ADAM'S ENDING

AN: Don't ask me what's going on. Why would I know? Just in case (coz this is all a bit fast and muddled) the bits in italics are the past and the rest is Jesse doing his speech at Emma's funeral.

"A promise was made - a long, long time ago - that when there was only one of the five left, we would tell everyone else what went on in our lives. All of you here knew at least one of the five, some of you were lucky to know all of us, and saw us as we used to be - a team, together and whole. There are those of you here who know nothing of our story and who are only here in Emma's memory. You're in for a bit of a surprise." There was a murmur of humour from those who knew what was to come. "I may be putting some of the people here in danger by saying what I'm about to say, but if I don't saw them then the knowledge of what we did and what we did it for will be lost when I die. And we worked too hard to be forgotten now, just because we got too old to fight it anymore. I hope that I can trust all of you here with these secrets." His eyes met Sandra's, saw the pleading there, apologised without words, looked away. "It all started a very long time ago, when a company called Genomex began experimentation. Their story isn't ours, it is only our beginning. Our story started in the alleys of a city where a woman named Emma DeLauro was being chased by men who meant her harm."

And a silent audience listened as Jesse told their tale, a story of differences and preconceptions, of friendship and love. Of a family. There were those who smiled as their own stories were mentioned in the weavings of the lives of Mutant X, and those who had come to the funeral unknowing stirred in their seats as mutations and powers were mentioned. Some found themselves staring at the floor as they realised that they had become the people that this team, this family had fought against, the people who had broken them apart. Faces stared up in awe, realising the part that their family had played in the makings of this world, so different to their own and Sandra's head stayed bowed, knowing now that there was no longer anything she could do to protect her family from the truth.

"Shalimar and Emma were meant for each other from the start. When Shalimar died, Emma found it terribly hard to continue on alone. She cared for Sandra as best she could, but sometimes her own emotions would be so powerful that they would overwhelm her. She was continually up and down, all emotions experienced at their most powerful. And then she would have times when she seemed to go completely blank, like she was shell-shocked. She would just sit there, completely unaware of anything happening around her. We ended up with a routine of checking up on the two of them every few hours and we would never leave them alone. As much as possible we suppressed our own emotions to try and allow Emma some relief. We took them to places where we knew there would be large groups of emotionally happy people in an attempt to try and lift Emma, if only for a while. There was one outing I always remember because it seemed to be a turning point for Emma. We went out for a day to the beach when Sandra was about five months old. Emma was having a blank day. You could look into her eyes and see the surface of the sea there. You knew that there were things going on under the surface, but you weren't willing to stick you're neck out to find out what, just in case it got bitten off. We were driving home along the coastal road and we spotted a tiny cove from the road. We drove as close as we could to this cove and then we abandoned the car and walked down onto this tiny beach surrounded by caves and rock-pools. It was still warm so we decided to put the blanket out and watch the sun go down. Brennan dashed off to get some food and I started wandering round the caves."

Emma sat on the beach, Sandra sleeping silently in her arms. The tide was rising and tears were pressing at her eyes in sympathy. She shouldn't have been cold - she wore a thick jumper despite the heat of the sun, low in the sky - but she felt chilled. The sun was diving for the skyline, the sea changing colour and reflecting the strong beams so that the waves became speckled shadows on its yellow surface. A deep shudder ran through her and Sandra stirred, opening baby blue eyes and yawning as if she would swallow the world. Feeling her start to wriggle, Emma placed her down on the blanket by the sand, keeping one hand on her waist so that she couldn't wander off. It would be wrong to say she heard footsteps in the sand behind her - there were no footsteps. And her empathic power sensed nothing she could pinpoint. There was no shadow or scent in the air. But she knew, when Shalimar sat down on the blanket beside her, that she had been watching her from the top of the sand dune and had only just made the decision to join her down by the water's edge.

Emma was surprised to find that she couldn't keep hold of the anger that had first filled her. She no longer wanted to shout and scream at the woman beside her for abandoning her when she was most needed. She damned her fickle emotions and looked up, feeling her breath catch a little as she met Shalimar's eyes. Yes, she had missed her, missed her so very much. The blond smiled softly in reply and turned her attention to the child who sat now in the sand, already mostly covered. Laughing she brushed sand from her features, so very similar to those she knew so well. The child looked up at the new person, looking to her mother to reassurance. The sadness in deep brown eyes was enough to make Emma see. She was not the one who could be angry at her lot. Shalimar was missing out on something much larger.

Tentatively, then more confident when the newcomer made no movement, Sandra very carefully handed Shalimar a chubby fistful of sand. A peace offering. Smiling as tears trailed her face, Shalimar took Sandra's handful of sand and started a pile. Joining in, Emma poured two hands full on top, laughing as Sandra joined in, throwing the sand inaccurately at the pile. When it was high enough Shalimar lifted her gently and stood her atop of the tower they had made.

