The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Omega Girl 5

by J. Darksong

Ch.4

Omega Girl shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs. Dammit... why is it that lately I seem to keep waking up to a severe migraine slightly less painful than an ice pick in the brain? Standing up, she found herself inside a bedroom, one set up to resemble her own back at home. She shook her head again, then rubbed her eyes. She remembered King’s attack all too well, and the pressure in her head. Damn. I hope he didn’t give me brain damage. Everything has a bluish tint to it. Moving over to the night stand, she reached for the lamp, then froze at a sound immediately behind her.

Strong arms grabbed her from behind, putting her in a choke hold, lifting her off her feet. “Don’t move,” a low raspy voice whispered in her ears, and a flash of metal showed briefly in the hand of the arm around her neck. She reacted instinctively, as she’d been taught long ago, and elbowed her assailant, grabbed the man’s wrist, twisting, then dropped to one knee, flipping him over her shoulder, still holding tightly to his wrist. The man hit the floor hard with a loud thud.

“Ahhhhhh... dammit!” the man grunted, struggling to pull his wrist free, his free hand favoring his back. “Blast ye vile woman, let go o’ me bloody arm!”

Lacie, shocked by the recognition of the voice, did just that, releasing the hooded man’s arm. Sitting up, the man glared at her, sliding the hood down to reveal his face. “Tha’ does it!” Eugene Frasier announced with heat, rubbing gently on his sprained wrist. “I’ll no play these games with ye lass, if this is how ye react... every single blasted time!”

“Gene...” Lacie whispered, still stunned.

“Hey, dad! Are you okay?” a youthful voice asked as the door behind them opened. Lacie turned, then let out a gasp as a young boy, about ten years old, poked his head inside the room. “Katie and I heard a loud crash from up here. Is everything alright?”

“Well, lad, I can honestly say I’ve been better,” Gene replied, ruefully, glancing sidelong as his wife, “but it’s nothing. Your ma and I were just... eh, ‘rough housing’ a wee bit. That’s all.”

“Rough housing, huh?” Jimmy said, rolling his eyes. “Geez, dad. If you and mom wanna wrestle so bad, you should play downstairs in the basement. At least then you won’t wreck the entire house when mom throws you around.” The boy eyed Lacie critically, then nodded. “Nice costume, mom... but I like the new black and gold one better.”

New costume? Black and gold? Lacie mused, her mind still struggling to keep up.

“What’s going on?” a young dark haired girl asked, poking her head into the room next to her brother.

“Nothing, nothing, Katie luv,” Gene replied, sighing. “Your ma and I were playing around, and I had a little accident.”

The girl rolled her eyes as well. “So, mom slammed you down like Hulk Hogan again, dad?”

“Ga...” Gene sputtered, turning slightly red in embarrassment, causing the children to laugh. “Ye little rascals! Get back to yer rooms, the both of ye.” Laughing, the children left, closing the door behind them. Gene glared at Lacie once again. “No respect for their father,” he said with a grin. “Tha’s yer fault, ye ken. You’ve spoilt them both rotten as a barrel full of apples.” He paused, frowning, finally seeing the look on her face. “Honey, what’s wrong? You know I was only joking. And as for my wrist... it’s a little tender, that’s all. Nothing broken. No harm no foul.”

Lacie shook her head, closing her eyes tightly to prevent the tears. “God damn that fucking asshole...” she hissed, hands clenching. “That fucking asshole! I’ll kill him. I’ll fucking kill him!”

“Kill who, loveling?” Eugene asked, concerned now. He took her wrists in his own, staring at the tears pouring from her eyes. “Who are you so angry at? Me? Surely not young Jimmy? He’s but a lad...”

“King,” she whispered vehemently, shaking her head. “That unbelievable bastard... to pull this... this fantasy... out of my head and bring it to life around me like this...”

“Shhh, honey, shhh,” Gene whispered softly, holding her close, rocking her gently in his embrace. “It’s okay. I know yer angry... you’re rightly pissed. But... does it really matter?”

Lacie opened her eyes. “What?”

“I said, ‘does it really matter?’ So what if I’m not... exactly real? So what if Jeremiah King plucked all of this from your memories and constructed a fantasy world for you?” He raised a hand gently, wiping a small tear from her cheek. “I’m here now... and I’m just as real as ye wish me to be. He’s shown you what is possible with the power he’s obtained from his gem. And it’s the same power ye wield as well, loveling,” he said, gesturing to her hand. Lacie glanced down, seeing the raw unworked stone she’d been carrying had changed slightly, becoming a large ruby in the center of a gold bracelet wrapped tightly around her wrist.

