Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X or the X Men.
SPECIAL NOTE! - Something went wrong. My chapters have been appearing and disappearing in the last week or so. Here's what I think happened. I updated on the evening FF was intending on moving their servers to another facility. I read the message they sent and still had a few hours before the intended shut down so I uploaded a group of chapters. Since then I couldn't find them, myself. After a while they appeared. Then they vanished again. The story on my controls in FF showed all 29 chapters so I posted chapter 30 yesterday and today find that the story goes from 24 to 30. I'm really sorry for the jump. It wasn't intended and would have driven me crazy in a story I was reading so I understand any frustration out there. Please forgive me. I am reloading the missing chapters and will add another.
Sad and regretful,
Redhead2
Origingal chapter note: I haven't been writing notes. Sorry. I have been very busy and still trying to get this story posted. Even still, I have been reading all your wonderful reviews. Thank you so much. I will comment now but school is about to start and I might not get to again for a while. Know that I really appreciate all the feedback.
Loveconquers, I'm so glad you're back and reviewing again. I love to read your comments on the work. I really enjoy seeing my work through your eyes.
elouise17, Liby, Mxfan214, Karen147145, brigitta1, melodie568,PrOxYBlUe, earth-fairy200, I'm so glad you all reviewed and liked the story. I hope you're all still with me.
Courtney and MadMutant, you've both been very consistent. I really appreciate you taking the time to send me your thoughts. I like to hear what you're thinking at chapter's end.
Bohemianbabe, I know you're still there and always reading. I really appreciate that. Life has been crazy as stated above. I know you have work up that I've been missing. I will get to it as soon as I have a chance to breathe again.
Tiana-P, I want to answer your question. How could Brennan have zapped Sissy's governor if he was in fact wearing one of his own. Well, we need to remember that the governors don't stop mutant powers. They just deter the use of power by inflicting agonizing pain when the powers initiate. So in this scene, Brennan does use his powers to short Sissy's governor but in the process screams from the pain he gets from his governor, resulting in his passing out. Please ask more questions if you're not sure of anything or spot an error on my part. I read and reread many times but have still caught typos after posting. Thanks.
We're All Family
Chapter 25
Adam walked into the little diner that had been at the designated coordinates. He knew the Blackbird circled overhead. He sat in a window booth and surveyed the people around him. There were quite a few at this time of morning.
A young waitress approached with a smile but as she neared, Adam noticed it wavered. "Excuse me, Sir.
Are you…Dr. Kane?"
Adam gave her a charming smile. This girl is just a prop. She can't have anything to do with this. "Yes. I am. And you are…?"
The girl blushed and looked down for only an instant then looked back at the man seated in front of her. "My name in Amanda, Sir. I apologize for the unusual greeting but…a friend of yours was in here earlier. He had a picture of you and said that he had arranged to meet you here but wasn't able to stay. He asked me to give you this note." She handed him a folded piece of paper with a smile.
"Thank you, Amanda. You're very kind." Adam, now sure this young girl wasn't involved in any way, kept his pleasant smile in place until she had turned and walked away. Looking down he opened the folded paper and read the scrawl. Leaving the diner he turned left and walked the path laid out on the note. In 10 minutes he was in the parking lot of a small strip mall with no directions to go any further. Looking around he spotted a van parked on one side. In a moment the doors opened and a familiar face emerged flanked by two guards.
"I'm glad you're making this easy, Kane. I really expected Shalimar to show up with you. Actually, I kind of hoped she would."
The sly smirk on his face made Adam want to punch it off him, but he knew Shalimar could wipe the floor with this man and not even break a sweat. That image calmed him. "I want to see them, Thorne." Adam stood tall.
"Right this way." Thorne gestured to the van.
"He's on the move again," Jesse stated as he watched the blip on the display Hank and Remy rigged to keep track of Adam's DNA.
"Don't worry. We won't lose him," Scott maneuvered to keep the Blackbird right above the van. When the van finally came to a stop it was 30 miles out of town at what looked like an abandoned farm. The surrounding farms were so spread out they could only be seen from a bird's eye view. "Well, this guy planned well. Without the DNA trace we would've had trouble finding this place."
"Thorne's not someone we want to underestimate. He did all this to get Brennan, I'm sure." Shalimar fidgeted in her seat.
"He's only counting on dealing with Mutant X. I think we hold the advantage." Jubilee smiled at her.
"We still go in on guard," Cyclops warned as he turned to look at her. "I'm not willing to let overconfidence tip the scales. Is that clear?"
"Yes, of course…" she rolled her eyes. "I'm not still a student," she smirked as she quickly blew a bubble and popped it, breaking the tension and getting a few snickers from the men around her.
