I'm updating quite quickly...who else is proud? Anyway, I'm finally writing some action. There isn't any in the next chapter (well, a little bit but not enough to count) and then after that there should be quite a bit if everything goes to plan. The schoolwork situation is not getting any easier so I've only just finished writing chapter 9 so the next update might take a little longer. But thank you to all of you who are reviewing and are being so completely patient.
***
As they walked back into Sanctuary they heard the voices of their two teammates in the lab. Brennan smiled as he listened to the friendly brother sister banter of Shalimar and Jesse. When he first joined Mutant X he had been glad to have the company of Emma to make him feel like less of a third wheel but gradually they had all bonded. He felt like a member of the family, granted one who had fallen in love with the woman who was supposed to be a sister type figure. But looking back on it he and Shalimar had never acted like family, they had always flirted. Things had always been different between them and that was the way Brennan liked it.
As they walked around a corner into the lab they saw Jesse and Shalimar sitting in front of one of the computers. Shalimar was operating the mouse while Jesse pointed out things. She would occasionally hit him lightly on the arm when he started to get a little too patronising.
'What you guys doing?' Lexa asked as she walked over to the pair.
'Nothing,' Shalimar replied nonchalantly as she looked at Lexa. The brunette walked past Jesse and Shalimar and the latter turned in her seat to watch the other woman. Brennan frowned. As Shalimar had turned back round in her seat to face the computer monitor he could have sworn he saw a flash of gold light up her eyes momentarily. It could have been the light from the computer reflecting off of them but after everything Lexa had told him and after dealing with the kind of suspicions he had faced over the past couple of hours he wasn't so sure.
Lexa looked over at Brennan as he caught her eye. He looked worried about something but she had no idea what. She raised her eyebrows questioningly as he mouthed something at her. She frowned once more to show that she had no idea what he was talking about when Shalimar's voice broke the quiet of the room.
'If you two are going to talk about a feral behind their back it should probably be very far behind their back.'
Lexa and Brennan both looked over at Shalimar as she stopped speaking. Shalimar had clearly heard whatever it was Brennan had been trying to say and Lexa wished she would let her in on the secret because she was still in the dark.
Shalimar slid off the chair and stood up. She didn't know quite why she was so pissed off at Brennan for talking about her. It was slightly hypocritical to say the least especially given the kind of bitching sessions that they had all been used to after Lexa's appearance at Sanctuary. But for some reason she was beyond annoyed, she was angry.
'Shal, what's up?' Brennan asked as casually as he could.
'Well, I don't know. Maybe its because one of my teammates thinks I'm possessed by some sort of psionic and that's why I'm not acting like myself. Or maybe its because you, Brennan chose to talk to Lexa about this as opposed to talking to me.'
'Shal, its been a weird 24 hours or so. I didn't mean anything by it - '
But Brennan was cut off by the resounding slap as Shalimar raised her hand and whacked it across the side of his face. He felt the stinging as his eyes began to water. He looked at her in shock. Shalimar had never hit him before unless they were sparring and even then she had atleast had the decency to look apologetic. But she was not joking this time round and she was definitely not up for a sparring match.
'Jesse. You finish deleting all the documents on the Dominion and then make sure to send them those codes,' Shalimar said over her shoulder. She was ready for a fight. She could feel the adrenaline bubbling up inside of her and she welcomed it with open arms.
'What codes?' Lexa said, confusion and fear evident in her tone.
Shalimar smirked as she leaped off of the floor. She moved backwards with speed not normally seen in a human being and landed one hand on the back of Jesse's chair. Her left leg swung out behind her and she turned in mid air slamming her foot into Lexa's cheek. The brunette dropped to the floor, out cold from the blow and Shalimar placed both feet on the floor. She looked down at the injured woman and then turned to Jesse. They smiled at each other. Shalimar turned back to the door and was unsuprised to find that Brennan had disappeared. She could still hear his footsteps, their sound carrying loudly in her ears.
Her own footsteps joined in those of his as she walked out of the doorway. Her eyes glowed for a second before she took off down one of the corridors in the cavernous building.
***
Lexa's eyes flickered open and she looked around the room from underneath her dark eyelashes. She had heard Shalimar leave in hot pursuit of Brennan and now Jesse was left to her. She had known something was wrong, she could sense it and this little nightmare had Charles Handon's fingerprints all over it. The codes Shalimar had talked about must have been the access codes to Sanctuary, the one place they all wanted to get into but couldn't even find. Sanctuary had always been a mystery to the Dominion, to Genomex. Neither of the two groups had ever been able to gain access to it or the wealth of knowledge it protected. She had tried hard enough when she worked for the Dominion to know how difficult it could be. And now they had come up with a new plan, one which could actually work. It amazed her that they had never tried it this way before. The simplest plans could always be relied on to be the most effective.
