The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Spellbinders Saga

By Arthur N. Owen

Volume IV: The Wilson War, Chapter 4: The Damage Done

David Wilson looked around at the now-silent battlefield that was Griffith Park. A thousand naked women lay unconscious surrounding the stage and his friends, family and in-laws. He figured that even if the sniper had been called off, it wouldn’t be long before the authorities realized that it was safe to go and gather the unconscious horde. “Is everyone okay?”

“Not really.” said Eric. “Dan has a black eye, your uncle might need a doctor too, and I think Rebecca dislocated her hip.”

“NO THINK ABOUT IT, IT’S DEFINITELY OUT OF THE SOCKET!” screamed Rebecca. “NOW GET ME OUT OF HER!” While she and Regina had stopped orgasming, the pain and injury prevented her from getting up.

Holly said. “Okay, I’ll drive Rebecca and Dan to the hospital.” Eric pulled Rebecca out of Regina, and removed the strap-on. He didn’t bother to try to put her pants back on because of the injury. Regina hadn’t moved, even when Eric had to grab her legs for leverage. Unlike the others, her eyes were still open and her mouth was still smiling. John and James picked up Jacob, the only one that they left with that didn’t come with them. As he was the only combatant from Knees’ side who still had clothes on, he would have been out of place anyway.

Jacob came to before they left the park. “This is the worst hangover I’ve ever had, and I didn’t even get to drink!”

“What do you ?” asked John.

“Being hypnotized by the guy David knew, dres in this, following the unclothed masses to the park, that guy mocking me sounding like Father and forcing me to debase myself, getting beaten up by David’s father-in-law. Did I miss anything?“

“No.”

“Do I need to apologize for something I said or did?” Jacob frequently said this when he woke up hungover.

“You weren’t in your right mind.”

“How is that different than all the other times I’ve been in this situation?“

“It wasn’t your fault that you weren’t in your right mind.“

“Can I ask what the hell happened to all these sleeping beauties on the ground?”

“Basically, the same thing as you, but more so. David will explain everything when we get back to his place.” While Eric, Rebecca, Dan and Holly drove to the hospital in John’s car, the others left the park and ed what was left of the barricade.

Now that the danger had ed, Tori had no reason to hold back her charms. Smiling, she said “Steven, that was very brave, standing up to Knees and saying how much you liked me as I was.” She leaned over and put her arm around him.

“Honestly, I was terrified.” said Steven with a blush. “You never saw what Regina was like outside of a war zone. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, let alone family. And he declared his intent to do it to you right then and there!“

Kelly interrupted them. “Sis, Steven didn’t do anything. You’re acting like he saved you from an evil mind controller the way David did with me. Yes, there was an evil mind controller, and I’ll concede that this guy was a million times worse than Paterno, but all Steven did was compliment you and reject an offer Knees had no intention of honoring in the first place! Everything else he did was no more valorous than your own contribution.“

“And Steven meant every word he said. I’ve been complimented so many times I can tell sincere statements from flattery by scent, so trust me on this, sis.” Tori began to hold him a little closer.

Kelly groaned. “What did David do to you?!”

“Nothing. You put me under, not him, ?“

“Can I weigh in?” asked Steven.

Kelly pointed at his hard-on. “Your opinion is already well known.”

“We’ve been surrounded by gorgeous naked women for the last hour. Every guy in the vicinity has a boner. Even Uncle Jacob, and he slept through everything!” Kelly had seen enough cops and reporters (who had been there much longer) to know that Steven was giving an accurate assessment. Ultimately one cop would nickname these events the “Battle of the Bulge-in-Pants” (though the official name was the Battle of Griffith Park), which would stick for years to come.

“You only have eyes for Tori, Steven. You’ve said it like ten times in the last four hours!”

Tori leaned over and kissed Steven’s cheek, making him redder than ever. Kelly was also starting to redden, for a different reason. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Tori couldn’t tell how much of the kiss was her growing attraction to Steven and how much was just to piss her sister off.

