Skinning the Beast


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I hope you enjoy this special extra long chapter, it is 7,000+ words long ;)


Six Months later...

She was sore, always sore. Her body ached, her neck a colorful mess of damage caused by the device in her neck. They had not killed her yet though it often felt like this was their plan each time. Perhaps they were just as frustrated as her, perhaps they did figure something out and she just did not know. Anything was plausible, she had heard and understood very little outside her glimpses outside her cell.

Nothing was easy as the first four weeks anymore. Along with the death of two more of the aliens came Drake's desperation to force a bond. He could, and did, make the bond happen with her and other subjects, but no matter how hard he tried the bond never stuck. He attributed the failure of other victims as their not being physically good enough. He attributed any failure to bond with her as entirely, unarguably her fault. This made for complicated and often painful repercussions even when the bond failed without her breaking it herself.

While he insisted there was no punishment in the lab, that it was all a quest for knowledge and anything seeming like torture was unintentional - no one believed it. He did rarely lose his composure, most frequently in regards to her tests. Other subjects disappointed him, spurred him to work harder. Experiments with her made him react... differently.

At first he would be annoyed though he would not show it. She saw a few tiny, almost unnoticeable twitches from him that expressed his discontent. It was few and far between, but they were there. The early days were so simple it was bordering on the pathetic.

Mutants were the subject to torturous experiments since the first mutants were discovered. Even today there were underground organizations, illegal government experimentation, and even subjugation from other mutants looking to benefit from other's power. All of these examples had put her on edge every day. She lived in paranoia and the moment she gave it a break... here she rested, a cell in Life Foundation's presumably secret lab studying a likely illegal specimen brought back from space.

She wanted to be fair to herself, to others that fall into this trap. It was completely obvious to any authority to see. Had a single person investigated disappearing homeless people they would be immediately lead to the Life Foundation. From their comfort during research it never looked like anyone was worried about it. She assumed no one was looking into this, into disappearances of the homeless. An entirely cynical view considering the amount of law enforcement she used to see in New York more willing to investigate crimes against the homeless rather than crimes against mutants.

The mutant homeless. She shook her head, pulling the sheet up around her shoulders. A conflicting position to be in, so much power, none of it being used. Mostly directed to herself, regarding shapeshifting she could technically live as anyone in the world. If she were to imitate a wealthy person for a while she could get away with it. Tracking her down intentionally was next to impossible unless she made herself known.

In this case she had not considered the Life Foundation would be the bad guys; a company focused heavily on the betterment of mankind by way of medical advancement and space travel. In her history eccentrics that were engaging in aggressively illegal experimentation on humans were private organizations with a directive in mind and a clientele filled with John and Jane Does. Tracking the clients down was harder than actually finding the company supplying them. Mutants were a popular target, but the victims could extend to almost anyone.

Life Foundation's experiment subjects were all human except her. She was their golden goose, that's what Drake thought anyways. She had something no one else had, could do things no one else here could do, and he had her caged. At times she wondered if he realized his 'cage' would never keep her in - the device did. Everything around her was flimsy junk that would never survive a rampage.

If it were not for the shock device in her neck.

Drake pushed her buttons for certain, she hated the man with a violent passion. She did not know if the device in her neck would ever wear down, he had mentioned it was made on a short time frame. She wondered how durable it really was and, if it was fragile, would they replace it when it showed deterioration? Being knocked out again was not something she looked forward to.

She sat staring at the people working outside her cell, other people going through the tests before she did. Most days she was not tested on at all, she had to wait until they had something new to try on her. Combinations of paralyzing electrocution, bonding the alien, at times drugs that disrupted her awareness. Like Drake said any torture is unintentional. She rolled her eyes, Tell that to my neck.

On her neck coming from the device piercing in her neck were black veins, delicate paths of electricity burns that had taken far too much abuse. Her neck burned, but so did most of her body every day. Rejecting a forced attempt to bond by an alien creature was not a simple or painless task. She had to push back harder, show her strength each time. When given the chance she absolutely flexed on Drake showing that she was still strong enough to resist.

