Hey all you lovely readers o'mine! Another lovely chapter for you! It's not as long as the last but still rather important. Hopefully you guys are still enjoying the story ^_^ I'll be working on more chapters soon and hopefully have them up just as speedily as this one was.

Love as always,

~Primal

"Oh shit, ooohhh shit! You BROKE it!" Morgan yelped as she rushed over and looked at the crumbling machine.
"It went insane! It HURT me." Alex growled as he demorphed his arm. He took a moment to flex and bend it, running this other hand over it to make sure everything was okay. He rolled his sleeve down as he watched Morgan continue to panic.
"How are we going to cover this up! Alex it…it's ruined! Oh sshhhiittt." She whimpered as he looked it over. There was no way to fix it in such sort time…there was no way…
"You'll be fine…they'll blame it on burglars…" He reasoned as he started to look around the room.
"Why the hell would they do that?" She asked before her face grew pale. "ALEX!" His arm morphed into the whip, snapping around the room as he wrecked more equipment. Morgan dropped to the ground and crawled away under the desk where she had been working. She was right beside the computer tower so she just yanked the flash drive out and pocketed it. She hid for the next three minutes as Alex tore through the room, making it look like someone had been looking for something. He tore some components out of some machines, while others he just tore open to make it look like someone had searched in vain. He managed to pocket a few small chips when the room suddenly began to be bathed in red light. It came on, then off…on and then off. Before Morgan could ask it was followed by a loud alarm siren that made the remaining color in her face drain. This was it….she was dead. She was going to jail and/or going to die. Alex seemed a bit startled too, the man cursing as he checked his watch then rushed over to Morgan.

"Come'on. We have to go." He hissed as he yanked her out from under the desk and onto his back. She didn't have the air to make a snappy comment, the girl clinging to his back as the walls started to blur past them. They made it back up to Mr. D's office easy enough but when Morgan realized they were headed for those windows…
"Oh dear god…" She cried softly. Alex leapt from that window, soaring towards the apartments as the ground started to rush up at them. Morgan almost threw up. Her teeth were biting so hard on her lip that blood started to drip. This was like a nightmare…dropping 30 feet to their deaths. However they only dropped about ten feet before….Morgan noticed their decent slowing. She dared to peek out; realizing that she and Alex were stretched out and….they were… flying! No…no the ground was still coming up just…slower. She felt the bile in her throat dye back down when it settled in but she still hide in his neck. As they glided down and landed on the ceiling she could feel her heart going back into her chest from her throat. Alex was looking back though, watching as guards swarmed all over the building and started going in. He just hoped they bought it, a little worried now since he saw what he swore were Blackwatch troops talking to the regular soldiers.
"A-alex…" Morgan sounded like a child. "Can we p-please go home…?" She asked softly, head not moving off his back. He just gave a nod, his arms shifting under her legs some more to pull her up on his back more. That was right…she feared falling…opps. Without a word he took them home. He dropped back onto the side walk after a few blocks and carried her right in the front door. It was dark inside but he could see the way up to her room. He continued to carry her, moving right up to her room before heading to her bed and shifting to drop her on the edge. He let go but she didn't budge; the man sighing heavily.

"Morgan…you're home. Let go." He said, struggling to sound…concerned. He was…well, sorta…but his voice typically had the same tone no matter what emotion he was feeling.
"Oh…." Her arms dropped away like limp noodles which allowed him to turn and get a look at her as she plopped on her bed. By the light of the digital clock she looked as white as a ghost and her eyes seemed to shake a little with her body.
"Morgan….hey. Look." He sighed, dropping down a little to look her in the eye. "You're home….you're in your room…just…try and get some sleep. It will be alright okay?" He reasoned as he offered her a painfully forced smile. She made her eyes focus on him then, or at least on that smile.
"You look like your in pain….stop it. It's creepy." She muttered as her shaking calmed some. Now that…that actually got a genuine, however short, smile from him.
"Go to sleep." He reasoned again, moving away then as he kept an eye on her. She nodded stiffly, moving slowly then to push the covers down some. Alex took another look at the clock, sighing at the bright 1:45 shining there. Where had that time gone? They had left at 10…. Moving out of the room he tried to figure out what he would do to try and solve the small mess at hand…those camera's had come back on….

