Chapter 3:
Author's Note: Okay, this is he third chapter, hope you like it as much as the first two. I hope it makes sense, since figuring a way for Max to actually be the way I want was hard. Let's see some more reviews here people, please?
Disclaimer: yeah, I own a group of genetically altered mutant superheroes. Are you okay?
~*~
Her head hurt. She could feel her head resting on something metal, and extremely uncomfortable to boot. She tried moving, but her arms and legs felt heavy, dull, deadened.
She moved her hands slowly, finally placing them flush against the metal grating. Max tensed, giving her head a shake as she blinked. The dark curtain covering her eyes didn't waiver. She blinked again. She couldn't see.
Jesse swiveled away from the control panel of the Helix when he heard the movement behind him, leaving the craft to pilot back toward Sanctuary on aytopilot. Max was struggling to get to her feet, blinking vacant eyes wildly as her movements became increasingly frantic. He waited patiently, laying the dart gun against his leg, just in case. "You may not want to do that," he stated simply.
"What the hell did you do to me? Why can't I see?" She managed to bring her legs under her, but in the process of standing lost her balance and crashed back to the floor. Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Didn't I just tell you to stay down?"
Max didn't listen, once again attempting to get up. This time she succeeded, teetering uneasily as the Helix hit an air pocket. "Do you get the sense that I'm not listening?" She stepped toward Jesse's voice. "Now tell me, why can't I see?"
"I wouldn't even try what you're trying," Jesse ignored her question.
"Well then I'm lucky I'm not you."
"You're not real high up there on the learning curve are you?" he asked as she stumbled again, reaching out for a seat to halt her fall, but was unsuccessful. AS soon as she hit the ground she was struggling back to her feet. She was persistent, he'd give her that much.
"Gee, Dad always said I was kinda slow, kinda dumb, kinda ugly. That kind of talk can give a girl a complex. And you're not helping."
"You tried to kill me. I'm not required to be nice."
"Oh don't be dramatic, I did not try to kill you."
"Excuse me if I don't share your loose definition of attempted murder. Now sit the hell down before I make you sit down."
"Really pretty boy? What are gonna do?"
Jesse laughed. "What exactly puts you in a position to make demands? You can't see, you don't know where I am, hell if I'm gonna let you touch me and to top it all off, I could just dart your ass again. But I hear it gives people a headache, so I'm going to be nice and let you be smart."
Max contemplated this for a minute before sitting heavily on the floor with a sigh. Her bravado seemed to abruptly leave her and she looked very young, and very small. "So what's going to happen to me? Jail? Or…"
"Not jail, not unless there's a reason. Just…wait. We might just surprise you." She didn't answer, just sat in perfect stillness for the rest of the trip. Jesse sighed and began preparing for landing. He fiddled with his comm. Ring for a moment, then turned it on. "Adam."
"Jesse?"
"I'm coming in. I've got her."
--
Shal, Bren and the others were waiting as the Helix docked. Jesse appeared moments later, gingerly holding Max's arm and keeping a wary eye on his charge. Adam was frowning, but he reserved the lecture for later. Right now, he was far more concerned with getting this girl into the lab and finding out exactly what made her tick.
Jesse could feel the tension in Max's arm. She was ready to bolt, to flee if need be, despite being blinded and surrounded. On the surface however, she was the picture of calmness. She stood, shoulders square, her jaw jutted out defiantly. "Take off patches Jesse," Adam said quietly.
Max felt someone touch her head and peel something away from her skin. The light was glaring. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the sudden influx of light and information. She tensed upon seeing the formidable looking group of people staring at her accusingly, pulling back fruitlessly against Jesse's firm hold.
"Welcome to Sanctuary," Adam greeted. "This is a safe place for all new Mutants, including you."
"Please excuse me if I don't quite trust the lot of you right away."
"Trust us? That's rich from someone who has attacked three of us in the last week," Brennan guffawed.
Adam grunted. "I suppose introductions are in order, though you have technically met everyone, just not formally. That's Brennan. The blonde next to him is Shalimar."
Max smiled, once again dropping into her cocky persona. "Yeah, I remember you kitty-cat. Seems I had the upper hand last time we met."
Shal cocked her head, letting her eyes become animalistic and wild. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. You won't fool me again." Max didn't doubt her.
Adam continued. "That's Emma, and it seems you've already met Jesse on several occasions." Max nodded, choosing to remain mute. "All right then. Jesse, bring her to the lab. We need to start those tests."
