BETH

Beth’s sweaty hands squeezed the unloaded bar and her back pressed into the bench, she sucked in air and held it. She pushed the bar up for another repetition and exhaled. Nine. Down again.

“Good!” Tom said. “One more.”

Muscles itched for strength, to display real power. But that would ruin the experiment. She shoved the nagging sweetness aside.

Beth growled to finish the tenth press.

“Again!” Tom yelled. “Again!”

Teeth clenched as she let the bar slowly down towards her chest. Could the kid not shut up, just for a moment? To keep her power at bay required a focused mind.

“Ahh!” Beth roared and pushed the bar up again.

Eleven, but that was it. By being too tired to rack the bar properly, she let it fall to the side. The bar slammed into the floor.

“Yes! Really good!” Tom said. “But you do know, that you are not supposed to drop the bar like that?”

She grunted in response, not acknowledging Tom's tease with words.

She rolled off the bench and took a breather on the floor. Day twenty-four and her muscles were sore from all the workouts, but it felt good. The unloaded bar weighed twenty kilos and now she did eleven reps. At the start of the experiment she had hardly managed five.

“My turn,” Tom said and lifted the bar from the floor. “Oh, you squeezed a little too much again.”

Beth looked up. Her hands had clenched the metal bar so hard that they had left two permanent imprints. A difficult experiment to conduct.

She sighed. “It slips into me. Just when I feel that the power is resting and under control it slips forward.”

“Don’t worry so much. You want to spot me?” Tom asked.

She nodded and got up on her feet. Tom started his reps with a steady pace and correct form. Her hands followed the bar as it moved up and down, ready to catch it if he failed.

Tom growled a last time and raised the bar up to its support crutches.

“Twenty!” He yelled. “Easy.”

She faked a smile for the boy. It should not affect her, but it was hard to let go. When comparing their natural, normal strength the teenage boy was stronger than her. It made it difficult to resist the itch. She knew better, but still the rage pulled her smile down.

“Try to lift the bar with your mind instead,” Beth said. “Take a step back, wide feet and palms forward.”

Tom listened and moved into position.

“Like we trained,” Beth said. “Focus on being happy, how it grows into you. Your dad’s smile when he comes home from work and your mom’s warm hugs. Focus on how those things make you feel.”

Tom closed his eyes. His breathing calmed, his shoulders dropped.

Beth stepped closer to the boy. “Breathe in, breathe out. Put yourself back home, back with your family. Their voices, the smell of freshly cooked food, the comfy couch...”

The metal bar twitched, then rose into the air. He was doing it! Consistency. Happiness had to be his hook.

“Slowly, now. Move it closer to you,” Beth said. “Try to grab it and keep it floating at the same time.”

The bar floated over to Tom, towards his palms and halted. He grabbed the bar with one hand and opened his eyes.

“Easy,” Tom said. The boy’s face lit up with the biggest smile Beth had ever seen. It warmed her heart seeing him happy. Had it been like this for her parents when she had grown up?

“Fine work, Tom!” Beth said. “Could you spot me again?”

She lay down on the bench, grabbed the bar and muffled her power. Her hand terminal chirped. Tom’s too.

“It's probably from the Admiral. Would you read it for me?” Beth asked.

Tom nodded. “Correct. He has decided to open up a mess hall for all the powered people. The corridor to it has been sealed, so we cannot access any other parts of the ship,” Tom said. “It should have a better synthesizer. Right?”

“Hmm. Probably. You want to check it out?” Beth asked.

“Yeah,” Tom said. “I am starving again!”

“Exercise and using your power strains you. We need plenty of fluids and food to keep up,” Beth said. “Lets go.”

She got up and wiped her face with a towel. Why should she care if the others thought she reeked?

“But won't Lisa be there?” Tom asked.

“Probably,” Beth said and went to the door. She had not yet decided what to do about Lisa. The woman seemed a ticking bomb, but the Admiral was adamant that he still was in control. How stupid of him. Time would tell what would be the appropriate action against her. Something had to be done, but what?

“We will figure something out. I have your back and you have mine, remember?” Beth said. If they decided to stay in here and never go to the mess hall it meant admitting defeat. They could not have that.

