XFiles: Unnatural Selection

by Kabeiroi

Mulder is contacted by his old buddy Matt "Spooky Jr." Bluestone for help when a mutant girl is found dying along a highway. It looks as though she had been abducted and experimented on, but the truth is much more Sinister.

DISCLAIMER: Okay, let's get started (laces fingers together & stretches, popping them loudly): Mulder, Scully, Doggett, & Lone Gunmen are © to Chris Carter & 1013 Productions. Just coverin' my bases-and ass.

It's another old story!

Matt Bluestone, Sevarius, Elisa Maza, Xanatos, Angela, Demona, & the Wyvern Clan are © to Disney Inc.

Mr. Sinister, Emma Frost, Dark Beast, & Charles Xavier are © Stan Lee & Marvel Comics Inc.

Dara Gibson, her family (Patricia Gibson, et al), Awen, Olivia Bluestone, etc., are © to Chiyome, 2009. Some spelling mistakes, but ignore those for now.

Synopsis: Shortly after "Alone" (dammit, watch the show!!), Mulder receives a call from his old bud Bluestone; it seems another case of alien-abductee, now alien-returnee, has cropped up. But it's defiantly NOT what either one expected.

THE X-FILES

Unnatural Selection

By Chiyome

10:09 A.M.

MAY 2, 2001

ROUTE 96

14 MILES OUTSIDE BOSTON, MA

When was it going to end?

Why didn't they just kill her, end her misery, stop the pain?

A rasping groan scraped through her throat, echoing softly in the dark cavern. Were her eyes closed? Open? It was so dark that she had no idea. Even if there was light, there might be nothing to see; she had spent too many hours in the cell, collapsed on the gritty cement, bent over the drain in the center vomiting, looking up for help, but seeing nothing beyond the sterile metal door.

Nothing.

But she would rather see nothing than to awake again in the tank, an oxygen tube forced down her throat, her skin burning from the chemicals in the water, her muscles throbbing around the intravenous needles plunging into her limbs, with THEM standing on the outside, watching intently as she thrashed in pain, as her screams grew hoarse.

She tried to sit up, a task that had becoming more and more difficult as the experiments wore on. Planting a raw hand on the floor--cold, metallic?--she pushed herself up a centimeter, then immediately collapsed, her sour breath rushing out of her lungs.

God, let her die.

She tried to open her eyes, only to find that they were partially open already. For once, her eyes didn't focus immediately, and a stray flicker of concern slipped through her brain. How come she couldn't see? Seeing in the dark … it had been one of THEIR greatest achievements with her. She had heard THEM cheer as she tore through the room, dodging the traps and falls perfectly in the smothering darkness.

Her already tired heart gave a weak jolt, and she tried to shift around--how come she wasn't tied up? There didn't seem to be a collar around her throat …

Forcing herself to forget about her lack of manacles, she let her dry eyes roam the cavern, whatever it was; where was HE? HIM, the one who ordered her abduction.

She couldn't see HIS piercing eyes illuminating the dark, nor could she hear HIS sneering chuckle as it hissed through HIS viper-like fangs.

Maybe that shouldn't be so much of a surprise; last time she had been dragged into HIS dark lair, something happened to her and she snapped, screaming and lunging for HIM, seeing HIM flinch back in horror for the first time.

Catching the arm of one of the scientists in her fanged mouth, she had snarled monstrously, twisting the limb until it snapped, tore, ripped away from the elbow joint. He had screamed in confused pain, reeling back in terror as she spun around for a second attack, this time aiming for the throat.

It was the collar's taser that brought her down, causing all of her muscles to freeze and stiffen, locking her into mid-leap, keeping her from finishing the job.

It hadn't been the first time she attacked HIM, or his cronies, but it was the first time she had used her enhancements to their fullest potential, the first time she had used them on HIM, the first time she had wounded anybody so seriously.

That was a while ago, wasn't it?

She didn't know; she lost track of time since her abduction in tenth grade.

She didn't know how long it had been since she had seen her mom.

She didn't know how old she was anymore.

She wasn't even sure she knew her own name.

Something behind her grated loudly, a strange, alien sound that made her shudder, despite how weak she was.

Hot, white light roared into the cavern, and her eyes instinctively squeezed shut against the invasion. Her tired heart thudded a little; what was it? Why was it so … bright?

Clumsy arms slipped under her body, and, suddenly, she was falling, rushing through thousands of feet of empty, warm air, thrown helplessly out of the transport.

She didn't even grunt when she hit the ground; she kept her eyes closed, trying to scream at the strange yellow light that seeped through her eyelids.

Uncut grass lashed at her abused skin, and she shivered, chilled by the gusts of warm air. Somewhere nearby, animals snarled.

Her bones felt like a million pieces of shattered glass. Her empty stomach heaved against her ribs, and her brain seemed to explode inside of her skull.

God, let her die. Please.

She wanted to die.

But … before she did … she had to see where she was.

Forcing her heavy eyelids open, she gazed blankly through the forest of grass, at pavement and trees and blue sky and cottony white clouds and shiny snarling cars and tall signs.

Confused, she pushed herself up, just a little, looking up as the men slipped back into the white, windowless van, slamming the shimmery doors closed. Almost a second later, the van pulled away, cruising nonchalantly back onto the highway.

Not knowing what to do, she sat there, watching it go, feeling her skin erupt into blisters under the glaring sun … something she hadn't seen in a year and a half.

They …

They left her there … like trash by the road.

All the strength in her finally disappeared, and she slid back to the grass, feeling herself fall again, back into unconsciousness.

"God, let me die," she whispered, her voice sounding strange, even to her.

But what was stranger … was that she didn't know who God was.

God, let her die.

2:34 P.M.

MAY 14, 2001

WASHINGTON D.C.

APT. #421:

Well, that was that.

Numbly, Special Agent Fox Mulder … no … ex-Special Agent Fox Mulder dragged himself back into his "spacious" apartment, not caring a bit when he heard the apartment door's '2' clatter to the floor as he closed the door.

Who cared.

Bile burned in the back of Mulder's throat and, irritated, he shook his head, frowning angrily. Not knowing really what else to do, he yanked off his leather jacket, tossing it haphazardly onto the couch.

Stupid, stupid, stupid ….

It was all over. All of it. The FBI. His career. The X-Files. All gone. Just like that.

Like that.

Raking his fingers through his mussed hair, Mulder glanced temptingly towards the kitchen. Did he still have some bourbon left over, from before he got beamed up by … what ever the hell they were? Scully didn't take it, did she? Probably not, but he'd bet any amount of money that those damned CSI guys made off with it. Might have taken the scotch too.

Damn. He really needed to get drunk.

But Mulder didn't make an attempt to move. He stood there, staring into the kitchen, his hands still posed in mid-rake atop his head.

What would he do afterwards? After he got drunk, sobered up, hated himself for it, and repeated? What was he gonna do? Die? Drop out of existence for good?

He had nothing left.

Everything was gone! Everything he needed and loved--his parents, his little sister, his job, his life's work--ah, damn it, even Molly the fish was gone!! Dead!!

Even Scully … Scully … was gone, with her baby, keeping closer contact with Doggett than she had with Mulder himself, locking herself in her apartment, eating $33.98 worth of pizza as she waited for her baby to come.

All …

All …

Gone.

The breath rushed out of Mulder's lungs, and he allowed his arms to flop lifelessly back to his sides.

All gone.

Aimlessly, he staggered over to his desk, reaching for the can of fish food perched by his phone … should feed the fish. Just 'cuz he didn't want to live didn't mean he should make the fish suffer.

He snorted at the thought. Dumb Mulder logic.

As he began to twist the glossy cover off, Mulder blinked, looking down in surprise at the small, fuzzy red blinking dot on it.

"What the--? Oh …"

Surprised, Mulder refocused his gaze, this time to his phone. He stared at the answering machine quizzically as it blinked incessantly, silently droning "Messages. Messages. Messages. Messages."

Yeah, who'd be leaving messages on his machine now? Langly, asking him to drop by for steak subs and a debate on the Philadelphia Experiment?

Still, Mulder knew he had nothing to lose by checking.

Tapping the 'play back' button, Mulder unscrewed the cap of fish food, listening as the machine rewound, clicking and beeping.

"Yo, Mulder, Matt Bluestone here--"

Startled, Mulder glanced back at the machine. Matt?? Old Spooky Junior? Huh, Mulder hadn't talked to him since … er … well, it was some time after he got out of the hospital ….

"--listen, I dunno if you're interested, but my sister has a case in Boston, and she asked me to come down …. You too, she wanted you to come, if you weren't still tied up at the FBI--"

Nope, not anymore. Mulder absently tapped the canister over the fish tank, still staring at the answering machine. Matt Bluestone had been one of his friends back at Quantico, just a few years behind him. Bluestone, his sister Olivia, and Mulder hung out sometimes, swapping stories of the paranormal.

Bluestone never really pursued a career in the paranormal, unlike Mulder--but good for him; Bluestone got pretty far in the terrorist unit until he was bounced from the Bureau, too bent on finding the Illuminati.

Mulder never really understood that.

"--Well, anyways, a girl was found by the side of a highway a few days ago. She had been kidnapped almost two years ago, and Livvy said that the initial reports stated that the girl had some, well, 'experimental surgery' preformed on her. It sounded like the case of alien abductees you and Agent Scully were telling me about. Whatever. It was bizarre, so I thought you'd like to know about it. Gimme a buzz. My number's …"

Dropping the canister into the fish tank, Mulder dove for his desk, grabbing up a pen and hastily scribbling down Bluestone's phone number.

Hmph. Maybe he had something to do after all … aside from getting plastered.

12:44 P.M.

MAY 16, 2001

BOSTON HOSPITAL, BOSTON, MA:

What a nightmare.

Mulder glanced at Bluestone, watching as his friend uneasily checked his watch for the third time; with the insanity of the Big Dig, getting lost in a forest of cranes and a labyrinth of detours, Mulder and Bluestone were an hour and a half late meeting Olivia at Boston Hospital and boy, did she sound pissed on the cell phone.

After an excruciatingly long wait, the elevator finally pinged, grating open its doors to the even more chaotic halls of the ICU.

Mulder drew in a long breath, choking on the smell of disinfectant. "Ahhh, hospitals … I seem to spend a quarter of my life here."

Bluestone smirked, gently pushing through a throng of nurses. "Join the club … since Elisa found out she's having a baby, I'm constantly driving her to the hospital for checkups."

"What is it with our partners, Matt?" Mulder asked, side-stepping a defibrillating machine. "All of a sudden, they get pregnant. It's like they joined a club or something …"

A miserable looking nurse behind a desk barked at them, demanding to know what they were doing, standing around the "INTENSIVE Care Unit" like a couple of dopes. Feigning courtesy, Bluestone drew his I.D. out of his trench coat pocket, flashing the badge briefly in the nurse's face. "Agents Bluestone and Mulder from the FBI. We're investigating--"

Instantly, the woman's sleep-deprived eyes shot open. "Ohhh …. About Dara …."

Surprised, Bluestone glanced at Mulder, who could only shrug.

"You knew we were coming?" he asked.

The woman nodded vigorously. "Yeah … took you guys long enough. Poor kid." Standing, the woman leaned over the countertop, pointing around a corner. "Down the hall, room 27. Poor baby."

Mulder nodded, trying to smile. "Thanks, miss."

