The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“Uuhhnn... fuck... ooohh man... ohhh yeaah...” I moaned softly, panting with exertion. My feet were up in the air, and my head was back, hair frizzed and spread out about my head like a halo. “Uhhnnn! Uhhhnn! Ohh... oh ffuccck!” I groaned again, as my back arched. My back arched, and the breath caught in my chest. I was nearing my peak. Just a little more... a little more... a little—

YEEESSSSSS!

“AAAAHHHHHHhhhhh!” I cried out, seizing, as my orgasm washed through me, shredding my thoughts, and scattering them to the four winds. Just then, as my own pleasure began to wane ever so slightly, I felt Jeff, my partner, twitch, his cock surging within me, forcing its way to my very depths as he, too, came. His orgasm rekindled my own, and I cried out again, cumming, clutching him tightly to me, as I hung on for dear life until finally, finally, the moment passed, and I collapsed back to the bed, totally spent and very very satisfied.

This was a good one... normally cumming this hard would have knocked me out cold. But a part of my physical conditioning was endurance training, and I suppose that bled over into sexual endurance as well. Sighing softly, I glanced up at my lover, grinning stupidly at his sweat-soaked, slightly tousled self, as he gently lowered my legs back down to the mattress and lay down next to me on the bed. “They really do curl, you know,” he said breathlessly.

“Huh?”

“Your toes,” he said smirking, running his fingers across the bottom of my foot to make me squeal and jerk away. “I always thought that was just an expression, you know? Making a girl cum so hard their toes curl.”

I smirked back at him, still giggling. “So what? You’re into feet now, or something?”

“No,” he said rolling his eyes. “I was just curious to see if that actually happened.” He sighed, sitting up, reaching for his pants. “So, Claire... what are we?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked, frowning slightly.

“I mean ‘us’. U-S. I mean, is there even an ‘us’, Claire?” he asked, sighing again. “Not that I’m complaining. You’re a really hot babe. I enjoy spending time with you. And the sex is... nice,” he said with a smirk, getting a blush from me as well. “But I’m not sure what this is. Are we a couple? Girlfriend and boyfriend? Because it doesn’t really feel like it. You and Allison spend way more time together than we do. If anything, I’d call us ‘fuckbuddies’... someone you call when you want to hook up for a late night booty call.” He huffed, and I had the good grace to glance down. “So, fuckbuddies it is,” he murmured, putting on his shirt, and reaching for his shoes.

I honestly didn’t know what to say to that. I mean, yeah... that was kinda what we were. He had a good point. He only really came to mind when I was feeling really horny and wanted some male companionship. But that wasn’t ALL he was to me. Was he? Yeah, I spent most of my time hanging with Allie, because we were besties. And well... um... I didn’t exactly have a whole wealth of other friends to hang out with anyway. And it wasn’t because I was snooty or didn’t care or anything... it was just because my ‘night job’ didn’t leave me with a lot of time to socialize. Really, the only reason I’d picked Jeff for these rendezvous was that I knew him from high school.

As he turned to leave, I stood up and grabbed his arm. “Jeff, wait!” When he turned, I sighed softly, trying to pick my words. “You’re right. I admit it. I’ve been using you... to, um... you know. Get off. But I never really thought beyond that. And I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for taking you for granted, Jeff. And you’re right. There’s not really much of an ‘us’. But... there could be if you wanted...”

Chuckling softly, he turned back and gave me a soft kiss. “Listen, Claire. This isn’t on just you. It’s on me as well. I could have spoken up long before now... but frankly, I didn’t want to scare you off.” He paused, considering. “You always seem to be ‘busy’ these days,” he said slowly as if thinking aloud, “some days showing up for class like the walking dead as if you’re running on 2 or 3 hours of sleep. And even when we DO occasionally hang out, you always have to rush off unexpectedly. But you never give an answer on why, just that ‘something important came up’...”

I laughed nervously. “Um, yeah, well... I have this, um... night job,” I said sweating under his piercing gaze. “It’s kind of an ‘on call’ deal, so I keep odd hours...”

Jeff nodded once, simply, then turned back to the door. “Yeah, I figured. So, listen, I’m going to be out of town for a few days. When I get back, I’ll give you a call, and maybe we can sit down and, you know... talk. Maybe then you’ll feel like telling me about this... ‘job’ of yours.”

I sighed flopping back down on the bed as he left. I’d kind of sensed this was coming, but I had hoped he wouldn’t bring it up. He obviously knew I was lying about what I did after hours, and was pissed. I’d known what this was leading up to... but I just couldn’t make myself tell him the truth. One of the hardest things for a masked hero is keeping their identity a secret. The only thing harder is trying to have a relationship with someone while keeping such a big secret from them. And the bottom line was, I just didn’t know Jeff well enough to trust him with that big of a secret.

Ah well... if he decided to cut me off and kick me to the curb, there was always the ‘pocket boyfriend’ and the pair of D batteries in the desk...

