Chapter 1

They had been crouched near the building on another smaller building for what seemed like ten hours already but still no call came in for clarification, or out for that matter. They wore nothing but the clothes on their back and a single Luger pistol strapped to their thigh. They didn't need the gun though, going in practically arms-free was the way the preferred but it looked cooler in the long run. Cadence leaned back against the concrete wall they had been camped out on and watched a soldier ruffle through his bag for water. Yeah, definitely looked cooler.

The American building loomed just within their reach but Schmidt still had to give the all clear to actually start busting in windows. She preferred to just get the mission over with, but of course the German was too uptight to do that. She shifted and pressed her back against a strong shoulder until the arm gave in and moved around her, she nestled into Erik's side as he re-organized himself and continued to bend the copper square in front of him. He had been staring at it, reshaping it for five hours and forty-eight minutes. He began in the morning, now it was evening…she wouldn't have had the patience for that.

He had grown up a lot, as expected over five years since she met him in the Nazi camp, both of them had been scrawny and naive but now they filled out nicely. He grew into his broad shoulders and she finally managed to grow into her hips…she still had a problem with brownies though but hey-fuck it. Sometimes she'd catch herself staring at his face, his grey-blue eyes would never move and his strong jaw would clench whenever he was irritated but someone would have to be close to catch it. He was handsome at twenty one and no doubt would be smoking as he grew. Unlike her, eighteen and still having trouble with everything about her and the way her wrists were too skinny. But they had both grown mentally in ways that really shouldn't be normal. Erik was darker than she was, always brooding with a frown on his face where she smiled and teased sarcastically just to get a small smile. He was the one though who always followed orders no matter what whereas her tendency to disobey could prove annoying.

They were there to protect each other though, he was the only one who she allowed to even touch her skin and she was the only one who could get under his skin in the good ways.

"You're fuming." Erik muttered softly, pulling on his new turtleneck that he had gotten a few days ago. It had been a surprise, this sudden obsession with turtlenecks but she couldn't complain. She had an obsession with her silver ring.

"It's called thinking."

"Then you're doing it loudly."

"We could have done this on our won, you know. These people will just slow us down and create too much of a mess and you know it." She flicked her eyes to the soldiers and Erik just sighed.

"I know. Just be patient in the meantime. Go over the plan in your head, do you have everything mapped out already so we don't' get mixed up?"

"Yes-yes I've got everything down, now come on Erik. That house is full of metal. You could easily crush it faster than they could load a bullet into the chamber." She complained and Erik had to agree. He could feel the metal in the building, soft tingles of electricity ran under his skin with the knowledge, "And I could get the body up and out before they even jump down their ladder."

"You'd drop the body and let it splat all over the pavement below. You lack control when you're excited."

"And you're so much better Mister Aluminum gas tanks?" she shot back wickedly but he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Alright, truce."

She laughed and wiggled closer and began to talk about nothing to fill the silence. Erik's heart sped up for a moment before settling down and he relaxed once more, breathing in carefully as the metal in front of him contorted and twisted. She was warm and content obviously.

"Hey, you remember when we tag teamed that group in the beginning of the year? The one with the face masks?" She craned her neck up to peer at him as she traced a finger over a scar on his arm. All he remembered was them screaming as the masked men tried to torture them for information on Klaus. They had waited for the right moment, broke out and ended them all.

"What're you going on about?"

"We did it completely by ourselves. No help." She stretched out her hand and the copper triangle floated into her palm. Erik smoothed it out and she began to spin it as he formed it into a top, "It's easier when it's just us."

Just us. It rang in Erik's mind as Cadence gently handed the top back and resumed her position cradled into his side. He moved with her and see the metal aside, there was an attraction between them, nights together had proved and accelerated their relationship greatly. But still, it was nice when she was like this against him. He closed his eyes for a moment, the evening sky-

"Red to Lensherr." His earpiece cracked to life and they both jumped up, Cadence listening to her s as well as Klaus came through, "You've got the all-clear. I want it don't quick and fast. We've got their reinforcements blocked for an hour."

