The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Light and Shadows VII: Fading Light

by J. Darksong & Baltimore Rogers

Epilogue:

Eva sat up from the bed at her house, groaning softly. She felt sore in places she didn’t even know she could feel sore. Hmm. Maybe coming back here after trashing Lacie’s bedroom was a mistake after all. Sex with Lacie is a workout in and of itself, but all the rest of these girls randomly showing up may have been a bit too much. Stretching, then wincing, she made her way across the tangle of sleeping bodies to her bathroom. Looking around for Lacie, she realized her friend, her lover, was already up and gone. Hmmm. It must have been something important. I mean Lacie already knew about the bimbo virus, so I doubt this was a “walk of shame” situation with her. I’ll call her later to make sure, but I have more...ah...pressing matters at the moment.

She closed the door behind her and sighed, doing her toilet, simply letting her mind wander, looking back over the past few hours. The sexual haze had finally, thankfully, lifted, thanks to that bitter-ass medicine dear Angela had brought with her...

Angela.

She sighed softly again, thinking again of the lovely blonde lying passed out on the far side of her bed. To say she was surprised when the woman showed up would have been the understatement of the year. Of all of Nigel Grimalde’s people, the very last person she ever expected to show up on her doorstep was Angela Prentiss, President of GrimTech’s biological studies division and Senior VP of Research and Development.

Yes...and such a far cry from the broken, shattered creature that was brought to me all those years ago, her mind all but vaporized by that...that...criminal.

It was hard to reconcile. On the one hand, the man was a villain, an evil, despicable crook. She’d seen only too clearly EXACTLY what Angela had endured at his hands, all on a whim, all to test Patty’s loyalty to him above all others, all to test the effectiveness of his mind control drug. Seeing that, and the wreck of the young woman who had been a heroine, a symbol of light and good in this city....Eva had snapped, going on the offensive, alerting her nephew, and Lacie, and Gene, as to exactly what kind of a monster had sprung up in their own back yard.

Of course, Patricia Sellars hadn’t exactly stood still after the incident either. For an undergrad student only hoping to be a lawyer some day she had shown a keen grasp of how to get things done in the River City court system. She had petitioned for, and received, an incredibly broad restraining order against Whitewash. It prohibited her from ever again approaching Angela, or Patricia, or that snake Grimalde, or even a property owned by any of them. Even worse, that order was filed along with a sealed envelope. No one would say what was in the envelope, but Eva knew. She knew that the restraining order was booby trapped with incontrovertible evidence that Eva Snow was Whitewash. Thus it was more than fines or jail time that would be the consequence of breaking that restraining order. It would be the end of her secret identity.

Not that it was even needed. Even if I wiped the memories of everyone within the DA’s office and ripped up the envelope, Grimalde would have simply held a press conference. And even I’m not powerful enough to paint over every mind in the entire nation!

But still, Eva was undaunted and all in favor of gathering up her friends and storming “Castle Grimalde” to rescue the fair maiden, err, maidens. Parker was an enthusiastic “Yea” vote. Roni, his friend/lover/crime fighting partner agreed as well, albeit reluctantly. They all understood the consequences of their actions. They knew what they were signing up for. The threat issues applied implicitly to all the heroes of River City. Stay away or lose all semblance of a normal life. Stay away or see your powerless loved ones threatened by every two-bit villain that wanted leverage, or vengeance. When Parker and Roni decided to go it alone, the result was truly disastrous. Suffice it to say that when they finally did walk out of Grimalde Tower, they did so not with two rescued heroines, but instead with two fresh restraining orders of their very own.

Afterwards, they regrouped. They went home and licked their wounds, They bided their time. And after a while, their numbers replenished when Armor Man and Omega Girl returned to the fold. A new strategy was discussed, a new way to rescue the captive girls and free them from Nigel Grimalde’s cruel tyranny.

