Épisode L'entre deux S03E18 - Mutant X Saison 3

                                 In Between


[Opening scene: It's night time in the city. Jesse and Brennan emerge from a tough biker nightclub.]

Jesse: I don't know, man. I think you're losing it. That girl barely even knew you were there.
Brennan: What are you even talking about right now? She had her eyes all over me!
Jesse (laughing): Ah, so that would explain the warm reception you got when you asked for her number, huh?
Brennan: I hate to break it to you, but in some countries, it's considered an engagement when you get slapped.
Jesse: Ah. (turning to look back at the bar) Where's Shalimar and Lexa?
Brennan: I don't know. Getting rid of some dudes. [A large scary-looking biker approaches the two boys.]
The Biker: Wrong place, wrong time. Looks like you boys made a big mistake.
Brennan: Oh, yeah? How do you figure?
The Biker: Cause you're about to get your asses kicked.
Brennan (turning to Jesse): We're getting our asses kicked, what do you think?
Jesse (chuckles): Could be fun.
The Biker: You'll die laughing. [The motorcycle gang attack Jesse and Brennan. As the boys easily fight them off, Lexa and Shalimar come out of the club to watch.]
Lexa (laughing): Leave them alone for two minutes! [From the corner of her eye, Shalimar sees a man in the shadows aiming a gun at the boys.]
Shalimar: Guys, gun behind you! [Jesse runs in front of Brennan and masses to protect him from the bullet, but the bullet penetrates his abdomen. Brennan catches him as he falls back, and the two girls rush to his side. Jesse looks up when he hears Lexa's voice:]
Lexa: Jesse!

Opening Credits. "In Between"

[Scene: Inside Sanctuary, Brennan joins Lexa as she quickly escorts a woman in a white dress down the hallway towards the lab.]
Lexa: Brennan, this is Dr. Robinson.
Brennan: He's in the lab.
Dr. Robinson: How is he?
Brennan: He's not doing good, really.
Dr. Robinson: They said he was shot. Was he massed out?
Lexa: Yes!
Brennan (surprised by Dr. Robinson's knowledge of Jesse's powers): What?
Dr. Robinson: The Dominion sent over his medical files. This way? [Inside the lab, Jesse lies on a biobed in the lab, with Shalimar caressing his shoulder. He's clearly in pain. Entering the lab, Dr. Robinson cuts away Jesse's shirt to reveal the massing over Jesse's stomach.]
Shalimar: You're gonna be okay, Jess. What's going on?
Dr. Robinson: I'm not sure yet.
Shalimar: How is this even possible? I mean, he was massed out, how can he be shot? [Panicking, Jesse screams in pain.]
Dr. Robinson (to Brennan and Shalimar): Hold him down.
Lexa (turning away): C'mon, Shal.
Shalimar: I'm going to stay here.
Lexa: The best thing we can do for Jesse right now is to find out who did this, okay? Come on.
Shalimar (patting his shoulder): Be strong, Jess. [She follows Lexa out.]
Brennan: Easy, Jess. Easy. [Dr. Robinson aims a psionic blast at Jesse's head to calm him.] You're a telempath?
Dr. Robinson: Yes. Sometimes in cases of severe trauma, the healing of the mind is just as important as the healing of the body. [She puts up a medical scan of Jesse's abdomen.] Right there. This is not just a bullet. It's packed with electronic components.
Brennan (to Jesse): Hey, hey buddy. How're you doing?
Jesse: What happened?
Brennan: You took a bullet for me.
Jesse: But I was massed.
Brennan: I know. Special kind of bullet.
Jesse: It hurts, Brennan.
Brennan: I know. Look, you just hang in there, okay? I'm gonna talk to the doc. [He takes the doctor aside.] What the hell is in it?
Dr. Robinson: I don't know. But whatever it is, I have to get it out and I can't use anesthetic, he's too weak. It'll kill him. (Walking back to Jesse) Everything's gonna be all right, Jesse.

