-I don't own Mutant X or any of the characters. I do own this story and the character's I've

created.



Author's Note: This story takes place two weeks after the events of "Flashforward." I intended

to have it finished much sooner, but two things caused a delay, and not of the pretty GS agent

variety! First, I came close to suffering a very real nervous breakdown over my finals. Second,

I started writing, hated what I'd written, started again, and hated that too! Now, I think I've

finally got "The Price" on the right track, thanks to a suggestion from my sister. I hope you

enjoy this!







Part One:

Portents And Potentials





'Jesse Kilmartin just saved my life.' That thought kept running through Kelly Rice's head

as she tried desperately to get her wits back about her.

Inside the Clark Experimental Medicine Warehouse, the battle that had been raging

between Gabriel Ashlocke's Strand forces and the Mutant X team was on pause. The fight felt

as if it had been going on for hours but, according to a clock hanging on a nearby wall, it had

only been a few minutes. Rising slowly and unsteadily, her right ear numb and useless, Kelly got

to her feet and immediately stumbled against a desk. She felt weak and sick, like the time when

she was a small girl and her father had taken her to an amusement park. The roller coaster

hadn't gone well with the two hotdogs she'd eaten.

"What happened?" Kelly mumbled, although she already knew. She had been supervising

a raid, leading the Strand members Gabriel had assigned to her in a daring robbery of medicine

for her ailing master. Recently, he'd become aware of something wrong with his body. Gabriel

had almost killed Dr. Kenneth Harrison when the man told him he was dying. How a man as

powerful and wonderful as Gabriel could ever die was beyond Kelly's ability to comprehend. It

just didn't seem right.

Moving like a newborn, barely able to move without stumbling, Kelly took a few hesitant

steps and looked around the office. The explosion she'd caused had destroyed a huge chunk of

the building and its contents. "Wow." She whispered, stunned at the damage. Her intent had

been to block Mutant X with a wall of flames, not set a fuel tanker on fire. Unfortunately, her

wall had ignited a leak and, if not for Jesse's daring leap in front of her, she'd have died in the

blast that followed. Amazingly, thanks to her enemy, she had lived. A secondary explosion had

lifted her off her feet and tossed her into the office. She didn't know what had happened to

Jesse.

"The girl, where is that girl?" She focused her mind and got a picture of the girl Gabriel

had included as part of her mission objective. Her name was Tiffany Clark, and for reasons that

were unknown to Kelly but unquestioned, Gabriel wanted her dead. "Where is she?"

An instinct pulled her attentions toward what remained of the long hall of offices in the

warehouse. She started walking, shakily at first but with increasing capability. When Kelly

neared a corner, something fast and nimble shot past her. "Hey!" Though she had been moving

fast, Kelly had caught sight of Tiffany's long black hair and a snapshot of the pink dress she'd

been wearing when first sighted. "Hey! Little girl! Come back here!"

She turned the corner at a run and then skidded to a halt as something heavy swung out and

almost struck her in the face. Tiffany was holding a small fire extinguisher and swinging it around

and around. "You get away from me you psychotic bitch!" The little girl screamed as she

heaved the extinguisher at Kelly, who blocked it at the last second but was still knocked to the

floor. Before Kelly could recover, the girl was gone again.

"Bad day." She grumbled, rubbing at the bruise that was already forming on her arms.

Flames started to roll out into the hall from a smashed office. Somewhere else in the warehouse,

a chunk of the roof collapsed. At most, she had only ten minutes before the entire building fell

down on her head. "Very bad day." With that thought in mind, Kelly started searching for the

girl again, this time with greater care.







"Brennan! Brennan, say something!" Emma DeLauro begged as she shook her teammate,

trying to wake him, praying the explosion hadn't killed him. She looked up and quickly surveyed

the area. Fire had engulfed half of everything. The flames licked higher and higher, moving at an

oddly laconic pace, as if they were tired. Still, it wouldn't be long before the entire warehouse

was an inferno. "Come on, wake up!" Emma screamed at Brennan. She leaned down and

checked his pulse again, found it strong, and then put her ear close to his mouth to check his

breathing.

"Okay, so your alive. Why don't you wake up?" Her voice was strained and very worried.

Even though it was likely the warehouse would last another ten or fifteen minutes, Emma wasn't

sure if any other members of Mutant X were conscious. Shalimar and Jesse were unaccounted

for, everyone had dived for a different shelter. Part of her was even worried about the Strand

members inside the warehouse. They were Ashlocke's slaves, even if they didn't know it, no

different from Eckhart's Imperial Guards, and if they could find a way to free them they'd do it in

a heartbeat. She was just afraid that there wouldn't be a chance because the whole building was

disintegrating all around her in a ballet of flame.

A deep groan rolled out of Brennan's mouth. His eyes fluttered slightly. "What happened?

I feel like I've been on a four week binge and got hit by a tank." He started to shake his head to

clear his mind, stopped with a hiss as pain shot through his neck, then allowed Emma to gently

help him to a sitting position. Brennan frowned and looked around the room at the fires and the

destruction. "Maybe I was hit by a tank."

"No. That brainless blonde bitch Kelly did this." Emma carefully felt around Brennan's

shoulders for any signs of broken bones or other damage while she tried to use her gifts to

search for the others. Unlike a telepath, Emma could only sense their emotions, but she knew

Jesse and Shalimar well enough to know how their minds felt. She knew them almost as well as

she knew Adam. Almost.

"Kelly? She did this?" Brennan sounded stunned. "Wow, she must have gone through a

mutant growth spurt like the rest of us."

"She accidentally set a tanker truck on fire."

A decidedly embarrassed blush formed on Brennan's face. "Oh." He took a deep breath

and forced himself to his feet. "Okay, so little Miss Firecracker is still just playing with matches.

That doesn't change the fact that—" his legs suddenly went weak and he almost collapsed.

Emma grabbed his arms and almost toppled with him but managed in the end to keep them both

from falling. For a moment, they were locked in a very close embrace. She felt his mind start to

turn toward decidedly naughty thoughts then veer away, changing tone quickly to gratitude.

