Chapter One: Adesina
With the deep cut in my arm and the smaller ones decorating my ribs disinfected and bandaged up I finally felt myself relax and the adrenaline that was maintaining me most of the way to the Safe House wore off in a one last rush, leaving me tired and dizzy and nauseous with pain. I was sitting in a chair in the back of Double Helix, which any other day would have been plenty comfortable, shifting as a new flash of pain hit every few minutes. Brennan, whom I found, had dark, masculine looks to match the voice, was sitting at the helm reading a book, though I was too tired to find out what, while Jesse sat across from me fiddling on a computer. Really, he was playing more attention to me than whatever was on the screen and I glared up at him in scolding.
"What?" The inquiry came out angry and sharp, which, if I felt better, I could have apologized for, but right now I just really didn't care.
He blinked. "I was just wondering if you needed anything. I mean…you look really pale."
I shook her head. "I always look really pale, being as I'm pale and all."
"Well, there's a difference between pretty pale and major blood loss pale." His tone was quiet, but sure. Certainty. How long had it been since I'd heard someone sound certain and actual believed it? A while.
"I'll be fine."
"Uh-huh. Maybe you should lay down though. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
I stared blankly at him.
"Or not." He amended.
"Between the pain, the nausea, and the dread, if I went to sleep now I don't think I'd want to wake up." I didn't add that it was possible I had a concussion, and the blood loss was making me dizzy, because I had already figured out that Jesse Kilmartin was definitely a worrier.
"Dread?" Brennan interjected from behind his book.
"Sanctuary is the next to last place on Earth that I want to be heading to."
Brennan brought down his hands, turning the chair to face Jesse and me. "You called us, remember?"
I shrugged, then hissed as pain shot through my shoulder. "Between Genome X and Mutant X, I chose you." I paused, frowning. "Barely." I muttered.
The kind of barely that made me wait until I was bleeding out and in massive pain before making the call, but I didn't add that.
"So, how do you know Adam?" Brennan asked, unfazed.
"He knew my mother." The answer was stated before I had a chance to realize I had decided on using the partial truth.
"And what, she didn't like Mutant X?"
I laughed, smirking, "This was before Mutant X was even a flicker of an idea in Adam's messed-up brain." I shrugged using my left shoulder. "Plus, my disdain for Adam isn't second generation." That was true, I hated him solely on my own behalf.
Brennan got a look of clarity on his face and frowned at me. "You're one of those New Mutants who hate Adam for making you different while saving your life."
I blinked, standing suddenly, and stalking over to where he sat in his chair, with an expression of what I figure must look like the definite promise of violence. I stopped when my legs were half an inch from his knees, and leaned over him, placing my hands gingerly on the back of his chair.
"You have no idea the kind of New Mutant I am." I stated, my voice dead. The Double Helix shuddered roughly, and I had to shift, my left hand clinched on the top of my chair, to keep my balance. I straightened back up. "We'd better quit this discourse before I knock us out of the sky." I vaguely wondered if I had enough energy left to do that, not that I planned to, then again my abilities never liked to follow plans. I decided I probably did, barely, and it was better not to tempt it. I walked slowly back to the chair I had been occupying, trying to ignore the increasingly active dizziness. Blinking did nothing to straighten my vision, but I managed to make it to the chair and sit down without stumbling.
"You're a telekinetic?" Brennan asked.
Well, wasn't he just the curious one.
"Not exactly. Psychokinetic. Minor differences."
Jesse nodded. "So, what's your name?"
I sighed, trying to remember what I was going by in Seattle. I couldn't. I frowned, I must have hit my head harder than I thought. Shaking my head to clear it, my vision fractured accented by bolts of pain shooting through my skull and the nausea came back in a wave. Okay, that was a bad idea, and they were still waiting for an answer.
"My name is Adesina." It was funny how much I hated merely admitting my first name- my real one, at least. It was if the act itself opened myself up to become vulnerable. Though them knowing my name didn't give them power over me, not really. They continued looking at me as if they expected me to continue, but I wasn't going to give a last name, not unless I had to.
