Mutant X Transcripts: Ep 121 "A Breed Apart"
Mutant X Episode Transcripts
Mutant X Episode #121 Transcript: “ A Breed Apart”
[Opening Scene: An empty steel warehouse at night. Bursting through a door on the top level, Kelly Rice flees down three flights of stairs, hotly pursued by Morgan Fortier and two GS agents. The second agent blocks her path, forcing her to face Morgan.]
Morgan: Kelly! C'mon, I thought we were friends.
Kelly: Go to hell! And here's a preview. [Spreading her hands, she creates a wall of fire between her and her pursuers. Smiling, Morgan raises her own hands and uses her telekinesis to open a path through the flames. At a dead end, Kelly tries to in vain to create more fire.]
Morgan: You know you haven’t recharged enough to do that again.
Brennan (yelling from the top floor): Hey! [He holds up a tesla coil, looking at one of the agents who is standing in a puddle of water.] Now, that’s a big mistake. [He aims an electrical arc at the water, sending the agent flying.] Didn’t your mother ever tell you to wear rubbers? [He and Shalimar leap down to the ground. Morgan nods at the second GS agent, whose feral eyes flash before he attacks. Shalimar and Brennan take turns knocking him down, but he continues to get back up.]
Shalimar: We could be here all night! [Brennan fires up a tesla coil, but the charge propells him backward into the wall. Shalimar stares in shock.] Brennan! What the hell was that?
Brennan (examining his hands): I don’t know. [The feral agent attacks Shalimar again, and Morgan uses the opportunity to telekinetically arrange a dozen metal cylinders into a cage around Kelly.]
Kelly: Help me! Help me, please!
Shalimar (restraining Brennan): No!
Brennan: We can’t just let them get away with this!
Shalimar: Not when there’s something wrong with you. C’mon, we’ve gotta go. [They run off.]
Kelly (screaming after them): Help me, please!
Opening Credits. “A Breed Apart.”
[Back at Sanctuary, Shalimar and Brennan fill Adam in on their way to the ground floor.]
Adam: You said they were all new mutants?
Shalimar: Yeah. The woman in charge, she was a telekinetic. And the other one was a feral, and he was incredible.
Brennan: Yeah, it was nothing we couldn’t handle, though, come on.
Shalimar: And then Brennan turns into rocket boy.
Adam: Yeah, but you said the woman in charge was a telekinetic. Maybe it was her.
Brennan: No, no, no. I thought about that. It wasn’t her that made it happen.
Shalimar: He was jet propelled. I mean, how does that happen?
Brennan: More importantly, we let those bastards get away with grabbing her.
Adam: Well, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.
Shalimar (laughing): When have you ever known Brennan to be discrete?
Adam: Well, there is that.
Brennan: Guys, you know I'm going through something totally weird here, and you're making fun of me?
Adam: But, look, if Eckhart’s fielding squads of new mutant GS agents, things could get ugly and fast.
Shalimar: I don’t think we need to make that leap from one run-in.
Adam: Yeah, maybe but I still think we need to be prepared for anything.
Brennan: Absolutely. [He starts to walk off.]
Adam (waggling his finger): Oh, hey, wait, where do you think you're going? Come here. [He heads into the lab.]
Brennan: Adam, you know, I'm really not in the mood for a tune-up right now.
Shalimar (laughing): C'mon, you big baby.
Brennan: Can we just do this later?
Shalimar (shoving him inside)): I'll hold your hand.
[At Genomex, two lab technicians stroll along the upper catwalk; two more hover around the new mutants pods, taking notes. A woman in a black coat stands in the middle of the catwalk and snaps her fingers, freezing all motion in the room. She watches as a pod slides out from the storage area and rotates to the outer edge. Morgan Fortier enters, telekinetically opening the pod’s lid and levitate the sleeping man inside towards her. The woman upstairs snaps her fingers again, unfreezing everyone in the room to return to their activities as though nothing had happened.]
[Emma brings Adam a mug as he works at Sanctuary's lab computer.]
Emma: Hey.
Adam: Hey.
Emma: So I heard about what happened with Brennan. Is he sick or something?
Adam: Uh...No, I wouldn't exactly call him sick. It's....well, I don't know, let's just say my research is preliminary and leave it at that.
Emma: Which means you know something and you're not telling.
Adam: Look, I need to know if you experience any unusual manifestations of your gifts right away.
Emma: Okay, now you're scaring me. I mean, I finally just get comfortable with one kind of weirdness, and now you're telling me that there's more?
Adam (leading her away from the computer): No, not necessarily.
Emma: Well, what is that supposed to mean?
Adam: Well, it means that Brennan's power burst may be a completely isolated incident, or could be the first indication of a major shift for all of you.
Emma: Well, thanks for narrowing it down for me.
Adam: Genomex opened the frontiers of genetic science. Right now we're lost in the middle of nowhere without a compass.
Emma: Yeah, well, I guess I'm just a little worried about the immunity challenge.
[In a new mutant safehouse, Jesse’s handing fresh identity cards to a group of new mutants entering the underground.]
Jesse: Okay. All the usual instructions: Stay off the main arteries, obey the posted speed limits, and uh...oh. Check in with the secured website when you get to your destinations, okay? Good luck.
Kelly (walking in): Am I late?
Jesse (grinning): Depends. You could be early.
Kelly (giving each mutant a pamphlet as they leave): Here you go. Here you go.
Jesse: What are you looking for?
Kelly: I’d heard a number of us were going into the underground, and I was interested in offering an alternative. [She hands him a pamphlet labeled “The Strand.”]
[In Mason's Genomex office, Mason and Dr. Kenneth Harrison discuss recapturing the escaped mutant from the pod.]
Dr. Harrison: I have all units, security officers and GS agents on full alert.
Mason: You’ll have to do better than that. The man who escaped is Gabriel Ashlocke. Patient Zero. The first child of Genomex.
Dr. Harrison: How does that impact on our manhunt?
Mason: Mr. Ashlocke’s new mutant abilities were in a constant state of flux from birth.
Morgan (entering): That’s why he was podded. For his own good and the rest of the world.
Mason: Miss Fortier, it might be a good idea to warn all field agents to be aware of the potential risks of his capture.
Morgan: I have my A squad prepared for any eventualities, sir.
Mason: Not likely. Gabriel Ashlocke’s new mutant gifts are off the meter. It is imperative that you bring him into custody immediately.
Morgan: I promise you, sir, he’ll be back at Genomex before you know it.
[Returning to Sanctuary, Jesse brings the pamphlet to Emma, who is pacing in front of the dojo, holding her head.]
Jesse: Hey! I hope I’m not interrupting you.
Emma (glaring at him): No, I’ve just been trying to relax for the past hour.
Jesse (oblivious to her bad mood): Good, ‘cause the weirdest thing just happened to me at the safehouse.
Emma (snapping): And just think. If I had had a couple more minutes, I might have been able to relax.
Jesse: Ooh. I’m sorry. I just really thought I should tell somebody about this.
Emma: So tell.
Jesse: Okay. I met this girl.
Emma (smirking): Why do all your stories seem to start like that?
Jesse: It’s not that kind of a story, Emma. She just showed up at the safehouse handing out these fliers to some organization.
Emma: What, like a new mutant club? [She reads from the flier.] The Strand. An organization of gifted men and women seeking their rightful place in the world.
Jesse: Yeah, she’s calling it an alternative to Mutant X.
Emma: You tell Adam about this?
Jesse: No, not yet. He’s behind closed doors. Figured I’d wait until he gets out to bring him up to speed.
Emma (scanning the flier): Hm.
[The Museum of Antiquities, a red “0.0" has been spray-painted on the wall. Morgan, Kelly, and a group of men and women silently await Gabriel Ashlocke's entrance.]
Morgan: Welcome home, Gabriel. When you're rested, we're ready to work.
Gabriel (smiling): Rested? I've been in a Genomex-induced coma my entire adult life. I'll get all the rest I need when I'm dead. I can’t thank any of you enough. [He wraps one arm around Kelly and the other around Morgan; the rest move in for a group hug.]
