The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Light and Shadows 11: Taming the Darkness Within

by J. Darksong & Gbrn32e

* * *
You can’t kill me, I am living inside you.
I am a part of your existence
Twisted thoughts in a twisted mind
Provoking you
Black is my heart—dark is my soul
My hatred I can not control
Evil seed growing stronger
Your freewill... Dying!
Heart of Darkness, by Arch Enemy

Prologue:

Green and scarlet lightning flashed across the midnight sky, adding their colors to the nearly kaleidoscopic view as the raging fires in the background gave the indigo night an orange pallor. Several weary and worn Supers stood atop the cracked and wrecked husk of what had once been the Grimalde Towers, panting, bleeding, but determined. Some were heroes, some were villains, but all had one goal in mind—to stop the madman that stood before them at all costs.

“Darklight... please... stop this,” Jette begged, her costume shredded, her dark dusky skin showing enticingly through the rips. “you don’t have to do this! Please. Just... just stop.”

“Please, son,” Lacie Frasier, Omega Girl, pleaded. “Don’t do this! It doesn’t have to be this way!”

“It’s no use, Omega Girl,” Goddess Aphrodite said grimly, shaking her head. “He’s too far gone. There’s no reaching him. Since he lost his girlfriend, he’s become completely unhinged. I know he’s your son, and all... but you have to stop him. Look at him! Look at the others he has with him!”

I glanced to the side, nodding idly to the quartet of young women kneeling naked at my feet, all staring straight ahead, eyes glassy and lifeless. “I’m sorry, do you mean them?” I asked idly, jerking slightly on the heavy chain all of my slaves were collared to, “or do you mean the ones on my sister’s leash?”

Katie flashed an evil grin of her own as she sauntered forward to stand at my side, clad in a tight black leather bustier, black crotchless panties, black high heels, and nothing else. Her eyes and hair were also midnight black, matching my own. She gave a sharp jerk on her own chain, and a blank, empty eyed Sioban MacMillan and Tawnya Parkinson crawled forward to rest at their Mistress’ feet. Turning our faces to the side, Katie and I kissed, deeply, passionately, tongues wrestling briefly before separating, turning our attention back to the matter at hand.

“Mommy, you really should be standing with us, not against us,” Katie purred seductively. “We’re your children, your flesh and blood. You always used to say that nothing was stronger than a mother’s love. Well, that’s the only thing we’re missing now. Your love. Your beautiful, sexy, motherly love.” She licked her lips, grinning. “You could teach us so much! Join us, Mom. Take your place with us as the new gods of this universe!”

”No! I won’t!” Lacie shot back, anger and frustration clear on her face. “What you’re doing is WRONG! Jimmy, what you did to you sister, the way you changed her—its sickening! How! How could you do this to her?”

“Oh, mommy,” Katie replied, rolling her eyes, pressing herself lightly against me. “You make it sound like it was a BAD thing! Trust me... I’ve never been happier! Besides,” she added with a smirk, “it’s not as if anything’s really changed. We’ve always wanted each other this way, we just hid our feelings from you and dad. But a god and goddess don’t need to hide.”

“Enough talk!” Tone growled, the warhammer clutched tightly in her hand, glowing slightly. “Time is running out. If words can’t sway them, then the only recourse is to beat them into submission!”

I merely laughed aloud. “Submission, you say? Well, I do know a thing or two about that subject,” I replied, gesturing to the chain in my hand. “But as for fighting me... why? We’ve already had this conflict a dozen times already,” I stated, causing the background to shimmer and flicker. “Frankly, I’m bored now. You’re correct about one thing, however. There’s been enough talk—” I raised a hand as Tone charged at me, hammer raised, freezing her in place. “—its time for some action!” Her eyes widened as her costume melted away, flowing down her body like raindrops. The fire faded from her gaze, her expression softening as the inner changes began to work as well. With a gesture of my hand, I released my hold on her body, and she sank down gratefully at my feet, staring up at me with a blank worshipful smile. Katie laughed gleefully, as the haughty Venus Satore, her one time partner and collaborator dropped to her knees as well, joining Sioban and Tawnya at her feet.

