The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The Mindfield – Chapter Four (Trojan Horses Couldn’t Drag Me There)

It didn’t take Carol long to explain the situation to the other heroines. Arclight was in trouble and the villain had thrown down his gauntlet by openly challenging them to rescue her. They all knew that they were being lured into a trap, the question was, would their combined abilities be enough to escape it?

While the rest of the team were changing into their costumes, Carol sort out Miriam and explained her predicament. She didn’t want the others to know, not least because they almost certainly wouldn’t allow her to come with them. But she trusted the Cajun sorceress and felt sure that she would be able to undo whatever evils the Enslaver’s email had done to her.

Miriam was more that happy to help, she had detected the magical residue, which still clung to her friend and knew that she had been exposed to a powerful spell. She did not recognise either the spell itself or the caster. But there were more than enough spell-users out there, so it was perhaps not surprising that she had not yet encountered this one, or his works.

Leading the young computer programmer into her own chambers, the dark-skinned mystic had her sit and try to relax. Carol was obviously frightened, although she was attempting to conceal it. Miriam could only imagine what she must be going through. As far as she knew, some villain had implanted who knew what kind of suggestions into her brain. Until they could undo the damage, she would be looking over her shoulder, waiting for something terrible to happen.

The sorceress allowed her breathing to deepen and slow. She carefully stretched out her perceptions and being sure not to touch the other woman’s aura, she began to examine it. The enchantment was obvious, crude and unimaginative. For a moment Miriam found herself wondering how such an amateurish effort could have the effects, which Carol had described.

She was just reaching out with her powers, when her caution took over, and she began to analyse the magic in more depth. For a second it seemed that it would be able to hide its secrets from her exploration, but then she penetrated the veil. Miriam gasped slightly, shocked at how cleverly the villain had constructed this trap. To make something so complex appear so simple showed a degree of skill that she had not encountered for some time.

Carol was staring at her friend, concern obvious on her thin face. She had heard that soft gasp and wondered what horrors the young mystic had found.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“I’ve found the problem”, Miriam hissed, the strain evident in her tone, “But it is a little more complicated that I had first thought. This may take a little while, try not to worry”.

Carol knew that she wouldn’t get anymore from the sorceress, not until she had finished what she was doing. The seconds seemed to crawl by and her apprehension just grew. What if it couldn’t be undone? What if the Enslaver was too powerful?

Miriam was taking her time. It was clear that this spell included a number of secondary enchantments, all designed to stop someone like her from dispelling it. While she used her second sight, time seemed to have no meaning. She could focus all of her considerable talents on understanding. Eventually she felt that she had the measure of it. In her mind’s eye it was as if whoever had woven the spell had left two loose threads for her to pull. One would trip the trap while the other would safely disarm it.

The sorceress pondered this for some time. Outwardly the solution was simple, disarm the trap and let her friend go free. But somehow that didn’t sit right with her. It wasn’t that it was too simple, rather that this spell caster had already almost succeeded in hiding his intent from her. That made her cautious in the extreme. Could this be another trap? Could she be wrong in her reading?

Once again she focussed more intently, straying almost too close to the edges of Carol’s aura. Slowly the picture resolved and once again she was forced to admire the artistry involved. She had not misread the spell; the choice was between activating the spell or disarming it. The part she had not seen was that whoever disarmed the spell would have its energy reflected onto them. In reality the choice seemed to be, either have the spell affect Carol or herself.

It was maddening not to know what the spell would do. If she knew that, she could fashion a spell offering some sort of protection and then maybe risk bringing it down upon herself. But it was impossible without that knowledge. Silently she cursed, angry that the villain seemed to be out thinking her.

But there was a way, she knew. Perhaps not ideal, certainly not something that she would choose if there were any other options. But, never-the-less, it seemed the only solution under the circumstances. I did however mean at the very least dabbling in the darker aspects of magic.

“Do you trust me?” she asked urgently.

“Of course”, Carol responded instantly.

Miriam half-smiled, guilt and excitement warring within her. She was conscious that in some way she did want to choose this path. Despite being aware that given time she probably could find a safer route. But the decision had been made and if she was damned as a consequence, then so be it.

She concentrated, weaving the complex spell. Most people think that we believe something because it is true. For a mystic the reverse is true, things happen if you believe them strongly enough. Miriam knew that a direct assault on the enchantment would just cause it to activate. Instead she sort to subvert it, turning the spell to her own design.

Carol’s mundane senses were unaware of what was happening. She merely felt the briefest of jolts and then noticed her friend’s eyes as they lost their distant look and refocused on the real world.

“It’s done”, Miriam stated, too sharply.

Carol didn’t trust herself to speak; she simply embraced the rather startled sorceress and clung to her for a moment. Eventually she reluctantly disengaged and straightened her clothing. She stared into Miriam’s eyes, relief evident on her face.

“Thank you”, she said simply.

This time it was the other woman who couldn’t seem to find the words. She had already decided that Carol didn’t need to know the truth, but it was so hard. Guilt seemed to well up inside her, almost making her choke. She managed a quick smile before she had to turn away and busy herself with some trinkets.