"Roger. Lensherr out. Positions, men!" he nodded and turned to the men as they immediately sprang into action and dropped down the ladder before running across the street and waiting.

Cadence grinned from where she was crouched near the edge of their hideout, palms spread as he moved farther away and took a running position. The soldiers would enter from the bottom and attack, serving a distraction as Cadence and he searched for the Senator.

"Ready, Cadence?"

"I won't let you fall." She stood wide and narrowed in on him.

"Just get me through the window." He took out his gun and eyed the shiny window across the gap. She rolled her eyes but continuously waited tensely. He gave the order to the men and waited for the bang on the-

POP-POP.

He ran, listening to the shouts below them and sprinted past Cadence, leaping through the air and shooting his gun and watching as the glass shattered and fell out. Cadence pushed out, feeling static shoot from her body and through the air as she focused on Erik's midflight body. If Erik had been focusing on the sudden suffocating power of her telekinesis then he would have felt the invisible hand that wrapped around him carefully and held him up from falling fifteen feet down but he was more focused on not dying. She hadn't been lying though; she had been practicing grabbing people. Cadence pushed and Erik landed on the windowsill, gripping the sides before pulling himself in and exhaling a loudly in relief.

He looked back out the window to find Cadence bent over, huffing for breath. She was cursing loudly under her breath and wiping at her nose. So…so much for controlling it.

"Cadence! Cadence are you alright?" he spoke into the earpiece and she came in gasping 'Sorry!' over and over again. She waved to him and he pressed against the wall, holding his weapon and looking down the hall as she sprinted across the roof and used her own power to fly through the air.

She crash landed into the building, barely catching herself on the window before he helped pull her in where she flopped onto the floor, nose bleeding as well as some cuts on her arm from the glass. She stared up at him, regaining her breath.

"Thank you…for not dropping me."

"Don't patronize me-Erik!" she jumped from the floor and slammed him into the wall as a door opened next to them, she grabbed the curtain hanging from the cracked open window and tugged it so the open window was blocked. The hallway collapsed into darkness and he pressed her closer to him, trying to make them both fit in the small hideaway.

Two men walked out and turned the other way, completely unaware. Once the men turned the corner and they couldn't feel their presence anymore, Erik and Cadence slowly stood out. They both let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." He smiled and bent down, kissing her and she smiled before pulling back with a whimpering groan of her own.

"Erik…the mission."

"Right." He shook his head and they began to run down the hall, "The Senator should be a floor or two below us…according to Klaus."

They stopped as they burst through a door only to find a full-fledged firefight beginning in front of them in the lobby below. They ducked behind the railing and Erik shielded them from any loose metal debris.

"Well…this will have consequences." Cadence growled as she flicked her wrist and two opposing men went flying over the railing.

"Let's go!" he grabbed her and they sprinted through another door, she locked it and then they both stood still, "Cadence?"

"He's still here, I can feel him." She ran her hand over the wall next to her and they slowly made their way down another hallway, Erik softly trailing behind. It was quiet and the hallway never seemed to end in the darkness, like a maze. They made their way to a fire exit, Erik lit a match as they stepped into the stairwell, "Anything?"

There was a crash below them, they peeked over the side to find a flashlight fumbling down. Erik twitched as the man-or woman- began to sprint down the stairs. He took off, momentum gaining.

"Erik?!"

"The Senator!"

She groaned and took off after him, palms slapping into walls as she began to lose her footing and momentum control. Erik was one stairwell ahead of her and she could just make out the Senator's heavy footfalls below as well. She wheezed and cradled her side as she began to take multiple steps at a time; a piece of metal had sliced through her side earlier when Erik jerked her up. It was getting harder to breathe now…

She smacked into Erik's back, throwing her completely off balance and to the side. She let out a groan and sat up as Erik pushed against the wall in front of him…she looked around, no Senator.