[Shalimar’s jogging through Sanctuary's hallways in bare feet, listening to her walkman. Her feral eyes glow when Brennan playfully sneaks up behind her, and without turning around, she blocks Brennan’s fists and back-kicks him into the stairs. Her jaw drops when she realizes who 'attacker' was.]
Shalimar: Brennan. Oh, my God, I’m sorry. Are you okay?
Brennan (groaning): Yeah, I think so. What the hell was that? You didn’t even look at me!
Shalimar (confused): I haven’t got a clue. It’s like I knew you were there and every block just kinda aimed itself.
Adam (entering): Kinda like you abilities got kicked up a notch?
Brennan (opening his fist): Bam.
Shalimar: It was kinda like I had eyes in the back of my head.
Adam: Yeah. You might have just experienced your own version of what happened to Brennan yesterday.
Jesse (racing in): Adam? Adam! There’s something wrong with Emma!
Emma (following him): Adam, what the hell is going on? [They all duck as a white ball of energy bursts out of her forehead, barely missing Brennan on the stairs.] I can’t stop it. [A second ball just misses Jesse, who grabs onto the stairs. When a third energy ball heads straight towards his chest, Jesse phases to avoid it, phasing the entire stairwell as well. Brennan falls through the phased stairs, landing in a heap on the ground. Shalimar and Adam gape at Jesse.]
Brennan (to Jesse): What the hell are you doing?
Jesse (staring at his hand): I...uh... [Another energy ball explodes from Emma’s forehead, at Brennan’s head. Brennan zaps her with an electrical arc, and she falls to the ground, unconscious. They all run over to her.]
Brennan: I’m sorry.
Adam (cradling Emma in his lap): No, it’s all right. You did the right thing; she’s all right.
Jesse: I don’t know what happened, Adam.
Adam: It’s all right, Jess. You know we’re in this together. Now we’ve got to figure out how to deal with it all.
********Commercial Break********
[Brennan waits on the lab steps while Adam examines their bloodwoork.]
Adam: Well, your bloodwork confirms what I've suspected from word one, which is that you're all experiencing what I can only call a new mutant growth spurt.
Brennan (snorting): A growth spurt? Well, that's interesting, 'cause all of a sudden I'm Rocket Boy and Shalimar's got eyes in the back of her head, Jesse's phasing stairwells and Emma's got a mental bazooka and that's a growth spurt?
Adam (grinning): Yeah.
Brennan: How are you staying so calm, cool, and collected through all this?
Adam: Right. Remember when you were a kid and you were first getting a handle on your powers?
Brennan (standing): Yeah. Yeah, I had a few problems and caused a few problems too.
Adam: Yeah, but then eventually, like when you learned to walk and talk, it all became second nature, right?
Brennan: Yeah, I guess I gotta take what seems like a problem and make it a solution.
Adam: And they call me a genius?
Brennan: Well. How are the others?
Adam: Fine. Shalimar’s fine, Jesse and Emma are sleeping it off.
Brennan (shaking his head): Yeah. I didn’t hurt her, did I?
Adam: No. See, but that’s the thing. You used exactly the right amount of force. Which means that you’re closer to getting this thing under control than you think. [He walks out. Brennan buries his head in his arms, then holds up a tesla coil and examines it.]
[Gabriel stands with Morgan on the balcony of the Museum of Antiquities, giving a speech to The Strand members standing around a circle of light on the ground floor.]
Gabriel: I'm so grateful to all of you for keeping my dream alive. Eckhart has punished us by invading our bodies and our minds. Now they want to use us weapons of destruction against our own kind. I’m not here to tell anyone--average or gifted--how to live. I'm talking about a fellowship of like-minded friends. No GSA power trips, no Mutant X invisibility. Just life. As it was meant to be lived. [His followers applaud as he pulls Morgan in for a kiss.]
[In Sanctuary's dojo, Brennan watches Shalimar battle holographic assailants blindfolded.]
Brennan: Wow, nice moves. It’s bad enough that you almost took me out with your backturn, but now you’re kicking the crap out of silent holograms blindfolded? Well, isn’t that just special.
Shalimar (removing her blindfold): Yeah, well, I wish I could take credit for it, but it kind of just happens.
Brennan: Well, that’s frustrating. I can’t even get a handle on my new thing, and you’re already using yours in simulations?
Shalimar (shrugging): Well, maybe you’re trying too hard.
Brennan: Oh, what are you turning Zen master on me now?
Shalimar: Whatever it takes. Come on. Work with me. I promise I won’t hurt you.
Brennan: Really? I'm telling you, it’s not me that I’m worried about. [Shalimar lunges at him with her stick. Brennan ignites his electropropulsion and flies out of the way, but then loses his balance and lands on his butt. Shalimar leaps on top of him.]
Shalimar: Don’t worry. You’ll get it. 'Cause next time I’m not pulling my punches. [She helps him up. Meanwhile, Jesse joins Adam in the lab.]
Adam: How are you feeling?
Jesse (throwing up his arms): Well, besides embarrassed, foolish and humiliated? Hmmm.
Adam: Well, look, are you and I gonna have to have the same heart-to-heart that I just had with Brennan? I mean, you’re gonna have to look at this new thing of yours as an asset, not a liability.
Jesse: Ah. Did you see it as an asset when the dojo stairs phased out?
Adam: Well, I didn’t say it was gonna be easy, you’re just gonna have to get a grip on your new powers just the way you did your old ones.
Jesse: Well, let’s hope so. Oh, I almost forgot. I was all set to tell you about this weird thing that happened at the safehouse then all that kicked in and I forgot.
Adam (looking up): What weird thing?
Jesse: Well, I met this girl at the safehouse; she was handing out pamphlets to something she called The Strand. She’s calling it an alternative to Mutant X.
Adam: What does that mean?
Jesse (leaving the lab with Adam): No clue. The more I pushed her, the more....cosmic she got. You know, is it just me or are there a lot of spacey women among the children of Genomex, Adam?
Adam (chuckling): Go on.
Jesse: All right, well, she gave me one of the fliers, but I gave the flier to Emma just before Emma started brain-blasting.
Adam (stopping outside Emma’s room): All right, well, I’ll see this flier. Listen, I want you to practice, and preferably at an empty safehouse or someplace where you can do as little damage as possible.
Jesse: Well, thanks so much for that vote of support.
Adam: Well, we learn by doing, right? Plus, I don’t want anyone else taking any falls like Brennan did. [Looking hurt, Jesse walks off. Adam knocks on Emma’s door. Emma's sitting on her bed, studying her glowing forehead with a mirror.]
Emma: Come in.
Adam (entering: How’re you doing?
Emma: Good.
Adam: I’ve..uh...I’ve checked with everybody else, I just...
Emma: I’m fine.
Adam: No headache? No...uh....resentment at Brennan for shocking you senseless?
Emma: No. [She puts the mirror down and smiles up at him.] Actually, this is pretty cool.
Adam (sitting next to her): Well, I'm glad you feel that way.
Emma: But you're surprised.
Adam: Well, yeah. I mean, you could also be pretty damn frightening.
Emma: Yeah, and pretty damn powerful too.
Adam: Oh, I see. So now you've got a new muscle to flex, huh?
Emma: No, no new muscle. I mean, I finally feel I have something that makes me worthy of the team.
Adam: No, that's crazy.
Emma (standing): No, is it? Jesse, Shalimar and Brennan get all the action while, you know, I hang around and play with people's feelings. Now I finally get to kick some ass too.
Adam: Well, that’s one way to look at it. Now, all you have to do is get it under control. [She holds up the mirror again.] Before you get back to practicing, Jesse told me that he gave you a flier that some woman at the safehouse gave him?
Emma (rummaging through the clothes on the bed): Yeah. Um...it’s in here somewhere. Oh, here.
Adam: Good. The Strand. [He opens the pamphlet, then sits down on the bed in shock. Emma sits next to him.]
Emma: Adam? What? What is it?
Adam (holding his head in his hands): Well, it’s a good thing you’re ready to step up to the plate and start throwing your weight around. Because if this thing means what I think it means, we’re all in for a dose of hell.
******Commercial Breaak*******
[Jesse, Shalimar, and Brennan join Adam and Emma at Sanctuary's main computer.]
