The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Clocks and Timepieces 1: The Frame

Issue 3

Snowbird Must Die

Tone and Hack approached the mansion double doors and knocked. They continued their conversation as they waited.

“Somethings been blocking your magic then? And our abilities to fight?” Hack asked.

“I’m convinced so yes. I think it’s Gwen. Unless their is another psychic here that knows we exist and that we were going to arrive here right as we did.” Tone said.

“I guess that makes sense.” Hack said, “Still, why would she do that?”

“I have no idea. There’s a more important matter however, why did she stop?”

Just then the door opened, a blonde girl wearing a military uniform, a camouflage green that revealed her chest. She had half her body exposed, the other half behind the door. Hack was struck by her beauty and tried to place where he had seen her before.

“You are Master’s friends yes?” the blonde girl asked. “Kyle that is?”

“Yes.” Hack said, “I’m Jason, or Hack, and this is Tone.”

“We were with you when we went through the time gate.” Tone said.

Right! Hack remembered. She was one of Nigel’s girls. She had been there at the end.

“Come in.” She said.

The door swung open as the girl stowed her weapons and disarmed some form of device. Upon closer inspection Hack saw that it was a small explosive. There was an overturned heavy table nearby that she could’ve dove and hid behind to escape the blast. The girl had been prepared.

“I am Nastia.” the blonde girl said, “Master Kyle is upstairs.”

“And Gwen?” Hack asked.

“I am unsure. He hasn’t come down for several minutes. I was told to leave him in privacy.” Nastia replied. She bit her lip, she was obviously nervous for him.

“You’re calling Kyle, Master?”

“Yes.” Nastia said, “To explain, Nigel Grimalde was my old master. He was responsible for pushing Kyle through the time gate after you all went through as I covered the door. He was hit by an explosion and he perished. Kyle ordered me to tackle him into the time gate because he couldn’t get through. I was frozen in place. My master was dead and I had no way to function. Stormtroopers were closing in. We had nowhere to go. He commanded me to become his slave so that I might survive. He ordered me to tackle him into the time gate to survive.”

“Ah that makes more sense.” Hack said.

“I was curious. Kyle does not seem like the master-slave type.”

“He has been adjusting to our relationship.”

“Have uh you guys…” Hack asked awkwardly.

“Had sex?” Nastia laughed, “Not yet. He hasn’t been interested. He’s got a lot on his mind.”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” Tone said.

Tone was slightly elated by this news. The initial idea of Kyle taking slaves was horrifying, destroying completely the image of him that she bore. But this seemed more reasonable, he had taken her as a slave as a necessity to save her life and he hadn’t even taken advantage of the poor girl. The thought made her love him that much more.

“Can we see him?” Hack asked.

“I think it’d be best if you’d wait.” Nastia said, “He didn’t want to be disturbed.”

“Give them some time Jason.” Tone said, masking her own desire to see Kyle, “They almost lost each other.”

“I think they already have.” Nastia replied sadly, “There are pictures here. Black and white photos. Gwen seems to have grown old. It appears she arrived here in the 1940’s even. She got married, had kids.”

“What?”

“Seriously?” Hack asked.

“Yes. Take a look.”

She showed the two of them a picture, an old black and white photo of a girl that was unmistakably Gwen, or at least a spitting image of her. She was with a man, a shock of light brown hair, soft eyes, and a strong frame adorned in military garb bearing the Union Jack of England.

“It’s crazy.” Hack said, “But you may be right.”

* * *

Kyle awoke and quickly ran to Gwen’s side.

“You can’t save her.” a familiar face said.

The Jabberwocky was still there, and Kyle found himself frozen in place with psychic power.

“What did you do?”

“I killed her.” The Jabberwocky said with a smile, “And took her powers.”

“Bastard!” Kyle cried out, but for some reason he couldn’t get angry. Searching himself, he realized that it was because The Jabberwocky was keeping him calm, there was a mental block between him and his anger.

“What do you want?” Kyle demanded.

“Not afraid?”

“You could’ve killed me already if you wanted too. Tell me what you want so we can move on.”

“Always the astute mind I see.” The Jabberwocky chuckled. “Meet my Four of Hearts.”

Kyle turned and immediately recognized who it was, it was Shatterstar, or Ultra Girl before she had been converted by Brainstorm and inducted into his ranks. Her tall lithe figure, massive chest, bright blonde hair and blue eyes made her unmistakable.

“Come Karen.” The Jabberwocky said.

“Yes Master.” Shatterstar said.

“Kiss Kyle for me.” The Jabberwocky said.

