Elaine Perraudin had just stepped out from the shower, freshly showered,
when the feeling struck her, and it struck her so hard it nearly sent her
reeling. She threw her head backward as the tingling sensation overcame
her, sending delicious trails of heat up her spine, and past experiences
told her it wasn't because of the billowing remains of steam behind her.
Nor was it because of the sinful anticipation of stalking new victims later
in the night like she had planned earlier.
It has started, she knew. "Ah, Jesse," She breathed out, smiling gently. She could just picture him in her head; he must be in pain, in a LOT of pain, to send out such strong, such volatile vibes.
Elaine unwrapped the towel from around her body and let it drop to the floor, relishing the feel of reddish smoke as it swirled against her skin from top to toe. It was too early to hone in her natural in-built sensory detectors as to locate where the waves were coming from but she had every reason to believe that soon, Jesse would be suffering so much his soul would practically scream out to her to come, which she would definitely do in the nearest time by the looks of things.
That was fast, she thought in self-awe and thoughtful sadness. Normally it would take other mutants at least a couple of days to show the slightest symptoms. I knew I overdid it that night. Too bad. He was kinda cute too.
Feeling a tad disappointed, she just hoped Jesse wouldn't die before she could get to him.
Remember who you're working for, Elaine, she reminded herself. His death is just another mutant's death, if it means destroying the cloak of secrecy Mutant X has had the luxury of wearing for as long as it has run its course.
She realized she was having mixed feelings. She didn't know where they were coming from, but one thing she did know was that she didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.
******************* Her heart racing, Emma carefully placed the steaming platter of fish down and gripped the edges of the heavy mahogany dining table, tense. Something felt wrong; like something bad was about to happen. Or has already happened, she thought. The stunned look on her face did not go unnoticed, though.
"Emma?" Shalimar called her name, looking slightly worried. She had seen that look on her friend's countless of times and a feeling of dread crept up her spine like goosebumps. "What is it?"
"Something's wrong," Emma whispered. Then suddenly she bolted out of the kitchen. "It's Jesse!"
"What?" Shalimar was already moving when she suddenly Brennan calling out her name with an urgency she seldom heard in his voice. And what she saw at the base of the stairs struck a chord of fear in her heart.
"Jesse!" The molecular was sprawled on the floor, his legs twisted under him in a grotesque tangle; and he was lying so still that for one frightening second, Shalimar thought he was dead. She sank slowly to her knees and tentatively reached out a hand to touch his pale face.
"Jesse?" she whispered sickly.
"Brennan, what happened?" Emma snapped. Brennan looked at her sharply. She had never used that tone of voice with any of them before and it unnerved him to see her so agitated.
"I don't know- he just-fell. One second he was standing there at the top and the next, he was tumbling down the stairs." He laid a tentative hand against Jesse's neck gently. There. A strong pulse. Thank God for that.
"But I-" Emma hesitated. "I sensed something else. . . a presence-"
"What?" Shalimar's concern for her surrogate brother quickly turned into alarm. And fury. No one was going to hurt Jesse and get away with it. She leaped to her feet and she swept her eyes around the Sanctuary, her feral senses geared up to the max. "Are we under attack? Did someone attack Jesse? Was that what happened?" She snarled.
Brennan thought for a while, uneasiness creeping up his spine at the prospect that someone had breached the impenetrable security system. "No," he said finally. "The alarm would have gone off. And I've already told you what happened, it was an accident. What is important right now is we need to get Jesse into the lab and check him out." He looked worried as he bent down to feel the knot at the back of Jesse's head. "He hit his head pretty hard too."
Emma forgot all about her suspicions of a possible break-in and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, come on." She wanted to say that Jesse had complained of not feeling very well earlier but decided not to, knowing that it would only upset Shalimar further. Whatever was wrong with Jesse, she was sure Adam could fix it and she didn't think she had no reason to believe otherwise. After all, it was an accident. Wasn't it? "I'll go get Adam. I think he's in his room."
"Yeah, hurry!" Shalimar had already bent down to help Brennan lift Jesse up, careful not to jostle him so much. With a heavy heart she let Brennan scoop Jesse in his arms, after all, he was the stronger of them both, but seeing Jesse so pale and lifeless scared her. Please be alright, Jesse, she prayed as they raced toward the Med-bay, all the while keeping an eye on him, hoping for any sign of life, a cough, a groan, anything. But still Jesse remained unresponsive.
