X Factor Project

The X Factor Project, a government funded research program in hopes to find a way to make US soldiers more effective in war zones and to help increase their abilities to survive. The project in which it's success had become it's failure. The years had already begun to pass since the escape of the test subjects of the X Factor Project, and since they had destroyed the lab. Already an elite team has been assembled to retrieve or kill any and all of the test subjects from the project and even children that have been born of a parent that has a special ability. Their objectives, search and capture or destroy and those who were once part of the X Factor Project, to survive and avoid catpure.
~~~

New York City: The play ground of Hidden go seek, life and death.
~~~

There was nothing but the room, the room that was completely dark around the edges. Looking up, left, or right all that could be seen was a pitch black darkness. Looking down or straight ahead all you could see was a blindingly bright light shinning in to the eyes. That was what Fane Owen saw as he looked straight ahead. His arms were spread out like a child who pretended to be a bird, only in his case his arms had been forced into such a position. The cold iron cuffs that held his wrists to walls had made his hands go numb from being so cold, and his legs had been shackled to the floor.

"Good evening again test subject XJ1." Cam he sweet and innocent sound of a woman's voices. The voice sounded as though it belonged to that of a woman who could sing like an angel. Fane gave no response to the woman as she turned on all the lights in the room, giving way to show nothing but a small square room made out of concrete. The light that been shining on Fane had been a projector light of sorts that had cords running into a machine that transmitted readings to a computer that was some where else.

"Now XJ1, don't be so cold..." The woman chuckled as she stepped forward and traced a delicate and slender finger over Fane's exposed and muscular chest, "Your much to handsome to be the silent type." She stated as she pulled a pair of pouty lips at him and batted her light hazel colored eyes before she took a look at the clip board she had in hand and brushed some blond hair back behind her ear.

"Hum, seems that you have shots in order for today." She stated rather bluntly. Her voice seemed to carry a sick sense of joy with it as she had spoken her words and she pressed a small button on a communicating device she had with her, "Please bring me the test shots for subject XJ1." There was no reply, but instead the door to the room opened and in came a woman pushing a lab table with multiple needles on it.

"Good, first three." The blond stated and picked up the three biggest of the shots and plunged the needles into his neck with more force than needed. Fane let out a yell of agony as he felt some sort of liquid start to be injected into him. It burned and made him feel like acid was suddenly running through his body. He closed his eyes, and he felt more shots in his chest. It felt like he was being stung by thousands of bees all at once, the pain was intense, worse than anything he had ever felt in his life...

Fane woke with a start. It had all been a dream, no not a dream but a cursed memory of one of the many torturous sessions he had been put through. He had however escaped, escaped with many others like him but they had all split up after the escape. There was no way to pick out who had been there and who hadn't. He did not know what had happened to the others like him and he wondered from time to time but never let it slow him down. He had his own problems to worry about, mainly staying low and not being found by those who were now chasing him and every one like him. Those from the retrieval team.

The alarm clock next to Fane started to go off telling him it was 7pm, time to go to work. With a groan Fane moved the single sheet off of his naked body before he got up off the futon mattress on the floor that served as his bed. He scratched the back of his head, making his already untidy black hair even messier than it was. The alarm clock was still screaming and Fane leaned down, jabbing the 'reset alarm' button with his thumb. With the alarm clock no loner screaming at him, Fane moved into the small but decent looking bathroom that was connected to his room. The floor was white tiles and the sink was white marble. In two strides Fane stood before the tub and turned the hot water knob over and started his shower, stepping in and closing the curtains behind him.

The hustle and bustle of the 7pm New York City rush met Andraya's ears. The city blow her was filled with cars and the smell of their dirty exhausts, cheap hookers lingered in back ally's, lights were every where weather they street lamps or the business lights of a company trying to get you to enter the store, the sound of music from clubs thumped through the ground as it vibrated through the near by buildings, and people on the side walks going about their business, not knowing that their thoughts were being heard by a nineteen year old girl sitting on the rooftops of an apartment. She heard everything from the people's thoughts below, 'Sex with my wife,' 'Cheating on my husband with my boss,' 'paying the bills,' 'collage finals, how am I going to pass,' 'How do I tell mom I'm pregnant?' Those were the things she heard and were use to, but what would always make her heart race was when she heard something from a mind that ran along the lines of being caught, 'Code name,' 'moving into position,' 'back to the lab.' Those were the things that she constantly listened for to ensure that she was not taken back to the lab where the experiments had been preformed on her.

"What am I thinking right now?" The man in the white lab coat asked Andraya as he sat on the opposite side of the table as her. He was drumming his fingers across the table. He was a man in his late forties and he was already going bald at random places on his head. Already he had been trying to get some results out of her for the past half hour. They knew what she could do but they wanted to test to what extent she could read a mind and just how far she could push her telekinesis. Andraya said nothing to the man and he held up a small little black block in his hand that a red dial on it and a small green button, "Now Andraya please cooperate with me here..." The man said as his thumb moved over to the green button but didn't push it.

Life was hell, hell on earth when you were constantly hunted down, and always having to live in fear, never knowing if it was going to be today, tomorrow, or this very night that you were captured by those that had been assembled to recapture those that had put through the brutality and cruelty of the X Factor Project. It was the one thing that Andraya hated the most, living in a constant fear. With a heavy sigh she stood up and looked over the edge of the building that she stood on and stared down into the ally. All she saw were the garbage bins, a few dumpsters, and a puddle of old rain water that looked more like toxic waste from all the vermin and crap that was thrown or slithered through the ally.

"Dr. Kliner you really should stop cheating on your wife with your daughters best friend and the whore down the block." Andraya said with a very board tone as she stared at the man sitting before her. A look of pure shock crossed the man's face. That had not been on his mind. So far the tests had shown that she could only read current thoughts, not actually read past that. Apparently they had been wrong, but still he was shocked and slowly that developed into rage and it showed on his face as he spoke, "Mind your own business little brat." Then he pushed the little green button and the small little shock band on her wrist kicked into action, sending high voltages of electric shocks through Andraya's body. She screamed a little in pain and flailed in her seat so violently that she wound up throwing herself froward and slamming her head onto the table.

"Time for a walk..." Andraya whispered to herself as she turned away from the edge of the building and left the sight of smelly ally below and behind her. She walked across the surface the roof, the gravel top of it crunching beneath her shoes as she walked over the roof top door and wrenched it open to look down a flight of stairs. She walked through the door and let it slam shut behind her as she started to walk down the stairs, her hands shoved into her pocket, pulling at the lose threads inside her pants pockets.

The pain from the shocks rampaging through her body finally stopped but there was still a dull throb running through her body and her forehead hurt as a headache not throbbed in her temples. Had her remark really been worth the punishment she had received for it? Of course not, but she had pushed a major button and she knew it, and the aging, balding man deserved it. He was an arrogant man who told her what to do, annoyed her, stabbed her with needles in her head, and injected strange fluids into her body while forcing pills down her throat. She looked at the man known as Dr. Kliner, "Maybe if you lost those few pounds you want to and got that penis enlargement your wife might like you more in bed like you think." Andraya said with a rather thoughtful look on her face though it was hard to make her muscles take up a thoughtful look as they were slightly numb from the shock that she had received earlier.

