Set during season 2. The team scares one another.
She wasn't sure why, but she had been anxious all day. She knew something terrible was going to happen. It had been too quiet for too long. Something bad was going to happen. Bad things always happened when she was at peace. Either she or someone she loved was going to get hurt. She knew it. She could feel it. Something bad was going to happen.
Nothing did happen, though.
Nikita had been vigilant. She constantly looked over her shoulder. She paced around. She stayed active incase she had to spring into action. She even constantly checked the security measures. She was so ready for an attack. But it never came.
Maybe she was just being paranoid. Again, Nikita didn't know why she anxiously believed something was going to happen. Maybe her nerves had gotten to her. Maybe she hadn't been able to shake off the terror of a nightmare. Or maybe a thought or a memory caused her to spiral into hysterics. She couldn't grasp at anything. It all seemed just out of her reach, besides the intense feeling that she or someone else was going to get hurt.
One intrusive thought bombarding her mind was that the safehouse wasn't actually safe. Division had found the rogues' other hideouts. Sean Pierce had found the current one and shot at her. And the team had held Percy captive in the livingroom. Although they had knocked him unconscious as they transported him, and they had prevented any way he could assume where they were, Nikita was afraid that he'd be able to find them. Percy could track down the rogues and kill them all. With his resources, it wouldn't have been that difficult. Sooner or later, the safety of the safehouse would run out- just like the others.
The thought almost seemed to have a chokehold on Nikita. Sure, it had been a concerning thought before. Yet there was never much weight to it. Until that day, for some reason. Every sound made her jump, and every door opening made her flinch. She was so ready for a fight. She wouldn't let herself or anyone else be killed. She had to protect everyone from everything- even if it was all in her head.
However, nothing happened. It was a completely normal day for the rogues. Nikita had been anxious for nothing. She had realized that after she finally sat down and ate. Unfortunately, her anxiety wouldn't go away. She was still tense and prepared for a fight. Talking about it could've possibly settled her down. Yet she didn't want to put words to her fears. She'd rather just relax on her own. Unfortunately, nothing she did worked.
When night came, Nikita's anxiety seemed to worsen. With the help of food and water, she knew she was being ridiculous. But she was still fidgeting and reacting to every noise like it was a threat. The shadows that creeped into the safehouse as darkness settled over everyone possibly made it worse. Who knew what was lurking in the dark, ready to pounce. Who knew what creatures she could see, preparing to attack the second her back was turned. There was nothing but monsters in the shadows. And the safehouse was covered with them at night.
None of that would let Nikita sleep. She knew she needed to; she knew that sleep might finally dispel her anxiety. She just couldn't settle down.
Water could've helped. Instead of following Michael to bed, Nikita went to the kitchen for water. If she chugged a whole bunch, maybe her mind would clear. She could then relax in bed with her boyfriend and be held throughout the night. That was all she wanted after a long day of freaking out over nothing. She just wanted to be surrounded by warmth and silently promised that it'd all be okay. Water could help get her there. It needed to help get her there.
After a glass or two, Nikita did feel more steady. She at least believed she could turn the lights off in the kitchen and walk in darkness to her bedroom. Except, as she made her way up the stairs, she saw something in the shadows. It wasn't her eyes or her fear playing tricks on her. She knew for a fact something was lurking in the darkness, waiting for her.
Slowly, Nikita reached for the light switch. She didn't have a weapon on her. But maybe she could surprise the assailant with sudden light and get the drop on them. Keeping her eyes on the shadows where she spotted slow, dangerous movement, she filled the hallway with bright light. She wasn't met with a Division agent or anyone like that, however. Once she could see clearly, Nikita found a monster waiting for her.
She couldn't stop herself from screaming in fright as she lunged.
When Birkhoff had seen the Halloween mask on sale, he knew he had to buy it. It was disturbing, terrifying, disgusting, deformed, and it kind of creeped him out. The horrifying clown mask was perfect for scaring and tormenting the others. Although he was supposed to be at the store to buy food and toiletries, he prioritized getting the mask. He just had to find a way to torment the team. After all, they tormented him by being annoying.
