He stopped short the way she was speaking about TAT was defiantly wrong everything about Ghost was different, her tone, her movement…’they must have done a speed job’ thought Sam as he opened his mouth and said, “You weren’t with them before today Ghost, you don’t know what your saying…” it was all he could do for now, it was the only way he knew how to break the control.

Mind warpers had a very specific job in TATMAH; their job was to implant training and memories into those that were recently nabbed saving time and money. Sam was an exception though he ha never been mind altered what so ever, they tried t later down the line but by then he learned their tricks and got out before he became another mindless drone. The main problem with the mind warping was that it was time consuming unless it was a rush job; rush jobs were easier to break easier to manipulate. Past memories and experience was the best way to break a rush job.

Throwing his hands down as the gale his him Sam shot two beams of ice straight down which pierced the hull of the base, which also kept him from flying about from Ghosts wind. “Can you honestly say that you were working for them all along?” Sam asked as he yelled against the gust and slid down his two pillars of ice, which caused water to leak into the base.

His hands and feet covered in ice making it easier for him to withstand the gust. It was then that he had an idea, “Ghost your breaking my heart!” Sam yelled as he turned around and ran away from Ghost. ‘Hopefully the rush job knocked out the common sense…’ thought Sam as he ran by a few escape pods and froze them making it impossible for anyone to use them. “Ghost don’t make me fight you!” Sam yelled again as he made sure to keep his distance from her.

Running into a door that whooshed open Sam grinned once he was inside, chemicals! “Like Christmas,” said Sam to himself as he started kicking everything in that to the ground creating small chemical reactions that gave off noxious gasses. Running through another set of whooshing does Sam spotted a few guys in lab coats, “Hi you’ll be my hostages today!” Sam said as he grabbed them and then held them in front of him self like a three man wall.

Sam waited for Ghost to see what she would do to the lab coats; hopefully she would remember she isn’t a killer. If she doesn’t remember it didn’t really matter these people were expendable.

“Can you honestly say that you were working for them all along?”
"Can you honestly prove that I haven't?" He shot out ice to keep himself rooted and Ghost sent razor winds at them, shattering his hold on the hull. But he was already on the ground running and she was automatically after him, crashing through the water that was pouring in from the holes in the outer wall.

He had increased his weight with the ice around his limbs, but that didn't mean she stopped trying to take him off his feet.

“Ghost your breaking my heart!” She rolled her eyes. "Sam the heartbreaker with a broken heart? Hardly." She sent a focused blast at his feet but he was kicking his legs up enough that he practically bicycled through it.

“Ghost don’t make me fight you!”

She snorted and decided to let off on the wind so that she could reverse the direction and bring him to her. She had enough games. But 602 dodged into a closet of sorts and came running back out with clouds of noxious chemicals following him. Ghost coughed and blew the clouds of yellowed smoke away from herself and toward Sam and the scientists he was snatching up.

"Sam?" She called through the smokey haze. "You wearing your ice armor?" She flicked the safety off of her Hi-Power, but still left it holstered. She needed it ready for a quick draw and she sure wasn't going to shoot Sam unless he could take it.

She started blowing a fast and focused stream at Sam's back hopefully driving him and the white coats toward her location. It also meant a steady stream of noxious gasses was flowing toward her making her eyes water, but as soon as she had a shot she would take it. Gun or hand to hand. She was hopefully ready for whatever 602 had up his sleeves.

Sam covered his face in his ice armor as he held the three men together, “Afraid no Ghost, with my armor up you can take a shot, they do want me back alive right?” incasing the rest of his body in ice Sam was warding off the noxious fumes with his armor. Only Sam was protected as he formed three ice golems of himself, he was safe in the hazy of the fumes that Ghost had so kindly provided for him.

Two of the golems grabbed one of the men each as Sam kept his hands on the center one. Sam went to the left as the other three golems to the far right the right and the one that didn’t have a hostage hopefully Ghost would jump to the conclusion and try to take out the one with out the hostage. She would have a one in four chance of getting the right Sam.

