The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“Pfft! Pfft! Ugh... okay... that... sucked...” I spat, shaking my head, and brushing myself off. I was covered in sand. Wet sand. Not surprising in and of itself, since the unknown intruder that had just emerged had threatened to bury us all. Frankly, being a vampire, being buried wasn’t really THAT big of a deal, though I’m pretty sure everyone else in the crowd would have been in big trouble.

No... what was unexpected was the sudden and timely arrival of my two best friends! And that huge wall of sand had been disrupted and blasted away by an equally tall wave of water.

“Sorry, but I told you before,” Splash stated, stepping forward, clad in her hero costume, “we’re not going to let you destroy anyone!”

“Yeah, what she said,” Sunbeam added, smirking, stepping forward as well, in her hero costume as well. “We don’t want to fight a, er, fellow elemental,” she managed, somehow not trolling her eyes, “but you’re not giving us much choice.”

Elemental? Oooookay. Apparently, there was a story here that I wasn’t in the loop for. “Hey, guys... good to see ya,” I called out, waving. “Everything okay? Need some help?”

“Nah, we’re good,” Splash replied with a wink, sending a blast of water at the infuriated sand-controlling woman, knocking her off her feet. “So where have ya been, Gwen? We were kind of getting worried.”

“I could say the same about you two,” I shouted back. “I was planning to go looking for you once all this settled down a bit. As for, where I was... I had a bit of a situation,” I said, gesturing to the monitors, and the crowd of screaming people all running for cover.

“Yeah, we had a bit of a situation as well,” Sunbeam replied, smirking, letting loose an energy blast, catching the sand conjurer from behind as she tried to stand back up. “You should take care of yours, while we handle this. We’ll meet up and compare notes later. ’Kay?”

“Sounds good,” I answered with a grin, turning to head back to the hotel. “You go, girls! You got this!”

Things were kind of a mess. Seems the rumors about some sand demon or something terrorizing beachgoers were more than just a rumor after all. I really wanted to hear more about all of this... once it was over. But for the moment, I had something important to do. Tapping into a bit of my vampire strength, I sprinted, zipping across the ground in a flash. No way was I letting my target escape...

The woman growled loudly, as she sat up, slowly picking herself back up off the sand. the two heroines simply nodded, powers charged and at the ready. “So, had enough yet?” Splash asked, head tilted quizzically. “About ready to give up on your revenge plot? If not, we can do this all day.”

Grumbling, shaking out her soaking wet hair, she glared at the dark-skinned girl. “You... you... how DARE you attack me?” she growled, furiously. “You both dare to strike me down with your powers in the pursuit of my righteous justice?”

“Hey, killing a bunch of innocent people is the OPPOSITE of justice,” Sunbeam pointed out. “And you attacked us first by dumping us in that cave!” She frowned, crossing her arms. “And by the way, our names are Sunbeam, and Splash,” she added, pointing to her and her partner, respectively. “It’s usually good manners to introduce yourself to the person you’re waging war against.”

“Hmph. Very well. My name is Silconia,” the woman responded, gesturing idly, as sand began to pool and gather around her feet.

“Huh. Silicona, huh?” Tina replied. “I guess that tracks, considering you control sand—”

“NO!” the woman interrupted. “My name is Silconia! ‘Sill-Kahn-Yah’! Say it correctly!” She scowled, shaking her head. “And yes, while I did indeed banish you both to the caverns underneath this area, it was for your benefit, so that we would not be forced to engage in battle against each other.” Her expression darkened, and the ground began to shake once again. “But you have forced the issue. You have forced my hand. In defending these vermin, you have chosen to stand against me as my enemies. And I show my enemies NOT MERCY!”

“Whhoaaa!!” Sunbeam yelped, flailing wildly as the ground beneath her feet suddenly became fluid, causing her and Splash to begin sinking into what had effectively become quicksand. “H-hey! No fair!” she yelled, struggling, trying to find purchase, only to sink deeper, up to her waist. “Shiiiit! Can’t... get a grip... on anything! Splash... we’re in trouble here!”

“Y-yeah... I noticed,” the dark-skinned heroine managed, struggling to keep her head above the sand. “Damn... can’t do much about this either... trying to gather water to disperse the sand... only making it worse...” She shook her head, wildly, sinking a few more inches. “Damn... kinda wish we’d asked Gwen to stay... could really use some help about now...”

WWWHHHHHOOOOOOSSSSHHHH!!

Silconia frowned, blinking as a sudden blast of wind swept by, only to yelp a second later as she was buffeted away, sent sprawling across the sand to land flat on her back. Stunned, she glanced up to find yet another strangely garbed, white-haired woman standing nearby, along with the other two, somehow safely removed from her pitfall trap. “Wh... what? What is this? Who are you?” she demanded.