She reacted faster than he had anticipated, swinging her arm back and twisting away from him. She broke his hold. "Tests? Lab? No fucking way! I don't care what you are, I'm no lab rat." She crouched, ready for an attack, her eyes centering on Shal, who had moved into a fighting stance.
"We won't hurt you," Emma pressed. She glanced at Jesse, who was simply watching the entire exchange quietly. She could feel emotions pouring off Max now, her carefully constructed walls vanishing in a fit of blind panic. "We just need to run a few tests to see how your abilities affected Jesse."
"He'll be fine. I just held on too long is all. You don't need tests. His powers will come back, they always come back. Now let me go." The words came out in a rush. She turned on her heel, darting away from the members of Mutant X.
Shal went to move after her, but Brennan stopped her. "Forget this." His fingertips sparked. He hit the running girl squarely in the back and she slammed into the tile when her legs buckled. She groaned, but lay still. Adam sighed. This was going to be difficult.
"Fine. Bring her to the lab. Make sure we sedate her, just so we don't have a fight on our hands when she wakes up. We're not taking any chances with this one." Adam turned abruptly, shooting Jesse one last approving look before he took off for the lab. Brennan walked over to where the girl had fallen and picked her up, carrying her like a small child.
He and Shal went to the lab, leaving Emma and Jesse in the bay. Emma came up beside the blonde's shoulder. "It's all an act you know," she said quietly. Jesse nodded slowly, eyes somber. "She's angry, that's a given, but it's more than that. She's scared, and she doesn't trust us. We can't help if she won't talk to us."
"I realize that Em, but why tell me?"
"I don't get the same feeling off her about you. There's no trust, not yet, but there's hope. Talk to her, see if you can't get through. I'm gonna try too." Jesse nodded again, dropping his arms to his sides with a sigh.
--
"So?" Shal questioned an hour later.
Adam ran a hand through his hair. "Her body chemistry is strange. It's as if she's both an elemental and a molecular."
"How do you mean?" Brennan questioned, his eyes narrowing.
"She absorbs energy, specifically the life energies of living beings. But she absorbs the energy straight from cells on a molecular level, effectively killing off the cells she drains. For some reason in New Mutants, she attracts and absorbs the cells linked with their abilities, making her able to utilize them for a short while."
"And what does that mean for me?" Jesse asked.
"You will, as she said, regain your powers once your body has created enough of your mutated cells. She said she held on too long, which is probably why it's taking so long for you."
"And if she had held on much longer?"
"She could have killed you. I didn't want it to come to this, but we can't risk Mutant X and the Sanctuary." He dug something out of a drawer.
Jesse stiffened. "Tell me that isn't what I think it is."
"It's the sub-dermal governor we dug out of Brennan after we released him from Genomex. I fixed it."
Shal too, felt uncomfortable having the device so close. "Why do you even still have it?"
"You've never used one before Adam, not on any of the New Mutants we've brought here," Emma pointed out.
"I kept it to study. And I've never used one Emma, because I've never felt the need before. We don't know enough about this girl to just let her wander around Sanctuary with nothing restraining her powers. It would be far too easy for her to take us down and turn us over to Eckhart. Until we know what side she's on, we have to take precautions, I'm sorry." He nodded toward the lab, "Brennan, give me a hand?"
The elemental didn't like it any better than the rest, but he complied, seeing the need. He donned gloves, brushing the still sedated girl's hair off her neck and keeping her still. The deed was finished in a matter of moments. Adam met Brennan's dark eyes over Max's head. The older man's indecision rang true. Brennan smiled softly, the best comfort he could offer.
--
Adam finished with his tests, using her fingerprints to access information about the girl. Her name was Clarice Maxine Wallace, and she owned a small, but reputable security firm in Chicago. Her birth certificate labeled her a recently turned 23. According to police records, the woman had barely had so much as a parking ticket. Why she was working for Genomex didn't compute.
Jesse took Emma's advice and decided. He and Brennan had moved Max into one of the Sanctuary's rooms. Jesse stayed behind, taking a seat on a chair across the room, waiting patiently with a book for the girl to wake. There was no need to stay, because with the implant she was basically harmless. Nevertheless he stayed, driven by some force he didn't understand. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't picture her working for Eckhart.
He was there when she first stirred. Upon realizing there was someone else in the room she sat bolt upright, eyes flashing angrily, but settled when she saw it was only Jesse. She swept a loose lock of blonde hair away from her face, drawing her knees to her chest. Her hand reached for the back of her neck, wincing as she touched the inhibitor. "What is this?" she asked accusingly.
