Mutant X Transcripts: Ep 110 "Dark Star Rising"
Mutant X Episode Transcripts
Mutant X Episode #110 Transcript: “ Dark Star Rising”
[Opening Scene: Standing in the back lot behind Tricorp Botanical one evening, Sargent Angel Dorn and a very weak Corporal Clark Randall are setting up explosives around the main power generator.]
Angel (watching him closely): You holding up okay?
Clark: I’m fine.
Angel: You know, I can handle this myself-
Clark: I said, I’m fine. [He doubles over in a coughing fit.]
Angel: If you think I’m letting you handle explosives after that, you’re hallucinating. Hand it over. [Giving in, he hands her a red wire, which she threads into the generator.] Nice work, Clark. First one kills the building security system, and the second one destroys the database. [As she works, a figure in black appears on the roof above, watching them.]
Clark (coughing, pointing): That wire goes to the second board.
Angel: You try to get up again, and I’ll kill you. [She bends back over her work; the figure on the roof has vanished.]
Clark: The way I feel, you may not have to.
Shalimar (leaping down behind them): Now that I’ve finally caught up with you, you mind telling me what you think you’re doing? [Angel and Clark whirl around to face her, their feral eyes glowing.]
Shalimar (smiling): Looks like we’ve got something in common. [Her own feral eyes flash in response just as the first bomb explodes, showering them all with sparks.]
Angel: Clark, you go to trigger the second bomb! [She attacks Shalimar, who is amazed to find herself evenly matched. Hopping over Shalimar’s leg swipe, Angel jumps up against the wall, running at a 90 degree angle to the ground until she’s facing Shalimar again. Angel kicks her in the face, and Shalimar wipes the blood from her mouth in surprise. Behind her, Clark activates the second bomb, then falls to the ground, unconscious. Finally managing to catch Angel with a back kick, Shalimar runs to tear the bomb from the generator and hurl it into the air with all her might. She ducks as it explodes harmlessly overhead, then looks up at a giant man looming over her.]
Lieutenant Beau Longstreet: That was a big mistake. And now you’ve really pissed me off. [Grabbing her by the throat, he lifts her effortlessly off the ground. Choking, Shalimar looks down at his wrist, which has a bright red and black star tattoo on it.]
Angel (getting up): We’ve got to pull out. The Corporal’s down. We’ve got to go now. [Beau tosses Shalimar against the wall, then goes with Angel to Clark’s side.]
Clark (hoarsely): Leave me. We all know I’m dying.
Angel (helping him up): No one gets left behind.
Beau: We protect our own at any cost. [The three leave together. Shalimar slowly picks herself off the ground, holding her throat.]
Opening Credits. “Dark Star Rising.”
[Shalimar returns to Sanctuary in the Double Helix. Sitting cross-legged on the lab’s biobed, she winces in pain while Jesse examines the bruises on her neck.]
Jesse: Oh, be quiet, you big pussy cat. Looks like a giant hickey.
Shalimar: Yeah, well trust me. It looks like a lot more fun than it actually was.
Jesse (hands on his hips): What the hell were you doing on your own? You could have called me on the comlink.
Shalimar: Oh, I’m sorry. I was too busy having the life choked out of me.
Jesse (going to the computer): So they were ferals, huh?
Shalimar: Yep. I was doing all right with the first two till the human mountain showed up.
Jesse (holding a healing laser to her bruise): That big, huh?
Shalimar: At least. [When he’s finished, the bruise is gone.] You know, Emma was right. She picked up a telempathic transmission from a renegade pack of new mutants.
Jesse: Renegades with a serious grudge against Tricorp Botanicals, huh?
[Upstairs at the second floor computer monitors, Brennan’s flipping through profile after profile in the new mutant database as Adam watches.]
Adam: No. No.
Shalimar (walking up to them): Hey.
Adam: Hey.
Brennan: Hey.
Shalimar: Come up with an answer for why these guys have it in for Tricorp?
Brennan: Not yet.
Adam (walking to Shalimar): No, all right, I’ve got another question. Who are these guys? I mean, we’ve just gone through the entire new mutant database, we can’t find anybody who matches the description that you gave us.
Shalimar: I don’t know what to tell you, Adam. They were new mutants. And the one who nailed me could’ve doubled for Mount Everest.
Adam: All right, but were there any other distinguishing characteristics?
Shalimar: You mean aside from the guy being a 7 foot giant?
Adam: Yeah.
Shalimar: Well, the woman who took me on, she was a professional. I mean, she had combat training.
Brennan: Hm. Military?
Shalimar: Definitely. And she called the wounded guy Corporal.
Adam: Any insignia on their clothing?
Shalimar: No. But they did have the same tattoo. On the wrist, a red disk with a black five-pointed star in the middle.
Brennan (pulling up an image on the computer): Hm. Does it look anything like this?
Shalimar: That’s it.
Adam (reading from the screen): Dark Star. An international anti-terrorist unit fielded by Interpol.
Brennan: Oh yeah, I know these bad boys. They make the Navy Seals look like a Saturday afternoon paintball club.
Adam: Yeah, but look. Dark Star doesn’t exist anymore. According to this report, they were all killed in a South American drug war firefight two months ago. Okay, so we’ve gotta figure out how three members of an elite combat unit listed as killed in action suddenly turn up with new mutant abilities.
[At Genomex headquarters, Mason’s in a conference room talking with the head of Tricorp Botanicals, Dr. Kenneth Harrison.]
Mason (looking at computer profiles of Dark Star members): I’m concerned, Dr. Harrison. This operation was supposed to be tightly contained.
Dr. Harrison (standing behind him): I completely agree. But it seems Dark Star refusef to lay down and die.
Mason (pressing a button, placing red X’s on the dead members): Well, nine of them seem to have complied.
Dr. Harrison: And I’m guessing the three survivors were responsible for the attack on Tricorp last night.
Mason (turning to face him): Really? And your security branch was able to drive them off?
Dr. Harrison: Security branch? My security team can barely tie their shoelaces. We're in the agri business; security has never been a major issue...until now.
Mason: Welcome to my world. I’ll assign my staff to take over your security, effective immediately. [He turns off the screen and leaves the room.]
[In an abandoned warehouse, Beau and Angel mourn over Clark’s body.]
Beau (zipping up the body bag): Goodbye, Corporal. I promise, I’ll get these people who did this to you.
Angel (walking away from the body): You know that woman at Tricorp, she’s like us.
Beau (following her): She’s not like us.
Angel: You know what I mean. Her eyes, they had that same glow. And she matched me, head to head. Maybe there’s others like us too.
Beau: To hell with that! This is war. I am a warrior. And if we die, we take our enemies with us. [Brushing past her, he walks out.]
[Emma’s meditating on the darkened platform by Sanctuary’s reflecting pool when she receives mental flashes of Beau Longstreet crouched in a jungle and the members of Dark Star coughing after being injected with serum from a bottle labeled Tricorp Botanical. On the second floor balcony, Adam waits behind Jesse as he’s working at his computer.]
Adam: What have you got?
Jesse (massaging his forehead): Adam, I have run background checks on every member of Dark Star. There is no indication of any of them exhibiting new mutant abilities.
Adam: Okay, then you’ve gotta dig deeper. We’ve gotta find a link that will tell us where they might be holed up.
Emma (coming up to them): Whatever connection there is between Tricorp Botanical and Dark Star, is directly related to what happened to them in the jungles of Bogata.
Adam: All right, then why don’t you dig around in the Tricorp database.
Jesse (pulling up Angel’s profile): How about this, Adam? Specialist Sargent Angel Dorn’s father owns an abandoned engine plant at West Haven.
Adam (nodding): Good. That’s it. Then I’ll send Shalimar and Brennan. You two stay here and research Tricorp.
[Shalimar and Brennan take the Double Helix to Angel’s father’s engine plant and walk through the front door.]
Shalimar: Careful, they’re ferals. If I can hear them, they can hear us.
Brennan: Trust me, I can handle myself.
Shalimar: We’re talking about a really big guy.
Brennan: Yeah, you know, I think you made your point, all right? Let’s not forget, I have the element of surprise. [He lights a tesla coil.]
Shalimar (smiling): Yeah, well, save your energy. You’re gonna need it.