As he and Bluestone turned away, the nurse spoke up again. "Agents?"

They stopped, glancing back at her questioningly.

The woman hesitated, swallowing hard. "Please … find the guys who did it to her."

Baffled, Mulder exchanged a glance with Bluestone. "Uh … yeah, we will."

Scratching the back of his head, Bluestone turned away. "Sounds like Livvy didn't tell me all about the injuries."

Mulder nodded, his forehead creasing. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this--and hey, you do know that we're not agents anymore, right?"

Bluestone nodded, smirking again. "Yeah," he said, thumbing over his shoulder, back at the nurse. "But she doesn't need to know."

They almost walked by Room 27 at first; Olivia had to poke her head out the door and hiss at them to get their attention. "Hey!"

"Hey!" Smiling, Bluestone hugged his little sister. "How are you?"

"All right." Smiling weakly, Livvy held her hand out to Mulder. "Good to have you back, Spooky."

Mulder grinned. "Hi, half-pint. Nice to see you again."

"Yeah … I wish it was under different circumstances, though." Straightening, Livvy opened the door behind her. "C'mon … the doctors are waiting. Try not to make noise, guys."

Almost tiptoeing, Livvy slipped back into the hospital room. Bluestone followed her, and Mulder swallowed hard, trailing the two; he didn't like what he was feeling right now …

Closing the door behind him, Mulder was swallowed up by blackness. He blinked rapidly, forcing his eyes to focus. Grimacing, he turned, squinting as the darkness shifted from pure black to--er … lighter black.

Making out the silhouettes of Matt and Olivia, Mulder quietly crossed over to them, stepping around Olivia to view the hospital bed, illuminated by pale, blue light.

Seeing the girl, Mulder's stomach gave a sudden heave, rushing up into his throat. He stifled a gasp, clapping his hand over his mouth.

Beside him, Olivia finally lost her nerve and glanced away, while Matt bit hard on a knuckle.

On the opposite side of the bed, a young doctor reached across, readjusting an oxygen tube in the girl's scarred mouth. He frowned grimly as an artificial lung pumped air into the girl. "It's awful."

Mulder nodded quickly, willing himself not to ralph all over Livvy and Matt. He silently swore as he followed the vine-like patterns of stitches across the girl's arms, along her collarbone and neck and face, disappearing under her hospital gown.

Another doctor stepped in between Livvy and Mulder, checking the girl's intravenous.

Glad to have an excuse to step away, Mulder turned as Matt spoke, coughing on the words. "Livvy … who is she? What happened to her?"

Grimacing, Livvy glanced briefly at her brother, then turned to a nightstand, shoved into a far corner.

"Her name's Dara Gibson," Livvy said, her voice oddly raspy. She lifted a file off of the nightstand and handed it to Matt, hardly looking at him. "A year and eight months ago, Dara was on a field trip with her tenth grade English class to see a play in Cambridge.

"About halfway there, the bus hit something … a bomb, some kind of explosive, we don't know for sure--but the bus tipped over. According to her English teacher and all of the sixty-eight students on that bus, something jumped on the side of the bus and tore the wall right off …

"It started to reach for Dara, and she tried to fight it off, but then … then something …"

Struggling for the right words, Livvy looked helplessly at Matt and Mulder. "Something … it wasn't human … but it reached inside and grabbed Dara around the waist, pulled her out …

"The--the things didn't go for anyone else … just her. Her teacher … he tried to save her--he jumped for her, but the things just threw him back …. He was hurt badly.

"No one was able to follow the things into the woods--they moved too fast. There were reports and sightings of those things … and a few with Dara … trying to run away …

"Almost a week later, while the police searched the woods, there was several hundred reports of--of--of a …UFO, flying over the woods."

Shaking her head, Livvy folded her arms and turned away as Matt thumbed through the file. "Three weeks later the search was called off."

Mulder arched an eyebrow. "You think she was abducted?"

"Well …" Uneasy, Livvy glanced at him. "It seems connected, don't you think? But that doesn't explain what the hell those things that grabbed her were."

"What'd they look like?"

Just as the words died on Mulder's lips, Matt Bluestone's eyes widened in shock. "Like this?"

Glancing up from the folder, Matt held up a piece of sketch paper, holding it out to Mulder.

Surprised, Mulder accepted the paper, squinting at the sketch in the poor light. It took him several minutes before he was able to make out enough of the picture. "It looks like …"

"A mutant," both Livvy and Matt said in unison.

"A wh--? Now no, hold on a minute." His eyes narrowing, Mulder tilted the picture towards the lamplight around the girl's bed. "It … it looks like … almost like a human …"

"With tusks?!" Snorting, Matt slapped the folder closed. "You've been out of the loop too long, Spooky; since you disappeared, there's been a rise in mutations among teenagers. A lot of people started to reveal that they were mutants, and the whole world's gone nuts since then …. There's been a lot of hatred and violence towards mutants and anything else non-human."

'A not so subtle reference to the weirdness that has taken control of Bluestone's life,' Mulder thought, glancing up at the Bluestone siblings; not long after Matt had gotten tossed out of the FBI, he had gone to work in Manhattan, NY. Through design or fate, Matt had gotten involved with the sudden return of the legendary Gargoyles, and had been at the center of conflict for several months now.

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Livvy reached into her pocket, drawing out a picture. "Not just that, you guys … Dara … Dara's a mutant too."

Mulder almost dropped the sketch. "She is?!"

"Ssh!" a doctor hissed.

Giving the doctor a fleeting glance, Livvy turned back to Mulder and Matt, holding the picture out to them. "Yeah … she had grown wings, and apparently … well, I don't know the fullest extend of her powers, but her family said she could heal wounds … and she grew stronger from sunlight …"

Hearing that, the young male doctor straightened. "Which is one reason why we're so concerned," he said, gesturing for the trio to come closer. "Mr. and Mrs. Gibson said that Dara could somehow channel solar energy. But … but when Dara was found …" The words caught in his throat, and the doctor shook his head. Sadly, he reached down and lifted the girl's right hand, so they could see the sunburns.

"She had been laying out by the side of Route 96 for, at the most, three hours." Again, he shook his head. "You can't get this bad of a sunburn, even after laying out in the sun for three hours. There's just no way."

Mulder blinked. "She can't channel sunlight anymore."

"It's hurting her," the female doctor agreed. She shrugged, looking down at her patient. "We keep the lights off or at low in here. She seems to do better with less light."

"No one can explain it," Livvy said, staring at Dara's eyes, sunken and bruised horribly. "The whole case is frustrating; a mutant is kidnapped by other mutants, all three drop off the face of the earth after a UFO is seen, and suddenly, the girl's returned a year and a half later, dumped by the side of the road …"

"With injuries too numerous and too various to possibly name," the male doctor finished. He glanced up at Mulder and Matt, frowning. "Somebody did something to Dara … some sort of experiment. Look, look at the picture …"

Remembering that he had the glossy photograph in his hand, Mulder glanced down at it, his eyes narrowing at the picture of Dara, grinning at the camera, holding two young boys in headlocks, massive, feathery white wings spread out across--

"Her wings are gone," Mulder said, his eyes widening.

The female doctor nodded. "Surgically removed. The scars are still on her back … whoever did it to her, they knew what they were doing … for the most part."

"They treated her like a lab animal," the male doctor said, his voice rising in anger. "They tattooed her arm with some kind of serial number!"

The female doctor gently turned Dara's right arm over, so that the agents could see the pattern of black numbers and letters branded along her skin.

Matt shuddered. "Those numbers …. I've seen them on Holocaust victims …"

"If they numbered her, then there must be others," Mulder said, feeling a rise of anger and disgust inside of him.

Livvy shook her head. "This is so frustrating …"

Mulder nodded, turning back to the doctors. "What else was done to her?"

The female doctor shrugged. "We're not exactly sure yet … so much has been done on her …. We're--we're not even sure she's going to live."

Matt's eyes narrowed. "Why would anybody do something like this?" Frowning, he turned to his sister. "Livvy, where's her family?"

"Mrs. Gibson's staying at the Holiday Inn a few blocks away," Livvy replied, already beginning to turn. "The rest of the family's back at Dara's hometown … they'll come by later tonight."

"Could we talk to Mrs. Gibson?" Mulder asked, tearing his gaze away from the living corpse on the bed.

"I told her we'd come by later," Livvy replied, gesturing for them to follow. "Come on …"

Sickened, Mulder gave a courteous nod to the pale doctors before trailing the Bluestone siblings out of the hospital room.

In the harsh, bright light of the ICU corridors, Mulder was able to see the photograph more clearly. He paused, staring at it, at the innocent girl who playfully mugged around with her brothers.

Mulder gritted his teeth.

Whoever did this to Dara Gibson, they were going to pay for it.

2:16 P.M.

HOLIDAY INN HOTEL, BOSTON, MA:

"She's not a bad girl! She didn't do anything to deserve this!"

Livvy gently hushed the sobbing woman, reaching out and grasping her hand. "We know, we're positive that she didn't do anything wrong …"

Her eyes monstrously bloodshot, Mrs. Patricia Gibson gazed up at Matt Bluestone and Fox Mulder, standing uncomfortably in the hotel room. "Are you going to get the guys who did it?"

Bluestone hesitated. "We are going to try our best to find them."

Unsatisfied, Mrs. Gibson looked away. "I was so afraid that they killed her …. But when, when I saw what they did …" Choking on a sob, Mrs. Gibson shook her head wildly. "It was worse."

His throat tightening, Mulder glanced away, back to the coffee table in the middle of the room, where Mrs. Gibson had displayed everything that she thought might be of use to the investigators of the case; Dara's journal, her address book, newspaper clippings on Dara's kidnapping, her scrapbook, the purse that was found in the woods the same night she had been taken, photo albums, I.D.s and passports, the certificate from her last physical …

Mulder, only half listening now, wandered over to the table, to examine the items: except for Dara's mutation, she had lived her life as an ordinary teenage girl. She had a lot of friends. She was a B-student at her high school. Played sports. Starred in a play. Baby-sat. Read books. Watched TV. Liked animals. Didn't smoke. Avoided drugs like the plague. Wasn't close friends with gang members. Hardly dated. Drank once or twice, and didn't like it. Kind of funny, sarcastic. Hated math.

Mulder shook his head; there wasn't anything here that would suggest that she had enemies.

"… She was teased at school a lot," Mrs. Gibson said, her voice finding its way back into Mulder's head. "Because of … of her wings. And she was harassed too, sexually harassed. She hated her school."

"Was there anyone who threatened her life at her school?" Bluestone asked.

Mrs. Gibson shrugged. "No, nobody said 'I'm gonna kill you', but, y'see, she usually dealt with them on her own, then got the school involved. She really wasn't threatened like that."

Mulder knelt down beside the coffee table, picking through Dara's things. No, no, no … receipt from Walden Books … about thirty dollars in cash … a name crossed off in her address book?

Arching an eyebrow, Mulder stood up. "Mrs. Gibson, there's a name scratched out in Dara's address book … do you know who …" He squinted to read the blotted out name. "Kyle … something or other is?"

Mrs. Gibson nodded. "Yeah … he was a friend of Dara's. He died after a car accident their freshman year."

Damn. Frustrated, Mulder closed the book and placed it back on the table. Nothing. This was a dead end.

