by Kelly Oram
Teddy waited a moment, watching to see if my plan had worked. When I didn’t move to take him down, he grinned. It wasn’t a comforting smile; it was insane. He’d gone off the deep end. “You’re mine now, Jamie. I own you.”
I’d been through some scary stuff in my life. My accident that gave me my powers, accidentally killing my first boyfriend, being chased by mad scientists, thinking I was going to die when I blew up Visticorp, waking up alone in the desert with no memory, nearly being killed by superthugs…a lot of scary stuff. But I’d never been this terrified.
“Maybe I can’t make you love me for real,” Teddy said, “but I can certainly make you act like you do. And when Ryan finds you—which we both know he will—he’ll finally see what it was like for me. He’ll finally feel rejection.”
I started to panic at the thought of Teddy taking out his anger, frustration, and hurt on Ryan—and using me to do it. We were screwed. So, so, so screwed. The ACEs would come any minute, and once they barged in they would do everything they could to subdue Teddy, and he would force me to defend him. I was about to fight the people I trusted most. And Ryan. I wanted to believe Teddy’s threat was empty, but I’d never seen him so angry. It was as if he’d finally snapped. There was something slightly crazy about him.
“I’m going to enjoy making you break your lover’s heart,” he continued. “Won’t that be fun, Jamie? And after you’ve finally destroyed that annoyingly optimistic spirit of his, maybe I’ll have you kill him.”
I wanted to keep my emotions hidden, but I gasped at the threat. Seeing the blood drain from my face, his grin turned sadistic. “Maybe once he’s gone forever, you’ll finally realize who you really belong with.”
My knees gave out, and it was Donovan who caught me.
“Teodoro, you’ve had your fun. You need to stop upsetting Jamie now, before someone gets hurt. Don’t make me separate the two of you. Don’t make me lock you up again.”
Teddy burst into laughter. “You’re still acting like you’re in control here. You can’t stop me. With Jamie by my side, you have no power over me or anyone else. You’re useless. In fact…Jamie…kill him.”
The command came so fast, so unexpectedly, and so forcefully that I reacted before I had the chance to try and fight the order. I reached over and twisted Donovan’s head, snapping his neck. His lifeless body hit the ground before I even knew what I’d done.
My scream was joined by a startled cry from Betty and a whimper from Natalia.
“Teddy, what did you do!” I shouted, tears bursting from my eyes. “I killed him! You made me kill him!”
Stomach heaving, I collapsed, hitting the ground right next to Donovan’s body. His empty eyes stared blankly at me. I retched all over the floor. As I gagged, Teddy crouched down beside me and ran his hand over my head, caressing my hair as if to comfort me. I tried to whirl on him, insane with grief and guilt and ready to make him join Donovan in an early grave, but the second I attempted to harm him, my body locked up and my brain seemed to slow down. I knew I’d zoned out, just like Harper had every time he’d tried to disobey one of his orders.
“He deserved it, Jamie.” Teddy spoke low and soft, but it did nothing to calm me. “He’s kept us caged like animals. He’s done tests on all of us, forced us to push our abilities to near breaking point. He practically turned Betty into a vegetable, and he steals Natalia’s bone marrow as quickly as she can reproduce it.”
When my thoughts turned to the young girl in the room, I was able to focus again and I gasped. Bone marrow? That was the secret ingredient in Donovan’s miracle serum?
“Look at her, Jamie,” Teddy said, pointing to the corner where Betty and Natalia were huddled, shaking with fear. “Look at what he was doing to her. He was killing her. And he would have eventually done the same to you. He was a monster.”
My anger flashed to the surface again, and I glared at Teddy. “Then you should have killed him yourself, you coward. Instead you made me a murderer! A cold-blooded killer. I hate you! I hate you!”
“Jamie, calm down…”
I tried to blast him again—not aiming to kill, but just to knock him unconscious. It didn’t work. He’d ordered me not to harm him in any way. My body locked up as it had before, and I once again zoned out. It was hopeless. He had me prisoner, trapped inside my own body, which no longer belonged to me. I would never escape him.
