A Matter of Honor | By : purenightshade Category: M through R > Mutant X Views: 1577 -:- 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. |
Episode 01: Just another day
Emma and Shalimar were browsing through one of the biggest stores in the mall looking for some new clothes. Things were quiet lately, so they were taking some time off to do girl stuff. Jesse and Brennan were elsewhere doing who knew what. Frankly, neither girl really cared. They had other things to think about, like the gorgeous top Shalimar was holding up to herself.
“What do you think, Emma?” she asked.
“I think it suits you,” she replied, flipping through a rack of pants and examining the tags to find her size. “Everything here is so nice! I wish I could afford more of it.”
Shalimar nodded in agreement. “I think Adam would be a little upset if we came home with more clothes than we could possibly wear anytime soon. Most of this stuff isn’t suited to what we do anyways.”
“This is where I envy the boys,” Shalimar grumped. “Men’s clothes don’t leave you a lot of options.”
Emma laughed. “That’s so true.”
As they continued to browse, a young woman with red hair collapsed to the ground, clutching her head. All of the people in the store ran to see what was wrong. The girl whimpered about voices, telling people to stop talking. This made no sense to them as no one was talking. Emma and Shalimar watched her carefully.
“Shal, I just got a hit off her. She’s like us. We have to get her out of here!”
Shalimar nodded and plunged in, picking her up off the ground. “It’s ok people. She’s our friend. She’s just having another seizure, so we’re taking her to the hospital. Don’t mind us.”
They made it out to their car, putting the now unconscious girl into the backseat. Emma sat with her while Shalimar drove. She got a hold of Adam on her communicator. “Adam, we have a problem here. A new mutant just collapsed and we’re bringing her back to Sanctuary.”
“I’ll be ready for you,” he replied calmly.
“How much longer, Shal?” Emma asked anxiously. “She’s burning up.”
“The Helix is just around the corner. We’ll have to come back for the boys, but that’s ok.”
Back in Sanctuary, Shalimar lay the girl down on a bed in the infirmary. Adam looked down at her. He looked startled as he smoothed the sweat damp red hair away from her face. “You say she just collapsed? No warning at all?”
“None,” Emma said looking at the girl. “I’d seen her in the store and she looked kind of pale, but fine otherwise.” She paused. “Adam, I got the strangest reading off her in the store. She felt like another empath, but not quite. She was afraid, too.”
Adam smiled. “Understandably so. People don’t react well to those who claim to be hearing voiced in their heads.”
“She’s waking up,” Shalimar said, pointing.
Her eyelids fluttered before opening completely. Upon seeing three strange faces, she froze and tried to run, but there was no where to escape to that she knew of. She looked around her, eyes wide with fear.
“It’s ok Honor; you’re safe here,” Adam reassured her. “No one will hurt you here.”
“Who are you? Where am I?”
“I’m Adam. This is Emma and Shalimar. They rescued you from the store you collapsed in. If they’d taken you to a hospital, there would have been uncomfortable questions about what you are. ”
“What do you mean what I am?”
Emma stepped forward. “It’s ok. We’re like you.”
She looked at them carefully, fixing on Adam. She frowned. “Do I know you? You certainly seem to know who I am.”
“You might not remember me, but I performed some gene therapy on you when you were younger to get rid of a fatal blood disorder some years ago. As I recall, you developed the abilities of a gravitational molecular. “At any rate, have you collapsed like this before today?” Adam asked, getting right to the problem.
She nodded. “At first, I would collapse all the time. I stopped going around people so much and it stopped happening as often. I hadn’t had an episode for a while now, so I thought that it would be safe to get out and buy some nice clothes.” She turned away. “I guess I was wrong.”
“You’re safe now. We can help you get those powers of your under control.”
“That’s the thing. My powers were under control until a few months ago.”
“It seems to me that your powers are just going through another phase of development,” Adam said, making a few notes. “I’ve never heard of this happening before. When Brennan, another member of Mutant X, went though an added mutation, it was just a strengthening of his powers rather than a new one showing up. His brain couldn’t keep up with his body so it caused problems. I’ll do what I can. I am, after all, responsible for what happened to you in the first place.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it. I’m ok with what I am.”
“You have no idea what a relief that is to hear.” Adam smiled. “I’ll just do a quick physical on you, get a blood sample, and let Emma and Shalimar settle you in. It would be best if you stay here for the time being. If you have another episode, it would be useful to observe it and try and prevent them.”
Something occurred to her. “I’m not hearing anything,” she said softly. “This has never happened before. Since it started, there’s always been a faint noise, like listening to people talking in another room.”
