Concluding the story begun in “The Making of a Mole” and continued in “The Breaking of a Hold”


“Krystal? It’s Shrikey. I’m at the pickup. Yeah, Jenna’s here. And yeah, it worked. We have her. We have Strickland. How soon can you get here? Okay, good. Yeah, she’s trussed up and still under the effects of your drug. But I don’t know how long it’ll last. Yeah. Right. Right. In the office suite on the fourth floor. Okay. See you when you get here.”

Lady Shrike ended the call and put away her phone. She stared with malicious glee at the attractive, well-dressed woman who sat before her, handcuffed to a chair in a small windowless office. As far as she knew, Severna Strickland had never been in custody before. This was a great day to be a superheroine.

“Did she give you any problems?” Lady Shrike asked the third woman in the room.

Jenna Jones stood beside the tough-as-nails heroine. She shook her head, then verbally answered the question.

“No. It went smoothly. I had the drug on my fingers when I met her for our appointment. I got her to shake my hand, and then the drug took effect before she could resist or call for help.”

“Yeah, Krystal said it would work as quickly as her own powers do.”

“It definitely does. Just to be safe, though, I secured her to the chair and did my best to hypnotize her using the methods Krystal gave me. They seemed to work. She’s followed all of my suggestions since then.”

“Good.”

“The only thing is, I’m not sure about the handcuffs. I may have put them on too tight. Her hands are getting pretty red. But I didn’t want to loosen them without checking with you first.”

“They look okay, but let me make sure.”

Lady Shrike bent over to check the restraints. She noticed nothing out of the ordinary, including no undue redness or swelling of Severna’s hands. Suddenly suspicious, she straightened up and whirled around.

But by then, she felt the brush of wet fingertips against her neck. Incensed, She grabbed Jenna’s arm and raised her other hand in a readied fist.

“Relax,” Jenna said in a calm, soothing voice. “Just...relax.”

Lady Shrike’s grip loosened, and then her hand fell away from Jenna’s arm. Her other hand opened and dropped limply to her side. The fury left her face and was replaced by a blank stare and a slackened jaw.

“Yes, relaxing is the best thing to do right now,” Severna said from behind the transfixed heroine.

No longer needing to play possum, the Empress of the City tugged lightly against her metal bindings. They gave way with a satisfying cl-click. She stood and walked around to the front of Lady Shrike.

“Sit in the chair,” she said.

Lady Shrike did as she was told.

“How long do we have until your compatriot arrives?” Severna asked.

“No more than 30 minutes,” Lady Shrike said. “Maybe as few as 20.”

“Not much time. But enough. Sleep now. Jenna, get my bag.”

Jenna walked past the now dozing superheroine and went behind the desk at the back of the office. There, she retrieved a large handbag. She carried it over to her employer and awaited more instructions, which came directly.

“Take out the device and fit it on her head. Set it to level three. Although I’d prefer to completely scour our dear Shrikey’s mind, time doesn’t permit it today. So a standard brainwash will have to suffice.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Jenna said, as she complied with her orders.

Once the device--a small, form-fitting helmet covered in circuitry and LEDs--was in place over Lady Shrike’s scalp, Jenna moved to turn it on.

“Wait,” Severna said. “What have you forgotten?”

Jenna recoiled. Then, realization struck her. She bowed apologetically to her mistress, then knelt down before Lady Shrike. At quickly as she could, she removed the heroine’s boots and socks.

“That’s better,” Severna said. “Now start the process. And then tend to yourself, as well.

“Yes, Mistress.”

In the order that they were given, Jenna carried out her instructions. First she turned on the helmet. Then she stepped back, knelt down again, and removed her own footwear. Once she too was barefoot, Severna nodded her approval.

Meanwhile, the device had begun to have its effect on Lady Shrike. Even asleep, she flinched and trembled under its power. Her hands flailed, and her feet kicked out, as her body externalized the battle between her brain and the invading machine. But it was a battle that she could not win. Because no matter how physically strong she was, the assault targeted her weakest point: her mind. Second by second, the helmet sucked away at her will and implanted an irresistible need to serve and obey Severna Strickland.

Finally, after struggling for over a minute, the last of Lady Shrike’s resistance crumbled. Now completely unhindered, the device brainwashed her into complete submission to her mistress. She smiled unknowingly, as it conditioned her to feel immense pleasure in her new role as slave.

Several minutes later, the LEDs on the helmet blinked off. Jenna removed it from Lady Shrike’s head and put it back in Severna’s handbag. Lady Shrike herself sat unmoving in the chair, her eyes glassy and the contented smile still on her face.

“Your new slave is ready,” Jenna said to Severna.

“Good. Go get things ready for Krystal’s arrival.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Jenna exited the room. Severna moved to stand before Lady Shrike.

