Jesse gave a deep sigh, seeming to sink more deeply onto his rocky bed, almost as if he were about to phase into the rock like a ghost. Adam swiftly checked his pupils: "out like a light. But breathing; I think you got the right voltage, Brennan."
"Okay, so where's Emma?" Brennan wasn't ready yet to breathe his own sigh of relief. He had forced himself to do this; it was only fair that something good come of it. I don't think I could stand it if I've killed him for nothing.
He's not dead yet, Brennan, and won't be if I have anything to say about it.
"I don't know," Adam fretted. The tension was getting to the older man as well. "Maybe she won't come. Maybe we got it all wrong; that it's the potion that draws her, not a seizure. Maybe—look!"
Once again a slender mist emanated from the molecular's body, drifting wispily into the vague outline of a woman. The light from the stars outside the cavern hole dimmed the brilliance of her figure, but there was no doubt that something—someone—was again here. Brennan's heart lifted.
"Emma?"
"Take care of Jesse," the ghost murmured. "He almost left."
Adam felt a chill run through his soul. "What do you mean?"
But Emma knew there were most important things to discuss, and very little time. The pair could see her look down as if looking at a wristwatch, checking on how much time there was left. The move was symbolic since there was no watch on the psionic's misty arm, but very telling as to how little time Mutant X had left—for either group. "Where are you?"
"In the mountains," Brennan told her, "inside another cave. There's a hole that we can see out of pretty easily. We're on the only mountain I can see that doesn't have snow in it. We're located about a quarter mile down from our own tree line, on the eastern side of the mountain. There's a deep valley below us, and then nothing until another mountain far off in the distance."
The ghost wisp extended a tendril of mist that gently caressed the side of Brennan's head. Brennan felt something that he could only describe as a tickling of his brain. "Got it," ghost-Emma murmured. "I can see it."
They both got an impression of a worried smile, and then the mist seeped back toward the molecular in preparation for departure. "Hang on," the mist begged, losing its shape altogether in favor of an amorphous mass. "Make Jesse stay with us. We're coming as fast as we can." On its way back to Jesse, the mist curled lasciviously around Brennan's still naked form, dawdling over parts of him left best to the imagination. The mist-filled smile turned a little less worried and a little more mischievous. "Real fast." Then the mist drifted reluctantly away.
Adam turned to Brennan and cocked his head. "I think you can get dressed now."
Brennan flushed.
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"Shalimar! Shalimar!" Emma shook the blonde's shoulder. "Wake up! I've found them!"
Shalimar sprang out of her camp roll, suddenly awake as only a wild animal could do. None of this slowly rising to an acceptable level of consciousness; move now! "Where?" she demanded, slamming her feet into her boots.
"Here." Emma spread the maps out in front of her, using the pencil flash as a pointer. "They're on the mountain without snow, about a quarter mile down from the tree line. Eastern side, Brennan said. They don't have much time left. They're in trouble."
"Aren't they always?" Shalimar slipped into her heavy jacket, grabbing up her pack. "Let's go."
Emma stopped her. "What about breaking camp?"
Shalimar shook her head. "No time. Let's find the guys first. We can always come back later and pick up after ourselves. But right now, I don't want anything slowing us down."
Emma nodded, agreeing with her logic. "Let's go."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
They weren't water balloons, but they were filled with water. As predicted, the ferals figured out that it was the water that was keeping Brennan from defending his team mates. Several buckets of water were splashed into the interior of the cavern in all directions, thoroughly re-dousing Brennan and the other two.
"Hey!" Brennan spluttered, realizing in an instant what had happened. And what was about to occur. He readied himself. Brennan's mutant elemental powers were now neutralized, but that didn't mean that the man was helpless. No matter what, these ferals would know that they had been in a fight.
Bartholomew hopped down from the hole in the cave roof with a graceful plunge, landing on his feet and kicking out with a long leg. Brennan deflected the move with his good arm, letting the motion carry him around into a back roundhouse kick that knocked the hawk man into the wall. Bartholomew squawked, the sound more chicken than hawk-like.
But Brennan couldn't spend the time laughing at him, for Wilbur the Bear also dropped down out of the sky. He was less graceful, but more powerful with the strength of Ursinus Rex in those immense arms. Wilbur swung, Brennan ducked.
