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_ Stepping it up a Notch _

"It's so quiet here," Miko's father said, keeping his voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to disturb the silence.

Arcee glanced around the picnic table. Jack sat on her left, Miko and both sets of parents sat across from them, and Jack's mom was to her right. Raf was somewhere else, with his family, and Roz had wanted to spend the night with her husband and son on the base. The poor kids would probably need years of counseling after what they'd gone through.

"After being surrounded by gunfire and explosions for so long," Daisuke continued, "being flooded with adrenaline, being so frightened for so long … and now there's nothing happening and we're just sitting here. It's taking some time to adjust to."

Natsumi reached over to put her hand on his, and Miko nodded.

"Yeah. It's like watching porn after you come."

Natsumi snickered and Roderick burst out laughing around a mouthful of cheeseburger. He clamped his hand over his mouth to keep it from ending up on the table. Camille stared at Miko as if she'd just farted, and Daisuke gaped at her.

"Uh … sure. Yes. Exactly like that." He shook his head, glanced around at everyone, and rolled his eyes. Arcee tried not to laugh.

I think that's the most emotion he's shown since they arrived a couple weeks ago.

"Hey, guys." Jensen's voice. Arcee glanced up and found him and Khalilah's mini-me walking over to the table on the left. "How're things?"

"We're glad to have some peace and quiet after everything that's happened today." June took a sip of her Sunny D as Jensen lowered himself onto the bench and slid his crutches under the table. "Khalilah, I hope your repairs are finished. Whatever they hit you with, it looked nasty."

"Thanks. I'll be okay. Ratchet and Knockout removed the damaged parts before that crap melted through something I can't live without. They replaced the destroyed parts and now I'm in the repair bay, just letting my autorepair systems finish the job. Should be back on my feet by morning."

"Glad to hear it."

"So was I." Jensen slipped his arm around Khalilah's waist and she leaned closer to him. "I can't even remember the last time I was that scared."

"Well, we're all glad you're still with us." Miko smiled. "Has anyone figured out what that stuff was?"

"Our labs are still working on it," Jensen said. "If our software experts can crack the encryption on those servers and find the formula, one of the labs will be able to develop a counteragent. At least, I hope so."

"Me, too." Arcee stared at the darkness outside the floodlights illuminating the picnic area, and tried not to think about the way Khalilah screamed after being hit by that shell. If they can't, it'll be bad news for us the next time we tangle with MECH. She kept the thought to herself. Everyone else had enough on their minds, already.

"Not that anyone else had an easy time of it," Khalilah said. "Before I joined you, I'd almost forgotten what it's like not to be in mortal danger every day, but for someone who's never experienced combat, it must've been horrible."

"Especially kids like Bobby and some of Raf's younger siblings." Jack shrugged. "When I first got caught up in all this, I didn't want anything to do with it. But I got used to it after a while, so hopefully some of these kids will be able to adjust."

Daisuke flicked a glance at Miko and then turned to Natsumi. "Speaking of traumatic experiences, be thankful you weren't there to see how Miko got us out of our cells."

Miko rolled her eyes. "Oh, let me tell her, in case you think you can use it as leverage." She looked over at her mother. "I tried the old 'distract the guards' trick, but it didn't turn out the way I expected it to. I got naked in front of them and tried to get 'em to unlock the cells."

Natsumi just stared at her and blinked a few times. Miko's host parents glanced at each other and then gaped at her. Miko stared at the table and sneered.

"Now that I actually have time to think about it, it's kind of humiliating. Instead of being distracted by my body, they were just irritated and wanted me to shut the fuck up. It might've had a chance of working if my tits were bigger than bee stings. As it was, if they hadn't gotten sick enough of my shit to get within arm's reach, we'd probably still be there."

Her parents continued staring for a long moment, turned to face each other, and stared some more. Miko shrugged, picked up her burrito, and took a huge bite.

Jensen grinned. "Better not mention it to Terwilliger. He already seems to have his mind on you enough as it is."

Camille scowled at him and Miko snickered.

