Light and Shadows VI: A Darklight Shines
by J. Darksong
Ch. 5) Take Me To Heaven
“Hey! Hold up, kid!” Jack Heitmann protested, hands up in supplication. “Easy! I ain’t here to beef with ya. I’m with the military escort over here! I’m legit now.” Lowering his arms, he straightened his suit, plucking a few errant pieces of lint. “I’m here at the bequest of the US Government as a paid consultant for this little operation.”
Frowning, I nodded. “Okay. Sure. Now pull the other one. You expect me to believe Uncle Sam not only let you out, but actually has you on the payroll? What next? Day passes for Charlie Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer?”
“Well, first of all, kid, Dahmer was executed decades ago,” Heitmann began, but I cut him off.
“Enough of the doubletalk!” I yelled, creating several shadow tendrils, in case he went for a sneak attack. “Why the hell are you here?”
“He’s a consultant, son,” The major replied, returning just then. “Just like he said. We brought him along to serve as extra ‘muscle’, and as something of a ‘failsafe’ in case there was a breach.”
“Yeah, what he said,” Hitman replied, taking a small piece of lead out of his pocket. His hand shimmered, and his body turned a dark slate grey. “Not that I was looking forward to playing around with a bunch of radioactive tinker toys, but hey, at least I can coat myself in lead and not have to worry about glowing in the dark in case the worst happens, right?” Seeing my look, he laughed. “So, what, kid? Did you think Frosty the Snow Bitch was the only one to get a free pass on all her misdeeds?”
I got the reference, understanding immediately. Mourning Frost was once a rather notorious criminal Super who had reformed, and had been recruited by the government. In addition to the numerous government sanctioned jobs she’d been given, she’d recently aided ’Rora and Sylvie during the whole Dr. Lys incident, among others. And she wasn’t the only one. All in all, it wasn’t THAT farfetched for someone like him to end up in the program as well. Considering my own situation, I could hardly fault someone else given a second chance trying to make good.
That didn’t mean I liked the guy, though. Turning to the major, I asked the obvious question. “So, what now? How do we proceed from here?”
“We? There is no ‘we’ here, son,” he commented stiffly. “This is a government matter. The situation was already acerbated by civilian involvement in the first place. The last thing we need right now is more interference, no matter how well intentioned it might be—”
“Just a second, Major,” Hitman cut in. “I think you’re forgetting something. You’re still responsible for transporting the rest of the shells to the facility in New Mexico. You’re already stressed out about the havoc caused by four missing nukes. You’re hauling around forty-six more of those shells—imagine what would happen if any more of them were lost!” He shook his head. “Your first priority is to safeguard the remaining weapons and take them to the secure facility. You’ll just have to let the retrieval of the missing shells to other parties,” he said pointedly, staring in my direction.
Not that I didn’t appreciate the vote of confidence... but frankly, I was seriously out of my depth here. Taking on some mad scientist with a giant killer robot or a stopping a bunch of street thugs is more my speed; stopping terrorists and saving the world at large is more my mom and dad’s speed. Speaking of which... where the heck was she? I’d left four messages on everyone’s cell phone by now, and no one was calling back. Even Dr. Brooks’ cell was going to voice mail now. What, did I need a giant spotlight with my monogram lighting up the sky to get someone’s attention?
“Dammit,” the Major reluctantly replied. “You’re right. I do need to oversee the security of the rest of this shipment... but I can’t just entrust the retrieval to a bunch of civilians!”
“We aren’t civilians,” Regina Baker stated, walking back over with her daughter. “I’m a law enforcement officer, and Darklight is a duly deputized member of the badged Supers program, as I would assume your friend, Mr. Heitmann is. Finding and stopping Ted is our responsibility.”
“Yes, and a fine job you’ve done of it so far,” the Major replied snidely. “If it weren’t for your direct involvement, your friend wouldn’t have been able to take off with four of my warheads in the first place!”
“Hey!” I objected. “Cut her some slack, okay? These people kidnapped her daughter! She was caught up in a no-win situation. Did you just expect her to sacrifice her daughter’s life for a bunch of people she’d never even met?”