Adam was outclassed from the start. Both the badger and the wolverine ganged up on him, and all the intelligence in the world wasn't enough to dodge those fast flying fists. The wolverine got in the first blow below the gut, and Adam folded, gasping for breath. The badger slammed him from above, and Adam dropped to the floor. The pair turned to their main objective: Jesse.
Jesse scrambled dizzily to his feet and massed. Badger swung his taloned fist, and shattered both talons and fingers against the diamond-hard surface. He howled in sudden pain, dropping back to nurse his paw.
The wolverine learned from his partner's mistake, and from previous episodes. Punches were not the way to take down a recalcitrant molecular, but he could still beat him. Darting around behind with the speed of a feral, he wrapped his arms around the stone statue that Jesse had become and squeezed.
It didn't work. The statue stayed rigid. But the wolverine didn't give up.
Jesse did run out of breath. Gasping, he un-phased—which was what the wolverine was waiting for. He squeezed harder. Ribs popped. Face went blue.
Jesse went down.
"Got him!" Darryl howled. "My turn! My turn to change back!" He tossed the molecular over his shoulder and leaped straight up through the hole in the roof of the cavern, carrying Jesse with him. It was a move worthy of Shalimar at her best.
"Got him!" the others echoed, and followed in a series of feral leaps.
Brennan jumped back to his feet to follow—and crumbled to one knee, groaning in pain.
"Brennan!" Adam gasped from his own position on the floor. He crawled upright, staggering, hand steadying himself against the wall.
But sheer adrenaline forced the elemental to his feet. He cast one angry glare around the cavern. "I am damn tired of this. Stand back, Adam."
"You can't! You're wet!"
"Get to someplace dry, Adam. Get inside the tunnel where water isn't. Get there now," he snarled. "Right now. I am about to show these pieces of slime what it means to mess with Mutant X."
Adam scrambled. There was only one place that wasn't covered with water droplets: the narrow tunnel. Adam dove in, banging his head against the top of the rock and seeing stars once again.
Brennan wasn't in a waiting sort of mood. Growling, he super-charged his one working hand. Light flickered, hissing as it came in contact with water. Brennan could feel the danger licking at his bare feet, begging to electrocute its master.
Not now! Brennan poured all of his anger into the one blast, shooting himself up through the cavern roof like a bullet! Electric power zapped across the floor of the cave in a vicious crackle, seeking a victim to electrocute. But there was no one: Adam was safe within the tunnel and Brennan was safely airborne.
He came down on the mountainside slope, rolling in an automatic crouch, yelping as the broken bones hampered his recovery from the blast. But he was out!
No time to waste! He broke into a run, heading down the mountainside at breakneck speed, trying to catch up with the ferals eager on killing his teammate. He could see them up ahead, already back at their camp, the wolverine holding Jesse in his arms while Wilbur forced the potion down his throat. Jesse tried to fight them, tried to prevent them from administering the poison, but they were too many and too strong. This couldn't be happening! Not now! Shalimar and Emma were so close!
"No!" Brennan yelled. Jesse bucked and fought, and as Brennan watched, Wilbur wrenched his teammate's jaw open and poured the steaming cup in.
Brennan blasted them, heedless of where the lightning bolt hit, heedless of his water-logged state—no, his previousflight out of the cave had instantly dried him off in a wind tunnel effect. He was free from the short-circuiting water.
Good. Time to go ballistic. He crackled the electrons at his disposal, aiming first for Wilbur. Take the bear out of the equation, and the rest would fall just as soon as Brennan could singe the fur off each and every one of them. Brennan was pissed.
He wasn't thinking, only feeling. Feeling the anger. Feeling the rage, feeling the need to rescue his brother. The fiery force of electricity built to an unbearable height. He wasn't thinking—but the ferals were.
Badger was waiting for him, hiding in the brush. The beast feral pounced before Brennan could send off another lightning bolt, sweeping him off of his feet and rolling him down the mountainside toward the camp. The feral followed, kicking and scratching, until he could subdue the elemental. He grabbed Brennan by the broken arm, sending waves of pain shooting up to his brain to leave his prey only half-conscious. Brennan sank down to the ground, beaten by his own injury.
"Brennan!" Jesse yelled, choking on the noxious potion.
