The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“Barbie poo!!” Dr. Julia Brown yelled at me from halfway across the base. Darrel jumped a bit as he had been staring at my chest and hadn’t expected such a loud cry from directly behind him. Brad snickered and waved me through, managing to look me in the eyes almost the entire time. I’d be impressed if it wasn’t for the fact that he kept sneaking peeks at my cleavage whenever he had the excuse to look down at the paperwork I’d handed him. I wasn’t dressed in anything flashy, no cerulean dress with plunging neckline this time, just a professional business skirt with button up top and black blazer. If the skirt was a little short that’s just because I felt more comfortable with a higher hem, and if I happened to leave a couple buttons undone…well it was hot. Who could blame me? Brad certainly wasn’t. Angie wasn’t either.

“Hi Jules,” I said, moving to Julia with a noticeable wiggle to my walk. “I thought you agreed to called me Susie. Angie don’t bother them.” Angie wasn’t bothering either of the guards who, now that I was walking away, were happy to distract themselves with my sharply dressed Thai…assistant? Secretary? Sex slave? Did we ever settle on labels?

“I don’t remember that silly willy billy dilly! You were gone for way too long for me to remember anything!” Julia said running up to me and giving me a big, crushing hug.

’Too tight! Too tight!’ Monica said, sending a feeling of strained wheezing as Julia’s larger chest crushed up against mine.

’We’re happy to see her too Susan, remember she hasn’t seen us in over a week now and the last she heard we were taking time off to get our head sorted. We can stand a bit of…clinginess.’ Gloria was the voice of reason as per usual…but that didn’t change the fact that Julia was gripping us way too hard!

“S-sorry… I promise I didn’t mean to be gone for so long. Your hug is a little uh…tight there Jules…”

“That’s cause I missed you! Did they get all the psy thingies out? Cause some can be tricky! Should I check? Here, put this in your mouth!” Dr. Brown said, taking out a dildo and shoving it at my face as our hug broke. Darrel and Brad immediately perked up and glanced over our way.

“I’m not putting that in my mouth…” I said, looking purposefully in the boys’ direction. They then had the gall to turn right around and stand at attention as though they had just been standing there guarding the entrance the entire time. “I’m doing good, they want me to do things the natural way, no psychic surgery, just letting the incepted thoughts fade away on their own. That’s part of why I’m here actually, getting back into the swing of things, doing things my real self would do and not letting those foreign thoughts get fed too much.”

“Oh, is that why you’re wearing a short skirt, showing off your boobs, and walking like a runway model?” Jules asked looking at me so…so…innocently. I paused a moment and considered her words...

’I told you the skirt was wrong!’

’The skirt is fine; the length is poor!’

“Angie. I thought you were going to tell me if my clothes were off,” I said, suddenly realizing that my “choice” of attire was playing right into my programming. Angie’s too, now that I thought about it! She was dressed much the same as I was, short, hip hugging pencil skirt, blazer and blouse opened to show off some cleavage, though hers wasn’t nearly as prominent as mine, and high heels…identical to the ones adorning my own feet. Damn it!

“You told me to tell you if your clothes were bad… I think they look great Mistress! Sorry.”

’Look on the bright side, it’s only been a couple weeks, a few slip ups are bound to happen in these early stages.’

’Mark it Barbie…’ With a sigh I took out my phone and opened an app my doctor recommended. It opened a weekly calendar with most days marked with red. I tapped on today’s date and typed in ‘clothes.’ Immediately the day faded from a pure, blank white to an angry red with “clothes” in bold text. A few slip ups were not the issue, the issue was that there were more slip ups than not, at this rate I was going to end up twisting my Inner Thoughts to be more like a slutty schoolgirl sex slave than my own Core self!

“It’s okay Angie, just… Try to remember what our therapist said. We’re a team, right?”

“Right!” Angie beamed, she really loved it when I put us together, even in just my words.

“Soooo, who’s this?” Jules asked, looking Angie up and down appraisingly.

“You don’t know? I uh…well I accidently triggered her programming during my mission at the school and uh…now we are…” Ugh I didn’t discuss labels!

“I’m her sex slave!” Angie stated loudly and proudly, still beaming.

