The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Light and Shadows 9: Hidden Within the Shadows

By J. Darksong & Gbrn32e

* * *

Ch. 6) The Stranger It Feels

It had been a very strange, annoying, and mostly fruitless day.

Since leaving our apartment, Devon and I had met up with the other Gems and had spread out to search for Emily. It was a bit disconcerting that she’d simply disappeared this way while jogging in her civilian persona. As a card carrying Super, you expected to occasionally run afoul of situations like being caught and captured by the random disgruntled criminal with an axe to grind. It was something very different to be attacked and captured while walking around in your civvies.

Still, we were all hopeful that she’d be found again, safe and sound. Devon had used her foresight to peer at Emerald’s future, and while she couldn’t narrow her vision enough to see what was happening with her right now or in the immediate future, she reported seeing Amber and Emily back together again, laughing and having dinner together a few days from now. So, regardless of what was going on at the moment, we were pretty sure it would turn out right in the end.

My own search was going a bit slowly, and, frankly, a bit strangely. We’d split up to cover more ground, and beat the bushes, so to speak. The Gems, aside from Julie who’d left the night before to visit her Mom out of town, took most of her usual hangouts. Amber was, understandably distraught, so Devon chose to stick with her, her visions giving her the best chance of being the first one to find Emily, or at least know when one of the rest of us found her. Myself, I’d chosen to look at it all logical, following the path she’d gone jogging, retracing her steps, to see if anything unusual stood out to me.

All well and good, at least in theory. Only, things started getting really weird as soon as I got near the University grounds. My little bad luck gremlins (or so I tended to think of them) had been relatively good for the past few weeks. Sure, I’d had an... incident or two when I’d first arrived here, still recovering from the hell ‘Madam Snakey’ had put me through, waking up from night terrors to find my dorm room mostly destroyed. Incidentally, that had actually worked out well, since by general consensus, Devon was approved to move in with me, as her presence seemed to help keep the nightmares, and thus the physical devastation, at bay. That said... I’d not had any major acts of random destruction in several weeks, but as I made my way along the path leading onto the college campus, my gremlins seemed bound and determined to make up for lost time.

A bit parched, I’d stopped at a water fountain and bent over to take a drink. I heard the sound of something cracking, and glancing down, I saw the concrete around the base of the fountain shattering. Somewhat alarmed, I grabbed the sides of the heavy steel and porcelain water pump as it started to tilt over, inadvertently pulling and breaking the water pipe linked to it. Two of my fellow students that had approached me, no doubt to get a drink of water themselves, got more than they asked for, suddenly drenched with a torrent of water that knocked them both flat on their backs. Groaning inwardly, I lay the broken fountain on its side, then, taking hold of the pipe, clamped it shut with my bare hands, and quickly walked away.

Things continued on that vein the rest of my time searching. Random things would happen as I walked by, like branches breaking suddenly, or flower pots or shingles falling from a roof. None of them hit me, for which I was actually somewhat grateful, but my fellow students weren’t so lucky. When Jack Byers and Tim Grissom from my Anatomy class both got knocked cold by a pair of deflected golf balls from one of the university’s golf team spilling from their bag out into oncoming traffic, I knew something was up. After checking to make sure they were both still breathing, and once again, calling the campus nurse, I made my way to the bench in front of the Admin building, sat down, and waited.

All too soon, another pair of familiar faces showed up, approaching me a bit warily, apparently having seen or heard what happened to everyone else that had gotten close to me over the past hour or so. I nodded my head slightly at both. “Hey Fred, Zack,” I said amicably. “How’s it going?”

“Look, we don’t want any trouble,” Zack said, edging back on the balls of his feet, as if he were ready to sprint off at the slightest provocation. “We’re not with the others, okay? We’re just here to deliver a message.”

“Others?” I said, eyebrow raised. “Message?”

“Y-yeah,” Fred replied nervously, glancing around repeatedly. “Our Mistress ordered that you be brought to her... by any means necessary.” He swallowed. “The others... they took her literally. For what it’s worth, none of them would have tried to hurt you or anything, we were just going to bring you back with us. The worst we were prepared to do was knock you out with a tranquilizer dart or something.” He shuddered. “We didn’t know you were some kind of martial arts kung-fu ninja!”