My focus was drawn back by the sound of alarms blaring through the entire compound. Wide-eyed with shock, Natalia stopped sniffling and blinked up at Betty. I’m guessing the alarms didn’t go off very often—or ever—up here in the middle of snowy nowhere. Teddy shot me a bitter smirk. “So the quarterback’s here already, huh? That didn’t take long.”
While I had a minor panic attack—worried about Ryan showing up and what Teddy might make me do—Teddy calmly walked over to the door of the subject residence quarters and peeked out the small window into the main hallway. His face fell into a frown. “Hmm. Maybe we should stick it out in here until the chaos dies down. Jamie…?” He flashed me a sickly sweet smile. “Would you kindly blast the control panel for me so that no one can unlock this door?”
“If I do that, we won’t be able to get out either, genius,” I argued. But as I argued, I still obeyed and sent waves of electricity into the control panel, frying it completely.
I received another stupid smile. “I have every faith that you’ll be able to get us out of here after your friends have disposed of Donovan’s little army. In the meantime, this is the safest place for us to—”
Ironically, as the words fell from his mouth, the door behind him was blasted open, knocking him to the ground and showering him with tiny bits of ash and melted metal. The door had been incinerated. When the dust cleared from the small explosion, Abiodun stood in the hallway, with his hands in tight fists at his side. Both of said fists were blazing with fire. Tyson had said Abiodun could throw a mean fireball. Not that I hadn’t believed it, but wow.
Abiodun met my eyes from the hallway with a soft smile, but was immediately blocked from my line of sight when Ryan burst through the door. I assumed he’d come for me, but after a quick sweep to make sure that I was fine, he ground out a sharp “WHERE IS HE?”
Assuming he meant Teddy, because Teddy was the only thing that could put Ryan into a murderous rage, I pointed to the floor. Teddy was slowly rolling over onto his stomach, moaning like a baby. Ryan wasted no time pulling him to his feet and punching him in the face. “You psychotic little bastard!”
He punched him again. And then again. Momentarily, I wondered if I should stop him—but it sort of felt good to see Teddy get pulverized, and there was no doubt Ryan found it therapeutic—but then Teddy croaked out, “Jamie, stop him. Protect me.”
Before Ryan could hit him again, I separated the two and dragged Teddy safely across the room. His eye was swollen, his nose was definitely broken, and his lip was split, but he still managed a smug smirk in response to Ryan’s shocked expression.
“Stay back,” I whispered as I flipped into Danger Mode and held my hand up, palm out, ready to defend Teddy by any means necessary. “If any of you move, I will be forced to act. I will hurt you. I don’t have a choice. They made new nanobots that are resistant to my energy. Teddy controls them. I can’t stop myself. I have to do whatever he says.”
By now, all of the ACEs had filed into the room behind Ryan. Several of them had rushed to Betty and Natalia while the others were standing behind Ryan, their attention focused on Teddy and me. All of them froze at my confession, their gazes shifting to Teddy.
Major Wilks broke the silence first. “Son, there’s no need to hold Miss Baker hostage. We’re on the same team.”
Even with one eye swollen nearly shut, Teddy’s glare was lethal. “I’m not holding her hostage,” he grumbled, spitting a little blood out of his mouth. “I’m rescuing her. I’m rescuing all of us. Betty, Abiodun, Tyson, Natalia, let’s get out of here.”
He flinched when none of them
agreed or moved to take his side. “You guys, what’s the matter? We’ve always talked about escaping.” The confidence bled out of his voice. “You want to go with them?”
“Teodoro,” Abiodun said softly. “These people are not your enemy. You can release your control of Jamie and come with us.”
“Into the hands of the government?” Teddy scoffed. “Are you crazy?”
“The ACEs are awesome,” Tyson promised. “You can trust them.”
“We can’t trust anyone but ourselves!” Teddy shouted. “They’re collecting us, aren’t they? The same as Donovan did!”
Tyson frowned. “But they don’t hurt us or experiment on us. They don’t keep us locked up.”
“Wake up, Tyson. They’re just using you. Same as Abiodun and Jamie. They only want us for our power. That’s all anyone will ever want us for. We are better than that. We belong with each other. We’re the same. Family. We’re the only people we can really trust. We deserve more than to just be used as tools. Or married to them.” His glare shifted to Ryan. “You are so ordinary,” he said. “Inferior to Jamie in every way.”
