The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“Jabby. I think I decided on a new name for myself.”

“Oh?”

Kyle sighed. He hated, no hated wasn’t strong enough, he despised Bethany’s constant name changes. He just referred to her as his Ace of Hearts, the best thing to pull out of his deck. The position was relatively symbolic. Really someone like Shatterstar had been much stronger in terms of physical prowess and this incarnation of Bethany Von Hoffe was ditzy and blonde as anything. He could barely take it. He was busy, using Olympus’ resources to do some research into other dimensions. They had state of the art technology. He had no time to be interrupted, even if it was Bethany.

Fucking fate. Why do I love this woman? I don’t even understand!!

“I was thinking Bloodstone.” Bethany continued.

Huh? Wait? Did she actually suggest a good name for herself?

“What happened to Barrage? Or the Scarlet Letter?” Kyle asked.

He immediately regretted it, why question her thoughts? They never made sense to him anyway.

“Well I knew you didn’t really like Barrage. Scarlet Letter’s too slutty. So Bloodstone. It sounds badass and I thought you’d like it.”

“Hell yeah! Finally you pick a name I can actually enjoy!”

“So you like it?”

“Fuck yes! It’s the best name you’ve ever come up with!” Kyle exclaimed, triumphant. This was like winning the lottery, “But please! Beth, do me a favor.”

“Anything! Anything!” Bethany replied eagerly, her eyes looking up at him adoringly.

“No more name changes? Promise?”

“Yes. I promise.” She said with a smile and quick peck on the cheek.

She left the room giddy and excited as he let out a big sigh of relief. His interactions with Bethany were always tiresome and this one as been relatively painless. Bethany on the other hand, was elated. One, Kyle had finally approved of a name she picked, but second she had been able to spy on what he had been up to. Ever since Kyle had taken on the mantle of The Jabberwocky they had barely spent time together. Kyle had woken up late at night, back in the alternate version of the Season of Storms that they had come from. She had asked what was wrong. He had told her not to worry about it. But she had known that something was wrong before he had even replied. All she wanted was the answer She had pressed him for answers. It was the first time he had ever hurt her physically. They hadn’t spent much time together since. She longed desperately to be with him once again. To be back with him like the golden years. Just Master and slave. But something had changed in that moment for her lover. She knew it. He was irrevocably different. Forever changed.

He had since devoted himself to “his work” as he called it. First he had determined inter dimensional travel was possible and upon discovery of the exact methods of travel, began exploiting this to recruit and enslave a powerful team of supers who made up his “deck of cards”. Shatterstar, Stonewall, Serpentina, (who had recently become deceased), The Machinist, and a couple of other cards he “kept up his sleeve” that even Bethany didn’t know about. She knew that she was technically on his team, but she hadn’t been fighting a long time, Kyle preferred her more as a lapdog than anything else. With this info she could definitely figure out his larger scale plan and get him whatever it was that her Master desired. Then, she knew, he would be happy with her again. She practically salivated at the thought.

“Agh!”

Meghan had killed the power only to have it be magically restored almost as soon as she had shut it off and now she was having a very hard time turning it back on. Namely because a bimbofied Syphon was manually holding the power lever down and was actively draining all of Meghan’s powers. She felt lethargic and almost naked without her powers. She would have to rely on her gadgets alone now. The blonde haired girl before her had jammed her bow staff into the lever preventing the power from being turned back off and had her fists raised. Meghan braced herself, recalling her martial arts training just in case, she pulled out one of her gadgets only to find it sputtering and sparking as well. With rage, she rushed forward, trying to punch the blonde haired girl right in the face, but her adversary, at the last second, pulled out a red flare that stopped Meghan dead in her tracks.

“Whoa.”

Syphon giggled like a ditzy valley girl as she walked over to Meghan lifting up her goggles and kissing Meghan’s lips, ensuring that the flare never left the helpless girls vision. The flare was beautiful, and enrapturing. Meghan could not look away even if she wanted to.

“Hehe!” Syphon said, giggling once again, literally pronouncing the words “hehe” out loud, “these Red Rocket Flares sure are like useful! Just perfect for me to get you back in prison! Master Jabby will be like so proud! Then maybe he’ll fuck me real hard and I’ll feel real good!“

Meanwhile, Hack had been monitoring the situation from the room outside. His suit had infrared vision so he could see the two girls inside and he could hear what was going on. From the looks of it, Meghan’s powers and electronic devices were not working since Syphon was there. He was deathly afraid.

I’m not really meant for combat situations! I have to go in there! But my suits gonna fail because of Syphon’s powers! And what the hell is that light doing?! Is that hypnosis? Yeah it has to be!

“Kyle! Syphon’s using a red flare to hypnotize Meghan! What do I do!? I don’t do strategy!”

“Shit!” Came the reply over the radio. Gunfire and explosions could be heard in the background. “Give me something else to work with?!”

“Bowstaff’s jammed into the power lever. Syphons canceling out all electronic equipment. My suits gonna be useless super quick. She’s acting really weird and stupid though!”

“Like a bimbo?”

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

“Whole prison’s like that.” Kyle said, “That should be easy then.”

An explosion crackled in Hack’s earpiece and he flinched

“How does that possibly help?!”

“She’s gullible. She’s easily tricked. She’s trying to hypnotize Meghan…”

“Oh…” Hack said, Kyle’s plans dawning on him.

“Hack. Do what you have to do. My suits getting low on power and there are tons of guards and robots coming at me. Red Rocket’s out of commission and Cascade can’t help with out any powers. Its only a matter of time. Move your ass or I’ll have to come down there myself!”

More explosions and gunfire could be heard over the radio. Kyle’s palm blasts echoed and crackled in Hack’s ears. Kyle’s voice was sounding ragged. He was losing. Hack always marveled at Kyle’s ability to remain calm in the thick of battle, even when the odds were against him.

Hack steeled himself and with a yell, rushed into the room. His suit groaned and sputtered as the electronic equipment within began to rapidly shut down due to Syphon’s influence. He called out quickly,

“Syphon! Look pretty lights!”

The blonde girl frantically searched for the light, “Like what? Where!?”

Syphon whipped around and her eyes fell on the red flare and she was immediately entranced by it. Hack got out of his suit and dislodged the lever, throwing the bow staff aside and turning off the power.

“Kyle! It worked, what do I do?!”

“You have two hypnotized girls with you right?” Kyle’s voice crackled over the speaker.

“Uh yeah?!”

“Well get them out of there! Order them around! We don’t have time to screw around!”

“Uh yeah ok...girls?!”

“Yes?”

“Come on, follow me we’re getting out of here.”

“We only follow orders from our Master.” The two girls replied.

“Uh I’m your Master then? Now can we go?!”

“Yes Master.”

“Alright good lets get out of here!”

This is so coming back to bite me in the ass.

In the pits of Hel…

Kyle waded through the dark muck. A pool ankle deep full of blood. The blood was a brackish dark purple, so dark it was almost black. This was Hel, the Underworld, and the blood was from the army of demonic enemies that Kyle had defeated. Reaching his destination, he inspected the gate that blocked his path.

Magic defenses? A blood seal…Damn. I need a specific bloodline…the blood of…

Looking at the heraldic symbol emblazoned on the door, The Jabberwocky recalled his memory of the various coats of arms that he knew from the Nine Worlds.

“Ah. Fjörgyn. The bloodline of Fjörgyn.”

The Jabberwocky snickered, “Well then Tone. Looks like you’re mine.”

In yet another dimension…

Zane teleported to the next dimension and took a rest. His mindless half-sister was standing beside him holding his passed out half-brother in her arms.

God interdimensional travel is tiring! Can’t believe Dad does this for fun.

He sat down on the overlook that peaked out over the great expanse of the River City skyline, and thought through his plan.

Grab the fam, get to Dad. Young-in-the-past Dad. Because Old-in-the-present Dad said so. Of course he wouldn’t tell me why because of wonky paradoxical time continuity issues.

“Whatever my past self tells you and your half-siblings to do, you have to do it, otherwise the time stream won’t work properly. You can tell him who you are. Who your half-siblings are. That’s it.”

Right. Better give Gwen the conditioning orders.

“Gwen.”

“Yes?” Her voice was dull and emotionless.

