The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Paper Doll IV: Training Days

By J. Darksong

Part 1) Making New Friends

My name is Claire and I’m a super hero.

I also happen to be a college student, which is usually the biggest concern I have during the daylight hours, but this was the Labor Day weekend, and I had the next four days off from school. Best of all, all of my instructors, eager for the respite as well, had decided to skip giving us assignments over the break. We’d just finished up the last class of the day, and I was packing up to leave. Heck, most of the other students, eager to get started on their long weekend, had departed before the instructor had even finished wishing us a good weekend.

Finally settled, I left the room, only to pause at the sound of a loud squeal. Instantly on alert, I tapped into my power, causing the paper in my notebook to rattle softly, in case I needed to fight, but I sighed moments later, rolling my eyes as the source of the disturbance made itself known. “Looks like the Prodigy has a visitor,” one of the girls from my class, Tina, noted aloud. I glanced over to where she, and Janika were staring. Indeed, the tall lanky teen was hugging a surprisingly taller, good looking, dark haired, and rather cut young man. The Prodigy was a rather large girl in her own right, easily six feet tall, and slim, with a surprisingly tone body, yet the young man easily lifted her with one arm, spinning her around gently, like a child. He was dressed stylishly, but all in black, with a short sleeved black Polo shirt, and black jeans, ending in a pair of black Reeboks.

“…can’t believe you’re here!” she said, as he placed her back on the ground again. “It’s been way too long! I know Katie will be glad to see you too,” she said, smiling grandly, showing the most expression and enthusiasm I’d seen since I’d met her. It was kind of freaky… we’d been in class with the girl for more than six weeks now, and this was probably the most words I’d ever heard her speak. “Are you here for the weekend?” she asked.

“Sadly, no,” he said with a sigh, his voice deep and resonant. “I’m just visiting on my way to Midas. I thought I’d stop by and visit everyone while I was in town. I’d actually stopped by the Prentiss Mansion first, and was told that you and Sioban were here on campus.”

“Yeah,” the dark skinned Amazon replied with a head shake. “You know Bonnie. Always burning the candle at both ends. Still, I’m hopeful that Katie and I can persuade her to leave the dark gloomy halls of academia for the weekend and just hang out with us for a change!” The man chuckled.

“Well, if anyone can, it’s definitely you and my sister,” he said with a grin. “Well, Tawnya, I’m going to go say hi to the little redhead, then swing by my folks place for a bit. I plan to leave tomorrow evening, so I’m sure we’ll run into each other again before I leave.”

The Prodigy nodded, waving, as he blew her a kiss before heading down the hallway. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make sure of it,” she promised, grinning widely.

We were, of course, all a bit stunned by this. I mean, it’s odd enough to discover that your Brainiac rival that one-upped you all semester is an actual living breathing human being instead of the inhuman robot she acts like during class. Finding out that she actually has a love life is utterly mind-blowing. “Do you think that was her boyfriend?” Janika asked her friend Tina, whispering softly.

“I dunno,” Tina replied with a shrug. “I guess so. You saw how chummy they were with each other.”

“Yeah… and he said something about visiting from out of town,” Janika noted. “Maybe he’s her older boyfriend attending college in another state, just in town visiting for the weekend.”

“Hmmm… could be,” Tina said dubiously as she and her bestie walked down the opposite end of the hall. “But I would have sworn she was a lesbian from all the cues she was giving off…”

I merely shook my head at that. Of course, the two lesbian members of the class would assume she was that way. Pushing the matter aside, I slung my book bag over my shoulder and headed out as well, eager to meet up with MY bestie.

* * *

Another slow night on patrol. Which was good, I suppose. It meant that the criminal element of the city was getting the message, that unless you walked the straight and narrow, you ended up in jail, courtesy of the city’s silent protectors. Slow, basically, a slow quiet night was a good thing… even if it was really boring.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. Moving along the edge of the old red light district, I spotted an anomaly. You know, something in the environment that didn’t belong there, thus standing out. Parked out in front of Niko’s Bar, this really cheap, hole-in-the-wall, dive spot that tended to cater strictly to ‘undesirables’, was the most amazing bike I’d ever seen. A Kawasaki Ninja, one of the latest models, either the ZX, or the newest one, the H2. Either one, both were considered the fastest motorcycles in the world. And both were among the most expensive bikes in existence, which, in a place like this, would be sure to attract unwanted attention.

