The Addison Project
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Mutant X, but wouldn't it be grand?
CH 1
The Addison Project
Brennan and Emma had been waiting for ten minutes for the new mutant they were going to help. They were in an old warehouse that they used all the time for meeting new mutants.
"Okay, this is getting me mad." Brennan said, as he kept his eyes moving all around the complex.
"Whoever this person is probably got lost. They'll be here." Emma said reassuring.
"Or this is a trap." Brennan said. "Five more minutes and then we're leaving." Emma nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Emma got a strange feeling. Something bad was coming. "Wait, Brennan, something's about to happen. We need to get out of here," she said, as she saw a vision of GSA agents.
"You're sure?" Brennan said.
"Yeah, let's go." Emma said. But it was too late. They found themselves surrounded by agents, and Mason Eckhart.
"What's he doing here?" Brennan murmured as he began to generate electricity from his hand, and Emma began to conjure up an energy blast.
"GO!" Mason Eckhart said, smiling.
Two GSA Agents came forward, water sprouting from their hands. They aimed at Brennan, and doused him. Brennan's mutant power was useless. Five more agents came forward to fight Brennan, surrounding him.
"Emma get out of here!" Brennan yelled. But Emma was also surrounded. She started to throw energy blasts, as more agents backed her into a corner. She could see Brennan out of the corner of her eyes, trying in vain to fight off the agents.
"Ms. Malone, if you please," Eckhart said, "Let's get this over with." A young woman came forward, and out of her hands, a sort of shock wave went rippling through the warehouse. Everyone was left unharmed, except Emma. She was bent over in pain, screaming. In seconds, she was unconscious.
"Good work, Ms. Malone. Get the girl, leave him." Eckhart walked past by Brennan, but then stopped. "Let's send a message. Mr. Thompson."
Brennan was on the ground by this time, held down by two agents. He could see another agent carrying Emma out of the building.
"Emma!!" he cried, trying to fight off the remaining two agents. They propped him up on his knees, as Mr. Thompson walked forward.
"Don't worry, Mr. Mulwray, she'll be taken care of. " Eckhart smiled. "Tell Adam that the Addison Project is up and running. That is, if you see him again."
With that, Thompson conducted electricity from his hand, and stunned Brennan. Brennan fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Let's go"
"Adam, he's waking up." Brennan heard Shalimar's voice, echoing. Brennan slowly opened his eyes to see Shalimar at his side, looking very concerned. Brennan felt as if he had just fallen off a cliff. Then it came to him.
"Emma!!" Brennan tried to sit up, but his head felt like it was thirty pounds heavy.
"Easy Brennan, you've been unconscious for hours." Adam said, on the other side of him.
"But, Emma," Brennan said, hoarsely.
"We were hoping you could tell us what happened." Shalimar said. "Me and Jesse found you in the warehouse. It looked like a big fight went on."
Brennan closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Adam asked.
"Uh, we were there to meet the new mutant, and, Emma had a bad feeling, and then we were surrounded by GSA agents." Brennan tried to work out what had happened.
"But why would they leave you, and take Emma?" Shalimar asked.
"I don't know, but someone was there." Brennan started. "Eckhart! Eckhart was there."
"Eckhart?" Adam said in disbelief. "He was there over a new mutant?"
"No, I don't think the new mutant ever showed up. I think that was a hoax." Brennan said slowly. "There was a woman there though; I remember she had a power I've never seen. It was like a shockwave came out of her. I." Brennan stopped.
"Brennan?" Adam said, concerned at the look of Brennan's anxious face.
"I heard Emma scream, like she was in pain, but I don't think any of the agents got near her..." Brennan, could hardly talk, he was consumed with worry over Emma.
"Okay, Brennan, get some rest. We'll talk more later." Adam said.
Brennan nodded, as Adam went to the lab table, and got out a small syringe. "This is just something to get rid of the soreness you're probably experiencing." Adam injected the liquid into Brennan's arm. In a few short moments, Brennan slowly drifted to sleep.
"You gave him a sedative." Shalimar said, a grim smile on her face.
"He wouldn't have been able to sleep. You know that." Adam said, as he and Shalimar stepped out of the lab. Just then, Jesse walked up.
"Did he wake up? Does he remember anything?" Jesse asked, anxious.
"Yes and no. He doesn't remember much." Shalimar answered Jesse. "What does Eckhart want with Emma?" Adam said.
"And why was it so important that he had to come along with his agents?" Shalimar replied.
"Wait, a minute. Eckhart was there?" Jesse was dumbfounded.
