A/N- hey guys, sorry it took so long for this but I've finally got everything sorted and it's all back on track. I'm updating stories all over the joint.
Well, we're back. The next chapter- I hope you all enjoy it. It's almost time for the end of this fiction, but don't worry- I have another one in the pipeline. Enjoy it guys!!
Chapter 5
Jesse stepped through the wire fence to the inside of the Genomex complex. Brennan looked at him and then pointed to the top of the building. Nicci was crouched upon the roof, waiting for her signal.
"Where are Shal & Emma?" Jesse spoke into his com-ring, still watching the silhouette figure above them.
"They're inside," Nicci's voice came back through, "I left them just inside the cargo access."
"Right…" Jesse nodded at Brennan who peered around the corner of a truck.
The team waited.
Brennan raised his arm…
…and dropped it. "Go." Jesse prepared to run.
Atop of the building, Nicci stood straight and started to run across to the side. "Come on…" she murmured, "Come on…" She front flipped off the edge and landed on a truck.
All hell broke loose.
Lights landed on Nicci, sirens rang and guards rang towards her. She jumped off the truck and punched the nearest guard square in the face. She kicked and flipped away, trying to avoid the gunfire.
"Don't kill anyone…" Jesse's voice came through her com-ring.
"I'm trying," she replied, "But I'm trying to keep myself alive too."
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brennan and Jesse slip through the cargo door. "Now!" Brennan called her.
She stopped and smiled at the guards, "Bye boys."
She disappeared.
* * *
"God, where are they?" Shalimar crouched behind a large metal box in the cargo bay.
"They're coming," Emma whispered back, "Just hang on."
They waited in silence. Then… the sirens went off. "That's our cue." Emma said, jumping up.
Shalimar kicked the nearest person and swung round to face her next opponent. Emma ran to the cargo door and pulled the anti-mutant switch, turning off the current. "Come on guys…" she murmured. Someone grabbed her and she swung round, punching them hard.
Shalimar ran up on to a block, kicked the gun out of a guard's hand and then knocked him unconscious. She landed on the floor just as Jesse and Brennan appeared through the door. Moments later Nicci appeared.
"Okay, so are we going or what?" Nicci led the way up the staircase out of the bay.
* * *
Nicci pulled her head back as guards ran past. She pretended to show Jesse something on a chart.
"They're gone." Jesse murmured.
"Ugh… why am I wearing this?" She tugged at her white coat.
"Because you have to get into Josh's cell. If you get caught, you can easily teleport."
Nicci sighed and pushed her 'glasses' up onto her nose, "Fine." She kissed him, "Don't get hurt."
"Yeah…"
They separated, going different directions down the hall. Nicci held her head up, trying to look as though she belonged.
She stopped halfway down the hall and looked about, "Uh-oh…"
"Up the stairs…" Adam's voice rang in her ear.
"Thanks," she whispered back.
She ascended, trying to keep her face covered as much as possible when a number of men passed. Reaching the top she peaked round the corner, looking left and right.
"Left…" the voice sounded again.
She turned left and slowly walked. Another group of guards ran past. "What is the deal with all these guards?" she murmured.
"The whole place is on alert. It's not everyday you get two break-ins…" Adam explained in her ear-piece, "and they haven't caught you yet."
"Oh yeah…" Nicci grinned.
A doctor walked down the hall towards her, and she tried to look inconspicuous. She was almost past when he spoke.
"Ah, doctor…" he looked at her badge, "Doctor Whitford. Would you have a copy of yesterday's report on that chart?"
"Sorry, no. I must have left it in my locker." Nicci replied.
"Are you new here?"
"Ah, yes. Eckhart assigned me two days ago."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm bringing Josh Harding's chart to the cells."
"Let me see that!"
"I'm sorry, it's classified."
"Classified, my ass! That's my son's chart!"
Nicci froze, but she managed to compose herself in time, "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to show it to anyone else. You'll have to bring it up with Eckhart."
"Believe me, I intend to." With that he stormed off.
Nicci watched him go and waited until he was out of earshot. "Okay guys," she spoke into her com-ring, "we need to move faster. Eckhart's about to know we're here for Josh."
"How the hell did that happen?" Shal's voice came back.
"It's a long story. Just move it." Nicci quickened her pace and finally reached the cells. She held up her badge to the guard and he let her through. "I have to give some medication to Josh Harding."
The guard smirked and buzzed her through, "Go ahead."
Nicci stopped, the look in his eyes worrying her. She moved quickly and entered Josh's padded cell. Her eyes widened in horror. He was strapped to a table, with various tubes in his body. She dropped her chart, rushed to his side and called to him, "Josh! Josh, can you hear me?" His eyes slowly opened and looked at her, pleading for help. She hurriedly pulled her coat off and began to slowly pull out needles from his arms. She removed his mask and pulled him into a sitting position. She made ready to lift him, "Guys, we gotta' go…" There was no answer, "Guys… guys??" Josh looked up and then tried to say something.
Everything went black.
* * *
Nicci slowly opened her eyes, bright lights making her blink. She was tied to a chair, a table just in front of her.
"It seems sleeping beauty is awake." An all too familiar voice spoke and she was pulled from her grogginess.
She stared straight into the face she knew so well, "Mason Eckhart."
"Nicola Walken. I wouldn't try using your powers if I were you. We have you connected up so that if you try using any of them, you'll feel a lot of pain. You didn't think you'd see me again, let alone be caught by me, did you?"
She glared at him, "Oh, I knew I'd see you again. To kick your ass."
Eckhart smiled, "Still as fiery as ever I see." He leaned over the table, "But does the smart-mouth stop?"
"Not a chance in hell."
"Really? Not even when I show you this?" he signalled to a guard.
Emma's limp form was carried in.
