The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The Sound and the Fury

by J. Darksong

Ch.4) Cold as Ice

“Oh, come on now!” Ultra Girl yelled, as she hit the ground, holding her stomach in pain. “Haven’t you ever heard anything about NOT kicking a girl when she’s down?”

The white haired vixen floating above her smiled a nasty evil smile as silver sparks began to dance along her fingertips. “Sorry, I must have been absent the day they taught that in kindergarten. Besides, Ultra Girl,” she replied, pointing a dark blue gloved hand towards her foe, “rules are for goody-goodies like you!”

With an effort, Ultra Girl rolled out of the way of the blast, gasping and choking slightly as the dust and dirt kicked up by the near miss. Rather than follow up with another attack, however, the high voltage vixen merely waited, content to let her adversary regain her feet. Ultra Girl took a moment to regroup, rubbing her aching sides as she dusted herself off. Lodestone was, by herself, a definite handful, and had done the most damage. But Torque was no lightweight herself. Her ability to manipulate and control a person’s sense of equilibrium and balance was just as devastating as Lodestone’s physical attacks. Thankfully, the brunette was staying back, letting her platinum blonde cohort handle the bulk of the fighting.

Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, Ultra Girl glared at her foes. “Alright. I think this has gone on long enough. Why don’t you two just give up and surrender now, and make things easier on yourself? I’ve already stopped you from stealing the circuit board components you need for that big microwave generating you were working on.” She pointed to the blackened pile of debris on the ground a few feet away. She’d actually intended to SAVE the circuit panel, rather than destroy it, but when Lodestone had deflected one of her laser blasts with her magnetic shield, the blast ricocheted, striking several walls before hitting the exposed computer panel. “Your whole reason for being here has literally gone up in smoke.”

Lodestone spread her arms wide, and two steel wall panels crumpled and flew from the wall, changing shape into a pair of metal bindings. Gesturing to Ultra Girl, the magnetic madam swiftly bound the heroine tightly, encasing her in steel. “Maybe you stopped my plans to tap directly into the Earth’s magnetic field and magnify my powers by a factor of ten, but at least I can have the satisfaction of destroying you!”

“Oh, shit,” Ultra Girl murmured softly, as she felt herself being lifted high. She struggled against the steel skinned cocoon, trying to break free, but the battle had taken place inside the computer laboratory of the city’s telecommunications building, and she’d already expended a lot of energy during the fight. She narrowed her gaze at the edge of the metal wrappings, using her laser vision to try and cut her way free.

“Good luck with that,” Lodestone chuckled, making the cocoon spin faster and faster in midair. “That’s a reinforced dual-phase titanium steel alloy I wrapped you with. You’re strong, girlie, but you’re not THAT strong.” With a wave of her hand, the cocoon rocketed up, through the roof, up high into the atmosphere.

Okay... okay... don’t panic... don’t panic, Ultra Girl told herself over and over again as she hovered several thousand feet in the air. Just focus on breaking free. Don’t bother thinking about the fact that you’re starting to head back down now, that the frizzy haired psycho bitch is using her magnetic powers to accelerate my plummet, to slam me into the ground at mach two speeds... just focus on cutting through... cutting through... ah shit the ground’s coming up close... but... wait... I’m feeling better... stronger... of course!

At the last moment, about fifty feet before the cocoon made an impact, Ultra Girl gave one massive heave, shattering the metallic cocoon into a hail of steel shards. Glowing brightly, she dropped neatly back through the hole in the ceiling she’d burst through only moments before, landing lightly, her arms crossed at her chest. Raising an eyebrow at the astonished looks on the faces of her adversaries, she announced, “Nice try. Who’s ready for round two?”

* * *

James yawned to himself as he kicked off the covers of his bed. He glanced at the clock at his bedside, frowning. The digital readout showed 6:30AM, but his own internal clock, the one that routinely got him up out of bed every morning in time for class without fail, told him it was much later. Opening the curtains, he confirmed it was about 10:30AM. “Stupid hotel clock,” he grumbled, moving over to the dresser to grab some clothes, “can’t keep good time.” Walking into the bathroom, he started the shower.

