Jason X vs The Thing: A Learning Experience

by Nitebreaker

It's been over four hundred years since Jason was free to wreck his justice on the guilty, but something else has been waiting patiently all this time, too. An AU for what might be... Various characters in the "Jason X" universe, plus a few. Now complete.

2. Chapter 2: Revivification

Jason X vs. The Thing: Chapter 2: Revivification

….

Don't own, you know. Onward.

…

Chapter 2: Revivification

The de-icing chemical covered Dr. LaFontaine's body, and the electrostimulation units were poised to act. Professor Lowe watched worriedly; even today, thawing out a living human was not without its risks.

But all went smoothly, and presently the body of LaFontaine began to shiver as her natural environmental controls began to kick back in. He moved forward and laid a blanket over her form, more for convention's sake than necessity. "Dr. LaFontaine? Can you hear me?" The autodoc had already begun to heal the wound in her abdomen from Jason's machete.

For a long, long moment, she made no reply, and he held his breath. He glanced over at Professor Stein; he was the very picture of calm self-control. Braithewaite envied him that.

Then, at long last, her lips moved. She still didn't have enough strength to actually speak, but he could read her lips: shit, that hurts.

He smiled. She'd be okay.

…..

The holodrama ended, and the revelers lifted off their IM headsets, laughing in relief and appreciation. "Whoo," said Adrienne, "That was something!"

"Hey," said Tsunaron, "Where's Mary and Jax?"

Stoney smirked. "Oh, you know…maybe they decided on another kind of entertainment."

Kinsa whapped him on the shoulder. "Oh, you and your dirty mind."

"Yeah, and you love it, don'cha?"

Tsunaron was still looking troubled. "No, seriously, people. Where did they go? You know it's not like Jax to leave in the middle of something…not without good reason."

"Oh, I'd say Mary definitely constitutes 'good reason.'"

"Shuddup." He had a bad feeling about this. "Ship? Locate Jaxon."

"Jaxon is in his room."

"Where's Mary?"

"Subject is in her room."

"Oh. Are they both okay?"

"Bio signs within normal limits in both cases."

He turned triumphantly back to Stoney. "So much for your dirty mind. They must'a just got tired of the show, that's all. No big. Not everybody likes the same stuff."

"I guess," he grumbled. Then he brightened, a lecherous expression crossing his face. "But it sure was a waste of a perfectly good slip-out, though, if ya ask me."

….

Mary woke from a deep sleep. She felt funny…not exactly hurting, but not feeling good, either. Then she noticed she was completely naked, lying on her bed.

She gasped, automatically covering herself up. Mary wasn't used to going naked even in her own quarters, except to bathe, of course. Why would she be naked now?

Her head still hurt somewhat. Had she been drinking? But no, she didn't drink. Had she…oh god…had she gone back to her room with someone?

She got up and threw on a robe. Cautiously, she listened for any signs of someone else in her quarters.

Nothing. She was alone.

Had someone been here, but was now gone? But who? The last thing she remembered was kissing Jaxon as she slipped out of the IM, and his concern for her. But he hadn't followed her, of that she was sure.

So what the hell had happened?

She finally decided the hell with it. Going into the bathroom, she let the robe drop, and stepped into the shower, turning it up as hot as she could stand it, and leaned under the water stream, a million questions on her mind.

Just what had happened last night? It wasn't like her to have such sharp, shooting pains just all of a sudden like that. She resolved to let the autodoc look her over. Maybe she'd eaten something she was allergic to, though she'd never been prone to allergies before.

Well, anyway.

Automatically, her mind went back to Jason. What could she possibly be overlooking? It wasn't possible for such cellular regeneration to work so effectively by osmosis alone….

Or was it? Maybe this was what she was telling Jaxon last night: a nature they'd never encountered before. If so, the rule book just went out the airlock.

Thinking about Jaxon, she couldn't help but smile. He was so…so…she didn't know what. She knew he was attracted to her, and in more than a friend way, but was she ready for a relationship like that?

Would it be fair to him to get all involved, only to have her career get in the way of their happiness?

Maybe best not to light any fires to begin with.

But…the memory of that kiss, peck though it was, seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her mind, and she couldn't evict it. And she found she didn't really want to.

…..

"Yes, Adrienne. I need you to do an autopsy on Jason here." Professor Lowe had corralled Adrienne just outside, in the corridor as she was walking past the morgue.