I smirked at that. It was actually pretty close to the truth, considering all my training, though Jack and the others had been taken down by means far beyond simple fighting techniques. Apparently none of the others sent to approach me saw what happened to the ones sent before them, only the aftermath. I wasn’t sure whether I preferred being outed as a Super or being outed as a dangerous and possibly psychotic human ‘lethal weapon’. Ah well, I could quibble about how to fix my reputation on campus later, AFTER I dealt with the immediate issues facing me.

“Okay,” I replied with an overly dramatic sigh, “you have my attention. Out with it. What message did this ‘mistress’ of yours want you to relay to me?”

Fred and Zack glanced at each other, apparently debating on who would get to be the unlucky fool to break the news to me. By some unspoken agreement Zack spoke up. “Mistress has your g-girlfriend,” he stated, visibly bracing himself, “and if you want her back you’ll go to her home address,” he finished, holding out a small piece of paper with handwriting on it.

I stared at him for a long moment, eyebrow raised, saying nothing, all the while the gears in my head were turning. I was ninety-nine percent sure Devon was safe. I’d talked to her twice since my little ‘bad luck spurt’ and she’d been fine, still with Amber. I was also one hundred percent sure that the ‘girlfriend’ that the boys were referring to was my missing comrade Emily Clarke. Add with all this talk of ‘Mistress’ and the fact that all of the people that had tried to bring me in were all males in the medical sciences department, and I had a pretty good idea of who I was dealing with. Goddessdammit, I thought in frustration. Talk about not talking ‘No’ for an answer. Okay. Fine. I’ll play along for now, go and meet with her, and get Emerald out of this mess. I just hope she and Amber don’t end up blaming ME for this afterwards... I just now got back in their good graces!

“Very well,” I said aloud, snatching the paper from the boy’s hand in the blink of an eye. He and Fred literally jumped back, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from roaring in laugher. Yeah, I’m a big husky guy, but I’m damn agile when I need to be. Standing up, I turned and left, already pulling out my cell phone, planning to call Devon and Amber and give them the good news.

“WAIT!” Fred yelled out, causing me to turn. “Mistress said no phones. If you try and call the police, or show up with anyone else, then she’ll make sure your girlfriend suffers for it.”

My expression went sour at that. Abducting Em was one thing. Trying to abduct me was another. But threatening to actually hurt her if I tried to get the authorities involved was crossing the line! “Don’t worry,” I said stiffly, tossing my cellphone back at them. “I have no intention of passing this off to anyone else. I plan on settling this myself. But you can inform your Mistress for me, that if anything happens to Emily,” I cracked my knuckles loudly. “Let’s just say that what happened to all of your pals sent to bring me to her will be like a big tickle fight compared to what I personally do to her!” With that, I turned and stomped off, more than a little pissed, and not even slightly remorseful with my bad luck gremlins, already freed, decided to pay Zack and Fred back by causing one of the outside overhead lights to spontaneous break and drop down on top of them, knocking them both out for the count...

* * *

Katie sighed wearily as she made her across the evening sky, flying back towards the Prentiss mansion, the temporary home of her beloved Tawnya and Sioban, and their family. Though the place had already started to feel like home to her, and she enjoyed staying there, it was becoming harder and harder to make herself go back there. She’d spent the night before at Ginger Lee’s home, choosing to bed down with the sexy redhead rather than return home to the mostly empty mansion. As fun and insatiable as the girl was, she was still a poor substitute for the other redhead that dominated her thoughts.

Without Nigel and his women here, it’s just not the same, she lamented sadly. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, keeping busy during the day, so I don’t have to focus on it that much, but late at night when it’s time to go to sleep, it just hits me all at once. She sighed again, pausing to hover a few miles from the entrance to the grounds, considering. I really don’t feel like going back to an empty house right now. I’d go back and meet up with Megan, but she’s busy on patrol, using her skills as Techna to spread my influence and help turn more of the criminal element into soldiers for the cause. And Spice Girl is out on patrol tonight as well, and has an early day at the office tomorrow to boot.

