X-men 2099UG #6

January 21, 2091

If there was any place in the entire world where she could finally lose him - lose THEM - it was here.

She knew that one time the buildings and spires around her were the most prominent landmarks in the city. That simply living in those skyscrapers was a symbol of great wealth and status. That was before it was all covered, though. Before New York City had spread outward as far as it go.

She stood in the shadows and the squallor of what was now called simply "Downtown". It was a literal and all too apt name. When the ones in power had built their homes upward, the rest of the people got swept under. Simple people, some only wanting to live their lives without the interference of megacorps, others that just weren't as lucky. The masters above did not want any of the less-fortunate living in their new metropolis. If they could not find a use for you, then down you went.

It was a wretched place at the best of times. Roving gangs kept were the ones in power down here, and they constantly warred against one another. Whether over religion, misguided principles, or general savagery, it didn't matter. If you wanted to live safely, you gave them what they asked for without hesitation. She wasn't surprised that it was this way, Downtown was not a happy place. Vaguely she wondered what it had been like when Uptown was being built over it. How did it feel to wake up every day knowing that the sun and the sky was being taken away from you?

They had every right to be angry, to fight against what they knew was wrong. These were the great unwashed, the people removed from society, denied their basic human rights. They were cattle to those above, an abusable resource.

Abruptly she realized that this was not the best place to hide from him after all.

*     *     *

Her tracks were red against the grey backdrop. They stood out like flares against a night sky. Slowly, Xi'an Chi Xan lowered the thick goggles and crooked his mouth into a cocky sneer. "This is too easy. Is she even trying to evade us?"

Junkpile turned his head towards Xi'an, his mouth was set in a thin line of annoyance. But then again, it always was. "Most like she doesn't know we've got all this hardware. You don't even need the Lawless for this one."

Xi'an faced Junkpile and raised his eyebrow. "You'd rather not get paid?"

"Chasing skirts ain't what I signed up for, meat," Junkpile growled. "Neither was being the dog for some Asian red czar fossil."

Xi'an smiled and let the goggles hang from his neck. "Even outlaw bands need money, Junkpile. And what Haddad put on the table was more than any mark we could have thought up."

Junkpile grumbled as Xi'an sat down in the cycle next to Junkpile's. Grabbing his comlink from his belt, Xi'an thumbed it open. "Mongrel, Victor, pick up."

On the tiny screen, a face covered in shaggy blue fur materialized. In person, Mongrel was a six foot ten, 260 pound brick of blue-furred muscle. And if that didn't intimidate you, the fangs probably would. "What is it, Xi'an?", Mongrel barked out in a low gruff tone.

The small blue light from the comlink's screen lit up Xi'an's face. It was nighttime in New York City and that meant the usual shadows that cloaked Downtown were even larger. Darkness seemed to swallow things here. In the distance, running water splashed against centuries-old sewer vents. Thunder boomed quietly. It was raining above, a torrent that thrummed against the plates and supports that held Uptown. The ambient sound helped to dispel the suffocation that the darkness brought.

"Where are you?", Xi'an asked briskly. The plan was to surround her. Even with their small number. The Lawless only had four members currently, but there would be more someday, Xi'an was sure of it.

"At the corner of Delancey and Mott. 'Scuse me for a second...," Mongrel said as he looked to someone offscreen and barred his teeth. He turned back to Xi'an, "Nosy punks, they should be in bed by now." Mongrel was the oldest of all of them, and hated anyone younger than him, which made his respect for Xi'an all the more inspiring. From Xi'an's point of view, anyway.

"She's slipped by you then, she'd heading north. We've got her trail now. Join us on the Bowery," among the hardware Haddad had given them was a portable genetic scanner. Much more accurate than simple heat-tracers, the trick was that you had to have the target's DNA sequence on file. Though with the relationship between the target and their employer, that wasn't a difficult hurdle to overcome.

"Got ya, bro," Mongrel said, shutting his comlink off. Victor was with him, a pairing that Xi'an took a small amount of pride in. Victor was a sensible fighter, he knew when to back down and when to go for the throat. He was incredible to watch in motion, fast and accurate. Victor balanced out Mongrel well. The pairing was much like him and Junkpile. Brains and brawn.

Xi'an affixed the goggles to his face. The trail was still fresh. "Let's ride, Junkpile."

*     *     *

She hadn't wanted to stop, but sooner or later she had to eat. And she had already skipped the "sooner" part, she didn't want to find out what came after "later".

She ate the plate of eggs and toast as fast as she could without arousing suspicion or upsetting her empty stomach. Even at this hour, the café/diner was still bustling, third-shifters on their lunch breaks and lonely people with nowhere else to go. Shakti didn't want to attract any more eyes than she already had, she kept her hood up. She could barely taste the food, she was so hungry. The eggs slid greasily down her throat, but she didn't mind. It was either them or the hamburger, and she didn't want to think about what hamburgers were made of in Downtown.

Half her attention was focused on her mutant ability, she could sense mutants in a close proximity around her with her mild psychic abilities. She could also control their nervous systems if they came close enough. The people hunting her were mostly mutants. Three of them so far, there might be more. She had made it halfway around the world, yet her father was still unleashing tracker after tracker. She had been lucky so far. More than that, lucky, fortunate, and resourceful. Still, she was running out of places to go.

