Galen slowly came to, his head aching from being punched by a gun. At first, it was just lights and movement. Over time, though, everything became clearer, the voices piercing. Finally, Galen fully came to, headache and all, but otherwise alive. He tested his ears and eyes, just making sure that they didn’t cause a concussion. Everything checked out, so then he focused on where he was. He was in some office room. It looked abandoned, the paper scattered around and the shattered computer monitors on the cracked and water-damaged desks. The ceiling tiles were crumbling and the windows were shattered. The air reeked of mold and there were bugs everywhere. Overall, this room was part of a building that had been abandoned during the middle stages of the war. And this was obviously, the minds of those two assholes, the perfect place to hide him.

“I see you’ve rejoined the living. It’s about time. You have been out for a while.” Bobby walked into the room, gun in hand, Hannah following.

“Bobby… Hannah. To what reason I owe the pleasure in being kidnapped by two of Coleman’s assholes?” It wasn’t a necessary question, as they had told him right before they’d knocked him out, but it would serve to piss them off.

Hannah did a facepalm. “We already told you. Coleman doesn’t want you anywhere near the girl when this goes down.”

That got Galen to laugh, despite the situation he was in. “Seriously? He not only outranks me, but he and the president are the best of friends. He’s got connections everywhere. He’s the freaking Secretary of Defense, there are far easier ways to keep me away from Harrisonburg.”

“Oh, Galen, always with the assumptions. I know what you have been up to, playing the double agent, acting on the orders in public, but making everybody’s lives horrible when faced with the Council. You have been interfering with Coleman’s plans for far too long.” Bobby apparently found this to be wildly entertaining.

Galen was a bit dumbfounded “Seriously? I’m interfering with his plans? He’s been Secretary of Defense for the last three months and it’s only temporary. He has no grand plan… wait a second. You two are so low on the totem pole, there are bugs higher than you. There is no way that someone like Coleman would begin to share anything with you two. That means the boss talk, that’s all for show just to make you look stronger and more respected than you actually are.”

The anger that erupted from Bobby and Hannah confirmed Galen’s guess. “You know,” Hannah started, “Coleman never said anything about keeping you alive.”

Both of them raised their guns at Galen, but were immediately interrupted by someone popping up from behind the desk. They were wearing black tactical gear, a head mask and goggles to hide their identity and had an M-16 swung around their back. In their left hand, they held what appeared to be a syringe. “We can't have that, now can we,” a feminine voice said. Bobby and Hannah turned to face her, but she immediately stabbed Bobby in the neck, and he immediately dropped to the ground. Hannah had more time, but the person used an expandable police baton to smack the gun out of Hannah’s hand, immediately shooting her with a tranq gun they pulled from her belt right after. Within seconds of this person appearing from behind the table, both Bobby and Hannah were down, snoring away.

It took a few moments, but Galen finally recognized who this person was, and if he was being honest, the fact that he, Bobby, and Hannah were still alive by this point was a goddamn miracle. After she cut the bindings holding Galen on the chair, and placed the M-16 on the desk, she removed her mask and goggles, revealing herself to be Suspect 42, codenamed Person, also known as Holly Linda, one of the two most deadliest assassins in history. Her partner, Hikaro, was the other assassin. “I would say it’s good to see you, Person, but I would be lying.”

Person gave him a frown. “Please, Galen, just use Holly. I’m not on the job. Plus, is that any way to greet an old friend?”

“We are certainly not friends. Allies maybe, but not friends, Holly,” Galen replied. “Plus, I had no idea you were in the area. One second, I’m in extreme danger and the next, you pop up like a weasel.

Holly glanced down at Bobby and Hannah. “Well, I just saved your ass by stabbing one and shooting the other with moose tranquilizer. Plus, and this is very important, if anybody and I mean anybody knew that I was coming in any way, it would defeat the purpose of what I’ve been doing all my life.The key is for someone to know that I’m here long after they’re dead.”

“And you wonder why I have never mentioned you or Hikaro in any way in the few years.” Last thing Galen wanted to make small talk with someone whose kill count resided near the thousands, but besides the point. “It would have been easy for someone like you to find me, but I want to know: why did you bother coming down here and saving me like that?”

Holly shrugged. “You called Frederick. He was busy, so he called us and told us everything. We put two and two together, and since we owe Frederick a few times over, I elected to come out and save your ass. Plus, I figured I’d get the chance to stab some assholes while I’m at it. I’ve been out of the loop ”

Galen thought about that for a second. He knew that Frederick was a very busy man, but he was hoping that he could spare a few days and return to Washington and help him. However, instead, Frederick had called in a favor and had Person, otherwise known as Holly Linda, come out instead. To make matters worse, unlike Frederick, Holly wasn’t a superhuman, yet she was extremely dangerous. Why Frederick would think sending Holly was a good idea was beyond him. “Well, thank you for the save, but I best get going.” Galen started to walk out the door, but a gunshot to the ceiling above him and the crashing down of ceiling tiles stopped him.