Adam pulled out of the hands of the guards trying to hold him as he climbed out of the back of the van. "I'm not going anywhere," he snapped at them. Turning to Thorne he demanded. "Call them off. I want to see my people."
Thorne nodded and the guards stepped back. "I'm not leaving you unguarded. I seem to remember that you can swing a mean right hook." He turned as he continued, forcing Adam to follow in order to hear what he was saying next. "Mr. Hennessey is in the house. He wants to see you first."
In the obviously neglected house which once kept the family who ran the farm, a lonely and angry man sat in front of a fire that burned in the fireplace. When he heard the door open he stood and turned to face Thorne and…Adam Kane. Finally. "Kane, I've waited a long time for this. My son's been dead for almost 5 years now."
"Mr. Hennessy, I'm truly sorry to hear about Larry. He was a good doctor."
"Save your sympathies. You'll need your energy to deal with your own tragedy."
Adam looked hard at the man before him. He knew easily that he could overtake him and force him to change his disastrous plans. Thorne and his agents were the problem. This became much more than avenging a death when Thorne was hired. He wasn't so naïve to believe that this man had any real authority in this situation. He also knew Hennessy probably didn't realize it. "I want to see my people. May I see them, please?"
"Yes, of course. I had the opportunity to hold my son while he died. I feel obligated to return the favor." He turned and nodded to Thorne who stepped up and indicated that Adam should go out the door.
"He's leaving the house," Shalimar reported using her ring. She, Logan and Beast were scouting near the buildings.
"I'm counting 8 guards on the grounds around the buildings," Logan touched the X badge on his suit.
"Adam's got two and Thorne with him. That makes 11," Shalimar added.
"From my vantage point I have a bird's eye view. Oh, the natural beauty of creation; truly astounding." Beast perched atop the barn and could see the entire property. "I confirm the count but we don't know if any more are inside the house."
"Ok," Cyclops answered over the com. "Hold your positions. Let's give Adam time to check out the situation. In the mean time the rest of us will rendezvous with you."
The clank of the metal was heard again; the inhabitants of this damp prison knew that signaled another visit from their captor. Brennan stirred but didn't really wake. He'd been drifting in and out of consciousness for 2 hours now. Jack had awoken from the unrest of slumber to which the bench had sent him; a headache from having the governor intensified. Sissy sat up straighter as she pulled away from the comfortable place she'd found under John's arm. He found her just as comforting against him but now stood with Jack to block her from whatever threat might enter through the door.
"I brought you a visitor. I hope your manners have improved." Thorne jibed as he came in.
"Adam," Jack called out as he took a step only to be halted as Thorne raised the remote in his direction.
"Don't move!" he ordered and smiled when Jack stopped dead. "That's it. I'm not letting you within striking distance again unless you're unconscious…or dead. I really don't care which." He turned back to Adam. "Here's your people for all the good it'll do you…or them."
Adam looked around quickly meeting the eyes of the three young people. He turned to look for…"Brennan!" Oh Dear God! Without another delay he pushed past the guard to his left and tread into the water. He reached Brennan and tried to straighten his slumped posture. No use. He's never been this bad. It was painful to see. "Thorne, take these chains off. At least let me lay him straight."
"I don't think so. He's staying right where I can get to him…when the time's right. I want to look into his eyes when he feels my final blow."
"For God's sake, he's not going anywhere! In this condition he'll more likely die right here." Adam turned back to look at the dying elemental. "You won't have the chance to do any worse." His voice dropped to just above a whisper.
Thorne snorted then…hesitated. He nodded to one of the guards and watched as he went into the water with his gun drawn. "I can't have him stealing my thunder. I've waited for this for too long."
The guard urged Adam back with the aim of his gun. When Kane stepped back he took the key from his pocket and released the cuffs then backed out of the water without lowering his firearm.
Brennan had been supported, however precariously, by the tension of the chain and the strain on his back-drawn arms. Without that tension he slipped from the chair and fell further into the water.
Adam lunged to catch him but only managed to keep his head above the water. "I need clean water and blankets!"
"NO!" Thorne shouted back. "I'm in charge here, Kane." He stepped toward the door and then turned back with an evil grin. "You won't have that much time anyway."
John watched as Thorne turned out the door and closed it behind him. Within moments he was in the water helping his uncle to lift Brennan's inanimate body. Jack joined them and together they dragged Brennan's limp form out of the water. They arranged him as flat as they could on the hard surface of the floor. Sissy brought her coat to put under his head.
