The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Echo watched as four costumed combatants descended upon the bank. Turning to the Sheriff, he said, “I think you should maybe forget the perimeter idea. Just clear the whole area back for about a mile or so. This place is about to turn into a war zone!”

“What can we do to help?” Luke asked, pulling his gun from the holster.

“Forget your guns. Get on the radio and contact the River City Special Unit Task Force... and maybe the National Guard. If these guys are the four Supers that escaped from the maximum security lockdown a few days ago, we just might need them.” He sighed deeply. “I hope this bank is insured up the wazzu for damages.” Turning towards the side of the bank, he started to run.

And run. And run. Holy shit! I’m... fast again! Parker realized as the side of the building rushed up to meet him. He skidded to a stop just a few inches from the brick wall a fraction of a second after he’d started running. Okay. Super Sonic speed still intact. This should be interesting, with all the ninja training Roni’s been putting me through to improve my reaction time. Circling behind the building, he slipped inside the vault through the hole made by Ultra Girl’s entrance.

Inside, the sounds of battle had ceased, and he could hear a man’s voice speaking. “Listen closely, ladies,” James announced, standing with his back to the vault door, holding the flashing Neural Inhibitor towards the girls. “You are now my slaves. I am your Master. You will obey my every command. You live to serve me. You exist to please me. And you will give your very lives to protect me.”

As Parker watched in horror, Shinobi and Banshee repeated back Phelps words, accepting his commands as their own personal truths. James Phelps?!? Shit! What the hell is HE doing here? Looks like he’s got them all hypnotized. Where did he even come from, anyway? I thought everyone had run out of the bank once Karen and the Banshee started going at it. Hmmm... speaking of which... Ultra Girl looks as blanked out as the others, but she’s not repeating back the words. Is she resisting somehow? Maybe if I can stop this before he finishes, Roni can resist too, and break free from his control.

“Now, my lovely little slaves, when I count to three, you will awaken fully once more, and act on all the instructions I have given you,”

Echo took a step forward towards Phelps’ location; unfortunately, he was too intent on his adversary and not as much on his environment. His foot hit a large chunk of the shattered vault door, which tumbled a few feet away, clanging loudly as it struck another chunk of metal. Phelps whirled around, eyes going wide as he spotted the black clad hero trying to sneak up behind him. “Shit!” the both yelled simultaneously. Phelps brought his right hand up as he twisted towards Parker, trying to bring the Neural Inhibitor to bear on this new enemy, but Parker reacted quicker, snatching a throwing star from his belt, flinging at Phelps’ hand just as he brought the device up to eye level.

“Ahhhh! Fuck!” James cried out, clutching his hand as the device dropped to the floor, rolling underneath one of the shattered desks. “My hand, my hand. You bastard!” Glancing back at his guardians, still standing frozen, he yelled out, “Three! Three! For fuck’s sake, three! Wake up and protect me, dammit!”

Shinobi and Banshee blinked, looking momentarily disoriented as they took in their surroundings. Then their eyes focused on James, holding his bleeding right hand, and Echo, standing a few feet away, holding two more throwing stars in his hand. As one, the two began moving towards him.

“Phelps! Hold on!” Echo called out, holding up a hand. “Call them off. We don’t have time for this right now! We need to get you outta here. We’re about to have company; seems four escaped super villains decided to fly out here to do some banking, and they’re about to come through that door any—”

Just then, the building gave a shudder as the entire door frame and front section of the building was ripped away, tossed several feet away as costumed people stepped into the building. The leader, a tall statuesque beauty with long flowing snow white hair glanced in their direction. “James Phelps, we have come for you,” she announced regally.

“—minute,” Parker finished with a sigh. “Damn. As if things weren’t complicated enough. Phelps, you need to release your control over my partner so we can get you the hell out of here.”

“Release her? Are you crazy? She’s going to save my ass! Slaves, protect me!” he yelled out, running past Echo to hide at the entrance to the vault.

Shinobi and Banshee stopped their approach and turned, facing the villains standing before them. The ninja drew her sword, and the shrieking maiden took a deep breath, preparing to scream. All the while, Ultra Girl stood in between them all, staring blankly ahead, seemingly oblivious to everything going on around her.

Ah, shit, she’s a sitting duck! Parker realized, as all the combatants began powering up. Tapping into his speed once more, Echo pushed off from his starting point, leaping over the destroyed teller’s window, pushing off at the height of his jump, arching and twisting in midair to fit nimbly through a hole on the other side, grabbing the stunned heroine by the waist, and letting momentum push them both out of harm’s way just as a huge plume of fire swept over the spot where she’d been standing.

“UUhhnnnff!” Ultra Girl grunted from the impact as they slammed through the remains of a small partition, sliding into the bank manager’s office. She shook her head, clearing away the cobwebs, then groaned, rubbing her eyes. “Wh... what happened? Where am I?”

