Chapter 8: Prelude To A Butt Kick

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Pacing his bedroom floor, Brennan frowned. For so many weeks, he and his friends had been conviced that Adam was dead and, after a major fight, he believed that Eckhart was as well, courtesy of his lightning bolts. Now, not only did he realize how wrong he was on both accounts, but he was no longer sure that the Adam Kane he knew was good. He no longer knew if he wanted to rescue his mentor, no longer knew if he could trust anyone except Jesse, Shalimar, Darien, and Hope, no longer knew who he really was anymore.

There was a knock on the door, luring him out of his thoughts. "Come in," he called, and the next second, Hope's head popped into the room, wearing the glasses she used for reading. Trying to look cheerful, Brennan said, "Oh, hey, Hope! What's up?"

Looking concerned, the red-head asked, "What's wrong, Brennan? You've been a bit upset ever since you saw Adam on the hologram yesterday morning."

"What in the world makes you think I'm upset, Hope?" He tried to look confused. Unfortunately, it didn't work on Hope in the least bit.

"Well- you see- ah-" Hope studdered. Then taking a deep breath, she said, "There's some things I haven't told you guys about me. You see, other than my earthquake ability, I can sense a person's emotions- I can't hear their thoughts, but I know how a person feels and can feel them myself- and I can see into the future- and it's not from demon possession, as far as I know. So come on- what's the matter?"

Looking at her speculatively, he asked, "Who invited you into my emotions?" He was mad now.

"I dunno- it just happened! I felt some sort of hurt while I was talking with Adam and after the conversation was finished, I started heading back to the kitchen when I passed by you. The sensation was strongest with you, but I didn't know if I should bring it up to you at that moment. Well, anyway, I found this while looking through some stuff before I left Genomex." She handed him a piece of paper with some writing on it, as she continued. "Some pretty rough stuff in it, Brennan- kind of like a confession to those closest to him. My mother, Shal, Jesse, and Darien have already read it- I couldn't bring myself to allow Lexa the privelege of reading it, too."

Cautiously, Brennan took the paper and began reading its contents:

'I have done much more damage than is

needed. First, I ruin the life of the

woman I have fallen in love with. I

had the chance to make her mine and I

blew it. Second, I am a fugitive from

a man whom I once considered a friend.

He believes that I have ruined his

career, when, in reality, his covetous

backstabbing has caused the beginning

of his fall. And third, I have ruined

the lives of several people who have

trusted me for so long. Brennan, Jesse,

Shalimar, Emma, Darien, and Hope all

thought of me as their friend and if

the day comes when they find out I once

betrayed them, I hope they will find it

in themselves to forgive me- especially

Brennan. He is like a son to me, and I

would not want him harmed intentionally.'

Slowly, Brennan refolded the paper. 'He is like a son to me,' the note had said. Deep inside, Brennan knew his mentor had meant every word. A tear fell- a tear of relief, of joy, of determination. Wiping the tear away, he turned to face Hope and said, "Well, the first thing I'm gonna do when we get to Genomex is help you guys whoop Eckhart's butt and get Adam back. And when he's back- well- I'm gonna tell him I forgive him for whatever happened."

Nodding her agreement at the first part of his sentence, she replied firmly, with a smile, "And we will whoop Eckhart's butt!"

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That night, writing in one of her many notebooks, Hope was giving detailed descriptions of her plan, such as who would do what and when, how fast or slow an action would be, where attacks were to begin from and end at- every and all aspects that were potential strongholds, traps, probable weaknesses, retaliatory moves of their enemy, she made sure to cover that avenue thoroughly. Knowing how easily a small nap often became complete sleep for her, Hope refused to give in to sleeping. She knew that the sooner her plan was complete, every loophole plugged, every trick avoided and returned in a boomerang effect, the sooner she could sleep as long as she needed to, but defense and offense were needed more than that.

There was a knock on her door about two in the morning, and in entered Shalimar, bedraggled and worn. Seeing her friend there writing her heart out, Shalimar whispered sweetly, "Hope, aren't you going to go to sleep, yet?"

"In a few more minutes, Shal- I'm almost done here," Hope whispered back with determination. "Will you come over here and look this over for me? I want to make sure I've covered all grounds about this, Shal, and I'd appreciate your input." Handing the blonde woman the whole notebook she was writing in, the younger one added, "I don't know if it's finished, yet, but I have the layout completed. What do you think?"

For several minutes, Shalimar was too busy reading to reply. When she finally did finish, she turned to face the red-head, surprize covering her face, and said, "Hope, I know you think your plan isn't finished yet, but in my opinion, there's nothing else needed at all- not even a 'Plan B'! I admit I don't know half of what some of your vocab words mean- maybe Jesse will, since he does a lot of research- but I've got only one word to describe your plan, Hope: Brilliant! I just love it, and I'm sure that everyone on the team- you, Aurora, and Darien included- will kick some major Eckhart butt!"

