The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“Alright, kid. How do you wanna handle this?” Hitman asked, crouching down in the tall grass with the rest of us.

“I guess you and I should creep over towards the group, and take ’em down, hopefully catching them by surprise. Regina, you and Chloe stay back here. Those guys are carrying some pretty mean looking guns, and Ted still has those nukes. On the off chance someone runs and manages to get by us, Regina, I’m counting on you to stop them. I’d like to do this without anyone getting hurt, but well... we all know the kind of people we’re up against.”

Regina nodded, pulling her side arm. “Gotcha. We’ll do what we have to do. Just watch yourselves.”

I nodded, and gestured to Hitman. Army crawling forward, still cloaked in shadows, we drew steadily closer to our targets, close enough that we could hear them arguing. “...understand, but we’ve had some complications,” Ted was explaining. “It’s not easy to pull off an operation this complicated. Things got a little messy, and we had to improvise, but I got what you came here for.” Taking out a large metal suitcase, he tapped it lightly before placing it on the ground. “Three of Braxton Industries newest secret weapon project: micro miniature, sub-atomic, quark activated, nuclear particle devices, each about the size of a sixty millimeter RPG, each capable of leveling a fifty block radius. Of course, you’ve already received the tactical data specs on these babies, but our hosts were gracious enough to include a file containing the technical specs as well.”

“That is all very well and good,” one of the middle eastern men said gruffly, a deep scowl on his face, “but the agreement was for the entire cargo. For FIFTY! Where are the rest?”

“That is being handled right now, as we speak,” Senator Wellesley said smoothly. “We have people on the inside arranging to have the rest of the devices diverted to a secure location—a location secured by US!’ he added with a chuckle. “Trust me, Ahmed, we’ve covered all the bases. And if all else fails. you now have the capabilities of reverse engineering the weapons and assembling them yourselves. Believe me, you are being more than compensated for the money you’ve put into this venture.”

I frowned slightly. Three!? Didn’t he escape with four of them? And what did he mean by having the shipment diverted? Who else knew about the situation that would be in a position to hijack the shipment a second time?

Movement at my side roused me from my musings, and I placed a hand on Hitman’s shoulder as he moved to stand up. “Wait! Not yet!” I hissed softly. “I want to hear more about what they have planned!” Grunting, he slid back down beside me, not happy but acquiescing for the moment.

As two of the other men examined the contents of the metal case, Ahmed, Ted, and the Senator moved slightly away from the group. “You also promised us a demonstration of this new weapon’s power,” Ahmed said after a moment. “Technical specs are all well and good, but how do I truly know this tiny device is as powerful as you say? That it has the explosive potential of a bomb with twenty times the fissionable material yet one-tenth the size?”

“It’s all in the design,” Wellesley replied chuckling. “For nukes, it’s all a matter of compression and mass, of getting a high enough number of free neutrons slamming into the core plutonium, radium, or uranium, to release all the energy of each atom, all at once in a chain reaction. Braxton’s breakthrough was a micro-miniaturized, and I do mean tiny, combination guidance system and quark generator,” He pointed into the case at what looked for all the world like an old fashioned handheld GPS, " which piggybacks electrons , neutrons and even other sub-atomic particles, through all shielding in no-time, through the projectile into the exact center of whatever radioactive material the core of the ‘bullet’ is made of, allowing it to be bombarded with so vast a number of particles, all the energy of the core is released. All. At. Once: K’Boom! " He shrugged. “It’s all kind of technical but that’s the basic concept. It’s a more efficient use of material...”

“And as for the demonstration,” Ted added with a smirk, “that will take place in just under an hour. It’s already been arranged. The demonstration of the weapon’s power will also serve as a diversion to cover our escape. The Powers That Be will be much too occupied cleaning up and sorting out the aftermath of this tragedy to devote the necessary manpower to finding us. The intervention of that black clad Super showing up to ruin the hijacking caused me to speed up the timetable somewhat, that’s all—”

“A metahuman?” Wellesley asked, his wrinkled face twisting into a scowl. “Costumed vigilantes! Bunch of damned side show freaks, the whole lot of ’em!” He grunted. “If I’d had my way, I would have every last one of ’em bagged, tagged, and locked away in some kind of weapon storage facility, away from normal folks...”

