Only one more chapter after this one and then the story is over, finito, finished...whatever. Please review...thank you.
***
Emma watched as events unfolded in front of her. She had never been involved in a fight before. Even in high school she had stayed away from aspects that might force her into a situation she couldn't get out of. She had never gathered around in a big circle with all the other students to see two macho guys fighting it out in the school yard. Everybody had assumed that she was being mature and sensible but she was just plain scared. At moments of heightened emotional stress the powers of mutants tended to make themselves known and Emma had been terrified of people finding out what she was. She guessed that that was no longer a problem.
Thorne let go of her arm and it immediately dropped to her side. She stepped away, still holding onto the railing with her other hand. She was not letting go with Thorne still hanging around ready to cart her off.
Shalimar watched as Emma moved away. She didn't intend to completely kick Thorne's ass, she just wanted to give Emma, Brennan and herself a chance to get back into the Helix so they could get out of there. She dodged to avoid one of Thorne's fists. But if he really wanted to fight her then who was she to deny him that particular pleasure.
She kicked out at his side but he blocked so she dropped to the floor and swept her leg round. Thorne jumped out of the way and threw a well aimed punch at Shalimar's head. She staggered backwards, a red mark forming itself on her temple. She looked up just in time to be thrown across the rooftop to land next to the fire escape stairs.
She stared at Thorne in suprise before jumping up and preparing herself for round 2.
'Adam,' she called into her comlink.
'Yeah?'
'Check out a guy called Thorne. He will be on the new mutant database.'
She hadn't expected Thorne to be a mutant. She had figured him for a regular agent. She smiled as she realised how much more fun the whole situation had just gotten.
***
Brennan hauled the last agent over his shoulder and slammed him onto the ground where he remained. Brennan looked up to see Shalimar standing across the rooftop from Thorne, looking mightily pissed off. Her eyes were glowing and he could hear a low growl emitting from her lips. Thorne had a smug look on his face that Brennan hoped Shalimar would wipe off.
He turned his head quickly to take in Emma who had managed to get a sufficient distance from Thorne so that she was no longer in his line of sight. Brennan crept over to her and guided her to Shalimar's side of the roof without attracting attention from the Agent.
Much as Shalimar was enjoying the standoff she was getting increasingly bored with waiting for someone to make the first move. She could sense Brennan and Emma standing close by, she wasn't sure where and couldn't risk turning her head. It would give away their position and would also give Thorne a chance to kick her ass without even needing to touch her. She continued to stare into his cold, hard eyes as her mind formulated a plan.
'So are we just gonna stand here all night or are you gonna try and take me down? Cos, you know, that was so successful the first time round,' she said as she walked across the rooftop slowly, drawing attention away from the fire escape stairs down to the ground below where, as planned between her and Jesse in the flight over, the Helix would be waiting for all of its passengers.
Brennan saw her move and decided that if he and Emma were going to get off the roof anytime soon the opportune moment was probably now. He took Emma's small hand in his and walked quietly with her, both of them keeping as low to the ground as they could. They reached the stairs without any trouble but as Emma took her first step onto the metal it creaked. The noise rang out in the cold night air and Throne turned his head sharply to take in the new positions of everyone.
'Run!' Shalimar cried and Brennan gave Emma a small push to get her started. Thorne raised his right arm and readied himself to use his powers but Brennan was quicker. His left arm shot out and with it a bolt of shimmering blue light. It hit Thorne square in the chest and he fell backwards, hitting the ground with a dull thump.
Brennan looked across at Shalimar and saw her start strolling towards him at an easy pace like this was just another day in her life.
'Now, I'm impressed,' she said quietly. Brennan grinned with pride before stepping aside to let her go down the stairs first.
'I gotta go the quicker way,' she said apologetically. 'If I don't get down there before Emma she'll walk smack bang into the Helix in stealth mode. Not the most pleasant way to introduce her to Jesse.'
'What's the quicker way?'
Shalimar walked over to the edge of the building and smirked at Brennan before vaulting over the edge and dropping to the floor below.
***
Emma looked around her. The room she was in looked like a lounge from the future. She had been taken to one of the new mutant safehouses and she was currently being told about the benefits of the underground. But she wasn't really paying any attention to what was being said. Everything was so overwhelming. She had known of course that there were others like her in the world, she had known of the existence of new mutants but she could never have anticipated the existence of a whole underground movement of them.