"An autopsy? But I thought that…that thing…wasn't dead?" The young blond woman glanced at the form on the table. Something about it made her uneasy. She wasn't comfortable being in the same room with it. But she'd been called in what was the middle of the night by Professor Lowe, who'd insisted he needed to see her now.

"It's alright, Adrienne. All vital signs we previously noted have ceased. The creature is dead, at long last. So now's the perfect time to cut it open and find out some things."

"Shouldn't Mary be here, sir? I mean, she's devoted so much of her time to the subject…"

"Ah, yes, about that." Professor Lowe turned a bit evasive. "I feel Mary's been getting a little too involved in the matter. It's affecting her health. We don't want that, now do we? Besides, she herself said, just the other day, that a fresh perspective could prove to be productive. So let's let her rest, alright? You are up to the job, aren't you?"

"Of course, Professor. I, I just didn't want to, you know, step on anyone's toes or anything…."

"If she says anything, just refer her to me. I'll handle it. Now. I'll leave you to it. We don't have long before we reach Cetus Four, and it would be helpful if we had more data on our star attraction, here." Adrienne wondered why Lowe was pushing for this. They weren't that close to Cetus Four; there should have been plenty of time to involve Mary, even after she'd rested.

And…. "What about Professor Stein? I heard he wanted to examine the creature."

He waved her off. "Professor Stein only wants to review the data. So the more data we have, the more he'll have to review, right? So now, get to it, okay?" Why was he rushing her like this?

After he'd left, he made his way back to his quarters. Once there, and once he'd disabled the security cameras in his area, he placed a very special call. Dieter Perez, his financial backer, was aware of his…problem. "So, Professor. What have you to report?"

"I've detailed one of my top students to performing the autopsy, as you suggested. What we'll find, of course, is anyone's guess. Do you think the data will be…worth anything?" Unbeknownst to the rest of them, Professor Braithewaite Lowe was heavily in debt. He knew the military was interested in the body, and its peculiar properties. Perhaps others could be interested in purchasing the same data.

"It's quite possible. But, to be frank, it may well be that the body itself will be of more value. I can think of no less than three collectors who'd pay a pretty credit to own this exclusive piece of Earth's history. How possible is that?"

"Er….what…sort of figures might we be talking about? I mean…" He knew if he didn't deliver the body to the authorities at Cetus Four, there would be some…questions. Perez named a figure, and Lowe's eyebrows climbed towards the ceiling in surprise. Yes, yes, that figure could easily be worth a few "questions."

Mary found Professor Stein standing before one of the observation ports, one foot propped up on a ledge, watching the stars. They formed a backdrop that framed his lean, angular face. "Professor Stein?"

"Ah, yes, Mary." He glanced at her, then back at the tableau outside. "Fantastic, aren't they?"

"Sir?"

"The stars. No matter how many times I see them, I'm always entranced with their beauty." His eyes narrowed, gazing at some scene only he could see. "So many possibilities…."

She followed his gaze out the viewport. It was a magnificent view. "Yes. I…always enjoyed looking up at the stars, back home." She smiled, remembering. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. "Maybe that was one of the reasons I applied to the university. New worlds."

"'Golden cities far.' Yes, my dear, I know exactly what you mean. Those of us of another age called it 'itchy feet syndrome.'" He chuckled. "I suppose nowadays, you'd have to say 'itchy starship syndrome.'"

Unexpectedly, she laughed. The way he'd said that had caught her off guard. She remembered it had been a long time since she'd really allowed herself much in the way of human company….

….and the memory of Jax's kiss the previous night was still bright in her mind. "I guess you're right. But you must've seen this vista so many times already."

He shook his head, still watching the outside view. "It never gets old, my dear." He turned from the port and faced her abruptly. "I hear they had a gathering of young people last night, one of those immersive media things that are all the rage. I hope you were able to attend. All people, and especially young people, need some social interaction. I've noticed a great many people, especially in our circles, tend to neglect that."

"Oh, I went. With a, a…friend…of mine." She couldn't hide the slight blush on her cheeks, a blush he noticed. I hope he's worthy of you, child.

Aloud, "Well, good. I'm going to go check on Dr. LaFontaine. We thawed her out successfully, but she had that nasty stab wound to deal with. The regenerators couldn't get to work on her until full circulation was restored. But she should be getting back on her feet soon.

"How goes your study of Jason?"

"No further progress to report. He's dead, but not dead. That should be impossible, but it is. So I'm having to rethink the rule book."

