The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Light and Shadows 9: Incandescent Supernova Ascension

by J. Darksong & Baltimore Rogers

* * *

Ch.8) The Nothing I’ve Become

“Hey! Come quick! Eugene is walking!” Eva called out loudly.

“What?!?” Ana yelled, jerking up in alarm. She glanced at Constance, herself looking just as surprised. “Did she just say what I thought she did, that Eugene is walking?”

“That’s what she said,” Connie agreed, getting to her feet. “C’mon. Let’s go! I gotta see this!”

Walking back to the main compound, they found Eugene, Nigel and Eva gathered around the center of the room, with Eugene standing, albeit a bit unsteadily. “Ge... Gene?” Ana asked, gaping in shock, remembering her vision from before. “You’re... standing? Walking? But how? How is this possible?”

“Standing, aye,” he said, grunting slightly, staring down at his legs in annoyance. “Walking Not so much. Shuffling or stumbling would be a closer description.” He lifted a leg, slowly, extending out outward with a slow, almost mechanical motion, before lowering it again. “It’s a bit unwieldy,” he said, glancing to Nigel. “What d’ya think, lad? Another three percent?”

“I’d go up five,” Nigel replied, glancing down at the small handheld device in his hands. “You look good on all the readings... everything is in the green. You have the leeway.” Eugene nodded.

“Hey, Sis,” Ana asked, eyes wide in shock, “what’s going in here? What are they doing?”

“Nigel and Master have done it again,” she said, barely resisting the urge to laugh in glee. “He’s come up with a way to bypass his shattered spine and control his limbs directly. He received a package from an old friend of his yesterday, and since then, he and Nigel have been working on it non-stop. Some kind of neural interface...”

“Synaptic Interface,” Nigel corrected her, adjusting the setting on the device. “It’s the brainchild of Tina Patrick, the head researcher and CEO of MedTek, based out of New York. She’s a former student of Eugene’s, one apparently very gifted in the field of bioengineering. She sent him her newest prototype model as a favor. And, well, all things considered, its a nice change of pace from the ‘other projects’ we’ve been working on.” Turning back to the device, he nodded. “Sensitivity increased by another five percent. Still looking good across the boards. How does it feel?”

“Better,” Eugene replied with a grimace, taking a few wooden steps forward, turning in a slow circle to face the room. “I can almost forget the fact that I’ve got several highly experimental computer circuits embedded deep at the base of my spine, and in each of my legs. The input is better though... not exactly ready for Dancing With the Stars, but a bit less like Frankenstein’s monster.” He sighed, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. “Not that I’m complaining. Anything is better than being confined to that bloody chair.” Walking back to the couch, he sat, or rather, collapsed into it, breathing heavily. “Damn... I’m actually winded. I suppose more than a month or two off my feet has left me out of practice.”

“Then by all means, let’s get you some practice,” Nigel suggested briskly. “You have an Olympic sized heated swimming pool downstairs. I figure a few laps around the pool should do you a world of good, help relieve a bit of the stress we’ve all been under... and trim off a few excess pounds,” he added with a smirk. “We wouldn’t want all that rich catered food you’ve been eating all these weeks to clog up that brand new heart of yours, after all. At your age, you probably won’t be getting another if that one conks out on you.”

“Ach! Old and fat, am I?” Eugene replied in mock outrage. “Yer no spring chicken yerself, Grimalde! That’s nae vanilla frosting smeared across yer hair at the temples, ye ken!” Chuckling, he turned towards the door. “Yer right though. We could all blow off a bit of steam. C’mon then. Ye can monitor the readings while I swim. I just hope one of you is a good enough swimmer to dive in and rescue me if these blasted legs of mine give out on me...”

“Don’t worry, Master,” Eva replied easily, following along behind the two moguls, “I won’t let you drown. Just let me grab my bathing suit.” Glancing over her shoulder, she nodded to her sister. “Coming, Ana?”

