The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Light & Shadows V: Dark Road to Redemption

by J. Darksong

IV.)

I whistled softly under my breath as I pulled Jenny into park, my eyes glued to the sight before me. As far as headquarters went, the Beautiful Gems’ sanctum sanctorum wasn’t exactly low profile; then again, with names like Amber, Emerald, Ruby, and Jette, maybe they were going for flashy all along. ’Rora’s little joke about adding Amethyst to the mix made me grin. Auntie Val didn’t generally break out the spandex these days, but to hear the stories, I’d wager she could certainly hold her own with the Gems.

Walking up to the front door of their mansion, I only hoped I would be able to hold my own.

Less than a second after I’d knocked, the door opened. “Hello, what can I do for you?” a rather lovely young azure haired woman dressed in pale blue asked. Her lips were slightly blue, though I couldn’t tell whether it was some special color of lipstick, or a natural occurrence, like her hair. Hmmmm... wonder if the curtains match the drapes...

Then I shook myself mentally. Dammit, Jimmy, this is neither the time nor the place for those kinds of thoughts. You’re here to formally apologize to the two girls you royally screwed over, not to make googly eyes at the girls you haven’t met yet. Their psychic, Pearl, is probably around here somewhere, too... and the last thing you need is for her to get a glimpse of what’s going on inside your noggin right now.

The girl frowned slightly, still waiting for a response. I mentally smacked myself again. “Oh! Um, sorry I was... um... momentarily overcome by your beauty—” Eyes wide, I slapped a hand over my mouth. Shit! Where the hell did THAT come from? The blue haired beauty merely giggled, rolling her eyes in obvious amusement. I was about to turn away and go slink away to die of embarrassment when a loud voice called out from behind the door.

“Saff? Are you screwing around with the delivery man again?” The door opened wider, and a second face became visible. “Sorry about that. I... oh!” She blinked in surprise. “It’s you! What are you doing here?”

I waved sheepishly. “Um, hi, Jette. Nice to see you um... remembered me. I, um... came up here to make an apology... yanno... to Amber and Emerald.” I glanced sidelong at the blue haired vixen. “Currently, however, I’m dying from a lethal dose of embarrassment...”

“Uh huh,” she said, rolling her eyes as well before glaring at her teammate. “Dammit, Saff, how many times do I have to tell you about that shit?” Sighing, she shook her head. “Sorry about that. Come on in.”

Stepping inside, I whistled again. The foyer was huge, grand and spacious, and decorated with the obvious central gemstone motif. “Nice digs,” I commented, glancing around. “Sorry to bother you guys... I hope I’m not interrupting an operation or anything.”

“Nah, nothing like that,” Jette replied dismissively. “A couple of the girls are out following up on a lead... a real nasty piece of work suspected to be involved in a number of break ins and burglaries of hi-tech electronics companies in the area. Amber’s here, but Emerald is with them, though... so if you want to talk to them both, you’ll have to wait a bit.”

“Ahem!” Sapphire said loudly, drawing our attention back to her. “So, Jette, are you going to introduce me to your friend here, or are you two just going to keep ignoring me?”

The dark skinned girl smirked. “Frankly, I’d like to continue ignoring you altogether, you annoying little snot... but I don’t want to be rude to our guest. Saff, this is Umbra—”

“Um, well, it’s just ‘Jimmy’ these days,” I cut in. “All things considered, I’d rather put that stage of my life behind me and start anew.”

“Ah, okay,” Jette continued with a grin. “Guess I can understand that. So... this is Jimmy. Jimmy, this is my team mate, and all-around general pest, Sapphire... who I am really jealous of because her breasts are bigger than mine—GODDAMMIT Saff!” she roared, reaching for the petite blue-haired girl, who nimbly dodged out of the way.

