The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Spellbinders Saga

By Arthur N. Owen

Volume IV: The Wilson War, Chapter 3: Battle of the Bulge-in-Pants

David, Kelly, John and Steven Wilson got out of David’s car. They were soon ed by Dan. Holly and Tori Stone, Rebecca and Eric Smith, James Marks and Scott Pendergast. All three cars were parked six blocks away from Griffith Park. That was as close as they could get, between the abandoned vehicles and police barricades surrounding the park. LAPD, Sherriff’s Officers and California National Guard were everywhere, and their vehicles made an additional layer of barricades, though it was unable to be determined whether that was intentional. Also difficult to discern was whether they were supposed to keep civilians out of the park, or Malcolm Masterson/Knees Wilson and his sky-clad squadrons in.

Surrounding the barricades were what appeared to be every reporter, photographer and correspondent, staff and all, in the entire city. Understandably, the sudden impulse of tens of thousands of Los Angeles women, and hundreds of thousands of women elsewhere, to strip off all their clothes and assemble was the only story worth caring about today. Some of them had covered assemblage and assault by the naked masses in other parts of the city, particularly within the studios, as more than half of all female celebrities in the vicinity had fallen to this affliction. They had been spread out last night and early this morning, but by now it was clear that whatever was going to happen next would happen here, one way or another.

There was enough of a media presence between the group and the actual barricade to block their way. Since none of the group besides David and Kelly had any real idea of what was happening, David had told them to keep quiet, despite being asked so many simultaneous questions they couldn’t understand most of them anyway. The first comprehendible reporter asked. “Do you know what has caused the women of the city, or dare I say, the world, to act in this way?“

“Yes I do.” answered David.

“Are you going to tell us?” asked another one.

“Not right now.”

“But the public has a right to know!” demanded a third.

Kelly took over the conversation. “My husband has a possible way to end this crisis. He will explain it after, should he succeed. If he fails, he’ll probably be dead. There is a time crunch, so there will be no more questions!“

A few more reporters started to ask, but John interrupted them. “Which is more important, viewing this spectacle and all the innocent women who are being exploited and unable to speak, or ending it?” That did it, and most of the reporters let them .

There looked to be a confrontation with the seven remaining journalists, but Tori got in front of David and said. “Let me handle this.” She turned to the group, all male (for obvious reasons) and said “I’ll give an exclusive to you.” and winked.

One reporter stepped forward, but was grabbed at the shoulder by another. “She was talking to me!“

Then another said. “No, it was me!” and pushed the second one’s chest. He was slapped in the face, and...

Before long, all of them were beating the crap out of each other. This went on for several minutes, and they remained oblivious to the fact that the object of their conflict (and her companions) had ed them by in that time. “That was amazing!” said Steven.

“It was no trouble at all.” said Tori with a grin.

“It’s not as miraculous when you’ve seen her do that whenever she goes into a bar.” said Rebecca.

“And it also was little effort, every single one of those 174 times.“

Kelly added. “That was what just a wink could do. She told me that one time she blew a kiss, and the next thing you knew there were twenty injuries, fifteen arrests and over 10 grand in property damage!“

“Don’t forget that four couples broke up.” chimed in Holly.

“Damn!” said James and Scott.

“To be fair, it was Superbowl night with the Forty-Niners playing.” said Tori. “Tempers and tabs were running extra high. It was still my personal best!”

Dan groaned. “I know. I know. Tori’s a modern-day Helen of Troy. The face that launched a thousand bar fights.”

“I just said it was only 174!”

“Because you’ve only been legal for five years.“

David interrupted. “As fascinating as this conversation is, I doubt the cops and National Guard really care.”

James added. “Liam’s birthday is next week. Eleanor’s family is flying in. If she’s not back to normal by then, they’ll probably kill me and take the baby!”

“At least your baby is safe right now.” snapped Scott. “Mine is inside a woman who not only doesn’t know she’s pregnant, but can’t care either!“

Steven silenced them both. “You’re acting like there aren’t thousands of other husbands, boyfriends, brothers, fathers, children even, who aren’t just as concerned about their mindless, clothing-less loved ones.“

“Hard to argue with that one.” said Kelly. “And that doesn’t even include female family who didn’t make Malcolm’s cut!“

David found the LAPD sergeant who was in charge of the barricade’s nearest section. It wasn’t difficult, he was the LAPD officer who voiced the loudest objections to the National Guard’s presence. As the National Guardsmen had fewer ties to Los Angeles (and thus, the mesmerized women), they were less likely to show mercy. David didn’t know it at the time, but the sergeant’s immediate superior had been recalled back to the precinct after his wife was spotted in the horde, and a dozen other officers had been dismissed for similar reasons in the last few hours. David said. “We’re the Wilson party. Have you heard from the Mayor?”