Twisting her soggy tissue in her hands, Mrs. Gibson glanced back at Livvy. "I'm so glad that Mr. Xanatos donated that money to us …"

Bluestone's head snapped up from the pad in his hand. "Mr. Xanatos …?"

Mrs. Gibson nodded. "Yeah … the billionaire? He called us after he heard Dara was found. He said he felt horrible for what happened, and he wanted to do everything possible to help us." She smiled weakly. "He's paying for everything, even our hotel bills."

Blood rushed into Bluestone's face, and he shot an unreadable look at Mulder. Startled, Mulder held out his hands; what? What's the matter?

Snapping his notebook closed, Matt nodded towards Mrs. Gibson. "Thank you, Mrs. Gibson, I think that's all for now. I'll keep in touch."

Livvy stared quizzically at Bluestone as he spun away, stalking out of the hotel room. She glanced at Mulder, and he shrugged, holding up one hand, gesturing for her to wait for them.

Turning away, Mulder sprinted after Bluestone. "Whoa, Matt, wait up!"

Hardly giving him a glance, Bluestone stepped out of the hotel room, digging his cell phone out of his pocket. "Xanatos? Xanatos is involved with this now?" Bluestone keyed for a number. "I should have known …"

"What?"

Not answering, Bluestone put the phone to his ear, biting back a curse when all he heard was static. "Can't get a reception in here … have to go outside …"

"Bluestone--"

Rolling his eyes, Bluestone beckoned for Mulder to follow.

Irritated, Mulder didn't say a word until they reached the parking lot. He watched in angry silence as Bluestone keyed the number again. This time he got lucky.

"Elisa? Hey it's Ma--wha, no I--sorry, were you busy? Well, I didn--Well, no--Wha, no, look, hang on; I need your help."

He paused for a moment, listening to his partner speak. "Yeah, it's about her." Pause. "Yeah … yeah, you might wanna get--" He hesitated, glancing sidelong at Mulder. "--The guys involved. Maybe.

"Well, it looks like Mr. Xanatos has taken an interest in the reappearance of Dara Gibson … he's been paying all the family's bills--"

Mulder blinked in surprise as he watched a florist's van pull into the parking lot. "And sending 'em flowers?"

Bluestone fell silent for a moment. "Yeah … yeah. I can't tell you a lot right now, but the girl's been experimented on, and they look familiar--no, not aliens--No, you're getting me confused with Mulder!

"No, Elisa--Elisa, the girl's been experimented on, and it's not by aliens--at least, I don't think. But she's been branded with a serial number … uh-huh … right, it might be him. Could you check into it? Okay …. Hmph … No, it's looking bad for her. Okay, thanks, Elisa."

Mulder frowned at Bluestone as he hung up. "Ya wanna tell me what the hell's going on?"

Bluestone matched Mulder's frown with one of his own. "I might as well," he replied, pocketing the cell phone. "When I saw Dara's injuries, and the doctors said she was experimented on, and she had those serial numbers on her arm, it reminded me of a couple of cases Elisa and I have worked on."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Waiting until the florist, weighted down with a huge bouquet disappeared into the hotel, Bluestone turned back to Mulder and lowered his voice. "There's a scientist named Anton Sevarius who's been accused of experimenting on humans without the government's consent. Turns out that his father was an Axis Power scientist who did some crazy experiments on Jews in the concentration camps."

"Y'think sonny-boy's following his father's footsteps?"

Bluestone nodded. "Sevarius used to work for David Xanatos, until … well, until Xanatos supposedly fired Sevarius for experimenting on humans. And the pattern, the style of the experiments on all those people match the ones on Dara Gibson."

Mulder blinked. "So what are you thinking? Sevarius and Xanatos are working together again?"

"I kind of doubt it … but if Xanatos is involved, Sevarius can't be too far behind."

Mulder frowned. "So what's your partner going to do?"

Bluestone shrugged. "Dig up some information, I guess."

11:32 P.M.

THE AERIE BUILDING

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, NY:

His office illuminated only by the lamp on his desk, David Xanatos savored the silence as he signed the check for the Gibson family. The silence was welcoming; it didn't weigh heavily on his guilt.

Tucking the check into an envelope, Xanatos began to write out his address--

Black talon-tipped hands shot into view, one slamming onto his desk, chipping the wood and crumpling the documents. Xanatos gasped in terror as the second hand lashed out, catching him by his shirt collar.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" she roared, her eyes red and wild with rage. Hardly straining, Awen dragged Xanatos out of his chair, lifting him nine feet into the air. "WHERE IS HE?!! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!"

Xanatos felt the color drain from his face as he realized that the Gargress' grip was slowly getting tighter around his throat. His eyes wide, Xanatos grabbed Awen's wrist. "Lemme go!!"

"Why should I?!"

"I--can't--BREATHE!!!"

For one terrifying, bizarre second, the corners of Awen's snarling mouth twitched upward into a smile.

Instantly, the smile disappeared, as did the light in her eyes. Snarling viciously, Awen opened her hand, allowing Xanatos to plummet back into his seat.

"Whuuf!" he grunted, feeling the springs in his chair pop. Furious--and embarrassed, to say the least--Xanatos shot the tall Gargress his dirtiest look.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped, massaging his horribly sore throat with one hand. "Does Goliath know you're here?"

"No," Awen snorted, folding her spread wings back and crossing her arms over her chest. "Tell the truth, Xanatos; where is Sevarius?"

"Sevarius?" Hearing the name, a wash of disgust coursed through Xanatos, and he looked away disgustedly. "I don't know."

A menacing growl rose in Awen's throat, and her eyes turned just the slightest shade of orange.

"Honestly, I don't know!" Xanatos bellowed, making his throat ache even more. "If I knew, believe me, I'd tell the world."

Surprised, Awen arched an eyebrow. "You would?"

"Yes." Forgetting his neck for a moment, Xanatos straightened himself in his chair, trying his hardest to hide the revulsion he felt. "It was one thing when Sevarius mutated Talon and the others … and another when he cloned Thailog ….

"But then he tried to extort me--threatened to kidnap my son, do something to him, or my wife … said he'd hurt my father ….

"Then he started cloning the dark fey … making those--" Struggling to find the right word, Xanatos waved his hand absently. "--Those--"

"Newa …"

Hearing the whispered name, Xanatos' head snapped up, and he stared at Awen in shock. "Uh … Awen …. I'm sorry, I forgot--"

Closing her shimmering eyes for a moment, Awen quickly shook her head. "Never mind, never mind that … I'm more upset about this girl in Boston."

Xanatos blinked. "You heard about her?"

Awen snorted. "Elisa told me … asked me to investigate, seeing as how I'm more than willing to tear this bastard to shreds."

Frowning, Xanatos leaned forward, placing his arms on his desk. "I don't know where he is now, but I'll help look for him. I swear."

A muscle twitched in Awen's cheek, and she shrugged, as though she only half-believed him. "All right … tell me everything you can about him. And this time--" here, she leaned forward, driving her face right into Xanatos'. "--I mean everything."

Surprised, Xanatos nodded. "All right … I'll even get you his shoe size."

1:06 A.M

BOSTON, MA:

"Why didjya wait until now to call us, Mulder?"

"I'm just trying to keep you guys on your toes," Mulder replied, sorting through a sheaf of papers. "You never know when I might need the Lone Gunmen's help, y'know."

Frohike snorted noisily into the phone's receiver. "Pheh. Us Gunmen don't work well if the sun ain't up before us."

Mulder shrugged. "Make some coffee."

"I would … BUT SOMEBODY HAD TO USE IT TO PUT OUT A FIRE!!!"

Wincing, Mulder jerked the cell phone away from his ear as he heard Langly shout from far off, "I didn't do it!! Jimmy's the one who dropped a burning cigar in the box of paper!!"

"Oh, that is such a lie!!" someone else shouted.

"Why can't the two of you just SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE?!!!" the usually mild-mannered Byers screamed.

"Bloody hell," a female voice snarled, "ye're all bloody--"

"DON'T START WITH ME, YVES!"

Mulder stared at the phone in his hand. "What the hell …?"

"Er--it's been a long week," Frohike said hurriedly. "Listen, we'll find all we can an' get it to ya at the Boston office's fax. Can ya get it there?"

"Livvy can," Mulder replied, pulling out a third envelope from the folder. "Oh, and Frohike--add 'The Frost Academy for Gifted Children' onto that list."

"Oookay … and uh, Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

There was a slight pause on the other end. "That girl … is she going to be okay?"

The air rushed out of Mulder's lungs in a suddenly exhausted sigh. "I don't know."

"Poor kid."

"Yeah."

"Well, okay, I got it all. Give ya a buzz later."

"Sure. Thanks, Frohike." Thumbing off the phone, Mulder glanced behind him, where he had spread out several papers that Dara Gibson's father and brothers had brought with them when they arrived back at the hotel that night. Mulder frowned as he added a sixth letter to a pile from this 'Frost Academy', right next to the 'Xavier Institute' pile, and 'The Essex University' stack.

The only school that Mulder had ever heard of in that list was the Xavier Institute; it was supposed to be a highly rated school for people with mutant abilities in Upstate New York.

And, uh, that was about it.

But what put Mulder off was the number of letters from each of the schools; Dara had turned all of the schools down (as her parents and brothers attested), but the letters kept coming.

All had sent pamphlets and catalogues and crap, but, glancing through them, Mulder understood why Dara would have been reluctant to attend any of the schools; they all seemed to put emphasis on adapting her mutant skills instead of her education.

And, well, honestly? The students the schools interviewed for these pamphlets … they looked kinda scary.

Frustrated, Mulder stood up; none of this made any sense.

And Mulder didn't think he could sleep until he had some sort of clue to work with.

Snagging his jacket, Mulder left a note for the Bluestone sibs on his bed then headed out of the motel. Where was he going? Damned if he knew, but the unease he felt in his stomach …

Trotting out of his motel, Mulder waved for a taxi, and he directed several nasty thoughts at the first two that buzzed by.

Catching the third taxi, Mulder directed the driver to Boston Hospital, and, remarkably, managed to get there in less than thirty minutes.

With it being Friday night/Saturday morning, the hospital was naturally chaotic, and it wasn't difficult for Mulder to slip past the frenzied nurses. He didn't dare look any of them in the eye; nurses seemed to have an uncanny ability to spot a trespasser by just glancing in their faces.

Carefully maneuvering through the ICU, Mulder found Dara's room. A little concerned that there wasn't at least a security guard nearby, Mulder warily let himself into the hospital room.

He blinked as pale light flooded the room, a startling change from the blackness earlier that day. Wincing, he rubbed his eyes hard as he crossed the room to Dara.

Her respirator whirred softly, providing an eerie background noise for the heart monitor. Dara, her eyes taped shut, hardly breathed; the respirator was doing it all for her.

Swallowing hard, Mulder opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated; they say that unconscious people could hear you speak, but with the condition Dara was in, could she?

Well, even if she couldn't, Mulder would feel better stating right then and there that he was not a psycho.

"Dara," he said, surprised that his voice was soft. "My name is Fox Mulder. I'm helping some people investigate your …."

Your? Your what? Disappearance? Torture?

"Return," Mulder finished. He frowned at himself, studying the stitches on Dara's arm, the peeling sunburns. "I'm … I'm so sorry this had to happen to you."