Jesse put his book down on the nightstand next to him. "It's a sub-dermal governor," he told her coolly. "It stops you from using your New Mutant abilities."
"What do you want?"
"You sure switch subjects quickly," Jesse grinned.
"Find out what I need, move on. NO sense in dwelling on it. So what?"
"I want to know why. I don't understand how you could work for Genomex. I want to know why you ran. I want to know why you didn't kill me. Adam says you could have."
"It's not that simple."
"I'm getting that. You have a business, a house. You're well respected. You stole for Genomex, but you were fighting with their agents. It doesn't all add up. SO explain it to me. I got time."
It took Max a few minutes before she began, as though she had to decide if she should trust him. "Eckhart's been blackmailing me. He found out about my juvenile record." Jesse looked perplexed, so she continued quickly. "My mother died in a car wreck when I was thirteen, and the court system sent me to live with my father and stepmother. I didn't know her and I hadn't seen him since I don't even remember. He didn't know about…what I am. When he found out," she shook her head as she stared blankly at the wall, silently reliving painful memories. "My life wasn't easy. I was fourteen and we had a fight, one of many. He came at me. I grabbed him and I just, held on."
Her head drooped, her hair falling down over her face. "I could have killed him, almost did. My stepmother saw everything and she lost it. She threatened to send me away, so I ran. And I learned what it was to survive on my own. Couldn't get a job, couldn't go to my friends. I met some people, and they taught me how to pick pockets and locks. I took small things at first, a few watches and wallets, then I got better and I started on cars. Took stereos, CD players and eventually the whole thing. I knew it was wrong but, it just became so easy. I kept a roof over my head and kept myself fed. But I wanted more, so I started doing heists. Private high rises, jewelry stores."
Jesse raised an eyebrow. "You and Brennan ought to talk," he commented dryly. "And?"
"I got caught when I was seventeen, sent to juvie. I'm lucky they didn't try me as an adult. It was my first offense so I did my year and got out. My arrest never went on my permanent records, but somehow Eckhart found out. He sent some goons to my offices, and threatened to expose me. So I agreed to help him, but with certain conditions. I always tried to work alone if I could manage it, and the drop points were public and always one on one, till the last time."
Jesse nodded thoughtfully. "The time when we barged in."
"Yeah. I get the feeling Eckhart ain't much for keeping his word. Those goons jumped me right before you showed up. I didn't know who was who or anything and I figured getting caught would just be trouble, that's why I ran. I am sorry about what I did to you." She shook her head. "I haven't lost control like that in a long time."
"Look, I'm not saying it's okay or anything," Jesse grinned softly, "but I understand what that kind of panic is like. I should have expected you to react. I'm gonna uh go now. I'll send Emma in and she can show you where you can get cleaned up and find some clothes." Max nodded, still staring vacantly forward. Jesse slipped out of the room, where Emma was waiting for him.
"She's still hiding something," Emma observed.
"I know, just wish I knew what. Can you read her any better?"
"She's starting to relax a little. Talking with you helped that. She's tired, emotionally and physically. I'll try to get a better read on her when I'm in there." Jesse nodded and went to find Adam, so they could check up on her Juvenile record.
--
Max stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, hands clenching the tile counter. Her knuckles were bone white. Muscles in her neck and cheek flexed spasmodically. Her eyes were pained and her face taut. Cold water ran into the sink. She cupped the cool liquid, dousing her face in a vain effort to rid herself of this damned headache.
Max wasn't stupid. She knew how she looked, how she felt and what it meant. She just hoped she could hold on long enough to do what she had to. A drop of blood fell from her nose and dissipated into the water, swirling brilliant patterns before being swept away. She swiped at the blood with the back of her hand and cursed.
Emma knocked on the door to the bathroom for the second time. Max looked up sharply, reaching quickly for the shirt lying beside her hands. "Max? Max are you done yet?" There was a muffled reply through the door, so Emma took the liberty of going in. Max was just pulling on a snug black tank top over her head, and Emma noticed the old, jagged scars on her side. Her right arm was a myriad of old wounds running from the back of her hand up past her shoulder. Max smoothed the shirt and glanced at Emma.
"What happened?" Emma questioned. She decided on the direct approach, while still attempting to read the girl.
