Mutant X Transcripts: Ep 208 "Sign from Above"
Mutant X Episode Transcripts
Mutant X Episode #208 Transcript: " Sign from Above"
[Opening Scene: The brunette feral, Amanda Terry, energetically dashes up the stairs to her loft apartment, slowly followed by a winded Jesse. Reaching the landing, she turns to poke fun at her boyfriend.]
Amanda: I knew you were all talk!
Jesse (gasping): How do you figure?
Amanda (tossing her purse on the floor): Well, I whipped you to a pulp on the dance floor, and then I beat you back here by half a block.
Jesse: You’re a feral. If you think I can outdance ya, I’d have to take you back to the genetic drawing board.
Amanda: Oh, I don’t know if you’d want to do that. I mean, who knows what else they’d change?
Jesse: Yeah, right. I wouldn't want that. [They kiss, but she pulls away.]
Amanda: Mmm...as much as I'd like to make an evening of this, I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you home.
Jesse: No! No-no-no-no, come on! What happened to that feral stamina you were talking about?
Amanda: It's gotta be at work at 7 am, along with the rest of me.
Jesse: You know, I can’t believe that someone like you spends her days working at a music store.
Amanda: What should I be doing? Showing off my powers like the rest of you guys at Mutant X? huh? Letting the entire world know I’m a freak?
Jesse: We’re not freaks, Amanda.
Amanda: Yeah, but we’re not entirely normal yet either, are we? [She kisses him, then walks him back down the stairs, holding his hand.] Call me on Friday. We'll play til you drop.
Jesse: I'm gonna hold you to that. [They kiss again at the door.]
Amanda: Good night.
Jesse: Good night. [She bolts the door behind him. As soon as he's gone, a dark-haired woman steps out from her hiding place behind a second floor pillar.]
Dr. Sara Wolf: You shouldn't make promises you can't keep.
Amanda (feral eyes flashing): I don’t get many break-ins. [She comes upstairs to face the woman.] And you’re about to find out why.
Dr. Wolf: That's what I came for, Amanda. [A goon emerges from behind the wall to join her; a second sneaks upstairs behind Amanda.]
Amanda: How do you know my name?
Dr. Wolf: I know everything about you. Including what you are.
Amanda: And what's that?
Dr. Wolf: Valuable. [Without breaking eye contact with Dr. Wolf, Amanda drops the man behind her with a swift kick. She fights valiantly, but the powerful goons knock her unconscious.] Take her.
Opening Credits: "Sign from Above"
[The next morning in Sanctuary, Jesse enters Brennan's room as Brennan's getting dressed.]
Jesse: She’s not at home, she’s not at work, and she’s not answering her cellphone.
Brennan: Well, sounds like she’s blowing you off, Brother.
Jesse: She’s not blowing me off.
Brennan: What, like women don’t do that? They say something when they mean something totally different?
Jesse: No, this woman don’t do that. Besides, you know, I’m not so sure you’re the right guy to be giving advice. When was the last time you had a steady relationship, huh?
Brennan (chuckling): Jess, having a relationship and handling women are two totally different things. One doesn’t necessarily go with the other. [Rolling his eyes, Jesse follows him out of the room.]
[Adam is meeting with one of his secret government contacts at a quiet roadside.]
J.K. Bergman: Something came across my desk a few hours ago. I didn't know who else to call to try to make sense of it.
Adam (scoffing): Bergman, just do me a favor, okay? Don't try to play me. You're sitting on top of one of the best intelligence networks in the world.
Bergman: In the last 72 hours, three bodies have turned up in the river.
Adam: The police have a competent homicide division.
Bergman: All these bodies shared something very special. In all three cases, their genetic structure was modified.
Adam: So you're telling me they were mutants.
Bergman: Their genetic structure was similar to the bodies recovered after the Genomex debacle. None of the victims appear in official records.
Adam: Look, I don’t know every mutant Genomex created. And, you know, toward the end, we weren’t exactly sharing information.
Bergman: But you do have a registry of the mutants you’ve been able to help.
Adam: I see your intelligence web is even better than I thought.
Bergman (pulling out a palm pilot): All I’m asking is that you put names to some of those young people. It’s the least you can do for their families.
Adam (irritably): Why, because you think I’m responsible for making them what they are in the first place?
Bergman: I didn’t say that.
Adam: Well, you don’t have to! [He angrily snatches the palm pilot from Bergman's hand and scrolls through the pictures of the victims, stopping cold at Miranda's photograph.]
Bergman: You know them?
Adam (sighing sadly): Her. All right. Tell me what you know.
[Returning to Sanctuary, Adam relays the news to Jesse.]
Jesse: Adam, that's impossible! I was with her last night.
Adam: The coroner fixed the time of death as early this morning. Her body was found. In the river.
Jesse (suddenly realizing): That means that whoever killed her was waiting for her when I left; I should have stayed.
Adam: Jesse.
Jesse: Adam, I could have protected her!
Adam: Jesse, don't torture yourself about this. Amanda was a powerful feral, almost as strong as Shalimar. She could take care of herself.
Jesse: What the hell are you talking about?
Adam: Whoever killed her knew what she was. They knew about her powers; they were strong enough to overcome them.
Jesse: She never did anything to anybody. Who the hell would want to kill her?
Adam: I don't know. But we're gonna find out. And then we're gonna stop them before they hurt somebody else.
Jesse: Oh, we find them. I will stop them. [Shaking his head, he walks away.]
[A few hours later, Jesse leads Brennan, Emma, and Shalimar to Amanda's apartment.]
Jesse: She lived down here. She thought it would give her some privacy, keep her safe. Guess that didn't work out so good, huh?
Brennan: I don't think where she lived had anything to do with her death. We don't know for sure what caused it.
Jesse (angrily): Oh, I know what caused it. She was murdered because she was a mutant! Or maybe she just decided to go for a swim in the river at 3 AM.
Emma: Jesse, stop it! [Everyone looks at Emma in surprise.]
Brennan: All right, everybody just relax, okay? [He points to Shalimar and Emma.] You guys go check the perimeter, we're gonna go inside and take a look. [Shalimar nods. Brennan takes Jesse inside, leaving Shalimar to talk to Emma.]
Shalimar: That was pretty cold.
Emma (coldly): Not really.
Shalimar: His girlfriend just died! You could cut him some slack.
Emma: And that means I have to go down the road with every crisis every one of you is feeling? Look, ever since our powers got ramped up, I have been finding it harder and harder to keep my defenses up against stray emotions. And when somebody, especially a friend, radiates pure grief like Jesse is, then I find it really hard not to get wrapped up in it myself.
Shalimar: Well, you could help him.
Emma: No, I couldn’t. I could make him feel good for a little while. You know, so good that he might forget all about Amanda. But it would just be temporary. People have to deal with grief like this on their own.
Shalimar: Emma, he’s in pain!
Emma: So what? Every time somebody is feeling something they shouldn’t, I should mess around in their heads? Who decides when it’s okay, Shal, me? You?
Shalimar: I see your point. But you don’t have to be so cold about it.
[Jesse and Brennan enter Amanda's trashed apartment. Jesse sits on a chair, stunned.]
Brennan: At least she put up a fight.
Jesse: I don't believe it.
Brennan: So what'd you talk about last night?
Jesse: I don't know...uh...music, movies, what we were gonna do next weekend.
Brennan: Well, she must have said something that can help us figure out why they killed her.
Jesse (angrily): She was a nice person! She wasn't involved in anything!
Brennan: I'm not saying she was. I'm just looking for a reason as to why this all happened.
[Emma and Shalimar search the alley around the building for clues.]
Emma: Anything?
Shalimar (feral eyes flashing): Not yet. It's been so long I can't get a fresh scent. It would take us a month to sort through all this stuff.
Emma: Well, maybe this is a job for the police.
Dr. Wolf (surrounding them with her goons): That would be a shame. I'm happier you're here. Saves me going looking for you.
Shalimar (over her comlink): Brennan, Jess, we could use some help here.
Brennan: We're on our way.
Emma (to Shalimar): You choose.