Shalimar looked at Emma. She looked pale and anxious but she seemed a lot more secure than she had initially been. Shalimar could tell she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to Jesse. She wasn't suprised. Shalimar remembered when Adam had brought her back to Sanctuary for the first time. She had been astounded by everything she saw around her. Shalimar's thoughts, however were primarily with Brennan. The team were going to place Emma in the underground and it brought into light the issue of where Brennan was going to go. Shalimar's eyes strayed towards him and she met his gaze. Their eyes locked and no matter how hard she tried Shalimar couldn't seem to drag her eyes away from his. Maybe it had been the whole him-looking-out-for-her-on-a-roof-whilst-they-kicked-the-asses-of-a-couple-of-bad-guys thing, maybe it was because he had saved her life but she suddenly didn't want him to leave, she didn't want to be left behind as he went off to live his own life. She wanted him to stay.
Emma noticed the look between the blonde and the brunette. She felt the butterflies in her stomach and a smile lit up her face. They weren't her butterflies, they belonged to the two people sitting not far from her. She could feel all the tension and chemistry that came with the butterflies. She lowered her eyes, feeling like she was violating their right to privacy. She turned her head back to Jesse and saw him watching her closely. He smiled brightly at her and the butterflies were back. And this time they belonged very exclusively to her.
***
'There they go,' said Jesse quietly.
'Yeah,' replied Shalimar. She looked up at Jesse and leant her body into his. She felt tired and alone, two things that even Jesse couldn't remedy.
They both turned as the door clicked closed behind Adam. He looked down at the two only members of Mutant X.
'Brennan and Emma have gone?' he asked, knowing the answer already.
'Alison just picked them up in the car. We gave them their new details and the phone number to Sanctuary just in case.'
Adam nodded. He was sad to see them both leave but he didn't want to force them into staying just because they felt they had a debt to repay. The team had just saved both of them from the clutches of the GSA and he thought that they would both feel obligated to join the team. He didn't want reluctant heroes no matter how skilled they were.
'You two coming home?' he asked as he walked out of the door. They looked at each and then followed him up the stairs.
***
Emma watched as events unfolded in front of her. She had never been involved in a fight before. Even in high school she had stayed away from aspects that might force her into a situation she couldn't get out of. She had never gathered around in a big circle with all the other students to see two macho guys fighting it out in the school yard. Everybody had assumed that she was being mature and sensible but she was just plain scared. At moments of heightened emotional stress the powers of mutants tended to make themselves known and Emma had been terrified of people finding out what she was. She guessed that that was no longer a problem.
Thorne let go of her arm and it immediately dropped to her side. She stepped away, still holding onto the railing with her other hand. She was not letting go with Thorne still hanging around ready to cart her off.
Shalimar watched as Emma moved away. She didn't intend to completely kick Thorne's ass, she just wanted to give Emma, Brennan and herself a chance to get back into the Helix so they could get out of there. She dodged to avoid one of Thorne's fists. But if he really wanted to fight her then who was she to deny him that particular pleasure.
She kicked out at his side but he blocked so she dropped to the floor and swept her leg round. Thorne jumped out of the way and threw a well aimed punch at Shalimar's head. She staggered backwards, a red mark forming itself on her temple. She looked up just in time to be thrown across the rooftop to land next to the fire escape stairs.
She stared at Thorne in suprise before jumping up and preparing herself for round 2.
'Adam,' she called into her comlink.
'Yeah?'
'Check out a guy called Thorne. He will be on the new mutant database.'
She hadn't expected Thorne to be a mutant. She had figured him for a regular agent. She smiled as she realised how much more fun the whole situation had just gotten.
***
Brennan hauled the last agent over his shoulder and slammed him onto the ground where he remained. Brennan looked up to see Shalimar standing across the rooftop from Thorne, looking mightily pissed off. Her eyes were glowing and he could hear a low growl emitting from her lips. Thorne had a smug look on his face that Brennan hoped Shalimar would wipe off.
He turned his head quickly to take in Emma who had managed to get a sufficient distance from Thorne so that she was no longer in his line of sight. Brennan crept over to her and guided her to Shalimar's side of the roof without attracting attention from the Agent.