"According to Brennan, Eckhart was there, and then some woman gave out a shockwave that rendered Emma unconscious." Shalimar told him. "That's basically all Brennan remembers."
Adam, at that time was in deep thought. "Maybe it wasn't a shockwave, Brennan said that nobody else was hurt, only Emma. What if it was a radio wave, or a frequency of some kind?"
"One that only Emma heard?" Jesse asked.
"Exactly, because of her psionic abilities. It could be possible that the, well whatever it was, kind of scrambled Emma's powers, and was so painful, that she was rendered unconscious." Adam hypothesized.
"Okay, so we've figured out how they got Emma, but why?" Shalimar asked.
"Well, we won't know that until Brennan can remember." Adam said as he walked back into the lab.
Emma was standing in a dark alley. She couldn't see what was up ahead.
"Emma!" It was Brennan. "Emma, what's happening?"
"We've go to get out of here." Emma heard herself say. She felt strange, like she was having an out of body experience. She could feel herself turning around and began to walk forward.
"Wait!" Brennan yelled, but he sounded as if he was a mile away. Emma knew something wasn't right, so she kept walking forward. Emma had a bad feeling.
Finally, Brennan caught up to Emma. She felt him tap her on the shoulder. As she turned around to face him she gasped. It was Eckhart.
"Why hello Ms. deLauro." Eckhart smiled.
Emma woke to find herself in a Genomex Lab. She could see an IV coming out of her arm, though it was very blurry. Emma felt very sick; she knew she wouldn't be able to get up, so she didn't even try.
"Well, hello Ms. deLauro. How are you feeling? I hope the sedatives aren't' making you feel too woozy, but unfortunately what we have planned prohibits the use of a subdermal governor." Eckhart smiled.
"What are you doing with me?" Emma said groggily, realizing she had been restrained.
"I was just about to tell you." Eckhart smiled again. "You see, Ms. deLauro, I have always wanted you on my team. Your talent is being wasted with that traitorous Mutant X."
"I will never join you." Emma interrupted, her speech slurring.
Eckhart smiled again. Emma felt chills run down her spine. "I figured that you would not come willingly, and I have realized that you are a force to be reckoned with. You have guts, Ms. deLauro. I know I can use you somewhere. That is why I have revived a long dead project, The Addison Project."
"What...is.that?" Emma asked as the room began to spin slowly around her.
Eckhart looked hard at Emma. "I think that part can wait." He said, as he watched Emma's eyes roll back.
"Yes, I think that will wait."
Brennan was running. He was running down a dark alley that didn't seem to have an end. He could see a figure up ahead.
"Hey!" he yelled. The figure turned around. It was Emma.
"Emma!!" Brennan exclaimed as he caught up to her. "Emma, what's happening?"
Emma looked panicked. "We've got to get out of her." She turned around and began to walk away. Before he knew it, Brennan was nearly a half a football field away from her.
"Wait!" he yelled as he desperately tried to catch up to her. Finally he did, and tapped her on the shoulder. When Emma turned around, Brennan gasped. It was Eckhart.
"Tell Adam that the Addison Project is up and running." Eckhart smiled.
Brennan sat straight up. He was still in the lab. It had been a dream. Adam came rushing over.
"Brennan what is it?" Adam asked, a concerned look on his face.
"I just, I remembered something. Something Eckhart said. A message for you." Brennan said slowly.
Adam looked puzzled. "A message for me? What was the message?"
"Uh, he said to tell you that the Addison Project was up and running."
Adam froze, a stricken look on his face. "He said the Addison Project."
"Yeah."
"You're sure Brennan?"
"Yes. Adam, what's he talking about?"
Right then Shalimar and Jesse walked into the lab.
"Hey Brennan how ya.." Jesse trailed off as he saw the looks on Adam and Brennan's faces. "What's going on?"
"That's what I was just asking Adam." Brennan said.
"I never thought Eckhart would do something so irresponsible. Not after all the trouble it caused." Adam trailed off, deep in thought.
"What are you talking about?" asked Shalimar.
"The Addison Project." Adam replied.
"Adam, tell us what this project is, and how it affects Emma." Brennan said firmly, wanting the truth.
Adam hesitated. "It was just after the creation of new mutants. Soon, there were departments created, for each type of mutant. Feral, Molecular, Elemental, and Psionic. There was also a department that I was not aware of at the time. The Experimental Department, which oversaw all experiments done on new mutants. This department was headed by Doctor Henry Addison." Adam stopped, and smiled, bitterly. "I thought he was just a consultant. It never crossed my mind that he was doing something so.." He trailed off again.
