The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“And stop.”

I did. Literally. As in stopped moving, stopped standing, nearly stopped existing. I collapsed onto the ground, lying in a pool of my own sweat, panting, eyes closed, groaning past the lightning stabs of pain shooting through my cerebral cortex. In short, I was exhausted, bone weary, with an absolutely killer migraine after our little ‘magic’ session. I had no idea how long we’d been going at it, but it felt like about a week.

“Hmmm. Pathetic,” Lana replied with a sigh, causing me to crack open an eyelid. My face hurt too much to actually glare at her. “Truly pitiful,” she continued, not merely content to stomp on my self-esteem but to dance on it with stiletto heeled clogs. “You have virtually no talent for magic at all. No instinct for it. I’ve taught five-year-olds in Sanctuary more gifted than you.”

“Yeah... well... the trouble is... there’s never a... five-year-old... around... when you need... one...” I panted.

Despite herself, Lana grinned at my comment, before adopting her usual stern expression. “Nevertheless, the problem with you is simple. You think too much.” I sighed inwardly. “I know what you’re thinking, and no, it’s NOT me harping about you not wearing the collar. The reason why the collar is effective is that it takes your thinking about everything out of the equation. You have a very logical and ordered mind. You think... what’s the word... ‘scientifically’. But magic isn’t science. It’s actually closer to art than science. You have to feel the flow of your energy, and adjust it accordingly.”

Having a tiny bit of strength back, I managed to sit up. “But... you told me at the beginning that I wasn’t supposed to let my emotions be a part of this. I was specifically supposed to NOT feel while trying to do all the tasks you gave me.”

“True,” Lana said with a nod. “It’s a bit like walking a tightrope. Your powers are tied to your emotions and shaped by them as well. In order to truly master the basics, you have to learn to cast and control your magic while being perfectly calm. You have to stay calm and placid, like a pool of still water.” She smirked. “And since your current emotional control is like a babbling brook at best and the sea at a storm at worst, you need to practice shaping without emotional influence.”

“Oh bloody hell,” I muttered, shaking my head, wincing as the motion made me dizzy. “You know how crazy this all sounds? It’s like you’re asking me to create a pyramid of cards, blindfolded, and without giving me a deck of cards!”

“Yes, actually,” she said, nonplussed, gesturing with her hands, creating a—I kid you not—waist high stack of playing cards stacked in a perfect pyramid shape. “That’s basically the point of magic. You are so caught up in your own pre-conceived notions that you do not realize that the only one restricting your actions, is you, yourself.”

And that was my moment of zen. “So, Yoda, in other words, ‘Do, or do not. There is no try’ huh?” I made my way back to my feet. “I think I get what you’re saying. And yes... it is kind of hard to wrap my head around ‘not wrapping my head around’ every little thing. So... what do you say we take a break, grab something to eat or drink, and try this again?”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm,” she said with a smirk, “but I for one am exhausted. We’ve been training for more than a day now. Let us pick this up again tomorrow after we’ve both fully rested.”

“A day?!?” I repeated, agog, as she unsealed the doorway, opening the route back to reality once more. “Are you serious? We’ve been at this for more than twenty-four hours? No wonder I feel dead on my feet.”

Crossing the barrier I stumbled slightly, the difference in gravity between the dimensions taking a moment to adjust to. Making my way to the kitchen, I pretty much raided the icebox, bringing out anything remotely edible. I had no idea what Lana wanted in the way of food—one of those nice little details she had neglected to mention on our trip—but I knew at least that she wasn’t a vegetarian. I was by no means a chef, but the chicken piccata I’d made before the trip to Midas was still good, and she certainly seemed grateful when I divvied it up between us.

Hunger abated, we both decided to head to bed. Separate beds, that is. Not that I’d have had the strength or energy to do anything if it were suddenly opposite day and she HAD actually wanted to share a bed. Pretty much the instant my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.

“Thank you, Monica, that will be all,” Roland Jensen, CEO of Iconix stated to his administrative assistant, nodding once as she vacated his office. Sighing heavily, he leaned back in his Corinthian leather recliner, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Things are getting goddamn ridiculous. That nutcase still hasn’t been caught, either by the police or those damned teenybopper wanna-be heroines. Worse, he’s hit five of my installations in the past five days! Any more of these disruptions, and it’s going to seriously start affecting my profit margin.

The sound of his cell phone buzzing caught his attention, and he scowled. He could count the number of people with his private cell phone number on one hand, and all of them knew better than to call him during business hours. Which means it has to be the one person who could care less about my wants, needs or desires, he grumbled to himself, placing the phone to his ear. “You have a lot of nerve calling me here like this,” he stated.

The caller responded with laughter. “And a good afternoon to you too, Roland,” he said pleasantly. “Always nice to speak to you. I just thought I’d check in with you to see if there have been any new developments of note.”

Roland snorted. “You mean like five of my repositories being robbed by that lunatic? Other than that, no, nothing to report.” His eyes narrowed. “I’d thought my ‘pest control’ problem would have been handled by now,” he grumbled, glancing up momentarily as the door opened, and a blue clad janitor wheeling a trash cart came in. “I guess all the rumors about you being a few steps off after your unscheduled vacation were true after all.”

“And I guess all the rumors about you being smarter than the average businessman were false,” the caller countered. “I told you from the beginning that I required ALL pertinent information in order to do my job effectively. So, what part of full disclosure did you not understand?”

