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It was kind of weird seeing Agnes in normal clothes. Like really weird. And awesome. She was really cute when she wanted to be and frankly it just seemed a little unfair. Some people had to put in work to look good and then some could just change outfits and boom, an adorable and approachable girl was there. Still, this was not a normal opportunity and she was taking every effort to memorise this look because lets be honest Cait was not going to get her to do this again. Ever. Because she might get killed by the grump for the deception. A little.

Thank god though, that the weapons her friend had stashed, somewhere, were small and unassuming. Seriously who took a baton to a gay club!? Wait no, scratch that, there were probably a few clubs that encouraged those kinds of.....props. This wasn't one of those places but, well now that the thought was in her head she was kind of curious what they'd be like.

Maybe she could visit one someday, just out of purely scientific curiosity.

Biting back a more sarcastic comment, "Yeah, a butterfly that could tear anyone one of these people sods apart with it's bare hands. Don't worry, you look fine. Trust me you'll probably be one of the more normally dressed people in there." Should she have mentioned it was a pretty popular bar for guys into crossdressing? Because maybe that would be worth telling before anything happened

"OK, just as a heads up there will probably be a few people in drag here, a lot of gay bars tend to have some and this one they are treated fairly respectfully at. Just you know, try not to make a thing out of it." Not that she thought the woman would have any problems with it, but when Cait had first gone to a bar like this she had been more than a little shocked.

Oh god please say Pat wasn't here. He would be way to familiar with one of her friends and as much as she loved the dear man, he was an awful influence. Seriously, he needed to stop introducing random girls to her to see her flail. It was very annoying.

"Lets get a couple of drinks first, we'll seem more natural and approachable. Blend in better as well." And less likely to murder a certain Scotswoman with some sweet booze in her. Oh god wait, what if it was just an improvised weapon.... Lying to the most volatile member of the team was seeming like a dumber and dumber idea right now.

Screw it, this was stressful and a drink was very much in need, consequences be damned, "What's your poison? My treat." That had to help, right?

For herself, she was getting something fruity, sweet and with enough shots in to stun a horse. Usually took a couple of them to even give her a buzz, so that was fun. Made for expensive nights out but hell, made it hilarious watching friends get way drunker and acting like adorable like drunk babies. Or when some poor guy thought they could out drink her and tried it on. They never had a chance the precious dears, they just couldn't beat the advantage she had. A culture of alcohol drinking did have some benefits.

Her and Combatant were on a mission. Together. Alone. This was awesome and exciting and probably explosive because they might have not been on a actual mission, so to speak. More a de-stressing session Cait had planned for her over worked and far too grumpy friend and what better way that to enjoy some drinks, dancing and goo times at a bar where they were not as likely to be hit on. By guys. Mostly.

Thank god the boss hadn't taken much convincing to lie to Agnes if she suspected any shenanigans from the Scot and they had come out here under the guise of finding a drug ring hiding out in a nice establishment, so no combat clothes, no knives and no ninja stuff Combatant had stashed on her at most times. No, this time they were just dressed up nicely (well she was) and ready to do some 'undercover' investigating, with the little white lie that Raine was way to busy with other stuff to be her back up. Dressing up for places like this was always so freeing, this time she'd managed to find a really nice pair of black leggings, hot-pants and a very nice fitting t-shirt, now if she could just get past her whole dress issues she would be stunning.

Maybe the best way to thank Raine and Becca would be some good old fashioned retail therapy. Lord knows they could all use the break after that mission. Ooo, they could get Astrid into some really cute clothes! Wait, stop, focus girl. One ill fated trip at a time, for now she needed to try and rein in Combatant when she found out the truth.

"Almost there, it's just around this corner," pointing forwards for the both of them, she was really hoping the ruse wouldn't blow up in her face because seriously that girl needed to loosen up. In more ways than one.

Rounding the corner and seeing only a small queue and smiling at the sign, she was glad she'd picked this place. The Blue French Horn was kind of her favourite club now and after meeting Alice here she'd been around a few times and had more than her share of fun. Not many creeps or problems people here, they kept a pretty tight ship when i came to making customers feel safe and comfortable. Maybe dropping the news of the real reason they were there would result in less, people crushing inside the place.

No, leave it until they were inside and the testy woman had a drink in her hand.

