A Prequel to “Three Heroines”


Pacifica struggled, but the bindings that held her in place would not yield. She growled in frustration and shook every part of her body that wasn’t restrained. The noise and motion drew the attention of a nearby technician, who came over to investigate. Checking the titanium bands around Pacifica’s neck, wrists, and ankles, the technician nodded in satisfaction and placed her hands deep into her lab coats pockets in a doctorly fashion.

“These are rated for strength levels several times higher than our data shows you have,” the technician said to the bound superheroine. “So try all you want. You’re not getting out of this chair until we want you to get out of it.”

“Unless your data is wrong,” Pacifica said calmly but with the inherent forcefulness of her extra-human heritage.

The technician’s eyes widened, and she involuntarily took a step back from the Polynesian demi-goddess.

“Double-check the known powers of Pacifica,” she called out over her shoulder to the junior staffers in the room. “Also, find out when Lady Jade will be brought in. And double-check her known powers, too.”

With that, the technician nervously walked over to a console and began reading the displayed data on its screens. The console monitored two chairs, one occupied by Pacifica and one directly across from the aquatic superheroine that was currently empty. Both chairs had been built to seat their occupants with legs slightly spread and feet raised. Data on Pacifica’s chair showed that the restraints were in no danger of breaking, which appeased the technician’s worries some.

A junior staffer walked up and issued the requested report.

“Known powers of Pacifica confirmed, ma’am: While possessing hydrokinesis and strength greater than a normal human, she doesn’t have any abilities that will allow her to escape her current confinement. Lady Jade is en route. Her guards are having a rough time with her, but they’ve called for backup to assist them. ETA is three minutes. Known powers of Jade are also confirmed: She possesses no superhuman abilities, but she is a master of multiple martial arts.”

“Three minutes, huh? Fine. We’ll wait until she arrives to begin. That way we can process both of them at the same time.”

The technician turned back to face Pacifica, whose continuing but useless struggles to break free lessened the impact of her otherwise frightful glare. It also helped that the usually imposing young woman, who boasted both divine beauty and a lithe but powerful form, was dwarfed in stature by the chair that held her prisoner.

“Three more minutes,” the technician said with renewed confidence, ”and then neither you, nor your friend will ever be a threat to Mistress Strickland again.”

“You’re a fool if you think any amount of guards can contain Lady Jade,” Pacifica said, momentarily ceasing her efforts to get loose. “They won’t bring her in here. She’ll break in herself, thrash all of you, and then rescue me. Then she and I will go hunting for your boss lady. Severna is on borrowed time.”

“Big words from a stripped down, trussed up little hussy, who’s relying on someone else to save her,” the technician said, moving close and poking the sole of Pacifica’s bare foot with a stylus.

“Your goons didn’t strip me down, you idiot. This is my uniform.”

Pacifica wore a long-sleeved leotard covered in shimmering scales of blue and green. As a denizen of the ocean, she was unbothered by temperature and pressure extremes, and thus found no need for protective clothing or footwear. But had her superheroine outfit included any additional items--such as the standards of cowl, cape, armor, gloves, belt, boots, etc.--all would have been removed upon her capture, leaving her dressed much as she currently was.

“Well, you’re still a trussed up little hussy who needs rescuing,” the technician retorted, as she moved back to the console. “Enjoy your last two and a half minutes as a superheroine.”

Not bothering to answer, Pacifica put all of her energy back into breaking free. The technician split her time between eying the struggling heroine and tending to the console.

When just over two minutes had passed, a loud thud sounded from the other side of the door. All eyes in the room moved to stare in that direction. The technician and her staffers frowned at the unexpected noise, while Pacifica grinned knowingly.

“Check on the progress of the guards escorting Lady Jade,” the technician said. “And someone check to see what the hell that noise was.”

The underling who had previously reported to the technician went to work raising the guards again on comms. A more junior worker begrudgingly walked over to the door to check on it.

Suddenly, the door flew open with an explosive crack!. It struck the hapless staffer who was standing right in front of it, sending her tumbling back. Then a guard sailed in from the hallway and landed in a heap in the middle of the floor. All the other staffers and the technician gasped. Pacifica laughed.

Lady Jade strode into the room, dragging another guard in after her by his collar. She cut a grand figure at close to six feet tall and built like an Olympic athlete. Incandescent green streaks highlighted her naturally dark hair and matched the color of her bodysuit. Normally she also wore a white hood, gloves, belt, and boots. But during her time in captivity, those accessories had been stripped from her. So now her head remained uncovered, her hands and waist unadorned, and her feet bare.

“Glad you could make it, L.J.,” Pacifica said.

“Wouldn’t have missed this party for anything, Ciffy,” Lady Jade said. “I’m just sorry I’m late. Looks like our hosts haven’t been kind to you.”