The following morning Morgan rose to a message on her answering machine. It was from work, telling her there had been a break in and that they would be closed for a few days in order for a FULL investigation to be conducted. While it made her uneasy she erased the message and took it as an added vacation. In an attempt to stay calm she took a long, soothing shower before heading down to face the day. Like clockwork Alex was sitting and watching TV, the news going on and on about the break in.
"Officials now suspect that the cause for the break in was a valuable type of microchip that Genetek uses in most of their equipment. Apparently when stolen in large quantities the gold inside them can be sold for a high profit. However officials are unsure of how many chips have been stolen…"
"So that's what you did?" Morgan asked as she came into the living room. Alex looked over and nodded. "I only got a few though..." He sighed, looking to the pile of chips on the coffee table in front of him.
"You should get rid of them…" Morgan noted, moving into the kitchen to try and find something to drink and maybe eat.
"I plan to." He assured her before turning to watch her. She could hear the volume drop as she started making coffee and suspected he was about to ask her for something….
"So…." She was right. "We have all the information now right…?" He asked.
"Yes."
"So….are you going to start working on going through it…?" She hadn't been downstairs five minutes…
"Yes." She groaned before letting her head drop. "Am I allowed to wake up first?" He didn't answer that, Morgan feeling a spark of anger take over then. That son of a bitch…. Now she WANTED to go slow.

She did too, staying in the kitchen as she listened to the coffee machine work. She decided on some toast too, getting that all set up while setting out some jellies and jams. She wasn't going to offer anything to him….the damn slave driver… Fifteen minutes later she was still in there, contently munching on toast and sipping her coffee. Now this…this was nice. How sad was that? A simple coffee and toast was making her so happy.
"Are you still alive out there?" His voice shattered her happy place. Groaning she threw the crust of the toast down on the plate, washed her hands and took the coffee out with her.
"You know….after all those surprises you pulled last night I honestly think you could do this yourself…" She pointed out as she took a seat at her desk. Alex just snorted at that before muttering something that Morgan couldn't catch. She shook her head then and took her time as she plugged in the flash drive from the night before. It took a few minutes for her computer to go through it all but once it had been sorted she started reading. Some of the information was so detailed she didn't need it at the moment and clicked it away but after awhile…she started to realize something awful. The data it….it wasn't… Dread iced over her stomach when she felt Alex's shadow fall over her and she stopped what she was doing.
"You're quiet…" He noted as he peeked down at her. She gave a stiff nod and he raised an eye. "Any reason why?" He asked.
"I….um…" How did she put this… "Alex I….I don't think…anything I was planning is going to work…" She said softly. The information it…it contradicted all her ideas, her theories…
"What?" His tone reminded her of the one he had when he first came there. Dark and threatening he did not sound happy.
"I….I don't think I can fix you…" She quickly corrected herself. "A-at least the way I was planning before…" She dared to peek around then, looking at him and flinching. Tendrils were snapping around his form and his eyes seemed to glow a faint fiery orange.
She was dead…

"What do you MEAN you can't FIX THIS!" He roared as he snapped away and started to pace.
"I…Alex I just…" She looked from him, to the computer and then back again. "See...I…I thought that whatever it was you had…well…it was what got New York and that the radiation from that blast just…messed it up." She began to explain in a rush. "I thought it was just using you as a host. It should have killed you but for whatever reason it was flawed and not working. I was planning to make an anti-body or something similar to it that would target the virus but…this…this isn't telling me that's the case at all." She skimmed some more of the data. "This…this is suggesting that the virus is actually-"
"Just SHUT UP!" Alex roared then, arms throwing one of the dining room chairs aside. Morgan shut up and froze but continued to watch in horror as he started to wreak the living room. "You have kept me here for months…MONTHS and you've accomplished nothing!" The table cracked as his whip fist slammed across it. It was a miracle it didn't shatter.
"I…I'm sorry…" Morgan whispered softly, voice shrinking considerably. "I...with this I can start again. I can figure something out…" She offered as she looked away and then back. However as she looked back…she regretted it. A scream choked in her throat as that arm shot out, the claws around the end snapping around her neck before pulling her across the room. She slammed into him, choking and gasping for air as tears leaked from her eyes.
"You are just about completely worthless…" Alex hissed as his eyes bore into her own.
"A-alex….I…I'm sorry!" Morgan choked. "Please! Please I can figure this out…" She knew more now, she knew where to start over to how to approach it now. "Please…" She begged weakly, tears continuing to leak as her hands grasp the 'wrist' that held the claws. They just stared at each other then, not speaking for a few tense seconds before he tossed her like a doll to the floor. She landed and started to cough, hands going to her throat as she looked back at him. Wordlessly he turned and left. He slammed the door so hard when he left that it shook some of the picture frames on the wall. She remained on the floor for some time, crying softly and holding her throat. He….he had almost killed her…. Minutes passed and once she had her composure again she rose to her feet and hurried to get on the phone. She knew it was stupid, dumb and probably wouldn't work but she didn't know what else to do. She dialed in a number, listened to it ring before someone answered. She only had to really say one thing…
"Cadence?"
"Oh my god Morgan what's wrong!"