“Hey, you said it, not me,” she replied, laughing, circling around me. She paused, giving me a slight frown, as if deep in thought. “And... you. Jette called you ‘Umbra’ first.” Suddenly her eyes went wide, and she took a step back. “Wait a sec. You’re that guy... the one from all those news reports... the guy that Ruby, Jette, and Pearl went to Midas City escort back to stand trial.” Her eyes narrowed. “And the guy who screwed around with Amber and Emerald’s heads and left them naked in the middle of that grassy field!”

“Hey! Take it easy, Saff,” Jette barked, grabbing the girl by the arm. “I had the same reaction at first, too. But.... it’s complicated. Lots of extenuating circumstances. Besides, you saw the trial on the news. He was proved not guilty.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sapphire commented, looking me over from head to toe. “Just hope Amber and Emily see it the same way. OWW!” she yelped, jumping as Jette slapped her in the back of the head. “What the heck was that for?”

“For pissing me off with that damned little trick of yours,” Jette said with an evil smirk. “Go and tell Ambs she’s got a visitor. I’ll entertain him ’til then.” Glaring back at the black woman, she headed back down the hallway. Jette sighed, shaking her head.

“Yeah, sorry. Saff is still kind of new to all of this. She’s a good kid, but a bit of a brat. Her power is vibration; she can shake up an entire building like an earthquake, or focus the effect to a specific spot.” She grunted rolling her eyes. “And one of her favorite tricks is to use it to affect the small bones of your inner ear in a way that deactivates the filter between your brain and your mouth, making you speak the truth about whatever is on your mind, whether you want to or no.”

Ah. “Okay, so I’m not going crazy after all. That makes me feel a little better.”

Jette grinned. “It’s harmless enough, just a little embarrassing. Her favorite target seems to be the UPS delivery guy that comes by.” She leaned forward to whisper into my ear. “I think she has a bit of a crush on him. It’s actually kind of cute... just like you, you handsome slab of man—GODDAMMIT SAPHIRE!” she yelled suddenly, causing me to jerk away. A quick glance showed that the blue clad teen had returned, along with her orange-haired teammate. “I am going to fucking KILL YOU!” she growled, taking off in a sprint after the giggling girl.

“Hey! You started it by telling him I had a crush on the delivery guy!” she yelled as she ran down the hallway with her teammate hot on her heels, leaving Amber and I alone.

After a few minutes of tense silence, I decided to break the ice. “So... Amber. You... um, look well.” She snorted, crossing her arms.

“Heh. I could say the same about you, Umbra. I guess prison life agrees with you. But, oh.... I forgot! You’re NOT in prison these days, are you? Your billionaire daddy went and got you a free pass!”

I sighed. “Okay. Obviously, you’re still upset about the altercation we had—”

“Altercation?” she scowled at me, moving to stand nose to nose at me... which would have no doubt been more intimidating if she wasn’t six inches shorter than me. “Is that what you call sinking your fucking claws into my brain and taking over my body? Making me capture and hold my best friend while you did the same to her, then used us both to put on a humiliating, degrading sex show out in the open for everyone driving down Front Street?” Her face was a red as her hair, and her hands were clenched tightly. “Is THAT what you meant by ‘altercation’?”

“No,” I replied, staring her down. “I’m referring to myself walking along, minding my own business, when two angry young women came out of nowhere, stalking me,, accosting me, and tried to detain me... and when THAT didn’t work, attacked me with their powers. Trying to arrest me for something that was proven, in court, in front of practically the entire nation, that I didn’t do!” We stared at each other for a moment more, and finally, she looked away. I sighed softly. “Look,” I said in a softer tone. “I didn’t come here to fight, alright? I came here to apologize to you both, in person. I’m sorry for what I did to you both. I was... really really out of line. Yeah, I had a lot on my mind, and the attack was kind of unprovoked... but my response was an overreaction...“

“Unprovoked?” Amber scowled, glaring back up at me again. “You threw a fucking knife at Emily’s chest!” Her eyes flashed yellow. “Don’t stand there and try to play the innocent with me—”

“It wasn’t my knife!” I growled angrily, taking her by surprise. Blinking, she took a step back. “Since you remember that night so very well, I’ll remind you of a few facts. One, my powers do not include telekinesis, time manipulation, or super speed. I’m strong, and I create shadows. That’s pretty much it. And secondly, your friend was in the process of handcuffing me just before the supposed stabbing. I had my right hand cuffed, and she was just about to handcuff the left one. And since I don’t have any extra hands or limbs, I think that pretty much leaves me out as a suspect.”

