Disclaimer: Mutant X and its characters still belong to someone who isn't
me. The Fox-Mulwray twins belong to me, but that's it.
Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this story. Thanks for all your encouragement.
Psionic Girl
Fiery Feral
lornein
Sunstar2
spikes-storm
goldstranger
K.C
canadian_chic14
loveconquers
doublekidz
tigereyes320 (Thanks again for giving me the idea)
bri
Thir13en Ghosts- Elemental
Raquelle2
Crystal113
Emily (Don't worry - the twins will be very powerful electrical elementals)
Mari
Telempath
To louise power and MaRiA DeL RoSaRiO - Thanks for your e-mails.
Author's Note II: As of now, Adam has a scanner that gives exact details of peoples' mutancies and abilities.
*
Chapter 10.
"She's so beautiful." Brennan whispered in awe, stroking his newborn daughter's soft cheek with a gentle finger. "They both are." He planted a kiss on top of Shalimar's head. "They take after their mother."
"Which is which?" Jesse was rather surprised by the poisonous glares his teammates shot in his direction. "What?" He asked, bewildered. "It's a fair question!"
The babies Shalimar and Brennan were cuddling were as identical as two peas in a pod, rather small with wisps of silky blod hair adorning their small heads and dark blue eyes that Adam predicted would turn brown.
"Brennan has Alexis." Adam told him, taking pity on the younger man. "And Shalimar has . . . what are you calling this little lady?"
"I like Isabelle." Shalimar spoke with the decisiveness of the forewarned. The baby in her arms burbled happily, as if in agreement.
Brennan nodded, leaning forward to kiss his younger daughter's downy head. "Isabelle it is."
"They're both feral." Shalimar announced, a satisfied smile on her face as Isabelle snuggled into her arms, purring softly in her sleep.
"They'll probably have elemental abilities as well." Adam nodded. "I'll run a scan to determine their exact mutancies."
"You can do that later, Adam." Emma interrupted him. "After I get a chance to hold them. Please!" She asked Shalimar pleadingly.
Shalimar smiled and handed her Isabelle, who barely stirred as she was passed into an ecstatic Emma's open arms.
Jesse tapped Brennan's shoulder. "May I?" He asked tenatively, holding out his arms.
Brennan, feeling slightly reluctant, placed his daughter in the other man's arms. "Don't drop her!" He couldn't keep himselffrom adding the warning.
"As if I would!" Jesse scoffed, gently bouncing little Alexis in his arms. "Uncle Jesse would never drop you, would he, Lexi?" He studied her small face intently. "She looks just like you, Shal! They both do."
"I think that they'll have Brennan's ears." Emma decided, scrutinizing Isabelle's features. "And probably the line of his jaw, but other than that, it's all Shal."
Brennan beamed, delighted. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Guys!" Shalimar remonstrated. "They're less than an hour old! They'll probably change a great deal as they grow older."
"Actually," Adam corrected her gently. "They'll probably be a lot like you. You were only a few days old the first time I saw you and I have to say, the likeness is extraordinary. It's like looking back in time. Twice."
Shalimar felt her cheeks grow warm. She always felt embarrassed when Adam started talking about her baby days. She said no more.
Jesse chewed his lower lip thoughtfully as he rocked Alexis. "Two little versions of Shalimar?" He shuddered in mock-horror, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Perish the thought! They'll have turned Sanctuary upside down and inside out before their first birthday!" He joked, tickling Alexis under the chin. "Won't you?"
Baby Alexis seemed to take offence at his words. She opened her mouth impossibly wide and wailed at the full pitch of what were obviously very healthy lungs. She kicked her little legs, her tiny hands flailing about as she screamed. Bright, crackling sparks of electricity flew from the tips of her fingers, hitting poor Jesse in the face.
For a brief instant, Jesse's hair stood on end, crackling with static electricity.
It tok him a moment to recover his powers of speech.
"She shocked me!" He spluttered indignantly, holding the crying baby as if she were a live bomb. He looked over at Emma, who was cooing over the sleeping Isabelle. "Hey, Emma, do you want to swop?"
