Sorry it took me so long. I had finals. I am back now.. where was I?
Upon hearing Lexa's footfalls, himself, Jesse looked toward Brennan who was lying back down onto the floor. Jesse was regaining quite a bit of his movement but did not want to reveal that to Lexa quite yet. He lay back down onto the floor and pretended to be unconscious.
Lexa stepped into the control room and began to walk up the stairs of the dojo. She looked at Brennan, who was in a different position than when she left him. She noticed a newly formed small pool of blood around him as well. She just shook her head in distaste and looked over at Jesse. His eyes were closed. She crossed her arms across her chest and swaggered back down the steps of the dojo. "What a waste," she said out loud as she exited the room.
Jesse made certain she was gone and looked over at Brennan again. "Brennan, she's gone," Jesse whispered. "Tell me, what happened."
Brennan did not attempt to sit up this time. He just lay on his back clutching his side. He rolled his head in Jesse's direction and began.
"Jesse, Emma."
"What about Emma?" Jesse interrupted.
Brennan rolled his head back and looked straight up at the ceiling of the dojo. He rolled it back in Jesse's direction and hoped he was ready for this. "Jesse, Emma is alive." Jesse sat up now and stared directly at Brennan, who was working hard to get past his pain in order to inform Jesse. "Jesse, listen, I don't know how long I'm going to make it, here, so just listen. Do you remember Tommy from the Step Off Bar?"
"He was your friend."
"Yeah," Brennan partly laughed. "He was Emma's too. Back before you ever met her, she and Tommy, well, they were an item, Jesse." Brennan noted the look of hurt on Jesse's face and continued. "She didn't have anything to do with him after she met Mutant X, though, OK? They were just friends after that."
"Brennan, didn't he try to kill you?"
"Yep, funny thing about my friends, huh?" Brennan laughed. "As it turns out, Emma has been going there ever since the explosion. Tommy has been helping her and Adam get supplies and hide people."
"What?" Jesse asked in disbelief. "Why? Adam?"
"I know, Jesse, just listen. I knew that it had to be Tommy. We were getting too many signals and hits off of her from the old haunts. I acted on my hunch last night and went to see Tommy."
"Did you find Emma?" Jesse asked, excited now.
"No, Jesse, I didn't find her. But Tommy told me what was going on. That's why I came back here to get you and Shalimar. But I was too late. Someone must have tipped off Lexa that I knew."
"Knew what, Brennan?" Jesse said softly, realizing that Brennan was now experiencing great difficulty and distress.
"About the Dominion, Eckhart, and Adam. A long time ago, Adam and Eckhart worked together."
"For Breedlove." Jesse interrupted.
"Yeah, for Breedlove," Brennan continued. "But Breedlove was not alone in mutant research, Jesse. There were others attempting as well. Adam was trying to cure people and Eckhart was trying to cure the world. He figured that the perfect race of mutants would equate to a perfect army of world leaders. He wanted stable psionics backed by stable moleculars, ferals, and elementals. Eckhart wasn't alone in that quest. He told Adam one day about what he was after and that there was a new sponsor interested in Genomex. They were known as the Dominion. Adam didn't want anything to do with world domination. He just wanted to cure people and got worried when he realized that Eckhart had been working on the project with a different goal the whole time. Adam wanted out."
"So he escaped," Jesse continued.
"Right," Brennan responded. "But he didn't have enough money for the research alone and then Eckhart killed Breedlove."
"What?" Jesse exclaimed. "Brennan, how do you know all of this?"
"I knew from before. Adam told me, Jesse. I knew Breedlove, and when Eckhart had me, Thorne told me quite a bit. I demanded the truth from Adam when I joined the team. What I didn't realize was that he lied to me."
"Who lied? Adam?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, Adam said that he had the money, himself. That wasn't true. He had begun to receive funds from the Dominion. Jesse, Adam has been shuttling mutants to the Dominion. Their goal is to determine how to stabilize the new mutant DNA. I imagine that Adam was doing this only for the mutant's own good. Without care, they were destabilizing and self- destructing. But he didn't say any of this to us. I wondered, though, that since we were destabilizing, weren't they as well? But I didn't think too much about it. I didn't want to believe that Adam was doing something so wrong. But it is the only thing that makes sense."