Brennan: Yeah. [She listens at the door; Brennan impatiently reaches for the doorknob.] Come on. [Pushing his hand away, Shalimar kicks down the door. They rush into the room and Brennan holds a tesla coil at the ready.]
Angel (pointing a gun at them): Turn it off, Sparky, or we’ll kill you now. [Spinning around, Shalimar sees Beau standing behind them with two guns. Brennan and Shalimar hold up their hands in surrender.]
*******Commercial Break*******
[Angel and Beau hold Shalimar and Brennan at gunpoint.]
Shalimar: We just want to talk.
Angel: People who just want to talk don't make that kind of entrance.
Brennan: She's got a dramatic streak, okay?
Shalimar: You know that we’re all on the same side here.
Beau: Then why did you interfere with us at Tricorp?
Shalimar: Because when new mutants go on a crime spree, you put all of the rest of us in danger.
Beau: What the hell is a new mutant?
Brennan: Come on. Children of Genomex? I’m an elemental, she’s a feral like you two?
Angel: We don’t know anything about any Children of Genomex.
Beau: What we know is that Tricorp murdered my squad and turned us into freaks.
Shalimar (smiling): Freaks. Well, we certainly know how you feel.[Considering, Angel lowers her weapon.]
[Adam and Emma look over Jesse’s shoulder as he goes through Tricorp’s database on his computer.]
Jesse: Genomex is definitely a silent partner of Tricorp Botanicals, but beyond the business relationship, I couldn’t dig up anything you might call dirty in their database at all.
Adam: Yeah, and we also know that Genomex’s involvement doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Jesse: Yeah. The only thing of interest was this. [A holographic image of a bell-shaped plant appears in the air above his computer.] It seems to be their primary research project.
Emma: It’s beautiful.
Adam (leaning on the wall): All right. That’s the link we were looking for. It’s a plant called Rafflesia pricei.
Jesse: Apparently, it’s extremely rare. Only 12 or so plants are known to exist in the world and a hydroponic garden at Tricorp Botanical has three of them housed in their greenhouse.
Adam: Yeah. Why am I not surprised?
Emma (reading from the screen): The Rafflesia pricei is genetically engineered parasitic plant which spends most of its life as a thread-like infection strand within a host.
Jesse: Yeah, what's the big deal with this plant?
Adam: All right, in the early days of DNA research, we were humbled to learn that the genetic difference between a human being and yeast was a single strand of code. So we all looked for a link between the animal world and the plant world. The Rafflesia pricei Project was a misstep that Genomex made in their attempt to manipulate human DNA.
Jesse: The 25 year growth cycle have anything to do with the problems?
Adam: Exactly. And I thought the project was dead a long time ago.
Emma: Well, I guess they just put it aside till the next 25 year cycle came along.
Adam: Well, we have to assume that Dark Star’s attack on Tricorp had something to do with it. So listen, why don’t you two coordinate your efforts and see if you can figure out what Tricorp might be up to with this project now. [He walks off.]
[In the engine plant, Angel and Beau are telling Brennan and Shalimar their story over flashbacks to the events in the jungle.]
Angel: Dark Star is an incursion drop team.
Beau: Was.
Angel: Three months ago, we were assigned to a search and destroy mission in the rain forest outside of Bogata, to take out a landing field serving the cartels.
Beau: As always, we had what we figured was the usual round of vaccinations.
Angel: But something started happening right away. And a few of us began getting stronger, while most of our squad became horribly ill.
Beau: My people were dropping like flies. And that was before the cartel soldiers had us surrounded and under fire. [As they talk, flashbacks scenes of Dark Star at battle in the jungle play over their words.]
Angel: We tried to call it in, but we got no response. The only way we survived was to head deeper into the bush.
Beau: In a matter of days, only Angel, Corporal Randall and I were alive.
Angel: We buried our fallen comrades and expected the same fate for ourselves.
Beau: Instead, we developed incredible new abilities.
Angel: We managed to take a prisoner, a cartel drug soldier. He told us it was Tricorp Botanical reps who set the whole thing up to test a new serum and to gauge our abilities to defend ourselves.
Beau: We were human lab rats, and their test killed my squad.
Angel: Except Beau and me. [She hits his knee with her fist, fondly.]
Brennan: Must have been all those shots before you left. They had to have been testing some kind of process on you without your knowledge.
Shalimar: Yeah, and then they dropped you into what they figured was a controlled environment to observe you. But they didn’t count on you guys getting out.
Beau: What they didn’t count on was that Dark Star takes care of its own.
Shalimar: Yeah, well, so do ferals. Among new mutants, we're a breed apart. [Beau smiles at her.]
[Mason sits at his desk, watching a video tape of the Dark Star experiment on his computer with Dr. Harrison.]
Dr. Harrison: As you can see, the small man is clearly stricken.
Mason (pointing): Yes. And the big man, Lieutenant Longstreet, is it? He looks to be the living incarnation of Nietsche's dictum: What does not kill you will make you stronger.
Dr. Harrison (nodding, pacing around the room): We’ve passed the 90 day mark on the tests. Chances for survival at this point increase exponentially.
Mason: Then I’d say we’re on the verge of success.
Dr. Harrison: I wouldn’t go that far. Nine of our twelve subjects have died.
Mason: We only need one survivor to achieve the results we desire.
Dr. Harrison: And assuming Lieutenant Longstreet does live, all we need is a sample of his DNA to take this to the next step.
Mason (smiling at him): To genetically alter a human being into a new mutant. [Dr. Harrison nods.] My people should be just about in place to bring Lieutenant Longstreet in for his interview now.
[Shalimar and Beau look on as Brennan sits in a corner of the engine plant with Angel, explaining the concept of new mutants.]
Brennan: There’s four basic types of new mutant. There’s elementals like me, psionics, freaks, and ferals.
Angel: So Beau and I are ferals?
Beau (to Shalimar): So you have lived with this your whole life?
Shalimar: What, you mean my new mutancy? Yeah. But I gotta tell ya, it’s nice knowing you’re not alone.
Beau (nodding towards Brennan): So you two...um...
Shalimar (grinning): Teammates.
Beau: Teammates. I let my team down.
Shalimar (shaking her head): It wasn’t your fault, Beau.
Beau: Ten of my best people. They used them as human guinea pigs. I have to make sure they didn’t die in vain. [Beau, Shalimar, and Angel all look up, hearing noises outside.]
Angel (joining Beau and Shalimar): We’ve got company. Sounds like six men coming from the north side.
Shalimar: And two more in the back.
Brennan: I’ll take the back. You guys get the rest.
Angel: How’d they find us?
Shalimar: Probably the same way we did. [Angel and Shalimar hang from a grating near the ceiling, waiting until all six men have entered the room before leaping down behind them. In perfect synch, they kick down the first two men, then flip over two barrels to fell two agents in front of them and two more behind them. Seeing an oil barrel careening towards them, Shalimar and Angel link arms and twirl into the air over it. Beau pushes his first two agents to the ground with one powerful shove from his arms, then performs a back flip into the air, kicking a third across the face.]
Brennan (running up from the back): Hey! Come on, we’ve gotta jam. At least a dozen agents out there, maybe more.
Beau (heading towards the next room): I have get Corporal Randall.
Brennan: Come on, there’s no time, let’s go!
Beau: We’ll make time!
Angel (bending over, coughing): Beau!
Shalimar (holding her up): We have to go. [Beau takes one last look at Clark’s body, then chooses to save Angel. He and Shalimar help Angel out of the room into a big black van. Brennan hotwires the engine, crashes the van through the wall past the unsuspecting agents, and speeds down the road towards Sanctuary.]
*******Commercial Break********
[In Sanctuary’s lab, Angel sleeps on the biobed as Adam takes a sample of her blood with a pipette. Shalimar enters, looking concerned.]
Shalimar: How long has she been like this?
Adam: About an hour.
Shalimar: You know, I get the feeling from what they told me that this is what happened to all the other members of Dark Star. How’s she doing?
Adam: Well, she’s stable; her vital signs are strong, but it’s the bloodwork that I’m concerned about. Here, take a look. [She follows him to the computer.] Her blood cells are trying to fight off a serum derived from a hybridized plant called a Rafflesia pricei.
