A/N: Yup, it's updating time! To be honest I wasn't sure if I'd manage to update today but here I am. Yay?

Firstly, though, THANK YOU so much for your reviews and support! I'm still baffled that so many of you are willing to dive in to a sequel. (BEAMS)

Awkay, because my time's running a bit short, let's go! I really hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

Mousetrap

The drive to the military base holding Penelope and who knows what else was full of tense silence. In truth they couldn't be fully certain what they were up against. All they knew was that they'd face enemy soldiers, a lot of them and in full arms while all they had was handguns and luck. Which, to be honest, was quite often not on their side. But they also couldn't just leave a member of their family behind. Not like this. So off towards the flames it was.

"There's… something I need to tell you, before we get there." Spencer's quiet voice pierced the silence that'd lasted for a long time. Instantly he had everyone's attention. For once he didn't seem bothered by it, most likely because he didn't notice. He appeared even paler than usual. "I… When I met my mom she… told me something." He looked at them all, appearing somewhat nervous. "The humans… They've been developing a cure. It's fully completed now, ready to be used."

"A cure?" David appeared lost for a moment until realization dawned. A somewhat nauseated look appeared to his face. "Oh…!"

"I don't understand." JJ appeared tense and puzzled. "How… can there be a cure to something your kind just… are?"

Spencer swallowed. His hands didn't seem steady. "That's the catch. There can't be."

It took a while before those words sunk in. When they did they all felt sick to their stomachs. It was almost too horrible to be true.

The cure… It'd destroy the Others from the inside. It'd attack what made them who and what they were, tearing everything to pieces until there was nothing left. Until there was no life left.

How the hell was that human?!

"We've gotta destroy it", Emily whispered, visibly shocked.

Spencer nodded solemnly. "It's in the lower floors of the building, in the laboratory. Apparently it's not too heavily guarded because no outsider is ever supposed to get that far."

They all pondered this for a moment. Then Emily's eyes flashed. "I know a secret entrance that leads almost directly to the laboratories. That's, of course, if they haven't discovered and sealed it throughoutly. I'm going there with you."

"No", Aaron, who'd been focused on driving, interjected. Finally reclaimed his position as the leader. "Garcia's floor is far more highly guarded. If we want any hope of getting to her we need your abilities."

"I'll go with Spence", Maeve offered. There wasn't a hint of hesitation on her face. Seeing his mouth open for a protest she went on quickly and firmly. "I can take care of myself. I'm the only one of us who can take a bullet without getting a scratch."

Aaron nodded stiffly. By then they were so close to their destination that he had to park, careful to leave the vehicle so that it wouldn't arouse suspicion. "Alright, then. Reid and Maeve, destroy the cure. Morgan and Prentiss, go and get Garcia. And quickly. I don't know how long we can be here before they notice something. I'd prefer that we all went in but the more of us enter that building the greater the risks will be." He gave the four of them a firm look. "Be safe, all of you."

Finding the secret entrance Emily mentioned wasn't difficult at all, especially with Spencer's eidetic memory that had every little turn stored. But, Maeve found, actually facing the potential danger was much harder. Especially when she'd never had quite as much to lose.

Their hands brushed together while they hid behind a corner to wait for a guard patrol to pass by. The gesture, albeit brief and half accidental, offered them both much needed warmth and comfort. Gave them hope that perhaps they'd make it through this whole mess alive, after all.

Soon enough the most acute threat was gone. They exchanged stern looks of mutual understanding before he knelt down, starting to work on the hatch with a screwdriver while she kept watch. The four minutes that passed by felt endless but eventually there was a metallic jingle before the lid that'd been covering the entrance fell down.

They exchanged a smile of triumph before Maeve moved to enter. Only to find Spencer blocking her path. She frowned with suspicion. "Spence, what are you doing?"

Spencer's eyes were full of sadness and determination when they met hers. "I… I'm sorry, Maeve. But… I already lost you once. And I'm not taking the risk of that happening twice."

Fear and intense fury flared inside Maeve. She gritted her teeth. "I'm not a damsel in distress!" she hissed venomously. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself! I'm indestructable, remember?"

Spencer gulped loudly. "You may be", he admitted. Slowly, slowly, his eyes slid towards her stomach although even the slightest bit of swell couldn't be seen yet. "But they aren't. I couldn't live with myself if I risked their lives like this."

Shock numbed Maeve for a moment. Her head, which was stuck on panic mode, didn't seem able to decide which bit was more surprising. The fact that he knew in the first place. Or that apparently there were several lives growing inside her.

Spencer smiled almost fondly at her stunned expression. "My mom's a telepath", he reminded her. "She's been keeping an eye on us and found out. And apparently she's also a huge gossip."

