11 Victory and Defeat

Despite her injuries, Maria's determination and will remain steadfast. She's not as scared as she was when she got to this phony dance. Despite that, she has a difficult obstacle to overcome.

"I failed. The fan is gone." Maria informs her party telepathically.

"I can probably fix it. Kiyana, can you hold on to them long enough?"

"Wait," Interjects Maria. "I can help."

Maria gets up from the ground, she spits some blood out, wiping her mouth with her thumb. A defiant stance, she taps into the raging explosion within her. "Lend me you power, Adam."

Maria charges at Isolde, her fist is blocked by Isolde's crossed forearms. Isolde ducks, readying for a shot at Maria's body. Anticipating this, Maria hops on one leg, pummeling her other knee against Isolde's face, dropping her on the ground, face up. Maria jumps on top of her and begins slamming her fists against her skull, like pistons, the floor beneath begins to crack, and trembles upon every impact.

Olivia turns away from her fight with Kiyana to see what Maria is doing to Isolde. She charges towards Maria, three minions taking her place to hold Kiyana back.

Wary of an attack, Maria pushes herself off in time to dodge Olivia's attack. Surprised by her speed, Olivia is caught off guard as Maria tackles her to the ground.

Maria relies on the aid of the explosion within her to aid her in restraining Olivia on the ground.

"Olivia, can you hear me?" Pleads Maria.

Olivia struggles to get off Maria's grip. "How the fuck are you doing this?" Demands Lucas.

Ignoring Lucas, Maria begins to prod at Olivia's consciousness. The seemingly impenetrable barrier barely nudges as she gives it her all to break through.

Adam was capable of breaking through Maria's defenses on multiple occasions.

How did he do it again? That's right, thinking about sex!

Maria looks down at Olivia's naked body. Accumulating her lust, Maria focuses on how badly she wants to take Olivia for herself. She strikes at the barrier, weaponizing her desire to have sex with Olivia. Although an improvement, the barrier remains true. She needs something stronger. The explosion within her at an all time high, Maria is reminded of Adam and his lust for her. She remembers the times, during their practice, how Adam would break through, the thought of them having sex being able to break through any defense she could put up. She remembers the release as Adam would penetrate her with those thoughts, the orgasm it gave her, as if they had real sex.

Maria drives the thought of her having sex with Adam and Olivia, all three of them together. Adam running his hands all over their bodies, Maria rubbing against Olivia's soft skin, Olivia and Maria taking turns on Adam's cock.

Getting caught up in the moment, Maria's nipples go stiff, poking through her dress. Her pussy starts to overflow, getting Olivia's stomach wet with her juices.

Maria keeps striking at the barrier around Olivia's mind, the thought of Maria and Olivia locking lips, Maria sitting on Adam's face, Olivia riding his dick. She keeps striking. The thought of Maria lying behind Olivia, getting her clit rubbed by Maria as Adam pounds her pussy away. Her attack continues. Finally, the thought of Adam finally climaxing, pouring his cum deep inside of Olivia.

The thought breaks through, Olivia, free from Lucas' mind-control, screams as the stream of consciousness of her having sex with Maria and Adam liberates her. "Oh, fuck!"

Maria, out of breath, drenched in sweat, leaking out of her vagina on top of Olivia, looks down at her and smiles.

Olivia looks up at Maria, pupils dilated; recuperating from her orgasm, her limbs still twitching. "Maria?"

"No!" Screams Lucas through one of the dancers.

"Yes." Says Boris, behind Maria, the rebuilt fan in his hands.

He swings his arm around, the fan releases a powerful gust of wind. The wind dissipates and the dancer's are freed from Lucas' grip. They look around the room in a daze, confused, then scared. They begin to scream, panicking, they look for an exit or some type of semblance of what could have happened for them to be there all of a sudden.

A flash and a crack. Lucas appears next to his mother's unconscious body. He runs his hand through her body, healing her. Once finished, he gets up. "Now we can get serious."

Boris waves her hand, the dancers disappear, leaving the dance hall empty save for himself, Lucas and Kiyana.

"That's quite the little toy you have there. Where did you get something like that?" Asks Lucas.