Things had been really crazy over the past month. Shortly after my little run-in with Chopper, Mrs. Albinn pronounced me ‘adequate enough’ to be able to spar and train specifically with Megan or her husband without her constant supervision, effectively letting me set my own training regiment. I’d even begun training some of the other students, and had the pleasure of tossing THEM around like training dummies the way Megan had done to me! I sighed softly, running a hand idly along my bare stomach, unable to resist tracing my fingers lightly along the indentions and depressions that formed my six-pack abs. I had abs now! Hell, I had a fucking six pack now! Jeff had commented on it a few times, marveling that I was in better shape that he was, and he played for the college soccer team.

A bit more disturbing was the curriculum change, such as it was, with my training with the Albinns. With Veronica beginning to show signs of her pregnancy—and man, you could have knocked me over with a feather at the news about that! A baby at her age—a ‘friend’ of hers had taken over, a Miss Venus Satore. I didn’t know much about her personally, other than that she was ALSO a student of Parker and Veronica’s, and that her code name was ‘Divine’. Which in and of itself sounded totally pompous and arrogant for a superhero name... as to say “Oh, dahhhling, you are just simply Divine!” Megan remained stubbornly closed mouth about her, refusing to gossip, but little Lucy referred to her as ‘Auntie Venus’, and there was a definite chemistry of some kind between her, Parker and Veronica. There was obviously a story there, I just had no idea what it was.

As for the woman herself... the redhead’s specialty seemed to be seduction, plain and simple. And she was damned good at it. Her training was a course aimed at teaching me to resist mind control, to presumably make it harder for me to go under for every Tom, Dick, and Svengali that tried to brainwash me. I don’t know how effective her quote, training, actually was. Most of her training sessions started with me being lectured about a bunch of weird psychological mumbo-jumbo that made my Psych 101 teacher Dr. Jones seem like a quack... and usually ended with me waking up naked on the floor, feeling slightly sore, very well sated, and with a strange taste in my mouth.

Strangely, the latter part never really bothered me that much...

A beeping from my desk caught my attention, however, drawing me out of my musings. A gift from a certain famous billionaire industrialist, the smartwatch was hooked into the crime watch network he and his companions monitored, giving an alert to any major criminal activity in the area, signaling whoever was closest. Sliding on the watch, I moved to the window, only to pause, considering. Technically, I was supposed to go out on patrol with a partner for backup... but this was my day off. I wasn’t actually ON patrol, I just happened to be the closest person to react to a situation.

Well, fortune favors the bold I thought to myself, closing my eyes, concentrating, my decision already made. With a bit of focus and willpower, I activated the second gift Eugene Frasier had given me, allowing the Neuroweave fibers painlessly implanted into my skin to activate, coating my naked flesh with a virtually indestructible version of my trademarked pink, white and yellow costume, including my mask and ankle boots. I gasped, eyes opening at the sensation, squirming lightly... it felt like a fine layer of downy feathers running down my body... and centering on my already stimulated sex. It was over in an instant, leaving me fully dressed and ready to go, in more ways that one. Shaking my head a bit, I deftly slid out of the window of my apartment, made my way up onto the rooftops, and headed off towards the emergency.

“Allison, lass, thank ye for meeting with me.”

Allison Johnson nodded nervously, sitting down on the recliner in the elder Scotsman’s study. Her hands were clutched tightly in her lap to keep them from nervously fussing with the hem of her skirt. She always felt somewhat intimidated by the wealthy businessman standing before her—it wasn’t every day that you were invited over by one of the richest men in the world, or brought into his world, revealing that he and his wife were two of the most famous and power costumed Superheroes in the city, hell, the entire country! Despite being taken in as his protege, she still felt nervous around him as if she couldn’t really bring herself to believe any of this was actually real.

“Allison?” he asked again, causing her to start, caught spacing out.

“Um, oh, sorry... I didn’t... what did you say?” she asked, blushing.

“I asked if you wanted something to drink, or perhaps a snack,” he replied, a slight smirk on his lips. “You know... idle banter and suggestions that a good host makes to try and put their visitor at ease.” At Allison’s blank look, he merely sighed. “Never mind,” he muttered, moving back around to sit at his desk. “I suppose I should get straight down to it then. As ye ken, I’ve been putting you through a series of tests over these past few weeks now, testing your compatibility with my Armor’s integration systems.”

Allison brightened at that, sitting up so suddenly that she bumped the desk, nearly causing his desk to tip over. “Oops! Oh! Sorry, I’m sooo sorry!” she apologized as Gene caught it, moving it back to its usual place. “Um... sorry. I was just... I’m so excited about this! I can’t believe you chose me, out of all the people in the world, to take over for you as the new Armor Man... or Armor Woman, I guess.”

Eugene nodded. “Aye. As ye ken, I’d originally chosen your friend Claire to fill that role. Put through the same tests as you, she came through with an abnormally high compatibility. In fact, I was ready to begin training her in its use and operation.” He sighed softly. “But the lass refused. She decided that she was more comfortable helping River City as she was now, in small ways, rather than taking on all the responsibility that comes with that tin suit.” He smirked. “She was. however, very vocal in support of you, how you’d always spoke of nothing more than wanting to fight the good fight alongside her.”