Brennan: Hey, Adam, you called us for a council, what’s going on? [Adam hands him the flier.]
Shalimar: Yeah, what’s happening?
Jesse (jokingly): Yeah, I’m supposed to be practicing, aren’t I?
Emma: Just give it a rest, Jesse. The minute he saw this, he went pale.
Brennan: The Strand?
Adam (taking the pamphlet back): See here where this says 0.0? That's code for Patient Zero. He was the first child of Genomex, a man called Gabriel Ashlocke. He's potentially the most powerful new mutant alive. But Gabriel was born without a conscience and he considers himself a god.
Emma: Didn't you mention something about this when we first met?
Adam: Right. That was Gabriel that I was talking about. He's the sociopath. Before we could stop him, he killed his parents using his new mutant abilities. Of course, we could never prove it in a court; any judge would have thought us insane. So because of him I invented the subdermal governor. And the pods. [The team stares at him in surprise.]
[Gabriel waits until his followers have trailed out of the room before turning to Morgan.]
Gabriel: Any regrets about leaving the GSA? Seems to me you had a good thing under Eckhart.
Morgan: What good’s that compared to the good we can do?
Gabriel: Save it for the ones that believe in fairy tales. [He grabs her head.] I read you like a book. And I’m not talking about psionics.
Morgan (suggestively): In that case, you know exactly what’s on my mind. [Smiling, Gabriel kisses her.]
[Shalimar joins Adam in Sanctuary's lab as he works at the computer.]
Shalimar: Oh yeah, I know that look. That's your "I hate myself for what I've done to these poor new mutants" look.
Adam: Yeah, it’s more complicated than that.
Shalimar: Well, it’s as simple as that was then, this is now. Come on, you created those pods and the governors to protect the world from a monster.
Adam (head in his hands): Right. But I gave another monster the tools he needed to create an empire.
Shalimar: Would you cut yourself some slack? You’re not a fortune teller. Nobody could have known what Eckhart was planning. [Adam opens his mouth.] And don’t tell me you should have!
Adam (going back to work): Fine, I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
Shalimar: Good. So Brennan and I are gonna go practice at a safehouse. He’s afraid of breaking something here.
Adam: Ha. I suppose I should be grateful.
Shalimar: So, this new mutant, Ashlocke. You said he was the most powerful one you’ve ever known. What is he? Elemental, molecular, feral or psionic?
Adam: Try all of the above. [Shalimar frowns.] So you’d better get these new powers of yours under control, or we’re all totally screwed.
[In his Genomex office, a very worried Mason listens to Dr. Harrison’s progress report.]
Dr. Harrison: We’re doing the best we can, sir.
Mason: Yet I’m not seeing the kind of timely results I had anticipated, Dr. Harrison.
Dr. Harrison: We have several leads, but nothing concrete as to who have been in league with Miss Fortier.
Mason: Yes, and meanwhile I've got a renegade Number Two out there plotting who-knows-what with a potentially monstrous anomaly.
Dr. Harrison: We've beefed up security at every level at every shift.
Mason: Well, you'd better pray that that is enough. Because if you think that Adam and his pack of superpowered hoodlums were a pain in the ass, Gabriel Ashlocke gives new meaning to the term. [Dr. Harrison nods and walks out. Mason sighs.]
[Gabriel strolls down a darkened museum hallway with Kelly.]
Gabriel: I heard you tried to leave The Strand.
Kelly: I started to think that you were never going to come back to us. I’ve always had trouble with faith in what I couldn’t see.
Gabriel: That can be a problem. But think of it this way. I wasn't asleep all those years in that pod. I was aware of everything.
Kelly: That's horrible.
Gabriel: My faith in all of you was what sustained me through those years. To use my power to protect the gifted few against the clueless masses.
Kelly: We have to learn to live alongside the average man and woman.
Gabriel (smiling): I think it's time the average man and women learned to live alongside us. [He plays with her hair.] You know those years in the pod? They were incredibly lonely Kelly. [He kisses her, unaware that Morgan's standing in the doorway behind them.]
Kelly: What about Morgan?
Gabriel: What about her? Am I to keep my gifts to myself? Just as it’s selfish for us to keep our gifts to ourselves alone.
Kelly: We have to bring all the Children of Genomex into The Strand.
Gabriel: But where to start?
Kelly: I think I have an idea. [Morgan glares from the doorway.]
[In Sanctuary's dojo, Jesse rants while Emma practices her psionic blast on his massed body.]
Jesse: Well, one more time, there’s troubles out there in the real world, and we’re still practicing on each other. In here.
Emma (her forehead glowing): You’re starting to get boring, Jess. [She sends another blast his way, so he masses again, dispirited.] Come on, you heard Adam. We go up against this Ashlocke guy unprepared and we’re dead. Now aren’t you supposed to be practicing your thing too?
Jesse (sarcastically): Yeah, I’m supposed to be practicing. But ever since the stairs incident, I’m not allowed to practice in here anymore. [Emma staggers, holding her head. Concerned, he goes to her.] What? Emma? [Turning suddenly, she aims a karate chop at his neck. He blocks it as she laughs at him.]
Emma: Come on, I'm just playing around. Did you have a funectomy or what?
Jesse (sitting on the dojo stairs): Yeah, I don't know what to tell you. Everyone else seems to be getting a handle on their new thing, and I'm not even close. And don't tell me I'm trying too hard, because Shalimar's already given me the whole "go with the flow" speech, okay?
Emma (sitting next to him): Farthest thing from my mind. You know, the fact is, I think yours is the toughest. I mean, you have to deal with the whole world around you, right? And since I’m having so much fun with my new thing, I would be glad to help you out with yours. [She pats his shoulder and pulls him up.] Come on. Come on!
[At a safehouse by the subway, Brennan is not faring well in his practice session with the blindfolded Shalimar. As they fight, she backhands him across the face, making his nose bleed.]
Shalimar (removing her blindfold): Well, you almost dodged the last one.
Brennan: Well, you know what? Almost doesn’t cut it.
Shalimar (walking to the refrigerator): Well, don’t worry. Once you get a handle on your latest thing, we’ll be even. Let me buy you a drink. [Opening the refrigerator door, she sighs.] Who’s in charge of restocking?
Brennan (coming over to her): Jesse.
Shalimar (holding up one bottled water): Yeah, well, he didn’t. This is it.
Brennan: Well, I’ll split it with you.
Shalimar: As long as you don’t mind my cooties.
Brennan: I’d be proud to share your cooties. [Watching one another longingly, they each take a sip from the bottle. As Brennan passes it back to Shalimar, their fingers touch. Shalimar looks up at Brennan, and... The safehouse door explodes inward, revealing Gabriel Ashlocke standing in the doorway. Shalimar and Brennan spin around.]
Gabriel: So this is where the children of Genomex run and hide.
Kelly (following him inside): These two are members of Mutant X.
Shalimar: Something tells me you're Gabriel Ashlocke.
Gabriel (coming down the stairs): Something tells me my reputation precedes me.
Kelly: I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble. But like I told Gabriel, if I would have known he was really coming, I never would have tried to leave The Strand.
Brennan: Yeah, well, I’m guessing that you two didn’t come here to be slipped into the underground.
Gabriel (facing them): Oh, you’ve got that right. The way I see it, the worst thing we can do is hide our gifts in the dark.
Kelly: Actually, we were hoping you’d join us.
Shalimar (laughing with Brennan): I don’t think so.
Gabriel: No? That’s too bad. Because that means we’re gonna have to take Adam’s database instead of having you just bring it along with you. [Shalimar and Brennan rush towards the computer, but Kelly forces them back with a wall of fire and downloads the database onto a disk. Brennan aims an electricity arc at Kelly, which Gabriel easily deflects with one hand. Then Gabriel hurls an energy ball at Brennan, sending him flying back against the wall.]
Kelly: I'm finished here, Gabriel. [She extinguishes the wall of fire.] We've got everything.
Gabriel (smiling at Shalimar): Not quite everything.
