Shackles: Bad End

Radiance rose to her feet, and Trinity's heart pounded. This was it; their last chance. The two of them were in Eleanor Quinn's penthouse apartment, which was real bad news, because not only was Quinn secretly The Peregrine, the infamous superhero, she was also a stone-cold bitch using mind control devices and her vast wealth to covertly bring the whole of Future City under her thumb.

More immediately, she was also dead set on subjugating Radiance and Trinity. Quinn had been controlling Radiance for a long time, and since Trinity had rejected her creepy proposition to become twisted kink partner co-rulers, she'd been brainwashing Trinity too. When Trinity closed her eyes, the blaring lights and 'OBEY' mantra Quinn's brainwashing device had inflicted on her came rushing back, sending a distinct chill down her spine.

But now they had an opportunity. Quinn was distracted and her back was turned, and Trinity had a plan. If Radiance used her mind-controlling shackle on Trinity and ordered her to subdue Quinn then maybe - just maybe - Quinn's gadgets and tricks wouldn't be able to force Trinity into submission.

It was a slim chance. But perhaps the best and last one they were going to get.

"Trinity, I'm giving you an order," Radiance said, in a voice that was quiet but firm, and infinitely reassuring. "Obey me: subdue Eleanor Quinn using your power. No matter what. No matter what she tells you to do, or how much it hurts."

Trinity smiled. Radiance's shackle around her wrist felt warm and comforting. "You got it."

She was more than happy to let Radiance's mind control pull her upwards as she stood. The compulsion slipped over her mind like a familiar glove. It was with her every step of the way as she walked over to where Quinn was standing.

"Huh?" Quinn turned as she sensed Trinity approaching. "What is this? Stop. Go sit back down."

Trinity kept coming. A thrill raced down her spine as she realized she could disobey the billionaire. It was her command against Radiance's, and Radiance's was winning. She reached out toward Quinn and summoned her power, ready to impose her will on the villainous hero.

She was prepared for Quinn to come at her and try to fight her off. She was prepared for Quinn to run. She was even prepared for the intense pain that was sure to come as soon as she laid hands on Quinn. What she wasn't prepared for, though, was for the rich CEO to calmly stand her ground and look into Trinity's eyes.

"Trinity," she said, in a slow, even, quiet voice. "Obey."

At first, Trinity just scoffed. Was that the best she could do? But as the moments wore on, that word started rippling across the surface of her mind. Before Trinity knew what was happening, it was the only thought left in her head. She kept staggering forwards but looked at Quinn, confused.

"Obey?" she questioned.

Quinn nodded, smiling smugly. "Obey."

"O... obey," Trinity echoed. Quinn only said it once - at least, Trinity thought so - but she kept hearing it over and over, in a deep, powerful voice, like it was the pronouncement of a goddess.

Just like it had sounded when she was wearing Quinn's brainwashing visor.

OBEY

OBEY

OBEY

Trinity was moving slower and slower. Only Radiance's ironclad command, still tugging at her limbs like a puppeteer's strings, kept her going. But even moving was hard, when there was just one, simple, overriding impulse burning like the sun inside her head.

OBEY

OBEY

OBEY

"Obey," Trinity murmured. She sounded more and more sure. It felt natural to speak it; the word, the impulse, was so great, she couldn't contain it inside her.

"Obey," Quinn agreed imperiously. Hearing it from her lips plunged Trinity into an even deeper feedback loop.

"Obey," she drooled. "Obey. Obey. Obey."

She was so close to Quinn now. Inches away. But 'obey' was all that was left of her. It beat inside her mind like thunder.

OBEY

OBEY

OBEY

Her fingertips were crackling with shimmer, but it wasn't enough. Radiance's command wasn't enough. Trinity couldn't impose her will on Quinn when she had no will left to give. All she wanted was to obey.

With her hands suspended just barely above Quinn's body, Trinity came to a halt. Inside and out, she was still. She was obedient. She was hypnotized.

"There we are." Quinn sighed, relieved, and continued in a hushed voice. "You really are a pesky little thing, you know that? One trick after another. It's fun! I feel like... like a cat, letting a mouse run just so I can have the pleasure of catching it again."

Trinity said nothing. What was there to say? She'd lost. Again.

"Fortunately, my little gifts can't be beaten so easily," Quinn continued. "But even so, I can't let this little cat-and-mouse go on forever. End of the line, Trinity."

Perhaps Trinity's heart would have sunk, if she hadn't been utterly lost to trance.

