Birdhouse in Your Soul

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie Morrigan desperately wished her hospital room had a window.

It had almost everything else. There was a bookcase sagging with young adult novels and magazines and huge hardcover books with big pictures of exotic animals and foreign countries. There was a chest full of toys and dolls and stuffed animals and games you could play by yourself. There was a TV, and though it only played DVDs, there were plenty of those.

But she'd already seen the DVDs and read the books, and when it came to toys, there wasn't anything in the world that could be better than her own imagination. If there had been a window, at least she could have seen something every day that wasn't predictable, wasn't under her - or their - control. At least she would have had something to look at that wasn't an illusion.

She sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed in her pink hospital smock and loooked longingly at the opposite wall where the window might have been. Jamie could see it clearly - a beautiful, tall window with diaphanous (she'd read that word in a book, what a wonderful word) curtains trimmed with lace. They were blowing in a little, because it was a nice day outside, and she had the window open. The breeze was coming in from a valley overgrown with wild forest, and she could hear lively birdsong in the distance...

But, no, wait, it was winter, wasn't it? So there was snow outside in the valley. And a window with lace curtains was something you'd find in her bedroom if she lived in a mansion. And this wasn't a mansion. It was a prison. She knew because she could only leave the room when the nurses came for her, and there were guards outside the door.

So her window shrank and was covered with a cage of iron bars. She jumped off her bed, which had a lumpy straw mattress, and walked solemnly across the dirty stone floor to the narrow window, which overlooked a misty, snowbound hillside. Jamie shivered and pulled her smock tightly around her.

She turned around to take stock of the room. The floor, the walls, and ceiling had all become slimy, rough flagstones, and the toy chest was a pile of straw where the rats nested. But she didn't mind the rats - she always shared her gruel with them and was training them to fetch things for her. And just this morning the largest of the rats, a coal-black rodent with a wedge out of one ear, had brought her a token from a band of adventurers who were coming to rescue her from her dungeon cell and take her to live with her real family.

Jamie grinned secretively as she looked around at her new cell. Yes, this was perfect.

The heavy wooden door opened with a suitably resonant crash, and in walked a dowdy, middle-aged woman in a blue nurse's uniform holding a clipboard and a metal tray. She stood gaping at the gothic dungeon and said, "Jamie Morrigan, what is the meaning of this?"

Jamie scowled, offended that her reverie had been interrupted. "I was just making stuff up, Ms. Harmon," she said.

"Well, this seems like a pretty grim fantasy to me," the nurse said importantly. "You're to put it back at once, young lady. I would hate for Dr. Roken to see something like this."

The girl sighed, and the hospital room's pale yellow wallpaper and razor-thin carpet returned. She hoisted herself back onto the edge of her bed and eyeballed Ms. Harmon's tray uncertainly. "What's that?" she asked.

"Dr. Roken wants some more bloodwork done," Ms. Harmon replied.

Jamie wilted. "Again? What's he do with it all, water his pitcher plants?"

She could tell from the nurse's expression that she had no idea what a pitcher plant was. Ms. Harmon tore open a fresh swab of alcohol as she launched into her favorite mantra. "Jamie, you know you're a sick little girl, and we're doing everything humanly possible to help you get better. But I've got some good news for you."

Jamie stiffened. Ms. Harmon's idea of good news was rarely the same as her own.

"There's a new treatment that's come up," the nurse continued, taking the girl's arm and sponging it clean. "It was invented by a woman named Dr. Zajeda. You're going to fly to Montana tomorrow morning to try it."

Jamie wrinkled her nose at the smell of the alcohol and stared worriedly at the syringe on the tray. The blood sticks were bad enough, but it was worse when they were putting stuff in. "What're they going to do?"

"They're going to make it so your imagination doesn't leak out of your head anymore," Ms. Harmon said brightly. "You're going to be better. Just like all the other little girls. Now, hold still."

Jamie looked away from the needle and focused on something else. She decided to focus on Ms. Harmon. Surreptitiously, her uniform acquired a black cape with a high collar, and pointed fangs grew down from behind her jutting upper lip.

"What are you smiling about?" Ms. Harmon asked.

The girl winced at the prick in her arm and said, "Nothing." Her additions to Ms. Harmon faded away.

The nurse pulled back the filled syringe and laid it on the tray. "There, that wasn't so bad, right? I'll see you get an extra brownie with dinner tonight. Eat up and get your rest. You'll need it tomorrow."

Jamie didn't bother smiling back. Ms. Harmon didn't even look at her on her way out of the hospital room. As the door swung open, she saw the green-uniformed guards with rifles resting on their chestplates, and it shut again, not with a dramatic, metallic crash but a stale, clinical click. She was imprisoned just the same.

With a deep sigh, the girl rubbed her arm and laid back against her pillow, wishing desperately her daydream about heroes coming to her rescue were true.

[Dragon]

At the Jericho Center for Genetic Medicine

11:46 PM

Dragon was perched at the crest of a hill overlooking the compound that comprised the Jericho Center, which was nestled in a steep, rocky valley with only one route in or out. He lifted a pair of night-vision binoculars to his face and scanned the complex - it was made of several solidly built concrete structures of varying sizes, a sheltered roundabout for deliveries and emergencies, a spacious parking garage, and a sturdy fence with several outlying security posts. On the face of it, it was not at all dissimilar to most moderately sized hospitals, aside from the apparently elevated security, but the Korean mutant knew better. He'd seen facilities like this in his home country, but there they didn't have to hide behind the guise of legitimate medicine. The Jericho Center was little more than a concentration camp for involuntary genetic research; its patients were no better than laboratory specimens. He wanted to tear the place down brick by brick. Unfortunately, that wasn't in his power.

He swept over the main hospital wing and administration building and found a squat, rounded building tucked toward the rear of the campus. Two Humvees were parked outside, and a squad of masked guards patrolled its perimeter. Even at this distance, Dragon could tell they were wearing no rank or insignia authorized by the U.S. armed forces. He had a guess whose soldiers they were, and it boded very badly for a little girl who, he'd been told, was trapped somewhere deep beneath that building.

Dragon tucked the binoculars into his utility belt and quickly charted a course through the darkest parts of the security perimeter. In moments he was rushing through the dense underbrush around the rim of the valley and then descending the rocky hillside toward the Jericho Center.

He'd chosen the point where the foliage came closest to one of the elevated guard posts - he could see a sleepy-looking security guard in the lighted window with his feet propped up and watching something other than his security monitor. John sprinted from his cover across the no-man's-land strip of illuminated grass and directly to the foot of the guard tower. The concrete surface was sheer without a hint of handholds. But that wouldn't deter him.

He placed his hands against the guard tower wall and extended a set of ethereal talons from his fingertips. They split the concrete easily and gave him just enough purchase to haul himself up, hand over hand, until he cleared the top of the fence. Then he swung his legs over the barbed wire coils and landed effortlessly on the other side.

Dragon pressed himself back against the shadow of the guard tower as another Humvee rumbled down a nearby service road toward his target building. He knew he was in a race to find the girl before she was moved somewhere with even higher security. What he didn't know was that he wasn't the only one racing the clock.

[Spectre]

Jericho Center - 11:50 PM

The Humvee stopped. A masked soldier opened the passenger-side door. One long, white-nylon clad leg stepped out, followed by it's match. Serviceable looking nursing shoes graced the soles of the woman who emerged, matching the equally no-nonsense uniform and cap perched atop her blonde head. She wore a white lab coat and a placard hung from around her neck bearing all manner of identification and credentials.

"Dr. Ellen Dunwich...?"

She nodded, providing proof of her identity, as far as the armed guard was concerned.....

"Yes, I expect Colonel Vasher has made it clear that I will be present for the removal of the specimen..."

"Yes, doctor.. This way."

Several levels of locks and clearance codes were required by the guard to open the doors to the building, but it was not getting in that concerned her though..

It was getting out again.

It was not difficult on her, so far, controlling one of them at a time. First the good doctor, who's mind she had fairly pulled apart for information on the girl, Jamie... and her location within the Jericho Center. A sub-basment housed beneath this very building..

Then there had been the driver of the military escort.. He had been childs play.. most eager to assist the lovely doctor from Montana. Now she only needed to reach the girl....

Spectre steppped into the building..

[Dragon]

The Humvee's arrival drew enough attention to the front of the building that Dragon was able to slip around to the rear. There were no first-floor windows, and the second-floor windows were reinforced with steel wire, and the ground around the building's base was planted with shrubbery that was more than ornamental - it was a thick tangle of pyracantha, flying dragon, and other woody bushes whose thorns could tear through flesh and clothing like razor wire.

