@Anonymous Thanks! I have some ideas, but not sure yet.

@[Barney Northrup](/user/show/10014563) I am working on the next chapter. Unfortunately some life events and a move cross country has taken me away from writing. But hoping to get some chapters in soon.

@[Kods](/user/show/10002779) Yes, I fully understand where you're coming from here. The relationships between 'Carl' and everyone else, including himself, are very messed up after the whole incident. Sarah had fallen in love with a much younger Carl and the 'heroic determination' and stubbornness he had in spades. She now has to accept that he lost a lot of that when he became a 'slave'. Carl himself has this same trouble now; he was TRAINED to enjoy serving and shame, but trying to live as a respectable man again just doesn't work. Even when he couldn't remember his training, the former hero was just a single touch from Hank away from diving back into what made him HAPPY now,... Nick and Henry, however,... yes, Nick's motivations for fucking with Carl are probably the clearest. From really early on, Henry confessed to Nick that his dad was the source of a lot of his stress and fears. This wasn't some black-and-white, good vs evil problem,... but Nick has always had a possessive and blunt set of morals. Henry's dad was his natural enemy, partially as a threat to them being together and also as the one who was making Henry upset. Nick could only try to wind Carl up early on, but now HE has the power and Carl doesn't,... Aside from that, Nick DOES find Carl's hot-dad-bod attractive and THAT only serves to muddy the waters of his second-hand daddy issues. As for Henry, his treatment of Carl can certainly be seen as a shock and unexpected. He even admits that Carl doesn't _actually_ deserve what's being done to him by the boys in the name of 'punishing his betrayal'. The truth is that only Nick cares about the 'betrayal' and mainly because he blames himself for letting Carl 'hurt' Henry AGAIN. Henry doesn't actually blame his dad for it, but the 'betrayal' is just a convenient lie for him to heap this punishment upon Carl. When Nick woke Henry up and showed him what he'd been doing to Carl, Henry was forced to actually stop and think about what he actually wanted to happen. Perhaps it was simply having been around Nick for too long, or maybe a growing resentment that he'd never been able to put into words before, but Henry looked at the man he was MEANT to treat with the utmost respect and deference and realized he could simply,... _not!_ That liberation was intoxicating and Henry allowed a little cruelty to guide him towards enjoying his power over someone SO important. Henry had always felt pressured into being a hero, so what better way to 'free' himself of his old pains and fears than by treating his hero father to a taste of injustice? Still, Henry isn't a 'villain',... nor is Nick,... they simply aren't the paragons of virtue that they are 'meant to be'. Carl, on the other hand, never stopped trying to be virtuous and 'good', but that only doomed him! That very devotion to being a Hero, to protecting his family and to being someone he could be proud to be was what made Carl so enticing a victim for **Tri-Hard**, then Hank,... then Nick! Carl tried to be 'perfect', but that just made his failures stand out so much more! The villains found pleasure in his defeat and in breaking him down into their toy. But, for Henry, Carl's failures were crushing! The invincible man who dictated his life HAD to be infallible! Carl's descent into a shameful pup destroyed Henry's faith and pride in his dad, even though he couldn't understand or accept why. The problem is exactly what you pointed out; he can't separate thinking about 'Carl' and **'Mister Freedom'**. To Henry, they've become the same person,... or, rather, neither of them exists for him anymore! In their place is **FreeDog**, for want of a better name; the 'Carl' who no longer cares about people's pride in him and whose twisted sexual appetite too closely matches Henry's for the young man's liking! We hate to see our own failings in others, and Henry REALLY can't stand to think that his dad and he are the same! Not the man who strictly kept him on the straight and narrow,... not the prudish stereotype of a good father and husband! Of course, putting all that into words isn't something Henry had the leisure of in the heat of the moment. He simply knew how he felt towards Carl right then and there,... and he decided to put their relationship to the torch! Would he have still done it, given some time to think,...? Most likely not. But, Henry did it and now he can't go back! Thank you for bringing this up. I hope this pile of words helps to resolve some of the dissonance that might have come from Carl's treatment here. And thank you for reading!

