Chapter Three: Team Players
Pulling the car to a stop outside an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere Eve turned around to face the young woman in the passenger seat. She had fallen asleep almost the instant their fifteen-hour drive had begun, the pressure and strain of the last few days taking their toll. The drive had been quiet, allowing her ample time to think. Her mind was still a jumble but Eve refused to let it dominate the life she was building for herself at The Hurricane. Whether she liked it or not, she had to get on with her life. She had to try and forget the life she once had, a life she couldn't even remember.
Blinking back the tear that stung at her eye Eve reached out a small hand to shake Jinni's shoulder. Slowly the young woman woke and opened her eyes to see Eve smiling back at her, her own sadness hidden from view. "We're here, Jinni. Come on, I'll take you inside to meet the family."
Nodding Jinni unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door, climbing out and stretching her legs before meeting Eve on the driver side of the car. Smiling at her one more time Eve nudged the elemental's shoulder and headed towards the front door. Doorbell rung the pale gray door opened and a small pair of blue eyes peered, curiosity filling their every fleck of color. Suddenly the door flung open wide and a little girl smiled at the woman with the funny purple hair.
"Hi there, Annie," Eve smiled at her. "Where's Mommy?"
"Inside," the little girl grinned. Scampering off with a giggle Annie raced inside to get her mothers attention. "Mom! Mommy, Eve's here!"
"Come on," Eve smiled, pulling Jinni inside with her. As she shut the door behind them she saw a short woman approaching down the hallway, a smile gracing her homely face. "Hi, Marta."
"Eve, it's good to see you again," she smiled, hugging the young woman closely. "How's Jackie doing?"
"Better, you're herbs really helped get rid of her cold. She said to say thanks."
"Oh she's welcome. I can't have my babies getting sick, now can I?"
Smiling Eve turned to introduce Jinni and Marta. Smiling at the young girl Marta pulled on her hand and led her into the kitchen. "Why don't you join my family and I, we were just about to eat lunch. I'm sure you're hungry."
Nodding Jinni smiled shyly and moved into the dining room with Marta. Pausing in the doorway she looked back to Eve. Smiling Eve nodded to her, waving her hand for the young woman to continue; telling her with smiling eyes that she would be okay. Watching her disappear around the corner Eve smiled and turned back to the front door. Jinni would be okay.
"Bye Eve," Annie smiled as she watched her new friend walk out the door.
"Bye Annie, you take care of my friend okay?"
"I will," she smiled as she shut the door.
Shaking her head Eve climbed back into the car and pulled out of the driveway. Yawning she sped down the highway back towards the border. Stopping for some coffee to stay awake she made tracks, keeping the radio loud and booming to drown out her thoughts. Making it across the border once more Eve was reaching for the volume control to turn the stereo back up when she heard it.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Sitting at the console he could hear the excited chattering from behind him but ignored it for now, focusing in on his task at hand. Within one moment everything had changed. Where once he had been split between two priorities, now he had only one. He had to find her. Ever since they had left Marten Park Adam had been working on a way to activate her comm link from the sanctuary, something he'd never tried to do before. It wasn't a difficult thing, but writing the program took time; he'd been working on it for the last eighteen hours and now, finally it was complete.
Opening the signal to her ring the room was filled with blaring music, the radio was on too loud for her to be able to hear him. Frustrated he sat back in his chair, glaring at the screen. He would have to wait until she turned the music off to speak to her. But what would he say? Adam knew he couldn't very well just begin talking to her as though she knew him. Then how? Trying to think of some way to begin so as not to scare her and to get her talking, Adam waited for the right time.
He had finally decided what to say when his mind had drifted back to the night he had first realized a hidden part of Emma that she rarely showed to anyone. One night, while the other three were out of the Sanctuary, Adam had been roaming the hallways, a little bored and looking for something to occupy his mind, something other than work, he had come across her lounging in the library. She was still recovering from her last fight with the GSA and wasn't quite up to par yet. Taking it easy she had fallen asleep in the library while reading, curled up in the chair by the corner.