Adding some mist of his own Sam added to the haze and called out before he could be seen, “TAT agents don’t show emotion, right? So what was all those expression you had on your face back home?” he paused and said, “Not even a TAT agent is that good of an actor,” he paused again having his ice clones get closer to her as he approached her as well, “What would Katrina think of you?” Sam asked hoping to strike a nerve or a an old memory he knew that Ghost and Katrina were close hopefully it would be enough to get her back to normal.

Raising his hands so it couldn’t bee seen Sam summoned three more golems making the grand total of six plus him. Ghost was surrounded even with her gun her options were limited.

“Afraid no Ghost, with my armor up you can take a shot, they do want me back alive right?” Of course... the stream of air passing his body was telling her a different story. She pulled her gun and pulled back the hammer. She was sensing... more bodies. Friendlies? They were being pushed closer by her own winds. She didn't want to ghost because then she couldn't force Sam to pass out, but there were other ways to do things... messier ways.

She changed the pushing wind to be more gentle and more for reconnaissance-oriented. She could feel where each target was now, but unfortunately it was impossible to tell which was Sam and which was a dupe. The hostages shifted hands and Ghost fired once into the face of each person holding a hostage and once into the extra, just to be thorough before she re-holstered the gun. The mist was getting worse, there was no way to safely take down her intended target only and Ghost wasn't big on collateral damage.

“TAT agents don’t show emotion, right? So what was all those expression you had on your face back home? Not even a TAT agent is that good of an actor...”

More clones formed behind her and she hesitated. She didn't owe him an explanation. TAT did, maybe, but after he'd been re-integrated into the system, he would know the truth about her. She crouched, ready to spring at whoever she decided was the real Sam. Would the shot to the face crack his face plate off so she would be able to tell which was which? She hoped so because her options were getting slimmer by the moment. She wanted to hold out and stay solid for as long as possible, but the mist was getting worse. She maybe had one chance. If she chose wrong, then incorporeal she would go.


“What would Katrina think of you?” Her every muscle froze. Sam's tone indicated that he knew what a dagger to the heart that was. "Doesn't matter what Kat thinks." She said carefully, a warning in her voice. Her hand inched back toward her gun. It didn't matter, right? The dull ache in her head throbbed. Right?

Three dings resounded throughout the room they were in as Ghost put her gun back in the holster. Letting out a laugh Sam started to bluff, “Would have been bad if I was one of those golems wouldn’t it?” but in all reality Sam was staring less an inch away from the bullet that went through his armor. He blinked and felt his eyelashes touch the bullet ever so slightly, if this was a different scenario he would have made a bigger deal about it but he was in this bad way so he couldn’t.

“It’s clear these hostages won’t do much for you so…” as Sam and his two other golems snapped their necks killing them as painlessly as possible. After that the three bullets that were implanted in his armor as well as his two golems were forced out of the ice clinking to the ground. All of the golems and Sam lifted their feet and placed it down walking closer to ghost, “So you do still have some memories that you’re found of?” Sam asked smiling as he trigged her Achilles heel, “How would she feel knowing that you tried to shoot me? Don’t think she would like that to much…”

He got closer to her as he forced his icy fog to grow so it was harder to see ghost. All at once the golems raised their hands along with Sam’s, “Come on, give me the gun and we can talk about it,” he paused then continued as the golems and Sam took another step closer to Ghost, “Please?” Sam asked as the golems moved closer to ghost all but one he was already making it for the door. “How about you take a chill pill and we talk after?” Sam asked as he raised the golems around her into a circular pillar, which reached to the ceiling imprisoning her an a hollow ice pillar, “I’ll be back in a bit” Sam said as he skated off shooting ice shards causing holes to erupt from the metal walls which started to force water into the base.

