Cale nodded to Gabe and bent to the sidewalk. He concentrated and he inhaled deeply. His tongue flicked out. "I have it." He led the way, occasionally stooping to double check himself.
Everyone's anxiety level jumped when he turned down an alley off Napoleon Avenue. Cale stopped at an abandoned building and checked the filthy doorstep.
"Oh Alex, my poor sister. She's in here," Cale said, clacking his claws.
Rile flushed dark reddish gold. "I'll disembowel whoever took her here and drag him by his entrails through the garbage before I kill him."
Gabe's color had also darkened. "She is not your sister but we must save her. These trash-filled dwellings usually house human criminals and drug addicts as well. We need to compass the area and yet not be ambushed." He thought a moment. "I'll lead up the stairs and Cale, you cover my back, checking the rooms to the east. Rile, climb the eastern fire escape. Look in the window on each floor and I'll signal you."
Rile dashed to the fire escape and nimbly leapt to the lowest platform, catching the bars easily. He swung himself up and over, landing on the steel grating with hardly a sound.
Cale drew his staff and motioned to the building.
"Cale?" Gabe asked, startled.
"I scented Morgan as well as Alex's blood, brother. He's no ordinary human. Hurry."
Gabe drew his sword and bounded up the steps. He opened the door with caution, however, and checked the interior before entering. Most of the interior doors were missing or leaning on a remaining hinge, allowing him to see and signal Rile through the windows. Cale hissed with uncharacteristic impatience.
"Cale, quiet," Gabe whispered.
"No, ordinary humans tend to fear snakes and their hissing and I'm warning off."
Gabe shot his usually calm middle brother a worried look, but continued his search. The eastern rooms cleared, they started up the stairs, equally cautious.
Gabe and Cale found Alex in a third story room, slumped against the wall. A pile of clothing was heaped next to her. Gabe signaled Rile and they moved into the room.
"The little cupcake is indisposed," a voice of pure venom spoke. "I found the cookie jar unguarded and helped myself." Morgan sat up from the pile of clothing where he had been lying and pressed his gun to Alex's temple. "What are those things?"
Alex looked unconcerned about the gun at her head. Her clothing was a tattered man's T-shirt. Dark shadows dipped under her eyes, her hair hung lank and limp around her face and her slumped posture spoke of exhaustion. Then her gaze met Cale's, fear for the brothers' safety flashed in her eyes, and she summoned energy to speak with conviction. "Aliens, blah, blah, blah, holier than thou Guardians, blah, blah, blah, mostly useless. Let them go. Enough talking. Sheesh."
"Why do you want me to let them go? Do you love them?" Morgan's voice dripped poison.
"Love them? I hate them," Alex answered with such sincerity that the brothers looked at her with dismay. "The reddish one in the middle is an arrogant, self important jerk, the smallest one is a deluded priest that believes in a good God, and the tall gold one is their leader. They all hurt me in their own way. Let them go."
I can't let Morgan hurt them. He's too strong for the brothers with his preliminary implants and they won't believe it. What else can I say to convince Morgan?
"Hurt you? They touched you, Alex?" Morgan's hand groped over her.
"No one touches me," Alex snapped.
"Except me," Morgan said.
Alex closed her eyes and shuddered at his touch. "Except you."
The brothers hissed as one. Alex opened her eyes and shot them a warning look of such pure panic that they stilled, stifling their attack.
Morgan raked them with a dismissive look. "I made sure with the brain imprinting machine that you'll never let anyone touch you again. So, how did they hurt you?"
"They gave me hope. Hope that I would be free of you."
"Free of me? I've had you for two days." Morgan's free hand roamed over Alex's breasts, pinching and squeezing.
Gabe's grip tightened on his sword and Alex panicked, seeing his fingers tighten in the pattern that told his brothers to follow his attack.
She held up a hand, as if to stop them, and said hastily, "See why I loathe them? You know how much crushing hope hurts."
Morgan snorted a crude laugh. "Why shouldn't I kill them?"
