A/N: This chapter is a direct reference to 'Dynasty'. If you're getting lost, you could get some bearings by reading the last 2 chapters of Dynasty. There's a lot of stuff in the brew now and future chapters will sort it all out. MW, thanks for pointing out the correct spelling of Ms. deLauro. I fixed it and tweaked a couple paragraphs. : )
Chapter 4 - Interfaced
Mason Eckhart now sat in the holding area of the hospital. He was scheduled to have a visitor today, it would undoubtedly be that pain, Adam Kane. He sat quietly with his eyes half-closed, thinking. That was about all he could do here in this cleverly disguised prison. Eckhart was still technically on-leave. He considered his options. Adam had told him that the government still kept him on the payroll and that Genomex was no more. He wondered what his next assignment would be. Stoically accepting the possibility of becoming employed as clerk, he inventoried his employment possibilities. He still had a medical background, although in his previous life, he had opted for the military application.
Eckhart opened his eyes and covertly watched the others who sat in the same room. He hated being in this type of surrounding, so many germs… He frowned at his gloved hands then noticed an attractive woman, thirty's, dressed in the same drab blue prison uniform as his, sitting a few feet away from him on the opposite bench. She too was feigning indifference, but was closely scrutinizing the occupants of the room as he was.
Somehow compelled, Eckhart asked her conversationally, "What are you in here for?"
The woman's name tag indicated her name was Marlina. She turned her head toward him and stared balefully at him. Eckhart raised an eyebrow, thinking that he had probably overestimated the intelligence of the woman, and looked away. She continued to stare at him a moment longer then assuming a less frightening expression, answered casually, "Murder, unlawful holding of citizens, unauthorized experimentations. What are you in for?"
Eckhart's eyes widened. "That's my wrap," he said. "How'd you …."
"You think you're the only one who ran a Genetics Agency run amok and got caught?" Marlina asked roughly. The cat-woman placed herself next to him, much too closely into his personal space. He tried to move away, but the wall on the other side of him prevented it.
Marlina leaned into his face and smiled confidentially. "It has been a long time, Mason Eckhart." Mason was startled and uncomfortable with the stranger's closeness. He gazed searchingly at the woman. "Should I know you, M'am?"
The woman studied him deeply. "So formal," she said. "I thought you would remember me by now." She stretched, catlike then suddenly positioned herself onto his lap, staring deeply into his eyes. Eckhart, fully alarmed glanced around looking for a guard, looking to see if anyone was watching.
"Uh, M'am, this is inappropriate behavior. You must stop this now."
Marlina's grey eyes sparkled with amusement as she studied Eckhart another full moment. Then she covered his mouth with hers and kissed him passionately. Eckhart struggled frantically, but the dark-haired woman persisted.
"M'am, the contamination, for heavens sake, I have a condition…" Eckhart protested angrily, fighting her off, gasping for air.
Startled, Marlina backed off of him. "You have access but no memory, Mason Eckhart. What have they done to you?" she asked in a small hurt voice. "We've seen you roaming through from time to time since the confrontation, but you haven't contacted us until now."
Eckhart frowned, puzzled. "What on earth are you talking about?"
The dark-haired cat-woman shook head and looked down sadly. Her eyes widened thoughtfully. "Why are you fettered, Mason Eckhart?"
Eckhart sighed impatiently. "I am a prisoner here, like you, Miss…"
"Marlina. Just Marlina. Your feet are chained and your skin is encased in plastic." She said puzzled.
"Of course," Eckhart said flatly, angry at himself at having started this inane conversation in the first place."
Loud klaxons sounded around him. "Intruder alert," Marlina said, taking Eckhart's hand. "You must come with me," she said, pulling him off the chair and toward the door.
"No. I'll do nothing of the sort. Let the prison security do its job." Eckhart stated flatly.
"This should not be happening here. I will not let you go. Why won't you remember?" Marlina asked frustrated. She stared past Eckhart apprehensively, Eckhart followed her gaze. Gabriel Ashlocke casually leaned against the doorway with a smirk on his face, undressing Marlina with his eyes.
"I can't imagine you as a lady's man, Eckhart. Now let me show you how it's really done." Ashlocke stepped forward, pushed Eckhart away. Eckhart tripped on his chains and landed hard on the floor. Ashlocke grasped Marlina's wrists and stared telepathically into her eyes. The woman struggled to free herself from his grasp.
"No. I- am - not - yours." Marlina closed her eyes and struggled furiously against the grinning Ashlocke. She turned her head away from her captor and toward Eckhart. Suddenly Marlina's eyes opened wide, white rings formed around her pupils. She locked gazes with Eckhart. Eckhart shook his head to clear it. He had seen that phenomenon before, why was it so hard to remember where? Suddenly determined, he staggered back up and tore Ashlocke's hands off Marlina and helped her move away. Ashlocke laughed heartily.
"You've got to do better than that, old man." Gabriel Ashlocke taunted.
Marlina's gaze met Eckhart's again; her pupils still rings of light. "REMEMBER." She hissed fiercely.
Something changed in his head. "Natalia?" he asked in a small voice. He found that the plastic exo-skin that shielded him from the environment was somehow gone- and that it was all right for it to be so.
"Natalia smiled. "How quickly they forget."
"Your name tag says Marlina. You choose such pretty names, Natalia, Aarariah, and Marlina."
"You're catching on, my love."
Gabriel Ashlocke smiled as he prepared a ball of energy in his fingers. "Once I'm through with you there will be nothing for Adam to salvage." He paused thoughtfully. "Then again, to watch you become another one of his failed experiments could be quite entertaining." Ashlocke absorbed the energy ball back into his hands.
