Disclaimer: Marvel Entertainment owns all the characters associated with
Mutant X. I am merely borrowing the characters for entertainment purposes
and am making no money off this story.
Time Line: Takes place in the first season before their powers grow.
Warnings: Violence
Summary: The team struggles to find out why Emma couldn't use her powers when she is brutally attacked by an unknown source.
Dampening Effect By: SparksJSH
"Tell Adam we appreciate the supplies."
Emma deLauro smiled thinly at the small wiry guy standing before her. No matter how many times Adam sent her on supply runs to different safe houses, it was an activity she never could quite get used to. She wasn't sure when she had developed this shyness around people she barely knew but was confident she could trace it back to a time when her new mutant abilities had surfaced full strength. It was sometimes scary wondering how people might react if they learned she had telempathic abilities, even people who had their own abilities to worry about.
"You're welcome, Darius. If you need anything else, let us know."
"Are you sure you won't stay for dinner? There's plenty."
"Thanks, but I'd better be heading back. Earlier it looked like that storm might come in earlier than predicted. I don't want to get caught in it." Her words were true. The thunderstorm that had sent threatening clouds in yesterday looked like it would rear its ugly head at any moment but her reason for not staying had more to do with the storm of emotions within herself. Every since she'd left Sanctuary earlier that day, she'd fought an unerring sense of gloom that went far beyond her natural reticence. The feeling was so strong she'd been convinced someone had been following her.
She wished she would be taking the beat-up old van she'd driven to the safe house but the supply-laden vehicle was needed at the safe house. She'd be walking back to Sanctuary. Stepping outside the safe house, she raised her ringed finger to her mouth. "Adam, I've delivered the supplies. I'm heading back now."
"Jesse is only a few miles from your location; want him to pick you up?"
Emma almost declined. She wanted to face her fears not run from them but the sudden streak of lightening followed close by thunder changed her mind. "Thanks, Adam. Tell him I'll meet him at the back lot of warehouse 9."
The promised ride allaying her fears, Emma slowly made her way toward her rendezvous point with her teammate. The thunder masked all sounds around her so she never heard someone approach her until rough hands grabbed her arms and threw her to the ground. Fiery pain exploded up her right elbow as it made initial contact with the hard ground. She twisted around, ready to fight her attacker but a sudden sharp kick to her ribs took her by surprise, stealing her breath.
Emma tried to form mental images of her attacker in pain in an attempt to save herself but found to her horror that her mutant abilities wouldn't work. Her assailant rained painful blows on her and darkness nibbled at her consciousness. Her cheek felt as if the facial bones had been crushed by a brutal backhand and she tasted blood in her mouth.
A knee pressed solidly in her abdomen and a face leaned close to her ear. "What's the matter, Freak? Can't fight your way out of this? Freaks like you shouldn't be walking around pretending to be normal. Freaks should all die."
Lightening flashed overhead and Emma caught the steely gleam of a knife. He held it so she could see it, obliviously enjoying the fear reflected in her eyes. He pressed the blade against her forehead, the sharp metal slicing her tender skin. "Now everyone will know what a freak you are." The oily voice warned her as he made two more careful incisions.
Emma felt helpless. Why wouldn't her abilities work? Why couldn't she fight back, save herself from this brutal attack? She was powerless even to call her friends for help. "Please don't do this." Emma found herself begging amidst tears.
"SHUT UP!" The man warned, setting the knife aside and pressing his hands against her throat, squeezing off her ability to breath. Bright dots appeared before her vision before darkness threatened to consume her.
Before she completely blacked out, Emma felt his hands leave her throat and felt him flip her over onto her stomach. A chill ran up her back as he used the knife to slice open the back of her shirt. She wanted to scream but her lungs weren't even cooperating about taking in the air she desperately needed. Something pressed against her back but to her relief there was no pain. After a moment he roughly grabbed hold of her hair and jerked her head backward, almost choking her again. "You'll live, Freak, long enough to serve as a warning to others and then I'll come back and finish you off for good."
He shoved her head back toward the concrete that was beginning to be wet, either from her blood or from the rain that was beginning to fall. A sharp, steel-toed boot caught her in the ribs, once more turning her over with its force.
For a moment Emma blacked out from the pain and from relief that the attack was over. After a long moment she heard Jesse calling to her over com ring, his voice slightly concerned. With every ounce of strength she had left, Emma lifted her hand.
"Help me." The words were almost inaudible even to her own ears but the plea brought an immediate response.
"Hang on, Emma. I'm tracking your signal. I'll be there in a second." But Emma was unconscious before Jesse finished his sentence.
**********
"Jesse, what's going on?" Adam demanded as he listened to the exchange between his two teammates. Emma had sounded desperately hurt. What could have happened in the brief amount of time since he last talked to her?
