Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X; I am just borrowing them to fulfil my musings. They will be brought back (Relatively) unharmed.
A/N: Rated T for violence. ShalBren (although not in an overly mushy or romantic sense – just delving deeper into their growing relationship and exploring some of the feelings they have for each other) Major Shal/Minor Bren thumping. This is my first mX fic, but don't be dishonest. I welcome constructive criticism. If all you have is flames – well...I have a fire extinguisher!
Summary: The Dominion has been around for a long time – long enough to know that Ashlocke was not the first...there was another. One other, who defies all reason and escapes all knowledge – That is until she is released from her stasis to wreak havoc upon the world, plunging it into darkness. Dangerous and without conscience, she begins her cold revenge upon The Dominion, accessing her once dominant powers that even Mutant X may not be able to defeat...
ONE
She glared at them with dark, hooded eyes as the door burst inwards with a shower of timber splinters. They took a step back and reached for each other, their eyes wide with fear as three burly men stepped through the rubble and grabbed the young woman by the arms.
She struggled against them, astounding them momentarily with her strength, but they compensated quickly, tightening their already vice-like grip and soon her thrashing ceased. But she had not given up. Not by a long shot. She ignored the men for several seconds, her eyes still fixed upon her parents as they cowered in the corner, terrified of the thing their daughter had become.
"You should be afraid," she hissed. "I know it was you who turned me in. You betrayed your own daughter. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves,"
As she spoke, her eyes filled black, darker than a storm, full of hatred an malice, then in a blink, it was gone, but it was enough. Her mother gasped and gripped her father tightly which induced a bout of maniacal laughter from the girl. They had no choice, or so they thought. She was a witch after all.
One of the men, tanned muscles flexing, released her for a moment only to deliver a strong backhand to the side of the head. She slumped forward, dazed. "You will die...all of you," she snarled, blood and spit sliding down her chin and dripping onto the hardwood floor. The man gripped her blonde hair and wrenched her upright so that she was staring into his cold, blue eyes.
"Not if we kill you first, Hell Witch," he growled, spitting in her face, "Nice and slow,"
The girl gave him a bloody smile, her eyes flickering black once again. Disconcerted, the men stepped back, releasing the woman as she rose; fire burning at her fingertips. "Well boys, Hell is empty and all the Demons are here," she said with a wink.
Although frightened, the man that first struck her stepped forward boldly, gripping a length of wood broken from the door. "Stand down Witch," he demanded his voice steady and his eyes sharp. Arms outstretched, she took another step toward him, failing to notice her father stride to the fireplace and pull out an iron poker. "You are not our daughter!" He shrieked, swinging the poker with all the strength he could muster. She spun around just in time to feel the iron connect with the side of her skull. Her world erupted into pain, a thousand stars filled her vision as she sunk to her knees and fell into darkness...
~ Mx ~
Lightning forked across the black sky, momentarily illuminating the room as if day had come prematurely. Shalimar shot up in bed, her blonde tresses sticking to her sweat-soaked face. It took a moment for her to control her wildly beating heart, but as it slowed, she let out a long shuddering breath and lowered herself back onto the pillows. Staring up at the ceiling, Shalimar sighed, not sure how much longer she could cope being away from Sanctuary and her own bed. With the Helix down, stranding them in another state, she and Brennan had no choice but to hole up somewhere for the night and wait for Jesse to come by car with replacement parts and the necessary tools to get the job done.
Shalimar was used to the peaceful silence of her home – not that she feared the storm - but with her sensitive, animal like senses, each flash of lighting burnt her retinas and each thunderclap sounded to her as though the world was tearing itself apart. She rolled over to face Brennan, who as curled up next to her due to the lack of bedding, and jabbed him, with a bit more force than she intended. The electrical elemental snorted into consciousness, tiny blue coils of static electricity bouncing atop his dark, sleep mussed hair.
"Whaa?" he grumbled, "s'matter Shal?" he inquired, stretching languidly.
"I don't know, Bren...I just had this dream, only it felt like more than that. It felt like I was reliving a moment through this person's mind and body. I knew what she was thinking, and I felt her pain...Brennan, I'm not afraid to admit it...this dream has me scared as hell. It's like having Ashlocke in my head again..." She trailed off, her eyes never leaving his as he reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"Don't worry Shal, I'm sure it was just a really intense and realistic dream, I mean, you're away from your home and there is one helluva storm raging outside. The perfect ingredients for an over-active imagination. Now get some rest. Jess should be here in the morning with the new combustor and he will probably want us to help."
