Chapter Two
"God didn't promise days without pain,
Laughter without sorrow, sun without rain.
But he did promise strength for the day,
Comfort for the tears and light for the way."
-Anonymous
The sun was just peaking above the Rocky Mountains that protected Sanctuary, filling the sky with a warm summer glow of all shades of orange. It was one of those sun rises that would take the breath right from your lungs. Adam waited no time on calling the team for a meeting, hungry for information on yesterday. It took them twenty minutes before they were all gathered around the main computer terminals expect for Jesse. Adam had to say he was slightly annoyed that they were still waiting for the molecular, but he couldn't help but have a stab of worry for the young man.
Adam turned to Shalimar who was sitting on a chair and using Brennan's body as a back rest. "Shalimar, can you go see what's keeping Jesse?"
"Sure." She jumped off the stool and almost pranced down the hall to Jesse's room. Being really close to him, like an older sister, she always loved the chance to wake him up. When Shalimar got to his room, she knocked on the door a couple of times before calling out, "Jesse, you up?"
When he didn't respond she slowly opened the door, poking her head in. The room was dark but she could clearly see him still in bed. With a wide smile she went over to the bed. "Hey sleepy head get up." She gave the sleeping mass a friendly shove. "Jesse?"
The mass of blankets moved slightly on the bed as it spoke in a weak annoyed voice, "What?"
"Adam called a meeting twenty minutes ago. We are all waiting on you." Jesse turned over onto his back allowing Shalimar to get a good look at him and she did not like what she saw. His face was pale and clammy causing his dirty blonde hair to cling to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" Her voice that had started playfully teasing was now full of concern. She placed the back of her hand on his forehead being careful not to touch the white bandage on the right side of his head. "Man, Jesse, you're burning up."
"Really, I haven't noticed." He said sarcastically, sounding stronger as he was more awake.
Shalimar removed her hand and brought it up to her mouth as she spoke into the sliver ring, "Adam, you may want to come down here." Not even a minute later Adam, Brennan and Emma all came piling into Jesse's room.
"What's the matter?" Adam immediately moved to the bed his face was wrinkled with worry.
"He's really burning up." Shalimar was seated on his bed, pushing his hair back away from his face
"Brennan, can you carry him to the lab?"
"Sure." The elemental started to walk to the bed, but Jesse sat up trying to show that he was still capable on his own.
"No, I can walk there myself." Jesse said as he put his feet on the wood floor. He wanted to save what dignity he had left. He already had to be carried to the Helix because of a bump on his head, there was no way he needed help because of a little fever; but once he stood up and took a step, his knees buckled and he fell back onto the bed.
"Brennan…" Adam had to bite back a smile at Jesse's stubbornness.
"Yeah, I got him." Brennan walked over to his teammate, grabbed one of his arms putting it over his shoulder and lifted the molecular off the bed.
Brennan helped Jesse to the lab with the rest of Mutant X following right behind them. Jesse was feeling even crappier for the fact that he needed help from the elemental. The clear plexi-glass door opened and Jesse was guided straight to the blue chair that was in the center of the lab, his body shivered as he slid onto it.
Adam headed over to one of the computer counsels as Brennan walked back to the door were the two women were at. With just a few touches on the screen a box like machine attached to a track on the ceiling moved itself right over Jesse. At one more touch of the computer screen by Adam two translucent blue lines of light, stretching across the width of the chair, beamed down on Jesse's waist then each moving different directions one heading to his feet, the other to his head. Once the two beams of light reached the ends of the chair, they started to move back to the center scanning Jesse as they went. Arriving back at their starting point the machine gave a little beep before the blue light disappeared and the sliver box moved back to its home in the wall.
Jesse waited a few minutes for Adam to read the scans results, as did everybody, before weakly asking, "So what's the damage?"
There was an exhale breath followed by a pause. "Well," Adam said "the scans show that you have just the common flu."
"But, I know there is a "but" in there."
"But the scans are also showing an anomaly in your blood."
"Anomaly?" Emma spoke up. But Adam didn't answer; he just took a syringe off the nearby counter and went over to Jesse. Adam grabbed his right arm and was about to take some blood but he paused. Jesse noticed Adam's delay and looked at the older man and saw him staring at his arm.
"What is it Adam?" curiously filled his voice.
"There looks like there is a puncture mark on your arm." The three other mutants moved to Adam in one fluid motion to see what their leader was talking about.
"Jesse, did you feel anything prick your arm when you were waiting for the new mutant?" Shalimar wondered.
"No."
"What about after the car accident?" Brennan spoke up for the first time.
