*Unedited - Nanowrimo*

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"I think you should go back and lie down," Flynn said, as he eyed her up and down in the lab. "We can handle things here."

"I agree," Chery said, giving Flynn a steamy look.

Surprised, Hannah glanced between the two of them. Was something going on between them? Cheryl never crawled into the room until like 3am, asking her how she was doing, and then just dropped on her bed still fully clothed before Hannah could even answer her. She would have got up to help Cheryl, but the nausea still hadn't settled at that point. But she did wonder what had kept her out so late, knowing the team would be working in the morning.

"It's been twenty-four hours already. I'm fine. Flynn and Cheryl probably wanted some time alone with all the googly eyes they were giving each other, between the looks of concern for her. "Really I am. We have work to do."

"No, really. You look like death warmed over, Hannah," Cheryl said.

"Gee, thanks, but I'll survive. Flynn, have you learned anything about the ice?"

Resigning to the fact that Hannah wasn't going anywhere, he gave Cheryl one last longing glance and then wandered over to the testing machine. "We just finished analyzing the sample." He tapped on a few keys bringing up the reading and an image on the computer screen. "That can't be right," he said, squinting at the screen.

Hannah and Cheryl flanked him on either side and leaned in to take a look themselves. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Flynn pinch Cheryl's ass. Cheryl sucked back a squeak and gave Hannah a quick glance. Hannah turned her eyes forward quickly, pretending she hadn't seen anything, struggling not to grin.

"What's that?" Cheryl asked, zooming in on the picture of the ice sample. "Have you seen this before, Hannah?"

Hannah took a moment to study the sample, moving closer to the screen and then back out again. "The only time I've seen an element remotely like that is on a meteor fragment. Our water here doesn't have a third element, only two Hydrogen atoms and one oxygen."

"Does that mean this whole thing came from space?" Cheryl asked.

"I'm not sure," Hannah said honestly. "I don't think so. It's more likely a meteor contaminated the ice surrounding the specimen at some point."

Flynn studied the sample some more, rubbing his chin. "I'd agree if it weren't for the fact that the third element has actually bound itself to the hydrogen atoms, like it somehow belongs there."

Hannah pulled her lips to one side in careful consideration. "Send that info to my computer," Hannah directed. "I'm going to do some additional research on it. In the meantime, I want you to cut away as much of this ice as possible, and store some more samples. I wanna know if this is a one time thing or if it's all the way through. After that, I want to start to bring our specimen up to room temperature."

"Aye aye, captain!" Flynn said, saluting her.

"Given this new development, I want you to wear full hazmat suits if you are in the same room with it. We could be dealing with alien life and have no way of knowing what our reaction to it will be."

"But it's so hard moving in the damn suits," Cheryl complained. That was a partial truth. The whole truth was that she hated hiding her cute outfits. Outfits that out-stunned most other females out there.

"It's protocol when dealing with a contaminant. I'm going to go and see what I can find out, and inform Director Adams. Great job on the discovery, Flynn. You too, Cheryl."

The computer was calling it an unknown element, which was weird because it had the most up-to-date element list in the world. It excited her and worried her all at the same time. She knew a lot, but this was the first time her team has made an off-the-charts discovery. If she couldn't find out anything about it, she may have to call in an old mentor, Dr. Phillips. That was something she hasn't had to do on any of her projects so far, not that she's had very many solo projects.

She knew that the only reason she was world renown was because she identified a new dinosaur species and wrote a paper on it that got accepted into one of the most prestigious science journals in the world. Sighing, Hannah disappeared into her office.

***

Xavier was antsy. His nerves were on edge and there was no real reason why. Nothing super tangible anyway. There was something different in the air around the station since the news went out about a possible alien discovery. It wasn't something he ever gave a lot of thought about. Life was far too nutso down here to even want to consider anything from above.

And he was certain Hannah was in her glory, hiding somewhere in the lab. She'd been pretty scarce since the day of the party. Not that he blamed her. He'd been a real douche bag, saying all the things he did. That wasn't normally like him at all. Usually he prided himself in how he was able to stay professional even in the worst of circumstances. But there was something about her that got to him, made him act uncharacteristically, like a caveman serving his most basic desires.

Xavier spun around in his office chair, leaning his head back, and closing his eyes for a brief second. He really should go to her lab and apologize to her, but he didn't really want to invade her personal space when she seemed to be purposely avoiding him. Although, he didn't think he'd have much choice. It was going to kill him if he didn't. His relief should be there in the office in about fifteen minutes and he'll be able to go do a patrol. That'll be his excuse to touch base with Hannah and her team. She couldn't refuse him then, right?

Besides, it would give her a chance to tell him what all the buzz was about. Everywhere he went in the station people were talking about Hannah and her team's discovery, like it was the latest high. But he didn't really know what the big deal was in finding a new element in the universe. It's not like it had any magical powers or could anything amazing. Didn't it just sit there doing nothing...being, well, water?