“That’s okay, Darklight,” Regina said with a sigh. “He’s right. This is all my fault. I screwed up. I know... when she was kidnapped, all I could think about was doing whatever it took to get Chloe back. And now, she’s safe, and back with me again,” she said, giving her daughter’s hand a squeeze, “but in the process, we put everyone else in danger. I’m sorry about that. But, well, I can’t just stand by helpless on the sidelines while Ted gets away. I made a mistake, and I intend to make up for it by helping to catch this guy.”
Another soldier walked up, saluted, then handed the Major a piece of paper. “Damn,” he muttered softly. “Well, it looks like Mr. Heitmann was correct. Orders from Washington... seems that my first priority is in securing the remaining weapons. They’re sending out a counter terrorist unit from Salt Lake City to take control of the matter. They’ll be arriving in about an hour.”
So, it looked like Dr. Brooks managed to come through for me after all. But...“An hour?” I exclaimed. “Still? He could be long gone by then! Hell, he could have even left the state by then! Are we just supposed to sit around with our thumbs up our asses waiting for them to swoop in and save the day?”
The major sighed wearily, shaking his head. “Of course not, That’s your job, after all, isn’t it? Hero? Your friend from the FBI informed the higher ups of the situation, and feel that a couple of ‘well established Supers’ such as yourselves should be able to handle things... at least until the professionals arrive. Who knows? You might even have the entire case wrapped up by the time they arrive.” He shrugged and walked back towards the caravan. “At any rate, I wish you all luck.“
The three of us stood there in silence for a long moment, taking it all in. “Okay. That was unexpected... Alright then, kid,” Hitman said, turning to face me. “What now? How do we proceed?”
“Huh?” I blinked. “What d’ya mean? Why are you asking me?!? You’re the official government consultant liaison person. I thought you’d be in charge of things here!”
“You’re the hot shot superhero, remember? You’re the one trained for this kind of thing. If it’s just you, me, and the lady cop here, I’d assume you have some kind of plan.” I glanced at Regina, who simply shrugged.
“You rescued my daughter, and got us thus far,” she reminded me. “I’m happy to follow your lead.”
“Yeah, well, um,” I said wearily, rubbing my temples, feeling a massive headache coming on. I really wished I knew where the hell Mom and Katie were. “Gimme a sec, I’m sure I’ll think of something...”
“No need to think,” Jessica whispered softly in her lover’s ear, gently stroking her cheek, careful not to gaze into the hypnotic display herself. “Just relax, sweetie... relax, and let your mind go empty and blank for me.”
“Empty... blank...” Katie breathed softly, melting against Jess even more. “For you...”
Jessica smiled, feeling her arousal spike. Something about the way Katie had sank so deeply, so easily... and all for her, made her toes curl. The girl was already submissive towards her, virtually wrapped around her little finger... but this was an entirely NEW level of submission. The old Jess might have felt a pang of guilt at having betrayed her trust this way, using it to ensnare her mind and subvert her will. Ah, but the NEW Jess suffered no such qualms, rationalizing it with the belief that her actions were ultimately in all of their best interests, and getting off on it at the same time. Sliding down her pants, one hand moved to tease her growing wetness while the other continued to caress her lover’s soft blank face.
“Good girl, Katie,” she continued with a wicked smirk. “Very good girl. Now, baby, I need you to sleep for me... to let my sweet adorable, good girl drift away, deep deep inside your mind...” Katie sighed softly, her eyelids fluttering closed, “Deep, deep asleep,” Jess continued on, “but still seeing that hypnotic screen inside your mind, keeping you hypnotized and open... and obedient.”
“Mmm... obedient,” Katie sighed softly, a soft smile creasing her lips. And, was it Jessica’s imagination, or was that a slight flush coloring her neck and cheeks? Forcing herself to focus, she lay her helpless lover gently back onto the bed.
“Now, sweetie, I want you to listen carefully,” Jessica said, recalling exactly what she’d practiced over and over again in her mind. Though she felt no guilt about programming Katie this way, she did, actually, love Katie just the way she was. She didn’t want to change her beautiful loving sweetheart, or alter her personality permanently. She just wanted to make her more accepting, less inhibited... to remove that guilt that was getting in the way of her truly enjoying her newly freed sexuality.
