Chapter 21

I returned to my corporeal body with a jolt.

It took me a second to reorganize myself ... it felt good being back 'in' my body after being 'out' of it.

Carol was still on the floor ... and was still glaring at me ... strange ... how much time had passed while I was immersed in her neural processor.

I looked down at her, and fixed her with my sternest glare. "Look," I said. "I'll deal with you later. Right now I need to assess the situation."

Carol continued to stare at me. "Do whatever," she said "I don't care."

She was a bad actor. I watched amusedly while she casually slipped her hand into her lab pocket. I had already noticed the familiar bulge of a syringe in that pocket. I had figured it was only a matter of time until she tried to use it.

She had no idea that she wouldn't be able to.

She didn't know that I owned her.

I chuckled to myself. Oh well, I thought. I remembered Sarah was perfectly able to do things I didn't want her to do. I had figured out that the chip just provided 'suggestions' to the subject's brain ... Carol would still be free to act against me despite the fact that unbeknownst to her I was her new imprinter.

I also knew that I had ordered Lydia to prevent her from attacking me.

I grinned; it made me feel powerful to know that I could call on the name Lydia ... that I could control her like a puppet on a string.

I pretended to be unaware of her furtive malicious actions. I turned toward an unconscious Turner.

I bent down and checked his pulse. It was normal and he was breathing steadily. I rummaged through his pockets and retrieved the key to my handcuffs.

I popped the manacle off my left wrist.

I quickly grabbed both of Turner's hands and pulled them behind his back. I clicked the handcuffs onto his wrists.

Now he would be subdued even if he did wake up.

I pocketed the keys to the handcuffs.

All the while I was silently aware that Carol was shuffling up behind me with a syringe. It took a great deal of mind power not to turn around and disarm her. But I was confident that Lydia would protect me.

Besides, Carol needed to experience firsthand how helpless she was before me.

I sensed her hand moving quickly ... she was trying to strike. She was aiming for her favorite spot. She was trying to jab me in the neck ... again.

It didn't work this time.

Her hand stopped like it had hit an invisible wall. She yelped in surprise.

I turned slowly to face my little attacker.

The needle of the syringe was a mere inch from my neck. Her arm was frozen in its jabbing motion. Her face was twisted in a mixture of frustration and panic.

Sweat was beading on her forehead. She was trying to complete her attack still. She was straining against Lydia's hold on her with all her might.

I raised a cool eyebrow at her.

"What are you trying to do my dear?" I asked in my Master voice.

Carol gasped and spluttered. "I ... what? Why can't I ... what is happening? She finally screamed.

"Lydia," I said calmly, "Inform your charge whom her new Master is."

A second passed with Carol staring blankly at me. I watched as understanding slowly dawned on her face.

Her eyes widened in panic.

"No," she said, "He's my imprinter," she gestured weakly towards the unconscious Turner.

I smiled. "I'm afraid I rummaged around through your head and changed a few things my dear."

Carol looked at me as if I was a monster out of a fairytale. "You can't do that! I already accepted my fate. I accepted that would be that man's servant forever. You can't just turn my world upside down like this!"

I shrugged. "Rail against reality all you want my dear. The truth is I have wrested you away from Turner ... you are mine to do with as I wish."

Carol dropped the syringe listlessly. She looked at me with an expression of abject hopelessness.

"So what are you going to do to me? She asked. "I've attacked you ... and made your life miserable. I understand if you are going to hurt me." She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists.

He eyed her. She looked like scared child. I guess she was essentially. She couldn't be more than twenty two year old.

"I'm not going to punish you," I said soothingly.

Carol opened her eyes. Confusion was evident on her face.

"Did Turner beat you?" I asked gently.

Carol pursed her lips ... and looked away.

"Lydia," I said. "Did Turner beat you?"

"Yes," Carol said before she could help it. She clamped her hands around her mouth in shock.

I sighed. "I thought so."

Carol whimpered softly through her hands.

This poor girl has lived through hell. I wondered how many others Ronald Turner had turned into his own personal servants.