Andraya came out into the cool night air of New York City once more. The smells of the city rushed up her nose and she hawked up a large spit wad and launched it out of her mouth and onto the building wall next to her to get rid of the rancid smells that had just flooded her nostrils. "I really need to get out of the slums...so foul, no taste...disgusting." She whispered to herself as she began to walk down the streets. Out of those that dwelt in the slums Andraya was one of the few who stuck out and seemed out of place. Her clothing was decent and she always appeared to be clean which meant good hygiene. The only reason she was living in the slums was because she had no real source of income so she couldn't afford any real decent housing in the higher parts of the city.

The pain of being shocked again was back and Andraya couldn't help but scream with the intense pain and agony again as she felt the voltage pick up this time. The man was saying something to her but she couldn't tell what it was as she was to concentrated on the intense pain that claimed her body. Her sight went blurry and then suddenly the back hand across her face made her fall out of the chair she had been sitting in and everything went black.

Slowly she made her way up into the richer parts of the city. Her legs had carried her further than she had realized as she continuously kept letting her mind wander back on a memory of when she a test subject of the X Factor Project. Dr. Kliner...oh how she would have loved to have put that shock wrist thing on him for a change, see how the old fart liked having the hell zapped out of him. She looked around and sighed. She was near the big music industries. The things she was hearing now were along the lines of 'Money,' 'Sex with the hot model,' 'My next big hit record.' "God...for once I wish I didn't have to hear all this garbage every day all day..." Andraya whispered to herself as the sound of moans filled her head from a couple that were fornicating in a near by hotel building. It wasn't that she couldn't stop using her ability to read minds within a third of a block radius, it was that if she did stop using it, it would mean that she risked being found and captured all to easy. It was her safe net, as well as torture to have to listen all sorts of things she didn't want to hear all day, every day.

"Are you awake?" A voice asked Andraya. It sounded like a man's voice but it wasn't Dr. Kliner's voice. Wait..who was talking to her? She tried to open her eyes but found that she couldn't really see. Her sight was blurry and she felt so tired. "Vision is blurry." She said in broken English. Her speech was off, an effect of being shocked so much, and it was only temporary. "You'll be fine." The voice said and Andraya suddenly got the impression that she was moving, some one was carrying her. "Are we going to hell?" She asked, her mind slightly scrambled and out of place at the moment from the shocking and backhand she had gotten not all that long ago. "No, were escaping." The voice said and Andraya fell back out of conciseness. When she had awoke she had been alone.

Andraya stopped walking and looked around. She was still in the richer part of town, still surround by high class business, hotels, apartments, and clubs, but now she really wondered who had been the one to take her out of the lab? Who had that man been? Where was he? Those where the thoughts that ran through her mand as she stood off to the side of the busy street, now suddenly lost in her own thoughts.

The lights were bright white, and the room seemed to have a green tint to it, numerous scientists in the room. What am I doing here? Why can’t I move? Why can’t I see? Angelique’s first thoughts came around as she tried to figure out her surroundings. The men in lab coats and gas masked tapped on the glass and wrote things down on shiny silver clipboards. Talking amongst themselves one man approached the glass, different from the rest as he was dressed in a black lab coat. “Look at how well she’s come along” he said in his masked and chilling voice. “ELBI1” he called tapping a gloved hand on the glass. She was unresponsive, her voice sticking in who throat, her eyes still not opening. Her head rolled side to side as she tried to get her body to cooperate, a function that wasn’t computing in her dazed brain. Her brows furrowed and her lips quivered as she continued to force herself to do something, comply somehow. “Take the radiation levels down some, we need her a little more conscious and less unresponsive” the man said as he turned to a panel just behind the complex and highly advanced containment chamber. A man behind the panel nodded and typed in a few codes on the large computer and released a few buttons.

Above her head the swirling green gas lessened as it was being sucked up in a few tubes in the cap of the chamber. A shallow and ragged inhale almost instantly rushed in through her parted, now pale, crimson lips. Oh no.. I’m.. “Well rise and shine dearest” the man said, his voice dripping in hate while sliding his finger down the glass as he moved to become eye level with her. “You are a strong little bitch aren’t you?” he chuckled evilly through the mask “We had to use a whole force against you.. But.. We found your weakness.. Toxic Radiation.. What a glorious thing isn’t it?” he banged his fist on the glass, sending vibrations that caused Angel to wince, every fiber of her being worn down and in pain. “But.. I’m impressed, you have developed very nicely..” he paused and stood crossing his arms behind his back and pacing the floor. The scientists around him paying no attention as they monitored her brain waves and measured mass, molecules and other things regarding the ‘creature’ in the glass. “..and I don’t just mean developed as in your special abilities either” a sick twisted smile creeping upon his lips as he turned back staring at the almost naked young woman.

Her senses finally came around and she became better aware of her surroundings. She regained feeling again and she slowly managed to open her eyes, her worst fears confirmed. “Sir she’s coming to now.. Brain waves are rising..” a slightly high pitched female voice alerted the man. Her skin felt sticky in some places and she slowly lowered her head, looking through the small slits she managed to make between eyelids. What the hell? They are monitoring me!.. Damn it.. Why can’t I move easily? She became more aware and his words registered in her head. TOXIC RADIATION?! Her huddled body starting to shiver while her brain became more aware of the cold glass her weak body had huddled against. “Oh come on ELBI1 can’t you do something other than cower in your pitiful little glass?” his voice rang in her head again as she lifted her head to see his face nearly plastered to the glass. She growled lowly, her throat hurting her along with the rest of her muscles, but she didn’t care spit came flying out of her mouth. If it wasn’t for the glass he would have been hit square in the face with the thick clear mucus, she laughed wryly as she barely moved her suction cup covered arm to wipe her lips.

“Fiesty.. Little.. Bitch” he said with a grin his dark eyes watching her attentively as Angel started stirring in her chamber. Slowly her oddly colored eyes came to life, adjusting to the light, and getting past the burn of the toxic gas being pumped in her chamber. She scanned the room, she had to find a way out, and she needed to get out now. Examining herself she found she was practically in rags, her white T-shirt torn and charred, her once black scrub pants now black shorts. Within minutes she found the will and strength and pushed herself to a sitting position, her long black hair falling down in back in severely disheveled curls. Her eyes came in a deathly cold lock with his, a smirk on her face as her hair fell covering it. “Don’t try anything smart.. It may turn out stupid.. which could also be your early death woman!” his voice has force behind it, yet struck no fear in her; at least none evident in her expression. From behind her curtain hair, her eyes could scan the room freely, taking in every monitor and making out some of the signs on them. This is dangerous.. she thought piecing together the information Toxic Chamber.. Gases pumped by air through tubes.. Closed electrical wiring.. Thick glass.. Her hopes dropped Everything to prevent my abilities from working.. like hell..lets try this on for size.. She stood , her head bowed to the floor, placing a hand on the glass. “She’s trying fire!” the woman yelled. “Now!” was the reply. Searing pain coursed through her veins a moment later, the source, the wires connected to her body. She had calculated something off, she thought it was electricity in the cords, she was incorrect. Her body froze and she collapsed in the chamber, her eyes rolling and her breaths heavy and rapid. Her eyes closed and she continued her waves of screams in accordant to the impulses that continued, his voice in a slow motion state as she slowly blacked out again.