Max smiled bitterly. "You know that saying, 'There's no honor among thieves?'" Emma nodded. Emma fought back the urge to jump as the memory of a muzzle flash flew through her head. "Well it's true. I was working a job with another guy I knew. I'd worked with him before. Anyway, security in this place was tight, and it was a two person job. We finished raiding out this guy, some high roller, dot-com-millionaire type. We were coming back down the stairs. Well the son of a bitch decides he wants the money for himself, so he pulls a gun. He shot me. Force of it sent me through a plate glass window."
Emma winced. She could see the memory through Max's eyes, staring up at the night sky. She felt cold and alone. "…The cops found me there later, half dead. Took me to the hospital, where I recovered, and then went to jail." Max shrugged on a small black leather jacket, covering the scarring on her arms. She flipped her still damp hair over the collar.
"Sounds like you got lucky."
Max's jaw clenched. "Lucky? Doesn't it ever bother you? Isn't it hard to live the way we are, when no one wants to know you? I had nothing back then, no one. We're not normal, not natural. I deserved to die that night. Hell, I wanted to die. But I didn't, and I wonder why every damn day."
Emma blanched visibly. She wasn't kidding. Emma had become so comfortable in this place, full of people who were like her and who understood. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she had felt so much like Max, so alone and uncomfortable in her own skin. "It gets better, I promise. I used to be like you."
"It got better for you, not me. I'm still alone." Emma felt it then, the lie so close to the surface. And then in her mind's eye was a little girl, maybe nine or ten, in a paisley dress. She was outside, in the sun, and there standing over her was Max. It was a younger Max, little more than a girl herself, and she was smiling.
Emma's eyes flew open, and she noticed Max throwing her an odd look. "We can help you," Emma told her quickly. "Adam runs the Underground. It helps New Mutants needing to make a new start, and EVERYONE," she stressed, "understands."
Max leaned against the counter, chewing her lower lip. "You'd do that for me? After everything? I could start over…"
"Tell Adam what you know about the items Eckhart had you steal, and yeah, we would." Max smiled gratefully, and for the first time, Emma believed it genuine.
--
Two days later Max stood beside Jesse at the top of the stairs at the Underground. Ten feet below, New Mutants milled together, talking quietly. Max glanced at Jesse and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled tightly. The two had formed a mutual understanding in the past two days, bordering very nearly on actual friendship. They talked, sharing stories of Mutant X and describing the details of some of Max's juvenile indiscretions. She'd even sparred with him a few times, as he preferred live partners to holographic images.
Max considered Emma too, something of a friend. It was hard not to like the amicable, intuitive brunette. Brennan and Shal kept their distance, while not cold certainly cautious. She didn't exactly blame either of them. Adam had deactivated the sub-dermal governor earlier that day, though he hadn't removed it altogether. He'd run a few more tests, scans and blood tests for futures study. He said she was unique among mutants. A freak among freaks, wonderful.
"You'll be fine," Jesse goaded her down the stairs.
"Easy for you to say," she grumbled.
"Do you ever NOT have the last word?"
Max grinned slyly. "Nope."
Jesse just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You'll stay here another day, maybe two. Then the Underground will move you out, relocate you, give you a new name, new ID's and birth certificate and get you in touch with job placement agencies. The rest is up to you."
Max swallowed hard. "I don't know about this. I'm not good with people. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I can be a little abrasive."
"Really?" he suppressed a snort. "I hadn't noticed." Max swatted his arm. "What?"
"I'm gonna miss you Jesse," she said softly, almost too quietly to be heard.
"I heard that."
"You and Emma. You made this…easier. Thank you."
"You'll be fine Max, I can tell. I'll tell Emma you said goodbye. Now go, mingle." He gave her a little push and then turned, heading back up the stairs.
Max waited till he was gone, then headed straight for a deserted corner of the room. She pulled a cell from her pocket. She'd swiped it from an unsuspecting pedestrian. Casting a furtive glance around, she dialed the familiar number. "Hello? Yeah…look I know things didn't go as planned. No…you can't. Damn it Eckhart…that wasn't the deal," she whispered fiercely. "Please…just give me a little more time. Wait…" she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, wishing with all her might that there was some other way, but none sprang to mind. "I can give you something…I can give you Mutant X."
Chapter 3
God that was longer than I thought it would be. Oh well. Reviews are always appreciated, nay, begged for. Thanks for reading. Little purple button, loved it hated it, Suggestions for improvement are always appreciated. Of course there's something for blind praise too. lol
Author's Note: Okay, this is he third chapter, hope you like it as much as the first two. I hope it makes sense, since figuring a way for Max to actually be the way I want was hard. Let's see some more reviews here people, please?
