Simmons looked at the needle and then looked up at Lucy and smiled. This time it reached her eyes. "I'll do it."
Before Lucy could enjoy the small victory, and the hope that came with it, something large dropped from the sky and crashed into the ground, remolding the earth into a crater. She and Simmons looked up, and both gasped.
Beleth.
Chapter 122 - Drake
From Drake's view in the helicopter, Diamond Head looked like a giant crater surrounded by buildings. He hadn't expected there to be green shrubbery scattered throughout the volcano, but it made sense considering how long it had been inactive. In the broadcast, Steele had been on the summit above the observation platform, presumably because it offered the best view for offense and defense. Since Steele's plan involved Sam giving him Ana's powers, they both had to be there, and Drake had seen extra vials of the drug he needed to get his para-powers back.
Fighting him head-on would be suicide, especially without his powers, but that was why he had a team. "Darren, you'll lead the attack against Steele while Robyn and I go after the drugs and Sam."
Darren crossed his arms. "I'll go after Sam."
"I know you have... feelings for her." It pained Drake to say that. "So do I. But this isn't about us. It's about her, what she needs right now. I don't have powers. You do. You need to lead the strike team against Steele."
Darren scowled and clenched his fist, then released it. "You'd better get her back."
"I will. We need to be careful. Darren, your powers won't be enough to take Steele down, not with what he's become, but you can distract him from a distance, which is more than any of us can do. Even if I had my powers, unless I could crack his mind, I wouldn't be able to do that. So create a big enough diversion, for long enough, that he stays engaged."
Each member of the skilled team possessed useful para-powers, and all were armed with weapons and vials of the drug that would eliminate Steele's powers.
"Greg, Gary, Mary, Norm—keep your eyes open for a chance to strike. If we can disarm him, we can take him down." Drake made eye contact with each person in the helicopter. "This can work, guys. It has to. Sam and Ana need it to. But it's bigger than that, even. What Steele is doing will not only end the lives of a lot of people, but will result in a world that will never accept paranormals for what we are. He's already killed, used and abused so many children in his quest for power. We can't let him succeed. I don't know what he's planning with an inactive volcano and the world's attention, but let's not find out, okay?"
Norm lowered the helicopter to prepare for a landing. "We're all going to die."
Drake slapped him on the back. "Way to keep it positive, dude."
They couldn't land on Diamond Head directly, for risk of Steele pulling them out of the sky, and they couldn't get too close, since the U.S. military had created a perimeter around the volcano to keep civilians from getting in—their way of 'maintaining control' of the situation.
Yeah, that's clearly working so well.
The two teams split up to accomplish their missions. Darren and his group would use Mary to seduce their way in and challenge Steele directly, while Drake and Robyn snuck in from behind to power-up and save Sam and Ana.
Though the military had done their best to evacuate the area, locals still pressed in to see what was going on. Some watched the live footage on their iPads and iPhones even as they tried to catch a glimpse of the madman live in action.
Robyn and Drake closed in on the scene, pushing people away to get close. As they approached, a homeless man dressed in rags snuck under the caution tape and made a run for it.
Two soldiers in camo tackled the guy to the ground and dragged him away.
Was he trying to join Steele to get access to power? Drake looked around and realized a lot of the people he'd assumed were locals looked very poor and lost, beaten down by society. Steele offered them hope and power, so of course they'd come to collect.
Robyn transformed into a solider and pushed through the tape, holding Drake by the arm.
One of the soldiers on duty stopped them. "What are you doing, bringing him in?"
Robyn, looking like a soldier herself, shrugged. "Orders from top. I heard he's got some information."
The soldier used his radio to ask his commanding officer, but no one responded. "They're probably in a meeting. Okay, go on. Any damn information sounds good right about now."
