Bound to Be Brainwashed
The Ordeal of Two Captured Superheroines
The superheroine, Raptor, struggled against her bonds, to no avail. She possessed several times the strength of an Olympic weightlifter, but the bands encircling her neck, waist, wrist, and ankles were solid steel. Knowing it was futile, but not one to ever give up, she continued to press against them in hopes of breaking or at least weakening the metal. As she did, she called out the name of the young woman seated directly across from her.
“Red Raven! Red Raven! Can you hear me? Red Raven!”
Both Raptor and her sidekick, Red Raven, sat in what looked like oversized dentist chairs. Each woman wore a similar PVC leotard--crimson colored with a swooping bird icon on the chest--and each was missing the rest of her normal outfit: mask, belt, gloves, and boots. The same bonds that held Raptor in place also restrained Red Raven.
Additionally, a domed helmet covered the top part of Red Raven’s head. It hung from a robotic arm attached to the back of her chair. The helmet hummed, and an indicator light on its front flashed rhythmically. Beneath it, the young woman’s eyes were closed.
“Red Raven!”
Raptor’s cries had no effect in rousing her partner. She watched helplessly, as the machine kept doing whatever it was doing to her partner.
Several minutes ago, both women had awoken to find themselves strapped into these chairs. Neither remembered exactly what had happened. Raptor recalled something about a fight with a bunch of goons, and Red Raven had the impression of breathing in something heavy and cloyingly sweet--some kind of sleeping gas, her mentor surmised.
As the heroines discussed their options and tried unsuccessfully to break free, the robotic arm raised up from behind Red Raven’s chair. Raptor alerted her sidekick to it, but there was nothing the immobilized young woman could do. Within a few seconds, the helmet descended over her head. She cried out fearfully and squirmed as much as she could within her bonds, but she was held fast.
Once the helmet had come to a stop, the light on its front began to pulse, and a loud hum sounded from within it. Red Raven began to tremble. Her hands and feet shook below the bands that secured them. She continued to cry out and struggle, but over the course of a few scant moments, she quickly lost her strength. Her utterances became incoherent and soon devolved into mere moans. Her eyelids fluttered and then closed. She made no sound then and didn’t move, except for the occasional twitching of a finger or toe.
Through all of it, Raptor had called out to her. But Red Raven had not responded. Minutes passed, and Raptor kept trying to get free and to wake her partner.
“Red Raven! Wake up! What are they doing to you? Fight it, fight it!”
“Don’t worry, she’ll wake up. But when she does, I’ll already be finished ‘doing it’ to her.”
The voice came from behind Raptor, but she knew it well without seeing the speaker.
A tall woman with a pretty face and a leanly muscled body walked into Raptor’s view. She wore a red and blue unitard with a white star emblazoned on her chest--the trademarked uniform of Columbia, the patriotic superheroine. Missing, though, were her cowl and armored vest. And like the captive heroines she surveyed, her feet were bare. She held a small remote control in her hand.
“Hello, Raptor.”
“Columbia, you have to help us! They’re doing something to Red Raven!”
“Not ‘they,’ you silly woman. Me. I’m doing something to her. And it looks like it’s almost done.”
“No, Columbia! You have to stop it. You have to help us.”
“Relax, Raptor. Red Raven isn’t hurt or in any pain. I’ll admit the induction process is a little disconcerting for the subject. But she’s well past that now. She’s fast asleep and has no idea what’s going on.”
Columbia took a step towards the unconscious sidekick. She gently stroked one of the young woman’s soles and sighed.
“I’m not usually into college girls, but she is quite the looker. I may have to explore some things with her.”
“No! Columbia, you need to stop whatever it is you’re doing and let us go. This is crazy. You’re a superheroine, so start acting like one.”
“A superheorine? No, Raptor, not any more. Consider me a villainess now. I serve Ms. Mesmer, wholly and completely. And as for what I’m doing to your sexy little sidekick, it’s called brainwashing. I’m turning her into my brainwashed slave.”
“What? How could you?”
“Do you mean how could I morally, or how could I technically? Both are simple. I do whatever Ms. Mesmer wants--moral, immoral, or otherwise. She wants me to convert superheroines into villainesses, and she’s given me the means to do it through this wonderful machine of hers.”
