Brennan Mulwray is an unexpected addition. I had not planned on inviting a personality like his into the team. He brings to us a knowledge and background I have little experience in: crime, street survival and the underworld. I am not certain whether this will be entirely positive. His mastery of electricity flow, however, is the most advanced I’ve ever seen in an elemental. He will up our physical forces considerably. And Brennan seems to be a good influence on Jesse, bringing him out of his shell. He and I, as of yet, are still strangers. This is excerpted from our first session.
BRENNAN: So, it this where you shrink-wrap my head?
A: Not that bad, I hope. A New Mutant’s DNA tends to be in flux and that requires both physical and emotional check-ups.
BRENNAN: Well, I tend to be on an even keel so maybe you can spend more time with the others in this department.
A: When did you discover your powers, Brennan?
BRENNAN: Not buyin’ it, huh? Well, I took a shot. Okay, okay. I started making baby sparks around four or five.
A: And?
BRENNAN: And it was great! Never felt like a freak. I felt special for once!
A: Could you elaborate?
BRENNAN: Well, it was just me and my mom back then. We didn’t have much money, you know, and things were tight.
(He stands up and begins pacing. In fact, he doesn’t sit down or stand still again for the entire session. He periodically flickers tiny tesla coils across his fingers, like coin tricks.)
BRENNAN: Any way, the electric thing showed me that I wasn’t just a snot-nosed poverty case. I was different.
A: You used your powers in public?
BRENNAN: No, no, no! (Laughs) That would have been a trip! Sparky the Kindergartener! No. My mom taught me to keep it a secret. But she let me practice with them all the time… if I was good.
A: You’re very proficient with them.
BRENNAN: Yeah. Bet I’ve used them in ways you never imagined.
A: You’d lose. What was your mother like?
BRENNAN: She loved me. I always knew that. She had ups and downs…you know, emotionally. But that didn’t make her…I mean…
A: She took care of you.
BRENNAN: Yeah. My dad…my real dad…was a POW who never got outta Nam. Never knew him. Had a stepdad for a while but he was a mean bastard. Mom caught on to him soon enough and got us outta there.
A: And after her death…?
BRENNAN: I was ten. It was foster homes after that. Then the streets. Home, sweet home!
A: You survived better than most.
BRENNAN: I had this, didn’t I?
(He flares up a tesla coil in his palm and lets it subside)
BRENNAN: With all this pop and fizz juicing through me there was a lot of potential to make a buck. Electronic locks, cars, computers. Piece of cake to crack. Made me very well liked in certain circles, if you know what I mean. ‘Course, I guess those days are behind me now.
A: About that. You realize Mutant X is not going to keep your wallet filled like your previous endeavors.
BRENNAN: No kiddin’?
A: In fact, Genomex would have offered you more.
BRENNAN: And stored me in a jar of alcohol if I screwed up! Listen. I’m here because it’s the right place to be!
A: Not just because of Emma?
BRENNAN: She was key…but not for the reasons you’re thinking. I’ve got lots of girls on the line, Adam. I’ve been lucky that way. But Emma…I don’t know…she’s different. Ever since I was a kid I’ve had this dream…
A: Go on.
BRENNAN: I have a sister in it and she has powers like me. You see, there’s this big empty hole in the back of my head usually but my dream sister makes it disappear. So I meet Emma and she’s wild and on the run like me and can do awesome mind taps on the side. She was…
A: Family.
BRENNAN: (Grins) Whoa. You’re good, man. Fished that right out of me.
A: It’s a gift.
BRENNAN: So do you trust me a little more now?
A: It’s easier.
BRENNAN: (Laughs) You know, some day you’re gonna eat a good plate of crow over this. I might be a hood—a good smelling hood, I might add—but I’m gonna do a solid job here.
A: It’s my greatest wish, Mr. Mulwray.
BRENNAN: So, enough for today, yes?
(As he walks out he picks up my copy of Shakespeare’s sonnets)
BRENNAN: Hey. Can I borrow this?
A: You read poetry?
BRENNAN: Yeah, believe it or not. My eighth grade English teacher, Ms. Meagher, turned me on to it before I dropped out. Whitman, Keats, Tennyson. Calms me down.
A: I’m surprised.
BRENNAN: With me, Adam, the word is always “shocked”.