“You, Katie, are asleep now.. deep inside your mind. The Katie that is sweet and innocent, and loving and caring... the part of you that is always nice and careful and follows the rules... that Katie is sleeping now. But now, I am speaking to the other Katie... the naughty, wicked little slut girl Katie... the dark part of you that doesn’t care about the rules... that doesn’t suffer from guilt. I want THAT Katie to listen to me very carefully... listen and awaken.” Katie’s eyelids fluttered, then opened, staring blankly straight up at the ceiling. Jessica’s smirk grew. “Naughty Katie has no conscience... no guilt... she lives for pleasure and enjoyment... and she enjoys sex with any woman she finds attractive.” Sliding a hand down to Katie’s skirt, she chuckled, finding her silk clad pussy just as wet as her own. “Mmmm... Naughty Katie loves that, doesn’t she? She also loves pleasure, giving and receiving it,” she added, delving two fingers inside her box, causing the blonde beauty to moan and sigh, her hips moving spasmodically as she neared the edge. “Naughty Katie will do anything to please her lovers,” Jess panted, nearing the edge herself, barely coherent enough to finish her induction before she finished them both. “Anything... mmmm... no fetish... no... sex act.. out of bounds... uuuhn... for you... uuuhn.. willing to... try... anything... ohhh gaaawwdesss... mmm... ahhh... now naughty girl... time to... time to... cum... cum with me now... CUM KATIE!“
“Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!” the blonde vixen cried out in pleasure, back arching, eyes rolling back, A soft glow began to emanate from her body as her power responded, as out of control as the rest of her, and she rose, hovering a few inches above the bed, before finally slumping back down to the mattress, sated for the moment. Likewise, Jess reached her own peak, throwing back her head, howling her pleasure, both from the stimulation and the knowledge of what she’d just done. Shuddering, she collapsed gently atop her lover, panting softly, sighing.... then stiffening suddenly as warm soft hands began stroking her hair. Sitting up, she glanced down into the open and lucid eyes of her lover, staring intently at her with a knowing smirk.
“K... katie?” she sputtered, going slightly red. Fuck! She’s awake? How? Did I do something wrong? Megan didn’t wake up out of her trance until I told her to even after I’d made her cum twice! Shit! Did it even work on her? Does she remember what happened, what I was trying to do? Staring fearfully at her half naked girlfriend, she gasped in surprise as Katie suddenly pounced, flipping Jess over into her back, and pinning her, straddling her hips. “Ah! Katie! What the fuck?” she blurted out as Katie grabbed her wrists, smirking down at her all the while. “Look, I didn’t mean it,” she pleaded, fear starting to creep in. “I... I’m sorry, okay? Please?” To her shock, Katie merely laughed.
“You’re sorry?” Katie purred seductively, her clothing disappearing in a flash of will, pressing her bountiful bosom forward, teasing the edge of Jess’ chin with her nipples before pulling back again. “I’m not. This is soooooo much better than before,” she said, making a show of arching her back enticingly. “Mmm. It feels so good this way... so freeing. And that’s what you did, sweetums. You freed my mind. The little ‘goody-goody’ me is still buried down deep, sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of anything. Me, on the other hand,” she chuckled, creating a brief flash of light around Jess’ wrists, pinning her with shackles of light, “I am finally free to enjoy myself fully. And that’s what you wanted, isn’t it, love?” she asked, using her now freed hands to caress and stroke Jess into a near frenzy. “I know my sweet Jessie better than Ms. Goody-goody does. I know EXACTLY what you want...”
AAAhhhh! Goddess bless! Jess thought, her stomach flip flopping in pleasure. Talk about unlocking Pandora’s Box! I’ve never seen this side of her before... this new Katie is fucking aggressive... playful and seductive and sexy, but mmmm... forceful too! I... fuck... I think I like this!
