The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

It was then that I received The Truth.

Hahaha. Good. Very good, a decidedly male voice spoke to me then, the words so strong they obliterated anything resembling a passing thought in my head. I had wondered if it was possible. Of course, had it not worked, I had a backup plan.... but it’s always a pleasant surprise when things go well on the first attempt.

Listen closely, girl. I am Professor Twyst. I am your Master. And you are now my obedient slave. You will obey my every command. And your new purpose in life is now pleasing me, your Owner and Master. He chuckled then, giving my pliant mind a moment to process His words. Not that I could do anything more than accept them. Resistance was an utterly alien concept to me.

Ah, but there is more, girl, My Master continued. You are now my minion, my evil henchman, and partner in crime. Instead of fighting crime, you will now perpetrate the very misdeeds you strived so hard to stop. At my command, you will lie, rob, and steal, and you will enjoy it. It will give you an erotic thrill every time you break the law, turning you on more and more until you become addicted to the feeling.

He sighed softly, and if I’d had the ability to react to the words being etched directly into my brain, I’d have quailed at the thought of my life, my will, my entire sense of being, being turned into the exact opposite of everything I’d ever believed in.

You know, girl, he said idly, it would be mere child’s play to alter your way of thinking right now, and simply make you an immoral, cruel, and uncaring thug. But... that would be too easy. I want your slide into depravity to be gradual. Worse, I want you fully aware of how far you fall with each downward sweep. You see... I was actually once just like you. I was a mild mannered researcher, a real do-gooder, trying to use my God given smarts to help mankind. But then one day while researching the very nature of crime, whether or not it was possible for a person to be genetically predisposed to criminal acts, there was a lab accident. He shrugged. The end result is that I emerged that day a new man. Everything good inside me had been corrupted, changed... twisted. And now... my greatest delight in the world comes from twisting the minds and hearts of those around me as well!

Strong hands grabbed me from behind, turning me away from my reflection. I gasped, blinking, my world skipping like a badly scratched CD once eye contact with myself had broken. Shaking my head briefly, my vision cleared to show the man standing before me. My Owner. My Master. “Now then, girl,” He said, looking me over briefly, “let’s see what you’re packing under the hood. Strip for me,” he said simply, nodding once as I obey, hands unzipping my leotard despite my wishes. My hands dropped limply to my sides afterward, and I blushed heatedly, wanting nothing more than to cover myself, to slap the arrogant smile off his face, or run away screaming.

Instead, I could do nothing but stand there and wait for my next command.

“Hmm... not too bad,” he said with a sigh, shaking his head. “Not exactly a beauty,” he commented with a grunt that left me feeling both angry and ashamed. “You’re a bit plain compared to some of the other Supers I’ve captured. Still, I assume your mouth and pussy both work, so come with me, and let’s put them to the test.” He chuckled darkly as he turned on his heel, heading out of the darkened room... with me following along right behind...

Thus began my fall into depravity.

It was hard. I was fighting a losing battle with myself to stay myself. And it didn’t help that my Master seemed bound and determined to shatter my previous self-image at every given opportunity. It started with the sex. Before Master took me, I’d had... well, SOME experience. In High school. I’d gone to third base with a guy I really liked, and thought might be boyfriend material before parting ways as he went out of state to college. But I’d never had full on sex with anyone before. My Master, ever the Professor, decided to teach me the finer points of being a sex slut.

Beyond robbing and stealing, and capturing any pretty hot young thing that caught Master’s eye, he wanted me to know the ins and outs of how a woman is broken down and turned into slave ready for the black market. It took weeks to get the hang of deep-throating without gagging, but I soon mastered the act and plenty of others. And while I never really LIKED anal sex, I did at least learn to tolerate it, and at Master’s instruction, got hella good at faking pleasure by diddling my clitty with my fingers while I was being taken from behind.

And... then there was Misty. Sigh Misty was Master’s favorite slave slut, an older project that he kept around for ‘sentimental reasons’, or so he said. Misty wasa tall—six foot two—a blonde buxom Amazon of a woman, with 36E breasts, plush permanent ‘O’ lips, and the IQ of a cheese sandwich. Or... so I’d thought. As it turned out, she WAS every bit the ditzy sex-obsessed bimbo she appeared to be... but in her own way, she was every bit a genius as the mad professor himself!

