Puppy and the Brain

by HollowShadowWolf

Being a reluctant lab rat for a company running secret, illegal and often painful and morally wrong, human experiments is frankly not very fun at all. Though the company you can end up around isn't always so bad.

A/N: What started as a funny and fluffy video to the Pinky and the Brain theme song, turned into an angst riddled fic of human experimentation. I honestly don't know how my brain works sometimes. Be warned the science and technobabble is wildly fantastical, like Hollywood Blockbuster level, so you may wanna suspend your disbelief even further at the door.

Dedicated to Missie because she wanted some angst. Well here it is so be careful what you wish for. Special thanks to Boo and Bailey for reading what I had after I burnt out and telling me I wasn't writing complete garbage. Both of your running commentaries were gold and helped me finish.

---

Nonsensical humming echoed around the plain white room, only adorned with the seams of a handleless door and a long mirror on the far wall.

The source of the humming sat on the sorry excuse for a bed, really a metal slab welded to the wall and secured by a chain on either side with a thin mattress and even thinner blanket on top, swinging her legs underneath it.

Missy leant back against the wall continuing her tuneless melody, looking around the room and seeing the same empty room and same basic walls she'd been looking at for god knows how long.

She didn't have any idea how long she had been in this room.

Hours and days melded together, making time meaningless.

It made her almost beg for those days she'd be taken for experimentation or testing.

She couldn't remember anything of life outside this lab.

All she had was her name.

Everything else had been stripped from her and replaced with the unnatural and abnormal so called 'gifts' from these mad scientists.

Missy shook her head of those thoughts, it never helped to dwell on them, and went back to her singing.

---

It was the middle of the night when she first heard the screaming. Or at least she assumed it was the middle of the night. She didn't have any means of telling the time of day let alone a calendar. But her room had been dark and she had been sleeping, so logically it must have been the middle of the night.

It had been so long since she'd heard screaming again in this place. Lord knows she hadn't felt the need in a while. They must have acquired a new subject for their latest scheme.

It was the usual screaming. Pure agony mixed with fear. She couldn't hear the begging and sobbing since she was too far away, but she was sure it was there. It was always there.

Though she was sure the screaming mixed with howling at times. She wondered what use they could possibly have with a dog. Nothing nice given the sounds it made.

Whoever the new lab rat was, they were clearly responding well to whatever experiments the scientists had concocted, since Missy was left to her own devices more than before. Her weekly check-up and assessments still came around like clockwork, as did meal and clothes rotation, but additional testing seemed to have ceased.

They must be having fun with their new toy.

---

"You're thinking about something?"

"I'm always thinking about something you halfwit. That's why I got this job."

"Funny I thought it was the ability to inflict pain on other people without remorse."

"Excuse me?"

"I meant, of course, Madame. Why wouldn't you be thinking? What were you thinking about?"

"Our new subject is promising. However there have obviously been some problems."

"Obviously. Seven's episodes have been rather… frequent as of late."

"Hmm. However, I have noticed that her episodes are worse when she's left to her own devices for long periods. When not counting those after experimentation, of course."

"Of course. So what did you have in mind Madame?"

"Maybe we should give her some company? Three could use a friend perhaps, don't you think?"

---

Roughly a month had gone by since the new screaming had first started, or at least that's how long Missy thought it had been, when something interesting happened.

She was being lead back to her cell after her weekly appointment, when she felt a familiar aura she hadn't encountered in quite a while.

Sure enough her door came into view and she saw a guard standing next to the woman Missy had identified as attached to the aura.

She looked no different from the last time Missy had seen her. Red hair perfectly curled atop her head, dressed all in black with heels to match. As Missy grew ever closer, the woman turned from the one-way mirror that looked into the cell she'd been gazing into, revealing that odd eye patch and that painted smirk, so vicious it rivalled Missy's own. A smirk that was now turned on Missy.

"Ah Three how nice to see you again," Kovarian purred as Missy was pulled to a stop by her guards in case she tried something funny.

"Can't say I feel the same," Missy said with a sniff.

"Now, now," the older woman tutted, "There's no need for that. Not when I've been nice enough to leave you a present." Missy narrowed her eyes at the woman as she paused. "Some company."

Missy blinked and frowned, thoroughly confused. Kovarian grinned wide at the brunette's bewilderment. She eyed her guard and jerked her head in the direction of the cell door. The guard nodded and moved to the panel by the door, placing his hand to be scanned. The red light above the panel turned green and the door slid open.

"Have fun, and play nice won't you." Kovarian smirked one last time at Missy. "You can be a bit rough, and this one's… a little fragile."

The woman waggled her fingers in a small wave as one of the guards prodded Missy forward into her room. Missy stumbled a little but recovered quickly, still watching Kovarian closely even as the door slid shut again, leaving nothing but a flat wall and only the faint seams of the door visible.

Missy slowly turned and scanned the bare white room, not seeing anything out of place until she reached the far left corner. There, huddled as close to the walls as possible, was a young woman. Missy cocked her head as she studied the new addition to the room.

Her outfit mostly matched Missy's. All white, and rather clean leading Missy to believe she'd been given a new set before being dropped in the older woman's cell. The plain scrub like trousers and canvas shoes were the same as Missy's, though where Missy had a short sleeved t-shirt, this one seemed to be wearing a tank top. She had her legs pulled up to her chest, her right arm wrapped around them with her hand loosely clutching at the material of her trousers, the left hidden somewhere else, and her head firmly buried in her knees. Short brown hair was pulled into some semblance of a pony tail, with a few strands out of place and falling forward, helping to conceal her face further.

Missy slowly started to walk towards the younger woman. The arm and hand she could see was covered in bruises as well as a fair few scrapes, cuts and what looked to be electrical burns. Missy could see a somewhat dirty and blood stained bandage around that right hand, indicating that they had shoved her in fresh clothes but probably didn't bother with much else. The closer she got, all she could read from the other brunette was fear and pain. Missy exhaled as she came to a stop about five feet from the curled up ball. They appeared to have done a number on this one.

Missy continued to observe for a moment, noticing the other was beyond tense. Every muscle taut and, despite being hunched over, body completely rigid. Missy spotted a slight tremor in the other's form. Watched as her hand moved faintly to grip tightly at her trousers. She might be hiding her face, but she was either still able to see Missy, or was listening very intently. Missy cleared her throat softly, seeing that despite the low volume even that made the young woman flinch slightly.

"Hello?" Missy waited but received no answer. "Not very chatty are we?" Missy took a step forward and the other brunette flinched again, backing even further into the corner if that was even possible. Missy stopped, hearing the other's shaky, muffled breathes. Missy clicked her tongue. "Well if that's how you're going to be."

Missy turned and went to her bed, lying down on the uncomfortable slab and staring up at the ceiling, not giving the other a second thought as she closed her eyes

---

Missy blinked blearily into the semi-darkness and yawned. She'd obviously dozed off and while she'd been asleep they'd turned the lights out. If you could even call it lights out. The fluorescent strips used to illuminate her blank cell were dimmed to emergency levels. Enough that sleep could still be achieved but you could still just make out features of the room. Just in case she needed to be watched as she slept Missy assumed.

She stretched slightly and looked over to the corner she'd left her new friend in, only to find it empty. Missy sat up quickly, surprised at the sudden panic that settled in. She shouldn't care really. She normally didn't. But this one had struck a chord already. That concerned her a little. She shook her head of the intrusive thoughts of feelings, and instead searched the room for any sign of her new companion.

Missy looked around, eyes straining to look out into the barely lit room, before she stopped as soft breathing that wasn't hers finally filtered into her ears. She frowned and tried to pin point where the source of it was, before realising it was coming from below her.

She carefully leaned over the side of the bed and looked underneath, to see her missing companion, curled up on her side on the floor, fast asleep and looking much like a small puppy. Missy settled down to lie a little more comfortably and lean on her now crossed arms to examine her new apparent roommate.

Now that Missy could see her face somewhat, the older woman could confirm that she was indeed young. Younger than Missy had thought at first. Somewhere in her twenty's maybe. She was still trying to appear as small as possible Missy surmised, even in sleep. A sleep that Missy assumed wasn't entirely peaceful if the small frown on the other brunette's face was to be believed. The older brunette sighed and leaned forward a little more deciding to wake up the poor thing since the floor couldn't have been comfortable.

"What are you doing under there?"

The effect was instantaneous as the woman's eyes flew open and she jumped in pure fear, trying to get to her feet as quickly as possible but succeeding in only smashing her head off the metal bed. The younger woman instantly curled back up, clutching her head and hissing in pain.

Missy cursed as the impact sounded and scrambled off the bed, bending down and gently pulling the other out from underneath. Missy loosely held onto the brunette's left arm while the other's right hand still clutched the back of her head, face set in a grimace and eyes closed. Seeing her standing the older woman realised the younger woman was actually a little shorter than herself which for some reason surprised her a little.

A flash of black on the small woman's left wrist made Missy pause for a second. Her eyes strayed down and she saw thin and delicate lines of black ink forming 'VII' in a band across the younger brunette's wrist. Missy raised a brow slightly, since it matched the 'III' on her own left wrist. The older woman could see some light scarring around the tattoo, as if the other had tried to scratch it off and get rid of it somehow.

Missy checked behind her before carefully ushering the other brunette onto the bed, guiding her to sit with her when they got close so she wouldn't hurt herself again.

As soon as her butt hit the mattress, the younger brunette extracted her arm out of Missy's grip before she shuffled backwards and away from the older woman, until her back hit the wall and she was at the very edge of the bed by the chain holding it to the wall. She pulled her legs up and crossed them, keeping her left knee, the one closest to Missy, angled up and away, as if Missy's touch might burn, and refused to look at the older woman, instead keeping her gaze firmly fixed in her lap.

Missy noticed that the other's bandaged right hand still rubbed at the back of her head and reached out to try and take a look herself. The young woman jerked back from Missy's hand, the older woman positive she heard a faint growl of the canine kind slip out of the brunette's clenched teeth, and tilted even further away. Missy pulled her hand back and held both up in surrender, trying to show the other she meant no harm.

"Well if you don't want my help poppet, you're welcome to your concussion," Missy said with a sniff, as her companion dropped her hand to join her other in her lap. Missy sat back to lean against the wall, swinging her legs as she studied her new lodger in the darkness. There seemed to be a darker line along her left cheek bone that Missy could just make out as bruising in the limited lighting. She was fiddling with her hands in her lap and still looking away from Missy, though the older woman saw her glancing over every so often through the peripheral of her vision. Her breathing was fast but fairly even, as if she was trying to concentrate on keeping it even and holding herself together, rather than let the situation settle in.

Eventually the silence grew too much and Missy decided to break it, since it was clear her companion wasn't going to.

"So, I take it you're the new subject they've been working on, rather thoroughly if all that caterwauling is to be believed?"

The woman at the opposite end of the bed froze at Missy's blunt words, swallowing heavily and holding her breath, jaw tight as she stared at her stilled hands. After a few more seconds of silence, and patient waiting on Missy's part, there was a rough nod in response. Missy licked her lips and exhaled before going in with her next question.

"And I'm guessing you don't remember anything before you were brought here."

Another pause before a shake of the head. Missy hummed. Brain wipe. Just like they had done to her. But they'd left her with her name. She might as well ask if this one had been given the same courtesy.

"Do you remember your name?"

She could feel the sadness radiating off the young brunette as she waited. And waited. Until eventually there was a small nod. Missy waited for her fellow experiment to speak but still received nothing.

"Come now puppy, if we're going to be rooming together like they so clearly want us to, we're going to have to come to some kind of arrangement. This constant silence is so boring poppet. And I don't do boring."

The younger woman licked her bottom lip before biting it, clearly debating what to do. Then she took a deep, shaky breath and cleared her throat. The voice she replied in was hoarse and rough. Most likely because she either didn't use it, or when she did it was only to scream, Missy thought. Likely both.

"They call me Sev-"

"No," Missy interrupted sternly, causing the brunette to close her mouth quickly with an audible click of teeth, and tense like Missy was going to hit her. Missy tried to make her voice softer. "Not what they call you. Your real name. What is it?"

Another long pause before…

"Clara."

Missy's face lit up at the croaky reply. Finally they were getting somewhere.

"Well Clara, I'm Missy."

Missy held out her hand. Clara side eyed it briefly before she turned her body to face Missy, reaching out and taking the hand in her own bandaged one, finally looking up at Missy. Missy's blinked when they locked eyes. Even in the near total darkness this woman's eyes were breath taking. Big and brown and oh so beautiful. But Missy could see the pain in them and she hated it. Hated that she could make out bags under both eyes, along with some swelling and bruising around the right one that had been hidden to her before. The poor thing looked so much like a kicked puppy it hurt. And it shouldn't. Missy didn't feel this way normally. She mentally shrugged because there was always a first time for everything, and at least something like this made her endless days of either nothing or pain a little more tolerable.

She smiled at Clara and shook her hand, the younger brunette shaking back with a loose grip but not yet returning the smile.

Missy let go, letting the younger brunette pull her hand back into her lap, before bringing her right leg up onto the bed so she could turn her body towards Clara, holding onto her ankle with her left hand. She placed her right elbow onto the wall and bending her arm to lean on her fist, watching and observing as the other experiment fidgeted and played with the bandage on her right hand.

"So what have they nabbed you for then poppet? Gene splicing? Augmentation? Are they gonna give you rabbit ears or something? You gonna sprout wings?"

A pained look crossed Clara's face as her jaw clenched and the muscles around her left eye twitched. Her hands balled into fists, so hard that her knuckles turned white and Missy could see the tendons of her injured hands spasm in protest. Missy raised a brow at the reaction but kept the rest of her face neutral as she shrugged and clicked her tongue, leaning her head back a little and closing her eyes.

"You don't have to tell yet. We can save it as we get to know each other. Best not to spill all the juicy secrets on a first date. Leaves nothing for the rest of our eternity in this cage," Missy said with a final shrug and a sniff. She opened an eye to see the younger brunette in the same position, though she'd lost a small amount of the tension in her body at realising she didn't have to relive the hell she'd been going through lately by telling Missy. Missy sighed and shifted slightly. "Right now I think the best thing for us to do is try and get some more sleep. We can get to know each other a bit more in the morning eh poppet?"

Clara gave a small nod and made a move as if to get off the bed. Missy quickly shot her right hand out and lightly placed her open palm against the younger brunette's left shoulder, three fingers making slight contact, one finger accidentally slipping off the tank top material and barely touching skin. She immediately felt the other go rigid under her practically non-existent touch. She saw Clara swallow and seem to extend her neck, the tendons and muscles going taught, as she side eyed Missy's hand warily. They really had done a number on this one.

"Don't be silly puppy," Missy scolded softly, "You're not going to sleep on the damn floor." She removed her had as soon as she ascertained Clara wasn't going to move again, trying to not make the brunette uncomfortable if she could help it. Clara visibly sagged in relief slightly as soon as Missy's hand left her body and went back to its own space, taking a moment to steady her breathing before looking up at Missy with those sad doe eyes. The older woman gestured to the space between them. "It'll be a tight fit but I'm sure both of us can somehow get on this pathetic attempt at a bed."

Missy offered Clara a smile, and was finally rewarded with a small, but still there, lopsided one in return.

---

Missy hated it when they took Clara away. Her puppy always looked so scared when the guards would come and grab her by the arms and pull her out the door.

The first time they came after they'd been made to bunk together, Missy had tried to intervene and she'd been shoved against the wall. So she'd given up trying to physically help and instead offered the younger woman comforting words and expressions to ease the distress, despite usually being loosely held back by another guard.

Though they didn't happen often, the worst times would be those when Clara would struggle. Her fellow experiment seemed to maybe know or sense the days when the trials they took her away for would be harsher than usual. When those days came the small brunette would scream and shout and beg, backing away from the guards. On some occasions she would fight back, kick and punch, even resorting to clinging onto the metal of the bed as they tried to drag her away, sometimes literally. In a few instances the guards had resorted to using their stun sticks, either with their intended electrical use or even at times just as a baton. Those were the times Missy had to fight every urge to slam the guard hovering around her into the wall and rush to Clara's aid.

The waiting was torture. Worse than the actual torture she'd been through in her time here. She'd counted every panel along the walls and ceiling nearly a hundred times waiting for Clara to return. Often she resorted to tried and tested pacing, or simply sitting on the bed practicing her tuneless aria.

Clara was always returned to her in a worse state than when she left. Beaten. Exhausted. Frequently unconscious. Missy would do what she could with the limited supplies she had to patch the young brunette up, before often just holding her puppy close, trying to soothe her through the after effects. The trembling and flinching usually lasted a day or two. Sometimes there'd be sobbing. Missy would just hold her, occasionally rock her, and often sing or hum to her while stroking her hair. The older woman found that silly little games would help pass the time and keep Clara's mind off of the hell they were stuck in.

Trying to get the younger woman to eat or sleep was nigh on impossible, especially after these events. Luckily Missy could be incredibly patient when the situation called for, and she at least tried to keep her puppy alive. Though to be fair Missy hated the food just as much. Bland and tasteless. Probably sacrificed flavour in favour of making it so it would give them the sustenance they needed in small doses. Plus they still only had the small bed and thin mattress so sleep was difficult. But Missy wouldn't be beaten, and did her best to get the brunette to participate in the two activities, even if it meant slightly manipulating the other into making her think doing so was to simply indulge Missy.

Three weeks or so after they were first forced together, Clara was returned to her thankfully conscious and far less bruised and bloody than previous occasions. But as usual something was still off with the poor puppy. As soon as the guards had left and closed the door, Missy stood from the bed and tried to move towards Clara, who was still on her knees in the middle of the room where they'd left her, her head bowed. However she'd barely made it two steps before Clara's left hand shot up, palm open to ward off the older brunette. Missy stopped and surrendered to the younger experiment's wishes and moved back to the bed, and waited.

Clara dropped her trembling hand back to her thigh to grip the material of her trousers while her right came up to clutch at her forehead. Missy could see the young brunette's shoulders shudder slightly with silent sobs. Clara slowly brought her hand down her face and let it drop to mirror its companion, as she lifted her head up and stared off at one of the side walls. Missy spotted tear tracks on her cheek.

After a few minutes staring into space and working her jaw, Clara let out a long breath and moved her hands to the floor so she could lean forward. She splayed her palms, feeling the coolness of the floor and letting it seep in before attempting to stand. Missy watched as the young experiment struggled to her feet with wobbly legs, much like a baby deer, but eventually her puppy made it to a standing position, swaying slightly.

Another few minutes passed and then Clara started to pace. Constantly, back and forth. Mumbling and occasionally growling to herself, fists clenching open and shut over and over, breathing shallow and erratic. Missy had seen this happen before, and the best thing to do was to try and distract the younger woman, get her out of her own head. Missy had only let these phases run their course only twice, and both times lead to events she didn't wish to repeat – the first being a full blown panic attack, and the second was Clara nearly breaking her hand by punching the wall repeatedly.