“Yes sir,” Allie nodded, beaming with pride. It was true. Ever since she was a young girl, she’d been fascinated by the colorful costumed heroes and villains that populated her hometown, and had dreamed of being one of the good guys. Discovering Claire had been gifted with special powers, she’d encouraged her to become a heroine, and had taken solace in living out her dream vicariously through her. Now, however, it seemed that she would get to fulfill that dream herself firsthand. She was so caught up in the joy of seeing that dream fulfilled that she missed the expression on her mentor’s face,

Eugene sighed heavily, glancing away. There was no easy way of putting it, and sugar coating the truth wouldn’t lessen the blow. “So, um, lass... I do have some news for ye about the last round of testing,” he began, his tone finally piercing the veil around Allison, as her smile slowly faded. “I’m sorry lass,” he said even as her expression dropped. “I truly am. I’ve run every test I could think of, run every simulation imaginable, even altered and reconfigured my systems a few dozen times... but the results are always the same. You’re just not compatible with the neural integration systems.”

Allison gasped, feeling almost as if she’d been physically struck. “But... but... I don’t understand!” she protested, standing up from her seat. “You told me that I was the second highest match you’d ever found! How can you say that I’m not compatible?”

In response, Eugene tapped a button on his desk, and the wall to the side opened up, revealing a large viewscreen. “I cannae explain it myself,” he said ruefully, as he displayed the data for her. “When we first tested you, you were at seventy-nine percent. And with each test, that percentage dropped. Fifty percent is the cutoff... and the last test dropped it down to forty-seven,” he shook his head. “That’s... extremely unlikely. Each test, each augmentation, its made to raise the percentage, not lower it. Each test is the armor attempting to adapt to your biosignature, trying to sync with you. And instead of matching up, its as if your biosignature is actually changing from its previous state. Not a dramatic change, mind, but enough to throw off the synchronization.”

Allison groaned, hanging her head. It was the ultimate disappointment... having her greatest joy and desire dangled in front of her, only to have it snatched away at the last second. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling... she didn’t even try. Eugene’s heart went out to her. He knew only too well what it felt like, to have your life’s dream crushed right before your eyes.

“Aye... as I said, I’m sorry, lass,” he stated again, gesturing to the board once again. “But, there is a glimmer of hope yet. I dinnae want to get your hopes up... and I cannae say for sure, as it’s not my area of expertise... but it seems to me that the most likely reason for yer biosignature going out of phase that way is because yer actually a Super.”

Allison looked up sharply at that. “Wha... what? What did you say? I’m... a Super?” she asked tentatively.

“It’s the most logical explanation,” Gene replied ruefully. “Not fully. And not activated. From what I ken of the subject, most Supers are either born with their powers from birth, or they develop them at puberty when their hormones kick in and their body chemistry changes. There are, however, a small number of cases where the person has never had any powers manifest at all, up through adulthood, and then a sudden stress or violent reaction causes them to kick in.” The smirk was back. “I believe a lot of ye youngsters have a notion of getting superpowers by being exposed to gamma radiation, or toxic waste or being bitten by a radioactive spider. But the truth is, such trauma would kill ye outright unless ye were already genetically marked as a Super. The transformation or manifestation brought on by an unusual stress is rare, but aye... it does happen.”

“And... you’re saying... you think that’s the case with me?”

“A person’s biosignature doesnae change on its own for no reason,” Eugene informed her, showing a listing of her biological profile before the testing and her current profile. “As ye can see, it’s quite a bit different from the original. I believe that the desire and need ye had for this to succeed... and the stress to yer body from the increasingly invasive probing, caused yer body to try and adapt, causing a partial activation.” He shrugged. “Again, it’s just a guess. I’m no expert in genetics or biology. But... if ye like, I can send your personal data over to a friend of mine, and get her opinion on it as well.”

Allison nodded, breathless, her cheeks and face wet from crying. She felt completely emotionally wrung out... first brought to the highest of highs, then to the lowest of lows, only to be brought back up from the brink with a slender but definite hope. “So... if it turns out... that you’re right... what does this mean?” she asked after taking a moment to compose herself. “You said I wasn’t... ‘activated’. Is there some way I can BE activated, that I can get my powers turned on?”

Eugene shrugged again. “Well, I’d imagine that there is a way, I’m just not sure what that way might be.” His expression darkened. “However, I dinnae want you trying anything or doing anything reckless, trying to force yer latent powers to come out. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to help ye figure this out... but only if ye give me yer word on this. Do ye promise?” he asked, extending his hand, waiting.

“Yes,” she said, taking his hand, shaking it firmly. “I promise.”

