Disclaimer: don't own it, don't pretend to make money off of it, don't mean to offend anyone's sensibilities.

Summary: Shalimar meets another feral, the two bond.

Spoilers: Cliffhanger, season 1 finale: A Breed Apart

Chapter three

"Hey!" Adam called down the hallway, "You guys better come here, I think I've got something."

Impatient for action, the Mutant X team assembled quickly. Jesse, Shalimar, Emma, and Brennan were almost chomping at the bit for any remote sign of activity for the newly 'restructured' Genomex.

"Is it Gabriel?"  Asked Brennan anxiously.

"No," Adam shook his head, "at least I don't think so." He projected his computer screen onto the wall beside them. It was a police generated three-dimensional map of the greater Chicago area. He motioned to a series of red dots marked in the south-side shipping district of the windy city. "We've had a number of break-ins and thefts reported in the greater Chicago area. They seem to all be of food and clothing; just enough to keep a person alive and the police have spotted signs of habitation."

"How can you be sure that it's a New Mutant and not a drifter?"  asked Shalimar, "That seems an awful lot like a simple squatter."

"Because when the police went to apprehend the squatter he or she did this to the roof of Coleman Dry Storage" he brought up a picture of a melted roof plate.

"Ouch," Jesse winced, "was it a fire elemental?"

"Maybe," Adam leaned back a this desk, "the report also states that whomever it was that was 'squatting' in the warehouse was so fast and strong that the police were unable to keep up, it seems as though our mutant friend was making death defying leaps and acrobatic jumps."

"A feral?" questioned Shalimar anxiously.

"Maybe," Adam sighed, "I'm thinking that there's more than one, possibly Gabriel has some people out there, possibly it's just a New Mutant that's managed to escape in the chaos, possibly it a member or members of The Strand trying to set up an ambush. Who knows, but we need to be there to get this under control. Brennan, you and Jesse take the Double Helix. See what you can do."

"Hey wait!" Shalimar protested, "what about me?"

"It's too risky, we can't afford to have a fire elemental go after you, Shal, you know what'll happen then."

"And how do you expect to apprehend a feral without me? There no way that's gonna happen. You could be walking straight into an ambush you need better than even odds."

"Shal, c'mon everyone knows fire and feral don't mix. We don't want you to get hurt."  Emma tried to soothe away the hurt feelings, unsuccessfully.

"The hell with that, you need me, unless you really want to get your butts kicked to the curb by another feral who won't be nice on you." Shal bared her teeth to the projected image; "I'm going with you."

"Fine," Adam conceded, "just take Emma with you in case things don't go as planned, alright?"

"Fine" there were nods all around.

"Off with you!"

"Jesse, you mind grabbing me something to drink, I'm getting a little thirsty up here" Brennan called from the pilot's chair.

"Sure thing, Bren, what you want?"

"Doesn't matter, just as long as it's wet"

"OK," Jesse got up from his passenger seat in the rear of the aircraft and fetched a diet Pepsi from the in-cockpit fridge. He went up to the pilot's chair, to bring this new bounty to Brennan.

"Hey," Brennan tugged on his shirt as he handed him the can. "C'mere"

"What?"

"It's Shal, listen, I know how scared she gets of this fire thing alright. You mind helping me keep an eye on her? The last thing we need is her getting even more wierded out, OK? Don't let her go off by herself, keep eyes out for this elemental person"

"Hey, Bren, don't worry OK? Shal can take care of herself and Emma's gonna be here with her new sleepy-time thing. One head-bolt from Emma and they'll be sleeping it off for the next week."

"I know it's…"

"You care about her, man. We all do too. Don't worry, everything'll be fine."              

 "Yeah," Brennan turned his attention back to the flight plan; he landed on the roof of the Coleman Dry Storage building. The missing roof plating was obvious, melted all the way around the edges. The owner had tried to cover it up with a green tarp, but the wind had pulled up, exposing the interior structure to the roving Mutant X team. One by one they dropped down form the increasingly hot roof, onto the dark, but still stifling interior.

"Man, are you sure the roof didn't melt by itself? It's gotta be a million degrees in here."  Jesse wiped a bead of sweat off of his head. "I'm roasting"

"She was here," said Shalimar, sniffing "I can smell it"

"She? Are you sure?" asked Emma.

"Yeah, she was camping out right over there, by the exhaust fan." Shalimar balanced carefully and then jumped, using her feral abilities. She landed on the tiny ledge next to the fan and dropped on all fours, sniffing. "Yeah, look at this. Food scraps, plastic wrappers, water… she was definitely camping out here."

Brennan looked away from the sight of Shalimar on her hands and knees, tracking like the feral cat she occasionally was. Emma put her hand on his shoulder and whispered "That's Shal, Brennan, she's a feral. Even more now than she was before. That's just the way it is."

"Yeah," he swallowed. Suddenly his comm ring went off. "Adam, this is Brennan, what's up?"

