Identity Crisis: Part 2

Adam stared at the pink-wrapped moving bundle in Paul's arms.  "Is this another rescued kitten you want me to nurse back to health?"

Paul leveled a glare at his friend.  "I'm hurt."  Then he grinned.  "Actually, it's my daughter."

Adam stared at Paul this time, not sure that he had heard right.  "Your what?"

Paul held out the bundle, and a pair of impossibly blue eyes stared innocently up at Adam.  "Want to hold her?"

Gingerly, Adam took the little girl into his arms.  "She's so tiny.  How old is she?"

"Only a few days."  Paul smiled proudly.  "Isn't she beautiful?"

Adam nodded.  "I'm assuming you adopted her, right?" It seemed to him that Paul hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Eleanor can't have children, so we took the only other option."

Adam smiled.  "She's adorable.  What's her name?"

"Angel."

"How appropriate."  Adam handed Angel back to Paul, then eyes his friend suspiciously.  "Why are you so dressed up?"

Paul chuckled.  "Eleanor and I are going for dinner with some friends, Michael and Christina Fox."

Adam frowned thoughtfully.  "I know that name…didn't we treat their daughter, Shalimar?"

Paul nodded.  "I guess Eleanor and Christina struck up a friendship."

Adam smiled, not entirely surprised.  Eleanor was a real people person, and Christina hadn't exactly seemed like the shy type, either.

Adam suddenly realized that Paul was looking at him strangely.  "What?"

"Well, it's a fancy restaurant, and Angel's so young…"  Paul gave Adam a pleading look.  "Please?"

"Uh-uh.  No way.  I don't know the first thing about caring for babies."
"It's easy," Paul answered, practically pushing Angel into Adam's arms.  "And she's really well behaved.  Please Adam, you're the only one we trust with her."

Adam sighed resignedly.  "All right, all right, but don't say I didn't warn you."

x X x

"Of course, he did an excellent job," Angel commented.

Brennan gave her a sideways glance.  "How would you know?"

"Good memory."  Angel gave a dismissive wave.

"So, when did you start suspecting that maybe Paul wasn't quite being on the level with you?" Emma asked.

Adam gave a laugh.  "Well, it started when Angel was two, after a very interesting incident with a set of blocks…"

x X x

Adam stared in disbelief as the last of the ten blocks positioned itself perfectly at the top of the miniature tower.  "How --?"

"Unca Adam, come play!"

Adam stared at the tower.  "Angel?  Did you do that?"

Angel glanced at the tower and nodded, smiling proudly.  "I made the blocks float."  Frowning, Angel looked up at Adam.  "Are you mad, Unca Adam?"

Adam smiled down fondly at the little girl.  "No, sweetie, just a little surprised.  I didn't know you had such a special talent."

Angel smiled again, and climbed onto Adam's lap, snuggling against him.  "Are you gonna tell Daddy?"

Adam looked down.  "Not if you don't want me to."

Angel shook her head.  "Daddy would be scared," she said slowly.  "And…I just don't want him to know.  Please don't tell?"  she pleaded, blue eyes widening.

Adam smiled.  "Promise, but you have to promise me something."

Angel tilted her head to one side, looking at Adam curiously.

"Promise me that if you find you have any other special talents, you'll tell me, so we can make them better."

Angel smiled.  "Promise."  Suddenly, she turned towards the door.  "The man with white hair is coming."

Adam started.  "You mean Mason Eckhart?"

Angel nodded, leaning against Adam sleepily.  "Masa Ickyhat," she murmured.

Adam stood up as the door to his lab opened.  "Yes, Mason?"

Mason Eckhart looked disdainfully at Angel for a moment before responding.  "Mr. Breedlove would like to speak with you," he said.

Adam nodded, and followed Mason, carrying a now sleeping Angel in his arms.

Paul met him at the door to his office, looking unusually solemn.  He stroked Angel's hair for a moment, then gestured for Adam to enter.  Carefully, so as not to wake her, Adam placed Angel on the couch, then sat down in one of the chairs scattered around Paul's office.  "What's up?"

Paul sat down at his desk, then stood up again, pacing nervously.  "I need to ask you about Angel.  Has she – has she done anything – unusual?"