Brennan burrowed down into his pile of pillows and watched Shalimar for a second.
"Do you need me to tuck you in and sing you a lullaby?" he asked teasingly.
Shalimar's eyes flashed gold before she hit him in the face with a spare cushion
"Good night smart ass," she said rolling onto her side and closing her eyes, feeling a lot better than she had ten minutes ago.
"Night Shal," Brennan replied.
The next morning, Shalimar awoke to the sound of frantic pounding at the hotel room door.
"Shal! Bren! Would somebody please let me in! Its pouring out here I'm getting soaked!" Came Jesse's voice, muffled by the heavy rain pounding on the roof.
The blonde feral swung out of bed, padded to the door and unlatched it, granting the bedraggled molecular access.
"Big surprise," Jesse murmured, indicating the still sleeping elemental.
Shalimar yawned, grabbed her pillow and threw it bodily at Brennan, who hadn't been disturbed by Jesse's unique wake up call. Shalimar's projectile hit its mark and he shot up, his hair sticking up as if he had stuck his finger in a power socket.
"Time to get up princess," Shalimar said, giggling at Brennan's bleary morning look.
"g'morning," he said thickly, rubbing his face and yawning before finally noticing that Jesse had arrived. "Oh hey bro," he said, cocking an eyebrow at the dishevelled state his friend was in. "Did you forget to put the roof up Jess?"
Jesse Kilmartin rolled his eyes, and accepted the towel that Shalimar offered to dry himself off.
"Ha ha, actually Bren, I got wet waiting for one of you to let me in," he replied, scrubbing is floppy hair dry. "I was bashing for fifteen minutes before Shalimar woke up...which is weird considering you're usually an early riser," he directed the last statement to the feral woman as she pulled a bottle of water from her duffle bag and downed half of it in a single gulp.
"I slept like crap Jess. And a little bit of water never hurt anyone,"
Jesse eyed her for a second, and noticing the dark circles beneath her eyes, he softened.
"So, where did you leave the Helix?" He inquired, taking a seat at the small table.
"We left it cloaked in the woods, a couple of miles out of town," Brennan replied, pulling his boots on and rising slowly. "We walked from there. This was the closest hotel with a vacancy,"
Jesse snickered. "No singles left either huh?" he teased.
"Shut up, Jess," Shalimar laughed, punching him in the arm. "Do you have what you need?"
Jesse nodded an affirmative and waited as they gathered their overnight gear.
After checking out, Shalimar joined the others in the Mustang, only slightly damp from her bolt in the rain.
Brennan, who had commandeered the vehicle from Jesse, started the car and rolled it out of the drive and onto the main road.
Due to the weather, not many people where about, which suited them fine as they cruised toward the national park at the edge of town.
"I hope you parked it somewhere a hiker isn't going to run into it," Jessie grumbled from the passenger seat.
"Jess, would you hike in this? Its hidden don't worry," Brennan replied, pulling into the gates of the park and stopping the car.
"Oh yeah Brennan, let's hope nobody notices the big, rain free dome and mysterious patch of dry dirt in the middle of a torrential downpour," Jesse said dryly, pointing to the circle of dry ground before them. Brennan shrugged and used the remote to open the rear hatch of the Helix.
"C'mon then, nerd wonder, get it fixed before someone notices!" Brennan shot back, running into the jet. Shalimar and Jesse followed close behind, carrying the tools and the parts they needed to get it back into the air.
"How long do you think this will take?" Shalimar asked, sitting down in the co-pilots chair.
"As long as it takes," Jesse replied, removing the floor hatch and disappearing from site.
Brennan sat by Shalimar and rolled his eyes. "Great...that could mean forever."
More than four hours and nine games of poker later, Jesse emerged, covered in grease and sweat.
"That should do it," he said, running his hand through his hair. "I'll meet you back home in a few days,"
Brennan nodded and tossed him the keys to the Mustang before belting himself up.
Shalimar did the same as she opened a comlink to Sanctuary.
"Hey Lexa, Jesse worked his magic and we're good to go. We should see you in a couple of hours,"
After a few seconds silence, a crackled reply came over the link.
"Copy Shal, see you guys soon...take your time though, I'm enjoying the silence,"
"Yeah, we missed you too Lex," Shalimar laughed light-heartedly, just glad to be finally going home.
TBC
Let me know what you think – reviews are always appreciated, especially this close to Christmas