AN: Sorry for the delay, but I've had family in town for the past week or so, and I haven't had time to do much writing. I'm not writing ahead for this story, so the going will be a bit slower. Keep reviewing, it makes my day! Barkeep: As far as needing a beta, I might in the future. Sorry for all those errors in the last chapter. I usually proofread my own work before I post it, but I forgot to last time. Thanks for the tips!
Chapter 12: The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
"So that's what Mutant X does. It kind of goes with what they told me when we were at lunch."
Jesse smiled. He and David were sitting up on their respective beds, both still a little tired and bit sore. "If you need to tell a lie, it's usually best to stay as close to the truth as possible. It's less likely to create questions or discrepancies. I'll admit, I'm definitely miffed that they left me out of the loop on that one, not telling me about what happened last Saturday. But I understand why they did." He let out a breath and stretched his arms over his head.
David and Jesse had been alone in medbay for the past hour or so. David had explained the events of the last week or so, leaving nothing out. There would have been no point in lying; they two of them were connected again, and they could easily tell if, and in fact have an idea about what, the other was hiding. Jesse had in turn told David about Mutant X: how it was started, what it did, and the changes they had undergone in the past few months.
"It's so weird."
"What?"
"Actually hearing your voice. It's not quite the same as it is up here," David said, tapping the side of his head.
Jesse chuckled. "I guess not. Now that I think about it, your voice sounds different too. And having a face to go along with the voice is going to take some getting used to too."
David was looking around the room. "Are there any windows in this place?"
This time Jesse laughed out loud. "No. Unfortunately there aren't. There weren't any in the old sanctuary either. That's one of the reasons I hated staying behind after Adam left. Even though the place was big and airy, it was still a closed space. We had one of those plasma televisions somewhere that had holograms of mountains and lakes and rivers, but it wasn't the same."
"It's the recycled air. It's just like in the pods."
Jesse thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think you're right. I guess I just kept myself busy so I wouldn't pay attention to it."
"I used to keep the windows open all the time, even during the winter, just so I'd have fresh air going through my apartment."
"Well, you're definitely not alone when it comes to things like that. I bet anyone who ever spent any time in those things feels the same way. Hey, I've got a question for you. How much do you know about your own powers?"
David stared at Jesse for a moment before answering. "As far as the telepathy, in order to make a link, I have to have physical contact with the person. It's tricky, because I can't control the initiation. If I touch someone, boom!, I've got a link with them. It only lasts for about an hour or so, and then I can get control and break the link if I want to. Most people don't even know I'm there. In fact, you were the first person I ever met who even knew what was happening. Anyway, that first hour when I can't control the link really sucks. I feel like a peeping tom. People broadcast their emotions and thoughts really loudly, and I can't filter any of it out during that hour."
"Katie did say you were kind of standoffish."
David shrugged. "The only way I knew to avoid making telepathic contact was to stay away from people. So I didn't have many friends. That's why I chose swimming when my college advisor said I should join a group or team sport; swimming doesn't require contact with other people."
"What about your other ability?"
"You mean killing people. All I know is what I learned from Dr. Jacobs. You said Genomex collapsed. What happened to Jacobs?"
"He was killed in a car accident a few months ago."
"Can't say I'm sorry for the bastard. I almost wish he'd had a more painful death. Anyway, based on Jacobs' tests, my ability to influence depends on three things. One, I have to focus the energy. Two, I have to have visual contact with the person. And three, the person has to have a weak mind. Most people do."
"I know what you mean," Jesse said, recollecting some of the things Emma had told him. "But there's something else, isn't there?"
David shot Jesse a half-hearted grin. "I guess now that the link is back we'll never be able to hide things from each other."
"Not unless you end the link," Jesse replied, remembering what he just learned about how David controlled his telepathy.
David shook his head. "I can't end the link with you. I can dampen it, but I can't cut it off completely."
Jesse frowned and an eyebrow rose. "Can't, or won't," he said softly.
"Can't." David was looking Jesse directly in the eye. "When we were in Genomex, I didn't dare try to cut the connection, in case we couldn't get it back. But in the past hour or so, I made a couple of attempts to cut the connection, knowing that you were right here, and I could just touch you to get the connection back." He shook his head. "But I can't end the connection. And I don't know why." He sat back on the biobed.
Jesse was silent for a moment. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm not psionic in any way. There's no way I would be able to interfere with your abilities like that. Maybe Adam will have an idea why." He mumbled the last sentence as he sat back on his own bed. "You didn't answer my question," he said a few moments later.
"What question was that?"
"You were talking about your ability to influence others, and I could tell there was something nagging at you. What is it?"
David was silent. For a moment, Jesse thought that he wasn't going to answer, but then he spoke. "For the past few months, I've been having these blackouts. Migraines too. There's just these flashes of light and needles poking in my brain. Then I pass out. Sometimes only for a few minutes, sometimes for a couple hours."
"That's not what's bothering you though, is it?" The words were a statement.
