Mara looked over her notes as she hummed to herself. The last week had been exceptionally quiet, it seemed like fewer people were visiting her than normal. Mara didn’t mind this one bit, she had fallen behind on her experiments and would relish the chance to catch up.

Suddenly a note caught her eye. “Does the physiology of a mind control biopower affect the nature or effectiveness of said power? Use my hypnotic Mistress as an example, if her eyes went blue would her power function less effectively?”

Mara laughed to herself, she had been doing that more and more recently, she couldn’t seem to get Sharon’s name out without it becoming a title. She liked it, it gave her a rush of powerlessness every few hours and that was a nice treat.

She tapped her pen against the desk as she pondered. The question was interesting from both a scientific and aesthetic perspective. She considered buying Sharon a load of colored contact lenses so she could try and project her power through them. Of course, this experiment would mean that Mara needed to gaze into Sharon’s eyes for long periods of time, not that Mara minded that.

Mara felt a heat rise in her cheeks as she pulled herself together, she was getting far too flustered at the thought of Sharon hypnotizing her again. It was at that point Mara realized that her hand had snaked down between her legs and that she had started to softly rub herself.

She blushed a deep red, she didn’t usually get this worked up over someone, but something about Sharon seemed to short-circuit her decency.

A vibration from her phone pulled Mara out of her thoughts. She grabbed her phone and gasped as she saw that Sharon was calling her. “Hello?” Asked Mara nervously, half expecting this to be the result of some strange post-hypnotic trigger.

“Can we have a chat at some point?” Replied Sharon from the other end of the phone. “I’ve got a power thing to run past you.”

“Oh, of course, my Mistress,” smiled Mara before she realized what she said. “I mean Sharon. Of course Sharon!”

“My my, someone still thinking of our date?” Giggled Sharon.

“I might be,” coughed Mara, gently, unsure if she should be honest or not.

“Not thinking of a Bee Woman, landing from Mars, grabbing you firmly by the throat and telling you that you will obey her will?”

“Oh god,” moaned Mara, squirming in her chair. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Nope,” giggled Sharon. “But we still need to make an appointment, so get to it.”

“Of course!” Replied Mara.

“Of course, what?” Said Sharon firmly.

“I, umm,” mumbled Mara, unsure if she was reading the situation correctly.

“Of course, what?” Repeated Sharon, sounding even firmer.

“Of course my Mistress,” said Mara meekly.

“Better,” chuckled Sharon.

“Is Thursday good for you my Mistress?”

“Perfect, such a good girl,” replied Sharon in a long sensual whisper.

Suddenly Mara felt her mind twist and loop as her mouth started to move. “My mind is not my own, my mind is not my own, my mind is not my own,” she mumbled as she started to paw at her body, an intense heat forming inside all of her muscles.

She heard the phone beep as Sharon hung up, but she couldn’t make her body do what she wanted, she couldn’t control herself and that made her so hot. Too hot to fight against her quickly increasing desire to rip off her pants and masturbate in the middle of her office.

Within seconds Mara had gotten her hands into her panties and was loudly moaning to herself as her mouth continued to repeat the same phrase over and over. “My mind is not my own,” she yelled, her voice cracking due to the sheer amount of pleasure that was crashing over her body with each and every movement.

Her words turned into gibberish as she continued to pant and moan, her whole body shaking with heat and bliss as she pawed at herself aggressively. Suddenly she let out a loud groan as her whole body exploded into orgasm.

She fell forward limply forward onto the desk and gasped, a wide smile on her face. Once she had pulled herself together, she pulled her diary towards herself and made a note. “Make an appointment for my hypnotic Mistress,” she wrote before slumping back onto the desk and closing her eyes.

“Go! Go! Rettsu Go! Kagayaku Mashin, Raida Janpu! Raida Kikku!” Sung Momo as her welding torch crackled and flickered along the chunk of metal.

Creme stood behind Momo with her arms crossed. She had been shouting to try and get Momo’s attention for the past half an hour, but the combination of loud music and a very loud welding torch had meant that Momo remained oblivious.

As Momo finished her welding she turned around and lifted her goggles, only to jump in shock when she saw Creme stood in her lab. “Boss!” She shouted.

Creme didn’t say a word, instead, she just pointed up towards one of the speakers and shook her head. Momo sighed and very quickly muted the music. “Boss! I didn’t know you were here.”

“Momo you wouldn’t know if a bomb went off behind you.” Mumbled Creme. “Do you have anything?”

“Boss you’re going to love me!” Grinned Momo, pointing towards the thing she was welding. “I’ve built a scale model of the gem we need!”

“Momo,” growled Creme, gritting her teeth. “We already knew the dimensions, we need something that does what it did, not something that looks like it!”

Momo looked at Creme for a few seconds before laughing. “Oh come on Boss, you think I would be that dumb?!” She said as she grabbed a candy out of a jar. “It is a hollow mold! I’ve worked out how to synthesize a gem replacement!”

“Momo,” gasped Creme. “That is wonderful news! And it will work?”

“Well,” coughed Momo. “Remember boss, it is all spooky-kooky, I can’t be sure. Especially as we’ve not put it all together yet. Could go well, could go bang.”

“Progress is good,” nodded Creme.

“I need a soda!” Screamed Momo, as she turned to face the other room of her lab. After a few seconds, Hitomi stumbled into the room, carrying a can in her outstretched hand. Creme’s eyes went wide as she ran towards the door and hammered a red button. Instantly a load of red lights started to flash as a high-pitched alarm began to wail.

“This is a class three emergency! Hostage has escaped. Security team to the lab, she needs to be captured alive!” Shouted Creme into a nearby microphone. Momo just sighed and pressed another button near her desk.

“Cancel that, false alarm.” She said gently before taking her finger off of the button. As she did, the lights and alarms turn themselves off. Once everything was quiet Momo grabbed the soda can from Hitomi’s hands and cracked it open.

“Momo! What are you doing! She’s escaped!” Shouted Creme, gesturing furiously towards Hitomi.

“Want some boss?” Asked Momo, holding the soda can out towards Creme. “Cotton candy flavor!”

“Momo, what is going on?!” Replied Creme, frozen in place, unsure of just how to react to the situation in front of her.

“It gets lonely in my lab,” smiled Momo. “So why not have my bestie help me out?”

“Because she is our prisoner Momo!” Shouted Creme. “You can’t just let her roam freely! She’ll sabotage everything, the second your back is turned she will stab you in it!”

“Nah Boss,” laughed Momo, waving her hand dismissively. “Hitomi is our prisoner, this is just my bestie.”

“Your best friend is Hitomi.”

“No, my best friend is Hitomi’s body with all the Hitomi sucked out of it!” Winked Momo. “No one in there, she has as much brain as my stuffed animals!”

“Are you sure about that?” Replied Creme, stepping forward. Momo grabbed a stuffed toy rabbit and placed it on Hitomi’s shoulder with a smile.

“Look boss! You can see the similarities! The dull eyes, the limp posture. The head full of stuffing!” Explained Momo as she pointed to each part in turn. “You’re my obedient bestie, aren’t you?”

“I am your obedient bestie,” repeated Hitomi in a dull monotone.

“And what do besties do?”

“Besties do whatever their super kawaii lab partner tells them to do.” Replied Hitomi, not even stopping to consider the question.

“See boss!” Grinned Momo. “She is totally gone, just an empty shell. Basically a robot!”