“Wake up, slave,” she said.

“Yes, Mistress,” Lady Shrike said, her eyes regaining their focus.

“Stand up. We have much to do. Listen very carefully to everything I tell you.”

“Yes, Mistress.”


***********


Krystal walked into the building full of confidence and excitement. She climbed the four flights of stairs up to the top floor, then exited the stairwell into the hallway. From there, she strode into the office suite where she expected Lady Shrike to meet her.

“Shrikey?” she called out, seeing no one in the reception area. “Shrikey? Lady Shrike?”

She began walking around, looking into cubicles and offices. Finally, she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

“In here, Krystal.”

She followed the voice to a small office. Entering it, her eyes widened in surprise, as she observed Lady Shrike sitting there behind the desk with her bare feet up on it.

“Um, you look comfy,” Krystal said.

“I feel comfy,” Lady Shrike said.

“Where’s Jenna? And more importantly, where’s Strickland?”

“Don’t worry. They’re around. And they’re safe.”

“Why aren’t you with them? Are you not taking this seriously?”

Lady Shrike swung her feet down, and then leaned forward over the desk. All joviality had drained from her face.

“I take my job very seriously,” she said.

“You don’t seem to be.”

“Oh, she does, I assure you,” a voice said from behind Krystal. “Don’t you, slave?”

“I do indeed, Mistress,” Lady Shrike said.

Krystal whirled to see Severna standing in the doorway.

“Of course. I should have known it was too good to be true,” Krystal said.

“Yes, you probably should have,” Severna said. “Whereas I should have known you’d resurface, Krystal. Or should I say, Aurora? Not that it matters what you called yourself back then. ‘Traitor’ would have been the appropriate name for my former golden child. You abandoned me, your tutor and mentor, to the army of superheroines who stormed my office, the very same army that you tipped off as to my whereabouts. No, neither your past, nor your current name matters because soon enough, I’ll simply address you as ‘slave.’”

“It’s good to know that you recognize me. I wasn’t sure that you would. My hair’s different. And my outfit. But my powers are the same. Only stronger than they were five years ago. So no, Severna, you won’t call me, slave. That’s what I’ll call you.”

“Ah yes, you have the power to sedate a person by merely touching them, and instilling a heightened level of suggestibility in them to boot. Touch being the key element there, yes?”

As Severna spoke, Lady Shrike moved silently around the desk. When she was in position, she grabbed Krystal by the wrists from behind.

“You won’t be touching anyone today,” Severna said.

“No, it seems I won’t,” Krystal said. “But as I told you, my powers are stronger than they were when you knew me. I don’t need to touch someone any more.”

A wave of of palpable but invisible energy rippled out from Krystal’s body. It struck both Severna and Lady Shrike, causing them both to lose their balance. Wavering on her feet, Severna stumbled back into the hallway. Lady Shrike tried to maintain her hold on Krystal, but she couldn’t help loosening her grip. With little effort, Krystal tore her arms free, then turned to face her former ally.

“Sleep,” she said, reaching out to touch Lady Shrike’s cheek.

Although unsteady on her feet, Lady Shrike remained awake. Krystal pursed her lips and shook her head.

“Ah, Shrikey, Strickland really did a number on your head. Not that it’s your fault. She’s quite the brainwasher. You’re hardly the first superheroine she’s broken and enslaved. But I can’t have you acting against me. I can deprogram you later. But for now, I need you to sleep.”

Emphasizing the last word, Krystal brought up her other hand to Lady Shrike’s face. Lady Shrike’s mouth trembled under the psychic onslaught. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and, with a moan, she collapsed onto the floor.

“Your turn, Strickland,” Krystal said loudly enough for her voice to carry beyond the office walls.

She turned to see not Severna, but Jenna, standing in the office doorway.

“You again? Strickland must be desperate to throw someone at me who I’ve already hypnotized. It’s time to sleep, Jenna. Sleep.”

But like Lady Shrike before her, Jenna did not immediately succumb to Krystal’s power. She wobbled but stood her ground. Krystal rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Yes, yes, of course. Strickland brainwashed you, as well. Whatever resistance it gives you against my power isn’t enough, though.

Krystal stepped forward and placed both hands on Jenna’s head. She repeated her command to sleep, and this time Jenna obeyed, falling to the floor in forced slumber. Moving over the fallen woman, Krystal went into the hallway and looked around for Severna.

“Come one, Strickland,” she said. “Don’t make me chase you. It will just be all the more humiliating when I find you hiding in a broom closet or under a desk. Save yourself the trouble and give yourself up now. If you do, I’ll allow you to blissfully forget your past when you serve me. Otherwise, I’ll let you remember and yearn for your former position as Empress of the City, while knowing you can never again attain it. What’s it going to be?”

