This chapter is for Ace, simply for being a bitch about not getting her own
chapter. No further explanation needed. *wicked grin*
~~~~~
Jordan aimed the gun directly at the man's head. He let his eyes dart quickly to note the blood that was slowly seeping from his adversary's side. And he still watched Jordan far too carefully, stance tense, ready to continue the fight. Brennan must have been worth quite a lot to him. Still was.
He knew this man was prepared to fight to the death for Brennan. "You're Adam." It wasn't a question. He looked long and hard at the man before glancing behind him at Brennan. The latter lay motionless on the floor, not even attempting to move, possibly not even breathing. Jordan quickly returned his attention to Adam so as not to be caught off guard while distracted.
If he were ever to be captured by the other side, Jordan knew Eckhart certainly wouldn't show up in person to rescue him. It was a coin toss whether a retrieval mission would be mounted at all.
He could still hear echoes of the voice that told him to simply put away the gun and all would be fine. For a moment, he wondered if it wasn't Brennan's mind that Emma had taken up residence in, but rather his own. That idea should have made him angry, but he didn't care. He was tired, and he was bleeding. He didn't want this life.
Sighing, he lowered his weapon. "Just go."
After he awkwardly holstered the gun - much to Adam's bewilderment - Jordan turned and knelt beside Brennan, checking for a pulse. He hadn't simply given up - he'd fallen ill. There was no doubt in his mind that Eckhart had used 216, and Brennan was already succumbing to its effects. He brushed the hair back from Brennan's face, not sure if he was even still awake.
Adam stooped by his side, predictably refusing to go without what he came for and also confirming that Brennan was still breathing before easing him away from Jordan. Brennan stirred slightly and flinched in pain, but the action was involuntary and far too unresponsive.
Jordan stared at Adam once more. He wasn't exactly David Duchovny, but he'd do. "Take care of him."
Adam nodded before folding his fingers into a tight fist and decking the young man, efficiently knocking Jordan out cold.
-----
Jesse heard the gun cock somewhere behind his ear. It was an oddly chilling sound. It signified that there was now a bullet in the chamber, and all the agent, who stood slightly out of his view, needed to do was pull the trigger. Jesse didn't dare attempt turning around. He was going to be killed, execution style, with him on his knees... and he'd never so much as see the face of his assassin.
He didn't intend to just let it happen, not while he had a gift that, until recently, he thought made him practically invincible. Yet the odds were stacked very much against him. He would need to phase at the exact right moment - too soon and the man could wait him out and then take the shot when he was forced to take a breath, or too late and Jesse would be dead. And the agent could fire at any time.
Jesse felt himself tremble, his breathing shaky. He wasn't going to be given a single clue as to when it would happen. He couldn't see the finger squeeze down upon the trigger. And by the time he heard the gun fire, the fatal shot would have already ripped through his body. Even if by some miracle he phased perfectly and saved himself from the first bullet, the man likely had a full clip.
Shalimar screamed his name, and he saw her still wrestling with several of the men. The other agent who still carried his weapon had his attention turned to Emma. Jesse caught Shalimar's eyes and his gaze lingered there for no more than a second, but a second in which he tried to convey to her that it would be okay, that he wasn't scared. Then he looked away.
Closing his eyes, Jesse bowed his head and subconsciously tensed as he waited.
Then he heard a thump as the agent behind him hit the floor. Jesse snapped open his eyes and spun around. The man's body convulsed once and then he laid still.
Jesse yelped something in complete shock, having been mere seconds away from most likely losing his life. He wasn't certain if he'd just cursed off a few expletives or perhaps thanked God, but at the moment he didn't exactly care. Shoving himself quickly all the way to his feet, he jumped back from the body and swayed slightly as he tried to figure out what had happened.
The other armed agent was collapsed at Emma's feet. She was standing still, her arm outstretched and her palm aimed in the direction of the man who'd endangered Jesse. Her eyes were dark and cold like Jesse had never seen before.
Emma then tilted her head down and began to use her hands to channel her power, winding it into a coil much in the same way Brennan would. It was the first time Jesse had ever seen her do that. There was no visible sign of her actions that he could see, other than the familiar gesture, but Eckhart's men obviously saw something.