“Ooooo neatie! Barbie you didn’t tell me you had a sex slave! Is she good? Maybe we don’t need that dildo after all…”

“No! Well…kinda… I mean it’s complicated… I…why am I still holding this thing?” I shoved the dildo back at Jules who took it with a giggle and started to rub it up and down distractingly…I mean absentmindedly!

“It’s okay! So…shall I get those bad, naughty thoughts out of your head?”

“No, the doctor said I don’t need surgery, I just need some discipline.”

“Oh puh-leeze!” Dr. Brown pouted, stomping her foot. “Those psi-chiatrist quacks will insist that all you need to get over serious psionic trauma is a positive attitude and full breakfast! Psionic surgery is the safer, better, and funner option! Hehehe…” Sometimes I forget Dr. Brown is still that brilliant psionic surgeon she always was, and it’s times like this when her old self comes out that I’m reminded of just how much Psionic attacks can screw you up and twist your very self into something almost unrecognizable... I resolved to take my therapy a LOT more seriously…

“I’m not comfortable with that…” Angie said, frowning at Julie and subtly putting herself between me and her. “No offense, but Mistress already has a prescription therapy she’s following. Even if that wasn’t the case and she did need surgery, I don’t think you would be the best option.” Angie could get intense about my well-being.

“Angie, Dr. Brown is probably the most eminently qualified psionic surgeon in the country…” I whispered. “She had her Core personality twisted up, but she’s helped me and my team out on multiple occasions when we get commands stuck in our minds.” Angie’s expression softened and reddened slightly. She always took my words very seriously, for obvious reasons, and when I praise someone so highly that tends to sink in.

“R-right…but I um…I’m supposed to rebel against you and I…I don’t like the idea of her operating on you Mistress.”

’Wow, she’s getting a lot better. Why are you lagging behind Barbie?’ Shut up Monica…

“Well, I brought you here to learn more about Psionics and your own abilities… Dr. Brown? Would you like to educate my…assistant?” Angie’s forehead creased; she obviously didn’t like that one.

“Hehehe silly Barbie! Call me Julesy poo! And I’d love to edu- eda…talk about psy stuff with Angie!” Oh, she uses Angie’s name properly does she? “Come with me!” Jules said, flouncing off in her skimpy nurse’s outfit, hips jiggling provocatively as she walked. I found my own hips mirroring her movements for a few steps till I forced myself to walk at a proper gait…but the heels and hip hugging skirt practically forced my hips to move like I was on a catwalk.

’Really shouldn’t have worn those heels…’

’They looked professional, but yes I agree.’ It’s too late now! Gah!

Dr. Brown’s office was exactly as I remembered it, like…identical in every way. Weren’t there the exact same number of cotton balls in that jar as last time? Angie and I made our way inside and Julia offered us chairs to sit in. Angie, of course, sat as close as physically possible to me, even as she glanced around the room trying to pick out what she liked and didn’t like about it.

“So, I assume you know the basics, right?” Dr. Brown asked, opening a cabinet, and taking out a chart detailing the layers of the Earth. “You have layers to your psyche, like this: A thin Crust representing your Surface Thoughts. These have almost no impact on you as a person and change moment to moment on a whim. A thicker, hehe, Mantle representing your Inner Thoughts. These are much more representative of you as an individual and change over long periods of time or especially dynamic moments. Going through puberty, loss of a family member, getting a new love interest…” Dr. Brown waggled her eyebrows at the two of us and giggled at my blush. “All of these things can influence your Inner Thoughts. And of course, a Core Personality, which is the base that forms your identity. These are the things that will steer how everything that determines your Inner Thoughts affects you. If you’re at your Core a vengeful person, then the loss of a family member will have a different impact on you as opposed to a forgiving person at Core. Hehe or if you’re a silly bimbo person!” Julia giggled again and flipped her bleach blonde hair.

“If it’s something like the layers of the Earth then shouldn’t there be two Cores? An Inner and an Outer?” Angie asked, frowning at the picture.