“Now, lift your chin, just a little bit,” she said calmly, snapping a piece of bubble-gum as she instructed me, watching me closely as I ate out Vanessa, one of Master’s ‘new acquisitions’. “Uh huh. Better. And don’t forget, like, that circular breathing I, like, taught you. You can devote more time and effort without passing out from, like, no oxygen and stuff.” Vanessa began to hitch, her fingers and toes clenching as I brought her closer and closer to the edge. “Oh, and pay attention to her, like, response. She’s about to peak, so, like, back off a bit and do the distraction, to keep her primed.”

I did so, keeping Vanessa at a steady level of hopeless arousal, without letting her cum, while my instructor kept a close watch on both of us. I knew exactly what was expected of me... and I knew what I was doing to the poor helpless girl was, in essence, robbing her of any chance of resisting my Master’s diabolical programming. I was obeying my Master and pleasing him... but I was also dooming this poor girl to a life as someone’s mindless obedient pet!

The guilt was the worst part. Each time I went out with the other minions, every time I helped capture some other innocent girl and bring them back, it gnawed at my very psyche. And, per Master’s programming, each despicable act, each betrayal, each dirty deed only made me hotter and wetter, bringing me to a steady stream of orgasmic bliss that, at least briefly, pushed aside the guilt and worry. It was a vicious circle—the more acts I committed, the better the buzz, the more relief I felt from the guilt of what I was doing... which only made the guilt more unbearable to bear after the high finally faded. Which made me want to do bigger crimes, worse crimes, to return to that guilt free pleasure again... and again... and again...

My one saving grace, before I’d become too far gone, was to meet with Amanda and break things off with her. I was... actually rather cruel, making up a bunch of lies, telling her that she was a pitiful excuse for a friend and that I never wanted to see her again. She’d left the house in tears, and had I not just cum my freaking brains out for that last betrayal, I would have likely been sobbing myself. But... it was a necessary evil. I had to keep her away from my new life, from the thing I was becoming. Amanda was very beautiful, and it took all of my remaining willpower to resist the urge to abduct her as well and bring her to my Master to be transformed into a slave. And I knew that I’d eventually reach the point where that betrayal would be the ultimate rush, the ‘pinnacle’ of my own depravity, so best to take that card off the table completely.

By six weeks, I was a twisted... hehehe... ‘twysted’ version of my former self. Having effectively ruined my goody-goody image as Pinnacle, Master had kindly allowed me to shed that persona completely, revamping me as the new villainess, Bottom Bitch. Misty had laughed at the choice, taking the time to point out Master’s name choice as well as the connotation. Still, I didn’t complain. I was now his most dependable and steady minion, his henchgirl extraordinaire, his true money maker. And it felt somehow right as a name since as Pinnacle, I’d been at the very top and fallen down to the very bottom. But rather than try to fight it any longer, I embraced it. My new ‘uniform’ consisted of a white wife-beater tied up at the edge of my breasts, with quite a bit of underboob showing, a pair of ragged, cut off Daisy Dukes shorts that barely covered my ass, and a pair of mile-high, open-toe, stiletto-heeled ankle boots.

I also still wore my mask, however. I was actually a bit confused by Master’s insistence, as I’d pretty much flushed my old life down the crapper, and had nothing left to lose if I was found out by now anyway. “Perhaps,” he’d said, in that quiet all-knowing way of his, “but there is a sense of propriety to these things. You’ve gone from masked hero to masked villain, and without that mask, the symmetry is lost. Keep it. Think of it as a reminder of what you once were.”

So... basically, it was an irony type of thing. Like my name. Another surprising aspect of Master’s philosophy was his aversion to killing. After fighting a particularly stubborn security guard that just would not stay down, I was more than ready to do the deed, to simply snap his neck and be done with it. Yes, I had fallen so low that the idea of killing another person with my bare hands no longer bothered me. But again, Master surprised me by forbidding it.