"Really?" This reply had come with such a force that, in spite of her unwanted worries, made her cry with happiness. Satisfied with Shalimar's nodded assurance, the girl smiled broadly and said, "Well, then, without further ado, I shall retire for the night. I warn you, though, due to my lack of sleep tonight, I'll be sleeping in. Wake me up if I'm not up by half past noon, okay, Shal?"

A simple smile said the answer as Hope crawled into bed and finally fell asleep; okay, my friend- I will.

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Around midnight, Adam, despite his worry about tomorrow morning, found himself cheering up. Not only would he finally be reunited with his Mutant X family- he would at last meet the nearly twenty-two year old daughter that he'd never met face to face. "Oh, Aurora, I wish you were still alive," he whispered with a lovestruck smile, unaware that Jesse, the team member who could walk through walls, was right behind him with a silver- haired woman.

"Your wish is my command, Adam," the woman whispered happily. Turning his face to look at her, as she was right beside him, Adam saw her slightly blurry body, like poor television reception, standing right there, smiling lovingly, sweetly at him.

Unbelieving at first, the Mutant X leader was almost having a panic attack. Slowly, silently, carefully, she let go of Jesse's hand and kissed Adam ever so gently. When she finally pulled away, he was breathless and convinced- Aurora was indeed still very much alive, breathing, caring for him with all of her heart. Finally, Aurora whispered, "Adam, there is something you need to know when you're safe back at Sanctuary, so whatever you do, act as if you do not know about anything whatsoever. Is that understood?"

She had asked him that question respectfully, concernedly, not demanding that he obey her. His nodding assured her, so she said, "Until we see each other again, then, my dearest Adam." Thankfully, none of the cameras in the room were working, as there had been another power failure, courtesy of Brennan, the electro-man, so they had not captured Aurora and Jesse entering or leaving the room and the building and did not come back on until they had left the compound itself.

The cameras that surrounded the compound were out of commission, as well, until the Double Helix had disappeared into the clouds, where it could resume it's normal state.

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When they got back to Sanctuary, poor Brennan couldn't sleep, and would not be able to until early the next morning. As soon as he returned, he went straight to his room, closed the door, and opened one of his desk drawers. There, descretely tucked into one of the corners, was a little velvet box, hiding a beautiful ring. While the girls had been away on their little shopping expedition, he had gone into town, searching for the perfect surprize for Shalimar. After much consideration, he had made the decision that would change his life- he was going to propose to Shalimar.

But how? Shalimar knew what he was like well enough to probably know what his plan was in the first place. Then the thought came to him; Hope could help! She had planned and coordinated tomorrow's attack against Eckhart, and it was a very good plan of attack, as well. Quietly, he went down to the kitchen, where Hope would get some diet vanilla soda and pop bags of popcorn before going to the entertainment room with Shalimar.

He knew that Shal would be reading in the entertainment room until Hope arrived with the soda, popcorn, and Moon Girl DVD. Walking into the kitchen, sure enough, Hope was waiting for the popcorn to finish popping. "Hey, Hope! I was hoping to find you here!" Brennan said, smiling cheerfully.

"Alright, Brennan- whadya want?" Hope replied, feigning annoyance.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Hope, I've been wanting to ask Shal to marry me, but I'm afraid she might know what I'm up to before I'm able to. Do you know what I could do to ask her without scaring her off?"

Looking at him thoughtfully, she didn't answer for a moment. When she finally spoke, she said, "Just ask her. I won't guarantee that, when you ask, she'll jump into your arms and shout her acceptance, Brennan, but I won't say that she'll go running helter skelter over the horizon, either. There's an old saying that goes like this: 'The greatest risk in life is not taking one.' You need to risk her running off or you'll never know if she'll say 'Yes' or not. Just ask, Brennan. Personally, however, I think she will accept."

For a moment, Brennan was very quiet, so quiet that she thought he hadn't heard her. Then, he looked at her with relief and said simply, "All right- I'll do just that. How 'bout ya pop an extra bag while I go to the entertainment room and pop the question to Shal? I hate to intrude on your girls' night, but I think I'd like to spend some time with my two fave ladies," refering to Shalimar and Hope, whom he now considered to be his little siste.

"Got it!" Hope said and, by the time she arrived in the entertainment room with the popcorn and soda, there was a beautiful, small silver ring, with inset heart-shaped diamonds, on Shalimar's hand, and a broad grin on Shalimar's face.