"Poppet?" Missy tried softly, but her voice didn't seem to reach her roommate. "Puppy please stop pacing, and come and sit down." Clara still didn't stop. Instead her hands wound their way into the material of her tank top and tugged at the piece of clothing. Missy had to snap her out of this state soon. She'd have to resort to raising her voice, which she usually hated doing since it made the younger woman even more skittish than normal. But desperate times and all that. She tried one more time before frustration took over.

"For goodness sake Clara, stop right now and sit down!"

The instant the order had left her mouth Clara halted and abruptly sat cross legged on the floor. Missy blinked, startled at the immediate and literal route Clara took. She studied the sudden change in her puppy. Clara was near motionless, her posture straighter than normal, entire body calm yet alert and ready, hands sitting open and loose in her lap. Her eyes stared straight ahead and seemed slightly glazed over. Her breathing was steady and calculated, almost robotic. Entirely different than a few seconds before. It slightly creeped Missy out, especially since she was sure she sensed for a brief second that her puppy's aura changed to something that felt empty and vacant.

After a pause Clara blinked, her eyes refocusing, her body sagging and hunching over into a more standard position for the brunette, the typical trembling and clenched fists returning to her form. Her breathing changed, becoming harsher, as if she had just spent a long time underwater and finally came up for air. Clara frowned in confusion, looking around the room and up where she had been standing and pacing before. As if she couldn't remember how she'd got on the floor.

"Clara?" Missy tried after a pause, before clearing her throat and trying again a little louder but just as soft. "Clara?" The young brunette slowly turned her head towards Missy and locked eyes with her. "Please, just come and sit on the bed next to me."

Clara sluggishly stood, confusion still written all over her face, before slowly making her way towards Missy. Missy scooted over to sit on what had become her side of the bed, allowing Clara to take her place beside her. The younger brunette gently sat on the bed, her hands coming flat together as if in prayer before she clamped them between her thighs, as if it would help hold her together. She kept her gaze affixed at the emptiness in front of her, trying to focus on her breathing. In and out. In and out.

Missy raised her arm and wrapped it around the younger woman's shoulders, pulling her down gently until her head was in Missy's lap. Clara pulled her legs up onto the bed, hands still locked between them, so she could curl up next to Missy in a more comfortable position. The older brunette removed the tie from Clara's hair, pulling it onto her own wrist, and began to stroke Clara's hair, humming to her. Both actions always seemed to help calm the other experiment. Missy thought she must find some comfort in them. Maybe partly because of the gentleness of the gestures, providing something soothing and different to the harshness outside these walls, but Missy also assumed there was something in the repeating. Giving Clara something consistent to focus on, the same movement or task over and over, seemed to keep her out of her head with her demons and in the present with Missy.

"They think you're a success you know."

Missy stilled and fell silent for a moment in surprise at Clara's sudden hoarse voice, looking down at the side of Clara's head in her lap. She quickly resumed her gentle stroking of the younger woman's hair.

"What do you mean poppet?"

"You work," Clara said quietly, still staring ahead, "you're not broken." Missy snorted.

"I beg to differ on that." She couldn't see her loss of morals and ease at killing a success when they hadn't been aiming for that. As far as she could tell anyway. Maybe they thought of that as a bonus. She didn't know their endgame for any of this, and it frustrated her. She felt Clara shake her head.

"Not by their standards. You've shown the least amount of problems in relation to your experiments. And you're still showing progress with further testing. You're their prize." Clara stalled, frowning as she processed her words. Missy watched the muscles in her arms tense as she pressed her hands together within their cage of her knees. "I'm just a mongrel. Broken and shattered. Patched together and coming apart at the seams. I don't do all that they want. It won't be long before they cast me aside for someone new who can obey like they need."

Missy held her breath as Clara's words spilled out of her small form. This was the most Clara had ever said of things outside this room. In the whole time they'd been together whenever Missy would prod for information on what they'd done or were doing, Clara would clam up and refuse to speak of it. Even when Missy offered to give information on her own experiences Clara didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to know and didn't want to tell. Didn't want to relive that hell if she didn't have to. Missy respected her decision and so they stuck to their games and such. So to have her freely speaking of things from beyond their safe room, of the lab outside that door. Missy wasn't sure whether to take this as a sign of things being so bad Clara had become numb to everything, which in itself Missy couldn't tell if that was good or bad, or that their relationship was finally improving to a state that Clara felt safe and comfortable enough to talk of these painful issues. Either way Missy knew she had to reassure her puppy in some way. So she licked her lips and put on a smile.

"Now where have you been hearing such silly things?"

"They think I can't hear them. But I can. I can hear a lot of things. A lot of things I shouldn't. It hurts."

Clara buried her face into Missy's lap and Missy sighed. She removed a hand from the brunette's hair and reached around to hold her chin, tenderly pulling her head around so she would look up at Missy. The older brunette stared hard into those big and watery brown orbs to try and make sure her words got through.

"You are no mongrel, puppy." Clara opened her mouth but Missy quickly placed a finger to her lips, cutting her off. "Hush, Mummy's talking. Don't interrupt." She removed her finger and placed her palm on the younger woman's cheek, thumb stroking the skin softly. "No matter what they do, or what they say, you are not going to come apart. I won't let you. And even if you are broken, aren't we all in this place. But don't worry. Old Missy will be here to put you back together again. You can count on it." Missy booped Clara on the nose at her last sentence, the action causing an involuntary scrunch of her face that Missy found adorable.

Clara looked back up to Missy's eyes and saw the sincerity in them. She couldn't help but give the older woman a small smile. Missy broke out into a grin of her own at the sight given how rare it was to get a smile from Clara.

The younger woman rolled over and extracted her hands from their cocoon, wrapping her arms around Missy's waist and burrowing her face into the material of the white shirt at the older woman's stomach. Missy sighed and cradled the back younger experiment's head in her hands, running them through hair, nails softly scratching at scalp. Missy leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes as a contented silence settled over the room. She felt drained and knew Clara would feel the same, so there'd be no more talking tonight. All they could do was let sleep take them away from the pain for a little while, and then wait for their next visit.

---

"How touching."

"It seems your plan has worked beyond expectations Madame. Three's productivity is up and Seven hasn't had an episode outside experimentation in days."

"You sound surprised. There's a reason I'm in charge."

"I'm sorry Madame, I didn't mean to imply anything otherwise. So what's next?"

"I want to test a theory."

"Theory?"

"Yes, but it will have to wait until Seven's next session. Oh and send a memo to the staff. Everyone needs to keep their mouths shut around the experiments. Apparently some of the guards or scientists don't quite get that."

---

A few days later they came again. Missy waited as always. Hours passed so, so, torturously slow, until finally the door slid open and they brought Clara back.

She was unconscious this time, being dragged inside by two guards who had their hands wrapped around her upper arms, hauling the younger brunette's limp body between them. Once in the room they unceremoniously dropped Clara, the experiment falling face down onto the cold floor like a stone.

When Clara hit the floor with a thud, Missy was up off the bed, taking a step forward to go to the younger woman. She was stopped in her tracks when one of the guards brandished his baton at her. She sneered at him but stood where she was and waited until the door slid shut before she rushed over to the prone body on the floor.

Missy rolled Clara over onto her back and closely examined her. There didn't seem to be any new serious injuries, just a bruise forming along the bottom of her jaw and twin trails of dried blood coming from her nose. What worried Missy the most was the unconsciousness.

The older woman gingerly worked her hands under Clara's arms and gently pulled her over to the bed, before managing to get her lying on the length of it, legs hanging over the edge despite her shot stature. Missy hurried into the bare en-suite bathroom and grabbed one of the white flannels, running it under the cold water, before rushing back to Clara.

She knelt down by the bed and carefully wiped the dried blood from under Clara's nose before giving her face and neck a quick once over. She dropped the flannel on the floor under the bed and sighed, moving a stray strand of hair from Clara's face before trailing her fingers down the younger woman's cheek.

Missy removed her hand and leant her shoulder against the slab of metal, waiting for Clara to wake.

---

Missy awoke with a start, realising she must have dozed off. She scrambled to turn around from her position she'd fallen asleep in, leaning her back against the bed and head bowed, to check on Clara.

The younger woman had rolled over at some point and curled up like she always did when she slept. She didn't seem to be hurt or in any pain, and seemed to have become conscious enough to get into a more comfortable position. Missy sighed in relief. On the plus side this meant her puppy would actually sleep, though it pained her that the easiest way for the younger of them to sleep was to be unconscious. Missy shook her head at the thought, then paused as the movement caused her to catch sight of something glinting at Clara's neckline.

Missy frowned and tentatively reached out for the hem of Clara's tank top and pulled the fabric down. Her frown only depended when she saw what had been revealed.

A silver disc, roughly five centimetres in diameter, was embedded in the younger experiment's skin at the base of her neck. Further in the metal depressed by maybe half a centimetre, actually going beneath skin level, which was mildly unnerving. Further in still the metal sank again by another half a centimetre, with a small hole with a ridge around it in the centre. It looked a lot like a headphone jack but it was much too small, the size closer to that of a large needle.

Missy realised the strange piece of metal looked a lot like a port of some kind. But for what she didn't know? And why was it implanted into Clara's body? Also how had she never noticed it before?

Thinking about it however she could see why she wouldn't have. Clara hardly ever willingly turned her back on Missy, always preferring to be facing the other or at least having her back against a wall. She even went into the bathroom to change clothes, Missy respecting her privacy and not looking inside just like Clara respected hers whenever she needed to shower or change, and often refused to let Missy check for injuries under her shirt (just checking any she had on her face and arms was often a struggle so Missy took the olive branch she had and tried not to push). Those times when she had turned her back, her hair was usually down, instead of in the ponytail they clearly preferred like now, which would hide the metal from view. Not to mention any other chances she might have had, Missy was usually too busy checking on Clara to make sure she was alive or holding her to soothe her after something terrible. Looking at her puppy's back, at something that she didn't know was there, and was usually hidden under clothes and hair, wasn't her first priority.

Missy hesitantly moved her hand from its grip on the material of Clara's tank top and lightly brushed her finger tips over the metal that was cold to the touch.

The minute touch was enough and the effect was instantaneous as Clara's eyes flew open. The younger woman rolled over in a flash, instinctively swinging her left fist out, obviously in an attempt to hit the perpetrator. Her fist struck nothing but air as Missy had dodged backwards, leading Clara to fall off the bed and onto Missy's lap.

Missy opened her mouth to apologise, to shout, to say something, but her breath caught in her throat and her tongue turned to lead when she heard Clara whimper softly. She frowned as dread wormed its way into her gut and she studied Clara.

Instead of trying to get up or at the very least turning towards Missy like she usually would, her puppy remained face down on the floor, breathing hard and erratic. Her toes, knees, elbows and forehead pressed into the floor, while her hands gripped at the sides of her head, fingers curling through her hair and nails digging into scalp. She looked as if she was trying to keep her head from splitting open, forcing her skull to stay together.

Missy carefully and very slowly extracted her legs out from underneath Clara, but the shorter woman didn't seem to even notice the movements. Didn't feel the gradual absence of the soft weight she'd been slightly resting on or hear the rustle of fabric. She was too occupied, muttering incoherently and so quietly that Missy couldn't make out the words. The older woman managed to pull herself into a half crouch on one knee and watched as the other brunette started to shake uncontrollably, goose bumps breaking out over pale skin and a sheen of sweat beginning to form.

Her heart clenched when an elongated, keening, and very canine, whine bubbled up out of her puppy's throat, as she pressed herself further into the floor, ending in a half sob before a guttural growl cut it off.

"Shut up," begged the younger woman, which caused Missy to frown since she hadn't said anything, but before she could voice a question Clara continued. "You don't belong here. Get out. No, stop it. Leave me alone. Just shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Missy's heart was beating faster as Clara's voice rose until she was shouting, her whole body practically vibrating.

Missy was at a loss, her eyes widening when the younger woman suddenly reeled her head back and slammed her forehead into the floor, the resulting sound making the older brunette feel sick to her stomach. She was frozen in shock as Clara's breathing came harder and faster, panting from the exertion of fighting whatever inner demons were rampaging through her, continuing to chant 'shut up, shut up, shut up' over and over again under her breathe.

When Clara let out an animalistic cry and bashed her head against the floor again, Missy finally unfroze and leapt into action.

She moved forward and grabbed the other woman's shoulders to stop her from making the move again, trying to pull the smaller woman towards her to provide comfort. However her puppy tried to pull away, and when Missy wouldn't let up Clara instead threw her body sideways, crashing into Missy and sending them both to the ground.

Clara rolled across Missy's body and off her before trying to scramble away from the older woman. Missy recovered swiftly however and threw herself on top of Clara's waist, stopping her puppy's escape. Clara bucked, trying to throw Missy off her as her hands grabbed fistfuls of her own hair and yanked hard, shaking her head wildly as she half screamed, half growled, at Missy or something else, the older woman wasn't sure.

Missy hooked her arms through the gaps at Clara's elbows and pulled, wrenching the younger experiment's hands away from her head and locking her arms at her sides, hauling her upper body back and up towards the older brunette's chest. Clara kicked her legs out, which only succeeded in straightening them in front of her rather than freeing her, and thrashed wildly in Missy's grip still screaming like a trapped animal. Missy gritted her teeth and held on tight, wrapping her legs around Clara's hips and fastening them over the younger woman's thighs, pinning them to the floor and dragging her flush against her own body. Clara continued to struggle but her movements were lessened by Missy's firm hold.

"Clara, stop!"

Missy's strong voice cut through the air and as soon as the order finished leaving her mouth Clara went silent, body going rigid and still against her. Her body lost some of its tension, instead taking more of a military at ease posture, relaxed but ready to spring into action, breathing almost robotic and perfectly timed, just like last time. Missy shook her head of that thought, and of the disturbed feeling she was getting again, trying to ignore the blankness radiating off of Clara.

"Just. Stay calm. Deep breathes puppy. Alright?"

Clara followed the instructions as Missy retained her solid grasp on her puppy just in case. After a few minutes Clara sagged against Missy and hung her head, clearly completely exhausted even if Missy still couldn't see her face.

"Missy?" the younger brunette croaked. Missy sighed internally with relief when she heard the voice.

"I'm here," she replied, resting her forehead on the back of Clara's head, "You good poppet?"

Clara turned her head slightly and gave her a weak nod, before a small whimper escaped her mouth. Missy 'shh'd' her puppy comfortingly, before she released her hold. Her legs slid off of Clara's to rest beside them, so the shorter woman sat in the space between hers. Her left arm released its lock on Clara's own to wrap around the younger experiment's stomach and pull her in closer, while her right moved up to sweep sweat soaked hair off her puppy's forehead and then run her hand through brown locks that had come loose from her ponytail in the fray. Clara moved her hands to clutch at Missy's arm around her waist, her body starting to shake slightly with silent sobs she tried to stop, failing as tears fell from her eyes.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're okay," Missy chanted softly, continuing to stroke Clara's hair, and pressing tender kisses to the top of the younger woman's head whenever she heard a quiet hiccup masking a choked sob. She eventually moved her hand from Clara's hair to encircle her chest, drawing both arms in to hug the other brunette tighter, beginning to rock the both of them back and forth slightly, and rested her head against the side of Clara's, pressing in to give Clara the weight and further confirmation she was there.

"I've got you puppy.

---

"It worked. She did it."

"After the evidence presented, you doubted it would?"

"No! I just -"

"Yes you did. I wasn't sure either. But lo and behold, my suspicious have been confirmed. Ah, it's so lovely to see a hypothesis you've worked so hard towards actualising finally give the desired outcome. Now all that's left is to try and replicate the results, and be able to do so consistently."

"And how are we planning on doing that?"

"Hmm. We will need Three's co-operation and help."

"There's no way she'll do that willingly."

"No. But maybe if we give her a little bit of… Incentive."

---

"What am I thinking right now?"

"That you need a pay rise to afford those hair plugs you so desperately need."

The scientist was unphased by Missy's snapped retort and simply nodded blankly before bending back down to his notepad, pen scribbling across paper. Missy sighed and moved her head back to stare at the white ceiling. Everything in this damn place was white and sterile. It was worse than a hospital. Not that she could ever remember being in a hospital but it was one of those things her brain did seem to recall as facts despite the mind wipe. It was information on her own life that went missing. Who she was and what she did. All gone.

Missy was brought out of her reverie when the scientist put his pen down and began to arrange his notes and files into an organised pile.

"I think that is enough for today." Missy sighed and moved her metal chair out with a loud screech, before she was stopped when the scientist raised a hand. "No. You wait here for now."

Missy frowned at the scientist as he got up without another word, her eyes following him as he walked over and out the door that slid shut with a soft 'whoosh' behind him. Confusion was the main emotion running through Missy's head as she was left alone with her thoughts.

It had been a week since Clara's strange episode and they had been left alone in all that time, apart from the usual meal and clothes rotation. It was always mildly unnerving when they changed the pattern. It made Missy feel uneasy, like they were building up to something. Like they were letting them recover before something big happened.

And then like clockwork she was taken away from their cell to her weekly assessment. With the same tests on her health like blood pressure, pupil dilation and muscle reflexes. Standard medical checks. The same questions about what she would do when presented with a situation. The same attempts to see if the telepathy they'd been trying to imbue her with in their experiments was advancing to the level they wanted and needed. All with the same scientist with the receding grey hairline, and the round spectacles that hung low on his pointed nose as he looked down on you condescendingly whether you got something right or wrong.

Yet now they had broken the habitual cycle again. Instead of Missy being led right back to her cell once all these mind numbing evaluations were finished like they normally would have, Missy was being told to stay put and wait. She didn't like it one bit. What she hated most was leaving Clara alone for longer than necessary. She'd much rather be back in their cell, coaxing Clara out from under the bed or the corner, since she would probably have hid the second Missy was taken until she returned, and spending time with her, rather than alone in this stupid white room, waiting for something she knew in her gut was not going to be a good thing.

Her suspicions of something big and bad going on behind the scenes was confirmed when she heard the 'whoosh' of the door and was met with an all too familiar, and hated, eyepatch and painted smirk when she looked up.

"Three." Kovarian stated simply, stepping into the room and making her way over to the chair, heels clicking loudly on the floor and echoing throughout the room. Missy followed her closely as she rounded the table and sat, pulling the chair closer to the table, clasping her hands together and leaning her forearms on the metal surface. Missy responded by crossing her arms and glaring at the woman now opposite her. "How are you today?"

"At lot better before you waltzed in," Missy drawled in response, trying to seem indifferent. Kovarian just smiled.

"Always so charming. I bet you're wondering why I'm here."

"Funny I thought it was me you wanted to be able to read minds," Missy muttered, rubbing a finger over the skin above her eyebrow. Kovarian ignored Missy's comment and continued.

