“This is what you did to me. You ruined my life.” He scrambled to his feet and backed away from her, his face still flickering between the two visages.
Selena got to her feet. She looked around the bathroom, then started to back up slowly, slipping toward the exit. This was just an illusion, and in theory, she should be able to exit from anywhere, but she didn’t know where the edges of his fake reality were. Best to just stay with the mirage and head for the door. As soon as she opened it and stepped out, the bathroom disappeared. She was in a big, empty warehouse. Faint city light was streaming through its wall of cloudy windows.
Do you see that, Bastion?
I see. Be very cautious now. You hit a nerve giving him back his lost piece of skin.
He was right. Flynn was prowling toward her, holding the big glass shard from their fight in the bathroom. Gone was the new face he hid behind. In its place was the adult version of the boy’s face, hideous scar and all.
He tilted his head twice, as if he was relieving a twitch in his neck. “I saw dozens of doctors, surgeons and specialists. They all said they could fix the damage you did. All of them made it worse.”
Selena kept backing up. The cavernous warehouse held no place to hide, and she didn’t yet know where the exits were. She hoped there was one in the corner behind her.
Flynn kept coming closer. “The last procedure was the worst. I contracted a MRSA infection.” He moved his hand away. The piece of flesh he’d held to his cheek, though only a mirage, left it bloodied and terrible looking. In the middle of his cheek was a slug-sized hole, showing his clenched teeth.
Selena wanted to be ill.
“You see why I had to have you? An eye for an eye, a cheek for a cheek.” He reached into his pocket to show a tiny glass vial. He laughed at the wave of fear that rippled through her. “Yes, you do understand.”
The glass shard in his hand was gone, and in its place was a wide, short knife.
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do—I don’t want to leave you in suspense. I’m going to carve up your body, then your face. Then I’m going to pour this serum into your wounds. Know what’s in it?”
Selena shook her head. She shot a glance around the room, searching for a door. There was one in the far corner.
“Live MRSA bacteria.”
She had fifty-fifty odds with any normal man in a fight, but those odds dropped to nothing with a mutant like him. She couldn’t risk getting close enough to engage him, now they’d broken free of his fantasy replay in the bathroom.
She took off in a pounding run for the corner, hoping the door wasn’t locked. She’d gotten maybe ten yards closer to it before Flynn jumped in front of her. She looked back to where he’d been to make sure he wasn’t there—she knew how mutants could fake so much. He couldn’t be real—he’d moved too fast. She had to be looking at an astral projection, not the flesh-and-blood man.
She did a roundhouse kick, planting her foot in the middle of his jaw. He was solid. And he didn’t lose his balance. He caught her ankle and slashed the knife along her calf laughing giddily at her cry of pain.
Selena crouched in front of him, prepared for hand-to-hand combat. She had no weapon and was a mere regular against his mutant superiority. Time was her only ally. Bastion would be here soon.
As Flynn advanced, she dodged and jumped here and there, avoiding his thrusts and slashes. At last she caught the wrist of his knife hand and, bending his elbow with a fast blow of her other arm, turned his thrust against him, stabbing him deep just below the collarbone.
He screamed at the pain, pushing a sonic blow at her that tossed her into the air. She landed hard on the concrete floor and slid a few yards, knocking the breath out of her. Before she stopped sliding, before she could even get her breath, he was on her. She was paralyzed, frozen by some trance that left all of her senses intact, but her body unable to move.
He laughed as he cut through her clothes. When her skin was exposed, he made a long slow cut down her body. The pain was excruciating. She couldn’t move, couldn’t escape what was happening, couldn’t even scream. When he stopped the cut at the corner of her hip, he set the blade beside her and opened the vial. She was bleeding heavily. She felt cold and faint.
I love you, Bastion.
Hold on. We are here.
Flynn dripped the contents of the vial into her wound. Each drop burned like acid, spreading fire over and through her body.
She shut her eyes, surrendering to a strange peace that suddenly overtook the pain. Her last thought was of Bastion.
Their time together had been short, but it had meant everything to her.