"No. Sometimes when I woke up, I'd find that I'd used my powers. A few months ago, I blacked out on the bus. When I woke up, we were stopped and there were police all around us. The driver of the car in front of us had 'decided' to drive his car into oncoming traffic. He and his passenger were killed. They're the only ones who have died, but there have been a lot of close calls. Once, I woke up just in time to stop a woman and her baby from walking out into rush hour traffic."
"Sounds like a control problem. Adam can help you with that. And, I don't know this for sure, Adam will have to do the tests, but I'll bet that your blackouts and at least some of that control loss are from the fact that your expiry date was so close."
"You think so?"
"Sure. Remember how I told you that as a mutant's expiry date approaches, their powers will go wacko and cause the mutant to self-destruct? That's probably what was happening with you. A couple more days, and you probably would have influenced yourself to kill yourself. Wait, did that make any sense?"
David laughed at Jesse's confusion over the strangeness of the vocabulary. "Yeah."
"And now that your genetic structure's been stabilized, those blackouts will probably disappear. And Adam can help you with whatever control problems you still have. They didn't exactly teach them too us at Genomex."
"True. You're sure Adam knows how?"
"Positive. We used to have a psionic on our team, and she learned to do some amazing things under Adam's tutelage. He's the one that taught me to control my abilities. When I first got here, I used to phase through the bed while I was sleeping. I'd wake up under my bed. If Adam hadn't taught me control, I might have killed myself getting stuck in the floor."
"I'm going to trust you on this one, Jesse. But I have to tell you, your words aren't quite matching up with what's going on in your head."
"What do you mean?"
Well, you keep talking about Adam and how much he's taught you and what a great scientist he is. Your words make him out to be this father figure and the man who saved you, but up here – " he tapped the side of his head " – there are some negative thoughts about this guy."
This time it was Jesse who didn't say anything for a while. "I guess you were right about us not being able to keep secrets from each other."
"Care to share? I gather you haven't told the others about whatever's going on."
Jesse shrugged and looked down at the floor. "It just seems kind of petty, given all the other things we have to deal with. You remember how I told you that Adam faked his own death?"
David nodded. "And he revealed himself a few months ago. Then he was captured by the dominion, but you guys rescued him."
"Yeah. Well you were right about how I saw Adam as a father figure. As you know, I wasn't exactly close to my own father, so Adam was the closest thing I had. When Adam faked his own death so he could do more research, it felt like I was being abandoned by my own father all over again."
"So your dad never came back for you," David guessed. "Like he did all the other times."
"Nope. In fact, he pretty much sold me out to Genomex and declared me dead. Hence the death certificate you saw. Then he went to work for the Dominion, the very people who were trying to kill us. Then Adam disappears. And just before he was captured, I could see that he was seriously considering joining the Creator so he could do his research. It hurt to think that he was even considering abandoning Shalimar and me and Brennan and Mutant X, after he'd made us a family."
"But your whole family's not gone. You've got Katie. And Lexa, and Shalimar and Brennan. You guys are your own family."
"I guess you're right. I guess next you'll tell me that I should talk to Adam."
"You don't have to read my mind for that one."
"You know, we can be your family too. I know that you're thinking of running again. You're worried about hurting us."
"Jesse, no. I couldn't –"
"I told you. Adam could help you with the control. Plus you said it only works when someone has a weak mind. I'm pretty sure we all have strong minds around here."
"Jesse, I can't. I can't risk destroying my family again."
Jesse flinched. "Again? What happened to your family, Peter? You never told me."
"They committed suicide."
Jesse froze. "It was an accident."
"I don't know. My mother committed suicide when I was 17. My dad was an abusive SOB who thought he was above the law because he was President and CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Everyone said it was sad that she'd done it, but I always felt like it was my fault."
"But you didn't influence her."
"No, but sometimes it felt like I did. I never made any real attempts to stop him. I wanted to stay away from it all, so I spent as much time away from the house as possible. Anyway, I came home after my first year of college and my dad came after me with a shotgun. Missed a couple of times and made some pretty big holes in the wall before he turned the gun on himself. And yes, I did influence him to do it."
"It was self defense. You had no choice."
"I guess so. After he died, I inherited everything. I sold out my shares in the company to my uncle and used the money for a new identity and college and charities. But the rest of my family still thought I needed counseling. So when Genomex came knocking…" David fell silent. He didn't need to finish the sentence
After a few moments of both of them being silent, Jesse felt compelled to energize the stillness and change the somber mood. "Man, we are a couple of really screwed-up guys."
David laughed, feeling some of the tension leave his body.
"Come on. I'm discharging us. Let's go get something to eat. You can tell me all about your honorable intentions toward my sister."
David laughed again. It felt good. Jesse had always been good at cheering him up. "Deal."
"Just one more question. I'm not quite sure what to call you. Do you want me to call you Peter or David?"
David hesitated briefly. "David. Peter died in Genomex. And I've kind of gotten used to David. Does that make any sense?"
"It does, actually," Jesse said, thinking of the extant death certificate with his name on it. Now come on, David, let's head off to the kitchen. I think there's some leftover Chinese."