He glanced back at Holly, who was pointing a pistol at him. “Yeah, you’re not leaving just yet. I had to leave Hikaro to care for Susy alone for a few days, so because of that, we get to talk about the huge mess you’re in. And for your information, we know about Bug. We know that she’s in the care of Nancy, we know she attended Providence Meadows, we know about the Destructors, and we even know about her little nickname. We’ve known about her for as long as you have, Galen.”

Galen rubbed his forehead. “Of course. I should be surprised, but knowing you two, if you weren’t looking after Susy, you would’ve beaten Frank, Cane, and Greg to Bug. But now, I’m guessing you want to know something.”

“You know me all too well. What did the kid see?” Holly asked, gun still trained on Galen.

He knew that there was no arguing with Holly. If she wanted something, it didn’t matter if you were the President of the United States, she was going to get it. She and Hikaro had gotten information classified above top secret out of people before, so she certainly could get information out of him. “What is in it for me? What do I get out of this?”

“My help, of course.”

“Help? I don’t need your help.”

Holly held out a set of keys. “I’m pretty sure these keys belonged to the car that is currently on its way to the city scrap yard after getting crushed by a dump truck. That, plus Coleman’s inadequate determination to silence you, means that no one is coming to help you. And before you ask, I do have bad news. Dr. Silas is dead.”

Galen’s body immediately tensed up at that news. “How do you know?” He had to ask.

“She called me after I got past Lexington. Someone had attacked her just after she released the kid. Not the two I just injected moose tranquilizer into, but someone else. She was able to escape Roanoke and was trying to plan where to link up with me when her phone went dead. I had Hikaro track it, and unfortunately, I found what was left of her and her car on a remote back road outside Fincastle, Virginia. It looked like the work of a Javelin missile. I’m sorry, Galen, but your friend didn’t stand a chance of surviving. She’s gone.” Holly lowered the pistol she was holding, then put it away after a moment of hesitation, a rare thing for her. “How about this, you tell me what the kid saw and in exchange, I’ll both help you with Coleman and convince Hikaro to give the girl Susy’s journal. We don’t have a need for it and considering what I have seen so far, it would do the girl some good.”

Galen snorted. “What good would the journal do for her? 95% of it is written in a completely unknown language.” But on the other hand, the remaining five percent that was readable could serve to help her. Plus, Galen was now alone and need all the help he could get. There was no way Frederick could get back here in time. “Alright,” Galen agreed, “I’ll tell you. Edward saw Judith, the creator of the Tomb and the slayer of Priomnatoris.”

Holly didn’t even bat an eye. Her time with Providence had opened her eyes to many things that seemed far beyond the science of abilities. “That means Bug is a…”

“Yeah,” Galen confirmed before Holly finished the sentence.

“That is not good. Hikaro and I read over the reports you filed about the situations Bug has gotten herself into, and if you what you say is true, Bug is only scratching the surface of her true potential that her abilities allow her. Her powers very likely have surpassed that of the level 4s and they will probably continue to grow.”

“That about sums it up. Currently, how much power she can use appears to be limited to how much tolerance her body has. I don’t know how far along her limiter extends, but her body’s limits keep her powers to a level 3 or 4. But, the more she uses them, the more that tolerance grows. And since I have no idea about the limiter and really can’t begin to understand anything about her, there is a real possible chance that if her tolerance grows strong enough, Bug could destroy the Earth with the snap of her fingers, perhaps more.” Galen trembled, showing how much he feared that possibility.

Holly, on the other hand, found it hilarious. “Wow. You have such a shit storm on your hands.”

“No kidding,” Galen retorted.

It took a few moments for Holly to stop laughing. “Still…” her tone changed, becoming reserved, “with Dr. Silas now dead, the road ahead will be much more difficult. Plus, I have no idea who took the kill shot against Dr. Silas, given just how many enemies she had acquired over her many years of service.”

“What?” Galen asked.

“Come with me,” Holly requested, shouldering her rifle and leaving the room. “Dr. Silas was a revered medical profession worldwide, aiding in cases such as Operation Wolf Howl, the Mermaid Incident, which involved Providence, the Plagues of the War, Operation Shadow Knight, and the long term ramifications of the Genetic War. But as you are aware, these made Dr. Silas a lot of enemies, especially those who had a personal stake in the Genetic War. Neo-nazis, terrorist groups, radical sympathizers, fringe medical researchers, and a few others, all caught up in the Genetic War’s ramifications, even if the war took place between World War I and II. Dr. Silas’s involvement at the center of these incidents made her a target. I guess one of those groups finally made a move. The worst I can think of is Terremoto.”

Galen thought of the possibility that the infamous Terremoto, real name Adalia Diaz, one of the last level 4s in the world, was behind Dr. Silas’s death. “It’s entirely possible, as the last I heard, Diaz had headed out to one of the nations along the Caspian Sea, but that was three years ago. But still, we are living on borrowed time with Elias as well.

