A/N: I don't own any canon characters from Push, or the world they live in, only my take on what their lives might be like given a few years from the movie's end.

Bam. Another chapter. Oh yes I did…

"I think we should make a run for the limo," Kira took a half step towards the car. I turned to face her, just in time to see the Porter materialize behind her. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he snatched her away, her scream oddly cut off as she disappeared into thin air.

"Shit…" Nick hissed, sending the gunmen back with a powerful shove that sent them flying through the air. The victory was short lived as three yellow Hummers lit towards us from one of the hangars at high speed. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

A part of me could have cared less that they'd taken Kira, but they didn't call off the attack once they had her and the serum. Besides, though I wanted her to go away, that didn't mean I wanted her to be tortured or worse at the hands of the rival clan. At that point, I didn't know if the enemy of my enemy was my friend or just a bigger enemy.

Nick stepped back beside me, attention split between the approaching vehicles and the inert forms of the gunmen. "Cassie, come on, we have to stick to the plan, let's get moving. We don't know how long it'll be before that guy comes back and I don't want him taking you too."

"No, wait." We hadn't planned on a Porter and I knew I had to stop and focus, running wouldn't do us a whole lot of good in unfamiliar territory and we didn't know what else might come out of that hangar to block our escape. Trusting Nick to keep me safe, I closed my eyes, focusing on Kira. Now that my gift was back, I had no trouble finding her, the short scene that unfolded in my mind's eye confirming my fears. "Nick, they have a Whisper guiding them from inside that hangar bay," I gasped at the realization. No wonder they all moved as one, they were all linked telepathically by a woman calling the shots inside. "They don't want to kill us, they're ordered to take us down, but there's a Stitch standing by to heal any collateral damage. They have their own Pusher, they want to convert us."

"And Kira?"

"She doesn't have a whole lot of time; she's been drugged to keep her docile. They won't be gentle with her to get what they want."

"Shit…" Nick rubbed the back of his neck as he paced, clearly torn between responsibilities.

"And Nick?" I met his gaze. "These guys make Division look like the Cub Scouts."

"Okay," he nodded, coming to a decision. "New plan…"

~Nick~

"I still think this is a stupid idea," Cassie muttered, and Nick couldn't really blame her. It was his idea to surrender; his logic being that they wanted to get into the hangar and that seemed the fastest way to do it. If everything went to plan, he'd find out a little more about the new faction, other than the fact that they were definitely on goal to give Division a run for their money in the bad guy department, and he wanted to learn all he could about them before they made their escape.

"Just relax, I can handle it."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who's gonna end up with her head rifled through."

Nick shot her a quelling look and she fell silent, slumping lower in the seat, face sullen. The hangar approached with alarming speed as the yellow Hummer hurtled towards it. The two henchmen that drove them showed little interest in their conversation, both sitting facing forward, both wearing the same type of iridescent goggles and Nick wondered if they were designed to offer some protection against Kira's Push? Why else the need for goggles in the cool, California air?

Only the car they were in entered the hangar bay, the massive door rolling closed after they were admitted. The hangar itself was largely empty, except for a pair of black Jeeps parked near an office at the rear and a few wooden crates stacked nearby. The red-haired Porter sat cross legged atop one of the crates, talking to a pair of generic thugs and a pretty blonde, the only person in the room besides them who was goggle free. Through the large window, Nick could see Kira inside the office, a dark skinned man in a purple suit bent over her.

"Out," barked the driver as soon as the Hummer was put into park.

"Keep it warm for me, Jeeves. I won't be long," Cassie threw out loftily, sliding out onto the ground. Nick was quick to follow, feeling better once he was on the same side of the car she stood on.

The man in purple strolled out of the office, casual as they come. "So, this is the famous Nick Gant and Cassie Holmes. It's an honor to meet you."

Nick kept himself between the guy and Cassie, was this their Pusher? "I wish I could say the same, but I have no idea who the hell you are and why you've brought us here."

"Sorry, I forget you're new to the hood," he smiled wide, revealing a mouthful of even, white teeth. "I'm Jethro, you've already met Hank and Tatiana."

"No, I don't think I've had the pleasure," Nick smiled at the lovely blonde, practically feeling Cassie's scowl despite the fact that she stood behind him.

"Ah, but she has. In the moments since you've been standing here, she's on far more intimate terms with you than we could be after a month of conversation. Aren't you, Angel?"

Tatiana nodded, her attention focused wholly on Nick.

"What's with the goggles, is there a Devo concert later?" Cassie piped up, and Jethro laughed heartily.

"They are the latest in defense against all manner of psychic attacks, quite ingenious really. Even Division doesn't have anything like it yet."

"No shit?" Cassie's eyes flew wide and Nick could see the wheels turning in her head.

"Shit," Jethro replied, crossing his heart with two fingers.