“Heard, yes. Understood, no.” said the sergeant. “After we determined that there was no way to stop these women except permanently, we were told to contain them as long as possible. Nobody in or out of the park, until thirty minutes ago, when he mentioned you. So what the hell do you and your people expect to do?“

John answered. “Sir, you wouldn’t believe us if we told you. Honestly, I’m having a lot of trouble believing it, and my son spent half a day explaining!“

“That part I do believe.” said the sergeant. “The National Guard guys said that their sniper will be here in an hour. You have until then to do... whatever you can. LET THEM !” he shouted, and the blockages were moved to let the eight men and three women into the park. As his men moved back into position he whispered “Good luck.“

Meanwhile, back at David’s house, Eleanor read to Ron and Eliza, Peter and Benjy played video games on David’s PS6, Melissa was in the kitchen making a snack, and Penelope had gone upstairs to check on Caroline. She tapped the intercom. “Are you okay?” she asked. Since Caroline was restrained in the hardback chair, she couldn’t reach the intercom button on the desk, and thus Penelope couldn’t hear what she said. However, Penelope could read lips (a skill she had honed to eavesdrop on opposing counsel), and believed Caroline was saying “Free me so I can obey.” over and over again. She went back downstairs to talk to Melissa, where Eleanor couldn’t hear them. She didn’t realize that she’d dropped the key to the office right in front of its door.

“Where did I go wrong?” said Melissa, wondering aloud.

“You didn’t.” said Penelope. “David is a good person, and he’s trying to stop the exploitation of countless women.“

“Which he helped set up in the first place,“

“He had no idea that this would happen.”

“You know, it’s just dumb luck that you aren’t out there right now, devoid of all clothing and thought.“

“That has occurred to me, Melissa.” said Penelope with slight annoyance. “David might not have intended to spare me from... you-know-what, but he did.“

“My son has just as high an opinion of you as my husband.”

“I feel the same way about them.” Melissa cocked an eyebrow, and Penelope continued. “Yes, even now. David helped me get into Stanford, and he arranged for me to interview with his father as soon as I ed the bar. Whatever else he did to me, was worth it.“

“How do you know that’s actually you talking, and not what he put in your head?“

“Because he cut me off to spare my feelings and my job!”

“We both know that whatever consequences fell on you from John would have hit him as well. He was protecting himself just as much as you.“

“He could have thrown me under the bus, but he didn’t. He doesn’t want anyone to get hurt because of him, even if they deserve it.“

“That’s true. Before this morning, the worst thing he’d done was beat up his brother, and even then, Steven had almost caused him to fail a science lab.”

“Yes, Melanie’s Law. John told me.”

“I wonder if Ms. McAllister got picked up...”

“Is that Melanie McAllister?!” asked Steven as the first group of naked soldiers approached them. No girl had paid the group any heed before they officially entered the park, but now at least a hundred of them were advancing.

“Yes it is.” said David. “We always speculated about what she looked like naked, now we know.”

“Careful what you wish for.” said Kelly. “Is that Karen O’Malley?”

“No that’s Sharon.” said David. “Karen has more freckles.”

James shoved one girl out of the way. “I think I just pushed Eleanor’s freshman roommate.”

Scott mentioned. “Are those the waitresses from Knockers?”

“Yes, Malcolm owns the place.” answered David.

Dan groaned. “Why am I not surprised. I’m guessing you did sleep with all of them.“

“ALONGSIDE ME!” defended Kelly.

Holly asked. “Did this guy also own the spa where you had your bachelorette party?”

“Yes, why do you ask?” answered Kelly.

“That’s the masseuse who worked on me. And since I was naked for that...“

“I’ll explain later, but you should consider yourself lucky that’s all that happened to you at the spa that night.“

Rebecca asked. “Should I be happy I don’t know anyone around here?”