Much as Shalimar was enjoying the standoff she was getting increasingly bored with waiting for someone to make the first move. She could sense Brennan and Emma standing close by, she wasn't sure where and couldn't risk turning her head. It would give away their position and would also give Thorne a chance to kick her ass without even needing to touch her. She continued to stare into his cold, hard eyes as her mind formulated a plan.
'So are we just gonna stand here all night or are you gonna try and take me down? Cos, you know, that was so successful the first time round,' she said as she walked across the rooftop slowly, drawing attention away from the fire escape stairs down to the ground below where, as planned between her and Jesse in the flight over, the Helix would be waiting for all of its passengers.
Brennan saw her move and decided that if he and Emma were going to get off the roof anytime soon the opportune moment was probably now. He took Emma's small hand in his and walked quietly with her, both of them keeping as low to the ground as they could. They reached the stairs without any trouble but as Emma took her first step onto the metal it creaked. The noise rang out in the cold night air and Throne turned his head sharply to take in the new positions of everyone.
'Run!' Shalimar cried and Brennan gave Emma a small push to get her started. Thorne raised his right arm and readied himself to use his powers but Brennan was quicker. His left arm shot out and with it a bolt of shimmering blue light. It hit Thorne square in the chest and he fell backwards, hitting the ground with a dull thump.
Brennan looked across at Shalimar and saw her start strolling towards him at an easy pace like this was just another day in her life.
'Now, I'm impressed,' she said quietly. Brennan grinned with pride before stepping aside to let her go down the stairs first.
'I gotta go the quicker way,' she said apologetically. 'If I don't get down there before Emma she'll walk smack bang into the Helix in stealth mode. Not the most pleasant way to introduce her to Jesse.'
'What's the quicker way?'
Shalimar walked over to the edge of the building and smirked at Brennan before vaulting over the edge and dropping to the floor below.
***
Emma looked around her. The room she was in looked like a lounge from the future. She had been taken to one of the new mutant safehouses and she was currently being told about the benefits of the underground. But she wasn't really paying any attention to what was being said. Everything was so overwhelming. She had known of course that there were others like her in the world, she had known of the existence of new mutants but she could never have anticipated the existence of a whole underground movement of them.
Shalimar looked at Emma. She looked pale and anxious but she seemed a lot more secure than she had initially been. Shalimar could tell she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to Jesse. She wasn't suprised. Shalimar remembered when Adam had brought her back to Sanctuary for the first time. She had been astounded by everything she saw around her. Shalimar's thoughts, however were primarily with Brennan. The team were going to place Emma in the underground and it brought into light the issue of where Brennan was going to go. Shalimar's eyes strayed towards him and she met his gaze. Their eyes locked and no matter how hard she tried Shalimar couldn't seem to drag her eyes away from his. Maybe it had been the whole him-looking-out-for-her-on-a-roof-whilst-they-kicked-the-asses-of-a-couple-of-bad-guys thing, maybe it was because he had saved her life but she suddenly didn't want him to leave, she didn't want to be left behind as he went off to live his own life. She wanted him to stay.
Emma noticed the look between the blonde and the brunette. She felt the butterflies in her stomach and a smile lit up her face. They weren't her butterflies, they belonged to the two people sitting not far from her. She could feel all the tension and chemistry that came with the butterflies. She lowered her eyes, feeling like she was violating their right to privacy. She turned her head back to Jesse and saw him watching her closely. He smiled brightly at her and the butterflies were back. And this time they belonged very exclusively to her.
***
'There they go,' said Jesse quietly.
'Yeah,' replied Shalimar. She looked up at Jesse and leant her body into his. She felt tired and alone, two things that even Jesse couldn't remedy.
They both turned as the door clicked closed behind Adam. He looked down at the two only members of Mutant X.
'Brennan and Emma have gone?' he asked, knowing the answer already.
'Alison just picked them up in the car. We gave them their new details and the phone number to Sanctuary just in case.'
Adam nodded. He was sad to see them both leave but he didn't want to force them into staying just because they felt they had a debt to repay. The team had just saved both of them from the clutches of the GSA and he thought that they would both feel obligated to join the team. He didn't want reluctant heroes no matter how skilled they were.
'You two coming home?' he asked as he walked out of the door. They looked at each and then followed him up the stairs.