Nothing I Expected
Disclaimer: Manhattan productions are the sole owner and distributor of Totally Spies.
Disclaimer: Concept, ideas and OCs all belong to me, UID 140135
Chapter 4
He wasn't him anymore. He wasn't what she knew. He wasn't even a 'him'.
He was the girl in the picture. It wasn't his 'sister'. It was him before his father had changed him.
His face was rounder, softer where the angles had been. His nose was more fey, the lips fuller. His eyes were shaped more like his mother's; the eyebrows had a curving arch to them. He was smaller, but fuller. His hips were wider, tight against the hem of his jeans. The shirt sagged and billowed around his thin waist, but was strained around his breasts. His hair had a slight curl to it.
But his eyes… they were the same. And right now, she knew that he was in worse pain than hers. But, oh God…
She dropped her hand, turning from Sam.
"Gabriel…" Sam whispered, reaching for his, her hand.
"as the chicken Ginger said, 'we've got tae get out of here'," she said with a faint stab at humour. She turned back to Sam, tears of an impossible wish glistening in her eyes.
"do ye know how tae pick a lock?" Sam swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, moving to the cell gate. Gabriel avoided her touch.
Gabriel seemed to know where she was going. Sam followed her unquestionably, forcing back tears that kept wanting to break out. Her head didn't understand why she was crying, but her heart did. As she and Gabriel snuck around a corner, she tried to make sense of it. When she had seen Gabriel, it had been like someone had answered her lonely wish: a boyfriend. She had only met him, her, today, or in the space of twenty-four hours since they had gone back in time to Scotland.
And she already liked him. A lot. Just the fact that he wanted 'Paradise Lost' spoke mountains. He was cute, just to add to his attractiveness.
And throughout the day, he had only impressed and interested her. his immediate order to help his mother, all his actions…the fact that he could tease Clover to a crimson blush was just an extra point towards him. even his temper and moody silence added to it.
So she knew that, in her heart, she really liked him. really really liked him.
And the kiss… he really liked her too.
But then her head was saying, in a rational manner, that she wasn't attracted to girls. She had never been, not in her entire life. and now here was her perfect guy. And he wasn't even true.
And she couldn't get the image of Gabriel out of her head when she had turned back to her. Gabriel was crying, on the inside and out. Gabriel was broken too, and these were cracks that had been mended already too many times. She was worried for her.
Gabriel shoved her back against the wall into the shadows as a guard made his rounds, and without warning, she had launched herself at him, taking him completely by surprise. She grappled silently with him, finally grabbing his gun and smacking it into his face. He fell to the ground, clutching at his nose that gushed blood, and she hit him again across the temple. He dropped to the ground. Breathing hard, she pulled his key card out from under him and handed it to Sam.
"let's go."
LAB #032, UNKNOWN TIME
They entered an empty lab, the lights buzzing. Everything looked as if it had abandoned in a hurry: computers had been left logged in, security monitors were still showing their respective prisoners and chemicals continued to process. Sam immediately went to the security monitors while Gabriel went to the computers, typing quickly.
Sam breathed a sigh of relief as she looked closely at each camera view. The cameras showed the eight captive women, still gagged and bound, but still women, in a tiny cell of their own. Clover and Alex were among them, still female.
She took back her sigh when she turned back to Gabriel. It was unfair of her father to do that to her.
"It's simple," Gabriel said, her gaze still on the screen. Sam came over, and looked past her shoulder, but it all looked like gibberish science to her. And that was saying something chilling.
"we just have tae reverse the polarity of the gel solvent, and then the catalyst core is destroyed. It'll be rendered harmless," she stated.
"how did you figure that out?" Gabriel grinned coldly without looking at her.
"have it happen tae ye, and you'll understand. Otherwise, it's just nonsense that a madman worked out." She typed again, closing the window. A map of the facility was called up, a red block stating where the power supply was in relation to them.
"shit!"
"what?" Sam asked anxiously.
