"Where the hell is jesse with our backup?" "Yeah, no kidding." "Stay down!" "That's not my style." "You know that." "Are you okay?" "Ugh, i've been better." "I am so sorry." "I thought i had him under control." "Who the hell are you?" "Nikki?" "Hi." "Oh... hey." " I'm so sorry." "I am adam kane." "I was a pioneer of genetic research, manipulating dna to save human lives." "But in many their genes unexpectedly mutated." "They developed super-human abilities." "Together with four of the most powerful i fight to protect a world that doesn't even know we exist." "We are mutant x." "Hey, how's she doing?" "Well, the bullet missed the bone, but it tore up the muscle." "Anybody else might have lost a leg." "I guess that's a bright side." "Well, yeah, but, i mean, if it wasn't for nikki she might have lost her life." "So how do you two know each other?" "Well, nikki was one of the first people i found when i was putting together mutant x." "And she and shalimar bunked together for - what?" " About a year?" " Yeah." "Yeah, we were both fifteen." "We became more than friends, though." "We were like sisters." "Come on, let's give her some rest." " Yeah." "You know what, i realized that i needed a mix of talents for mutant x and unfortunately that meant choosing between nikki and shalimar." "I was the runner-up." "Well, no." "It wasn't that easy a choice." "But i tried to give her a normal life, i set her up with a foster home, tried to keep away from the battles of genomex." "I guess fate just works in funny ways, doesn't it?" "One day i'm just driving down the street, minding my own business, and here i am, right back where i started." "Ah, so that must make us the lucky ones." "Well, actually, i've worked really hard over the years to develop my powers." "I studied boxing and martial arts, gymnastics." "You name it." "Just not quite good enough to keep that guy from getting his last shot off, though." "Do you think that i've thought about anything else since that happened?" "Brennan, she saved her life." "Give her a break." "Don't worry about him." "We're glad you're here." "Thanks." "Being back here with you and shalimar, it's like coming home." "Ah..." " hey." "Hey, hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" "A wheelchair?" " Yeah." "How am i supposed to get a rematch against those guys sitting around in that thing?" "You're not gonna get a rematch." "You're going to take care of that leg." "Oh, come on." " Sit down, sit down." "Even with one leg, i can still kick ass." "Listen, any more stress on this leg could cause permanent damage." "Now, you're going to be on your feet in a couple of days." "'Til then i want you to rest, and i want you to take care of yourself." "Oh, great." "ferals." "I heard that." "It is so great to see you again." "ican'ttellyou  how many times i thought about getting together with you." "I just... so much i wanted to ask you, about what i was going through." "About your powers?" "Oh, about everything." "I really did look up to you, you know?" "Do you remember how we would talk all night long after adam would make us turn out the lights." "doyouremember, you couldn't decide whether you wanted to be a princess or a professional wrestler?" "I still can't." "oh,youdon'thave to go back right away, do you?" "Actually, i don't have much to get back to at all." "I did have an office job out west 'til last week, but i couldn't take it any more." "I don't know about you, but if i'm cooped up inside for too long, i start climbing the walls." "Hmm." "Goes with the territory for ferals." "Yeah." "What kind of work you looking for, anyway?" "I don't know." "Why?" "Do you know of an opening somewhere?" "Shalimar, i said no." "Adam, all i'm saying is if i can't go out in the field, you need somebody to fill in for a few days." "come on, give nikki a shot." "She's fast." "She's strong... that has nothing to do with it." "Well, what then?" "She's totally untrained." "I can't just put her out there with mutant x." "Yeah, well, so could trying to take down those lunatic bikers without a full team." "Tell her to take her cues from brennan." "She'll be fine." "Okay, guys, here's the lowdown." "Walderson industries didn't want to make it public, but what those bikers got away with was something called a particle decelerator." "Six months ago it would've been science fiction." "Apparently it can completely freeze electron movement." "Well, that means it can also shut down anything electrical." "That's right." "Computers, communications or the power grids for an entire city." "So what would happen if you used it against another person?" "Oh, that's where