“Good, you’re awake. I was beginning to think you’d stay a zombie forever.”

Ultra Girl shook her head again, rubbing at her ear. “Damn ringing in my ears... oh! Oh shit! I remember now. I was fighting Banshee in that bank...”

“Which we’re still in, by the way,” Echo cut in, restlessly. “Listen Helen Keller, I’m using my sonics to bypass your ears and vibrate my words directly into the small bones connected directly to your skull. We don’t have a lot of time, here. I need you to focus and help me stop these four new baddies that decided to drop by and wreak some havoc.”

Karen’s eyes narrowed. “That voice... and the sarcastic attitude, different costume but the same rotten personality. You’re Super Sonic, aren’t you?”

Parker sighed deeply. “Yes, okay, fine. It’s me, though I go by the name ‘Echo’ these days, alright? I just saved you from getting nailed in the back by crossfire. Seems you, Shinobi, and the Banshee were hypnotized by another criminal using some kind of hypnotic light, presumably to protect him from the four Supers that just showed up. Banshee and my partner are carrying out their duties to protect him, but you were just standing there like a zombie, no doubt because with your hearing still wonky from that shot to the head, you couldn’t hear Phelps’ programming. So now Banshee and Shinobi are out there fighting two-on-one to protect the slime bag that tried to brainwash you while you and I sit here and reminisce about the good ol’ days. Are we all on the same page now?”

Karen’s scowled, getting to her feet. “Yeah. We’re all on the same page. And stop doing that... vibrating thing, alright? It makes my brain itch!” She dusted herself off. “C’mon, let’s go help even up the score a bit.”

Several yards from the entrance to the KeyBank building, Tina Meadows, inhabiting the body of Janice Simms, stood watching as the police attempted to evacuate the area. Several onlookers, no doubt having never seen such a spectacle in their small little suburb before, refused to leave, wanting to wait and see what happened next. She felt a pang of sympathy for them; it was likely the most exciting thing that had ever happened in the history of their town, and they were being told to leave. Still, it served as an effective distraction, and with only three officers on the scene trying to corral more than a few hundred onlookers, she had little fear of being noticed.

Kneeling behind the wrecked remains of one of the squad cars, she found what she was looking for. Picking up the police issue shotgun from beneath the twisted and bent metal was a bit of a chore, but the gun itself seemed undamaged. She checked it, then cocked it. Four shells, but she only needed one good shot to end this once and for all.

It’s not as if I don’t trust my servants at this point to get the job done, she thought as she made her way towards the side of the bank, but depending on who he was able to find to act as his bodyguards, they might have a tough time with it. I doubt he’s been able come up with anyone really over-the-top powerful, but simply from the fact that these are heroes we’re talking about, they could definitely cause a lot of trouble. She smirked. Still, they are all pretty resilient. And I’ve given my servants specific instructions to do everything they can to stop them but NOT to kill them. The only one who gets killed today is you, James.

“Kiiiiiaaaaaahhhh!” Shinobi yelled, charging straight towards Lodestone, sword drawn. The white-haired vixen gestured to a piece of the building’s support girder, shearing off a piece. The steel shard met Shinobi’s attack, parrying the blow. Shinobi struck again and again, but the magnetically controlled beam blocked every blow.

“What’s wrong, Shinobi?” Erica taunted, crossing her arms, directing the beam with just the power of her mind, “having a little trouble hitting the mark?”

The ninja refused to comment, focusing only on the task at hand, keeping the enemies away from her Master at all costs. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Hotshot attempting an end run, heading towards the vault. Striking again with her katana, she slid a hand down to her belt, grabbing a pair of darts, and flicking them back over her shoulder before grasping the handle of her blade again with both hands. The darts struck true, catching Hotshot in the back of his thigh.

“OUCH!” he yelped, reaching back towards his thigh. “What the...?” he started, eyes widening as his limbs suddenly went numb. His legs refused to move, though they continued to hold him up. The darts he’d pulled free slipped from his fingers, suddenly gone slack. Frozen, helpless, he turned his anger inward, heating up dramatically, sending out waves of searing heat.

“Hey! Temperance! Watch it!” Torque yelled, backpedaling rapidly, moving as far away from the heat as she could. “Dammit! What are you trying to do, burn us all to death?”

“Forget him,” Strobe called out, ducking back behind an exposed support beam as Banshee let out another barrage of sonic waves in her direction. “Get this crazy loud-mouthed bitch off me!”

“No problem,” Torque replied, focusing her power on Banshee. The blue-haired woman stopped screeching, gasping in surprise as the room suddenly began to spin. Equilibrium destroyed, she fell forward onto the ground, shuddering and groaning, as her stomach did flip-flops. A moment later she vomited, overcome by nausea. Effectively neutralized, she could only moan weakly as the two women stepped out from their hiding places, approaching her position. “Now to shut you up for good.”