Shalimar (glancing back at Angel): Well, they just tricked these poor bastards. I mean, they thought they were getting malaria vaccinations.
Adam: Same kind of lies they told your parents, right? The parents of all the Children of Genomex.
Shalimar: Yeah, but these guys thought they were volunteering to serve their country, not participate in some freaky genetic experiment.
Adam: Another example of the kind of power Mason Eckhart has. And why we have dedicated our lives to keeping that power in check.
[Mason and Dr. Harrison stand outside the lab looking in as two lab technicians examine Clark’s body.]
Mason: Adam gets the living, and we get the dead.
Dr. Harrison: I’m afraid your GS agents went in with a trifle too much self-confidence.
Mason: Which would have been completely justified if not for the annoying presence of Adam’s people. Well, at least they were able to return a test specimen to us for future study, although I’m far from confident in your ability to wring answers from a corpse.
Dr. Harrison (walking down the hallway with him): I’m afraid you’re probably right. Our best hope for a successful resolution to this experiment is a living subject.
Mason: And since only two possible candidates remain alive, I’ve got my agents scouring the city.
Dr. Harrison: Our latest data would indicate the woman, Sargent Dorn, who appears to have been stricken with the same pathological illness that’s killed the others.
Mason: Well, that means that unless Lieutenant Longstreet survives, you’re in a great deal of trouble. [He walks off.]
[Back at Sanctuary, Shalimar and Emma sit on the steps next to Beau, waiting for news on Angel’s condition.]
Emma: I promise you, if anyone can help her, it's Adam.
Beau Longstreet: I believed in my superior officers. Look where it got me.
Shalimar: Yeah, but its not like that with Adam, Beau.
Beau: Is he one of you, one of us?
Shalimar: You mean a new mutant? No.
Emma: Adam made it possible for us to survive what Genomex had done to us.
Shalimar: And he’s led us in a campaign against the people who experimented on you.
Beau: Tricorp Botanical?
Emma (sitting up): Tricorp Botanical is just another public face for the Genetic Security Agency.
Beau: I’m a good soldier. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. To do my duty the best I can.
Shalimar (getting up): But you didn’t sign up to be experimented on without your consent. To be turned into some rogue warrior for the GSA.
Adam (coming downstairs to shake Beau’s hand): Lieutenant.
Beau: How is she?
Adam: Her condition’s stable. She’s resting comfortably.
Beau: She’s going to die like the others?
Adam: I’m doing everything in my power to keep that from happening.
Beau: Oh.
Adam: Now, I believe that you and your squad were secretly injected with a serum derived from a hybrid plant called the Rafflesia Pricei.
Beau: This serum killed my men. It’s killing Angel. Did this to me?
Adam: Yes.
Beau: Can you save her?
Adam: Well, creating an antidote is theoretically possible, but I’m gonna need the plant to do it.
Beau: The plant at Tricorp?
Adam: Yes, exactly. [He looks at Shalimar.] I want you and Jesse to break in there and get me the plant.
Shalimar: Absolutely. But we’re not going in there alone. Beau is coming with us. We need him to do the job. [Adam nods.]
[At Tricorp, Beau leads Jesse and Shalimar into the botanical garden. He signals them to stay put while he takes out the guard in front of them. Knocking him out, Beau gives them the thumbs up and comes back to them, smiling.]
Beau: The feral thing's not half bad.
Shalimar (returning his smile): I thought you might get to like it. [They watch as the inner door to the control room slides closed and locks.]
Jesse: I got it. [He phases into the control room, knocks the guard unconscious with a blow to the back, and opens the door for Shalimar and Beau. The three come to a stop in front of one of the colorful Rafflesia pricei plants.]
Shalimar: Not exactly your regular garden variety, is it? [As Shalimar and Jesse lift the heavy plant out of its housing, Beau hears Dr. Harrison coming their way.]
Beau: We’ve got company.
Shalimar (to Jesse): Beau and I will take care of these guys. Gotta get the plant to Adam.
Jesse: Yeah. [Jesse takes the plant and heads towards the wall, then realizes that when he phases, the plant can’t come with him. Noting an open window above him, he tosses the plant out the window and phases through the wall to catch it on the other side. Shalimar and Beau grin at each other when Dr. Harrison enters the room with four guards. Their eagerness fades when four more guards run up behind them, carrying tasers. Dr. Harrison snaps his fingers, and the guards attack them. Shalimar and Beau hold their own against single attackers, but when all eight guards pile on them at once with their tasers, they are overwhelmed. Dr. Harrison walks up to stand over their unconscious forms.]
*********Commercial Break**********
[Brennan sits on Sanctuary's lab table, watching Adam grind a piece of the Rafflesia pricei with a mortar and pestle.]
Brennan (frowning): This, uh, seems a little low-tech for you, Adam. Kind of expected you to laser it or something.
Adam: Well, herbal medicine techniques are as valid today as they were 1000 years ago. Here. [He hands Brennan the mortar and pestle.] One man's tribal magic is another man's holistic healing.
Emma (watching over the sleeping Angel): You’d better hope so. Because all of our modern technology doesn’t seem to be doing any good.
Adam (peering at the sample through a prism): Yeah, but she’s stable. Who knows for how long.
Brennan: Hey, what about Shalimar? We haven’t heard from her or Beau.
Adam: Yeah, why don’t you see if you can track her down. [He takes the mortar from Brennan’s hands.] I’ll take that. [Brennan leaves the lab.]
[Mason and Dr. Harrison are walking slowly towards Mason’s office.]
Mason: There's a long-standing tradition in my world of tampering with human nature to create a more perfect soldier. From the Hashishan of ancient Persia, to the Viking Berserkers, to the MK Ultra, men in my position have sought the perfect way to create the perfect monster in the field.
Dr. Harrison (entering Mason’s office): And I believe we’re getting there.
Mason: This morning, you sounded ready to shout your success from the rooftops, Dr. Harrison. Are you having any doubts?
Dr. Harrison: I wouldn’t call them doubts, exactly. Let’s just say I have concerns.
Mason (going behind his desk, turning on his computer to view Beau in the lab): What’s his condition?
Dr. Harrison (too quickly): He’s fine. [Mason looks suspicious, Dr. Harrison hurries to join him behind his desk.] We’ve sedated him, so I can administer a complete examination to find out precisely why what killed the others seems to have thrived in Lieutenant Longstreet.
Mason (studying him): I'm concerned by your concerns, Dr. Harrison.
Dr. Harrison: It’s just...the scientist in me. It’s all about control.
Mason: I’ll join you in the examination room to observe the procedure. [He glares at him until Dr. Harrison realizes his hands are on Mason’s chair. Quickly removing his hands, Dr. Harrison leaves the room. Meanwhile, in the interrogation room, the GS agents have locked Shalimar into the metal chair and are preparing to insert a subdermal governor when she opens her eyes.]
[Emma leaves Angel’s side to monitor her vital signs on the lab’s computer. Adam pulls a test tube from the centrifuge and sighs.]
Adam: This process took a lot longer than I thought. [He crosses to Emma.] How are her vital signs?
Emma: Her white cell count is fluctuating, but everything else seems constant.
Adam: All right, good. I’ve isolated the culture from the Rafflesia pricei. The next step is to develop the antigen.
[A Genomex guard passing by the interrogation room does a double take on seeing three GS agents piled up on the floor. Down the hallway, Shalimar makes her way towards the lab where Beau is being held. As she hides from the GS agents behind a wall, Shalimar whispers into her comlink.]
Shalimar: You'd think someone would notice I was missing...
Jesse (running to the main computer): Shalimar? Where the hell are you?
Shalimar: I’m at Genomex. I don’t know how long I can talk, so just listen. They’ve got Beau in an examination lab; I’m gonna bust him loose. I need you to bring the Helix to get us out of here.
Brennan (behind Jesse): No, no, you need to get the hell outta there, now!
Shalimar (looking in through the frosted lab window): I'm not leaving Beau. He wouldn't leave a team member behind, and neither will I. Just be ready to get us out of here.
Jesse (calling Adam in the lab): Hey, Adam.
Adam (checking Angel’s pulse): Yeah?
Jesse: Just heard from Shalimar. She’s inside the GSA.
[Mason stands outside the lab with Dr. Harrison as he gets suited up to examine Beau.]