Severna walked out of a conference room. No longer looking like she was dizzy, she beckoned to Krystal.

“I’m not hiding, Aurora,” she said calmly. “I’m waiting for you. We can talk in here.”

“If by talk, you mean I can hypnotize you and condition you into my obedient slave, then sure,” Krystal said.

With a smile, Severna took a step back inside the doorway. Matching her smile, Krystal walked over the room. She entered it confidently, eager to confront and dispatch with her former mentor.

The sight that greeted Krystal in the room quickly dissolved her confidence. Behind Severna stood a trio of superheroines: Pacifica, goddess of the oceans; Firebird, master of pyrokinesis; and Minerva, mighty warrior queen. Each stood ready for action in their full battle garb (except for being barefoot, which immediately confirmed to Krystal that all three women served Severna as her brainwashed thralls).

“Don’t think I can’t hypnotize all of them, Strickland,” Krystal said with as much conviction as she could muster. “And you, as well.”

Severna simply cleared her throat and stared past Krystal, through the doorway. With a tentative glance over her shoulder, Krystal noticed two more women with Olympian statures moving up behind her. She recognized the dark avenger, Black Owl, and the young powerhouse, Hyperia. Both strode quietly across the carpeted floor in their bare feet.

Knowing she had neither time, nor options, Krystal returned her attention to Severna. She took a breath and unleashed her power.

The wave struck the four women in the conference room like a gale force wind. It knocked Severna off her feet and into Minerva. Though shaken herself, the warrior caught her mistress without any undue effort. Both Pacifica and Firebird rocked woozily on their feet.

“Sleep! All of you, sleep!” Krystal said.

Then, hoping that her command had taken hold, she turned back to the heroines in the hallway. They lunged, even as she targeted them with her power. Again, she yelled the order for them to sleep. They reached her nonetheless, grabbing hold of her even through the heavy drowsiness that blanketed them.

But now that they were upon her, Krystal could touch them. She did so, repeating and amplifying her hypnotic suggestion. Black Owl and Hyperia released her from their grasps and slid unconscious to the floor.
No sooner than they had though, an intense blast of water pummeled Krystal’s back, while several rings of flame encircled her.

“Another word or movement from you,” Severna said, panting against the sheer effort to stay awake. “And I’ll see you first drowned, then toasted to a crisp.”

Krystal relented, and the energy ceased emanating from her. The subduing water and fire attacks then faded away.

“Turn around,” Severna said, her breath coming easier now.

Slowly, the drenched and scorched woman turned around to face her enemy.

“Sit in that chair.”

Seething, Krystal moved to the indicated seat and took it. Pacifica quickly formed high pressure bands of water around her waist and wrists, securing them to the chair. Then Firebird walked over to the captive and removed her boots and socks.

“You and your foot fetish,” Krystal said with blatant contempt.

“Soon my fetish will be your own,” Severna said. “In fact, I’ll take special care in your brainwashing to ensure that anything you dislike or find distasteful now will become a burning, unquenchable desire for you.”

“My only desire will be to break free of your control and destroy you.”

“You came close to doing that when you abandoned me five years ago in my hour of need. But that was your one and only chance. You failed then, just as you failed now in your feeble attempt to take control of me. I persevered then, and I’ve beaten you at your own game now. And I will take great pleasure--great, vast, immeasurably perverse pleasure--in breaking you.”

As her mistress spoke, Minerva put the large handbag on the conference table. She opened it and removed the electronic helmet. Then she walked over to Krystal and placed the device on her scalp.

“We’ll begin with a level one rinse,” Severna said. “Just enough to make you sleepy and suggestible. But not nearly enough to brainwash you. We’ll continue with that setting for a while, making you divulge everything you’ve learned from the city’s superheroines. Then, we’ll move on to a level two soak. At that level, we’ll be able to alter your memories and perceptions. We’ll use that level for an even longer time, allowing you to know what’s being done to you, while you remain unable to do anything about it. When eventually I tire of toying with you, I’ll move the setting up to a level three wash. That’s when you’ll actually break and be brainwashed into submission. Then, when I’ve used you as a slave for long enough--mainly to worship my feet and do similarly menial tasks--I’ll subject you to a level four scour. At the end of that process, there simply won’t be anything left of your mind. And the world, or at least the city that I rule, will be a better place for it.”

Krystal spat a defiant string of curses at her captor.

“That isn’t pleasant to hear,” Severna said. “Let’s begin before our very sore loser here decides to repeat her tantrum.”

Minerva turned on the device. Krystal shuddered. She fought to keep her eyes open against a sleepiness that quickly enveloped her, but she quickly lost the struggle.

“Sleep well, Aurora, my former golden child. With what lies in store for you, you’re going to need your rest.”