The sandy-haired CEO scowled, waving off the janitor as he began cleaning and dusting along the windows. “Dammit, I gave you everything you needed to know, everything about my former employee on file, all the information from his co-workers, his address and suspected hangouts—”

“And yet, you neglected to mention the most important thing,” the caller chided him, “the very reason WHY you want him eliminated to desperately. The item that he stole from your company, the... prototype stasis field generator your company has been developing, wasn’t it?” Roland’s jaw dropped slightly. “What? Surely you didn’t think I relied on YOU as my sole source of information on this job, did you? Nevertheless, if you HAD shared the fact that my target was packing technology that would allow him to freeze anyone or anything in place, I would have been better prepared.” He sighed softly. “I was actually set to take him out at the bank that first day but I ended up frozen along with the rest of crowd.”

“Hmm... I see,” Roland muttered, glancing up in irritation as the janitor drew closer, taking his wastebasket, emptying it into his cart. “Really? Must you do that right now? Can’t you see that I’m on the phone?” he growled.

“Yes, Sir, sorry, Sir,” the janitor murmured, head down, shuffling back away from the desk.

“Roland,” the caller said just then, his voice strangely flat. “It sounds like you have... company there.”

“Yes, yes, it’s no one,” he replied, leaning back in his chair. “Just the janitor cleaning up the office.”

“Roland,” his caller said, tersely, his voice harsh, “don’t you even know enough about your own damned company to know who’s working when? It’s only five thirty-seven. Your company’s janitorial staff isn’t even scheduled in until six o’ clock!”

“What?” the light haired CEO barked, glancing up suddenly, only to gape in shock at the barrel of the weapon pointed in his face. The janitor grinned, removing his cap with his free hand, allowing his shaggy dark brown hair free. “Mullins,” he spat venomously, tensing, as if ready to leap out of his chair.

“Uh, uh, uh,” Freeze Frame chided, shaking a finger at him. “Let’s not do anything stupid, now, Roland? You’re quite aware of what this device is capable of. Now... why don’t you hang up your phone,” he said, gesturing to the phone in the CEO’s hand. “Wouldn’t want you to burn up all your minutes, now would we?”

“I should have anticipated you’d be dumb enough to show your face here,” Roland remarked, closing his phone. “I don’t know what you’re hoping to get by coming here, but whatever it is, I am not going to give it to you.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” the Super villain chuckled. “you see, what I want is such a very simple thing. So simple that even a Philistine like yourself can manage it.”

“Fine. Then tell me,” Roland said, crossing his arms. “What is it that you want from me?”

Grady Mullins’ jovial grin shifted suddenly, going hard. “What do I want from you?” he repeated, bringing the camera up to bear, taking aim. “I just want... satisfaction!”

It took a small eternity for me to register the knocking sound as coming from my front door and not the intensely erotic dream I’d been having. Groaning softly, cursing aloud, I swung out of bed, slipped on a pair of pants, ran my fingers through my hair, and shuffled my way towards the front door. I noted idly that Lana’s door was still closed, and the sound of soft snoring coming from inside telegraphing the fact that my teacher had the ability to sleep like a bloody stone if she needed to.

“Hold on a sec,” I muttered, making my way across the foyer. “I’m coming. I’m coming.” Opening the door, I frowned, blinking against the glare—I hadn’t thought to slip on my sunglasses—and peered into the intense faces of the Beautiful Gems, all decked out in their costumes. “Uhhh... um, sorry, come in, come in,” I said, stepping aside, allowing them to enter. “Sorry, you caught me sleeping. What’s going on? Is it something major?”

“Sleeping?” Sapphire said, wrinkling her nose. “Who sleeps at six o’clock in the evening?”

“Six o’clock... in the evening?” I repeated back. Huh. I’d slept more than twelve hours straight. And Lana was STILL sleeping. I guess we were more tired from all that training that I’d thought! Shaking my head, I walked over to the table. “Never mind. Fill me in. What’s going on? And... what happened to Julie? Where is she, back at your headquarters?”

“She’s actually out of town, taking some personal time,” Ruby admitted. “And anyway, it’s nothing really earthshaking,” Ruby admitted with a shrug. “We can certainly handle it ourselves. We actually came to you for your smarts.”

“Your technical knowledge, to be more exact,” Diamond clarified, taking out and unrolling a small stack of blueprints and schematics. I peered down, curious. “A disgruntled ex-employee from Iconix Industries broke in and stole an experimental stasis field generator from the company he used to work for. And he’s been using it to commit further robberies as well.”

“Another petty thief with delusions of grandeur?” I asked, peering at the papers, frowning slightly. “With a stasis generator, he should certainly have no problem emptying out any bank he goes after.”

“Ah, but that’s just it,” Emerald said, shaking her head. “He hit the Wells Fargo on Seventh a few days ago, froze the customers, the banking staff, and even the police that responded. But he only took a few hundred dollars, less than a thousand. He had enough time to empty out the vault a dozen times over, but he just took a few measly hundred dollars and left.”

“Like it was basically just a test of his powers,” I mused aloud, frowning deeper. Considering the intricacy of what I was looking at, that sounded about right. “So he wasn’t after the money. Let me guess... all the other thefts were against Iconix Industries, stealing other equipment and technology?”

“Yes, that is exactly right,” Pearl answered, stepping forward to peer at the blueprints as well. “You suspect something, do you? An idea of what his endgame will be?”

“I have a theory, yeah,” I said, pulling out my cellphone. “I have to admit, this stuff is way beyond me. I’m a computer tech and studying to become a medical doctor. For something like this, though, we need to consult an expert,” I said, snapping a few pictures with my phone before embedding them in an email.

