"No, no. It's no good, hon," Dr. Sakolove said wearily, kneeling in front of the punching bag. Sand was pouring out at a steady stream, pooling on the ground at his knees. "These marks are so distinctive, Jael."

Her lips tight, Jael leaned down and pressed a hand to the side of the bag, flattening it so that the claw marks were clear. "Damn it," she murmured. "That's the best weapon in my inventory right now."

"Wrong, Jael," he said, glancing up at her. The light from the garage window reflected off his round glasses as he gave her a beat to reply. When she just looked at him, he said, "Your brain, dear."

A strange look passed over her face, and he tapped into her mind, quickly. He wanted to know where that expression was coming from; it was best to know. ... has been using endearments... more than normal... use that... Shivering, Charles Sakolove quickly adjusted her mind, changing her thoughts so that she was warmed by his emotional slip-ups. He poked gently until her thoughts were full of kind thoughts for him and that she wasn't considering how to use his affection for her against him.

Sagging with a touch of relief, he wondered again if he was doing the right thing. If he loosed his bonds on her, she'd run off, get in trouble and convict him as well. If he did that, he'd have to wipe her mind first. His brown eyes were on her blue ones, just thinking and she leaned down and kissed him.

His heart froze with shock before starting to pound madly - a beautiful girl was kissing him. He fell back onto the floor and she followed, her knees coming to rest on either side of his hips. He felt his hands reach up and cup her face as he automatically responded, even has the small part of him thinking clearly realized he'd overdone the affection. His mind caught hers again, holding it like a loved, familiar pet, letting him feel her thoughts again: ... Daniel’s a better kisser...

Charles' body went stiff again as he saw the young man in his mind, a young man whom he knew nothing about. Pulling her young lips from his, he matched his enraged eyes with her befuddled ones. "You've been keeping secrets from me!"

Her blood-flushed lips parted in protest, but he wasn't in the mood for lies. Savagely, he pushed into her mind and his angry actions lacked any of the grace he'd used on her before. Jael cried out and jerked against him, her claws snapping back out as pain flooded her mind. "Put those away!" Charles roared and he was pleased to see that his control was so complete that she didn't hesitate; the wicked claws disappeared despite her agony. Testing, he shoved harder against her pain receptors, holding her against him as she writhed. But her claws didn't emerge, and he grinned victoriously.

He pushed her off of him and climbed to his feet. When he was standing, he reached back down and grabbed her by her hair, yanking her from her pained huddle onto her knees. She grabbed him for her balance and his body reacted to her position and proximity. His other hand brushed over her shoulder, stroking her soft cotton shirt, lingering over the bump her bra strap made in the fabric. With an effort he controlled himself; pulling her hair until she reacted, crying out, helped him ground and center his mind. His lips set into a thin line as he began to plunder her mind, working out everything she’d kept from him. He left no corner of her brain unturned, ferreting out every detail of whom she had been talking to and what she had said.

When he’d felt every part of her mind, he reversed the process, and began to rewrite. The new commands flooded into her brain. Inform me of all contacts with novas in the future. Don’t make anymore out of town excursions without consulting me. Since you’ve displayed a deplorable lack of common sense, you’ll be conferring with me on all decisions.

She fought him. Her mind railed against his; that part of her that made her so perfect and so dangerous fighting back. But he pressed forward, and she had few defenses against him anymore. With a final surge of mental lashing across her synapses, he released his newly enslaved nova.

The late afternoon light had been replaced by the bloody red of a southwestern sunset. He released her hair and stumbled over to a wall, putting his hand out to catch himself. Charles was shocked at how tired he was, and he sank to the ground, putting his back to the wall.

Jael sagged to the floor, still crying. She curled into a ball, resting on her knees and pulling the rest of her body into the fetal position. Wearily, Charles lifted a hand to her. “Come here, Jael… come on, honey… it’s ok.”

Her head had lifted at the sound of her name – he’d long ago successfully taught her to look at him when he spoke to her – and he saw the complete animal terror in them. She was so afraid and in so much pain, and with a twinge of regret, he softly commanded, “Come here, please.”

She choked on her relieved sob and crawled to him, curling up on his lap when he didn’t stop her. “I’m sorry, but you deserved that, Jael,” he whispered.

She quickly nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “Please… I’m sorry. I’ll do anything.”

Anything zipped through his head like a touch from a live wire. For a second, he entertained a large and varied number of things that ‘anything’ could cover. After a moment, his professional intellect bullied over the untamed desires of his body, locking away the inappropriate thoughts. “That’s not necessary,” he whispered, stroking her hair with a gentle hand. “Just… be a better person, ok, darling?”

As she nodded and echoed his desire as her own, he relaxed, pulling her into a hug. Things would be better now, now that she had been readjusted. Smiling, Dr. Sakolove pulled her close and held her until she stopped crying, comforting his sweet avenging demon.