I rolled my eyes at the insult, but Ryan couldn’t shake it off. His face flushed red and his hands clenched. His knuckles were swollen and bleeding, but I had no doubt he’d happily pound Teddy again if he could.
I felt terrible for him. The ACEs had told me that he struggled with feeling inferior to everyone around him. It couldn’t be easy to be so helpless when your girlfriend was so powerful. But he didn’t realize that he was powerful in other ways. So he didn’t have the training the ACEs had, or the superpowers that the PACs had. But he had determination, optimism, and love on his side. Those things were just as—if not more—important than any powers I had. I needed them. And seeing his insecurity, I wished I’d done better at letting him know exactly how much I needed him.
Teddy smirked, excited to see that he’d gotten under Ryan’s skin. “You don’t deserve her. And now you don’t have her. She’s mine. I win.”
That pulled Ryan out of his funk and he laughed. “Please. There was never a competition. Jamie will never love you.”
Teddy grinned so wide he cracked his split lip further open, causing it to bleed again. He didn’t seem to care. “That’s not true, is it Jamie? Tell Ryan that you love me.”
When I spoke the forced words, I rolled my eyes and used the most sarcastic voice I was capable of. “I love you, Teddy.”
There was no questioning the lack of sincerity. Still, Ryan’s jaw clenched. Not because he believed me; probably just because I was being strung along like a marionette.
Teddy liked that he was getting to Ryan, though, and it spurred him on. “I’m not sure he believes you, Jamie. Why don’t you show him? Kiss me again. Like you did before, but without the zapping this time.”
My jaw clenched as I turned to face him. If I ever got free of his control, I was going to rip his stupid, smart, technopathic brain right out of his head. Or kick him in the balls. It could go either way. Maybe I would do both.
“I hate you,” I hissed as I closed the distance between our faces.
“You won’t forever,” Teddy whispered as our lips met.
It took all of half a second of me kissing Teddy for Ryan to lose it. With a roaring scream, he charged us, tackling Teddy to the ground. He didn’t even get in another punch before I lifted him off of Teddy, but Teddy had hit his head on the floor hard enough to ring his bell, and that was the last of his patience. “I’ve had enough of this. Jamie, kill him and let’s get out of here. If the others don’t want to come, fine; they can go play good little soldiers. You and I have bigger things in our future.”
When he finally stopped talking, he raised an eyebrow at me. “That wasn’t a request, Jamie. It was an order.”
I’d known that the first time. And I knew it was only a matter of seconds before I complied. I was just so horrified that I was stunned completely frozen.
“Jamie!”
I snapped out of my shock and my hand wrapped around Ryan’s throat. “No!” I cried.
My fingers slowly began to squeeze. Blocking Ryan’s airway. His eyes bulged and he grabbed my wrist, but he was no match for my superstrength. This was it. I was going to kill him. I was trying to fight it, but the only thing I was managing to do was drag it out. One way or another, Ryan was about to die at my hand. “Teddy,” I sobbed, “please don’t make me do this. I’ll go with you, I swear. Just please, let me stop. Don’t make me hurt him.”
“It’s for your own good, Jamie. You’ll never let him go if he’s still alive. I gave you all of your memories except of him. You can’t even remember him and you still chose him over me.”
Surprise flicked in Ryan’s pain-filled eyes, and then his panic softened into a look of love. I was choking him—going to strangle him to death—and he was still smitten.
Ryan’s face started to turn red and I burst into sobs. I could have snapped his neck, electrocuted him, or made the death quick in a number of other ways, but I forced myself not to. I hated to make him suffer, but the longer it took me to kill him, the more chance I had of someone stopping me. “Somebody, please!” I screamed, becoming frantic. “Do something! Shoot me! I don’t care! Just don’t let me do this!”
The ACEs didn’t have to be told twice. Guns went up. I tried not to react. I wanted them to succeed. I welcomed the thought of one of these guys tranqing me into oblivion so that they could take care of Teddy without having to deal with me. If it was the only way to save Ryan, I didn’t care if they used real bullets and shot me in my mind-controlled head.