But Eugene Frasier had dragged his feet. He had been quick to realize that the threat of those sealed envelope was not just meant for Eva, Parker and Roni, but for ALL of them. Eugene saw the cost of going to war with Nigel Grimalde. It would be Mutually Assured Destruction. Oh, the good guys would win. Of that there was no doubt. They would destroy Grimalde and free the enslaved heroines. But then...then they would lose, first they would lose the secrets of their civilian identities, then, slowly but surely, over time, they would lose everything that made life worthwhile. Eugene counseled his friends to avoid confrontation. To watch. To wait. To bide their time. Lacie reluctantly agreed. And without the two strongest members backing them, the new plan fell apart.

At the time—so, so long ago it seemed now—Eva had actually been furious when Eugene had not backed them up, herself and the Albinns. Having events prove Eugene right made her even more upset with him. The idea of NOT being able to help her—ah, them, both of them—of being forced to simply sit back on the sideline while that psychotic lowlife did who-knew-what to that, um, THOSE poor girls. Suffice it to say, Eva had lost a lot of respect for Eugene Frasier on that day and the days that followed. And it had taken a VERY long time to gain it back.

Eugene...

No. Can’t think about that right now. There’s still too much that’s up in the air anyway. Maybe I need to head to Midas, and have an ‘old friend’ look me over, just to make sure my mind is free and clear. I don’t THINK the virus had any permanent effects, physical or mental...and the antidote I drank seems to have cleared up everything else. It doesn’t feel like hypnosis, and I’d have known instantly if another psychic had been inside my head. So...I can’t be sure, but...it feels real. What I’m feeling now...it’s real. Closing her eyes, she pushed THOSE thoughts away for now. She would deal with them in good time.

Instead, she pondered the quandary of the woman sleeping in her bed...well, there were multiple girls passed out in her bedroom currently, but specifically Angela Prentiss. For, despite everything she thought she knew about Angela’s situation, it turned out that she actually knew nothing at all. Unable to help herself, Eva had probed gently into Angela’s sleeping consciousness, peering at the events that had transpired since their last meeting. Shocked, she witnessed Nigel Grimalde through Angela’s eyes...first as a tormentor, then as an all-powerful Master-God, to be feared and obeyed above all else...but then, slowly, over time, as a lover, a nurturer, a protector.

HIS love and concern for her, more than any amount of counseling, or therapy, was what finally broke her out of her trauma-induced shell, allowing her wounded psyche to heal. Against all odds, the monster Eva had reviled for more than two decades turned out to have a soul, a loving, compassionate and caring side. It was incredible, unthinkable...but she’d seen the truth, felt it, and she had no choice but to accept it. Sighing deeply, she stood up to leave, opening the door.

And nearly ran into Angela.

“Eeep!” Eva squeaked, stumbling back. Angela took a step back as well, eyes went wide in surprise, before they narrowed, a slight smirk on her lips.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. I was just going to use the bathroom to freshen up a bit.” She gestured to the small pile of clothes on her hands. “Besides...I didn’t think it was possible to startle a psychic.”

“A psychic that’s aware and alert, maybe,” Eva replied, blushing slightly. “I...didn’t know anyone else was awake yet.” She sighed. “Look...Angela...I need to apologize to you...”

“Yes, I would imagine so,” Angela replied, still holding the same little smirk. “I would assume I’m only still here because you wanted me to be?”

“Oh, um...about that. I’m afraid I was leaking a bit earlier tonight when you arrived with the antidote.” She blinked, realizing how that sounded. “Um, leaking psychically, I mean. Though, considering that my lust and need broadcast to everyone in five square miles, and attracted all these other willing, participants, I’d imagine I was ‘leaking’ in other ways as well at the time.” She sighed. “And when you showed up, and I recognized you...and, well, you looked so fetching in that little red crop top you were wearing...“

Angela nodded, blushing slightly at the memory...of stepping inside the house to the sights and sounds and smells and of sex...of feeling a strange need...a compulsion, overwhelming her reason, flooding her with need...then touches, kisses, caresses, clothes flying, sex, bliss—

“Yes, well,” she said after a moment, returning her gaze to Eva, looking her in the eye, “be that as it may, I wasn’t really referring to THAT intrusion.”