it gets nasty." "It would completely shut down their brain and their central nervous system." "Like turning people off." "Uh huh." "Well, it looks like somebody finally invented the death ray." "Yep." "Gotta figure out who these guys are and how they're planning on using it." "Well, nikki's our best lead." "Well, unfortunately, she doesn't remember much." "Maybe i can help her with the psionic memory scan." "I don't know if i like the sound of that." "Don't worry, it's safe and painless." "I mean, there's got to be something that you saw about the thieves that you don't even know you saw." "I guess it's okay." "Whatever i can do to help you guys." "Okay." "No, i... i changed my mind." "I don't like the look of that." "It's all right." "It's harmless." "All that's going to happen is we're going to put this contraption on your head, and you relive the fight in the street, okay?" "And then i will give you a telempathic boost and the machine converts optic memories into digital images." "If we're lucky, we'll see what you saw, okay?" "Maybe a... a feature of the shooter or something." "All you have to do is relax and remember." "And you'll see everything i saw?" "Well, only what you focus in on." "Which is why we need you to zero in on the facial features of the shooter." "I'll try." "Okay." "I'm trusting you, okay?" "Just concentrate on the memories of the fight and you'll be fine." "Shouldn't be too hard." "Just try to remember everything leading up to when you saved shalimar." "i'm sorry." "I can't... i can't go through that again." "No, no, no..." " it's okay." "Relax." "Relax." "You're okay." "What did you get, emma?" "It was pretty intense, but i saw the scene." "It's all there on the device." "She saw him." "He had a tattoo of a teardrop under one eye." "Yeah." "Guys get that in prison when they've killed somebody." "Emma?" "Why don't you tell me?" "I don't know if i can explain it, jesse." "She was controlling her emotions pretty well." "I felt something underneath the surface, you know." "Fear and anger." "More than anger." "Well, emma, she... she'd just seen an old friend being shot and we were forcing her to relive it." "I mean, i get angry when i just think about it." "Yeah, maybe you're right." "But it felt like more." "And all i know is i didn't like being there." "What's wrong with her?" "Emma's a telempath." "So she doesn't have the same insulation from emotions that we do." "Did i do okay?" " Yeah." "You did great." "The decelerator's in our possession." "That's not what i want to hear." "Look, i don't want to be sitting on this thing for too long." "Yeah." "I'll be waiting for your call." "We set?" "He'll call when he lands." "Don't like it." "So far, this job's gone down twisted from the start." "It's a little bit of unexpected resistence, that's all." "A little resistance that could be trying to track us down right now." "Turn that damned thing off!" "What do you want from them?" "They gotta keep the machinery tuned." "The bikes are fine." "Twelve hours from now they can blow their brains out on them." "For now, we sit tight." "Good." "That's a sharp image." "That should work." "Now, is jesse running this through the ncic database?" " Yeah." "Shouldn't be long before we have an id." " Good." "Adam, if you don't mind my asking, why did you choose shal over nikki?" "Well, it was difficult, you know." "It could've gone either way." "Spoken like a man trying to avoid the question." "Well, the truth is there's always something wild and unpredictable about ferals, right?" "So in the beginning i thought that shalimar could learn to control it." "I wasn't so sure about nikki." "And now?" "Well, now she seems different." "She's been a help so far." "That's where she ripped off the rig." "And i'll say this for her, she definitely has some good moves." "Yeah." "I think maybe we ought to give her a chance to use them." "So did you ever think about what it would've been like if i would've stayed here with you?" "You kidding." "When you left, i cried for a week solid." "Are you serious?" " Yeah." "imean,i can't tell you how many times i wanted to come and find you." "But adam told me it would be safer for you if i didn't." "Yeah, i guess i was safer." "Well, i was never sure that i was doing the right thing, sending you to live with foster parents, so i'm relieved to see that you turned out the way you did." "And i was hoping to convince you to stay a while longer, maybe help out mutant x until shalimar's back on her feet." "Well, don't make me twist your arm." "Of course..." "of course, i'll stay." "Anything you guys need." "Anything." "Thanks." " Thank