“Silly billy, it’s just an ana… analo… hehe anal… Umm, just something to help you get the idea down. Sure, there are plenty of people who think there is some kind of ‘Inner’ Core Personality, like a soul or something, that can’t be altered by humans no matter how gifted they are Psionically but there’s no real evidence such a thing exists. Just like everything else in the human mind, your Core can change, as you well know, and that’s like, totally normal! Everyone’s Core changes at some point. Can you like…imagine if everyone just stayed with the same personality even after a bunch of life changing events? Basically, a change in your mind just means learning!” Julia giggled, the motion sending her bust to bouncing around distractingly. I don’t know if I’d call all changes learning, but Angie seemed to be intrigued as she absorbed this information. To be honest it all sort of went over my head… How did the Core change naturally if having your Core changed was permanent? It felt like two conflicting positions to me.

“So, if the Core can be changed naturally, doesn’t that mean a Core Personality change isn’t permanent?” Angie asked, and I was tempted to do a quick check to see if she was reading my Surface Thoughts.

’Just cause you don’t like using your brain, doesn’t mean others don’t as well Barbie,’ Monica teased, giving off an impression of a smirk.

’Oh hush now!’

“You’re confusing a change with an alteration,” Julia smiled, speaking slowly as though to a child…which was especially insulting with that airy voice of hers. “When someone puts like a Dart into your Inner Thoughts, they are altering things in those thoughts. You don’t become like, a different person, you just have this thought thingy wedged up in there, hehee, that you think of as your own. So, to fix it you just have to like, pull it out! That’s what I do! Because Inner Thoughts are fluid enough to like, be affected by Darts and stuff, they’re also fluid enough to remove those Darts and stuff before they become permanent fixtures. Cores though are like, totally a lot more solid, hehehe, so things like Darts don’t really affect the Core. That’s where continuous programming comes in, and makes the hard Core, hehehe, soft enough to mmm, penetrate. Then the programming hehemmm explodes all inside and the Core changes. Mmm sorry I’m feeling so horny suddenly…hehe…” Dr. Brown slid down to the medical table and spread her legs a bit, revealing her complete lack of panties. Wasn’t she supposed to be wearing something?! Exposing herself didn’t seem to bother her though, she even began to stroke at herself with her fingers… Angie and I looked away, embarrassed, but Julia didn’t let any of this stop her.

“Oooo, mmm so when you shoot off all your hot, nasty changes in my tight little Core…mmmhmm, you’re not just adding in additional thoughts and- Ooooo…desires. You’re changing the Core itself, and if you try to change it back, you’d have to perfectly reverse every tiny little change that was made, which just isn’t possible. It’s like, mmm that’s nice… It’s like, you take some putty in your hands and shape it into a complex shape, like a human face, then someone else comes…mmm cums…along and reshapes it into something else. You’d have to perfectly reverse whatever they did, which not only requires unbelievable mmmm power, but perfect precision, and absolutely perfect, completely unbiased knowledge of who…ohhh that person was before! Oh, this feels so good… It’s something that is just not possible. Mmm even…oh god… Even if you could do all that you’d still have to work with the Core as it is, so you’d still get bits and pieces from…mmm from the…ahh…from the previously corrupted…I’m gonna cum…Core! I’d still have bimbo pieces to me…oh…even if you…OHH…tried to change…change me…I’m… I’m!” Julia let out a heavy moan as her body began to convulse, orgasm overtaking her and a picture of total bliss forming across her face… Not that I was looking! I’d looked away in embarrassment remember?

’Susan you really shouldn’t be peeking like that…’ I’m not peeking I’m…keeping an eye on a friend in case she needs any help!

’Oh I’m sure you’re looking to “help” Barbie. I’m very sure!’ Shut up…

“Mmm that was nice. I don’t know why I got so horny all of a sudden, but anyway does that answer your question?” Julia asked, beaming at us as though she didn’t just start frantically frigging herself just a minute or two prior.

“I uh…I think I understand,” Angie said, looking suddenly very uncomfortable being in such a tightly enclosed space that was beginning to smell like sex. I wasn’t exactly comfortable myself, but at least Angie got a good explanation from Dr. Brown before she went full bimbo on us… Though I admit I was a bit jealous that she could reach orgasm so quickly…

’Pants Barbie! Keep it in them!’ I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“Well, thanks for…everything, Dr. Brown but—“

“Julesy-poo!”

