He screamed in pain, or maybe relief, and slumped
down—shaking, tears pouring from his eyes. "I'm free. I'm finally
free." He surprised Lucy by pulling her into a giant bear hug and crushing
her to his chest. "Thank you. Now, we must destroy Steele and save the
children he seeks to use."
Lucy looked at Hunter and Luke, both of them injured and
exhausted.
Beleth noticed, and gestured for the sphere. With it, he
healed them both without drawing on their energy like it had when Lucy tried.
If they had more time, she would ask him more about how
he did that when she couldn't, but they needed to hurry if they had any chance
of stopping Steele.
Her thighs burned as she clenched them together to stay
straddled on Buzz—Lucy decided her friend needed a name. Luke and Hunter rolled
their eyes at her, but she stuck with Buzz, and the beetle seemed to like it.
Hunter's arm wrapped around her as Buzz followed Beleth
in the bright blue sky. They must have made quite a view to anyone who could
see them from land—three people riding a giant beetle, and a tattoo-covered man
with black wings sprouting from his back like a bat, carrying a reluctant
Simmons, who still played a big role in their plans.
They should have just left the bitch.
Diamond Head had become a fire pit, gray cliffs jutting
from the earth like sticks smothered in ash, smoke roaring from the crevices in
between. The sky above rippled with heat, and islands of stone floated amongst
the lava below, their edges glowing like embers. Grunts, like ants, ran from
the crater and massed near a wall of stone to the south. The others, military
and civilians, could not see the welling flames, and so they stayed nearby and
surrounded the burning mountain. Poor creatures. They gleaned what they could
from their phones and TVs.
***
Lucy descended a path near the cliff, still running toward
Drake and Sam. She turned, slipping and almost falling over the edge and into
the lava. Hunter caught her by the waist, his hands slick with sweat from heat
and probably nerves. She spotted Drake and called to him, but he didn't turn,
didn't hear her.
They were too far away. A chasm of magma separated them,
with no way across.
No sign of Sam yet, either. Drake must have been chasing
her. He ran away from Lucy, and soon he'd turn a corner and be out of sight.
She had to get him the sphere, if she could just get close
enough she could throw it. "Drake!"
Still nothing.
Luke stopped behind them. "Guys, there's a Grunt behind
us. A big red one."
Lucy turned and saw the beast. The red muscles on its arms
pulsed, obsidian rock covering nearly half its body, crimson armor covering the
rest. She looked into the Grunt's eyes, and gasped, shocked by the familiar
gaze. "Adam?"
The Grunt flared its nostrils and stampeded forward.
Was she imagining it, or was that really Adam? If it was,
Steele had altered him, turned him into another pawn, and that enraged her in a
whole new way.
Hunter turned and pulled his sword. "The Grunt is
mine."
"Don't kill him." Lucy gripped Hunter's shoulder.
He nodded, and she turned back to the gap of lava.
"Luke, make a bridge."
"What?"
"Make a bridge over the lava."
Hunter looked to where she pointed and shook his head.
"That's crazy."
Lucy ignored him and pleaded with Luke. "Do it."
He nodded, focused, and created a shield that would act as a
bridge. It was nearly translucent save a slight shift in the air, like a
rainbow one could almost see.
She placed one foot in front of the other, carefully finding
her way over the bridge.
The shield wavered beneath her feet. "Drake!"
This time he heard her and turned. "Lucy!"
She moved forward as Hunter fought Adam behind her, and as
Luke struggled to hold the bridge up. "You need to use the sphere. Hold it
against Sam, and it'll reverse Steele's mind control."
"Lucy!" Luke's voice strained with tension.
"You need to get off the bridge now. I can't hold it any longer."
She turned to see Adam moving past Hunter and coming for
Luke. She couldn't turn back, not until she'd gotten Drake the sphere. She ran
forward, even as the bridge cracked under her feet, and tossed the sphere at
Drake, then fell through the hole and straight toward the bubbling pool of
magma.
Her breathe came out in jagged hiccups as she tried to
scream, then a stone slab flew under her feet. She fell hard on it, and rolled
onto her back.