you." "Adam, it's like a dream come true being back here with you." "With both of you." "oh,wow... where do you think you're going?" "I'm hitting my crib to grab some fresh ordnance." "Like hell you are." "Every second we sit around here, those freaks who came after us at the plant are getting closer." "Next time i run into that whacked out chick who grabbed my gun i'm going to be packing some serious hardware." "Hey, nikki." " Come in." "Hey." " Hey." "Look at you." "You're walking." "Oh, yeah, look at me." "I'll be running the hundred-yard dash in no time." "i'msorry." "I'll let you get ready for bed." "No, no, no." "Come in." " You sure?" "Don't be silly." "Come in, sit down." "You know, for a minute i thought maybe you were adam coming to tell me that it was my bedtime." "youdon't still have a curfew, do you?" "no." "We're past that by now." "Good." "He was pretty strict with us, though, huh?" "Oh, yeah, he sure was." "What about you?" "What was it like?" "What were your parents like?" "Oh, well, the people that adam placed me with were great." "But that only lasted for a few months until the agency found me a permanent family." "Yeah, and what were they like?" "They were perfect." "You know, i was always kind of jealous because you got to do that whole normal teenage thing that i never got to do." "Summer vacations, birthday parties, first dates... the whole nine yards." "But, you know, the thing i remember most is that they always had this way of just making me feel special." "That's nice." "Every day with them was... another gift." "You know, i'm glad things worked out so well for you, nikki." "Yeah." "Me, too." "You can id someone just from a tattoo?" "Well, it'll narrow it down, but this program will compare the image and a retinal scan to the crime databases." "We'll get a match." "Wow." "You're amazing." "howdid you learn all this stuff?" "It's not hard." "I could teach you." "I'm sure there's a lot that you could teach me." "So, i guess this guy dylan carter's not a very fast learner, huh?" "He just got out of the state pen six weeks ago." "Well, he must be real anxious to get back." "Yeah, no kidding." "Got a currrent address on him, or what?" "Yeah, unless he's lying to his parole officer." "Good." "Let's pay him a visit." "You think shalimar would mind if i borrowed her jacket?" "I don't see why." "What can i do for you?" "You know why i'm calling." "You probably knew i'd be calling before i did." "Information does trickle in." "A theft at walderson industries, a report of a gunfight." "Look, there can't be more than ten people in the world who can afford to pay what they're asking for the decelerator." "You know who they are." "There can't be more than one." "All right." "So who's the buyer?" "This is jurgen bardo." "German arms dealer." "One stop shopping for any level of military hardware." "What makes you think he's the one?" "The theft has all his earmarks." "He works with local talent, pays them a pittance, and makes a killing selling to the highest bidder." "Governments?" "Sometimes the same one he's stolen from." "My sources tell me he's on the move." "To pick up his latest piece of hardware." "A lot of people would be grateful if bardo were taken down." "A lot of people who can offer significant favours." "Well, you can keep the favours." "Just tell me what you can about bardo." "I want him before he makes the pickup and disappears." "Right." "Dylan's apartment's on the fourth floor." "I'll check out the back." "Yeah." "Okay, you stay here." "We'll call you if we need backup." "It'd be better if i went with you." "You don't follow directions real well, do you?" "Actually, i'm kind of like you, brennan." "I like to follow my own instincts." "No, actually, that's more like shalimar." "Look, when you're under our watch, we work as a team." "You know, i get this feeling that you don't like me very much, do you?" "You know, i don't even know you." "But i know adam, and if he chose you, you must be good." "Except you're not like the others, you know?" "How do you figure?" "You're more street." "You're the one who knows what's going through these guys' heads right now." "What's going through these guys' heads is simple." "They want to get rid of this thing and get their money asap." "And they're scared, which makes them dangerous." "Dangerous doesn't bother me." "I can be pretty dangerous myself." "You know what?" "I've heard quite a bit from you." "So far, all i've seen is shalimar getting shot." "If i hadn't made a move, she'd be dead right now." "You know that." "You know what?" "Maybe you're right." "Regardless, we work as a team." "Everybody plays by