Chapter 9

We Are Family

Genomex...

"This is most distressing news Mr. Larkin," Eckhart shook his head in disgust.

"I personally accept all responsibility, sir." Larkin had a nervous lump in his throat. He stood in Eckhart's presence, afraid of what was to come next.

"You're right, Mr. Larkin. I do hold you responsible. And I don't tolerate failure." He looked up at him. "Take him."

Larkin looked frantic as the GSA guards took him into their custody and carted him off. Eckhart got up from his chair and glanced down into the pod room. "You can't keep her forever, Adam. She will be back here where she belongs."

Sanctuary... Mattius was packing a sack, as Willow entered the room. He glanced behind sensing her presence and smiled.

"You leaving?" Willow approached him.

"Yeah, looks like you're thinking of staying." He took her hand in his.

Willow shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't decided yet. Now that Genomex can't track me, I was thinking of trying to find my family. I mean, I have to have some kind of roots you know. Not that I'm not grateful for all they've done for me, but I need some answers. I'd like to know where I came from and how I ended up at Genomex."

Mattius agreed. "I understand. Why don't you come with me? We'd make a pretty good team."

Willow laughed and kissed his cheek. "I'd like to but, I think this is something I have to do on my own. Maybe I'll meet up with you later."

"I hope you find what you're looking for. Take care of yourself." Mattius kissed her. "Stay out of trouble."

"You too." Willow smiled as she watched her friend leave.

Willow sat alone, lost in her thoughts, not noticing Shalimar walking up behind her. "Hey."

Woken from her daydream, she turned to her. "Hey."

Shalimar sat down beside her. "You decided what you're gonna do?"

Willow looked at her. "I'm really grateful for all you guys have done for me. I am tempted to stay and see how things turn out. I just have some unanswered questions in my mind, that I just need to know. Where I came from, how I ended up here. If I have any family, maybe I can learn something about myself."

"I can understand that. For the longest time, I had a lot of unanswered questions too. Both my parents are, I didn't know if I had any other family living. But these guys became my family. I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or a sister. Until I had these guys, I didn't know either. It leaves an empty void." Shalimar played this moment in her head over and over again wondering how she was gonna break it to her.

"Yeah, it does. Did you ever find the answers?" Willow had genuinely hoped that Shalimar had found peace of mind. She cared about her deeply and truly wanted her to be happy.

"Well, I recently found out I have a kid sister. She'd be about your age," Shalimar looked up at her.

Willow beamed and hugged her. "Really!? That's great. I'm so happy for you. What's her name?"

Shalimar hesitated for a moment, but just decided to go for broke. It was now or never. "Her name's Willow."

The smile on Willow's face had been replaced by a look of shock. Her eyes began to mist up as her mind tried to register what she just had been told. Could it be, she thought. Shalimar put her arm around her, as her eyes became misty as well. "Yes, it's you, Willow."

Willow began to cry. "You're the answer?" Her mind was dancing. Things were happening so fast that she didn't know which way to turn. Shalimar pulled her into her arms and cried with her.

They sat there for several moments, until Shalimar released her, wiping the tears off Willow's face. "I help you find the answers." She held out her hand to Willow. "Come with me." Willow accepted her gesture and they left the Sanctuary.

Somewhere on a highway... The speed was so intoxicating, she smiled as she tightly held on. Feeling like she was flying, the experience was like nothing she had ever felt before. Shalimar smiled as she could smell the adrenaline coming from Willow. They were so much alike indeed, she thought to herself.

Pulling off the road down and entering what looked like a park, Shalimar slowed her speed down as they entered a graveyard. Coming to a stop, Shalimar pulled her helmet off and Willow followed suit.

"You liked that?" Shalimar smiled.

"That was fun." Willow smiled as her dimples melted Shalimar's heart.

Shalimar laughed and took her hand. "Come this way."

They passed by many gravestones until Shalimar guided them to a pair of gravestones slightly separated from the others. Willow's eyes watered once she read the name Fox on the two stones. Shalimar put her arm around her. "These were our parents."

A tear ran down Willow's face, as Shalimar brushed some stray hairs out of her face. "All these years, I wondered what it would be liked to have a mother and father. Now I know what it's like to lose them." She looked into Shalimar's eyes. "You're all that I have, it seems."

"No. Not just me." Shalimar reached into her pocket and pulled out a box. She handed it to Willow. "You have all of us. You never have to be alone again. Maybe you and I can learn from each other."

Willow opened the box to find a com ring waiting. She took out the ring and put it on her finger. Her eyes lit up when marks appeared on the ring.

"The marks are unique to your DNA sequence. It's your ring." Shalimar looked at her. "You have a home with Mutant X, but the choice is yours to make."

"It's already made." She went into Shalimar's embrace. For the first time in her life, she felt at home.

The End

Coming up Part 2 of the "Blood Is Thicker" series.

Simple Duties

Willow quickly discovers that being part of Mutant X isn't always about playing hero.

Well folks what did you think? I hope y'all liked it. There's many more to come, my mind is just crawling with stories.