Brennan's eyes narrowed. This woman was starting to get on his nerves. He
didn't know much about her background, hell he practically knew nothing
about her, but she definitely was pissing him off. First she poisoned
Jesse, next she tried to poison Shalimar.
Lady you may be pretty but you're definitely going home, he thought, activating his internal energy; he could feel the potential difference rising, trickling down his fingers, just begging to be released. With us.
"Brennan, be careful," Shalimar whispered anxiously.
"No need to," he spat out. With a snarl he projected a tremendous blast of energy , aiming at the ground at Elaine's feet. He was just about to smirk in satisfaction when Elaine let out a snarl of her own, very much like Brennan's as if she was mocking him and with lightning moves, she propelled herself backward in two swift back flips. Brennan stood there in disbelief as Elaine cackled gleefully. The nerve of this woman!!!
"Is that the best you can do?" She taunted, her left eyebrow lilting upward in one delicate arc. Shalimar's jaw dropped open.
"Why don't you come closer, Sparky? Show me what you're really made of," she said challengingly, a haughty look in her amazing green eyes. "Or are you too scared? In that case, your girlfriend can fight for you then. At least she doesn't fight like a girl-"
Brennan's blood boiled. He wasn't by nature a hasty man but he wished he could just strangle her right there and then. He knew he had to take her down; he didn't know how but he was gonna do it. Just watch out for her hands, he told himself. They're nasty, baby.
He moved forward and lashed out a long leg which caught her at the knees, sweeping Elaine off her feet; and a her knees buckled, Brennan twisted his body sideways just as she made an instinctive grab at him to keep from falling; and she unceremoniously crashed to the ground. Brennan prepared to stomp a feet onto the small of her back to keep her immobile, but she was as agile as she was nasty. Elaine rolled away from him the second time that day, propping a knee on the ground and back lashed at him with a back kick of her own which caught Brennan on the shin.
Withstanding pain, Brennan grabbed her ankle before she had the chance to retract and flipped her onto her back. Elaine grunted as the full force of Brennan's wrench sent her crashing to the ground once again, this time flat on her back. Her eyes narrowed when she realized the seriousness of the predicament she was in. If she let herself get captured by these two goons, she wouldn't be able to lead Genomex to the Sanctuary, which was something she really wanted to do. She knew full well that they were going to bring her to their Sanctuary anyway but she didn't want to be brought there as a prisoner. No way. What she really wanted was to storm the place, capture all four of the New Mutants that old professor, Mason Eckhart's sworn enemy, had vowed to protect and place them all in pods. That would be the ultimate, sweetest success for her. And it wouldn't happen if she let this great bear of a man take her down.
Brennan threw himself on her and wrestled with her on the ground. Under normal circumstances, he would have loved being in that position; him pinning down a perfectly beautiful, squirming girl, but this lady was a trained killer, and he wasn't going to take chances. Forcefully, he slammed his palms onto her wrists, felt her soft flesh scrape against the hard, sharp tar and at last she was writhing on the ground, unable to move.
"Stop it! Stop struggling!" Brennan shouted but still she bucked wildly under him. Her fingers tried to claw the hands Brennan was using to hold her down but to his relief, they could only rake the air uselessly. "Shalimar! A little help here!"
Shalimar flopped down near the writhing Elaine's head, brandishing a subdermal governor and stared down at the Elemental coldly. She flicked a hand at Brennan and with a mighty burst of strength, he pulled one wrist up and forced her to lie down sideways so as to expose the back of her neck to Shalimar, so that they could finally subdue her AND her deadly touch for good, even if temporarily. He felt a sense of triumph when Elaine finally went limp, as if all the struggles had gone out of her. Only her breaths came out heavy and ragged; Brennan eased up a little, he WAS by far heavier than her, him sitting down on her had probably roughed her up to the point of suffocation.
Elaine lay quietly as Shalimar grabbed a hold of her hair and yanked it up. She waited. She kept still.
She felt the sudden cold of something metallic pressed against the soft skin of her neck. Still she waited.
Next was the slight pressure, slight push as Shalimar prepared to pull the trigger, to blast a damn governor into her. That was what she had been waiting for.
Brennan's hold on her wrists had slackened slightly, thanks to her sudden lack of struggling. She had known that he would go for it, guys always did because they always thought the girls would always succumb to the least amount of stress and tension in the end. Typical chauvinistic misconception of women. Especially when the woman in question was Elaine Perraudin.
With a sudden burst of new-found energy, she let out an ear-splitting shriek before lashing out her pinned arms and legs forcefully. Taken by surprise, Brennan lost his grip on her and also his precious balance and he found himself thrown backward before crashing down to the ground. Shalimar who was just about to pull the trigger had the governor knocked out of her hand, and she watched, shocked, as it spun in the air, before landing in a bush about twenty feet away.
