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A/N- Okay, I warn you. This chapter might be a little bit boring. It's mostly character building. The REAL plot will get underway in about chapter 7. FF.net keeps uploading this chapter weird so the paragraphs at the end run together. Just try to piece it together! Thanks to all who reviewed!
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Chapter 6: Reunions
"Whoa it's huge!" Tawny gasped, gazing around the artfully decorated Zen garden/computer paradise. Russell stifled a chuckle as Shalimar took off his Visual Cloak and then moved on to Sarah. Tawny smacked the shoulder of her comrade.
"Stop being such a perve!" Sarah warned him also trying to take in her surrounding.
"This is way cooler than the Lair." Tawny gapped turning around to look at all angles.
"Thank you very much," Adam put his hand on her shoulder, "You won't believe how long it took me to build." He smiled at her, "Come on, Let's get you and Lee to the lab to check for injuries."
"Wait, what about Eve?" Sara asked worry in her voice.
"Oh I'm sure Eve will be fine. She'll probably contact us asking for help. She always does. Shalimar will show you to the extra rooms." Adam replied leading Lee and Tawny in the direct of the lab.
Sarah turned to Shalimar; "I'd really like for my sister to be in the same room with me if that's all right."
"That's just fine..." The cat woman replied but was interrupted by another voice.
"Sarah?" Sarah and Shalimar turned to see Jesse come down the steps toward them.
"Oh Jesse this is Sarah Hensley. Sarah, Jesse Kilm…" Shalimar tried to introduced them.
"What are you doing here?" Jesse asked running down the rest of the steps and slowly by Shalimar. He was clearly stunned by her presence.
"Quite frankly," She sighed and smiled at the sight of her new friend. "I have no idea."
"You two know each other?' Shalimar asked moving a pointed finger between the two.
"We met tonight at the club." Jesse explained motioning to her and then putting his hand by his side. "You had me worried by the way you ran off."
"For good reason," Russell interrupted putting his shoulder protectively between Sarah and Jesse. "Our HQ's currently a GSA bonfire."
"You're a New Mutant?" Jesse asked incredulously, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well…You didn't exactly ask." Sarah said still smiling as she pushed Russell back in his place. "It's not like you told me."
"I hate to ruin this tender moment, but maybe we should check on Tawny and Lee." Russell interrupted.
"Uhhh…No…I'm sure they'll be fine." Shalimar interjected by grabbing Russell by the elbow and tugging slightly, "Come on Russ, I'll show you to your room." Looking back over her shoulder, she winked at Jesse, who flashed a quick smile back at her.
"Can I...uh…show you around?"
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"Ow…Ow…OWWW!" Tawny exclaimed at the brunette, who was bandaging her forearm. "Could you not wrap it so tight?"
"Sorry," Emma apologized finishing the bandage, "You should be okay in a couple days. It's not as bad as it looks."
"Or feels," Tawny said examining her bandage, "I will never teleport near fire ever again."
She turned to Lee, "Can you take off your shirt? I need to check you for burns."
The silent Asian man slowly took off his gray ash-smeared shirt. Emma gasped to see disfigured burn scars all up and down his arms.
"What happened?" Emma exclaimed gazing up into his eyes, hers full of concern.
"Nothing," He said grabbing his shirt, "I'm fine. May I go?"
Emma nodded as the tall man stood up and exited the lab while attempting to put his shirt back on.
"Those aren't recent." Emma glanced at the teenager behind her.
"He got them in the same fire his family died in, like 6 or 7 years ago." Tawny continued looking after her friend, "He always thought the GSA did it, but he's never been able to prove it. That's why the Lair burned down completely. He probably could have taken 'em but when he saw the fire he froze. I barely got him to the panic room in time. He's taking it pretty hard."
"He's not exactly social, is he?" The young woman commented bring up her left leg and resting it on the armrest of the lab chair next to Tawny.
"I don't think he believes in useless conversation. Unless he's got something important to say, he keeps to himself. Adam told us you're a telempath. Maybe you can…you know…read him?" "He's a brick wall." She hopped off the chair and motioned for the teenager to get up. "Anyway, you're good to go. Just don't take off the bandages and they'll heal pretty quickly." "Thanks." Tawny chirped and rose from the chair. "Emma…right?" "Right," She smiled. "And if it hurts anymore you come see me." "You must really like taking care of people." Tawny commented as she moved toward the door. "I do," Emma agreed.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"So when did you decide you wanted to rescue New Mutants?"