“Right behind you, Sis,” Anastasia nodded woodenly as they left, still feeling a bit shell shocked by this sudden revelation. Her vision from days ago came back to her again: Eugene, standing of his own power, taking her sexually from behind, her moaning in pleasure, submitting to him willingly, eagerly, just as her sister walked into the room. Great. Just great. First Rose Conterras goes rogue and unleashes that walking talking plague on us all... now my sister’s crippled boyfriend is suddenly able to walk! I thought... I just knew it was wrong... that there was no way something like this could possibly happen the way I’d foreseen, with him paralyzed from the waist down. But now... She shook her head ruefully. Well, fine... even if it IS possible, I won’t let it happen! I don’t feel that way about Eugene... and I wouldn’t do that to Lacie or my sister! This is one future event that is NOT coming true!

“Um... Ana?” Constance prompted, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, sure, Connie,” she said, forcing a smile. “You can talk to me about anything. What’s going on?”

Connie sighed deeply, fidgeting slightly, hands clenched into fists. She’s not Eva. I can trust her, she told herself, trying to suppress the urge to turn tail and run. “I feel like... I think... there’s something wrong,” she managed after a moment. “With me. In my head. I’ve been having these weird dreams these past few days, and hearing this soft voice whispering in the back of my mind. I don’t remember exactly when it started, but it just feels...” she swallowed, “it just feels wrong. You know?“

Ana nodded. “Yes, I know exactly what you mean. And that’s good, Connie, good that you’ve reached a level of awareness now that you can tell when your mind has been altered.” She paused, considering. “I know for a fact that you haven’t been in contact with ‘High Priestess Rosella’s’ new Mistress, and I doubt anything Eva or I have been doing with you in training would leave a lasting impression, but there’s always a chance we might have unwittingly left something behind. Would you like me to go get my sister? I’m sure Eva could scan—”

“NO!” Connie nearly shouted, taking several steps back. DON’T TRUST HER! Shaking her head, she held up a hand. “Sorry. I’m sorry. This is... it’s part of what’s wrong. That voice.. that feeling of wrongness... it’s centered around your sister. I don’t know why. I mean, I trust you both. You’ve both been nothing but great... well, when you’re not knocking my flat on my ass, that is,” she added, grinning slightly. “Seriously, you’ve both helped me a lot. You’ve respected my privacy, and you’ve even let me into your minds just to show me you haven’t tampered with mine. And... I know for a fact that Eva hasn’t done anything to me...“

“But something inside your head is warning you not to confide in her,” Ana finished, putting it together. “Hmm. Interesting. Well, Connie, I’m not nearly as good at this as my sister is, but if you want, I can delve into your mind, and see if I can figure out what is causing these feelings.” Connie nodded, staring down at her feet, not trusting herself to speak. “Relax, Connie,” she said encouragingly, squeezing her shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry. It’s just like practice. Nothing I do can hurt you, or change you in any way. I’m just going to look, all right?“

“Okay,” Connie said in a small voice. She felt so anxious she could barely stand it. She knew Anastasia wasn’t her sister, the same way she knew Evangeline wasn’t the source of her problem. And yet, no matter what her conscious mind insisted, her subconscious was all but screaming at her to run, get away, stop her, do anything but let her inside her brain! It was all she could do to suppress the fight or flight reflex when she felt the blonde’s mental presence inside her mind.

“Hmmm... that’s strange. There is something here, Connie... really really deep.” She frowned. “It’s not a psychic intrusion... it reads almost like... like a somnambulistic intrusion. Connie, have you ever been hypnotized?”

Connie shuddered. It was an irrational fear, like a fear of heights or small spaces, and no matter how much she tried to deny it, her survival instincts were calling the shots. As much as she wanted to know the truth, she feared it, feared it to a level she thought perhaps her heart might stop. “A-a-ana,” she said, trying to bring her mental shields back up, “I... I changed my mind. Please... can we stop this now? I changed my mind. I don’t want to know. Okay?”