“I’m your master. Not some creepy sexual thing, you just follow my orders got it?”

“Yes Master. I got it.”

“Ok. You can’t mention anything that might let Dad know anything too important about the possible future do you understand?”

“Yes Master.”

“You’re not going to remember this exchange, but these orders will remain with you. Got it?”

“Got it Master.”

“Good.”

Now to find a place to sleep so we can keep on going.

As soon as the group left St. Angelus, it had disappeared, just as the military had began to form a blockade around the city. The display of power from the Jabberwocky to bring an entire city from another dimension was truly astounding, and it appeared the only purpose had been to house Kyle in prison. They retreated quickly to the Frasier residence and Kyle promptly passed out from exhaustion, the fight had taken a great toll on him in his weakened state. The next morning, Kyle awoke, Bethany beside him, snuggled up against him. The warmth of her body was pleasant and he stayed like that for a time, giving him a chance to pause and think.

His thoughts turned to the recent events. It really had been so much. Just a few short weeks ago he had arrived in this dimension, met his family, met his other self from an alternate dimension, had sex and gained a plethora of powers-

Gwen… He thought to himself, she’s dead now.

Bethany roused herself and smiled at him.

“Heya!” She said with a bubbly smile.

“Bethany, how are you feeling?” Kyle asked.

“Super-duper!” Bethany responded, playfully rolling on top of him.

“Bethany stop.” He said, immediately after her hand began snaking down to his nether regions and began stroking his dick.

“Stop what?” She asked innocently with a big pouty face.

“You know what.” Kyle said with a sigh.

Shit. Still bimbofied. Better talk to Gene.

“But why!?” She whined, her eyes growing big.

God I hate bimbo Bethany. I really liked non-bimbo Bethany.

He stopped himself, Shit…don’t jump to stupid conclusions Kyle. Gwen’s been dead for like four weeks and already you’re having thoughts about some other girl! Heartless bastard. Did Gwen mean nothing to you?

Bethany was staring at him, waiting for an answer and inspecting her nails. He broke from his thoughts,

“Because we’ve got to go see Gene and figure out some things.”

“You do the figuring out. My head hurts when I think too hard.”

“Yeah. Alright.” Kyle said, throwing away his words as he took her hand and moved her downstairs.

Lacie was already downstairs and none other than Nastia was there cooking up some breakfast.

“Master! Breakfast is ready for you!” she called after him.

Kyle blew by her calling back, “Ok! Hold on!”

Eugene Frasier was busy at work, tinkering in his workshop downstairs. Kyle felt the immediate scan of his body as he dragged Bethany down the stairs.

“Hey there laddie! Lass. What’s the hurry?”

“Bethany got screwed up by some bimbo virus thing in some food.”

“Ah yes. Hack informed me of the prison that suddenly appeared in California. Ye were trapped there?”

“Yeah. Barrenwolf Prison. Prison employed a drug of some sort that caused the inmates to be stripped down to basic instincts. Men fought a lot and the women would have sex with them. Bethany’s higher level functions are completely shot. I thought after we escaped the prison and she had a chance to recover she’d be fine, but apparently not.”

“Yeah. My head hurts when I think too hard.” Bethany laughed and giggled.

“Well lass, stand over here so I can scan you.”

“I’m going to leave her with you for a bit if you don’t mind? I haven’t eaten in two days.”

“Of course laddie. I’ll see ye in a bit.”

Kyle ran back upstairs and gave Nastia a hug and kiss as she put out a lovely Eggs Benedict on a plate for him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been away so long.” Kyle said, to Nastia.

“It’s ok Master. You’ve been busy. I’m just glad you’re ok.”

Kyle took a bite of his Eggs Benedict and groaned in appreciation and surprise, “Nastia, you’ve gotten really good! This is awesome! What is this?”

“Eggs Benedict Master! A breakfast delicacy apparently.”

Lacie laughed as she observed the two, the girl was beaming with pride at serving her master well, “She’s picked up quite quickly, much to my chagrin.”

Kyle laughed, more out of relief than anything else, it had been an intense few days, he realized he could finally take a break.

“It’s good to see you again, Mom.”

Lacie walked over and gave him a motherly kiss. “I’m glad to see you here and to know you’re safe. I recognized you were in great danger. What happened?”

“Suffice it to say I passed the trials in Agartha. They weren’t the hard part, with all the powers I had, I passed the trials with ease and I’m the Kairos now, master of space time and what not. And I went to get the Vorpal Blade but The Jabberwocky was there. He hit me with some sort of power blast from The Blade, took me out immediately and The Jabberwocky took control of Skye before I passed out. Then I woke up in prison.”

“Prison?” Lacie replied.

“Yes. Apparently while a random Stonewall attack in River City occurred and several bomb threats were orchestrated in Portland, the Jabberwocky orchestrated the mass relocation of an entire city to this dimension to hold me in Barrenwolf Prison, a maximum security prison that utilized a bimboizing drug on it’s inmates to keep order. They also had a girl, Syphon, under wraps dampening all of our powers.”

“Which is when Hack, Meghan, and Tone stepped in to help you escape.” Lacie asked.

“Correct.” Kyle confirmed.

“And the two girls in tow with you?”

“Bethany Von Hoffe, and a girl named Jack also known as Cascade. Bethany was with me in my prison cell, Jack was in the one next door. Bethany’s still pretty jacked up. Her minds not right. She succumbed to the bimbo drug. Jack was alright I think.”

“Yes she was. She’s outside actually, by the pool.”

“Alright I’ll have to check in on her. I barely know her. Is there a way to help Bethany?”

“You just took her to see Gene, so he should have some answers, but in theory, the bimbo virus drug that was used has an antidote owned by Nigel Grimalde.”

“Nigel huh?” Kyle said, his voice changing.

“I know you knew him previously?”

“Yes. He was a mentor and a father almost. It would be quite, interesting to see him again. He died right before my eyes just as we were trying to escape here.”

“I’m sorry.” Lacie said, wincing at the breaching of an awkward subject.

“No,. You’re fine. I’m going to go check on Gene.”

Present day…

Gwen awoke suddenly, realizing everything she had done. She was looking up at an incredibly attractive man, who she recognized and knew was her half brother Zane. He had told her in her mindless state who he was, her half brother from another dimension. He had ordered her to teleport St. Angelus to a safe place, it’s original dimension, as soon as they had arrived here.

“How are you doing?” Zane asked.

“I’m ok.” She replied, “you took over my mind.”

“Only way to get you and your brother out in time.”

“In time for what?”

“The Jabberwocky.”

“Who?”

“You’ve heard stories of your father? Our father actually?”

“Yes.” Gwen nodded resourcefully.

“Well then you know. Dad’s kickass powerful. The Jabberwocky is an evil version of him. Literally. He’s an alternate reality version of Dad, hellbent on destruction.”

“I take it Dad’s alive in your dimension?”

“Yeah. He’s alive in this one too.” Zane replied, “Except in this one, he’s only 23. This is Earth 1.”

“Earth 1?”

“It’s a useful categorization system that Eugene Frasier came up with. There are hundreds of thousands of dimensions out there. We’re here in Earth 1 because this is where the categorization system originated. Dad originally came from Earth 27, a dimension where Grandma Lacie never escaped Brainstorm’s grasps and he was rescued from their tyranny by Nigel Grimalde. Earth 28 is where the Jabberwocky comes from. That’s the universe that Nigel Grimalde doesn’t rescue Dad. You’re from a possible future of Earth 1 and Earth 27—“

“Wait both dimensions?”

“Earth 27 is effectively destroyed and lost. Brainstorm has it in hand. All that isn’t destroyed is lost to him. Earth 27’s future is effectively lived on in our father here and in us because we are his offspring.”

“I guess that makes a little sense.” Gwen replied quietly, “It’s certainly a lot to take in.”

“Yeah. You’re pretty calm, all that being said.”

“I’ll have a breakdown in a few days I’m sure.” Gwen said with a slight shrug, “It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

“Shit. Really?” Zane asked, taken aback by her response, it was quite…self-aware and not what he expected. If he had told Scarlett that, she surely would’ve gotten emotional, almost certainly crying on the spot.

“Whenever tragedy strikes, I take it in stride. Too many people have died where we’re from in The Locker. Trauma happens all the time. For now I can function. But in a few days, I’ll need some time to myself.“

“And your brother?”

