"I know. She enjoyed the tour, but she liked the room with the fountain the most." He said.
"Earlier I felt like you were hiding something. Mind telling me what's up?" Emma asked.
"Let me finish running tests first then I'll fill you in." Adam said.
Emma sat down and waited. Whatever was going on had Adam very emotional. A few minutes later the results of one of the tests popped up. Adam sat down on a stool behind him and stared at the computer screen.
"Adam?" Emma said walking up behind him concerned.
Adam turned around and looked at her. His eyes were moist.
"When I saw Shalandra in the closet she reminded me of a few people I knew from my days in Genomex. After you told me of her abilities I looked at some old files. Then during the tour I purposely showed Shalandra the room with the fountain. As I suspected she remembered it from when she was very young." Adam said.
"Why does it have you so emotional then?" Emma asked.
"Almost thirty years ago Ekhart brought a young woman in and started experimenting on her. She already had some natural astonishing mental abilities. We eventually fell in love and shortly after Amy got sick. I started doing research to find a cure only to discover that she was pregnant. She went into labor a month early with twins. The younger of the two was sickly from the start, but the oldest was very healthy.
Ekhart wanted to run tests and such, but I wouldn't let him. I was afraid that if they were anything like their mother he'd experiment on them too. After Amy had the twins she died from unforeseen complications. As she died in my arms she made me promise to get the girls away from Ekhart, which I did.
I took the older of the two home a few days later. The youngest spent the first year of her life fighting to stay alive, but eventually got better." He stopped for a few minutes. Emma waited knowing there was more to come.
"Shortly after the youngest came home I brought her to the courtyard where I had a fountain set up. She loved it. Shortly before the two girls were 18 months old I arranged for others to raise them. Beth and her sister were already showing signs of being powerful mutants when the were older, and I was afraid of what Ekhart would do when he found out. A few days later both girls disappeared from the front yard while they were in their playpen. I never saw either of them again, until today." Adam finished.
"Shalandra's one of them, isn't she?" Emma asked.
"Yes, she is. She doesn't know yet. She remembers the fountain and the last day she saw her sister, but that's it. Someone blocked the rest." Adam said.
"She told us she's never felt safe in one place for very long. She wouldn't tell us why." Emma said.
"Before she disappeared I encoded that in her. It was a precaution just incase Ekhart ever found her. Of the two she's the strongest." Adam said.
Emma gave Adam a hug. "I'm sure it'll work out."
Elsewhere in Sanctuary:
After Adam told Shalandra that she could leave the lab she headed for the room with the fountain. She wanted to meditate on the memories and try to see her father. After she told Adam of the two memories she could tell it struck up some emotions in him, but she wasn't sure why.
Shalandra sat down on a bench near the fountain and closed her eyes, concentrating on the trickle of the water. She then started thinking of the memory where she was walking with her father. She couldn't see him; he was still shadowy. She did however take mental notes on his build and the stuff she could see. She was so focused on that she didn't notice when Emma walked into the room.
Emma watched as Shalandra meditated. A little while later Shalandra opened her eyes. "Hi." She said.
"Hey, what's up?" Emma asked smiling.
"Nothing much. Was meditating a bit. Has Adam got the results of the tests yet?" She asked.
"Yes, he is, but I think he needs a few minutes to himself." Emma answered.
"Do you realize you're an open book?" Shalandra asked.
"What do you mean?" Emma replied.
"When you walked in the closet I could read you as easy as I can see. You really like him, don't you?" Shalandra said.
Emma turned bright red. "Yeah I do." She said in reply.
"The feeling's mutual." Shalandra said grinning. Playing matchmaker was one of her favorite games.
"Thanks." Emma said wondering if Shalandra had read anyone else.
"Shalimar and Brennen like each other and Jesse looks at you like an older brother would a younger sister." Shalandra said still grinning.
"Do you always read people without their permission?" Emma asked.
"No, usually I get hits off of them without even trying. Most of the time I try to ignore the fact that I have these abilities." Shalandra answered.
"Why?" Emma asked curious.
"Lets just say that where I grew up those who are different aren't always treated the same way. I got accused of practicing something I didn't by someone I looked up to when I was younger." Shalandra said.
"Then mutants don't exist where you grew up?" Emma asked.
"I'm not sure. I think you guys are more advanced than where I'm from. If mutants exist then the government keeps it a secret. Those who know they are different either hide it or cover it by saying their a witch or pagan." Shalandra answered.
"Interesting." Emma said.
"I think I'm going to go find out what the results of those tests were." Shalandra said getting up.
"If you want to talk later, I've got a good ear." Emma offered watching her leave the room.
In the lab:
Adam had recovered from his earlier discovery and was now looking at Shalandra's DNA strands. This was very interesting. According to the computer his daughter had multiple mutations. The strongest one was psionic, after that came feral, she was also elemental.
The computer also was showing that Shalandra faced several health problems due to all of the mutations and a few other things. She had minor asthma, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, and arthritis.
"Finding anything interesting?" Shalandra asked standing inside the doorway watching him.
"The tests aren't done yet, but yes I have." Adam said.
Shalandra sat down on in a chair nearby. "Like what?" She asked curious.
"For starters your a mutant like the others." Adam said.
"I always felt I was different and went out of my way to avoid brain scans. At least now I know why." Shalandra said.
"You're psionic, which means you have mental abilities. You also feral, which means you take after some mammal. Your also elemental, which means you have some control over the natural elements such as wind and fire." Adam said watching her reaction.
"So I have more than one. That explains a lot. How many others are like me?" Shalandra asked.
"Not many that we've found. Most that we've found are usually unstable." Adam replied.
"So what aren't you telling me?" Shalandra asked.
"I'll get to that. How old were you when your abilities developed?" He asked.
"I was about 8 when I first started knowing how other people felt. The rest mostly hit me after puberty." Shalandra answered.
"How long have you had health problems?" Adam asked next, half knowing what she'd say.
"Ever since I can remember I've always gotten sick easily. My mother said I was very sick when I was 4 and almost died. The rest developed after puberty and the arthritis was a result of a car accident." Shalandra said.
"I also usually get sick when I do something like this and appear somewhere else." Shalandra finished.
"Do you have any control of where you end up?" Adam asked interested.
"Not at all. I've been through many interesting and sometimes not so pleasant experiences." Shalandra said.
"When you remember the last day you saw your twin you say you were in front of a white house?" Adam asked trying to figure out how to tell her who she was.
"Yeah. A large white colonial house with a huge front yard. It was along a two lane street aligned with palm trees." She answered.
Adam typed in the computer for a few seconds. A picture of the house Shalandra just described popped up. "Is this the house?" He asked.
"I think so. Where is it?"
"It's in California." Adam answered.
"I had a funny feeling I was from there. The first time I came to California and saw the Pacific I got all emotional. It was like I had come home, which I don't understand. My mother say's I was born in New England." Shalandra said, remembering.
"How would you like some answers to those questions?" Adam asked.
"I'd love to. I've always felt that the family who raised me wasn't the one I was born with. I would also more than anything like to find my twin sister." Shalandra said.