David interrupted them. “We have Uncle Jacob in our car now, so Steven is riding with Tori, James and Scott.”

As Steven and Tori exchanged a knowing look and a big smile, Kelly roared. “MAKE SURE THEY’RE IN SEPARATE ROWS!”

It was a solid twenty minutes after The Snap (as it would later be called) that Melissa was called to say the worst was over and she could bring the children home. By then she had been driving for over half an hour, and was forty miles east of Los Angeles. Of course, by the time she made it back to David’s neighborhood, the aftermath had just begun. Former thralls were coming to everywhere around the city (and beyond). First they ed that they were naked and (for the most part) in a strange area. Then they ed what they had been doing for the last 24 hours. Then they ed what they had been made to forget for months and possibly years. Then it depended on the specific person but there was a lot of screaming, crying and/or threats of legal action.

The other two cars soon returned to David’s house, to find the three women on the floor. Caroline and Eleanor were just coming around, and Penelope was simply looking after them. The injuries to Eleanor, Caroline and Penelope were minor, but the first two were more concerned with their nudity and the traumatic memories they just got. In Eleanor and Caroline’s cases, the memories were less traumatic than most, because of how well David and Kelly had treated them. Still, they had to be held tightly by their husbands to sit still long enough to get David’s side of the story and profuse apologies from him and Kelly. Upon learning about the pregnancy, Caroline said that there were no hard feelings, as they had kept her safe.

Eleanor said to David and Kelly. “I forgive you.”

“Just like that?” asked David.

“I what happened, and that I expressed gratitude of my own free will and David otherwise left me alone. You helped me get together with James, and you saved me from the guy who was truly responsible for... that. And you know I don’t hold grudges against people, I just cut them out if they won’t make amends. And I feel like you have done that.“

James said “If Eleanor accepts your apology, I do too.“

Tori and Steven had been conspiratorially flirting since the moment they got back. Constantly smiling at each other, arms around each other’s shoulders, and the occasional cheek kiss. When they attempted to sneak upstairs, Kelly spotted them and said. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

Steven said. “I honestly can’t believe it either, but here we are.”

Tori explained “The day I got back from Vegas, and dumping Joe, was March 24, the day before the start of the ing busy season. Daddy always insists on me putting romance on the back burner during those three weeks. Because I was single, that meant no dating at all until after April 15. Immediately after Tax Day, we came here for Eliza’s birthday. I was sharing a hotel room with Peter, Holly and Dad, so it’s not like I could have brought a local boy back. The day we were supposed to fly home, that happened. So it’s been a solid month since I’ve been with anyone, and Steven is the only option before I get back to San Fran.“

“You do realize that you just itted to him that he’ll be a rebound romp.”

“Not necessarily. It’ll be at least another week before we can fly home, between the state of emergency and what happened to Rebecca. When I commit, I remain loyal so long as he does.”

Kelly looked at Steven. “Do you have anything to add?”

“Honestly, my brain’s been almost completely on autopilot since she said she was willing to fuck me. Wrapping my head around that concept is taking all the blood that hasn’t migrated south.”

Tori smirked. “If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that one, I’d be able to buy a birthday present for James and Eleanor’s kid. His birthday is soon, right?”

“Thursday.” said Kelly. “But that’s really beside the point.”

“Bottom line, sis, we won, and to the Victor go the spoils!”

Kelly groaned again. “She makes that joke every time she wins something. I know your name literally means ‘she who wins’ but it’s gotten really old. And anyway, I think you might be the spoils this time.“

“I don’t mind. I like being fought over.” With that, Tori spun around and kissed Steven. But this time, she went for his lips instead of his cheek. Steven was so surprised he forgot to close his eyes for the first thirty seconds, and pinched himself twice. Tori had her tongue in his mouth immediately, and neither of them came up for air for four minutes.

