Part XII

The others looked up as Sharon and Eber entered the lab.

"There's someone here who claims to know you." Adam told them, handing them a piece of paper. "They found one of our safe houses and they're asking for safe passage in exchange for information." The paper was a print out of a surprisingly clear surveillance picture of two men and a woman who were looking directly at the camera. "Do you recognise them?" Adam asked. Eber turned to Sharon who was looking pale.

"I know these two." Sharon pointed out one man and the woman. "She's a strong telepath and he's got stealth capabilities. They were prisoners with us at the labs we escaped from."

"Can we trust them?"

"I think so. But they might have been sent to bring us back. I I don't know."

"OK, well if we send all four of you in. Brennan and Jesse can stick around as your backup. There's only three of them and if we know two of their mutancies then we're ahead of the game aren't we."

Three faces looked up as Brennan stepped into the room. Seeing no immediate sign of aggression from the ones sat in the comfy chairs around the huge room Brennan stepped in and beckoned the others to follow him. There was a moment of whispering and all three stood from their chairs as Eber walked into the room, but they were hushed as the new comers descended the stairs.

Taking up positions facing each other the two groups faced off, all three new mutants who had invaded the safe house eyed Eber warily.

"She hasn't been cured." The woman psionic said at last, smirking lightly. "She doesn't remember." The others seemed to release a relieved breath in unison. Sharon looked between Jesse and Brennan, worriedly. If these people wanted to tell them all about Eber's past she didn't want Eber listening in. Partly because she didn't want to risk that the information might be enough to break down the barrier, but mostly because she didn't want to risk hurting her with that knowlegde. Brennan nodded his understanding and tugged at Eber's shirt sleeve, leading her away into the back of the safe house where he could listen in and she wouldn't be able to know what they were talking about. The others looked confused at their departure, but turned to Sharon.

"She's not what she appears Sharon." The woman said urgently. "You have to stop trying to cure her memory. It's dangerous for you."

"You're a bit late with that piece of information." Jesse replied. "But luckily for you, you don't have to pay anything to get into the underground. We're happy to hide you." The woman looked into his eyes for a moment and Jesse got the feeling that his mind was being leafed through like a book. He shook his head and looked away.

"He's telling the truth, they know about the little one's past. But they don't know about what happened in Telmet." She told the others.

"Telmet?" Sharon asked. "It sounds familiar, but I can't place it."

"You spent most of your life there, kid. It's the labs that you escaped from. 'Telmet industries'." She sneered. "Sick bastards the lot of them. Not a care for the humans that they killed and messed up."

"What happened in Telmet?" Jesse asked.

"They tested mind drugs on her, memory suppressants. It wasn't testing her, it was testing the psionics that they had in their possession and the drugs themselves."

"You mean this wasn't the first time she'd had her memory suppressed?" Sharon asked.

"No. She was too dangerous as she was so they tried all sorts of things. They were looking for a memory suppressant that a psionic couldn't break through for uses in other places. They wanted to be able to say it was tried and tested. They were worried that it wouldn't be a fair experiment though, because the psionic wasn't the same each time. The first few drugs they tried were broken easily but as they used stronger ones it took longer"

"Why wasn't it the same psionic each time?" Sharon asked.

"Every time the psionic succeeded they released Hellen." The woman sighed, as if that explained everything.

"And?" Sharon pushed.

"She killed them." She replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Every one. You've only survived because the suppressant they used was the strongest yet and it's stronger than you. Don't get me wrong, you're very good. I thought you might do it once or twice, that's why I had to warn you."

"How did you escape?" Jesse asked, giving Sharon a moment to get over her shock as he watched her pale.

"Tommy here," The woman gestured to the man that Sharon hadn't known. "Is a long distance telepath. He scanned Sharon as she ran to find out how she'd done it - escaped. The scientists wanted him to tell them where you were hiding so that they could go and pick you up, but he told them you were out of range. You owe him your freedom kid, and we owe ours to you, so we're even."

All of them looked up as there was a bang outside the door. A second bang signalled an explosion that took out the main door, allowing several armed soldiers through into the safe house. Sharon turned to Jesse, panic in her eyes.

"It's the men from the labs, the ones that were chasing us before"

"Don't worry. We won't let anything happen to you." He assured her as the men streamed into the building, falling into stances with their guns aimed at the four that were visible - one of the men going stealth and Brennan and Eber still out of sight. There was a moment's silence as the dust cleared and then bullets started flying.

AN: Action next chapter, Promise.