The Power of the Mind

"Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four!

You flush as the chanting group of friends and family around you chant a countdown to midnight where you finally become eighteen and a man.

Around you, everyone was flushed with the drinks your parents had gotten for you as a surprise before giving you a wink and telling you to have fun tonight, and not to fuck up the house. As midnight almost came to a close, you glance around you to look at your friends who came to celebrate your birth.

Arianna, a cute redhead with piercing blue eyes and a chubby body, clapped along with everyone else, a wide grin on her face as she stared at you. She had been part of your circle of friends for as long as you could remember. Something of a wallflower, she tended to follow the crowd and avoided any potential conflict. She was a wallflower, content to let things happen and go along with it. She had constantly joked along with everyone else that she would likely end up a stay at home mom with a couple of kids while her husband would work to provide for everyone, although sometimes you could swear that there was a hurt look in her eyes whenever she said that.

Next to her was Mia, a slim brunette who had become your friend a year back after you had defended her from bullies mocking her for being a lesbian. When the bullies had turned on you, she had stood next to you, ready to fight the bullies if it had come to it. Had it not been for that incident, you suspect you would have never actually talked to her since she was extremely shy around most people.

On the opposite side of Mia and Arianna was Kerrie, a black haired girl with a sleek athletic body that she somehow maintained despite her complete apathy towards any sort of strenuous activity. Instead, she preferred to spend her time on video games, often playing shooting games and insulting people on voice chat. You had met her randomly online after playing a few games together and to your pleasant surprise discovering that not only did you live in the same town, but you were both in the same school.

And next to Kerrie was Julia, a self proclaimed metal chick with shoulder deep black hair which desperately needed re-dying to conceal her original blonde that was threatening to show on her roots. One of the most laid back chicks you had ever seen, she often responded with a joke or sarcasm. The only times you ever really saw her go all out and wild was at concerts where she would happily leap into a mosh pit, flailing with the best of them.

And finally, your best friend who was stood right next to you, Layla. Brown haired and somewhat lanky, she had been your best friend and next door neighbour since she had moved back in. Somewhat a tomboy, she grinned at you as you glance at her.

Ok, yeah. So you had a lot of girl friends. It wasn't like you meant for it to turn out like that or anything. And it wasn't as if there were just girls there at your birthday. You liked to think you had a fairly solid group of friends, or at least acquaintances, that extended across your school. You had a fair few guys there at your party who you knew and hung out with. It was just...in truth, you don't know why. It was a bit annoying at times though, you were the youngest in your friend circle, everyone else had turned eighteen before you.

Only Layla noticed you looking around, winking at you as everyone all at once shouted "ZERO!"

The grandfather clock that your family possessed in the dining room began to bell out the first clang to signal midnight, and suddenly without once, everything turned black.

Your first immediate reaction was to panic and flail around as the cheering crowd of all your friends immediately disappeared. The smells, the sounds, the sights, everything was just black around you. It felt like you were both falling and standing.

"H-hello?" You tentatively call out into the darkness.

"So, you're the one?" A voice replied suddenly sounding bored and indifferent. "Well, lets get this started."

With what sounded like fingers snapping, the world suddenly became bright again. Startled, you spin around. You find yourself in what looks like a police interrogation cell, blank white walls surround you. Only a table with two chairs are in the room with you, but there's no-one in the room with you.

"Whose there?" You demand, forcing your panic down.

"Ah, shit, I always forget you lot can't see me. Hang on." As you stare, a shape starts to appear before you on the opposite side of the table to you. Your eyes widen and your mouth opens in shock as you behold the figure before you.

A woman with tanned skin stood before you in her full glory. Completely naked, she had the perfect body with no imperfections at all except for one thing. Large, bat-like wings that sprouted from her shoulders. She regards you with sultry red eyes, raking your form. You almost feel naked before her, shuffling your feet nervously as you stare right back at her.

Finally she sighed, rolling her eyes and shrugging, causing her naked breasts to jiggle pleasantly to your eyes. "Well, are you going to gawk at me or are you going to take a seat?"