Behind him, back in the bedroom, his computer powered up, coming to life. A list of building schematics quickly flashed on the monitor, pausing at the blueprints for the Seaside Motel building. There were, unfortunately, very few electronic refinements to the building itself, other than the WIFI connection for the occupants. Scrolling back through the building’s diagrams, the display froze once more, this time on a layout of the building’s electrical layout. The display zoomed in, focusing specifically on the wiring in room number seven, then zoomed in once more, focusing on the bathroom. Then, the computer powered down, going dark once more.

In the shower, James sighed deeply, closing his eyes underneath the lukewarm torrent of water. Damn. I will be so fucking glad when I get that doohickey fixed again. This place totally sucks! It isn’t even worth the twenty six dollars he’s charging me to stay here. Next time I pick a hideout, I’m picking the fucking Hilton.

At that moment, the lights flickered, then went out. “Son of a bitch!” James yelled angrily, pounding the wall with his fist, knocking loose a piece of tile that hit his foot. “FUCK!” he yelled again, even angrier, as he made his way carefully out of the shower. “Stupid fucking light... stupid fucking bathroom!” He reached for the light switch, water dripping off his hand into the small pool gathered at his feet. “Stupid fucking hotelllllaaaaaahhiiie!” he yelled, shuddering slightly as a bolt of electricity surged through the light switch connection. Shocked, both literally and figuratively, James jerked back, sparks dancing from his fingertips. His back slammed hard into the flimsy wooden door, nearly knocking it off its hinges. Stumbling, he hit the carpeted floor of the bedroom, and lay still.

* * *

Tina felt an ecstatic feeling of satisfaction as she watched James fall. True, her view was terrible, the angle of the computer monitor turned giving her only a peripheral view at best. Still, the built-in microphone picked up every nuance of the ‘accident’, his screams of pain, as well as his stumbling bumbling fall back into the bedroom, and the softly muffled thud when he hit the floor. It was pleasurable, knowing that he was done, but more than simple pleasure. It was the satisfaction of having achieved her goal... having run an operation through to its completion. A small part of her felt a little miffed that he had died so easily, but she ignored the unwanted emotional response.

She was about to depart the computer and head back to the hospital, when a soft groan registered from the laptop’s audio sensors. Focusing her attention back on James, she felt a wave of frustration as she saw him move, then slowly regain his feet. Shaking his head, he stumbled over to the bed, still naked and damp from the shower. Disoriented from the near fatal shock, it took him a moment to register the fact that his laptop was on, and that a very familiar face was glaring at him. Once he did, notice, however, he nearly pissed himself in fright, leaping back to his feet.

“Tina?!? Wh... what the fuck? H... hhh... how? What are you... I mean... I heard on the news... you’re supposed to be...”

“In a coma?” she answered back, her voice sounding synthesized through the laptop’s cheap speakers. “Yes, my body is mostly comatose right now, thanks to you. It’s only through the slimmest of chances that my mind was uploaded into the computer network by the power surge you caused, otherwise I would be a vegetable right now... just as you intended!”

“No, no, wait a second,” James protested. “That... that’s not it at all! Yeah, I wanted to ruin your presentation, but I never intended for you to get hurt! I just—”

“Save your lies for someone who cares,” she spat back. “I’m through listening to you, James. You’re a worthless piece of scum. The only time you ever show remorse is when you’re trying to save your worthless skin. Well, you can’t save yourself this time. As you can see, I tracked you down easily enough. The only reason the police aren’t beating down your door right now is because I wanted the chance to pay you back for all the pain and misery you’ve caused myself.” Her image smiled wickedly. “It’s a pity the little shock I gave you didn’t kill you. That would have been perfect symmetry... but no matter. I’ll simply find another way to put you down.”

