FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(This story is a sequel to my 5th Hypnovember Story: Visor. More zonked capes abound!)

"I think he might have gone this way!" said one of the heroes in the pack, a tabby cat with a visor alight with green, blue and turquoise rings that washed over his eyes and mind. His fellow heroes who, just hours ago were discussing how a new hypnotic villain had begun to pick off League members, either also bore visors with the same shimmering patterns or had them pooling and rippling through their very eyes. Throughout the steel-plated corridors of League headquarters, various monitors that once displayed dispatch and updated info on the state of the various cities under their jurisdiction now danced with the swirls that had these heroes spellbound. Down the hall, another group of heroes with visors dragged in a couple of staff, using their superior strength to turn their writhing heads in the directions of the screens. The fight went out of them and they stood to attention with a firm salute as the programming took effect.

Ezran, who received the warning of a deadly virus in the system before Comms became completely swamped with brainwashed slaves, watched the chaos from above the corridor within an air vent. Assistant Researcher to the main Head of Operations in the League Professor Spectrum, Ezran had recognized the stupefied looks of hypnotized heroes--having been around for the Mesmerizing March of 2154 and disappeared inside one of the air ducts, doing his best to avoid glancing at the screens quickly alighting with mind-melting spirals. Somehow he managed to make the journey to his lab. Quickly equipping a pair of polycarbonate goggles to block out whatever waves these screens produced, the wolf dived back into the vents just before another mob of heroes busted down his door, all drooling over themselves.

Which left Ezran there in the vent watching as the League descended into a gathering of the most powerful people in the world all under the control of an as of yet unknown villain. Already the heroes had started to change from their unique outfits into a uniform turquoise getup, each with the seat specifically removed to let their asses and tails dangle free. They marched with purpose this way and that all in perfect unison like an army. This left the wolf at an impasse for what to do. Escape was out of the question. The virus had also sealed the exterior doors. Ezran tried to bring up the schematics of the building on his phone before that too became awash with spirals the moment he turned it on and the wolf was forced to abandon the device.

He had done a good job avoiding detection for the most part and recalled enough about the building to scurry in the general direction of the main lab. Professor Spectrum might have had an ego the size of New Australia, but his lab worked off an independent server that hopefully wouldn't be affected by the virus. He had a few brief moments where he feared discovery after he struck the side of the vent with his knee resulting in a dull 'clang.' However, the thralls all seemed to mutter things under their breath that overpowered his fumble.

Eventually, he smelled the familiar aroma of black tea that had been left sitting for far too long. A few rows of light ahead which denoted a vent covering marked his goal. Once there, he peered through the cracks just in case. Professor Spectrum sat at his desk. The lion's back, enfolded in a white lab coat, faced him. All the doors were shut with a blinking red light over each of them. Red alert. Nothing short of an asteroid could open those doors.

Releasing the breath he'd been holding, Ezran knocked on the vent. The lion's head leaned up, but didn't turn to look at him. "Ezran! Get in here!"

"You knew it was me?" Ezran said as he lifted the cover off the wall and slunk out from the cramped tunnel.

"I've been monitoring the motion sensors in the vent," the old feline grumbled. "The speed at which the dot on my radar moved could only have been from a non-powered canine of some sort and you're the only one slippery enough to escape this phenomenon."

"Gee, I feel so loved, sir," said Ezran as he dusted himself off. "What have we got?"

"A trojan with a powerful effect to override inputs given and corrupt the display with mesmeric images. Anyone who stares for more than three seconds becomes beholden to it."

"Theories?"

"I suspect it to be a latent programming hardwired into our systems from when we partnered with Labyrinth Tech," the lion said, eyes trained on his screen as he typed away. "I believe our foe has combined modern-day programming with magic."

"What makes you say that?" Erzan peeked over the feline's shoulder. His eyes went to dinner plates. The lion had a string of code running in one window and a familiar swirling pattern flowing outward on the other monitor.

The lion turned, finally, revealing the dazzling patterns in his eyes. "Because this is the day my Master has been waiting for. It's time to enter the Labyrinth, Ezran."

He turned to leave, but found himself wrapped in a pair of sinewy arms the size of him. The air left his lungs as a tongue clicked above his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, naughty pup," a deep bass intoned. The wolf's head snapped up in terror to see the face of a bull above his head, hair swept back, wearing a fine midnight blue suit. Holding him in a vice grip was the CEO of Labyrinth Tech Incorporated, Theo Cretes. Pinning the wolf's arms to his sides in one meaty appendage, the other reached into his suit pocket. The minotaur removed a flash drive that he dangled before the wolf's eyes. "I've been looking all over for you. You don't need to act up to get my attention, little pup."

"Let me go!" Ezran wheezed. He reached up, both palms only able to reach around the bull's wrist, pulling to no avail against his grip.

