Title: Gemini Effect
Third in the I-Man/Prey crossover series.
Authors: MM with a little Alli on the side
Rating: PG13-NC 17
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters or basic story lines of "The Invisible Man" or "Prey". If there are any similarities of any person, real or fictional, dead or alive and any plot similarities to any current fics posted, being written or is currently floating around in someone's head is purely a coincidence. We're just using the characters for fun and will return them relatively unharmed. We're making no money off of this.
Pairings: Darien/Darcy, Ed/Claire, Tom/Sloan
Description: This picks up where "Human Equation" left off. Arnaud had just contacted Ed about helping him with a new gland prototype in return, Arnaud will help Ed with the so-called cure he gave Darien. There's just too many things that happen to give a complete description, so you'll just have to read. A/N: This fic will contain several flashbacks to parts in "Prey" and some we made up. This series takes place five years after Tom was put in the cage. We hope to be able to fill in some of things that happened. Of course this is solely based on our warped minds. Also, the NC-17 parts will be posted at the I-Man fanfic Yahoo group.
*Warning* This part contains a MAJOR SPOILER for the last episode of "Prey". If you haven't seen it yet and don't want to be spoiled, then turn back now. This first part is mostly "Prey" centered with a little Ed and Claire thrown in the mix.
Prologue
Bound.
He hated this straightjacket. He struggled against the worn straps, rotating his shoulders in circles trying desperately to seek the slack he desired.
The last thing he remembered was the fight, his hands gripped tightly around the man's neck. He would have killed him, but they showed up with the tranq gun and ruined the party. The dart had found its way into his body and released its black magic in him. He awoke in purgatory, the white padded cell with its soft walls and floors.
He needed to be free, so he got up and tried to crash through the padding, he even tried to bite his way through it. Then he spotted the mirror. He had backed himself to the far wall and took a charging run at it, hitting the unbreakable glass head first. For this grand effort, he received a nice cut on his forehead and promptly knocked himself out.
Again he awoke. He felt something wrapped around his head. He suspected that the good doctor had come in and put in a few stitches, bandaged him up and quickly left the room.
"Miss Blondie was here, hmm." he felt the bandage on his head and smiled, "Too bad I was out cold, I could have paid for her services with something special."
His head hurt, but he didn't care, in fact it felt good.
He sauntered up to the glass and yelled, "GET THIS DAMN THING OFF!"
He growled in frustration as he continued to struggle with the restraints.
Claire didn't know how long she had watched him. Time seemed to stand still for her and the others in the observation room. They watched him through the one way mirror.
"What stage is he in, doctor?" The Official asked coldly.
Claire didn't even bother to look at him when she answered, "I would guess at the tail end of stage three and going into stage four."
Hobbes stood next to Claire and watched "What can be done for him?"
"Well, since the old counteragent won't work, we have to wait and hope," Claire stopped when she noticed that two very bright ruby colored eyes stared right into her.
"Hey, Claire, I know you're in there. I can hear your heart beating." He put his forehead to the glass and a malevolent smile came across his face, "Thump-thump, thump-thump."
Darien put his hand on Claire's shoulder to console her, "What can we do to help him?"
Claire regained her composure and looked at Darien with tears in her eyes, "We uhmm, have to wait and hope that you can find Arnaud and get counteragent for Ed."
Chapter 1
Five years earlier in Sloan's apartment.
Ed was busy packing up his doctor bag with his blood pressure cuff, stethoscope and other items. As far as he was concerned, this experiment was over. Even if the booster worked, Ed had doubts that Tom would remain human for very long.
"Any bulletins?" Tom asked as he sat on Sloan's bed. He stood up and slowly made his into the living room.
"All your vitals are strong," Ed said as he shook his head discouraged.
"And getting stronger, I imagine." Tom walked past Ed who sat at the kitchen bar with his back towards Sloan's door.
"Look, Tom, I'm sorry this didn't work out," Ed said as he looked at Tom dismayed.
Tom sat in the chair by Sloan's fireplace, he let out a soft sigh, "It's not your fault; you didn't even wanna give me the shot."
"I know but, I hoped it would take. We all have a lot riding on this." Ed said as he looked at the dominant. He wanted it to work out. After what happened with Kelly and with little Kevin, the gene therapy would have given the humans a fighting chance for survival, a weapon of their own to fight back with.
Tom returned the gaze to the disheartened scientist, "Obviously you're close. Don't let this setback stop you. You'll figure it out." Tom wanted to give Ed reassurance. Deep down he didn't think the therapy was a good idea, that it may cause a war. But Sloan was right, war was inevitable and he was willing to give the humans a fighting edge.
"Do you think so?" Ed looked at Tom again.
"Yeah, I do. And I'll be ready to try it again when you're ready." Tom smiled at Ed. He had faith in this human. Like Sloan, he was not an ordinary human. A single man could hold the secret to taming the destructive nature of dominants and Tom was looking at him.
Ed had given him a gift after all. Tom had a chance to live as a human, to feel things that he was taught to repress. For the first time in his life, Tom had lived not for survival, but for life itself. And he had Ed to thank for that. Perhaps because of this, they could forge a friendship.
At that moment, men dressed in combat clothing busted through the door at Sloan's apartment. Four men grabbed Tom while the fifth one injected Ed in the neck with a clear fluid. Ed was pushed to floor and he stared at the ceiling, unable to move. The same man ran to the subdued Tom and injected him with a different fluid. Two men dragged Tom out of the apartment while another one grabbed Ed's laptop and bag. As they left the apartment, one aimed his gun at Ed to make sure he didn't try to rescue Tom. Ed was left lying on the floor, dazed.
Sloan pulled up to see Tom being dragged into a waiting van. She rushed over screaming his name, "TOM!!!"
Tom turned, he saw Sloan and the look of despair on her face. There was nothing he could do as he was pushed inside the van. The door closed and the van drove off. Sloan ran after the van but was nearly hit by a car and stopped in her tracks. All she could do was watch as the van sped down the street and out of sight as it turned a corner. Sloan never saw the lady who sat in the back seat of her car, glaring at her.
Sloan stood in the middle of street, frozen until she remembered, "Oh God, Ed." She raced up stairs and found her door still opened. She didn't hesitate and she ran inside, "Ed!" She heard a moan.
