For disclaimers, please see Chapter 1.
"Cynthia, thanks for coming."
She yawned before replying. "After waking me up at four in the morning, I hope that 'thanks' comes with a cup of coffee."
Adam chuckled. "Of course." He held out his arm in the direction of the kitchen. "After you."
Over coffee, Adam filled Cynthia in on what had happened recently. "So, if I've got this right, Brennan suspects that Jesse did something to him, but neither of you know for sure, right?" Cynthia asked.
"Correct. Signs of Brennan's latest mutation started appearing right after Jesse fought Brennan at the prison. I've checked Brennan on a regular basis, almost daily, and I could see his electrical charge rising, but then it would return to about normal the next day. I thought Brennan was learning to control, but after the incident at the warehouse, it's obvious that he doesn't have that control."
"Is it safe to have him here? Couldn't he bring down all your computers, destroy all your precious data?" Cynthia asked, a touch of bitterness in her voice.
"Cynthia, let's not have the same fight over and over again, okay? And yes, for right now, it is safe to have him here. His charge is climbing, but we aren't in a danger zone yet. Jesse has put up EM shielding around the computer room, but we'll move Brennan to a different location before he truly becomes a risk." Adam stood up from the table and grabbed the coffee pot, pouring them more of the hot stimulant.
Cynthia let the discussion of Adam's precious data go. "And Emma? You want her memory blocked, too?" She asked, adding some cream to her coffee.
"I think that's best. I don't want her to be suspicious. More importantly, I need you to reinforce the suggestion that she should not scan my thoughts. The previous one you gave her isn't holding."
"Adam, this is just wrong. I'm tired of altering the thoughts of these children. Besides, the way Emma's powers have grown, I'm not sure I'll be able to affect her anymore."
"Cynthia, please. You know why it has to be this way. The alternative isn't something I want to think about."
"Would you do it, if it came down to it? Would you really murder Jesse?"
Adam frowned, especially at her choice of words. "It wouldn't be murder."
"I can sense the blocks, but I'm not sure breaking them is a good idea."
Jesse opened his eyes. "Why not, Em? They're my memories."
Emma opened her eyes as well, dropping her fingers from where they had touched his temple. "You remember those cartoons from when we were kids? The ones where they'd stuff everything into a closet, just stuff it until the closet door was just trembling try to keep everything in? Then someone would walk by and open the door and everything will spill out on them like an avalanche?"
Jesse swallowed. "You're saying that's what's going on in me? But doesn't that mean I could burst at any time? Wouldn't that be worse?"
Emma smiled and grabbed his hand and held it. "I won't lie to you, Jess. That's possible, but based on the fact that you are already remembering things, I'd say stuff is leaking out of the closet slowly. You're able to deal with the memories this way. If I break open the barrier, it could be too much."
"Okay, I'll wait. But if I pop a blood vessel in my brain or something, it's your fault," he smiled.
Emma rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She smiled back.
"Em? What if I'm not the only one with these blocks? Do you think Adam did it to you guys, too?"
"I'm a psionic – there's no way he could mess with my mind that way." Emma said confidently, but didn't look so confident.
"Don't you think it's worth checking?"
"I can, but I meditate all the time. I would have noticed before now."
"Maybe not, if you weren't looking for it."
Emma closed her eyes again and this time looked within herself. Thinking of the closet metaphor she used with Jesse, she visualized a hotel, full of doors to open and look within. She walked down the hallway, twisting the handles to see if any of the doors were locked, not finding any.
At the end of the hallway, she felt confident that she had not had any manipulations done to her, as she had told Jesse. She looked back down the long hallway, ready to exit, but noticed something peculiar.
Doors appeared on each side of the hallway, scattered across its length. But when she looked at them as a whole, she noticed that a few doors were missing, not following the pattern. When she had been moving from door to door, she hadn't noticed it.
She quickly strode to a section of wall that should have had a door. Anger filled her, anger that anyone could mess with her mind this way. A psychic orb formed in front of her forehead, and she sent it hurtling towards the wall, right where the door should have been.
The wall shimmered, and the door appeared, scorch marks evident from her blast. It sat crookedly on the hinges, and she pushed it open with little effort and walked inside.
Emma opened her eyes. "You were right, Jesse. And this isn't the first time we've had this conversation."
Shalimar's alarm went off like a buzzsaw. "There is no way I'm getting up," she said aloud, rolling over and stretching her arm out to turn off the incessant shrieking.
With the alarm turned off, she tried to go back to sleep, but the thought of her extra nipples popped into her head. With a groan, she moved her hand down to her stomach, gasping when she found it smooth and unblemished.
