Vengeance

Slowly letting that word sink in 'barren'. I didn't feel a thing. The whole world didn't exist and neither did I.

Nightmare took hold of my shoulders to give a light shake, trying to get a reaction out of me. With no response he dug his fingers in while saying, "Z talk to me." They lowered themselves to my eye level to plead, "Please talk to me Z." Closing my eyes to take in a shallow breathe I placed my hands on top of theirs. Nightmare's grip tensed as I slowly opened my eyes. They flinched back as he looked deeply into my eyes, I heard him thing nothing. Looking through Nightmare to see Ripley I stood in front of her within a second.

Lifting Ripley off the sand by the collar I saw terror fill her soul. The only thing I could ask was, "Why?" Feeling her body shake I sank my fingers into her skin. Hearing her scream was music to my ears. I asked her again loudly, "WHY?!"

Slowly moving my fingers up to her temples I poked through her flesh every half inch just to make her bleed. Digging through her memories slowly I saw that it was her idea for everything; giving me a hysterectomy, the clones, and the hybrids.

When the mercenaries brought me in Dr. Spring preformed the surgery. Ripley's thoughts on that day were We finally caught her after all these years. Now we can make sure she doesn't create an abomination later on. Hatred overflowed out of me. My shadows rose to seep into her body to attack all her tendons and ligaments at once. A pleasurable shiver went up my spine from her pain.

My shadows then wrapped around her major arteries to squeeze the life out of her. Seeing her whole life flash before my eyes I made sure the last thing she saw was me grinning wickedly. With her last breathe I let her dead body fall to the sand. Turning to the scientists who were shivering in fear as my gaze met them. Meeting Dr. Springs eyes last I said with a pointed finger, "You're next." Before I could take a step forward Nightmare protested, "Don't." Quickly turning to face him I said, "You saw it all. Why shouldn't I?" They got closer to say, "Z what you just did was proof of their point that we're monsters." Pointing at Ripley's body I said, "You above all others know that she's not the first and she sure as hell won't be the last. I'm the monster I am due to Ripley and those mercenaries who hunted me down for all those years." Nightmare looked down at Ripley's body then back into my eyes to say, "You had to kill those men based on survival, you killed her for pleasure." Holding his gaze I knew he was right.

Feeling the high begin to leave me I said, "So what do you suggest we do?" He took a quick look around before saying, "We should get rid of the body first then tell the others what happened." Looking over at Ripley I thought of what to do with her; set her body on fire until there was only ashes, hide her in my shadow, or resuscitate and turn her into one of us. Nightmare heard and saw my ideas to give a nod of approval. I slammed my hand into her chest to give her a high enough voltage to make her heart start beating again.

Ripley's body shook violently as she gasped for air desperately. Ripley couldn't move a muscle properly due to the pain she was currently feeling. When her eyes could focus enough for her to see me again she began to shriek in fear. Touching her chest again I healed the tendons and ligaments just enough for her to be able to move properly. She crawled to the others quickly.

Taking a look into each of their eyes, saving Ripley and Spring for last I said in Mat's commanding voice, "All of you are going to follow Nightmare's orders from now on. If you don't I'll take a limb from you. Is that understood?" They all gave a form of confirmation while shaking. I turned to Nightmare and they gave a nod walking toward the scientists. Turning away from all of them I looked down to see that the corruptions had begun to form on my hands again, stopping at my elbows.

Thinking to myself I can't let the kids see me like this. I walked to the lab to see Emilia first, she was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. Meeting her eyes she asked, "What did you do?" Holding her gaze I replied, "I killed Ripley, then brought her back to life." She took a look at my hands to ask, "Was it worth it?" Without hesitation I said, "Yes. She took something from me that I'll never be able to get back." Emilia looked down before saying, "I'm thankful you gave me a second chance instead of doing what you just did." Waiting for her to look back into my eyes again I replied, "When I found out what you went through by Edgar I knew you needed some time to heal." Emilia's eyes filled with sorrow as she said, "I still have nightmares of the things I did, especially to you." There was a brief pause as I walked past her to see our clones sleeping in the tubes. She asked, "What do you have planned for the scientists?" "We're going to let them live, just not as humans anymore", I answered. Emilia's eyebrows hit her hairline as she waited for details. "All this time they've wanted a fraction of our powers so why not give it to them. It won't end with the scientists we have here, it'll spread to any and everyone they've worked with."