Sloan looked down at her floor and saw Ed lying on his back, his eyes glazed over. "Oh God, Ed what did they do?"
"Forgive me, Sloan, I'm sorry," Ed said hoarsely, barely audible. His mouth was very dry.
Sloan lifted his head so he could rest on her lap. She rubbed the sweat from his face, his eye movements were unusual. "Ed, why are you sorry?" She could feel tremors coming from his body.
"I didn't take care of him, you asked me and I couldn't, they.took him," Ed looked at Sloan, "I shouldn't have.the therapy.I knew it.you were right." A single tear left a trail down Ed's face. He couldn't move his whole body felt numb. He could feel himself slipping away. Before it was too late he said one more time, "Forgive me."
"Shhh.not your fault; right now let's concentrate on you," Sloan said teary eyed. "I need to get you help." Sloan looked up for Ed's bag, it was gone and so was his laptop. She looked down at her friend and felt his pulse. She frowned, his pulse was irregular and his skin was turning blue. His breathing was slow and shallow. He mumbled something and then his eyes closed.
Sloan's eyes widened. Fear gripped her that her best friend may die in her arms, "Ed.Ed.don't leave me.stay with me okay, I'm going to call an ambulance and then Walter." Sloan took off her jacket and laid it under Ed's head. She looked at him sorrowfully. She got up and went to the phone.
Sloan heard footsteps as she dialed the emergency number. She ran to her fireplace and picked up the fire poker and stood in front of Ed. If they had come back for him, they would have to go through her to get him. She gripped the weapon with both hands and waited.
First she saw a tall black man walk in followed by a teenage male. She looked at both of them and recognized the youngest one, "Shane?"
Shane put his hands up, "It's okay, we're not here to hurt you, only to help."
Sloan glared at other man, "Who is he?"
"My name is Mark Ward. I know Dr. Walter Attwood. Like Shane said, we're only here to help." Mark looked at the man on the floor, "He needs help."
"I called an ambulance, the hospital will take care of him," Sloan said not giving up her position in front of Ed.
"You're both in danger. A hospital is not a safe place for either of you. You can trust us, Dr. Parker. Call Dr. Attwood and ask him yourself, but Dr. Tate won't live much longer if we keep talking," Mark said as he slowly approached Sloan.
"Don't come any closer," Sloan said as she looked down at Ed. He was getting worse. He was having mild seizures and she knew they would get worse if she didn't get him help.
Mark stopped and pointed towards Ed, "Dr. Parker, he's dying. Please let us help him. Shane helped you before. I'm telling you, you can trust me. Things have happened that you can't even trust your own government. They took Tom and they drugged Dr. Tate."
Sloan looked at Ed again still holding on to the poker. She had no choice. She lowered the poker and stepped aside, "I'm calling Walter."
"Fine, you do that," Mark bent down and picked up Ed.
"Walter, where are you?...what?" Sloan looked at Mark and Shane, "Yes, they're here. Walter, Tom was kidnapped and Ed's been drugged.I don't know, but it looks an overdose.okay, I'll tell them." Sloan hung up the phone, "He said to meet at the rendezvous point. Guess I'll have to trust you."
"We don't have much time let's go now," Shane said as he sensed humans on the way. They went down the fire escape and got into Mark's car and drove off to meet Walter at a private airfield. Mark called someone on the phone and talked about Ed.
When he was done, Sloan asked, "I hope that was someone that could help?"
"Yes, it was. He's a doctor and he's going to meet us at the airfield."
"Airfield?" Sloan questioned.
"Yes, the plan was to get you, Dr. Attwood, Tom Daniels and Dr. Tate out of the country. But we seem to have had a set back." Mark glanced at Sloan from the rear view mirror.
Mark drove the car into a large hanger and came to a stop. Walter, Ray and a couple of people came towards the car. Sloan suspected that one of the men was the doctor and maybe the other men were the pilots of the two small leer jets she saw sitting in the hanger.
"How is he?" Walter asked.
"Not good, Walter, I don't know what they injected him with." Sloan said as she watched Mark take Ed out of the car and lay him gently on the ground.
"What are his symptoms?" Asked one of the men, he looked up, "I'm Dr. Bateman, I only want to help."
"He was conscious when I found him, but he passed out and hasn't woken up since. His pulse was irregular, breathing was slow and shallow, the skin coloration blue and sweaty. His eyes were moving oddly, like he couldn't focus," Sloan said as she held Ed's hand.
"Sounds like an overdose alright," Dr. Bateman stated as he looked at Walter and Sloan, "Do you know what happened?"
"I'm not sure, but I would guess that whatever they used on Tom they may have used on Ed," Sloan said.
"Let's assume they used something like a hypo gun to administer a sedative quickly and effectively. It would have to be set to administer a dosage strong enough to sedate a dominant. That would mean that Dr. Tate received a dosage much higher than what his human system can tolerate." Dr. Bateman reached into his bag and pulled out a vial. He showed it to Walter. Walter nodded and he filled a syringe and prepared the injection site.
"How long does he have?" Sloan asked.
"I can treat the symptoms. But the rest is up to him and his will to live. I need to get him somewhere else so I can treat him properly," Dr. Bateman looked at Walter.
Walter nodded, "Very well, let's go then," he said as he grabbed Sloan by her arm. "I need to bring you up to speed on what's going on here."
"That would be nice, Walter, what happened? And Tom, what are we going to do about Tom?"
"There's nothing I can do about Tom, I'm sorry Sloan."
Sloan stopped, "What? We just can't leave him!"
"We have to Sloan, we have no choice. Our lives are in danger, look what happened to Ed," Walter said sternly as he grabbed her arm again to get her on the plane. "I'll explain everything, Sloan, I promise."
Shane came running, "Humans are coming!"
Ray turned and ran to the front of the hanger. He looked through the night time vision binoculars, "He's right, they look like military and they're coming fast!"
Walter came up to Ray, "How far are they?"
"You better get on that plane," Ray said as he looked at Walter. He nodded his head.
Walter patted Ray on the back, "Good luck, Ray, hope to see you soon." Walter headed back towards the plane.
Mark and Dr. Bateman loaded Ed on the other plane. The doors were pulled opened in the back of the hanger. The pilots had planned on going out the front, but that wasn't going to happen. The jets engines were started and they rolled out.