"Thanks," he said after taking a deep breath to give himself half a chance to steady himself.

"You're welcome. Are you sure you're okay? You took one hell of a blast. We all did."

Emma glanced over her shoulder, back towards where she had leapt for cover, and wondered

where the others were. Without intending to, as her eyes roved again over the darkly vital

flames, she flashed back to the dark future. Images of death and destruction played in her mind.

When she closed her eyes for a second, it was as if she were there again, hiding behind a wall of

bodies and debris. A machine gun rattled somewhere and explosions ravaged the area, artillery

from the GSA, while rebels desperately fought to retake the world from a monster.

The memories were almost enough to double her over in agony. Every image of pain and

death that flashed through her mind was accompanied by people's emotions and feelings. All the

anguish, sorrow, and terror that she'd felt on the battlefield of a world thirty years in the future

had been imprinted on her mind. Emma pressed her hands tightly against her head and focused

all of her thoughts on Adam. It was the only solution to her suffering that she'd come up with so

far. In the last two weeks, she'd privately re-experienced the nightmare future seven times. A

part of her hated that she was now appearing so helpless and weak but it could not be helped.

"Hey," a gentle arm nudged her, "you okay?" Brennan's voice slid into the memories,

piercing them for a second then vanishing, leaving her still trapped. "Emma? Can you hear me?"

He reached out and grabbed her arms, stared into the vacant eyes that normally glittered with

friendly warmth. "Stop scaring me." He whispered desperately, "please stop."

For a few moments, Brennan's words did not register in her mind. Then, slowly, they did

but they lacked meaning. The only thing that kept Emma from losing herself completely in the

darkness, from falling into the abyss of memory, was Adam's face. She drew strength from his

image. In her mind, she wrapped herself in every loving moment she'd spent with Adam, and

this defeated the remembrances of the dark future. It beat back the suffering.

Emma took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." Voice so faint that Brennan almost didn't hear,

she shook her head and drew another, shaky gasp that helped her to feel sane again. "I'm okay

now. Just a little posttraumatic stress." Before he could respond, she raised her comlink and

activated the communicator. "Jesse? Shalimar? Where are you two?"

The answer came immediately. "Emma, thank God you're alright." It was Adam's voice,

filled with a relief that was easily recognizable as loving if a person listened carefully.

Before she could worry much about their secret being exposed, Brennan stepped forward

and leaned in to speak into Emma's comlink. "Hey! What about me? I'm alive too." He

grumbled, still rubbing at his head. "Not that I'm really happy about that at the moment."

"Good to hear that you're still in one piece Brennan." Adam said in a slightly less

enthusiastic manner, but with no less relief. He'd been worried about everyone after all, not just

the woman he loved. "What about Shalimar and Jesse? Have you been able to contact them?

Last time I spoke to them, they were fighting a Link with the power to negate mutant abilities."

"No, we haven't heard from them. They might be unconscious or it could be interference.

That explosion exposed a lot of electrical wiring. I can't believe we've still got lights in here."

Emma glanced over at Brennan, who was surveying the area. He was examining the surviving

walls around the office area, trying to see if they could still gain access to them. After a moment,

he turned to her and shook his head, then winced. "We can't get out of the main garage area.

The fire's blocking most of the offices from us. Any idea if we can even get out from here?"

"According to the computer blueprints, and the improved locators I installed in your

comlinks, you and Brennan can get out if you can get to the Green hallway."

Emma smirked and raised an eyebrow. "We can get there. Why did the Clarks color code

this place anyway? What were they working on out here?"

"I don't have a clue. My contact with the government sent us on this one, apparently the

Clarks requested the best security and we were it." There was a long pause. "Unfortunately,

we don't seem to be earning our reputation today. I'm tracking Tiffany moving through the Red

office area. Shalimar and Jesse were in a different part of the warehouse entirely, almost as far

away as you two, the last time I spoke to them." Another pause, this one pregnant with

uncertainty. The Red area was right next to the back exit, where the Double Helix was parked.

Adam was closer than all of them.

Before he could say it, Emma spoke up. "You're coming in, aren't you?" She didn't wait

for an answer because she already knew what he was going to say. "Be careful. Kelly Rice

might not be the most powerful new mutant alive, but she's far from harmless. Brennan can attest

to that." She glanced at her friend, who was still rubbing his injured head.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I just want the two of you to get out. If you can, try and

save the Clarks research. Their main storage should be at the junction of the Green and Yellow

hallways. There's an exit at the end of the Green hall. If everything goes right, I'll meet you at the

Double Helix with Tiffany."

"What about Shalimar?" Brennan asked as he came over, having heard everything while

he checked doors for another way out. "Jesse was at the center of that blast that Kelly caused.

Shalimar was in the same area. They could be badly hurt or. . . ." He didn't finish. He didn't

want to think like that.

"The computer says they're alive. Beyond that, I still haven't gotten any movement. All I

know is that, without high explosives, I can't get access to them from here and neither can you.

We have to trust them to save themselves for now. Tiffany can't fight Gabriel's people alone.

Shalimar and Jesse are survivors, Brennan, they'll get through this." Adam's voice was filled

with confidence, a contagious confidence that made both his teammates feel a measure of relief.

When the connection broke, Emma nodded toward the color coded hallway. "Let's get

that medicine. Anything we can deny Gabriel will make Shalimar smile, right?" She didn't wait

for a reply. Emma ran for the hallway with Brennan directly behind here. The garage area was

almost completely consumed by flames. Plus, Kelly had started a few lesser fires before, in

various hallways to slow Mutant X down and provide cover for her Strand teammates. Soon,

the entire Clark Experimental Medicine Warehouse would be an inferno.

They didn't want to be trapped inside.







Kelly walked through the warehouse with little difficulty. Wherever she encountered flames

that were too severe to pass through, she simply swept them out of existence with her powers.

As a result, she'd made remarkable progress in rounding up her surviving team members. There

weren't that many left unfortunately. Three had died in the explosion. That left her with only two

others, plus a third she'd sent to prep their escape jet. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she

felt responsible for the deaths. She just didn't have time to worry about them. She had more

important things on her mind.