“That shock... that was you?” James exclaimed, his eyes going wide. “Oh, shit. Tina... Tina, babe, please! I didn’t mean for you to get hurt! I swear I didn’t! I was just so pissed that I didn’t think...” The lights in the room began to flicker violently, and an electric hum began to fill the room. “Oh, shit. C’mon, Tina. We can... we can talk about this, right? I mean, you don’t REALLY want to kill me, do you? I mean... you are the nicest, most gentle person I’ve ever known!”

“That was before you tried to destroy me,” Tina replied coldly. “Death changes things, James. I’m sure you’ll figure that out soon enough.” The overhead lights suddenly burst, glass shattering and raining down onto the floor. A few seconds later, the TV exploded as well, smoke issuing out of the back of it. James ducked down, moving over to his closet, pulling the door closed behind him to shield him as the rest of the electronics in the room overloaded one by one. Except for his laptop, which continued to broadcast Tina’s words.

“Feel free to try and run and hide from me, James,” she said after a moment, once the explosions ceased. “It doesn’t matter where you go. If I can find you in a dump like this, I can find you anywhere. Still, it should be interesting to watch you try.” She laughed, her voice sounding strange and inhuman through the speakers. “I doubt you’ll get very far, though. You have very little in the way of resources. Almost no money. And your little ‘ace in the hole’ as you call it, the Neural Inhibitor you stole from me, is broken. Yes, I heard you talking to yourself last night while you were downloading schematics on the device from the University mainframe. Well, as I said, feel free to try and escape your fate. It will only make it all the more satisfying when I finally crush you.”

There was one final crash, and then silence. Hesitating for a moment, James peeked through the closet door, and risked a glance at his computer. As he’d feared, Tina had trashed it, having delivered her ultimatum, having no further use for it. It’s just as well, anyway, he though with resignation. After the way she hacked into it, I certainly wasn’t going to risk carrying it around with me. Shit... thanks to that damned Interface of hers, she can pretty much track me wherever I go through the electronics, just as she threatened. If there’s one thing I picked up watching CSI, NCIS, 24, and all those other crime dramas, it’s that technology is everywhere these days. I can’t hide from her... I can’t escape.

Toweling himself dry, picking out some clothes to wear, a slow smile creased his lips as a plan began to form. Ah hah. Alright. Since I can’t hide, and I can’t escape, then my only chance is to fight. Which means I need to get that little device repaired as fast as I can. Heh. She probably doesn’t think I can get it working again, and though I’m no genius like her, I do know my electronics. I know that device well enough after all this time using it. I can fix it... all I need is a little bit of time. Slipping on his shoes, he glanced around the ruined remains of the room. Assuming she gives me the time I need. Picking his way carefully across the carpet, he exited the room.

* * *

Police Chief Donald Anderson sighed deeply, hanging up his worn trench coat on the coat rack, tossing his brown fedora onto the hat stand as well. He turned, then gasped, his hand moving automatically towards his holster before he recognized the two individuals waiting beside his desk. “Geez, Louise! You two nearly gave me a heart attack!” Sighing, he walked past the two visitors and sat down at his desk. “Why can’t you Supers just use a door like normal people?”

“Because it’s so much more fun seeing your expression every time we sneak in,” Shinobi said with a wry grin.

“Ahem, what my partner means to say, Chief,” Parker said, giving Roni a glare from beneath his eye mask, “is that we’re curious on how the manhunt for James Phelps is going. Any new leads?”

“Nothing yet,” the elderly man replied. “I’ve got people out beating the bushes for this guy, but so far, nothing. I don’t know how he’s evaded us for as long as he has! We’ve had his bank account frozen, and put a watch on all his friends and relatives in the area, but no one’s seen him. It’s damned frustrating.” He tapped the stack of papers on his desk. “He’s a college student for Pete’s sake! He’s not a master criminal... but we’ve captured super villains that left more clues than this guy has.”

“I guess that’s only natural, after all,” Shinobi said, crossing her arms. “He is extremely intelligent.”