Free at last, Elaine scrambled clumsily to her feet. Her face burned, one thing she hated the most in the world was to back down from a fight, but she knew, this was one fight she couldn't win. She broke into a run.
"She's getting away!" Shalimar yelled and began to chase her.
Brennan slammed a hand down on the tar in sheer frustration before jumping to his feet. Elaine was running fast, past her fallen fellow GS agents, toward the Cherokee. She was just a few feet away from the MPV before she stopped and turned. She smirked.
Shalimar was about to catch up with her when Elaine procured something from inside her suit. In her fury, Shalimar couldn't see what it was. The only thing that mattered was to bring Elaine down. And make sure she stayed down this time.
Brennan's jaw dropped. "Shalimar!!!" He threw himself forward, tackling Shalimar around the waist, and he protected her with his body just as Elaine threw the object in her hand in their direction.
A few nanoseconds later, a loud explosion ripped through the air, and Shalimar couldn't help but scream as a rush of fire swept over their heads, missing them by mere inches. But the scorching heat was almost more than she could bear and she trembled in Brennan's arms.
By the time the smoke subsided enough for their vision to clear, they could only watch helplessly as the Cherokee sped off, leaving a trail of dust and billowing exhaust fumes in its wake, disappearing down the freeway.
The hand grenade had gone off just a few feet away, and they were extremely lucky to get out of it all unscathed but Shalimar was filled with too much fury to notice.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, the feral in her roaring. The fire in her eyes flared angrily as she kicked at the dust at her feet in sheer frustration.
Brennan carefully, tentatively laid a hand on her bare arm. "Shal." His voice was unusually gentle.
Shalimar lowered her head, her hands on her hips, her chest heaving with each raspy breath. She was visibly shaking, and he could feel the tremor of her muscles under his fingers. "Shal."
At last she lifted her head, and Brennan froze. Her eyes, shining gold, were brimming with tears. She stared at Brennan imploringly
"How-" she choked back a sob. "- how are we going to save Jesse now?" She whispered, her voice so small and broken he could barely make out the words. Jesse.
Brennan's heart broke. He swallowed the lump which had suddenly formed in his throat. The harsh reality was reflected in the crystal of Shalimar's tears; Jesse was dying, and they had let the only person in the world who could save him go.
And for the first time since he had joined Mutant X, he felt fear. Not for himself, but for his friends. What if they could not get back to Jesse in time to save him? Would Jesse be the first one of them to go?
Brennan pulled Shalimar close and hugged her trembling body tightly.
Man, we're in trouble. We're in DEEP trouble.
Lady you may be pretty but you're definitely going home, he thought, activating his internal energy; he could feel the potential difference rising, trickling down his fingers, just begging to be released. With us.
"Brennan, be careful," Shalimar whispered anxiously.
"No need to," he spat out. With a snarl he projected a tremendous blast of energy , aiming at the ground at Elaine's feet. He was just about to smirk in satisfaction when Elaine let out a snarl of her own, very much like Brennan's as if she was mocking him and with lightning moves, she propelled herself backward in two swift back flips. Brennan stood there in disbelief as Elaine cackled gleefully. The nerve of this woman!!!
"Is that the best you can do?" She taunted, her left eyebrow lilting upward in one delicate arc. Shalimar's jaw dropped open.
"Why don't you come closer, Sparky? Show me what you're really made of," she said challengingly, a haughty look in her amazing green eyes. "Or are you too scared? In that case, your girlfriend can fight for you then. At least she doesn't fight like a girl-"
Brennan's blood boiled. He wasn't by nature a hasty man but he wished he could just strangle her right there and then. He knew he had to take her down; he didn't know how but he was gonna do it. Just watch out for her hands, he told himself. They're nasty, baby.
He moved forward and lashed out a long leg which caught her at the knees, sweeping Elaine off her feet; and a her knees buckled, Brennan twisted his body sideways just as she made an instinctive grab at him to keep from falling; and she unceremoniously crashed to the ground. Brennan prepared to stomp a feet onto the small of her back to keep her immobile, but she was as agile as she was nasty. Elaine rolled away from him the second time that day, propping a knee on the ground and back lashed at him with a back kick of her own which caught Brennan on the shin.
Withstanding pain, Brennan grabbed her ankle before she had the chance to retract and flipped her onto her back. Elaine grunted as the full force of Brennan's wrench sent her crashing to the ground once again, this time flat on her back. Her eyes narrowed when she realized the seriousness of the predicament she was in. If she let herself get captured by these two goons, she wouldn't be able to lead Genomex to the Sanctuary, which was something she really wanted to do. She knew full well that they were going to bring her to their Sanctuary anyway but she didn't want to be brought there as a prisoner. No way. What she really wanted was to storm the place, capture all four of the New Mutants that old professor, Mason Eckhart's sworn enemy, had vowed to protect and place them all in pods. That would be the ultimate, sweetest success for her. And it wouldn't happen if she let this great bear of a man take her down.