She got under his skin and she knew it. He knew she knew it. He hated it and it amused her. Granted he had the upper hand, he could have her killed by simply overloading the device in her neck and holding the button. While she resisted an alien bond, he resisted cutting her off entirely. He wanted to make some progress and, through some tests with her, he did find out some small pieces of information. It was not enough to keep the creatures alive, but it was enough to convince him to keep her around.

A fact he never shared was the aliens they used to bond with her were always the same ones. Save for the ones that died. They had many more of the aliens than she ever got to see. Drake wanted to reuse the creatures with her, hoping that their familiarity with her physiology would help aid the next bonding attempt. One of the creatures she had imitated death with never tried to bond with her again.

That meant every test she was a part of afterwards were only conducted after extensive research by the team. She was where the experiments when everyone else either failed or they had something new to try. Theories were thrown around like kids passing notes in class, it was mostly nonsense with the rare case of something worth sharing. They tested, they failed, not a single successful case so far.

While the aliens bonded with a number of other test subjects, they always died either after the bond was established or a few days later. So far she had been the only subject capable of bonding and surviving with the bond and after rejecting it. They wanted to keep that up so they did what they could, though from her perspective everything they did to preserve the little they had so far was pointless. Nothing they did changed the test, it was always her rejecting it. A few times the creature started to bond and simply turned her down.

She was a little insulted.

They tested on a new subject today, it went loudly which meant it went badly. They had been narrowing down on what their requirements for approval were now, limiting to certain people with certain traits that showed promise with the alien bonding. It was not as simple as finding the healthiest, strongest, or physically fit subject. They showed considerable promise with those in need of help.

It was part of the reason why experimentation with her went from keeping her biologically stable to bordering on prisoner torture at times. Bonding went better if the potential host was struggling. It could be struggling against pain, illness, disability, disease, and even addictions. The homeless desperate to sign up for pay were perfect candidates. Some suffered from undiagnosed illnesses and others fighting off addictions that ruined their lives and health. So the more physically capable the subject, the less likely the bond was to even take hold.

For her tests they combined this knowledge with what they learned from her mutation. Physical stimuli, specifically painful stimuli, would assist the alien bonding with anyone including her. However, this could only be combined in limited ways. Electricity was her Achilles heel and worked effectively with the alien as it so far had proven immune. Other sources included simple brute force using their guards to beat her down had proven effective as well. The more they put her down, the better the test went.

Their limitation was discovered when they realized causing her too much injury made any bonding impossible. Something cut it off. If she was unconscious, incapacitated, or under medically induced paralysis than the alien could not even begin to bond to her. It would try and, within seconds, discover the host was inhibited and retreat.

They attempted starving her, dehydration, or keeping her awake for over two days. She was weaker in those cases, unable to reject the bond effectively, but the weakness of a host also made the alien reject her. The host had to be physically capable yet in need. That need could be medical or not, but the host could not be debilitated to that degree. So they played a balancing game.

She was returned to a regular diet, with clean water, and all the sleep she could ever need. Then, when testing would begin, they would pull no punches. Beatings, electrocution, and medically injected toxins would all contribute to the injury needed to aid the bonding process. In these tests the alien would accept the host, bond to her, and could remain for an indeterminate amount of time.

It was indeterminate due to her resilience. To avoid harming the creature bonding to her, they had to stop the torture. Once she was given any chance she would reject the creature either physically or internally. Her ability to creatively eject this creature from her anatomy was definitely a thing to behold and often considerably violent. The creature would either retreat, search for a new host, or in rare cases it would die.

This hindered all progress and forced them to find a way to stop her from destroying their progress. Each attempt to get her to stop was met with extreme rebelliousness. She would go above and beyond to make any bond a failure. Drake was pissed, the researchers were frustrated, the guards had enough of her, and she found the entire situation hilarious. Spitefully so, but they knew that.

As the day turned to night, she saw the lights going off one by one. The main area light switched off with a loud click and the door shut. It sounded like a heavy door, but she never saw it. Likely it was the same as the door she was pushed into before, a massive vault-like door. More lights shut down, a guard made his rounds and checked every door, every cell, every examining room. She saw his flashlight passing her cell, he tested the cell door to ensure it was secure before moving on.