“I have no problem with taking another life,” he’s explained later. “As long as it’s necessary. But the wanton extermination of human lives for fun, or convenience’s sake... it’s shameful. People are resources, just like computers and tools, and money. You, for instance, were a thorn in my side, before I captured you. But instead of killing you, I turned you, made you a resource that would benefit me. And you never know when today’s enemy might end up being tomorrow’s ally. So, now. No killing unless I specifically order it.”

And that was that. There was at least one line I couldn’t cross. But damn if I didn’t do everything up to that line. And I was fine with it. Happy, even. Pleasing Master was all that mattered. And, of course, the bonus of fucking pleasure bombs detonating inside my head like nukes every time I did something bad didn’t’ hurt.

Nearly six months had passed since the whole thing had started. I was enjoying a bit of down time, being balls deep with Marcus, one of Master’s male henchmen, while my face was buried tightly between Misty’s thighs when Master himself entered. “Sorry to break up this fun,” he said with a sneer as we all disentangled, “but I’ve finally gotten a lead on the last component I need to finish my transmogrifier. As it turns out, GrimTech has it, the rare xenon-90 isotope I need to power it. And I want you, Bottom Bitch, to go and retrieve it for me.”

I nodded my acceptance of the mission but frowned slightly. “Of course, Master... but... um, GrimTech is no joke to break into. That place has its own private army, and a bunch of Supers guarding it, not to mention their high-tech security system.”

“Not to worry,” he said dismissively. “You won’t actually be breaking into the Tower itself. One of my sources told me that they are transporting the isotope to an offsite facility for further testing. You are going to attack the transport and retrieve the sample for me.” He paused, smirking wickedly. “Oh, and of course, if you happen to run across any attractive ladies while you’re out, feel free to bring them back with you. I have eleven lovely vixens in the cells waiting for the slave auction next week, but I could use one more to even out the numbers.”

Taking out the transport was easy enough. Master’s contacts had given us the time and the route of the driver, and a little preparation was all that was needed to set the stage. A simple flash bang going off in the street startled the driver enough to make him stop, then a bit super strength held it in place while Marcus and the others blocked them in. I ripped off the door, tossed the driver, then made my way back to the hold.

Inside was... wow. Talk about jackpot! Inside was the isotope Master needed, being guarded by two uniformed security guards. Female security guards. One of them was a very pretty brunette with a cute pixyish face and small but supple breasts. Her partner, however... I’d always thought of myself as hetero, despite my frequent, er, nearly daily trysts with Misty, but guard number two was DEFINITELY my kind of gal! Tall, blonde and busty, with a rack that would give Misty’s a run for their money... her hair had this whole, retro, 1930’s movie star thing going on. I knew right then and there that I’d found the one to finish filling Master’s slave order request.

“Wh... what is this?” the first guard asked, frowning, gun drawn. “You’re the one robbing us? There’s no money on this transport, you bimbo!” she scowled. I laughed haughtily, shaking my head.

“Ooohhh... bimbo. Haven’t heard that one before. The name’s Bottom Bitch, and I’m well aware of what you’re carrying. That’s why I’m here.” I placed a hand on my hip, “My boss sent me to retrieve that isotope... but it looks like I’ll be bringing you two back with me as bonuses.”

“Like hell you are!” Brown hair growled, raising her gun and firing. The old me would have likely died, frozen in place, screaming like a baby as bullets rained down on me. The new and twisted me, however, was brimming with confidence and more than agile enough to dodge a few bullets. And the look on Brownie’s face as I zipped easily back and forth between her shots before snatching the gun out of her hand and bending the barrel? Priceless. Wide-eyed, she stumbled back, glancing at her partner. “Don’t just stand there! Shoot her!” she yelled, frantic.

“Why bother, Jill?” the blonde said, defeated, dropping her gun, raising her hands. “She’s a Super. She’s got us outmatched. And I don’t want to piss her off if I can help it.”

I nodded, smirking. “Smart girl. I’d prefer not to mess of your lovely young faces if I can help it.” Not entirely true, though. I didn’t mind playing a little rough, but Master would likely be pissed if either of his new prizes were scuffed. “So, why don’t you both be good little girls and cuff your hands together.”

Jill growled, hands clenched. “You think we’re going to make it that easy? You’re not getting this case without a fight.”

