Hivemind is quivering in a distant sort of ecstasy, only her physical flesh remaining in the suddenly stuffy room. Carefully, as though handling a fragile bird or perhaps feeding a dangerous beast, I tilt the teacup's rim over her trembling lip and expel her body of the redirected concoction. Her body sweltering and her composure irreparable for the time being, we move on to the next test. 

These subliminals are impossible to deal with when you are unable to detect them, but even with well trained senses you can only pick up on some. I only had a week of training and my senses have always been playing catch up, but Hivemind passed on two gifts from Discoman, an earpiece which can filter out messages laced into the background of any audio and a pair of contact lenses which supposedly do the same for visual stimuli. I must admit, this is my first time having to wear contacts, Laura tried to convince me last Halloween as part of our vampire get-up and I cringed at the idea. Thankfully, the discomfort in the application goes away as quickly as it comes, soon enough I forget I even have them in. 

For a moment I think about the possibility that Discoman could have in fact impressed upon this tech subliminals of their own, which I would now be directly and constantly exposing myself to, but that thought seems to die out with an unheard cry... why would the top heroes do something like that? I trust them implicitly, they've been so helpful. 

"What's with that sour face, Joy? You managed to withstand the pheromones, if the other three tests are this successful tomorrow's operation should go off without a hitch. You should be smiling." Hivemind seems to have caught her breath. Their breath? I never quite know how to identify the hero who leads more lives than a Hollywood actor. 

Either way, Hivemind is right. I should be smiling. My lips curl unprompted, as though possessed by this emotion called joy. Speaking of which, I fail to recall when they started calling me by my real name. I trust them with the knowledge of my identity, of course, it's just... I just... Ah, never mind, I lost my trail of thought again!

"Are you ready, Joy?" I stare at the reflection of my smiling face through the glass of the screen before me, soon being replaced by static which would assault my mind without these handy contact lenses. This feels less like a test of my resistance and more like I've become Discoman's guinea pig for this new technology, but I suppose I'm happy to help. In any other situation, this would feel a little immoral, but I do owe them and it's not like I haven't been exposing myself to subliminal messages all week. Swallowing my last ounce of apprehension, I nod and stare into the screen. 

The static plays at my mind but finds no purchase, while the headset covering my ears provides little more than some cushioning and an unpleasant buzz. Soon, the screen flickers to an unfamiliar scene, a different video having been played each day. This one features a woman showering, only a few years older than me at most, with long dark brown hair streaking down her back and the kind of head turning curves that would make even a straight girl blush. 

I can appreciate her beauty, even envy it some, but my cheeks retain their usual colour. Sorry Laura, it seems that essential college experience you've been teasing me with has left port without all its passengers. My bi-curiosity went as far as a drunken kiss that was more embarrassing than exhilarating. Water rolls down the woman's impossibly smooth skin as her hands grasp and squeeze clumps of flesh to give more of a show than an effective wash. She pulls out all the stops, giving the camera a seductive lip-bite before placing her palms against the bathroom tiles and bending over to show the jets of water streaming down her back and into her spread ass. The final shot of the video is an analogue zoom into the woman's dripping sex, parting lips with her fingers and rubbing them in a circular motion. Throughout the slightly uncomfortable viewing, I do feel a certain tightness towards the end, thinking about the last time I masturbated. I rarely touch myself, between having a roommate and my night time activities I could barely find time if I wanted to.

"Is... is that it?" I take of the headset with a smile ready, knowing that I passed with flying colours without really needing to ask. Hivemind seems to chew her lip as she inspects me, stepping closer and grabbing my wrist. 

"Huh?" The other's touch feels like a spark of electricity and that tightening seems to come again, Hivemind pulling my wrist out of my waistband as slick fingers pop out of my moistening slit. A feeling of horror passes through me once I connect the dots and Hivemind's stern eyes poke holes into my fragile confidence. 

Hivemind simply waves a hand, dropping my wrist and giving a half smile. "It's nothing to worry about, actually. Your mind resisted even if your body couldn't fight the compulsion. The subliminals were telling you not only what to do, but what to think. To find her attractive, to admit that you're hot for her, that you're hopelessly gay."

"I-I didn't feel anything like that!" I quickly protest, now fully red in the face from the candidness of her response. 

"Exactly, so your consciousness resisted well enough. Your Orchard ability is an extension of your mind rather than body, so even if you're completely immobilised you told me you are still able to control your roots yes?"

A meek nod is all I can conjure, still trying to process the strangely inappropriate nature of this exercise.