They sat for a time there, building and destroying towers and castles. Laughing and talking and playing. As the sun hit the horizon they all stopped to watch the explosions of passion - reds and oranges and pinks that threw them selves out across the skies - sitting close in each other's embraces. When Sandra and Emma gave a simultaneous yawn Shalimar laughed and laid down beside them on the blanket, Sandra curled between them. Emma fought for wakefulness as she felt Sandra relax into gentle sleep, brushing sand from her hair and face. Reaching up Shalimar displaced some sand from Emma's hair and she couldn't help but laugh as she saw how covered they both were. The sadness returned to Shalimar's eyes as she traced Emma's features under the guise of removing sand. Emma fell asleep with Shalimar's soft kiss, a breath on her skin.

"I must have spent longer than I remember in those caves because I had missed the sundown by the time I got back on to the beach and Emma was asleep on the blanket with Sandra. Brennan came back, astonished about how long it had taken him to get food and we left Emma sleeping, knowing that she hadn't had much rest and she probably needed it. When she woke up that evening she was like the Emma we remembered, full of bubbly energy and love. And save for one or two days when she found it harder and she may have wavered a little, Emma never went back."

"We'd been fighting for a long time before the war became official. We lived to fight those who wished to eradicate us from the face of the earth, and, though it was never pleasurable we fought against those of our own who couldn't just live in the world like everyone else, who needed to rule it. We fought to make sure no new mutants did more harm to our cause than good in trying to help us. We fought to remain unnoticed and we fought to live our own lives in amongst that mess. Four years after Shalimar's death I met Hazel and though I felt so terribly guilty about falling in love when my best friend was obviously still mourning her partner, I couldn't help but fall for her. A year later we were married and Adrian appeared. I was following Shalimar's instructions to make a family of my own and Emma couldn't have been happier for us. Sandra reached five and Adam took on her tutoring our family was closer than we had been for a long time. Brennan continued going from girl to girl as was his style - we sometimes joked he was like Adam in that sense, an old flame in every corner. We never doubted that he would be the one to take on and lead Mutant X when Adam retired - already he was beginning to hand over responsibility, so slowly Brennan wasn't even noticing.

"Sandra was ten when war broke out. With our forces reduced after Shalimar's loss we had begun to rely on the new mutants who volunteered their services to Mutant X - these external operatives working out of various safe houses and hidden locations"

"Adam." Jesse shouted, running into Sanctuary, face pale. "It's been made official. The bill has been passed. They're going to start killing us!" Adam stood silent in front of the computer screen, fixed on what was going on there.

"They already have."

"So many people were killed in the first attacks. Hundreds were innocent, completely human. Every tiny eccentricity, fake psychics, people who claimed they could see ghosts, top athletes, the sick, the deformed all over the world people were dying - killed by all the rest. They made the ruling broad and easily interpreted. If you see a mutant, kill it, or contact someone to kill them for you. The world was in uproar."

The computer screen showed a scene from the nearby city. In the streets there were riots, covering the town. Within the riots, people he knew, recognised as new mutants. Friends. Riot police were appearing, but Jesse knew they wouldn't be able to help their cause. After all, they were licensed to kill new mutants now.

"Back then there wouldn't even be an inquiry if an accused new mutant was killed, or a blood test. If you saw something strange happening then it was undoubtedly a new mutant doing it. You were fully within your rights to kill who ever you thought was responsible."

"Jesse, start contacting everyone. I want every new mutant we have contacts for in the safehouses until we know what's going on. Send out the alert."

"Where are you going?" He asked as Adam grabbed his coat.

"I'm taking the helix to see if I can save any of those people." He gestured at the computer, where the report was still playing.

"Take Emma and Brennan? Please Adam, you can't do this alone."

"OK." He consented.

The streets were swarming. The team were grabbing everyone they recognised as new mutant and pointing them either to the helix or to the nearest safe house. Pushing their way into a crowd they fought off the people that surrounded a still form and Brennan lifted the injured new mutant and they took him back to the helix. Leaving him with the others who already waited there they headed back out. They had five people in the helix, with only room for one more they searched. Pointing out a crowd of people, Emma lead the others over. Pushing them out of the way to much complaining, Brennan bodily lifted one of the attackers off the still form that was on the floor. Two fingers to the side of the neck. Brennan stepped away.

"She's dead." He told Adam. Together they looked down on the girl. She could only have been eighteen. She was not new mutant, or at least not that Adam recognised. An innocent.

Another fight was breaking out, Megan - in her twenties now - was dragged out into the courtyard of the shopping centre. A gun held to her forehead. The man was shouting to the crowd. He had caught one. Watch him kill it.

Suddenly he fell to the floor, clutching at his head in pain. Megan ran, the thought she had planted being enough to allow her escape. Spotting Adam and the others she ran for them. Brennan charged up as he saw the man regain his feet and pick the gun back up. But there were people everywhere. Adam jumped forward and grabbed hold of Megan as she ran, pushing her around the corner just as a gunshot rang out and falling, unbalanced, after her. Emma and Brennan followed them, Brennan discharging into the crowd to discourage pursuit. Emma almost fell over Adam as she backed down the alley that would lead to the helix, not expecting to find him on the floor. Megan's face was pale, both hands pressed onto Adam's chest. Emma knelt.

"Oh no"