[Meanwhile, in Sanctuary's main room, Lexa's cellphone rings.]
Lexa: Hello?
Voice: How's Jesse?
Lexa: Who is this? [The camera reveals that the voice on the other end of the line belongs Dr. Ken Harrison, who is standing in his lair with one of his henchmen.]
Dr. Harrison: The bullet in his body contains enough explosives to take out half of Sanctuary. I have the detonator.
Lexa (angrily): Anything happens to Jesse-
Dr. Harrison: That's entirely up to you. I have the power to save him.
Lexa: In exchange for what?
Dr. Harrison: I'll let you know. Oh, a tip, as a sign of good will. Tell your doctor it's useless to operate. Any attempt to remove the bullet will kill him.
Lexa (frightened, to Shalimar): Come on. [The girls rush back into the lab just as Dr. Robinson's making the first incision to remove the bullet.]
Jesse (grunting) : Come on!
Lexa: No, don't!
Brennan: Don't what?
Shalimar: We just talked to the man who shot Jesse. He said any attempt to remove the bullet would kill him. [Jesse cries out. Dr. Robinson psionic-blasts him again, then turns on the image of Jesse's intestines.]
Brennan: What is that?
Jesse (scared): What? Tell me what's going on.
Dr. Robinson: He's starting to mass around the bullet. The incision has triggered a defense mechanism. It's using a proton coupler to connect directly to your nervous system. It's using your own powers against you, Jesse.
Shalimar: Jess. You have to try to stop it, okay?
Jesse: I can't! I don't know how to control it.
Brennan: Doc, what does this mean?
Dr. Robinson: I'm not sure. But it looks like without a way to stop it, the massing will continue and it will lead to his vital organs. If they're massed for too long, the vital organs will cease to function and Jesse will die.
Lexa (hesitantly): There's more. The bullet's explosive. The guy who shot him has the detonator.
Brennan (bewildered): What the hell is going on?
Shalimar: I don't know. But he will call again.

[Scene: Back in Sanctuary's main room again, Lexa watches as Shalimar works at the computer.]
Shalimar: Okay, I've got the trace set up. You've got to keep him on the phone for...at least 40 seconds.
Lexa: No problem. [Lexa's cellphone rings; she answers it.] Yeah.
Dr. Harrison: How's the patient doing?
Lexa: What do you want?
Dr. Harrison: A mutant. Her name is Laura Brooks. She's being held in a pod.
Lexa: All pods were destroyed.
Dr. Harrison: No. Not hers. She was taken by the military after the collapse of Genomex.
Lexa: Where is she?
Dr. Harrison (irritated): Well, if I knew that, I wouldn't need you, would I? I'm aware of the access and connections Mutant X has. Use them to find her and bring her to me. You have four hours. [Shalimar motions for Lexa to keep him on the line.]
Lexa: Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Be realistic here. Four hours? That's impossible.
Dr. Harrison: You'd better hope it is, if you want your friend to live. Four hours until I detonate the bullet. If you've activated its powers, maybe even less.
Lexa: Look, listen-- [Dr. Harrison hangs up. His henchman turns to him.]
Henchman: They'll never find her. The Dominion will have buried her too deep.
Dr. Harrison: They'll have to, if they want their friend to live.
Hanchman: That's a lot of trouble for one woman.
Dr. Harrison: She's worth it.

[In Sanctuary, Shalimar and Lexa hunch over the computer.]
Shalimar: Okay, I think I've found it.
Lexa: Looks like the call came from there. (The dot she's pointing to on the computer begins to move)
Shalimar: What? Damn.
Lexa: He's found a way to reroute the signal through multiple cells. We'll never get to him in time.
Shalimar: Looks like we're going to have to get him what he wants.

[Back in the Lab, Dr. Robinson tries to calm Jesse.]
Dr. Robinson: Jesse, relax. The more tense you are, the more the massing will spread.
Jesse: I can't control it!
Dr. Robinson: Jesse! [She looks at Brennan.] We're losing him.
Brennan: Is there anything we can do?
Dr. Robinson: I can connect your mind with his. You're a familiar face. Go in, and stabilize him. Make him forget about the bullet.
Brennan: I'll do whatever I can.
Dr. Robinson: Sit down. You ready?
Brennan (sitting by the bedside): Ready. [Dr. Robinson hits Brennan with a psionic blast, then Jesse. Cut to: Brennan's entered Jesse's mind. He finds himself hanging onto a tiny ledge in the wall of a gigantic pit over a lake of fire. He sees Jesse hanging on to the wall below him.]
Brennan: What the hell is this, Jess?
Jesse: It's the end. It's over.
Brennan: No, it's not real. It's your imagination.
Jesse: I'm dying, man!

*******Commercial Break***********

[Back to The Abyss. Brennan and Jesse hang onto the wall for dear life, looking down at the firey pit beneath them.]
Brennan: This isn't real, Jess!
Jesse: I'm one step away from death! This is as real as it gets.
Brennan: Come on, man. You can't give up now. [Jesse yells as he loses his grip and falls; Brennan catches his arm.]
Brennan: You wanna live, man. Come on, you've got to think of the good times.

[Flashback to Brennan and Jesse playing basketball in Sanctuary. Brennan cheats by using his rocket powers to propel him up to the basket.]
Jesse: Hey! I thought we agreed, no powers!
Brennan: No, you agreed. I scored.

[We return to Brennan and Jesse hanging in The Abyss.]
Jesse (panting): I'd forgotten.
Brennan: What?
Jesse: You'll do anything to win.
Dr. Robinson's disembodied voice: Brennan?

