The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Veiled Threats

by J. Darksong

9.)

“Grandma? What the HELL are you doing here?” She scowled, glancing around. “Where’s my husband? Where’s Gene?”

The older woman scowled slightly, shaking her head. “Such rude language. I see your father didn’t raise you with any manners. As for your husband, he went to get something to eat down in the cafeteria, I believe.”

Lacie opened her mouth, then closed it again. She took a deep steadying breath. “Grandmother. Sorry. Let me try again. What brings you here to visit me after all these years? Was that dream I had... was that your doing? Did you put those images into my head?”

“Yes, actually,” she said with a sigh, walking around to the side of the bed. “It wasn’t my intention to intrude on your dream, my dear. When I arrived, I looked into your mind, and seeing your dreams started me remembering the past. I guess my memories blended into yours in that state.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t my intention to trouble you with inconsequentials.”

“Inconsequentials?” Lacie sputtered, nearly bolting out of the bed. “You think the details of the most traumatic day of my life are inconsequential?!?”

“Calm down, dear,” Vurda said softly but firmly, raising her hands. “I don’t mean to downplay what is obviously a very trying time for you. But it has already happened, it cannot be undone. What is important is what you choose to do now.”

“Uh huh. Well, thank you for the sage advice, Grandma,” Lacie said through clenched teeth, feeling her temper building to critical mass. “I’ll take those words to heart. Thanks for the nice visit, but visiting hours are over. Be sure and stop by again, in another thirty years, and say hi to mom for me!”

“Your mother is dead, dear,” the old woman said calmly, turning to face the window. “That is partly the reason for my visit. I know you have a lot of anger and animosity towards her for the way she left you, but as you yourself just say from my memories, she wasn’t given a choice in the matter.”

Now Lacie did slip out of her bed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be mad at HER at all, then, should I? No... I should be furious with YOU!” She took a step towards her grandmother, but the old woman merely held up a scarlet covered hand, and three bands of glowing red light encircled Lacie’s body, binding her tight.

“Listen, child, I can understand you being upset. In your place, I’d probably be as angry and hurt as you are. But there is more to this story that you do not know, and I can’t relate it to you when you’re like this. Now calm down, stay silent, and I will attempt to explain.” She gestured towards the bed, and Lacie found herself transported there, lying back underneath her covers, still unable to move freely, tightly bound by the older woman’s magic. She growled, struggling in vain for a moment, using all of her strength, but to no avail. Finally, she sighed, going still, glaring at her Grandmother instead.

“Fine. Go ahead and speak. But if you came here seeking forgiveness, then you’re wasting your time! You and Mom left Dad and I alone, at the worst patch in his life. Because of you, I had to grow up way too fast. All my childhood years were spent taking care of him, looking after an ailing father. You didn’t even bother to call, or write... even to explain yourselves! For thirty years, I didn’t even get so much as a birthday card! And now... out of the blue, you decide to drop in unannounced and UNWANTED, to try and explain?” She laughed humorlessly. “Go right ahead. Explain away. I’m all ears.”

The old woman smiled slightly, pulling over a chair. She sat down next to the bed. “Not exactly the greeting I was hoping for, but alas. Alright. I shall start with your dream. You saw my memories of that day, of what happened once you were put to bed. Your mother called to me, and I came as quickly as I could. I examined you, I studied your weave, and I saw that the energy you’d been exposed to had changed you... altered you, down to your very DNA. You were different, and your weave was different.” She paused, considering. “I told your mother than you were useless to us now... but I suppose I was wrong. You have certainly proven yourself, time and again, and though I can craft a person’s weave, and see to where it extends, even I cannot determine it’s ultimate fate.

“I see you are confused... what I take for granted is all new to you, so let me explain further. You, like your mother, like myself, are descendants of the original Norns. We are their children, and their blood flows through our veins. Had you not been fundamentally altered in that accident, you would have discovered your true powers at puberty. You would have felt a deep connection to the world around you, to every person in existence, and discoveredan innate way to interact with them.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, such was not the case. Your Norn blood no doubt protected you, kept you from succumbing to sickness as your father did, enabled you to even benefit from it, giving you strength, speed, and power. The price you paid, however, was the loss of that innate connection to the world itself.”