"Are there others like you serving Turner Lydia?" I asked

Carol's forehead wrinkled. She looked like she was putting everything into not responding. It was a useless gesture. I was her imprinter, and I called upon her true name.

"No. I am the only other know person with an active chip. I was the trial run specimen, before the X18's were created and the sexual fantasy program disbanded."

I grimaced. "Why you? What did you do to be there guinea pig?"

Carol cringed ... but said nothing. I realized I hadn't said the name.

"Answer me Lydia." I said sternly.

Tears began to fall from Carol's eyes. "Because I was easily accessible."

I frowned, "Why were you accessible Lydia? Did you work for this monster?"

She shook her head pathetically. "No," she said, "That monster is my dad."

"Your own father did this to you! Why!" I exclaimed.

Carol's head rolled up ... and she flopped down on her back. "I don't know ... because he could, because I was never the daughter he wanted. I was into drugs and alcohol, and I was flunking out of Penn State." Carol paused and looked up. "You didn't compel me to say that," she said surprised.

I held up my hands. "I don't mean you any harm ... I don't want to have to compel you to get along with you."

Carol looked at me. Her eyes were red and blood shot, and her knee was beginning to swell.

She sniveled, "Okay ... it feels kinda good to say this stuff anyway." She took a deep breath. "One day my father told me he was going to cut my allowance if I didn't come down to Chicago and meet him in his office. I had no other means of income ... so I flew down. When he met me in his office he told me how disappointed he was with my actions. He had hired a Private Investigator to follow me and report on what I did."

Carol paused.

"Then he had people put a neural processor put in your head didn't he?" I said.

She sniffed and nodded. "He called it an X16 ... but yeah ... pretty much. When I got to his office he told me how disappointed he was with me ... and then he had security take me away. When I woke up ... I found I couldn't disobey him. He made me call him Master. Apparently he stuffed my head full of Medical knowledge. He made me the doctor he always wanted me to be."

"So how did you end up kidnapping me?" I asked.

Carol shrugged. "When he put the chip in me he got me some fake documents. I became Carol Pearson instead of Carol Turner ... so no FBI people bothered me when UniCORP went under. Then one day my father showed up on my door step and started ordering me around again. He made me get a job under Dr. Thompson."

I motioned to continue.

Carol sighed, "He ordered me to sleep with him so he would like me. So he would trust me. He was trying to get me close enough so I could get to you. I would have kidnapped you when Dr. Thompson and I came to you house ... but I thought our only stop was the motel. I would have packed a syringe if I had known we were going to your house. Dr. Thompson and I started developing some neutralizing serums that I didn't really understand ... when I heard we were dropping off the serum directly to you I took action. I threatened him at gun point to lure you to the garage. Then I jabbed him with a tranquilizer before I got out of the car to go get you."

I nodded. "I know the rest of the story."

Carol closed her eyes. She looked ... resigned. "I guess you do." She started up at me. "Now may I ask a question?"

I nodded.

"How did you do this to me? How could you possibly have hijacked my chip?"

I shrugged. "I've been thinking about that ... and I think all this is due to the chip you've put in my head."

Carol cocked her head to the side. "The Z01 doesn't do anything except make people turn into brain dead zombies. It was a failed prototype." Carol paused. "But you're not brain dead ... are you?"

I smiled. "No, instead I'm better than I've ever been. I don't know how it has changed me ... but I know I'm different."

Carol simply looked at me warily.

I looked around, "Where are the two large goons that dragged me in here?" I asked.

Carol shrugged. "Turner sent them to go and make some sort of arrangements ... I didn't really listen ... I was too busy performing the surgery that gave you super powers."

There was an awkward pause.

Carol spoke, "I'm at your mercy. What are we going to do now?"

I took a deep breath. "You're not going to do anything. I am going to go get Sarah out of her cage ... and then we are all leaving this goddamn basement ... you need to get that knee looked at."

Carol looked at me strangely. "How do you know we're in a basement?"

I answered without thinking. "There are no windows and the air is heavy with mildew, and the door over there is really just an old service elevator. I came to the conclusion that we are in the basement of a building built before 2055."