The team had been silent for a long few minutes. Since they had discovered Ray's note, it had been like this.

A little 'bing!' interrupted the silence, and all eyes turned to Garcia. She looked over and noticed a message had popped up.

If you want to see 'Ray' again, be at the dock at midnight.

There was no signature, nothing to tell them who sent it. Garcia tried to track it, but it seems it had been from her own system.

"Are we really going to follow those instructions?" JJ asked.

Hotch looked conflicted. "The director said that we were getting too attached to her. I believe that's true."

"We're not going to go after her then, are we." Prentiss said that as a statement, not a question.

"No, we are. She's just a victim, kidnapped by the people who have mistreated her. It's our job to bring the unsub, or unsubs, to justice." Hotch's eyes were cold.

As Midnight approached, I waited for him to sedate me again. He told me that someone was coming, but he never told me who. But I had a good feeling that I knew what was coming. I had told them not to. I had hoped they wouldn't come.

They had to prove me wrong, didn't they?

I grunted as the Erasers tied a rope around my waist, pinning my wings and arms to my torso. They were effective, I had to admit ... But I could still kick them ... I hoped.

They dragged me off the boat, which made me want to kiss the ground. I hated that thing. So rocky, so unsteady ... I felt like I would fall down.

"Almost midnight. They'd better show up." His voice was a growl, and he glanced at this watch.

I started to hope they weren't coming. Maybe, just maybe ...

Then I saw the black cars in the distance.

The atmosphere instantly became tense as the team came out.

"Hoyt Thacker?" Agent Hotchner asked.

He stepped forward, the white labcoat still making me freak out. I could sense the needles he had stashed, hidden behind the cloth. "And you are Aaron Hotchner, isn't that right?" His lips twisted into a grin only a crazy scientist could manage. "It's such a shame 26 couldn't kill you."

"And the attacks you've ordered your hybrids to do, was she 'programmed' to kill us?" Hotch asked.

"She was nothing but a mistake." He sighed, shrugging. "I doubted she'd survive this long, but I thought I'd at least make her feel useful."

"Liar." I felt the claws of an Eraser pierce my leg, where the bullet had gone through. I knew JJ had noticed the flash of pain in my otherwise detatched eyes. She whispered something to Hotch.

"You didn't do much to cover up your tracks. Why?" Hotch asked.

He chuckled. The last thing I heard before an Eraser knocked me out.

Hoyt continued after he chuckled. "Because I know as well as you do that nobody will survive this." He cackled maniacally, abruptly cut off as a gunshot rang through the air.

That set the wolf-hybrids into some form of attack. They rushed the team with startling speed, their claws glinting in the moonlight.

While they were occupied with the hybrids, Sofia came out from the shadows, a needle glinting in her hand. Once she injected the liquid into the bird-mutant, she merely tossed the needle into the ocean and waited for the mutant to wake.

It didn't take long for 26 to wake up, which made Sofia smile faintly. "You're awake."

"JJ ...?" the mutant rasped. "But ... the others ..."

"Hurry ... Penelope ha-"

'Sofia' crumpled to the ground, an evil grin on her face.

The hybrids had suddenly collapsed, and Hotch's gun was still aimed at the spot where Sofia had been.

Ray slowly got up from the crumpled and discarded position, her eyes widening with horror. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

"You." She stood up, her wings slowly unfurling. "How dare you." She turned to the agents, pure hatred and rage in her eyes.

Her shriek rang through the night air, making the agents flinch at the shrill screech.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

She rushed toward the agents, aiming for Hotch. Her face was distorted with rage, pain, and the lust to kill. Hotch tried his best to fend her off, until another gunshot rang through the air.

She gasped in pain, taking to the sky. Her eyes had a moment of recognition, but they went back to their rage-filled state.

"I hope she'll forgive us for this." Morgan raised and shot his gun. He clipped her wing, sending her into the ocean.

I felt my body settle on the bottom of the ocean, the rocks slowly digging into my flesh.

The wounds stung like all get out. The salt water made the bullet wounds throb.

I had an idea that someone had slipped something into my system. It was when JJ told me to warn Penelope. Nobody on the team, on a case, called anybody by their first names. So this had to be their new weapon, some drug that makes you see the lab people and experiments as friends and friends as lab people and experiments.

I had no idea how long I had been underwater. My lungs weren't burning, but I couldn't see any big bubbles ... What was going on? Was I also ... part fish? I slowly swam back to the surface, barely even gasping for air. I could hear frantic shouting, and the thumping of a helicopter. I slowly worked over to the pier, hauling myself up. "Are you looking for someone?" I asked, failing miserably at disguising my voice.

Six pairs of eyes settled on me. I slowly let out a breath and stepped stood on the pier. "Sorry, just thinking some things through. How long was I underwater?" I tried not to grin, but I couldn't stop a small smile from my face.

"About half an hour." Hotch's voice was almost the same, but I could hear a hint of relief.

