MILO

Milo had never felt so empty and alone, his chin dipped down to touch his knees.

He took a good long look at Elizabeth. She looked just as tired and hurt as he was. Even so he had a difficult time feeling sorry for her. The beating flashed before him again. Reenacted. Blood splattered and bones shattered. But Dad had looked at peace. Why? Had he really done those things Elizabeth spoke of? Or maybe Saif had been truthful. That Dad had been a puppet all along; believing himself to be Saif and believing himself to have done all those horrible things.

“I did not intend to hurt you,” Elizabeth said. “For everything that man did to me he needed to suffer. I really, really thought it was Saif I hurt.”

Milo stared back at her and wiped off the cold tears from his face. “You killed my dad.”

“He was never your dad. Saif played his tricks on you,” Elizabeth said.

“That man you killed raised me. He made me into the man I am today. He put food on the table. He taught me to be a decent man,” Milo said. “I do not care about Saif’s tricks. That man you killed was my dad.”

“But you have to understand…,” Elizabeth started.

“I really, really want to hurt you. Kill you,” Milo started. “I really do. But, what would he think of me? What would be the right thing to do? Killing cannot be the right thing.”

She sighed. “Better equipped and stronger men and women have tried and failed. Even if you managed to escape your cell and into mine. And somehow circumvent Saif’s control, you would not be able to hurt me,” Elizabeth said.

“I would have beaten you if that room had had an electrical access hub. I would have torn open the blood deposit and wiped the floor with your face,” Milo said.

Was he stepping too far? He was still unsure how the blood would affect his manifestation, but surely it had to do something incredible since it was locked away so tightly?

Elizabeth looked puzzled. “Blood? What are you talking about?”

Either she denied knowing or she actually didn’t know. Whatever the case, it could not strengthen his claim.

“Our manifestations are fueled by our bodies’ water, right? Why only water?” Milo asked. “The human body consists of many forms of liquids, like blood and adrenaline. It would be strange if only one of the liquids could be used as fuel. Have you not asked yourself this before? You are supposed to be the scientist.”

Elizabeth’s face relaxed. “That is an interesting theory and if proven truthful it would add a new layer of depth to the powers,” Elizabeth said. “Do you have proof?”

She was adamant on calling their abilities as powers instead of manifestations, was this her way of distancing herself from Saif? Maybe he should follow her example?

“When I search within me for the deposit of water I sometimes see other deposits. One has the color of blood,” Milo said. “Thus, my conclusion.”

Elizabeth frowned. “I knew it. You made that up. That is not how you arrive at a conclusion. Where is the evidence? Without evidence, it is just speculation. You just want me to look stupid when playing with the idea. Don’t toy with me.”

This woman was unbelievable! She was drunk on anger and distrust, second guessing everything. It pulled at his nerves. He gave up on explaining.

Milo’s chin dipped lower. “I imagine electrocuting you, but I cannot get myself to actually do it. Hurting you will not make dad come back. Vengeance is stupid.”

“Stupid?” Elizabeth mumbled. She sounded upset.

“Yes. Look at you. How long have you dreamt of revenge? How many times have you justified a violent act by the means of vengeance? How many have been hurt and killed in your wake? Just so you could get your revenge. You are just like Saif,” Milo said.

Elizabeth’s attention peaked. “You have no clue what you are talking about. You think you understand the world now, after you have been hurt? You have not even grazed the surface. Privileged. You are privileged not to have suffered before.”

“But I do. Should I as you, go on an everlasting quest for vengeance? Will it bring back my dad? No, it will not,” Milo said. “So by your opinion I should kill you and Saif. It was your fists that hammered dad into pieces, Elizabeth.”

“Thunder cunt,” Elizabeth said, turning away from him. “You ignorant boy. Do you store all that anger in that fat stomach?”

Saif had broken her. The only thing left that drove her was rage. Milo would not let the same thing happen to him. He wiped off another set of tears. No, questing for vengeance would not end well. But saving the world from Saif's iron will would. That was worth doing.

“You are not improving our situation,” Milo said.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Elizabeth grunted in reply.

Milo let the conversation die off, he would not let his emotions get the better of him. Anger boiled, but he could choose not to vent it. Everyone involved had lost someone and been made fools by Saif. The little he had seen of her made it clear that Elizabeth tended to follow down a path of rage. Did she care about anyone else than herself? Rage was her way to deal with it. Just like Sam. Oh. How would Sam react to dad’s death? They were good friends and Sam had a tendency to overreact, especially when it concerned someone close. Sam expressed himself through violence rather than anything else. It could become ugly.

“You wore electricity like armor,” Elizabeth said. “And it tanked my punch. How did you make your power do that?”

Had she truly cooled down a bit? Or was this bait for another barrage of curses?

“Well, how do you make your skin turn into metal?” Milo asked. “They are similar attributes. External, active and of a defensive nature. Your metal skin is one of your manifestation’s defensive attributes.”