Dragon surveyed the building from his hiding place behind a dumpster and located a darkened window. He waited for a pair of patrolling guards to pass by and made a run for the wall.

His legs shimmered with energy as he picked up speed and made a flying leap. He cleared the wicked thorns and dug into the building's cement wall with a crunch, then quickly climbed his way to the window.

He reached over to the top pane of the window just above the latch on the inside. Then he forced his fingers cleanly into the glass, punching four neat holes as if the glass were no more than gelatin. Working the latch was simple from there. He thrust the window open and tumbled inside.

It was a chemistry lab; the counters were cluttered with tubes and vials and flasks of every description along with centrifuges, microscopes, and a host of instruments he couldn't begin to identify. A dish of milky liquid fumed evilly in a nearby sink.

Dragon closed the window and folded down the blinds. There was a lightly singed lab coat draped over one of the metal shelves, so he pulled it down, shook it off, and shrugged it on over his blue and black uniform.

The bottom hem fell all the way to the floor. Frowning, he rolled it up and found some pins to hold it just above his ankles.

Then he made his way to the door and listened. The hallway outside was silent. Dragon pushed open the door and strode down the hall toward the nearest stairwell.

[Spectre]

Upon entering the building, 'Dr. Dunwich' was shown to a set of elevators. The military liason unlocked another control panel on the wall and called one of the elevator cars to their floor. When the doors opened, she stepped within and waited for the correct level to be selected. There was no need for idle conversation. This was not a pleasure visit, it was business.

"Dr. Roken's nurse, Patricia Harmon will be aware of your arrival, doctor."

Spectre nodded, but did not say anything.

They'd be aware of her departure as well.

The elevator doors opened once more into a sterile white hallway. It smelled like any other hospital setting, bleachy clean with the faint scent of antiseptics in the air. The only thing to differentiate this setting from any other pediatric ward, was the presence of the armed guards, and the overwhelming feel of sadness in the air.

Misery.

Loss.

She slammed her mind shut, not wanting to feel any of it, it would only distract her. She could not save them all. Tonight she had to focus on one, a girl named Jamie Morrigan. Perhaps in the future they would return to this place and rip it all down..

[Dragon]

The elevator doors had scarcely closed when an Asian-looking lab tech came jogging toward them. "Couldn't you have held the elevator?" he complained.

The two guards flanking the elevator gave him withering looks. "What's your business in the sublevels?" the senior of them demanded.

The tech took a step forward and lifted a manila folder. "Time-sensitive data for Dr. Roken," he replied. "If I don't get there in two minutes, it'll ruin the whole experiment."

The guard furrowed his brow. "That doesn't even begin to make sense. Where's your identification?"

The tech took another step forward and very calmly punched the guard in the chest, shattering his chestplate and dropping him to the floor.

The other guard raised his weapon, but the man in the lab coat moved far too fast - he snapped out his hand and broke the barrel in half, then laid out the guard with a flurry of punishing blows.

Dragon opened a nearby closet and dragged the two limp forms inside. He liberated them of their keys, sidearms, and radios. One radio he switched off and dropped in a nearby garbage can. The other he clipped to his belt. Then, locking the closet door behind him, he returned to the elevator.

He quickly found the key that fit the elevator control panel and opened it. But he didn't bother calling another car. Instead he forced the outer doors open, leapt into the empty shaft, and slid down the center cable to the roof of the car below.

He pulled up the ceiling hatch, dropped down into the car, and hit the "open doors" button. Then he walked serenely after the retreating doctor and her military escort. It was an easy thing to catch up without either of them noticing his soft footfalls.

[Spectre]

There were not any coloring book drawings on the walls bearing the proudly scrawled names and ages of little children. Just plastic bound charts hanging outside doors, most with numerical identification on them, as if they belonged to lab rats and not kids. It turned her stomach, but she pressed on unaffected. The rounded a corner into another hallway, exactly like the first, save for the semi-circular desk at it's center..

"Dr. Dunwich, we've been expecting you. Right this way."

She approached the woman in the blue nurses uniform, without cheer. The woman, apparently Patricia Harmon, reached through the space between the nusing station desk and the glass window suspended above it, and retrieved one of the patient charts, handing it over to Spectre, who opened it and at least made a pretense of perusing the contents. She nodded, satisfied.

"I'd like to see the girl, before we continue with the transfer.", she said.

"Yes, of course. We anticipated that you would. This way please..."

[Dragon]

Dragon waited out of sight around the corner, ostensibly reviewing the pages in his file folder, but he was listening to the clipped conversation between the nurse and the doctor in the next hallway.

But when they began moving again, he realized they were walking back toward him - they must have already passed the girl's room on the way in.

He stepped back against the wall to allow them to pass. Once he'd incapacitated the guards, it wouldn't be difficult to deal with the doctor and the nurse, leaving him only with the problem of smuggling the girl out of the facility -

But as soon as they turned the corner, his eyes met Dr. Dunwich's, and he realized his problems were just beginning. And from the look that crossed Spectre's face, however briefly, it seemed that she'd just had the same revelation.

Dragon couldn't afford to let her out of his sights. So he fell into step with her as if he'd been waiting for them.

"Dr. Dunwich!" he said. "I was afraid I'd missed you. My name is Dae-Jung Park. I just transferred here from the Seoul Genetics Institute, and Dr. Roken suggested that I observe the transfer of the patient. Is that all right with you?"

Ms. Harmon, who'd fallen behind Spectre's lively stride, hastened to keep up and scowled at the newcomer. "I'm sorry - I wasn't informed of this. This is very irregular."

"Dr. Dunwich and I have worked together before," Dragon said cheerfully. "I'm sure she can vouch for me?"

He turned back to Spectre with a highly meaningful glint in his eyes.

[Spectre]

Ms. Harmon was even then reaching for a phone to check-up on the validity of the situation. She could not be allowed to complete the call.

Put the phone down.

She set it down.

Spectre smiled almost too warmly. "Ahh.. Dae-Jung, I had not expected to see you until morning. Your expertise in this situation will be most welcome.."

She reached into the patient chart for Jamie Morrigan, and removed a lab result sheet. Nothing more routine than a basic metabolic panel, which had all normal range results.

"Ms. Harmon. This is a correspondence from Colonel Vasher explaining the presence of my colleague. He is a specialist in genetic medicine and his presence is required."

"Yes, of course." Ms. Harmon looked a bit blank. She handed the lab result sheet back to Spectre, who returned it to the chart.

Spectre shot Dragon a warning glance. This was getting messy..

I'm getting the girl out of here. Don't get in my way.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie lay curled up on her bed, staring at a fixed point miles beyond the far wall. She didn't know what direction she was facing, but she liked to think it was west, toward Montana, wherever it was she was going to be staying for the next however-long-it-took before they got tired of her there and shipped her somewhere else.

What would it be like there? She didn't know much about Montana except... mountains, pine trees, and grizzly bears. And she was going to see someone named Dr. Zajeda for some sort of experimental treatment?

The wall turned into a distant panorama of jagged mountains, and crouched on the side of the tallest mountain like a barnacle was a mad scientist's castle, covered with antennae and bizarre instruments. A bolt of lighting split the clouds overhead, and a woman's maniacal laughter echoed through the cold air.

Of course, it wouldn't be nearly as exciting as that. But the problem was, the real world might not have been as dramatic, but it was always scarier.

Jamie closed her eyes, and the mountains vanished. She clutched the thin blanket close to her chest and tried her hardest to think of a way out.

But then she heard the footsteps coming down the hallway outside and voices along with them, and she bolted upright in fear. She wasn't ready yet! She didn't have a plan!

Someone laid a hand on the doorknob, and Jamie did the only thing she could think to do - she disappeared.

[Dragon]

Dragon smile back just as cordially. He was grateful Spectre hadn't tried to do anything rash - his cover was her cover now.

And though John wasn't telepathic himself, he knew now that he was there Spectre would be keeping her senses open, and he thought, very directedly, I don't intend to get in your way. I intend to be long gone before you get started.

They approached a door manned conspicuously by two guards, and Ms. Harmon pushed her way between the two mutants. "Here we are," she said, opening the door. "Jamie, you have visitors..."

She fell silent as soon as she stepped inside. She glanced back and forth, then hurried around the bed. "Jamie! This is not a time for games!"

Spectre entered the room as well, and Dragon stepped in before she could close the door.

[Spectre]

Dragon's opinion on the matter didn't warrant an answer.

She was here to do a job, get the little girl out of here before she could be packed off to the 'slaughter and rewiring factory'. Her abilities were already incredible for her age and with training, she would be a force to be reckoned with, shaking the cage of reality for all around her. Spectre wanted to pick her up and swing her around and tell her how special she was, but she couldn't see her.. Which just delighted her more.