Holly stopped, her eyes studying him. “I’ve found that to be a curious quality of yours. I’ve read your report of the Battle of Houston that ended in Elias’s defeat and death, but despite saying Elias was killed by Susy, you keep saying that we are living on borrowed time with anything involving Elias. Why?”

“Of course I know he’s dead. His return isn’t actually what I’m referring to. His arm and both legs were found in the rubble fifty feet down. It’s the remnants of the Oracle Soldiers, his army, that has me saying that. We were able to capture a vast majority of them mostly due to Dr. Silas, but some got away, including Diaz. She is especially dangerous and has sunk entire cities, yet since that day, she has been silent, no movement. With Elias dead, Diaz will take over as the number one villain across the world. Elias was the most powerful level 4 in the world, followed extremely closely by Susy. With one dead and the other in a seemingly permanent coma, there is no one around strong enough to defeat the third-ranked level 4.”

Holly shifted uneasily as they resumed walking towards her motorcycle, thinking about Susy. “We have sought out the best treatments, the best doctors. Susy’s body and ability will heal in time and she will wake up, ready to fight Diaz when she returns,” Holly muttered, but it sounded like she didn’t even believe her own words.

Despite Holly and Hikaro’s kill record and skills involving taking down the most powerful of superhumans, there were two superhumans that they simply couldn’t match in any way, Elias and Diaz. “Holly, I never mentioned this to anybody, not even to Coleman or Nancy. I’ve been resisting Coleman’s orders because I know they won’t work. The only reason Susy was able to master the Sword and kill Elias was because she had you and Hikaro backing her. Her family. She had a reason to fight and protect and that’s what I want for her. Bug needs a family and the war is pointless, but Diaz is still out there and it doesn’t matter if the war is over or not. If she if comes to care for a family, Bug will have a reason to fight and give it all. That way, when the time comes, I can ask her to fight Diaz and finally bring an end to the Oracle Soldiers.”

Holly nodded, understanding the real reason why Galen wanted to keep Bug with Nancy. If she was taken by Coleman, she wouldn’t have a reason to fight and might even end up taking Diaz’s side. But if she had a family, she could, when the time came, do what must be done. It was a chilling thought to think about as Galen and Holly drove away on Holly’s motorcycle. On the way out of Roanoke, Holly chose to take Galen on Route 220 and past the wreckage that was once Dr. Silas and her car. Emergency Personnel had already arrived by that point and were examining the destruction. A white sheet on the ground reminded Galen on what was coming. A war that they might not be able to win.

---------

“You want me to care for this little girl?” a random old lady in her pajamas and slippers asked us for the fourth time.

Selena did a facepalm, “Again, just for a little bit. We have… things that we need to do that aren’t suited for a child like Wren.”

The older woman looked at Selena, then at me. Ryu had decided to remain back, to make sure we weren’t being followed after we’d decided to turn around and drop off Wren at one of the houses near the woods, to ensure that she couldn’t get caught in the crossfire. After we’d woken up the woman at this early hour and tried to convince her to take care of Wren for a moment, all the while trying to convince her to not call the police, in fear that Cane would kill the cops before we could free the others and bring down Cane, I realized the real reason why Ryu stayed away. The woman had been casting glances of disgust at me and only me and the reason why only dawned on me when she muttered the word ‘chink’ under her breath at me.

Back when I was in the mall with Lacey, some of the older folks in it called me ‘chink’, but I didn’t think anything of it and shrugged it off. However, after experiencing the racism at the school, I got curious and asked the Old Lady the other day what it meant, since the older folks had used the word with a disgusted tone in their voice. She told me that the word was an ethnic slur used against Chinese that became popular after the Fall of Lhasa and the second Chinese Civil War. The old lady said that people didn't take the time to distinguish between the different Asian ethnic groups, nor did they really care. A mixture of hate and fear, they simply threw it out to whoever looked like those responsible. The old lady then hugged me and apologized, saying it was a product of the war and it never should have happened nor should I or anybody have the horrible luck of experiencing it. Just another bit of love from the Old Lady that I’d completely forgotten about when I stormed out of the house.

Either way, we didn’t have a choice. Selena regretted asking this woman to help immediately after her first glance at me, but what was done was done. “Look, Ms…” Selena asked, waiting for a name we had neglected to ask when we first greeted at the door.

The older woman gave her a disapproving look. “Not respecting your elders, children,” she scolded, “Y’all address as Mrs. Lewis and you will immediately tell me what you are doing, children.”

I clenched my fists, but Selena put her hand up to calm me down. “Look, Miss Lewis, we are in a bind and we are about to do something that does not warrant the presence of children. Now, Wren here has been through enough trauma to last a lifetime, so here is what you will do. Miss Lewis. You are going to take her in, you are going to give her chocolate milk, let her watch cartoons, and don’t you dare open this door until we return!” Selena gave a little push to Wren. She understood and walked in and stood behind the older woman. She gave me a little wave with a smile, which I returned. “Now, good day, miss.”

