"Behind Blue Eyes" by Kitty Rasputin

Disclaimer-I don't own anything. I'm just enhancing what could have been.

Chapter 3- No More Sitting Around

DG was tired of sitting around and doing nothing. She'd just seen the Mystic Man get his soul sucked out of him and she didn't want to wait for that to happen to her again. Watching the rat scurry around gave her an idea. Chucking bits of gooey stuff at the wheel felt stupid, but it was the best idea she had. Then, the dog had come out of one of the cells and scared the rat away. She didn't want to let her disappointment, but inwardly she was cursing the mutt for ruining a decent chance for her to get out of there. That is, until the dog opened up her cell door.

"Thanks," she muttered as she started off in the direction that she'd heard Raw. The dog's barking made her pause for only a moment. It was almost like he wanted her to follow him. She shook her head at the absurd idea. "My friend is this way."

It took her several minutes of running through the hallways before she found Raw. Finding him alive and relatively unharmed gave her back a little bit of hope she'd been missing ever since she'd seen Glitch's unmoving body and heard Zero's story about shooting Cain and watching him fall out of a second-story window. Oh, how she'd wanted to slap that smirk right off of his face.

She'd barely gotten Raw out of his cell when they saw the Longcoats coming their way. The alcove they found was conveniently close and dark enough that they might not be seen. However, Raw had other ideas. Before she could stop him, he'd taken a wrench from the wall and smacked one of the Longcoats over the head with it.

"Ow! That could bust a zipper!" DG caught a glimpse of a silver zipper set in corkscrew hair before another familiar voice got her attention.

"Hey there, princess." She looked up into those ice blue eyes with more than a little shock. It wasn't possible. Zero had been so sure he was dead, had sounded so smug about killing him. For a moment, it felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Cain! You're alive!" Without even thinking about it, she had run into his arms. She wanted to cry from pure relief. All of her friends were okay. They had even come to find her. She felt all of her tension drain away for a few moments as she held onto him.

Abruptly, DG realized just how uncomfortable she had to be making him and hastily took two steps back. Cain would not appreciate her displays of affection no matter how soft he was under that thick Tin Man shield he wore. Besides, he'd probably only decided to rescue her to satisfy that unfailing sense of honor he had.

When he'd glanced at her canine companion and raised an eyebrow at her, the only answer she could give was a shrug. A lot stranger things had happened to her since she'd come to the O.Z. Hell, when she'd found Cain, he'd been stuffed inside a metal box. A dog that knew directions was the least of her worries.

DG nearly changed her mind when the dog changed into a man. She watched as Glitch and Raw took up defensive positions and Cain reached for his gun. This place was getting a little too weird, even by her standards. Shape-shifting people was something that surprised even her, in spite of all the X-Men comics she had read as a child.

She glanced back at the tower, grateful to have put a little distance behind them before they had stopped. It still wasn't far enough away to make her feel better, but there was something tickling the edge of her brain. Then, she realized what they had used to escape. "The Mystic Man said the machine was going to destroy the O.Z."

"You saw the Mystic Man?"

DG kept her eyes on Cain. He'd already lost so much and now she had to tell him about the death of a friend. "He's dead. She killed him." She wanted to reach out to him or hug him, but couldn't bring herself to embarrass him any further. There was no time for any of that even if she had because the newest member of their party chose that moment to speak up.

She was instantly glad that Cain tried to warn the man away. She knew that she was entirely too trusting of people, but something hadn't seemed right with their escape. He'd been a prisoner too, but somehow he had known exactly how to get out of the tower. It didn't make the hair stand up on the back of her neck, but it did make her feel mighty peculiar.

Then, the man pulled the doll out of his pocket. It looked familiar, like the marker along the road had. Instantly, she knew it belonged to her. It started to spin and float and she held out a hand to it. Then, she could feel a warmth spread up her arm and knew that it was moving because of her. Once the doll was clenched in her hand, DG found herself lost in a memory of her childhood. She opened her eyes and recognized the man in front of her from his purpose in her life those many years before.

"Toto! You were our tutor." Nearly instantly, everyone dropped their defensive attitudes toward the stranger. Cain, however, kept his hand close to his gun in case the man made any sudden moves. She was grateful for that gesture. If it came down to it, she knew that he was going to be watching out for her. She'd seen a look of guilt on his face after they'd found each other in Azkadellia's tower. It wasn't hard for her to notice the blame he laid on himself for her capture. That, if nothing else, would probably keep him close until this quest was over.

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Author's Notes-Thanks to everyone that has read this so far. I've had a lot of fun with these characters, but it's hard to get them right when I've only seen "Tin Man" once.

Safarigirl183- I enjoyed putting the Firefly reference in because, when thinking about anyone else playing Cain, I saw that he acted a lot like Mal. Sorry DG's part was a little flat. I hope this part is better.

Juniper holly- Thanks for noticing that. I felt that in part one he was only doing his job. It isn't until part two that he actually starts caring about her (or anyone else, for that matter).

MythStar Black Dragon, Kipling Nori, neefalco, and godsgracie12- I'm glad you liked it. I'm trying to keep up the chapters, but I won't be posting every day. I want to make sure I get the characters right before they get posted. I just happened to have these chapters typed up while at home for Christmas break. It may take me a little longer to get more out, but I promise to attempt to at least once a week.

Well, that's it for now. If the need so compels you, I wouldn't be adverse to receiving reviews. I like constructive criticism if anybody has some. I also enjoy hearing whether or not I am portraying the characters correctly. Until next time.Kitty Rasputin