Shalimar (eyes narrowed): You've gotta be kidding me. [She lunges at Gabriel, who creates a second force-field in front of himself. Shalimar crashes into the barrier and falls to the ground, unconscious.]
Gabriel: Now we have everything. [He picks up Shalimar's body and leaves with Kelly.]
******Commercial Break******
[Adam tries to calm Brennan down as he paces in front of the dojo stairs.]
Adam: I warned you how powerful Gabriel might be, so there’s no time for guilt.
Brennan: Guilt? This isn’t guilt, Adam, okay? [He throws off his jacket.] This is pissed off!
Adam: All right, then you’ve got to take your anger and turn it into a weapon, or it’s gonna turn on you.
Brennan (pacing back and forth): Shal, Shal.
Adam: Brennan, we’re not gonna let him get away with it.
Brennan: Been able to track her on her comlink?
Adam: No, it’s offline right now. My guess is that it’s been destroyed.
Emma (running down the stairs): I just got a hit off of Shal. So at least we know that she’s alive, and I can find her.
Brennan (snatching up his coat, rushing towards the exit): Okay, good! Then what are we waiting for? Come on!
Adam (grabbing his arm): No, no, no! We’ve gotta wait for Gabriel to make his next move. [Brennan angrily thows down his jacket again.]
[Meanwhile, in Gabriel’s office at the Museum of Antiquities, Morgan’s yelling at Kelly.]
Morgan: The database is encrypted! It’s as worthless as you are. [Kelly walks out of the room, crying.]
Gabriel (sighing): This has nothing to do with the database. You’re just jealous of all the attention I’ve shown Kelly. [He walks over to her.] I don’t need my psionic gifts to understand you, Morgan. You awakened me for your own purposes. To be the tail that wags the dog.
Morgan: That’s not true.
Gabriel: Don’t forget who you’re talking to here. I’d get used to sharing me with the rest of the world if I were you. If you have a problem with that, I need to know, and now. [She doesn’t answer.] Good. [Two mutants escort Shalimar into the room.] Shalimar here is about to become a Link in The Strand.
Shalimar (yanking out of their grip): In your dreams.
Gabriel: Genomex made me a feral, an elemental, a molecular, and a psionic. When they realized how powerful I was, they put me in a pod for their own protection.
Shalimar (cockily): This going somewhere?
Gabriel: Yes. [Immobilizing her head, Gabriel projects a red beam out of his eyes into hers until her face relaxes into a blank stare. He kisses her, then walks away, smiling.] I love it when dreams come true.
[Adam waits at Sanctuary while Brennan, Jesse, and Emma fly the Double Helix, following Emma’s psionic connection to Shalimar. Emma immediately notices something has changed.]
Emma: Ashlocke’s done something to Shalimar.
Jesse: Brennan was right. We should have gone in there and gotten her out when we had the chance.
Adam (via comlink): No, you don’t storm your enemy’s stronghold when he’s got a hostage. You wait until he makes his move, then you strike.
Brennan: What makes you so sure he’s gonna make a move?
Adam: Trust me!
[At Genomex, Dr. Harrison enters Mason’s office with a new update.]
Dr. Harrison: Good news, Mason. I believe we've found Mr. Ashlocke.
Mason (getting up): Wonderful news. Our final step is to concentrate all our resources on bringing him down. Alive is possible, dead if necessary.
Dr. Harrison (cockily): Oh, I think alive is a definite possibility. [He moves aside as the door to Mason’s office slides open. Gabriel walks in, flanked by Shalimar and Morgan. Mason spins around.]
Morgan: I told you he'd be back before you knew it.
Gabriel: And it's good to be back, Mason.
Mason (reaching for his desk intercom): Security.
Gabriel: Don't bother. Harrison's done quite a job for me here. Anyone on staff not loyal to us has been...eliminated.
Dr. Harrison (smugly): Oh, stop goggling, Mason. [Gabriel telekinetically pins Mason up against the window.]
Dr. Harrison: I’ve removed Miss Fortier’s subdermal governor in return for a place in the command at the new regime here at Genomex.
Gabriel: Talk about your hostile takeovers. [Cut to: Mason’s face as he lies encased in a stasis pod. Gabriel, Shalimar and Morgan stand over him.]
Gabriel: Think of it as a chance to catch up on some much needed rest, and a chance to spend eternity regretting everything. And once Dr. Harrison has decrypted the database, we’re gonna show these people what new mutancy is all about.
Brennan (entering behind them): I wouldn’t get too comfortable, Ashlocke. ‘Cause you’re gonna be joining him before we’re done here. [He fires up two tesla coils.]
Shalimar: Where Gabriel goes, I go. [She leaps at him, feral eyes flashing. Brennan tumbles out of the way and throws an electrical arc at Morgan, sending her flying across the room. Avoiding Shalimar’s blows, Brennan sends another arc at Gabriel, knocking him down as well.]
[Dr. Harrison strides towards his office desk with Kelly’s disk, followed by two mutant guards.]
Dr. Harrison: I need this room secure for a few moments. [He places the disk into his computer.] Once I have decrypted the database, there will be no turning back. [He looks up when Jesse and Emma walk through the phased wall opposite his office.] I need more time! [Emma and Jesse push the guards back against the wall, which Jesse phases, leaving them stuck inside at the waist. Emma knocks them unconscious with a psionic blast.]
Emma: Nice going, Jess.
Jesse: Yeah, they’re gonna be hurting from both ends when they come to, huh? [Jesse and Emma dash into Dr. Harrison’s office and wait until he defeatedly removes the disk and hands it to Emma. Jesse and Emma hurry along the upper catwalk into the main room, where Brennan’s still fighting off Shalimar’s attacks and Gabriel's energy balls. Brennan uses his jet propulsion to join them on the upper catwalk. Shalimar bounds up the wall to reach him, but Emma directs a psionic blast at her head. Brennan catches her as she goes limp. Gabriel leaps up onto the catwalk, but Shalimar's already awakened from her trance.]
Shalimar: Like I said, scumbag. In your dreams. [She spins around and kicks Gabriel over the railing to land on the ground below, unconscious.]
Brennan: Come on, let’s get out of here. [As Mutant X escapes Genomex with Adam's database, Gabriel slowly opens his eyes.]
[Back at Sanctuary, Brennan emerges from his room as Shalimar passes.]
Brennan: Hey, Shal. It's good to have you back.
Shalimar (laughing): Well, it's not like I was gone long.
Brennan: Well, I didn't mean....come on, you know. I tried to stop him at the safehouse before he grabbed you, you know that.
Shalimar (grinning): No, you didn't.
Brennan: Yeah, I did!
Shalimar: I’m sorry if I hurt you back there.
Brennan: Hurt me? Please, come on, you never hurt me. Come here. [He hugs her. When she pulls back, Brennan touches her cheek and slowly moves in to kiss her. They're interrupted by Emma's voice, calling from the next room.]
Emma: Hey, you guys! Come here and look at this!
Brennan (releasing her, laughing): Uh....I’m sorry.
Shalimar (smiling): Yeah. [They walk off to find Emma.]
[Morgan and Dr. Harrison wait as Gabriel gazes down at the pods from Mason's office window.]
Gabriel: Of course I’m disappointed. We lost the database. So our real work begins in earnest tomorrow. But with all that disappointment, I’m still very pleased. What better place to start conquering the world from than Genomex? [He turns to smile at them.]
[Jesse joins Emma in the dojo, where she's practicing making her forehead glow.]
Jesse: Careful with that. [Grinning, she spins around to face him.] Don’t point it my way!
Emma: Just getting a little practice in.
Adam (coming up the stairs): Well, I wouldn’t worry about that right now. You’ll all get the hang of it. I'm more concerned about Gabriel Ashlocke. The guy's a lunatic with the lust for an empire and the power to get what he wants. [He turns as Brennan and Shalimar walk up the stairs towards them.]
Jesse: Well, he is only one man.
Shalimar: And we are a team.
Brennan: Please. We can take Ashlocke.
Emma: Put him back where he belongs.
Adam: All right, so we're agreed? We'll face any challenge that lies ahead of us. And to hell with anyone who stands in our way. [Cut to: Mason Eckhart lying in his pod. Cut back to: The Mutant X team, standing united in a semi-circle around the dojo.]
