Chapter 4:
Author's note: I'm having fun writing this story, but it is by no means
easy. People don't give people who write Mutant X fic enough credit. The
show has only been on for a season and it's difficult to really explore
character relationships and history since we don't really KNOW anything.
Just my thoughts, sorry. Okay, hopefully I do this justice. I don't know
about Jesse/Emma. I kind of see Adam and Emma together, but it's not
totally out of the realm of possibility.
Disclaimer: I own Max, that's it. You can borrow her if you ask first.
~*~
Max sat at the bar counter, head bobbing rhythmically to the beat of the music coursing across the dance floor behind her. She turned strained eyes to the face of her watch. Hour and a half and counting. She had and hours and a half before everything turned completely upside down. Her stomach lurched with the thought and she quickly finished the rest of her drink, silently signaling the bartender for another. He cast a quick, appraising eye over the girl at the end of the bar, satisfying himself that she wasn't really that drunk.
She half wished she were that drunk. If she were that drunk she wouldn't be able to feel anything, her world would just be gloriously dulled. She'd left the Underground a few hours earlier. She'd had to use her abilities in order to get out, temporarily knocking out a fire elemental guarding the exit. She took comfort in the fact that he'd never remember.
Of course, using her abilities had brought upon another surging headache. Luckily there was no nosebleed this time, so she didn't look to conspicuous moving down the streets. She'd only gotten three blocks before the headache had progressed toward making her nauseous, and the world spun began to tilt and dip. So she'd staggered into the tavern, taking a heavy seat at the end of the bar.
Max ducked her head and closed her eyes, willing herself to remain focused. She was going to have a hell of a time pulling this off, regardless, and she almost certainly couldn't do it if she went off half cocked. This of course, made her reconsider the logic in getting drunk, but she dismissed it. Someone took the empty bar stool beside her, leaning his forearms against the counter. "Beer."
The bartender placed a frothy glass in front of the man, who in turn fingered it lightly, but didn't drink. "Are you gonna make it a point that we always meet in bars?"
Max blinked and glanced up. "Jesse," she observed flatly.
"Well gee don't sound so happy to see me next time," he joked.
"Sorry. Guess I'm a little out of it."
"I guess." He gestured at her drink. "How many of those have you had exactly?"
"Enough."
"Enough for what?"
"Enough to dull." she slurred the last word, making a wide arc with her arm, the amber liquid spilling over the side of the glass. ".everything."
Jesse cracked an ironic smile. "Okay, I think you're done." He tried to take the drink away, but Max snatched it back with a shake of her head.
"I'm not done. You don't know me, you don't know.anything, so don't tell me I'm done. No. You have no idea.no idea," she repeated softly. "You're just too damned nice to see it. Why are you like that Jesse? Why'd you come?"
"Cause I'm such a sucker. The Underground got in touch with Adam. They said that you decided to take a little vacation, and that you managed to knock out one of their guards in the process, but he doesn't remember what happened. I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that though."
She shrugged. "He was like that when I left," she said, feigning innocence.
"Uh huh," Jesse sipped at his beer. "So what little trick do you have up your sleeve now?"
She leaned toward him and whispered conspiratorially, "I can shoot fire out my fingers. Shh, don't tell."
"No problem." She nodded, eyes glassy and she grinned, but it did reach her eyes. Jesse watched her as she finished the last of her drink. "Were you going to go back?" He asked finally.
Max paused, her face suddenly turning serious. "I don't know if I ever even planned to stay. I think I let myself believe that I could just start over, a clean slate you know? The I saw them there. I'm not like them."
"Why can't you start over? All you gotta do is trust us."
"How am I supposed to do that? I don't even trust ME. I screwed everything up Jesse, when I was a kid, letting myself get involved with Eckhart in the first place, with you and your friends." Her features darkened and a lump rose in her throat. "Jackie," she whispered, almost inaudible.
"What?" Jesse's eyes narrowed. "Who is Jackie?"
"Never mind," she mumbled.