"That's none of-" Boris is interrupted by a strike to his abdomen, Lucas hasn't finished, he unloads a barrage of punches, some Boris is able to block or dodge, most land, causing a great deal of pain.

Kiyana launches in the air, too fast for her, Lucas meets her mid flight and knees her stomach, still in the air he grabs her by the ankles, spins her a few times before throwing her back down to slam against the ground. Lucas lands hard on her chest, Kiyana coughs out blood, Boris charges in to help, Lucas grabs Kiyana by the ankles once again, using her like a bat, Lucas slams Kiyana against Boris before he can get any closer.

"Holy shit, he's a lot stronger now that he doesn't have to control so many people." Says Kiyana telepathically.

Maria takes a step forward, Olivia grabs on to her hand, stopping her. "Wait, don't go anywhere near that."

"It's okay."

"Adam isn't here."

Maria sees the genuine concern in her face. She puts a hand over her stomach. "I think he is."

Maria turns around again, Olivia won't let go. "Adam would kill me if I just let you go like this."

It is true, Maria doesn't stand a chance, and she is in no state to fight.

"I have to try."

Maria and Olivia turn as they hear Boris scream in pain. Lucas has his hands on his face, pushing his thumbs down on his eye sockets.

"Give me your power." Says Lucas.

Boris can feel the life being drawn out of him, unable to stop him, he releases another yell.

"Boris!" Kiyana charges at Lucas but misses. Lucas had bounced off of Boris, and is now floating in mid air.

Boris and Kiyana are in tatters, out of breath, dirty and sweaty, they don't look like they have much left in them. Lucas on the other hand looks unscathed, fresh, and ready for more.

"Two birds with one stone." He says, turning to Maria. "It could easily be three."

Before Maria realizes, she's lifted from the ground, Lucas' hand squeezing her throat.

"Where is he, where is your son?" Lucas slams his fist into Maria's stomach. It takes Maria a concerted effort to not lose consciousness then and there.

"Where is he?" He punches her again, lifting the dust around them with the impact.

"Lucas stop!" Olivia pulls and tugs on his suit.

He backhands her, she drops to the floor.

"Where is your son?!" Yells Lucas.

Unable to take it, even with the support of the explosion in her abdomen, Maria's sight goes black. The last she is able to see, as she is dropped to the floor, is Lucas looking down at her, Olivia behind him, yelling, trying to get to her side, everything blurs.

The only thing she is able to perceive is the explosion within her, it overtakes her consciousness. She follows the link, high up in the sky, leaving earth, speeding past the limit that once held her back, she makes contact with the sun. She feels it's warmth, and in that moment, it is the only thing keeping away the cold surrounding her, everything around her becomes an abstract nothingness. She too becomes one with the infinite explosion at the center of the sun. Perceiving only its immense pressure, the violent pull as the atoms around her collide with each other at unimaginable speed, exploding on impact, some sticking together to produce an even bigger explosion. Her perception of what is and isn't goes out the window, she allows the present perception to become her everything, nothing else exists in that moment, or perhaps it never did, and never will, and she was just a construct of this explosion, an imagined life, a made-up ego, an overly creative atom, imagining different ways to perceive itself. Nothing ever existed, and it never will. No one ever existed, and-

No.

Adam existed. She remembers the labor pains, the joy of holding him in her arms for the first time. How excited she was when he started walking, when he started talking. How proud of him she was as he did well in school, how sad she felt as she witnessed him burn out at an early age. How amazed she was at his new power, how he made her feel that one particular night. An entire pallet of emotions caused by a single person. Adam was real, Adam is real, the nothingness outside is a lie, or it is the truth. Whatever the case may be, the love Maria had for Adam was real.

She can feel him inside, she feels him return, reconstructing himself. His memories return to him, his sense of self rebuilds himself. No longer just a massive cluster of atoms crashing against each other, she can sense a man with memories, desires, regrets, and ambitions. Above all, she can feel the love Adam has for her, she can feel it all over. She feels Adam's consciousness all over her entire body, making her tingle, her wounds heal, the pain dissipates. Her consciousness returns to her, once again becoming aware of her body, she feels Adam's presence all over her, every inch. Her skin tingles as she feels him explore every inch of her body, making her skin tingle all over, simulating her nipples, her clitoris, a pulsating vigor throbbing against her g-spot. An overload of ecstasy, she squirms and writhes as she cums hard.

