The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

I’m of the opinion that we’re all of two minds.

Not that we’re all schizophrenic, with split personalities or anything. And I don’t mean having a double life, with secret identities or anything, although there are certainly those among us that do as well. What I mean is, we, as a species, are typically conflicted, stuck in a kind of emotional, intellectual, or possibly moral dilemma. There are things we want to do, and things we need to do. Things we should do and things we most certainly should NOT do. And sometimes, the choice between the two isn’t as easy as it seems.

“So then, we’re sitting at the bar,” Devon continued, leaning against me, her long dark hair splayed along my bare chest. “We all have drinks, and we’re sitting there making small talk, trying not to look suspicious, pretending to sip lightly at our drinks, which we all know are drugged…”

I chuckled good-naturedly. “A lucky thing, that. With your low tolerance for alcohol, if you’d actually HAD to drink, you’d probably have blown your cover.”

Devon blew loudly, rolling her eyes. “Well, we can’t all be Scottish, with superhuman constitutions, able to down an entire bottle of Scotch in single gulp without batting an eye. So, do you wanna hear the rest of the story or not?”

“Please, do continue,” I said with a smirk, kissing her cheek.

“So, anyway, we’re at the bar, and we’re waiting for Mr. Ryan to show up. He’s known to stop by each of his clubs on Friday nights to look things over, pretty much the only times he leaves his main stronghold. We weren’t sure exactly when he’d be arriving, just that it was around seven or so. We were actually expecting to catch him come in the main entrance… but apparently he’d arrived shortly before we did! I took a peek at the nearby future and saw him, seeing us! Pearl’s psychic talents were shielding us from being discovered by the people in the club, but looking at us through the club’s security cameras, he could see us all clearly in our costumes.”

My amused grin faded at that. “That doesn’t sound good. What did you do?”

“Well, I knew we were in trouble,” Dev admitted. “We had about two minutes before he burst out of his upstairs office with guns blazing. I scanned the possible future outcomes, and quickly told Pearl what was happening, and what we needed to do to get out of all of this. Pearl and Ruby went to the edge of the stairs, to distract the guard there. Ruby kept him busy, and Pearl laid in wait, ready to use her powers as soon as Ryan showed his face. Jette went to the main entrance to chat up the bouncer there, and Sapphire took the two on the far side of the room, ready to shake them up as necessary. And I… I stayed by the bar.”

I let out a small sigh of relief that that. “Good. At least you stayed out of harm’s way.”

Devon blushed slightly, glancing away. “Er, um… well, not exactly. I had foreseen the bartender being a threat as well. Before coming out, Ryan started barking orders to his guys through their earpieces. When he bent down at the bar to get his sawed off shotgun, I swept over the bar and delivered a kick to the face.” She giggled at my stricken expression. “What? You didn’t think I spent two months on the road with Ghost Girl twiddling my thumbs did you? Anyway, the others reacted as well, taking down their assigned targets as soon as they went for their weapons. And as soon as Ryan stepped out of his office, Pearl befogged his mind. All in all, everything went off without a hitch.”

Yeah, aside from you having to face down some brute with a shotgun, and the whole plan nearly falling apart before it even began, I wanted to add. Wisely, I choose to keep that sentiment to myself. “And none of the patrons there reacted to the bunch of you getting into a battle with club owner and his security staff there in the middle of the club?” I asked instead.

“Well, I kind of wondered about that, too,” she admitted, scratching her head. “I found out later from Pearl that pretty much all the patrons there were so deep under the effects of the subliminals in the music and drugs in the drinks that a bomb could have gone off and no one would have even blinked. Anyway, the police soon arrived and took charge,” Devon finished with a small sigh. “They hauled Ryan and his cronies, had the drugged patrons checked out with the EMTS, then set about freeing the others ones that had been abducted and turned into dancers for the VIP room.”