"I totally should describe it to him in explicit detail just to fan the flames." She caught the glare Camille shot at her and sighed. "Relax, I'm not gonna do anything with him, but I think it's pretty cool if he really does think about me when he jerks off."

Daisuke slumped forward and buried his face in his hands. Natsumi shook her head and then appeared to be struggling to suppress a grin.

"I dunno," Jack said, "a while ago I heard him say he's got his eye on Strika."

"Seriously?" Miko raised an eyebrow. "Huh. He must have a thing for flat-chested women. Or fembots, in Strika's case."

"I dunno about that, but he seems to think she's cute. And he said Russian accents are sexy." Jack shrugged.

"Oh, boy." June chuckled. "I don't know Strika very well, but from what I've seen, I doubt she'd be interested. She just doesn't seem like the type who'd be into that kind of thing with anyone."

"Yeah, I kinda got that impression." Miko shrugged. "But then, she did say she might try out some of her Pretender body's 'additional features' eventually, so maybe she'll get around to it." She grinned suddenly. "Oh, it just occurred to me -- maybe Strika's just repressed from being so stoic for a few hundred thousand years, or however long she's been alive. If Terwilliger can get her to cut loose now that she has all the right parts, I bet she'd bang him like a screen door in a hurricane."

Natsumi finally burst into laughter while Daisuke grumbled something in Japanese and slumped forward even farther.

June snort-laughed. "And on that note, I guess I should hit the sack. Got an early meeting with Ashanti and her team tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, the idea you had about getting information out of Silas." Jack raised an eyebrow as his mom scooted her chair back and stood. "What did you have in mind?"

June smirked. "I'm gonna see if I can scare the shit out of him."

---

"Sorry I missed the meeting." Jack yawned, took a seat at the bank of monitors, and sipped his coffee. "We were up late."

Arcee sat beside him and fired off a shit-eating grin. "It's all my fault."

"Not entirely." Jack slipped his arm around her. "I gotta take some of the blame."

"Heh." Ashanti glanced at him and arched an eyebrow. "I was about to say you looked like something the cat dragged in, but …"

"Well," Miko said with an exaggeratedly innocent expression, "I'm pretty sure a 'pussy' of some sort was involved."

Jack nearly choked on his coffee. He put the cup down, coughed, and his face grew hot. In the corner of his eye, Arcee grinned again.

"Welllllll … you're not wrong."

Ashanti cleared her throat, but looked as if she were trying to hide a grin of her own. "Maybe we should let you get some sleep."

"Thanks, but I'm good." He nodded at the image of Silas's cell on one of the monitors. In the cell to his right, the Pretender named Clayton waited for June to arrive, having disguised himself as Bodhi McClory. "I mean, my mom is gonna interrogate Silas. I wouldn't miss this for anything."

"You got here just in time, then." Ashanti turned to watch the screens. "Clay's pretending to be McClory, and June will start with him. She's gonna pretend to torture him to death, just to see if she can shake Silas up before she starts working him over."

"Whoa. That's, uh, dark." Jack glanced around the room. Ashanti's whole team was here, plus both sets of Miko's parents. The former smirked, grinned, or nodded, and the latter fidgeted and traded unsettled glances.

"Yep. It was Clay's idea, not your mom's, so there's no need to worry about her sanity. Kefira came up with most of the plan, though. She's had plenty of experience running operations like this."

Kefira spoke into her headset mic. "Okay, June, whenever you're ready."

June appeared on another monitor, wearing her armor and pushing a cart loaded with sharp, pointed instruments into the cell block. Strika's human-size body followed her past Silas's cell and on to "McClory's."

"Huh. You got Strika to get in on this?" Jack glanced over at Kefira.

"I figured she'd be right for this because she's intimidating."

"And sexy as all hell," Terwilliger added with a huge grin.

Camille shot a disgusted look at him, crossed her arms over her chest, and glowered at the monitors.

June started whistling another jaunty tune as she waited for Strika to unlock Clayton's cell. She kept it up as she pushed the cart into the cell and Strika locked the door and watched impassively.

