Chapter 11

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it."

"That's the way it will be for everyone."

"Everyone needs to be as small a number as possible. Timothy's life may depend on it."

"I understand that, but if he keeps doing this, it won't stay small for long."

"I know, but for now..."

"I won't say anything."

"Thank you."

There were gentle hands tapping his cheeks. For a few seconds, he couldn't figure out what was going on.

Then, consciousness came surging back and Tim sat up, looking around frantically, but not really seeing anything.

"Did I hurt anyone? Was anyone there? I tried not to! I didn't want it! I..."

"Timothy, calm down."

Hands took hold of his shoulders and shook him.

"Look at me, McGee."

Tim was still searching for any evidence that he'd caused harm.

Another firm shake.

"Look at me, McGee!"

Tim found himself staring at Gibbs and he was embarrassed anew. He dropped his head in shame.

"S-Sorry, Boss," he whispered.

Another shake.

"Look at me!"

Tim lifted his head with great reluctance. Gibbs was looking at him, but he didn't look annoyed or angry.

"You didn't hurt anyone. A few trees will have to be replaced, but that's all."

"A few?" Tim asked.

"A few," Gibbs repeated, obviously refusing to elaborate.

Then, Tim looked around the room.

Yes, he was back inside, on a gurney. Gibbs was sitting in front of him, Ducky standing to the side.

"Now, we're going to do an EEG while you're here."

"But... but, Boss... I can't... I don't want..."

Another shake.

"This time, McGee, instead of trying not to do whatever it is, I want you to focus on something else."

"I don't understand! How will that help?"

Ducky leaned over and patted him on the shoulder.

"This time, Timothy, you're going to try to control what you're doing. I understand that your panic makes that difficult, but you are more than capable of controlling your own thoughts. You're extremely intelligent and you have the brainpower. So while we're doing the EEG, you are going to focus on the air."

Tim let out a surprised laugh. It was tinged with a touch of hysteria, but it was a laugh.

"You know what air is made of," Ducky said. "It's made of molecules. Molecules can absorb energy and there are trillions of them available."

"What if I set the air on fire?" Tim asked.

Ducky smiled, not seeming at all concerned. "That's why you're going focus on the air through that window. If you do have that much power, then, no one will be harmed."

"I don't... I don't know if I can... I'm not deciding what to do. It just happens!"

"That's why you're going to decide," Ducky said. "Then, it won't just happen. You will make the decision about what will happen. Just remember to focus on the air outside the window. I'll help you remember. When you need to let it out, focus on the air outside the window."

Tim took a deep, shaky breath and then nodded.

"Good. Now, lay back and let them get you ready for the test."

The people who applied the sensors to his head obviously had no idea what he had done. There was no hesitancy. Ducky was there, talking to him all the time, distracting him from what was going on. Instead of just telling stories though, Ducky was talking and asking Tim questions. Anytime, he didn't respond right away, Gibbs would give him a little shake. It kept him from going back to what he knew was a problem.

Finally, his head was covered with sensors and the technician came in with Dr. Jessop.

"All right, I understand that you started getting an EEG a couple of days ago, correct?"

"Yes," Tim said softly.

"Good. This will be just the same. Relax as much as you can and we'll get a baseline."

The baseline took a few minutes to record, and Ducky kept talking to Tim.

"All right, now, I've been told that there are going to be some weird things you want to test," the technician said.

"Yes," Ducky said. "I'm not sure how to do this, but we'll do our best."

"Okay. You're in charge."

"First, this will seem strange, but I'd like to let Timothy just sit here in silence for a few minutes."

Tim felt his brow furrow.

"What?"

"Just sit quietly. Let your mind wander," Ducky said.

"I don't want to do that."

"I know. Just try it."

Tim swallowed. "Okay."

He lay there without anyone speaking and his mind did wander. The problem was that it wandered to what he must have done in order for "a few trees" to need to be replaced. He started to feel extremely tense. What had he done? How had he done it? They said that no one was hurt. Had Gibbs lied about that? Had Ducky? What had he done? How many times could this happen before someone was actually hurt? How–?

"Timothy!"

The loud voice and a strong hand on his arm startled him out of his thoughts and he let out a yelp of surprise. At the same time, there was a loud bang.

"Focus on the air, Timothy!"