Some of the hummers broke off to block the planes. Ray and a few of the dominants who remained opened fired on the hummers. They took aim at the tires and blew them out. Ray watched behind him as the two jets mad their way to a runway. His attention quickly returned to the government agents who were now firing at them. One of the dominants shot out the lights in the hanger for a quick get away.
Ray and the dominants ran for one of the cars and took off. Ray watched the two jets soar into the air. He gave a salute and wished his friends well.
One of the agents watched the jets. He picked up his phone, "They got away. Some of them stayed behind and stopped us.should we call in the jets to give chase?"
"No, let them go. Just track the planes and tell me where they end up. We'll get them sooner or later. Could you tell if Dr. Tate was on one of the planes?"
"No, ma'am. We don't have that information."
The lady in car slammed her phone down, "Damn, looks like I've underestimated Walter again."
Back on one of the planes, Sloan watched the other plane slowly make a turn and head in another direction. She noticed that the plane she was on was not doing the same, "Walter, why aren't we turning?"
"We're splitting up," Walter paused and then continued, "Sloan, my boss betrayed us earlier."
"What? How?" Sloan asked.
Walter proceeded to tell Sloan about Mark Ward, how he represented a fraction of dominants who wanted co-existence. They were able to get UN recognition and a voice. Walter then met with the leader of the fraction and he had been gunned down. Later with the help of Ray, it was determined that humans had fired on them with the intent of killing everyone there. He told her how he left his boss on a deserted road and threaten to go to the press with the story of the conspiracy.
Sloan sat in silence, taking in every word. Walter continued his story, "She said that we're all expendable, Sloan. I didn't think she would go this far. Tell me, what happened at your apartment?"
"Walter," Sloan looked at him, he didn't know what Ed had done, "Ed injected Tom with the gene therapy."
"What? How could he, he knows that it wasn't ready yet. How could he act so irresponsibly?" Walter became outraged.
"It wasn't Ed's fault, he refused, but Tom insisted. Ed had tried it on a monkey and at the time it worked. Then the monkey died, but by then it was already too late. Tom survived, he was human, Walter. Ed's gene therapy worked for awhile, but then he started to revert back to the 1.6% differential. I went back to the lab to get a booster but I couldn't get in. The guard wouldn't let me in and he said that you weren't my boss anymore. I went back to my apartment and that's when I saw them taking Tom away. I ran upstairs and found Ed lying on the floor. They took his laptop, Walter, with all his notes on the therapy and the results of Tom's conversion."
Walter looked out the window, "I can't believe what you allowed Ed to do without telling me. Ed should know better also."
"Walter, Ed was beating himself up over what happened when I found him. He blames himself and will probably die with that guilt. What happened has happened and there's nothing we can do about it now. Is Ray with Ed on the other plane?" Sloan asked.
"No, Ray stayed on the ground and provided us with a way to escape."
Sloan stood up, "You let Ed on a plane with dominants that we don't know? And Ray, you left him behind?"
Walter looked up at Sloan, "Relax, Sloan, Ed's in good hands. I trust Mark. Right now, I trust them more with Ed's life then I would our own people."
"What are you saying?" Sloan sat back down, "That your boss meant to kill Ed?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Walter said seriously. "As I told you earlier, the meeting between the leader and me was a set-up to discredit the idea of co-existence. The dominants will blame the humans for this attack and they'll use it to prove their point that co-existence is not an option."
"What does Ed have to do with this?" Sloan asked. She took a quick glance out the window and didn't see the plane anymore. She bowed her head and her thoughts went to the men in her life, her lover and the other, a best friend. She quickly pushed the thought back that she may never see them again.
"With the co-existence leader as a martyr for the dominants, the humans would need one too. Who better than the one who discovered the nanites in the juice boxes and how to stop them? The one responsible for the Spanish Influenza vaccine and almost died from the flu himself." Walter looked solemnly at Sloan.
"And the one who possibly came up with a way to alter dominant DNA," Sloan added, "The perfect human martyr."
"Only, they won't have a body now. I don't think you were supposed to find Ed alive, Sloan. It would have been arranged for Tom to be accused of killing Ed." Walter looked out the window himself.
"How do you know that?"
"I had my boss' phone and looked up all the numbers she had called in the last few hours. I returned some of those calls myself. One of them was to the district attorney, some to the White House and one to the coroner's office. Sloan, Ed was supposed to die and his cause of death was already determined."
Sloan started to cry, "My God, how could she do this?"
"She doesn't want co-existence and she'll do anything to prevent it. They have Ed's research and he's expendable. He gave them the head start they needed." Walter got up to sit next to Sloan, "I told my superior what Ed was up to. I now know that we were all set up. When one of us had come up with a means to minimize the threat, we would be expendable. And it looks like Ed was supposed to be the second one after me."
"Will she come looking for us?" Sloan asked.
"I don't know that, Sloan. But that's why we left in separate planes. I don't know where they're taking Ed and they won't know where we're going. It's in our best interest to be left in the dark. I have no way of contacting Mark and vice a versa. I'm sorry, Sloan, that this happened. I should have seen it coming."
"We'll never know if Ed survives or not? Walter, I can't do that, I've got to know, I've got to see him, to tell him how much I care about him. To tell him that's it's not his fault. I might lose the two men I care the most about and they could die alone with strangers. Why didn't you let me go with Ed?" Sloan said in anger. She didn't want to hear Walter's explanation, she had heard enough from him. She got up and went to another seat and cried.
All Sloan could picture in her mind was Tom and the look on his face. She wondered what could be happening to him now. It pained her to think of him in pain, being tortured by Walter's superior. They had been so happy earlier in the day, how did things go so wrong so quickly. And Ed. The guilt he had inside of him. She looked up, "Please don't let either of them die. Don't let them die alone with strangers, with people that don't care. Let them know that they're loved and forgiven." Sloan closed her tear filled eyes and went to asleep only to dream of the last time she saw Tom and Ed.
~*~
Five years later.
Surrounded by bubbles and warm water, Claire and Ed sat together in the large tub. A huge window allowed them to see the full moon and the clear sky. They could see the reflection of the stars and the moon as they danced on the ocean waves. Claire sat in between Ed's legs and they both enjoyed ice cold drinks as he told her a story.
"So, what happened next?" Claire asked enthusiastically.