"Come on, the guy on the door will let us both in, he's a friend and owes me a favour." In fact a lot of people around the city owed her a favour, one way or another. She was very good at the whole networking thing after all, "And please, try not to kill anyone until I get a drink, kind of hard to get served when the police are on their way."

Having someone there, someone who not only you didn't want to disappoint but was genuinely pushing you to do your best, felt great. Cait was fairly sure it was the only way she actually managed to get the last push done to lock off the weights which was kind of awesome. Another score for positivity. Soon the grumps at the base wouldn't be able to compete with her.

Taking the offered hand and slowly standing, it was easier once she was up. Kind of. The legs still felt like she hadn't been on land for a few weeks, but that would pass soon right? "Thanks Rianne, I'd have been there all day otherwise."

OK, so sprints weren't her favourite but she wasn't awful at them. Anyone with decent fitness and used to moving a lot could do fairly OK at them. Of course the prospect of breakfast was very appealing afterwards so all she had to do was power through, collapse at the end then crawl off for breakfast. Something sweet definitely. Oh God and so much coffee.

It didn't sound too hard but from experience it wasn't as easy as all that. Sprinting for a solid minute was tough and doing it multiple times in a short time frame sucked. To much practice doing this running away from bad guys.....and cops. Which she wasn't mentioning to her nice and lovely officer friend. Ever. "Pretty simple then. should be doable. I hope."

Nodding that she was ready for the last stretch, at least her legs were back to full functionality. Launching into motion as soon as the shout was given, she didn't do too bad. It wasn't a competition so seeing Rianne pulling ahead a little more and more didn't get her down, all she did was keep her head in it.

Imagining she was getting chased by one of the various nastier mutants she'd dealt with certainly kept the pace up, if made her just a little tense.

As soon as the timer went off she slowed to a stop and took a few nice deep breaths. "I can totally see why you told me not to eat before. I'd have thrown up a couple of times already today if I had." The bad mix that was a full stomach and exercise was a mistaken she'd only made once. Cleaning sick off your trainers sent a pretty solid message.

The thrusts were good but Devon was just too damn mobile for many of his attacks and even the quicker ones were just a bit too slow. It was even more surprising when one of the short attack hit, glancing sideways as the cane came down right across his hands. Admirably hit but but s--- did he hate his friend a little while his hands shook a little from the blow.

Clever, he was willing to take a hit in order to go for the goal and knowing the weapon he was up agaisnt it was a good move. Stung like f--- as well, Artairs hands took a pretty hard hit and the impact nearly caused him to lose grip, but he was used to this. You didn't get far in H.E.M.A without being able to take a hit though and even without the padding and gloves he was used to this kind of damage. Having a high pain tolerance also helped. Oh and pain killers, they were useful. Thank god he wasn't using that sword or everything would be have been over right then and there. For both of them to be honest. 

What was puzzling was him trying to get the hook into play, sure a quick yank might do something, but Artair had two hands on his weapon and better leverage. It just wouldn't work. "Might not want to start a tugging match with me mate, got a tiny advantage ion that regard." He really needed to not get cocky, it'd only get him in trouble but if he wanted to hook the staff, why not show him how bad an idea that was? Yanking the hooked weapon towards him using the staff, he readied a downwards blow if Devon was pulled off balance.

A strong of very vehement swearing went through her head. Today was not the day to push her! Not after her one woman blade storm earlier and more just irritation for this adapted woman. As soon as Impact distracted her, she dropped the guard, summoned a shield and sprinted past her, keeping her construct between the two of them and scooping up her thrown knife on the way. No words needed exchanging, no signals given, Cait was on the objective. She only hoped Seraph could cover the boss long enough for her to get records and info.

Following the map she'd memorised and making quick progress, any guards in her way soon weren't. If before there wasn't time for mercy, now she had none. Every second she saved could be the difference between life and death for the Team. Was this what the boss had meant about tough choices? Because right now the choice wasn't hard, her friends came first, especially weighed agaisnt the evil people in here. They were sick, killing one of their own like his life didn't matter.

Rounding the last corner and dealing with the last pair of black suited thugs she was in. Time for record room pilfering. Thankfully, their directory computer wasn't password locked, so soon she had a list of useful sounding documents to grab. Pressing in the thumb drive she'd been trusted with, loaded with a handy little virus Impact had told her was a remaining part of the old team, looks like they were still fighting the fight even while gone. Offering up a silent Gaelic prayer for the dead, she left the program running while she rifled through a series of filing cabinets for anything interesting looking.