A small clicking sound drew everyone’s attention as three small round pellets rolled slowly towards them. An instant later, they exploded, sending forth a cloud of thick blinding black smoke, covering the area. “Sorry, ladies,” Echo said, sweeping in, grabbing Banshee up from the ground as he went by, “but I kind of need her alive and well for the moment. After we get this mess sorted out, and you’re all back safely locked up in the facility again, she’s all yours. Promise!”

Across the room, Shinobi was forced on the defensive as Lodestone regrouped, sending shards of metal and debris from the wrecked building at her from all sides. Her catlike reflexes had allowed her to avoid any hits so far, but she was tiring, and in the limited space of the cluttered building there was only so much room to maneuver. Another barrage of debris swept towards her, and she twisted, turning to the side to dodge. A fatal mistake, as her boot caught, slipping through a weak section of the damaged floor. Heroine and villainess’ eyes met, and Lodestone smiled. “Gotcha,” she said, sending a salvo of metallic shards towards her.

“Not quite,” Ultra Girl said, moving in front of Shinobi, batting away the metal spikes, catching the last one in her bare hands. Glancing back at her, she asked, “You okay? How about we switch partners?”

Veronica frowned, pulling her leg free. “Do whatever you want. All I care about is keeping them away from my Master.”

“Alright,” Karen answered back, sending a blast of her laser vision towards Lodestone, forcing her to back away. “Just do yourself, and your partner, a big favor, and try to stay alive.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lodestone growled, pulling up several strands of rebar from the flooring, wrapping it around Ultra Girl’s boots, pinning her in place. “I still owe you a little something from the last time we fought!”

Parker glanced around the room, or warzone, as it now appeared, assessing the situation. Banshee was recovering, still a little woozy, but back on her feet. Karen was in a bit of a bind, literally, but as the strongest person present, he knew that she could hold out against her opponent. Hotshot was currently out of commission, thanks to a few curare darts from Veronica. Strobe and Torque were thankfully still distracted by his smoke bombs, and as both of their powers were sight-based attacks, they were, for the moment, neutralized.

Looks like this is my best chance to swoop over and nab Phelps and get him out of here before somebody brings the entire roof down.

Turning towards the vault, he flexed his muscles, preparing to sprint past the debris and combatants, when Shinobi stepped in front of the vault door, sword at the ready. He skidded to a stop a few feet from her. “Geez, Roni, I nearly crashed into you! C’mon. We need to go grab Phelps while everyone else is distracted.” He took a step towards the door, only to leap backwards as his lover took a swung at him with her katana. “Shinobi? What the hell? You almost cut me! What do you think you’re doing?”

“No one enters this vault,” the ninja replied, eyes narrowed. “Try and get between me and my Master again, and next time I won’t miss.”

“Master?” Parker scowled/ “Dammit, Veronica, James Phelps is NOT your Master! He’s screwed with your head. He’s a criminal, babe. A bad guy. And you’re one of the good guys! C’mon... try and remember that! Try and remember ME! It’s Parker... your Partner. Your boyfriend. Your... one true love?”

“Pa... Parker?” The word sparked a memory, and Roni shook her head slightly. “Parker,” she whispered softly, remembering again, lowering her blade. Yes. Yes. She remembered now. Her lover. When she’d seen him last, thrown helplessly out of the building, she’d been convinced he was dead, or at the very least badly hurt. She’d felt devastated. And then... then a flash of light, and blankness, emptiness... an emptiness that was quickly filled with Purpose. Her Purpose: serving and protecting her Master, from any and all threats. Everything, and everyone else, was inconsequential. He was all that mattered. She raised her sword once more. “Sorry, Parker. But I won’t let you touch Him. Lover or not, He is my Reason For Being.”

“Alright, alright,” Echo said with a sigh, backing away. “I don’t want to fight you. We can work out what to do with Phelps later... assuming there is a later.”

Back inside the vault, James watched in awe as the battle royal of the century played out only a few feet away from him. He’d felt panicked when the others showed up, but his minions seemed to be holding their own. For the moment, at least. He wished he’d had a chance to retrieve the Inhibitor before all the fireworks had started, but at least he’d found a weapon. He checked the barrel of the gun the bank guard had dropped when Banshee had first burst in. True, he’d never actually fired a gun before, but with his life on the line, he felt pretty secure that he could figure it out. Squatting down on one knee, he kept a bead on the entrance to the vault, ready for the first sign of a threat.

Uggghhnnnn! Ye... yeah... it’s working... Hotshot thought, shuddering slightly. Looks like... whatever that ninja bitch infected me with... is burning its way out of my system... literally. He managed to take a step, then another, his jerky motions slowly returning to normal. “Alright! Hotshot is back in action!” he yelled, flaming up. Shinobi whirled around, barely managing to whirl away as a plume of fire shot towards her. Hotshot grinned evilly, creating a wall of flame between the ninja and the vault door, causing her to step back from the heat. He laughed.