The others assembled faltered then, seeing how quickly and easily the others had succumbed. Voltaire and Jette attempted to flee, but I merely clenched my fist, bending space around us, so that they ended up running back towards Katie and I again. Within a few more seconds they too had succumbed, crawling catlike on the ground before their new lord and lady like the good little pets they’d become. One by one, hero and villain fell, their minds and bodies twisted to my pleasure, becoming my empty minded servants, slaves to my will, until finally there was only one left. The most powerful one.

“Jimmy... Katie,” my mother said with regret, shaking her head. ”I can’t believe it’s come to this. I know... I know you loved Devon. I know how deeply you two were tied together. But... I can’t let this go on. This has to end.” Her black costume shifted and melted away, forming into a gentle cream and gold colored robe, as she began to glow, her full goddess powers unleashed. Behind her, the other Nornir appeared, a crowd of young robe wearing women, hands joined even as their power began to swell and focus. “Jimmy, Katie... forgive me for this,” she said aloud, closing her eyes, ”but you’ve left me no choice.”

“Oh, but Mommy Dearest,” I said with a serene smile, stepping forward, my dark shadows causing the fiery golden glow to fade, “there is always a choice. I chose to stop Katie back then when she wanted to destroy the world and remake it into a better place. I chose to heal her, by taking all the ink... all the darkness and pain and sadness into myself. I chose to do the right thing, time and time again... and all it got me was pain. And loss. And now... now I choose to stop being a victim. I choose to take what I want, when I want, and how I want.” My eyes narrowed as I closed the gap between my mother and myself. “And anyone that chooses to stand against me,” I said with a savage grin as I felt my mother’s will began to crumble and fade, “will kneel before me in supplication as my slave—”

“GGKKAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” I yelled loudly, sitting up in bed, panting heavily, gasping, my sweat soaked clothes sticking to me like glue. I shuddered heavily, the memory of the nightmare particularly fresh and potent in my mind’s eye. “Oh gawd... no... that wasn’t... that’s not me,” I muttered softly, shaking my head. “That’s NOT me. I’m not like that!” Kicking the covers off, I slipped out of bed... and froze immediately.

“Oh... shit...” I breathed softly, noticing for the first time the state of my bedroom. Far from the small cozy off-campus apartment it had been when I’d bedded down to sleep hours earlier, I now found myself in some eclectic cross between a king’s throne room and the dungeon of the Marquis de Sade. The oppressive heat I had felt came from the rampant bonfires burning inside the freaking apartment which was somehow magically filtering out all the smoke, else I’d have suffocated long ago. Chains and manacles hung from the walls, reminding me all too clearly of the basement my demon possessed teacher had had me chained in a few weeks earlier.

Huh. Life imitates art imitating life, I mused dimly, closing my eyes, tapping into my powers, willing things back to the way they’d been before. I felt the world around me shift slightly, and when I opened my eyes again, I was back in my bedroom. My NORMAL non-psychotic dream-altered bedroom. Groaning softly, I sat back down on my bed, my head sinking into my hands as I contemplated my situation. For the first time, I was actually thankful that Devon was back home visiting her family during the break from school. I shudder to think about what would have happened to her if she’d been caught up in all the craziness flowing through my head, I thought sadly, though I suppose NOT having her sleeping next to me is what’s making me feel so alone that I’m having nightmares. Well... one of the reasons anyway.

The bottom line was that I was kind of a mess. After everything that had gone down in River City, Katie and I were both trying to figure out what to do with these new powers we’d suddenly obtained. It didn’t help matters that I’d also absorbed the ink that had been infecting her during out fight; the evil corruption that had spawned Supernova was sleeping inside me. When I’d heard Katie’s idea of how to keep her own in check, I thought she’d taken it to a bit of an extreme...but now, after the third such incident in as many nights, I was beginning to rethink my position. Maybe having my powers permanently suppressed, locked down behind a mental lock and key WAS the best way of dealing with this...