What she found, what she found was terrifying. It wasn't anything important, in fact it was just a standard hard copy of a meeting. With a high ranking politician and the tone was, disturbing. They weren't working with the government, they were the government!

"You have got to be f------ kidding me! What morally bankrupt waste of space authorised this!" It detailed some of their recent 'recruits'. They were kidnapping mutants, citizens and bringing them back to experiment on. What the actual hell!

The cold feeling in the pit of her stomach after all this was getting very hot. These monsters needed stopping, government or no government. She'd fight the b----- army itself if she had to, this wasn't going to stand. It also proved how vital the info was, not just for them. The public had to know about this, had to be warned! They were living in a real world nightmare, the government just taking people from their beds and pretend they didn't exist.

But why, what was this for? Weapons for a war, rampant paranoia or just simple garden variety bigotry? So much for the bastion of freedom, home of refugees those two faced p----- running the country liked to proclaim.

Well, now it was time for a good old dose of old world freedom. Whisper on last word as the computer dinged, looks like they had everything the could get. Any more time and they wouldn't get out. Still, at least time for a little constructive vandalism. Pulling out a small lighter and setting alight a pile of files, it should spread. Let them deal with that!

"Could be worse, you could get stuck with a stabby nickname that just won't go away." Shivs wasn't her first choice, but one of the other X's had started to call her it and soon she pretty much didn't have a choice of code names. Cheshire on the other hand was fun, mysterious and frankly it fit the weird movements he made, the blue streaks she'd caught out the corner of her eye.

The helmet really should have given that away, of course he had a motorbike. How on earth could she say no to a chance to jump on one? They were awesome to ride and if her parent's hadn't gone nuclear when she suggested getting one of her own she'd be riding around on one of her own. "Hell yes I want to go for a ride, love being able to get a chance for one." it was also, a pretty sound tactical descion. Getting further away than a couple blocks was a very good idea and frankly, she could do with something cold and sweet to drink.

Walking confidently out of the alley, she had to give a appreciate growl over the bike. They were just so beautiful and sleek, like the big cats of the motor vehicle world. She couldn't fault the guys taste's, it was very nice to look at and frankly, she looked too much the part of a biker girl to give up this opportunity.

"You know the way to the Melting Leaf Room? It's quiet and we should be able to talk there." Better to head off any thoughts of what she might be offering, as much fun as that would be. Right now she had to do the whole, responsible thing and if he was a potential recruit, she really didn't want that dynamic going into a team. If she hadstrong thoughts on anything it was dating in a work setting.

If not though, he was fair game for a little friendly entertainment.

"So, you got another helmet or do I get to feel the wind in my hair?" Oh she could hear her dads voice already lecturing her. God he'd throw a fit if he saw his little girl on a motorbike, without a helmet on......again.

Cait really needed to learn from her mistakes.

Food was a good shout and he was still looking forward to eating what she'd made for them, it had sounded pretty good. Shame some rampant w----- decided a park was a nice place to get stabby. Plus it'd probably make her feel a little better and he hadn't been able to eat since what had happened. The thought just made him sick, each time he tried he kept seeing the blood on his hands. Hard to stomach a sandwich at that point.

Luckily, before he could answer Xavia was on him, giving him a very life affirming kiss. After all the things that had happened something like that set all his neurons firing, sending his brain into over time. Responding hungrily he was more than a little disappointed when she broke it off, his face flushed from the sudden excitement. "Christ lass, that's one way to tell me you're OK. Almost disappointing we don't have a little more private time." Just a little, they did have way more important things to deal with unfortunately. Letting her just rest agaisnt him, it did help dampen his anger down a little, get it a bit more under control, for now at least. Hell there were worse anger management techniques.

It was, nice sitting there, just the two of them, but it couldn't last. Not now at least. "You want me to grab some of the food so we can eat while we wait? Hell since Derek's coming he might want to dig in as well, I know how much he loves having dinner at yours." Good on the lad to be honest. Free, home cooked food with a good friend was kind of awesome. "How was he when you called him by the way?"

It was a lot for friends to take in but he knew how close they both were. God he could only imagine how he'd have felt if he'd been the one getting the phone call. Hopefully he wasn't too angry at him for forgetting too after Xavia was in safe hands. He hadn't been thinking very straight.