The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

I knocked on the door twice and rang the doorbell, glancing around aimlessly. I chided himself for being nervous—if anything, visiting Sarah and Valerie should feel like coming home, visiting family. And yet, I couldn’t help but wonder at the greeting I would receive. The last time I’d visited Midas City, both Aunts had been missing, I’d been a fugitive on the run from the law... and I’d kinda rubbed my cousin Aurora the wrong way by tampering with her, her partner’s and her cousin Mina’s memories.

More troubling, I knew about the changes my cousin had gone through, about Aurora becoming a Nesatealia, her powers changing, becoming strongly linked to her emotions. There were still a bunch of things unfinished between us, and I shuddered to think about what would happen NOW, if we ended up getting into an argument. Between her feeding off my emotions, her temperament and my angst, and my damned uncontrollable powers, we could end up leveling the city...

Still... It was unlikely Yancy was even there at Sarah’s house. Most days she apparently spent in Witchy World... or ‘Sanctuary’ as it was called, or visiting Sylvia in New York. If she did happen to be there, I resolved not to be alone with her if at all possible. I just had to hope Sarah and Valerie were actually home as well... I hadn’t thought to call ahead and check. Even more nervous now, I knocked again, reaching for the doorbell when the door opened...

And in the doorway stood Sarah LaSilvas. I paused, taking a moment to take in the sight of her. She looked the same as ever, a lovely young woman with silver toned skin and hair, looking somehow especially exotic in a simple pair of jeans, sandals, and a sweater. The sweater was new... apparently something she’d only adopted after her time in captivity. Something, she’d said, to help her feel a little older. Which, personally, to my train of thought, seemed a bit silly. Most women would kill to look as timeless and youthful—and frankly, as beautiful—as my sexy, ummmm, er, I meant, lovely, silver skinned Aunt.

Damned succubus flashbacks... if I ever met her again face to face I’d punch her lights out.

“Ah, Jimmy!” she greeted me warmly, stepping aside. “Come on in... what can I do to help you out? Is your family okay?”

Relief washed over me like a wave, and I stepped inside gratefully, hugging her warmly. “Aunt Sarah... hi. Um, sorry to show up like this out of the blue,” I said sheepishly, “and yeah, we’d doing okay. For the most part. Katie is... um...” I considered, “well, she’s mending pretty well, all things considered... after what happened a few weeks ago.” I sighed, glancing down.

Sarah blinked, hugging her nephew back, if somewhat clearly confused, but trying to be comforting. “Well, good. I’m glad! Your family is really important to all of us. And I heard a bit from Lacie the other day about what happened. Not exactly a blow-by-blow, but enough to know that you kids had quite an ordeal.” She bit her lip, hugging him a bit tighter before she moved to close the door, to motion him further inside. “So, what’s going on? Has something new happened? Things... don’t seem to be okay with you...”

I chuckled ruefully at that, rubbing the back of his head. Sarah always had a gift for understatement. “Yeah, that’s putting it mildly. It’s been really kinda... weird.” I sighed. “I don’t know how much mom clued you in on everything that happened with Katie... but, well... she kinda had a breakdown. Long story short, empathic shadow from a lot of different brainwashes, combined with traces of Quillspawn’s ink, combined with unresolved grief over losing Jessica. End result? She kinda went all ‘Darth Katie’ for a while. She very nearly destroyed the world... and I’m not exaggerating. Sioban and I managed to stop her... but it was a pretty close thing.”

“Yeah. I did get most of that from your mom,” she admitted. “And I actually paid Katie a little visit earlier in the week, to make sure she was, well... ‘cleaned out’ so to speak, to make sure there were no lingering traces of Yana’s ink.” Despite her words, Sarah looked rather concerned, however, moving over to sit on the couch, patting for me to sit similarly. “C’mon. Sit, relax—you look like you need it...” She sighed, shaking her head, rubbing her forehead slowly. “I’m glad Katie’s doing better now, but... that doesn’t feel like the reason why you’re here...”