But... no. That wasn’t the real problem. Frankly, considering everything that had happened, I had an encyclopedia’s worth of issues to work through... but the most pressing one was that I was afraid of my powers. I always had been. It was why I fought my folks for so long about putting on a damned costume and patrolling the city streets the way they had. I hadn’t really thought shadows that drain your energy and willpower, and uncontrollable bad luck, were the tools of a costumed hero. It wasn’t until recently that I’d learned that with enough focus and control, even the lousy abilities I’d been stuck with could be useful.

And now, suddenly, those same powers had been upgraded to the Nth degree. Now, instead of causing the floor or concrete to crack when I lost my temper, I could accidentally destroy entire continents or possible the entire universe by breaking space-time itself! Talk about pressure! It was little wonder I was having nightmares. And suppressing those powers, locking them away, would only be hiding the problem, burying it out of sight. But, I’d learned the hard way more than once that things thought long buried and gone tend to pop up again when you least expect it... and rarely is it a good thing.

No. The only read choice here was to face this head on. I needed to learn how to control my powers better, to lose my fear of them and of myself. I needed to be taught. And I needed someone capable of teaching me, someone who understood and was willing to take the risk, someone I could put my faith and hope in. And, considering my family heritage, I had a good idea of where to start.

Making up my mind then and there, I changed out my soaked bed sheets for something drier and more comfortable, and went back to sleep. Jenny was repaired, and fully gassed, and Midas City wasn’t TOO terribly far. Still, it was a long drive, and I needed my rest, both for the trip and for what I might end up facing at the end of it...

* * *

The bite of the whip stung, biting into her tender flesh, causing her to cry out in pain. Had she been able, she would have pulled away in sheer reflex... but the bonds holding her were too tight. Worse still, the bonds within her mind kept her silent as well as paralyzed, caught in a bitter paradoxical madness that threatened to tear her apart. Tears ran freely down her cheeks, mingling with the sweat and the blood, and arousal, pooling onto the ground at her feet. And that was the thing: as much as she hated what was happening to her, as much as the pain and suffering made her long for a death she knew would never come, the bonds within her mind forced her to enjoy every moment of her punishment as well, knowing that it was good, and right, that she deserved it... and that her suffering pleased her Mistress.

“Cry harder!” her Mistress barked, “And Cry louder! I want to hear your suffering!” Fury choking every syllable of the words, as the whip lashed out again. cutting a deep gash into her flesh yet again. If not for her regenerative powers, she would have surely died by now from the pain and blood loss alone, or at the very least, passed out cold. But no such luck. Her powers enabled her to take the very worst her Mistress could deal out and then some. And when all was said and done, the physical wounds would mend, and heal, leaving her flesh as perfect and youthful as it had been before. Her mind, and psyche, however, were far more fragile. And, amazingly, the reason for her brutal punishment, the source of her torment, was also the one hope she held onto, the one thing allowing her to endure.

Parker. Her love. Her savior.

“Foolish little bitch!” Mistress snapped. wrapping the coil around her neck, choking her now, causing her to gasp and claw for breath. “Still you hold onto that forlorn hope? How long has it been now? How many days? Weeks? Months? Years?” She shook her head weakly, knowing Mistress was trying to mislead her. It hadn’t been that long. It only felt like an eternity... but at most it had only been a couple of days. Hadn’t it? “You cling to the idea of your precious Parker like a life raft, as if that self absorbed traitor could even be bothered with a pathetic little bitch like yourself! You think he’s coming back for you?” Mistress laughed, even as she released the garrote, and she slipped to her knees, gasping for breath.

“If your great love truly cared about you, he would have come back for you by now. If he cared for you even slightly, he would have taken you with him. But he doesn’t. He only cares for himself. You were nothing more than a pleasant diversion... a piece of pussy to sink his dick into and get himself off. And you... you were very accommodating, weren’t you? You didn’t merely fuck him, you made love to him, every single time! You made him feel special, like he was the king of the world. But where is he now that YOU need HIM? I’ll tell you where... he’s off with someone else, fucking THEM instead of you. He’s dropped you like the used up little WHORE that you are... and he hasn’t even glanced back!”