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, causing them both to freeze. “Come on in,” Jessica called out, peering up over Katie’s shoulder. She grinned in satisfaction as the door opened, and Lacie Frasier and Megan both entered the room, completely naked, both of their bodies flushed and slick with sweat. “Ah, perfect timing. Good job, Techna. I see you’ve shown Mrs. Frasier your ‘special’ computer program already.”
“Yes, of course, Mistress,” Megan said with a smile, moving around to the left side of the bed. “She was caught the instant she stared into it. She resisted for a few minutes, of course, trying to look away, but as promised, the worm program wormed its way into her subconscious mind, turning her into a compliant, obedient little thrall.” Running a hand along the older woman’s inner thigh, she asked, “Isn’t that right, Lacie-thrall?”
“Y-yes, M-mistress,” she gasped, arching slightly as her clitty jumped, pleasure overflowing in her mind. “So compliant... so obedient... for you.... mmmm.... goddess...”
Katie stared in surprised wonder for several seconds, before her eyes narrowed, and she rose up from the bed. Pushing Megan aside gently, she moved to stand in front of her mother, who stared down at her with a look of confused helpless arousal. “Mmmmm... Mommy dearest,” she husked, reaching out to caress a large heavy golden tanned breast, feeling the hard raised nipple against her palm. “I have to say, Mommy, that I’ve never seen you this way before—helpless, submissive, entranced and aroused. I have to say... it really suits you.” Standing up on tiptoes, she gave her mother a soul-searing kiss, feeling the older woman respond accordingly, pressing her powerful naked body against her own softer one. Fantasies, long dormant and repressed, suddenly burst forth into the forefront of her mind, and with a soft groan, she broke the kiss, sliding down flatfooted again to slip a stiff hard distended nipple deftly between her lips. Letting her fingers explore Lacie Frasier’s slick wet opening, Katie Frasier began to suckle from the very same breasts she had as an infant nineteen years ago with a hunger that had nothing to do with feeding...
“Damn. Still no answer,” I said with resignation, hanging up my cell. “Okay then. Looks like no last minute save from Omega Girl, guys... that ship has apparently sailed. It’s just us. So... anyone have any idea on how we can narrow down the search parameters for State Trooper Whitman from just ‘everywhere’?”
“Thanks again,” Regina said, hanging up her own cell. “Sorry. I’ve made calls to all of the public places where Ted might have gone to hide out or blend in, and none of the local police have spotted him yet. And I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t go to any of the more ‘private spots’ he frequents that I know about. If he’s gone to ground, it must be some place I don’t know about.”
“What about the guy’s home?” Hitman asked. “You know? His wife and kid? You said he has a family?”
“That’s a no-go,” I said with a brief shake of my head. “His relationship with his wife isn’t really much of a relationship at all right now. I saw it all in his mind when I linked to him earlier. Apparently the marriage has been on the rocks for a while. She caught him cheating, and kicked him out about six months ago. They’re separated, about to be divorced, and her lawyer’s planning to clean him out. If anything, his house is probably the first place we should check to see if he left a device there to detonate.”
“Really? He cheated on Debbie?” Regina said, frowning. “Huh... he really is a fucking asshole.”
“Very true,” Hitman agreed, “but not very helpful. C’mon people. Think. What we really need is more manpower. Isn’t there some way we can utilize more people, tap into another resource here locally, or at least closer than Salt Lake City? Hell, do you have the number for the local Boy Scout Troop? Let’s get them out to pound the pavement!”
“Hey, hold that thought,” I said suddenly, taking out my buzzing cell again, seeing the number calling in. “This might just be the cavalry calling me back now.” Answering hello, I let out a soft sigh of relief as Dr. Brooks answered back. “Great timing. I was starting to get worried. I can’t seem to reach anyone else, and the situation is escalating here. What’s going on on your end, Doc?”
“Well, James, it seems that you were quite right in your assumptions earlier. Mr. Bower is a member of NEST, and as such, was able to bypass a lot of high priority security measures used to monitor and keep track of such things. As the lead software consultant, he had access to the tracking codes for the chips installed in each device. As of six minutes ago, four of the signals disappeared from the tracking grid.”