“Yes Master.”

Kyle helplessly stood as Shatterstar walked over to him and kissed him on the lips. With surprise, he felt a sudden surge of energy come from him as power seemed to be drained from Shatterstar and given to Kyle. Shatterstar promptly passed out on the floor. He could feel power course through him, like nothing he had ever felt before. This was very different than his technopathic powers.

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, did gyre and gimble in the wabe. All mimsy were the borogoves and the mome raths outgrabe.” The Jabberwocky said, he nodded to the unconscious Shatterstar on the ground. “have fun with her.”

Then the Jabberwocky, in a surge of energy, disappeared in a flash of light. Kyle slumped to the ground, no longer under the influence of his power, picking up the sword he had formed out of the TV and transformed it into hand and feet shackles for Shatterstar. He took a deep breath, and then suddenly it dawned on him. He rushed over to Gwen, placing his head on her chest. It was silent. Her skin had gone cold. No breath escaped her lips. She was gone. Kyle took steps back from the couch and let out a roar of agony, a burst of energy erupting around him. The wall around him were destroyed, the ceiling completely gone, the room was in tatters, most it destroyed, melted, or charred by his outburst of energy. Kyle slumped to the ground on his knees, when what was left of the door burst open. Two female voices cried out, both incredibly recognizable.

“Kyle! What’s wrong?!” Tone cried out.

“Master what’s wrong?!” Nastia wailed.

He didn’t say a word.

* * *

They held the funeral later that week. A small private ceremony with few attendees. They had tried to contact Gwen’s daughters, but to no avail. They hadn’t answered the numbers they had called. A local priest from the nearby church said some words. Kyle never cried the entire time. He refused to give the eulogy. He refused to speak at her funeral. He refused to speak in general. Tone had heard him speak a few sentences worth of words at most since Hack and her had arrived at Snow Manor. She could understand a small part of what he was feeling. Gwen had been a dear friend. A shield-sister in battle, a friend off of it. She had brought her into the fold of the Azrael, kept her safe when she first arrived on Earth, been a mentor and friend. She hadn’t seen the girl for seven years and Hack and her had always pondered the possibility of her death since they hadn’t been contacted.

In that way she didn’t understand Kyle’s situation. He had just come through the time gate only to realize that his girlfriend was more than half a century older and as soon as he got to see her, she was brutally murdered in front of his eyes. She could see him, she knew him well enough to see him truly. The experience hadn’t broken him, not yet, but by Odin had it come close. He needed the time to mourn.

As they drove away from the funeral, Kyle approached Tone and Hack.

“Come back to the manor with me.”

The two of them didn’t argue. They rode back to the manor with Kyle in silence. Upon arrival. They left the cars behind. Three days passed. Tone and Hack held hushed conversations throughout the house. They made food and left some out for Kyle. He barely ate, though his food was touched at times, if only just. He never spoke to them, never left Gwen’s room. It rained all three days they were there but Kyle never left. He just sat in there in silence in the room that was missing a wall and roof. Kyle barely seemed to notice.

Finally on the third day, he came out. Tone was washing dishes and cooking stew in the kitchen once again, just like seven years before. He walked in.

“What are you making?” He asked. “Smells divine.”

He had said the same phrase, but this time with no happiness. It was a poor attempt at humor, but it was immensely better than the lack of words that Kyle had said of the past few days. It was enough to give Tone a little hope.

“It’s a stew I made back in Asgard and Yggdrasil.” Tone said, trying to recreate the conversation they had seven years ago back in another time.

He moved behind her and put his arm on her shoulder. “I’ve already spoken to Hack, now it’s your turn.”

“Ok. Sure. That’s fine. What do you want to talk about?” Tone said, nervously.

“I’ve gotten the history on what happened here from Hack. Can I tell you what happened from my end?”

“Of course.” Tone said, relief washing over her. She couldn’t pinpoint what was making her so tense, but the fear was gone now.

So he told her everything and she listened with rapt attention. He told her about the time gate, Nigel’s death, and then the enslavement of Nastia in order to protect her and save himself. Then he told her about Urdabrunn and the Norns and the items he had been gifted. Tone immediately wanted to ask questions of the Norns and the fabled well, but she respected Kyle enough to hear him out before she interjected. He told her that they were not in a different time, but an alternate dimension. Many of the people they knew did not exist in this world because of this, and many would not actually exist. He then explained being contacted by Gwen, heading over, and being attacked by The Jabberwocky and Shatterstar. Once he was finished, she asked about Nastia and Shatterstar and what he planned to do with them. He said he hadn’t touched Nastia or Shatterstar yet, only allowing Nastia to massage him, while Shatterstar he fed and took care of enough to survive.

