A smell of uncleanliness finally pierced Mina's senses, reminding her that she still existed. She had shut down since the event, a haze still clouding her mind where a thick fog had once settled, a subconscious defense against the chaos and destruction that tried to tunnel in through her pupils and rupture her mind. She didn't think about it much and didn't want to, but the recent memories always threatened to blast through the fog, making themselves loud and clear when her mental defenses were lowered in her attempts to sleep. But at the moment she was awake, wandering through the haze without anywhere to go. The smell of grubbiness brought her back, reminding her that she hadn't changed her clothes or washed anything since the incident.

She went to the small, dimly-lit washroom that came with her hotel room and looked into the mirror. The beige wall, punctured by a vague three-dimensional outline of a robed human, faced her back. She wasn't sure when she last saw the colour of her skin and the subtle wrinkles developing on her still-youthful face, but she guessed it was the morning of the summit. She wondered how she looked now. Haggard, she supposed. Probably with bags under drooping eyes and more pronounced lines in her face. Her appearance felt vulnerable to distress and melancholy; it wasn't all invincible and resilient like Cypress' face.

Oh, perfect Cypress. The young, gorgeous superhero with a perfect face and a body fit for a Victoria's Secret catalogue. Mina's jealousy blossomed as quickly as their friendship had when they worked together on missions in Canada. Fueled by an obsessive frustration from learning that Cypress still supported that embarrassment of an organization, the Champions, Mina had watched every one of her press conferences and talk show appearances with gritted teeth and clenched fists. Cypress probably thought she was all high and mighty, thinking she knew everything about Nagoya and speaking for the Champions even though she wasn't even there. Of course she didn't fear the abuse probably directed at her, with her beauty and strength and powers and all that.

Mina recoiled from the mirror as if she could see her comparatively ordinary face. She stripped off her uniform and tossed it into her laundry basket, seeing it revert to its green colour out of the corner of her eye. She didn't bother avoiding sight of the mirror as she walked past it into the bathtub, her skin still wearing beige camouflage. She closed the shower curtain out of habit and turned on the water, a mild lightness taking over her body, as if the dirt and sweat the warm water flushed away had been weighing her down. She squeezed an excessive amount of shampoo into her hand and lathered up her hair, undoing the braid she had forgotten to let free before the shower. She didn't put any effort into flushing the product out, simply standing under the shower with her eyes closed, focused on the feeling of the soothing droplets rolling down her skin.

By the time Mina opened the shower curtain, the mirror was completely fogged up and the air felt as damp as her skin. She dried her hair with the hairdryer on the wall and then, still without putting on clothes, she went and lay on her stomach on the bed, her head turned to the side so she could breathe. The light was flashing on the earpiece she had taken off and laid on the beside table within arm's reach. Choosing not to ignore it this time, she took it and shoved it into her ear. Red Jack's voice sounded in mid-speech. "-On the loose. And I'm sure we're all itching for some action. The Cochran family jet is at the airport. If you want in on this, meet me there. We leave within the hour."

Mina didn't even care what the situation was anymore. She was itching for some action, and maybe her new superhero group could do some good, negate some of the damage the Champions had done. She rolled off the bed, put on some clean clothes, and shoved extra clothes and some toiletries into a duffle bag. She made sure she remembered where the airport was, and then remembered her soiled uniform. Hopefully, wherever she was going, she would get the chance to wash it.