Mod Superhero - STUBBING AUG 17TH!

Chapter 7.79 - Lock 2

Lock stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by smoldering wreckage. His chest heaved, and a dull ache felt like it went all the way down to his bones. His hands were slick, mostly with oil from the drones and with his own blood. His wounds had already healed.

There was a lull in the fighting, and he was still looking off at the horizon. He'd just watched Clara burn so bright she blasted through heavy drones and outshone the sun.

Pride swelled within him, and a defiant, joyous smile crept across his face.

Lock had been torn for so long. He'd believe in the cause, believe in Emmett and TINA, and in his teammates, but there was a cynic in him—that part of him that knew how shitty, unfair, and uncaring the world was. He wasn't even sure if he believed in humanity to get things right.

But the battle had changed him. They'd all fought hard and come out the other side. Clara's display felt like a new dawn rising for all of them. Lock looked back. Most of the other Resistance members had fought from the cover of buildings, but now they stepped out into the sun—cautious but full of hope.

Athena was across the street. Her helmet was down, and she'd been taking in Clara's display. Even in the quiet aftermath, Athena seemed to loom over the battlefield. Powerful and stoic. To Lock, Athena felt even more impressive than his fiery teammate.

Athena met his eyes, and the two shared a wide smile.

Witnessing Clara's final display felt like it had burned away the cynical part of Lock forever, but that was only because of Athena—

Lock looked up. Something was happening in the sky. A strange wave of energy passed over the world. It looked like darkness, but in some other spectrum because the shadows on the ground didn't change. Lock watched it, until the wave passed overhead.

Then cries rang out from nearby. Resistance members doubled over. At first, Lock thought there'd been another attack, but the sky was quiet and there wasn't any gunfire.

Then the terrible realization hit him, right before TINA's voice came over the comms—

The antimatter reactors had turned on.

Across the street, Athena gasped. Then she stumbled.

Lock tore across the street, nails gouging the asphalt. He skidded, and caught her as she fell. Lock fell to his knees, cradling Athena in his arms. Her face was pale; her breath ragged.

Athena had lived for millennia because she was a super. And now, the antimatter reactors were negating superpowers and magic. Without her powers, Athena wouldn't survive. Lock knew all this. He knew that right now, nanites were in Athena's body, trying to keep her alive.

Her body was falling apart. She was dying.

And there was nothing he could do. No matter how strong he was, no matter how hard he held on, there was nothing he could do.

As if to drive home that fact, a shudder passed through him. His muscles spasmed, and the bone-deep ache returned with a vengeance. His skin cracked. Weakness seeped into him, and Lock's muscles burned just holding his love in his arms. The cure... It had to be the vampire virus cure. Lock knew it was coming, knew it would affect him, but nothing could've prepared him for it. It felt like he was crumbling from the inside out.

Athena looked up at him, eyes glassy. "I think... I think this is it."

Lock shook his head. Flakes tumbled from his face like ash. His voice was barely a whisper. "No. Please. Not yet."

"The world will be better off. I just—I wish we had more time."

"Never would have been enough."

She smiled playfully despite the pain. "Lachlan, you lied to me. You said 'one night or the rest of your life...'"

Lock knew what she was talking about. He remembered lying in bed with her late into the night. They'd told each other stories—cherished memories, mistakes they were haunted by. Stories they'd never shared with anyone else. They'd shared solace and tears alongside passion. They'd shared pieces of their lives—pieces of a life.

That night, he'd laid next to her in bed and lied to her. Lock said that he would be happy whether she was with him one night or with him for the rest of his life.

Lock just shook his head. "One lifetime wouldn't have been enough."

"No, it wouldn't have been." Athena sucked in a breath and winced, but her smile never faded. It was indomitable. She said quietly, "Not all stories get to be told. That doesn't make the idea of them any less important or any less magical."

"It was magical," he insisted.

"Yes, it was," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

A Fast-Response drone touched down on the street, and Clara hopped out of it. She ran over but stopped short—maybe to give them privacy, or maybe because it was too painful to say goodbye. Lock didn't blame her. Holding Athena in his arms was the hardest thing he'd ever done. In the end, it didn't matter why Clara stopped. It felt like Clara was already fading away. The only reminder that Clara was even there was the lingering smell of fire.

But even that didn't last. The acrid smell of drone wreckage overwhelmed him until it felt like the entire block had gone up in flames. Lock wished it had. The rest of the world could burn for all he cared. His world already was.

As Lock held her, his own pain became dull. TINA was doing the best she could to help them. Nanites coursed through both Lock and Athena, frantically trying to hold them together. But Athena was dying, and he...

Lock's mouth fell open in disbelief. He could feel the war raging inside him. Though his body was changing, it couldn't lie to him. The pain was fading and his skin was no longer flaking away, which meant the nanites were winning. They were holding him together. They were holding him together...

"No! No..." Lock shouted, but his voice was hoarse. He rocked back and forth on his knees with his goddess in his arms.

He didn't want to live. How could he live when he'd spent so many days wishing to die? Days when he'd been a murderous pawn for Gnosis, half-lucid while he was experimented on—even after Emmett had freed him... Even then...

Take me instead. Take me instead of her.

His thoughts tumbled over each other in a silent, desperate prayer.

But Lock couldn't even get any of the words out. They sputtered and fell from his lips, pitiful and half-formed.

How am I supposed to go on without you?

Athena wasn't psychic, but she looked up at him knowingly. For a moment, Lock wondered how. But they'd shared so much. Of course, she knew what he was thinking. She could see right through him.

Athena reached up and rested her palm against his face. Her hand was already cold. Lock closed his teary eyes and savored her touch.

"You'll find a way. I know you will. You're so strong, Lachlan. Even—even without your gift. I wish we could've met a lifetime ago. You would've fit right in with the demigods of old... Let the memories carry you as far as they can, and then... then make new memories to carry you further."

Lock shook his head. If he were going to go, he wanted it to be now. With her. Tears streamed down his cheeks. It was impossible to hold them back, so Lock stopped trying.

"I can't—"

"Don't—don't," Athena said suddenly. Her words seized him. Her lips quivered. "We were gods for a while. What more could anyone ask for?"

Breath caught in Lock's throat. His chest quivered.

All he wanted was her. He would've traded all the power in the world for one lifetime with her, for one more day together.

Athena looked up at him and smiled, as if she knew what he was thinking.

He pulled Athena close and kissed her gently. Lock held her and wished for his body to finally give out. Waited for it all to end.

But it didn't. He was still there, long after she faded away.

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