“Oh?” the Chief asked, turning to face her. “Do you know something I don’t? You familiar with this guy?”

“We did a little digging of our own,” Parker replied, easily deflecting the question. “He’s not just a college student. He’s a TA in the Electrical Engineering program, working on his Master’s Degree for a double major in Engineering and Software Engineering. And he has a 3.96 GPA.” He shrugged. “He might not be Albert Einstein, but he’s definitely a lot smarter than your average run of the mill crook.”

“I see.” The Chief was silent for several minutes. “That being the case, I believe I should widen the search, start checking the other cites as well, instead of just the outer suburbs. If he managed to sneak out of town before the roadblocks were set up, he could be just about anywhere.”

“Wasn’t there something in the news last night about finding the fellow’s car?” Shinobi asked. “Whatever happened with that?”

“That was another dead end,” the Chief said. “Seems he ditched it. Switched it for another car, and by the time we tracked down the car he’d stolen from the driver we pulled over, he’d apparently switched it for another car. At first we’d concentrated our search near the area where the first car was found since it was on the highway leading out of town towards Redburton, but the second car was found later several miles in the opposite direction, heading out towards Midas! The way I originally thought, he had to have had an accomplice helping him, but if he’s as smart as you say, he probably planned it this way, leaving both of them in an obvious spot to find, then taking a third vehicle, just to keep us guessing and spread out over the damn map. Which we are, by the way!”

Everyone was silent. Then: “Maybe we can help track him down. I mean, it’s not as if we have a lot on our plate at the moment. With Omega Girl back home again, all the major villains are keeping their heads down. Besides, we can get into places where your police can’t easily go.”

“Oh yes,” the Chief replied dryly. “nothing says inconspicuous like two teenagers decked out in brightly colored spandex.”

“Hey, we’re NOT teenagers,” Parker retorted, with a frown. “And we’re both wearing black. That’s as inconspicuous as color as you can get.”

“Don’t let him get to you, luv,” Shinobi said with a smirk, “he’s just teasing. Isn’t that right, Chief?”

“Well, I suppose,” the old man said, rubbing his head. “Incidentally, I was meaning to ask you. What happened to your red costume, Sonic? Not that I don’t like your new look, you and your partner match better now. It’s just, well, we all sorta got used to it.”

“It’s in mothballs, Chief,” Parker said with a sigh. “And it’s not ‘Sonic’ anymore, Super or otherwise. You can call me Echo now. With most of my powers gone, I’m basically a weak echo of my former self.” He smiled grimly at him as he and Shinobi moved towards the window behind him. “And, anyway, to quote the immortal bard, ‘What’s in a name’?”

“Very poetic,” the Chief replied. “So, does that mean you are going to help us with the search—JEEZ LOUISE!” he yelped, as he turned, finding himself all alone in the room. He stood up and walked to the window, which was still closed. He glanced out, along the ledge, and over along the adjoining building. Nothing. Sighing, he sat back down, shaking his head.

“Damn. Now I know how Commissioner Gordon feels.”

* * *

James wiped the sweat from his brow as he leaned against the wall of the grocery store, sliding the baseball cap back onto his head. In retrospect, it was obviously a bad idea to have tried to grab something to eat instead of going straight to Radio Shack for the components he needed. Pushing his cart up and down the aisles, he’d had a quiet moment alone to regroup, and consider his options, which had been good. But it had also lulled him into a false sense of security, so when the laser scanner at the checkout lane suddenly overloaded, firing a focused supercharged beam at him, he’d barely managed to avoid a direct hit. A glancing blow had scorched his shoulder and arm, not enough to cut through him, but enough to singe his flesh rather badly. To add insult to injury, the automatic doors had malfunctioned as well, nearly crushing him as they suddenly slammed closed when he tried to exit.