Shaking his head with a smile he crossed to her side and picked the sleeping woman up in his arms. Through the hallways he had carried her, curled up in his arms, her one hand laid flat against his chest while the other clutched her book. Silently he had entered her room, laying her out on the bed and covering Emma with a blanket. It wasn't until he was removing the book from her hands that she woke. Blinking she smiled up at Adam, a sleepy smile. 'What happened?' she asked him.
'You fell asleep in the library.'
Stretching she sat up in the bed and ran her hands through her hair. Looking around she met his eyes with her won confused one. 'This isn't the library.'
Adam laughed. 'No, it isn't. I didn't think you would be too comfortable sleeping in the chair like you were.'
'Thank you,' she smiled again.
Nodding to her he had turned to leave when he realized he still had the book in his hands. Glancing down at it he was surprised to see what it was. 'Poe?' he asked, his brow drawn in curiosity. 'I never would have pegged you for someone who liked Poe.'
'I don't,' she replied. 'Not really anyway. Just this one poem he wrote. I had to memorize it for my high school English class and it always kind of stuck with me. I guess I knew what he was talking about, how he felt when he wrote it.'
Opening it to the page she had marked Adam had read the poem and he realized what she was talking about. It was a poem that marked a time in life that was hard enough as it was, a time made even more difficult by her mutancy.
Pulled from his thoughts when the music dimmed he could hear her talking to someone, a patrol guard of some sort. Waiting until the talking ceased, knowing he had to hurry before the music was turned up, he began to speak.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
"From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were-I have not seen
As others saw- I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then-in my childhood-in the dawn
Of a most stormy life-was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold-
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by-
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
The voice seemed to be coming from nowhere and yet at the same time from everywhere. At first she had been scared but as she listened to the words, the soft voice that was saying them, she wasn't scared. It seemed familiar, like seeing an old friend after pending years in solitary confinement. A warm blanket on a chilly night; Eve knew them, she liked them, she wanted them. But where were they coming from?
"Who are you?"
"I'm a friend," the voice, a mans voice, replied. "You don't need to be afraid, I just want to talk to you."
Looking around for some sort of electronic device Eve found nothing. "How did you get access to this car? When did you plant your bug?"
"There's no bug," he said soothingly. "I'm not threat to you."
"The hell you're not. For all I know you could be the GSA."
He laughed. "Believe me... I'm not part of the GSA, I give you my word on that."
"And how am I supposed to know that your word is good? Eckhart himself would tell me he wasn't GSA if it would get him what he wanted. Whoever you are, leave me the hell alone."
Turning the volume back up Eve couldn't hear the voice anymore but it didn't stop her mind from pushing itself into overdrive. Who was that man? How had he found her, how did he know her? Why had he contacted her? Questions rang out in her head as she drove but more so than that was the feelings she had felt when she had heard his voice. She didn't know the voice; it wasn't one that Eve had heard before, and yet...
Sighing in frustration Eve gunned the car even faster, eager to get back to The Haven even though it was still almost ten hours away, to the feelings of peace that flooded over her when she was there. Refusing to let herself think about the voice that had read the poem to her Eve raced back to the club as fast as she could, dumping the car and pulling another one from the garage in trade. She wasn't going to take any chances. By the time she pulled into the parking ramp night had fallen and the club was hopping, filled with people ready to dance and drink the night away.
Tired from her lack of sleep Eve bypassed the dance floor and headed straight down to the water garden. Just sitting down she heard someone approaching from behind. Lying back she raised her eyes to see Mixy approaching with an excited look on her face. Eve could feel the ferals excitement flowing over her, dripping from every pore on the woman's body. "We're having a meeting in the office, we've been waiting for you to get back."
"Mixy, I'm beat," Eve complained. "I haven't slept in over two days!"
