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Two
The next morning Jesse was practically buzzing about Sanctuary. Neither he nor Jesse had told anyone else about what had happened the previous night, so Brennan wasn't surprised when Shalimar asked what was up with Jesse.
"He saw an old friend the other night."
"An old friend? Who?" Shalimar said with a slight smile at Jesse's direction. Jesse was fighting a series of GSA style holograms. He was fighting with more energy than Shalimar had seen in a while.
"I'm not sure, some woman," Brennan said shrugging.
"Woman?" Shalimar raised her eyebrows as she felt her big sister protectiveness kick in. Brennan nodded his head with a look on his face that she couldn't quite discern.
"Oh yeah. Her name is Pheonix Haley, apparently."
"Is she a New Mutant?"
"No, and honestly that's all I really know about her, well other than that she and Jesse grew up together."
Shalimar turned her attention back to Jesse and his energetic fighting. The last time she had seen him this way was when he had come in contact with his father. She only hoped that he wasn't going to get hurt this time like he did the last time. Shalimar hated to see him like that. She decided that this time it would be better to be cautious sooner rather than later. Shalimar went to find Adam.
Brennan watched Shalimar walk away and then walked towards the steps of the dojo. He sat down at the top of the steps and watched Jesse for a few minutes. He recognized the look on Shalimar's face when she walked away. He knew that she wasn't going to let Jesse's past come slamming into him like the last time.
"Hey, when are you going to tell me more about your friend from last night?" Brennan asked from his seat on the steps.
"Not much to tell really, but at the same time," Jesse continued to fight talking in between punches. "It's a really long story."
Jesse fell silent, and Brennan was about to press him when he remembered what happened the other night. He sighed and continued to watch Jesse fight.
Inside the lab, Emma was helping Adam finish up his latest project. She still had yet to understand exactly what it was that they were working on, but as long as Adam knew what he was doing it didn't really matter. They were just about to finish when Shalimar barged in. She seemed occupied with something and began pacing around the room slowly.
"Adam we need to talk."
"If this is about Jesse . . ." Adam began, most of his attention on the computer screen in front of him.
"It is, especially since it involves his past," Shalimar continued pacing. Adam's concentration stayed on the computer screen.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that apparently he received a surprise visit from some girl he knew when they were kids," she stopped pacing and leaned against the wall. Adam turned from the computer screen and faced her. Light concern traced his face.
"Is he okay?"
"He seems okay, but he also acted the same way when he saw his dad."
Adam frowned and looked through the windows to the dojo. Maybe this was a time to have a talk with Jesse. At the same time he realized that playing the father figure wasn't always best in these kinds of situations. He would have to remind himself to approach this as a friend. A few minutes later, he and the girls were walking towards the dojo. Jesse had just finished his workout and he and Jesse were sitting on the steps.
"You guys have the best timing in the world. Jesse was just about to tell me about his friend."
"You really know how to gang up on a guy," Jesse said sighing.
"Sometimes it's best to know about things before the explosions start happening," Emma said taking a seat on one of the bottom steps.
"You don't need to tell us anything you don't want to," Adam said reassuringly. Jesse paused a minute and leaned back onto his elbows.
"Pheonix Haley and I have known each other since she was born and I was two. Her parents used to live down the street from us. Her mother was a reporter and her father was some sort of scientist. I never knew exactly what since we never really talked about him and he never talked about his work either. When Pheonix was six, her mother died in a car crash. Her dad was never the same after that, but he was still close to Pheonix."
"Anyway, I started showing signs of my powers when I was about six or seven. It was a little after Phee's mother had died. She was the first person I told about my powers. She was always there when I was learning how to use my powers and even helped me. She was the only one who knew for the longest time. It wasn't until I was in high school that my parents even knew," Jesse took a breath and paused. All sorts of memories were running through his head.