“Right,” sighed Creme, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Be careful, don’t trust her with anything, brainwashed or not.”

“If you say so boss,” sighed Momo. “If you have absolutely no faith in my ability.”

“Just get the gem finished Momo,” replied Creme, checking her phone. “I’ve got a meeting to go to,” she added before quickly walking out of the lab.

Sharon was distracted. She had started trying to bake a cake but after forty minutes all she had done was measure some ingredients. But she couldn’t help it, whenever she tried to think of anything her mind drifted back to Mara.

The thought of Mara furiously touching herself while under the effect of her triggers made Sharon feel very warm between her legs. She could finally understand just what other villains meant by the thrill of the crime. Doing something so transgressive just felt so very good!

Sharon’s mind wandered for a moment as she remembered how hot and bothered the mention of the Bee Girl had gotten Mara. At first, Sharon idly wondered how much it would cost to recreate the costume, but the more she thought about it, the more committed she became. If a cheap film from the eighties could afford to do it, so could she.

As she continued with her cake she made a mental list of the clothes she would need to re-create a Bee Woman. She quickly concluded the most important part was the mask, as all of Mara’s favorite scenes focused on the women’s faces. Sharon let out a chuckle, quickly realizing the scenes Mara liked were the ones that involved the Bee Women brainwashing people, the focus on their face was merely a side-effect of that.

“Mom!” Shouted Alicia as she walked in the door, shaking Sharon from her thoughts.

“Hey sweetie,” smiled Sharon. “I’m in the kitchen baking, come and join me!”

Alicia walked into the kitchen and smiled at her mother. “How did your day go?”

“Pretty good,” nodded Sharon before gasping. “Oh, we need to talk about something.”

“Sure, what's up?” Asked Alicia, grabbing a chair and pulling it up to the counter.

“We’re getting rid of the gem, turns out a lot of people want it and it is all getting a little out of hand.” Explained Sharon.

“Who wants it?” Asked Alicia, her eyes going wide.

“MIST and a few gangs,” nodded Sharon.

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” sighed Sharon. “I guess it is part of that machine, but what that machine does I have no idea.”

“So what are you going to do?” Asked Alicia.

“I’m going to drop it somewhere and then tip MIST off.” Nodded Sharon.

“MIST?!” Blinked Alicia. “Why are we helping MIST out?”

“Because if that gem is dangerous, they are the safest people to have it. For all of MIST’s flaws, they are not ones for random mad science.”

“Fair enough,” sighed Alicia before sitting up straight. “I’m sorry,” she said as she smiled at Sharon. “You know best with this, but I feel slightly put out that I was unable to solve the problem, you know?”

“I understand sweetie,” grinned Sharon, leaning over and kissing Alicia on the cheek. “One of the most important lessons to learn is how to pick your battles. It can be hard, but sometimes you need to accept that you just don’t have the resources and have way too much to lose.”

“I know,” nodded Alica. “There will be other times.”

“Of course.” Smiled Sharon. “When one mystery ends, another one starts, especially in Ruby city. And hey, whatever happens, we have each other.”

“That is true,” smiled Alicia. “I love you, Mom.”

“Love you too Alicia.” Smiled Sharon as a sudden look of realization came to her eyes. “You know, I think you could help me with the handoff.”

“I could?!” Gasped Alicia, bouncing on her chair.

“We need to disguise the fact we’ve had the gem sitting around our house for weeks. I’m going to do my best to remove all the fingerprints and DNA I can from it, but we need to find something to store it in.”

“Okay,” replied Alicia, slightly confused as to where her Mom was going with this.

“We’re going to create the illusion that the gem was grabbed in the chaos and dumped somewhere random, stinky, and filthy. Hopefully, the grime will stop it being traced to us. So I need you to track down a place that would have gem-sized containers that are gross.”

“I think I can do that!” Nodded Alicia.

“But don’t buy it. Buying stuff creates a record, records can be traced.”

“Are you suggesting we steal a disgusting box?” Asked Alicia with a smirk.

“Not steal as much as someone gives us one and then forgets all about it in their sleep.” Smiled Sharon.

“Well, that is illegal!” Shouted Alicia in a silly voice.

“You’ll never prove it copper!” Replied Sharon, leaning in and turning her eyes silver for a moment. Alicia went to speak, but her mind suddenly stopped working, a warm and fuzzy numbness washing over her body as she gazed into the swirling silver abyss of her mother’s eyes.

Sharon gasped and realized what she was doing. She had been thinking about Mara all day and had totally forgotten who she was talking to. She quickly blinked, forcing the silver from her eyes as Alicia slowly came back to reality.

“Sorry about that,” smiled Sharon, doing her best to cover her embarrassment.

“What was that?” Blinked Alicia.

“I got a little carried away,” said Sharon, a red glow coming to her cheeks.

“It is just a reflex for you,” smirked Alicia. “Someone mentions the law and you go on a hypnotizing spree.”

“I guess so!” Chuckled Sharon, quickly returning to her baking as Alicia set about trying to work out where she could find an easily stolen box.

After a busy night of work, Alicia had a few leads that could be useful. She had aimed to find boxes that were associated with major chains in the hope that it would make it even harder to track down where the box had been stolen from.

“I’m going box inspecting,” smiled Alicia over breakfast.

“Wonderful,” smiled Sharon. “I’ve got to go pick a few things up and run some general errands.”

“Perfect, we meet later and then go lift the box tonight?”

“If the place is open at night.”

“I’ve made sure all the places I’m checking are open late or have inventory deliveries at night.”

“That is very clever,” smiled Sharon.

“I am learning from the best.” Grinned Alicia.

“Such flattery,” replied Sharon. “Well, I wish you the best of luck.”

“I love my bestie, I love my bestie,” groaned Hitomi as the buzzing between her legs grew louder.

“That’s it,” smiled Momo from her beanbag, throwing kernels of popcorn into her mouth as she did.

Hitomi wasn’t thinking anymore, the pleasure was slowly rotting her brain away and she couldn’t even think enough to stop it. She squirmed and twitched on the vibrator, her glazed eyes staring through Momo.

“I love my bestie,” groaned Hitomi as Momo lifted up a small remote.

“And what do you do?”

“I will obey!” Shouted Hitomi as Momo pressed a button on the remote. A shock of pure pleasure ran through Hitomi’s body, making her let out a loud groan.

“What will you do?”

“I will obey!” Screamed Hitomi again as the vibrations surged once more.

“What will you do for me?”

“Anything and everything you command!” Squealed Hitomi.

“Including?” Smirked Momo.

“Destroy Ulla! Destroy Ulla! Destroy Ulla!” Groaned Hitomi over and over again, her whole body filling with bliss as she said the words with trained precision.

“Very nice,” smirked Momo, pushing herself up from the beanbag. “You’re doing so well,” she added as her hands started to roam Hitomi’s body. “Such an obedient puppet.”

Hitomi’s eyes fluttered as Momo touched her body. It felt so natural for someone to grab her and grope her in this way, Momo just felt superior to her in every way, it made sense to follow Momo’s every word and to do exactly what she said.

Suddenly a beep from a computer distracted Momo. “Oh, shame.” She giggled as she walked over to the keyboard. “Well, time for you to go have your soda bestie.”

Hitomi didn’t question as she turned on her heel and marched back into the machine, closing the restraints around her ankles before locking her wrists in tight. Momo came over and slipped the needle back into her arm before putting the helmet over Hitomi’s face.