“There you go again. Attributes, blood deposit. You sit on your high pedestal thinking you know how it works. I have been at my powers for years. I was in the facility. With Saif and Jacob.” Elizabeth said. “Beth. It is not Elizabeth, it is Beth. At least that you could get right.”

Milo sighed. “First off, I don’t think you have two manifestations or powers. Your metal skin is an attribute of your strength. Secondly, for being a scientist you are very narrow minded!”

“Narrow minded?!” Beth yelled. “You annoying piece of shit.”

She turned around and turned silent. Milo was too tired to continue their discussion either way, so he let her be.

BETH

Maybe some of the things Milo spoke of had merit. He lacked evidence, but the logic sounded plausible. It was worth conducting experiments to find out and she usually enjoyed these kinds of discussions, diving deep into the rabbit holes. But. She was just so frustrated and he had a way of stepping on her toes. And Saif had won again. She had grown much stronger than their last encounter, but it didn’t change the outcome of events. She had been so sure victory was imminent.

She had to put her anger against Milo aside, the man might know more and could be an ally.

“Saif as we saw him yesterday had not aged a single day from when I last met him,” Beth said. “I have been away for thirty years. Most of that time was spent in a hibernation pod. Did you see how your dad morphed into a different person? Into the real Jacob Meyer. That Jacob looked far older and much more like he should have been. This Jacob was the same Jacob that acted as General for the facility, before Saif took control. Jacob Meyer had aged, but Saif had not. Maybe a mental trick?”

“It could have been. But I know the truth,” Milo said. “Saif has this woman in his midst. Rachel. Her power allows her to heal wounds and even aging. That is why he still is young.”

Milo used power instead of manifestation. Good, distance yourself from Saif’s doctrine. So time would not beat him. That would be the reason he was still here, growing his ranks and advancing his technology. He would not need to act until the aliens found their way here and now that first contact had been made it was only a matter of time.

“What a cluster fuck,” Beth said. “His mental power already made him the most formidable man I have met and now he is immortal too. Fun. Unfair.”

“There has to be something we can do?” Milo said.

An optimist. No amount of willpower would make it possible to break Saif’s mental vines. She knew.

“You just experienced Saif’s mind control first hand and you think you can break it?” Beth said. “Saif will put us on the front line. We will conduct the war for him.”

“There really is no way to break his will?” Milo said. “Nothing?”

Beth’s chin dipped. “I broke it once. But that was different. His power was weaker and my angle of attack surprised him. He did not know that my strength could be applied mentally. But after that attempt, he has gotten stronger and his technique refined. I can brute force a few thoughts through the vines, but nothing else.”

“But. But if you do not try, you will never know. Maybe you have grown stronger too?” Milo said.

“Even that one time I broke free, he won. I grew tired and his control latched on, imprisoning my mind again. I guess he is more careful now,” Beth said.

“When one is absolutely sure they are in control, that is the moment they lose. Arrogance is a fickle thing,” Milo said.

Beth coughed. “Saif has no weak spots. We don’t know how Rachel’s power works. If we against all odds would kill him, she might as well be able to reverse his death. I am defiant, but realistic.”

Beth’s anger boiled again. Was she expecting too much from him? She had provided evidence and conclusions from her own tries to break Saif’s control. She had failed even with an empowered mind. Electricity did not strengthen your mind. Saif had sounded confident knowing how to start the war. The mental pervert was looking forward to it even!

Breathing slowed as Beth focused on calming down. She should not lash out at Milo. He was only doing his best. He did not know better. But still she felt the need to correct him; an issue with being the better educated in a conversation.

MILO

Beth lashed out with anger, Milo chose the calm way. There had to be a way to defeat Saif. He didn’t believe for a moment that Saif lacked weaknesses. It was just a matter of being clever.

Saif walked down the prison hallway with Carl, Amanda and Rachel in tow. The whole gang. He barely registered the combat suits taking up the rear, pulling two hibernation pods behind them. A cold feeling crept down his spine. This was not good. He swallowed. Saif advanced his plan.

That something tugged inside his mind again. The vines pulled on his thoughts, put them into the light. Was Saif studying his mind? Yes.

“What is wrong with you?” Saif halted and turned to him. “You still believe in those crappy ideas of blood and whatnot. I thought you were stupid, but you cannot help yourself. Well, we always need cannon fodder.”

Milo smiled, not knowing how to respond.

“Scre...,” Beth started, but her lips slammed forcibly together. That was Saif’s doing, surely. But, the fiery rage within her still burned hot.

“We will sort that out during our travels,” Saif said. “The pods.”

Milo stood up, the muscles in his legs executing the command without his consent. The sides of each prison cell slid aside. Saif’s mental order pulled Milo’s muscles into action. There was no reason to waste energy fighting the foreign thoughts.

“There will be no mistakes,” Saif said. “Sleep.”

Eyelids grew impossibly heavy. He blinked. His shoulders drooped, his arms hung limp and his vision turned black. He had one final thought as his mind descended into darkness: Human thoughts, are they not merely electrical signals?