I merely stared back at her, eyebrow raised. “You think so? Well, I beg to differ. Bottom Bitch Blast!” I called out, using unleashing my hypnotic gaze upon them both. Uuuuuhhnnnnnnn! Fucccck... what a rush! I was practically dripping at the sight of their faces going slack, knowing they were completely at my mercy. I knew firsthand just how strong the effect was. They were my complete and total playthings. The desire to twist them, to play out all my evil and wanton desires with them was nearly overwhelming... but my own twisted programming prevented me from indulging myself. These two belonged to Master. They were HIS to enslave. I’d have to content myself with the pleasure of kidnapping them both and stealing the isotope. Besides, if the Professor was feeling generous, maybe he’d give me first crack at dominating the pair.

“Alright girls, listen and obey,” I barked sharply. “You, Jill, was it? Pick up the case. As for you, blondie, slap the handcuffs on yourself, and both of follow me back to the van. Then you’re both going to sit down, stay quiet and not make any trouble. In fact, you’re going to both sit there with smiles on your faces, diddling yourselves underneath your uniforms until you cum.” My eyes crinkled. “Then you’ll diddle your partner until THEY cum. And repeat until I tell you to stop.” Confident that everything was settled, I turned away and exited the back of the truck, and a moment later my two newest victims trudged along behind me.

Yeah, I was bad. Really bad. And yet I felt soooo good! And... there wasn’t anything I could do about it anyway. This was my lot in life. This WAS my life. Different day, a different victim, but otherwise the same ol’ shit. For me, there were no more real surprises left.

At least, that’s what I’d thought at the time...

As ye reap, so also shall ye sow.

That one was from the Bible, not my Granny, though she did spout it out often enough. Basically, it’s karma. If you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. I wasn’t sure I believed that one, to tell you the truth. I mean, the world was FULL of really bad people. And there was no ‘divine retribution’ that I’d ever seen. It was basically just a bunch of bullshit... random shit happening with no rhyme or reason. Heck, when I was a heroine, I’d done plenty of good in the world, and look what happened to me! Now that I was one of the bad guys, Master and I were running virtually unchecked, basically doing whatever we pleased. The police were a joke. The last group that had tried to arrest us, I’d told them to go fuck themselves.

And, of course, with my Bottom Bitch Blast, they’d done just that.

My point was that there was no such thing as karma. It was all a matter of one side being smarter or better than the other. Three other female Supers had tried to stop us and shut down Master’s operation. Two of them were hot enough to join Master’s roster, and were down in the holding cells with the others, waiting for auction. The third had been a bit... plain... so He’d kicked her to the curb. Why? Because we were better, smarter, and stronger than them. If, Heaven forbid, one of the Big Four ever decided to come after us, then we might be in trouble. I was obviously a bit off my rocker after having my mind and spirit broken by the Professor, but even I wasn’t crazy enough to attempt going up against Omega Girl, or her friends.

Until that time, however, I was confident that everything was fine. Leaning back in my chair, in my own private room, I let out a soft contented sigh. It might have been a small pond, but here I was a big fish. There was absolutely nothing to worry—

KA-THOOOM!! BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

—about?? “What the hell?” I yelped as the building shook, nearly toppling me out of my chair. The lights dimmed, then went out, as the red emergency lights clicked on. Rushing to the door, I entered the main hallway, searching for the source of the alarm. Had my previous meandering thoughts somehow proved to be prophetic? Had Omega Girl ACTUALLY shown up to shut us down?!? Sprinting down towards Master’s lab, I gasped as another muffled explosion sounded from somewhere close by, again shaking the entire building. Several of our people were laying on the ground, stunned, or unconscious, several with cuts and scratches and a few sporting black eyes.

I had a really bad feeling about this. The smart thing, of course, would have been to cut and run, to get the hell out of dodge. I actually turned towards the door, when... Must Protect Master above all else! ...my conscious, heh... or more likely the damned programming in my head, kicked in, and I turned back towards the lab. Opening the door, I paused for a moment, gawking in surprise at the sight of my Master, Professor Twyst, lying head over keel on the ground a few feet away, his pristine white lab coat dirty and singed, his pants split, and his impeccably styled and oiled black hair mussed. A few dozen of His best minions, the ‘thug squad’ lay scattered around in a similar state of disarray, looking as if they’d tried to pick a fight with a tornado and lost. And on the other side of the room, just in front of the door leading down to the slave pen holding cells, stood Blondie, the busty security guard... the docile one that hadn’t bothered to fight back.