His original plan was to scare Alex. She had stolen his food and drinks, messed with his desk, and made faces behind his back; she was more annoying than Nikita. But Alex had gone to bed early to talk to her mother in Greece. Birkhoff was left with Nikita as his victim. He'd have to change how he scared her, yet he was fine with that. It'd be so worth it.
Seeing Nikita go to the kitchen for water, Birkhoff quickly pulled on the demonic mask and hid in a dark corner of the hallway. He wasn't going to pop out at her like he had planned to do with Alex; he knew better than to jump at a rogue agent always prepared to kill. However, he could just stand there and startle her when she walked past. He'd be spared a hit that way, and he'd get under her skin.
When Nikita finally came upstairs, though, she surprised Birkhoff. He didn't think she'd be able to tell he was hiding in the darkness. He didn't think she'd snap on the lights. And he certainly didn't think she'd scream.
A full on horror movie scream tore out of her throat once she saw the clown mask. It scared the shit out of Birkhoff. He stood stock still while she clawed at his face. In her panic, she didn't know it was just him. She just attacked the clown. All she managed to do, though, was rip off the mask as she fell on her ass in surprise.
It all happened so fast. The scream, the mask attack, and the fall to the ground all occurred in just a second. Afterwards, Nikita and Birkhoff just stared at each other- her in dumb realization that was scary clown was only Birkhoff, and him in shock that Nikita had screamed.
Then, the hacker laughed uproariously.
With a huff, Nikita got back to her feet and kicked the horrid mask at Birkhoff. He kept laughing. Picking up the mask, he waved it playfully at her. She flinched. Birkhoff doubled over and laughed harder, "That actually scared you?"
"What is it? What happened?" As he and Alex crashed into the hallway, Michael frantically demanded. The two were instantly on red alert when they heard Nikita scream. They grabbed weapons and burst out of their rooms. Seeing Birkhoff laughing, however, dispelled some of their panic. No one was being attacked. But Nikita didn't look happy. She backed away from the disgusting mask Birkhoff held and glared. Alex and Michael lowered their weapons.
"Just get that fucking thing away from me," Crossing slowly to Michael, Nikita kept her eyes on the horrific clown. Michael and Alex were able to piece together what had happened then. Nikita had been on edge all day. And she had finally been pushed over by Birkhoff scaring her. He must've really gotten the drop on her if she was that upset and he laughed that hard. Alex and Michael kind of wished they had seen it.
"Oh come on, Nikki. It's just a mask," Continuing to laugh, Birkhoff waved the demon clown at Nikita. She kept moving to Michael. Alex didn't blame her for that. Once she got a good look at the mask, she also backed away. No wonder Nikita screamed. Alex almost did too.
As soon as she reached Michael, Nikita clung to his hand. He instinctively put his arm in front of her. She seemed absolutely freaked. He was starting to believe that it was about more than the mask- especially when her voice screeched as she warned, "Stop it, Nerd!"
Admittedly, it was amusing to see run-straight-into-danger Nikita so startled by a Halloween costume. But her fear stemmed from more than just the clown mask. Michael could feel it in the way she clenched his hand. He needed to help calm her down and get her to talk about what had really scared her- preferably before they went to bed. That conversation wouldn't be possible with the demonic clown mask around, though. If they all wanted peace that night, it had to go away, "Alright, Birkhoff, knock it off. I don't want to sleep with the lights on tonight."
"You afraid of the dark, scaredy cat?" Smirking, Birkhoff tossed the horrifying mask at Nikita. She hurriedly climbed up Michael's back and jerked him backwards. He held her arms against his chest so she wouldn't choke him; however, he didn't move. There was no reason to run away. Yes, the clown mask was creepy. But it was just a mask. She'd be fine- as long as she didn't make her obvious anxiety worse.
Clinging to her boyfriend as tightly as she could, Nikita really wanted to go away. She wanted to be in bed, safe, with him. But Michael wouldn't move. Instead, he rolled his eyes and mouthed 'terrified' in response to Birkhoff's question. The nerd laughed. That was the last straw for Nikita. She was tired of being scared, she was sick of being anxious, and she just really wanted to go. So, she jerked Michael back again and screamed at the annoying hacker, "I will rip off your dick and shove it down your throat!"
Birkhoff's laughter stuttered to an awkward halt. Alex, on the other hand, began to chuckle. Rolling his eyes, Michael sighed. There was no use in diffusing the situation. He should just carry Nikita to their room and make her talk, "Yeah. I think it's time for bed."