“Jules…but we ought to be going. I brought Angie here to learn how to use her powers more defensively and I’m sure the team is waiting for me. It was really helpful to hear your uh…lecture though. I’m glad we stopped by!” I said smiling and trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

Julia giggled again still, I noticed, not bothering to cover herself up. Taking my own words to heart I grabbed Angie and tugged her toward the exit of the little medical office, closing the door behind us as we left.

“Well, that was Dr. Julia Brown. She’s…hard to get used to, but there’s no denying she’s absolutely brilliant,” I said, trying to make sure Angie’s first impression of Julia was at least a good one.

“Yes Mistress, I can tell that though her Core personality had changed she must’ve been very smart, and it helps to have her as an example of why Core personalities can’t be fixed. Even though she was turned into a…ah…a bimbo, her original Core persona as a brilliant doctor wasn’t so easily taken away. Truly Psionics is a difficult subject to grasp…” I blinked a bit, honestly surprised by how much of that Angie had retained. I’d learned about this stuff years prior and had a lot of on-the-job experience with it all, but she just picked it up after thinking about it for…maybe a couple weeks at most!

’Angie is an incredible woman. We’re lucky to have her with us.’

’Yeah, looks like your slave is the brains to your blonde!’ I was going to retort to that one, but before I had the chance Constance rounded the corner and, spotting us, stomped her way over faster than I had time to process the look of anger on her face.

“Hey! We’re waiting for you Barbie, what’s the hold up?” Constance asked, eyes flicking down to my skirt in brief surprise before she remembered how upset she was and settled on a death stare to my face. Constance, to be fair, was not a normally angry person, even things that would drive most ordinary people to madness didn’t seem to affect her much.

’I don’t know if you can consider your own reactions normal here Susan…’

’Yeah, you tend to get mad way more easily than most.’

Regardless, Constance didn’t usually get mad, however, she did have her pet peeves and making her wait around while Angie and I spoke with Dr. Brown certainly got her blood up. No doubt I was taking her away from a lot of important duties when I asked her to help me educate Angie on Psionic Abilities.

“I’m so sorry Captain,” I said sheepishly, doing my best not to look down at my feet. My impulse was to behave like a demure little schoolgirl being berated by her teacher, which considering the Psionic aftermath of my latest mission wasn’t a good impulse to have, but I also needed to provide a good example to Angie and straightened my back a bit. “I asked for a lesson from Julia as well and…well she went on for a bit.” Belluci’s expression shifted from one of frustration to that of an expression of… ‘Well, what did you expect would happen?’ “Angie, this is Captain Constance Belluci, I told you about her earlier?” I said, trying to tag out of the conversation.

“Hello Captain, Mistress says that you’re one of the best people I can learn from to control my ability. Thank you for agreeing to teach me.” Angie was polite and cordial as ever, but Belluci didn’t seem to be taken in by the praise.

“That’s great, but we’re not going to wait much longer. If we’re doing this let’s get moving!”

The field office we have set up in Traverse City is a very simple single floor office building that we’ve appropriated to perform operations here. As such there isn’t any gym or large room for combat training, but we did clear out one of the larger offices to set up some exercise equipment and mats. That was where Angie was going to learn how to defend herself using her Psionic Power, should she ever be targeted by psychics again. The team I had assembled to help was…well it was my team aside from Veronica. I’d have asked her to help as well, but she was going through her own therapy for what happened. It is such a failing of our educational system that Angie can go through over two decades of life and not know anything about how to defend herself using Psionics.

“Susan!” James exclaimed as I walked into the room, approaching us and giving me a hug. “I love the outfit, you look good! How’s the therapy going?” he asked, managing to at once lift my esteem and crush it.

“Uh…it’s a struggle, but I’m dealing with it.”

’Smooth, just keep misleading everyone.’

’This is private! Susan has every right to hold things back!’ Thank you Gloria!