“Ye can make this dream world a reality, if ye truly wish it,” Gene said softly, kissing her. “And he wouldnae begrudge you your happiness. As long as ye were living her, happily ever after, you wouldnae be interfering with his grand scheme, whatever it is. Think of it, lass. Ye could have the life ye always wanted, the family ye always wanted... and this time, it would be perfect. No troubles, no strife, no disasters looming on the horizon. I would be... perfect.”

“Perfect,” Lacie whispered back, looking her husband deep in his eyes. Everything he was saying made sense. Yes, she realized fully that she was living in a dream, an illusion, a fantasy that King had plucked from her head and thrust her into. But... did that mean she had to reject it? Why couldn’t she stay in her fantasy? With her gem, she could make it into reality... well, she could, once she learned how to properly tap into it. Ana had mentioned something about how to tap into it. I need to... Relax. Breath. Be calm ...and let it all just come to me.

“There’s no need to think so hard about all this right now, love,” Gene whispered softly, sliding a hand down along the small of her back, to that spot that always made her weak in the knees. He chuckled softly. “Heh. Guess it’s a good thing all the super villains ye fought never found out about that spot,” he chuckled, “otherwise ye have spent most of your career on yer back with yer legs spread.”

Lacie smirked, turning around to face him. “Well... actually, you’d be surprised how often I do find myself in that exact position,” she teased back, lifting an arm high above her head. With a slight shimmer, her hair darkened, and her costume disappeared. She smirked as Gene’s eyes left her face, sliding down to her bared breasts, and staying there. “See something you like, hubby?” she said playfully, spinning on her heel, covering herself with her hands. Eugene growled softly, eyes half-lidded, as he moved towards her, intent on pulling her hands back down.

“Aye, I did,” he said in a low rumbling voice with that soft burr that always made her tummy tickle, “and I aim to enjoy the view once again.”

With the suddenness of a shifting dream, Lacie found herself on her bed, Eugene, now naked as well, lying astride her, gently nibbling and licking her neckline, sending shudders of pleasure through her. His fingers ran lazily along her body, touching her in all the places she so longed to be touched. Gene pulled away suddenly, and she gasped, looking up into his eyes, seeing the pure and total love for her reflected back in them. Tears started to form again as he lifted her thighs gently, taking one of her soft slender feet, kissing it starting at her toes and working his way slowly down. The lower his lips worked their magic, the higher her pleasure peaked, until it was all she could do to hold still and let him finish.

“Now, now, lass, behave yerself,” he chided her, stopping at the end of her inner thighs before switching legs, starting again with her toes, taking his time as he worked her into a fever pitch.

“Ohhh gaaawdd... Gene! Please... don’t tease me! Ahhh... I can’t stand... hhhnnnn... much more... please!”

Gene merely chuckled. “Lacie Ann Frasier... do ye want it done quickly, or do ye want it done right?”

Growling her frustration, Lacie relaxed, letting her husband enjoy himself as he enjoyed her body. She’d almost forgotten the way he loved to take his time with her, despite the fact that he knew her body and mind so well he could bring her off in a matter of seconds. The pleasure was bittersweet; the burn of being essentially tortured beyond endurance was softened by the fact that it was her beloved doing the torturing. He knew just what she liked, knew just where to touch, where to tickle, where to nibble, where to suck, and when to change up, to keep her on the edge.

God! I’m... helpless, she realized as he began descending towards her delta once more, humming softly in that teasing way that made his scruffy beard just barely tickle the flesh of her tender inner thigh. I’m so wet... so ready... and I can’t do anything but lie here and take it... and beg him to finish me off! God... I’m a slave... a slave to my own body... my own need... and... it feels sooo good!

“Now, mo duinne,” he said softly, licking lightly around the dimpled cleft between her legs, “it’s time to let your sweet little kitty purr.”

Lacie let out a gasp of surprise, before emitting a keening screech that could have possibly surpassed Parker’s sonic talents. Gene brought her to an explosive orgasm, one just as powerful as the one she’d endured at the hands of King’s thralls in the hallway, yet somehow sustained it, keeping her at that level even as he slid seamlessly into her, fucking her like there was no tomorrow. She loved him, and he loved her, and she never felt it as deeply as she did when they were joined at the hip. Lacie nearly swooned as she felt him stiffen above her, hearing his deep bass growl that always signaled his release. He came, and she came harder.