“He’ll freak out immediately.” Gwen said with a smirk, “He’ll freak out, go intangible and run amok for awhile. Then he’ll calm down. He’s got a bit of an anger problem, but he’s learned to temper it with thought and patience. He’ll just need to react immediately, not push it off like I do. I process things over time, he processes it all in one fell swoop.”

“That’s quite insightful.” Zane replied, and began thinking out loud “well if that’s the case, we’ll need someone to contain him, and I don’t see any reason not to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Take you to Dad.”

“Jabby! How did your excursion to The Locker go?” Bloodstone asked.

“Poorly.” The Jabberwocky replied. Throwing off his desert garb, he filled a tub with hot water as mindless, enslaved Amazons undressed him further and added soap to the tub.

“What happened?” Bloodstone asked.

“The Tone there was old and withered. Wasn’t even passable for a cougar. The nuclear war really did a number on her.”

“What do you need Tone for Master?” Bloodstone asked hopefully.

“That’s something you don’t need to know.” He replied, as he stepped into the tub and relaxed, meanwhile a mindless Skye came and massaged his temples as another Amazon massaged his shoulders. “At least I don’t have the will to explain it to you right now.”

“Did you get your other self’s kids?”

“Not even them.” The Jabberwocky snarled, “they were gone before I could get to them in that timeline. I’m going to have to try again tomorrow so please stop bothering me, I need to relax.”

“As you wish Master.” Bloodstone said with a cute bow, leaving him behind. Her attempt to draw further information from having failed.

Jabby wants to do something with that Vapor Sword he picked up the other day and he needs Tone for some reason. That’s easy! I’ll just bring him Tone! I gotta go find her. She’s bound to be around here somewhere.

Bloodstone set off with renewed purpose, pleasing her Master the first thing on her mind.

“Well laddie, looks like her head is quite the conundrum. Strong dose of that there bimbo virus that we had awhile back.”

“Do you have an antidote?”

“Not for this particular strain. But Nigel would surely have what ye’re looking for.”

“Perfect, I’ll have to pay him a visit.”

“Yes well—“

A rapid beeping noise sounded as a red alarm light began to flash.

“Shit. Someone’s bending space time.” Kyle said, reading a quick warning sign from the computer before Gene could look it up.

“Black hole is ready to go if we need her.” Gene said, his Armor Man suit rapidly forming around him.

“It won’t have to come to that.” Kyle said, forming his own armor, forming the voice synthesizer voice to add a badass effect to make him sound like Morgan Freeman and Optimus Prime in one voice.

“I like the touch with the voice laddie. Not my style, but it suits ye.” Gene remarked.

“Appreciated and noted.” Kyle replied, smirking beneath the armor mask.

A dark blueish black energy started to form and three figures appeared out of it. Kyle’s adrenaline kicked into overdrive and time seemed to slow ever so slightly as he warmed up his palm blasters for an incapacitating blow.

“Father wait!”

Kyle held back for a split second, stopping his palm blast right before he hit…a boy who looked eerily like him, and another just like him, similar in appearance but clearly distinct and young girl who looked terribly like…Gwen?!

“Gwen?”

“Yes Father. It’s me.” the girl replied.

As his adrenaline settled, he depowered his armor, his face and body becoming visible.

“Father?! What the hell is going on here?” he exclaimed.

“Dad.” the oldest boy said, “I’m your son Zane and these are my half siblings, Kyle Jr. and Gwen.”

“Fuck! Are you serious!?” Kyle exclaimed, “you’re my fucking kids?”

“Yeah.” Zane replied.

“Well you sure as hell look like it.” Kyle said, turning around, and taking a few strides, pacing.

“No threat detected.” Gene replied.

“Haha! Yay!!” Bethany replied, still strapped in having her head scanned.

“Yeah I got that.” Kyle said arching his back and running his hands through his hair, he sighed throwing his hands in the air, “Alright kids. Let’s go upstairs for some breakfast.”

“Uh, well Coal is passed out.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Kyle asked.

“I knocked him out so we could safely transport him here.” Zane replied.

“Alright fine.” Kyle said with a big sigh, “Gene, you’ll look after her?”

“Aye laddie. I’ve got ye covered.”

“Alright. Me and Lacie will be back down here in 30 minutes to think and strategize about everything that just happened.”

“Aye. Good thought.”

“Alright kids, upstairs.” Kyle said trotting up the stairs and leaving the kids behind.

“Not exactly the reception I was hoping for.” Gwen remarked.

“Be easy on him lass.” Gene replied, sympathy filling his voice, “he just broke out of a maximum security prison, nearly died to his archenemies, lost a friend to mind control, and his love, who looks remarkably like you lass, was murdered by his archenemies just a few weeks ago. Ah and I can’t forget that his entire dimension just fell apart because he failed a suicide mission. The last thing the lad needs is more chaos in his life.”

Zane huffed, running his hands through his hair not unlike his father, “Yeah Gwen. Give Dad some slack. You’ve had a traumatic life, but he’s had a tragic one.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Gwen replied, still she wasn’t happy. She had hoped that perhaps her father would welcome her with open arms and a hug. She only had faint warm memories of her father, nothing tangible, until now.

“And don’t you worry lass. Kyle’s got a gruff exterior because o’ his upbringin’ but he’s a heart o’ gold. He’d die for you in a heartbeat if ye really are his daughter.”

“Let’s head upstairs then.” Zane said.

“What about Coal?” Gwen asked.

“I’ll look after him too.” Gene replied.

“Come on Gwen.”

The two made their way upstairs, the smell of breakfast and eggs filling their nostrils.

“Well Mom. This is my son and daughter, Zane and Gwen. They’re half-siblings.” Kyle said.

Lacie rubbed her head with a frown before giving the two of them a smile, “Well then. That makes you my grandchildren!”

She gave both of them a hug and a kiss, “Please make yourselves at home.”

“What is that smell?” Gwen asked.

“Eggs and bacon.” Lacie replied with a smile, “Which I have had no hand in cooking!”

“Uh—kids—this is Nastia. She’s with me.”

Nastia bowed to Zane and Gwen who awkwardly sat at the kitchen island. Nastia beamed at the two kids, serving the two of them a heaping portion of eggs and bacon. Gwen’s eyes lit up as she smelled the food.

“Oh my God! This is real food! Like from Pre-Nukes.”

Gwen happily scarfed up her food and reveled in every bite. Zane ate small polite amounts, but was clearly not hungry.

Wow. Kyle thought, This is crazy.

It was crazy. Escaping from prison, getting to this dimension, the fights, the battles, it was so fast. It had been such a short time. And now his kids from an alternate dimension were just here. Randomly. No explanation. From what little Gwen had said, she came from a dimension that didn’t have a lot of nice things going for it. Zane looked so much like him it was uncanny. But immediately, something inside him knew he loved these kids. They were by his blood. He knew. And he couldn’t get to know every little secret they had for the sake of the Great Weave. Otherwise he might really fuck up time. But he was going to love these kids. Even if it killed him.

“Alright. Uh, Mom, Nastia, can ya give us a little uh…family time? Lacie I’d appreciate if we could meet downstairs in half an hour. Nastia be there too.”

The two nodded and left the room. Kyle made the mental note that he had to spend time with Nastia and he still hadn’t checked on Jack. But for now he turned his attention to his kids.

“Alright. Give me the breakdown of whats going on.” Kyle said.

“I went to a different dimension.” Zane replied, “Picked up these guys and then came here. I’m your son. You told me to do this. Didn’t tell me why, though I’ve got my suspicions. I’m a psychic. Really powerful one.”

“And I was picked up from our dimension.” Gwen said.

“Possible future of Earth 27 and Earth 1.” Zane added.

“Right.” Kyle replied, he had gone over Gene’s Dimension categorizations earlier so he understood the reference. Gwen continued.

“We lived in bunkers called Lockers. Whole world got bombed out by nukes. You were…dead there. Mom took care of us. Me and Coal. We worked the mines. She trained us with our powers. And then Zane came and saved us from the Jabberwocky.”

“The Jabberwocky?” Kyle asked, surprised.

“He was looking for Tone and them.” Zane replied, “Don’t know why. But I brought them here.”

“Because I told you too presumably?”