"Sweet nightmares," While Michael carried Nikita away, Birkhoff was brave enough to call out. Nikita tried to jump off her boyfriend's back, but he held her in place. She had to settle with flicking the hacker off as she was brought into her room.
Laughing again, Birkhoff began to return to his room. He was going to grab the clown mask on his way. Except, he spotted Alex lingering in the hallway, trying to avoid the thing on the way to her room. Apparently he had found a way to pay her back after all. Maybe he could jump at her when she picked up the disturbing mask she was so skittish of. It wasn't a full blown scare. But it was good enough, "Can you pick that up for me, Princess?"
Alex briefly glanced at the clown mask, regretted it, then glared at Birkhoff. When he smirked, she threatened him menacingly, "If you scare me with that damn thing, I'll follow through on Nikita's threat."
Birkhoff rolled his eyes and scoffed. Alex's threat didn't hold the same terrifying weight as Nikita's; he didn't think she could actually pull it off. Yet as he grabbed the Halloween mask and walked away, she managed to unnerve him with a tone only the heiress to a Russian oligarch could muster, "Remember, B, she taught me how to kill before Division did."
She smirked as she finally returned to her bedroom. However, Alex didn't relax once she closed the door. She hurriedly locked it behind her and checked her entire room for surprises. Of course she didn't find any. The demonic clown just had her paranoid. After a couple of funny videos online, she'd be fine. She'd be able to go to sleep without the lights on. The terrifying mental image of that damn mask just had to go away first.
Her plan to expunge the mask from her mind did work. After a couple of mindless, funny videos, Alex was ready for bed. She turned off the lights, but she kept the door locked. She just felt safer that way. No clowns could come in and surprise her.
Eventually, Alex found herself in an abandoned warehouse. She wasn't sure how she got there. But it looked familiar. And Nikita was with her. They were probably going to kill or save some target, whatever the opposite of Division's plans were. With Nikita leading the way, though, Alex would gladly follow.
Except, the two were soon broken up. Alex was trapped across the warehouse, helplessly watching while Nikita bled out on the floor. She had been shot. Someone had shot her. She couldn't breathe. And she was looking at Alex so hopelessly. So accusingly.
Alex was the one who had shot her. She hadn't meant to make her bleed, though. She was only trying to save the rogue. Division would've actually killed her. Alex was giving her a chance, like Nikita had given her. She was going to live, and they were going to burn Division to the ground. That was the goal. That was the plan. The two had to stick to it. Nikita couldn't die.
But Roan was coming with his cleaning kit. Alex attempted to stop him. He couldn't just dissolve Nikita's body. She was alive. She was breathing. She could fight. However, Alex couldn't move. She couldn't even yell. All she could do was watch as Roan began the cleaning operation. He injected Nikita's body with a whole ton of chemicals. He had done the same with Jaden, but at least her body had a reaction to it. Nikita did nothing. She was supposed to wake up. But nothing happened. Then the chemicals came out.
Every ounce of her strength wasn't enough. Alex couldn't scream or move. She just watched. Nikita's body was dumped unceremoniously into a tub. Then, Roan dumped the bleach, acid, and other toxic chemicals all over her.
Nikita's screams were piercing. They were so full of pain, agony, and fear, Alex could feel it shooting through her like a bullet. The screams never stopped. They just kept getting louder and louder. As the smell of the putrid chemicals filled the air, Nikita's screams were ear shattering. The rogue was in so much pain, and it was all Alex's fault. She had made her scream like that. She had killed her. She had poured the acid on her, she had made her scream. And she had killed her.
Alex had to scream in return.
Nikita wasn't able to sleep with the lights off. Although she talked to Michael about being anxious all day about someone breaking into the safehouse, and although he had comforted her, she wasn't brave enough to face the shadows that night. She needed at least a lamp on. Michael relented and turned on his bedside lamp. That way, he could easily reach to turn it off once she fell asleep. She smiled and kissed him in soft appreciation.