Mason: Have you made any progress in learning precisely why Lieutenant Longstreet survived the experiment?
Dr. Harrison: We’re getting there.
Mason: Getting there?
Dr. Harrison (walking with him towards the door): We can only move so fast, Mr. Eckhart. The sample of blood taken from the late Corporal Randall has proved an invaluable tool. By comparing the two DNA structures, we’ve managed to isolate the precise strand of genetic material responsible for Lieutenant Longstreet’s longevity.
Mason: Fascinating. Then it’s true. Most great medical advancements point to pathology.
Dr. Harrison (standing over Beau): Well, we’ll soon find out. I believe with the Rafflesia pricei we’ve got on hand, we should be able to start the next phase of the operation.
Mason: If you're correct, we are on the verge of creating new mutants.
Dr. Harrison: Obedient and subservient new mutants completely at the service of your will.
Mason: Enough to conceivably make the Children of Genomex unnecessary in the greater scheme of things. [Dr. Harrison smiles.]
[Brennan and Emma are monitoring Angel in the lab.]
Emma: Well, I guess all we can do now is wait.
Brennan: Yeah, well, I still think I should've gone with Jesse.
Emma: Well, you heard Adam. He said he needed two of us here to assist.
Brennan: Okay, well, why didn't Jesse stay? C'mon, Shalimar needs more than Jesse's massing and phasing to get her and Beau out of there in one piece.
Emma: Well, if you were as close to Shalimar as Jesse is, then I'm sure you'd understand! [Surprised at her hostile tone, Brennan finally shuts up. Emma takes Angel’s hand and connects to her psionically as well. In her mind, she sees Angel fading away.] Brennan! Her heart has stopped. Adam!
Brennan (going to Angel): There’s not enough time.
Emma: What are you doing?
Brennan: Trying to save her life. [He shocks Angel’s chest with electricity twice, but her heart monitor’s signal remains flat.] Come on, Angel. Come on!
Emma: It’s not working!
Brennan: Okay, three’s a charm. Come on. Come on, Angel. [He zaps her again, and Angel finally wakes up. Looking around her in alarm, Angel bolts out of the chair.]
Emma: I guess it worked.
Brennan: Woah, hey, hey, relax. You’re gonna be safe.
Angel: Where am I?
Emma: We’ve been taking care of you. You’re gonna be okay.
Angel: Where’s Beau?
Brennan: Shalimar’s bringing him here. Okay, everything’s gonna be all right, you’ve been through a lot. [She backs away from him.] Easy, easy. We’re not gonna hurt you. It’s okay, we’re friends. Take my hand. It’s okay, come on. [She reluctantly takes his hand.] Good. Sit down.
Adam (running in): What’s going on?
Emma: Angel’s heart stopped but Brennan managed to revive her.
Adam: Thank God you were here. Are you okay? [Angel nods.] Good, here, save your strength. [He puts an arm around Brennan’s shoulders and pulls him aside, grinning.] Come here, come here, I’ve got an idea. Now that Eckhart has Beau, I’m guessing that security’s gonna be lax at Tricorp Botanical. Whaddya say?
Brennan (nodding): Let’s do it. [Brennan and Adam fly to Tricorp in the Helix.]
********Commercial Break*********
[Inside Tricorp’s greenhouse, electrical lights flicker inside the building, then Brennan emerges, carrying a Rafflesia pricei plant under one arm. Meanwhile, in Genomex’s lab, Mason leans over Beau’s unconscious body, examining his face.]
Mason: This may come as a surprise, Dr. Harrison, but I’m not a particularly optimistic man. [He straightens.] That said, I have to admit the work you’ve done here gives me hope for a brighter future.
Dr. Harrison: Thank you, Mr. Eckhart, that’s awfully kind. To complete our research on this subject, I’ll inject him with a drug that will permanently paralyze his brain function.
Mason: Is that really necessary?
Dr. Harrison: I’m afraid so. There’s no telling how strong his new mutant abilities have become. [Shalimar, dressed as a lab technician, watches in horror as Dr. Harrison hands the needle to one of the technicians. But just as he’s about to inject Beau’s arm, Beau wakes up and shoves the technician across the floor. Getting up, Beau grabs Mason in a headlock and holds the needle to his face.]
Beau: You look a little bit sleepy. Maybe it’s time for you to take a nap.
Mason: Let’s not do anything rash... [Three armed GS agents burst into the room. When Beau spins around to look at them, he glimpses Clark Randall’s arm poking out from under a sheet on the next table.]
Beau (to Dr. Harrison): This is how we’re gonna play this. We start by showing a deceased soldier some respect!
Shalimar (removing her disguise): Beau! You don’t wanna do this.
Beau: Why? There’s nothing to go on for.
Shalimar (shaking her head): That’s not true.
Beau: My squad is gone. [He moves the needle closer to Mason’s face.]
Shalimar (quickly): That's not true. You’ve got a new squad now. A new pack. [Considering her words, Beau relaxes his grip on Mason.]
[Later, Shalimar and Beau return to Sanctuary with Jesse.]
Shalimar: Ah, you should’ve seen it, Jesse. I thought Eckhart was about to explode.
Jesse: I mean, touching him must have been bad enough, but taking Eckhart hostage in a headlock?
Shalimar (laughing): I gotta tell ya, it made for a very smooth exit. [She turns to Beau.] But I’ve gotta know. Were you awake the whole time you were on that table?
Beau: I woke up when they started poking me. But one thing I’ve learned with this feral stuff is turning pain away. And you’re right. It’s a lot easier knowing that you’re not alone. [Shalimar touches his arm.]
Angel (coming in with Emma and Adam): Tell me about it.
Beau (breaking into a grin): Angel! [She runs to him and he lifts her into a bear hug.]
Angel (kissing him): Easy, big guy. Some of us aren’t as feral as others.
Beau (stroking her hair): Baby. [He looks over at Adam.] Are you sure she’s going to be okay?
Adam: Better than okay.
Emma: You guys are both one of us now.
Jesse: New mutants.
Beau: Ferals, to be exact.
Shalimar: You got that right.
Beau: What about the experiment?
Adam: The experiment was a failure. And as for Tricorp Botanical, well, they’ve got some problems of their own. [He turns around.] Right Brennan?
Brennan (at the top of the dojo steps, holding the plant): Right. Now that we’ve cornered the market on the Rafflesia pricei.
[At Genomex, Mason stands behind his desk, wearing a neck brace.]
Mason: As I said, Dr. Harrison, I am not, by nature, an optimistic man. The reason is simply that I cannot bear the disappointment that is so frequently the result of heightened expectations. I have always subscribed to the adage: Hope for the best... [He sighs as he carefully lowers himself into his chair.]...and expect the worst.
Dr. Harrison: I understand that, Mr. Eckhart. I also understand that the trauma of your... [He gestures to his own throat.] ...experience yesterday along with the loss of Lieutenant Longstreet must be very difficult to accommodate, but we still have the Rafflesia Pricei.
Mason: Is that right? [Dr. Harrison nods.] I gather you haven’t checked in at your office this morning.
Dr. Harrison: No, I came directly here.
Mason: Then you haven’t heard about the security breach last night. [He buzzes on his intercom, and Dr. Harrison gapes as a lab tech brings in the blackened remains of the last plant.] Preliminary laboratory analysis indicates that the last specimen was destroyed by an application of high voltage electricity. It’s most likely the work of Brennan Mulwray. That’s one of Adam’s people.
Dr. Harrison: Perhaps we could accelerate the growth rate. Take some time off that 25 years.
Mason: Who knows where I'll be in 25 years? But I have a good idea of where you'll be. [He buzzes again and two guards enter the office to escort Dr. Harrison out of the room. Moving very carefully, Mason turns slowly in his chair to look out his window at the stasis pods below.]
[In the forest, Beau, Angel, and Shalimar bury Clark’s body.]
Beau: This is how it should be for all our fallen heroes who fought with honor and died with grace. [He and Angel salute.]
Shalimar: I know your squad would be really proud of what you’ve done.
Angel: I hope so.
Beau (putting his arm around Angel): Angel and I, we...
Angel: We don’t know how to thank you.
Shalimar (walking over to Beau’s other side): You don’t have to. [They all look down on Clark’s grave as thunder sounds overhead.]
