I’d been through a lot of intense elevator rides, but this one took the cake. I couldn’t stop pacing around the massive metal space. I was on my way to save Nessa, but would I get there in time? Alhabor wouldn’t kill his own daughter, would he? If there was an answer to that question, I didn’t want to hear it.

I pumped my fist when the elevator finally dinged and its doors opened. Sprinting out, I immediately ducked a green plasma beam. It shot into the elevator before the doors closed again. Alhabor stood in the back of the room. His assault rifle was aimed right at me. Nessa lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. Her back was rising and falling, so she was still breathing. But her spine had stopped glowing again.

“Oh, hey! I was wondering when you’d show up.” Alhabor examined his rifle like he hadn’t realized he’d been holding it. “Oh, this? Yeah, I had to get a new toy because someone blew up my last one. Along with my hand. I got patched up, but I haven’t gotten a replacement yet. It’s a little small, but I’m hoping Madam President can repurpose this one for me.”

He held up my purple and blue bionic arm: the one he’d stolen from me back on the gremlins’ planet. It was finally time to get it back. I’d never sensed that much murderous intent from someone before. Though Alhabor was grinning, the rage in his eyes would have been visible from a mile away.

“How could you do this to Nessa?” I struggled to control my rage as I looked at her. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew she was conscious. Whatever he had done to her, it had killed her fighting spirit. “You held her when she was a baby. You stuck around long enough to remember her name and what she looked like. You did all that, and then you left anyway. I don’t get it. Why?”

Alhabor rolled his eyes. “Because this isn’t about Nessa. It never was. This is about me! And, to an extent, it’s about you too. You’re the one I’m about to shoot a few hundred bullets into. I’ve fought off hundreds of AI, pirates, and defectors, but a spoiled little brat is the one who blows my hand off?”

“You killed someone I cared about! You deserved it. You don’t deserve to be called a general or even a soldier. The only person you fight for is yourself.”

“What do you know? Everyone treats you like you’re the chosen one, but you’re more like the coincidental one. Frost only likes you because of your dead grandpa, and you were given those freaky powers before you could form a coherent thought. You did nothing to earn your spot in this war. Anyone with enough luck could be you! I’m the one who trained to be here. That’s why I’m irreplaceable, and you? You’re nobody.”

Alhabor pulled the trigger. I dove behind one of the servers as green bullets whizzed by. Once I’d thought about it, I realized that the machines that Alhabor had come to destroy didn’t make the best cover. I couldn’t hide for long.

“And now you’re scheming, right?” Alhabor called out. “Thinking up one of your little plans? I bet you think you can use your lightning like you did downstairs. I ain’t falling for that again. If you try it, we’re going to see how well Nessie’s legs handle hot plasma.”

I hated this guy more than words could convey. Even if my electricity was faster than his trigger finger, I didn’t want to risk it. I just had to lure him over and make contact. Then I could will his suit to turn off. What was the best way to lure a narcissist?

“Did it hurt when you realized that you’d never be respected more than Sirius? Was getting rid of him your first plan or your last resort? It’s just impressive how you could lead the team for all those years and never earn their trust.”

Green bullets zoomed through the elevator’s closed doors. Warning shots? He was just wasting ammo. Funny that, even as I said that, my heart rate sped up. My body was betraying me yet again.

“Keep talking, kid. If this is how you want to spend your final moments, be my guest.”

Alhabor’s voice was drawing nearer. His footsteps were getting louder. He was almost within reach. I’d have to act fast though. Maybe I could at least blind him with some electricity before I struck.

“No!” Nessa said. I couldn’t see what was going on from my hiding place. Her voice wasn’t directed at me, so I assumed she was speaking to Alhabor. “You’re not taking another step. Keep telling me that I’m why you left or that Mother gave up because she hates me too. It doesn’t matter, because I’m not letting you hurt Wander.”

