Chapter Seventeen: Exacting Revenge in the Sweetest Way Possible
(Author's Note: For all of y'all who thought I was saying that Zack was still alive, you were wrong, DEAD WRONG, my brothers and sisters!! I never said that Zack was dead, y'all just assumed that. I also never said that he was alive either, all I said was that if you thought he was dead, that ya'll had another thing coming. So, strictly speaking, Zack is neither dead or alive, the verdict is still out. And will be out a long time, if y'all don't stop pestering me about it. So, just sit back, relax, and wait and see.)
Ty sat watching the scenery whiz by, outside the tinted window on the passenger side of the car. Beside him, his sister sat in the driver's seat, saying nothing except for the occasional growl or snarl that managed to escape her lips. Out of the corner of his eye, Ty observed his sister worriedly. He knew that, as the emotionless killers that they were created to be, it was not within their protocol to show emotion. The only emotion that they, as genetically engineered killing machines, were ever allowed to show was anger. Lydecker believed that anger helped his "kids", kill in cold-blooded vengeance. However, Risika hadn't really shown the anger, at least not in the way they had been taught. With the exception of a few curses for revenge as they started up the car and left for Roswell, Risika had barely said a word, which wasn't like her at all. Ty himself had quietly shed tears of pain and of grief, alone in the hotel room, while they were on the road, for his big sister, and the nephew and brother in-law that he never knew he had. Ty wasn't sure who he mourned the loss of more, there was Tinga, his big sister, the maternal figure in his life, at least until the Valenti's had adopted him, and given him the name Kyle. It was after his adoptive mother, Michelle, walked, that Ty found himself thinking more and more about Tinga, the way she used to mother through the good times, and the bad. The way she comforted him the night Jack took a turn for the worst and they never saw him again. The way she reassured him, time and time again, that people weren't all evil, and that one day, they would be able to get out there to see for themselves. Risika and Zack may have been the leaders of their unit, but Tinga had undoubtedly been the mother to them all.
And then, there was Ben. His younger brother had always been devoted to the Blue Lady, as they called her, but somewhere along the way, Ben's devotion had become clouded, become an obsession. An obsession that drove him to kill, drove him to take the lives of innocents, to slowly be killing himself, little by little. All that he did, he claimed that the Blue Lady had been angry with him for not listening and that this was his chance to prove himself worthy to be her worshipper. Ty closed his eyes briefly, thinking about what he could have done to help the brother that they had all left behind, in one way or another. Ben had escaped with them that much was true, but in so many ways, he was still back at Manticore. Max revealed to Ty that moments before she was forced to end his life, Ben told her that he wished he was back at Manticore, because at the very least, they knew how things worked back then. Ty sighed, feeling the guilt as well as the pity welling up inside of him. He pitied Ben, he pitied his younger brother for the life that he led, the confusion, the self-loathing, the obsession, and the gradual fall into the darkness that was Manticore, everything that had spiraled out of control, that all ended with Ben's death. But, at the same time, Ty felt guilty, so guilty that he couldn't have done anything at all to help his younger brother, something that could've stopped the descent into madness that was Ben's life. Deep down inside though, Ty knew that there was nothing he could've done, even if he had known about Ben and the others earlier. There was nothing anyone could've done.
Ben's gradual descent into the darkness was something that no one could stop, not even if they tried. Ben had always isolated himself from the others, building within himself, walls that nothing had ever been able to penetrate. Living in a world that only he could understand, obeying voices that only he could hear. Ben never confided in anyone, pushed everyone away, and retreated behind his walls of confusion, and self-destruction. It wasn't until the final moments of his life, that he reached out to Max, to let her know in some way that he was suffering, had been suffering ever since they were children, and he wanted it to end. Ty sighed again, realizing that there was nothing he could've done to save Ben from himself, or Tinga from loving her son enough to sacrifice her life. Even Zack, their oldest brother, their leader, C.O., and their protective father figure, couldn't do anything to save Ben, or Tinga. Ben died in a world of his own making, and Tinga, died saving her family. Something, that although Zack had given them all shit for trying to lead normal lives, to have families, feel loved, and to belong, he understood. Zack understood what it was like, to love your family enough, to want to sacrifice your life for them. He understood it, because that's what he had been doing his entire life. He had been protecting them, he had been saving them, looking out for them, and loving them, as only a big brother would do. And he had gone back to Manticore, their version of hell, for them too. He had gone back for all of them, to make sure that they would all be alive another day to enjoy their normal lives, and their senses of belonging. And yet, maybe that was why Zack felt so guilty for not being able to save Tinga. Tinga had sacrificed herself to save her son, and Zack couldn't have stopped her. Not this time. But, now, Zack made the ultimate sacrifice for all of them, he had gone back to Manticore, for good this time, or so it seemed.