I gratefully sank down, letting some of the tension roll off of me. “Okay. You got me. Well, aside from everything else, we’re twins... we’re connected. And everything Katie experienced, I felt. Worse, her powers, her abilities... Everything she did that could have destroyed the world is in me as well! I actually stopped her by using my powers to counteract hers... to cancel it out.” I sighed deeply. “I mean... Sarah... it was bad enough just having shadows and bad luck,” I said, gesturing with my hand, creating a ball of floating shadow. “Now, I find out that my ‘bad luck’ can literally rewrite reality itself if I push hard enough. Just yesterday, I had a bad dream and woke up to find the house has changed to match my nightmare!”

Sarah sighed, stroking his shoulder comfortingly, drawing on her own experiences as she forced herself to smile. “Wow. Reality is... a pretty big responsibility. And all of us with power are sometimes a risk, to ourselves and others... have you maybe considered having someone with similar abilities give you a pointer or two, help you learn some control...?”

I nodded vigorously. “That’s... actually why I’m here, Auntie. I’ve... recently come to realize that Katie’s and my powers are magic based,” I said with an audible groan, which actually got a chuckle from Sarah. “And I was hoping maybe... you could, um, maybe... teach me how to control my powers?”

“Me? Oh. Huh, well...” Sarah frowned, twisting up her face. “I... could give you some advice, sure, but...” She shook her head, rising, pacing for a moment. “Not that I don’t want to help, mind. It’s just... Our powers are just... so different? I could only help with your discipline, and focus... and frankly, I’m not very good at it.” She paused then, looking to Jimmy with a smile. “But I happen to know someone who might have an idea...”

“Silhouette?” I asked hopefully. She’d actually been my first choice for a mentor, but I had no idea where she was these days. “Your friend from back your Chronos days? Her shadow powers would be a good match. I remember your stories, and I’ve been wanting to meet her for a while... but I thought she was still recovering from the mental and emotional trauma Quillspawn put her through all those years ago....?”

“Oh, no, she is, actually,” Sarah said quickly. “She wouldn’t be good for something like this. She’s still too fragile at the moment.” Sarah frowned slightly, her silvery eyes hooded in memory. “She’s still in recovery. Deep in recovery. I wouldn’t want to burden her.” She pulled the silver necklace she always wore out from her top, tapping it with a little smile as another answer came to her. “But my daughter just happens to be the premier heroine of Sanctuary, a purely magical realm. Someone there will certainly know how to give you a hand, and she’d know just who to pick. It’ll just take her a minute or so to be free, and she’ll ’port in.”

“Daughter? Wait... you mean Aur... er, Yancy?” I stiffened at that. I’d actually wanted to avoid calling her in if possible. “Um, Sarah, Auntie, I um... I don’t think that would be a good idea. I mean, uh... we have some... there might be... a few issues...”

Sarah blinked, then frowned, raising an eyebrow. “Issues? Like what? Just why would—”

Before Sarah could finish her sentence, however, a red ripple in space opened, and Yancy emerged. She was decked out in her usual attire: short scarlet skirt, matching heeled boots, a tight red bodice, long red hair tied up, red eyes shimmering as she smiled over at the two, waving. “Hey, sorry, Mom, I was just finishing something up with Lantala... thasa...” she paused, finally registering the other face in the room. She furrowed her brow, waving a hand. “Well, hey. My old partner. Whaddya need?”

I swallowed painfully. It was good to see her again, despite the obvious changes, all things considering. And despite having prepared myself for this moment, a bunch of different emotions swam through me at once. First and foremost, I was still pretty angry, still, at the way she had gone off ALONE and nearly gotten herself killed trying to save her mom... going off without calling for help from either me or Katie. She’d nearly DIED, though technically speaking, being literally remade from the genetic level up as an entirely new person by magic would be a pretty good definition in my book!

And even though it had turned out right in the end, even though she’d managed to retain her mind and sense of self, rescue Sylvia and her mother, and take down her Aunt Lia, it still stung that she hadn’t even considered looking to me, or Katie, for help. I mean... to be fair, I suppose transporting a guy to Sanctuary might not have gone over too well, so I can see excluding me... but I know for a fact that Katie was around and available, goddammit!

