Fractionation

Preface: It's been a long road. This is the final installment in the Fractionation Arc of my Super Hero world. Writing this series has truly been a joy. Sincerely, thank you to any of you who have read the whole series and shared this journey with Sam and the others. You should know this is not as steamy as some of the other entries, but still features plenty of good mind control and domination. I hope you've had as much fun reading these characters as I've had writing them. With all that said, please enjoy:

Part 1- CS-01 and Dr. Elizabeth Ward

CS-01 waited in the library with the others. Her optical sensors surveyed the surroundings. The height of the bookshelves seemed to defy typical performance parameters for carpentry. The illuminated ceiling also exceeded the lumen yield available for anything other than sunlight. The cyborg still felt out of place in the white, marble cathedral called the Sanctum. Emily preferred the cold reliability of technology, systems that could be calculated and understood to the last circuit board.

However, she couldn't deny the majesty of the chamber. The soaring space made her and all of her companions look tiny. "Elizabeth, system projections indicate that I may never become accustomed to this place," she said quietly into her comm unit.

"I know. It's truly fascinating. The things we could learn if we could study this place in detail," Elizabeth responded through CS-01's audio channels. She watched the scene through her wife's eyes remotely.

"Indeed. Upon completion of this extended mission we should conduct detailed readings," CS-01 said.

"There are quite a few things I'd like to do when we're done with this," Elizabeth answered with a mischievous tone. Her eyes drifted down to a very special button on her console, the button that would switch Emily into her bimbo personality.

"Affirmative. Subtext has been detected and appreciated. I am glad that you have acclimated to my alter-ego," CS-01 responded as a smile danced across her lips.

"Yeah that's putting it mildly Em," Elizabeth said, mind flooding with images of her wife's hornier alternate personality. "I really had my doubts when you suggested keeping it after that computer virus. But damn, it's been hot. I think it's exactly what we needed."

The faint smile on Emily's face broke into a grin. "Affirmative, mistress." She whispered the last word.

Their small group had gathered at the end of the library, where the sea of shelves parted for a sitting area. Three tall, stained glass windows marked the wall. A large object, covered in a white cloth sat in the center of the space with the chairs pointing towards it. In the dark, wooden chairs sat CS-01, Sam, Allison, Twister and Freya. Sam and Allison sat side by side of course. They had been inseparable lately.

"Do you guys have these big team meetings often?" Allison asked. The pale woman had picked up some new piercings, a row of metal studs ran down her nose and one down each forearm. Her fingers idly played with the shiny metal.

"This is the first time Saphira's gathered us all like this since I've been here. It's gotta be important." Sam said.

"How about the Dawn Bringers?" Twister Interrupted, cheerfully. "You know for a team name,"

Freya furrowed her brow. "That sounds oddly familiar. But no I don't think it captures the..." she paused for a moment studying the diverse bunch, seated in the library. "Eclectic alliance we have gathered here. Perhaps we could invoke the might of the past and christen ourselves 'The New Valkyries'?"

Sam grimaced. "I don't really think of myself as a valkyrie. Now thinking about valkyries on the other hand," he chuckled.

Allison gave him a playful elbow to the ribs. "Behave yourself." Then she leaned in to whisper something in his ear too quietly for Emily to overhear. But whatever it was sent them both into a fit of giggles.

CS-01 ran a quick series of simulations through her rhetorical data banks, compiling dozens of possible assemblages of words before speaking, "Perhaps the Halcyon Ensemble of Righteous Overcoming Evil Sentinels? Or H.E.R.O.E.S for an abbreviated acronym?" She looked between her compatriots, but they all stared blankly.

Finally Twister spoke, "That may be too much of a mouthful if we use the whole thing. And if we use the acronym we'll always be explaining what it stands for."

"Very well. I shall incorporate this feedback into future iterations throughout the ideation process."

"I liked your suggestion, Em." Elizabeth's voice rang in Emily's head. "I can't think of a better name for a group that includes you than Heroes."

Emily wanted to say that she didn't always feel like a hero. Most of the time she felt like a corporate lap dog, a walking, talking advertisement for Barton Labs. But she knew she couldn't say that to Elizabeth. Emily was only alive today because of the deal Elizabeth struck with Noah Barton. The last thing Emily wanted was to seem ungrateful. So she simply said, "Thank you, Elizabeth."

