Author's note: I've tried to answer all the questions posed in the reviews.
If there's anything else missing, don't hesitate to let me know! Oh, and by
the way, I'll be incorporating Shalimar's viewpoint of her relationship
with Jesse in the next chapter. As for the timeline, welllll, that's a bit
skewed. I'm not quite sure whether it actually follows the series, but if
it had to, I suppose it would be at least a couple of months after Shal
nearly kissed Bren, (what episode was that again?)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Mutant X.
* * signifies thoughts
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Chapter 2
"There's been four murders within the past two days," Adam explained to the gathered team. "All four took place at night, and all four were violent, animalistic killings. All four had deep gashes along their bodies and their throats ripped out, but none had anything stolen, which rules out thefts gone wrong."
"So couldn't it have been an animal?" Jesse asked.
Adam shook his head. "Two of the victims were found near the town centre, and no animal large enough to kill would have come all the way in. Besides, there's far too much intelligence behind the murders for it to point to an animal. They were obviously lured to their place of death, as all occurred in alleyways away from passers-by. I think we're looking at a mutant who's carrying out these murders."
"A mutant? Why not a non-mutant?" Emma asked him.
"No non-mutant would have the strength to inflict that kind of damage on a body," he explained.
"A feral," Shalimar stated grimly. "It's people like that who give us ferals a bad name."
"I think you're right Shalimar. Feline, ursine or canine, I'd say, from the distribution of the gashes on the bodies," Adam agreed.
"Ewww," Emma recoiled as she caught a glimpse of the image on the computer screen. A body was strewn across the ground, arms and legs at odd, unnatural angles. Hair and clothes were soaked with the brown stain of stale blood, and there was no area of her body on which skin was visible. Gashes covered her body and in places, it looked like chunks of flesh had been removed. Even Brennan felt nauseous and had to look away after a while.
Adam typed and erased the image from the screen, to replace it with the database he regularly used to identify mutants.
Numerous faces appeared on the screen. "Not good," Adam explained. "I had hoped we could cut this down a little, but there are just too many ferals with the required characteristics."
"What now?" asked Shal. She was eager to get her hands on this rogue feral.
"All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open," Adam said, to their disappointment. "I've checked with the Genomex databases, but they know as much as we do. I'll keep asking around and see what I come up with."
"And in the meantime we can patrol the areas around the killings tonight, see if there's anything strange going on," Jesse suggested.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Emma was worried about Brennan. It was strange that he hadn't taken much interest in that recent meeting. In fact, it would usually have been him to suggest the night patrols, not Jesse. He had been acting strange for a couple of days now, not very much like Bren at all.
So far, she had refrained from reading her friends, ever since they had insisted they didn't like it, but it was getting to the point where she couldn't stand not knowing any more. Eventually, she decided that she would try talking to him first, and set off to find him.
She finally found him moping by the waterfall. As she walked up to him softly, he didn't seem to hear her. She laid a hand on his shoulder, but still he didn't move.
"Hey Mr. Gloomy," she said jokily.
"Hey," he replied in a monotone. "Would it do any good if I told you I didn't want to talk?" he asked, hope slowly fading as he saw her resolute face.
"Nope," she answered lightly. "How come you're sitting in my place?" she asked, sitting down beside him.
He put his chin in his hands, shrugged and took up his inspection of the waterfall. Emma risked a quick peek into his mind. A dark fog enveloped him, faces leering and mocking him through the haze.
"What's up Bren? You might find that one of us might be able to help."
"It's nothing to do with anyone here. It's just me," he mumbled.
Emma kept silent. The first trickles of conversation had finally emerged from him, and now she waited patiently for the torrent that was bound to come.
He sighed as she sent feelings of trust towards him. After a while he spoke.
"Jesse's got Shalimar, Adam's got his work, what have I got?"
"You've got us, the team, your own work," she replied, thankful that he had finally opened up to someone.
He shook his head. "That's not what I mean. That's just not enough for me. I go through life having the odd date with women, and now I want a little stability."
Emma furrowed her brow, perplexed. *Brennan, asking for commitment?* she thought to herself. "I didn't realise you wanted to settle down, Bren," she ended up saying.