Maeve unleashed a shuddering sigh. "I'm sorry", she whispered. "I didn't want you to find out this way. I wanted…" In truth she didn't know what, exactly, she wanted. Something intimate and romantic, maybe. Not him blurting out that he already knew with several hostile soldiers nearby and with the two of them about to enter the eye of the danger.

Spencer sighed. On the spur of the moment, it seemed, he planted a small, chaste kiss to her forehead. "It's okay", he reassured. "I'm glad that I know." He brushed her face gently. "You'll be a great mom."

All of a sudden there was five steps between them. Before she could make a move to stop him Spencer had already hauled himself through the secret door.

Maeve stepped forth with a frown. "Spence, what…?"

Once more he met her eyes. There was a apology in them. "Go back to the others. Quickly, before you're spotted." His jawline tightened for a moment. "I'm sorry. But it'll be okay, I promise." With those words he closed the hatch between them.

Maeve dashed forward although she knew that it was hopeless. Sure enough the hatch was firmly sealed. It took longer than it should've before she realized why her eyes blurred. "Spencer!"

Derek couldn't help feeling a massive wave of discomfort while he walked beside a person he knew, according to all sense, to be Emily Prentiss. But every single move… That expression… Even the air around her… It was impossible to not believe that it was Erica Leonor.

When they approached the elevator that'd take them to Penelope's current location the much too young guard keeping an eye on it certainly seemed convinced. His gray eyes widened with stun and his face lost a bit of color. "Dr. Leonor?" The young man glanced warily towards Derek. "What… is this?"

How Emily had succeeded in copying even that voice was beyond him. She must've spent hours upon hours memorizing and practising. "Agent Morgan is interested in joining us", she announced. "But at first he wants to talk to a prisoner."

The guard relaxed visibly. Appeared so young and trusting that it hurt. A tiny part of Derek felt guilt while he wondered just how much trouble they were throwing the misguided youngling into. But this was war and he had several important people to protect. Now wasn't the time to feel sympathy towards the enemy.

The halfstep Emily took to the right was so swift and subtle that only a well trained eye could've possibly caught it. She moved at the exact same moment the young guard did, causing them to bump into one another. She growled, one of her hands pushing harshly to his shoulder. "Watch where you're going!"

They walked through the double doors and entered the elevator, leaving the guard sputtering horrified apologies. There, in the safety, Derek finally dared the blink slowly, his head whirring. "Did… you just…?"

"… drug him?" Emily supplied. She nodded, a very familiar determination on her face. "He should be out like light in…" She checked the time. "… twenty seconds."

For while Derek stared at her. Of course he understood entirely too well just how horrible and dangerous the situation was. But at that moment he chuckled. "I've missed you", he confided heartily.

Emily smiled back, her eyes saying more than enough.

A 'bing' announced that they'd hit the correct floor. Derek's stomach turned with discomfort at the realization that they'd reached the medical wing. Just how badly was Penelope injured?

The three minutes and eleven seconds it took them to find the correct room felt endless. Especially because they had to advance slowly to avoid arousing the attention of guards. But eventually they reached the door they'd been looking for.

Derek's eyebrow bounced up when Emily pulled out a key. It fit the lock perfectly. "Where did you get that from?"

Emily shrugged. "From that guard we met. I used to be Lauren Reynolds for a while, remember?" With that she pushed the door open, clearly not desiring to waste any more time. What they discovered made Derek shiver.

Penelope appeared ill. There was no other word to describe it. She was pale and seemed to barely stay on her own two feet. There was a wound on her forehead that'd been stitched up so poorly that it was bound to scar horribly. He didn't want to even think about the injuries that were probably hiding underneath the black shirt and pants they'd given her. She was moving although it seemed to hurt, apparently looking for a way out.

At first Penelope seemed startled, enough so attempt an attack against them. Before she ever did, though, she seemed to come back to herself. Her eyes widened, then filled with moisture. "Oh, thank god…!"

Derek just had to smile a bit there. "I'm happy to see you too, baby girl. But right now we've gotta get out of here."

Both women nodded their confirmation. Without a beat of hesitation Emily made her way to the room's far wall, placed her hands to two panels and pushed. There was a screech and in a few moments a small tunnel was wide open right in front of them.

Penelope gasped. Derek felt a wave of stun. "How…?"

Emily's eyes darkened a little. "This isn't my first time escaping this place. I had to pull a couple of strings to get Garcia transferred into this cell." She nodded towards the tunnel. "Now let's go. The others are waiting for us."

"Wait!" All of a sudden Penelope's eyes were full of sheer terror. She looked at them both. "Where's Reid?"