Emma gripped baby Isabelle protectively, as if she thought that Jesse might snatch her from her arms. "Not a chance!"
"Give me my daughter, Jesse." Shalimar commanded impatiently, extending her arms.
Jesse gratefully handed Alexis over and watched in bewilderment and dismay as the baby's howls abruptly ceased as she snuggled into her mother's embrace and purred as contentedly as her sister had.
"It's a gift." Shalimar declared proudly, enjoying her friend's confused look. She smiled up at Brennan. "Lexi obviously takes after her Daddy."
Jesse scowled, decidedly miffed at being snubbed by a newborn, and picked up his camcorder. "It must be 'Pick On Uncle Jesse Day'." He grumped. "I'll be back in a little while." He gave Shalimar a malicious look. "I've got a film to distribute."
"JESSE!"
It was fortunate that Brennan was close enough to snatch little Lexi into his arms as her mother leapt out of bed and lunged at Jesse, grabbing the molecular by the throat, intend on choking the life out of him.
"Shalimar!" Adam scolded, his face taut with worry. "I told you to lie still! You have to be careful, Shal." He continued in a gentler tone as he helped her back into the bed. "The last thing any of us wants is for you to pull a stitch. As for you, Jesse," Adam's tone became severe as he addressed the other culprit. "If I ever hear so much as a rumour that copies of this tape have been sent to the safehouses, the Underground, Genome X or anywhere else, I will confiscate your camcorder, put you on kitchen cleaning detail for a year and forcefeed you a two litre bottle of my hangover remedy, is that clear?"
Not sure whether or not he was serious, you never knew with Adam, Jesse nodded hastily. "I understand." He said meekly. He took the tape out of the camcorder and handed it to the still seething Shalimar, wanting to make up. "You keep it, Shal." He told her contritely.
"Thanks." She gave it to Brennan. "Hide it! Please!"
"Sure." Brennan turned the tape over in his hands. "What is it?"
"I taped the birth." Jesse informed him.
"I can't believe I missed it!" Brennan lamented.
"I can't believe that Shal gave birth so quickly!" Adam commented. "In all my years as a scientist, I have never heard of anyone giving birth to twins in less that a hour." Disregarding Emma's very vocal protests, he took little Isabelle from her then went over to Brennan and took Alexis from him. "I'd better scan these two." He told his team, rocking a baby in each arm. "We should know what exactly their abilities are before they use them again."
He placed first one baby, then the other in an old fashioned weighing scales before scanning them.
"What do they weigh, Adam?" Shalimar asked curiously.
"Alexis weighs four pounds, ten ounces. Isabelle weighs four pounds, eight and a half ounces." Adam smiled at Isabelle. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm sure you'll soon catch up."
Brennan patted Shalimar's back. "You got off easy." He told her solemnly. "My mother once told me that I weighed more than ten pounds when I was born."
Shalimar's eyes widened in horror as she imagined herself giving birth to two ten pound babies. "Next time, you carry them."
Brennan laughed. "Sorry, baby, I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Actually," Adam piped up helpfully. "I could probably. . ."
"Shut up, Adam." Brennan growled, cutting the older man off.
Adam just smiled and wennt back to scanning Alexis, who tried to reach for the lights enveloping her. Isabelle just lay still, burbling, entranced by the glow.
He handed the girls back to their parents - Alexis to Shalimar and Isabelle to Brennan - when he had finished.
"Alright." Adam scanned the readings he had taken of the babies. "They're feline ferals - you already knew that - and electrical elementals. Their elemental abilities are already beginning to manifest, as Lexi demonstrated, and by the looks of things, they may very well end up more powerful than Brennan." His brow furrowed as he finished reading the information he had gathered. "Well, this is unexpected."
"What is it, Adam?" Brennan asked, concerned.
"They're also psionics."
"How?" Shalimar asked, cradling Alexis.
"The interaction between your DNA and Brennan's." Adam explained. "It caused a further mutation."
"Let me get this straight." Jesse said, trying to work it out in his head. "Their mutations mutated."
"Precisely." Adam beamed.