"Because killing is mercy. Let them live and suffer," Alex answered. "You know how those hero types are: the high andmighty Guardians will feel guilt over their failure to protect me. Let them go. They have to save the universe or something."
"Not some whore like you," Morgan chuckled.
Gabe rushed the pair. Morgan jumped to his feet, free hand dragging Alex up, and fired a shot that went wild. Gabe swung his sword and the Glock fired again. Gabe's body jerked from the impact of the bullet and he collapsed. Alex's scream of rage reverberated inside Morgan's skull. Her fingers dug into the nerves of his wrist and her foot crushed his instep. Morgan's fist re-broke her nose. Rile's staff drove deep into Morgan's gut while Cale's staff connected with his forehead.
"Get the gun!" Alex cried from behind hands clapped to her bleeding nose.
Morgan reached for it and Rile punched his staff into his hand. Morgan howled with pain, momentarily distracted, and Alex kicked the gun across the floor. While Cale assaulted Morgan with his staff, Rile took the time to draw his sword.
"Blast him, Alex!" Cale called out.
Morgan grabbed Cale's staff with inhuman strength and wrenched it violently. Cale was distracted trying to hold onto it and Morgan's fist slammed straight into Cale's muzzle. Cale fell, blinded with pain. Morgan drove the tip of the staff straight down on Cale's skull and he went limp.
Rile rushed Morgan, sword a blur of overhead chops. Morgan blocked with Cale's staff but stepped back. He swung the staff against Rile's side. Rile took the blow and backed off a step before attacking again with chop after chop. Morgan was too busy blocking to launch his own attack.
Alex crawled over to Cale and checked him. He held his head and looked at her groggily.
"Help Rile," he said.
Alex chewed her lip.
Fire truck, how? Can't blast the bastard and I'm not that much help with a sword or a staff compared to Rile. He's like a tornado.
Morgan slammed the staff against Rile's legs and he stumbled backwards. Alex grabbed Gabe's staff and slid it between Morgan's ankles. Morgan went down, howling, but he turned on Alex and grabbed her hair. Rile regained his balance and his sword sliced down on Morgan's arm. He released Alex and Rile drove his sword toward Morgan's heart. Morgan rolled to avoid it but Rile stabbed down again, opening up Morgan's back when he rolled the other way. Morgan jumped to his feet.
Rile swung his sword in a tremendous arc and Morgan's head flew across the room. Morgan's body convulsed and then thudded to the ground. Blood showered the nearest wall in a crescent pattern, following the path of the severed arteries down to the floor. His severed head hit the wall with a wet thump.
Gabe wheezed and clawed at his chest.
"Gabe." Alex forgot her injuries to kneel over the fallen figure. "Rile, get my phone out of that pile of clothes and call 911."
Cale knelt by his brother as well. "He's having trouble breathing. His pulse is too fast."
"Probably has a pneumothorax from the bullet." The strange words flowed out of Alex again, just as before. "I told you to call 911, Rile! Do you want your brother to die?"
Then I will have killed him, all because I was too selfish a slut to tell him, tell all of you, to get lost, leave the ticking time bomb alone. I hid behind harsh words, pretending that was all I had to do to drive them off, instead of doing the right thing.
Rile turned on the cell phone that he extracted from the pile of clothing and litter on the floor. He dialed the number but Alex snatched the phone from him before he could speak. She knelt by Gabe again.
"There's been a shooting. Send an ambulance. The abandoned building just off Napoleon. Pnuemothorax," Alex barked into the cell phone. "Suspect is gone."
"How do we explain his appearance to the medics?" Cale asked.
"I will," a voice of shattering glass said.
Alex, Rile, and Cale shielded their eyes from the being of light. Then Rile and Cale knelt on one knee and bowed their heads. Alex's cell phone sizzled and died.
"I will take your ability to disguise and give it to your brother. You will be ill and weak so I will deliver you to your dwelling. Do not leave until I have returned your ability to you."