"He's not here."

"Secret wall." He let out a huff and pushed again, the tendons in his neck strained from the force he was using and hair fell in front of his eyes, "Fuck, I can't figure out how to…hey, do your thing."

"You could say please ever once in a while." She got up, knocking away his hands and leaning her forehead on the wall, closing her eyes.

"Cadence what are-?"

"It's a new way, I call it 'the not giving a fuck how I do it' way." She opened her eyes to glare before focusing again.

The fun thing about her form of telekinesis was that not only could she move and feel inanimate objects, but she could also literally get a layout of its inner mechanisms and workings to get what she wanted as long as she was touching it. Kind of like a blueprint sketch sort of deal, and god knows how much this has helped them in the past few years. She was still perfecting it though.

"Anything?

She could see the latches behind the wall easily, everything was spreading out before her like a field.

"Secret room, you were right. Beyond that is an elevator and another room, private." She pulled away from the wall and turned to him, "Stand back."

He did and she pressed against the wall, sliding right and pushing gently with her palms as she maneuvered the inner workings of the secret-wall. No metal, perhaps some old working of wood.

The wall gave away and spun like in the old cartoons, Erik slid in first and she grabbed the wall, swinging it close behind them. Erik was already to the elevator on the other side of what looked like some old barrack system. Probably used for hiding, as usual. Cowards, Cadence followed as Erik tensed and a screeching noise reverberated around the room as he forced the elevator to come to him. She clasped her hands over her ears and grit her teeth as the doors dinged open.

"You need a muter." She grumbled as they stepped in and he began to lower them with an outstretched arm, "You broke it didn't you."

"I'm concentrating Cadence, please." He ground out, the elevator jerked and she slid down the wall, closing her eyes as she mapped out the building again. They were technically in the basement of the secret building.

Why they were going for some outcast Senator she didn't know, all Erik or Klaus told her was that the man was important and vital to Klaus' plans…whatever the German's plans were for the future.

The elevator landed on the bottom with a crash, jostling her up and onto her feet as Erik wrenched open the broken doors, she slid through into the inky blackness of the room. There was a faint blue light coming from a door in front of them. There was a clang and Erik stepped close to her, snapping his fingers, and the lights flickered on. There was a crash on the other side of the door before it was silent again.

"He knows."

"Good. Let's get him then." Erik walked and slammed his hand against the door…to find that nothing was happening. It was like everything was muted, "I…I don't…"

"What?" Cadence watched, holding her side again as Erik repeatedly tried to push the door open with his power, "He's on the other side, there's nowhere else he can go."

"Well I can't the metal proofed every damn thing." Erik slammed his fist and roared to the door, "You're not safe in there you vermin! Do you hear me?"

"Erik! Calm the fuck down!" she smacked his shoulder and he snarled, all white teeth as she reached up and pulled off her bobby pin and smacked it into his palm, "Break it."

"Cadence we don't have Tim-"

"Do it Lensherr." She growled and he sighed, turning from the door and effortlessly snapping the barrette with a thought, "Good, now slide it under the door."

There was no use really hurrying now, the Senator had essentially locked himself in a bank vault. Erik let the bobby pins float down to the ground and slide under the crack. She closed her eyes and held Erik's wrist and placed her other hand on the brick wall. All Erik had to do was make the pins jab into the guys' spine or something, incapacitate him for a minute while they figured out a way to break in.

"H-Hey!" the Senator yelped, probably spotting the bobby pins that were now floating midair. Shocks of blue spread from her palms as she tried to see the room and keep track of Erik's pins, she could feel them vibrate with his power.

"He's in the far left corner, crouched under the line of fire." She whispered to Erik, Erik said nothing, simply moved the weapons in a downward slope.

He could feel the man's metal watch where she said he was. He rotated the pins until they were nothing more than a spinning blur, Cadence's nose began to bleed again, focused too much on controlling her own power and keeping track of Erik's to guide him. Erik suddenly aimed for the man's throat, drifting the metal closer. Cadence dug her sharp nails into his flesh and he could feel her kinesis pushing against his own power, trying to stop him from going closer.