She cut the facade of merciless doctor, to Ms. Harmon it would seem like an act, but this was actually the dropping of the act. Spectre stepped into the middle of the room and crouched down, then lowered herself to her knees.

"Jamie..? I'm going to be going with you to your new home. Would you please come and say hello to me?" She spoke to the room, at large, but in her mind she lightened it up a bit, and tried to coax the child out..

Jamie? I know you're here. Ms. Harmon doesn't know I can talk to you like this, so don't tell her. Let's play pretend.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie nearly gasped and gave herself away when she heard the voice in her head. But she hadn't really heard it, it was like someone was gently pressing the words onto her mind. And she knew at once it was the fair-haired woman who'd done it.

Was she... was she somehow like her?

She was curious, but still cautious. The little girl materialized sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hi," she said shyly.

And then her identical twin materialized next to her. "Hi."

Both Jamies sat staring uncertainly at the newcomers.

And, just in case the channel went both ways, she added, with all the mental strength she could muster, Who are you?

[Dragon]

Dragon put a hand over his mouth, ostensibly in surprise, but it was really to hide the smile creeping up on his face.

Ms. Harmon looked at the two girls aghast. "Jamie, this..." She looked at the other one. "This is really uncalled for! I'm sorry, Doctor, she's stubborn sometimes..."

[Spectre]

Ignoring both Ms. Harmon and Dragon for the moment, Spectre gave her full attention to the little girl, the first one that had appeared.

"Hello, Jamie.."

I'm a friend. I heard that you were stuck in the hospital, even though you aren't really sick. Doesn't seem very fair to me.

For a moment she turned to the nurse, serious concern once more in place on her features. Quietly, she opted to send the nurse off on a timely errand. "It is fine, Ms. Harmon. Perhaps a collar for the transfer, to avoid any unwanted incidents?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Ms. Harmon looked very worried. "Oh... well... I could have one sent in..."

"It's okay, you can go," said Jamie #1.

"I'll be good," said Jamie #2, and both girls smiled beatifically.

With a great deal of reluctance, Ms. Harmon backed away toward the door and slipped out, careful not to leave any gaps that an invisible little girl could slip through.

Jamie #1 turned back toward Spectre. "Do I have to wear a collar? I really hate wearing it. I can make her disappear if you really want me to."

Jamie #2 made an indignant sound and slid away from Jamie #1.

[Spectre]

"No, you don't have to wear it."

She smiled at the antics of the perfectly matched duo.

Spectre got up and sat on the bed beside the girl, crossed her legs at the ankle, and kicked her feet the way a child would.. "Ms. Harmon doesn't want you to go. She really believes that you are sick, but I know that you aren't."

She picked up her chart and wiggled it like an official document reading 'clean bill of health'.

"You're fine. You're just special.. Like I am. Like... he is." She nodded over toward Dragon, reluctantly. She didn't want Jamie getting buddy-buddy with him, but until they could get out of here, it was best to keep it friendly.

"Now listen close. We're here to rescue you. We don't want them to make you go to Montana, to the hospital there. It's not a good place for little girls."

She grinned, like she had a great idea. "Jamie, I think together.. you and I can play the best game ever.."

[Jamie Morrigan]

"Really?"

The voice hadn't come from either of the girls - it came from beside the TV, where a third girl had just stood up from her hiding place in the corner.

Jamie #1 sighed theatrically. "Nice going."

"We had them completely fooled," said Jamie #2.

But Jamie #3 was walking toward Spectre with wonder in her wide eyes, and the other two girls faded away. Jamie glanced between the two strangers, wondering for a terrible, brief moment if she'd just imagined them and hadn't realized it.

She rushed forward and grabbed Spectre's hand, then squeaked and released it. "You're... you're here!" she said. "You're really here!"

[Dragon]

"Yes, we are, Jamie," Dragon said, crouching down to her level. "And we're going to get you out of here. And take you someplace safe."

He aimed a pointed glance at Spectre.

[Jamie Morrigan]

But Jamie didn't notice the exchange - now that her dream had come true, she was positively trembling with excitement. She pulled her hands back to her chest as if she was afraid that if she tried to touch Spectre again, she'd fade just like all her dreams did.

"What game are we gonna play?" she asked at a whisper.

[Spectre]

It must be awful when even you could not tell what was real and what was fantasy. Spectre's determination to get the girl out of this place and into some damn fresh air was absolute.

"As icky as it sounds, when Ms. Harmon comes back you are going to switch places with her. She'll stay here with the collar, so you don't have to wear it. The three of us will walk out the front door, but you have to stay looking like her until we're gone. Can you do that?"

Spectre would make sure that Ms. Harmon remained happy in the thought that she was a little girl who was ready to curl up, watch some Princessly animation and pop off to sleep...

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie nodded expressively. That would be easy! ...If a bit icky.

"I could also make myself invisible," she suggested. "Oh! I could make you invisible if something goes bad. Or make it look like we've got a whole team of secret agents fighting for us--"

The door opened, and Jamie clamped her mouth shut. Ms. Harmon walked in with a metal collar in-hand, and as soon as she saw the girl, she smiled.

"Well, now, I guess you've decided these two aren't so bad after all?" she said. "Now, all we need to do is put this on you like Dr. Dunwich asked."

[Dragon]

Dragon stepped behind the nurse and surreptitiously pushed the door shut. "Excuse me, Ms. Harmon, could I take a look at that?" He swooped in and took the collar out of her bewildered grasp. "That's interesting - you're still using thorium ions? Magnetically driven?"

"Er, well, yes," Ms. Harmon stammered. "What else would we be using?"

[Spectre]

Jamie was far more interested in this little jail break than Spectre thought she would be. It would make the whole thing so much easier..

"Patricia...." A sing-song voice called, from over by the television.

"What will you watch before you go to sleep, sweetie? Cinderella..? Beauty and the Beast?" Spectre turned and with her bright green eyes locked on the nurse, started advancing on her.

Now, Jamie.

"Let's just get you ready for sleep, ok Pattie?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie watched breathlessly as the matronly, condescending expression she'd come to expect from Ms. Harmon drained away from her face. The woman with the silvery-gold hair was hypnotizing her!

"C-C-Cinderella," the nurse said, her voice slurred and... and lisping!

Jamie was so dumbfounded she almost forgot what Spectre had asked her to do. In a moment, Ms. Harmon was standing in her place, and a very sleepy-looking Jamie was crawling onto her bed and watching the dark TV under her heavy eyelids.

"What do we do now?" the image of Ms. Harmon whispered with Jamie's voice.

[Spectre]

"Now.. we put Pattie's collar on her before bed, and then we three walk out of here, very quietly ok...?"

Spectre was impressed with the projected illusion. She couldn't see any flaws at all, save for maybe the voice, but as long as Jamie didn't have too talk much.

"Dae-Jung, if you'd be so kind...", she said, maybe too sweetly..

[Dragon]

John unhooked the collar and managed to fit it around Ms. Harmon's neck - it was tighter than it was supposed to be, because the nurse's neck was thicker than the little girl's it was intended for, but it wasn't tight enough to restrict her breathing. The nurse-turned-girl didn't even seem to notice. She'd already fallen asleep.

[Jamie Morrigan]

"Wait, before we go..."

Jamie leaned her head forward out of Ms. Harmon's belly. "What are your names?"

[Spectre]

The sight was disturbing, to say the least. A girl's head popping out of the woman's stomach. Spectre shook it off, not wanting to give the poor child a complex.

"I'm Spectre. This will be easy, Jamie. We just have to make them think you are really Ms. Harmon and we'll get in a car and go away and you won't have to wear collars, or be stuck with needles of be caged up in a hospital room ever again.."

She glanced over at Dragon who was finishing up with the slumbering girl-nurse. He could make his own damn introductions, she wasn't about to start helping his cause, not when she was this close to getting the girl out of here and back to the mansion..

[Dragon]

The latch snapped into place with a click, and the collar automatically went active. John released it immediately. He could feel its ugly influence even from the outside.

"And I'm John," he said. "Jamie, can you stay between us? Spectre, you can take point." Anticipating her objection, he added, "You're the doc."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie looked between her two rescuers, and then grinned at Spectre. "Your name is cooler," she said.

And then she disappeared again, and Ms. Harmon came to life, surveying her two colleagues with clinical disinterest. "Well, shall we be going?" she asked - the voice was uncanny.

[Spectre]

She grinned at the little girl's approval of her name. Opting not to let her know that John's real name was Dragon, as far as she was concerned. Dragon was a pretty cool name.. even if it belonged to the enemy.