Still, this is what I meant when I said being of two minds. On one hand, I wanted to be encouraging and tell her she’d done a good job, and that I was proud of her. And I was, very much so. On the other hand… she’d gone toe to toe with some thug with a shotgun and kicked him in the face?!? If anything had happened to her… the very thought made me sick to my stomach. How was I supposed to just sit here and smile, and pretend I was okay with her doing something so dangerous?

The same way she worries the same about me, I realized with a resigned sigh. The reality of the situation was that if we were going to remain a couple, and have any kind of a future together, then we would both have to learn to trust and depend on each other equally. It was a partnership, after all, and if you couldn’t trust and depend on your partner, who could you depend on?

“Afterwards, we all went out to the diner on 17TH to celebrate,” Devon finished. “Jette said it’s kind of a tradition, after a successful mission. They all go out together for a little celebratory snack, and today was the last time she’d be able to hang out with everyone for a while, as she was going out of town this weekend. And, well, we kind of lost track of time… that’s why I was so late getting back home—“

We both sat up at the sound of the doorbell ringing. “Ah, dammit,” Devon muttered, sliding out of bed. “Who the heck would be coming by this early in the day on a Saturday,” she mumbled glancing around. “Um, honey, where are my clothes?” she asked, frowning.

“Uh uh uh,” I chided, smirking. “You know the rules. Saturday mornings ’til noon are ‘Naked Saturdays’. No clothes for either of us. That’s also why we unplug the phone and turn off our cells.”

“Yeah, but, what am I supposed to do now?” she protested, “Do you expect me to answer the door in the nude?” I chuckled at the thought, considering, but Devon merely rolled her eyes, and retrieved her bathrobe from the hook on the back of the bedroom door.

“Spoilsport,” I muttered, getting out of bed, slipping on my own robe, following her to the living room.

The doorbell rang again just as Devon opened the door. Ruby stood, one finger poised to press the buzzer again. “Oh! Oh, I guess you guys ARE here after all,” she said sheepishly. “Sorry to bother you guys. Are you just waking up?”

I glared at her. “Um, no, Ruby, it’s Saturday. You know, the day between Friday and Sunday? And you know how we usually spend our Saturday mornings, right? I know I’ve mentioned it to your guys… multiple times.”

Ruby blinked. “Wait. You mean ‘Naked Saturdays’? That’s a real thing?” Now Devon and I were both glaring at her. “Oh, um… heh heh… sorry. Well, I didn’t mean to um, interrupt things,” she said with a smirk, “but I was just checking to see if you guys had seen or heard from Emily. She got up early today to go for a jog, and hasn’t come back or checked in with anyone yet. I know you talked to her last night on the phone. Did she say anything to give you an idea about what she might be up to, or where she might have gone?”

“Um, no,” I replied, thinking back. “Not really. We only talked briefly, anyway.” I shook my head. “I have no idea where she might be, but we’re definitely up for helping you guys look for her. Right, Dev?”

Devon nodded. “Absolutely.” She turned to glance at me sidelong. “All we need to go is grab some clothes… right, Jimmy?”

I chuckled ruefully, shrugging. “Heh. I guess so. This IS a special situation, after all. Ruby, give us about twenty minutes to get ready, okay? Dev, who don’t you go jump into the shower first, and I’ll join you later. Then we can all head out together and try and figure out the best way of tracking down Emily.”

Nodding in agreement, we all split up. I waited in the bedroom for several minutes for the sound of the shower running before kneeling down beside the bed. I pulled out the clothes Devon had worn the day before, her casual clothes as well as the Kevlar costume GG had obtained for her. Hmm. Good. Everything’s dry, I noted with satisfaction. Also beneath the bed was the nearly empty container of ‘clothes goop’ I’d brought from home, just in case, After Devon’s professed desire last night to explore the lifestyle of a super hero, I’d taken a few precautions. I’d waited for her to fall asleep, then sprayed and coated all of her clothing with the goop, trusting that the yellowish tint would have faded and everything would have dried out by this time today.

