The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

It was early Monday morning that found Miranda Dixon in her office, sitting back in her leather recliner with a stunned look on her face. She stared at the computer screen again, as if she somehow expected the display to magically change to the expected message... but it stubbornly remained just as it had when she’d first opened the balance page to the account.

“Empty. Fucking empty,” she repeated to herself, utterly stunned. “But... how?” She shook her head in disbelief. She’d checked the balance herself last night, to make sure she knew the exact amount of funds available for her to siphon off into her private account once the investigation into the theft of the University’s funds was closed, and Professor Scott Pringle had been indicted for embezzling. Now, incredibly, it seemed that someone actually had broken into the account and stolen the money, using her computer terminal to make the withdrawal.

Goddammit! How the hell could this have happened? she thought furiously. Scrolling back through her security files, she noticed an unusual login at midnight, Sunday night, from an outside terminal. Frowning, she scanned the ISP address, but the identity was blocked; instead, she pulled up the login code used, and snarled angrily as she recognized the familiar PRINGLES-01 flashing before her.

“Pringle! That fucker!” she growled, slamming a fist down hard on her keyboard, nearly shattering it. “Figured out what Raoul and I were up to, and decided to turn the tables on me, huh?” She fumed. By remote-accessing her office computer, any investigation into the money transfer would seem to have originated from her computer. True, the money stolen had been from a separate account set aside for the special project, and not part of the University’s allocated funds, but if the agents in charge of the investigation were thorough enough to check ALL of the financial records, this theft would raise lots of questions, most of which would be pointed at her. And, even if she somehow managed to convince the Board that Pringle was responsible for the theft, she was still responsible to the perfume company for the stolen cash.

And worst of all, I have no time to try and do damage control, she thought, seething. The President, Treasurer, and their investigation team will be here any minute to talk to me, and get access to all my files! That bastard... timed it all perfectly. Goddammit!

A knock sounded at her door, breaking her out of her inner dialogue. Miranda straightened her blouse, and glanced at the clock, frowning slightly. Seven thirty-eight? They’re early. I wasn’t expecting them here until eight at the earliest. Clearing her throat, she rose to her feet. “Come in.”

The door opened, and a young attractive brunette in a ponytail and glasses, wearing a blue and yellow University sweater and blue jeans slipped into the office. “Um, excuse me, Dean Dixon. Hi. I, um, wondered if you would sign this course override form for me? If you’re not too busy?”

“Hmm? Course override?” Miranda took the form, reading it over. “A little late in the semester to enroll isn’t it Miss... Miller?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“Yes, well, I’m only now... in a position to attend classes,” Sarah said, blushing slightly. “But, um... I’m already a senior, I only need to pass three classes to graduate, so I’ll be taking a light course load. And, um... I have... a kind of... tutor,” she added, blushing even more, “so I am sure I can get caught up. The Dean for the History Department already okayed my override, so I just need your okay to get into Physics 429.”

“Well, it’s okay with me, if you think you can handle it,” Miranda said dismissively, reaching for an ink pen. “Now you just need your advisor to send the requests through and have a printout signed at the Admissions office—”

“Already done,” Sarah said brightly, handing Miranda her a black pen from her book bag. “Professor Pringle submitted the request just a few minutes before I came to your office.”

“PRINGLE!?!” Miranda hissed, drawing back. Scowling, she jerked the request form up from her desk, rereading it thoroughly. “Ahhh... so, Scott Pringle is your advisor, is he?” she asked intently, glaring at hapless Sarah, who stood, unsure what caused the shift in the Dean’s mood. “Well... I’m quite sure with such a... celebrated academic as him as your advisor, you are bound to excel.” Eyes narrowed, she gave the girl a wide fake smile. “However, I do not believe that the Professor will be able to give you much aid in the next several weeks. It’s nearly midterms, you know, and he will be too busy with his own students to be of much help to a Physics major. And, tutor or not, I can’t in good conscience recommend your acceptance this close to the middle of the semester. Sorry, dear, request denied.”

