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A Matter of Honor	By : purenightshade Category: M through R > Mutant X Views: 1579 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mutant X, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Title: A matter of Honor

Author/pseudonym: Nightshade

Author websites: http://www.angelfire.com/anime/makosmusings

Characters: Adam, Jesse

Rating: The ratings vary from chapter to chapter, but it�s intended to be NC-17

Pairing: Non-shipper, non-slash, involves original characters

Status: incomplete

Series/Sequel: series

Spoilers: As of yet, no spoilers

Disclaimers: All Mutant X characters are copyright to their respective owners. Honor and Claudia are my original characters and should not be taken or used without my permission.

Summary:A New Mutant�s powers start to evolve out of control and it�s up to Adam and the team to help put them back under control. An old friend of Adam�s returns to haunt him.

Send all comments to nightshade@catlover.com
Episode 17: To sleep, perchance to dream
Alone in her room, Claudia changed into the black cotton tank top and baggy pants that she used for pajamas. She crawled under her blankets and pulled them up around herself. It was a little cold in her room, so she waited until she was sufficiently warm before preparing to put herself into the meditative trance that passed for sleep. She slowed her breathing and forced herself to relax.

Once she was relaxed enough, she closed her eyes and ran the meditation through her mind. An hour later when she was no closer to achieving her meditative state than she was when she started, she sat up.

Why isn�t this working? It hasn�t failed me since I started using it years ago, so why now? She flopped back down, putting her arms behind her head. I�m exhausted. I need this, so why can�t I do it?

A movement in the shadows caught her eye. She sat up and looked around. �Who�s there?�

A shadowy figure moved towards her, surrounded by a dark haze. It gradually faded, revealing the form of Gabriel Ashlocke. He smiled as she recoiled from him. He casually sauntered over to her and sat down on the edge of her bed. She got up and moved to the other side of the room.

�What are you doing here?�

�I�m surprised at you,� he drawled. �Why else would I come here? I�ve been watching you, Claudia. I must say I�m impressed. It�s a nice little setup you have going here.�

�Get to the point, Ashlocke,� she growled.

Ashlocke shrugged, standing up and walking towards her. She flinched away from him. �I know you have Mutant X here under your roof. How very convenient. I can take care of all of them at the same time without having to get into Sanctuary.� He cornered her. �I have you to thank for all of this. If you hadn�t reconciled with Adam, none of this would be possible.�

�I was wondering if you were going to show up,� Adam�s voice said from the doorway.

Ashlocke turned to see Adam leaning against the door. �How convenient; I don�t even have to go into the next room to kill you. I can just do it right here.�

Adam walked towards them. �Be very glad that I don�t have a weapon on me right now, Ashlocke,� he snarled.

Ashlocke shook his head, clucking his tongue. �Temper, temper, Adam,� he warned.

�Stop it, Adam. You promised.�

He turned to look at Claudia. �I promised not to go after him. He broke into your house and has told you of his intentions to kill me and the others.�

�I see what�s going on here. She told you what happened, I take it? I suppose you want some sort of revenge?� Ashlocke laughed. �That�s so sweet! It�s really too bad that you�re going to die.� He raised his hand and formed a glowing ball of energy.

Claudia got out of the corner and put herself in between the two men. �I won�t let you do this,� she warned Ashlocke.

�As amusing as this sudden switch in your attitude is, I will have my revenge on Adam.�

�Really now?� she rolled her eyes. �My claim is a lot older than yours, so until I�ve gotten my own revenge on him for what he did, there�s no way in hell that I�m going to let anyone do anything to him.�

Ashlocke looked puzzled. �I know you two have talked about that night and are on friendly terms again.�

�That�s beside the point. If you think that I�ll just automatically forget about the last thirty years, you�re very sadly mistaken.�

�Claudia, get out of here. Let me take care of this.�

She turned to look at Adam, shaking her head. �It was me he raped, not you. I need some sort of closure.� She turned back to Ashlocke. �Leave Adam out of this.�

He sneered at her. �What will you do to me if I don�t?� he asked mockingly.

She narrowed her eyes. �Make you feel everything that I felt. The pain, the fear, all of it.�

He snorted. �You�re telekinetic. You can�t do that.�

�That would be true if I was just a telekinetic. Really, now. I thought you�d done your research.� Before Ashlocke could reply, she locked eyes with him and opened her mind.

Ashlocke reeled, but couldn�t get away from the flood of pain and fear that came out of her mind, couldn�t close his eyes to stop it from coming. Internally, he ranted at himself. I�m the most powerful mutant ever! Why can�t I block this?

After a few minutes, Claudia stopped, releasing him. He collapsed to the ground. �Now, unless you want more of that, I suggest you leave.�

The glowing ball of energy reappeared in his hand. �You�ll pay for that,� he snarled.

�No, she won�t,� Adam said casually. While Claudia had held Ashlocke�s mind, he�d slipped out to get the others.

