was so much her type there was no way they hadn't met before.

Yeah, he was right, she liked him because they'd been good friends for ages. He was the one who recruited her to be a double-agent for Hardrade years ago, when she first met Nicoletta and the others. Of course, she'd only not recognised him because he looked sooo much better now. He must have got a makeover, but it really suited him. And his voice was as nice as ever. Naz loved how it always put her at ease. He'd always been there for her, to listen to her worries. So now she'd let him listen to all of her secrets. And if that wasn't enough to satisfy him, she could always show him some more skills...

Hmm, would she be okay with calling him 'Master'? Yeah, it made sense. He'd brought her so deep under hypnosis so easily after all. He knew exactly what buttons he had to push to completely beat her. So she was really proud to be under his control!

So, back to her mission... What was it again...? Oh yeah, she was finally Turning back, and revealing everything she'd found out while pretending to be a superheroine! Who was Spectrum, he asked? Naz had no idea, she only cared about the stuff closer to home after all, on the Boss' ancestral soil.

She didn't need to worry about anything else anymore. It felt so good to be reassured of that by Master. She leaned in to tell him some extra special intel.

The last strand of Vine's consciousness could only sigh in despair as it was pulled back into the whole, as it watched her grasp his one hand in two of her own small grips and pull him closer for a (admittedly quite cute) conspiratorial whisper.

Fungus did not like where this was going.

The white dude clearly had the girl wrapped around his finger. It was kinda sickening to see her nodding along with him. Actually, not just along with him, like, literally in sync. Like she needed to keep eye contact with him.

He hadn't actually seen anything meta-typical happen, but it sure looked like Vine was under some kinda spell.

She looked too happy. Not the 'pleased with herself because she was about to do something stupid' - which he had been fully expecting - but more the 'having a great time with a guy she's been seeing for years' sort of happy. And now she was going in for a kiss?

No, it was even worse, a secret whisper.

He didn't like to do this to a girl, but, to be fair, she was being really stupid.

What the Stamford thugs positioned around the restaurant saw was the mark lean over to their boss, and then suddenly double over in a coughing fit. Then they saw her eyes widen in some kind of realisation, then they saw her slap her own face in obvious frustration. Then they saw her on the ground coughing even more, as if she was choking.

They looked around, and they saw a young man walking towards her. As slim as the superheroine, but with none of the muscle, and with a messy set of dreads rather than brushed back, silky hair.

What they hadn't seen was the food in Vine's mouth being the focus of a metahuman's power, and decay while still in her windpipe, and then blossom into a tiny fungal bloom.

What they, more importantly, didn't see was the same thing happening in their own throats.

They did see the food on their mostly-untouched plates go through the same transformation into formless grey matter and then into plate-sized toadstools. They saw that as they leaned forward to cough. Which meant they breathed in all the paralytic spores those fungi generated.

Leif, for his part, was having a far stranger experience. The hallucinogens the pasta on his tongue had transformed into were combining with his already-extranormal perception. Now he was the one wearing the dopey grin as golden women danced across his vision.

What the other patrons saw was a weird black kid half-run over to a collapsed ethnic woman, apparently pull a mushroom out of her mouth, and then hurriedly escort her outside. They were British, though, so they didn't really do anything about it. One old woman muttered something under her breath.

----

It's my Discord profile picture!!!

To be honest, I feel like this one is a bit clumsy, but I think the hypno is good, using the more traditional 'mundane' strong eye contact (to assert dominance har har) and soothing voice methods. But otherwise I wanted to do a bit more character establishing, show Vine using (and/or planning to use) her powers in creative ways, set up a new ally and villain, all that sorta stuff.

But yeah, this is also the start of the new Vine storyline! She's narrowly escaped enslavement by Britain's own hypno-enterprise (and may soon learn that Spectrum made it out anyway), but who is this man who rescued her? How did he know where to go? Do you really care as long as you get a bit of hypno?

All those questions, and more, will be answered over the upcoming [UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT OF TIME]

Description

Tiny seeds, held aloft by fluffy strands unfurled around them like a dress, floated through the restaurant, completely beneath the notice of its clientele. They drifted on the restrained indoor wind of the air conditioning, completely aimless. But still enough movement to give Vine a good view of the surroundings.

The main body of the dandelion plant was tucked below the waist of her jeans, its slightly sticky stem always in contact with her dark skin. Through that connection, she was able to focus her senses, and send a small part of them into the plant's seeds, which were still connected to the body metaphysically in a way that La Profesora had been adamant would not work when Vine had first suggested the idea. Well, now it was just another piece of evidence for who the real brains of their sometimes-partnership was!

