Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Rating: PG-13

"Tempest?"

To say that Grinder and Fidget were surprised to see him would have been an understatement to end all end-all understatements.

Tempest stepped from the entrance of the hold, grinning coldly and raking a hand through his wild, sun-bleached hair. "What's up?" his smug expression was as terrifying as it was ridiculous. Instinctively, Fidget moved closer to Grinder.

Tempest stepped back from the opening, filling the hold with light. "Join me above, won't ya?" he asked.

Neither of them moved.

The menacing look left Tempest's face, and he shot them a singularly irritated look. "Get up here," he ordered, his face darkening. "Now."

When he pointed his lightening rod at them, Grinder thought it best not to argue. "Come on, Fidge," he muttered. He boosted her up and climbed up himself, using a series of narrow metal strips for handholds and footholds.

They found themselves on the main deck of Tempest's weatherplane. He was alone, and the plane appeared to be flying on autopilot.

Grinder looked sideways at Fidget. There were two of them, and one of Tempest. If they could possibly overtake him and gain control of the plane…..

Fidget nodded slightly.

As a unit, they leapt at Tempest and grabbed him. Fidget sat on him, trying to pin him down, and Grinder struggled to twist his arms behind his back. "What the-!"

Tempest did a surprisingly agile half-twist and managed to get a hold of his lightning rod. "Don't…move…another…step," he wheezed. Grinder and Fidget, still on the floor, froze. Grinder shot Fidget an apologetic glance. Sorry, luv. Then he shivered. The coolness of the cabin was an indication that they were flying at a very high altitude, and he was still shirtless, having left his sweater behind to cover Diana.

Tempest struggled to his feet, his dignity gone. "Why, you little-" he stared at both of them. "You realize that I am under orders from Dr. X to kill you both by electrocution." He pointed them both to a corner and shackled them to the wall with steel manacles placed there apparently for that purpose.

Grinder and Fidget exchanged a startled look. "So," Grinder finally asked, "X wants to add murder to his charges when he's finally brought in by the CIA? And he sent us a hit man who's barely out of his Pampers?"

Tempest turned scarlet, and Grinder knew that he was on the verge of one of his famous tantrums. "I should kill you now!"

"That so?" Fidget had caught on to Grinder's game. "I suppose that X would punish you for being such a vewy bad wittle boy if you didn't obey his every command, right?" If I'm going to die, might as well do it shooting off my mouth.

By this time, Tempest had turned a dark purple. He shot off a bolt of lightning so bright that it momentarily filled the cabin, blinding all three of them. "Shut up!" he screamed.

Fidget smirked and spit her gum out on the floor. "Pathetic."

Tempest moved at her as if to hit her with his rod, but instead of exploding in rage, he froze. A crafty smile began to form over his face.

Uh-oh.

Tempest walked over to his instrument panel, rod still pointed at them. "Don't get any funny ideas," he warned, typing in a series of commands. "I can fry you to the consistency of an onion ring with one jolt, you know."

"What are you doing, Tempest?" Fidget couldn't resist another comment, despite Grinder's warning look. "Need another potty break?"

"I will ignore your so-called attempt at wit," Tempest said with an injured air. He calmly typed in the last command and leaned back against the panel, that too-smug smile still on his face. "Why don't you two take a seat? Our ride shouldn't take that long- I've fired up the jets."

"And where are you taking us, captain?" Grinder asked, sarcastically, pulling on his restraints. The effort proved futile- he wasn't going anywhere.

"You'll find out."

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The first sensation that Alexis Sinclair felt when she came back to consciousness was as if she'd been thrown into a pool of icy water. She reached out and touched her legs. Her skin was cool, yet dry.

Oh, God…as she struggled to come back to herself, to open eyelids that now felt like molten lead, she struggled to remember what she'd just been through…

The nightclub…the ambush…the fight…Alex!

Where was Alex? She struggled to sit up, and then gasped when a rush of cool air hit her bare chest. She opened her eyes, squinted for a minute in the dim light that surrounded her, and blinked, then looked down.

She was sitting on a bed covered in clean white linen, completely naked except for the sheet that had slid down her body when she'd sat up. Instinctively, she drew her legs in and wrapped her arms around her upper body, shivering. The small, sparsely furnished room was cold. She pushed the sheet aside and examined herself. Except for a slightly sore spot on the inside of her left cheek, she could see no bodily damage.

