Return of the Armored Warrior
by J. Darksong
Ch.4
“Whaaaa...” I managed to respond, eloquent as always. Seriously. This day just seemed to keep getting more and more mindblowing.
“I want you to take over the mantle of Armor Man from me,” Eugene Frasier repeated calmly. “It’s something of a big responsibility, mind, but as ye’ve already begun working in my stead as Shining Paladin, yer pretty much Armor Man in everything but name as it is.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled, rubbing my bruised arm again. “The Insect Society certainly thought so.”
Frasier sighed. “That’s also a part of it. Yer not at home anymore. New York might be noteworthy for its low-level muggings, carjackings and the like, but most of them are normal humans. Here, even the simple crimes tend to be committed by Supers more times than not. That requires a greater level of preparedness and efficiency.” His eyes narrowed. “That requires a greater level of training.”
“Hey! I’ll have you know that I have plenty of experience dealing with bad guys,” I said, affronted. “We might not be the ‘City of A Thousand Supers’, but we have our fair share of super-powered criminals back in New York as well! And I’ve put away more than a few—”
“Ye’ve currently faced off with: Sticky Fingers,” he cut me off, speaking in that annoying calm and direct tone I was starting to hate, “a low level street thug whose biggest claim to fame was pickpocketing a hundred tourists in one night; Rampager, a heavy hitting bank robber with immense strength but virtually no brains to speak of; and, Card Shark, a would-be assassin for hire with uncanny marksman abilities but the odd quirk of using sharpened metal playing cards as his weapons.” He shrugged. “Not really much of a rogue’s gallery. And, all things considered, I’d even count the Insect Society a higher tier class of criminal than the lot of them.”
I blinked, stunned. “How... do you know all of this?!?” I demanded. “Do you have, like, spy satellites that watch everyone, all the time?”
“Not all the time,” he replied, moving to the wall, pressing a small red button. “You can come in now,” he spoke aloud. Turning back to me, he continued. “As I said, I am more than willing to give you my armor. The caveat is that I need to train you, to be satisfied that you can utilize it effectively, without hurting yourself or any innocents in the process.”
A door opened, and two women walked in one I recognized as the chauffeur, and a tall beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair that I’d never met. “Additionally, you’re going to be privy to a lot of sensitive information,” the chauffeur said candidly, “not to mention you’re basically being given access to an arsenal of cutting edge weapons capable of destroying a city or taking down pretty much every Super in the world. To that end, Master requires a few... safeguards...” she said with a wry smile, “to ensure that he can fully trust you.”
I took a step back, not liking what I was hearing. “Wait... what do you mean by ‘safeguards’ exactly? And how do you intend on making sure you can trust me?”
“I’d think the answer rather obvious at this point,” the blonde replied with a smirk of her own. “We’re going to brainwash you... hypnotize you deeply and alter your mind. Nothing too invasive, of course,” she said, idly, as if what she was proposing was completely normal and routine. “Just enough to ensure that you don’t decide to go off the deep end and try to kill everyone.”
“First of all, I’d never do that!” I protested, angrily. “If you guys knew half as much about me as you claim to, you’d know that I would NEVER use my armor to hurt people! I only got into this to help people!” I turned to glare at Frasier. “Secondly, I don’t appreciate the ol’ ‘bait and switch’, luring me here with promises to help me, only to try and brainwash me into your... cult, or harem or whatever you have going on here!” The dark-haired chauffer looked appalled. The blonde laughed out loud.
Eugene sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You seem bound and determined to misunderstand me and take everything I say in the worst possible light,” he muttered. “Fine. Let me be crystal clear. You lost your armor, and as promised, I will give you a replacement for what you lost. And, for my promise to your mother, I’ll make sure it will be able to protect you from pretty much anything you’re likely to face. That’s a given, whether or not you accept my proposal. In fact, ye can pick the suit of your choice and walk out of here right now, with no hard feelings. But, if you do, know that my aid to you ends there. I’ll have fulfilled my promise, and you’ll be on your own from then on out.”
He paused for a moment to let that sink in. I could walk out of here with an upgraded suit with all the trimmings, no strings attached. But if I did, I’d be shit out of luck if I had any issues later on. And just from the looks of them, I seriously doubt I’d be able to manage any repairs with a screwdriver, socket wrench, and soldering gun like my previous suit.
“If you accept my proposal, however,” he continued, “if you allow my two companions to do what they do to ensure your loyalty, then I will devote the entirety of my resources to being your support. I’ll train you, teach you everything I know, in not just how to fight your opponents but now to outthink them. That means giving you access to my entire data network, information on every Super on the planet, their strengths, and weaknesses, as well as proposed strategies on how to defeat them.” That caught my attention. Eugene nodded. “Aye. Now perhaps you can understand the reason for my somewhat extreme precautions...”
Yeah. I actually could understand it. If he was telling the truth if he actually HAD accumulated data on every single Super in the world... the man standing across from me was far more dangerous than I’d expected. But he was also offering to share all that knowledge with me. All his resources and technology. And this place... just the few inventions I’d passed in the way into this room, and the armors themselves, it was all just a small part of this complex. I couldn’t even begin to ponder what else he had access to down here...
“Okay. I’m not saying right now that I accept,” I began hesitantly. “But, theoretically, if I did... what would happen? I mean... with the, er... brainwashing part? What EXACTLY would you do?”