Warmth spread throughout my chest. Nessa was defending me. I was happy that she cared so much, but she was ruining my carefully crafted plan. If Alhabor couldn’t get past her, I couldn’t make contact.

Alhabor sighed. “You’re just proving me right. Who would want to deal with a stubborn brat like you? Move aside, or I’ll give you the same treatment I’m planning on giving your boyfriend. I don’t approve of him, by the way.”

“If you actually intended to kill me, you wouldn’t be warning me to move. You’d just shoot…but you can’t. Even someone as awful as you can’t shoot his own daughter. If you did, you wouldn’t just be sacrificing morals, you’d be giving up your humanity. Want to prove me wrong? Be my guest.”

Once again, Nessa’s bravery (stubbornness) was putting her life in danger. The silence that followed her challenge was deafening. How would Alhabor react? I imagined him glaring down at his child as he mustered up the courage to kill her. Given enough time, I thought he’d do it. That was exactly why I couldn’t give him that time.

I broke cover and shot a stream of electricity. Alhabor fired off a few bullets as he threw his body to the side. My electricity whizzed over him just as his bullets narrowly sped past me. I smiled as I realized why: the bullets had been headed for my right arm. The one that he had. Talk about turning a weakness into a strength.

Alhabor recovered and pulled the trigger again. I dodged more shots as I fired more electricity. Blue, white, and green filled the red room as we went back and forth. I narrowly avoided some bullets; he dropped to the floor to avoid electricity. Why couldn’t either of us hit the other? I could have hit him by now if my hand hadn’t been shaking so badly. Dodging that many bullets would do that to you.

As for his excuse? He was just as scared as me, but for different reasons. All Alhabor cared about was himself. He didn’t care what happened to anyone else if it meant that he could achieve something. He saw others as worms beneath his feet. That was why he was scared of losing to a teenager. A “real man” would never lose to a kid.

Alhabor pulled the trigger as usual, but, this time, nothing came out. The rifle clicked to signify that it needed to be reloaded. Alhabor growled, continuing to pull it as if that would magically enable it to reload. I couldn’t blame him because it’d take a lot of work to reload that thing with only one hand. I smirked as I extended my hand to deliver the final blow, but my palm only fizzled. No electricity. I was out too? I could try to push past my limit and use that pure white lightning bolt again, but it was too risky.

I rushed forward and grabbed his rifle before he could figure out how to reload it. A guy with one arm tried to steal a gun from a guy with one hand, all while a girl who couldn’t use her legs watched. Alhabor’s sneer widened then his face suddenly fell. He was looking at something behind me, so I assumed he was watching Nessa. His sneer turned into a smirk as he kicked my knee.

I stumbled back right as something exploded against the back of my leg. The pain made it buckle, knocking me down. I held on to the rifle for as long as I could, but it slipped from my grasp. I crashed to the floor beside Nessa. Her raised hand and dimming palm told me everything I needed to know: she had tried to shoot Alhabor, but his kick had pushed me in front of the blast.

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“No, no! Wander, I’m so sorry.” Nessa’s voice wavered as she apologized. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“You wouldn’t be apologizing for it if you did. Don’t worry about it.” I grunted as Alhabor pushed my arm down. Green lines spread down my arm. They were coming from under his palm. He wasn’t just holding me down; he was absorbing my suit’s power. “No, get off me!”

“Already figured it out. Good.” Alhabor nodded with satisfaction as his arm lit up. “Since you liked my suit’s ability so much, I decided I would kill you using it.”

Nessa fired at Alhabor again, blasting his shoulder this time. He growled, swinging at her with his other arm. She yelped as he struck her across her face. Though he had no hand on that arm, Alhabor pinned his daughter’s head to the floor. My mind raced as I struggled to come up with a plan. How was I going to get us out of this?

The elevator dinged. The unmistakable sound of sliding doors resonated through the room. Alhabor looked up just before a fireball exploded against his chest. He jumped away as fire spread over his suit. I was confused for a second, but then I realized exactly what had happened.