She needed protection. She had been forced to leave Ryu Kobolt *** when she came to the States. She hadn't wanted to. Had wrestled with the decision over and over. The sensible part of her prevailed. She would have to forsake what her heart longed for. Ryu was dying. He was too conspicuous. He worked for her father's rival, who was no better than he. There had been a multitude of reasons to leave him. That didn't make it any easier, though.

*** X-men 2099: Oasis bookshelf

For once, she wasn't picking up the presence of her pursuers. Perhaps she had lost them in the night? Shakti quickly dismissed the thought for the foolishness it was. No, they were still out there somewhere. Shakti ate a little faster, she would have to leave as soon as she sensed them.

A bulky fellow sat down next to her at the bar, his mismatched clothing reeking of alcohol and smoke. He had a helmet on with two short curved horns on it. His hair stuck to his skull from where it peeked out from under the helmet, greasy and uncombed. The man's skull resembled an ape's, his jaw protruding outward and his eyes sunken. Nonchalantly he laid his spear down on the floor, leaning it against the bar.

Shakti pulled her hood over a little further as the man bellowed for the cook, eventually ordering a burger. His voice was slurred from what was most likely a late night spent boozing.

As the cook lazily walked away, the man leered over at her. Here it came...

"Hey," the man grunted. "Wot's with the hood?" She ignored the question and continued eating.

"Wot's with you? You brain-shocked? Why you hidin' your face? I bet it's a pretty face," the man continued. Shakti continued to ignore him.

Suddenly, the man grabbed her hood with his rough, fat fingers and yanked it back. Shakti could see him grinning. "See, I knew it! Tryin' to hide your good looks from the rest o' us filthy folk? You don't have to do that."

She acknowledged him in an annoyed tone. "Excuse me?"

"Bein' all defensive and such. You don't haveta worry about me. I'm a regular hero, I am. Always willin' to help out a damsel in distress. Or even a damsel not in distress," the man snorted laughter, her expression did not change. "Wot's yer name?"

"None of your business."

The man laughed again. "That's not a pretty name for such a pretty girl. No, really, wot is it? I'm Bloodspear."

Her left eyebrow raised in question. "Bloodspear?"

Yup," the man said, hefting the thin spear up. "See? This the spear." He pointed the blade of the spear close to her face, it was stained with...was that ketchup, or nail polish, or actual blood? "And here's the blood. Bloodspear."

"Er...that's quite colorful."

"Hehe, yeah...it used to be Bloodstaff, but my stick got broke by one of the guys..."

She didn't have time for this. Immediately she grabbed onto his nervous system with her powers and made him go to sleep. Was that how men picked up women down here? Honestly. Bloodspear?

That's when she felt their presences. All four of them. The three mutants and one human. They were getting closer...and they were coming FAST. She sprang up off the stool and ran for the doorway. She was raising heads with her sudden flight, but she didn't care. Tucking her hood back on as she ran, she vaulted out of the doorway. Mother of Thor they were getting close...

She had only made it to the end of the block when she heard the rumbling of motorbikes. Their headlights swung over the street as they turned onto it to pursue her. How could they be tracking her so quickly? It didn't matter. She had to get away.

It wasn't going to be simple, though. In front of her, Astor Square opened up. An array of conflicting neon billboards and wide slanting streets. There was nowhere to hide her. Unless...

Bracing herself, she used the momentum of her run to vault herself up into some nearby scaffolding that covered one side of a building. There were several platforms here, if she could just get to the rooftops she might have a chance to fight back. Jumping, she grabbed the edge of the next platform and pulled herself up. A cramp was starting to form in her abdomen. She ignored it, she hadn't gone all this way just to be stopped by toast and eggs. Hurriedly, she did the same with the next platform.

Below, the four motorbikes rumbled to a halt. One of the trackers stepped off and looked up at her. He had long black hair. "Don't climb up too far, Ms. Haddad," he said, taking the glove off his right hand. "We need you alive and you're jeopardizing our position if you go too high once I melt the supports on this scaffolding." His right hand glowed a faint green color. She ignored him and kept climbing.

As she looked upward, she realized this wasn't going to work. The building had ten floors at least. There was no way she could get to the top before they brought the framework down, and her with it.

"You have three seconds to start coming down, Haddad!", Xi'an yelled. "One!" Shakti was only halfway up, she was trapped on the scaffolding. They were going to bring it all down around her, she'd be shipped back to Hong Kong in a body cast.

"Two!" They were all wearing protective psi-shielders, assumably provided by her father. Her powers were useless against them. She looked around for an alternative, there had to be something to do. There. Of course. It was so simple. The windows. She kicked at the old wood and glass.

"Three!" Xi'an's disruptive touch coursed along the metal beams as they disintegrated into nothing. Quickly he ran back as the metal groaned and bent and came crashing down thunderously. The noise echoed loudly along the silent streets. Lights were coming on in the windows around them as residents awoke.