Briefly wishing that she could reply, Mulder turned away, searching the room for anything the doctors might have left behind.

"Bing-o," he murmured, spotting a thick folder on a chair at the foot of Dara's bed. Picking it up, Mulder opened it and sat down, as though he were reading a bestseller.

At first, Mulder frowned at the charts and medical jargon, muttering, "Scully, where are you when I need you?" as he shuffled through some cards.

A legal notepad had been jammed in the middle of the folder, covered in the stereotypical, hard-as-hell-to-read doctor's script. Frowning, Mulder tilted it towards the lamp beside him.

"Whaddya mean, 'drastic increase in height?'" he said, rereading the notes.

Wait a minute--Dara grew six inches?

Arching an eyebrow, Mulder pulled out his notepad, writing down the sudden 'abnormalities' Dara displayed, and which the doctors forgot to mention earlier; height increase, obvious eye surgery, extreme muscle development, bony growths on her scapulas, knees, forehead, elbows, elongated canines, discoloration of skin pigmentation, severe anemia …

"Scully, you're gonna have a field day with this one," Mulder said, tucking the notepad back into his pocket. Closing the folder, Mulder smiled at the silent girl. "Don't worry, Dara … now that I know what they changed--"

His sentence ended in a horrified gasp as Dara's head suddenly snapped to the right, then the left, as a spasm ripped through her.

"Dara!!" Mulder cried, leaping to his feet, reaching for her--

Her right hand shot into the air, catching his wrist. Mulder yelped in shock, trying to jerk away, but was held tight in the girl's grip.

An animalistic snarl tore out of Dara's throat. Her eyes struggled to open, and she spasmed wildly again.

"Dara--!" Mulder started, trying to pry her fingers off of his wrist. Around him, monitors screamed, warning signals flashed--

And claws sprouted from Dara's fingertips.

Mulder nearly screamed, his mouth opened but his voice frozen in his throat. He stared in muted terror, watching as the stitches on Dara's arm sealed over, the thread breaking and falling to the ground, her skin turning a bluish-green.

Her snarl turned into a shriek, and she sat bolt right up, the tape over her eyes tearing, a hellish red glow illuminating from her eyes.

Her grip on Mulder's wrist tightened, breaking blood vessels, but he was too petrified to notice. He and Dara stared at each other; him trying to not to fly into a screaming fit, Dara looking as though she didn't understand what was going on.

The red light in her eyes faded, turning back to blue. She gazed at him oddly, not noticing the oxygen tube in her mouth, or the broken intravenous needles in her arms.

Mulder blinked.

Dara's face tightened in pain, a hiss racing from her mouth as her body seized up. The talons on her hands and the discoloration in her skin instantly disappeared as she lapsed into a violent seizure.

"Oh, shit," Mulder gasped, backing away from the shaking girl. "Oh, shit, oh shit!"

More sirens screeched from the monitors, and, startled, Mulder tripped and fell back into the chair he had been sitting in earlier. Too shocked to move, Mulder hardly drew a breath as several nurses rushed in, all screaming at each other, struggling to hold Dara still and administer a tranquilizer at the same time.

Mulder stared at the chaos blankly. "Oh shit."

Something suddenly entered his vision, shooting out with blinding speed. Mulder yelped as he felt razors dig into his bicep.

"MULDER!!!"

Baffled, Mulder spun around in his seat, looking up into the dark red face of a very pissed Livvy Bluestone.

"What the hell are you doing here?!!" she all but screamed, her eyes wild, her nails sunk deep into his bicep.

Remembering how little Olivia Bluestone had socked him one back during their days at Quantico, Mulder gasped in horror. "Oh, SHIT!!"

*******

"I cannot believe that you snuck into the hospital room of a critically injured girl at two in the morning--"

"Well, Livvy--"

"You read the doctors' files?!"

"Just the one on the table!" Mulder cried, throwing his arms up in exasperation, causing a few sleep-deprived heads in the Boston Field Office to turn in his direction.

Livvy was, to put it frankly, livid. All but tearing her trench coat off, she stormed over to her office, causing a few wayward papers to flutter off of desks as she passed. "It's bad enough that I can't get Matt out of my office--"

"Livvy--" Mulder pleaded, sprinting after her. "It's just--"

"Mulder, I asked you and Matt to come down here and help me find the tiniest clue in this case--and you almost screw it up by going into Dara's room without permission!!"

"But--"

"Do you realize that Doctor Greendale and Thomas thought you triggered Dara's seizure?! They just about accused you of poisoning her!!"

"Well, you know I didn't do that!" Mulder snapped, trailing her into her office and ignoring the baffled look on Matt's face, who sat behind Livvy's desk. "I thought there was more to all this than the doctors were telling us--or more than what you were telling me--"

Flinging her coat into a distant chair, Livvy spun around, her face twisted in rage. "Don't you dare accuse me of not telling you everything!!"

"Hey, I'm daring," Mulder shot back, driving his face right into hers. "I saw that file! The increase in height, her teeth, the growths all over her body? You never told me that!"

At first, Livvy paled. But then, when she realized what Mulder was talking about, all of the blood came roaring back into her face.

"All you had to do was ask," Livvy said, her voice threateningly quiet.

Recognizing the warning signs, Matt gasped, leaping to his feet and racing around the desk to plant himself between Mulder and Livvy--a suicidal move on his part.

"Guys, relax," he snapped, elbowing between the pair and gently--but firmly--pushing them away. "People forget things, right? Livvy forgot to tell you--she forgot to tell me until I poked around too."

Disgusted, Livvy tore her gaze away from Mulder. "I would have told you," she snarled, crossing the office to a gray countertop that bordered a wall behind her desk. Opening a file box, Livvy began to withdraw several huge folders. "But it was so crazy since Dara was found that I forgot. I forgot a lot of things, but if you're gonna stand around and accuse me of lying--"

"We're not doing that," Matt said quickly. Forcing a smile on his face, Matt quickly elbowed Mulder in the ribs. "Right Spooky?"

"Uff!"

Livvy snorted. "Whatever. But here, here's the copies of the medical file that Mulder went through all the trouble of finding." Pulling out two manila folders, Livvy handed one to both of them. "You want to know everything--at least everything that I know and understand? Okay; somebody kidnapped Dara Gibson and experimented on her. Why, I don't know. Where, don't know. How …? Damned if anyone knows.

"But what they did … well, what didn't they do? It's like they changed her entire being; she went from channeling sunlight to suffering from it. She had eye problems, but, when we found her, the doctors could tell there had been surgery performed to correct it.

"They took her wings, and apparently weren't too gentle about it. Those scars on her back are there for good.

"There's also slight scarring along her spine, and some serious scarring at the back of her pelvic bone … we thought something might have been inserted, but x-rays didn't turn up anything.

"She's undernourished and severely dehydrated … her front teeth have grown--they look like fangs! And her skin turns colors sometimes … nurses have heard her make noises, like growls …."

Livvy wasn't lying. Mulder could feel it in his gut, and he sighed, his shoulders slumping. There wasn't anything that she knew that could help them.

He shook his head. "Doesn't make any sense."

"Damned right it doesn't," Livvy snapped, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back against the counter. "That's why I asked Matt and you to come … to try to help …"

Uneasy, Matt glanced up from his folder. "Er … I, uh, asked for some … outside help on this," he said cautiously, his blue eyes flickering from Mulder's to Livvy's. "Hope you don't mind, Livvy."

Her eyes narrowed. "Who is it?"

"A friend," Matt said, shrugging. Noting Mulder's suspicious look, Matt grimaced. "An … unusual friend. Don't worry; she's trustworthy."

"Is she?" Mulder asked, wondering what in the hell Bluestone's 'friend' could be.

"Saved a few thousand lives a couple of weeks ago." Closing the folder, Matt tossed it onto the desk. "She'll be here tomorrow night. I'll introduce you guys."

"Hmph." Mulder didn't know whether to grin or stare at his old buddy in incredulity. If it was some kind of mutant … or Gargoyle …

Well, maybe that'd make it more interesting.

Forcing a heavy sigh, Livvy straightened. "Whatever … I'm exhausted. And I have to come back for work tomorrow at six."

"Today," Mulder corrected.

"Go to hell, Mulder," Livvy said wearily.

Bluestone chuckled, sharing an amused glance with Mulder. Suddenly, realization crossed his face, and Bluestone gasped, smacking the heel of his hand against his forehead. "Damn! Livvy, can I ask you a favor?"

"Maybe; what?"

"My friend … she wanted to know if you could get a DNA test on Dara?"

Surprised--to say the least--Livvy stared at her brother. "W-well … I guess so … why?"

Matt shrugged. "She has a hunch."

"And a tail?" Mulder inquired, tucking his folder under an arm.

Bluestone arched an eyebrow at him. "Possibly …"

"Cool!"

Finally tiring of this, Livvy waved her hands at them. "Okay, children, clear out; I dunno about the two of you, but I want to go to bed."

"Not me," Mulder said with a smirk. "I'm gonna meet somebody with a tail? Gee, I think I'll be awake all night!"

"Good night, Mulder!!"

Laughing, Mulder headed out of the office, trailed by Matt--and the two broke into a dead run as Livvy, finally seeing the mess, howled at the pile of faxes in the corner of her office.

3:43 AM

MANHATTAN:

Raking her claws over the padlock on the door, Awen allowed herself into the dark house. "This's his home?"

"Yes," Angela replied, unconsciously shivering in the warm breeze. "He hasn't been here for a couple of months."

Her eyes glowing faintly in the fathoming darkness, Awen gazed about the room with baited breath. "Hmph … I don't see anything … Sister?"

"One moment." Extending one turquoise hand into the silent room, Demona closed her eyes, drawing upon the energies surrounding the room. "No alarms. That's odd."

Planting her hands on her hips, Awen snorted at the darkness. "If you were going to leave a house full of valuables, why wouldn't you set up an alarm?"

"Maybe he wasn't planning on coming back," Angela suggested, finally stepping into the house.

"But where did he go?" Demona said, crossing the room to the sheet covered sofa along one wall. "It's almost as though he just packed a suitcase and left."

"Smart idea, on his part," Awen snarled, her eyes darkening. Allowing herself one short snarl, Awen folded her wings against her back. "After what he's done …"

Angela turned quickly to the elder Gargress, worry bright in her eyes. "Easy, Aunt … we're all furious at him, but there's nothing we can do--not until we've figured out where he's gone."

Surprised, Awen stared at her niece, then blinked, smiling at Demona. "She has her father's peace-keeping skills."

Demona returned the smile faintly. "I suppose she does."

Nodding, Awen turned about the room. "I'd suggest we split up, but seeing how Lexington described this place as being a death trap …" Remembering, Awen glanced at Angela. "I still don't like the idea of you lying to your father."

Angela grinned. "I didn't lie … I 'omitted certain truths', as Xanatos would say."

"Oh, hell," Demona groaned.

As annoyed as she was by Angela's deceit, Awen still had trouble keeping herself from laughing. "Well … Angela, you know this place better than I do. Show us the laboratory."

******

Sevarius hadn't been gone long enough for any dust to settle across his equipment, but Awen struggled not to hope unrealistically; they might not find any clues as to where he might have gone.

Demona and her child went through several filing cabinets and trash bins in Sevarius' office, looking for papers. Awen, not sure she knew what she should be looking for, explored Sevarius' lab, growling at the various computers and tanks and--

"Sister!"

