jmtorres | More Amnesiac Eckhart

AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/268446

Okay. So I'm reading the official MX transcripts for reference, and I just found a bit from Whiter Shade of Pale that tickles my fancy:

Adam fell in love with her, but she mysteriously disappeared. In actuality, it was a jealous Eckhart who suggested to Danielle that she would spend her life as Adam's lab experiment if she stayed with him.

Ohhhhh yeah. Very, very jealous.

Two paragraphs later:

Eckhart berates him for letting the stealth mutant slip through his fingers, especially when he learns it is his beloved Danielle.

Oh, sure. He was jealous 'cause he liked the *chick.* I believe that a lot. *scoff*

From Lazarus Syndrome:

...the tight-lipped waitress, Maria (Raven Duada), who had been eyeing [sic] Emma...

That sounds so much gayer than it actually was.

Am strangely hypnotized by the soundtrack of the three minute MX ad on their site (possibly an intentional effect of the repetitive beat). Does anyone know where to get the music without the dialogue overlay on it?

Another thing. This euphemistic exchange (read from the bottom up) is cracking me up insanely.

These histories of Adam are also pretty kick-ass funny. Hey,

jcalanthe, see anything familiar? Eckhart's response to the nonsense also strikes me as hilarious... perhaps it's just the late hour.

Various pieces of research at the GenomeX and Breedlove Foundation sites have sorted out an apparent age discrepancy. Adam wasn't at GenomeX back when the first mutants were being born (nor was Mason, I'm fairly certain, despite a nine year range on his age) despite being a (very talented) teen when recruited, according to one story, anyway. They're not ruling out that he might be a pre-New mutant of some sort or a clone of Breedlove, which brings us to Breedlove, the old guy who *was* the one doing the early research and helping the first mutants into the world. As a result of this knowledge, I'll have to be changing some of the earlier work on this story that I wasn't going to be writing in the first place... damn you, Random...

More Amnesiac Eckhart fic:

Brennan realized with some discomfort that Eckhart was staring at him intently across the table, studying him, almost. Brennan cleared his throat and shifted, but he felt like Eckhart's gaze was still boring into him.

Surprisingly, when he looked back, Eckhart had redirected his scrutiny to Emma. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"I feel that I should know you," Eckhart said, "both of you. Were you ever at GenomeX?"

Emma put her hand over her mouth to cover a little gasp. "He told you. Adam told you--" Brennan couldn't tell if she had deduced it from Eckhart's question, or if she had seen it in his mind.

"That I wasn't in stasis for decades?" Eckhart said, a little sharply. "And that in the decades I don't yet remember, he and I became enemies over your fates? Yes. Adam dislikes being dishonest. I hadn't even really begun to suspect when his conscience forced his hand."

Brennan said thoughtfully, "But you don't really remember yet?"

Emma leaned forward to tell Eckhart earnestly, "You don't have to be enemies with Adam, you know. You can change your mind, change who you want to be."

"Yes, that's what this is all about, isn't it? My captivity--ah, my apologies, my visit here?" Eckhart responded to her coldly. "However, I'm sure that as my memory returns, I'll recall the reasons for the stance I took. Preaching is one thing Adam does quite well, so I'm sure I've heard all of the opposing arguments before."

"You're really a bastard, you know," Brennan said conversationally. Emma looked so upset--he wanted to draw Eckhart's attention from her.

"I'm not surprised that you think so," Eckhart answered. "Adam has a similarly derogatory opinion of me."

"I formed my opinion of you without Adam's help," Brennan snapped. "To answer your question, yes, we were at GenomeX. We've both been your captives, and you didn't bother to be euphemistic about it, either."

Eckhart suddenly looked far too interested, asking, "Really? What happened?"

Brennan had a brief pang of doubt, wondering if it were such a good idea to remind Eckhart, to help him regain his identity. But he ploughed onward. "You had me strapped in a chair and put a governor on me. Then you told me to try to use my power, to demonstrate that if I used it while the governor was on it would hurt like--" He glanced at Emma and edited out a few curse words. "--like hell. Fire searing up and down my spine. Then you told me I was going to be a GS Agent and work for you, and you sent me out with some of your goons to make me use my powers against my friends. When I let them get away, you used the extra function of the governor--to torture me even when I hadn't been trying to use my power."

"You're right, I don't sound like a very nice person," Eckhart murmured, looking distracted.

After a couple of moments, Emma asked Eckhart, "What are you thinking about?"

Eckhart lost his distantly focused look and turned his attention on her again. "I'm trying to remember," he said slowly, "if being nice is something that matters to me."

"It should!" Emma told him indignantly. "You should have some kind of compassion for your fellow human beings. I mean, what kind of a person are you if you don't?"

"I don't know," Eckhart said in that same thoughtful, distracted way. He frowned at Emma. "I apologize. I didn't mean to upset you, my dear."

For a wonder, he sounded honestly contrite.

----------

I don't feel like this this going gradually enough, but foom *sigh* I'll let it snowball for now.

Adam, in irradiated protective gear and a sealed and sterilized lab, was helping Mason change his skin. This was an intimacy Adam had never previously been permitted. In all the time since Mason had needed a layer of latex to shield him from the germs of the world, he had blamed Adam for it so strongly that it had destroyed any trust they had shared prior to the accident.

Adam's musings on trust between them--and its want--lent an irony to Mason's confidence: "I think I'm starting to remember a few things."

Adam took a moment to find his voice, pretending to be focused on pulling a sleeve up Mason's arm. "Oh?"