“No! NO! That’s not true!” the poor tortured slave spoke up then, unable to help herself, even knowing that it would only lead to more punishment. “He loves me! He does! And he will come back for me! I know he will!”

Mistress merely cackled evilly, walking slowly around in front of her slave now, shaking her head in disappointment. “You still haven’t learned yet, have you, slave?” She rubbed the blood and sweat from the tip of the whip, swinging it idly in preparation. “Well, I always knew you were stubborn. But I can be stubborn too. This will only end when you admit that he has left you for good, when you finally abandon that stupid lingering hope that he will come to save you. Only then will your punishment be over.” She smiled then, a cruel twisting of the lips. “Oh, but feel free to hold on as long as possible. I do so enjoy this time together with you... my dear sweet Venus!” As Mistress Patricia drew back her whip, she laughed. “And I don’t want it to end too soon!” With that she slashed out once more, this time aiming for her face...

“AAAAHHHHHHHH!” Venus Satore screamed, sitting up from her bed. She shook, shuddering for a few seconds, before stumbling out of bed, sprinting across the room to the bathroom where she promptly threw up. She sank naked to the floor, curling up into the fetal position, sobbing loudly as the water continued to run, washing away the lingering remains of her stomach, even as the remains of her latest nightmare lingered behind in her mind. “Ohhhh gaawwd... ohhh gaaawdd...” she muttered over and over again, hugging herself, rocking gently back and forth as the images continued to play over and over in her mind. Her body even felt the pain, as if it had actually been HER that had been whipped and beaten so relentlessly again and again for hours, instead of the other way around.

“Goddess bless... I never... never knew... never had any idea... what a monster I’d been,” she murmured, the tears running down her cheeks. In the aftermath of Katie Frasier’s attempted destruction and restructure of the world, the Nornir had punished her for her part in things. Honestly, she’d been more furious about losing her collected slaves and having her enthralling powers reduced than the third so-called proclamation. She was a grown woman—who cared about some stupid nightmares?

Or so she’d thought. Having spent the past several nights reliving the experiences of her many slaves, suffering through the worst moments of each of their lives, had been truly traumatic. She wasn’t simply seeing their nightmares, she was experiencing them firsthand, actually reliving them, as if they were actually happening to her! Admittedly, the first few were fairly tame, the experience of the shifted POV being more jarring than the actual experience. And then, she’d experienced Angela Prentiss’ worst nightmare. That experience still made her shudder, anytime her mind lingered over the memories.

Angela’s nightmare was actually a two-parter, a sort of ‘nightmare within a nightmare’ kind of deal. It had been bad enough experiencing the marathon session in Nigel Grimalde’s ‘slave trainer’, where the woman had literally gone insane, losing her mind to the prolonged mental softening designed to break her down and make her submit. Normally, a few hours was more than sufficient to make a person loyal and obedient to a fault. Grimalde, however, impressed with the young blonde’s resilience, had wished to see just how much she could take. Instead of a few hours, or a few days, she’d endured the onslaught for more than a week, from the time she’d been taken until the timely arrival of her partner and protégé, Patty Sellars, aka Seraph. And then, to relive her betrayal, to be offered salvation only to have it snatched away from you at the last second.

Reliving all of that had been bad enough. But now, Angela Prentiss was nothing if not efficient. Always going the extra mile, even in the midst of a psychotic break, her fragmented mind had latched onto Patty’s betrayal, rationalizing it as a fitting justice for her. Caught in the spiral with her, Venus had found herself reliving the source of that guilt, caused ironically by Venus herself—the night when she’d tortured and beaten young Patty in anger over losing Parker. After a while. she’d summoned Angela, Patty’s closest and dearest friend, her foster mother, crime fighting partner, and lover... and forced her to beat and whip Patty in her place, forcing her to repeat all the vicious things she herself had told her about holding onto hope.