Mutant X Episode #121 Transcript: “ A Breed Apart”
[Opening Scene: An empty steel warehouse at night. Bursting through a door on the top level, Kelly Rice flees down three flights of stairs, hotly pursued by Morgan Fortier and two GS agents. The second agent blocks her path, forcing her to face Morgan.]
Morgan: Kelly! C'mon, I thought we were friends.
Kelly: Go to hell! And here's a preview. [Spreading her hands, she creates a wall of fire between her and her pursuers. Smiling, Morgan raises her own hands and uses her telekinesis to open a path through the flames. At a dead end, Kelly tries to in vain to create more fire.]
Morgan: You know you haven’t recharged enough to do that again.
Brennan (yelling from the top floor): Hey! [He holds up a tesla coil, looking at one of the agents who is standing in a puddle of water.] Now, that’s a big mistake. [He aims an electrical arc at the water, sending the agent flying.] Didn’t your mother ever tell you to wear rubbers? [He and Shalimar leap down to the ground. Morgan nods at the second GS agent, whose feral eyes flash before he attacks. Shalimar and Brennan take turns knocking him down, but he continues to get back up.]
Shalimar: We could be here all night! [Brennan fires up a tesla coil, but the charge propells him backward into the wall. Shalimar stares in shock.] Brennan! What the hell was that?
Brennan (examining his hands): I don’t know. [The feral agent attacks Shalimar again, and Morgan uses the opportunity to telekinetically arrange a dozen metal cylinders into a cage around Kelly.]
Kelly: Help me! Help me, please!
Shalimar (restraining Brennan): No!
Brennan: We can’t just let them get away with this!
Shalimar: Not when there’s something wrong with you. C’mon, we’ve gotta go. [They run off.]
Kelly (screaming after them): Help me, please!
Opening Credits. “A Breed Apart.”
[Back at Sanctuary, Shalimar and Brennan fill Adam in on their way to the ground floor.]
Adam: You said they were all new mutants?
Shalimar: Yeah. The woman in charge, she was a telekinetic. And the other one was a feral, and he was incredible.
Brennan: Yeah, it was nothing we couldn’t handle, though, come on.
Shalimar: And then Brennan turns into rocket boy.
Adam: Yeah, but you said the woman in charge was a telekinetic. Maybe it was her.
Brennan: No, no, no. I thought about that. It wasn’t her that made it happen.
Shalimar: He was jet propelled. I mean, how does that happen?
Brennan: More importantly, we let those bastards get away with grabbing her.
Adam: Well, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.
Shalimar (laughing): When have you ever known Brennan to be discrete?
Adam: Well, there is that.
Brennan: Guys, you know I'm going through something totally weird here, and you're making fun of me?
Adam: But, look, if Eckhart’s fielding squads of new mutant GS agents, things could get ugly and fast.
Shalimar: I don’t think we need to make that leap from one run-in.
Adam: Yeah, maybe but I still think we need to be prepared for anything.
Brennan: Absolutely. [He starts to walk off.]
Adam (waggling his finger): Oh, hey, wait, where do you think you're going? Come here. [He heads into the lab.]
Brennan: Adam, you know, I'm really not in the mood for a tune-up right now.
Shalimar (laughing): C'mon, you big baby.
Brennan: Can we just do this later?
Shalimar (shoving him inside)): I'll hold your hand.
[At Genomex, two lab technicians stroll along the upper catwalk; two more hover around the new mutants pods, taking notes. A woman in a black coat stands in the middle of the catwalk and snaps her fingers, freezing all motion in the room. She watches as a pod slides out from the storage area and rotates to the outer edge. Morgan Fortier enters, telekinetically opening the pod’s lid and levitate the sleeping man inside towards her. The woman upstairs snaps her fingers again, unfreezing everyone in the room to return to their activities as though nothing had happened.]
[Emma brings Adam a mug as he works at Sanctuary's lab computer.]
Emma: Hey.
Adam: Hey.
Emma: So I heard about what happened with Brennan. Is he sick or something?
Adam: Uh...No, I wouldn't exactly call him sick. It's....well, I don't know, let's just say my research is preliminary and leave it at that.
Emma: Which means you know something and you're not telling.
Adam: Look, I need to know if you experience any unusual manifestations of your gifts right away.
Emma: Okay, now you're scaring me. I mean, I finally just get comfortable with one kind of weirdness, and now you're telling me that there's more?
Adam (leading her away from the computer): No, not necessarily.
Emma: Well, what is that supposed to mean?
Adam: Well, it means that Brennan's power burst may be a completely isolated incident, or could be the first indication of a major shift for all of you.
Emma: Well, thanks for narrowing it down for me.
Adam: Genomex opened the frontiers of genetic science. Right now we're lost in the middle of nowhere without a compass.
Emma: Yeah, well, I guess I'm just a little worried about the immunity challenge.
[In a new mutant safehouse, Jesse’s handing fresh identity cards to a group of new mutants entering the underground.]
Jesse: Okay. All the usual instructions: Stay off the main arteries, obey the posted speed limits, and uh...oh. Check in with the secured website when you get to your destinations, okay? Good luck.
Kelly (walking in): Am I late?
Jesse (grinning): Depends. You could be early.
Kelly (giving each mutant a pamphlet as they leave): Here you go. Here you go.
Jesse: What are you looking for?
Kelly: I’d heard a number of us were going into the underground, and I was interested in offering an alternative. [She hands him a pamphlet labeled “The Strand.”]
[In Mason's Genomex office, Mason and Dr. Kenneth Harrison discuss recapturing the escaped mutant from the pod.]
Dr. Harrison: I have all units, security officers and GS agents on full alert.
Mason: You’ll have to do better than that. The man who escaped is Gabriel Ashlocke. Patient Zero. The first child of Genomex.
Dr. Harrison: How does that impact on our manhunt?
Mason: Mr. Ashlocke’s new mutant abilities were in a constant state of flux from birth.
Morgan (entering): That’s why he was podded. For his own good and the rest of the world.
Mason: Miss Fortier, it might be a good idea to warn all field agents to be aware of the potential risks of his capture.
Morgan: I have my A squad prepared for any eventualities, sir.
Mason: Not likely. Gabriel Ashlocke’s new mutant gifts are off the meter. It is imperative that you bring him into custody immediately.
Morgan: I promise you, sir, he’ll be back at Genomex before you know it.
[Returning to Sanctuary, Jesse brings the pamphlet to Emma, who is pacing in front of the dojo, holding her head.]
Jesse: Hey! I hope I’m not interrupting you.
Emma (glaring at him): No, I’ve just been trying to relax for the past hour.
Jesse (oblivious to her bad mood): Good, ‘cause the weirdest thing just happened to me at the safehouse.
Emma (snapping): And just think. If I had had a couple more minutes, I might have been able to relax.
Jesse: Ooh. I’m sorry. I just really thought I should tell somebody about this.
Emma: So tell.
Jesse: Okay. I met this girl.
Emma (smirking): Why do all your stories seem to start like that?
Jesse: It’s not that kind of a story, Emma. She just showed up at the safehouse handing out these fliers to some organization.
Emma: What, like a new mutant club? [She reads from the flier.] The Strand. An organization of gifted men and women seeking their rightful place in the world.
Jesse: Yeah, she’s calling it an alternative to Mutant X.
Emma: You tell Adam about this?
Jesse: No, not yet. He’s behind closed doors. Figured I’d wait until he gets out to bring him up to speed.
Emma (scanning the flier): Hm.
[The Museum of Antiquities, a red “0.0" has been spray-painted on the wall. Morgan, Kelly, and a group of men and women silently await Gabriel Ashlocke's entrance.]
Morgan: Welcome home, Gabriel. When you're rested, we're ready to work.
Gabriel (smiling): Rested? I've been in a Genomex-induced coma my entire adult life. I'll get all the rest I need when I'm dead. I can’t thank any of you enough. [He wraps one arm around Kelly and the other around Morgan; the rest move in for a group hug.]