"This process," Mason said, "it seems very familiar to me."

"I suppose it would," Adam said, relieved that that was all. "You've done it every day for years."

"And I thought I recalled Emma and Brennan earlier, as well," Mason went on conversationally, and Adam very nearly froze again. "I spoke to them about it. Brennan confirmed that he had met me at GenomeX, but Emma seemed disinclined to discuss any prior introduction."

"And what did Brennan have to say?" Adam asked, a little worried.

"That I had used a governor on him, and attempted to force him to work for me," Mason replied calmly. "I saw--I don't know if they were memories, or only imaginings based on his account--but I could see, in my mind's eye, some of the things he described." Mason paused. "He was very angry with me, but was pleasant enough after we dropped the subject. It's very odd to be treated as two different people. You've been doing it as well, Adam, treating me differently when I speak of who I ought to be, who I will be when my memory is restored--although admittedly you're more subtle about it."

"Sorry," Adam said, not knowing how else to respond to the observation. He sealed up the last of the latex, along Mason's spine, and turned to hand him clothes. "I think it's just that we're anticipating a shift in your perception of us--one that either hasn't happened yet, or is happening gradually."

Now that Mason was safely suited in both latex and, while Adam had been speaking, pants, Adam began to strip off the hazmat gear he'd worn while Mason was vulnerable.

"Emma," Mason mused, "could use her telempathic powers to speed the recovery of my memory. Or to alter my memories, for that matter. Have you asked her to do that, Adam?"

"Are you always this suspicious?" Adam asked. He felt like he was back on familiar turf, dealing with Mason's distrust. But it was a little disheartening, as well.

"I don't know; am I?" Mason asked, sounding more amused than accusatory. He continued, more thoughtfully, "You could dispense with all this convincing you feel the need to do and just ask her to change my beliefs for you. Emma's ability to alter a person's thoughts, feelings, and actions is one that I think I would utilize, if I were serious about gaining a subject's loyalty."

"And that's something about you that scares me," Adam replied truthfully. "It would be--"

"Invasive?" Mason suggested. He was nearly done buttoning his shirt now. "Immoral, Adam?" It sounded like a tease.

"A little too Brave New World, and you know how I hated that book. Babies in bottles," Adam said, shaking his head. He held Mason's gloves out to him. "I wanted to better humanity, not streamline its production."

"Hmm," Mason said, accepting the gloves.

"Why did you even suggest it?" Adam asked. "You wouldn't want me to do that to you." An unspoken "Would you?" seemed to cling to the assertion.

"It would certainly be easier than knowing that my memories are transforming me into something you despise," Mason replied, "but no, I wouldn't want you to do that." He sighed. He looked--not precisely sad, but somewhat brooding.

"Do you want to go back to GenomeX?" Adam asked.

Mason studied him for a moment, then answered, "No. Not yet."

Adam wasn't sure what answer he'd been expecting, but he didn't know what to do with this one. He felt angry, as if he were being jerked around; he felt relieved that he didn't have to let Mason go yet; he felt his mouth compressing into a hard line. He felt like going and running a few simulations just so he could have something to punch, to take his frustration out on. "Damn it, Mason," he said quietly. He keyed the door to the lab open and walked out.

"What's the matter?" Mason asked, following him out. He caught up and touched Adam's arm, and Adam pulled away, but stopped and turned to face him.

"I don't know," Adam snapped.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mason asked.

"I don't know what you want," Adam clarified. "I don't know if you remember enough that you want to stick around to spy, or if you feel like you remember too little to go back, or if you might actually just want to stay. With me."

"You could ask me," Mason pointed out.

"And what guarantee of honesty have I got?" Adam demanded.

"The fact that I've been honest with you so far, even about things that you obviously didn't want to hear me say," Mason said, voice harsh. "You don't want me to remember who I am; I know that. I told you what I've remembered anyway. You didn't want me to suggest Emma use her powers on me. I told you it was on my mind regardless. All in all, Adam, I've been a lot more honest with you than you have with me."

"Fine," Adam bit out. "What do you want? Why do you want to stay?"

"I don't know," Mason said, looking a bit like Adam had called a bluff in actually asking him. He took his spectacles off and looked down at them. "Seeing the world through rose colored glasses. That seems more like something you would do than I. Were these on me when you found me in the stasis pod, Adam?"

"Yes," Adam said, allowing the tangent, because it seemed somehow relevant. "They're yours. I don't know why you chose that particular color--"

"Probably some protective measure," Mason interrupted, then fixed Adam with a glare as he added, "Biological, not psychological, of course. I'm sure I'm too pragmatic for anything else." He wiped one lens with a gloved thumb, then put the glasses back on his face. "Despite the fact that everything you've told me implies that I shouldn't, and that when I'm myself probably don't--I do trust you. Perhaps it's just that I think I know you too well for you to surprise me, although that's surely a spurious impression given the sheer volume of time I can't recall. Perhaps it's a vestige of the times that I do remember clearly, from when we were young and I did truly trust you, because the man that you were then had earned my trust. It would be foolish of me to base my decision on a feeling so suspect as this trust, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose it would," Adam agreed.

"But I did," Mason replied. He didn't attempt to explain why. His only addendum was, "I'll let you know when I change my mind."

Random, I'll get you for this. I don't know when... or where... or how... but you'll pay for talking me into writing this.

EDIT: GIP. I felt I needed an MX icon, scarily.

More Amnesiac Eckhart

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