"Well it seems we are in need of your assistance." Missy's head snapped up and her eyes bugged comically for a moment. These monsters needed her help? Kovarian leaned in a little closer. "I'm sure you've guessed that you're companion Seven has a little bit extra in terms of DNA. Gene splicing is a messy business but so much fun to work with." She grinned wide and Missy's eyes narrowed further as her humour made her feel sick and quite angry, especially given it was directed at Clara. "I'm sure you've guessed by now what it was." Kovarian paused, waiting for Missy to throw out an answer, but when Missy just kept up her steely gaze the red haired woman let out a sigh. "I can give you a hint I suppose. You intuitively already gave her a very fitting nickname."

"Dog," Missy blinked, "You spliced her with a dog."

"Many different dogs actually," Kovarian replied nonchalantly, "Only the best assets from various breeds."

"Why?" Missy asked incredulously.

"Well we ended up with a few nice extra enhancements we weren't intending on, which you unfortunately don't have the clearance for yet, but our main goal was to instil a higher level of obedience in our soldiers. You know control weaker minds better."

"Clara is not weak minded," Missy practically growled. Kovarian's eyes sparkled and her face lit up in victory, as if Missy's response meant she had won.

"No. No she's not. And that's where you come in." Confusion flashed across Missy's face. "You succeeded in hours, minutes even, where we have failed for months. I don't know whether it was due to your latent telepathic abilities we've been trying to heighten, or the strange Mistress and pet bond you appear to share-" Missy clenched her jaw at that remark. "- but you did it. You made her listen. Not only that, but you made her listen to a full sentence, whereas we can't do it with a single word. We need your help to duplicate those results."

There was a pause before Missy threw her head back and howled with laughter. Kovarian bared her teeth slightly and sneered as the experiment continued to laugh. Eventually she died down to chuckles and began to wipe tears from her eyes as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh this is too much. You need my help. After what you've done, you have the gall to ask me for help. Well guess what?" Missy leant forward on the table as far as she could into the other woman's space. "Fuck no, and fuck you." She leant back in her chair, arms crossed again and a smug look on her face. Kovarian closed her eyes and sighed deeply in clear disappointment.

"I was hoping with your enhanced IQ you would have seen sense. Now we have to do this the hard way."

Kovarian stood and made her way towards the door. It opened and two guards walked inside, their black outfits clashing harshly with the white walls as always. They strode over to Missy and pulled her up by the arms, forcing her to follow Kovarian's retreating form. Instead of turning left towards her cell, they turned right, further down the hallway and towards rooms she'd never been in before.

They entered an already open doorway on the left at the end of the hallway, stopping briefly once inside as Kovarian talked to a scientist with a clipboard and a lab coat. Missy scanned the room. White, just like everything else in this place, however there was a square section of the floor mapped out with red electric tape. A lone chair sat bolted to the floor outside the square facing into it. On the wall behind her by the open doorway was a glass shelving unit holding a series of vials and beakers and such, all containing strange multi-coloured liquids. On the far wall to her right was a strange metal table, but instead of solid metal it looked more a frame with slots in it, as well as one central column acting as a leg with wheels on the bottom, and odd other bits of metal and wires sticking out from one end. It looked like some sort of experimentation table Dr. Frankenstein would use. And given the rather excited and animated look on the scientist speaking to Kovarian, Missy supposed he filled that role here. There was an actual table straight across from her, outside the red square, with what looked like a rifle on it. Behind it stood a guard she hated to see. He was large and muscular, with a bald head and a scar down the left side of his face. Missy hated to see him because he relished in violence. If he was here someone was going to bleed. She hoped it wasn't going to be her.

Kovarian nodded to the scientist, who moved away towards the strange table fiddling with some of the wires. She then turned towards Missy, smiled at the experiment for a moment, before looking to the guards and nodding over to the chair. The guards pulled Missy over and pushed her to sit before cuffing her wrists to the arms of the chair, then moving to stand by the wall behind them. Missy instinctively tested the cuffs by wriggling her arms, unsurprised that there was no way to free herself, but was surprised they left her legs free.

Missy heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up in time to see two more guards enter, towing Clara between them. Clara looked so much smaller than normal, dressed in her white clothes and sandwiched between two tall, muscular guards dressed in black. The two of them locked eyes for a moment, surprise and confusion mirrored in both pairs, before Clara dragged her eyes away as she was planted in the centre of the red square in the middle of the room, half facing Missy and half facing Kovarian who stood calmly next to the table with the rifle. The two guards let her go and took their place next to Missy's guards at the wall behind her.

Missy could see Clara trembling and worrying her bottom lip, her hands in fists at her sides, one gripping the material at the edge of her tank top. Her puppy's breathing was fast and erratic, eyes wide and scared. She kept stealing glances at the bald guard, Brutus Missy had called him since she knew none of their names bar Kovarian, who was grinning at Clara in anticipation while he flexed his hands, cracking his knuckles. Missy's stomach plummeted with realisation, her entire being praying she was wrong, and she suddenly wished she was the one who would bleed.

Kovarian took a step away from the table, her heel clicking audibly on the floor causing Clara's head to snap up and look at her, entire body tensing. Kovarian smirked at the response, Missy wanting to knock it off her face already. The red head slowly walked closer to the red square, stopping just as she reached the tape.

"I think today we'll forego the usual hacking exercises and skip straight onto the obedience training." Missy saw Clara's breathing hitch and swallow hard at the phrase. Missy frowned, part of her wondering what this training was, and the other half not wanting to find out. "You know how this works Seven but, since we have an audience today -" Kovarian gestured to Missy and she felt Clara's eyes flick over to her for a second. "I'll go over it again. You do as I say, the right way, or you'll be punished. Simple. Shall we begin?"

Brutus stepped out from behind the table, walking slowly and deliberately over to stand beside Kovarian. Missy could see Clara's tremors worsen the closer he approached. The younger experiment looked away, focusing on the opposite corner of the red tape, not making eye contact with anyone, especially Missy. Brutus took a single step inside the square, and Missy saw Clara flinch slightly, before stopping and standing just inside the boundary. Missy could see Kovarian watching the display with an expression of glee. She licked her lips and swallowed before smiling.

"Now… Sit."

Clara took a shuddering breath but didn't move. Koavrian tutted before raising a brow to Brutus. The guard chuckled lowly before stalking over to Clara, standing right in front of her and towering over the younger brunette. Clara couldn't help but turn her head to look at him, bottom lip trembling. Missy's fists clenched. She knew what was coming but even though the evidence was right there she begged anyone who would listen she was wrong.

Apparently no one was listening as Brutus' large right hand curled into a fist, before it shot out faster than Missy would have thought a man of his stature could move, and struck Clara hard on the left side of her face.

Clara's head snapped sideways at the impact, upper body buckling from the force as she took a step back. She somehow managed to stay upright, straitening back up and looking at Brutus with determination. However Missy could see her left eye watering, the lids closer together as mild swelling seemed to already be presenting along with some discolouration, as well as her breathing getting a little heavier. If that was after one punch Missy didn't want to see more. She might have seen the aftermath when Clara was returned to her, but seeing it first hand was entirely different.

Kovarian watched the scene with cold indifference, face completely passive, but Missy could see a malevolent glint in her eyes. Like she relished in the pain she was basically causing. Underneath that however there was a slight layer of frustration and disappointment, most likely given the fact her experiment was still not giving her the results she desired. Her voice was calm as she spoke again.

"Let's try again. Sit."

Clara swallowed hard and glared over at Kovarian, her normally soft brown eyes hard with defiance. That was obviously the wrong response as the red haired woman sighed softly before nodding to Brutus. The guard reacted by lashing out with his left fist, striking Clara in the mouth. Missy tensed in her bonds at the sound of the impact, wincing as she watch blood splatter onto the white floor as Clara fell to one knee with the force of the hit, hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Get up," Kovarian ordered, still serenely calm, but Clara remained where she was clutching at her face as blood seeped through her fingers.

The older experiment was at a loss. If all Clara had to do, was do as they said to avoid being beaten, why didn't she do it? Yes it would be demeaning and unpleasant, but surely it was better than the violent alternative. Though Missy wasn't sure if she would give in easily either, despite the threat of punishment. She was far too proud. But she hated seeing her puppy put through this. She silently willed Clara to just do as they asked.

Brutus reached down and grabbed a fistful of the front of Clara's tank top in his left hand, dragging her back up to her feet. Clara instinctively grabbed onto his wrist with both hands, trying to push herself away from him, allowing Missy a glimpse of her newly split bottom lip. Once the younger brunette was upright Brutus, while keeping a firm grip on Clara's shirt, lashed out, his right fist crashing into the left side of Clara's face again. And again. And again.

Missy gritted her teeth, rage bubbling up inside her, as she watched Clara's grip on the guard's wrist get slacker with each hit. Her fists clenched even tighter, nails digging into her palm and dangerously close to breaking the skin when he stopped and Clara's body sagged in his grip, the side of her face along with her eye and cheek an even worse bruised and bloody mess.

"Let go."

Clara was too busy fighting to keep her eyes focused, struggling to swallow the blood, and instead of letting go simply tried to adjust her grip on the guard's arm. In return Brutus back handed Clara, letting go as the blow landed and sending the younger experiment crashing to the floor. Clara coughed, spraying blood across the white ground, as she rolled over onto her back, trying to catch her breath. Missy could hear the horrible wet sound of her puppy wheezing through blood and it made her feel ill.

"Get up."

Missy watched as Clara let her head slump back onto the floor and swallow, defeat clear in her eyes, before she took a deep breath and, with great effort, rolled over onto her front. Blood dripped from her face as she propped herself up on her hands and attempted to get one of her legs underneath her to stand. Missy sighed softly, her body relaxing a little as her puppy did what they said.

Her relief didn't last long when she saw Kovarian shake her head out of the corner of her eye, before Brutus' leg darted out and his boot connected with Clara's ribs. Clara let out an 'oof' as she fell back to the floor on her side. The guard didn't stop however, pulling his foot back and striking the younger brunette repeatedly in the stomach and ribs, even as she tried to curl up to protect herself. Brutus aimed one final and solid blow, the tip of his boot connecting with Clara's jaw, flipping her onto her back again as blood arced out of her mouth and spattered across the floor. Missy fought back tears as she heard the shorter experiment whimper.

"Speak."

"Please," Clara begged, eyes locking with Kovarian as she coughed, blood spurting out and staining her lips further. Kovarian's jaw worked in displeasure as the experiment's eyes failed to give the signs she needed, finally looking over at the guard meaningfully.

Brutus took the invitation and dropped down, his knee connecting hard with Clara's stomach causing her to cry out, before he rained blows down onto Clara's face and torso. Missy couldn't see around the guard's form but she could just make out Clara bringing her arms up to her face to shield it.

"Stop it!" Missy shouted, trying to jump out her chair but her bonds wouldn't let her rise, although the chair did squeak in protest of the force she used. Kovarian coolly turned her head towards her and raised a brow. "She's doing what you want you bitch! Why are you still hitting her!?"

"Because," Kovarian said slowly, as if talking to a child, completely unphased by the sound of flesh hitting flesh and the echo of Clara's cries of pain, "She isn't doing it right."

Missy frowned at Kovarian incredulously, jaw hanging open as the eyepatched woman turned back to the scene in front of her. That's when she understood. Why Clara had been disobedient at first, and not done as they had asked to start with. She didn't know how to do what they asked the way they wanted it. So why give them the satisfaction of bending to their will right away. Make them work for it if they are going to hurt you anyway.

Brutus finally stopped and stood, breathing heavy after the effort he'd expended. He moved around to Clara's head and Missy finally got a glimpse of her puppy, lying still and staring up at the ceiling, even more blood and bruising marring her face, and now arms, as she struggled to get air into her lungs. The guard bent down and grasped the back of Clara's tank top at the collar and hauled the small woman up, planting her back on her feet.

Clara swayed precariously for a moment, blood dripping down her face, before she stabilised and managed to stay standing. Kovarian reached into her pocket and pulled out a thin metal cylinder. She held her hand out and let the piece of metal sit in her open palm. She waited until Clara saw it, the younger woman recoiling at the sight of it, before she spoke again.

"One last try then. Speak."

Clara opened her mouth but nothing came out. Missy could see her right eye, her left swollen shut, dart around in its socket as she searched for an answer, desperately racking her brain for a way to give them what they wanted. Apparently nothing came to mind and Kovarian sighed. She brought the metal cylinder to her lips and blew.

Missy couldn't hear anything but evidently Clara could. Her puppy instantly brought her hands to her ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound, sinking to her knees, Brutus letting the material slide out of his grip as she dropped. Missy could hear Clara whining in pain and realised the thing must be a dog whistle. She struggled slightly against her cuffs but it was no use.

After an agonising minute that felt like an hour, Kovarian removed the whistle from her lips and Clara slumped exhausted. Her hands slid from her ears and landed on her thighs with a soft thud as she hung her head, gasping for air, the sound wet and garbled due to the blood. Missy could see small drops of the red liquid hit the younger woman's already stained white clothes.

Kovarian pocketed the whistle and entered the square, unemotionally striding over to Clara. The red head quickly grabbed a fistful of Clara's hair at the base of her skull where the end of the ponytail sat, and yanked the smaller woman up from her kneeling position. Pain flashed across Clara's face as she was forced to rise, hands going to the back of her head on instinct. Kovarian sneered at the brunette before she shoved the experiment towards Missy.

Clara stumbled and fell, reaching a hand out for something to save her and finding Missy's knee, the other hand locating a spot on the floor by the older woman's feet, managing to come to a stop before she ended up head first in Missy's lap. This close Missy could smell the iron of the blood. See the incessant tremors in her puppy's hand, as blood stained the material of her trousers under the shaking limb. Hear pained breaths as Clara stared at the floor, not yet wanting to meet Missy's worried gaze.

"Order her."

Missy's head snapped up to meet Kovarian's uncovered eye.

"What?"

"Order her," Kovarian repeated, taking a step forward, "You did it before, now do it again. Order her."

Missy frowned, before her eyes widened in realisation. Clara's strange behaviour after she'd told her to stop pacing and sit. The similar reaction when she'd been trying to get Clara out of that odd episode the week before. That's what they were trying to do. Get Clara to listen to them. Without question. Without hesitation. They wanted to be able to order her about however they pleased, to do what they wanted. Whether Clara wanted to do it or not. More than likely the latter. And if she read her puppy's reaction and confusion correctly after the previous incidents, Clara would likely be forced against her will to follow the orders, and probably would have no memory of the in-between.

Missy looked down at Clara, watching as her puppy lifted her head. The older experiment saw the moment the same information clicked on the younger woman's face. Her puppy met her gaze and Missy could see the pleading look in the one brown orb she could still see amidst the bruising and blood. Pleading with her to not do it. To not make her do something against her will. She felt Clara's grip tighten on her knee. Missy swallowed. She couldn't do it. Not deliberately. Not now she knew what it would do. And especially not against her puppy's own wishes.

"No," Missy spat, lifting her head to glare at Kovarian, "No I won't do that to her."

Clara exhaled in relief, resting her forehead on Missy's other knee and pressing softly to show her gratitude. Missy wanted nothing more than to hold Clara's head comfortingly but given her hands were restrained she settled for placing her foot against Clara's side, hoping her intention was clear. Her message seemed to be understood when she felt Clara's other hand move to clutch some of the material of her trousers at her shin.

Kovarian scoffed at the display and Missy's answer, clenching her jaw in irritation before nodding to Brutus and then the scientist still standing in the corner with his clip board.

"Very well then. I suppose we'll just have to move onto an upload."

Missy watched Clara's head snap up, fear in her eye, but she didn't have time to question it before Brutus grabbed Clara under her arms and hauled her backwards. Clara struggled in his grip so Kovarian nodded to one of the guards by the back wall, who moved forward and grabbed her ankles, lifting her off the ground even as she thrashed, grunting with the effort of trying to break free.

All while this happened the scientist had moved the bizarre frame table further into the room, moving some of the wires and metal at one end clear before heading over to the glass shelf and perusing the vials of various liquids reaching for a large red one and three smaller blue ones.

"Alright you know the drill," he said excitedly turning back to them, waving his free hand in Clara's general direction, "Get that out of the way and turn her over. Then we can get started."

Brutus and the other guard lifted Clara onto the table and lay her on it. The nameless guard held her feet down while Brutus held her wrists tight in one hand, the other reaching for the hem of the tank top. He yanked the stained material up and off in one swift motion, exposing Clara's torso to the room. Missy snarled at him as he threw the tank top to the floor, his grip on Clara never once wavering.

Missy couldn't help but glance at her puppy's now revealed upper body, given she'd never seen it before. Her breasts were thankfully covered by a band of black material but the stark contrast between the fabric and Clara's pale skin made Missy's heart clench. Tears sprung to her eyes again when she caught sight of more scarring and wounds, as well as recent discolouration already blooming from the vicious assault earlier. She had to swallow back emotion when she realised she could see the definition of her puppy's ribs poking out of her skin, making her feel like she didn't do her job of getting Clara to eat well enough.

The two guards holding Clara turned her onto her side, now putting her back on display. Missy couldn't stop the gasp of shock that slipped out of her mouth. She could see that large silver port thing at the top of Clara's spine, at the base of her neck, but that wasn't the only one. Three smaller metal discs that were each approximately a centimetre in diameter with a ridge surrounding the edge and a small hole in the centre, were implanted at equal distances further down her puppy's spine. One poked out from a circular gap in the breast band, one in the middle of her lower back, and the last at the base just above the waistline of her trousers. Missy could make out a jagged scar stretching across her back from either side of the smaller port in the middle of her lower back that wasn't on the others, making the older brunette wonder why that one was special.

The scientist reached the table, whistling to himself as he placed the vials carefully on the surface. He grabbed what looked like a modified tattoo gun from a holder on the side of the table, before lifting the red vial and placing it in the metal casing behind the needle like appendage. He twisted the container against the neck of the device and there was a hiss as the two pieces connected. He held it up and examined it for a moment. Missy could see there was a long wire travelling from the base of the small tool through the slots in the metal frame and disappeared into what looked like a computer terminal at bottom of the table she hadn't noticed before. The scientist moved the gadget to one hand, before he bent over Clara, placing his free hand on her head in a firm grip to stop her from moving, pressing hard causing the younger experiment to whimper.

"Now you're gonna feel a slight pinch but I'm sure you know that by now." He chuckled and Missy gritted her teeth, wondering how he could take such pleasure in this. Wondering how any of them could take pleasure in this horrid torture, seeing as that was all this was in her eyes.

Clara gave one last desperate struggle, her spine bending, the movement making Missy notice the definition of each vertebrae protruding from skin, causing the gleaming metal stand out even more. Her puppy's attempts were in vain however as the scientist, Missy dubbed in her head now as Frankenstein, pressed harder on Clara's head before moving the small gadget in his hand towards the top most port. He pressed the long needle into the hole in the centre and pushed. The needle slipped into the space easily up to the metal hilt, the gadget sliding into place snuggly, the port clearly designed specifically for its shape. Once the whole device was in place the scientist twisted it like a screw until it locked into position with a hiss and a loud click. Missy saw Clara's shoulder blades strain with discomfort and pain at the contact, and heard a soft whimper travel across the room.

