How Can I Keep From Singing?
An Atari / Mutant X Crossover. Not finished.
Atari
All he wanted to was lie down and cry; he was so tired and hurt so badly. Pushing himself the very brink of exhaustive unconsciousness, he phased in bursts, moving in agonizing slowness to the filthy cover of a gloomy alley. At last he let the darkness carry him away.
***
She’d been staring at the display for so many days that when it finally changed she didn’t even blink. Only when the scanner began to beep, wanting attention, did she finally realize that it was not her wild hope but reality.
"MARTIN!" She cried. "Martin, I’ve got Cris!" She leapt to her feet literally dancing across the control room. "He’s alive! HE’S ALIVE!"
"Erin are you sure?" He looked at her wearily. "Can you contact him?"
She stood still, closing her eyes and concentrating. It was several minutes before she spoke, "He’s either asleep or out of it, but he’s alive and it’s defiantly Cris."
"Transfer co-odinates to the nav-com."
Erin’s fingers flew across the keypad, feeding the information into Scanner One’s navigational computer. She stole glances at Martin occasionally, wondering if the man would ever show some kind of emotion about finally finding his son. ‘I can be happy enough for both us.’ she thought, humming one of her brother’s favorite songs. Erin felt the drive engines kick in as they changed speeds and course. She couldn’t stop the words that tumbled from her lips.
While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth it liveth.
And though the darkness 'round me close,
songs in the night it giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that rock I'm clinging.
Since love is lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?
When tyrants tremble in their fear
and hear their death knell ringing,
when friends rejoice both far and near
how can I keep from singing?
A glare from Martin stole the words and she went back to softly humming, too excited about retrieving Cris to care that Martin did not seem to share her joy.
***
"Adam, I’ve got a hit from the scanners. Multiple teams of Genomex agents are closing in on a location downtown." Jesse said. "I wonder what’s got them in such a frenzy."
Adam smiled, "Take the Double Helix and see what they’re so interested in."
Jesse joined Brennan, Shalimar and Emma on board the jet.
"It must be something pretty big to get so many of them interested." Brennan observed.
Shalimar growled, "Whoever they’re after, they’re not getting them without a fight."
"I’ve got a visual." Said Emma. "Two hundred yards east."
"Put down over there Jesse." Said Brennan.
Jesse maneuvered the jet and set down on a nearby roof. The teens quickly exited and made their way to the alley.
"There." Said Shalimar. "By that dumpster."
"Hi fellas." Emma smiled, waving to the GS agents.
Without a word, the agents began a concerted attack on the Mutant X team, attempting to drive the teens away from the huddled figure lying insensate in the shadows.
A sudden flare of brilliant white light stopped the action, as a woman tumbled to the ground.
"What the heck was that?" Asked Brennan, gaping at the woman.
Stunned by her sudden appearance for a moment no one moved, then the chaotic fight resumed as if nothing had happened.
"Emma, Jesse, get her out of here." Brennan said, pointing to the woman who was trying to stand. "Shal and I will try to get the other one."
Jesse and Emma quickly hauled the woman upright and tried to pull her back from the fighting but she struggled to return.
"Can’t leave him." She muttered. "Come too far."
"Look out!" Emma warned, almost too late as the woman fell to her knees, retching.
"Gross." Commented Jesse. "Let’s get her back to the jet."
He and Emma helped the woman to the Double Helix and Emma sat by her as Jesse buckled her in. Not long after Brennan and Shalimar returned.
"We couldn’t get the other one." Brennan explained at Jesse’s questioning look, "There was just too many of them."
"Let’s get back to Sanctuary, she’s pretty sick." Emma said, indicating the now unconscious woman.
"She’s pretty strange looking." Brennan commented. "Weird tattoos and that white hair."
"She’s armed and her outfit looks like a uniform." Said Shalimar.
"She’s not like anything I’ve ever seen." Said Jesse.
"I wonder if that whole side of her body is tattooed." Brennan said. He ducked when
Emma slapped at him. "Hey, I’m just admiring the artistic soul."
"Yeah, right."