This entire thing was unreal, Ty realized, it was just unreal that both Tinga and Ben could be dead within the space of eleven years. Tinga and Ben, gone, and then there was Brin, the sister they knew wasn't there anymore, all that was left was a cold-hearted bitch who answered to the designation X5-734. It didn't seem fair that the rest of their siblings had been forced to uproot their lives and keep running, eluding capture, who always hit the ground running, because you never knew who would turn around and lead you back on the road to hell. It really didn't seem fair to the rest of their siblings, that while they were fighting to survive, he and Risa had had a fairly uneventful eleven years, where they could live safely. Compared to Manticore, and the hell they went through the first decade of their lives, dealing with those fucking aliens was a piece of cake.
Ty was jarred from his thoughts as Risa suddenly stopped the car. Ty had absorbed in his thoughts for so long, he hadn't even noticed that they were back in Roswell, and just outside the pod chamber, where Michael had been patiently waiting for them. Risa got out of the car, and hugged Michael hard. "Lieutenant," she greeted him with no emotion in her voice, although Ty knew that she was seething, and that Tess would pay for killing Alex, and for leading their siblings to their deaths. Michael hugged her back just as hard, knowing that the loss of her older brother and baby sister hit her hard. He also knew that whatever the hell that was about to go down, he would be behind them, a hundred percent. Risa led the way over to the cliff where the pod chamber was hidden, overlooking the desert. "Mike, there's something you need to know. When Zack led the squadron to destroy the DNA labs at Manticore, only four of us came back. Zack and our baby sis, Max, are gone. They were fucking compromised because of a certain bitch that we all know, and hate with every fiber of our beings. Tess is the 'daughter' of the director, Elizabeth Renfro, and that bitch Renfro asked her to kill Alex, and to spy on us. Manticore knew we were coming, and that bitch is going to pay." Michael winced inwardly at how flat and emotionless her voice was, it was really almost like she didn't care that her brother and sister were dead at the hands of Tess. Yet, even though he heard the lack of any sort of emotion in her voice, Michael knew it was a skill. He wasn't really sure who or what Risa, Ty, and Zack were, but he knew that their past had been hell, complete with brainwashing, orders, fear, beatings, and worse. It made his childhood with Hank look like heaven. Either way, he knew that the no emotion in Risa's voice was just a mask, inside she was seething, and he knew that Tess was going to die today, no matter what anybody said.
Maria came barreling up the cliff just then, tugging on Isabel's hand, pulling her up to the ledge too. "Oh My God, chica where have you been?? I'm been looking all over for you!! You parents are going nuts, girlfriend, you should really give them a call. And another thing, don't you ever try that again, missy!! I swear to God, you are going to give me a heart attack one of these days!!" Risa stepped closer to Isabel, deliberately ignoring Maria's rambling. She gave Isabel a hug, knowing about her fragile state since they buried Alex, wanting Isabel to know that she wasn't alone in this. "I want you to know that you're not to blame for what happened to Alex, you're not alone in this, Isabel, not by a long shot. You have us on your side for as long as you want us here. You are not alone, do you hear me, you will never be alone. We love you Isabel, and I swear to God, I will nail that arrogant bastard who dared enough to call himself your brother." Isabel smiled weakly, before returning Risa's hug full force. "Thanks, Liz, at least you guys are still with me. That's something, I guess, even though I wish Alex was here." Risa nodded sympathetically and hugged her again, before turning to Michael, her expression hard again.
"Where are they??" the question came out of her mouth in a snarl, and Michael knew that they had better prepare themselves for the bloodshed that was bound to happen in the next minutes. Michael jerked his head towards the pod chamber. "They're in there, probably still talking about going. Isabel and I left because we couldn't leave. I can't leave, Maria needs me, and I can't leave here, knowing that you still need my help. I mean that, Liz, I really do. And Max, well, fuck him. We don't need him, if he wants to be the selfish bastard that he is, and go rule over a planet that he doesn't even remember, then he can go to hell." Risa nodded her agreement, before turning to the entrance to the pod chamber. "Are you with me, bro??" she asked, directing the question at Ty. Ty nodded his confirmation, Risa turned to the entrance, and concentrated, blowing the entrance open with a burst of power emitting from her hand.
Isabel and Maria gasped , unable to believe what they had just witnessed. Michael, however, looked noticeably less surprised, knowing that whatever enhanced abilities that both Risa and Ty, as well as Zack and any other of their siblings had, it had made them acquire alien powers, because Max had healed them. Whether or not a human could have powers if healed by an alien, Michael wasn't entirely sure, as he knew now that Liz and Kyle weren't really human.
