She was nothing. A broken piece of experimental waste. Marcus could see that the first time he looked into her wild eyes.

The pale girl reminded him of a frightened, feral animal. He wondered if something so damaged could be tamed.

It seemed such a waste of resources, too. He couldn't perceive one ounce of value in possessing such a creature. Still, the partners were adamant that she be removed from the Academy. Shame they were going to piss off their highest paying clients.

As he pulled the lethargic girl along firmly by the arm, past the broken bodies littering the corridor, she snapped out of her daze and looked at him anxiously. "Simon? You're not Simon."

"The name is Mr. Hamilton, but you can call me Marcus." He offered, glancing into her wobbly eyes a moment before foraging ahead. Picking up his pace, he continued to speak to her. "I apologize that there wasn't time for proper introductions. Too many heads to snap. You understand. Things of such always put a damper on formalities."

River was trembling violently and dragging her feet as she muttered. "Made up of a thousand souls. All bloodied. It's futile!" Where the large man gripped her flesh, it burned.

"Only a thousand? And they said you were a genius." Marcus made a tisk tisk noise and shook his head in disappointment.

He was slowly burning her skin. Soon, she'd be nothing but ash. "No! Cannot make me." River struggled more frantically against his grasp. "Will not fall into darkness!"

The girl was squirming something fierce, not that it slowed him any. It was just annoying. You'd think she'd be grateful to get away from her tormenters. "Beggars can't be choosers, little girl. It's one evil or another eventually. Now come along before the boogiemen return." Marcus advised calmly as they reached the elevator.

He felt something sharp pierce the skin of his forearm. She'd bit him. Interesting. Maybe they would get along after all. Marcus squeezed her arm hard, causing her to cry out. "Do that again, and I will be forced to knock you out. Can carry you just the same." He traced his finger over the small defect now on his sleeve. "Fine suits are hard to come by these days. Don't need crazy little teeth marks ruining the few I have left."

"Greed is a failing." River spat, looking at him with disgust. She knew his pleasant appearance to be a farce. Scales and charcoal resided underneath. "You are just a loud echo." She accused, trying to ignore the searing pain in her arm. This wasn't supposed to happen. Simon should have come, taken her to a place of Serenity.

Marcus laughed deep while he punched in the code to override the elevator systems. "Pity then you can't block out the voices. And greed is only a weakness of character to mortals. The rules don't apply when you breathe eternally." He finished haughtily, and pulled her into the elevator, taking them down to the first floor.

River just looked at him, mystified. "You can hear them?"

Marcus readjusted his grip on her arm. "I know all about you and your…issues, also, your strengths, for lack of a better word. Mortals are inferior to us. But, I suppose you must have some purpose."

The girl fell silent and stopped struggling by the time they exited the elevator and walked right out the front door. Not, of course, before he had to take out 15 or so more impediments and their silly weapons. Honestly, the things were useless. The future just wasn't what he expected, at all.

Waiting for them outside the facility was a small company craft, all fired up and ready to go. The night was warm and it felt nice to get out of that cold, sterile place.

The wild thing resisted entry at first, but she was fatigued, and he was able to nudge her into compliance on his second attempt. Marcus sat next to her and strapped them both in. "See, things are much easier for you when you cooperate." Feeling the shuttle lift, he sat back and tried to get comfortable.

River scowled, crossing her bare arms over her frail body. "That's what they say. Blue death and lies."

Marcus cocked an eyebrow at her. "You know, you have a very morbid appeal. Think you'll fit splendidly at Wolfram and Hart."

"Won't. Belong nowhere. Nonexistent." River disputed.

Marcus sighed. "They did say you were a depressive. Among other things."

River glared at him. "All things die. Your end will come."

"Homicidal being another." He added in an amused tone.

Marcus noticed the girl's lips were a nice shade of purple and her teeth were chattering. The thin blue frock she was wearing offered little coverage. "You're cold. Here." Taking off his Jacket, he wrapped it around the girl.

River looked up at him, and he found her dark eyes imposing, bottomless, strangely beautiful in a way he had never seen before. It had been millenniums, if ever. Odd. Too bad the rest of her wasn't much to look at.

"Malevolence and etiquette. You're a contradiction." She noted. She had stopped shaking, warmed by the body heat retained in the lining of Marcus's coat.

He smiled courteously. "Not exactly, River. You see, decorum is what separates the common level demons from the rest of us. It's a sad world when you can't ask a man nicely to beg for his life."

River turned away, disinterested, and stared out the small widow into the vastness of the atmosphere. "Your jacket smells like man stink."

"I can take it back." Marcus offered.

"No!" River exclaimed and clung tighter to the gray fabric.

"Well, stop complaining, then. It will make the journey much more enjoyable." Marcus reproached.

"Wasn't complaining. Observing." River corrected. "You're pungent. An alpha male."

Marcus smirked. "That's a nice way of putting it. Don't worry; I'm sure being cooped up in that lab has dampened your senses some. You'll adjust."

It was quiet for a long while after that, for which Marcus was grateful. The girl could be a bit of a pest. He hoped the journey to Londinium wouldn't be too much longer. Perhaps he should have teleported them.

Her small, mousy voice jolted him out of his much revered solitude. "Approximately 12 hrs and 27 minutes."

Marcus peeked an eye open. "Are you reading my thoughts?" He knew her to be intuitive. Schizophrenic was also a possibility. Clairvoyant was something else entirely.

She just looked at him in a creepy manner. He found it highly amusing that he could be disturbed by the human girl at all. Those eyes. Something just wasn't right about her, in an every dimension sort of way.

"Out of order." River agreed. "Took apart the pieces to see how I work. Added components. Don't work this way." River confessed solemnly. The girl looked miserable, and if he had a heart, or a soul for that matter, he might have felt bad for her.

"So you are a reader then." Marcus said thoughtfully. Those are most definitely a commodity, on this plane of existence and others. Huh. The partners hadn't filled him in on that major detail. The girl was looking more the valued asset.

River yawned and curled her legs to her chest, pulling Marcus's jacket up around her neck. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You were correct. Becoming immune to the stench."

Marcus tensed up, uncomfortable with the girl's sudden transition in behavior. Since when was he so unimposing to her that he could be deemed as a pillow? Nudging her harshly off his arm, he quickly put her in place. "Please don't mistake my rescuing you as heroism. I understand you're a little whacked in the head, so I'll be kind and forewarn you, I'm not to be trusted."

River was unfazed and yawned again, her eyelids feeling like thousand pound shutters. "Caretaker." She murmured, before snuggling back against the solidness of Marcus's arm and quickly faded from the realm of the conscious.

The girl's listening skills were unquestionably something to be desired. He could just toss her off of him and onto the floor, he thought. Train the dog to obey. It was then he felt her little arm tighten around his, holding on for dear life.

Um. It seemed she was absorbing his thoughts even in her sleep. Well, if she weren't already screwed up, peering into the likes of his mind 24 hours a day would most certainly send the little thing over the edge. Guess he could be nice, for now.

TBC