“He collects them everywhere, sis.” said Kelly. “He just does it in LA more often than the other places.“

“Any chance we’ll see naked celebrities in the park?” asked Steven.

“Pretty unlikely.” said David. “Most of them were contained in the studios, or by their own security forces.”

“The only celebrity here is Regina.” said Kelly. “And we already knew about her.”

All of the other of the party could only push them away, for fear of hurting someone innocent. Only Kelly could do any significant incapacitating, the random numbness from her nerve pinches served to hobble even when the person couldn’t be knocked out. “Tori, how many we got near us?” yelled David.

“Seventy-two, counting the ones that are approaching.”

“That will have to do. I AM DAVID WILSON, THE VOLUNTEER! EVERYONE BECOME DEAF AND BLIND FOR TWENTY MINUTES!” All of the women uttered a “Yes, Master” and then stopped fighting and began feeling around. “That will put them out of the fight.”

“Why only twenty minutes?” asked John.

“Because when we get Malcolm to undo this, they need to be able to hear him. Also, if they can’t hear commands again, they’ll be deaf forever and it’ll be my fault. As long as you don’t touch them, they won’t touch you. Let’s keep going.“

Scott muttered. “Do I even want to know why you’re called ‘The Volunteer’?”

“It’s a code-name.” answered Kelly. “Representing the fact that he’s the only one who ed of his own free will. Technically he’s just the first, but I apparently don’t count.”

They made it far enough into the park to see the stage before they were spotted by another battalion in the buff. Again they waited for a large group so David could hypnotically maim them. This happened a third time before they got to the stage. A dozen girls surrounded the stage, but they wouldn’t respond to David’s commands. However, they would not attack David, John or Kelly. There was also a single man there, who David recognized as Hogan.

Knees/Malcolm stood up from his makeshift throne, which, after he vacated it, was revealed to be made of four frozen women. “Not this time, boy.” he cackled. “I know what you’ve been doing. I took your keys away for these fillies, no loophole for you to exploit!”

“You know all about exploitation, Father.” snapped John. “You’ve spent decades exploiting Masterson’s name, his money, his body, to say nothing of all these poor women.“

“And I did it in my first life too, Johnny-boy! I just had this guy hone his skills and build up the dough for the first few years after that fool he called ‘father’ kicked the bucket. I only really took over his life after my ‘original’ one came to an end.“

“And where do I fit into this, Uncle Grandpa? As if I didn’t already suspect?“

“The old me kept an eye on you from the moment you were born. This one did since the day that one met you. I knew you had the instinct. Johnny-boy had too much of his mother in him, and the drunk one was always worthless, but you were the heir I could be proud of! If you’re wondering why I just didn’t make an heir out of this guy, he’s infertile. He could fuck every woman on the planet, and it’s not like he isn’t well on his way, and never knock up a single one.“

“So when you found out what I was doing at college...”

“If I could control this body that way, I would have jumped for joy! You were following in my footsteps without even realizing it! I just needed to give you incentives to stay on that path. Money, more skills, and the one thing I hadn’t expected, the sexiest dish I’d ever found, right across the hall! And I made sure you had to keep feasting on her. Turning you into everything Johnny-boy hated, just like he became to me, would have been the ultimate revenge.“

“But when Kelly and Paterno entered the picture...”

“I was going to help you with that pathetic professor of yours, he was too dangerous to leave around the school. But the butch little bitch changed everything! You were supposed to take down the rival because he was a rival, not to save some girl who is a seven at best. I can’t believe you picked her over Regina! And then you refused to enslave her!? I knew then you were soft like your father, but you were too good to throw away, and the bitch apparently was part of the package now.“

John was angry. “He was giving you all those girls to fuck against their will and you call him SOFT?!”

“It was just a job to him, Johnny-boy. I needed him to embrace it as a lifestyle. He wanted to help these sluts, rather than help himself to them. If he wouldn’t be my heir, he’d at least be my tool.“

“Just like everyone else, you bastard!” snapped David.

“Well, I can’t deny the body I’m in is a bastard. I made sure of that!” Malcolm/Knees then gestured to Hogan. “But if you think I’m bad now, just wait. Hogan’s Heroes Funeral!“

Hogan pulled a knife from his pocket. He said. “I see nothing.” and stabbed himself in the eyes, one at a time. He then said. “I hear nothing.” and stabbed himself in each ear.” Finally he said. “I know nothing.” stabbed himself in the forehead, and fell down dead.