Frankenstein then moved over to retrieve three smaller needles fixed into metal caps that had similar long wires protruding from the base, travelling to the same terminal as the first. The scientist screwed one of the blue vials into each needle, before sinking each one into one of the three remaining smaller ports along Clara's spine. Missy could see Clara tense and shudder with each insertion. The older experiment gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, taking a deep breath, trying to quell the emotional turmoil swirling around in her gut. She hated being forced to sit there, unable to help, to do anything. But she knew there was still more to come and she had to try and be strong for her puppy. She couldn't afford to fall apart, not yet. Just like Clara, she refused to give them the satisfaction.

Once each needle was in place and all the wires settled, the scientist moved to the head of the table, signalling the guards to turn Clara over onto her back. They did so none too gently, Clara wincing as the movement jostled the needles that were now securely implanted and jabbing into her spine. The nameless guard strapped Clara's ankles to the table with leather straps, Brutus forcing her arms to her sides and doing the same to her wrists, both guards pulling the restraints tight, so tight Missy thought they might cut off circulation with one more tug. Their job done they moved to stand by the wall on the opposite side of the table.

Still humming, in a way that felt creepy and disturbing unlike Missy's soothing endeavours, Frankenstein lifted a black, flat piece of metal shaped into a semi-circle from off of the framework along the side of the table. Missy watched as he fiddled with something on the inside of one of the ends. It looked like three small prongs set roughly in a triangle shape moving out from a central point, inside of which looked like a small, pointed drill bit. He moved to other side and examined an identical set of prongs.

He made a pleased sound before he leant down over Clara, lifting her head up with one hand and manoeuvring the piece of metal underneath with the other. He carelessly dropped Clara's head, the younger woman's skull hitting metal with a dull clang, before adjusting the piece so it sat snuggly around her crown. He delicately shifted the ends of the headpiece until they sat above her temples, before he pushed down, the drill bits digging into the sides of Clara's head, the prongs clamping down on skin to keep everything secure. The younger brunette let out a weak groan of pain, Missy's heart clenching yet again at the sound.

The scientist patted Clara on the head patronisingly before sliding around the table, stopping above Clara, leaning on one hand and holding onto the flat handle on the front of what looked to be a plastic mouth guard in the other, shaking it like he was jangling keys in front of a child.

"Open up."

Clara clamped her jaw tight and glared daggers at the scientist, refusing to comply with his demand. Frankenstein sighed. He leaned back and clicked his fingers. Brutus left his place against the wall and marched up to them, grinning down maliciously at Clara. He reached out with both hands, placing one across Clara's face, the other grabbing her lower jaw in a bruising grip before prying her mouth open. Clara made a muffled sound of protest before the scientist shoved the mouth guard in her now open maw, Brutus then forcing it closed again, making her bite into the black rubber now stuck between her teeth, the handle sticking out from between her bloody lips.

Missy watched as Clara let her head fall back, pressing it into the metal beneath her as she let out a frustrated and ragged breath around the rubber, eyes blinking rapidly, trying to fight off tears. As Brutus moved back to the wall and Frankenstein made his way to the computer terminal, Kovarian finally left her spot near the regular table with the rifle where she'd been observing the procedure intently with cold indifference, and walked slowly and purposefully over to Clara's side.

She leant both hands on the side of the framework, looking down at Clara, who glared back, a wide smile gradually spreading across her face. She reached out with one hand and, strangely, rather tenderly moved to sweep some sweat soaked hair from the younger experiment's forehead. Clara jerked her head, trying to move away from the woman's hand, but there was nowhere to go. So she was forced to lie there as the red haired woman brushed her fingers down the small brunette's cheek and neck, nails deliberately scratching hard causing Clara to swallow instinctively, before placing her hand firmly on the small brunette's shoulder, palm pressing hard and fingers digging into flesh.

"I think you'll like this one Seven," Kovarian said, amusement lacing her voice which made Missy seethe, "A small addition to an already existing upload so it should be a slightly easier on that poor little brain of yours. Plus you've never played with this type of gun before."

Kovarian smirked one last time, Missy seeing Clara's fists clench as if her puppy wanted to punch the eyepatch off the other woman herself, before she pushed away from the younger experiment, Clara grimacing with pain in response, and making her way over to the computer terminal. Frankenstein handed her what looked like an iPad without lifting his eyes from tweaking the machinery. Kovarian pressed a few buttons and examined the screen before she met the scientists gaze and nodded. He returned the gesture and turned to the terminal, twisting a dial then finally flipping a switch.

Missy could just see the vials protruding from Clara's back under the table, so witnessed the contents of the red beaker slowly empty with a hiss. She saw pain fall across Clara's face, her puppy's eyes going wide and chest heaving with deep breaths, her mouth trying to move around the uncomfortable object inside it. Frankenstein flicked more switches and one by one the blue vials drained into Clara's body. The younger experiment's body tensed with each one, eventually becoming completely rigid, fists clenched tight. Soon her entire form was shaking uncontrollably, her face scrunched up with a mixture of distress and terror. Missy could see tears leaking out from her puppy's now screwed shut eyes.

There was an excruciating pause where all Missy could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears as she waited for what she knew would be a horrid next step. Then Frankenstein twisted another dial and pressed a button.

The lights dimmed and Missy could hear the electricity in the air. Clara's body jerked and arched off the framework table as far as the restraints would let her. Tears pricked at Missy's eyes as she heard Clara begin to loudly scream in agony despite being muffled by the mouth guard. Missy tried to swallow back her emotions and keep her face passive, but it was increasingly difficult when Clara's body thrashed with the intense shocks, the muscles in her neck becoming taut and raised. Her screams started sounding hoarser as time went on, before eventually turning into a stifled howl that petered out to weak cries after a minute.

After what felt like an eternity, Frankenstein finally pressed the button again and Clara's body fell limp onto the table with a clang that reverberated through Missy's soul, eyes closed. For a horrible second Missy thought her puppy was dead until she spotted the very faint rise and fall of the younger brunette's chest. The older experiment let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, relief flooding through her body.

Once again it didn't last long when the guards moved away from their position against the wall and undid the straps around her puppy. Brutus grabbed Clara's shoulders and hauled her up into a sitting position, the younger experiment's head lolling forward, attempting to open her eyes, the non-swollen one eventually fluttering open and staring hazily at nothing. The empty needles and wobbling wires sticking out of Clara's back made Missy think of a horror movie. In their case a real life horror movie.

The guard shoved Clara's legs harshly off the table, keeping a hand around the back of her neck to keep her from toppling over and off onto the floor. Clara looked even paler than ever, making the still darkening bruises stand out even more. Missy could see trails of bloody saliva running from Clara's mouth, mixing with the drying blood already on her face, along with new bruises, as well as lacerations and abrasions, forming on her wrists from the restraints. New injuries Missy added to the ever growling list of what her puppy had been inflicted with.

Frankenstein made his way over and lifted Clara's head up, shining a light in her open eye, checking her pupil. Missy saw Clara wince, gaze focusing slightly and sluggishly trying to move her head, but didn't get anywhere due to both men's grips. The scientist pocketed the light. He then ran his fingers along the black metal piece still around the younger experiment's head, checking everything was still in place and implanted in skin. When he was satisfied everything was still has it should, he nodded happily to himself.

He placed a hand on Clara's chest before trading with Brutus' hand on the back of her neck, pulling her head down and forcing her to lean her forehead on his shoulder. He gave a nod to the guard who then began to remove the needles, twisting them so they unlocked with a click and a hiss before pulling them out and placing them on the table. With each removal Clara's body shuddered feebly and there were a few muffled, almost inaudible, whimpers.

Once all the needles were gone Frankenstein pushed Clara back into an upright sitting position. He moved the hand that was around her neck and, whilst keeping the other against her chest, took a hold of the handle of the mouth guard and wiggled it out of her now slack and tired jaws. He held it up and smiled.

"Aren't you glad I got you this so you don't nearly sever your tongue again hmm? I'm just glad I remembered to leave it until last. I still haven't forgiven the time you bit my shoulder young lady."

He removed his hand from her chest and harshly patted her cheek twice condescendingly, before sighing happily and smiling wider. Clara bared bloody teeth and threw a weak growl his way, swaying forward slightly, Brutus taking the move as a threat and grasped her loose ponytail, tugging it to pull her back. Clara grimaced before huffing softly and slouching, bringing her hands to her head. Frankenstein moved away, taking the iPad Kovarian held out as she passed, heading towards Clara.

The red haired woman grabbed a hold of Clara's wrist and pulled her hand away from her head, making her body follow, dragging her off the table. As soon as Clara's feet hit the ground her knees buckled, body bowing with exhaustion and pain. The firm grip of Kovarian's hand on her wrist and Brutus' fist still grasping her hair was the only thing keeping her upright. Not even giving the younger experiment a chance to catch her breath, Kovarian tugged at Clara's wrist, pulling her forward as Brutus released his grip on her hair, and walked her over to the table with the rifle still patiently waiting on top, much like a parent marching a child over to their homework that needed done.

When they reached the table Kovarian planted Clara in front of it, removing her hand from around the small brunette's wrist and placing it on the back of her head, palm open and fingers splayed, digging into scalp and the flat piece of metal, sending a stinging pain shooting through Clara's skin. Clara winced. The pain of her body currently outweighed that of her mind, though probably not for much longer.

The red head forcefully pushed Clara's head down to make her look at the rifle. She leaned in close to Clara's ear after a moment of letting the sight of the gun sink in.

"Now Seven, be a dear and take it apart, then put it back together again."

With one last small shove, Kovarian let go of the younger experiment and strolled around to the other side of the table, leaning on it with both hands and waited, observing. Missy watched closely, still unsure of what was truly happening, as Clara scanned her eyes over the rifle. Her breathing seemed to pick up slightly as she slowly reached out with trembling hands and began to take the gun apart. She placed each piece on the table carefully and precisely, everything at right angles and spaced evenly.

Once the rifle was completely disassembled Clara paused, glancing up at Kovarian who simply raised a brow, before putting it back together again. She then repeated the exercise. Over. And over. And over

Missy frowned as the more Clara performed the drill the faster her breathing became. The more her hands shook. The more her eyes lost focus. The more she made slip ups with the task. When a sheen of sweat began to form and goose bumps broke out across skin, Missy could help the soft 'no' that escaped her mouth.

Halfway through putting the gun back together again was when the dam broke. Clara dropped the pieces of the weapon in her hand and they fell to the metal table with a clatter. She gripped the sides of the table hard, her knuckles going white, as she bent over low, eyes wide and staring blankly ahead, breathing violent and irregular. Kovarian sighed and shifted, waiting a moment before speaking.

"Seven, continue with the exercise."

Clara shook her head, her frame quivering uncontrollably, fresh blood beginning to trickle from her nostrils. Kovarian tutted and sneered.

"No, shut up. Shut up."

Clara's hands moved from the table to clutch at the sides of her head. Kovarian sighed again and shook her head, leaning back and crossing her arms. Missy heard her puppy growl before Clara lashed out, sweeping her arms across the table and sending gun parts flying to the floor. Clara clutched her head again and staggered back away from the table, crouching down and putting her head against her knees.

Missy looked around the room and couldn't understand why no one batted an eyelid at Clara's outburst. They all just stood and watched as her puppy started unravelling, muttering and shouting to herself again. Eventually Clara stood and slammed her fists onto the metal frame of the 'torture table', giving Missy a view of her abused spine.

When the younger brunette let out that haunting, keening whine and began to hit her head off the metal every so often, softly at first before getting gradually harder, Missy couldn't contain herself. She tried to jump out of her chair again, to run to her puppy and get her to stop, but was pulled back by her bonds. She struggled harder and could feel the cuffs finally bite through skin, feeling the slick wetness of blood form under the metal. But she didn't care. She had to get to Clara.

"For fuck's sake help her, you bitch!" Missy screamed at Kovarian, who looked over calmly at the older experiment's frenzied shout. Missy could see that glint of victory in the red haired woman's uncovered eye.

Koavrian turned to Frankenstein and nodded. He bowed his head back and handed her the iPad before making his way deliberately slowly over to the glass shelves. He perused them leisurely, the act making Missy want to scratch his eyes out even more, before grabbing a medium sized vial of green liquid. He picked up what looked like a syringe with the barrel removed in favour of a metal casing much like the other needles. The scientist opened the metal casing and slipped the vial inside. He looked to Brutus and jerked his head towards Clara. The guard left his place and rounded the table, grasping the small brunette with one arm around the waist, pulling her away from the table and stopping her relentless assault on her own skull. She thrashed in his grip but he was too strong and she too spent to do much damage.

Brutus pressed a hand to the back of Clara's head and pushed it down, exposing the largest port to the scientist. He walked over and drove the needle into the port before pressing the plunger, the green liquid slowly draining. Clara continued to struggle but her movements gradually became more sluggish and jerky, until finally she went completely still and slumped against Brutus, upper body dangling in his grip. Frankenstein pulled the needle out, the syringe coming out with a small pop and some of the green liquid still seeping out. Brutus let go of Clara, the small brunette falling into an unconscious heap on the floor.

Kovarian tutted as she sauntered over to the now limp experiment, nudging the body with a heeled shoe and checking the screen of the iPad before sighing dramatically.

"Such a shame, we never even got to fire the weapon." The red haired woman turned to Missy, a smirk firmly planted on her face and walked slowly towards the other experiment. Missy glared hard at the red head, body still pulled forward in the seat as if to jump out of it, arms straining against the cuffs that dug into her wrists, fists clenched with nails digging small rents into her palm, teeth gritted together and a look of pure scorn on her face. Kovarian stopped just outside of head butting or kicking range and leaned in slightly, locking eyes with Missy. "You can stop this. All this pain. All this needless torture. You can stop it. If you just help us." She leaned back again, eyeing Missy's frowning face. "Think about it Three. Ask for me, when, you change your mind." She smirked one last time before leaning back and looking around at the guards in the room. "Deal with them." Then, without looking back, eyes firmly fixed on the iPad screen, left the room.

A small amount of tension left Missy's body, though not much, and she huffed as she felt her guards from earlier approach, beginning to undo her cuffs. But Missy's eyes were entirely focused on Clara. So much so she barely noticed the stinging sensation as the metal was peeled away from her chafed skin. One of the guards who had been with Clara earlier made his way over to her puppy and Missy was thankful it was him to take care of the younger experiment, and not any of the others. As far as she was concerned, he was the kindest guard in this hell hole. Kind in the way that he handled Clara with more care and gentleness than anyone else, and brought them more food rations when he was on duty. Small instances but it was enough to give him the insignificant title.

Missy allowed the guards to pull her up without fuss, watching closely as the kind guard carefully rolled Clara onto her back and gingerly worked his arms under her so he could pick her up bridal style. Clara's head flopped onto the guard's chest and her arm fell off her lap to hang lifelessly at her side. Missy choked back a breath, trying to keep tears from falling in front of these people, as the guard carried Clara out of the door and the guards holding her arms dragged her to follow after the other two.

The walk back to their cell passed in a daze. Missy couldn't take anything in. Not the usual blank walls or standard route they took. Not the noise of the guard's steps and breathing or even the pressure on her arms from their calloused hands. She was entirely preoccupied staring at Clara's legs dangling over the kind guard's grip, the limbs bouncing slightly, as it was the only part of her puppy she could see from her position.

Before she knew it they were at the door to her and Clara's cell. The guard on her left abandoned his position, his partner taking his place by having Missy's upper arms in one of each of his hands, and made his way to the door. He placed his hand on the panel. The light went green. The door slid open. The guard watched as the kind one took Clara inside before he unclipped his baton from his side, holding it up with an unsaid threat of using it if necessary as the other guard quietly pushed Missy inside the door, stopping in the centre of the room and holding her still.

Missy swallowed as she watched the kind guard gently laid Clara on the bed, carefully arranging her legs under the chain to hang of the bed in a more comfortable position for her injuries. He then stood and turned, heading for the door, walking straight passed Missy, not looking at her once. Not that she cared. She was too busy staring at Clara, body already leaning forward in the guard's grip, ready to run to Clara's side.

And when the guard finally let her go that's what she did.

She rushed forward and knelt down by the bed, gazing down at Clara's still form. She heard the guard's quick footsteps behind her and the door slide shut again, but didn't care. All she cared about was her puppy. She reached out with a shaky hand to brush some stray strands of sweat soaked hair from Clara's forehead, eyes widening when she left a bloody trail. She looked down at her own hands and realised she had four small semi-circular cuts along each palm from where her nails had dug into her skin.

"Shit," she cursed softy. She looked to Clara's bruised face, debating whether to leave her side or not, before finally relenting and hurrying to the bathroom. She quickly washed her hands and wrists free of blood, noting how the cuts on her palms and marks from the cuffs on her wrists had already knitted together, becoming faded pink scratches. The work of the regenerative abilities they'd given her. Handy but part of her was furious. Clara had to endure all of that torture and have it displayed on her skin, but Missy had nothing to show. She curled her hands into fists. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!

Missy slammed her fists down on the edge of the sink before gripping the porcelain tight and falling forward, her bowed head hitting the wall softly. She gazed into the still running water and let out a shuddering breath, trying to pull herself together. She still wouldn't cry. Not just yet.

She reached for a towel and dried her hands before soaking it with the water, wringing it out and turning off the tap. She left the bathroom and made her way back over to the still motionless Clara. Missy sighed and began to carefully and slowly wipe her puppy's face free of blood.

Once the blood was gone, Missy took a moment to take stock of Clara's injuries.

Her face was a mess. Her left eye was still swollen shut, with dark bruising surrounding the socket and trailing down her cheek. Small cuts and scrapes ran horizontally across her skin and intermingled with the bruising. Her right eye was bruised below the socket with another cut peeking out from it along her cheek bone. An inch long laceration ran through the middle of her right eyebrow and onto her forehead. There was a gash across the bridge of her nose, along with two separate splits in her lip, one in her bottom lip on the right reaching down to her chin and another, smaller, one in her top lip on the left. A large bruise was present along the bottom of her left jaw and under her chin from where Brutus had kicked her.

Missy's eyes trailed down to Clara's torso, still uncovered except for the breast band since they decided a new shirt for her puppy wasn't necessary apparently, seeing the large patches of dark bruising across her ribs and stomach that melded together. The older brunette flicked her eyes over Clara's bruised and scratched arms to her puppy's hands, seeing the palms covered in blood. She carefully lifted and turned the nearest limb to her and saw a few long scratches, as well as identical semi-circular punctures like the ones on her own palms from where the younger experiment's nails had dug into her own hand. Missy swallowed and cleaned the red smears away from both of Clara's hands. Once she'd done that she cleaned up any bloody spots she'd missed on her puppy's arms and upper body, her breathing hitching when her fingers brushed over the younger woman's slightly prominent ribs, and feeling the cracks and breaks from the violent boot attack.

