My personal hero (superhero hypnosis)

This is the story of how I changed my friend Michael into my personal hero.

I got this idea during our freshman year at campus. I’d known Michael since elementary school, and we have been best friends for about 12 years now. He and I were kind of like brothers, always there for each other, even while we had different interests. I was into theatre and he rolled from into the local wrestling team, after being captain of the one on high school. But he would help me rehearse my lines, and I always cheered him on from the sidelines during important matches. We complemented each other in many ways, and while Michael was always worrying about what the future might hold, he often said that at least this friendship was a constant in his life, and that he felt at ease with me.
But I did not. Not anymore.
He was the better of us two both physically and mentally. The only things I could beat him in were creativity and speedy reflexes, the latter not being a big trait to boast about.
But nevertheless, I found out that in my eyes, being so talented and fit, I didn’t regard Michael as a friend anymore.
I wanted more than that.
I don’t know when the affection had ceased and the desire had started making itself known. Maybe it was the clothing he wore during practice and matches? Maybe it was the intimate contact he made with his adversaries? Or maybe it was the illusion that, because he always grinned at me when he won his match, he did what he did just for me.

I had been working on my method for a month now. Seeing as we were roommates (was it coincidence we did the same studies?) , I had to be very subtle about it, because Michael knew me too well to not know when I was up to something. I had to outdo myself this time, but I just knew the results were going to be worth it.
“Michael?” I called out to him. He looked up from the book he’d been reading on his bed.
“I’ve been thinking… since the wrestling team’s competition setup is becoming a lot more serious, are you keeping up lately?”
“Oh, about that… Well, it’s not an easy tempo, as you know, but I can manage for now,” he responded.
I pried a little deeper. “For now? Well, alright, if you say so. But what after that? This is still our freshman year. What will you do when your colleges start to get more difficult?”
Michael was a smart guy, I knew the answer he was going to give: “then I’ll have to give my studies priority over wrestling. But I’m not going to think about it too much.”
Bingo. Now to reel him in. “But you’ve been doing wrestling for almost 3 years now. You’re not the type to just ignore that. And don’t tell me you’re not thinking about it too much. I know you.” I did.
Michael frowned, then dropped his eyes. “Alright, it worries me from time to time. But there’s not much I can do about it but wait and see if I can pull it off. Even I can only do so much.” That last remark was meant for me, his silent punt to my constant nagging about the superiority I always friendly accused him of.
Got him. “Say what, Michael. I think I know of a way to make sure you can pull it off for sure. What do you say?”
He looked at me, confused and a bit suspicious. “What do you mean? It’s not drugs, I hope?”
“Of course it isn’t! You know I’m against those, like you. No, I’m talking about something else entirely.” And I started with the first part of my plan.

“Hypnosis? You think hypnosis could help me out?” Michael asked, with both disbelief and interest in his tone.
“For sure,” I answered. “Mind you, it isn’t anything like what you see on these entertainment shows on television. I’m talking about the scientific branch, with training, deepening inductions, and the like. The kind that will take some time.
If you’re interested, I’ll direct you to some info about hypnosis on the net. You don’t have to decide just yet. It will be something big in your life if you start it, after all.”
I could almost hear Michael thinking about this one. Rational as he was, he could not easily shake the stigma that the media had thrown upon hypnosis. But in the end, his curiosity won.
“Is it safe?”
“Of course.”
“Will it affect me a lot?”
“Only as much as you want it to.”
“And who will be carrying the hypnosis out?”
“That would be me.”
Michael blinked. “You? You can do hypnosis?”
“I grinned. “As a matter of fact, I can. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I kind of meant it as a surprise for the situation.”
“Well, you certainly surprised me,” he said. We were silent for a moment, and he spoke: “Ok, I trust you. If you say this will make everything go smoother, I’ll take my chance.”
Yes! I thought. “Thanks for that. Say, why don’t we begin right here, right now?”