“And what the hell do YOU know about normal, ya crusty old gray haired demon!” Hitman yelled, jumping up, charging towards the surprised group. “You, the bastard that was kicked out of the Senate for trying to create your OWN army of mutant freaks! And you have the nerve to turn up your nose at us? You arrogant fucking prick!”

“What th...” Ted and the others yelped in surprise, pulling their guns! “Don’t just stand there! Shoot the bastard! Kill him!”

Ah, great. Nothing like completely blowing the element of surprise, I thought grimly, shedding my shadow cloak, powering up for a fight. Good job, Heitmann. Remind me to deck you when this is all over!

I’d been in this kind of situation before, actually, In Midas City, at the jail, though no fault of my own, I found myself in the middle of a shooting gallery. Mind you, I’m pretty damn tough, I can take a hit. I can withstand an explosion or two. I even lived through a full on train wreck going more than two hundred miles an hour. Hell, I’ve even been shot, with normal bullets as well as hi powered energy particle weapons. i lived. I survived. But just because you live though an ass whopping doesn’t mean that you enjoy it.

As Ahmed’s group of mercenaries and hired thugs opened fire, I had the chance to assess the firepower they were wielding. A nice solid blast from an older model NX32 Blast Rifle rocked me, sending me back several feet, and making my hair stand on end, alerting me to the fact that these guys were serious. Incidentally, NX32’s were traditionally black market Russian made particle weapons, generally frowned upon because of the use of high energy plasma instead of laser or photon energy impacts. Plasma doesn’t merely generate force, it also burns really really hot, and what it doesn’t instantly vaporize usually doesn’t much resemble what it was before it was hit. I was okay; my custom made Neuroweave costume was virtually indestructible, so the flesh underneath was at worst, only lightly singed. On the bad side, it REALLY FUCKING HURT!!

“Aaaaahhhhh!! Shit!” I yelled, dropping down and rolling to the side, taking a small amount of cover from the terrain as blasts continued to pelt the area. “Goddammit, Hitman! I am SO kicking your ASS when this is all over!”

“Heh heh! What’s the matter, kid?” he answered back, the blasts bouncing harmlessly off his steel plated skin. “Can’t take the heat? No matter. I can handle this lot on my own—aaaaaahhh!” With a loud ping, Hitman staggered back, dazed as a searing white beam of light struck him. I yelped as well, glancing away from the brightness, recognizing the weapon Wellesley had fired himself as well. A Draupnir Industries special, model 66, as I recall. High energy multiphasic photonic blast—hard to defend against, the damn thing actually scans and records the effectiveness of the last shot fired and alters frequency to make it more effective. A damned ‘smart gun’.

Smarter than my so-called partner, at any rate, I mused, taking an unhealthy sense of satisfaction as a second blast knocked Hitman completely off his feet. Groaning, the metal coated man shuddered, his body shimmering slightly, before returning to flesh and blood once more. I grimaced at that. Yeah. Kinda figures, considering the head designer’s intimate knowledge and relationship with another certain ‘metal coated’ Super. Damn... gonna have to jump in there now and take one for the team. He can’t take another hit like that... still need another couple of seconds to let loose with a Shadow Area Blast, but there’s no other option! As Wellesley prepared to fire again, I stood up, sprinting the couple of feet from my fallen teammate, placing myself in between him and the ex-Senator.

“Huh. A hero to the end, eh?” Wellesley mused, pointing it at my head. “Fine by me.”

I winced slightly against the glare of light as he fired, gritting my teeth in anticipation for the impact... which, strangely, never arrived. Cracking open an eye despite the brightness, I noticed a slight shimmer surrounding me, and as he and the others fired again, I saw the blasts strike the mostly invisible shield directly in front of me, strike and bounce off harmlessly. Glancing behind me, I saw Chloe, sweet darling girl, her hands outstretched towards me, using her Power to save the day. A few steps away, Regina approached, firing boldly with her own weapon, walking steadily towards the group, dodging each shot easily, flawlessly, her body moving as graceful as a dancer’s. Three of the mercenaries went down by the time she reached us, kneeling down to check on Hitman.

