Everyone looked up as Natasha sashayed into the room with Vivian close behind her. Anthony raised an eyebrow and looked at Vivian.

"She insisted on speaking to you, Tony," Vivian said with an exasperated glance in Natasha's direction.

"Detective Macy Grey, meet Vivian Ross." Anthony turned toward Macy who stood and extended her hand. "I believe you've already met Natasha."

Macy shook Vivian's hand and then looked at Natasha disinterestedly. "I've met her. She's a deplorable kidnapper." Macy eyed Natasha up and down. "Amongst other things."

Natasha hissed at Macy and Vivian held onto her arm, holding her in place as she tried to take a step toward her little blonde nemesis. She visibly put her temper in check and shrugged out of Vivian's grip. She turned toward Anthony. There was determination on her face. She did not intend to take "no" for an answer.

"I'm going with you," she said, planting a foot firmly and crossing her arms. "You are not going to leave me locked in my room with nothing to do. I can help."

Anthony looked surprised. He glanced over at Vivian again and she just shrugged at him.

"Natasha, you aren't ready to go on missions, my dear. You haven't even discovered your ability. You still possess a horrid attitude and you refuse to believe or accept any of this. I don't think...."

"If I go with you, maybe the excitement will bring it to the surface, this 'ability' you claim I possess," Natasha interrupted him. She didn't want to give him a chance to turn her down. If he did it would be difficult to get him to change his mind.

"That might be true, but we can't trust you. You may endanger the mission."

"That's exactly what I told her, but she wouldn't listen," Vivian said.

"Look. I give you my word." Natasha spoke directly to Anthony, ignoring Vivian. She looked him right in the eye. "Have I not kept my word thus far, Tony?"

"Yes, you have, but this is highly..."

"Let her come." Everyone turned in surprise. Especially Natasha. It was Macy who had spoken. "I say we let her come along," she continued in her girly little voice. She shrugged and looked around at her new friends. "She deserves a chance to prove herself and she's right. I mean... I discovered my ability because of the situation she put me in." She turned and gave Natasha a look of disgust. Then she turned back to the others. "I think we should let her come. Give her a chance to prove herself. If she tries to run away, well.... we can kill her." She grinned wickedly at the tall brunette.

"Kill me!" Natasha looked outraged for a moment before remembering that the horrid little woman was actually arguing for her, not against her. "Ugghh! Whatever. I'm not going to try to escape. I want to come with you guys. I want to see what you do. Maybe something will click, then."

Anthony looked back and forth between Natasha and Macy. "Are you two that eager to spend time together? I had the impression that you detested one another."

"She dresses like a tramp!"

"She acts like a slut!"

Both of the women had spoken at the same time. Then they turned and glared at each other. They both started to yell at each other, but then stopped just as abruptly when they realized they were both talking again.

Finally Natasha just gave Anthony a pleading look and stepped closer to him. "Listen, Tony. I admit I'm a pain in the ass. I admit I've made horrible choices. But if you give me this chance, I promise I won't make you regret it. In fact, I'll try to make you glad you said yes. I swear."

Finally he let out a sigh and shook his head. "Alright. Fine. You can come, but you will do what I say at all times. If I am not there to tell you, you will listen to Vivian without one word of argument at any time. Agreed?"

Natasha's heart leaped. She jumped up and down for a second before regaining her composure. She took another step toward him, threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth that caused his eyes to widen in shock. He put her away from him a little more roughly than he intended.

"And you will most certainly not be doing any more of that!" he ordered when he could speak again.

"You got it, Tony," she breathed at him. "I'll be an angel. Promise."

She looked at Vivian who was standing there, her face expressionless. Natasha had never seen her argue with Anthony or question any decision he made. She obviously wasn't going to start now. She threw a victorious look at the stone-faced red-head and then turned toward Macy.

"Thanks... I guess," she muttered.

Macy looked up at her and then went back to filing her nails. She just shrugged and didn't reply.