He nodded, turning away from the 'port. She did likewise, and they started down the corridor. "Sometimes that's necessary. Sometimes that's the only way science makes progress: by throwing out the old rules, and being open to new ones."

She smiled at that. That was pretty much what she'd told Jaxon just the other day. "That's true." She didn't know anything else to say, and an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

"Mary?" There was a certain tone in his voice that made her half-turn to him, as they walked down the corridor.

"Hm? Yes, Professor?"

He studied her a moment. Then, "I know we've only just met, and I'd hate for you to think I'm being…presumptuous, but…it seems like something is bothering you. Something perhaps out of the ordinary?"

Mary's breath hitched for a moment. The incident the other day, with her sudden headache, and subsequently waking up the way she had…. "Well, i-it's really nothing…" His expression said, go on. "It…it's just last night, I had, had something happen that, that's never happened to me before. Something kinda strange." She blushed furiously. Why was she telling him this? It was like he said, they'd just met… "I had gone to that holodrama with a friend, and…right in the middle of it, had this incredible headache, or, or something like it. I had to leave, go back to my room."

He nodded, and seemed on the verge of speaking, when, to her own vast surprise, she continued, "…but the part that really bothered me was, I woke up…er…with, er, no clothes on." She was sure her face was as red as a ruby laser. Now why had she confided that in him?

But words spoken….

Instead of laughing, he nodded, sympathetically. "You know, you may not believe this, but I have heard of something similar happening before. To a colleague of mine, in fact, back when I first achieved tenure at the university. She was trying for her second doctorate, and I could tell the strain was beginning to tell on her.

"Then one morning she showed up for our usual morning coffee a bit pale-seeming. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that, the day before, she'd been in her office, when she'd been stricken, all of a sudden, with a fierce headache, one like she'd never had. Then…and here's the part that really bothered her…the next thing she remembered was waking up in her own bed, back in her apartment, er, fully clothed, I might add…but with a pot of coffee brewing on the counter. At first, she thought, maybe she'd passed out and somebody had carried her home, maybe putting the coffee on as they left—but the apartment's security system hadn't registered anybody but herself. But she didn't remember a thing about it. It bothered her, of course, just like this incident is bothering you.

"Personally, my opinion—nonprofessional, you understand—is that her brain just—took a brief vacation. Reset itself, so to speak. If you're a coffee drinker—and she was—then making coffee in the morning can become such an ingrained habit that you don't even know you've made it until you smell it brewing.

"It's possible something similar happened to you, what with the stress you've been under and all. If so, it's perfectly normal. 'Within normal limits,' as they say."

Relief flooded over her, so much that she almost fell down. So. She wasn't crazy, after all! It had just been…a "brain fart," as Jaxon would say. "Oh, thank you, Professor! You've no idea how, how worried I was…" And poor Jax, poor sweet Jax…how worried he must be, and all over a few misfiring synapses. Nothing to worry about.

He waved off her thanks. "Quite alright, my dear. One of the obligations of age is to share one's experiences and knowledge with the next generation. That's one reason I became a teacher in the first place."

Something occurred to her, through her haze of relief. "Uh, Professor? Uh, don't…I mean, please don't tell anyone…what I just told you, okay? I mean…." Why had she confided in him? But something about him just seemed to inspire trust in her…

Again a wave. "Oh, you needn't worry, Mary. I know when to keep a confidence. What was said between us goes nowhere. And," and here, he glanced up at the ceiling, "I understand that the security system is malfunctioning, so there'll be no record of our conversation from that source."

She put her hands to the side of her face, once again blushing crimson. "Ohmigod. I totally didn't even think about that!"

Now he laughed, a gentle laugh. "Well, it's not an issue. Evidently, there's some sort of glitch in the central computer's programming. I understand Tsunaron and Kay Em are looking into it."

"Well," she said, recovering, "I suppose I'd best go check in on Jason. Maybe now that my brain has 'reset,' I'll be able to find out something. Did you…would you like to come along?"

"Why, certainly, my dear. I'd be honored."

They made their way on down to the morgue. "Hm, that's odd," said Mary. The two were standing just outside the door to the morgue.

"What's odd?"

"The door…it's not fully closed. That's…unusual." She keyed in the code, and the door swished the rest of the way open.