“He seems okay. Just got the wind knocked out of him,” she said, glancing up at me. “Well? What are you waiting for? My daughter can’t shield us forever? Do your thing and end this!”

Grinning, I closed my eyes and focused. “You’re the boss,” I replied with a shrug. Feeling my power reach its peak, I lashed out, extending my inner darkness outwards, causing a network of shadow tendrils to blanket the area. All of the would-be terrorists let out a cry of shock, then shuddered, dropping their weapons as their bodies went limp and their thoughts were frozen. Linked to every one of them, I scanned them one by one, then with a sigh, I put them all to sleep. Walking over to Wellesley, lying there, unconscious, helpless, I simply stared at him. Damn... and HE used to be a State Senator? He was willing to turn traitor on his own country and help terrorists, all for money? How low can one man sink?

Considering all the harm he caused my folks back in the day, and what he was planning to do here now, not to mention the harm his nephew did to me personally... I was really tempted to kill the bastard. Just snap his scrawny withered old neck and walk away. Hell, I’d probably get a medal for it. But... I’d already walked that path, even though I hadn’t actually killed anyone, and I didn’t want to go there again. I may have been full of darkness, but I wasn’t a killer. I was something else entirely. I was a hero.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back to my companions, forcing a smile. “So... who here knows how to fly a helicopter?”

Jessica groaned then sat up, wide awake. She immediately winced, closing her eyes, lowering her head back to the pillow. “Ooohhhh gaawdeess...” she groaned, rubbing lightly at her temples. “Ugghh... such a headache. Gives new meaning to the phrase ‘fried my brain’... dunno if it’s possible for someone’s brain to actually get sunburned, but fuck, that’s how it feels.”

Despite the throbbing in her head, she actually felt lucid and clear headed. A little too clear headed, she realized after a moment. Katie... ahhhh shit! I remember now... I brainwashed you... unleashed your naughty side... and apparently your dominant side as well! But... that thing there at the end... whatever you did... it cleared out all that junk inside my head... and brought back my sense of guilt. She gasped, as the implications of what she’d done to Megan and Lacie, to all of them, came back to her full force. Oh damn... Katie... what have I done? What the fuck have I done?!? Oh no... no! You’re never gonna forgive me for this

“Mmmmm... Jess?”

Turning, she glanced to the side, down at the floor. Katie, sitting up, shaking her head. “Whoa... that was... weird. What happened, sweetie? And... why am I on the floor?” She stood up on shaky legs, flopping down on the bed beside her. “Mmm... not sure what we did, baby... but we must have had fun. I feel like I’ve been ridden hard and put away wet...”

Jessica blinked. “Katie? You don’t... remember what happened tonight?”

“Um, no, not really,” she said with a frown. “You asked me if I trusted you... that you wanted to show me something... after that, it’s all fuzzy.” Smiling, she crawled forward, giving her girlfriend a deep kiss. “Not that it matters, right? I do trust you, Jess... and I know you’d never do anything to hurt me. Well, unless I begged you nicely to,” she added with a saucy wink. “Anyway, I’m like, totally exhausted. Can we talk more about this in the morning? I’m about to drop off, baby...”

Jessica nodded softly. She doesn’t remember? Oh... duh. It was her ‘naughty’ side that took control. The real Katie, my Katie, was asleep during the whole thing. She sighed, snuggling up against her lover, holding her gently as she wrestled with her guilt. I really should tell her what happened... what I did... what I made her do. But... she’d hate me for it. I could lose her over this... over my damned out of control libido! And I can’t... can’t lose her. A tear ran down her cheek, and she clutched Katie to her all the tighter. I’ll just have to live with it myself... keep it all bottled up and buried way down deep. If only one of us is going to be hurt by what happened here tonight, baby, she promised her sleeping girlfriend, it’s gonna be me.

