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Not for the first time, Athena Nikos was grateful for the healing powers granted by the Goddess Athena. The stupid ray really did a number on her. Most of the last three hours were a jumble thanks to the compromised mental capacity that the villain’s favorite tool caused, but thankfully she had fully recovered. Now that she was thinking straight, White Owl grimly took in the situation, but the more she looked the more she couldn’t help but think all that was needed to complete the scene was a menacing thunderstorm.

As Athena strained against her bonds yet again, she continued her rational assessment. The room looked like part of one of the old factories near the waterfront but it was as if Doctor Emmet Brown had collaborated with Victor Von Frankenstein on the decor. The building was still solidly constructed, even if it could have seriously benefited from a little plaster and a few coats of paint, but it was obvious that Guy had to do some serious jury-rigging to get his lair operational. There were several high power cables running through a hole he hammered through the wall and assorted wires running haphazardly along the walls connecting all the equipment, but this was not an organized lab. No two pieces of equipment looked like they belonged together. Some of the pieces she recognized from past adventures against various high tech villains and organizations. Others looked like they started out as fairly common pieces of technology one would find in any office computer room while still others looked like they use to be medical equipment from local hospitals. The one thing that all the equipment had in common was it had all been hacked and patched together into a unified, if more than a little discordant, system. The sight prompted the heroine to think ‘Well the creation fits its creator! God knows what this is meant to do, but I don’t plan on waiting here to find out!’

The table Athena was shackled to was hooked up to the wiring as well. Several high bandwidth fiber optic cables mixed with enough power cables to light a city block snaked their way from the racks of equipment. Of course, the wires didn’t end at the table. White Owl could feel some type of apparatus about her head including headphones over her ears and medical leads taped to her head. Every time she moved she could hear the wires scraping against the metal table which mean *she* was hooked to the equipment as well. Additionally there were some type of electromagnetic probes pointed at her head as well. Whatever her captor had planned, it was obvious that he was very interested in the current workings of her brain.

The table itself she had seen before as well when she was an unwilling guest of the Cartel. The restraints were made for holding incredibly strong beings, but it was obvious that this table had seen better days. While the metal cuffs were still quite daunting, the latch and fittings were not so well kept. She could feel the fittings slowly yielding to her determined efforts, but it would still take several more minutes at best to work her way free. All in all, the detective in the heroine had come to one conclusion: Stupid Guy had been shopping for hi-tech treasures in some pretty eclectic places, most of which were probably villain’s trash bins. Still, with his affinity for technology, this did not bode well.

If White Owl was to have any chance of escape, then Stupid Guy would have to remain fixated on his toys for a bit longer. Fortunately, he was still chattering like an over stimulated child as he played with the equipment against the wall. Even better, he left his Stupid Ray on the surgical tray next to her table. If she were lucky she could be between him and his favorite toy when she broke free, but she had a feeling that she was missing something important. With a concentrated effort, she could position herself for a better look at her captor as he continued his efforts. The villain stood at a single workstation with several monitors as he typed determinedly. He smiled evilly as he switched his attention from monitor to monitor as the data on display cascaded by. Views of the heroine’s biometrics, equipment performance, source code, power levels, and system status flowed across the monitors as quickly as Guy could move them, all except for one display. On that monitor was a real time brain scan of the heroine showing the various areas lighting up as they were stimulated. He must know that the heroine was awake and back to normal by now. Not that she was complaining, but what was he waiting for? Unless… Whatever he was up to he either needed or wanted her fully aware when he set things in motion. The heroine redoubled her efforts as she realized time was short indeed.

Another surge of White Owl’s great strength brought the welcomed crack of one of the links holding the cuff on her right wrist beginning to break. Hopes rose as she realized it wouldn’t be long now, but Guy’s maniacal laughter put a quick damper on that! The villain shouted “Those powers of yours are pretty awesome, hun! The healing power alone is good, but when it comes to the old noodle, it works overtime. Must be a point in pride to the ol’ Goddess of Wisdom. Those other losers from the bank will be drooling morons for at least 3 days, but you shook the whole thing off in 3 hours!”