[Brennan emerges from Jesse's mind, and finds himself back in his chair at Jesse's bedside.]
Brennan: Did it work?
Dr. Robinson: Yes, the massing has stopped increasing. Now that he's more stable, we have to try and disable the bullet's defense mechanism and remove it safely.
Brennan: Okay. What are the chances?
Dr. Robinson: Not good.
Brennan: Doc, you don't understand. He's in this really crazy place. He really believes that he's dying.
Dr. Robinson: Yes, but you have to stay strong for him. If he senses your fear, it will make his worse.
Brennan: You'd better give him something to believe in, then. Please?
Dr. Robinson: All right, I'll do the best I can.
Brennan: Okay.
Dr. Robinson (rounding to Jesse's side): Jesse? [Brennan goes to find Shalimar and Lexa, who are still working on the computers in the main room.]
Brennan: How's it going?
Shalimar (frustrated): Not good. The guy wants us to find a podded mutant named Laura Brooks. We've got about three hours to find her.
Lexa: I've brought up every database I can think of. You know, when Genomex was destroyed, a lot of the records disappeared.
Shalimar: He said that the military had her, but we've tried that too. I mean, we've cracked every military and government database and there's nothing.
Brennan: Our best bet is to give this guy what he wants as soon as possible.
Lexa: Don't worry, we're going to do it.
Brennan: Okay, the Doc and I set up this force-field container just in case we get the bullet out.
Lexa: That's good.
Brennan: I'm gonna stay with Jess, okay? Just let me know if anything changes. [Brennan leaves.]
Shalimar (sighing): We don't have time for this.
Lexa (getting up): I know.
Shalimar: Where are you going?
Lexa: To talk to the Dominion.
Shalimar (wearily): Adam says we can't trust them.
Lexa: Yeah, but they don't know that. They still trust us. [She heads out of the room.]

[Back to the lab, where Dr. Robinson is explaining to Brennan what she's discovered about the bullet.]
Dr. Robinson: The bullet has an internal power supply that allows it to control Jesse's nervous system. Now if we can stop that, it could be rendered harmless.
Brennan: But how can we do that?
Dr. Robinson: I can't. But maybe you can. What I'd like you to do is deliver a controlled electrical charge. Enough to damage the electronics in the bullet.
Brennan: No. That could kill him!
Dr. Robinson: No, it won't. If you don't disrupt his heart rhythm.
Brennan (sarcastic): Oh, yeah, that's a great idea. How'm I supposed to know if I'm doing that?
Dr. Robinson: I'll tell you.
Brennan: Jess, you stay with me. (Nodding to the doctor) Ready. [Brennan shocks Jesse with a continuous tesla coil.]
Dr. Robinson: Good, it's working.
Brennan: It's too much!
Dr. Robinson: No, no, no, no. Give him more. All right, stop!
Brennan (rushing over to the heart monitor): What's happening?
Dr. Robinson (worried): The massing is starting again. The bullet's defending itself.
Brennan: It's getting worse!
Dr. Robinson: It's heading for his lungs.
Brennan: Put me back in! [Dr. Robinson psionic-blasts him, and he falls, unconscious, back into the chair. Brennan re-enters the abyss, where Jesse's free-falling down the wall towards the lake of fire. Brennan grabs his hand just in time.]
Brennan: Hey, hey! Hold on, man. I screwed up, man. I'm sorry. It's my fault.
Jesse (groaning): It's all right. You were just trying to help.
Brennan: I got you now. Don't give up on me, Jess. I've got you now. We're gonna beat this. That's good. Come on. Just remember, we're a team. We always kick ass together, right from the beginning. We've never lost.

[Flashback to Brennan fighting a team of GS agents in a grassy field; Jesse shows up to help.]
Jesse: You know, when is Eckhart gonna learn? No matter how many guys he sends after us, you're always outnumbered. [The boys kick ass together, then Jesse turns to Brennan over the pile of unconscious agents.]
Jesse: Eh?
Brennan: Nice.
Jesse: Well, thank you very much.

[The flashback ends, and we return to The Abyss, where the two begin to climb slowly back towards the top.]
Dr. Robinson's voice (calling into Jesse's mind): That's good. The massing is slowing.
Brennan (pulling Jesse up the wall): Jess, good. You're getting better, man. Keep climbing. Just remember, we've been through worse and survived.

[Flashback to Sanctuary's lab: Jesse's phasing uncontrollably and falls through a table onto the floor. Emma, Shalimar, Adam, and Brennan watch worriedly as he tries to get his body under control.]
Emma: Jesse, unphase!
Jesse: I can't!
Adam: Jesse, concentrate. The longer you stay unphased, the more dangerous it is. Jesse, focus!
Shalimar: Come on, Jess.
Adam: You have a couple of seconds, after that, you're not gonna be able to reform! [With great effort, Jesse finally becomes solid again; Adam and Brennan grab his arms and pull him up. The team hugs him.]
Adam: Take it easy.

