The Serum

Part 10

"You said you took something that made you human." Jaylynn asked, taking a seat beside Eliza's desk.

"Yes, a serum. It's not being made anymore."

"If it stops you being a mutant why doesn't everyone take it, so you're all normal again?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Someone offers you a miracle cure for the common cold, you'd take it right? Because the cold is such a nuisance."

"Of course."

"What if someone offered you something that stops you being able to shoot a gun, or stops you being able to run so fast."

"Why would I want something like that?"

"A year ago I could have beaten June in hand to hand combat — I did as a matter of fact. I could beat my 6'2 friend in every fight every time. I could jump from a four-storey building and not get hurt, I could jump up two storeys without too much effort. Adam has told me before now that I might have been the strongest new mutant he had ever seen. The serum took that away from me. Mutancy is not an illness or a nuisance, it's a gift."

"Why did you take the serum?"

"I fell in love."

"Richard?"

"Got it in one. I fell so hard" Eliza bit her lip as she felt tears welling.

"Hey, you Ok?" Jaylynn asked softly.

"Yeah, it's just He hasn't been completely honest with me."

"He was cheating on you?!"

"No, I thought so for a moment. He was just hiding something from me. It wasn't nice to find out."

"Well throw him out, if only for a day or two. The apartments yours isn't it?"

"Already done. It's just I thought I could read him, you know. I thought I would see something like that happening in him. I can't believe I missed it."

"You need cheering up. Tell you what, girl's night out. Come over mine and we'll go from there, OK?" Eliza grinned.

"Sure. Thanks."

"No problem."

Jesse stopped pacing for a moment, facing Nikki.

"And you're sure she said that she didn't want to talk to us." He asked her.

"Jesse, I've told you this a thousand times. She's left, gone, never to be seen again. She didn't want anything more to do with us. She's human now and she has a life. She only followed you here because she was feeling down because of Richard. She doesn't want to be associating with mutants any more. She said she was bored of putting up with the freaks'." She saw Jesse flinch and crowed silently, fighting to hide her grin. She found the young molecular unbearable and was desperate to get him off of the team as soon as possible. If she could make him leave of his own accord, all the better. "She had just been beaten up by June, Jesse. It's not her fault she was annoyed with us." She softened her voice, playing sympathetic.

"Yeah, but she doesn't have to take it out on all of us." He fumed. "We're her friends, you know. I hate that she would just leave, and give you a hard time while she's at it." Nikki couldn't help but smile at this. He was taking it, hook line and "Maybe I should go and see her." He declared.

"Why would you do that. You're one of those freaks' she's bored of remember." She put in. The dismay on Jesse's face was clear.

"Yeah, I suppose so." And there goes that sinker. She had him. He was hers.