“Sir, I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?” the store manager had asked him, helping him back to his feet. “I don’t know how this could have happened! Rest assured that we’ll have our system checked out. In the meantime, if you’d like to sit down and rest, I’ve called the EMT’s to come have a look at your shoulder.”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary,” James had insisted, pulling away from the store manager. “I’ll be fine. It’s not as bad as it looks... hardly... hurts at all. And don’t worry,” he said, moving through the shattered glass and bent metal remains of the doors, “I don’t blame your store... something like this... probably an act of God...”

An act of Tina, more likely, he thought grimly, rubbing his shoulder again. Damn. I never realized just how many electronic devices there are in operation these days, even in a podunk little town like this. If she can turn a supermarket scanner and automatic doors into deadly weapons, then who knows what else she can do? I’ve got to get that doohickey working again, and fast!

Luckily, the electronics supply store was just across the street from the grocery store. Sprinting across the street, he paused at the front door. Shit. I didn’t think about it ‘til now... but this place is full of electronic shit, everything from plasma screen TVs and satellite radios, to do it yourself electronic project kits and computers. I’m going to have to be especially careful.

Taking a deep breath, sliding on a pair of mirrored sunglasses, James stepped inside. A clerk glanced up from behind the register—an old fashioned cash register, he was relieved to see—and nodded towards him. “Good morning,” he said with a smile. “Welcome to the Shack. What can I do for you?”

Glancing around the store, he saw that he was, for the most part, out of range from anything particularly dangerous. “Um, hi. I’m trying to do some repairs on a little project of mine, and I’m needing some components. I’m wondering if you can fill this order?” he asked, taking a small piece of paper from his pocket. “I’ll also be needing a soldering kit and a test meter as well.”

The clerk took the paper, glancing at the list. “This shouldn’t be a problem. If you’ll follow me back to the back, I can show you where—”

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather wait here and let you bring me the components,” James cut in. “You know, just to make sure I get the right ones.”

The clerk blinked, then shrugged. “All right. No problem. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Taking a small plastic bag from behind the register, he walked back into the back of the store.

James sighed again, letting his tension level lift slightly. Things were going alright so far. Once the clerk returned with the pieces needed to fix the device, he would be able to hypnotize people into providing him with everything he needed: food, money, shelter, transportation, and most importantly, protection against Tina. Despite her new seemingly limitless powers and resources, she was still vulnerable. He knew from the news reports that her body was still in River City Memorial, on life support. While he didn’t know exactly what kind of connection her digitized mind still had with its body, he was relatively sure that if he could get his hands on Tina’s actual body, he’d have a powerful bargaining chip in convincing her to back off.

It all started with the Neural Inhibitor, though. He has to stay alive long enough to get it back in working order.

“Here we are, sir,” the clerk replied a few minutes later. He handed the bag to James to check. “I trust it all fills your requirements?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, looking over the soldering kit and the meter. “They’re perfect. And the components? You had everything on the list?”

Sure did,” the clerk replied, tapping keys on the register, tallying up the price. “That brings your grand total up to fifty-three dollars and seventeen cents. Will that be cash, credit, or debit?”

“Um, cash, please,” James replied, handing the clerk three twenties, pocketing the change. Dammit. This is all the money I have left! Guess this gives me even more incentive to get the doohickey working soon as I can. Thanking the clerk, he exited the store, placing the bag of components into his backpack with his groceries.

Okay. Now I just need to go find a quiet place to work to fix the Inhibitor. I can’t go back to that Seaside shack... not that I’d even WANT to stay there in the first place, but after the mess Tina caused, they probably wouldn’t let me back in there if I offered them ten times the normal rate. The manager has probably called the cops by now, if he or housekeeping has checked the room.

Waiting at the crosswalk for the light to change, he tried to remember whether or not Redburton had a public library or not. I see to remember there being a library on that list of WIFI connection spots I checked over when I first came here. Where was it... third street? Fifth? C’mon James... try and remember. The light changed, and he made his way into the street, heading back towards the supermarket where he’d parked his pickup truck. Five... something. Oh, I can almost picture it... five... no, fifteen! Fifteenth Avenue! That was it! Alright... now I have a game plan!