White Owl snarled back “I owe it to clean living.” Athena knew she had to stall her captor now. Victory belonged to whoever controlled the clock. She smiled wickedly as she continued “You should try it, Guy. Who knows how much you could accomplish if you weren’t constantly hiding from the law and getting your butt kicked repeatedly by… Who is it again? Oh yes, that would be ME defeating you at EVERY turn.”

Stupid Guy’s face flushed with rage as he left the workstation to rain scorn down on his prisoner “Yeah? Is that right, oh great and wise avatar of Athena? I coulda SWORE it was you getting taken down like a NOOB at the bank. I’m pretty sure it’s the great White Owl that I have strapped down like a lab rat in my lair too. How’s your ‘wisdom’ working out for you now? And don’t get me started on all the fun we had in the van when you had no smarts to guide your high morals. Do you even remember how much fun we BOTH had???”

Athena never gave even the slightest impression of surprise or shock as she coolly responded “You didn’t sexually assault me. Embarrass or humiliate me, yes; but that’s not what you want from me. You want me at my best, not as a mindless toy.”

Guy‘s eyes flashed dangerous intentions for a second but it was clear that Athena was right. After the frustration of being called out on his implications passed, the villain chuckled “Ya know, you’ve got me there. If I wanted a mindless toy, I’d get a love doll that looks like you.” The villain smiled evilly as he continued “Besides there’s a better way.”

That comment sent chills down the heroine’s back as she turned to track Guy’s progress back to his workstation. The villain cheerfully continued as he began to lay out his plan “You have a point about defeats too, but it isn’t who wins the battle that counts. It’s who wins the war! And you know how you win against someone you can’t beat? You make THEM join YOU!” Guy took position next to the image of Athena’s brain scan and pointed to a region in the front of her brain and another behind her right ear “This first area governs our ‘right and wrong’ decisions. The second is more about how we view the morals of others. They have even done experiments messing with these areas with magnets. Of course, with your powers, I am going to have to seriously up the ante here to make the updates permanent, but between the data I have from your Stupid Ray trama and readings from my own brain, I’ve got all the data I need!” With that, Stupid Guy activated his system.

White Owl screamed in agony as the gear on her head activated. It felt like her brain had been set on fire. The odd aura of lights coming from the probes and sounds coming from the headphones seemed to be trying to calm her, but instinctively she knew they were a trap; a false oasis in this mind storm to trap her. The heroine ground her teeth as she fought for her own mind.

Guy never took his eyes off the displays as he called back to her “You know, all the pain your feeling is due to resistance. You might as well relax and enjoy the process because you’re only delaying the inevitable anyway. How long do you think you can resist that much power? As soon as you let your guard down, my equipment will lay down your new mindset in a little over a minute. It’ll only take half that time to reinforce changes with another full set and even less for each reinforcement after that. By five minutes, it’ll be laying down a full set of the new thinking pattern every second. Even with your powers, in another 10 minutes the new thought patterns will be as natural and permanent as if you were born with them.”

As Athena let another scream loose, Guy shrugged and chuckled “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d go for that. Have it your way babe. Pretty soon you’ll be thanking me for setting you free to really enjoy your gifts. Just think of it, we’ll be the new scourge of Queen City! With you as my partner… Well JUNIOR partner cuz I’ve got a lot of expense to make up here… But anyway, we will be UNSTOPPABLE!!!”

Guy lifted his eyes to the heavens and laughed maniacally but suddenly there was the sound of another surge of power. First a look of surprise followed by an expression of comic stupidity, the villain opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was “DURRRRR...” as he slumped to the floor.

As Guy dropped, the view to the heroine on the table was clear. With the adrenaline rush brought on by the tortuous process, she had managed to break the restraining chains holding the manacles about her neck, arms, and waist. As she lowered the Stupid Ray, Athena smiled wickedly and cooed “So you wanted to partner with a dark owl, did you? Well, you should be careful what you wish for!” Crazed laughter filled the abandoned factory as it had many times over the last few hours, but this time it wasn’t Stupid Guy’s.