"He was doing something, so what?" Jesse inquired.
"He was experimenting on Psionics. He wanted to find away to control mutants without the use of a subdermal governor. He thought if he could 'persuade' their way of thinking, they would help Genomex, security wise. Psionics are extremely hard to control, you all know that. Addison thought that if he were able to find a way to control Psionics, then every other kind of mutant would be no sweat."
"Okay, so what happened?" Brennan asked.
Adam paused again. "Well, Addison developed a small implant that goes in the back of the neck, like a governor. What it does is gives the wearer a new memory. Their still the same person, but they have different memories."
"So they'd think that Genomex was a great company, and do everything they could to help it, no questions asked." Shalimar guessed.
"Exactly." Adam said, looking very old. "Addison perfected it and tested it on a Psionic, and it worked beautifully. She went from a waitress at the local diner to a Genomex agent overnight. She forgot that she had a husband, and two kids. But then there were complications."
"Complications?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, eventually, she started to take matters into her own hands. She disobeyed orders, and became a vigilante hunting down new mutants. She ended up killing mutants."
"How did that happen?" asked Brennan.
"Psionics walk a fine line between sanity and insanity. Some people can't cope with their gifts. The heightened mental capabilities aren't for the faint of heart. But some, like the waitress, get big egos, and are disillusioned into thinking that they can't be touched. The implant gives you a false sense of yourself. That's why it's so dangerous." Adam replied.
"So what happened?"
Adam continued. "The waitress decided she wanted to sever all ties to Genomex. She saw Genomex for what it really was. Addison though, wanted his prototype back. He tried to capture her. But she killed him, before other agents killed her."
"Is that when you found out about his work?" Shalimar asked.
"No. I was told that Addison was trying to help a woman who was being mugged, and they both were killed by the assailant. I didn't find out the truth until I started digging into Genomex's past." Adam said, now angry with himself. "If I had just opened my eyes, that woman and Addison would still be alive. And Emma wouldn't be in danger."
Shalimar went over to Adam and put her hand on his shoulder. "You had no reason to think anything suspicious was going on."
"So you think that Genomex has perfected Addison's implant, and that their going to use it on Emma?" Brennan asked.
Adam looked very grim. "Yes, I do, which is why we've got to figure out how to get Emma out of there, and fast.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Mutant X, but wouldn't it be grand?
CH 1
The Addison Project
Brennan and Emma had been waiting for ten minutes for the new mutant they were going to help. They were in an old warehouse that they used all the time for meeting new mutants.
"Okay, this is getting me mad." Brennan said, as he kept his eyes moving all around the complex.
"Whoever this person is probably got lost. They'll be here." Emma said reassuring.
"Or this is a trap." Brennan said. "Five more minutes and then we're leaving." Emma nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Emma got a strange feeling. Something bad was coming. "Wait, Brennan, something's about to happen. We need to get out of here," she said, as she saw a vision of GSA agents.
"You're sure?" Brennan said.
"Yeah, let's go." Emma said. But it was too late. They found themselves surrounded by agents, and Mason Eckhart.
"What's he doing here?" Brennan murmured as he began to generate electricity from his hand, and Emma began to conjure up an energy blast.
"GO!" Mason Eckhart said, smiling.
Two GSA Agents came forward, water sprouting from their hands. They aimed at Brennan, and doused him. Brennan's mutant power was useless. Five more agents came forward to fight Brennan, surrounding him.
"Emma get out of here!" Brennan yelled. But Emma was also surrounded. She started to throw energy blasts, as more agents backed her into a corner. She could see Brennan out of the corner of her eyes, trying in vain to fight off the agents.
"Ms. Malone, if you please," Eckhart said, "Let's get this over with." A young woman came forward, and out of her hands, a sort of shock wave went rippling through the warehouse. Everyone was left unharmed, except Emma. She was bent over in pain, screaming. In seconds, she was unconscious.
"Good work, Ms. Malone. Get the girl, leave him." Eckhart walked past by Brennan, but then stopped. "Let's send a message. Mr. Thompson."
Brennan was on the ground by this time, held down by two agents. He could see another agent carrying Emma out of the building.
"Emma!!" he cried, trying to fight off the remaining two agents. They propped him up on his knees, as Mr. Thompson walked forward.
"Don't worry, Mr. Mulwray, she'll be taken care of. " Eckhart smiled. "Tell Adam that the Addison Project is up and running. That is, if you see him again."
