The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Paper Doll I

By J. Darksong

Proper Introductions

My name is Claire. I’m a super hero.

Well, okay… maybe ‘super hero’ is taking it a bit far. After all, I’ve only been doing this about a month or two, and I haven’t really gotten much of a following. So far, I’ve stopped about four muggings and two robberies, and some guy trying to rip off an ATM. Still, in a city this size, every little bit helps, right? And as my idol and fellow heroine Luminaire once said, “It’s not about the powers you have or don’t have. It’s what you choose to do that defines a person.”

I really took those words to heart. And even though she’s not the most popular heroine these days because of some stuff that happened a few weeks ago, I believe in her. A lesser heroine would have given up and gone into hiding, but she keeps on fighting the good fight. And that, more than anything else, is what first encouraged me to don the mask.

River City is a dangerous place. Maybe not like Compton, or Las Angeles, or Midas City, but still, it’s really unforgiving to the uninitiated. Wander down the wrong street at night, run through the wrong alleyway, and you might disappear, never to be seen or heard from again. This is a city of criminals, psychos, and super villains. Living in fear is par for the course. Things were kind of tame for a while, with all the criminals locked up or rehabilitated. Things were actually peaceful, even if that peace was forced. Still, nothing last forever, and it was only a matter before the criminals came crawling back out of the wood work again. But this city is also a city of heroes, of champions of justice, big and small, and that helps balance the scales considerably.

These were all my thoughts as I made my way across the street, heading over to my best friend’s house. Allison and I have been best buds since kindergarten, and while other friends have come and gone, she’s always been there, always been in my corner, always been one of the people I can count on—

“Incoming!”

I glanced up just as the water balloon struck, exploding on the top of my head, soaking me. “Gaaaaahhh!” I yelled, glaring up at the second story window at the laughing giggling face of my attacker. “I’m gonna kill you!” I snarled in rage, stomping the few feet up to Allison’s house, making my way inside, and clomping up to the second floor. Allison was there in hallway, waiting for me, struggling not to laugh. “Anger… rising!” I murmured stumbling, hands out in front of me like a zombie. “Must kill! Must rend! Must destroy!”

“No, no, you don’t want to kill my annoying little brother,” she teased, laughing, stepping in front of me, acting as a barrier. “And I’ve already told you, if we actually DO kill him some day, I get first dibs!”

“But… wanna kill… wanna rend… wanna destroy,” I whined, trying hard not to laugh as well.

“Now, now, hon,” she said, leading me back over to her bedroom, “you know if you start killing helpless and retarded young brothers they’ll take away your super hero license.” Handing me a towel, she lead me over to her bed, and switched on her PS3 and loaded up God of War 3, tossing me a controller. “Here ya go! No better way to burn off angst and rage than with a hack and slash video game filled with angst and rage!”

Yeah. One of the many reasons why I love her. And obviously, Allie is one of the few that know my secret, that at night I patrol the city under the guise as a costumed crimefighter. Sometimes I really wish SHE’D been born with special powers as well, so we could be partners, out fighting the bad guys together. Being able to confide in her about things, though… it helps to keep me sane and lets me decompress.

“So, anyway,” I was saying, as I worked my way up through the underworld, taking on Cerberus, “this guy is like, ‘What do you think you’re doing, little girl?’, and I’m all like, ‘Duh. Don’t you see the spandex costume and mask? I’m here to stop you.’ And the guy, I tell you, the guy starts LAUGHING at me!” I grunted, focusing on the game to unleash my full combo, finishing off the hell hound in the kind of spectacular fashion the game was known for, then paused, letting the cinematics run though. “I tell you, Allie… I don’t mind that I don’t get the recognition that the other heroes do. With my power set, I’m perfectly happy being a low level heroine taking out street thugs and muggers. Let Super-Amazing-Amazo or whomever fight the fifty foot tall killer robot and the psycho fire spitting super villain. I’m happy enough with what I do. But man it gets old when even the low level crooks don’t take me seriously!”

“Well,” Allie said thoughtfully, “maybe it’s your look. I mean, you did kinda create your costume yourself. And bright yellow, pink, and white, aren’t exactly colors that inspire fear in the hearts of criminals.”

“Hey! Luminaire’s costume is pink, yellow and white, and she gets LOTS of respect and fear from criminals.” I pointed out.