"I was out cold, until you guys came." Jesse motioned to Shalimar and Emma. Adam proceeded to take blood as the blood filled the small vile, Jesse had a strange feeling wash over him. Emma sensed his uncertainly or more like de ja vu.
"What is it Jesse?"
"I think I may have felt something after the explosion like a pinch which I think is what got me to wake up. But everything was, is pretty fuzzy."
The team was silent as Adam ran Jesse's blood. It felt like an eternity before the computer finally gave out a beep. All attention turned to the small monitor as Adam checked the results. "The blood work shows that you are trying to fight some sort of chemical." The mentor stated.
"Chemical?" Jesse coughed out.
"Yes."
"What kind of chemical?" Shalimar unconsciously moved closer to Jesse's side.
"I won't know until I do some more tests."
"That's always comforting." Jesse said under his breath
"So what do we do in the mean time?" Brennan asked.
"You and Shalimar try and see if you can find out who's behind the attack." Adam directed. "Start by going back to the warehouse and see if you can find anything that would help. Emma I'll need your help here in the lab."
"Okay." Brennan and Shalimar said as they headed out of the lab.
"What would you like me to do?" Emma asked Adam as she moved over to the older man.
"I'll need another sample of blood." He was already focusing on the computer screens trying to think of what tests he should be running to find out this chemical. He stopped and turned to Emma. "Make that two samples."
"What can I do?" The horse voice of Jesse made the two heads turn to him.
"You can lie there and let Emma take blood from you." Adam said turning back to the computers
"But I can work the computers," Jesse pushed on the arm rest to help him sit up. "Help Brennan and Shal find this bast-"
"No you are going to stay in that chair and rest."
"Adam I can still-"
"Jesse, why do you always fight me on things like this?" The older man turned around and walked over to the sick mutant to make sure he was heard clearly. "You have been hanging around Brennan far too much. You are sick, you are fighting an unknown chemical that I have no idea what it could do to you. So you are going to stay here in this lab until I know what is in your system." Adam strongly stated making no room for any more arguments.
"Fine." Jesse said like a disappointed child as he fell back into the chair, crossing his arms across his chest. Emma smiled as she walked over to him; she just stared at him like she was waiting for him to say something. "What Emma?" he asked being somewhat not amused by this smiling stare down.
"I need your arm." She held back a laugh.
"Oh," he sheepishly untwined his arms and held his right one straight out, "Right I knew that." The lab was quite as Emma drew blood; expect for the quite beeps and hums of the computers and the muffle coughs that Jesse tried to hold back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The sun was climbing its slow ascent into the sky. The higher it went, that orange morning sky burned off into a clear blue backdrop. A black mustang ripped around a corner into an ally and sided to a stop just shy of the old warehouse. Shalimar and Brennan got out of the mustang and walked towards the old warehouse. They stopped and looked down the ally at the crash site. The sliver Audi that had been imbedded in the brick wall was gone and the fire long since died, both leaving just ash and rubble. The only two things that indicated there was an accident was the police report on the new saying it was a local gang that got too drunk. With no doubt it was a cover that the person behind it all set up. And then there was, of course the huge hole in the trashed street that was the center point of the explosion.
"Well I doubt there is anything at this warehouse, Jesse and I spent an hour walking around the place and there was nothing suspicious." Brennan informed Shalimar as they walked past the broken door.
"You just don't want to go back in." The blonde said with a devilish smile.
"No, I just don't want to waste time looking though a big dusty smelly building."
"Okay, we'll check that place last." She swatted him on the chest as she walked out and headed over to the destroyed wall that was a couple yards away. As they got closer, Shalimar's brown eyes changed to a bright orange-yellow enabling her to see things that are invisible or much harder to see for a normal human's eyes. Her feral senses were on high, looking and smelling for any clues. Brennan was trailing behind Shalimar waiting for her to find something.
"Where did you fight this guy?" She asked wanting the exact location so she could examine the area closer.
"Um, the car was here." Brennan pointed to the great big hole in the wall, "I went and got Jesse out and I think I was right about here when he kicked me in the back." He stood a couple feet away from the red brick building, "Then we fought back around the car--"
"I got something." Shalimar said interrupting Brennan.
"What?" The tall elemental walked over to Shal who was crouched close to the asphalt.
"Its blood and about a day old."
"How," Brennan crouched down to Shalimar's level. He had to really stare at the dark ground before he was able to see the blood she spoke of. "I don't think I've even got a shot at him. Are you sure that it's not Jesse's?"
"I'm sure."