[Shalimar’s jogging through Sanctuary's hallways in bare feet, listening to her walkman. Her feral eyes glow when Brennan playfully sneaks up behind her, and without turning around, she blocks Brennan’s fists and back-kicks him into the stairs. Her jaw drops when she realizes who 'attacker' was.]
Shalimar: Brennan. Oh, my God, I’m sorry. Are you okay?
Brennan (groaning): Yeah, I think so. What the hell was that? You didn’t even look at me!
Shalimar (confused): I haven’t got a clue. It’s like I knew you were there and every block just kinda aimed itself.
Adam (entering): Kinda like you abilities got kicked up a notch?
Brennan (opening his fist): Bam.
Shalimar: It was kinda like I had eyes in the back of my head.
Adam: Yeah. You might have just experienced your own version of what happened to Brennan yesterday.
Jesse (racing in): Adam? Adam! There’s something wrong with Emma!
Emma (following him): Adam, what the hell is going on? [They all duck as a white ball of energy bursts out of her forehead, barely missing Brennan on the stairs.] I can’t stop it. [A second ball just misses Jesse, who grabs onto the stairs. When a third energy ball heads straight towards his chest, Jesse phases to avoid it, phasing the entire stairwell as well. Brennan falls through the phased stairs, landing in a heap on the ground. Shalimar and Adam gape at Jesse.]
Brennan (to Jesse): What the hell are you doing?
Jesse (staring at his hand): I...uh... [Another energy ball explodes from Emma’s forehead, at Brennan’s head. Brennan zaps her with an electrical arc, and she falls to the ground, unconscious. They all run over to her.]
Brennan: I’m sorry.
Adam (cradling Emma in his lap): No, it’s all right. You did the right thing; she’s all right.
Jesse: I don’t know what happened, Adam.
Adam: It’s all right, Jess. You know we’re in this together. Now we’ve got to figure out how to deal with it all.
********Commercial Break********
[Brennan waits on the lab steps while Adam examines their bloodwoork.]
Adam: Well, your bloodwork confirms what I've suspected from word one, which is that you're all experiencing what I can only call a new mutant growth spurt.
Brennan (snorting): A growth spurt? Well, that's interesting, 'cause all of a sudden I'm Rocket Boy and Shalimar's got eyes in the back of her head, Jesse's phasing stairwells and Emma's got a mental bazooka and that's a growth spurt?
Adam (grinning): Yeah.
Brennan: How are you staying so calm, cool, and collected through all this?
Adam: Right. Remember when you were a kid and you were first getting a handle on your powers?
Brennan (standing): Yeah. Yeah, I had a few problems and caused a few problems too.
Adam: Yeah, but then eventually, like when you learned to walk and talk, it all became second nature, right?
Brennan: Yeah, I guess I gotta take what seems like a problem and make it a solution.
Adam: And they call me a genius?
Brennan: Well. How are the others?
Adam: Fine. Shalimar’s fine, Jesse and Emma are sleeping it off.
Brennan (shaking his head): Yeah. I didn’t hurt her, did I?
Adam: No. See, but that’s the thing. You used exactly the right amount of force. Which means that you’re closer to getting this thing under control than you think. [He walks out. Brennan buries his head in his arms, then holds up a tesla coil and examines it.]
[Gabriel stands with Morgan on the balcony of the Museum of Antiquities, giving a speech to The Strand members standing around a circle of light on the ground floor.]
Gabriel: I'm so grateful to all of you for keeping my dream alive. Eckhart has punished us by invading our bodies and our minds. Now they want to use us weapons of destruction against our own kind. I’m not here to tell anyone--average or gifted--how to live. I'm talking about a fellowship of like-minded friends. No GSA power trips, no Mutant X invisibility. Just life. As it was meant to be lived. [His followers applaud as he pulls Morgan in for a kiss.]
[In Sanctuary's dojo, Brennan watches Shalimar battle holographic assailants blindfolded.]
Brennan: Wow, nice moves. It’s bad enough that you almost took me out with your backturn, but now you’re kicking the crap out of silent holograms blindfolded? Well, isn’t that just special.
Shalimar (removing her blindfold): Yeah, well, I wish I could take credit for it, but it kind of just happens.
Brennan: Well, that’s frustrating. I can’t even get a handle on my new thing, and you’re already using yours in simulations?
Shalimar (shrugging): Well, maybe you’re trying too hard.
Brennan: Oh, what are you turning Zen master on me now?
Shalimar: Whatever it takes. Come on. Work with me. I promise I won’t hurt you.
Brennan: Really? I'm telling you, it’s not me that I’m worried about. [Shalimar lunges at him with her stick. Brennan ignites his electropropulsion and flies out of the way, but then loses his balance and lands on his butt. Shalimar leaps on top of him.]
Shalimar: Don’t worry. You’ll get it. 'Cause next time I’m not pulling my punches. [She helps him up. Meanwhile, Jesse joins Adam in the lab.]
Adam: How are you feeling?
Jesse (throwing up his arms): Well, besides embarrassed, foolish and humiliated? Hmmm.
Adam: Well, look, are you and I gonna have to have the same heart-to-heart that I just had with Brennan? I mean, you’re gonna have to look at this new thing of yours as an asset, not a liability.
Jesse: Ah. Did you see it as an asset when the dojo stairs phased out?
Adam: Well, I didn’t say it was gonna be easy, you’re just gonna have to get a grip on your new powers just the way you did your old ones.
Jesse: Well, let’s hope so. Oh, I almost forgot. I was all set to tell you about this weird thing that happened at the safehouse then all that kicked in and I forgot.
Adam (looking up): What weird thing?
Jesse: Well, I met this girl at the safehouse; she was handing out pamphlets to something she called The Strand. She’s calling it an alternative to Mutant X.
Adam: What does that mean?
Jesse (leaving the lab with Adam): No clue. The more I pushed her, the more....cosmic she got. You know, is it just me or are there a lot of spacey women among the children of Genomex, Adam?
Adam (chuckling): Go on.
Jesse: All right, well, she gave me one of the fliers, but I gave the flier to Emma just before Emma started brain-blasting.
Adam (stopping outside Emma’s room): All right, well, I’ll see this flier. Listen, I want you to practice, and preferably at an empty safehouse or someplace where you can do as little damage as possible.
Jesse: Well, thanks so much for that vote of support.
Adam: Well, we learn by doing, right? Plus, I don’t want anyone else taking any falls like Brennan did. [Looking hurt, Jesse walks off. Adam knocks on Emma’s door. Emma's sitting on her bed, studying her glowing forehead with a mirror.]
Emma: Come in.
Adam (entering: How’re you doing?
Emma: Good.
Adam: I’ve..uh...I’ve checked with everybody else, I just...
Emma: I’m fine.
Adam: No headache? No...uh....resentment at Brennan for shocking you senseless?
Emma: No. [She puts the mirror down and smiles up at him.] Actually, this is pretty cool.
Adam (sitting next to her): Well, I'm glad you feel that way.
Emma: But you're surprised.
Adam: Well, yeah. I mean, you could also be pretty damn frightening.
Emma: Yeah, and pretty damn powerful too.
Adam: Oh, I see. So now you've got a new muscle to flex, huh?
Emma: No, no new muscle. I mean, I finally feel I have something that makes me worthy of the team.
Adam: No, that's crazy.
Emma (standing): No, is it? Jesse, Shalimar and Brennan get all the action while, you know, I hang around and play with people's feelings. Now I finally get to kick some ass too.
Adam: Well, that’s one way to look at it. Now, all you have to do is get it under control. [She holds up the mirror again.] Before you get back to practicing, Jesse told me that he gave you a flier that some woman at the safehouse gave him?
Emma (rummaging through the clothes on the bed): Yeah. Um...it’s in here somewhere. Oh, here.
Adam: Good. The Strand. [He opens the pamphlet, then sits down on the bed in shock. Emma sits next to him.]
Emma: Adam? What? What is it?
Adam (holding his head in his hands): Well, it’s a good thing you’re ready to step up to the plate and start throwing your weight around. Because if this thing means what I think it means, we’re all in for a dose of hell.
******Commercial Breaak*******
[Jesse, Shalimar, and Brennan join Adam and Emma at Sanctuary's main computer.]