Kelly rolled her eyes. “The city went to hell, and all she cares about is her ego and her libido.”

David said. “The worst is over, now comes the rebuilding. Be happy for them.” Tori and Steven were walking up the stairs, still making out. Kelly glared at him, slightly annoyed at his nonchalance for the situation. David said. “What do you expect me to do, tell them to get a room? That’s exactly what they’re doing!“

Kelly narrowed her eyes. “Less than a week ago, Steven was demanding Tori as a sex slave.”

“You know that I would have never given him anyone as a permanent slave, let alone your sister. And I bet that deep down, he knew that too.“

“True, but now he’s about to get what he wants above anything else under heaven, which is pretty much what he was begging us for!”

“There is a MASSIVE difference between what he was asking us for and what he’s about to get. And since Tori knows that he asked for her as a sex slave, and is willing to sleep with him anyway, what does that say about her?” Kelly had no response, so the matter was dropped.

Tori didn’t break off the kiss until they were alone in the guest bedroom. It took the bright red-faced Steven another thirty seconds after she did to respond. “That was the most incredible kiss I ever had. No one ever came close!”

“I know.” said Tori and pointed at Steven’s crotch. He had come prematurely from the makeout alone. “I feel like I should have expected that, and while flattering, it’s a bit annoying.”

“It happened the first time too, and I barely count it as a first time.” said Steven as he undressed.

“You fucked a supermodel and you don’t want to count it?”

“Regina was practically a sex toy. Even David itted that. It wasn’t her fault, but it was barely above masturbation.” Steven pinched himself.

“Why do you keep pinching yourself?”

“I was arguing with a master hypnotist less than two hours ago, who offered me you. And this is so close to my fantasies that I’m not entirely sure it isn’t one.“

“Let me guess, the only difference is that you pictured me wearing a cheerleading outfit?” Steven hastily nodded. “No can do, but I can improvise.” Tori undid her ponytail and bun, then used the rubber bands to put her long blonde hair into pigtails. One sexy smile later and Steven was back to full hardness without even being touched again. “Now, where were we?”

“Three quarters of the way to Heaven!” said a now naked Steven as Tori pulled off her T-shirt. Unfortunately, the sight of her breasts, even still in their bra, caused him to ejaculate again. They fit a cheerleader perfectly; beautiful, perky and impossible to ignore. “This is a little annoying to me too, honestly.”

Tori sighed and pulled off her skirt (her shoes had been left at the front door). She put her long leg next to Steven on the bed and he was hard again. She undid her bra, and he came. She took off her panties and he was hard again. She touched his chest, and he came. “Four premature ejaculations!? That has to be a record.”

“Regina only caused two, and one was in the middle of a blowjob.”

“Don’t worry.” said Tori. “I guarantee you won’t Regina’s name by the time we’re done.” She did a flip onto the bed and gave Steven another mind-melting kiss. Clearly kissing ability ran in the Stone family.

Steven was hard again. “Now I’m more concerned about not being able to see you because my glasses will fog up!”

“Then get it inside me while you still can!” Steven moved on top of her with a speed he didn’t think himself capable of, but of course, he’d never been more motivated to do anything before that moment. Unfortunately, he came for the fifth time after only two thrusts, and Tori couldn’t help but be disappointed. “I didn’t think it was possible for a guy to be too hot for me, so long as bodily harm wasn’t on the table.” she said with a pout.