Two guards were tasked with securing the lab, but the researchers were tasked with securing the computers with sensitive data. It took a good hour or so to have it all done, for the guards to leave, and she would sit under the faint light of LEDs that edged the walls with low intensity lighting. It was soft enough to sleep, bright enough to help her move to her private restroom.

She placed her feet on the floor, pulling the well insulated thin quilt with her. A hand raised to the device in her neck, it was painful now, it hurt to fiddle with. A bad habit she picked up in her months sitting around staring at endless white walls and glass doors. Now she kept having to tell herself to stop, to let it heal as much as it could before the next time they used it against her.

Sitting in the dark, pressing her bare feet to the cold floor. Everything was so clean, she was clean, the floor was regularly sterilized. She actually preferred at least the dirt of the streets, maybe a little less than an alley but anything was better than here.

She could just barely hear other subjects in their respective cells. A few were likely sleeping, others were crying in their despair. She felt for them, she truly did, but she was not in the position to help them. No night was ever any different, the new subjects dragged in were always the loudest for the first few hours. Communicating was not possible with the cells in their layout. She could only hear them faintly or when they hit the glass to their cell, talking was a challenge at best.

Staying at least somewhat disassociated helped when they died. Each one she had seen brought in for tests did not walk out. No one stayed for more than a week if they were lucky enough to survive their tests.

She was the only long term subject they had and she only got away with it because of her X-Gene. Not truly a comfort.

Sufficiently tired and bored, she laid back down in her cot and drifted to sleep. The faint hum of the vents and the machines outside her cell provided enough white noise to help sleeping in the cells where privacy was not a real option. The only place she remained out of sight was the restroom and she knew not a lot of the other subjects had their own. She was unique, she was there for months - they gave her basic needs to survive.

Unfair to the others? Definitely. She could not change that just as she could not change their rather painful deaths when the alien bond failed. With the device in her neck no matter how hard she pushed, she would not be able to fight to render any aid worthwhile. Electricity was damning, her biology unable to support the overload. Her body was already a complicated mess she had designed herself and a weakness to electricity was something she had never been able to fix.

She lessened the severity for sure, making each body better than the last. One body could be capable of immunity to it, or at least only as weak to electricity as the average person. Could be. The work to design the body had never gone to plan, each trial to create it failed to insulate her from an electric current. A long time ago she used to have such a weakness that an electric fence to keep livestock safe would put her in the hospital.

Over time she built against that. Only partial progress was made. She was more resilient, but immunity seemed like a pipe dream. She was glad that electricity could not so easily put her in a coma anymore and that she could live her life without that fear. No matter how much she put into it, even the work of others that had greater knowledge could not fix it entirely. It was better - it was not ideal.

She rested well at night despite the long torturous days. Tonight though, her rest was interrupted. She had pretty good hearing overall, above average she would say. Though it was the abnormal noise she heard in the middle of the night.

Her ear twitched slightly, her face dropped in suspicion. She heard something, it was faint, yet it was real. The heavily clunk of the lab's door unlocking hit her ears. The lab's main entrance was opening, someone wanted in. On rare occasions people would return late at night. Some work that needed to be finished before morning, returning to pick up the car keys left on the desk. Usually that would occur before the guards lock up to prevent security issues. If someone had to remain working after hours the guard would wait to lock up after they left.

There was never a case where someone was allowed in so late after the guard secured the lab. This never happened before and she was interested to find out what made tonight an exception.

Curious, she slid out of her bed and approached the glass cautiously. The lights were still off, she could hear something but it was too faint to make out properly. She looked around, nothing had changed, but someone was here. Footsteps down the room, echoing in the emptiness of the lab. A concern raised that Drake planned a purge of subjects? Why would he do that, he'd lose everything. She shook her head, still trying to spy whoever was roaming around. Is Drake here himself? A guard doing another round? Why wouldn't they turn on the lights?

Her mind whirring with questions, she watched and waited.

The footsteps were not hurried, but they were quiet. As if the person was trying not to make noise, a few sounds she could not make out. Some metal tray being fiddled with, something being moved, a glass door being opened. Nothing distinct, just regular daily noises in the lab.

