He swung his head toward her, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t get stupid ideas, girl, but I’m surprised you can still move at all. I obviously needed to use a higher dose on you.”
Selena fired again, her adrenaline working against the drug. This time she sent a round through his shoulder. For a man who had just been shot twice, he didn’t look that bothered. She kept firing, pulling the trigger until the gun clicked empty. It left a chest full of holes in Quinen before. She tossed the gun to the side and eyeing the next closest weapon. It belonged to one of the unconscious hybrids, Decimus. It wasn’t that far, but in her current condition, it might as well have been in Nebraska.
Doctor Quinen blasted a purple bolt into the ground right in front of her, leaving a scorch mark. “Stop. You should be aware that I don’t need your limbs to be working for my research. Continue this pointless resistance, and you’ll suffer. Don’t overestimate your importance.”
Selena’s hand froze. The man was insane. He’d experimented on living people and even himself to gain weird powers. He’d defeated six hybrids like nothing, men who’d carved through the armed guards outside like they were children.
“Y-you won’t get away with this,” she sputtered, dropping the gun, and feeling her muscles tightening.
Doctor Quinen smiled. Bright purple light filled his wounds and faded revealing undamaged skin.
“No way…”
He nodded. “I’m beyond anything the hybrids have dealt with before. I won’t make the presumption of claiming to be a god, but they are half-molded clay who failed to live up to their potential whereas I’m something greater. Now, girl, you will come with me, and you will stop any further resistance, or, at minimum, I will show you such pain you’ll wish you were dead.”
“Don’t have another dart?”
“I shouldn’t need it.”
A bestial roar sounded from behind her followed by Maximus’s familiar voice. “You won’t touch her. You’re dead!”
Doctor Quinen stared past her, looking perplexed. “Now this is interesting. I didn’t think you would die from such a minor display of my power, Maximus, but I assumed you would be disabled for far longer.”
“Get away from my Vestal, your son of a bitch. I see you don’t have your shield anymore.”
“Look at his chest,” Selena shouted. “I tried shooting him, but it just closed up.”
“Neat trick, but not enough to save him. If necessary, I’ll tear his heart out.”
Doctor Quinen’s gaze dipped to Selena, and he laughed. “Ah, I see now. Hmm. Interesting. Perhaps bonding with your Vestal has granted you some partial resistance to my abilities and her a temporarily heightened metabolism. I do remember seeing some Group reports suggesting as such.” He cupped his chin. “This might necessitate additional research with hybrids to better understand the mechanism. Fascinating.”
Maximus stalked forward, his gait uneven, his face a mask of hatred and anger. His hands shook, but Selena didn’t think it was from fear. He must have been in incredible pain.
“You can’t win,” Selena called out. “Just leave. He’s too powerful. Look at what happened to the others.”
Maximus stopped for a moment, his angry eyes taking in the downed hybrids. “That’s all the more reason to kill him.”
Doctor Quinen lowered his hand. “I miscalculated.”
“You can say that again. You’re dead, Quinen.”
“No, no, not that.” Doctor Quinen let out a quiet chuckle, looking beyond amused. “You can’t win.” The purple field around him brightened. “Especially now that I’ve… caught my breath, you could say.”
Maximus continued forward, growling and raising his fists. “Shut up. Just shut up. No one cares. You’re out of chances, Quinen.”
“Please calm yourself.” Doctor Quinen flicked his wrist, sending a small pulse of purple energy toward Maximus. It struck the hybrid, but he clenched his jaw but continued his slow walk forward. “Impressive. The amount of pain you must be in right now is incredible. I’m still uncertain if that is simple sample variation or linked to the Vestal, but you must realize by now you’re only looking toward an unpleasant and painful death if you continue.”
Maximus swayed unevenly as he stomped toward the doctor. “It sounds to me like you’re afraid.”
“Of you? What can you do? You’re not even holding a gun. It’s as if you know you’re beaten, and you’ve given up in your heart.” Doctor Quinen spread out his arms. “Go ahead, take your punch, and then collapse with despair, knowing that I’m taking your Vestal from you.” He laughed. “And she will help me unlock even greater potential in my research.”
Maximus lifted a fist and stopped swaying. “You don’t live for anyone else, do you?”
“I live to perfect myself.” Doctor Quinen offered a placid smile. “That’s enough. You’re a sad, sentimental creature, a product of my experiments. You’re nothing, really. That woman is nothing, too. You’re both a means to an end, my improvement. And you’ll both be discarded when you’re no longer useful.”
A fiery nimbus surrounded Maximus’s fist and burned away the nearby sleeve. “What did you say?”
Doctor Quinen’s eyes widened. A euphoric smile appeared. “It worked! It worked!”
Maximus slammed his fist through Doctor Quinen’s chest like he was punching through paper. The doctor’s purple field and glow vanished, but he didn’t look surprised. A serene smile took over his face as Maximus pulled out his burning fist.
“Guess I missed tearing out your heart after all,” Maximus muttered.
Doctor Quinen fell to his knees, no longer looking like a dangerous threat and more like the old frail man Selena had first took him for.
Maximus took slow, even breaths and licked his lips. “It still hurts, but not as much.”
“He’s going to heal!” Selena shouted, her mind reeling from Maximus’s stunt. “Could you… always do that?”
“No.” Maximus shook his head, looking down at his now extinguished and undamaged fist. “That’s new. I don’t know of any hybrid who can do