“Just a second, Connie,” Ana replied, eyes closed, her mind deeply submerged inside her student’s. “I think I found it... yes... yes this is it. Connie... you were hypnotized... and... oh my goodness!” She blinked in surprise. “I... I don’t believe it! Connie, this is a problem. We need to tell Nigel and Eva about this right away—”

“NNOOOOOOO!!!” Connie screamed, her fear overwhelming her. DO NOT TRUST HER! DANGER! CAN’T LET HER TELL! MUSTN’T LET HER TELL! She reacted instinctively, without thinking, as she’d been taught, piercing fast and quick through her attacker’s non-existent defenses, pushing commands deep into her subconscious, a rapid fire barrage, anything to distract her, and get her out of her mind, and protect the secret, whatever it was.

“C-c-connie!” Ana gasped, as her focus drifted, her concentration slipping. Something was... wrong. As their connection severed, she felt a strange compulsion take over. A sudden warmth filled her with longing, with desire, and she gasped aloud again, her thighs becoming to moisten, as she realized what had happened. “Connie... please... you have to turn this off!” she rasped, even as the desire for sex began to become overpowering. “Baby... I know this isn’t your fault. It was Katherine... Katie Frasier. She took advantage... of you, back before you left town...” She groaned softly, clenching her thighs together, enjoying the friction. “She made you... help her with her plan... her plot... to t-take over her city... and r-r-remake it... into a cr... crime free... utopia...”

She began to sweat with the effort of resisting. “Connie... you have to help me... help me stop this. Katie... was afraid Eva might dig into your mind... figure out her plan... she told you... made you... defend yourself... made you wary of her... goddess... please, Connie... it’s too much... too much... I can’t block it all out...”

Constance, for her part, merely sighed, lost in her own memories, now that they had been unlocked... of that wonderful night with Katie... her soft gentle touches, her loving kisses, her fiendishly evil tickles and nibbles... and her Light, oh her glorious, glorious Light, surrounding her, infusing her, filling her with its pulsing, strobing, vibrating power... a small part of her knew that it was wrong, that she’d been used, betrayed... even now she remembered answering all Katie’s questions about Nigel’s network of brainwashed slaves throughout the city, giving her their trigger phrases, their code words, even advising the youngster on those who would be most useful to her. All the while, throughout the entire conversation, the beautiful blonde had kept her in a state of arousal she hadn’t dreamed possible, rewarding every tidbit of help with a mind-blowing, soul-crushing orgasm that only endeared her to her Mistress more. Even now, just the memories of the experience, the merest ghost of the real experience, was enough to bring her to a toe-curling release.

Both women, caught in a carefully placed trap, triggered through only the most lucky of coincidences, continued to moan and sigh and coo as the pleasure wormed its way deeper and deeper into their minds, the urgency of their plight lost in the moment as their concerns for anything besides their pleasure faded away...

* * *

“Uhhhggnn!” I groaned as I slammed hard into a nearby car, one of the few left not already destroyed. I fired a light blast at Wrecker, knocking her back across the street, then rolled to the side as the damned mech attacked, barely avoiding a brutal, potentially fatal stomp. I glanced up just as a glowing fiery orb was tossed my way, and I had only a second to brace myself as the explosion sent me flying yet again, this time into the side of a nearby building. Crying out in pain, I had just a moment to recover when a bolt of electricity struck me from behind, sending me to my knees.

“What’s wrong, Supernova?” Voltaire taunted, her body alive with arcs of sparking, sparkling, voltage. “Not looking so ‘super’ right now, are you? And I bet you thought you’d lucked out when your little friend dropped in and saved your hide earlier. Well, too bad for you, someone from our side dropped in to give us a hand as well! Face it, kid... you’re done!“

“No!” Ms. Machina yelled, moving in to step between me and the high voltage hothead. “I told you all before when I freed you. Get in as much payback as you want, make her bleed, and make her suffer. But only I get to deliver the killing blow!” She leant forward, the mech’s metallic face seeming to grin evilly at me. “You hear that, Supernova? I’m your executioner. I’m the one who will end your pathetic little life tonight. All the bumps and bruises you’ve had here so far... they’re just the warm up!”