“Nothing that can’t be rectified.”

“Let’s get on with it, then.”

“Get her!” screamed the technician. “Subdue her!”

Six less than enthusiastic staffers rushed Lady Jade. With a sigh born of boredom, the heroine met their charge and proceeded to dispatch with them one at a time.

“You know she’s going to wipe them out in the next ten seconds and then come for you, right?” Pacifica said to the technician.

“Of course, I do,” the technician said in voice that cracked with nervousness. “Which is why I can’t wait any longer. Processing you both at the same time would have been ideal. But if I at least get yours going, then it’s not a total loss.”

She hurriedly typed a series of commands into the console, then jabbed a prominent button beside the keyboard.

“What’s this processing you keep mentioning?” Pacifica asked. “Are you filing paperwork on us or something?”

“By processing, you ignorant tramp, I mean brainwashing you into a submissive and obedient slave to Mistress Strickland.”

Any further discussion on the topic immediately ceased as an unfortunate staffer careened into the technician, knocking her to the floor. Regaining her feet, the startled technician looked up to see Lady Jade looming over her.

“Hey, L.J.,” Pacifica said to her friend. “Lackey #1 there started some kind of process that I’d appreciate if you could stop.”

“No problem, Ciffy,” Lady Jade said pleasantly, then seethingly to the technician, “All right, what did you start and how do I stop it?”

“You can’t stop it,” the technician said fearfully. “Nor can I.”

“How about if I motivate you real hard?”

The technician cowered before Lady Jade’s raised fist and shook her head.

“You don’t understand. I have no desire to be pummeled, and under that threat, I would willingly stop the process if I could. But I can’t. I’m physically unable to.”

“Hey, L.J.,” Pacifica said with some concern, as she heard hydraulic movement above her head. “If you could speed it up, something’s happening.”

“Physically unable to, my green swathed butt,” Lady Jade said to the technician, with no sympathy and less patience.

“It’s true. Once the brainwashing procedure begins, no one other than Mistress Strickland herself can abort it.”

“Brainwashing procedure? What?”

“L.J.!” Pacifica said.

The noise above her head had grown louder, and she could now see a dark shape in her upward peripheral.

“So do whatever you must to me,” the technician went on, “because I can’t help you. Just, please, make it quick.”

Lady Jade obliged the technician, knocking her out with a roundhouse kick to the temple. She then roughly pushed the woman away from the console.

“Okay, Ciffy, I’m looking for the off button.”

“Look faster, please.”

“Sorry, but there’s nothing here labeled off switch for nefarious device.”

“The scary part is,” Pacifica said, “I can’t lift my head to see what’s going on up there.”

Lady Jade turned around and looked up. She frowned and wrinkled her brow at the site of a strange device slowly descending towards her friend.

“I have no idea what that thing is. Maybe Severna is trying out her new salon equipment on you. Or maybe she’s sentenced you to death in her new prototype electric chair.”

“Or maybe she’s going to brainwash me like her lackey just said.”

“Not that I know what a brainwashing machine looks like, but given that this thing is sized to cover your brainpan, it might just be one,” Lady Jade said with a sympathetic wince.

“So make it stop, or get me out of here, if you don’t mind.”

“Right! Sorry!”

But nothing Lady Jade did could stop, or even slow, the inevitable lowering of the helmet-like object. She tried typing in commands on the console, she searched for a power supply to cut off, she worked to free Pacifica from the chair, and she attempted to divert the path of the device before it reached the bound--and now quite worried--heroine. Every effort led to failure.

“This is bad, Ciffy. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Me neither. Guess I’m going to find out what being brainwashed feels like.”

“No way! We’ll figure something out. We’ll--”

The helmet slid silently into place over the top of Pacifica’s head.

“Oh, crap,” Lady Jade said.

“That about sums it up,” Pacifica said. “Look, whatever happens, I--ohhh!”

The underside of the helmet had suddenly lit up in an amber glow, as a soft buzzing emanated from it. Pacifica’s eyes went wide, and she began to tremble from head to toe.

“Ciffy! Are you okay? Pacifica! Pacifica!”

Lady Jade received no answer, as Pacifica continued to tremble and sporadically mutter ohhh! For the first time in her extraordinary career, she had no idea what to do. She stood dumbfounded, watching helplessly as her friend was relentlessly brain drained or mind whammied--or whatever the hell brainwashing entailed--by the electronic helmet.

And that wasn’t the worst of it.

Something about seeing Pacifica sitting there restrained, vulnerable, trembling, and losing her mind awakened disturbing urges within Lady Jade. She had never desired her friend, nor found bondage sexy, much less mind control. But somehow the scene before her had become a huge turn-on. That, as much as not knowing a course of action to take, kept her immobilized and staring as Pacifica succumbed to the machine’s power.

