* * *
Loki's eyes opened, a shiny, exhausted film blurred his vision. He was strapped to the wall so that all his blood could drain from the top part of his body, his toes were barely touching the floor and his hands were numb. Loki was just glad that it wasn't his kid sister Andromeda in his place. He had heard enough information to grasp that he was the second choice of this guinea-pig research. The bustling white-coat scientists have been taking so many blood samples that Loki wasn't sure if he had much left for them to take. Seconds later, his vision cleared and he saw what had been there for hours: computers, test sheets, and white-coats.
*Flashback*
"Mr. Burton ... you have shown so much progress in the past three months that I think we can upgrade you to a full-fledged agent," the older man said, his stark-white hair hanging in his eyes.
Loki, the brash young man with longer brown hair, wore only Armani and Boss suits. To impress his new boss, he'd do anything. Mason Eckhart had promised that he would find a better life with the G.S.A. when his mother was diagnosed with a unique liver disease. It had been considered terminal, and the only thing that the doctor's said they could do was to make her comfortable, Loki would've never guessed that she'd fight it for five years.
Loki nodded firmly. "Yes, sir. I won't let you down."
Mason turned towards his speaker phone and pressed a button. "Send Ms. Pierce in," he commanded.
Loki watched his boss moves with his sapphire blue orbs carefully. He had heard from everyone that even Mason knew how to push the right buttons, he was not someone to toy with. 'It's ironic, how someone with so short of time to live could be so powerful', almost everyone knew that Mason's immune system was deteriorating; explaining the new albino appearance and thermal suit to keep him warm and clean. His thoughts were interrupted by the automatic door sliding open, he pivoted his feet still keeping his hands behind his back. Loki had seen Lexa Pierce around the training facility. She had surpassed him in every level of training: communications, mission procedures, weapons, and fighting techniques. Technically, he had come second to her in their training class.
"Ms. Pierce, meet Mr. Burton. You're going to be teammates in your mission," Mason introduced.
They shook hands, but Loki could tell Lexa was preoccupied with learning their new mission. Mason went on, Loki turned, his back straight and jaw set. "There is a New Mutant Safehouse near the Gregory Bank on 50th and Hughes ... are you familiar with it, Mr. Burton?"
Loki smiled at this. "Yes, sir. Thirteen thousand dollars," he said admirably.
Lexa made a sound that would give Loki the idea that she was jealous, but he did have an enormous ego at that point of his life.
"On of our spies has put a note to the location in one of the security deposit-boxes. Think you can temporarily borrow that?" Mason hinted.
Loki nodded firmly. "Yes, sir."
Mason walked behind his desk and sat in his chair. "Since you and Ms. Pierce are both of the Chromatic-Molecular classification, it will be easily done ... go see my secretary to get your I.D. badges incase you 'are' caught."
"Incase," Loki stated, they both walked out. Lexa grabbed his arm and made him stop.
"This isn't an andrenaline-rush mission, cowboy. If you screw this up, not only are you going to have to anwer to Mr. Eckhart--but I'll make sure that you'll be put in a stasis-pod forever," she threatened.
Loki spotted her hand clutching his suit, he grabbed her hand and pulled it away. "Trust me, Ms. Pierce. If one thing is going to screw it up, it's going to be your temper." He let go of her hand and walked to the secretary desk.
*Present*
Loki's thoughts were called to a halt when a wasp-sting hit his ribs. He looked down, a stumpy little White-Coat was sticking him with a needle the size of New York in between his ribs. Suddenly getting a burst of energy, his fingers pressed downward and a deadly-red laser shot from his index finger bursting the syringe, crimson blood spilled to the floor. No sooner had the syringe broke did a sharp pain hit his spinal cord making him feel like he was dying.
Loki screamed in pain and rage. Two suits came up and grabbed his wrists and pushed them to the wall. "Get me a sedative!" one called.
"You feel that?" the other agent asked. "It feels good, doesn't it? We implanted you with a subdermal governor, you remember those, don't you?"
The pain subsided and Loki's tearing eyes shot the agent a look. "Yeah, I remember. Don't worry, man. You'll get to see me without it soon."
"What makes you so sure?" the agent inquired.
Loki didn't get to answer, his eyes blurred like it had before and his mind slipped into unconsciousness. 'Because if I know Lexa, and what I heard about her and Mutant X ... she'll be here', he mused.
* * *Sanctuary* * *
Jesse took Lexa's line as a cue to get the floorplans of Project "Gravity''s lab. "I got the floor plans ..."
"I'm going to talk to the Dominion one last time, I'm done being the last one to know," she excused, walking away.
"I'm going with you," Andy stated.
Lexa stopped and turned back, waiting for her teammates' answers.
Shalimar definently argued. "Taking you there would be placing you in their hands, Andy. You know that."
"It's my fault that Loki's in there!" Andy argued.
"No it's not, you had no idea that they were coming after him ... but Andy, you can't go," Brennan said.
Lexa came walking back. "I say she goes with us ... other than hand-to-hand combat, we have no idea how to beat those Suits. Andy can help, and so can Loki."
Shalimar and Brennan sighed while Jesse remained silent. "What about it, Jess?" Shalimar inquired.
Jesse looked up from the computer screen, he looked from Lexa to Shalimar. "I'll go get her a ring, just incase." He raced to the lab to find a spare ring.
Andy smiled to Lexa. "You know, when I first met you, I thought that you were just a secretive-temperamental-control freak ..."
"And now?" mused Lexa.
"Now you're a NICE-secretive-temperamental-control freak."
"Wow," she said with a smirk. "Glad you hold me in such high respect."
Andy looked to the ground. "That's the sad part," she began. "That is my highest respect."
