Chapter Two
Jesse strode ahead of the two, his face twisted into a dark scowl. He tried to tune out Brennan's voice as he spoke, but no matter what he did, or how he tried, the other man's strong, commanding voice drawn him into listening to what he was saying. And that was what was so goddamned annoying, because all Brennan was saying was pure nonsense. He raked his hands into his hair, his patience wearing out very quickly.
"I know what I saw." Brennan said fiercely, his dark eyes flashing with defiance and stubbornness.
"Brennan," Emma tried again, as she had been doing from the time they left the alley. "That can't be Shalimar. We all know that she's-"
"I know what I saw." He insisted in a lower, more dangerous voice. "I know Shalimar's techniques and skills in fighting. You didn't fight the woman earlier. I did. And that's why I know that that woman attacked me with the same raw power that Shalimar had."
The three walked into the sanctuary with varying expressions on their faces. The sanctuary that was their home now was a different place than the one they had before. That sanctuary, the one that had been the first home of the Mutant X team, had been closed down and deserted, because a year ago it was discovered by Gabriel Ashlocke through a source that no one, not even Adam himself, knows. It had been a vicious and unsuspected attack, and it was only through pure luck and deep bruises and scars that all of them managed to get out before Ashlocke captured them all.
This sanctuary, now located in the deepest heart of the forest, had been the product of almost six months of tireless efforts by everyone. As usual, its location is undetectable, it's technology unsurpassable. It was a more of a home for all of them, but if needed, it can be easily converted into a battle station that can be used for defense and attack.
Brennan, Jesse and Emma were always aware of the comfort and luxury that the new sanctuary brought. But now, it was more of a beige place to them than anything else, as they walked through its colorful halls without giving attention to anything around them.
"And that's what convinced you that it's her? Brennan, it's always possible that someone else has Shalimar's techniques and skills." Emma reasoned out, her voice inching higher as she began to be fed up with Brennan's unmoving stand on the matter. "Sure, she was a great fighter, but that doesn't mean that her moves can't be used by any other mutant. Besides, she wasn't blond. She's a redhead, in case you didn't notice."
"Ever heard of wigs or dyes, Emma?" He asked sarcastically. "That was Shalimar, redhead or not, and I'm going to prove it." He turned to walk away when he stopped as Jesse spoke to him in a very slow, deliberate voice.
"I'm going to say this once, Brennan and you better listen. That. Wasn't. Shalimar. Stop insisting what you know is impossible, what you know cannot and will never happen, not in this life, not ever. Do you understand?" Jesse straightened himself as Brennan faced him, a glare permanently etched in his eyes.
"I know that that woman is Shalimar." Brennan repeated in what seemed to be the hundredth time. Then he softened as a hopeful expression filled his face. "Why can't you believe me? That what I say is true? Can't you see? Aren't you happy that Shalimar might be-"
"If you know Shalimar as you say you do, then you very well know that she's already DEAD, Brennan!" Emma exploded. He looked at her, and she refused to meet her eyes. "Why are you doing this?" She asked in a softer, milder tone. "You know you're only hurting yourself. You know you're only hurting us, too." This time, she looked at him straight in the eye. "Why?"
Brennan looked away without any word to say to either of them.
"Don't believe in false hopes, Brennan." Jesse took a step forward, but stopped when he saw Brennan instantly stiffen. "Shalimar's dead. We've buried her body almost two years ago." He took a deep breath as memories of her threatened to drown him. It was always hard to acknowledge the fact that his closest friend was now dead, had been for the last couple of months. "She's no more to us than memories. Believe in that. Believe in facts, not assumptions."
"I know it." Brennan admitted finally. "I know that she's dead. But that doesn't mean that I believe it. Not after this night."
Without any warning, he turned and walked out of the sanctuary, with Jesse and Emma looking at him sadly as he departed.
*
Sinead looked on as a doctor placed a bandage on Bryn's ankle. She squeezed her hand when she heard the woman gasp in pain. "You're going to be alright," she said encouragingly.
Inside, she doesn't know if Bryn will ever be.
The woman's body was covered with burns of varying degrees as a result of her encounter with the psionic. Sinead didn't know that illusions caused by that woman could be as real and cause wounds as severe as Bryn's had been. The only thing she knew was that when they meet again, that psionic bitch would surely die a very painful death. Fire may cause a feral pain, but it won't stop Sinead from using it as a weapon to kill. For revenge.
"I'm going to see Glenn," Sinead told Bryn as she pushed the dark thoughts away. The weaker woman only nodded at her and then closed her eyes to rest.
Sinead squeezed her hand one more time before she walked over to the other bed where the other mutant lies. She grasped his hand to comfort him, and he smiled at her in response. "Hey," she said.
