A/N: Thank you all for your encouraging reviews! Lizeyli: You requested I not make it about relationships, and I hope you meant romantically. Specifically you mentioned Myka/Alex, but I wanted to let you know that's not my intention for them quite yet. I want to build them together as leaders, though there will be some romance for other characters! I also want to build important friendships. Myka has some things she needs to work through, and the events of this chapter and future chapters will only compound the problem. *cue suspenseful music*
Enjoy! Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, questions, anything at all!
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"We retrieved the ten on our list, with few problems." Turner's voice says.
"What about the shapeshifter? She made it all over the news." asks a voice I've never heard before.
"She hasn't been a problem since. She declared herself spokesperson when we had to stop for gas, though."
"That is interesting. What did she ask for?"
"Food and water." Turner responds, and her aura tells me she's feeling conflicted about leaving us here.
"Do you think she will be valuable to us?" asks the voice. They're right outside the van doors now. I wonder why Turner didn't warn him that I could hear through the doors? Surely she hasn't forgotten.
"I think she will submit to the research. Myka understands that they shouldn't fight back."
"'Myka'? Have you gotten to know the subjects? That could be very dangerous. Even with them knowing we overpower them, they could still be hazardous."
Turner laughs. "That's just it though – they're choosing not to fight because it would harm their public image. I think they could very easily overpower us here."
Turner has some pride in her voice, and her aura. It doesn't surprise me, she seems like a woman who would respect strength and loyalty.
Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who hears it.
"It is a perilous thing to connect with monsters. That is why we have brought them here – to study them. We plan to learn what makes them tick, how to subdue them."
Suddenly Turner is even more unsure of this place.
"That sounds like an infringement of their rights."
"Oh, Commander. It would be absolutely pummeling the rights of a human. But these are mutants; as of now, they have no rights."
Turner doesn't like this anymore than we do.
"Open the doors." Commands the man, and we all flinch back from the sudden light.
"They aren't shackled?" asks the man, only slightly perturbed.
"They removed their bindings." Turner answers simply.
My eyes adjust to the sunlight which is facing right into the van. I hear the others mumble complaints, but I tune them out and exit of the van. I pay no attention to the man yet, simply take in my surroundings.
The first thing I notice are the two other vans. The next thing I notice is the copious amount of people wielding guns surrounding the vans. They are dressed in full riot gear, which must make them incredibly hot and grumpy since we're in the middle of some kind of forest area, and it is exceptionally warm outside. The humidity is also stifling, and I'm from Florida – I know humidity.
I hear the others climb out behind me. It's then that the armored men notice we're not bound, and it makes them very nervous. Commander Turner waves them away when they raise their weapons, but I take an extra step and decrease the anxiety in the surrounding men. I can't adjust them all at the same time, I haven't practiced enough, but I can slowly make headway through the group.
Turner tells us to line up in two rows of five. When we face the steps up to a massive building, the van is behind us. They must have backed-in to the area.
After I notice the building and the steps only five feet away from where we stand, I notice the other two vans aren't open yet, but they're about to be.
The van farthest away from us is surrounded by men. When the doors open, no one comes flying out, but there is muffled and angry shouting. Perhaps the shackling was more effective on them. What disheartens me is the way these new mutants behave; they're struggling, but ineffectively.
We need to time our rebellions perfectly, or we may not survive this place.
The one struggling the most is a dark-haired girl, and from my spot in line about fifteen feet away I hear her muffled growl. Another animal mutation, maybe I think to myself.
Then my attention is grabbed by the next girl to exit. She's darker skinned, with long brown hair, but her hands are gloved and the guards are careful not to touch her. She's not fighting back, but if looks could kill, no one with a gun would be left standing.
I'm surprised when a boy, probably not much older than me, appears and he has blue skin. Then I notice a tail, and I'm sure this is the sole reason he has been detained with the rest of us.
There are nine in all from the second van, and they continue to struggle after they're all out. I have to keep reducing the anxiety and stress the guards are feeling to keep them from pulling the trigger. They are afraid of us, and that is where the animosity toward us originates. We need to prove they have nothing to fear from us.
"Why are they still fighting?" Alex asks quietly, though I don't think he expects an answer.
"Some of them aren't. It's the couple that are who are making the guards nervous. I'm doing my best to calm them, but the others aren't helping our case." I practically growl back, frustrated with their naivety.
Finally, I'm done. We need to have a urgent discussion, but that will never happen if we don't make it inside alive.
I gather the Alpha from deep down again, and pour it into my words, focusing on the strugglers.
"Enough." I command. A couple stop fighting and look to me. I do my best to communicate that they should trust me. When they see all of us unbound, they must decide to listen. The dark-haired girl who growled, however, shakes off my command.
"I can telepathically tell her to stop." Erica whispers from behind me.
I shake my head ever so slightly, "No, your birthmark will move, and we don't want them to know everything from the get-go." I whisper back.
