Disclaimer: If only 'Mutant X' was mine.
After almost an hour in the playground, a miracle occurred - Shalimar started to get tired. Lifting her out of the swing, smiling tenderly as she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder, Jesse turned to leave.
"Alright, Shal, you're tired. I think that you need a nap. Let's get you home." He rubbed her back gently before looking around the car park and, seeing that they were alone, lifting his comm.-ring to his mouth. "Emma, are you there?"
"Yes, Jesse, I can hear you loud and clear. What's up?" Emma's voice chirruped over the comlink.
"Has our absence been noted by our esteemed leader yet?"
Emma giggled. "No, Adam hasn't come out of the lab since you two left. He'll probably be out in a little while for dinner, though, so you'd better hurry back."
"We're on our way, we'll be home before you know it."
"Actually, Mr Kilmartin," A cool, crisp voice almost completely devoid of emotion cut across Jesse's. The molecular looked up and saw that at least half a dozen men in dark suits were closing in on him. "I'm afraid that there has been a slight change of plan. You and your little companion aren't going anywhere."
* * *
"Jesse? Jesse? Answer me!" Emma called frantically. There was no answer. "Adam! Brennan! Jesse and Shalimar are in trouble!"
* * *
"There's no need for violence, Mr Kilmartin. Just hand over little Miss Fox and you can be on your way."
Jesse tightened his grip on Shalimar, who whimpered in fright. "if you think I'm going to let you near her, you guys are crazier than I thought. Now, if you back off, you won't be hurt."
"I'm afraid that we can't do that." The lead GSA agent told him, giving him a smile without any trace of emotion. "Mr Eckhart gave us specific orders. The infant is to be brought back to GenomeX. You have my word - she won't be harmed."
"Bad mens, Des-see!" Baby Shalimar clung to Jesse, letting out a soft hiss as the agents advanced, guns drawn.
"It's alright." Jesse tried to reassure the obviously terrified infant. "I won't let them take you."
"Now, now, Mr Kilmartin." The agent reproved him. "Don't make promises you can't keep. Go!" he snapped at the other agents. "Take the infant!"
Jesse massed as the first two agents ran forward, sending them flying across the parking lot to land with a thump on the hood of the car of some unfortunate soul.
"Two down." He murmured. "Four to go."
* * *
"I can't believe that Jesse took Shalimar outside of Sanctuary without telling me!" Adam growled, willing the Double Helix to fly faster. "How could he be so irresponsible?"
"Adam!" Emma was shocked at the older man's anger. "Jesse couldn't possibly have known that the GSA would be at the park. He was just taking Shalimar out for a little while."
"Without consulting me!" Adam growled. "I thought that I could trust you three with her! You should have told me that they were going!"
"Okay, guys." Brennan interrupted them from the pilot seat. "We're here. I'm taking us down."
* * *
He was surrounded. More GSA agents kept coming. There were at least ten of them now. Baby Shalimar was wailing in fright. With her tucked under one arm, Jesse's fighting abilities were severely hampered. It was only a matter of time before he was beaten.
"Give up, Mr Kilmartin." The lead GSA agent sneered at him. "Hand over Miss Fox and you can leave in peace. We have no interest in you." He added dismissively. "if you continue in your attempts to fight, she will undoubtedly be hurt, you don't want that. Give her to us."
"No! Bad mens!" Shalimar growled at him, her eyes flashing golden yellow.
"You got that right!" Brennan raced up to stand next to Jesse, Adam and Emma following close on his heels. The elemental dispatched three of the agents with a well-placed electrical blast. "Now, you guys might want to run while you still have the chance."
The agents stood their ground, brandishing their guns and tazers.
Jesse shook his head ruefully, exchanging a glance with Brennan. "These guys never learn, do they?"
One especially brave - and stupid - agent dashed forward, managing to wrest Shalimar from Jesse's arms.
Howling in terror, baby Shalimar sank her teeth into the agent's arm.
"F***ing little bitch!" Letting loose a stream of expletives, the agent dropped Shalimar like a hot coal, leaving her to fall to the ground with a heavy thud.
Terrified and in pain, baby Shalimar screamed louder than ever.
After sending the agent who had dropped her flying across the parking lot with a well placed punch, Adam swept Shalimar into his arms and concentrated all his energies on protecting and soothing her.
"Adam, get Shal to the Helix!" Emma ordered him. "I'm going to give these guys a little taste of their own medicine!"
Concentrating as hard as she could, emma hit any GSA agents that the guys had left conscious with a psionic blast.
Within second, the burly, intimidating men were crawling around the parking lot, crying either for their 'baba' or their 'Mommy'.
