"Back up would be great people," Shalimar's voice sounds through the comm. links.
Emma jumps up in a panic. Brennan and Jesse meet her in the living room, followed closely by
Adam appearing from the lab.
"We have to help them," Emma pleads desperately.
"We will," Adam says, "Brennan, Jesse take the Double Helix to safe house ten."
Brennan and Jesse do what the are told immediately.
"What about me?" Emma demands.
"Right now you are the only element of surprise we have. We can't give that away... yet," Adam
tells her.
"Adam, I can't sit on my hands while my niece is in danger."
Emma starts to leave, but Adam catches her arm and puts himself in front of her.
"Emma. Don't," Adam says as a statement not a suggestion.
Adam holds his stern look. Emma looks deep into his eyes. Probably reading him. She
turns around and heads to her room in a huff. Under normal circumstances Emma would have
gone to the lab to make preparations. In this case she is still avoiding her brother.
**** Safe house Ten ****
Shalimar looks from Lady to the GS agents and back to Lady again. The GS agents power
up their weapons.
"Give us the girl and we'll let you go," one of the agents say as if Shalimar would actually look
into that possibility.
Shal quickly scans the room. She needs to find a place to get Lady out of danger.
"So, McMahon's selling information about us now?" Shal asks, hoping to buy time.
"Hear that Sanders? We have a clever one to deal with," the other agent says sarcastically.
Truthfully Shalimar couldn't tell Sanders from his buddy. With their black suits and short
hair, Mason Eckhart had them looking like clones.
Shal gets an idea. Shalimar grabs Lady and jumps with all her feral power. She lands on
a beam about 50 feet high. Shalimar places Lady down carefully. Lady looks as pale as a ghost.
Lady sits on the beam like she would a horse, gripping the sides tightly.
"Stay still," Shal says and jumps off.
Shal positions her body so she'll land on one of the agents. It works the agent is down.
Unfortunately she doesn't realize she should have picked the other one. The one she landed on is
a non mutant. The other one's mutant power in superior strength.
When Shalimar lands the other agent comes and throws her across the room like a rag
doll. Shal lands hard on the floor. She picks herself up and her eyes flash feral. The agent
chuckles cynically. Shal lunges at him, but is only able to move him a few inches. The agent lifts
Shal up by the neck. He is preparing to break it, but Shal thinks fast. She kicks him hard under
the armpit. The agent screams in pain and throws her again. This time Shalimar hits her head
against the edge of a table and falls unconscious.
Lady stares down at Shalimar's unconscious body. Shal has blood running down the left
side of her head. Her body would be completely dormant if it weren't for her stomach going up
and down. Lady slowly looks below her. The man who threw Shalimar around is coming toward
her. She gulps air as her panic rises.
The man stops as he gets to a pillar that is holding up the support beam. Him and Lady
stare at each other, face to face for a second. The man smiles sadistically before lunging himself
into the pillar. Lady screams, the whole building feels like its shaking. The support beam she is
on is only wood. A hair line fracture going horizontal is created in the middle of the beam. Lady
can hear the creaking as her weight rests on the wood. One more lunge like that and the whole
beam will fall.
The GS agent decides to play it safe. He stands under the middle of the beam, waiting for
Lady's weight to break it instead. That way he has a better chance of catching her. The beam
creaks some more, she can feel it begin to lower. Tears fill up in her eyes as hopelessness
prevails in her head. The beam moves another inch lower to the ground. Lady looks at the man
again.
"Do you really think you can catch me?" she asks, hiding the tremor in her voice.
"I'll take a stab at it," he confirms.
Lady's left ear tickles. He isn't lying about trying to catch her, but sense he used the word 'stab'
it changed the whole sentence to a lie.
"You know your worth more alive than dead?" the man continues.
"I'm under that impression," Lady says a bit annoyed.