Eva blinked. “You...you felt me, earlier—”

“’My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts.’” Angela intoned solemnly.“Did I feel you rummaging around inside my head? Hell YES, Ms. Spock!” Angela replied, her words clipped sharply. “You know, one of my best friends and harem sisters is a psychic, after all. But you DO know, don’t you. You know all about me now, right? Right, Dr. Hippocratic Oath?” Angela scowled, glaring. “I know what a psychic intrusion feels like. I know it well enough to recognize one anywhere, anytime. Even in my sleep. And even after twenty years, I still remember the touch of YOUR mind in particular!“

“Okay...you’re right.” said Eva, blushing floridly. “I’m sorry. I was curious...and I crossed a line. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have looked in your mind without your permission.”

“Right. And I’m sure that’s all you did. You were just enjoying a little light morning ‘reading’. An ethical, law-abiding badged psychic like you would never take the opportunity to write in the margins a little. Am I right?” Angela said accusingly, staring Eva in the eye, watching the psychic look away in shame. Angela grunted in disgust, turning and walking back out of the bathroom, heading towards the living room and the front door, slipping on her t-shirt as she went.

“Angela, wait! Please!” Eva called out, running after her. “I’m sorry I violated your trust! But really...all I did was look. I didn’t make any changes, didn’t leave any compulsions!” She caught up with her at the front door, catching her arm. “I swear! I’m telling you the truth!”

“You forgot to wave your hand in front of me when you said that, Obiwan, so your little ‘Jedi mind trick’ didn’t work!” she replied angrily. “Hey, I’ve got a great idea!” Angela said, holding out her right hand, smallest finger extended, “If you pinky swear to me that you didn’t do anything, then I’ll surely believe you!“

“Angela, please—”

Angela pulled back her hand and snarled, furious. “You’re a damned mind controller! For all I know you could have left some kind of booby trap in my head, something to make me hurt Nigel or my sisters...or who knows what else! I was a fool for even letting down my guard with you...a fool for coming here, period! I should have had my head examined to think I could come here safely... but you can bet your ASS that I’m going to have my head examined—by someone I can trust—before I go home.“

“Wait! Please!” Eva called to her as the angry blonde jerked out of her gasp. Sighing, closing her eyes, she did the only thing she could think of to convince her. Focusing her mind, she reached out psychically to Angela’s mind, pierced her rather formidable shields, to the very core of her mind...

And connected them.

“Wha...” Angela began, freezing, going stiff. Eyes wide, she stared sightlessly at nothing for several second...then tears began to flow. She turned slowly, turning to face Eva, who merely stood there, silently, waiting. After another few moments, Angela nodded simply, reaching up to wipe the tears. “You...that...you didn’t have to...”

“Yes I did,” Eva said softly, smiling sadly. “I violated you. I crossed a line. The only way I could think of to convince you of the truth was to link our minds...to open mine to yours, without barriers or shields...completely one hundred percent open.” She sniffled softly. “Instant trust. You now know my every thought, my every fantasy, my every dirty little secret. And you know that I didn’t do anything to you, to your mind, except look at your past.“

Angela nodded. She believed Eva...believed her and more. Angela and Constance were close. Very close. Intimately close. And even they had never shared this kind of intimacy before. In the span of a few seconds, she had learned more about the woman before her than she knew even about herself. Moreover, she saw, and FELT, the other woman’s guilt over what had happened between them, saw the incident from HER point of view...her feelings of failure, of failing to “save” her all those years ago, of failing to heal the hurt Nigel had caused her. Reaching out, she pulled Eva into a tight embrace, clutching her tightly.