The tension drained from Drake as Robyn smiled and escorted him deeper into the military camp. Tents, soldiers and tanks littered the area adjacent to the tuff cone that created the symmetrical crater. Doing any of this without power gave Drake a serious headache. He'd spent his whole life able to walk in and out of anything with the use of his para-powers, and being vulnerable when so much was at stake scared the crap out of him.
All the soldiers stared at a new element added to the U.S. Monument—a giant stone wall made from jagged rock pulled up from the earth by the Grunts that Steele had created. Another barrier, and they still had a forty-five-minute hike up the crater.
Robyn, still in soldier gear, whispered to Drake. "How are we going to get there?"
He shook his head. There hadn't been time to wait for IPI to coordinate with the upper echelon of the government in order to give non-agents clearance. Not to mention the fact that the U.S. military didn't actually know about IPI, at least not officially, and certainly not the ground crew. IPI's agents in charge had been Simmons and Morrison, and one was in jail and the other dead. They were scrambling to get their shit together, just like everyone else.
Drake and his teams were on their own. "We need a distraction or...." He motioned to a heavily armored vehicle. "Or something distracting. Get in."
They climbed in the truck, with Robyn in the driver's seat, since she still looked like a solider. "What's next?"
"We drive straight at the wall."
She dropped her hands from the steering wheel and one covered her stomach.
Drake hoped she wasn't going to be sick on him.
"Are you crazy?"
"A little. When your baby gets kidnapped, it does tend to make you nuts."
A thoughtful, sad look crossed her face. She rubbed her stomach again, then clutched the wheel and nodded. With a push of the gas pedal, they revved up and built up speed.
Outside, soldiers around them yelled for them to stop, but Drake pushed her to go faster.
Robyn accelerated, heading straight for one of the gaps in the wall.
Someone or something moved in front of the truck to block them. Drake recognized him, the red Grunt, the one who had helped Steele capture Sam. This could actually work out to their advantage—or not.
Only one way to find out. "Head straight at him."
Robyn did. Sweat poured down her face and she flickered back and forth from herself to the solider, probably losing control of her powers with fear and focus.
The Grunt stood his ground, then kicked down. The earth in front of their truck pushed up into a cone.
Robyn steered to the side, barely avoiding the rock. More pillars burst from the earth, like teeth clasping for food. One hit the side of their car, throwing them off track. They almost tipped over.
Drake hollered, "Step on it! Keep moving fast!"
Robyn put the pedal to the metal, and they stormed the Grunt, dodging teeth of stone.
The beast roared and punched the earth, ramming it forward in another cone.
Robyn turned, but the side of their vehicle slammed into the rock and they lost balance. With such a top-heavy truck, they fell to the side and rolled upside down. The sound of crunching metal and smell of gas and dirt filled the truck as Drake slammed into the side of the window, shattering it.
When the truck settled and they stopped moving, Drake unfastened his seatbelt and reached for Robyn. "Are you okay?"
She cradled her left arm and winced. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"You don't look it." He looked behind him, ignoring the pain in his neck and body.
The Grunt walked toward them.
"We're out of time. You have to shift." He pushed against his door, but the thing jammed.
"Okay, okay." Robyn closed her eyes and focused. Her body grew bigger, shifting into something less than human, but then she lost it and became herself again.
"Come on, come on!"
"I'm trying. It's not that easy." She took a deep breath and tried again.
A giant read and black hand ripped open Drake's door and tried to grab him, but something else pulled Drake out of the way, out through the other door: another Grunt, a grey one. Intelligence sparked in its eyes.
"Robyn."
She smiled, but a smile on a Grunt was not a pretty site. It made the beast look hungry for human.
The red one walked around the vehicle, noticed Robyn, and looked her up and down quizzically. She held Drake like her prisoner and they both stayed still, waiting to see what would happen.
He moved closer and sniffed the air around her. Drake hoped Robyn smelled like a Grunt too.
The red one leaned in, licking his lips. Hot breath sprayed against Drake's face; it took all of his will to stay still.