A loud grumbling sound from her stomach caused her to blush with embarrassment, despite the fact that floating several hundred feet in the air, there was no one around to hear it. Damn, that last meeting with the city comptroller ran long. I missed dinner. Deciding, she turned and flew back into the city, heading towards the bright lights of the food district. Not the only question is, what do I want to eat? I’m not really in the mood for Lorenzo, either his food or any uncomfortable questions he might be asking. Maybe something quick and easy? I have been meaning to go to a McDonald’s since I’m actually on my own these days. It can’t possibly be as bad as Lorenzo’s been making it out to be...

Suddenly Katie stopped, hovering, frowning as she glanced around. I’d know that sound anywhere, she thought grimly. A gunshot. Dammit... just another reminder that this city has a long way to go before its truly a safe place for people to live. Peering down, she spied the source of the sound, a small group of young women in an alleyway beside a popular nightclub, being assaulted by two men in masks. A furious anger swept through her with such ferocity it surprised even herself, Katie flew down, landing directly in front of the lead thug just as he raised his weapon again.

“...told you once already, you uppity bitches. Get in the damn van right now if you don’t me to shoot you in the goddamn le-aaaaaahhh fuck! SHIT! It’s that fucking pixie hero girl, Luminaire!” the man yelped, taking a step back. Reflexively, he pulled the trigger, taking aim at the blonde heroine. Katie, eyes wide in shock, reacted as well... or rather her guardian angel acted for her. The gun in the man’s hand, a well owned, well used and maintained Bren Ten, malfunctioned, the loading mechanism inexplicably jamming, pinning the bullet in the chamber at a skewed angle. When the hammer came down, the cartridge exploded, but jammed as it was, the force had no accessible outlet. So it made one of its own, backing up through the chamber, into the clip, and through the handle.

In short, the gun exploded in the man’s hand.

“Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgghhhhh!” the would-be kidnapper screamed, holding his bloody mangled hand in utter shock and horror. His partner, a bit more in the know about the costumed Supers of this city, dropped his gun and ran, leaping into the aforementioned van, while the driver peeled out, trying to escape. Scowling, not about to let that happen, Katie zipped along behind them, grabbing the bumper on the speeding vehicle, and dragged her feet, digging in her heels, bringing the van to an abrupt stop.

The two crooks inside, however, weren’t quite ready to admit defeat just yet. The driver, thinking quickly, shifted into reverse, causing it to suddenly slam backwards into the plucky heroine. Jarred from the sudden impact, Luminaire’s grip released, and the driver shifted back into drive again, stamping down on the gas. Knowing it would only buy them a few seconds, however, he pinned a brick on the accelerator, then he and his passenger both opened their doors and bailed out before the vehicle could pick up enough speed.

Grunting, slightly sore from the hit, and more than a bit pissed, Katie glanced up to find the two assailants running off in different directions as their van took off, rocketing down the street aimlessly towards a very busy crossing lane full of people about to cross the street. “Goddessdamit!” she yelled, seething, beginning to glow brightly. “That’s it. THAT IS IT!” Thrusting a hand towards the van, she let out a beam of intense bright light. The laser light cut through the metal van like a hot knife through butter, slicing it in half. The two halves skidded to a stop well before reaching the innocent citizens, leaving Katie able to turn her full attention to the miscreants that had caused the aborted disaster.

“Oh, shit, oh shit, oh shit,” the driver mumbled rapidly, running full tilt, looking around frantically for someplace to hide. “What the hell? I know this place has more fuckin’ Capes roaming around than fleas on a mangy junkyard dog... but really, what the fuck?!? Just appearing out of the damn sky like that? Of all the rotten luck—”

“Exactly,” Luminaire growled, snatching him up by the collar in midstep. “Luck. Good luck for me, bad luck for you.” She gestured with her hand, and the other thug, tightly bound and cocooned in a Light cocoon, floated over to them as well. “Let me say, for the record, that I have little patience and zero tolerance for your kind! And I’m not talking about criminals in general.” Her eyes narrowed, and her glow brightened considerably, causing both men to wince, averting her eyes. “Using guns? Threatening innocent lives, using your fucking VAN as a goddamn missile and pointing it at bunch of pedestrians as a way to escape?!?”