“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered, as Eva finally relaxed in her arms, the tension draining away. “This feud, this animosity...it’s all so stupid. We are all to blame...but it’s beyond time that we sat down and talked about it and made things right.” She sighed softly, pulling away enough to look her in the face again. “It’s kind of funny, really. Before your friend Eugene showed up in Nigel’s office with this ‘deal’ of his, I would have never...” Suddenly, remembering something, her eyes went sad. “Oh. Oh, baby,” she murmured softly, hugging Eva again, even more tightly than before. “Have you told—”

“No,” Eva said, reddening significantly.“I...I only recently discovered my feelings for him...”

“I know. But you have to tell him how you feel.”

“I...don’t think I can.,” Eva murmured. “Hell, I’m still trying to wrap my own mind around this. How could I expect HIM to? And...if he rejected me...or if it ruined my relationship with Lacie...” She shook her head. “It’s just better if I keep my feelings to myself.”

“No, honey, it’s not,” Angela replied gently. “Trust me. Repressing your feelings for someone you care about...it doesn’t work! I tried that with Patricia, and it only backfired. If I’d been up front with her in the beginning...yes, it would have caused problems, and we might have fought a bit at first, but eventually we would have figured it out, and things would have been better between us. Instead, we spent years tip-toeing around each other, trying to pretend things were ok between us instead of fixing the problem.” She smiled. “True, things turned out fine between us in the end, but it was a long hard journey getting there, and all the time wasted being at odds could have been spent becoming closer and better friends.”

Eva sighed deeply, pulling away, walking over to her couch. “I know you’re right...it’s just...I’m afraid.” She looked up at her suddenly. “It’s kind of funny. We’re ‘birds of a feather’ you and I, if you’ll pardon the pun. We’re both lesbians. We’re attracted to women. I, for one, have no attraction to men at all, and I hear you about to protest that you’re bisexual, but really, Angela, all the great loves of your life have been women...with one notable exception. And the one man I care for, just like the one man you care for, the one that we are willing to submit to, the one that we’re willing to give ourselves to completely...is married to our best friend. No, it’s worse than that. He’s married to the OTHER great love of our lives.” Eva laughed ruefully. “I can’t decide if it’s more like a bad Shakespearean comedy, or a bad Greek tragedy. I don’t know how you can deal with it day after day, year after year, seeing and wanting, but not able to possess! I mean, it’s only been a day or so for me, and it tears me up inside every time I think about it—”

Angela silenced her with a soft kiss, with gentle passion and fierce compassion. “Oh Eva. ‘Dealing with’ my love life is as simple as breathing. All I need to do is remember that I am secure in my place,” she answered her, confidently. “I know that any time I spend with Nigel is between him and me, and that Patricia doesn’t begrudge me my time, nor do I begrudge Patricia hers. Or any of my other sisters. There is no jealousy between us, because it’s all about what NIGEL wants and desires, not what we want. I know that sounds impossibly selfless, but really it’s not. It’s enlightened self interest. If Nigel is happy, the joy, the pleasure, it comes back to us twice as much, a hundred times as much. His heart is big enough for all of us and more. My cup runneth over.” She gave Eva another small kiss. “I’m secure in my place. And that’s the difference between us, Eva. I’m secure in my place in my Master’s harem.”

“You really think I should do this?”

Angela nodded. “It’s the only way that is fair to you, fair to her, fair to him.”

“You know,” said Eva, “speaking as a licensed psychiatrist, and a pretty well-paid one at that...I have to say that you’re really good at this.”

Angela smiled. “Well, it’s not every day that someone literally dumps her whole life in my lap. But you’re changing the subject, Eva. You’ll do it, right? You’ll talk to him?”

“Very well,” Eva replied, taking a deep breath. “I’ll do it. I’ll tell Eugene the next time I see him.” She pursed her lips. “But...only after I talk it over with Lacie, as soon as I see her again. I have to come clean to her first. If she has any issues with this, I’d rather repress my feelings and leave them both to each other than ruin our friendship.”