John stared at Hogan’s twitching corpse with wide eyes of shock and anger. “What did he ever do to you?”

“Not a damn thing.” said Knees with Malcolm’s mouth. “But he hadn’t done anything for me since David graduated. I’m sure by now you’ve figured out why, present company excluded, you never met any of my other bastards. I had no use for them either!“

“Kelly is right.” said John. “The more I learn about you, the more reprehensible you become. And I know you better than anyone alive already!”

“While I can’t disagree with that point, you still had no clue who I really was until yesterday, Johnny-boy, so what does that say about you?“

“That you had more depravity in you than he could comprehend.” said Steven, who along with Tori had fought their way to the stage. “So much that it couldn’t fit in one lifetime, so you had to steal someone else’s and start over!”

“While we’re on the subject of starting over...” said Knees/Malcolm, “I suppose what you think of me is... biased.”

“I barely the real you, and I met Malcolm yesterday. Everything I know about both of you comes from Dad and David respectively. What’s your point?“

“My point is that this all started when you demanded a sex slave from your brother. I know the blonde cheerleader behind you is the one you truly wanted. I can see why you’re so taken with her. She doesn’t measure up to Regina, but she’s still a much better choice than the one your brother picked!“

“Wow.” said Tori, cringing. “That was the least I’ve ever liked a compliment. How old is he, anyway?“

Steven answered. “Fifty-nine on the outside, ninety-five on the inside. And the one he’s comparing you to is only four years older than you are.”

“And that just made it worse.“

Knees/Malcolm continued, ignoring what Tori had said. This was par for the course for both of him, as the two identities were known for not taking “no” for an answer. “Since your brother has proven to be as much of a disappointment as your father, I’m in the market for a new heir. me, and she’s all yours! I’m sure your brother locked you all down, but that just means it will take longer to break her, not that it can’t be done!”

Tori looked a bit afraid but Steven said. “I’m not going to lie. If I’d been offered her two weeks ago, I would have accepted in a heartbeat. But now I’ve actually experienced what a woman you’ve ‘prepared’ is like. And it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I told Tori that she was my perfect woman. That means I don’t want her any way other than how she is already, even if it means I don’t get her! Sorry, Grandpa, hard .” While everything Steven had said was sincere, David had warned him that Knees wasn’t actually willing to honor such a deal (as unlike David, Steven had nothing to offer that Knees couldn’t hypnotically force out of him), so he had no reason to agree to one. However, Tori appreciated the entire defiant speech and probably would have kissed Steven in acknowledgment if she wasn’t afraid of distracting him.

“I guess I’ll just have to make one of you my new host, and start again withAAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AHHHHH­HHHHH­HHHHH­HHHHH­HHHHH­HHHHH­HH!!!!!​!!!!!​!!!!!​!!!!!​!!!!!​!!!!!​!!!!!​” During the argument between the of the Wilson family, Kelly had grabbed Hogan’s knife and snuck onto the stage. As David had predicted, Knees was so focused on Tori and his “failed” progeny that her movements went unnoticed. She was crouched directly below Malcolm/Knees, waiting for him to say a word with a “th” sound, which caused him to stick out his tongue. At that moment, she kicked him square in the chin, causing him to bite his tongue. David had gambled on Knees wanting to feel sensation in Malcolm’s body as he fucked women with it, which meant he could feel pain along with pleasure.

“GO!” shouted David. Dan tackled Jacob and Rebecca (who had also snuck onto the stage after removing all of her clothes from the waist down and donning the strap-on) ran and tackled Regina. Despite Regina being four years younger, two inches taller, and in considerably better shape than Rebecca, Eric had his arm outstretched right behind Regina, which caused her to trip over it and be knocked onto her back with his wife on top.

Having never used a strap-on before, Rebecca had difficulty inserting into Regina, and Eric had to help hold the redhead down while she worked. The moment the dildo had connected, Eric said “Beck Your Hips!” and Rebecca orgasmed onto Regina, cumming harder than she’d done since before the birth of her second child. Which Regina reciprocated. Which the strap-on caused Rebecca to reciprocate. Which Regina reciprocated. Which the strap-on caused Rebecca to reciprocate. Which Regina reciprocated. Which the strap-on caused Rebecca to reciprocate. Which... would continue ad infinitum for the rest of the battle.