Closing Credits.
Mutant X Episode #110 Transcript: “ Dark Star Rising”
[Opening Scene: Standing in the back lot behind Tricorp Botanical one evening, Sargent Angel Dorn and a very weak Corporal Clark Randall are setting up explosives around the main power generator.]
Angel (watching him closely): You holding up okay?
Clark: I’m fine.
Angel: You know, I can handle this myself-
Clark: I said, I’m fine. [He doubles over in a coughing fit.]
Angel: If you think I’m letting you handle explosives after that, you’re hallucinating. Hand it over. [Giving in, he hands her a red wire, which she threads into the generator.] Nice work, Clark. First one kills the building security system, and the second one destroys the database. [As she works, a figure in black appears on the roof above, watching them.]
Clark (coughing, pointing): That wire goes to the second board.
Angel: You try to get up again, and I’ll kill you. [She bends back over her work; the figure on the roof has vanished.]
Clark: The way I feel, you may not have to.
Shalimar (leaping down behind them): Now that I’ve finally caught up with you, you mind telling me what you think you’re doing? [Angel and Clark whirl around to face her, their feral eyes glowing.]
Shalimar (smiling): Looks like we’ve got something in common. [Her own feral eyes flash in response just as the first bomb explodes, showering them all with sparks.]
Angel: Clark, you go to trigger the second bomb! [She attacks Shalimar, who is amazed to find herself evenly matched. Hopping over Shalimar’s leg swipe, Angel jumps up against the wall, running at a 90 degree angle to the ground until she’s facing Shalimar again. Angel kicks her in the face, and Shalimar wipes the blood from her mouth in surprise. Behind her, Clark activates the second bomb, then falls to the ground, unconscious. Finally managing to catch Angel with a back kick, Shalimar runs to tear the bomb from the generator and hurl it into the air with all her might. She ducks as it explodes harmlessly overhead, then looks up at a giant man looming over her.]
Lieutenant Beau Longstreet: That was a big mistake. And now you’ve really pissed me off. [Grabbing her by the throat, he lifts her effortlessly off the ground. Choking, Shalimar looks down at his wrist, which has a bright red and black star tattoo on it.]
Angel (getting up): We’ve got to pull out. The Corporal’s down. We’ve got to go now. [Beau tosses Shalimar against the wall, then goes with Angel to Clark’s side.]
Clark (hoarsely): Leave me. We all know I’m dying.
Angel (helping him up): No one gets left behind.
Beau: We protect our own at any cost. [The three leave together. Shalimar slowly picks herself off the ground, holding her throat.]
Opening Credits. “Dark Star Rising.”
[Shalimar returns to Sanctuary in the Double Helix. Sitting cross-legged on the lab’s biobed, she winces in pain while Jesse examines the bruises on her neck.]
Jesse: Oh, be quiet, you big pussy cat. Looks like a giant hickey.
Shalimar: Yeah, well trust me. It looks like a lot more fun than it actually was.
Jesse (hands on his hips): What the hell were you doing on your own? You could have called me on the comlink.
Shalimar: Oh, I’m sorry. I was too busy having the life choked out of me.
Jesse (going to the computer): So they were ferals, huh?
Shalimar: Yep. I was doing all right with the first two till the human mountain showed up.
Jesse (holding a healing laser to her bruise): That big, huh?
Shalimar: At least. [When he’s finished, the bruise is gone.] You know, Emma was right. She picked up a telempathic transmission from a renegade pack of new mutants.
Jesse: Renegades with a serious grudge against Tricorp Botanicals, huh?
[Upstairs at the second floor computer monitors, Brennan’s flipping through profile after profile in the new mutant database as Adam watches.]
Adam: No. No.
Shalimar (walking up to them): Hey.
Adam: Hey.
Brennan: Hey.
Shalimar: Come up with an answer for why these guys have it in for Tricorp?
Brennan: Not yet.
Adam (walking to Shalimar): No, all right, I’ve got another question. Who are these guys? I mean, we’ve just gone through the entire new mutant database, we can’t find anybody who matches the description that you gave us.
Shalimar: I don’t know what to tell you, Adam. They were new mutants. And the one who nailed me could’ve doubled for Mount Everest.
Adam: All right, but were there any other distinguishing characteristics?
Shalimar: You mean aside from the guy being a 7 foot giant?
Adam: Yeah.
Shalimar: Well, the woman who took me on, she was a professional. I mean, she had combat training.
Brennan: Hm. Military?
Shalimar: Definitely. And she called the wounded guy Corporal.
Adam: Any insignia on their clothing?
Shalimar: No. But they did have the same tattoo. On the wrist, a red disk with a black five-pointed star in the middle.
Brennan (pulling up an image on the computer): Hm. Does it look anything like this?
Shalimar: That’s it.
Adam (reading from the screen): Dark Star. An international anti-terrorist unit fielded by Interpol.
Brennan: Oh yeah, I know these bad boys. They make the Navy Seals look like a Saturday afternoon paintball club.
Adam: Yeah, but look. Dark Star doesn’t exist anymore. According to this report, they were all killed in a South American drug war firefight two months ago. Okay, so we’ve gotta figure out how three members of an elite combat unit listed as killed in action suddenly turn up with new mutant abilities.
[At Genomex headquarters, Mason’s in a conference room talking with the head of Tricorp Botanicals, Dr. Kenneth Harrison.]
Mason (looking at computer profiles of Dark Star members): I’m concerned, Dr. Harrison. This operation was supposed to be tightly contained.
Dr. Harrison (standing behind him): I completely agree. But it seems Dark Star refusef to lay down and die.
Mason (pressing a button, placing red X’s on the dead members): Well, nine of them seem to have complied.
Dr. Harrison: And I’m guessing the three survivors were responsible for the attack on Tricorp last night.
Mason (turning to face him): Really? And your security branch was able to drive them off?
Dr. Harrison: Security branch? My security team can barely tie their shoelaces. We're in the agri business; security has never been a major issue...until now.
Mason: Welcome to my world. I’ll assign my staff to take over your security, effective immediately. [He turns off the screen and leaves the room.]
[In an abandoned warehouse, Beau and Angel mourn over Clark’s body.]
Beau (zipping up the body bag): Goodbye, Corporal. I promise, I’ll get these people who did this to you.
Angel (walking away from the body): You know that woman at Tricorp, she’s like us.
Beau (following her): She’s not like us.
Angel: You know what I mean. Her eyes, they had that same glow. And she matched me, head to head. Maybe there’s others like us too.
Beau: To hell with that! This is war. I am a warrior. And if we die, we take our enemies with us. [Brushing past her, he walks out.]
[Emma’s meditating on the darkened platform by Sanctuary’s reflecting pool when she receives mental flashes of Beau Longstreet crouched in a jungle and the members of Dark Star coughing after being injected with serum from a bottle labeled Tricorp Botanical. On the second floor balcony, Adam waits behind Jesse as he’s working at his computer.]
Adam: What have you got?
Jesse (massaging his forehead): Adam, I have run background checks on every member of Dark Star. There is no indication of any of them exhibiting new mutant abilities.
Adam: Okay, then you’ve gotta dig deeper. We’ve gotta find a link that will tell us where they might be holed up.
Emma (coming up to them): Whatever connection there is between Tricorp Botanical and Dark Star, is directly related to what happened to them in the jungles of Bogata.
Adam: All right, then why don’t you dig around in the Tricorp database.
Jesse (pulling up Angel’s profile): How about this, Adam? Specialist Sargent Angel Dorn’s father owns an abandoned engine plant at West Haven.
Adam (nodding): Good. That’s it. Then I’ll send Shalimar and Brennan. You two stay here and research Tricorp.
[Shalimar and Brennan take the Double Helix to Angel’s father’s engine plant and walk through the front door.]
Shalimar: Careful, they’re ferals. If I can hear them, they can hear us.
Brennan: Trust me, I can handle myself.
Shalimar: We’re talking about a really big guy.
Brennan: Yeah, you know, I think you made your point, all right? Let’s not forget, I have the element of surprise. [He lights a tesla coil.]
Shalimar (smiling): Yeah, well, save your energy. You’re gonna need it.