The blaring of a car horn broke him out of his thoughts. Turning, he froze in fear as a Lincoln Town car screeched to a halt inches in front of him, the driver cursing and yelling loudly as he beat repeatedly on his horn. Nearly an instant later, a second car squealed to a stop beside the first, but not before clipping a third car attempting to turn left, swerving right to keep from colliding with him and the other two cars. Metal hit metal as several other cars crashed, a domino effect as drivers reacted frantically, trying in vain to avoid the accident occurring ahead of them. A quick glance up at the traffic lights confirmed James’ fears—Tina had struck again, changing ALL the lights green the moment he’d entered the crosswalk, no doubt hoping for exactly this type of reaction.

A loud clarion call sounded behind him, and James glanced back to see the grill of a sixteen wheeler entering his vision, its wheels squealing as it, too, tried to arrest its forward motion, in vain. James’ life flashed before his eyes, giving him a few seconds to contemplate his end before the big rig slammed into him, pinning him between itself and the Town Car on the other side of him. He closed his eyes, a last pitiful denial of his end, which was coming at him...

Now?

When the anticipated pain and agony didn’t come, James cracked an eyelid, then opened both eyes to an impossible sight. The big rig rested bare inches from his face, the metallic frame vibrating from the force of its engine, which was still idling. Rotating his view left, he saw a young blonde girl, dressed in tight colorful revealing spandex, wearing a black eye mask. Long, tanned, well-toned legs ended in a pair of smart navy blue ankle boots, both of which stood in two small craters, the pavement of the road cracked as if by some incredible impact. The girl grunted slightly, then pushed, sliding the ten ton truck back several feet. She turned to face him then, and he got a good look at the attractive beauty that had just saved his life.

“U... Ul... Ultra Girl!” he managed, feeling his heart finally settle back into his chest.

“Yeah,” she replied, grabbing him by the waist. He saw her thigh muscles clench slightly, then suddenly they were dropping gently back down on the sidewalk again. “Bit of a close call there, fella. Are you alright? You’re just lucky I was flying by overhead on my way home and saw you in trouble.” She glanced at his shoulder, then frowned. “Your shoulder’s bleeding. Guess I wasn’t quite fast enough after all.”

“What? Oh, oh, that... that’s nothing. It happened earlier. I was, um, in another accident, over at the grocery store...”

“Uh huh,” Ultra Girl nodded. “Two accidents in one day? You should be more careful. Maybe you need your own super hero as a personal guardian, or something.” She sighed. “Well, I better see if anyone else from the crash needs my help. You should get out of here, and get that shoulder looked after.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” James said softly, crossing the parking lot to his car. “And thanks for the advice. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I DO need my own personal guardian...”

* * *

From her vantage point through the four traffic cameras, Tina watched as Ultra Girl slowly but surely returned order to the chaos she had just caused. She felt a momentary flash of annoyance that her carefully crafted assault plan had failed, but merely shunted the unwanted human emotion aside. The intervention of the super powered heroine had been unforeseen, but not completely unexpected. Though the probability of such an intervention at the last possible second was relatively low, the sheer number of Supers in River City, Midas City, and the surrounding areas made it likely that just such a confrontation would be inevitable.

She counted it as a lucky break that the masked heroine had not recognized the person she’d just saved as the wanted fugitive that he was, even with the cap and sunglasses James had worn as a precaution. As ineffective as wearing a pair of eyeglasses to hide one’s identity, yet it seemed to be working, for the moment. Still, it was only a matter of time until someone else found him, and she needed to take the appropriate steps to make sure that SHE was the one who dealt with James Phelps. She, and no one else.

The next logical step is obvious,? Tina said to herself as she withdrew from the city’s traffic surveillance system. The answer is to fight power with power. If my foe has acquired himself a Super as a protector, then I must counter with super powered beings of my own. Next stop, the maximum security detainment center.

((end of part four))