Sorry for the suspense. I update as fast as I can.

Aniki19: Thanks for the review! Yes, I like Jesse angst/hurt fics, too. He's my favorite character, so keep reading, 'cuz there will be a lot of him!

Melodie568: I have never even been to Canada so I apologize if I make any mistakes regarding it's whether or whatnot. Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 2: The Beginning

Two days later, at 8 a.m., the Mutant X team was getting ready to head out to Canada. Adam was in Sanctuary's garage standing next to the black MX car. Shalimar walked up and handed him the rest of her luggage.

"Where are the others?" Adam asked.

"Brennan's cooking breakfast, Emma's still packing, and Jesse isn't even up yet." Adam groaned at this news.

"We have an 8 to 10 hour drive ahead of us. Tell them we need to be out of here by nine." Shalimar smiled. She and Adam were the only punctual members of the team. Emma tried to be on time, but she always had to double check to make sure she had everything. Brennan was usually on time, but he never went anywhere on an empty stomach. And Jesse, he had never been a morning person.

By the time everyone had eaten and gotten packed, it was 9:15. Adam was irritated because they hadn't left on time, and no one could find Jesse.

"Where is he?" Adam growled as the other three mutants climbed into the car.

"Oh, I saw him, he's coming," Brennan assured him, plopping in the passenger seat. Just then, a disheveled looking Jesse stumbled through the garage door. At the sight of him, even Adam had to smile. The young mutant was trying to balance a very large duffel bag, a backpack, and a cup of steaming coffee. His hair was uncombed, his shirt was wrinkled, and his shoes were untied.

"Here bro, lemme take these before you end up spilling that coffee," Brennan offered, getting up and taking Jesse's baggage from him.

"Thanks," Jesse mumbled tiredly, and crawled in the back next to Shalimar and Emma.

"Why so tired, sleepyhead?" Shalimar asked playfully, running her fingers through his longish blonde hair.

"I stayed up late double checking all of Sanctuary's security systems. Didn't want anyone breaking in while we were gone."

"Well, you can lean on me if you want to sleep, okay? Just be careful with that coffee." Jesse nodded and laid his head on Shalimar's shoulder. Emma smiled at the sisterly affection Shalimar had towards him.

"Okay guys, are we ready to go?" Adam called from the drivers seat. He chuckled at the eye rolls he got for that question.

"Hey, Adam, one question. Why didn't we just take the Helix?" Brennan asked as Adam started the car.

"Because I don't want Dr. Jules to know how advanced we are. I don't want him to know anything about Mutant X other than that we are an organization trying to help mutants. Don't let him know any more."

"You really don't trust this guy, do you?" Emma asked softly. She had picked up on his concerns without reading him. The fact that Adam was so distracted by this whole thing that he let his guard down was unsettling. He never wore his emotions on his sleeve, but today everyone could tell he was nervous.

"Look, I just want everyone to be careful until I know what he's up to, okay?" Emma nodded.

They rode in silence for a long time.

Sorry to keep you all suspense. The only reason I stopped here was because I have to

think about this next part of the story. As always, if there are any plot suggestions, please

feel free to share them.