Which, apparently, it had, as I saw a group of rough looking customers dressed like the cast of ‘Sons of Anarchy’ approaching the bike. Worse, the apparent owner of said bike, a tall guy in a black trench coat, was just leaving the bar, heading straight towards trouble. I was too far away to warn him off before they spotted him, but I wasn’t about to let the guy get thrashed by a group of roughnecks. Ten to one odds, though… I just hoped I had enough paper.

“Um… hello?” the young man called out, approaching the hoodlums gathered around his motorcycle. “I think that’s my bike.”

The crowd turned, chuckling loudly, sizing him up. “Oh? Your bike?” the closest thug, a tall thin guy with a spiky blonde Mohawk said, stepping forward. “That’s real interestin’. ’Cause you see, we think this is OUR new bike. And we were jus’ tryin’ to decide which one of us was gonna take it for a test drive.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure that that is my bike,” the man in the coat replied, apparently oblivious to the danger he was in. “And, really, I wouldn’t suggest you try anything with that bike. You’ll be sorry if you do.”

The crowd of thugs let out a loud ‘oooooh’, as they gathered around the young man, effectively boxing him in. “Ohh? A tough guy, huh?” the blonde replied with a grin, pulling a switchblade. “And just what do you plan to do about it if I do?” he asked, taking hold of the left handlebar. A second later, he let out a yell, and jerks back in shock, as a bolt of bluish electricity arced from the handlebar to his hand.

“Me? Nothing at all,” the man said with a shrug. “I was just trying to warn you. My bike is equipped in the latest FrasierTech anti-theft devices. And the shock increases every time an unauthorized rider attempts to take it. So, well, I don’t really have to do anything except stand here and watch.”

“You talk pretty big for a guy out here all alone,” a second thug growled, a crowbar clutched tightly in his hands.

“Yeah,” a third guy growled, holding a battered wooden bat. “You think a few lousy bolts of electricity are gonna stop us? Let’s see how your security works when it’s all smashed up!” Wielding the bat like a hammer, he brought it down hard against the front of the bike.

Or, rather, he tried to. Another sharp flash of light at the point of contact, and the thug stumbled back, nearly knocked off his feet. “Inertial dampening repulsor field,” the coat wearing man replied with a sigh. “I did say the latest FrasierTech anti-theft devices after all.”

“Fine,” the man with the blond Mohawk replied, getting into the man’s face. “I guess it’s lucky for us that you’re here to unlock it for us then, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!” I said loudly, as I finally reached the street level, landing just a few feet away from the group. “And lucky for him, I happened to be in the neighborhood as well.” A few strategically tossed paper darts, and the thugs closest to the helpless innocent were disarmed, weapons clattering to the ground before they could even react. Withdrawing a few more rolls of paper, fashioned into batons, I took a battle stance, daring them to approach. “So, boys… how do you want this to play out? You can just disperse and move on, or we can fight, I can beat you up, and THEN you can disperse.”

I hoped it would work. I was close enough now to see the face of the guy I was defending… and I was a bit surprised to find it was the Prodigy, Tawnya Parkinson’s, supposed boyfriend! Despite the situation, us being severely outnumbered, he seemed to be taking all of this in stride. I wondered idly where he went to school that nearly being beaten up and bikejacked by a gang of bikers didn’t faze him. Did this guy to school in Compton or something? Wherever he was from, I hoped he at least had the common sense to run away once the shit hit the fan.

Several of the thugs backed away, taken in by my bravado, and it looked as if I was going to actually pull it off. “What the HELL do you punks think yer doin’?” a loud voice growled, as very tall, very bulky man in a bandana, black T shirt, cut off blue jean vest, ripped jeans, black gloves, and shitkicker boots, stepped through the crowd. He turned and glared at me for a second, then turned back to his men. “Are you effin’ kidding me?” he asked in disbelief. “It’s one little girl in a pink dress up costume for shit’s sakes! You guys CAN’T actually be afraid of this kid?”

