Priscilla the Great: Bring the Pain (Book#4)

Priscilla the Great:

Bring the Pain

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Sybil Nelson on Smashwords

Priscilla the Great Bring the Pain

Copyright © 2012 Sybil Nelson

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

License Notes

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Chapter 1

Here we go Again

I awoke tied to a table. My neck was killing me and I couldn't move any part of my body.

Holy Ham and Cheese! Not again, I said as I struggled against the restraints. The more I moved the more pain I felt seeping through every pore of my body. What the heck was going on? I had super human strength, why couldn't I lift my body off this stupid table? I looked down and found the reason. There was a glowing inhibitor collar around my neck. I was powerless and at the mercy of whoever it was that had captured me.

I was so sick of getting kidnapped! Did this tendency to get taken by evil villains come with the territory? I mean, was there some super power guidebook that had an entire chapter about being kidnapped by the bad guy? If so, someone needed to send me a copy quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Oh, good. You're awake. I thought I had already killed you. That would be no fun at all, a sickening British accent said.

Xi, is that you?

Of course it is. What a silly question, she said stepping into my limited line of sight.

So much for mercy. Specimen Xi was the most insane and disturbed genetically enhanced superhuman created in a laboratory ever. Seriously, somebody must have shaken the test tube that girl was created in.

She probably stayed awake at night thinking up the most painful way to kill me. Looks like she might have figured it out.

What do you want, Xi?

Well that, too, is a ridiculous question. You sure are not very bright today. What do you think I want?

You want me to die a painful death. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just do it already. I don't feel like having polite conversation.

Tsk, tsk, Priscilla. Aren't we grumpy? Oh, that's right. You're having boyfriend trouble, aren't you?

For a second I didn't know if she was talking about Marco or Kyle. Fortunately ... or unfortunately, she went on to clarify.

You lie to Kyle for months, and then kiss Marco right in front of him. Then you get Marco killed. And going back to Kyle has proven harder than you expected hasn't it? Now he's keeping secrets from you.

How did she know all of this?

Shut up, Xi. I did not get Marco killed. If anything, you did. He was trying to stop you and Colonel Selliwood. And about Kyle … just shut up about Kyle. There was nothing I could say to refute her there. Unfortunately, she was right about that part. I had to lie to Kyle for his own safety. I didn't want him to know that I was the daughter of a genetically enhanced super human and that evil villains were chasing my family all over the world. I underestimated Kyle and thought he would reject me if he knew I had super hearing, super strength and could shoot fire out of my fingers.

Marco was another specimen around my age and I didn't mean to, but I fell for him. He was like me and I thought we belonged together. Maybe we did belong together. I would never know for sure because now he was dead.

Xi didn't respond at first. She took a mirror out of her purse and ran her fingers through her waist length black hair with hot pink highlights.

Believe it or not, I'm a little jealous of you, she said, snapping the compact shut. I was too shocked to actually respond with words. I kind of gave a confused grunt before she continued. You've had two boys completely mad about you. I've never had a boyfriend.

Wha ... huh? Again, too shocked for real words.

I don't mind telling you all this because I'm about to kill you anyway. She hopped up on the table right next to my feet and crossed her legs. I haven't even had my first kiss yet. Boys just aren't interested in me.

That's because you're a psycho. I probably shouldn't have said that considering I was powerless to defend myself, but I couldn't help it. I mean, it was true. And what did it matter what I said? She was about to kill me anyway.

Xi glared at me. Then she looked away and shrugged. You're probably right. But it doesn't matter. Even if I kissed a boy I probably wouldn't be able to feel a thing. Xi had no sense of touch. She was extremely hard to defeat in a fight because she never felt it when I burned her. And even if I burned her, she could regenerate her body parts so she just grew her flesh again. The last time I fought her, Marco and I cut off both her hands in order to get away. From the fresh coat of hot pink polish on her nails, I could see her hands had grown back nicely.

Xi looked sad. Suddenly, I felt the need to play psychologist. Look, what are you? Twelve years old? You still have plenty of time. I didn't have my first kiss until my thirteenth birthday.

And how was it? Did you see stars or the like? Xi turned toward me excitedly and tucked her hair behind her ears like a child at a slumber party. I expected her to whip out a hairbrush and start singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Yes, Xi was a psycho and yes she was currently trying to kill me, but I actually felt a little sorry for her. And thinking about my first kiss with Kyle brought up a whole bunch of warm fuzzy feelings. I couldn't help but talk about it. I saw stars. I felt explosions. Thousands of butterflies danced in my stomach. I still get that feeling even when I just look at him.

Wow, she said as she stared up at the ceiling with a wistful look in her eyes. What about Marco? What was it like to kiss Marco?

I wondered how she even knew about that. She probably read my mind. Almost all the specimens had some sort of telepathy. My mother could move things with her mind and my brother, Josh, could see the future. My father was a normal human. And though my five-year-old twin baby brothers hadn't developed any powers yet they were far from normal. Let's just say they liked to throw poop and blow their snot on unsuspecting targets.