"I like the way you think, old man. You've created a paradise here in your mind. No wonder you don't want to return to the cold, cold scary world out there. But I brought a friend of yours along for some fun." Gabriel Ashlocke turned to the doorway that he had been standing near and Michelle stepped out, obviously in a trance. She stood docilely before Ashlocke, gazing soulfully into his eyes.
"Jennifer!" Eckhart and Natalia/Marlina breathed in horror. Eckhart's dark eyes narrowed with fury.
"She chose to come here with me." Ashlocke said with his characteristic smirk. He turned his attention briefly to the blonde woman to gather her in his arms. Ashlocke covertly studied Eckhart's expression as he touched his lips to hers.
"If he breaks through our firewall, we will be totally vulnerable to him," Natalia/Marlina's well-modulated voice spoke calmly but urgently into Eckhart's mind.
"REMEMBER," she hissed.
Eckhart's eyes glowed red as he accessed his long-forgotten telepathic powers. He strode across the room and placed a hand on the back of his daughter's neck in a touch-telepathic connection. He had never linked so closely to his daughter before. Jennifer/Michelle stiffened. A flood of thoughts and memories touched his consciousness and Eckhart easily found where Ashlocke had accessed and made residence in his daughter's mind. The mind-scape had changed. They stood in his old office at Genomex, where Ashlocke had captured him and put him in stasis.
"Out." Eckhart demanded.
"You're beginning to get really annoying, old man," Ashlocke replied, forming a ball of energy in his hands. A red field began to form at Eckhart's eyes.
From where she stood in the waiting room, Natalia/Marlina could see both men standing motionless, glaring at each other. Mason's hand rested on the back of Jennifer's neck. The battle was taking place inside her mind and Natalia hoped that their child would not be harmed.
"OUT!" Eckhart shouted angrily at Ashlocke. "BE GONE." He projected a red force field directly at Ashlocke, pushing him back toward the window.
"I don't think so," Gabriel Ashlocke replied with a touch of annoyance and rebellion in his voice. Jennifer/Michelle still stood motionless, lost between the two forces that battled over her.
Eckhart stared at the window behind Ashlocke and gave a tiny toss of his head. The glass pane shattered. Eckhart's eyes were deadly pools of hatred and revulsion. Ashlocke hurled the energy blast into Eckhart. Eckhart simultaneously projected another Psionic field at his enemy and Ashlocke went over backwards through the shattered window. Eckhart took the hit squarely in the chest. Pain engulfed his body. He fell into an abyss of darkness.
In the hospital, Michelle collapsed onto Eckhart while Emma remained in a kind of trance. Puzzled and alarmed, Adam carefully placed Eckhart's daughter in a chair and checked that her vital signs were normal. He turned to Emma and shook her gently.
"Emma, can you hear me?"
In the waiting room mindscape, Natalia/Marlina watched the form of Jennifer/Michelle silently vaporize. Mason Eckhart fell forward, clutching his chest. Ashlocke fell backwards but caught himself.
"I said, I'm not finished yet," Gabriel Ashlocke said, suddenly serious.
"Yes you are," Emma said, appearing suddenly from nowhere. Ashlocke's eyes widened in surprise. Without pausing, Emma fired a Psionic blast directly at Ashlocke. He froze in mid-step then suddenly disappeared.
"I'm so sorry," Emma turned an anguished face to Natalia and then to the struggling Mason Eckhart. "Are you all right?" She asked Eckhart, helping him to his feet. She noticed the ring on his hand.
Eckhart shrugged her away. "I'm fine, Ms. deLauro." He looked questioningly at Natalia. She shook her head. Emma recognized the telepathic link between them but couldn't get a read off either of them.
"Mr. Eckhart, Adam was hoping that you would come back with me," she told the white-haired man.
Eckhart gazed at the telempath searchingly. She was startled at the change in him. Gone were the red-hued retro glasses, the plastic skin covering, the harsh cold eyes and the macabre paleness. A person stood before her, one who seemed almost kind and approachable.
"Ashlocke must have zapped me harder than I thought," Emma thought to herself. "This is Mason Eckhart we're talking about. Kind? Snakelike should be more like it."
"It is apparent that I trust you as little as you trust me, Ms. deLauro." Eckhart said mildly. "I have no need to return with you to the surface."
"You could still have a productive life, Mr. Eckhart. You are in a dream world here. The longer you stay here, the more likely you will die." Emma told him.
Eckhart tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Your point, Ms. deLauro?"
Emma struggled for words. "If your body dies, then your dream-world will fade away as well."
"The shell must be maintained for now, Mason." Natalia agreed with a slightly amused lift of an eyebrow. The child had no idea. Mason Eckhart intertwined his fingers in hers and they gazed silently at each other. Emma noticed again the non-verbal communication and wondered why she couldn't read them. Natalia's eyes had a white ringed appearance around her pupils while Eckhart's eyes had turned a fiery shade of red.
"We must purge this corruption that Emma released….Aari?....restoring lost memory…interface still intact… strengthen firewall… restore Jennifer...don't give her the ring until she is cleared." After a brief moment, they kissed and reluctantly let go their hands.
"Very well, Ms. deLauro,
this had better be worth it." Eckhart
replied. He turned his head toward the
raven-haired woman as he and Emma vanished.
When he opened his eyes, Mason Eckhart found Michelle sitting in the chair near
his bed. She had an unreadable,
glowering expression on her face. Emma
was holding her head as if she was trying to control a migraine. She stared at him strangely. Her beautiful gray eyes momentarily had a
gloating expression that Eckhart knew all too well.
*****
A/N: Next stop, Evil Emma. Like I said before, please stop by and review. I get the impression that only 4 people are reading this story and maybe finishing this online isn't worth the effort. I'm always open to suggestions for improvement or on where to move the story line.