Which, I supposed, was only fair, since she’d apparently been saving it up for now! Little Miss Non-combatant picked up Marcus, the Prof’s right-hand goon, and lifted him bodily over her head, tossing him aside like a pillow! The others, apparently done playing around, drew out their pulse cannons and opened firing, shooting her point blank. They might as well have been shooting spitballs at her for all the good it did, however, as she walked, calmly, and easily towards the group, seemingly unfazed by the blasts in the slightest. She raised a hand towards them, apparently about to respond in kind, when she glanced over at me and paused, our eyes meeting. She smirked at me, and my stomach clenched in dread.

This was major league bad. I knew I would be her next target. So... rather than wait around, and try testing my mettle against hers, I went for my trump card then and there. “Bitch Bottom Blast!” I yelled out, zapping the area, unconcerned in the slightest about the other thugs who had glanced up at my approach. “SLEEP!” I said immediately, following up with a command before she had a chance to do anything. I grinned wickedly as everyone still standing from the battle toppled over to the floor, asleep on their feet. My grin faded, however, as Blondie merely shook her head, glancing around at everyone else... and more notably NOT falling to sleep on the floor with them!

“Impressive,” she said, nodding her thanks. “You saved me the trouble of beating them all down one by one. I guess I owe you one.”

I gaped at her, backing away slowly as she walked steadily towards me. Master was still out of commission, and I was out of tricks. I turned tail and tried to run, using my super speed and agility to its max... only to find Blondie standing directly in front of me. Seeing her in range, I used my momentum and swung punching her square in the jaw... only to yelp in pain, drawing back what I hoped wasn’t a broken hand! “Wh... who the hell... are you?” I asked, cringing back in fear, rubbing my knuckles. “WHAT the hell are you? How could you resist my Blast?”

“Who am I? Hmm... maybe this will help,” she said, tapping a small spot on her arm. Her body shimmered slightly, the soft rosy peach tan fading, replaced with a gleaming silver chrome sheen. Her body appeared to be completely metallic. I only knew of two famous Supers with gleaming silver skin. And since we weren’t in Midas City... that only left... oh crap.

Master’s arch nemesis. Robotica.

“I really have to thank you for bringing me here,” she said with a grin, lifting a hand and pointing it towards me. “I’ve been searching for Professor Twyst’s newest hiding spot for months now, trying to track down all the kidnapped girls. but the man’s smart. He hides his tracks well.” Her hand widened briefly, shifting, reconfiguring itself into the barrel of a blaster cannon. “But despite that, he IS predictable. I knew it was only a matter of time before he attempted to rebuild his transmogrifier to transform all his captured girls into his ideal image. And for that, he’d need to obtain that sample of Xenon-90 that GrimTech owned. It was only a matter of time before he went after it. All I needed to do was make sure I was on hand the next time it left the facility.”

I swallowed as her hand-gun-whatever began to glow, and my earlier thoughts about karma suddenly came back to me. “As for your... ‘Bitchy’ mind blast thing? I guess it’s not as effective against digitized computer brains as it is normal human ones, huh? I admit it gave me a nice little tingling sensation, but otherwise, I was able to shrug it off. Now, Bottom Bitch... let’s see if you can shrug off MY attack!”

FLASH!

And that’s where this story comes to a close. Not that I actually DIED or anything. I meant, that was the beginning of the end of that phase of my life. Robotica’s stun blast had put me down for the count, and she then proceeded to rescue all of the kidnapped women and contact the police for cleanup. When I finally came to, I was shackled in reinforced manacles, with blinders over my eyes, being led out by a pair of uniformed cops.

As expected, the Professor went straight to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Marcus and the rest of the thugs were locked up in a jail cell with him, and it seemed like his organization was finally shut down for good. At least until the next time he managed to escape, that is...