"Well, these men rushed in injected me in the neck with some deadly poison. I was pushed to the floor and all I could do was watch as they took Tom away." Ed felt Claire squeeze his arm. He smiled and then continued, "I couldn't move, it was like I was paralyzed. It all must have happened within a matter of seconds."
"Tom didn't sense them?"
"No, I guess it had to do with the gene therapy. He was reverting back to the 1.6% differential and that may have had an effect on his abilities. I felt so guilty afterwards. If I had gone with my first instincts none of that would have happened." Ed took a drink of his beer, "I don't remember much after that. Sloan came upstairs. She told me later that Mark and Shane came in and helped take me down to the car."
"I can't believe Walter's superior would do that," Claire thought about that for a moment and retorted, "Never mind that last comment, I can believe it." Claire partly shifted position, "So, what happened to you, I mean with the drug?"
"I was taken to some airport and put on a plane with Mark and some doctor and we took off. Sloan and Walter were on the other plane. When we reached our destination, I was taken to a safe house. The effects of the drug wore off completely a couple of days later. I was very weak and sick for about five days. I had nearly overdosed on a sedative that was meant to put an elephant down."
Claire smiled, "They presumed Tom was a dominant and gave you the same dosage. Where did you end up?" Claire asked.
"Believe it or not we ended up in Tahiti. I think we stopped on one of the Hawaiian Islands before to refuel and for some medication, but I was unconscious for the entire trip. Then we flew to New Zealand and stayed there for a few days. And then on to Australia."
"Australia?"
"'Survivor Outback' has nothing on me. They had a fence protecting them from nature, we didn't. I was like Crocodile Dundee out there."
"Where did you stay?"
"We first went to the township of Adelaide River population 159." Ed said trying his best to speak with an Australian ascent.
"Now that's what I call a small town. Was it smart to go there being so small? People spot outsiders real quick I would think."
"Well, it's in the Northern Territory, so we just acted like tourists. I was still trying to get my strength back and it was a very quiet place. But hey, I can survive in the wild now and later those skills would come in handy, but that's another story. We camped out a few times just to blend in with the other tourists who did the same. I even got to surf later on. We had gone to stay in Brisbane, way boss." Ed gave Claire the Hawaiian Shaka sign by making a fist then sticking out his pinky and thumb as he turned his hand from side to side in a 180 degree motion. He ended with the back of his hand facing Claire.
Claire laughed, "Ed, you're too funny. Here you are running for your life and you're surfing."
"Hey, I have my priorities. You can't really believe that I would go to Australia and not surf? Of course, I went against doctor's orders." Ed said as he pulled Claire in close. "Mark came along to keep an eye on me. We were still wanted although not publicly known. At this time we knew that both the humans and dominants wanted us, so we had to be careful. But I went surfing anyway."
Claire slowly turned towards Ed, "That wasn't smart. So, what happened after that? When did Sloan and Walter meet up with you again?"
"Not until I got back to the US." Ed became serious all of a sudden.
Claire sensed it. "I'm sorry, Ed. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
"No, it's okay. All that time we were running and going from country to country, city to city, we wouldn't get word of how they were doing or where they were. I found out that they never sent word on how I was doing. I guess it was supposed to be like that, just in case if either of us got caught we wouldn't have any idea where the others were or what their condition was."
"Walter told me about finding out that you were slightly claustrophobic. How did he know if you were separated the whole time?" Claire asked.
"Oh, when I came back to the states we were still being hunted. We met up in Northern California and had to hide in the back of this truck. There was a small compartment up towards the front of it, but air conditioned. It was constructed to hide us. That's when I freaked out.sort of. But that's at the end of the story. I'm jumping ahead here," Ed said as he took another sip of his drink.
"So after Australia, you ended up in Europe?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, you know I wish I had those stickers that people put on campers. I could have covered the whole thing with as many cities and towns I went to. Although I didn't get any sight seeing done. We were shipped around to co- existence fraction safe houses all over. I spent most of my time in trucks, boats, planes and trains."
"You were like a gypsy." Claire rubbed Ed's leg.
"Tell me about it. It was a long two months." Ed leaned his head back. He hadn't given his adventure much thought in the past five years. He was surprised that he remembered any of it.
"What about Ray?"
"Ray moved around in the states. He didn't want to run around the world hiding with a family. The co-existence has safe houses here too. They thought it best to keep us all separated as much as possible."
"What about Tom?"
Ed let out a sigh, "He was submitted to tests the whole time. He was kept in a facility. I image it was close to the one that Darien was at. They ran tests and experimented on him. Walter was finally able to get a hold of someone at the U.N. who was sympathetic and threatened to release the conspiracy to the news and who was really behind the killings and my disappearance. Apparently the media was reporting that we had disappeared and that the dominants were behind it. I was presumed dead."
"That's terrible. She tried to make you a martyr of some kind." Claire was disgusted.
"Yeah, it really was hard on my parents and my grandmother. For two months to them I was missing and possibly dead. When I came back and contacted them, they wanted to sue the daylights out of somebody for putting them through all that." Ed picked up the sponge and squeezed the warm water over Claire's body.
"Did they?" Claire rested her head on Ed's chest.
"No, they were compensated for the mental anguish they went through. All I got was, 'Gee, Dr. Tate, we're sorry'." Ed said sarcastically in a low voice.
"Is that all?" Claire asked.
"Sort of, we were given our jobs back at Whitney University. What really boils my blood is that Walter's superior acted like nothing happened. I don't know why, but I'd say she was up to something and needed us back."
"Maybe it was the serum," Claire turned to sit side ways.
"Yeah, maybe, but that was five years ago. I might have perfected the serum, but I'm not completely sure yet," Ed paused, "I won't be testing it anyone. I'm not going to make that mistake again. I only want to use it just to help Darien if and when he decides to return to human status and of course Darcy. But I don't see them wanting to convert back to human DNA anytime soon."
Claire ran her hand along the curves of Ed's bare chest, "How did you end up still working for her after all she did?"
"Well, I guess it's all politics and trying to cover things up. Nothing new with the government," Ed ran a finger down Claire's arm. "I still don't trust her, never will."
Claire reached her hand up and cupped Ed's face. He bent down and kissed her. Claire broke the kiss and shifted to straddle Ed, "Let's not talk about her."
Ed smiled, "Yeah, sound's good to me." He leaned forward and kissed Claire again, this time more passionately.