---

She was strapped down to a table that was tilting constantly a few inches in different directions, wires and monitors hooked up sending signals throughout her body. She groaned in intense pain, the only thing she seemed capable to do besides open her eyes and lift her head with extreme effort. She looked around again, this room was strange and the air was dry, it was like a clay container nearly. On the outside the room was programmed to clear the air from static electricity particles and extra moisture in the air, disabling two things. Her body was next suspended on a cold porcelain table preventing her from a chance of contact with ground or wood. Sly ones.. She thought laying her head back on the table, she was only strapped down across her ankles, at her waist and at shoulder level.

The door slowly opened a few inches and some muffled conversation, Angel put a blank stare to the wall in front of her. The man from the gas chamber entered, his face unmasked this time, his dark hair sheltered his features and his black clothes hid everything else. “Thought you could burn a hole through the glass didn’t you? Clever, but we had you hooked up to wires” he paused a hint of bitter laughter in his voice as he walked over to her, his eyes scanning her body. “So here’s the funny part.. Those wires.. I’m sure you thought were harmless right?..Something like.. say..” his hand made a questionable like wave “Electricity?” He turned his head watching her, “Well.. it was just a low dose of radiation meant to shock your system like electricity would a normal person.. Genius right?” he laughed completely now, a smirk dancing on thin lips, as he got close to her face.

He reeked of expensive cologne and she was sure she could smell alcohol. She glanced from his lips which were too close for comfort and to his eyes, cold as ice. With the back of his fingers he ran them down her cheek and moved a stray hair from her face. She tried to jerk her face away and he only held onto her face by her jaw. “Look here you little wench..” his voice rough “I’m not here to hurt you.. I mean look how you have developed, so gorgeous and powerful.. You grew so beautifully in that cell of yours.. Are you ungrateful for that?” his voice angered as he jerked her head “Answer me!” his voice hardened Are you ungrateful I let you live!?.. I think you are.. I mean.. as simple as it is to comply with us for your daily tests.. You prove to be an insolent, disrespectful, rebellious woman!” he growled and slapped her across her face. Her head flew to her right side, her hand falling in her face as a single tear ran down her cheek.

Angel’s temple pulsed as she clenched her teeth to bite back from replying as she could feel the burning imprint on her face. “ELBI1.. I’m disappointed in you.. You have great potential, yet you won’t share it with us.. Instead.. You have killed five lab technicians through contact.. Fried the electrical systems of four very expensive labs.. Burned two scientists, flooded four cells, and melted the six metal chambers.. and Copied yourself to escape a cell and nearly exit the lab to bestow havoc on the outside world!” his voice was strained in anger, as a sinister smile crossed her face at the memories. “It won’t be long before we won’t need you.. or even want you.. so.. don’t worry my little pet” he leaned to her and held her face as he pressed his tongue to her cheek and forcefully licked upwards. She groaned in disgust and tried to squirm and move her face yet she couldn’t. “Oh don’t be so abrasive.. You want it..” he chuckled as he walked out of the cell, closing the door behind him.

She had broken into sobs after his exit and wanted to vomit at his vile and perverse sense of infatuation with her. Her eyes watched the room idly, this had been a room she hadn’t been in, and of course she still had the toxic injections in her blood stream and nothing she tried was working. A sigh escaped her lips and her hope diminished almost completely. The quiet surroundings left her time to think for a few moments, contemplating a possible way to kill herself off before they did. When I get back in that hell hole with four corners.. I’ll strangle myself to death.. The door slowly opened again and a nurse walked in with a cart and assistant. She was much older than Angel, and the assistant was probably around her age, they eyes her a moment and chuckled. “This is that ‘dangerous’ freak everyone rumors of.. Looks damn harmless to me“ the nurse said with a chuckle while uncapping syringes. Don’t underestimateshe thought as the painful injections would begin again.

Picking up a strange needle of green liquid she put it to Angel’s deltoid and pushed it in slowly, pressing on the syringe she could feel the burn through her veins.” What the hell!” she screamed as she could feel the serum paralyze half her body and freeze her mouth. The nurse smiled evilly, Safety precaution..Sample one” the nurse said picking up a needle and prepping a vein in Angel’s arm. Unable to move or speak, she only watched in fear as the serum was injected and she tried to scream. Her eyes were wide and her body shook as she tried to convey emotion. “No change” the assistant wrote something on the clipboard. “Sample two” the nurse said repeating the last steps. They continued until finally they had reached sample twelve “No success in finding the source of potentials or abilities” a sigh escaped the woman’s thin pink lips. “Why don’t you be compliant with us.. Let us target the right part of your brain.. We need to harvest you.. But then.. Of course.. then.. we have no need for you” the woman laughed as the assistant continued scribbling notes down again. The course of the experiment, they had focused on her arm, not seeing that she had slowly managed to pull one her ankle and one arm hand free, the only part of her not affected.. Her hair had hidden her darkening eyes and a sinister smile crossed her face.

“Well.. We have finished.. for now..” the nurse smiled and picked up Angelique’s face and gripped tightly.”Don’t you worry.. we will get some more things for you to try” she waved her hand and the assistant left as she turned her attention back to her. “You will be a good girl won’t you and not a dumbass right?.. Won’t you?.. Won’t you?” Angelique dropped her head and her eyes appeared blank, pupils dilated and seemingly soulless. The nurse tried studying and shaking her, even a few hard slaps with no response. Slowly Angelique’s foot snaked up and kicked the woman behind her knees, then her arm reached across quickly grabbing her by the throat. Didn’t they warn you about skin contact, with my hand?? she thought as she looked the woman in her eyes. The veins on the nurse’s face bulged, and she gasped for air, she tried to scream but her neck was only gripped tighter. Around her she tried to grab onto things for the brief last moments and she soon after became brain dead. Angelique had been stopping the blood flow to her brain, an effective way of killing her. A few moments she stopped struggling, stopped flailing, and ceased to move period. She got just was she deserved, she was dead, her hand released and the woman fell to the floor in a soft thud. An amused smile played off Angelique’s lips as she struggled out of the restraints, this was, escape.

She could hear alarms going off somewhere in the building, the alerting light in her cell wasn’t on, she was assured it wasn’t her. More of us.. We are all leaving! She hurried and stripped the woman of her suit fast as she could with only one working arm and clearance card. She left her hair messy and down as she began slipping the dress on herself, and zipping up the white dress, and pulling on the lab coat. She stood again, wobbling a little, then kicked the woman’s lifeless body “Who’s the dumbass now?” turning to the door she stood straight, thinking a moment. Whipping around she gathered the empty syringes and placed them on the tray, then back on the cart. Placing the woman’s shoes as a final touch, she grabbed onto the cart and headed outside the room, she used it to brace herself as she drug started to wear out. She noticed no one around and continued walking, she was somewhere in an underground catacomb like part of the facility. She pushed the cart onwards, looking around as she kept her head straight, Where is the way out? she asked as she tried to follow her senses to search for a difference in the feel of air, or smell.

