A/N: Disclaimer can be found in the beginning of the first chapter.

Ok here is a longer than expected chapter but I had to get some sort of explanation in there without killing the story. And as you all know when you are hit with inspiration your fingers on the keyboard just don't stop. I asked for my muse to come back and what did he do? He hit me hard with a huge idea!

I would really appreciate your words on this chapter, if anything seems out of place. Questions are always welcomed as are comments, anything! Please don't forget to review. Cause we all know that we love reviews. No go on and read your hearts out!

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CHAPTER 5:

Gage had sat up on the edge of the roof legs dangling down the side, all through the night till the break of dawn trying to figure out what had gone down in that garage. If Vince was right than Adrian was back for all of those who had escape his tight grip. Which meant that her and Abby would be in more danger now than they had been before.

The twins had done a great deal to escape this powerful man who when the twins had first escape from their terror homes had somehow roped them into thinking that he would be their protector from the abusive world that they were running from. At 15 Gage and Abby weren't exactly stupid so they hadn't believed his proposition at first, until someone had tried to drag them away from Adrian's group. (She now wished that she had gone with that blond woman and her friend.) Still Gage and Abby were a bit skeptic but he had protected them time and time again. And their loyalty was gained, and after their first 'job' had gone with out a hitched they had been branded into the group. Reaching behind her neck her fingers skimmed at the numbers 865 once more causing an involuntary shudder. The bold numbers were how they earned their rank. The second rank would be a branded symbol of their abilities. For the twins it had would have been the lightening bolt, for electrics, but they had found more horrors about Adrian's real agenda than anyone including his first and second in command really knew about.

The twins would carry those tattooed scars for life. They had tried a numerous amount of surgeries to get rid of them, but somehow it always came back. Laser techniques hurt like hell and would last for about 6 to 9 months. But it had been the only way to hide the very thing that was their identification to who they had once been.

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SANCTUARY…

Shalimar Fox walked into the computer littered area with a calm deposition, dressed in black leather pants and a blue spaghetti strap tank and black boots. Her wild blond mane loose around her shoulders. "Anything on those underground races yet Jess?" she asked the blond man who was sitting at the computer terminal, A few nights before Shalimar's cousin a seventeen year old Feline Feral named Annie had left to meet a few friends at the theaters, when she failed to return to Sanctuary at curfew, Brennan had made a few phone calls, what they found out was a bit shocking if not expected. Annie had obviously lied to Shalimar, from what her friends had said Annie had been going to a quiet a few new mutant underground night races.

Annie had actually been at it since she was ten years old. But stopped when she came to live with the Mutant X team at 14, when she turned sixteen she had begun lying to Adam and Shalimar about her meeting friends, and instead going to night races. She had just begun joining in the actual rides a few months after the deaths of their beloved family members Adam Kane and Emma De Lauro. Shalimar could kick herself for not noticing it before, but they had all been pretty busy planning Adam and Emma's funeral, and making phone calls, grieving, getting use to their new member Lexa Pierce… and it didn't help that there last few missions kept them away from home more than a few days. Leaving Annie free to do what she pleased. She sighed, she should have been more careful with Annie, should have picked up on the signs, after all it wasn't as if she hadn't done the same thing at that age…

Shalimar smiled remembering how she use to drag Jesse to those races, she had been Annie's age and Jesse had been a mere 14 years old. He hated the loud cycles and Audi's and constantly worried about her getting into an accident. 27 months in Adam had caught the two after she had won her final race, and both got a sound lecture on the pros and cons of racing, of course her beloved metallic blue and silver Kawasaki Ninja had got taken away from her, and poor Jesse had been band from the computers for a solid week.

Looking at said Molecular she found he had his back turned it looked as if he were deep into said search, but as the feral drew closer her warm brown eyes narrowed. He was way too still to be doing anything but thinking, and she was sure that he wasn't thinking about anything in particular, it was more like he was zoned out. "Jess?" when he didn't answer right away she leaned over him placing her arms around his shoulders so that they crossed his chest. This gesture made him jump slightly seeing as how he hadn't picked up on her presence. "Shal… it'd be nice if you'da given me a warning." he said after a few seconds.

"I did." She said with a small some what knowing smile. "You ok?"

"Yeah, fine." he replied smoothly but Shalimar didn't buy it but she would let it slide for now. "Whatcha got on those underground races?"

"Nothing short of what we use to get into or rather you use to get us into." he said pointedly.