After her puppy was cleaned up, her eyes strayed to the black metal headpiece still attached to Clara, wanting nothing more than to rip it off, but she couldn't risk it. Not when she had no idea what it did.

Unable to do anymore for the younger brunette given she had no proper supplies, Missy dropped the dirty towel to the floor and took a hold of Clara's right hand in both of her own. She opened her mouth but all that came out was a long supressed sob. She bent over and rested her forehead carefully and gently on her puppy's side, finally letting the tears she's tried so hard to keep in fall, clutching at Clara's hand tight, wishing the small brunette would squeeze back.

After what was likely minutes but felt like hours, the tears finally dried up. Missy stayed where she was, letting her breathing even back out. Once she was sure she had regained her composure she leant back and swiped at the tear tracks and still wet marks on her cheeks. She sniffed and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and steeling herself to enact the first stage in a dangerous plan.

Missy took one last look at her puppy's battered face. She leaned down and placed a kiss on Clara's forehead, one hand letting go of her puppy's hand and sliding under her limp form to brush at a cold shoulder, fingers making contact with that infernal piece of metal in her skin.

"Don't you worry poppet," Missy whispered softly into Clara's ear, "Mummy is going to sort all of this out. You just hang in there."

She gave Clara's hand one last squeeze before standing up. She took one more deep breath then turned, marching over to the mirror. She raised a hand and rapped her knuckles on the glass. She waited a few moments until she could feel someone on the other side. She lifted her head high and held her jaw strong.

"Take me to her. Now."

---

It didn't take long for the door to slide open and for yet another two guards to enter, and begin escorting her down the halls. Missy's eyes scanned the route and rooms as she was marched through the facility, further than she'd even been before.

She was mildly surprised when they left the sterile white environment she'd only known for so long, to enter a concrete stairwell. Up one flight, and through a normal wooden door, Missy found herself in a more office style corridor. It was strange. It felt wrong. For some reason she never thought it would be anything but the lab environment.

The guards continued to pull her down the corridor, breaking her train of thought, before stopping in front of a non-descript door. Wooden frame with frosted glass. A guard knocked before opening the door and leading her inside, the other staying outside.

The office was cluttered but neat. Filing cabinets and book cases lined the walls. There was a window with the blinds drawn in front of it, hiding the world beyond still from Missy's view. There was a cork board with scraps of paper and photographs pinned to it on one wall. Missy spotted a few black and white photos with a red 'x' drawn across them, along with one of her and one of Clara, both 'x' free.

A mahogany desk sat in the centre and behind it, pen scribbling onto paper, was the red head who had caused it all.

Kovarian finally deemed to look up at Missy and gave her a knowing smile.

"Ah Three. Take a seat."

The guard hauled her over to the chair on the opposite side, facing Kovarian, and made her sit before stepping back to stand by the door. As she sat she spotted the iPad on the table, the screen showing heart rate, brain waves and other medical things, along with Clara's experiment ID along the top. Missy surmised that that must be what the black piece of metal they'd left attached to Clara's head was for. She was glad she didn't try to remove it.

Missy settled in the chair and glared stoically over at the eyepatched woman.

"I'm glad to see that you've seen sense."

"As much as it pains me to admit, you may be the best option I have. But that means we have a lot to discuss." Kovarian smirked.

"Quite. Tea?" Missy raised a brow thoughtfully before nodding slightly. Kovarian smiled wide before getting up from her chair and making her way over to a machine under the window. She puttered about for a moment, Missy hearing the sounds of clinking, before she returned with two cups, placing one in front of herself and one in front of Missy, sliding it forward. Missy took a hold of the saucer and pulled it forward, not yet drinking. Instead she leaned back in her chair, making herself comfortable.

"Before I agree to help you, I want to agree on some terms." Kovarian raised a brow.

"Of course. What are these… terms?"

"I want answers." The red haired woman blinked and then frowned.

"Answers. And that's it?" Missy shifted in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest and one leg over the other, putting on a lighter tone.

"Well a five star room for us would be nice. Proper bed. Maybe some better meals. Some board games or a tv would be fantastic." She levelled her gaze with Kovarian, her tone turning grave. "And assurance that you will not harm a hair on Clara's head ever again. But yes, answers. What you did to me. What you did to Clara. And most importantly why. And so help me-" Missy stood sharply out of her chair and slammed her hands on the table, making tea spill form both cups, towering over Kovarian as she held her stare. "- if you lie to me. You get nothing. And I will know if you're lying. You know I will."

Kovarian held up her hand to the guard who had moved forward slightly, hand going to his baton, before she smiled at Missy.

"Of course Three. I will give you complete honestly." Missy nodded and sat back down in her chair. "And if I give you these answers and assurance, and other various little things, you will help us."

"Yes."

"You'll co-operate and do anything we ask of you."

"Yes."

"Even, if it involves further experiments involving Seven?" Missy paused, jaw clenching together.

"Yes," she said quietly through gritted teeth. Kovarian smiled brightly at her answer.

"Good." The red head left her chair again and walked over to the filing cabinet. She opened the middle drawer, perused the contents for a second before removing two files and closing the drawer. She returned to her seat and placed the two files side by side in the middle of the table.

Missy glanced over the covers, seeing the one on the left had 'Experiment Three / 3 / III | CODENAME: MASTER' typed along the top, the one on the right having 'Experiment Seven / 7 / VII | CODENAME: MUTT'. Missy looked up at Kovarian who had clasped her hands together, leaning on the edge of the desk.

"Our aim here has been to create better military forces. With you, we wanted to create a commander, a master manipulator if you will, hence the codename." Kovarian reached over and flipped the cover of Missy's file. The brunette scanned the contents, seeing transcripts of her testing, evaluations of her behaviour, as well as records of the experiments she went through when she first started in the lab. "First we increased your intelligence and brain capacity, and then worked on granting you greater speed and strength, as well as those helpful healing and regenerative abilities. All of those were a rousing success if I do say so myself." Missy didn't return the smile Kovarian gave her. "Then we attempted to implement telepathy in order to help both with commanding troops, as well as manipulating and espionage on enemy forces. The results have been promising, what with certain abilities making themselves known, when you choose to use them it seems-" Missy couldn't help a small smirk at that. "- such as detecting people around you even when you can't see them as well as their emotions and intentions. However the progress has been slower than we'd like. The biggest… failures in your tenure so far appear to be, as your handler put it, 'mild insanity and distinct loss of moral compass.'"

"I wouldn't say it was mild," Missy threw out. Kovarian took no notice, instead flipping the cover of Clara's file. Missy glanced at it and saw most of the same documents that were in hers.

"With your companion we wanted to work on creating an obedient and well-rounded soldier, capable of following orders and doing any skills necessary for a mission. The first thing we did was give her an abundance of tech knowledge. She can hack anything we give her and leave no trace behind. We wanted to start slow and make sure she was indeed a worthy candidate for continued experimentation. As you can see, she was. The next step was the obedience side. As you know we gene spliced Seven with canine DNA. That gave her stronger bones, slightly greater strength and speed, not nearly as high as yours, along with heightened senses, and greater endurance and stamina. She also has some healing abilities, although again not as powerful and fast acting as yours. The obedience side of things as you have seen has not been a success so far."

Missy couldn't help it when her lip curled in disgust.

"The last thing we implemented was the assimilation of various skills through the new 'upload' process. Skills the candidate may need in the future, for example with Seven so far we've chosen lock picking, some engineering and guns skills, as well as a few others. We had perfected the technique of injecting a serum with the desired knowledge imbued inside directly into the spinal cord and activating it within the brain through a large voltage shock, with a previous experiment, and so far Seven has shown the most improvement with it. However it isn't… flawless as you've seen. The information is taken in but integration is difficult. Her body seems to see the information packets contained within the serum once amalgamated with the brain's synapses as… other people as such. As far as we can tell, since she doesn't like to talk about it and we can't get much data from the outside, it's as if instead of these new skills being part of her own mind, as if she did learn them herself like we intended, someone else's memories and knowledge of these skills is now in her head."

Missy frowned. So that's who Clara had been yelling at. These invisible voices in her head, telling and teaching her how to do things she didn't and shouldn't know how to do.

"This has led to psychotic episodes if she is left alone with just these so called 'echoes' or when using uploaded skills. Earlier uploaded skills have, eventually, slowly integrated better and caused fewer episodes, and we believe forcing constant use may help with integration, but the results have been inconclusive." Kovarian leaned forward in her chair. "And this is where you come in. If you help us figure out how to replicate your results with the obedience training, you can stop the needless violence and punishments. You can help us make the uploads smoother, banish these episodes and eliminate the need for the green serum. You can make life for both of you easier, and help us accomplish our goal. All you have to do… is agree to help us."

Missy chuckled darkly and looked away for a moment, biting her lip. After a deep breath she looked back at Kovarian.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice really. I will help." Missy held out a hand, pulling it back a fraction as Kovarian reached out to take it. "As long as you keep up your end and make things easier in this place for us."

"Of course." Missy nodded and then took the eyepatched woman's hand, the two shaking once before letting go. The red head clapped her hands, an expression of barely contained glee on her face. "Excellent. I guess we can start first thing tomorrow."

"I look forward to it," Missy said sarcastically, finally lofting her cup and raising it in a cheers motion before taking a drink. Kovarian smirked and did the same, taking a long drink from her own cup. She placed it back in the saucer and then turned to the guard.

"Take Three back to her room." The red head turned back to Missy. "Make sure you and Seven get plenty of rest. I want to start as early as possible."

Missy felt the guard take her by the arm and pull her up. She took one last look at Kovarian, who had dismissed her, closing the files and placing them back in the drawer, before letting the guard drag her towards the door.

---

The guards led Missy back down to her cell quickly, reaching the door in no time. Once one of the guards had opened the door, Missy shrugged out of their grip, glaring them down as they both unsheathed their batons and held them up defensively. Despite their weapons and bravado, Missy could feel the fear radiating off them. She smirked.

"I can manage myself, thank you."

She turned and marched into the room, stopping just inside to turn her head slightly and eye the guards as the door slid shut. The lights went out as second later as the lab went into night mode. Missy waited, reaching out with her still budding powers, sensing the guards leaving and the floor becoming quiet.

The coast essentially clear Missy hurried over to kneel by Clara, still motionless on the bed in the same position she had left the younger experiment. A brief glance at her puppy's face and Missy could see that the swelling around Clara's eye had lessened significantly, though the bruising was still incredibly dark. Kovarian had definitely not lied about the minor healing abilities her puppy possessed. Missy just wished they were more like hers.

Banishing her worries and setting her mind on the task at hand, Missy reached out and gently grasped the younger experiment's bare shoulders.

"Clara," she hissed, giving the experiment a small shake. "Come on Clara, wake up please."

She shook the younger woman a little harder and Clara's eyes flew open, a pained gasp escaping her mouth as she jerked awake. She breathed heavily for a moment, eyes searching the faux darkness, the left struggling to see passed the slight swelling still present, before they landed on the older experiment leaning over her.

"Missy?" Clara's voice came out as a hoarse and gravely, the last syllable sounding almost like a squeak. Missy smiled down at the small brunette, bringing a hand up to carefully cup the other experiment's bruised and cut cheek.

"There's my puppy," Missy said, relief and happiness lacing her voice as she gazed into both of Clara's brown eyes. Warmth surged in her heart when Clara manged a weak and watery smile back at her, as she gently rubbed her thumb on the younger woman's cheek, mindful of the damaged skin underneath.

She was still somehow surprised that this small thing could create such emotion in her, even after the short few months spent together. Now all she wanted to do was hold onto this feeling as tight as she could and never let go. Never let either of them be damaged again.

Missy licked her lips and moved her hand from Clara's cheek, another smile tugging at her lips when she heard a faint whine in protest from the young brunette, to move under her knee near the wall, the other hand going to the opposite shoulder blade.

"Come on pup, we're getting out of here," she said as she gingerly began to help Clara sit up properly, pushing her upper body up while simultaneously manoeuvring her legs from their position at the end of the bed to hang over the side. Her teeth gritted together when the smaller experiment whimpered in pain at the slight jostling.

"Wait, what…" Clara's face was a mask of confusion and discomfort as Missy got her settled upright and leaning against the back wall. She breathed harshly and deeply for a moment to try and fight the sudden wave of nausea as her head flopped forward slightly. "Missy what are you talking about?"

Missy didn't answer. Instead she moved her hands to towards the black metal still encircling Clara's head. Clara's eyes widened as Missy reached for it, long fingers brushing against it. Ignoring the pain still coursing through her body, Clara quickly reached up and batted Missy's hands away.

"Poppet?" Missy scolded before trying again. Her puppy wouldn't let her get close, feebly grabbing at her hands and fighting her attempts to reach for the metal.

"No. No Missy, don't," Clara pleaded, breathing picking up as panic pushed at her senses, "Don't touch it. They'll know! They'll come. We can't, please, just -"

"Clara." Missy's voice cut through the anxiety and Clara stopped fighting with a hiccup as she silenced her pleas, letting Missy hold her hands in her own as the older experiment stared into her eyes. "My Clara, do you trust me?" Clara blinked before giving a small and fervent nod. Missy smiled and squeezed Clara's hands. "Then trust me. Do as I say and follow my lead. Do that and I promise I will get us out of here. Can you do that for me puppy?"

For half a second Missy was worried her words had come across as an order, but when Clara's eyes flicked to the side in thought, still as bright as ever even in the dark, she breathed an internal sigh of relief. She was going to have to be careful of her words, and make note of the possible tones and words that could cause the wrong response. 'Later,' she thought, 'right now we have to escape.'

After a few seconds Clara swallowed before looking back to Missy and nodding. Missy grinned wide and squeezed Clara's hands again.

"Good girl." Missy let go of Clara's hands, allowing the small brunette to drop them back in her lap, and reached for the black metal. She probed the area around where the headpiece met flesh and frowned. "Do you have any idea how to get this off?"

"No," Clara mumbled, shaking her head slightly, "I've never been conscious when they take it off."

Missy's heart clenched at the quiet confession. She swallowed and forced her shaking fingers to continue feeling for something that might help get it off. She didn't want to resort to just pulling it out if she could help it.

She slipped her fingers in the small space between the metal and Clara's hair and eventually her fingers brushed what felt like a raised button just behind each set of prongs.

"Hang on puppy, I think I've got it. Hold still." Missy pressed the two buttons simultaneously. Each set of prongs unlatched from Clara's skin with a faint click. There was a wet hiss and older woman frowned as a clear liquid seemed to trickle slowly down Clara's temples from under the metal.

As carefully as she could Missy pulled the two sides away from Clara's head. Even with the gentle attempts the small brunette still cried out loudly in pain as the drill like bits were pulled from her flesh, her hands fisting at the material of her trousers at her thighs. Missy threw caution to the wind, given her puppy was already in pain, and pulled the headpiece completely away from Clara's skull and threw it across the room quickly.

"Shh, poppet, shh," Missy soothed the younger experiment, hands going to Clara's temples in comfort, "It's alright, I've got you." Her puppy whimpered pitifully, hands tugging at the material in her fists to try and power through the pain.

Missy moved her hands away and inspected the small experiment's left temple first. She softly used her thumb to wipe away the small smear of blood and the strange clear liquid away. Her eyes widened a little when she saw no mark amongst the bruising. No hole or even a wound, just a small circular scar that was clearly from the repeated use of the machine. She focused on the opposite temple and found the same after she removed the fluid from the area. Missy realised the clear liquid the headpiece had secreted must have knitted the skin and healed any wounds that would have been caused. The older experiment let out a soft angry huff. They clearly had the ability to tend to Clara's injuries but chose not to.

She quelled her rising anger and instead focused on the experiment in front of her. Missy placed her palms over the backs of Clara's hands, silently encouraging her to unclench her fists, before she took her puppy's injured hands in her own again. She stood and slowly pulled her puppy up with her, allowing the younger brunette to sway slightly and gather her footing once standing. Clara's jaw was clenched tight and she breathed deeply through her nose as she fought the pain and nausea to remain upright, finally succeeding and looking up at Missy. The older brunette smiled reassuringly before she ever so slowly took a step back, sliding her hands out of Clara's, letting her puppy stand on her own.

Clara wavered for only a moment as she stood still, seemingly able to stand unaided. She went to take a step forward and her legs buckled, pitching her into the other experiment. Missy brought her arms up to save her puppy as the younger brunette fell into her chest with a stifled cry of pain. Missy wrapped her arms around Clara shoulder blades to help keep her from falling to the floor, the small brunette meanwhile bringing her own arms around Missy's back, her hands clutching at the material of the stained white shirt underneath. The older experiment looked down at the top of Clara's head as her puppy shuddered, letting out a soft groan. Missy waited a few seconds, allowing the younger woman to catch her breath.

"You good poppet?" After a moment Missy felt Clara nod into her chest before the younger experiment let out a long breath. Clara tightened her hold on Missy's shirt before using the purchase to begin to push herself up on her feet again. Missy loosened her grip around Clara but kept her arms still, hovering around Clara's form should she fall again, letting her puppy stand on her own. Clara's hands gradually moved to the tops of Missy's shoulders, then down her arms as she pulled away, eventually settling on the older woman's forearms as she finally made it upright. Missy's hands mirrored Clara's own, lightly holding the small brunette's forearms. Clara breathed deeply for a few seconds before looking up at Missy.

"I'll be fine," she managed to croak out. Missy raised a brow slightly.

"You sure?" Clara nodded.

"Yeah. Let's just, get out of here. Please."

"Even if I have to drag you out pup." Missy smiled before quickly kissing the other brunette's forehead. 'And given your injuries I may have to.' She slowly slid her hands off of Clara's arms and, once she ascertained her puppy wasn't going to fall flat on her face, moved over to the door.

As she examined the left seam in the door, the side that opened first from their end, she heard her puppy's slow and lumbering footsteps grow closer, as the younger experiment attempted to make her own way over. Missy shook her head faintly and smiled fondly as she continued down the door, getting closer to the floor, beginning to crouch. Her puppy was so stubborn.

She'd just knelt down and leaned further in to where the door met the floor when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye to her left. She glanced up and saw Clara stumble over to the small area of wall next to the door between it and the mirror, putting her left hand onto the section to steady herself and keep herself from falling into the wall. She huffed a breath and with slight difficulty turned herself so she could face the older brunette, leaning into the wall heavily with her left shoulder. Missy could see her puppy had snaked her right arm around to the opposite side to clutch at her ribs, no doubt attempting to ease the pain of the more broken ones while moving, as well as her gritted teeth. Clara swallowed and looked down at Missy, who quickly looked back at the door, trying to keep her face passive as she searched the seam.

"So," Clara said, licking her lips and clearing her throat to try and ease the pain, along with the rough sound, as she spoke. "How are we getting out of here?" Missy made a sound of victory just as Clara finished speaking as she found what she was looking for. The older experiment looked up at the younger woman with a triumphant smile.