"Erik! Don't you dare!" She snapped, pulling away from the door and staring at him with black eyes.

"I had my orders, you had yours." Erik could feel fear in the other room but Cadence's uncertainty and anger stood out.

"Erik! Don't kill him!" she pulled away completely from the door, still trying to injure his wrist as she used her powers now to battle his for the weapons, "Our orders were to capture and incapacitate until told otherwise!"

"…Yours were. Mine weren't."

"Erik!" she screamed.

He pushed her away, flinging his hand out and the weapons sunk into their mark. There was a gurgle on the other side of the door and Cadence collapsed to her knees, clutching her head as she tried to pull the metal from the man's heart but Erik effortlessly held it in. he felt elated, energetic as he heard the final dull thud from the body on the other side.

Cadence was painfully bent over, whimpering in pain as she felt nothing wash over her from the other side. The senator's pain had projected to her, the telekinesis sometimes screwed her over, made her actually feel other people's emotions. Three mutations in one person was rare, she knew but then again she was the only mutant besides Erik that she knew of.

Erik radioed for success before quickly gathering the nearly-passed out girl in his arms. She was a bloody, emotional and exhausted mess. He wasn't sorry for the man but he was for her. Erik called the elevator to them and got in, watching as she slowly lost consciousness in his arms. He shifted and focused on bringing them up again.

When he reached the first room the wall swung open again, Cadence gave a snort as he slipped through and began making his way up the stairs slowly.

He could hear the choppers thudding in the air by the time they reached the lobby, the enemy was being held hostage as he made his way down the stairs as fast as he would allow himself, she was bleeding out on her side.

A straight backed Klaus turned around just as Erik made it out the front doors, he clapped his hands together and gave a grin then frowned as he saw Cadence in his arms, slowly coming to her senses.

"The Senator is down the back stairs, down a broken elevator and through another door. He's been taken care of." Erik bit out swiftly as Klaus led them to a chopper. Klaus nodded as men rushed inside the building.

"And Cadence? Another failure obviously."

"She was the one who figured out where he went. If anything, she was the one who did the entire mission." He growled as the medical team strapped her to a gurney and they lifted up into the air, "She's just exhausted Klaus. She's only a kid and we expect too much of her."

"I expect just enough of her." The older German spoke before going to the cockpit and slipping headphones on, Erik sighed and sat next to her gurney as the medic's hooked her up, she smiled up at him gently. His jaw was set in anger and she brushed a finger across his cheekbone.

"I told you he'd be pissed. I'm defective Erik, face it."

"You're not…defective. You're perfectly fine." He took her hand and kissed it, "I should have listened to you, and I have no conscious when it comes to Klaus."

She laughed then sucked in a breath from the pain.

"At least you can carry out an order, not be a subordinate little ass. If it weren't for you I would've fucked off by now." She smiled and looked out the chopper window as they raced away from the scene of the crime, "Whatever Klaus decides to do with me…don't do anything foolish alright?"

Erik only sighed, still gripping her hand.


24 hours later in a German base

The ceiling was ugly, the wallpaper was a mix of red flowers and revolting dark green leaves. The combination hurt Erik's eyes even though the room was dark from the blackout curtains. He had been staring at the ungodly wallpaper for a couple hours now, unable to sleep. Klaus had said nothing to the both of them when the chopper landed. Erik had been the one to haul Cadence into her room and secure everything before walking through t heir adjoined bathroom and collapsing into his own bed.

Their "base"-apartment- wasn't far from where Klaus operated. They were near Berlin, just outside another small town but Klaus had forbade them going into the city for a place to stay so they had been stuck with this one. More or less it was an abandoned two story building that Klaus had been now using to store weapons…and them. He knew Cadence was a bit of a loose cannon when her emotions over took her, he'd seen her nearly collapse structures when she got scared. She wasn't dangerous though, neither was he. Maybe.