With that, Thompson conducted electricity from his hand, and stunned Brennan. Brennan fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Let's go"
"Adam, he's waking up." Brennan heard Shalimar's voice, echoing. Brennan slowly opened his eyes to see Shalimar at his side, looking very concerned. Brennan felt as if he had just fallen off a cliff. Then it came to him.
"Emma!!" Brennan tried to sit up, but his head felt like it was thirty pounds heavy.
"Easy Brennan, you've been unconscious for hours." Adam said, on the other side of him.
"But, Emma," Brennan said, hoarsely.
"We were hoping you could tell us what happened." Shalimar said. "Me and Jesse found you in the warehouse. It looked like a big fight went on."
Brennan closed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Adam asked.
"Uh, we were there to meet the new mutant, and, Emma had a bad feeling, and then we were surrounded by GSA agents." Brennan tried to work out what had happened.
"But why would they leave you, and take Emma?" Shalimar asked.
"I don't know, but someone was there." Brennan started. "Eckhart! Eckhart was there."
"Eckhart?" Adam said in disbelief. "He was there over a new mutant?"
"No, I don't think the new mutant ever showed up. I think that was a hoax." Brennan said slowly. "There was a woman there though; I remember she had a power I've never seen. It was like a shockwave came out of her. I." Brennan stopped.
"Brennan?" Adam said, concerned at the look of Brennan's anxious face.
"I heard Emma scream, like she was in pain, but I don't think any of the agents got near her..." Brennan, could hardly talk, he was consumed with worry over Emma.
"Okay, Brennan, get some rest. We'll talk more later." Adam said.
Brennan nodded, as Adam went to the lab table, and got out a small syringe. "This is just something to get rid of the soreness you're probably experiencing." Adam injected the liquid into Brennan's arm. In a few short moments, Brennan slowly drifted to sleep.
"You gave him a sedative." Shalimar said, a grim smile on her face.
"He wouldn't have been able to sleep. You know that." Adam said, as he and Shalimar stepped out of the lab. Just then, Jesse walked up.
"Did he wake up? Does he remember anything?" Jesse asked, anxious.
"Yes and no. He doesn't remember much." Shalimar answered Jesse. "What does Eckhart want with Emma?" Adam said.
"And why was it so important that he had to come along with his agents?" Shalimar replied.
"Wait, a minute. Eckhart was there?" Jesse was dumbfounded.
"According to Brennan, Eckhart was there, and then some woman gave out a shockwave that rendered Emma unconscious." Shalimar told him. "That's basically all Brennan remembers."
Adam, at that time was in deep thought. "Maybe it wasn't a shockwave, Brennan said that nobody else was hurt, only Emma. What if it was a radio wave, or a frequency of some kind?"
"One that only Emma heard?" Jesse asked.
"Exactly, because of her psionic abilities. It could be possible that the, well whatever it was, kind of scrambled Emma's powers, and was so painful, that she was rendered unconscious." Adam hypothesized.
"Okay, so we've figured out how they got Emma, but why?" Shalimar asked.
"Well, we won't know that until Brennan can remember." Adam said as he walked back into the lab.
Emma was standing in a dark alley. She couldn't see what was up ahead.
"Emma!" It was Brennan. "Emma, what's happening?"
"We've go to get out of here." Emma heard herself say. She felt strange, like she was having an out of body experience. She could feel herself turning around and began to walk forward.
"Wait!" Brennan yelled, but he sounded as if he was a mile away. Emma knew something wasn't right, so she kept walking forward. Emma had a bad feeling.
Finally, Brennan caught up to Emma. She felt him tap her on the shoulder. As she turned around to face him she gasped. It was Eckhart.
"Why hello Ms. deLauro." Eckhart smiled.
Emma woke to find herself in a Genomex Lab. She could see an IV coming out of her arm, though it was very blurry. Emma felt very sick; she knew she wouldn't be able to get up, so she didn't even try.
"Well, hello Ms. deLauro. How are you feeling? I hope the sedatives aren't' making you feel too woozy, but unfortunately what we have planned prohibits the use of a subdermal governor." Eckhart smiled.
"What are you doing with me?" Emma said groggily, realizing she had been restrained.
"I was just about to tell you." Eckhart smiled again. "You see, Ms. deLauro, I have always wanted you on my team. Your talent is being wasted with that traitorous Mutant X."
"I will never join you." Emma interrupted, her speech slurring.
Eckhart smiled again. Emma felt chills run down her spine. "I figured that you would not come willingly, and I have realized that you are a force to be reckoned with. You have guts, Ms. deLauro. I know I can use you somewhere. That is why I have revived a long dead project, The Addison Project."