When Emma tossed out her hands, all of the agents surrounding Shalimar crumpled in a wave. The action held a tone of pure rage. When the few remaining men began a hasty retreat, Emma drew another surge into her hands and tossed them down like bowling pins. Jesse and Shalimar both stared at her in shock, not believing what she'd just been able to do.
Emma seemed to get a handle on her emotions as she looked at the bodies which lined their path. "They're just stunned," she said quietly but without a trace of remorse.
At that moment, Jesse knew. She truly had just found a psionic way to use Brennan's power. On some level, it frightened him. Sure, she'd made him see some pretty powerful stuff, and he knew she was far from defenseless, but he'd never considered her as having an active power. Not like the rest of the team. And yet she had just made a room full of men believe she'd had the power to electrocute all of them.
She was different now, changed in a way he couldn't begin to describe, but obviously... unsettled... from whatever Eckhart and his men had done. Something told him she was no longer holding anything back or blocking anything out.
"Are they really only stunned?" None of them were moving.
Emma looked over at him, her expression blank. "Does it matter?"
He wanted to say that it didn't, but he couldn't find his voice. Then one of the fallen men moaned, and relief flooded his heart. Shalimar soon stood beside them, surveying the damage Emma had inflicted with a guarded expression before taking her hand. She then glanced past Emma and caught Jesse's eyes once more with a concerned look, and he realized he was still shaking.
"I'm alright," he told Shalimar, and she seemed to reluctantly accept that before she returned her attention to Emma.
Taking one last, shuddering breath, Jesse forced himself to be fine - for their sake. He'd been in close calls plenty of times before, so he wasn't going to let this one rattle him either. When neither of the girls was looking his way, he slid one hand behind him and under his jacket and shirt, carefully touching his back. He gritted his teeth to keep in the hiss of pain, but when he drew back his hand and looked at his fingers, they were clean. The blood hadn't soaked through the bandaging yet. He'd be fine.
"I need to find Brennan," Emma stated. Then she purposefully began walking.
Walking with her eyes closed, Jesse noted. Her hand still clung to Shalimar's and she seemed to be moving on autopilot, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. He wondered where she'd been when she'd needed to come back in order to save him. He wondered if she regretted it.
Striding at a fast pace through the halls, Jesse cautiously wrapped his arm around the girl at his side, also guiding her steps since it was clear her mind was elsewhere. She was his friend no matter what she was capable of, and for some reason she still seemed fragile despite just felling over a dozen armed men.
-----
The team met back up again near the door where they'd entered. The reunion was heartfelt and brief, no words being exchanged, only concerned and reassuring glances. The bodies had been removed from the floor, leaving them to their own means for disabling the lock.
Jesse automatically set to work without needing to be asked. He carefully ghosted his hand and slid it into the lock, but the mechanism was extremely complex. It was a mess of fine wires. He shook his head. "I could use Bren's help on this one."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jesse regretted them. He wasn't certain what all had been done to Brennan, but it had been bad - that much was painfully clear. What he hadn't read from the computer records, Emma had forced him to experience first hand. Jesse was fairly positive there'd been internal bleeding, and he could only hope the GSA had treated him... Otherwise Brennan could very well be dying. And as to the time of death that had been noted in his file, well, that one remained a mystery Jesse wasn't so sure he wanted an answer to. Whatever the case, it wasn't likely he'd be waking up any time soon.
Shalimar was helping Adam to gently lower him to the floor. Nobody had mentioned Adam's own injury, and he hadn't mentioned that Emma was leaning against the wall looking just about ready to faint at any second. Except for Shalimar, they were all in pretty bad shape and just left it at that. Their wounds could be tended to and worried about once they were safely back home.
In the meantime, a locked door stood between them and the Double Helix.
Emma crumpled to her knees at Brennan's side, and Shalimar and Adam both gave her room. None of them had ever seen the Psionic look so sad. She was crying silently as she slipped her hand into Brennan's. Jesse half expected Brennan's fingers to curl around hers, yet he made no move.
"I can go find somebody to lend us a hand," Shalimar offered, pausing in her efforts to inspect Adam's side without looking like she was trying to doctor him. She glanced over at Jesse.