“Excuse me?”

“I asked, ‘Who here knows how to fly a helicopter?’” I repeated, heading towards the downed vehicle. “This incident isn’t over yet. Before Mr. Impatient here charged in like a damned bull in a china shop, I overheard Ted saying something about ‘arranging for a demonstration’ for his Middle Eastern friends. And there are only three nukes here,” I added, pointing to the open metal case we’d recovered, “but he left the ambush site with four. I saw it in his mind when I was linked to him a moment ago—he armed the fourth device and placed it in one of the cars of a passing train heading in to Orem.“

“SHIT!” Regina exclaimed, slapping her forehead. “Dammit... that must have been the other danger I sensed on the way here at the fork in the road... a big danger, but growing steadily smaller... because it was moving away from us!”

I nodded in agreement. “From what I gathered, it will detonate in less than an hour. Since there’s no way we can catch up to them in the SUV, that leaves the helicopter. So, again... who here knows how to fly one?”

“Hold on,” Heitmann said, sitting up. “You telling me, you’re plan to go after that train and get that nuke? The one that’s been armed and set to detonate? And then what? Do you even know how to disarm the damn thing once you get it... assuming you can actually find it before it blows?” He shook his head. “You’re crazy! Call your friend with the FBI, and have NEST come in and retrieve the thing. Let the experts handle it!”

He had a very good point. I was a quick study, but alas, I’d never studied nuclear mechanics. Still... “I intend to once we’re airborne, but we already know the drill. They won’t arrive in time. At last call, they were still an hour away, coming out of Salt Lake City. We’re a hell of a lot closer... so, basically, it’s just us.” Which seemed to be the case a lot of the time with me, these days. I swear, the next time I leave the house, I am taking a family member with me if I have to strap them to my back! “Well,” I said after a moment, “if all else fails, I guess I can take it out into the desert, somewhere isolated and uninhabited. All I know is that I can’t just sit by and let half a million people just die.”

“Kind of a moot point, isn’t it?” Hitman said with a scowl. “I’m guessing Officer Baker here’s not a pilot, and I know diddly squat about flying. And since you KO’ed the terrorists’ pilot, we’re out of options.”

“Well... not quite,” I admitted grimly, walking over to the man I knew to be the pilot. “I got a little bit from the guy when I scanned his mind earlier. I suppose i can try and link to him again... get inside his mind and learn from him how to fly.”

“You can do that?” Regina asked, obviously impressed by my apparently long list of talents.

“Sure, no problem,” I murmured softly, extending a shadow tendril, piercing the man’s psyche once more. Truth was, I could... technically, at least, learn to fly from his memories. I could learn the mechanics of flying, memorize the controls, and how to maneuver the vehicle... but that wouldn’t make me a pilot. I could glean knowledge this way, but not experience. Before my dad had signed me up for all those driving courses, I’d tried learning to drive a car by absorbing the knowledge from another driver. When I was done, I knew every aspect of driving a car that the man had known... and yet starting the car for the first time, I drove straight into the mailbox outside our house.

I was hoping the experience this time would go a bit better.

“Okay, I’m off,” I remarked, opening the canopy, sliding into the pilot’s seat. “You guys hold down the fort. Contact local law enforcement and have them round up these guys, and send a call to the officials in Orem... let them know what’s heading their way. If I don’t make it in time... well, at least they’ll have time to evacuate some of the people.” Crossing my fingers, I started what I believed to be the ignition, and let out a sigh of relief as the rotors began to turn.

“Hold on,” Regina said, walking around to the opposite side of the canopy, opening the other door. “I’m coming with you.”

“No way,” I insisted. “I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s no guarantee that I’ll make it through this. We’re far enough away out here that if it does go off you shouldn’t have any problems. You stay here with your daughter and Hitman, wait for the cavalry to arrive.”

