When I woke up the morning after I met Hypnoman, I felt like I was on fire. I dreamed that Engine City’s women were embracing him in larger and larger numbers. If I had to guess, a fifth of them were under Hypnoman’s control and secretly supported him. To my joy, that included my mother and my little sister Ava. Hypnoman dwelled in a massive complex overlooking the sea, where he could scheme in peace. His more technically gifted henchgirls worked day and night creating new mind control devices.

Hypnoman actually gave me one yesterday. It’s around the size of a large compass that takes up all the space in my palm and projects a rainbow spiral. Before I left his lair, he ordered me to tell him about the visions I had while falling under his spell. He really liked the one I had in the gym, deciding that from then on, the girls under his control would be known as ‘Sleepwalkers’.

So, it’s official. I’m a Sleepwalker now. He also loved the idea of Trance Chic and is looking to put a fashion designer under his control.

I have wonderful recruitment prospects to choose from. My university alone had so many. The feminist discussion group, the female sports teams, the lesbian support group, the possibilies were just staggering.

But before I could start making plans for those groups, I needed to take care of Lola. Our argument might not have blatantly given away that I was under Hypnoman’s control, but it could’ve given her reason to suspect me. At the very least, she could be telling people that I said something very unusual and draw a lot of unwanted attention my way.

I needed to act quickly. I needed to bring her under Hypnoman’s control before she could tell too many people about our argument. I sent her a text saying that I wanted to talk in person, and have one chance to make my case to her. After a tense period of waiting, she sent me a reply telling me to meet her in the park later that morning. She specifically said that she’d be giving me one shot to explain myself.

That was all I needed to open her eyes to the truth.

So, I was sitting near a fountain in a quiet part of the park waiting for Lola to show up, with the device in my pocket. There was nobody nearby. I’d have as much privacy as I could reasonably expect for what I was planning.

“Hey.” I heard Lola say flatly. She was walking over from a path leading to a grove of trees. I waved to her and she sat next to me, sighing and getting a water bottle from her bag.

“Alright Nichole,” she said as she undid the cap of the bottle, “I’m going to give you one shot at explaining yourself.” She was looking away from me. Perfect. I got the projector out of my pocket. I just needed to surprise her as much as possible, rattle her so she doesn’t put up much of a fight.

“It’s pretty simple, really. Hypnoman brainwashed me. I always approve of what he does.”

Lola looked at me with a look of shock and confusion on her face and only got a brief glance at the projector before I activated it, ending a barrage of rainbow light into her eyes.

“Look into the light, Lola. Let it soothe you, make you calm and reasonable.”

“Wha…how…I…yes…calm.” I stroked her hair, fiddling with her ponytail a bit.

“That’s good. Now I want you to listen very carefully. You were right that Hypnoman is a villain. However, that still does not make what you said about him right. I can forgive you for speaking ill of him once but that will be the last time you will do so. And do you know why?”

“N-no…”

“Because a slave girl does not say such things about her master. You are no longer free, Lola. Hypnoman is your master now. Say it.”

“Hypnoman is…my master.”

“You are his slave, his henchgirl, his Sleepwalker just like I am. You serve a supervillain now. You admire him, adore him. News of his exploits thrill and excite you. You admire him from afar, and look forward to assisting him in his schemes.”

I giggled a little.

“Hypnoman is your master, and you are his loyal hypno-fan.” I kind of liked the sound of that, to be honest. I wasn’t simply Hypnoman’s mindless henchgirl, I looked at him like he was my favorite celebrity. If you look at it from a certain angle, you could say that the Sleepwalkers are Hypnoman’s fan base as well as his slave girls.

Maybe I’ll ask if he liked the term the next time I report to him.

“You love nothing more than bringing other girls under his control. You wish to grow the ranks of his Sleepwalkers. You will absorb everything I’ve said to you, Lola. You will look at Hypnoman with new eyes when you wake. Understood?”

“Yes…”

I turned off the projector and Lola shook her head.

“Who do you serve?” She grinned wickedly.

“I serve Hypnoman. I am one of his obedient Sleepwalkers.”

“Yep! We serve him together.”

“I’m sorry about what I said about him before, I wasn’t…”

“Enlightened? Don’t worry! All water under the bridge.”

We heard two women near us start shouting. For a moment I wondered if we were exposed but then I started picking up pieces of the conversation. It had nothing to do with what I'd just done. I gestured for Lola to follow me to the source.

Two girls around our age were looking at each other near a big oak tree, rage scrawled across their faces.

“Problem, girls?” Lola shouted to them. They turned right as I brought out the projector and blasted them with the spiraling rainbow lights. The light caught them both on guard and they gave in within seconds. We walked up to them, checking to make sure no one was nearby.

“What’re your names?” I asked.

“Olivia Matsumoto.”

“Keiko Matsumoto.” the other one said. I blinked in surprise. Sisters. The first two girls Lola and I hypnotized were sisters!

“What’s the problem here, ladies?” asked Lola.

“I found out my sister is after the same guy I am.” Keiko replied emotionlessly.

“I met him first.” Olivia said. “I was the first one of us he talked to. I got angry with Keiko. I told her I wasn’t going to just roll over and let her have him.”

I shook my head and clicked my tongue in disappointment.

“Now, now, now, you two shouldn’t be fighting like this.” Lola said. “Sisters shouldn’t let a man get between them.”

“You both deserve a better man.” I added. “You deserve someone who won’t fool around behind your back, someone who won’t see you as just a side piece. And we know a man who’s exactly like that.”

“If you need a good man, look no further than Hypnoman.” Lola said grinning.

“We need no man…but Hypnoman.” Olivia replied. I smiled.

“Repeat that, please, the both of you.” Lola ordered.

“We need…no man but Hypnoman.” Olivia said again. Keiko started chanting at the same time she did.“We need no man but Hypnoman. We need no man but Hypnoman. We need no man but Hypnoman.”

“Give yourself to Hypnoman and he will not only give you the bliss of servitude, but sisters as well.” I told the two. “Your fellow henchgirls, the Sleepwalkers.”

“You will never need to fight with them for his attention.” Lola added. “You will all belong to him. You will all be sisters in servitude.” The two were now grinning, basking in the glow of the projector. I turned it off and the two blinked repeatedly before their smiles returned.

“Thank you.” said Keiko. “Thank you so much.”

“How can we serve him?” Olivia asked.

“Support him from the shadows.” I told them. “Cheer him on in secret. And if you ever see him in action, you will assist him. May I have your numbers please? For his records?”

The two gave me their contact details and I sent them to Hypnoman, walking off afterward. Lola smiled at me. We did well together. Maybe we could work as a pair instead of on our own.