Kelly rubbed at her arms as she pointed toward a formidable looking door. "She's in that

office. Break the door down."

Revenge was more important than dead people.

Her command was obeyed by her remaining teammates. One of them, a Feral, snarled and

ran straight for the barrier. She hit hard, so hard that the solid, steel reinforced security door

actually whined like a wounded animal. Still, it wasn't enough and it left the Feral aching. As she

rubbed at her bruised shoulder, the other member of Kelly's team stepped forward. He was a

talented Molecular, with a power similar to that of Jesse Kilmartin, only it was limited to phasing

out. The man took a breath and passed easily through the door. In moments, he had it open.

As she entered, Kelly immediately caught sight of Tiffany. The raven haired brat was

huddled in a corner, knees pulled tightly to her chest, shivering as if trapped in the arctic. "Not

so tough now, are you?" She sneered as the Feral shut the door behind them to slow any

would-be rescuers. Kelly raised her hands and held them up. All she had to do was close the

gap between herself and the girl, then create a wall of fire. The flames would cascade over her,

like napalm, killing her in a matter of seconds.

Death by immolation was a lousy way to go. Kelly had watched her father burn to death

in their home. She'd heard her mother and baby brother screaming, trapped by a wall of flames,

as they were roasted alive in a shower stall where they'd taken refuge. It was just after that

tragedy that she'd been recruited by Gabriel's Strand. The 0.0 tattoo, the mark of Genomex's

Patient Zero, Gabriel Ashlocke, had been bestowed on her only recently, as a sign that she was

trusted above the others. All of the truly faithful bore Gabriel's mark, and Kelly was proud of it.

She was proud to kill for him.

Just as she prepared to burn Tiffany to death, the girl suddenly shot forward and slammed

something sharp into Kelly's right leg. "Ow! You little brat, what. . . ." Her voice trailed off as a

strange numbness spread upward. Her thigh began to tingle. She looked down and saw a

syringe sticking out of her leg. "What did you do?" Her voice sounded weak. The numbness in

her body now encompassed her entire lower half and it was still spreading.

"I gave you a dose of something my father created for people like you. I don't even know

what it was." The Clark girl smiled then, a gleam of pure cruelty in her eyes. "I hope it kills you

freak."

Kelly tried to order her two minions to kill the girl but that icy sensation had reached her

head. The world began spinning as her vision blurred. Just as she fell sideways, losing balance

and consciousness, someone broke into the office, coming through a glass panel on one side.

She watched as Adam Kane practically flew inside, landing in front of Tiffany.

"It's okay, your parents sent me." He said to the girl as he took a fighter's stance and

prepared to defend her.

The first of Gabriel's people to strike was the Feral, who'd recovered sufficiently from her

foolish attempt to break the door. She came at Adam with a snarl, eyes flaring saffron. He

blocked each blow with relative ease, then counterattacked. For a few seconds, the two went

back and forth. Skilled human versus Feral mutant. Then, as she tried to sweep Adam's feet

out from under him, she got a nasty surprise. Jumping to avoid her leg, Adam grabbed the

corner of a nearby desk and used it to pivot and swing in a devastating kick in the head. He'd

never have been able to do something like that to Shalimar, but this woman wasn't as good. She

was nowhere near as good.

The Feral went down hard. Trying not to be too satisfied by her collapse, Adam turned

toward Tiffany. "Go! Get out of here!" Then he spun back around and blocked a blow from

the Molecular. Behind him, the girl carefully climbed out through the shattered window, glancing

back for a moment before running down the hallway.

Adam and the Molecular traded blows for a few seconds. The man wasn't a very talented

fighter, he was falling back toward the sealed security door with every blow he narrowly

managed to block. When a punch finally landed, he went intangible, acting defensively like a

turtle pulling inside its shell. "If you can phase like Jesse, you've got his weakness." Adam said

with a pitying smile. This was going to be too easy. "I almost feel sorry for Gabriel, having such

lousy help." The moment the man took a breath, he became solid and Adam knocked him out

with one good jab to his face. "Almost."

"Come on mister!" Tiffany Clark called from outside the office. Her nervous face peered

in at him through the broken glass, "this place is burning fast. We've got to get out of here!"

Before he could answer, she turned and started running for the exit.

Adam turned to look where Kelly had been, intending to take her with him. He didn't want

her death on his head and she might be able to help them locate Gabriel's new base. The

self-proclaimed god had abandoned Genomex recently, which would have been fine except no

one was bothering to do anything about it. The government was content to pretend the GSA

had never existed and let Mutant X deal with Gabriel and his followers. Which included Kelly,

who should have been lying on the floor unconscious. "Oh great." She was gone. An air duct

near the floor had been pulled open, letting the Elemental firebug pass easily into the next

hallway. "Damn." Adam raised his comlink to his face. "Emma, Brennan, I've got Tiffany but

Kelly got away. She's moving through the air ducts. Shalimar, Jesse, if the two of you can hear

me, get out now!" He turned and went out through the broken window. He'd beaten two

young mutants in hand to hand combat, rescued the damsel in distress, and all of it without taking

a hit.

Not bad for an old man.







As fire licked its way closer to her, Shalimar Fox bit her lip and tried to keep herself from

panicking. Her clothing was torn and singed from the explosion. Soot and bits of debris had

become tangled in the golden locks upon her head. When she got to the Double Helix, a comb

and a mirror were going to work wonders. The fire blazed higher suddenly, catching for a

moment on a trace amount of some chemical that had spilled on the floor long ago. "Just stay

calm. Just stay calm." She repeated over and over again, her eyes turning toward Jesse, who

was working desperately to get an electronic security door open. "How much longer? We've

only got a minute before we're roasted alive."

Jesse glanced back over his shoulder, shielding his eyes as he gazed at the flames. "Oh

gee, that long? Plenty of time." He looked better than Shalimar, considering he'd been at the

epicenter of the blast Kelly had caused. His clothes were unmarred and his face was only lightly

dusted with soot. He'd massed out in order to shield the girl. Still, he'd been lucky. The blast

could have killed him. "I've almost got this."

"That's great, but can you get the door open before we're dead?"