“You don’t look so bad yourself!” James was sporting a business casual look, he even had his sleeves rolled up, revealing some powerful looking forearms. He couldn’t hold a candle to Butters, whose arms would look like tree branches under his bulky sweatshirt and baggy jeans, but Patterson was still in good shape.

“Well, I’m happy to help if you need anything. Don’t hesitate to ask. Don’t worry Angie, he doesn’t bite I promise!” Angie was looking at the massive frame of Adam Butters, our wheelman, like he was a giant who would scoop her up and eat her. The 6′6″ mammoth of a man might have looked intimidating, but he was by far the gentlest person on the team. Butters gave Angie a small smile and turned his gaze elsewhere as we filed into the room.

“That’s why you’re here now James,” Constance said, coming in behind us and shutting the door. “Angie right? My name is Constance Belluci,” Belluci said, offering her hand out to shake. Angie took it timidly but smiled politely. Her polite nature seemed to be something she had before her experience with Dom’s sex ring. Probably a family thing given how successful her brother was and thinking about how she’d be expected to act in front of his important business partners. “This is James Patterson, Adam Butters, and I’m sure you already know Susan.” Angie beamed at me; doe eyed. No one here needed half their expertise to deduce that we were sleeping together… Constance smirked, James looked stoic, and Adam looked uncomfortable. “So, why don’t we get started, seeing as how we’re already late, hmm?”

Constance moved to the center of the room and folded her arms, waiting for Angie to approach. Angie did so hesitantly, drifting toward the center of the room, and attention, with a backward glance at me. I gave her an encouraging smile, which Gloria approved of, so I’m sure it was helpful. “What do I need to do?” Angie asked, looking at the mats on the floor and, possibly wondering if things were going to get physical. They wouldn’t, Constance would wipe the floor with Angie in a one-on-one fist fight. Constance would wipe the floor with Butters in a one-on-one fist fight!

“First you need to realize the two sides to your abilities. Power and Control. When we grade psionic abilities, we take both into account. It’s a common misconception that the only thing that matters is Power, or how hard your Psionics can hit. Control is just as important, just in a completely different way. I personally am probably the weakest Grade 2 Psychic you’ll ever meet. Most Grade 1s can overpower me if I let them, but my control of my abilities affords me enough advantage to take on even a Grade 3 if needed, especially if they underestimate me. Put up a shield for me.” Constance’s lecture voice suddenly shifted to something a bit more…competitive.

Angie jumped at the order, looking very nervous now that she was being asked to do something. “I uh okay…” She closed her eyes and began to concentrate…

“Stop!” Constance barked, making Angie jump yet again. Angie was nervous and new and a civilian, but somehow, I’m sure this would be my fault. “Barbie how is it that she’s been living with for a week and doesn’t know how to shield her mind yet?” Told you…

“Angie can shield her mind just fine, she’s just nervous and needs a bit more practice to do so smoothly,” I retorted folding my arms and returning Constance’s glare for a full 10 seconds before breaking my gaze…

’I told you she needed more hands-on training with you!’

’I think the issue was that whenever it was Susan giving the lesson our student didn’t exactly pay the most attention…’

’I don’t know, she seemed to be paying plenty attention when Susie was wearing that tank top.’ Not the time Monica!

“Alright, let’s start with the shield then,” Constance said, sounding like an unpaid intern who just got handed extra work. See? Constance doesn’t get mad; she just starts to grumble. “This might sound a little cliché but think of your powers like a muscle. You don’t have to close your eyes and think about it when you make a fist, so you don’t have to close your eyes and think about it to do this either. The more you use your abilities the more natural it’ll feel, till it’s just like moving your limbs, you just do it without thinking. I don’t want you to picture an image in your head whenever you try to do something, you don’t want to have to picture a turtle going into its shell, or whatever, every time you want to make a shield. Remember, it’s like a muscle, you don’t have to picture an image to make a fist, you don’t have to picture an image to do this. Got it?”

“Uh, I…yes of course!” Angie said, looking over to me nervously. I nodded at her, giving my silent consent for her to ignore my advice of picturing an image every time she wanted to make a shield… Look I’m a fighter, not a teacher! This isn’t that easy to explain!

’Constance doesn’t seem to be having any problems…’ Constance is way more experienced than I am!