"Well! Now we shall see if I belong on this team, won't we?" Natasha let out a whistle and her raven came from wherever he had been hiding and landed on her shoulder. "Who is going to take me to my room to change?"

...............

Jackson came around slowly. His head hurt. He was still shackled and lying in the back of one of the Hummers. They were bouncing along what seemed to be an unpaved road. He couldn't see outside. There were no windows back where they had put him. Lillian must have been in the other vehicle. There were several of the men in suits in the seats toward the front. One was turned around facing backward with a weapon leveled at him. They were apparently not taking any chances.

He gave the guy a stony glare. "Who are you people?" he growled.

The guy just stared at him and said nothing. Jackson dropped his head back and closed his eyes. He wasn't surprised they weren't telling him anything. The bastards. They were probably just the grunts, anyways.

Before long he felt the vehicle come to a stop. The men jumped out and he could hear footsteps crunching on dirt as someone came around to the back and opened the hatch. He was unceremoniously dragged from the Hummer and yanked to his feet. He looked around, trying to spot the other vehicle and Lillian, but there were no others in sight.

"What did you assholes do with my sister?" he barked. They just continued to ignore him. He was dragged toward a building that stood alone out in the middle of nowhere. All he could see other than the building was dirt in every direction. "Where's Lillian?" he demanded again, struggling against the men who were dragging him.

No one answered. They half dragged, half shoved him inside the building and he was taken down a hallway to an elevator. They got in and pressed the button for the basement. Jackson rolled his eyes. Typical, he thought to himself.

The elevator stopped and they stepped out into another hall. He was shoved and pushed down another hallway and then they stopped at one of the many doors. One of the men took out what appeared to be a security card and swiped it. The door opened and Jackson was led down another hallway. They turned at the end and then went about half way down yet another hall. They stopped at a door and the same guy swiped his card again. The door opened and Jackson was shoved into a dark room.

One of the men turned a light on and Jackson looked around to see a small cot, a chair, and a toilet. That was it. They removed the shackles from him, keeping the guns leveled at him. When he was free they backed out of the room and shut the door.

He tried the handle but of course it was locked. He looked around and noticed a small glass dome near the ceiling. He assumed it was probably a camera so that they could watch him like some sort of experimental rat. He flipped the dome off and then sat down on the cot. He shook his head. How had he ended up in this situation? He still hadn't even heard the whole story from Lillian. 

He looked around again with a sigh and laid back on the cot. All he could do was wait to see what happened next.

He didn't have long to wait. About half an hour later the door opened and a man dressed in a white coat carrying a clip board walked in. Jackson stood to his feet. The man was flanked by two of the guys who had apprehended him.

"Hello Detective Wolfe." The man spoke with an accent Jackson couldn't quite place. "So good of you to finally join us."

Jackson stood there, expressionless, gazing at the man.

"I hope you like your accommodations?" The man gestured around the room. There was a smirk on his face. He was about 45 or 50 with blonde hair that was thinning on top. He was short and skinny. He wore glasses that seemed to be slipping down his nose. He pushed them up about every five seconds.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jackson growled at him.

"Oh! Pardon me. Where are my manners? I am Doctor Nikolai Kodiak." The smug little asshole actually held a hand out toward him. He was tempted to take it and crush it into dust. He eyed the guards and refrained. Instead he just looked at the hand as though the man had just shat in it.

The doctor withdrew his hand after a moment and cleared his throat. "Well! Shall we get started? Follow me, please."

He turned toward the door and Jackson didn't move. "Where the fuck is my sister?"

The doctor turned to one of the men, ignoring the question. "Give him some incentive, would you?" The man stepped forward and raised the butt of his gun. He crashed it into Jackson's skull and, once again, everything went black.

...................

Macy gasped in horror. "Tya! Tya, what do we do?"

They had connected and had soared once again over the desert to find Jackson via her emotional connection with him. Instead of finding him driving on the road or already in Salt Lake City, they had found him in a building way out in the middle of nowhere. They arrived just in time to watch a man use a rifle to knock Jackson out cold. He and another armed man were now dragging her partner's limp body out of a small room into the hall.

