Title: Lingering Shadows
Disclaimer: All the characters from the show are the property of the producers and owners of Mutant X. However, all the other characters belong to me.
Feedback: Please Read and Review as often as you can. I greatly appreciate any and all feedback. My first fanfic, "The Time Must Come," focused mostly on Jesse and Emma and was completely different. With this story I'm going to try and explore each character in depth since I really like all of them.
Chapter 6: Clarification
Waking up, Emma slowly lifted her head only to feel the blood rush suddenly. Throbbing, her head felt heavy and the pain radiated everywhere. Emma wondered if her head was being thrown up against something when she realized she was completely still. Delicately touching her face, Emma grimaced at the pain her touch elicited. Carefully trying to wipe away the dried blood at the corners of her nose and lips, Emma vaguely recalled what was responsible for the yucky brown substance. Ryuko had been a blur, the last thing filling her mind was his fist before being engulfed in blackness. Emma decided to give up on the current cause; there was little she could do for her face now.
Looking around, Emma found herself in a white room. Void of furniture, the psionic was forced to sit on the floor. As the white room's door opened Emma gasped in shock. Previously there had been no door, so the sudden appearance of one caught her off guard. Kage entered and smiled at his captive. Seeing the dried blood, Kage said a small prayer thanking his ancestors that the woman was only hurt and not dead. I have to keep them from trying to stop me, but there's no reason to kill them. Not yet anyway. Walking over, Kage sat on the floor directly in front of Emma; confident the woman wouldn't try anything.
"I'm glad to see you're awake. It is time we talked." Kage said with a passive face. Confused, Emma tried to read Ryuko when the mercenary implanted images of torture in Emma's mind. Screaming in sudden pain and discomfort, Emma was shocked when the images disappeared as quickly as they had come. Staring back at the man in front of her, Emma became worried.
"What do you want, Ryuko?" Emma asked, noticing his eyes turn to steel.
"That is not my name. I am Kage Musuko. And I have a mission, a mission to kill those responsible for the attacks on my family, on the honor of my ancestors. You and your team will stop interfering." Kage ordered, forcing a gasp from Emma. Is he serious?
"We can't do that. We have to protect people from New Mutants like you, using your powers to hurt and kill." Emma said defiantly, disconcerted when Ryuko, or Kage as he preferred for some reason, continued to stare at her with the same dark, steely eyes. Standing up, Kage stepped back for a moment.
"Very well. Then you must learn that you cannot stop me." With that, Kage bombarded Emma's thoughts and senses until the woman passed out. Leaving the room without a glance back at the unconscious woman, Kage walked to another room and rested until the time was right to once again act.
Several hours later, Emma regained consciousness. Kage began getting ready for his next assassination, ignoring the struggle the brunette was surely going through by this time.
Silence
Nothing! Panicked, Emma looked around and tried to sense anyone within a half of a mile radius. Seeing shadows of movement under the door of the room imprisoning her, Emma failed to sense anything. Wanting to scream, Emma looked to all sides, searching. There's got to be a reason? Why can't I feel anything?? Why can't I feel anyone?? Forcing herself to take a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, Emma began thinking of the one person who made her feel safe, who filled her with comfort. Thinking of Jesse, Emma smiled with the knowledge that while they were not involved, in fact just barely friends at times it seemed, his presence was always with her. Until now. The realization made Emma flinch. Oh, Jesse!! Help me!!! Emma slumped over, overwhelming fear and loneliness engulfing her.
Before leaving, Kage checked up on his prisoner and glanced at the still form on the ground. Understanding how much Emma relied on being able to feel the emotions and intentions of others, Kage almost felt sorry for the woman. Her current state must be quite upsetting to her. She technically still had the ability to sense those emotions of others, to affect the minds of others even with her psionic pulse, but the reality he had created for her was one of normalcy, one where she did not have those abilities, one of silence. How would she handle it? It didn't appear as if she was handling it well so far. But he would give it more time and see. Walking out of the building, Kage continued on to his destination without further thought on the subject.
"What do you mean you lost the signal?" Jesse whispered, numb. Shalimar and Brennan knew Jesse was deeply affected by Emma's loss when he failed to react to Adam's unexpected news. Glancing at each other, the feral and elemental understood the worry in the other's eyes.
"The computer located the origin of the signal before it went out. It's not quite the same as losing her Jesse. It's a place to start." Adam said, greatly displeased by the turn of events. It didn't make any sense to him. The tracking device was one he long ago created especially for Emma. It worked as long as she sensed the emotions of others. Or at least it was suppose too. Frustrated, Adam took one more look at Jesse before walking over to a large screen. Bringing up a map, Adam began explaining the terrain of the area. "There are a few warehouse buildings, one psyche hospital that has been closed for a few weeks, several other medical buildings, and a few restaurants. Check out the area. Shalimar, see if you can get any sign of Emma's presence, she's got to be somewhere within this one mile radius."
Getting ready to leave, Jesse took one more look at Adam before turning around and walking out. Moving to follow the molecular, Shalimar stopped when Adam placed a hand on her arm saying "Keep an eye on him." In disgust, Shalimar twisted out of Adam's grip easily while hissing. Continuing after their friend, Shalimar and Brennan left.