"I don't mean a permanent arrangement," he backpeddled furiously. "Think about it Em," he continued. "I'm not a teenager any more, and I'm tired of only being able to have one night stands. The only women I seem to meet these days are either running away and forming new lives with new identities, or are on the opposite side and are trying to kill me." He settled his chin in his hands again.
Emma put her arm around his shoulders. "She's out there Bren. You just have to wait for fate to throw you two together." He nodded reluctantly.
A little way away, Adam looked on. A flash of emotion streaked through him as paranoid thoughts flew through his mind. Now that Jesse and Shalimar had realised their feelings for each other, was it just a matter of time before Brennan and Emma went the same way? Was he being vain to think he could compete with Brennan for Emma's emotions? Could he be that selfish to allow the team to be broken up due to his rivalry with Brennan? He turned silently on his heel and walked away from the cosy couple.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Jesse watched Shal as she seemed to fly across the dojo. She always seemed happiest here, always having to be active, energetic. She wasn't aware that she had such an attentive audience, which is the way Jesse wanted it. He loved just watching her. While she fought the bad guys, while she ate, while she slept. He stood a short way away drinking her in and wondering what he had done to deserve this luck and happiness.
No one had expected them to get it together, least of all Jesse himself. He had always admired her from afar, but he wondered if there was a red-blooded male anywhere in the world who didn't.
It had all started the day they had been sent together to help a new mutant. He had decided on the safehouse option and he and Shal were escorting him to his new life. When that had been accomplished, they had decided to kill a bit of time by going for a coffee. It was there that they began talking about their own lives and why they each decided to stay on as part of Mutant X. Somehow, the conversation turned to past relationships, and to Jesse's surprise, Shalimar had revealed that he was her type. He had expected her to have fallen for Brennan. A fiery character like hers would be bound to be attracted to the devil-may-care attitude of the elemental, and he told her that. She had surprised him by leaning over and kissing him tenderly, and the rest was history, as they say. He let out a contented sigh as Shalimar landed a perfect kick to the hologram's head.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Meanwhile, a few miles away, a young woman lay curled up on her bed sleeping off her latest meal. As the day drew to a close and the sun started disappearing behind the mountains, the dull ache that was hunger was starting to gnaw at her stomach. The moon would be coming out soon, and only then would she be able to satiate her cravings.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Does that answer all the questions so far? Thanks for bringing the flaws to my attention, much appreciated, so please continue reviewing!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Mutant X.
* * signifies thoughts
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Chapter 2
"There's been four murders within the past two days," Adam explained to the gathered team. "All four took place at night, and all four were violent, animalistic killings. All four had deep gashes along their bodies and their throats ripped out, but none had anything stolen, which rules out thefts gone wrong."
"So couldn't it have been an animal?" Jesse asked.
Adam shook his head. "Two of the victims were found near the town centre, and no animal large enough to kill would have come all the way in. Besides, there's far too much intelligence behind the murders for it to point to an animal. They were obviously lured to their place of death, as all occurred in alleyways away from passers-by. I think we're looking at a mutant who's carrying out these murders."
"A mutant? Why not a non-mutant?" Emma asked him.
"No non-mutant would have the strength to inflict that kind of damage on a body," he explained.
"A feral," Shalimar stated grimly. "It's people like that who give us ferals a bad name."
"I think you're right Shalimar. Feline, ursine or canine, I'd say, from the distribution of the gashes on the bodies," Adam agreed.
"Ewww," Emma recoiled as she caught a glimpse of the image on the computer screen. A body was strewn across the ground, arms and legs at odd, unnatural angles. Hair and clothes were soaked with the brown stain of stale blood, and there was no area of her body on which skin was visible. Gashes covered her body and in places, it looked like chunks of flesh had been removed. Even Brennan felt nauseous and had to look away after a while.
Adam typed and erased the image from the screen, to replace it with the database he regularly used to identify mutants.
Numerous faces appeared on the screen. "Not good," Adam explained. "I had hoped we could cut this down a little, but there are just too many ferals with the required characteristics."
"What now?" asked Shal. She was eager to get her hands on this rogue feral.
"All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open," Adam said, to their disappointment. "I've checked with the Genomex databases, but they know as much as we do. I'll keep asking around and see what I come up with."