The driver shook his head. “Wait! Okay, okay... I’m sorry! Really! I... we... we panicked! Please! I swear, we won’t do anything like this ever again!”

Katie’s smirk grew wicked. “Oh, I’m pretty sure that you won’t be doing anything like this ever again,” she said, creating a pair of glowing black colored orbs. “In fact, I can personally guarantee it...”

* * *

I was still fuming slightly when I reached the address on the note. Dr. Winstead’s home was about what I’d expected. It was large, and looked expensive, though not overly so, fitting for someone with a doctorate but that taught rather than practiced. The blinds were closed, but the lights from on inside the house were enough to determine that the house was occupied. Besides, I was expected, after all, and it would be rude not to be waiting for me after all the trouble she’d gone through to deliver the invitation.

There were two ways of going about this—the direct approach, and the stealthy one. Rushing in guns blazing definitely had its appeal right now... but I decided to play it safe. I wasn’t worried about myself in this, far from it. But one misstep, and Emily would be put in harm’s way. And I couldn’t allow that. Using the night’s natural shadows to my advantage, I crept to the side of the house, towards one of the windows, and peered along the edges. The slatted blinds restricted my vision somewhat, but from my angle I was able to see well enough inside to spot the target of my search.

Emerald lay on a large four poster bed, utterly naked, sweat soaked, her short green hair splayed and stuck to her head and face, looking for all the world like a woman who’d just endured a marathon sex session. Indeed, as I peered closer, that did seem to be the case, as I could just make out the slow, steady motion of her hands, working what appeared to be a vibrator in and out of her wet leaking sex...

Okay, so... I MAY have gotten a bit distracted watching a bit longer than I should have.

Still, target one found! Dr. Winstead didn’t seem to be inside the room herself, not from any angle I could observe from, and a quick circle of the house revealed nothing else of interest. Most likely, she was sitting in the front living room, waiting for me to arrive and ring the bell. Hardly one to do the expected, I instead went to the back door, deepening the shadows there, and sending a probe of shadow tendrils along and around the doorway. Aha! I know that sensation... some kind of sensor grid around the doorframe and along the wall beside it. Must be an alarm. Sharpening my focus, I sent a tendril directly into the source of the current I’d felt, disrupting it, disabling the alarm, then carefully, quietly, I twisted open the locked door, and stepped silently inside.

Entering the kitchen, I nodded to myself. It was empty and dark, though the dim light from the living room shining through the bottom of the door giving me more than enough light to see by. In the corner I noticed a doorway, no doubt leading down to the basement. Knowing the devilish doctor a bit more now, I wondered idly what kind of set up she had down there. Somehow I imagined her more likely sporting an X-frame, pillory, and bondage gear, rather than a washer-dryer combination, and exercise equipment. When this was over and done with, I’d have to remember to take a look and see what other evidence of wrongdoings I could stick her with.

Because, you know, I totally wasn’t planning to simply go there to just gawk or anything. And certainly not to get ideas for decorating my and Devon’s apartment. Not at all. Stop thinking that!

Moving quietly towards the door to the living room, I listened, leaning my head against the door frame, trying to determine if she was in there. I could hear some music playing lightly, an old but familiar tune. After a few seconds I could make out the words enough to determine the song—‘Once Bitten, Twice Shy’ by Great White. I smirked at that. I was something of a music aficionado myself, but this was the kind of music that one’s mom tended to listen to back during their high school years. I shook my head ruefully, as a new song began to play, no doubt from the teacher’s play mix. After a few seconds, I recognized that one as well—‘Shout At the Devil’ by Motley Crue. Dr. Winstead was definitely a child of the eighties.

