Beleth took a step forward, his fist curling. "Has it begun?"
"It has been completed." Steele motioned to the balcony. "See for yourself."
They walked out to the balcony. Below them, hundreds of children were being led out of the facility, dressed in rags and chained together in lines. They looked pale, hollow and weak.
Beleth clutched the rail. "No. What will happen to them?"
"Some will be sold. Some will be gifted. They have served their purpose." Steele reached into his pocket and drew out a syringe with purple liquid.
He could almost feel the energy pulsing through it. He had extracted powers from dozens of kids, picking the best ones, compiling them in this syringe. Some kids he had left alone, like that girl with the healing powers. He'd used her to heal his daughter, and he still hadn't discovered how to take away the side-effects. That didn't matter. He'd have all the powers he needed.
He admired the miracle in his hands. "Years of work, and I finally have my chance."
"So do I." Beleth slapped the syringe out of Steele's hand and it flew over the balcony.
Steele reached for it, but it slipped through his fingers and landed below, shattering into pieces and staining the cement a purple hue.
Beleth collapsed, sweating.
That much defiance should have been impossible for him. How could he have broken from Steele's control that long?
"You will never have what you want," Beleth said, his voice weak and raspy.
Steele loomed over the man. They had been partners once, working towards the same goal. How had things come to this? Beleth no longer shared Steele's ideals, but Steele had known that for a long time, so he always planned for contingencies.
He pulled another syringe from his pocket and wagged it in front of his old friend. "Did you really think I made just one?"
With the drug he'd manufactured—the one on the streets—he could amplify powers. By mixing it with the powers he extracted, he was able to make over a hundred syringes' worth. Nothing would stop him now, not even Beleth.
Beleth looked shocked by the syringe, but didn't speak.
Steele leaned against the railing and looked out at the children trudging away, grateful once again that he had no empathy or silly emotions to hinder him from realizing his full potential. The problem with humans, and most paranormals, was that they let their feelings destroy any chance of success they could have in the world.
"You would have been my right hand," he said, "dealing out justice in this cruel world."
Beleth scoffed. "I would have been the hand that wiped your ass."
"Yes, and you still will be. Go to the IPI base. Bring Simmons to me. Kill the rest."
Beleth's mouth twitched as if to speak, but he couldn't. He didn't have the reserve left to even disagree, especially as Steele tightened his control over the man. Even delaying the order pushed at his limits. Steele could feel the walls crumble, another soul that he'd crushed and owned, just like he would Sam.
"I think you will find someone there of particular interest." Steele smiled. "I wonder if you'll recognize him, before you kill him."
***
Steele walked into a large conference room dominated by an oval mahogany table and chairs. A camera had been set up across from the head of the table, and was set to interrupt network broadcasts worldwide with his demonstration. The richest and most powerful men in the world sat around the table, dressed in their power suits, ready to hear what he had to say.
He greeted them each individually, shaking their hands. "Each of you have been valued customers of my organization. You've paid good money for the services of my paranormals, and because of you, I have been able to complete the experiments that will change the world."
He sat at the head of the table.
Gregor Vetrov, a corrupt Russian politician, stood to address him. "Why the camera, Mr. Steele?"
"Because we are making a statement, my friends. A statement to the world."
The red light clicked on to show that it was recording. A few of his guests fidgeted in discomfort and furrowed their brows in worry. They had no vision, no balls to embrace the future, but he would teach them.
Steele faced the camera. "Citizens of this great planet, welcome. You may not know me, but that's about to change. We are standing on the precipice of a new era for humanity. For years, those with paranormal powers have lived among you, walking in the shadows as dirty secrets to be shunned, because the world wasn't prepared for us, for what we could do. They would turn on us in jealously. So we worked in the shadows, growing in power and strength, in part by working with respectable gentleman such as those present with me, people who understood progress, who understood evolution. But now, the time has come for paranormals to make themselves known. Now we have the resources to defend ourselves. Now we even have the resources to share our powers with those worthy of such an offering."
With a flick of his wrist, Steele motioned to the guards to lay a small box in front of each of his guests.