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

It was early the next morning when Adam called the team for a meeting to figure out who was behind the attack on the two guys, everybody was sitting around the main computer terminals expect for Jesse. Adam was starting to get a little bit annoyed that after twenty minutes since he called the meeting the young man was still not there.

Adam turned to Shalimar who was sitting on a chair and using Brennan’s body as a back rest. “Shalimar, can you go get him?”

“Sure.” She jumped off the stool and almost pranced down the hall to Jesse’s room. Being really close to him, like brother and sister, she always loved the chance to wake him up. Shalimar knocked on the wooden door a couple of times, “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.”

“Brennan, can you carry him to the lab?”

“Sure.” The elemental started to walk to the bed, but Jesse sat up in his bed 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 helped the molecular walk.

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.”

“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, make that two.”

“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.”

“But I can work the computers, 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? 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.”

“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.

Shalimar and Brennan quietly walked down the alley towards the old warehouse. 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 the 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 bid 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, I don’t think I’ve even got a shot at him. Are you sure that it’s not Jesse’s?”

“I’m sure. But either way it’s the only thing that I could find, there is nothing.”

“Well let’s take it to Adam, and let’s hope that he’s doing better than us.”

Jesse was sleeping in the lab after a little help from Emma. Adam had been trying identify the chemical, but it had been a couple of hours and it was pissing him off to no end.

“Adam have you found anything yet?” Emma asked as she walked next to him.

“No, there is nothing that can identify this chemical or if there is even a cure. But I was able to get a list of what the symptoms could possibly be. His fever will get dangerously high, chills and muscle aches will get worse, coughing and vomiting most likely will occure.”

“It sounds like a bad cause of the flu, are you positive Jesse doesn’t have it.”

“Very positive.”

“What can we 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.

“We got something.” Brennan said with a ray of hope as Shalimar and he almost jogged into the lab. But both mutants stopped dead when they saw the dreaded looks of the other teammates.

“What? What is it?” Worried filled the feral voice as she moved over to her brother.

“Jesse’s fever will get worse so will the coughing and he’ll 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 tour through his body. Everyone jumped from the horrible sounds and form 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-(cough, cough) thanks Shal (cough).” 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.

“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.”

“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.

It was about an hour and a half later until they finally got a break. Emma found a DNA match on the blood and form the computer sketch that Brennan made they had a one hundred percent certainty that it was their man. His name was Wayne Danielson a dishonorable marine of the United States military. However 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 this short of stuff.”

“Good luck.” Brennan bid his fair well as he watched the two head off to the hanger bay.

“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.

“You be your cute little butt.” 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. 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 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.”

“Anytime.”