He knew she could get out of there in fact he was counting on it, he needed her it would take to long to break this base to bits on his own all he needed to do was get ghost worked up enough to help. Turning on the next hall Sam came into the room that looked like a war room with people inside. “Hello!” Sam said as he shot beams of ice ceiling the doors making it impossible for any one to escape. “Welcome to the Brig!” Sam said as he punched his fists together.

Most of them weren’t armed but that didn’t matter they were all apart of TAT meaning they had no souls. Grinning at the last one in the room Sam looked through his ice mask and said, “Golden boy? Oh this is a treat!” Sam walked closer to him as the guy unloaded a round on Sam’s armor which only made Sam laugh, “I owe you an ass kicking for using my friend the way you did…” the golden boy tried to run but was stopped short, “Doors are frozen,” said Sam as two golems formed and grabbed the man y the arms and pinned him to the wall.

Three dings. Four shots and three dings. That meant that one bullet was still somewhere. One bullet did something different. One bullet. She had to find that bullet because it the only thing different between clones and real Sammy was one bullet. It didn't matter what he said because there were four shots, but three dings. She tried to focus. She had to find that bullet.

“It’s clear these hostages won’t do much for you so…” There were sick snaps and then bodies at her feet. She'd never... She couldn't believe... Ghost set her jaw and swallowed. TAT agents were made of sterner stuff. This guy was sick. She took a hesitant step back as the golems approached. This was fast becoming a bad situation and they insisted she use non-lethal force. Was he worth all the bodes?

“So you do still have some memories that you’re found of?” There he went twisting the knife. "You are sick." she spat the words like the insult they were. She was almost certain she knew which one it was now and her eyes followed his movement through the dense air though it was her other senses that actually told her where he was.

“How would she feel knowing that you tried to shoot me? Don’t think she would like that to much…”
"How would she feel knowing that you just killed..." Her voice was low and full of anger. Those were people. Bad guys, good guys... it didn't really matter. There was something inside of her that was revolted. Pointless deaths. "How many before that, Sam?" She felt him edge closer... a few more steps and she could grab him. "People like us don't deserve to live along side kids like that."

“Come on, give me the gun and we can talk about it, Please?” She lunged at Sam and her fingers brushed cold ice. “How about you take a chill pill and we talk after?” And the golems formed into a wall around her. She yanked her arm back just as fast as she'd lunged so that it was not frozen. Dang. She didn't let him get close enough! She put her fingers against the ice and followed it around exploring the cylindrical prison he'd put her in. “I’ll be back in a bit”

Ghost slammed her fists against the ice wall. "SAM!" She slammed her fists harder and harder. She thought about the gun, but didn't want to go deaf. Instead she increased the pressure internally. That got uncomfortable rather quick and so she changed to be incorporeal while holding onto the wall. She tried to share incorporeality with the wall but it seemed too dense. With her current headache she couldn't manage it.

Well, all her finesse tactics were failing. Time for brute strength.

She expanded the barometric pressure much higher than before now that her physical body wasn't there to hold her back. She spun the dense air and expanded, cycled and expanded until finally the thick ice cracked and she slammed the cyclone force at the crack. The cylinder crashed open. The bodies all were thrown back and against the wall with the force of her air.

"SAM!!" Her voice echoed through the halls loud enough that it made her own head throb. Non-lethal force? This was crap.

She was out he could hear her voice echo down the hallway into the TAT’s war room. Two people kneeled before Sam one had golden bronze skin and the other in jet-black suit and tie. “The mind warpper and the base head,” he grinned looking at the now one armed base’s leader, “Lucky for me you walked out of the bathroom when I was done wasn’t it,” he paused as he thought he heard someone bang on the frozen door, “Now tell me how I break the link for good on her, I want noth…” he was cut off short by the leader laughing, “You think we would tell you? 602 you and your friend as good as ours, and after your in the system that mansion the girl mentioned might be a good place to start nex...”