The kidnapped girls were taken to counseling, having the doctor’s insidious programming removed from their minds. Most of them were in shock, justifiably angry at what had happened, and grateful to have been saved from their fate. The two Supers that had been taken were also helped, thought they were a bit more embarrassed at being taken than angry. With all of them, the road to recovery would be a long and deeply invasive process. Luckily there was plenty of help available. Psychological deprogramming was a fairly big industry in River City, as it turned out—apparently, these kinds of things happened more often than most people realized.

Not everyone received a happy ending, however. Misty, the Professor’s main girl, his first ‘success’ with his machine, was pretty much fucked beyond repair. She’d been rescued previously when the mad Professor had been taken down, and they’d tried again and again to restore what he’d taken away from her. All to no avail. The girl had been a college senior when she’d been taken, a Rhodes Scholar, well on her way to a Summa Cum Laude degree in Psychology. Instead, the doctor had fried her brains so deeply she was a ‘Super Cum Loudly’ expert in sex and pretty much nothing else. Left on her own, without the Professor to guide her and keep her in check, she eventually did what she always did when freed. She immediately went to the nearest brothel and began selling herself for sex.

And then there’s me.

Frankly, after my part in everything, I fully expected to be locked up in a cell next to my Master. Or, rather, I guess, the women’s prison, with the other female villains. It was only fitting, right? I’d screwed up so many people’s lives. I’d robbed and stolen. I’d physically attacked and beaten up people, putting them in the hospital. Hell, I’d even used my power to make a squad of police strip naked in the street and fuck themselves. I expected to not just have the book thrown at me, but the entire library.

Instead, I found myself waking up several days later in a hospital, my hands and feet held down with reinforced (but comfortable) straps. Not that I would have needed them to keep me in bed anyway—my head felt all wonky, as if I’d spent the past several hours in the Tilt A Whirl from the county fair. Blinking, glancing around, I found myself staring up at a simply gorgeous blonde woman in a white lab coat, who peered down at me with looked like genuine kindness.

“Ah, Miss Crenshaw. You’re finally awake. Good,” she said, her smile widening. “I was beginning to think I’d probed a bit too deeply. Tell me, dear, how are you feeling?”

“Um... okay, I guess?” I said, sitting up slightly. “More confused than anything. Where am I? Is this the prison hospital?”

“No, not exactly,” she said, shaking her head. “This is Bellevue Mental Hospital. You were brought here to be treated once the truth about your condition was known.”

“Bellvue?” I replied, sighing inwardly. I sank back down into the bed. “So, instead of prison, I’m locked up in Arkham Asylum with the other crazies...”

“A... Arkham?” the blonde said, momentarily confused, before chuckling, shaking her head again. “Hah. Cute. No, Miss Crenshaw, you’re not to be a permanent resident here. Considering the mental and psychological trauma you’ve endured for the past six months, your psyche seems remarkably resilient. You’ve been fully deprogrammed, and all of Professor Twyst’s hypnotic commands have been removed from your mind.”

I blinked at that. Maste... no. The Profes... no, That fucking prick was gone from my head! He wasn’t ‘Master’ in my head anymore, I could see and think of him as the criminal scum that he actually was! I was momentarily elated... then just as devastated. Without the dubious shield of all of his programming turning my thoughts evil, the full scope of all the shit I’d done over half the year came crashing down on me! I was a criminal! I was every bit the piece o low down scum that the Professor was. Even more so—I’d enjoyed it, literally getting off on every evil act I performed! I was... I was trash... I was nothing...

«No, dear, that’s not true!» a voice spoke in my head suddenly, startling me and breaking me out of my downward spiral. A calm soothing relaxing feeling spread over me, and I sighed softly, relaxing. «Forgive me, Hannah. I don’t usually intrude in a patient’s thoughts directly like this, but I had to stop you from the track you were heading down.»

I blinked, looking up at her in surprise. “Y... you’re psychic?” I said dumbly, staring the obvious.

She merely chuckled. “Yes, dear. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Dr. Evangeline Snow. I’m also a psychic, the heroine Whitewash, though rooftop skulking days are over. These days I mostly consult with the police and aid other heroes in an advisory manner. And of course, I help with deprogramming and debriefing special cases like yours.” She placed a hand gently on my arm, “You have to understand that what happened to you was not your fault. You were in over your head. Professor Twyst is a master manipulator. He’s taken down Supers more experienced and knowledgeable than you. And while the actions you took as his brainwashed minion may have been your own, they were only because of the changes he made to your psyche. You literally were not yourself.”