“Which means he disabled them,” I replied grimly. “Great. Just great. So... how do we track him without the code? Is there a backup? Some way to track the nukes themselves by the radioactivity?”
“No, I’m afraid not,” she said stiffly. “The tracking chips ARE the backup in case a nuclear weapon gets stolen. It’s integrated into the housing of the shell itself, so it can’t be removed without damaging the device, so it SHOULD be impossible to tamper with. Unfortunately, as you know, being the software engineer that inputted the codes, Mr. Bower knew precisely how to disable and change those codes manually.”
Lovely. “Okay... but what about the radioactive signal of the shell’s core? Don’t you guys have, like... I dunno, satellite tracking capabilities or something?”
“Yes, we do,” the doctor replied with a sigh, “but these prototype weapons were apparently designed to work as a ‘stealth’ weapon for the military. The outer housing is plated with a new alloy that completely blocks radioactivity, meaning you could sweep the damn thing with a Geiger counter from less than a foot away and not get a signal. It’ s why the terrorists went to so much trouble to obtain them, I’d imagine.”
Great! This just kept getting better and better! I’d thought things looked gloomy before her call had come through, but now, seeing just exactly what we were up against, it was downright abysmal! The only good thing about the situation I could see was that, for once, things couldn’t possibly get any worse.
“So, Dr. Brooks,” I said after a moment, digesting all this new news, “do you have ANYTHING positive to tell me about the situation? Anything at all?”
“Well, I don’t know if you would consider this positive or not,” she said with a strange lilt to her voice, “but from the specs Braxton sent over on the devices, and the yield of each individual shell, the worst case scenario is less than what we originally feared. If a shell does detonate in the center of a populated area, the yield is only about eight kilotons.”
I did some quick rough math in my head. “Oh, okay... so about half the power of bomb we dropped on Nagasaki during World War Two!” If I were less freaked out, I supposed would be impressed, that a shell roughly the size of a large tube of toothpaste was capable of that much destruction. It was, actually, an impressive bit of engineering, and making it undetectable to spy satellites and other standard scanning equipment, even moreso. Of course, it also begged the question of exactly WHY our government had developed such a weapon in the first place, and for what purpose, considering the obvious consequences of such technology falling into the wrong hands.
“Listen, James,” Stephanie said a moment later, " know this situation is very stressful for you. This isn’t the kind of thing you’re used to. I know that. But, well... there’s no one else. You’re the only one who can handle this situation, at least until the cavalry arrives. And that includes me, I’m heading up to Provo as well to join the effort. You’ll just have to do your best until then. Alright?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I sighed, resigned. “You’re right. If they’re no one else, then I’ll just have to suck it up and do the best I can do. No use complaining about the situation, it is what it is. Thanks, Doc.”
“You’re very welcome, James. Just keep me posted. I’ll keep my cell on in case you call. I’m not sure what else I can do, but I’ll try and update you if we come up with anything new. Just stay in touch, alright?”
“Will do. I’ll let you know if we come up with anything... but for right now, we’re pretty much needle in a haystack around here. We’re just going to have to hope we get lucky.”
“Of course, James, of course,” Stephanie said with a smile, “and if there’s anyone that can make the best of a bad luck situation, it’s you.” Sighing softly she hung up the phone. As soon as the cell beeped closed, all animation left her face, and her expression went blank. Reopening her cell, she dialed a preprogrammed number, then waited idly.
“Hello? Yes, it’s Brooks. I have some additional information that I felt you should know. The one heading the search for our agent in Provo is a young Super called Darklight. His real name is Jimmy Frasier. Very strong, very powerful, but young and inexperienced. At last contact, he has no leads, and appears to be searching blindly.” She listened, nodding softly. “Yes, Master, of course. I will keep in touch with him, feed him false information, and attempt to steer his efforts away from the agent until he completes delivery and makes good his escape.” Pause. “No, Master, I do not see any problems. He trusts me completely, as I am a friend of his father’s.” Pause. “Yes, Master, of course, As always, I obey.” Flipping the phone closed again, she placed it back in her pocket, then turned to leave, her long red hair briefly parting with the motion, revealing a small silver disc in the back of her head, before being covered by her hair once more...