TBC..
Third in the I-Man/Prey crossover series.
Authors: MM with a little Alli on the side
Rating: PG13-NC 17
Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters or basic story lines of "The Invisible Man" or "Prey". If there are any similarities of any person, real or fictional, dead or alive and any plot similarities to any current fics posted, being written or is currently floating around in someone's head is purely a coincidence. We're just using the characters for fun and will return them relatively unharmed. We're making no money off of this.
Pairings: Darien/Darcy, Ed/Claire, Tom/Sloan
Description: This picks up where "Human Equation" left off. Arnaud had just contacted Ed about helping him with a new gland prototype in return, Arnaud will help Ed with the so-called cure he gave Darien. There's just too many things that happen to give a complete description, so you'll just have to read. A/N: This fic will contain several flashbacks to parts in "Prey" and some we made up. This series takes place five years after Tom was put in the cage. We hope to be able to fill in some of things that happened. Of course this is solely based on our warped minds. Also, the NC-17 parts will be posted at the I-Man fanfic Yahoo group.
*Warning* This part contains a MAJOR SPOILER for the last episode of "Prey". If you haven't seen it yet and don't want to be spoiled, then turn back now. This first part is mostly "Prey" centered with a little Ed and Claire thrown in the mix.
Prologue
Bound.
He hated this straightjacket. He struggled against the worn straps, rotating his shoulders in circles trying desperately to seek the slack he desired.
The last thing he remembered was the fight, his hands gripped tightly around the man's neck. He would have killed him, but they showed up with the tranq gun and ruined the party. The dart had found its way into his body and released its black magic in him. He awoke in purgatory, the white padded cell with its soft walls and floors.
He needed to be free, so he got up and tried to crash through the padding, he even tried to bite his way through it. Then he spotted the mirror. He had backed himself to the far wall and took a charging run at it, hitting the unbreakable glass head first. For this grand effort, he received a nice cut on his forehead and promptly knocked himself out.
Again he awoke. He felt something wrapped around his head. He suspected that the good doctor had come in and put in a few stitches, bandaged him up and quickly left the room.
"Miss Blondie was here, hmm." he felt the bandage on his head and smiled, "Too bad I was out cold, I could have paid for her services with something special."
His head hurt, but he didn't care, in fact it felt good.
He sauntered up to the glass and yelled, "GET THIS DAMN THING OFF!"
He growled in frustration as he continued to struggle with the restraints.
Claire didn't know how long she had watched him. Time seemed to stand still for her and the others in the observation room. They watched him through the one way mirror.
"What stage is he in, doctor?" The Official asked coldly.
Claire didn't even bother to look at him when she answered, "I would guess at the tail end of stage three and going into stage four."
Hobbes stood next to Claire and watched "What can be done for him?"
"Well, since the old counteragent won't work, we have to wait and hope," Claire stopped when she noticed that two very bright ruby colored eyes stared right into her.
"Hey, Claire, I know you're in there. I can hear your heart beating." He put his forehead to the glass and a malevolent smile came across his face, "Thump-thump, thump-thump."
Darien put his hand on Claire's shoulder to console her, "What can we do to help him?"
Claire regained her composure and looked at Darien with tears in her eyes, "We uhmm, have to wait and hope that you can find Arnaud and get counteragent for Ed."
Chapter 1
Five years earlier in Sloan's apartment.
Ed was busy packing up his doctor bag with his blood pressure cuff, stethoscope and other items. As far as he was concerned, this experiment was over. Even if the booster worked, Ed had doubts that Tom would remain human for very long.
"Any bulletins?" Tom asked as he sat on Sloan's bed. He stood up and slowly made his into the living room.
"All your vitals are strong," Ed said as he shook his head discouraged.
"And getting stronger, I imagine." Tom walked past Ed who sat at the kitchen bar with his back towards Sloan's door.
"Look, Tom, I'm sorry this didn't work out," Ed said as he looked at Tom dismayed.
Tom sat in the chair by Sloan's fireplace, he let out a soft sigh, "It's not your fault; you didn't even wanna give me the shot."
"I know but, I hoped it would take. We all have a lot riding on this." Ed said as he looked at the dominant. He wanted it to work out. After what happened with Kelly and with little Kevin, the gene therapy would have given the humans a fighting chance for survival, a weapon of their own to fight back with.
Tom returned the gaze to the disheartened scientist, "Obviously you're close. Don't let this setback stop you. You'll figure it out." Tom wanted to give Ed reassurance. Deep down he didn't think the therapy was a good idea, that it may cause a war. But Sloan was right, war was inevitable and he was willing to give the humans a fighting edge.
"Do you think so?" Ed looked at Tom again.
"Yeah, I do. And I'll be ready to try it again when you're ready." Tom smiled at Ed. He had faith in this human. Like Sloan, he was not an ordinary human. A single man could hold the secret to taming the destructive nature of dominants and Tom was looking at him.
Ed had given him a gift after all. Tom had a chance to live as a human, to feel things that he was taught to repress. For the first time in his life, Tom had lived not for survival, but for life itself. And he had Ed to thank for that. Perhaps because of this, they could forge a friendship.
At that moment, men dressed in combat clothing busted through the door at Sloan's apartment. Four men grabbed Tom while the fifth one injected Ed in the neck with a clear fluid. Ed was pushed to floor and he stared at the ceiling, unable to move. The same man ran to the subdued Tom and injected him with a different fluid. Two men dragged Tom out of the apartment while another one grabbed Ed's laptop and bag. As they left the apartment, one aimed his gun at Ed to make sure he didn't try to rescue Tom. Ed was left lying on the floor, dazed.
Sloan pulled up to see Tom being dragged into a waiting van. She rushed over screaming his name, "TOM!!!"
Tom turned, he saw Sloan and the look of despair on her face. There was nothing he could do as he was pushed inside the van. The door closed and the van drove off. Sloan ran after the van but was nearly hit by a car and stopped in her tracks. All she could do was watch as the van sped down the street and out of sight as it turned a corner. Sloan never saw the lady who sat in the back seat of her car, glaring at her.
Sloan stood in the middle of street, frozen until she remembered, "Oh God, Ed." She raced up stairs and found her door still opened. She didn't hesitate and she ran inside, "Ed!" She heard a moan.
