THE EX
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I claim to own, the characters of Mutant X. They are owned by Tribune Entertainment Company. No copyright infringement is intended.
Enjoy my latest fic. Please review when you have a spare moment. Thankx!
EIGHT YEARS AGO
Shalimar entered the apartment with a grocery bag tucked under each arm. Making her way into the kitchen, she passed her boyfriend who was sitting on the couch watching TV.
She began unpacking the bags and putting the groceries away when Max appeared in the room. "You get more beer?" he asked as he rummaged through the bags.
"No, I didn't have time to go to the liquor store. I can - "
She was quickly cut off when Max suddenly put his arm across her chest and shoved her up against the refrigerator. "I NEVER ask you for anything and this ONE time I ask you to get something for me you don't get it!"
Shalimar's eyes grew wide with fear. "I told you, I didn't have time. I had to work late so that put me behind schedule. Let go of me!" She struggled under the weight of his arm but he was really strong.
"Let go of me!" he mocked. "You need to be taught yet another lesson about listening. For a feral, your listening skills suck!" He moved his arm off her chest and turned her around, grabbing her by the hair. Then he slammed her head down on the kitchen table while pinning one of her arms behind her back.
"Ow! Stop it!" she cried out in pain as he pushed up on the arm behind her back. She thought the muscles in her shoulder would tear in half any minute.
He lifted her head up and then slammed it down again, pinning her down once again. "Are you going to listen to me from now on?" he asked as he leaned in close to her.
She kicked at his shin and made a solid connection, causing him to let go of her and grab his shin in pain. She took this opportunity and quickly got away from him.
Looking on the table she saw her car keys and went to grab them but found herself being tackled to the ground. "Where do you think you're going?" he seethed. He straddled her chest and grabbed the keys, dangling them in front of her face. "You want these?" Shalimar didn't answer, just breathed heavily from the impact of his take down. "You're not going anywhere now. You've been a bad girl and bad girls need to be punished. Car privileges have been revoked." He tucked the keys in his front pants pocket and sat back on his heels. "What am I going to do with you," he said, shaking his head. "So beautiful and yet such a pain in the ass." With that comment, he launched his fist towards her face and knocked her unconscious.
LATER THAT NIGHT
Shalimar awoke to find that she was still lying on the kitchen floor. A wave of dizziness hit her as she sat up. She shut her eyes as it passed and then when she opened them she noticed the blood on the front of her shirt. Feeling her face, she could feel dried blood on the side of her head. She winced as she touched the sore area, knowing very well that there was probably a nice bruise to go with it.
She got to her feet and quietly walked to the bathroom. She shut the door and turned on the light. Slowly, she looked up at the mirror to inspect the damage to her face. Her suspicions were right, a bruise was evident just below her right eye and one to match by her right temple. A cut under her eyebrow was the source for all the blood. Wetting the hand towel by the sink, she wiped the blood from her face and cleaned the cut, wincing as it stung.
She stared at herself for a moment in the mirror. "I can't keep doing this," she whispered to herself. After a few moments, she turned off the light and opened the door.
Her bedroom was next to the bathroom and she quietly made her way in, being careful not to wake Max who was asleep on the bed. Beer cans littered the floor by the bed.
She went to the dresser to get her pajamas when she noticed Max's pants lying on the floor by her feet. She looked at Max sleeping as she reached down and grabbed his pants. Reaching into the pocket she grabbed the car keys. Quickly, she quietly opened the closet door and reached in to get her backpack. She stuffed it with as many clothes as she could possibly fit into it and left the room, never looking back.
JULY 14, 2002 - WORLD BANK
Shalimar stood on the rooftop of one of the buildings in the city, spying on two men who were on the rooftop of the adjacent building - World Bank. Despite the darkness of the night, she was able to see their every move, one of the perks of being a feral.
She watched them break the code to the lock on the door and then enter the building. "What are you up to?" she said out loud as she stayed where she was.
The men worked their way into the bank, being careful not to trigger any of the alarms. When they got to the second level they went up inside the air vent where they traveled along for a few minutes then stopped. "We're at the check point," one of the men said as he spoke into a microphone headset that he wore.