Startled, Awen spun around, her wings flying open in alarm. "Demona, did you find something?"

"I might have. Come!"

Drawing in a deep breath, Awen sprinted across the lab towards her sister and her niece, where they were crowded around a computer terminal.

"Look at this," Demona snarled, tapping a talon on the glowing computer screen. "I turned it on, and this was the first thing I saw."

Awen blinked, bending down closer to read the illuminated type. "Map coordinates?"

"To someplace called 'the Savage Land'," Angela answered, her eyes narrowing. "But … it looks like …"

"Like it's in the North Pole," Demona finished, scrolling through the page quickly.

Awen arched an eyebrow. "What is it? Some sort of … facility?"

"It mentions several buildings there," Demona replied, leaning back in the computer chair to think. "Savage Land …? I might not be thinking of the same thing, but I could have sworn I heard of a 'Savage Land' recently …. I think it had something to do with that mutant leader, Magneto."

"Magneto?" Awen repeated, standing straighter. "I thought he ruled Genosha."

"He does," Demona said, glancing up at her sister. "Now, at least. He had a stronghold somewhere else before …"

"I could have Lex look into it," Angela offered, a hand reaching for a pouch at her belt that hid a cellular phone.

Awen nodded. "Might as well. He knows more about this bloody 'Net' than I do."

Glad to have something to do, Angela turned away to make her call. Demona shook her head, her eyes fixed on the computer screen. "He must've left here in a hurry. Otherwise, he would have deleted all of this."

"What would he be up to, though?" Awen asked, frustration rising in her voice. "This is all bloody confusing!"

Unable to answer, Demona looked away.

Angry, Awen turned away, walking towards a pile of trash Angela had been sorting. She busied herself with picking through it, frowning at several pieces with hastily written scribble.

"Look at this," she said, glancing to Demona. "This note--it says 'La Guardia Airport, 4-3-01, 8 A.M.'"

Accepting the note from Awen's outstretched hand, Demona turned back to the computer terminal. "He must have taken a flight," Demona mused, reading it over. "I'll access the flight records to see if Sevarius appeared--later though; I can't access the Internet from Sevarius' computer."

Placing a hand over the cell phone's receiver, Angela turned to her mother and aunt. "Lex found something."

"Already?" Awen asked in disbelief.

"Yeah … you were right, Mother; Magneto did have a stronghold in the Savage Land. He abandoned it several years ago, but--"

"Sevarius has been dealing in some real estate, eh?" Pocketing a few wadded pieces of paper, Awen stood. "Does Lexington have anything else for us?"

Angel nodded, listening to Lex yammer on for a moment. "He can show you back home."

"All right." Unfurling her wings, Awen gestured for Angela and Demona to follow. "We'd better go; there's nothing here, really, and the sun will be up soon. I don't want to be hanging around until then."

"Agreed," said Demona, powering off the computer and standing, the note clutched in one hand, while Angela told Lexington she would be home shortly.

Herding her family quickly through the laboratory, Awen felt her heart sink, and she reached into her pocket, finding the papers she had stealthily hidden from Demona. In her mind, the scrawled words echoed in her head endlessly.

"#56/08: DNA FROM SUBJECT: DEMONA."

10:16 PM

MAY 16, 2001

BOSTON HARBOR:

"This is insane," Livvy said, glancing briefly out of the car's windshield as she handed a third report to Mulder.

"What?" he asked, only half interested; all of his attention was focused on the DNA reports. "The fact we might be working with some gargoyle-thingie? That we're chasing mutants?"

"That Dara Gibson's DNA has been completely altered," Livvy answered, her voice filled with horror and anger. "These bastards, they changed her DNA! And she's dying from it!"

'Dying' brought Mulder back to earth with a resounding crash. He grimaced, glancing to Livvy in the backseat. "Yeah, you didn't tell us what happened this morning."

Livvy winced. "Her heart failed, Mulder. The doctors almost let her go, but her parents …"

Her voice trailed off, and Mulder decided to keep his silence; this was emotionally draining for Livvy, and he didn't want her to fall apart when they were moments away from meeting Bluestone's 'friend'.

Glancing briefly out to the docks to check on Bluestone as he waited, Mulder turned back to the folders in his lap; after he had seen a very worried, very pissed Livvy that morning, Mulder had retrieved the faxes from her office, frequently calling the Lone Gunmen up to quiz them on their findings.

Byers, Langly, Frohike, Yves, and Jimmy had made some frightening discoveries; though the Xavier and Frost schools were legit, the Essex school was not. In fact, it didn't exist; Byers had traced the address, and found only a big field in the middle of Pennsylvania.

That, and this Anton Sevarius guy Bluestone talked about was gone. Gone as in "Poof!", disappeared. Dropped off the face of the goddamn planet. Disappeared into thin, goddamn air.

The Gunmen had one report of a sighting of Sevarius in La Guardia Airport back in early April. He boarded an unmarked jet, and was gone.

Several more kidnappings similar to Dara's had occurred several times before and after her disappearance, all involving young, very powerful mutants. And after each other abductions, an aircraft described as a UFO was sighted leaving the area where the abduction had taken place, a week afterward.

But, of all the abductees who were returned afterwards, Dara had suffered the worst of the alleged experiments--and was still alive. Other returnees had died from lesser injuries, and some had looked as though nothing had happened to them at all.

So, what had happened to Dara?

And why?

Why had they changed her DNA? And what, exactly, was the kind of DNA they spliced into her genes? The doctors couldn't explain it; they said there were two different strands of DNA that had been spliced into Dara's, but they were from … creatures. Humanoid, but so strange, so many different strands.

"Oh, here we go."

"Huh?" Waking up from his trance, Mulder glanced back at Livvy, then forward, towards Bluestone, who waved for them to come.

His eyes narrowing, Mulder unbuckled his seatbelt. "This is gonna be an adventure," he muttered, slipping out of the car and falling in step beside Livvy.

Noticing that Bluestone was standing by himself, Mulder quickly surveyed the area; where was Bluestone's 'friend'? Hiding?

"Guys," Bluestone started, turning away slightly as they approached--and with a smirk that said he was going to love the expressions on his sister and Mulder's faces. "I'd like you meet Awen."

"Who?" Livvy demanded, peering behind him a bit.

"I don't see her," Mulder joined in, frowning.

Grinning, Bluestone pointed across from them, to a white fish delivery truck parked outside a warehouse.

Mulder hardly had time to blink.

With a loud 'kerwham!!', the creature dropped out of the sky, landing hard on the truck's roof, shaking the entire vehicle. Its gigantic, bat-like wings arched over its head, and its eyes glowed a threatening yellowish red in their direction.

"Holy--!!" Mulder started, instinctively reaching under his coat and snatching his gun from its holster.

"Oh my God!!" Livvy cried, her hand flying for her own weapon.

"Easy!" Bluestone yelped, leaping in front of them. "Don't shoot!"

"Matt, what the hell kind of company you been keeping these days?!" Mulder shouted, his eyes still fixated on the beast atop the truck.

"She's not going to hurt anybody!" Bluestone insisted, "Honestly!"

"Unless they try to hurt me first," a sharp, feminine voice hissed from the creature. "Put those things away!"

Startled, Livvy gave a strangled sort of yelp. Mulder gasped, feeling every hair on his body stand on end.

The creature's eyes began to darken, changing to a viscous red. "PUT THE GUNS AWAY!!"

Bluestone glanced at Livvy and Mulder, his expression growing hard. "Guys, for the love of God, put the guns away! We won't be able to get anything done if Awen's afraid you'll blow her head off."

Uncertain, Mulder returned his stare to the creature. It growled softly, its tail slowly whipping over the roof of the truck.

Against his better judgment, Mulder slowly straightened, inserting the gun back into the holster--but leaving the strap unbuttoned.

Slowly, Livvy began to straighten. "Matt, I know some weird shit's been goin' on up in Manhattan, but do you really have to bring it here?!"

Bluestone shot his sister his dirtiest look. "Olivia, Awen is not a puppy. Not an 'it'. She's a sentient being. She's a Gargoyle."

Finally, the creepy illumination in her eyes faded, and the figure stood up, hopping down from the truck like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Thank you, Matt."

He shrugged, stepping aside a bit to let Awen come into the lamplight. "No big. I just get irritated when people treat you like an animal."

The Gargoyle smiled gratefully at Matt, and Mulder had to suppress a shudder; as human as that smile was, it was full of fangs.

"I didn't mean to scare you," she said apologetically, pushing her raven hair back behind her pointed ears … and brow ridges … and horns … "I couldn't slow my drop, so I landed hard on the truck."

Livvy blinked, then glanced at Mulder. Mulder was only vaguely aware that he returned the look blankly; he was so in awe of Awen that his mind was completely empty.

He hoped he wasn't drooling.

Grinning at the dumb looks on their faces, Bluestone gestured to Livvy and Mulder. "Awen, this is my sister Olivia--we call her Livvy …"

Livvy smiled weakly. "H-h-hi …"

"And this is our friend from school, Fox Mulder."

A cold jolt tore through Mulder, and he found himself standing at immediate attention as the tall Gargoyle turned to rest her dark green eyes on him. "Hello."

"Uh …"

"Fox, is it?" She smiled. "We had a king named Fox once."

Mulder's eyes flew open. "You did? Have a king, I mean?"

"Yeah … way before my time, though." Gracefully, the Gargoyle caped her wings about her shoulders--not over them, but around them rather, like a shawl.

"I asked Elisa to get some help for us," Bluestone said, somewhat apologetically. "She asked Awen …"

"I have a few things to discuss with Sevarius anyways," Awen snorted, her white fangs flashing faintly in the bright lamplight. "But first, the girl. Is she all right?"

Dazed, Mulder glanced at Livvy, frozen beside him. Surprised that she didn't answer Awen right away, Mulder gave her a hard nudge in the ribs with his elbow.

"Huh?! Oh!!" Shaking herself out of her trance, Livvy swallowed hard, trying hard not to lose her nerve in front of the Gargoyle. "Uh, well, uh, n-no, uh, Dara's not im-improving …"

Awen's eyes widened in humanlike fear. "She's not?"

"N-no … she's very w-weak …"

The Gargoyle's shoulders fell, and, looking almost sad, tore her gaze away from Livvy, down to the wet cement at the talons on her feet.

"Oh," she said quietly.

She seemed so human. Mulder stared at the melancholy Gargoyle in amazement; she wasn't a silent beast, like he had always imagined the Gargoyles to be. She was ….

"She'll be all right."

Surprised, Awen, Bluestone, and Livvy all turned to stare at him.

Mulder blinked. "What??"

Bluestone returned the blink. "No, it's just … you've hardly said anything."

"Oh, well, I uh …" Sheepish, Mulder shrugged. "I was in shock."

Awen gave a short laugh. "I seem to have that affect on people. Right, Matt?"

"Tell me about it. Jeez."

Smiling slightly, Awen turned back to Mulder. "I think I know where Sevarius has gone."

"Really? Where?"

"Some place called the Savage Land … heard of it?"

"Oh, jeez," Livvy said, exasperated. "Not the mutant thing again …"

"I guess you have heard of it."

Livvy nodded. "Yeah … Magneto had a base or something up there?"

"Yes … we think Sevarius has gone there."

"By himself?" Bluestone asked incredulously.