Wilbur grinned, taking advantage of the open mouth to force the dregs into the molecular. "Strong," he noted. "Maybe the potion wore off a bit. Maybe we'll get more than one more cure from you. Stay strong, boy." He shook the molecular, rattling his teeth and nearly taking the wolverine off of his feet. "Hang onto him, Darryl. The change will come any minute. Don't let him escape again."
"Hanging on," the wolverine assured the bear. "Hanging on!"
It was coming. Jesse could feel it, could feel each and every drop of the poison seeping through his gut into his bloodstream, ready to shake his DNA loose and feed it into the wolverine that held him in a death grip. Vision failed; this was it. The end. They'd gotten through to the girls, Shalimar and Emma'd help Adam and Brennan even if it was too late for him, should'a stayed in the cloud world with Emma, Emma wouldn't let him…
"Let him go."
Brennan watched through watering eyes, tried to concentrate on the scene in front of him despite the agony in his arm. Damn badger, broke it all over again!
Shalimar Fox, true feral, stalked forward, legs stiffened with the angry gait of a thoroughly pissed off cat. Brennan could almost hear the hissing, see the fur stand on end. This was not the girl that he routinely tussled with in mock matches back at Sanctuary. This was a thoroughly aroused, thoroughly dangerous feral.
"Let him go!"
Badger let go of Brennan and attacked. Almost negligently, Shalimar cuffed him across the head: a single blow. Badger went down like a ton of bricks. Shalimar stalked forward.
Emma appeared to one side of the camp. "Let him go," she demanded.
The wolverine backed up, dragging Jesse with him. "No! He's mine! It's my turn!"
"Let him go." Emma slammed the wolverine with a psionic blast. The wolverine's head rocked back, and he slumped, taking the half-conscious molecular with him to the ground.
Afterward, Brennan would never be able to say exactly what had happened, and he wasn't certain that he wanted to. The ones that Emma got to first were the lucky ones; they were belted into unconsciousness with a single angry glare. Where ever Shalimar stalked, bits of fur and blood flew. Bones broke. Beast mutants whimpered and fled in mortal terror.
Shit. Don't ever want to see them that angry ever again. And especially not at me!
It was over.
Not quite. Shalimar helped Brennan to his feet, the angry feral suddenly gentle with her packmate. "Where's Adam?"
"In the cave," Brennan gasped, wishing his arm would go back to healing rapidly again. Didn't hurt this bad the first time! At least, he didn't remember it hurting this bad. Black spots floated in front of his vision. "In the cave. Hurry!"
"Hurrying." Shalimar snatched up the rope from her pack where she'd dropped it—she brought a pack? I didn't notice—and broke into a run straight uphill.
"Jesse?" Emma pulled the molecular away from the unconscious wolverine feral, noting with dismay the tremors that were already beginning to shake him. Another seizure was approaching, a seizure that might kill the molecular. "Jesse, stay with me!"
"Adam. We have to get him to Adam." Adam will know what to do. Brennan had to believe that, had to believe that the rescue hadn't come too late for his team mate. Never mind that Adam didn't have any tools, didn't have the resources that he had acquired over the years and poured into Sanctuary. Adam will know what to do to keep Jesse from dying. "Jesse, keep fighting, man!" He pulled Jesse up with one strong hand, Emma supporting the other, dragging him out of the camp and up the slope toward the cavern opening. "Keep breathing, dammit!"
No time. Seconds counted, seconds wasted in sending the rope down for Adam to climb up, monkey-like. Seconds wasted in bringing the two together so that Adam could perform yet another miracle with nothing more than the power of his brain.
They could feel their teammate growing weaker, feel the tremors taking over. Soon the poison would kill him in front of their eyes, not even a DNA exchange for a beast mutant to say that some good had come from this. Brennan and Emma hurried Jesse up the slope slung between them, watching as Shalimar tossed the rope down and then impatiently yanked Adam up the last few feet with the feral strength made frantic by need.
Jesse went limp in their grasp, hanging between their arms. Adam swiftly checked his pupils, noted the tremors, noted everything, running through his mental inventory of what they needed and didn't have. "Dammit. I need—" he broke off.
"Adam?" There was fear in Emma's voice.
"You'll forgive me for this later," he muttered. And drove his fist deep into Jesse's gut.
It worked. The entire contents of Jesse's stomach came pouring forth, the odor as noxious as it had been going down. Jesse gagged, held up only by the strength of his teammates, gratefully emptying himself of the poison that would kill him.