Amber blinked, frowning. Remembering... seeing again that night... the sight of the dark haired demon stalking towards her and Emily, having shattered her cocoon and destroyed the nearby buildings around them by summoning a meteor shower. She saw his face, grinning at her again, eyes alight, as he pulled the shining metal handcuff from his wrist, snapping it like a peanut shell, crumpling it up and tossing it at their feet as an inky blackness began to cover him—

Wait a second. The handcuff...

“You... were right,” Amber grudgingly admitted looking down at her feet. “I guess I kind of glossed over that fact in the heat in the moment.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “Okay. So... you didn’t throw the knife.” Her eyes opened and she turned to glare at him again. “That still doesn’t excuse what you made Emily and I do. And don’t think a few nice words are going to make me forget the shame and humiliation you—“

Suddenly the front door burst open. Wow. Talk about saved by the bell. We glanced up in time to see Ruby stumble into the room, her costume ripped and torn, nearly shredded, her body bloody and scorched in some spots. Her eyes were wide and glassy, and she looked nearly out on her feet. She managed to take one last step before her legs gave out and she stumbled. Moving quickly, I swooped in and caught her before she fell.

“Ohmigod! Ruby!” Amber yelled, rushing to her friend. She tried pushing me aside for a moment, trying to reach her, but I ignored her, focused only on Ruby for the moment. She was in pretty bad shape. She’d taken a real beating, and though I don’t think her life was in danger at the moment, but she would definitely need to be hospitalized if there was going to be any chance of recovery.

Well... I have been wanting to try this again since Midas. And all things considered, she was still in better condition that ’Rora had been.

“Amber,” I said sharply, turning to face her. “Go and get your friends. Tell them what’s going on. We may need to take her to the hospital.” When she stood there gawking at me in surprised, I scowled. “Go now! We need to move fast! Or are you just going to stand here and gawk?”

She opened her mouth to reply, the shut it, running back down the hallway. Didn’t matter, she was already out of my mind. Instead, I was looking inward, eyes closed, trying to find that place inside me, that inner glow, or spark. I’d tapped into it before, out of sheer desperation, but it was significantly harder to do so at will. That, and the fact that I had no idea how I’d actually done it in the first place. Going deeper... pressing farther and farther inside myself... it almost like trying to swim through tar... in the dark. Needless to say, it was hard, but I pressed on, spurred on by an honest desire to help the girl, to use my powers for something positive again.

And there, spinning like a tiny little star in the darkest reaches of space, I found my spark.

Crossing everything I had, I let my powers surge forth, feeling Ruby enveloped in my shadows, feeling her mind and body open to me. It was an effort to resist the flow; my darkness naturally wanted to absorb and drain her light instead of augmenting it. It took even more of an effort to send the essence from my own spark into hers, akin to trying to force water to run upstream with nothing but the power of your will. The pain hit me suddenly, taking my breath away, nearly making me lose my focus... nearly. Pain is my friend! Pain lets you know you’re alive. You welcome pain. You work through it. You push... through it... uuuggghnn... and come out the other side!

A shudder ran through me as I felt that tearing feeling again, a sudden weakness... and a surge of something—of ME—flowing into Amanda’s battered form... feeling it/me flowing into every nook and cranny, spreading out like liquid flowing into an empty container... strange. Heh. Beyond strange, really, with the feedback from our bonding... to feel yourself, holding yourself in your arms... with bits of yourself flowing out of you into yourself. It was dizzying. It was confusing. And yet.. as totally fucked up as the situation was, it was also satisfying... in every sense of the word.. as I felt it actually working, my life essence healing her wounds, undoing the worst of the damage—

And then I was separated, physically and mentally, from the experience.