"It's pretty thin Shal, could be nothing." The elemental stood up
"This is all we got. I can't sense anything else." She pulled out a q-tip and swabbed at the blood. When she could get all she could, she snapped on a plastic cap over the tip and stood up. "Let's hope that Adam can get something from this."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Just shortly after Emma had taken blood from Jesse, she helped him fall into a relatively painless sleep. She had gotten a cool wet cloth and wiped the feverish sweat from his face. Adam had been trying to identify the chemical, but after countless failed test and a few long hours, he was losing his nerve quickly.
"Adam have you found anything yet?" Emma asked as she walked next to him, as she finished changing the gaze on Jesse's forehead.
"No, there is nothing that can identify this chemical or if there is even a cure."
"So you didn't find anything that would help Jesse?"
"No, but I was able to get a list of what the symptoms could possibly be, however it's not good. His fever will get dangerously high, chills and muscle aches will get worse, coughing and vomiting most likely will accrue."
"It sounds like a bad cause of the flu, are you positive Jesse doesn't have it."
"Very positive."
"Is there anything that we can do?"
"At the moment I am as clueless as you are." Adam let out a defeating sigh as his hand came up and rubbed the inside of his eyes. Silence fell over the lab; Emma kept looking between the two men with the total feeling of helplessness.
Just then the lab doors opened and Brennan and Shalimar almost jogged into the lab with rays of hope shining from their faces. "We got something." Shalimar said holding up the q-tip. But both mutants stopped dead when they saw the dreaded looks of the other teammates.
"What is it?" Brennan's voice was lased with worry.
"Jesse's fever will get worse so will the coughing and it will get to the point of throwing up." Emma informed the two. "And Adam is positive that he doesn't have the flu."
"And there is-"
"No." Adam said cutting Shalimar off knowing what she was going to ask.
"What will happen if we don't find a cure?" Brennan asked the question that no one was brave enough to say.
Adam paused, he really did not want to tell them but he could not lie about this, "If we don't find a cure he could die."
As if he did it on cue, Jesse woke up as violent coughs tore through his body. Everyone jumped from the horrible sounds and from the realizing that Jesse was in a world of pain if they could not find a cure. Jesse let out another string of coughs that shook Shalimar out of her frozen state. She bolted out of the lab with cat like speed and she returned shortly with a bottle of water that she opened it and gave the bottle to Jesse.
"Than--thanks Shal." He took the bottle of water and drank it slowly. The cold water put out the itchy fire that consumed his throat. Jesse relaxed as the coughing stopped and enjoyed the cold silk moving down his throat till it fell into his stomach. "Adam" his voice was so horsed and broken that it almost pained him. "Can I please go back to my room?" He pleaded not really wanting to spend the rest of the night in that cold uncomfortable chair. He wanted nothing more than to be in the comfort of his own nice soft warm bed.
"Sure." Adam said without a second thought. It broke his heart to see one of his children in so much physical pain. He stood back and watched as Shalimar helped Jesse get off the chair and the two of them walked slowly out of the lab with Emma right behind them. Once the Plexiglas doors slid closed, Adam turned to Brennan whose brown eyes were still locked on the door. "So what did you find?"
"Oh, right." Brennan snapped out of his thoughts and faced Adam, "Um Shal found some blood where I was attacked and she is sure that it isn't Jesse's or mine."
"You sound skeptical." Adam took the swab that Brennan held out and went to one of the computers with the mutant following behind.
"Well I don't remember hitting the guy let alone enough to make him bleed."
"I'll run it and hopefully it will match. Why don't you try to recreate what the attacker looked like then run it though the military database and to find the guy that way."
"Okay" Brennan headed out of the lab to the computers out in the main room.
Emma walked back into the lab moments after Brennan had left. She saw Adam moving from computer to computer, test tube to test tube. "What can I do?" She asked.
Adam looked up for a second before turning his attention back to the monitor. "Where is Shalimar?"
"She's sitting by Jesse's side very set on staying with him."
"Good. You can run this blood that she and Brennan found in the ally and find out who it belongs to." Adam pointed to a vile by a nearby computer. She headed over to it and the two people worked in silence.
After hitting its peak for a couple hours, the sun started to fall taking the bright sky along with it and leaving red streaks in its wake. Brennan had made a 3D computer sketch the best he could of the attacker. And after a long hour got thirty five close matches. It wasn't until Emma got a DNA match on the blood when they identified their man. His name was Wayne Danielson a thirty six year old man who was a marine of the United States military. He was dishonorably discharged after one two many physical assault charges. But there was no know address or any activity on his records that would help them find him. Adam still could not find anything more on the chemical that was making Jesse sick, and he was out of ideas.