“I’m an empath, so my thoughts are shielded,” Emma told her. “There’s also a temporary drug that we gave you on the way back here that blocks this sort of thing. It’ll wear off, but by then you’ll be settled here. We’re all pretty good at keeping our minds to ourselves.”
“We just don’t like having Emma know our every emotion,” Shalimar commented.
That made sense. She relaxed significantly. ”Go ahead and do your tests. I’ll go mad if I’m subjected to many more people with their nagging, incessant thoughts.”
Shalimar and Emma came back when the tests were over to take her to a spare room where she would be sleeping for the duration of her stay at Sanctuary. They showed her where everything was and lent her some clothes. Honor decided to have a shower and change. When she came out again, Shalimar and Emma were in the living area, sitting on two of the couches talking.
Emma saw her and gestured for her to come over and join them. “So, Adam says that you’re a gravitational molecular,” she said conversationally. “What, exactly, does that mean?”
“I can alter the gravity around people and things,” she said, floating a lamp a few inches off the nearest table.
The girls were suitably impressed. “I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Shalimar said. “The only molecular type that we have any experience with is Jesse, and he can alter the density of his body.”
“That sounds pretty neat,” Honor admitted, giggling. “I know a girl names Jesse. We call her Bear. What do you do, Shalimar?”
“I’m a feral,” she explained. “Adam tells me that the feline DNA I have is either Cougar or Lynx.”
“I know earlier you said that you’re an empath, Emma,” Honor said slowly. “You also said something about shields. Would it be possible for you to teach me how to do that ion case Adam can’t do anything to help?”
Emma’s eyes lit up. “Sure! Anything to help. Would you like to start now?”
“If it’s not too much trouble and if Shalimar doesn’t mind being left alone.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she assured them. “I have other stuff that needs to be done anyways.”
Emma stood and grabbed Honor’s hand, dragging her off to a room with glass walls. She sat her down in the middle of the floor and sat down cross legged and facing her. “Close your eyes,” she instructed. “Take a deep breath and listen to the sound of my voice.”
Honor did as she was told and felt herself starting to relax. As Emma continued to speak, she experienced a very curious drifting sensation. When Emma stopped, she was completely unaware of it. Emma left her sitting there in a meditative state and went into the lab to speak to Adam.
He met her on the way there. “Jesse and Brennan just got a hold of me. We need to go get them. They were a little worried when they got to the rendezvous and the Helix wasn’t there. I explained about the emergency and they’re waiting for us.” He looked around, puzzled. “Where’s Honor?”
Emma brought him to the room she was in and explained what she’d asked. “When I finished, she didn’t open her eyes or respond when I talked to her.”
“Huh.” He watched her for a short while and called for Shalimar. When she joined them, he said, “Prep the Helix and go get the boys. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on Honor just in case. I don’t feel entirely comfortable leaving her in a trance for any length of time.”
“That’s understandable,” Emma agreed. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
When the girls left, Adam stayed there watching Honor for a short time and then went back into his lab to do some more tests, coming out now and again to check on her.
“So then Jesse decided that this girl would make a good date, so he got up and asked her out, only to learn that she was actually a he!”
Emma and Shalimar howled with laughter as the four members of Mutant X walked into the main part of Sanctuary. Brennan joined them in their laughter while Jesse scowled.
“Anyone could have made that mistake,” he pointed out in his defense.
“Sure, Jess. Whatever you say,” Brennan mocked.
The four of them went right past the glass room. Jesse caught a glimpse of the girl sitting in the dojo. Or, at least, that’s what it looked like she was doing at first. “Hey, guys, who’s that?”
They stopped. Emma looked very surprised. “I can’t believe that she’s still there.”
“That’s Honor, a girl Emma and Shalimar picked up earlier,” Adam said walking towards them. “She’s been like that for a while now. I’m going to go in and break her out of it. If she stays like that any longer she might not get out.”
Adam went into the room. The others followed, their curiosity getting the better of them. He crouched in front of her and placed one hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly. “Honor, Honor it’s time to come back. You need to eat something. There are people here that want to meet you.”
After a little bit of persuasion, her eyes fluttered open. She stared blankly at Adam at first before she recognized him. “Adam? Is something wrong?”
“You’ve been in that trance for longer than I would have liked.”
As she turned her head to look at her surroundings, she heard a sharp intake of breath. Looking at the sound, she saw two people that were unfamiliar to her. “I don’t think we’ve met,” she said slowly.
“That’s Brennan and the other one is Jesse,” Adam said, indicating which was which. “This is Honor Whitmore, a girl I helped while I was still at Genomex.”
“Nice to meet you,” Brennan said with a friendly smile.