Sharon wandered from thrift store to thrift store, regularly checking the images she had saved to her phone. To her annoyance, the film had very few shots where you could see a whole Bee Girl from the front, and this meant she was going to have to improvise a little bit.

As she thumbed through various dresses she pondered where she could get the mask from, it did cover a good chunk of the face, leaving only the eyes and the mouth un-obscured.

Sharon pondered how hard it would be to make a replica, it wouldn’t be the first time she had made or repaired a mask. Sharon ran the process through in her head, trying to work out how much it would cost in art supplies.

Mid-way through the rack Sharon stumbled upon the perfect dress, it was almost identical to the dresses the Bee Woman wore on their lower halves. She would need to add more layers to make it a perfect replica, but it was the perfect base for her plans.

Sharon quickly dashed the dress to the checkout, keen to buy it as quickly as she could, the success filling her with the hope that she could make this costume work and she could make Mara’s dreams come true.

This was the pattern for the rest of Sharon’s day, going to every store she knew of, looking for elusive bits and pieces that could be made to match the costume she had seen in the film. By the time she got home, Alicia was waiting for her with a smile on her face.

“Wow, you brought a lot of stuff!” Chuckled Alicia.

“I got carried away,” smiled Sharon.

“Well, I found a source for a box!” Grinned Alicia, grabbing her phone and holding it out towards Sharon. “The organic market gets fresh fish and meats in every other night.”

“Perfect!”

“Better than perfect,” added Alicia. “So while I was over there, I noticed their trash isn’t emptied for a few days at a time and it reeks. I saw them put some empty boxes in there, so if we grab one of those, no one will have any idea where the gem came from!”

“So we have to go dig through the trash.”

“Exactly!” Smiled Alica before she quickly realized she wasn’t pitching the idea well. “But come on, no one will suspect Mesmera of digging in a dumpster!”

“Fair point.” Nodded Sharon. “We’ll go later tonight.”

“Great!” Smiled Alicia.

“I’ll come to get you later,” replied Sharon. “I’ve got a project I want to work on a little.”

“Oh?”

“Just trying to get back into textiles,” said Sharon, doing her best to cover her intentions.

“Oh, nice!” Grinned Alica. “I’m going to read for a while, you know I had planned to read four novels this summer and I’m not even a quarter through the first one.”

“Well I’m sorry I’ve kept you busy,” smiled Sharon as she grabbed her purchases and moved up to her bedroom.

“Hey, you!” Giggled Momo, sticking her finger through the bar of a cage. Spectre lunged for Momo’s finger, only to hit the bars with a soft thunk. “Missed me!” Chuckled Momo.

Spectre continued to press her face into the bars like she was unable to figure out that they were solid objects. Around her other girls started to growl and stir, pushing themselves up to the bars of their cages.

“Momo,” echoed a voice. Momo turned around and saw Parasite forming behind her.

“Hey you,” smiled Momo. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” nodded Parasite. “It is getting worse, I’m not as stretchy as I used to be.”

“Right,” nodded Momo. “But don’t bring us down! I brought you a present!”

“A present?” Replied Parasite, narrowing her eyes at Momo.

“Just for you!” Smiled Momo as she pushed a metal can out towards Parasite. “Mesmera soda!” Parasite reached forward and took the can, turning it over in her hands. After a few moments, she reached up to open the can, only for Momo to grab her hand.

“Nuh-uh,” giggled Momo. “Only use it when you’re desperate to put someone down.”

“What will it do?” Asked Parasite.

“Give you Mesmera’s powers,” smirked Momo.

“Why would I want those?” Growled Parasite, obviously offended by the suggestion.

“She has beaten you twice,” mocked Momo. Parasite raised her fist, seething with rage, however, she quickly pulled herself together, realizing that lashing out was not in her best interests.

“I’m sure it will come in useful,” growled Parasite before marching over to the bars. “What about them?”

“They’ll be okay, need to top up their brainwashing in a few days, but it will be a party!” Smiled Momo, waving at Spectre through the bars. “You should join us!”

“I think I’ll pass,” replied Parasite, walking out of the room and towards the stairs.

“Like you even have a choice.” Mumbled Momo to herself.

Creme’s office was full of nervous energy. Creme sat in her chair, looking at the woman who had just been brought in. The woman looked utterly terrified, her head darting left and right, almost like she was expecting someone to jump out and grab her at any moment.

Creme tapped her pen on the desk for a while, obviously waiting for the woman to calm down enough so she could talk to her, however as time passed it became clear that the woman wasn’t going to stop shaking any time soon.

“So,” said Creme, leaning over her desk and breaking the silence. “I need something from you.”

“What?” Stuttered the woman, shaking on the spot.

“You’re a seamstress, what do you think I want?” Sighed Creme.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” mumbled the woman. “I didn’t know.”

“I know you didn’t,” replied Creme. “But I’ve heard wonderful things about your designs.”

“Thank you?” Mumbled the woman, still looking utterly terrified by the situation she was in.

“Relax,” groaned Creme. “I’m not a savage, I not going to hurt you.”

“But your woman said she would.”

“Massacre Maid is, well let’s just say she is overly aggressive, I did ask for you to be delivered here unharmed though, you’re not much use to me dead.” Explained Creme.

“She ruined half of my store,” mumbled the woman, rubbing her arm.

“You’ll be refunded,” replied Creme, realizing that she made a very big mistake sending Massacre Maid on a mission that required diplomacy or tact. “I need you to make me an outfit.”

“Okay,” stuttered the woman. “What outfit.”

“Well, I need your design input,” smiled Creme standing up. “I need something that radiates power and class, that shows that I am not someone to be trifled with.”

“For a wedding or a business meeting?” Asked the woman.

“A business meeting, a very public business meeting.” Smiled Creme rising from her seat and walking over to the woman. “I want an outfit that screams that the prodigal daughter has returned to claim what is hers, an outfit that radiates power and style. That puts fear into the hearts of those who stand against me.”

“Fear is a slightly new brief,” stuttered the woman. “I can try.”

“Try you will,” smiled Creme, rubbing the girl’s hair. “I’ve got a workspace set up for you.”

“Not my store?” Mumbled the woman, looking up at Creme with wide eyes.

“Oh no,” replied Creme. “I want to keep an eye on your work. You’ll be here until you are done. I’ll have someone bring you lunch.” She finished before clapping her hands.

Instantly two armored guards burst into the room and grabbed the seamstress by the wrists, dragging her off into another part of the building while Creme returned to her seat.

“That went well,” she smiled to herself as she leaned back in her chair.

“Mom?” Shouted Alicia as she knocked on her bedroom door. After a few seconds, Sharon swung the door open and smiled.

“Yes?”

“You’ve been in there for hours,” smirked Alicia, passing a cup of coffee towards Sharon.

“I have been?” Asked Sharon, taking out her phone as she took the cup. “Oh gosh I have been, I guess I’m not as quick of a sewer as I used to be!”

“That’s okay,” nodded Alicia. “But we should go get that box!”

“Right!” Smiled Sharon. “Change into your costume and grab your mask and we’ll get to work!”

“On it!” Nodded Alicia, running to her room.

After a few minutes of furious dressing, Alicia and Sharon headed out into the night, making their way towards the organic market, trying to not attract any attention.

The market was in a cooler part of town and that meant the girls had to be more careful than usual as there was a much higher chance of someone spotting them from a window.

