'Sam, please listen. I love you so much. I know I've screwed up past the point of redemption, but I'm here now and forever, for you and our daughter. I'll never let anything stand in the way of being the best father I can be. I'd do anything for either of you, even if that meant letting you go to live a life without me. That won't stop me from being there for Ana, for you, but I realize I can't force you to love me again. Just know that I never stopped loving you. Never. Fight this, Sam. I know you can. Fight him! Don't let him use our child to destroy more lives.'
Real Sam didn't come back. Psycho Steele-Sam still ran things, and she was pissed. Wind blew in all directions, like a tornado, throwing rocks and debris at Drake.
He pushed forward, clutching the sphere, suffering the blows and cuts as he moved closer to her. "Sam, I love you. If I die from this, know that I never blamed you."
He charged her with the sphere as she held the dagger up and readied it to plunge into his gut.
Chapter 131 - Steele
Steele punched Beleth hard in the chest. His fist throbbed in a pleasantly painful way as Beleth fell from the sky.
Steele smiled, relishing the victory as if it were a fine wine to be savored. Finally, he could stand against Beleth and defeat him in hand-to-hand combat without using tricks and mind manipulations to subdue him, though it had been gratifying to see Beleth come crawling when he thought Simmons set up the meeting in the warehouse. How easy it had been to drug and take control of Beleth, but Steele wanted the physical power, too.
Finally, he no longer had to bend to the will of someone bigger and stronger than himself. Women would always fall for the strongest man; they were genetically hardwired that way. Simmons had been no exception, but now Steele was the strongest, and Beleth was nothing. Now she would only ever want him.
She waited for him below, and he flew down and landed near her. She touched his arm. "Are you okay?"
He looked at Beleth lying on the ground, twitching, his wing broken, and smiled. "I'm good. In fact, I'm better than ever."
Now he just needed Sam. He could still feel her mind, as she drew closer. He offered his arm to Simmons. "It's time."
She grinned like a child as he led her to the baby carrier. "I've waited so long for this."
"I know." He patted her hand. "I never forgot."
Sam emerged from over a cliff, dragging Drake. "I'm back daddy. Sorry for making you wait." She came closer and dropped Drake to the ground. A wound in his stomach seeped into the ground. It looked fatal.
Steele checked Simmons's face, but she either hadn't noticed or didn't care. Excellent.
"My daughter." He raised his arms. "The time has come for you to complete your purpose."
Sam flashed her one hundred-watt smile and walked over to Ana. Steele couldn't stop shaking from anticipation as she reached for the baby and held her. Power thrummed around her, and her head snapped back, eyes going wide.
Steele licked his lips, ready to receive the power. Simmons vibrated next to him, desperate to finally live her dreams. His drug-induced power was nothing compared to this perfection.
After several moments of hushed silence, broken only by Drake's groans, Sam relaxed, looked at her baby, and put her down.
Unable to contain himself any longer, Steele rubbed his hands together. "Come, hurry my daughter."
She walked forward with slow, measured steps.
He grew impatient but forced himself to maintain his calm.
Sam stopped in front of them. "Lock hands."
He grabbed Simmons's hands tightly and smiled at her.
Sam moved close to him, closer than he would have liked, but this was too important to quibble over personal space. She leaned in. "I'm happy for you, Father. You're getting what you deserve."
"Yes." An unexpected tear welled up in his eye, and even more unexpected, he didn't care.
For once, the emotion of a moment didn't disgust him. He'd been nothing without these powers. He couldn't keep his wife. He couldn't keep his son's love. Nothing—not the man they wanted, nor the man they needed—but now he would be. He would have all the powers he needed. He would be a husband, and a father.
"Do it."
Sam smiled, and plunged a syringe into his neck.
Chapter 132 - Sam
My hand shook as I pulled away from Steele, who howled in anger and reached for the needle in his neck.
He threw himself at me, but I kicked him, pushing him back.
Simmons stood in shock, but not for long. She bared her teeth at me like a feral dog. "You bitch!"