"Max." "I said never mind!" Max snapped, jumping up from the bar stool. She wanted to stalk away into the heaving crowd, but was halted by a new hit of dizziness. The world tilted crazily and her knees bucked. Jesse grabbed her, supporting her entire weight on one arm. Her face was pressed into his shoulder, and a dampness alerted him to the fact that she was sobbing quietly.
"Come on, let's go outside, where we can talk." She nodded mutely, not meeting his eyes.
It was late, the street nearly vacant. Max sank down against a wall, drawing her knees tight to her chest. Jesse stood over her, arms crossed over his chest. "Well?"
"Jackie is.she's my." she stuttered, trying to find the words to explain what she had done, what she was going to do. Oh God. "Jesse, Jesse what time is it?"
Jesse stiffened. He wasn't listening to the girl on the sidewalk. His eyes were trained on the four men fast approaching from all sides. The dark suits, dead eyes and grim expressions labeled them GS agents. His hands clenched and his shoulders hunched reflexively. "Max get up. Get up. We've got to get out of here." He tugged at her arm, his gaze never trailing far from the approaching men.
Max shook her head, wrenching her arm away. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. "I'm so sorry Jesse. You never should have come here. I'm so sorry."
"Max?"
"So sorry." It was too late, the GS agents surrounded them. Jesse stood poised for a fight, all the while knowing there was nothing he could do.
--
Adam ran his hand tiredly over his haggard features. No matter how many times he stared at the list of parts Max had stolen for Eckhart, he couldn't figure out what the head of Genomex was planning to build. It was frustrating and he needed sleep, but at the same time couldn't seem to tear himself away from the screen. Something told him it was important he figured this out, so sleep, however needed, would have to wait.
Emma entered, knocking softly on the door jamb. Adam jerked his head up, startled. Emma noted Adam's general state of disarray, his bloodshot eyes. She could feel his weariness. "Yes Emma?"
"Are you all right Adam? Maybe you should take a break."
Adam cast the younger woman a thin smile. "I'm fine. But you need something. What is it?"
Emma sighed. It wasn't like she could stop him from working. "Max's blood tests came back. I think you should take a look at them." She held out a small sheaf of papers.
He read the papers carefully, his eyes narrowing the farther down the paper he read. "Damn," he murmured.
"What?"
Adam looked over the tops of the papers at the Psionic. "Max's mutation is evolving. She's becoming more powerful."
Brennan and Shalimar arrived at the door behind Emma just in time to hear Adam's last comment. Emma shrugged. "Don't forget Adam, she's on our side now. What's the problem?"
"She's mutating too quickly. It's becoming obvious that she's having difficulty controlling her powers, look what happened with Jesse. Her body sees the powers she's absorbing as a foreign entity and is trying to fight them off. It gets worse every time she uses her abilities. Her body is killing itself off. Max is dying."
"The Underground said she disappeared earlier tonight," Shalimar spoke. "Jesse went to go find her. Try to get him up on the comm.."
Emma went to the nearest panel, activating the link to Jesse's ring. "Jesse." She began, but trailed off as she heard voices arguing on the other end.
--
The tallest GS agent, standing nearly six inches taller than Jesse, walked forward. He was grinning nastily, his hands illuminated by electric current. "Well Wallace you came through. Gotta say I'm a little surprised. When Eckhart said you were giving up the Mutant X I didn't believe him." Jesse's eyes widened, and he shot an accusing look over his shoulder.
Max stood shakily, drawing a in a shuddering breath. "It's not like it looks Jesse."
He scowled, his mouth tight. "I'd say it's exactly like it looks Max. Brennan was right, we never should have trusted you." The GS agent held out his hand, and reluctantly, Jesse handed him his ring.
--
Shal paced nervously around the room, and Brennan glared. "Whose side is she on again Emma? Cause I don't think it's ours."
Emma was crushed. How could she so completely have misjudged Max? She'd believed her, trusted her, even felt sorry for her. Now all Emma wanted was to get Jesse back, and find out how she could have been so wrong about Max.
