Lucy looked up from Hunter and stared at Drake. What's he doing?
He wrapped Mary's shirt around two bars and started twisting. It took Lucy a second, but she almost laughed when she figured out the reference. She'd seen that in a Jackie Chan movie. He'd peed on his shirt and then did what Drake was doing to pull the bars in the cell together in order to escape. She really hoped he hadn't peed on Mary's shirt.
Didn't Myth Busters prove that it didn't work?
But it was working. Drake's muscles bulged and rippled in the sun as he twisted harder, bending the metal to his will. He looked surprised that he'd made progress. He gestured to Mary. "Come over here for a sec."
She didn't look thrilled as she sauntered over to him. They talked quietly, then Mary sashayed—there really was no other word for how she moved her hips and stuck out her breasts—over to the other side and whistled to the bored guard. Even without powers, Mary was a force of nature. Her breasts heaved in her tight shirt as she flipped her long blond hair away from the side of her neck that wasn't burned.
In what was almost a purr, she asked, "Could you please bring me some water?" She fanned herself dramatically. "It's so hot in here."
Coming from anyone else, that whole move would have been laughable, but Mary was a pro. She had the guard panting like an obedient dog. He grinned and bobbed his head, then scurried away to do her bidding. What power she wielded even without para-powers.
Lucy looked to Hunter to see if he was as enthralled with her as everyone else, but he was looking at Lucy. She flushed under his gaze and focused back on Drake, who continued to work on the bars.
He looked up. "I need some help."
Lucy was about to offer when Hunter stood, pulling off his shirt. "I got it."
"Thanks, but I can't use your shirt. Silk's better. Just help me twist." Together, they worked the bars apart, to create a gap big enough to slip through. Lucy locked the image in her mind of the two very sexy men shirtless and flexing their muscles. She wasn't at all interested in Drake, but she had to admit, the picture her mind took of them could have sold calendars.
Their small gang gathered around while the guys pulled, and Mary kept a lookout for the returning guard. The rest had joined Simmons and her team for the baby massacre.
It made Lucy sick.
Drake looked up at her as he twisted the metal. "As soon as we get out, we find your brother."
She nodded. "They'll be on the coast."
At least that was what her instincts told her. If the sphere could make Luke ten times stronger, he'd be able to destroy the facility from a long distance, and Simmons would want to act fast with minimal risk of failure. Hopefully, that meant the coast, and that they hadn't gone back to the mainland.
"I'm sorry," said Hunter, again—directing the apology to both Lucy and Drake this time. "I shouldn't have kept that thing."
"It's okay." Drake pulled tighter, grunting from the effort. "We all make mistakes." He stood back to examine the hole. "Let's go."
Norm paused and gripped Robyn. "What if we all get shot on sight?"
Drake's face hardened as he stepped out of the cell. "We won't."
Lucy followed, then ran toward the coast, her friends coming up from behind.
She'd already let Sam and Mr. K down. She would not let Luke down, too. He'd always been there for her, always looked out for her. She remembered the day she'd told Luke about the sphere. They'd sat on the log and thrown rocks into the water. He hadn't been angry at her for withholding the truth. He'd even accepted Hunter, eventually. Her brother never judged her for her flaws, and had been the one constant in her life, the one truth amidst a sea of lies. It was her turn to take care of him.
Along the shore, on a hill overlooking the water, Simmons stood surrounded by agents. Luke wavered beside her, looking stoned. Next to him, a tall piece of wood, like an altar or pedestal, held the sphere.
It pulsed and glowed and Lucy could feel its pull, but it no longer attracted her like it once did. Now it made her think of death and heartache. She had to get to Luke, but how? They had no weapons, no powers.
They crept closer, hiding behind rocks and bushes.
Simmons was making a speech. "Today, we end a tyrant. Today, we end this war." She waved her fist in the air like some crazed Nazi.
Her men gave half-hearted affirmations of 'yes', but Lucy could tell they didn't want to do this. They wanted a better way. What kind of person could kill innocent children and not feel guilt or grief? What kind of person could celebrate that? She wished she'd taken Beleth up on his offer and killed the bitch when she had the chance, but that would have made Lucy into someone like Simmons, and she never wanted to become that person.
Gary came up behind her. "We should wait until he starts to use the sphere. They'll be distracted and we'll have the upper hand."
It made sense, but Lucy couldn't let Luke start. She stepped out of cover and ran toward the hill, then stopped at the base and screamed. "Stop!"