"Alex?" she called in a shaky voice. Where was Alex and where were her clothes? She vaguely remembered being ambushed and fighting….then nothing. And then she woke up here, in this strange little room. She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Then she heard a noise that made her freeze.

It was a rustling in the room, and then a sigh, as if someone had shifted in sleep. She grabbed the sheet and quickly wound it around herself, heart pounding. She'd never felt so…vulnerable in all her life. "Who's there?" she called, shakily.

"Miss Sinclair." The voice was low, cultured, and overwhelmingly polite…. A figure emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room, and she caught her breath.

She'd seen his face in countless CIA debriefs, on "Wanted" posters, in newspapers….

It was Dr. X.

He was dressed in his usual attire, a long, black cape covering most of his person. He tilted his head to the side, studying her, and his laser eye caught the dim light and gleamed. He smiled.

Alexis shivered, no longer just because of the cold, but she managed to keep her voice steady when she spoke to him. "Where is Alex, X?"

A faint gleam of admiration appeared in his one good eye, but he hid it quickly. "Don't you want to know why you're here?" he began to move closer to her.

Alexis remembered her training and resisted the urge she had to pull back, to scuttle away. She swallowed. "Where is my partner?"

X acted as if he hadn't even heard her question. "The two of you walked into quite a trap, my dear." He tilted his head and looked at her. "Such shoddy work I would expect from Team Extreme, but the CIA? Tsk."

The CIA! Alexis thought suddenly, her terror abating slightly. Her tracking device was sure to be working, and with Desmond on the team…they'd have her out of here in no time…she hoped… "Where are my…I mean, who took my…"

X looked at her face, took in her near-naked body with a glance that seemed to penetrate the sheet, and…smiled. "Ah, yes. Forgive our rudeness in taking your clothing- we couldn't have any trackers here, could we?"

Alexis wrapped her arms around herself, protectively. To her horror, X moved towards her and sat on the bed, so close that she could feel his breath on the side of her neck. He looked her over once again, then smiled, obviously thrilled with the fact that he was making her so uncomfortable. "You're in very good shape, I might add…but don't worry," he said, unwittingly alleviating her greatest fear. "My men and I…were perfect….gentlemen."

Oh, God…Alexis hoped she wouldn't disgrace herself by throwing up. And that sore spot on her cheek was beginning to ache even more. She reached up and touched the cheek.

X noticed and spoke. "Ah, yes. I nearly forgot to tell you. We had to yank out one of your back molars. The Novocain must be wearing off."

Tentatively, Alexis slipped her tongue to the back of her mouth. Sure enough, she felt a slick, empty spot where her tooth was supposed to be, and tasted the coppery taste of her own blood.

"Tracking device," X said, casually. "They probably told you it was a cavity."

With a sickening rush, Alexis remembered the medical examination she'd been given when she'd first joined the CIA. How they'd found a "cavity" in her supposedly-perfect teeth, and how they'd had to do a root canal….

But if they went through all the trouble of removing my trackers, which could mean…, she steeled herself and looked Dr. X straight in the eye. "What do you want from me, X?" Then came the hard question. "Are you going to kill me?"

X smirked and lifted her chin, examining her face with absentminded detail. "The thought crossed my mind, especially when you shot one of my most valued henchmen," he said with a shrug. "But…I have other plans for you, and for Mr. Mann."

"Alex is still alive?"

A shadow crossed X's face. "Get up," he ordered, jerking her to her feet.

Startled by his sudden movement and change in attitude, Alexis stumbled, falling against him. She recoiled instantly, but he pushed her away just as fast, then yanked her across the room as he headed for the door. "I don't care if you break your neck, Miss Sinclair," he said, dryly. "Just keep walking."

Alexis made an attempt to tighten her bedsheet around herself while she walked, but X grew impatient with her efforts and yanked it away from her, throwing it on the floor and prodding her onward with his missile arm. "You won't need that where we're going," he snapped. "Keep moving."

The two walked through the door, which led to another small room. This room looked like a doctor's office, with an examination table, a stool, and various medicines and neatly wrapped needles scattered all over a desk. Dr. X indicated the examination table. "Hop on." He noticed her shivering. "Oh, for goodness' sake," he said impatiently, then took off his cape and tossed it to her. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. She'd rather freeze to death.

