Disclaimer—See Chapter One
A/N: Forgive me for the long delay; this story is taking longer than expected to write. Please know that while I may be a little slower with updates, I promise the story will be finished. I'm fighting work demands and health concerns, so bear with me, and it will be completed! Thank you so much to EternalFire-angel, Mxfan214, Tunder28, Rain ,Obulet-dragon-Fury! I can't thank you all enough for your comments and feedback! Adele, I'm sorry to hear you haven't been able to see the second and third seasons. Thank you so much for even reading the episode summaries, that means so much to me! Please let me know if you have any questions on anything, I'd be more than happy to answer whatever I can. CatJerica, lol, you're ahead of me. But I do have plans for that monologue. :) Thanks for letting me know about the typos as well, that's what I get for forgetting to proof it before uploading! Mayra, good question! Actually for me, the action scenes are easier to write than dialogue scenes. With dialogue, it can be hard to keep the momentum going, whereas action scenes just sort of build and develop. Of course the hard part is always thinking of what mess they can get into this time. :) Susie, if you're still reading, I just wanted to say, don't worry. I think you will be happy with how everything works out. Here is the next chapter for you all. This one delves more into characterization and then jumps back into the action again. I'm still working on chapter ten, but I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you!
Traveling On—Chapter Nine
The earth was crying.
Through the din, Shalimar blinked. It was pitch black, the hard surface under her back rocking sickeningly. His weight was heavy across her…wrapped over her, his arms tight, protecting her from the danger and the rain. She was soaked and cold where his skin wasn't pressed to hers, his bare wet shoulder was against her nose. She smelled smoke and skin and blood…sweat and fear…the blackness around them. Over the roar of the storm and the engine and the rain, she could hear him.
Brennan was swearing.
And then pleading.
"Shal…"
Softly pleading, with a broken catch in his voice.
His arms tightened, and he was squeezing her so hard she could barely breathe. She tried to open her mouth, tried to squeeze him back and reassure him, but the darkness swirled in, pulling her back down before she could respond.
"Shalimar!" Time moved in slow, sluggish beats for Brennan as he screamed into her ear, face bent against the rain. Lightening flashed, and he felt the energy ripple under his skin in sharp reply. He had torn off his shirt, shoving it against Adam's chest as the older man stared up at him, panicked, lips becoming bloodless. He had moved numbly, vainly trying to stanch the heavy flow of blood. He had paused to squeeze his hand before moving over to Emma, brushing her hair back, staring helplessly before moving again, folding his body over Shalimar's.
And he had closed his eyes against the pain.
"Brennan!"
Jesse's voice finally broke through the madness, and he realized the molecular had been screaming his name.
"Brennan, I need your help!"
He groaned, forcing another breath, inhaling the blood and the fear, lifting his head in determination. Only a space of thirty seconds had passed, but to Brennan, it felt like years. He took another breath. "Yeah," He finally answered, jaw clenched. "I'm here."
Jesse had managed to crawl across the wet floorboards, catching the spinning wheel with both hands, straining to right the floundering boat. Brennan scrambled across the small floor, knees digging into the rough wood as he joined Jesse at the wheel. Together, they groaned, swinging the sluggish boat back around. Jesse pushed the throttle forward, and the sputtering engine roared, chugging them further down the narrow canal. Pouring rain flattened their hair to their scalps, and their eyes met warily through the storm.
"Now what?" Jesse was wheezing painfully.
"We hope this channel goes all the way through," Brennan peered grimly ahead, slanting rain cutting off visibility.
Jesse nodded, swallowing tightly. "How—how's Adam?"
Their eyes met again, and Brennan wordlessly shook his head.
Jesse shook his head in disbelief. "How the hell did this happen?" He glanced over his shoulder at the larger boat that was struggling to follow. "Adam…the girls…"
"They'll be fine." Brennan refused to believe anything different, and Jesse nodded tightly.