"Why did he take Emma, Brennan? Why won't she come back to us? Who is Lexa?" Jesse was overflowing with questions. He didn't want to believe what Brennan was saying but was having a difficult time disbelieving. It made sense.
"The Dominion wants Emma. She is the only psionic that is apparently stable. They want to know why. As it turns out, the Dominion informed Adam and Eckhart that they were calling back the money, that they had everyone they needed except for Emma. The rest of us were to be turned over for placement into stasis. They wanted to dissect Emma. Adam wouldn't have it and Eckhart couldn't. Eckhart had his own customers who needed armies as well as his need to heal himself. So, they apparently launched the plan at Naxcon. Adam wanted it to look as if he and Emma were killed so the Dominion would stop chasing them. He planned to come and get us out as well on the beach but the Dominion reached us first, or rather, Lexa did. I guess she has some sort of control over us but I am not certain what that is yet. Anyway, it kept Adam from rescuing us. And Eckhart, well, he had the same plan. He faked his death, Jesse. I didn't really kill him. It was a hologram."
Brennan began to gag and cough in pain. He couldn't talk anymore. Jesse worked his way over to him and cradled his head in his arms. "Oh my God, Brennan. Lexa is here as our captor?"
"Yeah " Brennan responded. "I am not certain who tipped her off. But someone did. It had to have been Tommy." Brennan lay there breathing. He struggled against unconsciousness. Jesse was wiping the sweaty hair from his head in attempt to soothe his pain.
"Jesse," Brennan continued, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't tell you all of this before, but Adam asked me not to. It's why I always fought him, Jesse. I didn't trust him completely. I didn't trust him with all of you. That is why I was so quick to believe you that they weren't dead." Brennan began a serious chain of coughs that brought Lexa back into the room.
XXX
Shalimar pulled her bike up to the Hotel Freemont parking lot and looked for room 129. She approached it cautiously. She didn't trust what was going on but if Emma was here, she needed to find her. Shal's feral senses immediately got a strong familiar hit as she came close to the entrance to the room. Suddenly, the door flew open and Emma grabbed her in her arms.
Upon hearing Lexa's footfalls, himself, Jesse looked toward Brennan who was lying back down onto the floor. Jesse was regaining quite a bit of his movement but did not want to reveal that to Lexa quite yet. He lay back down onto the floor and pretended to be unconscious.
Lexa stepped into the control room and began to walk up the stairs of the dojo. She looked at Brennan, who was in a different position than when she left him. She noticed a newly formed small pool of blood around him as well. She just shook her head in distaste and looked over at Jesse. His eyes were closed. She crossed her arms across her chest and swaggered back down the steps of the dojo. "What a waste," she said out loud as she exited the room.
Jesse made certain she was gone and looked over at Brennan again. "Brennan, she's gone," Jesse whispered. "Tell me, what happened."
Brennan did not attempt to sit up this time. He just lay on his back clutching his side. He rolled his head in Jesse's direction and began.
"Jesse, Emma."
"What about Emma?" Jesse interrupted.
Brennan rolled his head back and looked straight up at the ceiling of the dojo. He rolled it back in Jesse's direction and hoped he was ready for this. "Jesse, Emma is alive." Jesse sat up now and stared directly at Brennan, who was working hard to get past his pain in order to inform Jesse. "Jesse, listen, I don't know how long I'm going to make it, here, so just listen. Do you remember Tommy from the Step Off Bar?"
"He was your friend."
"Yeah," Brennan partly laughed. "He was Emma's too. Back before you ever met her, she and Tommy, well, they were an item, Jesse." Brennan noted the look of hurt on Jesse's face and continued. "She didn't have anything to do with him after she met Mutant X, though, OK? They were just friends after that."
"Brennan, didn't he try to kill you?"
"Yep, funny thing about my friends, huh?" Brennan laughed. "As it turns out, Emma has been going there ever since the explosion. Tommy has been helping her and Adam get supplies and hide people."
"What?" Jesse asked in disbelief. "Why? Adam?"
"I know, Jesse, just listen. I knew that it had to be Tommy. We were getting too many signals and hits off of her from the old haunts. I acted on my hunch last night and went to see Tommy."
