unicorn princess
Brennan Mulrway returned to Sanctuary in the middle of the night. To his immense relief no one was awake. That suited him just fine Brennan didn't want to talk to any of the others all he wanted was to take a long shower and sleep for a week.
He made his way down the hall trying not to feel the myriad of bruises, still too afraid to try his powers. Why hadn't they worked? Why? The confusion and fear made him hesitate, the last time his powers had failed he had almost died. Brennan thought that this humiliation must be worse.
The water flowing over his body felt warm Brennan closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Trying not to think not to remember the feel of hands lips and teeth. Not to remember how it had hurt and shamed him. A sob choked its way out before he could stop it and Brennan's tears mingled with the water.
HE slept he didn't know how long coming a wake slowly. Brennan made his way down the hall. Jesse Kilmartin was sitting on the dog steps eating a bowl of cereal. Brennan greeted him with a smile that to him felt week. Jesse regarded him curiously. "What time did you get in last night?"
"Too late." Brennan poured himself a cup of coffee joining Jesse on the stairs careful not to sit too close. "I didn't find anything out though actually Jess I think that clubs on the level no Strand involvement." That was a bold faced lie. A lie he hoped Jesse would not pick up on.
Jesse frowned as he stood to take care of his bowl. "You okay?" He blurted suddenly.
Brennan frowned. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"
Jesse shrugged as he turned away. He'd heard Brennan come in the night before heard him crying in the shower. If the other didn't want to talk about what was bothering him it wasn't in Jesse's nature to push. The two of them went into the lab together.
Adam Kane pushed away from the table with a scowl. "I hope you have some good news. I could use some."
Brennan sat down casually on a stool. "I couldn't find a single thing to make me think the Strand has anything to do with that club. The rumor was just that a rumor."
Lying to Adam wasn't easy but Brennan wouldn't, couldn't tell the truth. He didn't even know where he'd begin if he even attempted it.
Two weeks later.
Shalimar Fox leaned on the wall watching Brennan. He sat on the dojo stairs staring up at the ceiling. She knew as they all did that something was wrong. Brennan hardly ever moved, didn't talk unless spoke to and ate very little. In two weeks he had lost enough weight to make him look like a skeleton.
His dark eyes where listless as she sat down next to him. "Brennan why won't you tell me what's wrong?" She put a hand on his arm. He hissed and yanked away. Confused and hurt she backed off. "What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" But he didn't meet her gaze instead staring back up at the ceiling. "You startled me that's all."
Shalimar frowned. There had to be more to it than this, more to what was wrong with him. Something had changed something she couldn't put her finger on it. Even Emma Deloura had had trouble trying to figure out what was bothering Brennan several Telempathic attempts had yielded nothing but a brick wall.
"If there was something wrong you'd tell us right?" Shalimar asked gently.
Brennan glanced at her for a minute but didn't answer simply turned back to the ceiling. She sat with him for nearly an hour before heading into the lab to talk to Adam.
Brennan waited on the stairs his thoughts in turmoil. He couldn't go on like this anymore, couldn't do it. It was going to change soon; he was going to get away from the pain the shame and the hurt. From the fear that his powers would fail again. Soon he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.
He slipped off of the stairs heading for his room nodding to Jesse as he passed him the hall. Jesse stopped and watched him for a minute considered going after him and changed his mind.
At the desk in his room Brennan began to write. The poem flowed from his pen easily enough but poetry had always come easily to him. He wrote for what seemed like forever filling up nearly six pages with the poem signing it at the bottom he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
"Courage Brennan." He whispered. "You know what you have to do."
He listened to the rooms around him as he glanced at the clock. It was late and he could hear the others making noises that indicated they where getting ready to go to sleep. When silence descended he slipped quietly out of his room and padded down to the lab. No one was there. Brennan let out a sigh of relief he'd almost expected Adam to be there, which would have ruined his plans.
Brennan opened one of the cabinets and shifted through bottles before pulling one out and checking the label. This would do. Opening the cap he sat down on one of the tables staring down into the bottle. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined feeling he had to do this but he had no more chance for escape.
With a sigh of resignation he poured a handful out and dry swallowed them before leaning back to close his eyes.
Adam Kane couldn't sleep. he'd lain for nearly an hour staring up at the ceiling before finally giving up the ghost.. Running a hand through his brown hair and yawning he headed through the quiet Sanctuary. A noise from Jesse's room caused him to pause and after a minute he smiled. The young Molecular had an odd habit of talking in his sleep and was currently talking to someone in his dreams.
Humming under his breath Adam fixed a well known cure for Insomnia warm milk and decided he might as well get some work done why he drank it. Picking the mug up and continuing to hum Adam headed for his lab he paused in the doorway a frown flickering across his face.
It took him a moment to register what he was seeing. Brennan lay on the table eyes close mouth half open. His face was deathly pale and nearly transparent. That wasn't what caused Adam's heart to leap into his throat it was the pills blue and white scattered on the floor. Adam's mouth came open as he tried to ration it out and that was when Emma in her room sat up and screamed.