Indeed, the only saving grace was that poor insane Angela’s mind was so befogged that the torture scenes were mere flashes, brief moments half remembered. Still, it had left the Greek Goddess deeply shaken afterwards. None of the nightmares that had followed even came close to the horror and intensity of that experience... until tonight.

Until she’d relived Patricia Sellars-Grimalde’s experience firsthand.

Feeling cold, inside and out, she managed to get to her feet, and turned on the shower, sliding inside, letting the steaming water flow over her naked body, washing away the sweat and grime but not the experience. Venus shook her head wearily, contemplating her situation. This... this cannot stand, she thought to herself. What I felt... what I experienced... that’s what I did to those girls. It’s no wonder that they hate me. I... lost control. And it wasn’t even Patty that I was angry with... or even Parker. It was me. I was pissed off because he’d left, yes... but that I was pissed because I’d actually let him get close to me. I’d promised myself never to let anyone, man or woman, get that close to me again. I fucked up... and I took it out on her.

It took a long time to push away the chill, but eventually the heat of the nearly scalding water penetrated enough to warm her flesh. Cutting off the water, drying herself, she padded back to her bed. “I’m going to make this right for them,” she said aloud. “I don’t know how. I don’t even know if they’ll listen to me. But... I have to at least apologize.” Sighing softly, she slid back into her bed, and closed her eyes. Mercifully, the nightmares only struck her once a night. Snuggling into her pillow, Venus Satore tried to push her guilt aside and will herself into slumber...

* * *

Chloe Andrews groaned softly, sitting up in bed. She sat still, and silent, listening closely, and after a moment she heard it again. “Great, she’s up, again” she moaned softly to herself, kicking off the covers. Making her way out of her bedroom, she walked into the living room, and sighed, going to the window. As she’d expected, her partner and best friend, Rose Contreras, was standing on the front porch, in only her underwear, staring blankly out in to the distance.

Chloe bit back a curse, pushing down on her frustration as she opened the door and stepped outside with her. “Jen?” she said gently. After a few moments of silence, she sighed heavily. “Okay, fine. Rosella,” she clarified, using the name Goddess Aphrodite had given her. The dark haired girl turned slightly, acknowledging her presence, then turned back to stare into the distance. “Sweetie, please, You need to come back to bed. It’s the middle of the night.”

“Why? What’s the point?” Rosella replied listlessly. “What’s the point in anything anymore? Our Goddess... she left us. Left us behind. Abandoned us... just tossed us away... like garbage...”

Chloe stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her friend. “Come on, now. You know its not like that. I’m sure she is still out there somewhere, and that she’ll come back to us soon. You’re her High Priestess, after all,” she said, forcing a lightness she didn’t feel. “Even if she was forced to abandon everyone else, she wouldn’t abandon you—”

“But she did!” Rosella insisted, finally showing some emotion. “You know it as well as I do! The bond we had with her is gone! I can’t hear her, or feel her thoughts in my head anymore!” She sighed deeply... and Chloe jerked slightly as Rose phased through her, stepping away. “It’s because I failed her,” she said softly, head hanging down to her chest. “So many times. I was supposed to be her champion, her right hand. Instead, I failed to take down Parker Albinn. I failed to warn her or protect her from Supernova and the threat she represented. I even failed to aid her and Supernova against Jimmy Frasier, when he attacked them both on the roof.”

“Well, you’re not the only one who failed in that respect,” Chloe reminded her ruefully. “I mean, look at what we were up against! That Katie Frasier girl could literally alter reality however she wanted with just the power of her mind! Even Goddess Aphrodite couldn’t beat her. And as for her brother... HE literally fought his way through an army of police and Supers just to reach her.” She sighed. “Sweetie, you’re a good fighter and tactician, but your powers don’t exactly give you much of an advantage. And until just recently,” she added bluntly, “I was a brain damaged mental patient who’s hardest challenge was being able to color inside the lines, Against all that, yeah, we were bound to fail.”

“Then it’s all the more reason for her to cut us loose,” Rosella replied sullenly.

