A post ' No Man Left Behind' fic. Not really an AU (though that would excuse any inadvertent departures from canon, this being my first MX fic!), but rather more a 'what if...?' prompted by events between Jesse and Emma in that episode. With huge thanks to my best mate and fellow Jesse-drooler, Chya, for the beta, her encouragement and for being there to share with..."
MEMORIES FOR THE TAKING
By JillyW
Part 1
"OK, Jess, now!" Brennan Mulwray pulled to a halt in front of the flickering barrier of the force field blocking his way, and envisaged his Mutant X colleague 'phasing' silently through the wall of the control room to turn it off and let him out. His satisfaction at a mission accomplished – the removal of several gigabytes of information detrimental to the New Mutant cause – was only slightly marred by the pounding footsteps echoing down the underground complex's concrete corridors, indicating that his act hadn't gone totally unnoticed. But he knew he was far enough ahead to reach the exit just up around the next corner, providing Jesse shut the power off quick and got it on again as fast once he was through.
Speaking of which... "Hey, Jesse, let's go, huh?" he hissed urgently into his com-link. "I'm about to have company, man!"
Fifty yards away, Jesse Kilmartin started out of what he could only hope was a moment's reverie, blinking in confusion at the bricks a few inches from his nose as he struggled to remember what it was he was supposed to be doing there. Something important, he knew, something... in there? His hand lifted of its own accord to rest on the wall but, for long panic-filled seconds, he couldn't recall just how to do what his subconscious was telling him was needed.
Brennan's disembodied voice came again, rising in volume as his anxiety grew, and that thankfully seemed to clear Jesse's mental block. With once again practiced ease he exhaled and went intangible, relieved by the familiar sensations coursing through him as he slid between the dancing molecules of bricks and mortar into the space beyond.
Glancing over his shoulder at the now visible guards, Brennan was on the verge of powering up an electrical thunderbolt to see if he could deter them a little when the force field crackled out of existence. "About time!" he muttered under his breath, wasting no time in sprinting for the exit, but calling, "OK, I'm through," once he'd made enough ground. He felt the telltale prickle on the back of his neck as the power came on again behind him, effectively trapping his pursuers and giving him free run to the door out and home.
Jesse was already sitting in the car with the engine running by the time he reached it, slamming it into gear and pulling away with a screech of tires almost before he'd got the door shut. And that did nothing to assuage Brennan's raised ire.
"What the hell was that all about?" The adrenaline still running rampant through his system gave his words a harsh edge that wasn't lost on his younger companion.
"What was what all about?" he demanded defensively, eyes glued to the darkened track leading to the main highway as they bounced along with only sidelights for illumination.
"Where *were* you?" Brennan turned in his seat to glare accusingly at him. "I had the whole of Whicker's private army on my tail and you decide to take a nap?"
"I didn't!"
"Sure felt that way to me. You know, Adam should maybe have sent Shalimar – or even Emma. At least she knows how to keep her mind focused." As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he shouldn't have said them. But he was too far in to take them back now, even if he'd truly wanted to.
Jesse stamped on the brakes, bringing the car to a violently slewing halt and forcing Brennan to throw out a hand against the dashboard to stop his forward momentum.
"Wh...?" he started, but Jesse left him no time to say more, rounding on him with hostile eyes flashing orange in the reflected light from the gauges.
"What are you trying to say, Brennan? That I can't do my job?"
The undercurrents of hurt-tempered defiance and frustration brought back memories of the conversation they'd had while searching for a way into Sanctuary when Gabriel Ashlocke had been in residence there, and the elemental wondered distantly if there might be more of a problem here than the simple cry for peer recognition that he'd taken it for at the time. He shook his head, the heat-of-the-moment anger that had driven him fading in the face of the much stronger emotion emanating from his friend.
"No, of course not. I just..."
"Then what? I got you out, didn't I?" Jesse demanded heatedly, knowing he was over-reacting, that to a certain extent Brennan's criticism was justified. But his unexpected lapse at a critical moment had rattled him more than he would have liked, and he couldn't bear to admit to that weakness. And things weren't helped by the headache he could feel stoking up behind his temples.
Brennan raised his hands, palms facing outwards in a gesture of pacification. "Hey, I never said you didn't – or that I wasn't grateful. Just that you cut it a bit fine." His attention was caught by something on the road behind them, and he continued, "Ah, like you might be here – we got company!"
With a muffled curse, Jesse set the car in motion, heading at speed for the anonymity of the traffic-filled roads ahead. But the journey back to Sanctuary passed mostly in silence, broken only by the minimum of stilted communication relating to their mission as they reported back to base.
The female element of the Mutant X team came out in force to meet them on their return. Shalimar Fox prowled the long corridor towards them as befitted the feral in her while Emma deLauro trailed in her wake, her little girl looks - enhanced by the over the knee socks she was wearing with her short skirt - belying the power of her mind.
"Well," Shalimar purred with a sly smile and a toss of her golden mane. "I hear you boys've been having fun without us."
"Yeah, well, don't believe everything you hear," Jesse cautioned, sending an unreadable glance in the direction of the man standing next to him. "But I'm sure Brennan here would love to fill you in. Me, I need some sleep."
