A bolt of searing electricity flew over my head. I ducked down as it crackled into the faded wallpaper. “Well I guess I’m not getting my deposit back.” More bolts of energy rained through the splintered door of my apartment. The men in body armor stood in the hallway, apparently content to fire in from there. The bolts only looked strong enough to stun. That means they wanted me alive. They must have known who I was. 

I instinctively reached towards a half finished water color on the easel. It was small, a scene of a beach that had entered my mind from a passerby’s vacation. Maybe I could carry it while I ran. I knew it was a silly thought but part of me longed to take it with me anyway. These fleeting images from the minds of strangers were my only real human contact. At that moment an energy bolt fried the painting and snapped me back to focus. Right, no time to be sentimental.

I heard a harsh voice bark out orders from above. “He went that way. Down the fire escape. Don’t get too close.” They must think keeping their distance will protect them from me. Idiots. Hold on. If they think that, they couldn’t be from the foundation. Then who?

I heard voices from the shadowy alleyway below. I looked down to see more goons stalking back and forth. I suppose they thought of everything. I could see them looking up towards the fire escape. They’d be on to me soon. I had to think fast. 

But I couldn’t take no for an answer today. So I pushed into her mind. Instantly my mind flooded with images of her thoughts. People’s minds looked like broken mirrors to me, every shard showing a different thought or memory. I always absorbed some surface thoughts when I made contact. In this case I learned her name was Francine, she had been stuck on a candy crush level for half an hour and she was mad about tonight’s Dorian concert being canceled. I could see a familiar, dazed smile spread across her face. Over the years I had learned my abilities felt very pleasant to the people I used them on. Another brilliant design feature from the Foundation. 

Francine stared vacantly up at me. “Now what should I do?” She asked meekly. That’s the problem, minds were too fragile or my abilities were too powerful. Either way, the minds of ordinary people melted under my touch. Poor Francine never stood a chance. Just a simple suggestion from me and her subconscious already accepted me as her master, just as the Foundation engineered me for. She was lucky I didn’t want to be what they’d made me. If I’d had the mind to I could make her strip naked and cluck like a chicken. She was putty in my hands. A few simple thoughts and she’d be my obedient sex slave, horny and submissive and STOP. I had to control myself. “Um. Go hide under your bed and go to sleep. It’s going to be dangerous here. Don’t come out till things calm down.” I pressed the command into her pliable mind. She accepted it easily.

I stepped back out into the hallway and started making my way down to the stairs. The guards who had been in the alley surged up the rickety, wooden steps just as I was turning into the stairwell. I ducked back out, in time to see more armed goons pouring out of Francine’s apartment. “Subject Alpha Mu stand down!” One of them yelled out. 

In the next instant I fell to the ground, as a hail of plasma fanned across the hallway. It had worked. They were firing on each other. The sounds of buzzing electricity and shouts filled the space, until the uproar faded to quiet. When I raised my head, only one soldier remained standing. 

“But how can I do that when you’re going to sleep?” I asked pushing the idea of sleep into his mind. He fell to the ground. I stood up and nearly fell back down as a wave of vertigo washed over me. I definitely overdid it, affecting so many minds at once. But there was no time to recover. I stumbled to my feet and made my way groggily down the stairs. Hopefully that had been all of them. 

“Don’t call me that. Who are you? How did you find me? I haven’t used my powers in months.”

“Your Master? So you really aren’t with the Foundation then. Didn’t realize I’d become so famous.” My head was already spinning. I didn’t want to use my powers again if I could help it. “Look just let me go. You’ve seen what I can do. I don’t want to hurt you, but I’ll turn your brains to mush if I have to.”

“Excuse me? Who is your master and why does he care what I do?” I replied, still processing. 

“You don’t get to decide who I am,” I snapped. 

I nodded vacantly. I couldn’t take my eyes from the orb. Her words just drifted into my brain. 

I needed to go back upstairs to be programmed. She took my hand and led me back to my apartment. Maya propped the broken door against its opening and then began removing my clothes. 

“Yes,” I said in a dull monotone. I watched the orb. 

“Yes Mistress.” I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even pry my eyes from the orb as Maya stripped off her own clothes And began teasing my cock.

“Yes Mistress”

“Yes Mistress.” I mindlessly walked up behind her and pushed myself into her tender flesh. She began to rock her hips back and forth. I automatically matched her rhythm  

“Yes Mistress.” I could feel the truth of her words soaking into my lust addled brain. The few thoughts I had were circling around the idea of pleasing her. Soon I would be hers completely. 

The dullest embers of thought sparked in my mind. Maya didn’t appear to notice that I’d lost sight of the orb. She just kept rocking back and forth, softly moaning and reinforcing my conditioning. I could already feel that conditioning taking effect. I couldn’t pull myself away from her. I needed to please her. But if I did nothing I’d end up her slave. I knew that was bad even if I was struggling to remember why. Still what could I do? I had to please her. I was trapped in an endless cycle of lust and obedience. 

I opened my mind and pushed my consciousness into hers with all the force I could manage. Immediately I met the same single minded purpose in her thoughts “capture him.” I’d have to push through it this time though. No clever work arounds. 

“I’m just pleasing you Mistress.” I couldn’t raise her suspicions just yet. “Tell me how much I’m pleasing you.” I fed her arousal with my thoughts, chipping away at his control over her. 

“That’s very good. Pleasure makes me obedient.” I kept filing away at her resolve with my mind. Stoking her passion and weakening her critical thought. 

“Pleasure makes you obedient.”

“You said it perfectly. Pleasure makes you obedient  keep saying it.”