“There’s been a lot of impossible things happening the last few days. I thought it was impossible that my brother would cheat on his wife after everything Dad told us, that he was having all those hypnotic adventures, that he could keep his hypnotic adventures a secret for almost a decade, that Kelly was okay with everything, that he could summon a supermodel to his home for me to sleep with, and all of that was before you got brought up to speed.” Steven then finished with. “But in my opinion, the least possible thing of all is where we are and what we’re doing right now!“

“No wonder you keep pinching yourself.” said Tori. “But don’t sell yourself short. You actually have impressed me, and I am... rooting for you.” Tori suddenly realized the reason at the core of Steven’s fetish for cheerleaders. As an unathletic geek, it was extremely unlikely that a cheerleader would ever be cheering for him, making them seem even more unattainable than the typical hot high school girl. Tori might not be able to dress like a cheerleader today, but she could still give him his fantasy. She smiled, and put her hands out as if they were holding pom-poms. “S-T-E-V-E-N! Get hard and fuck me again! S-T-E-V-E-N! Get hard and fuck me again! S-T-E-V-E-N! Get hard and fuck me again!” None of her exes had requested anything cheerleader related, so this wasn’t something she’d done since getting her BA, but it was like riding a bike.

It worked perfectly. Steven was hard before the repetition, and was able to keep himself from cumming for half-a-dozen thrusts, enough to get Tori wet. Suddenly her beautiful blue eyes went very wide...

When Melissa brought the children back to David and Kelly’s house, everyone else was already there except the four who had gone to the hospital.

Peter noticed the absence of two people. “Where’s Steven?”

“And where’s Aunt Tori?” asked Benjy.

Suddenly a scream came from upstairs, followed by a second one. Kelly sighed and said. “We’ll tell you when you’re older.”

Scott then volunteered to take Peter, Benjy and Ron to see their parents at the hospital, as he was concerned about his pregnant wife and wanted to take her as well. At this point, the only member of Kelly’s family still in the house was Tori. “I really hope they’re enjoying themselves.” said Kelly sarcastically.

Steven and Tori had decided that they were done enjoying themselves (and one another) for now, as they relaxed against each other. “That was the best experience of my life. Regina who?” said Steven with a grin.

Tori said. “It’s definitely up there for me. I didn’t expect you to be that skilled.”

“That makes two of us.” Steven pinched himself yet again.

“Still not convinced this is really happening?” said Tori with faked exasperation. She continued to be flattered by Steven’s assumption that she was too good to be true.

“Like I said, you’re one cheerleading outfit short of my wildest dreams.”

“I’ll have to that for next time.”

Steven pinched himself again. “NEXT TIME?!”

“I’m yours so long as I’m stuck in LA, so count on a next time.” Tori gave him another kiss, which probably would have gotten him hard again if she hadn’t worn him out so much.

“Cheerleading outfit or no cheerleading outfit, I cannot imagine this being topped.”

“Just so you know, what most people see as highly unlikely, I see as a challenge.” Tori winked and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“I look forward to your attempts to prove me wrong.”

“I’m sure you do.” Steven stared at the woman of his dreams, lying next to him naked after they had fucked. If he could spend the rest of eternity in one moment, he’d pick this one.

It was another twenty minutes before the two of them came downstairs. Both were fully dressed, but still quite disheveled. Steven said. “You have to know what was going on upstairs.“

Melissa said. “Good for you.”

Kelly had gotten a call from Holly at the hospital. Dan had a black eye, but was otherwise fine and ready to be discharged. Caroline and her carried child were also in good health. Rebecca, however, was not so fortunate. She was still in considerable pain even after her hip had been realigned, and would have extreme difficulty walking for weeks, if not months, in addition to being prescribed painkillers. James volunteered to put Rebecca and her family up for a few days. Not only did his house have plenty of extra space for a family of four, but his parents had paid for the place to be wheelchair accessible for when Julie visited. The remaining of Kelly’s family could not all be housed at David’s parents’ place, now that Jacob was back. Tori would have to stay at David and Kelly’s, and Steven immediately gave up his room to Peter so he could share with Tori. Kelly objected to this arrangement, but when Tori okayed it, she ended up outvoted. She did force one caveat. “If you wake up Eliza, one of you is sleeping on the couch indefinitely!”