But I’d been given a command to protect Teddy at all costs, and I was capable of doing so while still blocking the air from Ryan’s lungs. So when the ACEs pulled their weapons, I shot out blasts of lightning with my free hand.
My senses were too sharp and I was just too fast. I took out four of them before any of them even got one round off, and Teddy used his telekinesis to stop the darts that actually managed to be fired. He sent them flying back toward the ACEs, forcing them all to scramble and duck for cover.
I even managed to fry Tyson before he could sneak up on me beneath the cloak of invisibility and stab me with a dart. Remembering the last time he got me, I remembered to keep an eye out for him using my other senses. It wasn’t that difficult. The poor kid wore too much Axe body spray. I could smell him coming from a mile away. He hit the ground with a thud, blinking back into sight. His unconscious form at my feet did nothing for my panic. “TEDDY, STOP!” I screamed. “PLEASE!”
In the midst of the chaos, Betty’s voice sounded in my head, strong and clear. I can stop you. I can get inside your brain and confuse you. But there is risk. It is a technique Donovan was forcing me to learn. It’s very hard to do, and I don’t have the best control. I could scramble your brain to an extent that you might not recover from. I could turn you into a vegetable.
Her offer was a godsend. I didn’t care about the risk involved, and didn’t hesitate to give her an answer. Do it. Quickly. I don’t care if you mess up. I love him. If I kill him, I will die with him.
Betty took my answer to heart and wasted no time. I immediately felt her presence in my head. I tried not to fight it. I tried to let her in to do whatever she needed to do, but somehow my brain knew that giving in to her—that losing consciousness—would put Teddy in harm’s way.
Try not to resist.
I’m trying not to. I can’t help it. Whatever you do, don’t stop. Please. I’m begging.
Pressure began to mount inside my head, slowing everything around me down. The ACEs—those that were still conscious—were now at another standstill with Teddy and me, and Ryan was beyond blue. His eyes were starting to lose focus. “I’m so sorry, Ryan,” I sobbed. “You were right. I should never have come here. I was selfish and I screwed up. I’m so sorry. You are worth so much more than any memory. I’d give them all back to save you. I love you, Goldilocks.”
A small smile ghosted across his face, an
d then his eyes fell shut. His heart was slowing. He was going to die.
The pressure in my brain suddenly became unbearable. My grip on Ryan’s neck loosened enough that he sucked in a little air. I tried to let him go completely, but I still couldn’t manage it. I was still under Teddy’s influence, but my fingers were going numb. It was as if I’d forgotten how to use them.
I slipped some more, and he was able to start coughing. It was music to my ears. Betty let up, and almost immediately my hand squeezed Ryan’s throat again.
NO! Don’t stop! Save him, Betty!
I can’t. You’re too strong-willed. If I push any harder, I might kill you.
If you have to kill me, so be it. I’m too dangerous under Teddy’s control. He won’t stop with just Ryan. I don’t want to spend my life as his slave!
You are a brave woman, Jamie. I’m so sorry this happened.
She slipped into my mind again, pushing twice as hard as before. The pain returned, ripping a scream from my chest. Blood began to trickle out of my nose and ears. My concentration began to darken. Black spots clouded my vision. I welcomed it because Ryan was coughing again. His face was even returning to a healthy color.
Several people called out to me, but it was Teddy’s startled gasp that I focused on. “Betty! Stop! You’ll kill her! You’ll kill yourself!”
Panic surged through me when I caught a glimpse of Betty. She was pale as a ghost and had blood trickling down her nose, too. She collapsed into the arms of Tex, who’d been hovering right behind her, but she kept her stare locked on me. I saw the raw determination in her eyes. I understood it. I shared it. I still felt guilty. And then I didn’t feel anything. I couldn’t remember where I was. I’d forgotten what I was doing.
“Sunshine,” Ryan rasped, returning me to my senses a little. “Don’t you dare die for me.”
And now I remembered. I gave him a sad smile as my concentration started to slip again. My brain was thoroughly confused now. I still held Ryan in my grasp, determined to follow through on my command. Betty was going to have to kill me. I hoped she wouldn’t destroy herself in the process.