The women glanced at one another. “I would hypnotize you,” Christina said, stepping forward, smiling slightly. I taking an involuntary step back as I notice her fangs. And, this close, I can see her skin, her arms, and shoulders, her face... the skin is shiny, with an almost wet look, as I realize suddenly then they are simply pale colored scales. Huh. No wonder she’d gone by the name ‘Serpentina’ before being captured! “I would have you stare into my eyes as I place you into a deep hypnotic trance. And once your mind was open and empty, then Miss Snow would take over.”
I glanced at the blonde as she nodded. “I’m a psychic,” she stated with a wry twisting of her lips. “And while I COULD simply dive inside your mind and implant the proper commands to ensure your loyalty, I find it much easier and effective when a subject’s mind is already open and passive.” She grinned, eyes flashing in amusement. “And so, a mere second or two, a moment or two of dizziness for you as I slip and out, and then you awaken none the worse for the experience.” I swallowed, suddenly very uncomfortable, starting to sweat. “Oh, don’t worry, dear, There’s no reason to be scared. Believe me, its perfectly painless, and there are no adverse effects. And... it’s not as if you’ll end up as one of Master’s brainwashed slaves or anything.” she added with a bit of a chuckle.
“Evangeline, stop teasing the lass,” Gene cut in sharply. “Can’t you see she’s nervous enough as it is?”
“Sorry, Eugene,” she said, apparently contrite.
I sighed deeply, considering. “Can I... have a little while to think it over?”
Eugene nods, sighing softly as he turns to leave. “I have some other projects I need to attend to. Just come to me and let me know your decision before you leave. Feel free to give any of these models a test drive if you want, so long as you don’t leave the testing area.” He walked away, and Christina and Evangeline moved to follow him... but the blond paused at the doorway, turning to look at me.
«And don’t worry child,» her voice spoke inside my head. «Whatever way you decide, I’ll keep your little secret. Keep that in mind, if that’s the only thing holding you back.» She winked at me, then walked out with the others.
Oh goddammit.
She KNEW! The blonde bitch had been reading my mind this whole time! She knew! She knew, and she was going to tell the others and...
But, well... she’d promised me that she wouldn’t tell. I mean, yeah, she could be lying. But it seems a bit weird to go out of your way to let someone know that you know their deepest darkest secret only to promise you that they wouldn’t reveal it if they were going to do just that. I mean... why do that? If anything, she could have told Frasier what she’d learned the moment she’d read it in my head! But... she hadn’t.
Maybe... maybe she would keep it to herself after all.
I groaned, dropping my head into my heads, letting out a scream of frustration. This was ridiculous! How the HELL had I gotten into this mess in the first place?!? This was... absolutely the last place I’d wanted to end up. Here, in Eugene Frasier’s workshop... offered the chance to work closely with him. To basically become his apprentice. His partner. His...
No. NO. Not going there.
I growled, biting my lip, trying to compose myself, pushing my scattered thoughts aside and trying to focus on the actual choice I had to make. Whether or not to let those two brainwash me into obedient servitude to Eugene Frasier. Again. Because I damn well remembered what THAT felt like from New York... being paralyzed into helpless submission to him! How humiliating it was, being stripped naked, marched up to my mom’s office bare ass naked, my modesty concealed only behind a hologram Frasier himself provided... one that he could have easily turned off at any time to humiliate me even more if he’d wished! Grrrr!! Just the memory of that day always made me so fucking angry! So goddamn furious!!
So... so... fucking HORNY!
I sighed deeply, slumping against the wall in shame. It was true... my deepest darkest most tightly held secret. Being conquered by him that way... being forced to submit to him against his will, knowing he had full and utter control over me. How many nights had I dreamt that event occurring over and over again? How many times had I frigged myself to screaming orgasms replaying the memory over and over in my mind? It was sick, really... twisted. I was seriously screwed up in the head. The man... he was, as I’d stated before, old enough to be my grandfather! What sane nineteen-year-old gets her rocks off at the idea of being dominated by a grisly, old, geezer of a man? Fuck... I might as well imagine him dressed in red and white and call it a Santa Claus fetish!
And that, in a nutshell, was my issue. As tempting as it was to become Eugene Frasier’s partner, there was no way I could work that closely with the guy without him getting wind of the twisted perverted thoughts roaming around in my head. It’s also why the idea of letting those women hypnotize me makes me nervous. I’d basically be placing myself under his control again... voluntarily. What if I told him what I really feel while hypnotized? What if I did something crazy... like begged to be his slave?!?
I could never live something like that down.
No. No, I tell myself, nodding. It’s not worth it. Besides, it didn’t matter anyway. Frasier had given me an out. I didn’t need to an entire arsenal and spy network at my disposal to be an effective heroine. I’d done pretty damn well on my own. And once I was equipped with a working suit, I’d continue the streak.
Having made my decision, I turned and walked down the hallway, heading in the direction he and the others had gone. And, as expected, I found him a short distance away, busy typing away at a computer console displaying what appeared to be a list of biological statistics and vital sign readings. He glanced up at me as I entered, and nodded briefly, turning away from the console. “So, you’ve come to a decision?” he asked.
I nodded briskly, taking a deep breath. It was a tough decision, but really it was the only choice. Working closely with him like this... it was impossible. Unthinkable. And letting his two women work their magic over my brain? Uh uh. No way. That wasn’t happening. I just had to tell him no and leave with the replacement armor. End of story.
“I accept,” the words flowing out of my mouth before I could hold them back. “We have a deal. Go ahead and hypnotize me if you have to.”
“Good,” Gene replied with a small smile. “You’ve made the right choice. Well, there’s no time like the present. Let’s start right away...”