I gasped as the universe turned inside out and threw up all over my senses. This was worse the before, worse than the sensation of myself ripping apart. My senses were reeling, and it literally felt as if I’d been pulled apart, half of me still stuck inside Ruby’s body. I had to believe my sudden departure hadn’t done her a whole lot of good either! I struggled to put the pieces of myself back together, inside my head. I needed to be able to act, and at the moment I barely knew who and what I was.

“...gha thy snjo ipiub unuy i nipi gy oi-o athvyi vxzz!” someone yelled as hearing sounds once again became a function of my brain. Experience told me that comprehension would come later, so I moved on to the next function. Movement. Or rather, controlled movement. As awareness slowly began to sharpen, I figured out that I was already moving—if you can consider randomly twitching and flopping around like a retarded mudskipper on crack moving. “FES NI UGI FKJOP KHLUT TK Y UUG Y O YMNBYJB!!”

Okay, I could now discern two distinct voices, so whatever they were saying, they were obviously yelling at each other. Oh! Vision just came back. Or... I was smelling with my eyes now, and seeing with my nose. Everyone looked like clouds of bright colorful particles, like sparkling glittering sand caught in a dust storm, and frozen, like with time lapse photography. Except, well, they were moving, acting almost human like... oh. Guess that explains the three moving clouds being colored blue, orange and black.

I closed my eyes, focused on my breathing, letting myself try and relax. After a few minutes... or seconds, my sense of time would no doubt be the last thing to return to normal—the nonsensical gibbering started to make sense. “...looked like he was trying to hurt her!” Amber. Ah, that explained things.

“He wasn’t hurting her, he was HELPING her!” Jette. The hot black girl that thinks I’m cute. Heh. Maybe I’ll have to pursue that in the future... assuming I don’t spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, drooling. “I told you guys about it before, when he healed Silver Girl! He was trying to heal Amanda... looked like it was working, until Stephanie and you went ballistic!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” Stephanie, I presume. The blue haired girl. “Amber said to blast him, so I did! But I mean, I didn’t go all out! This guy’s supposed to be really tough, right?” Her voice trembled. “I mean... I didn’t... you know... kill him... did I?”

“You better now have...” a fourth voice suddenly spoke up sounding weary and scratchy, “or I’ll fry the both of you crispier than a box of super sized from Mickie D’s...”

“Ruby!” the other three voices shouted in unison. I risked opening my eyes again, finding things pretty much back to normal, if a wee bit blurry. Sure enough, Ruby was sitting up, her costume still obviously mauled, but herself looking no worse the wear. Her head turned, and her eyes met mine. I groaned softly, sitting up, and she smiled.

“Looks like I won’t have to barbecue your sorry asses after all,” she murmured darkly as I slowly rose back to my feet. “Guess I have you to thank for being back on my feet?”

“Yeah,” I gasped softly, a wave of dizziness washing over me. “Figured it was the least I could do... and I was in the neighborhood and all...”

She reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks, Umbra” she said sincerely. “I owe you one.” She sighed shaking her head, stumbling slightly, no doubt a little shaky herself. “Whoa... guess I was in a bit worse shape that I thought.”

I smirked. “It’s just ‘Jimmy’ now. And yeah, Amanda, you were pretty bad off. Besides the obvious, you had a couple of cracked ribs, and a concussion, and you were going into shock. I’m not a medical doctor or anything, but those were the worst things I saw... felt... sensed... whatever. But If my cousin’s reaction is any indication, I think you’ll recover pretty fast now, with a bit of rest.”