"So, Adam seemed sort of surprised you called?" Yet another question from tall, dark, and curious.
I smirked, stifling a laugh because I knew laughing would only agitate my wounds. "Well, that's what happens when you get a call for help from someone who once said pigs would fly out of Eckhart's ass before they asked for anything from you." I paused, smiling. "I don't suppose you've seen any pigs lately?"
"You said that to **Adam**?" Blondie sounded astonished, which made me stifle another laugh.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's one of the nicer things I said to Adam that day."
The looks of shock on their faces would have been priceless if my head didn't feel as if someone had hit it with a brick half a dozen times.
"Then why would he-" Brennan started to say, stopping in the middle of his sentence.
"Guilt is the mother of good tides." I commented, in answer to the unfinished question.
With the guilt I had on Adam, add interest, I could probably get a car out of him were I so inclined. Problem was the only thing I wanted from Adam, aside from the current fixing of my fucking arm, was something he couldn't give me.
"Adam doesn't need someone making him feel guiltier." Cute, Brennan was also protective.
I glanced over at him. "I don't think it's possible for Adam to feel guiltier. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching him wallow in it occasionally." Okay, I admit it, I was sounding vindictive and bitchy and mean, but I was in pain and I had good reason. "Listen, let's just say I have a damn good reason for wanting Adam to hurt and leave it at that for now. I'm sure it'll all come out eventually anyway." Like I first time I see Adam face-to-face in years. That sort of eventually, which was suddenly very soon-to-be.
Something beeped, attracting Jesse's attention. "We're about to arrive. I…you, you need to put these on." He pulled something away from the counter and started approaching me.
I blinked then burst out laughing, pain searing down my side but I ignored it. "I know where Sanctuary is, Blondie."
Then he blinked, before a look of confusion crossed over his face. "But--?"
"I said my mom knew him years before Sanctuary existed. Me? Last time I saw him was there, but this was before Shalimar or you joined the team, though not long before Shal I think."
"Why didn't you join the team?" Brennan asked. I threw him a sideways look.
"How old do you think I am?" I replied.
"What?" Jesse inquired.
"Twenty-three? Twenty-four?"
"Okay, your sense of age…sucks. I'm seventeen. Now. I was twelve then. Plus, I was seriously considering slitting Adam's throat at the time."
"At twelve?"
"At twelve. And ten. And seven. And fourteen. I've mellowed since then." I paused. "Mostly."
I had mellowed a lot, but some things take more than time, even years of time. A glance at Brennan gave me the impression that he knew how that felt, and Jesse was still suffering from self-inflicted wounds. Then again, I suppose you wouldn't be trying to save an entire race of people if you didn't know pain.
I sighed. "It's important you guys know that I'm not any sort of threat to Adam. He does too much good for people like us for me to want him dead. I'm angry, not vindictive."
"Good." Jesse said, quietly. "'Cause, we couldn't let you hurt him. I mean, I don't know about the others, but he's kind of like a father—" He stopped abruptly, frowning, and shaking his head. "Anyway, yeah, he's important."
There was a soft thud as the Double Helix landed on the concrete floor of the Hanger Bay. I stood, my vision more scattered than ever, and half-limped towards the exit hatch, almost stumbling over the step when I felt a warm, strong hand pull against my waist to keep me from falling forward. I looked over to see Jesse's face creased with concern.
"Thanks. I'm kind of dizzy." I smiled.
He frowned. "You should have said that. We can't help if you don't tell us what's wrong."
You can't help anyway, Blondie. "The injuries are the least of my problems." Also, the most pressing, but I didn't say that either. I was pretty much sure there was no internal bleeding or a concussion, which, to me at least, meant everything was basically fine. Not fun, but I'd live and hey, no surgery, yay.
I giggled, feeling light-headed, and glanced at Jesse again. He was the last thing I saw before my vision exploded before me into a deep, quiet black.