A sound behind me caught my attention, however, and I turned just in time to spot my errant Anatomy instructor, standing there in a short pink bathrobe that left little to the imagination. Before I could do more than gawk, however, she struck, a flash of silver metal rushing forward at me. In an instant I realized what it was—too late to do anything about it. Groaning inwardly, I managed a short cry just as the stun gun pressed against my chest activated, sending a few thousand volts through my body.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK! I hate goddamn tazers!! Electricity was in many ways my damn kryptonite. I could take an explosion to the face, endure a hot plasma blast to the chest, and had been laser and gun shot more times that I cared to count. Things that would kill an ordinary man, yet I could shrug them off. But hit me with a few thousand volts, and I went down like a damn house of cards! As I lay on the floor of Dr. Winstead’s kitchen, twitching violently, in the few seconds of lucidity left before I blacked out, I wondered idly if my shadow tendrils ability to disrupt electricity was some kind of naturally evolved defense mechanism to compensate for this weakness.

If I survived the next few hours, I might have to do a study of that.

* * *

Luminaire flew back to check on the women she’d just rescued, all of whom were still just where she’d left them. Of the five or so women, one of them seemed to be calm and collected, and was trying to reassure the others. Katie smiled slightly at that. The last thing she was equipped to deal with tonight was a bunch of hysterical innocents clinging to her for help and guidance. Approaching the leaders of the group, she blinked, doing a double-take. All five of the women were drop dead gorgeous! The leader, in particular, was extraordinarily beautiful, blonde with soft pale skin, deep violet eyes, and a set of curves that could easily rival her own! And... was she crazy, or had she seen her face somewhere before, recently?

“Ah, you’re back,” the blonde leader replied, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Thank you for your timely interference. You saved us all from a truly dire fate!”

“Um, yeah, well, it’s what I’m here for,” Katie replied, blushing. “More importantly, are you all alright? Is anyone hurt? I heard the guy’s gunshot and came rushing in.”

“Oh, we’re just fine,” a statuesque brunette replied, with a nod. “Those guys were trying to scare us into going along with them. But I’m glad you came along when you did!” she added, glancing at her blonde friend, who likely blushed, glancing down at her feet. “Tone here wasn’t intimidated in the slightest! Even when he shot the ground at our feet! I was afraid she was going to do something crazy like charging at the guy herself or something!”

The aforementioned ‘Tone’ merely shrugged, still glancing down at her feet. “Yes, well. I don’t work out and take those self-defense classes for nothing, Ingrid. And anyway, I didn’t have to do anything. Luckily, a real heroine stepped in and saved us.” She glanced up at Luminaire. “Thank you. We’re all very lucky you happened to be in the area.”

She couldn’t help it. Katie giggled. “Hehehehe... yeah, lucky. That’s the story of my life...” Shaking her head, she sighed softly. “Sorry. Inside joke. So, um, ladies, I called the police on my way back here, and they should be arriving any minute. They’ll probably want to get statements from all of you, about what exactly went down here. If you’re all okay, I really need to be going.” She sighed, blushing bright red as her stomach suddenly grumbled loudly, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Heh. Heh. Sorry... I, um... skipped dinner...”

“Well, Miss Luminaire,” Tone said lightly, “if you’d be willing to wait until the police let us go, you could come with us out to eat. We were just planning to go grab a late bite to eat, actually, when those thugs accosted us. And treating you to dinner is the least we could do for you saving us.”

Katie smiled. “Wow. Th... thank you. That sounds great, actually. My, um... family and friends are out of town, and I was dreading having to spend the rest of the night alone. I’d love the company!” The familiar flashing lights of the River City Police came into view as several cars pulled up. “Well, let me talk to the O.I.C. and see if I can help speed up the process.”

* * *

Usually waking up after a stun gun incident is both troubling and humiliating. I’d woken up chained up in a meat locker before, or stripped naked and tied spread-eagled to a bed, or other equally embarrassing or dangerous situations. I’d frankly expected something similar, considering the circumstances, and true to form, Dr. Winstead not only met my expectations, she’d surpassed them. From the coolness of the room on my bare flesh, the tiny windows, and the solid stone walls, I was pretty sure she’d dragged me downstairs to the basement dungeon I’d been so eager to peek into. And surprise, surprise, she apparently had ordered from the Marquis de Sade Catalog of Dungeon Decorating after all! My wrists were clamped tightly in a pair of fur lined shackles that were something stronger than simple iron or steel.