“Okay, but how are you doing, Jimmy?” Jette asked, staring at me intently. “I can’t imagine that little ‘love tap’ my teammates gave you did much damage to a guy like you, but you seem to be a lot weaker now than you did in Midas.“

Which gave me a bit of a pause. I actually felt about the same... which was strange since I just gave Ruby a bit of a boost, not tried to restart her dying spark. In terms of actual effort and energy expended, I’d used a lot less of myself this time around, yet I still felt half-dead. Was it simply that I still needed more training and more control over my powers to utilize it better? Or... was it that my powers simply weren’t supposed to work this way, that I was in fact going against their natural function, that was making it so hard on me? Was what I did for Aurora an aberration? Or was what I was feeling all just bad timing, the attack from Sapphire and Amber breaking the connection before I was ready that had drained me?

I honestly didn’t know. And maybe it was simply my imagination getting the better of me, but I somehow got the feeling I had a limited number of times I could use my own life spark to heal someone before it simply burnt itself out.

“I’m fine,” I murmured softly after a moment. “A little bit drained, but I’ll manage.” Sigh. “In the meantime, it looks like you guys have a serious problem on your hands.”

“Diamond, Emerald, and Pearl have been kidnapped,” Ruby replied grimly. “The ‘hot lead’ we were following turned out to be a trap. Salazar knew we were coming somehow.” She growled, her body bursting momentarily into flame before fading, leaving her gasping from the effort. “Damn... I’m still... running on fumes, here.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ruby,” Jette said softly. “You made it back here to warn us. That’s good enough. Amber, Sapphire and I will go in and rescue them. You just take it easy and get some rest.” Glancing at her teammates she nodded. “Come on girls, we’re on.” But, as she turned to head for the door, I grabbed her shoulder.

“You can’t go just yet,” I said with a frown. “There’s more to the story. You guys can’t just go off half-cocked like this. We need to come up with a plan.”

“And just what do YOU know about all of this?” Sapphire asked, arms crossed at her chest. “I thought you just arrived in town less than an hour ago. How do you know so much about all of this?”

Holding out my right hand, I formed a ball of pure darkness, making it circle idly around my arm. “Hey, I’m not exactly an innocent bystander, like that delivery guy you like to pester,” I added with a bit of spite, making her blush. “When I was healing Ruby there a few minutes ago... before the interruption... we connected in a way you couldn’t even begin to imagine. I was inside her mind. And while I don’t know Amanda’s deepest darkest thoughts, I was privy to the thoughts and memories most prevalent in her mind. I saw what she and the other girls faced during that ambush in the warehouse. That’s why I say you guys need to take five and plan things out a bit before you rush to the rescue.“

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Amber replied, quietly. “Just what are we gonna to be facing when we go after Salazar and his goons?”

“Salazar’s not the problem, at least not directly,” I explained hesitantly. This was obviously going to be hard for Amber. For good or for ill, the situation I had placed her and Emerald in had forced them to acknowledge and deal with their unresolved feelings for each other. Now it seemed that her lover was in danger, and Amber was chomping at the bit to go in and rescue her. Except now, her own feelings for Emerald would end up being her greatest liability. “The ones you have to worry about are the ones who ambushed Ruby and nearly killed her.”

“Well, that’s nothing new,” Jette said with a smirk, cracking her knuckles. “We’ve faced tough opponents before. The others might have been caught off guard, but knowing what we’re up against will give us a big advantage against them,”

“No, actually, it won’t,” I responded. “In fact, it’ll be even more of a handicap.”

“Dammit, just spit it out already!” Amber yelled in frustration. “Who does Salazar have working for him that’s so dangerous that we don’t stand a chance against them?”

“Our teammates,” Ruby answered wearily, causing the other three women to fall silent. “Diamond, Pearl, and Emerald. Salazar did something to them... brainwashed them somehow. They’re the ones who attacked me. And if we go back to the warehouse, and go after Salazar again, we’re going to have to fight our way in past our friends.”