Yeah, call me a hypocrite if you wish. But if I’m going to put my faith and trust in letting my girlfriend risk her life, the least I can do is make sure she’s as prepared as possible. And making sure all of her clothing, regular mundane and Super costume alike, are bulletproof, knifeproof, burnpoof, and as close to indestructible as possible is the least I can do. Satisfied, I took a moment to lay out day clothes for the both of us, then, shucking off my bathrobe, I went to join Dev in the shower.

Standing outside in the parking lot of the Bellevue Mental Hospital, Rose gave herself one final once-over, checking to make sure she was set and that everything was perfect. Her friend had arranged everything as planned, and her shift as an orderly started in a mere fifteen minutes. She even knew basically what to expect, having used this same infiltration route a few weeks earlier just to get the last of the land, so to speak. She’d crossed every ‘T’ and dotted every ‘I’. In short, she was as prepared as she could possibly be for anything that came up.

Which, no doubt, is exactly why the universe chose that exact moment to hit her with the unexpected.

“Hello?” she barked into her cell phone, answering it on the first ring. Her number was unlisted and scrambled; criminal contacts like Carlos and Bobby could only reach her on a private number linked to a separate disposable burner phone. The only ones that had her private personal cell number was the Company, and they all knew she was on leave, and unavailable. She was debating on whether to simply hang up, or whether to give the numbnuts that had called her a verbal tongue lashing. But the familiar deep baritone voice with the traditional Scottish burr answering brought all such thoughts to a screeching halt.

“Rose, lass,” Eugene’s voice swept over her like a warm blanket. “It’s been a while since we’ve talked. How… are you faring, lass?”

Master… Rose thought idly, her throat clenching, making it hard to even speak. “M… Boss,” she managed after a moment. “I’m… well,” she lied, trying hard to keep her voice calm. “How are you? You sound well.” You SOUND well? Fuck, Rose, you absolutely SUCK at small talk! Regardless, Eugene let out a soft melodious laugh.

“Ach, lass, ever the conversationalist,” he chuckled. “Just relax. Ye dinnae need to be so nervous.” He sighed softly. “Lass… I’ll be blunt. I’m a wee bit concerned about ye.”

Concerned? About me? she mused faintly. No, she shook her head. He’s concerned about what you’ve been up to all this time. Stay strong, Rose. Don’t get distracted now.

“Well, Sir, I’m doing just fine,” she replied stiffly. “And I’m sorry to cut the conversation short, but I am in the middle of something—“

“Oh?” Gene cut in, his tone idly curious. “Something for pleasure, or work related? I’d certainly hate to hold ye up for something important…”

He’s baiting me, Rose thought dismally. I can’t lie to him. He knows that. Fuck… he probably knows EVERYTHING! SHIT! Maybe he’s just trying to give me a chance to confess… to come clean? No… no, calm down. Master’s more straight-forward that that! If he knew exactly what I was up to, he’d simply confront me about it.

“Rose?” Gene’s voice in her ear startled her out of her thoughts. “Are ye still there, lass? Ye kind of went quiet on me for a moment.”

“Oh! Sorry. I was… I was just… lost in thought,” she finished lamely. “So… um, if there is nothing else, Sir, I really need to be going—“

“Well, lass, since ye asked,” Gene cut in once more. “As I said before… I’m a might… concerned about ye. I ken… yer on leave right now, and what ye do on leave is fully your business—“

Rose wilted visibly at his words. Yeah. On leave. I’m just an employee, after all. It’s not as if I have anyone specific to answer to…

“—but lass, I’m worried about you,” he continued, causing her breath to catch again. “Ye’ve been traveling all over the map lately, from city to city, state to state. San Diego, River City, Cleveland, Midas City, New York…” He sighed deeply. “Ye’ve been pretty much to every city except the one I’d expected ye to visit—Crescent City.”

“You’ve been spying on me,” she stated, her tone flat and empty, accusatory.