“Wait, wait a second,” Lacie said, interrupting. “This all sounds eerily familiar. Are you saying I’m some kind of... witch, or something? That I’m one of those... those... whatchamacallits, like Sarah’s family tree?”

“I said not to interrupt!” Vurda groused, scowling. “Your question is a good one, I suppose. No, we are not Nesatealia, like your friend, the LaSilvas girl. We are something more... ancient. More primal. How well do you know your European History? In Norse Mythology, the Norns, or Nornir were three entities, three sisters, that governed the fates of all beings in creation. In Greek Mythology, they are called the Moerae, or the Fates, the authors of all existance, that even the great Zues himself was respectful of. The Romans called them the Parcae, the manifestations of Destiny. Whichever version you go by, they refer to the same entities. Myths and legends abound, so many that even we no longer remember our family’s true beginning... but regardless, our bloodline continues to endure.

“Our task... our purpose, is to guide the Threads of Fate, the ethereal lines of destiny that connect every individual that was, is, or will ever be. When one of blood comes of age, she hears the Call. She’s drawn, inexorably, to our ancestral home, to the very center of this world’s energy. There, the patriarch of the family trains her, teaches her how to control her blossoming gifts, and prepares her for her eventual migration into the Ethereal Realm.

“Just as there were, originally, three sisters, each charged with a different task, there are three distinct manifestations of the Nornir power. The first is that of the Weaver, of Urdr, from whom I was named at my birth. The second is that of the Spinner, of Verdandi, who actually guides and governs the myriad threads of fate. The last is that of the Tailor, of Skuld, she who was responsible for the ending of each thread. You, child, were to have been a Fatespinner. It was your destiny from birth to govern and guide the fates of all the souls that now walk the earth.” She lowered her head. “But, as I said, all of that changed the day that you were bombarded with the energy from the Paradox Gem.”

“Paradox Gem?” Lacie said, slowly. She pictured it again, the sparkly ‘bauble’ she’d been so enamored with all those years ago... a red roughly hewed crystal, like a diamond or ruby. Her eyes widened as recognition finally struck. “You mean... that crystal, the power source my father was experimenting on all those years ago... that was the same crystal—”

“—that Jeremiah King uncovered during his time in Egypt, in another time, and another reality,” Grandma Vurda finished, nodding. “Yes. It’s true. One of the duties of a Fatespinner is to keep the threads of fate from becoming tangled. When that happens, anomalies, things beyond the normal range of our existence, can occur, causing a paradox.” She smirked. “That is not to say that small... wrinkles, so to speak, cannot happen, particularly through the manipulation of other mystical forces. Certain improbable events can and do occur, within reason.” Her smile faded. “However, there are SOME events, some happenstances, that and impossible, that simply cannot be allowed to happen. Going back in time, for instance, as your LaSilvas friend’s future self did. That event caused a chain of events to occur that should have NEVER happened, and endangered the very weave of existence itself. It was only through the most narrow of margins that a complete unraveling was averted.”

Lacie sat silently, soberly recalling what had happened to the Domina Argenti. Though she still resented her deeply for the part she played in taking Eugene away from her during the Argentum debacle, she was also aware of her sacrifice at the end, that her true nature as a heroine had shown through despite the tarnish that had so deeply plagued her soul. In the end, she’d sacrificed her very life to prevent an unstoppable evil from rising to engulf the entire world. From what her Grandma was explaining, the threads of fate had become entangled, knotted, by her appearance in this continuum, and that fate itself had responded by causing a ANOTHER series of events that lead to her death, likewise removing her presence.

The same way that fate conspired to thrust me out of my own personal Nirvana... and return me to THIS world again. She frowned slightly. But... if WE are the ones that control fate... Her eyes widened again. Oh Gods... surely she didn’t! Surely my Grandmother wouldn’t...

“It is all about conserving the balance,” Vurda continued, either oblivious to her distress, or patently ignoring it. “Everything is interconnected. If you pull one thread left, you also end up tugging a different thread to the right, which likewise pulls ANOTHER thread upwards even as a fourth thread descends. Small actions cause counter actions, and a Fatespinner’s duty is to control the changes, before knots form, and maintain the weave. Left unchecked, even the tiniest change can cause huge repercussions further down the line. It is an important job, and it takes great skill and strength to keep the weave going. You were supposed to be this generation’s Fatespinner, but when your connection to the world severed, another had to take your place.” She sighed deeply, shaking her head. “Your mother.”