To Steven’s delight, Kelly’s family, among others, would be stuck in Los Angeles for the next week. While the airport nominally reopened two days later, most of the flight attendants had been Malcolm’s thralls, and it took some time before enough of them were mentally cleared to return to work. Many other industries with large numbers of female employees would report similar staffing issues in the greater Los Angeles area for the next month or so, to the point where their unions had to file suit to prevent mass layoffs. Other cities would have less severe problems of that nature as well.

The industry most affected by the Snap and its causes was the entertainment industry. Production on nearly every scripted television show and movie ground to a halt for months, a work slowdown not seen since the concurrent SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes of 2023. Many concert tours were cancelled, and would-be venues lost billions as the female stars took mental health sabbaticals en masse. Of course, the people losing money had no recourse, as they couldn’t exactly blame the talent who were themselves victims.

A second problem afflicting Hollywood was footage of the naked hordes. None of the women had given permission to be recorded, nor could they have. Representatives of the celebrities (who were still in fragile states) were outraged, and sued on their clients’ behalf. Some wanted the footage destroyed, others wanted it confiscated to be repurposed. All were fought in the name of free speech. After hundreds of lawsuits were filed on the subject, the President ordered that any uncensored footage from that day was equivalent to child pornography, and thus was illegal to display or reproduce. The matter made it to the California Supreme Court, who ruled that since the subjects could not have given permission, the President’s interpretation was correct.

Once the threat had been defused, local, state and even federal officials wanted to know how this had happened, and who was responsible. Malcolm Masterson, unconscious and naked in Griffith Park and the only male in that state, was immediately identified, and arrested as soon as he came to. By the next morning, a search warrant was approved for his mansion. While Knees had ordered five hundred thralls to surround the manor (though they had encountered no opposition), all of them had left by the time the SWAT team arrived to serve the warrant. A few officers ended up in light trances from the security system, even with the power cut. They found the house almost deserted. Only Lulu Rhodes was in the mansion for law enforcement to find-Natalie Macavoy had vanished. Lulu was catatonic and unresponsive, and had to be brought to a hospital where she was later revealed to be the presumed dead Louise Streeter.

Every enthralled girl was traumatized, by what they had done, and the fact that they just ed it now. The more programming in the victim, the more therapy and rest it would take to overcome that trauma. Most of the thralls that David and Kelly had produced were back to (relative) normal by the beginning of summer. The other thralls took between three and six months. Secondary assets (which included nearly all celebrities) were out of commission from six months to a year. Some (including Livvie Domingo, to Tori’s chagrin) would remain out of the limelight for much longer. Most of the primary assets, by contrast, would end up institutionalized and would be unable to re society for years to come.

Since the Master-Pieces board had also been enthralled by Malcolm, the Snap freed them as well (although none of them had marched naked through the streets, not that anyone wanted that to happen). They immediately disavowed their boss, and since his assets were already frozen, he had no way to afford a lawyer. To Malcolm’s astonishment, John Wilson agreed to represent him pro bono.

Malcolm, remorseful about how he had been manipulated for his entire life, was as cooperative with the District Attorney’s office as he could be, identifying every thrall, listing everything he owned, and spelling out everything he had done for the last forty years which led to the fateful events.

John was able to negotiate a plea deal. Malcolm confessed to enough crimes to be worth a sentence of life with no chance of parole. By the time this had happened, his culpability was known to the entire country and a class-action lawsuit was about to be filed. Said lawsuit would have set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of plaintiffs. Malcolm and John preempted the lawsuit with a settlement that involved everything he owned being liquidated to pay out a sum of nearly $30 billion to the million former thralls and assets. Because he settled before the suit could be filed, no law firm got involved (besides Wilson and Spaulding) and the entire payment went to the plaintiffs. There were only two caveats to Malcolm’s confession. The first was the official dissolution of Malcolm Masterson’s estate, meaning that his presumptive heir (David Wilson) could not be held liable for any further penalties. The second, was a chance to apologize to Regina Abernathy. The latter would prove to be very difficult.