At that moment everything became eerily silent. The island…the wind…Brennan glanced up. The clouds were dark and low, hovering barely above the treetops. Lightening cracked, and the air around them sizzled dangerously. Brennan instinctively ducked, rubbing his nose against his shoulder. Someone groaned, and he thought it was Shalimar. He crawled back across on his hands and knees to check on the others.
"Damn!" Jesse cry of fury was nearly drowned out by deafening thunder as he cut the motor to almost nothing. The little boat shuddered to a stop once more.
"What are you doing!" Brennan stared at him over his shoulder, only to have the angry wind grab a loose branch, lashing his cheek with it. He put up one hand to ward off the flying debris, stomach lurching with sudden understanding as he saw for himself.
The channel narrowed into a tiny stream, joining the two tiny islets together.
They had nowhere left to go.
Shalimar groaned again and relief flashed through Brennan at the sound as he crawled past her toward Adam. His makeshift bandage was soaked, black with blood, and Brennan pounded his fist in helpless fury on the floorboard.
"Here!" Jesse tossed his dripping shirt, and Brennan deftly caught it in one hand, bunching it on top of the soiled remains of his own shirt. "Sorry, Adam." He steeled his teeth, pressing firmly.
Adam moaned incoherently, and he squeezed the older man's shoulder with one hand as he maintained the pressure. He glanced up as Jesse dropped beside Emma, fingers shaking as he checked for a pulse. The molecular didn't move for an agonizing minute, and then his shoulders slumped with relief.
Brennan felt a wave of nausea, part relief and part anger, ripple through him as he stared down at the blood smeared across his hands. Blood. His lips tightened. He was covered in it, the smell sickening him. Enough blood had been shed already. Enough. Lightening flashed, thunder bearing down upon them, and the world narrowed down to a sole meaning.
Survival.
"They'll be ok, they're fighters." Jesse's voice held quiet pride as he moved to check on Shalimar next, brushing her hair behind her ears.
"And so are we." Brennan abruptly stood to his feet, tired of the fear, tired of crawling on the floor, tired of everything. Survival became primal, and he felt his expression leech from his face as he contemplated the men across the water, feral instincts that had been dormant roaring through his blood. Possibilities slid through his mind. Ugly ones. He sifted further into the shadows as he stared across the water and into the eyes of the mutant now staring back at him insolently. He saw another man raise his gun, but the other held out a hand to stop him, contemplating him. Brennan knew from experience that his own eyes had gone flat as he tumbled through the personalities, looking for the one that fit. He recalled the unbridled rage that Emma had allowed him to feel for a moment back in the woods. That one. Reptilian hunger flared as hunter and hunted became one.
Brennan smiled.
Dead silence reigned across the width of the channel, the two mutants hesitating, and the whisper of fabric across pale skin was loud even as Jesse stood to his feet beside him, touching his arm. Brennan closed his eyes and let the personalities slither back into the shadows. When he opened them again, it was to the sight of both of the mutants studying him as if he had just done something very interesting. Their gazes flicked back to Jesse, only to find themselves being evaluated by a second set of predatory eyes.
They froze. The shorter one twitched with sudden caution, straightening and clutching his gun warily.
Brennan almost reconsidered his position at the flash of metal, but held his ground, refusing to cower any more.
He couldn't.
They were out of time.
Deep beneath his anger coiled a pressure that was beginning to terrify him. It was not rage. It was not even passion. It was nothing so easy as emotion and nothing he could control. It was the icy recognition of inevitability. What he had felt from Emma also lurked within him. It surged beneath his skin with animalistic unease. Shooting through with all the instinct and awareness of danger that their lives had honed, it whispered of forces racing toward each other, of his own darkest fears and desires coming to claim him. Mutant X and Adam had changed Brennan forever. While those changes had evolved slowly, he had been able to ignore them, suppress them. As the shadows had hidden the enemy, they had seduced him into fooling himself. But now he fell willingly, recognizing the beast that Emma had stirred awake within and purposely opening himself to it. He cringed, red eyes laughing at him from the abyss as they taunted him with an ugly truth.
