Sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long (by my standards anyway!) but I took longer than expected to get back into the writing after being away on holiday!

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Chapter 18

The team entered Genomex for the second time in as many days. This time, however, things were more urgent. As she led the team through the winding corridors of Genomex, Rhian could feel Shal's accusing and suspicious stare boring into her. She was determined to prove herself to the feral and to the others, if only they would give her the chance. Adam had given her this chance, and she couldn't fail him. Maybe if she managed to get Jesse back for them, they would understand Adam's faith in her.

"This way," she whispered urgently. Shalimar stopped.

"Last time I checked, he was being held in a cell in the opposite direction," she contradicted icily. "Where are you taking us?"

"Trust me, they won't be keeping him in the same cell. Firstly, they know you'll break in again looking for him, and secondly, he's going to need a cell better equipped for his feral mutation."

Shalimar looked over at Emma and Brennan. Emma nodded, turning to follow Rhian. Shal shrugged. If they wanted to walk into a trap, she supposed she couldn't just abandon them.

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Jesse's eyes snapped open. He couldn't handle the waiting. Everything at Genomex was happening far too slowly for his liking. He hadn't even been fitted with the tracking device yet. He got up swiftly and paced around his cell. He eyed the camera placed high up on a wall and grinned, showing his now permanently long canines. He knew they were always watching, always waiting for a sign that he'd turn against them.

His eyes glowed yellow as he turned the plan over in his mind. He had everything figured out. He would comply with Eckhart's wishes, accept the implantation of the tracking device, go to Sanctuary and get Rhian. Then he would send her away, get her to run. He would return to Genomex, claiming he had lost her. Eckhart would be happy with his work, having discovered the location of Sanctuary, and he would remove the tracking device. Then he would go to Rhian, and they would run away together. They would be together. Everything would work out in the end. It had to.

He stopped his incessant pacing and tilted his head. She was close. How could that be? He could feel her presence, but she had been taken away by Them. He couldn't even bring himself to think about them. That group of people whom he had thought of as friends. They took her away from him. Now she was all he wanted, all he needed, and he was determined not to let anything stand in the way of their being together. Least of all Mutant X.

Was it possible that she had made her way back to him? He ran over to the locked door, pressing his face against it, straining his sensitive hearing to pick up any tell tale sounds. Holding his nose up to the crack in the door, he inhaled. There it was. She was definitely in the vicinity. She had come back for him. A shaft of panic sliced through him. Did she not realise that by returning, she put herself at risk of being recaptured by Eckhart? His thoughts whirled in his mind at the consequences. If she were captured, Eckhart would no doubt use her as a tool to control him. They wouldn't be able to run away together as he had originally planned. So overwhelmed was he with joy and fear at her return, that he did not acknowledge the presence of the others, until it was too late.

The door suddenly exploded, throwing Jesse back onto the stone floor with a thud. He opened his eyes, taking in the sight of the four mutants standing in the doorway, his heart sinking. One of them ran up to him. Although his vision was not as acute as it had been before the transformation, he could sense it was a feral, but not the one he had been hoping for. He lashed out at her violently. Where was She?

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Rhian watched as Shalimar recoiled. Jesse had not been gentle

"Shalimar, stay away. You don't know how his bite will affect you," she called out. Brennan leapt forwards, pulling Shal away from him. She kicked and swore, but Brennan held on fast. Rhian approached Jesse cautiously.

"Jesse? Do you remember me?" she whispered as Emma sent calming thoughts towards him. He stared up at her from his crouched position on the floor, tears shining in his amber eyes.

"You came back," he whispered in reply. She nodded.

"We've come to take you back home." At the sound of her reference to the others, his eyes suddenly changed, becoming fierce and angry.

"They brought you here. They put you in danger," he snarled. She frowned, not understanding his anger.

"Jesse, it's Shalimar, don't you recognise me?" Shal called from where she stood by Brennan. Jesse's eyes flicked over to Shal and Brennan, the hatred never leaving them, them focused on Rhian again.

"You have to get away from here," he whispered. "They want you back. They're going to use you." Rhian nodded in understanding.

"Will you some with me?" she asked. She couldn't quite understand why he was being so difficult, but figured that if it would make him come along quietly, she would play it his way.

"We have to hurry," he assented. He noticed the others again, and stared at them venomously. He couldn't work out why they had taken her away from him and then brought her back, only to put her in danger.

"We can control them, can't we? Between us?" Rhian whispered to him quietly, playing along. He watched them under hooded eyes and smiled knowingly. "Together we can get away from Eckhart, from Genomex and from Mutant X."

"I'll never let them take you away again," he promised as he took her hand. Together, they made their way towards the door, making sure the rest of Mutant X walked ahead. As they left the cell, a low voice spoke behind them.

"Did you really think I would let you go that easily?" They turned round to find Eckhart at the end of the corridor, smiling smugly and flanked by several agents. "Not only have I got Mutant X here, but also two valuable canine ferals who actually transform and can get away from tight situations relatively unnoticed." Brennan formed the balls of electricity in his hands as Shalimar crouched defensively.

"That won't help you in this situation," he continued. "You're surrounded, Mr Mulwray, in case you hadn't noticed." A snarl from Jesse caught everyone's attention. The mutant's canines were growing longer and his hands now looked more like claws. Rhian watched as if in slow motion as he launched himself at Eckhart. Almost at once, she saw an agent raise his hands, forming an electrical charge large enough to kill him.

"Jesse, no!" she screamed as she ran after him, managing to grab his arm and swing him round out of the agent's way, and away from Eckhart. As she swung him around, she felt the charge slam into her back. She felt herself let go of Jesse and the agony of a lethal charge of electricity crackled through her body. The others watched as her body shook and shuddered out of her control, her eyes rolling back, until she finally fell to the floor.

There was a moment of shocked silence before they came to their senses and Brennan released his electric charge, hitting Eckhart squarely on the chest. Shalimar pounced into action, swinging a punch at Jesse and knocking him unconscious before lifting him onto her shoulders. Emma and Brennan took advantage of the agents' temporary confusion at the loss of their leader, and took out most of the agents. The few agents left standing turned tail and ran, looking for backup and finding none. As the others made their way swiftly towards the Double Helix, Brennan reached out, picking up Rhian's lifeless body before following them.

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aimless - Glad you liked the arguments. Took me a while to argue it out with myself - I must have sounded so stupid talking to myself!

K.A.T.E. - I see it more as a change of priorities. As a feral who's been created by another feral, Jesse feels he needs the one who made him that way. Without her he is nothing, knows nothing of what he is, so he HAS to change his priorities in order to safeguard his partnership with her. I'm so tired, I probably don't even make sense any more! Let me know whether it's made sense to you.

brigitta - I think you've just repeated all the options I had already written down! Great minds obviously think alike ;o)

Emma0211 - No problem about emailing you the chapter. I know how aggravating it is when you can't get to the chapter when you KNOW it's supposed to be there! And as I said earlier, Jesse definitely would sell out Mutant X if it means securing his future with Rhian, the silly, confused boy!

Megara - Glad you liked the Emma/Adam action! I aim to please.

evanfarmersonlygirl - More A/E? Well, I'll try to squeeze some more in.

Framling - He he, got you thinking, haven't I? Love keeping people on their toes. Well, I'll definitely try to hurry up, but I won't promise a happy ending! ;o) In the meantime, I have some medication which is good for ulcers and bitten nails. :oD

You've all been great so far, so a big thank you to every one of my reviewers. I'm hoping to get this finished preferably within one more chapter, failing that, two chapters, so we're nearly there now! Stick with it, I promise I'm drawing this to a close!