And... underneath the anger... there was also the unresolved longing for her. I had meant it when I’d confessed that time that I’d had a crush on her as kids. True, I had Devon now, and was madly in love with her. I had truthfully moved on, and for the better. What I felt was friendship, and a brother-sister type of love for Yancy now... but I also knew that those other feelings were still there, buried. My run-in with that damned shapeshifting succubus had brought that much to light. That my cousin’s new form was now a sultry and sexy redhead made it worse. And knowing how her powers reacted to deep seeded emotions, and that she already KNEW how I felt, I was deeply worried that things might spiral out of control if I wasn’t careful.

Most of all, I felt guilt. Guilt for having hurt her the last time I’d come here. I’d... been at a particularly low point in my life then, feeling as if I hadn’t had a friend in the world, and she’d found me and welcomed me with complete and total acceptance and understanding, no questions asked. And in the end, she had nearly died trying to help me. She’d never said anything, never blamed me at all, practically insisted that it was HER own damn fault for getting involved... but a large part of me still felt that if I hadn’t come to Midas, she never would have been in danger in the first place. All those feelings ran through me, no doubt evident across my face, before I could manage to push them down and adopt a calm emotionless expression once more.

“Ah. So,” I said stoically. “Yancy. Good to see you again. Like the um... new look. Red really suits you.”

Yancy nodded, raising a curious eyebrow, looking more and more incredibly confused for the glances, but then waved her hand both to wave the feelings away, and simply to wave. “Hey! Thanks! It’s uhm... well, I roll with what hits me. I’ve actually come to like it a lot, honestly. It makes me think of... well that’s complicated, huh?” She laughed, rolling her eyes at herself.

Sarah looked between the two, frowning slightly. She wasn’t always the most perceptive girl in the world, but even she could tell something was going on with the two of them. “Well, I’m not much of a host, am I? Do either of you... need a snack, or something to drink...?” Yancy shook her head, but looked curiously to Jimmy for his response.

“Ahh... um, no, no thank you, Auntie,” I said quickly, getting to my feet. “In fact, maybe I should grab YOU a soda? I think I know where everything is unless you changed the house around... or, if you’re out of sodas, I could run to the store really quick and grab you one? Maybe give you and your daughter time to... uh, catch up a bit?”

Sarah, however, wasn’t fooled, and shook her head. “No, no, I really should move to get it anyway. I sit around a lot more these days anyway. Besides, I was just about to make some lunch... and it wouldn’t be any trouble to set two more plates.” She stared for a moment then turned, stepping away, purposefully, leaving Jimmy and her daughter alone together to deal with their issues.

“Hey, sweetie,” Dana McKinley greeted her daughter as she came downstairs, hugging her warmly. “Perfect timing. I was just about to set the table. And I hope you’re hungry—I made your favorite: pot roast with those little potatoes you love!”

Devon grinned, silently sighing inwardly. True, her mother’s pot roast was the favorite thing her mom cooked... but it was hardly her favorite food. If she were brutally honest, her taste palette had changed pretty dramatically since getting together with Jimmy, his fine dining expertise having rubbed off on her immensely. She smiled softly, remembering the first time she’d taken him to Jack in the Box for a simple hamburger. You’d think he’d just gotten the golden ticket from Willy Wonka or something, she thought with amusement.

“Oh, do me a favor and go knock on your brother David’s door,” her mom asked, pulling off her oven mitts to brush a strand of long dark brown hair back behind her ear. “That boy’s involved in some new game or something... a ‘MORPH’ or something,” she muttered.

“You mean an ‘em-em-oh-ar-pee-gee’,” Devon clarified with a smirk. “Seriously mom, as a school teacher, you should know about these things from your students.”

“Bah, I can’t keep up,” Dana replied dismissively, shaking her head. “Back in my day, we had Atari, Pong, Pac-man, and Frogger. Nowadays, you have virtual reality so real you’re actually in the game instead of staring at it on a screen.”

“Oh, mom, you’re not THAT old,” Deidre McKinley chided her, poking her head out from the kitchen. “I seem to recall you staying up late playing our old Super Nintendo back when we were all young... cursing up a storm at trying to beat the ‘Monkey Mines’ in the first Donkey Kong Country.” She giggled as their mom blushed bright red. “Man, it was the first time I ever heard you cuss!”

“Well, can you blame me?” Dana said, crossing her arms defensively. “That stupid Snow Barrel Blast section took forever to clear!” Both of her daughters laughed loudly at that.