“But... but...” Sarah sputtered, helplessly. “I can do the work! Really! I can make it up! Please, just give me the chance to prove myself—”

“I said, request denied!” Miranda repeated harshly, losing the fake smile. “Now, I have a very important meeting in a few minutes, Miss Miller, I will have to ask you to leave. Perhaps you should just go back to whatever you were doing before now... and you can reapply again in the fall, at the BEGINNING of the semester.” Feeling tears begin to well up in her eyes, not wanting the Dean to see her cry, she turned and ran out of the office. Miranda watched her departure with a savage glee. It was a small and petty victory against Professor Pringle, but after beating her at her own embezzling game, she felt justified at taking whatever victories she could, moral or not.

“So? What do you think?” Dr. Natalie Porter inquired, gesturing to the images displayed on the main viewer on the far wall. “The one on the left is the completed model, and the one on the right is the serum we’ve managed to create so far.” She sat down on a stool in front of the desk, running a finger lightly against a large beaker of milky white liquid. “I really hope you can figure out the missing piece to this puzzle, Ted. A lot is riding on it.”

Disheveled, hair still wet from the impromptu shower, but eyes finally clear and lucid, Ted cursed softly. “Yeah, sure. I’m going to help the sick fuck that turned me into a drooling idiot for the past three days, and left me sitting in the corner in a pile of my own shit! Oh yeah, Natalie. I’ll get right on that.”

“Look, Ted,” Natalie said pensively, glancing towards the door, “I know what you’re feeling. Believe me. What he did to your mind he did to the rest of us in... other ways,” she said, looking away, unable to meet his gaze. “But like it or not, we’re trapped in this situation. If he gets pissed off, he can make things infinitely worse for you... worse for all of us! I don’t see any real way out of this, other than to give him what he wants.” She sighed deeply. “So, please, Ted... tell me you can figure this out!”

Ted closed his eyes, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “Tch... fine. Okay... well just from the structure itself, I’d say the missing bonding agent is an organic molecule... a complex hydrocarbon of some kind.” He frowned, peering over at the image. “Can you... can you rotate the view? Say... one hundred and eight degrees?” When Dr. Porter obliged, he nodded. “Uh huh. Yeah... yeah... I see. Definitely organic, long complex hydrocarbon chain.”

“Hydrocarbons?” Natalie said, frowning in thought. “You mean like, gasoline, or kerosene, or something flammable?”

“No... nothing like that,” Ted replied, his attention focused on the images before him. “I’m thinking more along the lines of... sugar. Glucose, Sucrose, or something along those lines... some kind of food product...”

“Food!” Natalie said, snapping her fingers. “Of course. That actually makes a kind of sense. Knowing Pringle, he probably put the serum in the rat’s food and had them ingest it. After all, he was trying expressly to make something non-toxic here, something that would affect the test subjects without hurting them!” She smiled. “You’re a genius, Ted. We could have tried every compound under then sun and never thought about adding food to the mix.”

“Yes, well, we still don’t know exactly WHAT he tossed into the mix,” Ted cautioned her. “I know organic molecules fairly well, but I’m not an encyclopedia. I don’t know every single compound or substance by its molecular composition, and if we’re looking for an exact match, it could take decades without some way to narrow things down a bit.”

“That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing,” Natalie murmured softly, but Ted caught the end of her statement and glanced sharply at her. She sighed. “Sorry. It’s just... I feel torn. On one hand, I want this project to succeed. If he gets what’s he’s after, he’ll leave us alone. And having been one of the people he used to... vent his frustrations,” she said, shuddering slightly, clutching herself tightly, “I am not anxious to experience that again a second time. And yet... if the project succeeds, and he gets the complete formula... what’s to stop him from doing this to someone else? Or everyone else? If he managed to enslave the lot of us with less than an ounce of that stuff, imagine what he could do with gallons of it.”

Ted’s eyes widened. “No. No, no, no, no, no! We can’t let that happen, Natalie. Even if he turns me into a drooling simpleton again, we cannot give him the missing ingredient!”