Quinn glanced past Trinity. Radiance was standing across the penthouse, out of earshot of a quiet conversation. She was still in a daze from the barrage of hypnotic triggers Quinn had been using on her, and from the intense blast of shimmer Trinity had used to free her from Quinn's control. Radiance couldn't see the blank, hypnotized expression on Trinity's face. All she could see was Trinity seemingly touching the CEO, with purple sparks crackling between her fingers.

Quinn didn't let herself smile, but a wicked glint shone from her eyes, visible only to the hypnotized Trinity.

"OK, cute thing," Quinn said quietly. "I think I know exactly how to crush that feisty spirit of yours. Listen, and do exactly what I say. Exactly. To the spirit, to the letter, all of it. Understand?"

Trinity just nodded. What could she do but obey? It was over.

"You're going to pretend you won," Quinn purred. "I'm going to pretend to be hypnotized. And you're going to go back over there to your new beau, make her take her silly chain off of you, lull her into a nice, peaceful sense of security - and then make her mine."

A little of Trinity's fire returned, stoked by the horror of what Quinn was proposing. She couldn't betray Radiance like that. She couldn't. Not after everything they'd been through. Trinity did her best to shake her head as she struggled to make her tongue work.

"Oh yes," Quinn pressed, brimming with sadistic glee at Trinity's futile defiance. "I could bring her to heel in a single word. But that's no fun! You're going to do it. I think that's the perfect way to teach both of you the new pecking order.

"N... nngh..." Trinity had to try to call out. Radiance was right there. She needed to warn her.

"She gets to lose to the one person she finally trusts." Quinn's voice, though quiet, was full of malice and pleasure. She plainly loved watching Trinity squirm for her like a worm on a hook. "And you get to watch yourself make her fall. You're my darling little mind controller puppet. God, I love the sound of that."

"I... n-no... nggkhh," Trinity gurgled. She needed to make Radiance hear her, but it was so hard. Her tongue felt like it was made of lead, and her thoughts were mired in the thick ooze of Quinn's mind control.

"Remember, Trinity," Quinn whispered sharply. "Obey."

That was all it took to make Trinity still and placid again. Trinity sagged, and her weak protests died away into a simple gasp of awe at the depth of her own sudden submission. When Quinn said the word 'obey', it was like a line of dominoes all falling over in Trinity's head, one by one, as each of her thoughts was subsumed by that one, simple, overriding imperative.

"Obey," Trinity echoed dully.

OBEY

"Very good," Quinn said. "Hypnotize Radiance for me. Make it nice and gentle. Nice and sweet. The kind of trap she won't be able to help falling into until it's too late. That's how I want her to lose."

This time, Trinity didn't fight it. She just nodded. She had to obey.

"And of course, you won't let her know anything is wrong," Quinn added. "You'll act perfectly normally and naturally. That part of you - the normal, everyday part of you - is mine. Just like all the rest. Mine to play with. Mine to use. That goes for all your wits and smarts too. Show me how clever you can be, little puppet."

OBEY

Quinn took a moment to stare deep into Trinity's eyes, inspecting her soul for any sign of resistance or subversion. She found none. The fight had gone out of the supervillain. She was Quinn's creature now. The billionaire nodded.

"Good girl. Now, go."

With a slight air of theatricality, Quinn threw herself to her knees. She went almost completely limp, slumped over to one side with her head lolling from her shoulders. It was all a little too melodramatically perfect to be real, but Trinity was the only one close enough to tell, and her head was still throbbing with the power of Quinn's hypnotic trigger. She hurried back over to Radiance's side.

"Trinity?" Radiance said blearily. "It's... over? You did it?"

Inside, Trinity felt perfectly blank, but Quinn's instructions made her plaster a comforting smile on her face and reply in a warm voice: "I did it. It's over."

"And you didn't get shocked?" Radiance asked. "I thought..."

Trinity couldn't tell if Radiance was suspicious or just concerned, but regardless she quickly moved to reassure her. "No. I guess it was out of juice or something. Who knows how that thing works?"

"Yeah." Radiance nodded, relieved. Trinity could tell the superhero was still shaking off the effects of Quinn's hypnosis. She was slow. She wasn't as sharp as she should have been.

Trinity knew she could exploit that, and win. Whether she wanted to or not. Faking being her usual self was effortless. As easy as slipping a mask over her face.

Radiance stumbled over to the nearest couch and collapsed down onto it in a heap. "It's over," she murmured. "Thank god."

Trinity sank down next to her, and sitting made her aware of just how weary her limbs were. Gently, she put an arm across Radiance's broad, muscular shoulders. There was nothing artificial about her desire to comfort Radiance, but Quinn's mind control demanded more from her.