Awen shook her head. "No … there's been some activity up there in the past few months. Dem--er …." Uneasy, she glanced at Livvy and Mulder. "My sister, she, uh, did some research. Somebody's up there, but …"

"But what?" Livvy pressed, forgetting her fear.

Not knowing how to explain it, Awen shrugged. "But he doesn't seem normal. I don't know how to explain it."

"So what do we do now?" Bluestone asked.

Surprised, Awen arched an eyebrow--or whatever it is Gargoyles had, brow ridge, whatever--at him. "We go. You, me, and either Mr. Mulder or Miss Livvy."

"I'll go!!" Mulder volunteered, his eyes lighting up like a gleeful boy.

Startled, Livvy gave a short laugh, then raised her hands in protest. "No, not me, thanks … no offense, Awen, but you're the weirdest thing that's happen to me now, and I don't want it to get any weirder than that."

"Ah, you're no fun," Mulder said, smirking.

Awen shrugged. "Fair enough. Besides, you're the head agent assigned to Dara Gibson's case. You should stay with her."

"The first sensible thing I've heard in two and a half weeks," Livvy said gratefully. Forcing another weak smile, she gave them a dismissing wave. "I'm going back to the hospital. Whatever you guys are gonna do, good luck."

"Thanks." Scratching the back of his head, Mulder turned back to the huge purple Gargoyle. "Okay, so … when do we leave?"

"Right now!" Unfurling her wings, Awen lashed a hand out, palm up, towards the docks nearby.

Overhead, a head-splitting crack of thunder resounded. Mulder and Bluestone both gasped, their heads snapping skyward to see where the hell the thunderstorm had rolled in.

Lightning arched out of a cloudless sky, forking through the air and striking the docks with a scream, sending blue sparks soaring in all directions.

Incredible white light flared up from the docks, piercing the night with a shriek as it contorted, brightening, spreading--

"Hang on!!" Awen roared. Catching Mulder by his coat collar, Awen grabbed Bluestone by the arm and lunged, falling straight into that endless white abyss.

*******

Digging her claws as deep as they would go into the soft rock, Awen snarled quietly, dipping her lithe tail down to the pair of very confused humans on a cliff shelf below. "We're here."

"Wonderful," Mulder wheezed, wincing as the snake-like tail wrapped around his waist and hefted him up. "Y'know, I've seen some pretty messed up things before …"

"Don't start, Mulder," Bluestone interjected, pressing himself against the cliff face as Mulder was lifted into the air. "I don't want to hear it. I'm just pretending this is all some strange, wonderful dream. And I'm hoping Glenda the Good Witch of the North will show up soon."

"Get your nails out of my tail!" Awen snapped as she dragged Mulder up to the mountain's summit. "You're breaking the bloody skin!"

"I ain't letting go until I'm safe on the ground!" Mulder retorted, keeping his death grip on Awen's tail. "This's scary as all hell!"

"Leggo!" Snarling, Awen unwrapped her tail from around his waist, shaking him loose and depositing him unceremoniously onto the ground.

"Oof!"

Not bothering to apologize, Awen let her tail fall down to Bluestone. "You're next."

"This's insane!" Bluestone muttered, squeezing his eyes shut so he wouldn't be able to see the misty jungle below them. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be more amazed of; the fact that I got here via portal, that I'm being dragged up to the abandoned stronghold of a crazed mutant-leader by the tail of a Gargoyle, that I've just engaged in a life or death struggle with a FREAKIN' PTERODACTYL MAN--!!!"

"I think it's cool!" Mulder said, grinning at Bluestone's sour look. "Me and Scully never got to do anything like this when I was back at the Bureau!"

"And Scully will be forever grateful," Bluestone said sarcastically.

Tiring of their yammering, Awen dropped Bluestone beside Mulder. "Well, here we are."

"Whee …" Frowning Mulder craned his neck up. "How do we get in?"

Snorting, Awen reached out with one hand, latching her talons into the smooth wall of the fortress. "I can climb … but, as for you two …"

Bluestone held his hands up. "I'm not about to do all that again."

"There's probably a doorway around the other side," Mulder suggested, shrugging. "You and me can look, while Awen climbs to the top."

Awen narrowed her eyes at that option. "I don't know … can you defend yourselves?"

"We have our guns," Mulder replied, patting the exposed holster. With the dusk time heat and humidity of this North Pole jungle, Mulder and Bluestone had quickly rid themselves of their jackets and shirts.

Awen frowned. "Well … well, alright. See you inside, boys."

She had barely gotten her toe talons into the wall before Bluestone stopped her again. "Aren't we forgetting something? Alarms?"

Mulder cringed; damn, it was always something ….

Awen frowned again, then shrugged. "Well … I didn't think of that, but Sister would have said something about it before I left. Maybe you should just wait out here."

"No way," Mulder snorted as Bluestone shook his head, saying, "I won't risk you getting hurt in there."

Frustrated, Awen glanced up to the top of the fortress. "All right, I'll go up and check first. Wait here until I let you know."

Satisfied with that option, Bluestone nodded.

Returning the nod, Awen launched herself up a few feet, finding footholds and driving her claws into the worn stone.

Mulder watched the graceful creature claw her way to the top of the fortress. "Matt, if we do get in there …?"

"Yeah …?"

"What do we look for?"

Surprised, Matt glanced at him. After a moment of musing, he shrugged. "Anything. Papers, medicines, doctors … victims."

*******

Her knuckles raw from climbing and battling sentries, Awen suppressed a hiss as sweat trickled into the scrapes. Shaking her hand to rid it of the pain, Awen risked another look down from the catwalk to the laboratory below her.

Thankfully, it was pitch black on the catwalk where she crouched. Save for her eyes, Awen blended in with the decrepit fortress's walls beautifully. Since she had managed to get in the building and duck into the shadows and crevices, Awen had not had a confrontation.

Except for the four dead mutants on the roof.

Releasing a slow breath, Awen warily sank to the rusted grating further, quietly lying on her stomach. Scooting towards the edge, Awen bit her lower lip in concentration, watching the dozen exhausted looking scientists below her.

A great, lulking figure covered in dark, shaggy blue fur bent over a moss-covered computer console, snorting and swearing as a readout slowly printed out.

Awen arched an eyebrow at the ape-like creature; who and what was that? Another victim?

"Sonofa …." Snarling, the creature balled up the print-up and flung it across the room. "Sevarius!!!"

Startled by the name, Awen sat bolt right up, smacking the top of her head hard against the catwalk's railing. Swearing silently--but vehemently--Awen gritted her teeth and rubbed her head hard, ducking as the lab-coated man directly beneath her turned away from his microscope.

"In-door voices, Dr. McCoy," Anton Sevarius chided, lifting one arm to wipe away the sweat slicking his forehead. "We don't want to frighten the patients--"

"Can it, you Frankenstein hack!" His eyes glaring a monstrous green-yellow, the blue-furred creature stalked towards Sevarius, both large-knuckled hands balled into fists. "The DNA you obtained is nothing but grade A shit!"

"You're just jealous that you didn't have any Gargoyle DNA on hand," Sevarius said coolly, even though he took a few tentative steps away from the beast. "I have the best there is--"

"You never told us that you got it from an immortal Gargoyle!"

"I never knew for certain that Demona was immortal!"

"What?" Not believing what she had just heard, Awen slid back across the catwalk, watching the beast back Sevarius into a corner.

Sullen, Sevarius reached across his chest to massage his right shoulder. "And you're one to talk, McCoy; that vampire DNA you obtained completely took over the girl's system … It turned her into a Dracula-bitch!"

The one called McCoy snarled, his fur bristling along the back of his neck. "Well, if you hadn't looked at her like she was this month's friggin' Playmate …"

Before McCoy was able to continue, another scientist rushed up to the pair. Both men fell silent as the new doctor whispered to them. Awen strained to hear, but it was impossible over the hum of computers.

Finally, both McCoy and Sevarius straightened, looking at each other in surprise.

"Intruders??" Sevarius asked, his bloodshot eyes wide. "Here? But who? Ka-zar?"

McCoy growled deep in his throat. "Yeah, right … we'd better go see the boss-man. Dunno what he'll want us to do."

Sevarius didn't reply, but reluctantly began to trail the troll-like man through the laboratory.

Awen cursed her horrible luck. She hesitated, maddened by the fact that though that pair of psycho bastards were leaving their little chamber of horrors, their co-workers were not. She couldn't follow the two without being seen by the other scientists.

'Matt, Mulder,' Awen thought furiously, 'I hope you're having more luck than I am.

'Because, as you would say in a situation like this … I'm screwed.'

*****

Swallowing hard, Mulder swept his flashlight across the damp corridor for a third time. "Hey, Matt … since when did we wander onto the set of The Island of Dr. Moreau?"

Wide-eyed, Matt shook his head hastily, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. "I dunno … but I'm wishing it was more like Gilligan's Isle right about now."

Whimpering, dozens of skeletal teenagers wheeled away from the prying light of the stolen flashlights. Some hissed threateningly at the beam, but most just shied away, cowering in a corner with their arms wrapped over their head, trembling uncontrollably.

"No no no, no more hurt, no no no …!" a girl whispered as she rocked back and forth in her cell, bashing her bony spine and head against a mildewed wall.

Biting his lower lip as hard as he could stand, Mulder risked shining the flashlight into the girl's cell, along her bare feet and bruised arms …

Wait a minute. Mulder squinted through the clammy darkness at the girl's arms.

Those weren't bruises.

Her arms were purple!

"They're all mutants," Mulder muttered, dazzling his light on a streak on vomit as it trickled through a drain, antagonizing a fat rat trapped beneath the grating.

"They're lab rats!" Bluestone snapped, his voice echoing dangerously in the hall.

"Lab rats live better than this," Mulder snarled, peering into another cell. A boy about fifteen years old snarled at him, dark, matted red fur standing on end as he skittered back into the furthest corner.

Mulder gasped in horror, in spite of himself. Suddenly ashamed of his reaction, Mulder turned away, shining the flashlight further down the halls. "How many are there?"

Uneasily stepping away from a webbed hand that reached pleadingly from its cell, Bluestone redirected his gaze down the hall, frowning as both his and Mulder's flashlights faded into nothingness. "Dunno … hundreds."

"Fivehundredseventytwo!"

"YARGH!!" When he hit the ground again, Mulder was immensely grateful that Scully hadn't been there to witness his Donald Duck sounding yelp. Wheezing for breath, he spun around, scrambling backwards towards Bluestone as he struggled to shine his flashlight on the voice's owner.

Blinking hard in the brilliant light, the girl in the first cell held up a hand. "Five-five-five hun-hun-hun-dred a-a-and se-seventy-two!"

"Five hundred …?" Bluestone echoed, his free hand frozen, poised just above his holstered gun. "You know? For real?"

The girl nodded, her filthy blonde pony-tail bobbing in the musty air. "Ye-ye-yes. Five-five-five hundred an-and seventy two. Used-used-used to be one-one-one thou-thousand, they-they said. Bu-but since I-I-I came h-h-h-here … four-four-four hun-hundred and twe-twenty eight sub-subjects …g-g-gone."

All fear gone, both Bluestone and Mulder rushed to the girl's cell door, not really noticing when she gasped and scooted fearfully away.

"What happened to the others?" Mulder hissed.