"Hey." Glenn coughed as though speaking caused him pain. "How's Bryn?"
She lifted her eyes from the man's face to glance at Bryn. "She's resting. She's going to be fine."
"Good." He let out a slow breath before he spoke again. "Looks like out of the three of us, you're the only one without a serious wound, Sinead. Did you manage to beat the crap out of the elemental?"
Sinead grinned. "I'd like to think so." She said triumphantly. "But the man surely has some good fighting skills, not to mention his 'electrifying' personality. Good thing he didn't fry me, or else I'd be a sitting cat."
Glenn chuckled, but soon he was attacked by a serious coughing fit. Sinead glanced at the mark on his neck, and mentally added the molecular on her list of targets. "Our enemy's are getting stronger everyday," he said hoarsely. "Last time we encountered them, they were the ones who ended up with serious injuries, not us."
"Well, last time you didn't have me yet." Sinead said. "And next time, I'll make sure that they'd be the ones resting." Her eyes flashed gold. "For good."
*
"Jesse, Emma?"
Emma looked up to see Adam coming down from the laboratory on the second floor. She could tell that he was immediately worried by looking at their faces. She sighed, not really psyched for some questioning. "Hey, Adam." She said meekly.
Adam frowned, indeed concerned. "I've heard your rather loud arrival." He looked over at Jesse. "What happened while you were out? Were you able to get the new mutants?"
Jesse shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his pants. He shook his head. "We were too late," he confessed. "When we arrived, members of The Strand have already taken their recruits and flown away."
Their leader crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed audibly. "That's too bad," he said. "Who knows what Ashlocke will do to those new mutants. We have to locate their position as soon as possible as to prevent further problems caused by the disappearance of these people. And we also have to find them so that we can free these new mutants from whatever hell Ashlocke's brought them into."
Emma walked to the couch and then sat on it. "But that's not the only problem we have," she said, as she shot Jesse a glance.
He turned his attention to her. "What are you talking about?"
She looked down on her hands. "Jesse already told you that the new mutants were already taken away." She started. "But there's more. When we got there, we were confronted by some members of The Strand. There were three of them; the first was the aerokinetic, the second was a canine feral, and the third, well-" she shot another look at Jesse. "She's new. She's a feline feral."
"We fought them." Jesse continued as he leaned against the wall. "And this time, we managed to beat the crap out of them. I got the aerokinetic, Emma got the canine, and Brennan fought the feline. Of course, the catch is, the new member was very good at combat. She managed to get Brennan down on all fours." He breathed, and then spoke again. "To make a long story short, that new member was able to carry her friends and they were able to escape before we even began to ask them questions."
"And the problem starts there," Emma said from her position on the couch. "Brennan saw the woman's face, and he said that, well-"
Adam looked at Jesse and then at Emma. "Well?" he prodded on when no one seemed to want to continue. "What is it?"
Jesse hesitated to say it, but he did anyway. "Brennan thinks that the new member was Shalimar."
There was a long, uncomfortable and unbearable silence that followed after his declaration. Emma looked at Jesse before looking at Adam, and she saw him with an expression that can only be described through one word: shock.
"Wh-what?" Adam asked, finally.
"Brennan insisted that the woman he fought tonight was Shalimar." Emma repeated. "He kept saying stuff about her fighting skills, her techniques-"
"And he said that he was going to prove it." Jesse said as he strode over to the couch and sat beside Emma.
"Are you saying-" Adam fought to create a concrete thought over what he had heard, but so far, all he could create was a muddle of words. "Are you saying that Brennan thought this woman was Shalimar?"
Emma nodded her answer. "It was really weird," she said. "One moment he was getting up, then the next thing we know, he was insisting that Shal's still alive." She shook her head. "The woman wasn't even blonde."
Adam rubbed his chin thoughtfully. It had been a very difficult time for all of them to go through Shalimar's death, but Brennan was the only one who took her demise very hard. There'd been a time where he almost quitted the team; it only been through Jesse and Emma's efforts that he agreed to stay. And yet, all of them sensed that in many ways, the old Brennan was gone, replaced by someone who acted like a robot; one without life; one without heart.
"We have to talk some sense into him," he said to the two of them. "Someone had to wake him up from his delusion."
Emma stood up from the couch. "I'm going to call him," she said before she walked out.
Adam and Jesse were left in the room, each pondering on what had happened that day. Suddenly, without any warning, Emma came rushing back, her face flushed from having to run all the way.
"Emma?" Adam asked.
"What is it?" Jesse demanded.
"It's Brennan," Emma told them. "He's- He's gone. He's taken the Double Helix."