"We'll call that plan B." Jesse massed his fist and smashed the panel, then he removed the broken pieces and began trying to figure out the wiring underneath. "Why don't you see if you can bandage up Adam while I attempt to hotwire this thing?"
Avoiding Shalimar with a mumble of "I'm fine, really," Adam stooped beside Emma.
Shalimar threw her hands up in the air in defeat. Adam was going to be his usual stubborn self and wait until his team was safely home and on the mend before acknowledging that he'd gotten himself shot. She huffed in annoyance before beginning a restless pacing. She hated that she was standing around and not doing anything.
"Is it possible for you to wake him?" Adam asked Emma, lightly squeezing her shoulder in a gesture of support. His tone and expression implied that he wasn't certain Brennan being lucid would be a good thing, yet he was also worried that it wasn't wise to let him sleep until they better knew the extent of his injuries. It could be dangerous for Brennan to remain unconscious.
Emma had her forehead resting against Brennan's, and she was cupping his face in her palms, gently caressing his cheek with the most tender of touches. But she looked up at Adam, her large eyes like pools of crystal water, practically turned to liquid from her tears. "Adam... He is awake."
At her statement, Jesse momentarily froze in his work. That wasn't possible. He turned to stare at Emma, and he watched as Adam quickly began checking Brennan's pulse and breathing and whatever else he was capable of doing without any equipment. But there was no way Brennan was conscious, not with him so completely unresponsive. If he was awake, then he was just... gone. He knew Emma wasn't even reaching him, it was written all over her tear-streaked face. There was no way the situation could be this bad.
Stopping her almost frenzied pacing, Shalimar just stood helplessly. Emma was right. Using her enhanced Feral senses, she could tell there was something off with the way Brennan was sleeping. She wasn't certain what exactly was wrong, though, and she definitely wasn't going to be the one to voice the theory that Brennan was catatonic.
She couldn't take much more of this. Twenty more seconds, and then she was hunting down and kicking some GS agent ass.
Adam gripped Brennan's hand. "Brennan. If you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my hand, okay?" There wasn't even the slightest bit of pressure in response to the request. Adam wondered if checking his eyes would be of any use. He had no light with him to use for checking pupil dilation, and with Brennan's blindness that test might be worthless anyway. Adam had no way of knowing. They needed to get him back to Sanctuary.
"Jesse." Shalimar's troubled voice interrupted his thoughts, and he moved his gaze up from where it had been fixed on Brennan. "The door."
Oh. Right. "I'm sorry," he quickly mumbled in reply, resuming the forgotten task. In a matter of seconds, the lock suddenly disengaged.
Noticing his success, Shalimar gave him a brief smile that didn't reach her eyes. Then she hurriedly went about helping Adam with Brennan. She wanted to aid him in carrying their teammate, but then she saw that Emma was still sitting on the floor.
"Emma, come on," she coaxed, kneeling in front of her and taking her hand. Emma's gaze was blank, and her breathing was strange. Shalimar slid her fingers along her wrist, feeling her pulse. Whatever kind of trance she was in, her current state was an eerily near match to Brennan's. "Hey, sweetie, wake up, okay? I know you wanna help Bren, but we need you in the here and now right now."
After finishing shoving the door open, Jesse looked over his shoulder at the two girls. "Shal? Emma?"
"I've got her," Shalimar answered. "Get to the Helix. We're right behind you."
Ignoring the command, Jesse rushed back for them. He helped pull Emma to her feet while Shalimar opted for slapping her across the face and then yanking her arm over her shoulder. Emma seemed to snap back to herself and blinked at them in confusion before stumbling along in toe as she was dragged through the door.
Pausing for a moment, Jesse let Shalimar take Emma. They couldn't fit three-wide through the door, so he settled for watching their backs and being the last one out. He glanced nervously behind them at the empty halls. He didn't like this. It was too easy. He stared at the wires again in bewilderment before following the others through to the outside. It should have taken him longer to figure out what connection would override the lock, and he wasn't one to put much faith in luck.
"Guys, I'm not entirely certain it was me who opened the--" Jesse cut himself off upon noticing the dozens of red dots that danced upon their chests. "Damn."