Shalimar: I've got your back. [She attacks one goon and Emma directs a psionic blast at the second goon's head. He quickly shakes it off and hurls her against the wall. Then both goons overpower Shalimar and drag her off. Dr. Wolf starts towards Emma's body, but leaves without her when she hears Brennan's voice.]
Brennan: Shalimar! Emma! [He and Jesse help Emma to her feet.] You okay?
Emma: They got Shalimar. Over there. [Jesse and Brennan give chase, but come upon a solid brick wall, a dead end. They exchange a confused glance.]
[Returning to Sanctuary, Jesse and Brennan follow Adam into the lab.]
Jesse: This can’t be happening, Adam. They can’t have just disappeared into thin air.
Adam: Well, you do it all the time.
Jesse: What, you think they're mutants?
Adam: I don't know what the hell they are. They seem to have tremendous strength, and yet they don't fit the feral profile. They also seem resistant to Emma's mental attacks.
Brennan: Well, maybe it's some kind of mechanical enhancement.
Adam: Well, there's something else that I'm concerned about. [He points to his computer.] Amanda's autopsy showed how she died. She suffered a complete epideric breakdown of her central nervous system.
Jesse: Uh...which means what?
Adam: Her spinal fuid was drained. Every drop of it.
Brennan: Adam, why would somebody do that?
Adam: I don't know. But I'm afraid that they're planning to do the same thing with Shalimar.
Brennan: Well, there's gotta be something we can do.
Adam (putting on his coat): Well, I'm going back to my source. I want you guys to monitor the news and the information webs. See if you can come up with anything on a similar crime. [He pats Jesse on the back as he heads out the door. Brennan goes to sit at a computer.]
Jesse: What, so that's it? Shalimar could be dying; we're sitting here surfing the net?
Brennan: You know, if it makes you feel any better, I think whoever these guys are, they're gonna show themselves again soon.
Jesse: Why?
Brennan: Because I got a feeling we're not going after the bad guys this time. They're coming after us.
[In a creepy warehouse, a goon guards Shalimar as she struggles in vain against three blue glowing bands pinning her to a cot.]
Shalimar (struggling in vain): What do you people want?! [The goon just stares at her wordlessly. Rolling her eyes, she struggles some more.] Somebody talk to me!
Dr. Wolf (entering): You are persistent. Ectomorphic restraints can be very draining. Most people would have given up after an hour or so.
Shalimar: I'm not most people.
Dr. Wolf (leaning over her): Not at all. Healthy, vital, extremely strong. Prime mutant stock.
Shalimar: Sounds like I just won a ribbon at the county fair.
Dr. Wolf: I need you to help me, Shalimar Fox. I need you to tell me about Adam Kane’s database of mutants.
Shalimar: I need you to spontaneously combust. Any chance of that?
Dr. Wolf: That's it. Keep up the anger. It'll make what comes in the end so much sweeter. You will tell me what I want to know.
Shalimar: And if I don't?
Dr. Wolf: I don't offer options. [She takes an ugly-looking pincer device from the goon.] I should warn you, this is going to hurt. A lot.
[Adam meets with Bergman at the roadside again.]
Bergman: It sounds like you're accusing me.
Adam: I am not accusing you of anything! I'm not accusing anybody of anything! I just need to get to the bottom of what happend to Amanda Terry. Now, who told you about the missing mutants?
Bergman: The type of people who don't exist officially, but what they say is always right on the money.
Adam: LOOK! One of my teammates' life is on the line! So I need to know what you know!
Bergman: Adam, you know everything I'm able to tell you.
Adam (throwing up his hands): Oh, you.... [He starts to get back into his car.]
Bergman: All right, listen. I wasn't gonna tell you until I checked this out myself.
Adam: You weren't gonna tell me what?
Bergman (holding a slip of paper): My source says there's a report of a young woman being dragged into a warehouse downtown. Now the description of the fight she put up led my people to believe she was something more than human.
Adam: All right, give me the address. [He snatches the paper and starts his car.]
Bergman: Adam, I hope this leads somewhere. I hope you find your friend. [Ignoring him, Adam speeds off.]
[Jesse, Emma, and Brennan arrive at the location, a rundown apartment complex.]
Jesse: Some place. I’ll bet even the rats think twice before hanging out here.
Brennan: Hey, it can’t all be one of your family society lunches.
Jesse: Don’t like them much either. [They stop short when a young man tumbles out of a doorway, trying to fight off two goons.]
Emma: Those are the guys that got Shalimar.
Brennan (forming tesla coils): Hey! [He zaps both goons, but they easily withstand the blast.] Who are these guys?
Emma: I told you they were strong. [Brennan and Jesse attack the goons with fists while Emma goes to help the young man they were chasing.] Are you okay?
Kyle Strong (backing away from her): Get away from me!
Emma: It's okay. We wanna help you. [Brennan and Jesse finally chase the goons away. Jesse starts to pursue them.]
Brennan: Jess, let them go! We've gotta find Shalimar. Come on! [They return to Emma, surrounding Kyle so that he can't escape.]
Kyle: I'm not going back in there. I'm not going.
****Commercial Break****
[Leaving Kyle with Emma, Brennan and Jesse enter the warehouse from which Kyle emerged. It's completely empty, but they see dozens of handcuffs hanging from the ceiling by chains.]
Jesse: Looks like we missed the party.
Brennan: Yeah, I think you're right.
Jesse: Brennan. [He picks up a ring from the floor.] Shalimar's comlink. Okay, well, we know she was here. The question is, what'd they do with her?
Brennan: Maybe our friend outside can answer that question.
Jesse: Yeah. [Brennan picks a glass tube from the floor and smells it.] What is it?
Brennan: Some kind of vial.
Jesse: Well, that's not surprising. I'm sure this place is pretty popular with the druggies.
Brennan: Yeah? Then why is this the only thing that's on the floor?
Jesse: You think they were using it on the captives?
Brennan: Who knows? Maybe on themselves, maybe we're fighting junkies. Nothing would surprise me at this point. [Emma escorts Kyle inside.]
Emma: This is Kyle. He says that he wants to help.
Kyle: You're looking for the girl. The feral.
Brennan: Shalimar. You saw her?
Kyle: They took her away. They took all the others away. They would have got me too, if you guys didn't show up.
Brennan: You have any idea what they're after?
Kyle: No.
Jesse: What did they do to you?
Kyle: They came to my work a couple of days ago. They just grabbed me, in front of everybody. I-I tried to fight them, but... You think this is happening because I'm different?
Emma (sharing a look with Brennan): It's possible.
Brennan: Do you know how they found you?
Kyle: No. My parents always kept my differences hidden. They told me never to use my powers in public, so I-I never did. Until I had to fight these guys.
Jesse: Look, you've gotta think here. Okay? There had to have been something, maybe something they said?
Kyle: They didn't talk to me. They only talked with each other when they thought I couldn't hear them. I guess they don't understand about a feral's hearing.
Emma: So you don't remember anything they said?
Kyle: Nothing that makes sense. They said something about a hospital. Mercy General. They had to make another run.
Brennan: Now we know. Let's get him back to Sanctuary. Maybe Adam will be able to figure something out.
Kyle (backing away): No, no. [Brennan looks to Emma, who touches Kyle's arm.]
Emma: It's okay. [Reassured, Kyle follows them.]
[Back in Sanctuary's lab, Jesse and Brennan watch Adam analyze the vial from the warehouse.]
Adam: Well, whatever was in that vial you guys found, it is definitely not street drugs. There are chemicals in here that could kill a human being in a second.
Brennan: So it was a poison.
Adam: I wouldn't say that either. There are also elements of living matter in there, DNA fragments.
Jesse: What?
Adam: There are definitely some kind of human DNA bonded at the core of the compound. It's just gonna take me some time to break it down.
Jesse: Oh, what about Kyle? He says his last name is Strong, but I've been through the database twice, we have no record of him.
Adam: Well, there were a lot of secret experiments done at Genomex that, you know, there are just no records about that.
Brennan: Yeah, and we saw this guy fight at the warehouse. No normal human could move that fast.