Selena tried to walk away, waving bye to Wren as well, but the old woman stopped her by grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to turn back around. “Now, wait just a minute, young lady…”

“She said good day,” Ryu muttered, walking past Selena and the older woman, using his staff to slam the screen door shut. “Let’s go. If we’re lucky, the police will take twenty minutes to get here.”

We all slipped away, leaving Miss Lewis fuming with Wren at her side. I don’t like that we’d left her with such a person, but we didn’t have much of a choice. All the other houses were much farther down the street and we needed to get back into the forest. As we passed a sign saying ‘Witchleaf Forest Trail’, Selena brought up the question that was on all of our minds. “I know we said we were going to do this, but how exactly are we going to do this? It’s just the three of us and I know you said that you were different, Bug, but may I remind you, they have a Siphon Destructor. That thing doesn’t just kill Level 4s, it vaporizes them to dust.”

In truth, I really didn’t know either. I had my mind set on avenging Wren and stopping Cane and bringing Destructors down. Then I could get back to the Old Lady and maybe start to have some sort of life. But in order to do that, I needed to free Frederick so he could take Cane down. “Any ideas?”

Ryu did a quick facepalm. “No idea here.”

I turned to Selena, who shook her head no. Great, just great. We were determined, yet we had no idea what to do and were possibly walking into a certain death trap. But we didn’t stop walking, as we were still determined to see this through. “The Siphon Destructor… do you know how it works?”

“It can fire in one of two ways; it will drain the power of someone’s ability, damaging and corrupting it, and using that power combined with an energy core, it will create a beam of power so powerful it can turn fifty level 4 superhumans to dust. The second way is through the energy core only, which is what that explosion was,” Selena rambled. It was clear that she knew a great deal about this weapon, but it was also clear to me that she had no idea how to stop it.

We kept walking in silence for a bit after that. Despite the huge explosion earlier, there was no sound from anything. There was nothing but quiet, peaceful forest. No anger, no pain, just peace and calm. I’d never felt this way before and for the first time, I took in the beauty of the snowy forest with awe. It was just so… well, I couldn’t describe it. The emotions were all new to me and I was really a loss for words.

I stopped and closed my eyes, truly taking in the air and the calm, feeling tears stream down my face. “I never fully understood how far your amnesia went,” Selena muttered. “Not being able to remember something like this. The peace and calm of the woods. The safety, the feeling of being one with yourself.”

Quickly coming to my senses, feeling a bit embarrassed, I wiped the tears away. “Oh… don’t worry about this, it’s just me…”

“Getting a chance to take in the beauty of this place and overcome with awe because you don’t remember it due to your amnesia?” Selena finished, guessing correctly.

I rubbed the back of my head, a bit uncomfortable about being reminded about my amnesia. “I guess…” Ryu and Selena glanced at each other, then both started laughing. “My amnesia is not funny!?” I snapped at them.

Selena held up her hand in defense. “No, it’s not that. It’s just me and Ryu were born into a world of war. We don’t know anything else. Hell, even being in such an environment like this forest, or being on Old Rag or even Mount Istas, isn’t near enough to forgot about the shitty world we live in, even for just a moment. But you… you don’t know a world with war, only a world without it. If the ceasefire remains, you won’t know the pain and suffering.”

Ryu placed his hand on Selena, understanding, “Bug…” Selena continued, “I’m going to tell you the truth. We were forced to grow up when we were very young. We may have formed the Creators as a successor group to fight the Destructors a year ago, but that doesn’t really take away the fact that we are nothing but child soldiers being raised to fight a war. Don’t let what is coming make you forget that this world doesn’t have to be only war. Remember that it can always be something.”

Usually, this type of conversation would leave me confused because it had nothing to do with the situation at hand. However, I actually understood what Selena meant. Resolve. The Destructors were a part of that past with that war everybody talked about and by defeating them permanently, I could actually live in a world free of them and so could Wren.

Selena walked ahead, leaving me and Ryu behind. “Mental emotional conditioning,” he whispered in my ear.

“Wha… what?” I stammered.

“Mental emotional conditioning. Something you would have learned that third day. Abilities are linked to both you mental and emotional state. You are happy, positive, or at least in control of your emotions, your powers will work far better. Even using anger is a valid source of control. But if you are not in control of your emotions or you are severely conflicted mentally, your powers won’t work property or even not at all. It’s probably why you have only been mostly able to use defensive powers and minor ones like superstrength. I know that isn’t all you are limited to. Take what Selena said in stride and you’ll do okay.”

“Oh…” I replied, a bit uncertain of myself. Ever since I’d woken up, my abilities only really worked when they wanted to, rather than when I needed them. My anger did allow my powers to emerge in certain times, but I had no real conscious control over them. They were random uses. Aside from what had happened that Thanksgiving day and my moments of anger, my abilities had solely protected me, without me actually doing anything to activate them. “Hey, wait a minute. How long between charges can the weapon be fired?” I asked Ryu.

Both of them turned around. “A couple of minutes,” Ryu answered.

