Title: Zero Gravity

Characters: ME2 Crew

Rating: High Teen

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone/anything from the forum Mass Effect. Bioware owns Mass Effect and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended. I do not make any profit/money or take any credit.

Summary: It was supposed to be a simple quest to heal. It was supposed to be a simple pick-up. Then they learn - nothing is ever simple when it comes to them.

Timeline: ME2 – AU (Regarding Jack's Recruitment Mission - sorry)

Warning: AU, Violence, little head-canons

Author's Notes: A Tumblr post inspired this where someone had admitted seeing ME2 trailer had made them think Kaidan was going to be the biotic member and my brain ran away with it.

Be warned – it is only TWO parts (at the moment), I may do more but that just depends if I can figure out a direction.

Chapter 1: Static in my Head

Breathe. That was the first thing that came to his mind as he inhaled sharply. His fingers twitched, and he could feel the cool metallic restraints at his wrists.

His skin was chilled, goose bumps rising and the silence was broken by the loud shrill of the alarm.

His eyes snapped open to see the yellow lights swirling.

Intruder is in the building. He looked down to see four soldiers were in front of him with their guns raised, each one of them strategically placed. The area was cold, but he couldn't feel it, smoke made the room hazy and his eyes flickered above him to see the window that was shadowed, but there were someone in there...he could feel it.

Break free. His index finger of his right hand lifted and a static blue light travelled up, connecting with the restraint and it opened.

He smiled, and his face felt strange. When had he smiled last? Before she died...

"Do you think he is awake?" one of the soldiers gestured their head in his direction and he stayed perfectly still, letting them believe what they wanted to believe.

"The docs have him on strong drugs-" Two started

"-Strong enough to knock out a Krogan-" Three interrupted.

"-and assured me that he shouldn't be wakening up any time soon," Two finished, tone patient with a tinge of annoyance.

"If you say so," One returned, not sounding reassured at all.

Smart man. The alarm turned orange, causing the soldiers to stiffen. Four looked up before looking at the others, who was looking back at Four. The leader.

With quick hand gestures, ones that he recognised, the leader told them to get into their places and keep their mouth shut until they discovered what was going on.

Four moved into place in front of him and he almost felt sorry for the soldiers. Maybe he should not hurt them...much.

Nevertheless, they were blocking his way and he wanted out. However, he was patient and he could wait for his chance. Something told him it would not be long.

A crash nearby caught the soldiers' attention and he glanced in the direction almost lazily, he briefly wondered for a moment where the sense of urgency he once honed to perfection had gone. Had they robbed him of his fight or flight instinct? Would he no longer be effective as the soldier he once was?

There was shouting then another crash. Mechanical barking of the FENRIS Mechs – must be desperate if they are loosening the dogs already. Sounds of explosions and gunfire had the soldiers shifting uncertainly toward the door, each looking at the other for answers.

He shifted his stance slowly, getting ready. He was ready, his biotics already humming under his skin, encasing him in that warm buzzing feeling that gave him a high like no other.

More crashing and yelling caused the soldiers to straighten up. It sounded close. Four brought their hand up to their earpiece.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on out there?!" Four barked.

Time to go. He broke his other restraint and the alarm turned red, shrieking continuously.

"Subject Alpha is loose!" One yelled and the other three spun around, raising their guns but it was too late.

He lifted up his hand, a rush of blue glow erupted around him, crashing outward, and the soldiers flew off their feet, slamming backward into the wall.

No regrets. He needed to move - the medic inside him wanted to go to the soldiers, to check he had not killed them - but no time, he needed to go.

Someone was coming for him and he would be damned if he was caught. He turned and let loose of another charged wave. It crashed into the wall, revealing a new path and he took it, darting into the laboratory.

He faltered at the sight of the beds and the tables of syringes, and scalpels, and restraints. The memories of the doctors hovering above him, trying to assure him they were doing it for the good of humanity swam into his mind and he shook it away roughly, breathing heavily.

Moving on now shaky legs, he unlocked the door and stepped out into the darkened hallway. Sparks flickered from the broken lights. Blood splatter stained the wall, accompanied by scorched marks of where explosions occurred.

Looks like someone has an affinity for destruction. He chuckled to himself mirthlessly before continuing. This was no time to remember her, not while she continued to haunt his every movement, questioned his every action.

She was seeped in his skin, left her mark on him and he would forever wear her in his heart, there was no getting rid of a woman like her, no matter how far death took her from him.

He ran, his bare feet slapping the tiled floor, ducking and weaving amongst the rubble that tried to block his escape.

He reached a large room only to hear gunfire. On instinct, he raised his hand and a blue barrier formed around him, blocking the bullets.

He raised his eyes to see the soldiers on the high level above him and growled. He drew his barrier in, raising his other hand and let it go with a crackle. It exploded, catching the soldiers and raising them high into the air before he pulled his hands back.

Following the momentum, the soldiers went flying over his head, their cries loud before the sounds of more shooting drowned them. This time it was accompanied chaos...then the communication system came to life with a crackle.

"Subject Alpha is loose! I repeat: Subject Alpha is loose! All unit, subdue him!"

