The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Master PC – Child of the Program

TechnicDragon

Part 4: Second Wave

Chapter 32: Family History

Mr. Loftin, the rest of our team and I were pretty frozen by the time we finished checking the areas we had been assigned. We were southwest of the house, in sight of the parked parade of vehicles. My brain felt as sluggish as my legs from walking in the snowshoes. Over and over I had reached out to the others, asking if they had found anything. Nothing. No one had found anything.

Again, I reached out to Mandy. I thought about her. Not just the woman who had grown up as my foster sister, but as the one who had grown close enough to me to want to be with me. Maybe even beyond our bond.

The Mage with the red diamond was still out there, somewhere. He had my family. He had somehow blocked me from feeling Mandy, possibly even broken my bond with her. If Michael were here, he might be able to tell me which it really was.

~Ral, I just got a call from Michael. He’s just arrived in New York and is getting ready to drive down.~

~Okay,~ I thought back, feeling disappointed and burned out on anger. It wasn’t his fault this had happened. I even knew it wasn’t my fault, but that didn’t stop me from feeling as if I could have done something to prevent it.

I stopped and looked around the snow covered forest. The others were well ahead of me, ready to go somewhere and get warm. They probably wanted to eat and hug their families, happy they weren’t going through what I was. I didn’t blame them. I would do the same.

The snow hid a lot of details, but highlighted those that weren’t buried. The trees were mostly dead, dormant for their wintry slumber. I could see good distances in all directions and would have missed a particular detail under any other circumstance.

Something black and smoky moved through the woods. Something tall and billowy. I watched it in disbelief. We had been searching for clues of my family’s whereabouts all day and suddenly the very thing that we believed took them shows up? No. It wasn’t just coincidence. It must have been watching us. Keeping an eye out to make sure its secret was safe.

I stood there, not sure what to do. I wanted to chase it down, make it give up the information I sought, but how? It was seemingly intangible and could do things I had no protection against. I needed help.

~Andrea, I think I’ve spotted the... thing. The column of smoke I was attacked by in the fire.~ I watched it. It was definitely moving. ~Get everyone out of here. Make sure to contact your house and send help. I’ll try to keep it here and busy until you arrive.~

~If I call for help, they’ll send Dragons. They’re also looking for you. They can handle this thing once they arrive.~

~I’m not letting this thing get away. If I have to face down the Dragons and this thing I will. I won’t abandon my family!~

~Okay, calm down. I’ll call Michael and a few others we trust to help without turning on you.~

~Thank you.~

~But Ral, if that thing made short work of you before, how can you stand up to it again?~

~I don’t know. Michael says I have untapped abilities. I’ll have to improvise.~

I moved forward, my adrenaline picking up. I didn’t know where the column was going but it was about to have a rude tap on the shoulder.

Fortunately, Andrea had a level head on her shoulders. ~Ral! Don’t attack it. Follow it. It may lead you right to your family.~

I had wanted it distracted. A fight would do just that. However, she was right. If I did attack and either died or accidentally killed it in our struggle, my family would be lost. Granted, Andrea seemed more concerned for it than me, probably having seen grieving men attack and kill those who had done them wrong. Police work could be brutal. Her advice was sound. I might be able to pull off some covert maneuvering and just follow it. ~Good advice Andrea. Thank you again.~

My adrenaline was still picking up, but not for the surge of hate I had for this thing. It was for the exhilaration of possibly finding my family.

I moved in, making sure I could see it clearly. Something seemed to be wrong with it. Though it was a cloud of smoke, it was having problems moving in the snow. That made no sense. There were no tracks from the house except vehicles and what the emergency crews and search parties added. This thing was now leaving a trail.

I didn’t have to be a tracker to follow it. The gouge in the snow would lead me along.

Just when I thought I had it made, when I thought it would simply lead me to my family, Murphy decided to show up. You know, Murphy’s Law...

The cloud stopped and then started moving again, right at me. I wasn’t exactly camouflaged against the snow, so I was just as easy to see as the cloud, but I had something it didn’t: speed.

Ready for the fight that was about to ensue, I watched as the cloud’s approach slowed down. I ran at it, charging with the intention of diving right through it. Someone was inside and I was going to pull him or her out.

Sure enough, as I jumped, I hit someone. I wrapped them up and my momentum carried us out to the other side. The cloud seemed to evaporate and disappear. The person I grappled tried to fight me, tried to pull my arms and legs off of them, but I was a lot stronger.

Whoever it was wore a hooded jacket and I was at their back. My grappling gave me clues that told me I was holding a man, like the lack of breasts and the strength with which he fought.

