Shades of Vengeance

Chapter 8A: A Vengeance Forged in Love

The war had finally caught up to them.

For days, they had tried to stay hidden, moving through the wastelands as quietly as they could. The sound of explosions and gunfire was never far behind, and the boy knew it was only a matter of time before the conflict found them.

But this time, it wasn't just the humans. The people of the new world had joined the battle, too. The war had grown into something far bigger, far more dangerous than they could ever have imagined. And now, standing between two armies, the boy knew that there was no escape.

The boy stood on the edge of the battlefield, his magnetic energy pulsing faintly at his fingertips. He stared ahead at the advancing soldiers, his body taut with anticipation. This was what he had trained for. This was the moment he had spent years waiting for—a chance to make the humans pay for everything they had taken from him. And yet... something gnawed at the back of his mind. The faces of the people he had already destroyed flickered through his thoughts, their lifeless eyes staring back at him from the darkness of his memory. Each one of them had been an enemy, but had killing them really changed anything? Did it make him feel whole?

His gaze drifted to Xander, who stood beside him, his expression calm, resolute. How could someone still believe in hope after all of this?

His magnetic energy pulsed beneath his skin, ready to explode at a moment's notice. He had always used it for destruction, for revenge. But now, it was different. Now, he would use it to protect the one person who mattered most—Xander.

Xander lay behind him, barely conscious, his body broken from the last explosion that had rocked the battlefield. His breath was shallow, his face pale. The boy could see the life slipping from him, and it terrified him more than anything else.

The boy clenched his fists, his magnetic energy swirling around him in an invisible storm. The soldiers were coming, their weapons raised, and he knew he had to act. He couldn't afford to hesitate. Not now.

With a surge of power, the boy raised his hands, and the magnetic energy shot out from him like a tidal wave. The soldiers' bullets stopped in midair, hovering for a brief moment before dropping harmlessly to the ground. The boy's heart pounded as he pushed harder, sending the weapons flying from their hands, tearing through the air like shrapnel.

But there were more soldiers. Hundreds of them. And they kept coming.

The people of the new world, too, were closing in, their own magnetic powers crackling with energy as they prepared to strike. It was chaos, a war on two fronts, and the boy stood at the center, defending Xander with everything he had.

"Stay with me," the boy whispered to Xander, his voice shaking. "Just hold on. I'll protect you."

Xander's eyes fluttered open, weak and filled with pain. "You don't... have to fight them all," he rasped, his voice barely audible.

But the boy shook his head. "I can't lose you," he said, his voice filled with a desperation he had never felt before. "I won't."

The soldiers surged forward, and the boy reacted instinctively. His magnetic field erupted, sending a wave of energy crashing through their ranks. Metal debris flew through the air, smashing into the ground, the force of it knocking the soldiers off their feet. The boy gritted his teeth, pushing harder, his body trembling with the effort.

But it wasn't enough.

The boy crouched low, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The weight of battle was closing in from all sides, but he wouldn't let them touch Xander. His magnetic field hummed, gathering loose metal from the shattered ruins around him. He flung a cluster of twisted beams toward the advancing soldiers, sending them scrambling for cover. For a moment, the battlefield went still—too still. Then, from behind the cover of a fallen structure, the first soldier rose, weapon ready. The boy's heart raced as he blocked another barrage of bullets, the magnetic field pulsing around him like a shield.