Then the intruder got closer, close enough that she caught a glimpse of them. Slight movement down to the far right of her cell, just behind a wall. They were not in a lab coat, the clothes were too dark.

This isn't a Life employee... Someone broke in? She was astounded. The level of security this building had was top tier, nothing was getting in without clearance. Something was happening just out of her sight and she could just hear the person coming closer.

She had to know, she had to try.

Her hit the glass wall of her cell with the palm of her hand, banging on it just enough to be heard. "Hey! Who's there?" She had to speak loudly to be heard. It was still muffled, she wondered if the person heard her. She pounded on the glass harder, "Hey you, I saw you! Who are you?" The footsteps stopped and silence filled the air. Waiting on the next move she hoped she was not talking to a Life employee who was ignoring her.

Trying to peer around the corner, she hit the glass with both hands. "Down here, cell at the end of the row. Come here!"

Slowly the footsteps neared her, just barely out of sight. They were loud enough to echo in her head now, her desperate hope clinging on the edge. She hoped and begged this to be someone from the outside. Specifically a person who could get a message out so she and the others could finally be free of Drake's little lab of horrors. Then, the person spoke. "Hello...?"

Their voice low, almost inaudible. Relief struck her, "Hey, hi. You're not a Life employee, right?"

The person stepped into view, revealing themselves to be anything but a Life employee. He was in a leather jacket, some old tattered clothes, definitely not something meant for one of the researchers or a guard. Then she saw his face. "You!" She smiled, "Holy shit, it's you."

He nodded, having difficulty recalling her. Paused for just a moment, he faced the cell before looking around to check for guards. "Yeah, uh, it's me. You know me?" He asked a bit confused. This woman, locked in a Life Foundation secret lab, recognized him. A little strange, but he was not one to complain.

She chuckled, "I missed the meeting, you said you'd take me out to for something to eat and if I needed to reschedule or something happened... I'd call you. I'm afraid I don't have the money anymore or a way to call you. Sorry I stood you up." Watching him realize who she was had been entertaining. As much as she wanted to reminisce she knew that he could not stay for long.

"You're- That-" He took a breath and neared the glass. "That was almost... no, that was eight months ago. It's been almost a year and you- you've been here all along?" This revelation was a shock to him. A long time ago he asked a favor and a long time ago he returned to see her again. No one was there, no one had seen her, and no one knew where she went.

"Yeah, that's me. Life Foundation offered a deal; sign up, get paid. I took it like a day later and they knocked me out. When I woke up, I was here." She gestured to the lab around them. Shaking her head, she returned with urgency. "You have to tell someone, get a message out. They're killing everyone here. People don't last long, they take in everyone and they all die. And they don't die quickly. Drake is fucking insane."

He pulled up his phone, hitting something on the screen and turned the flashlight on. "We need to get you out of here. Is there a way to open this door? I mean, it's glass right? Can't be that hard to open." He looked around the door, trying to find anything. He spotted the panel beside her cell and eyed it a moment. It had a slot for a key card, nothing else. "How do I open this?" Hoping she had anything useful to give him, he looked back up to her.

"No, you can't let me out. You open this door without the key and it will set off the alarms. You have to leave without being seen. Take pictures, take videos, but I need you to tell someone in specific." Releasing her would not be a simple task. Her cell was similar to the others but the key card was only kept on a few individuals. Drake being one, the others belonging to the heads of research in the lab.

Denying this, he waved it off. "I can do that after I get you out. Can't leave you in here, they could kill you. They're probably gonna kill you if they see this all over the news."

She hit the glass to interrupt him, "You can't get me out, it's not going to happen so listen to me."

He pointed at her as he stepped backwards. "Never say never."

Her eyes narrowed and threw her hands up sarcastically. "But... I didn't-" Her eyes flicked to the side, furiously confused and surprised at how incorrect he was. "I didn't say never." Watching him leave to find something she hit the glass again. "No, wait, no! Come back! Fuck!"

He was already searching for a way to open the door. The desks around the cells were a good start in his mind, believing a key card must be laying around somewhere in the lab. She knew that was not going to happen, they would not leave access to her cell without heavily guard. It just was not going to happen. So he dug around having thoroughly ignored her protests to be a hero.

