2. Massive Headache

Mariana woke with a splitting headache. It felt like someone was taking a hammer and pounding her brain mercilessly. She groaned and opened her eyes, only to have the light blind her. She heard angry whispers and then a door slam. She winced at the noise and groaned again. She heard someone move towards her and tried opening her eyes again. This time she could make out a blurry figure, but that's all. "How'd I do?" She knew she was at the headquarters, but only because the last person she saw before she blacked out was King. She didn't know how long she had been out, but by the way the pain felt she knew it hadn't been long.

"You kicked ass, even if you didn't listen to us Mars." It was Abby, the voice she had hoped she would hear. She smiled through cracked lips, "And King? How is he?" She heard a hesitant sigh and knew she had pissed of her mentor, "Abby.." She felt Abby's hand on her arm and looked away. "Not a word Mars, I know how tough he has been on you. He's pretty pissed, but give him a bit of time and he'll come around." Mariana nodded and felt something sharp against her skin. She inhaled sharply, "Abby.." darkness was enveloping her again and the last thing she heard was Abby's voice, "Shh..Sleep Mars."

Mariana opened her eyes slowly, not feeling the pain she had before. She took in a deep breath and found that not even her ribs hurt anymore. She rubbed her face and then pulled herself into a sitting position. Looking around she could see that she was in her room, but all of her equipment had been stripped from the room. Slowly she climbed out of the bed and checked all of the places she had hidden weapons, only to find them empty too. She shook her head and growled angrily. She pulled on some clothes and looked in the mirror. She needed to shower and needed fresh bandages. But they could wait. She wanted to know why her gear was gone.
King sat in a chair in front of a set of surveillance monitors. Each monitor had a different scene that would change to another camera's point of view every few seconds. On one he saw a brief scene of Abigail messing around in the lab. On another he saw Mariana limping her way down the hall. He smiled slightly and decided to meet her half way. He knew she was out to find him, but he needed to speak to her just as well. Ever since the night she blew it he had been angry. And that anger had not subsided at all. He stood quickly and moved from the room. Heading straight to the place he knew Mariana would go first.

He rounded the corner just as she entered the room. She looked at him and a cold glare formed in her eyes, ''Where are they?" Her voice was low and thick with contempt. He looked at her and returned her glare, "You don't need them." Mariana walked towards him her limp evident but her fists were balled, ''Where Are they King! Where the hell are my Weapons? You had no right to take them." He stood to his full height, towering over her, "I said you don't need them Mariana. You didn't listen and almost got yourself killed. So now it's time to face the consequences. Next time you go out, if you go out, you'll remember!" He crossed his arms over his chest, but Mariana wasn't intimidated. "If anyone is to blame for MY not listening, it's you King. You're the one training me remember." King snorted, "You shoot everything out the window when it comes to crunch time. You get trigger-happy and jump the gun. You don't even bother to listen."

She brought her hand up hard against his chest, "I go with my instincts! Just like you told me to do. If that's not how you do it then you shouldn't have told me that." King looked at her in a bit of shock. But it left his face as his hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm, "Listen Mariana, I did tell you to listen to your instincts, but I also told you to never try an be the hero. If you don't like the way things roll here then you shouldn't have joined." Mariana pulled her arm out of his grasp and glared at him, "I didn't ask to join your fucking secret society Hannibal! You could have just let me die that night! You didn't have to be the..whats the word..oh yeah..The Hero." She looked at the glare he was giving her. It was icy and it made her shudder. She threw her hands in the air, "That's it I'm done with this. I'm out, it's obvious that you don't want me here. So why be a nuisance to you any longer?" She shook her head and waved at him, "See ya around King." She didn't see his face contour into anger. She was to busy walking away to bother. A million things ran through her head, most of them beginning with Hannibal's name and ending in 'she was leaving'.

King watched her walk away and in a swift motion had knocked his fist through the wall. He heard footsteps moving towards him and looked up as Abby ran in. She looked at him in confusion, "What is it King?" He started to move past her, not in the mood for small talk. But her hand snaked at and grabbed his shoulder. He stopped and looked over his shoulder, "She's done. Good thing too, I wont have to worry about having to clean up after another stupid trainees mess." He shrugged off her hand and stalked out of the room, leaving Abigail there alone. She looked around and then moved off down the hall towards Mariana's room. Determined to make her stay.

Mariana was in her room again, packing what little belongings she had. She had nowhere to go but she would find a place. She refused to stay here and be berated by King. She was throwing things out of the closet when she heard the knock. She looked up to see Abby and instantly knew why she was there. "Don't try it Abby, it won't work. I'm out. I can't do this without having him jump down my throat." Abby walked into the room and sighed, 'Listen Mars, he'll co-" She didn't get to finish her sentence because Mariana had held up her hand, "No he wont. We both know he hates me. I'm leaving and that's it." She finished throwing the rest of her belongings in her suitcase and closed it. She knew she shouldn't be leaving in her condition, but right now she wanted to get as far away from this place as possible. She picked up her suitcase and started to exit the room. She stopped at the doorway and looked back at Abigail, "Thanks for trying Abby. But it was no good."

She turned back to the door, only to be met by the wide chest of King. She looked up at him and glared at him coldly. His mouth was set tight, "Mariana, listen.." But Mariana didn't listen. She never did. She pushed past him and walked down the corridor, exiting the NightStalkers headquarters.

Abigail looked at King, surprised that he had come down after what he had just said. But he never turned to meet her gaze. He was staring off after Mariana, watching her. Suddenly it became a bit clear to her why he was making such a big deal. A small smile inched across her face. Mariana would be back, if King had to bring her back kicking and screaming, she'd be there. Abigail took a look around the and shook her head. She sighed and moved past him, patting his arm as she did so. Leaving him there staring at the empty corridor.

Disclaimer: You know the drill...

A/N: I think the story has been a bit confusing so far. But just bare with me, we all have our own writing style and well mine happens to confuse people.