"We can rest," Trinity affirmed. "But first, uh... how about you let me off this thing, at last?"

She jangled Radiance's golden, glowing, mind-controlling chain pointedly. Merely asking added another twist to the knot in her stomach. Trinity hoped against hope that Radiance would refuse.

"Oh!" Radiance seemed embarrassed to have forgotten. "Yes. Yes, of course. Here, let me..."

With a simple gesture, she dispelled the chain. It faded into thin air within moments. That was step one. Trinity glanced over at Quinn, as the billionaire's hypno-conditioning rewarded her with a throbbing burst of pleasure. The mere sight of her new mistress's face reminded her of her only purpose.

OBEY

OBEY

OBEY

"So," Radiance began after a few long moments. "What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Trinity asked. She kept her hand rested on Radiance's back, and started stroking very, very lightly.

"With her." Radiance gestured at Quinn. "With us. With this whole situation. Do we bring her to the cops? That's what I'd normally do, but it seems like Quinn has the entire force in her back pocket. I'm not sure what else there is."

"Maybe you don't need to worry about it," Trinity suggested.

"Huh?" Radiance glanced up at her. "Of course I do, Trinity. We need to deal with this."

"But not right now." Trinity carefully modulated her voice, making it as soothing and soft as she could. "We can afford to wait a little bit."

"I suppose." Radiance sounded unconvinced.

"I hit Quinn real hard with my shimmer," Trinity lied. "She'll be like that for hours. Helpless and harmless. There aren't any fires to put out, Violet. We have time."

"Right." Radiance sighed with relief, and a little tension drained out of her strong body. "Right. We have some time."

"Time to relax," Trinity added. She started moving her hand in slow circles across Radiance's skin.

Radiance laughed ruefully. "What a concept." All the same, she was settling comfortably into her seat.

"You deserve it," Trinity told her gently but firmly. She couldn't help but draw on all her experience as a mind controller. Quinn's commands were still burning in her brain. "Hell, you need it. You live your life carrying the whole world on your shoulders. No one can go on like that forever."

"I guess you're right." Radiance sighed again. "Maybe this isn't the worst time to reevaluate things."

"Exactly," Trinity said. "But there's time for that later too. Reevaluating is too much thinking. Right now, you should just try not to think."

"Mmn," Radiance murmured. She was relaxing little by little, inch by inch, giving herself to Trinity's gentle touch.

Trinity could already sense her impending victory. No; Quinn's impending victory. Radiance had absolutely no defenses against this. She suspected nothing. Deep down, part of Trinity was screaming, revolted by what was happening, but that part was utterly smothered by hypnotic obedience. Every time she tried to hold back, every time she even thought about warning Radiance, she felt that trigger closing around her neck and tugging like a leash.

OBEY

"See?" Trinity soothed. She pressed down harder against Radiance's back. "Isn't that better? Eleanor Quinn might be an evil puppet mistress, but she sure has some comfortable couches. We should take our time to enjoy them properly. Sink into these nice, comfy seats."

"Mmmnm," Radiance agreed. She turned to look at Trinity, and her eyelids were already drooping heavily. "You're... a massage?"

"That's right," Trinity replied. "Are you enjoying it? I figured it would help you relax. Even an invincible superhero gets some aches and pains, I bet."

"God yes," Radiance moaned. "You have... ah... no idea. Mmf, yeah, right there."

As she spoke, Trinity was leaning into the massage, moving her hands across Radiance's strong back and tense shoulders and putting pressure on different spots. Once Radiance gave her the word, she focused her attention on the knot of tension between the hero's shoulder blades, pressing and rolling it out like it was a ball of dough. That seemed to work wonders on the sinking hero.

"Wow," Radiance breathed. "I had no idea you could be so sweet, Shimmer. I could get used to this kind of treatment."

"Any time you ask," Trinity assured her. "I'm at your service - for a nominal fee, depending on the mood I'm in."

It was so easy to be relaxed and disarming when all she was thinking about was obeying.

"Sounds like a good deal to me." Radiance moaned when Trinity pressed down particularly hard on a tense muscle.

"Anything to help you relax," Trinity soothed. "You just need to stop thinking."

"Stop... thinking..." Radiance's eyes were fully closed now. "That... does sound nice."

"Of course it does." Trinity's voice was sweet and gentle. "I'll help you. Just focus on my hands, Violet. Easy to stop thinking when you're focusing on my hands. Maybe you can imagine them massaging the thoughts right out of your head."

