Hypnoman was pleased with how well Lola and I worked together. So pleased in fact, that he ordered us to work as partners from now on. I informed him that we intended to begin recruiting at our university and his only demand was that we remain as discreet as possible.

We could work with that. We even had a list of targets; the campus feminists, the lesbian support group and our first stop, the female swim team. But we didn’t intend on just barging in during one of their meetings. We needed an inside woman to invite us in, make our appearance seem normal.

Giselle was the head of the women’s swim team and our way in. She parked her car a bit of ways from the rest of the campus because she liked the walk. We intended to get her alone and after two days of observation we struck when she was on a remote part of campus.

“Hold her.” I told Lola. She leapt up and got behind Giselle, putting her hand over her mouth.

“Look into the light, Giselle.” I told her. “Don’t you want to jump into it? Don’t you want to dive into a deep, deep trance?” She went still and her eyes widened. I could see her faintly nod.

“Good. You’ve done so well with the women’s swim team, Giselle. But you’re going to join a new team, a bigger team, a better team. A team dedicated to doing the bidding of a supervillain. You’re going to be one of the Sleepwalkers, the mind controlled henchgirls of Hypnoman. Hypnoman is your idol, your inspiration, your master. You will take pleasure in doing his evil bidding and you will jump at the chance to bring more girls under his thrall, including your own students. Do you understand?”

Lola took her hand off Giselle’s mouth and Giselle had a big smile on her lips.

“Yes. I understand.”

“Alright then. I want you to absorb everything I’ve just told you. Let it become a part of you, sewn seamlessly into the fabric of your being. When I wake you, these commands will be perfectly natural to you.”

I turned the projector off and Giselle blinked a few times. Lola got her arms off the coach who needed a moment to steady herself. She smiled again when she looked at me.

“I…wow…thanks for that! I feel so hyped right now.”

“So, no hard feelings about…ya know?” Lola asked.

“Nope. You two were just following our master’s orders.

I laughed a little. I knew that she was kinda zonked out but she seemed to give in pretty quickly when I started talking about joining the Sleepwalkers.

“You really love being part of a team don’t you, Giselle?” I asked.

“My dad wasn’t the nicest guy.” Giselle replied. “Team sports were a way for me to get out of the house. It did me a lot of good. And being a Sleepwalker will do me even better.”

“Could you let us into the swimming area?” Lola asked.

“Of course!” she said with a beaming smile. I was still somewhat tense. The hard part was just coming up. There were sixteen girls on the swim team and we’d need them all gathered in one place. Lola and I would have to use the projectors on eight girls each and we needed Giselle to make sure they didn’t suspect anything until the moment of truth.

“How do you have the girls arranged when you’re giving them instructions?” I asked.

“In a V shape so they can all see me.” Giselle answered. I felt my unease drop a bit but I was still somewhat nervous while Lola and I switched the projectors to emit a wide beam. She let us inside the aquatic center after unlocking the door. The girls were all lined up in the V shape Giselle mentioned, wearing green ECU two piece swimsuits.

“Afternoon, ladies.” Giselle said to them. “Before we start today’s training, these two have an important announcement to make.”

Before the girls could ask what we were there to say, Lola and I took out the projectors and blasted them. Not a single one of them got away from the beams or even let out any cries of alarm. They just stood there, zoned out and bathed in the hypnotic light. Giselle smiled at our handiwork.

“Alright girls, I trust you’re all nice and pacified right now. So you’re going to listen to everything these two have to say.” She gestured for us to get closer to the girls.

“Repeat after me,” said Lola. “We serve Hypnoman.”

“We serve Hypnoman.” the swimmers said. I started to drool a little. Sixteen girls of different sizes and ethnicities were bleating their allegiance to their new master.

“We are now his obedient Sleepwalkers.” I told them.

“We are now his obedient Sleepwalkers.”

“We live to serve his evil schemes.” Lola told them.

“We live to serve his evil schemes.” Giselle smirked.

“We love the feeling of serving him as a team.”

“We love the feeling of serving him as a team.”

“Unquestioning obedience will make our team great.”

“Unquestioning obedience will make our team great.”

“Good.” I said, clapping my hands. “Let what you’ve just said sink into your minds and become your truth.” I giggled a bit at the accidental pun. Pool. Sink. Huh. “These truths will bring you joy in life. It will forge a bond between not just your teammates but all other Sleepwalkers. I command you, wake.”

We turned off the projectors and the girls all shook their heads.

“At attention!” Giselle shouted. The girls all became ramrod straight with their arms at their sides.

“As of this moment, you are all part of a much larger team, with a much grander purpose.”

The girls all smiled.

“We are Sleepwalkers!” they said. “We hear and obey!”

“How many of you are either with the campus feminists or the Lesbian Outreach Group?” Lola asked. A middle eastern girl raised her hand.

“I’m…I’m with the Lesbian Outreach Group. My name’s Farah. I’ll bring you to them tomorrow.”

“Good!” I said. “I look forward to seeing what you can do in Hypnoman’s service.”