Loki's eyes opened, a shiny, exhausted film blurred his vision. He was strapped to the wall so that all his blood could drain from the top part of his body, his toes were barely touching the floor and his hands were numb. Loki was just glad that it wasn't his kid sister Andromeda in his place. He had heard enough information to grasp that he was the second choice of this guinea-pig research. The bustling white-coat scientists have been taking so many blood samples that Loki wasn't sure if he had much left for them to take. Seconds later, his vision cleared and he saw what had been there for hours: computers, test sheets, and white-coats.
*Flashback*
"Mr. Burton ... you have shown so much progress in the past three months that I think we can upgrade you to a full-fledged agent," the older man said, his stark-white hair hanging in his eyes.
Loki, the brash young man with longer brown hair, wore only Armani and Boss suits. To impress his new boss, he'd do anything. Mason Eckhart had promised that he would find a better life with the G.S.A. when his mother was diagnosed with a unique liver disease. It had been considered terminal, and the only thing that the doctor's said they could do was to make her comfortable, Loki would've never guessed that she'd fight it for five years.
Loki nodded firmly. "Yes, sir. I won't let you down."
Mason turned towards his speaker phone and pressed a button. "Send Ms. Pierce in," he commanded.
Loki watched his boss moves with his sapphire blue orbs carefully. He had heard from everyone that even Mason knew how to push the right buttons, he was not someone to toy with. 'It's ironic, how someone with so short of time to live could be so powerful', almost everyone knew that Mason's immune system was deteriorating; explaining the new albino appearance and thermal suit to keep him warm and clean. His thoughts were interrupted by the automatic door sliding open, he pivoted his feet still keeping his hands behind his back. Loki had seen Lexa Pierce around the training facility. She had surpassed him in every level of training: communications, mission procedures, weapons, and fighting techniques. Technically, he had come second to her in their training class.
"Ms. Pierce, meet Mr. Burton. You're going to be teammates in your mission," Mason introduced.
They shook hands, but Loki could tell Lexa was preoccupied with learning their new mission. Mason went on, Loki turned, his back straight and jaw set. "There is a New Mutant Safehouse near the Gregory Bank on 50th and Hughes ... are you familiar with it, Mr. Burton?"
Loki smiled at this. "Yes, sir. Thirteen thousand dollars," he said admirably.
Lexa made a sound that would give Loki the idea that she was jealous, but he did have an enormous ego at that point of his life.
"On of our spies has put a note to the location in one of the security deposit-boxes. Think you can temporarily borrow that?" Mason hinted.
Loki nodded firmly. "Yes, sir."
Mason walked behind his desk and sat in his chair. "Since you and Ms. Pierce are both of the Chromatic-Molecular classification, it will be easily done ... go see my secretary to get your I.D. badges incase you 'are' caught."
"Incase," Loki stated, they both walked out. Lexa grabbed his arm and made him stop.
"This isn't an andrenaline-rush mission, cowboy. If you screw this up, not only are you going to have to anwer to Mr. Eckhart--but I'll make sure that you'll be put in a stasis-pod forever," she threatened.
Loki spotted her hand clutching his suit, he grabbed her hand and pulled it away. "Trust me, Ms. Pierce. If one thing is going to screw it up, it's going to be your temper." He let go of her hand and walked to the secretary desk.
*Present*
Loki's thoughts were called to a halt when a wasp-sting hit his ribs. He looked down, a stumpy little White-Coat was sticking him with a needle the size of New York in between his ribs. Suddenly getting a burst of energy, his fingers pressed downward and a deadly-red laser shot from his index finger bursting the syringe, crimson blood spilled to the floor. No sooner had the syringe broke did a sharp pain hit his spinal cord making him feel like he was dying.
Loki screamed in pain and rage. Two suits came up and grabbed his wrists and pushed them to the wall. "Get me a sedative!" one called.
"You feel that?" the other agent asked. "It feels good, doesn't it? We implanted you with a subdermal governor, you remember those, don't you?"
The pain subsided and Loki's tearing eyes shot the agent a look. "Yeah, I remember. Don't worry, man. You'll get to see me without it soon."
"What makes you so sure?" the agent inquired.
Loki didn't get to answer, his eyes blurred like it had before and his mind slipped into unconsciousness. 'Because if I know Lexa, and what I heard about her and Mutant X ... she'll be here', he mused.
* * *Sanctuary* * *
Jesse took Lexa's line as a cue to get the floorplans of Project "Gravity''s lab. "I got the floor plans ..."
"I'm going to talk to the Dominion one last time, I'm done being the last one to know," she excused, walking away.
"I'm going with you," Andy stated.
Lexa stopped and turned back, waiting for her teammates' answers.
Shalimar definently argued. "Taking you there would be placing you in their hands, Andy. You know that."
"It's my fault that Loki's in there!" Andy argued.
"No it's not, you had no idea that they were coming after him ... but Andy, you can't go," Brennan said.
Lexa came walking back. "I say she goes with us ... other than hand-to-hand combat, we have no idea how to beat those Suits. Andy can help, and so can Loki."
Shalimar and Brennan sighed while Jesse remained silent. "What about it, Jess?" Shalimar inquired.
Jesse looked up from the computer screen, he looked from Lexa to Shalimar. "I'll go get her a ring, just incase." He raced to the lab to find a spare ring.
Andy smiled to Lexa. "You know, when I first met you, I thought that you were just a secretive-temperamental-control freak ..."
"And now?" mused Lexa.
"Now you're a NICE-secretive-temperamental-control freak."
"Wow," she said with a smirk. "Glad you hold me in such high respect."
Andy looked to the ground. "That's the sad part," she began. "That is my highest respect."