Risa raised her hand and blew Tess into the wall, nodding to her brother to handle Max. Ty ran over to Max, and delivered a hard round house kick that slammed Max into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Risa grabs Tess by the hair and slams her again, head first into the wall. "This is for Alex, you bitch, this is for all the pain you caused him, I'm gonna inflict the same pain on you that you did him!!" Ty stepped up to take his turn now, delivering a vicious kick to Tess's stomach, causing her to fall to the ground, moaning. Tess tried to defend herself, raising her hand to blow them into the walls, but Ty grabbed her hand, breaking it. Tess screamed out in pain, trying hard to concentrate hard enough to create a mind warp, but Risa takes out her gun and shoots Tess in the leg. Tess got up and tried to run, as Ty grabs her and kicks her in the leg, effectively breaking it. Tess screams again, starting to curse them. "Fuck you, I'm going to kill you, kill you the way I did Alex!!" Risa punches Tess in the face, sending her reeling and breaking her nose in the same process. "You're in no position to be making threats, bitch," Risa spat, completely enraged now. Ty pushed her face down to the floor, before pulling his gun out as well, and shooting her in the back. Tess screamed again, before painfully flipping over onto her back, so she could see them eye to eye. She raised her hand, but Risa raised hers also, as Tess's power was blocked and held. Finally, due to her condition, Tess's power gave out, and the burst of power from Risa's hand sends Tess flying ten feet away into the wall. "How the fuck do the two of you have powers??!! It's not possible, it's not, you're just two humans!!" Risa walked over to Tess, and stared her in the face. "I can't believe how fucking dense you are, your Majesty, I thought you would've known by now." The words were so laced with hatred, contempt, and venom that they hardly sounded human anymore. Risa signaled her brother to knock Max out again, who was starting to wake up, during their torture of Tess. "This is for our brothers and sisters, you fucking slut, we're going to make you pay!!" Ty walked back over after knocking Max over the head with the butt of his gun, before punching Tess in the face, and shooting her arm. "That was for our brother Ben, you whore, for turning him over to your MOTHER!!" The last word was a scream that tore from Ty's throat. Risa hauled Tess up from the floor until they were eye to eye, before throwing her into the wall again. "That was for Brin, and how you tricked her into thinking you were her ally, how you made her turn against us!!" Ty moved over to the right, as black dots swam in Tess's vision, and everything was blurry. He raised his foot, and stomped hard on Tess's foot. The sickening sound of breaking bones could be heard as Tess once again screamed out in agony. "That was for our big sister, Tinga, you mother-fucking bitch, for helping to kill her!!" Risa motioned her brother to leave, and haul Max out with him, as she delivered the final blow. Walking behind Tess, Risa hauled her up again, before wrapping her arms around her neck. Leaning down to whisper in her ear, Risa said , almost calmly, "we're your worst nightmares, Tess, do you remember that your mother asked you to track down X5-636 and 595?? Well, you've found them, I'm 595, Ty is 636. It really is too bad you won't live long enough to enjoy it though." Raising her voice just slightly, she said the final words, "This is for Zack, our brother, and my lover. This is for what you did to him." With that, Risa snapped Tess's neck, dropping her corpse to the ground and walking out of the pod chamber.
Outside the pod chamber, Michael and the rest waited anxiously, Michael and Ty both personally knowing that Risa had killed Tess, just the way she said that she would. Risa walked out just then, only to be confronted by Max. "God, Liz, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, I still love you, I never meant to hurt you, or to say any of the things that I said to you. Can you ever forgive me??" At the admission, everybody tensed waiting to see what Risa's response would be. Risa whirled around, her eyes blazing fire, before punching Max so hard in the face that he slammed into the rock wall behind him, sliding to the ground. "Stay the fucking hell away from me, you're fucking lucky I didn't kill you earlier. But, if you come near me or anyone else I care about ever again, I'll fucking kill you." Risa turned to Michael and hugged him hard. "We'll be in touch Lieutenant." Michael smiled at her, glad that at least for the time being, their problems were solved. "Yeah, I'll do the same." She hugged Michael again harder, "take care of yourself Mike," she whispered, before letting go. With that, Risa started back down the hill with Ty, to where the car was, leaving everyone to ponder what had just happened. Halfway down the hill, Risa stopped, and turned around to look at the group. "I have one more message for you, your Majesty," The words dripped contempt and hatred, "the reason Alex is dead is because you let that murderous bitch into our lives, and you put your trust in her. I hope you can live with yourself that the blood of an innocent has stained your hands. His death is your fault. Because you let your emotions cloud your judgment, and it was because of your weakness that an innocent lost his life. I hope you regret it until the day you die. I hope you fucking rot in hell. Lord knows your deserve it." And with that Risa and Ty, walked to the car, got in, and drove off.
tbc……………………………