Brennan shrugged in response to Shalimar's raised eyebrow as the molecular turned on his heel and walked away. But neither of them noticed the flicker of unease that crossed Emma's face as she watched him go.
****
MEMORIES FOR THE TAKING
By JillyW
Part 1
"OK, Jess, now!" Brennan Mulwray pulled to a halt in front of the flickering barrier of the force field blocking his way, and envisaged his Mutant X colleague 'phasing' silently through the wall of the control room to turn it off and let him out. His satisfaction at a mission accomplished – the removal of several gigabytes of information detrimental to the New Mutant cause – was only slightly marred by the pounding footsteps echoing down the underground complex's concrete corridors, indicating that his act hadn't gone totally unnoticed. But he knew he was far enough ahead to reach the exit just up around the next corner, providing Jesse shut the power off quick and got it on again as fast once he was through.
Speaking of which... "Hey, Jesse, let's go, huh?" he hissed urgently into his com-link. "I'm about to have company, man!"
Fifty yards away, Jesse Kilmartin started out of what he could only hope was a moment's reverie, blinking in confusion at the bricks a few inches from his nose as he struggled to remember what it was he was supposed to be doing there. Something important, he knew, something... in there? His hand lifted of its own accord to rest on the wall but, for long panic-filled seconds, he couldn't recall just how to do what his subconscious was telling him was needed.
Brennan's disembodied voice came again, rising in volume as his anxiety grew, and that thankfully seemed to clear Jesse's mental block. With once again practiced ease he exhaled and went intangible, relieved by the familiar sensations coursing through him as he slid between the dancing molecules of bricks and mortar into the space beyond.
Glancing over his shoulder at the now visible guards, Brennan was on the verge of powering up an electrical thunderbolt to see if he could deter them a little when the force field crackled out of existence. "About time!" he muttered under his breath, wasting no time in sprinting for the exit, but calling, "OK, I'm through," once he'd made enough ground. He felt the telltale prickle on the back of his neck as the power came on again behind him, effectively trapping his pursuers and giving him free run to the door out and home.
Jesse was already sitting in the car with the engine running by the time he reached it, slamming it into gear and pulling away with a screech of tires almost before he'd got the door shut. And that did nothing to assuage Brennan's raised ire.
"What the hell was that all about?" The adrenaline still running rampant through his system gave his words a harsh edge that wasn't lost on his younger companion.
"What was what all about?" he demanded defensively, eyes glued to the darkened track leading to the main highway as they bounced along with only sidelights for illumination.
"Where *were* you?" Brennan turned in his seat to glare accusingly at him. "I had the whole of Whicker's private army on my tail and you decide to take a nap?"
"I didn't!"
"Sure felt that way to me. You know, Adam should maybe have sent Shalimar – or even Emma. At least she knows how to keep her mind focused." As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he shouldn't have said them. But he was too far in to take them back now, even if he'd truly wanted to.
Jesse stamped on the brakes, bringing the car to a violently slewing halt and forcing Brennan to throw out a hand against the dashboard to stop his forward momentum.
"Wh...?" he started, but Jesse left him no time to say more, rounding on him with hostile eyes flashing orange in the reflected light from the gauges.
"What are you trying to say, Brennan? That I can't do my job?"
The undercurrents of hurt-tempered defiance and frustration brought back memories of the conversation they'd had while searching for a way into Sanctuary when Gabriel Ashlocke had been in residence there, and the elemental wondered distantly if there might be more of a problem here than the simple cry for peer recognition that he'd taken it for at the time. He shook his head, the heat-of-the-moment anger that had driven him fading in the face of the much stronger emotion emanating from his friend.
"No, of course not. I just..."
"Then what? I got you out, didn't I?" Jesse demanded heatedly, knowing he was over-reacting, that to a certain extent Brennan's criticism was justified. But his unexpected lapse at a critical moment had rattled him more than he would have liked, and he couldn't bear to admit to that weakness. And things weren't helped by the headache he could feel stoking up behind his temples.
Brennan raised his hands, palms facing outwards in a gesture of pacification. "Hey, I never said you didn't – or that I wasn't grateful. Just that you cut it a bit fine." His attention was caught by something on the road behind them, and he continued, "Ah, like you might be here – we got company!"
With a muffled curse, Jesse set the car in motion, heading at speed for the anonymity of the traffic-filled roads ahead. But the journey back to Sanctuary passed mostly in silence, broken only by the minimum of stilted communication relating to their mission as they reported back to base.
The female element of the Mutant X team came out in force to meet them on their return. Shalimar Fox prowled the long corridor towards them as befitted the feral in her while Emma deLauro trailed in her wake, her little girl looks - enhanced by the over the knee socks she was wearing with her short skirt - belying the power of her mind.
"Well," Shalimar purred with a sly smile and a toss of her golden mane. "I hear you boys've been having fun without us."
"Yeah, well, don't believe everything you hear," Jesse cautioned, sending an unreadable glance in the direction of the man standing next to him. "But I'm sure Brennan here would love to fill you in. Me, I need some sleep."
Brennan shrugged in response to Shalimar's raised eyebrow as the molecular turned on his heel and walked away. But neither of them noticed the flicker of unease that crossed Emma's face as she watched him go.
****
