Hatchling
By OughtaKnowBetter
Pain.
That was the first, and only, sensation. It was so overwhelming that it drove out every other thought. It was so intense that it took his breath away. It centered in his head and expanded from there, throbbing with every heart beat that drove blood and more pain through vessels and nerves that had never experienced this level of ferocity. There were other centers, too: his gut, his ribs. Even his knee sent stabs of shrieking knives back to his head. Every pain signal traveled up and down his nervous system to meet in the middle and then just sat there enjoying the chance to keep him groaning on the ground.
He really wanted it to stop.
A cool hand caressed his forehead, easing the agony but not relieving it entirely. He couldn't help it; a moan escaped, and he turned toward the source of the comfort, seeking more.
"He's awake," someone said. "Jesse, it's all right. We've got you. You're safe."
It was Shalimar.
No, not safe, Jesse wanted to say. Not safe at all.
"Did you get the egg?" she asked quietly, into his ear so that he could hear clearly. "Did you get it?"
"Yes," Jesse whimpered back, before darkness claimed him once again.
* * *
He stumbled along, wanting to fall to his knees and then the ground and simply lie there, but Brennan's strong arm supported him. One staggering step, then another; his legs knew what to do even as his muscles protested. A misstep, and Brennan caught him, holding him upright until the world stopped spinning wildly. A sedate merry-go-round continued but the roller coaster abated, and he was grateful.
"Get him to tell you what happened," crackled over the comm. link. "Does he have the egg or not? Where is it? We have to have it, or all is lost."
"I've got it," Jesse whispered. He swallowed hard, willing everything to stay where it belonged. He swallowed again, winning the battle though his body warned that the war was not yet over. His neck refused to support the heavy object that his head had become, and he leaned against Brennan's solid chest.
"Where is it, buddy?" Brennan kept his voice deliberately soft, free of the teasing challenges that they liked to exchange. "Jesse, you walked into their camp, and we lost contact with you. Where did you go?"
"Not sure." Another misstep. Brennan put his other arm under Jesse's far side as well. A good thing, because his knees were going down hard.
"But you got the egg."
"Yes." Of that, Jesse was certain. "I've got it."
"Where is it? Did you hide it?"
That was a tougher one. Concepts that required thought always were. "Yeah." Darkness quivered around the edges of his vision, threatening him with oblivion once more. "Yeah," he said again, "I hid it."
"Keep going," where the last words he heard from the comm. link. "Get him to the site. Keep working on him; get him to tell you where he hid the egg. Then you and Shalimar and Emma can retrieve it."
There might have been more words, but Jesse wouldn't have wanted to swear to it in a court of law.
* * *
The cold hard ground never felt so good. It was a good thing that Brennan lowered him there, or he would have ended up with more bruises to add to his collection. He wondered what his face looked like. It didn't feel too bad, considering the rest of him. Maybe they hadn't bothered with that part of him. Maybe it was just numb.
Someone—he thought it was Emma—tucked a jacket under his head to serve as a make-shift pillow. He was grateful; he couldn't have managed it himself. It was cold on the ground despite the warm late spring air and he started to shiver.
"He's getting shocky." It was Adam, and Jesse relaxed onto the cold and lumpy surface. Everything would be all right. Adam was here; Adam would know what to do. "We don't have much time." Someone slapped Jesse's cheek gently, trying to get him to respond. "Jesse, wake up. Where's the egg? What did you do with it, Jesse?"
There was an explanation someplace inside his brain but Jesse must have taken too long to find it, for the next thing he knew Adam was talking over him. "Emma, see what you can get from him. We have to move quickly."
More cool fingers at his temples. They felt good, and soothing. Someone moaned; Jesse couldn't tell if it came from himself or not. Then, abruptly, he was able to detach himself from the pain. He hovered there, attached to his body by the slimmest of threads, yet Emma wouldn't let him stray any farther despite the relief it afforded him.
"Where is the egg?" Adam's voice was swift and urgent. "Jesse, where did you hide the egg?"
What egg? The roller coaster had started again, and it was making him dizzy, impossible to think.
"Back up, Adam," Emma said quietly. "His thoughts aren't coherent. Take him down the path."
Jesse could feel the impatience emanating from the older man, but Adam obediently schooled his feelings. He took a deep breath. "Jesse, we came here on a mission. There was an egg. It was large, and speckled; light blue like a robin's egg but much larger. Did you see it?"