Once again Macy felt herself being sucked back toward her body. Vacuumed away from her best friend and partner. The man she loved. When she was able to, she jumped up off the floor where she had been facing Tya. Jerome caught Tya as she collapsed, her body drained from the exertion.

Macy was frantic. "They have him! Those horrid people have him!" she squeaked, tears running down her cheeks. "Oh we have to help him!"

Anthony stepped over to her and Nat joined him on the other side. They both tried to soothe her. Macy took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"What did you see?" Natalie asked, her arm around Macy's shoulders. "Tell us what you saw."

"They had him in some little room. There was a man who looked like a doctor and some guys with rifles. They were wearing suits. Like the ones who came to the station to try to take him." Macy was flushed and her words came tumbling out of her. "One of them hit him with the butt of his rifle. He knocked him out. Then we came back. That was all I saw. They were dragging him away."

She looked around at the team of unique and powerful people. Her hands shook. Would they be enough? Would they be able to go against whoever those people were?

Vivian stepped forward and looked Macy in the eyes. Natasha was standing off to the side by herself. She was watching everyone with an interested look on her face. She seemed amused at Macy's distress. Macy ignored her and looked back at Vivian.

"Detective, listen," Vivian began, her tone gentle but firm. "This may be difficult. It may be the most dangerous thing our team has ever been up against. But we are not going to allow them to keep your partner prisoner there. He's one of ours. Calm down. You won't be of much use if you are in hysterics. Think of this as one of the cases you investigate. Don't allow your emotions to control you just because it's Jackson."

Macy nodded her head and did her best to gain control over her emotions and her heart. She didn't want to screw things up because she couldn't control her fear. Vivian was right. She needed to look at this like a case.

She took another deep breath and brushed the tears away. "Okay. What do we do?"

....................

His eyes snap open and he tries to rise. He grunts in surprise when he feels resistance. His brows furrow. What is happening? Why is he bound to this.... table? He looks around. This is not the place where he normally awakes. He tries to move his arms, but they are shackled down. So are his legs. 

He lets out a growl. "Who dares bind me?" he roars.

A man comes in from another room and walks over to smile down at him. He doesn't recognize the man. He isn't in his database. "I see you have awakened, Detective," the man says, continuing to smile down at him.

Detective? Who does this nutcase think he is? "Who are you and why am I bound?" he asks in an even voice.

"Oh! Carlson must have hit you harder than necessary. You don't remember meeting me?"

"You are not in my memories. Unbind me, immediately!" he demands, pulling on the shackles.

The snide little man chuckles. He is dressed as if he is some sort of doctor. "Ah, Detective Wolfe. Now that I cannot do. We're going to have a look inside your head and see if we can't make some adjustments."

"Why do you call me 'Detective Wolfe'? I am Father Time."

The doctor takes a step backward with a shocked look on his face. He is drawing a needle from his pocket and he glances over his shoulder. He looks like he is afraid. He should be, Father Time thinks to himself as he pulls harder on the bindings.

C-Carlson! Boys!" the strange doctor calls over his shoulder. He is cautiously approaching again, needle in hand.

"Do you intend to use that on me?" Father Time eyes the needle. He doesn't know where he is or why, but he is sure he does not want to be stuck with that needle. He strains to get out of the shackles. 

"Now, n-now. Don't be frightened," the man says as he approaches very slowly.

Father Time gives him a puzzled look. The man is mad. That must be it. He is in the custody of a madman. "Frightened?" he purrs as he continues to watch the mad doctor approach. "I instill fear. I do not experience it."

"Good then. This should be relatively easy for you."

He lunges forward jabbing the needle at Father Time's shoulder. Instead of sinking into flesh, the needle hits metal. Father Time had wrenched his arm up at the last moment and caused the needle to collide with the chain he is bound with. The doctor shrieks as the needle breaks. He tries to back-pedal and scoot away, but his face goes white when he realizes his arm is locked in the vice-like grip of his would-be subject.

