I just wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews! This has really just been an idea of mind for about a year but I wasn't sure if it was going to be any good on here. Your reviews are really encouraging. I have an idea of where I want this to go but I still need to figure out how I'm going to get them there. I'm really open to anything you guys want to see or any plot suggestions! I wrote this in a haste after reading all the comments so I apologize if there are some errors. Enjoy!

Striker hunched over his desk, leaning on his elbows and fingers folded in front of his mouth. His baggy eyes starred into the file in front of him, just as they had been the past three hours. The events last night took ten years off his life. Fourteen good men slaughtered within minutes. He wasn't worried about making up a story to tell their families, no that was always the case when it came to working in top secret facilities.

Collateral damage

For the first time in a while striker wondered if he was in over his head. He reached blindly for his mug only to taste cold spoiled coffee. He had been up all morning after Victor and Logan had brought back his escaped subject. This time he bolted her down with two inch iron cuff screwed into the metal table and a steel muzzle just to be sure. It wasn't the possibility of her escaping that had been keeping him up, it was the fact that he had no idea how he was going to break her. He had been drowning in all the information he had laid out on his desk.

"Boss-" a calm voice interrupted him. He looked up to see Skylark dressed in her usual black suit.

"Come in. How is she doing?" He leaned back in his chair.

"Still unconscious, which isn't a bad thing. You said you had something for me?"

Aleesa Skylark had been leading the research team striker put together to find the mutants like her in the first place. She had proved an worthy of the position with her in anthropology, history, and genetics. Skylark was his best bet to finding out what made this mutant tick.

"You're going to need this Aleesa." Striker held out the file.

"What for?"

"I want you to be there when she wakes up, bring her to her senses. Talk to her if possible."

"And then what?"

"Ask her as many questions as possible."

Muffled sounds became clearer, she opened her heavy eyes trying to adjust to the bright lights above her. 'Where am I? What cold hell is this?' Goosebumps pricked her skin as she felt herself on top of cold metal. She attempted to get up but her wrist banged against the hard restraints. She whimpered in pain and her heart pounded

'I'm trapped!' She gulped only to gag on the metal bar shoved between her jaws.

She struggled in panic as her eyes darted all over the grey room.

"Shhhh, be calm" said a soft voice like wind

She struggled to see where it came from but soon the owner of the voice came in her line of vision. A tall woman appeared from the door. Her skin was copper, body slim and framed by long waves of chocolate hair. Her almond eyes where lined in coal to match her onyx orbs. She wore very strange clothes. A man's suit jacket that was very small and then a shockingly tight skirt and actually showed her ankles and shins! She would've called the girl scandalous if she had not realized how little she herself had on. Only very small undergarments were barely covering her dignity. The exposure caused her face to heat up with embarrassment. The woman's full lips turned up in a smile.

"You are safe. Do you understand what I am saying?cogitesne?érted?comprenez vous?." Aleesa tried in any other language the mutant might have once been familiar with.

She looked at the raven haired woman unsure.

There was a long pause but Aleesa assumed the mutant could comprehend.

"I'm going to remove this." She pointed to the gag in her mouth "if you promise to be good" she said slowly.

Aleesa carefully took the awful device out of her mouth and the mutant licked her lips in relief.

"Do you have a name? My name is Aleesa Skylark."

Silence

"Quel est votre nom? Cómo te llamas? A neved? Noomen tuum?" She asked

"My name Is Rhaella" she said surprised both of them.

It was the first time at hearing her own voice in a long time.

"Rhaella..." Aleesa repeated. "You are in a...hospital" not sure if she knew what a hospital was.

"You are being cared for...we found you in a state of shambles."

Rhaella's stare was unwavering and untrusting.

"I was dead" the strangled voice broke the silence

Aleesa bit her lip and looked down. "We found you in a tomb, although I'm not entirely sure who put you in there."

"I did." She said closing her eyes trying to forget the memories.

Aleesa stared at her in shock, why bury yourself alive? By the expression on her face she knew those questions would open old wounds. She looked around the room, Rhaella's eyes snapped open at the sound of Aleesa dragging a chair towards her. She plopped down and began fingering through papers.

"Rhaella Marie-Eleanor Hildegard Velken of Hungary... you were born" Aleesa's brows furrowed "in 1772?" She looked at her lost for words.

"Yes." she sighed closing her eyes from the harsh light above her.

"When did you end up in that crypt?"

"1860"

"Rhaella...you've been in that tomb for over a hundred years..."

