Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X.
Chapter 12 – Family Ties
Walking into the new base, Lexa saw her contact coming to meet them. "So, this is where you hang out."
He smiled at her then turned to Adam. "The Creator is in his suite. He's asked that you be brought to him as soon as you get in."
Nodding, Adam looked at the rest. "Tasha," he removed his arm from around her back and took her hand. "Take them to the lab and get the information installed and ready. I'll be there as soon as I'm done." He looked at the contact who with a wave of his hand called someone to guide them.
They watched as the team entered an elevator and the doors closed. "Will you follow me, please?" the man led.
Adam was escorted to a door then left in silence to enter alone. Inside, the Creator sat with Gabriela by his side.
"Adam, come in and meet the Lady Gabriela. My Dear, this is Adam." He watched as Adam took her hand and kissed it. "We will have much work to do in the days to come. Periodically there arises the need to make changes in the organization. This was one of those times. We will have meetings to oversee and projects to view. You and I will discuss the best method of advancement as you prepare to take control. Do you have any questions now?"
Adam looked at the couple before him. There were a million questions in his mind; many things he worried about. First and foremost was his team. "I'm sure we'll have time for questions as we work. Right now my team is waiting for me."
The Creator smiled as he looked to the woman by his side. "And what of Tasha? Is she part of your team now?"
Adam's expression grew very serious. "She's more than part of the team. She's part of me. I want to marry her as soon as possible."
After only a short silence, and a smile from Gabriela the older man nodded, "Very well, Adam. Go to the lab. I will be there to see the results of the manipulations." He watched as Adam turned to go. "Be careful with Brennan, do the manipulation manually." He smiled as Adam turned and nodded gratefully then left the room.
Gabriela waited for the door to close then let out a small giggle.
Looking to her with a raised brow he asked, "What is so amusing?"
"I'm just realizing what has captivated my granddaughter so. I see that you have always been a very handsome man."
"You flatter me, Madame. Though Adam and I resemble in feature, his life has produced a different man."
"You're very proud of him. I can see that. Why does he give you pause?"
Looking into her eyes for a long moment, he saw that which he'd always known. "You truly know me too well, don't you? Forgive me for taking this long to bring us together." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "I have kept a very close eye on Adam. His character is strong and his loyalty unshakable once focused. I hope he will come to understand what my life has been about. He will make a better leader than I am and I could not have asked for a better son."
"What of his team?"
"They're part of what makes his life more complete than mine. To him, they are more family than team. Perhaps in time, we can all be family." He smiled as she embraced him.
In the lab, Jesse stood with his good hand on Lexa's shoulder. Brennan had his arm around Shalimar as they all waited for Adam to arrive.
Tasha checked the computer system and tried to install the hard drive she had marked as the most recently updated. Not having much luck she noticed Jesse walk up behind her. "I can disconnect them easily. Putting them back is the problem."
Jesse smiled at her and instinctively reached for the drive. When he remembered his hand he stopped and looked at it. "Maybe I better just talk you through it."
Tasha shook her head as she stood up. "I have a better idea." She went back to her bag and removed the regenerator. Holding it up, she smiled. "I know I can handle this job." She took his outstretched hand and removed the bandage. Activating the device, she let it work. When the hand was completely healed she smiled and asked, "How's that?"
Jesse flexed his hand and smiled. "That feels great. It's different from the regenerator I had at Sanctuary. When we're done here I want a look at it." He quickly kissed her cheek and took the hard drive from her. With in moments he had it connected and the computer booted up. With a wave of his hand he offered her the keyboard.
"Do we have everything we need?" Adam asked as he walked in the door.
They all turned as he approached. Tasha finished keying in the commands and then turned to see him smiling at her. "Everything is right here. We should run a quick holo-test just to make sure the rest of the systems are up and ready."
"Good idea. Let's redo the test we did on Lexa's DNA." He watched as Tasha followed his instructions then turned to see the image appear before him. He worked the manipulations through on the computer and watched the holo image change and settle into place as the computer read success in realignment. Turning to Lexa he smiled and pointed to the chair. "Ok, are you ready?"
"You don't have to ask me twice." Lexa made herself comfortable in the chair then smiled as she looked at Jesse. God, please let this work. I want to make up for all the trouble and torment I gave him. I really do love him. She put her head back and closed her eyes trying to steady her beating heart.
Adam and Tasha worked in practiced sync as they moved from one manipulation to the next and continually checked the readouts for any indication of trouble. After about 5 minutes of feeling the nervous tension build as they worked, the manipulations were done and they stepped back to wait for the final readout.
Not hearing any more key tapping made Lexa open her eyes. "Is it...over?" Her voice was full of hesitation.
"Just waiting for the final results," Adam met her eyes and smiled. When he turned back to the monitor he found what he'd hoped for. "I hope you guys learned to get along this past year. We'll have to deal with her for a long time now." He turned and put his arms around Tasha.
She felt him embrace her and could feel the slight tremble in his hold. Doing the manipulations in tests was one thing but now actually doing them on the person was something entirely different. She could imagine the joy he was feeling at finally being able to help those who meant so much to him.
Jesse moved in quickly and took Lexa into his arms. When he looked at her he could see tears in her eyes. He knew she had at last opened up completely and accepted her role as part of team, no...part of the family. He kissed her tenderly as the rest joined around them to show their love and excitement.