But I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. I’d come to damn far to let it all end like this! “You want warm? Try this on for size!” I let out my brightest blast of light, illuminating the area like a spotlight. Voltaire screamed, jerking away, covering her eyes in panic, but I merely turned up the wattage, directing a bright blast at the metallic hunk of junk still standing before me. The searing blast struck it full across the chest, cutting a swathe along the construct’s head... and doing absolutely NO DAMAGE?!?

A huge metallic hand scooped me up, squeezing me in a crushing grip. “Nice try, Sparky,” Ms. Machina chuckled, as she lifted me off the ground, “but I came prepared for this little encounter. The skin of the mech is infused with a special light absorbing filament. In fact, the more light you give off, the more of your energy my machine absorbs, using that very power against you!” She laughed as I struggled futilely, trying to break free. “And it’s a special allow, strong enough that your little friends, the cyborg bitch and those feather-brained bimbos couldn’t even scratch it! Face it, sweetie, I’ve got you right where I want you.” Maneuvering her huge robotic hand, she tilted it up so that I was facing the mech’s face, the last thing I would see before my death. “You turned my brother Sureshot into a mindless zombie, a brain-dead vegetable... so I’m going to return the favor. You won’t be brain-dead, though... just PLAIN dead!”

* * *

Hours later, Eugene sighed deeply, striding into his bedroom, towel drying the last of the water from his hair. He felt more than a bit winded, but not exhausted as he’d expected. In truth, it had felt pretty damn exciting to be splashing around for the past hour or so, getting used to his newly reclaimed mobility. The enhancements he’d made to his legs still needed adjusting; the technology he’d created and implanted inside his lower limbs didn’t handshake nearly as seamlessly as it had with his armor, but it was infinitely better than the alternative. Further, having the control of his motor functions transmitted from his brain through the computer chip to receivers implanted in his legs meant there was still a point zero zero five second delay between thinking a movement, and having his body respond. It was an annoying reminder that he was still, in effect, paralyzed, that this was merely a clever workaround... but perhaps with a little fine tuning, he could shave off a few more milliseconds.

“Master, you’re finally here.”

Gene glanced up to find his blonde psychic lover standing there, waiting for him, a hungry look in her eyes. Fresh from her own shower, her wet damp hair hung limply across her shoulder, the only adornment on her beautiful supple body. Gene grinned at the look on her face; the girl was obviously in a mood to play, despite having been around him most of the day already. Or perhaps because of it; her arousal was evident from the heady scent in the air, even moreso than the wanton way she kept shifting in place.

Aye, well, I suppose it’s only natural, he mused. She’s said often enough how that night in River City had so changed her life. And she’s been more than patient, dealing with my disability, taking solace in the more sedate coupling we’ve had since then. Now that I’m able to stand on my own two feet again, she’s likely looking forward to a repeat of that night.

Chuckling idly, he walked over to her, kissing her gently, sighing in pleasure as she melted into him. “Ach, lass, I appreciate the sentiment,” he said, finally pulling back, “but perhaps tomorrow would be a better night? It’s been a long day, and I’m fair knackered...” A statement that was proved false as the blonde responded with a sudden passionate kiss, her tongue wrestling his, as he ground herself against him with such fervor that he felt his own passion igniting. “Bloody hell,” he murmured, feeling her own arousal and need mirrored in his own, as if her feelings were pouring directly into him. His mind linked to hers, and he ‘felt’ soft slender fingers stroking and pumping his rising manhood as his need continued to grow.

Ugghhnn... never knew... she wanted this... so badly, he growled to himself as he lifted the slender blonde bodily off her feet, slamming her back against the bed as he slid into her. Damn... this isn’t like Eva... not like me either... havenae felt this randy... in a while... so... fucking.... fuck! With a nearly animalistic growl, he began fucking her then in earnest, feeling her clench tight with each hard thrust, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his chest, crying out in pleasure as her climax, the first of many swept through her...

* * *

«Nigel? Can you hear me?»

Momentarily startled by the voice in his head, Nigel glanced up from his book. “Evangeline? Is that your voice I’m hearing? What’s wrong?”

«I just found Constance lying unconscious on the floor back in the living room. I scanned her mind to see if she was okay, and to find out what happened... and it appears we have a problem.

