I know this is not a very long chapter but it seemed like the right place to stop so I did.

I hope you are all enjoying it so far. Its nearly finished, I promise. I'm gonna wrap it up in the next couple of chapters. Any suggestions for an ending won't necessarily be taken on board but I promise to appreciate them. I do need a little help on finishing it, think I've got it just about the way I want it in my head but if I get any better offers I'll go with them.

Have a nice day.

***

They both looked on in shock. Gabriel was lying on the floor against the far wall. His black leather jacket was covered in dust and large chunks of plaster, and he wasn't moving. Shalimar turned around to look behind her and saw Brennan, getting up off the floor. He walked over to her, a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. He was still concerned about Shalimar's health. She was in pain and this time round he was determined to get her on the Double Helix and away from Gabriel.

Mac breathed deeply. She was trying to block the pain out of her head and the only thing that seemed to have worked was when Brennan shot a huge arc of electricity at Gabriel, had flung him against the wall. It had temporarily stunned Mac and all of her reflexes and senses, including the one that monitored pain. She hated that one and was quite glad that it was stunned but now that she was capable of moderately coherent thoughts the pain came flooding back.

Emma shook Jesse by his arm. He opened his eyes and within seconds was picking Sara up again.

'She's still unconscious?' Alex asked. He and Maia had both been woken up by Emma and were now wide-awake, curious as to what had happened, but they were a little bit wiser as to what kind of danger they were in. They wanted to get out of there, hell, they wanted to go back to school.

'Yeah, lucky her,' Jesse replied. He walked over to one of the long walls, wanting to avoid Gabriel by as big a margin as possible. He didn't trust that Brennan had shocked him unconscious, he wouldn't put it past Gabriel to be lying in wait for one of them to walk straight past him so he could take them hostage and get out of there with the advantage. Jesse was gonna get them all out through that wall and then they would all go home and they would all wait to fight Gabriel another day.

'Allow me,' Mac offered. She was tired, exhausted mentally and physically. She had never fought anyone like Gabriel before and it had drained her muscles completely. But Jesse had his hands full and they had to get out of that warehouse.

Shalimar started to walk forward but her leg buckled beneath her and the only thing that stopped her from hitting the floor was Brennan's arms underneath her. She put one arm over his shoulders and let him take her full weight. Inwardly she was smiling. Brennan was holding her in his arms, admittedly out of necessity because otherwise she was gonna fall on her ass but still. Brennan couldn't keep himself from grinning like that cat that got the cream. Emma and Jesse looked at each other, raised eyebrows. They already knew what was going on between the pair but they had needed confirmation. And the way Brennan and Shalimar were looking at each other and acting around each other was proof enough.

The group walked over to the phased wall and straight on through it. Helix was hidden and they half walked, half ran, all of them taking fleeting glances backwards. They didn't want to risk being caught off guard by Gabriel. They eventually reached the invisible ship. Emma took it out of stealth mode and they all got on board. Jesse lay Sara down on the bed that had been placed in the hull out of sheer essentiality. So many people had been hurt or injured when they were brought on board that it had been thought sensible, when updating the planes look to add a bed.

Jesse then walked to the front of the ship and started it up. In a matter of minutes they were back at Sanctuary, safe for another day atleast from Gabriel.

***

Mac watched as the Double Helix lifted off the ground causing a cloud of dust to rise with it and disperse itself. She was sorry to see it leave but knew she had no choice. They couldn't continue to rely on getting away and hiding out for a while until they regrouped. Gabriel was gonna come for them no matter what and she was the only person who could stop him.

She smiled wistfully, thinking how her life might have turned out if she hadn't become involved in the whole saving the world gig. She was pretty sure that it wasn't all that original a thought but somehow it comforted her. And right at that moment she needed some comfort.

She knew she would never have been the most popular girl in school, or the most intelligent or the prettiest. The thought of her being popular was somewhat ludicrous to her. She would never have fitted in, she would never have wanted to. Her thoughts, her feelings didn't seem to be the same as those of other people and she had a feeling it wasn't just because she was a new mutant. Maybe it was her parents death that had affected her even though she had, for so many years protested that it hadn't. She had never been angry, she had never blamed them for leaving her, she had never really blamed Gabriel. She had never even cried. Part of her hadn't seen the point. Crying wasn't gonna make her situation any better, it wasn't going to make her suddenly happy and carefree and it definitely wasn't gonna give her closure or whatever the counselors she had been forced to see thought she should have. She had never really considered it a sad enough event to warrant tears. It wasn't like her parents had gone anywhere. They would always be inside of her, helping her in whatever way they could, guiding her through whatever troubles, whatever problems she had. And they were telling her to face him.

She squashed the fear that was threatening to spill out and turned around, ready to confront her past, her own worst enemy.