[Back to The Abyss, where fireballs are exploding below Brennan and Jesse as they labor upwards.]
Brennan: Good work. I'm proud of you, man. Now, there's a ledge above you. Reach up with your right hand.
Jesse: I don't know, man.
Brennan: Just reach that handhold. It's right above you. You can do it, come on!

[Scene: Lexa's office. Lexa is talking to her Dominion contact over her secured computer terminal; Shalimar's hidden behind the doorway, listening.]
Contact: What you're asking is impossible.
Lexa: I'm asking you to find one woman.
Contact: You want us to locate a dangerous mutant so you can deliver her to an unknown operative for an unknown reason.
Lexa (upset): Yeah, well I don't give a damn! Jesse's dying.
Contact: You seem to have lost your usual good judgement. Perhaps you have become overly involved with Mutant X.
Lexa: What did you expect? I live with him. I work with him. He's saved my life, of course I'm involved. I'm not going to let him die.
Contact: You surprise me, Miss Pierce. I'll see what I can do. [The terminal blinks off, and Shalimar enters the room.]
Shalimar (skeptically): You surprise me too. So do you really care about him, or was that all for effect?
Lexa (rolling her eyes): What difference does it make? [She walks out.]

*********Commercial Break**********

[In The Abyss in Jesse's mind, the two boys are still hanging on for dear life.]
Brennan: You have one hell of an imagination!
Jesse: Yeah. You know, I never thought it'd be like this.
Brennan: What?
Jesse: Dying. I always thought it'd be for something meaningful, not an ambush by some guy I don't even know.
Brennan: You're not dying!

[Jesse cries out as he loses his grip and falls. Brennan looks on in horror, and suddenly Dr. Robinson's voice floats overhead:]
Dr. Robinson (calling into Jesse's mind): Brennan! You have to come out of there! [Brennan wakes up, back in his chair by Jesse's bedside.]
Brennan (angry): Why'd you pull me out?!
Dr. Robinson: I had to. The massing is getting worse. It's too dangerous.
Brennan: What do you mean?
Dr. Robinson (worried): Your mind and body are totally inseparable. When I connect you, your entire being is linked to Jesse's. If Jesse dies while you're connected, you'll die too.
Brennan (stroking Jesse's shoulder): Then I won't let that happen. Put me back in.

[Scene: Lexa meets her Dominion Contact, who is waiting for her in a black car in a darkened alley.]
Contact (rolling down the window): The woman you're looking for is in a government warehouse, unit 2509. All the information you'll need is in here. [He hands her a disk.] You should have no problem getting in. [She takes the disk and begins to turn away.] Lexa. You'll be held responsible for any adverse consequences of this action.
Lexa (turning back): I already knew that.
Contact: Personal involvement is a bad idea in our line of work.
Lexa: Yeah, well, sometimes it's unavoidable.
Contact: I'd be sorry to lose you. You're one of my best operatives.
Lexa (smiling): Now that sounds like a little personal involvement.
Contact (stiffening): Not at all.
Lexa: Thanks for your help tonight. [He rolls up the window and she leaves.]

[Meanwhile, in The Abyss, where Jesse and Brennan are still hanging onto the wall.]
Jesse: Just let me go, there's no point!
Brennan: Never thought you were such a coward.
Jesse: I'm not a coward! I just can't hold on anymore.
Brennan: You're giving up Jess. That isn't you.
Jesse: You're wasting your time. [they both yell as the wall begins to quake under their hands.]
Brennan: Just hang on, Jess. You've got to remember the good times. We're in this together, just like we've always been.

[Flashback to Sanctuary, where Jesse and Brennan are playing the virtual reality The TunnelQuest game. The boys have modified the game to show simulate a virtual Lexa and Shalimar in Sanctuary fighting off military intruders with laser guns. The virtual army leader, Sargent Nolle speaks:]
Sargent Nolle: So, soldier. You think you have what it takes to be a member of my TunnelQuest team? [The virtual Lexa and Shalimar fight off four armed intruders, who melt into the floor when they're dead.]
Virtual Lexa: That was close.
Virtual Shalimar: Tell me about it.
Virtual Lexa: Good job, girl. [They hi-five, then spin around as one last intruder comes around the corner. They blast him away, and he melts into the floor.]
Virtual Shalimar (pulling off her shirt): That's it. I'm hitting the shower.
Virtual Lexa (tugging at her own shirt): Me first. [The real Shalimar and Lexa walk in as the boys are ogling their virtual selves on the computer. They are not amused.]
Shalimar (pissed off): What the hell do you guys think you're doing?
Jesse (embarrassed, laughing): Just having a little...uh...innocent fun. [The girls look at each other, unimpressed, and Lexa reaches over and turns the screen off.] Lex, you don't understand what I've done here. I've totally improved Sanctuary's holosytem by modifying the game to match our... [He looks at her chest appreciatively.]...specs.
Lexa (follows his gaze, then looks up in disgust): Yeah, well, nice going, Nerd Wonder. Now delete it!
Jesse: What?
Shalimar: Do it. Or I'll smash your computer in half. [The girls walk off.]
Jesse: Shal, you are totally overreacting!
Brennan (laughing): Well, I guess it was fun while it lasted.
Jesse: Dude, this is totally your fault.