“Precisely.”

“Great. Seems that in my older age, my other dimensional future self has become quite the informative one.” Kyle said with a sigh, “Did future alternate dimension me happen to tell you what to do with the kids?”

“Put em’ in college.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup.” Zane replied, with a shrug. “But he meant it as a joke. Can’t tell you what to do and all, whole space-time continuum thing.”

“Well then. There’s a suggestion. Not exactly sure if that’s how space-time works but regardless…” Kyle replied, “I’m sorry. I’m a bit overwhelmed, I don’t really know how to handle this whole…suddenly being a parent thing and all.”

“Technically, Dad” Zane said with a smirk, “this has been happening for a long time since time is a lot more fluid then people think. From a Slider’s perspective, time is more like an interweaving rope then a line.”

“Great. I see you’ve picked up my sarcasm. Did I ol’ Slider me tell you that your a pain in the ass? Cuz I just told you and I’ve known ya for like 5 minutes.”

Zane laughed, “All the time. Though he called himself Ronin. That was his superhero name. Ronin.”

“Why the hell is that?”

“Masterless warrior,’ he always said, ‘that’s who I am.”

“Makes sense.” Kyle replied, “I like my Slider name. But I have a feeling I’ll never really lock a name down. Gwen? What are you thinking?”

“You’re asking me?”

“Is that strange?” Kyle asked.

“Well back at the Locker, no one really cared about what I thought, I just followed orders. We just followed orders. That’s why Coal always got in trouble, he could never handle the authority.”

“Well here’s a bit different. I want to know your thoughts. As your…father…I want to hear my daughter’s opinion.”

Gwen smiled a little, “Thanks I guess.”

She thought it over for a few seconds and then responded,

“Well honestly, the Locker was terrible, I’m worried about Mom, Coal’s unconscious and I’m just meeting my Dad. Honestly, I’m not capable of thoughts right now.”

“Makes sense.” Kyle affirmed, “Alright. Well, based on my knowledge of the Great Weave and the fabric of the cosmos, you can’t stay here. We’re already a continuity error waiting to happen. I’m already a continuity error waiting to happen because I have a second-self here.”

“We came here to escape The Jabberwocky.” Zane added, “He was attacking Tone in that dimension. But she’s fine.”

“You’re sure?” Kyle asked.

“Positive.”

“Well then. Let’s move on to here then. Just in case, from this moment onward, our secret codeword to know I’m me is ‘Gwen’s flying the dropship to Chattanooga’. My normal passphrase from back home was ‘Gwen’s flying the dropship to Memphis.’ Our’s will be Chattanooga. Got it?”

The two kids nodded.

“Alright. Do you have any thoughts or input?”

“Nothing of relevance.” Zane said.

“Alright. I’m meeting downstairs with Lacie and Gene in a few minutes. We’ll talk things over and make decisions. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, I trust you Dad.” Zane replied.

“I guess I have to be alright with it.” Gwen added with a shrug, “If the stories I heard were true. You’d mop the floor with me if I rebelled anyway.”

“Well I don’t want to force you into anything. I’m your Dad, but I’m also only a very new one.”

“No Dad.” Zane said with a grimace, “We’re fine.”

A few days ago, London…

Scarlett cried as she watched the casket enter the earth. Her adopted father, had just passed away. He had been so wonderful to her after she lost her memory. She had been found at the top of a building in London crying and confused with no memory of who she was. She knew her name was Scarlett Von Hoffe and she remembered her superpowers, the ability to manipulate air molecules to produce sound, fly, create winds, concussive blasts, or whatever her heart desired. She was Airheart, the free spirited protector of the skies, that was all she knew. She didn’t remember her family, her friends, nothing. She couldn’t tell the police officer anything of substance as they took her in and tried to ascertain who she was. Lo and behold at the police station was a kindly older man who knew her father and had been given custody of her a few years prior. She was skeptical at first, but it had proven a wonderful relationship, a godsend. Jackson Wilson had been the best thing she had ever known or had.

And now he was gone.

As she left the funeral Jackson’s lawyer surprised her, calling out from behind, “Ms. Von Hoffe! Oh Ms. Von Hoffe!”

She turned, wiping the tears from her eyes, this was the last thing she had wanted at this point, “Yes Mr. Farley? How can I help you?”

“I’m sorry to bother you Ms. Von Hoffe, but I had to catch you as per Mr. Wilson’s will. He insisted in the will that I give you this letter after he died. He insisted you read it as soon as possible.” Mr. Farley said, pulling out a thin manilla envelope and handing it to her.

“Oh! Thank you Mr. Farley. I appreciate it.”

“Best wishes Ms. Von Hoffe. Mr. Wilson was my favorite client, for both his personality and his hospitality.”

Mr. Farley bustled away, he was a small jolly man who reminded Scarlett of a Christmas elf of some sort, towards his small convertible car and drove off. Eagerly, Scarlett ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter inside.

Dear Scar,

You know I’m not your real father, and if your reading this, it means I’m gone now and that means its time to know about your real father. He found me a long time ago, when you were only…oh 18 or so and told me that you would be at the police station dazed and confused that fateful day we first met. He offered me the chance of a lifetime. I had always wanted a child, and you were able to become my daughter and I’m eternally grateful to him. Your father’s name is Kyle Albinn and this is what he told me: “Scarlett is my daughter and I’m from an alternate future that soon, will no longer exist. Her mother’s name is Bethany. She’s a beautiful blonde haired woman with bright blue eyes, a bubbly personality and a noble heart. She was a superhero, so was I. But we’re not going to exist in the capacity Scar would know us because that future is no longer going to happen. I made a tough decision which she might forever hate me for if she remembered it, I did it because I love her and I was under extreme circumstances. (He had a lot of sorrow in his voice Scar, he really loved you.) The caveat is, because I’m from an alternate future, I still exist in this world that you’re in. I’m going to show up 7 years from now as a young, confused 23 year old. It would be best for Scarlett to not see me. Not because I wouldn’t want to see her, but the time stream is complicated and I don’t really have the time to explain it all.”

You know how you have powers? So did your father and your mother and your father was a psychic who ordered me to “as long as you live, you can’t tell Scarlett about her past”. Well that statement no longer applies to me and I thought you had the right to know. You know what? So did I! I had superpowers too and I was a superhero back in the 80’s known as Union Jack. Apparently your father knew me in an alternate dimension and he knew me well and that was why he found me. I did some research through some old contacts and indeed, there’s an Albinn family in River City but more specifically, a boy named Kyle Albinn emerged in River City a few weeks ago. Scar. I can’t tell you what to do, but this is real and that I love you.

Your “dad”,

Jackson Wilson

She saw the letter was dated to just a month and a half ago. Her real father…he was here. Without even thinking, Scarlett took to the skies, flew to her house threw off her funeral garb and put on a practical set of clothes and her favorite brown leather pilot’s jacket, ran outside, and rocketed away towards River City.

Down in the basement, bimbofied Bethany was still there, now fascinated with all of the blinking lights of Gene’s lab. Kyle noted with amusement that the lab was now in “childproof” mode to ensure Bethany didn’t spontaneously generate a miniature sun in the center of the room. Kyle’s unconscious alternate-future son was passed out on a table nearby. Along with the two of them were Lacie, Nastia, and Gene who formed a semi-circle around the room.

“Thanks for being here.” Kyle said.

“Of course Kyle. We’re glad to be of service.” Lacie said with a warm smile.

“Right. So here’s the lowdown. Three of my kids from alternate futures are here. Gwen, Zane, and Coal, who’s right over there. Bethany is bimbofied. We just escaped from prison and the Jabberwocky is still on the loose with the Vorpal Blade. That was my one real lead and now I’ve got all of these confounding variables in my equation which make it really difficult to find a solution to all of these problems at once. Lacie especially, since you’re part Norn and all, got any advice?”

Lacie considered. “Well… strictly speaking as a member of the Nornir, I am concerned about these intrusions into our world. The strain placed on the Great Weave is increasing with each incursion, and the chances of a cataclysmic paradox occurring increases with every one.” She sighed. “I spoke to my grandmother a little earlier, and while things are stable at the moment, I may have to go back Home to assist her and the others. And if things become more chaotic,” she stated frankly, looking Kyle in the face, “we will be forced to take more direct action.”