She stares at the man blankly. It'll only be a few more seconds before the beam gives
way. Lady snaps out of it when she sees Jesse, he runs toward the man prepared to fight. Lady
closes her eyes. Jesse gets thrown as easily as Shalimar. Jesse hits a wall and gets a cut across his
head. Brennan comes in a second later. Jesse looks at him and nods. Brennan remains on the stair
case. While Jesse phases the ground the GS agent is standing on. The GS agent falls through the
floor like it were a vortex.
Jesse hears the creak of the beam he looks up and sees Lady. She still has her eyes shut.
"Brennan!" Jesse calls.
Brennan looks up and sees Lady. He uses the lightning of his hands to get himself high enough to
grab her. He then uses the lightning to ensure a safe landing. Brennan can feel Lady trembling.
He holds her close as he surveys the damage.
Jesse is catching his breath while holding the cut on his head. Shal is still laying down
unconscious along with another GS agent. Brennan picks up Lady and walks toward the first-aid
kit. He takes out some gauze pads and hands them to Jesse. Jesse holds them to his head.
"I need to put you down now," Brennan says to Lady.
"Why?" she whines.
"I need to pick up Shalimar. And my arm is still tired," he says pointing to the bandaged one.
Brennan puts Lady down. Jesse drags the remaining GS agent into a cell and locks it.
After Brennan gets Shalimar over his shoulder they are ready to go.
"Lady you're forgetting something," Jesse says.
Lady has to think for a moment. She smiles a little bit and runs out of view. When she returns she
is holding her back pack.
**** Sanctuary ****
Adam and Emma are in the hangar as the Double Helix lands.
"What's the damage?" Adam asks.
"Lady's fine. Jesse's got a nasty cut on his head and Shal is unconscious," Brennan reports.
"All right," Adam says analyzing the problem, "Emma, you patch up Jesse. I'll check out
Shalimar."
Adam turns around before Emma even has a chance to react. He can't take any chances of
her changing her mind at this point. Emma takes a deep breath and escorts Jesse to the lab.
Jesse sits down on the chair next to Davenport. Emma comes in and tries not to look at
her twin brother. Curiosity takes over and she takes a glance at him. He has all of his color back
to his face. Adam has him in a semi-sitting position which means he is doing better. She returns
her focus to Jesse before her brother can read too much into it.
"Close your eyes," she says to Jesse.
Jesse shuts his eyes. Emma cleans out the cut on his forehead while trying not to drip too much
hydrogen peroxide down his face.
"I like your hair red," Davenport tells Emma in French.
"Yours doesn't look too bad either," she replies in the same language, but doesn't turn her head
away from Jesse.
Emma finishes cleaning the cut. She gets out the butterfly bandages and begins to fix Jesse's
head.
"She has your eyes you know?" Davenport says -still in French- referring to Lady.
"You have my eyes," Emma replies calmly.
Emma is halfway done with Jesse. Adam walks in with Brennan who is carrying Shalimar. They
set her down and begin working on her. Emma can hear her moan when they touch her head.
"Do you guys get hurt on a regular basis?" Davenport asks.
"About every other day," Emma tells him.
Brennan looks over his shoulder at Emma. He is surprised she can speak another
language. Brennan looks at the two trying to get an idea of what they are talking about. Emma is
looking slightly annoyed. Where as Davenport just looks worried. Brennan shakes his head
slightly and goes back to Shalimar.
"Why did you join this group?" he asks his sister.
"To start a new life," Emma answers. She finishes with Jesse's head and then looks at her
brother. "But you wanted me to go back to my old one didn't you?"
"What are you saying?" he asks.
"Get some rest," Emma tells Jesse.
"I will," Jesse says, but doesn't move.
"What I'm saying is I don't think it's a coincidence that you were in a motel two blocks from my
last known residence. You wanted to leave Lady with me again. Didn't you?" Emma questions
him.
Brennan can't understand what Emma is saying, but he can tell by the tone of voice
Emma's using that it's getting heated.
Emma stares at her brother waiting for an answer.
Davenport takes a deep breath. "I thought she would be safer with you," he answers her.