Allie sighed deeply. I knew this was going to be the same old argument we always had on the topic, but I just couldn’t seem to let it go. “Okay, Claire. I get that you’re a diehard fan and all… kinda like me and the Broncos… but you can’t really call her a ‘heroine’ these days, yanno? I mean… the girl went nuts and tried to take over the city. Hell, she nearly DESTROYED the city and all of us in the process! When it was over, she even surrendered her badge to the Chief of Police. If anything, people fear her because they’re not sure she won’t go postal again and kill us all!”

“That’s not fair, Allie,” I replied heatedly, taking out a deck of cards from my pocket. A nervous habit of mine, I always shuffled and played with cards when I was really emotional—it also served as an outlet for my rather peculiar powers. “What happened wasn’t her fault. She was being controlled, brainwashed, by some other psycho that was using her as a pawn. She was as much a victim in all this as the rest of us!” I sighed softly, flipping card after card after card, across my knuckles, twirling, tumbling, flipping them aimlessly, only to have them all land in a neat pile in my free hand. “She and other reputable heroines went public and explained her actions. Even that billionaire philanthropist guy, Mr. Grimalde, made a public announcement in support of her. She’s saved countless lives over the years, and taken down hundreds of bad guys, and yet all everyone is focused on is the ONE BAD THING that happened when some other bad guy hypnotized her and sent her on a rampage!”

“Hypnosis doesn’t work that way,” Allie scoffed, shaking her head. “That whole thing about being ‘controlled’? It’s a load of garbage! Everyone knows you can’t make someone that’s hypnotized do anything they wouldn’t normally do. If some bad guy DID actually hypnotize her and make her do all that stuff, it’s only because she was really a crazed super villain in the making already.”

I stopped then, so shocked by her words that the cards fluttering out of my hands onto the floor. “Do you really believe that?” I asked her, staring hard at my friend, who gaped in surprise at my reaction. “Do you REALLY think that hypnosis works that way? That if you make someone in a trance do something its only because they really wanted to do it deep down inside?”

“Well, I, um…” she said, hesitantly, “I mean…it’s what they tell us in class. We’re both taking Psychology 101 at River City U this semester, and the instructor said it on the first day we talked about hypnosis.”

I nodded softly, remembering the lecture. “So, if someone is hypnotized to commit a criminal act, to steal or attack or even kill someone, it’s because they had those tendencies inside them all along? Is that it?” I turned to face her then. “And what about me? Am I a criminal too? Am an evil super villain just waiting to happen, all set to one day go off on a rampage?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Allie protested. “Claire, hon, what’s this all about? Where is this coming from?”

I sighed deeply. Gesturing with my hands, the scattered cards rose from the floor, returning back to my hands in an ordered fashioned, and I placed them back into my pocket. “I was telling you about my adventures on patrol last night,” I said in a soft low voice, “but I didn’t finish. Aside from the mugger, I ran into one more criminal last night. And… things didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped...”

* * *

I was jazzed, really hyped up, after taking down that mugger. Yeah, I probably went a bit overboard, cocooning him in a wad of rolled up newspapers that way, but the way he’d laughed at me had really kinda ticked me off. Still, a win is a win is a win, I thought gleefully as I made me way back up onto the rooftops. The police would be arriving any minute to cart away my latest catch. With the victim safe and sound, and headed back to a safer area, it was time for me to finish my patrol. Straightening my mask again, adjusting the straps underneath my long dark brown hair, I lifted my binoculars to my eyes and peered around from my vantage point, scouring the area.

Huh. Really low tech, compared to some of the others, I thought with a sigh, but it’s better than nothing. Maybe once I make a name for myself, I can find myself a sponsor, maybe someone that can gift me with a few high tech gadgets. GrimTech seems to be really big on supplying local heroines with tech these days. If I get a few more collars under my belt, maybe I’ll work up the courage to approach them—huh? Frowning, I adjusted the view of my binnocs and narrowed my vision. Sure enough, I’d spotting another crime in progress.

Really? Trying to rob an ATM machine… with a crowbar? And he’s not even wearing a mask or anything to hide his identity! I laughed aloud. Talk about a noob! This is going to be too easy. I don’t even have to do anything and the guy will end up behind bars in twenty four hours, tops! Still, I suppose I should do my civic duty. Taking out a big ring binder from my backpack, I released the rings, letting the several hundred sheets of paper flow out. With my powers, I took control of them, swirling them about my feet, shifting their density and strength, yet keeping their weight the same. Stepping in their midst, the heroine, Paper Doll, fluttered down to the streets below, carried on the wind like a paper kite to her destination, landing softly behind the man, my transportation neatly filing and stacking itself back up inside my open backpack.

