Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X or X Men.
Imaginary Friend
Chapter 24
Jesse landed the Helix and moved to Shalimar's side before opening the hatch. "Are you ok?"
Hesitantly she nodded as she looked out a port at the two women waiting for her.
"It's only Evie and Jean. They won't hurt you," he assured.
"I know," she whispered as she positioned herself under his arm.
He hugged her to his side and kissed her hair. "I won't leave you." When he felt her nod, he opened the hatch and let her set the pace.
As soon as she was far enough out of the Helix she could feel him again. She froze and turned trembling into Jesse's chest. "He's…here…" she mumbled. "They're…all…here."
The women jumped suddenly when they saw Shalimar's head snap in their direction, eyes aglow and teeth bared. Jean and Evie together tried to read her and…felt the overwhelming fear. They also felt the strength with which her mind was fighting against her instincts. Amazed and in respectful fear of her power they slowly made their presence known. "Shalimar, it's Jean. Can you see me? Evie's with me. Will you talk to us?" They waited as she slowly walked to them in her mind. Before she made it all the way, she fell to the floor shielding her head with her arms. They watched in terror for her while images once again began an assault as ghostly specters all around her. Images both familiar and foreign passed them bye as they approached their victim. Since their minds were one, Evie instantly and silently conveyed to Jean that information which she could about the images. Most she had seen when she was in Shalimar's mind yesterday. New ones appeared involving members of the other team now. They at once concluded that her surroundings were influencing her visions. Jean looked on in disbelief as members of her family assaulted and tormented their young friend. Just as quickly as the images appeared they disappeared. The women watched again as Shalimar slowly began to peek out from beneath her arms. They watched as her eyes darted around for danger and suddenly focused on one place beyond them. Terror replaced the previous fear on the young woman's face. "No…no please…not again…please…" they heard her beg. Horrified, themselves, as they turned; they saw Brennan angrily stalk toward his wife. Aghast they cringed as he shot furious bolts which made her fall back screaming in pain. "Jean, Evie," they heard from beyond. "Come away from her now." Slowly they retreated and opened their eyes to see Shalimar curled on the floor of the bay with Jesse frantically trying to calm her.
He looked up with tears threatening to overtake his eyes. "Get out…Seal the doors…Go!…Now!" Ordering them out took his attention and Shalimar got in a kick that sent him sprawling across the bay, smacking hard, into the tool locker on the side then falling with a thud head first into the cement of the bay floor. Shaking the daze out, he turned and watched as the girls quickly followed Charles out and closed the doors behind them. "Shalimar,…Shal…listen to me…listen to my voice…" he tried to sooth her.
Panicked, she jumped from place to place looking for a way out. Trapped …she was trapped…again.
From the war room, Adam, Scott and Brennan watched as Shalimar finally stopped her frantic attempts at escape.
Suddenly something caught Shalimar's attention. She raised her head and sniffed the air. Blood She followed the smell which led her right to Jesse. Still very much feral she sniffed and approached him. Like a mother caring for her child she slowly pawed him and found the wound. She pulled her hand back and saw the blood.
Everyone else saw it, too. "He's hurt," Brennan exclaimed as he turned. "I've got to get him out of there."
"No! Wait!" Adam stopped him. "Look." They watched in amazement as she sat beside him and pulled him over, laying his head in her lap. "She's taking care of him. It's getting her to calm down."
"But he's bleeding!" Brennan yelled in frustration.
Adam turned and faced his son. He could only imagine the pain Brennan was going through. His heart ached at the thought. Though Brennan's height dwarfed Adam's, he was still the leader and he had to stay focused and in control. He had to think clearly to get them all through this. "You can't go in there! You have to stay as far away from her as possible. Jesse's not in any real danger. In her own way she's taking care of him. It's the only thing that's keeping her fear from making her completely wild."
"Unfortunately, Adam is right." They turned to see Charles and the girls enter. "She is fighting desperately to control her fears. Without Jesse to focus on, I am afraid she will lose control."
Evie moved to Brennan's side as she sensed his overwhelming despair.
"I can't just sit and watch this. She's my wife and…she won't let me get anywhere near her. I have to do something." Brennan choked to keep control of his own fears.
"I believe the only thing to do is a complete memory block. Then we will have to work on slowly reconstructing her past."
"That's the same thing we did when she was a teen." Adam turned to him.
"Yes, but the difference is that I must now go in and block everything…up to today. I will have to untangle each memory and keep blocked those that are too painful or triggers to the rest."