“Mommy...” The words escaped Lacie’s lips before she could pull them back. Her feelings towards her mother were mixed and confused. For a long time she’d hated her, thinking she’d abandoned them. Then, later, she’d put it behind her, putting the woman completely out of her mind, thinking if her mother hadn’t cared enough to contact her after so long, then she didn’t care about her either. But underneath all of those feelings was still the undeniable need, of a young girl, or a daughter wanting her mommy back. In the space of a single night, her grandmother had completely turned her world upside down, revealing the truth about her life, her heritage, her mother—She didn’t abandon me!—only to find out that now, when she finally had the time and the opportunity to find her, and reconcile, that she was dead. A profound sadness settled into her heart.

It’s like I’ve lost something I didn’t even know I was missing...

“Poor Amelia. I pushed her too hard. I truly did. I’d foreseen that her daughter would be the next Fatespinner, and when you were no longer able to become one, I spirited her away, back to our homeland. Though she still loved your father, she took other lovers, bore other children... but none of them had the Gift. And when the anomaly occurred that brought the Domina Argenti to this continuum presented itself, there was no other option. She entered the Well herself, joined the Ethereal Realm, and attempted to untangle the threads of fate. Alas... she had the ability, but not the strength. The Ethereal Realm draws on a person’s strength... it feeds on their life essence. Those who are not chosen can only reside there a short time without simply fading away. Your mother would limit herself to one hour a day there; even then, the strain eventually caught up with her. Her most urgent task involved trying to untangle the huge snarl caused by Jeremiah King’s appearance in this world, a tangle so massive it would lead to the complete destruction of not only our world, but all of existence.

“Would... and DID. Luckily, you, my dear, were able to intervene. As a result of your interaction with the Paradox Gem your father experimented on, your thread was disconnected from fate, removed from destiny’s weave. Perhaps, in a way, that in and of itself was fate’s way of preserving our existence, as it enabled you to face Jeremiah King on equal terms, and defeat him. At any rate, your recent actions were able to do what your mother, and the rest of our bloodline could not—untangling that knot of fate, and restoring the weave to its normal condition once more.”

“So... you came all this way to thank me?” Lacie said with a scowl, crossing her arms. “You could have simply called... or sent a card. Or... not bothered at all. Maybe you should tell me why you’re REALLY here, Grandma.”

The old woman harrumphed. She sat back down in her chair once more. “To the point then. Your thread has become attached to the weave once more. In restoring the world, you restored your connection to it. I was sure you would have noticed it, felt it, by now... that you would have heard the Call, and come to us. I half-assumed you were resisting out of sheer spite for the way your mother and I left you and your father.” She sighed wearily. “A glance through your mind while you slept showed me that your mind has been so pre-occupied with your pregnancy and your duties as this city’s protector that you wouldn’t have noticed the Call even if it was as loud and obvious as an explosion! In plain English, child, you have finally emerged as a Fatespinner. I have come to bring you back home.”

“Ah. Now we get to it,” Lacie said, angrily. “I thought it would be something like that. I wasn’t GOOD ENOUGH for you back when I was six years old, back when I wanted and NEEDED a mother and a grandmother! But now that I’m grown, now that I am USEFUL to you again, NOW you suddenly need me! NOW you WANT me, NOW I’m important to you and your oh-so-special family that I never knew anything about until now! A family that until now I wasn’t good enough to be a part of! Well, Grandma, my father did teach me proper manners, and respect, which is why I let you have your say. I listened to your ‘explanation’ of why you took my mother away from me, why it was so necessary to leave a six-year-old child alone to care for her sick and ailing father. I listened very closely to your proposal, and now I can calmly, and respectfully tell you to GO TO HELL!!”

The older woman went wide-eyed, and sputtered, indignantly, “Wh... What? What did you say to me?”

“I said, ‘Go to Hell’... or ‘Hel’, I should probably say. I don’t want anything to do with you, Grandma. You haven’t been a part of my life for thirty years! I got by just fine without you ‘til now, and I don’t plan to change that.”