Which is why Vine was confident she was making the right move coming to the restaurant.

It was almost certainly a trap. She was prepared for that as she could be. But her resolve was solid. Someone had to do this.

It was the heroic thing to do.

Still, it wasn't as if she would go in without precautions. Using her seeds, she viewed Hardrade's minion from every angle except directly in the eyes. Goodness knew she had fallen for the old hypnotic gaze one too many times. And a fraction of her brain remained ready to send her hearing, smell, and any other necessary sense inside the dandelion stem if she suspected any sort of mental manipulation.

And so it was that Vine was sat, palpably underdressed but for her (borrowed) gilded handbag, by the window of a Canary Wharf restaurant. Behind her already-half-necked glass of the house white sat a blonde-haired man in an obviously expensive suit. His posture and his smirk were both those of a man who believed he was in complete control of the situation. To be fair, he kind of did, but she had already called in her favours to get this meeting set up, she had no choice but to attempt to negotiate now.

Leif was a strong believer that one made ones own luck, by seizing opportunities, keeping an open mind, all of that stuff. It's how he had become a senior manager at Stamford and a right hand man to the Boss himself.

But today, the lady was so obviously on his side that there was no need for any of that clever stuff. A known hostile metahuman, with powers that would be obviously synergistic to the organisation, had opened communications with them. And it was all because she had followed a video that was such obvious bait it was clear she had actually been affected by the subliminals that Ironside had got some contractor to non-traceably add to the video.

So, rather than anything fancy, Leif relaxed and let his power take over. The lights of the restaurant seemed to reflect in gold droplets as his vision blurred. He let the mist come in to his thoughts, as the Boss had taught him to do to great effect, and allowed his cognition to ascend.

Floating in the golden mist, he knew by instinct exactly what he had to say in that moment. His arms reflexively moved to match her own half-guarded stance, an instinctual an effective mirror of body language. His mouth curved precisely, guided by the lady's tiny pulls, and when his mouth opened, he said simply the first thing that came to his head.

After all, his Luck made sure it would be the right thing.

"Look, I know this is weird for both of us, but you've done the right thing. I'm Leif, from Stamford. And you are?" His muscles tickled and he raised his hand in response, a friendly gesture at the time the woman sat across from him needed to see it most...

"Naz." She shook his hand, and somehow the way he gripped her - not at all overbearing, maybe even welcoming - put her even more at ease. "From... erm... Well, I'm working alone today. You know me as Vine, I'm sure. I must have done something to end up on your records."

She giggled with nerves, but not embarrassment. She hadn't even realised she had responded with her real name out of basic British politeness. Her brain was in too many other places at once.

For one thing, this restaurant had at least three more men than average in it who were barely eating and were built like brick shithouses. Any one of them, maybe even two or three if she played it smart, she could take down. But she didn't have anything but her smallest gadgets, and a whole half-dozen of them could easily take her down if she tried anything.

It was okay, though. She forced herself to turn her nervous energy into a genuine, diplomatic smile. She wasn't here to fight. She was here to do what had to be done.

"Let's cut to the chase then, Naz." The blonde man said. His stare was intense even when viewed from a side angle, but Vine could hardly fault him on his approach. He probably wanted this to be over, he wasn't many metahuman she'd heard about on MI6's files, so he was probably a normie who was a bit out of his depth. He gave that impression, at least, his bravado was endearing, but it was clear to her from his voice there were nerves there. That was good, she didn't like this whole situation either.

His security weren't the only weird men about though. In an opposite corner, almost in shadows on a two-person table, a scrawny lad who was clearly barely an adult picked at a mushroom risotto. He wore trackies and a two-years-out-of-fashion street jacket. But he also didn't take his eyes off herself and the Leif fellow. And Vine was sure she recognised him from somewhere.

But it wasn't like she could just get up and ask. And the Stamford goon squad would probably take care of him before he could do anything weird.

So she took a final swig of her wine and launched her pitch.

"Look, I know you guys have Spectrum." It took a moment for his eyes to widen in shock, as if he needed to process the information. They were the ones who leaked the video though! "And I'm making a sacrifice here. Me for her. She's way more important than me in the grand scheme, but I know you guys care about stuff closer to home. So that's the deal. You let her go, I do work for you. Share intel."

Well, she had finally said it. She blushed under the thin man's even, evaluating gaze. Vine wasn't remotely arrogant enough to think she was a worthy trade for Spectrum. Heck, the one signed piece of Spectrum merch she had from a meet-and-greet at the Polaris tour was one of her most treasured possessions! She looked up to the Electromagnetic Girl. And while Vine was nowhere near her on power level, in terms of immediate utility to Hardrade and his goons, she was sure she was a decent match.

