Sorry for the delay. I won't give up on this story, but I don't think I'll be able to get a chapter done every week.
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Mason woke up suddenly and sat up, having just awoken from a deep sleep. Ever since he had arrived at this place he had felt tired, and spontaneously fell asleep against his will. He blinked a few times, and looked around the room, trying to remember what happened before he fell asleep.
Seeing the shopping bags strewn about the floor, the memories came back to him. He picked them up and walked over to the wardrobe. Carefully, he removed the clothes from the bags and hung them up and organised them. Even though he had bought a great deal of clothes, the wardrobe still looked empty. As does the rest of the room, he thought, closing the doors of the wardrobe.
All his possessions were back at Genomex. He would have to go back there and assess the damage when he regained his strength. He wondered how far Ashlocke and his people had gone in ransacking the place. He had not noticed before because he had had other things on his mind. But he didn't worry. He owned many expensive things, but nothing of any value.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he wondered what he would do when he left Sanctuary, he wasn't planning on staying long, and was under no delusion that anyone wanted him to stay. Perhaps he could go back to living a normal life. No. He simply couldn't. Adam had made sure of that. He was now a new mutant. He was now what he had worked his whole life to eradicate. A normal life was out of the question. He would not be able to work for the government again. If he knew his superiors, no matter what fantastical tale he managed to manufacture, they would regard his work as a failure.
He thought fleetingly of his family. His father, if he was still alive, would be in a nursing home, probably still ordering people around and complaining. His children were the only other family he had left. Even if he did manage to contact them, he doubted that they would want to see him. After all, what kind of father had he been to them? When he saw them last, Grey was barely four, and Deirdre and Michelle had not even celebrated their third birthday. Jacqueline had most likely re-married, and his children knew someone else as their father. They wouldn't want to see him after all these years.
He took the photograph out of his pocket and smoothed out the wrinkles in its plastic wrapping. Items such as this which would not survive the disinfecting and sterilising processes were coated in plastic in order to seal in the germs that they harboured.
The photograph was taken approximately five months before Jacqueline left him. They all looked so happy there. He looked like the typical enviable American, with his beautiful wife and three perfect children. All that was missing was the dog and the white picket fence. Jacqueline was smiling in her natural photogenic way, her dark hair styled perfectly. Their children stood in front, wearing unusually spotless clothes and big smiles. All in all, they looked like the perfect, happy family. The type that only exists on television.
After a long stare at the picture, he slipped it back into his pocket. Thinking of the past depressed him. It made him realise that the best was over, the past was all that he had to hold on to. He sat staring at the wall, for a long time, deep in thought.
The sound of footsteps eventually caused him to stir. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there. It could have been a few minutes, it could have been several hours. His long stay in the stasis pod had caused him to lose all concept of time.
The door creaked as it opened slowly.
"Get what you needed then?" It was Adam.
Mason looked up. "Ah...Adam. Yes, I did manage to purchase a few items."
"The girls tell me you were no trouble at all. Somehow I find that surprising." He said, smiling.
Mason simply glared at him. He wasn't in the mood for his joking. He never had been.
"Anyway, I came here to see if you'd come down to the lab with me. I'd like to run some tests to see how the treatment's working. Nothing to worry about."
"Of course not." He said dismissively. He got up, and followed Adam out of the room.
***
Adam breathed a sigh of relief as the tests revealed the expected results. Mason would never forgive him if the treatment he gave him did not work. It'd be another grudge for him to forever hold against him.
He turned to face Mason and smiled. "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that the treatment worked. You'll be fine."
Mason allowed himself to smile a little. "That is good to know." He said simply.
"As I said before, you'll never be completely cured. I did the best I can, but I'm not a miracle worker. However, you will be able to live a more normal life. The precautions you took will no longer be necessary. Just as long as you aren't exposed to an extremely bacteria infested environment or a particularly potent virus, you will have nothing to worry about." He was impressed with his work, everything worked just as he expected it to. Formerly, he had never put much thought into curing his condition, Mason had made it perfectly clear which side he was on.