The old woman smiled wickedly, rising slowly to her feet. “My dear, dear girl. I think you misunderstand. I didn’t come here to ask you to come home with me. I said I came here to bring you home.” A scarlet glow began to shine forth from Vurda, and suddenly, Lacie found it difficult to breathe. “You, my dear, like your mother before you, don’t get a choice in the matter. You ARE coming with me, child, make no mistake. For the good of our bloodline, for the good of all in this world—you are coming home with me, right now!”

* * *

Eugene looked up from his tray as Dr. Boardman sat down across from him. “Ah, Doctor. Nice to see you again. Taking a break?”

“Just a quick one,” she said with a grin, gesturing to the mug of coffee and Danish. “It’s a fairly quiet day, thank goodness. Not a lot of injured patients to tend to tonight.”

“Aye, well, I suppose that’s a good thing, in and of itself. How are the youngsters doing?”

Alexis grinned. “Young Mr. Albinn is more upset by the fact that this is the second time I’ve had to tend to a broken arm that anything else. At least it was his other arm this time. Not that I recommend that he try fighting crime in his current condition... but since he didn’t listen the LAST time, either, at least he’ll be able to use his good arm to defend himself. As for Ms. Mitchell, the bones in her wrist were shattered. I’ve contacted a colleague of mine, a hand specialist, to tend to her. Considering her, ahem, profession, manual dexterity is a priority for her, and while I consider myself a pretty good surgeon, I would rather she be treated by an orthopedic specialist.”

Gene nodded. “Sounds good. I’m glad they’ll be in good hands.”

“What about the young woman that came in with you?” Alexis asked. “Tina Patrick? Has anyone tended to her yet?”

“Aye. The PA’s checked her over, as I insisted, but she was only a little shaken up. A few cuts and scrapes from shrapnel and debris, but nothing serious. I sent the poor girl home. She’s been through enough already without having to deal with our problems.”

The doctor chuckled. “That’s just like you, Eugene. Always concerned about everyone else’s problems.” She gestured to his right arm. “You should really have that in the sling I gave you, you know. I can appreciate you wanting to put on a brave front for your wife and the others, but your arm has to be killing you, even with the pain medicine i prescribed.”

Gene shrugged slightly. “I’m used to dealing with pain. I may not be tougher than I look, but the least I can do is look tougher than I really am.” He smirked. “Besides, all of them were injured coming to my aid. The least I can do is to let them think I’m better off that I am, and let them focus on their own injuries rather than mine.” He sighed. “Soon as I’m able, I need to head back to my workshop. I’ve been working on a cure to one of Parker’s ailments for a while now, and after everything that’s happened tonight, he’s finally agreed to let me do it.”

Alexis snorted, opening her mouth to comment about medical cures being her department, not his, when a loud banging on the window caught their attention. A dark haired man in a black leather jacket stood in front of the window, his face pressed against the glass. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and his skin was very pale, and ashen, almost grey. He tapped weakly on the glass again, mouthing words they couldn’t quite make out. The doctor, frowning, leaned forward, adjusting her glasses. “Dominic?” she said, softly. “Could that really be you?”

With a loud crash, the figure at the window burst in, shattering the glass, tumbling into the room. The food server screamed, hiding back behind her counter, reaching frantically for the phone to call security. Alexis and Gene ran towards her, bending down to examine the man, checking to see if he was okay. “Dom! Dom! Are you alright?” Alexis asked, gently slapping the semi-conscious man’s face. “My God, you’re burning up! Eugene, step back, please. Ask Mildred up by the serving counter to have the cafeteria closed off. I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else being exposed until I know what we’re dealing with here.”

“No... not... I’m not... sick...” the young man rasped, struggling to sit up. Panting heavily, sweating constantly, he made his way back to his feet. “Aunt Alexis... I need your help. I’m... in a lot of trouble.”

The elderly doctor scowled. “In trouble again? Well, why am I not surprised. So, Dominic, what’s wrong with you, if you’re not sick? You don’t smell like alcohol, and you don’t seem drunk. Are you high? Have you been taking drugs again? If you’ve come to me because you’re in trouble with the law again, you can forget it...”

The man laughed, bitterly, then started coughing, nearly falling back to the floor as spasms shook his entire body. “Trouble with the law is the least of my problems right now, Auntie Lex. I’m... I think I’m dying. I messed up, big time. They... did something to me... injected me with something...”