“Wait, what?” he yelled, rising to his feet. “Constance! Is she all right? Are we under some kind of attack? Is it Satore? Dammit, Evangeline, what’s going on?”

«Easy, Nigel, Connie is fine. And no, we’re not under an attack... at least not the traditional kind.» Her mind voice sighed wearily. «It wasn’t Venus Satore. It was Katie, Eugene daughter! She... she got to Constance somehow... back before we even left River City. Weeks before Satore was set free! She hypnotized her into giving her all your trigger phrases for the mayor and the city officials you’ve accumulated over the years,» she stated with just a hint of disapproval. «I don’t know the full extent of her plan, I was too busy trying to disengage the little ‘booby-trap’ she left behind in case I scanned too deeply into Connie’s mind... but I think we need to get back to River City very soon.»

“Katherine... did this?” Nigel said slowly, trying to wrap his head around it. Initially suspicious of all of the Frasier clan, he’d come to know the perky cheerful blonde quite well over the past few months, and had grown to like and respect her. The fact that she was responsible for helping Sioban and Tawnya learn to work together as a real team, and had helped save their lives multiple times had certainly helped. And he remembered all too well the night she had come to him, nervous, emotionally scarred and broken, begging him to make her his slave just to take away the pain and grief of her lover’s death. That she had now changed so much, had seduced Constance and used her to gain control over his network of operatives to gain control of the city... it just didn’t track.

No, there’s more at work here than the girl suddenly going dark. A person’s personality doesn’t just change that much overnight, and definitely not without some kind of event triggering it. I think I’m a pretty good judge of character, and the Katherine Frasier I’ve come to know all these weeks wouldn’t do something this... sinister. Was it Satore? No... if Eva’s right, this happened before that witch was even released from the asylum. So... what could have caused this?

“Evangeline,” he said aloud, making his way towards the living room, “we need answers. I know you don’t like to do this kind of thing lightly, a fact that I’ve come to respect you for,” he added grimly, “but we need to know exactly what we’re facing. I need you to delve deeper into Connie’s mind and see exactly what young Katherine has done, what she has planned, and who else might be compromised.”

«All right,» Eva sighed, focusing her mind, searching through the young Asian girl’s memories. In the space of a few seconds she saw the past several weeks, her disquiet turning to dread as the scope of Katie’s plan came to light.«Oh dear... it’s worse than I thought. Nigel, she’s completely lost it. She’s planning to turn the entire city into Mayberry, or Pleasantville... where everyone is nice and kind, and there’s no crime at all. And amazingly enough, she’s figured out a way to actually make it happen! She’s planned it all out, everything, to the last detail, even coinciding with all of us leaving the city at the same time.»

She shook her head in silent awe. «Frankly, I didn’t think she had it in her, even with Sioban and Tawnya helping her plan it all out, to come up with something this elaborate. And that’s the other thing. Constance, Tawnya, Sioban and even your wife, Patty... she hypnotized all four of them into helping her, then made them forget the details. All of our training with Connie has made her more aware of her own mind, and how it feels when its been tampered with. It seems that’s why she sought out my sister, to get her help figuring out what was going on, and...» Eva suddenly gasped. «Oh shit! Ana! That ‘booby-trap’ I mentioned before? Anastasia tripped it, and Connie caught her off guard, entrancing her to keep her from telling us what happened! Nigel... this was hours ago! I have to go find her!»

“It’s okay,” Nigel said, coming into the room. “I’ll look after Constance. Go find your sister. And inform Eugene about what’s going on while you’re at it. As complicated as things were before, they just become infinitely moreso.”

Nodding, the blonde psychic took off down the hallway, her mind seeking and finding her Master’s, intending to warn him of what had happened... only to skid to a stop at the thoughts and feeling going through his mind. Huh... wait a second... what the hell? Pausing at his door, she felt a pain in the center of her gut as the sounds of sex coming from inside reached her ears. “...goddess... yees, yess, Master! Fuck me! Fuck me!” Stunned, knowing what had happened, but not able to believe it, she opened the door... and saw Eugene taking her twin sister Ana, brutally, from behind...