Brennan threw himself on her and wrestled with her on the ground. Under normal circumstances, he would have loved being in that position; him pinning down a perfectly beautiful, squirming girl, but this lady was a trained killer, and he wasn't going to take chances. Forcefully, he slammed his palms onto her wrists, felt her soft flesh scrape against the hard, sharp tar and at last she was writhing on the ground, unable to move.
"Stop it! Stop struggling!" Brennan shouted but still she bucked wildly under him. Her fingers tried to claw the hands Brennan was using to hold her down but to his relief, they could only rake the air uselessly. "Shalimar! A little help here!"
Shalimar flopped down near the writhing Elaine's head, brandishing a subdermal governor and stared down at the Elemental coldly. She flicked a hand at Brennan and with a mighty burst of strength, he pulled one wrist up and forced her to lie down sideways so as to expose the back of her neck to Shalimar, so that they could finally subdue her AND her deadly touch for good, even if temporarily. He felt a sense of triumph when Elaine finally went limp, as if all the struggles had gone out of her. Only her breaths came out heavy and ragged; Brennan eased up a little, he WAS by far heavier than her, him sitting down on her had probably roughed her up to the point of suffocation.
Elaine lay quietly as Shalimar grabbed a hold of her hair and yanked it up. She waited. She kept still.
She felt the sudden cold of something metallic pressed against the soft skin of her neck. Still she waited.
Next was the slight pressure, slight push as Shalimar prepared to pull the trigger, to blast a damn governor into her. That was what she had been waiting for.
Brennan's hold on her wrists had slackened slightly, thanks to her sudden lack of struggling. She had known that he would go for it, guys always did because they always thought the girls would always succumb to the least amount of stress and tension in the end. Typical chauvinistic misconception of women. Especially when the woman in question was Elaine Perraudin.
With a sudden burst of new-found energy, she let out an ear-splitting shriek before lashing out her pinned arms and legs forcefully. Taken by surprise, Brennan lost his grip on her and also his precious balance and he found himself thrown backward before crashing down to the ground. Shalimar who was just about to pull the trigger had the governor knocked out of her hand, and she watched, shocked, as it spun in the air, before landing in a bush about twenty feet away.
Free at last, Elaine scrambled clumsily to her feet. Her face burned, one thing she hated the most in the world was to back down from a fight, but she knew, this was one fight she couldn't win. She broke into a run.
"She's getting away!" Shalimar yelled and began to chase her.
Brennan slammed a hand down on the tar in sheer frustration before jumping to his feet. Elaine was running fast, past her fallen fellow GS agents, toward the Cherokee. She was just a few feet away from the MPV before she stopped and turned. She smirked.
Shalimar was about to catch up with her when Elaine procured something from inside her suit. In her fury, Shalimar couldn't see what it was. The only thing that mattered was to bring Elaine down. And make sure she stayed down this time.
Brennan's jaw dropped. "Shalimar!!!" He threw himself forward, tackling Shalimar around the waist, and he protected her with his body just as Elaine threw the object in her hand in their direction.
A few nanoseconds later, a loud explosion ripped through the air, and Shalimar couldn't help but scream as a rush of fire swept over their heads, missing them by mere inches. But the scorching heat was almost more than she could bear and she trembled in Brennan's arms.
By the time the smoke subsided enough for their vision to clear, they could only watch helplessly as the Cherokee sped off, leaving a trail of dust and billowing exhaust fumes in its wake, disappearing down the freeway.
The hand grenade had gone off just a few feet away, and they were extremely lucky to get out of it all unscathed but Shalimar was filled with too much fury to notice.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, the feral in her roaring. The fire in her eyes flared angrily as she kicked at the dust at her feet in sheer frustration.
Brennan carefully, tentatively laid a hand on her bare arm. "Shal." His voice was unusually gentle.
Shalimar lowered her head, her hands on her hips, her chest heaving with each raspy breath. She was visibly shaking, and he could feel the tremor of her muscles under his fingers. "Shal."
At last she lifted her head, and Brennan froze. Her eyes, shining gold, were brimming with tears. She stared at Brennan imploringly
"How-" she choked back a sob. "- how are we going to save Jesse now?" She whispered, her voice so small and broken he could barely make out the words. Jesse.
Brennan's heart broke. He swallowed the lump which had suddenly formed in his throat. The harsh reality was reflected in the crystal of Shalimar's tears; Jesse was dying, and they had let the only person in the world who could save him go.
And for the first time since he had joined Mutant X, he felt fear. Not for himself, but for his friends. What if they could not get back to Jesse in time to save him? Would Jesse be the first one of them to go?
Brennan pulled Shalimar close and hugged her trembling body tightly.
Man, we're in trouble. We're in DEEP trouble.