Brennan: Hey, Adam, you called us for a council, what’s going on? [Adam hands him the flier.]
Shalimar: Yeah, what’s happening?
Jesse (jokingly): Yeah, I’m supposed to be practicing, aren’t I?
Emma: Just give it a rest, Jesse. The minute he saw this, he went pale.
Brennan: The Strand?
Adam (taking the pamphlet back): See here where this says 0.0? That's code for Patient Zero. He was the first child of Genomex, a man called Gabriel Ashlocke. He's potentially the most powerful new mutant alive. But Gabriel was born without a conscience and he considers himself a god.
Emma: Didn't you mention something about this when we first met?
Adam: Right. That was Gabriel that I was talking about. He's the sociopath. Before we could stop him, he killed his parents using his new mutant abilities. Of course, we could never prove it in a court; any judge would have thought us insane. So because of him I invented the subdermal governor. And the pods. [The team stares at him in surprise.]
[Gabriel waits until his followers have trailed out of the room before turning to Morgan.]
Gabriel: Any regrets about leaving the GSA? Seems to me you had a good thing under Eckhart.
Morgan: What good’s that compared to the good we can do?
Gabriel: Save it for the ones that believe in fairy tales. [He grabs her head.] I read you like a book. And I’m not talking about psionics.
Morgan (suggestively): In that case, you know exactly what’s on my mind. [Smiling, Gabriel kisses her.]
[Shalimar joins Adam in Sanctuary's lab as he works at the computer.]
Shalimar: Oh yeah, I know that look. That's your "I hate myself for what I've done to these poor new mutants" look.
Adam: Yeah, it’s more complicated than that.
Shalimar: Well, it’s as simple as that was then, this is now. Come on, you created those pods and the governors to protect the world from a monster.
Adam (head in his hands): Right. But I gave another monster the tools he needed to create an empire.
Shalimar: Would you cut yourself some slack? You’re not a fortune teller. Nobody could have known what Eckhart was planning. [Adam opens his mouth.] And don’t tell me you should have!
Adam (going back to work): Fine, I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
Shalimar: Good. So Brennan and I are gonna go practice at a safehouse. He’s afraid of breaking something here.
Adam: Ha. I suppose I should be grateful.
Shalimar: So, this new mutant, Ashlocke. You said he was the most powerful one you’ve ever known. What is he? Elemental, molecular, feral or psionic?
Adam: Try all of the above. [Shalimar frowns.] So you’d better get these new powers of yours under control, or we’re all totally screwed.
[In his Genomex office, a very worried Mason listens to Dr. Harrison’s progress report.]
Dr. Harrison: We’re doing the best we can, sir.
Mason: Yet I’m not seeing the kind of timely results I had anticipated, Dr. Harrison.
Dr. Harrison: We have several leads, but nothing concrete as to who have been in league with Miss Fortier.
Mason: Yes, and meanwhile I've got a renegade Number Two out there plotting who-knows-what with a potentially monstrous anomaly.
Dr. Harrison: We've beefed up security at every level at every shift.
Mason: Well, you'd better pray that that is enough. Because if you think that Adam and his pack of superpowered hoodlums were a pain in the ass, Gabriel Ashlocke gives new meaning to the term. [Dr. Harrison nods and walks out. Mason sighs.]
[Gabriel strolls down a darkened museum hallway with Kelly.]
Gabriel: I heard you tried to leave The Strand.
Kelly: I started to think that you were never going to come back to us. I’ve always had trouble with faith in what I couldn’t see.
Gabriel: That can be a problem. But think of it this way. I wasn't asleep all those years in that pod. I was aware of everything.
Kelly: That's horrible.
Gabriel: My faith in all of you was what sustained me through those years. To use my power to protect the gifted few against the clueless masses.
Kelly: We have to learn to live alongside the average man and woman.
Gabriel (smiling): I think it's time the average man and women learned to live alongside us. [He plays with her hair.] You know those years in the pod? They were incredibly lonely Kelly. [He kisses her, unaware that Morgan's standing in the doorway behind them.]
Kelly: What about Morgan?
Gabriel: What about her? Am I to keep my gifts to myself? Just as it’s selfish for us to keep our gifts to ourselves alone.
Kelly: We have to bring all the Children of Genomex into The Strand.
Gabriel: But where to start?
Kelly: I think I have an idea. [Morgan glares from the doorway.]
[In Sanctuary's dojo, Jesse rants while Emma practices her psionic blast on his massed body.]
Jesse: Well, one more time, there’s troubles out there in the real world, and we’re still practicing on each other. In here.
Emma (her forehead glowing): You’re starting to get boring, Jess. [She sends another blast his way, so he masses again, dispirited.] Come on, you heard Adam. We go up against this Ashlocke guy unprepared and we’re dead. Now aren’t you supposed to be practicing your thing too?
Jesse (sarcastically): Yeah, I’m supposed to be practicing. But ever since the stairs incident, I’m not allowed to practice in here anymore. [Emma staggers, holding her head. Concerned, he goes to her.] What? Emma? [Turning suddenly, she aims a karate chop at his neck. He blocks it as she laughs at him.]
Emma: Come on, I'm just playing around. Did you have a funectomy or what?
Jesse (sitting on the dojo stairs): Yeah, I don't know what to tell you. Everyone else seems to be getting a handle on their new thing, and I'm not even close. And don't tell me I'm trying too hard, because Shalimar's already given me the whole "go with the flow" speech, okay?
Emma (sitting next to him): Farthest thing from my mind. You know, the fact is, I think yours is the toughest. I mean, you have to deal with the whole world around you, right? And since I’m having so much fun with my new thing, I would be glad to help you out with yours. [She pats his shoulder and pulls him up.] Come on. Come on!
[At a safehouse by the subway, Brennan is not faring well in his practice session with the blindfolded Shalimar. As they fight, she backhands him across the face, making his nose bleed.]
Shalimar (removing her blindfold): Well, you almost dodged the last one.
Brennan: Well, you know what? Almost doesn’t cut it.
Shalimar (walking to the refrigerator): Well, don’t worry. Once you get a handle on your latest thing, we’ll be even. Let me buy you a drink. [Opening the refrigerator door, she sighs.] Who’s in charge of restocking?
Brennan (coming over to her): Jesse.
Shalimar (holding up one bottled water): Yeah, well, he didn’t. This is it.
Brennan: Well, I’ll split it with you.
Shalimar: As long as you don’t mind my cooties.
Brennan: I’d be proud to share your cooties. [Watching one another longingly, they each take a sip from the bottle. As Brennan passes it back to Shalimar, their fingers touch. Shalimar looks up at Brennan, and... The safehouse door explodes inward, revealing Gabriel Ashlocke standing in the doorway. Shalimar and Brennan spin around.]
Gabriel: So this is where the children of Genomex run and hide.
Kelly (following him inside): These two are members of Mutant X.
Shalimar: Something tells me you're Gabriel Ashlocke.
Gabriel (coming down the stairs): Something tells me my reputation precedes me.
Kelly: I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble. But like I told Gabriel, if I would have known he was really coming, I never would have tried to leave The Strand.
Brennan: Yeah, well, I’m guessing that you two didn’t come here to be slipped into the underground.
Gabriel (facing them): Oh, you’ve got that right. The way I see it, the worst thing we can do is hide our gifts in the dark.
Kelly: Actually, we were hoping you’d join us.
Shalimar (laughing with Brennan): I don’t think so.
Gabriel: No? That’s too bad. Because that means we’re gonna have to take Adam’s database instead of having you just bring it along with you. [Shalimar and Brennan rush towards the computer, but Kelly forces them back with a wall of fire and downloads the database onto a disk. Brennan aims an electricity arc at Kelly, which Gabriel easily deflects with one hand. Then Gabriel hurls an energy ball at Brennan, sending him flying back against the wall.]
Kelly: I'm finished here, Gabriel. [She extinguishes the wall of fire.] We've got everything.
Gabriel (smiling at Shalimar): Not quite everything.
Shalimar (eyes narrowed): You've gotta be kidding me. [She lunges at Gabriel, who creates a second force-field in front of himself. Shalimar crashes into the barrier and falls to the ground, unconscious.]