40
The helicopter landed on the roof of the warehouse. Bastion and Guerre jumped out and hurried to the rooftop stairs. Bastion sent his energy out into the whole building, seeking Selena’s.
He looked at Guerre. “She’s not here.”
She was, Liege said.
Either Flynn had taken her somewhere else, or he’d suppressed her energy. Bastion didn’t want to even think about the third option—that she hadn’t survived the bastard.
They split up; Bastion took the third floor of the sprawling warehouse, and Guerre took the ground floor. It was dark outside now. No lights were on in the abandoned building, but both men were able to see in the dark.
Bastion couldn’t help but remember the last information he’d gotten from Selena—when Flynn was cutting her. He was terrified of what he would find…and terrified he wouldn’t find her at all.
She wasn’t on either of their floors, so they met in the stairwell on the second floor. Both sent their awareness into the room ahead of entering it, psychically checking for anything that felt like a trap.
There was nothing. No ghouls. No Flynn. No explosives. No trouble was lying in wait.
And no Selena.
They stepped inside. A pile of something was in the middle of the floor, absolutely still.
Selena.
Bastion rushed over. A dark pool of cooling blood encircled her. She looked at him, but didn’t move or speak. Flynn had left her in a tranced state, frozen in place. Bastion knelt beside her and took her hand. He hadn’t set the trance, so he couldn’t release it from the outside in. He had to go inside her and break her out. He did that now, pushing his energy through her in an ever-expanding bubble until it stood between hers and Flynn’s, breaking Flynn’s grip on her.
Guerre was already working on her, stabilizing her wounds, keeping her vitals steady. When it was safe, Bastion lifted her and rushed her up the stairs and into the waiting helicopter.
Guerre continued working on her the whole flight back to the fort. A long, glowing line filled the wound Flynn had made on her. Bastion stared at his friend, but couldn’t read anything other than his intense concentration.
After several long minutes, with the roar of the helicopter all around them, Selena looked up at Bastion. Her eyes were beautiful, trusting, and so full of pain. She caught the back of his arm as he bent over her. “Let’s play the ‘if you were’ game,” she whispered.
Bastion could barely hear her in the loud chopper. But he didn’t need her voice to hear her. He smiled and nodded, blinking away a tear. “I’ll go first.” He sniffled. “If you were the sun, I’d be the flowers reflecting your beauty back to you.”
“I like that,” she whispered. “If you were the grass, I’d be a pack of rescued dogs rolling around on you.”
“Good one.” Bastion fought his emotions back. “If you were winter, I’d be the snowflakes, showing you the infinite ways you are unique.”
She smiled and nodded, but her eyes swept shut. She no longer had the energy to speak, though she gave him one last line. If you were mine, I’d love you forever.
I am yours, Selena. I am yours.
It seemed to take forever for the helicopter to make it back to the fort. Bastion covered Selena in a bubble of energy so the cold wind and dirt kicked up by the helicopter blades wouldn’t worsen her conditi
on. He ran with her into the fort.
A man he didn’t know was waiting there with a gurney. Bastion set her on the bed, and the man rolled the gurney into the kitchen, where a makeshift operating room was set up.
No introductions were made—there was no time. Selena needed everyone’s full attention. A man and a woman, both mutants, came over. The Ratcliffs, he supposed.
“Bastion, we have her now,” the woman said. “Go wait in the living room.”
No way was he going to leave his light in the hands of strangers, but Guerre caught his arm. “I’ll be with her. Go, so we can take care of her.”
Bastion sent Selena a last look, then walked backward out of the kitchen and into the living room. Liege was there with Summer. So was Acier. He knew Merc was paying close attention via their mental link.
Bastion sat in one of the armchairs. Everything about him hurt, from his heart outward.
Liege looked at Bastion from where he was standing by the bookshelf. “She’s in the best of hands. Dr. Beck, the physician Owen’s team uses, brought blood down for a transfusion—they got her blood type from her Army records. Between him and Guerre, she’ll be patched up in no time.”
That didn’t prove to be true. Hours passed. Bastion alternated between sitting and pacing. The numbness he felt grew as Selena’s energy weakened.
“Bastion?”