She raised her hand to her face quietly and tucked the sheath of hair which was blocking her view of the room behind her ear. She couldn't hear her own breathing above the air conditioning but Jesse's typing alerted her to his unawareness of what was going on behind him. She stood up as silently as possible, wincing everytime her clothing moved, incredibly aware of the fact that if Jesse wanted to he could smash her head in just by massing his hand and flicking her on her temple. She crept up behind him, careful to keep out of the reflection of the computer screen and when she got close enough she pulled a small syringe out of her pocket, took the lid off and got ready to stick it straight into his arm. The one good thing the Dominion had taught her, the one thing that wasn't necessarily designed for the benefit of evil was to be prepared. Granted it was something she could have gotten from going to a boy scouts meeting but it was worth something to her.
She pulled her arm back and jammed the syringe into Jesse's upper arm. But instead of giving way the skin and muscle were rock solid. She breathed out as a couple of four letter words raced through her mind. Giving the 'sedate him' option up as lost she turned and ran from the room hoping to get as much space between her and Jesse as possible.
***
Brennan slid the door closed behind him as quietly as he could, knowing that it wouldn't be quiet enough. Going up against Shalimar was a difficult task when they were sparring in the dojo but when they were really fighting he had an idea that it would be pretty near impossible. He had fought her before when she had been possessed by Gabriel but this was harder somehow. Atleast then there had been some sort of target. Granted he was a pretty hard one to aim for with any kind of success but atleast he had been there. But this time round there was no one for Brennan to shoot some electricity at. It infuriated him that he couldn't actually fight the bad guy, he was forced to face off against one of the women who could always be counted on to put everyone else first, who abhorred the idea of hurting new mutants under any circumstances, the one who fought so passionately for every new mutant who was in danger.
He walked deeper into the room. He had a feeling that Shalimar already knew where he was hiding and that she was targeting him at that very moment. Atleast Lexa was okay. When Shalimar had kicked her in the head Brennan had been on the point of freaking out, his only ally gone. But as she had lain on the floor he had seen her eyes flicker open for a second as Shalimar turned to Jesse. Lexa could always be counted on to come up with a backup plan, her training had atleast given her that sensibility so he was pretty sure that she would be okay.
But Brennan had given no thought to what he was going to do once Shalimar caught up with him. He supposed he would keep her busy until Lexa had dealt with Jesse well enough to take him out of the game. And then they would handle Shalimar together. He rolled his eyes as he realised he had absolutely no idea how he was going to keep Shalimar busy or how he and Lexa were going to handle her. The whole idea of either of them being able to cage the wild beast was ludicrous.
***
Shalimar landed noiselessly on the floor just outside Brennan's bedroom. She couldn't quite believe that she had managed to fall for someone who was quite so predictable. Hiding in his bedroom was possibly the stupidest thing he had done all night. Next thing she knew she'd find him hiding under the bed or behind some curtains. She slid the door open, not bothering to be quiet. She knew she could avoid any tesla coils Brennan chose to throw her way. In sparring she had always been too quick for him, for anyone. She could always rely on her feral abilities to keep her well informed. She had no idea how she could ever live without them. She remembered a time when she would have given it up for love but now she wouldn't relinquish it for the world.
Her ears pricked up to the sound of running water. She raised her eyebrows. Was he trying to get caught?
She walked towards the bathroom, ignoring everything else in the room, her focus directed entirely at the bathroom only a few steps away from her. She could feel his presence, it pulled her towards the room. Maybe it was because he was Brennan or maybe it was just her hunting instincts really starting to kick in but the magnetism between her and her prey had never been stronger. As she reached the closed door everything else around her became a blur and she purred quietly in her throat at the prospect of the fight.
She pushed the door open violently and it smashed against the wall. She frowned as she saw Brennan in the midst of a flooded bathroom. He was so weak he could barely even stand and he was leaning against the wall for support. He had blocked the sink and the clear liquid was pouring out of it, dripping loudly to the mini lake below. Her frown disappeared as she felt the water reach her feet. She glared at Brennan for a second before she felt the scream of the electricity race through her body. She lifted off the ground and smashed into the wall behind, before landing on the floor. As soon as her feet left the ground Brennan turned off the electric supply. He breathed deeply, trying to make sure he didn't lose consciousness like Shalimar had. He looked at her prone body as it lay on the floor, her hair becoming damp from the oncoming water. He reached for the tap and turned it off before walking forward and picking her up. He laid her on the bed, his body still aching in complaint at such an abuse. His breathing was ragged and he was still having difficulty making his limbs move but as he laid the blonde down on the bed he smiled triumphantly. He knew he shouldn't have, it was hardly Shalimar's fault that she was acting like such a scary, psychotic bitch but he had finally taken her out something he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to do ever again.