* * *

I gasped, groaning in pain. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. I lashed out with my light, laser heat, hotter than the sun, trying to burn my way through... only to scream in pain as the crushing grip tightened. Ahhhhhh! I think a rib cracked. Can’t breathe! Can’t think! What do I do Out of time... out of luck... no chance... no one to save me... I’m gonna... gonna die...

It was strange in a way. As I felt my lungs burning, darkness starting to close in on me... I felt the panic start to fade as well. This wasn’t... necessarily... a bad thing. I mean... how many times before had I tried to kill myself since Jessica’s death? How many times had I wished I were dead, just so I could be with my beloved Jess again? I’d fought the good fight. I’d done the best I could. Even when I died... even if everyone hated me for this... even if Sioban never ever forgave me... at least I’d made our small part of the world a better place, right? The kind of place that she could live out the rest of her life in peace?

“That’s it, girl,” Ms. Machina crowed in triumph. “Just lie there and take it... too weak and helpless to escape!”

Wait a sec. Weak? Helpless?

“And once you’re gone, I’ll track down your little winged friends...”

Tawnya? Sioban?!? No. NO! Not them. Can’t happen to them as well!

“And clip their wings permanently!”

No! Fuck no! It was going to happen again. Again. The people I cared about, that I LOVED... hurt. Killed. Murdered. While I stood by helpless and weak, unable to do anything. Sioban... she would die just the way Jessica had. She’d fight, she’d make these bitches pay, to be sure... but Ms. Machina knew about them... had prepared for them, for me... and would show them no mercy.

It was going to happen again.

It was happening again!

I... couldn’t let it... not again!

A scream tore from my throat then, as everything simply... shattered. My mind. The world. The universe. Everything. In a single moment of clarity I saw... no Saw... how everything could be. The world. Reality itself. It was... all so simple. So very simple. I laughed. I really laughed. It was so fucking simple! Like a child’s game! Everything was a puzzle... a big one, like the thousand piece puzzle of the ship on the sea, with a few hundred blue pieces that look fucking identical but that never seemed to fit right until you put the border together. This... reality... it was a puzzle. And for a moment, a brief second, I’d seen the complete picture, the corners, the pieces, the lines and edges where they all fit together...

All of it.

I knew. I. KNEW!

I wept from the horror of it.

I laughed at the sheer beauty of it.

So simple. So fucking simple. The world was this way because someone wanted it to be. Plain and simple. Some fucking dickwad typing away on some universal laptop, deciding my fate and the fates of those around me, dictating my future, as if I were nothing more than a character in a story... a tragic heroine to be tormented and tortured page after page, and put through the wringer before finally being given a token ‘happy ending’ on the last page, as if such a thing could make up for the OTHER five hundred pages of nightmares.

Fuck that.

The moment passed. I was back at death’s door, being crushed by an asshole in a giant tin can. But... that didn’t agree with me. Too dramatic. Too cliché. My mom would have gone with something flowery or dramatic, rewritten the entire scene with lots of fighting, heroics, drama, possibly a bit of lusty and lewd innuendo thrown in for effect. Me, I thought a simple revision would work best.

“What the... aaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Ms. Machine screamed as her reinforced hyper-alloy mech began to compress, squeezing in on itself, as it a giant hand had begun crushing IT the way it had attempted to crush ME. Getting redlines on all her dials, she quickly hit her emergency escape system, and ejected.

“Bitch!” Larissa yelled, fuming, as she hit the asphalt. “I don’t know how you did that just now, but if you think that’s the only weapon in my arsenal, then you’re sadly mista—”

“Shut up.”

Larissa’s protest was cut short as the black leather jumpsuit she wore melted, turning to liquid latex, flowing like liquid up her body, covering her head. Panicked, she clawed viciously as the slippery substance even as it reformed into a smooth black latex bondage hood. Huh. Interesting. I noted that the cyber bitch had a lot of implants and circuitry throughout her body. With a little editing, all that metal rose to the surface, reforming into a cool set of piercing and rings. My subconscious was definitely on a roll here, so I let my creative muse go with the flow, changing her killer backpack into a set of shackles and chains, binding her hand and foot. And those combat boots? Ugh. Major revision there! Try ultra high heeled bondage shoes so high she was forced onto her tip toes, complete with locks in the heels, keeping them on her feet.