Every other thrall or primary asset had at least woken up within 24 hours of the Snap. There were two exceptions: Lulu Rhodes/Louise Streeter, and Regina Abernathy. Both remained catatonic, and it was discovered that the removal of all their programming had caused brain damage. Nothing, not even a recording of Malcolm’s voice commanding them to awaken, would cause any change in status.

“Forty years.” said Kelly after reading Malcolm’s deposition, which was over fifty pages long without redactions. “Your grandpa had him spend forty fucking years building that network, and it didn’t even take forty hours for him to reveal it to the world and us to destroy it all.” The four of them were having breakfast. Eliza was with her grandparents that morning. Rebecca was finally well enough to fly home, so they were planning on leaving the next day for San Francisco.

“And you’re sure it was all just a revenge scheme against Dad?” asked Steven. “Even though at the time Malcolm started, Dad hadn’t even met Mom?” After getting to fuck the woman of his dreams every day for a week, Steven would not stop smiling except to eat or talk.

“Malcolm had Knees in his head all that time. Even if the programming is gone, he still re everything they did.” answered David. The previous day had been Liam’s first birthday party. Eleanor was actually glad that the crisis had prevented her family from coming. While they had been made aware of the events in Los Angeles, David’s name had not been made public yet, and since Eleanor had been hidden away for the entire ordeal, she was able to deny that she was a victim.

“That’s a level of pettiness that even Donald Trump wouldn’t stoop to.” said Tori. “And possibly a level of depravity that would be too much for him as well.”

Kelly added. “Almost half of all female specialists in LA county were his and are out of commission. He had at least one of everything, from neurologist to podiatrist. I only lost my OB-GYN, but there must be a lot of poor patients who will have to find new doctors.

Steven said. “I can’t believe how far his reach went. Every page of my calendar was his victim. And if you take out all the images of girls that were in his power from the last five Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions, you’d have less then forty photography pages left between them!“

Tori said. “He also had his claws in seven of the top ten women’s tennis players in the US. And so many WNBA players are out of commission that they’re considering postponing or even cancelling the season. Oh, and Kelly, if Livvie Domingo retires from the entertainment industry, I will NEVER forgive you!“

Kelly said. “You do realize that Livvie now re everything David and I did with her. Even if she does go back to work, our family is probably blacklisted.“

“AND THAT MAKES IT WORSE!”

Steven said “I still can’t believe you and Kelly fucked all those women. I want copious details.”

Kelly looked at Tori. “You heard him say this stuff and you kept on fucking him?”

Tori said. “I’m just as curious as he is.”

David interjected. “As far as Steven is concerned, since his interests haven’t changed since he hit puberty, this is the most interesting thing that ever happened to a member of our family, and I can’t say he’s wrong. Therefore, his curiosity is understandable. But why do you want to know so badly?“

Tori answered. “Principle, mostly. Kelly and I are supposed to tell each other everything, and she kept almost all of this from me for almost nine years!“

Kelly said. “You know that if I told you, I would have had to enthrall you.”

“If I could get nuclear level orgasms out of the deal, it would have been worth it!”

Kelly groaned. “I love you sis, but the only time I can get away from you is when you’re fucking Steven! At least you’ll be back up north by tomorrow night and I won’t have to deal with you again until the Fourth of July.”

“That’s not necessarily the case, Kelly.” said Steven. “We’re official now, and she’ll be back in a month.”

Kelly looked at her sister, at once angry at the development and silently pleading that she would contradict him. With a slight blush, Tori said. “Yes, we’re going to be a long-distance couple. It’s easier for me to come here because Daddy is my boss and I make more money than he does.”

Kelly was dumbstruck, but David said. “Good for you! Mazel Tov!”

Kelly glared at her husband. “How many times have you said that long distance relationships are unlikely to last?”

Tori countered. “You’re really going to try to use statistics against me, sis? The distance is only four hours by land, and it’s not like I’m unlikely to come to Los Angeles often. You and Eliza live here.“

“I can almost understand wanting to use him for a rebound, but I can’t believe you want to actually date him!“

“Should I be insulted by that?” asked Steven.