--
Okay, Chapter 4:
Next chapter ought to be pretty fun, lots of ass kicking and the like, if all pans out. If not next chapter certainly the one after. Glad to see you're liking it, and I'll try to update quickly.
~*~
Max sat at the bar counter, head bobbing rhythmically to the beat of the music coursing across the dance floor behind her. She turned strained eyes to the face of her watch. Hour and a half and counting. She had and hours and a half before everything turned completely upside down. Her stomach lurched with the thought and she quickly finished the rest of her drink, silently signaling the bartender for another. He cast a quick, appraising eye over the girl at the end of the bar, satisfying himself that she wasn't really that drunk.
She half wished she were that drunk. If she were that drunk she wouldn't be able to feel anything, her world would just be gloriously dulled. She'd left the Underground a few hours earlier. She'd had to use her abilities in order to get out, temporarily knocking out a fire elemental guarding the exit. She took comfort in the fact that he'd never remember.
Of course, using her abilities had brought upon another surging headache. Luckily there was no nosebleed this time, so she didn't look to conspicuous moving down the streets. She'd only gotten three blocks before the headache had progressed toward making her nauseous, and the world spun began to tilt and dip. So she'd staggered into the tavern, taking a heavy seat at the end of the bar.
Max ducked her head and closed her eyes, willing herself to remain focused. She was going to have a hell of a time pulling this off, regardless, and she almost certainly couldn't do it if she went off half cocked. This of course, made her reconsider the logic in getting drunk, but she dismissed it. Someone took the empty bar stool beside her, leaning his forearms against the counter. "Beer."
The bartender placed a frothy glass in front of the man, who in turn fingered it lightly, but didn't drink. "Are you gonna make it a point that we always meet in bars?"
Max blinked and glanced up. "Jesse," she observed flatly.
"Well gee don't sound so happy to see me next time," he joked.
"Sorry. Guess I'm a little out of it."
"I guess." He gestured at her drink. "How many of those have you had exactly?"
"Enough."
"Enough for what?"
"Enough to dull." she slurred the last word, making a wide arc with her arm, the amber liquid spilling over the side of the glass. ".everything."
Jesse cracked an ironic smile. "Okay, I think you're done." He tried to take the drink away, but Max snatched it back with a shake of her head.
"I'm not done. You don't know me, you don't know.anything, so don't tell me I'm done. No. You have no idea.no idea," she repeated softly. "You're just too damned nice to see it. Why are you like that Jesse? Why'd you come?"
"Cause I'm such a sucker. The Underground got in touch with Adam. They said that you decided to take a little vacation, and that you managed to knock out one of their guards in the process, but he doesn't remember what happened. I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that though."
She shrugged. "He was like that when I left," she said, feigning innocence.
"Uh huh," Jesse sipped at his beer. "So what little trick do you have up your sleeve now?"
She leaned toward him and whispered conspiratorially, "I can shoot fire out my fingers. Shh, don't tell."
"No problem." She nodded, eyes glassy and she grinned, but it did reach her eyes. Jesse watched her as she finished the last of her drink. "Were you going to go back?" He asked finally.
Max paused, her face suddenly turning serious. "I don't know if I ever even planned to stay. I think I let myself believe that I could just start over, a clean slate you know? The I saw them there. I'm not like them."
"Why can't you start over? All you gotta do is trust us."
"How am I supposed to do that? I don't even trust ME. I screwed everything up Jesse, when I was a kid, letting myself get involved with Eckhart in the first place, with you and your friends." Her features darkened and a lump rose in her throat. "Jackie," she whispered, almost inaudible.
"What?" Jesse's eyes narrowed. "Who is Jackie?"
"Never mind," she mumbled.
"Max." "I said never mind!" Max snapped, jumping up from the bar stool. She wanted to stalk away into the heaving crowd, but was halted by a new hit of dizziness. The world tilted crazily and her knees bucked. Jesse grabbed her, supporting her entire weight on one arm. Her face was pressed into his shoulder, and a dampness alerted him to the fact that she was sobbing quietly.