Derek frowned. Without a warning he was feeling very, very cold. "He… shouldn't be far. Why?" All alarm bells had already gone off in his head.

Sheer panic took over Penelope's face. "We have to find him, right now! This is a trap – Leonor was trying to lure him here! We… We have to find him before she gets to him!"

In the meantime Spencer was making his way downstairs, trying to ignore the dark memories that rose when he saw a door that'd been marked with X. Mercifully his thoughts were shoved elsewhere when the door opened. He was just in time to withdraw into the shadows when a man and a woman dressed in lab coats left the room, talking in hushed yet urgent tones that he couldn't quite make out.

Spencer decided to take a risk and dashed for the rapidly closing door as fast and soundlessly he could. He succeeded. Never catching the attention of the scientists he slipped in and listened on how the door sighed closed without a blink's delay. He even managed to avoid the security cameras placed to his path, one at the end of the hallway he just left and another nearby the ceiling of the room he sneaked in to.

Or perhaps laboratory would've been a more suitable term. Spencer's eyes widened as he took in the space around him. A tidal wave of disgust crashed through.

The equipment around him… Several kinds of surgical blades, test and bloodtest tubes, petri dishes, countless of liquids, devices that he was very happy not recognizing… The sight made him feel sick to his stomach. And that was even before he noticed the cells.

There, in what appeared to be around forty or fifty plastic cubicles, were people he instinctively knew to be his kind. Their faces and eyes full of terror and exhaustion, most of them battered, nearly every single one of them so weak that they couldn't even stand. There were women and small children included. His eyes caught at least two women who were pregnant. One of them looked like she might go into labour any minute.

Spencer's eyes narrowed and nearly overflowed, tears of rage and immense grief wanting to fall. His mouth opened but he couldn't produce a sound. What words would've been enough for such a horrible place?

All of a sudden a small child, most likely not even eight years old, noticed him. Instantly her surreally blue eyes filled with hope. Her long, greasy and matted nearly black hair didn't move while she stumbled to her cell's wall, pressing one tiny hand against it. "You… You're not one of them", she observed, her voice full of relief and joy. "Did you come to take us away from here? Can I go home now?"

A stab of ache crossed Spencer. He swallowed but it did nothing to help with the bitter taste in his mouth. Oh, if only he'd been able to take all of these people with him. To give them the freedom that they so deserved.

"So you found my little research centre." Erica Leonor's voice came so unexpectedly that Spencer shivered. Turning around he found a ice cold smile from her face. "I was starting to grow tired of waiting for you. It took you longer than I expected to appear."

Spencer took an instinctive step backwards, placing himself so that he was blocking her way to the child who just spoke to him. Like he would've been able to protect the little one. "How did you know I'm here?" He asked although he had his suspicions.

Erica shrugged, looking at him dryly. "We've been able to micro chip our household pets for a very long time, now. Surely we can do as much to our enemies. Especially to those that are valuable to find."

Spencer was careful to not let anything show on his face. His heart was leaping with alarm. "Valuable?" he inquired.

"It took us a while to discover the real face behind their army. The brat that finally gave us the final piece… screamed quite spectacularly. Begged your mother to help." Erica began to approach, a hazardous gleam taking over her eyes. "I'm surprised that your mother isn't here yet. Perhaps it's true what they say, that your kind don't care about their young." She shrugged. "But oh well. We'll spend some quality time together while waiting for her."

Spencer's whole system was functioning on overdrive. One of his hands was sliding towards his gun subtly and infuriatingly slowly while everything around him seemed to be working entirely too fast. Maybe it was the rush of blood in his ears that kept him from realizing that the real threat came from behind.

There was a single step, no more. Then a breath of air that sounded like a sigh. It was impossible to tell if the brutal attack to the back of his neck was a tranquilizer dart or a bullet. Not that Spencer would've had long to wonder. In a matter of seconds everything turned into a blur and his feet gave out underneath him just as he managed to turn his head towards the unexpected attacker. The last thing he saw before darkness took over was a black figure standing a few steps away.

Erica watched Spencer's collapsed form for a moment and smiled coolly, her eyes then rising to meet the other person still standing.

TBC

A/N: Oh… no! (winces) This… so isn't good. What in the world happens now? And who was the person that shot Reid?

Thoughts? Something you'd like to share? Do leave a note!

I've gotta go now. Hopefully we'll all be seeing each other next time.

Take care!

Violet: Such word of kindness! (beams) 'Hope you'll enjoy the next one as much.

Gosh, I'd totally love to type more of those! It means a lot that you'd be there, eager to read. (grins with excitement)

HUGE thank yous for the review!