A plan was forming, “Cane is so mentally damaged that he is going to focus all on me. The other Destructors are likely loyal to him, but if I get him riled up, he’ll open fire with the Siphon Destructor. That kind of weapon, it would have a tremous amount of energy flowing through it, but it’s still something that was built. Enough damage to it would cause it to destabilize and maybe malfunction, removing the weapon from the equation. The only reason why the Creators would be captured is solely because of that, so if we take it out, the fight immediately turns in our favor.”

Selena shook her head. “No one has ever been able to do that. The Siphon Destructor has never been defeated nor damaged. Plus, shockingly, no one has ever been able to capture one. If the Destructors have one now, someone with deep pockets in the black market supplied them one. ”

“Bug is right though. While the weapon has never been damaged, it is still a man-made weapon. It can break and once it breaks, it stops working,' Ryu countered.

“Sure, but even so, don’t you think someone in Tibet would’ve followed that reasoning. Everybody died, remember?” Selena pointed out.

Ryu didn’t counter that. I mulled over it for a second. “True, however, it’s reasonable for me to believe that there was more than just one in those days and I would also run away if those people who I considered invincible suddenly get blasted to dust in a matter of seconds. Anybody would run in fear. But this time, we… you know what it can do, so the psychological effect of it is nullified.”

Selena seems dumbfounded at what I’d just said, but Ryu quietly listened on. “That sort of weapon, if it exploded, would level the entire forest. If we did this, we need to damage the Siphon Destructor before Cane fires it,” Selena added.

Ryu looked to me for an answer. I gave it some thought. “No, it has to be damaged when Cane began to fire it. The Siphon Destructor must make a lot of noise when it charges and fires. This noise would mask any movement, making it easier for someone to take it out. Ryu, when that weapon charges, can you take it out?”

Ryu didn’t hesitate in answering. “I can. But do you have a way to keep it from leveling the forest?”

“Yeah. The energy being used is basically heat. You sap the heat, you sap its energy. Selena, right after Ryu damages it, bury it in as much snow as you can. The more, the better. And while that is handled, I’ll focus on freeing the Creators and crushing those Destructors. I’m smaller, quicker and probably smarter than those boneheads.” Both Selena and Ryu giggled at me calling them boneheads. “Alright then, we have a plan. A solid plan. Let’s just hope for the best.”

---------

In hindsight, considering all I’d been told, this was an incredibly stupid plan. There were so many risks I was taking. I was certain that Cane would fire on me, but I wasn’t ascertain if I could avoid the beam of energy. My shield could protect me from Greg’s weapon, but it would shatter like those lightbulbs if it got hit directly by the Siphon Destructor, killing me. More importantly, if I failed, then Cane would no doubt kill everybody else. I just had to take what Selena said in stride and hope for the best.

That best involved me crawling my way through snow and leaves, hiding behind tree stumps, and burying myself in the snow in order to make my way to where the Destructors had the Creators and Frank. I needed to get to a place where I could walk in and distract Cane long enough for Ryu to get into position. When I reached the Destructors, I was both horrified and relieved. Relieved that most everybody was on their knees, hands on their heads, but otherwise nothing restraining them, making it far easier to free them. I was horrified to see next to where the Creators were being held a massive crater with surrounding trees still on fire; Frank’s two partners were missing, and Sybil was nowhere to be seen.

I could only guess what had happened. Frank, his partners, and the Creators had planned an ambush but ambushing the Destructors, the Siphon Destructor ambushed them. Cane must’ve opened fire and, judging by their absence among the captured Creators, killed Frank’s two buddies and Sybil. How ruthless…

Speaking of the Siphon Destructor, it didn’t take long at all to spot it. It stood out like a sore thumb, with all the Destructors surrounding it. It looked like a much bigger version of the gun Greg had, just this one was stationary. It was also painted a very ugly brown. Overall, it gave me the vibe of a prop used in a play instead of a weapon that had murdered millions of people. But in order to go through with this, I needed to face it to give Ryu the opening. And to be absolutely honest, I was terrified. I was powerful, sure, but not powerful enough to reflect or absorb that beam. I had a real chance of dying here. It had to be done though, for me and Wren to be free.

With a strong resolve, I stepped out of my hiding spot and into the clearing. Frank and the Creators spotted me immediately but didn’t say anything to alert the Destructors. I, however, needed them alert, so I raised my hands. “Here I am, Cane.”

One the Destructors turned around and aimed at me the same kind of weapon Greg had and pulled the trigger. I didn’t have any time to react. The beam hit me, my shield absorbing the power, but the impact knocked me off my feet and I hit the ground hard. “Well, well, well… the weapon returns. You were always so bright, yet, so predictable,” Cane rambled, his voice like spiked ice.

I couldn’t feel it back when I’d first met him, but now I looked straight at it. His inner mind. I couldn’t read his mind because there was nothing coherent there. It was a maze of corrupted, mangled thoughts and memories. I mentally reached out and felt the beast within his mind. What I saw was not a beast, but a creature of extreme nightmares. Its darkness, chaos, and fear wrapped around Cane’s mind like vines, its grip made solid from thorns of insanity. What I felt in that mind was no human nor beast. Cane himself was gone, killed by the thing that could be called a monster that now resided, twisted and mangled.