With the deep cut in my arm and the smaller ones decorating my ribs disinfected and bandaged up I finally felt myself relax and the adrenaline that was maintaining me most of the way to the Safe House wore off in a one last rush, leaving me tired and dizzy and nauseous with pain. I was sitting in a chair in the back of Double Helix, which any other day would have been plenty comfortable, shifting as a new flash of pain hit every few minutes. Brennan, whom I found, had dark, masculine looks to match the voice, was sitting at the helm reading a book, though I was too tired to find out what, while Jesse sat across from me fiddling on a computer. Really, he was playing more attention to me than whatever was on the screen and I glared up at him in scolding.
"What?" The inquiry came out angry and sharp, which, if I felt better, I could have apologized for, but right now I just really didn't care.
He blinked. "I was just wondering if you needed anything. I mean…you look really pale."
I shook her head. "I always look really pale, being as I'm pale and all."
"Well, there's a difference between pretty pale and major blood loss pale." His tone was quiet, but sure. Certainty. How long had it been since I'd heard someone sound certain and actual believed it? A while.
"I'll be fine."
"Uh-huh. Maybe you should lay down though. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"
I stared blankly at him.
"Or not." He amended.
"Between the pain, the nausea, and the dread, if I went to sleep now I don't think I'd want to wake up." I didn't add that it was possible I had a concussion, and the blood loss was making me dizzy, because I had already figured out that Jesse Kilmartin was definitely a worrier.
"Dread?" Brennan interjected from behind his book.
"Sanctuary is the next to last place on Earth that I want to be heading to."
Brennan brought down his hands, turning the chair to face Jesse and me. "You called us, remember?"
I shrugged, then hissed as pain shot through my shoulder. "Between Genome X and Mutant X, I chose you." I paused, frowning. "Barely." I muttered.
The kind of barely that made me wait until I was bleeding out and in massive pain before making the call, but I didn't add that.
"So, how do you know Adam?" Brennan asked, unfazed.
"He knew my mother." The answer was stated before I had a chance to realize I had decided on using the partial truth.
"And what, she didn't like Mutant X?"
I laughed, smirking, "This was before Mutant X was even a flicker of an idea in Adam's messed-up brain." I shrugged using my left shoulder. "Plus, my disdain for Adam isn't second generation." That was true, I hated him solely on my own behalf.
Brennan got a look of clarity on his face and frowned at me. "You're one of those New Mutants who hate Adam for making you different while saving your life."
I blinked, standing suddenly, and stalking over to where he sat in his chair, with an expression of what I figure must look like the definite promise of violence. I stopped when my legs were half an inch from his knees, and leaned over him, placing my hands gingerly on the back of his chair.
"You have no idea the kind of New Mutant I am." I stated, my voice dead. The Double Helix shuddered roughly, and I had to shift, my left hand clinched on the top of my chair, to keep my balance. I straightened back up. "We'd better quit this discourse before I knock us out of the sky." I vaguely wondered if I had enough energy left to do that, not that I planned to, then again my abilities never liked to follow plans. I decided I probably did, barely, and it was better not to tempt it. I walked slowly back to the chair I had been occupying, trying to ignore the increasingly active dizziness. Blinking did nothing to straighten my vision, but I managed to make it to the chair and sit down without stumbling.
"You're a telekinetic?" Brennan asked.
Well, wasn't he just the curious one.
"Not exactly. Psychokinetic. Minor differences."
Jesse nodded. "So, what's your name?"
I sighed, trying to remember what I was going by in Seattle. I couldn't. I frowned, I must have hit my head harder than I thought. Shaking my head to clear it, my vision fractured accented by bolts of pain shooting through my skull and the nausea came back in a wave. Okay, that was a bad idea, and they were still waiting for an answer.
"My name is Adesina." It was funny how much I hated merely admitting my first name- my real one, at least. It was if the act itself opened myself up to become vulnerable. Though them knowing my name didn't give them power over me, not really. They continued looking at me as if they expected me to continue, but I wasn't going to give a last name, not unless I had to.
