"Thanks, honey." "Couldn't have done it without you." "You always know how to time a dramatic entrance." "Well, it actually looked like you were having fun until those last two goons jumped on you." "Well, i've been paying attention." "Oh, this is so gonna piss eckhart off." "I know." "So what'd you get?" "I got the best shoes." "Sixty percent off." "Nice." "Tore the place apart and took three people hostage." "They got, but eight escaped through another secured safehouse." "We can be grateful for that much." "Yeah, but let's not dismiss the three the gsa took as faceless statistics." "That's not what i'm saying, adam." "It's... you know, jenny stackel was one of the ones that got nailed." "All right, well, jenny's a good friend of ours." "Jenny helped a lot of people get into the underground." "I'd say the failsafe self-destruct cut in just in time." "Coulda warned me first." "Ah, just keeping you on your toes." "Any idea why the gsa is suddenly so successful at finding our safehouses?" "Well, right now, i don't have a clue." "Well, they destroyed the security camera." "The disk seems fine." "Good." "Then we'll get an entire replay of the break in." "All right, guys, we need to take a hard look at safehouse security across the board." "Yeah, absolutely." "We gotta do something - and fast" " or our credibility in the underground is shot." "I suppose i would have to say my glass is half empty, mr." "Delay." "Four armed gsagents versus two unarmed women." "And it's the gsagents who end up in a pile." "On the other hand, i will grant you the wonderful successes you've had in shutting down these so-called safehouses of adam's." "Thank you, sir." "It would appear our little secret weapon is working." "Now, if only we could develop a means to countermand the self-destruct devices." "We're working on it, mr." "Eckhart." "As for the debacle at the skywalk, i've already begun disciplinary action on the quartet." "Good." "All four gsagents will lose rank and privilege and undergo extensive retraining." "Well, i don't think that will even begin to solve the problem, sir." "Miss bigelow, i don't recall inviting you to this meeting." "The first thing gsagent trainees are taught is to take initiative... sir." "Well, if it isn't our new secret weapon." "Come in, miss bigelow, and share your feelings about the way we do things here at the gsa." "The problem with the current crop of gsagents isn't their training, mr." "Eckhart." "It's their trainer." "Excuse me?" "Are you saying that mr." "Delay is at fault?" "Well, i'm afraid so, sir." "I accompanied mr." "Delay on the safehouse raid." "The squad demonstrated the same lack of team effort that resulted in the embarrassment with the two women." "Your telecyber abilities make you a promising recruit, miss bigelow." "Well, thank you, sir." "And, if i may say so, i would love to have the opportunity to fulfil that promise." "Sooner, rather than later." "What exactly are your... ultimate professional goals?" "Ultimately, i would like to have your job, sir." "and precisely." "How will you plan your career trajectory to get my job?" "By taking his job." "Now just one damn minute... mr." "Delay is one of my most capable and trustworthy agents." "Why should i transfer that trust to you?" "Well, right now, you shouldn't, sir." "Given the opportunity, my actions will speak for me." "So i checked out the security videos from the safehouse." "Yeah?" "And besides our friends getting arrested for being different, there's really nothing we don't already know." "You think we have a mole in the underground?" "Well, anything's possible, but my instincts are telling me they're working us over from the outside." "Your instincts." "Yeah, come on - i spent enough time on the wrong side." "I can smell a rat a mile away." "Michelle?" "What are you looking at?" "That security video." "Come and check this out." "Okay, so who's michelle?" "That's her, the one on the right." "What?" "You knew her?" "Yeah, we went to high school together." "What?" "You got a high school bud working at the gsa?" "We were pretty tight from freshman to senior year, but we lost touch after graduation." "She's a new mutant, too." "We gotta do a complete sweep of all the safehouses that remain uncompromised so we can figure out where the breach is and how to close it." "All right." "Well, i've already put together a plan based on what you told me." "But, i gotta be honest with you, adam, i don't think the problem's with the people we're letting into the safehouses." "Well, i tend to agree." "Let's see how we feel after we debrief the aide who escaped." "Now, emma tells me that the gsa have a telecyber psionic on their payroll." "A what?" "Well, i've done some limited experiments splicing dna stands with what ultimately became the post-silicon-based computer technology?" "Yeah." "I've heard of that." "Kind of living organic computers, right?" "Well, that's stretching a little." "But these telecybers can mentally interact with computers." "You know, but a lot of it, i just don't know much about it." "It's still a mystery." "Well, could that be how the gsa's busting into our safehouses?" "Yeah." "That's within the realm of possibility." "We gotta find out some data on this telecyber" " as soon as possible." "Okay." "Hey, guys." "I went to go meet up with an old friend." "Be back in an hour." "You made me look like an idiot today, miss bigelow." "You don't want me for an enemy." "I don't want you for a friend, either." "I simply stated things as i saw them." "And now it's up to mr." "Eckhart to decide how to proceed." "It's up to you to do your job and keep your mouth shut." "Nobody gives a damn about your insipid little opinions." "Well, mr." "Eckhart seemed pretty fascinated." "Mr. Eckhart may have a great deal of confidence in you and your abilities... for good reason." "...but i don't share his enthusiasm." "A word of advice, miss bigelow:" "Watch your back." "When i want your advice, i'll beat it out of you." "Now, unless you want me to tell mr." "Eckhart just how your ineptitude let those other eight anomalies slip out of your hands, i suggest you let me do my evening's work." "So, this telecyber with the gsa went to high school with emma, huh?" "Yeah." "Could you imagine connected to a computer with your mind?" "Well, anything that'd do away with the carpal tunnel syndrome's okay with me." "Can you believe this guy?" "You want to take him, or shall i?" "Ah, go ahead." "thought you had him." "I hate the simulations." "Hey, you know what?" "The first one of you to laugh gets a jump start." "Nothing funny about that, brennan." "It's nothing funny about a sudden surprise attack from hostile forces, either." "You could've at least warned us that it wasn't going to be the usual hostile forces attack, adam." "Yeah, i mean, come on... wha... wha... popping in and out like that?" "And then it wouldn't be a surprise" " or sudden - now, would it?" "It only looks like i'm alone." "I'm waiting for someone." "Okay." "Emma." "Emma." "You're late." "Just like always." "And you are taking a really big risk here, emma." "Come on, you never ratted me out in high school." "Yeah, well, this isn't high school." "Fine." "Regardless of what sides we're on, we're still friends, right?" "I guess." "You guess?" "You're forgetting something here, michelle." "Before either of us knew about new mutants or genomex or mutant x, we both knew that we were different." "And we were really lucky to have each other to share our secret." "So, what do you say you meet me at jaspers?" "Oh, i don't know." "We're on different sides of the fence now." "Come on, michelle, fences are for climbing." "This is you and me we're talking about." "Okay." "I can spend an hour and then i have to get back." "Okay, is that an hour in real time or bigelow time?" "I'll see you in fifteen minutes - real time." "The only thing these training exercises are preparing us for is to fight simulations, and i don't care how many millions of scenarios the computer comes up with, they're still just holograms." "They're not holograms." "They're tactile." "And i programmed them all to have free will." "I mean, see, but you... you're just annoyed because the computer outfought you both, right?" "The only reason you don't like virtual simulations is because you haven't beaten one yet." "Aw, it's not true." "We've beaten them lots of times." "Yeah, well, only when you knew what exactly what to expect." "But the minute you have a virtual opponent who zigs, you know, boom, pow, and you expect it to zag, well, then, it's home for a loss." "I bet you had trouble with, uh, video games when you were a kid, right?" "Still do." "oh,god." "So, um, do your friends know you're here?" "Not any more." "Gotta admit it, though, it is so weird to be here again." "I know." "Can you believe that same guy still works at the counter?" "I know." "We made his life a living hell, didn't we?" "So you want me to do it, or what?" "Well, do what?" "Thanks." "Excuse me?" "Two double lattes." "Just like you ordered." "You did order them, didn't you?" "Oh, that is so sweet." "Thank you so much." "And then, when we were ready to skip out of this place... i'd say the magic phrase." "I'm over this place." "And then?" "Oops." "No power." "And then we'd skip out the back without paying the check." "Oh, my gosh." "We were terrible." "We're still terrible." "And sometimes, we were the only ones who could keep the other one sane." "Yeah, i couldn't believe it when i saw you on... your security video." "Yeah." "I gotta say, it's now how i pictured running into you again." "So how long you been with the gsa?" "A little under a year." "You know, i'm surprised, michelle." "In school, you always had such high goals for yourself." "And now, thanks to mr." "Eckhart, i'm achieving those