I jerked back and Cane clenched his head, aware that I had invaded his mind. He looked at me with death in his eyes. What I saw was no human. This guy, he truly was a monster. How had Wren even survived this? Hell, how did anybody ever stand up to this? Me? I was shaking, absolutely terrified. I could feel my body freezing up from fear, but I couldn’t let this stop me. I had to stand strong, no matter how terrified I was. At the end of this, assuming I survived, I would go back to the Old Lady, work things out, then crawl into bed for weeks, hiding and trying to deal with the mental ramifications of this battle.

“Coming here so brave, now reduced to absolute fear. Hardly the person I used to know,” Cane mocked.

There he went again, dropping vague clues to my past. But I was done listening to him. I wanted my memories back. I wanted to know my past, but I’d take my chances with the Old Lady. “Yeah, I’m terrified, but I will stand against you, no matter what!” I stood firm, ready.

Cane just smirked. He raised his hand and the Destructors back away. One of the Creators, an older looking girl, looked at me with eyes frozen deep with fear. “Bug, get out of here. He’s going to kill you, just like he killed Frank’s two partners and… and…” She couldn’t get the words out as she started to sob.

“I know. But this must be done,” I reassured her. It truly dawned on me just how old the Creators were and that took me back to what Selena had said about the Creators and me as well being nothing but child soldiers. I had gone from someone who was angry at the old lady to being a soldier fighting in a battle.

Cane started laughing, interrupting my quick thoughts. It was a maniacal laugh, dipped in hate and anger. “This must be done? HAHAHA… what a load of bullshit. You didn’t care back then and you certainly don’t care now. If you did, why do you look like that?”

That took by surprise, that last comment. But I couldn’t focus on that. If I did, Cane could catch me by surprise. I needed to be alert. There would be time to deal with it later. “Okay, come on now. Hit me.” I held my hands out wide, making myself a target. “Do it!” I yelled.

Cane simply smiled. “As you wish.”

Cane had no reason to do this. But that smile that grew as he started up the weapon made me wonder why Cane hadn’t done this before. All that time I’d spent at the Old Lady’s house, wandering around with Lacey, he could have targeted me then. He could’ve just overruled Greg and simply gone after me when I’d first woken up on that farm. Why didn’t he?

The weapon charging took only moments, the sound of it deafening. But during the brief charging period, Frank caught my eye. He didn’t say anything, just silently asking a question with his eyes. I knew what he wanted to know. Was Wren safe? I nodded yes and he nodded slightly in reply and despite the situation at hand, he seemed greatly relieved. Honestly, that made me smile a bit.

“Bye-bye, little Buggy,” Cane spat. Here it came, the moment everything rested on. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, focusing on what Selena had said. I felt time slow down, my powers reacting to my command. Opening my eyes, I felt a surge of energy flow through my body. Cane moved slowly, as did everybody else. The air shifted, the energy around me drove back, opening a path between me and the Siphon Destructor. It was charged. I heard the click.

“RYU, NOW!” I screamed, moving at a lightning fast speed at the same moment the weapon fired. I felt the beam of energy fly past me, barely missing my face by a mere inch. I felt the beam’s energy, overflowing like a flash flood that could not be stopped. The moment it made an impact somewhere, a figure emerged in the trees. Despite being a little late, he took everybody by surprise. Ryu was prepared. Holding the staff high, he yelled out a sound more animal-like than human and took aim straight down at the Siphon Destructor. Selena followed behind, ready to negate any overloading the weapon might do and crush those remaining Destructors, leaving Cane alone.

I moved as fast I could towards Cane himself, with Ryu mere moments away from smashing down. Cane looked at me, his eyes barely keeping up with my movements. I knew that a monster like Cane wouldn’t show any emotion in this, but he did something I wasn’t expecting. He smiled. Ryu came down on the weapon, the staff making contact. I watched as it hit something mere inches away, and then the earth exploded. I was blinded, blasted back against yet another tree. A brief second later, it stopped. I looked around. Ryu had hit something that caused an explosion that had blasted everybody away, creating a fog of smoke, but I could make mostly where everybody was. The Creators and Frank were scattered right and left, obviously in pain from the explosion. Ryu was lying unconscious on top of Selena, his staff impaled completely through a tree.

But did it work? The main objective was to damage the weapon. With such a huge explosion, no doubt the weapon had been destroyed. I painfully got to my feet, looking through the fog. It cleared and I was met by a still standing Cane and the Destructors, surrounding a completely intact Siphon Destructor. “No?!?!”

“You know, Bug, I really have to give you credit for this one. Distracting me with you, allowing your partners to sneak up and destroy the Destructor, right as you used superspeed to move. I’m absolutely certain that was your plan too. Bravo, Bug, bravo.” Cane clapped, as did the other Destructors. “But it was never going to work. The main reason why it never has been defeated is because of the shield surrounding it. Nothing can break through it. No military, no bomb, no superhuman, and especially, not you, Jamie!”