The command managed to get through his panic and he tried to look at the air. Thoughts flew through his mind as he tried to stop himself from doing anything. The atmosphere was made up of trillions, quadrillions of particles and molecules. Most of it was nitrogen and oxygen. Energy added into that mix created nitrogen oxides.

Like if there was a lightning strike. That was an endothermic process that required the input of energy in order to occur. He could make some ozone, too. That smell that accompanied a lightning strike. He just had to break apart the nitrogen and oxygen molecules.

"Focus on the air!"

He let out another cry as the energy built up, threatening to melt down his brain yet again.

"Focus!" The voice seemed to be coming from far away.

He closed his eyes and tried to let that energy out of his brain but only outside in those trillions of molecules. He wanted to make some nitrogen oxide and ozone.

There was a bright flash of light and he heard someone else let out an exclamation of surprise.

But the energy was gone and he sagged back against the gurney, his head lolling about on his shoulders.

"Well done, Timothy."

Tim was breathing heavily as if he'd just run a race. He didn't know just what he'd done well, but it had worn him out. It was like all the energy in his body had just been sucked out.

"Timothy, how are you feeling right now?"

"Tired," Tim whispered. "Really tired."

"Do you still feel... like your brain is melting?"

Tim thought about it. While everything still felt wrong, that particular sensation was not present.

"No."

"All right. We'll let you rest for a few minutes, but then, we're going to try another test."

Tim wanted to groan and say no, but he didn't dare. He was dangerous and he couldn't leave it like that. If they needed more information, then, he would try to give it.

Ducky started talking to him again and Tim just let the words wash over him as he lay there. Finally, he felt like he could open his eyes again. He tried to straighten on the gurney.

"Are you ready for the next test?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah," Tim said.

Gibbs' phone suddenly rang and he stepped out of the room. Tim watched him leave, feeling strangely worried by the fact that Gibbs wasn't going to be here. For some reason, Tim was sure that not having Gibbs there was risky. Could Ducky do anything to stop him if he wigged out again?

"Timothy, look at me, please."

Reluctantly, Tim did.

"Now, I don't know if this will work, but there's nothing to do but try."

"Okay..."

"I want you to focus on that chair over there and see if you can make it move."

"But, Ducky, I don't know how!"

"I know that, but just try. You were able to control where the energy was expressed when you were in an agitated state. We need to see if that is part of what causes this to be possible or if you could control it when you're calm."

"Okay."

"Good lad. See if you can move the chair."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"So those tracks lead right to a power plant, Boss," Tony said. "We stopped and talked to people in the houses along the tracks, but once we crossed a road, no one heard anything. One person heard people out by the tracks that night, but he didn't really think anything of it."

"But if no one on the other side of the road heard anything, then, it's possible that they drove Tim to that point and left him there... for whatever reason," Kate added.

Gibbs considered. What they'd found in Tim's head would require specialized work. Could they really have been operating on him in a power plant? Still, it was the only significant structure in the area. Even if it seemed unlikely, they would have to follow this lead. Maybe it would lead nowhere, but they had to try.

"Call the power company and ask to be let onto the site. Check with me if they say no."

"Gotcha, Boss. How's all the brain stuff going for the Probie?" Tony asked.

"Don't know yet."

"Okay. We'll call back later."

They hung up and Gibbs looked out the window toward where Tim had run after his panic following the MRI. He shook his head, unsure of what would come of all this.

Six trees in a ring around where they'd found Tim lying on the ground had been blown down and broken in pieces. Ducky was worried that the stronger Tim's emotions were, the more powerful his ability would be, meaning that in the times where Tim was least likely to be able to control himself, he'd be able to cause the most damage.

Like creating a lightning strike outside the window.

He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it. He didn't understand why someone would do this to Tim in the first place. If Tim's ability to use this power was dependent upon him feeling strong emotions, that would seem to make it less useful. Most people didn't think clearly when they felt strong emotions. Plus, Tim's ability to deal with his strong emotions appeared to have been affected by whatever they'd done to his brain. All in all, this seemed like a bad decision.

Unless this is a test run. They have to start somewhere and maybe McGee was their first human trial.

That was not a pleasant thought. The next question was if they thought that this hadn't worked, were they giving up or finding someone else to do this to?

...and what would they do if they found out that they had succeeded?

