As always I'm incredibly sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've been doing actual work...shocking I know. I like to keep you all on your toes.
I hope its worth the wait. Its a long chapter but that doesn't necessarily mean its any good so you'll all have to let me know...hint, hint, nudge, nudge. Reviews please.
There's only one chapter left. I promise there will at some point be a sequel but at the moment this story is becoming dangerously boring and to me atleast its getting a bit samey. So I'm going to come back to it but I thought I might write some other stuff first just to get a little bit of perspective or something. I promise it'll be soon though so all my faithful fans (of there are any) don't be too worried.
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day.
***
Alison felt the cold, steel of the gun that she had shoved into the back of her trousers before coming to meet Shalimar and Brennan. She knew how powerful and dangerous they both were, it was the reason why they had been chosen by her boss to be a part of the experiment.
She remembered the first day she had found out about the project. She had received a call and was mystified by what had been said (something along the lines of she was the right person for the job, it would be a great opportunity for her to fulfil her potential as a new mutant). She had never told anybody what she was. Anonymity was like an electric fence for her, just as it was for most new mutants. If nobody knew what she was, where she came from then they couldn't hurt her and she would be safe. So the fact that somebody knew and didn't want to destroy her like Mason Eckhart had with all Genomexs' creations had intrigued her.
She had met with a man who talked to her honestly about a plan to get back at the creators of new mutants. Then she had gone home and had pushed the matter to the back of her mind. She had gone on living the way she always had, watching her back just in case but generally giving no further thought to her gift.
And then she had started receiving files at her house. They always came without a stamp or a postmark in a big brown envelope and the files were always those of new mutants, some of them young and weak, some older and stronger than her. She received these envelopes at exactly the same time on the first day of each month and she kept getting them for atleast eight months. Then there was one last envelope. It gave her a location and blue prints, alarm codes, everything she needed for the building to be hers.
And a year later she was running that building. It had all happened so fast she didn't really know what was going on but once she got to where she was she understood that this was her mission in life. She had hacked into the Genomex computers and found out all the information she needed to know that hadn't been obtained from the files sent to her. She got a call once a week from a man she had never seen who checked on her progress. It was all very simple until she had kidnapped the last two people on the list: Shalimar Fox and Brennan Mulwray.
The first six new mutants were children, their abilities weren't fully developed, they were easier to handle but Shalimar and Brennan were, to some extent heroes. They had saved a lot of people and trained with and without their abilities. They were skilled fighters and so the prospect had always been a lot more daunting. But they were required for the project. Her boss wanted readings from all ranges of abilities from the most powerful to the least. And after he had given her such huge opportunities in life, after he had given her a chance to turn her world around and do something that could make a difference who was she to deny him anything.
So she had set her plan and they had walked right into it.
And now they were causing her more trouble than they were worth. She could have gone out and abducted two more new mutants who were only slightly less powerful than them and they would have lain down and taken it all.
But she was going to finish it now. She knew Brennan would be out of the building, the other test subjects too. But she had all the information she needed from them. The last experiments had happened that very day, so Shalimar, no matter what she did to Alison couldn't stop the inevitable.
***
Shalimar sniffed the air around her silently. She was picking up so many different scents. She could still smell the fear of the children, and she was getting a slight whiff of Brennan's aftershave. The redhead was wearing an unidentifiable perfume and it mixed with Shalimar's own scent.
She continued to look at Alison, not entirely sure what she was going to do. Obviously it would involve Shalimar kicking her ass but who was going to make the first move and when they were going to make it was still undecided. Normally Shalimar would have been punching and kicking the enemy into a pulp by now but she was still weary and slightly dopey from the drugs. She was awake enough to see that Alison was wary of her, maybe even scared.
Shalimar turned and her fist moved like lightning straight into the nose of the security guard who had been sneaking up on her for the past couple of minutes. As his hands went up to his face to try and quell the pain she lifted her right leg and slammed it into his stomach. He fell, his feet lifting off the ground until he smashed into the floor. His hands fell to his sides and his head tipped slightly as he lost consciousness.
Shalimar felt a sharp surge of pain in the back of her head and her knees hit the floor with force but she immediately flipped herself over back onto her feet. Turning around she saw Alison's fist sailing towards her face but Shalimar was too quick and blocked it. She raised her left leg into Alison's side and Ali emitted a slight groan.