Smiling she pulled Eve up to her feet. "Quit your whining, it'll only be for an hour or so. Besides, Eric will be here soon, he says you missed your last injection and he has to get it to you before the headaches start up again."
Still whining, playfully, Eve followed Mixy up to the offices on the third floor. "Guys can't I just sit this one out?" she pleaded when she entered the office. Facing her three friends sitting at the desk she stood before them with her hands on her hips. "Honestly, I'm drop dead tired and I just want to sleep till next week."
"Eve..."
"I've been on the road for thirty hours!"
"We know but Eve..."
Eve opened her mouth to speak but Pete held up his hand to stop her. "I know your tired, Eve but there's a guy we went you to meet."
"No!" Eve cried, her eyes wide and hands held out to stop what she knew was coming next. "You did not set me up on another blind date! Mixy, you know how I hate that! I specifically told you..."
"It's not like that Eve!" Mixy cut in. "You remember that story one of the New Mutants told us about, that group of people who called themselves Mutant X?"
"Yeah I remember. They guy was drunk, he had no idea what he was talking about."
"That's just it, Eve. He did know what he was talking about. Mutant X really does exist."
Throwing herself into a chair, exhausted but intrigued Eve stared at her friends. "Are you sure?"
"Take a look for yourself," Pete motioned to the other side of the office.
For the first time Eve noticed that there were other people in the room, an older man and a younger one. She recognized them from the park. The older one had dark hair and equally dark eyes, but they were kind, she could see it in his face. The younger one was fair-haired and Eve suddenly realized that she knew him. "I know you," she said. The two men glanced at each other in shock before looking back to Eve. "You came into the club a little while ago. There was a friend with you, the tall guy with dark hair."
"You mean Brennan?"
She shrugged. "I don't know his name, I just remember that he kept staring at me."
"Eve, this is Adam, he's the leader of Mutant X," Jackie introduced the older man to her. "The other one is Jesse."
Nodding to each Eve fought to keep the yawn from escaping her mouth. "Hi," she said, not quite succeeding.
"You'll have to forgive our friend here, she just got back from delivering a shipment across the border. By the way, how'd it go?"
"Good," she replied, closing her eyes and leaning her head back for a moment. "Jinni was still a little scared but Marta took her right under her wings like always. And she's glad you're feeling better."
"You look tired," Adam commented.
Smiling, not bothering to open her eyes, Eve said, "You would be too if you hadn't slept in over two days." Sighing she raised her head and opened her eyes. "So what's the deal? How did we make contact with Mutant X?"
"Actually, they made contact with us. After we rescued Jinni from the park they decided they'd better come find us and see what we're all about."
"It seems a waste to have two different teams working on two different strategies just to reach the same goal. I would like to propose that we combine our efforts and work as one team."
Unable to keep his eyes from straying back to Emma, Eve as she was called now, Adam made himself glance around the room at all of them, never staying on just one person. Seeing her, up close and personal, Adam could see that Emma had changed quite a bit in her time away from them. Not just the purple hair and the little tattoo under her jaw, but her body and eyes as well. Emma had lost weight and Adam could see that the light that normally shone from her eyes was dimmed. But he could also see a sadness in her eyes, one that never really went away and he couldn't help but wonder at it.
"You want us to join Mutant X?" Pete asked, glancing at Mixy. "I don't know about Jackie or Eve but I know what I think. This is Mixy's fight, I'll leave the decision up to her."
Jackie nodded her agreement and everyone looked to Eve who was sitting back in the chair. Looking from Adam to Mixy she nodded. "Ditto. It's your call Mixy."
Taking a deep breath the feral thought it over for a few minutes before smiling at Adam. "The whole reason I started doing this was to save New Mutants from the GSA. You seem to be a lot better at it than I do." Nodding, "We're in."
Adam smiled. "Good. The first thing we'll need to do is..."
