Chapter 11: - Fight and Flee

A.N: - Sorry this is so late but the uploader was being "special" and then so was my laptop! Anyway I finally finished this story and just need to type it up I think they'll be another four chapters and I've got some vague ideas for a sequel but we shall have to see if thoughts will transpose into an actual story! Anyway enjoy.

Mutant X minus one arrived at the meeting place with ten minutes to spare. Shalimar made an aerial scan of the site from atop a warehouse.

"You see anything Shal?" Lexa asked as they stood huddled down bellow.

"Nothing unusual, a few homeless people raiding dumpsters but no sign of a trap or Baby or our mysterious puppeteer. I'm coming down its freezing up here!" Shalimar said jumping the six floors to the ground with ease. Brennan grabbed the shivering feral attempting to shelter her from the bitter wind.

"I guess we wait!" Jamie said fidgeting constantly. He kicked a nearby wall for a few seconds before starting to click his fingers and pace in a circle. His breath appeared in thick clouds as he inhaled and exhaled with increasingly rapid motions.

"Whoa! Calm down, patience is a virtue you know!" Jesse said

"Do you see me rushing off to find Baby! No! Then this is as patient as I get. Besides I am calm" he continued to fidget as he said this, his eyes darted around looking for any sign of movement.

"Sure you are!" Lexa said eyebrows raised in an obvious sign of disbelief.

Jamie chose to ignore her and turned to Brennan "You've got the disk? Right?"

"Yes, right here. Stop panicking, this will go down just like we planned" Brennan intoned with a calming influence.

"You're right! It just has to work!" Jamie responded emphatically.

Shalimar left Brennan's arms and walked towards the corner. Her eyes glowed yellow "she's coming" was her brief comment.

Shalimar was right; they saw a lone figure walk slowly and purposefully towards them. As the figure drew closed they could see that it was indeed Baby. The white tinted eyes gleamed unfeelingly at them; it gave her an evil presence. She walked to within three metres of the group and paused. Jamie made to walk towards her and she rapidly elongated her claws and crouched into an offensive pose. Jesse and Brennan dragged the stunned Jamie back. There was an eerie silence as both sides waited for the other to make the first move. Eventually Baby stood straight again.

"You have the disk?" she said her voice devoid of any emotion. Baby was by nature a happy, smiling person even after everything she'd been through and to see her now with the emotional capacity of a tin can was difficult for everyone but especially for Jamie, the woman he loved was now a zombie with no mind of her own.

Jamie stood forward shaking Brennan and Jesse's restraintative hands off of him. He ignored their worried glances and took the disk from Brennan and held it up to show Baby, the dim light reflected off of it.

"Give it to me" was Baby's immediate response as she retracted her claws slowly and put her hand out to accept the disk

Jamie put the disk onto the palm of his hand and then outstretched it towards her as if tempting a skittish foal. She looked at him quizzically then began walking cautiously towards him. She snatched the disk from his upturned hand took one glance at the others as if expecting trouble then turned tail and ran.

Jesse immediately pulled the modified G.P.S system from his pocket and turned it on. "She's travelling fast, let's go" he removed the cloak from the Lark which was parked just behind them and they all ran aboard. Jamie booted her up and followed the directions Jesse yelled to him. By doing this they were able to catch up to the rapidly moving Baby.

"She's stopped moving" Jesse announced after a short while.

"I'm bringing her sown" said Jamie trying to remain calm "she's in stealth so we shouldn't be spotted"

They left the Lark and walked towards the point they knew the disk was at. As they peered around the side of a building they spotted Baby and a darkly dressed man resting a laptop on a low wall. Baby was sat on the wall besides him starring blankly into space.

"He's checking the disk already!" said Shalimar in shock.

"He'll realise it's a dud and he'll kill Baby" Jamie said irately rushing around the corner just to be dragged back by the back of his jacket by a frantically gesturing Brennan. He signalled for quiet.

Jamie looked up at him angrily and whispered "What did you do that for?"

"We need tactics here man, not to just run at him!" Brennan whispered back.

"Talk fast" was Jamie's only reply as he looked past Brennan to where Baby and the man stood.