@[Blazargus](/user/show/10012784) Thank you for responding. This all so interesting my brain starts firing and I can't stop cause I'm so invest in hearing about this story you've crafted. I think I will have to digest a bit more that Carl's unyielding devotion to wanting to be a hero lead to his eventual demise. One, because that's an interesting theme and really fun to chew on. Two, I guess I can't separate Carl's actions, while being motivated by 'heroism', ultimately coming from a place of love. From originally attempting to save Henry and losing himself all the way to, trusting and believing in Nick towards the end. In the end it truly is Carl's love that saves everyone and in that view, it's a question of 'did he fail?' I mean no doubt his will got destroyed, but his goal from the beginning was to save his son and by the end he has accomplished that. Third, I'm not sure if the reverse comes off as strongly (i.e. Nick and Henry not being dedicated heroes leads to them overcoming.) I don't know if they would have won that last fight without Carl's warning. I think the story is completely logically sound as to how/why we got here. I mean let's be for real: Nick is horny for Carl whether he wants to admit that or not. But I also think the narrative is so strong when we're in Carl's head or seeing his situation and we see him struggling against Tri-Hard (original flavor) and Hank that I don't see how Nick or Henry could have faired with it. I can't help but empathize because it all feels so palpable through your writing how the bad guys punish him for their own expectations. Like everyone else who gets mind controlled is sort of a consequence, but for Carl it's very personal. In the end Nick and Henry get to have servitude through bliss and love and Carl's servitude bliss is loveless. I do want to reiterate, so not to be misunderstood this is not me saying I think it's bad. Rather as I examine this story at it's end I focus on Carl's journey alongside Nicks and Henry's, it makes me think, and that's a fun thing!

@[Kods](/user/show/10002779) Oh, no, you're absolutely right in your second and third points! (Not to say the first isn't!) From the limited perspective of our 'heroes', looking back from where they are at the end and how they feel, Carl is the loser and they're the winners! However, as you say, there's a question of whether Carl failed or not. Carl fought to save Henry and, while it was Nick who pulled Henry out of his downward spiral, Carl fought for his son until he simply couldn't fight anymore. In the end, Carl got what he'd fought for (Henry was saved and **Tri-Hard** was defeated), but Henry ultimately FAILED to protect Carl and return the favor. If a sense of 'betrayal' has any bearing on Henry's coldness at the end, it's his own failures that have soured his relationship with his dad. '**FreeDog**' Carl represents Henry's ultimate failure to do the one thing he was fighting to achieve. Hiding that under layers of lies and manipulation only made things worse as it let Hank back in, so Henry resorted to drastic measures so that he wouldn't have to face the truth. You're also spot on how Nick and Henry both would have faired MUCH worse when subjected to the humiliating training that broke Carl down. We've seen how willing Henry is to be sculpted by other men, taking pleasure in letting himself be turned into his own worst enemy. As for Nick, for all his pride he lacks something Carl possesses; a guiding purpose! Oh, for sure, he has Henry, but that's the only thing Nick has to grasp for when he finds himself outmatched. Carl held true to his heroic nature and love for his family. He stubbornly resisted time and again, but that just meant that his tormentors could fling more at him before he would break. We can say that Carl was a true hero, even in defeat. He ultimately became a sacrifice for those he wanted to protect. Or, we can say that he was a failure! He was oblivious to the strain he was placing on his son and ultimately led to Henry opening himself up to **Tri-Hard's** manipulations. He wasn't the one who rescued Henry or anyone else, eventually being 'saved' himself! The 'hero' charged in and achieved nothing on his own, perhaps proving that having the best intentions and noble purpose amount to nothing in the face of power. Carl broke under Hank's training, became addicted to his own repressed desires and lost his way to keep fighting a meaningful battle against evil. Even once free, it only took some smoke-and-mirrors for Carl to willingly believe he was back under Hank's control; he'd given up! He CHOSE defeat! But,... then he pulled through one more time when his loved ones were threatened! It was short-lived, but Carl sowed the seeds for Nick and Henry's survival. So, yeah,... stuff!

@[phillipsm](/user/show/919402) Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the story and the ending! Sorry for the rather limited amount of Lee in the conclusion, especially when he is set to be facing a host of experiences,... but that's because any continuation of the story will be based around the **Super Defense Force** and I was a little conservative in treading on ground I might want to leave for later. Of course, as the ending became more,... _lengthy,..._ Lee's absence became more notable. I hope to make up for this when I do return to this setting!

@Anonymous I agree, I enjoy writing some humanity into him. Makes it a bit more realistic to if an everyday person got access to this hidden power.

@[Drawningghle](/user/show/10005957) Great idea! Very alchemist vibes wth that one. Thanks for reading!