The door opened and Eric walked in, taking a moment to scan the room. Though she was half-asleep Eve could feel the surprise that rang out from their doctor friend. "Don't worry about it Eric," she called out to him. "They're friends now."
Moving his glance to Eve he stayed in the doorway. "Eve, its time for your shot. Let's go get it taken care of."
"Do I have to?" she yawned. "I'd much rather sleep here and do the whole needle thing later. Really Eric, just let me sleep for a little while and then you can look me over."
"Sorry, Eve, we gotta do this now, lets go."
"Excuse me," Adam interrupted. "Shot? What shot?"
"None of you business," Eric bit out, glaring at Adam.
"Eric!" Jackie cried. "You don't have to be so defensive. Adam and his team have invited us to join them, I'm sure he's just making sure Eve is okay."
"I am her doctor, I'll decide if she's okay or not."
"Jeez Eric," Eve cried as she pushed herself out of her chair. "Don't be so territorial." Pausing in front of Adam she reached out to shake hands, Adam then Jesse, to say her goodbye. "You can ignore him, he's just trying to play the alpha male. I promise, he's harmless."
Leaving with Eric Eve trudged down the hallway to her bedroom and flopped down on the bed. She felt the prick of the needle in her arm and the familiar pressure as the injection streamed its way into her body. Already exhausted she was asleep before Eric had finished his exam. Gathering his supplies Eric left The Hurricane and got into his car, driving a ways down the road before stopping and pulling out his cell phone. Dialing the number he knew by heart Eric waited until someone picked up the other end.
"We have a problem."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Sitting behind his desk Mason Eckhart listened as the agent gave him the breakdown of his mission. This could indeed prove to be a problem. On the other hand, it could also be the key to wiping out Mutant X once and for all.
"You are to proceed as you have been for the last several months. Nothing has changed except now you have a new addition to your mission. Infiltrate Mutant X headquarters. I want all the information you can get your hands on. Use whatever or whomever you need to get me that information. Do you understand?"
Standing before the cold metal desk Agent Eric Waverly nodded his head. "Yes, sir."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Pulling the car to a stop outside an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere Eve turned around to face the young woman in the passenger seat. She had fallen asleep almost the instant their fifteen-hour drive had begun, the pressure and strain of the last few days taking their toll. The drive had been quiet, allowing her ample time to think. Her mind was still a jumble but Eve refused to let it dominate the life she was building for herself at The Hurricane. Whether she liked it or not, she had to get on with her life. She had to try and forget the life she once had, a life she couldn't even remember.
Blinking back the tear that stung at her eye Eve reached out a small hand to shake Jinni's shoulder. Slowly the young woman woke and opened her eyes to see Eve smiling back at her, her own sadness hidden from view. "We're here, Jinni. Come on, I'll take you inside to meet the family."
Nodding Jinni unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door, climbing out and stretching her legs before meeting Eve on the driver side of the car. Smiling at her one more time Eve nudged the elemental's shoulder and headed towards the front door. Doorbell rung the pale gray door opened and a small pair of blue eyes peered, curiosity filling their every fleck of color. Suddenly the door flung open wide and a little girl smiled at the woman with the funny purple hair.
"Hi there, Annie," Eve smiled at her. "Where's Mommy?"
"Inside," the little girl grinned. Scampering off with a giggle Annie raced inside to get her mothers attention. "Mom! Mommy, Eve's here!"
"Come on," Eve smiled, pulling Jinni inside with her. As she shut the door behind them she saw a short woman approaching down the hallway, a smile gracing her homely face. "Hi, Marta."
"Eve, it's good to see you again," she smiled, hugging the young woman closely. "How's Jackie doing?"
"Better, you're herbs really helped get rid of her cold. She said to say thanks."
"Oh she's welcome. I can't have my babies getting sick, now can I?"
Smiling Eve turned to introduce Jinni and Marta. Smiling at the young girl Marta pulled on her hand and led her into the kitchen. "Why don't you join my family and I, we were just about to eat lunch. I'm sure you're hungry."