"If I can't, you won't be around to complain about it." He grumbled, his mind too focused

on what he was doing to keep annoyance out of his voice. "I just wish we hadn't run into that

Link. I've still got a while before my powers come back." Beneath Jesse's fingers, something

sparked. "Ow! That did it."

The door rumbled open. As it did, Jesse and Shalimar's comlinks buzzed to life. Until

now, something about the door and surrounding walls had been blocking the communication

aspect of the machines. "Shalimar, Jesse, if the two of you can hear me, get out now!" Adam's

voice filled their ears.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Shalimar said with a smile. She strode past Jesse as he got

to his feet and followed close behind, glancing back only when the room behind them collapsed.

They looked at each other for a moment then started running. Fire followed, catching on the

carpeting inside the White hallway. Shalimar's eyes went wide when she saw how it seemed to

be following them. "You've got to be kidding me." She grumbled as they ran.

Jesse got ahead of her by a few paces when he turned a corner and slammed into someone

with a thump. He fell backwards, his elbow striking the wall. Coming up to catch him, Shalimar

looked up and saw, of all people, Kelly Rice. The Elemental had grabbed onto a door frame to

keep from losing her feet. One hand around her middle, probably to ease the pain from running

into Jesse, she saw them and let out a surprised squeak. She spun around and started running,

swaying slightly as if drunk.

"This is a cosmic joke." Jesse muttered as he took off after Kelly. "Come on! She can

lead us to Gabriel!" Legs pounding hard against the thickly carpeted floor, arms swinging like

enormous pendulums, he pursued. Shalimar was right behind, moving almost as fast, slowed

only by her mind's inability to ignore the flames that continued to follow them down the hallway.

"Kelly stop, we just want to help you!" Jesse yelled at one point as they ran. He wasn't

surprised when she ignored him, everyone usually did.

The chase ended as abruptly as it had begun when Kelly almost ran into an exit door. She

spun around and swung her arms out, creating an inferno before them. Something flammable

must have been spilt on this spot recently for the flames billowed into existence stronger than

she'd ever seen. Her body was aching and she felt dizzy from the injection Tiffany had given her,

but Kelly was still standing, albeit shakily, and that had to mean something. She smiled at Jesse

as he and Shalimar came to halt in front of her wall.

"Sorry. You lose." She turned and started toward the exit, fully intending to leave them

behind to fry, when Jesse yelled something that stopped her cold.

"I saved your life." He declared, his eyes darting for a moment to the fire that was drawing

nearer by the second, eating up the hallway with frightening speed. When he turned back, he

saw that she was listening. There was something about the was he spoke that held the blonde's

attention. "We want to help you. Gabriel's a madman. He's using you and all the Links. He

doesn't care about you. We do." Jesse held up his hand, winced a little at the heat that almost

touched his finger tips. "Come with us. You tried to escape once, you can do it again."

Shalimar was fidgeting, unable to move any closer to the firewall Kelly had set up and

unable to go back for there was no longer a hallway behind them. The upper air vents were

struggling, attempting to draw off all the smoke that was rapidly enveloping them. She knew

what Jesse was trying, knew that he was coming close to breaking Gabriel's hold on this girl. If

he could get through to her, Gabriel was toast.

"He's right Kelly. Ashlocke tried to control me once. He's been controlling you and all the

Links, using you like he used me. He doesn't care about anyone or anything. We can help you

but you've got to let us." She reached out too, although deep down she really just wanted to

punch Kelly in the face for making the whole world into a giant fireball.

For one second exactly, Jesse thought he'd gotten through to Kelly. There was a look in

her eyes, like a lost child, frightened and alone. Then it was gone. A glazed and slightly spacey

expression replaced it. It was exactly the same way she'd seemed when he first met her a month

or so ago in a safe house, passing out flyers for the Strand.

"Gabriel loves me. Gabriel loves all of us." Kelly said, her voice cold and dark. She

turned and calmly walked out the exit, leaving them to die.

Jesse threw his hands up in frustration. "Damn it, I thought I had her." He turned back

toward the oncoming flames. They were only ten meters away now and closing fast, burning

through everything they came near. "Shalimar, do you trust me?" He asked, glancing at her with

a desperate look in his eyes. Before she could answer, Jesse wrapped his arms around his

friend, pulled back five steps from the wall Kelly had set up, then dove through it back first.

They fell to the ground on the other side, Shalimar leaping up like a frightened cat, him rolling on

the floor for a moment to smother a few embers that threatened to turn his shirt into a torch.

As they ran out the exit, just barely ahead of the fire that was devouring the hallway,

Shalimar looked back at him. "I can't believe you would do something so crazy." She smiled

warmly and headed for where the Double Helix was parked, surprisingly close they now saw to

the place where Gabriel's people had hidden their jet. "Thanks."

"No problem."







Brennan shocked the security door open. "Piece of cake." Entering quickly, fully aware

that the fire seemed to have woken up and was now spreading throughout the warehouse like,

well, a real wild fire. His eyes roved over the many experiments inside this office, test-tubes and

Bunsen burners and strange devices that he'd never seen before and expected only Adam could

identify. Two walls were covered in heavy leather journals that had no chance of surviving.

Immediately across from him was a table with a cardboard box filled with odd looking

electronics and a computer disk on top.

"That's it. Right in front of us." Emma rolled her eyes as she walked over and hefted it.

"Adam said Clark had left it right in plain sight but this is ridiculous. If we hadn't surprised Kelly

and the other Links when we did. . . ."

". . . Ashlocke would be back on his feet and ready to kick our butts," Brennan finished,

turning back toward the door. "Let's get out of here before this place starts to look like the

inside of a furnace." He stepped sideways as Emma walked out first, barely struggling with her

load. Just before following her out, Brennan's eyes caught sight of a book on the desk beside

the door. A copy of a collection of Walt Whitman's poems, a particularly rare edition. Without

thinking, he took it and slid it into his coat, then turned and followed Emma.

They went down the hallway quickly, moving fast but not too fast. The fire was behind

them but it wasn't nipping at their heels. Balancing the box in her hands, Emma nodded toward

a row of shelves. "Grab the vials marked with black labels. Adam said those were important to

Clark's research too."