"Hang on, Adam. I just got a visual on her. It looks like she's unconscious. EMMA!"
Adam could do nothing but wait for Jesse to give him more information. Shalimar entered the room and saw his worried expression. She shook her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Something's happened to Emma. Jesse's with her now."
**********
Jesse knelt beside his friend and teammate. Even in the dark it was obvious she'd been beaten severely. She had made no response to his calls. With a silent prayer that he wouldn't cause further damage, he gathered her in his arms and raced back to the car.
He gently laid her in the passenger seat and checked her pulse. It was erratic but present. Already bruises were standing out on her pale skin. He could only hope he hadn't arrived too late. Running around to the driver's side, he hopped in and spun around toward Sanctuary. He broke every speed law in existence as he rushed his injured friend toward medical help. The whole while, he was filling in Adam on what was going on. Pulling into the garage, he was grateful to see Adam and Shalimar waiting for him with a stretcher. As Jesse removed Emma from the car, Shalimar winced. "Who did this?"
All Jesse could do was shake his head.
**********
"So Adam talks to her after she left the safe house and five minutes later she's been savagely beaten? How does that happen? Why didn't you get there sooner?" Brennan demanded as Jesse paced back and forth. Jesse glared at him.
"I didn't know there was a problem until I got to where I was to meet her and she wasn't there. Do you think I would knowingly allow something like this to happen?"
Shalimar left the medical unit. "Fighting amongst ourselves won't help anyone, least of all Emma."
"How is she?" Jesse stopped mid-pace.
"Lucky. She's got a couple of broken ribs and a bunch of bruised ones. Her left cheekbone is fractured and she has a mild concussion. Bruises on her neck indicate her attacker tried to strangle her. There's barely an inch on her whole body that's not black and blue. To make matters worse, he carved an F on her forehead."
"Why an F? Could it be his initial? Some clue as to who he is?" Brennan mused. "Why didn't she use her abilities to fight him off?"
"You call that lucky? Is she awake?" Jesse asked.
Shalimar shook her head. "No, not yet. Adam is staying with her until she does. Jesse, you got to her in time. If she had stayed out in the rain much longer, she might have died. She's badly injured but she's going to be okay. Look it's late; we aren't going to know anything until she wakes up. Adam suggested we get some rest in the meantime."
Brennan threw himself in a chair and Jesse resumed his pacing. Shalimar nodded and perched in a chair next to Brennan. "Yep, that's what I told him."
Time Line: Takes place in the first season before their powers grow.
Warnings: Violence
Summary: The team struggles to find out why Emma couldn't use her powers when she is brutally attacked by an unknown source.
Dampening Effect By: SparksJSH
"Tell Adam we appreciate the supplies."
Emma deLauro smiled thinly at the small wiry guy standing before her. No matter how many times Adam sent her on supply runs to different safe houses, it was an activity she never could quite get used to. She wasn't sure when she had developed this shyness around people she barely knew but was confident she could trace it back to a time when her new mutant abilities had surfaced full strength. It was sometimes scary wondering how people might react if they learned she had telempathic abilities, even people who had their own abilities to worry about.
"You're welcome, Darius. If you need anything else, let us know."
"Are you sure you won't stay for dinner? There's plenty."
"Thanks, but I'd better be heading back. Earlier it looked like that storm might come in earlier than predicted. I don't want to get caught in it." Her words were true. The thunderstorm that had sent threatening clouds in yesterday looked like it would rear its ugly head at any moment but her reason for not staying had more to do with the storm of emotions within herself. Every since she'd left Sanctuary earlier that day, she'd fought an unerring sense of gloom that went far beyond her natural reticence. The feeling was so strong she'd been convinced someone had been following her.
She wished she would be taking the beat-up old van she'd driven to the safe house but the supply-laden vehicle was needed at the safe house. She'd be walking back to Sanctuary. Stepping outside the safe house, she raised her ringed finger to her mouth. "Adam, I've delivered the supplies. I'm heading back now."
"Jesse is only a few miles from your location; want him to pick you up?"
Emma almost declined. She wanted to face her fears not run from them but the sudden streak of lightening followed close by thunder changed her mind. "Thanks, Adam. Tell him I'll meet him at the back lot of warehouse 9."
The promised ride allaying her fears, Emma slowly made her way toward her rendezvous point with her teammate. The thunder masked all sounds around her so she never heard someone approach her until rough hands grabbed her arms and threw her to the ground. Fiery pain exploded up her right elbow as it made initial contact with the hard ground. She twisted around, ready to fight her attacker but a sudden sharp kick to her ribs took her by surprise, stealing her breath.