Nodding Jinni smiled shyly and moved into the dining room with Marta. Pausing in the doorway she looked back to Eve. Smiling Eve nodded to her, waving her hand for the young woman to continue; telling her with smiling eyes that she would be okay. Watching her disappear around the corner Eve smiled and turned back to the front door. Jinni would be okay.
"Bye Eve," Annie smiled as she watched her new friend walk out the door.
"Bye Annie, you take care of my friend okay?"
"I will," she smiled as she shut the door.
Shaking her head Eve climbed back into the car and pulled out of the driveway. Yawning she sped down the highway back towards the border. Stopping for some coffee to stay awake she made tracks, keeping the radio loud and booming to drown out her thoughts. Making it across the border once more Eve was reaching for the volume control to turn the stereo back up when she heard it.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Sitting at the console he could hear the excited chattering from behind him but ignored it for now, focusing in on his task at hand. Within one moment everything had changed. Where once he had been split between two priorities, now he had only one. He had to find her. Ever since they had left Marten Park Adam had been working on a way to activate her comm link from the sanctuary, something he'd never tried to do before. It wasn't a difficult thing, but writing the program took time; he'd been working on it for the last eighteen hours and now, finally it was complete.
Opening the signal to her ring the room was filled with blaring music, the radio was on too loud for her to be able to hear him. Frustrated he sat back in his chair, glaring at the screen. He would have to wait until she turned the music off to speak to her. But what would he say? Adam knew he couldn't very well just begin talking to her as though she knew him. Then how? Trying to think of some way to begin so as not to scare her and to get her talking, Adam waited for the right time.
He had finally decided what to say when his mind had drifted back to the night he had first realized a hidden part of Emma that she rarely showed to anyone. One night, while the other three were out of the Sanctuary, Adam had been roaming the hallways, a little bored and looking for something to occupy his mind, something other than work, he had come across her lounging in the library. She was still recovering from her last fight with the GSA and wasn't quite up to par yet. Taking it easy she had fallen asleep in the library while reading, curled up in the chair by the corner.
Shaking his head with a smile he crossed to her side and picked the sleeping woman up in his arms. Through the hallways he had carried her, curled up in his arms, her one hand laid flat against his chest while the other clutched her book. Silently he had entered her room, laying her out on the bed and covering Emma with a blanket. It wasn't until he was removing the book from her hands that she woke. Blinking she smiled up at Adam, a sleepy smile. 'What happened?' she asked him.
'You fell asleep in the library.'
Stretching she sat up in the bed and ran her hands through her hair. Looking around she met his eyes with her won confused one. 'This isn't the library.'
Adam laughed. 'No, it isn't. I didn't think you would be too comfortable sleeping in the chair like you were.'
'Thank you,' she smiled again.
Nodding to her he had turned to leave when he realized he still had the book in his hands. Glancing down at it he was surprised to see what it was. 'Poe?' he asked, his brow drawn in curiosity. 'I never would have pegged you for someone who liked Poe.'
'I don't,' she replied. 'Not really anyway. Just this one poem he wrote. I had to memorize it for my high school English class and it always kind of stuck with me. I guess I knew what he was talking about, how he felt when he wrote it.'
Opening it to the page she had marked Adam had read the poem and he realized what she was talking about. It was a poem that marked a time in life that was hard enough as it was, a time made even more difficult by her mutancy.
Pulled from his thoughts when the music dimmed he could hear her talking to someone, a patrol guard of some sort. Waiting until the talking ceased, knowing he had to hurry before the music was turned up, he began to speak.
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
"From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were-I have not seen
As others saw- I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then-in my childhood-in the dawn
Of a most stormy life-was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold-
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by-
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
The voice seemed to be coming from nowhere and yet at the same time from everywhere. At first she had been scared but as she listened to the words, the soft voice that was saying them, she wasn't scared. It seemed familiar, like seeing an old friend after pending years in solitary confinement. A warm blanket on a chilly night; Eve knew them, she liked them, she wanted them. But where were they coming from?