But Shalimar had underestimated her and as Alison went down she swept her leg along the floor, knocking Shalimar off her feet. The wind was knocked from her and her back smashed into the ground. Within seconds Alison was pointing the barrel of her gun at Shalimar's head.
Shalimar breathed in sharply as time seemed to slow down until everything froze. This gun thing was an entirely new experience for her having never been held up by one before. It wasn't that she wasn't scared, it was just...interesting.
This woman was still gonna get her ass kicked but Shalimar had to give her snaps for effort.
Alison looked up just as she was hit by the bolt of lightning that spread from Brennan's fingertips.
***
'Emma, Jesse, where are you?'
'We're just approaching the building on ground level that will lead us into the main compound. No sign of any guards yet.'
'Don't worry about getting into the building. I just saw Brennan, he's fine, he went back to get Shalimar. The Helix is full so they'll have to go back in the car with you guys.'
The two exchanged looks, wondering if Brennan was really telling the truth or if he was just a good actor. Adam seemed to believe him but how could he really tell.
'Where are we going to pick him and Shalimar up from?' Jesse asked, prepared, for the moment to give Brennan the benefit of the doubt.
'There's an entrance to the right of the building you're standing outside of. Brennan went in there, chances are they'll be coming back out that way. Get there as soon as possible. I'm not taking off until I know you're all safe.'
They immediately started running towards the side entrance, finding it easily enough.
'So,' began Jesse, 'I guess we just...wait.'
'Yeah,' replied Emma. 'I guess so.'
***
Shalimar let go of a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Air filled her lungs and she sat up, turning sharply as she heard a noise behind her. She saw Brennan walking towards her, a look of fear and guilt on his face.
He couldn't hear a thing other than Shalimar's breathing. He had been so scared for her, seeing Alison pointing a gun at her head. He didn't think he had been that frightened in his entire life. He held out his hand to help her up and she took it.
She forced her limbs to work as she pushed herself off the ground. It was like she was watching herself, it was like the real her had jumped out of her body and was watching from somewhere, watching as her detached body got up. And then just as quickly the real her hopped back into her body, jolted by the sound of distant footsteps getting gradually closer.
The noise seemed to wake both of them up and they took off running down the hallway in the direction of the door out of there.
Shalimar came to a sudden stop. She turned her head to look back at the clone of her. She was still lying on the floor, looking so helpless and vulnerable. Brennan grabbed her arm as she made a motion as if to go back.
'Shalimar, we don't have time.'
'Brennan, I can't just leave her there...'
'Yes, you can,' Brennan interrupted firmly.
Shalimar looked into his dark brown eyes and, breathing a deeply reluctant sigh turned and ran with him, just as a group of burly security guards rounded into the hallway.
***
'We've been standing here for atleast five minutes. I think we should go in and see what's happening.'
'Jesse, wait. I sense both of them and there doesn't seem to be anything horribly wrong. Maybe they just got caught up.'
Emma took Jesse's hand. She knew he was worried but she had to think about everybody's safety. If Jesse went charging into the building he could get hurt and seriously jeopardize Shalimar and Brennan's chances of getting out in one piece.
Jesse held onto Emma's hand. He knew she was trying to help him and calm him down but he didn't like playing the waiting game and he was getting frustrated not knowing what was going on inside the building.
Just then he saw a blonde head appearing from the ground. He ran over to her and helped her up. As soon as Shalimar saw him she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him. Her eyes closed, and for that moment she forgot all her troubles. Jesse had always been able to do that to her. He was always looking towards this better future that he was sure would come someday. She had become so cynical that she couldn't think like that and he reminded her that not everything sucked all the time.
They were pried apart by Brennan and Emma who were still tuned into the real world. The guards were getting closer and the team had to get out of there.
'Adam, we're just getting to the car. You should take off now,' said Emma into her Comlink as they took off running through the trees.
'Have you got Shalimar and Brennan with you?'
'Would we leave them behind?' Jesse asked, smiling at Shalimar as he did so.
All four of them slid into the car and within seconds Jesse had found the keys and stuck them in the ignition.
Shalimar watched out of the back window as Jesse drove off. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief in leaving behind the place that had kept her captive for quite possibly the worst couple of days of her life. But there was also a feeling of guilt in leaving behind Shalimar version 2 and all the information that those people would need to make copies of all the other new mutants that had been held there. She felt like she had failed all of the kids. They had been through something terrible and even if they were placed safely in the underground, there was still the chance that they might walk into themselves one day. There was still the possibility that she might walk into herself one day.