Sharon and Alicia looped around the building several times to stake out the area. Sharon wrinkled her nose, realizing that Alicia hadn’t been exaggerating when she mentioned that the bins reeked. The smell of rot coated everything in the area and it made Sharon feel slightly ill.

“This is disgusting,” grimaced Sharon. “Good choice.”

“Thank you,” smiled Alicia, doing her best to not breathe through her nose.

As the girls continued to stake out the loading dock they worked out a plan of attack. There seemed to be one person doing the unloading. He would go to one of the waiting vans and move a group of boxes into the store. Every so often he would carry several boxes out to the trash and throw them into the stinking dumpster.

“Thankfully the van is empty,” smiled Sharon. “So, we sneak into the van and pull him in when he comes to grab something, hypnotize him, ask him to disrupt security, and then grab our prize.”

“Right,” nodded Alicia, ducking down with her mother and waiting for their moment to run. When the man turned his back to carry a box inside Sharon and Alicia ran and dived into the back of the van, taking cover behind the boxes.

“I hate the smell of fish,” mumbled Sharon.

“Everyone does,” replied Alicia as she peeked around the stack, doing her best to find a way to quickly close the van’s back door. After a few minutes, the man clambered back into the van. Alicia ran forward, slamming the door behind him.

“What?” Gasped the man, only to be grabbed from behind by Mesmera.

“Sshhh, it is all okay, you are dreaming,” said Mesmera gently, whispering softly into the man’s ear. “Just a dream, nothing is happening.”

“I’m not dreaming,” shouted the man with confusion, breaking free from Mesmera’s grip and spinning around to face the woman. The second he looked at Mesmera’s face he met the silver glow of her eyes, his body instantly starting to relax.

“You’re sleeping,” giggled Mesmera. “Who hides in the back of a fish van? No one, this must be a dream.”

“Dream,” mumbled the man, trying to fight the blanket of fuzziness that was slowly engulfing his brain. He tried to move, his instincts telling him to try and look away from the silver light, but before he could, Alicia moved up behind him and locked her arms around his waist.

“Just relax,” purred Mesmera. “This is a dream, nothing matters in a dream. Two very pretty ladies have cornered you in a van, this has to be a dream, this would never happen in real life, would it?” Nodded Mesmera, watching as the man nodded in response, unable to pull his eyes away from Mesmera’s.

“Yes,” continued Mesmera. “So you can do whatever we ask because it is just silly dream logic, it doesn’t matter what it is, don’t question it, it doesn’t matter,” she rambled, doing her best to drill the point into the man’s brain.

“Dream,” smiled the man before lecherously licking his lips at her. “Pretty ladies.”

Mesmera winced but then re-focused herself. “I guess I was asking for that,” she mumbled, watching as Alicia bit her lip in an attempt to hold back a laugh. “Now, I need you to tell me something, is anyone else working tonight?”

“No one,” mumbled the man as he swayed in Alicia’s arms. “Cutbacks.”

“Perfect, good boy!” Smiled Mesmera, reaching forward and ruffling the man’s hair. “Is there any security out here?”

“A camera over the dumpster,” mumbled the man.

“Well I think you need to wipe all the data for tonight, just turn it off,” Grinned Mesmera. “You know how it is, you trip over a wire and suddenly everything turns off,” she continued, accentuating the word “off” as she did.

“Right,” nodded the man, turning and walking flat into the door of the van.

“Let me get that for you,” smirked Alicia, opening the back and letting the man out.

“Do come back and tell us when it is done!” Shouted Mesmera. “You always need to keep the women in your dreams informed!”

“Informed,” mumbled the man as she continued to walk inside.

“Well this is going well,” smiled Alicia, looking at Sharon’s feet. “Eyes please.”

“Oh right,” smiled Sharon, blinking her eyes back to normal. “I’m not used to teamwork, so I just tend to keep them silver.”

“I’ve spotted,” chuckled Alicia.

After a few minutes, the man stumbled back into the van, the dopey smile on his face making him look even more out of it. “Off,” he slurred as he looked towards Mesmera.

“Perfect!” Grinned Mesmera, her eyes glowing silver once more. “Now, why don’t you sit in the van,”

“Actually,” coughed Alicia, interrupting Mesmera. “May I take the lead?”

“Oh, of course,” smiled Mesmera. “Boy, listen to my friend, in a dream, it is so natural to obey both women.”

“Yes,” nodded Alicia, walking in front of the swaying man. “This is so normal, it is a quest, a mission! Do you have newspapers in your break room?”

“Yes,” gurgled the man with confusion.

“I bet no one ever throws them away, do they? I bet it gets so messy in there!” Said Alicia gently, trying to make everything sound as fun as possible.

“Yeah,” groaned the man as his eyelids fluttered.

“I want you to gather the oldest ones and bring them to me, for a reward!” Grinned Alicia. “A nice reward from the pretty ladies for bringing us the oldest papers possible!” She said before clapping her hands. “Get to it!”

The man let out a groan as she stumbled out of the van and back into the building, his footsteps echoing through the empty building.

“Let's grab the box,” nodded Mesmera, jumping out of the van and heading towards the dumpster. “What was the thing about the newspaper?”

“Well,” smiled Alicia. “If you grab something fragile, your first instinct is to pad the box to keep it safe. So what do you do, you grab a random newspaper and stuff the box.”

“Right,” nodded Mesmera, gagging as she opened the dumpster lid.

“Well, people tend to use the date of the newspaper to get an idea of when the box was dumped, so if we stuff the box with old papers, MIST will think it was dumped days if not weeks ago.”

“I like it!” Replied Sharon as she scrunched up her nose and reached into the dumpster, pulling off a few of the newer boxes in an attempt to find the foul treasures within.

After a short rummage, Sharon pulled out a sodden looking box. The cardboard was stained and tattered and the stench was by far the most disgusting thing Alica had ever smelled.

“Perfect,” coughed Mesmera, trying to throw the other boxes back into the dumpster.

“Paper,” mumbled the man, dropping a stack of old newspaper behind Alicia and Mesmra.

“Oh good!” Grinned Alicia. “Why don’t you go climb in the truck and we’ll come to reward you in a moment!”

“Reward,” nodded the man as he stumbled into the truck.

“Do we know how we plan to reward him?” Whispered Alicia to Mesmera.

“Let me handle it,” replied Mesmera, “You collect the paper and boxes.”

“Sure!” Smiled Alicia, quickly gathering the disgusting box and the dog-eared newspapers.

“Now,” said Mesmera as she climbed into the van, her silver eyes instantly meeting the glazed eyes of the man. “Listen to me, sweetie.”

The man’s eyes went wide as the silver glow took over his retina, his body slumped forward as he fell totally into a trance, his mind completely shutting down and opening wide to Mesmera’s words.

“You are feeling so tired, and so very sleepy, it has been such a long and boring night, your mind can hardly comprehend how sleepy you are, how totally and utterly drowsy you are,” purred Mesmera. “Why don’t you just take a nap in this van, just a quick little nap. No one will know. It is just you here.”

“Nap,” yawned the man, his knees slowly giving out as he crumpled to the floor.

“Yes, you don’t need to remember this,” whispered Mesmera. “No need to remember, this has been a dream, just a lovely dream that slips out of your mind as you get nice and cozy and fall asleep.”