Mindgames 2a by White0wlsuperheroine — Description
Story by and art by

Not for the first time, Athena Nikos was grateful for the healing powers granted by the Goddess Athena. The stupid ray really did a number on her. Most of the last three hours were a jumble thanks to the compromised mental capacity that the villain’s favorite tool caused, but thankfully she had fully recovered. Now that she was thinking straight, White Owl grimly took in the situation, but the more she looked the more she couldn’t help but think all that was needed to complete the scene was a menacing thunderstorm.

As Athena strained against her bonds yet again, she continued her rational assessment. The room looked like part of one of the old factories near the waterfront but it was as if Doctor Emmet Brown had collaborated with Victor Von Frankenstein on the decor. The building was still solidly constructed, even if it could have seriously benefited from a little plaster and a few coats of paint, but it was obvious that Guy had to do some serious jury-rigging to get his lair operational. There were several high power cables running through a hole he hammered through the wall and assorted wires running haphazardly along the walls connecting all the equipment, but this was not an organized lab. No two pieces of equipment looked like they belonged together. Some of the pieces she recognized from past adventures against various high tech villains and organizations. Others looked like they started out as fairly common pieces of technology one would find in any office computer room while still others looked like they use to be medical equipment from local hospitals. The one thing that all the equipment had in common was it had all been hacked and patched together into a unified, if more than a little discordant, system. The sight prompted the heroine to think ‘Well the creation fits its creator! God knows what this is meant to do, but I don’t plan on waiting here to find out!’

The table Athena was shackled to was hooked up to the wiring as well. Several high bandwidth fiber optic cables mixed with enough power cables to light a city block snaked their way from the racks of equipment. Of course, the wires didn’t end at the table. White Owl could feel some type of apparatus about her head including headphones over her ears and medical leads taped to her head. Every time she moved she could hear the wires scraping against the metal table which mean *she* was hooked to the equipment as well. Additionally there were some type of electromagnetic probes pointed at her head as well. Whatever her captor had planned, it was obvious that he was very interested in the current workings of her brain.

The table itself she had seen before as well when she was an unwilling guest of the Cartel. The restraints were made for holding incredibly strong beings, but it was obvious that this table had seen better days. While the metal cuffs were still quite daunting, the latch and fittings were not so well kept. She could feel the fittings slowly yielding to her determined efforts, but it would still take several more minutes at best to work her way free. All in all, the detective in the heroine had come to one conclusion: Stupid Guy had been shopping for hi-tech treasures in some pretty eclectic places, most of which were probably villain’s trash bins. Still, with his affinity for technology, this did not bode well.

If White Owl was to have any chance of escape, then Stupid Guy would have to remain fixated on his toys for a bit longer. Fortunately, he was still chattering like an over stimulated child as he played with the equipment against the wall. Even better, he left his Stupid Ray on the surgical tray next to her table. If she were lucky she could be between him and his favorite toy when she broke free, but she had a feeling that she was missing something important. With a concentrated effort, she could position herself for a better look at her captor as he continued his efforts. The villain stood at a single workstation with several monitors as he typed determinedly. He smiled evilly as he switched his attention from monitor to monitor as the data on display cascaded by. Views of the heroine’s biometrics, equipment performance, source code, power levels, and system status flowed across the monitors as quickly as Guy could move them, all except for one display. On that monitor was a real time brain scan of the heroine showing the various areas lighting up as they were stimulated. He must know that the heroine was awake and back to normal by now. Not that she was complaining, but what was he waiting for? Unless… Whatever he was up to he either needed or wanted her fully aware when he set things in motion. The heroine redoubled her efforts as she realized time was short indeed.

Another surge of White Owl’s great strength brought the welcomed crack of one of the links holding the cuff on her right wrist beginning to break. Hopes rose as she realized it wouldn’t be long now, but Guy’s maniacal laughter put a quick damper on that! The villain shouted “Those powers of yours are pretty awesome, hun! The healing power alone is good, but when it comes to the old noodle, it works overtime. Must be a point in pride to the ol’ Goddess of Wisdom. Those other losers from the bank will be drooling morons for at least 3 days, but you shook the whole thing off in 3 hours!”

