You got sloppy, your kidnappers got greedy

“Well we went to the place where the cameras last saw you, and after a while we found your scent. It went into the basement along with a few others, and then it went outside and stopped. We told mistress you must have gotten in a car. And some time later she told us there had been a suspicious car going to this house. I don’t know how she knows, but when we arrived here we found your scent and went to rescue you. We found these guys inside, and told them to give you back. But one of them told us he’d call the police we were breaking and entering because C-Ko kicked in the door. So she decided to kick him too. And then there was a brawl, but it was no big deal, because they were really weak. Then B-Ko started shouting that one of them had hid inside here with you, and tried to kick open the door too.

I tried to get the other guys to give me the key. But the C-Ko broke the door and I ran over here just in time to see you hit your head while C-Ko was busy beating the last guy up.. And well then I tried my best to take care of you, “ she turned towards the door and said in a much louder tone ” because I’m not an violent idiot like some people. ” before turning towards you with a self-satisfied smirk “I’m not right?”

You give her the answer she is obviously hoping for “No y’r are a good monst’r girl. ”

She lets out a happy little giggle at the praise, and when one of the other hound-girls arrives with a bottle of soda and a knife to cut your restraints A-ko shoos her sister out of the room as soon as she has taken possession of the items. Literally telling the other girl she’s “best girl” right now so she gets to take care of you.

Not that you mind terribly to let her fuss over you and feed you little sips of soda, until one of her sisters returns a short while later, bringing some much needed Aspirin and your phone with Terra and your sister on the line, who are very keen on hearing you assure them in person that nothing is seriously wrong with you.

When you can lift your head without regretting it instantly you get up - much to A-kos disappointment - to follow the sound of voices to where your would-be kidnappers are held.

You aren’t exactly surprised to find Chris among the bloodied prisoners. The other three you don’t know.

Between the stuff they said to appease the intimidating Hounds and their electronic data-trail being an open book for Terra; your friends and allies already got most of the story by the time you arrive. You using your reality warping powers to heal their wounds (which include a few fractured ribs) in exchange for answers, only serves to fill in the last few details.

Turns out Chris permanently ruined his knee playing football in high-school, and when you turned him into a girl it didn’t take him long to realize he didn’t have to strain himself any longer to walk without a limp. At that point he assumed your hypnosis made him simply ignore the pain.

The whole affair spooked Chris enough to tell his friend Greg, about the hypnosis. When the two of them didn’t know how to proceed they asked Miles - a friend with more medical acumen than them- who concluded the knee seemed completely healthy; contrary to all previous medical records. The best theory Miles could offer was, that the hypnosis had went deep enough to fool the body into triggering some self healing process or other to comply with the given suggestion.

Chris was of course more concerned with how and when you got some reality defying power over him. And that he’d slow turn into a girl, if Miles theory about the hypnosis being mind over matter was correct. A theory that was supported by Greg confirming that his friends dick looked pretty small now. He and Greg made a half-hearted attempt to stop the changes by going on a ‘date’ to stop any further changes, but gave up on that idea after an hour or so because it was a) awkward and b) didn't feel like a date as much as a continuation of the previous war-council - just held in café.

So Chris next best idea was, to find a way to force you to reverse the changes but let him keep the good knee. He had latched onto the idea that the penlight you used being the thing that allowed you to surpass normal hypnosis by leaps and bounds. And some research on the internet did say that lights strobing at certain intervals could help with hypnosis. So Greg, as a former linebacker, should have nothing to fear from you as long as he could prevent you from getting that thing out.

The two of them would probably have planned out some elaborate ambush, if Miles focus had been more on helping his buddies than getting his hands on something that might revolutionize medical science. But seeing how he was majoring in Pharmacology he might need some help decoding how this hypnosis worked. And so he contacted a postgrad he figured was ambitious and competent enough to want in on this and easy enough to dupe that he wouldn’t realize the technology could bring him under Miles control.