The man let out a little whimper as he curled up on the metal floor of the van, his eyes fluttering shut as he started to sleep peacefully. Mesmera watched for a few moments, cooing softly to make sure the man remained asleep.

“Sorted it?” Asked Alicia as she saw Sharon jump out of the truck.

“Sleeping like a baby,” smirked Mesmera. “Now let’s get this back home before anyone else spots us.”

“Right,” nodded Alicia, quickly making her way down the alley and towards home.

“Right, pass me the box,” said Sharon as they entered the house, “I’ll deal with the gem, the less you know the better it is.”

“Okay,” nodded Alicia.

“And I might need you to act as an alibi about it,” smiled Sharon.

“If there is one thing I’m good at, it is being an alibi!” Giggled Alicia as she wandered into the living room to continue with her book.

Sharon alternated her time between prepping the box for the gem and working on her Bee Woman outfit. Once she was sure the box was ready she pulled out Ulla’s card and looked over it.

“She did say it wasn’t tracked,” mumbled Sharon before shaking her head. “But I’m not that dumb.” She grabbed her coat and headed out to look for a payphone, just because Ulla had been nice to her once, it didn’t mean that Ulla wouldn’t try and hunt her down.

It took her a while to find a phone that was still functional, but eventually, she found one attached to a rundown gas station. Sharon slipped a few quarters into the machine and pushed the buttons on the filthy keypad.

“Hello?” Came a voice over the crackly receiver.

“Ulla, it is me.” Said Sharon firmly.

“Ah, you have it?”

“I do, Park Lake,” started Sharon, only for Ulla to interrupt.

“There is a cabin in Mirage forest. Meet me there around eleven pm on Friday,” replied Ulla gently.

“Why?” Asked Sharon with suspicion.

“Easier hand-off. Makes you harder to follow and track. Gives me a good cover of why I am only just finding it.”

“Fine.” Nodded Sharon. “I’ll meet you then,” she said as she pushed the receiver down, making a mental note of the time and place. She wasn’t a fan of Ulla picking the meeting place, but she was keen to get rid of the gem before it caused her any more problems.

Mara quickly dashed around her office, cleaning every surface she could find. She wanted to impress Sharon with all her heart, to show her that she could be a good slave.

As she dusted off one of her microscopes she heard her door buzzer go off. She quickly ran towards the door and pulled it open, going bright red as she saw Sharon.

“Mistress, come in.” Smiled Mara, gesturing inside.

“Gosh someone is submissive,” smiled Sharon, walking over and taking a seat at the desk.

“I can’t really help it,” chuckled Mara as she walked over and sat on the desk.

“I think you can help a lot of things,” giggled Sharon, rubbing her hand along Mara’s thigh. “I think you are just a little tease.”

“I can’t help it,” squirmed Mara.

“Well, I have a serious question to ask you.” Smiled Sharon. “So control your arousal before I control it for you.”

“Talking like that isn’t going to help,” whimpered Mara. Sharon smiled and pulled Mara into her lap and started to gently rub her hair.

“Cute,” smiled Sharon as she looked down at Mara. “So, could someone have a power that lets them turn their body into rubber. Like to stretch and wrap around someone?”

“Seems like you’ve had a bad week,” smiled Mara, nuzzling into Sharon. “But they could, I’ve seen it as a power before, but most people with it don’t go into villainy.”

“Oh?”

“Well obviously pulling the skin like that can cause a lot of damage,” explained Mara softly. “You would need to find a way to replenish your skin and heal your organs, major form changes cause a lot of tissue decay. Most people don’t think it is worth the risk.”

“Right,” nodded Sharon. “Do you have a way to heal the damage?”

“Not really,” sighed Mara, her thoughts turning over in her head. “I looked into it, but I could never get it worked out. Small wounds are easy, but spread that across a whole body and things start to get more difficult.”

“Thank you,” grinned Sharon as she leaned down and kissed Mara. “While I would love to continue this, I’m afraid I’m going to have to go.”

“Oh, okay,” nodded Mara, pulling herself out of Sharon’s lap. “I hope I’ll see you again soon,” she added as she rubbed her arm.

“You will, I just have some stuff to do!” Beamed Sharon as she wandered out of the office.

Once she was alone Mara let out a sigh, the gentle throbbing between her legs making her shake slightly. She tried to get some work done, however, she couldn’t seem to focus. Whenever she got more than a few minutes into her work the throbbing between her legs flared up, making her squirm and moan.

After half an hour of failure, Mara heard a strange noise. She sat up and looked around, trying to place the sound, something about it seemed oddly familiar but her brain couldn’t seem to make heads or tails of it.

Suddenly her door buzzer went off. Mara rose from her chair and walked over to the door, too busy trying to work out what the sound was to bother to check who was there.

As she opened the door she gasped and stumbled backward. At the door was the unmistakable sight of a Bee Woman. A proud, strong, Bee Woman. It was at the moment Mara realized what the noise was, it was the buzzing of bees.

“Human,” said the Bee Woman as she walked into the room. “We have come to claim earth as our dominion. You shall help us.”

Mara fell onto her butt, trying to work out how to react to the situation, aliens had invaded the Earth and one of them had cornered her. “I’ll never help you,” mumbled Mara. “I support Earth!”

“Incorrect. All humans shall bow before the Queen Bee.” Stated the Bee Woman as she continued to move forward, the antenna on her head bouncing with each step.

“Never! I’ll never give in!” Shouted Mara, pushing herself up and clenching her fists as her heart pounded in her chest.

“The human body is strong, but the human mind is weak,” buzzed the Bee Woman. “You will comply or I will make you comply.”

“No,” shook Mara. “My mind is strong! I won’t!”

“You do not get a choice,” replied the Bee Woman as she extended her arm.

Mara continued to move backward until she hit the wall with a thud. Fear filled her face as she realized she had nowhere left to run. The Bee Woman continued to march forward until her hand was on Mara’s throat.

“You will comply.” Said the Bee Girl firmly. Mara tried to squirm out of her grip, but she couldn’t get free, the Bee Girl was obviously massively stronger than she was.

“No! No!” Shouted Mara as she thrashed helplessly.

“Look at me human, look into my eyes,” replied the Bee Woman. Mara tried to avert her eyes, but as she did she heard a soft sound push through the buzzing. It sounded like a synthesizer wailing in the distance, however, something about the sound made Mara’s brain skip a beat.

She felt her body growing limp as the sound echoed in her brain, she wanted to block it out, but she just couldn’t, the harder she tried to fight it, the more it pushed into her mind.

“You will look me in the eyes human,” said the Bee Woman firmly. Mara tried to resist, but something about the music made it hard to think, it was like the music was drowning out her thoughts.

Mara’s head moved without her permission, making eye contact with the Bee Woman. The Bee Woman’s eyes were utterly beautiful, they were like little honeycombs that spiraled forever inward, the pattern was so complex that Mara couldn’t stop looking at it, her brain just wanted to find the end of the pattern.

“Yes human,” smiled the Bee Woman. “Feel my power, feel the need to comply with my will. Humans are inferior to the power of the Bee Women. Our species shall rule the Earth and you shall help us.”

“I shall,” started Mara, only for her brain to struggle for a moment. “No, I won’t. I support Earth.” She groaned, only for the noise to start again. The noise got louder and louder like it was echoing through her brain, throwing her thoughts off.

“You will submit to our planet. The superior planet.” Stated the Bee Woman, obviously not phased by Mara’s paltry attempt at resistance.