"Well, how about you share a pair as a sign of good faith?" Cassie licked her lips almost hungrily as she fixated on a pair of them. "All we want is to join you and fight the good fight."

"That's a lie," Tatiana called out, her voice slightly accented with a Slavic lilt.

"Hey, who asked you?" Cassie scowled. "Everybody knows we hate Division more than anyone."

"She wants you to trust her, but she intends to escape," the telepath reported and Cassie shot her a murderous glare.

"Stay out of my head!"

"What do you want from us exactly?" Nick interjected, ignoring the pair for the time being, glad to see Jethro do the same.

"It's not what you can do for us; it's what we can do for you. As you can see, we can offer valuable protection. It should be just what you need to take down Division," his dark eyes glittered with excitement.

That was the last thing he'd expected them to say. "Who says we want to take down Division?"

"Don't you?"

In a perfect world, yes. But Nick wasn't convinced it could be easily done, and it wasn't worth it to him to risk those he loved in the process. "What about Kira?"

"Kira Hudson has been on our hit list for a very long time. I'm sure you are intimately aware of some of the atrocities she's committed. She's slated to be… repurposed."

"You mean brainwashed."

"If the Push fits," Jethro grinned.

"Hey, if you're neutering Kira, sign me up, goggles or not," Cassie volunteered and Nick shot her a warning look.

"Cassie!"

"I'm serious, Nick. I can't stand her butting her way into our lives at every turn."

"She speaks the truth," Tatiana reported.

Hoping to nip that thought in the bud, Nick took control of the conversation again. "I'm not saying I'm on board with doing anything to Kira, but if we were going to take Division down, what are you proposing?"

"A full scale military-grade attack. With our skills and your power, we can mow our way through their defenses. Just think of it, Nick," his voice fell to a dramatic hush. "In one fell swoop, we could liberate everyone from their dominion. Completely crush their chokehold on our kind. With the serum in hand, we'll become so powerful; Division will never be able to take control again."

Cassie's words came back to haunt him from their brief argument before the surrender. Was the enemy of his enemy his friend or just another enemy? Replacing Division with someone else wasn't necessarily a step in the right direction. "That's what you want, to dismantle their organization? Or to step in and take it over?"

"I admit, someone would need to fill the vacuum of power," Jethro admitted. "But under a kinder regime. One designed to protect us, not exploit us."

"I say we do it," Cassie nodded enthusiastically.

"What?" Nick blinked.

"No matter what they have planned, they can't be worse than Division, right? I say we stop running and fight. Make those fuckers pay for what they've stolen from us," her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"She's lying, she's up to something," Tatiana's brow furrowed in concentration.

"If you don't get out of my head…"

"She wants to escape above all else. She can not be yoked to serve under any authority."

"I swear to God, I'm gonna…"

"She is thinking about her mother languishing under Division control. She doesn't care about liberating anyone else now that she's gone," Tatiana finished smugly.

"Don't you talk about my mother!" Cassie screamed, fist flying out to catch the telepath squarely across the jaw before collapsing into a small ball as she tucked her head down.

That was the signal.

A shower of broken glass pierced the air as Nick exploded all of the windows in the office. Focusing his next attack in the wake of that distraction against the Porter before he had a chance to hop away, Nick caught him easily that time. The little man's body flopped like a rag doll up to the ceiling, crashing against it violently before Nick flung him down among the crates. He didn't know what Jethro could do, that made him the next target, and Nick tossed him and the other thugs in the room against the far wall.

Cassie scrambled across the floor like a crab, picking up discarded goggles, tugging them on before tossing a pair to Nick. Catching them deftly in the air, Nick spared a few seconds to don them; blinking against the odd quality of the light once he had them on. There was supposed to be a Pusher on the premises, and for the first time ever, he felt good about going up against them. But when they got to the office, there was no one there besides Kira, sprawled across a scarred armchair.

"Through there, he took the serum!" Cassie pointed to the single door.

"Don't worry about it," Nick gathered Kira into his arms, not liking the pallor of her skin. "We have to worry about getting ourselves out of here."

"But Nick…"

"No time for that now, let's go!"

Nick all but tossed Kira into the back seat of the Hummer, the keys he'd deftly snatched earlier bringing the engine roaring to life as Cassie hopped in by his side. The henchmen were starting to recover from the fall now, and Nick gunned it, pedal to the metal as he rocketed towards the hangar entrance.

"Nick, the door…"

"Leave it to me…" With a focused blast of power, Nick bent the huge door away from its hinges with a screech of rending metal, leaving just enough room for them to squeeze through before bending it back, effectively trapping them inside the hangar.

"Jesus Christ, Nick… you keep doing things like that, everyone on the planet is gonna be after you," Cassie breathed in wonder.

"I thought they already were," Nick grinned back, his adrenaline riding high.

~Cassie~

It was hard not to keep looking behind us, but it sure looked like we'd gotten away scot free. Despite Nick's confidence in the plan, I couldn't believe we'd actually managed to pull it off, and I couldn't make myself relax in the passenger's seat.