The newcomer giggled. “Who me? Just your friendly neighborhood heroine, saving her fellow heroines and laying the smackdown on the bad guy. Or bad ‘girl’ in this case. Speaking of which,” she said, extending her arms outward, before swirling them rapidly, a virtual blur of motion. Silconia yelped again as the motion kicked up a blistering windstorm, sending her flying back yet again. Glancing back to the other sand-coated heroine, she quickly dusted them off with a much lighter and gentler wind blast. “Hey. You guys okay?” she asked.

Tina groaned, shaking her head, brushing sand out of her face and hair. “F-flutter? Is that you?” she asked, blinking in surprise. “Not that I don’t appreciate the save, but... what the heck are you doing here?”

The white-haired girl shrugged. “Same as you two, I’d guess. I came here for a bit of R&R, you know, a little vacation. I was actually in the audience watching the bikini contest when all hell started breaking loose. I was just wondering if I should intervene when suddenly you two showed up and started kicking butt! Then, well, she-turned-the-tables-on-you, so-I-figured-I-should-probably-help-out—so-I-ran-back-to-my-room, switched-into-my-costume, and-hurried-back-here-just-in-time toscoopyoubothupoutofthequicksandandgiveMsSiliconBitchanicewhallop!”

Janika blinked, trying to discern the young woman’s words. She’d been talking abnormally fast all the while, but in the end, her words had started to kind of run together. “Um... okay,” she said, glancing at her partner. “I take it this is a friend of yours, babe?”

Tina grinned back. “Yeah. Flutter’s a speedster if that wasn’t obvious already, and an old friend from Midas City. We actually grew up in the same neighborhood.” Glancing at the newcomer, she smiled. “Good to see you again, by the way. I’ve been meaning to drop by Midas again and catch up, but we’ve been kinda busy lately.”

Flutter nodded. “Yeah-its-no-problem-I-know-what-that’s-like,” she replied, before frowning, glancing back down the beach. “Huh. Well I kinda figured-she-wouldn’t-go-down-that-easily,” she remarked, “but it looks-like-the-sand-witch-isbackupandcomingbackforoundtwo!”

Indeed, Silconia had regained her footing and had come back with a vengeance. As she walked, the sand around her seemed to merge with her body, surrounding her like a suit of armor that grew steadily, becoming larger and taller with each step. As the heroines stared in shock, she let out a loud cry, towering above them at easily twelve feet tall. “I will bury you all!” she announced, swinging a huge sand-covered fist down towards them.

“Scatter!” Sunbeam yelled, dodging and rolling out of the way as the huge hand struck the ground with enough force to cause a small tremor. Grunting, she fired back, unleashing a Sunbolt, striking the sand golem square in the chest... to no avail. The small damage done faded immediately as a new wave of sand swept in, filling the hole. Across from her, Splash let loose as well, sending a deluge of seawater at the golem. The water had a noticeably stronger effect, washing away a lot of sand... but like before, new sand moved in almost immediately to replace what was lost.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit,” Flutter grunted aloud, blasting the sand monster with wind blasts, scurrying across the beach in a blur, seeming to strike for multiple locations at once. “Why! Won’t! You! Fall!” she yelled, letting loose with her strongest blast, buffeting the sand golem for several seconds, before dropping to her knees, panting. Unfortunately, as before, all of the sand disrupted and blown away merely returned, reforming back in mere seconds, undoing all the damage. “Oh... crap!” she yelled, getting back to her feet, sprinting off just in time to avoid a massive foot crashing down on where she’d been kneeling a moment earlier.

“Okay... I think we need a new strategy,” Sunbeam said as the trio rallied once again. “No matter what we throw at her, it has no real effect. We’re getting tired and worn down, while she just keeps coming.”

“Huh. I got nothing,” Tina replied, musing. “It’s too bad we don’t have someone with a fire ability. Between the earth, wind, and water, all we’re missing is fire to call Captain Planet.”

“Hey! I’m LIGHT, not heart,” Sunbeam replied with a smirk. “So we’d still be out of luck.”

“You know, it’s too bad Heart of Gold didn’t come on vacation with me,” Flutter interjected, “but she’s still in Midas. I bet she would have fit the bill nicely. And, sorry, I don’t know any fire people, personally, though-I-do-think-Ember-would-work, then-we-really-would-have-all-the-elements-represented...”

“Look out!” Sunbeam yelled, firing off a Lightbolt just as Silconia’s golem swung at them again, blasting apart the massive fist, showering them lightly with sand. As expected, it merely reformed back again seconds later. “We can chat about cartoon superheroes later, guys,” she said ruefully, “but for now, we’d better focus on the supervillain we’re facing at the moment. Any ideas?”