"Then this will have to do, it's not like Miss Murmur is going to make you finger yourself for her, but we never know. She has no record of murder of even serious injury in her crimes, so you'll be okay."

Even if it feels a little cold, I respect Hivemind's reassurance and take it for what it's worth. "Can I take these off now?" I gesture to the subliminal blockers, holding my legs together unnaturally out of awkwardness. 

"Best to leave them in for now, there may be lingering effects otherwise." Hivemind replies, while applying a cherry red lipstick that seems vaguely familiar yet completely new. 

"Um... is that how it works? That sounds wrong..." I hate to protest, but from what little I know of subliminal messaging I can't help but question my mentor's words.  

She only need shoot me a single look and I remember what I had told myself earlier. I'm going to trust them implicitly.

Everything Hivemind tells me is the truth.

With that decided, I have no time to think on it further when hands suddenly clasp around my shoulders and I meet eyes with my mentor. For a brief second, I remember something she had said earlier. Three more to go? As far as I'm aware, there are only three tests in total... once again, before I can think any more I find the other's face closer than ever, feeling an intimate warmth between our faces contrasted by a cool sensation coating my lips. 

W-wait, am I being kissed? As Hivemind's lips press more firmly into my own, there's a pleasant tingling against them, cool as mint. If not for the hands holding me steady I would surely stumble backwards, but instead I feel frozen, my mind encased in heavy ice and eyes beginning to roll from the intensity and shock I'm feeling. I remember my tactic for the other drug and before I lose myself completely, send my Orchard's roots into the floor beneath Hivemind's feet. 

Just as I resolve to pull her into the Orchard, Hivemind breaks the soft kiss and pulls back about six inches, before slapping me in the face. Not hard enough to seriously hurt, but sudden enough to completely disorient me when she begins to kiss me again, teeth tugging at my lower lip to pry open my mouth. I feel completely out of it, a wholly unique experience to the heated pleasure and obedience brought out by Florasma's chemicals. This time I feel distant, as though floating high above the sky and squinting to look down into the dojo with faltering success. Soon enough, while I still feel conscious, I am most certainly elsewhere. In the dojo, my eyes are completely glazed and my jaw slack, Hivemind planting more numbing kisses across my jaw without my knowing. 

Slowly, I piece together what is happening here. This third test must have taken place every other day too, meaning I've shared more kisses with women than I have men. The violation feels wrong, but then I remember that I trust Hivemind. After all, this is necessary for my resistance training, drugged lipstick is an age old technique used in the golden age of superheroes and Murmur could be a remnant or successor of such lineage. As I desperately try to figure out what I can do to pass this test while my body is completely lost to me, I remember what Hivemind had instilled on my only moments prior: My Orchard is an extension of my mind, so I can use it while fully immobilised. With my senses robbed I would normally be unable to locate my attacker to bind them with my roots, but fortunately I can bet on Hivemind still being directly in front of me. 

Without any sort of feedback I plant my roots into the ground once more and move to coil them around Hivemind's ankle, attempting to subdue her with my ability and once again transfer the affliction. Almost immediately, I feel my senses returning, slowly acclimating to the room around me once more as the roots expel the toxins from my body and flood the Orchard. The first thing I do is wipe my mouth like a child having just been kissed by their clingy aunt, the second is to pull back my roots. As expected, Hivemind looks completely lost in trance like I was. Surprising even myself, I feel some amusement picturing the drones scattered around the city suddenly becoming blank and unresponsive... I really hope Hivemind does not control any surgeons, drivers, or pilots. I have to imagine they have prepared for this outcome accordingly, at least I hope. 

I stare at the woman in front of me for a moment, the low cut top that exposes more cleavage than I could dream of showing. The image of the woman in the shower flashes in my mind for a second, before I remember the strangeness of the subliminal blockers once again. I know I should trust Hivemind... I know that everything she tells me is the truth... but I have to ask her again, while she's like this. 

"Hivemind... um, why do you want me to keep th-" I feel a sudden headrush half way through my sentence, almost too dizzy to stay on my feet while every part of me starts to feel impossibly light. So light, that my arm begins to float up and my eyes drift up to join it. So too, does my mind...

"Halcyon Days." I hear my own voice, followed by a loud... 

Snap!

Nova sighs, inspecting two women who stand with sagged shoulders and lidded eyes, neither one noticing her arrival. I think one of them is me, or I would, if I were permitted to think. "I had to leave Rosary by herself to come clean up your mess, Hive... what do you have to say for yourself?" 