I'm defective, Erik.

The words hadn't stopped ringing in his head; he had ransacked his own room in anger from those simple words. The metal headboard was twisted cruelly, he'd have to fix it later…if he felt like it. He was still young, twenty one but it felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Cadence didn't do well with guilt, or grief, she turned cold and distant. It was why she always followed orders to the point, they were the only things that guided her when nothing else made sense, and they helped her when her conscience failed her as well. But she never had trouble with following Klaus' orders on a regular basis, especially when Erik's own orders were tweaked a little bit…so why had she refused yesterday?

Erik got up quickly, padding to the bathroom before even finishing the thought. The tile was cool as he entered but the carpet quickly warmed his feet as he softly entered her joined room. He slowly opened the door, following the new moonlight that drifted over her form on the bed. She was sleeping, as she had been for the entire day (like him), the blankets were piled high at her feet as she curled in on herself. For a second, Erik hesitated but Cadence stirred and lifted her arm and clumsily waved.

"I'm awake Erik, its okay. You can come in." She patted the bed sleepily but didn't move from where she had been staring out the window.

He gave in and slid into the soft bed right next to her, pulling a sheet over them, she scooted back and he wrapped an arm around her comfortable, kissing her bare shoulder before sinking in. they always used to do this, growing up in the coldness of Poland, when they were left alone on the camps. They had nightmares, Cadence had those worse, and it's why she always had a need to touch him, touch people. Skin-to-skin contact was the only thing that calmed her down. She probably had been touch deprived as a kid, her mother's mutant abilities hurt her from time to time so her mother had tried not to touch her at all.

They still were kids, being chest to back like this made him feel smaller, younger. Erik sighed and she tangled their legs together, feet cold as she slid her fingers through his. He felt her heart beat.

"Why did you stop today?

"Are we really having this conversation?"

"Yes. Now why?"

"From killing the Senator?" she shrugged, "That man…it just didn't feel right, like a piece of the puzzle was missing in order to end his life. It didn't feel justified to me, just hollow."

She rolled over, pushing him back until she could lazily drape herself over his stomach to face him, he ran a finger through her dark hair and she closed her eyes contently. He needed a haircut soon, he could feel his hair just brushing his eyebrows.

"Maybe you're losing your touch." He murmured and she opened her eyes to over exaggerate an eye roll.

"Not funny, Erik." She leaned up and kissed him, letting the feeling of her lips melt against hid as they moved together lazily. Her tan skin was so smooth beneath her t shirt. She pulled away, but stayed close.

"Klaus isn't going to let me stay, in his eyes I've failed him."

"You're fine. I' won't let him, I'm stronger than him and I can take him."

"We're still young and cocky, but I appreciate the thought." She looked away and he tugged her closer. He wasn't built the way he wanted to be yet but he could still easily cover her and Cadence didn't have the petite frame either, "I wish I was never like this, Erik. I wish I had been normal in the camps…this…kinesis makes me so…it kills me."

There was a beat of silence before Erik got up, faster than a shark in the water. Cadence just flopped back where he had been as he fumed at the foot of the bed. This was also inevitable.

"You can't even accept yourself now? Cadence…I don't…" he let out a groan of frustration and anger. She just looked bored.

"I've never accepted this Erik, I'm not like you." She sat up, "I can't control my impulses when something pops out at me! Things go flying and people get hurt which makes me even more stressed which makes things go flying even more."

"You haven't' killed anyone on accident with something as small as a-"

"A what? A bobby pin? A piece of tin foil? Klaus locked me up in this room for a month because I couldn't even fucking lift a car! I would rather have died than go through the things he put me through because I wasn't his perfect little soldier yet like you had been! I can barely function in a supermarket!" she was angry now as well.

Everything metal in the room vibrated, the small useless things in the room began to hover as well.

