Chapter 21
Legal Disclaimer-The rights belong to others...I'm just writing fanfiction here.
Author's Note-Action, finally. It's going to make you all a little bit mad, it took me forever to get this right. Thank you all for the reviews. Hope you all enjoy.
Emma was awake by the time Jesse entered their room. She had opened her eyes only minutes before he carefully opened the door and slowly walked into the room. Her eyes met his as he looked at her.
"Hey there, sleepyhead," he said, "There's a plan afoot and we're going to get the kids out."
"I don't want you to go," Emma said sleepily, "You've been through too much. You don't have this new ability under control yet."
"I know that, Emma, you don't have to keep reminding me," Jesse glared at her, "I'm doing fine, and I'm not going in. I'm just helping to fly the Strand in. You guys are doing the hard stuff."
"The Strand?" Emma looked at him curiously, "That's a great name. Yours huh?"
"Yes," Jesse smiled, "I thought it was properly scientific. Anyway, I'm going with Brennan. Adam's going to watch Pierce. And I have to talk to you about Pierce."
"He's okay right?" Emma asked, watching Jesse's reactions.
Jesse took a second. There was no time like the present.
"He's fine, and well, he's also yours."
"WHAT?" Emma asked shocked.
She sat on the bed stunned.
He was expecting it. The mere thought that Pierce was Lexa's and his was still hard to believe, let alone the child's amazing ability was a genetic manipulation from the Creator was unbelievable. It made sense though. There was no other way, other than by relation that Pierce could have contacted Emma or Lexa. DNA was the connection, making this a strange family bond, but a bond nonetheless.
"According to Adam, when the Creator was working on these children, he added genetic material to them to increase or decrease their powers," Jesse replied, taking her hand as he sat down on the bed next to her, "There is a quantity of your DNA in his to qualify you as a parent. Lexa doesn't know this yet. According to Adam, all three of us are his parents. Pierce will likely be a molecular elemental with empathic capabilities."
"The perfect super solider," Emma breathed, "Jesse, we are the only ones to raise him."
"I know, I know," Jesse nodded, "This is just a lot to process. I need to find the rest of these kids first Emma. They were messed with, like Pierce was, like I was, and neither one of us had a choice."
"Is it I or we Jesse?" she asked, getting up.
Emma read the waves coming off of her husband. She had seen Jesse like this before, he was pretty sensitive to others, a trait that got him into more trouble than it was worth at times. He was going to try and fix the situation, he got them into this.
"It's not your fault that these kids are there, Jess, you have to remember that," Emma said, pulling a sweater and boots on, "You know that right?"
Jesse looked at her, wondering if she was reading him. He used to know, but with the revelations of the past day, he had built a high wall around his emotions. He let the wall down a bit. She wasn't in his head.
"I know," he replied softly, "God, Emma, this is so hard. I didn't have a clue to what you went through on a regular day. How can you stand it?"
Emma looked at Jesse, her heart breaking. Her husband finy understood her, but it had taken years and a lifesaving surgery for him to get it. He didn't know the day to day struggle to hold onto the emotions that were just hers, let alone filter the emotions of her friends and family. He was busy working on his own sanity, it seemed. The pod had done things to him. Her boots on, she walked over to him and into his arms. He hugged her like she was his last chance at oxygen. She had read him right and she didn't even try.
"Having the right people around me helps," Emma replied into his shaking chest, "Jesse, you will get a handle on this. Are you sure that you are up to this? Brennan, Lexa, Shal and I can handle this."
"You're not leaving me here again," Jesse replied softly, letting her go, "I'll see you upstairs in the Strand in five minutes."
He looked at her, his eyes a mix between hurt, anger and fear, and then headed out of the room. Her lack of confidence in him was making him angry, but he wouldn't let her see it. He knew that she was right, he might not be in the best shape to go on this mission, but the voices had called to him, they needed his help. He was the only one who understood that they were in those pods with their minds working but their bodies were unable to work with them. It was a fear he hoped never to experience, but now, on the other side of the experience, he had vowed that no one would ever go through it again.
He just needed his space. They would get these kids out, bring Pierce back to DC and have a normal life with a kid in their lives. That would be good. It was good to focus on that. He would leave this life of insanity and go onward, getting some sort of order back in his life so that he wouldn't have to keep dropping everything for Adam and his crusades. Part of him wanted to call in a favor from his friends in the service, but he knew that if he did, he'd have to explain Mutant X to them and that was something that still had to remain secret.
He was exhausted from the thought of it all when the whisper came to him.