Adam: Right. And whatever he is, his information about the hospital is still the best shot we have at getting Shalimar back. And we've gotta move fast. The time between Amanda's abduction and the time her body was found was less than 18 hours. So if Shalimar's in the same situation, time is limited. [He picks up his palm pilot.] Now I'm running a satellite scan on the hospital complex, it's gonna be uploaded onto the computer aboard the Helix. So you guys go to the hospital, you check it out, keep your eyes open. Anybody who can get the best of Shalimar is a threat to be taken seriously.
Brennan: What about Emma?
Adam: Well, she can stay here, she can work with Kyle. Maybe she can come up with some more details about this operation, something he might have forgotten.
Brennan: Yeah, okay.
Adam: Okay?
Jesse (taking the palm pilot): We're on it. [They head out. Adam stares through the lab's glass doors at Kyle, who's pacing around the main area when Emma approaches him.]
Emma: Hey.
Kyle: Hey.
Emma: So, how are you feeling?
Kyle: Um...better. Thanks.
Emma: Good. Well, you've been through a lot. I guess it's just good we got to you when we did.
Kyle: Why is that?
Emma: Well, they've been killing people. Draining their spinal fluid. It just doesn't make any sense.
Kyle: Who knows what kind of sickos these guys are?
Emma (sitting near him): Well, one of the people who was killed was a really close friend of Jesse’s.
Kyle: But you’re fighters, right? I mean, you take those chances.
Emma (shaking her head): No. Not Amanda. She wasn’t like us. All she cared about was music, you know, she didn’t deserve what happened to her. None of us do.
Kyle: I’m sorry, Emma. I hope you get her back.
Emma: Well, we got you back. And that gives me some hope. [They smile at each other.]
[J.K. Bergman meets Dr. Wolf in the creepy warehouse.]
Bergman: I risked exposure getting them for you.
Dr. Wolf: The one we have isn't talking, despite some serious persuasion.
Bergman: And how does letting one escape get us any closer to Adam Kane's database?
Dr. Wolf: They took one of mine with them.
Bergman: Into Sanctuary?
Dr. Wolf: Yes. The motherload of mutants will be available for us to pick off whenever we choose.
Bergman: I have new respect for you, Wolf. This will prove to be very profitable. For both of us.
Dr. Wolf (smiling): You have no idea of the profit. [Leaving Bergman, she and a goon return to Shalimar.]
Shalimar: I wondered when you were coming back. I was starting to think you didn't care about me anymore.
Dr. Wolf: You may be right. You may soon be unnecessary.
Shalimar: You're bluffing. You can't find the database on your own.
Dr. Wolf: Not yet. But soon. And then I'll have everything I need.
Shalimar: What do you people want?
Dr. Wolf (picking up a vial of spinal fluid from the counter): People's brains and spinal cords float in a bath of fluid. In normal humans, that fluid is rich in nutrients, chemicals, and proteins. But in mutants, it's got a whole lot more. Your genetic abnormalities turn it into something very special for my people.
Shalimar (frowning): What are you talking about?
Dr. Wolf: Ingested, it gives my people intense physical power for short periods. The more powerful the mutant, the more power we obtain. And with enough power, one can rule a world. Even mine. [She strokes Shalimar's hair.] I'm saving yours for myself.
Shalimar: In that case, I hope you choke on it.
Dr. Wolf (to the goon): Prepare her. [He snaps a metal brace around Shalimar's neck.]
[Meanwhile, in Sanctuary, Emma and Kyle continue their talk.]
Emma: You know, you’re different, Kyle.
Kyle: Me? Different than what?
Emma: I don’t know. Different than other mutants. Different than other people.
Kyle: Bad different?
Emma (grinning): No. Good different. You know, it’s kind of nice not being blasted by another person’s emotions. I can let my defenses down a little bit more.
Kyle: So, you can’t read me at all? All my dark secrets are still safe?
Emma: I’m afraid so.
Kyle (smiling): That’s good. That way you won’t see it coming.
Emma: Oh yeah? What’s that?
Kyle: Well, I don’t know. Maybe I haven’t decided yet. But being this close to you kind of gives me a few ideas.
Emma: You know what? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you’re not so different than every other guy.
Kyle (leaning towards her seductively): I promise you. I’m different.
[Brennan and Jesse arrive at the Hospital's waiting room, which is filled with coughing patients.]
Jesse: If somebody wasn't sick when they got here, they sure would be when they left, wouldn't they?
Brennan: It's the only lead we got.
Jesse: Yeah, well, there's over 200 rooms in this place and we don't even know where to start. [He recognizes one of Dr. Wolf's goons in a white coat, wheeling out a sheet-covered body on a stretcher.] Hey, check it out. [The boys hide behind the wall. A woman's arm falls out from under the sheet, and blonde hair pokes out from the end of the sheet. The goon shoves the arm back under the sheet and leaves. Brennan nods to Jesse, who uncovers the face. Both sigh in relief to see it's not Shalimar.] I knew it wasn't her. Let's follow him.
[Kyle and Emma are still flirting in Sanctuary's main room.]
Kyle: So, this is the nerve center.
Emma: Yeah. Our operations take us all around the world. We monitor crimes, disasters, politics...even a bunch of random stuff that only seems to make sense to Adam.
Kyle: Your Adam, he seems like a pretty smart guy. I mean all this, creating Mutant X.
Emma: You know, you could be a part of it if you wanted. With what we’re doing we could always use someone with your kind of strength and speed.
Kyle: And maybe somebody to put a little mystery and romance into the mix? [Emma grins.]
[Dr. Wolf oversees Shalimar's preparations from her bedside.]
Dr. Wolf: In less than an hour, your essence will be mine. And you? You'll be less than nothing.
Shalimar: you give me one minute outside of this rig with or without your superjuice, I’ll make you wish you’d never even heard of mutants.
Dr. Wolf: Wishing for the impossible is not one of humanity’s most ingratiating characteristics. [She nods to her goon, who turns on the machine. Shalimar screams in pain.]
[Kyle's listening to some soothing music on a computer when Emma comes up.]
Emma: I like your taste in music.
Kyle: I thought you'd like it. Uh, you want me off the computers?
Emma: No, take your time. I like watching you listen. [She sits down across from him. He turns off the music.]
Kyle: You know I hadn't thought about it much before, but what about the others like us? Adam keep track of them too?
Emma: Yeah, he's got a whole database of them in the computer. Everyone he knew about from the Genomex years and all the people we've found since.
Kyle: I hope he keeps it locked up tight.
Emma: Yeah. Even Jesse wouldn't be able to break the encryption.
Kyle: And what about your friends? Are they okay?
Emma: Nothing yet. But they'll call as soon as they find something. It's nice that you're worried about them.
Kyle (looking concerned): I thought you said you couldn't read me.
Emma: I guess some things you just know without any special powers. I guess this is how normal people get to know each other, without being intimate from the first look.
Kyle: And you can handle that? Being with somebody and never being able to look into their mind?
Emma: Well, maybe it wouldn’t always have to be like that. Maybe I just wasn’t trying hard enough. Maybe I just wasn’t connected. [They kiss until Emma suddenly pulls away, frowning.] Kyle, what are you? [He throws her across the room. She hits the far wall and falls to the ground, unconscious.]
Kyle: You shouldn't have done that, Emma. [He hurries out of the room.]
***Commercial Break***
[Adam emerges from the lab to find Emma spread-eagled on the floor. He rushes over.]
Adam: Emma? Emma! Are you all right?
Emma: No thanks to Kyle.
Adam: Where is he?
Emma: I don't know. I read him deeper and I saw something.
Adam (guiding her to the couch): Come, sit down.
Emma: I don't think he's what he seems to be.
Adam: Not what he seems to be, what do you mean?
Emma: His mind isn't like ours. I don't think that he's human.
Adam: All right, well that would explain something. I just finished my analysis of the residue that was in the vials that Brennan found at the warehouse? The DNA in it is mutant DNA.
Emma (standing): That's where the missing spinal fluid went.
Adam: Right. So this compound that would be fatal to a human, to someone like Kyle, whatever he is-- [He's cut off by a beeping sound.] Oh, damn!
Emma: What is it?
Adam (typing at the computer): He's trying to break into the mutant database.