As he picked up two test-tubes, Brennan shook his head and asked "any idea exactly what

this guy is researching? If Ashlocke wants it, something tells me it isn't anything good."

"Adam doesn't know and right now, I don't care. We were asked to save the day so

we're saving it. Just grab them so we can leave. This box is getting heavy."

"Want me to take it?" He asked kindly, managing to suppress any vaguely insulting

insinuations he might have made under different circumstances. Afer all, there were few things

more enjoyable than annoying Emma.

She favored him with a wry smirk. "Oh would you? My poor pitiful woman's arms just

can't possibly manage any longer." Emma shook her head and shoved the exit door open.

Outside, the cool air made them both take a deep breath. A decent sprint away was the Double

Helix. Shalimar and Jesse were already there, climbing onboard. Adam stood outside, a dark

haired girl with him. "There are the others. . ." She stopped dead in her tracks. "Take this."

She handed the box to Brennan who just barely got hold of it.

"Hey, what's with the sudden change of heart?" He grunted as he attempted to use his leg

to help him get a better grip.

Emma wasn't listening. She'd just gotten a hit off the Clark girl. Most of the time, when

she caught a burst of strong emotions, they involved anger or fear. Sometimes she felt other

people's sadness or love. Lust came through pretty clearly too. As she rapidly closed the gap

between herself and Adam, she felt Tiffany Clark's emotions so strongly that they almost bowled

her over. She felt blinding, white hot, hatred and revulsion.

"I refuse to ride in that thing with a bunch of freaks!" The girl was speaking in such a low

and viciously cold voice, Emma hadn't heard her until now, as she came to stand beside Adam.

Tiffany raised a hand and pointed at her suddenly. "I suppose this is another one of your team?

Another animal that looks like a person?"

"You little bitch." Emma whispered, feeling a surge of anger. Before she could do anything

or say anything more, Adam turned toward her and smiled, defusing most of her anger. His eyes

told her that he felt just as insulted and upset as she did.

Brennan walked up then, his attention on carefully putting the test-tubes with black labels

into the box. As he came within earshot, the warehouse fell inward. "Wow." He muttered,

watching and listening to the sound of a building and very nearly a dream dying. Without the

files, equipment, and chemicals he and Emma had salvaged, the Clark family would never be

able to recreate their experiments. A lifetime of research and close to a billion dollars down the

drain. "Good thing we got this out in time." He said as he held up the box, feeling rather pleased

with himself because he hadn't heard Tiffany's hateful words.

He also hadn't met her father.

"Tiffany! Get away from that lying bastard!" A voice cried out from nearby. Everyone

turned to see a man in his forties running up, white lab coat billowing behind him as he came. He

wore a pair of thick glasses that made him look comically like a fish. At the moment, a shark.

"You son of a bitch. How dare you expose my daughter to a bunch of inhuman freaks!"

Before anyone could stop him, Dr. David Clark reached out and practically tore the box of

experimental equipment from Brennan's arms. He glared at Adam. "When the government told

me they were calling in the best to protect my research, I expected true and noble human beings,

not genetic anomalies." There was a look of madness in his eyes as he seemed to contemplate

throwing the box of research away because Brennan had touched it. After a moment, he calmed

down just enough to shove it under one arm and hold out his hand. "Tiffany, we are leaving.

Now."

The girl haughtily threw her hair back, imperiously glared at Adam and the others, then

took her father's hand and started to walk with him back towards an expensive sports car. "Dr.

Clark, my team saved your daughter's life. But Gabriel's people are still out there. They'll try

again." Adam called out as the man slipped behind the wheel.

"All of you freaks can go to hell! I'll protect my daughter and my research with real people,

not a bunch of talking lab animals." Dr. Clark called back, ignoring Adam's concerns and the

success Mutant X had achieved by rescuing his daughter and saving his research. Before he

drove away, he made an obscene gesture that was eagerly mimicked by Tiffany. Then they were

gone, racing toward home at breakneck speed.

Emma and Adam stood together, too stunned by the hatred to say anything at that moment.

Brennan saved them the trouble.

"Well, at least we don't have to apologize for their warehouse burning down."







When the warehouse collapsed, it made a sound like an animal dying. It really did. Kelly

Rice heard it and spun around in surprise. The building moaned its death wail and imploded,

causing thick geysers of fire to explode upward into the night. Never before in her life had she

seen such an amazingly beautiful sight. "Gabriel would love this." She whispered, never realizing

that her beloved leader didn't care about anything but himself and would have laughed at

something like this. Kelly smiled anyway, happy in her delusions.

Then, as she turned back toward the jet the Links had secured earlier for transport, her

mind went to Jesse. He was her sworn enemy, Gabriel's enemy, yet he'd risked his life just to

save her's. It was unbelievable but it had happened.

For the tiniest fraction of a moment, in that critical instant between emptiness and revelation,

Kelly wondered if she'd made the right choice. "Should I have gone with them?" She

whispered, her words sounding blasphemous to her ears, for they would have angered Gabriel.

Yet, hadn't she once tried to run away from him and the Strand? Kelly ran a hand through her

short blonde tresses, flicking them up and letting each hair fall back into place, tickling her

sensitive skin.

The sensation reminded her of being a child, when her mother used to brush and sometimes

even braid her hair. She'd been a gentle woman, Mrs. Rice, and exceedingly proud of her

daughter. Once, when she didn't know Kelly was listening, she told a friend how grateful she

was for the miracle treatment Genomex scientists had used to save her daughter. That was

before they knew she was a mutant, before the fire. Everything good in her childhood had been

before the fire.

Maybe it was that bittersweet memory, maybe it was just the fact that Gabriel had played

with her hair like that once after making love to her, or maybe she was just too desperate to

believe the lies. For whatever reason, Kelly turned away from the warehouse and walked

towards escape back into her unacknowledged slavery. As the jet roared to life and began to

rise into the air, she reached into her pocket, grasped the vial of medicine she'd stolen just

before accidentally turning the warehouse into Pyro. Park, and tried to smile.

She couldn't manage even a grin.