“Uhhh... sorry guys. Still, nothing,” Tina said, frustrated. “My water definitely has the strongest effect, but I can’t do enough damage to make a difference! As fast as I wash it away, she just keeps bringing it back. I’d have to practically hit her with the entire ocean to make a dent...”

“Oh! OH! That’s an idea!” Flutter chirped in suddenly. Whirling around, she sent a windblast at the villain, driving back her latest attack before turning back to her friends. “The problem is, she keeps refilling her stock endlessly. As long as she is connected to the ground, she can draw its power back into herself! So-what-we-need-to-do-is-break-her-contact-with-the-ground!”

Sunbeam blinked, the idea clicking into place. “Damn... that’s it! Flutter, you’re a genius!” she said, hugging the white-haired heroine. “Okay! New plan! I draw her fire and distract her... Splash, you sideline her and sweep her legs, while Flutter runs around her in a circle as fast as she can. If you can create a big enough vortex of air and lift her up when Splash sweeps out her legs, we can cut her off from the ground! I’ll keep pelting her with blasts to knock away her golem’s armor, then Splash, you go for the coup de grace!”

The other two heroines nodded. “Sounds like a plan,” Splash agreed with a nod. “You ready, Flutter? This all depends on you.”

The white-and-blue-clad heroine chuckled. “So basically, you just need me to go really fast in a circle right? No problem! Easy peasy!” Grinning, she slid her goggles down over her eyes and took off.

Okay, Janika thought to herself as she stepped forward, powering up her blasts once again. Now for the tricky part—getting Silconia’s attention and NOT getting pounded into the dirt in the process...

Damn! DAMN! GODDAMMIT! Tiffany raged silently, packing up her belongings, throwing everything quickly into a large duffle bag, before gathering up the helmet and laptop she’d taken from Adam, putting them both into a separate metal case. That fucking bitch... she ruined everything! she continued, grabbing the bags, sprinting out of the room and down the stairs to the parking lot. Her black SUV was parked, the trunk open and waiting, as she tossed her bags inside. Grrrr... fine. But I’m not beaten. Not yet. I will need to back off and regroup, but I won’t let her beat me! I can still salvage this plan. I’ll find a way to make it work... and I’ll get my revenge on her and Adam as well!

Grunting, she shut the trunk and slipped into the driver’s seat, glancing briefly into the back, scowling at the group of people seated there. “We’re getting out of here,” she announced gruffly, starting the engine. Slamming the vehicle into reverse, she backed out of the parking lot, then turned, pointing the SUV towards the open road... only to pause, scowling at the person standing in front of the vehicle.

Me.

“Going somewhere, ‘Mistress’?” I asked, taunting her lightly, hands on my hips.

“You,” she growled, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “I wonder... who would win in a fight? A vampire... or ten tons of fast-moving steel!” Slamming her foot on the accelerator, she sent the SUV barreling straight toward me. I blinked in surprise, not expecting that... but planted my feet, and extended my hands out in front of me. I also clenched my eyes closed, knowing that this wasn’t going to be pleasant, regardless of how it ended—

WHAAAMM! THUMP!

“Ugggghhhnnnn!” I grunted, still standing, holding the vehicle steady, the sound and smell of burning rubber obvious as the tires continued to spin relentlessly despite the SUV being stuck in place. Laughing aloud, I gave Tiffany a smirk. “Well... guess now you know who wins that little contest. Want to try another?”

Placing the vehicle in park, Tiffany glanced behind her. “Well? Don’t just sit there? Get outside and get her!” she barked, unlocking the doors. I glanced over, eyebrow rising as the back doors opened, and Misty, Debbie, and a third person I didn’t recognize, all filed out of the van. And, I noted with interest, all of them were carrying weapons, a large lead pipe, a tazer, and, in Debbie’s hands, her trusty Louisville slugger.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” I asked, incredulously, as the three of them converged on me. “Seriously? I just stopped a speeding SUV coming at me with my bare hands... and you plan to attack me with some junk from your toolbox?” Responding in actions instead of words, I ducked as the man with the pipe swung for my head, then dodged to the side as Debbie took a swing with her bat. Which, I have to admit, was admirable in a way. I mean, it would have been way more effective to have splintered the wooden bat and used the pieces as wooden stakes. Still, I had to give her an A for effort—

“Nope!” I stated aloud, shifting suddenly to the side, nimbly dodging the twin tines of Misty the announcer’s little stun gun. “Sorry, I’m not falling for that twice in a row.” Slipping behind her, I grabbed the surprised woman’s arm, and twisted, sending her crashing into the unknown third girl with the pipe. Both women let out a started cry as they collided, and sparks flew, literally as well as figuratively. With them both down for the count, I turned my attention back to Debbs.