Mason left the room without a word. Part of him wanted to thank Adam for what he had done for him, but he quickly reminded himself that it was he who caused him this trouble in the first place. He made his way back to his room to begin the unpleasant task of removing the rest of his synthetic skin.
***
The Mutant X team was sitting in the dojo, bored out of their minds. Shalimar yawned and stretched. She looked at her team-mates. Brennan was shooting sparks at the wall, narrowly missing Jesse who was idly flipping through an old computer manual. Emma was staring blankly into space.
"I know what we should do." said Shalimar brightly. "We should all have a night out, y'know, all together."
"I'm up for that." Jesse said, putting down the manual.
"Yeah." Emma smiled. "We haven't been out together in a while."
"Well, it'll sure beat hanging around here." said Brennan.
"Great. Let's go get ready." Shalimar and Emma got up and walked to their rooms, chatting about what outfits they might wear.
Brennan looked at his watch, and then at Jesse. "Well, I guess that means we've got a couple of hours to kill." He said, smirking.
***
Voices down the corridor woke Mason from his thoughts. Female voices. Must be Miss DeLauro and Miss Fox, he told himself. He sincerely hoped that they were not coming to see him. He didn't feel like having company. His clothes itched and felt uncomfortable next to his skin. The sound of two doors slamming dispelled that thought.
He got up and began to walk around the room. The feeling of material dragging against his skin disturbed him. It was strange and unfamiliar to him.
To take his mind off it, he turned his attention to the room. It was painted a generic cream colour and was fitted with only the most essential furniture; overall it was generally nondescript. The walls were bare, and there were no windows of course. It was only yesterday he had realised that Sanctuary was built deep inside a huge mass of rock. That probably counted towards why he never did find the place. Right underneath lack of sense in his employees.
***
"I just knew that top'd look perfect on you." Shalimar said as she and Emma walked back down the corridor to the main room.
"Hey, I look nothing compared to you, I mean look at you."
"Don't be silly." She said with unusual modesty, but then added. "Let's just agree that we both look great."
"'kay." Emma said, smiling. "I'm really looking forward to this night out."
"Me too. It's gonna be great." She smiled. "I think we'd better go tell Adam we're going out. Then we'll go find the boys."
***
They found Adam in the lab, working.
"Hey Adam." said Emma. "We're going out soon, so we thought we'd better come and let you know."
"Wanna come with?" Shalimar added, although she already knew the answer.
"I would," he began, looking up from his work, "but I'm really busy at the moment. You guys go ahead and have fun, alright." What he said was not entirely truthful, but going out to clubs was the last thing he wanted after the stress of the last few days.
"We will." Shalimar grinned.
On their way out, they met Jesse and Brennan.
"There you are. And you guys complain about us taking ages to get ready." Shalimar said, teasing.
"Alright, alright." Brennan threw up his arms.
"Guess it's time to get going." Jesse said as they walked towards the garage.
***
The evening was rather uneventful for Mason, until he was once again disturbed by Adam.
"Adam." He said, looking up at him.
"Here. I've brought this for you." He said, passing him the bowl of soup he was holding. "I thought you must be hungry, and this will be easy for you to eat."
He looked at it with some interest. Soup, he thought, tomato if I am not mistaken.
"It's just soup, Mason."
Hesitantly, he took a spoonful. Then another. It wasn't unpleasant, and he was awfully hungry.
"So how are you coping with your abilities? Still okay?" Adam inquired.
"Actually, I have been trying not to use them." He said, looking up from his soup.
Adam nodded. "Very well. But you will need to learn to control them one day. If you can't control your new mutant abilities, they will control you."
"Thankyou for that piece of advice. I will be sure to adhere to it." Mason said insincerely.
"Anyway, now that you're feeling better, how would you like to go out for a drink? What do you say?"
He took a few moments to think. Everything told him he shouldn't. And he could think of a thousand reasons why, but that would mean bringing up the same old arguments again. "I see no harm in that." He said eventually.