Sarah snapped back to reality from her daydream. "Umm…What?"
"When did you decide to join Orion M?" Jesse repeated looking at her intently from a cross the table. She looked back down at her half-eaten peanut butter sandwich then back up at her handsome associate.
"It's really a long story, I mean REALLY long" She confided.
Jesse looked around the kitchen. "I'm not going anywhere."
She smiled at his blunt assessment. "I grew up in a normal family, living on a normal street, in a normal town…" Sarah began.
"That's how it always starts." Jesse interrupted.
"Do you really want to hear this story or not?" She asked tilting her head slightly.
"Please go on." Jesse remarked beckoning her on with his hands.
"My dad was an alcoholic. He wasn't around much, thank god, but when he was…it wasn't pretty. Eventually mom wised up and got us out of there. Tawny was only about a year old, so she doesn't remember. After the divorce, she got remarried to this great guy, Jeff Hensley, who took care of all of us. He was like the dad I never had."
"Good for your mom." Jesse commented with a smile.
"So anyway, I turned 18 and packed up and moved off to college, everything's normal. That is, until my abnormalities start getting more noticeable. One night, I found myself being chased by Genomex field agents and suddenly this guy, like falls from the sky, even today I don't know where he came from, but he saved me. He was a feral just like me, but he was Canine. We started hanging out and he introduced me to the whole world of the Children of Genomex."
"Who was he?"
"Calvin Richards" Sarah answered absently. "He was a year older than I was, so he graduated a year earlier. A week before graduation he'd told me about a woman who'd contacted him about being in a group that helped people like us. He'd wanted me to come with him. I didn't want to. I wanted to stay in school and finish out my last year. So he left to be trained and I went home to see my parents."
"Did you see him again?"
"Yes," She replied picking up her sandwich and starring at it almost intently. "But not until after I found out I was adopted."
"You're kidding."
"Nope." Sarah dropped her sandwich to her plate. "I was found unconscious in the middle of the woods at four years old. And the worst part is…my parents don't even know that I know."
"You mean they didn't tell you?"
"Memories sort resurfaced that summer, some as dreams, some during panic attacks. My brain would literally want to shut down. My parents thought I was bipolar or something, I don't know. Point is I dropped out of school and moved away. I couldn't stand to see them anymore. I eventually found Calvin and joined Orion M. Turns out, it was one of the best times of my life."
Jesse noticed a far off stare in the girl's eyes. Tears were almost forming. He could tell she was reliving something, something saddening. "Where's Calvin now?" He worked up the courage to ask.
"That depends," She answered. "Do you believe in heaven?"
"Oh," was the only thing he dared to say.
"He died saving my sister from Genomex. He took the bullet for her. Killed him instantly…" She stopped.
Jesse reached out his hand and touched hers gently. Immediately, she woke from her daydream and pulled her hand away.
"Well, look at me, spilling my whole life's story. You must be bored out of your mind." She tried to laugh.
Jesse remained quite for a moment, creating an awkward pause. "Did you ever try to contact your birth parents?"
"Why? What's the point?"
"Aren't you curious about who you are or where you came from?"
Sarah looked back down at her sandwich in thought. Her head straightened up and she met Jesse's gaze. "No. I'm Sarah Hensley. I'll always be Sarah Hensley, no matter who my real parents are."
Jesse grin at her. "Good for you."
Sarah smiled back and pushed her food away from her. "So what about you, Jesse Kilmartin? What's your story?"
"Well, it's definitely not as interesting as yours. I'll tell you that."
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Brennan was seriously considering punching a hole through the computer screen. Three hours and no information on the mysterious Tawny.
"All right! Fine!" He yelled to the ceiling, "She obviously doesn't want to be found so I quit! You hear me! I quit."
"Could you yell a bit louder?" A sarcastic voice came from behind him, "I don't think Africa heard you."
He recognized the voice but he couldn't believe who he thought it was. Slowly moving away from the keyboard, he glanced looked back at his visitor, reveling in the irony.
"Hey! You must be Brennan. You remember me?"
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A/N- R/R like always!
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