“Wow! You’re, like, really good,” she stated, grinning evilly at me, holding her bat at the ready. “But, like, Mistress said to, like, totes, take you down. So, like, that’s what I gotta do.”

I blinked, then smirked, giving her a wicked glance. “Really? That’s what you have to do, hmmm?” I asked tauntingly. “But what you REALLY need to do right now... is remember. To remember something very important that you needed to do.”

Debbie frowned. “R-remember? Huh... now that you... you mention it... there was s... something...” she said, trailing off, her expression going blank, her eyes glazing over. “Yess... I remember now,” she said softly, slowly taking a step back from me. “I... need to ... submit to you... my Mistress,” she announced, dropping down to her knees, and leaning forward to kiss my feet.

Tiffany stared at us in shock. “What? WHAT? Goddamit! Debbie, get up! What the fuck are you doing? You’re supposed to be attacking her!”

“Sorry, Tiff,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m afraid she’s too busy worshipping me at the moment.” I grinned at her expression. “So, confession time. You know how you drugged me and slipped that helmet on my head to brainwash me? Well, during our little Q&A I may have left out a few details. Like the fact that I’m pretty damn resistant to drugs and poisons and such. So, basically, your little serum didn’t work on me.” I chuckled again. “I mean, it DID affect me. Made me nice and tingly, and a little itchy. Maybe if you’d quadrupled the dose, and added some garlic or silver nitrate, then MAYBE you would have gotten a stronger reaction...”

“So... you were just stringing me along all this time,” she growled. “All this time, you were pretending to be my obedient slave. But... why? Obviously, you could have broken free of your chains and overpowered me at any time. Why go through this whole charade.”

“Adam,” I answered with a sigh. “You were holding him hostage somewhere, and I didn’t know where. If he’d been there with me, I would have taken you and Debbie down in a heartbeat, but I couldn’t risk him getting hurt. And then, once you put me with Debbie, to help set up for the big event, I decided to take advantage of the situation and switch your tainted drugs for uncorrupted syrup for the shaved ice stand.” I smirked. “And, as is obvious by now, I managed to get Debbie alone and hypnotize her, putting in a special trigger to let me take control of her when the time was right.” I shrugged. “So... there you have it. It’s over. Your plan failed. Your minions are defeated. You’re all alone. So, are you going to surrender now?”

Possibly a bad choice of words. Tiffany’s expression darkened, with rage pouring off her in waves. “NEVER!” she screamed. “You haven’t beaten me yet,” she declared, reaching down in the truck’s gearbox, taking out...

A gun. Well, shit.

Okay. In the grand scheme of things, a gun wasn’t a major threat. Hell, an energy weapon or photonic blaster wouldn’t really do any lasting damage. I heal from pretty much anything. And, by the by, I’d been shot before. Straight through the heart. Painful? Yes. Annoying? Very. Fatal? Heh, not at all. Bottom line, Tiffany pulling a gun and pointing it at my face wasn’t that serious a threat. It was, at best, an annoyance.

But, well, I was already annoyed. And I wasn’t in the mood to get shot today.

With a grunt, I grabbed the front bumper of the SUV and pulled, lifting the front end of the vehicle up over my head. I took a moment to enjoy Tiff’s hysterical screaming inside the truck before casually releasing it, and letting it drop back down to the ground. The suspension failed, the tires basically exploded, and the entire thing shook wildly for a few seconds before collapsing, with the engine block dropping out from the bottom. I peered inside, ready to make a quip about her vehicle and the auto club, only to find dear Tiffany unconscious. Apparently sitting inside a vehicle and getting knocked around like a pinball tends to do that.

“Holy shit,” a familiar voice muttered, causing me to turn. My little buddy Adam had finally caught up to me. “You benchpressed an SUV. That was epic!” he announced.

“Well, I didn’t exactly benchpress it,” I admitted, “just kind of lifted the front end and dropped it back down. I guess I could have bench-pressed it,” I added, smirking, “but I’ve been having back problems lately, and my doctor advised against lifting more than five thousand pounds without a back brace.” Adam chuckled.

“Well, looks like you have this whole mess wrapped up,” he stated, glancing at the unconscious bodies, wincing slightly at the sight of the entranced Debbie still kneeling and licking my bare feet. “So, er... what happens next?”

I sighed, waving Debbie off. “Well, now we do a bit of cleanup. We get these guys tied up nice and neat, then contact the police—” I said, pausing as a familiar sound registered in my enhanced hearing. “Scratch that. Someone else already called them. Sounds like they’re probably five or ten minutes out.”

“Huh? You can... actually hear them coming from that far away?” he asked, dubiously.

