A/N- For all those that didn't know, actor Jesse Nilsson (Gabe on Adventure Inc. and the non-Justin Timberlake lead on Model Behavior) died of heart failure on Saturday, April 26, 2003. I didn't find this out until recently and it shocked the hell out of me. I'm dedicating this to his memory because he inspired the story of my character, Donovan (who makes his first appearance in the next chapter). If you read this, say a pray for his family and go tell someone you love them.

On a happier note, pack up the babies and grab the old ladies! Part 9! Writer's block is a bitch….by the way, the language gets stronger in this part, you have been warned…Hey, you know what? My beta, vega, could totally beat up your beta….

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Kerry's boots made a satisfactory, agitated series of taps along the hard floor. Sanctuary, as they called it, was far too quiet and too large to be alone. Though she'd felt this way for more years than most people, she didn't like being alone. That was why the noise was a small comfort. It reminded her that she was with herself in a way, and that all she needed was herself.

Then again, she wondered if that was enough. She had been able to survive alone before, but she had been different then. Now she had limits. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had new morals, and even some things to lose. Before, she'd been inexperienced, moving in heated anger, living from moment to moment, only stopping long enough to keep up with what she saw as a temporary life. In breaking from this wilder spirit, she'd bet everything on a last game of cat-and-mouse, flipping everything on its head. 

The break-in spun her world even more. For the first time, a real, painfully appropriate fear had entered the equation. If she had been there when they came for her, her odds of winning alone were slim to none. She would have needed someone to have her back, someone powerful, and someone she trusted. She would have needed Mickey.

Her chest tense as the thought crossed her mind. It annoyed her no end that she'd become dependent on someone she couldn't bear to look at…

…and not because his sins against her were too great…

…but because her sins made him a candidate for sainthood…

 "Ah, Kerry," Adam's voice called out. He rounded the computer desk to make his way towards her. "I wanted to talk with you."

She hadn't even noticed the older man in the large brightly lit room. The brunette's face took a momentary look of surprise, then quickly suppressed back to her usual scowl, hoping her weakness wasn't evident on her face. She shook her head, increasing the frequency of the taps. "I don't want to hear it, Adam."

"Kerry, I know you feel that I'm responsible for Shanda's death--"

Kerry stopped and stared with fiery hatred. "No, Adam!" she spat, "You're not allowed to say her name! You haven't earned it."

The scientist sighed. "Kerry, your foster mother was very important to me. You have to understand that her death didn't only affect you."

"My mother, Adam. To me, she was my mother. Don't say it like I give a damn about my real parents." She shook her head in disgusted disappointment. "You know, she talked you up all my life. 'Adam Kane's a miracle worker.' 'Adam's my guardian angel.' Hell, you were God to her, but you're just the son of a bitch that sent her to die." Her voice cracked and her hand covered her mouth before she began again. "My mother, Adam…it was your mission. It was your plan. But then again, I hear screwing up someone's life is just another day at the office for Adam Kane, miracle worker and death warden."

The last words hung in the air, frozen in cold cruelty. He stood still for a minute and she could tell he was fighting the urge to strike out at her. There was a frozen tingle where guilt fought to surface. She ignored it and turned away, returning to her comforting steps.

There was a hand on her arm, gentle, trying to both subdue her and gain her attention, both of which she resented. 

She turned and stared him hard in the eye. "Are you sure you want to do that, knowing what I can do?"

His grip fell as a strange grief filled his wrinkle enclosed eyes. Kerry turned away with only minimal acknowledgement, satisfied only in her own venting, simmering in her own sorrow and rage.

* Break *

The faint and raucous rock music couldn't break the mellow atmosphere of the nearly empty club. Most of the patrons were sitting at the long bar that in its glory days would have fit around twenty.

He sat closest to the restrooms, in the stool directly across the dance-floor from the entrance, next to the glasses rack against the wall that separated the small bathroom hallway from the open room. With his head down, he rolled his empty glass around in the ring of water left on the wooden surface. His thought consumed him. His eyes hazed over, staring beyond the fluid movement of the transparent cylinder in front of him. His broad shoulders were hunched over in the position of a man who had a world of unwanted consciousness on his back. One could almost feel the pain of the weight with each breath he took.

The hinges of the back door creaked before it slammed violently against the wooded shelves placed too close to the frame.

"You can't fire me!" The scream came from a tall, muscular Italian, who stalked angrily after the equally irate woman who preceded him into the open room.

"Can and did, Tony," she turned to answer, shooting a steel piercing look in his direction. "Now, get the hell out off my property."