[Back to the Abyss.]
Brennan: Jess, you've got to pull yourself up. Come on, pull yourself up, man.
Jesse: I can't!
Brennan: Be strong, Jesse. Come on!

[Cut to Shalimar and Lexa, who have arrived outside the government warehouse, surrounded by a padlocked chain-link fence.]
Lexa: The pod we're looking for is here somewhere. [She lasers the chain and they walk in.]

[We return to the lab, where Dr. Robinson is whispering to a sleeping Brennan.]
Dr. Robinson: You've stopped the spread of the massing, but it's not good enough. Blood oxygen is low; his lungs are affected.[Inside The Abyss, Brennan transmits the message to Jesse.]
Brennan: You need to work harder, man. You need to shrink the massing.
Jesse: I can't.
Brennan: You've always been stronger than you think.

[Flashback to Shalimar, Brennan, Jesse, and Emma in the Double Helix, about to leave a war zone in the middle of the jungle.]
Brennan: Everybody ready? Go! [The Helix takes off, but they're soon being pursued by enemy airplanes.]
Emma: I'm picking up some activity about two miles from here. Two planes and they're headed this way.
Jesse: Missiles, look out!
Brennan (swerving to avoid the first missile): Okay, I'm gonna try something. Hold on to your seats, guys. Get ready to dive! [The Helix barrel-rolls, ducking under the missile.]
Shalimar: They're coming back again!
Brennan: And they have missile lock. I'm not going to be able to do that again!
Emma: Jesse, you have to phase the Helix.
Jesse: I can't do that!
Emma: Well, we don't have any other choice, you have to!
Shalimar: You can try!
Brennan: You don't have a choice, you have to.
Emma: Just do it!
Brennan: Come on, brother. [With great effort, Jesse successfully phases the Helix, and the missile passes through them.] Yeah!
Shalimar (astonished): Is that what it feels like when you phase?
Jesse (going back to his seat): I don't think I can do that again.
Brennan: Well, you may not have to. [The missile hits the enemy plane instead, which explodes.]
Jesse: Yes! Direct hit.
Brennan: We're going home.

[Back to The Abyss, where Jesse is tiredly beginning to crawl upwards again.]
Brennan: See? You didn't think you could do it then, either.
Dr. Robinson's voice (calling in to them): The massing is shrinking.
Brennan: Keep it up. Shalimar and Lexa are going to deliver this guy what he wants. It's almost over.

[Scene: Lexa and Shalimar have reached the warehouse doors. Lexa uses a decoder disguised as a makeup compact to open the electronic lock, and they enter the dusty warehouse.]
Shalimar: That's weird.
Lexa: Someone inside?
Shalimar: No. That's just it. No one's been here for a long time. Creepy place.
Lexa: Yeah.
Shalimar: Don't suppose The Dominion laid a trap for us?
Lexa: I don't know. [They reach the pods.] It's here.
Shalimar: I don't like this. This is way too easy.
Lexa: Let's just get her and get out of here. [Shalimar wipes the dust off the window of Sara's stasis pod, revealing a skeleton inside.]
Shalimar: She's dead. No!
Lexa (closing her eyes): Oh, God. [Lexa's cellphone rings; looking at Shalimar, she answers it.] Yes?
Dr. Harrison: Tick-tock. Did you locate her?
Lexa (stalling): Well, we have the pod, but...we don't know how to revive her.
Dr. Harrison (angrily): Of course you do! I hope you're not stalling for time in the vain hope that your doctor will be of some use. I assure you I know more about Jesse's anatomy than any doctor. I'm the only one who can save him. [He hangs up.]
Shalimar: Who would know that much about Jesse?
Lexa: I don't know, but Jesse might. [Speaking into her comlink.] Brennan?
Brennan (now awake, by Jesse's bedside): Yeah. Did you get the woman?
Shalimar: She died in the pod.
Brennan: Damn.
Lexa: The guy who shot him claims to know everything about him. It's gotta be someone Jess knows.
Brennan: Yeah, I'll find out. [He turns to Dr. Robinson.] The woman we're supposed to deliver is dead, and the bomb's gonna explode in 15 minutes.
Dr. Robinson: Then we have no choice. I have to operate.
Brennan: Yeah.
Dr. Robinson: Now we know we can control the massing, even shrink it. I want you to make sure he believes that.
Brennan: Okay, I need to talk to him before you make the operation happen.
Dr. Robinson: Make it quick.
Brennan (sitting back down) Okay.

