As The World Turns Cold

Familiar Faces

Moving her hand, Mercy gave his shoulder a small squeeze; it was all she could manage after everything she'd endured.

"We're okay, aren't we? That's what matters. Now all we need is to get out." She paused. "That should have been the last setback we could have. I've had enough shocks to last a lifetime."

He was motionless for a second before her words registered to him. Rogue moved, having an easier time moving than Mercy. He reached out and held her in his arms again.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Mercy. I swear on everything I am." He spoke quietly.

Rogue picked up his pace once he was sure he had control of his muscles and joints and they began moving through the hallways.

How he managed such a brisk pace was beyond Mercy's wildest fantasies. After that, it was a miracle they were both still standing.

He pushed them through doorways and winding corridors. More than once, she saw guards heading in the opposite direction, never looking their way. Some brushed right past the two of them without a second thought. Mercy looked on in puzzlement.

"What did you do? Why can't they see us?" Mercy asked, genuinely curious.

Rogue laughed. It was a happy comparison to that of the electric shocks. "I multiplied the air particles, making the image of us dissipate through the masses of air in our path. It's a parlor trick, Mercy. I can do it easily when I'm not heavily sedated on government medications."

Mercy's mouth moved in a curt smile against his shoulder. Leave it to Rogue to give her a reason to smile even through all of the pain they had endured.

"That's pretty amazing. How do you do it?"

Mercy felt his shoulders lift as he shrugged. "I'm not sure, honestly. I believe that there's a barrier between me and whoever I'm trying to hide from." He paused as he thought about his next words.

"When I tried it for the first time, I didn't think it would work. I was playing this absurd game of hide-and-seek in the local playground with my schoolmates. I remember thinking I didn't want them to find me. Next thing I knew, my friends passed right by me."

He sighed from the thought of childhood memories. "Having powers made my childhood very entertaining."

Mercy grinned. Despite their situation, she found herself wanting to hear more about this boy she'd known for so short an amount of time.

"Will you tell me more? Once all of this is taken care of? After we get as far away as possible from every torturing device imaginable? I'll burn warehouses down to escape those pains again." She lifted her head and their gazes latched on to each other.

He smiled slightly and shifted her weight closer to him. "I suppose I could if you do the same for me. I'd tell you anything you wanted to know."

He gave her look that would warrant a discussion later. There was a heavy amount of affection in those golden eyes and Mercy was as much afraid of them as she had been of the doctor inside her personal torture chamber.

"Of course, with the condition that we destroyed everything that has caused you anguishes. Now that's something I can agree to. I like your style, kid."

Mercy nodded. "There's not much, but I do remember a few fond memories."

"Well," He grinned, "Let's get on the quickest path to freedom. I'm eager to hear these stories of yours."

"Something tells me there is no quick way about this mess."

"Mercy!" A voice yelled as they rounded the corner. Terrance came into view looking completely disheveled. "We thought you'd never make it."

Mercy frowned. "That's flattering to know. Your lack of faith in my abilities wounds me greatly."

Terrance winced. "Sorry. You were in there for a long time. When we heard the sirens go off, we weren't sure if we could hold off the guards for long enough. Luckily, we tinkered with the controls for a bit and managed to block the signal from going out to the other facilities." He paused and glanced up. "It bought us some time, but the backup generators have already come back on and it's only a matter of time before word spreads that we took out a file center and took a few captives."

Terrance glanced at the ground bashfully. "I'm glad you're alive, though. Life looks good on you, Red. I don't imagine I could say the same about death. Even Miles would cry over that."

Mercy laughed drily. "I don't know about that, but at this point I'm not entirely sure how much more fight I've got in me." She tried to shrug, wincing when she remembered her shoulder had been knocked out of place.

Terrance noticed the discomfort on her face and glanced down at her shoulder. He let out a low whistle. "Damn, Red, I thought you made it out A-OK."

Rogue snarled. "She didn't actually. They tortured her."

Terrance glanced up his eyes as full as fire as when Mercy's powers took over. "What do you mean they tortured her?"

Turning to Mercy he said, "What else did they do to you besides this?" he gestured to her shoulder with ferocity.

Mercy shook her head. "Now's not the time. We need to leave."

Terrance glanced at her in disdain and disbelief. Finally, he followed her orders and ran towards the car.

Rogue quickly followed suit, his arms continuing to support her weight as he carried her the remainder of the way.

Security cameras flashed towards them as the sirens continued their incessant wail. Before long, the Arizona team would be there looking for the escapees. They ducked their heads and sprinted the rest of the distance to the car.

Mercy nudged Rogue. "I think I can walk now. Mind putting me down?"

Rogue hesitated, but complied with her wishes and set her feet down gently on the ground. Mercy wobbled at first, stumbling into Rogue.

His arms gripped her waist as he waited for her to find her balance on her jelly-like legs.

When the numbing sensation faded, she nodded to him in thanks and turned her attention back to the car and Terrance.

"One more thing I forgot to tell you," Terrance yelled. "We didn't find the files; we found the test subject instead."

Mercy shifted her head to peer inside the car. The tinted windows gave nothing away. "Is he okay?"

Rogue was the one to speak next. "She is fine. They only brought her in a few days ago. She was doing even better when we told her you needed her help."

Mercy shook her head. "Why would she care about me? I'm sure she doesn't know a thing about me besides what I assume you've told her about the situation."

"Oh you would be surprised." Terrance whistled as he climbed into the passenger seat.

Rogue opened the door and unfolded Mercy into the middle seat. Mercy's gaze fell to the person sitting next to her. Her eyes rounded in frozen shock. Her body became stiff.

This girl was nothing like what she remembered from her past. She was grown up with short, razored locks of brown hair dipped in bright blue dye. Wisdom-colored eyes widened with a mixture of concern and excitement upon seeing Mercy.

She was not the girl the government showed her pictures of. There was no rosy cheeks and innocent demeanor about her.

This girl was full of hardened edge, but Mercy could see the underlying coolness and calm atmosphere under her intense style.

More than anything she was definitely not the little child that wanted to steal her dolls and birthday cakes when they were little.

"Lily?" Mercy's voice cracked on the release of the word. This couldn't be true.