the same rules, everybody goes home safe." "You good with that?" " I'm all over it." "Hey, i want to be a part of the team here." "I just want to do a good job." "Well, then, good." "Stay here." "Okay." "Hello, again." "Where are they?" "Tell me where they are." "Who?" " Your friends, with the decelerator." "I don't know what you're talking about." "That's the answer you give cops." "Not just someone who's going to kill you in three seconds." "An abandoned warehouse." "On the east side." "Whose warehouse?" "Lucinda." "Lucinda alvarez." "That's very good." "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" "Let me go." "That's where it gets a little complicated." "You shouldn't have done what you did to my friend." "I didn't do anything." "You did it." "You aimed the gun." "You pulled the trigger." "Get out of here." "And that's where it goes from complicated... to tragic." "What?" "See, if you hadn't seen that, then i might have been able to let you live." "Jesse, god, it was horrible." "Oh... oh." "itriedto stop him but he came at me and i got the gun from him and he still fell back." "Nikki, it's okay." "We'll get you back to sanctuary." "Dylan... dylan, it's me." "Pick up if you're there." "This is the wrong time to be playing games, man." "Call me." "I'm going to hunt down that halfwit." "If he shows up, tell him to stay put." "She didn't do half bad." "Yeah, coming from you that's a ringing endorsement." "No, just the fact that she's still breathing says something for her." "Yeah, like she's good, she's strong, and we're damn lucky to have her bringing up the rear." "Yeah, something like that." "I've never seen anyone die before." "It was horrible." "Yeah, it always is the first time." "For some of us it doesn't really get much better from there." "Thanks." "Well, unfortunately, without dylan, we've lost our only lead on the decelerator." "Not necessarily." "Before he died i got him to talk." "He said that he person in charge of the entire operation is a lucinda alvarez." "They're holed up in at an abandoned factory on the east side." "Not bad." " I'll say." "How'd you get him to open up?" "Girl's got her ways." "Yeah?" "You happen to get anything else from him?" "A phone number, address?" "No, i'm afraid he wasn't in the mood to stick around and chat." "Well, he talked enough." "That should be plenty for us to track them down." "Good job." " Thanks." "I miss something?" "Hi." "Actually, no." "Not at all." "Nikki was just giving us the name of the woman that stole the decelerator." "Well, hey, don't give me all the credit." "I... i learned from the best." "Oh, come on, don't sell yourself short." "This is the second time that your instincts have saved our butts." "That's great." "And my jacket looks very good on you, too." "Oh... i just got a little chilly earlier and i asked jesse, he said you wouldn't mind if i borrowed it." "Oh." "Whatever." "It's fine." "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't have taken it without asking you." "It's... it's fine." "Don't be silly." "It's okay." "I feel bad." " It's fine." "We pack up and move out." "Those freaks took dylan down and for all we know he could've told them everything." "Let's go." "Yes." "I've been waiting." "The sooner we do this the better." "Ready." "Crandall park..." "south entrance..." "5:15. see you there." "Hey, how's the pain?" " I'll live." "Good." "Tell me something." "What's it like having nikki around again?" "Great." "Why?" "Everybody seems to love her." "See, this is what i was afraid of when you two first got together, that there'd be this natural territorial response between two ferals." "We're not animals, adam." "I know, i'm just saying that it's hard for anybody to get past the responses that are hardwired into our genetics." "No, it's... it's more than that, though." "It's... it's more like instinct." "You know, the way she's moving in and figuring out ways to get close to everybody." "Okay." "But it's natural for you to feel a little threatened." "i don't feel threatened." "No?" "Okay, maybe a little... i just think there's more to her than she's telling us." "Okay." "But you have to admit that so far she's been nothing but an asset." "So does that mean you're going to keep her on the team?" "Yes." "But only until you are back on your feet." "Okay?" "And look, i am sure that nikki is anxious to get back to her own life." "Not as anxious as i am." "What you working on?" "Making nikki a comlink." "Look, jesse, i know you have a thing for her, but don't you think you're maybe going a little bit overboard here?" "Wasn't my idea." "No, i'm sure it wasn't." "Nikki's always