A man's voice came through his earpiece, "Excellent. You've got about ten minutes before the guard goes out on his rounds."
The man with the headset looked at the other man and nodded. He nodded back and began cutting the floor of the vent with a small laser. Just before the last cut, he put a suction cup in the middle of the piece that was to be cut away so that it wouldn't fall down into the room below. He made the last cut and put the piece of metal to the sit, quietly. He then reached down into the hole and sprayed a substance into the room. Within seconds, they could see the path of the alarm's laser beams.
The other man pulled out a small computer and began typing away. Some of the laser beams shut off but others remained. "Okay, that's as good as we'll get," he said as he readied a rope to lower the other man down.
"No problem. I'll be in and out in two minutes, tops."
They gave each other the thumbs up and the man with the headset lowered the other man down into the room. As soon as his feet hit the floor he unhooked himself from the rope and then went over to the large metal door. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small container with a fingerprint mask in it. He put it on his thumb and put it on the device on the alarm's keypad. A green light flashed and the door opened. He quickly went inside and immediately went to a safety deposit box marked #1265. He pulled it out of the wall with the help of some tools that he had. Popping the lock, he opened it and grabbed a small metal case. He quickly left the room, closing the door behind him, and was soon hauled back up into the air vent.
The men made it back to the roof and came out the same door they had entered. Only this time Shalimar was standing in front of them, arms folded across her chest.
"Hi guys. What'cha doing?"
"What's it to you?" the man with the headset asked.
"Just curious," she said as her eyes flashed yellow and then returned to brown.
The man handed his gear to the other man, "Well, don't you know that curiosity usually kills the cat?"
The man charged at her and she easily dodged him. He turned around and threw a fist towards her face but she got him by the arm and flipped him onto the ground.
The other man dropped all of the gear onto the ground and ran at Shalimar, tackling her. She landed hard and felt some of the wind get knocked out of her. Then he put his hand on her back and she felt an intense pain, as if thousands of needles were being stuck in her spine.
As she laid on the ground in pain, the two men disappeared.
They soon got to street level and were walking by the side of the building when out of nowhere Shalimar jumped down in front of them. "That wasn't very nice," she said with a hiss in her voice.
The man that had the metal case came at her and she was ready for his attack. The fought hand to hand for a bit and she pulled him close, retrieving the case from his inside jacket pocket. "I'll take that." She head-butted him and he crumpled to the ground.
The man with the headset charged towards her and kicked out at her but she dodged it. She grabbed his leg and tossed him to the ground. But he quickly got to his feet and with a wave of his hands fire appeared all around her.
She began to panic at the thought of being burned alive. Her mind raced, trying to find a way out.
A van screeched down the street and came to a stop. The man with the headset dragged the other man to it and they climbed in just before it pulled away.
Tears streamed down Shalimar's face as the flames came closer towards her.
Suddenly, some of the flames were being put out by a man using his jacket to stamp them out. She turned around to see what was going on and was grabbed by the arm and pulled to safety. She sat on the ground and rested her back against the building as the man still held onto her arm. "You okay?"
Shalimar looked up at the man and was about to answer but when she looked at his face she felt her stomach drop a thousand feet. "No!" she screamed as she struggled to get away from him.
"Shalimar, stop. Stop it! I'm not going to hurt you." He grabbed her arms and held them tightly, trying to get her to settle down.
She stopped struggling and looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"Are you okay? Those men, they could have killed you," he said as he looked her over.
She just stared at him, wondering why he, of all people, came to her rescue.
"Shalimar?"
"I-I'm fine, Max," she said quietly. "So, did you come back to use me as a punching bag or something, just like old times."
"I've changed, Shalimar. Besides, I wouldn't have saved you if I wanted to see you dead."
Shalimar wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, brushing some dirt off her pants. "Thanks for helping me out. I have to go."
"Wait. You can't just up and leave me like that, like you did before," he pleaded as she walked down the street.
She stopped and turned around towards him. "You show up out of nowhere after eight years and tell me you've changed and I'm supposed to immediately believe you? How do you figure?"
Max didn't answer and lowered his head.
"For a year and a half you beat the crap out of me and told me that I was worthless. And you know, at one point I started to believe you. Do you remember when you broke my arm because I was on the phone too long? Or do you remember the time you cracked two of my ribs when you hit me with a broomstick because I wouldn't clean YOUR mess?"