“Eva, even if you all agree that you can’t all be together, I still think that you should all know about all of your feelings. All of you,” Angela said, smiling now. “Look, I know you’ll do what you think is best, and I do wish you luck with this, Eva. I really do. Just...please, think about what I said. That’s all. Now...I guess I’d better be going. I should really check back in and see what’s happening. We have thousands, hundreds of thousands, of people to—”

A pale soft finger against her lips stopped her words. “Well, your Master has waited for you this long,” Eva purred softly, staring at the beautiful woman with smoldering eyes. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be TOO upset if you waited just a little longer to check in. Hmm? Would he? He has your cell—speed dial number two, if I remember right—I’m sure he’d call if he needed you.“

Angela considered briefly, then turned away from the door, stripping off her t-shirt once more. “Aren’t you tired of sex yet?” she asked playfully. “From what I saw in your mind, you’ve been going at it for close to twenty-four hours straight now.”

“I’m a little sore in some places,” Eva admitted, leading her lover over to the couch.“That just means you’ll have to be especially gentle...”

“Watch out, girl,” said the golden blonde scientist, planting a light, gentle kiss on the lips of the platinum blonde doctor, “I’m the poster child for the damage that days of non-stop sex can do!”

“I guess,” Eva replied, pausing to circle those soft, soft lips with her tongue, “that I’ll just have to take that risk.”

* * *

Finally.

Sureshot roused slightly, his pulse quickening just the tiniest degree. His gaze focused, locking on through his scope as the secondary target he’d been tracking reappeared once more, this time with the primary target with her. His lips creased just the tiniest bit; he was tired of waiting, and ready to actually engage. Twenty-six hours and sixteen minutes was a long time to wait, hidden and unmoving; even his patience had limits. But finally, it seemed, his patience was being rewarded. Exhaling slightly, he slid his finger into place, curling it gently along the trigger, his eye flashing slightly as his power kicked in, and he began targeting the Frasier girl.

Hmmm...interesting, he thought to himself, his grin growing. Adjusting...adjusting...hmmm...very interesting indeed!

In his mind’s eye he could see the invisible lines of connection between his bullet and the girl’s body, the trajectory leading to a direct kill shot. And each time his power locked on, an equally opposing force sprang up, deflecting the line, skewing it off into a different target. He adjusted, automatically, and the opposing forces adjusted as well, like an invisible hand slapping match, each trying to gain ground over the other. Still, with each adjustment, his power increased its chances, eliminating each possible opposition one by one, until there were only sixteen deflections to his shot. Then eight. Then four. Then two. Until finally, there was only one line of opposition blocking.

C’mon, c’mon, he thought giddily, his heartbeat nearly racing with excitement, as he struggled to lock in on his oblivious target. It was proving to be the biggest challenge he had experienced in his career so far, just to lock onto the girl. C’mon...just one more...just one more...

There.

“Gotcha,” Sureshot said aloud, grinning evilly, as he finally keyed to his target. Now, locked in, his bullet would find its mark as long as she stayed within range of his shot, no matter what might try to impede its path. He grinned, flexing the muscles in his legs, preparing to stand. Though his job only required the girl’s death, he personally wanted to look her in the eye as she fell. It was the least he could do for such a worthy adversary. Forcing himself to calm down, he counted softly in his mind, preparing to fire. One....two...

Three.

* * *

“Jessica?” I exclaimed as my girlfriend sprinted across the street to meet me just as I landed back at City Hall. “Hey, honey...what are you doing out here? I thought you’d already gone home. And...why are you still wearing that outfit?” I asked, barely restraining my giggles. “Better not let your boss Wendy see you like that or she’ll fire your ass.”

