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Dining Out, Thinking In

For Taiko

By Draconicon

Ford Sia. Wheeler. Keeper Creep. All three names meant something, but he was only supposed to be known by the first two these days. He had tried very hard to only be known by the first two, particularly with the punishment that came when he showed any sign of missing the old days. Ford took a deep breath as he felt his scales prickle, a few half-faded bruises still lingering around the edge of his striped tail from the last 'discipline' session that he'd had under his probation officer.

"Alright, we're here."

Ford looked up. Well, more accurately, Wheeler did. 'Ford' was the name that he'd had before he'd started using his old powers. 'Wheeler' had been the name that he'd taken as a new alias before he started being known as 'Keeper Creep.' It was easier to call himself Wheeler these days than anything else.

Hell, it was better than being called -

"So, Creep. Are you ready for dinner?"

Wheeler tensed his tail to keep it from twitching as he looked up to the front seat. The stallion behind the wheel looked back at him, eyes glowing ever so slightly, a warning to keep from trying anything. The rhino in the passenger seat was only slightly better, arms tensed and ready to act if he did anything.

The only one in the car that didn't look at him with threatening intent was the orca sitting beside him in the back seat, and that guy was too busy looking out the window, pretending that it wasn't happening. Wheeler slowly nodded to answer the question.

"Good. We're starved, and this is your chance to show that you are actually reformed. I'm still not convinced, personally, but..."

But the parole board is. That's all that matters. One more night. It's just one more night...

"Alright, everyone. Out."

Wheeler did what he always did. He got out first, and he got distance from the car, making sure that his extra-long tail wasn't anywhere near the doors when the others got out. In the past, if he wasn't quick enough, the stallion had accused him of waiting for the chance to hot-wire the car, and then...

Well, he didn't need the 'corrections' that the hero was allowed to dish out for the 'betterment of the criminal.' That was something that he would prefer to avoid.

As he darted out the door, getting a good dozen feet from the car before coming to a complete stop, he turned to watch the super-family that had been given charge of him. Three males, three supers, two of them working for the city, one of them unemployed, none of them related by blood.

I drew the lottery here, he thought sarcastically.

The horse was first. Stable Master to the city, Mr. Chandler to those that worked with him in business, Jim to his friends. For Wheeler, it was always Stable Master or Master, something that the stallion had insisted on since day one. The tall, broad-shouldered equine was someone that would walk into a room, ending his last step with something of a stomp that echoed through the floor, and then stand there, using his natural height, long, brooding mane, and stern, glowing gaze to rule the room. That was what he did now, almost like the habit was so ingrained that he couldn't help but try and dominate the parking lot as much as he did his opponents.

Then the rhino got out. Jim's adopted son, Beauregard was just as thick across as the Stable Master was, if not slightly more so. Not as tall, though, which made some of his muscle look a bit more like chub than pure power. Of course, Wheeler knew that the rhino had that in spades. One intervening shove during an argument between Wheeler and the Stable Master had sent the snake flying out the back door, over the garden, and into the back fence. He'd taken the hit well enough, but it had reminded him that he was dealing with someone that had some serious super-strength.

He shook his head. Beau, or 'Rugby' to the super community, was not nearly as bad as his adoptive father. Not as good as he liked to think, either, but not as bad. He was...clueless, Wheeler supposed was the best term. Trying to be good, and unfortunately idolizing the person that wasn't that good.

As the two tall guys started making their way to the restaurant - a dock-side thing that was at the end of a pier and boasted lovely views of the water at the edge of Novus Ager's richer waterfront district - the last of the family stepped out. Ferris Chandler, no super-name. For that matter, he didn't even know if the orca had powers. Every time that the subject came up about work, both the Stable Master and Rugby dominated the discussion, and the orca went quiet.

"Hey."

Ferris's quiet voice was almost too easy to miss, and Wheeler had to focus himself back on the other guy. The youngest member of the Chandler family, and another adoption by the Stable Master, was the shortest of the bunch. Not by much, but enough for everyone to know he was the youngest member of the family without asking. He had more chub to him - and obviously so - than Beau had, and unfortunately, he didn't carry it quite as well as his brother. He didn't so much bounce as he walked as he swayed a little, having to make allowances for the start of greater weight.