Max raised his head but remained silent.
"Right, so DON'T expect me to welcome you back with open arms just because you SAY you've changed."
"Let me prove it to you. Better yet, haven't I already started to prove it to you?" Max waited for an answer but didn't get one. "Please."
"I have a new life now, Max. Just leave me alone." Shalimar turned around and continued walking down the street.
Max ran his hand threw his hair and clenched his fists by his sides. "I gave you your chance, Shalimar," he whispered to himself, "Now we're gonna have to do this the hard way."
JULY 15, 2002 - SANCTUARY
"Good morning, everyone," Adam said as he entered the meeting room. "As you know, Shalimar's been working on a special assignment for me for the past week or so. Last night she stopped a couple of thieves from stealing this," Adam held up the small metal case. "New mutant DNA." Adam took a seat. "Looks like someone's trying to get their hands on this for something...but for what?"
"Could be a number of things," Brennan said.
"That's the problem. If this falls into the wrong hands the results could be devastating. I want you guys to keep your eyes open wider over the next few days to see if we can locate the people that want to get their hands on this." Adam looked at Shalimar who was doodling on her notepad and didn't seem like she was paying attention. "Shalimar? You okay?"
Brennan elbowed her in the arm.
"What?" she said as she looked at Brennan and then at Adam.
"You seem a little distant. Everything okay?" Adam asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a fake smile.
"Okay then, keep me informed if any of you come across any leads."
They all left the room and Brennan followed Shalimar. "Hey Shal, wait up. You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine," she insisted.
He looked at her and then took her by the arm, "Come on, let's go."
They got out to the garage and Brennan took a seat on the trunk of one of the cars while Shalimar sat on her bike.
"Tell me what's wrong," he said. "You know you can trust me."
"I know," she said as she put her head down and fidgeted with the gas cap on her bike.
"Talk to me, Shal. Something's been bothering you since last night. You didn't get hurt did you?"
"No," she paused. "It's just that someone from my past has reentered my life and I don't know what to do about it."
"This happened last night?"
"Yeah. When I filled Adam and you guys in on what happened last night, I kinda left out the part where one of the guys trapped me in a wall of fire. Someone put out the fire and saved my life. Someone that I had hoped to never run into again."
"Who?"
"His name is Max. We lived together about eight years ago." A single tear rolled down Shalimar's cheek. "He used to beat the shit out of me all the time. Especially when he got drunk."
Brennan slid off the car and approached her. "I'm sorry, Shal." He put his arm around her and hugged her tightly.
"He's the last person that I would have ever expected to save my life. He says that he's changed but I don't know if I buy it considering everything he did to me."
"We all know that people can change, look at me."
Shalimar moved away from him, "So you're taking his side?"
"No, no. I'm just saying that there is a possibility. Why else would he have saved you?"
"I dunno. That's what makes this so screwed up. He said he wanted to prove to me that he's changed but I don't want him in my life. I can't relive that all over again."
Brennan rubbed her back. "You don't have to if you don't want to. Just forget about him."
"Easier said than done."
"I'm here for you, you know that," Brennan said as he put out his hand.
Shalimar put her hand in his and shook it. "Thanks."
"Let's get back before Emma starts some rumors."
Shalimar smiled as she got of the bike. She put her arm around Brennan as they walked back inside.
JULY 18, 2002 - SANCTUARY
Shalimar awoke to the sound of her cellphone ringing. Groggily she answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey Shal, it's Brennan."
"Brennan? Where are you?" She looked at the clock, "It's two in the morning."
"Can you meet me down at the warehouse. I think I'm onto something."
Shalimar sighed heavily. "Give me ten minutes."
She hung up the phone and went to get dressed.
JULY 18, 2002 - WAREHOUSE
Shalimar arrived at the warehouse and parked her bike near the entrance. She looked around for Brennan as she hung her helmet on the back of her bike but didn't see him.
She went into the warehouse and sensed someone near. "Brennan?" she called out.
"Sorry, Brennan's not here," a familiar voice came from behind her.