Swallowing hard, the girl nervously licked her lips--and a long, barbed tongue flicked out of her mouth. It was all Mulder could do to keep from recoiling in disgust.

"I'm-I'm-I'm n-not rrrreally s-s-sure," the girl said, rubbing one hand over her raw, purple knuckles. "Some-some-some die … some-some-some get s-s-sent to-to-to Geno-sha …sometimes-sometimes-sometimes you-you-you get t-to go home."

She winced as she spoke the last word. "I-I-I di-didn't always-always-always t-talk like this," she said apologetically. She tried to smile. "They-they-they did th-th-the ele-elec-electro-cution on m-m-me, and-and-and it w-w-went wrong."

Mulder felt his stomach plummet through the floor.

It seemed like hours before Bluestone was able to force a word out. "They … experimented on you?"

The girl nodded again, almost eagerly. "But they, but they, but they say I'm-I'm not go-good no-no more. I just-I ju-I just take th-th-the shots now, and-and-and g-g-get sick."

Finally, she blinked at them. "Y-y-you m-mutants t-too?"

"No," Mulder answered, his voice croaky. He was afraid he was going to be sick right there and then.

The girl shrugged. "I had--I could rrrrregrow m-my ar-ar-arms a-a-and l-legs a-and stu-uff … C-Can't no more."

The girl fell silent for a moment, biting her lower lip with broken yellow teeth. "I'm-I'm-I'm scared … They've been, they've been m-mean t-t-to us, a-and th-they h-urt us worse. They-they've been me-mean 'cuz B-B-B-Beta tr-tried to kill Se-Se-Se-"

Matt's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Sevarius?!"

"You know?!" Looking almost relieved, the girl slid closer to her cell door. "B-B-Beta h-h-hurt h-him … h-his arm's g-g-gone."

Mulder looked at the young mutant incredulously. "What?"

"S'true!" the girl snapped defensively. "Beta rrrrripped h-his a-arm off. I-I-I saw! Gone, rrrright h-here!" Extending her right arm, the girl tapped her elbow, just above the tattooed serial numbers. "And-and-and B-Beta h-h-hurt the-the-the beast, and the, and the, and the b-bad m-m-man."

Mulder's eyes narrowed. "The bad man? What's his name?"

Throughout the cell block, the captive mutants snarled and wailed, begging the girl not to tell Mulder and Matt the 'bad man's' name.

Her eyes brimming with tears, the girl shook her head fiercily. "N-n-no! No! I-I-I c-c-can't s-say!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Mulder hushed, reaching to place a comforting hand on the girl's arm.

Seeing his raised hand, the girl gave a petrified cry and scrambled several feet away from Mulder, smearing her day old vomit across the floor of the cell.

"D-d-d-d-on't h-h-hurt m-me!"

Startled, Mulder immediately dropped his hand, hiding it behind his back. "Okay, I'm not gonna. Look, it's gone!"

Oddly, the girl believed him, but not enough to approach him again. Frowning in momentary dismay, Mulder lowered his voice to 'sweettalk' mode. "Okay, I'm not gonna do anything … What's your name?"

She looked at him in disbelief. "1013-2-2783. See?" She held out her right arm again, showing off her ID numbers.

Mulder winced. "Uh, okay … I'm gonna call you 'Ten' for short. Okay?"

The girl nodded.

"Uh, okay … Ten, you keep talking about somebody called 'Beta'. Who is that?"

Uneasy, Ten glanced away, looking down at the putrid floor of the cell. "B-B-Beta …? I saw, I saw, I saw her o-o-once o-o-or t-t-twice. Th-th-they w-w-were rrrrreally m-mean t-t-to h-her most of-of all."

"Do you know her name?" Matt asked, his voice gentle yet impatient.

Ten shook her head. "N-no … I-I-I s-saw h-her a few, a few, a few days af-after I c-c-came h-here. Sh-sh-she had these-these wings … like an-an-an ang-el …"

Gasping, Matt and Mulder both spun around to stare at each other with matching expressions of horror.

"Dara!!" they hissed in unison.

Matt gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as his grip on his flashlight doubled. "Those goddamn ASSHOLES!!!"

"Bluestone, calm down!" Mulder hissed, grabbing Matt by the arm. "Keep your voice down, or we'll get caught!"

Too crazed with rage to listen, Matt shook Mulder off and stood up. "We gotta get these kids out of here!"

"Rrrrreally?!" Ten asked, her voice perking like an excited five year old. "C-c-can I g-go h-h-h-home?"

Again, noise erupted throughout the cellblock; homesick teenagers raised roars alongside cries. It was nearly three full minutes before Mulder and Matt were able to calm them all down.

Unholstering his gun, Matt glanced at Ten. "Are all the kids in this block?"

Ten shook her head again. "N-n-no … b-b-but you c-can o-open all the, all the, all the cells a-at the s-s-same time!"

Rising shakily, Ten slipped a hand through the bars of her cell and pointed back up the hall where Matt and Mulder had originally emerged. "Up-up there … th-th-the guard's off-office … s-s-s-somebody's always, always in th-there.

"Th-th-the g-guard has a, has a, has a keycard … Y-y-you p-p-put it in the, in the, in the slot … it's, it's easy …"

"Easy?" Mulder echoed, looking at the girl in disbelief. "The guy in there's got eight arms, and you're telling me it's EASY?"

Ten shrugged. "H-H-He's s-slow … a-a-and st-stupid …"

Prepping the chamber, Matt allowed himself a grim smirk. "I'll go … I'm a better shot than you, Spooky."

"Would you stop calling me that?!"

******

It was a wonder that McCoy--the hairy, Dr. Giggles-esque scientist--hadn't picked up on Awen's scent yet. She silently thanked whatever god that might be helping her as she twisted her neck, straining to see McCoy and Sevarius as they wound their way through the torturous hallways of the fortress, constantly snarling and taunting each other with acid-tipped insults.

Digging her claws deeper into the ceiling, Awen prowled warily above the moronic scientists. She couldn't really hear what they were saying--aside from the constant shots at each other's manhood--but their stances became increasingly uneasy as they trekked through the fortress.

Showing no signs of stopping, Awen silently groaned; her joints were beginning to ache from her sojourn over the walls and ceilings. She didn't want to go much further.

Gears rusted from years of humidity screamed as they roared to life, dragging open a nearly camouflaged door just as Sevarius and McCoy passed. Startled, both scientists yelped and wheeled around, scrambling backwards as the door ground open. High above them, Awen gasped, her toe claws releasing their grip on the ceiling. A bolt of panic shot through her as she dangled above the scientists, her hands burning from the strain.

Gritting her fangs, Awen swung her legs back up, digging her talons back into the ceiling. Rolling her eyes heavenward, Awen slowly released the breath she wasn't aware that she was holding. "Phew."

Hearing hollow footfalls below her, Awen craned her neck back--and bit her lower lip hard to keep her from screaming in horror.

A man nearly twice her size stalked through the opened door, causing both Sevarius and the monstrous McCoy to flinch involuntarily. The man glared at them, his eyes glowing red through his skeletal, white face.

"You idiots!" the man spat, his white fangs glinting dangerously in the dim light. "What are you doing here?"

Glancing at Sevarius, McCoy narrowed his eyes at the little man. Insulted, Sevarius returned the glare.

Frowning, McCoy muttered an explicative in Sevarius' direction before turning to the man. "We were told that there were intruders here, Sinister--"

"Yes, yes, I know that," the man--Sinister--said impatiently, waving a taloned hand dismissively. "My guards are searching for them now."

"Do you know who they are?" Sevarius asked, massaging his right shoulder again. Why did he keep doing that?

"Who they are is of no concern," Sinister snapped, turning away from the pair.

McCoy arched an eyebrow. "But if they got past Sauron, they must be pretty good."

"Sauron is but one beast!" Sinister said, his tone growing more irritated. "Any mere human could slip past him--but what could they do against a hoard of my mutants?"

"I still don't like it," McCoy grumbled, "we had sentries on the roof … how--"

"Don't you ever shut up?!" Sinister roared, spinning around, steam rising from his infuriated eyes. "If this is something worth worrying about, I'D HAVE KILLED THE INTRUDERS BY NOW!!!"

The hackles on McCoy's neck stood on end and Sevarius jerked back, as if in fear. Even Awen felt an involuntary shiver rip through her--and she winced; if this man was able to make her frightened ….

Suddenly, skull ringing sirens shrieked throughout the corridor and this time, Awen lost her grip entirely. Gasping, she twisted her body in midair, unfurling her wings as quickly as she could, but that barely slowed her descent.

Hearing the gasp, Sinister's skull-like head snapped ceilingwards. His glaring eyes widened in shock, and he opened his mouth to bellow an order to Sevarius and McCoy.

"Huuh!" Grunting in strain, Awen lashed her left leg out, catching Sinister in the chin and sending him side-flipping into McCoy.

Hitting the ground hard, Awen grimaced, then pushed herself up, rolling off of her shoulder. She snarled as she spun around, raising her fists in a defensive stance.

Amazed to see both Sinister and McCoy hit the ground, Sevarius wheeled around in a panic, his lab coat flapping open to reveal his right arm.

"What in God's name happened to you?!" Awen hissed, her eyes widening at the bandaged stump.

His face reddening, Sevarius quickly pushed the limb back beneath the coat. "I'm surprised you care!" he snapped, rage choking his voice. "One of my pet projects went--how shall I say it?--friggin' postal on me!!!"

"Projects?" Sickened, Awen bared her fangs at him. "Too bad that's all she did."

Steam rising from his eyes again, Sinister shoved the dazed McCoy off of him and leapt to his feet. "Who the blazes are you?!"

Awen's own eyes changed from yellow to red as she roared over the din of the sirens.

"By the time I'm through with you," she snarled, charging forward, "You won't have enough teeth left to say my name!!"

*********

"Dammit Mulder, turn it off!!"

"I would if I knew how!!"

Hanging somewhere between panicked desperation and extreme disgust with Mulder's lack of supercomputer skills, Bluestone shoved him aside and began to fiddle with the keyboard. "Turn off, damn you!!"

Mulder winced, the sirens reaching a painfully loud scream. He clapped his hands over his ears and glared at Bluestone. "Figured out how to play solitaire on it yet?!"

"Sonofa--!!!!" Bluestone gritted his teeth, looking up fearfully out of the office windows. "The cavalry's gotta be comin' now!"

"Ah, hell with it!" Unholstering his gun, Mulder took blind aim and fired, shattering the circuitry and tearing wires.

Instantly, the sirens and warning light faded.

Seeing Bluestone's incredulous stare, Mulder shrugged and grinned. "Who needs a Swiss Army knife when you got one of these babies?" he asked, holding up the Magnum.

Bluestone opened his mouth to return a withering reply, but he was cut off by the roaring cheers of the captive mutants.

Startled, Mulder looked up, watching as Ten and the teenagers around her kicked open their cell doors and come swarming down the hall.

The sight was incredible; Mulder felt his breath rush out of his lungs as he gaped at the hundreds of mutant children charging out of their cells.

It wasn't just the number that startled Mulder so; it was the strange and sometimes grotesque physical attributes the teenagers developed from their mutations …

And possibly, their experimentations.

Grinning wildly, Ten raced up to the warden's office, pounding her palms against the pane glass to get Mulder and Bluestone's attention. "C-c-c-c'mon!!!"