Following Devon upstairs, Deidre pulled her aside. “So,” she asked her quietly, “have you told mom and dad about your new boyfriend yet?” she asked quietly.

“Um, well,” Devon hedged, glancing to the side, “not... just yet. I’m, er... working up to it. You know what they’re like! And I’m not really prepared for mom to give me the third degree just now.”

“Well, you know they’re going to ask,” Deidre pointed out. “Mom’s practically chomping at the bit to know more about this mysterious guy of yours. She’s been pumping me for information for months now... and frankly, I’m just about out of excuses.” She sighed deeply. “I respect that you want to be the one to explain what’s going on between you two, and be the one to reveal his, um... ‘extra curricular’ activities,” she said with a smirk, “but you can’t keep dodging them forever! The more you hold off, the more mom is going to grill you about it later, wondering why you didn’t tell her from the beginning.”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” Devon said ruefully. “But, Dee... so much has changed since then. I’ve changed myself... I’m literally another person now. And, I’m just... a little unsure how to explain it all to mom and dad...”

Deidre nodded softly at that. When Devon had first arrived home, she’d pulled her big sister aside and told her about current events, about the almost-end of the world, and about her own transformation. Admittedly, she’d been a bit skeptical about the last part, about her baby sister turning out to be some ultra-powerful reincarnated goddess from Norse theology. In the end, giving her a demonstration of her powers, and transporting them both briefly to Yggdrasil convinced her of the truth, though she’d been in quite a daze for a while afterwards.

“Well, Dad’s pretty easy-going,” Deidre stated, “but mom can be notoriously stubborn. Even taking her to see that big humongous tree might not convince her.”

“Huh. I’m more worried about how she’ll react if she does believe me,” Devon mused aloud, frowning. “She’s always been rather outspoken about her opinions on Supers. I just know she’ll flip her lid when she finds out that Jimmy is one... or that I’ve become one as well.”

“Really? Is that a guess, or do you know it for sure?” Deidre asked, curious. “Did you glance ahead at the future and see?” Devon shook her head.

“No. I’m kind of afraid to,” she admitted. “It’s kind of funny, really. I’m a goddess, part of a Trinity of Sisters that control the lives of every person in this world, with the power to determine their ultimate fate. I have the power of life and death in my hands. Yet the idea of facing mom’s angry glare is nearly enough to make me wet myself.”

Deidre laughed at that. “You and me both, Sis. Still... you’re an adult now, you know. It’s good to get mom and dad’s approval about everything, but in the end, it’s your life. What’s important is what makes YOU happy. And if you do that, everything else will fall in line.”

Devon smiled, hugging her big sister, taking comfort in her presence. “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.” She grinned at the older girl. “When did you get so wise and philosophical?”

Dee chuckled. “I’ve always been smart, kiddo,” she teased, “but philosophical? I just threw back your own words at me! You pretty much gave me the same speech when I was all up in arms about you hooking up with Jimmy, and leaving to follow him to Portland instead of staying here in Provo.” She shrugged. “You were right, then, and I’m right, now.”

“Kids? I’m setting the table!” their mom called out loudly from downstairs.

“C’mon,” Devon said briskly, walking across the hall to David’s room. “Let’s get the video game guru and head back down before mom sends out a search party...”

“I’m gonna have to keep doing this, aren’t I?” Yancy frowned, staring at me with her arms crossed over her chest.

I bit his lip, glancing wistfully at the kitchen, my ‘safety cushion’ having walked away, leaving us alone. On purpose, most likely, trying to push us into dealing with our issues. Sighing, I turned to my cousin. “Not sure what you mean, exactly. Doing what? Pretending everything is sunshine and lollipops? And, anyway... what did you tell Sarah about what happened last time I was here? Does she know you nearly died because of me?”

Yancy waved her hand dismissively. “I glossed. It wasn’t important. Mom’s gold woulda probably kicked into overdrive if not. It has a way of knowing things...”

“Didn’t seem to do much against that weapon especially designed to bypass it,” I muttered, shaking my head, “nor did it save you from your crimson colored makeover.”