Mara continued to squirm and struggle, the noise seemed to grow in volume the more she tried to fight. Within seconds the noise was so loud Mara couldn’t stand it, it was so loud it felt like her eardrums were about to explode.

Mara gritted her teeth, trying to focus on her resistance, however, the pain in her ears was too great. Her mind stopped thinking in an attempt to end the pain and Mara found herself lost in the honeycomb pattern of the Bee Woman’s eyes once more.

“You will submit to our superior planet,” said the Bee Woman. Mara nodded, her mind slowly starting to fog over. “Submit,” added the Bee Woman as her eyes pulled Mara deeper into their ever-changing pattern.

Mara felt herself falling apart, her mind was slipping out of her control, she felt her mouth falling open as a warm haze took over her whole body. After a few minutes, the Bee Woman released Mara’s throat and marched over to her desk.

“You will worship my form.” Said the Bee Woman as climbed up onto the desk.

“I will worship your form,” repeated Mara awkwardly as she walked over to the desk.

“Do you not find my form arousing human?” Asked the Bee Woman. Something about the question made the noise ring in Mara’s ears once more. “No,” stuttered Mara as her ears started to sting.

“Bee Women are superior. My pollen will make you understand.” Purred the Bee Woman as she leaned forward and blew some dust into Mara’s face. Mara convulsed as the dust hit the back of her throat, she stumbled around for a few seconds as she coughed and spluttered, the cloyingly floral scent of the dust making it hard for her to breathe.

After a few deep gasps, Mara was able to pull herself together and stand back up. When she saw the Bee Woman her heart started to pound as her body grew warm. How had she not realized before? The Bee Woman was beautiful, much more beautiful than any human girl. How could she ever be attracted to a human again after seeing such perfection?

Mara started to pant and squirm, it felt like her body was full of hot liquid honey that dripped and pooled between her legs. She would do anything to serve this alien creature, to glorify it, to help it take over the world. Anything for a moment of its touch.

“Come closer human,” said the Bee Woman, spreading her legs. “Come closer.”

Some small part of Mara knew that she shouldn’t walk into danger like this, that she shouldn’t submit willingly to an evil alien, but the honeycomb pattern, the noise, and the pollen all worked together to quickly push that part down. She didn’t care about the danger, she didn’t care about the Earth, all she cared about was pleasing her Bee Woman overlord.

Mara got down on her knees and crawled towards the woman, however, a few moments before she reached the heaven between her legs, the Bee Woman pushed her foot against Mara’s face.

“You must earn it.” Said the Bee Woman firmly.

“Please let me earn it,” whined Mara. “Anything! Anything!”

“Who is superior.” Asked the Bee Woman firmly.

“Bee Women are superior!” Screamed Mara.

“Who shall rule this world?”

“Bee Women! Bee Women!” Groaned Mara, the liquid honey pushing her to levels of arousal she had never thought possible.

“And what will you do?”

“Help you take it over! Give it to you!” Screamed Mara, her whole body on fire due to her arousal.

“Good, please me,” said the Bee Woman dismissively, pulling her foot from Mara’s face and giving her full access to the wonderful place between her legs.

Mara didn’t wait, she scrambled forward and started to lap and nuzzle at the Bee Woman’s sex. Everything about it was heavenly, the taste reminded her of the sweetest and most complex honey and the texture was like a soft wonderful pillow.

Her body trembled as the warm honey coated her brain, filling it with strange other-worldly bliss. With each lick, the Bee Woman’s sex felt and tasted better and Mara became even more euphoric. Her body and mind started to twist around the whims of the Bee Woman. She was just a slave, she didn’t care about anything other than making her alien Mistress happy.

She continued to lick and worship at the heavenly sex of the Bee Woman, her body filled with a sense of devotion and adoration that she had never felt towards another human, but it made total sense to her, the Bee Woman wasn’t human, she was above humanity in each and every way, it was only natural that a lowly mortal like Mara would want to serve her.

Suddenly the Bee Woman let out a high pitched buzz of pleasure that resonated inside Mara, causing all of her erogenous zones to explode into bliss. Mara threw her head back as she came. “The world is yours! The world is yours! The world is yours!” Screamed Mara over and over until her voice was hoarse, her eyes rolling up into her head.

Mara lay almost catatonic for a few minutes until an arm wrapping around her brought her back to reality. Mara turned and saw the Bee Woman hugging her gently.

“Buzz buzz,” giggled the Bee Woman, her voice sounding oddly familiar. Suddenly Mara’s brain caught up with what was going on and she let out a little squeak, her cheeks going bright red as she buried her head into Sharon’s chest.

“I can’t believe it,” she mumbled.

“I did say I wasn’t going to let you live it down,” purred Sharon as she gently rubbed Mara’s hair.

“You actually went to all the trouble of making an outfit,” giggled Mara, gently pulling her face from between Sharon’s boobs.

“Well I couldn’t be a Bee Woman if I didn’t look the part, anyway, the outfit was the easiest bit.” Smirked Sharon as the strange noise danced through Mara’s brain once more.

“That sound,” she whispered softly, “it was impossible to fight.”

“Of course it was,” grinned Sharon, pulling her phone into Mara’s line of sight. “It is the noise that plays when the Bee Women brainwash someone.”

“How long did it take you to cut that from the movie?” Giggled Mara.

“Way, way too long,” chuckled Sharon, kissing Mara on the forehead. “It only happens without someone talking over it once.”

“Thank you,” blushed Mara, squeezing Sharon tight. “That was so amazing, I never dreamed I would get to do that, it just felt so real, I didn’t even think about resisting.”

“I’m glad,” nodded Sharon. Mara rubbed her hands along Sharon’s sides as she leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.

“You did so well earlier as well,” blushed Sharon, squeezing Mara once more.

“Earlier?”

“Well, I gave you the suggestions for this during our serious meeting,” Smiled Sharon.

“I thought that seemed awfully short,” mumbled Mara. “You said like three sentences and then left.”

“I’ll admit, I had planned to have a long conversation after my question, but I got excited at the idea of being a Bee Woman, so I rushed out to change.”

“Well it was heavenly,” nodded Mara. “Earth belongs to you, all-mighty Bee Woman,” she purred as she leaned in and kissed Sharon deeply.

“What do you think?” Smiled the woman as she pulled the suit jacket off of the table and held it up in front of her small audience, her whole body trembling constantly.

“Needs to be pinker,” said Momo as she blew a gum bubble.

“Momo,” growled Creme as she walked up and rubbed her hand along the black suit jacket. “I think it is wonderful. Powerful.”

“Shows you mean business boss!” Nodded Massacre Maid. “MIST and their flunkies don’t have your sense of style.”

“Suck up,” muttered Momo, only to jump as Massacre Maid shot her a dirty look.

“Will it look good on camera?” Asked Creme, inspecting the stitching.

“Oh very good,” nodded the woman, obviously trying to keep her heart rate under control. “I added some subtle details to make sure it would look good under studio lights.”

“Perfect,” smiled Creme. “You did well today.”

“Can I go home now?” replied the woman, her eyes wide and full of fear.

“I’ll do it, boss,” smiled Momo, popping her bubble. “I’ll blindfold her and take her to her store.”

“I caught her,” growled Massacre Maid, lifting her mop off of the floor.

“I need more gum,” said Momo calmly. “I’ve got to work all night again and I’ll get really grumpy if I don’t have my gum.”