“Everyone shut up!” the husky female voice barked out, causing everyone in the market to go silent. “Yeah. That’s better,” she grumbled, glancing around anxiously, her fingers twitching slightly on the trigger of the guns she held in both hands. “Goddamn Whole Foods Market. And you... you... you bunch of sheep!” she snapped suddenly, circling around to point her guns at everyone. “You’re all part of the problem! You need to be the solution, NOT the problem!” Growling, she walked over to one of the stands and pointed her gun. “See this? Fresh caught Pacific Filet of Sole: $7.99 a pound. A pound! That’s eight dollars for a single small piece of bloody fish!” Angrily she fired, blowing apart the display case, causing several shoppers to scream and cower in fear.

This was the situation I’d walked in on, the emergency alert I’d received. Watching the obviously disgruntled, possibly deranged, gun-toting shopper, dressed in a heavy brown overcoat, and wearing Birkenstocks, I was actually perturbed that my new SmartWatch wasn’t smart enough to list specifically what I was dealing with before I’d arrived. Seriously. I was more of a fighter... er, now, anyway, after my training. Hostage negotiation and talking down crazed food aficionados wasn’t exactly in my job description. But... I was here. So I guess I’d just do my best. Worst case, I’d hopefully buy some time for the police to arrive, and give her someone else to focus on besides the customers.

“Why! WHY! WHYYYYYY!” she shrieked suddenly, staring up at the ceiling. “Why do we do this to ourselves? Why the FUCK do we make such a big goddamn deal about shit that doesn’t fucking mean ANYTHING?!? Organic? Cruelty-free? Chemical free? What’s the big damn deal?” She whirled around again, walking towards one of the workers, who quickly scuttled back away as much as he could manage. “Seriously! What the FUCK do you guys have against preservatives anyway, huh?” she demanded, sticking the barrel of her gun in the guy’s face. “I bought a bunch of overpriced organic bananas from you last week! I ate two of them the first day, and another the second. And by the third day, the rest of them were fucking ROTTEN!”

The man, wide-eyed, swallowed painfully, saying nothing, but another worker, apparently a manager, stepped forward, no doubt to draw the attention away from his employee. “Well, ma’am... I’m sorry you’re upset with the quality of your purchase,” he said gently, sweating as the gun turned on him. “But... but, I... there’s no one making you shop here. If you’re upset with the prices, there are plenty of other stores—”

“THAT’S NOT THE FUCKING ISSUE!” she yelled, glaring at the man who wisely shut up. “This store... it’s just the symbol of a much bigger problem! We’re all so goddamn fixated on making sure our food is chemical free. It’s supposed to be healthy! ‘Toxins in the food are killing us.’ ‘Steroids in the meat are affecting our children’. ‘We need to make sure our food is organic’. Fucking idiots! Food IS organic, goddamit! What, have we all been eating silicon or metal all these years up until now?”

Okay, granted she had a good point. I’d always personally thought the swing to ‘healthy foods’ was pretty much this generation’s version of the hippie movement like back in the sixties. Not that I wanted my food dipped in toxic waste for flavor or anything, but some chemical and additives were okay. Processed food was processed for a reason—do you know how much time I’d spend in the kitchen if I had to make every meal myself from scratch? By the time I finished making breakfast, it would be time for bed! That said... this lady had a serious screw loose, and I knew it was only a matter of time before she lost it completely and shot someone. It was time to take action. Stepping out from behind the magazine stand, I moved slowly towards her, trying to edge my way behind her—

Only to freeze as she suddenly whirled around to face me.

“YOU!” she barked, pointing both guns at me. “You’re one of those costumed heroes aren’t you?” she said, eyes narrowed. “Here to stop me, huh? Here to blindly follow the orders from your government overlords... trying to put down the common man, keep us all in line? Well, think again! I’m not a fucking sheep! And I’m not going to follow anyone else’s agenda anymore!”

I nodded slowly, hands raised. “And that’s good. That’s okay,” I said in what I hoped was a soothing voice. “Listen. I understand your point. And I agree. This place is a big rip off. I shop for groceries at Winco, myself. But, um... I don’t think your beef is actually with these people, is it? You’re upset at the System. These guys, these customers... they’re innocents in all of this—”

“BULLSHIT!” she snarled, cutting me off. Damn... overplayed my hand a bit. “These sheep are part of the problem! Places like Whole Foods wouldn’t exist if these brain addled mindless sheep didn’t keep shelling out money for overpriced garbage! If they weren’t funding the so-called ‘Green Machine’, this place would go out of business!” Her eyes narrowed, and her grip on her guns changed slightly. “We need to show the fat cats lobbying their secret agenda on us that we mean business! We have to make an example...”

Oh. Shit. She was going to go Columbine up in here. Mind racing, I considered my options. I couldn’t paper her up fast enough to keep her from getting off at least one or two shots. She was already on a hair trigger and pushing her would likely result in someone getting shot. I’d actually considered creating a wall around everyone to shield them... but again, I couldn’t work fast enough to shield everyone at once. The best option was to go after her guns, to try and disarm her. If nothing else, it would keep her focused and trained on me instead of the innocent bystanders. All that flashed through my mind in less than a second, my body already moving towards her as I saw her adjust her stance. My fight training recognized the threat, knew I needed to move, to swerve and dodge, but if I did, the people behind me would take the blast. Grunting, I let loose with the paper I was carrying, sending out a small wave of confetti even as I heard the twin PAF-PAF reports of both guns firing.