The leader’s head was on the floor before he could finish his threat; it was a bad idea on his part to threaten anyone at that school in front of him. “Now…” Sam said looking over to the golden model, “You can tell me how to break the control you put over her or I can kill you in the most painful way I can possibly think of.“

Sam watched as the golden boy laughed and then Sam sighed, “Fine” bending over and touching the mans hand which was held down in ice Sam focused on the palm of his hand and forced ice into it then forced the ice to spread through his fingers and then forced them to tear out of the skin breaking apart the bone and muscle in the process. “You know I can only get so creative with this, soon I’ll work my way up the arm then start at the feet…” Sam moved to the man’s foot and slipped his boot off.

“GAHHHHlright! I’ll talk I’ll talk!”

“Thank you,” Sam said as he stabbed Donnie in the back ending the mesmers life. Was it really that easy to break his hold on her? Sam wondered as he looked around and spotted a conveniently placed self-destruct button. Sam however decided against it for now and walked back to the door from where he entered and clenched his teeth as he forced ice to form and dig into his skin.

What he was about to do was a risky move, very risky but if Ghost was sent to retrieve him non-lethal or not she couldn’t resist. Small cuts over his body as blood started flow out from his clothing causing it to soak it a bit. The next task would be easy compared to all the cuts that Doc Prof could heal later, falling on his back in an awkward position Sam laid still as the ice barricading the doors fell apart. He was playing opossum and with all the cuts on his body it looked like their was a struggle, slowing his breathing he waited for Ghost to find him.

Oh no he didn't. Ghost kept her cyclone of air spinning along the corridor ahead of her and it picked up ice and flesh and all kinds of debris that she used to slam against the iced over doorway. He was up to something. A trap or something because TAT agents didn't just broadcast where they were making their killings. He was sloppy, his methods unorganized, and worst of all he was making her look like an idiot chasing him all around the base.

Alive or not at all was no longer an option. This one was crazy. Crazier than she ever remembered him. She was actually trying not to think about what was in that whirlwind or what may even lay behind the door. She stayed on task only, it was safer than thinking. Get Sam. Get him for the company. Get him now.

Once she'd finally made it through the ice barricade, Ghost blew into the room, hell on the wind. Except that nothing moved. She stopped the chaotic whipping winds and focused on each body. Dead. Dead. De- no... no it couldn't be. She came closer and closer, deciding to solidify next to the body of Sam. Dummy. Just didn't know when to quit did he? She checked for a pulse. Ah - still alive. They wouldn't be so mad at her after all. She tweaked his nose as hard as she dared, but he didn't wake. Ghost grabbed hold of his arm and hefted at Sam's body, dragging him toward the door at first and then shifting his weight to rest mainly on her back. She doubled over but her legs were strong enough to carry him for a while at least.

"Give up the twinkies, Sam. Dang." She shook her head and started the arduous task of carrying someone much heavier than herself toward the infirmary. She was tired and that headache was insistent on becoming less of a background ache and more of a center stage tap dance on her brain. "Also, learn when to give up, バカ. It's not good for you." She trudged through the water that was now about ankle deep. They'd need to get technicians in here or else this whole base was going to sink. Also, whenever the bozos with the guns they hired for security decided it was safe to come out again, maybe she could pass off this heavy jerk face to one of the heavy lifters.

Geez. She was going to be sore in the morning.

It was hard to stay motionless as he felt Ghost lift him onto her back. Part of him wanted to laugh, the other part wanted to struggle. Remaining silent however was something he was good at. Sam waited for the right moment to strike. Feeling water hit his feet Sam gave a small twitch of approval and then sounding as worn out as he possibly could, he opened his eyes and viewed the surrounding area. He felt her heart beat and he let out a small groan that said he was coming around. “Sorry Ghost,” Sam didn’t move yet he was too busy focusing his power on the water below. It froze quickly and Sam pulled his head up into the back of Ghost’s delivering a powerful headbutt which resulted in his forehead bleeding slightly.