"Yeah?" Radiance opened one sleepy eye and glanced up at Trinity. "Where'd that idea come from, I wonder?"

Trinity let out a little laugh. She could tell Radiance was amused, not suspicious. "I guess I have a vested interest in people not thinking, huh?"

"Uh-huh." Radiance's eye closed once more. "Good thing you're on my side."

Trinity paused. But only for a moment.

OBEY

"That's right," Trinity agreed, once Quinn's hypnotic command forced her back into motion. "Now relax, and sink. Relax for my hands. Sink into the couch for me. So soft, so safe. You're completely safe now."

"Mmmmmhmmm," Radiance murmured. She was sounding sleepier by the moment. Exhaustion had taken its toll, and the hero was eager to fall into the blissful relaxation Trinity offered.

"The couch feels like it's getting softer and softer by the second, doesn't it?" Trinity continued. "The more you relax, the softer it gets. The softer it gets, the deeper you sink. You're almost falling asleep, and that's OK. Just keep sinking."

"Y-yeah," Radiance moaned. Trinity's were working magic on her.

"Just keep sinking," Trinity repeated. "Sink. Sink into obedience."

"H-huh?"

Radiance sounded confused, but not alarmed. Not yet. She twitched a little, perhaps trying to rouse herself, but that feeble effort was easily soothed away by Trinity's hands.

"Sink," Trinity insisted. "Sink, and obey. Sink, and obey. Obey."

OBEY

It felt so good to let that word slip out of her mouth again. It was such a relief. The impulse to obey was so powerful, holding it back was an effort.

"O... o-obey?" Radiance sounded desperately lost and confused as she repeated that word back. "What... what..."

"Shh," Trinity soothed. "Just obey."

"O... ob..." Radiance's face twitched into a frown. "That's not... no... Trinity... w-what are you..."

Trinity frowned too. Radiance's strength always ran deeper than she expected. The hero was managing to wake herself up. Trinity's first instinct was to use her power, but that could backfire. Her shimmer wasn't instant, and it might help shock Radiance back to awareness.

Unless she did something that blew right through Radiance's defenses.

"S-something isn't right." Radiance still sounded sleepy and perched on the edge of a hypnotic abyss, but she was fighting it now, struggling to lean forwards, away from Trinity. "Why did I let... Quinn... should have... or..."

"Shh," Trinity soothed again. It broke her heart to do this to Radiance, but her craving for obedience could not be denied. "Here. Just pay attention."

As Radiance turned to face her, Trinity bent down and kissed the superhero on her lips.

Immediately, Radiance's eyes went wide. She was immediately more awake, but the blush in her cheeks betrayed her mixed feelings at what was happening. Perhaps involuntarily, Trinity felt her lips part as the hero kissed Trinity back.

That moment of internal conflict was all Trinity needed. She put her hands on the sides of Radiance's face, and fed a trickle of her power into her.

It was just a trickle, nothing more. Radiance barely felt it. But as the purple shimmer made its way to Radiance's eyes and sank into her mind, Trinity felt Radiance slump against her as it robbed her of all her remaining strength. Guided by Trinity's shimmer, Radiance had slipped into a trance.

She didn't stop kissing though. She kissed Trinity back sleepily and messily, as if by automatic reflex. Trinity saw no reason to pull away. The warm pleasure of the kiss would help Radiance to slip deeper under hypnosis, and Trinity was enjoying it too. Besides, she had already accomplished her purpose.

OBEY

Trinity let herself slump against Radiance as she leaned deeper into the kiss, exploring Radiance's mouth with her tongue and feeling the way the hero's lips pressed weakly against hers. They were both hypnotized, even if Trinity hadn't looked like it. Something about that thought excited her. Two hypnotized puppets making out for Quinn's pleasure.

Just like they had been before. Just like they would be forever.

The increasingly familiar reward-feeling that accompanied Quinn's mind control was fanning the flames of Trinity's pleasure, and lulling her deeper into trance herself. Before she knew it, she was panting hotly into Radiance's mouth, struggling to summon the will to pull away and breathe. Need filled her, and Radiance was the same way, clinging to Trinity for dear life - for support, for satisfaction, Trinity wasn't sure. The two of them were the same, and their drool mixed together as it slipped out of the corners of their mouths and trailed down their bodies.

With her victory assured, Eleanor Quinn rose to her feet and started to applaud.

"Bravo, Trinity!" she cried. "Well done. Very well done. I knew you could do it, of course, but that? Oh, that was masterful!"