The Forbidden Trilogy (94 page)

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.

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."

Simmons stepped back, her face crestfallen. "Okay, sure.
I'll see you later then."

He waved dismissively. "Bye."

***

Next Lucy landed in one of Simmons's memories. She didn't
know how Sam kept all the thoughts and past deeds of everyone straight in her
mind; Lucy was already reeling from the information overload.

Once again she was in their foyer. Simmons returned home
from a night out, dressed for a date, but Steele wasn't there. Beleth sat on
the couch in the living room watching a movie and cuddling with a sleeping boy.
Simmons paused to watch them, a shy smile on her face.

Beleth noticed her and got up, taking the Seeker into
another room to put him to bed. When he came back, Simmons hadn't moved. The
soft glow of the television flickered in the background as they stared at each
other.

Beleth stepped toward the door. "I should go."

Simmons nodded. "Thanks for watching him."

"I thought you'd be out later."

Lucy could tell they were both stalling, and held her
breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

"He didn't show up. Had to work again." She
dropped her purse on the hallway table.

Beleth sighed. "I'm sorry. You look lovely."

He walked toward the door, but Simmons grabbed his hand and
stopped him. They held each other's eyes for a long moment, then moved in for a
forbidden kiss.

***

Simmons came to the house, looking for Steele, carrying
several bags with her. "Honey, I'm home!" She smiled, eager to see
her husband.

Steele walked down the stairs holding a baby.

Simmons dropped her bags. "No. How could you?"

His face remained cold, impassive as he reached the bottom
of the stairs to stand in front of her. "Now, don't be rude. Say hi to
Sam."

"I'm not saying anything to that thing," she
practically hissed.

The bundle in his arms wiggled and a small cry escaped.
"But she's our daughter. Don't you love her? Don't you love me?"