"Like this." Missy moved her hands towards the seam of the door, the tips of her fingers digging into the very small gap that had never been there before. Using her enhanced strength, she began to heave the door open, adjusting her hands to grip more of it as the gap grew wider, until eventually she was able to get her shoulder against the edge and shove it the rest of the way. The door now open, Missy moved back to her original crouched position and looked back up at Clara, who was frowning in confusing while her jaw hung open slightly in disbelief.

"How did…" Clara's question trailed off as Missy reached out and grasped a small object from the floor at the base of the now exposed door jam. Missy held up what appeared to be a pen lid, which only caused Clara's frown to deepen slightly, the younger experiment wincing almost unnoticeably as even that small move caused pain to shoot through her skull.

"Stole this handy little doodad from that balding scientist of mine," Missy explained with a grin. "Been hiding it from them for weeks. I distracted my guards when they brought me back from my meeting with the head bitch while you were out, and managed to slip this in the door."

"Meeting?" Clara asked quietly as Missy stood and threw the pen lid back into their room.

"As horrid as you'd think poppet," Missy answered as she sidled up to the younger experiment. She locked eyes with Clara so the smaller brunette could see the honesty in her next statement. "I promise I'll tell all the nasty little details later pup. But how about we do like you asked, and work on just getting out of here first eh?"

When Clara nodded, Missy delicately extracted her puppy's right arm from where it resided, and draped it across her own shoulders. She gently pulled Clara away from the wall to allow the younger experiment to put her weight on Missy instead. Clara's face twisted in pain slightly and she moved her left hand to the same spot over her ribs that her right had been holding moments before. Missy kissed the side of Clara's head softly before she adjusted the smaller woman as smoothly as she could, grasping Clara's right wrist with one hand, the other moving around her puppy's back to lightly hold onto her left hip.

Missy glanced at Clara with a raised brow, and when her puppy gave a small nod began to lead them out into the dark corridor beyond. The two experiments moved slowly through the almost silent hallway. The only sounds were the buzz of the low emergency lighting and Clara's heavy breathing.

It took them a few agonising and nervous minutes to reach their next destination. Missy stopped, halting both of their movement, outside the open door to the security room. She could see the glow of screens and monitors casting a light out into the corridor, as well as the faint buzz of the electronics inside.

Missy detached Clara's arm from around her shoulder before gently and quietly propping the younger experiment against the wall. The older brunette brought her finger to her lips, Clara nodding in understanding, before she moved closer to the open doorway. She listened for a moment. She could hear the unclear sound of some loud music playing as well as rather loud and frankly ghastly snoring. Missy took her chance and slowly peeked around the corner of the door.

Inside she saw exactly what she expected. The oaf of a security guard they had hired was, as usual, not doing his job. Just like every other time she'd witnessed him as she'd passed the room in the past, including earlier today on the way to see Kovarian, he had headphones plugged into his ears and was blasting music, drowning out the world around him. His back was to the door and he was reclined back in his chair, feet crossed on the desk with the monitors he was supposed to be watching. Not only that but it was clear from the snoring that he was fast asleep. Missy grinned. This was too easy.

The older experiment silently slipped into the room and crept up behind the unsuspecting guard. Once she was directly behind him the brunette moved like a blur, her right arm locking around his neck while her left hand held the back of his head in a firm grip. He choked and sputtered for a second but didn't get a chance to do anything else. Missy used her superior strength to squeeze and cut off his air supply before there was a snapping sound as she broke his neck. As he slumped in her grip she let go and his lifeless body slid out of the chair, hitting to the floor with a dull thud.

Missy breathed heavily for a moment, staring down at the body on the floor, before she turned back towards the door. Clara was leaning around the doorframe watching, a little wide eyed. She looked up at Missy with a small frown but overall seemed not unnerved by the deed the older experiment just performed. Perhaps the pain and torture had finally taken its toll and her puppy no longer cared about human life. Or at least the lives of the people who had caused her all that pain. Or maybe she was just too tired to question it, wanting nothing more than to leave and accepting the means that were necessary.

The older brunette internally shrugged, leaving these musings for later along with the rest, and beckoned Clara to come inside. The younger woman limped into the room as Missy shoved the chair out of the way. She shifted to the side slightly as Clara made it over, letting the smaller experiment support herself on the control panel near all the buttons.

"They're so complacent," Missy said, allowing Clara to catch her breath for a second, "They don't expect anything to go wrong. Hence the only reason this lout was never fired." She glanced up to see Clara staring at her, taking in her words and silently questioning what was next. Missy sniffed and she looked back down at the panel. "Next phase of the plan then poppet. We need to incapacitate the small amount still left down here so we can leave undetected and undisturbed. There's a vent system that can carry a knockout gas to any room in the lab. What I need you to do with those computer whiz skills is close our door and vent the gas into every other room." She looked back up at Clara who was scanning the control panel, picking out the buttons she'd need no doubt. "Can you do that puppy?"

Clara licked her lips before nodding marginally. She reached out slowly with shaking hands and started to press various buttons and keys. Her hands began to move gradually quicker as she got into a rhythm, her eyes glancing at the monitor in front of her, accessing the commands she needed. Missy looked up as the door slid shut before she heard the rattle of the vents, then the hiss of the gas she'd only had to experience a few times.

After a few minutes the noise ceased and the door slid opened. Clara moved back from the console and leant on the edge of it before looking up at Missy. The older experiment met her puppy's gaze and gave the smaller brunette a proud grin.

"You go girl." Clara blushed a little and looked back down at her hands shyly. "Right, time to get moving." Missy placed a hand over one of Clara's to get her puppy to look at her. "Think you can manage on your own?" Clara swallowed but nodded, determined. "How about picking up the pace?" The younger experiment hesitated for a moment before nodding again.

"I can do it," the smaller brunette said, voice still rough but strong nonetheless. Missy beamed with pride again.

"Good girl. Come on then."

Missy slipped her hand off of Clara's and jogged over to the door. Clara took a deep breath and buried the pain as deep as she could, despite her body screaming at her, letting adrenaline take over and dull whatever still surfaced. With a clench of her jaw she pushed away from the table and followed after Missy.

The older experiment led them down the silent corridor at a gentle but quick pace. They burst out into the concrete stair well, Clara's eyes widening in shock, turning around in circles to look at the odd and oh so different walls. Missy chuckled softly at her puppy chasing her tail, before clearing her throat and continuing on.

"Come on puppy." Missy moved to the stairs to the upper floor, stopping when she saw Clara head for the ones to go down. "No, no puppy. Up first." Clara frowned in confusion. "We're taking a little detour." She continued up the stairs, leaving Clara to shrug and follow, hopping a few to catch up.

Missy entered the office corridor and crept along the carpeted floor towards the familiar wood panel framing frosted glass door. As she reached it she glanced behind her and stifled another chuckle as Clara looked incredibly perturbed by walking on the carpet, a scowl plastered on her injured face directed at the floor. The older experiment turned back to the door, reaching for the knob. She pressed an ear to the glass and, upon hearing no sounds from within, turned the handle and threw the door open.

The older brunette inched cautiously into the room before an evil smile graced her face as she saw what she'd hoped for. The red head who'd caused and orchestrated all their pain over the last months (or possibly years, Missy didn't know how long exactly other than it was an obscene and too great an amount of time) was slumped over unconscious on her desk. Missy stalked over to Kovarian, much like a huntress advancing on her prey, moving behind the eyepatched woman, fingers itching to reach out and snap her neck.

"Missy?"

The older woman's head snapped up at Clara's soft utterance from the door way, and the younger experiment could see murderous intent in the other brunette's icy eyes. It sent a chill down her spine. Upon seeing Clara's anxious and pained expression as her puppy leant heavily on the door frame, breathing hard and sweating slightly, to recuperate from their increase in speed, Missy blinked. She couldn't stoop to her desires now. No the red head didn't deserve a quick and painless death. Missy had a much better punishment in mind.

Missy took a deep breath, the tension of revenge leaving her body for now. She reached over the unconscious woman's head and grabbed the iPad from where it lay, the screen showing flat lines and zeroes, as well as the word 'DISCONNECTED' in large red letters. No doubt since Clara no longer had the metal headpiece on. She also spotted a small pack of matches on the desk, picking them up as well.

"What happened?" Missy looked back up as her puppy slowly entered the room, large brown eyes transfixed on her comatose tormentor. "I thought the vents only went to the lab."

"They do. I did this earlier at that meeting I mentioned." Missy looked at the back of the room near the window and saw a small canvas shoulder bag in the corner on top of a few other bags and items she assumed to be previous experiment's personal property that hadn't been thrown out or snatched up by other employees. She walked over to the pile and picked up the bag, dropping the iPad and matches inside the main pocket. "Remember that green stuff they injected you with?" Clara shuddered and nodded. "Well there was still some inside your weird metal gizmo you've got." As Missy moved over to the filing cabinet she could see out of the corner of her eye her puppy subconsciously reach a hand to the nape of her neck, fingers brushing lightly over the tip of the cold metal. "I got some into that old pen lid and snuck it up here with me," Missy explained as she pulled at the drawer Kovarian had opened earlier. "Slipped it in her tea when she wasn't looking. Of course I may have subtly implanted the idea of tea into her mind when I sat down. She's obviously not as immune to us as she thinks. Overconfidence. That's these people's biggest weakness it seems." The older brunette rifled through the contents inside the drawer before grasping both hers and Clara's files. She shoved them into the bag, shutting the drawer and then the flap of bag before slinging it over her shoulders. "Right poppet, let's go."

Missy moved towards the door, gently grabbing Clara's arm as she passed and ushering her back outside. The two made their way back to the stair case and hurried back down, continuing down the second flight they'd missed earlier. At the bottom was a basement floor. No more stairs. Only a large metal door labelled with a large warning sign for high voltage electricity within.

The two of them shoved open the heavy metal door and entered the room. Pipes snaked along the ceiling and walls. There were a few boilers and circuit breaker boxes, as well as large computer banks throughout the large room. This appeared to be the engine of all their operations.

Missy opened the satchel and fished the iPad out. She held it out to Clara who looked at it before turning her questioning gaze to Missy.

"I need you to do two things poppet. One, I need you to turn off the GPS on this thing so they can't track us. Two, I need you to try and find some blueprints to this place. Can you do that?"

Clara nodded, taking the device from Missy's hands. Her fingers moved quickly across the screen as she easily hacked into the machine. After a minute she handed it back to Missy, the schematics to the room on the screen. Missy scanned them quickly before spotting what she needed. She looked up and scanned the room, finally finding the corresponding wall. She shut off the iPad and stuffed it back in the bag before making her way over to a blank section of the concrete wall to her left, an offshoot corridor on one side and a computer bank on the other, Clara following at her heel. Missy ran her hands over the wall before taking a step back and crossing her arms, her mind racing to think up a plan. She looked at the computer bank and nodded.

"Puppy, think you can overload that thing," she said, jerking her head towards the large machine. "We need to make a nice hole in that wall."

Clara licked her lips and nodded before rushing over to the computer bank, ripping open the outer casing and beginning to examine the contents. Missy turned away, looking back down the corridor and keeping watch. She didn't know how long that gas lasted but most importantly she didn't want to stay here any longer than they had to. Not now they were so close.

She heard her puppy muttering with herself and fiddling with the computer bank. Clara let out a very canine yelp of pain as one of the wires shocked her. She brought her fingers to her lips before going in again. Missy bit her lip as Clara continued to work for another minute, before she heard a low growl build up in the younger experiment's throat that eventually became a loud snarl.

"Oh, fuck this!"

Missy's eyes widened and she spun back around, mouth agape. She'd never heard her puppy swear before, even when she'd been in utter agony. She turned in time to see Clara reach inside the computer bank, tugging on something inside, the muscles in her arms straining, before she ripped out to bundles of sparking wires and shoved them back into two other areas of the machine.

The computer bank began to flash and hiss, smoke billowing out as Clara took a step back. Missy lunged forward and grabbed Clara's wrist. She yanked the other brunette away from the grinding and shaking computer bank and around the corner to the offshoot corridor. She took a few steps inside before she pressed Clara into the wall, shielding her puppy's small body with her own, facing both their faces away from the other room. There was a split second pause where they both held their breath before a loud explosion rocked the entire floor. She heard debris go flying and could smell the burning of metal and stone.

They waited until the smoke and dust billowing around them died, before Missy pulled away from Clara, looking back down the corridor. She glanced at Clara and once ascertaining her puppy was unscathed, at least any further from the explosion, she let go of the younger experiment's wrist and made her way back around the corner.

There in the concrete wall was a large jagged hole. A breeze filtered in and Missy could hear the sounds of nature. She swallowed before moving towards the hole as if in a trance. She looked out into the real world. It was dark. Night-time. She hesitated only a second more before she stepped over the ragged rock and outside the facility.

The air was fresh and Missy breathed it in greedily. The grass was soft and slightly damp against her canvas shoes. She scanned the horizon seeing a line of trees a few yards ahead. She gazed up at the night sky, the stars bright and beautiful. The older experiment let out a cackling, whooping laugh before she spun in a circle, arms opened wide. She stopped facing the building again. A three story blank expanse in the middle of a forest. Rather unimposing from the outside.

She looked back down at the hole to see Clara cowering slightly, still inside and clutching the edge of their escape route with white knuckles, staring out at the world beyond with nervousness and a touch of fear. She locked eyes with Missy and seemed so lost. The older experiment smiled, walking back a few paces before reaching her hand out.

"How about we get out of here, eh puppy?"

Clara let go of the wall with one hand, the limb clenching into a fist a few times as the younger woman licked her lips. After a moment her puppy swallowed and nodded, a small smile spreading onto her face, reaching out and grasping Missy's hand. The older woman beamed and pulled Clara through the hole, before she clutched the younger experiment's hand tighter, tugging her forward as they both took off running towards the trees.

---

Their feet thudded against the damp earth as they ran, branches and leaves attempting to bar their way, scratching and pulling at their skin and clothes. But they didn't slow. Running as far and as fast as they could from the facility that had held them prisoner.

Missy didn't know how long they'd been running (not knowing the passage of time was becoming a frustrating recurring thing even after leaving that hell hole it seemed) but she knew they had covered a great distance since, given her increased stamina, her lungs were only now finally beginning to burn with the exertion. They would have to stop to rest soon. Despite her puppy's amplified abilities she felt that Clara was beginning to wane too. Considering her injuries Missy was surprised, and rather pleased, that the younger experiment had made it this far, especially without complaint. But they would have to rest soon. Particularly if they wanted to keep travelling through the night.

They burst out of another line of trees into a small clearing. Missy skidded to a stop, more mud splattering over her trouser cuffs and shoes that were definitely no longer white. Clara stopped beside her and bent over, hands braced on her knees as she coughed, spitting excess saliva, that was absolutely mixed with blood, onto the ground. Both of them were panting, trying to get their breath back. Missy turned and looked behind them.

"Poppet, can you smell or hear anyone behind us?"

Clara spat out the dribble of bloody saliva that had trickled out of her open mouth as she breathed hard before twisting her upper body around to look behind them. After a second she stood and stared out into the darkness they'd just come from, eyes and ears straining to pick up anything. She sniffed deeply a few times and when nothing but the smell of the forest hit her nose, she shook her head. Missy sighed with relief, placing her hands on her waist to help ease the burning in her chest.

"Then we can take a quick break."

As soon as she said it, Clara stumbled over to the nearest tree and sank to the ground crossing her legs and, leaning her almost bare back against the trunk. She wrapped her arms around her chest, trying to keep the pain in her lungs as well as her ribs at bay, tilting her head back to rest against the tree, eyes closing as she breathed deeply, fighting the urge to throw up.

Missy exhaled as she moved from foot to foot for a moment, body recovering quickly, before she opened the bag still over her shoulder and slowly pulled out their files. She opened her own and flipped through the pages, seeing in better detail the documentation she'd been only slightly privy to before. Reading through some of her early days at the lab she sneered, reliving the words on the page in her head. She reached the end and sighed, shaking her head. How could these people could be so clinical and scientific with human life? The words she'd read made her head spin, and not just because they had happened to her. The events transcribed had been so visceral and real to her, but hear on the page they seemed trivial, almost fictional.

She hesitated a moment before she relented and opened Clara's file. She read the words inside more carefully than her own, since with these she was an outsider. This wasn't her experience. It started out simple enough with descriptions of testing they'd done before any experimentation, just like with her. Stamina assessments on a treadmill. Tests of bite and bone strength. Averaging her endurance with push ups, jumping jacks and other exercises. Seemingly straightforward things. Deceivingly so.

When she reached the three page document describing the gene splicing procedure she had to swallow back vomit and cover her mouth to supress a gasp. It was horrific. How her puppy even survived amazed her. Her Clara was a fighter. The next few pages were of the younger experiment getting retested with the previous examinations, her results all now improving with the enhanced genetics.

At the next section that documented the implantation of the metal ports and the first upload Missy had to shut the file with a quick snap. She couldn't read anymore otherwise she knew she would throw up. It was awful. Her poor puppy. She felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"What's that?"

The sound of Clara's quiet and still rough voice behind her broke her out of her reverie. The older experiment softly cleared her throat and wiped away the tear before turning. Clara was still in the same position against the tree, gazing at her through one eye, the other still closed to preserve energy. Her puppy looked tired and pale, bruising still harsh on her face even in the darkness around them, but her breathing had calmed and she seemed to have recovered mostly. Missy gave the younger woman a small smile.

"Nothing you have to worry about poppet."

Clara frowned for a moment before seeming to accept the older woman's answer and closing her eyes again. Missy watched her puppy for a quiet moment. She couldn't help but smile as warmth grew in her heart, overpowering the sadness and anger for a brief second.

She exhaled quietly before turning away from Clara and crouching down placing the files on the ground. She began to dig into the soft earth, scooping out the dirt and making a small hole. Once she was finished she retrieved the files and dropped them in the hole. Standing she reached into the bag and pulled out the box of matches, opening it and removing one. She struck the small piece of wood on the coarse edge, fire engulfing the tip. Missy held it up and stared at the flickering light, feeling the small amount of heat on her face, before she dropped it onto the paper below. It ignited and began to burn. Missy dropped a few more on for good measure before watching the flames lick upwards. She stared into the fire and felt like this dreadful chapter of her life was burning away.

Once the files had become ash she shoved the excess dirt she'd dug out back over the dregs with her foot, stamping on the earth. She took a deep, cleansing breath before turning around and walking over to Clara. She knelt down and placed her hands gently on Clara's knees. The smaller brunette gradually opened her eyes and looked at Missy.

"Ready to keep going puppy?"

At Clara's slow nod Missy smiled and held out her hands. Clara took them and Missy stood, pulling Clara up with her. Her puppy wobbled slightly but recovered quickly. Missy gave the younger experiment's hands a squeeze before letting go. She walked off further into the woods, Clara following close behind.