“We have to!” Natalie growled, hands clenched into fists. “Dammit! I can’t go against his wishes, Ted. It’s like... his voice, whispering in my ear, echoing in the back of my mind if I even TRY and think of disobeying him! I actually tried to call the police yesterday when he went out.” She looked down. “The sick fuck... as soon as I had the phone in my hand, my mind blanked out... and the next thing I knew, I was ramming it in and out of my pussy, chanting over and over that I would be a ‘good girl’ from now on!” She sighed. “I’m just lucky I came out of it before he came back to the room and realized what I’d attempted to do, or he would have made it a hundred times worse!”

“Damn,” Ted whispered softly. After a long moment of contemplation, he came to a decision. “Okay. Natalie. I have an idea. I think I can... maybe... narrow it down a bit more, and give him the answer he needs. He won’t get the actual ingredient, but a close enough approximation that his serum should mostly work. It’s kind of like finding a specific key to unlock a specific lock. Even if you don’t have the key you need, you can still unlock it with a close enough copy and a bit of adjusting. The results won’t be as exact or as reliable what he’s expecting, but knowing Farnsworth, he won’t bother to test it or anything. He’ll be off and running like a shot, and with any luck, we’ll have found a way out of this mess before he even realizes something is wrong.”

Natalie frowned, pondering. “I don’t know...” she said dubiously. “I think that would be... going against His wishes...”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Ted insisted. “Think about it. He wants a working serum as fast as possible, right? Well, an approximation will work, just not reliably. So he gets exactly what he wants, what he asked for... a serum that works right now.”

Natalie’s frown slowly faded. “You’re right. I can feel it squirming around inside my head... but by obeying the strict interpretation of his wishes, I can go through with this.” She nodded, almost as if to herself. “I can do this, Ted. So... what is the approximate ingredient?”

“Chocolate,” Ted said without hesitation. “Real chocolate, not that carob bean stuff. Get a few pieces of chocolate and melt it down, and add it to the mix, and it should act as a binding agent and a catalyst.”

Natalie nodded. “Great. I’ll go inform Master right away.”

Ted nodded back, watching her leave, then sighed deeply. He was in deep shit. They all were. After a long enough glance, and knowing Pringle’s habits, he’d finally figured out exactly what the missing piece of the puzzle was, but he wasn’t about to give that information to Natalie. At the moment, she was compromised, and despite her assurances, he was pretty sure she would give a complete detailed report of what he’d figured out.

Which was fine, he thought to himself, moving to the fire exit door, reaching up to disable the alarm. Farnsworth was always a clever vindictive little shit, he thought as he slipped out into the afternoon air, but he never was really that bright. Fucker thought he was so clever turning my mind on and off like a fucking light switch. If he had been clever, he would have put the same restrictions on me going against his wishes that he did to the others. Smirking, he sprinted across the parking lot, heading to his car. Not your first mistake, Nicky Boy, and I’m sure it won’t be your last, but it will cost you dearly.

Sarah let out a soft sigh of contentment, leaning back into the thick cushioned couch, switching on the TV. When the Dean had brushed her off so abruptly, she’d managed to make it all the way outside the building before breaking down, but once she was alone outside, she finally let the tears flow.

“...you should just go back to whatever you were doing before now...” Miranda Dixon’s taunting voice came back to her, “...and you can reapply again in the fall, at the BEGINNING of the semester...”

Back to what she’d been doing before? Hooking? Selling her body on the street? Crying herself to sleep every night, wondering where she had gone so wrong in her life? She’d slumped down to the ground, sitting on the bottom most step in front of the building, wondering what to do next when her Savior had dropped down, sitting next to her on the step.

“What happened, Sarah? What’s wrong?”

“Professor?” she’d sniffed, glancing up. “Wh... what are you...”

“My office is just across from here,” Scott had replied, pointing at the open window several yards away. “I saw you crying and rushed out to see what was wrong. Now come on... what happened to make you cry?”