Jamie's version of the nurse, complete with her voice now was great. "That's perfect Jamie, really great.."

Spectre went to the door, chart in hand for visual purposes. She opened it and stepped out, talking to both 'the nurse' and her 'colleague' as if Jamie were still in the room, just in case the halls were under surveillance.

"Excellent. We'll let her sleep for tonight and return in the morning for the trip back to Montana..."

[Dragon]

Dragon brought up the rear and nodded to the two guards. Without a word, they closed and locked the door.

And then they began the long walk back to the elevators. Dragon noticed that Jamie faltered a few times at intersections - she didn't know her way around like Ms. Harmon did - but she corrected herself and followed after Spectre. They passed a few orderlies and a few guards who didn't spare them a second glance.

[Jamie Morrigan]

But then a balding man in a labcoat joined them from a side hallway. The ID around his neck said Aldus Roken.

"Oh, pardon me, Doctors, do you mind if I borrow Patricia for a moment?" he said cordially. "Patricia, I wanted to prep the Levance boy for the next round of nucleotide treatments, if you could just come pull up his charts for me?"

Ms. Harmon froze. And inside, Jamie scrambled to think of an adequate response, but it was all she could do to keep up the illusion in the face of the man who scared her more than anyone else!

[Spectre]

Spectre could feel Jamie's uncertainty and knew she would have to intervene somehow. There was a prickling sensation in the back of her mind, warning her toward caution.. but they didn't have time to play around, not with the girl's doctor, who surely knew her quite well.

"Hello doctor.. Ms. Harmon was just walking us out, for security purposes. She'll return to you shortly, we must be on our way to review our own files before the transfer to Montana tomorrow."

If he didn't accept that story, she would just have to write him a new one that he would accept...

[Jamie Morrigan]

"I can have a guard escort you outside..."

The doctor put a hand to his radio, but his eyes fell on Dragon first. "Who are you? Why aren't you wearing identification?"

[Dragon]

Dragon quickly leaned in with an extended hand. "Dr. Dae-Jung Park. I'm one of Dr. Dunwich's associates."

Roken made no move toward Dragon's hand. "No, you're not. Dr. Dunwich was coming alone."

Dragon darted forward and seized Roken's hand off the radio, spun him around, and put him in a vise-like hold. But something small and metallic dropped out of the doctor's other hand. It clattered to the floor and began squealing loudly.

He could hear bootsteps around the corner. He forced Dr. Roken's head into the wall, dropping him unconscious to the floor.

"Jamie!" he hissed. "Make us all invisible!"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Ms. Harmon vanished, leaving only a very frightened girl. Jamie tried - she really tried... but she was too afraid to concentrate.

"I can't!" she wailed, backing into Spectre.

[Spectre]

Spectre cursed. Jamie's mouth droppped open at the offensive language. She whirled toward the direction of the elevators, but guards were already running toward them.

Stay close Jamie..

Leaving Dragon to deal with the guards coming up the hall, Spectre retreated with Jamie close on her heels. She waved ahead at the guards approaching from the other direction.

"Help!" She called, pointing at Dragon.

"He's trying to kidnap Jamie Morrigan.", and they too went after Dragon..

"Get us out of here! I'll take her somewhere secure." She demanded of one guard.

He hesitated. "Ma'am.. procedure states quite clearly that in this situ........" The guards discertation on proper procedure was cut short, he reached for the elevator controls, and the doors opened...

[Jamie Morrigan]

What had begun as a game had turned into something terrifyingly serious. Jamie didn't understand what was going on - she could barely keep her stumbling feet underneath her as Spectre dragged her into the elevator.

As the car lurched upward, she looked up at her rescuer with a worried face and asked, "But what about John? Are we leaving him?"

[Spectre]

"Don't worry about him. Does this all the time.." Spectre glanced upward as if the elevator car wasn't going nearly fast enough for her liking. In truth, she didn't feel bad about leaving the Dragon behind. He'd as much said that he intended to swipe the girl from her grasp.. She was not just trying to get Jamie out of here now, but away from him as well..

The elevators brakes applied as they neared their desired floor. Opting to play it safe, Spectre quickly formulated a plan.

"Jamie, I know your scared. It's ok, but we still have to get past some more of them. I'm going to go invisible. I can do that, too. I can't make you invisble though. Try.. again, just on yourself this time. If you can't it's alright, just know that I am here and I will not leave you.", she shimmered out of sight.

Give it a try, Jamie..

[Dragon]

Dragon turned just in time to see Spectre rushing the girl away. He was about to bolt after them when the guards clattered into the corridor behind him.

"Freeze! Put your hands on your head!"

He stood stock-still and slowly raised his hands. And as he did, he closed his eyes and focused, the sort of focus an artist has while painting, or a concert pianist has before a performance...

"I said hands on your head!"

There were four of them. He could feel the aggression pouring off of them, heating up the spiritual energy in the corridor. He could feel the Dragon uncoiling within him. His fingers twitched.

"Final warning! Put 'em up, now!"

He pulled down the barriers that held the Dragon in check. At once his arms erupted in a fiery spiritual aura, and he spun around in an eyeblink to face his foes, who immediately opened fire.

Dragon tumbled to the floor and felt the shock of displaced air as two of the bullets passed to the left of his head. He caught the other two out of the air as if they'd just been hanging there. Rather than pull the lead slugs them to a stop, he let their momentum swing his arms around and hurled them back at his foes. Two guards went down, one struck in the neck, the other in the thigh.

He dove into the disoriented guards, dropping them quickly with a rain of bone-crushing blows. He could already hear another posse approaching from the direction Spectre had gone with Jamie - he would need to cut straight through them. He worked his fingers quickly and relieved two of the fallen guards of their kevlar vests.

The reinforcements came hustling down the corridor to find Dragon rushing toward them, brandishing a pair of vests like shields. They sprayed the hallway with their assault rifles, aiming for his chest and legs, but he turned and ran across the wall toward them, keeping his feet just ahead of the trail of exploding tile and cinder block -

He crashed into them sideways, flinging the high-impact kevlar into the first two helmets with stunning force. The whole crowd went down in a heap, and yet somehow he found his footing - on faces, on chests, on ankles. They had barely slowed him down.

Dragon came to the elevator doors - closed again. He rammed a fist straight throught sheet metal - and again - and again - and again. Then he kicked at the mangled metal in the middle of the four punctures. It breached inward, giving him just enough room to dive through into the shaft and grab a hold of the ascending cable.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie gasped. So she could hypnotize people and make herself invisible - what else could she do? What was it John could do that made him like her, too? How many more of them were there?

She was afraid she'd lose Spectre completely, but her hand was still held tightly in an invisible grip.

"Okay," she said, to herself as much as to Spectre. "Okay. I'm gonna try."

She imagined herself disappearing like Spectre. She imagined they had done this many times together - they were longtime friends, always scheming and playing tricks... only now they were playing the biggest trick of all. She imagined seeing the looks on Ms. Harmon's and Dr. Roken's faces when they discovered their favorite guinea pig and pin-cushion had just up and run away.

The elevator chimed when it reached the ground floor, and the doors slid open to reveal nothing at all.

[Spectre]

Don't be afraid. I'm right here.

The doors opened to several armed guards, weapons aimed into elevator. "There's no one inside. They must have climbed out the top hatch, Sir."

Out of sight, Spectre smirked. Amateurs...

Even as two of the guards entered the car to search it, the unseen woman and child scooted around the perimeter and slipped out the doors.

Piggy-back, Jamie?

She didn't have time for little legs. Spectre swung the girl up onto her back and bid her to hang on tight as she made a bolt for the exit.

[Jack Wednesday]

This should not have been this complicated. Jack felt like all of the sudden he was back to day one, just out of basic, and everything seemed so much more complicated than absolutely necessary. And generally it was because someone who thought they were in charge and really, in the war-time logistics of it all, couldn't hold a hair to the battle captain.

"Ma'am... Stop where you are, put the girl down."

Captain Jack Wednesday, code named Prime, stood between the invisible mutant and the little girl and their desired exit. Wednesday had a knack for simplifying situations like this, one of the main reasons he was the leading soldier in Project Cerberus. Wednesday had been assigned as Jamie Morrigan's single man escort to the Vangaurd facility. And these facilities were intended to work like clock work. If anything stalled, anything at all, alarms started going off. There were some high profile mutants in the Jericho Facility; Jamie only being one of many. It was a matter of National Security that someone might take advantage of these children who needed equal protection in their own right.