“Sorry, no can do,” she insisted, sliding into the seat, strapping herself in. “Chloe is staying here with Mr. Hetman, but I’m going with you. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to be doing this anymore than you do... but you’re right. I can’t just stand by and let all those innocent people die. This is my mess... my fault... I have to be the one to clean it up. And besides... without me, you’ll never find the damned thing in time to stop it from going off!”

She had me there. “Fair enough. If you’re really okay with this, then I won’t try and talk you out of it. It’s your choice. And you’re right... I do need your help.” Revving the engine, throttling it back, I slowly but surely guided the helicopter up into the air. “Okay... here goes nothing!”

A loud explosion sounded from somewhere within the compound. Alarms rang out, as facility workers, guards and maintenance men ran to get to their assigned positions. A door opened, and a green clad security guard sprinted into the room. “Sir!” he said, giving a hasty salute.

“Yes, yes, what is it?” Dr. MacDonald yelled, not bothering to glance up from his console. “I asked not to be disturbed, but it seems all I am getting tonight are disturbances! What’s all this racket?

“Sir! We’re under attack!” the guard explained, stepping further into the room. “It’s a blonde female Super. She’s blasting her way through out defenses, Sir. Even with all the firepower at this compound, it’s only a matter of time before she breaks through! Sir, I think we need to evacuate.”

MacDonald sighed heavily, shaking his head. “Blonde you say? Hmph. Guess it was only a matter of time before she tracked me down. Very well. I already have all the practical research data I need anyway. This current project was merely a fun little diversion.” Ejecting a small portable hard drive from his computer, he cut the power. “Have the men keep the intruder busy for a while longer while I make my escape. And as for the subject in room one,” he added, gesturing to the unmarked door behind him, “see to it that she is properly disposed of. I have no further use for her.”

The guard saluted... then gasped, shuddering violently a moment before falling to the ground. “Now that’s nae verra respectful,” the blue clad maintenance worker replied from the corner where he had been adjusting a power coupling. “Talking about someone like they’re a piece of garbage, to be tossed away” He shook his head. “If anyone around here truly IS garbage, Doctor, I’m afraid it’s you.” Stepping forward, he approached the doctor, a small rectangular box in his right hand.

“What? What is the meaning of this?” MacDonald yelled, backing away slowly. “What do you think you’re doing? Who are you?”

“All verra good questions, Doctor,” Eugene Frasier replied, removing his helmet, tossing it aside. “Unfortunately for you, I dinnae feel like answering, as I came here with a few questions of my own. And I intend to get some answers, Doctor... particularly as to the location of my brother, Duncan Frasier!”

“Brother?” MacDonald scowled, then gasped, going wide eyed as the obvious became clear. “Frasier!” he hissed, jerking back in shock.

Just then, a loud explosion sounded, and a section of the roof above then collapsed. “MACDONALD!!” a loud feminine voice screamed, as a blue and red clad figure in a ragged, torn and scorched costume descended slowly through the hole, eyes glowing an eerie scarlet red. “There you are, you fucking piece of shit! I finally found you!” The glow in her eyes increased, growing brighter, as her hands also began to glow. “You’re not getting away from me this time!”

“Ultra Girl! Karen! Stop!” Eugene yelled, stepping in between her and the Doctor. “Stand down. The situation is secure! The Doctor is trapped here, and there’s nowhere for him to run. There’s no need to incinerate the man... especially seeing as how we both have things we need him to answer for us first.”

Ultra Girl, Karen Summers, landed, scowling, eyeing the man in the maintenance uniform warily. “How did you know my name? Who are you?”

For an answer, Eugene tapped the initiator in his wristwatch, releasing a flood of nanomachines, which flowed down his body like water, reforming into his familiar armored form. “I think that should clear things up a bit,” his digitized voice replied moments later. “I planned for quite a while on how to infiltrate this base and get access to MacDonald. Seeing how you simply blasted your way in, however, I think perhaps I should have gone with my Plan A instead. I must say, I wasn’t expecting to run into you here, though, Ultra Girl.”