Yeah, she'd have to throw some of her 'allies' under the bus, but MI6 would probably be able to sort it out.

And it needed to be done. Some people were more important.

It is really difficult to emphasise how hard it is for someone with supernatural power over luck to not be able to believe their own luck.

Leif managed to hit that feeling.

He honestly didn't even have a response. Vine had just given him everything they wanted on a silver platter. All he had to do was play a bit hard-ball, make sure she gave them a bit first, long enough for Spectrum to emerge from wherever she had actually ended up, and then they'd have their own insider.

"Share intel? On who?"

But if she was already offering her services... She could definitely be convinced to give even more, right? The basic principle of negotiation.

"La Profesora, Superia, Edifice, for a start. I know a few heroines across the pond, too, if you wanna expand into other English-speaking territories. Might be able to get some stuff on Kinesis to if we manage to link up..."

Leif wasn't actually listening (though Superia would have been a surprise member of the list if he had been). He had retreated into the fluid embrace of his instincts, looking for the 'nudge' from his senses which would push him towards the answer.

Make strong eye contact. Monopolise her attention. Don't smile so much. Stern, but inviting. Like a teacher... or a certain kind of stage performer

Ahh yes, of course. It's what the Boss would want him to do.

"And how can we be sure what you tell us is true?" He kept his voice even. Slow and calming.

Naz shrugged, and her handbag slid down her arm, revealing the line of her collarbone has it tugged her shirt with it. His power stifled his immediate response, leaving it to brew for later. "I guess the same way anyone does it with this kinda thing? Just verify I'm telling the truth until you trust I'm legit?"

He did have to wonder if she was truly naive or if this was an especially pronounced effect of the bait video.

"And you would do as we ask regarding using you and your powers for surveillance missions?" His muscles shifted as his back straightened slightly, keeping his eyes turned downwards to her. He stared as intently as possible. And as he spoke he saw her own brown orbs finally focus on him.

Just like they were meant to.

"Sure, I'll do what you need once Spectrum's back saving the world." There was no deceit there. Vine was entirely sure that she couldn't get away with feeding them false info. But she was also entirely sure that Agent Birch and maybe even the rest of the gang would realise something's up and rescue her sooner or later.

Leif knew that too, she was sure. He was just a normie, but he was smart and clearly reasonable. He'd make the right call that she could be useful to him, even temporarily.

Yep, she would be useful to him alright.

"Yeah, fine, I'll show I can be trusted. Superia's true identity is Nicoletta Alexiou. She lives somewhere north of the river, one of the nice parts, not sure where."

She heard her own voice say it, but that couldn't be right.

Of course, she'd planned to give them some info to show she was serious. But a secret identity? Of a hero she wasn't a particularly known associate of? That was pretty deep.

But she had said it. So it must have been a good idea. That was the only thing that made sense, it was just her instincts. After all, she wasn't really paying attention.

His strong gaze was too overpowering, obviously.

Vine blinked.

When her eyes reopened, she was still staring into two icy blue pools. The contact, palpable even if entirely non-physical, unnerved her. Made it difficult to think. Which could only mean...

She was being hypnotised. Dammit. She was sure he was a normie, so she'd let her guard down, and now she literally couldn't pull her gaze away from him. She even lifted up her hand to do it, but her chin just ended up resting lazily atop it. Brilliant. Which meant she had to think her way out of it. And her thoughts were remarkably uncooperative, given that they had just slowed down in time with his steady words, coaxing even more information out of her.

"Yeah, so that was actually Mesmero, I think, using La Profesora. She isn't actually onto you, we snapped her out of it around that time, but it was in some R&D place in Oxford I think..."

Great, she was still spilling everything, and she hadn't even got a single guarantee yet from them. Damn low hypnosis resistance! Clearly she had not been the right person for the job.

But she was the only one who was willing to.

In fact, Leif had a point, it really showed her dedication to the international cause that she would give up her very free will to even try to ensure Spectrum's freedom! That made her feel good. He knew exactly how to make her feel good. She felt her neck loosen even more as she collapsed into a slightly-loving gaze up into his strong eyes.

Vine blinked again.

Sooo, that gave her maybe a minute before she was professing her total obedience to this stranger. Again. She had nowhere near the focus required to send her consciousness into the plant, and the threads of thought in the floating seeds could only mentally facepalm at her goofy expression.

She needed some kind of shock.

Before she could pinch herself, a large, pale hand pinned her arm to the table. It was like he knew what she was about to do.

Oh, Mister Leif was sooo smart!

Great, she actually cooed out loud at that.