And I felt the twin impacts as both rounds struck me in the chest, point blank, sending my flying back across the floor.

Screams rang out throughout the store, and people scattered in a panic, most of them rushing for the exit. I lay on the floor, dazed, the wind knocked out of me, feeling as if I’d taken a wrecking ball to the chest. My vision was gray, no color, and I worried idly if that was a normal effect of being shot, or if I was in even worse shape than I’d imagined. Luckily, my confetti storm had done its job well, coating and clogging her guns, making them unable to fire again.

“Dammit! What is this stuff!” she yelled, waving her color coated hands around frantically.”Stop running! You fucking cowards!” she yelled after the fleeing customers. “Yeah! That’s it! Sheep! Lemmings! You run after your hero has fallen, and there’s no one left to defend you—”

CRACK!

A solid right to the chin sent the stunned hostage taker down to the floor. “You know what, lady?” a young raven haired girl dressed in a short black T-shirt, and ripped ragged jeans commented. “You talk way too much. Why don’t you sit down a spell and rest your jaw.” The woman groaned as her eyes crossed, and she slumped over, out cold. Sighing, the dark-haired girl turned to face me, kneeling down at my side. “Hey, kid. You okay?” she asked gently, frowning as she reached down to check my chest. “Huh. Well, you don’t seem to be bleeding, so that’s a good thing,” she murmured, only to jerk back in surprise as I sat up.

“Y-yeah,” I groaned loudly, wincing as I took a deep but shaky breath. “I’m okay. Hurts like the dickens... but I’ll live.” With an effort, I rose back to my feet, shaking my head to clear it. “Thanks for the assist, Miss. Nice right hook. I’m Paper Doll, by the way.”

“Good to meet ya, hon,” she said, shaking my hand. “Name’s Jack, but in costume, I go by Cascade. Gotta say that was a pretty gutsy move there, charging straight in like that. Are you bulletproof or something?”

I laughed, then immediately regretted it. “No... not really. It’s the costume. It’s like new age Kevlar, only stronger and lighter.” I rubbed my chest lightly. I was definitely going to have a bruise or two in the morning. “So, were you here the entire time? I think I would have noticed you dressed like, um, well... that...”

If I’d offended her, she didn’t show it. “What? Don’t tell me the whole grunge rock thing is dead here in your dimension?” I blinked at that. Did she say ‘dimension’? “At any rate, I saw what was happening, and I was planning to intervene, just checking around for an available water source when you jumped in and took control. But, seeing as she was more than a little trigger happy and my clothes aren’t bulletproof, I’m kinda glad you did!” she said with a laugh.

I smirked at that. “Why? You’re not bulletproof either?”

“Nope,” she said, “and I’m not explosion proof either. So I hope you’re ready for the next part of this.”

“Huh? Wait. You just lost me. What do you mean by ‘explosion’ exactly?” I asked, frowning.

“Um, this,” she said, reaching down, and opening the unconscious woman’s trench coat. “That’s one of the reasons I decided to play it safe. I got a look at what was under her coat when she turned earlier,” she stated, as my jaw dropped. The woman was wired with a vest fitted with C-4! Worse still, there was a timer that was counting down from two minutes! “As near as I can tell, that was her ace, her trump card, in case things went south. And, considering that things DID go south, we should probably do something, and quick.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Okay... I’d done the bomb defusing thing in training four times so far... and in three of those, I’d ended up splattered in brightly colored dye. Confidence was NOT high. I guess it must have shown on my expression, because Cascade, or Jack, or whatever she wanted to be called sighed and nodded. “Okay. So I guess I’ll take a crack at it. It can’t be that hard, right?” she asked, pulling a switchblade from her back pocket. “Basically, we just need to sever the connection to the power source going to the detonator so it doesn’t spark. And it doesn’t look too complicated. As long as we don’t cut the wrong wire, we’ll be fine.” Unsheathing the blade, she moved to one of the three wires showing, clamping on the red one, preparing to cut, when I suddenly, yelled out.

“NO! WAIT!” She froze, and I carefully pulled back the edge of the vest, revealing a whole other set of wires, red green and blue, all going into the detonator from behind. “Damn! I should have guessed. The woman was obviously a paranoid nut case. Of course, she set up a dummy set of wires just in case!” I glanced at the timer and nearly wet myself. “Thirty seconds!” I informed my partner, who had likewise begun to sweat. “If you have any OTHER ideas on how to not die right now, I’d love to hear them.”

