Chapter 18

Adam was slowly getting to his feet, now glad that his body was still partially numb from the mutant attack. Shalimar was at Emma's side and told the girl: "We have to stop Marlowe, but I don't know that what he's done quite warrants death. Not that I would weep were it to happen."

"It's not as much what he's done, though I personally want to settle that score, but it's what he is planning to do, which is monstrous," Emma said.

"Do you know what it is? What's he going to do that's so horrible?" Jesse asked.

Emma sighed slightly. "I don't know exactly. I've been in his mind twice and in neither instance was I in a situation where I could read him deeply, but in both cases, there was something sinister there. I sensed a total disregard for human life coupled with a fascination about death. I felt he would kill millions without a second thought. That's why we have to stop him before he sets his plans in motion."

"First of all, Emma, we're not in the business of murder," Adam said, having retraced the distance Emma had thrown him. "Second, he's indestructible. He can't be killed, even if that was the proper course of action. There's no way to account for his every last cell on this planet. Third…."

"Adam," Emma interrupted him, "we can't leave here with Charles Marlowe still alive. I'll do it myself if I have to. I will find a way."

"Third," Adam stressed the word heavily to get through to her, "Emma, you don't have it in you to kill."

"I don't? Ask Harvey Lanchester if I can kill," Emma responded. Since the incident, she had never before spoken to the team about the Genomex agent who had been assigned to track down and destroy a disc showing New Mutants using their powers and who had ultimately died at her hand.

"In self-defense, Emma," Shalimar said. "He was trying to kill both of us. He hit you first with a thermal blast and had every intention of boiling your mind."

"But I made him think his powers had backfired and turned back on him. I made him use his own powers to build up enough heat in his brain to destroy it. I didn't even feel remorse over what I had done until days later." Emma's voice sounded distant.

Shalimar squeezed her shoulder. "You did what you had to do, Emma. Don't feel sorry for stopping the man who would have murdered both of us and had already left a trail of bodies in his wake. Believe me, I know that sometimes there is no choice."

"Did you really intend to kill Lanchester, Emma?" Brennan asked.

Emma looked at him severely. "No. I didn't realize the power of what I had put in his mind. He didn't even know his first shot had hit me. Like you," she told Brennan, "having his own powers turned against him was his biggest fear. But, even if I didn't realize it at the time, it was still a kill shot. I meant to stop Lanchester. I meant to incapacitate him. When I saw the self-destructive panic I had created in his mind, I was glad. I did nothing to curtail it and keep him from dying."

"Emma, don't you see that what you are talking about now is different?" Adam squatted near where the two women were kneeling on the ground. "This would be cold-blooded, premeditated murder. Marlowe hurt you, but I don't think he intended to kill you or me or any of us. We have accomplished our mission here. We found out what Fasergen is about and I stabilized the condition of Julia Lechner. Now, we have to get out of here. Once we are back at Sanctuary we can begin formulating a plan to address this new threat."

A blast of psionic energy leaped from Emma's forehead directed at Adam. At the last moment, it hooked around his head and sped toward a Link who had begun stirring to life. The body fell to the floor again. Adam and Emma's eyes locked as the tail of Psionic energy dissipated between them. Adam looked away first. The warning shot had unnerved him and he was very worried about the young woman. He sensed there was danger in provoking Emma in her current state.

Emma stood up, as did Shalimar. "You know best, Adam," Emma said. "We still need to stop Marlowe and we shouldn't leave here until we find out what his plans are."

"We can find that out from Sanctuary. The important thing now is for us all to get to safety. I'll contact my sources and we can begin looking into exactly what Fasergen has been created for."

"If I come across Charles Marlowe before we get back to Sanctuary, I will put an end to him."

"Emma, no. Now is neither the time nor the place." Adam stepped close to the young woman and they locked eyes again, briefly.

"C'mon, Emma, let's get back home," Shalimar said. "Have you looked at yourself? You need food, sleep and a long, hot bath." Emma ignored her.

There was a long moment of silence as the rest of Mutant X picked up on the tension between Adam and the young Psionic. Finally, Emma said, "Lead on, Adam."

"Can you assure me that you won't do anything reckless?" he asked her.

"Of course, Adam. I'll be as responsible as you always are." Emma smiled with her mouth, but not with her eyes. She pictured the Double Helix in her mind and the other planes in the building's hangar. She thought of how the whole team could commandeer one of the aircraft. Maybe it was even possible that the Helix had been completely repaired. Suddenly, Adam had an idea.

"Let's head for the hangar and see if we can find some air transport out of this place." The four mutants followed Adam, who had some idea of the layout of the facility through his time working to help treat Julia Lechner. They picked their way between the fallen bodies of the Links and walked through a maze of hallways. On three occasions, they ran into security doors. Brennan zapped the electronic locks and popped them permanently open. They didn't meet up with anyone as they made their way through the building. There must have been at least a hundred or perhaps many more working at the site and seeing the halls cleared ahead filled them with a feeling of foreboding.

"They're waiting for us," Emma said as they neared their destination.

"What do you mean?" Shalimar asked her.

"Don't worry, Shal, you'll sense them soon enough. The rest of the Links in the building, fifty or so, are massed in the hangar awaiting our arrival."

"Then let's head the other direction," Jesse said. He stopped and took a few steps the other way.

"What are you going to do, Jess, walk out the front door and hail a cab?" Brennan asked him. They all came to a stop in the hallway.

"Seems a hell of a lot more sensible than walking into an ambush," Jesse responded.

"How long did you know, Emma?" Adam asked.

"They've been monitoring us the whole time. As soon as you suggested we seek air transportation, Marlowe sent all available personnel to the hangar. Did you really think we were just going to fly out of here? It's not in Marlowe's best interest to let us get back to Sanctuary and calmly plan his downfall. He has already spent a considerable amount of resources capturing and holding us. We still have information he wants. Even if I didn't want to force a confrontation, he does."

"There must be another way," Brennan said.

"Now you're agreeing with me?" Jesse asked Brennan, who just shrugged in response and looked back toward Adam.

"No," Emma answered for him. "We do this now."

"Emma, you can't trust your powers right now. You collapsed last time and I'm not sure how much more your body can take." Adam reached to grab Emma's shoulders as he spoke to her, but decided better of it and dropped his hands back to his sides. "I told you we have no way of telling how long the boost I gave you will last. You may think you can handle anything right now, but you could overload and die or fizzle out and leave us defenseless against overwhelming numbers."

"We have no choice, Adam," Emma said. "We are not dealing with Ashlocke or Eckhart here. Charles Marlowe is patient and thorough. We have been lucky to delay him so far and that only by the skin of our teeth."

"So we just kill him. That's your answer?" Adam raised his voice, getting angry with her.

"If we can. Kill or contain. This may be our only chance to stop him." Emma started walking toward the hangar again.

"Some chance," Brennan said, "Ten to one odds?"

"Emma!" Adam called after her.

"Do what you want," Emma shouted without looking back.

Adam and then the rest of Mutant X followed the young Psionic somewhat reluctantly. She slowed and waited for them to catch up and they proceeded as a team. Ultimately, they realized, Emma was right. They had escaped from their cell, but were still in the prison. There was no leaving without confronting Marlowe.