Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X.

Chapter 5 – Not Real

Upon arriving back at the base she immediately went to check on the Creator. "Ah, there you are, My Dear. How was your day?" He opened his arms to her.

"It was very nice, thank you." She moved to kiss his cheek as he gave her a small embrace.

"How is your grandmother?"

"Very well, thank you. She was grateful for the gifts you sent on her birthday. She especially liked the card with the flowers and said you were a dirty old man. What ever could she have meant?" Tasha smiled at him as he smiled with a slight flush.

"Now that's between me and your grandmother. You mind your own love affair." He turned and watched as her eyes opened in shock. "Come now, My Dear, I am very old and obsessed with my work but I still notice some things."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Natasha turned quickly and began to fiddle with items on a tray.

The Creator walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Child, you can't fool me. I've watched and waited for you to fall in love, though I've dreaded some of the men you've been exposed to in this organization. Now, I've seen the way you look at Adam and the way he looks at you. It pleases me beyond measure to know that when I can no longer cheat death that you will be cared for, especially by someone of whom I approve."

"I think you're assuming more than is there." Natasha looked at him. Then she turned back to her tray. "Adam is more than your files claimed. He's a very nice man. He's kind and caring and so much more than a genius." She quickly became silent as she realized she was voicing her adoration.

The Creator smiled then kissed her head. He went back to his work without another word.

Adam had been called to the leader's office two hours earlier. He had been taken under guard and they spared no care for gentleness. Standing before the leader he held his head high as he was determined not to be intimidated.

"Well, Adam. I hope your stay has been pleasant." The leader eyed him carefully but Adam showed no emotion. "The Creator feels that you are able to continue his work. He has great confidence in your abilities." Again no response. "He will soon be giving you the reigns of control on his projects. Some of his projects interest me very much. As time goes on I will be instructing you as to which ones are most important. As the objectives are met your files will be transferred to our scientists for...proof." The silence of the man began to aggravate the leader. "Don't you have any questions?...No?...Well, perhaps you are a genius after all and understand that you have no choice in your future."

Adam remained still and only his eyes reflected the anger building within him. "I won't work for you," he stated as calmly as he could.

"Well, that will change. You see, there are no options. You will do exactly as I say or people will get hurt. Our mutant experiment is far from over. We know where every mutant you created is. Your first objective is to stabilize them as we bring them in. Our goals are honorable. We want to help them."

"You don't care about them. You only want their gratitude so you can use their powers for your own agenda. The mutants I helped to 'create', as you say, will not work for you. You may be able to coerce some but most will fight you."

"Now this is a rare situation. You are no more than a sample of genetic manipulation, yourself, yet you claim to know what others, who are more advanced than you, will do." The leader stood. "They're only laboratory experiments. The real human scientists will decide how far the experimentations will go. You will do exactly as you are told." He sat down again. "You see, you're also just an experiment." He stared dangerously at Adam as he leaned forward on his arms and folded his hands. "Experiments that go bad are terminated."

Silence was heavy in the room as Adam stared unwaveringly at the man. After only a moment he saw a nod given to the guards behind him. He felt them grab him and force him from the room. Just before the door closed he heard a final order. "Don't let anything show."

The guards laughed as they took Adam to a room made for special interrogation. He clenched his jaw as he saw various tools used for causing pain. Steeling himself for what was to come he thought only of one person. I hope Tasha made it.

After an hour of painfully learning what different tools could do, Adam was left to recuperate so he could be taken back to the Creator. The only thoughts he had were of getting Tasha out of this place and away from these men.

When Adam was taken back to the Creator's level, he went first to his room. He needed to clean up and make sure he was presentable. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten Tasha. She had enough to worry about. He was sore all over. The repeated assaults with the shock sticks did the most damage. His muscles were tender from the strain and his skin was burned. He applied a cool cloth and made a mental note to get something from the lab for it.

The doors opened and Tasha smiled as Adam walked in. Their eyes met and they remained silently greeting. Suddenly she felt another pair of eyes on her. She looked over and saw the Creator give her a small, knowing smile then he turned and spoke to Adam.

"There you are. I was beginning to think they were going to keep you from your work all evening."