I focus on the girl alone this time. I need her to listen to me, this time and in the future, and I know how the animal kingdom works. She needs to understand that I am Alpha, though I'm sure she's fairly dominant herself to shake me off so easily.
But I didn't unleash the full Alpha. This time I don't hold back.
"Enough." And this time my voice is only a little louder, though it does echo around the clearing. The girl stops immediately and turns to look at me, as does everyone else but I ignore them for the moment. I maintain eye contact, noticing the distinct eyes of wolves, and she breaks away first. In her aura, I see the wolf in her understand that I am in charge. Good.
I turn to look at Turner and I can't discern her feelings easily. They're swirling around too quickly for a real interpretation. She feels the pull to follow orders, but this place is giving her a bad vibe. And she finds herself feeling defensive of us.
She could be a great ally to us.
The man who was speaking to her earlier is in a white lab coat, and he motions for the last van, the one in the middle to be opened. There are three people in this one.
I'm angered at how young the first two seem – they're just children. First, a boy appears, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and he appears to be maybe 14. The mutant who follows him is a slim, Hispanic girl with thick black hair and eyes that probably usually shine with mirth rather than fear. But they both stand tall and strong, still shackled.
It's the third one who sends all of us mutants reeling. He's a young boy, maybe 7 years old, and he looks downright terrified, with tear tracks running down his face. The others are distressed, but they're still heeding my 'enough' order. I'm the one growling and on the verge of losing control.
There's one major consistency across every species in the animal kingdom: you don't mess with the cubs.
I manage to get myself under control after a glance tells me I'm not helping his fear. I look at Turner and she's feeling the same horror I am. When she meets my gaze, her eyes harden and her lips thin. She gives me a nearly imperceptible nod, her aura promising help and vengeance for the wrongs already done to us, and those about to be done to us.
Turner will be a great ally to us.
The man in the lab coat smiles and claps his hands delightedly, startling some of those around us.
He turns away from us and walks up a couple of the steps before turning to look us over again. Before he says anything, there's a whisper of a voice in my head saying, "Oh, goodie, the evil man will now tell us his plan to destroy the world." Judging from the couple of giggles from the collected mutants, it was sent to all of us. It didn't sound like Erica's voice though.
"Which one are you?" I think, as loudly as possible.
"I'm the blond in the second row in the last group to your right." She says, and since nearly everyone glances over at her quickly, I guess she informed everyone.
I twitch my hand behind my back to get Erica's attention, then I think clearly and loudly, "Erica."
"Yes?" she asks, her voice distinctive in my mind.
"Find out the other girl's name, and what she can do. See if she knows what any of those in her group can do, and any information they may have overheard."
"Will do…" And then her voice fades away.
The other girl's voice makes another occurrence, "I'm Emma. Erica and I will exchange information, and I'll make sure everyone knows to follow you. Everyone in your group trusts you implicitly already, and I'm willing to do anything to survive this."
Oh, great, no pressure.
There's a quiet laugh that must belong to Emma, then it also fades away.
I glance back at Turner and she's watching me with a slightly rueful smirk on her face. Like she knows I'm planning something. I shrug my shoulders, as if to say what else can I do. She shakes her head slightly and looks to the ground. She's trying not to give away that she knows we're up to something.
Lab Coat Guy chooses that moment to start talking.
"I know some of you may be confused, maybe even a little scared. I would like you to know, that we only have the best of intentions here. We want to get to know you, learn about what you can do. It's all research, really." He smiles, but it lacks sincerity.
"So anyway, my name is Dr. Ratley, and I will be overseeing you during your time here. For all of our safety, we do have a security team, who will be here 24/7. This is our Head of Security, Chester Michaels." He informs us, gesturing toward a military-man whose whole being exudes distaste for our kind.
"Well, this guy's thoughts are disgusting and lewd."
"Agreed." First Emma's and then Erica's voices sound in my head. Not being a telepath, I can't confirm what they've said, but I don't doubt it.
"You do know they're planning some awful things for us, right? Ratty gets a sick pleasure from torture." Emma says to me.
"I know." Is all I can say. Right now, the plan is simply to survive.
"Hm. Why is it that everything in me wants to trust you? I don't even know you. Ah, well, I guess I'll trust my instincts." I don't respond to Emma's voice, though I do huff out a small laugh.
Unfortunately for me, this gets the attention of Head of Security Chester Michaels and he stalks toward me, attempting to be intimidating. Ratty notices and drops off mid-sentence.
"Is something funny?" Michaels grinds out, in what must be his most intimidating voice. But I can turn into a dragon, so I simply stare at him with a smirk on my face, despite his nearly two feet on me, and a couple hundred pounds.
Wrong move. In a second, he's wrapped one massive hand around my neck and lifted me off the ground. My feet dangle in the air as my breath gets cut off. All around us, the mutants burst into loud yelling and protest, Alex lunges toward us, as does Diego, but Piotr and Kenna and Erica grab them.
