"Hey little girl!" Darren swung Chloe around in a tight hug.
"I don't think that name applies anymore," Angie pointed out. "You've grown at least four inches."
"And you have a goatee," Ashley rubbed Darren's chin playfully.
Zillions of hugs were exchanged between the four before Michael appeared. Their laughter was cut short.
"Hey Michael!" Darren exclaimed.
"Man, you have one hell of a headache," Angie's face contorted in pain.
"Believe me, I know," Michael brushed by them, walking into the apartment complex where Darren and Angie had been setting up headquarters for the past few months.
"Chloe in cars," Ashley said in explanation.
Darren and Angie nodded in understanding and the four followed their leader to their new headquarters.
"You ready to do this?" Ashley whispered to Chloe outside of Morgenstein's mutant holding facility.
"I don't want to see him again," Chloe replied softly.
"You have to," Ashley urged.
"I know," Chloe sighed. "What's the time?"
"9:29," Ashley replied.
"One more minute," Chloe said in monotone. "See you later."
Ashley nodded and squeezed Chloe's hand.
Chloe crept along the outskirts of the institution. By now, Darren should have been able to disable the security cameras. Morgenstein and the majority of his guards were being detained by some catastrophe brewing in Angie's head. Ashley would take the bottom floor, Chloe the top. In and out.
Chloe reached out and brushed her fingertips over the cold metal handle of the heavy white door. She knew what lay behind that door.
She couldn't see. She stumbled forward, caught by a painful jerk of her wrists. Burning. Fear. Hate. Perspiration dripped down her face as her panic escalated. She fell onto the cold, hard pavement. The taste of blood rolled over her tongue.
"Get movin' bitch!"
With a gasp, Chloe jumped back from the door. A tear trickled down her cheek, leaving a salty trail. She took a deep breath. "Let's go Chloe." Feral eyes flashing, Chloe listened for movement before cautiously opening the door. Empty. She slinked quietly down the hall, peering through the side doors for employees.
Chloe paused in the intersection of two dark, narrow halls. The only sound was the pounding of feet in the distance. They were running. Why? Chloe looked at the supposedly broken camera, and all she saw was a flashing red light. Shit. It was on. Guards suddenly appeared in every hall, sprinting towards her at a fast rate. She immediately took off back towards the entrance. Every step took her closer to the huge, muscular guards. Three steps away. Two. Chloe inhaled deep and took a fighting stance.
Ashley watched Chloe scale along the side of the building before heading in the opposite direction. She stopped beside part of the huge cement wall. She placed her hand on the wall, inhaling deeply and promptly stepped through. The instant she stepped into the room, Ashley was struck on the side of the head. She fell to the floor, catching herself with her hands. Through blurry eyes, Ashley lifted her throbbing head in attempt to locate the wall. Finally she took a deep breath and rolled through the wall. She could feel vibrations in the ground from someone else's footsteps. When Ashley glanced up, relief washed through her when she could make out Chloe's blurred figure.
"Can you move?" Chloe tugged on her arm, helping rise to her feet. "Let's go."
"What the hell happened?!" Chloe screeched when she and Ashley stumbled into the apartment a few hours later.
Feelings of pain and betrayal washed over Angie as soon as the two mutants entered. Upon quick examination, she decided they were okay, except for the black ring forming around Chloe's eyes and the dried blood caked around a deep slit on her puffed up upper lip. Angie's head was throbbing from Ashley's headache.
"Did you get kicked in the head?" Angie asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Yes, in fact I did," Ashley sat down carefully on the sofa.
"Where's Darren?" Chloe furrowed her eyebrows as she finally glanced around the room.
Angie's heart contracted painfully. Chloe noticed the shift in her demeanor and gently shoved Michael away from examining her eye. "What's wrong Ang?" When Angie didn't respond, Michael became the object of Chloe's insistent stare.
"He was hurt, that's why the cameras were on," Michael informed her.
"Well, is he okay?" Chloe asked frantically.
"It's touch and go," Michael replied softly.
Ashley and Chloe looked at them in disbelief. Angie felt a searing pain rip through her and she quickly excused herself, stopping behind a corner. She collapsed against the wall, her body racked with sobs. In nearly seconds, Angie felt Chloe's comforting arms wrap around her, her natural feral maternal instinct taking over.
"He'll be fine, don't worry," Chloe soothed.
"He's in so much pain," Angie choked out.
"Yeah, I know," Chloe rocked her gently until she fell calmly to sleep from exhaustion.