As I entered, I was aware of an argument going on. It was Dana and Steven. They were arguing about Steven Sr., David and Steven’s father. I was walking slowly, so I could catch some of what they were saying. Dana was arguing that something he did was inexcusable, while her wayward son argued that he was a horrible dad and person. Dana tried to rebuff him, but he ignored her words and harshly accosted her. His demeanor changed the second I was within range. He saw me. I don’t know how but he saw me and turned.
“Sorry to get you in the middle of our family dispute…you are, of course, family.” Steven said staring at me, “You amaze me at every turn. I didn’t not see the explosion coming, nor did I expect for you to come up with such strategy on your own.”
“You shouldn’t have come here alone.” Dana said softly, “He’s not the man I birthed. He’s been warped.”
“Oh mother, you wound me.” Steven smiled. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from in front of me and I felt a poke in my neck and fell to the floor. Steven walked around in front of me before he began talking again, “You see, our family’s sordid past has recently come to light. Those ‘heroes’ you’ve been trying to fit in with are not the original heroes. They are simply the new generation.”
“What are you talking about, nutso?” I groaned. The pain was starting to penetrate my mind at this point, but it didn’t feel like regular pain after a while. It felt like once the pain got to my brain…it was subsiding. My eyes opened to a clearer view of Steven’s shoes, “What did you do to me?”
“My father had this nasty habit of sleeping with the enemy, clearly.” He gestured to his mother before continuing, “We are not simply human. We are superhuman. We are evolution, the next stage in life. My father, ashamed of this for some reason unknown to me created a vaccine of sorts with Cypress. It spread, taking away the abilities of evil men and good alike. It was he who came to me and my family through Medusa, saying he had a way to undo his mistakes.”
I stopped in realization and looked up to him, “The Awakening of the Heroes was you?” I asked.
“Yes, only I didn’t get my powers. I was permanently stripped as well as my father.” He turned to his mother, “She tricked him and never got hers stripped, leading David to have power and…”
“Leaving you powerless?” I chuckled. I stood, “Now that’s funny. Then what? Cypress made you a super superhuman?”
“Exactly.” He smirked, “For some unconceivable reason, Cypress was looking into your DNA. What he found was astonishing.”
I wobbled on my feet, “What exactly did he find?” I asked.
“Power.” Steven said quickly, “But the ‘cure’ was an airborne cure and eliminated something within your ‘powerful’ genes. I simply gave you what you needed to realize your potential.”
I stared at him, aware of the connotations he was throwing out. The story was far-fetched, though. How could Cypress and Steven Sr. get this cure into the air? And why was none of this advertised in my family tree? I quickly glanced at Dana, who seemed braver than I gave her credit for.
“Doesn’t matter.” I frowned, “All of this is irrelevant because I’m not here to know my genetic family tree.”
“Ah yes, you’re here to kill me, is that right?” Steven asked stepping back towards his mother, “I would ask if you could do that but you’ve done that already, haven’t you? The only problem with that line of thinking is that you felt remorse. You felt as if you should have never done it.”
“I used to feel remorse.” I said quickly, “I changed my mind.”
“My little woman.” He smiled even bigger, “I know how much you hate that. You are beautiful when you’re angry.”
“I feel sorry for you.” I said withdrawing a gun and letting it fall to the side, “Last time I stabbed you. Didn’t take.”
“I can’t help but feel like it never will.” Steven said sadly, “I hoped that you would come and see me and be filled with the love I feel for you….but you don’t, do you?”
“You asked me to become the villain again…if you love me at all, you wouldn’t ask that of me.” I said softly. I raised my gun, “Just because I’ve changed, it doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It doesn’t mean I’m not torn up inside, but I’m not the morally ambiguous thief anymore…I don’t think I can be that.”
His face turned to rage, “You can murder me, in cold blood. Don’t you think that is just a little morally ambiguous?” He asked angrily, “I don’t think you broke my heart when you stabbed me. I don’t think you have…until now.”