"Hey," Ferris said again, giving him a nudge. "Don't want to keep dad waiting."

"...Yeah."

They followed behind the heroes, the former villain and the civilian keeping quiet as they stepped inside. Wheeler had some hopes that the dinner out would be something surreptitious, something that would just involve enjoying some food and seeing if he could control himself.

He shouldn't have had such high hopes. As soon as he and Ferris stepped inside, the stallion turned and pointed at him dramatically.

"And this is why we need that specific seat. I'm supposed to keep an eye on this criminal until tomorrow, so I need to be seated in the glass corner."

And just like that, all eyes were on Wheeler. The coral snake did his best to keep it from bothering him, trying his usual tricks of reminding himself that he had fucked up badly, that he deserved some punishment for what he did, that most people knew who he was already, but it didn't stop a surge of irritation from burning under it.

I'm trying. I'm trying to be better.

He clenched his hands tightly at his sides, but the wait staff had already nodded in understanding. A hero's request needed to be accommodated for, and the villain needed to be contained. That was all that they needed to know.

Never mind that the 'villain' had served time doing community service.

Never mind that he had already made reparations.

Never mind that he was one day away from being a free man again.

All of that didn't matter. All that mattered was the villain label and how much that bothered people. Even here, in Novus Ager, the city of villains and heroes, he was probably more feared than he would have been in a city without heroes. At least out there, he wouldn't have had to deal with all the other problems.

They were taken to a table at the edge of the glass corner, one that overlooked the water outside and reflected the setting sun in a beautiful fashion. They sat down, only for the Stable Master to fix him with a stare. Wheeler paused, then reached into his pockets, pulling out a pair of modified handcuffs. He attached one end to a brace attached to the end of his tail, and attached the other end to the back legs of his chair.

"What's that for?" the seal waiter assigned to them asked.

"It neutralizes his power. If he can't coil, he can't make himself stronger," the Stable Master said. "Now, may I see the menu?"

Just like that, the waiter refused to walk behind him. It wasn't outright fear on his face, but there was definitely discomfort, as if he didn't know what would happen if he tried doing something like that. Wheeler did his best to keep his own annoyance and hurt from showing on his face, too. The stallion would take that as feeling uppity, feeling mistreated for the wrong reasons, and then...

Well, he didn't need the sort of 'correction' that would involve. His behavior for the last month had been impeccable, and he hadn't given the Stable Master any excuse to block his probation ending tomorrow. As long as he made it through the night, as long as he behaved properly until the end of this, he would be okay.

He tapped his fingers together under the table, trying to get rid of some of the nervous energy that was building up, but it was all but impossible. They had all eyes on them now, and he was doing his best to keep from doing something stupid, something outright villain-ish. He had learned his lesson; he didn't need to do things like that. He didn't want to hurt others. All he had to do was make it for one more night and he wouldn't have to deal with the Stable Master, with the Master, with Jim, any more.

The waiter started to hand the menu to him, only for Rugby to stop him. The rhino shook his head.

"Dad says that he's not allowed anything sharp," the rhino said. "Nothing that he can use against other people."

"It's...paper, sir."

"Papercuts hurt, and he's a villain. You don't know what they can do."

Even the seal looked a bit confused at that, arching an eyebrow at the sheer stupidity of the statement. Yet, it was still something that they worked with. He wanted to say that it was fine, wanted to ask for the menu, but no. He had to be restrained, and he had to be belittled even further.

Don't say anything. Don't let him see you're angry. Don't do anything stupid.

Not even a day. Just a night. That was all that he needed to get through.

The Stable Master ordered some seaweed salad and some brined foods, stuff that looked like it fit better as a piece of art than culinary finery. Rugby was little better, ordering more of the grazing things. Ferris requested some sushi, several rolls laid out. Wheeler opened his mouth -

"Creep will have soup," the Stable Master said.

Wheeler gritted his teeth tightly, knowing better than to countermand what the other man had said. He could feel the light bruises on his tail throbbing as he imagined what would happen if he did. No, no, just go with it. Just...go...with...it.