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Mason woke up suddenly and sat up, having just awoken from a deep sleep. Ever since he had arrived at this place he had felt tired, and spontaneously fell asleep against his will. He blinked a few times, and looked around the room, trying to remember what happened before he fell asleep.
Seeing the shopping bags strewn about the floor, the memories came back to him. He picked them up and walked over to the wardrobe. Carefully, he removed the clothes from the bags and hung them up and organised them. Even though he had bought a great deal of clothes, the wardrobe still looked empty. As does the rest of the room, he thought, closing the doors of the wardrobe.
All his possessions were back at Genomex. He would have to go back there and assess the damage when he regained his strength. He wondered how far Ashlocke and his people had gone in ransacking the place. He had not noticed before because he had had other things on his mind. But he didn't worry. He owned many expensive things, but nothing of any value.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he wondered what he would do when he left Sanctuary, he wasn't planning on staying long, and was under no delusion that anyone wanted him to stay. Perhaps he could go back to living a normal life. No. He simply couldn't. Adam had made sure of that. He was now a new mutant. He was now what he had worked his whole life to eradicate. A normal life was out of the question. He would not be able to work for the government again. If he knew his superiors, no matter what fantastical tale he managed to manufacture, they would regard his work as a failure.
He thought fleetingly of his family. His father, if he was still alive, would be in a nursing home, probably still ordering people around and complaining. His children were the only other family he had left. Even if he did manage to contact them, he doubted that they would want to see him. After all, what kind of father had he been to them? When he saw them last, Grey was barely four, and Deirdre and Michelle had not even celebrated their third birthday. Jacqueline had most likely re-married, and his children knew someone else as their father. They wouldn't want to see him after all these years.
He took the photograph out of his pocket and smoothed out the wrinkles in its plastic wrapping. Items such as this which would not survive the disinfecting and sterilising processes were coated in plastic in order to seal in the germs that they harboured.
The photograph was taken approximately five months before Jacqueline left him. They all looked so happy there. He looked like the typical enviable American, with his beautiful wife and three perfect children. All that was missing was the dog and the white picket fence. Jacqueline was smiling in her natural photogenic way, her dark hair styled perfectly. Their children stood in front, wearing unusually spotless clothes and big smiles. All in all, they looked like the perfect, happy family. The type that only exists on television.
After a long stare at the picture, he slipped it back into his pocket. Thinking of the past depressed him. It made him realise that the best was over, the past was all that he had to hold on to. He sat staring at the wall, for a long time, deep in thought.
The sound of footsteps eventually caused him to stir. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there. It could have been a few minutes, it could have been several hours. His long stay in the stasis pod had caused him to lose all concept of time.
The door creaked as it opened slowly.
"Get what you needed then?" It was Adam.
Mason looked up. "Ah...Adam. Yes, I did manage to purchase a few items."
"The girls tell me you were no trouble at all. Somehow I find that surprising." He said, smiling.
Mason simply glared at him. He wasn't in the mood for his joking. He never had been.
"Anyway, I came here to see if you'd come down to the lab with me. I'd like to run some tests to see how the treatment's working. Nothing to worry about."
"Of course not." He said dismissively. He got up, and followed Adam out of the room.
***
Adam breathed a sigh of relief as the tests revealed the expected results. Mason would never forgive him if the treatment he gave him did not work. It'd be another grudge for him to forever hold against him.
He turned to face Mason and smiled. "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that the treatment worked. You'll be fine."
Mason allowed himself to smile a little. "That is good to know." He said simply.
"As I said before, you'll never be completely cured. I did the best I can, but I'm not a miracle worker. However, you will be able to live a more normal life. The precautions you took will no longer be necessary. Just as long as you aren't exposed to an extremely bacteria infested environment or a particularly potent virus, you will have nothing to worry about." He was impressed with his work, everything worked just as he expected it to. Formerly, he had never put much thought into curing his condition, Mason had made it perfectly clear which side he was on.