I shrugged. “In this business, you get pretty acquainted with the sound of police sirens. And yeah, I can hear that far out.” Turning back to the damaged SUV, I pulled the driver’s side door... then sighing, ripped it off instead, tossing it aside. “Come on. Let’s get sleeping beauty and the others taken care of. I need to finish up here and check in with my friends...”

“Uggghnn!” Janika groaned as she fell, hard, reflexively rolling into a crouch. “Dammit... I can’t keep this up much longer,” she grunted, forcing herself back to her feet, sprinting off just as Silconia leveled another attack her way. Dodging again, she ran forward, only to skid to a stop, barely avoiding a line of sharp-looking spikes of hardened sand springing up from the ground in front of her. “Shit! Someone’s getting creative,” she remarked, turning around and letting loose a charged Lightbolt, blasting apart the massive fist swinging at her yet again, only to sigh inwardly as it reformed almost as quickly. Turning to run again, she gasped, finding her legs held, her big thick boots mired in the sand now as tough and unyielding as concrete. “Uh oh! She’s got me!” Sunbeam yelled out in a mild state of panic. “If you guys are going to do something,” she added as Silconia’s massive fist raised up above her head once again, “now would be the perfect time!!”

“No problem! I gotcha!” Flutter called out, zipping in, snatching Sunbeam up and dragging her away at the last moment, depositing her several yards away before streaking back towards the sand creature once more. All in the blink of an eye. Jan frowned, glancing down at the sensation of her bare feet on the sand, only then noticing that the speedster had literally lifted her up out of her boots!

For her part, Flutter was pushing her limits. Departing briefly, she left the fight, heading back several miles upwind, giving herself a running start and a chance to build up momentum. Her career as a heroine in Midas City had been a brief one, fairly uneventful, aside from stopping a few robberies here and there. Unlike some of the other more famous heroes, she actually preferred being a ‘friendly neighborhood hero’, looking after her neighborhood and the surrounding areas, simply going where needed, zipping in and out usually before the person she’d save or the criminal she’d beaten even realized she was there. Basically, she was fast. She ran fast, moved fast, and even talked fast. But this was really her first major battle against a powerful supervillain. And she was more than a little nervous.

She’s actually wavered a bit, retreated from the action, considering whether or not to stay out of it... to try and find someone else to help. Someone better suited for this kind of fight. But... Tina was her friend. And as nervous as she was, she couldn’t leave a friend behind. And then... then she’d heard Janika’s cry for help... and before she’d even realized it, she was sprinting across the ground, streaking along, her body a barely recognized blur.

Heh. It’s just like they say, she mused silently, as she looped into a wide circle around the golem, spinning faster and faster, kicking up a powerful wind. When you have a true hero moment, you won’t have time to think or worry. You’ll just act on instinct. Well, here’s one for going on instinct! I’m giving it everything I’ve got, Sandy!

Silconia yelled, feeling her body shuddering, pulled upwards by the tornado-force winds. Realizing what was happening, she reached out with her power, seeking to anchor herself to the ground... only to cry out in alarm again, as the third member of the team struck. Splash, waiting near the edge of the water, sent a focused and concentrated blast of water at her base, knocking her legs out from underneath her. Flailing, the sane elemental found herself lifting up, her powers weakening from the loss of contact with the ground. Helpless, she began to spin, turning wildly over and over in the air, her precious sand being slowly stripped away by the force of the winds.

“It’s working, guys!” Sunbeam yelled out, panting heavily, making her way back over to the group. “We’re doing it. Keep it up!” she yelled, even as she began powering up once again. She was seriously running on fumes now, her body sore and aching, her reserves nearly depleted, her empty stomach protesting loudly all the while. Nevertheless, she pushed on, seeing the end in sight. With a loud cry, she fired, striking the helpless Silconia directly, just as Splash let loose with a final deluge of ocean water. Unable to deflect or absorb the blasts, the villain let out a loud cry, tumbling wildly as her sand was blown clear. And as Flutter finally skidded to a halt, panting in exhaustion, Silconia found herself dropping back down to the ground, landing in the surf, her battered and bruised form bathed in the warm ocean waters.

The heroines let out a tired cheer. “Yeah! Way to go team,” Tina replied, smiling wanly before turning back to the villainess. “So... Silconia? Feel like surrendering now? We’ve got you right where we want you. Do yourself a favor and just give it up, all right?”

Groaning, struggling to sit up, the dark-haired woman let out a resigned sigh. “Very... well...” she managed, hanging her head. “I am... beaten. You have defeated me. Therefore... I yield.” She closed her eyes, throwing open her arms. “Go ahead. End my life. Slay me, and take your vengeance... I only ask that you be merciful and make it a quick end.”

“Wait, what? No! No way!” Splash protested in shock. “Listen, Silconia. Get this straight right now—we don’t kill. Ever! Heroes help people and protect them. And we fight those that try to hurt them. But we don’t kill, certainly not in cold blood.” She sighed. “Heck, the whole reason we were fighting you was that you were trying to kill all those people.”