Her screech sent spittle running down her chin as she attacked me. She'd had training, but so had I, and her emotions made her clumsy. I pulled her to the side, kneed her in the gut, then chopped the side of my hand into her neck and knocked her out.
Steele crouched on his knees near a ledge. Lava bubbled up around him, but despite the heat, he shivered. "I don't understand. My plan was perfect. Perfect!"
The slimy residue of him lingered in my mind, and it made me sick. "It had one flaw. You should never have messed with my baby."
His face filled with rage, and he clutched the needle in his hand and lunged at me.
I dodged him, and as he regrouped for another attack, he tripped backward and fell over the edge.
His fingers grasped the ledge, turning red, then white as he hung on for his life. He tried to pull himself up but fell back. "I'm too weak. Help me. I can't without my powers. I can't."
I hesitated. What kind of person would I choose to be? Would I let him fall into the lava, to die by his own machinations, or would I save him? I took a step forward. He deserved to die, but he was powerless now, and I couldn't turn away. He would pay for his crimes, but not this way.
I reached for his hand, but it slipped away before I could grasp it.
My father fell into the bulging cauldron his own hate had created.
The lava consumed him into its burning center, cooling and hardening even as it did, as Steele's powers vanished along with his life. The red heat blackened into obsidian swirls that looked like melted black crayon. Throughout the crater, the volcanic activity shifted, hardening and going dormant once again.
Steele had died, but my heart had no place for sorrow. He'd never been my father, only the genetic blueprint for part of me.
I ran back to Drake, my true family.
He groaned in pain and bled all over me as I shushed him and combed his hair out of his face. "It'll be okay." I pulled out the sphere that he'd saved me with, the sphere that, according to his thoughts, could also heal.
"I'm so sorry I hurt you, Drake. So sorry." I held it to him, and an electric shock ran through me as energy poured into him. I choked on my tears. "Drake, stay with me."
He smiled. "I'm here. I said I'd never leave you again. Even if you stab me, you can't get rid of me that easily." He tried to laugh at his own lame joke and coughed up blood.
I willed the sphere to work faster. "You didn't leave me, you're right. You came for me." I couldn't believe it—the man he'd become in such a short time.
Even after everything I'd said and done, he'd stayed. He'd been willing to die for me in order to save me. His thoughts and memories flowed into my mind as I held him, playing a movie of everything that happened while I'd been under Steele's control—how he'd put aside his fight with Darren to help me; how he'd just wanted the best for me, even if that meant letting me go; how he'd still be the man he needed to be, even if I didn't choose to stay with him.
Susie had been right: trust could be earned back.
I just wished he hadn't had to almost die so many times for me to see it. "I trust you, Drake. I trust you with my life, and with Ana's."
I pulled the chain I wore out of my shirt. "Look."
He opened his eyes, and I slid his engagement ring off the chain and onto my finger. "Yes, I will marry you. So don't die."
Chapter 133 - Lucy
Lucy sat on a rock next to Luke and threw pebbles into the lava
. Her mind couldn't quite settle on the fact that they'd won. For real. All the bad guys were either dead, turned good, or in custody. Emotions bubbled in her, like the lava below her had, and she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry, or both.
Everywhere she looked, IPI agents ran around doing something useful, but Lucy couldn't move. Hunter had called in IPI support, and they'd finally listened once they heard about Steele. Darren and his team had been freed of the rock prison and were being treated for injuries. The businessmen Steele had hung over lava were in custody, awaiting arrest and indictment of some kind.
Panic filled the streets of Honolulu, according to reports she'd overhead—ironic that they would freak out after the threat had been neutralized. Diamond Head would never look the same. Its guts had been exposed by the expulsion of power, and instead of dirt and shrubs littering the top, it now showcased a sea of hardened ballast, the cooled black lava that remained from the fiery hell it had been not so long ago.
Two agents pulled Simmons away. Her face contorted in a mix of madness and rage and she screamed out obscenities, followed by denial. "They disobeyed my orders. They were helping Steele. It's all a trick. I've been framed!"