Emma: I just let him in.
Adam: Don't blame yourself; there's no time. He's disabled our passcodes.
Emma: Can you tell where he is?
Adam: He's in the hangar bay. [Emma starts off; Adam grabs her arm.] Hey! Woah, woah, wait! If he's as strong as the others were, there's no way that we can handle him alone.
Emma: Well, I have to try!
Adam: No, no, no. Listen, I don't want you to go in. I just want you to keep him busy for a little while. I need some time in the lab; I need to try to even the odds. I want you to be careful.
Emma: Okay.
Adam (running to the lab): Be careful!
[Brennan and Jesse follow the goon into the hospital's storage room.]
Brennan: How much do you want to bet this door leads to Shalimar? [He tries the handle, but it's locked. He gestures to Jesse.]
Jesse: Let's go. [He phases the door, allowing them to pass through. Sure enough, the door leads into the creepy warehouse.]
Brennan: Let's go find her.
[Kyle doesn't look up from his computer when Emma enters the hangar bay.]
Kyle: Go away, Emma. You'd be wise to put some space between you and what's coming.
Emma: What are you?
Kyle: Trust me. You don't wanna know.
Emma: I'm not gonna let you do this, Kyle.
Kyle: You can't stop me.
Emma: Well, I'm gonna try. [Smiling smugly, Kyle drinks spinal fluid from a vial in his pocket. Emma directs a psionic blast at his head, but he just laughs.]
Kyle: Don't waste your time. [The computer beeps as the message "Database Protection Disabled; Upload Database" appears on the screen.] I'm through.
Emma: What the hell are you?
Kyle: You have no idea. You wanna see what I am, Emma? Take a good look. [She backs away as he becomes a glowing orange and green light form. Adam runs in just as Kyle turns back into human form.] Adam. Ironic, isn't it? What we steal from you is the very thing that gives us the power to steal more.
Adam: I put something together. I don't know if it'll work, though.
Emma: Well, we don't have much of a choice now, do we?
Kyle: Well, maybe you think you can do something she can't. Well, let me finish my business here. I'll have more time to play. [Adam raises his dart gun.]
Adam: No. Playtime's now. [He shoots Kyle with a dart, which Kyle easily picks out of his side.]
Kyle: That was stupid.
Emma: Hey. Watch who you call stupid. [She aims another psionic blast at Kyle, sending him flying into the bulkhead.]
Adam: Good, it works. Now whatever he is, maybe now he’ll understand the old adage about a woman scorned.
Emma: The hospital must have been a trap.
Adam: Yeah, and Brennan and Jesse walked right into it. Let's go. [They leave together.]
[Jesse and Brennan stand on a balcony over the creepy warehouse.]
Brennan: Looks like all the action’s down below.
Jesse: Where else would hell be? [They search until they find Shalimar.] Shalimar? Shal!
Shalimar (waking up): Jess.
Brennan: Thank God. Come on, let's get her out of this thing! [The boys tug on the neck brace, triggering an alarm. Dr. Wolf appears on the balcony to watch as a white gas floods the warehouse.]
Brennan: Jess! Gas! Get this thing apart, come on! [Coughing, Jesse and Brennan succumb to the gas and fall to the floor.]
***Commercial Break***
[Now Brennan, Jesse, and Shalimar are restrained to three beds in the warehouse. Jesse wakes up in time to hear Dr. Wolf and Bergman come in together.]
Dr. Wolf: It's only a matter of time before we have the files we need.
Bergman: If your agent has been compromised, then I'm exposed and so is this location.
Dr. Wolf: How are they gonna stop me? I have Mutant X. I have all the power I need to destroy any threat.
Bergman: You do what you want. From now on, I'm out.
Dr. Wolf: You're right. You're out. [She whacks him across the face, sending him flying into a deep pool of water in the floor. She leaves.]
Jesse: You guys all right?
Shalimar: Yeah, except for a killer headache.
Brennan: All right, Jess, see if you can phase these restraints.
Jesse: Uh. They're energy based. I'm not good at that.
Brennan: You know what? Forget good. Adequate would do right now.
Jesse: I'm gonna try something. [He masses, and his bed collapses underneath his weight. As Shalimar and Brennan crane their necks to see if he's all right, another alarm goes off, alerting Dr. Wolf. Jesse quickly frees his teammates.]
Brennan: Let's finish what we started.
Shalimar: Save some for me, boys, because that bitch is mine.
Jesse: Okay, you guys get going. I'm gonna fix it so they won't be sucking anybody else. [He goes to the computer.]
Dr. Wolf (coming downstairs to them): You should have stayed where you were. It would have hurt less. [She drinks a vial of spinal fluid.]
Shalimar: Well, if I’m going down, I’m going down. But I’m gonna leave you something to remember me by. [The two gang up on Dr. Wolf, using their abilities, but she's able to repel their best efforts.]
Dr. Wolf: Why are you wasting your time? You don't stand a chance, any of you.
Adam (coming in behind her): I wouldn't be so sure about that. You want to play around with mutant genetics, I’m the last person you want to play with. [He shoots her in the leg with a dart.] I think you just lost your advantage. [Brennan starts toward her, but Shalimar holds him back.]
Shalimar: No. I'm saving this one for myself. [She somersaults towards Dr. Wolf and kicks her hard enough to knock her backwards into the floor. Adam goes to Shalimar.]
Adam: Are you all right?
Shalimar: Yeah. I think I'm probably down about a quart, but I'm gonna make it.
Jesse (racing towards them): Okay! We've got about 10 seconds before this place blows!
Adam: Okay, let's go! Out! Go, go, go, go! [They run out the door just before the warehouse explodes.]
[That night in Sanctuary, Brennan comes up to Adam as he stares out the lab's glass door.]
Brennan: So, did you talk to your friends at the agency?
Adam: Yeah. Wolf and what's left of her people are being held at a controlled facility.
Brennan (chuckling): Like an Area 51?
Adam: Yeah. Something like that.
Brennan: So, is it just me, or does the world feel like it got a whole lot bigger all of a sudden?
Adam: Yeah. You're right. How's Emma?
Brennan (shrugging): Well, you know, she's been better. Maybe you wanna go talk to her.
Adam (nodding): Yeah. [He heads towards Emma's room, leaving Brennan at the glass door.]
[Emma's sitting on her bed, playing with her comlink ring when Adam knocks on her door. She doesn't answer, but he comes in anyway.]
Adam: Hey.
Emma (without turning around): I don't need the pity, Adam.
Adam: Just wanted to see how you were doing.
Emma: You know, I used to think you were lucky, not being stuck feeling everyone else’s emotions. When I didn’t feel anything from Kyle, I was relieved. [She looks back at him.] You know, I thought I could take him at face value. I don’t know, maybe I thought I could love him.
Adam: Well, welcome to how it is for the other 99.9% of the population. When you love somebody you don’t really know what’s in their hearts. You take your chances.
Emma: Yeah, well, I don’t think I can do that. Not if it feels like this when it doesn’t work out.
Adam (sitting by her): Yeah, but you’ve gotta put your pain behind you. You’ve got to move on, you’ve got to take another chance. Makes life a little bit more interesting.
Emma: That’s easy for you to say.
Adam: Look, the guy who I thought was helping us find Shalimar turned out to be the guy who set us up. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna trust anybody again--
Emma (cutting him off): I understand. But I’m still happy I have my power. Because however painful it is sometimes, it’s nowhere near as painful as having to rely on trust.
Adam (shaking his head): A hard way to live your life, Emma. I mean, even with your power, I think you’re gonna have to take your chances sometime. You’ve gonna to trust somebody.
Emma: Well, you can keep your trust. I’ll take the sure thing any day. [Getting up, she leaves Adam sitting on her bed, smiling sadly.]
[Jesse stands alone on the balcony looking over the main room. Shalimar comes up to hug him.]
Shalimar: You know, there really wasn't time before, but I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry about Amanda.
Jesse: She didn’t want to be a part of our world, Shal. But our world came after her anyway.
Shalimar (resting her head on his shoulder): Well, I’ll tell you the minute life starts getting fair. You hang in there, okay?