[Brennan re-enters The Abyss to fill Jesse in on what Shalimar and Lexa have found out.]
Jesse: You say it's someone who's examined me; knows my mutant anatomy?
Brennan: Yeah.
Jesse: How does the bullet work?
Brennan: The doc says it uses a proton coupler.
Jesse: A proton coupler?
Brennan: Yeah, why?
Jesse: When I was at Genomex.

[Flashback: Jesse's trapped in a stasis pod at Genomex. Through the glass, he sees Dr. Harrison looking down at him.]
Dr. Harrison: Scan his system. I want to try some neurologic experiments.
Technician: That could be dangerous. He may not survive.
Dr. Harrison (curtly): Yes. Start with the proton coupler. That should allow me to establish control of his nervous system.

[Back to The Abyss.]
Jesse: It's Eckhart's right-hand man, Dr. Harrison. Go get him for me.

[Brennan climbs out of The Abyss and wakes up in the lab, where Dr. Robinson is setting up for surgery.]
Brennan (into his comlink): Guys, it's Dr. Harrison from Genomex. You've gotta find him.
Dr. Robinson: Are you sure you want to do this? I can't guarantee anything.
Brennan: Do whatever you have to do. I'm not letting him die alone in there. [Dr. Robinson blasts him back into The Abyss.] Jess, you've already done this. All you have to do is fight! Work with me!

[Flashback: Brennan, Jesse and Shalimar are inside The Double Helix as it dives headlong towards the ground.]
Jesse: That bullet fried the navigation system, severed the hydraulic line. Pull up!
Brennan: I can't! The controls are frozen.
Jesse: We've gotta land, now!
Brennan: Land? Jess, I can't even keep her level! Still frozen.
Shalimar: We're at less than 2,000 feet.
Brennan: Any ideas?
Jesse: Uh...yeah! Maybe if you try juicing the hydraulic lines with an electrical charge, it might heat up the fluid enough to give us the thrust we need. But I don't know, Brennan.
Brennan: All right, take the controls.
Jesse: All right. [Brennan hits the line with a tesla coil.] It's working, Brennan!
Shalimar: We've leveled off at 300 feet.
Jesse: Nice!
Shalimar: Guys, there's a schoolyard below us.
Brennan: Okay, I'm taking her down. [The Helix hits a minivan, but they land safely.]
Shalimar (relieved): That wasn't so bad, huh?

[Back in The Abyss, Jesse loses his grip on the wall and falls a short way down towards the firey pit.]
Brennan: Jess, you've gotta fight it!

[Flashback: In Sanctuary, Adam and Emma lean over Jesse as he's about to fall under the grip of a powerful psionic who creates nightmares.]
Adam: Whatever he wants you to believe, it's not real, all right? It's all in your mind.
Jesse: It's not real unless I believe it.
Adam: That's right. It's only in your mind. [Jesse falls asleep and enters the nightmare, where he's trapped in a pod at Genomex.]
Jesse (panicking): This is not real, this is not real!
Mason (looking down at him): Nice try, Mr. Kilmartin. I'm sorry, but what is happening to you now is very real.
Jesse: No-no-no-no-no!
Mason: Are you asking to negotioate your freedom for certain information, Mr. Kilmartin?
Jesse: What sort of information?
Mason: The location of Sanctuary, the database of the new mutant underground. [Jesse doesn't respond.] I didn't think so. Your feral friend wasn't much help either. [He pauses for effect.] Not that that matters anymore.
Jesse (freaking out): Where is she? Where is she? Tell me where she is! Where is she! Nooooo!

[Back to The Abyss, where Jesse hangs on, exhausted.]
Jesse: It's no use, Brennan. I can't do it anymore.
Brennan: I know you can do this. It's been a lot tougher before.

[Flashback: Shalimar, Jesse, and Adam are in a new mutant safehouse with the new mutant Charlotte Cooke, whose toxin can make good people evil. Charlotte touches Jesse's hand, rubbing some of her toxin onto his skin, and Jesse turns on Adam in a sudden rage.]
Jesse: Adam, where does it say that you get to make the decisions for everybody?
Adam (surprised): What?
Shalimar (concerned): Jesse, are you okay?
Jesse: Was I talking to you?
Adam: Hey, wha-
Jesse: Don't use that tone of voice on me, Adam. I've had it! [Charlotte touches Shalimar's hand with toxin as well. Shalimar's feral eyes flash as she turns on Jesse.]
Shalimar (pointing angrily): And I've had it with your attitude too, Jesse!
Jesse (headed towards Shalimar): OOHHH!
Adam (confused): Hey, hey, wait! [Shalimar leaps at Jesse from the balcony, but he phases and she hits the floor. Her eyes flash again as she rises and runs at him, only to bounce off his massed body. When she rises to face him again, he masses once more and kicks her into the wall.]
Adam: Hey! Stop it, you two! [The toxin finally wears off Shalimar, then Jesse, and Jesse realizes what he's done.]
Jesse (running to her side): Shalimar!
Adam: Are you all right?[The two men hug Shalimar.]