Brennan: Yeah. [She listens at the door; Brennan impatiently reaches for the doorknob.] Come on. [Pushing his hand away, Shalimar kicks down the door. They rush into the room and Brennan holds a tesla coil at the ready.]
Angel (pointing a gun at them): Turn it off, Sparky, or we’ll kill you now. [Spinning around, Shalimar sees Beau standing behind them with two guns. Brennan and Shalimar hold up their hands in surrender.]
*******Commercial Break*******
[Angel and Beau hold Shalimar and Brennan at gunpoint.]
Shalimar: We just want to talk.
Angel: People who just want to talk don't make that kind of entrance.
Brennan: She's got a dramatic streak, okay?
Shalimar: You know that we’re all on the same side here.
Beau: Then why did you interfere with us at Tricorp?
Shalimar: Because when new mutants go on a crime spree, you put all of the rest of us in danger.
Beau: What the hell is a new mutant?
Brennan: Come on. Children of Genomex? I’m an elemental, she’s a feral like you two?
Angel: We don’t know anything about any Children of Genomex.
Beau: What we know is that Tricorp murdered my squad and turned us into freaks.
Shalimar (smiling): Freaks. Well, we certainly know how you feel.[Considering, Angel lowers her weapon.]
[Adam and Emma look over Jesse’s shoulder as he goes through Tricorp’s database on his computer.]
Jesse: Genomex is definitely a silent partner of Tricorp Botanicals, but beyond the business relationship, I couldn’t dig up anything you might call dirty in their database at all.
Adam: Yeah, and we also know that Genomex’s involvement doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Jesse: Yeah. The only thing of interest was this. [A holographic image of a bell-shaped plant appears in the air above his computer.] It seems to be their primary research project.
Emma: It’s beautiful.
Adam (leaning on the wall): All right. That’s the link we were looking for. It’s a plant called Rafflesia pricei.
Jesse: Apparently, it’s extremely rare. Only 12 or so plants are known to exist in the world and a hydroponic garden at Tricorp Botanical has three of them housed in their greenhouse.
Adam: Yeah. Why am I not surprised?
Emma (reading from the screen): The Rafflesia pricei is genetically engineered parasitic plant which spends most of its life as a thread-like infection strand within a host.
Jesse: Yeah, what's the big deal with this plant?
Adam: All right, in the early days of DNA research, we were humbled to learn that the genetic difference between a human being and yeast was a single strand of code. So we all looked for a link between the animal world and the plant world. The Rafflesia pricei Project was a misstep that Genomex made in their attempt to manipulate human DNA.
Jesse: The 25 year growth cycle have anything to do with the problems?
Adam: Exactly. And I thought the project was dead a long time ago.
Emma: Well, I guess they just put it aside till the next 25 year cycle came along.
Adam: Well, we have to assume that Dark Star’s attack on Tricorp had something to do with it. So listen, why don’t you two coordinate your efforts and see if you can figure out what Tricorp might be up to with this project now. [He walks off.]
[In the engine plant, Angel and Beau are telling Brennan and Shalimar their story over flashbacks to the events in the jungle.]
Angel: Dark Star is an incursion drop team.
Beau: Was.
Angel: Three months ago, we were assigned to a search and destroy mission in the rain forest outside of Bogata, to take out a landing field serving the cartels.
Beau: As always, we had what we figured was the usual round of vaccinations.
Angel: But something started happening right away. And a few of us began getting stronger, while most of our squad became horribly ill.
Beau: My people were dropping like flies. And that was before the cartel soldiers had us surrounded and under fire. [As they talk, flashbacks scenes of Dark Star at battle in the jungle play over their words.]
Angel: We tried to call it in, but we got no response. The only way we survived was to head deeper into the bush.
Beau: In a matter of days, only Angel, Corporal Randall and I were alive.
Angel: We buried our fallen comrades and expected the same fate for ourselves.
Beau: Instead, we developed incredible new abilities.
Angel: We managed to take a prisoner, a cartel drug soldier. He told us it was Tricorp Botanical reps who set the whole thing up to test a new serum and to gauge our abilities to defend ourselves.
Beau: We were human lab rats, and their test killed my squad.
Angel: Except Beau and me. [She hits his knee with her fist, fondly.]
Brennan: Must have been all those shots before you left. They had to have been testing some kind of process on you without your knowledge.
Shalimar: Yeah, and then they dropped you into what they figured was a controlled environment to observe you. But they didn’t count on you guys getting out.
Beau: What they didn’t count on was that Dark Star takes care of its own.
Shalimar: Yeah, well, so do ferals. Among new mutants, we're a breed apart. [Beau smiles at her.]
[Mason sits at his desk, watching a video tape of the Dark Star experiment on his computer with Dr. Harrison.]
Dr. Harrison: As you can see, the small man is clearly stricken.
Mason (pointing): Yes. And the big man, Lieutenant Longstreet, is it? He looks to be the living incarnation of Nietsche's dictum: What does not kill you will make you stronger.
Dr. Harrison (nodding, pacing around the room): We’ve passed the 90 day mark on the tests. Chances for survival at this point increase exponentially.
Mason: Then I’d say we’re on the verge of success.
Dr. Harrison: I wouldn’t go that far. Nine of our twelve subjects have died.
Mason: We only need one survivor to achieve the results we desire.
Dr. Harrison: And assuming Lieutenant Longstreet does live, all we need is a sample of his DNA to take this to the next step.
Mason (smiling at him): To genetically alter a human being into a new mutant. [Dr. Harrison nods.] My people should be just about in place to bring Lieutenant Longstreet in for his interview now.
[Shalimar and Beau look on as Brennan sits in a corner of the engine plant with Angel, explaining the concept of new mutants.]
Brennan: There’s four basic types of new mutant. There’s elementals like me, psionics, freaks, and ferals.
Angel: So Beau and I are ferals?
Beau (to Shalimar): So you have lived with this your whole life?
Shalimar: What, you mean my new mutancy? Yeah. But I gotta tell ya, it’s nice knowing you’re not alone.
Beau (nodding towards Brennan): So you two...um...
Shalimar (grinning): Teammates.
Beau: Teammates. I let my team down.
Shalimar (shaking her head): It wasn’t your fault, Beau.
Beau: Ten of my best people. They used them as human guinea pigs. I have to make sure they didn’t die in vain. [Beau, Shalimar, and Angel all look up, hearing noises outside.]
Angel (joining Beau and Shalimar): We’ve got company. Sounds like six men coming from the north side.
Shalimar: And two more in the back.
Brennan: I’ll take the back. You guys get the rest.
Angel: How’d they find us?
Shalimar: Probably the same way we did. [Angel and Shalimar hang from a grating near the ceiling, waiting until all six men have entered the room before leaping down behind them. In perfect synch, they kick down the first two men, then flip over two barrels to fell two agents in front of them and two more behind them. Seeing an oil barrel careening towards them, Shalimar and Angel link arms and twirl into the air over it. Beau pushes his first two agents to the ground with one powerful shove from his arms, then performs a back flip into the air, kicking a third across the face.]
Brennan (running up from the back): Hey! Come on, we’ve gotta jam. At least a dozen agents out there, maybe more.
Beau (heading towards the next room): I have get Corporal Randall.
Brennan: Come on, there’s no time, let’s go!
Beau: We’ll make time!
Angel (bending over, coughing): Beau!
Shalimar (holding her up): We have to go. [Beau takes one last look at Clark’s body, then chooses to save Angel. He and Shalimar help Angel out of the room into a big black van. Brennan hotwires the engine, crashes the van through the wall past the unsuspecting agents, and speeds down the road towards Sanctuary.]
*******Commercial Break********
[In Sanctuary’s lab, Angel sleeps on the biobed as Adam takes a sample of her blood with a pipette. Shalimar enters, looking concerned.]
Shalimar: How long has she been like this?
Adam: About an hour.
Shalimar: You know, I get the feeling from what they told me that this is what happened to all the other members of Dark Star. How’s she doing?
Adam: Well, she’s stable; her vital signs are strong, but it’s the bloodwork that I’m concerned about. Here, take a look. [She follows him to the computer.] Her blood cells are trying to fight off a serum derived from a hybridized plant called a Rafflesia pricei.
Shalimar (glancing back at Angel): Well, they just tricked these poor bastards. I mean, they thought they were getting malaria vaccinations.