“Shit... me too,” Jack murmured softly, thinking, wishing that her Master had come along with her. “Okay. Fuck it. It’s a bit of a long shot, but it’s about all I can think of. Grab that helium tank from the flower and balloon display and drag it over here,” she said, closing her eyes, creating a large globe of floating water from the moisture in the air. “Good... now, tip it over on its side, open the valve on it and stand back!” she warned, rising back to her feet as well. I did so, letting out a stream of compressed air, just as she soaked the C4 vest and sent a plume of water right at the open valve.

I knew what she intended, and in theory, the idea was sound... but would it work? I glanced down at the time and gasped. Five seconds! Too late now to do anything but hope and pray. But, as I stood and watched, stunned, frost appeared on the side of the plastique. As hoped, the escaping helium had frozen the water, turning it to ice, which traveled down the line back towards the vest, freezing it as well. The countdown slowed, slowed, then stopped as the bomb literally froze into a solid block of ice with two seconds to spare. I let out the breath I was holding, nearly sagging with relief.

“That... was awesome,” I said, giving her a small smile. “How the heck did you think of that?”

“Would you believe I saw it in a video game?” she replied, grinning. “Besides, we were out of time, and all my power lets me do is generate and control water. So... I improvised.”

I laughed at that. “Considering the way this lady kept going off about organic this and vegan than, and how close we just came to buying the farm, hurray for improvisation! I might have to add that class to my curriculum!” She laughed at that as well. And after tying up the lunatic, making sure the store patrons were okay, and disposing of the bomb, I called the police and let them take over, giving Jack an equal share of the glory. Then, I made my way over to River City General to get checked out, to make sure I was okay after taking a pair of bullets to the chest...

“Hold on. You were shot?!?”

I winced, glancing around the hallway, shushing Allison, pulling her close. “Geez! Keep it down. In public, remember?” Sighing, I nodded softly, opening my jacket and lifting my shirt briefly, showing her the two small but very purple bruises on my upper right-hand side. “And yeah, they hurt like hell at the time.” Allison looked a little gray as if she were holding back the urge to vomit. “Hey, it’s okay,” I reassured her. “I’m fine. I went to the E.R. afterward and they gave me a clean bill of health. And considering the caliber of the bullets and the range in which she fired, it should have been much worse. Mr. Frasier said that the new costume has a slight inertial dampening factor to it that helps lower violent impacts, so I—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” she cut in, glaring at me. “Your body was protected by your nearly invincible costume. But what about your head?” she asked, making me pause. “What if she’d shot at your head, Claire? You’d be dead, that’s what! Jesus!” She turned away, groaning softly, shaking her head. “Ugh... I think I might ralph...” she muttered. Realizing the truth of her words actually made me a little queasy as well.

“Look, Allie,” I said softly giving her a moment to compose herself, “this is nothing new. We talked about this kind of thing happening way back in our junior year of high school, back before I even started wearing the costume. And I’ll say the same thing now that I said back then—doing this is important. It’s the same risk that a policeman or a firefighter has when they do their job daily... actually less so, with all the support and technology and training, I have access to now. Heck, back before I met the Albinns, I was way less prepared—it’s really a wonder I lasted long enough to meet up with them! You’re just lucky you don’t have to deal with this kind of thing...”

Allison nodded, glancing down, and I groaned inwardly. Damn... I could have kicked myself. I’d forgotten about her own recent disappointment, about not being chosen to become Mr. Frasier’s apprentice. “Um, Allie, I’m sorry,” I said, hugging her. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I’m just... the way you worry about me is exactly how I feel about you going out and doing this kind of shit.”

She managed a sad smile. “You’re a hypocrite, you know?” she pointed out. “So, I can worry and fret about you, and its fine for you to play the hero... but I’m not allowed to make you worry back?”

“Tell ya what. Soon as they figure out how to bring out your hidden powers, then we’ll patrol together and watch each other’s backs,” I promised her. “It’ll be great! Well, assuming you survive ‘basic training’,” I added with a chuckle.

It was Allison’s turn to grimace. “Uhhh... oh man... I remember the horror stories you used to tell me about training with the Albinns,” she said, shuddering. “How was it she put it that first day?”

“‘I’m going to make you exercise,’ I said, mimicking Veronica Albinn, “‘a lot. I’m going to push you to your body’s breaking point, then past it. When you come out of it, you’re going to vomit. That’s a given. And cry. You’ll sob like a little baby. You may actually pass out’,” I said, blushing a bit in memory. The woman hadn’t exaggerated in the slightest—I’d done all of the above. “Oh... ahem, ‘And one person actually shit himself, but that was probably just an anomaly...’”

Allison laughed. “Wow! That last part is priceless. I know I should be scared of even THINKING about going through something that intense...but well, I can’t deny that you did it and came through looking totally badass.”

We’d finally reached the classroom, and paused just inside the doorway as the others students began taking their seats. “Well, I’m not nearly as good as Megan is, yet,” I admitted with a grin. “Now THAT girl is freaking awesome! She’s been training with them for what... about three years now? She could kick Jackie Chan’s ass, then use him as a club to beat Jet Li’s ass! Maybe, if I’m lucky, in a few years, I’ll reach her level.”