“Nae, lass not ‘spying’,” Gene replied. “Just… keeping tabs on ye. As I said, I was worried.” He sighed deeply again. “Rose. Let me be frank. We both know the reason why ye’ve been working so hard all these years, and about your goal of having enough money to take care of and support dear Chloe for the rest of your lives on your own... without help from anyone else.” He paused for a moment, considering his words. He would have, of course, paid fully for the poor girl’s medical care, and gladly, but he knew for Rose it was a matter of personal pride in being able to take care of her friend on her own.

“And yet,” he added, “despite having finally achieved that goal, you haven’t gone to visit her once since returning from Austin. Heck, it’s like you’ve been purposely avoiding going to see her. But I know that’s not the case. I know there’s no one on this Earth more important to you than her.”

Almost no one, Rose thought sadly, closing her eyes.

“Something is going on with you, lass,” Gene said simply. “I want to know what is it. Talk to me, Rose.”

“Talk to you?” Rose snapped, clutching her phone so hard the protective case cracked. “Is that an order? A command? Because the last time I checked, Sir, you were my Boss, not my Master!” Oh, goddess, that’s a lie. You’ll always be my Master. Always. Goddess, what the hell am I doing? What am I saying?

Eugene, caught of balance, stammered a bit in his reply. “I er… well... no, I didnae mean it to sound as if I were barking orders at ye, lass. I just want to know what’s going on with ye… so I can help, if I might.”

“Help?” Rose spat back, almost in disbelief. She laughed, bitterly, shaking her head. “You want to help me, Sir? HELP ME? You mean the way you ‘helped me’ all those years ago when you took me off the streets? When you spent all that money and time and effort to reform and rehabilitate a drug addicted, sex addicted slutty little WHORE, and make her into a productive member of society again?” Her heart was pounding in her chest, in her ears. She knew she should stop now, close her mouth, hang up, before she said something she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. The dam had broken, and the words were tumbling out.

“Rose,” Eugene began, only to be cut off.

“NO!” she yelled back, nearly screaming. “No, you don’t get to play the concerned worried parental unit now, when you’ve basically ignored me for the past twenty years, leaving me off to fend for myself! Twenty years… twenty FUCKING years, and the most contact I’ve had from you in the occasional telephone call! And even then, its always another job, another goddamn mission, another fucking person needing the great Eugene Frasier and his crew to swoop in and save the mother fucking day!”

Eugene merely sat there in shock for several seconds, stunned. “Rose… lass… what the devil? Where’s all this coming from?”

“From me, Sir,” she replied wearily, without heat. She’d just vented twenty years’ worth of anger and frustration, all of it spewing forth like lava from a volcano. Now the heat had dissipated, and all that was left was smoke and ash. “All of this is coming from me,” she repeated back. “I’m sorry if I sound like an ungrateful bitch… but it’s probably because I am an ungrateful bitch.” She sighed heavily. “I am what you made me. All those years ago when you rescued me? All I wanted was to serve you, to be your slave. I would have given you everything… everything I had to give. But I wasn’t good enough. You pushed me away, gave me to someone else to raise, to train, to look after me. You wanted me to become independent again, and I did. You wanted me to become strong. And I did. I became a soldier, a mercenary. I became useful again, able to ‘help’ people, save those that were thought to be beyond saving.” She laughed again, a sound with no humor whatsoever. “It’s pretty ironic in a way. I became everything you wanted me to be, and more. Yet, all I wanted to be, what I most yearned to be, was simply your slave.”