"Hey!" Brennan said, reaching out and lightly pulling back on Jesse's arm. "Do you want to talk about it?" Brennan asked, full of sympathy. Without turning around, Jesse slowed down his pace some. Filled with confusion, the young man just continued to walk in silence. Looking at each other, Shalimar and Brennan silently agreed the best thing they could do for Jesse was just be there, for whenever he is ready to talk.
Lifting off, the double helix headed toward the coordinates Adam transmitted at full speed. Within fifteen minutes the three friends had crossed hundreds of miles to reach the dilapidated medical district Adam had told them of. Exiting the vehicle, the group looked around. Glancing at his worried companions, Jesse nodded his head to the right.
"The map shows some warehouses and an empty hospital this way. I think we should start looking down here." Jesse said, pleased to see the others agree. Moving towards the aforementioned buildings, Jesse slowed his pace down until he walked side by side with Brennan. "I care about her deeply, Brennan." Looking at the younger man to his side, Brennan grunted.
"We'll get her back Jesse, I promise." Nodding, Jesse moved off ahead of them once again leaving Brennan staring intensely at his back. The first building was a hundred feet in front of them, tall and starkly white against the vibrant blue of the sky. Looking at each other, the three wondered what they would find in the building before them, with "Frank N. Barnes Psychiatric Hospital" etched in the crumbling stones. Moving forward, the three closed in on the building as a black streak moved through the doors and circled back until becoming still no less than ten feet away from them.
Looking at the black clothed man, Brennan's eyes turned to slits even as Shalimar's turned gold. Staring at the man responsible for the disappearance of his good friend, Jesse squared his shoulders and stood up straight ready for a fight. Turning the corners of his lips up into thin smile, Kage looked at the ones who dared to interfere with his mission.
"Where is Emma?" Jesse asked stiffly, needing assurance that the woman was still all right. Looking at the blonde man, Kage noted the turmoil of the man's thoughts and put it aside to later use at his advantage.
"She's in room 304." Kage said succinctly, making sure the three would have no trouble locating her. While he still wished to observe her, he knew he could do so at his leisure, regardless of her location. Pleased with the knowledge, Kage began laughing as he ran at full speed away from the members of Mutant X. The coldness behind the laughter gave the three chills. Moving forward quickly, the three ran into the building and up the stairs to the third floor. Looking at the numbers, Jesse was the first one to locate room #304.
Opening the door slowly, Jesse froze as an ear-piercing scream filled his ears. Emma! Opening the door the rest of the way and rushing in, Jesse gasped the fear stricken brunette on the floor in front of him. Not wanting to frighten her anymore, Jesse forced himself to take slow steps towards her.
"Emma?? Emma, it's me, Jesse." Softly calling out the woman's name, Jesse's blue eyes darkened with concern. Staring at the man before her in disbelief, Emma wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her. Hearing Jesse's low voice, Emma almost fainted. It can't be?!
"Jesse? Is it really you?" Emma asked, scared to discover the answer was no.
"Yes, Emma. It's me. I'm here. We're all here." Jesse said as he continued moving forward, finally close enough to reach out the woman he'd recently discovered the depth of his feelings for. Latching onto Jesse's extended arms, Emma hugged him tightly. Refusing to let go of him, Shalimar and Brennan were only able to grin at the woman they had been so worried about.
"Come on you two, let's get out of here." Brennan said, happy to see Emma was in one piece. Moving outside, Jesse looked at the shaken woman who was still clinging to him. Not that he minded, at all, but she wasn't herself. It's like she needs the physical contact to survive. Even as the thought entered his head, Jesse felt Emma collapse at his side and quickly swooped her up. Carrying her into the double helix, Jesse sat down in his seat and placed her on his lap. Refusing to let Brennan or Shalimar help him, he insisted they fly them all back to Sanctuary as quickly as possible.
Looking over the console in front of him, Adam became confused at the information compiling from Emma's scans. She was perfectly fine, physically healthy in everyway, except one. Her brain activity was almost nil. Glancing over the data again, Adam saw that all of the normal functions of the brain were constantly be done just like they would be with Brennan or Jesse or himself or any other human. But none of the accelerated activity associated with a psionic was showing up. It was as if the woman had no mutant abilities at all. It's just not possible. Moving back and forth, Adam studied the data again and again, occasionally checking the equipment to make sure there were no malfunctions. Bumping against Emma's shoulder, Adam froze when he heard the barely audible clink of a tiny object hitting the floor. Bending down, Adam picked up the tracking device he had planted on Emma yesterday.
Running tests on the device and discovering it was in perfect working condition, Adam glanced at Emma's still form. It can't be. Running more tests on Emma's unconscious form, Adam looked over the results one at a time. With each new report his face became grimmer and grimmer. Seeing that Emma was in perfect health, minus any signs of her New Mutant abilities, Adam reached a new understanding. He didn't hear the other three members of Mutant X enter the lab, coming to check up on Emma.
"It's as if he stripped her of her powers." Adam whispered, taken aback at the possibility of it. Not moving, Brennan and Shalimar stared at Adam. Jesse looked to Emma, unable to believe it was even possible.
"What did he do to you, Emma?" Jesse whispered hoarsely, finding his voice on the verge of failing him.