"Can you really create a virus that can infect people like that?", Emilia asked fearfully. With a smirk I answered, "I already created the prototype with the scientists and mercenaries who held us here. All I'd have to do is tweak the parasite just enough to be airborne for those who envy us enough to work against us." A fascinating terror filled Emilia with so many questions.

Shaking her head of those thoughts caused Emilia's body to sway off balance. I caught her before any harm could be done. "When was the last time you had a break?", I asked her. Emilia responded, "It's been awhile." Knowing she had been self conscious of her scars all this time a thought came to me. Moving my hands down from her upper arms to her hands I gave a light squeeze before touching her cheek. She didn't have enough time to step away before I healed her scars. It took a few seconds for her to respond as I withdrew my hands from her.

Emilia looked at her reflection in the tubes and saw the woman she used to be before that fateful night. Touching her face to see if it was real she asked, "How?" I replied, "It's something I've been working on for awhile now. Although to be completely honest I like the scars." She gave me a quick hug before running up the stairs. I followed behind her in a slower pace.

Focusing on my bodily corruption I moved it down to my feet to give the appearance of wearing either dark knee socks or boots. Reaching the doors I walked in to see everyone in the dinning area talking and laughing until their eyes landed on me. My eyes landed on Elvis; a man of average height with a bulky top heavy body who has tall blonde hair and is always wearing thick black sunglasses. "Take the kids upstairs to watch a movie or a show then come back down here", I told him.

Rising from his seat Elvis said while flexing, "Alright kiddies y'all are going to come with me to watch a sweet movie. Huh Ha." Violet gave me a concerned look at the idea of following this silly man. I gave a nod for her assurance that he could be trusted. She led the way for the others while following Elvis up stairs.

When all of the kids were out of the room I created a barrier that only Elvis would be able to walk through. Waiting for everyone to settle before announcing what I did just a few minutes ago, "The scientists and Ripley are currently here at the beach. Nightmare is keeping an eye on all of them." There was a moment of silence as everyone thought of what to do about the people who had created and kept our children hostage against us. Eric voiced his opinion, "What reason is there to treat those monsters fairly? Why don't we just get rid of each and every one of them?" I took in a deep breathe hating myself for the response I was about to give, "In complete honesty I killed the one known as Ripley, she was the project director." A few people gasped at that fact, I took a look into each of their eyes before continuing, "Then I brought her back after a minute or two. Death isn't nearly good enough for those soulless assholes." Eric nodded for me to finish. "Had I left her dead I would be no better than the mercenaries that hunted us down like wild animals. Instead I say we do something much worse than death to her and everyone who was involved." Hearing everyone's thoughts at once asking what's worse than death I replied, "Everyone who has tried to use us or funded the people who did so all have one thing in common. Envy. They want to live longer, be stronger, and healthier. They'll stop at nothing to get that, so why don't we give each of them those attributes that they so desire only to show the world just how ugly they really are from the inside out. The best revenge is knowing that you're enemy will suffer more than they ever could in Hell."

Hannah asked, "How can we do that?" Looking her way I responded, "Nightmare and I will implant a parasite that'll give them all of the things they want while physically revealing the ugliness of their souls." Everyone took a moment to weigh the options. Even I second guessed myself about keeping the scientists and Ripley alive. Nightmare heard my thoughts to say You did the right thing. Hearing his affirmation I gave a small nod in reply while thinking Thanks.

The sound of Elvis coming down the steps was followed by him asking, "What'd I miss ladies?" Someone from the back filled him in about what was said and done. "Damn that's heavy", he replied. While keeping my shoulders held back I said, "We should all take a moment to unwind. If anyone has any objections or agreements we can talk about it either in the morning or in a few hours. As of right now I'll be in the kitchen making some food for our guests outside. If anyone wants to help they will need some camping supplies. Nightmare and I will keep watch over the island and keep those scientists in line. I'll open the barrier for the kids to come down if they want a snack or some water. If any of you are going to talk about your decisions either write it down or talk with Eric about it. We don't want to traumatize the kids anymore than what they've already been through."

Everyone made way as I walked into the kitchen. No one came to help me. Some went upstairs to keep an eye on the kids, Eric and Shelly went first. While others huddled up to whisper about their opinions. Quickly making some sandwiches and taking a few water bottles with me I walked outside alone. A sinking feeling hit my stomach like a pile of bricks. Feeling the corruption move up my body I knew it was only going to get worse from here on out.

Right before I could reach the beach I took in a deep breathe to steady my nerves before being seen by anyone. Nightmare came to my side as I took the first step out of the tree line. As he touched my shoulder I let them take over our body. After taking a few deep breathes in the void of our mind to center myself I astral projected to look in on the little ones. Elvis had put on a Disney movie from our childhood. Eric and Shelly were holding hands up against the back wall watching the kids enjoy themselves. Letting out a small sigh I left to see my child.

To my surprise I saw Mark watching over the baby instead of Ed. Gently knocking on the door to alert him of my location he turned to see me trying to take on a more physical form. Mark slightly flinched back at seeing me at first. I stepped into the room to close the door behind me. Getting closer to the bed I couldn't take my eyes off them, so tiny and full of life. Mark came into my eye line to whisper, "Are they ours?" With a nod I replied, "Yes." The baby began to stir and was in the process of waking up when Mark sprang into action. He held the child against his chest and began to hum lowly. I got closer to sing a little lullaby to help soothe them Hush little baby...

Having no idea how long we spent soothing the child until Mark put them back down. He looked at me to ask, "What should we name them?" Taking in a deep breathe I replied, "Rey with an e it means King in Spanish." He gave a small smile in agreement. Getting a little closer I whispered, "You should get some sleep, I'll keep an eye on the little one." Mark retorted, "Who could sleep with having that pile of bricks dropped on you." Visibly shrugging my shoulders I sat at the edge of the bed looking down at Rey.

Mark sat opposite of me to ask, "You really killed someone?" Looking over at him I sent him a thought with a finger to my lips Don't mention that in front of Rey, people can remember things from infancy. He tried opening his mouth to say another word when I stopped him midway. Pointing to his temples I said Use your thoughts to answer me. I forgot you can hear our thoughts as well he replied. To answer your question yes I did and she wasn't the first one I answered.

With a look of shock he asked How many and when? Do you really want to know? I asked knowing where this was going. Mark just nodded his head in reply. Looking into his eyes I said It happened over a year ago. I was traveling before the mercenaries found me. There was this building with a lot of people inside. I knew they were doing something illegal inside. I called the local cops, by the time they got there I watched both of them get out of the squad car to receive a bride to keep driving. That's when something inside of me just snapped. All I saw was red as my body reacted on it's own. The last thing I remember was waking up covered in blood.

Watching Mark imagine the scene in his head I looked down at our child. Thinking to myself I have to do right thing. I reached down to plant a kiss on their forehead. Seeing the tiniest smile shape their little mouth broke my heart. At that moment I made a promise; From this moment on I will make sure they never want for nothing, even if that means letting them go.

Feeling Mark reaching out to me I turned to see him with a look of conviction in his eyes. With a nod we went down the steps to see that everyone had come to a decision. Creating the same barrier I had made before to keep our decision hidden from the little ones. Standing in the middle I looked into everyone's eyes before saying, "I see we're all in agreement." Catching some of the ideas of a few who wanted to truly make those scientist suffer I felt a smirk begin to form on my lips. "With that being decided Nightmare and I will get started. If you don't want to hear any noises that'll haunt you for the rest of your lives I suggest you stay indoors."

Seeping into the shadows I was inside our body again. Seeing through Nightmare's eyes to see the look of fear in each of theirs is so satisfying. We took a step closer to all five of them to say, "What you all did is unforgivable. You not only created replacements for the strongest of us. You created children to be used against their own parents. All for the sake of your own envy. Each and every one of you wanted a fraction of what we were cursed with. Non of us asked for these powers, to outlive everyone we've known, to be hunted down like rapid animals. All any of us have ever wanted is to live. We did nothing to any of you and your governments decided to hold us here, torture us, and then all of you stepped in to try to replace us. What you all did is the last straw." With that being said we used our shadows to sink into each of theirs. Bringing all of them closer we outstretched our hands to inhuman length to stab into each of their brains.

We reached down into the darkest part of their minds to find their worst fears and insecurities. Reaching down deeper to each of their DNA we planted an autoimmune parasite that feeds off the worst part of their souls. Watching each of the five scientists bodies begin to change in a matter of seconds. All of them looked as disgusting as the envy they harbored toward us. Each one was more grotesques as the other. Some looked to one other while the others who could move went to look at their reflection in the sea. That's when the screams began.