goals." "So adam seems to think jesse's problem is that he got his butt kicked by the training simulation." "What do you think?" "Got an opinion there, buster?" "Or am i bothering you?" "No." "But, just for the record, i'm reading a gsa training manual file that i swiped last time we paid them a visit." "I'm trying to find a clue as to how they're bypassing our security system." "As for the training simulations, i think jesse's just taking it way too seriously." "That's funny." "I always enjoy them." "Yeah, you just like anything that gets you up and moving." "Even if there's a little virtual ass-kicking involved, all the better." "Anything we can use in there?" "Nah, not really." "Well, other than the fact that eckhart considers you" " and this is a quote" " "shalimar fox is, by far, the least interesting member of mutant x. "" "What?" "Give me that." "Made you look." "You idiot." "Ow." "The gsa is a law enforcement organization, emma." "His mission is to protect new mutants from themselves." "Oh, please." "Just because you work for the so-called law does not make the gsa moral, ethical or right." "I think it's time you realised what you're a part of." "Mutant x is a pack of outlaws who flaunt their illegal behaviour." "No." "No." "We do not break the law." "Well, you're out there wreaking havoc when you should be working within the system to make the world ready for new mutants." "And you honestly believe that that's what you're doing?" "Absolutely." "You think you're some kind of a romantic hero, running around with adam and the rest - forget about it." "You're nothing more than a bunch of common criminals using your heightened abilities for your own benefit." "you are out of your mind." "Adam is a man with a mission." "To prepare the world for our existence, one step at a time." "Uh huh." "And it's adam's mission that caused new mutants grief in the first place." "Oh, is that so?" "Well, how do feel about choosing to wear a subdermal governor?" "How do you think the world would feel if it knew there were people like us among them, with powers and abilities that dwarf the imagination?" "You're starting to sound like a recruitment poster." "Look, we're both psionics and we both know just how crazy we can get, thanks to our abilities." "The gsa has saved my sanity." "Maybe my life." "I know you, michelle." "And i believe that you think that's true." "But i'm telling you, eckhart does not have any plan for assimilation." "You know, if adam hadn't rescued me, i would be stuck tracking down new mutants to put into stasis pods for future observation." "You know, this sounds just like the arguments we'd have back in freshman year." "I respected authority... and i questioned it every chance i got." "But you were always open to new ideas." "You know, be... be open to the fact that maybe the gsa isn't everything you think it is." "Fine." "If you do the same for mutant x." "Sure." "You don't mean it, do you?" "You could always read me like a book, couldn't you?" "Nicely done, miss bigelow." "If you don't come along quietly, i can't vouch for anyone's safety." "So i guess this is one of those goals eckhart's helping you achieve, huh?" "Look, it's not video games or simulations." "It's tests." "I was a pretty good student in school, but no matter how hard i worked or how prepared i was, i still always froze on finals." "I know exactly how you feel." "Yeah, right." "No, i'm serious." "You know, i may have been to college at the age of twelve, but it doesn't mean i didn't have a hard time taking tests." "I'm sorry." "I'm just having a hard time visualising you having a hard time doing anything." "what?" "You think this all just comes to me?" "I mean, when... when you use your abilities, when you, uh... when you phase out, or you mass, it... it takes a concerted effort, right?" "Shalimar wears herself out... and emma gets occasional migraines and brennan's coil doesn't just happen, he has to work at it, right?" "So, for all of us, it takes a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of concentration." "So why is it, that, when i'm fighting the real gsagents, it doesn't feel like i gotta work as hard as when i'm fighting the virtual gsagents?" "Because, when it's real life, you react instinctually." "So maybe what you have to do is you have to create the mindset where you treat the simulations like they're real life." "When it's a real thing, i just kind of switch on to automatic." "I let my instincts take over." "That's right." "Endorphins are pumping, the adrenaline rush." "You know?" "Everything's at stake." "I guess." "Still can't see you cramming' for a final, though." "Who said i had to cram?" "So where's emma?" "I don't know." "hey,guys." "Went to meet up with an old friend." "Be back in an hour." "That was three hours ago." "That's not like her." "Huh." "Old friend i can think of is michelle... nly and since michelle's a trainee