“I was the one who kidnapped her, gum or not.” Growled Massacre Maid. “I’ll finish the job.”

“Momo will take you home,” nodded Creme, starting to walk towards the door.

“Boss,” growled Massacre Maid.

“Momo is doing it. You have the night off,” stated Creme firmly.

“Boss,” said Massacre Maid once more.

“You have the night off unless you want to spend the night in the basement with those Monger things Momo created!”

“Right boss, as you command.” Nodded Massacre Maid, sounding obviously annoyed by this turn of events.

Momo smirked as she watched Massacre and Creme leave the room. After a few seconds of silence, the seamstress spoke up. “Are we going now?”

“We are,” smirked Momo. “Follow me.”

“No blindfold or anything?”

“Nah,” giggled Momo waving her hand. “I’ll do it in the car.”

“Oh, okay.” Stuttered the woman, starting to follow Momo.

Momo led the seamstress through several corridors, a skip in her step the whole way. Eventually, they reached an elevator and Momo pressed a few buttons. “Nice day,” grinned Momo.

“We’re going up.” Mumbled the woman.

“Yeah, where my car is,” smiled Momo.

“You keep your car on a high floor?”

“Safest place to put it,” nodded Momo as the elevator doors opened. She continued to lead the woman through the building until she reached her lab.

“What is this place, I thought we were going to a car,” mumbled the woman, starting to shake with fear.

“Yeah, I lied,” grinned Momo, grabbing the woman by the hair and dragging her towards the large machine. The woman thrashed and struggled, breaking free of Momo’s grip.

“I won’t, no!” Screamed the woman, only to feel two strong hands grab her shoulders. “You can’t do this to me!” She continued to scream as the hands forced her towards the machine.

“I can and I will,” giggled Momo, opening the glass door and gesturing inside.

The woman continued to struggle, however, it seemed like whoever had grabbed her didn’t feel pain, no matter how hard she scratched and punched the figure didn’t loosen its grip or even flinch.

With one large shove, the woman fell forward into the machine, slamming into the metal. She stumbled around stunned as the figure turned her around and forced her hands into the metal restraints.

“Don’t help her!” Screamed the seamstress. However, the figure didn’t react, her eyes were totally glazed over, it was like she was a doll, totally unresponsive to the world around her.

“Hey, no yelling at my bestie!” Giggled Momo as she shoved the helmet onto the seamstress’s head, making sure the visor filled her whole field of vision.

“No! No!” Screamed the woman. “You’re mad! You won’t get away with this.”

“Cute,” smiled Momo as she closed the door of the machine. Instantly the pink light flashed into the woman’s eyes, her cries fading into weak little whimpers. “You see,” giggled Momo. “You can’t have science without a little suffering.”

Sharon was on top of the world, making Mara happy had filled her with joy. As she prepared the gem for transport her mind kept wandering back to cuddling and playing with Mara. The joyful thoughts were helpful as they let Sharon block out the fetid smell of the old fish box.

Sharon opened the safe and took a deep breath, slightly shaking as she reached out, utterly terrified that the gem would explode the second she pulled it from the Faraday cage.

Slowly and carefully she undid each bit of the cage before lifting the gem into the crumpled paper, making sure to avoid even breathing on the strange crystal. Once it was safely tucked away Sharon pulled her rubber gloves off and let out a sigh. For now, it was safe.

She quickly dashed down the stairs and smiled at Alicia. “Sweetie, I’m going to drop this gem off, I should be back in a few hours.”

“Sure,” smiled Alicia. “Be safe, okay Mom?”

“I will,” nodded Sharon. “Don’t worry, I’ve thought this through, planned for every eventuality.”

“Right,” nodded Alicia. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” nodded Sharon as she walked out of the door, disgusting box in hand.

Sharon walked as carefully and slowly as she could in an attempt to keep the gem as stable as possible. She made a point of avoiding busy roads, so that if the worst happened random innocents wouldn’t get hurt. This meant that it took her much longer than usual to reach Mirage forest.

The forest was very dense and it was the most popular camping spot for those who lived in the city. It went on for miles and once you have gone past the initial campsites it was eerily quiet.

Sharon kept her head down, hoping that she was the only one roaming the trees. She wasn’t sure exactly which cabin Ulla had meant, but she quickly ruled out any of the rentable cabins, Ulla wouldn’t have booked something if she planned for this to be a secret meeting.

After an hour of walking, Sharon found the most likely cabin. It was in a little clearing and it looked like it had been ripped directly from the pages of a fairytale.

The glow from the window cast a dappled light around the clearing. Sharon took a deep breath and walked up to the door, however before she could knock, it swung open, revealing Ulla.

However, Ulla looked different to normal. She was in a white dress shirt with the top button open and expertly-fitted black pants. Sharon couldn’t deny she looked stunning, but it did seem a slightly odd choice of outfit for a handoff.

“Come in,” smiled Ulla, waving Sharon inside the cabin. Sharon nodded and stepped tentatively inside.

“I’ll make this quick so you can get to your party,” said Sharon, only to be taken aback by the scene inside the cabin. The whole thing was lit by candlelight and there was a fresh meal along with several bottles of wine sat on the table.

Ulla walked past Sharon, placing a bookmark inside a book that sat on the table. “Take a seat,” smiled Ulla, putting the book onto an overstuffed armchair.

“I don’t want to interrupt, you seemingly have company,” replied Sharon.

“Very witty,” giggled Ulla. “It is for us.”

“We’re doing a handoff.” Replied Sharon, starting to feel slightly awkward.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it, our walk around the lake was really nice.” Smiled Ulla as she poured two glasses of wine. Sharon considered her options for a while.

This wasn’t the normal way one approached a handoff, but at the same time it couldn’t hurt to spend some time with Ulla, she had obviously gone to a lot of trouble to set this up.

“Sure,” nodded Sharon as she took a seat. “I have some free time.”

“Wonderful,” smiled Ulla, passing one of the wine glasses to Sharon. “How was your day?”

“Oh, the usual day job things.” Smiled Sharon as she sipped the wine. “Yours?”

“Mostly just investigating. The kidnapping of that designer caught our eye due to it being performed by a woman in a maid’s uniform.”

“Kidnapping?” Blinked Sharon. “I’ve not been paying attention to the news, what happened?”

“Merida Castle, she is a very up and coming designer, makes very interesting formal wear,” explained Ulla between sips. “Car turned up this morning and grabbed her, witnesses reported one of the kidnappers was in a maid’s uniform.”

“Ah, so our friends you think?”

“More than likely,” sighed Ulla. “No idea why they would want a costume designer.”

“Very true,” nodded Sharon. “It is a conundrum, but let’s not dwell on work.” She said as she looked up at Ulla. “What book are you reading?”

“Oh, just a history thing, it is a bit dry,” mumbled Ulla.

“I like dry,” replied Sharon softly.

“Well, it is called Streamliners, it is about the history of sleeper trains.” Explained Ulla, her voice slowing like she was expecting to be interrupted at any moment. “They were a major part of the rail network before passenger planes became more common, the trains were spectacular, they often had at least twice the power of regular trains, and the ones that handed Northen climes were designed to push through snow and deal with cold weather for weeks without maintenance.”

“Interesting!” Smiled Sharon, sipping her wine. “What were they like in this area?”