And Miles knew just the guy: Darren. The postgrad who’d lured you towards the ambush site. Not that he’d known it would be an ambush.

Which had been kind of the point, since Darren had proven to have a bit more of a conscience than Miles had anticipated. Oh Darren had been easy to convince that such a miraculous hypnosis technique didn’t belong into your hands, but those who’d be able to properly appreciate its potential. Like him and Miles.

But he’d still pushed for involving the authorities.

Something Miles didn’t want because.. well that would make it harder to claim the future nobel prize for his own. And Chris had been less that happy with the discovery that yet another person was getting involved.

They managed to convince Darren that involving the authorities would be a bad idea, by appealing to his greed and pointing out that they’d be instantly side-lined by some professor pouncing on the discovery. And that it would probably involve weeks of legal battle, because right now it was Chris word against yours, that you had anything to do with this.

But it still left the others worried that Darren might decide to tattle after all. Or involve yet another person. Which is why Miles and Chris independently arrived at the conclusion that the best path forward was to go all in and involve the others in a full-blown kidnapping so they couldn’t tell outsiders anything without confessing to a crime.

The idea they came up with was simple:

a) Lure you to a secluded spot.

b) Knock you out with drugged orange-juice

c) Bring you to the small property at the fringes of the city, their frat used for parties in the summer.

And it worked.

For the most part.

Darren threw a fit of course. And once they had you securely stored in an equipment shed and started to examine your penlight they couldn’t figure out what was supposed to make it into a some high-tech prototype. Which raised some doubts at how your hypnosis worked.

They were in the process of arguing who should pay you a visit in your cell and risk getting mind-whammied, when the hounds kicked in the door. In the confusion Greg managed to escape the fracas and lock himself in your cell with you.

And the rest of the story you were conscious for.

“So what do we do about them?” Terra asks, once the interrogation has wound down. She and Kate have been joining in the interrogation via speakerphone.

“I have a few ideas.” you assure her, before turning to address your would-be kidnappers.

“You probably figured out by now that you got in way over your heads, when you picked a fight with us.”

“Who the fuck are you guys?” The question came from Greg.

“ We are part of VIPER. And as member of an actual secret society, I can call on a guns that are a bit bigger than those Alpha-Chi could deploy to back you up. From all I hear, your frat can pull some serious strings to help you get ahead – which is probably why you thought you’d get away with this – but I doubt they can make anyone disappear. “

“Look, I – WE are sorry. I…”

“Yes you keep telling us how sorry you are for doing all the bad things. “ You interrupt Darren ” Well now is your chance to prove it.

Because I will give you a choice, to keep things interesting. Since you decided to take me prisoner, I think it’s only fair to give you the proverbial prisoners dilemma.

But to do it right first I need to ask you: Would you rather completely ignore whatever the others are doing or saying until you made your choice or would you rather actively help me make things as bad as possible for you?”

Unsurprisingly all four choose to ignore the rest.

“You kidnapped me to find out how my techniques work and what I can do with them. And as it happens I am just as curious about that as you are, seeing how I only recently discovered them.

And for that I am in need of some guinea pigs.

So here are your choices:

You can plead guilty and volunteer yourself for a little experiment of mine. You messed with me in the name of curiosity and I get to do the same in return. Do that and I’ll let you wash your hands of this whole kidnapping and get on with your life by the end of the year.

Or you can insist that the others made you do it, and I’ll come up with a suitable punishment for them. And before you ask: Yes, if two of you plead innocent it will mean to punishments for the remaining two.”

You are panning to say more, but have to stop as protest erupts from the prisoners. That they can’t hear each other just makes the clamor even more chaotic, and it takes you some time to get the to quiet down.

“I’ll give you some time to mull it over, while I talk to my associates.” you wave your phone, “Go find me when you know what you want.”

And with that you retreat to the kitchen to ask Kate and Terra a very important question “Do you guys want in on this?” Because frankly, giving each of the four the wrathful attention they deserve would spread you a bit thin.