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Sorry this is later than normal, no real excuses but here you go. I hope to get another chapter written before Christmas so... enjoy
Posted: 21/12/12
Purifiers Return
Quinn and Rachel lost Santana and Brittany through the throngs of people on their way to the choir room. Rachel could feel Quinn squeezing her hand, anxious because she felt people were looking at them.
If Quinn was actually paying attention she'd notice that the few that were looking their way were looking at the blonde, with suspicion, not both of them and certainly not the way they were holding hands.
"Where the hell have you been?"
Quinn didn't even flinch that time when Puck stepped up next to them and asked her that harshly in her ear. She was too tired to be surprised right now
"Sorry I was off sick" she mumbled, feeling Rachel gently squeeze her hand back as a reminder that she was there for her
"With Rachel, Santana and Brittany? I'm not buying it" he kept his head bowed next to her as they kept walking "not when there's guys crawling all over your apartment block" he was worried, agitated and like he was trying to hide that he was scared
"What men?" Quinn's eyes shot to his, Rachel looked his way too
"I don't know just some guys, some guys in black maybe, and some guys in construction gear or something" she shook his head as if to shake away the confusion and panic he'd been feeling since Quinn didn't show up for school on Tuesday. He tried to get back to his agitated point "They cleared out your building, where the hell were you?" he demanded again
"Me and Beth stayed at Rachel's" she wasn't lying "Beth's okay, she's fine" now she felt like she was lying, not telling Puck that his daughter was nearly killed Monday night.
His shoulders visibly relaxed as the tension seemed to leave his body "I looked for you everywhere, I even stopped by Rachel's... you guys must have been out"
"Yeah" Rachel muttered guiltily. She'd forgotten about Puck when she'd been trying to think of other people. She couldn't blame Quinn for overlooking him, she had a lot more going on in her head. Thought the blonde was feeling guilty now too.
"I'm happy you're both safe... I was worried something might have happened, you didn't even answer your cell"
"I lost it" not a complete lie, she couldn't remember where she left it, it was either in her car or somewhere else at Rachel's base. "Sorry, I was stressed I forgot, I should have called you"
"Damn right" he tried to keep his voice down so that came out like a whine "Don't forget again"
"I won't" She assured him "I promise"
"I didn't even come in yesterday, I was driving all over town looking for you" that just added to the guilt the two girls were feeling, that and warmth from Puck, proof that he cared so much about his daughter and Beth's mother. "Is Beth okay?" he needed to hear it again
"She's fine, she's absolutely fine. And I really am sorry" Quinn cringed the last part
"It's okay, just happy your both okay" he sighed "With all the crazy shit going on"
"What crazy shit?" Rachel asked, casually quoting him with the mild swear.
"Oh you know, that Iron Girl flying around, and you said you were at Rachel's. I was - worried" he whispered the last word, as if he said it out loud it would make him soft... softer than he'd already made himself sound "Finn said he went to Rachel's and saw Iron Girl walk out of the house Monday night, the night you disappeared" he leant forward to look at Rachel "Do you know anything about that?"
She pretended to be oblivious, in reality she had completely forgotten the oaf was standing there when she walked out "Monday? Quinn and I were out with Beth for some time"
"But Finn went round late... I dunno he's being annoyin'" he shook again, as if his own thoughts, or Finn's words were irritating him as they buzzed round his head
"Maybe it was when I was helping Quinn pack some of her possessions, I know we didn't get back to mine until really late. What did Finn want, did you ask?"