But the magnetic collar hadn't checked in correctly. Jamie had a small silicone coated receptor in her right shoulder that registered with the security system. It should have indicated that she was secure to be transferred out of the complex when collared. Given that it did not, and the paranoia that the military would call a "sense of awareness" in Jack drove him to tap the security channels, including the security cameras that the easily recognized intruders seemed not to have taken note of. Instead of going to them and possibly endangering the other inhabitants of the complex, Jack had decided to wait for them here, their only exit.

And this is what it came down to. Technology versus biology. The woman, Spectre, as she had referred to herself, might be able to render herself invisible but it meant nothing to Jack. He appeared to be wearing an eyepatch that really served as an enhanced surveillance unit. Invisibility was not unheard of as mutant abilities came, and was a despairing vulnerability to the average human. Given some of the responses of the individuals that had interacted with the two intruders, one of them could somehow affect the minds of others.

The telepath bit was only a problem where the unprotected were concerned. R&D had been kind enough to provide Wednesday with a better model than their original prototype which Jack had referred to as 'a brain condom, keeping all brains 99.9% safe from any mind screw.' They had provided him with a heavy headband, made of some alloy that rendered any kind of psychic powers useless against Jack's grateful mental faculties.

The male intruder had taken down a number of the security detail in the lower levels, moving fast enough that the frame rate had not been capable of catching it all. To be honest, Jack was a bit more worried about him than the female, unless of course she had more to bring to the table. It wasn't like Jack had played a single card from his hand yet either, beyond acknowledging their invisible presence. Jack, even in his high tech combat suit, appeared unarmed as he stood before the two females, his stance was almost a little defeated in posture.

Things did not have to go this way; they really did not. There was a vicious cycle to it all. Jack was more than aware, but that still did not excuse the perpetuation of it from the random activist element.

"Please Ma'am..."

[Dragon]

When the elevator slid to a stop some stories above him, Dragon leapt to a service ladder and climbed as fast as he could manage. There was no access on the underside of the elevator car, so he made his way to the uppermost basement level, directly beneath the ground floor where Spectre and Jamie had disembarked. He pounded on the inner doors until they buckled enough to let him squeeze through.

The noise was attracting more guards; he could hear their bootsteps as he tumbled onto the concrete floor. He rolled to his feet and charged toward the nearest group around the bending hallway to his right.

Once more he met a hail of gunfire, and he reached out to catch the first two bullets in flight, but, to his surprise, they splintered on impact, stinging his hands with some sort of aerosolized fluid. They were hollow, liquid-tipped rounds - tranquilizers. He could feel a numbness seizing his hands and spreading up through his arms...

Momentum carried him into the guards, far more clumsily than he'd intended, but somehow there was enough muscle memory in his unfeeling arms to dispatch them quickly - he cracked open the last helmet just before the Dragon aura died completely. And then he staggered against a wall, his vision swimming.

Improved reflexes, tranquilizer-tipped weapons... these weren't Jericho's standard guards. But Dragon could scarcely speculate on their origins while he was battling the drugs for control over his body.

He reached deep within his ch'i, hunted his soul for the rage he needed to keep the Dragon burning inside.

His awareness returned, and he could hear more guards approaching from behind, cautious, ready to shoot him full of another dose -

He grabbed one of the senseless guards from the floor in front of him and swung him around like a kevlar-coated body shield. A dozen liquid-tipped rounds struck the soldier's back impotently. Dragon yelled and threw the guard back into his comrades, bowling them over. He followed up with another series of withering strikes until he was the only one left standing.

He stumbled again, breathing hard, sweating profusely, urging his body to metabolize the drug and expel it from his system. With another cry, he slammed a fist into the concrete wall, sinking halfway to his elbow, and pulled himself back to his feet and staggered toward the nearest stairwell.

[Spectre]

Not only could this guy see her and Jamie, but her powers of mind control were being blocked by something on his person. How infuriating to be slowed, this close to the exit.

Slowly, so slowly, Spectre let Jamie slide down her back until her feet touched the floor. Seemingly compliant with the order.

Stay back, Jamie. This might not be very pleasant.

That was as much warning as the little girl got.

Spectre gave the armed guard, ok not-so-very-typical armed guard, a once over. He had more gadgets on him than some things she'd seen on infomercials playing on late night television.. The eye patch was no doubt picking up her heat signature. She'd just have to relieve him of it. As for her more subtle abilities being blocked... She'd rip off the gear one piece at a time if she had to. She was getting Jamie out of here. She'd made a promise.

"Come get her.."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie's feet hit the cold tile floor, and she shrank back against the wall, staring breathlessly at the one-eyed man in the body armor. Even with his head down, his arms empty, he looked scary. And Spectre was gonna fight him?

The guards who'd just been searching the elevator turned around to see the standoff in the corridor. Jamie realized with a gasp that there was nothing preventing them shooting Spectre in the back, or just grabbing her and taking her back to her room downstairs...

Well, phooey on that. If Spectre was going to fight, then she would, too!

She imagined the guards very, very far away. And trapped. The elevator full of guards shrank into the distance, a lonely island surrounded by an endless black abyss.

"What the hell--"

"Pollack to Command, we've been cut off! Request support!"

Still invisible, Jamie ran across the hallway, reached in through the elevator doors, and punched the button to the bottom floor. Then she turned around to watch Spectre beat on this stranger.

[Jack Wednesday]

The corner of Jack's mouth turned up in the slightest smirk at the sight of what the little girl had just accomplished. But this woman, Spectre... Wednesday refused to underestimate her. Mutants could have a number of abilities, and he still wasn't sure which one was the telepath. So as far as a risk assessment went, it would be safer to assume that this woman was the telepath. He'd treat the male the same when it came down to it. The woman's normal advantages were then her psychic intuition and her invisibility in combat. How did she fare with neither on her side?

And so Jack's mind quickly catalogued her directives in a breath's span of time. She needed to escape. She would escape if she had to without the girl, if absolutely necessary. She needed her advantage to completely overwhelm her opponent. Again, biology versus technology. Jack would be mindful not to lose those things that made her so vulnerable.

Jack wanted to just disregard the lot of it, both biology and technology, and just fight the woman who was so cunning to have gotten this far. He wanted some obsolete sense of honor to it. He was trained in the U.S. military's mixed martial arts as well as Military Sambo and Kapap that almost ached to be put to some use. But none of that was possible, too many extenuating circumstances. Would it ever be fair again? Or did it have to be so one sided, which ever side it was at the time, in order to reach a solution?

Turning his empty hands, still by his sides, out towards Spectre in a stance that pushed the unarmed image over the edge,

"Do you want me to just shoot the both of you? There is a distance of approximately two meters between you and I. You could probably move in front of it but that wouldn't do you any good."

Wednesday hoped this woman was not underestimating him either. He was the ultimate guinea pig of Vangaurd's R&D. These kids might think they had it bad, but even they had an ethical barrier protecting them from the nightmares that Jack had seen committed to his own men, willing to sacrifice themselves simply for the sake of security. He could not perform the feats of physical superiority as the male had, or telepathy, or invisibility, much less illusions, but Jack Wednesday was the closest thing to the next-gen human that the mutagens could provide.

[Spectre]

"You're not going to shoot her. You bastards want her too much for that." She fairly snarled, as she thought of what they intended for the sweet little girl.

"Me.. I believe you'd shoot."

Slowly, she held her arms out, palm forward in a similar gesture and turned around to show she was not reaching for any concealed hand cannons.

Not her style.

Her shrewd green gaze touched upon the elevator that Jamie had cleverly sent down to the sublevels with a gaggle of confused and squawking guards. It was already returning, in addition to guards that were bursting through the stairwell behind her and Jamie.

'Jamie, when I say... you hit the deck. Lay flat, cover your head and do NOT get up until I say so.'

The elevator chimed, annoucing it's return to the scene.

Spectre smiled, still invisble. "But.. I'll have to ask you.."

The compact hall filled with guards behind her, who all raised their weapons.

"You and what army?"

'Now Jamie.'

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie watched the standoff with quickened breath. She couldn't understand why Spectre didn't just hypnotize the guy! Maybe she was stalling him until John caught up.

But when the guards clattered into the hallway behind her, she let out a whimper of despair. They were trapped!

And then she heard Spectre's voice in her head again. And she realized what was going on.

She fell to the floor and huddled against the wall, hands over her head. She decided this was one adventure she didn't want to see. She just hoped it would be over soon.

[Jack Wednesday]

The flashbang held subtly behind Wednesday's left hand, lodged between the back of his hand and the wrist guard, dropped to the ground with a metal thud and rolled maybe an inch or two before detonating.