“Fat chance of that,” Jessica replied with a smirk, blushing, kissing me deeply. She’d forgotten all about the stupid ‘cow horns’ headband and the cow bell she wore with her waitress outfit. “She’s the one who put me in this getup. Thanks to that stupid virus, I became her lead attraction.” She winced, wrinkling her nose. “Oh, and for further reference, I’m not eating or drinking ANY milk products for at least a year. Seriously.”

I chuckled, kissing her again. She’d apparently spotting my light trail as I’d flew back to meet Ivory Angel earlier and followed me over to the Mayor’s office during that whole debacle earlier, where she met up with Angela. Drinking down that...really revolting medicine, my mind cleared and I found myself standing in the middle of the Mayor’s private office, completely naked, along with an equally nude and equally embarrassed Ebony and Ivory Angel. I’d just regained my regained my bearings when Jess had burst through the door and pretty much tackled me to the ground, asking me if I was okay. Of course, she’d noticed Jess’s outlandish get-up then too, but, with Sweets making his getaway, there had not been any time to talk.

And now here we were again, me and the love of my life. There was all the time in the world to talk now. I looked at Jess, and I saw forever stretching out in front of me. And forever looked wonderful. “Don’t worry, baby,” I said sincerely, snuggling against her. “I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t ask to have sex anytime for the next...or, day or two? I’m more than a little overloaded on sex at the moment.”

“I think pretty much the entire town feels that way,” Jessica said with a laugh. “Personally, baby, I’m more than fine with just cuddling for a while...as long as you avoid touching my breasts,” she added, wincing again from my hug.

“Sorry,” I apologized. Sighing, I drew back from her a bit. “So...want me to fly us home? Sweet Tooth, err, what’s left of him after Vapria and Hyperia finished with him, is all locked up in at the maximum security pen. Ivory Angel, Ebony Angel, and Fluidia managed to remove his formula from the water supply before it could spread past the reservoir. Angela Prentiss distributed the rest of the antidote to Mom, Aunt Eva, Uncle Parker, and Aunt Roni. And Nigel Grimalde was moving heaven and earth to distribute the rest of the antidote to the city en masse. All in all, I’d say that wraps up pretty much all the loose ends.”

At that moment a loud explosion shook the ground, nearly knocking me off my feet. Several yards away, a building simply exploded, erupting in a huge blast of fire. I screamed in surprise, stunned by the suddenness, coming completely out of left field. I recognized the area—the business district, the Townsend building, one of the smaller manufacturing companies, thankfully closed and deserted at this time of the night. I turned to Jessica to ask her if she were all right when another loud explosion sounded from the opposite direction, further uptown.

“Oh goddess! That was Grimalde Tower!” I yelled, my heart contracting tightly in my chest. Okay. Okay. Just relax. Breathe. There’s almost no chance Sioban and Tawnya had made it back there already. No chance. They’re both perfectly safe...right?

“Jess, it’s not safe here,” I said, glancing around the mostly deserted street, wary of where and when the next explosion might occur. “I need to get you out of here, back home where it’s safe, and then go looking for the Angels.”

“But, I wanna help,” Jess protested, scowling. “They’re my friends too, you know. We can swing by the apartment. and l can get the gear your dad loaned us, and then—”

“No way,” I said, walking a few feet away, shaking my head. “Look, Jess. I know you want to help. I get that. And I respect that. But something like this,” I said, gesturing around. “No. Not a chance. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”

Jessica scowled at me, fuming. We’d had this argument only a few hundred times before. I felt she was reckless. She felt I was babying her. She said she wanted to be a part of my life, and that included fighting bad guys and facing danger together. The best we were able to do was compromise, to agree to disagree. I could tell she was in the mood to argue, too. But I really wasn’t in the mood to listen.