“I can’t save you.” I sighed, “I chose me this time.”
“You have changed…I’ve always chosen you. I won’t make that mistake again.” Steven said angrily, “Goodbye, lover.”
With lightning fast reflexes, he disappeared and I raised my gun before turning with it. Steven grabbed my gun, wrenched my arm and threw me across the room and into a console, causing a light blast of electricity to sizzle over my head. I groaned and rolled over in time to see his shoes walking towards me. He picked me up with ease and stared at me.
“You used to be so much more fun. Then again, I was screwing you.” His deep voice said, “I doubt either of our fathers new this was coming.”
I stared at him with confusion.
“Why do you think both of us needed an extra kick?” Steven asked, “These secrets, that woman,” he turned me to see Dana, “has lied to us since the beginning. She’s watched you since before we’ve known each other.”
My eyes centered on her and Dana, who seemed to be keeping her calm despite the situation. Someone who didn’t know her better would have said that she was unshaken, but I knew better than that.
“She doesn’t hate you. She never did.” Steven said angrily, “She thought you were too good. She felt guilty for your situation because she allowed you to become what you are. A clueless, hurt child. You’ve never needed saving before…now is different. Now, in the presence of this family, you’re something different.”
This line of conversation infuriated me. My mind began to go in several different directions at once as his grip loosened on my throat. His expression was of surprise, yet he acted as if he expected this to happen. Once his grip was loose enough, I kicked off his chest and dropped backwards to the ground. Without a second thought, I hopped to my feet and looked around. In my head, there was a soft whisper. The whisper warned me to move and as I did, a fist went where my head had once been and I grabbed the fist, wrenching it down over my shoulder and whirling with a kick to the chest. He stumbled back and looked at me dangerously.
“You talk entirely too much.” I said massaging my neck.
“Interesting.” He said quickly. He moved closer, stopping when I pulled out a second gun, “I can’t tell me you didn’t feel that. It’s happening.”
I pushed my hand forward, causing him to levitate slightly and smash against the wall, hanging over the ground. I used my other hand to wave at a steel bar, which parted in one long jagged piece and flew over to him.
“Stop!” David said running into the room with the team. He looked as if he were worried for us, “Don’t do this.”
“I know he’s your brother…I know, but he cannot be saved.” I said loudly.
“If you kill him, I’ll never be able to save you.” David said quickly, taking a few more steps towards me.
“It’s not your job to save me!” I said angrily. I looked between the brothers, “Neither one of you. He’s right.”
“Right? He’s a psychopath!” Kinsler said, causing me to see for the first time that he was wearing ripped shorts.
“I was stronger without this team. I was strong enough to do what I had to do before and I can’t stop now. If he doesn’t die…”
“He won’t,” Cypress said, appearing beside Dana with Maksim and guards, “Like Mr. Birkoff here, he’s got a retarded aging ability. It was exciting to play with his genetics. I can only hope that yours will be just as exciting.”
“Mom
…” David said, turning to her.
“He must. Killing your brother would destroy you or I, but it’s the only way to save him.” Dana said as Maksim jammed a gun to her side, “Do not worry about me.”
“You’ll lose your family.” Steven smirked, “You don’t have the power to kill me.”
“On the contrary,” Cypress smirked, looking between us, “Your power is indeed formidable, but his powers have the potential to outgrow yours in every way possible. To attempt to kill you, even at his current level, would be easy. The only reason you can beat him is you are experienced in your powers.”
“You lied!” Steven roared as he began to try and fight his way out of my hold.
The energy around my hands began to turn bluish white and grew intensely to the size of a large wave of energy. I was concentrating so hard that when I heard a gunshot, I immediately dropped him and looked to my chest. When I had checked myself thoroughly, I looked to Cypress and Maksim, who held the gun and it was askew. I turned to Steven and saw that there was a red dot on his forehead. The dot was dripping red fluid and his eyes fluttered.