"Come on, let's go outside, where we can talk." She nodded mutely, not meeting his eyes.
It was late, the street nearly vacant. Max sank down against a wall, drawing her knees tight to her chest. Jesse stood over her, arms crossed over his chest. "Well?"
"Jackie is.she's my." she stuttered, trying to find the words to explain what she had done, what she was going to do. Oh God. "Jesse, Jesse what time is it?"
Jesse stiffened. He wasn't listening to the girl on the sidewalk. His eyes were trained on the four men fast approaching from all sides. The dark suits, dead eyes and grim expressions labeled them GS agents. His hands clenched and his shoulders hunched reflexively. "Max get up. Get up. We've got to get out of here." He tugged at her arm, his gaze never trailing far from the approaching men.
Max shook her head, wrenching her arm away. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. "I'm so sorry Jesse. You never should have come here. I'm so sorry."
"Max?"
"So sorry." It was too late, the GS agents surrounded them. Jesse stood poised for a fight, all the while knowing there was nothing he could do.
--
Adam ran his hand tiredly over his haggard features. No matter how many times he stared at the list of parts Max had stolen for Eckhart, he couldn't figure out what the head of Genomex was planning to build. It was frustrating and he needed sleep, but at the same time couldn't seem to tear himself away from the screen. Something told him it was important he figured this out, so sleep, however needed, would have to wait.
Emma entered, knocking softly on the door jamb. Adam jerked his head up, startled. Emma noted Adam's general state of disarray, his bloodshot eyes. She could feel his weariness. "Yes Emma?"
"Are you all right Adam? Maybe you should take a break."
Adam cast the younger woman a thin smile. "I'm fine. But you need something. What is it?"
Emma sighed. It wasn't like she could stop him from working. "Max's blood tests came back. I think you should take a look at them." She held out a small sheaf of papers.
He read the papers carefully, his eyes narrowing the farther down the paper he read. "Damn," he murmured.
"What?"
Adam looked over the tops of the papers at the Psionic. "Max's mutation is evolving. She's becoming more powerful."
Brennan and Shalimar arrived at the door behind Emma just in time to hear Adam's last comment. Emma shrugged. "Don't forget Adam, she's on our side now. What's the problem?"
"She's mutating too quickly. It's becoming obvious that she's having difficulty controlling her powers, look what happened with Jesse. Her body sees the powers she's absorbing as a foreign entity and is trying to fight them off. It gets worse every time she uses her abilities. Her body is killing itself off. Max is dying."
"The Underground said she disappeared earlier tonight," Shalimar spoke. "Jesse went to go find her. Try to get him up on the comm.."
Emma went to the nearest panel, activating the link to Jesse's ring. "Jesse." She began, but trailed off as she heard voices arguing on the other end.
--
The tallest GS agent, standing nearly six inches taller than Jesse, walked forward. He was grinning nastily, his hands illuminated by electric current. "Well Wallace you came through. Gotta say I'm a little surprised. When Eckhart said you were giving up the Mutant X I didn't believe him." Jesse's eyes widened, and he shot an accusing look over his shoulder.
Max stood shakily, drawing a in a shuddering breath. "It's not like it looks Jesse."
He scowled, his mouth tight. "I'd say it's exactly like it looks Max. Brennan was right, we never should have trusted you." The GS agent held out his hand, and reluctantly, Jesse handed him his ring.
--
Shal paced nervously around the room, and Brennan glared. "Whose side is she on again Emma? Cause I don't think it's ours."
Emma was crushed. How could she so completely have misjudged Max? She'd believed her, trusted her, even felt sorry for her. Now all Emma wanted was to get Jesse back, and find out how she could have been so wrong about Max.
--
Okay, Chapter 4:
Next chapter ought to be pretty fun, lots of ass kicking and the like, if all pans out. If not next chapter certainly the one after. Glad to see you're liking it, and I'll try to update quickly.