"Charles," Evie glanced sadly at Brennan, "a procedure like that could take…a while."
"It could but I believe that the fears all emanate from her time at the institution. If I isolate and deal with that first, the rest should proceed quickly." He looked at the monitor and watched as the softer side of her feral nature was clear. "She is a very strong woman. For as wild as her nature can be…it can also be equally as loyal and loving. Her rational mind holds the balance. I need to help her restore that balance…before it is irreparable. We should begin as soon as possible."
"Brennan," Jean approached him. "Because she loves you so much, this confusion has focused the fear around you. She reacts to visions of you with the most fear. Her senses pick you up instantly. Until the fear is brought under control you have to stay as far away from her as you can. If you stay here, you can watch everything. The war room can be completely sealed off. As soon as your scent fades from the rest of the mansion she won't know you're here." With great sadness she watched as Brennan silently turned and walked to the far side of the room.
"I need to give Ro a break. She has a full afternoon ahead of her." Scott moved to the door. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do."
Kitty, Jubilee and Bobby had baby duty as everyone else was occupied dealing with the present situation. Kitty was feeling much better and couldn't believe the energy she had. They decided that it would be best to take the children out so they packed a picnic basket and diaper-bag. The afternoon was beautiful as the sun shone brightly. They went out to the clearing on the south side of the property where there were no dangers of ponds or creeks or rocks for the overly mobile toddlers to stumble upon. Kitty and Jubilee sat on a blanket warmed by the fall sun as Bobby rolled a ball with Thomas and Nadene. "I'm really worried about Shalimar," Kitty sighed. "She's really confused. And Brennan,…he's so upset I just want to cry."
"I know. I could feel it the minute he stepped off the Helix. It was that girl, right?" Jubilee's eyes moved to her fiancé. "The one Bobby had to…" she stopped and looked away. She couldn't continue. For some reason it hit her out of the blue…or maybe not. She had been thinking about them ever since he told her about the mission. Every time he spoke to her on the phone he was vague about the details but…it was a mission. She was used to that. This time it taunted her every time she hung up the phone. This time it invaded her dreams. For the last two nights she dreamed of Bobby smiling and laughing. Being extra charming and suave. She watched as he sat with another girl. She could never quite see her face but who she was didn't matter. All that mattered was that Bobby was with her…over and over again…in a park…in a restaurant…in a car…in her room…
"Hey," Kitty called to her, "it wasn't like that."
Jubilee turned and quickly wiped the lone tear that escaped her control. "I know. It's just…I don't know…I had some dreams about them together and…" she sat up straighter and smiled. "I just didn't sleep very well. I'm fine."
"Jubes," Kitty scolded.
"I'm fine, really. It was just the first mission he had to do that." Jubilee's nerves wired her mouth as the words spilled forth. "It's not like he didn't have to overlook all the stuff I did with Brennan on the campus last year. He understood that I was drugged. You know he's never mentioned it after that. This was just a mission. He did what he had to and then walked away, right? It's so stupid for me to think anything else, right?"
"Hey, time out," Kitty turned to look her in the eye. "You're way too hyper about this. It was only a mission. It was over in one day. Nothing happened. He only got her to tell him what she did to Shalimar. Now she's gone. It's over."
"How?" Jubilee's eyes turned hard.
"What?"
"How did he get her to tell?" Her voice now matched her unrelenting eyes that seemed to boar into Kitty for the answers she needed.
"Jubes…" Kitty chuckled nervously and looked toward Bobby and the kids.
"I know this is crazy but I have to know. Did he have to…"
"No! Absolutely not." Kitty's head snapped back with a frown to her friend.
"How do you know? He was alone with her. If she did something to Shalimar's mind, how do you know she didn't do something to his?"
"He was wired, Jubes. Adam wouldn't send him in if he weren't. At least one of us was with him every second, listening and talking in his ear. Sanctuary recorded every breath he took. Evie also went in and created a filter in his mind so he would recognize if she was trying to coerce him. It was a simple mission."
"I know…this is really stupid."
"I think you need to spend some time alone. Talk about it, then put it behind you. Maybe you can let Hank check you over."
"Oh, that reminds me…" Jubilee smiled brightly as if their conversation never happened. "Hank told me to tell you that he's sorry that he's not here to check you and Bryan. He was scheduled to speak at a conference, today. This morning when we found out you were coming he offered to cancel but the professor insisted he go. He said he'd have to visit you and get an update." As if nothing had been said the girls began another conversation about Bryan. Had anyone else been listening in, they would have had to laugh at the change.
TBC