"Oh, thank god. It was just a dream." She jumped up from bed and ran to her mirror, pulling off her t-shirt to reveal her bare chest. "Oh thank god! Thank god!"
Now that her day seemed easier to face, Shalimar opted against more sleep and decided to hop in the shower and start her day. She headed for the bathroom with a smile.
"What do you mean, Em?"
"We've remembered things before, Jesse, and then had them blocked again. I need more time to uncover the details, but I remember a woman named Cynthia showing up, a really strong psionic."
"That would make sense. Only another psionic would have a chance against you mentally."
Emma stirred, uncomfortable with the thought of a psionic who could alter her mind. "Not this time," she vowed.
"Em, can you reach Shal? We should let her know what's going on."
"Sure, I'll see if she's awake." Emma closed her eyes again, casting her thoughts outward, and hit a wall. She tried harder. "I can't reach her. In fact, I can't get outside this room."
"Really? It must be the shielding I added. It's built to withstand an EM pulse." Jesse paused to think. "And since it blocks electrical energy, and since thoughts are essentially just electricity jumping between the synapses within your brain…"
"You've also accidentally shielded this room against psionic abilities," Emma said, getting uncomfortable, unused to being contained and limited. "Can we get out of here?"
"Of course," Jesse answered, standing up and walking to the door. "Let's go."
"Wait, Jesse. Can you secure this room so that only you can get anyone in or out?"
Jesse thought about it. "Sure. But why?"
"Because I think this would make an excellent hiding spot for you, or us, just in case Cynthia shows up."
Jesse's eyes narrowed. "I just need a minute."
Brennan woke slowly, his head feeling thick and heavy. After a moment, the memory of what Adam had done resurfaced.
I can't believe he drugged me!
He tried to sit up, but couldn't. He struggled, realizing that restraints held his arms and legs secure. He debated on calling out, but he didn't want it to be Adam who responded to his call.
Come on guys, help me!
Then he noticed the ants – that surging beneath his skin that demanded to be freed. He hadn't felt it this strong since – since the warehouse.
As soon as Jesse and Emma exited the computer room, Emma picked up Shalimar's presence.
"She's in her room."
They quickly reached Shalimar's door and knocked. Shalimar opened it, dressed in tight jeans and another half-shirt. Both Jesse and Emma stared.
"Um, Shal? What happened to your nipples?" Jesse asked, blunt as ever.
Shal paled in front of them. "But that was just a dream."
"Sorry, Shal. It happened, and there's more going on. We'll catch you up things."
Jesse started to explain, but Emma frowned and turned her head away from them.
"Guys, Brennan's awake. And he's afraid. We need to go to him."
"Wait. If the nipples thing happened, then Brennan also beat holographic Jesse to death." Shalimar snarled.
"What?" Jesse asked, shocked.
"We don't have time for this, guys," Emma sighed. She formed a psychic orb in front of her, and it flew out and struck Shalimar. Seconds later, a second orb struck Jesse.
Both of them shook their heads, slightly stunned.
"So, are we all caught up now?" she asked.
"Umm, yeah," Jesse answered. "I feel like I was right there with you and Shal when you saw the security footage."
"How long have you been able to do this, Emma?"
"Awhile," she replied. "We've all got secrets, Shal."
"Not me."
"Yeah, sure," Emma answered, ignoring a lie once again. "Let's just go help Brennan."
"I'm not so sure we should help him."
Jesse put his hand on the feral's shoulder. "Shal, I appreciate you wanting to protect me. But honestly, the whole hologram thing doesn't surprise me. Brennan's always been about hurting me. This time it's just a little more obvious. It's okay."
"That doesn't really sound okay to me, Jesse. Not one bit."
"Please, Shal, for me. Just let it go. I'll deal with that after we find out what's happening to Brennan, and we've confronted Adam about Cynthia."
"You'll deal with it? No offense, but you aren't very good with dealing with Brennan."
"Well, things are changing. You'll find out there's a lot of things about me that are different now."
Shalimar looked at him closely, seeing how he stood with more confidence and assurance. "I can see that."
"Let's go," Emma said, "I'm worried about Brennan."
As they headed off to the lab with Jesse in the lead, Shalimar whispered to Emma. "So how is it that Brennan created a hologram of a strong, confident Jesse just like the one in front of us?"
"So Jesse doesn't suspect anything yet?"
"No, and he hasn't complained of headaches yet either. I think his blocks are holding, but it wouldn't hurt to reinforce them."