Fortunately, Carol seemed oblivious to her friend’s discomfort. By the time Miriam had finished rearranging the vials on her desk, the computer programmer had departed. She wiped her eyes, before leaving her sanctum. Pushing aside all thoughts of ethics, Miriam knew that she had to keep her wits about her. This Enslaver was a powerful and subtle opponent. Had she not been quite so paranoid, she would have being caught in his enchantment already. This was an enemy worthy of her respect, even if his methods were abhorrent to her.

That last thought drew her up short. Was she really so different? After all, what she had just done to Carol could hardly be held up as an ethical act. She had allowed the other heroine to believe that everything was okay, when in fact the spell was still there and almost certainly affecting her in some way. The sorceress tried to ignore her own discomfort. She had done what was needed in the circumstances.

* * *

The heroines assembled in their briefing room. Cypher, dressed in her silver bodystocking, appeared determined but still nervous. Beside her was Snowblind, a slender Nordic beauty whose fur-trimmed leotard did little to conceal her toned physique. Next came The Shroud, her own outfit more practical than revealing. She eschewed the cape, which seemed almost de rigour for a magic user, instead choosing red and green robes.

That left only Slipstream, the svelte speedster who nervously hopped from one foot to the other, constantly in motion. She also wore a leotard, although with the number of panels that had been cut out of the material, it was really almost a bikini.

They knew what was at stake and appreciated at least some of the risks they could expect to face. The priority was rescuing their colleague and everything else was secondary. Each woman practically itched to capture this vile supervillain, however. While being able to capture proud heroines was one of the perks of a villain’s job, they could not help but feel that the Enslaver had stepped over the line somehow. While he remained at large, none of them would feel safe.

Given that the villain had more than a passing understanding of magic, Miriam decided not to attempt to teleport them. It was likely that he would detect them and it was important to retain at least some element of surprise. They would be meeting the villain on his own turf and that made any advantage they could gain, doubly important.

Cypher was the only heroine who lacked the means to travel rapidly. Snowblind was more than happy to help, lifting her up before literally skating away on a chute of ice. Slipstream raced ahead, scouting their path with ease, while the Shroud followed behind, a simple flight spell speeding her progress. With Slipstream’s help, they managed to avoid notice. By no stretch of the imagination could they be called stealthy, but at least they could avoid drawing attention to themselves.

* * *

The heroines paused on the outskirts of the industrial estate. Cypher hunkered down and rested one hand lightly on the ground. She reached out with her powers, searching for anything that was drawing power. One by one she dismissed the mundane until eventually she was left only with anything that seemed out of place. She was not surprised to find the entire site literally littered with surveillance devices. It was obvious that the villain expected to know about any unwelcome guests.

Very carefully she began to work her way through each device. Blinding motion sensors, disabling microphones and even looping the pictures, which the cameras were transmitting. She left no trace, effectively she just “asked” the devices to do what she wanted and they were happy to do so.

Next it was the Shroud’s turn. Her role was much the same as the computer programmer’s, only her realm was that of magic. After rechecking to make sure that she wasn’t falling into another hidden trap, she felt sure that there was no mystical surveillance in place. One of the buildings did appear to have been warded against entry but Miriam did not think she would have much difficulty breaching that protection if necessary.

The finally task passed to Slipstream. She would run a quick circuit of the area and visually check what the two other heroines had already found. With an ironic salute, the speedster set off, becoming a blur as she accelerated to top speed. Unfortunately for Phoebe there was a small hole in their carefully thought out plan. Yes, they had found and disabled any electronic or mystical sensors, but that still left good old-fashioned mechanical devices.

It was the most simple of traps that the speeding heroine literally fell victim to. One moment she was hurtling around the buildings, scanning here and there as she went. Then, the next instant, the ground opened up beneath her and sent her plunging into darkness. Lightning fast, she scrambled to find a handhold, but the walls seemed almost frictionless and she could do nothing to even slow her descent.

* * *

The Enslaver had tasked his apprentice to scry the area around their lair. Viewing the area through the eyes of one of the many birds, which roosted in the buildings. He knew that the heroines would be arriving soon and suspected that his defences would be quite easy for them to breech. There was always the risk that the Shroud would detect the magical intrusion and that was why he was not watching himself.

“The enchantment is still in place”, the young man announced after some time.

That was unfortunate and not what he had predicted. It seemed unlikely that Carol wouldn’t have told her friend about his insidious email trap. Why would the sorceress risk bringing her along without even trying to undo the damage? She must have detected his hidden trap, but that still didn’t explain why she was needlessly exposing the super-powered nerd to more danger.

“And the fast one has just fallen into chute seven”, he continued, a note of triumph in his voice.

The villain pondered for a moment. It was a shame that the Shroud hadn’t already been dealt with, but it was no matter. There were more than enough traps in his maze for a dozen heroines. Arclight was his already, Cypher as well, although she did not yet know it. Slipstream, separated from her friends should be easy pickings. That just left two threats. He smiled happily to himself; he really did enjoy capturing these powerful women. The only thing more delicious was breaking their will.