Silconia looked at her, confusion evident on her face. “But... but I am your enemy! I fought you and was bested. What will you do, if not take my life?”

“We have something called the justice system,” Sunbeam answered. “Basically it listens to disputes such as the one we just had, or say, the dispute with you and the hotel over your land. A judge listens to all sides and makes a ruling, and both parties abide by his decision.”

Silconia nodded softly. “That... seems a fair and equitable solution,” she conceded. “Further, as the defeated, I truly have no say in how you choose to dispense punishment.” She sighed, hanging her head. “Very well, I shall submit myself to your judgment. Do with me as you see fit.”

A decision was all too timely. Moments later the police finally arrived on the scene, and in force. Called by the fleeing beach patrons, the officers were understandably confused. Conflicting accounts about what was going on, two separate incidents, and two individual villains naturally took a bit of explaining. Fortunately, between the three of them, the heroines were able to help the police straighten out the mess.

At this point, I was able to meet up with the group and interject my portion as well. In the end, both Silconia the sand elemental, and Tiffany Coleman, the evil mind controller, were hauled away. I have to admit, I did feel a bit torn about Tiff, as it seemed Jan and Tina felt kind of bad about their sand demon. Granted, both of them were villains and had committed some pretty serious acts. But in both cases, there were unusual circumstances. In the end, Tiffany herself was as much a victim as the people she brainwashed. And apparently, Silconia was a victim of sorts as well, lashing out against those who had violated her borders and invaded her property...

Doesn’t excuse what they did, of course. But... it did make us feel kind of bad for them both.

We all discussed this during dinner back at the hotel, in our private room. We’d invited Flutter along, as well as her lovely young friend, Donna, whom she’d vacationed with. A bit later, Adam stopped by as well; I’d called him earlier, checking on details about what had happened with Tiffany after her arrest, and he’d agreed to stop by. And so we all sat and talked, while Tina, Jan, and their new friend, Beth, stuffed their faces. Not that I could blame them—going nearly twenty-four hours without food, then fighting a major battle would definitely ramp up a person’s appetite. Luckily, our dear friend Katie was, once again, footing the bill, so we put room service to the test!

Hey, if you can’t mooch off your billionaire friend’s daughter, who CAN you mooch off of?

“So, ah, like I was saying,” Adam continued, pushing aside his empty tray, “things are actually looking up. I spoke to the police, and the public defender assigned to Tiffany’s case, and explained the situation as best I could. They called in a couple of doctors, and they confirmed what I was saying—that Tiffany was mentally unbalanced. Instead of jail, they had her shipped to a mental ward instead.” He sighed softly. “So, that’s a good starting point at least. I’m pretty sure after their evaluation, and my testimony, she won’t be facing any actual jail time.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” I commented, sipping lightly from my Bloody Mary. Heh. Emphasis on the blood. All that sun had drained me quite a bit, and I’d nearly depleted the stash I’d brought with me from River City. “Do you think they’ll be able to help her?”

“I kind of doubt it,” he stated, shrugging. “You know yourself just how far gone she was. Even when they brought her in, she was struggling and fighting in her restraints, trying to get loose, yelling that she wasn’t beaten, that she wouldn’t let them get the best of her.” He sighed. “I’m hoping that after they finish evaluating her, they’ll agree to let me try my machine on her again. I’m... really hoping I get the chance to fix what’s wrong...”

I nodded at that. Frankly, I was rooting for the guy. When they’d taken Tiffany away, kicking and screaming, the guy had been an emotional wreck as well. When questioned, he’d confessed fully to his part in things, as the owner of the device Tiff had attempted to brainwash the crowd with. At first, the police wanted to charge HIM as an accomplice, and lock him up along with Tiff. Luckily, he’d made a point to document his earlier attempts to contact the police and warn them what Tiff was planning. They had, of course, dismissed him, labeling him as a conspiracy nut, and brushing off his concerns. When faced with evidence of their own incompetence in the matter, the police wisely decided to drop the matter.

“Mmmmm,” Tina chimed in, swallowing after basically devouring a chicken drumstick, “personally, I hope they let you help her. What happened... urk... mmm...” she said, pausing to drain her glass of Diet Coke before continuing, “was just a tragedy all the way ’round. She was a victim of bad circumstances.”

“Oh, yeah, speaking of which,” I asked, curious, “how did that thing with YOUR villain turn out? You know, the Silicon lady?”

