Cat is mine. Based on Whedon's creation, Firefly. ------------------------------------------

She was on high alert, even more so than usual. Mal's commander had paid a visit to their squad along with a few new faces, each no more pup than the next. Cat stayed away, hidden in the shadows protecting. Mal didn't need to explain her presence to his superior, no more than Cat needed to be put on display. She wasn't quite sure if her people realized she had crossed over to the enemy and in a way, not knowing was better for all of them.

A sound to the left of her position made her thoughts escape into the night as she let her throat rumble. The smell was as unfamiliar as it was familiar, something she knew, but had never truly caught the scent for real. Instead, her creators had manufactured it in their clear little clear dishes from a mixture of some orange experimental drug and whatever human tissue they could find.

A rustle in the bushes sent a startled bird into the air as Cat hissed a single warning, one that spoke volumes, one word....Mine. At first, whatever was coming stopped, not sure if it heard something or not. With its enhanced senses, it should have picked up something, but again Cat heard a rough sniffing as the monster sampled the air, hoping to register some type of scent. Sadly, it would never get the chance,

Like a stray strong wind on a sunny day, the beautiful red head burst from the bushes, her long fingers finding their mark around the neck of a creature she had only seen in her nightmares. Skin rough and scarred, eyes like that of some rabid dog ready to eat off the hand that gave it meat, and a smell like that of rotting flesh put on display for a warning or a trophy. Cat knew that what she held was product of a new drug, one they nicknamed PAX,

As with all new drugs, there were side effects, ones the Academy and its contributers assured the Alliance would be done away with after further testing, but she knew that anything with a smell that evil meant no good. Some had said its early prototypes were the reason she had her darker half, but even Cat knew that was a lie. Her beast could be controlled most of the time, a feat that even she had to admit was pretty cool. Still, if they had arrived at that milestone, then the creature she held tight to now wouldn't be, its savage thoughts echoing in her brain as the darker one reflected its thoughts.

Her hands found its neck as the critter struggled under her, but without much effort, Cat silenced him, bones cracking. There were others and they were coming, the smell of them as foul as death on a warm day. Maybe she would have ignored the rest, let them continue on their way killing in the name of whatever, but Cat knew they hadn't escaped, but were being lead and where they were headed wasn't good.

Funny that if it was any other squad, she probably wouldn't have cared, not because Cat didn't support the Independent cause, but more so, they wouldn't be her pack. A command from her Alpha would change that, but right now, he was too busy laughing and drinking to pay attention. After all, his secret weapon was keeping an eye on things. Sadly, even she knew it was about time to interrupt the party.

Her long legs bolted across the field revealing her location to whatever else might be hunting in the area, but she could smell them still far enough away to get her people out of the line of fire. Especially if she was there to keep them busy as Mal and the 57th retreated.

Tracey greeted her as she tore into camp, barely stopping as her long legs leaped over the fire and into the shovel made bunker. Mal and his commander were the first to their feet, the latter with gun in hand pointed straight at her. For a single moment, Cat's eyes echoed a challenge, to shoot her and see what happened, but it wasn't like her to lose sight of what mattered. Instead, the highly advanced monster stopped, bowed her head, and waited to be addressed all the while fighting back the urge to kill them all.

"Sargent Reynolds, can you explain this intrusion?" the Commander spoke and a quiet growl could be heard coming from Cat's dry throat. Zoe motioned for her to be silent, and for once, Cat listened, but not by choice.

"She is one of us, Sir. Her name is Cat." Mal spoke, but his eyes, the kind blue ones that stared back at her so long ago cut into the back of her head. Still, she could sense something more, a fear that he knew she wouldn't come running if there wasn't something terribly wrong.

"We found her, wounded, Sir. Nursed her back to health and she's been our scout ever since. Got a good pair of ears and eyes on her." Zoe spoke at the Commander's other arm and even Cat took a step back in shock at the way the second defended her.

"Well, Scout Cat, is there a reason for this out burst or were you just hungry?" The commander almost smiled motioning to the food laid out before them, the food she had killed so that they could have something more than rations to feed the higher ranking official.

"There is something coming from the north, a bad wind." Cat spoke, trying hard to sound normal. "A bad storm..."

"Well, we'll just bed down for the night until it passes." He looked toward Mal, but Cat shook her head.

"If you stay here, you will all die." Her eyes never left Mal's. "You need to go, NOW."

The commander huffed loudly. "Who are you to tell your commanding officers..."

The beautiful woman had had enough. She could hear the hissing and smell the stench, they were closing in and nothing would stop them. Her hands reached out and grabbed Mal by the shoulders, pulling him into her. "Please. I have told you not to trust me, but in this, you must. Take everyone and get the hell out of here...before there is nothing left of you to take."

"What is it?" Mal, unlike him to ignore his superior stared into her green eyes.

"Darkness...death..." Turning to look into the eyes of Zoe, the commander, and then Tracey behind her, she shook her head. "Reavers..."

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“Everyone knows Reavers don't exist.” The Commander spoke finally, but Cat shook her head. “Sometimes rumors so unbelievable that they can't be true...are. Trust me.” She looked at him and a moment of realization seemed to dawn on the man, his green eyes not as brilliant as hers, lit up.

“A week ago, Sir, I would tell you that I never thought a woman could be bullet proof.” Zoe added, never taking her eyes away from the woman before them.

“Can we defeat them?” Mal broke the story telling as Cat shook her head.

“You can't, but if you retreat, I can hold them buying you enough time to get away.”

“I won't let you sacrifice yourself.”

“It is what I was made to do, Sargent Reynolds.” She smiled at him, a first ever genuine smile and it felt good to give it.

“Don't care. Ain't leaving you to die.” Mal spoke over her shoulder. “Zoe, get the troops ready to hold here. Tell them whatever they see not to stare, but to shoot.”

“Don't be stupid.” She looked at him and them turned to face the commander. “You can make him go with you. Please, order him to retreat.”

“Sargent Reynolds, is there any way your squad can survive this attack?”

Mal looked at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. “No, sir. What Cat says is true. We just don't have the resources.”

“Then, I suggest we pack up and do what the little lady says.” The commander nodded at Mal and then turned to Cat. “Goes for you as well.”

Cat didn't argue, but went to work helping Zoe clean up the camp. Tracey gathered up the rations and the sleeping blankets as the rest of the men made sure the fires were out and their tracks were covered. Grabbing a bunch of packed bags, Cat tossed them on the mule they had salvaged. A voice behind her made her turn to see him.

“You went over my head.”

“I had to, Mal. You would have stayed and died for what? Me?” She shook her head. “I am protecting you, not the other way around.”

“You're not going with us, are you?” He knew her far too well, even after just a few weeks of being close. “If I don't stop them, they will catch up to you and....” She leaned to his lips kissing him. “I can't bear to see you like that.”

He stared at her, reaching up to brush a stray piece of hair from her face. “You come find us when it's safe, you hear me. That's an order.”

A wetness flowing down her cheek surprised her for a second, a smell of salt as it drop to the ground. “Yes, Sir.” Mal kissed her again, this time with more feeling, more passion than before and Cat leaned into it. Then, in a flourish of red hair, she was gone into the shadows, just like she had come in.