Through the quiet of Sanctuary, a thick tension was weaving its way around and growing thicker as Adam continued to pace around Emma at her computer station.
Briefly and thankfully Adam paused. "Any luck finding him yet?"
Emma sighed and looked at him. "Nothing. Adam, I've been doing the best I can. He hasn't logged in at any of his usual sites or answered my emails. I keep checking but I've also been looking in less likely places. I'm coming up with nothing. It's like he dropped off the face of the earth. I'm almost tempted to start looking for him telempathically."
Adam nodded. "We shouldn't rule that option out. I know you're doing the best you can and I know how worried for him you must be, but please don't get discouraged. Keep at it."
Emma sighed again and turned back to the screen. "Where are you Zen?" She asked under her breath.
Emma knew why Adam wanted to find Zenger Whittman. He was a gifted New Mutant and Adam hoped to add his talents to the team's dynamic. Also, Emma sensed an underlying urgency to his choice. Why, she didn't know and she didn't pry. At least not telempathically. She'd hoped he would have confided in her by now. It was beginning to bother her, especially when it was making him so terse with her. And only adding to her stress, Emma was constantly re-evaluating why she enjoyed talking to Zenger nowadays. He was charming and polite, even over the Internet, and now that he'd been missing for several days, Emma found herself worried about him.
Leaving Emma in peace, Adam begun to walk towards the Med Lab, when he was stopped by his commlink.
Adam. It was Brennan.
"Brennan, how'd you and Ally do at "The Mermaid Tank"?"
Ally got more than enough to put Mills away. But something else came up.
"Really? What would that be?"
Ashlocke.
As Adam was trying to make sure he'd heard right, Ally added her voice.
More specifically, his Links.
"Are you both all right?" Emma queried.
We're fine. Ally sounded almost sheepish as she added. But the campus is pretty beat up.
"Campus?"
We're at a Med. School. Brennan clarified for Adam. My guess is that Ashlocke found something of interest to him here and sent his stooges to get it for him.
"That's very likely. Emma and I will do some research. What's the name of the school?"
Allen Institute of Medical Research.
Adam and Emma set to work.
"Okay, let's go." Brennan blurted.
Ally frowned. "Go? Go where?"
Brennan replied as if it should have been obvious. "Back to Sanctuary."
"Adam wants us to stay here."
Brennan shook his head slightly. "He never said that."
"He also never said to return to Sanctuary either. Hence, we should sit tight."
Looking away, Brennan crossed his arms. "Hopefully not as tight as that dress."
Ally gaped at him. "Excuse me? Is there something wrong with the way I dress?"
Brennan glanced at Ally and shrugged. "I never used to think so. But lately—"
"But lately we've been on this stupid assignment that you agreed to may I remind you and now there's something wrong?"
He shrugged again. "If the shoe fits."
"Which obviously my dress doesn't, is that right?" Ally bit off sarcastically.
"I didn't say that."
Ally fought back angry tears. "You might as well have." She turned on her high heels and walked off.
"You ready?" Shalimar called from the Jeep.
Tony was saying a final and silent goodbye to the beach he'd called home for so long. After a moment longer he finally called back.
"As I'll ever be."
When he eventually joined her, Shalimar hugged him around the shoulders. "I could go for a bite to eat, how about you?"
Tony smirked, for Shal's sake. "I'm absolutely ravenous."
Shalimar grinned. "Perfect. We'll grab a quick bite and head back to Sanctuary."
Striding into the common room with a magazine in one hand and an apple in the other, Jesse mechanically flicked on the television set.
A flashy female newsanchor was delivering the latest. Jesse took a bite of his snack.
And in this late breaking news, a miraculous survival story took place at Allen Institute for Medical Research. A woman was fatally wounded, during what has been described as a gang war. But amazingly, was saved by an angelic stranger.
The filming cut to a recorded interview with the woman, as Jesse paused in consuming his apple.
I must have been bleeding pretty badly, because my vision got very blurry. I couldn't see who the person was but I could feel them. I was shot through the lungs and I couldn't breathe. I remember feeling very cold. Then suddenly I felt these strong hands on my shoulders and this rush of warm energy went through me. The next thing I know, people are helping me to my feet, asking me if I'm okay. I could see all of this blood on the ground around me and even some on my clothing— The woman showed the evident blood on the front of her blouse. But I don't have a scratch on me!
Emma and Adam walked into the common room just as the reporter asked, So where is this Miracle Worker?
The woman shrugged sadly. I don't know. Whoever it was disappeared before I came to. No one else saw anything. They just heard a commotion and by the time they found me…
"She must have been injured when the Links made their hasty exit." Emma assumed.
"We still need to figure out why they were there in the first place." Adam said, taking his attention away from the broadcast.
"Combing through the staff and current projects at the school came up empty?" Jesse asked.
Emma nodded. "We couldn't find any connection."
Adam's thoughts started to collect. "We may be overlooking something here. This woman was miraculously healed."
Jesse didn't see it. "And?"
Emma clued in. "Zenger, the mutant I've been talking to, he has healing ability."
"So maybe he was in the area?" Jesse ventured.
"Maybe he's in the area often." Adam corrected.
"Like, say, for classes." Emma mused.
"You think he's a med. student?" Jesse guessed.
Emma was getting excited. "I think I'll run a search through their student records for Mr. Whittman!"
Following Emma to her computer once more, Adam and Jesse waited in anticipation…and were disappointed.
NO MATCHES FOUND
"Back to square one, I guess." Emma deflated.
"I never pictured you giving up so easy." Jesse chided.
"Do you have another idea?" Emma asked dubiously.
"Mind if I sit there?" Jesse asked innocently.
Adam watched with some amusement as they switched. "So what's on your mind?"
"You've been having trouble locating him right? Think about it. Why would it be so easy for him to disappear unless he was already hiding out in the open?"
Emma did think about it. "You mean a false ID?"
Jesse smiled briefly before he got serious again. "Did he ever trust you enough to send you a picture?"
Emma nodded and showed him where she'd saved it on her computer.
"So I'll take this and run it through the student records again."
Jesse typed furiously and images of the students began to flicker across the screen.
Finally the images froze on one that was an exact resemblance to Emma's photo. The man's chocolaty skin and mezmorizing black eyes were identical to one another in both photographs.
"We have a winner…assuming we can trust your friend, that is." Jesse grinned.
Emma nodded, ignoring Jesse's tone. "He wouldn't lie to me."
Adam leaned in briefly and smiled to himself. "The false name is a dead giveaway too. Reginald and Elias were doctors made famous by making secret advances in genetic science a hundred years ago. It was only made public recently. But I don't recall ever putting Zenger into the Underground. So why the false ID?"
Jesse shrugged. "Maybe he knew the Links would come after him for Ashlocke."
Emma's brows knitted together in thought. "Or maybe someone else entirely had been after him for awhile. As soon as he knew I was with Mutant X, he seemed eager to get to know me more."
Adam stepped away and opened a channel on his commlink. "Ally? Brennan?"
Yeah, we're here. Ally replied.
"Our New Mutant friend Zenger Whittman may be on campus. Do a sweep and we'll send you his listed home address. I'm sending Jesse and Emma to render-vous with you. Let's bring him in."