He intended to hold her as she fell asleep; Michael would protect Nikita from her fears and ensure she felt safe as she finally relaxed. Surprisingly, though, he was the first to fall asleep. Nikita had fought the pull to just close her eyes. She laid her head on her boyfriend's chest, and stared at their locked door. Michael attempted to soothe her by gently tracing his fingers along her skin. Yet that had made him doze off instead. At least she felt comforted by the steady rise and fall of his chest. His deep, even breathing helped her to finally relax.
A scream from Alex's room soon startled Nikita and Michael awake. Thankfully, a light was already on in their bedroom. The two were quickly able to grab their weapons and sprint out into the hall.
While Michael turned on the hall light and checked the area, Nikita tried to crash into Alex's bedroom. The door was locked, however. The screaming inside had stopped. But who knew if that was a good thing or not. Nikita kicked and pulled at the door frantically, seriously thinking about just breaking the door off the hinges. But maybe she should try to be more rational first, "Alex? Alex, open up!"
Upon hearing Nikita's voice, Alex leapt out of bed, turned on the lights, and unlocked the door. Both Michael and Nikita stormed in with guns in hand, but only Michael swept the area. Noticing the panic in the young woman's wide eyes, the rogue rushed to her. She gently pulled her into her arms and tried to soothe her fear. It didn't exactly work while she was panicking too. But maybe she could at least get Alex to stop shaking, "What happened?"
"I had a nightmare," Trying to catch her breath, Alex explained. Her scream had woken her up as well. She hadn't even known her scream in her dream was real until she was sitting up in bed, heart pounding and mind racing. A part of her wanted to turn on all the lights and actively battle her fear. But she couldn't get out of bed. She was trapped, nearly hyperventilating. The sudden banging on her bedroom door didn't help. Fortunately, it was just Nikita. She could soothe the young woman- prove she was alright and alive.
"That bad?" After making sure there wasn't anything or anyone in the room (mostly for Alex's benefit) Michael asked. He knew Alex talked and sometimes shouted in her sleep. Yet a scream like that was extremely rare; it came from somewhere deeply terrifying. Michael had a feeling that it somehow involved that fucking clown mask. He was going to destroy that thing the second he could.
It was Nikita's fearful scream that had set it off. Alex had had nightmares of people she loved dying before. Recently, she had had a bad one about Sean and her mom. Yet that one was different; it was filled with real screams. The sound kept echoing in Alex's ears. It kept making the associated images play in her mind, no matter how tightly she closed her eyes. She couldn't get it out of her head. Talking probably wouldn't even help. If she expelled the terror, it would only come back to her. There was no escaping the horror, "You never woke up after I shot you, and Roan cleaned you while you were still alive."
Eyes blowing wide, Nikita soon reflected Alex's fearful expression. She had seen some cleanings, she had heard Roan's screams when she had splashed acid in his face, and she had heard the horror stories agents told recruits about botched missions where targets were cleaned alive. If she were to fall asleep again that night (big if) she'd have the same nightmare. And, honestly, so would Michael. The three definitely weren't going back to bed. They were going to stay awake the remainder of the night, praying for their anxieties to go away.
While the two women clung to each other in feeble attempts at comfort, Michael soon believed he had an idea that'd help. It wasn't a surefire solution. But after hearing both Nikita's and Alex's fearful screams that night, he'd take any distraction he could get, "I'll find us a kids' movie to watch."
Both Alex and Nikita relaxed at the thought. A feelgood movie was just what they needed to get their mind off the horrors. When Michael left the room, however, they heard yet another shout. The two rushed out, terrified of what else was wrong.
It was only Birkhoff holding his sore nose, however. Apparently, he had startled Michael, and he had punched him. It wasn't anything to worry about, even if the nerd complained, "Jesus! I just wanted to know what was going on!"
"Sorry," Quickly, Michael apologized. He hadn't seen Birkhoff in the hall when he had walked out of Alex's room. His presence had surprised him. Fortunately, he hadn't punched him too hard. Unfortunately, after all the scares and shouting, not even a movie could help them fall asleep. They'd just have to settle their nerves and hope staying up all night didn't make them too grouchy in the morning, "Guess no one is sleeping tonight."
Soft chuckles filled the hall. It wasn't a completely soothing sound, but it relaxed the team of rogues enough to move. They gathered blankets to cuddle under, lighthearted movies to watch, and some snacks to eat, and they settled together on the couch in the livingroom. All the lights in the safehouse were on.