Leave Me Lonely - A Donald Pierce/X-Men Story

Eight

You're probably wondering how Zoe managed to escape from a heavily guarded room, built specifically for mutants? Well, the Reavers were asking themselves the same damn question as they stood in front of the empty cell, frowns deep upon their faces. 

The truth is, Zoe managed to escape from the room she called a cage with just good old mind control. There was nothing else to it. To Transigen, she was just an 'average' mutant. Nothing too special, but worth the capture either way. Now, she was deemed as dangerous as Magneto...before he went into hiding. Walking out of her cell, she switched her appearance to one of the nurses she had seen walking back and forth from the window in the room. She blended in perfectly, and no one thought any different. The three men that stood by the door looked around confused as Zoe released them from her hold and the sirens blared signaling the open door. One stood by the control panel, slowly realizing what he had done. He had opened the door. Willingly yet by force. They had no memory of what just happened.

Zoe smirked, taking one last glance at her cage and walking at a calm, normal pace down the hallway. Reavers came storming past her. Not one even bothering to give her a second glance. This only fueled the arrogance Zoe felt, but it was cut short as she rounded a corner and caught sight of Pierce. He was probably the last man she wanted to see, and it wasn't for reasons you may think. She noted the look of helplessness and worry strewed across his face. It wasn't fitting for a man like himself, and Zoe couldn't even think of a time he looked so distraught. This was the exact reason she didn't want to see him. She wasn't angry. At least not at him. She just didn't want to see the look of heartbreak on his face, and from here, it was only going to get worse. 

Taking a deep breath, Zoe walked around the corner, looking straight forward. The sound of her shoes echoing down the hall as the siren was killed brought Pierce's attention to her. At just a simple glance, he knew. It was Zoe. The way she strutted with confidence, the smell of lavender that filled the air as she brushed past, and of course, how she avoided his eyes at all costs. It was a dead give away for him. 

"Whatever you decide to do, just be careful." Pierce spoke. Zoe stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around.

"Excuse me?" She replied, not sounding like herself, with an attempt to not understand him. The sound of her voice threw Pierce off for a spilt second, but didn't fool him. It was Zoe. He would know when the woman he loved more than anything else in this world was in his presence. Pierce glanced up and down the hall, not a soul in sight. Marching up to her, he snatched her hand and dragged her down the hall. Zoe went without argument. There was no sense in denying anything or making an effort to escape. She didn't feel like she was in any danger. Despite the fact Pierce discovered her. She remembered back at the farm house before everything went black, Pierce was trying to warn her, trying to help her escape. This time wasn't any different. He opened a door and peered inside. It appeared to be a storage room filled with junk, but no one was in the room, so it made do. "Change back or whatever...I don't want to see you like this."

His words struck a nerve in Zoe, but Pierce was never very graceful in how he spoke. He didn't mean it how it sounded. "Like a mutant?" She snapped, eyes turning seemingly dangerous.

"No." Pierce was quick to respond. "Like one of those fucking Transigen nurses." If this was the last time he'd see her, he didn't want to the memory to be of her appearing as someone else. He wanted Zoe. "I want to see the face of the woman I love. Not someone else." He placed his hands on either side of her face. Pierce watched with intrigue as Zoe switched back to herself right under his hands, right before his eyes. He snatched his hands back from her face in wonder, looking between them and her. The sensation of her skin changing left the finger tips of his real hand tingling. Pierce breathed out a deep chuckle, stunned. 

Zoe's gaze slowly fell to the floor, feeling ashamed, but he wasn't about to let her feel like that. Not anymore. His hands quickly latched to her hips, pulling her body into her own, and brought his mouth down to hers. Tears flooded her eyes as she attempted to savor the moment. Once he forced himself to pull away, he pressed his forehead to hers, holding her face gently in his hands again. 

"I want to go back to how we were before." Zoe wept. Pierce pulled his head back, allowing himself to look into her eyes. She broke down right then and there. All the pressure, fear, and stress finally got the best of her. Not to mention the death of Charles. The man who basically raised her to be the strong woman she is today. Pierce wanted to promise her they wouldn't be any different once this was over, but it wouldn't be one he could keep. Just like every other promise he made her. There was no telling how all this would end, and as terrifying as it was to admit, there was no telling if either of them would even make it out alive. "I just want to go home." She continued.

Pierce remained silent, searching for the right words, but there weren't any. This was entirely all his fault. All the pain she was feeling was due to him. When she asked him to leave this life behind, he should have dropped everything and ran. It was too late for that now. "I should have taken you to Vegas." He scoffed, angry with himself. With his real, flesh covered hand, he wiped the tears from her cheeks and beneath her eyes. "No matter what happens in the end, we'll be together." Whether that be death, prison, or a life on the run. One thing Pierce knew for sure was, he would go to the end of the world to be with her.

After a tearful goodbye and a warning of what is heading Logan and Laura's way, Pierce gave Zoe the keys to his truck. It wouldn't be tracked and no one would even notice it missing. Zoe had to finish this and get Laura to safety. Pierce understood that now, but that wasn't enough to get him to leave with her. He had to go with Transigen on this. It gave him control of the situation, and it was his best way of ensuring Zoe's safety. 

A group of men were assembled, just with the sole purpose of bringing her back to Transigen. Her escape proved to them that she was even more valuable than they originally thought. To them, bringing her back was now more important than Laura. But that wasn't going to stop them from retrieving Laura. She was still just as important, but the DNA Zoe harvested could solely destroy the mutant kind. That's how powerful Zoe is. What made things more simple for them was the fact they knew Zoe was headed straight for the coordinates written on the back of the photo. They were coming for her, and she'd be brought back to Transigen dead or alive. 

Quick little chapter, and sorry it's been a few days since I last updated. I just couldn't find any time to get this chapter done, but here it finally is! I'd say there about three or four more chapters until the end. I already know how I want the story to end. It's just a matter of getting there. Let me know what you think (: