No Peace for the Damned

scarred traitor told me about the directory, the psychic
l’annuaire
that held the secrets of all the Network members. I would lay them to waste with the powers I’ve acquired. Powers that
you
can only dream about. And when I hand their leader to our father, I’ll reap the rewards!”
    Riiiiight
.
    “It will prove nothing,” I said, but something in his words nagged at me. Acquired powers? We couldn’t
acquire
new powers. Could we?
    His smile faded. For a moment, he was appeared confused. But then an evil grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. “You didn’t die,” he said, almost surprised. “You lived. And now you’ve returned.”
    The hairs on the back of my neck trembled. Terror shivered up my spine. Deliberately, I turned squarely to face him, blocking Thirteen and Jon as they inched back toward the others.
    “I have
not
returned, Markus.”
    “Oh, but you have, sister. You’re here, right in front of me.”
    My shoulders leaned forward, my body tensed. “I have not returned, Markus,” I repeated. “I will
never
return.”
    He pondered this for a moment. “You think these
people
,” he hissed the word in disgust, “will help you escape?”
    I didn’t respond. Markus doubled over in laughter, wiped away a stray tear. Utter joy and decision brightened his face.
    “
You
are my proof of superiority,” he said. “I’ll hand over our enemies—trespassing vigilantes who murdered our employees—and will be rewarded for my ingenuity. Then, when I present them with
you
, the powerful Magnolia, they’ll know that Malcolm failed in his attempts to end you.” He stared off into space. “They will revere me as the strongest of our line.”
    I cleared my throat. His gaze snapped back to mine. Power gathered at my fingertips, but I forced nonchalance.
    “While I’m all for self-deception as a way of life, there are a couple of problems with your invented reality. First, I will
not
go back. You would have to kill me for that to happen, and we all know that simply isn’t in the cards. Second, you are not handing anyone over to Father or Uncle Max. I’m taking these men with me. And third, there is
nothing
, no single thing in existence, that would make our father look at you as anything other than the scared, weaker son.” I shrugged. “Such is your life.”
    Markus’s eyes went wide. His energy swept over me, tickling the hairs on my skin. It wasn’t painful—he wasn’t strong enough for that—but it held anticipation for the moment just ahead. I took a deep breath. Stepped forward.
    He raised his hand high. His fingers flexed in the air, curling as if around my throat, choking me.
    I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please,” I said. Markus smiled.
    “Theo!” Jon’s scream stopped my heart. “Oh God!”
    I spun around. Theo fell against the partition wall. His hands clawed at his throat. He gasped for air. Markus growled triumphantly. “Why, Magnolia, you
do
have a weakness.”
    Theo writhed again. Our connection came to life with a roar. The power surged, elevating me beyond my previous self. Beyond anything I had experienced so far. At once the room darkened. But there was no red or crimson like when I had tortured Banks.
    There was only gold.
    My hands curved and transformed instantly; my heartbeat throbbed in time with the room around me. Markus attacked. He leaped from his place on top of the tarped mound, tackling me to the ground. Our combined weight and force sent us sliding across the dirty floor. We flew past Theo’s contorting body and crashed into the far partition.
    My clawed hands clung to Markus. He held me to the ground. I dug my claws deeper into his shoulders, ready to rip off his arms.He cried out. In a move so fast I missed it, he reached between our bodies. With a loud tear, he ripped open my shirt.
    His focus stuttered at my exposed bra, but he shook it off quickly. He pressed his open palm to my chest, right above my heart. His hand blazed with heat, instantly burning through my flesh. The energy radiated deep into my muscles, melting the tissue and heading for my heart. I screamed.
    Images of the autopsied Network members flashed into my mind. The traces of polonium 210, the radioactive residue left on their corpses.
This
was the acquired power that Markus spoke of in his rant—the reason he believed himself so powerful now. A nuclear capability. But how?
    I shoved deep into his mind, searching his memories. There it was—Father’s latest experiment. Markus had