The light that followed was painful to say the least and the noise left Jack's ears ringing but then again, he had been expecting it. They had not. And Jack's eyes had even closed and it had left severe spotting across his entire vision. The occular gear on his other eye was reassessing and reticulating the environment, whatever technological nonsense that meant. Regardless, Jack had the upper hand for a split second and he took advantage of it to escape the more obvious advantage that Spectre had just taken for herself.

[Dragon]

Dragon struggled up the stairs. His limbs felt leaden, and his mind felt like it was half-buried in sand. His body was a battleground between the power of the drug and the rage of the Dragon.

There was a noise from above - the bang of a magnesium stun grenade, followed by a stacatto burst of gunfire.

Dragon picked up his pace and nearly crashed into another guard at one of the landings between floors. The guard shouted something and raised his weapon. The drugged mutant looked up into his terrified eyes.

His fist caught the soldier in the chest. It penetrated through his body armor, through his ribcage, and out the other side. Crimson splattered the concrete wall in front of him.

The guard's body slid off his arm, and Dragon stumbled on up to the ground floor and burst out into the hallway. Coming to a junction, he saw a row of guards with their weapons raised like a firing squad, and Spectre and Jamie lying prostrate before them.

It was a sickening moment before he realized neither mutant was hurt.

"Spectre!" he shouted hoarsely. "Get the girl and run!"

[Spectre]

Spectre had made holey cheese out of the hallway, but she was slightly too stupefied to properly enjoy the sight. As the flashbomb had dropped, she hadn't known what was coming but on the off-chance it was something nasty she'd dropped, covered Jamie's head and made sure that her little army discharged their weapons completely..

She knew Dragon was there, even if her ears were ringing terribly. She didn't to need to be able hear to know what he was saying - Get Jamie out. Plain enough.

'Jamie, we have to go.. Are you ok?'

She began pulling the little girl up to her feet, assuming her own invisible state but weakening quickly now from the sheer amount of people she was trying to control.. Her grip on the guards minds had slipped when the flash went off - but they had also succumbed to its effects similarly dazed and confused. She reacted quickly, reclaiming their minds, buying them a bit more time to get to the doors..

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie screamed when the grenade went off, but she never heard it. The bang seemed to go on and on and on in her ears. But because of Spectre's quick action, she hadn't seen the flash, and her vision was unaffected.

The voice in her mind startled her again - but she thought back, I'm okay... please, please, let's go!

She felt herself pulled to her feet and stumbled along, completely forgetting to put any sort of illusion over herself...

[Dragon]

It appeared to be just Dragon and Jamie running down the hallway toward the security checkpoint at the front entrance. But the attendants were only armed with nine-milimeter pistols and had heard via radio how the heavily armed reinforcement squads had had fared. They scattered at the sight of Dragon charging toward them, his arms crackling with raw, preternatural fury.

Through the bullet-proof glass of the front doors, Dragon could see another squad forming up in front of an idling humvee, rifles raised to shoot whatever came through.

He didn't hesitate. He lowered his shoulder into the nearest door, taking it off its hinges. The lower edge sparked as it scraped over the concrete pad.

The squad opened fire, but their bullets ricocheted off the advancing wall of plexiglass like rain. The soldiers fanned out to draw a bead on the mutant pushing it from behind.

But they underestimated Dragon's speed. By the time they'd found their mark, he was already too close to shoot without risking their comrades on the opposite side -

And by the time they'd realized this, he was already among them, fighting with blinding ferocity. But all the exertion, plus the strain of fighing the tranquilizer, was taking its toll on him - he was only tying up half the squad. He hoped Spectre could find something to do with the other half, or their great escape was about to come to an abrupt and tragic end.

[Spectre]

It was really too bad that Dragon had such strong convictions to side with the gene traitors.. She would have loved very much to make him a permanent addition to the Brotherhood, his abilities were simply amazing - when one was observing them and not having to fend them off.. Spectre quickly scanned around the scene. There were simply too many targets, and she was too weak now to claim each one's mind and have them all just lay down their arms and start line dancing.

She patted Jamie on the head. 'Jamie, can you get into the back seat of that Humvee without being seen, sweetie? I'll be right behind you.. Have to take care of some of these nasty fellows..'

She trusted that the little girl knew she was too close to freedom to allow herself to be dragged back into that cell of a room they had her in. If there was a time for courage this was it for Jamie..

Spectre would have been shot by now if these guys could see her, lucky for her they could not. She could maintain that aspect of her abilities indefinitely if she chose. Rushing in toward Dragon she began delivering a severe beating to each guard that came into her proximity, and seeking out those who did not. Radioed back-up would be coming so this had to be taken care of quickly..

She fought her way to the Humvee and opened the drivers side door, stepping behind it as a sheild as it was opened and the one confused guard inside began shooting.

"What the hell are you doing?!" One of the guards surrounding the vehicle was sure the driver had gone mad when he opened the door and started shooting at nothing.

"Someone just opened the.."

His weapon slammed upward into his chin, silencing him. The gun was yanked away by unseen hands and shot the other guard between the eyes. Guns were not her weapon of choice, but she did know how to shoot when the occasion called for it, and this was that very occasion... She tossed the stunned driver out of the Humvee and threw the vehicle into reverse suddenly, slamming backward into the guards behind it.

[Dragon]

Dragon had intentionally thrown himself into the thick of the guards, trying to surround himself so they couldn't use their weapons without risking friendly fire. He was buried in a writhing mess of kevlar-coated bodies and limbs.

And then he heard the roar of the Humvee's engine and twisted himself out of the way. A half-dozen or so soldiers went down beneath the grinding tires.

Dragon didn't expect Spectre to stop and pick him up. He reached out one hand as the Humvee thundered by in reverse, gripped the driver's-side mirror, and swung up onto the vehicle's hood. He aimed a reproachful look through the windshield at the seemingly empty driver's seat.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie tried tried tried not to think of what those bumps under the tires were. She huddled in the back seat, grabbing clumsily for the seat belt to keep from being thrown around the cabin. And then she was startled by a thud on the hood.

"John!" she squealed, and she tried to climb over the center console to open the passenger-side door for him. But then a bullet came whistling through the windshield, and she yelped and ducked down to the floor.

[Spectre]

Lips curling into an invisible smirk of amusement, Spectre shimmered to appearance for a brief moment, smiling at Dragon only long enough to let him wonder what her intentions were, and why she was smiling before she disappeared again. Jamie tumbled backward when the shot crashed through the windshield.

"Jamie! Stay down! I'll get him." She half shouted over the roar of the Humvee and the still coming fire from the guards..

Spectre spun the wheels hard, making her hood ornament slide to the side as she slid her fingertips over the power windows, rolling the passengers side down so that Dragon could slide himself in.

"Hurry up, will you? I'm not toying around with this place anymore..." She hollered, narrowing her green eyes at the gate..

[Dragon]

Dragon swung himself onto the running board and was about to dive in when he became aware of the glare of headlights and a rapidly approaching engine roar.

He didn't look. As it was, he barely had time to haul himself up onto the roof before another Humvee barreled in from a side road and drove its left fender into the passenger-side door beneath him.

The impact spun Spectre's vehicle around and set off the airbags, filling the passenger compartment with white smoke. Dragon went airborne and clawed at the rooftop, digging his fingers straight down into the sheet metal and ripping his way down until he caught a hold of the reinforced roof rack.

"Drive!" he shouted. "Just drive!"

[Spectre]

Muttering a few choice nasty words that she hoped Jamie didn't hear, Spectre coughed out the smoke from her lungs and nodded, even though Dragon was no longer present to take note. Driving for their lives, she slammed her foot down on the gas and leaned over to tear open the dashboard compartments.

"Hey Jamie..? I do not condone children and guns, but if you should so happen to see one back there I would let it slide this once if you handed it to me..." Spectre considered that for a moment..

"Never mind that! I have a better idea.. Can you make a few brick walls pop up in front of those guys and get them to swerve..?" Spectre glanced up at the rearview mirror.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie was still on the floor, her head ringing from the savage collision, but she was mostly unhurt. Carefully, she lifted herself back onto the rear seat. She heard the wind whistling past the claw-shaped gouges in the ceiling.

She looked up at Spectre - at the empty seat, really, she felt queasy watching the steering wheel turn all by itself - and then back through the hatchback window at the other Humvee's headlights swerving to keep up.

They aren't just trying to stop us anymore, she thought. They're trying to hurt us... or kill us!

Her eyes narrowed. Brick walls? She could do better than that.

Out of nowhere, a gigantic Abrams tank appeared in the road in front of the other Humvee, thundering straight toward them with its gun leveled at their windshield. The Humvee swerved all right, so hard that it tipped up onto two wheels and spun out of control, crashing headlong into a supply shed off the road.

