Disclaimer: Not profiting.

Rating: PG/PG-13

This fiction disavows all knowledge of anything beyond season two of the series, but assumes you are familiar with the characters and concepts up to that point.

I like Mutant X (as the guiltiest of guilty pleasure shows) until the later seasons. I liked it in the beginning because we were able to watch the characters develop and mesh into a cohesive team (have you noticed a team trend in the shows I write for? Good). While I won't totally knock the episodes that followed the first season, I'll admit that I lost interest in the series because the characters started to progress apart instead of progress together. The show overextended itself, bringing odd elements into the universe and allowing too much to happen too soon. The characters became like unto cardboard to me.

Other notes: This particular fiction focuses on the pseudo family nature of the team, and will therefore not include romantic pairings. I tell you this because I don't want you to be disappointed if that's what you are looking for. It's an ensemble piece but will more prominently feature the guys of the team. The story takes place early in the first season. No beta, so read with caution. I have mild dyslexic issues that lead to the occasional confusion of homonyms. Though I know the difference, the path from brain to fingers sometimes creates mix-ups. Feel free to point typos or mix-ups out if you feel so inclined.

P.S. I like Brennan (first season Brennan, and most of the time even second season Brennan). In this story he will be portrayed as he might potentially have been. As will the others (in the world according to me, of course).

Silent Barriers

By Aja

"You don't seem to understand, Mulwray, there's no one for you to tell. There's no one you can tell."

Brennan glared upwards as he shuddered on the alley floor. Struggling against the gritty wet of it, he tried to climb to his knees. Another brick-like boot connected with his stomach, sending him to the ground. He collapsed onto his side, rolling his forehead against the slick gravel and breathing heavily. His sideways view from the asphalt made the owner of the brick-like boot—Trey Steger—appear abnormally tall. Stretched and surreal.

A group of stretched and surreal looking goons stood silent and ghoulish in the background, quiet and unobtrusive since the original ambush, flanking the far ends of the alley. Brennan kept forgetting they were there. The world kept narrowing in focus.

He gave up trying to orient himself. Sucking air into his lungs, he tucked an arm against his ribs and sent his voice to the sky. "Don't be so sure, Steger. You don't know me as well as you think." He clenched his fingers, feeling his com-ring ride up to his knuckle. His throat clamped down around his desire to call to his teammates.

Above him, a leering laugh bounced between the arching brick walls. Demonic-sounding. Like Steger was everywhere at once. "Oh, Brennan," his voice echoed. "Oh, Brennan, I've missed you!" The crunch of loose stones ground loudly under Steger's languid pacing.

Brennan flexed his muscles and felt his head spin. "Wish… I… could… say the same," he paused to breathe, working his clamped throat, "jerk."

Another bouncing laugh rushed over his ears.

"I'd almost forgotten how stubborn you could be," said Steger. "It's so nice to see you haven't changed. It's so much more fun for me this way." The drizzle from the darkening sky accentuated Steger's spiky blond hair as he squatted into Brennan's eye line, forearms resting knees, laughter abruptly gone from his face. "I'll say this just one more time, because you should be getting this by now. You can't tell anyone!" He stretched his arm out, touching fingers to the side of Brennan's face, tilting it upwards to force eye contact, index finger tapping pointedly against his eyebrow. "Get my drift?"

Brennan twitched, arching onto his elbows, trying to pull his head away.

"Nuh, uh, uh," Steger tisked. "You've forgotten the code, Bren. You've forgotten the rules. As an old friend, I consider it my duty to remind you." Clapping his other hand to Brennan's chest, he pushed, sending Brennan flat back to the asphalt, an extra wave of pain raking rigidly through him, a prickling sensation picking at his ears, his fingers, even the tips of his toes. Black circles swirled around the edge of his vision, leaving Steger the focal center of a dark kaleidoscope.

"I never forgot the code," Brennan gasped, holding focus through the haze. Everyone from the old neighborhood remembered the code. It was Steger who never understood it, Steger who only ever brought it up when it was useful to him, and Steger who had a twisted view of enforcing neighborhood solidarity and silence. "I never forgot," Brennan repeated. He concentrated on the push and pull of air against his struggling ribs. "But you did," he whispered, then went limp, closed his eyes and stayed absolutely still until he felt Steger's grip loosen. If he had to play by Steger's rules, he would.

Just until he could find another way…

Just until he could get the team...

Steger laughed, like he was reading Brennan's thoughts. "It's my way or the highway, Bren."

"They'll… figure it out anyway," Brennan determined, opening his eyes. "Adam…will… figure it out. He'll know. He'll want to know… how I… got… hurt. Even if I don't tell him, he'll figure it out."