Kyle winced slightly. True, he’d known that fact from the beginning, but hearing it spoken aloud was still unnerving. He was pretty damn powerful, and growing moreso by the day, but the Norns were literal goddesses. They operated on an entirely different level. I certainly wouldn’t want to cross them if I can help it. Hmm… that reminds me, I still need to have a sit down talk with Lacie, er, mom, about those gifts that other her gave me. Maybe she can tell me a bit more about what the note Present left for me in the Book of Seidhr meant.

“That said,” Lacie continued, drawing his attention again, “I’m prepared to do whatever I can to help you, and make sure things don’t get to that point. I’ve been trying to see if I could find your evil twin with my Sight, to try and lock down where he is… but he’s surprisingly hard to track. I’m relatively sure he’s traveling back and forth between dimensions, and his constant moving around makes it even more troublesome. But I’m prepared to head back to Yggdrasil and try from there, where my powers are at their peak.”

Eugene nodded, sighing. “Ach, well, that’s true enough. But with the time differential there, ye could be gone for weeks, even months, without making contact.”

Kyle blinked at that. “Wait. What? Would it really take that long to track down the Jabberwocky? That seems like an awfully long time to spend looking.”

Lacie then explained the workings of time within the Nornir realm, the way that time passed more akin to the ebb and flow of the ocean, speeding up and slowing down seemingly at random instead of holding a steady constant rate. “So, for us, it would only been a few minutes, perhaps an hour or two,” she finished, “but for the rest of you, it might have been a few minutes, or several months. The passing of time at Home is relative.”

“Aye,” Gene agreed. “Besides, there might be an easier way of doing this. True, my DNA scanner hasnae been able to track him any better than Lacie Ann’s magical talents, but perhaps it could track those other friends of yers, like yer missing lassie, Skye. I dinnae suppose ye have anything of hers? If ye could get me something with her DNA on it, I could track her down. And likely, wherever she is, this Jabberwocky willnae be far away.”

Kyle nodded. “That could work. I think I do still have the business card she gave me after we first met,” he said, checking his pockets. “Ah, that’s right, it’s upstairs in the bedroom.”

“Allow me, Master,” Nastia said, moving to the lab entrance. “I’ll go get it for you!”

“Thank you.” He said, quite appreciative. “Geez. All of this is too much sometimes. The Jabberwocky is one thing, but having slaves and kids is pushing me to the limit.”

He frowned and then laughed, “Nothing that won’t stop me I guess.”

“You know,” Lacie said, thoughtfully, “I do have to wonder what the Jabberwocky’s end game in all of this is. I mean, we assumed in the beginning that everything he did to you before—trying to corrupt you, taunting and angering you by killing Gwen, then giving you Shatterstar as a gifted slave—that he was basically trying to turn you into the person he will become further down the timeline. But considering what happened with your friends at Olympus, I think perhaps it was more a case of misdirection, pushing you to where you would be able to get the Vorpal Blade just so he could take it from you. But, again, if that’s all he wanted, why go to such lengths? If he has the same powers and abilities that you do, as well as knowledge of this timeline, why not take on the challenge himself and simply earn the Vorpal Blade instead of using you that way?”

“Hmph. Yeah, I’ve been wondering about that myself. His endgame is confusing at best.”

“I have an even more troubling question,” Gene added with a frown. “Once he’d gotten the blade, why leave you alive? And why abduct you and wee Bethany, and lock ye both up in a high security dimensionally transported prison brought in from another plane of existence? If he truly wanted you out of the way, the simplest method would be to kill you, not lock you up somewhere that proved to be merely a minor inconvenience to escape from?”

Kyle frowned. “I’d hardly call that a ‘minor inconvenience’, Gene. It was a very narrow escape. None of us could access our powers thanks to Syphon. Bethany, Jack, and I were seconds from being overrun by those animal hybrid guards. If Hack hadn’t acted when he had, none of us would be here right now.”

“And yet, you managed to somehow escape, safe and sound,” Eugene pointed out. “You couldn’t have made it out without outside assistance, mind… but for the time you were missing, no one would have even known where to look for you, had Jason not spotted the Jabberwocky in that news report, standing there in plain sight, literally pointing to where you were being held.” The elder Scotsman shook his head. “I see this as more of a challenge, as a series of tests he’s putting you through, to test your mettle, your resourcefulness, and cunning. The bloody bastard has already demonstrated his knowledge of occurring events, as well as access to technology allowing him to travel freely between dimensions. With the ability to copy and recruit the powers of other Supers at will, there’s not much he can’t do. So… what does he want? What is he after? And how do you becoming powerful and reaching your full potential fit into his plans?” He sighed. “If we can figure out the answers to these questions, then we’ll be able to strategize on how to stop him.”

“Yes. Good thoughts for sure. Unfortunately we lack a lot of information on him and we need more. That tracker information for DNA and we might consider trying to capture a slave of his to gain more information from her…it’s presumably a her.”

Nastia returned a moment later, carrying the business card. “Ah, perfect timing, lass,” Eugene replied, taking the card from her, walking over to one of his machines, sliding the card into the scanner. “It may take a wee bit for the machine to separate and withdraw Skye’s DNA from everyone else who’s handled that card. Filtering out our DNA signatures will speed it up, but we’re still looking at an hour at least. In the meantime, I’ve spoken with Nigel at length about what’s happening, and he’s given me a few ideas that I’d like to try and length. I’m leaving shortly to head to GrimTech’s R&D, and see if Angela and her team have made any progress.” Gene flashed him a grin. “You’re more than welcome to come along as well, lad. I know you’ve been wanting to meet our world’s version of your mentor for some time now. And I know he’s wanted to meet you as well.”

“He’s not the only one,” a bubbly female voice called from the lab’s main entrance doorway.

“Katie!” Lacie yelled in surprise, rushing over to greet her daughter, and the two women that had accompanied her. “Sioban? Tawnya? What’s going on?” She glanced at Katie again, concerned. “Baby, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to still be at the hospital!”

“I’m fine, mom!” Katie Ann Frasier replied gently, hugging the older blonde, kissing her cheek. “We Frasiers heal very quickly, remember? Besides, the doctor cleared me, saying I could leave as long as I took it easy and spent most of my time in bed, resting. I figured if I was going to be confined to a bed for the next week or so, it might as well be a bed more comfortable than the one in River City General!” She turned then, spotting Kyle. “Besides, after your visit the other day, I’ve been dying to meet my new ‘big brother’.”

Kyle likewise took a moment to appraise his new little sister. Katherine Ann Frasier was every bit the adorable cute little pixie she’d appeared to be from her pictures. The girl was tiny, topping out at about five foot five, though the high heeled boots she wore were probably responsible for a few of those inches. Gorgeous long blonde hair, about the same shade as Tone’s though Katie’s had only a slight natural curl to it. Her eyes were a clear sky blue, and her cheeks were dimpled in a way that made you just want to pinch them. The girl was, in a word, cute. The epitome of cute. If there was a picture next to the word in the dictionary, it would be hers. Yet, despite her tiny childlike frame, there was nothing remotely childlike about her more defined ‘assets’. Easily a DD cup, possibly a EE, with a narrow waist and ‘child bearing’ hips, Katie Ann looked like the hottest piece of jailbait tail imaginable.

And yet, despite having inherited mom’s genetics in the looks department, I don’t feel much of an attraction towards her, he mused. I mean, if I’d met her at a party or something, I’d probably fuck her six ways from Sunday… but the knowledge that she’s my baby sister… just kind of kills it for me. Huh. Weird. Until a few weeks ago, I’d been an only child. And now, having just met her less than five minutes ago, here I am feeling all protective and brotherly towards a sister I’d never even known existed!

“Hey, girl, don’t just stand there gawking,” a beautiful dark skinned amazon of a woman teased, shoving Katie slightly forward. “Go so hi to the man. You were all fired up about us coming here to meet him, now suddenly you’re all shy?”