Her eyes snapped to the slender woman in the chair "You mean to tell me this is the 20th century" her voice warily.

"Yes..."

She started breathing frantically 'a hundred years' those words sent chills up her spine. She thought surely a hundred years of starving would be enough to end it. "Then WHY did you take me OUT?!" She roared at the woman in front of her. Soon the spicy aroma of fear hit her knows as it was coming off of Aleesa in waves. "Because-" she tried to say calmly "-we need you and your abilities.."

Rhaella snorted in disbelief, how ridiculous! Her laughing ceased as she saw Aleesa's confused expression. What use could anyone have with a monster like her? She decided that these people of the 20th century where either very brave, or very stupid. But are the two always so different?

"You're a fool Aleesa" her tone dangerous. "You and all your men would so willingly put their hands in the mouth of a lion. Don't you know I'm a demon?"

Aleesa sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. Rhaella was partially right, this idea of Striker's was foolish to try and convince mutants, let alone ferals to work for him. She knew she should've put a stop to this once Striker brought those feral brother's into the mix. Logan might have been the exception to the case. But when it came to Victor...Striker was playing a very dangerous game with the feral, and at any minute one wrong move and the game was over. As easy as it was to call mutants abominations and demons, her studies proved that they where humans who just got dealt the bad hand from nature. But how could she explain to this girl that grew up in a world believed in spontaneous generation, and cured disease with prayer.

"Listen to me." Aleesa said sternly, Rhaella looked up at her surprised by her tone

"You are not some demon"

She remembered the last time someone told her she wasn't a monster, someone who believed her to be a good soul. her heart felt heavy just remembering the old woman and her family. They had come across her when she had no family, no money, and no home. but just the same, they had died because of her.

"I'd like to believe that, but these" she motioned to her hands "these say other wise."

"A lot has happened in a hundred years, ground breaking discoveries in science..." Aleesa decided she would try to explain to her everything from the start. From the time DNA was discovered to everything it was responsible for, in the most simplified version. Whether she wanted to hear it or not she would listen, and maybe she wouldn't believe it but she was to be told why she is the way she is.

Rhaella drank up hours of information on what Aleesa described as "genetics" or something like that. She told her everything about her was held responsible by her "genes". It made somewhat sense when talking about how babies look somewhat like their mothers and fathers. But her father didn't have demonic claws, teeth, and unhuman desires to... She shuttered at the thought. She was sure her mother wasn't like that either, in fact father always told her how angelic her mother was. But then the copper skinned doll talked about "mutations". She said everyone had them, some more serious and noticeable than others, and that hers was a feral mutation. "Feral mutations made the person more animal like, it wasn't rare but ferals are hard to come across." That was something Rhaella was sure of, she remembered crossing paths in the Prussian forests...The man as tall as a bear, covered in black hair. He had known exactly what she was, he smelled her from miles away. Fragmented images came to her mind. His bear like figure barreling through the woods after her. The long black claws ripping through the tents of her camp and loved ones. He had split them open like they were nothing, and it was all her fault that she led him there.

"I'll leave you here to process everything, Colonel Striker will be in here soon to ask some question. It would be best if you cooperate and save yourself the trouble." and with that she was gone.

She tried to relax on the table but her body was becoming stiff from being in the same position for hours. She attempted to roll on her side to get comfortable but was stuck on her back due to the restraints. Laying there sprawled out she contemplated trying to escape. If she did manage to get out of the cuffs where would she go? Home? Home was gone and if she had one she didn't even know where she was or how she would get back to it. If she managed to get out this Colonel Striker would probably kill her. But you once begged for death. A voice in her head whispered. It was true, after everyone around her died because of her she realized her existence put everyone around her in danger. She had tried to cut her wrists but the gashes only knitted back together. Cutting her throat only brought the unpleasant taste of her own blood and an uncomfortable drowning feeling. Even starving herself for a century didn't work.

The door swung open and in came a grey haired man wearing a sharp uniform adorned in metals.'So this must be there colonel', she thought to herself. He eyed her body up and down making rhaella wish she could cross her arms to cover herself from this man's intrusive stare.

She coughed bringing the man's attention to her eyes. His stern face twisted into a smile

"I trust you're recovering alright?"

Rhaella only eyed him with distrust.

"You are very lucky to be alive do you know that?"

Her eyes widened in shock, was this man serious?! Did he not know she was in that tomb for a reason, fully intending NOT to be alive. She almost laughed at how ridiculous his question was.

Striker's smile faded as he saw the amused look on her face.