The instructor trudged her way into the class then, so Allie and I took out assigned seats. I wasn’t really into the lecture that much, with everything that had happened recently. It had truly been a crazy couple of weeks. Crime had been on a resurgence, and a lot of the same naysayers that had made such a big deal about my idol Luminaire going a little overboard were now publically switching sides, saying that things were a lot more peaceful when she’d been in control of the city. She still wasn’t back yet, officially, not in the badged program or anything, but she’d been spotted more than a few times, still doing the hero thing.

A couple of weeks back, there’d even been, of all things, a freaking demon invasion... hordes of monsters sweeping through the night sky from a giant portal or something. Most of the city’s heroes mobilized, including me, though I’d mostly been involved in search and rescue, and helping evacuate and help civilians rather than actually fighting the monsters or the guys responsible. I actually saw Omega Girl and Armor Man flying overhead that night, so whoever was behind it must have been a major player. Still, it was over fairly quickly, with a lot less collateral damage that I’d expected, all things considered.

All of these thoughts were going idly through my head when I noticed, suddenly, that the teacher’s voice had stopped its usual drone, replaced by a somewhat higher pitched slightly whiny voice. Frowning, I glanced up to find a strange looking guy standing next to the professor, who was talking a lot of weird stuff about how good it was to be here, but that this early in the day, everyone was probably tired... too tired to even pay attention to his words... so tired that they were dropping off to sleep at their very desks. I frowned at that... something about that seeming very familiar. Then, a wave of... something... swept over me, just as I remembered where I’d heard this before.

My training with Miss Satore! This guy was trying to brainwash us! Scowling, I planted my hands down and pushed, intending to get to my feet and make my way down towards him... but it was as if I’d been magnetized to my seat! I couldn’t stand up. And, to make matters worse, Mr. McScruffy took notice that I was one of the few in class that hadn’t succumbed to his mind control yet.

“Ah. Interesting. Looks like we have a troublemaker here, folks,” he said with a smirk, turning to focus all his attention on me. “Well, you know what they say. There’s always one in every class.” The necklace around his neck, which I’d just noticed, began to glow, pulsing with a soft pinkish light, and the wave of pressure pushing down on my brain increased. I gasped aloud, shuddering, my eyes crossing briefly from the sensation.

I supposed I actually owed Miss Satore for her training after all. I was pretty sure I’d normally have dropped to my knees in mindless obedience by now if not for all of her sessions. I really owed Miss Satore a good hour eating her out after this was over...

Wait. What?!?

Huh. Okay, that was a weird thought to have about showing my appreciation to my teacher. Why would I... Um. Never mind. I guess I really don’t want to know.

“Now now, babycakes,” the guy said, stepping closer, seeming to fill my entire vision now, “no more resisting me. No one can resist the Mighty Hypnos! Now... be a good girl and just submit like everyone else. Give in... and submit.”

I groaned again, shaking my head. I was hanging in there but losing ground fast. Closing my eyes didn’t help either. Whatever he was using, it wasn’t limited to sight or audial induction. I clenched my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms, trying to focus on the pain long enough to think of a way out of this. Meanwhile, my opponent pulled a large canvas bag from his coat pocket. “And as for the rest of you good little subjects... like every other ‘professor’ here, I intend to get paid for my time. Everyone, come on and empty your wallets and purses. Bring me all your money, credit cards too.”

A soft sigh escaped my lips... my wallet was somehow in my hand before I’d even realized I was taking it out. That was pretty bad. I was floundering here. This man... he was bad... but... but I needed to be a good girl for him... a good girl and obey... he wanted me to submit, and I... I... WANTED to submit... wanted to be a good girl... needed to... but... but—

TWAACK!

Mast... er... um, I mean, Hypnos’ cry of pain, snapped me out of my fugue, giving me a chance to rally and clear my head a bit. A strange looking guy wearing a bandana and sunglasses had landed a pretty nice sweep kick, no doubt dislocating his knees and sending him to the ground in a heap. “Alright kid,” he said gruffly, glaring down at him, “play time’s over!” With a quick snatch, he pulled off the man’s necklace, causing the glow to fade and die out. I let out an audible sigh as the constant pressure battering my brain finally lifted.

“Hey,” the bandana-wearing man said, giving me a grin. “You’re pretty strong willed to fight a magical artifact like this,” he stated, gesturing to the necklace. I nodded, then frowned slightly, noticing the everyone else, including the Professor and Allison, turned to gaze at the necklace, following its every movement with a laser-like focus. That wasn’t good. I was happy the guy had shown up after all... but I’d never seen him before, in class or out on the streets as a hero... so I wasn’t sure what his intentions here were.

“Hey, um, Mister,” I said, trying to sound confident, but not antagonistic to someone who had just saved my ass, “I don’t know what you’re planning to do with that amulet, and while I’m really appreciative of you kicking that kid’s aaaaa—look out!” I yelled in alarm as that jerkwad Hypnos proved that he was down but definitely not out. Wide-eyed, I watched as he pulled out a small handgun and pointed it to the back of Bandana Man’s head.

