Chapter 12 here for you all! Lots of drama in this one, enjoy!

"They say don't let them in
Close your eyes and clear your thoughts again
But when I'm all alone, they show up on their own
'Cause inner demons fight their battles with fire
Inner demons don't play by the rules
They say "Just push them down, just fight them harder
Why would you give up on it so soon?"

So angels, angels please just keep on fighting
Angels don't give up on me today
'Cause the demons they are there, they just keep biting
'Cause inner demons just won't go away
So angels please, hear my prayer
Life is pain, life's not fair
So angels please, please stay here
Take the pain, take the fear."

(Inner Demons- Julia Brennan)

L pushed her back onto their cot and dragged his nose down across her collarbone to her sternum, and settled on her stomach, taking deep breaths before growling deeply and surging up her body to nuzzle against her cheek.

Maia laughed, carding her fingers through his hair, "Okay, my Wild Man, what's gotten into you?" He projected an image of her face thrown back in ecstasy, and she scowled halfheartedly at him. She kissed him and muttered, "Perv."

He sunk his hand between her thighs, one long finger seeking out the wet heat there. Maia arched her back instantly, fully aware she was giving him exactly what he wanted, but she just didn't care. His hands were magic. Terrifying with the metal hiding just under his skin, capable of gutting her in an instant, but his fingers knew exactly where to stroke inside of her to have her gasping just as quickly. His tongue was even better. He'd been insatiable since that first night, and she had absolutely zero complaints. Especially once he figured out that he liked her being on top even more than she did. So after a few minutes of fingering, Maia was on top, her forearms braced on his solid chest. She leaned close to him, causing them both to moan at the change in angle, but she continued rocking her hips against his, "I think I know a way to get us out."

His eyes went from lustful to deadly in a second, and in his mind he ordered her to continue, punctuating the command with a particularly sharp snap of his hips. Maia kissed him, "No, we'll finish this, then we'll talk." It then apparently became his mission to get them both off as quickly as possible. She couldn't complain at all, even if she was probably going to be sore.

She explained her harebrained scheme to him as they lay side by side on the cot, her voice barely a whisper. "When they were in here before a bunch of them made eye contact with me. I've got a pretty good idea of the layout of this place, including the exits." She chuckled softly, "Really, it's just a matter of us getting out of this room."

With the door the way it was, that wasn't likely to happen he thought.

Maia clicked her tongue, "Hey, I can't have you being a Negative Nancy on me now. I've got a plan for that. I'm smarter than I look, you know." She nipped at his chin, "Don't answer that. But seriously, you're going to have to pretend to kill me." He really didn't like her plan, "Come on, a little blood and some acting on my part, no big deal. We just need to get the door open."

They fought about it, and when he raked his claws against the side of her head she threw herself to the floor and clutched her head, screaming like he'd sliced through to her brain instead of just grazing her. It was almost too easy. guards came into the room, but they were ready for them. When L had destroyed the first camera, Maia had managed to get a piece of wire about a foot and a half long. L went to slicing and dicing, and Maia went to using her wire as a garrote. She was slight, but her body weight was more than enough to cut off air long enough for her victim to drop. The second man she went after wasn't caught off guard like the first one was though, and got his gun to her head before she could do a damned thing about it. L roared, her captor realized what was going on, and he started screaming about shooting her.

L gave up.

Maia'd overestimated herself, but she couldn't blame him for his decision. She would have done the same for him.

"Maia, I can't believe you're so stupid." Sarah growled, stitching her head wound closed in the lab they'd dragged her into after scaring L into submission. Her hands were fixed in metal bindings, and she'd been gagged by medical gauze because she kept cursing at Sarah, "You've never done anything I've ever told you to. Thomas mentions something in passing, Louis or Elliot dare you, and you'd practically fall over yourself to comply." Sarah pressed into one of the wounds on her skull out of spite, the pain bringing tears to Maia's eyes, "You make me so mad." A lab tech handed a paper to Sarah, and she sighed in disgust as she read over it, tossing it onto the table beside her, "You stupid bitch."

Several people in lab coats came in and started arguing, but Maia's head was swimming. She couldn't concentrate on anything, much less read anyone's minds. Sarah cursed, "Damnit, Maia. Stay awake." She gestured to one of her lab techs, "Shoot her up with some adrenaline, she's lost a good bit of blood. Head wounds are such bleeders."

One of the men scoffed, "Why waste it? Just get rid of her. More fucking trouble than she's worth."

"Look at her blood test. There's so much to study here." Sarah urged the other scientists, brandishing the paper at him as her helper pushed the contents of a syringe into Maia's arm.

Her favorite guard approached from his position by the door, passing the paper along, "Could just kill the both of 'em right now. Be done." He growled, shoving his rifle into Maia's stomach.

Sarah shook her head, "No, DeWalt. We need them." They continued to argue, and Sarah finally clapped her hand on her hips, "Fine, let's go ask Stryker what he thinks about this development. Surely he won't completely ignore the geneticist who knows what the hell she's talking about. There is a reason Trask hired me."

Maia struggled while they were gone, but she was exhausted, and even with L's training sessions and the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she wasn't anywhere strong enough to break out of the bindings. She couldn't have even get the gag out of her mouth. She wished that when the door opened it was Sarah, but it wasn't. It was DeWalt.

"Just you and me you little mutant whore." He had a hand gun pointed at her, "Your pussy of a sister isn't here to stop me this time." He ripped the gag out of her mouth, "I want to hear you scream. I want him to hear you scream from down the hall. I want him to hear you beg for your sorry little life."

"I won't." Maia whispered, her heart was hammering in her chest, pressure building in her head.

He laughed, "You won't really have a choice, I'm gonna make you. Wouldn't be the first time I've sent a mutant back screaming to her maker. It'll be nice to get two of you."

"You're going to get yourself killed." She muttered, eyes glued to the gun pressed into her gut as he unknowingly projected images of her dead mangled body. She wished her mutation had stopped working with her blood loss, but it hadn't. This man wanted to gut her.

He laughed again, "I tell you, you've got brass ones for a slut who lets an animal fuck her."

She looked him in the eyes, feeling a surge of power not unlike the first time she caught eyes with someone, but this time it was so much stronger, fueled by rage, "He's more man than you could ever imagine to be. You're worthless scum, and you deserve to die for what you've done."

DeWalt's face went slack, and he nodded, stepping back as if in a daze, "I'm worthless scum, and I deserve to die for what I've done." Eyes still locked on hers, he stuck the muzzle of the gun into his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Maia couldn't contain her screams.

Let me know what you think!

-Jenn