been very persuasive." "It wasn't nikki, it was adam." "I think after today he just wanted us to bring her up to speed so she wouldn't get hurt." "nowthat'srich." "What next?" "Are we all going to get together and redecorate her bedroom?" "Maybe she'd like my room." "That might be easier." "Hey, shal, have you seen... nikki?" "Disappointed?" "No, just from the back you look like shalimar." "Really." "I'll take that as a compliment." "Are you sure you should be borrowing her clothes?" "Well, actually, these are mine, brennan." "Yeah, she and i always did have very similar taste." "Which is why i think she has such a problem with me." "She also thinks that there's something going on between us." "Well, that's ridiculous." "Is it?" "Yeah." "Don't move." "You've got an eyelash... excuse me?" "Shalimar." "What's going on here?" "Nothing." "Stay out of this, brennan." "I think you've overstayed your welcome." "I'm sorry?" " No, i'm sorry." "Time for you to get your things... shalimar and get the hell out of here." "What...?" "You're wearing my clothes in my room, trying to take over my life, now get the hell out!" "Shalimar." "Get a hold of yourself." "You gonna say something, brennan, or are you just going to stand there staring at me?" "How'd you know it was me?" "Well, i might not be the top feral around here any more but i can still sense you from a hundred feet away." "Oh, so, all those times that i snuck into sanctuary late?" "Busted." "Oh, great." "So you okay?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "I mean, maybe it's like adam said and i'm on some feral territorial rant, or maybe it's my leg that's got me down." "God, i look at her and she's faster and she's stronger and she's sexier..." " shal." "I don't know about faster and stronger, but being a damn good judge of sexy myself, she's definitely got a long ways to go before she ever catches up with you." "Look, you have no reason to feel threatened by nikki." "So that's what everybody thinks, huh?" "Would you just stop." "Nobody's thinking anything." "We can't just sit around and wait for you to feel well again." "Well, thank you, brennan, that makes me feel a whole lot better." " Brennan." "We matched up the name of lucinda alvarez to an abandoned factory on the west side." "It's owned by her ex-husband." "It's been closed down now for a couple of years." "You and jesse better check it out." "Well, what are you waiting for?" "You know, i don't know what happened." "You saw shalimar, she just snapped at me out of the blue." "She's got this thing in her head that she thinks that i'm trying to replace her." "I don't know, nikki." "You're tough to read." "What?" "You've been using your telempathic powers on me?" "Not since we were connected during the imaging." "I don't do that to friends unless they want to let me in, you know, but some things i can't help but feel." "And?" "When dylan carter died, i didn't sense the pain you said you were feeling over it?" "What?" "Are you saying i lied?" " No." "I'm saying i want to know what you were feeling." "I guess i felt ashamed, because i was actually excited that i had stopped the guy who hurt shalimar." "Well, then, why didn't you just say that from the start?" "I don't know." "You do this every day, emma." "I spent my whole life just trying to pretend like i don't have these powers." "Trying to fit in with the rest of the world." "Like i'm not some kind of a freak." "We all feel like that from time to time." "Yeah, but you guys have each other." "I've never had anyone." "And... and you know what?" "Today was actually the first time in my entire life that i felt like i was a part of something, and i was some place where i belonged." "And those few minutes, i actually felt good about myself." "But somehow i've screwed it all up because shalimar hates my guts." "I'm sure it has to do more with how she's feeling, nikki, than it... than it has to do with you." "I hope so." "Thanks." "Any idea why nikki's got shalimar so tweaked?" "Oh, come on, think about it, pal." "What if you were layed up and we found another molecular that could mass and phase as good as you?" "You kidding me?" "I'd take a week off." "Go to mexico." "find myself a little senorita." "Sure about that?" "Eh, maybe i'd feel a bit out of joint, too." "Hey... place looks empty." " Yeah." "We should check it out anyway." "Why don't you give it the magic touch?" "Knew i was here for some reason." "Adam?" " Yeah, i'm here." "Well, they were definitely here." " And recently." "Pizza's still fresh." "I didn't grab lunch." "All right, any clues to where they might have gone?" "No, not yet." "But we're