Her break came as she turned her head quickly hearing hushed whispers, she left the cart and headed down the way. Upon exiting she was hit in the back of the head with something hard and sent straight onto the floor, her eyes only scanned around a moment, hazily seeing people she didn’t recognize. She feared she was caught and not feeling too weak, a slight crackling sound emanated around her and bluish yellow bands of electricity flickered lowly around her, head to toe. “She’s one of us..” she heard someone murmur. She groaned as she rolled over, trying to stand as she raised a hand to her already pounding head. As if I haven’t been through enough torture.. she thought to a herself, wry joke. She gazed among them as best she could, the waves of electricity moving in bands around her body protectively. A man beside her smiled best he could in the situation, “Turn that off will ya Voltage?.. We aren’t gunna hurt you” she smiled and winced then looked to another girl “Well hi.. Come on I’ll help you” She ceased to give off her weak electric charges and a hand was put across her shoulder and another just at her hips. “Let’s move you guys” she smiled at the guy who was helping her, looking at him with her galaxy like pools as she forced herself to remember him, maybe she would cross his path and thank him, since she couldn’t now.

---

She woke up just across from an alley on a park bench; a little boy had started poking her as he held a hand of a busy woman, her attention in a phone conversation. She wiped her eyes and sat up, the last thing ringing in her memory banks was when they all split up. The hustle and bustle of the city blared in her ears, a ringing she would have to get used to. Damn.. The real world.. Her oddly colored pools gazed at the little boy “Hi” her voice was soft, but yet the boy cowered under the cover of his mother’s trench coat. She was saddened by the boy Even he knows I’m a freak The woman’s attention was drawn to her and she looked at her with disgust “Dear God Woman.. Have you no dignity? Exposing yourself like that in this neighborhood.. You are the exact image that gives all women a bad name!” The woman huffed and hustled across the street with her child, his eyes were fixed on hers though his head tilted as he waved goodbye, she waved back.
Angel was bewildered as she looked at herself, this was all she had; a tattered, torn, blood stained white shirt, and charred pants that were now shorts. Her head throbbed with pain, and her cheeks still burned from the slap she had received. Her heart was saddened, but at the same time her disposition was overjoyed. She was finally free and she could live life, even if it was in secrecy, she felt a little reassurance for once in her life.

---

The sun was streaming through her window and her little dog was barking, she was up and bustling about the house, preparing for another day at work. The memories of the awful testing had been engraved in her mind, and it haunted her every night of her life since the escape. She remembered a little, but nothing before the day of the experiment, at times she would wonder if they had done it or she. “Another day in the damn car place.. I love working on them but geez guys can be so ignorant..” she knelt down putting out a bowl of food her little German Sheppard puppy. “Isn’t that right kamikaze? They just feel threatened because I’m better than them.. Tech 3 mechanic Full time.. Getting that doooough!” she smiled and patted his head as he ate. Looking in the mirror she twisted her hair into a tight bun, and placed two black scrunchies to hold it up. She gazed at her eyes for a moment, just another thing she had to remind herself of her freak nature. They resembled something of a galaxy with its variety in color, but she hated it, she hated not being normal, so she tried anyway.

She put in her blue contacts after looking around the dresser for them, she blinked a few times adjusting to them for yet another day. With a satisfied smile she smoothed her wife beater and tugged on her blue basketball shorts, she nodded at herself, she had a unique sense of style and she didn’t care what anyone thought. Sliding into her work pair of DC shoes she grabbed her cell, keys, cigarettes and lighter before locking the door and slipping out. She ran down the three flights of stairs and into the building parking lot. “Here we go again.. another attempt to blend in.. and be scared for my life” she mumbled to herself as she got into her older model decked out mustang.

Huff. Huff. Pound. Pound. Huff. Huff. Pound. Pound. The resounding thud of sneakers on pavement echoed through the city. Though the sound was lost on everything else. Cars whizzed by, people screamed from windows, vendors hollered their wares at bellowing decimals. And the ever present sound of police sirens echoed throughout the urban scene, making the thud thud of the sneakers almost non existent. It didn't, however, make the chasing any less real. Weaving through the crowds, dodging the masses, a young woman with flaming red hair and eyes so deep, and so green they almost glowed, gasped, regulated her breathing, stumbled, and then ran faster. She had to get away. Had to find a shadow somewhere. Granted, it being noon didn't help her search, and considering she was running so quickly didn't really give her a chance to look at every possible nook, every cranny. "Sunuva..." Though the stream of curses were cut short as the young woman was tackled to the sidewalk. Letting out a yelp of pain as her knees slammed into the hard cement, shredding her jeans in that area, the girl growled, her eyes glowing the vividest of greens as she jerked her head back, her eyes flashing an iridescent silver as the man on top of her suddenly was set ablaze. It started as a small fire, just on his shoulder, and quickly grew until his entire body was covered. His screams of agony were almost music to the woman's ears. But it was short lived as she realized something. She'd been found again. It was time to move... Again. Vivid green eyes scanned the alley beside her, doing a quick run through until... YES! A shadow! It felt like Christmas in July as she jumped up, ignoring the stinging pain in her knees, and raced into the side street, diving into the shadow, disappearing on the spot.

Morgan Destin, twenty-two year old freak... Heh, the thought almost made Morgan snort as she looked at her reflection in the mirror of the small gas station. Clutched tightly in her hand was the ratted backpack her brother had bought her... Well, it seemed like forever ago. She'd managed to escape again. Though what would happen if she couldn't next time? Alex had told her... He'd told her what would happen if she ever got caught. The experiments, the tortures, the imminent death. Getting caught wasn't an option. Hadn't been in her brother's mind, wasn't in hers either. She'd managed to shadow step out ten times before she got tired and decided she needed to take a break. She'd managed to step from the slums all the way to the incredibly wealthy part of town, and even further, finally landing in what she liked to call middle class area. There were no huge mansions, yet there were definitely no slums. As she stood, staring at her own eyes in the mirror, Morgan frowned, eyeing the scar that ran
across her forehead. That had happened two days after her brother had been killed. She'd been stupid. Oh so stupid. And there, standing in the brilliantly white bathroom, the scared, twenty-two year old pulled herself into the past. Through her memories, she saw it all again...

Alex was dead... Her. Brother. Was. Dead. He was the only thing that had kept her safe, kept her from making mistakes which would land her in the presence of the bad people. And he was gone, so viciously ripped from her hands. Morgan knew what she was doing was stupid. Knew what she'd planned might get her killed, but she had to know. Had to be sure. She'd never gotten on that plane. The one that would have taken her to Iowa, and the safe place her brother and she had chosen. Couldn't bring
herself to step on that plane, and leave the last one she'd known as family. So she'd gone back with every neuron in her brain, every muscle in her body, protesting the entire way. She wanted to run, to hide, to scamper into some hole and just meld into the shadows. But no, she'd gone back.

Morgan walked into the apartment slowly, her eyes wearily looking everywhere. She hadn't been able to go through the front door. That was reckless. So she'd stepped through a few shadows and wound up in her closet. Her place of comfort when the world looked dark. She stayed in that closet, her knees pulled close to her chest, for over thirty minutes, until she felt like she could breath again. Her legs wobbled softly as she stood, making her way out of her room and into the hall. The place was a mess. An absolute mess. It was obvious they'd destroyed the place after she'd managed to get away. Not to mention, the entire place still reeked of burning, human flesh. Breathing deeply, calmly reminding herself that everything was okay, Morgan forced herself to walk into her brother's room, holding back the tears that threatened to spill over. But her sorrow, her time for mourning, was short lived, for an evil cackle sounded throughout the room, and a man, a tall, dark figured man, stood over the spot her brother's body had been. And... He was grinning... at her...