Standing up Sam looked at Ghost with a sad smile on his face, “You were right,” he paused as he stood up straight and sealed off all the little cuts on his body with ice, “People like us don't deserve to live along side kids like that.” He sighed as he walked closer to Ghost. He let the ice around her feet to melt, “That’s why you work so well there. You're not like me and I’d rather die than have you be like me…”

The headbutt seemed to work because as he loosened the ice Sam noticed Ghost was falling. Catching her, Sam tossed her over his shoulder and stumbled for a second as he rose but then caught his balance. Walking back the way he came, he was sure their was now way Ghost would be moving for a while, just enough time to hit self destruct!

Looking around as Sam entered the room, he noticed that something was off. Donnie’s body had gone missing. Either he was alive or someone took his body, which would be more likely seeing as Sam felt his heart stop. Hopping down the stairs to the self-destroy button, Sam smacked his fist down and then headed for the exit. But he stopped for something.

The eerie feeling of him being watched gave him a chill down his spine as he heard a hypnotic voice and the sound of orchestra, if it wasn’t for the loud buzzing and the emergency lights flashing Sam would have stayed and listened to it. “Weird…” said Sam as he went to the nearest exit and jumped into a working escape sub which surface and brought them to shore just as a small flash could be seen in the distance and a large wave hit the beach.

~~~

Inches away from his vision Sam stared at Ghost who was sleeping on her bed in the hotel room. He didn’t know if she would wake as Ghost or as a TAT agent. Sam still did have Donnie’s tactic of breaking Ghost from the control but he didn’t want to use that unless he had to. Seeing as she wouldn’t be too happy about it after.

He groaned and apologized. "Sorry for wha--" but she didn't even get to finish her question. Her legs froze in the water all the way up to her knees. Oh that. And the slam to the back of the head resulting in immediate pain and immediate weakness of the knees. He was heavy and her legs couldn't buckle because of the ice. She wobbled until Sam released the ice around her legs and then she crumpled, the act of falling accompanied by darkness and peace.

~~~

She was Ghost not a member of TATMAH, or member of the X-Men. Not a Mansion Resident, Trained killer, or friend of Sam. All of the pieces were coming together, but not all of them fit. It was much like her incorporeal form would condense into solidity if there were something wrong, something poking through her. The exact moment of consciousness usually felt like the condensing, but not like this. She opened blurry eyes to a popcorn ceiling.

Concussions, like brain re-wirings, can temporarily interfere with the way a brain works. They can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination. But none of that had much to do with the way that Ghost reacted to Sam being inches away from her when she awoke.

With wide eyes, she jerked and scrambled backward into the headboard and pillows. Something hard and smooth met her fingers underneath the pillows and she hesitated.

It was a fast movement but he didn’t know what to think of it, either it was a ‘way to close to me’ Ghost reaction, or an ‘I can’t kill him that close’ reaction. It did not matter to him he was just happy she woke up, the head but he gave her should have caused one massive headache. He reached his hand up to her the way one reaches in front of an unknown dog’s nose. He wasn’t sure weather she was gentle or aggressive. Not to say he didn’t trust her it was just with her recent activity he wasn’t sure how she was going to react.

Hesitating and pulling back his hand Sam got up from the chair Sam sighed as he put his hand on his head, “Can’t believe I am going to do this…” muttered Sam as he removed his hand from his forehead as he walked closer to Ghost. “Really hope that Donnie kid wasn’t lying to me…” said Sam quietly as he approached Ghost.

Knowing full well Ghost didn’t like his reputation he still got closer, ‘this is the only way…’ thought Sam as he continued to get in her face. Weird was the feeling he could describe as Sam bent down and put his lips on Ghost’s lips and his hands on her arms holding her close to him. No tongue, that would not be something she would be thank full for even if it was to get her head in the right place. Sam didn’t move away from her till ten seconds passed, yea it was long but he had to be sure it was the way to get her back to normal.

Pulling away Sam let go of Ghost’s arms and then slowly backed up, “Did it work are you back to normal?”