By now, the first group of mindless girls that David had incapacitated had regained their senses, in that David’s command to deafen and blind them had timed out. However, they were still very much under Knees’ control, and rushed to aid their master. However, David noticed that Knees had dropped the bullhorn he was holding. He ran onto the stage, picked it up and said. “EVERYONE BECOME DEAF AND BLIND FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES!” The reinforcements now flailed around fighting each other, buying time. David wasn’t sure how many more times he could use that trick, and the longer the plan went on, the fewer people would be capable of holding back the horde.

Kelly was climbing all over Malcolm’s body as he tried to catch her. The out-of-shape hypnotist, who was still getting used to controlling the body again, could not keep up. She managed to cut off the buttons and get to the top of his back, then used the knife to slice his jacket in two before Knees was able to land a blow with Malcolm’s arm, causing her to drop the knife. Kelly landed a nerve pinch on Malcom’s neck. While Malcolm was in a trance (because Knees was still in control), and thus could not be rendered unconscious, his left arm was rendered numb and went limp. Kelly was able to slide half of the coat off of Malcolm/Knees before he regained use of the arm, and threw it to her father-in-law.

John began fishing through the coat (section)’s pockets. David had told him to ignore everything except the remote and the pocket watch. He threw away a diamond pendant, an eye patch with a ruby, an emerald necklace, three rings that he couldn’t determine the type of stone in, and a golden crucifix which David later explained, was a souvenir from a vampire movie. “Where does he get all this stuff?” John asked as he tossed out a spiral-design medallion. “There’s more jewelry in this coat than I’ve given your mother through our entire marriage, and this is just half the garment!“

“The Mastersons made their money in jewelry sales.” explained David.

John had removed so many objects from the coat that David questioned whether it had a hammerspace before finally finding the remote. It had a dial and three buttons, labeled F, S, and C. David deduced that F meant “Flash”, S meant “Strobe” and C meant “Constant”. “Hit The Lights!” he said. Kelly pushed Malcolm’s body towards Steven and Tori, who got out their mirrors. Malcolm had trained himself not to instinctively close his eyes when the flashes activated, because it would do him no good anyway. Thus, when Kelly positioned him to look at the mirrors, David pressed the F button after turning the dial to maximum. The flash and its reflections would leave him blind for several minutes.

Knees angrily tried to scream “KILL THEM!", but he only got out “KILL THAAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AA!!!!!​!!!!!​!!” as Kelly forced him to bite his tongue again, so David could incapacitate the next group of girls. By this point, some of the policemen at the barricades had realized that the blind and deaf girls could not gang up on officers, so they began capturing a few and restraining them in cars. This barely made a dent in the naked army, even if they had been able to summon every paddy wagon in LA County.

Back at David’s house, Benjy had tired of playing video games. “I wanna play a board game instead.” he told his uncle.

“I’m not good at video games so that sounds good.” said Eleanor.

“Whatever.” said Peter. “I need to pee, then I’ll find something.” He tossed Benjy the remote and left.

Unfortunately, Benjy pressed the wrong button on the remote control, switching the TV to regular broadcast instead of simply turning it off. It was still on a 24-hour news channel, and since the mindless naked women was still the top story in the Los Angeles market (and pretty high over the rest of the country as well) that was what was being discussed. Of course, Benjy had not been told that it was a bad idea to let Eleanor learn about the state of affairs...

“Our top story continues to be the hordes of naked women, and while there is some progress against who is believed to be the mastermind of this crisis in downtown Los Angeles, there is no guarantee that anything will change. In a related story, the street outside former Vice President Mike Pence’s home was inundated with the naked women as they gathered in the nearby Carmel town square. Mr. Pence’s wife was trapped downtown last night, and since Pence cannot stand to be around other women without Mrs. Pence, he is likely terrified. I would wager to say that this is the most frightened the former Vice President has been since the terrible events of January 6, 2021. Pence was seen going to his knees and praying through the window of his house, a position I would guess many have taken as of late.

“Go... to... knees...” said Eleanor blankly. “Go... to... knees... go... to... knees...” She began to unbutton her blouse as she made her way upstairs.