"You don't try hard enough then! Your powers just can't fail you! You don't have blood on-"

"My hands?" her expression crumpled and in an instant Erik regretted his words. She seemed to lose all the fight out of her as she just sat in the middle of the bed, "I had to kill her Erik. I was the one who brought her death, in front of people to deliver the message to the prisoners. I don't have blood on my hands? I have blood that's thicker than any metal you can bend in my veins that splashed onto my hands that day. My powers failed me that day, I couldn't go through with it and Klaus punished me for it. How can I not hate myself? How can I not hate this…this mutation in me?"

Erik's anger dissipated like mist and he sighed before going over to the young girl and sitting quietly besides her again. He tried to pull her down on the bed again, she resisted and he leaned his forehead against her shoulder as she tried to stop the tears from falling. He knew her pain all too well.

"Cadence."

"Erik."

"Lie down…just, please?" he flexed his fingers, feeling the vibration of the ring she wore on her right finger. She did with a nod and they resumed their tangled position. She traced over a scar on his chest, right above his heart.

"I love you, Erik. I do."

"I know…"he kissed the top of her head, hut turning at the words she spoke, "I love you too."

Within the minute she was sound asleep, buried next to him. He stared out the shining window to the sky and dying stars that she had been staring at. Erik felt something grab ahold of his heart as the stars continued to shine. He shut the curtains with a though. He would die to keep her alive.

He closed his eyes, following the blackness behind his eyes.


The second the door flew off its hinges and into the room, Klaus Schmidt knew that there would be a fight waiting on the inside for them.

He watched as Erik flew out of the girl's bed (no surprise there) and covered Cadence as her mind struggled to keep up with the intrusive invasion. Klaus had hoped Erik had stayed to his own room, this was going to make things a little harder than usual.

The soldiers came in but Erik deflected all of their bullets as Cadence started whipping her hands, dislodging things in the room and making them smack into the men. Klaus smiled to himself as the two worked together to take the men down, in the hallway with his backup men he was seething with pride. They were nearly the perfect team.

Cadence through a nightstand, finally knocking the men out as the broken bits of wood shattered in the hallway.

"Show yourself out there!"

He walked through the door at Erik's tired shout; the boy was still high on adrenalin and had already flung a knife as Klaus walked through. Cadence saw him before Erik did and caught the metal with an outstretched hand right before it found its mark between Klaus' eyes. He should have made her his bodyguard.

"Erik." She touched the boy's arm calmly and Erik's stormy grey eyes cleared into a green color, focusing on Klaus as Klaus picked the knife from the air.

"Thank you Cadence."

"Is this another training surprise?"

"What's going on? Why did they attack?" Erik pushed Cadence behind him, white teeth bared in anger as the men on the floor got up and shoved furniture off of them, "Klaus! What's going on?"

"I hope you two9 had a good night. "Klaus ignored the boy, still standing next to Cadence who looked as confused as ever, hand still tentatively open in case of another attack, "Cadence dear, you're needed elsewhere."

"What?" she stumbled as the soldiers moved to grip her shoulder and push her forwards. She tripped over her feet and struggled to stay back, "I don't…Klaus"

"Stay still." He ordered, slipping a silicone cuff over her wrists and tightening until she winced. There was one thing about her that he liked, she was obedient in the worst of times…he snapped them together before his thoughts could lead elsewhere, "There."

He smiled to himself as the silicone cuffs glowed for a moment, Cadence suddenly groaned and slumped to the ground.

"Cadence!"

Erik leapt forward from where he had been standing but Klaus swiftly jabbed his elbow into the boy's ribcage which sent him tumbling to the ground as the bone bent oddly. Erik smacked hard on his knees and squeezed his eyes hut in pain. Klaus shook out his arm as he felt his own ability tingle. That would have definitely hurt. He turned back to the girl who was now struggling in the men's grip. Her hands kept twitching and opening. Nothing moved to help her.

"What did you do?! What is this? Erik?!" she snapped and Klaus gripped her chin, forcing her to stop struggling, Erik looked up from his prone position on the floor.