The general chatter continued until Saphira entered the chamber. She walked with confident and determined poise, stopping before the tall windows and turning to face the others. Saphira spoke, her voice as lyrical and enchanting as always. "Everyone, thank you so much for joining me today. I have a truly monumental announcement to make."

"Let's hear it then," Freya answered.

"First I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your hard work these past few months," Saphira clasped her hands to her chest before continuing. "The artifacts that Fractal stole posed a great risk to human kind. Through your tireless efforts, we have reclaimed all but one of the Aether artifacts. For this humanity owes you a great debt."

"Damn straight," Allison chimed in.

"Indubitably, dear Allison," Saphira responded. "But I'm sure it has occurred to you all, as it has to me that these items still pose a major threat. They were stolen once before. Can mankind ever truly be safe while these tools exist in their current form?"

"Simulated scenarios for misuse of Aether artifacts total approximately fourteen million, seven hundred and twenty three thousand, six hundred and eight," CS-01 said after running a quick calculation in her neural processors.

Saphira nodded. "Thank you Emily, that was very helpful. You prove my point that even under our watchful protection they are too dangerous. But fear not, for I have a solution." She turned to the mysterious lump under the sheet. Her hands gripped the fabric and pulled it free, revealing the form underneath.

A sleek, metal casing, painted in pearly white, shone in the sanctum's light. Inside it, all of the artifacts they had gathered so far sat in compartments sized specifically for them. Near the bottom Nyckelharpa fit in an opening that followed the contours of the lute. Dorian had used it to enslave his fans, before Twister took it from him. Above that rested Svalin, the orb. Sam narrowly recovered that when Fractal sent Maya after him. Brisingamen, the spectacles, perched in a small cubby. Those were all too familiar to CS-01. Their old rival Marcy, had almost enslaved her and Elizabeth with them. Gungnir, the bow and arrows lay across the center of the device. Twister recovered them after a night away from the group, though she had been strangely sheepish about how. Finally their most recent acquisition, Draupnir, the control bar marked the middle of the device. It could attach strings to its victims and control them like puppets. While Freya found it initially, that one had ended up as more of a group effort. Only one compartment remained empty, the one for Meringjord, the collar. It had been initially used to control Allison, but the group hadn't seen it since rescuing her.

"Hell Saphira, where'd you get the fancy hardware?" Allison asked with a whistle.

"Worry not of such things," the dark skinned woman said with reassurance. "With my long history, I have many friends in the mortal realm who can help me procure such things. You should focus on the incredible function of the machine."

The group nodded.

"Em, doesn't something seem odd about this to you? I mean Saphira's not exactly tech savvy. She needed your help to update her smart tv." Elizabeth said quietly in CS-01's com channel.

"Indeed. My analysis produced similar concerns. Further, the articulation of the hardware sparks similarities to other items in my memory banks, though the exact conclusion eludes me," CS-01 murmured in response.

"Good thinking Em. I'll run it through my algorithm and see if I can turn up any instances of similar hardware. It looks familiar to me too."

"Yes, it is time I shared the truth about the Aether artifacts with you all. You've earned that much. Long ago, my kind walked among you humans. The old gods were embodiments of concepts and forces of nature. They all wielded incredible power. And as such they viewed humans as little more than tools, playthings to serve their own purposes. These devices were their means of yoking humanity to their will. For centuries, the old gods dominated humanity with relentless cruelty. It was I and one other who began to feel for humans. Together we betrayed the other gods and sealed them away. Yet their tools remain. Much as my people are immortal, our weapons are indestructible. Many of you tried destroying the artifacts you found but to no avail,"

A ripple of shock ran through the small group of heroes. "Wait so you're telling me gods are real, and they used to enslave the whole human race?" Sam asked incredulous.

"I am Sam. After what you've experienced, I hope you can understand."

"You know, I probably wouldn't have ever believed that if I hadn't met you Saphira," Twister added. "But after everything I've been through, everything we've all been through, I can see it being true."

Only Freya seemed to be taking it all in stride. "She speaks the truth. In my era the legends of these times had not yet been lost."