Jesse: Yeah. There’s nowhere else to hang.
Closing Credits.
Mutant X Episode #208 Transcript: " Sign from Above"
[Opening Scene: The brunette feral, Amanda Terry, energetically dashes up the stairs to her loft apartment, slowly followed by a winded Jesse. Reaching the landing, she turns to poke fun at her boyfriend.]
Amanda: I knew you were all talk!
Jesse (gasping): How do you figure?
Amanda (tossing her purse on the floor): Well, I whipped you to a pulp on the dance floor, and then I beat you back here by half a block.
Jesse: You’re a feral. If you think I can outdance ya, I’d have to take you back to the genetic drawing board.
Amanda: Oh, I don’t know if you’d want to do that. I mean, who knows what else they’d change?
Jesse: Yeah, right. I wouldn't want that. [They kiss, but she pulls away.]
Amanda: Mmm...as much as I'd like to make an evening of this, I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you home.
Jesse: No! No-no-no-no, come on! What happened to that feral stamina you were talking about?
Amanda: It's gotta be at work at 7 am, along with the rest of me.
Jesse: You know, I can’t believe that someone like you spends her days working at a music store.
Amanda: What should I be doing? Showing off my powers like the rest of you guys at Mutant X? huh? Letting the entire world know I’m a freak?
Jesse: We’re not freaks, Amanda.
Amanda: Yeah, but we’re not entirely normal yet either, are we? [She kisses him, then walks him back down the stairs, holding his hand.] Call me on Friday. We'll play til you drop.
Jesse: I'm gonna hold you to that. [They kiss again at the door.]
Amanda: Good night.
Jesse: Good night. [She bolts the door behind him. As soon as he's gone, a dark-haired woman steps out from her hiding place behind a second floor pillar.]
Dr. Sara Wolf: You shouldn't make promises you can't keep.
Amanda (feral eyes flashing): I don’t get many break-ins. [She comes upstairs to face the woman.] And you’re about to find out why.
Dr. Wolf: That's what I came for, Amanda. [A goon emerges from behind the wall to join her; a second sneaks upstairs behind Amanda.]
Amanda: How do you know my name?
Dr. Wolf: I know everything about you. Including what you are.
Amanda: And what's that?
Dr. Wolf: Valuable. [Without breaking eye contact with Dr. Wolf, Amanda drops the man behind her with a swift kick. She fights valiantly, but the powerful goons knock her unconscious.] Take her.
Opening Credits: "Sign from Above"
[The next morning in Sanctuary, Jesse enters Brennan's room as Brennan's getting dressed.]
Jesse: She’s not at home, she’s not at work, and she’s not answering her cellphone.
Brennan: Well, sounds like she’s blowing you off, Brother.
Jesse: She’s not blowing me off.
Brennan: What, like women don’t do that? They say something when they mean something totally different?
Jesse: No, this woman don’t do that. Besides, you know, I’m not so sure you’re the right guy to be giving advice. When was the last time you had a steady relationship, huh?
Brennan (chuckling): Jess, having a relationship and handling women are two totally different things. One doesn’t necessarily go with the other. [Rolling his eyes, Jesse follows him out of the room.]
[Adam is meeting with one of his secret government contacts at a quiet roadside.]
J.K. Bergman: Something came across my desk a few hours ago. I didn't know who else to call to try to make sense of it.
Adam (scoffing): Bergman, just do me a favor, okay? Don't try to play me. You're sitting on top of one of the best intelligence networks in the world.
Bergman: In the last 72 hours, three bodies have turned up in the river.
Adam: The police have a competent homicide division.
Bergman: All these bodies shared something very special. In all three cases, their genetic structure was modified.
Adam: So you're telling me they were mutants.
Bergman: Their genetic structure was similar to the bodies recovered after the Genomex debacle. None of the victims appear in official records.
Adam: Look, I don’t know every mutant Genomex created. And, you know, toward the end, we weren’t exactly sharing information.
Bergman: But you do have a registry of the mutants you’ve been able to help.
Adam: I see your intelligence web is even better than I thought.
Bergman (pulling out a palm pilot): All I’m asking is that you put names to some of those young people. It’s the least you can do for their families.
Adam (irritably): Why, because you think I’m responsible for making them what they are in the first place?
Bergman: I didn’t say that.
Adam: Well, you don’t have to! [He angrily snatches the palm pilot from Bergman's hand and scrolls through the pictures of the victims, stopping cold at Miranda's photograph.]
Bergman: You know them?
Adam (sighing sadly): Her. All right. Tell me what you know.
[Returning to Sanctuary, Adam relays the news to Jesse.]
Jesse: Adam, that's impossible! I was with her last night.
Adam: The coroner fixed the time of death as early this morning. Her body was found. In the river.
Jesse (suddenly realizing): That means that whoever killed her was waiting for her when I left; I should have stayed.
Adam: Jesse.
Jesse: Adam, I could have protected her!
Adam: Jesse, don't torture yourself about this. Amanda was a powerful feral, almost as strong as Shalimar. She could take care of herself.
Jesse: What the hell are you talking about?
Adam: Whoever killed her knew what she was. They knew about her powers; they were strong enough to overcome them.
Jesse: She never did anything to anybody. Who the hell would want to kill her?
Adam: I don't know. But we're gonna find out. And then we're gonna stop them before they hurt somebody else.
Jesse: Oh, we find them. I will stop them. [Shaking his head, he walks away.]
[A few hours later, Jesse leads Brennan, Emma, and Shalimar to Amanda's apartment.]
Jesse: She lived down here. She thought it would give her some privacy, keep her safe. Guess that didn't work out so good, huh?
Brennan: I don't think where she lived had anything to do with her death. We don't know for sure what caused it.
Jesse (angrily): Oh, I know what caused it. She was murdered because she was a mutant! Or maybe she just decided to go for a swim in the river at 3 AM.
Emma: Jesse, stop it! [Everyone looks at Emma in surprise.]
Brennan: All right, everybody just relax, okay? [He points to Shalimar and Emma.] You guys go check the perimeter, we're gonna go inside and take a look. [Shalimar nods. Brennan takes Jesse inside, leaving Shalimar to talk to Emma.]
Shalimar: That was pretty cold.
Emma (coldly): Not really.
Shalimar: His girlfriend just died! You could cut him some slack.
Emma: And that means I have to go down the road with every crisis every one of you is feeling? Look, ever since our powers got ramped up, I have been finding it harder and harder to keep my defenses up against stray emotions. And when somebody, especially a friend, radiates pure grief like Jesse is, then I find it really hard not to get wrapped up in it myself.
Shalimar: Well, you could help him.
Emma: No, I couldn’t. I could make him feel good for a little while. You know, so good that he might forget all about Amanda. But it would just be temporary. People have to deal with grief like this on their own.
Shalimar: Emma, he’s in pain!
Emma: So what? Every time somebody is feeling something they shouldn’t, I should mess around in their heads? Who decides when it’s okay, Shal, me? You?
Shalimar: I see your point. But you don’t have to be so cold about it.
[Jesse and Brennan enter Amanda's trashed apartment. Jesse sits on a chair, stunned.]
Brennan: At least she put up a fight.
Jesse: I don't believe it.
Brennan: So what'd you talk about last night?
Jesse: I don't know...uh...music, movies, what we were gonna do next weekend.
Brennan: Well, she must have said something that can help us figure out why they killed her.
Jesse (angrily): She was a nice person! She wasn't involved in anything!
Brennan: I'm not saying she was. I'm just looking for a reason as to why this all happened.
[Emma and Shalimar search the alley around the building for clues.]
Emma: Anything?
Shalimar (feral eyes flashing): Not yet. It's been so long I can't get a fresh scent. It would take us a month to sort through all this stuff.
Emma: Well, maybe this is a job for the police.
Dr. Wolf (surrounding them with her goons): That would be a shame. I'm happier you're here. Saves me going looking for you.
Shalimar (over her comlink): Brennan, Jess, we could use some help here.
Brennan: We're on our way.
Emma (to Shalimar): You choose.