I nodded dumbly, taking a moment to process that. Yeah, I felt hella guilty for everything I’d done. I’d hurt a lot of people. I’d ruined my good name as Pinnacle. But I hadn’t meant for any of it to happen. I sure as hell wasn’t innocent... but it also wasn’t entirely my fault.

“However,” she said sharply, causing me to glance up, “I feel obliged to point out that you DID set yourself up for failure in the very beginning. I know that you cheated in passing your badged Supers exam,” she stated, causing me to wilt under her gaze. “You were not ready to be a solo heroine. And all of this,” she said, gesturing with her hands, “is WHY the Sergeant is so strict about giving out those badges to begin with! You weren’t prepared to face someone like Twyst this early in your career. And he’s hardly the biggest threat out there. I’ve had my own mind twisted like a pretzel more than a few times,” she admitted, glancing to the side, “and while the risk comes with the job, surviving it and dealing with the aftermath is never easy.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I murmured softly, staring down at my hands. She was right. Inever should never have done this. I mean... who was I kidding? I wasn’t cut out for this. I was too... impulsive. I’d done some good, yes... but all the bad I’d done since probably canceled that out straight away.

“Now, now, don’t go getting down on yourself,” the doctor chided me. “You made a mistake. A pretty big and costly one. But that doesn’t have to be the end of your story. You can start over. You said, er, thought it yourself just now. As Pinnacle, you did some real good out there. Your powers aren’t exactly the best, but you made good use of what you had. And you saved people, helped them... and at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about.” She sighed, walking to the door. “Get some rest, dear. You’re not completely clear just yet. Even with his commands out of your head, you have six months of learned conditioned behavior to undo. You’ve still got a ways to go before you’re fully back to being yourself again. But you’ll recover. And then... if you still want to do this, I have some friends I can recommend you to. They’d be glad to take you under their wings and teach you how to do this the RIGHT way.”

“And so, that’s what brings me to you, Mr. Albinn,” I finished, sighing with relief at my tale finally told. “Dr. Snow helped me through the rest of my rehabilitation, though honestly, I have to admit to still feeling a slight tingle at the thought of doing. um... not legal stuff. Not that I ever follow through,” I added quickly. “Her aversion therapy was quite effective. Even taking an ink pen that doesn’t belong to me triggers it. Believe me, I’m on the straight and narrow from now on.”

Parker Albinn nodded, frowning slightly. “Yes. I have heard the basics from Eva already. And I thank you for filling in some of the blanks. It sounds like you’ve had a really bad time. So, I have to ask... why do you want to continue on as a heroine, especially after everything that’s already happened to you? Why do you want to put yourself at risk again?”

I paused, considering my answer. “You know... I asked myself that question a lot over the past few weeks, while I was in that hospital. Do you know why I was even sent to the hospital in the first place instead of being shipped off to jail like the others?”

Parker nodded. “Actually, yes. The reason we knew you were as much a victim on all of this as the other kidnapped girls, was because of your friend, Amanda. After the way you broke things off with her, she was worried about you. And when ‘Bottom Bitch’ started showing up, pulling all these capers, looking and acting so much like you, using the same hypnotic power as you, she knew you were in trouble. And when you were finally caught, she went down to the police station to plead your case, insisting that you needed help, not prison.”

I nodded softly. Dr. Snow had revealed the truth to me in our last session. Amanda, the girl I’d so cruelly shut out, and turned away, had saved my life. I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me for the things I’d said to her... but one day I would make it up to her. Even if it took me the rest of my life.

“Yeah. Amanda. I already explained why I pushed her away. But the fact is... for me, it all started with her. If I hadn’t been there in that alleyway that first time, if I hadn’t charged in like an idiot, not even knowing if I could save her, not knowing if I could even save myself... if I hadn’t done that, then there’s a good chance she wouldn’t be alive right now. Back then, I hadn’t had my powers for very long at all. I didn’t know what I could do. I was scared. Terrified. But... I stepped forward. Because I had to. She’d needed me then, and even though I knew I could die, I helped her.” I looked Mr. Albinn in the eye then. “I know my shortcomings now. I know I have a lot to learn. But I want to... no. I NEED to help people. No matter what it costs me. So... please. Teach me what I need to know. Help me be better at this.”