She smiled, then narrowed her red eyes that shimmered from the inside. “Fine. Point to you. Still... I mean... Look. I know I wasn’t always great at including people on things, and I did a lot of stuff solo... but come on, I’m still the girl you knew. This is just so I can be with Sylvia, and put some things behind me. Despite the red, I’m still me. I can help if you need me. I imagine you’re why mom called, anyway...”

I stared at her sidelong. “And CAN you help me, cousin? I mean... can you actually work with me after everything that has... well... gone between us?”

Yancy shrugged. “Any why wouldn’t I? We’re family after all. Blood is thicker than water, and all that.”

Of course, with our particular extended family, that was precisely the problem. I raised an eyebrow. “I talked to my mom, and had a chat with Katie before making the trip here, you know,” I said pointedly. “I know how your new power set works. I’m not so sure you can help me figure out how to control my own new powers if we’re spending all our time tiptoeing around YOUR new powers.“

“Wait... your mom? She...” Yancy blinked, staring. “Oh. Uhm. Yeah, that.” She blushed cutely, the red in her cheeks merely matching the new her perfectly rather than standing out. “So, um, yeah... my powers are... different. I didn’t mean for things to go that far back then. I couldn’t really...” She blinked, tapping a finger to her lip. “But, um, I’ve got WAY better control now. Like, ignoring the sex stuff. You don’t do it for me, so... it wouldn’t do the thing it does... sorry. Women.” She smirked. “And the same with the thing with Katie. We connected instinctively. She needed to vent, and I needed to help her. Family or not, you and I don’t... connect that way.”

I merely nodded, sighing. “I’d normally make some comment about ‘story of my life’ or something, but honestly, it’s kind of a relief. Don’t get me wrong, cousin... you’ll always hold a special place in my heart, but these days, that heart belongs entirely to Devon McKinley, the girl I have waiting for me back home.”

Yancy perked up at that, intrigued. “Oh? Girlfriend, hmm? We so definitely need to catch up then! But, in the meantime... I might know someone who could help. She’s more of a mage than I am, a Magus, and she knows how this stuff actually works at a fundamental level.” Her grin turned wicked. “And you won’t be able to push her around because she’s over a thousand years older than you.”

I smirked back, starting to relax a bit. “Push her around? Heh. You make it sound as if I actually push YOU around... or manage to influence you in any way, Ms. Stubborn. And just so you know, Devon’s NOT your type, so don’t even ask! But... someone from Sanctuary, hmm?” I frowned slightly at that. “How would THAT work? I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t appreciate outsiders, especially one of the ‘male persuasion’, going there, cousin or not... though I bet they’d welcome Katie with open arms,” I added, grumbling softly under his breath, getting a giggle from my cousin. “So, what does that leave us? You think she’d come here to the real world to train me? No matter how good she is, I seriously doubt she could teach me how to control my powers in a day or two... this would be for the long haul, you know.”

Yancy rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t exactly call your little ‘shadow thingies’ influence, cousin. I gave you a pass, but I DO remember what you tried to do to me and Counter, so dooon’t try and pull that on her. Not unless you want to end up with a stylish silver colored boot up your arse!” She shook her head. “And, yeah, she’d do it for me. She’s been wanting a new challenge, and she’s wanted to spend some time away from Sanctuary.” She sighed softly, and Jimmy noticed for the first time that much of her spunkiness was forced, a facade to cover up her own fatigue. “It’s not all sunshine and lollipops there, you know. Political revolution is... tiring...” She frowned. “And I’m in the middle of it... but neither of you have to be.”

“Ah, so you ARE still bitter about that day then,” I murmured softly, hanging my head. “Okay. Fine. I still have to point out that I was proved right about my vision—but to avoid getting slapped in the back of the head again, I’ll simply again say ‘sorry’ and move on. And I am sorry, Yancy. I should have just talked to you about things straight out instead of taking the choice away from you.”

Yancy held up her hand, formed a bright red light, which turned into a solid chunk of red metal. She threw it up in the air, repeatedly, catching it effortlessly. “Bitter AND annoyed at you pretending it wasn’t a big deal. And I still don’t recognize your ‘vision’ as being correct. You predicted I would die, but I’m still here.”