"Pale…cold…clammy...Brennan?…Brennan can you hear me?" Adam held his face in his hands and raised his eyelids.
"Uhhh…A…dam?...Adam?" Brennan tried to move but was just too weak. There wasn't even enough energy to turn his head. Can't move. Must be hallucinating. He slipped into the fog in his mind until…he heard it again.
"Yes, Bren, I'm here. I'm going to get you out of here."
Could that really be Adam? Brennan used all his might to turn his head. Got to warn him. He has to know. "Nnn..o, Th..Thor…ne."
"I know, Son. Stay still. We'll take care of everything." He watched as Brennan's head fell to the side and slip back into unconsciousness.
"How long has he been this bad?" Adam asked as he checked the rest of his body through the wet clothes.
"About 2 hours," John answered. "He's been steadily getting weaker. There was nothing I could do."
Adam could hear the sorrow in John's voice. He stood and faced his nephew with an examining eye. "Are you alright?"
John looked down and just nodded. He felt Adam reach to his neck and touch the governor that was there.
"This is the hard way for you to learn about our lives, isn't it?" Adam whispered.
"The older man blames you for…" John stopped when he saw his uncle nod.
"I know," Adam pat John's shoulder. "A lot of people blame me for a lot of things. Don't worry. Everything will be ok. Did you try and tell him you weren't my son?"
"No. I didn't think he'd believe me. I thought going along with him was best at the time."
"You were right." Adam turned and moved to the teens. "How are you two holding up?" He reached as they obliged and lowered their heads so he could check their governors. "Jack?"
"I'm ok. It only gave me a headache. The fight I lost to the bench was worse."
"I was wondering about the blood. I'm sure Cyclops won't hold it against you when he reads your report." Adam smiled and moved to the young girl standing between Jack and John. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "It was bad, wasn't it?" He pulled her into a hug when he saw her nod and look down.
"She was very brave and dealt with it for quite a while," John commended.
"Brennan disabled it?"
"Yeah and knocked himself and Sissy out in the process." Jack offered.
"He was very weak as it was. He knew he'd pass out and warned us. Sissy went into shock." John added.
Adam looked at his nephew as he held Sissy. "We surmised that she went into shock. The scene they gave us this morning told us that much."
"This morning? What scene?" Sissy pulled away and looked around at all the men.
Jack was the first to speak. "There's a hidden lens in the wall over there. Before you woke up, the lights went on suddenly but no one came in. We figured they were showing us off to make sure Adam would come."
"That's just what they did. But at least we knew you were all alive."
"But before I woke up I was…my clothes were…" Sissy couldn't stand the shame anymore and turned away. It was bad enough when she'd thought about being naked with John in the room. She'd dealt with it as an unfortunate part of a mission. But now…now everyone at home knew she was naked, too.
"Hey, Sissy," Jack tried but was ignored.
"When we get back I'll have one of the girls show you exactly what we saw. Don't worry. You were barely visible. Jack and John protected you." Adam stepped in front of her again and took her chin in his hand as he raised her tear-streaked face to his. "Sissy, don't ever be embarrassed in front of those who care for you. This is a mission. Survival comes first. From what I know so far, you'll make a good X Man." He smiled at her and looked around. "They'll be back soon. Have you been anywhere but here?"
"No," John answered. "We were in the parking garage, hit with sedatives and woke up here."
"Ok. I didn't come alone. Jesse, Shalimar and 5 X Men are here. We just have to figure out a way to get around Thorne and his men. Sissy can you teleport Brennan out of here?"
"I can but I have to know where I'm going."
"Those stairs are a regular flight. At the top is a flat door like a storm cellar door, which will probably be opened. It didn't have to be opened when they brought me down. We're inside a structure; an old barn. This is an abandoned farm. There are a few storage buildings and the main house but there aren't any other buildings connected to this one."
"I think I can probably do it," Sissy stood taller. "It may have to be in jumps. I only need to be in one place long enough to get a feel for where to go next.
"Good girl. Now, don't do anything until I tell you. Understand? Good. If anything happens before that and Thorne hits the remote you'll have to do another pain scene. Are you up to it?"
"I'll do whatever I have to. I won't let you guys down." Sissy turned and glanced at Jack but her eyes rested with John's.
John nodded with a smile then turned back to Brennan. "Will he be ok?"
"Yes." Adam answered quickly and firmly met John's eyes as they sprang to his. "I won't let Thorne near him again." His tone was sure and full of grim determination. Just as quickly he smiled and glanced at the teens then back to John. "Besides, I'd have two female ferals who would never forgive me. I've had Shalimar mad at me before. It's not something I want for the rest of my life."