He shook his head and walked back to the room. He didn't really want to be back there, but he didn't like the idea of leaving Ducky in there with Tim when anything might happen.

He opened the door just in time to see Tim jump, preternaturally startled by his entrance.

And a chair also flew across the room and hit the wall hard enough to leave a dent.

"Well, Timothy, that may answer our question."

"Meaning?" Gibbs asked.

"It does appear that Timothy's abilities are linked to his emotions. When he's calm, he doesn't seem to be able to do anything."

"Great," Tim mumbled, staring at his hands rather than make eye contact with anyone. "What good is that?"

Exactly what Gibbs had been thinking himself.

"Uh... Dr. Mallard?" the EEG technician said hesitantly.

"Yes?"

He pointed. Gibbs looked over and saw the chair wobbling.

On one leg.

It was slowly spinning around like a drunken ballet dancer trying to do a pirouette.

Gibbs looked at Ducky and then at Tim. Tim still wasn't looking up. He seemed completely unaware.

Gibbs walked over to the spinning chair and then reached out to touch it.

"Jethro..." Ducky said softly.

As he reached out, he felt like he was reaching through some kind of resistance. It was that same feeling he'd had before when Tim had been trying to keep them out of the kitchen.

Then, he touched the chair, stopping its motion. The resistance suddenly vanished and the chair toppled to the floor.

At the same time, Tim closed his eyes and sagged back on the gurney.

"Timothy?"

"Are we done yet?" Tim asked.

"I think we probably should be. You look very tired, Timothy."

"I am."

"All right. We'll remove the sensors and let you rest while Dr. Jessop goes over the results."

Tim just nodded and didn't move while the technician began removing the sensors. He looked more than a little unsettled by what he had seen, but he didn't say anything at all. It was awkwardly silent in the room. Gibbs kept looking at the chair. Tim had done that more than once. He had controlled things without consciously doing it... without be overly emotional. So it appeared that it was possible, but it wasn't conscious.

Gibbs met Ducky's gaze. He understood the question.

What now?

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"I'm not sure why NCIS would need to be looking around a power plant," the foreman said. "I don't mind showing you around, but you're kinda far from the ocean, aren't you?"

"Crimes against the Navy don't always happen at sea, Mr. Browning," Kate said.

"Guess not."

Tony bit his tongue. He was just glad that the power company hadn't balked at letting them look around... which made him question whether or not something had happened to Tim here. They walked around the entire complex and nothing seemed at all suspicious.

"Well, that's pretty much it. That's Birchwood."

"Thank you for your time," Kate said, politely.

They started walking to the parking lot. As they did, Tony happened to glance across the road.

"What's that building over there?" he asked, pointing at it.

Mr. Browning looked over and shrugged.

"Don't know. It's not part of the facility."

"It isn't?" Kate asked. "But it's right across the road and it's not like this is a public space."

"I couldn't tell you. All I know is that it's not part of the facility. It's something else. Been there since I started here five years ago."

"Have you ever seen anyone over there?" Tony asked.

"Oh, sure. Every so often. One or two people. Three at the most. But I'm telling you that, whoever they are, they have nothing to do with Birchwood. So I can't do anything for you there."

"Okay. Thanks."

They walked back to the car and got in.

"That's weird," Tony said. "Why would there be a building inside the complex that has nothing to do with the power station?"

"That the foreman doesn't know about," Kate added. "That is really weird. Well, we're on our way out and Mr. Browning couldn't help us."

"Would you like to live dangerously and knock on the door?" Tony asked.

"Why not?"

Then, while Tony started the car, Kate checked her gun. Tony gave her a sideways glance.

"This is really weird, Tony. I think we should be prepared."

"Okay. You're probably right."

He drove the short distance to the building and then parked. They got out of the car and walked over to the door and knocked.

"Hello? Federal agents!" Kate called out.

No answer. Tony looked at her and then reached out and turned the knob.

The door opened.

"Hello in there?" Tony called out. "We just have a couple of questions."

No response. The building seemed to be empty. Tony started to poke his head inside, but Kate stopped him.

"We don't have a search authorization for this and, if it isn't part of Birchwood, we don't have permission to go inside," she said.

"We can stand here at the door and look," Tony said.

Kate sighed and Tony grinned.

They both stood at the door and peered inside.

They were both taken by surprise when someone grabbed them from behind, shoved them into the building, and closed the door.