The waiter took the order and walked off, heading back to the kitchen. It took Wheeler a moment to realize that he was gripping his side of the table so hard that his fingers hurt, that he was staring down at the table with such intensity that if he'd been another super, he would have set the whole table on fire. He made himself pull his hands down to his sides, feeling his tail tight and almost in pain from how tense it was.

"So, Creep. Do you think that you're going to be ready for a normal life after tonight?" the stallion asked, leaning back in his chair across from the snake. "Looks like you're ready to try and throw me through the window."

"...I'm not."

Oh, the things that he wanted to do went far beyond that, except it wasn't a want. It was an urge. An urge that he was doing his damn best to keep from taking over. He was going to be good. He could do that. He'd proven that.

The stallion shook his head. Before Wheeler could say anything, the older hero turned to Rugby.

"See? This is why we have problems. Sure, some of them can change, but people like him? People that get powers over the mind? Never."

"Yeah...I mean, it's not like everyone goes bad with those, dad," Beau said. "I mean, it's not like -"

"There are powers that corrupt absolutely, Beau. Anything involving the mind - telepathy, mind control, anything like that - is a one-way path to being a villain. You can't come back from that. Nobody can."

If he still had his powers, or had the ability to use them, they wouldn't be at this point. They would have been at a tolerable point, where he could actually see where this was going and defuse it before it could happen. He could have done something with the instigator, could have -

No. He had no powers. And for the moment, that was a good thing, because if he could have done anything with them, he would regret it. Probably. Maybe.

Not with you, but with your son...

Wheeler took a deep breath, forcing it out. Their food was brought to the table, and he did his best to eat his soup in silence. Hot fish and broth passed his lips, heating his blood, but it did nothing to calm him down. If anything, it made the rest of the remarks passing from the Stallion Master's lips hit him all the harder.

"If it were up to me, I'd see you put in prison. Proper prison, you understand?" the horse said, looking him in the eye. "Somewhere that you could never hurt someone again. Somewhere that you could never escape."

"I learned my lesson," he muttered into his bowl.

"Yeah, but...you never lost your powers. Not really. That's why we gotta tie up your tail, isn't it?" Beau pointed out.

Mostly correct. Mostly. Wheeler sipped more broth from his spoon, remembering how that had felt. His tail was long, his coils strong. When he managed the right grip, aligning his coils properly around someone, he could send them into a pocket dimension, somewhere they could not escape without outside help or his express permission. As long as they were in that dimension, they fed another power. All the extra mind-space and brainpower gave him telepathy, and more, the ability to control others. The more that he had, the more power he gained, until he was able to project that control over a particularly wide area.

That was why they tied his tail up. They didn't want him to have that control again.

"He'd do it in a heartbeat if he wasn't free," the Stable Master said, leaning back and dabbing his lips. "That's what his kind do. The minute you touch someone else's mind, you're hooked. You can't stop. That's why he'll never change."

I have. I haven't hurt you. I haven't hurt anyone. Not anymore.

"He might be let go tomorrow, but he'll be back. They can't stop. They never stop."

With a shaking hand, he tried to keep eating his soup, but the constant barrage of insults were shaking his self-control worse and worse. He might not have his powers, but he was losing faith in his ability to control himself and not throw the table through the window or something like that. He knew that the moment he did, he'd lose his chance for freedom tomorrow. The Stable Master was baiting him, and it was working.

If I could just...just make you...shut up...

If he tried something physical, Beau would stop him. If he tried something with his powers, then he'd screw himself over.

"Every time one of you shows up, the city takes a turn for the worst. It's bad enough when someone gets a hypno gun or can do it with their eyes, but you? Your kind...Mentalists like you are just one step away from becoming dictators. I won't let that happen. Ever."

I'm sorry, Wheeler. He's...he's like this because of me.

If it hadn't been for all the experience that he'd taken on from the constant emotional beatings from the Stable Master, he wouldn't have been able to hide his reaction to the sudden mental message in his head. He almost dropped his spoon, but he hid that under a cough and gasp, pretending that something had gone down the wrong tube. He looked down at his food, hiding the fact that he was actually peering out of the corner of his eye at the orca sitting on his right.