The women who had treated her like a stranger for the last few months melted into her friend once more. Ten minutes later she was at the door, knocked and then let herself in. Seeing her again brought Morgan back to tears, just soo happy to see a friendly face again.
"Oh my GOD! What happened to you! You're all bruised…" Cadence gasped as she lightly touched Morgan's neck.
"I….I really can't say…" Morgan smiled weakly as Cadence helped her over to sit on the couch.
"Did someone break in? The place looks awful Morgan…" She asked as she noted the chairs and table.
"No."
"Morgan what HAPPENED?" Cadence demanded as she looked at her. She fought with herself, knowing she couldn't tell her completely what was going on…
"It's…kinda a long story Cadence." She sighed weakly before coughing lightly.
"Alright well…I have time. Can I get you something? Maybe ice?" She asked. Morgan nodded and told her there were some packs in the freezer. Cadence found one easily enough, breaking it up and returning to press it to her neck softly.
"Alright…talk." She reasoned, watching as Morgan got comfy on the couch. She began to retell her story, being as vague as possible though. She didn't talk about powers, New York or anything related to it. At first Cadence gave her a hard time about it, telling her she couldn't skip on details but Morgan let her know it was either a vague story or nothing at all. She shut up after that and let her continue. It was during this time that Alex actually came back. He knew Cadence was there though and so he came in from the second floor. He used Morgan's bedroom window and stayed at the top of the stairs to listen.
"Wait, wait….Morgan, he's been…living here? With you?" Cadence asked. She rarely interrupted but she absolutely had to now.
"Well…yes… Why do you sound shocked?" Morgan asked as she shifted her ice. Cadence snorted and then smiled.
"Just because…well…every time I've been around and you've had a man living with you…" She giggled madly.
"Spit it out!" Morgan laughed.
"Well…you typically can only live with a man if you're sleeping with him…"
"CADENCE!" Morgan gasped as she swung her arm around and hit her. "That is NOT true!"
"Well every time I've been here and there is a dude living with you…"
"You've only known me for 5 years!" Morgan reasoned before groaning and rolling her eyes. "You're a horrible friend." Cadence just enjoyed laughing and watching Morgan's face. When she finally calmed down she did remember something…
"You know…" Cadence began slowly. "I….haven't been the best friend to you the last few months…and I'm really, REALLY sorry Morgan." She said softly. "I just….the promotion…I've been so stressed out. Those guys…those gas mask guys you saw that day? The watch everything I do. It freaks me out…" She even shuddered some before looking at Morgan. She was smiling now, feeling so much better that everything was being settled. At least…if she did die, she would die knowing her friend cared again.
"It's okay Cadence. I knew it had to be stressful but I didn't know how badly." She confessed. She jumped a little then when Cadence lunged at her, attacking her in a hug.
"You're the best ever Morgan!" She hummed happily.
"Iii wouldn't say that." Morgan laughed. They hugged for a short time before settling back in the couch again. "But Morgan…this guy…" Cadence began again after awhile. "You can't…he can't hurt you like this. You're trying to help him…and you're not a mind reader. You can't just look at someone and know what's wrong." Morgan was nodding to agree. "It takes time, effort, patience…"
"I don't think he knows the meaning of those three words." Morgan snorted as she shifted the ice again. "Does it look that bad?" She asked as she moved it completely.
"Not so much now…" Cadence smiled as Morgan put the ice back. "But….what are you going to do?" She asked.
"Well….I think I'll keep working. What else is there?" Morgan laughed softly. "Now that we got the tests done that we did…I may be able to make some real progress."
"Hell if I was you I'd kick him out of the house. Not after that shit." Cadence snorted. Morgan had to fight a twisted little laugh at the words. Like she could kick him out….
"I'll see what I can do." Morgan reasoned before smiling at Cadence some.
"But…since I'm here…"
"Oh god…"
"You want to have a girl's day!"

Alex had listened to the entire conversation and had to admit he was shocked. He had…he had actually hurt her and she wasn't calling in the army. She could, she had to know she could and completely ruin what was left of his life but…she wasn't. She actually sounded like she wanted to keep working and she wasn't just saying it to pacify Cadence. However when the girl squealed about having a girls day he knew it was his cue to leave. More importantly he felt a need to get some more air and think. Out the window and down to the streets he went, hood up like normal as he walked and just….thought.