“Sooo… that’s how they did it,” Selena muttered, waking and groaning in pain. I immediately realized it as well. The reason why nearly 65 million people died in the span of a few days. There was simply never a way for them to fight back. There was no way for us to fight back as well, and now I was going to die. Already, Cane was recharging the weapon.

“Destructors, join me. Let’s make this the most powerful blast yet,” Cane ordered the remaining Destructors. They all joined him, pulling out attachments to the Siphon Destructor, their ability’s energy flowing into the weapon. Kids, high school kids, about to kill me. I heard different Creators and even Frank tells me to run, but I found I couldn’t move. My legs simply refused to take a step in any direction. I was still terrified, but at this point, I think my body just gave up. It knew that it was game over.

The same feeling washed over me; the weapon was charged in mere moments. This was it. It was over. I’d done all I could. I wished I could have done more, but that plan was all we had. With no way to damage the Siphon Destructor, I couldn’t reach Cane fast enough. There was no hope. With the sound of the click, Cane pulling the trigger, I whispered what I believed to be my final words. “I’m sorry, Nancy.”

The trigger clicked, the weapon fired. Instinctively, I held out my hands to defend myself and closed my eyes. Not that it would have mattered in the end. After what seemed like an eternity, I felt the beam hit me. Immediately, I was slammed back against the tree, but I wasn’t dead. Instead, I felt the intense heat and energy radiating. It felt like the sun was right next to me, throwing everything it had at me. But I also felt the pain. An intense pain erupting from my hands and spreading down my arms. My eyes snapped open and I was face to face with the blueish tint of the beam. Despite the amount of energy Cane was putting into this attack, my shield was holding, no cracks to be seen. No doubt everybody was shocked at what I was doing, but I couldn’t focus on them. I heard Cane yell to turn the weapon up to its highest setting, and I immediately felt the energy and heat increase tenfold. Everything around me began to burst into flames, but my shield held.

It was so intense and powerful, I felt like I was being crushed as I was pushed back against the tree. Then, suddenly, one hand grabbed one shoulder and another hand my other shoulder; both pushed. I moved against the beam slightly. “We’re with you, Bug,” Ryu declared, taking the heat and punishment of the Siphon Destructor.

“This is our chance,” Selena said. “You just hold that beam back. We’ll do the rest.”

Selena and Ryu didn't help much, considering what I was holding back, but quickly, the other Creators joined in, giving their support. Even Frank joined in. With their help, we pushed the beam back, inching ever closer to the Cane. I could see his face now and he showed only pure anger at me, but the other Destructors seemed absolutely terrified, just like me. I had no idea how I was doing this, but it was working.

“Almost there!” one Creator screamed.

“We need a bit more strength! Keep pushing!” another yelled out.

We were almost there, but by pushing the beam back, it increased the amount of energy hitting me, preventing us from moving any closer. My shield still held, but the pain was immense, nearly making me blackout. “We’re…. soooo… close”

“Then let me give you a hand.” A voice I immediately recognized expressed from the woods behind us. “It’s about time I used my ability for good, rather than evil.” It was from Greg. He came to support us, to help us, and by him pushing us with his ability, we had the strength.

“Let’s finish this!” With all the strength of the Creators, Frank, and Greg, I pushed the energy back, right up to the Siphon Destructor itself, breaking through its own shield. Cane stood his ground, but the Destructors scattered. I was there, and now, I had to destroy the weapon.

“Finish it, Bug!” Everybody cheered. The pain indescribable, I held both my hands out, pushing the beam back into the focuser. With what little strength I had left, I gripped the edge tightly and shattered it. After a few sparks and a brief pause, blue energy shot from the destroyed focuser and the Siphon Destructor exploded. We were all blasted back at the sudden eruption of force. I was thrown through the snow and back into the tree, blinded for the moment. The blast was so loud and powerful, it would be impossible for the people of Harrisonburg, and probably even farther to not know about it. Hell, it likely knocked the power out for miles.

But, as quickly as it had exploded, everything came to a calm and my vision returned. I sat up, feeling the pain in my hands shoot all over my body. I felt extremely tired and I knew that my energy reserves for using my ability were virtually burned out. Any more use of them and I would have an oversleep. Aside from that, though, I felt like shit. I looked around and saw that the entire area was unrecognizable, some trees burned to a crisp, some completely missing and pretty much everything else was on fire. It was very much possible that the entire forest was the same way. However, I was overly relieved that despite the massive explosion, all the Creators, Frank, and Greg were alright, albeit taking their time to get moving again. It seemed that even weakened, my ability had shielded them from the vast majority of the heat and debris. After that, I glanced over to where the Siphon Destructor was. All that was left of it was a mangled mess of hot metal, the weapon completely unrecognizable.

Selena, who landed right next to me, also looked towards what remained of the weapon, gasping at the sight. “Bug, I don’t believe it. You destroyed it. No one has ever done that before. You did it.”

