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Hope dies with you

Over in the control room, Madeleine, Jessica, Laurence, Thomas, Marianne, Edward and their advisors see where Megan and Rachel hide.

“Shoot the first round. Thomas, we will apprehend them. Not kill. Understood?” Edward orders, and Thomas communicates it to his men in the parking lot.

Several armed people show up, forming a line in front of the building and begin shooting.

“Where are they?” Rachel asks.

Megan grabs the infrared monocle that Ánh developed. She puts it on and grabs an amplifying digital mirror. She sees their position and tells Rachel.

Back in the control room, Edward grabs the communicator to talk to Saif.

“Saif, have Aymee try to access the mind of Rachel Moore,” Edward orders.

With Aminu’s amplification, Aymee begins to focus on the surrounding people. Saif, Aminu, the element controller, she can access Edward’s mind and the armed people downstairs, but still can’t access Rachel’s. She tells Saif she’s too far away still.

“Sir, we have to let them get closer. She’s still too far away,” Saif explains.

Meanwhile, Rachel closes her eyes, puts her hands together and they begin to tremble. A hole in the ground forms and goes all the way against the armed people. She focuses again and this time a wall of water runs through them, washing them away and leaving most of them unconscious on the ground.

The Council watches it all play out on the monitors. The earthquake and the wave of water that easily took out their front line.

“What was that?!” Madeleine shouts.

“Everything is under control.” Edward tells her.

In the parking lot, Rachel takes a deep breath and feels her throat collapsing as if she’s drowning. Megan’s right hand turns blue. She focuses on Rachel, feels her pain and gradually makes it go away.

“We can run to that car over there!” Megan tells her, “whenever you can.”

Rachel nods and they run there. The Council sees it on the monitors and Edward orders the element controller to do exactly what Rachel did.

Aminu amplifies the ability, the element controller focuses, and a hole in the ground forms in the direction of Rachel and Megan. Rachel counters it with the growth of soil and makes a tree out of it. The element controller forms a massive wall of water that goes in their direction and Rachel turns it into ice.

“Even with the Angel of Death healing her, eventually her side effects will overcome her. We have the advantage here.” Laurence laughs.

Jessica looks at Madeleine and she can tell they’re both wondering if they overestimated their capacity to respond to Rachel’s abilities.

Marianne focuses her attention on Megan.

“Hold on, Rachel, please,” Megan tells her.

Rachel shivers with the coldness that runs through her body. She looks at Megan and sees her father and her aunt standing next to her.

A wall of fire burns down the ice Rachel created and fireballs fire against the car. Rachel takes a deep breath, coughs, and she forms a wall of steel high enough to cover the car.

Rachel’s entire body stiffens, and Megan keeps healing her. She creates rocks in the air and throws them against the windows of the building. They don’t break.

“That didn’t make a difference, Rachel. We have to get nearer and fight there,” Megan says.

Rachel’s eyes close for a second. Even with Rachel’s healing, her side effects are taking a toll on her.

On the floor beneath the terrace, the element controller is on the floor, shivering. Two healers stand next to him. Both are already tired. Saif rolls his eyes, opens a window and turns his left hand into a bazooka. He fires three shots against the steel wall, destroying it.

“Can you run?” Megan helps Rachel get up.

Saif takes another deep breath and fires once more, this time hitting the car. With the impact, Megan and Rachel are thrown to the floor. Megan immediately gets up. She intensifies her healing and helps Rachel.

“We need a distraction, Rachel…” Megan picks up Rachel and puts her in her arms.

Rachel smiles and several lightnings strike the windows. The Council, their advisors, Saif, Aminu, Aymee, the element controller and the healers are taken back with the light.

Megan runs and hides them behind some containers. She lays Rachel on the floor. Static electricity runs through Rachel’s body. Megan focuses on healing her. A drone flies over them. Rachel opens her eyes. She sees Megan, Amy and Matthew over her.

“Where are they?!” Edward shouts.

One technician points to the screen.

“Saif, they are behind the containers. See if Amy can read their mind, have the element controller-”

“The element controller has maxed out his capacity for now, sir.” Saif sees the man lying on the floor, incapable of moving.

“See if Amy can reach them with the amplifier. Are you maxed out, Saif?”

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“No, sir.”

“Good, then fire.”

Another bazooka shot. Megan pulls Rachel’s body to a safer place and once again heals her. Rachel opens her eyes. Form an ice spike. Another voice is inside her head. Repeating the command over and over.

“R-u-n,” Rachel coughs. An ice spike forms in her hand and when she’s about to throw it in the direction of Megan’s right hand, Megan grabs her arm and intensifies the healing. The ice spike disappears.

The Council sees it on the screen. Marianne focuses on the seconds’ hand of her wristwatch.

“Why is Rachel Moore attacking the Angel of Death?” Madeleine asks.

“Aymee gained momentarily the control of Rachel Moore’s mind, sir,” Saif tells them through the communicator.

Edward laughs and the advisors clap their hands.

“Ms. Ortiz, that was very well thought. Destroy that right hand whenever you get the chance. That will be the end of it.” Edward orders.

Megan looks at Rachel. Her healing ability isn’t constant. Sometimes it’s stronger and other times weaker. The mental controller accessed Rachel’s head. What can they do?

“They really planned this out,” Rachel laughs and holds back the tears.

Megan looks up, noticing the drones.

“I can absorb your power. End this,” Rachel sends two fireballs against the drones, shooting them down. Her entire body burns. “worth it!” She laughs again.

Megan heals her and takes a deep breath.

“Now that no one is watching us, Rachel. It’s time for you to leave.”

“No...” Rachel’s lungs have a heavy weight on them. “I have to save them.”

“I’ll save them. You’ll go,” Megan smiles.

“How?” Rachel coughs.