It all wasn't really her fault. Not entirely. He knew….he knew a lot about his condition but had decided not to tell her. After all the less she knew about what had happened the better right? He sighed, shaking his head some before looking up and around the streets. People were staring at him, whispering and when he made eye contact they all looked down and scurried away. With a frown he turned down an alley, deciding to avoid what few people there were crowding the street. He couldn't stand it…people looking at him like that. It was like they knew…without the slightest clue what he was… He snarled and planted a strong kick into a small trash can, watching as it crunched in around his foot. He sighed, shaking it free and watching it fall and roll some feet away.
He continued his walk then, still thinking and pushing all the cluttered voices back. He hadn't meant to hurt her like that…truly he hadn't. He just….he didn't know what had happened. Well he did but it was hard to admit it.

There was a monster on in the inside. It was something that the virus was brewing up and growing inside both his mind and body. It snapped out at times and had been there when he had first found Morgan. But now, after all these months, it had gone away for the most part and he wasn't sure why. Was it because he felt somewhat comfortable in her house? Around her? He hadn't been this open since he had been with Dana…it almost felt inhuman. He laughed at the irony of that thought, that being open and being HUMAN felt INHUMAN.

"God I'm fucked up." He laughed as he let a hand go to his head. He pushed his hair back some under the hood, sighing some and stopping then as he came out of the alley and faced the street again. He sighed and debated going to the roof tops or to just go back. Going on felt childish but going back made his stomach twist in a strange way. He didn't like it. He felt like he didn't have anywhere to go and that made him feel the most unsettled. Sighing he decided to do something that didn't fit either option; he was going to snoop around Gentek again….

By the late evening Cadence was heading out. Morgan's neck was only a little spotty but sore. It looked bad but she had a feeling that if she kept the ice on it that it would heal up over the next few days. Once Cadence was gone she moved back to the computer, sighing some as she started to pull up models and simulators to start running all the new data in. Having just eaten her mind was revving to go and focus on something new. She was actually working hard on forgetting what had happened with her and Alex. However whether it was because it scared her too much to think about or if it was because she just didn't want to put a kink in their friendship was unclear to even her.

She worked for what seemed like a few hours but she didn't actually pay attention to the time to know for sure. She was only jarred out of her trace of sorts when she heard the front door open and close. The noise made her freeze, fingers still posed over the keyboard as she listened and waited nervously. Step by step he moved closer; step by step her heart escalated in pace. His steps stopped in the doorway to the living room, the air thickening with nervousness. After awhile she just started to type again, trying to pretend her heart wasn't in her throat. Maybe if she looked busy he wouldn't hurt her again…
"I um…" Alex began, his voice sounding off. It was off in a new way though, the emotion in his tone unknown to her. "I….I took a walk and just…." He was struggling to find the right words. "I wanted to apologize for what…happened earlier. It wasn't right of me…I shouldn't have hurt you like I did…are you okay?" He asked. She only gave a stiff nod but that was mainly because her throat felt sealed up with glue. "Good…" He sounded off then, not sure why she wasn't talking and having a feeling it wasn't a good sign. However rather than face the problem and bring it up he did what he normally did. He went to the couch, sat down and turned on the TV. The soft noise in the back allowed a slight rhythm to return to the house. It quickly took the edge out of the air and allowed Morgan to work another hour before she stopped. She saved everything, turned off the screen and stood. She took a few seconds to stretch before moving to the kitchen. She wanted to get an ice pack to sleep on before heading up. However when she came back out, sights set on her room…she froze. Alex was there, RIGHT there looming in the doorway and blocking her path. He had dropped his hood though, shaggy brown hair hanging in his face and his eyes locked on her. It has scared her so badly she had dropped her ice and she had yet to pick it up since her eyes were locked uncomfortably with his. He had noticed though and when she didn't go for it he sighed and leaned down. He picked it up with a sigh and offered it back to her.
"I think you dropped this…" He mused, offering her another one of those awkward forced smiles. She nodded, taking it back slowly before freezing again. He was looking at her neck and before she could explain he was raising a hand. He sighed, moving some of her hair to get an eye on the bruising. He had hurt her…he had left a mark… He frowned, moving his hand more to brush a finger over the black.
"Does it hurt?" He asked. She shook her head no but continued to watch him. He wasn't moving his hand away and she couldn't tell if it was the fact he was so close or that he was touching her that was making her so uncomfortable. Her heart was racing and that was the only thing she was sure about.

"Morgan I really am sorry…truly…" He sighed as his hand dropped away. Morgan nodded, putting the ice over where his fingers had been.
"I know…" She managed to choke out. "I'm going to go to bed now though…" She added hoping he would move. He did with a nod and moved to give her a clear path.
"Night." He managed to sigh as she headed towards the stairs. She said it back but she had a feeling that she was the only one that heard it…..