"So, Adam seemed sort of surprised you called?" Yet another question from tall, dark, and curious.
I smirked, stifling a laugh because I knew laughing would only agitate my wounds. "Well, that's what happens when you get a call for help from someone who once said pigs would fly out of Eckhart's ass before they asked for anything from you." I paused, smiling. "I don't suppose you've seen any pigs lately?"
"You said that to **Adam**?" Blondie sounded astonished, which made me stifle another laugh.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's one of the nicer things I said to Adam that day."
The looks of shock on their faces would have been priceless if my head didn't feel as if someone had hit it with a brick half a dozen times.
"Then why would he-" Brennan started to say, stopping in the middle of his sentence.
"Guilt is the mother of good tides." I commented, in answer to the unfinished question.
With the guilt I had on Adam, add interest, I could probably get a car out of him were I so inclined. Problem was the only thing I wanted from Adam, aside from the current fixing of my fucking arm, was something he couldn't give me.
"Adam doesn't need someone making him feel guiltier." Cute, Brennan was also protective.
I glanced over at him. "I don't think it's possible for Adam to feel guiltier. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching him wallow in it occasionally." Okay, I admit it, I was sounding vindictive and bitchy and mean, but I was in pain and I had good reason. "Listen, let's just say I have a damn good reason for wanting Adam to hurt and leave it at that for now. I'm sure it'll all come out eventually anyway." Like I first time I see Adam face-to-face in years. That sort of eventually, which was suddenly very soon-to-be.
Something beeped, attracting Jesse's attention. "We're about to arrive. I…you, you need to put these on." He pulled something away from the counter and started approaching me.
I blinked then burst out laughing, pain searing down my side but I ignored it. "I know where Sanctuary is, Blondie."
Then he blinked, before a look of confusion crossed over his face. "But--?"
"I said my mom knew him years before Sanctuary existed. Me? Last time I saw him was there, but this was before Shalimar or you joined the team, though not long before Shal I think."
"Why didn't you join the team?" Brennan asked. I threw him a sideways look.
"How old do you think I am?" I replied.
"What?" Jesse inquired.
"Twenty-three? Twenty-four?"
"Okay, your sense of age…sucks. I'm seventeen. Now. I was twelve then. Plus, I was seriously considering slitting Adam's throat at the time."
"At twelve?"
"At twelve. And ten. And seven. And fourteen. I've mellowed since then." I paused. "Mostly."
I had mellowed a lot, but some things take more than time, even years of time. A glance at Brennan gave me the impression that he knew how that felt, and Jesse was still suffering from self-inflicted wounds. Then again, I suppose you wouldn't be trying to save an entire race of people if you didn't know pain.
I sighed. "It's important you guys know that I'm not any sort of threat to Adam. He does too much good for people like us for me to want him dead. I'm angry, not vindictive."
"Good." Jesse said, quietly. "'Cause, we couldn't let you hurt him. I mean, I don't know about the others, but he's kind of like a father—" He stopped abruptly, frowning, and shaking his head. "Anyway, yeah, he's important."
There was a soft thud as the Double Helix landed on the concrete floor of the Hanger Bay. I stood, my vision more scattered than ever, and half-limped towards the exit hatch, almost stumbling over the step when I felt a warm, strong hand pull against my waist to keep me from falling forward. I looked over to see Jesse's face creased with concern.
"Thanks. I'm kind of dizzy." I smiled.
He frowned. "You should have said that. We can't help if you don't tell us what's wrong."
You can't help anyway, Blondie. "The injuries are the least of my problems." Also, the most pressing, but I didn't say that either. I was pretty much sure there was no internal bleeding or a concussion, which, to me at least, meant everything was basically fine. Not fun, but I'd live and hey, no surgery, yay.
I giggled, feeling light-headed, and glanced at Jesse again. He was the last thing I saw before my vision exploded before me into a deep, quiet black.