“Oh? Who are you calling?” Amber asked.

“Who else? My dad.” I replied, calling him on his cell. The phone picked up right away on the first ring, but the person who answered wasn’t who he’d expected.

“Hello, James. I would presume you’re calling to speak to your father,” Nigel Grimalde answered. “I’m afraid he’s quite busy at the moment. We’ve had a bit of a situation here. Perhaps you could call back later?”

“Um, Mr. Grimalde, er, Nigel,” I said, caught a bit off guard. “We’ve actually got a bit of a situation here as well. I was hoping my dad could look over a few schematics I came across and give his technical expertise... but actually, maybe you could give it a go yourself. You have an engineering background, right?”

“I’m not as adept as your old man, but I do know a thing or two about circuits. What have you got?”

I sent him the pictures I’d taken, giving him a chance to look them over. “The first one is pretty self-explanatory. It’s the missing stasis generator that was stolen from Iconix. And I have to ask, Sir... does the design seem familiar to you? I believe GrimTech was working on a stasis generator of their own a year or two ago.”

“Yes, we were,” Nigel replied, his tone flat and hard. “The prototype was stolen by a musician turned thief calling himself the Piper. He was stopped and the device recovered, chiefly due to the actions of your sister.” He peered at the file closely, blown up larger on one of the lab’s monitors. “It would appear, however, that Piper was able to get a copy of the schematics and transmit them to his buyer.” His smirk returned. “Or, at least part of the schematics.”

“What do you mean by ‘part’?” I asked.

“Each GrimTech device in production carries a set of blueprints,” he explained, “but the plans are actually divided in half, one with the device, and the other in the main vault, just in case someone were to attempt to steal them.”

“Huh. Clever.”

Nigel’s grinned. “Most people would call it being ‘overly paranoid’. Though in this case, I’d say it paid off. I do indeed recognize the design as one of ours. Furthermore, that small design in the corner,” he added, pointing to a small crest on the side of the blueprints, “is the insignia of Braxton Industries.” He chuckled at that. “I find it strangely gratifying knowing that the designs stolen from GrimTech were in turn stolen from Braxton Industries by Iconix.”

“Which was, in turn, stolen from them,” I pointed out. “So much for honor among thieves, eh?” I shook my head. “So, apparently they managed to figure out the missing part, or cobble up something in its place to make it work. But there’s more. The other schematics I sent are... kind of strange. I get the feeling that they link up somehow, like a jigsaw puzzle, but they don’t seem to actually connect in any way that I can tell.”

“Very astute, James,” Nigel agreed. “I concur. And I’d have to say... these two pieces, here and here,” he said, pointing them out, “I’d theorize them to be energy conduits of some kind. And this one... seems to be a buffer of some kind. As for the other pieces...” he said, going silent. “I’m afraid I’m at a loss.”

“He’s building a suit,” Angela Prentiss said brightly, stepping into view. “See? The arms, the legs, the chest pieces, here and here...”

“A... suit. OH!” I said loudly, smacking myself on the forehead. “Duh. Of course. NOW I see it.”

“Huh? What’s going on?” Diane asked, the others curious about the one-sided conversation.

“Angela, Nigel, I’m here with the Gems. Let me put you on ‘conference’ mode.” I tapped a button, and my cell emitted a holographic image of Nigel and Angela, their voices coming through the speaker now. “Can you repeat what you said about the suit?”

“Sure. From what I’m seeing here, it looks like your guy has made some major modifications to the original designs, and these others parts are the different parts of his suit. The energy conduits connect to what I would guess are hand blasters of some kind. And the power buffer looks like it would fit in a chest piece, or possibly a belt, to help regulate whatever energy he’s emitting.”

“Oh, great,” Ruby said with a groan. “Are you telling me that now he won’t even need that dorky camera to freeze people? He’ll be able to just wave his hands, or point and click to freeze everyone around him?”

“Makes sense,” Diane answered. “If nothing else it makes him more dangerous. Before, all we needed to do to defeat him was disarm him of the device. But with it integrated into a suit like this, his weapon is a part of him.”

I nodded grimly. It certainly made him more of a credible threat. Having to aim and rely on a bulky camera as a method of freezing people put him at a disadvantage, especially once the surprise factor wore off. Being able to freeze a person with a simple hand gesture completely changed the dynamic, giving him freedom of movement, and making it harder to dodge, not being able to pinpoint exactly where the flash would be coming from.

“Hmmm... I see a problem,” my dad said suddenly, stepping into the hologram. “Here. And here as well,” he stated, pointing out a couple of spots on the schematics of the first send, the actual stasis generator. “I was only half listening,” he said, turning to Nigel, “but didn’t you say that the person using this stolen device had stolen the original plans from GrimTech?”

“Half of the plans, actually,” Nigel said, peering at the schematics himself, trying to see what Eugene was seeing. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Aye... and it’s the other half that’s the problem,” he murmured, shaking his head, before turning back to me. “The parts they substituted to complete dinnae match up exactly. It would take much too long to explain, and we do need to get back to our current project, but Jimmy, lad, you and yer gals need to find this person and stop him fast. The configuration I’m seeing shows a definite power imbalance... the kind that usually results in a catastrophic energy cascade failure. And considering how this device produces its stasis field, and the power source it utilizes...” he shook his head. “Yer mom would know better than I, theoretical physics is her cup o’ tea, after all... but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say yer looking at a miniature black hole.”

