The safehouse cabin smelled like pine sap, cold wood, and blood that had dried too quickly. The adrenaline was gone now—leaving only exhaustion, trembling muscles, and a silence thick enough to choke on. Delilah shut the bathroom door behind her and knelt beside the tub where Laura sat curled into herself like an animal.
The scent—that scent—still clung to the girl's skin. It made her pupils widen, and her shoulders twitch at every droplet of water.
"Easy, kid," Delilah murmured, slowly wringing out a warm cloth. "It's coming off. You're okay."
Laura bared her teeth, breathing fast, but she didn't attack. She didn't lash out. Her hands—still cuffed in front of her for safety—tightened and relaxed in small spasms.
As the water rinsed over her arms, the tension bled away. The chemical markers Rice had used to trigger her berserker conditioning were fading. Her breathing slowed. Her eyes—feral green and ringed with trauma—focused for the first time since the facility.
When the last traces washed down the drain, Laura exhaled.
A small, fragile sound.
And she looked at Delilah—not as a weapon—but as a person.
Sarah burst into tears at the sight of her daughter's clarity returning, burying her face in her hands. Delilah squeezed her shoulder.
"She's coming back," Delilah whispered. "Little by little."
When they emerged from the cramped basement bathroom, Mack stood in the living room waiting, a row of duffel bags lined up at his feet. His trench coat was soaked from the snow, his face drawn tight with the kind of fatigue only guilt or resentment could carve as he lit a cigarette.
"Everyone gets one," he said gruffly. "Civilian clothes, burner wallets, IDs. All courtesy of the bastard boss."
Delilah didn't miss the bitterness in his voice.
Taskmaster lifted a bag with two fingers. "These forged or stolen?"
"Forged," Mack said. "Better than stolen. Clean."
Sable folded her arms. "And these identities will get us across the border?"
"If you don't act like assassins on a mission, yes." Mack's deadpan stare swept across Taskmaster, Domino, then lingered on Sable. "The IDs are airtight. Moreau wanted it that way. Now you'll all be escorting these two this address in New York."
Sable narrowed her eyes. "You keep saying 'you' like you won't be joining us."
"I won't," Mack replied. "Someone needs to wipe our prints off the safehouse and the cabin. If I cross the border with you now, then the cleanup doesn't get done. Besides, our fearless leader wants me to handle one more small thing for him. No need to ask, it's all hush hush."
Domino shrugged. "Sounds like a you problem. Anyways you have no idea the shit we had to go through. I thought we needed to kill the targets to keep these two safe, but you tell us last minute there's a bomb underneath the facility and those two have the codes."
Taskmaster grunted in agreement.
Sable wasn't finished. "This wasn't part of the contract. We should have received all the intel before we agreed. Luckily taskmaster and Delilah drew Rice's attention and made him feel secure enough not to activate the bomb. We completed the objective—rescue the girl and the mother. Why the extended detour to New York?"
Mack ran a hand through his hair, visibly irritated. "Hey, I only learned it a few hours before you guys. As for the New York road trip, it's because the Canadian authorities will comb the forest by morning. They'll be hunting Sarah and Laura. New York is the safest city on this coast, with the deepest underworld to disappear into. Moreau set this up so they wouldn't end up right back in another lab."
Then, pointedly, "Talk to the leader. She's the one who works for him."
All eyes shifted to Delilah.
Delilah straightened, calm and sure. "He's right. Luc never intended for them to stay in Canada, and as for the bomb, I learned about it when you all did. I can only assume he learned of it later or feared that you'd refuse the job. We'll just ask for more money as hazard pay. The IDs aren't a trap—they're a lifeline. We're getting Sarah and Laura somewhere they can start over, without surveillance and without any Weapon X knock-off hunting them."
Sarah's voice cracked. "Are you—are you sure this isn't leading us into another… another cage?"
Delilah knelt, looking her in the eyes. "Luc doesn't cage people. He bargains. If you say no to whatever he offers, he won't force you. But you're safer with us than you are alone out here. Trust me on that at least."