Honor walked over to stand beside Claudia with Jesse right beside her. �I suggest that you leave. All of us have some grudge or another against you. We�re giving you a chance to escape. You don�t deserve it, but we�re decent people so we�re giving it to you anyways. Between us, I�m sure we could make life real unpleasant for you.�

He looked around at the gathering of mutants, assessing the situation. �This isn�t over,� he said, moving over to the open window.

Claudia rolled her eyes. �Why do they always say that just before they leave?� she asked as he jumped out the window.

�Oh, who knows? Must be in the �Bad guy�s Handbook� or something,� Honor suggested, yawning. �Now that he�s gone, can we go back to bed? Adam woke me up out of a nice dream.�

�You can all go back to bed now,� Claudia agreed. �Don�t expect to see me very early tomorrow. I�m exhausted.�

The other mutants yawned and filed off to their rooms, leaving Adam and Claudia alone. He turned to her after the door closed behind Honor.

�Are you going to be ok?� he asked her.

She walked over to her bed and sat down, wrapping her arms around her chest. �I don�t know. I�m glad you were next door though. Thank you for trying to help.�

He sat down beside her. �You�re shaking,� he said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

She instantly collapsed, burying her face into the soft fabric of the shirt he was wearing, tears streaming down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her, not knowing what else to do.

�What�s wrong?�

�When he showed up again, I was so scared. I didn�t know what to do. When he threatened you, it put my mind back together. I don�t know what would have happened if you hadn�t shown up and tried to help,� she sobbed. �I felt so weak and helpless.�

He stroked her hair. �It�s alright now,� he murmured. �He�s gone and you�re safe again. I won�t let him hurt you.�

�That�s very sweet of you, but you can�t do anything to him.�

�I don�t have powers that could hurt him, no, but there are other things I can do.�

She sniffled. �Like what?�

He paused. �I can make something that could kill him. I could try and make a pod to put him in. I can stay with you to help keep your mind clear so that you can stand up to him like you did.� He squeezed her. �You were amazing. I didn�t know you could do that.�

She tried to bury herself deeper into his embrace. �It�s nothing special,� she said quietly.

He pulled back, holding her at arm�s length. �You�ve never been one for taking compliments, but even so. What you did was incredible and brave, especially after what he did to you.�

Fresh tears leaked from her eyes. �You think so?�

He cupped her face in his hands. �Yes, I do. I�m not just saying that because I�m your friend, either.� He brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. �Do you want me to stay with you in case he comes back? If I fall asleep I might not wake up if he does.�

Claudia looked into his eyes for a while before nodding. �I feel so silly. I�m long past the age where I need someone in the room with me to keep the things I fear away.� She leaned forward onto his chest. �Remember those campouts in the backyard? I always felt safe knowing you were there.�

He smiled. �Now that I think about it, you never did have any bad dreams then. It never occurred to me to think about that. Why don�t you go and get comfortable? I�ll come in after you. Don�t worry. I know you always sleep with two blankets. I�ll lie down in between the two blankets if it makes you feel more comfortable.�

In response, her shoulders slumped and she got up and crawled under her blankets. After she finished shuffling around, he went around to the other side and crawled in after her. He took her into his arms and nuzzled the nape of her neck.

�Just relax. Everything will be ok,� he whispered.

She snuggled back against him. �Thank you,� she said sleepily.

�Anytime,� he replied as her breathing slowed to that of a sleeper. He sighed. �And you say you don�t sleep,� he whispered accusingly to his friend�s unconscious form.

He lay there like that for a few hours, unable to sleep. He let his mind wander as he stroked the back of her hand. It was cold, so he closed his own around it, moving in as close as the blankets would permit in order to help her keep warm. A few minutes later, she started to squirm a little, so he pulled away to his previous distance. The squirming kept getting worse until she was thrashing about. Adam had to dodge in order to keep one of her hands from hitting him across the face. He stayed as close to her as he could.

Claudia�s eyes flew open. She was crying hysterically, her hands coming up to try and push Adam away.

�Shh, shh, Claudia, it�s me,� he told her, grabbing her hands in his as she thrashed. �It�s ok; it was only a nightmare.�

It registered in her mind just who he was. Once again, tears streamed down her face. �What�s wrong?� Adam asked her.

�I thought you were him,� she whispered. It was horrible.�

He let her hands go and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. Again, she cried on his shoulder, cried until there were no more tears left. She lay there long after the tears had stopped, shaking. Adam stroked her hair, murmuring reassurances into her ear.

�It was only a dream. You�re safe here.�

Her hands clutched at the front of his shirt. �I haven�t had a nightmare in a very long time.�

�You also haven�t slept in years,� he reminded her. �At least, not until recently.�

She pulled her head back to look at him, frowning. �Pardon?�

�You were asleep. How, I don�t know, but I�m quite sure that this is the third time you�ve slept since all of this started.�

�Two times?� she repeated.

�First of all, there was the time in that abandoned warehouse. I wasn�t sure about that as I had no idea how sleep-like your meditation was. Just now, you were sleeping.�

�I�ve told you before-� she started.

�I know, I know. You don�t sleep. I remember. You said it was a side effect of your mutation, but I wonder if it was something else entirely.�

�Oh, this I�ve got to hear,� she said, rolling her eyes, but not pulling away as he�d expected.