Feeling that his masculinity was threatened, Tony stepped in front of her, cornering her against the racks of alcohol. "You think you scare me, bitch?" He leaned closer to her in an attempt to use his size as intimidation. "Huh, you think you scare me? I got news for you…"

Muscles twitching, his hand gripped her throat, expecting something more than the anger to remain in her eyes. Instead, she stared the man in his brown aggressive eyes, grabbing at his hand, watching his face contort into pain as the finger flesh and bones smashed into each other under her own impressive clench.

Tony's hand recoiled from her throat. In a fluid turnaround, she clasped his neck in her no-longer weak-looking hands. Her teeth clenched in rage as a look of shock and pain spread across the Italian's visage.

"With the night I'm having, Tony," she began calmly in a boarder-line patronizing voice. She made a point to talk over the coarse, panicked choking noise. "Stuff like that can get you killed. Now, you're a smart boy. You had to be to steal from me for so long. So I know that you know, if you want to continue breathing, you'll leave, NOW!" The tension in her hand disappeared for a moment. Suddenly it constricted once more.

With her face inches from his, she spat softly, "Oh, and Tony, I not only scare you…I fester in your nightmares. You better pray you never see me again."

After a parting thrust against the bar, she let go of the broken man. He stumbled out from behind the closed-in serving area and made his way to the door.

He only looked back once, long enough to shout back, "Fuck you, Kerry!"

All the customers were watching with intense interest as she growled in caged up fury. Even he looked up from the end of the bar. The harsh look in her eyes exposed a truer, less composed nature.

He knew she had really wanted to kick Tony's ass up and down the dead, midnight tinted street.

Her hand reached to her pocket with a familiar cat-like quickness. It drew out a shaking black pager. A single glance at the message and she closed her fist around the smooth plastic.

The fire in her eyes flared again. "I said I'd take care of it!" she screamed and threw it against the far wall. The small, lumpy, misshapen piece of plastic traveled like ball lightening through the air, catching the corner of his glass, and bounced against the rack. His empty beer glass shattered in his hand.

She stared at him for a moment registering the damage and then stormed towards him, a tapping noise coming from below the bar.

"Sorry," she muttered through her teeth as she reached up for a new glass.

Only a split second before, he saw the shine over her skin.

 A crack split the air and a shower of tiny glass pieces rained down him. He jumped back instinctively.

Another crack…then another…Each time she reached for a new tumbler, it disintegrated into tiny bits around her hands.

A look of horror and fear plastered itself across her face. Her eyes widened as her breathing quickened; her hands stiff in front of her.

Something shifted in his brain.

"Take a deep breath." He heard himself whisper. "Get mental control."

She looked at him with a cross of disbelief and intrigue. Slowly, she inhaled long and hard, and then freed the air from her lungs. 

"Close your eyes. Picture it leaving your hands like normal."

Her eyelids consumed her eyes. Her breathing continued to slow.

"Good." Gradually, he reached out towards her extended hands. In a strange act of blind faith, he touched the skin on her palm. Her eyes snapped open in complete shock. She snatched her hand away, still taken aback.

"Wha...?" she stuttered. "How?"

"I'll get you, bitch!"

The sound of the door opening pounded through the open room. The maniacal smile on the Italian features said everything it needed too.

The small silver pistol in his hand said more.

She gasped.

Tony cocked the gun.

He jumped onto the bar.

Tony smiled. He pulled the trigger.

Jesse inhaled tightly. He heard the multiple bullets hit his body and mold over onto themselves.

The empty barrel clicking melded with the sound of metal falling to the floor.

The only thing that crossed his mind was that she was okay.

~*~

"Jess?"

Jesse suddenly looked toward the door. The memory vanished from his mind, leaving only a vague every present outline. "Hmm?"

"You awake?" Emma asked, eyebrows furrowed in an expression of concern and discomfort. "I just called your name about three times."

"Yeah," he answered, looking back at the computer with a tired gaze. "Just got lost in thought."

"And how's the program working?"

            Jesse grinned through his fingers, his hands laced around his mouth in boredom. He looked away from the captivating screen and finally lifted his chin finally from his palm. "News certainly does travel fast around here."

"Considering that there're only six of us here," Emma replied, crossing the room with a painful grimace on her face, "Yeah, I'd say so."  While one hand rubbed her temple, the other slid across his shoulder blades and dangled beside his neck. "So explain to me what's happening."

"I'm watching a giant firewall being broken down."

 "How long will it take?"