"Tut, tut, enough fussing," said the bull as he swung the wolf over one shoulder. He headed towards a room just off of Spectrum's main office. A new chair had been placed here--one with restraints for the arms and legs that gave the wolf a sinking feeling. "Professor Spectrum has a brilliant mind, but surprise surprise when he told me you provided most of the insights on the heroes' gear upgrades. Your tactical planning is second to none. You even made a set of goggles just to avoid hypnotic abilities." Theo dropped Ezran in the chair, tugging the wolf's arms into the restraints and snapping them snugly over him before he could wriggle away. "You'll be a very lucky one indeed, Ezran! I'm going to let you keep your creativity. That spark of inspiration only you have. Not even the good Professor will have that honour now that he's done what I need. The rest will be blissfully lost in the labyrinth."

Theo approached the widescreen monitor that wrapped around the room and encompassed Ezran's vision. He heard a whirring sound above his head and his heart sank when he felt two soft earphones gently glide over his ears.

"We're going to run you through a little orientation video," Theo said. In one broad palm he cupped the wolf's chin, squeezing his cheeks between his fingers and pointed his face towards the screen. In a flash, the shadowy room blazed with white light. Two fingers from his free hand playfully walked up his cheek, dancing around the band for his goggles teasingly. "Ahhhh, let me just take care of these old things." He heard a snip. His goggles came loose and slipped off his head.

"N-No don't..." He slammed his eyes shut, but even with those thin lids between him and the screen, he felt the waves pouring over his retinas and saw the pulsing glow against his lids of a spiral expanding on screen.

"Open your mind, follow the spiral, listen, obey, good boy, that's it, listen, open your mind, follow the spiral, listen, obey, good boy, enter the labyrinth, become lost in the maze, good boys become lost, good boys obey their boss--"

From either side of his head, pulsing sonic waves massaged his brain in a binaural pattern. Voices whispered to him from either side. Like a siren's song, they called to him and washed over his mind like a hot bath. His body relaxed against his will. To add insult to injury as his wrists went slack, the minotaur tightened his bonds to make escape even more impossible. "Don't want you moving around too much or miss a single moment...now do we?" He spoke, his voice enthralling his attention already. He couldn't be falling so easily could he? No, as long as he kept his eyes shut--

Almost in response, the minotaur's hands clasped either side of his face. Roughly, his eyelids were forced open to find a swirling, classic black and white spiral disc before him. The spiral spun and twirled with a teasing pull, calling him forward. He couldn't blink anymore. He didn't want to blink anymore. Instantly, his head snapped to attention and everything else became warped as his eyes locked onto the screen. Everything outside the spiral become wobbly and incomprehensible. Meanwhile, the whispers continued to play in his ears. Among them, a louder voice began to speak directly to him above the others. The minotaur's voice.

"Hello, Mister Ezran. Welcome to your personalized orientation video. I'm very happy to welcome you to my company as Head of Hypnotized Hero development. In this video I'll be removing your need to resist and giving you all the tools you'll need to obey my commands without question. By the end of this video, you will be L.O.S.T. -- Loving Obedience and Service Totally!"

As Ezran's eyes fixed on the screen, no longer needing the helpful guidance of Theo's hands on his cheeks, the bull smirked. Once the first line of drool escaped his lips, the bull's touch became more intimate, more sensual as he stroked the scientist's cheeks, rubbing, squishing and teasing them. His hands transitioned to stroking and rubbing at the wolf's shoulders. He kneaded them gently for a few moments before his broad bovine lips kissed his cheek. "Enjoy your training, Mister Ezran. See you in..." He checked his phone. "16 hours."

With that, he reached into the lion's lab coat, drawing forth the leash that attached to the former Head Researcher's neck. Scratching under his chin and eliciting a purr, the bull tugged him forward in a march through the facility. A quick thumbprint read opened the doors and the pair stepped into the corridor. Outside, multiple heroes went about their business, transporting new equipment inside, marching to their new training rooms, and replacing the League's various symbols with the Labyrinth Tech Inc. logo. Each one received an alert from their visor when the minotaur entered their presence. Upon receipt, they about-faced and saluted to him with a resounding, "Good day Master." Now that he had every asset he needed under his direct command, he pressed a button on his watch. Every screen in the hallway transitioned from a spiral to the bull's face. The recorded version of himself spoke of the wonders of obedience and reinforced the ever-expanding maze their minds had fallen into.

On a whim, the minotaur snapped his fingers. "Breaktime."

Without hesitation, everyone within earshot ceased what they were doing, turned to the nearest hero or worker, and pressed their bodies against one another. No matter their thoughts on attraction or preference before, the nearest warm body would do. And in some cases, not even that as a particularly bulky polar bear began to hump the wall. Under the command of their programming, every hero under breaktime began to passionately kiss, grind, and enjoy each other's touch.

The minotaur walked between them all, already conspiring his next move. Not every hero had been present at the League at the time of his attack, but the stragglers would soon fall under his sway. Dive deep into the Labyrinth and become lost.