Saphira raised a hand to quiet them. "But their lingering danger ends today. This device will drain the power from these artifacts and render them inert. Humanity will finally be safe. After all your hard work, I wanted you all to be here to see this threat dispatched." The goddess moved to the machine and began fiddling with the controls.

"Get out. Get out. Get out Em!" Elizabeth's voice cut into CS-01's audio receivers in a frantic hiss. Without hesitation, CS-01 stood up from her chair and began striding back towards the library entrance."That casing is from Barton Labs! It's something I don't have access to, but the detailing is too similar to be a coincidence. I think this might be some of the tech Fractal stole from our lab."

"Should we not warn our compatriots?" CS-01 asked.

"We can do that later. I need to make sure you're safe."

CS-01 almost reached the entry to the library when her body stopped responding to her. Her limbs locked in place and refused to move.

"Now, Now. We can't have you missing the show," a distorted voice said. A moment later, Fractal emerged from behind the last bookcase. The visor of his faceted helmet glinted in the sanctum's light.

CS-01 tried to scream, but her lips wouldn't obey. Her whole body remained locked in place. She could feel Fractal pressing into her mind, holding her in place. She could barely think. Even her mind felt still, calm, blank.

"You must be new." He ran a hand possessively down the cyborg's side. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure."

CS-01 couldn't respond, couldn't even flinch.

Elizabeth watched in horror. "Emily he's affecting you isn't he? You can't move?"

No response came. Elizabeth's hand trembled in rage. There had to be something she could do.

"Don't worry though," Fractal said. "We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other better." He cupped a breast.

Emily wanted to invite him to get to know the sensation of a 200mA of electricity coursing through his body. But her lips wouldn't cooperate.

"Yes, we'll get to know each other very well. That body of yours gives me so many ideas, he said. An involuntary shiver of pleasure ran down Emily's spine before settling between her legs. Emily knew it was just his powers making her feel so horny, but that knowledge didn't diminish the feeling. She let out a ragged gasp, feeling her resistance flag.

Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore. "Well he can't do anything to me from here!" She growled. Safe in her lab, her hands flew across the keyboard. A Moment later a siren blared from CS-01. Its wail pierced the library's silence. Elizabeth had included the siren for emergency rescues, but now Emily was the one who needed rescuing. "She doesn't need her mind for that, asshole!"

The assembled heroes whirled around and saw Fractal. Allison transformed, her skin flushing a deep crimson and her muscles growing. Freya drew her sword. Freya, Allison, Sam and Twister all started sprinting towards the back of the chamber.

Only Saphira looked unsurprised by Fractal's sudden appearance. "Not bad, Elizabeth. But it's too little, too late." She pressed a button on the machine and it burst to life. It happened in an instant. Crackling motes of energy welled from each compartment, flooding the machine with a glowing plasma. Then the light swept across the room in a pulse. It easily overtook the running heroes, and as it did their motion stopped. Then it reached CS-01.

She felt her thoughts disintegrate, her very sense of self dissolved in a heartbeat. She existed to serve. It was her purpose, the only purpose. Nothing else mattered.

The other heroes stood in a dazed stupor, their eyes glassy and unfocused. Freya's grip went limp and Laevateinn clattered to the floor.

Elizabeth's hands flew to her mouth to cover her gasp. "This can't be real." The siren still rang out from her wife's cybernetic body. But no one was there to hear it, besides Fractal and Saphira.

Fractal placed a hand on CS-01's cheek. She didn't react. "That's better. You'll behave now, won't you?"

"Yes Master," her answer came automatically. Of course she would behave. She existed to obey.

Fractal strode away from her, walking deeper into the library, slapping her ass as he did. He released his hold over her thoughts. It wasn't needed any longer. "That was a close one, Saphira. You had me worried for a moment there."

Saphira fell to her knees. "Please forgive me, Master. I thought I had them all distracted."

Elizabeth's heart stung. Had Saphira always been working with Fractal? Had it all been a trap, the whole time?

"Stand up, slave. You did well. Telling them the truth of the artifacts was a clever touch," he said coldly.

"Thank you Master," Saphira replied, standing. "I learned that from you. Sometimes the best lie is the truth. Of course, I did still have to lie about the machine's purpose."

Fractal stood examining the other immobile heroes. He ran a hand down Twister's stomach. "At first I was furious at you for gathering a team like this."