Spotlights began bursting on all around them, illuminating the roof against the darkening sky. Several lines of guards spanned the width of the building, completely blocking their path. There were about forty in number, all armed, the majority of their laser-sights trained on Emma.
Taking a step forward, Jesse placed himself protectively in front of his team. There was no way Emma could take this on. Her arm was still draped across Shalimar's shoulder and she was being supported as if dead weight.
From the mass of agents, a lone figure emerged, his white hair a stark contrast that instantly identified him. Taking a gun from one of his lackeys, he turned it away from the Mutant X team, pointing it in the opposite direction. The beam from the sight broke as it hit the Double Helix, the light bending, contorted from shining against the surface of the cloak, significantly displacing the red dot.
"Now honestly, Adam, did you truly believe you could land a plane on my roof unnoticed?"
-----
TBC...
Author's notes:
For those of you wondering, the David Duchovny mention was in reference to Brennan and Jordan's conversation about role models in the chapter "Heroes."
Emma doesn't use her psionic blast and Jesse doesn't just phase the door because when I came up with this story, MX was still in season one. So for this story, none of them have had their powers ramped up yet.
This chapter was only beta-read by Lanfear because she's the only one I managed to get it sent off to before I became netless due to a hardware problem.
And no, I have not abandoned this story, but all the concern was very flattering. I simple wrote a different story while I was offline because I was borrowing a different computer. For those of you who have trouble finding things with this story to leave constructive criticism about, you might have better luck with the other. It's titled "Noah Kilmartin's Son" and is written entirely in the first person (which is something I seldom do). Also, the first two reviews on it were from Lanfear and Ace. You guys are so predictable! I love ya.
Oh, and there was no offense meant in my dedication of this chapter to Ace. She knows that, but just in case everybody else doesn't, I'm official stating that I think she rocks. Any teasing and tormenting is all strictly in good fun.
And finally, it might be a while before the next chapter because I'm thinking of making it the last of Part One. But I'm not ending this where or how I originally planned, so it's going to take me a bit before I get it written.
That is all. Now please direct your attention to the little "Go" button beside the "Submit Review" option. I felt sort of off while writing this chapter, so comments (good or bad) are very much wanted. Thanks!
~~~~~
Jordan aimed the gun directly at the man's head. He let his eyes dart quickly to note the blood that was slowly seeping from his adversary's side. And he still watched Jordan far too carefully, stance tense, ready to continue the fight. Brennan must have been worth quite a lot to him. Still was.
He knew this man was prepared to fight to the death for Brennan. "You're Adam." It wasn't a question. He looked long and hard at the man before glancing behind him at Brennan. The latter lay motionless on the floor, not even attempting to move, possibly not even breathing. Jordan quickly returned his attention to Adam so as not to be caught off guard while distracted.
If he were ever to be captured by the other side, Jordan knew Eckhart certainly wouldn't show up in person to rescue him. It was a coin toss whether a retrieval mission would be mounted at all.
He could still hear echoes of the voice that told him to simply put away the gun and all would be fine. For a moment, he wondered if it wasn't Brennan's mind that Emma had taken up residence in, but rather his own. That idea should have made him angry, but he didn't care. He was tired, and he was bleeding. He didn't want this life.
Sighing, he lowered his weapon. "Just go."
After he awkwardly holstered the gun - much to Adam's bewilderment - Jordan turned and knelt beside Brennan, checking for a pulse. He hadn't simply given up - he'd fallen ill. There was no doubt in his mind that Eckhart had used 216, and Brennan was already succumbing to its effects. He brushed the hair back from Brennan's face, not sure if he was even still awake.
Adam stooped by his side, predictably refusing to go without what he came for and also confirming that Brennan was still breathing before easing him away from Jordan. Brennan stirred slightly and flinched in pain, but the action was involuntary and far too unresponsive.
Jordan stared at Adam once more. He wasn't exactly David Duchovny, but he'd do. "Take care of him."
Adam nodded before folding his fingers into a tight fist and decking the young man, efficiently knocking Jordan out cold.
-----
Jesse heard the gun cock somewhere behind his ear. It was an oddly chilling sound. It signified that there was now a bullet in the chamber, and all the agent, who stood slightly out of his view, needed to do was pull the trigger. Jesse didn't dare attempt turning around. He was going to be killed, execution style, with him on his knees... and he'd never so much as see the face of his assassin.