Adam raised an eyebrow.  "Unusual?  Unusual how?"

Paul hesitated before answering.  "Anything a normal two-year old couldn't do?  Like, reading people's minds, or telekinesis, or – something?"

Adam frowned, thinking back  to his office.  Was there something about Angel that Paul wasn't telling him?  "No, not that I know of. Why?"

Paul stopped pacing, and faced Adam.  "There's something I need to tell you about Angel."

"I'd kinda figured that one out."  Adam flashed a glance at the sleeping girl.  "What did you do to her, Paul?"

Paul sighed.  "We made her."

It took a moment for the impact of these words to fully hit Adam.  "You made her?"

Paul nodded.  "She's part of an experiment called the 'X-Factor' project, designed to create the perfect human."

Adam's eyes narrowed suspiciously.  "The perfect human, or the perfect soldier."

He pointed at Angel.  "Did you plan on telling her about any of this?"

"Don't judge me Adam," Paul answered.  "You know as well as I do that we get continued funding because of the military applications of our work."

Adam stood up, fuming.  "It's one thing to find cures for chemical weapons.  It's a completely other thing to create a human being to be a mindless zombie soldier.  Do you even know the repercussions on Angel?"

"Yes, I've thought about it.  But the thing is, Adam, she's our top model, the most perfect soldier, Alpha 1.  She's the culmination of years of research.  We can't just abandon that."

"But you can abandon human rights?" Adam snarled bitterly.  "You can deny Angel a life because you need her to be your guinea pig?"

Paul sighed.  "I should have known you would react like this."

"How else did you expect me to react?"

"Like a scientist instead of a father."  Paul retorted, before gasping.

Adam stared.  "What?"

Paul grimaced.  "Err…as in…umm…well, you're so close to Angel, you're almost like a father to her."

Adam glared.  "For once in your life, tell the truth."

Paul sighed.  "When we made Angel, we had to find DNA to use.  Yours was one of the strands we used."
"You used my DNA?" Adam exploded.  "When the hell were you planning on telling me?"

"I wasn't."  Paul looked at Adam.  "I didn't think your fatherly instinct would kick in so strong."

Adam could have very cheerfully strangled Paul.  "You didn't bring me here to tell me this.  Why did you call me?"

"Because the project's failed."  Paul looked at Angel.  "She hasn't demonstrated any of the – talents – we needed her to have.   We're terminating the project."

"Terminating how?"

"Tomorrow morning, Angel is to be terminated."

Adam stared in disbelief at the man he had once called his friend.  "You're just going to kill her?"

Paul shrugged.  "We can't risk letting her out into the public, just in case her powers show up later in life."

"You're going to kill your daughter?  Or does she even have any of your DNA?"

"Yes, she does.  Mine, yours, Mason's, and Christina's."

Moving quickly, Adam strode across the room, scooping Angel into his arms. 

"What are you doing, Adam?"  Paul moved across the room, sounding slightly scared.

"I'm guessing you didn't tell Christina, either.  I figure she should know she has another daughter before you murder the girl."

Paul winced, but didn't move to stop Adam.  "Do you have to say it like that?"

"Yes."

Adam strode out of Genomex, securing Angel into his car.  By this time, she had woken, and as they drove out down the road, she asked,  "Are you going to save me?"

Adam jumped, and flashed at glance at his girl – his daughter.  "What?"

She fiddled with a loose thread on her dress.  "I heard you and Daddy arguing.  You won't let him hurt me, will you, Daddy?"

Adam shook his head, as the road in front of him blurred.  "No, I'm not."

Half – an – hour later, Adam pulled into the driveway of the modest house owned by the Fox's.  Christina opened the door before he could knock.  "Mr. Kane?"

"We need to talk."  Adam walked into the living, and sat down.  "Paul's done something, and I need your help."

Christina nodded,  and sat down, lifting her young daughter, Shalimar, into her lap.  "What's up?"

Adam thought for a moment, trying to figure out what say.  Finally, he decided to just go for the plain truth.  "Angel is your daughter."

"What?"  Christina looked at Angel, then at Adam.  "Is this some kind of a joke?"

Adam shook his head.  "I wish.  It seems that Paul created Angel, and used your DNA, as well as mine."