�My theory is that the tests performed on you at Genomex did something to your mind, making you unable to relax enough to sleep. Stress can do that to a person, but I�ve never heard of anything this extreme before.�

�So you think it�s more of a side effect of the process than of the end result?� He nodded. �Interesting theory, but I�m not really interested in the whys of this problem.� She shook her head. �There�s no way that I�ll be able to do either sleep or meditation now. I�m far too wound up.�

He smiled, stroking her cheek with one hand while the other remained on her shoulder. �I know. I can feel it in your shoulders. It�s understandable given the stress you�ve been under. I can help if you like.�

�Just as long as you don�t ask me to take anything off, I don�t mind.�

�I hadn�t planned on it. You were twitchy about that long before the party. I�m not good at doing this on someone lying down, so if you could sit up that would be great.�

She sat up and turned her back to him, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she closed her eyes. She felt Adam put his rough but sure hands on her shoulders. He rested them there for a few seconds before he started to rub. It took her a few minutes to relax into it.

Trying to keep calm himself, Adam started off slowly, easing the knots out of her neck and shoulders. She hissed in pain as he put pressure on a particularly large one on her left shoulder. It turned to relief as it released. Her shoulders slumped forward as he changed tactics, giving her a gentle rub to help her relax. In the process, the straps of her tank top slid down off her shoulders.

When he stopped, she turned around, absentmindedly pulling one of the straps back up. �Thanks,� she said softly, avoiding his eyes.

�You�re welcome. Think you can sleep?�

She shook her head, looking up at him. �A shoulder rub isn�t going to make all the fear and pain go away, Adam.�

�Is there anything I can do for you?�

�Unless you�ve suddenly developed the ability to alter my thoughts and feelings, no.�

He cupped her chin in his hand. �I hate to see you in pain. Tell me. I�ll do whatever it takes to help.�

�You would, wouldn�t you?� She stared at him for a while. �There�s nothing you can do. People always used to say that time heals all wounds, but I doubt that even time can make this go away.�

He scooted a little closer. �I don�t like being unable to do anything.�

�Unfortunately for you, you�re just going to have to cope.�

He hesitated before leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek. She tensed a little, but not as much as he had expected. �You should at least try and get some sleep,� he whispered into her ear, pulling the other strap of her tank top back into place.

�Will you stay?� she asked, her eyes pleading with him, asking the questions her pride wouldn�t let her vocalize.

He nodded, gently running his hand across her check and down the side of her neck to rest on her shoulder. �Anything you need.�

She crawled back under the blankets, shivering. True to his earlier word, Adam went back in between the blankets and wrapped his arms around her. Despite what she�d said earlier, she was quickly asleep, burrowing back against him, lips parted slightly. He smiled and closed his eyes. He soon joined her in sleep.

Claudia woke in the early hours of the morning. She lay still for a time until she confirmed that Adam was really sleeping. She wiggled out of his embrace and sat up, watching him. Sleep gentled his face quite a lot, eased some of the lines that time had worn into it.

She stood up and went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of light pants, a t-shirt, sweatshirt, socks and underclothes and went into the bathroom to change. He was still asleep when she came back out. She smiled, shaking her head, and walked back to the bed. He didn�t wake as she pulled the blanket out from under him and put it over him. She tucked both blankets around him and leaned over to kiss him lightly on the forehead before leaving the room.
Half an hour after Claudia left, Adam woke, looking around sleepily. When Claudia was nowhere to be see, he sat up, wide awake. When flung the blankets back, he realized that there were two over him and none under. He blinked. That�s odd.

He got up and walked around the room. On the desk chair were her pajamas, neatly folded. Ok, so she wasn�t taken in the night while I slept. That�s a relief, he sighed.

He went back into the room he�d originally supposed to spend the night in and put his clothes back on before going downstairs. He found the others sleepily sipping at mugs of coffee or tea depending on their preference.

�Morning, Adam,� Honor said, looking up from a steaming mug of peppermint tea.

�Have you seen Claudia?� he asked anxiously.

Honor blinked. �She�s out for her morning jog. Why?�

�Where does she go?�

�There�s a path that goes through the woods and goes out into the park nearby. She should still be in the woods. Adam, are you ok?�

�Yeah, fine. Just point me in the right direction. It�s important.�

She eyed him suspiciously, but got up, moving Jesse�s arm out of the way. He looked somewhat annoyed, but said nothing. She led Adam over to the front door. �See over to the left there? There�s a little trail that meets up with her regular route. When you get to the large path, turn right and you should be able to catch up with her.� She pulled her housecoat around her. �I won�t ask what�s so important that you feel you need to interrupt her jog, so I�ll just go back inside now and leave you to this.�

�Thanks, Honor. I hope Jesse�s not to upset with me.�

Honor waved her hand dismissively. �He�ll be fine. You�d better hurry. Good luck,� she added, heading back to the living room.

Pulling his shoes on as fast as he could, Adam took off for the path.
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A Matter of Honor