"What can they do?" Emma asked curiously, enjoying the idea of helping two tiny psionics develop their powers.
"According to my readings, Alexis and Isabelle are capable of subconscious telepathy. . ."
"In English, Adam." Brennan interrupted.
"Eavesdropping and influencing people's dreams." Adam clarified. "It's a rare ability." He frowned. "This can't be right!" He exclaimed softly.
"What's wrong, Adam?" Shalimar asked.
"If my readings are correct, the girls have the gift of forced rapport - if they give a command, the person they are speaking to will have an almost irresistable compulsion to obey."
"So, if they told Eckhart to get lost, he'd leave." Jesse thought this ability would be very useful.
"And if they lost their temper and told someone to drop dead, they might." Adam said solemnly, trying to impress upon them the seriousness of the twins' gifts. "I only know of one other mutant with that ability and he often has trouble controlling it." He regarded the babies thoughtfully. "Short of Gabriel Ashlocke, Alexis and Isabelle are potentially the most powerful mutants I have ever encountered."
Jesse let out a low whistle and nudged Brennan. "Now aren't you glad you didn't have quints?"
* * *
It had taken a lot of arguing and pleading, but eventually Adam agreed to allow Shalimar and the twins to leave the lab so that they could sleep in their own rooms.
"But you're to stay in bed!" Adam called after Shalimar as Brennan carried her out, Jesse and Emma following with the twins.
Emma had set up two little bassinets next to Brennan and Shalimar's bed and, once the twins were settled she and Jesse left, to give the little family some alone time.
"They're so beautiful and so small." Shalimar murmured, leaning out of the bed to let Isabelle squeeze her fingers.
Brennan kissed her cheek. "I'm so proud of you. All three of you." He tucked a pink blanket around Alexis.
"It's hard to believe that babies so tiny are two of the most powerful mutants in the world."
"I know." Brennan grinned wryly. "We are going to have our hands full!"
THE END. (for now)
*
I'll probably do some more stories about Alexis and Isabelle as they grow older. I'm thinking about writing about their first Christmas. If anyone has any suggestions, please review.
Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this story. Thanks for all your encouragement.
Psionic Girl
Fiery Feral
lornein
Sunstar2
spikes-storm
goldstranger
K.C
canadian_chic14
loveconquers
doublekidz
tigereyes320 (Thanks again for giving me the idea)
bri
Thir13en Ghosts- Elemental
Raquelle2
Crystal113
Emily (Don't worry - the twins will be very powerful electrical elementals)
Mari
Telempath
To louise power and MaRiA DeL RoSaRiO - Thanks for your e-mails.
Author's Note II: As of now, Adam has a scanner that gives exact details of peoples' mutancies and abilities.
*
Chapter 10.
"She's so beautiful." Brennan whispered in awe, stroking his newborn daughter's soft cheek with a gentle finger. "They both are." He planted a kiss on top of Shalimar's head. "They take after their mother."
"Which is which?" Jesse was rather surprised by the poisonous glares his teammates shot in his direction. "What?" He asked, bewildered. "It's a fair question!"
The babies Shalimar and Brennan were cuddling were as identical as two peas in a pod, rather small with wisps of silky blod hair adorning their small heads and dark blue eyes that Adam predicted would turn brown.
"Brennan has Alexis." Adam told him, taking pity on the younger man. "And Shalimar has . . . what are you calling this little lady?"
"I like Isabelle." Shalimar spoke with the decisiveness of the forewarned. The baby in her arms burbled happily, as if in agreement.
Brennan nodded, leaning forward to kiss his younger daughter's downy head. "Isabelle it is."
"They're both feral." Shalimar announced, a satisfied smile on her face as Isabelle snuggled into her arms, purring softly in her sleep.
"They'll probably have elemental abilities as well." Adam nodded. "I'll run a scan to determine their exact mutancies."
"You can do that later, Adam." Emma interrupted him. "After I get a chance to hold them. Please!" She asked Shalimar pleadingly.
Shalimar smiled and handed her Isabelle, who barely stirred as she was passed into an ecstatic Emma's open arms.
