Learning control,kinda part 2

Mind control is a very complex ability to have, yet so simple to explain. Mind control is the ability to control the mind of others, as the name infers. The power to manipulate others to your will by probing the apex of their being, the brain. An amazing ability no doubt, one that I very much admire and fear and to have that ability is almost...well it's just unimaginable yet not something that comes as a surprise. My mother's quirk allows her to manipulate others, while she does not refer to it as mind control, I do. What else would you call the ability to make others copy your actions against their will? I'm not going to question why I have this ability, rather I'm curious as to why I'm this lucky. I'm not going to ignore my fortune after awakening in this world. How did I go from a college student barely making it through the days to some kid in a superpowered society with loving parents and amazing abilities? I've never been this lucky in my life so this is very much not what I would have expected. I'm not complaining, just curious.

My inquisitiveness is for nought, however, because I'm sure I'll never get the answer to those questions. Why am I here? How did I end up here? What am I supposed to do here? It could just be that I'm a lucky bastard that got another chance at life. It could be that this is all some coma induced dream. Or maybe, just maybe I'm here for a reason.

How far fetched is that?

All of that aside, I really need to experiment with this new ability of mine. I've had the ability to read minds for three years and had thought it to be my only power next to being the avatar and all, but clearly, I was wrong. I can read and control. I can only control through mental directive, if this can be changed or not is something I'll discover as time passes. To control one's mind I need admission to it first. I already have access but as the man had said I was in his head. I need to get into my victim's head for this to work. How had I gotten into his head in the first place? I don't remember doing anything out of the ordinary. All I know is that the man was all arrogant and smug one second and the next he was crumbling to the floor in pain. I'm sure it was his head that had caused the pitiful breakdown, which must've been caused by me. Gaining access induces a headache in the victim then.

So the main question is; how do I access another's mind completely and how had I done it the first time?

Where do I even start with this?

"I should just go back to sleep" I can worry about this later. I'm supposed to have my daily lessons with my mother but she's decided it's best I rest today after what had happened last night, or....well earlier today. I'm not a fan of this but I can't really tell her that. When my mother tells me to do something I will do it, lest I face an angered and worried mother. I never thought I would not like to be given a day off of school, even if it's homeschool. Yes, I was invested in my education in college and everything, but if I had to walk away, I would. I'm pretty sure I was pretty close to doing just that.

But my education is essential for my future in this world. In the tragic world I have left I'm sure I could've gone without all the struggle of college and just go find myself a job. It's not the same here. All this world cares about is quirk, money and power so naturally, I strive to have all three. I'm lucky to have the first two and the last will be achieved with my education and training. Power comes in many forms after all. High intellect is the form of power I prefer over more simplistic shows of power.

With brains, you can surely find a way to destroy even the most feared villains out there.

Still, I can't just be all brains and have no clue to fend for myself when it comes to combat, hence my training.

What time is it anyway?

I feel as if I've been sitting on my bed for over an hour, which wouldn't be too much of a surprise to me. When my mind wanders, it wanders.

It's twelve on the dot, which explains the high temperature. I should turn on the AC, but I hate the cold. But it's hot. Truly a dilemma.

With a very dramatic sigh, I fumble off my bed and quickly leave my room. No use wasting away in there when I'm obviously not going back to sleep. I should tell my parents about the new development and see if my father is willing to offer up his brain to me, something he's likely to do for the sake of his daughter. If I had a dollar for every idiotic, childish and reckless thing my father has done with and for me I would be a millionaire by now.

"Dad" he's the first person I see when I reach the last stairs. The man is perched on the couch, chest bare, hair a mess and eyes wide in amazement as he watches some ridiculous show. There's a bucket of popcorn next to him along with some fries and chicken, most likely whipped up by my mother. He's so invested in his show that he doesn't notice nor hear me, even when I'm standing right behind him.

"Dad" he doesn't hear me. I'm not happy about being ignored in this manner, but I'm pleased he's more himself now. He was worried sick about me and almost slept in my room with me.

"Need something Zen?"