******************************





"I can't believe those people," Shalimar grumbled as the Double Helix settled down for a

gentle landing in the hanger at Sanctuary. "We save their daughter, we risk our lives doing it,

and they call us freaks and leave without so much as a thank you! Thanks to Kelly, the jerks will

even collect a hefty insurance policy on the warehouse and because of us, they didn't have to

lose any of their precious research to do it." Venom dripping from every word, the blonde

growled and waved a hand in a gesture of pure frustration. "I mean, what's wrong with this

picture? We saved the day, saved the kid, and for what? No one even has the time or decency

to thank us. It's just not right."

"Yeah, well, better luck next time." Grumbled a surprisingly cheery sounding Brennan. He

smiled warmly. "Whether or not anyone intends to thank us for our good deed for the day, I

feel great. I'm going to throw on some shorts and get in the Dojo for a while."

Emma tapped him on the arm, a look of amused concern on her face. "Are you sure

you're okay? You took a pretty bad hit." She glanced over at Jesse, who was about to run a

systems check. "And what about you? Doing alright Mr. Hero?" The words were soft but

mocking. "I can't believe you risked your life to save that crazy bitch."

"Ooh, watch the language Emma. A child's present." Shalimar said as she tried to cover

Brennan's ears.

He brushed her hands away with a guffaw and walked down the ramp into the hanger.

"Laugh all you like, I'm in too good a mood to zing you back. Like I said before, I'm going to go

train, work off all this energy." He smiled and shook his head. "After fighting Gabriel's loon

squad, shooting off enough lightening to power New York for a few months, and nearly getting

blown up, you'd think I'd be exhausted." Again, Brennan shook his head, only this time it was

to demonstrate that he could do it without pain. "And my headache's gone. Guess this is my

lucky day, huh?" With springy steps, he headed for his room and a change of clothes.

Shalimar walked out of the Helix right behind him, still teasing in a good-natured way. The

joking was little more than a pretext for watching Brennan for any indication of serious trauma,

no matter how good he claimed to feel. Although they weren't quite officially a couple, the two

looked out for one another in their own special ways.

A grin on her face, Emma turned back to Jesse, and spoke with friendly concern. "You are

okay, right?"

"Just fine nurse DeLauro." He answered with a smirk as he stood up, having forgotten the

systems check. It wasn't really that important. How much damage could the Double Helix

really have taken from Gabriel's little surprise? "I feel like a million dollars. No, make that two

million. Wait, no, three. Definitely three million dollars."

As he started to head for the ramp, Adam clapped a hand against Jesse's shoulder.

"Good. Then you can start repairs on the Double Helix." He said as they walked out of the ship.

Emma laughed at the forlorn expression that came upon Jesse's face. "Ow, oh! Delayed

shooting neck pains!" He grunted, rubbing at his collar bone. Unable to keep a straight face for

long, a wide grin broke out as he mimed walking with crutches.

"Really, I'm seriously decrepit here. I need a vacation, preferably in Cancun, Mexico. I

could really use a harem of crazed Spring Break babes." He fended off Emma's playful punch

and walked out of the ship. "Seriously though—"

"You can actually be serious?" Emma interrupted, shaking her head as she followed, fiery

hair swirling with the motion. He gave her a dirty look and she glared right back before bursting

into a fit of giggles. "Jesse, you've really got to get your mind out of the gutter. I don't like

having to wade through the sludge whenever I'm in the same room with you."

"Is it my fault that you're a telempath?" His expression softened slightly. He'd seen a very

subtle glint of the self-doubt that everyone knew plagued Emma. It was never easy to find, the

evidence was always circumstantial, but they were aware of the insecurity even so. No matter

how hard she tried to hide the fear, it peeked out on occasion, as it did now. For the briefest

moment, her eyes had been sad and angry. Jesse saw that and said, "I suppose I can try to think

happy thoughts. Really, I'll try. Its just hard not to think dirty thoughts when you're around. You

bring out the worst in me." He said that last in what sounded like a seductive overture but was

really just a joke.

"Obviously. Especially with your sense of humor." The smile that formed on Emma's face

was one of pure victory. As she turned and walked out of the hangar, Jesse clutched at his

chest, as if her words had been physically wounding. "I have a bad effect on your acting skills

too!" A groan of disturbingly realistic pain made her turn around and catch Jesse miming an

absurdly theatrical death scene. "Bye Jesse. I'll talk to you after you've gotten out of this crazy

mood you're in!"

Walking away from the hanger, leaving her teammate to start repairs on the ship, Emma

started to feel tired. Every mission she was on filled her with excitement, terror, and a feeling of

strength when she took down an enemy. Coming back to Sanctuary after an especially difficult

ordeal, after fighting hard and winning against all odds, it was like suddenly coming down from

the heights of passion. Draining but satisfying. Running a hand through her almost blood-red

hair, dyed a few weeks back but still perfect, Emma walked without a particular destination in

mind.

Sometimes, when she wanted to think, she'd stroll about the halls of Sanctuary, passing

through its many common rooms, until her mind yielded whatever answers she sought. Lately,

she spent more time talking to Adam than wandering her home, but when the need for solitude

came, her feet took her on a journey through this amazing place.

Now, as she walked, Emma let her mind wander back to the battle and to her emotions as

she fought. What was it about Kelly Rice that angered her so much? Kelly wasn't a killer nor

was the woman particularly evil. For the most part, Kelly was just a lackey of Gabriel's.

Granted, she was enthusiastic about serving him, but did that make her a monster like him?

Hadn't her eyes bulged in terror when the tanker caught on fire? Hadn't Jesse almost reached

the lost little girl inside of her? Emma couldn't help but answer "yes" to all of those points.

Where did her hatred for this woman come from? When had she started to feel it so strongly?

She wasn't able to put her finger on it, not yet.

"Thinking long thoughts?"

Emma was startled out of her introspection by the familiar voice. "Adam! You shouldn't

sneak up on me like that." She said as she pressed a hand against her rapidly beating heart,

wondering if it was surprise that sped her pulse or the man who was watching her with loving

eyes. Her own eyes equally adoring, a sparkle of beguiling desire entered them. Voice throaty

and seductively warm, Emma said "unless you plan to kiss me afterward." She pouted her lips

slightly in invitation and yearning.