_Was that...you?

Yes. I'm sorry about...him.

You can do this too?

Well, kind of. I'm still new to it, but...Yeah. He knows. And he doesn't like it._

That explained far more than it should have, and he immediately felt a wash of sympathy for the orca. At the same time, he felt the tingling touches of another mind on his, something that had only ever been done in the opposite direction, and he felt...fascinated.

He realized that this must have been how it felt for a former smoker to see someone else with a cigarette, or an alcoholic to see someone carrying a beer. The feeling of someone else in his mind, the knowledge that Ferris was touching his brain with his powers, reminded him of all that he had done when he'd been the one with the power. He remembered submerging others in his will, remembered taking the power of other minds and focusing it for his intents and pleasures. He remembered, remembered, remembered.

He missed it. Oh, god, he missed being able to take the world and shape it. Just a little touch, just a little hint of that right now to make the Stable Master shut up about the evils of mentalists.

_Hypocrite. That's all he is.

He's...trying. He's trying to be -

No. He's looking at me, and seeing what you might be, and he's lashing out at me because he can't lash out at you.

Can't he?_

Wheeler's eyes widened ever so slightly, losing track of the conversation as he realized the implications. Out of habit, he pushed at the tingling feeling in his mind, not expecting anything -

He was pulled along the connection, suddenly in the orca's head. No, he was Ferris in that moment, sitting on the couch as his father berated him for using his powers just to look at something, to see what was happening. It had been just a few seconds time, using his powers to see through the eyes of someone at a fight, worried about what was going on with Beau, with his dad, but that had been enough to gain the father's ire. The shouting match had gone on for nearly an hour, and it had been completely one-sided.

Wheeler followed that line, diving into Ferris's memories. He could feel the orca pushing at him, felt the shock around his presence in the other man's mind, but the difference in experience between them was not a matter of inches, but a matter of miles. He swatted aside that shock, that little touch that was trying to push him back out, and he went deeper, deeper, and deeper still.

What he found was a young man that was trying to be as good as he could be under his father's narrow definition of the term. He found a young man that was trying to minimize his powers under all the evils that his father told him that they represented. The orca was so squashed down that he didn't even know how angry he actually was.

Wheeler saw that anger, understood it, and...

And fed on it.

There was something in them that matched there, a resonant feeling that they shared. Anger at the mistreatment, at the unfairness, at everything that they were both being forced to go through. They were kindred spirits in that, and the coral snake pulled at it, dragged it towards himself.

In that moment, he fed the pocket dimension inside himself, and for the first time in months, he felt his own powers activating.

There was shock, awe, but no fear from Ferris. That was mostly because he had pulled the orca's mind into his own, hiding it there, keeping it safe, but that was fine. He could feel his powers coming back, telepathy and more. He reached out, touching the stallion's mind, doing the first thing that came to mind.

Keys. Keys to the waiter. Unlock me.

It was something so weak, so mild, so small a suggestion that it could have gotten lost in the shuffle. However, as the Stable Master held forth, he also flagged down a passing dolphin, offering him the key and gesturing at the snake's tail. The dolphin, perhaps unaware of the implications, did as he was told, and just like that, Wheeler's tail was free.

Beau opened his mouth, but that was nothing compared to what Wheeler could do. He could move at the speed of thought, act fast as whim. He was in his own head and in Ferris's, and as a result, he had his own power, and Ferris's. He reached out, his mind touching Jim's, Ferris's touching Beau's, and the two of them were completely subdued, no longer anything to worry about.

In the back of his mind, he could feel Ferris rooting around, touching things, checking up on what was there. He could feel that the other telepath was curious, wondering what was going on, what he was like. Wheeler didn't care. All that mattered to him was making things better, shutting the stallion up -

No. No. He had no right. No fucking right to be in this world when he was like this, when he was shutting his own son out and preparing for the 'inevitable' day that he would be a villain.

No.

Nobody deserved -

NOBODY DESERVED THAT!