"Alright, let's get this over with," Cynthia said, standing up from the table. "Who's first?"
"Brennan. I have him sedated in the lab. We need to take care of him before he can warn the others."
Shalimar entered the lab first, quickly looking around and taking a threat assessment.
"Shal!" Brennan cried out. "Get these off of me!" he added, jerking his arms to show his restraints, electricity crackling up and down his arms.
"It's all clear, guys. I only see Brennan."
Jesse and Emma walked in to see Shalimar approaching the bed. "You've got some explaining to do, Brennan."
"Shal, that's enough," Jesse ordered. All heads turned to him, surprised at the authoritative tone in his voice.
Jesse looked at the restraints holding Brennan and they fell away, phasing insubstantial first, and then into nothingness.
Shalimar and Brennan both stopped and stared at where the restraints had been. Shalimar had the knowledge of Jesse's powers but hadn't seen them in action yet.
"What the fuck was that?" Brennan asked.
"They're coming!" Emma hissed, before anyone could answer Brennan.
Adam and Cynthia walked through the door a moment later. "Cynthia, quickly!"
Brennan, Shalimar, Jesse and Emma all looked at the woman who stood before them. Her eyes began to glow a bright blue, shining out from the wrinkles of her face.
Shalimar screamed, holding her hands out in front of her.
"No!" Emma yelled, throwing up an arm. As she did so, a curtain of mental energy followed her arm, rising up from the floor and coalescing around her and her friends like a bubble.
Everyone in the room paused, surprised by Emma's action, until Adam called to Cynthia again. "Hurry!"
The elderly woman shot bolts of bright blue energy out of her eyes, which hit the shield and bounced away.
"Another secret, Em?" Jesse asked.
Emma answered, her brow furrowed in concentration. "No, this is new. And I'm not sure how long I can hold this, either."
"What did you do to Shalimar?" Brennan yelled at the woman, stopping when he saw six inch claws extending from Shalimar's fingers. The pain subsided, and Shalimar pulled herself together and looked at the claws, flexing her fingers.
"Now this is more like it," Shal said predatorily. "Let me at her."
Adam walked towards them, stopping just short of the protective barrier. "Guys, please. It's me, Adam. You know I would never hurt you. Cynthia is a friend. We would never hurt you. You can trust me. Trust us."
"Sorry, Adam. You lost our trust when you started messing with our minds," Jesse said back, with a sense of finality in his words.
"And you fucking knocked me out, Adam, shot me up with drugs and knocked me out. I don't trust you at all," Brennan added, struggling to get up from the table. Electricity still crackled along his body.
"Everyone, please, I need to help Brennan. Emma, drop this barrier."
"Guys, I really can't hold this much longer. If you're going to do something, do it soon," Emma pleaded.
Cynthia hit the barrier with more bolts of mental energy, trying to take advantage of Emma's weakening state. Adam walked to a counter and pulled out a gun loaded with tranq darts. "I'm sorry it had to come to this."
Jesse turned his face to Emma. "Our hiding spot, Em. Can you deflect her energy until we get there?"
"I can't hold the shield that long."
Jesse nodded, deciding to reveal his powers to Adam since the confrontation made it a moot point anyway. He glanced at Adam's gun and it vanished.
"Jesse! No, don't do this! You don't want this!" Adam cried out.
"I'm sorry, Adam. I won't be manipulated by you any longer."
Author's Notes:
I'm trying to crank out as much as I can this weekend, because I probably won't have much time again for the next week or two, though I'll try to squeeze some in when I can. I'm hoping I've got one more chapter in me tonight.
Oh, I know this story is supposed to have Jesse and Brennan slash – I'm a little disappointed that it's all been Jesse angst so far. You'd think after ten thousand words or so, I would have managed to bring them together for at least a kiss, but no – I have to do everything the hard way.
Feral's Revenge – that was awesome feedback, thanks. I think that's the longest feedback I've ever seen, let alone received. Thanks! And I'd love to answer to your questions, but that would take all the fun out of it, right? And yeah, the nipples were a little weird, but I've always thought that every mutation wouldn't be perfect, you know? They can't all be cool and powerful. However, I think you can see where Shal's mutation is headed. Also, Emma kicking GSA butt stemmed from an episode where she was practicing a high kick and could knock someone out. I figure she's got a little kick-ass in her. For the rest, we'll just have to see how the story plays out – it is taking some unexpected turns as I write it and not following my original plan, but I'm just letting it happen.
Marie Crosby and koalared – thanks for your continued reading and reviews. I appreciate it!
A Sad Exchange – I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll try to keep it up.