"Phee and I didn't go to the same schools. She was a lot like you actually Adam," Jesse looked Adam in the eye. "She was a child genius, she even plays the violin. But instead of sending her straight to college, he father decided to send her to a series of academies that would be at her level, but she would be with kids her own age. She never allowed herself to talk about school much, but she was always willing to help me with my homework," Jesse smiled.
"The last time I saw her was on the day of my graduation party. She didn't even tell me she was moving until that night. I never really saw her until last night. We exchanged letters but after I joined Mutant X, the letters just stopped. I haven't heard from her since," Jesse stopped and silence hung in the air. Adam's brow was furrowed in thought.
"Haley, that name sounds familiar to me," he mumbled. Jesse's head snapped up.
"What do you mean familiar?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll know in a minute," Adam moved to the computer port and began accessing his database records. Shalimar turned back to Jesse.
"She never gave you a reason why she had to leave in such a hurry?"
"No, and I never asked. I realize now I should have, but at the time I was more worried with the fact that she was leaving than the reason why," Jesse got a faraway look on his face.
"I knew the name sounded familiar. Was Pheonix's father Peter Haley?"
"Yeah," Jesse walked down the stairs and stood by Adam's side peering at the computer screen.
"I knew her father. He used to work for Genomex," Adam's face turned into a neutral mask. Jesse's shock dawned on him slowly.
"Genomex? That's probably why he never spoke about his work," Jesse's voice was soft.
"Was he heavily involved with what you guys were doing?" Brennan asked.
"He was on my research team. He was a friend of Breedlove's and mine. I never knew he had a daughter, let alone that he was married."
"Wow, you mean we actually found someone who's more mysterious than you?" Emma smirked. Both Brennan and Shalimar surppressed laughs and Adam merely smiled.
"I guess you could say that," Adam tapped a few keys and look of seriousness settled into his features. "According to my records, Peter Haley is dead."
"Dead?" Jesse came to sudden life. Surprise and grief chased themselves across his face.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you that Jess," Adam said with sincerity. Jesse walked away from the others.
"I think that it's time to give Pheonix a call."
Waiting outside Eckhart's office Pheonix Haley couldn't help but twitch. She never really like Eckhart's office, let alone his waiting room. He always managed to give everything of his a cold sterile touch and it was unnerving. She wished for the thousandth time that she were back in her own office and lab. Pheonix had managed to repress the cold sterile hospital feel that many scientists preferred and was able to give her workspaces a more warm and comfortable feeling.
Besides the fact that Eckhart just gave her the creeps. There was no other way to put it. Just the sight of the man gave her chills. She started to tap her foot impatiently against the hard tile floor. If he was going to make her wait here for another five minutes she was going to just leave. She certainly didn't owe Eckhart anything and she really didn't give a damn as to what he thought. Suddenly her cell phone rang and scared the living daylights out of her. She fumbled for her phone wondering who would be calling her at this time.
"Hello?"
"Pheonix?" Jesse's voice was tinny through the cell phone. Her heart leapt, this was certainly the worst time for Jesse to be calling. She glanced around her before answering him.
"What's up? I hate to sound like a real bitch, but I'm kind of busy."
"No problem, I hope I didn't interrupt anything," despite the casualness of his voice she could sense the edge to his voice. Something was wrong, had he found out?
"You didn't, but I'm in the middle of work."
"I was just calling to try and set up a meeting, how about it?"
"Sounds great, how about lunch? We can meet in the park by the fountain where we used to meet after school."
"Great, I'll see you at two okay?"
"Great, I'll see you then," she hung up the phone just in time as the doors to Eckhart's office slid open. She walked in suppressing an urge to shiver.
"Well Ms. Haley, I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Eckhart swiveled around in his chair. 'No you're not,' she thought coldly. Her father had never liked Eckhart, and true to form, she had never either.
"I called you in here for an update on your project," Eckhart steepled his fingers and gave her a penetrating look. Pheonix took a deep breath. 'Here we go,' and she launched into her report quickly. The faster she got out of there, the better.
