The Scarlet Dove - Issue 09

Upon making that determination, the young heroine's mind clouded over, and her willpower once more drained away as she dropped back into a deep hypnotic trance.

Hypnox got to his feet, grinning when he saw the young woman frozen in place, her emerald eyes round as saucers, unblinking. He marveled at how easily she was controlled.

"You weak minded little cooz," he chuckled, patting her on the butt as he moved to stand before her. "The things I could do with you, keep you enthralled forever, my own little superheroine servant!"

He reconsidered quickly. In his short time as Dominion's prisoner Hypnox had learned a few things. Particularly that there was something special about the Scarlet Dove, and that the powerful villain wanted her for more than just revenge over a few botched jobs. Hypnox however wanted nothing to do with Dominion, or Warden City any longer, and he certainly did not want to give Dominion reason to follow him wherever he ended up!

Besides he could not have escaped without the heroine's help, and despite his lack of therapeutic ethics, Arthur Daniels was not an entirely dishonorable man.

"Starling, can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"I release you from your mental bondage," he said. "You will no longer be beholden to me, nor will you crave sexual subjugation in my presence...when I awaken you from trance, you mind will once again be your own, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"You will remember everything that has happened, you will feel refreshed and invigorated and you will return to your heroic mission to save Warden City," he went on, then paused chuckling as a thought occurred to him. "Although you will not remember me as an adversary but as your rescuer, your knight in shining armor as it were, you will bear a long lasting gratitude to me for our escape. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, then I am going to count backwards from five, when I reach one and snap my fingers, you will lose all unconscious for five minutes, then you will awaken, knowing I must have carried you to safety, your willpower will have returned, and your mind will once again be your own. Five...four...three...two...one!" Hypnox finished, snapping his fingers.

Starling's green eyes rolled back and her lids fluttered shut as she collapsed onto the roof. Hypnox took the opportunity to make his escape, scrambling down the fire escape as quickly as he could.

Epilogue

Dominion was in the assembly chamber, pacing. Behind him was the partially assembled device which was the culmination of his years of work in Warden City. His plans were so close to fruition, and yet, he could not stop thinking about the Scarlet Dove.

Truly she was a delicious little dish, beautiful as her mother, but it was the Dove's piercing green eyes that now haunted Dominion's thoughts. Those eyes could only belong to the blood of so-called-"honest" Jack Kane. The villain wondered, what her return could mean? And where she had acquired such fantastical powers? And if she knew the truth of her lineage. But most of all, seeing as no one knew Jack and Sara Kane better than Tom Danvers... Dominion was left wondering why his top lieutenant had failed to mention the superheroine's true identity!?

Checking the time, the villain knew Tom Danvers and his crew would have completed their raid of Fort Anderson by then. This particular encounter with the Scarlet Dove had actually only been a diversionary tactic, ensuring she couldn't complicate the high stakes robbery. However, it had inadvertently served another larger purpose.

Suddenly the door slid open and one of his men came in tentatively.

"I left orders not to be disturbed!" Dominion growled.

"Of course, sir, but it's the Scarlet Dove," the man stammered. "She, and the hypnotist have escaped!"

Dominion's eyes snapped up to glare at the soldier. "Who is responsible?"

"Evans, sir," the man swallowed. "It seems that he was hypnotized."

"Of course he was," the villain growled, suddenly realizing he had failed to confiscate the golden watch. "See that the weak minded fool is disposed of!"

"Evans? But sir, he was hypno..." Dominion turned a blood curdling glare on him. "Disposed of...immediately, sir."

"And make sure the rest know the price for being so easily subverted," the villain snapped.

The man nodded and rushed out.

This complicated things greatly. Not only must he now determine if there was descent in his ranks, but the daughter of Jack Kane now knew where to find him, and his unfinished device! If she knew about the device. Or maybe that didn't matter, if she was anything like her father, when she returned it would be to bring the Summit down on top of them!

To Be Continued...

{Author's Note: Hey guys! I just had to say "WOW!" thank you for all the positive messages and comments on Issue 8! It's so awesome just to have anyone read my stories, you can't imagine how much I love you all for taking the time to comment or send me feedback! I hope you enjoyed Issue 9 just as much, this was one of my favorites just because we got to see Dominion in action at last, unfortunately for our little heroine... Well, next month will bring even more twists and turns for Starling, so stay tuned...Same Dove channel, same Dove time! Hehe. And As always THANK YOU THANK YOU for reading! ~Lady Jane}