As for Jesse, he stood there, gawking like a school boy. Not that Adam or Brennan could blame him. Honor was a nice looking girl with long red hair and eyes of the most bizarre shade of green they’d ever seen. It was never quite the same color from one minute to the next. Her body wasn’t as great as Shalimar’s, but somehow that made her seem all the more attractive. She was wearing a pair of Shalimar’s pants and one of Emma’s plain, baggy turtle necks. She smiled shyly.
“Nice to meet you, too,” she said timidly.
“Might I ask how you’re doing that?” Jesse asked, unfreezing for a moment.
Honor frowned. “What do you mean?”
He pointed at the ground under her. “How come you’re floating?”
“Floating?” she asked stupidly, looking down. She was floating a good half a meter off the floor. Startled, she fell to the ground. “Ouch!”
“Sorry,” he apologized.
“Don’t worry about it,” she winced, standing up.
Adam led them out into the common area. “Dinner is on the table. Your return was nicely timed. Honor, I haven’t found anything odd in your tests so far, but I’m still looking. I’ll let you know if I find anything. I might call you in to the lab for some more tests.”
Honor made a face. “Do you need me to stay here or can I go home?”
“If it’s not too much trouble, I would like you to stay here. If you have another episode like the one you had earlier, it would be best if you weren’t around people who wouldn’t understand. Is there anyone you need to contact and let know that you’re ok?”
“Not really. My guardian is out of town on a business trip and the hired help rarely see me. They’ve gotten used to me not being around.”
Jesse wanted to ask what help she was talking about, but decided against it. “What kind of tests are you running?” he asked instead, sitting down at the table.
“Honor’s powers are evolving out of control, so I’m trying to help. It’s just a bonus that I remember what I did to cause her mutation in the first place.”
“Really? Need any help?”
Adam gave Jesse a strange look. “No, I think I’ve got it covered, but thanks.”
Honor turned to Jesse. “You’re a scientist, too?”
“No, just a computer guy with mutant powers.”
“Oh.” She looked slightly disappointed. “Wait, Adam said your name is Jesse, right?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re the one who can alter his body density, right?” He nodded. “That’s so neat!”
His eyes lit up. “Thanks. What do you do?”
She looked at the salad bowl and squinted. It shook a little and lifted up off the table and headed for her. She reached out and grabbed it. “I affect gravity,” she explained.
As they ate dinner, each member of Mutant X explained their powers to her, but Jesse wasn’t really listening to anything. Admittedly, he knew all about the powers of his teammates, but he was more interested in watching Honor’s eyes gradually change color from an intense emerald green to a forest green and then moving to a vaguely jade like color.
The room got quiet all of a sudden and he felt everyone staring at him. He looked up. “Did I miss something?”
Shalimar looked amused. “Oh, nothing important, Jesse. You just looked kinda lost in space there for a bit.”
He blushed furiously. “Don’t worry about it, Jesse,” Emma assured him. “I understand.”
Honor looked puzzled. “I think I missed something, too.” They all looked at her. Jesse excused himself from the table and headed off to his room, still blushing furiously. “Was it something I said?”
Jesse flopped down on his bed, folded his arms behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. It was just his luck. He left Sanctuary for a day and when he came back, there was an extremely attractive girl looking for help. To add to it, Adam wanted to keep her here for a while just in case. He thought about how she’d behaved and spoke. Added to her comment about some hired help, he figured that she might be from a wealthy family. She’d said she had a guardian. What had happened to her parents then? Why would she need a guardian? Maybe her parents were away so often… He stopped that thought. She looked old enough to be able to take care of herself. He guessed that she was at least twenty, maybe a little younger.
He rolled over onto his side. Despite her age, she has a guardian. Why? He rolled onto his other side. I wonder how long Adam will keep her here. Hopefully it’ll be long enough for me to get to know her. Emma’s the only one here who’s close to me in age, but her powers are a little off-putting. It’s a little daunting to deal with someone who can read your emotions. Besides, it’s always nice to meet new people who aren’t freaked out by the fact that you can make your body change density.
Someone knocked on the door. “Come it,” he told whoever it was.
Emma walked in and closed the door behind her. “So what do you think of our new houseguest?” she asked, smiling. At Jesse’s sour look, she laughed. “I got a hit off you in there.”
“And?” he prompted.
“You should talk to her. Get to know her a little. Something just might come of it. Who knows?”
“I don’t really need your help on this Emma. She’ll only be here for a little while and then she’ll better. She’ll go home and I’ll never see her again. What’s the point?”
“You’ve dated mutants outside the group before,” Emma pointed out.
“And you remember what happened to her, right?”
“You can’t let one bad experience sour it all for you.”
He rolled over and faced the wall. “I’d rather just leave it alone, thanks.”
Emma shrugged and opened the door. “It’s your loss. She’s a really nice girl,” she said, leaving Jesse with his thoughts.
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