Her head was reeling so much that Ghost initially thought they were on a boat of some kind. That would have explained the plastic crinkle cover on the mattress at least, but not the highly recognizable flamingo print bedspread. Hotel. It was the hotel she had checked into at the beginning of this whole mess.

And of course there was Sam. Uncomfortably close and only getting closer. Her fingers wrapped around the smooth wood under the pillow. She knew that baseball bat would come in handy when it came to keeping CS away. He muttered like a disturbed person as he came closer. He was clearly uncomfortable with whatever was about to happen so... obviously it couldn't be what she thought it was.

"What happened...?" She tried to be innocuous. She could still take him back to TAT before she made her way back to the Mansion. Wait. Did that make sense? She argued with herself about what her orders were and Sam seemed to get the nerve to tell her whatever it was he needed to say. He put his hands firmly on her shoulders, holding them against the headboard and Ghost blinked at him passively. If he thought that would hold her, he was about to learn different. She started to slide the baseball bat from beneath the pillows.

He opened his mouth and leaned closer... and closer... and closer. It was one of those moments when Ghost was dumbstruck. 'It's not gonna happen. Last second he'll chicken out. It couldn't happen. It won't happen...'

Their lips made contact.

Something so very deep down rebelled. Ghost closed her eyes tightly as if that would make it go away, but her arms knew what to do. She hefted the bat out from under the pillow fully, not caring if Sam was aware of her weapon now. She was being assaulted. It was time to assault right back.

He pulled away. “Did it work are you back to normal?”

She brought her legs up and pushed him back with her feet as she swung the bat with everything she had, eyes still tightly closed. "Get off me!" She didn't really think about the fact that a swinging bat was likely to find something to hit.

Blinking Sam waited for a response to see if she was back to normal, the fact he was alive was saying that she wasn’t being controlled anymore other wise she would have used a pressure point of some kind to put him out to pasture, but alas, the old Ghost wouldn’t be to happy with this stunt either. He felt her shoe dig into his chest and push him back. The wind knocked out of him Sam looked up and said, “You got to be kidding me.” Trying to duck but had no luck Sam felt the wooden bat in the side of his head, which sent him down to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Lying there before he went out cold, Sam heard the music from the base. He couldn’t explain it but it gave him a peace of mind and made him feel warm. The song echoing throughout his mind as the orchestra played in the background. The violin’s cried as the rest of the strings bellowed and the horns boomed and the woman's voice still could still be heard over all of it, “The hell…..” muttered Sam as he drifted off his eye lids feeling heavy.

"ohmygoddnessohmygoodnessohmygoodness.... I killed Sam!" The bat lay forgotten on the stained carpet beside the bed and Ghost fret over Sam's still form. He was bleeding! She'd hit him on the head with a baseball bat!

She didn't mean to... well, okay she meant to, but she really didn't think it'd work! She wasn't sure what was going on. Ghost rubbed at her face and aching head. The back of her head was throbbing and she'd killed her partner! "What happened to the mission?" She squeaked and checked Sam's vitals at his wrist. "What happened to the ... how come... when did...?" She had so many questions that they were fighting to all spill out at the same time. Well... she didn't kill Sam even if he was covered in small cuts and a nice lump was forming on his forhead.

"I'm so sorry..." She whispered to him as she searched her pockets for her communicator. She found lots of stuff she didn't expect to find in small pockets stashed around her TAT uniform, but not her communicator. She looked at Sam and swallowed. "I'm really, really sorry." And that was all she'd say about digging through his pockets until she found his communicator.

She dialed home. Abort Mission. Sam tried to cop a feel and she bopped him good... too good.

She'd have to ask about TAT when he was okay again. She rubbed the back of her head and went to get some ice from the hotel ice machine as she waited for the Mansion to send someone who could fly them and the plane home. Half would go to her head... Sam had knocked her out first, right? He couldn't be too mad at her for this... The other half would go to Sam's head. She really did feel bad about it. Mental Note: baseball bats work, but like a gun - don't pull it unless you actually mean to use it.

((OOC: follow-up thread can be found here.))