Muscles Michaels glances around at the angry mutants all around, but doesn't outwardly express the fear I can see in his aura. My vision is getting a little spotty, but I refuse to pass out.
"Still laughing, mutant-girl?" He asks.
I huff out as much of a laugh as I can muster, and this angers him. But Ratty calls out a "Drop her, Michaels, we need them alive." And I get dropped to the ground.
When my feet touch hard Earth again, I think I'll drop for a second, but I'm stubborn, and my legs hold me up. I stand back up from my semi-crouch with as much confident swagger as I can muster, and after a couple of deep breaths, release a real laugh in his face.
The others around me can see the visible reaction he gets – face getting red and his hands clenching – but now we know we can mess with him, and they laugh with me.
Even Turner chuckles. Muscles Michaels whips around to glare at her, but suddenly Joe is there with Dan behind her.
"Man, you gotta be careful with teenagers," starts Joe, "one second you think you're in charge, and the next, they've made you feel about two feet tall."
"They're mutants – abominations," spits out Muscles Michaels, and at least now I know for sure his stance on our existence.
"We're the abominations, and he's the one clearly over-doing the 'roids." Comes Emma's voice again, to the whole group, I think. There's an almost echo-like quality when it's directed to the group.
The group laughs, confirming my guess, but the little boy looks more confused than anything, just laughing because the big kids are.
Then Ratty is talking, directing his questions to Turner and Joe.
"Would you say you sympathize with the mutants?" He asks, and I don't have any way of warning them about the shadow-y blackness in his aura indicating ill-intent.
"Well, I have teenagers. I do my job, and I have done it today, though I can't say I fall into the anti-mutant argument." Says Joe, seriously pondering the question.
Turner is a little more hesitant to answer.
"I think," she starts slowly, "that I will be having a discussion with my superiors."
That's all Ratty needs to know.
Before I can say anything, Ratty nods to Michaels, who quickly pulls out his side-arm and with two quick pops, both Joe and Turner are dead on the ground, with perfect circles on their foreheads.
Some of the mutants scream, but I barely hear it as all the air is expelled from my body in shock.
"Can't have mutant-sympathizers knowing that you're here. Do you feel the same?" Ratty says, then directs the question to Dan.
Dan is aware of the danger he's in, and he's doing a remarkable job hiding his grief for his partner; his aura is drowning in sorrow and rage.
"They're abominations." He says.
He doesn't look at me, smart on his part, but there's a determination working its way into his aura, and I know that although we just lost two great allies, we've gained a determined one.
I only hope he can work fast enough to get us out alive.
Suddenly, there's a high keening wail, and everyone looks to see the young boy screaming bloody murder with fresh tears on his cheeks. The vans, still behind the groups that were transported in them, start to shake violently, and there's no doubt in my mind that the boy is causing it.
I see the guards all become terrified, and there's no way I'm strong enough to manipulate all of their auras in the time I have before they start shooting. But I can get to the boy.
I run hard, trying to close the distance in precious seconds, and I just cradle the boy to me, hunched on the ground, when I feel the first bullet hit. I don't even hear the gunshots themselves, I'm so focused on keeping him safe.
I work through the pain, to reduce the pain and fear in the boy's aura, and it works, he calms down a bit. But it's all the strength I have, and I pass out while still being hit with a spray of bullets.
[]
When I come to, I'm inside the building, strapped to a metal bed. I'm comforted by the knowledge that I'm still dressed in my jeans and T-shirt, but I can't sense any of the others around, and it panics me a lot.
But I figure I'm being watched, so I remain outwardly calm.
Eventually, a couple of people come in – Ratty and some geeky lab assistant.
"Hello, Myka," Ratty says, taking a seat facing me. His assistant leans against the far wall.
I just glare.
He sighs deeply, like he expected more from me.
"That was impressive, surviving what you endured. I must admit, I thought I had lost a perfectly good test subject."
I growl at him.
He laughs.
"But I learned something about you, and it's that you will do anything to keep the others safe. I'd like to offer you a deal."
I don't growl this time, but I still don't answer. Apparently he doesn't require one, because he explains his offer.
"If you submit to all the testing we have lined up for you, we will leave the others be, for the time being. You'll all be kept together, so you know we're not lying to you. It will allow us to see how they react to stress and seeing your condition. But we won't physically remove them for experimentation."
I think what scares me most is how open he is about the fact that he'll be conducting experiments, not even remotely interested in trying to disguise it. But I look to the ceiling, contemplating the offer anyway. It would buy us time. I can heal, so I'll last a long time. But it's more than that. It's almost selfish why I consider it: if I'm dead or so out of it with pain, I can't feel guilty if the others suffer. That's the only torture I couldn't take.
I promised I'd keep them safe, and here I'm being offered exactly that, without my having said a word.
I look back to him, and his gleeful face. He knew I would do it.
"Deal."