Adam turned and put on as passive an expression as he could muster. "No, I'm back. Have I missed anything?"

"No, only Natasha's return," the Creator turned and again smiled as the two met each other's gaze.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," Adam said. "How was your day?"

"It was very nice. I enjoy seeing my grandmother. It's a pleasant break from work." Tasha turned and went to her computer.

After an hour of working, Tasha began her evening routine and made sure the Creator had all he needed for the evening. He had been getting tired earlier than he used to, so his working days became shorter. As she left him for the night he smiled at her and said, "Life will not always be like this, My Dear. I know it's hard for you, but soon things will change. Adam will take over for me and you will need not endure the cares of an old man."

"Don't talk like that," she softly reprimanded. "You're more than just a chore for me, you know that." She looked at him with love and care in her eyes, then something else glinted. "Besides, if anything happened to you, what would my grandmother and I have to talk about? She would die of a broken heart if you left her."

He chuckled and kissed her goodnight. As he watched her leave his voice made her turn. "Maybe I need to take a day and visit your grandmother." He smiled at the surprise on her face.

Tasha went back to the lab and found Adam still at his computer punching keys faster than she could discern. "What are you working on?"

Without looking away from the screen or slowing his keystrokes he answered. "I'm setting up file blocks and mazes. When I start to break into the Dominion's main system, I don't want them to be able to trace anything back here."

She watched him for a moment and marveled at the speed at which he worked. When he was done, she saw him save the newly created files and shut down his computer.

He turned to her and smiled. "Shall we go?"

Tasha smiled and reached for the arm he extended toward her. They walked passed the guard as if he weren't there and entered Adam's room.

Adam released her and closed the door. He turned to her and smiled. "How was your day?"

"If you are referring to my visit with my grandmother, it was enjoyable and relaxing as always. If you are referring to the adventure of trying to contact and convince your team to believe me," she flopped down on the edge of his bed, "it was exhausting."

"Did they give you that much trouble?" Adam furrowed his brow in disbelief.

Tasha laughed as she sat straighter, "Oh, Adam, they were just as incredible as you described them."

Adam smiled at her then touched her face. He slowly smoothed his hand over her cheek and to her neck. He moved his fingers up to her ear and gently turned her head and cradled it with one hand. He smoothed back her hair so he could inspect the implant with the other. "Jesse's been improving. He did a great job."

Jesse smiled when he heard Adam's voice. "Thank you."

Tasha smiled when she heard his voice in her head. "He said, thank you."

"Is everyone all right?"

Tasha smiled and shook her head as all four voices answered. "They're all there answering," she smiled at the relief that was obvious on Adam's face.

"All right. We have to come up with a plan. The leader is searching for you and one of his plans is to bring in other mutants for more experimentation. At least that's what he's said so far. He knows the Creator is frail and expects me to take over his research. We have to get out of here and soon."

"Not all the Dominion members were bad." Tasha repeated Jesse's words.

"I know. But how do we know who to trust?" Adam sat beside Tasha. The conversation continued as Adam spoke to his team as if they were in the same room yet Tasha's voice was all he heard.

"The man in the wheelchair was the one who helped us escape," Lexa told him as she smiled and moved to stand near Jesse. "He's also contacted me and is looking for a way to defeat the leader."

"Adam," Jesse joined, "he said there were others who suspected the corruption. They're all in hiding right now because the leader was the only one who knew everyone's emergency locations."

"Maybe that's the first thing I'll get when I break into the computers."

"Wait, you're going to try to hack in? They'll trace it."

"Hey, I may not be as skilled as you are but I can get the job done." He smiled as he watched Tasha's giggle. "If you can make contact with the members who are on the run from this guy, maybe we can get a big enough group together to take him down."

"What's security like?" Brennan asked.

"The level with our rooms and lab has a rotating guard of two at most. Usually it's only one. They change every 6 hours around the clock; 12 and 6. We're 2 levels underground. I've only been taken to a floor that looked to be about 2nd above ground level. The place was swarming. It's a little worse than Genomex was."

"Great. That's comforting." Brennan smirked.