I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I’m giving you pleasure and pleasure makes you obey, then who do you obey?” 

“Say it like you mean it.” I slapped her ass hard. 

“That’s master to you.” I smirked with satisfaction as I gave her another hard spank. 

That’s when I saw it break. The command in her mind shattered into different shards of thought, each one showing a different sexual fantasy of fucking me, serving me. “You’re mine now.” I whispered in her ear. 

I felt a rush of satisfaction, having fulfilled my urges for the first time in a long time. I felt powerful, invincible. Then the strain of overusing my powers caught up to me and I fell onto her back. I fell asleep to the gentle rhythm of her breathing. 

—-

When I finally woke up, I saw Maya looking down at me. This time her green eyes appeared warm and friendly. It took me a moment to realize she was sitting on my bed and I was lying with my head on her lap. We were both still naked. 

I breathed a sigh of relief. She was still under my control. I was safe. I finally got a good look at her. She was a few years older than me. Her body was lean with taught muscle. Her black hair fell around her shoulders. Even the scar on her cheek looked cute from here. “Maya please tell me what you’re doing here? How did you find me? Why were you after me?”

I sat in dazed silence for a moment. “Someone else like me is hunting me. Maya what was that orb?”

“NO! I mean that’s ok. We’re going to need to destroy that thing. What about your old master? Can you tell me about him?”

“I see. That’s concerning.” I started to sit up. 

I winced. Maybe I broke her brain a little too much. The thrill of taking her had subsided and now I just felt a lingering guilt. Of course now I might as well keep her. She looked so happy like this. She’d enjoy serving me for the rest of her life. . . STOP. 

“Oh Master I would never hurt you,” She said laughing like I’d told a fantastic joke. 

“The old me? I wouldn’t hurt anyone for free Master.” 

“Yes Master.” She closed them. 

Maya opened her eyes and shot up from the bed, letting my head fall to the mattress. She tore the sheet off and wrapped it around herself. “Oh my god! Oh my god! I’m going to kill that fucker.” She angrily paced the room. 

“What? I’m talking about Fractal.” She returned to the desk and started getting dressed. I hadn’t realized how many concealed weapons she’d had on her person. But it was painfully clear as she got dressed. She tucked a knife into her boot, strapped another knife around one thigh and small gun around her other thigh before pulling back up her cargo pants. 

“I don’t know if I can do that since whoever this Fractal is, is after me.” 

“I wouldn’t advise that course of action.” A woman’s voice answered from seemingly nowhere. Just then a strange brightness filled the room, like sunlight was flooding through the single window. Slowly the beams of light began to twist and weave together into the shape of a woman. She had dark skin, white hair and a kind smile on her face. She wore a white dress, embroidered with fine golden lace in a sun pattern. “You and your men should stay away from him or you’ll simply fall under his control again.” 

“Oh do pardon my intrusion. I seem to have neglected my manners. My name is Saphira, intermediary between the mortal world and the higher planes and guardian of your world. I’ve watched you humans for so long, I forget you know so little of me.” She smiled. 

“Oh don’t trouble yourself over my presence. I am the guardian of your world. I see a great many things, anything that threatens to endanger the mortal realm.” 

Saphira laughed a laugh like singing birds. “Oh no, I speak not of your . . . Mortal passions. Although I did find some of that a bit much for my tastes. I’m talking about this.” She held up the bag with the orb. “This is a sacred artifact, Svalinn. It was robbed from my protection quite recently by this Fractal. I’m here to recover it.”

“I’m afraid you cut to the heart of the matter. I failed in my sacred charge. I was ill prepared for the abilities of this Fractal and he was able to abscond with the Aegis artifacts. But be assured that I shall not rest until all the artifacts are safely recovered.” 

“Because this time I will not be alone.” She smiled. “Subject Alpha Mu,” She turned to me. “When I first saw your abilities to manipulate people’s minds I feared you would need to be imprisoned in the void beyond time. However your actions just now proved that while there is a darkness in you, there is also light.”

“Fear not child. I have not come to imprison you. I’m here to offer you a chance to serve a higher purpose with your abilities.”

“Very well Sam. But I assure you the cause I speak of is truly noble. I only seek your assistance in returning the Aegis artifacts and bringing Fractal to justice.”

“I’m am sorry Maya. But the offer is only open to Sam. As I stated before you have no special defenses against this Fractal’s mental manipulation. You also used one of the artifacts. They carry a heavy temptation. I doubt you could resist the call to use it again.” 

Saphira placed a hand on Maya’s arm. “I know this is difficult. But you have to trust Sam and I to seek justice on your behalf.” 

“Well have you decided?” Saphira asked.  

Saphira turned those kind eyes towards me. “I choose to see the good in people Sam. If I treat you like a monster then that’s what you’ll become. But if I believe in you and give you a chance to be a hero, I know you won’t let me down,” she said proudly. She sounded so confident. She just met me. What made her so sure? I couldn’t imagine trusting people that easily.

She looked at me. Her gaze felt like a ray of warm sunlight. “I’m sure that could be arranged.”

Maya huffed again. “Fine if I can’t come with you. I can at least tell you where he might be going next. He should be heading to Barton Labs. He said they had something he needed.” 

“Hold on.” I ran over to the desk, grabbing my brushes, paints and a pad of paper. “Ok I’m ready.” 

“I don’t know if I should be angry at you for brainwashing me or grateful to you for saving me. But for now I’ll just say thank you.” She leaned closer to whisper, “And that was fucking hot.” Then she let me go and turned to leave. 

“Whatever Perv,” Maya shouted over her shoulder.