Emma exists the lab quickly with Jesse at her heels. Jesse follows her all the way to her bedroom.
Emma sits down hard on her bed. Jesse stares at her.
"What?" she asks angrily.
"I was wondering if you wanted to see how Shalimar is doing?"
"She has a concussion. She's been through worse."
"All right I'll get some rest then," Jesse smiles and leaves slowly.
Emma gasps. She just realizes when she told Jesse to get some rest she never switched back to
English. Not only that, but Jesse even answered her in French.
"Wait a second," she says, halting his retreat at the door. "When did you learn French?"
"It was my favorite class in high school," Jesse says.
"Your lying," Emma tells him with a hint of a smile on her face.
Jesse puts on a mocked hurt look. "I learned it to impress girls," he confesses.
"So you knew what we were saying?"
Jesse nods his head. "Your brother wanted to leave her with you to keep her out of danger. Not to
deliberately hurt you."
"I know," Emma says quietly and looks away.
**** Night time ****
Emma is on the computer holding Lady in her lap. She is humming to Lady silently.
"Why are you humming Amazing Grace?" Adam asks quietly since Lady is sleeping.
"It's one of the few songs I can hum in tune," Emma answers. "How's Emmanuel?"
"I moved him to a guest bedroom while you and Lady were playing on the beach."
Adam gently takes Lady from Emma's lap and places her on a near by couch.
"Why wont you talk to your brother?" Adam asks Emma.
"Why do you want me to so bad?" Emma retorts.
"If I answer your question will you answer mine?" Adam negotiates.
"Sure," Emma answers. "Just don't lie. I don't want her to wake up," she says pointing at Lady.
"Tomarrow night's our showdown with McMahon."
"That's a day early," Emma states.
"I know, but right now McMahon's making the choices. Not us. After tomarrow if my plan
works and we win. I'll have to relocate Emmanuel and Lady......" Adam pauses, he doesn't want
to finish the sentence.
"Which means I wont be able to contact them," Emma finishes for him.
Emma has helped relocate other mutants enough times to know that if they contact their
family they can be traced.
"I don't want you to be holding a grudge against your brother when tomarrow may be the
last time you see him and your niece," Adam says quietly.
Emma's whole body seems to melt. She is still facing the computer. She doesn't want to
turn around and look at Adam. Adam turns her chair around anyway. He puts his hand on
Emma's. Emma jerks her hand away. Adam kneels down in front of her.
"You can go with them you know?"
Emma looks up at Adam. His face is so kind and sincere. She leans in and gives him a
hug. Emma lingeres in the comfort of his hug. She rests her head on his shoulder.
"I belong here," she tells him and sits back up.
"I know you do," Adam says.
"There's more to it than just that isn't there?" Emma asks.
"Yeah there is. Emma, I grew up with ten brothers and sisters. The last one I saw was my
youngest sister Jenny. And that's because Eckhart kidnapped her to get some inventions from
me."
"Did it work?"
"I didn't willingly give him sub-dermal goveners," Adam says then continues with his previous
explanation. "After I got Jenny back I told my family to go into hiding and not let them tell me
where they are." After a long pause Adam says, "are you going to tell me why now?"
"I would have taken care of her you know?" Emma says looking at Lady. "Emmanuel sent me a
cell-phone which he could contact me on. With exception of a couple of emergencies I've never
made a call on that phone. I usually had it with me in case he needed to contact me. All he had to
do was call me and tell me where to meet him. I would have taken her and started over again. It's
just the fact that I'd live with this constant fear of having her taken from me again. Now she has a
chance of living safely with her dad."
"That wasn't my question," Adam says calmly.
"I know," Emma says, "the truth is Adam, Emmanuel's my twin brother. I wont stop loving him
no matter how many awful things he'll do to me. I don't want to love someone and have them
leave me again."
Emma's shoulders jump when she hears a door shut.
"Who was it?" Adam asks.