When Peter came out of the bathroom he saw that the TV was on and noted Eleanor’s blouse on the staircase. “SHIT!” he said. He ran into the kitchen where Melissa and Penelope were feeding Ron and Eliza. “Melissa, you know that thing that my mom said not to let Eleanor see?“

“Yes.” said Melissa.

“She saw it. She’s going upstairs while taking off her clothes.”

Penelope reached into her pocket and realized she didn’t have the office key. “Uh-oh.” she said.

“Go... to... knees... go... to... knees...” Eleanor was now down to her bra and panties and had reached the office. She unlocked the office door and found the restrained Caroline. While the chair was impossible to escape for anyone restrained by it, it was easy to unlock for someone not in it.

Fortunately, Benjy had wandered into the kitchen, seeing that the people he was going to play with had seemingly abandoned him. Peter pulled Eliza out of her high chair while Melissa picked up Ron from his booster seat, with Benjy between them walking. As they ed the staircase, Caroline and Eleanor started to come downstairs, naked, in a display as terrifying as it was sexy. Penelope stayed at the bottom of the stairs. “YOU SHALL NOT !” she said with a smirk.

“I hope she’s right!” said Peter as the group left the house and piled into Scott’s car. David believed that the mindless horde might target his mother and his daughter, so Melissa had been told to go away from the population centers, which meant inland. Melissa did not want to risk distracting her husband and sons, so she would not call to inform them that the house had been compromised, or even to ask how they were doing.

Back in Griffith Park, the battle had gone in a loop: Malcolm/Knees tries to give an order, Kelly forces him to bite his tongue, then makes him look at Tori and Steven. David turns on the lenses to reflect in their mirrors, and the guy flails around with Kelly on his back until his eyes and tongue can function again. The mindless, garmentless hordes still outnumbered them drastically, but without orders they were unable to bring their numbers to bear, and the battle remained a stalemate. David said. “Kelly, you’ve got to get the other half of the coat to Dad! If he’s permanently blinded or silenced, he can’t free them!”

“I’m pretty sure he can’t bite his own tongue off, and if he could, that’s a bigger problem than just not being able to talk!” said Kelly. She had given Malcolm’s body about twenty nerve pinches by now. However, each one numbed random parts of the body, and the effects were not cumulative. Until she got to the right arm, she was stuck. The only other one-on-one fight, between Dan and Jacob, was going Dan’s way. Despite Jacob being seven years younger than his opponent and unable to feel pain, he had no combat experience whatsoever while Dan had been in the National Guard.

Finally, Kelly caused the numbness in his right arm from the elbow down. That was enough for her to jump off of him and use her weight to pull the coat section off the rest of the way. She managed to get it to John, but then Knees kicked her in the stomach, putting her out for a minute. Fortunately, he was looking at Tori at that moment, so David was able to use the flash to blind him while John searched through the coat.

John pulled out three necklaces, four rings, five bracelets, seven jeweled pendants and a coin on a string before asking. “Does he really need ALL of these?” This added to the pile from the other half of the coat.

“Honestly, I didn’t know he had that many.” answered David. John pulled out a hypno-coin identical to the one David had been given the day they met. “Unless he gives them out to primary assets as starting capital, this is way too much. He could open a jewelry store with that much swag.“

“Can I keep one?” asked Eric. “I’m pretty sure I’ll need to bribe Rebecca if I ever want sex again.”

John pulled out the watch. “Please tell me this is it.”

“I doubt he’d need two, so yes.” John tossed him the watch then threw the rest of the coat onto the rest of its contents.

While John was occupied and Kelly was floored, Knees had taken the lenses out of Malcom’s eyes, and his tongue had stopped throbbing. “I can see and speak again, so there’s nothing stopping me now. All I have to do is wait for the mass of maidens to overwhelm you!” Just then, a group were able to hear again, so he shouted. “THRONE GIRLS AWAKEN! EVERYONE STOP FOLLOWING DAVID WILSON’S ORDERS!” He attempted to give more commands, but he gagged-Kelly had gotten up and was attempting to strangle him with the “Fuck-King” sash, the only thing he was still wearing since the crown had long since been knocked off his head. But the damage had been done. Knees had given the order just as David’s command to the next batch wore off, and coupled with the reinforcements from the stage, he would soon have the defenders on the ground surrounded. Even with Steven and Tori aiding them, time was running out. Knees pulled on the sash, forcing Kelly to let go. He threw it off, only to realize that Kelly hadn’t tried to get another grip-just as his son/half-brother barreled into him at full speed!