"Yes, Portal Guardian," Cale said.
Rile nodded.
"I shall remove the body of The Adversary's agent," the Portal Guardian said. She drew a sword that shone blue fire and pointed it at Morgan's body and head. Both were surrounded in crackling blue flames. The head slid across the floor, leading a bloody trail. It squelched into place on the torso. Black and red fire erupted from ceiling, and fought the Portal Guardian's blue fire. There was a blinding flare of black, red, and blue flames. When the light died, there was no sign of Morgan's body and the blood had been burned away.
"I do not understand why The Adversary wishes that corpse. He cannot give life, only take it. But that's a fight for another day," the Portal Guardian said. She turned her burning blue gaze to Alex and the brothers. "Alex."
"Awww, fuck," she replied. "I mean fire truck! Sorry!
"Hush, you must remove Gabe from the hospital as soon as it is safe to do so. I am counting on you."
"In the movies, that usually ends badly for the person being counted on," Alex said quietly. "Yes, uh, ma'am," she said more loudly.
A thin slice of light appeared. "Cale, Rile, go."
Cale gripped Gabe's shoulder. "Be strong." Cale's greenish-gold color paled to opalescent green.
Rile looked down at his brother. "Don't give up, Mr. Perfect Eldest Son." His reddish gold also paled to opalescence.
Alex looked up at them and tried not to weep. All the light disappeared once Rile and Cale entered the portal.
She placed glowing hands on Gabe's chest. "I haven't had much sleep, and don't have much to give, but it's all yours."
Don't die. Don't die. Don't die. I can't have killed you.
When the light sputtered and died after only a few minutes, Gabe slitted open his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he gasped.
"Don't talk. You've been shot and you're cold." Alex curled next to him. "Nothing to apologize for. Told you not to call me friend. Should have fire truck listened to me. Where did it get you? Shot, cold, and lying on the floor of some abandoned building. Stupid Guardian of the universe." She wiped her eyes. "Fire truck you and the idiot who Called you. Should have stayed home and safe."
Gabe shook his head.
"Don't shake your head at me. Lie there and concentrate on breathing and staying alive, perfect eldest son who has to go home and have what, like three generations of children? You have a future, you moron dragon boy. Live for it," she sobbed.
More useless harsh words. Maybe if he lives they will haunt him and he'll run from me. If he doesn't, I'll do the right thing and tell them all to shove off and run from them if I must.
"Alex."
"Shut up and breathe." Alex raised her head. "I hear sirens. Stay still and breathe while I wave them down."
Alex stuck her head out of the window and watched the ambulance and a police car screech to the curb. She waved both arms like a wild woman.
See? Nothing in my hands, Mr. Policemen. Come up here quickly.
"Help! He's been shot!" Alex tried for the right amount of hysteria. "The bad guy got away! Help! Help!"
When the police ran up, EMT's behind them, Alex ran to the doorway and stuck her head into the hallway. Again, she waved both arms.
Still nothing in my hands. I won't hurt y'all.
"Help him! He's been shot! The other guy ran out!" Alex shrieked.
Come quickly. No bad guys. I'm unarmed.
One policeman entered the room and one covered his back. Alex flattened against the wall and tried to look helpless. The EMT's entered and went to work on Gabe.
"My fiancé has a really rare blood type," Alex said.
Don't give the alien dragon humanoid any blood.
"He's allergic to lots of stuff," she added.
Keep the medicines to a minimum.
"Like what?" one EMT asked.
Alex burst into tears.
Time for hysteria.
The policeman continued checking the room as the EMT's continued their work on Gabe.
"Gun's over there." Alex pointed and continued to cry.
Not too hysterical to make sure that gun is secured.
"What happened?" the policeman asked.
"Stalker," Alex sobbed. "He grabbed me, beat me up. My fiancé found me and rescued me. But he was shot."
"Need a policewoman," the cop said into his walkie talkie.
Alex sighed.