"Emmanuel heard the whole thing," Emma says.
Emma jumps up in a panic. Brennan and Jesse meet her in the living room, followed closely by
Adam appearing from the lab.
"We have to help them," Emma pleads desperately.
"We will," Adam says, "Brennan, Jesse take the Double Helix to safe house ten."
Brennan and Jesse do what the are told immediately.
"What about me?" Emma demands.
"Right now you are the only element of surprise we have. We can't give that away... yet," Adam
tells her.
"Adam, I can't sit on my hands while my niece is in danger."
Emma starts to leave, but Adam catches her arm and puts himself in front of her.
"Emma. Don't," Adam says as a statement not a suggestion.
Adam holds his stern look. Emma looks deep into his eyes. Probably reading him. She
turns around and heads to her room in a huff. Under normal circumstances Emma would have
gone to the lab to make preparations. In this case she is still avoiding her brother.
**** Safe house Ten ****
Shalimar looks from Lady to the GS agents and back to Lady again. The GS agents power
up their weapons.
"Give us the girl and we'll let you go," one of the agents say as if Shalimar would actually look
into that possibility.
Shal quickly scans the room. She needs to find a place to get Lady out of danger.
"So, McMahon's selling information about us now?" Shal asks, hoping to buy time.
"Hear that Sanders? We have a clever one to deal with," the other agent says sarcastically.
Truthfully Shalimar couldn't tell Sanders from his buddy. With their black suits and short
hair, Mason Eckhart had them looking like clones.
Shal gets an idea. Shalimar grabs Lady and jumps with all her feral power. She lands on
a beam about 50 feet high. Shalimar places Lady down carefully. Lady looks as pale as a ghost.
Lady sits on the beam like she would a horse, gripping the sides tightly.
"Stay still," Shal says and jumps off.
Shal positions her body so she'll land on one of the agents. It works the agent is down.
Unfortunately she doesn't realize she should have picked the other one. The one she landed on is
a non mutant. The other one's mutant power in superior strength.
When Shalimar lands the other agent comes and throws her across the room like a rag
doll. Shal lands hard on the floor. She picks herself up and her eyes flash feral. The agent
chuckles cynically. Shal lunges at him, but is only able to move him a few inches. The agent lifts
Shal up by the neck. He is preparing to break it, but Shal thinks fast. She kicks him hard under
the armpit. The agent screams in pain and throws her again. This time Shalimar hits her head
against the edge of a table and falls unconscious.
Lady stares down at Shalimar's unconscious body. Shal has blood running down the left
side of her head. Her body would be completely dormant if it weren't for her stomach going up
and down. Lady slowly looks below her. The man who threw Shalimar around is coming toward
her. She gulps air as her panic rises.
The man stops as he gets to a pillar that is holding up the support beam. Him and Lady
stare at each other, face to face for a second. The man smiles sadistically before lunging himself
into the pillar. Lady screams, the whole building feels like its shaking. The support beam she is
on is only wood. A hair line fracture going horizontal is created in the middle of the beam. Lady
can hear the creaking as her weight rests on the wood. One more lunge like that and the whole
beam will fall.
The GS agent decides to play it safe. He stands under the middle of the beam, waiting for
Lady's weight to break it instead. That way he has a better chance of catching her. The beam
creaks some more, she can feel it begin to lower. Tears fill up in her eyes as hopelessness
prevails in her head. The beam moves another inch lower to the ground. Lady looks at the man
again.
"Do you really think you can catch me?" she asks, hiding the tremor in her voice.
"I'll take a stab at it," he confirms.
Lady's left ear tickles. He isn't lying about trying to catch her, but sense he used the word 'stab'
it changed the whole sentence to a lie.
"You know your worth more alive than dead?" the man continues.
"I'm under that impression," Lady says a bit annoyed.