“So it IS drugs!” the doctor yelled, exasperated. “Dammit, Dominic! I TOLD you not to get involved with that crap again! I am not about to risk my career by helping my drug-dealing, drug-addicted nephew at my place of work—”

“AUNTIE LEX!” Dominic yelled, shuddering slightly. He took several steps back, towards the window he’d crashed through, then turned, just as a bright flash of light began to shine. He screamed loudly, sending a huge burst of energy out through the hole, scorching the shards of glass, and leaving a burn trail across the hospital parking lot, out into the distance. He staggered back, slipping to his knees once more, gasping and panting. He turned to face her then, his face somehow even more pale with fear.

“Dom...” Dr. Boardman whispered, moving tentatively towards him, stopping a step or two away. “What... was that? What did you just do? How...?”

“You mean he doesn’t normally shoot huge blasts of energy from his hands?” Gene asked, surprising her. The doctor shook her head no.

“Auntie... Lex...” Dominic gasped, obviously in pain. “Do you... remember... when I got out of prison, a few months ago? That job... I got... with that new... call center... the one I used you as a reference for?” He started coughing again, and it took a few moments before he could continue. “They... this company... it was for a genetic... research... facility. They were doing... experiments... on people we recruited for them... through the call center.” He took a deep breath. “I know... I should have told someone... gone to the police... but they paid us to keep quiet. Paid well... and the guys in charge... weren’t the kind of people... you double-crossed.” He shook his head. “Everything was fine for a while... but I started using... started getting careless... and the bosses decided... I was becoming... a liability.”

Gene frowned, listening intently. Genetic research? The idea sent a chill down his spine, but it tracked with what his sensors had picked up from Zero’s attack against them. For a brief moment, he wondered if HE could be behind all of this—but then he shook his head. No. No chance. Absolutely no way Duncan could be a part of this. I can’t accept that...

“Rather than just kill me,” Dominic continued, “they decided to use me as a... test subject. The idea, at least as far as I know, is to be able to give a normal person superhuman powers... to turn an average Joe into Super Dude, or something. But... it’s not that easy. You can’t just inject some guy... with a serum, and make him into a powerhouse. Most... most of the test subjects died... horribly... painfully. That’s the point of the testing... they’re trying to find the exact formula... that would give someone powers... without killing them. Once it’s perfected... well, then they can use the formula... on themselves...”

“Freeze!” the security force yelled, guns at the ready. “Doctor Boardman, are you alright? Step back from him. We’ve got him covered.”

“It’s alright, Bruce,” Alexis said, shaking her head. “The situation is under control. He’s... I know him. He’s not dangerous—”

“I AM dangerous!” Dominic yelled, jerking back to his feet, causing the guards to raise their guns once more. “Stay back! All of you! Get away from me! I don’t want to hurt you, but I will! I SWEAR I WILL!!”

“Men, put yer guns down!” Eugene barked, stepping back. “Yer just upsetting him! We’re okay! Really! Just... just back away, give him his space—”

“Bruce! Put down your guns!” Alexis ordered sternly. “Both of you! Do it, right now!”

“Doctor Boardman,” the guard said stubbornly, taking a step towards the trio. “Step away from him! Move out of the way!”

“Auntie Lex... tell them to put those guns down... I mean it!” Dominic said, sparks of electricity beginning to dance across his skin. “They’re upsetting me... and when I get upset... I can’t control it...”

“BRUCE!” Dr. Boardman yelled. “Drop your guns right now, goddammit! This man is a Super, and if you DO NOT GET THE HELL out of here RIGHT NOW, he will likely blow this entire hospital to smithereens! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”

The head guard blinked, lowering his gun from the sheer ferocity of her words. “D... doctor?” he stammered. Sighing, he nodded to the others. “Stand down, men. Lower your weapons.”

“Ahhhhhh... shit!!” Dominic yelled, wincing in pain as arcs of lightning began dancing across his body, lashing out randomly, causing the fluorescent lights on the ceiling to explode. “Too late! Ahhhh! Fuck! Can’t... control... it!!”

“Watch out, Doc!” Gene yelled, tackling the elderly woman as a blast of fire shot forth from Dominic’s hands, leaving the floor where she’d been standing seconds before scorched. Rolling to the side, he pulled her back to her feet, half-pushing, half-pulling her towards the guards. “We have to get out of here. He’s too unstable! He’s gonna blow!”