“You think a little heat is going to stop me from protecting my Master?” Shinobi yelled, sheathing her sword. Taking a deep breath, she ran towards the wall of fire, intending to dive through it. At the last second, however, Parker stopped her, body checking her in mid-jump, knocking her aside.

“Thanks, kid,” Temperance chuckled, walking through the wall of flames himself, moving towards the unguarded doorway. “No need for me to stop her. With friends like you, who needs enemies like me!” He paused at the vault doorway. “You hear that, ‘flat top’? I’m coming for ya. Nobody’s gonna get in my way this time!”

“I have a few words to say about that!” Banshee announced, finally back on her feet, coming up behind Hotshot. As the fiery villain turned, she let loose a high-pitched shriek which sent him tumbling into the last remaining piece of the teller’s window, completely demolishing it. He let out a soft groan, slumping, completely out, as the fire wall and the blaze surrounding him dwindled down to a few errant flames. However, before she could celebrate, a pulse of blinding light struck her square in the face. Banshee screamed again, turning and twisting wildly, unable to see... and unable to defend herself from a well-placed strike to the back of the head, which knocked her unconscious.

“Banshee!” Shinobi cried, turning away from her opponent momentarily as her Master’s other protector went down. She reached towards the evil blonde, but stumbled as a feeling of intense dizziness and disorientation overtook her, sending her to her knees. Judy’s feeling of superiority was short-lived, however, as Echo, seeing Shinobi go down, attacked her from behind.

“I’m clear,” Strobe said, picking up a long metal pipe as she continued on past Shinobi. “I’m going in. Keep the riff-raff off me for just a few more seconds, and this will all be over!”

“Easier... said... than done...” Torque grunted, trying to break free of the hold Echo had on her. He’d taken advantage of the flaw in her power—to twist someone’s equilibrium, she had to see them, to have them visually in her sights. It made no difference if she could affect more than a dozen people at once, if she was grabbed from behind, she was helpless. She fight willfully, trying to twist around enough to see her opponent, and twist her perception of reality, but he was too strong, and too quick. So, she did the next best thing, stunning the ninja from stopping Strobe’s advance towards their target, and with another twist, she focused her sights on the strongest of their opponents.

“If I can’t... stop you...” she growled, focusing her gaze and her power on the fight between Ultra Girl and Lodestone, “then I can at least... help my partner... take your other friend out of the picture!”

“Shit,” Echo cried, seeing Ultra Girl begin to stumble. He tried again, and again, to fire a sonic blast, to utilize some of the power coursing through his body, but he couldn’t figure out how to release it. With Banshee down for the count, and Roni unable to get to her feet, he couldn’t afford to lose Karen as well. C’mon, c’mon, blasted powers, he said to himself, focusing with all of his might, WORK!!

He felt it. The sensation was akin to trying to pass a kidney stone, a pain that seemed to stem up from the core of his very being, an incredible pressure inside his head, as if he were about to have a stroke. Then... as the sensation passed, he felt the power flowing freely, a stream of concussive force flying from his fingertips. Torque let out a gasp, stunned into submission as she fell, shuddering, to the ground. Gasping, feeling momentarily weak, he glanced around the room. taking stock of the situation. Ultra Girl was in trouble, still off balance, as Lodestone took full advantage, wrapping her up in slabs of broken and shattered support beams. On the other side of the room, Strobe was nearing the vault door, where Phelps hid, with no one between them.

I hope this gets easier with practice, Echo hoped fervently as he raised a hand towards Lodestone even as he began sprinting towards the vault. The pressure returned, as did the pain, but noticeably lighter. Another blast of concussive force shot free, draining him, causing him to stumble, but the shot hit its mark. Lodestone cried out on shock, thrown back hard against the wall, sagging to the ground, momentarily losing her focus. Metal fell away from Ultra Girl, and she likewise sagged to the floor, trying to shake off the attack.

Ughhn... Parker groaned inwardly, trying to stay on his feet. Must be... outta practice... whew... guess I won’t be... doing a whole lot of that!

A gunshot rang out, and Parker snapped back to attention. Shrugging off the fatigue, he made his way to the vault, pausing at the entrance, finding Strobe standing there, clutching her bleeding shoulder, her free hand controlling a trio of brightly pulsing lights, circling around Phelps who held his gun aloft with his eyes closed. Echo felt the hypnotic tug of the lights himself, and quickly shut his own eyes to break their control. “Damn you!” Phelps cried, firing again, this time hitting a wall less than a foot away from his target. Strobe flinched, but kept quiet, not taking a chance on making any noise to give away her position. Phelps cocked the gun again, then frowned, pausing.