for the gsa... emma?" "Emma." "Emma." "Her ring's been deactivated." "You can be as high and mighty about the lofty goals of genomex as you like." "At least we don't go around slapping governors on other new mutants, or throwing them into statis pods." "We have a federal mandate." "You know, the worst part is, when we were at jasper's, i actually began to question the gsa's motives in the greater scheme of things." "Is that before or after you set me up?" "We both have our missions." "Come on, michelle." "Take a look at this place." "It's nothing more than a prison for people like us." "Save it, emma." "Your credibility and our friendship are gone." "Well, let's not be too hard on emma." "All of us have been guilty of letting our feelings for old friends blind us as to who they've become." "Oh, come on, adam, she's a gsa trainee." "It's like walking into a lion's den." "Excuse me." "Last i looked, you'd been ambushed by old friends yourself." "Okay." "Point made and taken." "Okay, adam, we're ready to go in and grab emma." "Yeah." "But wait." "Before you just bust in, overfly genomex." "Use the onboard sensors to determine if they're still holding her and, if so, where." "Got it." "So what do we know about this friend of hers anyway?" "Well, according to my data, her dna might be going through a radical evolution." "What kind of evolution?" "Emotional." "Telecybers are prone to radical emotional shifts." "Right, adam." "We're on our way." "You know what's really scary about eckhart is that he's convinced he's doing the right thing by terrorising new mutants." "I said we weren't going to talk about this any more." "You're willing to give your entire life over to an assumption based on what someone else has told you?" "I have just as much faith in mr." "Eckhart's cause as you seem to in adam." "Faith is for god." "What you're talking about is denial." "Then why should i take you at your word about any of this?" "I have no emotional problems, because i have no emotions at all." "There's plenty of evidence to confirm everything i've said." "What's that supposed to mean?" "You want to prove eckhart's intentions are noble, then do it." "Use your abilities to give us both a look at what's in those computers up there." "Once you do, you'll know that i'm not lying to you." "And that i am still your friend." "Consider this you finally paying me back for taking that english final for you." "What?" "You bring that up now?" "I'll go anywhere to get you moving." "So you're sure you still want to do this?" "Why?" "Are you getting cold feet?" "Aren't you the one that broke into the dean of students office and stole the furniture?" "Yeah, well, somehow it seems like there's a little more at stake here." "I can't believe i let you talk me into this." "Who's got cold feet?" "Look, you wouldn't be here if you weren't willing to meet me halfway." "We're in." "Nicely done, miss bigelow." "Now, what did you want to show me?" "Check this out." "From the look on your face, i'm willing to take a wild guess i don't have a lot of convincing to do." "It's horrible." "How could i have been so completely taken in?" "Because you wanted to be?" "So now what?" "Now we get the hell out of here." "Okay." "But how?" "Trust me." "I've done this before." "You've got to deactivate my governor." "Come on, we both know that you deactivated yours the minute you were alone." "I guess you can read me like a book, too, huh?" "We gotta get out of here." "Adam?" "Emma?" "Where are you?" "Michelle and i are leaving genomex." "I need you to bring the double helix over." "Gotta go." "I'm afraid you two schoolgirls are about to get permanent detentions." "Emma just contacted me with her comlink." "She's in genomex." "So what's the deal?" "She and her friend are on the way out?" "Yeah, so i want you to maintain your position, be ready to move in on a moment's notice." "After all the opportunities i've offered you, miss bigelow, this is how you repay me." "You know, that's one of your biggest problems, eckhart, it's just not always about you." "And that's where you're wrong, miss delauro." "And the sooner you learn that you're nothing but a satellite that revolves around me, we'll all be the better for it." "After what i saw on your database, i'm ashamed i ever trusted you." "Who do you think you are?" "It's not who i think i am that matters;" "it's the fear i strike in others that makes life worth living." "And this is the guy that you trusted." "You know what?" "Yeah." "We're both over this place." "Seal the complex." "Yes, sir." "Check level one." "I know, i know." "Adam's going to be pissed." "Yeah, just wait'll we get you home, young lady." "What were you thinking?" "Look, don't blame emma, okay?" "If you hadn't have done this, i'd still be working for mr." "Eckhart, right?" "All right." "Take a seat." "I don't really feel like sticking around and duking it out with your gsa