Victor Ten Eagles waved away the dust thrown up by the crash. "I didn't see her fall, Xi'an."

Quickly, Xi'an raised the tracking goggles. Ten Eagles was right. He lowered the goggles and pointed to a broken window five floors up. "There."

*     *     *

Shakti didn't know where her luck was coming from, but she hoped it stayed with her. The room she was in was abandoned, the window had been unprotected and crumpled easily under her precise kick. She stumbled urgently through the darkness, there had to be a stairway somewhere along this hallway...

Abruptly she yelped as the floor disappeared below her foot. She fell forward, barely grabbing the wall in time. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as she saw what she almost fell into. Thin metal wires went down a hundred feet in front of her. A faint glow came from the bottom of the empty elevator shaft. It lit up the edges of the rusted metal walls with a ghastly light. It was a lonnnng way down.

But it was a longer way up. And there was no gaurantee that there would even be an accessway to the roof. And what was she going to do once she got up there? Jump to the other buildings? She really wished she had thought this through.

Gingerly, she grabbed one of the thick wires with her gloved hand. If she couldn't go up, she had to go down. The group that was after her probably had some sort of heat-sensing equipment with them. If she could get down to the basement then she could mask herself next to the boilers. It would give her time to think of a plan.

The wire whistled against the fabric of her gloves as she slowly slid her way down, stopping and starting again, careful not to go too fast in case the wire ate through her gloves. As she made her way down the shaft she suddenly realized that she hadn't paid the diner for her meal. It was odd, the things that you thought about when you were running for your life.

The harsh yellow light that came from the bottom of the shaft was brighter now, puzzlingly though, she hadn't seen any openings so far. She slid down...down...down, at one point she went past jagged edges of concrete sticking out from the wall. Suddenly, the wire ended there. The floor was ten feet below, there was space and light down there. She hung from the last of the wire and dropped the last five feet, landing lightly on the balls of her feet.

A large square tunnel stretched out before her. A single yellow lightbulb illuminated the darkness. Behind her was nothing but darkness. Above was the elevator shaft, she couldn't make out where she had been, or why the shaft was seemingly broken open at the bottom. An elevator accident, maybe? It had to have been a while ago, she didn't see any wreckage of an elevator car.

She looked down, there were rails. Two of them, with a large third one off to the side. A large rat scurried past the pool of light in front of her, but she remained calm. Without a second thought, she broke into a frantic run, leaving the solitary lightbulb behind.

The darkness enveloped her and her feet kept tripping on sidebars that occasionally stuck out from the hard ground. She kept running. How often did subways down here run? Was this line even in service? Would the lightbulb still be on if it wasn't? There had to be a station nearby. How many blocks were between each stop? Four? Five? Could she run that far before a train caught up to her? Would it come from behind? Or in front? She ran.

Every so often she came upon another solitary lightbulb. She never saw any openings or spaces in the walls. There would be no way to escape if she was...Shakti stopped. Had that been a rumbling sound? It had. Maybe it was from a trainline nearby. She turned around quickly.

The train's light illuminated the walls as it turned the curve towards her. "Oh shock...," Shakti muttered, breaking into a dead run. "Oh shock, oh shock, oh shock..." She ran as fast she could move her legs, coaxing as much speed as she could from them. A human could reach 20, maybe 25 miles an hour at peak condition. She was nowhere near that, she knew. But she ran on. There was nothing else to do.

Suddenly her foot slammed against a sidebar and she went sailing through the air. Her arm crunched against the pressed concrete and dirt as she slammed into the ground. Her skin had skidded against the rough subway floor. She was bleeding, the scrapes burned, they were probably enormous. She swallowed the pain and got up as quickly as she could, there was a pain in her hip. She was limping. She tried to run, but only got a few steps until she had to slow down. The light from the train stretched out in front of her, she could hear the train's horn. It was blaring incessantly, the skid of the subways wheels echoed off the walls. Sparks were flying under the train. She kept running. Maybe she could run fast enough to give it space to stop.

She risked a look behind her and dreaded it immediately. It was so CLOSE. She couldn't run, it was beginning to hurt. "Help me...," she cried out telepathically. "Someone..."

Suddenly a presence filled her mind. Shakti gasped in shock. She couldn't describe it. It was like she was suddenly seeing with a whole new pair of eyes. There was another mind like hers nearby. But...Shakti didn't see how that would help her...

The subway car barrelled towards her with a grim finality. Everything was confusion. The car, the pain, looking for an escape, the unmistakeble new presence in her mind. There was too much to sort out.

And suddenly there it was, the edges of it catching the light from the train. It was a hole in the wall. It was small, but she could push through it. She grabbed the top edge and swung her legs in. They landed in the hole with a splash. There was water here? Maybe it was an aquaduct. Grunting, she tried to slide the rest of herself in. The train was no longer coming, it was there. The light filled her vision. She was almost in all the way. Her legs and body sunk deeper into the water. All that was left was her head and...

The train skidded past, the sparks rebounding off the wall. The wind ripped at her hair and her face as Shakti slid completely into the aquaduct. She barely had time to catch her breath as she realized the water she was immersed in was moving very quickly. If it was even water.