On the ground, Adam had sensed the standoff, weakly opening his eyes to seethe male members of his team towering over him, and seeing them as men for the first time. It was a rather sudden shock for Adam to realize that for the first time since he had known them, their faces accurately reflected the darkness that sometimes moved in their eyes. He knew better than most that looks could be deceiving. Had seen the effects firsthand. But Brennan and Jesse had always seemed so young. Jesse's passion seemed to manifest itself as exuberance, his features boyish, unfinished somehow. He lacked that hard edge, that ruthless quality. But there was nothing boyish about his features now.
Brennan was always a problem because of his fiercely stubborn drive and his unending ability to hurl himself into the hunt. But if he had been asked, Adam would have always said as pack follower, not as wolf. All that passion, all that energy that normally seethed and rolled off him in a hundred chaotic directions was suddenly leashed and bound, held motionless with a hungry anticipation that was excruciating in its predatory patience.
Adam re-closed his eyes as the boat lurched beneath him, pain lashing out in furious depth. Spots danced mercifully before his eyes, and he gave in, knowing there was nothing he could do, knowing his team had lost their innocence long before he had been ready to admit it.
They stood together; hard coiled explosive potential.
Watching.
Waiting.
And most terrifying of all, under absolute control.
They would be the ones bringing him home this time.
He surrendered to the blackness
Instinct brought Shalimar's eyes suddenly open.
She blinked, forcing the darkness away. Brennan stood above her, his naked chest glimmering in the rain. The steady thumping of the engine vibrated against her back, and she realized with a panicked start they had stalled. She sucked in a breath, turning her head slightly. Jesse was on his knees, pressing a wad of wet fabric into Adam.
She shot up, ignoring the stiffness of her body.
Jesse moved to her, even as Brennan's eyes dropped down to meet hers, concern etching his face, but doing nothing to hide the tenseness of his stance.
She recognized it immediately.
They were on the brink of battle.
She struggled to stand.
"Shh, stay still." Jesse gently stroked her temple, and she jerked at the smell of blood on his hands.
Adam's blood.
Her eyes hardened, tongue darting out to lip parched lips. "What happened?" She couldn't feel anything. "What happened!"
"Hey, hey," Jesse caught her face with his hands as she struggled again. Her eyes rolled up, meeting Brennan's, calming. "Shalimar listen," Jesse spoke loudly, calmly, "The shots missed you, but a tree fell across the boat, knocked you out cold."
She nodded into his touch, remembering Brennan throwing himself at her and pushing her down from something. Her head was pounding. Whatever had slammed into the back of her head, it couldn't have been the whole tree, but it felt like it. Brennan had knelt beside her, Jesse now standing on guard, and she caught his gaze as he lifted her, cradling her against his chest.
"Are you ok?" Her voice was a whisper.
He didn't answer, cupping her face, thumb stroking over her cheekbone lightly. "Does this hurt?"
She lifted a hand, grimacing at the growing bruise on her cheek, the tender swelling on the back of her head. She dropped her hand. "No."
"Stubborn as always." The slightest flicker of a smile came into his voice. "At least the bleeding has stopped."
"Adam?" Her voice rose. "Emma?"
"They're alive." His eyes searched hers, then he shook his head and let out a long frustrated sigh.
"Guys, they're coming." Jesse interrupted them, and they turned immediately, rising beside him. Sudden understanding twisted his gut. "They want Adam."
"He's the last survivor on the list." Brennan's face shuddered, eyes hooded. "Eckhart needs his DNA."
"Then let them try." Shalimar's voice adapted the hardness of their expressions.
Across the water, the men blinked, as if seeing their opponents for the first time and knowing fear.
They met on the edge of the island just as Emma stirred awake. She knew without understanding that her mind had been violated, compromised as she had lost control of her own body. She knew without feeling him that he was here, that he was responsible. The same blankness she had felt before overwhelmed her now, and she crawled painfully to her knees, clinging to the edge of the beached boat, seeing her team advancing toward battle through the sleeting rain, feeling Adam slowly dying beside her. She exhaled slowly through her nose, gathering strength before turning to face him.