"What the hell is this?" Clay backed up to the rear wall. "Why'd they let you in here?"

Silas couldn't see them through the concrete wall between the cells, but he turned to stare at it anyway. For the moment, his expression remained stoic.

"Okay, June," Kefira said, "just let Clayton do all the work for a few minutes. He'll be able to mimic all sorts of cuts and slashes, and can manufacture synthetic blood to cover the implements you've wheeled in."

"Well," June said, keeping her tone light and cheerful, "since all of your buddies were killed in the attack on your base last night, some of the people I worked with here decided to give me a few minutes alone with you, purely out of the kindness of their hearts." She hardened her voice suddenly and half-snarled, half-screamed, "You and all the rest came after my son! I'm not letting that slide."

"Oh, wow," Terwilliger muttered. "Is it just me, or was she channeling Cal Johnson for a moment, there?"

Silas remained stone-faced, even when June picked up a few of the blades and made a point of clinking them together.

"Huh." Roderick glanced at Ashanti. "How can he 'manufacture' blood?"

"The Pretenders' bodies have mini-fabricator units that make synthetic blood or sweat," Miko said. "Cum, too. But I'm sure Sierra would know more about that than I do."

Ohohoho, shit! Jack clamped his mouth shut on a laugh and kept his eyes on the monitors.

"Why aren't you in one of these cells?" Clay said. "They found out that you're an assassin. How did you …? Oh, shit, did you kill everyone in your path to get to me?"

Finally, Silas's stone-cold expression faltered. His eyes opened a little wider and his lips parted.

"Oh, nothing as dramatic as that. My son has a lot of friends here, and you've pissed them all off by going after him. Of course, their anger is nothing compared to mine. They gave you to me, and I'm going to send a message to what's left of your little terrorist organization. Well, assuming anyone's left at all, that is."

Kefira chuckled and spoke into her mic again. "Clay, go ahead and put on a show for Silas. And when you're putting your 'blood' on her knives and whatnot, maybe splatter some on her armor to help sell the illusion."

Clay nodded and spent the next several minutes screaming and begging June to stop, while she leaned against the wall and waited, occasionally letting a giggle slip out. Each time she did, Silas grew a little more unsettled, until he almost started pacing and forced himself to stand still. Clay's skin split open all over his face, chest, and arms, and "blood" seeped through his prison coveralls. He dipped several of the blades into it before putting them back on the cart, then he picked up a knife that had part of its blade cut off. He flicked his other hand out and his fake blood sprayed across the front of June's armor. Finally, he stuck the half-knife into his neck and his "skin" closed around it, holding it in place and making the blade appear to be driven in all the way to his spine.

June snickered, then burst out laughing. Silas took a step away from the adjoining wall and his jaw dropped a little more.

"Kid, your mom has issues," Camille muttered with a glance over to Jack.

Clay winked at June, made a weird "gurgle-splat" sound, and sprawled on the floor, eyes open and mouth gaping.

"Oops," June said under her breath. "Got carried away. I was hoping this would take a lot longer."

Silas's expression didn't change, but his head twitched in the direction of her voice.

"Oh, well, on to the next one." June crouched beside Clay, dipped her hands into one of his larger wounds, and spread the blood over her armor until she looked like she'd gone almost elbow-deep. She pondered her hands for a moment, and then smeared some of the blood on her face.

"No need to bury yourself in the part, Mom." Jack shivered.

"That's, uh … quite a performance." Roderick stared at the monitors and shook his head slowly.

Arcee nodded. "Like I said yesterday, I had no idea she could pull off anything like that."

"Has she done any acting before this?"

"I think she was in a couple of school plays," Jack said, "but she was, like, seven or eight at the time."

June started whistling again, pushed the cart into the corridor, and paused in front of Silas. She cocked her head as if something had just popped into her mind, and turned back. She returned to "McClory's" cell, clamped a hand around his left ankle, and dragged his "corpse" past Silas and to the end of the corridor, whistling the entire time. Clay pumped more fake blood out and left a thick trail smeared on the floor behind him.