She felt soft, feminine, and utterly sexy. The bluish tint that seemed to pervade everyone and everything in this ‘reality’ faded slightly, for a moment, almost as if the realness of the moment was spreading out to encompass this illusionary world. The bracelet, the only article of clothing she still wore, glowed with a bright red glow, as if to remind her that it could, indeed, be real, if she wished it.

“But it ISN’T real!”

Lacie gasped, turning to the side. A blonde woman hovered slightly a few feet away, staring entreatingly at her. Eva... no, Ana, shook her head vehemently at her. “You have already tried living out your fantasy life in another world. Yes, you have the power now to remake this place into whatever you wish, but that wasn’t why you were brought back! You were brought back to your own world to stop King... to undo the havoc he’s caused and make OUR world into a paradise for all of us that are suffering!”

Gene, concerned about Lacie’s sudden stiffening, glanced to the side as well, then gasped, rolling off of her, clutching at the bed sheet. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! What in the... Eva? What are ye doing here?”

Both Lacie and Ana blinked, jaws dropping. “You can see her?” Lacie asked almost at exactly the same moment Ana said, “You can see me?”

“Aye, I can. Yer a little hard to miss, floating there in midair, bare as the day ye were birthed! What’s this about, then?”

The blonde phantasm sighed. “First of all, I’m not Eva. I’m her sister, Ana. I placed a part of myself within Lacie’s mind when I helped re-awaken her powers earlier.” She sighed. “It was all I could think of to do to save myself. My mental powers are not as strong as my sister’s, and nowhere near as strong as King’s, but my precognition powers have always been spot on. I foresaw that this would happen, that King would eventually gain enough power to destroy the world and reshape it in his own image. I saw... I tried to warn my sister and my son, tried to get them to leave the city before...” She shook her head, forcing back the tears. “I saw what would happen, even though I was powerless to prevent it. We all fell under his sway, one by one, our bodies and minds remade into his obedient slaves. But before it all was lost, just before I succumbed like the others, I discovered an ability that even I didn’t know about. I found that not only was I able to see into the future... I could send my mind... my consciousness, into the future as well.”

“I was completely surprised when I opened my eyes to find myself kneeling naked in a hallway with a few thousand other women. I thought perhaps I was simply seeing my own fate as I always did, but then I found that I could move, that I could reach out and touch the girl next to me, that I could actually feel her flesh underneath my fingers. What’s more, the body of myself that I was in was still me, still knew everything that I knew, my mind fully intact, just asleep.” She smirked. “I know. It’s a little confusing. I lived it, and I still don’t fully understand it. The point is, I was there in my own body with myself, but while the other me was deeply asleep, I could still access her memories, her knowledge. That’s how I knew that you had just returned from your own private little Xanadu, and that you would be needing some help before you were ready to face King on your own.”

“I see,” Lacie said slowly, her mind whirling as she tried to process everything. “So, that was what you meant when you said you couldn’t come with me, that having you along would be more of a deterrent than a help.”

Ana nodded. “Not to mention the fact that I was, technically speaking, already there with King, and working with his side. I was able to send my astral self there to meet you, to give you some insight and help prepare you, but that was about all I could do. As for the rest... both you and King are playing with cosmic forces, the powers that make up the very tapestry of our reality. It is always hard to read the future under the best of situations—it’s always changing depending on your choices and actions. I saw everything up to this point, the point where you would be sorely tempted to give up, and return to the peaceful fantasy that King has laid out for you. After that... it is too entangled, too confusing, to read. I can only remind you what is truly at stake here, Lacie... not just for you, but for all of us. Please... you have to fight him! You have to stop him! You must...”

Lacie glanced at Gene. “Gene... I know she’s right, but...” Wetness formed in the corners of her eyes. “Even if I somehow manage to stop King and turn everything back to normal... you’d still be gone! You, Jimmy, Katie Ann... I’d be losing you all again, just like before!”