No, you can't have them.
She spoke to him, and while he didn't answer, she knew he heard.
It was her last thought.
Carefully constructed defenses that she had spent years building crumbled in an instant as she laid herself bare.
An agonized scream was heard through the din of the storm, and when the next flash of lightening split open the sky, the little boat was gone.
Adam and Emma with it.
"Emma!" On shore, Jesse faltered, feeling the disconnection like a physical blow. In the space of time that passed in which he lost her and when he found her again, his soul rebelled, leaving him shaken with the howling madness stirring within. When she whispered his name, her voice flowed over him, a soothing balm.
Baby, I'm here.
He understood immediately what she was doing, and the effort it must be exerting on her.
"Brennan, Shalimar." He abruptly stopped walking. "Go!"
"What is it?" Brennan didn't take his eyes off the approaching figures.
"I have to help Emma!" Jesse stepped back a few paces. "Lead them away from here, they can't get to Adam!"
Brennan caught on, grasping Shalimar's fingers, pulling her along with him as Jesse slipped behind a tree and seemingly disappeared. "Come on!"
Her head throbbed painfully, every jarring step sending throbbing stabs up her spine and into her skull. She felt Brennan pull her forward for the first few steps and then regained her bearing, easily passing him up. A quick glance over her shoulder showed the two mutants quickening their speed. So stupid. She grinned at how easily they followed, swinging back around, eyes raking the tangled underbrush sprawling across the tiny islet. The ground had turned slick beneath them, thick cloying mud sucking at their feet with every step. Thunder rumbled angry above them as trees swayed and groaned in the driving wind. There wasn't anywhere to go, but they had to lead them away from Adam.
And then they had to fight.
She led them down the channel where the two islets joined together, sloping down into a tiny stream that waterfalled over scattered boulders. Thunder cracked again, and beside her, Brennan suddenly slipped and fell, tumbling down the hill in a rolling slide of mud, grass, and limbs. He landed hard in the shallow stream in a mad explosion of water.
"Brennan!" She thought he had been shot, sliding down next to him on her knees. She grabbed his arm, realizing after a moment the smears of blood on his chest was Adam's, pressing her nose into his neck for a brief moment as he struggled to catch his breath, the wind knocked out of him. They were being played with again, she realized, grimly pressing her lips together, else they would have used their guns again by now. She urgently linked their fingers together, feeling the rain slide down between their palms.
"Not a word, Shal." Brennan grimaced as he scrambled back to his feet in the slick muck of the river bottom, covered in mud from his ungraceful roll down the small hill.
"Did I say anything?" She grinned suddenly at his embarrassment, sobering when her ears picked up the sound of footsteps surrounding them. The two mutants had split up, closing around on either side of them.
She whirled around, and together they turned, back to back, making their stand.
Brennan's jaw flexed, eyes searching and finding those of the enemy through the mud and the trees. He only hoped they had gotten them far enough away from Adam for Jesse to do whatever the hell he could do. They needed to finish this thing off, and get the others back to Sanctuary. Fast. He felt Shalimar's back stiffening against his own, knowing she had found the face of the other mutant. He heard the snarl as she bared her teeth, felt the wet cotton of her shirt brush against his skin as they circled around, rain pouring down upon them and river water lapping at their ankles.
Shalimar.
She stared, beyond the eyes of the hesitating mutant and into the violet-eyed ones of her past. Her knees shook, unable to move
Shock.
Fear.
She shivered, time suspended. "It--it's not you."
He grinned at the harshness of her voice, raising an eyebrow. She saw his mouth open, but heard no words, sound rushing back as time quickened, lightening splitting open the sky as a shimmering wave of air suddenly smashed into her.
She flew backwards, hearing Brennan grunt as they collided mid-air, hurled further down the sloping stream. There was the clink of metal, the scraping sound of a rusted door being opened, and they landed in a heap at the base of a yawning cavern that suddenly appeared where trees had stood moments before.