A woman’s voice broke into his thoughts, the woman from the kitchen. Dr. Joyce Ratcliff. “I’m sorry—”
He stopped listening. His breath left him in a rush. He stumbled over to the armchair. His head was buzzing. He covered his ears and refused to look at the woman.
She didn’t let that sway her. She crouched in front of him and grabbed his hands from his ears. Holding his cold hands in hers, she stared up into his eyes as she said, “I want to modify Selena.”
“What?” Bastion blinked.
“We’ve brought several vials of the serum we used to modify Nick.”
“You can’t. It’ll kill her. She can’t survive something so traumatic now.”
“I’m afraid it’s the only option to save her at this point.”
Tears spilled down Bastion’s cheeks. He sent a panicked look at Liege. Guerre came into the room and sat on the coffee table behind Dr. Ratcliff. “Let them do it. I will help support her through the shock of the infusion.”
Bastion got up and went into the kitchen. Machines were hooked up to Selena. Her blood pressure was dangerously low. She was on a ventilator. A bag of blood was slowly dripping into her arm. He stood beside her bed and held her hand.
What should he do? What could he do? She might not survive the transition. But she might not survive anyway. He kissed her knuckles. Closing his eyes, he tried to slip into her mind, to find where her spirit had gone while her body was so desperately wounded.
Stay here, Selena. Stay with me. I will be with you through every step of this change. Take my energy; take all that you need.
He looked over at the Ratcliffs, then at Guerre. At last, he nodded. “Do it.”
Selena woke from a dream about standing in a freezing spring rainstorm, only to find she was actually in the icy downpour of a shower.
She wasn’t alone. She was sitting on a bench with her legs draped over Bastion’s. Though his arms held her in a tight grip, he was dead asleep. His mouth was open and long snores came from deep in his chest.
She smiled at him, then wondered why they were sleeping in the shower. That was when she remembered everything. The drill to get the families to the bunker. Mouse missing in the head count. Ghouls spread everywhere across Blade’s property. Fighting in the house. Flynn threatening Bastion.
She shut her eyes. Bastion had said none of that had happened, that it had just been Flynn messing with her mind. It had felt so real.
She eased herself from Bastion’s lap and shut the frigid water off. Stepping out of the stall, she grabbed one of the towels stacked near it. Before she could wrap herself in it, she caught her reflection in the mirror. She looked gaunt. Shadows circled her eyes.
Her gaze went lower, to her body, something she would have never done before. Now, she felt none of the panicky emotions that had been with her for over a decade. There was a new scar that crossed from one shoulder to the opposite hip, the wound that Flynn had carved into her. It was reddish and bruised, but it looked to have been months into its healing. How was that possible?
She touched that scar, testing the pain around it. There was none. How long had she been out of commission?
While she stared at her body, her gaze traveled to her breasts and hips. She turned to the side, checking the old scars she’d carved into her own body. Instead of the raised webbing she expected to see, there was just fading patches of discolored white skin.
Her scars were healing.
She huffed a disbelieving breath.
Bastion came into view behind her. He studied her, worry written across his face. He took her towel and wrapped her in it, then kissed her temple. “You’re awake.”
She nodded. She watched his reflection as she said, “You changed me.”
His face tightened. He nodded. He lifted her and carried her out of the bathroom to her bed and settled her in the bed. The sheets smelled deliciously fresh.
“Summer has been changing the bed every time I bathe you,” Bastion said.
“Why? How long have I been out?”
“Two weeks.” Bastion looked reluctant to explain more, but he said, “You were gravely injured, Selena. Dr. Beck was here with blood for a transfusion. He, Guerre, and the Ratcliffs worked on you for hours, but you were dying.”
“They had to change me.”
Bastion nodded, then watched her closely.
She pulled on his hand, drawing him beneath the covers with her. “Am I going to be all right?”
He nodded. “I think so. You have a long road ahead of you now to acclimate to the modifications you received. But you’re completely healed from your wounds.”
“Flynn had a vial of something that he poured into my wound. He said it was live MRSA bacteria.”