"What...is.that?" Emma asked as the room began to spin slowly around her.
Eckhart looked hard at Emma. "I think that part can wait." He said, as he watched Emma's eyes roll back.
"Yes, I think that will wait."
Brennan was running. He was running down a dark alley that didn't seem to have an end. He could see a figure up ahead.
"Hey!" he yelled. The figure turned around. It was Emma.
"Emma!!" Brennan exclaimed as he caught up to her. "Emma, what's happening?"
Emma looked panicked. "We've got to get out of her." She turned around and began to walk away. Before he knew it, Brennan was nearly a half a football field away from her.
"Wait!" he yelled as he desperately tried to catch up to her. Finally he did, and tapped her on the shoulder. When Emma turned around, Brennan gasped. It was Eckhart.
"Tell Adam that the Addison Project is up and running." Eckhart smiled.
Brennan sat straight up. He was still in the lab. It had been a dream. Adam came rushing over.
"Brennan what is it?" Adam asked, a concerned look on his face.
"I just, I remembered something. Something Eckhart said. A message for you." Brennan said slowly.
Adam looked puzzled. "A message for me? What was the message?"
"Uh, he said to tell you that the Addison Project was up and running."
Adam froze, a stricken look on his face. "He said the Addison Project."
"Yeah."
"You're sure Brennan?"
"Yes. Adam, what's he talking about?"
Right then Shalimar and Jesse walked into the lab.
"Hey Brennan how ya.." Jesse trailed off as he saw the looks on Adam and Brennan's faces. "What's going on?"
"That's what I was just asking Adam." Brennan said.
"I never thought Eckhart would do something so irresponsible. Not after all the trouble it caused." Adam trailed off, deep in thought.
"What are you talking about?" asked Shalimar.
"The Addison Project." Adam replied.
"Adam, tell us what this project is, and how it affects Emma." Brennan said firmly, wanting the truth.
Adam hesitated. "It was just after the creation of new mutants. Soon, there were departments created, for each type of mutant. Feral, Molecular, Elemental, and Psionic. There was also a department that I was not aware of at the time. The Experimental Department, which oversaw all experiments done on new mutants. This department was headed by Doctor Henry Addison." Adam stopped, and smiled, bitterly. "I thought he was just a consultant. It never crossed my mind that he was doing something so.." He trailed off again.
"He was doing something, so what?" Jesse inquired.
"He was experimenting on Psionics. He wanted to find away to control mutants without the use of a subdermal governor. He thought if he could 'persuade' their way of thinking, they would help Genomex, security wise. Psionics are extremely hard to control, you all know that. Addison thought that if he were able to find a way to control Psionics, then every other kind of mutant would be no sweat."
"Okay, so what happened?" Brennan asked.
Adam paused again. "Well, Addison developed a small implant that goes in the back of the neck, like a governor. What it does is gives the wearer a new memory. Their still the same person, but they have different memories."
"So they'd think that Genomex was a great company, and do everything they could to help it, no questions asked." Shalimar guessed.
"Exactly." Adam said, looking very old. "Addison perfected it and tested it on a Psionic, and it worked beautifully. She went from a waitress at the local diner to a Genomex agent overnight. She forgot that she had a husband, and two kids. But then there were complications."
"Complications?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, eventually, she started to take matters into her own hands. She disobeyed orders, and became a vigilante hunting down new mutants. She ended up killing mutants."
"How did that happen?" asked Brennan.
"Psionics walk a fine line between sanity and insanity. Some people can't cope with their gifts. The heightened mental capabilities aren't for the faint of heart. But some, like the waitress, get big egos, and are disillusioned into thinking that they can't be touched. The implant gives you a false sense of yourself. That's why it's so dangerous." Adam replied.
"So what happened?"
Adam continued. "The waitress decided she wanted to sever all ties to Genomex. She saw Genomex for what it really was. Addison though, wanted his prototype back. He tried to capture her. But she killed him, before other agents killed her."
"Is that when you found out about his work?" Shalimar asked.
"No. I was told that Addison was trying to help a woman who was being mugged, and they both were killed by the assailant. I didn't find out the truth until I started digging into Genomex's past." Adam said, now angry with himself. "If I had just opened my eyes, that woman and Addison would still be alive. And Emma wouldn't be in danger."
Shalimar went over to Adam and put her hand on his shoulder. "You had no reason to think anything suspicious was going on."
"So you think that Genomex has perfected Addison's implant, and that their going to use it on Emma?" Brennan asked.
Adam looked very grim. "Yes, I do, which is why we've got to figure out how to get Emma out of there, and fast.