"Who are you?"
"I'm a friend," the voice, a mans voice, replied. "You don't need to be afraid, I just want to talk to you."
Looking around for some sort of electronic device Eve found nothing. "How did you get access to this car? When did you plant your bug?"
"There's no bug," he said soothingly. "I'm not threat to you."
"The hell you're not. For all I know you could be the GSA."
He laughed. "Believe me... I'm not part of the GSA, I give you my word on that."
"And how am I supposed to know that your word is good? Eckhart himself would tell me he wasn't GSA if it would get him what he wanted. Whoever you are, leave me the hell alone."
Turning the volume back up Eve couldn't hear the voice anymore but it didn't stop her mind from pushing itself into overdrive. Who was that man? How had he found her, how did he know her? Why had he contacted her? Questions rang out in her head as she drove but more so than that was the feelings she had felt when she had heard his voice. She didn't know the voice; it wasn't one that Eve had heard before, and yet...
Sighing in frustration Eve gunned the car even faster, eager to get back to The Haven even though it was still almost ten hours away, to the feelings of peace that flooded over her when she was there. Refusing to let herself think about the voice that had read the poem to her Eve raced back to the club as fast as she could, dumping the car and pulling another one from the garage in trade. She wasn't going to take any chances. By the time she pulled into the parking ramp night had fallen and the club was hopping, filled with people ready to dance and drink the night away.
Tired from her lack of sleep Eve bypassed the dance floor and headed straight down to the water garden. Just sitting down she heard someone approaching from behind. Lying back she raised her eyes to see Mixy approaching with an excited look on her face. Eve could feel the ferals excitement flowing over her, dripping from every pore on the woman's body. "We're having a meeting in the office, we've been waiting for you to get back."
"Mixy, I'm beat," Eve complained. "I haven't slept in over two days!"
Smiling she pulled Eve up to her feet. "Quit your whining, it'll only be for an hour or so. Besides, Eric will be here soon, he says you missed your last injection and he has to get it to you before the headaches start up again."
Still whining, playfully, Eve followed Mixy up to the offices on the third floor. "Guys can't I just sit this one out?" she pleaded when she entered the office. Facing her three friends sitting at the desk she stood before them with her hands on her hips. "Honestly, I'm drop dead tired and I just want to sleep till next week."
"Eve..."
"I've been on the road for thirty hours!"
"We know but Eve..."
Eve opened her mouth to speak but Pete held up his hand to stop her. "I know your tired, Eve but there's a guy we went you to meet."
"No!" Eve cried, her eyes wide and hands held out to stop what she knew was coming next. "You did not set me up on another blind date! Mixy, you know how I hate that! I specifically told you..."
"It's not like that Eve!" Mixy cut in. "You remember that story one of the New Mutants told us about, that group of people who called themselves Mutant X?"
"Yeah I remember. They guy was drunk, he had no idea what he was talking about."
"That's just it, Eve. He did know what he was talking about. Mutant X really does exist."
Throwing herself into a chair, exhausted but intrigued Eve stared at her friends. "Are you sure?"
"Take a look for yourself," Pete motioned to the other side of the office.
For the first time Eve noticed that there were other people in the room, an older man and a younger one. She recognized them from the park. The older one had dark hair and equally dark eyes, but they were kind, she could see it in his face. The younger one was fair-haired and Eve suddenly realized that she knew him. "I know you," she said. The two men glanced at each other in shock before looking back to Eve. "You came into the club a little while ago. There was a friend with you, the tall guy with dark hair."
"You mean Brennan?"
She shrugged. "I don't know his name, I just remember that he kept staring at me."
"Eve, this is Adam, he's the leader of Mutant X," Jackie introduced the older man to her. "The other one is Jesse."
Nodding to each Eve fought to keep the yawn from escaping her mouth. "Hi," she said, not quite succeeding.