---

The sun was beginning to crest over the horizon when they finally made it to the edge of the forest. Missy covered her eyes as she left the tree line and stared down the hill to the quiet cul-de-sac below. It looked picturesque and perfect, like a painting. A far cry from the hell they'd been living in. The rising sun glanced off the tile roofs and stone chipped walls. Compared to where they'd come from it looked like heaven.

A twig snapped behind her and Missy turned as Clara exited the trees, arm clutching her rib cage and steps sluggish. Her puppy definitely appeared worse for wear. She looked tired and sickly, her skin even paler than before making the bruising still marking her skin darker than ever. A sheen of sweat covered her tender flesh and plastered the hair that had escaped the ponytail to her head. Blood seeped from some new scratches across her arms and torso from the trees, as well as some of her existing wounds that had reopened, especially the cuts on her lips, the blood from them mingling with the diluted fluid trickling from her mouth. The most concerning thing was the slight tinge of blue over her exposed skin, given she still had no form of covering except for the small amount of material covering her breasts. Under the stain of blood Missy could see the younger experiment's lips were rapidly going blue as well. She had to get her puppy out of the cold and to safety so she could tend to her.

As Missy studied the younger experiment, Clara took a step towards the summit of the hill and stumbled, falling to her knees. She coughed with a horrible hacking sound and choked slightly before spitting out another glob of bloody saliva. Her body swayed forward slightly, unable to rise back up. Missy hurried over to her puppy's side and knelt down, reaching out to put her hands on the younger experiment's shoulders, heart clenching when she felt the absolutely freezing skin underneath her touch. Clara's harsh breathing hit her ears as she attempted to rouse her companion.

"Come on puppy," Missy whispered soothingly into Clara's ear, hands squeezing shoulders with encouragement, "Just a little bit further."

Clara swallowed heavily but instead of rising simply slumped sideways, resting her head on Missy's shoulder. Missy sighed softly and wrapped an arm around Clara's shoulder, resting her chin on the younger woman's head before looking off down the hill. She reached out with her still growing telepathic abilities and searched the houses below for signs of life. Finally finding an empty abode she smiled.

Missy moved her arm from around Clara and gently pushed her puppy upright. She manoeuvred the younger experiment's arm so it was over her own shoulders, before wrapping her arm carefully around Clara's back just under her shoulder blades, shivering slightly when her arm brushed over the cold metal of one of the ports. She steeled herself and lifted Clara's weight, pulling them both up to a standing position. Clara's feet toed the ground limply until Missy managed to nudge the young woman with her hip, getting her to move her feet again.

"That's it poppet. Just a few more steps and then we can rest properly. I promise."

Missy led them slowly down the gentle incline, heading towards the empty house she'd sensed earlier. They reached the back fence surrounding it without too much incident - a few stumbles here and there as Clara lost her footing a few times – and Missy reached for the latch on the gate. It opened easily and, after a brief scan around the area, entered the garden. She half carried, half dragged Clara down the gravel path towards the door.

The older brunette deposited her puppy onto the stone steps leading up to the door, before examining the handle. She reached out and gave the knob a try, unsurprised when it was locked. She shrugged.

"Worth a try," Missy muttered with a shrug. The older experiment looked down at Clara who had her arms wrapped around her stomach, leaning back against the house wall with her eyes closed, shivering slightly. "They taught you to lock pick right?" Even with her eyes closed, Clara's brow furrowed for a moment before she flinched ever so slightly, then after a pause nodded. "Any chance you can get us in here?"

"No," Clara mumbled, voice still garbled by exhaustion and blood, as she opened her eyes and looked up at Missy with tired brown orbs, "Not without any tools."

"Shame," Missy tutted before turning her eyes back to the door. On a whim she checked the plant pot next to the door but found nothing underneath. With no other option Missy took a hold of the handle and braced her hand against the wood above it. Channelling her superior strength she pushed her shoulder against the door, the wood breaking with a crunch. The door swung open, chips of wood and paint falling to the floor inside. "Almost there poppet," Missy said as she bent down and wrapped her arms around Clara's torso, lifting her up and dragging her inside.

They entered a modest kitchen with a small island in the middle, stools sitting next to it. Missy hauled Clara over to one of the stools, kicking the broken door shut behind her, and hefted the younger experiment onto the chair. She helped her puppy swing around on the stool, lifting her arms up and letting her upper body collapse forward so she could lean her forearms and head on the counter top in front.

Missy ruffled the hair on the back of Clara's head before dumping the bag on her shoulders onto the floor and moving to the overhead cabinets, opening each one by one, eventually finding what she was looking for. She pulled the glass out of the cupboard and hurried to the sink, turning on the tap and filling the glass with water. She shut off the water before placing the glass on the bunker in front of Clara with a dull clink. Missy gently reached out and took a hold of the hand closest to her, leading the limb to the glass and wrapping the fingers around it, before placing her hand on the side of Clara's head. Her puppy finally opened her eyes and looked up at her.

"Drink this poppet," she said, smiling softly as Clara nodded wearily, hand tightened on the glass as she pulled it towards her, "Slowly mind you. I'm going to have a look around."

The house seemed average. Small and quaint. Downstairs was the kitchen, along with the living room, a bathroom and a few cupboards. Upstairs she found another bathroom, cupboard, and two bedrooms, one with an en-suite. She searched through the main bathroom and found a large first aid kit that would come in handy. A brief exploration of the bedrooms showed that it was likely a family with a teenage son lived here. There were some clothes they could 'borrow' as well as some other supplies. Unfortunately there didn't seem to be any wallets or money, which meant that part of her plan got a little more complicated. 'No matter,' Missy thought, 'We can handle that later. One step at a time.'

She moved back downstairs and entered the kitchen, smiling softly when she noted Clara had drained the glass, leaving a slight bloody hand print on it, and moved back to her resting position on her forearms. She sighed and made her way over to the younger brunette, placing her hands on Clara's shoulder blades and bending down to kiss the side of her puppy's head.

"Come on poppet. It's puppy's bath time." Clara whined quietly and Missy heard a faint 'don't feel well' from the smaller brunette. She smiled. "That's what we're gonna fix silly. Now let's go. Up and at 'em."

When Clara whined again Missy shook her head and made a decision. She wrapped on arm around Clara's shoulders while the other slipped under the younger experiment's knees, and in one deft move lifted her puppy up bridal style. Clara groaned slightly, head falling onto Missy's chest as a hand went to clutch at some of the fabric of her shirt.

Wasting no time Missy carried her puppy up the stairs and into the bedroom with the en-suite bathroom. She carefully planted Clara's feet on the carpeted floor in the middle of the room near the bed, keeping a hold of the younger experiment's shoulders until she wasn't going to fall over. She gently lead Clara over to the bathroom door, throwing it open and pulling the smaller brunette inside. She left the younger woman leaning against the sink while she puttered about with the shower, tinkering with the buttons to finally get the water running. She fetched a towel from the cubby hole they sat in and placed it in the sink next to Clara.

"Think you can manage to shower yourself?" Her puppy blushed a delightful pink under the bruising, but managed a stuttering nod. "Good girl. Now you get yourself cleaned up and I'll go do the same. I'll meet you back in the bedroom there." Missy took a step away back towards the door. "Oh and don't bother trying to put on any of that ruined garbage," Missy said, gesturing to the stained and torn trousers and shoes Clara wore, "I'll get us something more suitable. Temporarily of course. Nothing in this place is exactly my style." Missy sniffed haughtily before winking at Clara and giving her puppy a smile. "If you finish before me just sit tight. I won't be long and then we can patch you up properly." Missy turned towards the door.

"Uh, Missy?" Clara's quiet and mildly distressed voice stopped Missy in her tracks and she turned back around. Clara was staring at her, mouth open as if she were trying to say something. Her puppy's mouth closed and opened a few more times before she lowered her head, seeming embarrassed. The younger experiment gestured helplessly to the black fabric still on her chest. Missy's eyes widened as she realised the problem. Clara's body was too injured for her to take the band off on her own. How could she have been so stupid?

"Oh poppet how silly of me. I'm so sorry." Missy reached for the drawers next to the sink, opening them and searching inside. Her search proved fruitful when she managed to snag her hand around a pair of scissors. With a soft exclaim of triumph Missy pulled the scissors from the drawer before closing it and approaching Clara. "Turn around poppet, and hold still." She gently helped Clara turn by placing a hand on her shoulder, before moving it down to her shoulder blade as a slight brace and a comforting presence. She cautiously moved one blade of the scissors underneath the material before snipping it in half. She pulled away and placed the scissors by the sink, watching as Clara crossed her arms to keep the material from falling away entirely and leaving her completely exposed. Missy took that as her cue to leave. "Shan't be long poppet. Enjoy."

Missy left the bathroom and the bedroom, heading for the second bathroom down the hall, stripping off the filthy garments she'd never have to wear again as she went. She entered the bathroom and switched on the shower, not even letting the water cool before she stepped inside, relishing the burning heat after too long of lukewarm water. She let the heat and the spray wash away the dirt, grime and blood, as well as the worry, exhaustion and countless other emotions pent up after being stuck in that lab. She felt the tension melt away, mind feeling calmer just from this one small act.

She stood there for a few minutes before she perused the toiletries available and began to wash herself, starting with her hair. She didn't want to leave Clara alone for too long. She hoped the shower was helping her puppy too. She sighed as the jet washed away the last of the suds before turning the shower off, stepping out and reaching for a towel. She dried off before wrapping the comforting, fluffy fabric around herself. Finally she grabbed the large first aid kit she'd found earlier and headed back towards the bedroom.

When she entered she found Clara just standing in the middle of the room, towel wrapped around her shoulders making her seem even tinier under the abundant amount of fabric (it was clearly for someone taller), staring off into space, biting her bottom lip and looking a little lost. Her hair was still wet and dripping water down her skin and towel, but it was finally out of its pony tail, making the younger experiment already seem a little freer. Younger even. Also despite her injuries her puppy looked fresher faced and better off for the shower. The bruising finally seemed to be becoming lighter and cuts smaller. The miniscule improvements began to put Missy's mind at ease.

"Don't you look squeaky clean poppet," Missy said with a smile, as she placed the first aid kit on top of the dresser next to her. Clara looked up at her voice, blinking out of her daydream. Missy gave her puppy a smile before opening the drawers of the dresser rooting around inside. She lifted up a bra and figured there was no way it would fit her. The curse of 'borrowing'. She did manage to spot some underwear, as well as a silk purple shirt and black slacks. That should do. She placed her haul on top of the dresser and turned to Clara again. "Just let me get dressed and then we can sort you out. Sound reasonable puppy?" Clara nodded and Missy mirrored the move, smiling.

An instant later, without a hint of shame, Missy turned to the pile of clothes and dropped the towel. Missy heard a small squeak followed by a shuffling sound and looked back up to see Clara had resolutely covered her eyes with one hand, whilst keeping a firm hold of the towel in the other, as well as turned around so she had her back to Missy.

"My puppy," she giggled, "ever so chivalrous." Missy stifled another chuckle when she saw the tips of Clara's ears go a little pink. Focusing on the immediate task the older brunette pulled the clothes on quickly, thankful that the shirt fit pretty well, even if the trousers were a little too long. She took a brief moment to relish in not only wearing something that wasn't white, but also the pleasant feeling of finally wearing a different and more comfortable fabric, taking a deep breath and letting it out, sighing happily, before turning back to Clara. "You can look now poppet."

Clara hesitated a moment before Missy saw the younger experiment drop her hand from her eyes, but she didn't turn around. Missy frowned sadly and slowly walked over to Clara, placing her hands on the younger experiment's shoulder blades, gently fisting some of the material of the towel. Her puppy stiffened under her touch but Missy leaned in and placed a soothing kiss on the damp hair above the smaller brunette's ear.

"I just wanna help poppet," Missy whispered in Clara's ear, "We need to dry you off and finish getting ready. I promise I'll do my best not to look if that makes you more comfortable. Alright?" Clara swallowed but nodded jerkily. Missy gave her head another kiss before gently tugging the towel out of her puppy's hesitant grasp. She draped the towel over Clara's head and started to gently buff her scalp dry, rubbing strands of hair between her hands in the towel.

Once her hair was significantly dryer, she moved down, patting dry the skin of her back. She tried to be careful of the metal down her spine but would accidently brush over them every so often. She made sure to mumble an apology every time Clara whined softly when she caught the ports with the towel.

Missy could tell Clara was uncomfortable as the she continued to dry her. She didn't need to use her powers to tell her why (not to mention she didn't like using them on her puppy if she could help it now). Given their interactions back at the lab, what with Clara trying to hide her enhancements or injuries at every turn, Missy thought it had less to do with Clara being shy around Missy, and more that she was embarrassed and ashamed of the state of her body. Missy didn't have many scars since not only was her experimentation was not nearly as hands on as Clara's, but she also had the stronger healing abilities. Her puppy's body was littered with scars of varying causes and sizes, some older and some newer, as well as the metal modifications on her back. It made Missy want to weep that Clara was so concerned about something she herself saw as trivial. She thought her puppy was beautiful no matter what. She might not have seen the scale before until now as more damage was revealed to her than ever before with the smaller brunette now naked, but that still didn't matter. Her Clara went through all that hell and came out the other side still stunning in her opinion.

Finishing drying, Missy cleared her throat before her mind could move to more illicit thoughts on her view of Clara's attractiveness, and threw the towel to the floor. She sniffed and shook her head, moving a little closer.

"Poppet I wanna check your injuries okay, so can you lift your arms up a little and I'll look at your ribs please?"

Clara obliged and lifted her arms allowing Missy to lightly place her hands on the younger experiment's sides. She gently ran her hands around her puppy's ribs, feeling around the bones as carefully as she could. The smaller brunette was tense under her touch, shivering slightly, and right now Missy wasn't sure if it was the fact the brunette was still feeling the cold or if it was because where her hands currently were.

Missy couldn't feel any of the breaks and cracks she had felt before. She hesitated slightly before she decided to test the bones and gently pressed a little harder. When Clara didn't yelp in pain and instead only grimace, Missy concluded that her puppy's bones had healed significantly on their journey. She smiled and stood back up, placing a hand on Clara's back as she went to address the younger experiment.

"It seems those healing abilities you've got decided to go to the priority area and your ribs are pretty much all mended. Probably still a little tender of course but that'll be the bruising rather than the bones. They might not be as strong as mine but at least they are useful. If your bones are sorted they can move onto your pretty face now eh?"

Missy chuckled, trying to make light of the situation, but noted Clara was still rigid, breathing deeply and staring straight ahead. Missy frowned and opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, shifting forward before she froze as the slight movement caused her hand to feel a change in the skin it was touching. Raised and rough instead of smooth. She moved back slightly to look and saw that her hand had landed directly on the large and jagged scar along Clara's back, bisecting one of the smaller ports. Missy frowned at it, her fingers instinctively running over the mark, feeling and hearing Clara's breath hitch as she did so. What was this one? It didn't look electrical, or from a fist, or even a weapon. It was an anomaly Missy couldn't figure out. Luckily she wasn't left in the dark for much longer as she heard Clara's strained voice puncture the silent air.

"The gene splicing." Missy almost didn't hear the inaudible response but just caught it and looked up at the back of her puppy's head. She could she Clara's jaw working as she tried to get the rest of her words out. "That's where they opened me up. They put a clamp in to keep the skin open and… I was unconscious so I don't know exactly what they did." Missy was thankful for that small mercy. "Apparently there was a lot of blood. I just remember pain." Clara's voice broke and she hung her head. "I'm sorry, I know it's horrible -"

And there it was. Confirmation of Missy's suspicions.

In a flash Missy took a hold of Clara's shoulder and spun her around, quickly moving both hands to cup the join of her jaw and neck, grip firm but also soft. Clara hiccupped through a sob in surprise at the move, breathing picking up. Missy stared deep into her puppy's large and wet brown eyes.

"My Clara. It doesn't matter what they did to you. It doesn't matter that you have scars and it doesn't matter that they put metal in you. You are beautiful." Clara's eyes widened at being discovered and Missy smiled. "After all this time do you really think I'd believe anything different. I don't care that you're a bit of a dog. I don't care that your mind is a little broken. I don't care about any of that. I think you're gorgeous my Clara. You need to see that too."

Clara's bottom lip trembled, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she gave up and her face changed as she fought the tears that wanted to fall. Missy wasted no time in pulling her poor puppy into her chest, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and the other around her head, hand stroking her hair as she let the younger experiment sob. Clara shook in Missy's arms as she let go of months of pent up emotion.

After a few minutes Clara began to calm down, the sobbing finally ceasing with one last shudder. She remained with her forehead against Missy's chest, breathing deeply for a few more moments as she gathered herself back together.

"Thank you," the younger experiment whispered, voice a little mumbled by her position against Missy's chest. The older brunette smiled, kissing the top of Clara's head.

"Anytime poppet." Missy moved her hands to Clara's shoulders and pushed her puppy upright again. She moved one hand to wipe away the tear tracks from her puppy's cheeks, still mindful of her bruises and cuts. "You kept me sane in their puppy. Would only be right if I did the same for you out here." She cupped Clara's cheek, running her thumb gently over one of the cuts that was there, and smiled. "Forget everything they ever said or did poppet. They don't matter anymore. We're gonna make a new life out here now okay. We can get our revenge, but after that… Fuck 'em." Clara took a deep breath and then nodded determined. Missy beamed proudly. "How about we finish fixing you up and then we can move onto the next part of my plan eh?"

Clara sighed tiredly and sagged exhausted again, letting Missy lead her over to the bed, sitting her down on the edge. Missy popped back over to the dresser and retrieved the first aid kit before bringing it back. She sat next to Clara and put the kit on the floor in front of her, opening it up and rooting around. She pulled out some antiseptic wipes out first to be on the safe side and proceeded to clean and go over the cuts her puppy's face and arms and hands from the assault that felt so long ago now, and also the small areas on her stomach and chest from their trek through the trees. Most of the cuts had completely closed and were no longer trickling blood anyway.

Missy reached back inside the kit and grabbed a few rolls of bandages. There wasn't much she could do about her puppy's face, and her torso was mostly bruising, but to be safe in case the movement of using her hands and arms to do tasks she thought it best to bandage up those. She nodded to the arm closest to her and Clara held it out, allowing Missy to wrap the gauze from just below her elbow, down the limb and around her hand and palm, leaving her thumb and fingers free. She tied off the bandage before repeating the process on the other arm.

Her nursing job complete she patted the bow of the second bandage and closed the first aid kit, picking it up and standing from the bed.

"Right, I'm going to find you some clothes. So sit tight poppet, back in a sec."