Sloan looked down at her floor and saw Ed lying on his back, his eyes glazed over. "Oh God, Ed what did they do?"
"Forgive me, Sloan, I'm sorry," Ed said hoarsely, barely audible. His mouth was very dry.
Sloan lifted his head so he could rest on her lap. She rubbed the sweat from his face, his eye movements were unusual. "Ed, why are you sorry?" She could feel tremors coming from his body.
"I didn't take care of him, you asked me and I couldn't, they.took him," Ed looked at Sloan, "I shouldn't have.the therapy.I knew it.you were right." A single tear left a trail down Ed's face. He couldn't move his whole body felt numb. He could feel himself slipping away. Before it was too late he said one more time, "Forgive me."
"Shhh.not your fault; right now let's concentrate on you," Sloan said teary eyed. "I need to get you help." Sloan looked up for Ed's bag, it was gone and so was his laptop. She looked down at her friend and felt his pulse. She frowned, his pulse was irregular and his skin was turning blue. His breathing was slow and shallow. He mumbled something and then his eyes closed.
Sloan's eyes widened. Fear gripped her that her best friend may die in her arms, "Ed.Ed.don't leave me.stay with me okay, I'm going to call an ambulance and then Walter." Sloan took off her jacket and laid it under Ed's head. She looked at him sorrowfully. She got up and went to the phone.
Sloan heard footsteps as she dialed the emergency number. She ran to her fireplace and picked up the fire poker and stood in front of Ed. If they had come back for him, they would have to go through her to get him. She gripped the weapon with both hands and waited.
First she saw a tall black man walk in followed by a teenage male. She looked at both of them and recognized the youngest one, "Shane?"
Shane put his hands up, "It's okay, we're not here to hurt you, only to help."
Sloan glared at other man, "Who is he?"
"My name is Mark Ward. I know Dr. Walter Attwood. Like Shane said, we're only here to help." Mark looked at the man on the floor, "He needs help."
"I called an ambulance, the hospital will take care of him," Sloan said not giving up her position in front of Ed.
"You're both in danger. A hospital is not a safe place for either of you. You can trust us, Dr. Parker. Call Dr. Attwood and ask him yourself, but Dr. Tate won't live much longer if we keep talking," Mark said as he slowly approached Sloan.
"Don't come any closer," Sloan said as she looked down at Ed. He was getting worse. He was having mild seizures and she knew they would get worse if she didn't get him help.
Mark stopped and pointed towards Ed, "Dr. Parker, he's dying. Please let us help him. Shane helped you before. I'm telling you, you can trust me. Things have happened that you can't even trust your own government. They took Tom and they drugged Dr. Tate."
Sloan looked at Ed again still holding on to the poker. She had no choice. She lowered the poker and stepped aside, "I'm calling Walter."
"Fine, you do that," Mark bent down and picked up Ed.
"Walter, where are you?...what?" Sloan looked at Mark and Shane, "Yes, they're here. Walter, Tom was kidnapped and Ed's been drugged.I don't know, but it looks an overdose.okay, I'll tell them." Sloan hung up the phone, "He said to meet at the rendezvous point. Guess I'll have to trust you."
"We don't have much time let's go now," Shane said as he sensed humans on the way. They went down the fire escape and got into Mark's car and drove off to meet Walter at a private airfield. Mark called someone on the phone and talked about Ed.
When he was done, Sloan asked, "I hope that was someone that could help?"
"Yes, it was. He's a doctor and he's going to meet us at the airfield."
"Airfield?" Sloan questioned.
"Yes, the plan was to get you, Dr. Attwood, Tom Daniels and Dr. Tate out of the country. But we seem to have had a set back." Mark glanced at Sloan from the rear view mirror.
Mark drove the car into a large hanger and came to a stop. Walter, Ray and a couple of people came towards the car. Sloan suspected that one of the men was the doctor and maybe the other men were the pilots of the two small leer jets she saw sitting in the hanger.
"How is he?" Walter asked.
"Not good, Walter, I don't know what they injected him with." Sloan said as she watched Mark take Ed out of the car and lay him gently on the ground.
"What are his symptoms?" Asked one of the men, he looked up, "I'm Dr. Bateman, I only want to help."
"He was conscious when I found him, but he passed out and hasn't woken up since. His pulse was irregular, breathing was slow and shallow, the skin coloration blue and sweaty. His eyes were moving oddly, like he couldn't focus," Sloan said as she held Ed's hand.
"Sounds like an overdose alright," Dr. Bateman stated as he looked at Walter and Sloan, "Do you know what happened?"
"I'm not sure, but I would guess that whatever they used on Tom they may have used on Ed," Sloan said.
"Let's assume they used something like a hypo gun to administer a sedative quickly and effectively. It would have to be set to administer a dosage strong enough to sedate a dominant. That would mean that Dr. Tate received a dosage much higher than what his human system can tolerate." Dr. Bateman reached into his bag and pulled out a vial. He showed it to Walter. Walter nodded and he filled a syringe and prepared the injection site.
"How long does he have?" Sloan asked.
"I can treat the symptoms. But the rest is up to him and his will to live. I need to get him somewhere else so I can treat him properly," Dr. Bateman looked at Walter.
Walter nodded, "Very well, let's go then," he said as he grabbed Sloan by her arm. "I need to bring you up to speed on what's going on here."
"That would be nice, Walter, what happened? And Tom, what are we going to do about Tom?"
"There's nothing I can do about Tom, I'm sorry Sloan."
Sloan stopped, "What? We just can't leave him!"
"We have to Sloan, we have no choice. Our lives are in danger, look what happened to Ed," Walter said sternly as he grabbed her arm again to get her on the plane. "I'll explain everything, Sloan, I promise."
Shane came running, "Humans are coming!"
Ray turned and ran to the front of the hanger. He looked through the night time vision binoculars, "He's right, they look like military and they're coming fast!"
Walter came up to Ray, "How far are they?"
"You better get on that plane," Ray said as he looked at Walter. He nodded his head.
Walter patted Ray on the back, "Good luck, Ray, hope to see you soon." Walter headed back towards the plane.
Mark and Dr. Bateman loaded Ed on the other plane. The doors were pulled opened in the back of the hanger. The pilots had planned on going out the front, but that wasn't going to happen. The jets engines were started and they rolled out.