She kicked, punched, and even bit one of them, but they finally got her into the helicopter and cuffed to the seat.
Lucy sighed in relief.
With Steele defeated, IPI believed Sam's story, especially after she showed them images of what happened with her through some new mind trick she'd learned. That, and the fact that everyone backed her story, and Simmons had clearly gone mental, was enough to convince them.
Once Steele died, his powers over others perished with him. Adam towered above an agent who looked scared out of his mind but dutifully took his statement. Adam was clearly doing his best to appear non-threatening, but nothing he did helped the agent any.
Lucy laughed at that, but wondered what would happen to him and the other Grunts now.
Sam had rescued Ana as soon as she'd saved Drake's life, and now the three of them huddled together away from everyone else. Drake still looked beaten up and exhausted, but he'd be fine. It was nice seeing them together as a family. Drake had really stepped up when it mattered, and Lucy admitted a begrudging but growing respect for the guy.
The familiar comfort of the sphere in her hand pulled Lucy back to her current dilemma. She stroked the cool metal and stared at its glow.
Sam had returned it to her, but Lucy hadn't wanted it.
She'd pushed it away. "It's dangerous."
Sam pushed it back. "It's a tool. People are the danger."
So now Lucy sat and contemplated what to do with the sphere.
She turned to Luke. "What do you think we'll do next?"
He tossed a pebble onto the hard lava. "I don't know, Luce. I'm done saving the world for awhile, but I know this work is in our blood. It's who we are."
She nodded. If they hadn't been there, all those kids would have been sold instead of rescued by IPI when the Grunts stopped following Steele. Sam and Drake would likely be dead. Hell, the whole world would probably have gone into World War III, with Steele and Simmons leading the charge.
She couldn't believe she'd ever doubted this mission.
She felt Beleth before she saw him, his wings fluttering in the air. "Wait here, Bro. I'll be back." She stood with the sphere in hand and walked away, past the jutting cliff.
An IPI Agent walked by with a cuffed man that she recognized—the man who had brought Ana out.
Bill. She stopped the agent. "I need a word with this one, for just a sec."
The agent looked around, then looked back at Lucy and nodded, shoving the guy toward her.
"You're Bill, yes?"
The man stuttered and nodded.
"Any other Bills work here?"
"N-no."
"Good." She raised her knee and slammed it into his crotch, then pulled back and kneed him in the gut. She held his shoulders as she did, pushing hard, then leaned in closer to whisper in his ear. "That's for Mr. K. I'm going to make sure you are kept in a very special place after this, as payment."
The agent stood wide-eyed as Lucy shoved Bill, who whimpered and slobbered and couldn't stand up to walk properly, back to him. "He's all yours. Make sure he gets extra special accommodations, will you?"
The agent nodded and pushed Bill ahead of him and toward the others, and Lucy resumed her walk to the edge of the cliff.
Beleth stood there, smiling. "Thank you for setting me free. You could have killed me." He still had the unearthly calm about him, but now it soothed rather than aggravated.
She'd learned a lot from him, from Mr. K, from this whole experience. "You had plenty of chances to kill me as well, but you held back. I think that makes us even."
"Yes, it does. You're not the same girl you were when we first met. The fire in you is still hot, but it is tempered by a new stillness. Never let that go." He turned away from her, his wings fluttering.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes. IPI is no longer my place."
"Where will you go?"
He shrugged. "Somewhere far away. Away from the memories."
She understood and wished she could do the same. So many memories. "Have you told your son, Drake?"
He shook his head. "No. This isn't the place. I must give him time to recover, then I shall come to him. In the meantime, I have other things to attend to."
"Then I'll see you again?"
He hesitated. "Yes, you will."
She looked at the sphere in her hand and knew with certainty what she had to do. She tossed it to Beleth, who caught it mid-air. "Use it well."
He nodded and took to the sky. "Thank you."
She watched him go, until the sun hurt her eyes, and then headed back to Luke, who sat with Hunter, Sam and Drake.