Two
The next morning Jesse was practically buzzing about Sanctuary. Neither he nor Jesse had told anyone else about what had happened the previous night, so Brennan wasn't surprised when Shalimar asked what was up with Jesse.
"He saw an old friend the other night."
"An old friend? Who?" Shalimar said with a slight smile at Jesse's direction. Jesse was fighting a series of GSA style holograms. He was fighting with more energy than Shalimar had seen in a while.
"I'm not sure, some woman," Brennan said shrugging.
"Woman?" Shalimar raised her eyebrows as she felt her big sister protectiveness kick in. Brennan nodded his head with a look on his face that she couldn't quite discern.
"Oh yeah. Her name is Pheonix Haley, apparently."
"Is she a New Mutant?"
"No, and honestly that's all I really know about her, well other than that she and Jesse grew up together."
Shalimar turned her attention back to Jesse and his energetic fighting. The last time she had seen him this way was when he had come in contact with his father. She only hoped that he wasn't going to get hurt this time like he did the last time. Shalimar hated to see him like that. She decided that this time it would be better to be cautious sooner rather than later. Shalimar went to find Adam.
Brennan watched Shalimar walk away and then walked towards the steps of the dojo. He sat down at the top of the steps and watched Jesse for a few minutes. He recognized the look on Shalimar's face when she walked away. He knew that she wasn't going to let Jesse's past come slamming into him like the last time.
"Hey, when are you going to tell me more about your friend from last night?" Brennan asked from his seat on the steps.
"Not much to tell really, but at the same time," Jesse continued to fight talking in between punches. "It's a really long story."
Jesse fell silent, and Brennan was about to press him when he remembered what happened the other night. He sighed and continued to watch Jesse fight.
Inside the lab, Emma was helping Adam finish up his latest project. She still had yet to understand exactly what it was that they were working on, but as long as Adam knew what he was doing it didn't really matter. They were just about to finish when Shalimar barged in. She seemed occupied with something and began pacing around the room slowly.
"Adam we need to talk."
"If this is about Jesse . . ." Adam began, most of his attention on the computer screen in front of him.
"It is, especially since it involves his past," Shalimar continued pacing. Adam's concentration stayed on the computer screen.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that apparently he received a surprise visit from some girl he knew when they were kids," she stopped pacing and leaned against the wall. Adam turned from the computer screen and faced her. Light concern traced his face.
"Is he okay?"
"He seems okay, but he also acted the same way when he saw his dad."
Adam frowned and looked through the windows to the dojo. Maybe this was a time to have a talk with Jesse. At the same time he realized that playing the father figure wasn't always best in these kinds of situations. He would have to remind himself to approach this as a friend. A few minutes later, he and the girls were walking towards the dojo. Jesse had just finished his workout and he and Jesse were sitting on the steps.
"You guys have the best timing in the world. Jesse was just about to tell me about his friend."
"You really know how to gang up on a guy," Jesse said sighing.
"Sometimes it's best to know about things before the explosions start happening," Emma said taking a seat on one of the bottom steps.
"You don't need to tell us anything you don't want to," Adam said reassuringly. Jesse paused a minute and leaned back onto his elbows.
"Pheonix Haley and I have known each other since she was born and I was two. Her parents used to live down the street from us. Her mother was a reporter and her father was some sort of scientist. I never knew exactly what since we never really talked about him and he never talked about his work either. When Pheonix was six, her mother died in a car crash. Her dad was never the same after that, but he was still close to Pheonix."
"Anyway, I started showing signs of my powers when I was about six or seven. It was a little after Phee's mother had died. She was the first person I told about my powers. She was always there when I was learning how to use my powers and even helped me. She was the only one who knew for the longest time. It wasn't until I was in high school that my parents even knew," Jesse took a breath and paused. All sorts of memories were running through his head.