Unholstering his gun again, Bluestone hopped over the dead body of an adult mutant laying haphazardly in the doorway. "Where're we goin'?"

Surprised by his question, Ten stared at him, her joy dissolving painfully quick. "Wh-wh-what? Y-y-y-you d-don't kn-kn-know?!"

Pressing himself up against a wall to avoid the thousands of stampeding feet, Mulder reached out and smacked Bluestone's shoulder. "Where the hell is Awen?!"

"Good question!!" Falling into step behind the last few hundred stragglers, Bluestone sprinted ahead, Ten close behind. "Although with all this racket, I bet Awen won't have much trouble finding us!"

That didn't give Mulder a lot of comfort; if he was gonna be fighting mutants, he wanted a Gargoyle on his side, at least. Shrugging to himself, Mulder broke into a run, catching up with Bluestone and Ten.

"How-how-how--" Ten stammered between pants.

Bluestone finished the sentence for her. "How are we gonna get out?" He shrugged. "I don't know! God, I wish Goliath was here!"

Now that they were free, the teenage mutants surged forward into the largest single room in the fortress, a coveted mess hall. So crazed with rage, the teenagers didn't hesitate to attack the ugly-as-hell guards that tried to battle them back.

Reaching the topmost catwalk, Mulder, Bluestone, and Ten skidded to a halt, watching in mounting horror as the captive mutants' joy turned into panic. Not knowing who was leading them, or how they were going to get home, fear began to spread, and the teens began to fight amongst themselves, all struggling to find an exit, all looking for a leader.

Ten swallowed hard. "This-this-this--"

"Is bad," Mulder finished. He shook his head. "Bad, bad, bad, bad!"

Ten narrowed her eyes at him. "I coulda, coulda said that!!"

Matt shot a glance at Mulder over Ten's head. "Dammit, we need Awen!"

Gritting his teeth, Mulder turned and sprinted back up the hallway. "Stay here! I'll try to find her!"

"Mulder!!" Bluestone roared, starting after him. "You don't even know where to look!"

"Don't worry!" Mulder shouted back to him, "I have an uncanny ability to get myself into trouble! Awen will find me, if not vice versa!"

"MUL-DERRRR!!!" Bluestone bellowed, ready to go tearing after him. To Mulder's relief, a frightened Ten latched herself onto Bluestone's arm, anchoring him to the mess hall catwalk. With Bluestone's attention diverted, Mulder tore up the hallway, taking all sorts of turns away from the mess hall, back towards the cell block, then towards the labs he and Bluestone had passed earlier.

In theory, Awen would have tried to find Sevarius first; it seems that the Gargress had some kind of grudge against the God-wannabe. She would've gone to the labs first, right?

His lungs started to burn in the humid air, and Mulder wheezed, cursing himself for smoking when he was younger.

Wincing, Mulder slowed his pace, glancing uncertainly around him. Damn, there were so many labs! Which one did Awen go into?

Shrugging to himself, Mulder pointed to each lab door. "Einey, meany, miny--"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY, DAMNED FOOL!!!"

"Moe?!" Gasping, Mulder swung around, raising his gun at the voice, but a flurry of white cloth blinded him, and he swore, feeling something run into him.

"Wholuph!" both he and the scientist yelped, slamming to the floor with huge thuds.

"Dammit," Mulder hissed, feeling his ribs begin to bruise. Grimacing, he rolled over onto his knees and sat up, gasping.

"HEY!!!" Mulder roared, his eyes flying open in shock as Anton Sevarius staggered to his feet, struggling to wipe blood away from his face with his shoulder while cradling the stump of his right arm with the other.

"Stop!!" Mulder shouted, grabbing his fallen gun and scrambling to his feet, starting to sprint after the limping scientist.

A bloodcurdling scream brought Mulder to a skidding halt, made him turn around and look down the dark hallway that Sevarius had come tearing out of.

Ignoring the ache in his ribs, Mulder ran into the smothering blackness. "Awen?"

Scuffling noises echoed throughout the tomb-like hall, and suddenly, a crack like that of a punch shattered the stillness.

"Mulder?!"

Two pairs of red eyes turned to stare at him, and Mulder felt himself jump out of his shoes. Instinctively, his gun arm snapped up, aiming the weapon at the demonic eyes that seemed to bounce towards him.

Breaking out of the enveloping shadows, Awen bounded forward on all four feet, her clothes streaked with blood and her skin mottling from bruises.

"Are you all right?" she cried, straining to see out of one swollen eye.

"Uh, yeah--" Remembering suddenly the kids back in the mess hall, Mulder grabbed Awen's scraped shoulder, reining her to a halt. "We found the other prisoners! We gotta get them out of here!"

"But Sevarius--!"

"Forget Sevarius!" Mulder bellowed, already turning to run. "We're gonna have big trouble if--"

With a primeval scream, a monstrous human lunged from the darkness, his red eyes steaming and fangs bared, clawed hands outstretched towards a horrified looking Awen.

The man landed hard on top of Awen in a tackle that would have made quarterbacks cringe. Awen cried out in terror and pain, her whip-like tail lashing wildly as the human hooked an arm around her neck, and planted a hand behind her head.

Standing, the mutant took Awen right off her feet, swinging her around in arch, snarling in murderous rage as he press against her head, trying to snap her neck.

Not knowing what else to do, Mulder raised his gun.

"Hey, DRACULA!!!"

Surprised by the new voice, the mutant turned its skeletal face towards him--

--and Mulder blew his head off.

Grayish matter splattered across the walls, and an unearthly shriek filled the air as the body's arms released Awen in a pain spasm, reeling back and colliding with a wall, sliding to the ground, quivering.

Not fully understanding what he had just done, Mulder stared at the headless body, feeling bile burn in his throat. He shook his head, refusing to believe that … that he …

Choking hard, Awen forced herself to her feet and staggered towards Mulder, catching his arm in her taloned hand. "C'mon Mulder …"

"But …"

Her eyes glaring red, Awen yanked Mulder towards her, driving her face into his. "That thing is not dead! It's not even human!! It's-it's--"

Snarling, Awen gave the twitching body a look of disgust. " … sinister."

That didn't give Mulder much comfort, but Awen wasn't willing to give him time to get over it. Snarling, she pulled Mulder away from the body. "We've gotta get out of here before it regenerates!"

"Wh …?" Sickened, Mulder looked back at the corpse. Did he really--?

Frustrated with his guilt, Awen spun him around and roared into his face. "LOOK WHAT HE DID TO DARA!!! TO THE OTHERS!!! HE DOESN'T DESERVE YOUR SYMPATHY!!!!"

Mulder blinked, realization dawning on him. "You're … you're right." Setting his jaw, he shook himself out of Awen's grip. "C'mon--I'll lead you to the others."

6:59 PM

MAY 18, 2001

BOSTON HOSPITAL:

Drawing in a steadying breath, Mulder slowly opened the door to the hospital room, carefully poking his head in to see if she was awake. "Dara?"

Startled, the girl wheeled around in her seat, her heart monitor increasing its beeps. "O-oh! Are you Agent Mulder?"

"Yeah … is it okay if I come in?"

"Um …" Hesitating, Dara nodded, nervously reaching up to readjust the oxygen tubing around her face. "Yeah."

"Okay." Trying to look friendly, Mulder smiled as he slipped into the hospital room. "You got some fancy digs here now … This's a big step up from the room you were in before."

Dara smiled as strongly as she could. "Yeah … I have a window."

"And lots, and lots of flowers," Mulder commented, touching the buds on a bouquet of roses. "Hope ya don't have hay fever."

Dara laughed, and almost immediately erupted into coughing. Embarrassed, she wiped her mouth hastily, glancing back out her window that she sat beside. "No … but some of these …" She shrugged. "I don't remember whom they're from."

"Well, there are a lot of flowers," Mulder said, helping himself to a seat a few feet from Dara's skeletal form. "I'd have trouble keeping track too--"

"No, I didn't mean that," Dara interrupted, her bloodshot eyes falling to the crumpled tissues in her lap. "I don't know these people. They say they're from my school and stuff … but …" Swallowing hard, she shook her head. "I don't remember."

"Oh," was all Mulder could muster.

Drawing in a raspy breath, Dara glanced back up at him. "I only woke up yesterday, and all of the mutant schools are on my case now." She grimaced. "I wish they'd leave me alone."

Oddly hurt by Dara's plight, Mulder couldn't find any comforting words to speak. Saddened, he glanced away, back to the insultingly cheery 'Get Well Soon' cards and slowly wilting flowers and balloons.

Twisting a tissue between her pale hands, Dara spoke again. "The doctors don't really know if I'll ever be able to go out in the sun again," she said. She shrugged. "They don't know shit … I'm gonna be trapped in this goddamned hospital for the rest of my life."

Mulder winced. "It's not that bad--"

"You can say that 'cuz some dickhead didn't mess around with your DNA!" Dara spat, maybe more fiercely than intended. Her elongated canines glinted faintly in the lamplight as she continued. "It might not be bad to you, but this is hell for me!"

Suddenly, tears brimmed threateningly in her eyes, and Dara impatiently wiped them away. "When I find the bastard that did this to me, I'm gonna kill him."

Startled, Mulder stared at her. Dara tried to meet his stare evenly, but she was so weak.

Tears splashed onto her cheeks as she began to sob.

*

Watching as Mulder moved to comfort the weeping girl, Matt Bluestone glanced at the creature beside him. "Will you meet her?"

Grimacing--in both physical and emotional pain--Awen shook her head, readjusting her sling around her neck. "Not yet … she needs much more time to recover."

"What about Demona? She should know about her …"

That was something Awen had been praying that Matt wouldn't pose to her. Drawing in an unsteady breath, Awen shifted her weight onto her good leg, staring straight ahead into that hospital window, where her niece--Demona's half-child--sobbed.

"I don't know," Awen said finally, welcoming the breeze as it whispered over the roof of the adjacent hospital wing. "Demona should know, but I don't know how I'm going to tell her … Dara's cells were manipulated, using Demona's DNA. That … that almost makes Dara Demona's child."

Matt grimaced at that thought. "But Demona hasn't totally gotten over her hate of humans, right?"

"Yes."

"So it might be dangerous …?"

Awen didn't reply.

Glancing at her, Matt sighed. "Dara's gonna need a lot of help."

"Yes … but she won't be willing to receive it." Shrugging, Awen pointed to the girl with her free hand. "After all she's gone through … I'll be amazed if she ever learns to trust people again."

Slowly, Matt nodded. "But what if she gets in trouble again?"

"Then I'd feel sorry for the poor bastard who messes with her," Awen answered, glancing briefly at Matt. "If her mutation's so developed that she turned to vampirism for survival …"

Shuddering, Matt shook his head. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Me neither."

"Well …" Sighing again, Matt checked his watch. "I gotta go. Me and Mulder are meeting Livvy for dinner. You leaving tonight?"

Awen hesitated before answering. "I … think so."

"Mpmh, well … see ya back in NY in a few, okay?"

"Sure." Nodding her goodbye, Awen turned her gaze back to the hospital windows where so many of the rescued teenagers were staying, waiting to go home.

Finally, Mulder stood, bidding Dara a good night. The girl half-heartedly nodded, turning to look back out at the settling night.

Seeing that pale face, Awen bit her lip, feeling tears burn her eyes.

That poor girl had more in store for her than anyone knew.

The End