Chapter 20

The reunion of the team was one that was cherished. It was one of the moments that almost made the job worth while to David. The though of the deaths that came with it all, however, especially after what he had been told, left a great deal of anguish inside. But the site of Jason and Siobhan lifted that temporarily. He also had chance to meet with Pete for the first time. For the first time, his team was complete, and with the addition of the city behind him, he finally had a team worthy of challenging Althea's order. However, that was about to be put to the test. David's earpiece crackled, and M's voice rang through it.

"Good to hear from you again M!" he said.

"Sir, pleasures aside, you might want to get everyone out of there!"

"Why?" David asked, but the sound that came next was one that was one that made his spine shudder.

"Because I'm coming to get you!" A woman's voice hissed through the earpiece. David's panic gained the attention of everyone in the room.

"M?" he asked tentatively

"That wasn't me sir, it was her! She's coming!" She sighed. As the transmission ended, David switched the earpiece off, and ordered his team."

"We need to get out of here! How many of you can fly?" hew asked hurriedly Jason, Fi, Jess and Jet raised their hands.

"Then fly, get back to the base in London, Jason, lead the way Jet doesn't know her way back."

"Yes sir!" the four of them said, and headed for the open window

"Luca, Teleport some of the others, How many can you get out?" David continued

"Five, including myself."

"Right, you, Famke, Olva, Shiv and Pete." he decided quickly "Hurry!!"

"Yes sir," she said. "You lot he said, grab my hands."

As they obeyed, Luca swiftly flashed with the blue/white light, and they were gone.

"What about me?" Samson asked

"You can run fast, we're getting out of here. I can fly, but I'm not leaving anyone on their own!" David said, feeling maternal for his team. His anguish, however, had returned, and as the entered the corridor, he saw why. A flash of turquoise light hit Samson, who was catapulted back. David, who was stood behind him, caught him in mid-flight with his powers. Samson hovered upside down, facing David.

"Cheers Mate," he said

"Don't mention it," David replied, before landing Samson on the ground gently. As Samson moved, from behind him emerged his nemesis.

"Looks like I've landed the first punch!" Althea snarled, her eyes glinting as David started to get agitated

"Then i'll land the second." said a familiar voice said from nowhere. Then, suddenly, Daine appeared beside David, and fired a shot at Althea, similar to one David had seen him use against Fi in the forest. However, unlike what happened to Fi, Althea just knocked it away with a shied of energy in her right hand. As it spun over her shoulder, it crashed into a wall, which vanished almost instantly, causing part of the ceiling to collapse.

"She's..." Daine began

"A more powerful mutant than you've seen yet?" David tried to finish his sentence

"Well i don't know, there's you?" Daine said hopefully. Althea prevented David by answering.

"A boy, against my might?" she cackled

"Funnily enough, that's what your husband said on top of Snowdon," David retorted

"Funnily enough," Althea rasped, "He was the one who summoned me!"

"So that's where the prize snake got to." David glared at Althea."

"For better or for worse!" Althea said sarcastically.

"Indeed," David couldn't be bothered pursuing that conversation. "so, your great plan, i don't like guessing games, so tell me straight and i may show some lenience when ruin it!"

"She wants the end of the world!" Samson recalled

"The end of the world as we know it!" Althea corrected

"Well that's not so bad then is it?" Daine asked hopefully, but only earning a scolding look off David and Samson

"The end of the world as we know it?" David repeated "What do you mean as we know it?"

"This poisonous rock shall be flattened, and all life obliterated!" Althea cried, "Leaving space for my new mutant empire to rise in its dust!"

"You're going to kill 6 billion people?" David shot back at her

"Oh no no, only about half of them, the other half will be harvested, and will become part of the new empire." Althea informed

"And that's better?" David persisted "£ billion people dead, the other 3 billion become slave mutants in your new regime, with only, what, 4 mutants free of the torture. You, your husband and your children..."

"Who you brutally attacked!" Althea interrupted,

"Well they deserved it!" David growled remembering the incident in the cave.

"And how does that make you and your team better than mine?" hissed Althea, her face inches from David's.

"I don't wont to kill 3 billion people," David answered

"Make that 3 billion and 3!" Althea looked from Samson to Daine, back to David, "So i suggest you run for your life!" she snarled, as her minions started to teleport into appearance behind her. David, Samson and Daine started to back away slowly.

"I said RUN!" Althea screamed, as the three obeyed. As they turned the corner, Althea signalled to her baying troops, and they charged after them. The noise was unbelievable. The sound of footsteps rang through the ears of everyone in the base. As he ran, David scanned the area with an electrical pulse sound-wave, which was just as effective as x-ray vision. This gave him an idea of how to manoeuvre himself around the base. As they neared a junction David screamed "RIGHT!"

After a selection of "RIGHT'S, LEFT'S, NO I MEANT RIGHT'S" They hurried into the yard. Olva's car had disappeared, and it was too far for Daine to run, and David was certain he wasn't going to leave anyone behind, David looked for another way out. Then it struck him. M had been tracking him, she could send Luca to teleport them out! Switching on the earpiece again, he shouted,

"M?" There was no reply "M?" he cried again

"She's already sent me,!" Said Luca's voice behind him.

"Oh thank god!" David sighed in relief, as Luca's now somewhat familiar flash of blue took them to safety.