Silas's eyes tracked them until they were out of sight, and a muscle in his jaw twitched.

Once they reached the end of the corridor, Clay sat up and his wounds closed. He grinned, gave June a thumbs-up, and leaned against the wall. June smiled back, shook his hand, and took a moment to get back into character before returning to Silas's cell. Once she was back in full view of Silas, she spun slowly as if practicing a ballet move.

Strika watched her return to the cart, arched a brow plate, and smirked ever so slightly.

June slid her hands slowly over her chest, let out a ragged breath, and aimed an almost aroused stare at the blood on her gloves. She glanced at Strika and said, "Oh, I am so double-clicking my mouse button as soon as I'm done here!"

Holy shit, Mom! Jack gaped at the monitor and then grumbled, "Did not need that goddamn image in my head."

"And now she's thrown a bit of Deadpool into her performance," Terwilliger said. "My life is complete."

Strika stared blankly, probably because she had no idea what the hell June was talking about. Silas, meanwhile, turned from mildly perturbed to a sort of horrified "WTF?" expression.

June stared at Silas, picked up a butcher knife and a sharpening rod, and broke into a huge grin as she began scraping the blade across the rod.

"Now it's your turn!"

---

"I know you," Silas said as Strika unlocked his cell and let June in. "You were there when I had a brief partnership with Airachnid. You seemed quite … different, then."

"Back then, I had a cover to maintain. When I found out I was pregnant, I decided to retire and give my son a normal life. Now that you and your ilk keep attacking him and his girlfriend, and the people here on this base discovered who I really am, I figured I might as well get back to what I do best." She continued sharpening the knife, aimed a gleeful smile at him, and hoped she'd managed to put the same unhinged gleam in her eyes that Sokolov had. "I gotta say, I've missed the killing. And the money, too. But mostly the killing."

"You expect me to believe that?" Silas laughed softly, though he couldn't completely hide his unease.

"Doesn't matter. You will, soon enough."

"If you're really an assassin, why aren't you locked up?"

"I worked out a deal with the general. They're putting a leash on me, but they decided to put my talents to use, so I've got a bit of wiggle room." Some of the fake blood trickled down her neck and she had to suppress a shiver. "Would you mind stepping over to the bars so we can get down to business?"

"Why should I?"

I shouldn't enjoy this, I really shouldn't, but it's gonna be so satisfying. She sighed, put the knife down, walked over to Silas, braced a hand against his chest and shoved him into the bars. The impact made him wince and let out a grunt.

"Hold your arms out behind you and put them through the bars."

"No." He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "This isn't Guantanamo Bay. You can't torture me."

"As long as you're a threat to my son, this place will be far worse than Gitmo." June glanced at Strika, motioned at Silas, and said, "Would you …?"

Strika reached through the bars, grasped his wrists, and pulled his arms through. She put a pair of heavy-duty handcuffs on him and stepped back, leaving his forearms resting on the support beam running across the middle of the bars. His smug expression faltered for a split-second before he regained his composure.

"Hmm. This is new."

"Kazimir Sokolov has been in charge of MECH since your stay in this cell began. He abducted a busload of civilians, including children, and threatened to murder them unless we turned you, my son, and Arcee over to him. It cost him his base and every last one of the people under his command, but he slipped away from us." June chuckled. "I have to admit, I'm kind of impressed with his escape plan. He launched a rocket and rode it into the sky, clinging to its side, and then parachuted to the ground. I'm still gonna kill him, but I have to give credit where it's due. That was pretty awesome."

"Ah." Silas smirked again. "That's why you'll never see him, until he strikes."

"Oh, I will see him again, right before I gut him like a trout with my favorite knife. I'll find him because you're going to tell me all the places he might hide. Safe houses, friends from 'work,' people he might go to for help, people who owe him favors."

"Why would I do that? Revenge isn't really my style, but I must admit I'll feel no small amount of satisfaction when Sokolov ends your son's life and dissects that alien he's so attached to."

Oh, you piece of shit, you shouldn't have said that. June took a step toward him.