That got everyone’s attention. “A b... bl... black hole?!?” Nigel sputtered, jaw visibly dropping.

“As in the kind of black hole that exists in space, a dying collapsed star that sucks in everything around it?” Angela asked.

Gene nodded. “It’s the worst-case scenario, of course. It might end up a white or a gray hole, a lot less destructive but more unpredictable. The bottom line is, the more he uses it, the greater the chance of it misfiring and blowing up in his face. And there’s every chance that he may end up blowing up the city with him.”

“Satisfaction? What’s that supposed to... wh... what?” Roland Jensen said, glancing around in surprise. “What the hell? What just happened?” he yelled, glancing around, finding himself tied tightly in a stiff very uncomfortable wrought iron chair. He was still in his office; however, he was no longer in his comfortable recliner.

Damn. So this is what it’s like with that stasis generator, then, he mused, struggling against his bonds. This is surreal... I blinked, and suddenly everything around me changed. I don’t even know where this rickety old chair came from, let alone how he got it in here and how he got me into it.

“So, back with us again, are you?” Freeze Frame asked, stepping out of the shadows. Roland scowled, taking in the man’s appearance. Having shed the light blue janitor apparel, he was now dressed in a strange white and blue skintight polyester suit with several large round emitters around the waist, chest, arms, and legs. His head was encased in a clear plastic helmet.

Roland shook his head, laughing. “You look ridiculous! Who are you supposed to be? Fishbowl Man?”

Freeze Frame crossed his arms. “Smart. Make fun of the man who has your life in his hands,”

“Fine. Then let’s get down to it,” he said, glancing to the side briefly..”What do you want? Why are you doing all of this?”

“I told you before, Roland. I want satisfaction. Or, more exactly, I want recognition... the recognition I’ve been denied all this time!” He scowled, pacing back and forth. “I’ve worked for this damned company for years, fixing your damned problems, making your stupid faulty designs work. I took what was essentially just an idea and a bunch of junk and made it a reality! And at the end of the day, whose name is on the finished product? Who gets all the credit for my hard work? YOU!”

“Yes, I do,” he said calmly, glancing briefly over to the side again. “And you and the other technicians are all well paid for your work. So yes, it’s only natural that I take credit for the finished product since I am paying you for it. I am, in essence, buying your services. It’s my name on the side of the building outside. If you want credit so badly, go start your own company.”

“You call the paltry sum of money you toss at us payment?!?” Grady snarled. “You pay us hundreds of dollars while you make MILLIONS!” He sighed, shaking his head. “But you’re missing the point. It’s not ABOUT the money, it’s about respect! You want to know what I want from you? I want the patents and rights for these products,” he said, tossing a small folder across the desk, open to a group of ten devices. Roland took a look at the list and laughed.

“You must be out of your goddamn mind!” he replied. “These are our ten best-selling products! There’s no way in HELL I’d sign over ownership of any of them to you, let alone all of them!”

Grady’s expression soured. “Don’t act so high and mighty, Roland! You might be a member of the millionaire CEO’s club, but only barely. We both know Iconix is pretty much the Big Lots of technology and electronics providers. The only reason your company even made it into the Fortune 500 is because FI tanked last year. If Frasier Industries were still around, Iconix wouldn’t even be an afterthought!”

“That has nothing to do with it!” Roland growled, struggling with his bonds again.

“Oooooh! Touched a nerve, did I?” He shrugged. “Unlike you, I’m not an idiot. I know that most of the design schematics passing through R&D over the years were stolen—excuse me, I suppose I should say ‘liberated’—from other high tech companies. You made your millions by leeching off of the work of others, Roland. Well, I am sick of it. You’re done leeching off of me! I want those patents! Give to me, or else?”

“Or else what?” Roland challenged, causing Grady to blink in surprise. “You think you know everything about me, do you? Well, allow me to turn that magnifying glass back on you for a moment. You’re a wimp. A pushover. A doormat. Oh, you’re clever enough. I’ll give credit where it’s due. You did manage to fix all the flaws in every design and created a working product. But that’s all you are, Grady: All brains and no balls.”

Mullins gaped at him, taken aback. “I... you... you can’t... I’m...” he sputtered in disbelief.

“No balls,” Roland repeated smugly. “You said ‘give it to you or else’? Well, or else what? How are you going to convince me to surrender those patents? Beat on me? Torture me? Threatening me is all well and good, but it’s useless unless you follow through.” He laughed. “You haven’t got the guts! I still remember the annual office potluck when Amanda cut her finger, and you actually fainted from the sight of her blood! So tell me, smart guy... what do you intend to do? Because I tell you right now—I’d rather lose everything and have this entire building burn to the ground than EVER surrender to you!”

Grady stood there for a moment, taking in his words. Then, finally, growling in anger, he slammed a fist down hard on Roland’s desk. “You think I don’t have the balls to see this through?” he asked, voice raspy. “I’m not the same wimp I used to be. I’ve changed, dammit.” He scowled as Roland’s eyes moved briefly to the left. “And you can stop glancing at the door every few minutes. If you’re waiting for your security detail to swoop in and save the day, you’re in for a long wait! I froze them before I even entered your office... as if I didn’t know about the panic button hidden underneath your desk!”

Roland swallowed painfully. He had, actually, been stalling, counting silently in his head, wondering exactly when his private security detail would burst in and take down this pest. Now, it seemed, he was on his own. No one was coming to the rescue. Even his so-called ‘trump card’, the person he’d been talking to on the phone when Mullins had first entered had done nothing to help him. He was, for lack of a better term, fucked.