Adam stood above, looking down at her. A tear fell from his
eye. "You gave me freedom." He flexed and pushed the earth up around
him, imprisoning himself in that spot. "I won't let myself hurt you."
Adam, you're not lost—not yet.
She still couldn't see
Drake, but hoped he'd caught the sphere. She yelled to him, "Go get our
Sam back!"
Drake caught the sphere and sprinted without pausing. Sam
ran from him, no doubt trying to get back to Steele. He needed to find her
first, but with her extra powers she was faster and stronger. He ran along the
cliff, as if the trail were a rim around the stone—a very thin rim near rising
lava.
The path curved before him, and Sam darted around a corner,
disappearing from view.
He pushed his body to run faster. The heat built around him,
warming his feet past comfortable. Another turn and there she was, still
running, but closer. He pushed to reach her, but she turned and threw him back
with a gust of power.
He hit the ground hard, and rocks tumbled down on him,
crushing his arm.
Pain spiraled through his arm and shoulder. The rock pressed
harder, as if alive, pushing his arm further, trying to twist and break it,
grinding down the skin.
As he struggled to free himself, Sam smiled, waved like a
school girl, and ran away giggling.
Even without Sam powering it, the rock, more like a boulder,
was impossible for him to move. He pushed and pulled and tugged at his arm,
screaming from the pain, clenching his teeth against it, but nothing worked.
Without his powers, he was useless. Toby had been wrong, Drake was no
superhero.
He needed the drugs, but he'd lost even those. How could he
ever think he'd succeed at this? Toby and Sam flashed in his mind. "I'm
sorry. I'm just not the man you want me to be."
The memory of another voice flashed in his mind: Father
Patrick's.
"Can you accept who you are?"
The Father had known something like this would happen; maybe
he'd even foreseen it. He'd known Drake would lose the drugs, lose his powers,
and still the priest had held to his faith in the man Drake was, and in the man
Drake could become—a husband and a father.
He snapped into focus, and refused to wallow in self-pity,
letting it drown him once again. His arm, stuck at a terrible angle, bent
backwards. He couldn't move it unless he could twist it at an odd angle to
dislodge it. There was one way, but....
Crap!
Drake pulled his arm and then immediately pushed. A snap. A scream.
He shivered from the pain as he pulled his dislocated arm
through the small space under the rock. Once free, he fetched the sphere,
grateful it hadn't fallen off the cliff, and jogged forward clutching his arm.
Sam hadn't made as much progress as he'd expected, or it
hadn't taken him as much time as it seemed to free himself, because she was
climbing a steep part of the path just ahead of him. When she saw him, she
jumped back down, a sharp piece of stone in her hand like a knife. She'd lost
her gun in the lava when they fell, but she still had powers.
He considered his options. She knew martial arts, but she
wasn't the best at it. He could street fight, but he'd always relied on his
super strength, which he didn't have anymore. He tried to reach out with his
mind, to connect with the real Sam, but he hit a wall. Still, he pushed
mentally, hoping Sam could still hear thoughts, whether under control of Steele
or not.
'Sam, please listen. I love you so much. I know I've
screwed up past the point of redemption, but I'm here now and forever, for you
and our daughter. I'll never let anything stand in the way of being the best
father I can be. I'd do anything for either of you, even if that meant letting
you go to live a life without me. That won't stop me from being there for Ana,
for you, but I realize I can't force you to love me again. Just know that I
never stopped loving you. Never. Fight this, Sam. I know you can. Fight him!
Don't let him use our child to destroy more lives.'
Real Sam didn't come back. Psycho Steele-Sam still ran
things, and she was pissed. Wind blew in all directions, like a tornado,
throwing rocks and debris at Drake.
He pushed forward, clutching the sphere, suffering the blows
and cuts as he moved closer to her. "Sam, I love you. If I die from this,
know that I never blamed you."
He charged her with the sphere as she held the dagger up and
readied it to plunge into his gut.
Steele punched Beleth hard in the chest. His fist throbbed
in a pleasantly painful way as Beleth fell from the sky.