A sudden churn of bad feeling stirred deep inside her gut. Please, please be alright, Jesse, she prayed again but no matter how, she couldn't shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come, and that it wasn't going to be pretty.
It has started, she knew. "Ah, Jesse," She breathed out, smiling gently. She could just picture him in her head; he must be in pain, in a LOT of pain, to send out such strong, such volatile vibes.
Elaine unwrapped the towel from around her body and let it drop to the floor, relishing the feel of reddish smoke as it swirled against her skin from top to toe. It was too early to hone in her natural in-built sensory detectors as to locate where the waves were coming from but she had every reason to believe that soon, Jesse would be suffering so much his soul would practically scream out to her to come, which she would definitely do in the nearest time by the looks of things.
That was fast, she thought in self-awe and thoughtful sadness. Normally it would take other mutants at least a couple of days to show the slightest symptoms. I knew I overdid it that night. Too bad. He was kinda cute too.
Feeling a tad disappointed, she just hoped Jesse wouldn't die before she could get to him.
Remember who you're working for, Elaine, she reminded herself. His death is just another mutant's death, if it means destroying the cloak of secrecy Mutant X has had the luxury of wearing for as long as it has run its course.
She realized she was having mixed feelings. She didn't know where they were coming from, but one thing she did know was that she didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.
******************* Her heart racing, Emma carefully placed the steaming platter of fish down and gripped the edges of the heavy mahogany dining table, tense. Something felt wrong; like something bad was about to happen. Or has already happened, she thought. The stunned look on her face did not go unnoticed, though.
"Emma?" Shalimar called her name, looking slightly worried. She had seen that look on her friend's countless of times and a feeling of dread crept up her spine like goosebumps. "What is it?"
"Something's wrong," Emma whispered. Then suddenly she bolted out of the kitchen. "It's Jesse!"
"What?" Shalimar was already moving when she suddenly Brennan calling out her name with an urgency she seldom heard in his voice. And what she saw at the base of the stairs struck a chord of fear in her heart.
"Jesse!" The molecular was sprawled on the floor, his legs twisted under him in a grotesque tangle; and he was lying so still that for one frightening second, Shalimar thought he was dead. She sank slowly to her knees and tentatively reached out a hand to touch his pale face.
"Jesse?" she whispered sickly.
"Brennan, what happened?" Emma snapped. Brennan looked at her sharply. She had never used that tone of voice with any of them before and it unnerved him to see her so agitated.
"I don't know- he just-fell. One second he was standing there at the top and the next, he was tumbling down the stairs." He laid a tentative hand against Jesse's neck gently. There. A strong pulse. Thank God for that.
"But I-" Emma hesitated. "I sensed something else. . . a presence-"
"What?" Shalimar's concern for her surrogate brother quickly turned into alarm. And fury. No one was going to hurt Jesse and get away with it. She leaped to her feet and she swept her eyes around the Sanctuary, her feral senses geared up to the max. "Are we under attack? Did someone attack Jesse? Was that what happened?" She snarled.
Brennan thought for a while, uneasiness creeping up his spine at the prospect that someone had breached the impenetrable security system. "No," he said finally. "The alarm would have gone off. And I've already told you what happened, it was an accident. What is important right now is we need to get Jesse into the lab and check him out." He looked worried as he bent down to feel the knot at the back of Jesse's head. "He hit his head pretty hard too."
Emma forgot all about her suspicions of a possible break-in and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, come on." She wanted to say that Jesse had complained of not feeling very well earlier but decided not to, knowing that it would only upset Shalimar further. Whatever was wrong with Jesse, she was sure Adam could fix it and she didn't think she had no reason to believe otherwise. After all, it was an accident. Wasn't it? "I'll go get Adam. I think he's in his room."
"Yeah, hurry!" Shalimar had already bent down to help Brennan lift Jesse up, careful not to jostle him so much. With a heavy heart she let Brennan scoop Jesse in his arms, after all, he was the stronger of them both, but seeing Jesse so pale and lifeless scared her. Please be alright, Jesse, she prayed as they raced toward the Med-bay, all the while keeping an eye on him, hoping for any sign of life, a cough, a groan, anything. But still Jesse remained unresponsive.
A sudden churn of bad feeling stirred deep inside her gut. Please, please be alright, Jesse, she prayed again but no matter how, she couldn't shake the feeling that the worst was yet to come, and that it wasn't going to be pretty.