Limited ammo, Parker realized. It’s not his gun, and he’s figured out that he has a limited amount of shots. Damn. This could get ugly... but I have to chance it. “Phelps!” he yelled, kneeling, then ducked as the man answered back with a gunshot report. “You idiot, stop shooting! It’s me, the guy from before. The one who injured your hand?” Scowling, Phelps lowered his aim and fired again, causing both hero and villainess to roll out of the way. “Dammit! I’m trying to HELP you! So lower your gun, unless you want me to leave you here, playing blind man’s bluff with a potential killer.”

“All right! You win!” he said, lowering the gun. “Just... stop her. Get rid of these stupid lights so I can open my eyes.”

Strobe merely smirked. “Feel free to try, hero. You’re both in the same boat. If you open your eyes, I’ll have your mind as surely as I’ll soon have his.”

“Who says I need to open my eyes to hit you?” Echo replied, taking a small black bandana from his belt, tying it around his eyes. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my partner is the little ninja girl in the form fitting black uniform out there.” He assumed a fighting stance. “If you don’t believe I know how to fight blind, then try me.”

Strobe hesitated, considering. The man was unarmed, blindfolded, and the area around them was cluttered with junk and debris. He had to be bluffing. There simply wasn’t any way at all he could adequately defend himself without being able to see. Standing down, she clutched the metal pipe she’d brought with her, tapping it lightly in her hand. Taking aim, she hefted it, tossing it straight towards his head. The black clad man stood stock still until the last second, then veered slightly to the side, letting the shard of metal pass by inches from his face.

Helen stood there, momentarily stunned, wide-eyed in surprise. It was just a moment, but it gave Echo the opening he’d been waiting for. With a flick of his wrist, he fired back, sending out his small, telescoping, blunt-ended rod from his sleeve. The rod flew too quick for Strobe to avoid, catching her in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her. Gasping loudly, she doubled over, dropped to one knee, struggling to breathe. Echo advanced quickly, crossing the short distance to his adversary to deliver a punishing blow to the back of her head. She dropped like a stone to the floor below, out cold.

“Wow. Impressive,” Phelps said, eyes open once more, holding his gun aloft. “You really are pretty good. Thanks for taking her out... but I’m afraid I don’t really have a use for you anymore.” He cocked the gun, causing Parker to freeze. “Yeah, you’re pretty agile, but blindfolded, in this small space with all this clutter, I don’t think I’ll miss.”

Ah, hell, Parker thought, quickly considering his options. To think I’ve been risking my neck trying to save this guy!

The loud sound of a different gun being cocked rang out, causing both men to pause. “Neither will I, James,” a female voice called out from the opening in the middle of the back wall. “I suggest you drop the gun now, before I’m forced to shoot you in the back.”

James lowered the gun, turning around slowly. “Tina? Is tha... no. You’re not her. You’re... who the hell ARE you?” he asked, confused.

Janice smiled evilly, holding the shotgun at his head. “You were right the first time. Yes, it’s me, Tina Meadows. I took me a lot of time and effort to track you down, but in the end it was all worth it.”

Tina? Parker thought, bewildered, reaching for his blindfold. That can’t be her. That’s not her voice... besides, she’s in a coma, back at the hospital! Eyes open again, he found himself staring at a lovely young woman, vaguely familiar, dressed in a nurse’s uniform holding a shotgun. A moment later, the uniform clicked, and he remembered her as Tina’s nurse, the woman he’d met briefly the last time he’d gone to check on Tina’s condition. Why is she pretending to be Tina? What’s going on here?

“It was you,” Phelps accused her, gesturing back towards the front of the vault, where the fighting was still going on. “You sent these... these FREAKS after me... to hunt me down and kill me!”

“Not quite,” Janice/Tina corrected him. “They served only as a distraction for your protectors,” she said, gesturing towards Echo, “keeping them busy until I could arrive to finish you off myself. I gave them all very specific instructions NOT to kill anyone.” She smirked. “Ever since that little accident you created shifted my consciousness into cyberspace, I’ve been keeping tabs on you, watching your movements through traffic cams, store security cameras, and computer webcams. After I saw Ultra Girl swoop in and save you from that carefully staged traffic accident I prepared, I knew I had to even the playing field.”

“Wait, wait a minute,” Echo said, pushing past Phelps to address the woman directly. “Are you saying... you really are Tina Meadows? How? You said something about the accident... trapping you in cyberspace? Then how are you talking to us right now?”

She pulled back a strand of hair from her ear, revealing the headset. “Through the miracle of these little devices. They are replicas of the Neural Interface project I was working on at the University when James first tried to kill me! All of my servants, with the exception of Lodestone, and Hotshot, who melted his the first time he flared up, are wearing one underneath their hair. Not only does it allow me to stay in direct communications with all of them at once, I can interface directly with their minds, letting me temporarily inhabit their bodies.” She sighed. “Just another one of my inventions that Jimmy here tried to take away from me. Speaking of which, what happened to my first invention, my Neural Inhibitor?”