Hunter reached for her hand and pulled her to his side. "They're already covering it up, trying to make it look like a terrorist attack. As if people have never seen a terrorist attack. As if all terrorists have powers."
She stroked his hand. "People have seen Steele use his powers on the TV."
He shrugged. "Special effects."
"You think they'll buy it?" Were people really that gullible?
"Some will: those who would rather not worry about it. Others won't, but they'll forget in time. And a few will have more fodder for their conspiracy theories."
Sam looked at the baby in her arms. "Doesn't sound too bad."
"Yeah, except that they'll blame us for it, the ones who remember. The first time they find out about paranormals, and they find them trying to destroy the world, killing innocent people." Hunter shook his head.
"Brad was telling people about Rent-A-Kid though, showing them we could be good," said Sam.
Luke nodded. "And people will really want to listen to him after this."
Hunter didn't look convinced. "Yeah, but he'll have the government against him, and IPI. He won't get far."
Lucy looked at Ana. What kind of world did she want her God-child raised in? They were finally free; she didn't want the world hating them. She looked around and spotted the camera equipment that Steele had used. It still blinked a red light. Might it still be on? Still linked to the TV channels?
She stood and pulled Hunter up with her. "Perhaps we just have to help Brad out."
"How?" Sam looked in the direction Lucy pointed and smiled. "Should we tell them?"
Lucy touched Mr. K's seed in her pocket. He had taught her not to hide secrets, not to hide in order to make things easier.
She nodded. "It's time. Let's give the world the right story to believe."
Sam looked down at Ana again and whispered something that Lucy could barely here. "Without faith, there is no trust." She stood with Lucy. "Let's do it."
They reached the camera and Luke, Hunter, and Drake checked the controls.
"Ready?" asked Lucy, offering her hand.
Sam shifted the still sleeping Ana to her other hand and clutched Lucy's. "Rea
dy."
Drake smiled. "Action."
Chapter 134 - Drake
Drake tugged his suit on over his shoulders and adjusted his bow-tie for the tenth time. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and paced the room. Outside his window, the sun shone on a perfect summer day.
"Dude, relax. You're going to sweat through your tux." Brad held Ana and cooed her, then placed her back in her crib. "She's changed and fed. She should last the service."
"Thanks. I owe you."
His best friend smiled. "Yeah, you do. She had a seriously stinky diaper. What are you feeding that girl?"
Drake laughed, amazed that he had so many people around him who cared for him and his little family.
Toby plopped on an overstuffed couch in the sitting room, and started to pull his feet up, but before Drake could chastise him, he corrected himself and dropped them to the ground. Drake smiled at him and Toby gave a lopsided grin, then turned away.
Drake messed with his tie again, and Brad sighed and walked over to help him. "You know, I'm no longer pissed at you."
Brad had been busy with interviews with paranormals, exposing more secrets in the Rent-A-Kid organization. They'd had to keep quiet about IPI's involvement, but they were able to tell everything else. Hunter's promotion had helped grease the wheels on all of that. Now, Brad was back for awhile, and Drake was happy to have his best friend again.
Drake smiled at him. "Really, why is that?"
"Because you made me your best man. Only a very intelligent sort of fellow would do that." Brad finished with the tie and patted his chest. "Now don't touch it, and if you need to wipe your sweaty hands, use a towel. You're staining your pants."
Drake chuckled, and in a private guy moment, reached out and hugged Brad. He felt like a beer commercial. "I love you, man."
Toby jumped up. "Yo, it's almost time."
Drake looked in the mirror again. "Right, just give me a sec, guys, okay?"
Brad and Toby looked at each other, shrugged, and left the room.
Drake sat down on the floor in the lotus position and took deep breaths. Lucy had been teaching him some of her techniques, and he found that he quite liked meditation. He also found that he and Lucy actually got along well, and had developed a routine of meditating early in the morning before anyone else got up. It helped him center himself, and gave him a peace that nothing else could, especially in the absence of surfing.
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