"the bastard's routed the entire thing tae run under the interface tank. We'd have tae go there directly and disrupt the gas supply. And by the look of things, we've just run out of time." Sam's eyes snapped up to the monitors.
All the cells were empty.
Gabriel tossed her an automatic and extra magazine.
INTERFACE TANK, LAB #041, UNKNOWN TIME
"right on time, my girl," Gabriel's father stated. She kept the gun trained on him. Sam kept her eyes on the guards, the automatic out and unfamiliar in her hands. She wished she knew more of Gabriel's plan. All she had told her was to take care of the guards and the captives, and that she would take care of her father and the interface tank. Luckily, the guards looked terrified at the prospect of the gun pointed at their leader.
Sam made her way to where Clover and Alex were tied up. One of the guards suddenly shot for her. she heard a sudden bang and watched as he fell to the ground screaming, blood gushing from his knee. She looked over at Gabriel and saw the smoke rising from the barrel. Gabriel's eyes… they were cracked, trapped like a wild animal. She had fired the shot.
She quickly untied her friends. They looked at her fuzzily, but alert. They didn't question her about Gabriel, and she hoped they never would.
"untie the rest and get out of here. take the guards. Follow the tracker signal." They nodded at her and set to work on the other female prisoners. Sam made her way to the only male prisoner. Shock ran up her spine. It was Gabriel's mother, Jeanie King. But she had been changed, just like Gabriel said.
"I'm afraid that you're making me proud, my girl. A little too late, isn't it?" Gabriel's father said snidely. Sam heard the cock of the gun.
"I'll never be like ye, Da, " her disgust emphasized on the 'Da'. She untied him hurriedly. He looked at her with eyes thankful. He moved with Sam along the line of desks, in line with Gabriel's father.
"oh, but it's still too late. You can never go back, and neither can your mother."
"an empty threat, old man. I know how this all works, it cannae never be irreversible." Her father shook his head sadly.
"poor, young, little girl. Don't you see? That's why I gave you that chance in the beginning, so you could grow into my expectations. But you've failed me, I see. I've had four years to tweak at my formulae." Fear sparked in Gabriel's eyes. The gun shook in her hands.
"you're lying."
"I'm not. And I do feel some sort of sadness for you. I saw how you defended that redhead. Tell me, does it feel good to know you can never have a chance with her again?" blood suddenly began to soak his upper thigh. Sam hadn't even heard the shot.
"dunnae test me, Da!" he grinned at her wickedly.
"poor little thing. You've lost your mother and your girlfriend all in one day. How does it feel?" with a bang, his other thigh began to bleed out and he fell kneeling to the ground.
"ma!" Jeanie King rose from his hiding place and walked to his daughter. She motioned to the tank.
"get in. I still have the first change in my blood." Jeanie looked to his daughter. Sam could see him analyzing the eyes. Without a protest, she climbed into the tank. Sam came out as well, keeping her gun trained on Gabriel's father as Gabriel changed the commands on the computer. There was a loud hiss as the gas pumped in the gel solvent. The hair rose on Sam's neck as the electricity built up and then exploded in the liquid. Just as soon as the energy in the tank began to reach a crescendo, it dissipated, leaving behind a soaking wet female Jeanie King. Sam helped her to climb out.
"faster than before, hey Da?" Gabriel's father gaped at her in horror.
"I should never have changed you. you're too…" she looked at him, her eyes turned to ice.
"what, Da?" she never got an answer. He tore something from his coat and Gabriel's eyes filled with fear. He aimed the gun at the tank, and, as if in slow motion, the bullet shot from the barrel, aiming towards the still sparking liquid.
"Sam, run!" Gabriel screamed out, running for her. Jeanie and Sam had just begun to when the unstable force of electricity and gas exploded behind them, sending them careening into the passage the others had escaped into. bits of computer, furniture and wall rained down on them. Sam struggled from under an overturned desk, hearing the groaning of Jeanie farther along, where the debris was much less. She looked back into the smoke, only able to see the dust and faint sparks of torn power cables. Her heart cracked.
"GABRIEL!"
To be continued…