“Same here, Armor Man,” she replied with a smirk, crossing her arms. “Which begs the question, why are you here? I’ve been tracking this scum over the past five weeks ever since a bunch of his goons ambushed us and kidnapped my partner.“

Ah. So it must have been Wyldcard that he was referring to a moment ago, he mused grimly. Saying that his research was done, and that she could be disposed of... you despicable pile of shite! When this is all over and done, I’ve a mind to let the two of them have their way with you, MacDonald... as much as I’d love you to suffer by my hand, I doubt anything I could come up with would be enough to pay back the hurt ye’ve done these girls!

“She’s still alive,” Eugene said aloud. “Through that door over there. Mind, I’m not sure as to what kind of shape she’s in. The ‘good’ Doctor was only just saying a moment ago that he’d obtained all the data he needed from her and to have his lads... ‘dispose of her properly’ was the term you used, wasnae it, MacDonald?”

“Dispose...” Karen said, going pale for a moment, before growling, and focusing her power into her fists. With a savage cry, she fired, blasting the heavy reinforced lab door off its hinges, and zipping inside.

Gene turned to the pale, quaking doctor with a wicked smile. “Well, laddie, it appears yer in a rather large amount of trouble. I’ll ask this once, and only once, and then I’ll leave you to my friends non-existent mercies. And considering what you did to the poor girl in that laboratory in the name of your so-called research, I’d suggest you consider your options, and do so quickly. Now... where is my brother?”

A loud nearly inhuman cry sounded from inside the lab, though which girl it came from, Gene couldn’t have said. MacDonald, glancing fearfully towards the door for a moment, nodded, turning his attention back to him. “Fine. I agree with your terms. Just promise not to leave me with those two once I tell you where he is!”

“Very well. We have an accord,” Gene announced. “Now... where is he?”

“Cyprus!’ he blurted out as a very haggard and worn Wyldcard emerged from the doorway, staggering forward, held up by her partner. “He’s in Cyprus, off the African coastline! I swear! Now... keep your promise and get me out of here!”

The two women froze, glancing up at Eugene in alarm. In their current state, it was unlikely they could stop him from escaping with the Doctor if he choose to leave. Eugene stared at both of them for a moment, then turned his attention back to the doctor. “You’re right, Doctor,” he said after a moment. “You held up your side of the bargain. Now it’s my turn.” With that, he activated his boot jets, and lifted off, flying up through the hole in the roof.

“WAIT! Don’t leave me here with them!” MacDonald screamed after him. “You promised! You promised!”

“Aye, I ken,” Armor Man called back down, a note of satisfaction evident in his voice. “I lied. Sue me.” turning back towards the horizon, he blasted off, leaving the compound and it’s leader behind.

Elise Stewart and Karen Summers glanced at each other, evil grins creasing their split and bloodied lips. “The night you first brought me here,” Elise said, weary but energized by purpose, “I also made you a promise, Doctor. I told you... that if I ever got free again... I’d make you wish you’d never been given the power to regenerate. And unlike our metal clad friend, I fully intend to keep my promise to you. So,” she said, advancing slowly towards him, “let’s see how long it takes for your balls to grow back after I rip them off with my bare hands...“

Helicopters suck.

Seriously. You’d have to be a freaking GENIUS to be able to fly one of those things! Or at least someone a whole hell of a lot smarter than me. All I know is that my first, and hopefully LAST, stint as a helicopter pilot was nothing spectacular—other than the spectacular way I avoided last minute crashes a few dozen times on the trip. After the fifth near miss, Regina made the comment that dying in a fiery nuclear blast had just gotten bumped down to number two on her list of major fears. And frankly, I’d moved it to number two on MY list after the second near miss.

“There it is!” she called out, pointing just off to my right. Sure enough, I spotted the train, about ten minutes away from the city limits. We were definitely cutting it close, but we’d finally caught up to it. The only question was... now what?

“Okay, so now what?” she asked, mirroring my thoughts. “How do we stop the train? If this were a movie, you would try and drop down in front of them, and make the engineer hit the brakes. But, well, this ain’t a movie... and you are certainly no pilot.”