The guards the doctor had called for are rushing into the room. Father Time watches everyone slow nearly to a complete stand still. Everything falls silent and the rest of the men look frozen, their expressions stuck. He grips the mad doctor tightly for a moment before releasing his hold. His eye has caught a glimpse of a small key hanging from a cord around the doctor's neck.

Foolish, he thinks to himself. Why do people all make the same kinds of mistakes?

He reaches up and yanks the key, breaking the cord. He takes his time as he doubles his hand back toward his wrist. He is careful not to drop it. If he does, there will be little he can do to free himself. He finds the small hole in the locked shackle and inserts the tiny key. He turns it and feels the satisfying click. The cuff falls away from his wrist and he brings his arm up and around to do the same with the other. He then frees his feet and stands.

He strides over to the men with guns and plucks their weapons from their hands. There are four here, but he knows there are likely more. He glances into the hall, then turns and walks over to the doctor. He readies the first weapon. When he releases them from the time-hold, they all scramble around, looking confused.

He has two rifles under one arm and holds the other two, one in each hand. One is pointed at the doctor and the other is leveled at the guards.

They all stop moving and stand still, looking at him with fear on their faces.

"You." He gestures to one of the guards. "Take those shackles off the bed and cuff your friends. I want you all back to back and cuffed together. If you move too slowly or do anything other than what I told you, I will kill you."

The guard just stares at him with his mouth open. He looks from Father Time to the doctor and back again.

"Move!" Father Time roars and the man jumps.

"Do as he says for the love of god!" the doctor whines.

The guard moves quickly to do as he is told. Father Time notices one of the other guards reaching for some sort of communication device he has clipped to his suit. Time freezes.

When they are released this time, they are all stripped to their underwear, shackled back to back, with the exception of the mad doctor. He pokes a rifle into the quaking man's back. "Move," he growls, pushing him toward the door. The doctor moves.

They head into the hall. "W-where shall I take you? This place is c-crawling with our men. You can't get f-far." The doctor's voice shakes with terror.

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion about what I can or cannot do. Which way is the exit?"

He follows as the frightened man leads him down a hall. He sees two men come around the corner and time freezes. He keeps the doctor with him, in regular time, shutting everything else down around them. The doctor gasps as they pass the two seemingly frozen men. "Remarkable!" he exclaims as he stares at them. He seems fascinated almost to the point that he forgets his predicament.

They continue down another hall and when they come across another group of people, they pass them in the same way.

By this time Father Time has made skin contact with the good doctor. Or should he call him Doctor Kodiak. Russian scientist. The most respected (and dangerous) scientist in the employ of the Russian government. 

Father Time is not programmed to "feel". He doesn't understand the concept of or know how to "care" about things. However his thoughts race as he downloads the information locked away in the doctor's brain. The memories. The past. His sharp mind registers the fact that the doctor is involved in a highly classified project entitled the "Father Time Experiment", or the FTE. He stomachs the flow of information concerning him with a steel composure. There is much he does not know about himself. For the first time in his existence he experiences doubt and he questions his directive. He now understands that he has been programmed into the mind of a man named Jackson Wolfe. He is not his own individual.

It takes a split second for his advanced mind to sort and store the information he obtains from making contact with Doctor Kodiak. The FTE experiment involves the Russian government, but is being conducted in the U.S. The doctor is there under false pretenses and his government rewards him in abundance for his expertise. They have high hopes for a super-soldier American killing machine who will ideally be under their control. There are others involved as well, but the doctor doesn't ask many questions. He simply enjoys the wealth, status, and the idea that the U.S. government is completely unaware of the weapon being created out of their own citizen and on their own soil.

Father Time shakes his head. They are in for a rude awakening. If he knew how to feel, he would pity the poor, misguided lower life-forms. Governments are absolutely useless.

Edited. 

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