Shaking her head quickly, the young woman snapped herself back to reality. This was so not the time to be taking trips down memory lane. For hell's sake, she was being chased by horrible, evil, scientists who wanted to dissect her in every way possible, not buy her a cookie. That made her snort. The 'bad guys' buying her a cookie... Heh, if it was made from arsenic and old lace. Shaking her head slowly, Morgan threw on a baseball cap and a plain black hoodie. As she turned, glanced in the mirror, the woman sighed and shoved on a pair of sun glasses. She hated wearing disguises. Shaking her head slowly, taking care that none of her red hair spilled through the baseball cap and hoodie, Morgan slowly stepped into the shadow in the corner of the bathroom, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Shadow stepping was strange, to say the least. But this time it was... She had too much on her mind. Maybe she shouldn't have stepped so soon, perhaps she was still too exhausted from stepping so much. That was neither here nor there, because as soon as she stepped into the shadows, her mind went wild with past memories. Right back to the night she almost lost her face.

The man grinned at her. An evil site, indeed. "Come, we know who you are. We know what you are. We only want to take care of you." His voice caused bile to run up Morgan's throat as she took a small step back, instantly regretting that all the lights were on in the room. And then, when she didn't think it could get worse, it did. A hand clamped down on her shoulder, and instantly she was drenched. Ice cold water was poured over her head, making sure there wasn't a dry spot anywhere on her. "Wha?" She gasped, her teeth instantly chattering as she whirled, facing another man, this one in a long black trench coat. "No worries, that's just to make sure we don't go up in flames." Frowning, chewing on the inside of her lip, Morgan concentrated as hard as she could, but all she got was a warm sensation running through her body. No fire. Not even a spark. Confusion filled her gentle features as she looked up at the hunter in confusion. "See? Told you we were gonna make sure we didn't go up in flames. You're a fire elemental, when you're wet, not fire." His dark, sardonic laughter rippled through the room as panic and dread filled Morgan's face. This was it. Everything was going to end right here. The man by the door slowly stalked towards her, but Morgan knew this trick. Alex had taught it to her, and had forced her to practice it for hours on end. Just as he was about a foot from her, Morgan spun quickly, lifting her leg to plant it firmly in the man's stomach, while at the same time pulling one of the twin magnums from her belt. Her brother had always insisted on her being armed at all times, even in school. As she flicked her wrist and the man doubled over, wheezing from the pain of the kick, Morgan lowered the weapon, letting it land on the man that ad very nearly tackled her from behind. "Ah ah ah, not so fast." She whispered as she took a small step back, kicking the man in the doorway in the face once, twice, and then a final time, just for good measure. "I'm going to walk out of here. And you're going to stay there." She knew she should have shot him, but she couldn't. She'd never shot anything aside from target practice before, and she was shaking too bad to do any damage.

Slowly, Morgan walked out of the room, back stepping until she was in her room. Whirling around, about to dive into the shadow of her closet, she screamed. There was another one! She fired off her gun, once, twice, three, four, five rounds splayed into his chest. The other man, having heard the shots, raced into the room, dagger raised, and just as he was about to pounce on her, Morgan let the last bullet fly from the magnum, though the shot was wide, only shooting into his shoulder. As he howled in rage, and more than likely pain, the man leaped, letting the dagger slide down the side of her face, but also, saving her life, on accident Morgan was sure, by pushing her back, into her closet, into the shadows...

She screamed. Memories weren't welcome when stepping. Especially ones that made you flop around like a wounded fish. Without thinking, without caring, Morgan scrambled up and out of the shadows, her face pale, body trembling as she took her first step... somewhere. Hell, she'd been so enshrined in the memory, she'd not been paying attention. And here she was, crying her eyes out, shaking like a leaf, sweating bullets, and lost. Damn it. This is not good. So not good. Where did I land? Shaking her head slowly, Morgan looked around, her eyes narrowing at the site of cars. Cars? Oh.. She had stepped into a parking garage. Shit... I don't have enough... I just need to sit for a minute.. Definitely too tired to step again. As she slowly sank to the floor, Morgan closed her eyes, leaning her head against a car.Heh, at least there are plenty of shadows I can step through here... She sighed softly, quietly, and let her thoughts drift to where she would step again, after she'd rested.

Andraya had only stood in that one place for roughly five minutes, but in her eyes that had been to long. She forced herself to start walking once more. The way she walked seemed to hold no real destination. All she was, was one of those faces that you saw in the crowd and never remembered because she never lingered in one place for to long and she rarely ever revised any place. She would walk one way one day, and then another the next, only to keep making new paths each day and never over lapping paths with a previous direction she had gone. Only after several weeks had passed would she retake an old path, and after a month would she ever go to the same store. The streets of the city got more of Andraya's attention than the run down shit heap that was her apartment, and her room was practically bare. All she had was a back pack full of clothes, the couch that had already been in the apartment room, and two blankets. She was always ready to just grab her shit and go.

Once again Andraya was walking. The part of the city that she found herself in now, was not a place that she had ever been. Mentally she noted that and also noted to herself that it would be a long time before she came back to this spot, but now she had another section of the city to expand out in and explore, while also making it all the harder to trace the places she had been and where she went. Slowly she looked around, walking past a parking garage that belonged a building of some sort. Andraya guessed the building to be an apartment building of sorts or something like that. Like usual she went to walk on by. She never really had any reason to linger much of any where. Only when she had very overwhelming thoughts, did she stop and linger some where, but this time things were much different.

As always Andraya was listening mentally for any thing that would give her reason to run, run for her life and escape any danger. This time however, the words that came to Andraya's ears made her double take and stand still, completely frozen in front of the entrance and exit of the garage, "Here we go again.. another attempt to blend in.. and be scared for my life" Attempting to blend in... no one ever said that unless they were out of the normal physically or mentally, and being scared for your life? That was a feeling that she knew all to well. Always living in constant fear that you would be found, discovered...then what? Back to square one? Back to... no, she was not going to think about that as she still stood there stunned, unable to make herself move from shear surprise at the words she had just mentally heard. She was actually so surprised that sever fly away news paper sheets, and small rocks started to rise up off the ground and stay in mid air, her emotions being directly tied to her abilities, and surprise made her telekinesis react.

Her galaxy like pools stared idly behind blue contacts at the interior of the car, her fingers tracing lightly along the new upholstery and new accessories. She had made a life and pretty much settled herself in the few short weeks and her alias identity was easy to obtain. Her numerous tests and foul treatment, had brought her the survival skills, she would go to any lengths to live. And so.. She had

---

She pulled her body up from the bench, the head pounding in pain. She groaned as she put a hand to her head, she winced feeling the sore spot and the thick dried blood that caked her hair. Angel stood, glancing around at the busy city landscape before her. She was surprised at how people lived, she observed; bums, business men and women, the elderly, people with headphones, people on phones, men and women with children, and people zipping by in great looking cars. The noises and constant brushing by of people had given her a slight claustrophobic feeling and she turned her head franticly for an escape.

She darted upon seeing a park, brushing pass people giving her disapproving looks; she cast them over her shoulder. She had lived with those looks nearly all her life, well, what she could remember. Though she could ignore the looks, it made her furious, none of these people knew her or what she was capable of, then again she shouldn’t. Struggling into a clearer area of the park she made her way to beautifully crafted fountain. Her weary and dirt stained legs nearly collapsed beneath her as Angel sat at the brim of the fountain. Taking a deep breath she composed herself, if she wanted to survive she would have to think things out better. Biting her pale crimson lip as a forcive habit, she looked around, a flash of her ‘dark master’ as she called him burning into her mind sending searing hot tears to form. Pushing them back she closed her eyes, thinking to herself He’ll send them after me.. I’m valuable to the X Factor experiment.. I have to live somehow.. but what will I do..