"What the—"
Brennan was cut off as, with a wave of his meaty hand, the large mutant hit them with another telekinetic punch. Again, they were knocked backwards into the gaping cavern, shooting down an incline, totally out of control. The floor of the cavern dipped down, and they found themselves briefly airborne before slamming back to earth in a great splash of water. Instinctively recognizing that neither of them were injured, Brennan indulged himself with a few seconds of virulent cursing and sputtering as they hauled themselves upright in the knee deep water.
"What the hell just happened?" Brennan's teeth chattered as he eyed the tiny room where they had landed. He turned to look at the shivering feral beside him.
Shalimar scowled as she saw his swiftly hidden grin as he took in the sopping locks plastered to her head and dripping in her eyes. She opened her mouth, snapping it back shut as the sound of sliding metal creaked and a giant door closed across the entrance of the cavern.
Their eyes met in stunned disbelief.
Dim lighting from recessed underwater lamps bounced off stone walls that stretched further than they could see. Muddy water swirled around their knees, debris knocking into them. The air was damp, moldy.
"What is it with Eckhart and hidden underground tunnels?" Brennan heaved in frustration, kicking the water in anger.
"Did you see the way those trees suddenly vanished?" Shalimar wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cold darkness.
"Yeah, right after I stopped to smell the rosebushes we were flying through." Brennan muttered as he ran his fingers across the cool metal of the door. It was seamless, and he groaned in frustration.
"It was another hologram," Shalimar ignored his sarcasm, searching the walls of the tunnel. "This must be part of the compound."
Brennan grunted in pain as he rammed his shoulder against the heavy door again and again, slumping against it when he finally gave up.
"We have to get out of here, Shal." His voice dropped, and he swallowed heavily. "Jesse's out there alone…Emma is sick, and I don't know how much longer Adam can make it. Shal, he might already be--"
"Don't say it!" She whirled back around to face him, suddenly angry. "He'll make it!"
"Hey, hey." He sloshed through the water, crossing over to her. "It's ok." He cupped her face, running his thumbs over her eyes, pushing her heavy hair behind her ears. "It's ok." He bent down, meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry, you're right. Adam is strong."
She nodded, closing her eyes against his touch. "Let's go home, Brennan."
They were the same words she had whispered last night out on the beach. A shiver ran down his spine, pulling her into his arms. It felt like another lifetime ago. Her arms tightened around him for one glorious moment, and then she stepped back, reality rushing back. He nodded, clearing his throat, following after her as she turned and walked down the dim tunnel. It sloped further downward, and the water rose to waist level. Condensation dripped from above, and Brennan frowned uneasily. "You think this tunnel runs under the water to the other island and the compound?"
"Could be." The thought didn't seem to disturb Shalimar as much as it did him. "It wasn't very far from here."
They fell quiet as they continued walking.
Shalimar felt a rush of air and paused, running her fingers along the wall. "Brennan, there's a hole in the wall, just above the waterline."
"Can you see anything at the end?" Brennan bent over, but couldn't see anything through the darkness. He ran his fingers across the opening. The hole was large, big enough to crawl though.
"There's light." Her eyes glowed golden as she turned her face up to him. "What do you think?"
"Let's try it." Brennan nodded after a slight hesitation. "This tunnel is only taking us away from the others right now."
Shalimar grunted in agreement, squirming into the tunnel.
After a moment, Brennan forced himself to follow. They emerged into a dimly lit tunnel built of more stone walls, running parallel to the first. The far end of the tunnel was hidden in shadows and the ceiling curved low enough that Brennan had to bend his head awkwardly to avoid scraping his scalp. Water swirled higher in this tunnel, and he watched Shalimar nervously as she turned and headed in the direction that lead them back toward the islet. The force of the water kept pulling her under every few steps, and he finally grasped her waist, pinning her to his side. "Bad memories." He clenched his jaw at her inquiring look, and she stayed silent, understanding. The memory of the last time they had struggled through rising water in a tunnel was too fresh, too painful, and she locked her own arm around his middle. Debris floated past them, occasionally hitting them, and she feared what waited for them at the end of this tunnel. Knocked back and forth by the force of the water, Brennan almost missed it when his hand, dragging along the ceiling for support, disappeared into thin air. He lurched, grabbing onto Shalimar to keep her from disappearing into the deluge and felt around cautiously.