“Wait! Where are you going?” he asked as Freeze Frame suddenly turned on his heel, heading towards the door.

“I’m leaving,” he said simply, holding up a small black box with a red button attached. “I’ve decided to earn the respect I’m seeking in a different way. You said that you’d never give me those patents, that you’d, quote, ‘rather lose everything and have the entire building burn to the ground’ than give me what I wanted. So I’m going to do things your way. I took the time to plant a few stacks of C4 down in the basement along the main support beams for the building.” He pressed the red button. “There. Ten minutes from now, this building is going to be a smoking crater.”

“You psycho! You can’t do this!” Roland yelled, struggling fitfully. “WAIT! WAIT! What about me?” he asked as Grady paused in the doorway.

“You? Oh, well, you’re staying here, of course,” he replied with a smirk. “The whole ‘captain going down with the ship’ thing. I was going to freeze you again, holding you in place long enough for the blast to overtake you. But then I thought, where’s the fun in that? Better to let time pass normally for you, to have you counting down every precious second of your doom before it comes.” He grinned, staring at the expression on the CEO’s face. “Now who’s the one with no balls?” he taunted him, as he walked out of the office.

His levity was short-lived, however, as stepping out into the front lobby, he found himself staring at a small army of police cars, with their red and blue lights flashing. What the fuck?!? he yelled silently, drawing back behind a pillar. What the HELL are the police doing here? I disabled the security system, and cut the line to the silent alarm! How the hell did they even know I was here? Peering back around the corner, he paused, eyes narrowing slightly as he spotted a familiar flash of color.

Dammit! It’s the cupie doll Brigade! he groaned inwardly. I thought I took them out with my booby trap... but I guess they’re a lot smarter and more resilient than I thought. They must have tracked me here somehow... Sighing deeply, he flipped the switches along his belt, powering up his suit. Well, no matter. I’m ready for them. I’m going to show everyone that I’m no joke... that Freeze Frame is a force to be reckoned with!

“Are we sure about this, guys?” I asked, frowning as I glanced up at the ten story high-rise. “Are we positive that this is where our guy is?”

“The anonymous tip the police received said it was our guy,” Amber stated with a shrug. “Apparently the caller was convincing enough that the police responded in force.”

“Yeah, but an ‘anonymous tip’?” I said dubiously. “I mean, I know the thing about the thief always returning to the scene of the crime and all, but this guy is a scientist. He knows we’re after him. Would he really be stupid enough to come back here?”

“I’d say so, yes,” Emerald pointed out, gesturing to the door, as a weirdly dressed man stepped out of the building. I did a double-take at the sight of him, taking in the blue and white color scheme and the clear glass helmet. Oh bloody hell. He looks like a life-sized version of Flashman from Megaman 2. I wonder if it was a coincidence or if he actually planned it that way.

“Alright everyone!” he said loudly, his voice amplified by hidden speakers in his helmet, “it’s time for you all to chill out!”

“Girls, scatter!” I yelled out, cloaking myself in shadows as Freeze Frame began freezing the police, blasting each of them with time-stopping flashes of bright light. Thankfully, the Gems knew what we were up against and had acted accordingly, taking cover behind any nearby obstructions, keeping Freeze Frame from getting a clear shot. I was personally a bit more nervous about the situation myself. I wasn’t sure how that light would affect me, whether my darkness would cancel it out, be completely unaffected, or even more susceptible to it.

Plus, there’s the fact that it’s really not even technically light, I mused to myself, dropping to a crouch, making my way slowly towards the side, hoping to flank the guy. He’s firing negative photons, after all, anti-energy, which, for all intents and purposes, is the same as my shadow energy. The same energy that nearly broke the space-time continuum when I fought Katie last month.

Bottom line? We needed to take this guy down, fast. But gently. Mindful of the fact that the guy was basically running around with an unlicensed nuke strapped to his back, we’d come up with a basic strategy. As soon as we were all in position, Ruby would distract him with fire, Sapphire would shake him up with her vibration powers, then I would cover the area in darkness while Diamond phased her way over to the perp to deliver the K.O. I was ready to act, just waiting for the signal from Pearl when Freeze Frame threw a proverbial monkey wrench in the works.

“Hey! Heroes!” Mullins called out. “I know you’re out there! Look... as much as I’d like to stay here and play around with you, this place is about to become a smoking crater. We’ve got maybe five minutes at most left before it happens, and I’d prefer to be out of the blast radius.”

“You... you planted a bomb?!?” Emerald yelled out.

“Of course he did,” Ruby grumbled, from her spot. “He tried to blow us all up before after all. Shit. Guys, we have to get these frozen police out of the blast radius too!”

“Exactly!” Freeze Frame called out smugly. “And if you care, there are still six or seven people still in the building as well, frozen in place. But I’m sure a bunch of real heroes like yourselves would go and rescue the helpless innocents instead of risking their lives to chase after little ol’ me.”

Well. Shit. He had a point.

«Darklight! This is Diamond» Diane’s thoughtspeak voice called in my head. «I had Pearl link us all together. We need a new strategy. We have to defuse those bombs or rescue the people still trapped in that building before it explodes. But we can’t just let Freeze Frame wander around free either. If we let him get away, there’s no telling how when and where he’ll show up next. And if your dad’s right...»