Michael’s first hypnotic session was a blast. He turned out to be more suggestible than he or I ever imagined. He was deep down after the first ten minutes already. When I suggested to him that he could take on the whole world, he smiled profusely, and I could just feel the suggestion of energizing for waking up all but radiating form his body.
“That was awesome,” were Michaels first words after waking up. “I can’t believe this would work so well!”
To be honest, neither did I.
“Well, what do you think? Is it worth it?” I asked him.
He looked at me like I provided him with the cure for some terminal disease. I was right after all; he had been worried about how university would interfere with his personal life a lot more than he had shown. I could press on safely now. “So? Want to do it again tomorrow?”
Michael beamed. “Alright, sign me up for it.”

The first few sessions, I gave him the same suggestions over and over again, about him being strong enough to take on the world, being able to do both his studies and his wrestling, about how good he was as a human for being able to take on so much.
Now that his worries had disappeared, there was a visible change in his everyday behaviour; he could concentrate better in college, and his wrestling practice buddies wondered about where he got his new wind.
As my plan went on, the suggestions began to alter slightly. I now spoke of using his strength for the merit of others people seeing him struggle. About the justice in being victorious in the ring. Having him portrait his matches like a battle, in which he fought against evil. I told him that as he saw himself as the good side, he could see himself better at winning.
We talked about where exactly he did draw his strength from. He did it from his ideals, his family, and even more important, he drew strength from me.
Each session, I made sure my importance in his life increased a little more. We already did share a tight bond, but I was tweaking the edges and the reason behind it, slowly but surely.
Gradually the focus of our sessions became wrestling only. He began do dedicate his victories more and more to me. he told me that somehow, he had realised that it was mostly because of my help he was performing so great. But even more, it was because of myself.
The time went on, and I added a new thing to the sessions. I started to compare his wrestling to fighting crime. I convinced him that if he started thinking of himself like a superhero in the ring, and his opponent as the villain, he would have even more motivation and resolve to win.
Michael began reading comic books, trying to understand what made these heroes tick, why they were so good at what they did.
And Michael gradually became a superhero himself. He started wearing superhero costumes under his everyday wear at my advice, to get more into the feel of it. We often talked about it, conversations in which he voiced his concern about these tactics. They always ended with me reassuring him that it was all part of the greater plan. And he accepted it time and time again.

Ever since the hypnosis sessions had begun, Michael had kept a perfect win streak. His team often commented on how he improved so rapidly in those last few months, and he answered that it was all thanks to me. I have to admit, I couldn’t keep myself from blushing right there.
I loved him saying I was his reason for doing so great in life. I knew it wasn’t far off now.
I took my chance in the next session. Seeing him laying on the bed, in spandex attire, I began about how every superhero had his own special reason for living, the love of his life, the one he cared for most. And did he not always say his good life was all thanks to me? did he not always dedicate what he did to me? Surely he must have realised by now what this meant? After making sure I convinced him those were his true feelings, I proceeded in waking him up, and then I waited. Waited for his response, that could make or break everything.
When he opened his eyes, they darted right at me. Even from my position, I could see the internal struggle emanating from them.
My stomach turned cold. Had I been too early? Too blatant? Had he seen trough the whole ruse and come to the outrageous conclusion that followed it?
Before I had a chance to back away, he stood up and held me firmly by my shoulders. I looked away, not wanting to see the hurt of my betrayal in his eyes.
And then, he kissed me.
It took me three whole seconds to return the kiss, the overwhelming reaction had caught me off guard that hard. We fell back on the bed, him on top, and he broke off.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I should have realised the true reason for your importance in my life. I had always thought of us as brothers, but I didn’t see your pain at that. Now I know… I love you, Kyle.”
“And I love you, Michael,” I answered him before we started kissing again. All my manipulative plans melted away by my newfound love. I realised that there was no lust in my desires for Michael; all I wanted to hear was that he loved me, his former brother, more than anything else in the world. And it was enough.
I had found my hero.