Gene smiled sadly, shaking his head. “Now, now, love. Let’s not have ye getting all bent out of shape just yet. Aye, I may not be the original Eugene Frasier, the one that disappeared all those years ago, but I do know all that he knows. I am all that he was... all that he is. And I know you. The Lacie Ann Gilbertson-Frasier that I know and love has never put her own needs over those of people in need, not when it truly counted. Yer the strongest woman I’ve ever known in my entire life... and I dinnae mean physical strength. You have heart, love... and that, more than anything else, is what has enabled you to triumph again and again under seemingly impossible odds.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly. “I have faith in ye, lass. I know you can beat him. So go on... and make me proud.”

Lacie closed her eyes, feeling torn. The glow on her bracelet dimmed, and the world faded to blue once more. The room, the walls, and Eugene all seemed to fade somewhat, becoming as ghostly as Anastasia. She felt just the slightest sensation, like a feather brushing her cheek, and she opened her eyes. Gene, barely visible anymore, gave her a sidelong grin. “And don’t forget, loveling,” he reminded her as everything began to fade to black, “once the world is safe and secure once more, there’s no reason why ye cannae use some of that leftover cosmic might to bring yer loving husband back to you once more.”

* * *

Jeremiah King turned away from the multicolored globe of chaos before him with annoyance, glancing with disdain at the corner of the room where the small insignificant patch of darkness began to move, growing larger, bubbling like a volcano about to blow its top. With a suddenness that surprised even him, the patch of darkness exploded in a burst of white light, like a bright star suddenly bursting into existence. He glanced away, shielding his eyes, then growling, turned back to face his adversary, glaring at him with a look of pure hatred.

“Well, congratulations, Omega Girl,” King said drily, giving her a mock pity clap. “As I said before, you never fail to disappoint me. I was relatively sure that that particular reality would keep you occupied and out of my hair, but once again, I seem to have underestimated you.” His eyes narrowed, and he glanced over to the side. “Or... have I?” Reaching out into thin air, he made a fist, and pulled. A feminine yelp sounded, and Ana materialized suddenly, clutched tightly in his clenched fist. “I should have suspected that you were getting help,” he growled, glaring at the astral diva. “Well, as improbable as your presence here is, my dear, your interference can easily be remedied.” He clenched his fist tighter, and Ana let out a scream before disappearing in a puff of grey smoke.

“ANA!” Lacie yelled, charging towards King. She stopped, glaring at his giant form, anger causing her body to glow with a white hot light. “You irredeemable low-life piece of scum!” she hissed, gathering her power, glowing even brighter. “I can’t believe I ever fell so low as to give in to a fucking maggot like you! I’m going to stop you, even if it takes the last ounce of strength in my body. By God, I will defeat you!”

Jeremiah merely chuckled. “By ‘god’, you say? Sounds somehow fitting, since I am a god now... and only by another god could I be defeated.” He laughed again. “And you, my dear, do not qualify.”

“We’ll see about that!” Lacie yelled back, raising her fist in the air. The bracelet on her wrist began to glow brighter and brighter as the yellow white glow of her power faded. Focusing her mind, she pointed her hand towards him and shouted in a loud voice, “BEGONE!”

Jeremiah grunted, shuddering slightly as an intense wave of power struck him. The entire room shook, then shattered like a champagne glass around them, revealing them back in King’s palace. King himself gasped, nearly sinking to his knees from the onslaught. Untrained, she may be, he realized dimly, as he regained his feet, but she more than makes up for it with sheer tenacity, and unbridled power! If I wasn’t completely immortal and all-powerful, that attack could have utterly destroyed me! He wiped his lip, then scowled, noting the redness. Blood? Interesting... it appears that the time has come to stop toying with this upstart little wench and take things seriously.

Aloud, he replied, “Brava. Well done. You’ve succeeded in gaining my full attention. I’ve been pouring all my energies into spreading my influence, my power, across the thresholds of time and space, trying to affect all the other dimensions, the other realities. This reality, with the sole exception of your unforeseen return, is completely under my control. And so, I have been attempting to spread my influence through to all the other realities, to make my dominance of this world permanent by removing any possible threat to me from not only this existence, but from ALL existences.” He brushed the dust from his suit. “Apparently, I wasn’t quite fast enough. You somehow managed to slip through the cracks, my dear, and have become enough of a threat that I must dispose of you once and for all.”

Without seeming to move, King appeared behind her. Lacie had just enough time to look surprised as a huge fist larger than her entire torso slammed into her from behind. She flew forward, hitting the far wall hard. Shaking her head to clear it, she charged towards him, fist raised, rearing back as she reached him, swinging...