“Then that device could still explode and do more damage than the bombs in the building,” I said with a sigh. “Crap. Okay... Let’s go with this. Sapphire and Amber, you guys help me stop Freeze Frame. The rest of you head into the building and see if you can stop it from exploding.” I thought quickly. “I’ll see if I can distract him so you guys can enter the building without getting seen. Be ready to move, okay?”

«Roger,» Diamond responded, and I sensed her nod. «And be careful. If that device turns into a black hole, we’re all done.»

Yeah, I thought to myself, closing my eyes, focusing my energy, nothing like the threat of death and annihilation to add a bit of challenge. With a bit of effort, I used the little I’d learned from my training so far to create a shadow based clone of myself. And then I sent that clone forward into the fray.

Freeze Frame glanced up as my clone approached his location. “Hey, nice costume,” I said, nodding briefly. “Very classic. Very retro. Let me guess... you’re a fan of Megaman?”

Mullins blinked in confusion. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Really? Come on!” I exclaimed. “The blue and white suit? The giant fishbowl. You HAD to be going for Flashman, right? It can’t just be a coincidence.” I nodded softly. “I can see why the name change. Wouldn’t want Capcom suing you for trademark infringement, on top of everything else.”

Freeze Frame scowled. “Hmph. A funny guy, huh? Let’s see how funny you are when you’re frozen!” he grunted, bringing up his arms. A bright flash lit the area briefly... and my shadow clone disappeared, poofing out of existence. “What the... where did you go?”

Huh. Good question, I thought, shaking my hands, a strange tingling sensation in them, like pins and needles. I’d known ahead of time NOT to try anything stupid, like trying to shadowstrike his suit to try and short it out. I’d been wary of how my energy would handshake with his. If I had to guess, I’d say that the unique ‘light’ of the negative photons had an inverse and opposite reaction to my anti-photonic shadow energy, causing them both to neutralize each other. Or... it could be something else entirely different, dealing with science versus magic, or some other completely unknown reaction. Either way, it would probably be a good idea not to get blasted directly.

“Hey. Cool trick,” I said, causing a second clone to appear at his left side, and a third one to appear on his right. “I have some pretty cool tricks as well, Flashman.” I extended my powers, creating a wall of darkness around him, then nodded to the Gems, signaling for them to make their move. Of course, I needed to keep the distraction going a bit longer.

“DAMMIT!” Freeze Frame growled, blasting out from both hand blasters this time, and I twitched, feeling that tingling again as they dispersed. “Stop screwing around with me, goddammit! This isn’t a fucking game!”

“Are you kidding me?” I countered, creating three clones this time, each of them adopting a heroic pose. “This is EXACTLY a game! That’s why I need to defeat you so I can get your Time Stopper, and use it to beat Quickman. Then I can use his weapon to beat Bubbleman, and, well, you get the idea.” His reply was to zap all three clones in succession, blinking them out of existence.

“Do you take me for some kind of idiot?” he snarled, glancing around furiously. “I know that’s not the real you! You’re just trying to keep me here until the bomb goes off!” He growled, firing aimlessly a few times. “Dammit! Show yourself! Come out here where I can see you!”

“Um... how about not?” I replied back, taunting him, even as Sapphire and Amber signaled they were ready. “But you were right about one thing. This is all about keeping you here. Sapph, if you will, please?”

“You got it, D.L.,” she said, surprising Freeze Frame, who whirled around behind him. “Rock and roll, buddy!” she said with a smirk, sending out a wave of vibrational power on the ground at his feet. Mullins cried out in alarm, stumbling for several seconds before falling flat on his ass. “Amber! Your turn!” she called out, drawing back out of the line of fire. “Finish the job!”

“You got it!” she replied with a savage grin of her own. Not many people knew the specifics about Amber’s power. Unlike most of the others Gems, her power required foresight and planning. While her power to create her amber shields and domes was virtually instantaneous, it required time to fully set and harden, like wet cement. She’d learned over the years to create micro thin outlines for her cocoons, virtually invisible and undetectable, then pumped the frames full of her gathered power before releasing it, coating her captives in a cocoon with a hard solid outer shell which allowed the inner layers time to harden. While I’d kept the madman busy, she’d slipped close enough to cover him in one of her clear micro thin domes, waiting for the word to release her power and cocoon him like a fly stuck in amber.

Indeed, Freeze Frame, still shaken from Sapphire’s attack, had just enough time to glance upwards before his entire world turned bright yellow. His face was frozen in an angry scream, no doubt cursing the ones who had outsmarted him. I let out the breath I’d been holding, releasing the cloak of darkness from around the area. “Nice work, you guys,” I said, coming up along to both of the Gems. “Mission accomplished. The bad guy is under wraps, and the catastrophe has been averted.”

“One of them anyway,” Sapphire replied, glancing over at the building. “It’s coming up on five minutes now, and we haven’t heard a peep from Pearl or the others. If they haven’t disarmed the bombs yet—”

«Oh ye of little faith!» Pearl’s voice came through smugly, as the building’s front door opened, and the Gems made their way outside. «We managed to find all of the bombs and disarm them. The last one cut things a little close, but we got the job done.»

«We even came back with a bonus,» Diamond added, and as she and the others came into view, I could see they were carrying what appeared to be several frozen people. «There are still a few more inside... about eight people in total, counting the CEO. And they all would have been killed if the bombs had gone off.»

“Damned psycho,” Emerald said aloud as they reached our location, turning to glare at Freeze Frame’s frozen form. “What kind of lunatic does something like this? These people were all just innocent bystanders. They had nothing to do with this at all!”

