This is a very ambitious first attempt at a bit of fan-fiction. Any sort of input would be welcome. I have played a little fast and loose with the x-men time-line, so please bear with me. This story is directly inspired by the Archetype Association, written by James R. Mcbriarty. I have borrowed William Riley from his story; I hope that I do him justice. I have borrowed a batch of mutants from the Marvel Universe (any X-men fan will recognize them). I am not making any money off this so good luck suing. Melanie, Erick, Larry, Gayle, Anna, and Gabriel are all my own creations. Emeralda's personality is my own creation, but the character concept comes from a Squaresoft game. If you like the way they are written, feel free to borrow them for your own inspiration.
 

A Note to the Reader:

Unchained Hearts has been approved as an alternate reality 'sequel' to The Archetype Association, breaking off from the 'main' timeline of my work just after the end of Movement Two, and taking place approximately five years later. The stories should be considered independent of one another; although I am sure that Mr. Rosnawski and I may play off one another as our respective works progress.

I was very pleased and entertained by Unchained Hearts. I hope you will be, too.

Jim R. McBriarty

Chapter One

Gabriel let out his breath as the door clicked shut behind them. He dragged his feet to the couch and dropped himself into its comfortable embrace. He placed the large packsack carefully on the floor. Today's haul had included some crystal and porcelain.

"Man what a rush!"

"Peter, we have got to be a lot more careful. I still can't figure why those cops didn't notice us, but our luck is gonna run out soon if you keep on taking those insane chances."

"I'm telling you Gabe, it's as if we lead a charmed life. I swear, this is unbelievable!"

Peter was running on an adrenalin-high. He had already been caught twice for break and entering in his young life, and a third time would get him into a lot of trouble. But he had always been a thrill-seeker, and the danger of getting caught added spice to their work.

Peter had found Gabriel at a department store almost three years ago. He had been casing the place to see how easy it would be to steal from there. He noticed Gabriel wander the halls, seemingly without a specific goal, but Peter knew better. He watched as Gabriel filched himself a rather impressive number of items, and simply walked out of the store.

This baffled Peter. He had followed Gabriel outside of the department store. He did a rather poor job of hiding himself, yet for some reason, no one had seemed to notice him. When Gabriel entered a pawnshop, and came out, counting his money and looking guilty, it made even less sense then it had before. How could someone who felt so guilty about stealing have it come so easily to them?

It took a long time, but Peter eventually gained Gabriel's trust. Once Peter had talked Gabriel into taking part in a B&E, their futures were set for the next year. It was uncanny really. It seemed that whenever they went into action, everything went their way. From the police going to the wrong address, to their targets leaving at the most opportune time, Murphy's Law seemed to have no effect while Gabriel was there with him on the job.

But something about this last job really had him worried. Gabriel had been nervous all day. While he was on the job, Gabriel was all jittery, not his usual cool and collected self.

"What's wrong Gabriel?" Peter asked while watching him look over his back for fourth time. Gabriel's paranoia was contagious. He could feel himself becoming more and more nervous as he watched Gabriel pace their small apartment.

Gabriel was usually very calm and withdrawn. To have him get jittery would have to take a real major problem.

They hit just as Gabriel dropped to the ground. The three well-paid mutant hunters struck from just outside the house. They were both hit by stun guns more than once before either of them had a chance to fall to the ground. The two of them didn't even have a chance to see their attackers.

The three hunters were well organized. They had all signs of their attack removed from the apartment within minutes. The leader, a tall woman whose body was half-bionic picked up the phone once it rung.

"Yes? Yes sir, the two of them have been incapacitated. No sir, neither of them has been damaged in any way. A bonus for our fee? Thank you very much, sir. Where do you want us to bring the targets? That will work, thanks."

As she hung up the phone, she almost felt sorry for the two of them. They were only kids. As she picked them up, she wondered what the doctor wanted from the two of them.