The stream of liquid grabbed her and she fell in completely. There was complete darkness. Shakti tried to break towards the surface, but she couldn't tell which direction she was swimming in. She stretched her arms and hands out to find walls, handholds, rocks, anything. The water burned her open scrapes and her lungs ached. She had to get to air, there had to be air here...

Her head broke the water with a sharp gasp and she gulped in the pungent stale air. She could hear the sound of water splashing, thundering down somewhere as she was dragged along. There was a drop-off, a waterfall, coming up, she realized.

Shakti didn't even have time to swim back when her head collided with a stone outcropping. She sank into the water as she lost consciousness. The last thing she felt was the water pelting her and air rushing past her. She was falling...

*     *     *

"Are you alright, Penny?", a voice said as her eyes fluttered open. She was...alive? And dry? The last thing she remembered was falling.

"It's okay," a high-pitched voice said, it sounded like a little girl was in the room. "She took a lot. I just need to sit down. I'm so hungry."

"Sledge, go get some food for her," the voice ordered gruffly. She heard footsteps scuffling away. There wasn't much light in here. It wavered. And flickered. Candles.

Shakti sat up...and surprisingly felt refreshed. Like she had just had a good night's sleep. On the bed beside her were two women. One of them was tough and limber, with shaggy hair that was tied back in a ponytail. She sat on the edge of the bed staring in concern at the other woman, who was...good lord, she was impossibly thin. Like she was made of sticks. Shakti wondered how someone could stay alive like that. Or was she dead?

The tough woman turned her head towards Shakti. "How do you feel," she asked in a gruff voice.

"I'm...er...I feel fine. Is she...?"

"She'll be better. This happens to Penny everytime she heals. She'll fill out as soon as she gets something to eat," the woman responded. Abruptly, Shakti scanned them with her power. They were both mutants.

"You're both mutants," Shakti said.

The woman gave her a sharp look. "Mutants that just saved your life, lady. Remember that." The threat was clearly implied. Was she still underground? What were they doing living underground? Mutant prejudice wasn't THAT bad.

"No, that's not what I meant, I'm sorry," Shakti apologized quickly, pausing to add. "I'm a mutant, too."

The woman seemed genuinely surprised. "Honestly?"

Shakti decided to prove it to the woman. "Yes," she said to her, communicating telepathically. The woman's eyes widened in surprise.

"That was in my head!", the woman exclaimed. "You can do what she can do! Except...except it didn't hurt me when you did it."

"She? Another mutant?", Shakti asked, taking a look around her for the first time. The walls were covered in dirty white tile and candles were spread all around. There were several beds and some sleeping bags on the floor. Two candelabra's hung from the ceiling, but they were unlit. "Where am I?"

"Underground. We found you unconscious and unbreathing during one of hunts. Ghost had to force the water out of your lungs."

"Ghost? Hunt? What do you hunt down here?"

The woman gave her a level stare. "The only thing you CAN hunt down here." At that moment, a burly massively muscled man walked in with a steaming plate. It smelled enticing, but she wasn't hungry for some reason. Then she knew why.

"When Penny heals," Shakti asked. "Her mass decreases, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Penny spoke up as Sledge set the plate down beside her. Penny's voice was tiny and weak. "When I heal you, you're feeding off me. And the worse off you are, the worse off I become." Penny stretched a bony arm out to the plate to grab a piece of meat from it. It was so thin...like bone wrapped in skin.

"That's rat's meat," Shakti said, surprised.

"We're not picky," the women answered. "Besides, it's healthier than what's up there."

"Why are you living underground in the first place?"

"Where else are we supposed to go? Look at us. We're freaks. We're the monsters mothers read about to their children. This is the only home we have," the woman pointed to Penny. "She'd be dead if it wasn't for us Morlocks. YOU'D be dead."

Shakti was taken back. "I...I didn't mean any harm. I'm just curious. Morlocks?"

"That's what we are," the woman said, standing up. "The mutants under the city that's under the city. The Morlocks. My name's Sharpe, I'm their leader."

*     *     *

There it was, she could feel it, sense it, touch it. It was a mind and it wasn't like the others. It had barriers around it and it couldn't be touched. It didn't hurt and flinch like the others did. She wanted to meet this person, this mind. She had heard it before, calling for help. She was so glad she had spoken or else she might have never found her. She needed to see this person, right away, maybe she could finally be freed from this prison.

*     *     *

Shakti walked along the dark corridor with Sharpe. "So what do you do down here?"

"We live," Sharpe replied. "Undisturbed. Which is more than what was garaunteed to us on the world above. You are awfully calm for an upworlder found face down in the sewer."

"I have no reason to be frightened here. We are both mutants."

"So? You assume that makes us friends."

"Shouldn't it? We are both the victims of the same prejudices. I was merely more fortunate than you and the Morlocks. I look like a normal human, I can control my power, and I've never had to worry about money or material matters until recently."

"You say a whole lot of nothing, Shakti," Sharpe retorted. "It goes beyond prejudice, we belong HERE, not on the world above."

"Forgive the naivety, Sharpe, but I've always believed that all are created equal and should be treated as such."