She stares at the man blankly. It'll only be a few more seconds before the beam gives
way. Lady snaps out of it when she sees Jesse, he runs toward the man prepared to fight. Lady
closes her eyes. Jesse gets thrown as easily as Shalimar. Jesse hits a wall and gets a cut across his
head. Brennan comes in a second later. Jesse looks at him and nods. Brennan remains on the stair
case. While Jesse phases the ground the GS agent is standing on. The GS agent falls through the
floor like it were a vortex.
Jesse hears the creak of the beam he looks up and sees Lady. She still has her eyes shut.
"Brennan!" Jesse calls.
Brennan looks up and sees Lady. He uses the lightning of his hands to get himself high enough to
grab her. He then uses the lightning to ensure a safe landing. Brennan can feel Lady trembling.
He holds her close as he surveys the damage.
Jesse is catching his breath while holding the cut on his head. Shal is still laying down
unconscious along with another GS agent. Brennan picks up Lady and walks toward the first-aid
kit. He takes out some gauze pads and hands them to Jesse. Jesse holds them to his head.
"I need to put you down now," Brennan says to Lady.
"Why?" she whines.
"I need to pick up Shalimar. And my arm is still tired," he says pointing to the bandaged one.
Brennan puts Lady down. Jesse drags the remaining GS agent into a cell and locks it.
After Brennan gets Shalimar over his shoulder they are ready to go.
"Lady you're forgetting something," Jesse says.
Lady has to think for a moment. She smiles a little bit and runs out of view. When she returns she
is holding her back pack.
**** Sanctuary ****
Adam and Emma are in the hangar as the Double Helix lands.
"What's the damage?" Adam asks.
"Lady's fine. Jesse's got a nasty cut on his head and Shal is unconscious," Brennan reports.
"All right," Adam says analyzing the problem, "Emma, you patch up Jesse. I'll check out
Shalimar."
Adam turns around before Emma even has a chance to react. He can't take any chances of
her changing her mind at this point. Emma takes a deep breath and escorts Jesse to the lab.
Jesse sits down on the chair next to Davenport. Emma comes in and tries not to look at
her twin brother. Curiosity takes over and she takes a glance at him. He has all of his color back
to his face. Adam has him in a semi-sitting position which means he is doing better. She returns
her focus to Jesse before her brother can read too much into it.
"Close your eyes," she says to Jesse.
Jesse shuts his eyes. Emma cleans out the cut on his forehead while trying not to drip too much
hydrogen peroxide down his face.
"I like your hair red," Davenport tells Emma in French.
"Yours doesn't look too bad either," she replies in the same language, but doesn't turn her head
away from Jesse.
Emma finishes cleaning the cut. She gets out the butterfly bandages and begins to fix Jesse's
head.
"She has your eyes you know?" Davenport says -still in French- referring to Lady.
"You have my eyes," Emma replies calmly.
Emma is halfway done with Jesse. Adam walks in with Brennan who is carrying Shalimar. They
set her down and begin working on her. Emma can hear her moan when they touch her head.
"Do you guys get hurt on a regular basis?" Davenport asks.
"About every other day," Emma tells him.
Brennan looks over his shoulder at Emma. He is surprised she can speak another
language. Brennan looks at the two trying to get an idea of what they are talking about. Emma is
looking slightly annoyed. Where as Davenport just looks worried. Brennan shakes his head
slightly and goes back to Shalimar.
"Why did you join this group?" he asks his sister.
"To start a new life," Emma answers. She finishes with Jesse's head and then looks at her
brother. "But you wanted me to go back to my old one didn't you?"
"What are you saying?" he asks.
"Get some rest," Emma tells Jesse.
"I will," Jesse says, but doesn't move.
"What I'm saying is I don't think it's a coincidence that you were in a motel two blocks from my
last known residence. You wanted to leave Lady with me again. Didn't you?" Emma questions
him.
Brennan can't understand what Emma is saying, but he can tell by the tone of voice
Emma's using that it's getting heated.
Emma stares at her brother waiting for an answer.
Davenport takes a deep breath. "I thought she would be safer with you," he answers her.