The snow got under my coat and into my clothes, making me painfully aware of how cold it still was outside, but that was nothing compared to the cold that ached in my arms. Whatever was happening I felt my hands first go numb and then ache with the deep burning sensation of penetrating cold. It was like the temperature was being dropped further. I kept moving, adjusting my grip and forcing my fingers to grip and release to make sure I still held the person I had tackled. However, not being able to feel intricate details, he fought free even of my strength.

I rolled away, crouched and ready. The man I had tackled stood up and looked at me. The hood hid his face, but not the piercing thoughts he projected.

~Nautikuus! You should have given up. You should have gone home. You should have died!~ that last was nearly spat at me.

~Not on your life.~ I could feel the warmth returning to my hands. For that matter, the snow felt warmer than the cold that had enveloped my hands. So, he could fight with fire and cold... or was it something else?

~Where is my family?~

~They are no longer your concern. They are now mine to deal with as necessary. I gave you your chance to punish them but you refused.~

I was getting mad. ~You are no one’s executioner! You have no right to this, no reason for any vengeance. You’re too scared to even prove who you are and show your face!~

~Nice try Nautikuus. Your anger is strong, but it could be stronger...~

That’s when I felt my veins burning with anger. My adrenaline was pumping again, speeding me up. I could jump him and tear him apart... It would feel good. I would feel justified. He deserved it. He burned down my house, took my family, left me for dead in the basement.

~Come, Nautikuus. Come and bring me your wrath. Show me your anger. Kill me...~

He was so calm about this. I couldn’t see his face, but his demeanor was relaxed, his arms limp at his sides. He would be easy prey.

That instinct in me said this would do nothing for me. He wasn’t food, my family wasn’t currently threatened. There was no excitement in me for this. I didn’t want his death, justice yes, but not his death. My body relaxed. I returned what I was sure was a relaxed look. ~You power... It’s not over fire or ice, it’s the ability to amplify things...~

~Yes. Very good. And now that you know that secret...~ He reached up. I tensed, ready to defend myself but waited for his move. I still had speed over him. He pulled back his hood.

The man that stood before me had gray hair and deep brown eyes. For a wild moment, I thought I was looking at an older version of my father. If not for Michael’s memories of my real Dad’s funeral... ~You’re not my father, but you look a lot like him.~

~I should. I was his father. My name is Randal Nautikuus.~

“What the...?” I didn’t understand. If he really was my... grandfather, then why... “Why? Why all of this? Why the vengeance? Why attack me?”

~You do not fully understand... too much... can’t explain...~ His thoughts were becoming more and more disjointed. The look on his face became painful. With a scream he charged me. The training I had garnered from the police department helped me to use his momentum against him. I grabbed his wrist, gave it a twist and he flipped in the air, landing on his back. The snow cushioned his landing and he rolled away instantly.

~I won’t be denied this! You can’t stop me!~

A gust of wind hit at that moment and I felt that penetrating cold again. The only difference was I felt it everywhere. He was amplifying the cold of the wind as it struck me. I let my blood pump fully, not holding back on my anger or adrenaline. The cold pushed away and I stepped out of the wind. He, Randal, my grandfather, didn’t register that I had moved. He was still watching the spot where he thought I still was. Maybe to him, he still saw me there. I moved around, the air was suddenly warmer. Without the movement of wind, the temperature was far more bearable. Standing behind him, I pulled the hood down and pushed his hair aside. The red diamond was floating there. He was certainly the man I wanted. The only problem was how to detain him.

I had seen the move in movies, the quick chop to the neck that would knock a man out instantly. I knew from the collected training that it wouldn’t work, but there were other debilitating options. I kicked the backs of his knees, forcing him to the grown. I was still moving so fast that he bent slowly and dropped. I actually had to wait for him to hit his knees. I needed him unconscious, so I used an old command that I hadn’t needed in a while. Pulling off my gloves, I pressed my hands to his face. ~Sleep,~ I commanded him, but he resisted me. I felt his efforts to try other things but I outmaneuver them. Again and again, I hit him with the command. Finally, he fell. His eyes closed and his breathing soft.

I relaxed and the cold of the wind hit me.

As I picked up my gloves Andrea was running up. “What did you do?”

“I put him to sleep. He fought me but I finally did it.”

“We need him awake to tell us where your family is.”

Other officers were running up. Some had their guns drawn. Andrea held up her hands toward them. “It’s okay, he’s unconscious and needs an ambulance.”