’Susan maybe less grumbling and more learning from this person who is more experienced than you would be best?’ …I can do both. Grumble grumble grumble…

“Okay, it’s up!” Angie said, sounding very excited that she put up a shield so quickly. Sometimes it took her several minutes and she looked very happy to have gotten it in less than 1 this time. I smiled at her, causing her face to light up even more.

“God no wonder your new housemate is so far behind. What you’re gonna screw her now as a reward? Over that? Children can make fists on command; can you at least harden it?” Constance said, rubbing her temples, which to me seemed a little over dramatic. This wasn’t exactly like making a fist, this was learning to use a brand-new muscle your brain had never used much before!

’Well, to be fair she’s had this muscle since she was around 20 right? So, it’s not exactly brand new…’

’Hahaha! Your sex slave is the slow kid in the class!’ Okay that’s mean, and there can be a lot of negative stigma build up around Psionics, so not everyone is going to think of it as a blessing and use it constantly from Day 1 like I did!

“Yes, Mistress taught me that it’s like picturing a bubble turning into a—“

“Stop! Barbie, you’re getting beginner lessons next. No more picturing images, it’s a muscle, think of hardening like tensing that muscle. This is also good to keep in mind for its downside. You don’t want to have a muscle tensed all the time; you’ll get a cramp. You don’t want to have your shield hardened all the time; you’ll exhaust yourself.” Angie frowned at Constance, clearly not happy with how she was treating me, so I gave her a smile to let her know I was okay. Constance might’ve sounded harsh to an outsider looking in, but she truly cared about me, and everyone on the team. ‘Gentle’ just wasn’t a tool in her toolbox.

’One might say it’s a muscle she doesn’t use often?’

’Heh, more like ever. Her ‘gentle’ muscle is probably suffering from a bad case of atrophy!’ I smiled at that, sometimes my boobs were annoying, but at least I knew they’d always have my back. Even if they were a pain in my back in more ways than the norm…

“Hey,” James whispered in a hushed tone, sidling up next to me as Constance continued to work on Angie’s shield hardening. “I hope you’re not getting down on yourself because the boss is venting a little frustration in your direction.” With Constance in the room, basically taking over the entire training procedure, it was easy to forget James and especially Butters, who was just a quiet giant, were also in the room.

“No, not at all,” I whispered back as Constance criticized Angie’s shield as being too soft. “It’s one of the kinks that slipped in during my assignment. Verbal abuse is a total turn on now…” I said, sarcastically, but good humoredly. I wasn’t upset at Constance, but I did wish she would be more considerate toward Angie. Angie wasn’t used to this sort of thing, and I didn’t want to see her get hurt.

“Hmm,” James noted, watching my gaze as I spoke. “You think she’s being too hard on Angie then?” I blinked, and automatically checked my mental shield for probes. Did he just read my mind? James chuckled softly. “I don’t need Psionic powers to detect that Susan. You’ve been chewing on your lip watching Angie struggle this entire time. It’s something I know all too well…”

“Oh? Do you have a sex slave you keep at home that we don’t know about?” I teased, wondering what he meant by that.

“No, but it’s like when you have a kid. You know the gist at least, I’m sure. You want them to succeed, to go through life with minimal hardship. To have a better life than you did, and if you see someone chastising your kid…well it gets your defenses up. The thing is, kids need a little hardship in their lives too, it helps them to mature, makes them better able to deal with tough situations. You want them to have the hardships when you’re around, so that when you’re not around, you can trust that they’ll be just fine dealing with whatever comes their way.” Well…suddenly this conversation got a lot more depressing.

“I really don’t want to think of Angie as my child… You know what I have to do with her at home.” There’s a reason she was a “sex” slave after all…

“Well, someone you want to protect. You should try to realize, that caring about someone, wanting to protect them, is going to make you pull your punches, so having someone you trust there to ‘punch’ for you is actually a good thing. Especially when that someone is really very good at punching!”

’Ain’t that the truth!”