And striking only air.

Another huge fist slammed into her, this time dropping from above like a hammer. Lacie grunted as she dropped to the ground hard enough to crack the marble floor. “What’s the matter, Omega Girl?” King taunted her, vanishing and reappearing rapidly about the room, “I thought you were planning on destroying me? Surely you haven’t reached the last ounce of your strength so soon?”

Gritting her teeth, Lacie charged once more, streaking across the room at her maximum speed, tearing through the room after King, yet somehow arriving just a second too late, missing him as he vanished before any of her blows could connect. All the while, King’s laughter sounded around the chamber, taunting her, enraging her even more. Finally, after one last wild swing, he counter attacked, slamming her hard from behind once more, sending her into the opposite wall.

“Give it up, girl!” King said regally, floating a few feet away, arms crossed. “You are weak, pathetic. A fool. You cannot even touch me, and you think yourself my equal!” He kicked her, hard, leaving an woman-sized indent in the wall she’d slammed into. “Your power is great... but it is nothing compared to mine! You wield the power of your gem like a blunt instrument, while I am so completely bonded to mine that I wield it’s power like a surgeon’s knife! I am as far beyond you, as you are above the normals of this world!”

He reached out and pulled Lacie from the wall, grabbing her tightly in his fist. She struggled to free herself, pushing back with all her might, but his fingers wouldn’t budge. “How does it feel, Omega Girl?” he taunted her, squeezing even tighter. “You, who have always depended on your strength and power, are powerless in the face of MY overwhelming might! I will crush you like the insect you are!”

Suddenly a blast of energy struck King from behind, causing him to cry out, releasing Lacie. Enraged at being caught off guard, he turned, eyes glowing, bellowing, “Who dares to attack me from behind?” Then, his eyes widened, and he took a step backwards in surprise. “No. This... cannot be! This is impossible!”

“Not impossible, Jeremiah. Improbable, yeah, hella improbable, but not impossible.” Dark Star smiled evilly, as she fired a second Omega Blast at him, sending him to his knees. “As one supposedly all-knowing, all-seeing quasi-deity, I’d think you would know that better than anyone.” Glancing over at her better half, she frowned. “After all, if SHE could find a way to come back and throw a monkey wrench in your little plan, then of course I couldn’t be expected to just sit idly by on the sidelines and just watch!”

Lacie, panting softly, rose back to her feet. “I don’t understand. You... how are you here? I thought... when I gave up my power to his gem that time...”

“Yeah, well,” her evil side replied flippantly, pelting King with blast after blast of energy as she spoke, “I have all sorts of issues with you about THAT particular choice. The crystal didn’t dispel me, it split me apart from you... separated me into a completely separate being. And while you went off to your own private Nirvana, filled with rainbows, candy canes, and sparkles, I was forced to live through the HELL of having everything I know and love being destroyed around me, and not being able to do anything about it.” Growling, she flew back and landed a massive kick to King’s face as he started to rise to his feet, sending him crashing back down again.

“This bastard... wasn’t content to have beaten me... oh no. He made it into a little game... taking away my mind, my memories... making me into a mindless thrall, but letting me keep my free will, and my powers. Every day, he would order me to fuck him. virtually raping me, though in my mindless state I was unable to resist him. And while he was... inside me... my mind would return, just enough to know what was happening, what he was doing to me, enough to know what I had lost but not enough to know what to do about it.” She reared back and kicked him again, then several more times, finally able to vent her anger on the target of her rage. Panting slightly, she turned back to face her mirror opposite. “As much as I hate to admit owing anything to Miss Goody Two-shoes here, if it wasn’t for you showing up here, and that huge blast of Omega energy you let out earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to remember who I am. I owed you for that... so consider me saving you from being crushed into pulp as returning the favor.”

“ENOUGH!”

The room shook once more, then shattered into nothingness, leaving them all floating in a star-filled black void. Dark Star gasped in shock, momentarily disoriented, but Omega Girl, having endured such a display before, reacted instantly, attacking King in the midst of expending his power. This time her fist struck true, and his head snapped back hard as he recoiled back in pain. Taking the advantage, Lacie followed up, landing blow after blow, not letting up or giving him a chance to recover. King was reeling, off balance, unable to muster even a token defense. Lacie connected with a final kick, sending him flying backwards as she powered up her energy. Beside her, Dark Star powered up as well, twin angels, one light, one dark, both working perfectly in synch. As one, they released their energies, twin blasts of power that struck him square in the face. The contact triggered an explosion, a white brightness that blazed brightly in the dark void like a new sun.