Christina stared at Adam for a long time, and he wondered if she was just going to laugh, or order him out of the house.  If she did, he wasn't sure how he could still save Angel.  Finally she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Why?"

Adam laughed bitterly.  "Science, according to Paul."  At the curious look from Christina, Adam explained about his conversation with Paul. 

Christina looked appalled.  "They're just going to kill her?"

Adam nodded.  "That's why I need your help.  I need you to take Angel, get her away from here."

"Where should I take her?"

Adam stood up.  "Anywhere, as far from here as you can get."  He thought for a moment, then heaved a heavy sigh.  "And don't tell me where you're going."

Christina stared at him.  "You don't want me to tell you where your daughter is?"

Adam shook his head.  "If I know where she is, they might be able to get the information out of me."

"Why can't you just leave Genomex?"

"Because there may be more like Angel, and I can't just let Paul and Eckhart kill them if they don't turn out according to specifications."  Adam sighed, and looked down at Angel.  She looked back at him.  "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I really am."

Angel nodded solemnly.  "I know," she said, before standing on the chair, and throwing out her arms.  Adam scooped her up, holding her as tight as he could.  Angel buried her face in the crook of his neck, arms wrapped around him.  After a moment, Adam gently handed her over to Christina. Angel sniffled quietly.  "I love you, Daddy."

Adam gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.  "I love you too, sweetheart."  Then, before the tears threatened to burst could, he strode out of the house and got into his car.  He drove aimlessly for two hours, before pulling to the side of the road, and letting the tears flow freely.

"Am I suppose ta call you mommy?" Angel asked as Christina put sheets on her bed.

Christina stopped, and turned to the little girl.  "Only if you want to," she said.

Angel nodded, then turned as someone else came into the room.

"Mama, what's going on?" the blonde-haired little girl asked, rubbing at her eyes sleepily.

"It's nothing, Shalimar honey.  You go back to bed, okay?"

Shalimar turned to Angel, who looked suddenly nervous.  "Who're you?"

"Angel."

Shalimar looked at Angel, head cocked to one side, her eyes going decidedly cat-like for a moment, then said, "You don't have ta be scared.  If you're scared, you can sleep with me."

Angel regarded Shalimar solemnly for a moment, then nodded.  She looked at Christina.  "Can I sleep with Sha-ima?"

Christina nodded.  "Okay, but I want you two to go to sleep, okay?"

Angel and Shalimar nodded together, looking for all the world like sisters, which, Christina reminded herself, they were.  She shepherded the two girls into Shalimar's bedroom, and tucked them both into the bed, then gave them both a tender kiss on the forehead.  The two girls snuggled together, falling asleep almost immediately. Christina watched the two of them for a couple of minutes, then quietly left the room, closing the door gently behind her. 

"What happened, Paul?"

"Adam took Angel.  That girl could be a danger and a threat, Mason.  We have to find her again."

"I'll get my men on it."

"Adam said he was taking her to see her mother, Christina.  You might want to try that first."

"Of course."

"Shalimar, Angel, wake up."

Angel and Shalimar both sat up, rubbing their eyes as Christina raced around the room, throwing clothes into a large duffel bag.

"Mama, where are we going?" Shalimar asked.

Angel sat silent for a moment.  "Bad men are coming, " she said quietly.

Christina nodded.  "Shalimar, your Aunt Linda is here.  She's going to take care of you until I get back.  Is it okay if I give Angel some of your clothes?"

Shalimar, seeming to grasp the seriousness of the situation, nodded, and helped Angel get dressed as Christina finished packing.  Christina scooped Angel up in her arms, and raced out of the house to her car.  The two got in, Angel scrambling to the passenger seat, and fumbling her seatbelt closed.  Christina gunned the engine, racing down the street.  Almost immediately, two black vans pulled out behind her.  Angel twisted around in her seat.  "They're following us."

"I know, honey."  Christina checked her rearview mirror, then pressed down even farther on the gas pedal.  The three vehicles raced around corners and down empty country roads.  Terrified, Angel closed her eyes, reached out frantically with her mind.

~Daddy, help us!~

Adam jerked awake with a start as Angel's voice rang through his mind.  For a moment, he thought he had been dreaming the voice, but then it came again, piercing into the very depths of Adam's consciousness.