“Ahem,” I said loudly, clearing my voice, crossing my arms at my chest. “I said, ‘Ahem’,” a moment later when the man refused to acknowledge me. When he still refused to respond, I walked over and physically tapped him on the shoulder. “HEY BUDDY!” I said loudly as her finally turned to stare at me. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing but… um… huh…” I frowned, as he continued to stare at me openly with a thousand yard stare. I waved a hand in front of his face, but his eyes didn’t blink.

Whoa. The lights are on but no one’s home. Weird.

Saying nothing, the man turned back around, and resumed trying to break open the ATM machine. I was momentarily stumped. Either this guy was a bank employee who’d dreamed about robbing the place and was sleepwalking in the midst of his fantasy… or someone else was controlling him. I was no expert, but I knew enough to recognize the signs. “Okay, buddy,” I said gently, reaching for the crowbar, trying to take it from his hands. “Let’s just put down the weapon, okay? Obviously, you’re having some kind of an issue here, and we just need to—hey!” I yelped, ducking, as the man swung the crowbar like a bat, trying to take my head off. I backed up as he advanced towards me, still wielding the crowbar.

“I must not let anyone stop me,” he said in a loud monotone, his unblinking eyes focused on me now. “I must obtain all the money. I must bring it back to my Master. I must let no one stop me.” He swung again, catching a glancing blow on my shoulder, at which point I’d had enough.

“Okay, pal,” I growled, grabbing a few sheets of paper, rolling them into a makeshift club of my own. “I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re not giving me much of a choice here.” He swung again, but this time I blocked, my will hardened paper having the effective density of steel to match his crowbar. I shifted my stance, pushing him back, then gestured to the newspaper rack across the street from us. The man charged at me again, and again I defended, blocking his blow, giving myself enough time for the ‘news storm’ I’d just conjured up to arrive. As the sheets of newspaper wrapped around my assailant, trapping him in a tight cocoon, I let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the second time tonight that it was Sunday, with the extra-large weekend editions.

“All right. That should keep you out of trouble,” I informed the man. “Don’t worry. I’ll make a quick call to the police and they’ll have this whole thing sorted out in a jiffy,” I said, pulling out my phone. “I don’t know who did this to you, but I’m sure they’ll be able to help you.”

* * *

“Uh huh,” Allison commented, nodding a bit, listening to the events of the night before. “So I get what you’re saying. The guys definitely sounded like someone had messed with his mind. But still, doesn’t that prove my point? If whoever was controlling him commanded him to steal the money, but he was morally against robbing banks, then robbing an ATM would be the best compromise. And choosing to do so with his face uncovered, ensuring he would get caught, that would be his conscience making its presence known, as a way of making up for a criminal act he didn’t truly want to do in the first place.”

“Well, that’s kind of what I thought at first myself,” I admitted. “But it turned out that the one controlling him was basically just a dick. He specifically told the guy to do it without hiding his identity. As it turned out, the guy was his supervisor at his day job, and apart from getting a buttload of money, he also wanted to get his boss fired and arrested.” I sighed deeply. “Anyway, there’s more to the story. While I was standing around wondering idly who had done this to that poor guy, the criminal in question made an appearance…”

* * *

“Well well well,” a deep masculine voice sounded behind me, causing me to squeak in surprise. Whirling around, I found a man in a simple black body suit, with the bottom half of his face covered in a neckerchief, kind of like a ninja. He tilted his head at me in amusement. “So… we have a super hero in our midst,” he stated, gesturing to my costume. “And a very powerful one indeed, from that little show you just put on. Very nicely done, by the way. Paul may have been merely a brainless, mindless buffoon, but he’s still no pushover.”

Frowning, I held my paper club tightly, assuming a fighting stance. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?” I glanced over at the man, Paul. “Are you the one who did that to him? Are you responsible for this?”

The black clad man laughed. “So many questions! My, you are a curious sort. Still, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to answer a few of them.” He reached into his pocket, and I tensed, summoning my power, prepared to toss a sheaf of papers at him if he made some kind of move. Instead, the man only pulled out an old fashioned pocket watch on a chain, and opened it, glancing at the time. “Yes, yes,” he muttered, as if to himself, “I should have more than enough time for a bit of explanation. You see, girl…” he frowned. “I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with your name or costume. What do you call yourself my dear?”