Jesse strode ahead of the two, his face twisted into a dark scowl. He tried to tune out Brennan's voice as he spoke, but no matter what he did, or how he tried, the other man's strong, commanding voice drawn him into listening to what he was saying. And that was what was so goddamned annoying, because all Brennan was saying was pure nonsense. He raked his hands into his hair, his patience wearing out very quickly.
"I know what I saw." Brennan said fiercely, his dark eyes flashing with defiance and stubbornness.
"Brennan," Emma tried again, as she had been doing from the time they left the alley. "That can't be Shalimar. We all know that she's-"
"I know what I saw." He insisted in a lower, more dangerous voice. "I know Shalimar's techniques and skills in fighting. You didn't fight the woman earlier. I did. And that's why I know that that woman attacked me with the same raw power that Shalimar had."
The three walked into the sanctuary with varying expressions on their faces. The sanctuary that was their home now was a different place than the one they had before. That sanctuary, the one that had been the first home of the Mutant X team, had been closed down and deserted, because a year ago it was discovered by Gabriel Ashlocke through a source that no one, not even Adam himself, knows. It had been a vicious and unsuspected attack, and it was only through pure luck and deep bruises and scars that all of them managed to get out before Ashlocke captured them all.
This sanctuary, now located in the deepest heart of the forest, had been the product of almost six months of tireless efforts by everyone. As usual, its location is undetectable, it's technology unsurpassable. It was a more of a home for all of them, but if needed, it can be easily converted into a battle station that can be used for defense and attack.
Brennan, Jesse and Emma were always aware of the comfort and luxury that the new sanctuary brought. But now, it was more of a beige place to them than anything else, as they walked through its colorful halls without giving attention to anything around them.
"And that's what convinced you that it's her? Brennan, it's always possible that someone else has Shalimar's techniques and skills." Emma reasoned out, her voice inching higher as she began to be fed up with Brennan's unmoving stand on the matter. "Sure, she was a great fighter, but that doesn't mean that her moves can't be used by any other mutant. Besides, she wasn't blond. She's a redhead, in case you didn't notice."
"Ever heard of wigs or dyes, Emma?" He asked sarcastically. "That was Shalimar, redhead or not, and I'm going to prove it." He turned to walk away when he stopped as Jesse spoke to him in a very slow, deliberate voice.
"I'm going to say this once, Brennan and you better listen. That. Wasn't. Shalimar. Stop insisting what you know is impossible, what you know cannot and will never happen, not in this life, not ever. Do you understand?" Jesse straightened himself as Brennan faced him, a glare permanently etched in his eyes.
"I know that that woman is Shalimar." Brennan repeated in what seemed to be the hundredth time. Then he softened as a hopeful expression filled his face. "Why can't you believe me? That what I say is true? Can't you see? Aren't you happy that Shalimar might be-"
"If you know Shalimar as you say you do, then you very well know that she's already DEAD, Brennan!" Emma exploded. He looked at her, and she refused to meet her eyes. "Why are you doing this?" She asked in a softer, milder tone. "You know you're only hurting yourself. You know you're only hurting us, too." This time, she looked at him straight in the eye. "Why?"
Brennan looked away without any word to say to either of them.
"Don't believe in false hopes, Brennan." Jesse took a step forward, but stopped when he saw Brennan instantly stiffen. "Shalimar's dead. We've buried her body almost two years ago." He took a deep breath as memories of her threatened to drown him. It was always hard to acknowledge the fact that his closest friend was now dead, had been for the last couple of months. "She's no more to us than memories. Believe in that. Believe in facts, not assumptions."
"I know it." Brennan admitted finally. "I know that she's dead. But that doesn't mean that I believe it. Not after this night."
Without any warning, he turned and walked out of the sanctuary, with Jesse and Emma looking at him sadly as he departed.
*
Sinead looked on as a doctor placed a bandage on Bryn's ankle. She squeezed her hand when she heard the woman gasp in pain. "You're going to be alright," she said encouragingly.
Inside, she doesn't know if Bryn will ever be.
The woman's body was covered with burns of varying degrees as a result of her encounter with the psionic. Sinead didn't know that illusions caused by that woman could be as real and cause wounds as severe as Bryn's had been. The only thing she knew was that when they meet again, that psionic bitch would surely die a very painful death. Fire may cause a feral pain, but it won't stop Sinead from using it as a weapon to kill. For revenge.
"I'm going to see Glenn," Sinead told Bryn as she pushed the dark thoughts away. The weaker woman only nodded at her and then closed her eyes to rest.
Sinead squeezed her hand one more time before she walked over to the other bed where the other mutant lies. She grasped his hand to comfort him, and he smiled at her in response. "Hey," she said.