buddies." "I've been thinking about what you said." "About the way i deal with simulations as opposed to the real thing." "Yeah?" "Did you come to any conclusions?" "Well, actually, i did a little reading in the gestalt concept of the willing suspension of disbelief." "Yeah?" "Well, that's pretty heady stuff." "I mean, we're talking about fighting holograms here." "Well, right." "That's my point." "I mean, when i'm fighting virtual gsagents, i can't seem to lose myself the same way as in the real thing." "Right." "Which is why i suggested that you apply the same energy and the same effort that you do in real combat." "Maybe." "You know, i think there might be another answer." "I mean, i still get completely creeped out by a good horror movie." "And totally lost in... in an action flick." "Rather than trying to pretend that it's real when you know that it's a simulation, you want to sort of give yourself over to the virtual combat the way you get sucked into a movie?" "Couldn't have put it better myself." "Now it sounds like fun." "Whatever works." "Don't worry - i disengaged my tracking chip the same time i turned off my subdermal governor." "It's going to be weird - meeting adam, i mean." "Why weird?" "Well, let's not forget, i've only seen adam through mr." "Eckhart's eyes." "Mr. Eckhart?" "Force of habit." "They're here, adam." "Now, the minute she's inside, let's get her into the lab." "It's important that we find out what eckhart may have done to her genetic makeup and what we may have to do to countermand it." "Oh, emma, you said it was beautiful, but this place is outrageous." "Hey, michelle, welcome." "Adam, this is michelle." "And that's jesse." "Well, we're glad you're here." "We were concerned about you." "Concerned?" "Yeah, well, eckhart." "You know, he's got a longstanding history of tinkering with the dna strands of new mutants." "And your genetic makeup may seem to be unbreakable, but there's a certain fragility there that needs to be reckoned with." "Mr. Eckhart did have his technical division work on my genetic makeup." "I see." "I'm not surprised." "Well, my concern is that he might have aggravated the emotional problems that are a result of your computer interaction." "It's not an issue, adam." "Weli... what do you mean?" "Thanks to the genetic manipulation performed on me by genomex technicians, i have begun the process of successfully shedding my organic form to begin the transformation from meatware to living hardware." "In a matter of moments, the coordinates of all of mutant x's data will be at genomex." "That's not going to happen, michelle." "I'm going to show you what it's like to feel again, whether you like it or not." "Don't waste your time, emma." "not so robotic now, huh, michelle?" "You can't manipulate me like this." "Try and stop me." "stop!" "I thought you had no feelings or emotions." "I don't." "i'm beyond emotions." "What's wrong, michelle?" "A little uncomfortable?" "Frustrated?" "Scared?" "Did i kill her?" "I think you might have just saved her life." "You guys okay?" "Yeah." "All right, hurry." "Let's get her into the lab." "Fast." "I'm busy, mr." "Delay." "I'm afraid i have some bad news for you sir." "A tech's telling me we've lost contact with miss bigelow." "Well, then there's something wrong with their scanners." "Miss bigelow is a perfect weapon." "That may be, mr." "Eckhart, but i had them do a complete systems check." "She's gone." "How could that be?" "The whole escape was a perfect charade to get her into adam's world before the failsafe self-destruct could go online." "I understand, sir." "But the fact remains, miss bigelow has disappeared." "Ohhh." "Well, then, it would appear that you can keep your job for just a little while longer, mr." "Delay." "Emma?" "I'm here." "And you're safe." "iamso sorry." "I couldn't help myself." "We know." "Adam has reversed everything that they did to you at the gsa." "You're still a telecyber, but you'll never lose control of your emotions again." "feels pretty good, huh?" "how is she?" "Worn out." "She's so tired, she fell asleep mid-sentence." "Look, i wanted to apologize to you guys." "Where are you going to start?" "Running away without telling anybody?" "Yeah, turning off your comlink?" "Hanging out with a gsagent?" "Okay, so i've got a lot to apologize for." "Forget about it." "We've all been guilty of running off when our past has caught up with us." "Even adam." "Even adam." "We all live with one foot in our old lives and one foot in the world we find ourselves now." "Yeah, and sometimes those two worlds just rub each other the wrong way." "Yeah, and every once in a while, we get smacked in the back of the head from a blast from our past, and, well, you know, that's what we're for to make things right." "That's what friends are for, right?" "Yeah." "Just don't push your luck." "A gsagent." "i mean, a gsagent." "What were you thinking?"