Sharpe barked a laugh. "Hah! And you've built your life on that?"

Shakti remained serious. "It's how I ended up here."

Sharpe looked curiously at Shakti as she continued to speak. "My father is a red market czar who, if he stumbled upon you all here, would keep you all in pens to be experimented on. He would think nothing of your basic human rights and freedoms, merely that you are another way to expand his own power and knowledge. I escaped him because of this, yet he hunts me like I was his property." Shakti turned her head to Sharpe, giving her a solemn look. "You say there are monsters down here, Sharpe. There are devils above."

"Then you understand why we stay down here?"

"I do," Shakti nodded. "It just shouldn't be that way though."

"And what are you going to do? Go back up top and vanquish all the evil in the world? Create a mecca for people like us? A world where we can all smile and laugh together?"

Shakti couldn't help but smile at Sharpe's cycnicism. "It's a dream worth fighting for, don't you think?"

"You seem to be doing more running than fighting."

In front of them, a cloud of vaporous blue gas flowed and streamed by. It gathered into a thick cloud as they walked along. Eventually shapes became visible in the cloud. A mouth, a face, arms formed and the cloud lengthened vertically to form a shape close in form to a human body. The cloud smiled at Shakti.

"How went the hunt, Ghost?", Sharpe asked.

"Well enough, considering your absence. Scout managed to find seventeen more kills before it was time to go back," Ghost said. His voice was fascinating to Shakti. It was completely inhuman, barely audible and higher in pitch than she had ever heard. Each letter he spoke was tinged with gusts of wind. Like a windstorm was raging as he spoke. Shakti wondered how long it had taken him to learn how to talk in his cloud form.

Shakti turned to him. "I hear I have you to thank for my continued life."

Ghost bowed, leaving wispy tendrils of blue streaming in the direction he moved. "That you do. I imagine it was quite unpleasant to have me down your throat, but it was the only way to expel the water."

"Actually, I don't remember you doing that at all. How did you find me?"

"That was Sharpe. You have her keen abilities to thank." Shakti turned to Sharpe and gave her a questioning look.

"I'm a hunter, Shakti," Sharpe said, matter of factly. "Whatever I mean to hit, I hit. If you were to close off all my senses and walk in any direction for a hundred yards. I'd still know where you are, and I'd still peg you."

"She found you in the dim," Ghost said. "And now, ladies, if you'll excuse me, I promised Scout I'd help her with her chores." With a gust of wind, Ghost flitted quickly down the corridor.

"Scout and Ghost are quite the happy couple," Sharpe said, answering Shakti's unspoken question. "She was the one who found him."

"Can she turn into mist, as well?", Shakti asked.

"No, that's Ghost's and only Ghost's specialty. He can turn back to human form, but he prefers not to. When we found him, he was half-transfigured into mist, he was in such trauma. Every bone in his body was broken. We don't know why or how. Not even Penny can heal him. For him, it hurts to be normal."

"How many Morlocks are there?", Shakti asked, utterly fascinated by the underground society of mutants.

"Somewhere around sixty. I've never counted, some of them choose not to be social, but still remain. We respect their need for space. Not all of them have fancy mutant powers like you or me. Some of them are simply mutants in shape or form, like Sledge. Deformed or monstrous. There are some, like Scout or Penny or me, who could easily fit in up above, but our family is here. Then there are others, like Rachel, who stay with us for fear of hurting others."

"And you think I can help Rachel?", Shakti asked, assumably they were making their way to Rachel's usual hiding place. Sharpe was hoping Shakti could help her.

"You have her powers," Sharpe said.

"I am a low level telepath. I can fiddle with the control center of the brain, make people do what I want them to, communicate telepathically. But from what you tell me of this Rachel, she is much more powerful than I am."

"But you will help her? She never leaves her room, she hurts people with her thoughts and she doesn't know how not to," Sharpe asked.

"I'll see what I can do."

A stairway opened to the right and Sharpe led Shakti down it. "Brace yourself."

As they descended, the presence filled Shakti's mind again. The same one that had when she called for help in the subway tunnel. Shakti let the presence caress her mind. It didn't seem hostile at all. Just...curious.

Shakti looked back at Sharpe and saw her noticeably flinch. "What is it?"

Sharpe blinked her eyes and shook her head. "It's Rachel. She thinks constantly. Just a constant stream of thought. The closer we get to her the more it hurts. Just this non-stop mad rambling. Sometimes it's hard to ignore it. It's hard to resist going mad yourself. You can't feel it?"

"I have barriers around my power that prevent the thoughts of others from constantly barraging me. It's something I learned quite early on. If you like, I can help you."

"Would you?" Without another word, the stream of thought from Rachel quieted and finally died away. Sharpe couldn't believe it. "Can you help Rachel this way?"

"We'll see."

They walked further down the stairs, lit braziers lighting the way every so often. The crackling fires were a constant background noise. Shakti wondered who kept them lit. The stairs continued to wind down randomly. Meandering to the right at one point, then suddenly jarring left. But always down, every downward. Soon they came upon a nondescript wooden door. "Rachel" was written on it in white chalk.