Though his determination to save her was annoying her right now, it was also endearing. She appreciated the thought, the want to free her, but it was not possible without attracting every guard in the building. That would mean he would never leave this building and he would never get an emergency message out. They would both be stuck and he'd become a test subject. Not fun for anyone.

"Listen, you can't open the cell. It doesn't matter if they try to cover up the lab, with visual evidence you can make any cover up fail." She tried to convince him to return to her, "It's enough that you managed to get in here. The security is crazy and you won't likely be able to do it again. So take the opportunity to get everyone free and listen to me."

He looked towards her before shaking his head, "No no, you've been here for months. You said people don't last long and you did. What if you die this morning, this afternoon. I can't guarantee they don't raid this place before then. I can get you out. We'll get out of here and tell everyone." Fervently he searched the office space, opening every unlocked drawer and cabinet. "Imagine you were with me when we go to every news outlet in San Francisco. Someone with actual experience. Even if big shot Carlton Drake denies it he can't get away from all this-" He pointed to his phone, "-and you too. It'll blow up. Everyone will know... know what he really is."

"I don't care about what the world thinks about Drake, I care about being dead and stopping other people from being dead." She insisted, watching the lab as he dug through the desks.

He saw a desk attached to the floor, all monitors off, but a print on the desk E-104. He turned around to see her in her cell, looking at the number print on the side of the cell. E-102. Figuring out the code he searched around for the correct desk. It was not a desk though, it was a console with locked drawers. The E-102 console was entirely under wraps. Intrigued by this he tried to find some way to break into it.

She sighed, tapping her head against the glass. "Come on, you don't have long. You can't stay here."

Looking around the other desks near E-102's he spotted a file resting on E-103. A manila folder with a large red stamp on the center. CONFIDENTIAL E-102. Flipping it open he saw a few loose papers with x-ray prints, some pages of text he did not have the time to read or the ability to understand. "Oh yeah? When's the next guard pass by?" He did not turn his head away from the folder, the pages had a lot of information he bet was another source of solid evidence.

"No one comes here after dark. When morning rolls around the scientists return and we all go through experiments until they're done." She explained, seeing him continue this hectic hunt for a key that was most certainly not in the lab. "There's nothing there. Everyone has key cards on them, but they do not keep them here. You cannot get this door open."

She waited, trying to be patient. His search was eating away at her knowing that he couldn't free her here, he needed to leave with what he had. They were both in a bad position if either one was caught. He would never be seen again and she liked him, he was nice; his murder would be terrible. Here he was in this extremely dangerous place, risking his life to save others and expose the person doing this. She commended his bravery, but wanted him to leave safely.

A few things dropped to the floor in his haste. He began to realize she was correct and there was nothing here to unlock her cell. Seeing him struggle with this, she offered solace. "It's okay, I don't mind. I just want you to get out without being caught. That's the most important thing right now. If you don't you will be killed. Drake will have you killed."

He looked up, "Oh I'm sure he'd love that." He chuckled, some underneath sting there she did not catch.

Accepting that finding a key was not realistic, he returned to her cell with a nervous twitch. He seemed genuinely disturbed he had no way to free her. He was always a good person, she did not want him to feel guilty because Drake made his security so tight. "I am so relieved you're here, you can help everyone here. Don't worry about trying to-"

He stepped to the side and grabbed something from beside the cell. Her brow furrowed and she fell silent, wondering what he was unto. She heard a short metal scratch before he returned to the cell front. In his hands was a metal chair the guards would use when watching her cell during the day if she had tests to be conducted. Her brain caught up slowly until she realized what was going on. "Uh, wha- wait, are you seriously-?"

Raising the chair up he took a step back. He was going to try and break the glass.

"No! It'll set off-" BANG! He hit the glass and she jumped backwards. A mark on the glass scratched deep left a sign to anyone that something happened. He did not stop there, he reeled back again. She could not stop him, convincing him didn't even slow him down.

He brought the chair down again with a loud BANG. A crack formed to her surprise. He was actually breaking the glass even though the alarms would go off the moment it broke. She was certain and she couldn't stop him.