Where Ferris's anger had been buried by family loyalty and hopes for the best, Wheeler had no such compunctions. He had been mistreated since day one by the stallion, and he didn't care that it was something that might have been understandable. Sure, he had been addicted to his own power when he had been the Keeper Creep, but that didn't mean that he hadn't changed. They could change. They all could change.

Even him, he heard Ferris mutter, but he didn't care. He didn't care anymore. One more night just felt like way too long.

He slipped his tail under the table. It wrapped around the base of Beau's chair, then under Jim's. He squeezed, his tail finding their legs and pulling them tight, and as he made contact, they were halfway towards sliding into his pocket dimension. Just the potential energy of them being there strengthened his connection to his powers, making it that much stronger, that much easier to control them. And for being partway into his pocket dimension, they slipped under his control.

The diatribe faded as the Stable Master was no longer thinking about whatever it was that he had been saying. Wheeler was hissing through his half-open mouth, gripping the table to keep from doing something stupider and even more obvious. Instead, he focused them on each other. Beau, Jim, staring at one another.

He had no idea what Beau felt towards his younger brother, but it was clear that the father cared more for the rhino than for his mentalist son. They could stay together, then. They could be out of the way, where they wouldn't hurt anyone else, where they would stop abusing someone that had no fucking choice in the matter.

He squeezed them together, and some of the affection that they had was compressed, compacted, and only somewhat intentionally became something else.

He watched as they reached out for each other, not quite embracing, but not quite going to something completely lewd. Not just yet. They touched each other's shoulders. They looked at each other longingly. They...

They cared for each other. As he pulled them tighter and tighter together, dragging his coils up along their legs, making them sit together at one side of the table so that it wasn't entirely obvious what they were doing, he could feel them slipping further and further into his pocket dimension. In a few minutes, they'd be swallowed up.

And the further that he took them, the further they went with their affection. Their hands wandered, the tall horse and the broad rhino reaching down and fondling each other under the table. The son unzipped the father, slowly taking his cock in hand and stroking it, making it harder, firmer.

He should have been shocked. He wasn't. All that he cared about was pulling them in, making them safe, and then -

You don't have to.

Wheeler paused, but he didn't pull his tail back. That voice, that was Ferris. Deep in his head, deeper than he should have been. The younger telepath -

He'd gone deep through the memory link. While he'd been using the other man's powers to control the rest of the family, Ferris had been digging into his head and going after something to tell him what was going on. The snake stared, not looking away from the rhino and stallion touching each other, groping each other, masturbating each other as their affection became something else. The rhino idolized his father, wanting to be like him, wanting to be a good hero, and the stallion cared for his son, wanting him to be as good as he could be.

As they pushed their chairs closer, their cocks touching one another, Ferris pushed at him, nudged him.

_You're better.

I'm not.

You are.

I just...look at what I did. Just because...

You did that because you were angry. It's not your fault. They hurt you. They hurt you more...more than I understood. I'm sorry for not doing something, too._

His tenuous grip on both his power and on Ferris's shook, and he almost lost control. He clenched his jaw, his fangs almost going into the lower half of his mouth as he struggled to maintain that grip.

_He needs to learn...he needs to learn a lesson.

Like you did?_

A little nudge in the back of his mind brought the memories of his defeat to mind. He had been knocked down by another villain, a worse villain that he had been trying to steal from. The impact had jarred him, shaken his control, and the gadgets involved in the fight had been enough to rip most of his stolen people from his pocket dimension. The loss of them had been the loss of his mental powers, and reality had come crashing down on him.

Pain. Desperation. Emptiness. The knowledge that he had done this to himself, that he had...

Another nudge, another memory. Being in community service before being handed over to the Stable Master. He'd had the opportunity, but had been too scared after what happened to him last time. The shock of how far he'd gone had been a reminder not to go that far again, and...and it worked.

For a while.

Even so, he hadn't realized how much he missed the power to do what he wanted, to change things. Even with how far he'd taken it, even being honest with himself and realizing that he was putting the Stable Master and Rugby against each other as a way to humiliate them, he knew that there was something under that. Not just anger, but the need to see things better. He...

_You aren't a villain.

I am. I can't...I can't...