“Alright,” Tom said. “She is cold as a popsicle and has the brain of one.”

Beth chuckled. “Spot on. Popsicle she is then. Do you think she will warm up if we call her that?”

She saw the smile sneak forth in his face, but Tom managed to contain a full out laugh. Maybe he thought the matter was too serious for laughs? You needed to make the best of every possible moment. A laugh here and there made life easier.

“She might not even be there. Lets go,” Beth said

-

With all the training her body was always sore and she had a constant need to eat. Food and more food. The amount scared her. They entered the mess hall and found it devoid of the other powered people. Nice! The synthesizer looked like a large box as it stood on the floor, it even reached above her head.

“Okay, Tom,” Beth said. “I will have a go.”

She worked the synthesizer’s display. Did it have food which came in other forms than nutrient bars? Please be true.

Chicken tikka masala with rice in a bowl. Bowl form! She pressed print and had to hold back the giddiness. Tom’s meddling with their room’s synthesizer had been admirable, but one could only eat a certain amount of nutrient bars before going insane. The scent of curry came like a godsend. She grabbed the hot bowl as the machine finished and took a seat. Before starting she dipped her face into the pleasant steam and inhaled the scents. Yes, yes!

“So what kind of scientist do you want to be?” Beth asked.

Tom replied with a mouth full of food. “I want to cure all the diseases in the world. What kind would that make me?”

“Like your mom then. A type of biologist. That is very noble of you. Your parents would be proud,” Beth said.

Tom straightened. “A group is coming. I feel them.”

“You feel the…,” Beth started.

Goosebumps rose on Beth’s arms and the mess hall’s mood chilled. Tom tensed opposite her. Lisa Rands entered with an entourage of people behind. All the other powered people, they followed the determined woman like she was their leader. When had that happened? The popsicle slid down besides her, smooth as butter. Was she using her power to actually cool down the room? Not only Beth and Tom had trained.

“So Beth. How are you doing?” Lisa asked.

“A moment before everything was dandy,” Beth said, scooped the last spoons of food from the bowl. “Now that I think of it the last twenty days have been alright. A twenty day streak without your smug face.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Lisa snuggled closer. “We have this idea here. Me and my team.”

“Team? Your team?” Beth asked. This woman’s mind must have frozen over. She had these delusional thoughts.

“Right on. We, gifted, should stay together. We are better than humans and their squabbles. Why should we listen to that wrinkly-sad-banana-face Admiral Harris orders? He cannot stop us,” Lisa explained.

Delusional didn’t cut it to explain this woman, she was unhinged.

Beth pushed the empty bowl to the side. “You know that they can hear us?” Beth gestured with wide arms. “Admiral Harris was clear on that point. Nothing slips under his nose.”

“Who cares?” Lisa said, looked ignorant. “We could use your strength and metal skin when the chaos starts.”

“Not before hell freezes,” Beth said. The irony in that expression in this situation was perfect. A suckerpunch to Lisa’s face.

Lisa smiled and shrugged. “You will regret your decision.” Lisa turned to Tom, who had stopped eating when the popsicle and her posse had entered. “Tim? No, no, no. Tom, was it? You can move things with your mind. I like it. Join us,” Lisa said and extended a hand. Tom shook his head.

“I see,” Lisa said and rose.

Beth pulled her back down by her shoulders. The sleeves of Lisa’s overall were cold, far colder than they should be. “What is your goal? If you would take over the ship.”

“Go back to Earth and show them our greatness. Live like gods,” Lisa explained.

“Not take revenge on those who hurt us?” Beth asked. There could be some benefits to help Lisa. Just maybe. If she could steer Lisa to hurt the people who needed to be hurt. But could she?

Lisa shoved Beth’s arms away. “No. You are a special kind of stupid, right? We are going to help them to make us even stronger. Maybe they can give us more powers, like you. I would love having your strength. No, I want to be immortal! And be able to fly!”

The popsicle was nuts. No question. For a brief moment Beth had hoped that they possibly shared the same hatred for their torturers. That could have formed a foundation and maybe. Just maybe, she could persuade Lisa’s focus.