A minute or more had passed (Lady Jade had lost track of time), when Pacifica’s reactions changed. Her trembling lessened, and she began to visibly relax. Then her utterings lengthened into ooohs, and her eyes closed. She now looked like she was enjoying whatever the device was doing to her.

Lady Jade swallowed hard, now more turned on than ever.

For the next few minutes, Pacifica sat silent and still, other than the occasional moan of pleasure or twitch of a foot. Then, the amber light and soft buzzing within the helmet stopped. Next, the helmet itself raised off her head and began a slow ascent back up to the ceiling.

“Pacifica? Pacifica, are you okay?” Lady Jade asked hopefully.

As one, the titanium bands retracted, leaving their former captive free. Pacifica stirred. Her eyes opened, and she looked around.

“Pacifica? Ciffy? Ciffy, it’s me, Jade.”

The two heroines’ eyes met. Lady Jade smiled and nodded, encouraging recognition. Pacifica stared at her blankly.

“I serve and obey Mistress Strickland,” the demi-goddess said in a slow, monotone voice, confirming the effects of her brainwashing and dashing Lady Jade’s hope.

“No! You don’t serve her. You don’t serve anyone. Your will is your own.”

“My will is that of my Mistress. I serve and obey her. You must serve and obey her, too.”

In a series of graceful motions, Pacifica lept out of her seat, somersaulted in the air, and landed a few steps from Lady Jade. She glared threateningly at her companion.

“No, Ciffy, no! Shake it off! Remember who you are!”

Pacifica lunged. Lady Jade avoided the strike, and then found herself warding off a rapid fire assault of punches and kicks.

“This is not how I saw my day going!” Lady Jade bemoaned.

Another kick sped towards her head. She grabbed Pacifica’s ankle with the intent of throwing the mind-controlled heroine off balance and then putting her down for good. But as masterful as she was at combat, Lady Jade didn’t take into account the divine nature of her opponent’s abilities. Pacifica lifted up her other leg, twirled in mid-air while still in Lady Jade’s grasp, and then brought her free foot around for a powerful snap kick to the solar plexus.

Lady Jade stumbled back, stunned. Pacifica landed with a backflip, and then leaped forward to press her attack. In a moment, Lady Jade lay on the floor, winded and dazed. Before she knew it, Pacifica hefted her up and tossed her unceremoniously into the second chair. As Lady Jade tried to catch her breath and clear her mind, Pacifica walked over to the console and began entering commands into it.

A moment later, just as Lady Jade had recovered enough to take action again, the chair’s titanium restraints shot into place around her neck, wrists, and ankles. Then the familiar hydraulic noise sounded above her head. The neck band kept her from looking up, but she knew exactly what was slowing descending from the ceiling.

“Pacifica, you have to snap out of it! You can’t let Strickland control you! Release me, please! Or she’s going to control me, too!”

“Of course I’m going to control you, you silly superheroine,” said a commanding female voice from the doorway.

Severna Strickland strode into the room, walking around the unmoving staffers who littered the floor. Pacifica turned to see her mistress, an expression of pure joy and adoration lighting up her face. She knelt in submission and awaited a command.

“What a mess,” Severna said. “Still, things could be worse. One heroine is brainwashed, the other is about to be. Slave, rise. There is work to do. Clean up this room.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Pacifica went to work. Lady Jade glared at the villainess, who had moved to stand before her.

“You may have broken Pacifica, but I won’t be so easy,” she said.

“Actually, you will be. Yes, yes, I know from your file that your will is iron, and you can block out external stimuli through meditation and such. That’s wonderful for you, Ms. Jade. I’m sure that your mind is the bane of two-bit evil hypnotists everywhere. But my methods are irresistible and infallible. I assure you that in a very short amount of time, you will join your goddess friend as my devoted slave.”

“Never!”

“I would love to continue this argument. But you’re out of time. Sleep well, my dear.”

Severna teasingly ran a fingernail up along her captive’s bare sole. Lady Jade jerked her foot in a futile effort to pull away.

Then, the brainwashing helmet finished its descent. Now resting on Lady Jade’s head, its amber light and soft buzzing started up. Much like Pacifica before her, Lady Jade’s reaction was immediate. She began trembling and uttering monosyllables. Severna smiled, enjoying as she always did the breaking of a beautiful woman’s will.

Having collected all the injured staffers into a pile, Pacifica returned to Severna’s side.

“How may I serve you now, Mistress?”

“Hm,” Severna said. “The question is, how will I make use of that one? That is something I must ponder. But for you, slave, I have a very specific task. I need you to leave here and rejoin your heroine friends. Find out which of them the DA’s office has asked to serve me with a warrant. Then get yourself assigned to their team, so that you are with them when they come here. Understand?”

“Yes, Mistress. I obey.”

“Of course you do, my dear. And you always will.”