Another hard hit and the glass cracked it wide. Shards fell to the ground and a red light flashed overhead. SECURITY BREACH! He flinched after hearing the loud alarm. "Step back!" He yelled over the screeching sound of the security alarms. She did as he said, not interested in being cut up by glass. She backed up, watching him pull far back to hit it with all the strength he could manage.

With the best roar he could manage he hit the glass hard. The chair pierced the broken glass, shattering it. The glass shards rained down to the ground, the wall coming down in sections. She was a bit surprised he actually did break it, but the loud speaker announcing his unwelcome presence. She looked up to him and he reached a hand out to her. "Come on, let's go!" She raised her hand and he grabbed it, pulling her along.

As her bare feet stepped over the broken glass shards she hissed in pain, feeling glass shred the bottom of her feet. She hopped for a moment, her footsteps sounded wet. Looking behind her she spotted bloody footprints she left behind. There was glass in her feet, it hurt with every step, but he was trying to rescue her while endangering himself. While she might not be able to escape for long, touching the device on her neck again, she needed to make sure he did.

He ran back towards the door he entered through, pulling her along with him. She was thankful to be doing anything except sitting in a cell regardless of the consequences she might experience later.

Running down the hall, they were interrupted by a loud bang on the glass beside them. The same way she hit the glass in her cell only a lot louder with urgency. The banging continued and they slowed down, pausing in front of the imprisoned person in question.

She saw the woman hitting the glass. Long messy black hair, clothing like the other subjects, but her cell was incredibly small. Something was wrong with this image and she did not know what. When they approached the woman banging on the glass, the man escaping responded in shock. "Maria?"

"Eddie! Eddie, let me out!" She screamed and begged, banging on the glass. They knew each other, but this woman was losing her mind. She was crying and howling to be released, pleading with him. "Please, please! Let me out! Eddie, let me out!" He turned to the panel, trying to hit anything to open the door. Her nailed screeched on the glass, her other hand hitting the door harder and harder.

Anxious, he spun on his heel trying to find something to help her.

She watched the woman scream and throw this disturbing fit. It was not normal to say the least. "I don't think she's all there... Maybe you shouldn't try to let her out." Her tone was low, knowing she was just freed herself. She did not want this poor woman to stay locked up and yet something told her this was not right. This woman was completely out of control.

Uninterested, he came back with a fire extinguisher attached to the wall beside her cell. "Hold on!"

"I seriously think something is wrong here!" She tried to urge him to listen to this woman, hear the inhuman crying. It was absolutely not normal and he refused to listen. He has a problem with listening... "We need to go! Now! They are coming and we're going to be trapped if we don't leave!" She yelled over the alarms that kept announcing the security breach. Fucking altruistic ass! She was grateful for him, she just knew they were in the worst position. It was shoot first here at the Life Foundation's lab.

He hit it hard enough to crack the glass, "I'm not leaving her!" The wall began to chip away, crumbling as the extinguisher crushed through the weak point. More glass fell to the floor making a lot of noise for the guards to follow.

From the room came a plume of hot steam, blinding them the moment the air was allowed to escape. He dropped the extinguisher and searched for the suddenly quiet woman. "Maria? Maria!" He waved away the steam, acclimating to the heat as he stepped over the glass.

With a screech the woman jumped onto him, clasping her hands around his throat. She forced him back, sliding on the floor below. Taken by surprise he tried to wrap his head around this once quiet and sweet homeless woman to the woman straddling him and strangling him now. He pushed back, but he was scared of harming the woman he just tried to save.

Shocked as well, the mutant snapped into action. She grabbed the woman by her shoulders and pulled, trying to wrench this woman from their rescuer. They were almost out of time, she heard the door unlocking not too far from them. There were other entrances they just had to be smart about it. The manic woman did not released him, her strength far greater than an average woman from her background. She was a beast, her muscles taut and unwavering. Even the larger man on the ground could not push her away.

With a howling scream of pain and what they assumed was a mental break, the woman shuddered before going limp. Feeling the dead weight, she shoved the woman off her rescuer and the body hit the floor with a heavy thud, not a single twitch. She was either unconscious or dead, either way they could not help her now. He coughed and coughed, terrified by the kind woman from the sidewalk turned so crazy.