Adam grinned. "If I could, I'd spend every moment of my day kissing you." They both

glanced around, saw that they were completely alone, then kissed hungrily. Keeping their

affections secret the last two weeks had been difficult. Both of them regretted the decision to

hide their love but neither could figure out how best to tell everyone what had happened between

them. So they kept apart more than they'd like, slept alone far too often, and only rarely

allowed themselves a loving touch or kiss outside of a locked room.

Indulging in the exhilarating sensation that came from being so close to the woman he loved,

Adam wrapped an arm around Emma and pulled her close. "We shouldn't." She whispered, so

softly that he almost didn't hear. "What if someone sees us." There was no conviction in the

words, only a vague unease.

"I'm not ashamed of us and I'm tired of hiding." He whispered back, but broke away from

her all the same. As he did, she stepped closer to him and kissed him again, this time very gently

and sweetly.

Emma's eyes were slightly moist when she gazed up at him. "Not once in the time we've

been together have I been ashamed, Adam. I'm just afraid. I don't want the others to hate me."

For one moment, she looked so terribly helpless that it made Adam's heart ache. Then, the

vulnerability vanished and her smile came back. "Can we go somewhere and talk for a little

while? There are some things that have been bothering me and most of the time I feel like you're

the only one who understands me."

He reached out and touched her chin, lifting it just so, then leaned down and kissed her one

more time, because it always made them both feel more connected, more alive. "I want to talk

to you too. There's something I need to ask you and its really important, its been on my mind

for a while." As he spoke, he soothingly caressed her cheek.

Nodding as she started walking, her fingers slipping easily into his grip, Emma ran his words

through her head, feeling an electric sensation of anticipation. 'What does he want to ask me?'

She wondered nervously. 'Is he about to break up with me? No, that's crazy.' Her grip

tightened on Adam's hand, their fingers curled together, a physically symbolic bond. Although

she didn't know it, he was worrying about much the same things as they walked toward

Sanctuary's garage.

They'd done this several times before, one then the other climbing into a car and driving

into town, always when the others were distracted enough not to follow.

If Jesse was going to be fixing the Double Helix and Shalimar was going to watch over

Brennan while he trained, they could go out without much fear of being seen by their friends.

The undercurrent of risk wasn't completely unwelcome though; they both thrilled at it. Risk, like

any spice, made the banquet of life a little more scrumptious. Also, like a spice, too much made

a meal inedible. Going on a secret date was one thing, fighting crazed new mutants quite

another.

"Where do you want to go?" Emma asked as they entered the cavernous garage. The

structure was set apart from the hangar, though not by much, and had a tunnel that led straight

out to a hidden exit onto a very quiet dirt road. Great care went into setting up that system. It

was just one more reason Emma found Adam so attractive. He was brilliant.

"It's too early for a movie or lunch," Adam said after glancing at his watch. That seemed

impossible, but it was true. It had been extraordinarily early in the morning when they'd arrived

at Clark's warehouse and the light of dawn had just barely crept up by the time the battle was

over. Now, it almost felt like a day had passed without them knowing. Most people slept in

on a day like today. "We could walk around town, kill time until a decent restaurant opens."

As Emma started to open her mouth to reply, someone came running into the garage.

"Hey, are you guy's going out too? Mind if I save some gas by tagging along?"

They both turned and stared, trying desperately to keep their faces from showing their

mutual depression. "Brennan, I thought you were training." Adam said, his expression as neutral

as he could make it, his voice just this side of irritation.

"Yeah. Training. With Shalimar." Emma said, making the last two words into something

close to a suggestion.

If Brennan noticed that he'd interrupted a clandestine date, it didn't show. He smiled at

them and laughed. "I was. Then I realized, I'm too up for that. I need to go party in town.

Dance till I drop, which probably won't be for a while. And until a good place opens, I can hang

with you two!" He walked over and clapped them both on the back. "Come on you guys!

Let's go out and have some fun!"

"No offense Brennan but. . . ." Before Emma could figure out a sweet way of telling him

to go away, he interrupted.

"Hey! I just remembered this great club that's open twenty-four and seven. Good food,

fair drinks, and great music. Sometimes they even have karaoke, which might not be the funniest

thing ever invented, but it can sure come close!" He laughed again, obviously very pleased with

the plan he was coming up with.

"Really, Brennan, we just wanted—." Even as the words came out of his mouth, Adam

was practically bowled over by another friendly, but obnoxious, pat on the back. His eyes slid

to Emma, who was wearing a look of exasperation. He shrugged, she frowned. He nodded

toward Brennan, grimacing slightly as the other man talked and talked and then talked some

more. A mean smile on her face, Emma started to prepare a psi-blast.

She never got the chance. Before either of them could say a word, Brennan had hopped

into one of the cars Mutant X used, a vintage vehicle he'd picked up himself a few days before,

and started revving the engine. "You two are going to love this place. I'll even buy the drinks.

We don't spend nearly enough time together, you know? I'm usually with my bud Jess or doing

something with Shal, it's about time I partied with you two." He reached across the passenger

seat and opened the door. "Who wants shotgun? Man, this is going be great, right?"

Adam sighed. Emma's shoulders drooped. How could they mess with a friend's mind

when he was being so blasted pleasant and friendly? They glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Yeah." He mumbled despondently, heading for the side seat.

"Great." Emma said, her voice bordering on depressed.

Brennan was too busy grinning to notice.





******************************

Lingering back in the hanger, Jesse checked the minor damage the Double Helix had

sustained on the way back to Sanctuary. Gabriel's people had set up a small anti-air rocket

launcher near the warehouse. Once the Double Helix was off the ground, they'd been struck in

the side by a missile. Two large shards of metal were deeply imbedded in the hull. A long

scratch ran down the left side with a small scorch mark army flanking it. "The X-Men never

have to fix their jet." Jesse muttered in annoyance as he hefted a toolbox and a large panel of

replacement metal. "And if they did, I'll bet they wouldn't have just one person doing all the

work." He shook his head and hefted a small hand torch. Turning toward the work, muttered

"yeah, good old Jesse, the workhorse of Mutant X. Throw all the supplies on my back and

watch me carry them without complaint no matter how much my back is aching."