"Yeah, a sacrifice" I follow my mother since dad is useless at the moment. The woman is checking something in the oven and even lets me get a peek before she puts it back in. Apparently, she's making cookies today, chocolate chip, my favourite. Chocolate chip is everyone's favourite, isn't it?

"A sacrifice for what, might I ask?" She humours me while she takes out the blender and dumps an entire bowl of frozen fruit into it. Mom always listens even when she's busy, which is nice.

"Yesterday I learned that I can mentally control others"

"That so?" She's really calm about the revelation as if I haven't just told her that I can brainwash others. Then again, she has a similar ability. "I guess you need your father to offer himself so you can experiment"

"Yea, but he's invested in whatever he's watching"

She glances at her husband when he burst into a fit of laughter before looking back at me. She seems amused, whether that amusement is because of him or me, I don't know.

"I'll be your labrat"

She will? I stare at her for a moment, waiting for her to say something else, but she doesn't. She's never been my test subject before since I never thought to do anything to her. My father is the idiot who goes along with everything his daughter wants while my mother is the one who listens and talks and worries and feeds and is just a mother. But I guess she's the best person to go to right now. Dad helped me with my elemental control so she should be able to help me with this.

Will it even work on her? She already has a mental manipulating quirk of her own,won't it cancel out mine?

"Okay" I agree, because why not?.

"Mind telling me what happened yesterday?"

How did this ability activate she means

"I don't know. I was preparing to test my luck against one of those men, but he collapsed before I could do anything. He was clutching his head in pain one moment and the next he was back on his feet, but when I kept repeating "wait" in my head, he froze on the spot" I relay everything I remember in as much detail as possible. "He told me to get out of his head and I didn't know I was in his head and when I tried to order him around it didn't work unless I ordered him mentally"

There's silence between us, safe for the explosions happening on the TV. She seems to be thinking things over, but she also seems to fully understand what had happened and even seems as if she knows something I do not. Does my ability work in the same fashion as her own? If so then I'm in luck, aren't I?

"His head hurt because you invaded his mind, once you were successfully in his head it stopped" she explained. "Your quirk might just function as my own" she's smiling, seeming happy about this development or perhaps this conversation.

"How does yours even work? All I know is that you can make people copy you"

"Yes, it's considered a form of mind control and only works when I make eye contact with someone. Once I've made eye contact I'm already in their head, so to speak, and can manipulate them. While yours is different it could actually function the same, because whenever I pry for access, the person I'm using my quirk on has a headache"

She goes on to explain how the headache is their brain trying to refuse the unknown presence of another. It almost always loses this battle as only those with incredible will and mental powers can fully resist her quirk's influence. Unlike me, she cannot hear the thoughts of others but she can somehow feel that her quirk had been put into motion. She says that there's actually a lot of science behind it as well as psychology and the likes.

If my quirk does indeed function as her own then I need to make eye contact with whoever I plan on using my powers on. Had I made eye contact with that man yesterday? I have to thoroughly search my memories to gain the answer to this question. A lot happened yesterday so I'm not sure but I guess I had made eye contact.

"You said it won't work against those with mental powers, so it won't work on you then?"

While she was referring to her own ability I'm assuming mine has the same weakness. It only makes sense. Mental powers can resist mental powers. Strong will can resist as well, which says a lot about that man.

"Maybe not, it depends on how strong your quirk is compared to mine. If it's strong enough it can overpower mine, the same goes for will power" she's tapping a finger on the bar with a thoughtful expression on her face. A single curl falls into her eyes, but she doesn't seem to notice or care. "I've rarely met anyone strong enough to resist me but I can tell you that it's painful to be resisted. There's this piercing pain in my head that takes my strength and consciousness"

Ah, more headaches.

Having powerful quirks sure has its drawbacks, huh?

If my mental quirks are overused or resisted I get a terrible headache or migraine and risk passing out. If I overuse my elemental powers I'm suffering one ailment or another. Overuse of fire has my body overheating and burns appearing on my skin. Overuse of water has me seriously dehydrated to the point I'm sure I would pass out amongst other things. Overuse of earth has my limbs aching and seemingly crumbling away. Seriously I get these flakes over my body that looks like shedding skin and are very painful when they do come off and that's not the worst of it. Then there's the overuse of air which I'm sure can kill me because I struggle to breathe to the point I'm convinced I'm not getting enough air which just makes me panic which makes it worse because I try to calm down,I'm always calm and something inside me is trying to force this calm. It's a battle of emotions that just takes too much out of me.