Not the policewoman for the rape scenario.
"IV's in, crystalloid is running, oxygen in place," the EMT said.
"Pulse ox at 90%," the other answered.
"Are you sure about the IV fluid?" Alex asked. "What if he's allergic to it?"
"No one is allergic to IV fluid," the EMT answered. "What about you? Are you all right?"
"Nothing that needs attention." Alex shrank back from him.
Don't look at me. Don't examine me. No medical attention needed here.
"Load him on the stretcher," the first EMT said.
"Please let me go with my fiancé," Alex said.
The magic word, fiancé, should get me access to Gabe.
"Policewoman's here," the policeman said. "She'll take you in the cruiser."
No, I want to go with Gabe. Should I go all hysterical?
Alex contemplated throwing herself over Gabe, but the EMT's shifted him onto the stretcher and secured him.
"You can follow the EMT's to the ambulance and the policewoman will meet you downstairs," the cop said.
Alex's shoulders slumped in defeat and she did as she was told. She watched Gabe loaded onto the ambulance, her gut twisting.
"C'mon, honey. We'll follow them in my cruiser," the policewoman said. "My name's Darla, sweetie. What happened to you?"
Alex slid her a look.
"You don't want the bastard who did this to you and your fiancée getting away with it, do you?" Darla opened the back door of the cruiser.
"No." Alex climbed into the seat. "But I don't think he'll do it again."
No way am I telling her Morgan's dead, decapitated. We'll be kept as suspects for questioning, but there's no body or blood.
The policewoman shut the door and as they drove, Darla talked small talk with her.
She's trying to make me comfortable, no eye to eye. I know the drill. I don't know why I know it and I don't care why.
"Women always say that. It sounds comforting, but it puts you, puts other women, at risk. That bastard rape you?"
Alex jammed further into the seat.
"Don't be afraid to tell me, honey."
Alex looked out the window.
"We need to know. Get evidence now before it deteriorates."
Alex twisted her hands and looked down at them.
I can't tell them Morgan's dead or that'll land Gabe in custody.
"You want him to get away with it and hurt other women?"
"No, I don't want him to hurt anyone else. Do what you have to do. Can I see Gabe first?"
"Is that your fiancé's name, honey?"
"Yes. Can I?"
"I don't know. They'll have to stabilize him. We need that evidence. Let's make sure everyone is safe first. You want that, right?" The policewoman glanced in the rear view mirror.
"Yes, everyone safe."
Except me. Morgan's gone but both Dr. Hermann and the agency that created my powers are after me. What if they match the DNA Morgan left in me with the DNA in the blood? They hound us for answers.
"What's your name, honey?"
Alex jumped at the interruption of her dark thoughts and told her name from the temp job at the doctor's office. With the adrenaline from the fight gone, her nose throbbed with pain. She slumped further down in the seat, closed her eyes, and drifted to a light sleep.
The stop at the hospital jolted her awake.
"Where?" She slammed her hands flat against the glass of the police cruiser. "Let me out!"
"Calm down, honey. You're safe." The policewoman watched her with shrewd eyes.
Alex quickly took in her uniform and that she was in a police car.
Play along and find out what happened.
"Yes, officer. I'm sorry I panicked." Alex clasped her hands in her lap. "My face really hurts. A lot of me really hurts," she said with as much submission as she could muster.
Police love that. Heck, most people really love that.
"We'll take you into the ED now. They'll help you." The policewoman opened the door.
"Gabe! Is he all right? Can I see him?" Real fear crowded into Alex's eyes.
"I'll find out, but first we'll check you in."
"Yes, ma'am."
The presence of the police placed Alex to the front of the line. It didn't decrease the amount of paperwork. Alex wrote down the address of her original apartment where Morgan had tracked her. When she was called to the triage nurse, her gut twisted.
"Assault and rape?" the nurse's voice was kind.
"Yes." Alex studied her fingernails.
"We have a special room. Do you have family or friends to accompany you?"
"No friends. No family."