And then...a stranger, a man, stood up. He was tall and lean, rugged, with dark brown close cropped hair, dressed head-to-toe in black, He had appeared almost like magic from several yards away. I blinked in surprise; he was extremely close to the burning wreck of the Townsend building, so close that the heat and smoke had to be stifling. He was carrying a gun, a huge sniper rifle, which he had pointed directly at me. I admit it, I was shocked, his sudden appearance in the midst of all this chaos...it was unnerving. Our eyes met, and he smiled. “Duncan Frasier sends his regards!” he yelled out, his voice carrying clearly across the distance. Then...he fired.

I gasped in shock. A gunshot. But...that’s not possible. Gun’s don’t work on me. Guns NEVER work on me! I stood there, paralyzed, struck with a sudden crippling sensation. Fear. Fear for my life. I’d been shot? Was I...dying?

A sound to my left broke my paralysis, however. My breathing resumed, shakily, and the sensation returned to my body. The bullet had missed me! I was whole. healthy. hale and whole. I glanced to my left, to that sound and saw—

Oh. No.

No.

“Jess?” my voice croaked out, strangled. I...I wasn’t...this couldn’t...I sank to my knees next to my love, my heart, my soul. Jessica lay on the ground, staring up at me, a surprised look on her face as well. Her face was pale...splattered with red, drops of her—

NO.

My eyes...something was wrong with my eyes. I was...having a hallucination of some kind. A nightmare...yeah. a nightmare. I was still asleep, still wacked up and wasted from Sweetie’s gas attack back in the office, and I’d dreamed everything that had happened this wild crazy evening. I was dreaming. I was dreaming!

Dear Goddess let me be dreaming!

Goddess? MOM! I cried out as hard as I could with my mind, knowing she was there, watching. She ALWAYS watched. She had to know what was happening, and would be here any second...any second...and somehow save the day, somehow save Jess.

“Mom, please!” I whispered, willing myself to have hope, to deny such a cruel twist of fate. " I need you here! PLEASE MOM! PLEASE!”

My hands, shaking, shuddering as if I were naked in the middle of a blizzard, slid down, caressing her face, her soft tender skin, so pale, too pale. She was NEVER this pale, even in winter. And...cool. Cool to the touch. Jess was always hot, always like an inferno, so hot that she usually slept under just the topmost sheet, if not on top of the covers. No....she couldn’t be this cold...this still, this...

NO! Don’t think it. Don’t think it. Don’t think it!

This...lifeless...This...this...

Dead.

“JEEEESSSSSIIIIICCCAAAAAA!” I cried, as reality shattered around me, as my entire world crumbled and burned and fell away, turning to ash, to dust, to nothing. All around me, sirens and screams rang out, more explosions, and fires and smoke...people yelling and screaming in a panic. And there I sat, in the midst of it all, kneeling, holding and cradling my lover, my poor dear darling dead Jessica, the blood pooling out of the jagged round hole in her chest, staining my uniform, staining the ground, turning everything red. You can’t die, Jessica. You can’t! You’re my love, my life, my forever! Oh Goddess, I’ll die without you! You can’t go! You can’t be gone! You can’t be...be...

When a large heavy hand grasped me tightly by the hair and pulled, jerking my head up, I didn’t resist. I stared numbly into the face of the shooter, the sniper, my would-be assassin. He looked breathless, and shaken, and a bit pale, as if he’d seen a ghost. “Unbelievable,” he murmured softly, glaring at me. “Fucking unbelievable. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes! Hell...I saw it and I still don’t believe it! What are you, girl?” he asked, demanding, jerking harder on my hair. “Some kind of demon? I never miss. NEVER. MISS! I had you...dead to rights. My power guarantees that I never miss!” His fingers curled tightly in my hair, pulling harder. “And then I go and shoot you...and the fucking bullet swerves in midair?” He shook my head brutally. “It’s impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!” He grunted, reaching out with his free hand, pulling a long serrated knife blade from his belt, placing it across my throat. “I can see now why this Duncan guy—your own uncle!—wants you dead. Well, my gun didn’t do the job, so I guess I’ll have to finish you off the old fashioned way.“

Okay. Enough.

“AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!” Sureshot screamed, jerking away from me violently, clutching the charred smoking bloody stump of his left hand. “OH GOD! MY HAND! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY HAND?!”

The fingers left behind in my hair continued to burn, sizzling loudly before turning to soot and fluttering away in the breeze. I stood up then, my body shining with a soft yellow aura of Light, laser light, singeing and melting the asphalt around my boots. I turned to the killer, the man who had taken my Jessica away from me, the man who had tried to take my life as well...and I felt something I’d never felt before.

Hate. Pure, unfiltered, unadulterated, unbridled hatred.

“What are you? WHAT ARE YOU?” Sureshot screamed, bringing up his knife again in his uninjured hand. “Stay back, bitch, or I’ll gut you, I swear!” I stood there idly as he thrust the metal weapon at my chest...stared in brutal satisfaction as the steel knife melted and ran like liquid to the ground inches before it pierced the nimbus of my Light aura. “SHIT!” he croaked, jerking back again, staggering back, eyes wide in fear. “How did you do that? What...what the fuck are you?“

“I am what you made me,” I replied simply, tears running down my cheeks, hair whipping wildly. “What’s left over.” I pointed to Jess, dead in a pool of her own blood. “LOOK AT HER!” I shouted, “LOOK AT HER! You killed her! She was everything to me. She was my sun, my moon, my stars. SHE WAS MY ENTIRE WORLD!!” I screamed, my Light brightening even more, growing brighter, becoming blinding. “She was my Light,” I said softly, walking forward to stand over the man, cowering, his head down, trying to shield his eyes from the glare. Shifting my Light again, taking away the heat, I slid a hand down, grabbing him by the head, pulling his face up to mine. “And when light fades, all that is left behind is the darkness. You took my light from me,” I said, flaring as bright as I could inches from the screaming man’s face. “Allow me to give you darkness in return.“

“NO! PLEASE NO! NOOOO! AAAAAGGGHHHH! MY EYES! MY EYES!” he screamed, clutching at his face as I released him. “I can’t see!...Oh God, I can’t...my eyes!!” he kept crying, stumbling away blindly. “GOD! MY FUCKING EYES!”

I turned away, not caring what happened to him anymore. With any luck, he’d wander into some burning debris and immolate himself. HA! Luck. I staggered back towards Jess, towards her body, physically drained from my little light show, emotionally drained from the loss of her. What the hell had happened to my LUCK? The bullet had missed me...and hit the one person on Earth for whom I would most eagerly take a bullet. I knelt down again, half collapsing over her body. “Oh, Jessica...” I murmured softly, as the hate subsided, and the guilt and pain and anguish and despair swept up in its place. She was gone. She’d been a part of my life for so long I couldn’t remember a time when she wasn’t there.

But it was true. She was gone. This was reality.

My reality.

“Luminaire!” a voice called out from above—Ebony Angel, Tawnya, Warm, Welcoming, Friend—“Are you okay? We saw the light and...ohhh...ohhh dear GOD...” Warm, strong arms pulled me up, cradled me. Soft, feathery wings wrapped around me sheltering me softly as her arms held me firmly. Other arms—Sioban, Confident, Capable, Ivory Angel, Friend—moved down to examine Jessica. It didn’t matter, though. There was nothing she could do. Suddenly Sioban was holding me too, sobbing with me, sobbing for me.

That, more than anything, made it all real. Real and unbearable. Sioban had always seemed so together, so ready to take charge, so willing and able to make things right, but not now. Now she was just another broken mourner. Now there was nothing holding her together. Now there was nothing to take charge of. Now there was no “right”. Now there was nothing she could do for me, no way she could help me. No one could help me now. Despair surged, drowning out all the other feelings. I felt my Light, my spark, the fire in the center of my being, begin to fade. To flutter. To wink out.

And all that was left behind was darkness.

((end))