The Forbidden Trilogy

by Kimberly Kinrade

  Beleth looked shocked by the syringe, but didn't speak.

  Steele leaned against the railing and looked out at the children trudging away, grateful once again that he had no empathy or silly emotions to hinder him from realizing his full potential. The problem with humans, and most paranormals, was that they let their feelings destroy any chance of success they could have in the world.

  "You would have been my right hand," he said, "dealing out justice in this cruel world."

  Beleth scoffed. "I would have been the hand that wiped your ass."

  "Yes, and you still will be. Go to the IPI base. Bring Simmons to me. Kill the rest."

  Beleth's mouth twitched as if to speak, but he couldn't. He didn't have the reserve left to even disagree, especially as Steele tightened his control over the man. Even delaying the order pushed at his limits. Steele could feel the walls crumble, another soul that he'd crushed and owned, just like he would Sam.

  "I think you will find someone there of particular interest." Steele smiled. "I wonder if you'll recognize him, before you kill him."

  ***

  Steele walked into a large conference room dominated by an oval mahogany table and chairs. A camera had been set up across from the head of the table, and was set to interrupt network broadcasts worldwide with his demonstration. The richest and most powerful men in the world sat around the table, dressed in their power suits, ready to hear what he had to say.

  He greeted them each individually, shaking their hands. "Each of you have been valued customers of my organization. You've paid good money for the services of my paranormals, and because of you, I have been able to complete the experiments that will change the world."

  He sat at the head of the table.

  Gregor Vetrov, a corrupt Russian politician, stood to address him. "Why the camera, Mr. Steele?"

  "Because we are making a statement, my friends. A statement to the world."

  The red light clicked on to show that it was recording. A few of his guests fidgeted in discomfort and furrowed their brows in worry. They had no vision, no balls to embrace the future, but he would teach them.

  Steele faced the camera. "Citizens of this great planet, welcome. You may not know me, but that's about to change. We are standing on the precipice of a new era for humanity. For years, those with paranormal powers have lived among you, walking in the shadows as dirty secrets to be shunned, because the world wasn't prepared for us, for what we could do. They would turn on us in jealously. So we worked in the shadows, growing in power and strength, in part by working with respectable gentleman such as those present with me, people who understood progress, who understood evolution. But now, the time has come for paranormals to make themselves known. Now we have the resources to defend ourselves. Now we even have the resources to share our powers with those worthy of such an offering."

  With a flick of his wrist, Steele motioned to the guards to lay a small box in front of each of his guests.

  "A gift to you, my friends. Open it."

  Henry Dollinger, a client who once had Sam as his assigned paranormal, pulled out a purple vial from the box. "What is this?"

  "The future of man," said Steele. "Drink from those vials, and then you shall have powers as well."

  Several held up the vials, but none drank.

  Dollinger sniffed it. "I've heard of this stuff. The news says it's given some people powers. But they also say it's killed others."

  "The drug on the street is unrefined." Steele lifted a vial and gazed into it. "People have not been using it as intended." A bit of a spin, but all's fair in war. "What you have before you is a guarantee."

  "And what do you want from us in return?" asked Gregor.

  "Your support and your resources. Our governments, our politicians, have carved out a nice little hole for themselves, in which they spend their wealth in excess, and from which they shun others, letting them rot in the dirt." Steele remembered sitting in the mud, rain pouring over him, because the government had taken his house and his car—before he had powers, when he had been weak.

  "This substance—" He held up the drug. "—gives everyone a chance at success."

  Gregor did not look convinced. "If this substance is for everyone, how does it help us?"

  "The paranormals will need leaders, guardians."

  Dollinger continued to stare at his vial. "Steele, I don't know about this."

  "I do." Gregor put the vial back in its box and closed it. "It's insane. You want to give a weapon to the poor people of this world. Understand, I have nothing against them. Those of you who know me, know that I have struggled to rise from a low place myself. I remember the good people that helped me, but I also remember the scum, those who threw away their lives and abused those of others. Leave them in the dirt where they belong." He spit through his lips to emphasize his point.