“Is that the kind of person you think she was?” Chloe snapped angrily, causing Rosella to glance up to her. “I was bonded to her too, you know! Maybe not as long as you, but just as deeply! The Goddess Aphrodite I served was a Goddess of love and compassion. Yes, she had a temper, and a serious bug up her ass about Parker Albinn... but everything she did and tried to do was with the goal of changing this world into a place of peace and love! She wanted to create a world where no one would ever feel alone or afraid ever again! So why would a person like that simply abandon the ones who need her the most?”

“You... you’re right. She wouldn’t...” Rosella said slowly. “She said... she told me before going up on the roof that she forgave me... that she didn’t hold my shortcomings against me. But then... why would she leave us? Why would she break her bond with us and her other slaves...” Suddenly, Rosella went still, her eyes widening. She gasped, and tears began to run once more. “Ohh... ohh goddess, no... then she must be... they must have...”

“Wait, you don’t think they killed her?!?” Chloe exclaimed, as Rosella fell to her knees. “Jen... Rosella, no! I didn’t mean that! I was thinking more like, she was being held captive, somewhere far away, or in some kind of secure facility, like one of Mr. Frasier’s special power draining cells, where her powers are being blocked.” She glanced worriedly at her friend, who continued to stare straight ahead, completely unresponsive. “Rosella? It’s possible, right? That she’s just held somewhere where she can’t reach us?” Silence.

Well, shit, Chloe thought glumly to herself. What the hell have I done? It was bad enough having her moping around, going to stand out here in the damn cold every few hours, like a dog waiting for her Master to arrive home from work. Now that she’s got the idea that our Goddess might be dead, she’s gone completely catatonic.

“Okay, baby,” she said gently, leaning down, grabbing Rosella by the shoulders. “It’s late. We can talk about this in the morning, okay? For now, we both need to get to bed. Trust me. Everything will be better in the morning.” She physically lifted the unresisting girl back up onto her feet and guided her back inside the house. “Okay, Rosella. Now, we’re both going to go to bed now and get some sleep. After all, Goddess Aphrodite may just return tomorrow, and we need to be well rested and presentable for her, don’t we?” The brunette’s response was silence. Sighing inwardly, Chloe lead her friend back to the bedroom. It was going to be a long, long night...

* * *

“Relax, and breathe.”

Julie Simmons obeyed, letting her mind and body relax, her thoughts drifting aimlessly, flowing as freely as the breath moved in and out of her lungs. Her dark brown eyes were closed a soft peaceful smile etched on her face. Had they been open, however, they would have been completely vacant and empty, pure white orbs staring sightlessly straight ahead at nothing. Her soft chocolate skin glistened softly in the dim pale light, and her large, heavy, barely covered breasts swayed slightly with each contented breath.

Her companion, in contrast, sat across from her, eyes likewise closed, yet awake and alert. Her thoughts were focused entirely on the dark skinned beauty, her breathing perfectly synchronized with Julie’s, even as her mind sought out hers, seeking to align with it. Mei Nuo Chen worked her way through her friend’s thoughts, searching for a specific encounter... then gasped slightly, as she found it. Focusing her psychic talents for a moment, she examined the scene, poking and prodding it gently, getting a better feel for the memory, before sighing heavily then breaking contact.

“Julie, wake up, please,” she said primly, causing her dark skinned comrade to blink several times, consciousness returning. She shook her head briefly, then glanced over at Mei, her expression hopeful.

“So... um... any luck?” she asked.

Mei shook her head. “I’m sorry, Julie. I examined the memory, and went at it from several different angles... but I am unable to remove it.” She sighed softly. “And truly... it’s not the memory itself that is the problem. It’s the emotional attachment you have to it that is causing the problems—”

“I know, I know,” Julie grunted in frustration, lowering her head. “But I can’t help it! That redheaded bitch... I fucking HATE what she did to me! She seduced me, enslaved me, turned me into her fucking puppet, then sent me off as a Trojan Horse to do the same to all of you.” She sighed heavily. “I know what she did. I know she was evil, that she was just using me... but... I’m still having those goddamn dreams!”