"Brennan, Brennan," Steger lamented, a condescending tilt to his head. He returned his hand to Brennan's forehead, a mocking gesture of comfort. "You're better than that. You know that can't happen. And you know you can't let it happen. Besides, are you telling me you've forgotten how to run a con?" He shook his head. "No. I'm sure you'll think of something. And you'd better start now, because I don't think any of your little friends who come to investigate—if they come to investigate—will be quite as stoic as you, given the same… opportunity." The sneering sarcasm cut deeper the angles in Steger's face, laying bare the hostility and the abject willingness to do harm. To any of them. Adam. Jesse. Shalimar. Emma.

Brennan understood what was being threatened. "No," he said. His mouth wouldn't form any other words. "No. No." He worked his elbows under him again, levering himself up, the new angle tilting a wash of pain up to his forehead. "No."

Steger smiled, spiky hair shimmering in the damp glow of the streetlight. "Now there's the Brennan I've been looking for," he said softly, like he was talking to himself, then ran his hand over Brennan's dark hair, giving his head a gentle shake before letting go. "I think we're finally beginning to understand each other."

Brennan shifted as Steger let go, hitching onto his side, but Steger shoved his boot into Brennan's hip as he stood, flipping him back to his back. Electricity buzzed sharply under the pads of Brennan's fingers as he rolled. He felt the crackling temptation to let it rage. The override of thunder rain held him back. The storm was picking up, pelting him in the face and taping into his nerves.

Steger's laugh echoed as he and his goons retreated, leaving Brennan in solitude, surrounded by the muted, too-distant sounds of civilization and the too-distant feeling of Mutant X. For a long time, he stayed very still and didn't think. Even Steger's name gave him a headache. He tried to let everything go blank. The pain would ease eventually. He'd just wait until the headache went away and he could think clearly enough to decide what he should do, until he could decide what to tell Adam, how to tell Adam…

What could he possibly tell Adam?

"Jesse!"

"What?" Jesse tried not to sound annoyed but it was difficult.

Emma strolled around his computer consol with a patiently exasperated expression, leaning into his line of sight. "I said Adam is waiting for you in the lab. It's time for your scan."

"No," said Jesse blandly, eyes fixed on his screen, angling away from Emma's face.

"No?" Shalimar chimed in, and as usual with one word reduced him to feeling like her whining little brother instead of the individualized adult he was.

"Yes, Shalimar, I said no."

"Why no? Wait, is Brennan starting to rub off on you? 'Cause I don't think Adam's going to be too happy if he has to start hunting both of you down at lab time."

"Like you're always so eager to go in for your tune-ups."

"'Tune-ups'?" said Emma, looking at Shalimar with raised eyebrows.

"Definitely Brennan's influence," Shalimar muttered.

"I'm not being like Brennan," Jesse defended. "I just don't want to get scanned right now." He kept his attention on the computer. If he looked at them, they'd know how easily they were getting to him. Then they'd never go away.

"What's the matter?" Shalimar cooed. "Scared of the big bad lab?"

"No!" he retorted, then groaned. The petulance was back in his voice. He'd allowed Shalimar to bait him when he'd promised himself he wouldn't. "I'm just… of course not, okay?"

"Oh ho ho, Shal, I think we struck a nerve." The new expression Emma shot Shalimar, as both tried not to laugh, told Jesse that Emma had gotten an unexpected emotional hit off of him. He grimaced, jerked his head and tried to clamp down on his emotions even though that never seemed to do any of them any good. Emma knew them all well enough to skim right past the illusion of barriers.

"Jesse," Shalimar said, a little more gently, tone traced with both amusement and shock.

Jesse tensed. He hated Shalimar's gentle voice worse than the teasing one. He hated it because part of him liked it. Part of him loved it, reached out for it, and he hated how easily he succumbed to it, even when he knew she was humoring or patronizing him. More than that, her gentle voice always seemed to turn into her I know best voice. Which was the worst of all three.

"Jesse, why would you be afraid of Adam's scan? He's given you, like, hundreds of them."

"I'm not afraid of the scan, alright. I'm just-"

"Jesse?" Adam's voiced echoed over Sanctuary's communication system, buzzing into their com links.

Jesse twitched, lifting his flustered eyes to the ceiling. Sanctuary was conspiring against him. "Look, Adam," he appealed, "can't we do this check up some other time?"

"Sure—actually, Jesse, I was wondering if you'd heard anything from Brennan. He was supposed to check in over an hour ago."

Jesse frowned. He exchanged puzzled looks with the other Mutant X team members and then called up a different screen on his consol. "I haven't heard from him, Adam, but the monitor shows his com link is still active. Did you try him on it?"

"Yes. He's not answering. Did he say anything to any of you about plans today… going somewhere? Anything like that?"

There was a pause, and more puzzled looks traded between them.

Shalimar spoke. "He didn't say anything to us, but I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just trying to avoid his turn in the lab." She ruffled Jesse's hair meaningfully.

"Actually, he was scanned this morning. I pulled him into the lab before he left."

They processed that.

A beat later, Emma's face turned serious, setting into a frown. Shalimar's became cautiously neutral.

The final look traded between them was sharp, barbs of worry poking out it.

tbc