"You teleport yourself and Jesse over their" he pointed to the other side of the man and Baby. Jamie nodded. "me and Shal will come from here. Baby is our main concern, and lets be honest the moment he sees us all he's going to send Baby after us. We've all got serum so we stand a reasonable chance of subduing her but we need to stop this guy so he can't take control again. If your up to it Lexa I want you to stay invisible, we'll keep Baby busy and you go after the puppet master" Brennan took charge and no-one objected they had no better plan.

They all took up their respective positions and waited for the moment when hell would break lose and engulf them. On the wall Baby watched the man she starred blankly seeing him and yet looking through him, there was no recognition on her face. The man was growing impatient with waiting he tapped the screen "Come on, come on" he hit the screen harder in frustration and muttered an oath at the pain which shot up his arm.

Suddenly what he saw enraged him; he threw the laptop at the wall where it shattered into a mass of broken circuitry. "NO!" he yelled "They tricked me!" He whirled to face the placid Baby pulling a gun from somewhere inside his coat tails. At that exact moment Mutant X converged upon him, He whirled 360 degrees taking in the fact that all exits were blocked. He made an attempt at bravado "you clearly feel no love for your team mate" he ran to the unmoving Baby and pointed the gin shakily at her forehead. "I'll kill her" he stammered "you know I'll do it!"

"I wouldn't recommend it, because if you harm one hair on her head I will personally make your life, what's left of it, a living hell" Jamie said menacingly.

The man continued to cower behind Baby using her to block Mutant X's view of his face. His eyes flicked around rapidly assessing the possibility of escape. He knew that killing Baby would serve no practical purpose to his situation in fact quite the opposite. His keen intellectual mind quickly came upon a solution to his predicament, he reached into his left coat pocket and his hand clenched the neuro-controller, he pushed down hard on the round button and began quietly informing Baby of his orders.

Mutant X circled neared unaware of the mans communication with Baby. Suddenly Baby sprang into attack mode, she went straight for her nearest rival who happened to be Jesse, he managed to phase just in time, she went somersaulting through him, she careened into Jamie and they fell to the ground. Jamie's head smashed hard into the concrete, he barely had time to wipe the dazed expression off his face before a tumult of punches rained down upon his chest from above. He knew no more.

Baby whirled to face the person coming up behind her. Jesse reached for the serum in his pocket but before his hand was half way there Baby's hand wrapped around his wrist clenching it tightly her claws ripping into his flesh, causing a trail of blood to drip to the floor. Jesse starred into the bleak white eyes unsure how to react, he hesitated a moment too long and Baby using all her strength lifted Jesse and threw him over her shoulder into the wall behind her. He thumped against the brick wall before clattering to the concrete below. He lay still; metres form Jamie's prone form.

During this rapid confrontation the man had taken the opportunity to scarper, unaware that the invisible Lexa was hot on his heels.

In the time it took for Baby to pacify Jesse and Jamie, Brennan and Shalimar were only just reaching her. Baby had very specific ideas of who she wanted to fight. She clearly thought that Brennan was less of a potential threat and whisked towards Shalimar. She broke into hand to hand combat with Shalimar. Shalimar held her own but only just, she was slowly being pushed back against the alley wall.

Brennan who had been ignored as Baby looked for more challenging prey was now attempting to sneak up upon the battling Baby with the syringe containing the serum held tight in his hand. However sneaking up on a feral is next to impossible but sneaking up on a feral hybrid IS impossible. Baby turned swiftly to Brennan shortly before he could inject her and sent a blast of fire straight at his chest. He went flying backwards several feet his jacket engulfed in flames. He landed on his knees and quickly yanked off the burning garment, taking with it a large quantity of his skin. He cried out in agony and was just attempting to stand when Baby sent a second blast of fire cutting him and the unconscious Jamie and Jesse off from both Baby and Shalimar.

Baby turned back to Shalimar who had begun cowering at the sight of the flames, a burning ball of fire flowed from Baby's hand and Shalimar starred wide eyed at the first sign of emotion Baby had given, a cruel smile slashed across her face as she toyed with Shalimar, allowing the fire to roll around her hand, up along her arm across her shoulders and down to the other hand. She let the flames die waiting for the relief to blossom on Shalimar's face before rapidly clapping her hands together creating a much larger blaze which she immediately hurled at Shalimar.