Emma exists the lab quickly with Jesse at her heels. Jesse follows her all the way to her bedroom.
Emma sits down hard on her bed. Jesse stares at her.
"What?" she asks angrily.
"I was wondering if you wanted to see how Shalimar is doing?"
"She has a concussion. She's been through worse."
"All right I'll get some rest then," Jesse smiles and leaves slowly.
Emma gasps. She just realizes when she told Jesse to get some rest she never switched back to
English. Not only that, but Jesse even answered her in French.
"Wait a second," she says, halting his retreat at the door. "When did you learn French?"
"It was my favorite class in high school," Jesse says.
"Your lying," Emma tells him with a hint of a smile on her face.
Jesse puts on a mocked hurt look. "I learned it to impress girls," he confesses.
"So you knew what we were saying?"
Jesse nods his head. "Your brother wanted to leave her with you to keep her out of danger. Not to
deliberately hurt you."
"I know," Emma says quietly and looks away.
**** Night time ****
Emma is on the computer holding Lady in her lap. She is humming to Lady silently.
"Why are you humming Amazing Grace?" Adam asks quietly since Lady is sleeping.
"It's one of the few songs I can hum in tune," Emma answers. "How's Emmanuel?"
"I moved him to a guest bedroom while you and Lady were playing on the beach."
Adam gently takes Lady from Emma's lap and places her on a near by couch.
"Why wont you talk to your brother?" Adam asks Emma.
"Why do you want me to so bad?" Emma retorts.
"If I answer your question will you answer mine?" Adam negotiates.
"Sure," Emma answers. "Just don't lie. I don't want her to wake up," she says pointing at Lady.
"Tomarrow night's our showdown with McMahon."
"That's a day early," Emma states.
"I know, but right now McMahon's making the choices. Not us. After tomarrow if my plan
works and we win. I'll have to relocate Emmanuel and Lady......" Adam pauses, he doesn't want
to finish the sentence.
"Which means I wont be able to contact them," Emma finishes for him.
Emma has helped relocate other mutants enough times to know that if they contact their
family they can be traced.
"I don't want you to be holding a grudge against your brother when tomarrow may be the
last time you see him and your niece," Adam says quietly.
Emma's whole body seems to melt. She is still facing the computer. She doesn't want to
turn around and look at Adam. Adam turns her chair around anyway. He puts his hand on
Emma's. Emma jerks her hand away. Adam kneels down in front of her.
"You can go with them you know?"
Emma looks up at Adam. His face is so kind and sincere. She leans in and gives him a
hug. Emma lingeres in the comfort of his hug. She rests her head on his shoulder.
"I belong here," she tells him and sits back up.
"I know you do," Adam says.
"There's more to it than just that isn't there?" Emma asks.
"Yeah there is. Emma, I grew up with ten brothers and sisters. The last one I saw was my
youngest sister Jenny. And that's because Eckhart kidnapped her to get some inventions from
me."
"Did it work?"
"I didn't willingly give him sub-dermal goveners," Adam says then continues with his previous
explanation. "After I got Jenny back I told my family to go into hiding and not let them tell me
where they are." After a long pause Adam says, "are you going to tell me why now?"
"I would have taken care of her you know?" Emma says looking at Lady. "Emmanuel sent me a
cell-phone which he could contact me on. With exception of a couple of emergencies I've never
made a call on that phone. I usually had it with me in case he needed to contact me. All he had to
do was call me and tell me where to meet him. I would have taken her and started over again. It's
just the fact that I'd live with this constant fear of having her taken from me again. Now she has a
chance of living safely with her dad."
"That wasn't my question," Adam says calmly.
"I know," Emma says, "the truth is Adam, Emmanuel's my twin brother. I wont stop loving him
no matter how many awful things he'll do to me. I don't want to love someone and have them
leave me again."
Emma's shoulders jump when she hears a door shut.
"Who was it?" Adam asks.
"Emmanuel heard the whole thing," Emma says.