Faster than I could even begin to respond, however, Bandana spun around, connecting with a spinning roundhouse that would have made Chuck Norris envious. Or... maybe not. The gun went clattering to the ground, but Hypnos had still managed to get off a shot, missing me, grazing the masked stranger in the shoulder and...

Oh, God. No.

Allie.

“ALLIE! NO!” I cried in horror as the blood began to slowly pool in the front of her blouse. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, as I watched the life draining out of her. I was so... I mean... I couldn’t... I couldn’t even begin to process what was happening. We’d just been talking about how close I’d come to dying this exact same way... and now Allie... poor Allie...

“HEY!” I glanced up as the stranger grabbed hold of my arm. “You’re a Super, right?” I blinked in surprise. I was kind of out of it, all things considered... but I wasn’t in costume, and I hadn’t used my powers... dammit, why the FUCK hadn’t I used my powers?!?! He shook me again, bring my focus back to him.

“Wha... I mean,” I began, not really sure if I was going to lie or admit it at that point, but he shook his head.

“No time for bullshit kid,” he said gruffly, pulling what looked like an impossibly long sword out of his back pocket. “Grab this with me and lend me your strength.” I stared at him in total confusion, not understanding what the hell he was talking about, My best friend, the closest thing I had in the world to a sister, was bleeding out just a few feet away, and this guy wanted to pretend he was He-Man?!? “Alright. give me all you’ve got in three,” he said, placing my hands and his on the hilt. “Two.”

I stiffened slightly, feeling a strange... not really sure how to describe it, like a tugging or something... a pull, from my very essence, my soul, kind of like that encounter with that damned cello all those months ago. “Wait. What are we even—”

“One! Do it now!” he yelled, as the sword began to glow. I let out a soft cry as I felt something pulled from inside me... and then the floor dropped out from underneath me—

“—pretty strong willed to fight a magical artifact like this,” he stated, gesturing to the necklace. I nodded, then froze, nearly dizzy with the sense of deja vu. I glanced to the side, and shuddered with relief at the sight of Allison, still entranced but still blessedly alive and whole! Unfortunately, I knew what was coming as well... and as Hypnos rose back to his feet, digging into his coat for his gun, I went full defense, covering the entire room, pulling every student’s notebook paper up, creating a shield around them, and for Allison, using the nearby money taken from the students, to create a wide dome around her and the students closest to her.

CRACK! THUD!

In the time it had taken me to go defensive, Bandana Man had gone offensive, taking Hypnos out of the picture and sending him off to dreamland. I slumped over, sighing with relief. I was confused about what had just happened, and exactly HOW it had happened. But the bottom line was that Allie was alive and well. Whoever Bandana Man was, I could have kissed him!

“Hey, um...” he said, moving back to my side, having handcuffed the shooter. “I’m... uh... Kyle, I guess,” he said, sliding down his bandana, revealing his face. I smiled at that. He was kinda cute... and apparently shy for someone who had just kicked some serious ass. Still a bit confused about this, I shrugged and held out my hand, shaking his.

“Um, yeah. Claire. Thanks for the... help...” I trailed off, staring a bit at his shoulder, where he’d been shot. Or grazed. Or... whatever. Although, he’d technically been shot BEFORE we went back in time, or rewound or... whatever. So we changed what happened... and saved Allie. But he was still... um... injured. Sorta?

“Definitely magical in nature,” Kyle mused aloud, examining the necklace he’d taken from Hypnos. “Not very strong, a minor enchantment, rudimentarily done. Heh. Probably his first real spell...”

Um... “Your shoulder,” I said unable to hold it back any longer. “What the hell...?” He glanced down and sighed deeply, shaking his head, but apparently not worried that it was... well... translucent. Almost see through. “What... are you?” I asked, unable to look away from it.

“Relax. I’m human,” he said with a laugh. “Er, mostly. I’m just a Super like you.”

Huh. Well... I suppose its not the weirdest thing I’d ever seen after all this time. I apologized sheepishly, even though it DID still kind of creep me out a bit to look at it. “You should call the police,” he suggested, walking over to the front of the classroom, holding up the necklace again. “I’ll make sure everyone here isn’t suffering from any long-term mental effects... particularly your pretty friend over there.” Ah, right. The police. We were in school. I needed to get this taken care of quickly and turn it all over to them so this Kyle guy and I could have a chat.

“And afterward, we can talk about your encounters with my brother and sister,” he said with a smirk, “and about my almost-gone Houdini arm.”

Wait. What? “Wait... what?” I asked, glancing back at him.

In response, he laughed and gave me a wink. “Just call the police, babe.”

Huh. Babe? Not sure I appreciated that term. Still, the guy was pretty okay. And awesome. And mysterious. Stepping outside the classroom, pulling out my cell phone, I decided I’d give him a pass for the remark. One thing was for sure. I wasn’t done with this mysterious stranger named ‘Kyle’ just yet. Not by a long shot...