"Hey now as I recall you loved going with me,"

"Shal the only reason you dragged me along was so I couldn't tell Adam. Which really didn't help my case seeing as how we got caught anyway."

"I'm hurt Jess, really." which caused a natural comfortable laugh between the two. "Now what have you got?"

"Nothing really except…"

"Except?" She prodded the Molecular.

"Apparently Annie isn't the only one to disappear from these underground races." he brought up a second window on the computer, there were quite a few reports of missing people. Locations were always different but the way they disappeared were the same, reports of loud engines, large crowds, and then when the police were called there would be a scatter of cars. A day or so later someone would call in to report two or three people missing. Shalimar read them over in a matter of minutes picking up on the small details. "They were all mutant's." she said softly.

"Yeah I checked out the mutant data base and quite a few of them matched up, all in their late teens and early twenties. Interesting fact they all had this strange mark on the back of their necks."

"Numbered tattoos?"

"Yeah, but here's the strange part some of them along with the numbers had a symbol in the shape of either of the fallowing… lightning bolt, flames, feral eyes, water…"

"Mutancy's?"

"Bingo." Jesse replied.

"How could anyone not notice this kind of pattern?" She said eying the pictures of the missing mutants.

"Because they've been covered up probably by the same people who pulled the trigger on Jesse's new girlfriend." Lexa's voice rang out as she walked into the room fallowed by a very exhausted looking Brennan. "New girlfriend?" Shalimar said in a teasing tone which automatically changed to a serious one when she caught the exchange between Lexa and Jesse, it wasn't exactly friendly. "What's going on?"

"You didn't tell her?" Lexa said with a raised brow, she was somewhat convinced that those two always told each other everything. "Tell me what?" obviously getting irritated the feral turned on Jesse with a look that said more than her words ever could. "I was coming back from visiting Laura…" Jesse said somewhat reluctantly.

"Emma's sister." Brennan said confirming where Jesse had been going these past few days. No wonder he hadn't told anyone. Jesse gave a slight nod as he continued. "And got ambushed by Marco's guys…"

"And you didn't tell us because?" Shalimar's anger was now evident in the way she gripped his shoulder. "It was nothing." Jesse tried to assure them but obviously was failing. "Except it was something because they hadn't come for Jesse they were looking for the girl he was talking up to." Lexa finished with a small smirk on her face. If looks could kill Lexa would have been dead on the spot, this earned him an even more curious expression from the other two.

"She just happened to be in the parking garage, and was having trouble controlling her powers and I was just helping…." he began.

"Looked to me like you were doing a little more than that." Lexa said with what sounded like a jealous tone. "What the hell is that suppose to mean? And what were you doing fallowing me in the first place?" Although his voice was relatively calm the meaning behind it wasn't.

"Ok guys just chill alright?" Brennan said getting between the two the last thing they needed was another fight to break out. It wasn't in Jesse to fight but something had obviously happen between this girl and Jesse that had Lexa a little miffed if not jealous, and Brennan really didn't want an unnecessary fight breaking out. Especially not when they needed to stick together to get Annie back. Shalimar turned to face Jesse who was doing a great deal of containing himself, "Any idea who this girl was, why'd they be after her?"

"No." he replied reluctantly.

"Description? maybe she's in the new mutant data base." Brennan offered.

"Already tried that, there's nothing on her."

"I got some information back from my contacts." Lexa said handing them each a file. "According to the autopsy reports, some of Marco's gang had…"

"Bold numbers and a lightning bolt." Shalimar said her brown eyes lit up. "Just like those missing mutants. You think Annie's disappearance had something to do with this?" she asked. Brennan looked up from the reports in his hand towards the feral. Hoping that this was some how all connected, the look in Shalimar's eyes was way too hopeful and he didn't want this to be another dead end. They had have way too many of those.

"It'd be nice to find out, which is why they have set you two up with these." Lexa said handing Jesse and Shalimar a set of keys. "What are these for?" Jesse asked recognizing them and immediately grinning. Lexa actually smiled. "In just a few nights you two will be returning to the world of underground street racing."

"Wait… wait." Brennan began to protest. "How come they get to go?"

"Because they've been there before, and are somewhat infamous." she said curiously.

"Yah see what yah get us into." Jesse said playfully hitting Shalimar's shoulder.

"What?" she said innocently.

"Did I miss something?" Brennan asked but this only caused the two mutants to laugh.

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