[Dragon]

Dragon flinched at the tank's apparition, but he could see Jamie staring out the back window with an intense look on her face. Relieved, he pulled the door open and dove inside across the rear seat, breathing heavily.

"I think it's time for us to leave," he said wearily.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie scrambled out of his way and giggled nervously. "John! You're okay! We did it!"

She glanced at the invisible Spectre and back at John, who was still lying flat and exhausted - he hadn't even closed the door.

Worried, Jamie climbed over him, pushed his legs aside, and pulled the door shut. "John? Are you okay?"

[Dragon]

Now that his adrenalin surge was leaving him, Dragon had little left to fight the tranquilizers still running through his system. His vision was blurred, and he barely had the strength to pull himself upright on the seat.

"Okay... just tired."

His head fell back against the window, and he lost consciousness.

[Jamie Morrigan]

The little girl gasped and shook John vigorously. "John? John!"

She reacher her hand up to his neck and felt around - where was that vein supposed to be?

But then she saw his breath fog the window next to his mouth. He was alive!

"Spectre! We've gotta help John. I think he's been drugged!"

[Spectre]

Free of the second Humvee for the minute, Spectre accelerated advancing on the Jericho Center's main gate, even as guards were diving out of the way and solid anti-ram posts were raising up out of the ground. She hit the gas, knowing if they raised completely they were all toast..

'Hang on Jamie..'

The Humvee slammed overtop of the posts, rolling over the remains of the gate and, Spectre ducked as most bullets whizzed through the window at her. Some more very colorful language escaped her lips, and now her shoulder was killing her from the jarring of the consecutive crashes...

Dragon was out, and she wasn't doing so hot herself. This was a nightmare.

Spinning onto the road, she never slowed down until they were many miles from the place, and even then they didn't have much time to waste as the Humvee would be tracked easily enough. Pulling off the road, she killed the engine then scrambled into the back seat to check on the passengers.

"Ok there, lambchop?", she asked Jamie wearily..

Dragon looked like hell. When giving him a few quick smacks to the side of his face didn't rouse him, Spectre seriously debated leaving him, but didn't because it would likely freak out Jamie, and that was the only reason - she assured herself..

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie had been silent through the frenzied dash away from Jericho. Now she sat huddled across from John on the back seat, clutching her knees to her chest and shivering. "I'm cold..."

She was still in her hospital smock, and her breath was misting on the night air.

[Spectre]

Frowing Spectre reached into the front and turned the engine back on, and cranked on the heat. She climbed back over to Jamie, trying to not crawl over Dragon in the process. She picked the little girl up and sat in her spot, settling her in her lap and tucking her arm's around her.

"I'm sorry, Jamie.. I didn't even think to bring you any clothes, but we can get you whatever you need tomorrow." She shot Dragon a glance thinking to herself..

"What kind of clothes do you think you'd like? You don't strike me as the 'dresses' type. Some jeans? Maybe some sporty cargo pants..?" She yawned and brushed Jamie's hair idly with her fingers..

"Whatever you want..."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie stiffened at first - it had been so long since someone had just wrapped her up and held her. But Spectre was warm, and she made her feel secure.

She thought about the question of clothing for a while. "I like jeans," she said. "And not just blue. I like white jeans. And red. Do they make red?"

She leaned her head against Spectre and told herself for the first time that she was really really free. She'd have expected to be excited, exhilarated, terrified. But she realized she was far too tired to be any those things. They'd have to wait until later.

"What happens now?"

[Spectre]

Spectre was silent for a minute, trying to decide how much to tell the little girl.. It wasn't like she was going to continue to remain in the company of both herself and Dragon. That just wasn't going to happen, not unless Dragon suddenly had a change of heart and decided to fight for his own kind over the preservation of humans. His actions tonight at the Jericho Center had been enough to make Spectre believe the possibility was there.. He'd taken down as many, if not more than she had..

So why not stay with them?

"I don't know, Jamie.. I just don't know.", she sighed. "We'll wait for a little bit until you warm up and see if... John, decides to wake up. If not I'll keep driving and we'll switch cars. Tomorrow will be a better day.", she promised.

Spectre decided not to tell Jamie that she was in a tug of war between opposing sides of the mutant community. That would likely upset her and she had been through enough for one evening...

"I'm thinking bacon and eggs. Maybe we can find an all night dinner.. What sounds good to you?"

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie's stomach rumbled sympathetically. "Sounds good," she said.

She glanced toward John thoughtfully. "Your name wasn't always Spectre, was it?"

[Spectre]

"No.. it wasn't. I chose the name Spectre for myself, based on my abilities as a mutant. Something to identify myself with who I am now. Who I have made myself, not who I used to be. I'm not her anymore.." It was a hard thing to explain to a child, but Spectre was being as straight forard as she could be.

"Does that make sense? Some of us had bad times before being freed, like you are being freed right now. We don't want to remember them or dwell on them, so we become someone new. Something personal.."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie nodded slowly, and she tried to imagine what Spectre must have been like as a little girl, what it was that had been so bad she had to change her name. Whether someone had rescued Spectre like Spectre had just rescued her.

And then she wondered if there was some other little girl with strange powers that she could rescue... but she couldn't very well do that with a boring name like Jamie...

"Could I come up with a name like yours?"

[Spectre]

In the dim confines of the car, Spectre smiled.

"Sure you can, but I'd give it some very deep thought before settling on one. Jamie is a nice name for now.. Unless of course you are sick of hearing it. If I'd had to listen to that nurse crabbing at me for as long as you have, I'd be sick of my own name too..", she teased..

"Something that reflects who you are.. Until you know who you are and what your purpose in this life will be, I wouldn't stress out over it. We have plenty more pressing troubles.. like.. should we have french toast or pancakes with our breakfast..?" Spectre yawned, and the pain that assaulted her head amde her vision blur. She needed to take some of her pills and pass out.

"There are lots of us." She continued... "Mutants with special names, and we all have a place in this world. It's all a matter of picking a side to fight on. I fight for you Jamie. For all the little Jamie's out there being locked in hospital rooms and worse.. Someone has to stand up and fight."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie gave one last shiver, but she was feeling so much better now. She gazed out the windshield and imagined herself as part of a team of mutant freedom fighters, all of them with super powers and secret names, breaking into places like Jericho and setting all the children free...

The images materialized on the windshield like a projection screen. Jericho was in flames, and dozens of children were running away and cheering led by Spectre in a brilliant white suit, John in blue, in Jamie in bright red.

She realized what she was doing - the sort of fantasizing that got her in trouble with Ms. Harmon. But she didn't care. She looked back at Spectre and smiled.

[Dragon]

There was a muffled groan from John. It sounded almost like "Trunk."

His eyes were still shut, but he was beginning to stir.

"Look in the trunk," he mumbled. "Emergency supplies... blankets. Maybe uniforms."

[Spectre]

The scene playing out on the window made her smile in it's very child-like simplicity. If only it were that easy..

"Stay with him.." Spectre helped Jamie to rise.

"I'll go look in the back." She climbed over the seat, exiting the vehicle and walked outside, around to the back. Popping the hatch and lifting the covered off the rear storage compartment, she began to shift through the contents looking for something, anything that would be of any use.

There were a couple blankets, a few shirts, military issue which would probably drape like a night gown on Jamie, but more layers were better than nothing. She found some water bottles and a box of some kind of power bars..

Spectre was holding out for pancakes and bacon, but she'd get some food into Dragon before she left him to his own devices. She was not entirely without compassion for a fellow mutant..

She returned, opening the door closet to him and climbed in, to sit on the floor. Twisting free the cap of one water bottle she smiled at Jamie in reassurance, but spoke to Dragon.

"Alright, Sleeping Beauty, nap time is over. Wake up!" She lifted his shoulders in one of her arms and brought the bottle to his lips. "Drink.. it's just water.."

[Dragon]

Dragon took a mouthful and stirred it with his tongue; his entire mouth was dry and felt like cotton. Once he'd swallowed that, he eagerly drank half the bottle.

He could feel his strength returning, even if his senses were still muzzy. He could see a woman in white leaning over him and a little girl watching over her shoulder with concern on her face.

"Thank you," he rasped, shifting himself out of her grasp.

And then his eyes cleared, and he saw Spectre. He flinched and seized the bottle from he hands as if it were a weapon.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie flinched, too. "John! It's all right, it's just us! We're safe now!"

She turned questioningly to Spectre. "Aren't we?"

[Spectre]

"Yeah, your welcome.. Think nothing of it..." Jerk. Should have left you..