Mason left the room without a word. Part of him wanted to thank Adam for what he had done for him, but he quickly reminded himself that it was he who caused him this trouble in the first place. He made his way back to his room to begin the unpleasant task of removing the rest of his synthetic skin.
***
The Mutant X team was sitting in the dojo, bored out of their minds. Shalimar yawned and stretched. She looked at her team-mates. Brennan was shooting sparks at the wall, narrowly missing Jesse who was idly flipping through an old computer manual. Emma was staring blankly into space.
"I know what we should do." said Shalimar brightly. "We should all have a night out, y'know, all together."
"I'm up for that." Jesse said, putting down the manual.
"Yeah." Emma smiled. "We haven't been out together in a while."
"Well, it'll sure beat hanging around here." said Brennan.
"Great. Let's go get ready." Shalimar and Emma got up and walked to their rooms, chatting about what outfits they might wear.
Brennan looked at his watch, and then at Jesse. "Well, I guess that means we've got a couple of hours to kill." He said, smirking.
***
Voices down the corridor woke Mason from his thoughts. Female voices. Must be Miss DeLauro and Miss Fox, he told himself. He sincerely hoped that they were not coming to see him. He didn't feel like having company. His clothes itched and felt uncomfortable next to his skin. The sound of two doors slamming dispelled that thought.
He got up and began to walk around the room. The feeling of material dragging against his skin disturbed him. It was strange and unfamiliar to him.
To take his mind off it, he turned his attention to the room. It was painted a generic cream colour and was fitted with only the most essential furniture; overall it was generally nondescript. The walls were bare, and there were no windows of course. It was only yesterday he had realised that Sanctuary was built deep inside a huge mass of rock. That probably counted towards why he never did find the place. Right underneath lack of sense in his employees.
***
"I just knew that top'd look perfect on you." Shalimar said as she and Emma walked back down the corridor to the main room.
"Hey, I look nothing compared to you, I mean look at you."
"Don't be silly." She said with unusual modesty, but then added. "Let's just agree that we both look great."
"'kay." Emma said, smiling. "I'm really looking forward to this night out."
"Me too. It's gonna be great." She smiled. "I think we'd better go tell Adam we're going out. Then we'll go find the boys."
***
They found Adam in the lab, working.
"Hey Adam." said Emma. "We're going out soon, so we thought we'd better come and let you know."
"Wanna come with?" Shalimar added, although she already knew the answer.
"I would," he began, looking up from his work, "but I'm really busy at the moment. You guys go ahead and have fun, alright." What he said was not entirely truthful, but going out to clubs was the last thing he wanted after the stress of the last few days.
"We will." Shalimar grinned.
On their way out, they met Jesse and Brennan.
"There you are. And you guys complain about us taking ages to get ready." Shalimar said, teasing.
"Alright, alright." Brennan threw up his arms.
"Guess it's time to get going." Jesse said as they walked towards the garage.
***
The evening was rather uneventful for Mason, until he was once again disturbed by Adam.
"Adam." He said, looking up at him.
"Here. I've brought this for you." He said, passing him the bowl of soup he was holding. "I thought you must be hungry, and this will be easy for you to eat."
He looked at it with some interest. Soup, he thought, tomato if I am not mistaken.
"It's just soup, Mason."
Hesitantly, he took a spoonful. Then another. It wasn't unpleasant, and he was awfully hungry.
"So how are you coping with your abilities? Still okay?" Adam inquired.
"Actually, I have been trying not to use them." He said, looking up from his soup.
Adam nodded. "Very well. But you will need to learn to control them one day. If you can't control your new mutant abilities, they will control you."
"Thankyou for that piece of advice. I will be sure to adhere to it." Mason said insincerely.
"Anyway, now that you're feeling better, how would you like to go out for a drink? What do you say?"
He took a few moments to think. Everything told him he shouldn't. And he could think of a thousand reasons why, but that would mean bringing up the same old arguments again. "I see no harm in that." He said eventually.