[We return to The Abyss, where Jesse's found the strength to keep holding on a little while longer. Back in the lab, Dr. Robinson's trying to take out the bullet with surgical pincers.]
Dr. Robinson (concentrating): Almost... [She looks up as Jesse's heart monitor signals a flatline; she pumps on his chest, trying to restart his heart.] Come on, Jesse. You can do it! Come on, Jesse. [She grabs the electroshock paddles and gives him a jolt. In his chair by the bedside, the sleeping Brennan also jumps with each electrical charge. We return to The Abyss.]
Jesse: I can't hold on any longer.
Brennan: Jesse, fight it! [Jesse lets go, but Brennan catches his hand, straining to hold him up.]
Jesse: Let me go!
Brennan: No, not a chance! If you die, I die. Come on!
Jesse (staring down into the abyss): I don't want you to die!
Brennan: Not a chance; you're stuck with me. You've got to concentrate on surviving. You've gotta remember why you want to live.

[Flashback to Sanctuary. A vengeful telecyber, William Dennett, has taken control of Sanctuary's computer systems and has been turning up the heat in Sanctuary an effort to cook Brennan and Jesse alive. Luckily, Jesse manages to turn on the air conditioning, and the two stand relieved under the vent.]
Brennan (sighing happily): All right, I take back anything bad I've ever said about you.
Jesse (chuckling): Oh, I'm gonna remember that. [One of Dennett's hologram soldiers suddenly appears on the balcony.]
Sargent Nalle: Nice installation. Top notch security systems.
Brennan: Wait. Since he's a hologram, his weapons can't hurt us, right?
Jesse (warily): Not as far as I know. [Proving them wrong, the hologram shoots a very real laser beam at the boys. Jesse ducks and rolls away, but Brennan is knocked against the electrical panel, surrounded by electrical arcs.]
Brennan (in pain): Jess, do something! [As Jesse runs to turn off the electricity, Brennan addresses the hologram.] Who are you?
Hologram: Sargeant Nalle. Tunnel Quest squadron leader. Think you can stand an increase in the voltage? [Brennan screams as the arcs surrounding him intensify. Jesse runs to the circuit breaker, masses his fist, and punches the panel as hard as he can. The electricity shuts off, the hologram disappears, and Brennan falls to the floor. A hologram of William Dennett appears on the balcony.]
William: I really expected you to put up more of a fight. Game over, boys. Sweet dreams. [Gas begins to seep into Sanctuary.]
Jesse (wheezing): Brennan...
Brennan: Come on, Jesse, we've got to get up. Come on, man, you're gonna make it. Come on. Stay with me, buddy. We're gonna make it. [Hoisting Jesse onto his back, Brennan carries him up the stairs to the second floor. The two collapse onto the floor.]
Jesse: There's something I want to tell you, Brennan.
Brennan: Yeah, I love you too, man.
Jesse: No! You suck at basketball.
Brennan (laughing and coughing): That's the big thing? That's the big thing you wanted to tell me?
Jesse: And what you said.

[Back to The Abyss. Brennan has succeeded in pulling Jesse back up to the wall.]
Brennan: Good! I knew you could do it, man.

[In the meantime, the girls are flying around in The Helix, searching for Dr. Harrison's hideout.]
Shalimar: Any luck yet?
Lexa (at the computer): No. Dr. Harrison's been operating out of a dozen fronts over the last six months.
Shalimar: Good. I've still got his cell phone trace. One of those has got to be real.
Lexa (smiling in understanding): Oh, so we superimpose the locations of Harrison's front companies? Perfect. [The computer zeroes in on a location.] Got him. Marine Industries, 14th Street.

[In the Abyss, Jesse and Brennan are slowly, painfully climbing upwards, towards the promising white light at the top of The Abyss.]
Brennan: It's only a little further!
Jesse (exhausted): It's not easy, bro.
Brennan: Come on, don't give up. Think about all the people that you love. All the people that you've helped. You can't leave them!