It was another tunnel, this one drilled straight up into the ceiling. He was about to thrust his arm all the way into the hole when Shalimar grabbed with both hands, restraining him. A moment later, she snatched a thick branch from the floating debris, thrusting it into his grip. He paused, and then thought about the fact that this might be an air vent of some kind. His fingers twitched spasmodically as he considered the sick image of his hand thrusting up into the blades of a spinning fan, and he swallowed back a sudden urge to vomit. Smiling weakly at Shalimar, he pushed the branch up into the hole. Nothing. No sudden drag indicating that the branch had caught on anything, no sudden upward yank as blades grabbed hold. Nothing. He threw the stick back into the water, considering. Shalimar made the decision for them, placing both his hands around her waist, indicating that she wanted a boost. He hesitated again, looking up into the dark space above them.
"We have no choice, look." He followed the direction of her gaze, staring in disbelief at a solid stone wall set with several six inch pipes across the top. "We must be in some sort of overflow system." Shalimar grimly shook her head.
Brennan stared at the dead end. There was a steel hatch set into the wall at the end. It was obvious that the hatch was meant to be opened inward. They would never be able to open it against the water pressure. He rubbed his hand against his face tiredly, looking back up into the hole in the ceiling.
It was then that the world seemed to explode.
He had a brief vision of Shalimar turning a startled face toward him when it felt like the ceiling caved in. Weight slammed into his shoulders, and he barely had enough time to draw a deep breath before the water closed over his head and the weight carried him to the floor. At first he was too stunned to panic, and then he was too busy trying not to panic to move.
He was pinned flat against the floor.
Desperately he shook his head, trying to get his face clear, and he was losing the battle with panic when a familiar and welcome set of hands wrapped themselves around his face.
Shalimar.
He forced himself to stay still as her hands searched him. His lungs were beginning to burn when the weight suddenly lifted, nausea making him dizzy with the need for air as her hands again grabbed him, pulling him upward. He gave a few desperate kicks to right himself, gasping greedily when their heads popped above the surface. He found his footing, water now swirling up to his chin, and without another word, hoisted Shalimar up into the hole above them, praying desperately that another burst of water wouldn't come pouring down upon them. She disappeared from sight, hand dropping back out a moment later to pull him up. Despite himself, a quick grin flashed across his face; he loved her strength.
The sides of the stone were slick, and he gritted his teeth as he braced his back and knees against the rough slab, inching his way up slowly and painfully. Muscles strained and shook with effort, eyes closed against the water and dust Shalimar dripped down above him.
"Hey Bren?" Her voice was strained.
It took him a moment to answer. "Yeah?"
"No more tunnels for a while, ok."
He half chuckled, half groaned. "Whatever you say, Shal."
The tunnel narrowed, and he grunted, suddenly afraid of being stuck in this position. He didn't know if his spine could handle any more compression. Above him, Shalimar easily scampered higher, and he frowned miserably. She gave a sudden gasp, and his heart slammed into his throat, pounding fearfully. "Shalimar!"
"We made it." Her voice held wonder, disbelief as she suddenly felt the coolness of the wind and rain against her face, turning her face up into the sweet drops, laughing in relief. Brennan nudged impatiently against her, muscles screaming in protest, and she scrambled out of the tunnel, reaching down to help him climb out as well. His broad shoulders barely fit, and he groaned with relief when he was free.
They found themselves on the second islet, twenty feet from the stream where they had first been blasted into the cavern. The hologram was back in place, and the end they had emerged from rose straight out of a tree stump. Brennan stared at it a moment, running his hand over the top of the stump, shaking his head in disbelief as his hand seemingly pushed through shimmering age rings and back into the tunnel. When he pulled his hand free, the surface smoothed back into the rough look of a center log.