Shalimar: I've got your back. [She attacks one goon and Emma directs a psionic blast at the second goon's head. He quickly shakes it off and hurls her against the wall. Then both goons overpower Shalimar and drag her off. Dr. Wolf starts towards Emma's body, but leaves without her when she hears Brennan's voice.]
Brennan: Shalimar! Emma! [He and Jesse help Emma to her feet.] You okay?
Emma: They got Shalimar. Over there. [Jesse and Brennan give chase, but come upon a solid brick wall, a dead end. They exchange a confused glance.]
[Returning to Sanctuary, Jesse and Brennan follow Adam into the lab.]
Jesse: This can’t be happening, Adam. They can’t have just disappeared into thin air.
Adam: Well, you do it all the time.
Jesse: What, you think they're mutants?
Adam: I don't know what the hell they are. They seem to have tremendous strength, and yet they don't fit the feral profile. They also seem resistant to Emma's mental attacks.
Brennan: Well, maybe it's some kind of mechanical enhancement.
Adam: Well, there's something else that I'm concerned about. [He points to his computer.] Amanda's autopsy showed how she died. She suffered a complete epideric breakdown of her central nervous system.
Jesse: Uh...which means what?
Adam: Her spinal fuid was drained. Every drop of it.
Brennan: Adam, why would somebody do that?
Adam: I don't know. But I'm afraid that they're planning to do the same thing with Shalimar.
Brennan: Well, there's gotta be something we can do.
Adam (putting on his coat): Well, I'm going back to my source. I want you guys to monitor the news and the information webs. See if you can come up with anything on a similar crime. [He pats Jesse on the back as he heads out the door. Brennan goes to sit at a computer.]
Jesse: What, so that's it? Shalimar could be dying; we're sitting here surfing the net?
Brennan: You know, if it makes you feel any better, I think whoever these guys are, they're gonna show themselves again soon.
Jesse: Why?
Brennan: Because I got a feeling we're not going after the bad guys this time. They're coming after us.
[In a creepy warehouse, a goon guards Shalimar as she struggles in vain against three blue glowing bands pinning her to a cot.]
Shalimar (struggling in vain): What do you people want?! [The goon just stares at her wordlessly. Rolling her eyes, she struggles some more.] Somebody talk to me!
Dr. Wolf (entering): You are persistent. Ectomorphic restraints can be very draining. Most people would have given up after an hour or so.
Shalimar: I'm not most people.
Dr. Wolf (leaning over her): Not at all. Healthy, vital, extremely strong. Prime mutant stock.
Shalimar: Sounds like I just won a ribbon at the county fair.
Dr. Wolf: I need you to help me, Shalimar Fox. I need you to tell me about Adam Kane’s database of mutants.
Shalimar: I need you to spontaneously combust. Any chance of that?
Dr. Wolf: That's it. Keep up the anger. It'll make what comes in the end so much sweeter. You will tell me what I want to know.
Shalimar: And if I don't?
Dr. Wolf: I don't offer options. [She takes an ugly-looking pincer device from the goon.] I should warn you, this is going to hurt. A lot.
[Adam meets with Bergman at the roadside again.]
Bergman: It sounds like you're accusing me.
Adam: I am not accusing you of anything! I'm not accusing anybody of anything! I just need to get to the bottom of what happend to Amanda Terry. Now, who told you about the missing mutants?
Bergman: The type of people who don't exist officially, but what they say is always right on the money.
Adam: LOOK! One of my teammates' life is on the line! So I need to know what you know!
Bergman: Adam, you know everything I'm able to tell you.
Adam (throwing up his hands): Oh, you.... [He starts to get back into his car.]
Bergman: All right, listen. I wasn't gonna tell you until I checked this out myself.
Adam: You weren't gonna tell me what?
Bergman (holding a slip of paper): My source says there's a report of a young woman being dragged into a warehouse downtown. Now the description of the fight she put up led my people to believe she was something more than human.
Adam: All right, give me the address. [He snatches the paper and starts his car.]
Bergman: Adam, I hope this leads somewhere. I hope you find your friend. [Ignoring him, Adam speeds off.]
[Jesse, Emma, and Brennan arrive at the location, a rundown apartment complex.]
Jesse: Some place. I’ll bet even the rats think twice before hanging out here.
Brennan: Hey, it can’t all be one of your family society lunches.
Jesse: Don’t like them much either. [They stop short when a young man tumbles out of a doorway, trying to fight off two goons.]
Emma: Those are the guys that got Shalimar.
Brennan (forming tesla coils): Hey! [He zaps both goons, but they easily withstand the blast.] Who are these guys?
Emma: I told you they were strong. [Brennan and Jesse attack the goons with fists while Emma goes to help the young man they were chasing.] Are you okay?
Kyle Strong (backing away from her): Get away from me!
Emma: It's okay. We wanna help you. [Brennan and Jesse finally chase the goons away. Jesse starts to pursue them.]
Brennan: Jess, let them go! We've gotta find Shalimar. Come on! [They return to Emma, surrounding Kyle so that he can't escape.]
Kyle: I'm not going back in there. I'm not going.
****Commercial Break****
[Leaving Kyle with Emma, Brennan and Jesse enter the warehouse from which Kyle emerged. It's completely empty, but they see dozens of handcuffs hanging from the ceiling by chains.]
Jesse: Looks like we missed the party.
Brennan: Yeah, I think you're right.
Jesse: Brennan. [He picks up a ring from the floor.] Shalimar's comlink. Okay, well, we know she was here. The question is, what'd they do with her?
Brennan: Maybe our friend outside can answer that question.
Jesse: Yeah. [Brennan picks a glass tube from the floor and smells it.] What is it?
Brennan: Some kind of vial.
Jesse: Well, that's not surprising. I'm sure this place is pretty popular with the druggies.
Brennan: Yeah? Then why is this the only thing that's on the floor?
Jesse: You think they were using it on the captives?
Brennan: Who knows? Maybe on themselves, maybe we're fighting junkies. Nothing would surprise me at this point. [Emma escorts Kyle inside.]
Emma: This is Kyle. He says that he wants to help.
Kyle: You're looking for the girl. The feral.
Brennan: Shalimar. You saw her?
Kyle: They took her away. They took all the others away. They would have got me too, if you guys didn't show up.
Brennan: You have any idea what they're after?
Kyle: No.
Jesse: What did they do to you?
Kyle: They came to my work a couple of days ago. They just grabbed me, in front of everybody. I-I tried to fight them, but... You think this is happening because I'm different?
Emma (sharing a look with Brennan): It's possible.
Brennan: Do you know how they found you?
Kyle: No. My parents always kept my differences hidden. They told me never to use my powers in public, so I-I never did. Until I had to fight these guys.
Jesse: Look, you've gotta think here. Okay? There had to have been something, maybe something they said?
Kyle: They didn't talk to me. They only talked with each other when they thought I couldn't hear them. I guess they don't understand about a feral's hearing.
Emma: So you don't remember anything they said?
Kyle: Nothing that makes sense. They said something about a hospital. Mercy General. They had to make another run.
Brennan: Now we know. Let's get him back to Sanctuary. Maybe Adam will be able to figure something out.
Kyle (backing away): No, no. [Brennan looks to Emma, who touches Kyle's arm.]
Emma: It's okay. [Reassured, Kyle follows them.]
[Back in Sanctuary's lab, Jesse and Brennan watch Adam analyze the vial from the warehouse.]
Adam: Well, whatever was in that vial you guys found, it is definitely not street drugs. There are chemicals in here that could kill a human being in a second.
Brennan: So it was a poison.
Adam: I wouldn't say that either. There are also elements of living matter in there, DNA fragments.
Jesse: What?
Adam: There are definitely some kind of human DNA bonded at the core of the compound. It's just gonna take me some time to break it down.
Jesse: Oh, what about Kyle? He says his last name is Strong, but I've been through the database twice, we have no record of him.
Adam: Well, there were a lot of secret experiments done at Genomex that, you know, there are just no records about that.
Brennan: Yeah, and we saw this guy fight at the warehouse. No normal human could move that fast.