"And in the meantime we can patrol the areas around the killings tonight, see if there's anything strange going on," Jesse suggested.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Emma was worried about Brennan. It was strange that he hadn't taken much interest in that recent meeting. In fact, it would usually have been him to suggest the night patrols, not Jesse. He had been acting strange for a couple of days now, not very much like Bren at all.
So far, she had refrained from reading her friends, ever since they had insisted they didn't like it, but it was getting to the point where she couldn't stand not knowing any more. Eventually, she decided that she would try talking to him first, and set off to find him.
She finally found him moping by the waterfall. As she walked up to him softly, he didn't seem to hear her. She laid a hand on his shoulder, but still he didn't move.
"Hey Mr. Gloomy," she said jokily.
"Hey," he replied in a monotone. "Would it do any good if I told you I didn't want to talk?" he asked, hope slowly fading as he saw her resolute face.
"Nope," she answered lightly. "How come you're sitting in my place?" she asked, sitting down beside him.
He put his chin in his hands, shrugged and took up his inspection of the waterfall. Emma risked a quick peek into his mind. A dark fog enveloped him, faces leering and mocking him through the haze.
"What's up Bren? You might find that one of us might be able to help."
"It's nothing to do with anyone here. It's just me," he mumbled.
Emma kept silent. The first trickles of conversation had finally emerged from him, and now she waited patiently for the torrent that was bound to come.
He sighed as she sent feelings of trust towards him. After a while he spoke.
"Jesse's got Shalimar, Adam's got his work, what have I got?"
"You've got us, the team, your own work," she replied, thankful that he had finally opened up to someone.
He shook his head. "That's not what I mean. That's just not enough for me. I go through life having the odd date with women, and now I want a little stability."
Emma furrowed her brow, perplexed. *Brennan, asking for commitment?* she thought to herself. "I didn't realise you wanted to settle down, Bren," she ended up saying.
"I don't mean a permanent arrangement," he backpeddled furiously. "Think about it Em," he continued. "I'm not a teenager any more, and I'm tired of only being able to have one night stands. The only women I seem to meet these days are either running away and forming new lives with new identities, or are on the opposite side and are trying to kill me." He settled his chin in his hands again.
Emma put her arm around his shoulders. "She's out there Bren. You just have to wait for fate to throw you two together." He nodded reluctantly.
A little way away, Adam looked on. A flash of emotion streaked through him as paranoid thoughts flew through his mind. Now that Jesse and Shalimar had realised their feelings for each other, was it just a matter of time before Brennan and Emma went the same way? Was he being vain to think he could compete with Brennan for Emma's emotions? Could he be that selfish to allow the team to be broken up due to his rivalry with Brennan? He turned silently on his heel and walked away from the cosy couple.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Jesse watched Shal as she seemed to fly across the dojo. She always seemed happiest here, always having to be active, energetic. She wasn't aware that she had such an attentive audience, which is the way Jesse wanted it. He loved just watching her. While she fought the bad guys, while she ate, while she slept. He stood a short way away drinking her in and wondering what he had done to deserve this luck and happiness.
No one had expected them to get it together, least of all Jesse himself. He had always admired her from afar, but he wondered if there was a red-blooded male anywhere in the world who didn't.
It had all started the day they had been sent together to help a new mutant. He had decided on the safehouse option and he and Shal were escorting him to his new life. When that had been accomplished, they had decided to kill a bit of time by going for a coffee. It was there that they began talking about their own lives and why they each decided to stay on as part of Mutant X. Somehow, the conversation turned to past relationships, and to Jesse's surprise, Shalimar had revealed that he was her type. He had expected her to have fallen for Brennan. A fiery character like hers would be bound to be attracted to the devil-may-care attitude of the elemental, and he told her that. She had surprised him by leaning over and kissing him tenderly, and the rest was history, as they say. He let out a contented sigh as Shalimar landed a perfect kick to the hologram's head.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Meanwhile, a few miles away, a young woman lay curled up on her bed sleeping off her latest meal. As the day drew to a close and the sun started disappearing behind the mountains, the dull ache that was hunger was starting to gnaw at her stomach. The moon would be coming out soon, and only then would she be able to satiate her cravings.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Does that answer all the questions so far? Thanks for bringing the flaws to my attention, much appreciated, so please continue reviewing!