“Back in there... somewhere,” he grumbled, rubbing his hand. “Thanks to HIM! He made me drop it just before all the fighting started.”

“Really? That’s a shame. Oh well,” she said, lowering the gun, taking aim, “I guess I’ll just have to dig through the rubble and find it once this is all over and done with.”

“Wait! Don’t do it!” Echo cried, putting himself between Phelps and the shotgun. “Tina... if that really is you in there, you can’t do this! Shooting him... KILLING him, is not an option! I realize that you’re upset—”

“Upset? UPSET? I’m fucking PISSED! This son of a bitch stole my ideas, fucked with my head, took advantage of me who knows how many times—using my own invention! He fucking RAPED me... took me sexually without my knowing it, and who knows how many other girls on campus he did the same thing to! And he would have kept on doing it if not for a lucky mistake that let me find out how he’d tampered with my memories!” Pointing the shotgun straight up, she fired, sending down a hail of debris and dust. She cocked the gun again, taking aim at his chest once again. “Move out of the way, Mr. Sonic,” she said in a hard tone. “That was your one and only warning shot.”

“Or what? You’ll shoot me too?” he challenged her, holding tightly onto Phelps’ arm behind him. “Come on! This isn’t you! You’re not a cold blooded killer. This is about justice, not revenge. Let me arrest him, take him in. He’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

“That’s not enough,” Tina replied evenly. “Look around you! Look at all the chaos and destruction going on around you right now! That is the reality of the situation. If you take him to jail, IF the courts convict him, IF they sentence him to life... then there’s still a chance he’ll get out and escape, free to run amuck and ruin other lives the way he ruined mine! How many of those super villains battling it out in the next room were locked up behind bars until now?”

“Hey! Wait a second. You’re the one who helped break most of them out in the first place!” Parker exclaimed.

“Beside the point,” Tina continued calmly, unwavering. “The only true and absolute way to make sure that James Phelps never hurts anyone again is to kill him. Right here and right now.”

Parker sighed deeply. “I can’t let you kill him,” he said calmly, standing his ground. “What he did to you was wrong. I have no sympathy for this guy whatsoever. Hell, he was threatening to shoot ME before you came in just now. But... all that aside, he’s still a human being. And I can’t sit by and let you murder him, no matter what I personally feel about the guy.”

“Sorry to hear that, Mr. Sonic,” she replied sadly, finger on the trigger, “but I’ve come too far and gone through too much to back down now.”

Oh shit... she really means it! Parker thought dimly, watching the muscles of her finger twitch, almost moving in slow motion. Shit! Wha... what do I do now? Think! If this was a few years ago, I’d put up a sonic shield, and deflect the shot away harmlessly... or send a focused beam of sonic energy into the gun itself, shattering it into useless metal fragments... but my control of shot, and my power level is questionable at best! I could possibly sprint out of the way at super speed... but not carrying James with me... which is the entire point! Dammit! Think! No time! Gotta act... gotta do something now!

Acting on impulse, Echo stuck his finger forward into the barrel of the gun, sending a blast of as much sonic energy as he could muster through it. An instant later, a flash of light sparked as the trigger was pulled, igniting the gunpowder in the shells. Forces, equal and opposite, met in the barrel of the gun, and unable to move forward or back, moved in the only direction available to it—outward. The gun exploded, and Janice/Tina cried out, thrown back from the impact. Echo yelled as well, tumbling back into James, knocking him to the floor atop Strobe, skidding several feet. Miraculously, neither side was badly injured, the shrapnel from the exploded gun somehow managing to miss any vital or vulnerable areas. Tina’s headset, however, took a glancing blow, one that cut through several key circuits. The woman groaned softly, eyes rolling back into her head, as sparks danced along the broken device. A final sigh and she slumped down, unconscious.

“Enough!” Lodestone yelled out, giving in to her frustration. “I’m putting an end to this conflict right now!”

Lifting several feet into the air, she stretched out her arms, tugging at the invisible lines of magnetic force surrounding the building. With a great heave, the entire building exploded outwards, metal, concrete and brick pushed outwards in all directions, clearing the field of any and all obstacles. Shinobi and Ultra Girl let out a cry of alarm, suddenly flung back with most of the building, as well as the unconscious Banshee, Hotspot, and Torque. Hovering in the center of the now cleared field, she directed her energies towards the solitary remaining structure, the cube shaped bank vault. Another gesture, and the cube split down the middle, cracking like an eggshell, revealing the rest of the combatants.

“Ah, the target. Good evening, Mr. Phelps,” she quipped, sensing the metal components still strapped to him underneath his jacket. Lifting him into the air, she glared down at him. “Annoying insect. I find it hard to believe all of this was over you.” She sighed, surveying the ground below her. “A pity. Mistress wanted the pleasure of getting rid of you herself, but it appears her emissary has already been taken down. Oh well,” she said with a sadistic grin, “I guess it falls to me to finish it.”