Apparently satisfied that another Grunt—Robyn—had Drake under control, the red one stood up straight and walked away.
They both breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Robyn shook from nerves. "Holy shit that was close."
They began their long hike up the crater. According to Drake's brief research, they first had to travel over an unpaved trail up uneven rocks—about two hundred feet. They would then have to go through a tunnel and up another three hundred feet. Finally, there would be a small lighted tunnel to a narrow spiral staircase—a hundred and twenty feet—until they reached the inside of the observation platform.
The near-hour of hiking didn't tire Drake out as much physically as it did emotionally. Every second that ticked by he thought about Sam, and what Steele was doing to her and their baby. It killed him not to be doing something more.
Once they finally came through the spiral staircase, Drake found the place he needed, an old military bunker with a flat roof and green walls. Down the mountain, slits opened up the earth, exposing the lower levels of entrenchment. He'd seen it on TV, as Steele showed off his supply of Blue Power—all contained within that bunker, guarded by a dozen Grunts.
They needed another distraction.
As if fate were finally helping them, a loud rumble came from down below. A piece of the stone wall had exploded, tossing up a storm of sand and dirt. Darren and his team must have been creating the distraction Drake needed. Perfect timing.
The Grunts all turned and started moving across the cone to intercept the intruders. Drake hoped they could handle the Grunts and Steele, but he had to focus.
They entered the now-empty bunker and descended a set of stairs to a lower, bigger level, full of steel cabinets and medical supplies. They tore through drawers and shelves to find the case of drugs.
He hit the jackpot at the very back in a corner cabinet. "Robyn, check this out!"
She came over and looked over his shoulder. Inside were five purple vials. He pulled them out, one by one, and clutched them in his hand.
Footsteps approached from outside. Drake opened a vial and had it ready to swallow if he needed to fight a Grunt. He only had five vials—no more than five hours worth of powers if not overused—and he didn't know what else they would face, so he had to use them with caution.
The door opened and....
Sam entered.
Drake nearly dropped his vials, but he closed the one as Sam approached him. He stood up and walked to her. "Oh my God, Sam, I've found you. We have to get out of here, now."
She smiled, then slapped his hand.
Stunned, Drake watched as all of the vials fell to the ground, shattering. His heart and hope shattered with them.
He looked back at Sam, whose eyes looked glossed over and void of feeling.
"Not yet." She held out her hand. "My father would like to see you."
Chapter 123 - Lucy
The guard who had been assigned to Simmons's detail jumped up as soon as Beleth landed, and pulled his rifle out. If Lucy had blinked she would have missed what happened next, but as it was, she couldn't pull her eyes from the scene. Beleth's hand extended into his deadly black blade and pierced the guard in the chest, killing him instantly.
Lucy clutched the serum and turned away from Simmons, who stared at Beleth.
"So you've come. I thought maybe you wouldn't, but I've been wrong about many things, it seems." Simmons faced Beleth through the bars. She straightened her back, looking him in the eyes. "Make it quick."
Beleth placed his hand between the bars, and it turned into a black claw with three long fingers. They grew apart, and the bars twisted and bent until she had space to crawl out. "I would, but you know another moves my hand." The claw retracted and changed back into a blade.
He moved past Simmons and walked toward Lucy, jerking his body as if fighting himself. Lucy had never seen him so disjointed; usually he had a grace and fluidness that none could match. Even his face strained against itself, as if fighting another power inside him—probably Steele's.
"You broke our agreement." He slowed down, but it evidently cost him as he groaned against the effort.
Lucy faced him, wondering what would happen if she ran. Would he catch up to her or keep fighting the power in him? "I couldn't kill an innocent."
Beleth looked sad. "She's not innocent. None of us are. Not anymore."
A replay of those memories flashed through Lucy's mind: all the horrible things Simmons had done. "I know, but now she's not a threat. She can help fight Steele."