"Phee and I didn't go to the same schools. She was a lot like you actually Adam," Jesse looked Adam in the eye. "She was a child genius, she even plays the violin. But instead of sending her straight to college, he father decided to send her to a series of academies that would be at her level, but she would be with kids her own age. She never allowed herself to talk about school much, but she was always willing to help me with my homework," Jesse smiled.
"The last time I saw her was on the day of my graduation party. She didn't even tell me she was moving until that night. I never really saw her until last night. We exchanged letters but after I joined Mutant X, the letters just stopped. I haven't heard from her since," Jesse stopped and silence hung in the air. Adam's brow was furrowed in thought.
"Haley, that name sounds familiar to me," he mumbled. Jesse's head snapped up.
"What do you mean familiar?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll know in a minute," Adam moved to the computer port and began accessing his database records. Shalimar turned back to Jesse.
"She never gave you a reason why she had to leave in such a hurry?"
"No, and I never asked. I realize now I should have, but at the time I was more worried with the fact that she was leaving than the reason why," Jesse got a faraway look on his face.
"I knew the name sounded familiar. Was Pheonix's father Peter Haley?"
"Yeah," Jesse walked down the stairs and stood by Adam's side peering at the computer screen.
"I knew her father. He used to work for Genomex," Adam's face turned into a neutral mask. Jesse's shock dawned on him slowly.
"Genomex? That's probably why he never spoke about his work," Jesse's voice was soft.
"Was he heavily involved with what you guys were doing?" Brennan asked.
"He was on my research team. He was a friend of Breedlove's and mine. I never knew he had a daughter, let alone that he was married."
"Wow, you mean we actually found someone who's more mysterious than you?" Emma smirked. Both Brennan and Shalimar surppressed laughs and Adam merely smiled.
"I guess you could say that," Adam tapped a few keys and look of seriousness settled into his features. "According to my records, Peter Haley is dead."
"Dead?" Jesse came to sudden life. Surprise and grief chased themselves across his face.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you that Jess," Adam said with sincerity. Jesse walked away from the others.
"I think that it's time to give Pheonix a call."
Waiting outside Eckhart's office Pheonix Haley couldn't help but twitch. She never really like Eckhart's office, let alone his waiting room. He always managed to give everything of his a cold sterile touch and it was unnerving. She wished for the thousandth time that she were back in her own office and lab. Pheonix had managed to repress the cold sterile hospital feel that many scientists preferred and was able to give her workspaces a more warm and comfortable feeling.
Besides the fact that Eckhart just gave her the creeps. There was no other way to put it. Just the sight of the man gave her chills. She started to tap her foot impatiently against the hard tile floor. If he was going to make her wait here for another five minutes she was going to just leave. She certainly didn't owe Eckhart anything and she really didn't give a damn as to what he thought. Suddenly her cell phone rang and scared the living daylights out of her. She fumbled for her phone wondering who would be calling her at this time.
"Hello?"
"Pheonix?" Jesse's voice was tinny through the cell phone. Her heart leapt, this was certainly the worst time for Jesse to be calling. She glanced around her before answering him.
"What's up? I hate to sound like a real bitch, but I'm kind of busy."
"No problem, I hope I didn't interrupt anything," despite the casualness of his voice she could sense the edge to his voice. Something was wrong, had he found out?
"You didn't, but I'm in the middle of work."
"I was just calling to try and set up a meeting, how about it?"
"Sounds great, how about lunch? We can meet in the park by the fountain where we used to meet after school."
"Great, I'll see you at two okay?"
"Great, I'll see you then," she hung up the phone just in time as the doors to Eckhart's office slid open. She walked in suppressing an urge to shiver.
"Well Ms. Haley, I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Eckhart swiveled around in his chair. 'No you're not,' she thought coldly. Her father had never liked Eckhart, and true to form, she had never either.
"I called you in here for an update on your project," Eckhart steepled his fingers and gave her a penetrating look. Pheonix took a deep breath. 'Here we go,' and she launched into her report quickly. The faster she got out of there, the better.