Emma tried to form mental images of her attacker in pain in an attempt to save herself but found to her horror that her mutant abilities wouldn't work. Her assailant rained painful blows on her and darkness nibbled at her consciousness. Her cheek felt as if the facial bones had been crushed by a brutal backhand and she tasted blood in her mouth.
A knee pressed solidly in her abdomen and a face leaned close to her ear. "What's the matter, Freak? Can't fight your way out of this? Freaks like you shouldn't be walking around pretending to be normal. Freaks should all die."
Lightening flashed overhead and Emma caught the steely gleam of a knife. He held it so she could see it, obliviously enjoying the fear reflected in her eyes. He pressed the blade against her forehead, the sharp metal slicing her tender skin. "Now everyone will know what a freak you are." The oily voice warned her as he made two more careful incisions.
Emma felt helpless. Why wouldn't her abilities work? Why couldn't she fight back, save herself from this brutal attack? She was powerless even to call her friends for help. "Please don't do this." Emma found herself begging amidst tears.
"SHUT UP!" The man warned, setting the knife aside and pressing his hands against her throat, squeezing off her ability to breath. Bright dots appeared before her vision before darkness threatened to consume her.
Before she completely blacked out, Emma felt his hands leave her throat and felt him flip her over onto her stomach. A chill ran up her back as he used the knife to slice open the back of her shirt. She wanted to scream but her lungs weren't even cooperating about taking in the air she desperately needed. Something pressed against her back but to her relief there was no pain. After a moment he roughly grabbed hold of her hair and jerked her head backward, almost choking her again. "You'll live, Freak, long enough to serve as a warning to others and then I'll come back and finish you off for good."
He shoved her head back toward the concrete that was beginning to be wet, either from her blood or from the rain that was beginning to fall. A sharp, steel-toed boot caught her in the ribs, once more turning her over with its force.
For a moment Emma blacked out from the pain and from relief that the attack was over. After a long moment she heard Jesse calling to her over com ring, his voice slightly concerned. With every ounce of strength she had left, Emma lifted her hand.
"Help me." The words were almost inaudible even to her own ears but the plea brought an immediate response.
"Hang on, Emma. I'm tracking your signal. I'll be there in a second." But Emma was unconscious before Jesse finished his sentence.
**********
"Jesse, what's going on?" Adam demanded as he listened to the exchange between his two teammates. Emma had sounded desperately hurt. What could have happened in the brief amount of time since he last talked to her?
"Hang on, Adam. I just got a visual on her. It looks like she's unconscious. EMMA!"
Adam could do nothing but wait for Jesse to give him more information. Shalimar entered the room and saw his worried expression. She shook her head.
"What's wrong?"
"Something's happened to Emma. Jesse's with her now."
**********
Jesse knelt beside his friend and teammate. Even in the dark it was obvious she'd been beaten severely. She had made no response to his calls. With a silent prayer that he wouldn't cause further damage, he gathered her in his arms and raced back to the car.
He gently laid her in the passenger seat and checked her pulse. It was erratic but present. Already bruises were standing out on her pale skin. He could only hope he hadn't arrived too late. Running around to the driver's side, he hopped in and spun around toward Sanctuary. He broke every speed law in existence as he rushed his injured friend toward medical help. The whole while, he was filling in Adam on what was going on. Pulling into the garage, he was grateful to see Adam and Shalimar waiting for him with a stretcher. As Jesse removed Emma from the car, Shalimar winced. "Who did this?"
All Jesse could do was shake his head.
**********
"So Adam talks to her after she left the safe house and five minutes later she's been savagely beaten? How does that happen? Why didn't you get there sooner?" Brennan demanded as Jesse paced back and forth. Jesse glared at him.
"I didn't know there was a problem until I got to where I was to meet her and she wasn't there. Do you think I would knowingly allow something like this to happen?"
Shalimar left the medical unit. "Fighting amongst ourselves won't help anyone, least of all Emma."
"How is she?" Jesse stopped mid-pace.
"Lucky. She's got a couple of broken ribs and a bunch of bruised ones. Her left cheekbone is fractured and she has a mild concussion. Bruises on her neck indicate her attacker tried to strangle her. There's barely an inch on her whole body that's not black and blue. To make matters worse, he carved an F on her forehead."
"Why an F? Could it be his initial? Some clue as to who he is?" Brennan mused. "Why didn't she use her abilities to fight him off?"
"You call that lucky? Is she awake?" Jesse asked.
Shalimar shook her head. "No, not yet. Adam is staying with her until she does. Jesse, you got to her in time. If she had stayed out in the rain much longer, she might have died. She's badly injured but she's going to be okay. Look it's late; we aren't going to know anything until she wakes up. Adam suggested we get some rest in the meantime."
Brennan threw himself in a chair and Jesse resumed his pacing. Shalimar nodded and perched in a chair next to Brennan. "Yep, that's what I told him."