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes," broke in Jesse, "it's hotter than Hades in here. How anyone lived in this roof I've got no idea."

"We've found food scraps and water," Shalimar alighted back on the platform with the rest of the team, "I got a scent trail leading out of the exhaust fan. Looks like she made a run for it."

"She? Is there only one?"

"As far as I can tell. I don't know about Emma."

"Emma?"

"Hold on," she closed her eyes, "Yeah, as far as I can tell there was only one"

"OK, Shal track that scent. Emma, go with her. Brennan, you and Jesse follow them in the Helix. Keep an eye out."

   "Hey, wait a minute; you're letting Shal go after this fire elemental by herself? No way, let me go or Jesse. Some one's got to protect her."

That little speech earned him the wrathful stares from both females. From Sanctuary Adam winced at his unfortunate choice of language. "The girls will be fine Brennan, go to the Helix."

"But,"

"Go, Brennan"

Angrily Brennan cut off communications and stalked over to the Helix; Jesse, giving Emma a knowing look, before heaving a sigh and following him. Shalimar made a nasty face at Brennan's back, which Emma had to stifle a laugh at, even though it wasn't really funny. Shalimar motioned her to follow.

"Where are we going?"

"Up," Shalimar pointed at the roof of the adjacent storage building, "I think that she was looking to escape out the top, maybe she's got some other hiding places near the waterline."

"Ok," Emma turned on her comm, "Brennan, did'ya gets that?"

"Yeah, I copy" He grumbled, "The Helix is yours to command."

"C'mon!"

Shalimar was much quicker then Emma at jumping fences and leaping tall buildings in a single bound. She was a little more pre-occupied with tracking though, Emma was also. She was using her newly burgeoning psionic abilities to track the new mind-signature of the mutant. There was something odd about this one, she 'felt' strange, scared. Not like a superficial startled, but truly, deeply terrified of something.

"Hey Shal"

"Yeah?"

"I think we want to go this way" Emma pointed towards a storage facility several blocks in the opposite direction that Shalimar was going. Shalimar stopped, sniffing around the area she was heading.

"Are you absolutely sure? The scent trail is leading straight towards the water."

"Yes," Emma said cautiously, "I'm feeling something, she's …scared"

"Well the police just busted into her hideout, she's got every right to be scared"

"Not that kind of scared, she's … I don't quite know how to explain it, she's like wild animal scared."

"Like fight or flight reactions?"

"Yeah," Emma said slowly, "I don't think she's hostile, but she'll be really evasive. She doesn't want to be found."

"OK" From the shadows of Food Lion cold storage facility, Mary Elizabeth watched warily. Things had been going fine as the feral had been following the misleading scent trail she'd set. The other one, with the glowing forehead, had stopped that. They were heading straight for her. Relying on an old reptilian strategy she remained completely motionless. They kept approaching, closer and closer. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it, and if she could so could the feral.

In a flash of movement quicker than the human eye, or even a feral eye, could follow she scuttled up the side the building and bolted across the roof. The chase was on. From roof top to roof top the two females ran behind her. Her side began to ache quickly, she wasn't built for endurance running, and the others were. She made a split second decision, jumping to the lot and heading back for the water. There was no way that any mammal could keep up with her in the water.

She was almost to the waterline when something from above illuminated the lot, temporarily blinding her. Instinctively she leaped to the roof away from the light, trying to get to the water. Luck was not with her, the flimsy aluminum of the Food Lion cold storage gave way. Like any good feral she tried to regain her balance, but failed, and she fell into the top of the cold storage facility.

Brennan watched the feral fall; she disappeared into the depths of the storage warehouse. "Brennan to everyone: she's fallen through the roof of the Food Lion Cold storage building. Repeat she's fallen through. I'm setting the Helix on the lot. Wait for Jess and me. We can all go in together."

"Wilco, Shalimar out." She and Emma leaned on the side of the building catching their breath.

"Did you see her move? That's not human!"

"She's not human, she's a New Mutant. There was something funny about her though, I've never seen any feral move like that. It was… kinda odd."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Brennan, there's just something different about this one. Be careful going in there. She's not hostile, but she's scared and probably hurt too. Let me handle this one, Ok?"

"Fine," he rubbed her shoulder affectionately, "just be careful, OK Emma?"

"Yeah, right. Ok let's go."

Mary Elizabeth was hurt, these humans had hurt her. She was cold, rapidly losing strength and agility to the refrigerated interior. Her front limb was broken, several of her ribs as well. She found a corner, in the strongest light her vision found and huddled around herself, trying to absorb heat form her meager surroundings. Her tongue flicked out and back in, tasting the air with its forked tip. Every breath was painful. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye; they were here to finish her off. Mary Elizabeth took a defensive stance, or as much of one as her broken limb could allow and hissed, baring her enlarged venomous teeth. This lady wasn't going down without a fight.