Minerva's- down to the infirmary
Haleigh said:
"Thanks...... but I'm starting to think that I never should have taken that 'sabbatical' to pursue my work..... it seems I should have been here all along. And I missed the birth of Delilah's baby.... and the disaster that resulted. Would you walk with me?"
She asked, then started back towards the infirmary, pede-conferencing with Sharon as they went.
Of course.
[ Now that the birds were comfortable and resting, Sharon began to walk with Haleigh]
Haleigh said:
"Alison tells me you have samples of the bab-- of Alexia's bloodwork. I plan on having some research done with both her and Delilah's genetic material.... I'm searching for a solution to our predicament."
That is correct.
I presided over the birth of Alexia. At the moment of her birth, Delilah died and three members of the medical team were unintentionally killed by the uncontrollable manifestation of power from Alexia.
Once I was able to get control of the situation, I immediately began running tests on the baby to determine her exact nature.
She's a mutant, but a rare version, who's power manifested at birth, rather than at puberty like most mutants.
Black Widow said:
This wasn't so bad. Haleigh focused on being professional and compartmentalized their violent past. She got a calmer vibe from Sharon as well. Maybe the time apart had been needed in this case. If they could work together on this, it might be the start of an improved relationship for them. Haleigh's opinion of Sharon was further boosted by the fact that Sharon had been there for Delilah.
[ Sharon herself had never felt guilt over her..."relationship" with Zach, since it predated Haleigh and because Zach, at that time, was a more than willing recipient AND participant in their relationship. It wasnt until she came back from the DEAD [and not that she had a choice in THAT matter] that all of that came out in the open. By then, Sharon was a raw, wild, chaotic collision of "self" and something new. She'd initially been PROGRAMMED to subdue an capture Black Widow and return her to the last remnant of Mystech, in their final attempt to consolidate their most powerful assets, but in the end, Haleigh managed to survive Sharon's violent onslaught AND helped FREE her of the programming and POISON that was driving her. Still, the newly engineered MUTATE was FAR from being well adjusted enough to simply resume her relationships with the Six, let alone Haleigh. Things improoved slightly, but soon they quickly degenerated. By the time the VIPER caper was upon them, Silver Swan was dreadful, vicious and lashing out at everyone. Black Widow bore the brunt of it, acting as a buffer for the team. On several occassions it seemed as though that might be the DEATH of her, but then, when Viper compelled the T Virus in Haleigh to overpower her and turn HER into a zombie, it was Silver Swan who not only blocked Haleigh from attacking her team mates, but ALSO subdued her. She didn't KILL her, and actually, after all the times BEFORE where she'd WANTED to, in that moment? It never occurred to her! She simply rendedered Haleigh unconscious with a sonic attack, leaving her whole and unharmed.]
[ By the end of that caper, when Haleigh was completely restored/rebooted by Malice, she had a talk with the mutate, who realized that she needed more time and that she wasn't where she needed to be in order to be a good asset to the Six or to be the FRIEND she wanted to be. So, with Black Widow's understanding and blessing, Sharon left the team. She spent time back on Themyscira and when she returned to the outside world, she ended up residing at the Hellfire Mansion via the membership her husband had.]
[ She helped the Six in a supporting capacity here and there, but did not join them in any front line battles. It wasn't until Nicolas approached her on Delilah's behalf, as Delilah's pregnancy became more and more difficult, that Sharon finally returned to the Six, starting fresh with all of her personal relationships in that team and on up to the present.]
[ Haleigh had not been there for her return, she'd missed alot, so it as understandable for the hybrid to be a bit apprehensive. Sharon had no reason to hold that against her.]
"I'm not sure how you feel about Delilah right now... I understand she reacted harshly to the measures taken to save her life..... but I'd like to thank you for being her midwife. I realize it must have put you in a very tough position. I'm sure she's grateful for everything you did for her, even if she can't express that right now. She's having a hard time being away from her daughter."
I bare no ill will toward Delilah, Haleigh. We have come a long way since the revelation of Viper.
An ally, a friend was in need. How could I not go to her aid? Even if I had not spent time and trained in the ways of the Amazons, I would have done what I could.
I am a mother too, Haleigh. I was a mother BEFORE I became the Silver Swan. THAT meant more to me than anything else.
I have nothing but sympathy for Delilah. But I also realize that her circumstances and mine are different in many key ways. My son was taken from me by force. When I finally laid eyes on him again...all those years later...which might not have happened had it not been for yours and Alycia's efforts I might add...the best thing I could do for him was KILL HIM.
Even as I lead the medical team in helping Delilah to give birth, *I* knew what was coming, thanks to Harbinger. The moment the baby was born, Delilah was dead. There was NOTHING I could do.
Yet, I had no choice but to continue on, gathering information on the baby and taking genetic and blood samples. Bishop was remarkably composed...all things considered...though there were a few moments when I thought I might have to subdue him...
[ It might amuse Haleigh to know that even SHARON was not without her limits of patients when it came to Bishop]
When Delilah suddenly revived before my very eyes, I learned from her that it was the goddesses- Athen and Hecate who were responsible.
[ By now, Black Widow and Silver Swan had made it back inside the mansion and to an elevator that offered express passage down to the Infirmary. They were now walking toward the control center of the Infirmary, where Harbinger was already present and seated at the main computer console]
Delilah confronted ME then about why I hadn't told her anything. My response was simple: 1) there was no question that she would not have been able to fight Circe. No one, especially Morgan and MYSELF, would have allowed it. 2) As for the other matter of the baby...Spellbinder is the leader of the Six. I respected her descision and understood the wisdom of it. That wisdom was born from the knowledge and concern she had for her friend. Delilah understood my position and did not question me further. But even I knew, that once she saw the rest of her team mates, she would demand an accounting from them. There was nothing more I could say. All I could do was help ensure she, Bishop and Alexia remained safe for the duration of the battle against Circe and that's what I did.