“A lunatic with a serious ax to grind and a seriously bent moral compass,” I replied grimly. I’d had a pretty shabby opinion of the guy before all of this, but it had just hit an all-time low. I could see him going after the CEO, or his supervisor, his department head—the people that had fired him, people he had a legitimate beef with. But office secretaries or security guards? Janitorial staff? People who just happened to be there when he decided to make his big move? This was beyond reprehensible. It was unforgivable.

“Guys?” Pearl said suddenly, going stiff. “I think we may still have a problem.” We all glanced to where she was pointing, back at Freeze Frame’s face... more specifically, his mouth, and eyes, which were still moving! “Amber, he shouldn’t still be able to move like that, should he?”

“N... no!” she said, shaking her head. “There’s no way. My amber should have completely locked down his ability to move! He should be in... in... oooh... oh shit!”

“In stasis,” I finished, connecting the dots at the same time as Amber. The others glanced at us, confused. “His suit!” I pointed out. “Remember the modifications my dad talked about? His suit is designed to let him channel and aim his stasis field in any direction at will... but without affecting himself! The suit was designed to protect him from being put into stasis—”

“The same kind of stasis my amber puts a person in,” she finished. “It’s only a matter of time bef—”

At which point, Grady Mullins shattered his golden cocoon, sending debris and shrapnel in all directions. I rolled to the side by reflex, landing in a crouch, but Amber, and Pearl, the two closest to him, took a few hard hits, sending them down for the count. “You fucking bitches!” he growled, hands outstretched, glowing in preparation of firing. “You think you can beat me so easily?!? I’m Freeze Frame! I control time itself! And I am fucking invincible!”

“The fuck you are!” Emerald growled, pointing a green glowing hand at the would-be villain. “That’s twice now that you’ve hurt my fiance! Well, there’s not going to be a third time!”

“No! Emerald! Stop! Don’t fire!” Diamond yelled out, grabbing her arm. “You can’t! You might set off the device!”

“Set it off?” Mullins said, laughing. “Oh, I’ll set it off, all right!” He pointed and flashed, freezing Amber and Diamond in place. “I’ll freeze the whole bunch of you,” he said, turning as Ruby charged at him, freezing her in mid jump. “And once I have, I’ll show you all what happens when you disrespect me!”

“Dammit man! Stop zapping everyone with that generator!” I yelled out, still crouched down out of his line of sight. “You’re causing a damned energy imbalance! The more you use it, the worse it will get!”

“Energy imbalance? Yeah right!” he laughed, flashing in my general direction. Again, I felt that strange tingling, pins and needles sensation, but a lot stronger. “You’re trying to trick me again, distract me... but I’m not falling for it!” he whirled around suddenly, flashing Sapphire, who had tried to sneak up behind him, freezing her in place as well.

“It’s not a trick, you moron!” I yelled back. “We analyzed the blueprints you used to create your suit! You made a mistake with the power flow regulators. It’s causing an internal power spike every time you fire!” Sighing heavily, I stood up, fully in view, hands raised. “I’m being serious here, okay? No tricks. No powers. No gimmicks. If you keep using that device, there’s a very good chance it will overload and cause a catastrophic energy surge. I talked to an expert, and the BEST outcome would be that you blow yourself and all of us sky high.”

“Best outcome?” he said, looking amused. “Then tell me, Mr. Darklight... what would be the worst possible outcome then?”

“According to my expert, a black hole,” I said with a sigh. “A microscopic singularity forms that feeds on itself and all the nearby matter in the area, growing bigger and bigger until the entire planet implodes.”

Mullings blinked at my deadpan delivery of the facts. For a moment, I thought that perhaps I’d gotten through to him, that his own sense of self-preservation might override his ego enough for him to at least CONSIDER that he might have made a mistake, that I might actually be telling the truth.

And then the moment passed. “Heh. Nice try,” he said, raising his blasters towards me. “You’re just like all the others, always jealous of my genius, trying to make me doubt myself! My calculations were flawless! My suit is perfect! And you, friend,” he grinned as he activated his flasher one more time, “are about to be a statue.”

Except his device didn’t fire.

“Eh? What the hell?” he muttered, clicking the triggers embedded in his gloves a few times. “What the fuck? What did you do?” he growled, glaring up at me. “You did this! You sabotaged my suit somehow, while you were talking to me, stalling for time!”

I let out the breath I’d been holding. “I didn’t do anything, Mullins. I told you there was a flaw in the system, Frankly, we’re all just really lucky that it just died instead of... exploding... or... something... worse...” I drew silent, staring with wide eyes, as a series of sparks began to dance lightly along Freeze Frame’s suit, and a small intensely bright light began to glow from the center of his belt.

Well. I guess I never truly learn, do I? Even WITH my powers augmented, even with a totally new depth of knowledge and insight into my powers, I still, still hadn’t learned not to tempt fate by using the ‘L’ word. Any time luck had a hand in something I was involved in, it inevitably went bad. As I stood there in horror, the white glare shining from Freeze Frame’s belt intensified, and grew larger, spreading outwards. The tingling pins and needles feeling from before returned with a vengeance as I felt a tug, then a pull, then a jerk as the increasing whiteness enveloped me and the surrounding area...

Jimmy! Jimmy!

Ugh. Not good. I was... inside.

Jimmy!

Can’t move. Can’t breathe. Can’t feel or see anything. Kind of like floating in a sensory deprivation tank... except instead of being in pitch-black darkness, I was surrounded by piercing white light.