  Steele ground his teeth. He'd feared they wouldn't understand. "You are just like the corrupt men of which I speak, Gregor. You've grown cozy in your position, fearful of change."

  The old Russian shrugged. "Change is not always good."

  Dollinger put his vial down as well. "Revealing paranormals may not be wise. People will rise up, like you said, and it won't end well. I mean, you're talking about starting a war."

  "With no army," added Gregor.

  Steele smiled at that. He pushed a button on his table, and turned in his chair. The wall behind him opened up, revealing a balcony, showing one side of the facility. He stood and walked toward it.

  The others, out of curiosity, followed. Their eyes widened in shock as they witnessed what lay below.

  "I think things will end well, indeed." Steele gestured to his army. "Meet my Grunts. I have hundreds of them, all genetically engineered and at my command. They are unstoppable."

  At their head stood Grunt-1 dressed in red armor. Steele telepathically commanded them to cheer, and they immediately began a low war chant.

  Gregor once again disrespected him by spitting at his work. "You are mad. These are beasts. I will not be a part of this."

  Steele sighed and turned to face the businessmen, and the camera. "Do all of you agree with Gregor?"

  Too scared to speak, to man-up to what was right, they backed away.

  Steele shrugged. "Then perhaps I am mad."

  He injected the serum into his arm and collapsed to his knees, a high filling him, his muscles straining, his veins pulsing. Pain filled his body, cut at him like tiny razors lined with poison. His muscles grew, stretching his skin, ripping parts of his suit as he tore his way into a new body—a bigger, stronger, more powerful body. Bigger even than Beleth. Energy flowed into him, easing the pain, fading it into nothing. A small price for such a great reward.

  Silence filled the room and the Russian gasped. "What have you done to yourself?"

  Steele looked at his hands, which were redder than usual, pulsing with blood and energy. "Evolved."

  He lifted his hand and, with invisible threads of power, threw Gregor across the room and pinned him to the wall. The world would be watching, and would now see true power.

  Everyone froze as Steele walked forward, getting used to his new body. With a mere thought, he floated off the ground and hovered forward, looking at each of the men. "You will join me." He looked at the camera. "You will all join me!"

  Then he roared, holding his hands out, and pushed everyone at once against a wall, as if they were no more than cotton balls. He twisted his finger and focused, and ice flooded their bloodstream, freezing them from the inside out, until they were encased in ice. The pain drove them mad. They screamed and begged for release, but with another flick he froze their mouths shut.

  They would join him, indeed. He landed back on the ground and walked out of the room, levitating the camera with his powers so that it trailed after him, to document the new world order he was about to create.

  He entered a dark cold room and observed his daughter, sitting tied to a chair and bruised up. Force had been required to
keep her in line. She'd been troublesome, but no longer. He now had the power to take complete control of her.

  Power burned in him and he entered Sam's mind, tearing through the veil of her thoughts and memories like cutting through a heavy canvas wet with rain. She screamed through the duct tape on her mouth, and he relished the pain that rushed through her. She fought him, using her mental powers to ram against the walls he'd built around his own mind, to counter his efforts.

  It shouldn't be this hard. He had the power now, but he needed her baby's power, and only she could provide that. He ripped at her mind again, shredding through fragile thoughts, this time like silk in the wind.

  Again, she got the upper hand and crashed through his wall, leaving a hollow, sick feeling in its place. Pain filled him, and he dropped to his knees and held his head. He didn't want her in his secrets, knowing his thoughts, so he kept tearing.

  Piece by piece he cut through her defenses. She squirmed as he rearranged her memories and reprogrammed her mind. He had to use many of his own memories, trying not to sacrifice vital knowledge in the process. He wouldn't have done this for just anyone, but she was the one. She was worth it.

