THE BEGINNING

She'd been looking at the picture for too long, her mind hinted, but her body paid no heed, fixed as it was and taking in every aspect of the woman that looked out of the photograph at her.

Feral reflexes let her catch the hand that Jesse was about to wave in front of her face.

"Are you OK?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course." And she stepped away from the console that Adam had been briefing them from, heading for her room.

"Shal, where are you going? We have to go and find this woman." She paused and looked back at him.

"I'm getting a coat, it's cold out."

Twenty minutes later Shalimar emerged from her room in a new outfit, complete with a long coat draped across her arm.

"What took you? This woman could be in danger!" Jesse exclaimed.

"What are we standing around for then!? Let's go!" Sighing, Jesse followed the feral out to the helix where Adam was preparing for the mission.

"Jesse I want you down here" He pointed out a mark on the small street map. "You're going to be the first line of defence. There are cars around so be careful, remember you can't phase her if the car's coming at you. Shalimar you're"

"Hitting the skyline." She grinned. He paused.

"You see a way up?" He asked. She pointed out a line of short balconies up the side of the building above where they were planning the ambush. "If you think you can make that then fine. Time your jump down carefully, I don't want any injuries today. Pictures of the agents as usual for the database. Let's make this clean, in and out."

Shalimar watched as the blacked-out jeep hared around the corner, close on the heels of the woman whose picture she had found so intriguing. She hesitated in the street and Shalimar held her breath, praying that Jesse would be fast enough. At the last possible moment Jesse appeared, spinning the girl away from him and phasing just in time for the vehicle to pass right through him. Shalimar's stomach clenched in sympathy - she would never get used to seeing him doing that. Seeing the SUV skid to a stop right beneath where she stood Shalimar took the opportunity for a softer landing than the asphalt. The extension and control of the fall and landing were almost second nature to her, with all of the practising that Adam had made her do before he would let her use her ability in a fight. The SUV's roof caved a little under her feet, softening the collision a little and two agents jumped out of the vehicle, one floored quickly, the other climbing up on to the roof with her.

It didn't take much to send the second guy flying and Shalimar glanced over as Jesse threw himself into the air to kick a flying trash can. She grinned as she recognised the move that she had taught him and then frowned as she realised he had the woman's complete attention. He glanced at her and smirked - he knew! He knew how much this was irking her. With a feral growl she span off the roof of the car and into a confrontation with the first agent who had - against all common sense - got himself back off the floor and tried attacking her again. A couple of well-placed kicks dissuaded him from trying the same thing again.

She saw Adam appear from the side alley where the Double Helix would be concealed and turned to join him as he headed towards the other two, Jesse seeming to field the new woman in towards them, she looking ready to run at the slightest thing.

'Now,' Shalimar thought to herself, 'comes the mysterious but world changing introduction that Adam's so fond of.'

"No need to run any more Emma, you're among friends." Shalimar had to restrain a smile.

"How do you know my name, wait, what's going on?" She looked back at Jesse and he smiled and nodded, reassuring. Shalimar smirked at him. He stuck his tongue out at her behind Emma's back.

"Your questions will be answered later." Adam glanced back at her and Shalimar realised he expected to tell him what was going on. With the slightest thought she adjusted her hearing and located the backup car, only three blocks down. She gave Adam a nod. "Right now, it's time to go." Adam turned and took her hand, leading her back down the alley towards the Helix. Stepping up beside Jesse Shalimar muttered, "Show off."

"This girl's really got to you, hasn't she. You haven't even met her properly yet. She had you when you saw her picture." Shalimar looked up as Jesse appeared in the doorway. He changed his T-shirt, she noted.

"No!"

"It doesn't matter, if she has. I don't mind."

"Maybe, just a little." Shalimar held her thumb and forefinger up to demonstrate the 'little', grinning.

"Woo! And the truth appears." Jesse hooted.

"Shut up." She cuffed his shoulder, unable to contain her own laughter.

"She's an empath, you know. She's going to know about this." The laughter faded as she paled.

"Oh god. I hadn't even thought"

Emma looked down at the cards as they were dropped on the table in front of her. Her new identity. She glanced up at the feral, wondering at the strange muddle of emotions that she had felt from the woman as soon as she had felt safe enough to open herself a little to these people. From the outside the blond emanated a lack of care for the situation, but the slightest glance over the top of the mental barriers she lived within showed Emma a completely different story. With all of her emotions right up there on the surface the feral was a exotic mixture of everything from animalistic curiosity, affection and care to the slightest tints of fear and anger, some that seemed completely foreign to her. She watched her leave, trying to think over what had happened to her over the last couple of days and put her thoughts into some kind of order. For some reason her thoughts kept straying away from the past and back to the blond that had just left. Her attention was drawn back to the one emotion she had been trying to ignore in the feral that had flared every time she had looked at her. Attraction.

Curious, Emma decided to see what would happen next.