Hivemind's jaw sluggishly begins to move, but she is interrupted before she can make more than an incoherent whine. "Ah, ah. Go ahead and kneel, I'm more likely to buy that you're remorseful if you embrace the part, now aren't I?" Nova sounds stressed and impatient, tapping her foot while she commands her peer. 

Without hesitation, the drugged Hivemind kneels, while mindless drones across the city cause confusion by following suit. "That's better, now isolate this drone and tell me what happened. You told me you would handle this autonomously, so why am I here responding to an emergency trigger? I can't remember the last time we had a failsafe kick in for one of our heroes, this one isn't even in the agency yet." Another annoyed sigh. "Well go on then, explain yourself."

Hivemind explains the situation, even in her mindlessness she attempts to explain why this is a positive development, that they are strengthening me to all forms of control besides their own. That Murmur will be unable to affect me.

"I see, I suppose that's fair enough. Minor hiccup aside, it seems this little project is progressing nicely. After tomorrow, our pride and Joy will be famous." Nova smirks, her golden eyes falling upon me. "Come and kneel beside your mentor, Joy." She snaps and I obey, seeing nothing but distant dreams of gold. "After tomorrow you'll be another big name for our agency, of course you'll still be an intern to start. You're going to do as you're told tomorrow, aren't you? We won't tolerate any deviations from the plan okay honey?" Nova pats my head as I kneel down beside Hivemind, a line of drool falling from my chin to the front of my form fitting costume. 

"Yes... Goddesss..." I say in a breathy tone, answering both questions without thinking. I simply need to conform to her gold standard and be a good hero.

"Good girl, Joy. Hero work is tiring work, isn't it?"

I nod, before remembering my place and repeating "Yes Goddess..." vacantly.

Nova's eyes glow a bright gold as she looks down into mine, which widen as far as they can to receive as much of her glow as possible. My pupils dilate, every single part of me feeling heavy as gold.

"So tiring... would you like to come home with me tonight, Joy?" 

"Yes Goddess..."

"Would you like to sleep with me tonight, Joy?" 

"...Yes Goddesss..."

"Would you like... to have sex with me tonight, Joy?"

"...I-I... G-goddess I..."

Nova chuckles, petting my head again and caressing my cheek. "You're still young, you have a lot to learn. But you passed the final test, so good luck tomorrow. Since you're so worn out, why don't you just be a good girl and head home for tonight? Such a busy hero, you can take one night off before the big day can't you?" 

"Y-yes Goddess, thank you!"

The city's number one hero laughs again, her finger hooking under the collar of my costume and tugging the fabric from my sweaty skin just a little. "Oh and this tacky thing will have to go after we deal with Murmur, it's cheap and the apple design is so childish. Besides, I'm a goddess. The silver branch of the Nova Hero Agency only grows golden apples." She releases my collar and ruffles my hair, before starting the count up to consciousness. 

I awaken feeling refreshed, but tired. I'll probably take the night off, for the first time in months. Hivemind almost seems reluctant to let me go, but goes over the briefing for tomorrow one last time before rushing off in a huff about some girl called Gemma needing to be 'seen to'. 

The way home, which had always been uneventful up until recently, is promptly interrupted by yet another unwelcome guest as I enter the usual alley. This route is starting to feel cursed, but this time is worse than ever. Vigilante hero Firefly, who often strays into Orchard's areas by complete coincidence, has a shoplifter pinned up against the nearby wall. I quickly turn to go another way, with Laura and her acquaintance between me and the dorm, but she has a knack for sniffing me out and notices my brightly coloured costume before I can sneak away. 

"Orchard, hey! Wanna help me beat the snot out of this dipshit? I think he has a gold tooth can you believe that?" 

Thunk!

"Oh whoops, well he had a gold tooth!" Firefly has what you could describe as the exact opposite approach to crimefighting to my own methods, even though I know my best friend lies beneath the self-made mask I can't help but fear her at night, she's violent and unpredictable. Again, my opposite. They say opposites attract, she'd certainly like that, but the feelings are unrequited. I still remember the uncomfortable brunch we had where she shared exactly what she wants to do with Orchard, not realising that I'm sat right there. In any case, not a conversation to have while eating... or ever, some things are best left unsaid!

"H-hey there, Firefly. I uh, I'm actually just heading off sooo..." I'm already backing up towards the neighbouring alleyway, hoping to avoid any further awkwardness. 