  Once he had the last piece in place, he'd gain the baby's powers and never have to alter thoughts again to gain control of someone.

  One more piece and he'd be done. He ripped.

  She pushed back. He could tell she knew it was the end, as he forced his own thoughts into her. 'This is your purpose. This is what you were created for.'

  Her laughter filled his mind. "Tell my friends I say hi—when they come to kill you." Her mind pulsed and fired out one more rush of power.

  She broke through his block and connected to another mind.

  Chapter 120 - Lucy

  The valley hums with life as Lucy skips through a field of star flowers. Butterflies dance around her, landing lightly on her shoulders as she soaks in the bright warmth of the sun.

  A beautiful weeping willow stands before her, its long branches swaying in the breeze. She moves through them, expecting to see Mr. K's impish tree face, but the tree is just a tree.

  "Lucy." Someone calls her name, the familiar voice carried on the wind.

  She turns around and sees Sam. "Are you really here, Sam?"

  "Yes and no. My thoughts are here, and you've projected an idea of me into your dream. But the thoughts are real." She seems more ghostly than the real Sam.

  "Are you okay? What happened to you?" Lucy steps forward, closer to her best friend.

  "I'm fine, but I don't have much time. There are things you need to know about Simmons." She walks the rest of the way toward Lucy and raises her hand.

  "Besides the fact that she's a bitch? Okay, tell me."

  Sam shakes her ghost head. "No, I need to show you." She touches Lucy's chest and teleports her to another time and place.

  ***

  Lucy stood in a lab, present but not, a spectator to someone else's memories.

  A much younger Steele—she recognized him from Sam's thoughts—sat at one of the tables, typing on a laptop. Complex equipment and glass vials and bottles lined the walls and tables of the sterile room.

  The door to the lab opened and Beleth walked in, looking no different than he did now. "I got your message. Are you certain of this?"

  Steele didn't look up from his screen. "Yes, the tests have been 100% safe on rodents. I'll be fine."

  "But—"

  "No buts, my friend." Steele stood and clasped Beleth's shoulders. "Today, we make history."

  Beleth nodded and walked away to set up the camera equipment.

  Steele shrugged into a white lab coat with a familiar symbol on the front right pocket. Lucy zoomed in mentally to see it more closely, and gasped when she read it: a black circle with white IPI letters in the middle.

  They worked for IPI?

  Before she could recover from that revelation, the door opened again and a young and vibrant Simmons walked in carrying a bottle of champagne.

  They all knew each other?

  Simmons smiled at them, her blue eyes brighter than now, her skin smooth and hair soft and full.

  Steele smiled when he saw her, then walked over and took the bottles from her and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for grabbing the drinks, Honey."

  Honey? Kisses? Lucy didn't understand what she was watching, but she knew it was important.

  Beleth watched Steele for a moment longer than appropriate, but Steele didn't notice. "You have quite a wife."

  "Quite a wife, indeed," agreed Steele.

  He sat in front of the camera, and Beleth hit the record button.

  After citing his name and date, Steele explained the experiment. "This is an attempt to enhance the capabilities of the mind through genetic alteration. Based on early animal trials, we feel that it is ready for human testing." He tapped his foot and smiled, then pulled a vial of green liquid from his pocket. "Known as TDI3, this drug should alter the very fabric of my DNA and create enhanced abilities hitherto only known in rare cases of humans."

  He uncapped the needle and plunged it into a vein in his arm, then dropped the vial and leaned forward in his chair, groaning in pain.

  Simmons rushed forward and put her arm around him. "Honey, are you okay? What happened?"

  Steele gasped and tried to speak. "I'm fine. I'm—" He roared in pain again, shaking in his chair.

  Simmons tried to help him sit up, but Steele pushed her away and fell out of his chair.

  Beleth had left his place behind the camera, and crouched by Steele without touching him. He looked at Simmons. "Get the antidote."