Gabriel: Now we have everything. [He picks up Shalimar's body and leaves with Kelly.]
******Commercial Break******
[Adam tries to calm Brennan down as he paces in front of the dojo stairs.]
Adam: I warned you how powerful Gabriel might be, so there’s no time for guilt.
Brennan: Guilt? This isn’t guilt, Adam, okay? [He throws off his jacket.] This is pissed off!
Adam: All right, then you’ve got to take your anger and turn it into a weapon, or it’s gonna turn on you.
Brennan (pacing back and forth): Shal, Shal.
Adam: Brennan, we’re not gonna let him get away with it.
Brennan: Been able to track her on her comlink?
Adam: No, it’s offline right now. My guess is that it’s been destroyed.
Emma (running down the stairs): I just got a hit off of Shal. So at least we know that she’s alive, and I can find her.
Brennan (snatching up his coat, rushing towards the exit): Okay, good! Then what are we waiting for? Come on!
Adam (grabbing his arm): No, no, no! We’ve gotta wait for Gabriel to make his next move. [Brennan angrily thows down his jacket again.]
[Meanwhile, in Gabriel’s office at the Museum of Antiquities, Morgan’s yelling at Kelly.]
Morgan: The database is encrypted! It’s as worthless as you are. [Kelly walks out of the room, crying.]
Gabriel (sighing): This has nothing to do with the database. You’re just jealous of all the attention I’ve shown Kelly. [He walks over to her.] I don’t need my psionic gifts to understand you, Morgan. You awakened me for your own purposes. To be the tail that wags the dog.
Morgan: That’s not true.
Gabriel: Don’t forget who you’re talking to here. I’d get used to sharing me with the rest of the world if I were you. If you have a problem with that, I need to know, and now. [She doesn’t answer.] Good. [Two mutants escort Shalimar into the room.] Shalimar here is about to become a Link in The Strand.
Shalimar (yanking out of their grip): In your dreams.
Gabriel: Genomex made me a feral, an elemental, a molecular, and a psionic. When they realized how powerful I was, they put me in a pod for their own protection.
Shalimar (cockily): This going somewhere?
Gabriel: Yes. [Immobilizing her head, Gabriel projects a red beam out of his eyes into hers until her face relaxes into a blank stare. He kisses her, then walks away, smiling.] I love it when dreams come true.
[Adam waits at Sanctuary while Brennan, Jesse, and Emma fly the Double Helix, following Emma’s psionic connection to Shalimar. Emma immediately notices something has changed.]
Emma: Ashlocke’s done something to Shalimar.
Jesse: Brennan was right. We should have gone in there and gotten her out when we had the chance.
Adam (via comlink): No, you don’t storm your enemy’s stronghold when he’s got a hostage. You wait until he makes his move, then you strike.
Brennan: What makes you so sure he’s gonna make a move?
Adam: Trust me!
[At Genomex, Dr. Harrison enters Mason’s office with a new update.]
Dr. Harrison: Good news, Mason. I believe we've found Mr. Ashlocke.
Mason (getting up): Wonderful news. Our final step is to concentrate all our resources on bringing him down. Alive is possible, dead if necessary.
Dr. Harrison (cockily): Oh, I think alive is a definite possibility. [He moves aside as the door to Mason’s office slides open. Gabriel walks in, flanked by Shalimar and Morgan. Mason spins around.]
Morgan: I told you he'd be back before you knew it.
Gabriel: And it's good to be back, Mason.
Mason (reaching for his desk intercom): Security.
Gabriel: Don't bother. Harrison's done quite a job for me here. Anyone on staff not loyal to us has been...eliminated.
Dr. Harrison (smugly): Oh, stop goggling, Mason. [Gabriel telekinetically pins Mason up against the window.]
Dr. Harrison: I’ve removed Miss Fortier’s subdermal governor in return for a place in the command at the new regime here at Genomex.
Gabriel: Talk about your hostile takeovers. [Cut to: Mason’s face as he lies encased in a stasis pod. Gabriel, Shalimar and Morgan stand over him.]
Gabriel: Think of it as a chance to catch up on some much needed rest, and a chance to spend eternity regretting everything. And once Dr. Harrison has decrypted the database, we’re gonna show these people what new mutancy is all about.
Brennan (entering behind them): I wouldn’t get too comfortable, Ashlocke. ‘Cause you’re gonna be joining him before we’re done here. [He fires up two tesla coils.]
Shalimar: Where Gabriel goes, I go. [She leaps at him, feral eyes flashing. Brennan tumbles out of the way and throws an electrical arc at Morgan, sending her flying across the room. Avoiding Shalimar’s blows, Brennan sends another arc at Gabriel, knocking him down as well.]
[Dr. Harrison strides towards his office desk with Kelly’s disk, followed by two mutant guards.]
Dr. Harrison: I need this room secure for a few moments. [He places the disk into his computer.] Once I have decrypted the database, there will be no turning back. [He looks up when Jesse and Emma walk through the phased wall opposite his office.] I need more time! [Emma and Jesse push the guards back against the wall, which Jesse phases, leaving them stuck inside at the waist. Emma knocks them unconscious with a psionic blast.]
Emma: Nice going, Jess.
Jesse: Yeah, they’re gonna be hurting from both ends when they come to, huh? [Jesse and Emma dash into Dr. Harrison’s office and wait until he defeatedly removes the disk and hands it to Emma. Jesse and Emma hurry along the upper catwalk into the main room, where Brennan’s still fighting off Shalimar’s attacks and Gabriel's energy balls. Brennan uses his jet propulsion to join them on the upper catwalk. Shalimar bounds up the wall to reach him, but Emma directs a psionic blast at her head. Brennan catches her as she goes limp. Gabriel leaps up onto the catwalk, but Shalimar's already awakened from her trance.]
Shalimar: Like I said, scumbag. In your dreams. [She spins around and kicks Gabriel over the railing to land on the ground below, unconscious.]
Brennan: Come on, let’s get out of here. [As Mutant X escapes Genomex with Adam's database, Gabriel slowly opens his eyes.]
[Back at Sanctuary, Brennan emerges from his room as Shalimar passes.]
Brennan: Hey, Shal. It's good to have you back.
Shalimar (laughing): Well, it's not like I was gone long.
Brennan: Well, I didn't mean....come on, you know. I tried to stop him at the safehouse before he grabbed you, you know that.
Shalimar (grinning): No, you didn't.
Brennan: Yeah, I did!
Shalimar: I’m sorry if I hurt you back there.
Brennan: Hurt me? Please, come on, you never hurt me. Come here. [He hugs her. When she pulls back, Brennan touches her cheek and slowly moves in to kiss her. They're interrupted by Emma's voice, calling from the next room.]
Emma: Hey, you guys! Come here and look at this!
Brennan (releasing her, laughing): Uh....I’m sorry.
Shalimar (smiling): Yeah. [They walk off to find Emma.]
[Morgan and Dr. Harrison wait as Gabriel gazes down at the pods from Mason's office window.]
Gabriel: Of course I’m disappointed. We lost the database. So our real work begins in earnest tomorrow. But with all that disappointment, I’m still very pleased. What better place to start conquering the world from than Genomex? [He turns to smile at them.]
[Jesse joins Emma in the dojo, where she's practicing making her forehead glow.]
Jesse: Careful with that. [Grinning, she spins around to face him.] Don’t point it my way!
Emma: Just getting a little practice in.
Adam (coming up the stairs): Well, I wouldn’t worry about that right now. You’ll all get the hang of it. I'm more concerned about Gabriel Ashlocke. The guy's a lunatic with the lust for an empire and the power to get what he wants. [He turns as Brennan and Shalimar walk up the stairs towards them.]
Jesse: Well, he is only one man.
Shalimar: And we are a team.
Brennan: Please. We can take Ashlocke.
Emma: Put him back where he belongs.
Adam: All right, so we're agreed? We'll face any challenge that lies ahead of us. And to hell with anyone who stands in our way. [Cut to: Mason Eckhart lying in his pod. Cut back to: The Mutant X team, standing united in a semi-circle around the dojo.]