She stayed watching the world go by for several hours as a devious plan formulated, passerby staring and pointing at a woman who obviously didn’t belong. Strange men casting glances and giving her looks she found rather odd as they tried to hit on her, none of this she yet understood, it was far different from the sick affections her ‘dark master’ cast on her as she grew up. With a shake of her head she stood, finding herself just wandering as she formulated a plan. An alias.. No more ELBI1 crap.. and no more Angelique, im sorry mom.. but.. I’ll become someone else- no other way around it she set her mind and stood firm on her decision. Her extensive time to think, that lasted well into the evening had given her a most ingenious plan. Lurking the city for most of the night, she took in as much information as she could about cars, communication, terms and just how people operated, for just five hours of ‘research’ she had a good grip on how to fit in. She had picked up on humor, sarcasm and several other things people used on the phone and with social interaction face to face. Now she was satisfied “ I need rest.. I think I can make this work tomorrow..” with a hearty sigh she gazed out to the late night scene of lights rushing and billboards blinking. Angel headed down a dark alley way and after assuring no one was looking, she twirled her fingers making herself a comfortable little bed of vines and started a small fire to keep herself warm.

---

“ ‘ay.. Fred.. lookie what we ‘ave ‘ere” Two man sat infront of her, in the early dawn staring at her as she slept motionlessly.

“ What be dis fine specimen of a layday” the other replied with a British cockney dialect. “Looks to be meh luckie day.. Tanks me stars.. Imma get me a wife!” he chuckled heartedly as he stood smoothing his hair. “Watch me turn on meh old british charm” he turned to the other man with a wink.

“I’unno fred.. I want to see this skill you claim to have.. Or ill be King George if yas got it..And I ain’t no king.. Im a regular damn George” the rugged man with a bit of beer belly replied. He leaned back against the brick wall, a pudgy hand running to greasy unkempt auburn hair. His other hand scratching his dirty large stomach, his clothes to small and his skin and teeth filthy as can be.

“I’m just gunna show yoous” the tall man, with tattered blue jeans and once white t-shirt stood straighter and approached angel. He ran a hand around the deep black scruff on his face and licked a thumb to set his bushy brows down. Smoothing his deeply stained shirt he cleared his throat and sat next to her, his profound odor instantly wafting into her nose. She rustled a little, turning her body away from the smell she subconsciously took in as rank and foul. Her mind raced as she relived memories and terrible experiences, her face sometimes twisting into horrified expressions in the passing moments.

Clearing his throat again, he rested a greasy finger on her shoulder and ran it the length of her arm. “My sweet wi-eefe” he said best he could to turn on the ‘charming accent’. Her eyes flew open and in the blink of an eye, she had the thirty year old bum screaming in pain and she flipped him over, mounted his back and pushed his hand further and further up his back. “Please.. don’t kill meh! I didn’t mean ‘ny ‘arm by it!” He groaned as his wide eyes scanned the alleyway and he feared his life. His partner chuckled boisterously until Angel shot him the coldest look he had seen in his life. The way her hair curtained across her face, hiding all her features beside those hardened cold strange eyes. She growled and pushed the man’s face into the concrete breaking his nose with the force as her body shook at a violent pace, her look seemingly lingering before the man as another of her appeared before him. She tilted her head and watched him, “You don’t know me.. And never have seen me..” she spoke coldly as she stood, both of her, and started running out the alley. “Dear god.. I musta ‘ad me more brandy den me fill” his counterpart rubbed his bugged out eyes as the other cried over his bleeding nose and hurting arm.


She merged to one body before exiting the alley and scanned the area, it was still early, not too many people out, but just enough. A grumbling erupted from the pit of her gut and she groaned, she needed to eat seen but the chance she didn’t, she knew she would survive. Staring at her scantily clad
reflection in a radio shop, she became more aware of herself, and that she really didn’t fit in with people around her looking that bad. hmmm.. using her ability she appeared in another alley as her original body stared into the crowds taking in styles and trying to match a possible outfit. Checking a few times to make sure the area was completely secluded, she made a shower using water and fire. She stripped and washed herself clean as well as her clothes, then used what she had seen to make herself fit in. She cut her clothes into a short and revealing outfit and left her dark hair in a messy wet style, her natural waves showing from root to the tips at her waist.

She started walking, heading for the nearby alley where ‘she’ was, entering the alley way she stripped, and then merged with herself. She nodded approvingly with the outfit and set out on her mission, using bilocation once more as the best way of travel to the outskirts. As she reached the large hills outside of the city she rested against the jutting rocks, perched to watch the incoming curve. Her victim would have to be someone about her stature, and very similar looks. For hours she waited and waited and waited, watching and studying every woman who drove by the tree she hid behind.

“I can’t stop.. thinking about you baby.. da da da.. dadada daaaa” her hands gripped the wheel tightly as she slowed coming around the turn. Her foot slowly applied to the brakes..“OH MY GOD!” the car didn’t stop and it rolled at sixty five miles a hour, straight into the guard rail. Her head slammed against the steering wheel, and the large SUV pushed the guard rail away from its firm placing, and the front end hung off. Angel slid down the hill safely as she glanced around and approached the car. The woman watched her, bloods streaming down her face as she reached out to Angel. “Please… help me..” her voice strained as she watched the woman who seemingly came from nowhere and stood watching her. Angel froze, who was she to say whether someone lived or died, but then if she wanted to live a little easier, this woman would have to die. Biting her bottom lip, her cold heart took over as she reached out to put a hand to the woman’s chest, stopping the blood flow to the heart. Within moments the body fell limp and Angel closed the woman’s eyes. “I am sorry..” she said with some remorse and bowed her head as vines came up from the concrete and cocooned the woman. Guiding the vines back over to the hill to a hole, standing over the body she watched as flames consumed the cocoon and the smell of burning flesh consumed the air.

Hurrying back over to the car, she sat in the seat, observing the interior before placing her finger on the dash board and sending a jolt of electricity through the SUV. Within seconds she overheated the battery and shorted the whole engine causing hood to blow out from the dented hood. Waiting for someone to approach or the sound of sirens, she rummaged through the woman’s purse, quickly assuming her identity and memorizing bit of information. After memorizing and checking everything one more time, she took a breath and closed her eyes as she slammed her head on the steering wheel, causing a bumb and a small cut “ Felicia Renee Mikes” she said to herself softly as a car approached and she closed her eyes, placing her head back on the wheel and relaxing all her muscles.

---

She had learned quickly then she would go to all lengths to help herself. That day, she had faked an accident, assumed an identity, and came up with amnesia she never had in the first place. The woman’s name had been clear to begin with, she was just barely starting her life, and Angel and fixed it up to her liking within a few days. A sad smile nipped at her lips before fading and she raised a brow, she could feel a fluctuation in the energy was circulating in the air, something was incredibly off. Taking a precaution of pulling the gun from her glove box, she opened her door slowly. Had they finally found her? Was this going to be her end.. so soon? Stepping out an closing the door, she swore she saw something move in the shadows, she was scared now, but she stood firm as her hand slip to her side concealing the gun.