“Yeah, but, Chopper,” the blonde with the Mohawk said, “she’s one of them Supers! And she knocked away all of our weapons with just a wave of her hand—“

Mohawk boy hit the ground hard with a single punch from Chopper, causing everyone else to wince in sympathy. “Dammit, Eddie,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “If you weren’t my cousin…” Sighing deeply, he took a step forward, the crown parting for him. “Listen up, you meatheads. We’re taking this here bike. Anyone who has a problem with that can answer to me. You,” he said, pointing a finger at Parkinson’s boyfriend, “cut yer losses and get the hell out of here while you still can. And you,” he said, pointing at me, “I don’t care if you’re the daughter of Omega Girl herself, if you think you can stand up to me, you’re sadly mistaken. The name’s Chopper,” he said, rolling up his right sleeve, revealing a metallic glint to his right arm, “and I’m the biggest baddest head of the criminal chop shop industry for this entire city. Mess with me, and I’ll make you regret it.”

Chopper. Well, shit. NOW I recognized the name. I didn’t know a lot about the guy, just from reputation, but all the rumors confirmed one thing at least: the guy was bad news. Whether he was a Super, or just really strong, he had put a number of cops and lesser heroes that had crossed his path into the hospital. He was easily in the city police’s top ten most wanted, and here he was right in front of me.

Well, I’ve taken on tougher opponents than him before, and come through, right? I told myself. It’s not as if he shoots laser beams out of his ass or anything. The only complication is this guy I’m trying to protect. As long as he takes off, I can give him some cover, but if he tries something stupid, like going for his bike—

“Sorry to be a bother,” the guy said, taking a step towards the public menace and his cronies, “but I’m going to have to insist that you turn over my bike to me. It’s a prototype, you see, and I’m really still testing it out. My dad would be really upset if I let it get taken away by a bunch of low life criminal scum like yourselves.” I turned and gaped at the guy. Was he SERIOUS?!?

The thugs had apparently had enough as well. With a loud cry, they all charged at us. Groaning inwardly, reminding myself to kill this nutcase once this was all over, I sent out a flood of papers from my backpack, creating a wall between us. “Get out of here!” I yelled to the boy, pushing him behind me, fashioning a paper shield around my arms in case some of them decided to pull guns as well. “Run! I’ll hold them off!”

The boy frowned, glaring at me. “Wait… you’re using paper? Paper? That might work against the minions, but it’s not going to stop a guy like—hey! What theeemmmmpphh!” he grumbled as I wrapped a paper gag around his mouth. Seriously, I didn’t have time for this crap!

“For the last time, get the hell out of here!” I hissed, physically pushing him away, as the feared gunfire began to sound, perforating my hastily created wall. It was much harder to increase the density of larger structures than it was smaller ones. The shield I’d placed on my arm would easily withstand most knives, swords, high caliber gunfire and even a chainsaw. A wall of paper long and wide enough to encircle a group of eleven bad fully grown men would be much less dense, harder to cut or tear through, but not impossible, like really thick cardboard. In the time it had taken me to shove my erstwhile protectee out of harm’s way, the thugs had broken through the wall, and were approaching me again.

To my credit, I was actually doing pretty well, considering the odds. I was able to trip up, disable, trap and wrap up about seven of the eleven before I ran out of supplies. The remaining five themselves were a bit wary of approaching me directly, and gave me a bit of a breather while they considered a new attack strategy. “Okay,” Chopper said, removing his gloves, “play time is over. Time to get serious, girly.” He charged forward then, fist raised, preparing to lay the smack down. I strengthened my shield, and brought it to bear, preparing to shrug it off and counter with a hard rap to his skull with my batons.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!” I screamed instead, stumbling back, dropping to one knee, clutching my left arm, trying not to pass out or vomit on myself. My arm! My goddamn arm! Broken, without a doubt, from the sickening crunch sound and the pain flowing from it up into my brain. I’d blocked Chopper’s punch with my shield, which had weathered the blow no problem. My arm, attached to the shield, however, had fared not as well. The light from the light posts overhead glinted off the shining metal of his artificial arm, the one he’d punched me with, and I realized my mistake. He was way too strong for me. The force he’d exerted with a simple punch through that arm could have shattered a concrete wall. If he’d wanted to, he could have simply reached out and crushed me like a tin can! I was in serious, serious trouble.

Worse, I was down one arm, and out of paper to use for ammunition.