He didn't intend to just let it happen, not while he had a gift that, until recently, he thought made him practically invincible. Yet the odds were stacked very much against him. He would need to phase at the exact right moment - too soon and the man could wait him out and then take the shot when he was forced to take a breath, or too late and Jesse would be dead. And the agent could fire at any time.
Jesse felt himself tremble, his breathing shaky. He wasn't going to be given a single clue as to when it would happen. He couldn't see the finger squeeze down upon the trigger. And by the time he heard the gun fire, the fatal shot would have already ripped through his body. Even if by some miracle he phased perfectly and saved himself from the first bullet, the man likely had a full clip.
Shalimar screamed his name, and he saw her still wrestling with several of the men. The other agent who still carried his weapon had his attention turned to Emma. Jesse caught Shalimar's eyes and his gaze lingered there for no more than a second, but a second in which he tried to convey to her that it would be okay, that he wasn't scared. Then he looked away.
Closing his eyes, Jesse bowed his head and subconsciously tensed as he waited.
Then he heard a thump as the agent behind him hit the floor. Jesse snapped open his eyes and spun around. The man's body convulsed once and then he laid still.
Jesse yelped something in complete shock, having been mere seconds away from most likely losing his life. He wasn't certain if he'd just cursed off a few expletives or perhaps thanked God, but at the moment he didn't exactly care. Shoving himself quickly all the way to his feet, he jumped back from the body and swayed slightly as he tried to figure out what had happened.
The other armed agent was collapsed at Emma's feet. She was standing still, her arm outstretched and her palm aimed in the direction of the man who'd endangered Jesse. Her eyes were dark and cold like Jesse had never seen before.
Emma then tilted her head down and began to use her hands to channel her power, winding it into a coil much in the same way Brennan would. It was the first time Jesse had ever seen her do that. There was no visible sign of her actions that he could see, other than the familiar gesture, but Eckhart's men obviously saw something.
When Emma tossed out her hands, all of the agents surrounding Shalimar crumpled in a wave. The action held a tone of pure rage. When the few remaining men began a hasty retreat, Emma drew another surge into her hands and tossed them down like bowling pins. Jesse and Shalimar both stared at her in shock, not believing what she'd just been able to do.
Emma seemed to get a handle on her emotions as she looked at the bodies which lined their path. "They're just stunned," she said quietly but without a trace of remorse.
At that moment, Jesse knew. She truly had just found a psionic way to use Brennan's power. On some level, it frightened him. Sure, she'd made him see some pretty powerful stuff, and he knew she was far from defenseless, but he'd never considered her as having an active power. Not like the rest of the team. And yet she had just made a room full of men believe she'd had the power to electrocute all of them.
She was different now, changed in a way he couldn't begin to describe, but obviously... unsettled... from whatever Eckhart and his men had done. Something told him she was no longer holding anything back or blocking anything out.
"Are they really only stunned?" None of them were moving.
Emma looked over at him, her expression blank. "Does it matter?"
He wanted to say that it didn't, but he couldn't find his voice. Then one of the fallen men moaned, and relief flooded his heart. Shalimar soon stood beside them, surveying the damage Emma had inflicted with a guarded expression before taking her hand. She then glanced past Emma and caught Jesse's eyes once more with a concerned look, and he realized he was still shaking.
"I'm alright," he told Shalimar, and she seemed to reluctantly accept that before she returned her attention to Emma.
Taking one last, shuddering breath, Jesse forced himself to be fine - for their sake. He'd been in close calls plenty of times before, so he wasn't going to let this one rattle him either. When neither of the girls was looking his way, he slid one hand behind him and under his jacket and shirt, carefully touching his back. He gritted his teeth to keep in the hiss of pain, but when he drew back his hand and looked at his fingers, they were clean. The blood hadn't soaked through the bandaging yet. He'd be fine.
"I need to find Brennan," Emma stated. Then she purposefully began walking.
Walking with her eyes closed, Jesse noted. Her hand still clung to Shalimar's and she seemed to be moving on autopilot, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. He wondered where she'd been when she'd needed to come back in order to save him. He wondered if she regretted it.