Jesse and Shalimar hit Emma's bedroom door at the same time. "Emma?" Shalimar blurted. The Psionic stood eyes wide and pale for a minute before she simply pushed past them and ran down the hall. Confused they followed her. The sight that met them caused them to start.
Glass shards of a mug lay scattered in the doorway and Adam was working frantically to try to wake Brennan up. "Adam!" Emma's voice full of fear made him whirl. "What happened?"
"He took something pills I have to get it out of his system!" Adam yanked another cupboard open. "Shal get in here I'm going to need you to hold him down if he fights me." Working quickly he and Shalimar slipped a tube down Brennan's throat and began to pump his stomach.
Jesse and Emma stood in the door watching terror and shock written in their face until Adam signaled them out of the room. Closing the door behind him he leaned against it closing his eyes. "Adam?" Jesse's voice came out in a croaky sounding whisper.
"I don't know Jesse I just don't know." Adam slid down the wall until he sat on the floor "I do know all this started two weeks ago with that mission to that club Shal I want you and Jesse to go there see what you can find. Emma and I are going to go through Brennan's room maybe there's an answer there."
"What about-" Shalimar swallowed unable to go on.
"He's asleep he'll sleep the night out and the restraints will keep him from hurting himself or anyone else until we get to the bottom of this. Adam stood slowly up. "WE better get working."
Gabriel Ashlock leaned against the bar staring down at the Links bellow him, this Club had been a good front for the Strand for over a month. Mutant X had yet to attack it and of course the authorities had no idea what was going on. Of course there had been that little instance with Mulrway two weeks earlier.
He licked his licks remembering the sounds of the other man's screams. Remembering the way he'd fought and cursed. It had of course been to no avail. Gabriel supposed that Kyle Matthew's was one of the best things he had ever found his New Mutant abilities made him precious.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Kyle had suddenly materialized behind him slipping between dancers as easily as molasses. His sandy blonde hair stood in all directions and his eyes bright green sparkled mischievously. His outfit was all leather and chains giving him an outlandish appearance.
"Penny for your thought?" Gabriel repeated. "Trust me Jack you wouldn't comprehend my thoughts." A grin passed across his face, it turned to a frown however as he spotted a familiar figure slipping in and out of the crowd below "Damn!!"
"Gabriel?" Kyle turned in the others direction. He of course didn't see what the big deal was just a young man a little older than himself. "Hmm he's almost as cute as that other guy I did last week."
"That Kyle is Jesse Kilmartin Mulrway's best friend if he's here it means the suspect something. Come on." Ashlock grinned wickedly as he came up behind the man in question. "Mr. Kilmartin so good to see you today I trust you're enjoying yourself.:
Jesse whirled a flash of anger crossed his features, "YOU!" The word was full of malice and hatred all the hatred Jesse could muster to put into it.
"Me." Gabriel agreed. "Now where are the rest of the insignificant membership of mutant x. I thought I spotted the beautiful but dangerous Shalimar fox around here. I suppose Adam's hiding in sanctuary he tends to be the coward of the group though I am surprised not to see Mulrway I thought he and miss Fox where attached at the hip." He tapped his finger on the side of his mouth a gesture of obvious false pondering. "Oh yeah he's at home recovering form a violation."
Jesse had heard enough with a snarl sounding almost like Shalimar he lunged for Gabriel only to find himself flying. With a wolfish grin Gabriel leaped for him Jesse phased or tried to rather nothing happened air rushed from his lungs as the sociopath's fists hit home. He tumbled backwards slamming down on table shattering it.
"Oh did I mention my friend here turns off powers shocking ain't it?" The energy ball cracked in his hands and Jesse closed his eyes and waited for the end. It never came rather there was a snarl of rage and Gabriel was knocked clear off of him. Jesse sat up rubbing the lump forming on the back of his head to see Shalimar and Gabriel fighting."Oh man." He muttered pulling himself back to his feet. "Shalimar! WE have to get out of here he has a new mutant who can steal our powers!"
She turned blue eyes turned to yellow and simply leapt over head to land behind him. "Come on then."
With a backward glance at Kyle a look of malicious hatred Jesse followed her.
Brennan's room reflected his personality, the first thing he'd done was paint it black and red. The colors should have looked morbid but the combination actually seemed to work. Two lava lamps brought (or stolen Adam had never asked) sat on a table unplugged. The walls were decorated with various pictures of mutant x including one of Adam actually laughing. Adam remembered the night that picture was taken. Brennan had set it up to actually catch the moody leader of the team in a moment of laughter.
Emma ran her hands over a frame sitting on the dresser one of the five of them in the water garden taken before Adam had determined that maintaining the garden was no longer productive. "There has to be a reason!" He whirled to face her. She didn't answer simply picked up a sheathe of paper off of the bed and flipped through it. "I mean Brennan and suicide never in the same sentence!"