“The name’s Paper Doll,” I said proudly, hands on my hips in a bit of a heroic pose. “And what do you call yourself?”

“You can call me Somnolence,” the man said with a smirk, checking his watch again. A quick click opened the golden pocket watch, then another closed it back again. “And yes, I’m the one responsible for my dear friend Paul’s condition. He was a co-worker of mine, you see… a truly irritating little man. A fuckin’ prick, actually. So, when I decided to test the effectiveness of my new abilities, he was the natural choice.” he added, glancing again at his pocket watch. Click. Click. “But of course, I couldn’t simply let him wander around aimlessly without supervision. So I hung back a bit, in the shadows, watching to see how effective he would be as a minion.” Click. Click. “As it turns out, he was less than useful.” He smiled, checking his watch once more, the golden face shining in my eyes from the street light as it opened and closed once more. Click. Click.

“You, my dear, on the other hand,” he said, opening and closing the watch, faster now, the flashes and clicks coming almost regularly, Click. Click. “you seem like you would be a very useful person to have around.” Click. Click. “In fact, I’d think someone with your particular talents,” Click. Click.”and abilities,” Click. Click. “would be perfectly suited” Click. Click. “for helping me achieve my goals.” Click. Click.

I blinked, my head fuzzy, my vision dim and distorted. I felt like I was in a funhouse, looking at things through a warped mirror. The pocket watch flashed again, Click. Click., from much closer, and it took my mazed mind a long moment to realize that somehow during our conversation, the criminal behind all this had closed the distance between us, and was dangling the mysterious watch only a few inches from my face. I opened my mouth to protest, to try and tell him to stop, but Click. Click. the words vanished from my mind before they reached my tongue. I was dazed. Confused. Completely off my guard. And when the pocket watch sparkled and flashed again—

Click. Click.

I was left completely hypnotized.

* * *

I stood there, wavering slightly, a silly grin etched on my face. Master was speaking to me, telling me things that I agreed with wholeheartedly. It was hard to really tell where his words ended and my thoughts began. All I knew was that I needed to listen very carefully to his instructions and do exactly what he told me. I nodded, and smiled as a feeling of joyous pleasure ballooned up inside me. Obeying felt WONDERFUL! Turning back to the machine, I tapped into my power, sensing all the nice green paper inside, and pulled, causing it to erupt from the ATM like a fountain, raining down over the area.

Master cheered loudly, laughing with glee. Me, I groaned, nearly buckling, nearly falling to the pavement, the pleasure of obeying and serving Master like a hundred simultaneous orgasms rushing through me. Oh goddess, was I addicted to this feeling! Obeying was simply the best! I would do ANYTHING Master asked of me to feel this again. I wanted to ask him, beg him, to give me a command, to tell me to do something, anything… but Master had commanded me previously to be quiet and listen to his instructions. So I did. I stood there quietly, waiting for my next command, wanting it so desperately, yet sustained in the unending bliss of obeying his command to stay quiet and wait.

“Oh! This is so great!” he laughed deeply. “Oh, you are a treasure! Running into you was the best stroke of luck I could have possibly hoped for!” He placed a hand underneath my chin, grinning. “You, my dear, are going to serve me and serve me well.”

“Sorry, Somnolence,” a female voice called out from the air above us, “but the diner’s closed, and service no longer comes with a smile.”

“Huh? What?” Master asked, glancing up at the lightly glowing pink and white garbed heroine floating in the air above us. “What the hell does that even mean?”

Luminaire sighed, shaking her head. “Yeah… sorry, that was kind of bad, wasn’t it? I know I had something for this… gimme a sec.” She tapped her finger lightly against her chin. “Um… how about ‘This is a self-service station, the full service one is closed’? No, no, that’s just as bad.” She sighed, shaking her head. “You know, proper hero-villain banter isn’t easy. It’s not as if we carry ‘ready made’ scripts for this kind of thing.”

Master growled loudly. “Great, just great. Another little girl playing hero, and this one dressed just as garishly as the other… wait!” His eyes went wide with recognition. “Oh shit! I recognize you now… you’re… you’re…”

“Yes, it’s Luminaire,” she said with a deep sigh. “Normally, having the bad guys react that way to me is a good thing, but lately, getting it from EVERYONE I meet is a bit tiring.” She pointed a glowing hand towards him. “What say we do this the easy way? You release your control over the cutie in the pink and yellow spandex, and I agree NOT to fry you to a crisp. Sound fair?”