“No! Wait! Please!” James begged pitifully, flailing his limbs, held aloft by a strange force he couldn’t see. “Let’s talk about this! I can pay you not to kill me! I can... I can get you anything you want! Gold, platinum, precious stones... whatever you want! Please! Whatever she’s paying you... I’ll double it! Triple it!”

Erica laughed. “Stupid toad. I serve my Mistress’ will! No amount of begging or pleading will dissuade me from killing you. That said,” she gestured at the ground, causing Shinobi’s discarded katana to fly into her hand, “I think I shall take great pleasure in finally shutting you up!”

“You and me both, sister!” Echo yelled loudly, firing a blast of sonic energy up at the villainess. The beam bounced away harmlessly, deflected by Lodestone’s electromagnetic shielding, however it distracted her enough that she released her magnetic grip on Phelps. Bracing himself, he caught the falling man, rolling with the momentum, flipping back to his feet to throw a cluster of smoke pellets towards the flying vixen.

“So, the weak one is still alive, I see,” Lodestone mused, dispersing the smoke with a wave of her hand. “Though you do look a bit worse for wear. The only part of your costume still fully intact is your cowl. I suppose it’s impressive that you’re still on your feet, unlike the others, but believe me when I say, you have no chance of bringing me down. You should run away while you still can, before I decide to silence you along with that loudmouthed fool!”

Unperturbed, Echo sent a small barrage of throwing stars towards her as well, which, again, she easily deflected with a gesture from her index finger. “Yeah. He really has an annoying voice. Kinda high pitched and nasal, really grating on the ears.” Loosing a long throwing dagger from his belt, he quickly deflected the metal spikes she’d thrown back at him. “Still, I have to give him credit where its due—he’s nowhere NEAR as annoying as Banshee! That’s one voice I could go the rest of my life without hearing again.”

“That can be arranged,” Lodestone replied, pulling on a tendril of metal beneath Echo’s feet. A water main erupted from the ground, spraying the hero with a geyser of water, knocking him off his feet. Another gesture, and the pipe disengaged, wrapping itself around him like a cocoon, covering him completely. Making a fist, she sealed it shut, making it airproof. “That’s what you get for thinking you have what it takes to take me down!”

“Actually, he didn’t!” Ultra Girl said, landing a solid punch to the white haired woman’s jaw, sending her sprawling. “He acted as a distraction to buy enough time for us to recover.” Hovering high in the sunlit sky, she began powering up, channeling the sunlight into energy, until she was glowing nearly as bright as the sun itself. Taking aim, she gave her foe a sly grin. “Sorry to disappoint you, girl, but the only one going down here is you!”

“Arrogant wretch!” Erica yelled, flexing her full might. Metal from the scattered debris rose up to surround her, encircling her in a perfect protective sphere, while numerous other shards and spikes streamed towards Ultra Girl’s location. “No one can stop me from fulfilling my mission! NO ONE!”

“Then just call me ‘No One’,” Karen answered back. Fully charged, Ultra Girl fired her beam, cutting through the rising shards of metal, melting them to slag in an instant. The beam continued on, hitting Lodestone’s protective shield, melting it away as well, striking the magnetic force field surrounding the beauty. A savage cry erupted from her lips, a cry of defiance that quickly turned to a cry of denial as the powerful beam quickly penetrated her shield. She took the full brunt of the beam, and screaming, fell to earth, hard, creating a giant smoking crater.

On the ground, Shinobi, having retrieved her sword, carefully and gently cut through her partner’s cocoon, opening it like a can of tuna. Echo let out a deep gasp, sucking in a lungful of air. “Whew! Thanks, Roni. Glad you didn’t forget about me.”

The ninja nodded, frowning. “I don’t... I mean... ughhn!” She groaned, holding the side of her head. “I needed to go... and make sure my Master is safe... but... I needed to make sure you were alright as well. I... I couldn’t help myself.” She shook her head. “But I won’t let you take him to jail, Echo. If you or Ultra Girl try to arrest him, you’ll have to go through me.”

“Is that a fact?” Karen said, landing softly a few feet away. “Seems to me that still remains to be seen. I don’t want to fight you, Shinobi... and deep down I know you don’t wanna fight us. You’re being controlled, girl... Phelps did something to your mind to make you need to protect him. You have to fight his control, not us!”

“No,” Roni said woodenly, shaking her head. “I need to protect Him. He is all that matters, all that is important.”

Ultra Girl sighed. “Okay. So much for your theory that she could break out of her trance is you got her away from Phelps. Any other bright ideas?”

Parker grumbled. “Give her a break, alright? Besides, Miss ‘I-Always-End-Up-Brainwashed-Every-Other-Time-Except-This-One’, you don’t exactly have a spotless track record yourself! She IS fighting it, somewhat. After all, she didn’t let me suffocate in that cocoon.”