“Oh God, NO!” Dana’s voice cried out.
“Merely a loose end.” Cypress smirked. He turned to the team with a device in his hands, “I guess there’s just one more thing that has to be done. As the new leader of Medusa, I commit myself to the destruction of this base and the threat of Steven Samis, RIP.” He clicked the button and Steven’s body exploded into a million pieces, bringing down the ceiling in front of Maksim, Dana and himself.
“Come on!” I said running and grabbing David, who looked borderline comatose. I pulled him away from the sight, following the team out of the self-destructing base. David seemed to be straggling and I knew why. Somehow we got cut off from the others and I turned him around to see me, “Snap out of it! We’ve got to go!”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Shut up!” I said angrily, “Now’s not the time! Place coming down around us…I need you to snap out of this and help me save you!”
The words brightened his eyes and he blinked at me, “Save me?” he actually chuckled at the thought.
Above us, the ceiling above the exit caved in and we looked between each other. David was about to say something when I turned to the wall and threw my hands at it with a swift gesture, causing it turn into molecules and shatter outward. I pulled him out of the hole just as the complex caved in on itself.
Chapter 9: The Hero
As I closed the door to David’s room, I felt more out of place than ever. I stood facing the closed door for minutes, trying to decide if I should leave him alone. I was afraid of Medusa now. Cypress wasn’t just some nutty scientist. He’s a full-blown mad-man and now he has a new idea of fun. I turned, about to walk away when I bumped into Birkoff, who frowned and took a step back.
“Look, if you came…”
“I didn’t.” Birkoff said quickly, “I was wrong about you. I was coming to see our leader, but I saw you standing here and—“
“Are you saying you forgive me for everything?” I asked with a smile.
“Not a chance.” He said with a wry chuckle, “You’re dangerous. Luckily for me I can’t die easy. Can you say that about David? Or the rest of his family? You’re an asset to the team, but…you’re a bigger liability.”
I stared at him, taking in his words. He wasn’t being snarky or rude, but honest. I nodded to him and scratched my head.
“Medusa is after you. We’re after Medusa.” Birkoff said, “They have something of ours.”
“Is this a goodbye or what?” I asked. He sighed, causing me to roll my eyes, “I’m sorry. I can’t leave. Not now. Not when all of this is happening.”
“I’m not going to give you a hard time,” Birkoff said slowly, “But I’m not excited to have you here.” He said, turning and leaving.
“Tight-ass.” Colonel Anderson said standing next to me, “How’s our boy?”
I looked to him.
“Of course.” Anderson said, “Dana’s a tough lady. I happened to have known her for a long time. Her, her husband, her kids…your father.”
My eyes bulged.
“Where do you think the idea of superheroes or superhumans came from? Comic books, really?” Anderson asked, “I’ve been in this business for years. I’ve seen things that I can’t explain. I wasn’t keen on you coming to this team for two reasons…you’re a recovering villain, and any way you attempt this, it’s going to be hurtful.”
“When did this conversation become about me?” I asked, looking forward again, “I don’t need a rehash. Hadassa is still out there, Medusa just kicked into high gear and we lost two people…”
“Did you save the world? Have you learned anything about the past that you didn’t know before?” Anderson asked, “When you came into the program, you were a murderer and thief with so much edge you could cut someone to shreds by standing next to them. Now, you’re a hero, though you couldn’t see it before.”
“Are you going soft on me?” I asked.
“No. You’re a soldier. Your dad, being the person he was, gave you something he couldn’t give anyone else: a reason to fight. You gave him the same.”
“Definitely mushy.” I nodded. I looked at him, “Where is he?”
“That, I don’t know.” He smiled, “If you leave, remember that you’re welcomed here. You’re part of the team no matter what.”
“So much is left unanswered. I just…I want to know so much.”
The Redeemer Page 20