Disclaimer: yeah, I own a group of genetically altered mutant superheroes. Are you okay?
~*~
Her head hurt. She could feel her head resting on something metal, and extremely uncomfortable to boot. She tried moving, but her arms and legs felt heavy, dull, deadened.
She moved her hands slowly, finally placing them flush against the metal grating. Max tensed, giving her head a shake as she blinked. The dark curtain covering her eyes didn't waiver. She blinked again. She couldn't see.
Jesse swiveled away from the control panel of the Helix when he heard the movement behind him, leaving the craft to pilot back toward Sanctuary on aytopilot. Max was struggling to get to her feet, blinking vacant eyes wildly as her movements became increasingly frantic. He waited patiently, laying the dart gun against his leg, just in case. "You may not want to do that," he stated simply.
"What the hell did you do to me? Why can't I see?" She managed to bring her legs under her, but in the process of standing lost her balance and crashed back to the floor. Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Didn't I just tell you to stay down?"
Max didn't listen, once again attempting to get up. This time she succeeded, teetering uneasily as the Helix hit an air pocket. "Do you get the sense that I'm not listening?" She stepped toward Jesse's voice. "Now tell me, why can't I see?"
"I wouldn't even try what you're trying," Jesse ignored her question.
"Well then I'm lucky I'm not you."
"You're not real high up there on the learning curve are you?" he asked as she stumbled again, reaching out for a seat to halt her fall, but was unsuccessful. AS soon as she hit the ground she was struggling back to her feet. She was persistent, he'd give her that much.
"Gee, Dad always said I was kinda slow, kinda dumb, kinda ugly. That kind of talk can give a girl a complex. And you're not helping."
"You tried to kill me. I'm not required to be nice."
"Oh don't be dramatic, I did not try to kill you."
"Excuse me if I don't share your loose definition of attempted murder. Now sit the hell down before I make you sit down."
"Really pretty boy? What are gonna do?"
Jesse laughed. "What exactly puts you in a position to make demands? You can't see, you don't know where I am, hell if I'm gonna let you touch me and to top it all off, I could just dart your ass again. But I hear it gives people a headache, so I'm going to be nice and let you be smart."
Max contemplated this for a minute before sitting heavily on the floor with a sigh. Her bravado seemed to abruptly leave her and she looked very young, and very small. "So what's going to happen to me? Jail? Or…"
"Not jail, not unless there's a reason. Just…wait. We might just surprise you." She didn't answer, just sat in perfect stillness for the rest of the trip. Jesse sighed and began preparing for landing. He fiddled with his comm. Ring for a moment, then turned it on. "Adam."
"Jesse?"
"I'm coming in. I've got her."
--
Shal, Bren and the others were waiting as the Helix docked. Jesse appeared moments later, gingerly holding Max's arm and keeping a wary eye on his charge. Adam was frowning, but he reserved the lecture for later. Right now, he was far more concerned with getting this girl into the lab and finding out exactly what made her tick.
Jesse could feel the tension in Max's arm. She was ready to bolt, to flee if need be, despite being blinded and surrounded. On the surface however, she was the picture of calmness. She stood, shoulders square, her jaw jutted out defiantly. "Take off patches Jesse," Adam said quietly.
Max felt someone touch her head and peel something away from her skin. The light was glaring. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the sudden influx of light and information. She tensed upon seeing the formidable looking group of people staring at her accusingly, pulling back fruitlessly against Jesse's firm hold.
"Welcome to Sanctuary," Adam greeted. "This is a safe place for all new Mutants, including you."
"Please excuse me if I don't quite trust the lot of you right away."
"Trust us? That's rich from someone who has attacked three of us in the last week," Brennan guffawed.
Adam grunted. "I suppose introductions are in order, though you have technically met everyone, just not formally. That's Brennan. The blonde next to him is Shalimar."
Max smiled, once again dropping into her cocky persona. "Yeah, I remember you kitty-cat. Seems I had the upper hand last time we met."
Shal cocked her head, letting her eyes become animalistic and wild. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. You won't fool me again." Max didn't doubt her.
Adam continued. "That's Emma, and it seems you've already met Jesse on several occasions." Max nodded, choosing to remain mute. "All right then. Jesse, bring her to the lab. We need to start those tests."