Some of the hummers broke off to block the planes. Ray and a few of the dominants who remained opened fired on the hummers. They took aim at the tires and blew them out. Ray watched behind him as the two jets mad their way to a runway. His attention quickly returned to the government agents who were now firing at them. One of the dominants shot out the lights in the hanger for a quick get away.
Ray and the dominants ran for one of the cars and took off. Ray watched the two jets soar into the air. He gave a salute and wished his friends well.
One of the agents watched the jets. He picked up his phone, "They got away. Some of them stayed behind and stopped us.should we call in the jets to give chase?"
"No, let them go. Just track the planes and tell me where they end up. We'll get them sooner or later. Could you tell if Dr. Tate was on one of the planes?"
"No, ma'am. We don't have that information."
The lady in car slammed her phone down, "Damn, looks like I've underestimated Walter again."
Back on one of the planes, Sloan watched the other plane slowly make a turn and head in another direction. She noticed that the plane she was on was not doing the same, "Walter, why aren't we turning?"
"We're splitting up," Walter paused and then continued, "Sloan, my boss betrayed us earlier."
"What? How?" Sloan asked.
Walter proceeded to tell Sloan about Mark Ward, how he represented a fraction of dominants who wanted co-existence. They were able to get UN recognition and a voice. Walter then met with the leader of the fraction and he had been gunned down. Later with the help of Ray, it was determined that humans had fired on them with the intent of killing everyone there. He told her how he left his boss on a deserted road and threaten to go to the press with the story of the conspiracy.
Sloan sat in silence, taking in every word. Walter continued his story, "She said that we're all expendable, Sloan. I didn't think she would go this far. Tell me, what happened at your apartment?"
"Walter," Sloan looked at him, he didn't know what Ed had done, "Ed injected Tom with the gene therapy."
"What? How could he, he knows that it wasn't ready yet. How could he act so irresponsibly?" Walter became outraged.
"It wasn't Ed's fault, he refused, but Tom insisted. Ed had tried it on a monkey and at the time it worked. Then the monkey died, but by then it was already too late. Tom survived, he was human, Walter. Ed's gene therapy worked for awhile, but then he started to revert back to the 1.6% differential. I went back to the lab to get a booster but I couldn't get in. The guard wouldn't let me in and he said that you weren't my boss anymore. I went back to my apartment and that's when I saw them taking Tom away. I ran upstairs and found Ed lying on the floor. They took his laptop, Walter, with all his notes on the therapy and the results of Tom's conversion."
Walter looked out the window, "I can't believe what you allowed Ed to do without telling me. Ed should know better also."
"Walter, Ed was beating himself up over what happened when I found him. He blames himself and will probably die with that guilt. What happened has happened and there's nothing we can do about it now. Is Ray with Ed on the other plane?" Sloan asked.
"No, Ray stayed on the ground and provided us with a way to escape."
Sloan stood up, "You let Ed on a plane with dominants that we don't know? And Ray, you left him behind?"
Walter looked up at Sloan, "Relax, Sloan, Ed's in good hands. I trust Mark. Right now, I trust them more with Ed's life then I would our own people."
"What are you saying?" Sloan sat back down, "That your boss meant to kill Ed?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Walter said seriously. "As I told you earlier, the meeting between the leader and me was a set-up to discredit the idea of co-existence. The dominants will blame the humans for this attack and they'll use it to prove their point that co-existence is not an option."
"What does Ed have to do with this?" Sloan asked. She took a quick glance out the window and didn't see the plane anymore. She bowed her head and her thoughts went to the men in her life, her lover and the other, a best friend. She quickly pushed the thought back that she may never see them again.
"With the co-existence leader as a martyr for the dominants, the humans would need one too. Who better than the one who discovered the nanites in the juice boxes and how to stop them? The one responsible for the Spanish Influenza vaccine and almost died from the flu himself." Walter looked solemnly at Sloan.
"And the one who possibly came up with a way to alter dominant DNA," Sloan added, "The perfect human martyr."
"Only, they won't have a body now. I don't think you were supposed to find Ed alive, Sloan. It would have been arranged for Tom to be accused of killing Ed." Walter looked out the window himself.
"How do you know that?"
"I had my boss' phone and looked up all the numbers she had called in the last few hours. I returned some of those calls myself. One of them was to the district attorney, some to the White House and one to the coroner's office. Sloan, Ed was supposed to die and his cause of death was already determined."
Sloan started to cry, "My God, how could she do this?"
"She doesn't want co-existence and she'll do anything to prevent it. They have Ed's research and he's expendable. He gave them the head start they needed." Walter got up to sit next to Sloan, "I told my superior what Ed was up to. I now know that we were all set up. When one of us had come up with a means to minimize the threat, we would be expendable. And it looks like Ed was supposed to be the second one after me."
"Will she come looking for us?" Sloan asked.
"I don't know that, Sloan. But that's why we left in separate planes. I don't know where they're taking Ed and they won't know where we're going. It's in our best interest to be left in the dark. I have no way of contacting Mark and vice a versa. I'm sorry, Sloan, that this happened. I should have seen it coming."
"We'll never know if Ed survives or not? Walter, I can't do that, I've got to know, I've got to see him, to tell him how much I care about him. To tell him that's it's not his fault. I might lose the two men I care the most about and they could die alone with strangers. Why didn't you let me go with Ed?" Sloan said in anger. She didn't want to hear Walter's explanation, she had heard enough from him. She got up and went to another seat and cried.
All Sloan could picture in her mind was Tom and the look on his face. She wondered what could be happening to him now. It pained her to think of him in pain, being tortured by Walter's superior. They had been so happy earlier in the day, how did things go so wrong so quickly. And Ed. The guilt he had inside of him. She looked up, "Please don't let either of them die. Don't let them die alone with strangers, with people that don't care. Let them know that they're loved and forgiven." Sloan closed her tear filled eyes and went to asleep only to dream of the last time she saw Tom and Ed.
~*~
Five years later.
Surrounded by bubbles and warm water, Claire and Ed sat together in the large tub. A huge window allowed them to see the full moon and the clear sky. They could see the reflection of the stars and the moon as they danced on the ocean waves. Claire sat in between Ed's legs and they both enjoyed ice cold drinks as he told her a story.
"So, what happened next?" Claire asked enthusiastically.
