Peppermint

Chapter 33 - Nothing Personal

***GABE***

"I got a legit question for you guys!" I call down the corridor as TJ and Kensi keep approaching me. "Where the hell is Harris?"

They stop short of coming into range of my light blade, then each raise one of their own. Being more at home with their own light elementals, both their blades are longer than mine. They look like they're working in eerie enough unison as it is, both playing a sort of mirror game with each other - Kensi's wielding left-handed, while TJ's wielding right-handed. Then comes their simultaneous response in almost the same cadence as this one ghost in Dark Shadows: "He's coming. He's coming."

As my blade twitches, pointing at them one after the other, I groan and grunt as loudly and fakely as I can. "Ohhhhhh...uhhhhhhh...I know. I feel him masturbating as we speak. Don't you know we boyfriends can sense that shit?"

"Aww, you're cute when you're gross," Kensi says. Admittedly, that does sound really in character for her, even when she's not under mind control. But that dead tone of voice is so out of character, it's out of this bloody solar system, even.

"Definitely related to me," TJ comments. Okay, that's also in character, and also super dead-sounding.

I let my blade twitch again. "Okaaaaaaaaay...so just so we're clear, someone here is filling your mouths with garbage to spew back out. Who is it? Whose ass do I kick?"

"You're the one pretending you just felt him jackin' it," says Kensi with a squeaky-toy laugh that sounds so wrong coming from her.

"You're not answering my question." I train my light blade on her. No offense, Fionna, but my connection to Kensi is a lot less personal than to TJ, so if I have to nick anyone with this blade, I'd rather it be her. Wait, do I even have to nick her? Can I make it so this blade is less solid and more sparky?

There's so much I haven't even begun to figure out about this new power, and I'm already trying to use it as a weapon. How boneheaded am I? Well, those I love are involved, so...very. Extremely. More than I ought to be anytime, ever.

I focus my thoughts on the end of my blade in hopes that that alone could get a spark to happen. It doesn't, not right away. Any sparks that come off the blade right now, they're coming off naturally, I think. And they're small enough that Kensi isn't even reacting in the slightest.

Other than to say, "Harris. He's controlling-" And then she stops, as if whoever's really controlling her just forced her to.

"Yeah, you're lying." I turn to TJ, and he actually twitches away from my blade, even though it doesn't come anywhere close to touching him. Hell, the blade hasn't even moved.

"I'm not lying," Kensi says. "Harris is running this show."

"Congratulations, you got to complete your lie this time."

"It's not a lie." This time, it's TJ saying it on her behalf. "Harris is in our heads."

"In our hearts," Kensi chimes in.

"In our souls," TJ adds.

I roll my eyes so far back, I'm afraid they're going to get stuck and then I won't be able to aim my blade at anyone. "In my ass, though."

"You're not supposed to tell us that!" cries TJ as Kensi covers her ears.

I smile at them as dangerously as I can. If only Harris could see through their eyes. "Is that your weakness?" I ask them. "TMI?"

Kensi recovers from her disgust and teases, "You'll never find out."

I hope I can keep them out of my head, because I've just had an unexpected brainwave. For all the energy I'm using up pointing my light blade at my friends' heads, what if I targeted another portion of their anatomies instead? For all the Peppermint mind-control program likes to, you know, infect the brain, why is it that they always make their plants glow at the wrists? Is it just corporate product placement? Or a secret vulnerability to exploit?