She quickly turned around and was greeted by Max's fist that came flying towards her side. She doubled over and wondered why his fist was still in her stomach. But then she felt the burning pain.
"I'm sorry, Shalimar. I just need to borrow some of your DNA and this was the only way I could get some. You took the DNA I stole from the bank so this is my alternative." He slowly pulled back his arm and pushed her back so she landed on the ground, clutching the bleeding wound in her side. He looked at the fresh blood on the knife before placing it in a plastic bag. "Don't worry, it's not a fatal wound. That is if you can get help within the next half hour."
"You bastard!" she spat. "I should have killed you years ago."
Max bent down next to her, "You never had the balls back then and you still don't."
"Don't be so sure," she said through gritted teeth. "What did you do with Brennan?"
Max put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a tiny handheld computer, "I never touched him. That's the beauty of computers. I just borrowed his voice. You see, I've been watching you two for a while now. He means a lot to you, doesn't he? It would be a shame if something happened to him."
"Don't even think about it."
Max smiled evilly and stood up. "Here's one for old times sake." He gave her a swift kick to her injured side before disappearing.
"Brennan?" Shalimar said into her Comlink. "Brennan?"
"Shal?"
She got to her feet and staggered out to her bike. "I just found out who wants the DNA so badly." She put her helmet on and winced as she got herself seated on the bike.
"What time is it?"
"Nevermind what time it is. Meet me in the medical lab in about five minutes, I'm on my way back." Peeling away she quickly made her way back to Sanctuary.
JULY 18, 2002 - SANCTUARY
Brennan paced the floor in the medical lab, biting on his thumbnail, as he waited for Shalimar. He looked up and saw her stagger into the room, clutching her bloody side.
"Oh my God, Shal!" He helped her into one of the chairs and managed to get her jacket off. His face contorted at the sight of all the blood and he ran over to the doorway. "Adam! Adam!"
Within seconds Adam was at the lab, shock spreading over his face as he saw a bloody Shalimar lying before him. "What the hell happened? Shalimar?" he said as he cupped her face with his hands. She had already passed out so he didn't get an answer.
"I don't know all of the details. She called me on her Comlink about fifteen minutes ago and said she knew who was after the DNA. She said to meet her here and that's when she stumbled in."
Adam examined her wound as he lifted up her shirt. "She's been stabbed." He ran to the computer to program it to heal her wound. Within a few minutes the wound was healed.
Shalimar's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the room.
"Shal? You okay?" Brennan asked.
"I think so," she said as she sat up, grimacing at the dull ache in her side.
"Easy does it," Adam said as he helped her sit up.
"What happened to you?" Brennan asked.
She looked at Adam and realized that she'd have to explain her history with Max. "I got a phone call around two o'clock from you, well, it wasn't you, it was someone pretending to be you. They said to meet them down at the warehouse. When I got there, Max was there."
"Who's Max?" Adam asked.
"He's um, an ex-boyfriend." She looked at Adam's facial expression and watched as his brow creased with confusion. "He stabbed me and said he needed my DNA. He didn't say why. Usually he's one for bragging but I guess this is too big a secret."
"Where can we find this Max?"
"I have a few sources I can ask," Shalimar said as she painfully got to her feet.
"Whoa, you're not going anywhere. You need to rest. I'll check out your sources for you," Brennan said, putting an arm around her.
"You can't," she insisted.
"Brennan's right, you need to rest."
"I'm fine," she said, putting a hand up. "It's just that...Max said he'd hurt you too."
"I'm not afraid of him, Shal."
"Well you should be."
"Brennan, why don't you give me and Shalimar a minute. I think I need to be filled in on who this Max person is." Adam helped her sit back down as Brennan left the room, finding Emma and Jesse outside.
"Is she all right?" Emma asked.
"She'll be fine."
"What happened," Jesse asked.
"It's a long story but she got stabbed. It's all tied into this DNA thing. Now some asshole has her DNA. God only knows what he's planning on doing with it."
After a few minutes Shalimar and Adam came out of the room. "Brennan. I want you and Shalimar to see what her sources turn up. We need to find Max, fast."
Brennan wasn't about to protest when he looked at Shalimar's tearstained face. "You got it. Come on Shal."