"Well, these men rushed in injected me in the neck with some deadly poison. I was pushed to the floor and all I could do was watch as they took Tom away." Ed felt Claire squeeze his arm. He smiled and then continued, "I couldn't move, it was like I was paralyzed. It all must have happened within a matter of seconds."
"Tom didn't sense them?"
"No, I guess it had to do with the gene therapy. He was reverting back to the 1.6% differential and that may have had an effect on his abilities. I felt so guilty afterwards. If I had gone with my first instincts none of that would have happened." Ed took a drink of his beer, "I don't remember much after that. Sloan came upstairs. She told me later that Mark and Shane came in and helped take me down to the car."
"I can't believe Walter's superior would do that," Claire thought about that for a moment and retorted, "Never mind that last comment, I can believe it." Claire partly shifted position, "So, what happened to you, I mean with the drug?"
"I was taken to some airport and put on a plane with Mark and some doctor and we took off. Sloan and Walter were on the other plane. When we reached our destination, I was taken to a safe house. The effects of the drug wore off completely a couple of days later. I was very weak and sick for about five days. I had nearly overdosed on a sedative that was meant to put an elephant down."
Claire smiled, "They presumed Tom was a dominant and gave you the same dosage. Where did you end up?" Claire asked.
"Believe it or not we ended up in Tahiti. I think we stopped on one of the Hawaiian Islands before to refuel and for some medication, but I was unconscious for the entire trip. Then we flew to New Zealand and stayed there for a few days. And then on to Australia."
"Australia?"
"'Survivor Outback' has nothing on me. They had a fence protecting them from nature, we didn't. I was like Crocodile Dundee out there."
"Where did you stay?"
"We first went to the township of Adelaide River population 159." Ed said trying his best to speak with an Australian ascent.
"Now that's what I call a small town. Was it smart to go there being so small? People spot outsiders real quick I would think."
"Well, it's in the Northern Territory, so we just acted like tourists. I was still trying to get my strength back and it was a very quiet place. But hey, I can survive in the wild now and later those skills would come in handy, but that's another story. We camped out a few times just to blend in with the other tourists who did the same. I even got to surf later on. We had gone to stay in Brisbane, way boss." Ed gave Claire the Hawaiian Shaka sign by making a fist then sticking out his pinky and thumb as he turned his hand from side to side in a 180 degree motion. He ended with the back of his hand facing Claire.
Claire laughed, "Ed, you're too funny. Here you are running for your life and you're surfing."
"Hey, I have my priorities. You can't really believe that I would go to Australia and not surf? Of course, I went against doctor's orders." Ed said as he pulled Claire in close. "Mark came along to keep an eye on me. We were still wanted although not publicly known. At this time we knew that both the humans and dominants wanted us, so we had to be careful. But I went surfing anyway."
Claire slowly turned towards Ed, "That wasn't smart. So, what happened after that? When did Sloan and Walter meet up with you again?"
"Not until I got back to the US." Ed became serious all of a sudden.
Claire sensed it. "I'm sorry, Ed. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
"No, it's okay. All that time we were running and going from country to country, city to city, we wouldn't get word of how they were doing or where they were. I found out that they never sent word on how I was doing. I guess it was supposed to be like that, just in case if either of us got caught we wouldn't have any idea where the others were or what their condition was."
"Walter told me about finding out that you were slightly claustrophobic. How did he know if you were separated the whole time?" Claire asked.
"Oh, when I came back to the states we were still being hunted. We met up in Northern California and had to hide in the back of this truck. There was a small compartment up towards the front of it, but air conditioned. It was constructed to hide us. That's when I freaked out.sort of. But that's at the end of the story. I'm jumping ahead here," Ed said as he took another sip of his drink.
"So after Australia, you ended up in Europe?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, you know I wish I had those stickers that people put on campers. I could have covered the whole thing with as many cities and towns I went to. Although I didn't get any sight seeing done. We were shipped around to co- existence fraction safe houses all over. I spent most of my time in trucks, boats, planes and trains."
"You were like a gypsy." Claire rubbed Ed's leg.
"Tell me about it. It was a long two months." Ed leaned his head back. He hadn't given his adventure much thought in the past five years. He was surprised that he remembered any of it.
"What about Ray?"
"Ray moved around in the states. He didn't want to run around the world hiding with a family. The co-existence has safe houses here too. They thought it best to keep us all separated as much as possible."
"What about Tom?"
Ed let out a sigh, "He was submitted to tests the whole time. He was kept in a facility. I image it was close to the one that Darien was at. They ran tests and experimented on him. Walter was finally able to get a hold of someone at the U.N. who was sympathetic and threatened to release the conspiracy to the news and who was really behind the killings and my disappearance. Apparently the media was reporting that we had disappeared and that the dominants were behind it. I was presumed dead."
"That's terrible. She tried to make you a martyr of some kind." Claire was disgusted.
"Yeah, it really was hard on my parents and my grandmother. For two months to them I was missing and possibly dead. When I came back and contacted them, they wanted to sue the daylights out of somebody for putting them through all that." Ed picked up the sponge and squeezed the warm water over Claire's body.
"Did they?" Claire rested her head on Ed's chest.
"No, they were compensated for the mental anguish they went through. All I got was, 'Gee, Dr. Tate, we're sorry'." Ed said sarcastically in a low voice.
"Is that all?" Claire asked.
"Sort of, we were given our jobs back at Whitney University. What really boils my blood is that Walter's superior acted like nothing happened. I don't know why, but I'd say she was up to something and needed us back."
"Maybe it was the serum," Claire turned to sit side ways.
"Yeah, maybe, but that was five years ago. I might have perfected the serum, but I'm not completely sure yet," Ed paused, "I won't be testing it anyone. I'm not going to make that mistake again. I only want to use it just to help Darien if and when he decides to return to human status and of course Darcy. But I don't see them wanting to convert back to human DNA anytime soon."
Claire ran her hand along the curves of Ed's bare chest, "How did you end up still working for her after all she did?"
"Well, I guess it's all politics and trying to cover things up. Nothing new with the government," Ed ran a finger down Claire's arm. "I still don't trust her, never will."
Claire reached her hand up and cupped Ed's face. He bent down and kissed her. Claire broke the kiss and shifted to straddle Ed, "Let's not talk about her."
Ed smiled, "Yeah, sound's good to me." He leaned forward and kissed Claire again, this time more passionately.
TBC..