I don't think he's up to it and it might not be the best idea for him to be on this...
He knew the voice, he didn't have to be a telepath to know it. Brennan was worried about him. He continued down the hallway to the hangar of the Strand and buttoned his shirt as he walked. He expected the resistance from his teammates, but for Brennan to think that, he must have looked pretty bad. Brennan was waiting for him.
"Jesse, I don't think...." The elemental stared at him.
"I'm up to it, Brennan, we have to get those kids out," Jesse interrupted, "I am fine."
"Dammit Jesse, don't go reading my mind," Brennan grabbed his arm, "That's not fair. You know I'm concerned about you. Are you sure you can handle this? I'm worried for you bro."
"Me too, Brennan, you know as well as anyone if I didn't think that I could do it, I wouldn't be here, k?" Jesse didn't feel like arguing with him.
Adam came into the hangar area and surveyed the scene. Jesse was pissed. It was one thing for his friends to be concerned; he was used to that from them. But, something was different about his reactions to the anger. The room's air seemed to change with his mood. Could it be more than telepathy that the molecular possessed? Adam mused the thought then looked at him. Jesse had clearly heard him. They would talk later.
"Sorry," Adam said walking passed him, "You guys ready to go?"
"Where you going?" Pierce asked, following Adam.
Jesse stopped. While his head was beginning to hurt from the tension of his friends concern, Pierce was a factor he hadn't considered and kicked himself for not considering him.
Some father, he yelled at himself.
"We're going to save the other kids Pierce," Jesse said, "No one needs to grow up in a pod, you think?"
"I want to help you," Pierce said, "Let me help you."
"Pierce," Emma suggested as she came into the hangar, "You need to help Adam, don't you?"
Pierce turned and looked at her. Lexa had joined them as well. She could sense what Emma was up to and she knew to back off. The empath was great at making sure that Pierce would behave. That was needed now. Emma looked at him, their eyes meeting then he turned toward Adam. Pierce nodded and took Adam's hand. Adam, realizing that he had witnessed Emma at work smiled. It was good to see that they could work as a team.
Lexa looked at Jesse. Her look was of concern, not of the worry that knotted Brennan's brow.
"You up to this? It's probably going to get pretty intense in there," she said, meeting his look.
"Yes, and don't try to fight me on this as well," Jesse said, sitting down in his usual spot from the Helix, now a more sophisticated computer well just behind the pilot's seats, "I know you guys are worried, I am fine."
Shalimar flew past him, heading for the co-pilot seat.
"You'd better be," she said, winking at him as she passed, "Because I don't intend to leave you here."
Jesse was grateful for Shalimar's confidence in him. He knew that they cared, but they didn't want him hurting himself on the mission. They needed a whole Jesse and he was going to make sure it stayed that way. Emma came into the Strand last. She had hugged Pierce before coming in, making sure that the boy was okay with all the activity going on. She also did something she knew she could, she set a control within the child to relax. Adam didn't need a hyperactive 4 year old running through this new haven of theirs to interfere with their activity. Jesse had sensed it happening, his look of thanks told her so.
Brennan powered up the Strand, knowing that as he met Adam's eyes , this could be a very bad trip they were heading out on. Adam waved and within minutes they were airborne.
Jesse sat in the computer well, looking at the scene but hearing the horror in his head. It was almost like he was watching a movie that replayed without him hitting the rewind button. The screams started quickly, the smell of fire and the sound of explosion taking him far from the Strand and brining him straight into the warehouse. It was ablaze.
Emma's deep intake of breath brought it to the team's attention, the emotions of panic, fear and pain that Jesse radiated overwhelming her. She had great control, but Jesse was broadcasting like a 250,000 watt radio antenna. He couldn't help it, it was truly overwhelming. He was shaking like a leaf.
He had put his hands over his ears and tried to find a center to hold on to. It was a huge storm of emotions and they were running through his head. His eyes had closed and he felt himself curling into a ball.
"Emma, what is it?" Shalimar asked, her instincts kicking in first, she could smell the fear radiating off of Jesse.
Brennan had put the Strand into stealth and knew that they were about two minutes away. He looked at his best friend and realized that Emma was reacting to Jesse. He had gone still, his eyes back open and starting straight ahead, like he was seeing the most horrifying scene in front of him that could not stop.
"Emma, talk to us, do we need to land now?" Brennan asked quickly, watching the young woman gather her breath.
"No, I think he can fight it," she said, closing her eyes, "Jesse, listen to me."
"I can't," he breathed, "It's so horrible. Brennan, hurry. They're burning the warehouse the kids are in."