Adam: Same kind of lies they told your parents, right? The parents of all the Children of Genomex.
Shalimar: Yeah, but these guys thought they were volunteering to serve their country, not participate in some freaky genetic experiment.
Adam: Another example of the kind of power Mason Eckhart has. And why we have dedicated our lives to keeping that power in check.
[Mason and Dr. Harrison stand outside the lab looking in as two lab technicians examine Clark’s body.]
Mason: Adam gets the living, and we get the dead.
Dr. Harrison: I’m afraid your GS agents went in with a trifle too much self-confidence.
Mason: Which would have been completely justified if not for the annoying presence of Adam’s people. Well, at least they were able to return a test specimen to us for future study, although I’m far from confident in your ability to wring answers from a corpse.
Dr. Harrison (walking down the hallway with him): I’m afraid you’re probably right. Our best hope for a successful resolution to this experiment is a living subject.
Mason: And since only two possible candidates remain alive, I’ve got my agents scouring the city.
Dr. Harrison: Our latest data would indicate the woman, Sargent Dorn, who appears to have been stricken with the same pathological illness that’s killed the others.
Mason: Well, that means that unless Lieutenant Longstreet survives, you’re in a great deal of trouble. [He walks off.]
[Back at Sanctuary, Shalimar and Emma sit on the steps next to Beau, waiting for news on Angel’s condition.]
Emma: I promise you, if anyone can help her, it's Adam.
Beau Longstreet: I believed in my superior officers. Look where it got me.
Shalimar: Yeah, but its not like that with Adam, Beau.
Beau: Is he one of you, one of us?
Shalimar: You mean a new mutant? No.
Emma: Adam made it possible for us to survive what Genomex had done to us.
Shalimar: And he’s led us in a campaign against the people who experimented on you.
Beau: Tricorp Botanical?
Emma (sitting up): Tricorp Botanical is just another public face for the Genetic Security Agency.
Beau: I’m a good soldier. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. To do my duty the best I can.
Shalimar (getting up): But you didn’t sign up to be experimented on without your consent. To be turned into some rogue warrior for the GSA.
Adam (coming downstairs to shake Beau’s hand): Lieutenant.
Beau: How is she?
Adam: Her condition’s stable. She’s resting comfortably.
Beau: She’s going to die like the others?
Adam: I’m doing everything in my power to keep that from happening.
Beau: Oh.
Adam: Now, I believe that you and your squad were secretly injected with a serum derived from a hybrid plant called the Rafflesia Pricei.
Beau: This serum killed my men. It’s killing Angel. Did this to me?
Adam: Yes.
Beau: Can you save her?
Adam: Well, creating an antidote is theoretically possible, but I’m gonna need the plant to do it.
Beau: The plant at Tricorp?
Adam: Yes, exactly. [He looks at Shalimar.] I want you and Jesse to break in there and get me the plant.
Shalimar: Absolutely. But we’re not going in there alone. Beau is coming with us. We need him to do the job. [Adam nods.]
[At Tricorp, Beau leads Jesse and Shalimar into the botanical garden. He signals them to stay put while he takes out the guard in front of them. Knocking him out, Beau gives them the thumbs up and comes back to them, smiling.]
Beau: The feral thing's not half bad.
Shalimar (returning his smile): I thought you might get to like it. [They watch as the inner door to the control room slides closed and locks.]
Jesse: I got it. [He phases into the control room, knocks the guard unconscious with a blow to the back, and opens the door for Shalimar and Beau. The three come to a stop in front of one of the colorful Rafflesia pricei plants.]
Shalimar: Not exactly your regular garden variety, is it? [As Shalimar and Jesse lift the heavy plant out of its housing, Beau hears Dr. Harrison coming their way.]
Beau: We’ve got company.
Shalimar (to Jesse): Beau and I will take care of these guys. Gotta get the plant to Adam.
Jesse: Yeah. [Jesse takes the plant and heads towards the wall, then realizes that when he phases, the plant can’t come with him. Noting an open window above him, he tosses the plant out the window and phases through the wall to catch it on the other side. Shalimar and Beau grin at each other when Dr. Harrison enters the room with four guards. Their eagerness fades when four more guards run up behind them, carrying tasers. Dr. Harrison snaps his fingers, and the guards attack them. Shalimar and Beau hold their own against single attackers, but when all eight guards pile on them at once with their tasers, they are overwhelmed. Dr. Harrison walks up to stand over their unconscious forms.]
*********Commercial Break**********
[Brennan sits on Sanctuary's lab table, watching Adam grind a piece of the Rafflesia pricei with a mortar and pestle.]
Brennan (frowning): This, uh, seems a little low-tech for you, Adam. Kind of expected you to laser it or something.
Adam: Well, herbal medicine techniques are as valid today as they were 1000 years ago. Here. [He hands Brennan the mortar and pestle.] One man's tribal magic is another man's holistic healing.
Emma (watching over the sleeping Angel): You’d better hope so. Because all of our modern technology doesn’t seem to be doing any good.
Adam (peering at the sample through a prism): Yeah, but she’s stable. Who knows for how long.
Brennan: Hey, what about Shalimar? We haven’t heard from her or Beau.
Adam: Yeah, why don’t you see if you can track her down. [He takes the mortar from Brennan’s hands.] I’ll take that. [Brennan leaves the lab.]
[Mason and Dr. Harrison are walking slowly towards Mason’s office.]
Mason: There's a long-standing tradition in my world of tampering with human nature to create a more perfect soldier. From the Hashishan of ancient Persia, to the Viking Berserkers, to the MK Ultra, men in my position have sought the perfect way to create the perfect monster in the field.
Dr. Harrison (entering Mason’s office): And I believe we’re getting there.
Mason: This morning, you sounded ready to shout your success from the rooftops, Dr. Harrison. Are you having any doubts?
Dr. Harrison: I wouldn’t call them doubts, exactly. Let’s just say I have concerns.
Mason (going behind his desk, turning on his computer to view Beau in the lab): What’s his condition?
Dr. Harrison (too quickly): He’s fine. [Mason looks suspicious, Dr. Harrison hurries to join him behind his desk.] We’ve sedated him, so I can administer a complete examination to find out precisely why what killed the others seems to have thrived in Lieutenant Longstreet.
Mason (studying him): I'm concerned by your concerns, Dr. Harrison.
Dr. Harrison: It’s just...the scientist in me. It’s all about control.
Mason: I’ll join you in the examination room to observe the procedure. [He glares at him until Dr. Harrison realizes his hands are on Mason’s chair. Quickly removing his hands, Dr. Harrison leaves the room. Meanwhile, in the interrogation room, the GS agents have locked Shalimar into the metal chair and are preparing to insert a subdermal governor when she opens her eyes.]
[Emma leaves Angel’s side to monitor her vital signs on the lab’s computer. Adam pulls a test tube from the centrifuge and sighs.]
Adam: This process took a lot longer than I thought. [He crosses to Emma.] How are her vital signs?
Emma: Her white cell count is fluctuating, but everything else seems constant.
Adam: All right, good. I’ve isolated the culture from the Rafflesia pricei. The next step is to develop the antigen.
[A Genomex guard passing by the interrogation room does a double take on seeing three GS agents piled up on the floor. Down the hallway, Shalimar makes her way towards the lab where Beau is being held. As she hides from the GS agents behind a wall, Shalimar whispers into her comlink.]
Shalimar: You'd think someone would notice I was missing...
Jesse (running to the main computer): Shalimar? Where the hell are you?
Shalimar: I’m at Genomex. I don’t know how long I can talk, so just listen. They’ve got Beau in an examination lab; I’m gonna bust him loose. I need you to bring the Helix to get us out of here.
Brennan (behind Jesse): No, no, you need to get the hell outta there, now!
Shalimar (looking in through the frosted lab window): I'm not leaving Beau. He wouldn't leave a team member behind, and neither will I. Just be ready to get us out of here.
Jesse (calling Adam in the lab): Hey, Adam.
Adam (checking Angel’s pulse): Yeah?
Jesse: Just heard from Shalimar. She’s inside the GSA.
[Mason stands outside the lab with Dr. Harrison as he gets suited up to examine Beau.]
