"MIKE!"Daria sprinted on all fours to where he was. She risked touching him to find that the charge was done and cradeled his head in her hands.

"Mike.. mike honey...?" she whimpered.

Mike smiled weakly up at her.

"I... guess that wasn't... the smartest thing for me to do..." he said. If he'd looked like hell before, he looked worse now.

And, as if things weren't bad enough, a clacking sound could be heard from farther down the corridor getting closer.

Daria laughed slightly. "You're such a dumbass." she said tears in her eyes as she shook her head.

She heard the clacking noise long before anything could actually be seen. She tried to help Mike up but he was indisposed at the moment, so she did her best to help him sit up against a wall. By the time the clacking noise was loud enough for both of them to hear, Mike was the only one in sight. Daria had skillfully lodged herself onto the ceiling with her claws the strain near too much for her although it was usually an easy task.

The Guard Robots appeared and Daria recognized them immediately from the updates she used to get from the labs. They were high tech android models, almost impossible to beat without equally high tech equiptment-or full mutant power. She gritted her teeth hoping for the element of surprise. It wasn't much asshe swooped down to land on top of one of the robots. The others took aim but didn't shoot as she had hoped they would.

Instead the one she was on top of grabbed her leg and held her upside down. She moved up scratching it's middle, where it's power core was located. The robot shut down but when she hit the floor the others took aim and she gritted her teeth, knowing she was cornered since she couldn't teleport very far yet.

Mike closed his eyes... his body was almost totally shot, but hopefully his mind wasn't going to give him that many problems...

In truth, that was wishful thinking. He did manage to lift a bot in the back and smash it into two others hard enough to do some real damage, but he started to see stars at the effort.

"Daria... go. Get away..." he said, not even sure she could hear him over the sound of the fighting.

"What? I can't. I'm not storng enough to teleport the both of us.." Daria whimpered keeping her eyes stuck on the robots who were waiting for her to move so they could shoot.

Mike, at this point, was barely conscious. "Not us... just... you... go..."

Sadly, though, the robots weren't going to make that easy, as the rearmost of them began charging up an electric blast like the one that had taken Mike out.

"Are you stupid? They'll kill you!" Daria cried. She could smell the electricity now and bit her lip. She wasn't leaving Mike here. She couldn't leave him here.

She loved him. She teleported to the celing and barely made it. The robots shot upward and bits of the ceiling fell to the ground to crush them, the debri landing inches away from Mike but not hurting him. Daria managed one last teleport to the ground where she did take off running but not with intentions of leaving. Just with intentions of taking hte battle elsewhere, hiding out and relying on her skills as an agent to get Mike out of there.

But she wasn't any where near fast enough and the defeaning sound of the electric blast exploded in her ears. Before she knew what had hapened she found herself frozen in place, convulsing uncontrollably-the room shaking in her eyes. When the shock died down she was unable to move-paralzed.

Helpless.

THey'd been so close. If he'd just reacted faster... if they'd taken another corridor...

"'M sorry..." Mike rasped before finally falling unconscious.

Around them, the robots converged, picking them up and carrying them off don the hall.

Daria refused to let her body go completely, not again. She struggled to stay awake, memorizing the path they took to the torture room.

Mike and Daria were strapped onto metal tables-tightly. There was talk of putting another power inhibitor in the room. A doctor leaned down looking at Daria who had her eyes half closed.

"It's a shame we can't train you like a dog." he grinned. Daria winced as if he sounded very loud, and scrunched up her nose as if he smelled strongly. she blinked a couple of times, and, her tail was still free and she swatted at him missing.


"They don't need power inhibitors-they're drugs are still settled in." he said and walked off with the surviving robots and two scientists.

Daria and Mike were left alone in the dark. Daria could see almost perfectly and looked over at mike brushing his hand gently with her tail.

"I'm sorry, babe," Mike chuckled weakly... not believing it. They'd failed. He'd been so sure, and he'd led her right back into where they'd just come out of... if not worse. Now they'd probably get put into a room with a better inhibitor, one that they couldn't crack. And even if they did, what if they failed again? He'd fought off the sessions before... he could probably do it again, but after that? His will could only last so long.

"Stupid question," he said, "But can you teleport? Even a little?" he asked, his voice a tired sigh. He fought to stay conscious and in control, even though he could feel the drugs effect pushing at his mind.

Daria 'blinked' once but that was wall. "Not really. I need to rest." her vision was going blurry again without Mike's power to dull the effects of the drugs and she was increasingly aware of her pains in her body, her wounds reopened because of the teleporting.

"The drug is wearing off. I'm concerened about my vision though...my hearing and smell are still okay.." she said confused.

"Ah, good... I was told that our rogue prisoners were waiting for me here..." Daria could smell Dr. Augelstein before she saw him, and Mike groaned, then forced his eyes open. He knew what he had to do.

"Actually, we were hoping for someone a bit more... hygenic, but what can you do?" he smirked defiantly. Augelstein smiled wickedly at him.

"And it appears that the hero wants to go first."

Mike could still feel his telekinesis... he could probably blast Augelstein through the room before passing out... but for what? All that energy, lost in futility...

Instead, he reached out with his telepathy, fighting through the drugs to clamp onto Daria's mind. Daria... I love you... just whatever you do, always remember that...

And with the words, Daria felt a little warmth in the back of her mind...

Daria also felt the warmth on her cheeks as tears streamed down.

I...love you too honey. she thought back.

"Leave him alone, A**hole!" she said through gritted teeth. But the Doctor just laughed.

"or you'll what? Hurt me?" Why don't you just teleport yourselves from here?" he taunted.

Daria bit her bottom lip hard.

Michael didn't even so much as make a noise as the knife drove into his arm, twisting painfully against his armbone.

Just... don't forget it... And with a mental push, he felt Daria's power kick in, finally with enough will behind it to manage the jump.

And Daria had no choice but to go while she had the chance,the image of Mike in pain piercing her mind and heart.

She concentrated aiming for the infirmary, the Doc Prof could heal her and she could get help.

"I'm coming back for you, Mike." she said out loud.

Doctor Augelstien could see her blinking.

"You too bastard." she hissed before disappearing in a bright golden flash.