"Brennan, you stay here with Shalimar; see if she can help you figure out who hired Danielson. Emma you'll come with me."
"Where are we going?" She asked as the three of them walked out of the lab.
"An old collogue who will have fresh eyes and is more knowable on biochemical."
"Good luck." Brennan bid his fair well as he watched the two head off to the hanger bay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jesse's room was dark which the young mutant really appreciated compared to the lab's blinding lights. And he swore that he felt better being curled up in his soft bed then in the evil lab chair. "Shal are you going to sit there all day?" Jesse rolled over onto his side so he can face Shalimar who was seated in a chair a few feet from his bed.
"Well actually I have, you have been asleep for most of the afternoon." She smiled trying to lighten the mood, though her eyes shown through her lying façade. "How are you feeling?"
"It's hard to say," He said though a sniffle and a short cough, "So Adam said it's going to get worse?"
"Yeah, but you know he'll find the cure long before it gets that bad."
"I guess you are right." There was silence as each one prayed a prayer that Shal was right about it. A moment later he broke the quite darkness. "Hey Shal?"
"Yeah Jesse?"
"Can you get me the extra blankets that Emma brought?"
"No problem." Shalimar got up from her seat and walked over to a table were Emma had disposed of the blankets, "You cold?"
"You can say that I feel like a human popsicle." A small smile appeared on his pale face, but it quickly disappeared when his body wracked with cold shivers.
"Adam can we give Jesse anything to help with the fever and coughing?" Shalimar asked over her com-link as she pulled the extra blankets over her brother.
"No I don't know if any medication will help or make it worse." Just then Jesse started coughing with no stopping in sight. His throat was raw and dry; every time he coughed it was making the next one even worse.
Shalimar went to get some more water but when she got back, Jesse was not in his bed; instead he was in the bathroom crouched by the toilet throwing up. She ran into the room and immediately started rubbing circles on his quivering back trying to give him some comfort. When his body could only give out dry heaves, Jesse was sitting on the cold bathroom floor with his knees pulled up to his chest leaning against Shalimar who sat beside him.
"You want to go back to your bed?"
"No, right here is fine." He said patting the floor next to him, not wanting to move in fear that his stomach would act up again.
"Okay, I'll be right back." Shalimar got up and grabbed a couple of blankets and the bottle of water she had dropped and headed back into the bathroom where she gave the water to Jesse and placed the blankets on his back.
"Thanks." He said as he snuggled deeper in the blankets while taking a small sip of water.
"Jess? Shal?" They heard Brennan's voice coming from the bedroom door "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah." Jesse said softly
"Then why are you guys one the bathroom floor?" A curious smile formed on Brennan's mouth.
"Oh we were just bowing to the porcine god." Shalimar tired to keep the mood up and thankfully she saw a smile on Jesse and Brennan's grew an inch bigger. "Thanking man for its marvels."
"Speaking of men, Adam and Emma are heading to a friend of Adams who knows all about virus. And we got a hit of that blood you found, it belongs to a guy name Wayne Danielson ex-military. I'm trying to find out who he is working for."
"Why is it that we always get the 'I'm a new mutant who wants to go into the underground' trap?" Jesse said frustrated that they were played with a trick that's been used on them many times. "You would think we've learned something by now."
Brennan and Shalimar laughed a genuine laugh since two days due to Jesse's look of a five year old complying about bed times. "Shal if you can help me with the search, make it go faster." Brennan said changing the subject.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a little bit."
"Okay." Brennan walked out of the bathroom leaving the two on the cold floor.
"So Jesse what do you want to do?" Shalimar asked knowing that the cold floor wouldn't help him.
"Maybe help you guys."
"Jesse you know what Adam said-"
"Shal, you and I both know I'm the best person on a computer. If Adam is right about how this whole thing could end if he doesn't find a cure. I would like to find this bastard before I die. So, please let me help."
"Okay, need help getting up?" She caved is as she stood up.
"No, but I'm going to take a quick shower first. Maybe that would help me feel less crappy."
"I'll be with Brennan when you're done." She turned to leave but stopped at the bathroom door when Jesse called her. "Hey, Shal?"
"Yeah, Jesse?"
"Thanks." Jesse gave her a smile that wasn't forced or acted, but one from the heart.
Shalimar knew that the thanks was more than just letting him help with the search. But he did not have to say anything other than that one word. A smile that mirrored that of Jesse's came upon her face, "Anytime." The feral mutant said as she turned back to the door and headed out to meet with Brennan, leaving Jesse alone in the bathroom.