When the light finally faded, Jeremiah King floated there, unmoving, reduced to normal human size once more. His finely tailored suit was torn, shredded, leaving his bare flesh only modestly covered by their ragged remains. Omega Girl and Dark Star, both a bit weary from the expenditure of energy, faced one another. They glared at each other for a long moment, then finally Lacie sighed.

“Alright. So... what now?” she asked. “You’ve already said that you blame me for what happened to you... what King did to you because of the choice I made. It’s my fault. All of this, in fact, is my fault. King would have never been able to do what he did if I hadn’t given in... given up...”

“Yeah, yeah, you were a spineless wimp,” Dark Star replied with a sneer. “It’s not as if that comes as a surprise to me. And yes, I do have a bone or two to pick with you about a couple of things. But... I’m not interested in fighting you right now. Besides... you have quite a bit of work ahead of you, fixing all of this, undoing everything that King did.” She frowned. “Speaking of which... if King is toast, why are we still here? Why haven’t we returned to the palace yet?”

Lacie gasped in surprise as her dark self was sent reeling, flying off deeper into the abyss. “And who said I was defeated?” King asked, grinning widely as he floated slowly towards his adversary. Lacie’s eyes widened as she saw his current condition up close. The skin of his face had split, cracking and flaking away before her eyes, revealing a smooth ruby red crystalline substance underneath. Slowly but surely, Jeremiah King’s flesh and blood crumbled away, revealing a humanoid being underneath, composed entirely of red crystal.

“Does my true appearance give you pause?” he said with a deep chuckle. “I told you... I have bonded with my own reality bending gem, to the point where it and I are one and the same. You can never hope to best me.” His eyes began to glow bright red. “I am one with the crystal, a fragment of the very embodiment of the universe itself! I am immortal. I am ETERNAL!” Twin streams of scarlet erupted from his eyes, bathing her in energy.

“Uggghhhnn!!” Lacie grunted, feeling her energy being drained. It was like before, when she had voluntarily given her power to the giant crystal deep within King’s subterranean hideout, only this time King’s crystalline form seemed to be sucking away her energy whether she wished it or not. She struggled to fight back, summoning her remaining power, only to feel it slip away like water through her fingers. Her strength was fading, and fast, but the more she fought it, the quicker it drained away.

Wh... what do i do now? she thought desperately. I can’t... fight him off like this... he’s draining me dry. The weaker I get, the stronger I make him... can’t... break free...

“Giving up so soon?” a second voice whispered in her mind. “I knew you were a spineless wuss... but I always thought you had guts. You can’t let him win, you hear me? You can’t!”

I can’t do it... she thought back, not by myself!

Suddenly the scarlet light began to dim, replaced by a yellow-white glow. Dark Star, gritting her teeth, stood before her, shielding Lacie from the energy drain. “Who... said... you... were... alone... in this... cupcake?” she managed, even as her own energy was drained away. “We’re... in this... together... flips sides... of the same... coin...” She stretched out with her left hand, reaching towards Lacie. “Neither of us... can win... by... ourselves...”

“But together...” Lacie said, reaching out, taking her hand, “we’re strong enough to win.”

The flow of energy reversed, flowing out from King, back into the girls. Sensing the change, he broke contact, staring down at them in concern as the two women, one light, one dark, began to merge together, becoming one person again. He reached out with his power, trying to stop the fusion, trying to change the reality of what was occurring, but again, to his perpetual surprise, he was unable to affect them. Since his ascension to godhood, he had experienced a number of emotions, anger, rage, joy, tedium, sadness, and anxiety, but this was the first time he’d actually felt fear.

This shouldn’t be happening. This CAN’T be happening! I should have been able to crush her, destroy her, a dozen times over! Yet, somehow she continues not only to survive, but to gain ground! Even at her most unaware, she was able to shield herself from the full range of my powers; now, my otherwise infinite power is affecting her less and less with each passing moment! If left unchecked... she could become my equal.

No. he thought furiously, his mind racing. No... I cannot... WILL NOT allow that to happen! If I can’t destroy her through direct application of my gem’s power... then I’ll just have to destroy her the old fashioned way!

((end of part 4))