"Huh? Where to?" The blonde vigilante drops her victim and leaves them in the wind, heading over to me with mounting interest. Her eyes drink in the sight of me, my skin flush, hair in a mess, several discolorations over the front of the fabric from that collapsed line of drool and then between my legs from... well, those subliminals did their job against me. "Woah uh... Orchard..."

Nervously, I begin to fidget, hoping she has the decorum not to say it.

"Your suit is giving you really bad cameltoe, I can practically make out your entire vulva." 

"Y-y-you're such a pervert!" I turn my body 90 degrees to hide it, her stare feeling like hands running all over my body. 

"No seriously, you look like you just got fingerbanged in the back of class, are you good?" Firefly scratches her head, she doesn't look much better herself in that vest with detached sleeves stretching up her arms, rosy shoulders and rough fingers the only things not covered in black. 

"Oh my god, do you not know when to just stop teasing?" I begin to lose my patience, trying not to act too familiar with her lest she sus out my identity. 

"Heheh... sorry, I'm just a bit nervous, y'know? You're so uptight usually, so looking like that is uh... well, was she good?" 

I stop in my tracks, both figuratively and literally. "She? What do you mean?"

Firefly quirks a brow. "Oh, well I just assumed, cuz of the lipstick? I mean, not saying that men can't-"

"Th-this is a misunderstanding! Please just forget you saw me, please okay? I'll owe you one, yeah? Be in your debt massively, just until I can explain at least... pretty please?" I thought I had wiped the lipstick off but it must have smeared, no wonder I look like such a slut. 

"Jeez, fine. I can't deny that I'm curious though, so I'll hold ya to that! Damn, Orchard in my debt... heheh..." I manage to placate the vigilante known as Firefly, though I may just have made things with her even more complicated later down the line. For now though, I simply wait for her to leave and then circle around the backstreets before deeming it safe to head back to the dorm. 

Back in my room, I feel even more tired than when I had left the dojo. Predictably, my roommate is out clubbing with her friends so I can wind down in peace and hopefully sleep through her inevitable early morning homecoming. I peel my costume off and throw it into the wash, the company that designs these hero costumes makes them appear as normal clothes when turned inside out. Laura lives alone, so her various costumes are no doubt slung across her floor once she gets home and left there till morning, knowing her. 

I feel sticky and hot, having struggled to even get out of my outfit for a solid five or so minutes. As tired as I am, I think I need to take a shower before bed or my roommate will make the same misinterpretation Laura had upon seeing me in my sheets. Better to wash up and avoid any more complication, I'd say. 

My mind replays the events of the day as I step into the small shower and close the sliding glass door, trying not to dwell on any one detail for too long to avoid overthinking this entire affair. I wonder what exactly I have gotten myself into, yet I feel nothing but excitement for tomorrow's mission. The bait has been set, Murmur is sure to appear on cue, when she does I'll be in the vault waiting. 

Cool jets of water spray from the showerhead and collapse against my heated skin. It feels so nice to simmer down and clean myself up, after a week of non stop work... hero work is tiring. Oh, I just remembered that I still have my subliminal blockers in. I quickly take them out, not knowing if they are even waterproof, setting them down on the side table next to the sink and returning to the soothing waters of the shower. A few minutes in, I start to feel uncomfortable again. I begin to remember more of the day's events again, that questionable claim about lingering subliminals... then the shower video. 

The woman in the shower, pleasuring herself for the camera. I feel strangely hot, squirming under the steady stream and remembering what the subliminals were meant to do to me, to my mind. Make me lust over some woman touching herself, I was so turned off by the idea earlier, but now I can't help but get worked up playing back the video in my mind. What the hell is wrong with me?

A hand, my hand, makes it's way up my torso, over that puppy fat I never quite lost and to my waiting breast. I push my thighs together, water streaking down my back and causing me to push out my rear to catch those teasing droplets in their descent. Water rolls over my shameful outer lips, while I grope my chest like the woman from the video. I want her, I don't understand why but I do. I keep thinking about her, about how I'm just like her in this moment, touching myself with growing need as the showerhead above me cleanses all the shame the moment it surfaces. 

I slip the other hand between my legs without thinking, squeezing my thighs around it in a desperate attempt to stop myself but it only makes it more determined. My body is possessed, working to undo my heterosexuality drop by drop as I imagine my body pressing against hers while we wash our delicate areas. A snowball effect seems to occur, wherein the longer I stand in this perfectly average shower the more depraved and horny I become, pressing my palms against the glass and sticking my ass out towards the jets of water. My cheek presses up into the glass too, as I feel her fingers gingerly pilot mine and travel down teasingly to my hungry lesbian cunt...