Marco only kissed me to protect me from Specimen Zero. That was partly true. Marco had the ability to convert his entire body to metal. Once in metal form he was pretty much invincible. He could stop a bullet at point blank range. Marco could also transfer his powers through an enzyme in his saliva. Thus the kiss.

Xi rolled her eyes. You think I'm some sort of tosser? I saw the way he looked at you. He was totally smitten.

Once again, Xi was exactly right. He was ... smitten with me, or whatever. We'd always had a special connection to each other. I felt it the first time I saw him when I helped him and the other specimens escape the Selliwood Institute where they were created.

I thought back to that kiss with Marco. While it started out as just business, it kinda morphed into something more. It was amazing. Thinking about that kiss made me miss him even more.

Three months ago, Marco, Josh, Ryan, Ian and I traveled to the Arctic Circle and captured Colonel Selliwood. In his metal form, Marco was too dense to swim. He ended up sinking to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

It doesn't matter. He's dead now. I turned my head away so she wouldn't see the tears glistening in my eyes.

What if I told you he wasn't?

I turned again and stared at her like we were in a poker game and she was claiming to have four aces. It was possible, but I didn't know whether to trust her or not. But considering my hand was like a bad hand in Go Fish, I had no choice but to believe her. Okay, that analogy got way out of control. Moving on.

This conversation has gotten boring, she said, finally ending our staring match. Let's get this over with, shall we? She hopped off the table and grabbed a syringe off of a nearby desk. She squeezed a little bit of white liquid out of the top of it. Don't worry, she said, walking toward me slowly with a sinister grin. Okay, you might want to worry. In fact, go ahead and panic if you like. This is going to be extremely painful.

Xi's main goal in life was to cause other people pain since she couldn't feel pain herself. I knew whatever she had planned for me would be beyond anything I could ever imagine. I doubted if I would survive. My mind raced trying to figure out a way out of this. I couldn’t think of a single thing. Was this the end? Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone burst into the room.

Kyle? What are you doing here?

Chapter 2

Back to School

Two months earlier ...

Being back in River's Bend was a dream come true for me. I'd missed everyone so much. I mean, of course I missed Kyle and Tai. That was a given. But I couldn't believe how much I missed everyone else as well. The first time I saw Mr. Grayson, the town drunk, I actually gave him a hug.

The first day I was back, I literally wanted to run through the streets singing show tunes or something. But, of course, I couldn’t sing. In fact, I sing so badly that I probably would have been arrested for public indecency.

I even missed Polk Middle school. Yeah, I know right. Me, missing school. But I did. I know it sounds crazy, but I missed the constant fighting with the eighth graders. I never got to enjoy my Ice Cream Challenge win. I had totally become the first girl to claim victory and the first seventh grader to beat an eighth grader in the all out ice cream gorging we called the ICC.  But I never got a chance to enjoy my winnings. There should have been a seat by the ice cream machine with my name on it.

I had to figure out a way to get my mom to let me go back to public school. The whole time we lived in Missouri, Dad wouldn't let any of us kids go to school. We had to learn at home. This home school thing was just not going to work for my social life.

No amount of begging my mother to let me go back to school worked. But one day, I finally figured out something that did.

Mom, please let me go back to Polk Middle, I had asked for probably the fifteenth time that day.

I'm not sure it's safe yet, Sweetie, she had said not even looking up from her Modern Science magazine. She was used to this routine. But she wasn't ready for this curve ball I was about to toss her way.

I rolled my eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. You sound just like Dad, you know?

My mother snapped her magazine shut and glared at me. What did you say?

Witherall is dead and Selliwood is in jail, I said ignoring her question and letting the Dad comment marinate.

I do not sound like that paranoid control freak you call a father. She stood and started pacing the living room.

Game. Set. Match.

The next day, my mother took me to re-enroll in Polk Middle.

Hello, I'd like to enroll my daughter into seventh grade, my mother said to Mr. Owen, who was sitting at the front desk.

Oh, um, I don't really know anything about that. Hic. Mr. Owen scratched his head. I swear I saw his brown hairpiece move two inches like it was trying to run away from his head.

I'm actually the ... hic ... drama teacher. I'm covering for the office staff while they go to ... hic ... lunch.

I looked around. The office was completely empty. I wondered how Mr. Owen ended up drawing the short straw and having to miss lunch to babysit an empty office.

What are a hic drama teacher and a hic lunch? my mother asked me telepathically.

I almost burst out laughing. I forgot my mother had never met Mr. Owen so she didn't know about his affliction. In fact, my mother didn't know a lot of people in town. She had always been so busy fighting against Selliwood. I wondered if that would change now. Would she become the typical River's Bend mom and bring fresh baked cookies to the school play and coolers of Gatorade to the little league games?

Nothing. He's just got the hiccups. I explained to her.

Oh. Well, should I wait? she asked him.

Yes, please, wait. Hic. Have a seat, Mrs. … hic. I'm sorry. I'm not sure what to call you anymore.

What do you mean?

"I mean, I heard ... hic ... about the divorce. Will