“I will let you eat your food in peace,” Lisa said and left the mess hall with her posse.

Beth stared into the empty bowl. Could she fix this? A hovering spoon poked her in the face.

“You know what this is?” Tom said and the spoon landed on the table. “The popsicle just challenged you. Like a pack leader challenging the strongest and fiercest. To display dominance because she feels her position to be threatened by you.”

Beth looked up. “So you are suggesting that we put her down? I don’t want to escalate the situation. Admiral Harris will not react well if powered people ran around the ship and killed each other.”

“I didn’t mean that!” Tom said. “But if we just hurt her a little bit. To scare her.”

“Your angle, I see where you are coming from, but I am not convinced. Lisa is not the sort of person who will step down if we rough her up. She will get up, she will seek us out and start chaos,” Beth said.

“Alright, but if we convinced her to chill?” Tom asked.

Beth chuckled. “Reason with her?”

Tom nodded.

“No. I have interacted with the woman twice and both times ended with her looking down on me and yelling profanities,” Beth said. “Have you ever been on a debate team?”

Tom shook his head.

“I have. Her view on the world is fixed and no argument from us will change that. She is that kind of person,” Beth said.

“Maybe we should try to scare her then?” Tom asked.

“Again, I don’t think it will be enough but we could try. Killing her might solve it,” Beth said. “No, I didn’t mean that. Don’t stare at me like that. Close your mouth, please.”

Beth could not lie to herself, killing Lisa would be the simplest solution. But there had to be another way.

“We should tell Admiral Harris. He can stop her,” Tom said.

Beth sighed. “He sits on a goddamn pedestal believing he has control of the situation. We could try, but I don’t think he could care less of what we say. But we have to do something. Fuck it, then. We just have to try anyway. I will talk to the Admiral and if that doesn’t work I will challenge Lisa.”

She texted Admiral Harris and the reply arrived shortly after.

“See you later, Tom,” Beth said.

-

Beth was led through the ship by an escort of three armed guards. They even went with an elevator at some point, this part of the ship was new to her. The Admiral’s private accommodation would have a strategic location in the ship. Would it be close to the bridge? Maybe. He should also have his own escape pod.

A lone door in the corridor. One of the guards accessed his hand terminal and the door slid aside. Not a room, but a whole apartment with a work office. She was led into the office. The Admiral sat behind a wide, wooden desk with a computer screen just as big. The three guards halted and stood too far from her reach. They had their weapons trained on her, like that would matter if she really wanted to hurt them.

The Admiral kept his gaze to the screen. “I hope everything is well with you. Your training is yielding results, this pleases me. It will be interesting to see the cap of your strength,” Admiral Harris said and looked at her. “So, Beth. This will be our last discussion about Lisa Rands, then the matter will be let go. I am tired of your whining. But I am willing to give you this chance because I believe everyone should be able to argue their case. Go.”

She noted that the Admiral called her by Beth and not Elizabeth. A sign of respect. Maybe she could convince him after all.

“Thank you, Admiral,” Beth said. “Lisa will be a problem. She has violence on her mind and I fully believe she will act on it. She has even formed a gang! Except for me and Tom, of course. You need to take proactive measures or suffer the consequences. You will not want your soldiers to be hurt.”

Admiral Harris sighed. “So nothing new to add to the discussion. I know everything that happens on my ship,” he said. “My age. If you would guess how old I am, what would you say?”

“What? That would serve no purpose,” Beth said.

“Humor me,” he said.

The Admiral looked old, but there was something invigorating about his movements. Too smooth, too strong for being a hundred years. People averaged a hundred and fifty before kicking the bucket. This was stupid.

“One twenty?” Beth asked, giving in.

“I was born five hundred years ago,” Admiral Harris said. “During my service I have hibernated for four hundred of them. I have been involved with building seventy-two of these Space Cities. Lisa Rands is a troublemaker. I have dealt with hundreds of that kind. People sneaking bombs into the ship. People putting guns to my head. People with bad intentions. Lisa will have little effect on how I run my ship. Why would I worry about some bloody ice crystals when someone could have rigged the fusion reactor to blow?”