I hope its worth the wait. Its a long chapter but that doesn't necessarily mean its any good so you'll all have to let me know...hint, hint, nudge, nudge. Reviews please.
There's only one chapter left. I promise there will at some point be a sequel but at the moment this story is becoming dangerously boring and to me atleast its getting a bit samey. So I'm going to come back to it but I thought I might write some other stuff first just to get a little bit of perspective or something. I promise it'll be soon though so all my faithful fans (of there are any) don't be too worried.
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day.
***
Alison felt the cold, steel of the gun that she had shoved into the back of her trousers before coming to meet Shalimar and Brennan. She knew how powerful and dangerous they both were, it was the reason why they had been chosen by her boss to be a part of the experiment.
She remembered the first day she had found out about the project. She had received a call and was mystified by what had been said (something along the lines of she was the right person for the job, it would be a great opportunity for her to fulfil her potential as a new mutant). She had never told anybody what she was. Anonymity was like an electric fence for her, just as it was for most new mutants. If nobody knew what she was, where she came from then they couldn't hurt her and she would be safe. So the fact that somebody knew and didn't want to destroy her like Mason Eckhart had with all Genomexs' creations had intrigued her.
She had met with a man who talked to her honestly about a plan to get back at the creators of new mutants. Then she had gone home and had pushed the matter to the back of her mind. She had gone on living the way she always had, watching her back just in case but generally giving no further thought to her gift.
And then she had started receiving files at her house. They always came without a stamp or a postmark in a big brown envelope and the files were always those of new mutants, some of them young and weak, some older and stronger than her. She received these envelopes at exactly the same time on the first day of each month and she kept getting them for atleast eight months. Then there was one last envelope. It gave her a location and blue prints, alarm codes, everything she needed for the building to be hers.
And a year later she was running that building. It had all happened so fast she didn't really know what was going on but once she got to where she was she understood that this was her mission in life. She had hacked into the Genomex computers and found out all the information she needed to know that hadn't been obtained from the files sent to her. She got a call once a week from a man she had never seen who checked on her progress. It was all very simple until she had kidnapped the last two people on the list: Shalimar Fox and Brennan Mulwray.
The first six new mutants were children, their abilities weren't fully developed, they were easier to handle but Shalimar and Brennan were, to some extent heroes. They had saved a lot of people and trained with and without their abilities. They were skilled fighters and so the prospect had always been a lot more daunting. But they were required for the project. Her boss wanted readings from all ranges of abilities from the most powerful to the least. And after he had given her such huge opportunities in life, after he had given her a chance to turn her world around and do something that could make a difference who was she to deny him anything.
So she had set her plan and they had walked right into it.
And now they were causing her more trouble than they were worth. She could have gone out and abducted two more new mutants who were only slightly less powerful than them and they would have lain down and taken it all.
But she was going to finish it now. She knew Brennan would be out of the building, the other test subjects too. But she had all the information she needed from them. The last experiments had happened that very day, so Shalimar, no matter what she did to Alison couldn't stop the inevitable.
***
Shalimar sniffed the air around her silently. She was picking up so many different scents. She could still smell the fear of the children, and she was getting a slight whiff of Brennan's aftershave. The redhead was wearing an unidentifiable perfume and it mixed with Shalimar's own scent.
She continued to look at Alison, not entirely sure what she was going to do. Obviously it would involve Shalimar kicking her ass but who was going to make the first move and when they were going to make it was still undecided. Normally Shalimar would have been punching and kicking the enemy into a pulp by now but she was still weary and slightly dopey from the drugs. She was awake enough to see that Alison was wary of her, maybe even scared.
Shalimar turned and her fist moved like lightning straight into the nose of the security guard who had been sneaking up on her for the past couple of minutes. As his hands went up to his face to try and quell the pain she lifted her right leg and slammed it into his stomach. He fell, his feet lifting off the ground until he smashed into the floor. His hands fell to his sides and his head tipped slightly as he lost consciousness.
Shalimar felt a sharp surge of pain in the back of her head and her knees hit the floor with force but she immediately flipped herself over back onto her feet. Turning around she saw Alison's fist sailing towards her face but Shalimar was too quick and blocked it. She raised her left leg into Alison's side and Ali emitted a slight groan.
But Shalimar had underestimated her and as Alison went down she swept her leg along the floor, knocking Shalimar off her feet. The wind was knocked from her and her back smashed into the ground. Within seconds Alison was pointing the barrel of her gun at Shalimar's head.