"It's too late for that." He shook his head. "I've been sent...." He gagged as if he couldn't force himself to finish what he wanted to say. "I've been...." He continued to approach Lucy, very near her now.
She braced herself, serum ready in hand. If he tried to grab her, to take her away like before, she would inject him with the syringe and take away his powers.
He took another step, then extended his blade and aimed it for Lucy's gut.
She dropped to the ground, dodging his attack by a hair's breadth.
He then brought his blade down on her, an attack that would slice her in two, but he bounced off an invisible shield.
The cavalry had arrived. Lucy had planned for this eventuality and had a team in wait.
Luke stepped out from behind a building, concentrating as he held the force field to protect Lucy. Agents emerged from behind him, surrounding Beleth with rifles.
Of course, he could just fly away, but Lucy suspected he actually couldn't, not until he'd accomplished what he'd been sent here to do.
Hunter joined Luke, sword raised in defense. "Surrender, Beleth. It's over."
Lucy scrambled to stand next to Hunter, inappropriately turned on by how hot he looked with sword in hand, taking command. Bad Lucy! Focus!
She focused back on the threat. Beleth looked around as if trying to find a way to leave but knew that he couldn't. He curled in on himself and a protective ball of black oil grew around him, like a hamster ball.
Hunter yelled to the agents. "Fire!"
Lucy wanted to look away, for Beleth hadn't chosen this; she'd seen it in the memories and on his face. Everything he'd done, he'd been compelled to do by Steele.
Their bullets dug into the oily shield and it shrunk in on itself, compressing tighter and tighter. It looked like their bullets might actually break through. Then they stopped firing to reload, and the ball began to expand, like a balloon about to pop.
Lucy screamed, "Get down!" and pulled Hunter down with her.
Beleth's shield exploded outward, throwing all the bullets back at the agents at high velocity.
Luke managed to erect a shield around himself, Hunter and Lucy at the last minute, but the other agents got hit with their own arsenal and collapsed to the ground.
The three of th
em stood shocked, taking in the carnage: ten agents dead. Lucy's heart broke when she saw Agent Mark among them. The fire of hatred burned through her grief. Steele did this. He used Beleth to kill them and will kill others. They had to stop Beleth so they could deal with Steele, but stopping him meant killing him, and she hated the idea of another victim of Steele's madness dying at her hands.
Hunter picked up the sword he'd dropped during the blast. "Lucy, get back."
His face hardened in rage, and Lucy realized that the fallen weren't just agents; they were his friends, people he'd trained with and done assignments with. He too had lost much during this assignment.
In synch for once, Hunter and Luke looked at each other, nodded, and attacked.
Both of Beleth's hands turned into blades and he countered, spinning and ripping through the air.
Luke threw up a force-field, deflecting the blades, then spun out of the way as Hunter lunged from behind.
Beleth blocked, and his spider legs erupted from his back and wrapped around Luke and Hunter, encasing them.
Oh, my God, no!
Yet something was off, not going the way Beleth had planned. His eyes bulged as his legs began to spread apart, wider and wider until they snapped all the way back, forced open by Luke's force-field. Luke's arms strained from the use of his power, but he pressed on, side-by-side with Hunter.
Lucy rushed over to one of the dead agents and pulled a rifle from his hands, trying to ignore the bloody, lifeless bodies everywhere.
Hunter and Luke fought, Luke blocking, Hunter attacking, just like they had back at the Rent-A-Kid facility, except this time they worked together, as one.
Lucy aimed at Beleth, but couldn't get a clear shot, not even close to one. She couldn't help them like this, but there was something she could do.
She ran as fast as she could to the small tent that housed the sphere, and retrieved it from the box. It immediately filled her with warmth, wrapping her body in ecstatic comfort and taking away all her pain. She'd forgotten how good it felt, but she had no time to waste on reflection. The sphere pulsed in her hand, like a purring kitten happy to be home again. She sensed that it wanted to connect with her, to bond with her.
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