"Maria? Oh no, Maria?" He pushed himself off the floor. It was too difficult to tell what was going on. The flashing red lights, the alarm screaming in their ears. This woman seemed dead and for that she empathized with him. "Oh shit." He scrambled to his feet, accepting her offered hand.

"We have to go, we can't help her." She saw light from the door - the guards were in the room now. "We need to go now!" He heavily agreed after seeing Maria.

They took off back down the row of cells where her cell was, taking a turn before the end of the room to see a heavy reinforced single door that lead out of the lab. She had seen guards use it plenty of times, it was only the main entrance she had not seen before. This side door worked as an effective service entrance that was used more often than the main security door.

She was thankful too, they really needed a backdoor right about now.

He swung the door open and it lead to another white hallway. Nothing much in it, only more white doors and painfully bright white lights. It gave the feeling that everything in the building was sterilized once, twice, and third time's the charm. It was painful and smelled like cleaning products - she never thought she'd be so happy to smell so much chemical product.

Taking her by the hand again, he pulled her down the hallway only to be met by two security guards. They did not look the same as the rest of the building, these men wore standard security attire for the main facility. The men charged and so did they, apparently. She was very unprepared for him being willing to fight.

"Freeze!" One went for a pistol in its holster just as they neared them. Releasing her hand, her rescuer braced his feet on the wall and kicked off, shoving the first guard into the wall and knocking him out. Using his momentum he slid on the floor and tripped the next guard who smacked face first onto the tiled floor. He looked back, eyes wide, and saw her pause.

There was a crack in the wall - he kicked off hard enough to leave a crack in solid stone. She stared at the damage a moment before he retrieved her, dragging her along with him once again. "Come on, come on!" They took off down the hall just as more guards entered the hall, guns raised to them. Blindsided was one way of describing how she felt seeing him fight so fluidly. She had no idea he was capable.

Jumping down a short few steps the two neared a security door with a small window, clearly lit with early morning light. Outside. She stared with wide eyes, Almost back outside. Somewhere she wondered if she would ever be able to escape before being electrocuted to death. Most of her head said she would get out, eventually. There was always that inkling of doubt no matter how much she ignored it.

Seeing the door was locked, he reeled back once more and kicked the door right off the hinges. It hung on only by the automated device that made sure the door could not be slammed. He stepped around it and she followed, once more struck with amazement at his feat of strength. That door was not a kickable door. He had enough strength to crush it.

That was inhuman.

Looking at both directions he saw the right was a driveway that lead to a large number of angry guards with guns. He grabbed her shoulder and shoved her ahead towards the metal gate that stood about twenty feet tall. It was metal bars all the way around, encompassing the entire complex. Climbing it would take too long, the bars were too tight to squeeze through, they had to find another way.

That is what she thought rationally anyways. Right before he grabbed onto her, holding onto her as he jumped at the gate. Her mind was blank at this point, she did not know if he was trying to rescue her or kill her. Yet they hit the gate and it tore open a hole, the two thrown tumbling to the ground on the far side. She rolled down the hill, taking deep breaths to try and calm her nerves.

This man just kicked two guards down in the hall, broke a door off its hinges, and launched them through a gate made entirely of metal bars. She did not know where to begin.

Shaking her head of leaves and grass, she looked up to see the guards running to the gate. Jumping up she felt him grab onto her upper arm, getting her to run with him. They took off into the woods, wet soil and leaves crunching under their feet. It was cold and wet out, telling her it had rained recently. She loved the smell, running in the woods felt brisk and natural. She loved it and would be able to enjoy it if people were not chasing them.

Keeping pace with him was not hard, she was quite fast. Keeping away from the bullets flying around was equally as challenging for the fleeing pair.

Guards chased behind them and they were fit too. While they ran together, they had to duck and weave through the trees and bushes. Space was beginning to separate them and they had no time to stick together - they had to focus on getting away above all else. So they ran, sweat pouring, branches scraping them, and their hearts pounding they ran as far as they could.