“Patterson you’re just a big ol’ softy, aren’t you? Still, I’m glad you’re here…”

“Only when it comes to my…people I care about and thank you. I’m glad I’m here too.” James said with a slight smirk. I noticed Butters watching us talk, but he didn’t say anything, content to merely stand by and wait till he was needed. I moved toward Butters and stood alongside him, immediately the big man tensed up and stared straight ahead at the wall.

“Hey there big guy. Still shy around the girls?” Butters shook his head rigidly, the most unconvincing ‘no’ of all time. A bit surprising for a guy with a female presence in his cock. “Uh huh, look I just wanted to thank you for being here and helping out. Also, for coming after me last week, I’m sorry I haven’t been able to say it sooner but…well I saw you taking out those gangsters for me and Veronica. Thanks.”

Butters relaxed a little, offering me a shy smile and looking me in the eye…but then his gaze wandered down to my slightly unbuttoned blouse and shorter than usual skirt, his eyes widening slightly as he blushed and turned quickly around again. In hindsight, maybe wearing this wasn’t such a good idea. When Butters was driving, he was always facing away from us, watching the road, so I could wear whatever I wanted really. Or whatever I needed, just because I looked really good in those little hooker dresses didn’t mean I wanted to wear them! Being in the driver’s seat in our van also made you feel a little more detached from the rest of the vehicle, and that also helped Butters with his shyness around pretty girls, but here, in this room, with no less than 3 attractive women, and two of us wearing perhaps not the most conservative clothing, it must’ve been hard on Butters.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Constance said to a heavily concentrating Angie. “I think that’s as tough as we’re gonna get out of you. A Grade Two could probably smash that thing if they tried hard enough, but Grade Ones are gonna find it impossible to get through, so long as you can keep it up. Remember, it’s not all about power, as I’m about to show you…”

’Here we go…

Suddenly, Angie gasped and began walking toward me looking pretty…upset? Butters kept his eyes firmly fixated on the wall in front of him and I opened my mouth to ask Angie what Constance did…before suddenly finding Angie’s hand crashing against my cheek in an open-handed slap that had me seeing stars for a moment.

’What the hell!’

’Calm down Monica, this is clearly Constance’s doing…’

’Oh I’m aware! I say we slap her back!’ Yeah, I wasn’t going to get into a fist fight with Constance, everyone knew how that would turn out…

“Ow! Constance what’s the big—“ Suddenly Angie was pressing her entire body into me, holding me tight and kissing my cheek where she’d just hit me.

“Mistress! I’m so sorry I… I didn’t mean to… I just thought… I don’t…”

“That’s a Psionic Dart sleeping beauty,” Constance said, looking smug. “Remember when I said I had less power than the average Grade One? I wasn’t lying, and I don’t think any Grade One could’ve gotten through that shield in such a small amount of time. So, the question is, how did I do it? Could you tell? You want to not be a burden for your Mistress? Want to not be used against her like that? Better use that brain then, assuming you have one…” Angie snarled, actually snarled, as she caressed my stinging cheek and turned back toward Constance.

“My shield wasn’t broken…I still feel it intact, but it felt like you…I don’t know how else to describe it except you ‘drilled a hole’ in it and that’s how the uh…the Dart got through.”

“Very good. Seems you aren’t hopeless after all. It takes a lot of control, more than most people can manage, in fact I’m the only Psionic I know of that can do this at all, but when I project my Psionic ability, I can focus it in a tighter area, boost the signal as it were, so that even if you have a shield up, even if it’s hardened, my Darts can still get through, and usually people don’t even notice. The fact that you were able to tell what happened is a testament to your own potential control. I don’t have a lot of power, but I have more than enough control to make up for it. Butters, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. I won’t have him demonstrate because he’d probably affect everyone in this room, and anyone next door as well, but he has extreme power, without a lot of control. Think of him like a shotgun, the spray is going to go everywhere, but when it hits it hits hard.”

“And I am a good blend of both,” James said, stepping forward and offering Angie a sympathetic smile. “Most people are so I’m the eh, normal one of the bunch, but don’t let yourself confuse ‘normal’ for weak. As it stands I’m a Grade Three just by virtue of having decent power and control without overbalancing one verses the other. Constance and Butters here are Grade Twos, though Constance has the level of control expected of a Grade Four, and Butters has the power of a Grade Four. Having such offset levels of control or power can give you an element of surprise, but having good fundamentals makes you more reliable.”