Scott had listened calmly, yet angrily, as she’d repeated back the Dean’s words, then told her to relax, and pay it no mind. “It’s not you that she has a problem with,” he’d told her, gently rubbing her back, “it’s me. Just go back home and relax, okay? I’ll go to the Admissions office myself and have it rushed though. Trust me. Everything will be fine.”

“But... what she’d said... about me going back to... to... before...”

“Sarah, look at me,” he’d said then, capturing her gaze. She’d obeyed instantly, staring deep into his eyes, no longer brown, but a deep slate grey color. “Everything will be fine with your enrollment. You’re not worried about it anymore. And you’re not worried about Dean Dixon’s words... the doubt she made you feel is gone. Vanished. In fact, you feel better already.”

And she did. Smiling as a heavy weight was lifted off of her, she’d hugged him tightly, barely resisting the urge to kiss him on University grounds. She’d taken his advice, and returned back to his home to wait for the good news. Sure enough, ten minutes earlier, he’d called her to give her the good news: she was officially enrolled as a student in all three of the classes she needed.

“I’m picking up your books and a syllabus for each of your classes,” he’d informed her cheerfully, “then I’ll be home. None of your classes meet on Tuesday or Thursday, so you should probably use this time to relax and rest and have fun while you can.”

She’d again taken his advice to heart. Lounging on the couch, watching old episodes of Friends she contemplated her situation. Is that what we are? Friends? Sort of... but a bit more than that. Lovers? Hmmm. I wouldn’t exactly call us that. Friends with Benefits? It fits, yeah... but I’d like to think there’s more between us that just casual sex now and again. She sighed, thinking about the Professor, and how she viewed him. Ugh. It’s so confusing. Buddy is such a stud... it’s like he’s a year or two older than me, and waaay hot, the kind of guy you’d drool over, but can totally relate to. And Scott is so... well, stuffy, and kind of stiff, almost like he’s old enough to be my GRANDFATHER, instead of my dad! Still, he’s so sweet and caring... unlike my real father. He was the one who reached out to me, offered to help me... and is STILL helping me, even now.

The sound of the doorbell ringing pulled her out of her thoughts. Guess he forgot his keys again, she thought with a smile, walking to the front door. For a genius, he certainly is an absent-minded Professor. Unlocking the door, she opened it wide, leaning against the wall, dangling a keychain from her index finger. “Forgot your keys again, did yo... Oh!” Sarah replied sheepishly, stepping back from the pair of women staring at her sidelong from the front door. “Sorry, I, um, thought you were someone else.”

“No problem. Is Buddy here?” the petite blonde asked. “We got tickets to see LMFAO perform at the Garden this coming weekend, and wanted to know if he’d like to come.”

“Um, no, he’s not home yet,” Sarah replied, stepping aside to let them enter. “He should be here shortly, though. He called a few minutes ago to say he was on his way. Shit, where are my manners? My name is Sarah. I’m staying with the Professor for a few days. Please, have a seat,” she said, gesturing to the couch. “There’s soda in the fridge. Anyone thirsty?”

The blonde shook her head no, but taller redhead opened her mouth to speak, then paused, glancing at her smaller companion, who now nodded. “A coke would be lovely. Thank you.”

Huh. Interesting. “Okay, then... one coke coming up!” A quick trip to the kitchen and she returned with a glass of coke on ice. “So... would it be nosy of me to ask how you know, um, Buddy?”

The blonde laughed. “No, dear, it wouldn’t be. And forgive our bad manners as well. My name is Karen Caldwell, and my girlfriend’s name is Elizabeth Paulin. We met Buddy a few weeks ago at Asiago’s,” she said with a smile, as if recalling a fond memory. “It seems he was having an... an argument or something, with my dear sweet Lizzie over...something silly.” She shrugged. “Do you even remember what it was about, Lizzie?”

“Nope,” the redhead replied with an easy grin. “You’re right though... it was something... something...” she repeated, frowning slightly, thinking, before smiling again. “...silly. I was just being my usual naughty self, I suppose.” She shrugged. “And Buddy decided to call me on it. Well, the argument turned into a discussion, which turned into a conversation... and the next thing we know, we’re all sitting there chatting like long lost friends.”

