Stacey stood speechless as Ben smiled at her, showing a set of polished, white teeth, stepping forward then pausing for a moment.
'Who's this?' He asked, pointing to Jennifer.
'Ben, this is my friend, Jennifer.' She enthused.
Grinning widely at them, he raised his hand for a brief moment.
Clutching her head as she felt a sharp stabbing pain, Jennifer screamed, 'Stacey,.. What's happening? What's he doing?'
For a few seconds, all that could be heard was Jennifer's screams before falling silent. Jennifer stood there not moving. Worried, Stacey moved towards her friend.
'Jennifer, are you all right? Come on, Jen, this isn't a joke.' She turned towards Ben, anger in her eyes. 'You son of a bitch,' she snapped, as she moved towards him at lighting fast speed, her fists raised. 'What have you done to my friend?'
Dodging her attack, Ben raised his hand again, the same way he had with Jennifer. A searing pain penetrated Stacey's head. She suddenly realised Ben had some kind of psychic power. Letting his hand drop, Stacey fell to the ground. Coming towards her, he dropped to one knee.
'Stacey. That was just a demonstration of my power.' Stacey could feel her blood boiling, but at that moment she could do nothing for herself or her friend. Ben continued, 'I didn't want to use my power on you, as I wasn't sure what effect it would have on you. Instead, I used your friend over there.'
Stacey got back to her feet as Ben moved over to where Jennifer was now lying on the floor asleep. Stacey walked over to them and knelt, giving Ben a cold, hard, stare.
'Will she be all right?' she asked angrily.
Nodding, Ben replied. 'She should be waking up any time now.'
As soon as he said that, Jennifer's eyes flashed open. She looked around in a panic. 'What happened? Where am I? Stacey, are you all right?'
Ben leaned over her. 'Everything's okay, Jennifer, you're safe and with friends,' he assured her as Stacey smiled.
'For a minute there, you had me thinking that you'd killed her.'
Ben's face dropped, and he beckoned her and Jennifer into his office. Once there, they sat down and watched as Ben demonstrated his powers again, this time levitating objects. They watched as he poured a bottle of water into a glass using his mind, impressing them both.
'This is what I've become Stacey,' he said softly. 'I can use the power of my mind to control people, read their minds and move and levitate objects.'
Stacey gave him a puzzled look. 'Why did you bring me all the way here, Ben? Wouldn't it have been a better display of your power if you had come to me?' Ben gave her a sad look that melted her heart. 'Stacey. like you and so many of us who have been experimented on, I'm afraid we're being hunted.'
'Hunted?' Stacey gasped as she held her hands to her mouth. 'By who or what, Ben?'
Ben stood up and walked over to her. 'By the militaries of the world. That's who.' He stopped for a moment to let things sink in then continued. 'You see, Stacey, after your escape from the medical centre, the British government in all their wisdom, persuaded the world's governments to pool their resources and hunt down mutants like you and me to be used in experiments. We were created by the government to be used for one thing, and one thing only… war. But it looks as if they fear their own creations.'
Stacey stood up and put her hand on Ben's shoulder as he looked into her dark green eyes and smiled. 'So, this is because of me ?'
Ben gently touched her hand, finding it smooth. 'No,' he said flatly. 'People in power become afraid when their power is challenged. When you escaped, the government realised that people with our abilities were of no use unless our wills were also controlled.'
Considering what Ben had said, Stacey replied, 'So, what you're saying is we were pawns in the government's game of war?'
'You were always very clever, Stacey.'
Running her hand down his face, her green skin felt warm and smooth on his cheek. Jennifer was becoming tired of watching their display of affection and walked out of the office as the Ben began to kiss Stacey's dark green lips deeply. Stacey felt that it had been a lifetime since they last kissed. As she suddenly stopped, Ben could tell that something was on her mind.
'Stacey, are you all right?' he asked, sounding worried.
'I was just wondering, well… I know that this might sound stupid, but have you got a plan?'
'I was thinking about starting up my own group to protect us and others like us. Would you be interested in joining me?'
'Yes, Ben, I would love to.'
As they started kissing again, Ben deftly reached behind her and
closed the blinds in his office.