~Daddy, help us!~

Adam started the car, about to pull out on to the road, when three cars raced by – an old looking station wagon, and two sleek black cars.  It took almost a full minute before Adam realized who had just raced by.  He pulled out onto the road, going as fast as he dared.  He turned a sharp curve, just in time to see the red car go flying off the road.  Adam felt as though time had slowed almost to a standstill, as the car fell down the five-foot cliff, exploding into flames at the bottom.  The two black cars turned around and raced by.  Adam caught a glimpse of white hair in one of the cars.  He drove over to where Christina's car had crashed, and turned off the engine.  He attempted to get out of his car, but for a moment his legs rebelled, refusing to carry him.  After a long moment, he stepped out, sliding gingerly down the cliff.  At the bottom, he looked around.  The car was a mass of flames.  Adam stared at it in shock.  He didn't even see the small bundle on the ground, until that small bundle made a noise like a whimper.  Jumping in surprise, Adam looked down, then  let out a yelp of alarm before scooping Angel into his arms.  "Are you alright?"

Angel nodded mutely.  Adam inspected her carefully, and was surprised to see no marks on her body, not even a scratch.  He looked up suddenly as a faint wail floated in on the breeze.  Somebody was coming, and Adam refused to be caught here.  He raced up the slope, tucked Angel into the back seat of his car, and gunned the engine.

By the time the ambulances arrived, the fire had burnt itself out.  They assumed both occupants of the car dead, their bones burnt to ashes in the explosion.

x X x

"What happened next?" Jesse asked.

Adam shrugged.  "I took Angel to a foster home facility, told them that I had found her abandoned on my doorstep.  I never saw her again, not until today."

"Shalimar?" Angel asked quietly.  "Are you okay?"

Shalimar nodded slowly.  "You said they never found either body, right?  Does that mean – does that mean that my mom – my mom might still be alive?"

Adam shook his head, not in denial, but a gesture of helplessness.  "It's possible, but it is possible that she did burn up.  We may never know."

"She was a really nice person," Angel said timidly, looking nervously at Shalimar. "I'm really sorry."

Shalimar gave Angel a look.  "Why?" she asked.  "You didn't do anything wrong."  Then she grinned.  "Hey, if you're my younger sister – I guess I now have an obligation to tease you."

Angel grinned back.  "Then I guess that gives ME an obligation to borrow your clothing without asking, too."  She eyed Shalimar's shirt appraisingly.

Adam laughed.  "Well, I'm glad to see you two are getting along."  He turned to Emma.  "Emma, would you show Angel to one of the spare rooms.  We have something to take care of."  He gave Shalimar and Jesse pointed looks.  Emma nodded, and she and Angel walked out of the room.

"What's going on?" Angel asked, as she followed Emma to the center of the main room, where Adam, Shalimar and Brennan stood waiting. Emma smiled mysteriously, then went to take her space beside Brennan.  Adam cleared his throat mysteriously.

"Angel, you have a very special gift, and I'm glad to see you've embraced them so completely, and still managed to maintain a sense of humour and compassion." He gestured to the four members of Mutant X.  "When I picked these four, I envisioned a team who would be able to conquer Genomex, and help New Mutants to live their lives out in peace and harmony.  I'm hope you'll help us to fulfill that dream." 

He nodded at Shalimar, who stepped forward, holding a small rectangular box.  She flicked the box open, revealing a plain silver ring inside.  Angel gingerly picked up the ring, her face filled with wonder, and slipped it on her finger.  For a moment, the ring glowed green, then filled with a design.  Angel stared at it, then at Adam, who smiled.

"Normally, the design on the comlink rings is simple, aligned with the DNA of the person wearing it."  He laughed.  "In your case, I had four separate strands of DNA to work with, so I decided to try something different.  The Celtic cross design represents infinite possibilities, as do you."

Angel smiled, then threw her arms around Adam.  "Oh, thank you!  Thank you so much! I'll wear it with pride and honour!"

Adam smiled back.  "Now, you do realize that, as part of a team, you're going to have to follow orders, right?"

Angel smiled mischievously, shrugged, then turned to everyone else.  "So, is anybody going to give me the grand tour of this place?"