She reacted faster than he had anticipated, swinging her arm back and twisting away from him. She broke his hold. "Tests? Lab? No fucking way! I don't care what you are, I'm no lab rat." She crouched, ready for an attack, her eyes centering on Shal, who had moved into a fighting stance.
"We won't hurt you," Emma pressed. She glanced at Jesse, who was simply watching the entire exchange quietly. She could feel emotions pouring off Max now, her carefully constructed walls vanishing in a fit of blind panic. "We just need to run a few tests to see how your abilities affected Jesse."
"He'll be fine. I just held on too long is all. You don't need tests. His powers will come back, they always come back. Now let me go." The words came out in a rush. She turned on her heel, darting away from the members of Mutant X.
Shal went to move after her, but Brennan stopped her. "Forget this." His fingertips sparked. He hit the running girl squarely in the back and she slammed into the tile when her legs buckled. She groaned, but lay still. Adam sighed. This was going to be difficult.
"Fine. Bring her to the lab. Make sure we sedate her, just so we don't have a fight on our hands when she wakes up. We're not taking any chances with this one." Adam turned abruptly, shooting Jesse one last approving look before he took off for the lab. Brennan walked over to where the girl had fallen and picked her up, carrying her like a small child.
He and Shal went to the lab, leaving Emma and Jesse in the bay. Emma came up beside the blonde's shoulder. "It's all an act you know," she said quietly. Jesse nodded slowly, eyes somber. "She's angry, that's a given, but it's more than that. She's scared, and she doesn't trust us. We can't help if she won't talk to us."
"I realize that Em, but why tell me?"
"I don't get the same feeling off her about you. There's no trust, not yet, but there's hope. Talk to her, see if you can't get through. I'm gonna try too." Jesse nodded again, dropping his arms to his sides with a sigh.
--
"So?" Shal questioned an hour later.
Adam ran a hand through his hair. "Her body chemistry is strange. It's as if she's both an elemental and a molecular."
"How do you mean?" Brennan questioned, his eyes narrowing.
"She absorbs energy, specifically the life energies of living beings. But she absorbs the energy straight from cells on a molecular level, effectively killing off the cells she drains. For some reason in New Mutants, she attracts and absorbs the cells linked with their abilities, making her able to utilize them for a short while."
"And what does that mean for me?" Jesse asked.
"You will, as she said, regain your powers once your body has created enough of your mutated cells. She said she held on too long, which is probably why it's taking so long for you."
"And if she had held on much longer?"
"She could have killed you. I didn't want it to come to this, but we can't risk Mutant X and the Sanctuary." He dug something out of a drawer.
Jesse stiffened. "Tell me that isn't what I think it is."
"It's the sub-dermal governor we dug out of Brennan after we released him from Genomex. I fixed it."
Shal too, felt uncomfortable having the device so close. "Why do you even still have it?"
"You've never used one before Adam, not on any of the New Mutants we've brought here," Emma pointed out.
"I kept it to study. And I've never used one Emma, because I've never felt the need before. We don't know enough about this girl to just let her wander around Sanctuary with nothing restraining her powers. It would be far too easy for her to take us down and turn us over to Eckhart. Until we know what side she's on, we have to take precautions, I'm sorry." He nodded toward the lab, "Brennan, give me a hand?"
The elemental didn't like it any better than the rest, but he complied, seeing the need. He donned gloves, brushing the still sedated girl's hair off her neck and keeping her still. The deed was finished in a matter of moments. Adam met Brennan's dark eyes over Max's head. The older man's indecision rang true. Brennan smiled softly, the best comfort he could offer.
--
Adam finished with his tests, using her fingerprints to access information about the girl. Her name was Clarice Maxine Wallace, and she owned a small, but reputable security firm in Chicago. Her birth certificate labeled her a recently turned 23. According to police records, the woman had barely had so much as a parking ticket. Why she was working for Genomex didn't compute.
Jesse took Emma's advice and decided. He and Brennan had moved Max into one of the Sanctuary's rooms. Jesse stayed behind, taking a seat on a chair across the room, waiting patiently with a book for the girl to wake. There was no need to stay, because with the implant she was basically harmless. Nevertheless he stayed, driven by some force he didn't understand. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't picture her working for Eckhart.
He was there when she first stirred. Upon realizing there was someone else in the room she sat bolt upright, eyes flashing angrily, but settled when she saw it was only Jesse. She swept a loose lock of blonde hair away from her face, drawing her knees to her chest. Her hand reached for the back of her neck, wincing as she touched the inhibitor. "What is this?" she asked accusingly.