A decidedly unpleasant smile formed on his face, though the expression never dulled the

kind warmth of his eyes. "I'll get back at them all!" Jesse whispered darkly and then pretended

to twirl a mustache, like some old cartoon villain. He chuckled, shook his head, started to cut

the damaged piece of hull loose, when the sound of someone laughing made him turn around.

"God, that was the funniest thing I've ever seen!" Shalimar managed to gasp out between

giggles. It took her almost a full minute to regain her composure. Smiling, she shook her head

and walked over to Jesse. "I came to help you. Or should I run away and hide? You are

planning our doom after all."

"No, you're not getting out of helping that easy. No boom today." Jesse tossed her a

spare torch, which Shalimar caught with all the grace of her animal surname, and glanced back

over his shoulder, smiling wickedly. "I get my revenge tomorrow. Beware baby."

Before she could answer, and at the exact moment that Adam, Emma, and Brennan were

leaving the garage, an incredibly shrill noise filled the hangar. It blanketed them and muted

almost all other sounds, even to a Feral's superior ears. Fading in and out rapidly, like an alarm,

it seemed to reach out and swat at them.

"What is that?" Shalimar asked as she pressed a hand against the side of her head, trying

to stifle the headache inducing noise.

Jesse calmly put down his torch, walked over to a communications panel, and pressed a

button. Silence reigned instantly. "That," he said with annoyance clear in his voice, "was

supposed to be a gentle ringing. I installed new software and hardware for Sanctuary's phones.

Guess I crossed a wire somewhere."

"Yeah, well, my ears are gently ringing so I guess you kinda got it right."

Shalimar expected Jesse to smirk at that but he was already pressing the speaker part of

the headset to one ear. As he reached up automatically for the microphone, probably intending

to adjust it, his eyes grew wide and his skin paled. It happened so fast that, for a moment, she

thought the light was playing a trick on her. Reality set in when he started screaming into the

receiver, "Charlotte! Charlotte, what's happening!" He kept yelling, growing ever more agitated.

Suddenly, he spun around to face Shalimar. "Prep the Helix. Now." Whatever humor there had

been in his voice mere moments ago was now dead, completely and utterly dead. She wasted

no time in obeying.

"Charlotte, you've got to calm down. I can't understand what you're saying." Jesse spoke

urgently. Listening for a moment, his expression turned ever more grim. At one point, a look of

barely repressed anger and disgust made him seem something inhuman. "Please, Charlotte, help

me out! Say the name again!" The command came in a rush. "Stay calm, its over, just tell me

where you are so I can help you."

Shalimar heard one side of the conversation. Her ears were usually keen enough to pick

up both sides, even at a distance, but not when she was inside of a jet rapidly setting controls

and preparing for flight. Green lights all across the board. Except one. A quick examination

proved it to be a minor problem that wouldn't prevent a take off.

Turning her head, Shalimar glanced back and out of the Double Helix, watching Jesse as

he calmed Charlotte down. She wondered briefly if it was Charlotte Cooke on the line and then

shivered at the thought that it was. After the story Adam and Emma had told them, a panicked

call from her could mean something truly frightening was going down. Plus, she still remembered

the feeling of having her moral polarity reversed. It hadn't been a nice experience. She did not

want to repeat it.

In the moment that thought came to mind, she noticed something about Jesse's facial

expression. Something seemed disturbingly wrong about it. For a moment, Shalimar couldn't

comprehend what she was seeing. Then revelation came and she turned back to the ship's

controls, desperately hoping she was wrong. There was a look on his face that terrified her.

Rage. The look was rage.

Hatred, rage, and an overwhelming need for justice. This was the fabric of soul that now

warped a good man's countenance into that of a demonic entity. Without needing to ask,

Shalimar knew that something horrible had happened.

Pacing now, moving in fits back and forth, so hard and quick that each motion made his

chest ache, Jesse kept talking, trying desperately to make sure Charlotte was safe on her end of

the line. "Charlotte, listen to me, keep moving. Don't you dare stay there for even a second

longer. Go. Get out of the safe house and just move." For a moment, he was tempted to break

the connection to make her obey. He didn't. He was afraid to. Cutting the line felt tantamount

to passing a death sentence. "Hide somewhere safe. I'll find you, don't worry about that."

Unconsciously, his mind went to a passage from the book Hope, and he quoted it aloud without

meaning to. "Go to a place where sorrow knows no hold and angels tread in silence."

On the other end, he heard Charlotte's breath catch in her throat. The passage meant

something to her. She knew it. Without any further delay, she broke the connection to

Sanctuary. At least, he thought she did. It took him just a second to realize that the line had

been cut. The bad guys were still there.

Fear crept in. The empty hiss of the severed line made Jesse's heart grow cold. He felt

that a prayer might help but he didn't have time. He dropped the headset he'd been using, in lieu

of the speaker system, and turned to run for the open hatch of the Double Helix. Quickly, he

took the pilot's chair. His hands instinctively found purpose in activating the hanger doors. As

they rapidly opened, Jesse switched the engine to full and blasted down the runway, exploded

out of the hanger, and flew straight for Charlotte.

"Whoa! Wait a second, what are you doing?" Shalimar asked. She glanced back toward

the illusionary mountain face that hid Sanctuary from view. "Jesse, have you gone crazy?

Shouldn't we have waited for the others?"

For a long time, she had no answers. Jesse stared straight ahead, even though the Helix

could practically fly itself, his eyes focused on whatever lay before them. Then, just as she was

about to ask again, he turned toward her and said, "a safe house was attacked, that's where

we're going. Charlotte said it was bad. We don't have time for explanations or planing. We

have to act." Hatred was in his eyes again, a burning star of darkness in otherwise soothing

pools of languid blue. Shalimar shivered at his next words.

"We're going to save Charlotte ourselves. Heaven have mercy on the fool who tries to stop

us, because I won't."









END OF PART ONE