“It’s Silconia,” Jan, Tina, and Beth all replied simultaneously, before giggling. “Sorry,” Jan replied, “she kind of browbeat us over getting her name right during the battle, and it kind of stuck.” Sighing in contentment, she pushed aside her own empty plate. “It’s still too soon to tell how things will turn out, but I think she’s looking good as well. We talked with her public defender and gave him the rundown. Basically, it boils down to the fact that she legally owns the part of the beach that those kids kept trespassing over. Yeah, her response was kind of extreme, but she was, in essence, defending her home.”

“Yeah, and it seems she was even able to provide documentation to back that up,” Beth chimed in. “Crazy as it sounds, Ms. Silconia is really as old-as-she-claims, a-literal-centuries-old-elemental! That’s-like-crazy-ya-know? Someonethatoldthatstilllooksthatyoungandhot—”

“Sweetie, you’re doing it again,” Donna chided her gently, patting her arm. “Slow down, and take your time, okay?” Blushing, Beth nodded.

“Sorry. I tend to get a bit carried away sometimes. Anyhow, she had a copy of the original agreement with the owner of the previous hotel from back in the fifties. It seems there used to be a big wooden fence and sign surrounding that area proclaiming ‘No Trespassing’, but I guess the wind and water and time pretty much eroded it away to nothing.”

Tina nodded. “If nothing else, she has a good leg to stand on. And, it certainly helps that there despite her temper tantrums, no one was really hurt or killed.”

“Hey, what about that Aussie surfer guy,” I asked, “the one that took away to the hospital? Aaaron? Ike?”

“Eric,” Jan clarified. “And yeah, he actually recovered. It was kind of touch and go for a bit, but he actually woke up from his coma about midday yesterday. And aside from a lot of bruising and strained and sprained joints from being tossed around, there was no lasting damage.”

Damn. I’d glanced over at the guy when the ambulance was hauling him away, and I’d have to call that a miracle. Seriously, the guy had looked a bit like death warmed over... an expression I was personally all too familiar with. It was good that he recovered, though. Both for his sake and for the sand witch’s as well. It looked like despite everything that happened, everyone was heading toward a happy ending.

“Well, I’d better get going,” Adam said, standing up. “I have a few more stops to make before I head in for the night.”

“Oh? Where are you off too?” I asked, curious.

“I need to track down some people,” he said with a sigh. “Namely, Debbie, Misty, and Ms. Robins, the actual owner of Brain Freeze.” Ah, right. The people that Tiff had brainwashed into acting as her obedient minions. So Robin was the third unknown woman with the lead pipe... “I’m going to see if I can persuade them to let me undo Tiffany’s brainwashing on them. Assuming she didn’t leave any commands to resist being helped, I mean.”

“I see. Well, that’s really responsible of you to take that on yourself,” I told him. “You’re a good guy, Adam. I hope we get to see you again before we head out tomorrow.”

“Huh? You’re leaving tomorrow?” he asked, blinking in surprise. I shrugged.

“Yeah, this was just a little mini-vacation, just a weekend-long stay. We have to pack up and head out tomorrow afternoon.”

“Oh, really? Dang... that’s a bummer,” Beth replied softly. “And here we just all got together. I really wish I’d known you-guys-were-here-so-we-could-have-met-up-sooner!” We all chuckled, the white-haired speedster blushing, catching herself speeding up again. It was a pretty adorable trait. I can see why she took ‘Flutter’ as her hero name.

“Don’t worry, Beth,” Tina assured her. “We’ll see you and Donna again pretty soon. We were actually planning to visit Midas City again in the next few weeks anyway. I really need to stop by and say hi to my folks, and just, yanno, chill back at the ol’ homestead for a bit.” She smirked. “Besides, after all the craziness of River City, a bit of Midas City hijinks might be a fun little change of pace!” We all chuckled at that again.

Soon enough, the food and conversation all drew to a halt. We bid our new friends goodbye, then began packing up, preparing to head out to the airport tomorrow. A nice steamy group shower lead to a nice steamy three-way in bed, followed by a lot of pleasure and satisfaction for everyone involved. Bedding down, I finally closed my eyes, snuggling with my two lovers on each side of me.

And thus, our little adventure in Miami Beach drew to an end. Early the next day, Tina and Janika departed to get some last-minute fun at the beach. And while they splashed around and swam in the ocean, I reacquainted myself with my lover, my soulmate, my dearest one—the in-room jacuzzi! Bliss enveloped me, and the stress and problems of the day before simply melted away...

“Gwen?”

“Hello? Earth to Gwen? You there, sweetie?”

...only to, unfortunately, come back as reality finally returned. Opening my eyes, I let out a mournful sigh at the sight of my two lovely friends back from their little excursion. “Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, forcing myself out of the hot tub. “I guess it’s time to go, huh?”

