Shalimar groaned, slowly picking herself up off the cell block floor. Behind her she could hear the bars being shut and locked by the guards who'd just tossed her inside.

"Hey.. Back so soon?" Came a voice from across the cell. It was Marcus coming towards her. Looking down at his pants she knew he was eager to get back to where they had left off.

"Go to hell." Shalimar spat, wincing as she felt a hand entwine into her hair, yanking her onto her feet.

"I thought we discussed this talking back thing already." Marcus roared, slapping her hard across the face.

Shalimar remained quiet, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. She kept as quiet as she could when the large man pushed her roughly to the floor, didn't make a sound when he ripped off her clothing. She bit her lip roughly when he entered her, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't hold back the scream of pain.

"Hah! I warned you bitch. No-ones ever been able to take me comfortably." Marcus half laughed half snarled at her.

When he was done, the other two inmates quickly took up their turns, but by that time, Shalimar had given up any thought of struggle or resistance. She just prayed to god that she would have the strength to kill these men when she was rescued.

When the ordeal was over, Shalimar slowly rolled onto her side, pulling her knees up into her chest. Her feral DNA had kept her conscious despite the agonizing pain, and all she wanted right then was to slip into the dark void of sleep. Her mind flashed back and forth between the events that had just occurred, and of the visit her teammates had had with her. She thought of Emma and the connection the two of them shared. While the others could only speculate, Emma knew the truth. While she wanted nothing more then to be rescued, she just hoped that the psionic wouldn't do something stupid.

*****

The next morning Shalimar was woken up by the sounds of a struggle outside the cell. Someone was shouting loudly, or were they crying? She tried to ignore whoever it was, desperately needing the extra sleep. But the sounds were getting closer, and the voice was becoming more and more familiar.

"Oh dear god!" She shouted, bolting to her feet, not caring that she was still naked. She struggled to see down the length of hallway past the other cells, trying to identify the figures that were heading her way. "Oh no.. Emma!" Shalimar cried out, gripping the bars tightly. She suddenly sensed bodies behind her and spun around on her heels to face Marcus and the other two.

"What's this? Another freak for us to play with?" The largest man grinned, cracking his knuckles.

Outside in the hallway, Emma was frantically trying to get free from the death grips the guards had on her. Her head swam, she couldn't remember getting caught using her powers to infiltrate the prison. All she knew was the searing pain in her forehead and the fact that she had to get away. She cried out again as the guard to her left swung his club, catching her behind the ear, stunning her momentarily.

Inside the cell, Shalimar paced back and forth in front of the entrance to their cell. She had to do something. Emma couldn't be in here. She had to protect her friend from these men. She ran up to the bars when the guards got closer. "Hey! Let her go all right! She's not a mutant! You've got an innocent person!"

"Shut her up!" One of the guards yelled into the cell. Suddenly Shalimar felt herself falling backwards to the floor, her lip split and bleeding freely down her chin.

The door to the cell opened and Emma was tossed inside. "You three have until lunch, then we rotate you out of here." The guard spoke, locking the cell door before leaving.

"Oh man, Marcus is going to have fun with this one.." The inmate spoke, eagerly rubbing his hands together.

Shalimar had regained herself by then and frantically crawled over and in front of her sobbing friend, desperate to shield her from anything the men had planned. "Don't you dare touch her you bastards!" She hissed.

"Awwww, isn't that touching. She thinks she can protect her little freak friend." With a carefully aimed blow, Marcus sent Shalimar to the floor with a sickening thud. When she was out of the way, he moved in towards Emma, grabbing the frightened girl by the hair and pulling her across the dirty cell floor.

Emma cried out as she felt her hair being pulled from it's scalp. She tried to struggle by the pain was too much for her. "Shalimar!" She cried, reaching her arms out towards her downed friend.

"She can't help you. Nobody can help you." Marcus grinned wickedly, dropping the psionic to the floor. "Now, I think it's time we become better acquainted, don't you?" He laughed maliciously, enjoying the look of fear in the girls eyes. "My names Marcus. And yours is Fresh Meat."