“I’ll use my third power,” Megan's blue hand keeps getting brighter. Fighting off Aymee’s interference inside Rachel’s head.

“That doesn’t exist-” Rachel’s eyes close momentarily.

“We don’t have time for this, Rachel. I have three powers and we’ve hidden that from everyone else.”

“They are filming... They’ll use this against deviants, Megan, don’t do this!” The weight slowly lifts from her lungs.

“Rachel!” Matthew shouts next to Megan.

“Everyone will hate deviants more than they do already,” Rachel tells Megan, ignoring Matthew.

“We have to take them away from this hell.” Megan softly tells her.

“Two lives are a fair price to pay to protect our kind,” Amy tells Rachel.

“This is why I told you that you were too weak to lead anything! Now is the time for the right choice. Destroy this building! Don’t let her use her third power, kill her if necessary. Change requires sacrifice,” Matthew shakes his head.

“You’ll never create a new world without some sacrifice, Rachel, that is the truth!” Amy shouts.

Save Diego and Alex. No matter what. Rachel recalls her note.

“Leave. Call the only number this phone has. They’ll guide you back home. I’ll go back with them as soon as I can. I’m ending this,” Megan hands her the phone.

“I can absorb your powers and help. Let’s end this together!”

“Rachel, if I die, no one cares about it. You die? It’s over for us. You are the symbol of a better future. You die, that hope dies with you.”

Two drones pass by them and fly over.

Rachel nods and Megan’s right hand slowly returns to her color. They look up and raise their hands, surrendering to the cameras.

In the control room, the Council sees it play out on the screens.

“They are surrendering?” Jessica Miller gasps.

“I doubt it.” Edward laughs.

What are you doing, daughter? No matter how many years have gone by, Marianne recognizes every expression that Megan’s face carries. You are not giving up.

“Aymee, regain access to Rachel Moore’s mind.” Edward orders.

“Gladly!” Aymee laughs. Form an ice spike.

Form an ice spike. Rachel shakes her head. Form an ice spike.

“They are in my head again, Megan.”

Rachel’s hands tremble and slowly two ice spikes start to form. She fights it off as hard as she can. Tears run down her face.

Got ya! Aymee smiles.

Megan closes her eyes, around her and Rachel, a circle of white light forms from the ground up and as soon as the light encapsules them, the ice spikes are gone.

“What happened, Aymee?” Saif asks.

“I… I… don’t understand.”

In the control room, everyone’s in shock when the circle starts to form, and in horror when the ice spikes disappear.

“What is that?!” Madeleine points to the screen.

“Is that…?” Thomas’ mouth falls.

“The white field from the massacre... No… that… that… that was one of the Aristons! They used their ability to try to kill the Angel of Death,” Laurence explains.

“There’s only two people there now. Unless one of us is helping them, the conclusion is fairly simple, friends. The white field on that day is the same one today… The Angel of Death has three abilities,” Saif says through the communicator.

“Three abilities don't exist! Thomas, fire!” Edward shouts.

“Fire!” Thomas orders through the communicator and the shooters on the terrace unload their entire bullets against the white light.

Nothing happens. As soon as the bullets hit the light, they fall to the ground.

“Saif, throw everything you have against it!” Edward orders.

Saif fires several shots with both his arms. Once more, as soon as it hits the white light, the bullets fall. It’s impossible to penetrate the white wall.

“What is she waiting for?!” Jessica Miller shouts, “why isn’t she firing?!”

Rachel faces Megan, her eyes are closed. She turns around and walks in the opposite direction. Megan slowly breathes in and slowly exhales. The white circle grows and follows Rachel.

“It’s… it’s growing… growing…” Madeleine bites her nails. “Will she attack us?” She asks Marianne directly.

“Yes.”

“Time to activate the emergency protocol, sir,” Laurence adds.

“No! We are still winning!” Edward shouts.

Rachel already passed the electric field, she enters the car, puts the key in and starts driving away. When it’s safer, she calls the number on Megan’s phone and Ánh answers.

Still with her eyes closed, the white light guides Megan. She can see everything that surrounds her. The drones that were above her are now pursuing Rachel. She sighs and, with the movement of one finger, part of the light goes in its direction and destroys them. She inhales slowly, and the circle closes again.

The members of the Council can’t look away from the screen. Madeleine and Jessica look at each other, and slowly exit without anyone else noticing. If part of the white light did that to the drones, they don’t want to wait out and see what its full power will do.

***

Saif turns around from the windows and turns off the communicator.

“It’s time to leave.”

“With all due respect, Dr. Ahktar, Hall hasn’t ordered anything,” Aymee says.

“If you want to live, Aymee, I suggest you go. Now,” Saif says and passes his card on the door to the stairs, opening the door.

“Where is Padma?” Aminu asks him.

“Boy, go home.”

***

Megan takes a deeper breath than the ones before and when she exhales, the white light goes at full speed against the building.

In the control room, they see the light approaching almost in slow motion, the seconds it took to hit felt like hours. They turned their face away, protected it with their arms, some threw themselves to the floor when the inevitable came.

The white light hit the building, a noise louder than a thunder, broke every window, the walls cracked, the desks and screens on the control room flew over. One screen hit the head of an advisor. Killing him instantly. His body dropped dead next to Edward, splashing his blood on Edward’s face.

The power turns off immediately and the emergency lights turn on.

Padma's ears ring loudly. She gets up in pain and runs toward Marianne. She gently helps Marianne get up. Edward’s bodyguards make sure he’s okay. Thomas and Laurence get up and notice the advisor’s body. Another advisor sees it and screams, running through the door.

Megan opens her eyes for a moment, noticing the destruction in front of her, still she can help it but smile. She shuts her eyes again, a white light forms once more, and she slowly walks forward.