White Owl snarled back “I owe it to clean living.” Athena knew she had to stall her captor now. Victory belonged to whoever controlled the clock. She smiled wickedly as she continued “You should try it, Guy. Who knows how much you could accomplish if you weren’t constantly hiding from the law and getting your butt kicked repeatedly by… Who is it again? Oh yes, that would be ME defeating you at EVERY turn.”

Stupid Guy’s face flushed with rage as he left the workstation to rain scorn down on his prisoner “Yeah? Is that right, oh great and wise avatar of Athena? I coulda SWORE it was you getting taken down like a NOOB at the bank. I’m pretty sure it’s the great White Owl that I have strapped down like a lab rat in my lair too. How’s your ‘wisdom’ working out for you now? And don’t get me started on all the fun we had in the van when you had no smarts to guide your high morals. Do you even remember how much fun we BOTH had???”

Athena never gave even the slightest impression of surprise or shock as she coolly responded “You didn’t sexually assault me. Embarrass or humiliate me, yes; but that’s not what you want from me. You want me at my best, not as a mindless toy.”

Guy‘s eyes flashed dangerous intentions for a second but it was clear that Athena was right. After the frustration of being called out on his implications passed, the villain chuckled “Ya know, you’ve got me there. If I wanted a mindless toy, I’d get a love doll that looks like you.” The villain smiled evilly as he continued “Besides there’s a better way.”

That comment sent chills down the heroine’s back as she turned to track Guy’s progress back to his workstation. The villain cheerfully continued as he began to lay out his plan “You have a point about defeats too, but it isn’t who wins the battle that counts. It’s who wins the war! And you know how you win against someone you can’t beat? You make THEM join YOU!” Guy took position next to the image of Athena’s brain scan and pointed to a region in the front of her brain and another behind her right ear “This first area governs our ‘right and wrong’ decisions. The second is more about how we view the morals of others. They have even done experiments messing with these areas with magnets. Of course, with your powers, I am going to have to seriously up the ante here to make the updates permanent, but between the data I have from your Stupid Ray trama and readings from my own brain, I’ve got all the data I need!” With that, Stupid Guy activated his system.

White Owl screamed in agony as the gear on her head activated. It felt like her brain had been set on fire. The odd aura of lights coming from the probes and sounds coming from the headphones seemed to be trying to calm her, but instinctively she knew they were a trap; a false oasis in this mind storm to trap her. The heroine ground her teeth as she fought for her own mind.

Guy never took his eyes off the displays as he called back to her “You know, all the pain your feeling is due to resistance. You might as well relax and enjoy the process because you’re only delaying the inevitable anyway. How long do you think you can resist that much power? As soon as you let your guard down, my equipment will lay down your new mindset in a little over a minute. It’ll only take half that time to reinforce changes with another full set and even less for each reinforcement after that. By five minutes, it’ll be laying down a full set of the new thinking pattern every second. Even with your powers, in another 10 minutes the new thought patterns will be as natural and permanent as if you were born with them.”

As Athena let another scream loose, Guy shrugged and chuckled “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d go for that. Have it your way babe. Pretty soon you’ll be thanking me for setting you free to really enjoy your gifts. Just think of it, we’ll be the new scourge of Queen City! With you as my partner… Well JUNIOR partner cuz I’ve got a lot of expense to make up here… But anyway, we will be UNSTOPPABLE!!!”

Guy lifted his eyes to the heavens and laughed maniacally but suddenly there was the sound of another surge of power. First a look of surprise followed by an expression of comic stupidity, the villain opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was “DURRRRR...” as he slumped to the floor.

As Guy dropped, the view to the heroine on the table was clear. With the adrenaline rush brought on by the tortuous process, she had managed to break the restraining chains holding the manacles about her neck, arms, and waist. As she lowered the Stupid Ray, Athena smiled wickedly and cooed “So you wanted to partner with a dark owl, did you? Well, you should be careful what you wish for!” Crazed laughter filled the abandoned factory as it had many times over the last few hours, but this time it wasn’t Stupid Guy’s.