Yeah. Plus, there was always the chance that the nuke, wherever it was, might get tossed around and banged up if the train were to suddenly hit the brakes. possibly setting it off. Add to that, it had taken a lot longer to catch up with the train that I’d hoped. We were running short of time. Luckily, one of the things I had figured out was the computer guided auto-pilot feature, so. as usual, I had a plan. Not a good one, mind, but a plan nonetheless.

Regina wasn’t very happy with my plan, but with time a factor, I didn’t give her a chance to argue. Keeping the copter as steady as I could, holding onto her with a tight grip, I leapt from the canopy, landing squarely atop the roof of the train. Not my most graceful landing, considering I had a full grown woman screaming like a banshee in my ear the entire time, but I managed to get us both down safely. The helicopter, bereft of a pilot, continued forward for a few more minutes before veering off, crashing into a nearby tree. Not that it mattered at this point, it had accomplished its goal of getting us here. Not wanting to waste any more time, still holding Regina, I slid down the side of the boxcar and, pulling open the door, deposited us both neatly inside.

“CRAZY!” Regina shouted, shaking violently in my arms. “INSANE! YOU ARE FUCKING INSANE!”

“Calm down! It worked! We’re on the train, okay? Now, focus... time is running short. We’re only about five or ten minutes from the city limits now. Where’s the nuke?”

“I... I don’t know!” she shouted, still shaking badly. I frowned. This was more than just the shock of our boarding the train. Something was wrong. “I can’t... it’s too much!” She shook her head, rapidly. “It’s too big now! The nuke... it’s going to go off in just a few minutes, and it’s TOO fucking dangerous... I can’t sense a location! it’s all around me... like it’s everywhere!”

“Regina!” I yelled, shaking her gently, forcing her to look at me. “Focus. You can do this. It’s okay. You just need to concentrate, alright? Just... close your eyes, and block out everything that is going on, okay? Focus on just the nuke... on where it is—”

“I CAN’T!” She screamed back at me, pulling out of my grasp, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s too much... too much! I never learned how to use my powers like this! I never trained or practiced... fuck! What am I doing here? I’m going to die... we’re all going to die, and my daughter’s going to be all alone...”

“NOT if you PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, dammit!” I yelled back. “Shit! Do you think I don’t feel the same way as you? You think I’m not scared? I’m tough, dammit, I can take a few bullets, and a few potshots with a blaster, but a nuclear explosion? I’m in this just as deeply as you are. The difference is... I’ve learned to stay focused on the task at hand. You’re a police officer. You went through crisis training too! Now dig deep, Officer Baker... find the hero inside yourself and save our asses!”

“The... hero inside me?” she said slowly, calming down. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes, and centered herself... taking my advice, trying to block out all the distractions, all her fear, all her worry... focusing only on the task at hand. It was... difficult... her fear, her feelings, threatened to overwhelm her again... but who knew,.. I was right... she merely had to focus... use that fear, let it act as a diviner, a radar, to the source of peril...

“Behind us,” she gasped out, panting slightly from the effort. “It’s only a few yards away... maybe... two cars back?”

“Good job,” I congratulated her, already moving towards the door. “Just hang in there. Just a few more minutes and we can call it a night.” Whipping out my cell phone, I dialed Dr. Brooks’ number, searching between boxes and crates as I went. “Hey, Doc? Got some news for you! We managed to find and take down Ted Whitman, and the mastermind behind this whole mess. Believe it or it was—”

“Senator Wellesley?” Stephanie exclaimed. “You... you say you managed to subdue them all?”

“Yeah. Local police should be arriving soon to do the cleanup, but that’s only half the story. Doc, we recovered three of the four warheads, but the fourth one was armed and put on a train headed for Orem to cover Whitman and Wellesley’s escape. I’m on the train now...” I said, coming to a stop as I walked behind a crate, finding a small beeping, flashing device lying out, exposed, on top of a small box. “And... it looks like I just found the nuke. I’m really hoping you or one of the NEST guys traveling with you knows how to disarm it and can talk me through it.”

Silence for several seconds. “Um. Doctor Brooks? Hello? Are you still there?”