Parker sighed softly, then nodded. “Good answer. Probably the best I’ve received so far. So now I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. I’m going to train you, physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically. I’m going to put you through the wringer and hit you with everything but the kitchen sink. I’m going to put you through torture that will make boot camp seem like a vacation in Maui. You’ll cry. You’ll sob. You’ll wet yourself. Hell, you might even shit your pants... though so far that’s only happened once,” he said with an evil smirk. “But I promise you this. If you stick with it, by the time I’m through with you, you’ll be tough enough to handle anything out there.”

I swallowed, nodding stiffly. Not exactly the kind of pep talk I’d been looking for, but at least I knew where I stood. “Okay. So... um... when do we start?”

“No time like the present,” he said cheerfully, gesturing to the hallway. I frowned, slightly, as he led me back deeper into his house, wondering idly for a minute if we were heading to his bedroom. That was NOT the kind of ‘intensive’ training I’d signed up for. Reaching the end of the hall, however, I watched in amazement as he opened up a secret panel, revealing a doorway leading down into the basement. “I can’t take credit for the idea,” he said ruefully, as we descended down into what was a massively huge, well-lit training area. “My old boss did it at his own place, and I liked it so much I copied the design.”

Inside, the sounds of people shouting and grunting soon assaulted my ears, and I discovered that I wasn’t the only person to come here for training. In the far corner stood Shinobi, the ninja woman, watching and encouraging a young dark haired girl, maybe six or seven years old, going through a bunch of karate poses. On the other side of the room, an older dark haired woman in a pink, white and yellow costume was fighting a second brunette clad in a tight fitting silver jumpsuit, both wielding wooden swords. And a cute blonde girl sat in the middle of a race track, eyes closed, hands outstretched, doing... something... to a stack of metal boxes, while two other women ran laps around the track itself, gasping and panting as if they were about to collapse.

“Here’s the rest of the group,” Parker replied, taking a moment to introduce everyone. “That’s my wife, Veronica, in the ninja get up, training our daughter Lucy,” he said, causing my jaw to drop. His wife? Shinobi? And... his daughter?!? Talk about starting out at a young age! “You might recognize Paper Doll sparring over there with Techna, our two senior most trainees,” he added, pointing to the two sword fighting. “And two newcomers, Splash and Sunbeam, are building up their endurance on the race track just now.”

Ah. Those two I did recognize, having heard of them in my neck of the city. They were fairly new as well, though much more experienced, having moved to River City from Midas City a few months earlier. Paper Doll I’d also heard of, though I hadn’t actually met her before.

“And finally, um... hmm... well, Allison hasn’t actually chosen a Super hero name yet,” he said with a shrug. “Right now, she’s training to learn the limits of her powers and to get a feel of just how the work. There’s also a seventh ‘student’, I suppose you could say,” he added with a definite scowl, “but she is, and I quote, ‘taking a personal day’. Frankly, the day is running a bit smoother without the red-headed little Prima Donna here, so I don’t mind overly much.”

“That makes me number eight then,” I nodded. “So... where do we start? I’m pretty confident about my powers now after all this time, but my fighting skills are, well, pretty simple. Wooden swords, maybe? Or that weird wooden kung-fu doll with the slats in all directions?”

Parker laughed. “Oh, no, kiddo. You start with the most basic of the basics. We’re going to build up your muscles and your endurance. And here at this training center, we have a very special way of training people.” He paused, and I blinked, not sure what he was getting at. “I’m going to put you into a hypnotic trance. Then I’m going to command you to run, to jump, to squat, to exercise your butt off to the point of exhaustion.” My eyes must have bulged out at that point because he laughed evilly. “Oh, don’t worry, you’ll live. You’ll just wish you were dead afterward while you’re recovering. Still, you know what they say: No pain, no gain.”

As he began to speak in a weird sonic trancey kind of voice, I had the last thought I’d have for the next two hours: Damn... my Granny used to say that one too...