"Adam." She moans, as she arches her back, the explosion in her abdomen hitting a critical peak.

Lucas methodically makes his way towards Boris and Kiyana, behind him, a familiar flash, followed by a roar like thunder. He turns his head over his shoulder, there he can see the man he was ordered to kill, Adam, completely naked, facing him.

"The prodigal son-"

Lucas is unable to finish, in an instant he's hit on the chest, he feels his ribcage cave in, cracking due to the immense pressure. Lucas readies himself to slam against one of the dance hall's walls, he never does, the room stretches underneath him, he hits the ground tumbling and rolling. Before getting on his feet, his wounds heal, his bones are mended. He dusts himself off and smiles. "Returns." He says.

Adam turns around, Maria is already on her feet. He can feel that she's been tapping into his power to use as her own. Adam is both impressed and proud of her. He takes a look at her, making sure she is alright, Olivia next to her doing the same, he notices her turquoise dress, ripped, torn, and drenched in blood.

"Hey, baby." She says, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hey." He smiles. "You look amazing."

They both laugh.

Behind Adam, Lucas charges at great speed, breaking the sound barrier, nearing the speed of light, yet not getting any closer to Adam. Adam stretches the space between them. Lucas gives up, perplexed.

"The fuck is that?"

"A trick I learned." He looks up, thinking. "Or rather, rediscovered. Whatever, being one with the sun for so long is a trip."

"Are you done hiding away? Are you done sitting back and allowing everyone else to-"

Lucas blocks a kick from Adam. The space between them and everyone else increases. Adam gets back to his feet, throws a left hook, Lucas blocks, leaving him open. Adam throws a hard right, smashing Lucas face in, one again throwing him back to the ground.

Healing his bones, Lucas gets up and looks around, in all directions, all Lucas can see is the dance hall floor, the roof still above them. Lucas takes flight, intending to crash through the wall and make it outside, once again he flies at great speed but seems to not get any closer to anywhere at all. He falls back to the floor.

Adam speaks to Maria telepathically. "Mom, I need your help, I need to break through to his mind."

"I'll do what I can." Affirms Maria.

"You got our help too." Says Kiyana.

Adam turns back to face Lucas. "You're not going to win, Lucas."

Lucas' rage is evident, before he can speak his mind is assaulted on all fronts by Adam and his allies. Lucas yells, his eyes water, overcome with pain he vomits on the floor. The attack stops. Lucas laughs for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"I have already absorbed two other Eternals! Their power has been added to mine! You are the one who is not going to win!"

Lucas charges again, this time focusing on closing the distance rather than moving fast, he lands a punch, a shockwave that could tear through buildings is released and dissipates in the infinite space Adam has created. Lucas pulls his hand back, his shoulder dislocated and every bone in his right arm broken, he heals himself with a yell. Adam seems to not have felt a thing. The attack on Lucas' mind continues, overcome by the intense throbbing, Lucas vomits on the floor again. Then, the attack stops. Lucas feels different, stronger, more capable. All of a sudden, Adam doesn't seem like a threat anymore.

"I am infinite! I am the most powerful being that has ever existed! You are nothing! That fucking voice in my head is nothing! I will kill you!"

Reinforcing his body, Lucas once again attacks. This time, his punch flings Adam off his feet. Pleased with the result, Lucas launches for another attack, this time, Adam and Lucas' fists meet in the middle, this shockwave is too much for both of them. The ground beneath them ripples like a rock thrown in still water, then the tiles shatter, marking a large circle beneath them. Lucas' ears are ringing, but he manages to regroup before Adam.

"You've gotten sloppy." Says Lucas, as he lands another blow to Adam's face, dropping him once again on the floor.

Before Adam can recover, Lucas pounces on him, pulling his arm, and pushing down on his chest with his feet, Lucas rips Adam's right arm off.

Adam screams in pain.

Lucas throws the torn limb to the side, watching Adam thresh in pain.

"I'd kill you, but I want you to watch what I do to your friends, and I especially want you to watch what I do to your mother."

"Lucas!" Yells Isolde.