"Please forgive me, Master. I didn't understand that my purpose was to serve you, or I would have never defied you."

"It all worked out, slave. Ironically you gathered all the people who were most able to resist me into one place, where I could capture them at once. I liked what you said about the old gods. I think I'll make myself into a new god of this world. When I conquer humanity, the people who opposed me the most fervently will be my first lieutenants. It's delicious."

"Thank you Master. I'm glad my foolish defiance could further your plans in the end."

That gave Elizabeth a small comfort. It sounded like Fractal had converted Saphira recently. She was probably under his psychic control. But Elizabeth still felt like she was living a nightmare. She saw this whole scene play out, but couldn't do anything about it, couldn't do anything for Emily. No, there had to be something. Think Elizabeth! Think!

"Now I'm going to take this one to another chamber and transfer my consciousness to him," Fractal said, pointing to Sam. "It will be a slow, brutal process. He never gave in to his true self, so it'll be a lot harder for him to accept. Even in this state his mind will rebel as I try to extinguish it. I want you to program the others while I deal with this."

"Of course Master. I'll make sure the others are as devoted to you as I am," Saphira said.

"You come with me," Fractal said, gesturing towards Sam.

"Yes Master," he answered dully and started following Fractal out of the Library. Their silhouettes disappeared through the arched opening.

A bolt of pink plasma struck Fractal square in the back of the head.

The charred metal released an electric, crackling noise. He crumpled to the ground, his helmet smoldering.

Elizabeth's finger quivered on the button. Her breathing was labored and shaky. "It worked. Thank god, it worked. I'm so glad I put this side of you on a fully partitioned section of your brain. It looks like the pulse didn't get this version of you. But Em, this is all I can do for you from here."

Emily's voice came back warm and brimming with defiance, her cold mannerisms replaced with bubbly positivity. "Don't worry Mistress. I've got this!" Even in her altered state, Emily knew she had to act quickly. Fractal wouldn't stay down for long. She turned to face Saphira, her circuits glowed in an electric pink and her arm remained in the shape of a plasma cannon. "Saphira, he's down, you're free. Turn off the thingy!" She yelled.

Saphira responded by raising a hand and firing a beam of light at CS-01. The cyborg was barely able to deploy her energy neutralization shield from her forearm in time. The shield's hexagonal plating sizzled under the intense light. The hardware couldn't take many of those.

"Saphira!? So you were a bad girl the whole time! I knew it." The cyborg began running towards the machine herself.

Saphira sighed. "I'm not a 'bad girl'. I'm serving a higher purpose as you should be." She fired another laser from her hand.

The shield held, though its metal was deforming from heat. "Higher purpose. You're a hypoc... hycrit... hypopalr... A LIAR!" She finally settled on after giving up on the bigger word. CS-01 ducked behind a book case to dodge the next blast of light.

"Honestly Emily, this outburst will accomplish nothing. Weren't you listening when I told you that I'm an immortal goddess?" Saphira began floating up and forward into the air, giving her a line of sight on the running woman behind the bookcase. "I don't want to hurt you, Emily. You'll be a valuable asset for my Master."

"Sorry god-lady. My assets are just for my mistress," Emily shot back. Then she slammed into the book shelf before her, toppling it over. The impossibly tall shelf tipped under her weight, sending the next shelf and the next falling like dominos, straight toward Saphira. "Timber!" She yelled with glee.

Saphira zipped through the air, avoiding the falling avalanche of paper and wood, but she did lose sight of Emily in the commotion. Finally the pink glow gave her target away in the cloud of debris. Saphira realized with a start that Emily had almost reached the machine. "Heavens, you're exhausting. Fine, have it your way." She raised her arm and brought it down. With it, a shaft of blinding light fell like a spear from on high.

Emily was so close. She leapt across the debris of splintered wood and charred paper. The dust had given her cover. If she could just reach the machine, even in this state, she knew she could interface and disable it. She reached out a hand towards the white, metallic form. That's when the ray of searing light caught her. It clipped Emily's shield arm and side. Her metallic limb evaporated under the incredible heat. A Section of her casing blasted free from her side as well. Even as a cyborg, the pain was unreal. System failure warnings burst across her vision. She collapsed to the ground, just a few yards from the machine, a few yards from freeing the others.