Sharpe opened the door gently. "Rachel," she said. "It's Sharpe. I've brought someone. She's a friend. Her name is Shakti. She may be able to help you."

In the corner, an old woman sat on a tidy bed. Her hair hung down past her shoulders raggedly and uncombed, there were streaks of faded red in it, but mostly it was gray. A candelabra hanging from the ceiling was fully lit and its light filled all the corners of the room. It was suprisingly clean. From the general darkness all around in the stairway, Shakti had expected something much different.

"Yes, I know of her, I feel her now as she stands before me. You're someone like me. But different," Rachel said in an urgent voice, her eyes were eager and sparkled with life. Shakti was captivated by her. There was definitely something about Rachel.

Shakti turned to Sharpe. "I think I can help, Sharpe. Can you leave us alone?"

Sharpe blinked. "Um, yeah, sure. I'll just be at the top of the stairs if you need me. Just gimme a brain-holler."

"I will. Thank you." Shakti turned to Rachel as Sharpe left the room, closing the door behind her. "Rachel, you're an extraordinarily powerful telepath. The strongest I've ever encountered."

"I've always been this way. What's your name?", Rachel asked.

"I'm Shakti."

"Shakti, this feels wonderful. You're not hurting at all?"

"I feel you in my head," Shakti tapped her head. "But it's more like a presence outside everything else. You're not hurting me at all."

"That's marvelous!", Rachel clasped her hands together happily. "I've always wanted a friend who couldn't be hurt by me. I hurt all the others. I live down here because I don't want to. They don't deserve that. Their lives have been hard enough."

Shakti walked over and sat on the bed next to Rachel. Shakti was still in wonder. For some reason, Shakti couldn't accept that recluses could be this energetic. "Rachel, you hurt people because you let your telepathy have free reign."

"That's how it is, Shakti. It goes where it wants to. When I want to I can grab some of it and use it, but otherwise it just explodes from me endlessly."

Shakti smiled. "You can control it, Rachel. I can teach you how."

Rachel smiled exuberantly. "Do it, Shakti! Teach me how!"

Shakti took a deep breath. "Okay, first of all, calm yourself. I need to connect my mind to yours, take control of your power for myself. Show you how to corral it into one place and keep it there. How to shield your mind and your thoughts from the minds of others. Are you ready?"

Rachel sat back against the wall and rested her hands on her lap. "I'm ready, Shakti."

"Then we'll begin."

Shakti was down there for hours, teaching Rachel how to keep her powers reigned. It was trial and error, trial and error. At first, Shakti was having trouble herself. Rachel was - there didn't seem to be a word for it - infinitely powerful. It was an entity all to itself. But it all stemmed from one source, and Shakti knew that was where to begin. It was like teaching someone to ride a bike. You pushed them on their way, holding the bike as they balanced precariously. Then finally, you let go and they coasted away on their own.

It took a long time, Rachel had to be taught everything. How to use her powers to do this, to do that. The fundamental aspects of the mind and telepathy. And yet, Shakti did not mind it all. It was a joy to see Rachel finally grasp a lesson and work it out on her own. The happiness exuded from Rachel when she first contained her power. Shakti felt an odd sort of bond forming between them. That of teacher and student. Suddenly, Shakti's stake in this was personal. She couldn't let Rachel down.

"Are you ready, Rachel?", Shakti asked as they stood in front of the door. Shakti could feel Rachel precariously holding onto her own power. It fluctuated and rumbled inside the barriers Rachel had erected. She was concentrating intently on it. Shakti was proud.

"I think...I think so," Rachel stammered.

Shakti smiled reassuringly. "Good, then let's go. Let's show all your friends."

Rachel smiled and Shakti led her out the door and up the stairs. Sharpe was still waiting at the top, amazingly. Her mouth dropped open when Rachel stepped out smiling.

"Rachel?!", Sharpe exclaimed, she turned to Shakti. "Are you protecting my mind?"

"No," Shakti said, smiling. "Rachel is doing this all herself."

"That's amazing...," Sharpe whispered, awed. "It's only been a few hours!"

"Well, Rachel isn't a complete professional at it yet. But she knows how to do it now, at least."

"It's wonderful, isn't it, Sharpe?" Rachel exclaimed. "And I have you to thank, Shakti." Rachel swept Shakti up in a big warm hug. "I can do so many things now."

Sharpe smiled, clapping Rachel on the shoulder. "I think we'll have to move your quarters closer to ours, Rach..."

Rachel beamed happily. "Yes! I can't wait, Sharpe. I can eat with you and live with you and hunt with you if you want."

"You can, Rachel, we'd be happy to have your company." Sharpe turned to Shakti. "You can stay with us, too, if you like. Stop running."

"I'd like to, Sharpe," Shakti said. "But I can't run from my responsibility. I would be found here eventually, and it would put you all in danger. I have to stand up for my beliefs. I'll be returning up top now that I've helped Rachel."

"Then I'm going with you!", Rachel blurted out.

"What? No," Shakti said adamantly.

Rachel looked hurt. "No? But...you're my teacher, I have to. You're my friend, I can't let you face the world up there alone."