No, scratch that. Flexing my arms a bit, testing the cuffs, caused them to shimmer slightly in a way I recognized as magic. Huh. She’s a mage of some kind, then... a witch. And obviously not one of the good kind. Shit... I guess that explains what she did to Emily and the rest of my classmates. I’m not quite as versed at taking on magic users as I am normal everyday Supers... but I don’t really have a choice here. Hmmm... if I go by what little I know from Auntie Sarah, then I might at least have a chance if I can keep her distracted and off guard. Magic takes a lot of focus and concentration. If I can disrupt that, I might just get a chance to strike!

Suddenly, the lights came on. I cried out, immediately shutting my eyes against the unwanted glare—I could see just fine in the dark, dammit—getting a chuckle from my erstwhile hostess as she stepped into view... with a dazed and obviously entranced Emily in tow. “Good evening, Mr. Frasier,” Dr. Winstead said briskly, high heels tapping loudly on the stone floor as she walked over to where I was chained. “I hope you had a pleasant nap. I’m sorry about the accommodations,” she added idly, running a hand idly along my bare chest, raising goosebumps, “but I have very nosy neighbors, and with the activities I have planned for this evening, I decided we should do this someplace a bit more... private. Oh, and by the way, feel free to yell and scream all you like. Not that it will do any good. This basement is completely shielded... I mean, soundproofed, so no one will hear you.“

I smirked inwardly at that small slip up. Shielded, indeed. I was definitely dealing with a magic user of some kind.

“Now, then,” she continued, walking over to a large soft looking bed in the middle of the room, “let me explain what’s going to happen. I made you a very generous offer the other day, but you turned me down,” she stated with a scowl. “So... I decided to look elsewhere for some amusement. And, lo and behold, I found this lovely young woman,” gesturing to the naked Emily, who climbed obediently onto the bed, “and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Now she’s my eager and obedient little playtoy. Isn’t that right, Emily dear?”

“Yes, my Mistress,” the hypnotized Gem purred lovingly, spreading her legs. “I am your toy... your obedient fucktoy. Please, Mistress... please fuck your toy!”

Despite myself, I growled, pulling at my chains at that. Christy merely laughed. “Now, now, my dear Jimmy,” she taunted, making a show of opening and discarding her bathrobe, “patience is a virtue. For now, just sit back and watch as I show you just how much I’ve claimed the heart of your beloved fiancé. Then, afterwards, if you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll let you give her a parting kiss before I send her away and set about claiming YOUR heart as well!”

Well. You have to give her one thing. If nothing else, the woman was confident. Of course, so was I. Crawling catlike onto the bed, grinding her naked curves against Emily’s, she was definitely distracted. As the two of them began making out, I could feel the magic in my shackles lessening, as the magic surrounding Dr. Winstead herself began to increase, as if she were drawing it all back into herself. If nothing else, she was certainly vulnerable and primed for a shadow strike. Silently, I began gathering my own power, building up the darkness inside me. The spotlights shining down on her and Emily made it difficult, and the lack of actual shadows around them would mean I’d have to strike her directly with my own tendrils instead of tapping into the shadows beneath them. It would require a bit more juice from me and take a little longer to prepare, but I was in no hurry. And within a few minutes, I was fully charged and ready to spring into action.

“Oooooh, ooooh... ooohhh Misssstresss!” Emily hissed, shuddering vigorously, grinding helplessly against the older woman, their legs scissored tightly together, tribbing each other in frantic obvious need. “Yess, oooh yess... fuck me, my Mistress!” she yelled, her voice cracking, head whipping around as she climaxed. “Fuck your toy! Take me... take all of meeeeee...”

Swallowing a bit, shifting position as my own body’s reaction to the scene before me made my current position slightly uncomfortable, I decided I could hold off my counterattack for, uh, a few more minutes. I mean, it would be rude to interrupt them when they were having such a good time after all. And my mind turned to thoughts of Devon, wondering what she was doing right now, and wishing, at least in part, that she was here with me right now.

Damn. When this was all over, Devon and I were going to pick up with ‘Naked Saturdays’ exactly where we’d left off before Ruby rang the doorbell...