“I’m sorry Kyle.” She said finally, “This has been difficult I’m sure.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.” He replied. “How has life been here?”

“Boring really. Something was blocking me and Hack from using our powers. We never really questioned it. But we haven’t used them since. I’ve been modeling around the city and Hack’s been working for the government. It’s been a long wait. A long wait for this.” Tone replied dejectedly. “How are you doing?”

“Terrible.” Kyle replied matter of factly. “Absolutely terrible. But I’ll move on. Gwen, she’d of wanted that.”

“Yeah she would have.”

“There were letters in her library. She had written them to me like a journal. She moved on because she thought she’d never see me again. She’d hoped that I would too. When I arrived here, she wrote her last journal entry, a last will. Completely unbinding, but she wanted me to move on. She was already dying of old age.”

Tone drew him slowly, unsure of herself, into a hug. He hugged her back softly.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a recluse these past few days.” He said.

“Oh no please. It’s ok. You’ve needed the time.”

“There’s one last thing.” He said, looking her straight in the eye, “The Jabberwocky, he changed me.”

“Changed you?”

“He messed with my head. I can tell. Me and Gwen did a ton of psychic defense training, more than you guys ever did. I know how to explore my mind to the full and somethings different. My…reservations about killing, fighting, doing what it takes to survive…all gone. Heightened even. I’m ruthless now.”

“Really?”

“Yes. To be honest it scares me.” Kyle said, “Hack said I’d better talk to you.”

Tone looked at him. He really was a good man. Even with this, she knew that he was coming to her because he wanted to not give in to the beast nature that was now inside of him, his ruthlessness as he put it. She gathered her thoughts then spoke.

“I do not approve of less than noble ways of fighting. Honor is the greatest thing a warrior can have. However, war and fighting…they are by definition, dishonorable things. War is the destruction of others for the gain of yourself, even if that gain is to protect your own people. Fighting is the same. This is not honorable, but it is necessary sometimes. Fighting, killing, ruthlessness, for some it is something that they resort to in war. Do I follow that path? No I choose not to. Yet for others I cannot judge them or think lesser of them for doing so. If this is your path, so be it. But do not forget that you always walk the line between honor and disgrace. Light and dark, evil and good, these things are harder to define in this modern world, yet you must if you are to use your powers to help, to save, to win.” Tone said.

Kyle pondered her words, “Thank you.” He finally said.

He gave her a hug once again. “You’ve grown so much.” He said. “It’s uncanny really. One second you’re sixteen, the next you’re my age. Where does the time go?”

“All time goes through Urdabrunn.” Tone said, “We lost some there.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” Kyle said. “Thanks Tone. I’m so glad you’re here.”

The feeling of him against her, their skin touching ever so slightly, it made her feel so secure, it was so right. But she shook off those feelings. This was no time to take advantage of Kyle’s mental state. He had just been through a horrible tragedy. Had she been younger, she might not have been so restrained. Tone broke the hug off and looked at him.

“Kyle. Theres another thing. We called in a favor to find you. Jason and I, we met this man named Mesher. He gave us your location in return for a favor.”

“What favor?”

“He wanted us to retrieve a hoodie for him.”

“Where is this hoodie?”

“I have no idea.” Tone realized.

“I do.” Hack said entering the room, “I just received a message from a Mesher. Hoodie’s in the possession of a Lodestone holed up in River City. She’s got the hoodie in the warehouse district guarded by some flunkies.”

“That’s my job then. I’ll get your hoodie.” Kyle said.

* * *

Bethany Von Hoffe was calm now. She had a chance to look around the room. Sparse conditions to say the least. A handleless door that presumably slid open, metallic walls a toilet and sink and a single bed to sleep in with a small blanket, cot, and pillow. There were no windows and the room looked old and sort of rusted over.

Getting yanked from your world? Millions of people you felt responsible for dying and enslaved? Gwen dying? Damn. This kids had it rough. I feel sorry for him. He’s still so strong in spite of it all.

Bethany walked over to Kyle and gave him a hug. For a moment they forgot they were naked and they just held each other as tears welled up in Kyle’s eyes.

“Kyle, I’m so sorry.” She said resting her head against his chest.

They stayed like that for awhile before they eventually realized that they were indeed naked and they awkwardly parted. Kyle wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke,

“There’s more of course.”

“Sorry, yeah you should continue.”