"Oh come on Rach" Puck scoffed as they rounded a corner in the corridor and continued their stroll "Can't you just tell him already that you're getting it on with Quinn now"
As soon as those words were mumbled Quinn violently dropped Rachel's hand
"I think you're mistaken Noah, Quinn and I-"
"Cut the crap, everyone else might be blind but I'm not" he scoffed, a little smirk growing on his lips "I'm not going to say anything so don't worry"
"You continue to surprise me Noah" Rachel smiled across Quinn at the boy. She felt another surprise as Quinn's hand slowly slipped back into her own
"Everyone thinks I'm just some idiot loser" he grumbled "If they all knew what I knew..." he trailed off with a low sigh. Quinn looked at him curiously while Rachel went to question him. She was cut off though
"Hey guys" Tina and Mike stepped up the other side of Rachel "Quinn we saw your apartment block, what happened?" The dark haired girl asked with a tone of worry
"Yeah there's like a hole in the side" Mike added, echoing his girlfriends worry
"Was that your apartment?" Puck asked suddenly, like that had been on his mind to ask the whole time. "It was on the same floor"
"Oh that" only Rachel caught the tremble in Quinn's voice "Yeah, y-"
"Oh my god girl where have you been" They'd barely stepped through the choir room door when Quinn was bombarded by the two diva's, wanting answers to help fuel their gossip.
Santana and Brittany had already found their seats and at least Santana looked like she was thinking the same as Rachel. They'd been off the same amount of time, don't they get a hello?
"We drove past yesterday afternoon" they were really worried then, if they hadn't even looked into it until last night, Wednesday night, two nights after it happened and Puck went into extra protective dad mode. "There's a hole in the side of the building, what the hell happened?" Shocked Kurt demanded to know
Quinn searched her mind for anything, any way she could explain that "It was just some – um water damage, blocked pipe burst under the pressure, Um" she cringed that was terrible. She wished she'd rehearsed this. She was a master of lying so why couldn't she do it right now... maybe because this situation was crazy
"And it blew a hole in the wall" Rachel said next to her
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Mercedes gasped.
Rachel was sure she saw of Mercedes shoulder, Santana rolling her eyes at them
They were really buying this
"Y-yeah, I wasn't in my apartment when it happen, me and Beth were out with Rachel" Quinn told them, remembering to echo the story Rachel had already told to keep their lies consistent
Kurt narrowed his eyes, if he remembered correctly Quinn avoided Rachel on Monday and then went home early. So how had they made up again so quickly
"Where are you staying, cos you can crash at mine-"
"Thanks Mercedes" it was Rachel they were being nice to the other day now her, what was the resident divas angle? "But its okay, me and Beth are staying at Rachel's for now"
"Are you okay though?" Tina asked behind them "Because if you need anything, we're here" she volunteered Mike too, who just smiled and nodded
"Seriously guys, that's really nice of you all, but I'm okay, Beth's safe, and everything's going to be fine" she was saying that to herself as much as to the rest of the room
...
Things were okay for about 2 weeks. The glee club were sat together again at lunch, even if they were sat in their halves; Quinn, Rachel, Santana, Brittany, Puck, Tina and Mike at one end and the rest at the opposite end, they were a club reunited... kinda.
Quinn and Rachel were getting better at being subtle at school, but continued to hold hands whenever they could. It have become like a security thing for Quinn, holding onto Rachel's hand reminded her that everything could be okay, that Beth was okay and always would be because she had Rachel with her and she'd make sure nothing would happen to that little girl because Rachel could fix anything, Rachel could fight the underground people of the world... and she'd learn to too.
Santana and Brittany had decided to head back to the Latina's that afternoon, for some alone time. Santana had finally asked Brittany to be her girlfriend... she never got a verbal answer but when the blonde called her, her girlfriend the next morning she didn't need to wonder anymore.
And Quinn and Beth had only had to make minor adjustments to their schedules, well for one Rachel insisted she didn't work anymore, considering they were receiving enough money for basic living from S.H.I.E.L.D., so she quit her other job. This meant Beth didn't need to be at day care for the whole day, just while Quinn was at school. They also had to reverse how puck obtained Beth on the weekends. Instead of him picking her up, Quinn dropped her off instead.
Rachel, Quinn and Beth got back to the base after the slowly developing couple picked Beth up from the day care centre.
