Chapter 7

Legal disclaimer-Okay, I don't own any of them except Kari. She's for sale, we'll talk.

Author's Note-Hey Gelf-I don't like him either, but, he's slimy, despicable and sometimes really, really creepy. Did I mention that he was creepy?

Also gang, there be many chapters here that are going to get VERY creepy. Consider yourself warned......

And now, Chapter 7

"Ashlocke?" Shalimar asked shocked, "Jesse, that's not possible, he's long dead."

Jesse sat in the chair he had fallen out of. The scope of his nightmare was playing in his thoughts, and the man's face was one that had occasionally made an appearance. The thought of a mutant who had let the absolute power corrupt them was one for the subconscious, it was his daily reminder to never be like that man.

"I know," he said, not being able to look at any of the team, "Oh, God, I know."

Lexa found the ability to speak.

"Who the hell is Ashlocke?" she asked, "Why would he be after Jesse? How long ago did he die?"

"This doesn't make sense, Jess, why would he come after you? Shalimar, I can believe, but, you? He didn't have anything against you," Brennan found a counter to lean on.

Shalimar walked up to Jesse and put a hand on his shoulder. Jesse couldn't look at any of them, he was having a hard enough time shaking the horror of the nightmare from his senses. It had seemed very real.

"He had it all against me," she said softly, trying to get Jesse to meet her eyes, "Why would he go after you?"

"I'll ask it this time, Lexa," Kari said, arms crossed, "You guys want to fill us in on who Ashlocke is?"

Brennan began to explain.

"Gabriel Ashlocke was the very first Mutant at Genomax. He had all the powers, feral, elemental, molecular and psionic," he punched up a file on the computer, "He also was insane. He thought he was God. He had followers, the power to keep them, and he liked to play with Shalimar's head."

Shalimar shuddered. She had placed him in a far away memory when he died. The thought of him back was not one she relished. Brennan turned.

"That could explain your nightmare," he said, brown eyes meeting tiger eyes.

"Nightmare?" Jesse met Shalimar's gaze.

"Yep, just about the same time as yours," Brennan replied, "Took a little while to get her out of it as well."

Jesse took Shalimar's hand. It was good to not be alone in this.

"Shalimar?" Kari asked, "What happened in your dream?"

Shalimar squeezed Jesse's hand.

"I was in a room full of fire, no way to get out," she replied, settling into the other chair, "I couldn't see any of you, I kept screaming and clawing. I don't like fire."

"Jesse, did you ever see Shalimar in your dream?" Kari asked, thinking aloud.

"No, why?" Jesse raised an eyebrow, not seeing the connection that Kari was trying to make.

"I think this Ashlocke guy's spirit is after you guys," she surmised, rereading the computer file that Brennan had pulled up, "He can't get to Lexa, because she never knew him, and Brennan, well, he's probably next on this guys hit list. I don't know about myself, I never met the guy until just now."

"But how, his spirit is long gone with Sanctuary," Brennan asked.

"Spirits have no body Brennan, I thought you learned that with Emma," she replied, "This Ashlocke, how powerful a mutant was he?"

"Very," Jesse replied, "I was a little taken aback by him."

"Well, then, I suggest we call in the cavalry and get this guy out of your dreams, out of your heads and out of this realm," Kari stated, "You guys mind a little extra help?"

"Depends," Brennan asked, "What do you have in mind?"

"We face him," Kari began, the plan formulating in her mind, "I can bridge all of you into the dreamscape, and we can face him together."

"Not gonna work," Brennan interrupted, "He was only stopped because he blew apart, Kari."

"How powerful are we talking guys?" Lexa asked, "This is a guy we can take, right?"

"I don't know," Shalimar replied, "I thought he was long gone, but if he's back, even in a spirit state, I don't know how we can win against him."

"We don't go to sleep for one," Jesse said, getting up and heading for his terminal, "He's living in the dreamscape, feeding on our terrors, yours Shal, mine, he just hasn't gotten to Brennan, Lex and Kari's yet. It's just a matter of time."

"You're giving up way too fast Jess," Brennan said, trying to figure out what the molecular was hinting at.

"Who said I was giving up?" Jesse glared at Brennan, "Time is something that he doesn't have again, and if I can just find this file, we should be good."

"What are you thinking Jesse?" Kari asked, coming up behind him, "Is there a way?"

"Yeah, there is," Jesse had gone into monosybillic mode, "He's got to face you in the dreamscape. Kari, if we give you all the information on him, everything we can think of, can you do it?"

Kari smiled. She loved a challenge.

While communications had been the most important thing to bring operational in the Underground, the next thing was the medbay. Kari lay there now, flat on her back, electrodes on her temples, being scanned by Jesse for the fourth time that hour.

Brennan and Shalimar had told Kari everything they could about Gabriel Ashlocke. While Jesse scanned, she read what she could about Ashlocke's life and abilities, trying to formulate a plan for attack. While this took hours, she knew that soon enough, the people around her would have to sleep. Jesse drank the strongest coffee that he could stand, yawned every once and a while, and looked at her bleary eyed.

"You done yet?" she asked, trying to meet his gaze.

"Almost," he said, typing in another line of programming, "You've got a great set of brainwaves, Ms. Spiritwalker."

"That almost sounds like a pickup line," she laughed.

"Almost a pickup line," Jesse smiled, "You think you're up to this?"

"A slimy, smooth, extremely powerful dead mutant wants to destroy my friends, and you ask me if I am ready for it," Kari met his gaze, "You sure as hell bet I am."

Jesse grinned. Kari was ready for action. She had the plan, a monitored journey of her walk into the dreamscape. She would go in, access the situation and with Jesse and the rest of Mutant X's help, come back to report on him. The rest of the team, Brennan, Lexa and Shalimar walked into medbay and stopped at the table that she rested on.

"You take this one easy, Kari," Brennan smiled, squeezing her hand, "We want you back, okay?"

"Amen to that, sister, I need to kick your butt in the dojo," Lexa added, "You need to show me how to put Brennan on his rear end."

"Easily done," Kari met their gazes, waiting for Shalimar to chime in.

"He's a bad man, watch your back," she said slowly, "Don't let him see you sweat."

"Gotcha," Kari replied, then closed her eyes.

As she centered herself for the trip into the dreamscape, a trip that she always took very slowly and carefully in her head, she felt another hand take hers. It was Jesse's.