“But…,” she started.

“No. End of discussion,” he replied. “I know what I am doing. You go back to your quarters and do your thing until I tell you anything else. Thank you.”

The guards shoved her back. Her lips twitched and her shoulders tensed. Sweetness trickled into her mouth. Why was he so ignorant?

Beth swallowed and muffled the rage. “Alright. Good day to you, sir.”

But before a reply came from the Admiral she was already being led back. A goddamn pedestal.

-

“Like I predicted, Tom. The Admiral would not budge,” Beth said.

The mug of coffee rose up and forwards into her hand. Freshly brewed.

“Thanks,” she said.

“You enjoy being right? You are used to that, I guess,” Tom said. “When will we pay Lisa a visit?”

Beth sipped the hot coffee. “After I finish this mug. We are not paying her a visit. I am. Alone. I don’t want to worry about you if she turns violent.”

“But I can handle myself,” he replied.

“One moment. If you slip for one moment she will kill you. We both know that your control is so-so,” she said. “This situation will be tense. I don’t think you can keep your hook in place.”

“Fine,” Tom mumbled. “You adults always think you know what is best.”

Tom turned around and went quiet.

“Don’t be like that,” she said. “Alright. I will tell you how things went when I return.”

Lisa’s accommodation was located a few doors away in the same corridor. No one stopped Beth as she made her way over. Admiral Harris’ soldiers were nowhere to be found and any crewmembers were still instructed to keep clear from the powdered people. Maybe the Admiral would not mind her visit then. The hook was in place, but she allowed only a trickle of sweetness in her mouth. In a moment’s notice she could summon it. She paused outside the door to let her breathing calm down. All or nothing.

She knocked. The door unlocked with a click and slid aside. A coldness swept across Beth’s face and she shuddered.

“Yo, bonebag. How are you doing?” Lisa asked.

Two other powered people stood behind the popsicle. One lifted weights and the other conjured fire in his hands. Neither of them looked affected by the cold. Lisa held a frozen water bottle in her hand. What had she walked into and why were there three of them?

“I am great. I want to talk about your plan again,” Beth said. “To iron out the details.”

Lisa saw her glancing at the bottle, she put it away. “So you have grown some sense after all? You took your sweet time, bonebag. Come in.”

Beth didn’t fancy the idea of being trapped in a small room with the three of them. Bad odds. The two behind Lisa stopped what they were doing and positioned closer, ready for action.

“No, I am good. We can speak like this,” Beth said.

“Alright. Shoot, what do you have in mind?” Lisa asked.

Beth widened her feet to reinforce her balance and she grabbed the door frame. If she dragged Lisa out, shut the door and warped its frame the other two would be trapped. For a moment at least, but that would be enough time. Sweetness leaked into her.

“How should I put this?” Beth started. “Your plan is flawed and will fail. You will place a lot of lives on the line.”

“This crap again. Bonebag, I thought you would understand. Of all the hardship humans have put you through. Sweet revenge. Are you telling me you are not aching to crack some skulls?” Lisa asked.

Beth’s jaw clenched tight, muscles tensed. “Revenge is the goal. But revenge on the right people! Not these men and women. Saif!”

Lisa looked at her with disappointment. “Sad. You are not seeing the complete picture. I will have to take you down with the crew if you don’t change your mind.”

The door slid closed, but Beth caught it and bared teeth. Sweetness flooded, fingers dug into the metal. To use violence was easier than to reason. She had to act fast.

“Are you threatening me?” Lisa said.

Ice crystals grew along Lisa’s hands and the two powered behind her stood ready. Goosebumps rose on Beth’s neck as the temperature plummeted. Veins of ice patterned from Lisa’s eyes and the smile on her face gave clear intent. No, no. This was not winnable.

Beth let go of the door and it slid close. Hand prints were squeezed into the metal frame.

”Yeah,” she mumbled and strode away. Sweetness retreated. Flustered, she tried to calm down. If she had used her brain instead of her strength, she might have been able to tip the situation in her advantage. But no, she had instead walked into Lisa’s room like an idiot.