“Now, now, T,” the much shorter, just as achingly beautiful, porcelain-skinned redhead chided her partner. “She’s meeting a brother she never knew she had for the very first time. Cut her some slack.” Placing a hand gently on the blonde’s shoulder, she nodded gently. “It’s okay, Katie. Just relax, and say what you came here to say. Look at him. He’s just as nervous as you are.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Katie murmured softly, just loud enough for Kyle to overhead. Grinning slightly, she extended a hand. “So… um… hey, bro. I’m, um... Katie. Your sister. Well, er, you probably already knew that,” she said sheepishly. “I, um, heard quite a bit about you from my mom and dad… oh, sorry, OUR mom and dad, huh? And from Jimmy too. We’re twins, you know. Jimmy and I, I mean. We’re not twins, you and I… though, technically, if we were, we’re be, like triplets, you know?” She laughed nervously, blushing heatedly.

Kyle, chuckling softly, moved forward, bypassing the outstretched hand and pulling her into a hug instead. “Katie, calm down. I don’t bite. You don’t have to try so hard.” He smiled at her. “It’s good to finally meet you too, little sister.” He paused, considering. “Um, younger sister, I mean. You’re not sensitive about your height or anything, are you?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Katie replied giggling, amused that his nervousness matched her own, “but don’t sweat it. Family and loved ones get a free pass on the teasing about my height.” She glanced over as Sioban politely cleared her voice. “OH! Damn…where are my manners! Allow me to introduce my two best friends, Tawnya Parkinson, and Sioban MacMillan, or as they’re known in costume, Ravenheart and Dragonfyre.”

Kyle greeted both of them. At that same moment, bimbo Bethany accidentally knocked herself into a table and fell to the ground frustrated whimpering like a little girl.

Kyle looked around for a second, “Katie, would you be willing to go out flying with me a little? I think I need a break and some distance from all this.”

“Uh…yeah sure.” Kate said with a shrug, “Don’t worry mom, I’ll be fine.”

“And if she’s not, I have like 4 people’s flying powers to make up for it.” Kyle said reassuringly.

Lacie had been about to speak up, but gave Kyle a knowing look and a smile. She was glad that her kids were getting along.

“As for you Ravenheart and Dragonfyre, sweet names by the way, I guess you’re willing to impart me with a kiss too?”

The two girls nodded.

“Ok. Well, I’ll make it quick. Usually these kisses seem to get people pretty worked up, and length of contact doesn’t seem to have anything to do with how much power I get.” Kyle leaned in and kisses Sioban first and he immediately felt the rush of power, but unlike most times, it suddenly shut off and Kyle drew back confused.

“Is something wrong? Sioban asked, slightly dazed.

“Well normally, that goes a little differently, that wasn’t very potent.”

“Does it have to do with us being—” Tawnya began,

“Being lesbians? No. Jack upstairs is…was? I’m not sure. Doesn’t matter. When I kissed her she was a lesbian and we made fireworks.”

“Uh…try again?” Katie suggested.

Ha! Little sis playing my wingman. Though I guess these girls are lesbians. Shame. I can really see what Katie’s liking here. Phew! Kyle laughed, “If you’re willing—”

Sioban planted another one on him, but nothing. “Too bad.” Sioban said with a frown, “That was one of the best kisses I’ve ever had.”

“Well uh, Tawnya?” Kyle asked.

Tawnya shrugged and planted a kiss right on his lips and the same thing occurred, an initial power surge that fizzled out.

“Ach. I got it. The two ladies powers are entirely magic based and the power isn’t transferring properly.”

Gene said, looking at his computers. He had a scanner trained on Kyle the entire time.

“Magic based? Huh. I guess everyone else has been through other means?”

“Aye. I guess so.”

“Well alright then. Katie, meet me upstairs in like ten minutes and we’ll head out. Lacie, erm mom. I’d love to talk to you for a few seconds. God, I gotta stop mixing that up.”

“Of course Kyle.” Lacie said with a raised eyebrow but still a smile.

“I’ll be waiting big bro.” Katie said with a wave.

“Katie…we’ll uh meet you after you come back.” the two angels said,

With a knowing look Katie gave them a wave goodbye, “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

Guess I got those two girls pretty worked up. Kyle thought with a chuckle. Fantasies of both women going down on him entered his mind but he threw them out. They were Katie’s. Off limits. Gaining some privacy, Kyle looked at his mother and then gave her a hug, burying himself in her comforting embrace.

“Mom, I…I don’t know how I’m going to keep going on like this… I know I need to—now more then ever with my kids here… God that’s a strange thought… But now more than ever, my alternate self needs to be defeated and everything needs to go back to being alright but God I don’t know how I’ll get there… Do you think it’s alright… for them to even be here?”

It had taken awhile for Kyle to get all of that out there. He had spoken with careful word choice, something he rarely did. Lacie had just listened and held him, doing her best to hear him out and love him.

“Well logically, it would make sense to keep them around, that way you can protect them. The Jabberwocky can travel anywhere you might hide them. Mine as well keep them here where you can keep your eye on them.”

“Your right.” Kyle said, “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” She asked softly.

“Be a parent. I’m 23. I’m not ready for this shit.”

“Take care of yourself and do your best.” Lacie said, “You can’t save your kids anymore than you can save yourself. If you can save yourself, then you can save your kids.”

He looked at her, “I don’t follow you.”

“If you get wrapped up in what you’ve done your always going to find a mistake, a person you could’ve saved, something you could’ve done better. You know that.”

“Yeah.”

“So parentings no different. You’re going to make mistakes. We didn’t raise Katie and Jimmy perfectly. Goddess knows we didn’t. Katie snapped and took over the world for awhile, Jimmy was captured and tortured. You can’t save them all, you can’t protect them all the time. As much as you want to. If I could’ve been there to save them every time I would have. But then my kids wouldn’t have grown up. They never would have grown up, found themselves, found loves and passions. So do your best and take care of yourself. Especially now, since your kids are older, they need someone to be available for them, they don’t need you to change their diaper. Just listen and give advice. Like right now.”

Lacie gave him a smile and a motherly kiss on the forehead, “Besides, you’re not alone. You’ve got me, Eva, and Gene too.”

“Yeah. Alright.” Kyle said, “Thanks.”

“Now go hang out with Katie. She’s really excited about that you know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She wouldn’t have just gotten out of that hospital bed for just anyone.”

Kyle gave Lacie a last loving hug squeeze and then waved goodbye as he went and found Katie at the front door.

“Where are we going?!” Katie called out behind him.

“We’re going to go bask on a cloud!” He called back.

“What? You know those aren’t solid right?”

“You’ll see.”

Flying up into the sky, Kyle found the perfect cloud, a big billowy one that was flat and low hanging, and got rid of his armor and quickly formed it into two floating lounge chairs suspended in the air via rocket boosters. Katie laughed,

“Well that’s a first I think.”

“Techno armor sunglasses?” Kyle asked, handing her a pair of shades.

“Thanks.” She said, accepting them. “Not that I need them or anything—bright lights don’t affect me at all… but these look really cool!”

The two of them lounged on their respective chairs and took in the warmth of the sun and the beauty and surreal nature of lounging in the clouds.

“Isn’t this cloud going to like…move away from us?” she asked, curious.

“Yeah. I’m just me. I’m not Omega Girl or anything,” he teased. “Cut me some slack.”

Katie laughed again, “You and Jimmy must’ve gotten along really well.”

“Yeah we did. He’s a good kid.” Kyle said with a smile.

“He can be a pain sometimes. But yeah. He is.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Katie let out a soft sigh. “You know… I think I really needed this. Just to… you know… bask. And relax. And try not to dwell on the past so much.” She glanced sidelong at her brother. “Um… you’ve heard about my little… incident?”

Kyle nodded softly. “Yeah. For the most part. And you’re right—it’s in the past. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

But Katie shook her head. “No. Just the opposite. I really do want to talk about it… and well, we’re family and all, but we’re also strangers. You could listen and still keep an open mind, so… um… please?”

Kyle nodded gently. “Of course, Sis. And believe me, I won’t judge you. From everything I’ve heard about you so far, and just meeting you, you seem pretty good to me. And I’m a pretty accurate judge of character.”

Katie smiled softly in return. “Thanks. That… means a lot. And, well… I heard a bit about your past as well from my, OUR, folks when they came to visit. The way you grew up… everything you did…. And everything you gave up to come here and try and change things to make your world better.” She sighed again. “That was what I was trying to do, in the beginning, you know. Just… change the world for the better. My girlfriend, Jessica… she was killed right in front of my eyes by a murderer who was after me. I saw it happen, but I couldn’t do anything to stop him.”