“Who.. Is.. Out.. There?” she asked calmly as she scanned the area keenly, noting some movement behind some cars, and hearing a rustling of papers further off around another corner. Her breathing slowing and her footsteps virtually silent as she approached Morgan and Andraya, she stopped, just before reaching the center of the two, her eyes scanning straight in front of her and listening intently for a voice of some kind.

A sudden wave of panic and slight confusion ran through Andraya's body. The panic came from the fact that she was openly using her telekinetic powers. What was she thinking?! Any one could be looking at her, watching her! If any one saw her it would be a dead give away, however she was alone, all alone besides the woman that was somewhere inside the parking garage. The woman's thoughts had flooded Andray's mind, so powerful and over whelming that it was all she could hear, the woman's past, some of the things she had done. This woman was what Andraya was, one of the X Factor escaped projects. The woman's thoughts spiked a bit of confusion in Andraya, as well as the sudden appearance of another being inside of the garage. The set of new thoughts mingled in with other woman's thoughts. The new thoughts were of stepping in shadows. That meant there were two of them, two people that were like her. It only made her confusion increase. Why were they here? How did they get here? The why questions she forced herself to answer, knowing it all to well, she just hod to conquer her surprise to answer it. They were here just like her, trying to get by, trying to survive and not go back to the place where there was no hope of ever feeling human, the place where they would be cursed to die horrible deaths and undergo treatments that not even the cruelest scientist would preform on animals that were test subjects.

Slowly Anddraya took in a deep breath. She had to get a hold of herself, control her ability to make things move around her. She had to control her emotions. To her there was no excuse for losing control like that, weather her abilities were tied to her emotions or not. Again she took in a deep breath and was once more in complete control of herself and the rocks, papers, and other small objects around her fell back to the filthy ground where they had been not to long ago. The fluctuation in the air died down and everything was still once more, nothing to suggest that anything strange was going on any more. It still didn't change the fact that Andraya's hands were shaking badly as she tried to collect her thoughts. Why was it so rattling to her that she had just accidentally found two more people that were like her? It wasn't as if she had never come across another of the X Factor escapists. Well she had only ever come across one after the escape and she rarely ever paid them a visit, though she knew where to find them well enough. She shook her head, mentally screaming at herself, "Snap out of it! Pull yourself together, this is no time to be losing it!"

Right, getting a hold of herself...always something that was easier said and thought than actually done but she always managed to do it any way. Andraya curled her fingers slightly to stop her hands from shaking so much as she leaned against the wall, right where the corner was. She was still out of sight but remained at the very edge of the corner. She could either turn the corner and start talking, start talking form where she was, or just play it off cold shoulder and high tail it out of there. A slow exhale came from her nose and she made her choice. It wouldn't be polite to just run. As much of a shock as she had gotten from the random encounter she could imagine how scared and on edge the woman who had the mustang would be, while the other woman....Andraya paused and forced her mind to do a little prying. She didn't feel like thinking or saying woman one and woman two. She needed names for this one so she dug a little for the names of the women, though she felt a little guilty in doing so. She didn't like to use her telapath skills to dig into the mind of the others. Normally all she did was skim and read the thoughts that radiated not actually going look for things.

After a moment she had their names, Angel and Morgan. Angel was the one really on edge and aware that someone else was there, and Morgan was resting, trying to gather her bearings at the moment, but would soon become aware of Angel due to Angel speaking. Time to act Adraya thought as she leaned her head back against the cold stone that she had her back to. Her words came to her lips and she spoke them, "My name is Adraya Carlson, and the two of you who are behind the corner in that garage are Angle and Morgan." She stated softly and slowly. She had to chose what she said next very carefully or else things might get dangerous for her, "We all have something in common...we want to fit in, to survive, and we live in constant fear of those who..." She paused. She had never said this out loud, she avoided ever putting it into words as though it were a bad omen and would bring the very people they ran from down upon her, "Created the X Factor Project." Adraya forced herself to finish it before she went on a little more, "I'm going to step around the corner so you can see me." She told them as she very slowly started to round the corner, her hands held up at chest level in a "Don't hurt me" kind of gesture.

The shower had done Fane some good. For one the water tank had apparently broken down and needed repairs, a memo that he had not received, so he had taken an ice cold shower. At least he was well awake now and ready for anything. A cold shower was always good for that and that shower was not the first cold one he had and nor would it be the last. Not that it ever mattered to him. A shower was a shower and his were always short. A five minute shower was all he ever needed to wash his hair and clean all the hot spots. From there it was just grabbing a towel, drying off then, then throw on some clothes after they passed the typical guy test, smells fine, looks clean, and being comfortable. What passed the test this time was a black button up over shirt and a pair of semi new dark blue jeans. He had gotten them from a second hand store. Not that any one would tell that they were used and not that he would ever really care.

The first thing Fane did as he walked out of the apartment building and started to stroll down the semi busy street of the middle class part of the city, was pull out a pack of cigarettes. The pack was a nice green color and said Salems on it. He opened the pack up to show that there was only two left and he let out a huge huff as he took out one of he remaining two. He smoked to much for his own damn good. He was a chain smoking ladies charmer. That drew a chuckle from him that sounded rather deep as he placed the cig on the left corner of his mouth and pulled out a Zippo lighter from his back jeans pocket. It had a black case with a white tiger on it tangling with a snarling red serpent dragon on it. It was his favorite lighter, given to him by a purple haired chick that had he had ran into one time and helped her out of a jam. In that escape he had lost is other Zippo that had an ace of spades on it. A few weeks later she had found him where he worked, (Much to his surprise) only for her to give him a Zippo lighter as a gift/ replacement for the one that he had lost while helping her out. Another chuckle bounced around Smoke's throat as he exhaled a cloud of smoke through his nose and flipped open the lid of the Bic to see in red lettering the word "Smoke" engraved into the lighter. The girl had gotten that custom made, due to him being a chain smoker.

Just thinking of that purple haired girl made him crack a smile. It wasn't often that rescued a girl being chased by three Doberman Pincers. A nasty breed of dog that could get really nasty, and apparently one of the few ways to catch someone like her off guard. Fane rolled his eyes as he took a long drag off his cig and shoving his hands deep into his pockets. The sight of seeing her running down an ally had been amusing but he had also felt sorry for her and being the gentleman he was had helped. After all she was a cute girl, so he couldn't resist. He always had a thing for the cute girls but his whiles and charms always stopped short of obtaining the title "Skirt chaser," or "Skirt hound." No, that would be a horrible black mark that would mar his image as a ladies charmer.

After the rescue he had come to discover that she was like him, but had seemed to suffer on a mental level. Not that she was insane. He'd be damned and have to be slapped still or with a stupid stick to think that she was crazy or insane, but her interaction skills with other people was lacking due to extreme paranoia. She was so to speak of, on the twitchy side. She didn't like to stay in one place for to long and she always changed things up. Of course Fane didn't blame her. Her way of doing things was one of the smartest ways of going undetected and staying uncaught. As smart of an idea s it was though Fane knew he would never go that far. It just wasn't him. Even though there were people after him he didn't fret about it. Yeah he took the basic cautions, no credit cards, no cell phone plan, using a pay as go mobile instead, nothing that concerned documents, an under the table job that he could live off of, but he never really tried to hide. His own logic was along the lines of "the closer you are to danger the further away from harm you'll be." So by hiding in plane sight and clearly being in danger at all times he was indeed far away from harm for those that were looking for him never expected him to be out in the open. That was how Fane worked, doing the basics to cover his ass but not allowing anything to really get in the way of his laid back, ladies charmer way of life.