[Flashback to Jesse and Lexa in Sanctuary. Jesse's on his way out to meet Shalimar and Brennan on a mission, when he realizes Lexa's not behind him.]
Lexa: I'm not coming with you.
Jesse (confused): What? [He stops and walks back to her.] What?
Lexa: We're different, Jess. You know, when I was a kid, the only thing I ever thought about was taking care of my brother. Everything I did for Eckhart, Adam, The Dominion, was all about saving Leo and I screwed it up.
Jesse: Look, when I first came here, I was confused too. The last thing I thought I wanted was join a bunch of freaks in a cave. But Lexa, once I was in, I found something that I could never find on the outside. For the first time in my life, I fit in. You're a part of that now.

[Back to The Abyss. Having found his second wind, Jesse is climbing towards the light with renewed energy. Meanwhile, the girls have found Harrison's building and are walking the halls searching for him. Lexa's cellphone rings.]
Dr. Harrison: Time is running out. Have you got her?
Lexa: Yeah.
Dr. Harrison: Put her on.
Lexa (stalling): Well...it'll be a minute.
Dr. Harrison: Don't play me. I will detonate the bullet! [Cellphone to her ear, a worried Lexa pulls Shalimar along faster down the halls.]

[Back in the lab, Dr. Robinson's trying again to remove the bullet with her pincers, but she isn't able to grasp it.]
Dr. Robinson (calling into Jesse's mind): Brennan, I can't reach the bullet! It's using Jesse's abilities to phase itself.
Brennan (still in The Abyss): You can pull out the bullet if you get a hold of it, right?
Dr. Robinson's voice: Yes, but I already told you that I-
Brennan: Jesse, you've gotta concentrate. You've gotta mass out the bullet so the doctor can get a hold of it. Can you do that?
Jesse (chuckling tiredly): I can't.
Brennan: It's our only chance to keep us both alive. Come on man, I know you got it in you. You know you've got it in you. Come on, Jess. Mass out the bullet! [Groaning, Jesse concentrates on making the bullet solid.] Good! It's only a little further. I know you can do it. [At long last, the boys reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Robinson sees that the bullet is solidifying and reaches down to grasp it.]

[We cut to Shalimar and Lexa, who are finally standing outside Dr. Harrison's door.]
Dr. Harrison (on the phone): No more stalling!
Lexa (to Shalimar): You heard the man. [Shalimar kicks down the door. Harrison's henchman pulls his gun, but he never gets the chance to use it as our feisty feral leaps at him and knocks him out cold. Dr. Harrison grabs his own gun and holds up the bullet's detonator. Suddenly, he realizes something's wrong.]
Dr. Harrison (shocked): You don't have her.

[Back in the lab, Dr. Robinson grasps the newly massed bullet with her pincers and pulls it out of the incision. Cut back to Dr. Harrison, holding up the detonator.]
Dr. Harrison: You never had her! Bye-bye, Jesse.
Lexa (yelling into her comlink): Brennan! It's gonna blow! [In the lab, Brennan hears Lexa's warning just in time to grab the bullet out of Dr. Robinson's hand and shove it into the protective canister. When Dr. Harrison pushes the button, the bullet explodes harmlessly inside the container. Jesse wakes up.]
Brennan (into his comlink): It's all right, guys. I got the bullet into the container in time.

[Cut back to Harrison's room, where Lexa sighs in relief.]
Lexa (to Harrison): Jesse's alive. Lucky you.
Dr. Harrison (pointing his gun at Lexa): Where is she? Where's Laura?
Shalimar: She died.
Dr. Harrison (panicking): No. No, no. After all the treachery and double-dealing at the GSA, she was the only one who remained loyal, loyal to me. She can't be dead!
Lexa: Aww. You cared about her?
Dr. Harrison: Cared? I loved her!
Lexa: That's too bad. [She back-hands him, knocking him out cold.] Love hurts. [Smiling at each other, the girls leave.]

[That evening, the gang is all together again, sitting in a circle in Sanctuary's main room. Jesse's in a wheelchair.]
Jesse: Guys, thank you. I wouldn't be here without you.
Lexa (smiling): Ah, it was no big deal.
Jesse (seriously): Yeah. You're the reason I wanted to live. That is a big deal.
Brennan: Hm? [He bumps Shalimar teasingly with his shoulder, then points a scolding finger at Lexa.]
Shalimar (laughing, to Jesse): So, did you have any other any other near-death revelations?
Lexa (raising a finger): Well, I did. [Getting up, she hugs Jesse.] See, you put us through that again...and I'll kill you myself. [Jesse laughs as she walks away. Shalimar kisses his forehead, then follows Lexa.]
Jesse: Brennan.
Brennan: ‘S up?
Jesse: You risked your life for me.
Brennan (smiling): You took a bullet for me.
Jesse: Yeah, but I didn't know it was going to hurt.
Brennan (laughing): Oh, man, you're a big wuss! I'm sure you would have done it anyway. [The two clasp hands.]
Jesse: Anytime.
Brennan: I know. [He pretends to sucker punch Jesse in the stomach, then walks away, leaving Jesse alone with his own thoughts.]