Jesse tapped Brennan's shoulder. "May I?" He asked tenatively, holding out his arms.
Brennan, feeling slightly reluctant, placed his daughter in the other man's arms. "Don't drop her!" He couldn't keep himselffrom adding the warning.
"As if I would!" Jesse scoffed, gently bouncing little Alexis in his arms. "Uncle Jesse would never drop you, would he, Lexi?" He studied her small face intently. "She looks just like you, Shal! They both do."
"I think that they'll have Brennan's ears." Emma decided, scrutinizing Isabelle's features. "And probably the line of his jaw, but other than that, it's all Shal."
Brennan beamed, delighted. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Guys!" Shalimar remonstrated. "They're less than an hour old! They'll probably change a great deal as they grow older."
"Actually," Adam corrected her gently. "They'll probably be a lot like you. You were only a few days old the first time I saw you and I have to say, the likeness is extraordinary. It's like looking back in time. Twice."
Shalimar felt her cheeks grow warm. She always felt embarrassed when Adam started talking about her baby days. She said no more.
Jesse chewed his lower lip thoughtfully as he rocked Alexis. "Two little versions of Shalimar?" He shuddered in mock-horror, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Perish the thought! They'll have turned Sanctuary upside down and inside out before their first birthday!" He joked, tickling Alexis under the chin. "Won't you?"
Baby Alexis seemed to take offence at his words. She opened her mouth impossibly wide and wailed at the full pitch of what were obviously very healthy lungs. She kicked her little legs, her tiny hands flailing about as she screamed. Bright, crackling sparks of electricity flew from the tips of her fingers, hitting poor Jesse in the face.
For a brief instant, Jesse's hair stood on end, crackling with static electricity.
It tok him a moment to recover his powers of speech.
"She shocked me!" He spluttered indignantly, holding the crying baby as if she were a live bomb. He looked over at Emma, who was cooing over the sleeping Isabelle. "Hey, Emma, do you want to swop?"
Emma gripped baby Isabelle protectively, as if she thought that Jesse might snatch her from her arms. "Not a chance!"
"Give me my daughter, Jesse." Shalimar commanded impatiently, extending her arms.
Jesse gratefully handed Alexis over and watched in bewilderment and dismay as the baby's howls abruptly ceased as she snuggled into her mother's embrace and purred as contentedly as her sister had.
"It's a gift." Shalimar declared proudly, enjoying her friend's confused look. She smiled up at Brennan. "Lexi obviously takes after her Daddy."
Jesse scowled, decidedly miffed at being snubbed by a newborn, and picked up his camcorder. "It must be 'Pick On Uncle Jesse Day'." He grumped. "I'll be back in a little while." He gave Shalimar a malicious look. "I've got a film to distribute."
"JESSE!"
It was fortunate that Brennan was close enough to snatch little Lexi into his arms as her mother leapt out of bed and lunged at Jesse, grabbing the molecular by the throat, intend on choking the life out of him.
"Shalimar!" Adam scolded, his face taut with worry. "I told you to lie still! You have to be careful, Shal." He continued in a gentler tone as he helped her back into the bed. "The last thing any of us wants is for you to pull a stitch. As for you, Jesse," Adam's tone became severe as he addressed the other culprit. "If I ever hear so much as a rumour that copies of this tape have been sent to the safehouses, the Underground, Genome X or anywhere else, I will confiscate your camcorder, put you on kitchen cleaning detail for a year and forcefeed you a two litre bottle of my hangover remedy, is that clear?"
Not sure whether or not he was serious, you never knew with Adam, Jesse nodded hastily. "I understand." He said meekly. He took the tape out of the camcorder and handed it to the still seething Shalimar, wanting to make up. "You keep it, Shal." He told her contritely.
"Thanks." She gave it to Brennan. "Hide it! Please!"
"Sure." Brennan turned the tape over in his hands. "What is it?"
"I taped the birth." Jesse informed him.
"I can't believe I missed it!" Brennan lamented.