Despite the pain, I shook my hand. “No. It was a group effort. I would never have gotten that close if you all hadn’t all pushed me to it. We all did it.”

Selena smiled and held my hand, at which I immediately jerked back from the pain. “Oh, my bad,” Selena said apologetically.

“Inconceivable!” That voice stuck fear in all our hearts. Cane survived and he wasn’t done with us. We all turned to watch him emerge from underneath a large tree that had fallen during the explosion. “How? HOW?” Cane tried to walk towards us but immediately fell, clutching his side. His arms and face were burned and his clothes were shredded, revealing blood everywhere. My ability had shielded the Creators, Frank, and Greg of its own accord, but refused to shield Cane. Despite that, he’d somehow managed to survive. “You destroyed it! That is impossible.” I tried to get up, to face him, but I didn’t have the strength to stand. “No matter. You’re out of energy. You cannot power that shield of yours any longer.” Cane snatched something from the snow. The mockup. It was damaged but seemed functional.

Ryu and Selena moved to stop him, but Cane was too quick. He pulled the trigger and the mockup fired a small beam at me. It would’ve hit me had Greg not stepped in the path. It struck him, and while he held it for a second by using his ability, he was too weak and his ability failed him, blowing him back behind me. “What a lousy excuse for a son. I made you into a warrior and this is what you do, sacrifice yourself for a pitiful girl?” Cane mocked his son.

Greg had taken the entire hit of the mockup, but he stood back up, struggling as he walked back to where he’d been standing. “You are a monster. You turned me into a monster, forcing me to do all those horrible things. I hurt so many people, sometimes doing even worse things. Hell, I tied up and traumatized my little sister. MY SISTER! There was a part of me that loved Wren, but you never gave a damn about your daughter and you forced me to never give her anything…” Greg struggled to speak, coughing up blood. He pointed at me after recovering a bit, “That ‘pitiful’ girl, her name is Bug and she is the best thing about this world. She’s only met Wren twice, and yet showed her more love than any of us. Bug saved her from me and now I'm returning the favor.” Cane rolled his eyes and tried to pull the trigger again, not giving a damn about anybody, not his son and certainly not his daughter. But Greg pulled out a concealed gun and fired off one round straight at Cane’s head. First, the mockup dropped, then a brief moment later, Cane dropped, dead before he hit the ground. “It is over.”

“Holy shit,” Ryu muttered, bewildered.

I witnessed a single tear roll down Greg’s face. He had done it, he had killed Cane, his own father, ending the threat permanently. He tossed the gun away, an act signifying him throwing away that part of his life. He turned around to face all of us, the Creators, the people he had fought against. His face showed absolutely sorrow, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he fell to his knees, collapsing. “Greg!” Frank yelled, running to his side, realizing what had happened when Greg took the full blast from the mockup. He had been mortally wounded. “Please hold on. We’ll get you help. Just hang on! Help me move him!” Frank tried to get help from us, but Greg held his hand up.

“No, Grandpa. It’s okay. It’s fine... I’m fine,” Greg reassured his grandpa.

I could see the tears rolling down Frank’s face. “No… no… I can save you. We can save you! Uh… Bug can save you”

Greg grabbed his grandpa’s hand and held it tight, trying to reassure him. “Bug already saved me. She set me free, and now Wren is also free. Let me go, Grandpa. It’s okay.” Greg’s breathing got more labored, a sign that it was coming to an end and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Please… I just got you back. Please son, let me save you,” Frank sobbed.

Greg struggled to reach up and wipe away Frank’s tears. At this point, we all felt sorrow and sadness for them, including me, despite the history between us. We were all watching someone who had terrorized so many people over the years finally get the chance to think for himself and use his final moments on this Earth to make peace with his grandfather as himself. Watching him smile at his grandfather, knowing he was in his last moments with him. “We can’t always save everybody, can we? Grandpa, face it, my time is up. But I can rest knowing that Wren is finally safe.” Greg’s coughing interrupted him, but it was more than obvious that Greg was growing weaker and weaker. “Grandpa, it’s time to let me go. I’ll be okay, I promise. I just need you to promise me something.”

Frank gripped Greg’s hand tightly with both of his. “Anything.”

Greg started coughing as he struggled to keep breathing. “Promise me… that you’ll give… Wren a loving home. Give… her the family she… deserves. Give her love… comfort her… when she is sad. Fill every one of her days with happiness… joy and… hope. Be there… for her… Give to her… what I never… could. Promise… me… that?” Greg struggled to say.

Frank could only sob in his reply. “I swear on my life I will be that to her and much more. I promise you that, Greg. I love you, son. I always will.”

Greg only smiled in response, and as the first light of a new day streaked across the sky, Greg’s head slowly fell back, his eyes closing and his hand slipping from Frank’s grasp, falling limp on the ground, finally dying in peace knowing his little sister would be cared for. The kid I had hated, who had done horrible things to other people, who had tried to kill me more than once, was dead. And I cried for him. We all did.