"And even if I believed you were capable of torturing someone, the military has rules against it. They don't have what it takes to do what it takes. You won't --"

June pulled her fist back and rammed it into his gut. The air rushed from his lungs and he doubled over, held up only by his handcuffs hitting the bar. The weight of his body twisted his arms upward and nearly dislocated his shoulders before he got his legs back under him. His mouth opened as he tried to draw a breath, but couldn't. His legs turned wobbly and he almost collapsed before his lungs started working again.

"One of the benefits of being a nurse is that I know exactly where to hit you, and how hard, without leaving a mark. For now, at least." June gripped the front of his coveralls and lifted him upright. Then she stroked his cheek and jaw, smearing Clay's fake blood across his face. He tried to pull his head away and his eyes bulged. "Each time Sokolov or any of your other operatives come after Jack and Arcee, or any of our friends, I'll come back here and step it up a notch until you give me what I want. Eventually, I won't be able to avoid breaking bones."

"I can't give him orders," Silas snarled through clenched teeth. "I've been stuck here all along, and haven't been allowed any outside contact."

"You're his leader. That means you're responsible for everything he does." June traced a finger over his lips and he tried to jerk away again. "And if I can't have him, I'll take it all out on you, just because you're here and he's not."

"You'll have to hit me with a lot to get me to tell you anything."

"Oh, believe me, Leland, if you don't start talking, I'll do exactly that." June shoved him back against the bars and put a slight pressure on his chest, hoping to put the idea in his head that she was about to cave his ribcage in. "Maybe next time, I'll come back right after you've had a big breakfast and make you puke. Or I could inject you with something that'll make you shit all over every inch of your cell. I've got tons of new ideas I'm eager to try out just to see what happens."

She walked back to the cart and Terwilliger's voice came through her earbud. "June, you are officially the most terrifying motherfucker I've ever met. That's … kinda hot, actually."

"Not in front of her kid," Jack grumbled.

June burst into laughter and Silas stared at her. His composure crumpled a little more and he tried to take a step away from her, but the handcuffs caught on the bars again.

"Tell you what, Leland. You think it over and ask to see me if you change your mind. If you don't, then I'll just have to wait for Sokolov to make his next move. When that happens, I'll be back, and you'll be sorry." June waited for Strika to open the door and pushed the cart back outside. Strika locked the cell, removed Silas's cuffs, and followed June out of the cell block. Clay joined them, transformed back into his robotic appearance, and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"Nicely done. I don't know about Silas, but you sure scared the shit out of me." He laughed.

"I just hope it worked on him." June glanced at the blood all over her armor and grimaced. "Where's the nearest bathroom? I need to clean this off before it dries."

"Down that hall." Clay pointed to the left and walked with her. He stopped at a door on the right about halfway down the hall. "Here ya go."

"Thanks." June stepped through the door and walked over to the nearest wash basin. "And thanks for all your help with this."

"Glad I could be in on it. Silas and Sokolov and McClory are terrible people who need to be stopped. Also, screwing with them is just fun."

"Hah! Yeah, it is, kinda. I'm a little scared by how much fun I'm having with this."

"You sure have a talent for this kind of thing." He paused while she glanced into the mirror and washed off the last of the fake blood. "Hey, when you have time, maybe we could, I dunno, have a cup of coffee together?"

Huh. Weird. But then, I guess it's no weirder than Jack and Arcee. And I guess I kinda started this when I said he was cute. And then kissed him. She pondered the years since Jack's birth while drying her hands. She'd had no social life until the past few weeks, having devoted all her time to school and work to provide for Jack while he grew up. In fact, the last date she'd been on was just before she got knocked up, and she hadn't had any time for it since.

Now that I finally have a chance, why the hell not? She stepped back into the hall and leaned casually against the door frame.

"Well, I need to sign my armor back in and debrief with Ashanti and her team, but how about after that? It'll probably be around lunchtime by then, so … meet you at one of the picnic tables outside the mess hall?"

He broke into a huge grin. "It's a date."

"Okay. See you then." She matched his grin and kept it on as she left the building and headed for the armory.