"Shit, isn't that the dossier we were meant to pick up?" a male voice asked, his voice muffle but he could hear the other man as if they were in the same room together.

"What the hell is going on here?" a woman demanded. "It's a simple pick up, why are they being hostile?"

They were close, he could sense it yet he had to stop for a moment, closing his eyes. There was a familiar...aura...almost as if...

His eyes snapped open and he continued. He was losing his mind; they had drugged him too much, put him in cold-sleep too many times. He needed to get out before he fully snapped, and if he was going to snap, they were not going to enjoy the results.

But he sure as hell would.

Breathe. He took in a deep breath, slowly releasing it before pushing another door open and entering the hallway.

Mostly unscathed, he got lucky. Maybe he would not bump into anyone down here, the distant sounds of gunfire still behind him but it sounded like he was moving away from it. Good.

He quickly but quietly moved his way down the hallway, his eyes sharp for any signs of enemies, his blood rushing, his heart thudding and his biotics humming softly.

It was strange, he had been strong before he came here but it felt like he was stronger, that they had changed him somehow.

His hand went to the back of his head, his fingers brushing against the nape and he felt his amp. His fingertips tracing the pattern, he could discern that he was still using an L-2 Biotic Amp.

So - his biotics itself had gotten stronger...interesting. He would not mind getting his hands on his reports, to find out just what the doctors did to him while he was between cold-sleep and the heavy drugs that could knock out a Krogan.

He felt good, and he was not sure if that was a good thing.

There was a tapping sound and he stopped in his tracks, cocking his head and closing his eyes to discern what the sound was and where it was coming from. A moment later, his eyes opened and he ran just as the wall behind him exploded inward.

"Subject Alpha is on the run!" They must be tracking him somehow. He flung his hand backward, sending another blue wave of energy and he heard screams and shouts but he did not stop, he could not stop, he was near freedom and he intended to grab it with both hands.

He owed it to her to escape, to find a way to move on with his life, because he had no doubt that she would come back and kill him for fucking it up.

Why would I kill you? He breathed heavily, shaking his head. You were a reason for me to live, to fight.

She is dead and he needed to accept that, no matter what his mind may say.

The door in front of him was heavy steel and he knew that he had no chance pushing it open. He lifted his hand, putting all of his energy into the biotic push.

The door flew off its hinges, flying through the air and crushed the group of mechs that had taken up the centre of the room.

There was stunned silence for a moment as he burst out of the hallway before the guards snapped into action, shouting orders and raising their guns.

His hand came up, his barrier brilliant blue as bullets flew hard and fast at him.

"I said subdue him!" the voice shouted over the communication system. "We need him for our experiments! Do not kill him! I repeat, do not kill-who the hell are you?!"

Kaidan let out a scream as he launched his barrier outward. The soldiers yelled as they were caught up in the blast, falling off the high rise and falling on to the floor, the ones on the floor were lifted up, slamming into walls and crates.

Breathing heavily, he brought a hand to his head, throbbing starting up behind his eyes, as wetness dripped from his nose. With his other hand, he wiped it away and spotted the scarlet red liquid over his fingers, and groaned.

Remember your control. He gritted his teeth, bunching his hands into fists before gunshots registered over the communicator.

"Find him," it did not belong to the leader. It belonged to the woman he heard before. A simple pick up.

They were coming for him. Pushing his pain back, he started running again; he needed a way off the facility, away from this planet, away from his pain. But where could he go?

He once said she made him feel human, and she took him to her bed, found her way into his heart and he lost her, leaving behind a hollow heart.

The sirens were beginning to shriek, causing his head to throb insistently but he recognised the hallway he was now running down.

It was the same hallway he walked when he arrived here, the spaceport was nearby; he could feel it.

He reached the hanger, darting in and saw the familiar sight of the large viewing window that revealed the ships. Shuttles and small ships in docking stations further down, he could use one of them to escape.

He had to be careful...he could not let them track...

No way.

He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the ship beyond the glass. He recognised her, had seen her two years ago, had travelled within her, found love within her.

No – she had been destroyed, you watched her go down in flames. You watched her go down in flames.

A gun shot made his head snap around to see the soldier, who had attempted to sneak up on him with a knife, fall to the ground and he tensed.

"Finally," a female voice spoke up, breathing heavily. "Who knew a simple pick up would turn into a chase."

"You okay?" he stiffened at the sound of that voice. No matter how long it had been, no matter how long the doctors drugged and put him in cold sleep, he would never forget that voice.

He turned around to see her standing there, dressed in armour and armed to the teeth – as usual.

Her grey-blue eyes narrowed when she saw his face before they widened in shock and her hands, still holding her pistol, lowered sharply. Those soft pink lips he had dreamt of parted in disbelief and she shook her head causing her dark brown hair to ripple with her movement.

"K-Kaidan?" she stepped forward.

It's not her. He growled and flared blue.

TBC

One thing – does Kaidan seem out of character? Alternatively, could I use this and pass it off as an ME3-Kaidan after he discovered Sanctuary (cause – no lie – he was kinda hot when he got all dark like...)

Gah – I really need to figure out what the hell I am doing when I am writing.