“How about not?” he replied, taking out his trusty pocket watch. He opened it briefly, tilting it to flash in Luminaire’s face, only to wince in pain as a suddenly beam of bright light incinerated it. “Gaaaahhh!” he yelled as a second flash of light blinded him, causing him to cover his eyes. “Aaahhhh! My eyes! You bitch, you bitch!” Growling, swinging aimlessly with a free arm, he eventually realized his predicament. “Paper Doll! Defend your Master! Stop her! Kill her! Hurt her really really badly!”

“Yes, my Master,” I said, smiling beautifully, turning to face my idol, every sheet of paper in my backpack loose and flying free. “I hear and obey!”

* * *

“Whoa! Really?” Allison asked, wide eyed in suspense. “You really fought Luminaire?”

I nodded grimly, staring down at my hands. “Yeah, I did. And I didn’t hold back in the slightest, or pull my punches. It’s like I described. Obeying his words was like a drug. It was like a total ecstasy rush, like overdosing on pure pleasure. Every action I look made it feel like someone was licking and sucking on my clit endlessly, teasing me to orgasm…” I blinked, then clamped a hand over my mouth, blushing heatedly. I hadn’t meant to get THAT expressive. “Er… um… you know what I mean,” I finished weakly.

“Um, yeah, I think I get the picture,” Allison replied with a smirk. “So what happened next?”

* * *

My paper flooded the area, a virtual whirlwind of white and grey, flying in all directions. Luminaire floated in the midst of it all, frowning, as if contemplating her next move. The tiny part of my mind still able to process and analyze what was happening figured that she was probably in the same predicament that I myself had faced earlier with Paul, knowing he was a victim, and wanting to stop him without hurting him. Recognizing that I was in a similar state, she was no doubt trying to figure out how to stop me without hurting me.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t under any such constrictions.

Reforming my papers into darts, daggers, knives, shurikens and all sorts of blades weapons, I flung them at her, seeking to rip her to pieces as my Master has commanded. With a shout, however, the lovely blonde let out a blast of intense light and heat, so bright I had to turn away, covering my eyes. I felt, rather than saw, my papers burning away, bursting into flame long before they reached her. I felt out, stretching my powers to their fullest, searching for any other paper I could use as a weapon. But Luminaire wasn’t about to give me the chance for a round two. A warm relaxing bubble of pure light energy encased me, wrapping around my limbs, holding me immobilized. Even as I struggled, desperate to get free, to continue attacking and obey my Master, I found myself relaxing instead, the gentle pulsing waves of energy surrounding me taking the fight out of me.

“That should keep you under wraps,” Luminaire replied, then sighed, shaking her head. “Great. NOW I get the hang of the puns, after the fact,” she muttered, swooping down to land next to my Master. “So, Somnolence… looks like you’re done. Do you want to release your hold over the girl in pink now, or should I do it for you?”

Master laughed derisively. “Hah. Good luck with that, you glowing human nightlight! My hypnotic skills are too much for you to undo! If you hadn’t destroyed my watch, you’d be kneeling down at my feet right now. You’re just lucky that you—mmmph!! MMMPHH!” he yelled, his voice muffled behind a band of yellow sparkling light covering his face. Luminaire rolled her eyes as she tied and bound him tightly in a light cocoon, then turned her attention back to me.

“Now, for you, sweetie,” she said gently, turning her glowing hand towards me. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine. I’ve been practicing this part, and I’ve got it down pretty well.” Sighing softly, she sent a flash of bright pulsing light into my face. I cried out, closing my eyes, of course, but the light was already inside my head. Pulsing. Blinding. Throbbing. It was like that after image effect when you stare at something really bright and close your eyes, but still see that bright yellow-white blob on your lids. Only much more intense. It felt as if the light was actually traveling inside my head, through my optic nerve, up into my brain!

“There… there we are,” she said frowning, biting her lip, as if she were focused on something important. “Damn, but mom and Auntie Sarah make this look so easy,” she murmured, closing her hand into a fist. Suddenly the light inside my mind flared brightly, and I’d swear beams of light shot out of my eyes, ears, nose and mouth! When it cleared, however… I shook my head, and glanced around, fully alert and aware once more. That hypnotic spell Somnolence had placed me under had been broken!

“Wh… what happened?” I asked, still a bit dazed. “What did you do to me?”

“I brightened up your mind a wee bit,” she said with a grin. “Basically, I found the part of your brain that had been ‘dimmed’ or repressed by being in a hypnotic state, and reenergized it with a few excess photons.”