Mason: Have you made any progress in learning precisely why Lieutenant Longstreet survived the experiment?
Dr. Harrison: We’re getting there.
Mason: Getting there?
Dr. Harrison (walking with him towards the door): We can only move so fast, Mr. Eckhart. The sample of blood taken from the late Corporal Randall has proved an invaluable tool. By comparing the two DNA structures, we’ve managed to isolate the precise strand of genetic material responsible for Lieutenant Longstreet’s longevity.
Mason: Fascinating. Then it’s true. Most great medical advancements point to pathology.
Dr. Harrison (standing over Beau): Well, we’ll soon find out. I believe with the Rafflesia pricei we’ve got on hand, we should be able to start the next phase of the operation.
Mason: If you're correct, we are on the verge of creating new mutants.
Dr. Harrison: Obedient and subservient new mutants completely at the service of your will.
Mason: Enough to conceivably make the Children of Genomex unnecessary in the greater scheme of things. [Dr. Harrison smiles.]
[Brennan and Emma are monitoring Angel in the lab.]
Emma: Well, I guess all we can do now is wait.
Brennan: Yeah, well, I still think I should've gone with Jesse.
Emma: Well, you heard Adam. He said he needed two of us here to assist.
Brennan: Okay, well, why didn't Jesse stay? C'mon, Shalimar needs more than Jesse's massing and phasing to get her and Beau out of there in one piece.
Emma: Well, if you were as close to Shalimar as Jesse is, then I'm sure you'd understand! [Surprised at her hostile tone, Brennan finally shuts up. Emma takes Angel’s hand and connects to her psionically as well. In her mind, she sees Angel fading away.] Brennan! Her heart has stopped. Adam!
Brennan (going to Angel): There’s not enough time.
Emma: What are you doing?
Brennan: Trying to save her life. [He shocks Angel’s chest with electricity twice, but her heart monitor’s signal remains flat.] Come on, Angel. Come on!
Emma: It’s not working!
Brennan: Okay, three’s a charm. Come on. Come on, Angel. [He zaps her again, and Angel finally wakes up. Looking around her in alarm, Angel bolts out of the chair.]
Emma: I guess it worked.
Brennan: Woah, hey, hey, relax. You’re gonna be safe.
Angel: Where am I?
Emma: We’ve been taking care of you. You’re gonna be okay.
Angel: Where’s Beau?
Brennan: Shalimar’s bringing him here. Okay, everything’s gonna be all right, you’ve been through a lot. [She backs away from him.] Easy, easy. We’re not gonna hurt you. It’s okay, we’re friends. Take my hand. It’s okay, come on. [She reluctantly takes his hand.] Good. Sit down.
Adam (running in): What’s going on?
Emma: Angel’s heart stopped but Brennan managed to revive her.
Adam: Thank God you were here. Are you okay? [Angel nods.] Good, here, save your strength. [He puts an arm around Brennan’s shoulders and pulls him aside, grinning.] Come here, come here, I’ve got an idea. Now that Eckhart has Beau, I’m guessing that security’s gonna be lax at Tricorp Botanical. Whaddya say?
Brennan (nodding): Let’s do it. [Brennan and Adam fly to Tricorp in the Helix.]
********Commercial Break*********
[Inside Tricorp’s greenhouse, electrical lights flicker inside the building, then Brennan emerges, carrying a Rafflesia pricei plant under one arm. Meanwhile, in Genomex’s lab, Mason leans over Beau’s unconscious body, examining his face.]
Mason: This may come as a surprise, Dr. Harrison, but I’m not a particularly optimistic man. [He straightens.] That said, I have to admit the work you’ve done here gives me hope for a brighter future.
Dr. Harrison: Thank you, Mr. Eckhart, that’s awfully kind. To complete our research on this subject, I’ll inject him with a drug that will permanently paralyze his brain function.
Mason: Is that really necessary?
Dr. Harrison: I’m afraid so. There’s no telling how strong his new mutant abilities have become. [Shalimar, dressed as a lab technician, watches in horror as Dr. Harrison hands the needle to one of the technicians. But just as he’s about to inject Beau’s arm, Beau wakes up and shoves the technician across the floor. Getting up, Beau grabs Mason in a headlock and holds the needle to his face.]
Beau: You look a little bit sleepy. Maybe it’s time for you to take a nap.
Mason: Let’s not do anything rash... [Three armed GS agents burst into the room. When Beau spins around to look at them, he glimpses Clark Randall’s arm poking out from under a sheet on the next table.]
Beau (to Dr. Harrison): This is how we’re gonna play this. We start by showing a deceased soldier some respect!
Shalimar (removing her disguise): Beau! You don’t wanna do this.
Beau: Why? There’s nothing to go on for.
Shalimar (shaking her head): That’s not true.
Beau: My squad is gone. [He moves the needle closer to Mason’s face.]
Shalimar (quickly): That's not true. You’ve got a new squad now. A new pack. [Considering her words, Beau relaxes his grip on Mason.]
[Later, Shalimar and Beau return to Sanctuary with Jesse.]
Shalimar: Ah, you should’ve seen it, Jesse. I thought Eckhart was about to explode.
Jesse: I mean, touching him must have been bad enough, but taking Eckhart hostage in a headlock?
Shalimar (laughing): I gotta tell ya, it made for a very smooth exit. [She turns to Beau.] But I’ve gotta know. Were you awake the whole time you were on that table?
Beau: I woke up when they started poking me. But one thing I’ve learned with this feral stuff is turning pain away. And you’re right. It’s a lot easier knowing that you’re not alone. [Shalimar touches his arm.]
Angel (coming in with Emma and Adam): Tell me about it.
Beau (breaking into a grin): Angel! [She runs to him and he lifts her into a bear hug.]
Angel (kissing him): Easy, big guy. Some of us aren’t as feral as others.
Beau (stroking her hair): Baby. [He looks over at Adam.] Are you sure she’s going to be okay?
Adam: Better than okay.
Emma: You guys are both one of us now.
Jesse: New mutants.
Beau: Ferals, to be exact.
Shalimar: You got that right.
Beau: What about the experiment?
Adam: The experiment was a failure. And as for Tricorp Botanical, well, they’ve got some problems of their own. [He turns around.] Right Brennan?
Brennan (at the top of the dojo steps, holding the plant): Right. Now that we’ve cornered the market on the Rafflesia pricei.
[At Genomex, Mason stands behind his desk, wearing a neck brace.]
Mason: As I said, Dr. Harrison, I am not, by nature, an optimistic man. The reason is simply that I cannot bear the disappointment that is so frequently the result of heightened expectations. I have always subscribed to the adage: Hope for the best... [He sighs as he carefully lowers himself into his chair.]...and expect the worst.
Dr. Harrison: I understand that, Mr. Eckhart. I also understand that the trauma of your... [He gestures to his own throat.] ...experience yesterday along with the loss of Lieutenant Longstreet must be very difficult to accommodate, but we still have the Rafflesia Pricei.
Mason: Is that right? [Dr. Harrison nods.] I gather you haven’t checked in at your office this morning.
Dr. Harrison: No, I came directly here.
Mason: Then you haven’t heard about the security breach last night. [He buzzes on his intercom, and Dr. Harrison gapes as a lab tech brings in the blackened remains of the last plant.] Preliminary laboratory analysis indicates that the last specimen was destroyed by an application of high voltage electricity. It’s most likely the work of Brennan Mulwray. That’s one of Adam’s people.
Dr. Harrison: Perhaps we could accelerate the growth rate. Take some time off that 25 years.
Mason: Who knows where I'll be in 25 years? But I have a good idea of where you'll be. [He buzzes again and two guards enter the office to escort Dr. Harrison out of the room. Moving very carefully, Mason turns slowly in his chair to look out his window at the stasis pods below.]
[In the forest, Beau, Angel, and Shalimar bury Clark’s body.]
Beau: This is how it should be for all our fallen heroes who fought with honor and died with grace. [He and Angel salute.]
Shalimar: I know your squad would be really proud of what you’ve done.
Angel: I hope so.
Beau (putting his arm around Angel): Angel and I, we...
Angel: We don’t know how to thank you.
Shalimar (walking over to Beau’s other side): You don’t have to. [They all look down on Clark’s grave as thunder sounds overhead.]
Closing Credits.