"I need to get some work done, I made some improvements to the suit and I need to calibrate things" Rachel told Quinn as she pulled her car into the base "Is that okay?"
"Yeah" Quinn nodded "We might sit with you if that's okay?" bringing the sofa out had been a good idea, Rachel could give Santana credit for that one
"I'd like that" she smiled, mostly to herself as she kept her eyes forward, making sure she didn't hit Quinn's car as she pulled up next to it "I'll only be on the computer, not working manually on the suit, so its nothing interesting" Beth made a noise in the back seat making Rachel add "Or dangerous" she chuckled
"We like spending time with you"
"Well that's good then" Rachel said as she switched the ignition off, undid her seat belt, and turned in her seat "Seeing as I'm your girlfriend now"
"It's been two weeks" Quinn ducked her head, feeling Rachel's gaze burn into her as she got nervous "That still sounds... weird to hear... or say"
"Why?" Rachel tried to hide that she was hurt
"You know-" she sighed and her shoulders dropped "I like you I really do" she had to turn in her seat too to face the brunette "And I'm happy you're my girlfriend and that you're here for me and we're together... it's just still new to me"
"It's new to me too" Rachel said quickly "You know that, there was only Finn and Jesse before... and although e haven't got... as far" she muttered suggestively and avoided what she assumed would be disapproving eye contact "With you as I may have with them, what I feel with you is so much more... more than I could have ever imagined with another person"
"Really?" the squeakiness in the questioning word got Rachel's full attention
"Yes, you mean everything to me Quinn" she bit her lip anxiously
Quinn couldn't help but hide her face as she grinned; when she soothed her expression to a normal smile again she looked up at Rachel "Even more than your suit?"
"Well maybe a close second then" Rachel joked before turning away and hoping out of the car, leaving Quinn feeling void , She really hoped Rachel would kiss her. In two weeks they'd kissed 9 times, she knew because she'd counted. Quinn just sighed to herself, it was her own fault she thought to herself as she got out of the car. She was scared to push for more because a part of her wasn't ready to just accept this. Not when for years before she'd always thought negatively of having these feelings for the shorter girl.
"I got an email at our friends from S.H.I.E.L.D." she heard Rachel say from right behind her as Quinn got Beth out of the car "They cleared up all the mess with your apartment. They also informed the government who made sure to re-accommodate the other residents temporarily until they fix and secure the walls"
"They could have let us know sooner, I've been worrying for weeks" she held Beth close while Rachel reached inside the car and grabbed their school bags. She then shut the car and didn't bother locking it before following Quinn across the floor to the computer and sofa area
"I know, you keep squeezing my hand extra tight when someone mentions something about it" Rachel chuckled
"Sorry" Quinn muttered shyly, while wishing she wasn't shy round Rachel still
"Don't be" the short brunette told her "Ever" they both reached out with their free hands and comfortably entwined their fingers.
...
They weren't far from the Latina's house when Brittany could feel a sudden change in Santana's emotions "San, what's wrong?"
"Do you see smoke?" Santana asked as her eyes were distracted from the road and strayed upward to the sky. She didn't give Santana time to answer before she floored the accelerator pedal making the car fly down the street towards her house. Santana was suspicious, she just had that feeling in the pit of her stomach, which meant Brittany now had that feeling too. She was always extra in tune with her girlfriend.
"San you don't think? It might not be"
"I just have the worst feeling B, after all the shit that happened over the past couple of months. I knew it had been too quiet for the past two weeks" she shot out at the next junction, ignoring the stop sign and rounded the corner to see exactly what she knew she'd see
She screeched the car to a halt in front of her house. As soon as she got out of the car she could feel the furnace like heat from the flames engulfing her house. They could both hear the whirring of sirens in the back ground. The fire department would be too late though.
Santana stepped up fearlessly as Brittany watched from the car knowing that's where Santana wanted her to stay. She saw the Latina as she reached out with her mind and her hands and with a lot of effort she used her powers, and started to withdraw the flames, sucking the fire into her hands and skin and absorbing the power for herself.