Shalimar breathed in sharply as time seemed to slow down until everything froze. This gun thing was an entirely new experience for her having never been held up by one before. It wasn't that she wasn't scared, it was just...interesting.
This woman was still gonna get her ass kicked but Shalimar had to give her snaps for effort.
Alison looked up just as she was hit by the bolt of lightning that spread from Brennan's fingertips.
***
'Emma, Jesse, where are you?'
'We're just approaching the building on ground level that will lead us into the main compound. No sign of any guards yet.'
'Don't worry about getting into the building. I just saw Brennan, he's fine, he went back to get Shalimar. The Helix is full so they'll have to go back in the car with you guys.'
The two exchanged looks, wondering if Brennan was really telling the truth or if he was just a good actor. Adam seemed to believe him but how could he really tell.
'Where are we going to pick him and Shalimar up from?' Jesse asked, prepared, for the moment to give Brennan the benefit of the doubt.
'There's an entrance to the right of the building you're standing outside of. Brennan went in there, chances are they'll be coming back out that way. Get there as soon as possible. I'm not taking off until I know you're all safe.'
They immediately started running towards the side entrance, finding it easily enough.
'So,' began Jesse, 'I guess we just...wait.'
'Yeah,' replied Emma. 'I guess so.'
***
Shalimar let go of a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Air filled her lungs and she sat up, turning sharply as she heard a noise behind her. She saw Brennan walking towards her, a look of fear and guilt on his face.
He couldn't hear a thing other than Shalimar's breathing. He had been so scared for her, seeing Alison pointing a gun at her head. He didn't think he had been that frightened in his entire life. He held out his hand to help her up and she took it.
She forced her limbs to work as she pushed herself off the ground. It was like she was watching herself, it was like the real her had jumped out of her body and was watching from somewhere, watching as her detached body got up. And then just as quickly the real her hopped back into her body, jolted by the sound of distant footsteps getting gradually closer.
The noise seemed to wake both of them up and they took off running down the hallway in the direction of the door out of there.
Shalimar came to a sudden stop. She turned her head to look back at the clone of her. She was still lying on the floor, looking so helpless and vulnerable. Brennan grabbed her arm as she made a motion as if to go back.
'Shalimar, we don't have time.'
'Brennan, I can't just leave her there...'
'Yes, you can,' Brennan interrupted firmly.
Shalimar looked into his dark brown eyes and, breathing a deeply reluctant sigh turned and ran with him, just as a group of burly security guards rounded into the hallway.
***
'We've been standing here for atleast five minutes. I think we should go in and see what's happening.'
'Jesse, wait. I sense both of them and there doesn't seem to be anything horribly wrong. Maybe they just got caught up.'
Emma took Jesse's hand. She knew he was worried but she had to think about everybody's safety. If Jesse went charging into the building he could get hurt and seriously jeopardize Shalimar and Brennan's chances of getting out in one piece.
Jesse held onto Emma's hand. He knew she was trying to help him and calm him down but he didn't like playing the waiting game and he was getting frustrated not knowing what was going on inside the building.
Just then he saw a blonde head appearing from the ground. He ran over to her and helped her up. As soon as Shalimar saw him she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him. Her eyes closed, and for that moment she forgot all her troubles. Jesse had always been able to do that to her. He was always looking towards this better future that he was sure would come someday. She had become so cynical that she couldn't think like that and he reminded her that not everything sucked all the time.
They were pried apart by Brennan and Emma who were still tuned into the real world. The guards were getting closer and the team had to get out of there.
'Adam, we're just getting to the car. You should take off now,' said Emma into her Comlink as they took off running through the trees.
'Have you got Shalimar and Brennan with you?'
'Would we leave them behind?' Jesse asked, smiling at Shalimar as he did so.
All four of them slid into the car and within seconds Jesse had found the keys and stuck them in the ignition.
Shalimar watched out of the back window as Jesse drove off. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief in leaving behind the place that had kept her captive for quite possibly the worst couple of days of her life. But there was also a feeling of guilt in leaving behind Shalimar version 2 and all the information that those people would need to make copies of all the other new mutants that had been held there. She felt like she had failed all of the kids. They had been through something terrible and even if they were placed safely in the underground, there was still the chance that they might walk into themselves one day. There was still the possibility that she might walk into herself one day.