"Escape route through the overflow tunnel?" He shook his head in amazement.
"Brennan." Shalimar's hand on his arm caught his attention.
The battle had continued without them.
Through the slanting rain, they could see that the little boat was visible once more, still beached at an odd angle. Adam was nowhere to be seen. Emma was on her knees in front of the boat, hands clutched to her head as she rocked forward. As if sensing their presence, she peered up through heavy strands of red hair, finding them.
Shalimar barely recognized the eyes that latched onto them through the curtain of wet hair; they were black with effort. But she recognized the rage within. She understood the fear, and felt her own answer in return.
Jesse was a few yards in front of Emma, face writhed in agony as he struggled to stay massed, veins popping in his neck as his body vibrated with shock at the pain being blasted at him by the shorter mutant. The one that could somehow tie into people's pain centers. Shalimar's eyes darted back to Emma's, recognizing now the seething black mass as fury gnashing its teeth, crying to be let loose. The feral's eyes sparked in reply, and the air stank with the fear that then arose.
Their fear.
And hers.
The fear that she would be too late. That she would let them down. Again. That she would move too fast and damn herself…or move too slow and damn them all. She suddenly realized what Adam had meant when he said he wanted to give them the illusion of innocence. She had believed him when he said his secrets were for their own good. She had just not understood.
This must be very difficult for you.
Her eyes squeezed closed at his voice. Not again. Icy rage shot through her and it was only barely that she kept her hands from smashing the smug expression she could hear in his voice from his face. He thought he had her pegged. Laid out and exposed, neatly spread out for the hunter's knife, ready to be gutted. He was wrong. Adam had understood better than anyone what dancing on the edge could do to a person. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and bared her teeth in challenge.
It was over before it even began.
Shalimar felt Brennan's soul answering the outraged cry of her own, rushing headlong into the abyss with a defiant scream. She followed without hesitation, guided by instinct.
They were the distraction that Emma needed. The two mutants turned at the rushing attack, only to be taken out from behind by a single, simple blast from Emma.
They crumbled to the ground with disappointing ease, and the four members of Mutant X were left looking at each other in shocked silence.
Shalimar turned away first, head bowed in the rain, shooting back up a moment later as she remembered. The beast pacing back and forth in her brain paused as it considered the violet-eyed man before her. It snarled softly. Claws flexed and drew themselves across her spine with aggrieved insult. The ever present anger shimmered slightly as the adrenaline wore off and left her shaking. Mental lips curled as she contemplated mind games and manipulation. He had thought he had her pinned.
The day will come eventually.
The beast chuckled softly in her inner ear and was reflected in her eyes. He watched with wary body language. She watched him back. The hunter suddenly smiled ruefully, and then disappeared. She blinked, and the howling started, hands shaking. It's not him. Her own darkest fears and desires from the abyss coming to claim her.
She turned back around, meeting the faces of her teammates, her family, and saw the same resigned expressions looking back at her.
Together, they had all fallen willingly.
And together they stood, silently acknowledging everything left unsaid. The battle had changed. It was no longer enough to know the truth. In retrospect, some of the battles they had paid so much to win were hollow, empty victories. Now they had to find a way to win the war.
Brennan carefully considered the bodies before him, the storm raging above them, the mud clinging to their feet. He heard a moan echo from within the wooden slabs of their boat, and he turned his back abruptly on it all.
"Let's go home."
Rain came down in great sheets, washing the blood smeared on ragged faces, torn and tired bodies. It fell into the stream in great drops, bright red swirling in the rush of white water before slipping away as jean-clad legs trudged doggedly forth through the water and tired feet pushed through muddy silt, taking them back to the boat. Mud shifted and settled, and in the end, as the little boat shuddered to life, engines reversed, churning up water and debris, no footprints were left.
And the earth continued to cry.