Jesse put his book down on the nightstand next to him. "It's a sub-dermal governor," he told her coolly. "It stops you from using your New Mutant abilities."
"What do you want?"
"You sure switch subjects quickly," Jesse grinned.
"Find out what I need, move on. NO sense in dwelling on it. So what?"
"I want to know why. I don't understand how you could work for Genomex. I want to know why you ran. I want to know why you didn't kill me. Adam says you could have."
"It's not that simple."
"I'm getting that. You have a business, a house. You're well respected. You stole for Genomex, but you were fighting with their agents. It doesn't all add up. SO explain it to me. I got time."
It took Max a few minutes before she began, as though she had to decide if she should trust him. "Eckhart's been blackmailing me. He found out about my juvenile record." Jesse looked perplexed, so she continued quickly. "My mother died in a car wreck when I was thirteen, and the court system sent me to live with my father and stepmother. I didn't know her and I hadn't seen him since I don't even remember. He didn't know about…what I am. When he found out," she shook her head as she stared blankly at the wall, silently reliving painful memories. "My life wasn't easy. I was fourteen and we had a fight, one of many. He came at me. I grabbed him and I just, held on."
Her head drooped, her hair falling down over her face. "I could have killed him, almost did. My stepmother saw everything and she lost it. She threatened to send me away, so I ran. And I learned what it was to survive on my own. Couldn't get a job, couldn't go to my friends. I met some people, and they taught me how to pick pockets and locks. I took small things at first, a few watches and wallets, then I got better and I started on cars. Took stereos, CD players and eventually the whole thing. I knew it was wrong but, it just became so easy. I kept a roof over my head and kept myself fed. But I wanted more, so I started doing heists. Private high rises, jewelry stores."
Jesse raised an eyebrow. "You and Brennan ought to talk," he commented dryly. "And?"
"I got caught when I was seventeen, sent to juvie. I'm lucky they didn't try me as an adult. It was my first offense so I did my year and got out. My arrest never went on my permanent records, but somehow Eckhart found out. He sent some goons to my offices, and threatened to expose me. So I agreed to help him, but with certain conditions. I always tried to work alone if I could manage it, and the drop points were public and always one on one, till the last time."
Jesse nodded thoughtfully. "The time when we barged in."
"Yeah. I get the feeling Eckhart ain't much for keeping his word. Those goons jumped me right before you showed up. I didn't know who was who or anything and I figured getting caught would just be trouble, that's why I ran. I am sorry about what I did to you." She shook her head. "I haven't lost control like that in a long time."
"Look, I'm not saying it's okay or anything," Jesse grinned softly, "but I understand what that kind of panic is like. I should have expected you to react. I'm gonna uh go now. I'll send Emma in and she can show you where you can get cleaned up and find some clothes." Max nodded, still staring vacantly forward. Jesse slipped out of the room, where Emma was waiting for him.
"She's still hiding something," Emma observed.
"I know, just wish I knew what. Can you read her any better?"
"She's starting to relax a little. Talking with you helped that. She's tired, emotionally and physically. I'll try to get a better read on her when I'm in there." Jesse nodded and went to find Adam, so they could check up on her Juvenile record.
--
Max stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, hands clenching the tile counter. Her knuckles were bone white. Muscles in her neck and cheek flexed spasmodically. Her eyes were pained and her face taut. Cold water ran into the sink. She cupped the cool liquid, dousing her face in a vain effort to rid herself of this damned headache.
Max wasn't stupid. She knew how she looked, how she felt and what it meant. She just hoped she could hold on long enough to do what she had to. A drop of blood fell from her nose and dissipated into the water, swirling brilliant patterns before being swept away. She swiped at the blood with the back of her hand and cursed.
Emma knocked on the door to the bathroom for the second time. Max looked up sharply, reaching quickly for the shirt lying beside her hands. "Max? Max are you done yet?" There was a muffled reply through the door, so Emma took the liberty of going in. Max was just pulling on a snug black tank top over her head, and Emma noticed the old, jagged scars on her side. Her right arm was a myriad of old wounds running from the back of her hand up past her shoulder. Max smoothed the shirt and glanced at Emma.
"What happened?" Emma questioned. She decided on the direct approach, while still attempting to read the girl.