“Yes, once you finally apologized,” Karen added with a grin. “If you hadn’t been so stubborn, you could have skipped your punishment, and wouldn’t have had to spend the week at his beckoned call!”

“Ah!” Sarah exclaimed, smirking. “I see. So, you’re the one who had to spend a week as his maid!” The redhead glanced at her sharply, then lowered her head, blushing fiercely. Ah hah. And the submissive way she’s acting makes more sense now.

“So, dear, tell us about you,” Karen said after a moment, leaning forward with interest. “How did you come to know our dear friend Buddy?”

“Me? We’re... old friends, I guess you could say,” she said after a moment. “I was a former student of Professor Pringle at the University, but I kind of fell on hard times.” Looking both women directly in the eye, she decided to let the other shoe drop. “I was a prostitute. I was standing on a street corner in the rain, trying not to drown in the downpour, when he drove up and offered me a ride... to get me out of the rain.” She smiled as well, in memory, her face adopting the same dreamy look Karen and Liz had previously showed. “He recognized me almost instantly. I was pretty much homeless, staying with an abusive degenerate loser who beat me... he brought me home, offered me a dry and warm place to stay, fed me, clothed me, and even helped me get enrolled back at the University to finish up my degree.”

The redhead and blonde shared a look. “Yeah, that sounds just like him,” Karen agreed with a sigh. “Always helping people.” She reached out and placed a hand gently against Sarah’s, squeezing lightly. “As for your past... don’t sweat it. You’re not the only person with a past they’d rather forget. And anyway, if the Professor saw something in you that was worth saving, who are we to nay say it?”

“Thanks,” Sarah said sincerely, squeezing her hand gently in return. “That means a lot. So... um, mind if I ask you both a personal question?”

Karen and Liz glanced at each other, and nodded. “Sure. Go ahead,” Karen replied, as Liz took another sip of her drink. “Fire away.”

“Have you either of you two been intimate with Buddy yet?”

Liz did a spit take, nearly choking to death, while Karen burst into giggles. “Wow. When you shoot, you really shoot from the hip! If you’re asking if either, or perhaps, the both of us have had sex with Buddy, the answer is no.” She grinned, patting her sub lightly on the back. “We are both devout lesbians. Still, depending on what you consider ‘being intimate’, Lizzie and he did share a somewhat ‘special moment’ while she was serving as his maid.”

Recovered somewhat, Liz nodded, blushing. “Yes. Um. I have a somewhat... rather kinky side,” she confessed. “My first night as his maid, I was really nervous... but he treated me nice. Really nice. We sat at the breakfast table and just talked, got to know one another. He... made me feel comfortable around him. So, um... when we were done eating, and I went back into servant mode, I felt a little guilty about neglecting my duties and forgetting my ‘proper place’... and I was feeling pretty comfortable around him already so... I asked him to... to... um...” Her blush deepened, and her thighs rubbed together lightly. “Spank me,” she said, whispering the two words.

“My little Lizzie is a pain and humiliation slut,” Karen explained patiently, running her fingers lightly through the redhead’s hair. “She gets off on being punished. It really turns her on.” She smirked evilly. “But seeing as how she was there to make up for acting out earlier, I ordered her to make sure she gave back as much as she received. And you certainly did, didn’t you, Pet?” she purred, gripping a lock of Lizzie’s hair from the back, causing the larger woman to gasp.

“Y-y-yes, Ma’am,” she hissed softly, licking her lips. “I did. I... lay myself across his lap... and asked him to spank me. But... but that wasn’t all. I made sure to grind myself against his crotch the entire time, rubbing his cock against my belly as I whined and begged like a slut in heat for him to beat my tender little ass...” She whimpered slightly, eyes fluttering in memory, clenching and unclenching her legs as she remembered the act, and the wet spot in the middle of her dress once it was over. “It um... wasn’t sex... not really... but as close as you can get and not be sex.”

Heh. I know a few Johns who would disagree with you there, Sarah thought archly. Aloud she said, “In other words, neither of you is interested in actually having sex with him.”