Jesse could see it in his mind's eye: it had been seated on a pedestal of honor, for all the acolytes to worship. It wasn't that large, only slightly bigger than the egg of a chicken, and the shell was soft and leathery like a reptile's egg. Sitting on the pedestal wasn't good for the egg, he gathered from Emma's mind. Too cold, sitting out for any breeze to slip in and steal precious warmth. Jesse shivered again; he too was cold.
"He saw it."
He gazed upon it, he genuflected as did all the other acolytes. He mimicked their every action. He left with the acolytes to perform chores that would keep the small community a viable entity, and then stole back to the egg. Of all the New Mutants, Jesse was the only one to be able to do this: the egg sat safe inside the Temple with thick walls surrounding it. None but he could have passed through the walls without alerting the sentries. The egg itself seemed to know this, and called to him. He knew it to be sentient, a mutant like himself. The egg called for a rescue. Jesse couldn't have resisted even he hadn't been there on a mission for that purpose.
They caught him, of course. The sentries didn't see him enter, but they were charged with keeping the egg in the community's possession. They saw it missing, and found him just outside the Temple walls. They questioned others but none doubted that it was Jesse. They questioned him, and questioned him more vigorously when he declined to answer.
"You entered the Temple, and you took the egg." Adam's voice was warm and persuasive.
"He took the egg," Emma murmured in response. Jesse felt a moment of gratitude; such a relief having someone able to answer for him. His jaw didn't work well at the moment. He could feel the others gathered around him, worried about him, wanting to help but unable, or so they thought. He wanted to tell them that simply having them here surrounding him was helping: Brennan's strength, Shalimar's quickness, Adam's intellect, and Emma's empathy.
"You hid the egg," Adam pushed.
"He hid the egg," Emma confirmed.
"Where?"
Jesse gave her the answer. Emma cried out in horror, and psychically pushed him away. Jesse fell back into his body with its myriad of hurts, groaning.
"Quick! Get him over on his side before he aspirates," Adam demanded. Strong hands manhandled him, coping with the spasms that he couldn't control. "Emma?"
"It's inside him!" she said, eyes echoing her fright. "There was no other way to get it past the guards. He had no chance to hide it. He phased it into himself!" She bit her lip. "And Adam, it's ready to hatch."
"If that happens, they'll both die." Adam began thinking of and discarding dozens of plans in seconds, considering what to do. "We have to get it out of him, and fast. Jesse, you have to phase! Let us get the egg out of you."
Jesse smiled weakly. There was a sour taste in his mouth. "Love to," he mumbled. "How about sometime next month?"
"He's not strong enough," Emma confirmed. "Adam, what can we do?"
"Can you help him phase, Emma?"
She shook her head. "Not with the degree of delicacy that this would need. He needs to phase only the egg inside of him, and nothing else."
Shalimar looked up. "Whatever we do, it needs to be fast. We have guests approaching."
"The community," Adam realized. He came to a decision. "Shalimar, you're on guard. Keep people away from us. Whatever you do, don't let them interrupt."
"What about me?" Brennan asked.
"You're my cautery equipment. Think you can keep a steady voltage?"
"I'm going to have to," Brennan replied. "Anything else?"
"Yes. You'll help keep him still as I work to get the egg out. Emma can do a lot keeping him under, but we can't expect her to handle everything."
"You're going to do surgery, here in the woods," Shalimar realized, scared. "Is that safe?"
"No. But I don't see a better option. Anyone else?"
* * *
The small winged lizard sunned itself on the rock. Shards of a broken shell surrounded it, and it delicately licked small droplets of blood from the outer pieces. Human blood, a delicacy to be offered but never taken, a gift from the human that had risked so much to bring the egg here to this grotto of life. The other human had pulled the shell of the egg from inside the first, dripping with life-blood, and placed it on the sunny stone to receive the life-giving warmth of the sun before hatching. The human who had offered the gift now slept, his head pillowed on the lap of one of the others. The intelligent one had assured the lizard that the gift-giver would survive, though his mental tone held doubt.
The lizard was carnivorous; insects and small mammals would be its prey, but now, immediately after hatching, any protein was welcome. Its tongue speared out to garner the last drops of human blood, then it spread its wings to dry them in the sun after hatching, as much butterfly-like as anything.
It cocked its head at the humans that stared at it in open awe. Thank you, it projected. Survival would not have been possible without your help. It fluttered its iridescent wings briefly to finish drying them, tested them against the breeze, and soared into the sunlight.
"Adam," Shalimar said wonderingly, "was that what I think it was?"
"A miniature dragon?" Adam snorted gently. "C'mon, Shalimar. You know that dragons don't exist."
"But…?"
"Did you really think that genetic research was practiced only on humans?"