"Rachel...I'm being hunted. If you came along it would only put you in danger. Mortal danger. You could be killed."

"I don't care! You're going to need help. When you were teaching me...when you were in my mind, I saw what's been happening to you. You've been lucky so far. But that will run out soon. You need friends to help you. I've got power, you said so yourself."

"Yes you do," Shakti said sternly. "And what happens when we're ambushed and you let go of that power? You'll end up hurting everyone around you."

"Only the bad people. Not you! And with you always there to teach me and guide me...I won't lost control anymore. I'll become perfect at it."

"You can't come with me, Rachel. I'd like for you to, but you can't."

"Then where do I go? I like it here and the Morlocks," Rachel smiled at Sharpe. "The Morlocks have been wonderful to me. But I don't belong here. Can't you see, Shakti? We need each other."

Shakti sighed, she had a point. If Rachel's powers flared up again then Shakti wouldn't be there to help her. And eventually Shakti would have to confront her hunters, Rachel's power could make all the difference. They did need each other. But the situation was ripe with danger. Shakti wanted a friend though. Rachel could be killed. Rachel needed a teacher. Shakti was lonely and tired. Shakti grudginly accepted it. She needed someone with her on this journey. And Rachel was the best candidate.

"Alright then. Gather your belongings. Only what you need for survival. Nothing that won't fit in a small knapsack."

"Thank you!", Rachel said. "You won't regret this, Shakti. I promise." Rachel ran down the stairs excitedly.

"She's going to be in incredible danger," Shakti said to Sharpe. "You're going to let her go just like that?"

"Rachel is her own person, and she can come and go as she pleases," Sharpe responded. "But...," Sharpe added, fingering a knife hanging from her belt. "...you better take shockin' good care of her."

"I will, Sharpe, I will."

*     *     *

Xi'an flipped open the comlink and smiled. "Victor, you there?"

Victor's stern face flashed into view on the screen. "What have you got, Xi'an?"

"Meet me at the intersection of, let's see, 42nd and East 4th St. There's a large marble abandoned station there that our target is in. You can't miss it."

"We're on our way, Victor out." The comlink screened blinked off. Xi'an shut it triumphantly and tucked it back in his belt. He had followed her all the way here. Down an elevator shaft, through a subway tunnel, through the sewer, and finally, here. He had had to leave the rest of the Lawless at the opening of the shaft. The tracking was left to Xi'an. She had led him a merry and confusing chase. She had almost lost him for a few moments, genetic tracker or no. But finally she was making her way back to the surface.

And when she showed up, the Lawless would be waiting there. Xi'an's smile grew wider.

*     *     *

Sharpe made a grand gesture to the cavernous chamber before them. "Welcome to Grand Central, the Morlock's gateway to the upper world." Before them was a monstrously large marble room. The ceiling was adorned with faded animal figures, bigger than Sharpe, Shakti, and Rachel combined. It was hundreds of feet up. Just looking up at it made Shakti dizzy. The floors were smooth marble, stained with age and disuse. Wooden boards covered the domed windows that stretched almost from floor to ceiling. Slits of light poured through them, lighting up the dust motes in the air. In the middle of the chamber was a small golden kiosk with a large clock on top of it. It was perpetually frozen at 12:40. Beyond the chamber led a myriad of other open hallways and wide staircases. Large platforms loomed at both ends of the chamber. It all looked like it had been carved by the hands of giants. On the wall in front of them were raised golden letters. They were tarnished with dirt and the R and T were missing, but you could still make it out.

"It used to be the hub of mass transit in New York City before everything was moved Uptown," Sharpe explained. "Now only the homeless and destitute live here." Sharpe said as she gestured to the blackened stains on the marble floor where fires had been. Ashes and charred wood were scattered around.

"This is amazing," Shakti said in awe. In a way, it made Shakti sad. The human race was capable of such beauty, and yet it continued to revel in its ability to destroy.

"Geez, Sharpe, why aren't you guys living HERE?", Rachel wondered.

"Too high up," Sharpe answered with a sniff. Shakti suddenly tensed. She sensed som...

A firm metallic hand closed around her throat from behind and raised her from the floor with vicious ease. Shakti clawed at the hand, trying to pull it away. "Gotcha, meat," Junkpile's cold harsh voice said.

Rachel spun around in surprise as Junkpile loomed over her. Sharpe fell into a battle stance and drew one of her knives. "I got activity on the balcony!" she yelled. Her arm was a blur as she let the knife fly. It flew straight and true for seventy feet, hitting Ten Eagles in the left collarbone, hitting with such force that it sunk in up to the hilt. Victor let out a piercing scream and sunk to the floor, letting his gun drop and clatter to the ground.

"Care to try that with me, sweetie?", Mongrel said as he threw a sharp left, impacting Sharpe squarely in the head. Sharpe fell to the ground, dazed.

Rachel felt a strong hand grab her arm and pull it back. She let out a hoarse scream as he bent it back and back and back until she was sure it was going to snap. And there he held it. Rachel gritted her teeth. "Ms. Haddad," Xi'an said as he held Rachel. "Why do you continue to test your luck against the Lawless?"