Melissa couldn’t the last time she had driven this fast, especially not with her granddaughter and three other minors in the car. But David had told her to put as much distance between them and Los Angeles County as she could, so she was driving down Route 91 a solid ten miles over the speed limit. Eliza had started crying the moment they got in the car, but Benjy had managed to calm her down. Then Peter began panicking as twenty naked women nearly stopped the car just before they got on the highway. Melissa hadn’t heard any reports about what was happening in New York, but she hoped that her brother and his family (which had welcomed his first grandchild in December) were doing alright. Melissa was so on edge that she would probably mistake the route number for the speed limit if she saw any more naked flesh.

“THAT WAS FOR MOTHER!” John roared. He had successfully floored his father possessing his long-lost brother’s body and proceeded to press all his weight on him, keeping him in place. Kelly ed in, wrapping her powerful legs around his arms and forcing his head upright with one hand, the other holding the bullhorn. David walked over, holding the pocket watch. It had been decades since Malcolm or Knees had seen it in any hands but those of the body they shared.

“Now you’re the vulnerable one, Uncle Grandpa.” said David. “Not fun, is it?“

“Not in the least, I concede,” said Knees’ voice with Malcom’s mouth. “But it won’t last long. There’s nothing you can do now to impede my army, and it’s only a matter of time before yours is overrun! Then we’ll see who’s vulnerable!”

“They will leave your service before that can happen.”

“The fuck they will! You can’t free them even if you could still command them. You kill me, you kill all their minds, I made sure of that! The only way to save them is to get me to release them by my own command and there’s not a damn thing you or anyone else can do to make that happen!“

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” said David as he held the end of the chain with one hand and dropped the pocket watch with the other. And just like it always did, it swung back and forth. reflecting gold shine and colored sparkles as it did so.

Back on the ground, the six remaining defenders held the horde back as long as they could. James pointed out. “This reminds me of ‘Avengers Infinity War’. Avengers fighting the endless horde, Guardians fighting the big bad by himself.”

“Didn’t they lose in Infinity War?” asked Steven. James was silent, not wanting to think about that parallel. If he couldn’t get Eleanor back, ceasing to exist wouldn’t seem so bad.

David continued the induction. “You told me so many times that this is your favorite hypnotic focus. It’s also your best. Every woman you used it on succumbed, didn’t they?”

“I got them... all...”

“No one has successfully resisted, right?”

“Yessss...”

“Then it must be able to hypnotize anyone, right?“

“It... can... hypnotize... anyone...” David had seen and performed enough inductions to tell when someone was faking, but this was a special case. Because Malcolm was already in trance, his eyes would show the signs of it whether the induction was working or not. However, Malcom’s struggles against John and Kelly had become less violent. It was now or never.

“The watch is hypnotizing you.”

“The... watch... is... hypnotizing... me...”

“You are hypnotized by the watch.”

“I... am... noooooo...” Knees was still fighting.

“You are hypnotized by the watch.”

“I... am... hypnotized... by... the... watch...”

“You must obey me.”

“I... must... o-obey... y-you...”

“You will repeat what I say.”

“I... will... repeat... what... you... say...”

David had written out a script to safely free all of the girls, but the programmed Knees was putting up more of a fight than anticipated. Kelly was moving the bullhorn into position, but Knees was still struggling. If he read out the longer, more detailed script, they would be overrun or Knees would shake off the hypnosis before they were finished. He had to risk a more blunt command. “All programming will be purged from every thrall when I snap my fingers.”

Knees repeated the commands into the bullhorn. “All... programming... will... be... purged... from... every... thrall... w-when... I... s-snap... my... fingers...”

“Now snap your fingers.”

Kelly moved the bullhorn next to Malcolm’s hand. Knees slowly moved his hand into a snapping position. As he did so, it felt like time had slowed down. Finally he snapped into the bullhorn.

The snap echoed through the park as every thrall fell down where they stood. It echoed across the city, the state, the country, the world. just as it had the previous night. David sighed and collapsed. It was finally over. Wasn’t it?

TO BE CONTINUED...