Chopper chuckled darkly, standing over me. “Well girly?” he gloated. “Gonna beg now? Plead for mercy? I told you before you’d regret messing with me.” He lifted me back up onto my feet with one hand, dangling me a few inches off the ground. “You’ve got a broken arm, doncha? I know how that feels. Maybe I’ll do you a solid and rip it clean off, so you can get a new one grafted to you the way I did!” I merely groaned weakly, the darkness fluttering at the edge of my vision threatening to overwhelm me…

“Hey, pal,” the boyfriend said loudly, shoving Chopper back, and taking me gently in his arms. “Leave the lady alone. If you want to pick on someone, try me.” He frowned, easing me back onto the pavement, before withdrawing a pair of black sunglasses from his coat pocket, placing them over his eyes. “Take a break, kid,” he said softly with a sigh. “You did okay. I’ll take it from here.”

Before I could even begin to question what that had meant, he man snapped into action. Chopper, no doubt pissed by being disrespected, swung again, his metal arm seeking to decapitate his hapless adversary… who somehow sidestepped the blow, blocking with his own arm, getting inside Chopper’s perimeter, and with a simple twist, sent the larger man to the pavement, flat on his back.

It had happened in less than a second, so fast I could barely track it, but it was the most amazing thing I’d even seen. And as Chopper’s men, furious as their boss getting tossed aside so easily, rushed in, he demonstrated the technique five more times, moving with such apparent effortless movements, simply twisting, blocking, and jerking, until all of the thugs were groaning, lying on the pavement next to their boss. And he hadn’t even broken a sweat. “So… still hanging in there?” he asked me, kneeling down in front of me a moment later.

“Why… didn’t you… do that… in the first place?” I demanded through gritted teeth, shuddering slightly from the pain.

“I didn’t want to steal your thunder,” he said simply, glancing around for something, before walking back to his motorcycle, returning a moment later with two small rods. “I was going to do pretty much what I just did when you swooped in to my rescue,” he continued. “Thanks for that, by the way. It’s nice to know there’s always a hero around when you need one.”

I opened my mouth to say something sarcastic, only to cry out again as he took my broken arm. “Just try and relax,” he said calmly, pulling slightly, straightening it before carefully setting it in place. I hissed, then sighed softly, as the pain decreased. He carefully set the two rods in place next to my arm, bracing it, then took my shield, holding it over my arm. “I need you to change this shield of yours into a makeshift cast to keep your arm in place. Can you do that for me? I could use some rags or something, but with your density shifting ability, a nice hard paper cast would work much better.”

“Y-yeah,” I managed, teeth still chattering, as I did as he bade me, transforming the paper shield into an arm cast. “How… d-d-did… you…” I tried to say.

“How did I learn to do this? I’m a medical student,” he said proudly, surveying my arm, before nodding, apparently satisfied. “Plus, I was in the Boy Scouts as a kid,” he added with a grin. My eyes widened, however, and seeing the look on my face, or perhaps sensing the danger, he sudden lashed out with a punch, behind him, without even turning.

“Gaaaahhhhkkk!” Chopped grunted, struck on the jaw, spinning twice from the impact, before falling facedown onto the pavement, out cold. From the way he’d fallen, he would probably wake up with a broken nose, and probably minus a few teeth. And I can honestly say, I didn’t feel even remotely sorry for him.

“How are you holding up?” he asked as my vision began to fade. “Hey. HEY! No passing out on me, now. I can’t have you going into shock.” Sighing deeply, considering, he nodded to himself. Dammit… it can’t be helped. I was hoping to avoid using my powers on this trip, but she’s not leaving me any choice. As I knelt there, fading in an out, struggling to stay conscious, a surge of blackness swept over me that had nothing to do with fatigue or my injuries. I gasped as a dark ethereal shadow pierced me, flowing through my body and straight into my mind.

My thoughts slowed to a crawl, and I felt my eyes roll gently up into the back of my head. « Hey? Paper Doll? Can you hear me? My name is Jimmy» the Voice in my head bespoke, grabbing my attention. «Relax. I’m going to help you. Right now, the pain from your arm is pushing you into shock. I’m going to turn off the part of your mind that feels pain temporarily. You’re going to feel a little weird… kind of floaty for a bit… but you’ll be fine. Trust me.»