Another large plume of smoke escaped Fane's lips only this time in the shape of a cloud ring. He hadn't seen the girl for a while but it was to be expected and life was crazy to begin with. He knew she'd come round sooner or later again so he wasn't worried. A grin had come across Fane's face as he moved a hand up to cig and took it from his mouth only to flick the ashes off of it and then place it back at his mouth. He looked like so much like the typical charmer bachelor, an over shirt that was open to reveal his very muscular stomach, dark blue jeans, a pair of black steal toed boots, and of course the cig in his mouth. Fane was notorious for his chain smoking ability. He always had a cig in his mouth, even at work but he got away that at work due to working at a club. Every one smoked and drank there so it was acceptable.

On the subject of work Fane had reached it, a rather racy looking night club located just on the borderline of the slums and what was considered the middle class area. The name of the club was Ace of Spades, the place where he had gotten his first and original lighter from. Once again he pulled out his pack of Salems and pulled out the last cig, tossing the empty pack into the small trash can right by the front entrance. Already there was a long line to get in the club, one of those things were you were lucky to get in unless you were on "the list." Fane just walked to the front of the line as he used his old cig to light the new one before the butt end of the now finished cig found a place in the gutter as he began to smoke the new one.

"Keep smoking like that and you'll die of lung cancer." The bouncer chuckled as he let Fane in, knowing him as the working bartender at this hour. Fane chuckled, Joe said the same thing each time he came to work, always seeing Fane with a cig in his mouth. As usual he gave the same reply to the young but very beefy, muscular, blad shaved Joe, "Not before the government does." Joe just shook his head and laughed before Fane completely entered into the club and walked to the bar. It had always been a little standing joke. Not many people liked the government, saying they would be the death of the country so it was easy for Fane pull off that little mini joke and people wouldn't think much of it, just a bit of humor. Ironically the case was that the government most likely would be the death of him before the cigs ever got to him. A glum thought but it was life and that was that.

Placeing one hand on the bar and applying a bit of force as Fane brought his feet up he swung himself over the bar and began to take orders, mixing drinks up and observing the club. He was always up for scoping out some hot chicks, even if he was never going to go home with them. He was not into one night stands but the views were always great. He smiled to himself as he made a screw driver for some guy who then vanished into the crowd. The place was packed, the bar was plum full as were all the booth seats and tables that were scattered in the first half of the club. The second half of the club was a large dance floor where they had a small stage where the Dj's and live bands played. This night it was supper busy, Nickle Back had drawn in a lot of attention to the Ace of Spades As they played people danced out on the dance floor as mini fog machines released small bits of fog around every one's feet, black lights hung over head and several colored moving lights. Bodies melded together as men and women bumbed and grinded out on the dance floor. The smell of sweat, sex, smoke, and alcohol hung in the air. The typical club, and the place that Fane worked, under the table of course.
~~~

Tracking and capturing the escaped X Factor projects was no easy task. Even though the scum you scrape off your heal, no names, bums, and orphans were the ones used in the experiments they were by no means stupid. They had one thing that made them intelligent, and that was street smarts. The people that had been used had already experienced hard times before they were captured and treated so badly. In it's own way it was like a tragedy that just kept going with action thriller thrown into the mix. Those that had been in the X Factor project had seemingly gone from one shity place to another, and from that they had all gained a fierce will to survive. That combined with their abilities and the street smarts they had gained made them hard to track, and even harder to capture.

The one that X Factor that was proving to be the hardest to track and capture thus far was a girl named Andraya Carlson She was a telekinetic, telapath who had spuratic movements. She never had a constant or steady way of life. This girl, Andraya, had made it so that she was nothing but a face in the crowd. No one who saw her actually remembered seeing her due to the fact that she never went to the same place twice in a short time frame. Nor did the girl ever stay put in one place for long stretches of time. That, all topped off by her ability to read minds made her the hardest one of all to catch. If any one tried to get close enough to capture her she was gone before they were even on the same street as her.

Next on the list came Morgan Destins and Fane Owen. They tied for being the second most difficult to capture due to one ability that they had in common. Morgan was a fire elemental, and Fane was a time freezer, but they both shared the ability in being shadow jumpers. As much as any one could control the elements and environments around an area the shadows were one thing that could never bee taken away or controlled. The best any one could do was cause a black out in a building but any source of light, from a lighter, wrist watch, or even a glow stick was enough light to cast a shadow. So while it was easy enough to get close to either of them it was hard to actually capture them before they slipped off into the world of shadows. There had been a few encounters with both, but each time the managed to escape. It was also guessed but not yet confirmed that Fane Owen and Morgan Destins had never come face to face. If that was true that would be plus for the retrieval teams. Capturing a solo X Factor would be easier than a group. With a group was pooled intelligence and multiple abilities. A group would be almost unstoppable.

The third on the list was a woman named Angelique Smith. She was the classic elementalist. She had all four elements as her powers and Bio location. She was one of the more dangerous ones, but other than that not much else was known about her. The biggest clue about her was that she had galaxy colored eyes, but it wasn't much of lead at all considering that there fake contacts. So to find her was to go off her general appearance and start from the ground up.

Those were the ones on the top three list. No doubt that the others were still on the list, those had just been the top three, the hardest of them of all due to either type of ability and means of escaping. The ones that could always manage to escape were the hardest and the most infuriating because no matter how many times you faced off with them they always found a way to vanish. The third on the list had earned that place because of all the power she had with her. She was flat out deadly and would be very hard to catch, but the retrieval agency was not without some brains. For those placed on the top three list they sent a special squad after them, the best of the best, their most skilled, brutal, and effective squad.
~~~

"Hawk eye come in this is Blood hound." The semi deep voice came over the com that was placed in Alexis' ear. She shifted the sniper rifle she had on and kneeled. Clearly she was doing some sort of set up on the room, loading the rounds and checking her sights.

"Loud and clear Blood hound this is Hawk eye." She replied after a moment and finally stood erect, smoothing out her nice black suit. Using her left hand Alexis gingerly moved a lose lock of hair back behind her ear as her eyes scanned the other roof tops of the city. She was on the top of the tallest building that could be found in the middle class area of the gargantuan city.

"Are you ready and in place?" Freyr asked back once Alexis had answered his initial put out on the com. Alexis answered back instantly this time, no longer devoting any attention to her set up now that it was already complete, "I'm ready to do my part of the job, you and Fox just get started on yours." Freyr chuckled a bit as their sharp shooter seemed eager to get things on the road. She was always rearing to get things under way but when it came to waiting for her shot to arrive she would wait along time, just letting the anticipation of the kill or the shot that would render her target immobile.

"I've done my job." Blood hound told the eager Alexis, "We just have to wait for Fox. She's not quite in position yet so just hang tight will you?" That question hadn't really been a question. It was more of a statement than anything else. After that there was no answer on the com as they waited for Fox to come through and tell them that she was in position, and so they waited, two blocks away from the parking garage, going undetected and unnoticed