Chapter 7

Adam was despondent when he saw Emma and Jesse carried into the stealth plane storage compartment where he and the others were being held. He had hoped that they would get away. All five members of Mutant X were now cuffed at the wrists and ankles with a third set of cuffs connecting the two, which would prevent any of them from standing or making any kind of offensive move against their captors. In addition, the four mutants had been restrained with subdermal governors. Emma and Jesse were still unconscious when they were placed in with the others. Once the door closed again, it was impossible to judge their conditions, as the compartment was not lit.

"This is all my fault," Adam said. "I sent you into a trap."

"We knew it was dangerous, Adam," Shalimar said. "Everything we do is dangerous."

"But we haven't come up against this before. I had no idea that their level of organization was this high. I should have known. Whoever took over the Strand after Ashlocke has them working together with a ruthless efficiency."

"You couldn't have known," Brennan said.

"If I couldn't have known, then it's even worse than I thought. That would mean the Strand is out of our league and we can't compete with them. I can't let myself believe that's true. Who would stop them?"

"Ouch, my head," said a voice.

"Emma?" Shalimar asked.

"Why can't I see?" Emma asked.

"We're locked in a closet," Brennan said. "The light only comes on when you open the door."

"I remember a plane appearing out of nowhere," Emma said.

"Probably the stealth plane we are aboard now. It looks like the same base model as the Helix, but apparently an armed and armored version. It shot us down when we tried to answer your call," Adam said.

"Jesse?"

"He hasn't come to yet, but he's here with us," Shalimar said.

"Adam, where is Sanctuary?" Emma asked.

"Why would you ask me that?" Adam wondered for a moment if this might not be the real Emma and that this was a trick to get him to reveal information, but when part of his mind attempted instinctually to retrieve the information as to where Sanctuary was, it couldn't. He tried again, concentrating. There was nothing. He even attempted to replay the course they had flown to the Fasergen complex, but at a certain point, everything became hazy. The pattern formed and he realized what had happened. "What did you do, Emma?"

"Shalimar, Brennan, tell me about the mutant underground?"

"I can't remember anything about it," Shalimar said. Brennan agreed.

"Did anyone get the license number of that truck?" It was Jesse's voice.

"Great line, Jess," Brennan said. "It's no wonder you get all the girls."

"Give me a break. My brain feels like it's been turned to jell-o. I guess our mad dash for freedom was a bit pointless, huh, Emma?" Jesse said.

"It bought us some valuable time," she replied.

"How so?"

"Jesse, can you give me the addresses of any safe houses?" Emma asked him.

"Why? I know of…," his voice drifted off. " I can't think of any."

"Good," she said.

"Emma, did you somehow erase our memories?" Adam asked her.

"I can't do that, but what I could do is surround all of the knowledge about Mutant X, Sanctuary, the underground and safe houses with feelings of such intense panic, that your minds won't let you access the information. If a psionic tries to take the information by force, it will probably send you into a coma."

"Can it be undone?" Shalimar asked.

"Yes, I can undo it," Emma reassured her.

"Emma," Adam said, "if they discover the blocks, they will know you are the only one they can get any information from."

"You didn't have to do that, Emma," Brennan said in an accusing voice. "There's no way I would have told those goons anything."

"I know, but if they are after information, it won't be a standard interrogation and I can ward off psionic probes and attacks longer than any of you. These are New Mutants and they will use their powers. Hopefully, I can hold them off long enough for the rest of you to rescue me."

"Everyone, Emma's right," Adam said. "I've taught you techniques to evade esper probes of your minds, but she is better equipped than any of you and can hold out longer."

"Even with a subdermal governor?" Jesse asked.

"Subdermal governors prevent the projection of your powers, mainly through intense pain," Adam explained. "They don't make your powers disappear. Emma is still a psionic and can use all of her powers to defend her brain, but cannot read or attack others. The governor can actually work as a defense mechanism and make it much more difficult for an attacking psionic to penetrate her mind long enough to gather significant intelligence. There's even the possibility that they would actually remove it for interrogation, though only as a last resort."

"I don't see how a subdermal governor can protect a mutant," Brennan said, "except maybe in cases where their powers are spinning out of control."

"The governor might help if you had the mental control to use it to your advantage. When a psionic wearing a governor is attacked, she instinctively defends herself with her own powers, but does not reach out and project. If she feels that she is losing the struggle and her attacker is close to getting something from her, she can extend to the point regulated by the governor and trigger it, thereby inducing immense pain that will break all other thought. Her attacker will have to start over again."

"So any of us could kick an esper out of our mind by trying to use our powers and thereby triggering the governor," Brennan extrapolated.

"Maybe, but they could always soak you in water and remove it, leaving you totally defenseless, unless you wanted to electrocute yourself into unconsciousness." Adam's words were not reassuring. He clearly thought highly of their opponent in terms of their competency. "I just hope they didn't get anything from us before Emma placed the blocks. I thought I sensed a cursory probe of my mind, but I don't think they were looking for more than confirmation of our numbers and personnel distribution at the time."

"What do you think Marlowe is after?" Jesse asked Adam.

"Marlowe?" That name immediately produced an association in his mind, but that association was impossible.

"Yes," Emma said. "Apparently Charles Marlowe has risen from the grave and is the new leader of the Strand."

"Charles Marlowe…I saw him die. Eckhart cremated the body. There was nothing left." Adam was in disbelief.

"There must have been enough somewhere to regenerate from, because it was definitely him," Jessie said.

"What could he want?" All were silent after that until Adam spoke again, saying, "We're landing."