Emma smiled, entirely satisfied with her handiwork. "That'll teach them not to attack babies!" she commented. "It's just too bad that it will wear off in a few minutes."
"Come on!" Brennan tugged impatiently at her arm. "Let's get going before those guys recover!"
Running after Adam and Shalimar, the three mutants boarded the Double Helix, with Brennan making a beeline for the pilot's seat and taking off.
Adam was sitting in one of the chairs, trying to examine a hysterical baby Shalimar, who clung to him, whimpering in pain as he sprayed some antiseptic on her arms, which had been scraped quite badly when the GSA agent had dropped her.
"There, there, sweetheart." Adam murmured comfortingly, frowning in concern as he gently checked the rapidly swelling bump on her head. He kissed both of her small, grazed palms in turn. "Adam will make it all better."
Jesse sat down in the chair next to him, watching Adam as he passed his hand back and forth in front of Shalimar's eyes, monitoring her reaction closely.
"Is she alright?" Jesse asked, worried about his friend.
"A few cuts and bruises, perhaps a mild concussion, but I don't think that there was any serious damage. Shalimar is going to be fine." He looked up at Jesse with a poisonous glare. "No thanks to you!"
Jesse was stunned. "Wait, Adam, listen. . ."
"No, you listen!" Adam almost spat the words at the younger man. "You had absolutely no right to take her out of Sanctuary without consulting me! It was reckless and it was stupid! Yes, stupid." Adam continued, ignoring Jesse's indignant expression. "You knew that the GSA were probably responsible for exposing Shalimar to the pathogen and it doesn't take a genius to realise that they would probably be monitoring places where people are likely to bring babies. You were irresponsible and you are lucky that neither Shalimar nor yourself were seriously injured or even killed!" Adam tightened his protective grasp on baby Shalimar.
"Adam, look, I'm sorry. . ." Jesse tried to make his peace with the older man.
"Sorry!" Adam bellowed. Shalimar whimpered. She had never heard him raise his voice before. "You nearly get Shalimar killed and you tell me that you are 'sorry'! I was so sure that I would be able to trust you, of all people, with her. It seems that I was wrong."
"Adam. . ."
"Be quiet!" Adam snapped. "I don't want to hear your excuses! And I will never allow you to take care of Shalimar again! I obviously can't trust you with her."
TBC.
Is Adam out of line or is Jesse an idiot? Thanks again to those who reviewed. I'll update again soon.
After almost an hour in the playground, a miracle occurred - Shalimar started to get tired. Lifting her out of the swing, smiling tenderly as she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder, Jesse turned to leave.
"Alright, Shal, you're tired. I think that you need a nap. Let's get you home." He rubbed her back gently before looking around the car park and, seeing that they were alone, lifting his comm.-ring to his mouth. "Emma, are you there?"
"Yes, Jesse, I can hear you loud and clear. What's up?" Emma's voice chirruped over the comlink.
"Has our absence been noted by our esteemed leader yet?"
Emma giggled. "No, Adam hasn't come out of the lab since you two left. He'll probably be out in a little while for dinner, though, so you'd better hurry back."
"We're on our way, we'll be home before you know it."
"Actually, Mr Kilmartin," A cool, crisp voice almost completely devoid of emotion cut across Jesse's. The molecular looked up and saw that at least half a dozen men in dark suits were closing in on him. "I'm afraid that there has been a slight change of plan. You and your little companion aren't going anywhere."
* * *
"Jesse? Jesse? Answer me!" Emma called frantically. There was no answer. "Adam! Brennan! Jesse and Shalimar are in trouble!"
* * *
"There's no need for violence, Mr Kilmartin. Just hand over little Miss Fox and you can be on your way."
Jesse tightened his grip on Shalimar, who whimpered in fright. "if you think I'm going to let you near her, you guys are crazier than I thought. Now, if you back off, you won't be hurt."
"I'm afraid that we can't do that." The lead GSA agent told him, giving him a smile without any trace of emotion. "Mr Eckhart gave us specific orders. The infant is to be brought back to GenomeX. You have my word - she won't be harmed."
"Bad mens, Des-see!" Baby Shalimar clung to Jesse, letting out a soft hiss as the agents advanced, guns drawn.
"It's alright." Jesse tried to reassure the obviously terrified infant. "I won't let them take you."
"Now, now, Mr Kilmartin." The agent reproved him. "Don't make promises you can't keep. Go!" he snapped at the other agents. "Take the infant!"
Jesse massed as the first two agents ran forward, sending them flying across the parking lot to land with a thump on the hood of the car of some unfortunate soul.
"Two down." He murmured. "Four to go."
* * *
"I can't believe that Jesse took Shalimar outside of Sanctuary without telling me!" Adam growled, willing the Double Helix to fly faster. "How could he be so irresponsible?"