She vaulted over a fallen log or two, using any trees she passed to help push off when she lost speed. She had run in the woods from people before, she knew how to keep moving. Coming to a gap in the forest she spotted a vehicle racing down the dirt path, tossing up mud and grass as it tore apart the ground underneath. She crossed the path before it reached her and checking to see her partner in crime he had done the same. He was going hard and she wished she could help. Her best bet was not to shapeshift with people chasing them; she was banking on them not knowing it was her who escaped. Just so they would not be tempted to electrocute the device in her neck.

Once they realized it though she would be in trouble. All she had to do was help him though. When he was out of danger, she did not much care about the aftermath.

She heard yelling, guards barking out their location to close in on them both. Gunfire pierced the tree bark around her, sending wood chips all around her. She had no way to stop the bullets, she just had to keep running and hoping she didn't get shot. Her feet hurt exponentially now. They were cut with glass, shards still digging into her flesh and limiting her stride as she flinched from the pain. Dirt and grit rubbed into the wounds, causing them to sting terribly. Yet she pushed on, she had to; there was no time to stop.

The sound of buggy's revved behind them, the engines roaring as they cut through the paths around the forest. She wondered how many there were because she heard a lot more noise than just one running around. Other guards on the ground kept up while the vehicles tried to circle around to cut them off. She had a difficult time hearing over her heart pounding in her chest, but she made out a distinctly painful noise from her rescuer.

He ran straight into a fallen tree, the wood having cracked from the force. Astoundingly so, people could not simply break tree trunks in half with their bodies. She slowed down to help him, she could not let him fall behind. She ran to him as he stood up, though that did not seem like standing up to her. Taking a fistful of his jacket she pulled him along. "Keep running! Go!" He adhered to the command happily, taking off with her again.

The two came up to another dirt path, this one wider than the last just as the forest was thinning out. A vehicle was approaching from the end, the headlights shining as it raced towards them. Another from the other direction and guards beginning to surround them. They were both panting heavily, their lungs burning. She had no idea how to get out of this without shapeshifting, which they would just shock her and it would be useless. He would be captured alongside her and she had nothing to stop that.

Without a word he wrapped his arms around her waist. A little off put by the sudden grab, she searched his face for an explanation. Before she was able to question him, he began to climb the tree behind them. A massive tree that was, a deep forest tree that had been there a long time. She held onto him tightly, trying to make sense of whatever was going on with him. He was superhuman strong and now he just scaled a tree faster than she had time to comprehend.

There they stayed at the top, their arms and legs a pretzel of limbs clinging to the tree for dear life. They were on both sides, using each other to grasp the tree between them.

Below they could just make out the guards looking around, unable to track where they went. They lost sight and began to search the forest on foot. It was a relief to see the people spreading out away from the base of the tree, signaling that this tree climbing escape had worked for now. So long as they did not search with a helicopter.

She shifted slightly, getting a better grip on his clothes. Her hand was under his arm, fist wrapped around his thick jacket. They looked at each other, their eyes wide with slack jaw expressions. Breathing heavily and shining with sweat, she smiled nervously.

"I think we got away."


Antex-The Legendary Zoroark:

Haha yeah she's super stubborn. She's the kind of person that seems quiet on the outside, but if she saw her enemy dying of dehydration in the desert she would drink water in front of them.
I hope you're still enjoying the story, this is a long chapter compared to the previous ones lol
Anytime! I'm happy to answer any questions and listen to critiques of my story! :)

xxxRena:

She's got the short end of the stick often, but she's pretty good at going with the flow so far. Though her personality is pretty abrasive when pissed off. Your hope is answered. After eight months of confinement she is now free, at least, somewhat anyways haha
Hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter!

Fk306:

Thanks! I'm always happy to hear people are enjoying my stories! :)

ArtasticSarcastic01:

You got it! ;)
Hope you like it!

BluAsh54:

Thank you, I'm super happy you like it! I hope you like this chapter!

Vertigo Venom:

I'm glad it's caught your attention. She had to undergo eight months before Eddie showed up. Unfortunately a long long time, but she's out now so she can finally take a breath of relief. Though the device in her neck is still there, so that might be a problem! :x
I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter! :)