"Adam listen to this: 'pain and fear are what I find. Humiliation is mine to see. Take the pain from out of me. End it all? How how how? More is less and less is more find the fear inside of me. Hands to touch and hands to break hands to fear and hands to pull. Powers mine no longer her." She stopped reading a frown crossing her features. "It goes on like that for six pages!"
Adam strode over taking it from her hand and skimming the pages the frown in his face deepening. "Power loss? Hurt? Humiliation?" Relaxation struck him and he sat down on the bed sat down hard all the color going from his face. "It can't be it just.-"
"Can't be what? Adam you're scaring me." Emma stood hands clenched.
"I think-" He paused to take a breath. "I think someone raped Brennan."
Three hours later.
They sat on the Dojo steps in a group each of them lost in their own thoughts. All ears tuned towards the medlab where Brennan slept on. At least he was still alive though none of them knew what was going to happen when he woke up. NOne of them really had any idea of what to do next.
"That's it!" Jesse suddenly leapt to his feet nearly knocking ADam off of the stairs. "I am not going to just sit here another minute I say we go do something about Kyle!"
"LIke what? Talk him to death he blocks our powers!" Emma snapped back at him.
"Hey I don't need my powers to kick the creeps ass." Shalimar stood up to join Jesse after a moment Emma nodded once and joined them.
Adam looked down at them before leaping to his feet. "I think someone needs to stay with Brennan and I guess that'll be me."
Gabriel strode into the room where Kyle sat feet up on a desk. "GEt your feet off the furniture." He turned to stare out the window across the city. "Did you know that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely?"
Kyle narrowed his brown eyes staring at his boss. "What exactly does that mean?"
"It means Kyle that you have far too much power for my taste. I am the most powerful man in the world and you well your just going to have to go." Gabriel turned from the window to regard the man who was standing hands on his hips glaring at him.
"Your the most powerful man on the world are you well Ashlock take your best shot." Kyle spread his arms and GAbriel tried to use his powers to send him flying. Nothing happened and Kyle grinned. "You see I can even turn off your powers which makes me more powerful than you why don't you just get used to that"
Gabriel nodded conceding that point. "I guess you are more powerful well then you can have the links." He walked towards the door. "There is just one more thing."
"What-" That was as far as Kyle got before the bullet took the top of his head off. GAbriel looked down at the body slumped on the desk and set the gun on the desk next to him.
"Idiot." With that he began to laugh walking out of the room to
join one of the links in the car.
An hour later..
The club was absolutly deserted. IT looked as if no one had ever been there at all. The three members of mutant x stood in the empty dance floor staring around. "They cleared out completely even the Dj's equipment is gone." Jesse came to join the two women standing on the dance floor.
"We should check the offices." Emma pointed to a glass enclosure above the dance floor.
The office was spacious set back inside the room next door and air-conditioned. Shalimar entered first and stopped. "Well looks like someone all ready took our revenge for us." She stepped aside giving them a clear view of Kyle Mathews slumped over his desk.
Emma frowned. "But I wanted to kick his ass."
Jesse studied the body head cocked to one side. "Looks like Ashlock
did that for you Emma." He glanced back and forth between the others.
"I say we call the cops from a pay phone down the street report a gunshot
in this vicinity and go home." The others agreed whole heartily
Three hours later..
Brennan was floating a sea electricity. It was safe secure no one and nothing could touch him. There was just one problem something kept tugging at him trying to yank him out of it. He planted his feet trying to stay where he was an image fluttered in front of his eyes.
Shalimar leaning against a door jam smiling.
*flash*
Adam making one of his rare jokes letting the others in through the walls he kept around him.
*flash*
Emma leaning forward eager to lend an ear whenever it was needed
*Flash*
Jesse sitting at the computer trying to explain how the system worked.
His friends, they where his friends and they cared. Slowly his eyes opened to blink up at Emma peering down at him another Psionic bolt ready. Brennan reached up and stroked her cheek. "Hey Emma."
"Hey yourself." Emma smiled down at him then looked at the others standing gathered around. "It worked."
Adam peered in Brennan's eyes shining a light in them causing the other man to flinch from the light. "Do you mind?" Brennan asked blinking up at the leader. Adam smiled at him.
"JUst making sure you didn't give yourself brain damage." Adam looked down at him. "What's your name?
Brennan opened his mouth to snap that Adam knew his name then thought better of it and grinned. It was the first time in a long time his friends had seen him smile it lit up his face and eyes. For Brennan it felt good, natural like something in him had shifted began to heal. "My name." He said slowly. "is Adam Kane."
Adam blinked momentarily. "Okay Explain Quantum physics." He continued folding his arms.
"Quantum whatsis?" Brennan blurted propping himself up on his elbows Behind Adam Jesse snorted before beginning to laugh. Shalimar raised an eyebrow at them things were definitely beginning to return to normal or as close to normal as anything ever got in SAnctuary
The End