They all worked through the night to determine Max's whereabouts. After hours and hours of searching and checking out various sources, they finally came up with an address.
JULY 18, 2002 - MAX'S APARTMENT
Max was just about to leave his apartment when suddenly the door came crashing down. Shalimar walked through and glared at him. "Going somewhere?"
"Shalimar? My, my, my, what a miraculous recovery you've made."
"Shut up and give me that knife."
"You mean this one?" he said, holding up the plastic bag with the the bloody knife in it.
Shalimar's eyes became yellow and she lunged towards him, knocking the bag from his hand. Max rolled onto the floor and got to his feet. He swung out and tried to connect with her face but only caught air. She kicked upwards with her foot and hit him square in the nose. He fell to the ground and put his hand to it, feeling warm blood ooze down his chin. "Good hit," he said with a smile. "Is that all you've got?"
"That's just the beginning," she hissed.
He leapt to his feet and kept a watchful eye on her next move. Tired of waiting, he swept his foot out to try and knock her feet from under her but she jumped into the air and kicked him in the side of the head.
Pouncing onto his back, she grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head onto the wooden floor. "This move familiar to you at all?" She lifted it up and did it again and then pinned his arm behind his back. "How about this one?"
"Owww!" he screamed in pain.
"Tell me what you're doing with that DNA." He didn't answer so she pushed up on his arm, enjoying his painful scream. "Tell me!" Still no answer so she pushed harder and heard his arm snap. "Tell me now, God dammit!"
"Okay, okay! I'm selling it!"
"What?"
"I'm selling it to some guy. He's willing to pay millions for it."
Brennan and Jesse soon appeared in the doorway. "Everything okay in here?" Brennan asked as they entered.
"WHO is paying you?"
"I don't know his name, I've never met him in person. Just talked to him on the phone a few times. I'm supposed to meet him at the airport by the Starbucks."
Shalimar let go of him and got up off of him. She gave him a hard kick to his side, "You make me sick."
"You guys take care of him for me. I'm gonna puke if I have to look at his face any longer." Shalimar left the apartment and went down to meet them at the van.
"So you're Max, huh?" Brennan said.
Max looked up at Brennan with pain written on his face.
"Shalimar told me all about the things you used to do to her." He waved his hands together and threw a bolt at him, hitting him in the chest.
Max screamed in pain and convulsed on the floor.
He threw another bolt and then Jesse stepped in. "Enough, Brennan. Let's go before you kill him."
"Yeah," Brennan huffed, "that'd be terrible."
Jesse picked up Max's unconscious form and dragged him out of the apartment. Brennan bent down and picked up the bag that contained the knife, stained with Shalimar's blood. With a frustrated sigh, he got up and left.
JULY 18, 2002 - THE AIRPORT
Jesse stood outside of the Starbucks and waited for this mystery man to approach him. He sipped on a cup of coffee as he waited. He kept in contact with the team through his Comlink. "Ugh, I dunno how anyone can drink this stuff. It tastes like shit."
"I'll make sure I tell Juan Valdez you said that," Shalimar laughed.
He looked up and saw a man approaching, carrying a steel suitcase. "Heads up. I think he's here."
The man stood next to him and put the case down. He took out a newspaper and pretended to read it. "You got the DNA?"
"Yes," Jesse answered.
He folded the newspaper back up and handed it to Jesse. "Put it in here."
Just as Jesse took the newspaper, Emma came out of the Starbucks and stood next to the man. She began using her powers to persuade the man to come with them. Without incident, he came with them and they got him to the Double Helix waiting outside.
JULY 18, 2002 - SANCTUARY
"Great work, all of you," Adam said as he entered the rec room. "With both Max and this Mr. Wheeler in custody, new Mutant DNA is safe for another day, at least." Adam patted Shalimar on the back. "I'm especially proud of you, Shalimar. This must have been a tough mission for you."
Shalimar nodded and smiled, "I can finally put him in my past and have him stay there."
Brennan came over and gave her a hug.
"Aww, look at the two love birds," Emma squealed.
"See, doesn't take her to start rumors, does it?" Brennan commented.
Everyone laughed except for Emma who was pouting.
"Oh come on you big baby. Group hug!" Brennan said as they all hugged each other.
THE END