"My lovely Cadence…you're of really no use to me anymore." He smiled cold and her eyes widened in fear, he could see the pure fear as bright as day in the chocolate irises, "these…restraints will make sure you don't hurt my men, and it'll make it easier for them to finish you."

"What? Fucking hell Kl-"

"Destroy her."

"Cadence, no!" Erik yelled and reached out but one soldier kicked his bruised side solidly, making Erik wheeze and tumble over again. Cadence screamed and Klaus crashed his mouth harshly onto hers, biting her lip as she struggled against him.

He pulled away with a sneer and she spat at his face, missing and getting his shoulder. She glared at him with anger, anger he could feel vibrating through her body as she bared her teeth in a silent growl. He nodded to his men and they kicked her legs out from under her and began to drag her out of the room. She kicked out as they jammed a towel down her throat and a wrap around her eyes. She screamed beneath as the dragged her out of the room and down the hall.

Erik was kneeling by the bedpost, holding his side and breathing heavily through his nose, Klaus knelt next to him and Erik flinched away.

"Erik…young Erik. I need you to have no attachments. She was a loose end and slowed you down." He watched Erik's eyes turn cold and grey, "You're young and all of this will fade in time…She wasn't like you, wasn't like me. Us. And we can't have that, differing views you know."

Klaus stood up and with one last glance to Erik walked out of the room and straightened his hair and uniform.

Lessons needed to be learned tonight, hopefully the boy would understand or else Klaus would have to kill him too.

Erik fell to his hands and knees as soon as Klaus had disappeared down the hall. He could feel his chest squeeze until he could barely breathe. He shut his eyes and slammed his fist into the floor, he felt the hand around him finally break its hold where his heart was. He could have sworn he was bleeding internally.

It just…her. It. Not her. Not Cadence, not his friend. Fuck!

Erik looked at the wreckage around him, the metal vibrated and he whipped his head up, letting loose a bloodcurdling scream.

Outside the building, Klaus watched the building explode and crumble in on itself. He smiled. Good, he could make something of the boy yet. Always with the emotional pain that kid.


3 hours later

Fuck Klaus. Fuck Nazis. Fuck Klaus and his fucking…face. Fuck his everything with a hot iron and pointy god damn needles.

Cadence flexed her hands, finding that nothing happened and warmed up…which wasn't a surprise. She could smell the leather and cologne around her due to the car and the men which was amazing because with all of her crying she had done she would have thought her nose would be stuffed up. But she had to stop crying…it's what Erik would have told her to do, remain strong.

So she was still blindfolded, wrists bound with the silicone technology and thankfully not gagged anymore but it didn't make anything easier. They were on a dirt road, that much she could tell and most likely incredibly far from civilization. She had her eyes open beneath the dark cloth, her fingers tapping out a rhythm in her lap as she tried to focus on everything around her.

Fucking hell, she was going to kill Klaus. This, she knew she wouldn't fail.

Hearing Erik in pain, being dragged away down the hall and beaten into the car…it was worse than watching her mother die by her own hands. Erik was the only one…he…

No, keep it together.

"What was that?"

She looked around her at the question as the vehicle slowly rolled to a stop. She could hear the metal of the guns click around her and she felt the tension rise as the driver turned the car off.

Erik was here, she could feel someone else outside. That odd electric feeling rose through her, it was the same feeling when she tried to feel where Erik was in the building. Both of them had the power to sense other mutants, she had only ever sensed him this way.

There was a strong presence outside, it strengthened when tow of the men got out and the cool air rushed in. very strong…almost too strong.

But now's your chance.

She yelled, blindly throwing her elbow to the left and connecting with the distracted Nazis eyebrow…or cheek. He cried in pain and confusion and she kicked out. She slammed her back against the door and began to kick wildly. The man slammed her head into the window and she pressed both of her feet to his chest and pushed back…only to find herself tumbling out of the car.