The form lay on the slab, still covered by the heavy sheet. Strange, she thought to herself; it didn't seem quite so hulking right then. Maybe the Professor's comforting presence… "Well, let's see what we have here." And Mary removed the sheet…

….and shrieked in horror.

Because the form on the slab wasn't Jason, but Adrienne's. And where he head should be was only a bloody pulp.

….

"Awright, let's go over this once more." Sergeant Brodski had been rousted out of a perfectly good slumber to come take a look at what was clearly a bizarre. murder. Well, at least it was different than the usual missing shit. "You came in, and found her like this? And no sign of Jason?"

"That's correct," said Professor Stein, calmly. Mary was still sobbing uncontrollably. Jaxon had moved over to her side, and was holding her arm, talking low to her, trying to help her get herself under control. Put your arm around her, boy. You know you want to. "We noticed the door was slightly ajar. Once we got in….well, everything's as you see."

"So what do you think happened?"

Stein shrugged. "From what I've seen…given the lack of evidence, I'd say that Adrienne was attempting some sort of procedure on Jason, and released his bonds. That proved to be a most unwise course of action." He gestured towards the body of the woman, still on the slab. "Hazarding a guess, I'd say it looks like she was exposed to some supercold substance, liquid nitrogen, perhaps, and her head then…shattered."

"Great. So we gotta monster on board."

"Yes indeed. But, Major…we can't really say it was Jason who killed her. She could have been murdered by some human, and Jason's body stolen. But given Jason's past record of resurrection, I'd say it's highly probable he's out there, somewhere. Probably armed with some sharp object." He gestured towards the table, where rows of gleaming implements were laid out.

"Okay. We'll split up into teams…" And he began to detail orders to his squad.

Stein drifted over to where Mary and Jaxon were huddling. "Jaxon. Why don't you take Mary back to her quarters. There's nothing more to be done here…and….maybe she doesn't need to be alone right now. Think you can do that?"

"O-of course, prof. Come on, Mary. I'll take you back to your room, okay? It's okay, well, not okay okay, but, but everything's being done that can be done…." And he steered her out of the morgue.

Stein singled out Professor Lowe. "Ben? I don't suppose you've anything to add to this?"

Lowe ran his fingers through his hair nervously. "N-no, not, not…I mean…this is horrible, a terrible shock…"

"Ben. Why was Adrienne down here? What was she doing?"

"I don't know! The, the last I saw of her, she was going to her quarters…"

Stein's eyes narrowed as he appraised the other. "So…she was performing some unauthorized procedure on the subject? All on her own?"

"Y-yeah, I mean, she had to've been, didn't she? I mean…"

Stein leaned in close. "You didn't tell her to perform an autopsy, did you?"

Lowe paled. That told Stein a lot. "No! I mean, I'd never, never tell her to, to do anything without proper authorization! I, I don't know what she could have been thinking…"

He's lying, thought Stein. But why?

…..

Jaxon saw Mary back to her quarters. "Hey, are you gonna be alright? I mean, you, you seem pretty broken up…."

She sniffled. "Oh, I don't know why I'd be broken up. I only just discovered a friend of mine dead, with her head all smashed to pieces! I mean, that happens all the time, right?" Then she saw the look of hurt on his face, and something inside her broke. "Oh, Jax. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, to take it out on you." She put her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I…that was inexcusable of me. Forgive me?"

I'd forgive you anything. "Sure." He dared to stroke her hair. She didn't seem to mind, and his heart soared. "Hey, it's alright, I'm not… I mean, of course you're busted up, I just wanted to, you know, know if I could, like, do anything. You know." The two were just outside the door to her quarters. "You know I'd do anything for you. You're my" gulp "friend."

She smiled up at him out of his embrace. "Thanks, Jax. You're good to me." Abruptly, she gave a small laugh. "You might be too good for me. You'll get me all spoiled an' everything." She laid her head back down on his chest. "And I'd love every minute of it." Am I really saying what I'm saying? And to Jax?

Is it….time?

"Uhm. Yeah. Uhm." They just stood there a moment, her head on his chest, his arms around her. Then she drew back slightly, looking up into his eyes. Her lips were only inches away from his.

They looked at each other for a long, long moment….

Then she dropped her gaze, and pulled out of his grip. The moment was gone. "Well, I guess I'd better be getting inside. Thanks, Jax. I…you're a good friend." And she was gone, leaving him standing there in the corridor, partially disappointed, and partially relieved.

Like her, he never suspected he was being watched.

To be continued…