Yeah, powerful but dangerous.

With great power comes great pain.

That's not exactly what uncle Ben said, but it'll do.

"Am I allowed to try?" I realize that prying for access to my mother's mind can end with me doubled over in pain, but it's a chance to see exactly how powerful this ability is and if I can activate it at will.

No. That would be her answer for sure. From the way her eyes softened in concern I was sure she would gently decline for she would not want to hurt me. To my surprise, she says yes after clearly doubting it.

"I've never met another with similar abilities so I'm not sure if my quirk will automatically resist, but I won't put up a fight" she smiles after she clearly sees the hope in my eyes, that smile turns to a frown and I know what comes next. "If you feel even the smallest bit uncomfortable or if anything starts to hurt, you stop immediately"

Well, that's fair so I agree. It's a good deal we both learn from.

With that settled she takes a seat and motions for me to sit opposite her. We're eye to eye now and I faintly wonder if her eyes would've looked just as beautiful on me. They're really pretty and something to marvel at, so I don't mind staring into them. In fact, I almost forgot what we were doing until my mother winces in obvious pain.

Oh yeah, the pain when I try to get in.

Now that I'm aware of what's going on I do notice the faint pressure on my own mind. It's not unpleasant, just...odd. It feels as if I'm trying to push through a wall that is not there. It's almost frustrating how the wall won't budge no matter how hard I push but just before I can register the frustration it's gone, in its place the calm I'm so used to. I continue to push, my mother grunts, I worry I'll seriously hurt her, so I stop. That's good. I have control of it when I'm aware of it. Yesterday I didn't know what I was doing so I kept pushing without realizing until the man couldn't handle the pain and until I managed to break through. The entire thing did not and does not bring me any pain, not yet at least, but I'm sure it'll happen because it always does when I pull these stunts.

My mother releases a low sound from her throat, rests her head on the counter, and asks me why I had stopped.

What kind of question is that? Why do you think I stopped, woman? You were in pain and I'm not gonna continue knowing I'm the one hurting you even if it's for the sake of gaining knowledge of my new ability. Does she really think I would so easily put her aside for this? Mother, you wound me, truly. I would never do anything to hurt this woman, ever.

Dad on the other hand....

I'm kidding.

Or am I?

No, I'm kidding.

Why cant my brain remain at least a bit serious when it needs to be?

"Are you feeling better?" She's sitting up after a minute and drinking some water to probably help. She's nodding yes to my question but her thoughts and the echo of pain I feel say otherwise. It still hurts, even if it's a mild headache now.

"I'm fine, I promise"

"Mom, you do know that I'm technically an empath, right? You do know that your thoughts come with emotions, don't you? So you do know that I know that you lied to me just to make me feel better, right?" She really tried to lie to me...this woman. "In case you didn't know, I'm telling you. I'm an empath and your thoughts come with emotion, so we'll try this again, yeah?"

She's laughing.

Woman, this is no laughing matter. I hurt you. You agreed to this and you knew you would get hurt and I knew but it doesn't change the fact that I hurt you and you're trying to act as if you're not in pain. Don't laugh at me.

"Mom"

"I'm sorry" she's trying, but failing to stop laughing. At this point, I swear I'm pouting and the realization makes me cringe.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm being scolded by my eight-year-old daughter"

"Well I wouldn't scold you if you didn't lie to me"

"I'm your mother, I'm supposed to lie to protect you"

How are you going to lie to protect me when your thoughts are in my head all the time? You lie, but I'll always know the truth and that's not acceptable.

"How are you going to lie to me, woman? Tell me. Explain. How are you going to lie to me? How dare you even try?"

I'm serious here but this woman is still laughing at me

Oh my god, mother!

I give up. Laugh all you want.

At least it's better than having her constantly worry about me.