"Hey." Glenn coughed as though speaking caused him pain. "How's Bryn?"
She lifted her eyes from the man's face to glance at Bryn. "She's resting. She's going to be fine."
"Good." He let out a slow breath before he spoke again. "Looks like out of the three of us, you're the only one without a serious wound, Sinead. Did you manage to beat the crap out of the elemental?"
Sinead grinned. "I'd like to think so." She said triumphantly. "But the man surely has some good fighting skills, not to mention his 'electrifying' personality. Good thing he didn't fry me, or else I'd be a sitting cat."
Glenn chuckled, but soon he was attacked by a serious coughing fit. Sinead glanced at the mark on his neck, and mentally added the molecular on her list of targets. "Our enemy's are getting stronger everyday," he said hoarsely. "Last time we encountered them, they were the ones who ended up with serious injuries, not us."
"Well, last time you didn't have me yet." Sinead said. "And next time, I'll make sure that they'd be the ones resting." Her eyes flashed gold. "For good."
*
"Jesse, Emma?"
Emma looked up to see Adam coming down from the laboratory on the second floor. She could tell that he was immediately worried by looking at their faces. She sighed, not really psyched for some questioning. "Hey, Adam." She said meekly.
Adam frowned, indeed concerned. "I've heard your rather loud arrival." He looked over at Jesse. "What happened while you were out? Were you able to get the new mutants?"
Jesse shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his pants. He shook his head. "We were too late," he confessed. "When we arrived, members of The Strand have already taken their recruits and flown away."
Their leader crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed audibly. "That's too bad," he said. "Who knows what Ashlocke will do to those new mutants. We have to locate their position as soon as possible as to prevent further problems caused by the disappearance of these people. And we also have to find them so that we can free these new mutants from whatever hell Ashlocke's brought them into."
Emma walked to the couch and then sat on it. "But that's not the only problem we have," she said, as she shot Jesse a glance.
He turned his attention to her. "What are you talking about?"
She looked down on her hands. "Jesse already told you that the new mutants were already taken away." She started. "But there's more. When we got there, we were confronted by some members of The Strand. There were three of them; the first was the aerokinetic, the second was a canine feral, and the third, well-" she shot another look at Jesse. "She's new. She's a feline feral."
"We fought them." Jesse continued as he leaned against the wall. "And this time, we managed to beat the crap out of them. I got the aerokinetic, Emma got the canine, and Brennan fought the feline. Of course, the catch is, the new member was very good at combat. She managed to get Brennan down on all fours." He breathed, and then spoke again. "To make a long story short, that new member was able to carry her friends and they were able to escape before we even began to ask them questions."
"And the problem starts there," Emma said from her position on the couch. "Brennan saw the woman's face, and he said that, well-"
Adam looked at Jesse and then at Emma. "Well?" he prodded on when no one seemed to want to continue. "What is it?"
Jesse hesitated to say it, but he did anyway. "Brennan thinks that the new member was Shalimar."
There was a long, uncomfortable and unbearable silence that followed after his declaration. Emma looked at Jesse before looking at Adam, and she saw him with an expression that can only be described through one word: shock.
"Wh-what?" Adam asked, finally.
"Brennan insisted that the woman he fought tonight was Shalimar." Emma repeated. "He kept saying stuff about her fighting skills, her techniques-"
"And he said that he was going to prove it." Jesse said as he strode over to the couch and sat beside Emma.
"Are you saying-" Adam fought to create a concrete thought over what he had heard, but so far, all he could create was a muddle of words. "Are you saying that Brennan thought this woman was Shalimar?"
Emma nodded her answer. "It was really weird," she said. "One moment he was getting up, then the next thing we know, he was insisting that Shal's still alive." She shook her head. "The woman wasn't even blonde."
Adam rubbed his chin thoughtfully. It had been a very difficult time for all of them to go through Shalimar's death, but Brennan was the only one who took her demise very hard. There'd been a time where he almost quitted the team; it only been through Jesse and Emma's efforts that he agreed to stay. And yet, all of them sensed that in many ways, the old Brennan was gone, replaced by someone who acted like a robot; one without life; one without heart.
"We have to talk some sense into him," he said to the two of them. "Someone had to wake him up from his delusion."
Emma stood up from the couch. "I'm going to call him," she said before she walked out.
Adam and Jesse were left in the room, each pondering on what had happened that day. Suddenly, without any warning, Emma came rushing back, her face flushed from having to run all the way.
"Emma?" Adam asked.
"What is it?" Jesse demanded.
"It's Brennan," Emma told them. "He's- He's gone. He's taken the Double Helix."