***
As they walked back into Sanctuary they heard the voices of their two teammates in the lab. Brennan smiled as he listened to the friendly brother sister banter of Shalimar and Jesse. When he first joined Mutant X he had been glad to have the company of Emma to make him feel like less of a third wheel but gradually they had all bonded. He felt like a member of the family, granted one who had fallen in love with the woman who was supposed to be a sister type figure. But looking back on it he and Shalimar had never acted like family, they had always flirted. Things had always been different between them and that was the way Brennan liked it.
As they walked around a corner into the lab they saw Jesse and Shalimar sitting in front of one of the computers. Shalimar was operating the mouse while Jesse pointed out things. She would occasionally hit him lightly on the arm when he started to get a little too patronising.
'What you guys doing?' Lexa asked as she walked over to the pair.
'Nothing,' Shalimar replied nonchalantly as she looked at Lexa. The brunette walked past Jesse and Shalimar and the latter turned in her seat to watch the other woman. Brennan frowned. As Shalimar had turned back round in her seat to face the computer monitor he could have sworn he saw a flash of gold light up her eyes momentarily. It could have been the light from the computer reflecting off of them but after everything Lexa had told him and after dealing with the kind of suspicions he had faced over the past couple of hours he wasn't so sure.
Lexa looked over at Brennan as he caught her eye. He looked worried about something but she had no idea what. She raised her eyebrows questioningly as he mouthed something at her. She frowned once more to show that she had no idea what he was talking about when Shalimar's voice broke the quiet of the room.
'If you two are going to talk about a feral behind their back it should probably be very far behind their back.'
Lexa and Brennan both looked over at Shalimar as she stopped speaking. Shalimar had clearly heard whatever it was Brennan had been trying to say and Lexa wished she would let her in on the secret because she was still in the dark.
Shalimar slid off the chair and stood up. She didn't know quite why she was so pissed off at Brennan for talking about her. It was slightly hypocritical to say the least especially given the kind of bitching sessions that they had all been used to after Lexa's appearance at Sanctuary. But for some reason she was beyond annoyed, she was angry.
'Shal, what's up?' Brennan asked as casually as he could.
'Well, I don't know. Maybe its because one of my teammates thinks I'm possessed by some sort of psionic and that's why I'm not acting like myself. Or maybe its because you, Brennan chose to talk to Lexa about this as opposed to talking to me.'
'Shal, its been a weird 24 hours or so. I didn't mean anything by it - '
But Brennan was cut off by the resounding slap as Shalimar raised her hand and whacked it across the side of his face. He felt the stinging as his eyes began to water. He looked at her in shock. Shalimar had never hit him before unless they were sparring and even then she had atleast had the decency to look apologetic. But she was not joking this time round and she was definitely not up for a sparring match.
'Jesse. You finish deleting all the documents on the Dominion and then make sure to send them those codes,' Shalimar said over her shoulder. She was ready for a fight. She could feel the adrenaline bubbling up inside of her and she welcomed it with open arms.
'What codes?' Lexa said, confusion and fear evident in her tone.
Shalimar smirked as she leaped off of the floor. She moved backwards with speed not normally seen in a human being and landed one hand on the back of Jesse's chair. Her left leg swung out behind her and she turned in mid air slamming her foot into Lexa's cheek. The brunette dropped to the floor, out cold from the blow and Shalimar placed both feet on the floor. She looked down at the injured woman and then turned to Jesse. They smiled at each other. Shalimar turned back to the door and was unsuprised to find that Brennan had disappeared. She could still hear his footsteps, their sound carrying loudly in her ears.
Her own footsteps joined in those of his as she walked out of the doorway. Her eyes glowed for a second before she took off down one of the corridors in the cavernous building.
***
Lexa's eyes flickered open and she looked around the room from underneath her dark eyelashes. She had heard Shalimar leave in hot pursuit of Brennan and now Jesse was left to her. She had known something was wrong, she could sense it and this little nightmare had Charles Handon's fingerprints all over it. The codes Shalimar had talked about must have been the access codes to Sanctuary, the one place they all wanted to get into but couldn't even find. Sanctuary had always been a mystery to the Dominion, to Genomex. Neither of the two groups had ever been able to gain access to it or the wealth of knowledge it protected. She had tried hard enough when she worked for the Dominion to know how difficult it could be. And now they had come up with a new plan, one which could actually work. It amazed her that they had never tried it this way before. The simplest plans could always be relied on to be the most effective.