“Should I?” asked David.

Kelly realized that it did seem insulting, so she clarified. “I’m not saying that Steven isn’t good boyfriend material. I’m just saying that he isn’t Tori’s type.”

“Look at my track record with guys who are my type.” said Tori. “Joe constantly belittled my intelligence. Steven thinks it’s sexy that I’m smart. The two before him cheated on me. I’m Steven’s ideal woman, and you know how his family feels about cheaters. Plus, all this time as your brother-in-law means our family vetted him already, and his is even less likely to object to me. But the bottom line is that I am sick of morons who take me for granted, and Steven is neither of those things.“

“Just when I thought I couldn’t be madder about you...” said Steven, and Tori gave him another kiss.

Kelly looked at her husband. “Are you sure you didn’t hypnotize Tori?“

All three of them said. ”YOU HYPNOTIZED HER/ME!“

Kelly sighed. “Can Steven at least visit you so I don’t have to... see it?“

“Maybe later on.” said Steven. “, not only does your sister have a more mobile job, but she gets along great with yours and David’s friends. By contrast, I only know one person in San Francisco who isn’t a member of her family.“

“Tommy’s married now, so technically it’s two.” corrected David.

“How much of this is about getting nuclear level orgasms?” asked Kelly. “David’s the only one who can authorize the nuclear option, and you figure that he’ll be more receptive to letting his brother’s girlfriend into the Nuclear Club.”

Tori smirked. “It’d honestly just be icing on the cake, but now that you’ve mentioned it...”

“You are never going to stop asking for that, aren’t you?“

“I will once I get it!”

David had to defuse this argument. “I’m not sure you can handle that yet. Let’s see how stable the relationship is in six months.”

David Wilson had given 12 hours worth of interviews in the two weeks after the Snap. He told the truth as far as he could, with the exception of specific names that were not already known. Louis and Monique were back in Los Angeles in time for Liam’s birthday, but Abigail and Raven, who had been in Romania negotiating to use the castle from the original Wednesday for their parody, were stuck dealing with customs for almost a month after the Snap.

It had been five weeks since the Snap, and Tori had come to visit for the first time since she and Steven began dating. Since that time, Mackintosh had put their house up for sale, refusing to have their daughter anywhere near the Wilsons if they could help it. In addition, Jacob had managed a full month (and counting) of sobriety for the first time-evidently what Malcolm had done to him remained in effect even after the Snap. David wasn’t expecting Steven and Tori until the next night (they had promised to babysit while he and Kelly went out) but the two of them were there with John a night early. “To what do I owe this... encounter?”

“First off, they woke us up in the middle of the night.” answered John “Jacob has a job interview the day after tomorrow, and I’m not risking his health any further. I’m not going to tell you how they woke us up...“

“I can guess, Dad.” said David. “KELLY, MOM AND DAD KICKED THE HAPPY COUPLE OUT!”

Kelly came downstairs with Eliza. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Tori shrugged. “It isn’t the first time the parents of a boyfriend complained about noise while I was staying over. It is the first time the boyfriend was living with them, however.“

Steven continued. “Since Tori has actual family in Los Angeles, Mom said she was your problem. And I’m guessing that’ll be the norm the next time she visits.“

“If you wake up Eliza tonight, there won’t BE a next time.” snapped Kelly. “I will GUARANTEE IT!” By this time, Tori was reaching for the second most important thing to her in Los Angeles after her boyfriend, her niece.

David asked his father. “You gave Steven a car to use. Why didn’t they drive themselves?”

“The DA’s office is going to indict you and Kelly tomorrow. I had to tell you myself.”

Kelly looked angry. “Malcolm isn’t enough of a scapegoat for them? He was responsible for everything!”