Kyle stiffened. Reaching over, he took Katie’s hand in his own. “Oh man… I’m so sorry, Katie. I know what that’s like. The same thing happened to me shortly after I arrived here. My…Gwen…her name was Gwen. When we stepped through the portal to this world, we were separated. For me, it was a matter of minutes, but for her, on this side, it was decades. And when I met up with her again, that bastard… he killed her in front of me, just to hurt me, to make me suffer. In the blink of an eye, I lost the woman I cared for most in this world.”

Katie nodded softly, clenching his hand in sympathy. “Yeah. You understand exactly how it feels. But in my case it went a step further. My powers, my good luck, it protects me. Fire a gun at me, point blank range, and most times it won’t even fire. Or if it does, the bullet just deflects in midair and misses me. That’s what happened this time—it deflected the bullet, and it hit Jess. My power saved me but inadvertently killed Jessica. I… killed her.”

Kyle nodded grimly. Our situation is still more alike that you know, little sis. Gwen was killed by ME… an evil alternate time-swapped version of me, yes, but still me. Without meaning to, we both ended up killing the women we loved. You couldn’t handle it and ended up having a psychotic break, and tried to destroy the world. I know for sure that I still have unresolved issues about it… and that darkness he infected me with, I know it’s changing me inside. Am I… am I going to end up going down the same path?

Katie, somehow sensing his mood, squeezed his hand again. “Hey, come on, Kyle. Don’t worry about repeating my mistake. You’re a lot stronger than I am… or was. My problem was that I couldn’t handle the pain and guilt about what had happened, and I just tried to bury it deep inside without dealing with it. My parents, Aunt Eva, my friends, they all tried to help me, to get me to open up… but I just pushed them away, trying to do it on my own. And besides,” she added forlornly, “I had other things going on with me to complicate things.”

“There was another voice, another presence inside me,” she added in a soft voice. “And I don’t mean like ‘she’s gone crazy and hearing voices’, though that’s what it seemed like to me at the time. But no, there was a separate presence inside my head, like a split personality. And slowly, bit by bit, it was taking over. At first, I’d be doing something, blank out, and wake up to find myself doing something else completely different.” She shuddered. “I knew something was wrong, but I convinced myself I could handle it, that I was just tired or stressed out. Or… maybe it was that other presence convincing me. I can’t really tell. But finally, it reached a point where it took over completely, and I was merely a passenger in my own body, watching helplessly as I did thing… really bad… awful… things…”

She was crying now, softly, tears running freely down her cheeks. “Katie, hey, c’mon,” Kyle said, getting up to hug the crying blonde. “It’s okay. You said it yourself—you weren’t in control of your actions.”

“Well… that’s the thing,” Katie said sniffling. “I was… and I wasn’t. Supernova had control of my actions, was doing all this shit… but deep down, it was what I wanted too. I wanted to make River City a safe place free of crime. She was acting out my deepest desires… just doing it in a completely ruthless way without regard for anyone or anything! That’s why I feel so bad about this. I convinced myself that the end justified the means… that doing bad things for the right reasons made it all right in the end…”

Yeah. I know that feeling. That’s the different feeling I’ve had. Making the decisions I’ve made. Trying my best, sacrificing. It’s always…difficult.

Kyle sighed. “Listen, sis. Your mind was being controlled. It sucks, but it happens. You did a lot of thing you weren’t proud of, we all do. We always have lines that we have to tow and nobody tells you where it is. That’s just normal life, but for us, as supers and what life has given us, life likes to throw us all over that line and shit on us. Hurts a hell of a lot. But the first step in healing is learning to forgive yourself… for not being able to resist being controlled, AND for not being able to save Jessica.”

Katie sniffled, nodding. “Okay… but that goes for you too, big brother,” she said with a sad smile. “You have to learn to forgive yourself as well… for not being able to save Gwen.”

Kyle blinked in surprise at that. “Wow… hitting me with my own advice, sis? Sneaky. But you do make a good point.”

The two siblings sat in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying the quiet and each other’s presence.

“Well Katie. I’ll get your official help a little later, but I really appreciate the gesture. You don’t even know me. So it means a lot to me.” Kyle said looking over at her.

“Of course.” Katie replied, “you’re family.”

“So, how have you been holding up? Altogether, I mean—physically, emotionally, um… mentally?”

“It’s been tough really.” Katie admitted, “After you try and subjugate the world, you lose a couple friends and a little self confidence in your morals. A lot of the Supers I enslaved really resent me now. But Mis… er, Tawnya and Sioban have been lifesavers, and my family has really rallied behind me. Heh, my even bigger family now,” she said, squeezing Kyle’s hand.

“Yeah. Makes sense. I’m glad. And don’t mention it.”

“So… How about you?” she asked, turning to stare him directly in the face.

“Me?”

“Yes you. How are you holding up? You listened to me go on and on about my problems, but you’ve been through the wringer yourself. How are you doing, Kyle?”

“Honestly. I feel like shit.” Kyle said with a weak laugh, “I basically lost someone who I thought was the love of my life, right after my mentor dies in front of my eyes, and I end up enslaving a girl on accident. Not to mention the whole try-to-save-the-world from the worst combination of the Ghost of Christmas Future and Dicken’s Wonderland in my own world, and I guess, now here as well. I’ve barely had a break. And now on top of that, my kids from an alternate time line or reality or whatever suddenly show up. Congratulations, by the way. You’re an Aunt.”

“Yeah, I know. I met Zane and Gwen upstairs.” Katie said with a chuckle. “It was weird to have Zane call me Aunt Katie. He’s like maybe three years younger than me.”

“Four I think.”

“He’s got your spirit.” Katie said with a smile.

“Yeah he does.” Kyle said with a proud grin.

“Well. I know we really only just met ‘big bro’. But I’ve got a feeling you’ll make it through. You don’t seem like the type to fold under pressure. If anything, you’ll turn into a diamond.”

“Heh. Thanks.”

“Ok. Now let’s get this kiss over with.”

“Yeah alright. We better go back to the ground for this.”

“Really?” Katie asked, skeptically. “It’s just a kiss. How good can a simple kiss actually be?”

“Well, I can’t say how it will be for you, but the experience for me I would describe as like kissing the sun’s core.” Kyle said as he reformed his technoarmor.

“You’re joking.” Katie said as they made their way back to the ground.

“Nope. No shit. When I kissed Bethany Von Hoffe, it was like kissing the sun.”

“Bethany? Red Rocket? Oh, I love her. She’s a great girl.” She sighed softly, glancing down sadly. “I really need to apologize to her. I… kinda screwed her over. A lot of people, actually. She used to be my biggest fan… I bet she probably hates my guts now…”

“Yeah she is pretty great.” Kyle agreed. “But don’t worry. We actually talked quite a bit. She wasn’t so happy about what happened to her, but she said she understood your reasoning. She actually defended your motives.”

Touching back down to the surface, Kyle stood at the ready, preparing himself. “You ready?”

She nodded and he leaned in for a kiss. She hesitated slightly, but then their lips locked and Kyle felt the huge rush of power come back to him and run up his spine. Katie inadvertently added tongue, but soon the power transfer was complete and Kyle pulled away as Katie was left red with embarrassment.

“G-goddess Bless…” She said, wide eyed, panting slightly. “That was…” She shook her head. “Damn… different brother, same effect,” she murmured softly.

Kyle blinked. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“Um… oh, nothing, nothing,” Katie replied, blushing bright red. “Just… muttering to myself.”

Kyle laughed, “Thanks. Sorry if that was weird. Kinda makes you want to reexamine the phrase ‘like kissing your sister’.”

Kyle flexed his new powers pulling out a dark purplish black light sword from thin air. “YES! THIS IS THE SHIT!” Kyle exclaimed and immediately made a light trampoline to bounce on and then a bunch of fireworks that exploded in around him to celebrate.

“Dammit, it took me forever to first do stuff like that,” Katie said with a grimace, “you showoff,” she added, sticking out her tongue at him.

“When you have like 20 powers, you get the hang of them pretty quick.” Kyle said with a laugh and a shrug.