"I can't believe that Shal gave birth so quickly!" Adam commented. "In all my years as a scientist, I have never heard of anyone giving birth to twins in less that a hour." Disregarding Emma's very vocal protests, he took little Isabelle from her then went over to Brennan and took Alexis from him. "I'd better scan these two." He told his team, rocking a baby in each arm. "We should know what exactly their abilities are before they use them again."
He placed first one baby, then the other in an old fashioned weighing scales before scanning them.
"What do they weigh, Adam?" Shalimar asked curiously.
"Alexis weighs four pounds, ten ounces. Isabelle weighs four pounds, eight and a half ounces." Adam smiled at Isabelle. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm sure you'll soon catch up."
Brennan patted Shalimar's back. "You got off easy." He told her solemnly. "My mother once told me that I weighed more than ten pounds when I was born."
Shalimar's eyes widened in horror as she imagined herself giving birth to two ten pound babies. "Next time, you carry them."
Brennan laughed. "Sorry, baby, I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Actually," Adam piped up helpfully. "I could probably. . ."
"Shut up, Adam." Brennan growled, cutting the older man off.
Adam just smiled and wennt back to scanning Alexis, who tried to reach for the lights enveloping her. Isabelle just lay still, burbling, entranced by the glow.
He handed the girls back to their parents - Alexis to Shalimar and Isabelle to Brennan - when he had finished.
"Alright." Adam scanned the readings he had taken of the babies. "They're feline ferals - you already knew that - and electrical elementals. Their elemental abilities are already beginning to manifest, as Lexi demonstrated, and by the looks of things, they may very well end up more powerful than Brennan." His brow furrowed as he finished reading the information he had gathered. "Well, this is unexpected."
"What is it, Adam?" Brennan asked, concerned.
"They're also psionics."
"How?" Shalimar asked, cradling Alexis.
"The interaction between your DNA and Brennan's." Adam explained. "It caused a further mutation."
"Let me get this straight." Jesse said, trying to work it out in his head. "Their mutations mutated."
"Precisely." Adam beamed.
"What can they do?" Emma asked curiously, enjoying the idea of helping two tiny psionics develop their powers.
"According to my readings, Alexis and Isabelle are capable of subconscious telepathy. . ."
"In English, Adam." Brennan interrupted.
"Eavesdropping and influencing people's dreams." Adam clarified. "It's a rare ability." He frowned. "This can't be right!" He exclaimed softly.
"What's wrong, Adam?" Shalimar asked.
"If my readings are correct, the girls have the gift of forced rapport - if they give a command, the person they are speaking to will have an almost irresistable compulsion to obey."
"So, if they told Eckhart to get lost, he'd leave." Jesse thought this ability would be very useful.
"And if they lost their temper and told someone to drop dead, they might." Adam said solemnly, trying to impress upon them the seriousness of the twins' gifts. "I only know of one other mutant with that ability and he often has trouble controlling it." He regarded the babies thoughtfully. "Short of Gabriel Ashlocke, Alexis and Isabelle are potentially the most powerful mutants I have ever encountered."
Jesse let out a low whistle and nudged Brennan. "Now aren't you glad you didn't have quints?"
* * *
It had taken a lot of arguing and pleading, but eventually Adam agreed to allow Shalimar and the twins to leave the lab so that they could sleep in their own rooms.
"But you're to stay in bed!" Adam called after Shalimar as Brennan carried her out, Jesse and Emma following with the twins.
Emma had set up two little bassinets next to Brennan and Shalimar's bed and, once the twins were settled she and Jesse left, to give the little family some alone time.
"They're so beautiful and so small." Shalimar murmured, leaning out of the bed to let Isabelle squeeze her fingers.
Brennan kissed her cheek. "I'm so proud of you. All three of you." He tucked a pink blanket around Alexis.
"It's hard to believe that babies so tiny are two of the most powerful mutants in the world."
"I know." Brennan grinned wryly. "We are going to have our hands full!"
THE END. (for now)
*
I'll probably do some more stories about Alexis and Isabelle as they grow older. I'm thinking about writing about their first Christmas. If anyone has any suggestions, please review.