“Would have been better off if you had,” Torque announced, speaking in Tina’s voice, as she walked up to the group. The distortion swept over them all like a wave, sending them all to the ground. She knelt down, plucking the sword from Shinobi’s unresisting hands, bowing slightly. “Sorry, but I need to borrow this. Don’t worry, I’ll return it in a few minutes... a little bit bloodier, but otherwise intact.” She turned to walk away, moving over to Phelps.

“Tina... no... wait!” Parker called out, retching as he tried to sit up, feeling the ground moving underneath him. He groaned, rolling over onto his front, and did vomit then, but pushed on, crawling inch by inch towards her. “Please... don’t... don’t do it... I know... how you feel...”

Holding the blade just above James’ neck, she paused, scowling, turning back to face him. “’You know how I feel’? Did you actually say something as stupid and patronizing as ‘you know how I feel’?!?” Tapping into Judy’s body’s power, Tina turned up the juice, sending the hero’s altered sense of balance into overdrive. Echo cried out, closing his eyes tightly, feeling as if he were spiraling out of control in a flat spin, randomly changing directing, all the while accelerating faster and faster. His nose began to bleed from the pressure, and he threw up again, vomiting all over himself. Still, he persisted, raising a hand towards her.

“I... do... know... this... isn’t... you... Tina...” he managed, teeth gritted tightly. “Don’t... throw... your life... away...”

“What do you know?” she yelled, furious, turning away from James, holding the sword towards Parker. “You don’t know a damned thing about me! How can you sit there and claim to know what I’ve been through... what I suffered at the hands of that fucking bastard?” She placed the tip against the center of his throat. “Well, explain it to me! TELL ME HOW, GODDAMMIT!”

“Because...” he gulped, reaching up a trembling hand, pulling his cowl away, revealing his face. “Because... I’m... your... friend....”

“Parker?” Tina gasped in shock, taking a step back. She dropped the sword to the ground, staring in disbelief. The distortion stopped, and she knelt down, gripping his gloved hand in her own, pulling it off. She gasped again, staring at his hand, at the recently healed burn scars. “Oh my God,” she said softly, as tears began to flow.

What have I done? Parker... my only real friend at school, the only one who ever treated me like I mattered... oh God! He saved my life, she thought running a finger over the scars on his hand. He risked his own life to save me... hurt himself getting me unhooked from the machine me... even did CPR on me until the paramedics arrived. And this... is how I repay him? She bent lower, checking his pulse. Erratic, but there. Thank God, he’s still alive. Standing up again, she glanced over at James, lying there, totally helpless. She glanced down at the sword at her feet.

It would be so easy now, she mused, darkly, so very easy. Just pick up the blade, and cut his throat. A few seconds of pain, gurgling, and it’s over. He’s right there. There’s no one to stop me. It would be so easy. So... why can’t I do it?

She sat down on the grass, considering everything she’d done over the past several days. Every action, every move, every plan had been planned with one goal in mind: to eliminate James Phelps. Even now, the desire to get her revenge was palpable, so strong she could taste it. Now, at the penultimate moment of her triumph, she forced herself to consider the impact of her actions, taking off the blinders that had kept her so focused on her goal and nothing else. She’d convinced herself that it was for the greater good, that killing Phelps would be worth any amount of sacrifice. Now she was staring into the face of one of the one’s she’d intended to sacrifice, to kill in order to achieve her goal—the only real friend she’d had for the past four years.

In cyberspace, in that virtual half-existence where she’d spent the majority of her time, emotions were blunted, dulled, and numb. Bereft of a physical body and mind, it was easy to ignore one’s conscience, to push away emotions like guilt and empathy. She’d convinced herself that she could deal with the consequence of her actions once the deed was done, but in the face of everything she’d done, she found herself unable to cross that one last line.

Moving back to Echo, she knelt down beside him. “I’m sorry, Parker,” she said softly, taking his bare hand. “I know that doesn’t mean much right now, but I mean it. I’m really sorry. This wasn’t... I hadn’t planned... I didn’t want things to go this way,” she finished, lowering her head. “I was so caught up in stopping him from doing anything like this to anyone else that I lost sight of my own humanity. It might sound like a cliché... but I spent so much time trapped in the machine that I started acting like one.” She sniffed lightly. “I know you can’t forgive me for all of this, but...”

The hand she was holding clenched slightly, clasping her own. “Nothing to... forgive...” he said with an effort, coughing slightly, “after all... you didn’t... go through with it.” He coughed, spitting up again, then sighed. “Okay... MAYBE I forgive you for twisting my insides into knots using Torque there. Tell ya what,” he said, struggling to sit up again, “once we get this whole mess... straightened out... getting all the criminals here... safely locked up once more... I’ll let you treat Roni and me to dinner sometime... and we’ll call it square. Deal?”

Tears flowing freely again, she nodded. “It’s a deal.”