"Do you want a chaperone? The woman resident on duty will be your doctor."
"No."
"Are you sure? We have a social worker."
"Very sure. Please get this over quickly." Alex stood up.
The nurse brought her to a tiny white room that smelled of antiseptic. Alex looked at the exam table with dread. She accepted the paper gown numbly.
"Put this on, dear. Take off all your clothing please. The policewoman asked that you put your clothing and underwear in this evidence bag." The nurse held it out, sympathy writ large on her face.
"Thank you. Please leave." Alex snatched the bag out of her hand.
"The policewoman is outside. Do you want her in here?"
"I want to be alone," Alex snapped. "Sorry. That wasn't nice of me." She dropped her chin onto her chest in apology.
I'm not a nice person. If I ever was, it was beaten out of me a long time ago. Long before I remember.
"I understand. I'll knock on the door and ask if you're ready."
Alex changed out of Morgan's shirt and placed it in the evidence bag. She had no underwear. Morgan had burned it once the blood dried. She put on the paper gown, sat on the exam table, and waited. She still jumped when the nurse knocked.
"Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be. Please hurry."
Alex hated herself for weeping during the exam.
*****
"May I see my fiancée now? I'm really worried about him." Alex didn't have to fake the misery in her voice.
"I'll check," the nurse's aide said.
Alex sat in the pea green, hard plastic waiting room chair, wearing paper hospital scrubs. Normally she would have scanned the room for threats, taken in the color of the mustard yellow walls, and searched every nook and cranny, but right now, she didn't care. She was nodding off from fatigue when the nurse's aide touched her shoulder.
"What do you want?" Alex jumped to her feet and backed away, fists up.
The nurse's aide stepped back, eyes wide. "You can see your fiancée now. He's in the step-down unit."
"Sorry, I'm a little jumpy. Thank you."
Alex followed the aide, who kept looking over her shoulder at her. Alex tried to smile in a reassuring way.
At least I didn't blast her. That would have been hard to explain.
Gabe was in a hospital bed, eyes closed, IV in one arm and EKG wires leading to a monitor.
"Gabe, are you awake?" Alex asked softly as she sat in the chair by the bed.
He opened his eyes and looked at her.
"You're in the hospital, sweetheart." She glanced significantly at the aide.
"I have other duties. Visiting hours are over in fifteen minutes," the aide said before she left.
Alex leaned over, held Gabe's hand and whispered, "Your name is Gabe Godeaux. The Portal Guardian gave you both of your brothers' disguising abilities so you look human to the staff at all times. We're to be married in the spring. I gave our address as my apartment where Morgan first tracked me. I listed my job as the doctor's office. You're between jobs right now."
"I understand," Gabe said. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I wasn't the one who was shot. How are you feeling?"
"My chest hurts, especially where they put this tube in. I want it out."
"Don't touch it," Alex said. "With luck, it'll come out tomorrow. Then I'll break you out of here. Orders of the Portal Guardian."
"She spoke to you?"
"She said your brothers would feel sick and weak. She told me to get you out of here as soon as it was safe. My guess is as soon as that chest tube is out, it's safe."
Gabe nodded. "Did you receive medical care? Your face is bruised worse than before."
"Yes, all finished while they took care of you. I told you that I'm fine. Now go back to sleep. I'll shut off this IV. Who knows if it's safe for you." Alex rolled the dial on the plastic tubing.
"Alex, I'm sorry."
"Shut up. There's nothing to apologize for, except for not listening to me at the very beginning to not become involved with me. Stupid Guardians of the universe. We're not friends. We're not anything. Look at all the fire truck pain it caused. You ended up shot, you moron. Now I have to check on your brothers and protect their leathery posteriors. I'll buy them dinner now, too. I'll be back tomorrow morning during visiting hours."
Alex swept out of the room before she could weep again.
*****
A/N
Dedicated to all those who suffer at the hands of abusers. There is hope. Organizations like Shared Hope International are there for you if you look.