“Now, we’re just arguing semantics,” I stated, rolling his eyes. “You DID die. I’m a frickin’ doctor... or about to be after a few more classes. Your heart stopped beating. You weren’t breathing. You were literally gone for about ten seconds. And I restarted your heart, revived your spark with mine. And afterwards, you were the one who pretended it ‘wasn’t a big deal,” I added sticking out my tongue at her. “Still... I guess I should apologize to your old pal Counter Spell, and that other kid, Mina, about that as well. On THAT part at least, you were legitimately right. I shouldn’t have involved them in that mess, even if it was just to make sure they kept out of it.”

She crushed the ball back into light before waving her hand, smiling with a shrug. “Let’s compromise and say we were both partly right and partly wrong, and I’ll keep it in mind. I’ve got a better head on my shoulders now that I’m not at war with myself, ya know? And I’ll be sure and pass on the apology to them both the next time I see them.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I said with a nod. “Oh, and just for the record,” I added with a wide smirk, showing the humor in his rebuke, “just because I’m not a female, doesn’t mean I’m not useful. I can help in other ways. So in the future, if YOU need help, let me know... okay? Tit for tat, cousin. That said... you mentioned that you had someone specific in mind? I’m game if you are. I’m not picky—I was even prepared to take your old partner Counter Spell as an instructor!” I said, unable to resist the slight scowl at the memory of her. Cute girl but with an attitude—we did not get along. “But... tell me a little about this teacher of yours... you called her a ‘Magus’? What is that, exactly? And, not doubting you, mind... if she is a LaSilvas, does she even know about shadow magic? I mean, what I have is a lot different from Sarah’s silver and your red...”

Yancy rolled her eyes again. “Hey, now, don’t disrespect! LaSilvas magic is far more complicated than anything that my mother can do. Or anything you’ve seen me do...” She held out her hand, moving it in the air, chanting quietly under her breath, as a small chain of metal hovered before her, showing an image of the Sanctuarian landscape. She stepped to the side, motioning to it idly. “It’s magic. She knows about magic. A lot more than I do. But she taught me how to do that, and a whole lot more. And Magus, as in... well, an experienced sorceress. Trust me. She’s worth your time.”

But I shook his head. “No, no, Yancy, you misunderstand. I’m not concerned about her skill or talent, or really, even her knowledge. If you say she’s good enough to teach me, I believe you. If anything, I’m more worried about her... well... taking ME seriously.” I sighed deeply. “Huh. Maybe it would be easier if I just showed you. You know the basics about how my powers... used to work, right? The shadows, the super strength, and the abnormally bad luck?” Yancy nodded. “Well, let’s just say... you’re not the only one whose learned a few new tricks lately.”

Closing my eyes briefly, focusing, I gestured lightly... and the room vanished... with Yancy and I suddenly standing on what appeared to be a moon landscape, staring out through space at the Earth below, yet surprisingly unharmed. Yancy yelped lightly in surprise at the sudden change as she started to float upwards. “Oh, and this isn’t an illusion,” I added blandly, “or teleportation or anything like that. We’re actually on the moon. And yes, we’re breathing, normally... although,” I said gesturing again, changing our clothing into space suits, “if push came to shove, I could make the experience more realistic.”

“Umm... okay. That’s... wow. Impressive,” Yancy said, glancing around nervously, struggling a bit to keep her now weightless body from floating a bit around too much. “I’d say this is quite an upgrade. Guess we REALLY need to catch up with what’s been going on with each other.”

“Heh, you have no idea,” I muttered, increasing the gravity slightly, allowing my cousin to drop back down to the surface again. “Turns out my ‘bad luck’ wasn’t so much bad luck as it was bending probability and twisting reality itself to make unusual things happen, whether I wanted them to or not. And its the same with Katie, except with her good luck.” I shrugged. “And really, this is nothing. THIS is just me showing off a bit. A few weeks ago, Katie kinda went a little... well, nuts... and tried to break all of reality in a mad plot to bring Jessica back to life. Long story short, I managed to stop her... but the simple fact is that Katie and I could literally break the world apart if we ever lose control like that... that I could, in a fit of rage, call down the moon and slam it into the Earth, and ... it scares me, Yancy. It scares the crap outta me. So, I need to learn more about this power—how to control it and keep it under wraps without letting it get out of hand.“

“Okay, I’d say THIS,” she replied, her voice a rather high octave as she gestured to their current location, “would be out of hand!” Chagrined, I quickly gestured with my hand again... and suddenly they were back in Sarah’s house, dressed normally once more. Yancy looked momentarily stunned by the sudden jarring transition, then frowned, scowling. “Okay, first off. DO NOT do magic like that without discussing it, first. That’s... really not cool. She won’t put up with that so I’m warning you in advance. Do that to her, and you won’t hear the end of it. But... don’t worry. She can handle this. If anyone can, she can.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle ruefully at her expression. “Heh... sorry. Didn’t mean to freak you out so much. And yes, I’ll try and remember to mind my manners. But yeah... I just wanted you to know I wasn’t exaggerating. Things really ARE that stressful for me right now. I was just telling your mom earlier... I had a bad dream and accidentally changed my house into a torture chamber in my sleep! I mean... you know the saying about absolute power and all that. I’m not quite THAT powerful, there are definite limits to what I can change. And Katie trying to break space-time nearly killed her. Still, I worry about what we COULD do with what power we do have.”

I sighed again, staring down at my hands. “I guess a lot of people worry about their powers sometimes... its normal for anyone with them, I guess. I know you kinda struggled a bit with your own... heh... both times. But for me... I’ve NEVER liked my powers. I’ve ALWAYS been afraid of them from the moment they first came in.”

Yancy smiled in a calm sort of way, nodding, tapping a finger thoughtfully to her lip. “Powers... are only as dangerous as you are. As the person that wields them. That’s true enough. So, basically, we just need to have someone help you.. tame you. And that isn’t as hard as it sounds.”

Huh. Wait a second. “Tame me? I was looking for a teacher, not a pet trainer...”

Yancy laughed, moving over to ruffle my hair. “But you aren’t really asking to be taught how to use your stuff, not really. You want to learn how to be at peace with it, while learning some tricks. Trust me, take it from me and... my own... ahem... training... er, taming...” Yancy rubbed her lips together. “Trust me. It’s taming.“

“Hmph. Fine. Whatever. As long as she helps me learn control enough that I don’t go to sleep, have a nightmare and wake up to have the world changed to reflect it, I’ll put up with just about anything. Besides, I’m already housebroken” I said with a smirk. “So... um... how does we do this, exactly? Do you summon her? Do you go back and talk to her about it? Is she going to interview me or something, or do I interview HER? This is all kinda new to me, you know...”

Yancy smiled and tapped a finger to her lip. “Hmm. Well, I should meet with her... but she owes me one for that time I... umm...” she broke off sheepishly. “Actually, we shouldn’t go into that.” She waved her hand again. “I’ll have her drop by your place, tomorrow, if she’s down for it. If not, I’ll drop by and try to pass on what she taught me, but... when I tell her how stubborn you are, she’ll take it as a challenge. You’ll just need to find a room for her, since I don’t think she’ll want to be going back and forth...”

“Really?” I blinked in surprise. “You’d do that for me? That’s great! Thanks, I reall... wait? What do you mean STUBBORN?!? You’re the one that’s stubborn in this family, cousin!” I snarked, slightly offended. “I’m fluid, go-with-the-flow... YOU’RE the one whose picture is listed next to definition in the dictionary! Still... I do appreciate this. I’m staying the night over at the Hilton, planning to stay in town and visit a while, maybe catch up with Valerie at the Midas Touch before heading back out tomorrow, so depending on the time, you can probably catch up with me there. And, well... if you’re actually free to pop by regardless sometime, maybe you’ll set aside some time to visit Sis as well. She’s... really feeling down in the dumps right now after everything that went down recently. You know, she even surrendered her badge at the end... gave it back and resigned as a Badge Super. She’s not able to go out as Luminaire anymore, which really has her depressed even if it was her choice.”

Yancy held up her hand as she took a step towards me... then flicked my forehead, fingers turning only slightly metal enough to add density but not the texture, laughing as she tsked, waving a finger. “I’m pretty relaxed now as well these days, so now you’re the new one with the problem... and hey, I’ll definitely need to visit Katie, don’t worry. It’ll work out. Besides, badges... aren’t good for Supers. Stick to solving what you can, when you can. Bringing in badges, red tape...” She shrugged. “I’ll see if I can help, though... if you promise to try to lighten up!”