“Guess I showed up just in time.” Laura sauntered into the room. Both of her hands were ablaze. “How you doing down there, dummy?”

“Wondering how the heck you got up here without an AI.” I stumbled to my feet, Alhabor had drained my energy, though. So it was extra difficult: I was a bit heavier than usual. “But I’m mostly just glad you showed up to save my butt again.”

Laura held up her wrist, revealing a red bracelet. “The AI trusted me with this thing. I can open any door on the planet with it. I bet you’re glad that I’m cool with them now.”

She had no idea. Guilt flooded my stomach as I realized how wrong I’d been about Laura. I had been worried that she’d turned into a second Beth, while she’d done nothing but prove otherwise. She was still my loyal best friend who would always have my back even when I ordered her not to. It was time to get over my fear of fire.

“Sure, why not?!” Alhabor brushed off the last of the flames and glared at us. “What’s one more brat? Come on, kids. Let’s play.”

Alhabor fired a green blast at us. We jumped out of the way and Laura retaliated with a fireball. Alhabor blocked it, but the fire still spread over him. He groaned as he patted himself down. I had to strike while he was distracted, but not with electricity. What else did I have? Why were my suit’s pockets so much heavier than the rest of it? Without my enhanced strength, I could feel the extra weight…and I realized what it was.

I charged at Alhabor while reaching into my suit and gripping a tool that I’d been neglecting. He fired another green blast at Laura, knocking her back. Then he smirked for a second before his eyes widened at the sight of me and my trusty wrench. I hadn’t made proper use of my wrench in a while. I remembered Laura using it to dent the knee of Surge’s suit. Now I was going to use it to dent Alhabor’s head.

The more I thought about all the evil he’d committed, the surer I was that this would be the end for the Green General.

Laura launched another fireball at Alhabor, issuing the final distraction. He screamed as he tried to assemble his helmet. Not this time. I swung my wrench as hard as I could. It collided with his forehead before his helmet could shield it. The pieces closed around my wrench then retracted into his suit because the helmet couldn’t complete itself. As Alhabor stumbled, I reeled back and brought my wrench crashing down on his head. He fell to the floor like a sack of flour. His eyes fluttered shut as he spasmed and then went limp.

I bent down and grabbed his wrist then navigated the complexity of his suit and willed it to shut down. I breathed a sigh of relief as the light faded from it. He was down for good. It was finally over. Now there was just one thing left to do…

I reached into one of Alhabor’s suit pockets and yanked out my bionic arm, holding it up like the trophy it was. It was about time! But I didn’t want to put it back on yet. It had come straight from President Frost, who was now the second most evil person I knew. I’d need to look over the arm and make sure it didn’t have trackers before I could wield it again. A paint job wouldn’t hurt either.

“Fire and lightning make one dangerous combo!” Laura stuck her hand out, waiting for a high five like she had the first time we’d done this. I shook my head and went in for a hug instead. I held her close, even as she stiffened in confusion. “I’m…not complaining, but are you feeling okay? What did that douchebag do to you?”

“I’m just glad to have you back.” I hugged her tighter as a genuine smile crept across my face. It finally felt like we were reunited. I let go of her and cleared my throat. “How are things downstairs? It wasn’t looking too great when we left.”

“That Purple Dwarf thing was tough, but they’ve got it under control. Thing is, Frost wants to talk with you. She agreed to call off the invasion if you came.”

Though it sounded too good to be true, it made sense. If the Purple Dwarf had lost, Frost had no reason to keep fighting. She wanted to finish the fight herself, and, if she couldn’t, then what was the point?

I glanced at the still functioning servers. “She’s already lost, so I could stand to gloat a little. Hey…did you see Anderson on your way up?”

She raised an eyebrow. “No, but there was a suspicious-looking puddle of blood next to a deactivated White Dwarf. That was Ben, right? What happened to Anderson?”

If he wasn’t attached to the puddle, then the Giga must have heeded my request. I never thought I’d feel grateful to an AI.