Shakti could only gurgle as Junkpile held her throat. They were taken. There was only one chance. She hated to do this to Rachel so soon after teaching her, but she had to.

Swiftly and surely, Shakti reached out with her power and destroyed the barriers Rachel had newly erected around her power. It flared out immediately, enveloping them all.

Junkpile's grip suddenly slacked open and Shakti fell to the cold marble floor, coughing and gasping for air. Everyone was on the floor, all but her and Rachel were in pain. Her gamble had worked. The Lawless' psi-jammers were no match for the intensity of Rachel's telepathy.

Immediately Shakti reached for Rachel with her mind and helped her erect the barriers once more. The explanation spilled out of her in one telepathic burst. A feeling of understanding came back from Rachel. Shakti breathed a little easier knowing Rachel did not think less of her for it.

As Shakti helped Rachel, she also yelled out to Sharpe. "Sharpe! Their headsets! Can you get them off?"

Without another word, Sharpe nodded and rose quickly, kicking off Mongrel's psi-jammer in one graceful motion. Turning, she let fly a knife at Junkpile's head. The blade dug into the headset and Junkpile screamed. Sparks flew from it as Junkpile sank unconscious to the floor. He wasn't dead, Shakti could sense it, but he wasn't going to trouble her anytime soon.

With Rachel leashing her powers in again, Shakti let fly a psychic whammy to Mongrel. He dropped unconscious instantly. Now for Xi'an...

A blur of motion sailed in front of her and Sharpe dropped to the floor as Xi'an's boot connected with her head. Another instant and he did the same to Rachel.

"No!", Shakti yelled as she raised her arms to block Xi'an's oncoming blow. Her shout echoed through the vast chamber, bouncing off the walls, taking it's time to fade away. Xi'an's boot impacted against her forearms with a loud THUNK, the force of it driving Shakti back. Somehow, she managed to use the momentum of being forced back to get on her feet again.

Shakti settled into a defensive stance. Xi'an paused and smiled at her. "You really think you can beat me?"

Shakti ignored him and thrust the heel of her palm at the side of his head. He swiped the blow aside and countered with a straight jab. The blow glanced off her forearm block as she kicked up. Xi'an caught her leg and threw her to the side. She stumbled and skidded onto the floor.

Shakti barely managed to roll away as Xi'an stomped heavily onto the ground with his boot. She noticed that his left hand was gloved. He wasn't going to use his power, he as so sure of victory against her.

Using the slickness of the marble to her advantage, she spun on her back, kicking her legs out to knock Xi'an's legs out from under him. He fell with a grunt and she pivoted upright on her hip. Her hands went towards him and he raised his arms to block, but she wasn't aiming for him. With a hard yank, she grabbed the psi-jammer headset from his head.

Realizing her intent, Xi'an swiveled on his back and landed a knee into her side. She screamed in surprise as it drove into her. He got to his feet quickly. Ignoring the pain, she concentrated and marshaled her power. She took hold of Xi'an's motor control center and froze him where he stood.

"What are you going to do now?", Shakti asked calmly, standing before him. Such passion burned within this man. It almost frightened her.

"I'm going to find you wherever you go and bring you down. There's a pool full of money waiting for me back in Asia."

"You honestly think you'll succeed after this? After you witnessed and felt the power within her?" Shakti gestured to Rachel, who was moaning as she got up from the floor. "And next time, we'll be completely ready for you. You won't even get within a hundred feet of us."

Xi'am grimaced. "We'll see."

"'We'll see', is that the best you can do? Aren't you thugs better at this kind of intimidation than that?"

Xi'an looked offended. "We're not thugs. We're the Lawless."

"You can keep saying that, but the reality is that you're hired goons. Another one of my father's puppets. I used to be like you, a slave. Then I broke free of him. And now he sends cowards after me."

"Shut up, Haddad."

She leaned teasingly close to him, her gaze was fierce. "You'll remember my words, won't you? You won't be able to get them out of your head, in fact. They'll nestle there, constantly reminding you, I'll make sure of it. You're a tool. And when word of your failure reaches him, he'll throw you away as such. Nothing but a defective tool."

Xi'an's teeth were clenched in barely-contained anger.

"You know what? I'm tired of looking at your face," Shakti said as she knocked Xi'an out. He crumpled to the floor.

Shakti walked over and helped Rachel up. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, rubbing her head. "How long was I out?"

"A few seconds." Beside them, Sharpe came to, groaning.

Rachel looked around. "Are these the people that are after you?"

"Yes, but they won't bother me anymore. I've made sure of it."

Rachel was puzzled. "How?"

Shakti smiled, glancing at Xi'an. "The mind is a malleable thing. It can be reshaped, commands imbedded, memories erased - if one knows how."

"Oh. They won't remember you?"

"Not a chance."

"So what do we do?", Rachel asked.

"Well, we go forth, Rachel. We find a place in the world where we belong," Shakti responded. "And I teach. And you learn. And eventually, you won't have to live in fear."

"Someday?"

Shakti nodded. "Someday."

NEXT ISSUE: The mystery of the murders in Halo City is solved as Rachel
makes the ultimate sacrifice. And far away in Alaska, the plot thickens.