I was giggling with glee, enjoying this, not sure exactly on HOW it worked, but more than happy to experiment. “Nice look there, gimp,” I said with a laugh, even as she continued to whine and struggle. “A much better improvement. Now, let’s do a little mental editing,” I said, creating a small black orb, sending it into her mind. Her mind... so logical and straight forward. No rhyme, only reason. And totally boring. If it were a song, it would be a simple B flat scale, repeated up and down, with no variety at all. But that was fine. She had a basic melody going; I merely added a few notes of obedience and loyalty to the mix and created a harmony.

“Wha... what the fuck?” Wrecker screeched, backing away at the sight of what I’d done to her comrade. “Holy shit... you guys can fight that freaky bitch if you want—I’m getting the hell outta here!”

I chuckled dryly at that. They were running, or at least attempting to. Smart. Just a bit too little, too late. As Wrecker, Voltaire, and Nytro turned tail and ran, I reached out to all of them, to those edges of their puzzle pieces and pulled, tugging them free from the picture itself, playing with them a bit. Ms. Machina... er, Ms. Gimp, had turned out so well, I decided to give them all a similar makeover. Feminine screams rang out as the changes flowed over them like quicksilver...

Huh... two of them, anyway.

Voltaire, seeing her friends changing, lashed out at me in desperation, sending a volley of lightning bolts down on me. I preferred not to be struck, so I simply moved the target elsewhere, even as I contemplated why I’d missed changing her as well. Hmmm... further away than the others... a good fifty feet or so above me. Is this effect limited in distance, then? Huh... disappointing. Guess I can’t simply change the entire world in one fell swoop. Still... I can work with this. Grabbing hold of one of the lightning bolts, I changed it to titanium wire, the same kind little rocket girl used to tie us all up earlier, wrapping it around Voltaire’s ankle, holding her tight.

Hmmm... Rocket. I’ll have to remember to add her to the list once I’d done with Volty here.

“Dammit! Let me go! Let me go!!” The white haired woman screamed, lashing out with a violent barrage of electricity. Ignoring her, I simply pulled, reeling her in like a fish on a hook, bringing her closer and closer, until I felt her enter my range. Smirking wickedly, eyes flashing I willed the changes I’d given the others upon her as well. Her screams muffled, I turned away, already moving on to the last person on my list.

Bethany was groaning, still recovering from the plasma bolt she’d taken earlier, her costume not insulated like my own, leaving her a bit more the worse for wear. Squatting down before her, I watched as her eyes fluttered, then finally opened. She blinked, then blinked again, sitting up in alarm. “Wh... what? Luminaire? Is that you? Your hair, your eyes, your face! Wh... what the HELL happened to you while I was out?!?”

Huh? Had I changed physically as well? Curious, I brought a mirror into being, glancing at myself. “Whoa...” She was right. I had changed. I looked a bit like a collage, like bits and pieces of several different girls. My hair had my natural blonde intermingled with strands of bright shiny silver, as well as purple and black. There was even a lock or two of bright red, and a little blue. My eyes were even stranger, grey flecked orbs with an purple iris on the right, and a green iris on the left. Even my costume had somehow changed, the yellow and pink still there, but the white and silver had darkened to indigo so deep it was almost black. It was definitely a strange effect... but I found that I actually liked it.

Turning back to Rocket, I smiled. “I’m not Luminaire,” I reminded her. “I told you before, the name is Supernova. And my light isn’t the ‘light of justice’ anymore. My Light is the cleansing, burning purifying light... a light of destruction, and rebuilding.” I smiled kindly. My light began to shimmer as I brought my new powers to bear on the young heroine. “And now, little Rocket, it’s time to show you the truth as well. First you, then this city... and finally the rest of the world. It’s time for EVERYONE to see the Light.“