"Adam!" Emma was shocked at the older man's anger. "Jesse couldn't possibly have known that the GSA would be at the park. He was just taking Shalimar out for a little while."
"Without consulting me!" Adam growled. "I thought that I could trust you three with her! You should have told me that they were going!"
"Okay, guys." Brennan interrupted them from the pilot seat. "We're here. I'm taking us down."
* * *
He was surrounded. More GSA agents kept coming. There were at least ten of them now. Baby Shalimar was wailing in fright. With her tucked under one arm, Jesse's fighting abilities were severely hampered. It was only a matter of time before he was beaten.
"Give up, Mr Kilmartin." The lead GSA agent sneered at him. "Hand over Miss Fox and you can leave in peace. We have no interest in you." He added dismissively. "if you continue in your attempts to fight, she will undoubtedly be hurt, you don't want that. Give her to us."
"No! Bad mens!" Shalimar growled at him, her eyes flashing golden yellow.
"You got that right!" Brennan raced up to stand next to Jesse, Adam and Emma following close on his heels. The elemental dispatched three of the agents with a well-placed electrical blast. "Now, you guys might want to run while you still have the chance."
The agents stood their ground, brandishing their guns and tazers.
Jesse shook his head ruefully, exchanging a glance with Brennan. "These guys never learn, do they?"
One especially brave - and stupid - agent dashed forward, managing to wrest Shalimar from Jesse's arms.
Howling in terror, baby Shalimar sank her teeth into the agent's arm.
"F***ing little bitch!" Letting loose a stream of expletives, the agent dropped Shalimar like a hot coal, leaving her to fall to the ground with a heavy thud.
Terrified and in pain, baby Shalimar screamed louder than ever.
After sending the agent who had dropped her flying across the parking lot with a well placed punch, Adam swept Shalimar into his arms and concentrated all his energies on protecting and soothing her.
"Adam, get Shal to the Helix!" Emma ordered him. "I'm going to give these guys a little taste of their own medicine!"
Concentrating as hard as she could, emma hit any GSA agents that the guys had left conscious with a psionic blast.
Within second, the burly, intimidating men were crawling around the parking lot, crying either for their 'baba' or their 'Mommy'.
Emma smiled, entirely satisfied with her handiwork. "That'll teach them not to attack babies!" she commented. "It's just too bad that it will wear off in a few minutes."
"Come on!" Brennan tugged impatiently at her arm. "Let's get going before those guys recover!"
Running after Adam and Shalimar, the three mutants boarded the Double Helix, with Brennan making a beeline for the pilot's seat and taking off.
Adam was sitting in one of the chairs, trying to examine a hysterical baby Shalimar, who clung to him, whimpering in pain as he sprayed some antiseptic on her arms, which had been scraped quite badly when the GSA agent had dropped her.
"There, there, sweetheart." Adam murmured comfortingly, frowning in concern as he gently checked the rapidly swelling bump on her head. He kissed both of her small, grazed palms in turn. "Adam will make it all better."
Jesse sat down in the chair next to him, watching Adam as he passed his hand back and forth in front of Shalimar's eyes, monitoring her reaction closely.
"Is she alright?" Jesse asked, worried about his friend.
"A few cuts and bruises, perhaps a mild concussion, but I don't think that there was any serious damage. Shalimar is going to be fine." He looked up at Jesse with a poisonous glare. "No thanks to you!"
Jesse was stunned. "Wait, Adam, listen. . ."
"No, you listen!" Adam almost spat the words at the younger man. "You had absolutely no right to take her out of Sanctuary without consulting me! It was reckless and it was stupid! Yes, stupid." Adam continued, ignoring Jesse's indignant expression. "You knew that the GSA were probably responsible for exposing Shalimar to the pathogen and it doesn't take a genius to realise that they would probably be monitoring places where people are likely to bring babies. You were irresponsible and you are lucky that neither Shalimar nor yourself were seriously injured or even killed!" Adam tightened his protective grasp on baby Shalimar.
"Adam, look, I'm sorry. . ." Jesse tried to make his peace with the older man.
"Sorry!" Adam bellowed. Shalimar whimpered. She had never heard him raise his voice before. "You nearly get Shalimar killed and you tell me that you are 'sorry'! I was so sure that I would be able to trust you, of all people, with her. It seems that I was wrong."
"Adam. . ."
"Be quiet!" Adam snapped. "I don't want to hear your excuses! And I will never allow you to take care of Shalimar again! I obviously can't trust you with her."
TBC.
Is Adam out of line or is Jesse an idiot? Thanks again to those who reviewed. I'll update again soon.