Max smiled bitterly. "You know that saying, 'There's no honor among thieves?'" Emma nodded. Emma fought back the urge to jump as the memory of a muzzle flash flew through her head. "Well it's true. I was working a job with another guy I knew. I'd worked with him before. Anyway, security in this place was tight, and it was a two person job. We finished raiding out this guy, some high roller, dot-com-millionaire type. We were coming back down the stairs. Well the son of a bitch decides he wants the money for himself, so he pulls a gun. He shot me. Force of it sent me through a plate glass window."
Emma winced. She could see the memory through Max's eyes, staring up at the night sky. She felt cold and alone. "…The cops found me there later, half dead. Took me to the hospital, where I recovered, and then went to jail." Max shrugged on a small black leather jacket, covering the scarring on her arms. She flipped her still damp hair over the collar.
"Sounds like you got lucky."
Max's jaw clenched. "Lucky? Doesn't it ever bother you? Isn't it hard to live the way we are, when no one wants to know you? I had nothing back then, no one. We're not normal, not natural. I deserved to die that night. Hell, I wanted to die. But I didn't, and I wonder why every damn day."
Emma blanched visibly. She wasn't kidding. Emma had become so comfortable in this place, full of people who were like her and who understood. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she had felt so much like Max, so alone and uncomfortable in her own skin. "It gets better, I promise. I used to be like you."
"It got better for you, not me. I'm still alone." Emma felt it then, the lie so close to the surface. And then in her mind's eye was a little girl, maybe nine or ten, in a paisley dress. She was outside, in the sun, and there standing over her was Max. It was a younger Max, little more than a girl herself, and she was smiling.
Emma's eyes flew open, and she noticed Max throwing her an odd look. "We can help you," Emma told her quickly. "Adam runs the Underground. It helps New Mutants needing to make a new start, and EVERYONE," she stressed, "understands."
Max leaned against the counter, chewing her lower lip. "You'd do that for me? After everything? I could start over…"
"Tell Adam what you know about the items Eckhart had you steal, and yeah, we would." Max smiled gratefully, and for the first time, Emma believed it genuine.
--
Two days later Max stood beside Jesse at the top of the stairs at the Underground. Ten feet below, New Mutants milled together, talking quietly. Max glanced at Jesse and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled tightly. The two had formed a mutual understanding in the past two days, bordering very nearly on actual friendship. They talked, sharing stories of Mutant X and describing the details of some of Max's juvenile indiscretions. She'd even sparred with him a few times, as he preferred live partners to holographic images.
Max considered Emma too, something of a friend. It was hard not to like the amicable, intuitive brunette. Brennan and Shal kept their distance, while not cold certainly cautious. She didn't exactly blame either of them. Adam had deactivated the sub-dermal governor earlier that day, though he hadn't removed it altogether. He'd run a few more tests, scans and blood tests for futures study. He said she was unique among mutants. A freak among freaks, wonderful.
"You'll be fine," Jesse goaded her down the stairs.
"Easy for you to say," she grumbled.
"Do you ever NOT have the last word?"
Max grinned slyly. "Nope."
Jesse just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You'll stay here another day, maybe two. Then the Underground will move you out, relocate you, give you a new name, new ID's and birth certificate and get you in touch with job placement agencies. The rest is up to you."
Max swallowed hard. "I don't know about this. I'm not good with people. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I can be a little abrasive."
"Really?" he suppressed a snort. "I hadn't noticed." Max swatted his arm. "What?"
"I'm gonna miss you Jesse," she said softly, almost too quietly to be heard.
"I heard that."
"You and Emma. You made this…easier. Thank you."
"You'll be fine Max, I can tell. I'll tell Emma you said goodbye. Now go, mingle." He gave her a little push and then turned, heading back up the stairs.
Max waited till he was gone, then headed straight for a deserted corner of the room. She pulled a cell from her pocket. She'd swiped it from an unsuspecting pedestrian. Casting a furtive glance around, she dialed the familiar number. "Hello? Yeah…look I know things didn't go as planned. No…you can't. Damn it Eckhart…that wasn't the deal," she whispered fiercely. "Please…just give me a little more time. Wait…" she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, wishing with all her might that there was some other way, but none sprang to mind. "I can give you something…I can give you Mutant X."
Chapter 3
God that was longer than I thought it would be. Oh well. Reviews are always appreciated, nay, begged for. Thanks for reading. Little purple button, loved it hated it, Suggestions for improvement are always appreciated. Of course there's something for blind praise too. lol