            He sighed. "Well, normally, only a few minutes at the most, but this one is like firewalls wrapped encryptions wrapped firewalls. My first hypothesis was twenty minutes, but that was about an hour ago." His eye glanced up at her, finally noticing the hurt look on her face. "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah," the telempath answered with a cringe. "I just need to find Adam. I'll be okay."

            "Headache?"

            Emma grunted a positive response. "More like migraine from hell." She removed her arm from his shoulder and stepped back to turn away. "I'm gonna go get Ad─"

            Her slim body fell with a thud to the ground.

A bolt of panic slammed through his body as Jesse jumped from his chair to her side. "Emma? Emma!"

            Her muscles violently spasmed into convulsions. Her face continued her pain look, but turned even more grotesque as the features twisted and turned in sharp contractions.

            "Adam!" he screamed with all the power in his lungs. "Oh my God! ADAM!"

            When the footsteps thundered down the hall, Jesse's voice was about to leave him completely. His arms tingled as he saw the scientist and feral at the door.

            "Emma!" Shalimar cried as they race to her. Quickly, she thrust the nearest chair away and began to move any furniture close by. Adam knelt beside the shaking woman across from Jesse. Gingerly, he pulled back her closed eyelids to see her eyes rolled back into her head.

"I think she's going into shock," he shouted. "Shalimar, go to the lab. Get a cylinder from the drawer of my desk."

Shalimar looked at him, eyes wide in fear, but brows furrowed in determination.

"Go! Quickly!"

She sprinted from the room at her naturally unnatural speed.

"Come on, Emma. Come on."
            As Adam shouted encouragement at the ailing woman, Jesse studied his face. Something in it put him off. He recognized the fear and worry. He'd seen it many times on many faces. Now, though, on this man's face, something felt different. He caught a glance in the metal of the computer desk. His own face was covered in horror and concern…and surprise. Adam's face lacked any sort of shock. In fact, there were hints of acknowledgment.

"Adam," Jesse said quickly. "What's wrong with her?"

The question fell in the air before it could be answered, just as another shadow extended from the doorway.

"Emma! Oh my God!" Brennan's eyes grew in more fear than either Shalimar or Adam had shown. He bounded with his large stride a few steps, fell to the floor, and slid to her side. "Move!" he shoved Jesse forcefully to the side and quickly took over his position. "How far gone is she?"

"It's barely been five minutes. There's hope, but the window is closing. Shalimar!"

"I can't find it, Adam!" Her voice traveled over the comlink system thick with frustration and panic.

"Dammit! Brennan, keep talking to her!" Adam screamed and took off in the direction of his lab.

"Brennan, what's happening?" Jesse asked again, regaining his balance.

"Come on, Emma!" Brennan whispered to the shaking body. "Fight it! You're stronger than this!"

"Brennan!" Jesse screamed in frustration. "Answer me!"

Adam reappeared at the door, followed by Shalimar, carrying a silver cylinder.

"An injector?" Jesse cried in confusion.

"Hold her down," Adam commanded.

Shalimar covered the floor and knelt beside her. Her eyes met Brennan's. "You get that side."

The two each grabbed an arm and held on tight to restrain it to the floor. Violently, Emma resisted, flailing hard enough for bruises to form.

"You're hurting her!" Jesse screamed, horrified at the display. He reached for Brennan's arm.

The elemental look at him sternly, and released one of his hands. Blue sparks crackled at the finger tips. "Get back," he seethed.

Adam knelt next to Shalimar. He pointed the tip towards Emma's arm. "Hold her still."

"I'm trying," the feral gasped. "Brennan!"

He smothered the electricity and turned back to the scene. Leaning his body over Emma, he held her left arm above and below Shalimar's grip.

"One, two, three." Adam counted and slammed his thumb on the release button. Within seconds, the tremors died down. The feral and elemental let her arm go. All watched quietly.

Little by little, the tremors stopped. Her muscles settled limp against the floor, and for a moment, were almost peaceful.

Her fists suddenly clenched. The peace turned to writhing, her body rolling back and forth on the hard ground. Her mouth was the first to open again, and screams began to spout. The first loud, blood-cur tiling grew into a low moan and sob.

"Brennan," Emma sobbed, eyes opening into watering slits.

"I'm here," he answered, reaching out and touching her face.

"Brennan, take her to the lab." Adam sighed with a relieved smile. "I want to check for injuries."

He nodded, gingerly slipping his arms under her body and lifting her and himself to his feet.

Shalimar stood, too. The relief on her face intermixed with an every present worry. She followed at the group left the room, leaving Jesse on the floor, more alone than he'd felt in years.

* -Break- *