There was no time to fucking waste. The dirt rose up around her and she heard gunshots ring out as she crawled away at the exact moment crunching metal and metal parts squealed like nails on a chalkboard.

Her bound hands found purchase in grass just as there was an angry roar and several screams echoed from the Nazis, she couldn't make out anything beneath the damn tight blindfold, her head was still reeling from being thrown to the ground. Wait, thrown? She wasn't thrown she was-

Footsteps-

She rolled onto her back, putting her hands up to block the attack,

A force slammed into her crossed arms, human skin rubbed rawly against her. Twigs snapped under her but she only saw the dark shadow of the man towering over her from the blindfold. It was silent, she could hear the heavy breath above her. She could smell wood, spices, alcohol and that other smell of a-

There was a rumble through the ground and a pop resonated somewhere in front of her or below her. The smell of gasoline and smoke filled her senses as the man above her slowly pulled away.

There was a tiny prick on her cheek and the blindfold was tugged off and light was slammed into her eyes. A large silhouette loomed over her as she struggled to sit up with her cuffed hands. He was the strong presence and definitely not Erik.

The man sank onto his calves, crouching and grinning with sharp teeth as she took him in and inched away; short hair, piercing brown eyes, beard and a massive build. He could easily kill her.

"Well, well, well. Where are you from?" he cocked a heavy eyebrow and she looked at his heavy jacket, boots and layered shirts…then his sharpened nails which retracted when she stared.

"You…you're like…" she frowned, and the man stood up, towering over her like a shadow. He just smirked and looked at his nails nonchalantly.

"So are you." His eyes flashed dangerously over her, "I've got a keen sense of smell and you stand out."

She looked around as the man sat down on a rock with a grunt, he sighed and Cadence shifted back, still looking…she couldn't find the car.

"You're dear friends decided to take a hike." The man motioned to the edge of the drop off and leaned back, "Not much left of them now."

Cadence got up and inched over, spotting the smoking and burning wreckage about forty feet below. So that had been the pop she heard, she eyed the man again.

"Can you…?" she held out her wrists and he reached over, slicing them easily off with a sharp fingernail. That was…his abilities were amazing.

A tingling feeling ran through her body and she sat up again, it was like a head rush as her blood flowed back and her powers filtered through her once again. A rock hovered in front of her for a moment and she smiled in relief.

"My name's Cadence." She looked at the other mutant, the man had to be at least in his late 20s early 30s, but still, another mutant, Erik and she had only known each other…Erik.

"Victor Creed." He held out a hand and she shook it, his nail scraped against her skin and he grinned ferally before retracting back.

"Your mutation is amazing." She watched as Victor snapped a twig in boredom.

She looked behind her, there was no going back now. No matter how much her heart was sliced up and hanging inside. She wasn't strong enough, not like Erik would be in this situation. He would just keep going on…Erik, oh Erik. Cadence's throat seemed to be…she couldn't…oh fuck, Erik.

"You're young." Victor stared at her, bringing her out of the pain in her mind, "What were you doing with-damn."

Cadence frowned as he stared around them, she looked up noticing rocks, twigs and branches floating around her. Crap, that tingling sensation must have thrown her powers out of whack with her.

"They uh, they intended to kill me." She got up, dusting herself off and managing to tamp down her powers, "Which, thank you by the way."

"No problem," and he got up, his giant coat fanning around him as he turned away and to the dry forest. She reached out blindly, pulling the tip of his jacket back forcefully with her power. Victor jerked back with a growl and raised an eyebrow, "Need something kid?"

"Please. The men who tried to kill me…I need to get him back and there's no way in hell I can do that right now."

Victor and her stared in silence. His eyes were a deep brown but she could see he was contemplating…and if not then she'll just have to convince him.

"Alright." He grinned with sharp teeth and began to walk forwards again, throwing her a look over his broad shoulder. Cadence joined him as they stepped into the forest. Focus on Klaus. Focus on Klaus. Focus on Klaus. Focus on Erik.

Revenge.