Everyone turned to look at her.
Simmons hissed. "How?" She gestured to the other agents. "Get her. Take her back to the pen."
They didn't immediately jump at the command, reluctant to carry out the act, but they were trained to follow her orders. Just as one neared Lucy and was about to lay a hand on her, Hunter charged out of the brush and tackled the man.
The rest of the team followed. They didn't have their para-powers yet, but the drug's weakening effects were wearing off, and they all had been trained to fight.
The agents had guns, putting Lucy and her friends at a disadvantage, but they didn't raise them.
Hunter tried to rally the agents. "Don't do this. There are children in there. Don't let her do this."
"Silence him!" Simmons glared at a pair of agents, who moved to pin Hunter down.
He fought well, but they were outnumbered.
Lucy used the chaos to her advantage, and ran up the hill where her brother stood next to Simmons and Agent Mark.
Luke frowned at her and wobbled. The drugs must have made him easier to persuade.
Simmons commanded her agents to stop Lucy, then shoved Luke. "Start, or she will die."
He didn't move, and Lucy kept running.
Simmons yelled, "I am giving you a direct command from your superior officer. Shoot her now. Shoot her, or you will all be held up on charges for disobeying a direct order."
Still, the agents refused to shoot a girl in the back. Lucky for Lucy.
She reached for Luke. "Don't do it. Don't—"
A blast of gunfire deafened her and she fell to one knee, blood pouring from her leg.
Simmons had finally gotten to one agent, and more were sure to follow. Group-think at its best.
"Do it, Luke. Now!" said Simmons. "Or my agents will keep firing."
"No! Luke, you can't. Sam's in there, and her baby. All those kids. Think about what you're doing." Lucy hobbled forward, determined to stop him.
Tears filled his eyes and he put his hand on the sphere. The glow brightened and his body tensed. He looked toward the facility on the horizon.
Why didn't he just use his power to destroy Simmons? To end her? He'd been drugged and he was worried about Lucy; he couldn't think straight.
Lucy pulled herself up and walked through the pain. "Please, Luke, stop. I'll be fine. Don't do this. Listen to me!"
He didn't listen. He focused, pain crossing his face as his body hunched in. The sphere was draining him of his life as he reached across the ocean with his power.
"It's killing him." Lucy screamed at Simmons, "Are you mad? You have to stop this!"
An insane gleam lit up her eyes. "Shut up! Don't move."
Lucy continued walking. She wouldn't let this monster kill her brother, or turn her brother into a murderer. More shots rang out. Another bullet crashed into Lucy's shoulder, then her arm. She stumbled, pain riding her, blood pouring from her, but she didn't stop. She couldn't.
Hunter cried for her. "Lucy, don't!"
The world clouded over in her mind, the pain taking up residence in her like a parasite. She ignored it and kept walking toward her brother. He had to see her, had to listen.
"Shoot her. Kill her," said Simmons.
Another shot, but it missed. Even through the haze, Lucy could tell the agents were losing faith. They weren't trained to brutally murder an unarmed woman.
She walked on, fighting more pain than she ever knew a human could endure, not even sure how she was still walking, but she refused to stop.
Simmons screeched at her agents to keep shooting. They did, but the shots went wide.
Lucy was grateful, for one more, and she might not have been able to get back up.
Someone flinched from Simmons's heat. He fired and hit Lucy in the foot.
She fell and cried out in pain.
Simmons stood over her, holding a gun. "Stop now, girl, and your brother may yet live."
Lucy looked up, blood gagging her mouth. She tried to talk but choked on the coppery life force. On the brink of death, Lucy could feel how close Luke was to being drained entirely, and Simmons didn't even care. Over the horizon the wall of the facility crumbled.
Simmons smiled like a sociopath. "Stay down, girl. If your brother dies, he'll die a hero."
Lucy looked up at Simmons, gathered the last remaining strength she possessed, and pushed off the ground. Agony. Pain. The taste of blood. Death sinking into her.
But she stood.
Simmons sneered. "You bitch." She raised her gun and aimed, and someone grabbed it from her.
Agent Mark put Simmons in a stronghold and pointed the gun at her head. "Don't move. You're being relieved of command, and are under arrest for actions in violation of the IPI Code of Ethics." He grabbed the sphere and pushed it to the ground, out of Luke's hands.
Lucy smiled and collapsed. Dream visions came to her, of their life together. Her brother was safe. She could rest now.