She didn't care if people were watching, this was her home and even if it was already lost to the destructive flames she would not let it fall to the ground. Once the fire died she stood strong, the new power in her veins invigorating her.
She stormed back to the car, slamming the door once she was inside. There was no need to stay and look at the sorry sight, and no need to investigate to figure out who did this. She knew it was them, the sick Purifiers. They'd waited, just a little amount of time to lull them into a false sense of security, before they struck again.
"Sanny are you okay?" Brittany asked softly
"Yeah" the Latina breathed, reining in her heart broken tears. She didn't want to ever feel vulnerable, this was almost, almost, as vulnerable as she felt when they took Brittany "I'm just glad my parents weren't home" at least she could be thankful for that.
But what to do now. She had to talk to Rachel, Director Fury had named her the leader of the group, and right now she needed direction, either from her girlfriend, her old captain or her knew one. Otherwise the power in her veins would get to her and she'd just incinerate anything that stood in her way.
"Lets get to Berry base, then we'll fix this"
...
"They must have kept her up at the day care" Quinn chuckled as she returned to her girlfriend. She placed the baby monitor on the corner of Rachel's desk so she'd hear Beth if she stirred "She just wanted to sleep" Rachel just smiled at Quinn briefly before returning her attention to the computer "How's your work coming along?"
"I've done all I can do, Fairchild's running my instructions now" Rachel stretched and yawned. She then swivelled the chair round to face the blonde "How are you today?" she knew the past few weeks had been toughest on Quinn no matter how hard she tried to hide it
"Good" she nodded
"Just good" Rachel quirked an eyebrow
Quinn just chose a different word instead "Better"
"Good" Rachel smirked. But when Quinn just smiled and ducked her head like she always did
"It's just... I'm still hesitant-"
"We'll yeah" Rachel cut Quinn off trying to protect the blonde form herself "we haven't made much progress, but it's not like that's your fault Quinn"
It was the blondes turn to smirk "True. For the record, you haven't taken me out on that date yet"
"I know" Rachel cringed. To be honest, with everything that had been happening she was quite happy to stay in every night unless she went out in the suit. It just felt safer indoors, in their base, their home. "Can I take you on a date tomorrow night?"
"I'd love that" Quinn tried not to grin too wide "It's a start... I-I want to take more baby steps but... I'm kinda scared"
Rachel was out of her seat and on her knees in front of Quinn so she could look up into those expressive hazel eyes "What are you scared of exactly?"
"Honestly?" she shook her head "I'm not sure, maybe its that this is still new to me"
"You already said that"
"I know" she squeezed Rachel's hand thinking about all the times she'd done that over the past few weeks, and how it was such a mild step. She wanted to take bigger ones, she really did "Maybe it's because of what I feel for you... I'm scared you'll change your mind"
"That's not going to happen" Rachel almost laughed as she said that dismissively
"You don't know that though, if you're meant to be the person I'm with that doesn't mean I'm the one you're supposed to be with" she'd been thinking about a lot of things "If what that guy said was right, then I'm not even human"
"So, I'm gonna lo... I'm gonna be with you forever" she knew she was too late to cover herself so Rachel tried to distract from what had just happened.
Quinn didn't say anything, she just pulled Rachel up and leant down so they met halfway for a soft simple kiss. It grew more heated as she encouraged Rachel up onto the sofa next to her. She felt Quinn slowly push her back to lay down as Quinn went with her, only separating at the lips for a moment as they moved.
Rachel didn't even open her eyes, too dazed by Quinn's actions to regain control of all her senses quickly. Before she could even think Quinn was kissing her again. She wasn't sure what had got Quinn to do this but she wasn't complaining as she reached up and with one hand tangled her fingers in Quinn's hair, while the other hand slipped its way round Quinn's neck holding her gently in place
"I'm sorry to interrupt" Quinn clambered off Rachel as if they'd been walked in on by parents or something, making Rachel chuckle slightly once she was out of her Quinn induced daze.