His lack of enthusiasm for something so basic confirmed his current career choice. He wasn't a sciency person. The subject wasn't his favorite in school either, unless he found a way to make something explode like one of those volcano projects. That didn't mean he didn't respect people in the profession though. It took a certain personality type and an unabating relentless curiosity for the unknown. He liked certainty. Although, at times, a discovery did catch his attention, but it wasn't like a new toy for him.

Xavier clicked his mouse and pulled up the lab camera to see what they were up to. The three stooges were all huddled around the body of the de-iced young boy and all of them were wearing hazmat suits. The youngster was no longer in the same position as he was while frozen. His arms were down by his side. If anything, it looked like he was sleeping, perfectly preserved. One would never realize by looking at him that he was a few thousand years old, or at least that was the assumption. His clothes, though ripped and frayed, were like a bodysuit, hugging his body tight.

"Holy shit. No way," he gasped, then leaned in closer to his computer screen. That didn't just happen. It couldn't happen. He didn't just see the damn thing move, did he? It must just have been his imagination. "I really need to go to bed earlier, instead of watching those stupid movies." He wasn't young enough to pull an all-nighter anymore. The joy of being thirty-two years old.

But just to be on the safe side, in case he wasn't seeing things Xavier rewound the footage. And sure enough, he saw its finger bend, and his jaw dropped. Oh god. Was the thing alive?

Returning his screen to the live feed, he zoomed in and watched the hand of the boy, and sure enough it moved again. Not much, but noticeable enough. But the team standing beside the moving boy didn't seem to notice a damn thing. That thing was alive and he needed to get them out of there until they knew what exactly they were dealing with. Clicking the intercom button for the lab, he ordered them to leave the room and to secure the door, then he commanded Derrick and Clint to head down there. His heart thumped against his ribcage in a mad beat that matched the incessant worry flooding his mind. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this, right? Like blood pooling in the hand and making it change shape.

Clicking his vocera, he ordered Kevin to get to the office Pronto. Xavier needed to go down there himself. Now! Hopefully his second in command wouldn't be long. When his attention returned to the screen, he was shocked to find the team still in the room as before, unmoving, appearing to be in shock..

"Hannah!" Xavier spoke though the lab speakers. "Get a move on, damn it."

"Why? What's going on?"

"That thing is alive. Please do as I ask or I'll confine you to your living corridors," he said, leaving no room for debate, but she tried anyway.

"Nonsense. It's been dead for god knows how long."

"I'm telling you it's alive, so get out until we find out what we're dealing with," he ordered.

When she turned back to the boy, instead of leaving the room, he smacked his hand down hard on his desk, making his palm sting. That woman was going to be the death of him. He couldn't even leave yet and go down there to make her move. Xavier let out a string of curses, enough to make the room turn red with fire from hell.

Using his communicator, called a vocera, he contacted Director Adams.

"Adams here."

"We have a problem. That thing is alive."

"What thing?"

"The boy in the ice," Xavier said, his chest tightening.

"How much did you have to drink last night?" Director Adams asked with a chuckle. "Oh, I get it, this is a prank right? Trying to get me back for making you escort Hannah to the party."

He's never played a prank on the team here in his life. That was Derrick's game, not his, and Adams knew it. "I saw it move myself. If you don't believe me, come to the security office and see for yourself."

"You're serious?"

"Have you ever known me to joke about the safety of the crew?" Xavier asked, his voice firm and steady.

"No. No. You're right. Okay, follow standard protocol for this situation. I'll meet you down there."

"10-4."

Kevin still wasn't in the office and it was beginning to irritate him, so he called on the vocera, and thankfully had no dead spots like a normal radio. "Where the hell are you?"

"I'll be there in one minute, just stepping out of the elevator."

Xavier turned his attention back to the screen, and still found the woman standing by the body, examining it. It was enough to make him want to hurl his screen across the room. Didn't she get that she was in possible danger?

"Okay, where's the fire?" Kevin asked, making his slow slumber into the room.

Xavier jumped up and glared at Kevin before hitting an emergency button, that set off an alarm on the necessary levels. The floor was going into lockdown, only the security team and the Directors would be able to use the elevators and stairs to get to that level. "We're implementing Code black. I need you to monitor the lab camera for any signs of weird activity. I'm going down there." 

"You need to give me more than that."

"That things alive. I gotta go."

"Holy hell, what?" Kevin leaned in to look on the screen. "But it's just lying there. Why a code black for all that."

"Haven't you been paying any attention during your time off? They discovered an alien element in the ice and now that they've unthawed the boy, he appears to be moving, so damn it, I gotta go. Read the brief."

"Sorry. Go...go. I'll catch up here."

Kevin was usually pretty good at keeping up with things, but he did just have two days off and knowing him, he hid out in his room, writing. And he knew that writers got lost in their own worlds when there wasn't anything else occupying their space.

"I'll let you know what I find out."

"Okay."

Xavier grabbed his tool belt and took off out of the room.