“Rose… no. You’ve got it all wrong,” Eugene protested. “I didnae turn ye away because you weren’t good enough! It was never ever about you—“

“Exactly,” Rose replied instantly. “It was never about me. At all. And if we’re being completely honest, you never wanted me as your slave in the first place.” She sniffed slightly, tears that she hadn’t shed in two decades running down her cheeks now. “You said it yourself. I was your ‘responsibility’… your little pet project, just some way to redeem yourself for not being able to save those other two girls captured and brainwashed by Blackfinger all those years before.” The case in her hands cracked again, and the screen shattered. “It’s okay, though. I’m fine with it. I was basically just Eliza Doolittle, and you were my Henry Higgins, trying to dress me up and make me presentable for the ball. But I know now. I realize… that that’s all it was for you. Just a humanitarian project—“

“Hauld yer wheest!” Eugene’s angry shout brought her up silent. “Not another word, lass… not until I’ve had my say!” When Rose didn’t immediately respond, he sighed. “Yer right… about a lot of things. I havenae been much of a Master to you. And aye, in the beginning, I didnae want the job. You were an unexpected burden, one I hadn’t planned on. But that doesnae mean that I didnae care for you!” He sighed heavily, closing his eyes. “Back then… aye, I was so determined to help you, to make you better, to fix everything and give you your life back that I didn’t stop to think or even ask what you wanted. Aye… I wanted you to be independent again, to be able to stand on yer own two feet. But it never occurred to me how much doing so would hurt ye!”

But it did, Rose cried silently. You have no idea how much it hurt. I needed your love… needed you! Pushing me away... yes, you made me strong and independent, at least on the outside. But inside, I’m empty. I’m hollow. There’s nothing there, nothing at all!

“I thought… it was the best thing for you,” Eugene murmured softly, so quietly, Rose had to pull the phone closer to her ear. “I thought I was doing the right thing by staying away. And everyone else tried to tell me—Frank, Eva, even Lacie—but I thought I knew better than the lot of ’em. I thought coming to see you, visiting you, was hurting your growth, making you depend more on me instead of yourself… so I gradually tapered off.” He sighed again. “Even so… I never stopped looking after you, Rose. Tell me…do ye recall the mission you went on in Tampa, Florida, back in ’96?”

“Yes… I do,” Rose replied softly, able to talk again. “We went to rescue a group of young women taken for the illegal slave trade. The head honcho was Donovan St. Croix, a real piece of scum. We managed to rescued all nine of the girls, but Fredricks died in the getaway.”

“Aye… and you ended up shot as well,” Gene added quietly, causing Rose to gasp in surprise. “You insisted you were fine, that it was just a flesh wound, and pushed on until you got the girls to safety. Then, finally, you checked yourself into a local hospital.”

Rose blinked. “How… did you know?” she asked, gently. “I never said anything… and I never included it in my report…”

“I knew, lass, because I was there,” Eugene said, just as gently. “I’d heard about Fredricks, and I’d come down to handle the arrangements for the body myself. When no one knew what happened to you, I questioned the girls, and when one of them mentioned you being shot, I checked all of the nearby hospitals until I found out which one you were in.” He chuckled ruefully. “I remember you were arguing with the doctor even while they were prepping you for surgery, saying you didn’t want to be sedated… that the drugs they used always brought back the nightmares. I told the doctor to go ahead and administer the sedative, but at half the normal dose. Afterwards, when you were back to recovery, I sat and held yer hand all night long, and talked to ye, and read to ye, to keep the nightmares at bay.”

The tears started flowing again. “I remember that,” Rose admitted. “But… I thought it was all just a dream… a hallucination from the drugs.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Besides, you were gone when I woke up the next day.”

“Ach, well, I didnae want to embarrass you,” Gene replied. “You checked yourself in quietly, under an assumed name, without letting anyone know about it. You obviously didn’t want anyone to know you’d been hurt.” Gene laughed bitterly. “And it’s not the only time ye’ve been injured, or that I’ve visited you. I’m a damn hypocrite, really. All my talk about letting you live your own life, and I’ve been keeping track of you all this time, stepping in whenever you needed me.”

He… he DOES care, Rose realized. All this time… I never thought… never realized… She shook her head, wiping away her tears. No. It doesn’t matter. It’s too little, too late…

“That’s… nice to know,” Rose replied, taking a moment to compose herself. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that in the grand scheme of things, I’m just another ‘problem’ for you… that despite everything, I don’t mean to you what you mean to me. I… just don’t measure up to your expectations… isn’t that right, Master?”