Striding at a fast pace through the halls, Jesse cautiously wrapped his arm around the girl at his side, also guiding her steps since it was clear her mind was elsewhere. She was his friend no matter what she was capable of, and for some reason she still seemed fragile despite just felling over a dozen armed men.
-----
The team met back up again near the door where they'd entered. The reunion was heartfelt and brief, no words being exchanged, only concerned and reassuring glances. The bodies had been removed from the floor, leaving them to their own means for disabling the lock.
Jesse automatically set to work without needing to be asked. He carefully ghosted his hand and slid it into the lock, but the mechanism was extremely complex. It was a mess of fine wires. He shook his head. "I could use Bren's help on this one."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jesse regretted them. He wasn't certain what all had been done to Brennan, but it had been bad - that much was painfully clear. What he hadn't read from the computer records, Emma had forced him to experience first hand. Jesse was fairly positive there'd been internal bleeding, and he could only hope the GSA had treated him... Otherwise Brennan could very well be dying. And as to the time of death that had been noted in his file, well, that one remained a mystery Jesse wasn't so sure he wanted an answer to. Whatever the case, it wasn't likely he'd be waking up any time soon.
Shalimar was helping Adam to gently lower him to the floor. Nobody had mentioned Adam's own injury, and he hadn't mentioned that Emma was leaning against the wall looking just about ready to faint at any second. Except for Shalimar, they were all in pretty bad shape and just left it at that. Their wounds could be tended to and worried about once they were safely back home.
In the meantime, a locked door stood between them and the Double Helix.
Emma crumpled to her knees at Brennan's side, and Shalimar and Adam both gave her room. None of them had ever seen the Psionic look so sad. She was crying silently as she slipped her hand into Brennan's. Jesse half expected Brennan's fingers to curl around hers, yet he made no move.
"I can go find somebody to lend us a hand," Shalimar offered, pausing in her efforts to inspect Adam's side without looking like she was trying to doctor him. She glanced over at Jesse.
"We'll call that plan B." Jesse massed his fist and smashed the panel, then he removed the broken pieces and began trying to figure out the wiring underneath. "Why don't you see if you can bandage up Adam while I attempt to hotwire this thing?"
Avoiding Shalimar with a mumble of "I'm fine, really," Adam stooped beside Emma.
Shalimar threw her hands up in the air in defeat. Adam was going to be his usual stubborn self and wait until his team was safely home and on the mend before acknowledging that he'd gotten himself shot. She huffed in annoyance before beginning a restless pacing. She hated that she was standing around and not doing anything.
"Is it possible for you to wake him?" Adam asked Emma, lightly squeezing her shoulder in a gesture of support. His tone and expression implied that he wasn't certain Brennan being lucid would be a good thing, yet he was also worried that it wasn't wise to let him sleep until they better knew the extent of his injuries. It could be dangerous for Brennan to remain unconscious.
Emma had her forehead resting against Brennan's, and she was cupping his face in her palms, gently caressing his cheek with the most tender of touches. But she looked up at Adam, her large eyes like pools of crystal water, practically turned to liquid from her tears. "Adam... He is awake."
At her statement, Jesse momentarily froze in his work. That wasn't possible. He turned to stare at Emma, and he watched as Adam quickly began checking Brennan's pulse and breathing and whatever else he was capable of doing without any equipment. But there was no way Brennan was conscious, not with him so completely unresponsive. If he was awake, then he was just... gone. He knew Emma wasn't even reaching him, it was written all over her tear-streaked face. There was no way the situation could be this bad.
Stopping her almost frenzied pacing, Shalimar just stood helplessly. Emma was right. Using her enhanced Feral senses, she could tell there was something off with the way Brennan was sleeping. She wasn't certain what exactly was wrong, though, and she definitely wasn't going to be the one to voice the theory that Brennan was catatonic.
She couldn't take much more of this. Twenty more seconds, and then she was hunting down and kicking some GS agent ass.
Adam gripped Brennan's hand. "Brennan. If you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my hand, okay?" There wasn't even the slightest bit of pressure in response to the request. Adam wondered if checking his eyes would be of any use. He had no light with him to use for checking pupil dilation, and with Brennan's blindness that test might be worthless anyway. Adam had no way of knowing. They needed to get him back to Sanctuary.