Bishop attempted to introduce Delilah to the baby. I was elsewhere in the Infirmary at the moment, dealing with a radiation burst. That's when it happened...
<<FLASH!>>
Oracle said:
<< The Infirmary. During the Blue Moon.>>
Delilah: Delilah waited impatiently, NERVOUSLY, while Maxim was gone. She had waited so long…and this is why she had come back. But the weight of responsibility was now crashing down on her. What had she been thinking? She was no-one’s mother. She couldn’t even take care of herself most of the time, let alone someone else. She would be a terrible-
She didn’t finish the thought because at that moment, Maxim stepped into the room with a tiny bundle against his chest, and JOY overpowered every other thought in her head.
He set the child in her arms. She adjusted the blanket away from the little face. Her daughter’s face. She had never been this happy in her entire life.
“Hello, little girl. I’m your mama, yes, and this is your daddy, and I love you so much.”
She paused.
“Both of you.”
She looked up at Maxim, who stood next to them, looking down, smiled and thought:
This is our family. We are a family. At last.
And then the darkness took her.
Maxim said:
Everything was perfect. This is how it should have been when she was born, he thought. But that didn’t matter now. They were together, and everything was fine. Everything was just fine.
He could move to LA, and give up the life. He could take care of Alexia while Delilah worked as a cop, or with her foundation, or with The Six: whatever she wanted to do. They would be a family. They would be all that mattered to him. They WERE all that mattered to him.
Delilah told him that she loved him, he smiled down at her, he touched the baby’s cheek…
And then Delilah’s eyes closed. Her maternal instinct kept a strong hold on the baby in her arms, but she was unconscious. The heart rate monitor next to the bed and still hooked up to her registered a flat line.
No, this is wrong. It’s not supposed to be this way!
He quickly but carefully took the baby from Delilah’s arms and placed her in the waiting isolette, putting up the forcefield once again as he yelled with everything he had.
“SHARON! HELP! SHARON!”
Delilah looked worse by the second. He noticed the dark tendrils that still connected the child to its mother, even through the forcefield. Through the chaos he wheeled the isolette out of the OR, taking it back down to the nursery and away from Delilah, praying that would save her.
He slumped into a chair in the nursery, staring at the isolette. He was afraid to take down the forcefield so he could hold his child. Afraid that even at this distance the daughter could hurt the mother.
The baby was crying, and so was he.
He put his head in his hands.
Everything was ruined.
She'd only held the baby for mere seconds and she crashed, AGAIN. I moved with the speed of my amazonian namesake, Alleo (Whirlwind) and acted with the focus of Artemis, the wisdom of Athena and thankfully, I was able to revive her. But just BARELY.
It was THEN that my earlier suspicions, based on what I'd witnessed during the initial birth and then the tests I'd ran on Alexia, were confirmed. Alexia's mutant power manifested at birth and it...SHE...like any other infant...requires sustenance and instinctively latched on to her mother. Not just her power, but her very LIFE FORCE.
I was able to SEVER the link between them by placing a power neutralizing collar...of mystech design...on Delilah. Alexia was placed in an isolette with a power dampening field AND a forcefield and taken to the nursery.
The baby's power is what sustains her. Any further attempts to supress her power would have resulted in HARMING her and I was not willing to do that, but by then, even BISHOP could see that Delilah could not be near the child. The result would always be the same. Death.
Bishop was faced with an impossible decision to make. In that, I have EMPATHY for him. He went to the one person who he knew could help him and make sure that Alexia would remain SAFE until such time that a HUMANE method of controlling her power could be found. He went to Harbinger. She, with the support of Spellbinder, did what had to be done.
I understand the logic of what they did. They did it to save Delilah's life. It's exactly what anyone who knows them should've expected. BUT as a mother, I know the pain of having your child taken away from you. Even though it was...NECESSARY in this case...that doesnt change the emotional outcome for her and sadly...there's nothing anyone could do. The pain, the VACUUM that she feels...I have felt it. I don't know HOW I made it through...and I didn't have so many people around me like she does.
As for how right or WRONG they were? I have not spent too much time dwelling on it. Even Athena has acknowledged mistakes SHE has made in hindsight. Wisdom and knowledge do not equal perfection. I saw their motives and I know they were pure and from the heart.
I wonder...about whether or not I would have given Delilah all or even PART of the information. BUT I can tell you with certainty that even if It'd been my choice to tell her about Circe, I would NOT have allowed her to fight Circe. To do so would've been gross negligence! and I don't know that I could have stood by and let her choose to sacrifice herself regarding the baby either. That's what it all ultimately came down to, isn't it? Sometimes, a person's choice is NOT something you can stand back and watch happen because while it's their choice...the consequence of such a choice is MORE than they can afford to pay. Would you have allowed her to go into the water if you'd known...if you'd had ANY indication of what she was going to do?
[ Looking at Haleigh for a moment]
I've done my best to encourage Delilah, to assure her that there's a way and if anyone can, Ororo will find it. Ororo is not unlike the goddesses. Wise, powerful, resourceful and above all, a trusted ally to the Six. She's come through time and again...she will do the same in this situation.
[ the reach the control center and Harbinger]
If you'd like to run tests or examine what I stored, you're welcomed to do so. I have no problem with giving access if Harbinger doesn't.