“Ar… are ye daft, girl?” Eugene exclaimed. “I just told you how much I’ve been looking after ye all this time! What makes you thin—“

“Evangeline Snow.”

That brought Gene up short again. “Eva? What does she have to do with this?”

“You accepted her as your slave, didn’t you?” Rose replied woodenly. Silence. “Did you know I went to visit you while you were in the hospital? It was just after your son, Jimmy, was taken. I’d heard you were hurt fighting your brother, and went to check up on you and report to you in person. That’s when I overheard you and Eva talking… about what happened to her with that bimbo virus, and your feelings for each other.” This was it. This was the root of all her pain and emptiness. “It’s funny in a way. I was altered and changed by the Confectioner, and turned into a slut, and she was transformed by Sweet Tooth, one of the Confectioner’s biggest rivals. And yet… you accepted her and rejected me. Why? What did I do wrong? How did I fall short? What could I have done differently to make you choose me too?”

“Listen to me, Rose.” Her Master said calmly but firmly. “If you take nothing else away from this conversation, then understand this: I did not reject you. Yes, I made mistakes in how I dealt with you. I admit that. I’m not perfect and I never claimed to be. But I never once rejected you. I tried to do what I thought you was best for you. And I’m sure I failed to live up to your expectations. But, that doesn’t mean I plan to stop trying.” He shook his head ruefully. “A long time ago, I was utterly convinced that there was no way I could be in any kind if intimate relationship with another person and stay true to my wife… even when she herself told me we could. And then… I met a most remarkable man with a harem of girls that loved and shared and cared for him and each other without a hint of jealousy, or anger, or bad feelings. I learned from him that it is very possible to open your heart to more than one person, and to share that love equally, and accept it in return.”

Grimalde, Rose nodded numbly. She means Nigel Grimalde, the guy his family was in a decades long feud with until just recently. HE’S the reason Master is finally changing his outlook?

“Rose… yer right. I treated ye unfairly. And I am sorry. But I’m willing to try and make up for it.” He took a deep breath. “I ken yer up to something,” he said after a second, “something that ye ken I willnae approve of. And no, I haven’t been spying on ye, merely tracking yer movements. I do ken, however, about New York.” Rose stiffened. “I will not pry,” he continued, “nor will I browbeat you about yer actions. I do, however, off my help to ye, freely. Whatever yer involved in, whatever yer doing—ye dinnae have to go through this alone. I’m here for ye, lass. Just… talk to me.”

Rose shook, clutching herself. He’d extended his hand to her. He was offering himself, his help, his heart, his love—everything she’d always dreamed of. But… she reminded herself WHY she was doing this, why she’d made all those trips, why she’d risked so much. If I give in to him… if I submit and come clean to him, he’ll shut the operation down. Period. No way he’ll let me continue doing what I need to do. She shuddered again. My happiness… or Chloe’s future…

Pulling the phone back to her face, she spoke again. “Sorry, Sir. Too little, too late. You had twenty year… TWENTY FUCKING YEARS to try and come to terms with this. And now… you pick NOW, to try and reach out a hand to me? Now, suddenly, you accept me, and want to pull me into the fold, create your own harem of obedient slave girls? Well, sorry. That ship has sailed.” She bit her lip to keep from sobbing, struggling to keep her voice steady. “You’re just my ‘Boss’ remember? And really… you’re not even that, anymore. I’ve made enough money to accomplish my goal. I quit. So unless you’re planning to ‘order me’ to stop what I’m doing, Master… then we have nothing more to talk about.”

Eugene stood there, stunned. For a long moment, he just stood there, staring at his phone, at a complete loss for words. Then, sighing softly, nodding to himself, he replied simply, “Then I guess this is goodbye, lass. The invitation still stands, mind. If you ever need me for anything in the future… you know how to reach me.” And with that, he ended the conversation, disconnecting.