She raised her hand to her face quietly and tucked the sheath of hair which was blocking her view of the room behind her ear. She couldn't hear her own breathing above the air conditioning but Jesse's typing alerted her to his unawareness of what was going on behind him. She stood up as silently as possible, wincing everytime her clothing moved, incredibly aware of the fact that if Jesse wanted to he could smash her head in just by massing his hand and flicking her on her temple. She crept up behind him, careful to keep out of the reflection of the computer screen and when she got close enough she pulled a small syringe out of her pocket, took the lid off and got ready to stick it straight into his arm. The one good thing the Dominion had taught her, the one thing that wasn't necessarily designed for the benefit of evil was to be prepared. Granted it was something she could have gotten from going to a boy scouts meeting but it was worth something to her.
She pulled her arm back and jammed the syringe into Jesse's upper arm. But instead of giving way the skin and muscle were rock solid. She breathed out as a couple of four letter words raced through her mind. Giving the 'sedate him' option up as lost she turned and ran from the room hoping to get as much space between her and Jesse as possible.
***
Brennan slid the door closed behind him as quietly as he could, knowing that it wouldn't be quiet enough. Going up against Shalimar was a difficult task when they were sparring in the dojo but when they were really fighting he had an idea that it would be pretty near impossible. He had fought her before when she had been possessed by Gabriel but this was harder somehow. Atleast then there had been some sort of target. Granted he was a pretty hard one to aim for with any kind of success but atleast he had been there. But this time round there was no one for Brennan to shoot some electricity at. It infuriated him that he couldn't actually fight the bad guy, he was forced to face off against one of the women who could always be counted on to put everyone else first, who abhorred the idea of hurting new mutants under any circumstances, the one who fought so passionately for every new mutant who was in danger.
He walked deeper into the room. He had a feeling that Shalimar already knew where he was hiding and that she was targeting him at that very moment. Atleast Lexa was okay. When Shalimar had kicked her in the head Brennan had been on the point of freaking out, his only ally gone. But as she had lain on the floor he had seen her eyes flicker open for a second as Shalimar turned to Jesse. Lexa could always be counted on to come up with a backup plan, her training had atleast given her that sensibility so he was pretty sure that she would be okay.
But Brennan had given no thought to what he was going to do once Shalimar caught up with him. He supposed he would keep her busy until Lexa had dealt with Jesse well enough to take him out of the game. And then they would handle Shalimar together. He rolled his eyes as he realised he had absolutely no idea how he was going to keep Shalimar busy or how he and Lexa were going to handle her. The whole idea of either of them being able to cage the wild beast was ludicrous.
***
Shalimar landed noiselessly on the floor just outside Brennan's bedroom. She couldn't quite believe that she had managed to fall for someone who was quite so predictable. Hiding in his bedroom was possibly the stupidest thing he had done all night. Next thing she knew she'd find him hiding under the bed or behind some curtains. She slid the door open, not bothering to be quiet. She knew she could avoid any tesla coils Brennan chose to throw her way. In sparring she had always been too quick for him, for anyone. She could always rely on her feral abilities to keep her well informed. She had no idea how she could ever live without them. She remembered a time when she would have given it up for love but now she wouldn't relinquish it for the world.
Her ears pricked up to the sound of running water. She raised her eyebrows. Was he trying to get caught?
She walked towards the bathroom, ignoring everything else in the room, her focus directed entirely at the bathroom only a few steps away from her. She could feel his presence, it pulled her towards the room. Maybe it was because he was Brennan or maybe it was just her hunting instincts really starting to kick in but the magnetism between her and her prey had never been stronger. As she reached the closed door everything else around her became a blur and she purred quietly in her throat at the prospect of the fight.
She pushed the door open violently and it smashed against the wall. She frowned as she saw Brennan in the midst of a flooded bathroom. He was so weak he could barely even stand and he was leaning against the wall for support. He had blocked the sink and the clear liquid was pouring out of it, dripping loudly to the mini lake below. Her frown disappeared as she felt the water reach her feet. She glared at Brennan for a second before she felt the scream of the electricity race through her body. She lifted off the ground and smashed into the wall behind, before landing on the floor. As soon as her feet left the ground Brennan turned off the electric supply. He breathed deeply, trying to make sure he didn't lose consciousness like Shalimar had. He looked at her prone body as it lay on the floor, her hair becoming damp from the oncoming water. He reached for the tap and turned it off before walking forward and picking her up. He laid her on the bed, his body still aching in complaint at such an abuse. His breathing was ragged and he was still having difficulty making his limbs move but as he laid the blonde down on the bed he smiled triumphantly. He knew he shouldn't have, it was hardly Shalimar's fault that she was acting like such a scary, psychotic bitch but he had finally taken her out something he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to do ever again.