Please baby! Talk to me! Jimmy!

Hhhuhh? Dev? Devon? Is that you?

Yes! It’s me. Baby, please! You have to fight this! You have to stop what’s happening.

Devon? What... what’s happening?

This effect, this... time dilation effect? It’s spreading. It’s covered the entire area where you are and spreading out in all directions. If it’s not stopped, it will eventually cover the entire city, and beyond!

Time dilation? Shit. That means worse case scenario... That’s not good. But... you’re a goddess. You, and mom, and um... grandma, I guess? You can stop this, right?

No, Jimmy. This... thing. This effect... it’s something we can’t control. It’s basically freezing time, slowing and stopping it completely. We might control time and space, but with no time, we’re effectively powerless. You’re the only one who can do this Jimmy!

Okay then. That... actually helped, really. I was already screwed, after all, so if I failed miserably, I couldn’t make things any worse. I was inside the event horizon of what appeared to be a gray hole, or possibly even the beginnings of a small black hole. My theoretical physics said that time would slow to an infinitesimal crawl from gravity distorting space-time, so even if I WAS falling towards my death, it could take years, possibly decades, before I was far enough in to be crushed to death.

So... no time like the present to try and fix it!

Since this entire situation was completely out of the realm of normal logic anyway, I tossed it out altogether and decided to take Lana’s lessons to heart. Instead of thinking about how gravitational fluctuations might affect my shadow energy, I simply focused and built up my power, bringing it to bear. Instead of worrying about the various possible interactions of my darkness with this energy, I simply reached out with it, opening myself up, feeling the energy spreading out around me. And even though I was inside of an energy field with no mass and virtually no matter, I focused my mind, my power, my magic... and pulled.

And felt the world around me shudder, resisting that pull, jerking back, and tugging at ME now, the ever-present tingling sensation giving way to the feeling of being pulled apart at the seams, like having an infinite number horses pulling on me in the opposite directions. Talk about a shock to the system. Still... it was something I could deal with, something I could actually fight against. Steeling myself, I increased my power and pulled, harder, pulling, straining, resisting... and I felt it begin to give... actually... shrinking!

Yes! It was working... the bright white light actually dimmed every so slightly, the pressure relenting just a tiny bit. I visualized it in my head, a giant white balloon, expanding outwards, and me, trying to squeeze it back down, forcing the air back out.

Easy, Jimmy, Devon’s voice came to me again, sounding strained. Baby. you’re doing it... you stopped its spread, and it’s actually folding back in. But, please, you have to be gentler. The fight between you and that force of entropy is causing a lot of stress on the Great Weave. If you’re not careful...

I could rip the space-time continuum apart. Again! Shit! So much for having no fear of making things worse! And now, of course, that worry made it all the harder to concentrate, to clear my head. I could actually feel that worry, like a guitar string being plucked, the vibrations flowing through my power, causing unplanned surges as I tried to slowly, gently, push the balloon back flat again—

FEAR-PAIN-TERROR-SADNESS-FURY-HURT-ACCEPTANCE-DEATH

And suddenly, my power flared like a goddamn mushroom cloud as I felt my sister Katie, feeling her dying, DYING, back home in River City, feeling her life slip away!!

Jimmy! JIMMY! Please! Calm down! You’re going to destroy the Weave! You’re going to destroy everything! Devon pleaded, her desperation somehow piercing the momentary fugue I’d lapsed into. Please! You have to stay calm! Katie will be okay! I promise!

But... I felt her! I felt her dying, her chest clenching up! Oh, goddess... I saw her falling over, Whitney? Whitney with superpowers somehow... and she’d poisoned her? Had poisoned Tawnya and Sioban and... and... so many others as well! Goddess Bless!!

Baby, please... I know you’re upset. But if you don’t stay calm, your emotions are going to destroy the Weave. You’re going to destroy everything. Trust me. I’ve seen that they’ll be fine! But you HAVE to calm yourself and relax your energy.

Huh. Easier said than done. How was I supposed to disconnect myself from my worry about my baby sister, my fear of screwing up, destroying the world, my anger, and frustration... how was I supposed to use my powers without my emotions affecting them?

How do I—Tch. No matter. I just have to.

Closing my eyes again, I took a moment to center myself. If I could have moved my chest, I would have exhaled. It had been ages since Aunt Veronica has taught us meditation, how to clear our minds to focus our senses and skills. I invoked it now, putting myself into a calming trance, forcing out everything, every thought, every feeling, every emotion... until there was only what I needed to do. And I opened my eyes.

And I did it.

I pulled. Pulled. Pushed. Gently, slowly, calmly. Steadily. I ignore the soft words of encouragement from my beloved whispering in my head. I ignore the occasional shudders from the world around me as the sphere of light contracted even more. I ignored the steadily dimming brightness as the event horizon shrank steadily under my ministrations. And I ignored the fatigue that seemed to build relentlessly even as the world around me began to come back into view.

“Ugggghhhnnnnnn!” I groaned, shuddering slightly as gravity and motion returned, stumbling, but keeping my hands on, physically holding the sphere of entropy, now about the size of a basketball. Sounds returned, the voices of surprised people, as well as the mundane background noise of traffic, birds chirping, the wind blowing, and the like. And still I pushed, sending the last bit of my magic forth, wrapping the glowing globe up in a cocoon of darkness and shadows, feeling the two opposing forces eating at each other... until finally, blessedly, just as I sank to my knees, exhausted, the light finally succumbed to my darkness, winking out of existence...