Rose clutched her battered and broken phone tightly to her chest, next to her shattered and broken heart. And sobbed, silently. Even as she pushed him, provoked him, drove him away, a part of her had hoped beyond hope that he would deny her words, that he’d simply step in and take over, force her, command her, to submit to his wishes. Even now, she longed to call him back, to beg his forgiveness, to leave River City, fly halfway across the road to his doorstep, fall to her knees and grovel at his feet.

Instead she stood there crying, until the tears finally stopped. Then, she wiped her face, and straightened up clothes. Composed again, she turned and walked across the parking lot, and entered the building just as planned.

Megan let out the breath she’d been holding with a small grin. The device she’d cobbled together for her Mistress’ special project worked exactly as she’d hoped. Leon ‘Spike’ Snyder, a local thug and all around hoodlum, was kneeling patiently on the ground before her, eyes shining with devotion. The device she clutched tightly in her left hand had completely rewired his brain into obedience. She stared down at him, confident, but still somewhat nervous. “Tell me, thrall,” she asked, “what is most important to you?”

Spike blinked, frowning, as if considering. “Well, duh, that’s easy. Serving and obeying Mistress Supernova.”

Good. The embedded instructions were transmitted and received as predicted, she thought with satisfaction. “Very good. And what is most important thing after that?” she asked.

“Secondly? Huh, probably in being an upstanding and productive member of society from now on,” Spike replied, smirking. “And making sure that I don’t break any of the city’s laws or ordinances, of course.”

Yes! Perfect! Megan cheered gleefully. Mistress is going to be so pleased! I can’t believe I got it to work so well so quickly! Heheh… I guess I just needed the proper motivation.

This would definitely push her Mistress’ plans forward. With this innovation, she would be able to spread her influence quickly throughout the entire city, easily speeding up her timetable. Which, considering its scope, was a very good thing. After their earlier tryst in bed, she’d hesitantly asked her Mistress about her seemingly out-of-the-blue fascination with her brother’s sexual prowess. Katie’d replied that it was partial simple curiosity, but also partially to ascertain just how close he was with Jimmy.

”If worse comes to worse, we might end up facing him and the rest of my family,” she’d admitted. ”Part of my training growing up was to figure out how best to take out an opponent, to know their strengths and weaknesses. But, out of everyone in my family, the one person I’d never want to face is Jimmy. He’s my brother. He’s my other half. He’s, literally, my opposite in every way. If he did somehow show up to try and stop me, I’d have to depend on you to find a way to stop him.”

Jimmy’s darkness powers and Katie’s light powers cancelled each other out. It was a definite revelation to Megan—she’d never known or even guessed. It also made it impossible for her Mistress to bring him over to her side and show him the Light. So, she’s right… it would fall to me. Still… he is really tough. And, really, even if Mistress considers him the biggest threat, there’s still his mom, his dad, their aunts and uncles… all of them seriously powerful and dangerous heroes and heroines in their own rights. The sooner Mistress has a few more Supers converted to her side, the better.

That would be her next project. She needed to figure out which Supers would be the most valuable and useful converts to aid in her Mistress’ plan. In the meantime, she tossed the device in her hands over to Spike, and handed him a small satchel with several identical copies. “You know what to do, right?” she asked, as he got to his feet.

Spike nodded. “Of course. The main goal for now is to spread the word, run the rumor mill in full bloom. And, when possible, spread the Mistress’ message to other criminals, and convert them as well.” He nodded, turning to walk away. “You gave me your number as well, so I know how to get in touch with you if I need more devices. I’ll also keep you apprised of any issues that come up.”

“Good. I’ll tell our Mistress and keep her updated as well,” Megan replied with a grin. “Good luck, Spike.”

“Thank you, Techna,” the former thug replied with a slight bow. “And thank you for showing me the Light.”