"you caused quiet a spectacle last night, slaughtering fourteen of my men last night. Or do you find that amusing as well?" He sneered

The words hit Rhaella like a bullet to the chest, she was in absolute disbelief. "w-what?" Maybe she didn't hear him right.

A smug look crossed his face "Oh you don't remember that do you? I guess a century in that little box of yours made you very hungry."

Terror over took her face "no, no, it cant be true!" She croaked. Her chest began to heave and her pale skin went white. That couldn't be true I would never! I would never hurt someone, there must be some mistake. Tears ran down her cheeks and cries broke through her trembling lips.

"It's true" he smiled kindly.

"Then kill me and be done with it!" She roared.

"And why would I do that? I'm not mad at you. Actually I'm very excited."

"Excited? I murdered your men!" She said in disbelief.

Striker smirked and sauntered closer to her "yes well my dear many of my men get killed on behalf of my missions, It's not a new thing."

'My god could this man be anymore heartless?' She wondered.

"You on the other hand proved not to be a complete waste of my time and money" more like the governments money but it went in his pockets all the same. He turned and began to stroll around the room examining the lab materials.

"When I found your body nothing more than a putrefied corpse, I thought 'this is it, all my research and hard work leading my team through Europe to find a legend only got me to a dead end.' But then my ingenious colleague Dr. Arnsen, (whom by the way appeared to be the first of your hunger) rejuvenated your cells with the nutrients in blood."

He looked back to the girl to see her expression and she peered back with tear stained eyes.

"I believe Dr. Skylark told you all about your mutation?" He asked.

Rhaella nodded in silence, too broken to speak.

"I have met two other ferals besides you, extraordinary killers." The word made her wince.

He continued, ignoring her tears "they work on a team I've put together with other people who are gifted."

Gifted? Is that what he called it?

"One man has incredible strength, another can control electricity, and one can transport himself anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye.''

Her mouth fell open in amazement, a man who could go anywhere just like that.

He smiled at her expression. "I want you to be a part of my team."

She wasn't about to give him a yes that easily. "and if I don't want to be a part of your team?" She sneered.

He chuckled at that "we'll then I supposed we would let you go", she scoffed at that 'unlikely' she thought. "But from what I know you haven't been around in the last hundred years so good luck assimilating yourself into society."

She let out a sigh in defeat, he did have a point. Damn him for putting her in this position, he should've just let her stay in that tomb where he found her and minded his own business.

"You said you already have ferals working for you, so why do you need me?"

"I'm glad you asked, the ferals that work for me are brothers. Very cunning and strong, but they are too rough around the edges. Actually all the men on my team only know one way to get me my information and it usually ends up with the in the respondent dead."

"You need a woman's touch?" she surmised.

He smiled and laughed "well, not quiet any woman..."

She stared at him waiting for him to get to the point.

"I need an agent who can blend in to any scene, but be strong enough to stay alive when the missions take a wrong turn."

Before she could open her mouth in response he continued "you've tried to kill yourself, starving away in that crypt how did that work out for you?"

Striker was getting personal now, and whatever self pity Rhaella had was slowly being replaced by contempt for this man.

"Fine before you tore me out of there."

"You can try to lock yourself away, but starving yourself will only make you weak it won't kill you."

He made a valid point, Rhaella admitted to herself. She twisted against the restraints, at first she didn't notice them but now they started feeling too tight. She huffed in defeat and saw Striker's hand shuffling in his pocket. He pulled out a small key and made his way over to her feet. The key popped open the cuffs letting blood flow freely again.

"You can run and try to deny your nature, but everywhere you go you will be an outcast."

He strode up to her left hand and pushed the key into the iron cuff squeezing her wrists painfully. Her left wrist was freed and she lifted it up examining in awe at seeing it her arm and hand for the first time in a hundred years. She flexed her fingers and gazed at the flawless supple skin.

"You can stay with me, and with people who are just like you..."

Pop went the other cuff and her head snapped towards her other free arm examining it too. She lifted her back off the table cracking the vertebrae back into place and rolled her shoulders and neck to ease out the knots. God did that feel satisfying. She groaned in pleasure as her muscles stretched to their full capacity for the first time a century. She opened her eyes hazily at Striker who's face twisted into a dangerous grin.

"and learn to control your gift." He beamed.

She came sat face to face with Striker, scrutinizing his face. Her eyes burned with this new energy. She couldn't deny this life force flowing through her did feel heavenly.

"Fine, let's try it your way."