Maybe if she stabbed her heel into her toes... She lifted one foot, completely invisible under the table. She positioned the point of her inpractically-high shoes, ready to drive it painfully down.

Leif leaned forward, and she reflexively moved back. No, she was being pushed back by the force of his eyes.

It was the right timing, though. She missed, and she knew she was beaten.

How could she fight against that?

So she decided she might as well just do what he said.

Tell him everything about the Firedancer Operation?

"Of course, happy to help! What do you mean 'in return?' I'm doing this because I like you, dummy!"

How could she not? He was really handsome, and so smart. And really kind as well. He waited patiently as she explained everything she could do for him, while was super gentlemanly. Exactly what she liked in a man. Actually, yeah, this guy was so much her type there was no way they hadn't met before.

Yeah, he was right, she liked him because they'd been good friends for ages. He was the one who recruited her to be a double-agent for Hardrade years ago, when she first met Nicoletta and the others. Of course, she'd only not recognised him because he looked sooo much better now. He must have got a makeover, but it really suited him. And his voice was as nice as ever. Naz loved how it always put her at ease. He'd always been there for her, to listen to her worries. So now she'd let him listen to all of her secrets. And if that wasn't enough to satisfy him, she could always show him some more skills...

Hmm, would she be okay with calling him 'Master'? Yeah, it made sense. He'd brought her so deep under hypnosis so easily after all. He knew exactly what buttons he had to push to completely beat her. So she was really proud to be under his control!

So, back to her mission... What was it again...? Oh yeah, she was finally Turning back, and revealing everything she'd found out while pretending to be a superheroine! Who was Spectrum, he asked? Naz had no idea, she only cared about the stuff closer to home after all, on the Boss' ancestral soil.

She didn't need to worry about anything else anymore. It felt so good to be reassured of that by Master. She leaned in to tell him some extra special intel.

The last strand of Vine's consciousness could only sigh in despair as it was pulled back into the whole, as it watched her grasp his one hand in two of her own small grips and pull him closer for a (admittedly quite cute) conspiratorial whisper.

Fungus did not like where this was going.

The white dude clearly had the girl wrapped around his finger. It was kinda sickening to see her nodding along with him. Actually, not just along with him, like, literally in sync. Like she needed to keep eye contact with him.

He hadn't actually seen anything meta-typical happen, but it sure looked like Vine was under some kinda spell.

She looked too happy. Not the 'pleased with herself because she was about to do something stupid' - which he had been fully expecting - but more the 'having a great time with a guy she's been seeing for years' sort of happy. And now she was going in for a kiss?

No, it was even worse, a secret whisper.

He didn't like to do this to a girl, but, to be fair, she was being really stupid.

What the Stamford thugs positioned around the restaurant saw was the mark lean over to their boss, and then suddenly double over in a coughing fit. Then they saw her eyes widen in some kind of realisation, then they saw her slap her own face in obvious frustration. Then they saw her on the ground coughing even more, as if she was choking.

They looked around, and they saw a young man walking towards her. As slim as the superheroine, but with none of the muscle, and with a messy set of dreads rather than brushed back, silky hair.

What they hadn't seen was the food in Vine's mouth being the focus of a metahuman's power, and decay while still in her windpipe, and then blossom into a tiny fungal bloom.

What they, more importantly, didn't see was the same thing happening in their own throats.

They did see the food on their mostly-untouched plates go through the same transformation into formless grey matter and then into plate-sized toadstools. They saw that as they leaned forward to cough. Which meant they breathed in all the paralytic spores those fungi generated.

Leif, for his part, was having a far stranger experience. The hallucinogens the pasta on his tongue had transformed into were combining with his already-extranormal perception. Now he was the one wearing the dopey grin as golden women danced across his vision.

What the other patrons saw was a weird black kid half-run over to a collapsed ethnic woman, apparently pull a mushroom out of her mouth, and then hurriedly escort her outside. They were British, though, so they didn't really do anything about it. One old woman muttered something under her breath.

----

It's my Discord profile picture!!!

To be honest, I feel like this one is a bit clumsy, but I think the hypno is good, using the more traditional 'mundane' strong eye contact (to assert dominance har har) and soothing voice methods. But otherwise I wanted to do a bit more character establishing, show Vine using (and/or planning to use) her powers in creative ways, set up a new ally and villain, all that sorta stuff.

But yeah, this is also the start of the new Vine storyline! She's narrowly escaped enslavement by Britain's own hypno-enterprise (and may soon learn that Spectrum made it out anyway), but who is this man who rescued her? How did he know where to go? Do you really care as long as you get a bit of hypno?

All those questions, and more, will be answered over the upcoming [UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT OF TIME]