I sighed, trying hard not to grin at her, rubbing my forehead lightly. “Yeah... I’ll try. Not like I can help it much, considering that I’m feeling a lot of what Katie is feeling too. Still, her two gal pals have been helping in that respect...hmmm?” I paused for a moment, holding up a hand, listening, then chuckled lightly, managing a true smile. “Oh! Heh... speak of the devil. Looks like she actually caught that last exchange. She knows I’m here in Midas so she was sort of paying attention... and knowing that you’re going to pay a visit actually did perk her up a bit.”

“Hurray for ‘twin-speak’! Well, then I’ll be sure to do it!” She grinned, giving a finger gun. “I should probably give mom a quick hug and run off to take care of that, if you don’t mind... so things work well enough tomorrow.”

“Yeah! Yes, of course. And thanks again!” I replied, feeling much more relaxed with everything finally settled. “And... well, sorry for being so weird before. I guess I half expected you to either attack me physically, or simply leave the room and refuse to get close to me at all from the emotional backlash of feeding off my emotions. But I guess I should have figured you would have better control after all the time that’s passed.”

Yancy paused, frowning, looking sad for a moment. He really had been afraid to talk to me alone? True, we used to argue a lot as kids, but still... “I... am I really that bad?” she asked, twisted up her face. “Like... Was I? I’d like to think I’ve gotten better, but...”

I blinked, taking in her expression, and shook my head. “What? NO! No, no, nothing like that! Sorry, Yancy, didn’t mean to make you self conscious! Ah, I, um, well I told you, I talked to my mom back then after you and she... um... you know. She mentioned it when she told me that you were alive, just... changed, from your adventure with Lia.” I frowned, considering. “She didn’t give details, just that you were overwhelmed by her emotions and ‘lost control’... and well, I’m kind of an emotional wreck, compared to how my mom was.” Not to mention my other issues, he thought, briefly considering mentioning his encounter with the succubus weeks earlier, before dismissing it.

Yancy flushed, looking to the side, laughing nervously. “Your mom... that... was... different... your mother... uhm...” The redhead laughed loudly, nervously, rubbing the back of her head. “That was... other things. Repressed things. Don’t worry about that. Just... you’re good. I’ll... probably talk to her eventually again, too...”

I merely raised an eyebrow. There was apparently more that happened with mom’s encounter than I’d been told. And I was starting to think it was the exact opposite of her encounter with my sister. “Um, okay,” I said after a moment. “So... anyway, I’ll talk to ya later then? I’m going to go give your mom a hug and thank her for the help, then see if I can catch up with Valerie at the Touch, before heading back to the Hotel. Unlike the lot of you, I can’t actually fly or teleport...” I frowned, considering. “Er, at least not without potentially altering the world around me and possibly breaking the space-time continuum. So I drove.” I glanced at her sidelong. “So... do I get a hug from you, or would that be too weird?“

In response she smiled, giving me a tight hug. “Don’t worry, like I said, I’m fine with that. It’s not weird. And she can help you figure out the teleportation thing. Er, if you can, that is. Maybe.” She smiled nervously, laughing shyly, waving her hand a little more. “And you’re right, we don’t talk enough these days. I’ve been pretty busy... but we’ll totally catch up. Soon. You’re not too bad to hang around... unless I need to thump you upside the head, but that’s different.”

Remembering the thunk to the forehead moments ago, I rolled his eyes, grinning. “Geez... always the violent one. I’m studying to be a doctor, you know...unlike you, cousin, I actually NEED my brains undamaged.” Um... that came out sounding a bit meaner than I’d planned. I chuckled weakly, shrugging. “Sorry. That came out a lot harsher than I meant it to. But yeah... I’d love to catch up sometime. And I’d like to hear all about what you’ve been up to in Sanctuary. Even if I don’t get the politics or anything, it would be nice to have some context to go with the job you do now.”

Hugging her briefly one last time, I waved bye, doing the usual finger wiggling wave that was pretty much a LaSilvas tradition. “So, well, take care, Yancy. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I promised before heading into the kitchen to catch up with Sarah briefly before heading out again.