Karen opened her mouth, then closed it frowning. “You know... I never really thought about it that way. I mean... Liz and I are strictly lesbian. Men don’t interest us at all. Buddy is... is...” she started, frowning deeper, trying to organize her feelings and thoughts.

“Special,” Liz finished for her. “He’s just... Buddy. There’s something about him that just... draws you to him, you know? It’s like you’re a moth and he’s the flame; you can’t help but be drawn to him.”

Moths to the flame. That sound’s entirely too accurate. “But you’ve never thought about being with him sexually?” Sarah persisted, frowning slightly at her own questioning. Dammit. Why am I obsessing over this? Am I... am I actually jealous... of the idea of him being with someone else?

Both women bit their lip, considering. “I... haven’t really thought about it,” Karen said slowly, as if carefully choosing her words. “It’s kind of... confusing. Rationally, I can’t see myself ever having sex with a man... the idea is just... just... repulsive,” she said with a scowl. “And yet... when I think about being with Buddy...” She sighed softly, her eyelids drooping slightly. “I wouldn’t ever ask it, you know... or suggest it... and yet...”

“And yet, if he were to suggest it,” Liz continued, her eyes staring off into the distance, “I don’t think... no... I’m pretty sure...I wouldn’t be able to say no...”

“Yeah,” Karen said after a moment. “Me either.”

Yeah, Sarah thought, silently echoing the sentiment. Me either.

All three women sat there in silence for a long moment, processing that thought, when the doorbell rang, followed by a loud knocking sound from the front door.

“Hello? Sarah?” Scott called from outside. “I think I lost my house key again! Can you let me back in?”

“So... um...” Scott said, glancing around at the trio of women standing around, pointedly avoiding his gaze. “What’s going on? Did I walk in on some.... girl talk or something?”

Glancing at one another, they all started laughing hysterically. “Um, yeah, you could say that,” Sarah managed over her giggles.

Rolling his eyes, the Professor walked down the hallway and deposited the stack of Sarah’s school books into the guest room, then returned. “Okay. So... are we done laughing now? If not, can I at least be let in on the joke?” Which of course only made them laugh even harder.

“Okay, okay, sorry, Scott,” Karen said after a moment, composing herself. “Sorry about that. We just... heehee... we came over to see... if you wanted to join Lizzie and I at the LMFAO concert this coming Saturday. A client of mine hooked me up with a few, and I have one for you, and your house guest.”

“A concert? Interesting. I’m, er... not sure what exactly a LMFAO is, beyond the internet acronym,” he said shrugging, getting a few more chuckles from the girls, “but it does sound like fun. I’d love to come... but, I’m afraid Sarah will be too busy cramming to come with us.”

“Hey, wait.... what?” Sarah exclaimed, crossing her arms. “What do you mean, too busy? It’s a concert, held on a Saturday, at the start of Spring Break weekend! There’s no way I’m THAT busy cramming—this is LMFAO we’re talking about!”

Scott sighed. “Yes, and, again, I have no idea what that means... but Sarah, you have a lot of work to make up. A LOT of work. I can help you with some of it, yes... but, well... I just don’t think you should go to this concert.”

“Oh really?” Sarah grumbled, scowling. She’d just been thinking about how much he’d treated her like she was his daughter, and now here he was, trying to act the part. “And why is that? Am I such bad company that you’re rather spend your evening with your two lesbian friends than me?”

“Huh? Hey!” Karen said, indignantly.

“That’s not the reason,” Scott said quietly, staring at her calmly, meeting her anger with clear and calm resolve. “It’s because you have six weeks of classes to make up for. It’s because just a few hours ago you were crying your eyes out just outside my office at the thought of your path to a better future ending before it had even began.” That, more than anything, took the wind out of her sails, and Sarah turned away, unable to hold onto her anger in the face of such truth.

