Pieces To A Puzzle
Rating: If you watch Mutant-X you can see this.
Spoilers: All of Mutant-X
Timeline: After "The Assault".
Summary: "The piece is gone, and left the puzzle undone." ~'Beautiful' Christina Aguilera~
Disclaimer: Ashlock is dear, Proxy is blue, I don’t own this, for god’s sake don’t sue.

Hope looked down at the puzzle pieces before her, she first found the corner pieces, then she put the side pieces on then filled in the obvious pieces, then the bent or twisted pieces, and then she worked on the harder pieces. When she had no more pieces on the table that were not connected, she looked at her work, "You're missing a piece, love," a man said behind her.

Hope looked up at the man, she was mostly annoyed, but she was also a little bit angry as well, "You have the missing piece, my Creator, give it back to me," she said softly and dangerously. Then, sadly, she glanced at the puzzle on the table. It had a hole in the middle. Tears filled her eyes, "It wasn't hard… only six sections to put together. I love my puzzle piece, my Creator," Hope whispered, "My puzzle is lost without it."

The Side Piece
Emma's heart broke to feel the pain that her friend felt. She had made a conscious decision to join Tyler, instead of staying with her beloved family, but it still hurt to see them hurt. She felt the pain as she saw it. With a great force of will, she embraced them with her presence, begging them to find them selves- to be happy. She could almost scream with frustration, but that would be pointless, no one could hear. Tyler joined her, and she buried herself in him, seeking comfort in her choice. She felt sad, she could not be there to them, she could only watch from the side.

The Corner Piece
Jesse stared at the remainders of the Dominion headquarters. Jesse couldn't understand, Adam had let himself be taken. This was all Jesse's fault- he was the one the Dominion wanted. He was the reason Adam was gone. He was the reason Lexa was caught. He was the reason Brennan was shot. Jesse shook his head to clear his mind. No, he, Jesse was the solid one. He was the dependable reliable one. Jesse looked around at the others and softly said, "We need food, shelter, and a plan." Jesse was the cornerstone of Mutant-X.

The Hard Piece
Lexa looked up and nodded, "I know a good place." She said coldly, the she silently berated herself. That's why they were in trouble in the first place, but Lexa couldn't conform to them, that would be just like letting Eckhart brainwash her. No. She had to stay independent, reserved, and coolheaded. It was her job now, she needed to get these emotional people out of harms way so that she, Lexa, could get to work- without flipping out like her family would. Her family. This was why she could bare her life, her fear for their safety. She knew she appeared hard.

The Bent Piece
Brennan still had his arms around Shalimar when he almost protested Lexa and Jesse's bid for authority. God, that was sick, he had just lost the closest thing he had ever had to a father and he was worried about someone else on his team challenging him. Brennan had never understood why he constantly defied Adam and his calm control, in truth Brennan had loved that someone cared enough to give him boundaries, but Adam had understood. Adam had encouraged his behavior to a point. Shalimar hated it. In Adam's honor, Brennan kept his twisted, bent silence.

The Obvious Pieces
Shalimar pulled away from Brennan's embrace, how could he be gone? Adam had always been there and he belonged to her. She had drawn his blood, saved his life, and he had saved hers. He was hers. Good lord, why was she suddenly so possessive of Adam? It was all suddenly clear. It was so comprehensible that she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it be for. Well, maybe she could. Adam loved her as she loved him. He was always there, he was never judgmental, and he always supported her. God, it was just so obvious, though.

Hope stared in to her Creators eyes, "Why do you need my missing piece anyway?" she asked suddenly aware, "It doesn't fit in your puzzle. Your puzzle is so much- oh, you need my puzzle piece to become an immortal." She realized fully her Creator's plans for her puzzle piece. Her Creator smiled viciously when he saw it dawn on her, Hope grew angry, "Immortality is the condition of a dead man who doesn't believe he is dead. Henry Louis Mencken said that. He's right."

The Missing Piece
Adam knew Shalimar and his children were alive but, excluding Jesse, they all had rapidly approaching expiration dates. He would have to work carefully and fast, no time for mistakes. He was always right after one or two tries. The irony was that, the one time he couldn't afford to be wrong, he couldn't figure out what was right. There was something missing- and just beyond his sight was the answer. A whisper of hope surged though him. Adam was worried because he hasn't been working well, recently. He knew why, his family was what was missing.

"I need the puzzle piece to help me figure out how to obtain my immortality." The Creator said firmly. "I'm almost there. After I become immortal, I'll give you your dumb puzzle piece back," he paused, searching Hope's eyes, "Funny really," he told her softly, "I've concentrated on this for so long that- that I have absolutely no idea what to do after I'm immortal." He chuckled slightly at the humor Hope clearly didn't see.

Hope's eyes narrowed at his apparent amusement, "Funny thing, immortality," she hissed at her Creator, "The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever. Herb Caen." She looked at the man she had mentored from a very young age- to her he was still very, very young, "Everyone makes mistakes, my little Creator. Give back my missing puzzle piece. You don’t need it and my puzzle is almost finished."