Mei winced slightly, glancing away. She’s seen just what kind of ‘dreams’ Julie was referring to. She crossed her legs surreptitiously, hiding her own arousal. “Julie, its not your fault. Venus Satore is a seductress. It is what she does. There is no way you could have resisted her. And it’s only natural that you’re still having erotic dreams about your time as her slave, or that you’re feeling angry and frustrated about your reaction to them.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t make me feel any better,” Julie replied with a sigh. “I mean... isn’t there anything else we could try? If you can’t blot out the memory, couldn’t you just... I dunno, cover it up somehow? Make me forget that it even happened?”

“We already tried that,” Mei pointed out. “You came to me three days ago asking me to help you, and I suggested making you forget, severing your conscious memory of becoming her slave.” Julie blinked in surprise. “The fact that you came back to me again with the same request only shows that it did not work. Even if your conscious mind did not remember what happened, your subconscious still retained the memory.”

“Dammit,” Julie swore, slamming a fist down hard on the desk... shattering it. “Um... sorry,” she said sheepishly, as Mei merely sat stoically, unperturbed. “I’ll, um, replace that. So.... do you have any ideas for me? Maybe someone with stronger psychic powers? Jimmy’s Aunt Eva down in River City, maybe?”

“Whitewash?” Mei asked, frowning slightly. “I suppose it IS possible. She is stronger and more talented than I. But from what I have observed, the issue is not the memory itself.” She sighed deeply, taking a moment to try and find the right words. “I do not know if a non-psychic can understand this... but the thoughts surrounding your enthrallment are... ‘radioactive’ would be the best analogy I can think of. It’s as if part of the magic Satore used to enslave you is still there within your mind, linked to those thoughts. I myself felt the effects of that... radioactivity, when I tried to scan your minds back in the training room.” She shuddered slightly at her own memory. “Just connecting directly to it was enough to completely overwhelm my defenses and turn me into an obedient puppet of the Goddess as well.”

“Huh. You have a point,” Julie replied despondently. “I remember now... Jimmy mentioned the same thing had happened to Eva and her sister Ana back in the day, when she’d enslaved Parker Albinn and they’d entered his mind to try and free him. So... I guess I’m pretty much just stuck with that crazy bitch in my head, then?”

“It’s not truly as bas as it seems,” Mei replied, encouraging her. “Julie. I am no psychologist, but I truly believe the source of your problem rests with the guilt you feel over your part in how things played out. No one here blames you. We all know Satore was the cause.” She stood up and walked over to her dark skinned partner, kissing her cheek. “To truly put this behind you and move on, you have to learn to forgive yourself.”

Julie watched her friend walk away, then sighed softly to herself. “Yeah... nothing like asking for the impossible,” she muttered, heading for the door herself.

* * *

“Hey, Lar.”

Ms. Machina yelped, leaping nearly a foot into the air in startlement at the voice calling out to her from the shadows. She’d just stepped into her suite, slipping inside the door, and hadn’t even switched on the lights yet. When her brother stepped slowly into the light, she let out an audible sigh, and released the grip on the small handheld pulse weapon clutched tightly in her right hand, grabbed as a reflex from the clip on her belt.

“Jeez, Lar, you scared me half to death,” she chuckled nervously, closing the door and flipping on the lights. “And really... what the hell are you even doing here? I heard through the grapevine that you were out of your coma, that you’d actually managed to break out of maximum security a few days ago. I thought you’d be laying low somewhere.”

The blind assassin merely raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’ve been sitting here in the dark for the past seven hours waiting for you to return, so I’d call that laying low.” He tossed an apple, taken from the fruit basket the hotel staff had left for her, catching it deftly with his hand, despite not being able to see. “So,” he said lightly, taking a bite, “you seem to have had an interesting few weeks, hmm?”