“No! Let me go!” she protested, reaching back towards him. “He’s my nephew! Let me go! I have to try and help him!”

“It’s too late for that now, Doctor! Bruce, get her out of here! I’ll see if I can get him away from the building before he blows! Move it!” The guard nodded, taking Alexis by the arm, forcing her out of the cafeteria. The other guards left as well, followed by the server. Alone with Dominic, Gene sighed deeply. “Damn. I’d really rather use my insulated forged suits for something like this,” he murmured, activating the nanobots contained in his bracelet and necklace around his neck. A sheet of liquid metal poured out, covering his body in seconds, reforming itself in its preprogrammed armor state, revealing the steel-plated savior, Armor Man.

“Hang on, buddy,” his digitized voice rang out as he flew forward, grabbing the writhing Dominic by his waist, sweeping him back outside through the busted window. He grunted in pain, bombarded relentlessly with random spikes of energy from the convulsing man, his body acting like a nuclear generator on the verge of a meltdown. He mentally rotated his armor’s shield frequency, trying to ward off the worst of the effects, then came up with an idea.

Hope this works, for both our sakes, he thought, crossing his fingers, as she shifted his armor’s shield frequency again, this time trying to match that of the bursts Dominic was emitting. Pain lanced through him through the metal as they synched, as electricity began arcing in all directions around them. Gene gritted his teeth, yelling from the agony as his suit’s computer went dead, fried from the onslaught. They crashed to the ground, landing in the bushes, as the last of the energy storm faded. Gene lay there for a long moment, stunned, as his armor cracked and faded, turning to dust around him. He managed a weak glance over at the young man lying in the bush beside him, then nodded. Dominic was still alive.

Heh. Drain away his excess power by acting like a human lightning rod... stupid idea. Crazy. But damn me if it didn’t work.

His skin was burned, slightly, no worse than a mild sunburn, but painful to the touch. Worse, the repeated shocks had re-awakened the nerves in his arm and shoulder again, which were aching even more from the sprawled out position in which he’d landed. The worst part, however, was the fact that the voltage had destroyed his unshielded neural network, completely destroying the nanomachine version of his armor.

Guess I’m just lucky my own body’s nanomachines were insulated against the excess charge. If THOSE had burnt out, then I’d be as dead as my armor. Scary... the idea of my entire body’s nervous system collapsing from an overload. He sighed. Wasn’t a lot of time to consider my options... the kid was about to blow... but I wonder... would I have risked my life that way if I’d had the time to realize what the consequences could have been?

“Wow... impressive light show,” a strangely dressed redhead said, walking across the parking lot to grin at him. “That was impressive. I’m not from here originally, I’m from the upper Midwest, and we don’t do much in the way of fireworks back home. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a light show like that one in my entire life.”

Dominic let out a groan, stirring. He opened, his eyes, then gasped aloud. “Wyldcard! Shit... did Doctor Saul send you after me?”

The redhead bowed slightly at the waist. “’Fraid so. You went off the reservation, Dom, and the head honcho sent me to ‘wrangle’ you. Now... are you gonna be a good widdle doggie and come along quietly, or do I need to ‘muzzle’ you?”

Dominic groaned, pushing himself up from the bush. “You... you won’t take me... without a fight...”

Wyldcard smirked. “Yeah. Kinda figured. Was actually hoping you’d say that.” She raised her hands above her head, and her entire body changed, turning white, opaque, and blocky. “I was kind of hoping you’d give me the chance to ‘thank you’ for the great job you did recruiting me.”

“BITCH!” Dom yelled, firing a huge blast of energy at her. Wyldcard, however, merely stood there, yawning slightly, her costume burning away, revealing more of her strange crystalline body, which was completely unharmed. Taking a few steps towards him, she planted a hand gently against his forehead. Dominic instantly froze, unable to move. Wyldcard smiled, wickedly.

“Sorry Dom. You need to go to ‘Time Out’ for a little while. Don’t worry, though. The Doctor wanted me to make sure you suffer before I kill you, so I won’t be ending you just yet. Take a moment to think about that,” she said, turning around to face Gene, “while I deal with your would-be savior.”