Sarah swallowed hard. Laura silently pressed closer to her side.
"Okay," she whispered. "We'll go."
The five jeeps behind the cabin steamed in the cold air, engines warming. Sable gave crisp orders to the Wild Pack.
"When you cross the border, regroup in Symkaria. No detours. No stops. I'll collect the payment and return as soon as possible."
Her soldiers saluted and peeled off, leaving two jeeps for the mission team.
The first jeep had Delilah driving with Domino in the passenger seat. Sarah and Laura were also in the back seat. Originally, they wanted them each to go with one vehicle, but Sarah didn't feel comfortable leaving Laura by herself.
The second jeep had Sable driving and Taskmaster as a passenger.
As they pulled away from the cabin, Mack stood in the doorway, trench coat snapping in the wind, phone already in hand as he threw away the cigarette. He then began the process of erasing them from Canadian soil.
Delilah watched him shrink in the rear-view mirror.
"Hope he survives the clean-up and his secret mission. He's grumpy but a good middleman and broker. He's more involved than any other I've ever worked with. Hope he gets a raise," Domino said lightly.
Nine hours later, the group made it to the US-Canada Border.
The crossing was uneventful.
The guards glanced at IDs. Glanced at the tired faces they'd seen often in people driving across the border. Finally, they glanced at the backseat where Laura pretended to sleep, head resting on her mother's shoulder, then waved them through.
Delilah felt her lungs unclench for the first time in over twenty-four hours.
They were home free now.
Following the address given by Mack they eventually arrived at a Victorian home that loomed at the end of the quiet block in Newark—painted pale blue with white trim, expansive porch, warm lights glowing in the windows.
Robert Hughes stood outside waiting, arms hugged tight against the cold. When he saw Delilah step out of the jeep, he sagged in relief, one hand covering his heart. Now he'd won't upset Luc Moreau, who had suddenly called him up a few days ago, asking him to purchase a furnish a house for him.
"Oh, thank God. Ah, I mean, hello, my name is Robert. I'm an associate of Mr. Luc Moreau. It's a pleasure to see you again, miss."
Domino hopped out behind her. "Aww, Robbie, nice to meet you."
Robert flinched at her grin. "Please don't call me that."
Before Delilah could reply, a hooded teenager jogged past on the sidewalk, face tilted down, just enough of a glance to register them without seeming to look at them. None of the mercenaries spared him a second thought.
Laura's nose twitched as he passed, as if catching a scent she couldn't place. But that moment soon too passed.
Delilah.
Sarah.
Laura.
Sable.
Taskmaster.
Domino.
His eyes flickered—bright, calculating, far too knowing.
He kept jogging.
Two blocks away, he removed the hood.
Ethan.
His expression sharpened into a satisfactory grin, looking at all the pop-ups from the system.
[Abilities:]
S-Rank: [N/A]
A-Rank: [N/A]
B-Rank: [N/A]
C-Rank: [N/A]
D-Rank: [N/A]
E-Rank: [Supercomputer Mind]
F-Rank: [Superhuman Intuitive Invention]
[Ability Detected: Superhuman Condition (Strength, Durability, Healing) (Delilah) – C-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Advanced Combat Skill (Delilah) – F-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Advanced Genetic Engineering & Cloning Expertise (Sarah Kinney) – F-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Regenerative Healing Factor (Beta Level) (Laura Kinney/X-23) – C-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Bone Claws and Super Senses (Beta Level) (Laura Kinney/X-23) – E-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Enhanced Reflexes & Predator Instinct (Laura Kinney) – E-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Tactical Command & Mercenary Leadership (Silver Sable) – F-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Advanced Combat Skill (Silver Sable) – F-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Photographic Reflexes (Taskmaster) – F-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Instant Combat Skill Replication (Taskmaster) – E-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Advanced Combat Skill (Taskmaster) – F-Rank]
[Ability Detected: Probability Manipulation (Alpha Level) (Domino) – B-Rank]