Larissa frowned slightly, nodding. “Yeah. You could say that. Seriously, Lar... what are you doing here? I can’t imagine you decided to come and hang out with your little sis just because you missed me. Did you come by for another replacement arm?” she asked, gesturing to the fully healed stump of an arm he’d lost facing Luminaire months ago. “Sorry. I don’t have my gear with me. I could probably cobble something together in a few days—”

“Don’t worry about it, Sis,” he said smoothly. “I know a guy, and he’s going to hook me up. Now, now, don’t give me that look,” he said, smirking, causing Larissa to blink in surprise—how the heck could he even tell, he’s blind, dammit—“this guy is a doctor. A regular mad scientist.” He took another bite, then tossed the apple core behind him, banking it off the wall into the trash can. “Don’t get me wrong. Technology is fine. But I’d really rather have my old arm back.”

“Your... old arm back? What, is he going to regrow it for you, or something?” she asked, scoffing.

“You got it, Sis,” he replied with a nod. “This doctor is a whiz with genetics. He offered to ‘re-arm me’ so to speak. And I didn’t even have to ‘persuade’ him.” Larissa shuddered at that. He was her brother, but even she went pale at the thought of the techniques Laraby used in ‘persuading’ people to see things his way. “By the way, Lar,” he said idly, recapturing her attention once more, “you never really answered me about your ‘interesting week’... with Katie Frasier.” Larissa went pale. “I seem to recall warning you a while back about going after her,” he continued, stepping towards her, smirking as she backed up a step. “And you know how I feel about someone else going after one of my targets...”

“H-hey, now, Lar, it wasn’t like that!” she protested quickly. “I mean... she pretty much put you into a coma, remember? You were a mindless drooling vegetable! I went after her to avenge you... to make her pay for messing with my big brother. That’s all! Its not like I had any personal interest in the little bitch or anything?” she added, glancing to the side.

“Right,” Laraby replied with a shake of his head. “Fine. You ‘avenged’ my honor. At any rate, I’m moving on,” he said with a simple shrug, again surprising his younger sister. “Katie Frasier is all yours, if you want her. I’ve officially withdraw my claim on her.”

“YOU?!? Withdrawing from a bounty?” she asked laughing haughtily. “Did that little blonde actually scare you off, Lar?”

“Hmph. Hardly,” the assassin replied with a scowl. “Even considering how things turned out, I’m not above taking another crack at her. The problem is that my erstwhile employer, Duncan Frasier, the one who posted the bounty, is now dead. I have no client, therefore, I no longer have a contract.”

“Hmmm... well, I guess there’s a first time for everything,” Larissa said with a shrug. “And anyway, its probably for the best. That breasty little bimbo is no pushover.” She frowned slightly, considering. She didn’t fully remember everything that had happened to her, or how she’d been beaten—it was all hazy, like a half-remembered nightmare. The only thing she was absolutely sure about was the fact that Katie Ann Frasier, aka Luminaire, was not a person to be trifled with. Yet, the idea of going up against her again appealed to her for some reason. “Since she’s no longer on your list, I suppose I’ll put her on mine,” she added with a grin.

“Fine with me. Just so you know, you may have a bit of competition,” he replied, walking over to the sofa, dropping down to lounge. “The other person that escaped with me? She has a serious hard on for that Frasier brat as well. I took her with me to see the Doctor, and the last I’d heard, she’d convinced him to give her a bit of an upgrade. And considering the guy’s specialty, that could be one hell of a makeover.”

“Great,” she mumbled, sighing deeply. “Just what the world needs... another freaky mutated chick with delusions of grandeur.” She shook her head. “So, Lar, what are your plans for the immediate future? Just gonna hang with me for a while?”

“For a day or two, yes,” he replied with a single nod. “Then I’m heading out to Portland. I’ve been out of commission for too long, and rumors of exactly what went down between me and Luminaire have flooded the community. I need to take a job or two to let everyone know I’m back, and to cement my reputation again.”

“Oh? You have a target already? Something big or high profile?”

Laraby shook his head. “Not compared to Luminaire. This one should be a cake walk compared to her. Totally different power set.” He grinned. “Still, from the information I’ve gathered, he could be troublesome. It should definitely be an interesting hunt, if nothing else.”