“Uh huh. Well, um… great,” she said, idly, rubbing her shoulder, her face still very red. “So, um… you also should have my Nordic luck powers. They come in pretty handy.” She glanced around, swallowing, looking entirely too wound up. “But if you’ll excuse me I’m going to uh… um…”

“Go find those two lovely angels?” Kyle replied with a laugh. “I know. Go on ahead. I’ll be along in a bit. Thanks for hanging out with me.”

Katie gave him a quick hug goodbye and then dashed off to find her friends. Kyle shook his head in amusement.

“Now the next time I get into a fight I can really light em’ up.”

Tone wrung her hair out before she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and looking herself in the mirror. She frowned. Despite her extreme durability, there was a noticeable abrasion on her lower thigh that she had gotten when she had tried to smash the glass of the penthouse for Kyle’s escape. The prison penthouse had had a powerful anti-power barrier around it and it had caused her to crash into the side of the building and slide down it’s side. She had only managed to right herself as she slid down the slightly angled glass surface of the building and leap off the side and into the air, careening to the surface below before her powers returned and she was able to stop her fall. Just in time in fact. Seconds after she had recovered, Kyle and the two girls had careened out of the penthouse, 50 some stories in the air. Tone had managed to catch them all, much to her relief.

She let the towel drop and inspected herself further, specifically her back which she hadn’t been able to take a great look at her back in the shower. Luckily there was nothing major there. Going outside and slipping on some clothes, she walked down the stairs to the Frasier living room and gave a hug to Lacie.

“Thank you for saving Kyle.” the tall blonde replied with a smile.

“Of course.” Tone responded. “Of course I would save him. He is a hero and a trusted friend.”

“Without you well…I’m not sure what would have happened.” Lacie said with a smile, “Luckily you were there in the nick of time and for that I’m very grateful.”

Looking out the window, Tone noticed a petite blonde haired girl touch down on the Frasier’s lawn. Huh. Wait a second… That girl… she looked… familiar… Memories came streaming back to Tone. Incredible sex while naked with this girl and two others. Beating other heroes into the ground to protect her. Being enslaved, having no will. The girl was Katie Frasier and Tone suddenly remembered being her slave. There was something sick about it yet it was strangely addicting and enticing.

Katie! She was the one who almost destroyed everything! And used ME to help her do it!

Anger welled up inside her. This was the woman who had ripped her mind and free will from her and forced her to do things that she would never have once wanted to do. Tone powered up and rushed outside and, as Katie landed, punched the girl right across the face in a cry of utter rage.

“Aaaaaaahhh!” Katie yelped, rolling with the blow, landing back on her feet, powering up as well.

“What the hell!?” Katie cried out, only to gasp in shock as she in turned recognized her attacker. “T-tone?” she said in a soft sad voice. “Ohhh… oh no… oh goddess…”

Tone wasn’t done, her eyes were glowing with rage and power as she manipulated the earth to form a prison around Katie, trapping her in place. Katie, her own powers easily a match for the enraged demigoddess, merely stood there, not bothering to fight back or even defend herself. Even as Tone drew back to attack her again, she merely sighed, closing her eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

Before she could deliver a lethal blow, however, she was suddenly knocked across the street by a powered up Lacie. Crashing into the Earth, Tone rolled and summoned her hammer, her Vanirian armor, as well as her shield which she used to block an Omega Beams blast fired from Lacie. Preparing to strike back, she was knocked to the ground again, but this time it was from above.

“Tone! What the hell!?” Kyle yelled in her ear as he held her down with incredible strength. She felt her arms and legs become shackled with tendrils of energy and dark amber colored light.

“She made me her slave!” Tone cried out in anger, now tears were streaming down her face. She slammed the ground with her fist causing the street around her to crater and the ground to shake.

“What?!”

“She made me her slave when she took over. She forced me too…she…she…” Tone was just bawling now, shivering on the ground and going numb, so much so that she could barely feel her temporary shackles slip away as Kyle pulled her into a sitting position, and hugged her. Beside them Lacie and Katie stood silently, watching in sympathy. Tawnya and Sioban, having seen their lover attacked, rushed in as well, but Katie waved them off, shaking her head.

“I’m so sorry Tone.” Kyle said holding her, “I’m so sorry.” He held her as she cried. He looked over at Katie giving her an apologetic look.

Katie, you better head out. He sent her a message telepathically.

Yeah. she replied, her mental voice, which gave away her deep, deep sadness, I’ll head out now. I want to apologize to her and try to explain… but right now, my saying anything would probably just make it worse. Kyle… bro… I’m sorry to put you in the middle of my mess.

Hey we’re family. It’ll be alright. I’ve got your luck now.

Tone cried in his arms as Katie awkwardly collected her two friends, and they flew off. Lacie gave the two of them the privacy they needed, giving her son an encouraging squeeze as she left.

“Kyle?” Tone whimpered. It was almost a little hard to understand her due to her tears garbling her words and her voice being muffled by his chest.

“Yeah?”

“I… need you… to fix me.” She managed through her tears.

“Fix you? Tone you’re not broken.”

“I feel like it. I was…I was r…I’m damaged.”

“Maybe.” Kyle said, wincing in sympathy. “I can’t deny that you’re hurt, you’re obviously, definitely, hurting and I’m sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like. But you’re not worthless. You’re not broken!”

“But Kyle… Even now, I can feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“I… I want…I want it,” she said pitifully.

Kyle pulled back to look her in the face, seeking comprehension. “Want what? I don’t understand.”

“To… lose control again.”

Kyle blinked in surprise. “Lose control? You mean?”

Tone nodded. “Look at my mind. You’ll see.” she said, softly. “I know it’ll tell you what I’m feeling.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. Kyle hesitated but then placed his hand on her head for better access, and massaged her head and stroked her hair as he peered into her mind. He saw and felt everything she’d experienced as Katie’s, or rather Mistress Supernova’s obedient thrall. He felt torn in sympathy, both for Tone, the girl crying in his arms, but also, for Katie, knowing now how SHE felt about what had happened from her side of the story.

Oh god...

Tone’s mind was fragmented. A part of her mind had been locked away, sealing the memories and the pain of Tone’s rape and enslavement at Katie’s hands. Her alter ego had been gentle, and loving, but that had only made it worse, teaching her to love and enjoy her enslavement. Basically all but a virgin until that point, the poor Vanir warrior had had no way to cope, no frame of reference for her feelings about what she’d experienced. In the end, Katie had had Jimmy seal away the memories of what had happened as a kindness, to prevent her from breaking down in the way she’d just done.

From the looks of things, however, the sealing off of her memories had not been strong enough to seal off the sudden stimulus of seeing Katie again for the first time. Now her mind was falling apart and he saw her addiction to what Katie had given her, intense pleasure now chained powerfully with her situation where she lacked a free will. This was not something that he could fix quickly, if ever, unless he just basically wiped her mind. She was addicted to her slavery, and he would have to wean her off of it over time, a lengthy and terrible process at best.

Shit. Maybe she does need to be fixed.

“Tone,” he said softly, “I can’t do this. This is… maybe we should go talk to Eva. Or Ana. They’re more advanced at this kind of thing than I am. You need to talk to a professional—“

“NO!” Tone yelled, fear evident on her face. “Please. I… I can’t. I’m sorry… but after this, I don’t trust them. I trust you Kyle. Please?”

Kyle sighed heavily. She wasn’t leaving him much choice. “Tone… I can’t fix you quickly, unless…well I wouldn’t actually fix you as much as I would be making you my slave instead. Then, I would…uh… you’d get to sate your addiction, and maybe I can heal you over time?”

“What?!”

“I’m sorry Tone.! I told you… I’m out of my depth here. But looking inside your head… it’s either that or years of slowly massaging and healing your mind from these fragmented memories. Or wiping your mind clean and starting over, which I would not like to get into at all—”

“Do it.”

“Wait what?”

“Do it. Make me your slave.” She sighed softly, closing her eyes. “I’ve seen the way you are with Nastia. At least this time I’d be choosing it myself… making a decision instead of having it forced upon me.”

“Are you—” Kyle began, only to be cut off.

“Damnit Kyle just do it already!” Tone all but shrieked, shuddering in his arms. “Please. Don’t make me beg for my own enslavement…”

Unhappy about it, but resigned, Kyle shook his head, delved into her mind, and began to fix things…