“What about Mistress Susan?” Angie asked, turning to me curiously. I grinned.

“I’m a Grade Three as well, but I’m a unique case since I have two sources of Psionics instead of just one. So, I might not have either the power or control of a Grade Four, but I could definitely match one in a fight.” Angie’s eyes widened as she looked upon me fawningly, which admittedly might not be the healthiest thing for her given the state of her Core, but it sure did feel nice!

“So, you’re the best Mistress? You could beat any of them if you wanted to?” Well… Constance suddenly started laughing and James gave a patient little sigh. Butters continued staring at that wall, Angie and I were still quite close to him.

“The second you start thinking about a fight in terms of the better Grade always wins, is the moment you will lose every fight,” Constance said, gesturing for Angie to return to the middle of the room. “Theoretically, sure, Barbie here should be able to beat all of us, and she’s quite the brawler don’t get me wrong, but she can have her off days, and I can have my good days. People don’t operate so consistently that you can reliably predict the outcome from the get-go, that’s why we send full teams to deal with even single Psionics. You got a pretty bad first experience with Psionics watching Barbie and Vixen take on an entire gang by themselves. The truth is that any one of those gang members could’ve taken Barbie out in a one-on-one fight if they were experienced enough or talented enough. Experience plays a big role, after all, so does practice. So does being clever. No Psionic fight’s outcome is ever guaranteed. Even a lowly Grade One could take out Barbie, because all it takes is one debilitating suggestion getting through, and then the fight’s over.”

“But that’s why we’re all here today, to help you understand how best to defend yourself against these types of attacks and how you can protect yourself or know when to run away.” Patterson stepped up next to Constance as Angie returned to the center of the room. “So, do you have any requests as to what you want to learn first? Constance says you have good control, but what about your power? Adam is a bit shy but he’s a good man, he’ll let you know what to do.”

“Well, I thi—“ before Angie could answer there was a knock on the door. Constance grumbled and looked annoyed at the interruption as one of our officers came in. A young man with glasses and the look of an analyst, I don’t think I’d ever seen him before.

’Wow Barbie, you don’t even remember him? Cold hearted!’ Wait what? Did I know this guy?

’Susan! Don’t tell me you don’t remember! You really must put more effort into these sorts of things!’ Whoa! Don’t make me sound like some flippant little cock tease who makes guys do favors for her then forgets they even exist! I know him I just… I’m just having a little trouble placing him at the moment… That’s…wait a minute… I was starting to get feelings of deep amusement from both Gloria and Monica, like they were snickering at me in the back of my head. Oh, ha ha! See I knew I wasn’t THAT bad!

“Miss Tanner, you have a uh…a visitor…” he said, looking directly at me. Constance, Angie, and James all looked right at me, even Butters seemed a little curious.

“I uh… I do?” I asked, thinking about who it could be. This was a field office, so civilians came here all the time asking for assistance, but actually visiting? Did I know anyone who would visit?

“It’s your sister. She says it’s an emergency.”

“Oh…”

’Guess training will have to wait.’

“I’ll go check it out, Angie you stay here and learn whatever you can. Hopefully I won’t be long.”

“I…I can go with you Mistress…”

“Hey, I won’t be long, and…this is family. You know how that can get…” I really didn’t want Wendy-

’Willow,’

Willow to get in a bunch of shots at Angie before the situation had become more…normal.

“Yeah, just lead the way Mr. uh…”

“Smith.” Really? Well, I guess it would sound like such a clichéd name if it wasn’t so common.

“So, was she uh…upset?” I asked as I departed the room with Psionic Special Investigations Officer…Smith.

“Oh uh…yeah. Yeah she was…” Great, I could just imagine how this would go. We might need some privacy so she could scream at me. “She was crying out your name, and nothing seemed to console her.” I froze for a moment, picturing Wendy, my little sister, crying her eyes out…I started back up again, this time my pace was so fast Mr. Smith had to start jogging a little to keep up. My hips didn’t even sway as I walked, but this time, I didn’t care. Who the hell had hurt my sister?