"Foolish woman. Have it your way." He spoke into a communicator on the wrist of his missile arm. "I need a doctor in here, stat."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a man appeared in a white lab coat, a stethoscope draped around his neck. He took Alexis in with a single glance. "Lay down!" he barked in short, heavily accented English.

Alexis did so, and consequently was subjected to the most invasive clinical examination she'd ever had, all while X looked on. The man listened to her heart, drew her blood, urine and saliva, prodded every crack and crevice of her body, and looked into her eyes, ears, nose and throat. By the time he finished, she was no longer cold- she was shaking, with humiliation. There was no part of her body he'd left untouched or untested, and his hands were as cold and hard as steel.

The doctor washed his hands, dried them, and tossed Alexis a cotton hospital gown, which she gratefully pulled over her head. Then he walked over to conference with Dr. X.

"Is she a suitable subject?" X asked.

The doctor nodded and answered, still in his heavily accented English. "She is beyond suitable. She is in top medical condition, and is very strong. You will have no problems with her."

"And her ability to…be fertile?"

"Her system is perfect, sir."

X nodded. "What of our other…guest?"

That's Alex!....Alexis concentrated harder on trying to listen to their puzzling conversation.

"In spite of your beatings, he is in top physical shape." The doctor shook his head. "Once we tended to his wounds…it was nearly impossible for us to hold him down. I heave never seen such a man."

X nodded, as if he doctor was confirming what he'd known all along. "And his teammates?"

Tempest is taking care of them. We shouldn't have any problems form that direction. One got away, however."

"Which one?" X barked, looking up sharply.

"The black-haired one. He was in a getaway car."

X cursed. "We'll see to him later. See that Tempest carries out his duties to the pilot and the girl."

Oh, dear God…he was talking about Desmond and Fidget! And I can do nothing for them here……she squeezed her eyes shut and offered up a quick prayer.

She didn't know what X had planned for her…but she knew that it was something…huge. Something mind-boggling….

And from the look in his eye, she and Alex would find out what it was, soon.

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"Yes, I do have them. Yes, I will be sure to kill them immeadiately."

Grinder and Fidget exchanged worried glances. From what they could hear of Tempest's side of a conversation with Dr. X, things were not looking up for them. Not at all.

Tempest turned off his communicator and turned to them, that sneer still on his face. "Time to get off," he said with a smirk. He began to lower the plane. When he reached a certain altitude, he opened a hatch on the side.

"Where are we, Tempest?" Grinder asked.

Tempest smirked again. "Antarticia. Best vacation spot in the world."

Antartica…Grinder's mouth went dry. He had to be lying. Or was he? Grinder glanced outside and saw nothing but the bright, white glare of unmarked snow, and even from the other side of the cabin, he could feel the cold lick around his bare torso. We're going to die, he thought with a sick finality.

Tempest secured the ship in a hovering position and walked over to them, unshackling them from the wall. Fidget and Grinder waited in dread for the bolts of electricity that would end their lives, but to their surprise, they didn't come. Instead, Tempest prodded them over to the now-open hatch.

"Feel the cold?" he mocked. "You get off here, kids."

When they looked at him in shock, he grinned. "Yeah. I know I was supposed to kill you on the spot…but it's much more fun just to drop you off here."

As they stared at the snow in horror, Tempest lifted his rods, and an incredible snowstorm began, filling the air with flying flakes, turning the previously clear night sky into a sea of gray. "I'll give you about thirty minutes before you're dead," he said, casually. "That little blizzard should cover your bodies pretty well."

Fidget froze, horrified at his words, but Grinder acted quickly, twisting and leaping onto Tempest. He wasn't fast enough. Tempest took one of his lightning rods and slammed it into him with all the force in his body, then watched in grim satisfaction as he jerked, stumbled, and fell out of the plane, falling limply into the snowy gray darkness below.

Tears sprang to Fidget's eyes. She pressed her hands to her mouth and stared at him in revulsion, trembling.

"You sick little fuck," she hissed, eyes blazing.

For a second, Tempest flinched. Then his eyes narrowed, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Bye-bye," he said.

And he pushed her out.