“Yes, yes, James... just a moment.” she said, whispering to someone else out of earshot. Then, after a moment, “James, you need to get off that train. Now. Whitman apparently took the only copy of the design specs with him for the deal. We have no knowledge on how the damn things work in detonation mode, so we can’t help you disarm it. You probably know more about the weapon than we do!” Okay. Shit. Definitely not what I wanted to hear. “Can you see the device? How much time is left?”

A quick glance told me all that I needed to know. “Uh huh. Not enough time to get the damn thing far enough from the city, or to get away myself. Looks like... I’m going to have to try and disarm it blind.” Which, was bad, really bad... but not impossible, right? I mean... there was at least a chance? All I had to do just cut the one right wire in a mess of them? It all just came down to luck, right?

Well... in my case, it was probably better NOT to rely on luck. So... what was left?

“Um, Doc... got an idea. Bit of a longshot... but if it doesn’t work, could you do me a favor and stop by my home and let my family know what happened here? Win or lose, I gotta give it a try.” Shutting down my cell phone, I let out a small sigh, and, trying very hard not to piss all over myself, grabbed the bomb, the casing, and the entire crate and made my way back to the first car with Regina.

“Okay,” I said pleasantly, trying very hard to portray a calm demeanor. If she flipped out again, we were dead. “I need your help with this, okay? I swear, this is the last thing I need you to do for me tonight. I, um... actually WE... kinda have to disarm this thing ourselves. There’s not enough time to get away or send it somewhere to blow up harmlessly. I’m going to have it remove the detonator... cut the power to the quark receiver and since I’ve never actually done this before, I need you to guide me... to let me know if cutting a wire increases the danger or lessens it.” I looked at her, and not the counter. “Can you do this for me, Regina?“

She swallowed. “I don’t... i don’t think I can. Not by myself. But...I have an idea. If you use your... your... shadow things. You know? Linked to me? You would feel what I feel better than I could, and your stillness would help me focus without being overwhelmed.”

I blinked. “That’s a really good idea. Are you okay with that? Letting me invade your mind that way?”

She nodded. “No choice. The clock’s ticking,” she said, pointing to the bomb.

FUCK! Two minute warning! “Alright,” I said, pulling out my pocketknife, and cloaking myself in shadows. “Place your hands on my shoulders,” I instructed her, sending a pair of tendrils back towards her. She touched me, and I felt the connection as my shadows linked us. «Okay. Just relax. And focus. Focus on my actions, my intentions. Let your powers warn you of the danger, and guide my hand...» I felt her acquiesce in my mind, and taking a steadying breath, I moved towards the first wire—

«NO!» came the mental shriek, before I’d even finished making the gesture. «Not that one. Definitely not THAT wire.»

I nodded, taking another deep breath. I went for four more wires, and received four more warnings before finding the correct wire. Unfortunately, Braxton Industries always builds redundant circuits into their devices, so I had to hunt through another series of wires before disabling that as well. I nearly screamed in frustration to discover a third redundant circuit, as the timer continued to count down, but as I moved to cut once more, Regina’s hand grasped mine.

«No. It’s fine.» she sent back at me, her thought voice completely calm. «The danger is gone! The nuke is disarmed. Whatever power is keeping the countdown going, it’s not linked to the detonator anymore. It’s completely safe now.»

And I let out a sigh of relief, watching as the final thirty seconds counted down. The box car shuddered, nearly knocking us over, as the trains slowed down, pulling into the station. “We did it,” I said wearily, as the excitement and adrenaline of the moment faded, and severing our link, I slumped down onto the floor. “Heh. Just in the nick of time, too.” I glanced back up at her, giving her a wan smile. “Well, it’s official. You just saved this entire city. You’re a hero, Miss Baker. How does it feel?”

“Tiring,” she replied with a groan, her eyelids fluttering. I reached up and caught her as she collapsed, concerned. She managed a weak smile back at me, and I knew then she would be alright. “If this is what your life is like,” she said with a yawn, just before her eyes slammed shut, “I think I’ll stick with my own.”