Trust him… trust him… I sighed softly, opening myself up to the intrusion, letting it work through my mind without resistance. Trust him. Maybe it was my recent encounter with the good Doctor Snow, but I found myself obeying the wordless commands in my mind before even the thought of resistance or disobedience could even begin to form. If he’d told me to gnaw off my broken and injured arm and present it to him as a present I doubt I could have even questioned it in my current state let out say no.

“That should do it,” he said aloud, his spoken voice snapping me out of my daze. I blinked, somewhat surprised to find that my mind was actually clearer now, thanks to that… whatever it was. And my arm didn’t hurt. If anything, it felt numb, with a kind of prickly pins-and-needles sensation. Still, it beat gut-wrenching pain any day of the week. That shadowy thing, though… had it actually happened? Or had I imagined it?

“Okay. Let’s get you to the hospital,” the boy, Jimmy, said, helping me back up onto my feet. “They should be able to set you up with some nice painkillers that will get you all loopy and feeling a thousand times better.” Reaching his bike, he withdrew a keychain and tapped a button on the side. The bike squealed twice, signaling the alarm deactivated, and he and I slid on. “Here,” he said, offering me his helmet. “I don’t really need one. Plus Slepnir was designed with inertial dampeners for the driver’s seat. Even in a head-on collision going ninety, I wouldn’t get more than a scratch, and maybe a few bumps and bruises… well, if it works the way it’s designed, anyway.”

“Thank you,” I said sincerely, as he started the bike. “I just… feel like a total idiot… with the way everything went down…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said cheerfully, as we took off. Apparently his super bike had some kind of noise canceling wind screen as well, since I could hear him perfectly even as we screamed along the pavement. “We all have to start somewhere. You’re still new at this, right? How long since you first donned the mask and costume? Two months? Three?” I nodded in surprise. “You’re still in what I like to call ‘Year Zero’. The first year of a hero or heroine is where you learn the ropes and get a feel for things… when you’re still discovering the kind of hero you’re going to become. And trust me—even professionals who’ve been at this for years still occasionally have bad days.”

I blinked at that. He’d basically admitted that HE was a Super as well, a costume wearing hero, though apparently out of costume. With the moves he’d displayed, he was obviously some kind of martial arts specialist, maybe Karate Master, or Ninja Man, or something. Then, remembering that shadow thing, I thought it was probably more of the ‘ninja’ thing. Still, it begged the question…

“So, um… how did you learn to fight that way?” I asked. “Did you have a teacher, or sensei, or something? I’ve um… had a few self-defense classes, and can hold my own in a street fight, but I’ve never had any formal training. After tonight, I’m starting to think maybe that’s a liability…”

“Well, since you asked,” he said as we pulled up to River City general, “I do know a couple of people that could help you with that. They trained me and my sister, and I’m pretty sure they’d be willing to train you as well. Assuming you survive, of course,” he added chuckling darkly, which gave me pause. “I would suggest that you wait until you heal up before approaching them, however. If they agree to take you on, they’ll likely start right away.” As I slid off the bike, he handed me a card, which I placed into my pocket.

“Well, you should be fine from here on out. I need to meet up with some people. And don’t worry, I called the police while you were fighting off the Chop Shop gang earlier. By now, they’re probably on the scene, loading then for transport to the closest jail cell.” Taking back his helmet from me, he placed it over his head. “Okay… see ya around, Paper Doll.”

“Yeah, see ya,” I said grinning. “Oh, and say ‘hi’ to your girlfriend for me,” I added with a chuckle.

“Huh? How do you know Devon?” he asked curiously. “She’s not even from this area.”

I blinked. Devon??? “Um… don’t you mean Tawnya? I saw, er… I mean… I thought,” I stumbled, trying to think of a way to explain seeing him earlier without revealing my being in the hallway at class earlier. Jimmy merely chuckled.

“Tawnya Parkinson is merely a close friend of mine,” he clarified. “And a very dear friend of my sister’s. My girlfriend, however, is currently visiting her family in Provo. I’m here visiting my family for a few days before meeting up with her on the way out to Midas.” He revved his bike a few times, before pulling out of the parking lot. “At any rate, Paper Doll, it was nice to meet you. Take care of yourself.” With that, he took off, speeding off into the darkness of the night.