“’Fraid so,” Jan replied with a smirk. “Time’s up. You know the saying, nothing lasts forever. But don’t worry, we can always come back again some time—”

“Oh HELL no!” I retorted, making my way to the bathroom, and grabbing a towel. “Three days roasting in this giant oven was enough to last me a lifetime!” Smirking, I quickly dried off, then dressed, preparing for the trip to the airport. “Besides, if we’re just going to get in crazy battles with villains and criminals, we might as well stay home in River City.”

“Oh come on,” Tina replied, hands on her hips. “Surely you don’t think this kind of thing would happen again, do you? This was just a fluke, a one-time incident.”

“Yeah, right,” I muttered, tying my shoes before standing up again, fully dressed. “We’re magnets for these kinds of things. And, you were planning to take a trip to Midas City in two weeks? A city that has even more mind-controlling criminals per square block than our own?” I smirked. “Yeah, wanna make a bet on how long we’ll be there before we have another ‘unusual encounter’?” Jan and Tina glanced at each other, but neither of them bothered to dispute my claim.

Which actually spoke volumes. I mean, I’d never been to The City of a Thousand Supers personally, so all I knew about the place were the rumors, and the stories Tina and Jan told of their time going to school there. Still, my earlier desire to visit and perhaps meet some of the heroines I’d heard about remained strong. Even if I was risking having my brain tied and twisted like a pretzel...

Exiting the hotel a short while later, we found one last little surprise. Adam, Beth, and Donna were waiting to see us off. It was a touching sentiment. Best of all, we got a brief but detailed update on recent events. For one thing, Adam managed to track down all three of Tiff’s victims, and while Robin and Misty both declined his help, Debbie accepted his offer. And while his machine hadn’t completely restored her to genius University Professor status, it had removed Tiffany’s absolute control over her, abolished her incessant sexual cravings, and raised her intelligence close to what it had been originally.

“Yeah, it’s really promising,” Adam said, rubbing the back of his head idly. “It’s not a perfect solution by any means. I’m no psychiatrist, so my technique is far from perfect. But the fact that Debbie is pretty much back to her old self means it’s very likely that I can do the same with Tiff... provided the doctors agree to let me try.”

“Well, here’s hoping you get the chance,” I said sincerely. I gave the kid a smile. “You know, Adam, you’re a pretty amazing guy. I haven’t met a guy as dedicated and devoted to helping people as you in a long time. I’m really glad to have met you.”

“Heh. I feel the same way, Gwen,” he replied blushing lightly. “Seriously. I was only able to do any of this because of you.” He stepped forward as if moving in to hug me... only to blink in surprise as I leaned forward instead, giving him a brief but definite kiss. On the lips. He stepped back blushing deeply now, eyes wide in shock. I chuckled at his expression.

“A hug? C’mon, dude. After all we’ve been through, you can do better than that,” I said teasingly. “And don’t worry,” I added with a wink. “I won’t tell your girlfriend about the kiss.”

Things with Ms. Silconia had also progressed more. Things were still in the negotiation stage, but it seemed that the hotel chain was looking to settle out of court. It made sense if you thought about it. Miami Beach was a major vacation spot and did big business. Any negative talk or rumors about the Faena hotel would adversely affect their profit margins. In the end, it was easier to make a deal and cater to Silconia’s demands rather than enter into a long drawn-out legal battle and risk the bad press that would go along with it.

“Well, good for her,” Beth commented, nodding. “I was really rooting for her.”

“Think we should pay her a visit before we take off?” Tina asked.

“Nah,” Jan answered, shaking her head. “I think she’s made it pretty clear. All she wants is her privacy, to be able to rest and relax in peace.”

I agreed with that. From everything I’d been told, she was likely to get upset and irate at them attempting to visit just to say goodbye.

Speaking of which... we said our goodbyes to our new friends, then loaded up into the airport shuttle. Glancing back out the window, we gave the beach one last look before it faded from view. I hated to admit it, but I’d actually had an okay time. Yeah, I could have done without the burning sun and the crazed psycho mind controller kidnapping me... and the girls obviously could have done without getting tossed into an underground cave, left to starve, then fighting a major battle against a sand elemental. Despite that, I think we had a rather enjoyable visit.

Still, it occurred to me as we drove along the highway, that we were only on this trip at all because it was gifted to us by Katie Frasier. It had meant to be HER vacation, but an unexpected development had prevented her from coming. At the time, I’d thought it was simply ‘bad luck’ for her, and a bit of good luck for us, being able to take advantage of the situation. Now, I was thinking it was just the opposite! Maybe it was blondie’s good luck taking effect that caused her not to come here! The thought gave me a shudder.

“Gwen? You okay?” Tina asked, glancing over at me.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said with a sigh. “But I’ve made a decision. The next time Katie offers you guys a free trip somewhere because something came up and she had to cancel? Do me a favor and turn her down.”