Startled, you do as she commands. Seemingly from nowhere, the strange woman before you pulls out a file and placed it on the desk in front of her before she herself daintily took a seat opposite to you. Opening it, she began to read silently, occasionally mouthing a word to herself. For several minutes, you sit there awkwardly, watching the woman until after what felt like hours, she looked up at you, closing the file.

"Um, where am I?" You ask hesitantly.

"In your mind," She replied, straightening the file in front of her. "You can relax, mortal. You're not in any danger. On the contrary, you've been blessed by the Big Guy up in the Sky."

"I..." you have no idea how to answer that.

The woman sighed, rolling her eyes again and leaning forward, propping her chin on her hands. "Look, I've done this before. I'm just going to skip the questions and tell you what you were going to ask. No, I'm not here to steal your soul, no, you're not dreaming. No, you're not dead. No, I'm not a demon. No, I'm not an angel. No, I don't work for God. And no, not the devil either. I only exist in your mind so far as you're concerned, again, still not going to steal your soul. No, I'm not going to fuck you, and lastly yes, my tits are natural."

You blink only once.

"I...um...so what do you want?"

"Congratulations, kid! You've been selected at random for testing. See, occasionally, my boss gets bored of doing whatever it is we do, and we like to mess around in the mortal world to see what kind of stupid shit you end up doing. Sometimes though, that isn't enough and we like to take more of a direct role in our games. We bestow gifts on people. You know, stuff like immortality, power of flight, transformation, all that standard superhero bullshit. Anyway, you've been selected to try out one of our gifts."

You blink again, your mouth opening and closing like a codfish. "I...have no idea what's going on right now."

"Yeah, you lot rarely do. So, here's what's happening. We're giving you the power to get people to do whatever you want. They say one thing, you can say something that contradicts that, and they'll do whatever you say as though it was their own idea in the first place. Basically you can mind control the shit out of anyone you want. There are some limitations though.

Firstly, you can't take a position of power. That means no becoming Mr. Big President. You can't use the power to cause people to directly harm themselves either. Basically, use your common sense and don't do anything to fuck up the world in a big way. Be a big fish in a small pond. If you it, we will take it away from you. Oh, that's another thing. We will eventually take your power from you once we've grown bored of seeing what you'll do with it. And no, you won't face any repercussions from anything you've done. I'll handle that shit. So congratulations kid, I'm your own personal fucking angel. Want my advice on what you should do?"

"I guess?"

"All those tasty mortal sluts with you and your shitty excuse for a party? Go crazy on them. Go on a fuck-spree."

You immediately freeze, a deep flush coming over your face. "I...they're just my friends."

The only response the woman gives you is a unladylike snort. "Yeah, sure. Save the crap, kid. We did our research into you. We don't just give any power to a random joe. We like to make sure that you're the perfect blend of neutrality. You might go on a fuck spree, or you might decide to be nice and use your powers for good or whatever. And you kid, you've had some right filthy thoughts about those girls. Even I blushed a couple of times at what you were thinking, and I've been around for a while." She suddenly stood up, stretching both her arms and her wings.

"So, if you need me,just think of me really hard and I'll fix whatever shit you've gotten yourself into. Go and have some fun kid. You're gonna wake up back where you were, with all those tasty treats around you. We'll be watching kid, make it entertaining for us!"

With a click of her fingers, you suddenly find yourself lying on a carpeted floor, staring at a bunch of shoes all clustered around you.

"Are you alright? Holy shit dude, talk to us?"

Voices everywhere in the room were babbling, hovering in front of your eyes are stands of brown hair. Slowly, you shift to your feet, looking around. Your friends are all gathered around you, staring at you worriedly. Next to you is your chair, fallen on its side. In front of you is Layla, clutching your hand.

"Are you alright?" Layla asked, worry clearly present in her eyes.

You choose not to answer, rubbing your eyes as you realise that your head feels like its splitting. You feel someone half pick you up and put you onto a chair, leaning you on the table.

"Should we call an ambulance? He should get checked out if he's never done that before." You hear Arianna ask.