"Did you find Emma?" Jesse asked, excited now.
"No, Jesse, I didn't find her. But Tommy told me what was going on. That's why I came back here to get you and Shalimar. But I was too late. Someone must have tipped off Lexa that I knew."
"Knew what, Brennan?" Jesse said softly, realizing that Brennan was now experiencing great difficulty and distress.
"About the Dominion, Eckhart, and Adam. A long time ago, Adam and Eckhart worked together."
"For Breedlove." Jesse interrupted.
"Yeah, for Breedlove," Brennan continued. "But Breedlove was not alone in mutant research, Jesse. There were others attempting as well. Adam was trying to cure people and Eckhart was trying to cure the world. He figured that the perfect race of mutants would equate to a perfect army of world leaders. He wanted stable psionics backed by stable moleculars, ferals, and elementals. Eckhart wasn't alone in that quest. He told Adam one day about what he was after and that there was a new sponsor interested in Genomex. They were known as the Dominion. Adam didn't want anything to do with world domination. He just wanted to cure people and got worried when he realized that Eckhart had been working on the project with a different goal the whole time. Adam wanted out."
"So he escaped," Jesse continued.
"Right," Brennan responded. "But he didn't have enough money for the research alone and then Eckhart killed Breedlove."
"What?" Jesse exclaimed. "Brennan, how do you know all of this?"
"I knew from before. Adam told me, Jesse. I knew Breedlove, and when Eckhart had me, Thorne told me quite a bit. I demanded the truth from Adam when I joined the team. What I didn't realize was that he lied to me."
"Who lied? Adam?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, Adam said that he had the money, himself. That wasn't true. He had begun to receive funds from the Dominion. Jesse, Adam has been shuttling mutants to the Dominion. Their goal is to determine how to stabilize the new mutant DNA. I imagine that Adam was doing this only for the mutant's own good. Without care, they were destabilizing and self- destructing. But he didn't say any of this to us. I wondered, though, that since we were destabilizing, weren't they as well? But I didn't think too much about it. I didn't want to believe that Adam was doing something so wrong. But it is the only thing that makes sense."
"Why did he take Emma, Brennan? Why won't she come back to us? Who is Lexa?" Jesse was overflowing with questions. He didn't want to believe what Brennan was saying but was having a difficult time disbelieving. It made sense.
"The Dominion wants Emma. She is the only psionic that is apparently stable. They want to know why. As it turns out, the Dominion informed Adam and Eckhart that they were calling back the money, that they had everyone they needed except for Emma. The rest of us were to be turned over for placement into stasis. They wanted to dissect Emma. Adam wouldn't have it and Eckhart couldn't. Eckhart had his own customers who needed armies as well as his need to heal himself. So, they apparently launched the plan at Naxcon. Adam wanted it to look as if he and Emma were killed so the Dominion would stop chasing them. He planned to come and get us out as well on the beach but the Dominion reached us first, or rather, Lexa did. I guess she has some sort of control over us but I am not certain what that is yet. Anyway, it kept Adam from rescuing us. And Eckhart, well, he had the same plan. He faked his death, Jesse. I didn't really kill him. It was a hologram."
Brennan began to gag and cough in pain. He couldn't talk anymore. Jesse worked his way over to him and cradled his head in his arms. "Oh my God, Brennan. Lexa is here as our captor?"
"Yeah " Brennan responded. "I am not certain who tipped her off. But someone did. It had to have been Tommy." Brennan lay there breathing. He struggled against unconsciousness. Jesse was wiping the sweaty hair from his head in attempt to soothe his pain.
"Jesse," Brennan continued, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't tell you all of this before, but Adam asked me not to. It's why I always fought him, Jesse. I didn't trust him completely. I didn't trust him with all of you. That is why I was so quick to believe you that they weren't dead." Brennan began a serious chain of coughs that brought Lexa back into the room.
XXX
Shalimar pulled her bike up to the Hotel Freemont parking lot and looked for room 129. She approached it cautiously. She didn't trust what was going on but if Emma was here, she needed to find her. Shal's feral senses immediately got a strong familiar hit as she came close to the entrance to the room. Suddenly, the door flew open and Emma grabbed her in her arms.