"Damn" Rachel muttered "I was enjoying that"
Quinn just blushed
"What have you got Fairchild?"
"I'm sorry Miss, it's just it appears that two calls were made this morning, they match some of my finding on the traffic cams and the small details seem relevant to the Purifiers. As they haven't appeared on our radar since the major incident over two weeks ago I felt this could be important"
"I think she's spent too much time around you Rach" Quinn chuckled, haring the similarities in the computers description to the way Rachel used to and still occasionally spoke
"I have the phone call recording's if you'd like to hear them"
"Play them Fairchild" Rachel told the computer as she stood up and stepped back over to the computer to check the progress on her suit.
"Hello?" they heard the recording start with the voice of what sounded like a young man, or a boy in his late teens.
"Hello?" and there was the voice of a male police officer
"Yes what is your emergency?"
"I'd like to report a kidnapping, I just saw a kid running down the street with cars chasing. I swear man, I've never seen anyone run that fast before, he was like a rocket"
"Okay sir can you give us any other details"
"He just came out of a house and the cars started chasing him. There was like 3 cars, 3 black cars" not very detailed then "driving after him and then I didn't see anymore"
"And where did this happen?"
"Oh I was on..." as the excited teen said the street name Rachel and Quinn looked at each other with furrowed brows
"Is that..." Rachel trailed off afraid to be thinking it
But then Quinn finished her assumption "The street Mike lives on" right now they'd really hoped they wouldn't be thinking the same thing, it made the outcome less likely.
"What about the other one Fairchild?" Rachel urged
Fairchild started the second recording. "Hi, I wanna report a kidnapping" another male voice but he sounded shaken and far more mature than the one before
"Okay sir what did you see?" It was a different officer taking the call this time, a woman.
"I-I was in my car and this van pulled up in front, these guys just grabbed this girl who was just walking down the street. I didn't get the licence plate, and it was just a black van"
"Can you tell us anything else?"
"Yeah the guys that g-grabbed her were wearing some weird cloaks. And the girl, she's got to be a teenager, she had a school bag. Really dark hair... kinda dressed a bit like a Goth. I only saw her from the back"
"And where did this happen sir?" they asked the call logging officer ask
"Oh the street, right..." as he said the street name Quinn and Rachel felt that pang of worry in their guts again. That one sounded familiar too, and with the description it didn't sound good
"Do you think..." Quinn trailed off, knowing Rachel was thinking the same thing just by the matching expression on her face
"I'm not sure" Rachel told her "But either way, it sounds like the purifiers are at work again. If its who we think it is we'd do something to save them right?"
"Yeah" Quinn nodded quickly "And if they're not our friends I'd still want to save them, after what the Purifiers have already done to us"
Rachel smiled proudly at the blonde "Okay, I'll get ready, you monitor with Fairchild" she told her girlfriend
"Bit Rachel" Quinn tried
"No Quinn, you haven't even practiced with any of your powers yet. I'll have Fairchild call Santana and Brittany in, we'll deal with this"
"What can Brittany do, I haven't seen her train"
"We've had her watch action movies and instructional fighting videos, even WWE. She's actually really good" Rachel told her as if she hadn't just signed a simple minded girl up for a death match "It will be okay Quinn" Rachel tried to convince her "You need to look after Beth"
Of course Quinn hadn't forgotten that, she just didn't want to feel useless when possibly two of their friends were in danger
"Fairchild can you contact Santana and Brittany please" Rachel instructed as she started towards the slight platform
"Miss Santana and Miss Brittany are 0.65 miles from here Miss and will be here with us shortly. I fear with Miss Santana's haste they must have come across some trouble"
Rachel and Quinn sighed; there usually was trouble when Santana was involved.
Sorry again it took so long
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