Just before they can reach their goal and undo me entirely, my phone rings. Turning the shower off, I quickly race towards the much needed distraction and answer without even checking the caller ID.

"Hello Joy, I wanted to check in on you. This is Hivemind, sorry my voice is unfamiliar I don't believe this drone and you have met. Is this a good time?"

I huff, my cheeks burning red and my other hand still glued between my thighs inches away from my sex. For some reason, hearing a woman's voice through the phone is only making me hotter and hotter, that soft feminine tone of hers feeling like a tongue plunging into my ear through the phone screen. I don't even remember giving out the number for my personal phone, but I can hardly care at this instance. "H-hi I uh, mmh oh god I'm sorry I just uh-"

"Calm down, what's wrong? Tell me, Joy, you can trust me remember?" 

That's right, I can trust her with everything, I think...

"I-I think I failed test two, I um, I tried to take a shower and got those... those effects..."

"Which effects would that be, Joy?" Hivemind's calm tone only makes my confusion and arousal grow, I raise my hand to bite my finger but it soon returns to my labia. 

"You know... the ones from... you know the ones!"

"That's new. It's not an issue, because were you to have delayed effects during the mission Murmur would surely be apprehended already."

"I-I suppose that makes sense, a-ahh..."

"You just started touching yourself, didn't you?" Does she sound amused, or am I imagining things?

"I... I can't help iiit."

"Go back into the shower and sit down, we don't want to make a mess."

"Huh? Wh-what?"

"You heard me Joy, just do it, trust me."

"Oh-okay... I trust you."

My legs are trembling, but I manage to step back into the shower and slide the glass door closed, the walls have all steamed up from the previous shower. I plant my self down onto the wet shower floor and lean my back against the wall, spreading my legs impulsively.

"Play with yourself. You need to get it out of your system, so just do what feels good, whatever comes naturally."

It's hard to convince myself this is appropriate, but I'm too aroused to argue, rubbing my lips with unpractised fingers while keeping the phone glued to my ear for instruction. A picture of the shower lady flashes in my mind again, of her spread ass and pussy, taking up my vision like a permanent afterimage which I use to fuel my shameless masturbation. I lift my hips up and tweak my clit experimentally, trying to find out what feels best while I moan like a whore into the receiver. 

"It fffeels ssoo gooodd..." I mumble, barely coherent through gasps and whimpers I can't seem to hold down.

"Oh? What are you thinking about?" Hivemind's voice continues to kiss and suckle at my ear, driving me further into my lusty haze. 

"The... the womann, y-yoour voicee!" 

"You're getting off to a woman and a woman's voice, then?" 

"Ghh... no, I... yes!"

"Good girl, Joy, it pays to be honest."

"Hhnnnk..." Why does it feel so good to be called that, the simple praise that has me riding out my first orgasm, that tightening feeling focused between my legs, hips rocking on autopilot and skin burning with desire. I climax around my fingers a second time only a couple minutes later, when Hivemind tells me what a lesbian slut I am.

Everything Hivemind tells me is the truth.

Bang! Bang!

"Joy, c'mon and get your butt out of the bathroom already, you've been in there all morning and I'm dying for a piss!" 

I wake up to banging and yelling from my lovely roommate, my eyes flickering open slowly with the room returning even slower. When I finally come to, I find myself slumped against the shower wall with my cheek pressed into the glass side panel, legs splayed out over the wet floor and my fingers deftly tucked into my still wet slit. 

"Oh shit." Jumping up, I send the phone that was resting against my tilted head flying and find it crashing onto the floormat face up. Wait, why was my camera app open? 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"I can hear you in there, what are you doing?" My roommate is as impatient as I am panicked, I grab my towel and quickly wrap up, opening the door to face her. 

"Hi sorry, I'm going out today so I took a long shower!" I try my best to sound convincing, looking desperate for her to buy my half-true story. 

"Yeah sure, whatever just let me in, Christ." My roommate pushes past me and locks the door. The only sounds from within are the toilet lid being lifted and her weight dropping down onto it. There's an awkward silence, before I hear her exclaim though the door. "Some shower, Joy, it reeks in here. You reek." She doesn't need to elaborate what she means by that, it's a fairly unmistakable scent. Even I can't remember how far I took it after the first couple of orgasms... how far I took it? Why did I have my phone with me again?

Oh Joy.