“It may have been, but in the mutation process, all toxins are pushed from the body. Whatever he poisoned you with would have been removed from your system. That’s why we were constantly washing you and changing the bed linens. The cold showers helped with your fevers, too.”
Selena kissed his knuckles. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me.” Bastion frowned. “You don’t thank your heart for beating or your lungs for breathing. What I did was selfish—I can’t live without you.”
Selena wiggled into the crook of his arm and wrapped hers around him. “My ‘thank you’ stands. You saved my life. And you made the difficult choice of the mutations for me. I wanted them, but I was afraid. Now we can have a proper future.”
Bastion huffed a sharp sigh. “It was the only choice I could have made.”
“Have the Ratcliffs been checking on me?”
“Several times a day. Dr. Beck sees you every few days. Guerre has been connected with you the whole time, monitoring you. He says you’re healing very well.” Bastion ventured a smile. “Your team has also been down to visit you. One or more of them is here every day. Ace has been relieving Summer in helping with your care. They love you very much.”
Warm tears filled Selena’s eyes. “I’m a very lucky mutant.”
Bastion laughed. “I’ve called your parents.”
“Oh. My. God. What did they say?”
“They will be here tomorrow.”
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“If my daughter was gravely injured, I would absolutely want to know so that I could be there for her.”
“Do they know I’m a mutant?”
Bastion grinned and shook his head. “No. There is no need for them to know that at this point.”
Selena rubbed her cheek against Bastion’s bare chest. “I love you. So much.”
Bastion’s arm tightened around her. �
��Good. Because I love you more.”
The next day, they were in Summer’s greenhouse, waiting for her parents to arrive. Acier had gone into town to pick them up.
Bastion could feel Selena’s edgy tension. He decided to tell her a story to distract her from her worries.
“Did you ever wonder why our hearts are on the left side of our chests?” Bastion asked. “Not in the middle?”
Selena smiled. “No. But I’m guessing you have.”
Bastion straightened the blanket covering her. They were sitting in double recliner on the top tier, overlooking the lush rows of terracing that led down to the pool. He kissed her forehead, grateful her transition had gone as well as it had. He wouldn’t have survived losing her, he knew that for sure.
The greenhouse was her favorite place in the fort. It was his favorite too.
“I have long wondered about this mystery of the heart. I think it comes from an error in the Bible. Maybe it wasn’t on purpose. Maybe it was an error of translation.”
“Bastion, you know I’m not a religious person.”
“But God saved your life.”
“No. Science saved my life.”
Bastion waved that away. “Whatever. Believe what you like. I’m going to tell you about how woman came to have a heart.”
Selena shook her head.
Bastion fought a laugh. “You see, in the beginning, God made woman without a heart, hence the expression ‘heartless woman.’”
“Bastion—” Selena said, a stronger warning in her voice.
He laughed. He loved stirring the pot with her. “No, it’s true. Just hear me out, mon amour. In the beginning, God gave man two hearts, as he did two eyes and two ears and two arms and two lungs and so on. He gave no heart to woman because she took her strength from man.”
“Bastion—”
He chuckled. His distraction was working. “Well, what did you expect? The Bible was transcribed by men, so of course it favors them. Anyway, God made man and then made woman his dependent, almost a sub-creature. But man said, ‘I have two hearts and my woman has none. She cannot live without me.’ To which God said, ‘She is yours to do with as you will.’ Man thought about this for a long time. Such decisions don’t come easily, and there was much to consider. At last, he said to God, ‘Give her one of my hearts, for then I will know, when I am born, that somewhere in the world is my other heart. I will not be alone because my heart and hers will beat with a single resonance and that resonance will help me find her.’ God, being omniscient, knew what the outcome of this would be. ‘If I do this, she will have her own hopes and dreams and desires independent of you.’ Man gave this some thought. ‘But you see, God, having been without a heart for so long, woman will now know what love is, and once she does, she will always be driven by her heart. Her dreams will give me hope. Her strength will strengthen me. Her courage will give me courage.’ After this, God agreed to do what man requested, and both He and man saw what a better place the world was. It’s why you and I have a resonance together, why your heart needs to be near mine.”
Bastion: O-Men: Liege’s Legion Page 37