Adam: Right. And whatever he is, his information about the hospital is still the best shot we have at getting Shalimar back. And we've gotta move fast. The time between Amanda's abduction and the time her body was found was less than 18 hours. So if Shalimar's in the same situation, time is limited. [He picks up his palm pilot.] Now I'm running a satellite scan on the hospital complex, it's gonna be uploaded onto the computer aboard the Helix. So you guys go to the hospital, you check it out, keep your eyes open. Anybody who can get the best of Shalimar is a threat to be taken seriously.
Brennan: What about Emma?
Adam: Well, she can stay here, she can work with Kyle. Maybe she can come up with some more details about this operation, something he might have forgotten.
Brennan: Yeah, okay.
Adam: Okay?
Jesse (taking the palm pilot): We're on it. [They head out. Adam stares through the lab's glass doors at Kyle, who's pacing around the main area when Emma approaches him.]
Emma: Hey.
Kyle: Hey.
Emma: So, how are you feeling?
Kyle: Um...better. Thanks.
Emma: Good. Well, you've been through a lot. I guess it's just good we got to you when we did.
Kyle: Why is that?
Emma: Well, they've been killing people. Draining their spinal fluid. It just doesn't make any sense.
Kyle: Who knows what kind of sickos these guys are?
Emma (sitting near him): Well, one of the people who was killed was a really close friend of Jesse’s.
Kyle: But you’re fighters, right? I mean, you take those chances.
Emma (shaking her head): No. Not Amanda. She wasn’t like us. All she cared about was music, you know, she didn’t deserve what happened to her. None of us do.
Kyle: I’m sorry, Emma. I hope you get her back.
Emma: Well, we got you back. And that gives me some hope. [They smile at each other.]
[J.K. Bergman meets Dr. Wolf in the creepy warehouse.]
Bergman: I risked exposure getting them for you.
Dr. Wolf: The one we have isn't talking, despite some serious persuasion.
Bergman: And how does letting one escape get us any closer to Adam Kane's database?
Dr. Wolf: They took one of mine with them.
Bergman: Into Sanctuary?
Dr. Wolf: Yes. The motherload of mutants will be available for us to pick off whenever we choose.
Bergman: I have new respect for you, Wolf. This will prove to be very profitable. For both of us.
Dr. Wolf (smiling): You have no idea of the profit. [Leaving Bergman, she and a goon return to Shalimar.]
Shalimar: I wondered when you were coming back. I was starting to think you didn't care about me anymore.
Dr. Wolf: You may be right. You may soon be unnecessary.
Shalimar: You're bluffing. You can't find the database on your own.
Dr. Wolf: Not yet. But soon. And then I'll have everything I need.
Shalimar: What do you people want?
Dr. Wolf (picking up a vial of spinal fluid from the counter): People's brains and spinal cords float in a bath of fluid. In normal humans, that fluid is rich in nutrients, chemicals, and proteins. But in mutants, it's got a whole lot more. Your genetic abnormalities turn it into something very special for my people.
Shalimar (frowning): What are you talking about?
Dr. Wolf: Ingested, it gives my people intense physical power for short periods. The more powerful the mutant, the more power we obtain. And with enough power, one can rule a world. Even mine. [She strokes Shalimar's hair.] I'm saving yours for myself.
Shalimar: In that case, I hope you choke on it.
Dr. Wolf (to the goon): Prepare her. [He snaps a metal brace around Shalimar's neck.]
[Meanwhile, in Sanctuary, Emma and Kyle continue their talk.]
Emma: You know, you’re different, Kyle.
Kyle: Me? Different than what?
Emma: I don’t know. Different than other mutants. Different than other people.
Kyle: Bad different?
Emma (grinning): No. Good different. You know, it’s kind of nice not being blasted by another person’s emotions. I can let my defenses down a little bit more.
Kyle: So, you can’t read me at all? All my dark secrets are still safe?
Emma: I’m afraid so.
Kyle (smiling): That’s good. That way you won’t see it coming.
Emma: Oh yeah? What’s that?
Kyle: Well, I don’t know. Maybe I haven’t decided yet. But being this close to you kind of gives me a few ideas.
Emma: You know what? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you’re not so different than every other guy.
Kyle (leaning towards her seductively): I promise you. I’m different.
[Brennan and Jesse arrive at the Hospital's waiting room, which is filled with coughing patients.]
Jesse: If somebody wasn't sick when they got here, they sure would be when they left, wouldn't they?
Brennan: It's the only lead we got.
Jesse: Yeah, well, there's over 200 rooms in this place and we don't even know where to start. [He recognizes one of Dr. Wolf's goons in a white coat, wheeling out a sheet-covered body on a stretcher.] Hey, check it out. [The boys hide behind the wall. A woman's arm falls out from under the sheet, and blonde hair pokes out from the end of the sheet. The goon shoves the arm back under the sheet and leaves. Brennan nods to Jesse, who uncovers the face. Both sigh in relief to see it's not Shalimar.] I knew it wasn't her. Let's follow him.
[Kyle and Emma are still flirting in Sanctuary's main room.]
Kyle: So, this is the nerve center.
Emma: Yeah. Our operations take us all around the world. We monitor crimes, disasters, politics...even a bunch of random stuff that only seems to make sense to Adam.
Kyle: Your Adam, he seems like a pretty smart guy. I mean all this, creating Mutant X.
Emma: You know, you could be a part of it if you wanted. With what we’re doing we could always use someone with your kind of strength and speed.
Kyle: And maybe somebody to put a little mystery and romance into the mix? [Emma grins.]
[Dr. Wolf oversees Shalimar's preparations from her bedside.]
Dr. Wolf: In less than an hour, your essence will be mine. And you? You'll be less than nothing.
Shalimar: you give me one minute outside of this rig with or without your superjuice, I’ll make you wish you’d never even heard of mutants.
Dr. Wolf: Wishing for the impossible is not one of humanity’s most ingratiating characteristics. [She nods to her goon, who turns on the machine. Shalimar screams in pain.]
[Kyle's listening to some soothing music on a computer when Emma comes up.]
Emma: I like your taste in music.
Kyle: I thought you'd like it. Uh, you want me off the computers?
Emma: No, take your time. I like watching you listen. [She sits down across from him. He turns off the music.]
Kyle: You know I hadn't thought about it much before, but what about the others like us? Adam keep track of them too?
Emma: Yeah, he's got a whole database of them in the computer. Everyone he knew about from the Genomex years and all the people we've found since.
Kyle: I hope he keeps it locked up tight.
Emma: Yeah. Even Jesse wouldn't be able to break the encryption.
Kyle: And what about your friends? Are they okay?
Emma: Nothing yet. But they'll call as soon as they find something. It's nice that you're worried about them.
Kyle (looking concerned): I thought you said you couldn't read me.
Emma: I guess some things you just know without any special powers. I guess this is how normal people get to know each other, without being intimate from the first look.
Kyle: And you can handle that? Being with somebody and never being able to look into their mind?
Emma: Well, maybe it wouldn’t always have to be like that. Maybe I just wasn’t trying hard enough. Maybe I just wasn’t connected. [They kiss until Emma suddenly pulls away, frowning.] Kyle, what are you? [He throws her across the room. She hits the far wall and falls to the ground, unconscious.]
Kyle: You shouldn't have done that, Emma. [He hurries out of the room.]
***Commercial Break***
[Adam emerges from the lab to find Emma spread-eagled on the floor. He rushes over.]
Adam: Emma? Emma! Are you all right?
Emma: No thanks to Kyle.
Adam: Where is he?
Emma: I don't know. I read him deeper and I saw something.
Adam (guiding her to the couch): Come, sit down.
Emma: I don't think he's what he seems to be.
Adam: Not what he seems to be, what do you mean?
Emma: His mind isn't like ours. I don't think that he's human.
Adam: All right, well that would explain something. I just finished my analysis of the residue that was in the vials that Brennan found at the warehouse? The DNA in it is mutant DNA.
Emma (standing): That's where the missing spinal fluid went.
Adam: Right. So this compound that would be fatal to a human, to someone like Kyle, whatever he is-- [He's cut off by a beeping sound.] Oh, damn!
Emma: What is it?
Adam (typing at the computer): He's trying to break into the mutant database.
Emma: I just let him in.