"Emma…" Nicci cried, struggling to get out of her chair.
"Or what about this?" Brennan's body was dragged in and thrown to the ground.
"Maybe this…" Shalimar was pushed in, bound and gagged, and looking like she had taken a beating.
"Jesus…" Nicci whispered, her eyes slowly filling.
"How about this?" Eckhart smiled sadistically at her. She turned her head away, not wanting to see the next form. A guard grabbed her hair and pulled her round. She looked at Jesse, shackled to an upturned table, blood dripping from his hair replacing her image of the water from that night they'd got caught in the storm.
"After so long, and it was you… you who finally gave me the Mutant X team." Eckhart told her.
"I didn't give you the team. There are more…" Nicci spat at him.
"Of course… Adam… so much more…" he sneered condescendingly.
"No… there are far more. There are more like us, who will rise against you and take control!"
"Oh, really… and what if I wanted to know where I could find these mutants?"
"You could keep wanting…"
Eckhart signal to a guard, who dragged a semi-conscious Brennan off the floor and to his feet. "But I want to know NOW!" At the word 'now' a guard punched Brennan in the stomach. Brennan cried out in pain.
"Brennan!" Nicci yelled.
Eckhart raised his hand and Brennan was dropped to the floor. "Are you going to tell me?" Nicci glared at him. "Fine…" he nodded at another guard and suddenly Shalimar and Emma were lifted high into the air. Nicci looked around wildly for the telekinetic. When she spotted him she locked onto him and tried to use her telekinetic powers to stop him. Suddenly she felt a jolt run through her and she screamed out. Shalimar and Emma hit the floor.
"I told you not to use your powers." Eckhart sighed and stood up, "This could go on for a while, but I'm getting bored so… are you going to tell me or not?"
"Nicci, don't say anything!" Jesse cried out. His eyes locked with hers and she tried to fight the tears.
"You know what will happen if you don't tell me this time?"
Nicci nodded.
"Then tell me…"
Nicci took a deep breath and sat forward. Eckhart leaned down towards her and she opened her mouth, "Go… to… HELL!"
Nicci squeezed her eyes shut as the guards began to punch Jesse continuously. She could hear every thud, every wracked breath he took, every grunt of pain and she held back, knowing that she had to keep her mouth shut.
Finally Eckhart signalled for them to stop and Nicci opened her eyes. "You have resilience…" Eckhart said, "I had thought that doing this would have made you talk, instead of the usual way of my guards beating you… but apparently not." He paced backwards and forwards. He stopped and looked at her, "But thankfully, we have something else."
He lifted something off the table and pressed a button on it. A TV screen slid down from the ceiling. He pressed another button and a photograph appeared on the screen, "Do you know this girl?"
The girl was about 16 years old, had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. There was something vaguely familiar about those eyes.
"Perhaps you would like to look in the mirror?"
A guard pulled a mirror round to her and she saw those eyes again. "But that's not a picture of me. I couldn't have had a picture taken of me then…" her eyes narrowed, "I was in Boston, hiding from you."
"That's right. But someone else has those eyes. Someone you used to know very well. Perhaps you would recognise her if you saw a younger photo."
The picture changed and Nicci knew who it was immediately. "Eliza Walken, better known as Lizzy." Eckhart said. He pressed a button back to the original photograph. "This is what she looks like now. A 16 year old on picture day in school. You see, I know what school she goes to, I know her friends and I know where she likes to go with her friends…"
Nicci took a deep breath, "So? She'd be of no use to you, after you had the information out of me."
"See, that's where you're wrong…" a video played on the screen, "There's your sister… and there's her fighting off some of my men… and there's her using her teleportation powers… You see, it turns out she's a mutant too. It just took longer for her to develop."
Eckhart switched the screen off and it slid back into the roof.
"Why are you showing me this?" Nicci asked.
"Because if you don't tell me where I can find the other mutants, I'll kill you, the rest of the Mutant X team, find her and kill her,"
"You don't know where she is…" Nicci murmured.
Eckhart didn't hear her, "and then find the hidden and use them to kill Adam."
"You don't know where she is… she's got out…" Nicci said again.
"Of course, I know where she is… I just told you…" Eckhart said, his brow furrowing.
"No… you just said find her and kill her… you don't know…"
Eckhart slammed his hands on the table and threatened, "I'll find her… and I'll use her to kill your friends and Adam… and I'll take her powers… and then I'll kill her…"
Nicci glared at him.
"I'll beat her until she is too weak to move…"
Rage simmered…
"I'll subject her to torture…"
Rage bubbled…
"I'll make her an example to others…"
Rage boiled…
"And then I'll make her death as agonizingly slow as possible… and you won't be able to do anything to stop it…"
Rage blew…
Nicci started to concentrate…
"Sir…"
"What is it?"
"I think you should look at this…"
Pain ripped through her body and she screamed, fighting it as hard as she could. "Come on Nicci… Come on…" a now conscious Emma murmured. She glanced round at Shalimar, who nodded at her. Emma slowly pulled out a pen-knife and flicked it open.
Nicci disappeared. Emma cut Shalimar's bonds and pulled the gag off. Nicci reappeared beside Jesse and ripped the shackles apart. Emma stopped to stare at the strength Nicci now possessed. Too long… she was tackled to the ground by a guard.
Brennan pulled the guard off her and punched him.
"You need to concentrate…" he told her pulling her to her feet.
"Thanks," she said, before jumping a guard.
Nicci helped Jesse off the table, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he told her. He mustered all the strength he had left and launched his attack on the guards of Genomex. Soon the five were fighting as one, united for all free mutants against Genomex.
A/N- this may seem like the end but it's not. There's definitely more to come. But it is a good ending line, isn't it? I might use it again…