I blinked. “So… you brightened up the inside of my head.”

“Yeah. Pretty much.” She took a moment to look me over, and nodded. “Paper Doll, hmm? I like it. Especially the costume choice,” she replied with a wink, lifting off the ground. She glanced up at the sound of approaching sirens, then sighed deeply. “Listen. I’m not really wanting to deal with the police right now. I’m kind of on their ‘bad side’ for the moment. Besides, I have to meet up with some friends, and I’m really late. You wouldn’t mind taking full credit for this bust, would ya?”

I gaped at her in surprise. “Me? Um… er, okay, sure, if you want,” I replied, blushing heavily. She turned to leave, to fly away, but I called after her. “Wait! Luminaire!” she paused, glancing back. “I, um… I just wanted to say… thank you. And not just for saving me tonight, I mean. You’re my idol! My inspiration! You’re the reason why I first put on the mask.” She smiled at that, and I blushed even deeper. “And, um… I just wanted to say, I think you got a bum rap over what happened all those weeks ago.”

“Yeah, thanks,” she said softly staring down at her boots. “That’s nice of you to say. But, well, they’re right. I did do everything they’re accusing me of. I went on a rampage. I nearly destroyed the city. Or worse.” She shook her head. “I made a very big mistake, and hurt a lot of people. So yeah, I can understand the citizens being a bit wary of me as their protector.”

“Hmph. That’s bullshit.” She glanced up at me in surprise, but I nodded again. “Bull. Shit.” I repeated. “You made a mistake. And you acknowledged as much. I’d like to meet the person in this life who never made a mistake. Besides, you said it in your interview—you weren’t yourself. Someone else was in control of your actions.” I shuddered inwardly. “I just had a taste of what that feels like a moment ago myself. And if you hadn’t come along when you did, robbing an ATM machine would have been the least of the things I’d have to answer for.” I shrugged. “I’m just saying… even if the rest of the city mistrusts you, you’ve got one diehard fan still rooting for you.”

She smiled again, a truly bright and sincere one. “Thanks, Paper Doll. That actually means a lot.” With that, she took off into the air, moments before the police arrived in a small caravan of squad cars…

* * *

“Wow,” Allison said quietly, nodding as I completely my tale. “That’s just… I mean… wow.”

“Yeah,” I said, softly, nodding as well. We sat there for a long moment in silence, her thinking about what she’d just heard, me remembering what I’d experienced. After a moment, she spoke again.

“Listen, Claire… I’m sorry about what I said before. I mean… I was just spouting off what I’d heard, following the crowd. But I’ve never been hypnotized myself. I don’t know what it’s like. You do. And the way you described it… I guess if someone is skilled enough to alter what you see and feel, then changing your mind on what think about certain things wouldn’t be so hard either.”

I grinned. “Don’t worry about it, Allie. And… I dunno. I guess maybe I was just a bit sensitive about it, having just experienced it firsthand last night. All in all, it wasn’t a bad thing,” I admitted, blushing again, recalling my rather vivid description of the pleasure I’d felt in obeying. “If it hadn’t been some super villain wanna-be pulling my strings, it might have actually been a really nice experience.”

“Y-yeah,” Allie replied, blushing as well. “If it was half as good as you described it, I almost wish I could have experienced it as well!”

I smirked, considering. “Weeeellll…” I said slowly, getting her attention.

“What?” she asked, intrigued.

“Would you really like to try it?”

“What? You wanna track down Somnolence and convince him to make a house call?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“No, no. I meant… what if I hypnotized you?” At her blank look, I continued, taking out a small cardboard cut-out from my backpack. “I’m serious. After yesterday, I went home and made this,” I stated, showing her the black and white spiral I’d painted. “I don’t claim to be an expert or anything, but between our Psychology class, and my own experience, I should be able to guide you into a trance easily enough. If, you want to try it, I mean.”

“What you really mean is, will I let you practice on me,” Allie said with a giggle, moving over to sit across from me on the bed. “Well, what the heck, let’s give it a try,” she said, getting comfortable. “Maybe if you get really good at this, you can hypnotize my kid brother and make him less of a jerk.”

I laughed in response, holding up the card. “Hey, I promised a hypnotic trance, not a miracle.” Using my powers, I caused the card to hover in the air before her face, beginning to spin. “Now, then, Allie,” I said in a soft gentle voice as her eyes widened, and her face began to relax, “just watch the spinning card. Watch it spin, and let it take you in deeper…”

((end))