Shalimar waited for Jesse to move aside and hugged her. "I'm glad I won't be losing friend," she whispered.
Lexa sniffed as she hugged Shalimar back. She was finally really being accepted.
Brennan hugged and kissed her. "I think we can find a way to get along, don't you?" He smiled when she playfully punched his arm.
Adam moved closer and touched her arm as she rose from the chair. He remembered how she reacted when he showed up at Sanctuary. He really wanted her to trust him again, like she had so many years ago.
Lexa turned to him. With a million thoughts running through her mind she couldn't find it in her to still be mad at him. They would talk later and work out issues. Right now she just smiled and hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered.
He hugged her closer then moved away and smiled as he saw her move into Jesse's arms. Turning to Shalimar he waved at the chair. "Let's see what we can do with feral DNA."
When she was comfortable he moved back to the computer and noticed Tasha had already brought up the information he needed. He glanced gratefully at her when she turned and caught his eye. Reading the screen he commented, "oh yeah, the behavior modifications, we'll just have to learn to deal."
"Hey," Shal protested.
Everyone laughed as they watched her relax and the processes begin. Again waiting for the process and the results raised tension but everyone was reassured as Lexa's procedure was successful.
Adam turned and stepped over to the chair. Putting a hand on her shoulder he watched as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I, for one, will be glad to be back home with you; no matter where home turns out to be."
Reaching up and embracing him she just cried into his shoulder. Releasing him she turned to find Brennan smiling at her. She knew there was more than joy in his eyes as he kissed her then moved aside for the others. She hugged Lexa and kissed Jesse as he helped her up from the chair.
They all turned to Brennan and watched as he took the hint and sat down.
Adam patted his shoulder and turned back to the computers. "This is going to take longer but I don't want you to worry. I have to do the manipulations by hand. The computer can't work the process slow enough to not miss the stabilization point. Ok, here we go." He turned to Tasha, whose smile reassured him and he nodded his consent to begin.
Shalimar moved back to stand with Jesse as they watched and waited.
Time seemed to travel slowly. Adam worked intently as Tasha helped wherever she could. The only time Adam turned from his work was to see the Creator walk into the lab with the Lady Gabriela on his arm. He nodded at the couple then turned back to his work. After a few more minutes Adam stepped away from the computer. He turned to hold Tasha's hand as they awaited the results.
As the wait seemed longer than need be, Adam began to feel concerned. He moved back to the computer just as Brennan's body began to quake.
"Adam?" Shalimar fought to keep her voice controlled. "Adam, what's happening?"
Adam checked the scans as Tasha ran to Brennan's side. "He's going into shock." He changed the computer scans and moved to Brennan's side with a hand scanner. "The manipulations aren't working." He ran back to the computer to check the rescans. "His particular DNA patterns aren't the same as the electric elemental we used in the tests. It must have been his last mutation. It must have put him beyond her to such a degree that necessitates a more varied manipulation."
Jesse put both arms around Shalimar as he held her close and turned to meet Lexa's worried eyes with his own concern.
"Adam, he's going into arrest," Tasha called out as she worked to restabilize his condition.
"No, Adam, please do something," Shalimar choked back the tears to speak.
The Creator left the side of the lady on his arm and moved toward the holo image. "Adam, give me direct control. Link the imager to function directly with his DNA. Tasha, set the monitor and get out of the way." His commands were strong and his demeanor sure.
It only took moments for his instruction to be carried out. Tasha moved back to stand with her grandmother as Adam moved to the Creator's side. Brennan's body still quaked but not with the force of full arrest. The quiet in the room was thick as everyone poured their energies out to their friend.
A moment later the computer Tasha had set to monitor vital stats began to blare a warning. Brennan's heart rate had dropped to a dangerous level. Gasps were heard from both Tasha and Lexa as Shalimar just turned and buried her head into Jesse's chest to not hear or see what was happening.
A moment more and the computer told of his heart's decision to stop the battle. The doctor in both Adam and Tasha kicked in as they raced to be able to revive their patient.
"No!" yelled the Creator as he continued to work as fast as he could. "Let him be. I must finish."
They both stopped in their tracks and turned to face him. "I can restart his heart if I do it now," Adam implored.
"You must not interfere." The Creator never slowed or took his eyes off the work he was doing.
Adam looked around the room and finally rested on Tasha's eyes. He knew he could restart Brennan's heart and he only had a small window in which to do it but something else made him pause. Was it his own belief in the Creator's abilities? Was it blind hope that all would be fine if he just waited? There was something more in Tasha's eyes than concern and medical duty. There was faith in the Creator and faith in him. She believed and that was enough to stay his movement. He turned away from her gaze when the computer blaring stopped and the screen display read time and cause of death. His heart sank. Had he been wrong? Should he have not listened to his heart and done what he went to do? He slumped against the table behind him as if the wind had gotten knocked out of him and a great weight was compressing his lungs. He turned and opened his eyes when he felt Tasha's hand come to rest on his arm in comforting support. Throwing his arms out, he pulled her into a desperate embrace.
Shalimar's tears broke out into full sobbing as she struggled to pull away from Jesse. She stepped toward Brennan wanting nothing more than to throw herself on him and somehow believe that this was all a nightmare.
"Stop!" the Creator's boom froze her in her tracks. He continued to work as all eyes were now questioningly on him.
TBC