  She nodded, grabbed a blue vile from the table next to her, and offered it to her husband.

  "No!" he yelled, still on the floor, groaning. "This will work."

  Simmons pushed the vial at him. "It's not worth it. I can't lose you."

  "It will work." He turned away from the antidote. "It has to."

  He yelled once again, a loud screeching howl, and everything faded away for Lucy.

  ***

  Lucy entered another vision, this time in a hospital.

  Simmons lay in a bed holding a baby while Steele beamed over her. Flowers and balloons filled the small room.

  Steele reached for the child. "He's so beautiful."

  Joy filled the room, and Lucy realized this had to be the Seeker. It was hard to reconcile the man who had caused so much pain with this innocent child before her, but in the end, the Seeker had redeemed himself, helping to save Sam and all of them. This child had his whole life ahead of him. It broke her heart to know how much he would suffer at the hands of his sociopathic father. How did they get from this happy family moment to that?

  "Now that I've had the baby," said Simmons, "I can start testing again. I'm sure the new serum you made will work."

  Steele frowned, then wiped it from his face with a fake smile. "Yeah, it just might."

  She slapped his hand lightly, forcing optimism into a moment where Lucy could tell she felt none. "Come on—twenty successes, all attaining useful powers. It'll work. Hmm... I wonder what my powers will be?"

  Steele handed the baby back and looked away, an unmistakable look of regret on his face.

  ***

  Lucy blinked and found herself in the foyer of a very nice house. From another room came the sound of breaking dishes and furniture thrown against walls. Steele walked through the front door, then ran to the kitchen, and Lucy floated after him.

  The room looked as if a tornado hit, but it was only Simmons, tear-streaked, filled with anger, her body a battering ram intent on destroying everything in her path.

  Steele grabbed her, gently pulling her into a hug. "Baby, what's wrong?"

  She sobbed into his chest, slamming her small fists against it. "None of it worked. None of the stupid bullshit serums worked."

  "It's okay." Steele crushed her to him and ran his hand down her hair, trying to soothe her. "The next formula will be better. You can try again."


  She pushed him away. "I've been trying for years. I can't have powers. Admit it, I can't. I know you think so. I've seen it in your eyes."

  He looked down, real sadness on his face. "I'm trying my best, Honey. Beleth and I will get it right, eventually."

  "No you won't." She stormed out of the room and ran crying through the house.

  A small boy crept from behind the corner, a frown on his face.

  ***

  Simmons flapped a folder in Steele's face. "What's this?"

  They were at the lab again. It looked the same, but Simmons and Steele looked older, more world-weary, with wrinkles spreading from their eyes

  "It's just something I've been working on." He grabbed for the folder.

  She pulled it back, holding it out of his reach. Her face reddened in rage. "Just something? You're trying to make a baby. A freaking baby! What, the one I gave you wasn't good enough?"

  "No. I love our son." His voice stayed cold, collected, lacking the emotion he'd had in the earlier visions. "I'm experimenting to see if powers can be altered through genetics."

  "Do you have to experiment on yourself?" She practically spit the words at him.

  He looked past her, as if not seeing her. "You know I always test something before I use it on other people."

  "Don't do this." She threw down the folder. "If you love me, you won't do this."

  He picked up the folder and kept his voice soft. "I'm doing this because I love you. I'm doing this because it will help me give you powers of your own."

  ***

  In another, much larger and more sophisticated lab, Steele sorted through papers as other doctors worked around him, checking in with him from time to time.

  Simmons came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "It's late, Baby. It's time to go home."

  Steele didn't look up from his work. "After I pair a few more subjects together."

  She stroked his chest and kissed his ear. "It can wait. Please come home with me."

  He unwound her arms from his body and moved away from her. "You know the Russians have made tremendous progress in their experiments. This can't wait. There's really a lot of potential in this breeding program. We can weed out the useless powers, strengthen the useful. IPI will have agents capable of handling anything."