Steele smiled, relishing the victory as if it were a fine
wine to be savored. Finally, he could stand against Beleth and defeat him in
hand-to-hand combat without using tricks and mind manipulations to subdue him,
though it had been gratifying to see Beleth come crawling when he thought
Simmons set up the meeting in the warehouse. How easy it had been to drug and
take control of Beleth, but Steele wanted the physical power, too.
Finally, he no longer had to bend to the will of someone
bigger and stronger than himself. Women would always fall for the strongest
man; they were genetically hardwired that way. Simmons had been no exception,
but now Steele was the strongest, and Beleth was nothing. Now she would only
ever want him.
She waited for him below, and he flew down and landed near
her. She touched his arm. "Are you okay?"
He looked at Beleth lying on the ground, twitching, his wing
broken, and smiled. "I'm good. In fact, I'm better than ever."
Now he just needed Sam. He could still feel her mind, as she
drew closer. He offered his arm to Simmons. "It's time."
She grinned like a child as he led her to the baby carrier.
"I've waited so long for this."
"I know." He patted her hand. "I never
forgot."
Sam emerged from over a cliff, dragging Drake. "I'm
back daddy. Sorry for making you wait." She came closer and dropped Drake
to the ground. A wound in his stomach seeped into the ground. It looked fatal.
Steele checked Simmons's face, but she either hadn't noticed
or didn't care.
Excellent.
"My daughter." He raised his arms. "The time
has come for you to complete your purpose."
Sam flashed her one hundred-watt smile and walked over to
Ana. Steele couldn't stop shaking from anticipation as she reached for the baby
and held her. Power thrummed around her, and her head snapped back, eyes going
wide.
Steele licked his lips, ready to receive the power. Simmons
vibrated next to him, desperate to finally live her dreams. His drug-induced
power was nothing compared to this perfection.
After several moments of hushed silence, broken only by
Drake's groans, Sam relaxed, looked at her baby, and put her down.
Unable to contain himself any longer, Steele rubbed his
hands together. "Come, hurry my daughter."
She walked forward with slow, measured steps.
He grew impatient but forced himself to maintain his calm.
Sam stopped in front of them. "Lock hands."
He grabbed Simmons's hands tightly and smiled at her.
Sam moved close to him, closer than he would have liked, but
this was too important to quibble over personal space. She leaned in. "I'm
happy for you, Father. You're getting what you deserve."
"Yes." An unexpected tear welled up in his eye,
and even more unexpected, he didn't care.
For once, the emotion of a moment didn't disgust him. He'd
been nothing without these powers. He couldn't keep his wife. He couldn't keep
his son's love. Nothing—not the man they wanted, nor the man they needed—but
now he would be. He would have all the powers he needed. He would be a husband,
and a father.
"Do it."
Sam smiled, and plunged a syringe into his neck.
My hand shook as I pulled away from Steele, who howled in
anger and reached for the needle in his neck.
He threw himself at me, but I kicked him, pushing him back.
Simmons stood in shock, but not for long. She bared her
teeth at me like a feral dog. "You bitch!"
Her screech sent spittle running down her chin as she
attacked me. She'd had training, but so had I, and her emotions made her
clumsy. I pulled her to the side, kneed her in the gut, then chopped the side
of my hand into her neck and knocked her out.
Steele crouched on his knees near a ledge. Lava bubbled up
around him, but despite the heat, he shivered. "I don't understand. My
plan was perfect. Perfect!"
The slimy residue of him lingered in my mind, and it made me
sick. "It had one flaw. You should never have messed with my baby."
His face filled with rage, and he clutched the needle in his
hand and lunged at me.
I dodged him, and as he regrouped for another attack, he
tripped backward and fell over the edge.
His fingers grasped the ledge, turning red, then white as he
hung on for his life. He tried to pull himself up but fell back. "I'm too
weak. Help me. I can't without my powers. I can't."
I hesitated. What kind of person would I choose to be? Would
I let him fall into the lava, to die by his own machinations, or would I save
him? I took a step forward. He deserved to die, but he was powerless now, and I
couldn't turn away. He would pay for his crimes, but not this way.