One of the officers used the mic attached to his shoulder to call it in. The ambulance would arrive and he would probably be taken away by House Isaacs, but I needed information first. ~I’ll find out what I need to know and he doesn’t have to be awake for it.~

I knelt next to the prone form and gently placed my bare palm against his cheek. Either he had some weird shields or he was even more messed up than I thought. All I could get were images of my family and what they were doing. There was nothing about an address or house or anything. Then I saw a memory that gave me pause...

The wind was gale force. Occasionally it gusted even harder, and a nearby tree was pushed over onto a car that had been rocking. Randal moved through the flying debris trying to find my father and mother. He heard shouting, even above the storm and followed it as best he could.

Mom and Dad were standing back to back, surrounded by other Magi. Everyone was trying to reason with them, trying to convince them to seek shelter, but they wouldn’t have any of it. Randal tried too. He used his ability to make himself heard clearly and to hear his son better. “Lee, please, let’s go to a basement or other shelter. This is no place for us, no more than anyone else!”

A billboard came tumbling along and nearly flattened one of the Magi, but they flicked their hand and it turned to dust which was lost immediately to the horrific winds. That’s when Randal understood. These Magi were Dragons.

He looked at each of them. Saw the determined looks on their faces. One seemed perfectly comfortable with the wind threatening to sweep him away into oblivion. Randal wondered if he had conjured the hurricane, or like himself, amplified it somehow.

Knowing that the presence of so many Dragons could only mean one thing, Randal did the only thing he could. After amplifying his weight and strength to withstand the sheer force of the wind, he focused on making the wind stronger, especially around the one who seemed comfortable. The look on his face told Randal that they felt the loss of control and as should have been already, he swept away, flying off and out of sight. Where or when he landed wasn’t Randal’s concern.

“Dad, no!” Lee screamed. But it was too late, the other Dragons had turned on him. Their abilities brought to the fore and Randal knew he would probably not survive. He looked at his son, wishing him well, and turned to face the others.

Randal had never considered himself much of a Mage. He only had the two abilities, one to conjure a black cloud that he could move and do things through and the other being the ability to amplify almost anything. They seemed trivial compared to the mind-altering abilities of most Magi. But with a determination even he never knew he had, he would save his son even at the cost of his own life.

The wind was already dying down. The hurricane dropped to a level that would cause havoc but not completely obliterate the island they were on. The rest of the occupants had since been evacuated so the only intelligent creatures left were the ones standing right there.

One Dragon, with a red mark, held up his hand. The sounds of thunder grew stronger and a bolt hit just next to Randal. Increasing the negative ions around him, Randal had saved himself from a blow that would kill most. Another Dragon swept both arms at Randal and he fell to his knees in pain. Randal couldn’t dodge his own body. The Dragon approached, keeping the effect going, but it looked like it was costing him. Randal had already given up the hope of surviving and amplified the boy’s ability. His own pain became blinding and then it stopped. The boy had dropped by his side, holding his own gut and then vomiting. Randal had guessed correctly that the boy was also in pain and only used so much until he couldn’t handle more. Once it had spiked past his pain threshold, he stopped and both were pain free.

The other Dragons had turned on Lee and Tara. The two danced and fought, dodged and punched. The Dragons tried using their abilities but the pair just wouldn’t give in. Randal got to his feet and charged, amplifying randomly because the pain kept him from focusing.

The next thing he remembered was another bolt of lightning, forked many times and striking Lee and Tara. He stopped and fell to his knees. They laid there, burned and smoking. The rain sizzling on their bodies. He had amplified the bolt, hoping to hit the others but didn’t have the control over where it went. The red marked Dragon who called it smiled at him. His words still echoed in Randal’s mind, “Thanks for the help.”

I pulled back. Andrea moved to my side as I scrambled away from the dormant man. ~What Ral? What happened?~

None of the other officers were really any wiser to what I had done or what I knew, but Andrea had guessed and when I had stumbled away, she knew something was wrong.

~He... He was there.~ It was all I could say. All I could think.

~Where?~ She was trying to understand but it barely made enough sense to me. I couldn’t explain it.

One of the officers stepped up to Randal’s prone form and hand cuffed him. Then he pulled out his wallet and opened it. “The address is a post office box number.”

Andrea looked up. “Then get to the post office and find out the physical address.”

He nodded and trotted off. One of the other officers left with him.

~Ral, what happened?~ It was Yvonne this time, and unlike the thoughts from Andrea, she brought me around.

~I saw... I saw my parents’ death. My biological parents...~ I thought.

~Who is it, Ral?~

I looked at Andrea and said, “My grandfather.”