“Well, people visiting the coast was a big industry,” smiled Ulla, her voice getting faster as she continued to talk. “So the sleeper trains aimed at the vacationing upper classes were basically holiday resorts on wheels, serving all of the social, recreational and culinary needs of their passengers, at least one had an onboard concert hall.”

“That is amazing,” nodded Sharon, putting an olive into her mouth as she did.

“Really?” Blinked Ulla.

“Of course it is, it is something that I had never really thought about.” Smiled Sharon. “And you tell it in the most fascinating way.”

“You flatter me,” blushed Ulla as she looked at the table for a few seconds. Sharon had to admit there was something strangely adorable about seeing a handsome woman like Ulla blushing like a school girl.

“Not one bit, please continue.” Nodded Sharon.

“Well,” started Ulla, sipping from her glass as she started to talk. Sharon listened with interest as Ulla discussed the history of sleeper trains and trains in general, a topic that obviously filled her great enthusiasm.

After a few hours, the wine and the food had been eaten and Ulla was still waxing lyrical about trains, and Sharon was still utterly fascinated by it, something about Ulla’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“I got a little carried away,” blushed Ulla realizing just how long she had been talking for.

“Oh don’t worry about it,” smiled Sharon. “I’ve really enjoyed it, it has been utterly captivating.”

“You are very sweet,” smiled Ulla.

“This is just me,” replied Sharon. “I’m sure people love to hear you talk.”

“Oh, well,” coughed Ulla, rubbing her own cheek. “I don’t really talk about this kind of thing much.”

“Why ever not?” Asked Sharon softly.

“Well, you know how it is, work requires me to be more serious and people come and go,” mumbled Ulla.

“How so?” Said Sharon gently.

“Well, sometimes people just get up and leave,” sighed Ulla, her tone tinged with sadness. “Like Emergency, she was a system user like me, we worked together and were close and then one day she just decided MIST wasn’t for her. No number, no forwarding address. Just vanished.”

“I’m sorry to hear it, but I understand,” nodded Sharon, squeezing Ulla’s hand. “This whole industry isn’t a long-term thing for a lot of people.”

“It has just been me and Hitomi for a while now,” nodded Ulla. “And well, I don’t like to put weight on her shoulders, so I mostly keep stuff to myself.”

“I understand, but you need to let it out.” Nodded Sharon with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess,” nodded Ulla. “Just not used to being the person who talks about her problems.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t start to be, you should talk about trains more, you are very charismatic, I could have listened to you talk all night.”

“Thank you,” blushed Ulla.

“But I should be off. I need to be up in the morning.” Smiled Sharon, rising from her seat. “The gem is in the bag, it is in a box as well, I apologize for the smell, but that is how I found it.

“Do you think we could do this again sometime?” Asked Ulla softly as she stood up. “I mean like, a date.” She mumbled.

Sharon stopped mid-step and turned to look at Ulla, running her options over in her head. Ulla was sweet and rather dashing but she was still a MIST agent, could Sharon really hang around with a girl whose main job responsibility was hunting her down and arresting her?

Also, she had to think of Mara. While Mara had been very clear that they didn’t have to be serious, making a costume to allow her to live out one of her oldest sexual fantasies felt serious and Sharon didn’t want to break the doctor’s heart.

Sharon started to panic a little, unsure of how to approach this situation. “Well Ulla,” coughed Sharon, the hope and fear in Ulla’s eyes nearly crushing her. An idea popped into Sharon’s head, it felt wrong on a few levels, however, it was the only thing she could think of.

“Ulla,” said Sharon firmly. “There are leaves on the line.”

“Leaves,” mumbled Ulla as her eyelids drooped and her mouth fell open. Her whole body slumped limply forward as her eyes glazed over, her mind slowing to a halt as the trigger took effect.

Sharon looked at Ulla for a few seconds, pulling her thoughts together. She wandered over to Ulla and gently rubbed her hair. “Good girl,” cooed Sharon. “Don’t fight, just relax, nice and calm, you’ve had all that wine and it has left you fuzzy and sleepy.”

“Fuzzy,” mumbled Ulla as some drool trickled down her chin. Sharon made her way over to the armchair and sat in it before patting her lap.

“Come and sit in my lap sweetie,” purred Sharon. Ulla stumbled over to Sharon, her arms hanging limply at her sides. She gently climbed into Sharon’s lap, allowing Sharon to cradle her gently.

Sharon spent a few minutes holding Ulla, gently pulling her deeper and deeper into the trance, rubbing her shoulders and stomach as she did. “Now,” purred Sharon. “Listen closely to me, just let my voice slide deeper into your mind, just let it reshape everything so nicely.”

“Okay,” mumbled Ulla.

“And as we talk, you can load all of those memories of me into a nice big express train,” cooed Sharon. “Everything about tracking me, finding me at the coffee shop, meeting me here, just load it all in.”

“Loading,” gurgled Ulla as a dumb smile came to her face.

“Yes,” smiled Sharon. “And you know about express trains, they just keep going and going and they don’t stop once they’ve started. It is nearly time for this train to pull away from the station and take all of those memories with it, driving far and far away.” Continued Sharon as she ran her fingers through Ulla’s hair.

Ulla moved her hand softly in her lap as she took several long deep breaths. Sharon looked with confusion for a few seconds before realizing Ulla was obviously trying to wave at the train in her head.

“That’s right!” Smiled Sharon. “Just wave it off as it drives far away. You just came out here to read your book and obviously had too much to drink, so warm and so comfy you fell asleep in your chair. But what luck, you happened to find the gem in the woods, some silly criminal obviously dumped it out here. Once again trains save the day.”

“Yay,” slurred Ulla softly.

“Yay indeed,” nodded Sharon as she gently put Ulla into the chair, moving one of the wine bottles near to the chair to help cement the illusion. She went to the door and looked back at Ulla. “Sleep tight sweetie,” she smiled as she walked out into the darkness of the forest.

Merida shook her head as she looked around her store. Had she fallen and smacked her head? She couldn’t remember how she ended up on the floor, the last thing she remembered was opening her store up for the day.

She wandered around a little bit, trying to work out what was going on. As she walked, she spotted an envelope on her desk. She wandered over and lifted it up.

“Don’t forget to get milk,” said the envelope. Merida blinked, she was lactose intolerant, so why would she buy milk in the first place? However, as her eyes traced over the words again she felt a switch flip in her brain.

As if on auto-pilot her body opened the envelope and removed a piece of paper from inside it. Mara’s left hand-tossed the paper as her right hand started to scrunch up the envelope, forming it into a tight ball before shoving it into her mouth. Merida started to chew the paper as she walked towards the phone, her brain utterly fixated on making a phone call for a reason she didn’t fully understand.

Merida picked up the phone and swallowed the paper, it tasted foul but she didn’t seem to care. Her fingers quickly dialed a number without the consent of her mind.

“Hello, 911 what’s your emergency?” Came a voice from the other end of the line.

“Hello,” said Merida, her mouth moving with practiced ease. “My store just got robbed by a woman in a maid’s uniform, she tried to kidnap me and ruined my store!”

“Your name and address?”

“Merida Castle, from Castle Designs,” said Merida, hearing a soft gasp from the operator.

“We’re on our way, Can you stay on,” started the operator, only for Merida’s finger to end the call and put the phone down. Merida started to walk towards the center of her store, the world starting to blur and sway as she did.

Once she reached the middle of the store she crumpled to the floor, her mind falling into a deep sleep as sirens wailed in the distance.