"Check on Kira, would you?" Nick darted a quick look back over his shoulder. "I'd like to know where to take her, unless you've Seen where we're supposed to go to?"

"We could always just drop her off at the nearest hospital," I suggested hopefully, but I didn't really think he'd go for it. "She's still out cold; whatever they doped her up with must have been strong. Hold on a sec, let me see if I can pick anything up." Pushing the goggles to rest atop my head, I did my best to clear my thoughts, focusing on Kira, but I didn't pick up anything helpful. "All I'm getting is this stupid tree overlooking the water. I have no idea where it is or what it has to do with anything. Maybe she lives somewhere near the tree… I'm just grasping at straws here." I took off the black cap, flinging it into the back seat in frustration.

"It's okay. We'll just find someplace to lay low for a while and figure out what our next move will be," Nick's hand was warm on my leg as he patted me soothingly.

Peeling off the vest, I tried to get more comfortable since we'd be spending some time in the Hummer from the look of things. "So, we're in LA with not one but two dangerous organizations after us, and your ex passed out in the back of our stolen vehicle. Wanna get some chilidogs? I'm starving."

Nick's resulting laugh made me grin like a fool; God how I loved him… "Actually I'm kinda hungry myself. How about we find a drive-through and take a little break?"

"I saw a Weinerschnitzel not too far back."

"I wondered where the chilidogs idea came from." Nick obediently turned the car around, "Where am I headed?"

"There," I pointed. "Red sloped roof… that's gotta be it, right?"

It's amazing how something so simple like good, greasy fast food restores the soul. A half an hour later, with a belly full of way too many chilidogs and a frosty chocolate milkshake in hand, the horror of the day had subsided to a distant memory as I watched Nick pore over a street map, muttering to himself in an adorably clueless fashion.

"I think if we get on the freeway here, it's our best bet out of the city. Then we can head south and regroup."

"Why not stay in the city?" I suggested, glad to be lost in the shuffle once more. "Seems like it's easier to hide in plain sight here, especially in a big eyesore like this baby," I tapped the dashboard with my foot.

"What's going on?" Kira's drowsy voice drifted up from the backseat, and everything else was put on hold while Nick fussed over her, offering cold water and basically hanging on her every word until she sat up on her own and professed to be woozy but alright. "What happened?"

"Cassie got a vision of what they had in store for you and we devised a way to get you out." Nick filled her in on what she'd missed with Jethro and his crew while I listened with growing worry. Since when did he try to do anything to help Division out? Still, I could understand siding with the monster we knew rather than the dangerous newcomer from the sound of Jethro's agenda. "They were so busy trying to keep up with the lies Cassie kept telling, they didn't know what hit 'em when we busted you out of there." Nick's plan had been a good one; it wouldn't have worked with a Reader, but a telepath could only pick up surface thoughts.

"Literally. Nick tore through a metal hangar door like it was made of tissue paper," I couldn't help but brag a little on his account.

"Wow, that's impressive," Kira looked suitably awed before her dark eyes lit upon mine. "How come you didn't just leave me behind?"

"I admit, the thought did cross my mind," I teased. "But if anyone's going to torture and kill you, I thought you'd rather it be someone you know," I smiled sweetly.

"Gee thanks," a roll of the eyes was given, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

"That's my girl, the soul of courtesy," Nick winked at me. "We went into this as a team, we came through the other side as a team. It's as simple as that."

"I'm thankful for that then," she sighed. "I might have been tempted to eliminate the competition."

"We're not in competition for anything anymore, Kira," I met her gaze evenly. "I thought you realized that by now."

"I think I'm starting to," she murmured thoughtfully. "Where's the case?"

It took me a second to switch gears, and I knew she wouldn't be happy to hear about it. "Yeah, about that," I caught my bottom lip between my teeth, "their Pusher got away with it. Sorry, it was either go after it, or get you out of there."

"It's okay, that wasn't the serum," Kira waved away my distress.

"Then why…?"

"I'm sorry. I had to keep part of the plan from you in order to make it work. You had to believe there was something valuable for them to steal in order to sell it."

"Did you know about this?" I whirled, and from the look on Nick's face, I could tell he did.

"She's right; we needed you to believe it was in the case."

"So where's the actual syringe?"

"It's gone," Kira replied. "I disposed of the serum myself; it was the only way ensure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. Division already has the formula; this has always been about keeping it from the other clans."

I stared at both of them, at a complete loss for words until my synapses started firing again and I recovered the power of speech. "Then why the hell did we just walk into that ambush if we're not delivering the serum to your stupid lab?"

Nick picked up my hand, holding it in his. "Because that's not where we're going. Kira is going to take you to see your mother."

A/N: Dun, dun, dun… So, what do you think of the action, is Division the lesser of two evils now? Especially given the real reason for the trip to California?

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