Zero

Chapter 33

Molly's POV

"Psyche," a voice calls from behind me almost immediately. I freeze, then rise up from my crouched position. I turn to face Maxima. She smiles cruelly at me, "I heard you were still alive, but I must say, I'm still a little surprised to see you."

"Are you really?" I challenge, "After all, you have something important to me."

She nods, a smug grin plastered on her face, "Vengeance! Join us!" Luke walks his in. His gait is almost soldier like. He comes to a stop beside Maxima, his body and gaze frozen in place as he stares straight ahead at me. "Is this who you're talking about, Psyche?"

"Let him go, Maxima!" I scream, my emotions getting the better of me.

"I don't think he wants to go back with you, Psyche, considering you're the reason he came to me in the first place. Not to mention, you're the inspiration for his name as well."

"His name is Luke-"

"Luke is dead," she corrects, "Vengeance is here to stay. There's nothing left of your brother in him now. Five years of mourning you, only to find out your death was a lie has caused nothing but hatred, the perfect emotion for me to take control. He was almost too easy to mold into my perfect soldier."

"I don't believe you," I challenge, refusing to believe that my brother is gone forever, "You're nothing but a liar Maxima.

"Oh really?" Maxima laughs, "Attack Vengeance." Luke lunges at me without hesitation, his hands wrapping around my throat before I have the chance to react. But his grip is weak. I push him off of me easily, my blue energy rushing up and down my arms for the first time in five years. He flies backwards, tumbling to the ground. He grunts and gets back up, running at me. His fists fly wildly as he tries to knock me out for Maxima. It's almost too easy to dodge his attacks. I throw a couple punches, hitting Luke in the jaw and chest. He lands one on me, slamming his fist into my left eye. I stumble backwards, my blood boiling now. I don't like losing. And apparently Maxima doesn't like waiting. She begins pacing around us as we fight.

"Kill her, Vengeance!" Maxima screams at Luke. My brother looks back as she talks, easily distracted by her voice. I take that as my opportunity and kick his legs out from under him, making him tumble to the ground. Luke groans loudly, his hand moving to the back of his skull, which just slammed into the concrete.

"I'm your sister, Luke," I remind him, emphasizing his name, "Molly. You're not Vengeance. You're not mean and violent. You used to cry when Drew and I would scream and fight with each other."

"You're not my sister," he snarls at me, getting back up, "You lost that title when you faked your death to run away from us."

"I was protecting you!" I huff, exasperated, "How many times do I have to tell you this?"

"Vengeance, if you don't kill her, I will take your powers. You'll go back to being helpless, always at Psyche's mercy. Is that what you want? An unreliable protector for you and your family," Maxima taunts, clearly agitating him. Luke lunges at me. I jump to the side, and he misses, tumbling to the ground again. His ribs crack loudly. I wince as he howls in pain. But he still gets up, the red energy swirling around his arms just like my blue energy is.

"Please Luke," I beg, desperate. I look into his eyes and see them soften ever so slightly. His shoulders relax a bit. I nearly cry out in relief, dropping my guard as I take a couple steps closer to him. Almost immediately, Luke is yanking a knife out of a pocket on his jacket. He lunges again, grabbing one of my arms as he plunges the knife into my abdomen. I freeze, the pain nearly stopping my brain. Everything around me seems to start moving in slow motion. I cough, tasting blood. I glance up and meet Luke's eyes just in time to see the red glow leave them. They fade back to their usual bright blue. His face shows a confusion for half a second before he realizes where he is and what just happened. Luke gasps and lets go of both me and the knife. I drop to the ground, my hands pressing tightly against the bleeding gash on my abdomen.

"Molly," Luke squeaks out, dropping to his knees beside me, "Molly! Molly, come on. Come on. Get up. I- I didn't mean to- I- oh my God." He's hysterical now. I reach over and grab his hand, making him break down sobbing. He squeezes it tightly.

"Very good, Vengeance," Maxima praises, stalking around my body now, "Finish her."

"Fuck you," Luke screams, jumping up at her, his red energy flowing brightly around his body as he breathes heavily. Disbelief and anger flash in her eyes.

"Vengeance, what a shame. You were the only one that worked. It's such a pity I have to kill you now." In the blink of an eye, she's over in front of Luke, forcing his arms above his head as she pushes him to the ground. He struggles to fight back but isn't strong enough to hold her back. I watch in horror as she hits and kicks him until he can't get up again. Maxima then pulls an all too familiar item out of her pocket, a syringe filled with Mercury. Luke watches in fear. I force myself up to my feet, my vision going dark do the amount of blood I've lost.

"You-" I twists her arm, snatching the syringe out of her hand. Maxima whips her head around, disbelief in her eyes, "Why won't you just die for once?"

I cough on blood, my vision swimming as spots dance across my eyes, "I'm annoying like that." Before she even has a chance to react, I super speed forward and stab the needle into her arm. Her eyes roll back in her head as the Mercury flows into her body. Once she hits the floor, I let out the breath I've been holding in, then drop down beside her, my vision going completely black.