“You have to fight it, Columbia. You have to break free of this Mesmer woman’s control.”
“There’s no fighting or breaking free from Ms. Mesmer. And besides, I’m in control here. In just a moment, I’ll be in complete control of Red Raven. Oh, but don’t worry, my darling. I won’t leave you out of the fun. Like I said, I’m not really into college girls. Granted, I’m willing to make an exception for Red Raven. But I much prefer my women a little bit older and more mature. Women just like you.”
Licking her lips, Columbia stepped over to Raptor’s chair. With both hands, she caressed the heroine’s bare feet. Raptor thrashed as much as the restraints allowed, and with a frown, Columbia withdrew her hands.
“Yes, you are a strong one. Dangerous even when bound. No matter. Soon enough all that strength and power will be blindly dedicated to serving me.”
“Never! You may be able to brainwash an inexperienced girl like Red Raven, but you won’t be able to do it to me.”
Columbia laughed.
“Oh, Raptor, it’s a good thing you’re strong and gorgeous because you really are stupid. When you and Red Raven were unconscious earlier, I ran you both through the machine’s psycho-mapping and analysis. Your petite partner here, though physically much weaker than you, is actually much more mentally resilient. When I’m finished with her and start on you, you’ll be much easier to brainwash than she was. And believe me, she wasn’t difficult at all.”
As Columbia spoke, the light on the front of the helmet stopped blinking, and the humming noise faded out.
“All done. Now, let’s see how my new slave is doing.”
The helmet slowly retracted from Red Raven’s head, and then the robotic arm pulled it back behind the chair. The young woman stirred. Raptor renewed her struggles and called out to her sidekick once again.
“Red Raven!”
“Oh, do shut up, Raptor. She’s been conditioned to only respond to me, until I tell her otherwise. Red Raven, wake up.”
The young woman opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned to look at Columbia.
“How may I serve you...Mistress?”
“Let’s get you up and about, my dear, and I’ll tell you.”
Columbia pressed a button on the remote control. In response, the restraints receded into the chair, freeing Red Raven. She rose slowly, stretched, and then moved to stand beside her mistress. Columbia stroked her hair, and she smiled contentedly.
“Red Raven, I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything, Mistress. Anything at all.”
“I need you to brainwash this woman. She doesn’t like me. She wants to stop me. She is a very serious threat. I need you to change all of that.”
“Yes, Mistress. I will gladly brainwash her for you.”
“Good girl. When I tell you to, just press this button, and the process will begin.”
An intense rage filled Raptor. She flexed her muscles and pushed outward against the steel that held her, channeling all her fury into the effort. She snarled through gritted teeth and kept pushing, harder and harder. Small whining noises sprang up from within the chair, as her efforts began to strain the anchored metal bands. Columbia raised an impressed eyebrow at the sight.
“Well, look at that. Given a little more time, I think our amazonian beauty might just break those bonds. So press that button, Red Raven. Press it now.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Red Raven pressed the button on the remote control.
As had happened before in the other chair, a robot arm rose up from behind and extended forward. The helmet at the end of the arm then lowered down towards Raptor’s head. The heroine continued to fight, and the steel restraints continued to weaken. And then, the helmet slid into place over her scalp. The indicator light began to flash, and the familiar hum began to emanate from inside it.
Raptor stammered out a groan, as the power of the machine gripped her. She began to shake and whimper. And then, far more quickly than Red Raven had, she lost the strength and will to resist. Her eyes glazed over and soon closed. The helmet pulsed and hummed relentlessly over her still and silent form.
Columbia stood watching the helpless superheorine being conditioned and molded into subservience. She grinned triumphantly and ran her fingers through Red Raven’s hair. Red Raven all but purred in delight at the attention her mistress bestowed upon her.
After several minutes, the machine’s process finished. The helmet lifted, and the robot arm receded.
“Wake up, Raptor.”
Raptor’s eyes opened. Her gaze found Columbia.
“How may I serve you...Mistress?”
“There are so many ways, my slave. Let’s waste no time in exploring them….”
- Not The End -