"The level above us is guard quarters. There are two above ground level." Tasha began to fill in the blanks. "Ground level has a few minor offices, the main security station, kitchen, cafeteria, storage and housekeeping. Next level up is main operations and interrogation. The top floor holds the leader's apartments. Two other of the main members live here with him." Tasha was glad she could help when she heard Brennan thank her for the information.

"We'll come up with something, don't worry." Jesse's voice was confident. "After you hack in, try to tap into the original communication site we used to have for mutants to contact us. I'll see if I can get it running from here. If it works I may be able to do some transfers back and forth to help you."

"All right." Adam turned and looked into Tasha's eyes. "Jesse, listen. Set up a constant track on Tasha. I'll keep my eye on her but if they take her anywhere I want to make sure you guys can get to her."

"No problem."

"Adam?" Shalimar spoke up now.

"Yeah, Shalimar?"

"Be careful, huh?"

He smiled as Tasha relayed the concern she heard. "Don't worry." Slowly he raised his hand and ran his fingers through Tasha's hair, turning the device off in the process. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being willing to take the risk. They'll find a way to get us out. Then you'll be free from all this harassment. I'm not sure what life will look like from here on out but you'll have a brighter future. And my team will do whatever they can to help you."

"Your team?" she questioned sadly.

He heard the rest of the question in her silence. "My life has changed. I'm not sure what will happen. I don't really have a life," he whispered as he looked away. After a moment he stood and walked to the door. "It's late. You've had a tiring day and need to rest. You never know when you might hear Jesse or the others in your head. It's something you'll need to get used to. Rest will help." He watched as she walked toward the door.

"Goodnight, Adam," she whispered as she passed him.

"Goodnight, I'll try not to wake you." The small smile she turned on him comforted him in ways he couldn't understand.

He watched in the hall until she was in her room and the door was closed. Turning into his room, his mind immediately began going over different parts of his day; work he had done, his conversation with Jesse, the meeting with the leader. Suddenly he remembered the cream he put in his pocket. As he got ready for bed he used the cream to begin to heal the skin on his sides. He hoped it would work fast. If he got into a fight, a punch would hurt more than usual. In trying to get his mind to relax he began the meditation exercises he taught his team.

His mind began to clear from his stresses but as fast as the stress left the void was filled with ... Tasha. She was beautiful. There was so much more than physical beauty, though. She was very intelligent. He had watched her work as she was given theories to test. She had an inner strength that he admired. Her bravery was evident. Compassion, the basis for a good doctor, seemed to rule her life. Again his thoughts went to her beauty. Her hair was long and soft. Her skin felt like silk against his fingers. She was petite but didn't at all look frail. His mind swirled around her as he let the quietness of his room; lull him to much needed sleep.

That night Adam dreamed again. Again he saw his parents, Eckhart and the leader all telling him that he was nothing. His existence was only that of a substitute human. Again, he began to toss and mutter in his sleep.

Again, Tasha left her room and entered his. She smiled this time as she found the door unlocked. Was he expecting her? She again sat beside him on his bed and brushed his face with her hands as she spoke gently to coax him from sleep.

Adam continued to dream. He saw his team, each yelling and accusing him. They said he was always letting them down. They never could trust him to really fix them. They would die because of him. If he really had a human heart he would have found a way. He tossed more as the pain of their rejection seeped into his soul.

Tasha watched as a tear crept out from under a closed lid. Gently wiping it away she had thought about him, the way she had all day. She thought about all he had done for her in the short time they had known one another. She knew of him before, but now... he was different from any other man she had ever met. Something inside him was drawing her. Even now in his fitful sleep she was drawn to him. "Adam, please, you have to wake up. You can't keep doing this. You have to get some rest. Please, Adam, you can't do this."

Adam's pain grew worse as he heard her voice. He turned from his team and saw her standing there with her hands on her hips. He heard her voice and was shocked at what she was saying. 'You can't do this. You can't possibly believe I would care about you. I can have my pick of a million real men. Why would I want you? You're not real...You're not real...You're not real,' he heard her repeat over and over as she walked away from him.

"No, stop. Not real, not real." Adam awoke with a start as he heard her call his name once more.

"Adam, shh, it's ok. It was just a dream again."

TBC