"Oh, a record ... I've never known I could breathe underwater. Maybe I'm also part fish somewhere." I sighed, suddenly noticing how cold the night air was on my wet clothes and skin.

"Come on, let's get you dried off." JJ put an arm around my shoulders, leading me away.

I planted my feet, pushing against JJ with my weight and strength. "No. Are they all dead?" I asked.

"Yes. However, there's still a few people out there. I'll fill you in on the details when you're all dried off and not about to catch hypothermia." JJ led me into one of the vehicles.

~*Timeskip*~

"So, you're saying you're looking for a Jeb Batchelder who's the closest thing you have to the head honcho of the experiments they run on innocent children and animals that hate the scientists?" I think that's the longest sentence I'd ever said.

"Correct. I want you to join Agent Walker's force for the time being." Hotch handed me a little file. The tab said Anne Walker, so I opened it up. The face of a woman stared back at me, along with information on her. "And there's a possibility you could run into one of Hoyt's lackeys."

I grinned; it sounded like my kind of thing. "So, I'm your undercover agent, is that right?" I asked.

"Sir, she interviewed five people at the Navel Health Clinic, and there's a sixth, a Nick Ride, who's being treated. The problem is, there's nothing about him but the fact that he's in the hospital.

"Well, we did need to get Ray's wounds looked at ..." Hotch nodded.

"No." I crossed my arms, trying to ignore my throbbing wing. "There is no way in Hell that I'd willingly go into a hospital."

Morgan gave me a stern look. "Listen. We're trying out best to help you, but we can't help you heal with wounds that are still bleeding."

I shot him a glare right back. "And I'm saying I'd rather die than go back to a place full of knives and needles and tubes." Yeah, my leg was still hurting, as was my side where I was shot down by the Erasers.

"Did you know that an wound left untreated can get thousands of bacteria that can infect and possibly kill?" Reid spouted the fact like it should change my mind.

"I said no. And I mean. N. O." I turned my back to them, like a little kid.

"You know, I think she's mature in a lot of ways, but she's still immature with arguing."

"I heard that!" I snapped. "I- Put me down!"

Morgan had picked me up. "Sorry, sweet pea, but you're going to get those wounds treated, whether we have to drag you the two blocks or not."

I pushed against him with all my might. "No!" I cried. "You insane bastard! I'd rather die than get poked with a needle or get a tube shoved into my arm or have tests run on! I'm not a science experiment!"

"You were, weren't you?" Reid asked as we stepped outside.

I gave him a glare that made the scientists cringe in fear. One of pure undiluted hatred. Reid seemed unfazed, which made me even more angry.

~*An Hour Later*~

"The good news is that there were no fractures or anything of the sort. Just some muscle damage that should take a few weeks to heal, with physical therapy, of course."

I gave the doctor on duty a glare. "Can I go now?" I grumbled.

"Not yet. Are you related to six kids, ranging from-"

"Why can't I go? I'm crawling up the walls!" I whined. "At least let me talk to my guardians!"

He sighed. "Fine. But only one. I'll have a nurse get them."

I sighed, replying with the one name that popped into my head at first. "Hotchner."

Before two minutes passed, Hotch came into the exam room. "Is everything all right?" he asked first.

"Besides the fact that I'm about to make a beeline for the nearest exit out of this hellhole, I'm actually great." I gestured to the stitches on my wing. "They sewed me up, quite literally."

The doctor on duty cleared his throat. "I'd like to know more about her, since she's the second avain hybrid I've treated today."

Hotch ignored the doctor and handed me something in an envelope. I gave him a curious look, and he nodded. I slowly opened it and grinned. "Thanks, sir." Without pulling the item in the envelope out, I shifted uncomfortably. The smells were enough to drive anyone crazy. "Can I go now? Outside, that is." I gave the doctor my pleading look.

He sighed. "Fine. Just don't get hurt again, if you don't like this place."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Trouble usually finds me first, and I normally don't go looking for it." I exited the room as fast as humanly possible. Once in the waiting room, I longed to bolt out of here, get away from this horrible place. But one look from Morgan and I knew I had no choice. Even with my strength, he'd probably just drag me to where I was supposed to go.

With trembling hands, I nodded. "Where am I going?" I asked.

"Down the hallway to the left, then a right. It should be on the left." Morgan stood up, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Just be careful, all right? Use what Hotch gave you to contact any of us if you get in trouble."

"I'll show you the way." Reid offered.

I shook my head. "I'll be fine. If I happen to stumble across something-or someone- suspicious, I'll let you know." I gave them a smile and walked down the hallways they told me. It didn't take me long to get to the door, but I still hesitated. What if this was just a trap? Well, I could always run down the hallway again ... or something.

I opened the door, stepping into the room.

A/N: Thanks for reading Cracking the Mutant Mind! Sadly, this is probably the end of Cracking the Mutant mind. I will continue this as a normal fic, not an xover, probably under the title 'Undercover Mutant' or something like that. I'll update once I've put out the first chapter!

~MLA