Missy left the room, dropping the used wipes in the rubbish bin on the way out, and returned the first aid kit to its place in the bathroom. She then went into the boy's room, searching through the drawers and cupboards. In the end she managed to get lucky and find some suitable garments her puppy could wear. A tight fitting black tank top that could substitute as a bra for now, a pair of black boxers, a pair of red board shorts and an oversized blue hoodie that would certainly keep her puppy warm. She was positive given evidence from back in the lab and since they'd been outside that Clara felt the cold more for some reason. Maybe it was the dog genetics and she was missing the fur needed for warmth? Missy had no clue the cause so the best she could do was prevent the result.

She threw the clothes over one arm and headed back out, stopping when she spotted a black beanie hanging over the back of a chair, grabbing that too before heading back to Clara. Her puppy hadn't moved from the bed, fidgeting and playing with the bandage on her right hand, much like when they had first met but looking much different in Missy's eyes. Already less hunched over, less shaky, less tense, and when she looked up when the older brunette entered her eyes seemed brighter, her face more relaxed. Missy smiled absentmindedly, turning to a grin when Clara cocked her head at the expression. She walked over and thrust her hand out, holding the mass of clothes out to the younger experiment. Clara took them and rifled through the pile, looking back up at Missy with a brow raised after.

"Don't blame me that you have apparently have the build of a teenage boy," Missy smirked, crossing her arms. Her heart leapt happily when she saw Clara's lip twitch, her puppy trying to resist smiling. "Want some help so you don't have to bend too much?"

Clara nodded and Missy took the pile of clothes from her hands, placing it on the bed before helping the smaller brunette stand. She reached for the tank top and fiddled with it until it was the right way for her to put it on Clara. She looked back up and Clara automatically put her arms out. Missy got her arms through the holes before the younger experiment lifted her arms up so she could pull the rest of it down. It fit just as she'd thought thankfully. She grabbed the boxers and crouched down so Clara could step inside before pulling them up, letting go of the waistband where upon it gave a soft snap. Clara snorted softly and shook her head at Missy, who gave her puppy a light poke in the stomach in response. She patted the smaller brunette's now clothed hip and smiled.

"Think you can handle the looser stuff yourself while I start cleaning up?"

Her puppy nodded once more and sat back down on the bed, reaching for the board shorts. Missy turned and headed for the bin bag in the rubbish bin she'd used earlier. She lifted out the bag and began to collect their discarded belongings. She popped into the en-suite and grabbed Clara's trousers, shoes and the ruined black fabric, shoving it all in the bag. She moved back into the bedroom and gathered their used towels as well. She took a brief detour to the dresser and managed to grab an identical purple shirt to the one she already wore, switching into the newer one, since Clara had cried onto the other one (as was quite her right given the situation), cramming the stained one into the bag. She then went out into the landing heading towards the other bathroom, picking up her own discarded clothes and shoes on the way. Just before she left she spotted a hairbrush on the counter, grabbing it before returning to the bedroom.

She stepped inside just as Clara was pulling on the hoodie, having a little trouble getting her arm in the holes. Missy was about to ask if she wanted help but a determined and annoyed growl from inside the mass of fabric told her Clara wanted to do this herself. That she wouldn't be bested by a piece of clothing. She dropped the bag on the ground before ducking into the bathroom, giving her hair a quick brush in the mirror. Even with just that her hair had more life to it, made her look much more human than she had been in the facility. It was refreshing and made her feel alive.

Missy went back inside the bedroom just in time to see Clara's head pop up out of the neck of the hoodie. The younger experiment shook her head to free her hair and Missy couldn't help but chuckle at her puppy being a puppy. She made her way over and sat down next to the smaller brunette again, holding out the brush with a raised brow. Clara turned her head and let Missy brush her hair, gently tugging out all the knots until it was silky smooth and giving her the same alive and human look.

As she pulled away she could feel the coldness at the tips of Clara's ears, see some still slight shivering. She reached for the beanie still on the bed, placing it on Clara's head and making sure her ears were covered. Once she was finally done Clara turned back to her, looking positively adorable in the whole get-up, the beanie especially. Her puppy gave her a small lopsided smile, and Missy returned it with a smile of her own. Her smile quickly turned slightly mischievous as she suddenly reached out and pulled the beanie down over the smaller woman's eyes. Then Clara laughed. It was quiet and short, but it was genuine and made Missy's eyes sparkle as she joined in. She pulled the hat back into its proper position and gave her puppy a quick peck on the nose, which caused the younger experiment's face to scrunch up. Missy pulled back and took a hold of Clara's hand.

"Ready to leave then pup?"

At Clara's nod Missy stood, pulling the younger woman up with her. Keeping a hold of the other experiment's hand she headed over to the bin bag, dropping the brush in it before picking it up. They headed for the door, Clara following behind Missy, not yet letting go of her hand.

It was only when they were downstairs again that Missy finally let go, grabbing the bloody glass from the counter top and dumping that in the almost full bag. She quickly soaked a spare dishtowel with water from the tap before wiping clean any blood that may have been left behind on the counter top. She threw the rag into the bag and finally tied it off.

She retrieved her abandoned shoulder bag, pulling it on, before picking up the bin bag and approaching Clara who had been standing and waiting in the middle of the doorway. Missy nodded over to the back door and Clara trailed after her. At the door, near the mat, were a few pairs of sandals she'd briefly spied earlier. She grabbed a smaller pair and pushed them over to Clara, who slipped into them no problem, before grabbing a slightly bigger pair for herself. They would do for now.

She stood back up and grasped the door handle and pulled the broken door pen, ushering Clara out back into the garden. She followed and closed the door as best she could.

"Right poppet, we'll drop this off in some bin far away from here on the way into town," she said gesturing to the bin bag. Missy headed down the path, Clara falling in step beside her as they made their way towards the fence. "Let's get out of here then puppy. Time to check out civilisation."

---

They reached the town centre as the people began to wake up and mill about, heading for work or school. Clara stuck close to Missy's side, hands stuffed deep into her pockets, still a little jumpy when people came too close. Missy made sure to keep their path clear, either with her expression or her powers if need be, steering Clara away when neither option worked. They blended in for the most part however. No one giving them a second glance, too busy in their own heads or their smartphones. It made their continuing getaway all the easier. It wasn't long before they entered a small square with a few statues and fountains, people flitting about or sitting having breakfast.

"What do we do now?" Clara asked quietly.

"We get some money," Missy replied, stopping next to a pillar that kept them mostly out of sight.

"How do we do that?" Missy didn't respond right away, instead looking around. She spotted a young man with a backpack over one shoulder rise from his seat on the edge of the square, throwing his coffee cup in the bin before walking away, heading along a path that would take him right past the two of them. She looked down at Clara.

"Still trust me?" Clara frowned but nodded. Missy put her hands on Clara's shoulders. "Then roll when you hit the ground, and stay down."

Clara's frowned deepened and she opened her mouth, but before she could ask her question Missy solidly shoved her backwards. Clara didn't have time to react as a second later she crashed bodily into the young man from before, both of them crashing to the ground heavily. Clara remembered Missy's words and rolled as she hit the ground, the concrete stinging her injuries under the bandages on her arms, and stayed down on all fours like she was told.

"Oh my god, Clara!" Missy exclaimed, putting on a panicked tone, rushing over to Clara's side, fussing over her and all in all putting on a rather impressive show. "Are you okay poppet! Oh dear!" Missy bent in close to Clara's ear. "You alright poppet?" Clara gave a small and discreet nod. "Good girl. Just follow my lead. Play up the hurt puppy look okay? And keep looking at him." She gave Clara a quick kiss on the side of the head before turning to the young man who was slowly picking himself up. "I'm so sorry."

"It's quite alright," he said, as he stood watching Missy help Clara up, brushing down her clothes and stroking her cheek. Missy turned to him again.

"I really am terribly sorry. We just left the hospital. Car accident last week and she just got out. Still a little shaky it seems." The young man's eyes flicked to Clara and he immediately looked away when he caught sight of her injured face.

"Ah no I'm sorry," he said, trying to look anywhere but them, clearing his throat and clutching the strap of his backpack, "Wasn't watching where I was going."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Missy asked, approaching him and brushing down his jacket. He took a step back, waving his hands back and forth as he shook his head, still avoiding their gaze.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Honestly."

"Alright," Missy said, squeezing his arm, "Sorry again." The young man nodded and turned, quickly walking away from them. Missy turned to Clara smiling, hands hidden behind her back, the younger experiment still looking confused in comparison.

"Okay what was that about?" Missy's smile only grew as she pulled her hand out to reveal a plain black wallet, shaking her prize slightly. Clara's eyes widened. "How?"

"Simple poppet," Missy said, dropping her hand and hooking her free arm through Clara's, leading them away from the area and across the square, heading further down the street, "I used his humanity against him. As soon as he got a look at you, all bruised and battered, combined with the sob story of a car accident, he wanted nothing more than to leave. He felt guilty that he'd hurt someone who was already injured, given that he wouldn't look at you – and you played that part so well poppet -" She squeezed Clara's arm between her elbow in support and Clara looked away shyly. "So while he was distracted with his guilt and need to get away, I pinched his wallet out of his pocket." She shrugged. "Easy."

"Impressive," Clara responded, making Missy's smile turn a little smug. "So how does the wallet help us?"

"This is how we get money."

"But what if there's no money in it."

"No, no, puppy. It's not actual money we need." Missy opened the wallet and pulled out a bank card. "This is how we get money." Clara looked utterly lost. "We use that iPad to duplicate the account. Well, you do that given hacking is part of your expertise. Change a few details to make it our own. Add sufficient funds. Then we pop into a branch of the bank and tell them we misplaced our card. They'll give us a new one, even if I have to subtly suggest that's what they do, and hey presto we're in business. After that I think it'll be time for a well-deserved shopping spree. Finally get some decent clothes and supplies."

"Okay," Clara said slowly, so far following the plan, "But where do we get these… funds." Missy grinned impishly at the younger brunette.

"Oh I'm sure our good friend Kovarian has a few million we can… 'borrow'. I think it's the least they can do, don't you agree poppet?"

Missy watched as a grin broke out on her puppy's face. She chuckled as they continued down the street.

---

About four hours later they had entered into a small coffee shop. Clara sat at a table in the middle of the seating area, hands wrapped around a cup of tea, the warmth of the liquid inside seeping into her skin, now free as she'd binned the bandages an hour ago, and easing the slight chill that seemed to permanently permeate her body.

They had created their new bank account and acquired sufficient funds from the company that owned the lab without a problem, taking enough that they could comfortably live for the rest of their lives – even if their lives lasted a few extra centuries - but not enough that their trail could be followed. After they'd visited the bank and received their card without incident, they had indeed gone on a rather large shopping spree (that Clara had promptly wiped from their bank history afterwards so no one could follow).

A change of clothes was the first thing in order. Clara had discarded her borrowed clothes and acquired a much better fitting outfit. She'd traded the sandals for a black pair of socks and high top trainers that supported and warmed her feet far better. The board shorts were abandoned for a black pair of jeans, and the hoodie exchanged for a long sleeved blue checked shirt, a grey jumper and a black leather jacket. She'd decided to keep the beanie. The entire ensemble, which she had picked out herself, made her feel more of her own person, finally feeling like she was free of that place. Their journey wasn't over yet but she was starting to feel improved. Safer.

She turned her head to look at Missy who was still waiting at the counter for the rest of their order. The older brunette had opted to keep the purple shirt she had 'borrowed' but elected to trade the slacks for a much better fitting pair of black trousers and a matching form fitting suit jacket, along with a sensible pair of black heels. She'd also done her hair up in a rather intricate style that complimented her features beautifully.

Clara blinked away her odd thoughts and turned back to her tea with a sigh, foot kicking the duffel bag under the table. Inside was a bunch of extra clothes for the pair of them, as well as a few extra supplies (some toiletries such as deodorant and hairbrushes) and spur of the moment buys (Missy had grabbed quite a few chocolate bars in one shop), along with a brand new laptop and two mobile phones. Clara didn't know what the tech was for but Missy's plan was still working so she chose to continue to trust her.

She was brought out of her musings when there was a dull clink of crockery on wood as Missy placed a plate down in front of her. Clara stared at what seemed to be a ham and cheese toastie cut into two triangles, as Missy sat down on the other side of the round table, taking a sip of her own black coffee. Relishing in the hot and bitter taste with a happy sigh, Missy placed the cup onto the table and inspected her puppy's face.

The bruising was finally starting to fade from its dark purple colour and some of the smaller cuts had started to scab and heal, but the younger experiment looked exhausted. Her eyes were tired and sunken into dark circles that had nothing to do with the black eyes she'd received before, with bags underneath, not to mention red and a little blood shot. Missy wasn't surprised. Not only had her poor puppy been beaten senseless and put through the terrible experiment she'd witnessed, prior to that it had been days since Clara had eaten or slept properly. Then again even before that she hadn't done either very much in their entire stay together at the lab. Add onto that their mad dash escape, trek through a forest and march through the town… Her puppy was most likely running on fumes. At least if she could get her to eat something now she could work on the sleep thing later when they had a chance.

Even that mission seemed destined to be difficult when Clara shoved the plate away from her, still staring at the food with a mixture of suspicion, aversion and nausea. Missy sighed and pushed the plate back towards the smaller brunette.

"Come on poppet," she whispered, "You have to eat something." The younger woman shook her head vehemently. Missy rubbed her face with one hand, a soft grumble of frustration escaping her mouth, before placing her hand over her mouth thinking. She decided to pull a risky gambit. "Clara," she said seriously, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table. She waited until her puppy locked eyes with her. "Please poppet, don't make me order you."

Clara blanched at Missy's words, breath catching in her throat. She could see from Missy's expression that the older experiment strongly didn't want it to come to that, but that she wouldn't hesitate to do the act if it meant in the long run it would help the other stay alive. Clara swallowed and looked down, relenting to Missy's wisdom and reaching for the food.

Missy sagged in relief. She would have hated to actual have to try and make Clara do something. The older woman frowned when her puppy surprisingly pulled one half of the sandwich towards her, the melted cheese following like string, and placed it on a napkin that had been under the plate, before pushing the other half on the plate towards Missy. She raised a brow and Clara half shrugged.

"You need to eat too," she mumbled. Missy hid a smile. Her puppy wasn't wrong. She could feel Clara's eyes on her, waiting, so she took the half sandwich and bit into it, having to stifle a moan at tasting something that was actually warm and had flavour. That seemed to satisfy Clara, who gently grasped her half and started to nibble on it. The action placated Missy enough as she took another sip of her coffee. "What do we do next?" Clara asked as she put her half of the toastie back down and wrapped her hands around her cup again.

"We get out of here I suppose," Missy said, chewing the last of her mouthful and swallowing. "Somewhere sunny maybe. I hear Spain is nice." Clara nodded in agreement.

"When?"

Missy hummed in thought before something buzzed in her brain as her powers picked up on some sort of danger and evil intent. She turned and surreptitiously looked out of the front window of the shop, seeing two suspicious looking men in suits wandering around outside.

"I was going to say after we finish our drinks but I guess it's now. Come on puppy." She stood quickly, grabbing the handles of the duffel bag in one hand and Clara's wrist in the other, pulling the smaller brunette up to follow. She headed for the back, warding off any employee suspicions with a brief pass of her telepathy. They exited out the back door into a small side street with a few cars parked along the edges. "I don't suppose you can hot wire a car eh poppet?" Clara frowned slightly before flinching, much like the last time, and nodding. "Good. Airport here we come."

---

Clara's fingers clacked across the keys of the new and now set up laptop, sun beating down onto the small Spanish plaza.

Missy had drove them to the airport in record time. They'd booked tickets, Missy taking care of their problem of no passports with a simple touch of the clerk's hand and a few influential words in a low tone, also getting them upgraded to first class at no extra charge. She'd also gotten them through security and customs by having the small amount of people look the other way when Clara unsurprisingly set off the metal detector.

The actual flight was uneventful. Despite her anxiousness about flying, Clara had finally passed out the second the plane was in the air and the seatbelt sign came off, curling up in the seat and sleeping all the way until they'd landed on the other side. Missy had ended up pushing the arm rest separating them up and pulled Clara down so her head rested more comfortably in her lap, stroking her hair like she normally would. It made the flight pass much quicker.

They had headed to an outdoor café and set up their new laptop, connecting the iPad to it, and Clara was currently putting the final part of Missy's plan into action. One more keystroke and she was done. The younger experiment stretched backwards and rubbed her eyes. She might have slept on the plane but the events of the past roughly 24 hours, along with the previous however many months, was finally starting to catch up with her. She dropped her hands to the arm rests and sat back in the chair, staring at the world map on the screen with small dots all over it.

Suddenly she felt arms wrap around her shoulders and a sharp chin rest just above her collar bone as Missy set her head next to hers. Clara looked up at the older woman and stalled for a moment. Missy had popped off to the bathroom and had clearly applied some make up while there that made her look even more stunning than ever. Her eyes dropped to the other brunette's now red painted lips for a second before she realised and blushed, looking back down at the laptop.

Missy had noticed and chuckled, eyeing her puppy's profile. Through the course of their drive and flight the younger woman's remaining injuries had mostly healed. The bruising had faded to yellows and greys, and almost all the cuts had healed, a few leaving small scars. The only cuts still left visible were larger lacerations, the ones through her eyebrow, cheek and on the bridge of her nose, along with the two splits in her lips. In a few more hours her puppy would probably be completely mended. Missy sighed and leant her head against Clara's.

"Are we ready to go poppet?"

"Uh," Clara said clearing her throat before continuing, "Yeah. All ready. Press this button." She pointed to the enter key. "The whole company will implode. Money and assets will be liquidised, as much as we can sent to people who need it. All their dirty and unwanted secrets, including the human experimentation and other scandalous projects, will be released to the world. All the top brass should be arrested and sent to jail."

"Including Kovarian?"

"Especially her," Clara snarled. "As much as I could I pinned on her. She'll go away for a very long time." She looked back up at Missy who's eyes were sparkling, revenge close enough to taste.

"Do it puppy."

Clara nodded and turned back to the laptop, Missy settling comfortably on her shoulder, before pressing the button. The pair watched as the small dots across the map started to blink out one by one until there was nothing left.

"It's over," Clara sighed grinning.

"Well done my Clara."

The younger woman felt Missy's fingers lightly take a hold of her chin, tilting her face towards the other brunette, before lips met her own in a soft kiss. Clara froze for a second before melting into it. It was short but sweet. A long standing dam finally breaking between them with joyous abandon, and leaving both with the promise of more.

Missy pulled away first, unable to keep the smile from her face as she nuzzled her nose into Clara's cheek with a happy sigh. Clara rested her forehead against Missy's as she caught her breath.

"So. What's next?" Missy moved back so she could look at Clara properly.

"Take over the world?" Clara chuckled and Missy's smile grew at the sound. "Nah. Not yet. That can wait. I think we deserve a real holiday first eh puppy? How about Hawaii?"

"Sounds perfect," Clara said, covering one of Missy's hands with one of her own as she leaned against the older brunette's shoulder. Missy kissed the top of Clara's head before she rested her own head atop and running her hand through her puppy's hair.

Life was actually starting to look up.