"You'll have to forgive our friend here, she just got back from delivering a shipment across the border. By the way, how'd it go?"
"Good," she replied, closing her eyes and leaning her head back for a moment. "Jinni was still a little scared but Marta took her right under her wings like always. And she's glad you're feeling better."
"You look tired," Adam commented.
Smiling, not bothering to open her eyes, Eve said, "You would be too if you hadn't slept in over two days." Sighing she raised her head and opened her eyes. "So what's the deal? How did we make contact with Mutant X?"
"Actually, they made contact with us. After we rescued Jinni from the park they decided they'd better come find us and see what we're all about."
"It seems a waste to have two different teams working on two different strategies just to reach the same goal. I would like to propose that we combine our efforts and work as one team."
Unable to keep his eyes from straying back to Emma, Eve as she was called now, Adam made himself glance around the room at all of them, never staying on just one person. Seeing her, up close and personal, Adam could see that Emma had changed quite a bit in her time away from them. Not just the purple hair and the little tattoo under her jaw, but her body and eyes as well. Emma had lost weight and Adam could see that the light that normally shone from her eyes was dimmed. But he could also see a sadness in her eyes, one that never really went away and he couldn't help but wonder at it.
"You want us to join Mutant X?" Pete asked, glancing at Mixy. "I don't know about Jackie or Eve but I know what I think. This is Mixy's fight, I'll leave the decision up to her."
Jackie nodded her agreement and everyone looked to Eve who was sitting back in the chair. Looking from Adam to Mixy she nodded. "Ditto. It's your call Mixy."
Taking a deep breath the feral thought it over for a few minutes before smiling at Adam. "The whole reason I started doing this was to save New Mutants from the GSA. You seem to be a lot better at it than I do." Nodding, "We're in."
Adam smiled. "Good. The first thing we'll need to do is..."
The door opened and Eric walked in, taking a moment to scan the room. Though she was half-asleep Eve could feel the surprise that rang out from their doctor friend. "Don't worry about it Eric," she called out to him. "They're friends now."
Moving his glance to Eve he stayed in the doorway. "Eve, its time for your shot. Let's go get it taken care of."
"Do I have to?" she yawned. "I'd much rather sleep here and do the whole needle thing later. Really Eric, just let me sleep for a little while and then you can look me over."
"Sorry, Eve, we gotta do this now, lets go."
"Excuse me," Adam interrupted. "Shot? What shot?"
"None of you business," Eric bit out, glaring at Adam.
"Eric!" Jackie cried. "You don't have to be so defensive. Adam and his team have invited us to join them, I'm sure he's just making sure Eve is okay."
"I am her doctor, I'll decide if she's okay or not."
"Jeez Eric," Eve cried as she pushed herself out of her chair. "Don't be so territorial." Pausing in front of Adam she reached out to shake hands, Adam then Jesse, to say her goodbye. "You can ignore him, he's just trying to play the alpha male. I promise, he's harmless."
Leaving with Eric Eve trudged down the hallway to her bedroom and flopped down on the bed. She felt the prick of the needle in her arm and the familiar pressure as the injection streamed its way into her body. Already exhausted she was asleep before Eric had finished his exam. Gathering his supplies Eric left The Hurricane and got into his car, driving a ways down the road before stopping and pulling out his cell phone. Dialing the number he knew by heart Eric waited until someone picked up the other end.
"We have a problem."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X
Sitting behind his desk Mason Eckhart listened as the agent gave him the breakdown of his mission. This could indeed prove to be a problem. On the other hand, it could also be the key to wiping out Mutant X once and for all.
"You are to proceed as you have been for the last several months. Nothing has changed except now you have a new addition to your mission. Infiltrate Mutant X headquarters. I want all the information you can get your hands on. Use whatever or whomever you need to get me that information. Do you understand?"
Standing before the cold metal desk Agent Eric Waverly nodded his head. "Yes, sir."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X