"Jesse." Shalimar's troubled voice interrupted his thoughts, and he moved his gaze up from where it had been fixed on Brennan. "The door."
Oh. Right. "I'm sorry," he quickly mumbled in reply, resuming the forgotten task. In a matter of seconds, the lock suddenly disengaged.
Noticing his success, Shalimar gave him a brief smile that didn't reach her eyes. Then she hurriedly went about helping Adam with Brennan. She wanted to aid him in carrying their teammate, but then she saw that Emma was still sitting on the floor.
"Emma, come on," she coaxed, kneeling in front of her and taking her hand. Emma's gaze was blank, and her breathing was strange. Shalimar slid her fingers along her wrist, feeling her pulse. Whatever kind of trance she was in, her current state was an eerily near match to Brennan's. "Hey, sweetie, wake up, okay? I know you wanna help Bren, but we need you in the here and now right now."
After finishing shoving the door open, Jesse looked over his shoulder at the two girls. "Shal? Emma?"
"I've got her," Shalimar answered. "Get to the Helix. We're right behind you."
Ignoring the command, Jesse rushed back for them. He helped pull Emma to her feet while Shalimar opted for slapping her across the face and then yanking her arm over her shoulder. Emma seemed to snap back to herself and blinked at them in confusion before stumbling along in toe as she was dragged through the door.
Pausing for a moment, Jesse let Shalimar take Emma. They couldn't fit three-wide through the door, so he settled for watching their backs and being the last one out. He glanced nervously behind them at the empty halls. He didn't like this. It was too easy. He stared at the wires again in bewilderment before following the others through to the outside. It should have taken him longer to figure out what connection would override the lock, and he wasn't one to put much faith in luck.
"Guys, I'm not entirely certain it was me who opened the--" Jesse cut himself off upon noticing the dozens of red dots that danced upon their chests. "Damn."
Spotlights began bursting on all around them, illuminating the roof against the darkening sky. Several lines of guards spanned the width of the building, completely blocking their path. There were about forty in number, all armed, the majority of their laser-sights trained on Emma.
Taking a step forward, Jesse placed himself protectively in front of his team. There was no way Emma could take this on. Her arm was still draped across Shalimar's shoulder and she was being supported as if dead weight.
From the mass of agents, a lone figure emerged, his white hair a stark contrast that instantly identified him. Taking a gun from one of his lackeys, he turned it away from the Mutant X team, pointing it in the opposite direction. The beam from the sight broke as it hit the Double Helix, the light bending, contorted from shining against the surface of the cloak, significantly displacing the red dot.
"Now honestly, Adam, did you truly believe you could land a plane on my roof unnoticed?"
-----
TBC...
Author's notes:
For those of you wondering, the David Duchovny mention was in reference to Brennan and Jordan's conversation about role models in the chapter "Heroes."
Emma doesn't use her psionic blast and Jesse doesn't just phase the door because when I came up with this story, MX was still in season one. So for this story, none of them have had their powers ramped up yet.
This chapter was only beta-read by Lanfear because she's the only one I managed to get it sent off to before I became netless due to a hardware problem.
And no, I have not abandoned this story, but all the concern was very flattering. I simple wrote a different story while I was offline because I was borrowing a different computer. For those of you who have trouble finding things with this story to leave constructive criticism about, you might have better luck with the other. It's titled "Noah Kilmartin's Son" and is written entirely in the first person (which is something I seldom do). Also, the first two reviews on it were from Lanfear and Ace. You guys are so predictable! I love ya.
Oh, and there was no offense meant in my dedication of this chapter to Ace. She knows that, but just in case everybody else doesn't, I'm official stating that I think she rocks. Any teasing and tormenting is all strictly in good fun.
And finally, it might be a while before the next chapter because I'm thinking of making it the last of Part One. But I'm not ending this where or how I originally planned, so it's going to take me a bit before I get it written.
That is all. Now please direct your attention to the little "Go" button beside the "Submit Review" option. I felt sort of off while writing this chapter, so comments (good or bad) are very much wanted. Thanks!