“I know. But the trial only lasted four hours, with next to no details revealed, and he confessed to virtually everything. Everything Malcolm owned was liquidated and divvied up by the settlement, and he’s already serving life with no chance of parole in a state with no death penalty. Ergo, any further action against him is pointless. But the Governor and the Attorney General want someone to make an example of, and since everyone else involved with him was obviously hypnotized and thus an innocent victim, you two are the only other possible defendants.“

“What else could possibly go wrong today?” said Kelly with a groan.

“She brought the cheerleading outfit.” said Steven.

“SHE BROUGHT THE CHEERLEADING OUTFIT!?”

“I brought the cheerleading outfit.” said Tori unrepentantly.

“Now we know why Uncle Jacob was woken up.” said David. He turned to his father. “I need to see Malcolm.”

“You’re taking to the only person who could see Malcolm since his sentencing, and the only person who would anyway. I’ll arrange it.“

John was able to get David cleared to visit Malcolm, the morning of the day he was to surrender to the police. The guards had cleared out the visiting room on both sides, and the guard was wearing noise cancelling headphones. David picked up the phone receiver and asked “How are they treating you?”

“Like I’ll vanish if I’m not watched at all times. They keep me gagged except at mealtimes, they change the guard by my cell every three days to prevent me from influencing him. I’m kept in solitary confinement which is not just a solitary cell, but the whole floor is otherwise empty.” said Malcolm. “How many of these precautions were your idea?”

“Just the frequent changing of the guard.” answered David. “But we both know that if you really wanted to escape, there isn’t a damn thing they could do to prevent it.“

“Quite so, but I deserve to be here.”

“Do you? It was Knees pulling your strings.“

“That is not something that can be proven, since the real Knees died decades ago. And even with the programming purged from my mind, I still cannot tell where I ended and his orders began.”

“Funny. Dr. Schrieber once said the same thing about your orders.“

“Precisely. No one will ever believe that I didn’t do all this of my own free will. I can’t thank you enough for stopping him, me, whoever. You are the only one who safely could have. And Controller protocol is in effect. I’ve been caught, so it has to end with me.“

“The governor begs to differ. Kelly and I are going to be arraigned as soon as I’m done here.”

“Then throw me under the bus as much as you can.” said Malcolm. “You two don’t deserve my fate. And they cannot squeeze any more blood from me now.”

“That’s kind of why they’re coming after me. I’m the only other source of blood.“

“The guards won’t let me know anything about the outside world besides all the suffering I’ve caused. Is it true that Regina is still comatose?”

“Unfortunately. The recording of your commands had no effect on her or Louise.”

“I can understand that being the case with Lulu. You commanded me to take out everyone’s programming, and she didn’t have anything left except programming.” Malcolm sighed “But I was hoping that Regina wasn’t that far gone. She’s the closest I’ve come to loving someone since my parents died, and look what I did to her.“

“You don’t know for sure that wasn’t Knees.”

“I don’t know for sure that it was his programming, and as far as the law is concerned, it doesn’t matter.“

“The law doesn’t understand what you did because they didn’t know it existed before...Griffith Park.”

“Your father understood well enough, I assume thanks to you. And so did the prosecutor and judge. David, I already told you that I deserve this. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Even though respecting someone’s decision that you disagree with goes against literally everything you stand for and everything you taught me, I will honor it. I hope the next time we see each other, it won’t be on the same side of the barrier.“

“More than anything, I do too.” Malcolm put down the receiver and motioned to the guard that he was finished.

David went outside the prison, where Kelly and John were waiting. “You could have come in too.” he commented.

“I may be his long-lost brother, but we’ve seen enough of each other during the trial.” said John.

“And Malcolm barely tolerated my presence from Day One! What makes you think he’d want to see me now?” said Kelly

“How about the fact that he hasn’t seen anyone besides Dad and guards in over a month?“

“Hard to argue with that one.” With that, David and Kelly went to surrender to the police.

TO BE CONTINUED...