gonna keep looking." "All right." "You let me know when you come up with something." "All right." "Adam." " Hey." "Look, i want to thank you for letting me stay, but i think i should go." "iwasjustgoingto ask you to stay a little longer." "I don't know." "I've caused so much trouble... you know, with shalimar and everything." "Nah, come on." "Now, you can do me a favour." "The boys are over at lucinda alvarez's hideout." "They're coming up empty and they could really use your feral powers to help search the place." "All right." "Anything for you." "All right." "Appreciate it." "Okay, i'm gonna go." "Thank you." "Am i the only one around here who thinks she has you all snowed?" "Look, no matter how you feel about her, you cannot deny the fact that she's helped us out." "Yeah but i think she's actually starting to believe there's a permanent home for her here with mutant x." "And she's going to be sorely disappointed." "This is your home, okay?" "And there's nothing that nikki or anyone else is ever going to do to change that." "You're so crazy." "Well, glad you're finally here." "We haven't managed to turn up anything." "Let me see what i can do." "What is it?" " Fresh fingerprints." "And what looks like an impression from a pen." "Can you read it?" "Lakeshore park. 5:15." "Okay, that must be where lucinda's meeting bardo." "Perfect." "I'd say whoever wrote this did it less than an hour ago." "All right." "Well, that park is huge." "We need to go start checking it out." "Come on." "Hey." "You guys should be able to handle it from here, right?" "What do you mean?" "Aren't you coming with us?" "I think you've got it covered." "Yeah, we understand." "Thanks for you help, though, nikki." "I mean it." "Sure." "Anytime." "And you guys just say good bye to shalimar for me, okay?" "Yeah, i will... bye... something tells me our life just got a whole lot simpler." "Hey, what are you up to?" "Trying to uncover the real story on nikki rogers." "Shal, you know what?" "You need to calm down." "She's going to be gone soon anyway." "Yeah, well, not if she has anything to do with it." "Emma, the exchange is going down at 5:15, lakeshore park." "Let's go meet the guys." "Okay." "Are you going to be okay by yourself?" "I'm a big girl, emma." "I'll be fine." "And where are they?" " I don't know." "Adam." "We've been here for forty-five minutes." "There's no sign of them." "Just hold your positions." "Keep your eyes open." "Sorry, but i'm closing this deal." "Something's not right here." " Maybe nikki got it wrong." "Or maybe we've been had." "I've been monitoring the police band." "A woman's body was just found in crandall park." "Let's go." "My god." "Nikki... i'm sorry, shalimar, but if i can't be a part of mutant x... then neither can you." "Your precious particle decelerator." "How did you get that?" "What difference does it make?" "Just like before." "Adam is always going to choose you over me." "Look, nikki, if that's all it is, i mean, we can talk about this." "I'm so tired of talking, shalimar." "Nikki, why are you doing this?" "Because you stole my life, shalimar." "You had a family that accepted you." "And loved you." "The family that i should've had." "I never meant to hurt you." "Do you really think that you can hide in the dark from me, shalimar?" "We're both ferals, remember?" "You don't want to do this." "I so do." "You have absolutely no idea what it was like to live with those monsters." "What did they know about ferals?" "No, they thought i was some kind of a freak." "The only way they could figure out how to deal with me was to beat me to death one day at a time." "Nikki, i had no idea." "Oh, that's okay." "I took care of them." "But don't worry, sweetie, with you i'll make sure that it's a lot more painful." "This is useless, shalimar." "Just give it up." "You're right, nikki." "Smart girl." "I like to think so." "Shalimar!" "I had to." "She tried to kill me." "It's okay." "We believe you." "You okay?" " Yeah." "It's okay, shal." "How are you holding up?" "I'm still kicking." "That's a good sign, right?" " Yeah." "You know, i can't stop thinking about nikki, though." "I can't get her out of my head." "I know." "I keep thinking about the young girl that we used to know." "Yeah." " And that i failed her somehow." "I should've checked up on her." "Well, you can't blame yourself." "I mean, you had no way of knowing, right?" "Right." "But still... you know, i can't help but wonder how i would've turned out if it had been me instead of nikki." "Nobody can withstand abuse like that and come out of it unscathed." "I guess i was lucky." "Yeah." "Good night." " Good night."