“I know you’re a bright girl, Sarah, but even without a day off to attend the concert, this is pushing things quite a bit. You promised me that if I got you enrolled in classes before midterm that you would give this your all,” he reminded her, “your utmost, your full one hundred percent. Those were your words, not mine—”

“Enough, Scott,” Liz said softly, walking up behind Sarah, placing an arm across the girl’s shoulders. “She gets the message.”

“We all do,” Karen replied, moving up alongside her lover, on Sarah’s other side. “Look, Scott... I know you’re all about academic excellence, and that you’re trying to help Sarah to do her best... but don’t you think maybe you’re overdoing it a bit? I mean, it’s just one night, a few hours. Will that really make such a difference at the end of the semester? And besides... you’re not the girl’s father, you know. She’s a grown woman, old enough to make her own decisions.”

“Her father?” Scott blinked, taken aback. “NO! I mean, I wasn’t... I didn’t mean to... I, um... I was just... I only...”

“No,” Sarah said suddenly, stepping forward. “Scott’s right. I did make a promise. And not just to him. I swore to myself that if I ever got off the streets I’d do whatever it took make sure I never ended up back there.” She walked closer to Scott and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “You were right. I’m sorry. Thank you for reminding me.”

Scott sighed deeply, lowering his head. “Wait. Sarah,” he said, grabbing her before she could turn away. “You know what? Karen’s right. It’s just a few hours. I suppose one night off won’t put you too far behind. And, truthfully, the concert wouldn’t be the same without you there with me... to, um... explain what the hell was going on, frankly.” He grinned, getting a few chuckles of out her. “And Sarah? I’m... still kind of... new to all of this... being a mentor and all. My parents pushed academics as the most important aspect of my life growing up, and yes, it helped make me successful... but it also made me emotionally and socially stunted.” He sighed softly. “I’m not your dad, and I’m not trying to be. I’m your friend... and I need to try and remember that. And, well, feel free to give me a not-so-friendly reminder if I step out of line again, okay?”

“Deal,” Sarah said, smiling widely, feeling a soft fluttery feeling in her stomach. “Just remember those words next time I clock you upside your noggin.”

“Well, as much as I hate to break up this warm and touching scene,” Karen said, clearly amused, “Liz and I have dinner plans. We need to be going for now. So, Scott, we’ll see you guys on Saturday night, around five thirty? We can take Liz’s truck, it has the most room.”

“Certainly, I... er, we’ll be ready,” he replied, walking her to the door. He opened the door, then gasped in surprise, barely missing a large masculine fist swinging at his face. “What th... Ted? Ted Allen? Is that you?”

“Pringle... you’re home,” the tired doctor replied with a grin, lowering his arm. “Sorry, I was just about to knock.” Glancing at the women just inside the door, he frowned, considering. Damn. I was hoping he would be alone, so we could talk in private... ah hell. Fuck it, They have to know I’m gone by now. Time is of the essence.

Taking a deep breath, Ted pushed his way inside the room. “Sorry to interrupt whatever you were up to, Pringle, but we have to talk. Now. It’s important.”

“Hey, pal, rude much?” Liz replied, stepping towards Ted. “First you nearly brain my friend here, then you push your way uninvited into his home, demanding to speak to him.” Standing a full head taller than the diminutive doctor, she scowled. “Perhaps you should start with an apology.”

“It’s okay, Lizzie,” Scott said easily, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. “He’s a... colleague of mine from the University.” Facing Ted, he sighed. “Okay, Ted, what is so important that you felt the need to come all the way out here to speak to me?”

“We’re in trouble,” he said grimly. “Serious trouble. Farnsworth has gone off the deep end, in a bad way, and if we don’t stop him, it could be the end of life as we know it.”

“The... end of life?” Scott repeated, dubiously. “You’re not usually prone to hyperbole or wild speculations, Ted.... but seriously? How could on Earth could Nicholas Farnsworth possibly bring gloom and doom to the entire world?”

“He has your formula,” Ted replied, glaring up defiantly at the Professor. “The completed formula. And he’s mass producing it right now in the University Chem lab.”

Scott blinked. Then gulped. “Oh,” he said softly, walking back to the couch, dropping down on boneless legs. “Yes. That would probably do it.”