You can stop. You tried so hard. You're so close. I can see it in you.

Please...don't...let me...

Do you really want me to let you?_

He didn't need Ferris to 'let him.' He had the power to do what he wanted, to take what he liked, to do whatever he wanted to the two heroes now. If he really wanted, he could pull them into his coils and make them disappear, hidden in his little hidey-hole of a pocket dimension, and then he could control the parole board tomorrow, see to it that they never, ever caused him a problem again.

He'd have that power. But...but did he trust himself with it?

The answer...was no. A little shiver ran down the connection between him and Ferris, and it shattered. He gasped for breath, breaking off contact, and he lost his own power over the stallion. The two big heroes started to break apart -

How do I fix this?! How do I fix this?!

And then Ferris was asking him. The inexperience and panic replaced the gentle touch that had kept him from going too far, and Wheeler, for the first time in his life, answered with authority that wasn't forced by control.

Touch here, and here, he thought, holding the image of the heroes' minds in his head. It'll start a temporary loop, keep them repeating the same action until you can figure out what else you want to do.

Okay...okay, it's working. Oh, that was close...oh, that was too close...

He smiled despite himself. There was something almost...innocent about the way that Ferris sounded. No, not almost. He was innocent. He was someone that didn't know how to do this sort of thing, and he needed help.

Help that his father had no way of providing, and no inclination to. Wheeler tapped his chin slowly, watching as the orca tried to keep things under control. The coral snake didn't have time to focus on his own near-breakdown, or his almost-fall back to villainy. Instead, he had to take care of the orca, and that...

That gave him a good purpose. He reached out, tapping the seal waiter as they came close.

"I'm sorry, they're a little bit drunk," he said. "They've always been affectionate, but you know how it goes."

"Oh. Are they, um..."

"Adopted," he said. "Sorry. I know it's a scene, but..."

"Who would have thought that heroes would have lower standards than villains?"

He let the sting hit and then wash over him. That was fine. He could take that one. It was honestly better than what he had gotten from the Stable Master all this time.

"If you don't mind, could he pay the check? This is...very uncomfortable."

"I think that would probably be for the best. Sir?"

Ferris whipped his head around, the orca's attention shaken for a moment or two. The seal nodded at him.

"Can you take care of the villain?"

"Me? Uh...yes, I can. Sorry. I was just distracted."

"No worries, sir. If you'll come to the front desk, we can clear the bill."

The seal left, and Ferris turned to him. There was no way that they were going to get the credit card off the stallion, not at this point, not when he and Rugby were necking each other and nuzzling in. They were all but climbing into each other's laps, for that matter. Wheeler nodded. He'd guide the other telepath in how to handle it.

#

It was cheating a little to make the front desk think that they had already paid, but it was a minor thing, and from all that Wheeler had seen, the restaurant could swallow the loss easily enough. Orca and coral snake stood at the edge of the parking lot, Ferris with his hands in his pocket, Wheeler with his arms at his sides. He looked out at the darkened streets, then down at the phone that the younger telepath had in his hand.

"Ride here soon?"

"About ten minutes." Ferris nodded, his voice still quiet. "...Are you okay?"

"Couldn't you check?"

"I hate doing that. It feels...wrong."

"Well, you might want to start learning. I felt how strong you were; that's not going to be so easy to stamp out as the days go by."

"...Dad won't like that."

"I've been in dozens, hundreds of minds. I've never seen a parent that was happy about their kid growing up. Not entirely. But you gotta deal with it." He shook his head. "Look...I'm not saying that I'm an expert or anything, but...maybe I can help."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to be a free man tomorrow. Hopefully. I'll need to do something to keep myself from doing..." He nodded back at the restaurant. "You know. Maybe...Maybe I can be a teacher. Help you out or something."

"...I'd like that."

Ferris reached down and held his hand, giving it a squeeze. Wheeler tried not to read too much into it.

The End

Summary: A former villain is serving his last night of parole with a hero family, and...it's not going well for him.

Tags: M/M, incest, semi-incest, rhino, stallion, orca, snake, supers, mind control, grinding, frotting, masturbation, public,