Spectre sighed, giving over the bottle and climbing back into the front seat, away from the man and the girl..

"Yes, Jamie. We're alright for the minute but we have to keep moving, it won't be long before they catch up to us and we have to switch vehicles, as well.."

She started thinking. If Dragon had his way they would have to fight over the girl. They both wanted her and had only worked together out of necessity, not any sort of true partnership. She couldn't forget that he was a gene traitor, and he obviously didn't care that she could have left him to rot, but hadn't..

Typical..

[Dragon]

Truth be told, Dragon was somewhat surprised to have awakened in the backseat rather than in a ditch by the side of the road.

The night was still young, though. With Spectre in the driver's seat, he'd be left behind sooner or later. He gave her a wary look as he found a cupholder for the water bottle.

"We certainly can't be seen in a damaged Humvee by daylight," he said. "I could call the Institute - they could send a car to meet us within the hour."

[Spectre]

"Fine. Do that." She was not going to say any more to the ungrateful wretch than she had to.

She was tempted to use the GPS to find them an all-night diner for those pancakes, but that would only have Jericho's forces dropping in before they could have the bacon on the griddle. Breakfast might have to wait.

Spectre grabbed another bottle of water for herself without bothering to even so much as glance Dragon's way, he could take it however he wanted, but she was not happy with him. Even if they were on different sides, there was no excuse for being rude to someone trying to help you!

From around her neck she pulled a silver necklace with what appeared to be a locket attached, she opened it up and spilled two tiny white pills into her hand, and chugged them down with water.

"So? Hurry up already.."

[Dragon]

She hadn't objected, which meant she likely had her own transportation, or at least some sort of contingency plan - Dragon was certain she wasn't going to let Jamie go into the Institute's custody without complaint.

He ignored her petulant tone and removed his radio from his belt. "Will do." Then, as he keyed in the frequency, he thought better of his own attitude. She'd shown him a great deal more compassion than he'd expected.

"And... thank you."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie couldn't understand the rancor that seemed to have developed between her rescuers - she wanted so much to ask them about it, but she was afraid it would only make it worse.

But now that John was calling this Institute (that word was off-putting, somehow), she couldn't very well ask him.

So she grabbed one of the shirts Spectre had liberated from the trunk and pulled it over her body - it dwarfed her, but she welcomed the warmth - and climbed over the center console into the passenger seat. Catching Spectre's eye, she tapped the side of her head.

What's going on? she thought. Why are you so angry?

[Spectre]

Her green eyes lifted, in the half light of the Humvee's interior. Completely expressionless once more, exactly like she should be. "You're welcome.."

She didn't want to like him. Gene traitor. Enemy. End of story.

Jamie plopped into the seat and Spectre heard the question. Sooner or later, probably sooner, Jamie was going to realize that she couldn't stay with 'them'. That she would have to go with one of them and not see the other again. Either choice would be hard for her, as they had both saved her and she had developed trust for each of them.

'John and me? We don't exactly see eye to eye on many subjects. I should be what he thinks I am. I should have left him..'

Sullenly, she stared into the night..

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie looked worried and confused. But I don't understand... I thought you were a team!

[Spectre]

Spectre looked straight at Jamie, meeting her eyes and holding her gaze.

'Err.. Not exactly.. In fact, this was a one time thing to get you out of there. That was our goal tonight, and we have done it. He wants you to go with him to a place called Cullen's. I can't go there.. I live with other mutants.. somewhere else.'

She glanced back in the mirror, keeping her mind on Dragon for a moment - he was calling for their ride.. Smart choice.

[Dragon]

John clipped his radio to his belt again. "Fifteen miles down the road, there's an overlook," he said. "We can dispose of the Humvee there. It's also within walking distance of a small village. That's where our transportation will meet us. We might even have time for some breakfast."

He glanced between his two companions. He could tell by the look on Jamie's face that she was troubled.

[Jamie Morrigan]

Jamie tried to muster a smile. "So where are we going after that?" she asked, her voice a little strained.

[Dragon]

"Jamie," John said, "I'd like to take you to a place where you won't be poked and prodded by doctors, and you won't have to take all kinds of nasty medicines, and you'll never have to wear a collar again. You'll be able to go to school with other kids who have amazing gifts like yours. You'll live in a big house, and you'll be able to play in the biggest lawn and the most beautiful woods you've ever seen. And I'll be there, too. I'm one of the teachers."

[Jamie Morrigan]

Her eyes widened with every word - it all sounded amazing (well, except maybe for going to school). It couldn't be true!

Could it?

"But... Spectre won't be there," she said, looking forlornly at the fair-haired woman.

[Spectre]

Spectre nodded at Dragon's suggestion regrding the Humvee. They needed to lose it as soon as was possible, and breakfast sounded good. She needed to recover mentally, and he needed to eat to get some strength through his body fromt he lingering effects of the tranquilizers.

"No, Jamie..", she said softly, almost regretfully. "I won't be there."

She swivelled in the seat and gave her a wink. "I'm too old to go to school, and they would never let me teach. I'd just end up in detention."

She was trying to lighten the mood of the situation, and probably failing miserably, but if Jamie didn't want to go to Cullen's with Dragon, Spectre would make sure she didn't...simple as that.

[Dragon]

Roughly fifteen minutes later, they stood at the apex of a steep emankment covered in deciduous overgrowth. John leaned his back against the Humvee and slowly rolled it forward toward the edge until gravity took hold. It quickly picked up speed and barreled through branches over shrubbery until it crashed to rest somewhere deep beneath the treeline below.

They'd taken a down jacket for Jamie, and it practically enveloped her, but she was warm inside. Then they crossed the vacant highway and began hiking down the other side of the hill toward the distantly glimmering lights of a tiny Connecticut borough.

By the time they reached the foot of the hill, John was carrying Jamie, and she was nodding off to the rhythm of his footsteps.

"It's better for her, you know," John said quietly. Spectre glanced his way, her expression unreadable in the twilight.

"We can give her back her childhood. She'll have friends. An education. You know that Saladin would only use her as a weapon in your war. She deserves better than that."

[Spectre]

Dragging her gaze away from the man and child, Spectre warred with herself silently before speaking. "What's the difference? You'll do the same in time. So we want her to be with her own kind and make her strong now.. You, rather, would see her grow up thinking nothing is wrong, and then spring it on her of all of a sudden one day, putting her into the war?"

Lesser of two evils indeed.. Gene traitor.

"You are no different...", she said more quietly..

"..Do not let your teaching credentials make you a model pillar of the mutant community, Dragon... You've killed. I've killed. The only difference is you chose to side with those who would suppress her, maybe cage her in time... and I'd like her to realize her full potential now."

"She can go to any school she wants, and she could make friends with anyone.. She's a lovely child. You are not her only hope. So spare me.."

[Dragon]

John narrowed his eyes. "I have no illusions about what I am. About what we are, Spectre. Would you force her into your own mold? Or would you rather give her a choice in the matter?"

[Spectre]

"I came here tonight to give that little girl a chance at life.. To get her out of that Hell hole. It had nothing to do with you and your 'institute'. You are the one insisting she must go there.. Why don't you ask her what she wants? She's not without an opinion on the matter, I'm sure..."

Spectre continued walking until the soft ground of the woods gave way to pavement once more, and the halogen glow of street lights eased some of the darkness..

[Dragon]

John said nothing. He supposed it was possible that Spectre really did care only about Jamie, but he was certain the same couldn't be said for Saladin.

They crossed a two-lane highway and entered the gravel parking lot of an all-night diner with blinding neon signs in the windows. As they approached the glass door, John looked up at the bell tied to the hydraulic arm - hanging next to it on a short ribbon was a pewter fish with feet. He exchanged a glance with Spectre and could tell she recognized the token meaning mutants safe here.

Clearly, he hadn't chosen this town by accident.

He lightly stroked Jamie's back to wake her, then eased her to the sidewalk. "Let's get some breakfast."

[Jamie Morrigan]

In another fifteen minutes they were seated in a booth with plates of pancakes and bacon and eggs and biscuits and cornbread - Jamie had wanted to taste it all.

As she maneuvered her straw to slurp up the last of her chocolate milk, she regarded John and Spectre thoughtfully. She wished she could imagine they were all a family, and they'd be taking her to a house with a bedroom full of books and windows and colors that weren't remotely pastel, but she even she knew that was a fantasy. Feigning sleep had been a handy skill at Jericho.

"So," she said, looking at John, "you come from a big house with lots of mutant kids, and they go to school there and learn about using their powers."

She swirled a piece of pancake through a puddle of syrup and turned toward Spectre. "And where do you come from?"