Adam: Don't blame yourself; there's no time. He's disabled our passcodes.
Emma: Can you tell where he is?
Adam: He's in the hangar bay. [Emma starts off; Adam grabs her arm.] Hey! Woah, woah, wait! If he's as strong as the others were, there's no way that we can handle him alone.
Emma: Well, I have to try!
Adam: No, no, no. Listen, I don't want you to go in. I just want you to keep him busy for a little while. I need some time in the lab; I need to try to even the odds. I want you to be careful.
Emma: Okay.
Adam (running to the lab): Be careful!
[Brennan and Jesse follow the goon into the hospital's storage room.]
Brennan: How much do you want to bet this door leads to Shalimar? [He tries the handle, but it's locked. He gestures to Jesse.]
Jesse: Let's go. [He phases the door, allowing them to pass through. Sure enough, the door leads into the creepy warehouse.]
Brennan: Let's go find her.
[Kyle doesn't look up from his computer when Emma enters the hangar bay.]
Kyle: Go away, Emma. You'd be wise to put some space between you and what's coming.
Emma: What are you?
Kyle: Trust me. You don't wanna know.
Emma: I'm not gonna let you do this, Kyle.
Kyle: You can't stop me.
Emma: Well, I'm gonna try. [Smiling smugly, Kyle drinks spinal fluid from a vial in his pocket. Emma directs a psionic blast at his head, but he just laughs.]
Kyle: Don't waste your time. [The computer beeps as the message "Database Protection Disabled; Upload Database" appears on the screen.] I'm through.
Emma: What the hell are you?
Kyle: You have no idea. You wanna see what I am, Emma? Take a good look. [She backs away as he becomes a glowing orange and green light form. Adam runs in just as Kyle turns back into human form.] Adam. Ironic, isn't it? What we steal from you is the very thing that gives us the power to steal more.
Adam: I put something together. I don't know if it'll work, though.
Emma: Well, we don't have much of a choice now, do we?
Kyle: Well, maybe you think you can do something she can't. Well, let me finish my business here. I'll have more time to play. [Adam raises his dart gun.]
Adam: No. Playtime's now. [He shoots Kyle with a dart, which Kyle easily picks out of his side.]
Kyle: That was stupid.
Emma: Hey. Watch who you call stupid. [She aims another psionic blast at Kyle, sending him flying into the bulkhead.]
Adam: Good, it works. Now whatever he is, maybe now he’ll understand the old adage about a woman scorned.
Emma: The hospital must have been a trap.
Adam: Yeah, and Brennan and Jesse walked right into it. Let's go. [They leave together.]
[Jesse and Brennan stand on a balcony over the creepy warehouse.]
Brennan: Looks like all the action’s down below.
Jesse: Where else would hell be? [They search until they find Shalimar.] Shalimar? Shal!
Shalimar (waking up): Jess.
Brennan: Thank God. Come on, let's get her out of this thing! [The boys tug on the neck brace, triggering an alarm. Dr. Wolf appears on the balcony to watch as a white gas floods the warehouse.]
Brennan: Jess! Gas! Get this thing apart, come on! [Coughing, Jesse and Brennan succumb to the gas and fall to the floor.]
***Commercial Break***
[Now Brennan, Jesse, and Shalimar are restrained to three beds in the warehouse. Jesse wakes up in time to hear Dr. Wolf and Bergman come in together.]
Dr. Wolf: It's only a matter of time before we have the files we need.
Bergman: If your agent has been compromised, then I'm exposed and so is this location.
Dr. Wolf: How are they gonna stop me? I have Mutant X. I have all the power I need to destroy any threat.
Bergman: You do what you want. From now on, I'm out.
Dr. Wolf: You're right. You're out. [She whacks him across the face, sending him flying into a deep pool of water in the floor. She leaves.]
Jesse: You guys all right?
Shalimar: Yeah, except for a killer headache.
Brennan: All right, Jess, see if you can phase these restraints.
Jesse: Uh. They're energy based. I'm not good at that.
Brennan: You know what? Forget good. Adequate would do right now.
Jesse: I'm gonna try something. [He masses, and his bed collapses underneath his weight. As Shalimar and Brennan crane their necks to see if he's all right, another alarm goes off, alerting Dr. Wolf. Jesse quickly frees his teammates.]
Brennan: Let's finish what we started.
Shalimar: Save some for me, boys, because that bitch is mine.
Jesse: Okay, you guys get going. I'm gonna fix it so they won't be sucking anybody else. [He goes to the computer.]
Dr. Wolf (coming downstairs to them): You should have stayed where you were. It would have hurt less. [She drinks a vial of spinal fluid.]
Shalimar: Well, if I’m going down, I’m going down. But I’m gonna leave you something to remember me by. [The two gang up on Dr. Wolf, using their abilities, but she's able to repel their best efforts.]
Dr. Wolf: Why are you wasting your time? You don't stand a chance, any of you.
Adam (coming in behind her): I wouldn't be so sure about that. You want to play around with mutant genetics, I’m the last person you want to play with. [He shoots her in the leg with a dart.] I think you just lost your advantage. [Brennan starts toward her, but Shalimar holds him back.]
Shalimar: No. I'm saving this one for myself. [She somersaults towards Dr. Wolf and kicks her hard enough to knock her backwards into the floor. Adam goes to Shalimar.]
Adam: Are you all right?
Shalimar: Yeah. I think I'm probably down about a quart, but I'm gonna make it.
Jesse (racing towards them): Okay! We've got about 10 seconds before this place blows!
Adam: Okay, let's go! Out! Go, go, go, go! [They run out the door just before the warehouse explodes.]
[That night in Sanctuary, Brennan comes up to Adam as he stares out the lab's glass door.]
Brennan: So, did you talk to your friends at the agency?
Adam: Yeah. Wolf and what's left of her people are being held at a controlled facility.
Brennan (chuckling): Like an Area 51?
Adam: Yeah. Something like that.
Brennan: So, is it just me, or does the world feel like it got a whole lot bigger all of a sudden?
Adam: Yeah. You're right. How's Emma?
Brennan (shrugging): Well, you know, she's been better. Maybe you wanna go talk to her.
Adam (nodding): Yeah. [He heads towards Emma's room, leaving Brennan at the glass door.]
[Emma's sitting on her bed, playing with her comlink ring when Adam knocks on her door. She doesn't answer, but he comes in anyway.]
Adam: Hey.
Emma (without turning around): I don't need the pity, Adam.
Adam: Just wanted to see how you were doing.
Emma: You know, I used to think you were lucky, not being stuck feeling everyone else’s emotions. When I didn’t feel anything from Kyle, I was relieved. [She looks back at him.] You know, I thought I could take him at face value. I don’t know, maybe I thought I could love him.
Adam: Well, welcome to how it is for the other 99.9% of the population. When you love somebody you don’t really know what’s in their hearts. You take your chances.
Emma: Yeah, well, I don’t think I can do that. Not if it feels like this when it doesn’t work out.
Adam (sitting by her): Yeah, but you’ve gotta put your pain behind you. You’ve got to move on, you’ve got to take another chance. Makes life a little bit more interesting.
Emma: That’s easy for you to say.
Adam: Look, the guy who I thought was helping us find Shalimar turned out to be the guy who set us up. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna trust anybody again--
Emma (cutting him off): I understand. But I’m still happy I have my power. Because however painful it is sometimes, it’s nowhere near as painful as having to rely on trust.
Adam (shaking his head): A hard way to live your life, Emma. I mean, even with your power, I think you’re gonna have to take your chances sometime. You’ve gonna to trust somebody.
Emma: Well, you can keep your trust. I’ll take the sure thing any day. [Getting up, she leaves Adam sitting on her bed, smiling sadly.]
[Jesse stands alone on the balcony looking over the main room. Shalimar comes up to hug him.]
Shalimar: You know, there really wasn't time before, but I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry about Amanda.
Jesse: She didn’t want to be a part of our world, Shal. But our world came after her anyway.
Shalimar (resting her head on his shoulder): Well, I’ll tell you the minute life starts getting fair. You hang in there, okay?
Jesse: Yeah. There’s nowhere else to hang.
Closing Credits.