“He got messed up, but he’ll be fine. Tell Frost that I’ll be right there.”

Laura nodded and went back to the elevator. I waited until she had disappeared behind its sliding doors to crouch beside Nessa. She’d been surprisingly quiet for someone who’d been through so much. She was staring down at the floor, so I couldn’t see her face. I placed my hand on her metallic spine and willed it to function. The lights on it flickered before shining as brightly as they had before. Well, at least that worked, even though it was only temporary. I just wanted her to be able to walk back to her wheelchair.

“How are you feeling?” I extended a hand to her. She looked up, revealing the disgruntled expression I had expected. With one hand, she wiped the blood that was trickling out of her nose. With the other, she took my hand. Her metal-coated body was heavy, but I pulled her up. “I’m sorry about everything that happened, but, look, we won. He can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

“Really? Because I want to make sure of that.” Nessa marched toward Alhabor’s limp body. She raised her palm, which was glowing silver. I hated the looks of this. “He’s hurt too many people already, and, if we let him live, he’ll just hurt more. Let’s put a permanent end to his reign of terror.”

My jaw nearly fell off. “Wait. You were serious about killing your dad? Even after he hesitated to kill you? Nessa, that’s out of the question.”

“Why? Because it’d be ‘sinking to his level’? Right, like I’d have a guilty conscience after ending one life to save countless others. I heard what you said: he killed someone close to you. I’m sorry to hear that, but knowing he hurt you only makes me want to do this more. So how could you not?”

“It’s complicated. I know he’s not someone worth sparing, but I don’t think he deserves to be murdered either. He might have valuable information we can use against Frost. Besides…you didn’t earn this.”

“What?!” Nessa’s eyes illuminated with rage. “How dare you. I was his first victim, I was the one he verbally abused just minutes earlier, how can you tell me—”

“I’m not denying what he did to you, but you rushed up here unprepared and underpowered. Your legs barely work, which is a weakness that he happily exploited. Even your sneak attack was so obvious that he used it against us. If Laura hadn’t shown up, we’d both be dead. You didn’t beat him, Nessa. We may have won in the end, but you don’t deserve credit for the victory.”

Nessa’s face twisted in pain as she glared at the floor. I felt like she was about to blast me instead of Alhabor, and I wouldn’t blame her. I was being harsh, but it was just so that she wouldn’t make the same mistakes the next time. Keeping her alive was more important than being nice.

She gritted her teeth. “If we kept him prisoner, he’d get out eventually. Don’t try to tell me he wouldn’t.”

“And, if he does, you’ll get the chance to properly defeat him. Unless you’re fine with never feeling that satisfaction.” I squeezed her hand. She didn’t return the gesture. “If you have to face him again, I won’t let you do it alone. The abandonment wasn’t your fault. And, to prove it, I’m never leaving your side again.”

Nessa finally turned away from Alhabor and met my gaze. She didn’t look angry anymore, just melancholic. I braced myself for whatever would come next, whether an insult or a slap, then I flinched when she squeezed my hand back. Her other hand cupped my face, and she leaned forward until her lips met mine.

My mind shut down. There was no way this was actually happening. The happiness that was warming my body like a furnace told me otherwise. I shut my eyes and leaned into the kiss. Her mouth was softer than I’d imagined it would be. Could she hear my heart hammering away? I’d never live it down if she could.

I felt her pull away, so I opened my eyes. A twinkle of light illuminated hers. I was guessing she’d enjoyed it. Thank goodness. Because I couldn’t remember the last time I’d kissed a girl. I wasn’t sure I ever had. I had definitely never had a girlfriend before…now.

“Thank you for caring about me,” she said as she grinned. “Now, let’s go have a little chat with Frost. We’ll tell someone to imprison my father on our way over, and we won’t ask them to be gentle.”

Nessa tapped my shoulder as she walked by. I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt like a space ship zooming through space. Now, all I had to do was declare war on the president and call it a day.