series: Nightmares

status: WIP

rating: NC17

archive: sure! just let me know

website: www.geocities.com/the_tenth_muse1/

summary: Adam's trying to figure out a way back to the right reality but on the journey back, Mason unleashes a devastating new weapon.

WARNINGS: bad language, graphic sex, and violence. all in a good day's work. *grin*

Notes: there will be a third installment in this series so don't take the ending for granted. *evil grin* bwahahaha...

******

Guess you're the only one,
who has never changed faces.
Guess you're the only one left standin'
when everything else falls down.
-- Everything, Lifehouse

It was Adam and Brennan, which was just how Brennan liked things. He was lazing on a chair, legs slung over the sides since it didn't actually recline, and watching Adam work on a laptop he'd 'picked up' for the scientist a month ago, shortly after the snafu at Eckhart's lab. Shalimar and Emma were out scrounging for security parts for Sanctuary3.

Adam had decided that they'd needed a base of operations since he wasn't sure that he would ever be able to get them back to the right reality. They'd found a new hideaway inside the city and had been building it out ever since. It was small, about half the size of the other two Sanctuaries, and it didn't have hardly anything in the way of technology, but it was secure and they could rest within its walls knowing that no one had any idea that they were there.

Getting to his feet, Brennan walked over to Adam and started kneading the older man's shoulders. "You're looking awfully tense. I don't think you've taken a break in hours. What're you working on?"

Adam sighed deeply under the ministrations and rolled his neck. "Thanks, that feels good. I didn't want to say anything, but…I think I found a way back."

Brennan's hands stilled for a moment before continuing the massage. "How?"

"Well, it's not fine-tuned yet, but I downloaded the specs for the machine Carlson was working on that caused all this," Adam answered. "It was an early design, and there were a lot of flaws, but it at least sent me in the right direction. If Mason had just given it to me at the beginning, we'd probably already be back on track."

After a brief hesitation, Brennan leaned over and kissed the back of Adam's neck.

Adam froze. "What was that for?"

Smiling faintly, Brennan explained, "Not giving up."

Adam looked up at him with a faint grin. "I try not to, you know, despite what happened at Mason's."

Rubbing his hands firmly between Adam's shoulders, Brennan replied, "I know. So, what's the plan?"

"I'm going to keep working on this and we, as a group, will keep trying to help other Mutants in the here and now," Adam answered. "There's too much going on for us not to interfere anymore, regardless of what it might do to the time line."

Brennan nodded, thinking briefly of the very publicized television conference Eckhart had given a few weeks ago and the violent backlash that had followed. When Mutants had just been a rumor, things had been bad enough. Now that they were a fact, confirmed by science, people were scared witless. "Gloves off?"

"Gloves off and burned."

Grinning, Brennan observed, "Boy are you going to make Shal a happy kitty when she and Emma get back tonight."

Half-smiling, Adam agreed, "Well, I do live to make Shalimar happy."

Chuckling, Brennan pulled his hands free. "We all do."

"We all do what?"

Adam and Brennan looked over at Shalimar's timely entrance. Brennan broke out laughing at her puzzled expression and Adam chuckled. Coming up behind Shalimar, Emma grinned as she slung an arm around the other woman's waist. "Whatever it was, yes, it had to do with you."

"Way to play down my paranoia, Em," Shalimar muttered, rolling her eyes.

Standing, Adam informed them, "We were just talking about some direct interference."

Eyes widening in surprise, Shalimar exclaimed, "Really? How much and when?"

"As much as you can safely plan for, and whenever you like."

"Really?

"Really."

"All right!" Shalimar crowed. She grabbed Adam in a hug. "Thanks, Adam!"

Cupping her face in a hand, Adam cautioned, "That doesn't mean tearing off, half-cocked. The security forces pursuing Mutants are over-zealous, to say the least. I want a plan in place, with alternate scenarios, before any of you head out."

Shalimar was already dancing backwards, towards Emma, an innocent expression firmly in place. "Absolutely. Safety first."

Brennan and Emma both snorted.

Lips twitching in an effort not to smile, Adam agreed, "What they said. I mean it, Shalimar. I won't lose any more friends."

Remorseful, Shalimar replied, "We'll be careful, I promise."

* * * *

"We'll be careful. I promise," Brennan muttered, dodging a laser bolt by ducking behind the nearest wall. Peering out nearly singed his eyebrows, so he pulled a severe ball of energy between his hands and threw it as best he could from his shelter.

Everything had been going well in their first foray back into the rescue business; too well, obviously. They'd picked what was supposed to be a low-priority holding area for a dozen or so new mutants. There had been little in the way of outward security and while Adam had determined that it was a Genomex facility, their presence was minimal.

So much for research.

"Shal! You get them out yet, or what!?"

"Working on it!"

"Work faster!" There was another shattering explosion and glass sprinkled down around him. Brennan hissed in pain as one cut his cheek and his hand automatically pressed against it, coming away bloody as he growled, "Shalimar!"

"Now! I've got them! Do it!"

Brennan closed his eyes and forced his breathing to slow, concentrating on a buildup of energy that hadn't been rivaled since he'd blown up Eckhart's warehouse months ago. He drained every part of energy from his body, down to the cells, jumped up and flung his arms out, releasing it all.

A lightening storm had nothing on Brennan as the electricity crackled into the reserve gas tanks several hundred meters away. The force of the explosion threw him back, knocking him head first into a wall. Groaning, Brennan struggled to his feet and was caught up in Shalimar's strong arms. They staggered from the burning wreck of a building towards the car that was waiting a short distance away.

* * * *

"What the hell happened?" Adam demanded tightly.

Brennan winced as the needle went slowly through his skin, the sliced edges pulled together by the thread Adam was weaving into him.

Emma was tending to Shalimar's less damaging injuries as the feral answered, "It was way more than a low-level holding area, Adam. We freed what, fifty mutants instead of the ten we expected? And there were plenty of research staff on hand, too. It had to be some kind of secret lab."

"Which means that Mason will be looking for payback."

Shalimar nodded. "I would if I were him."

Glaring at her, Adam demanded, "What happened to being careful?"

Though the question subdued her a bit, Shalimar replied, "We couldn't just let them rot in there, Adam."

He finished off the stitches, staring into Brennan's eyes as he did so, then sighed. "No, no you couldn't. Of course not."

Brennan quirked a grin at him and pointed out, "We did good today, Adam, and we're all fine."

"You are not fine. You've got a concussion and fifteen stitches on your face and another twenty on your left shoulder blade," Adam countered sharply.

Brennan took his hand, squeezing it lightly. "I'm fine, Adam."

Biting his lower lip for a brief moment, Adam sighed again and said, "You're insane, is what you are, but that's neither here nor there. All right. Let's get some sleep, it's been a very long day. We'll talk about this in the morning."

Obviously relieved to be off the hook, even if just temporarily, Shalimar jumped off the other makeshift exam bed and dragged Emma out of the room.

Adam grinned, amused, then looked back at Brennan. "What am I going to do with you?"

Brennan's legs hooked around Adam's thighs and drew him in close, startling the older man into almost falling against him. Staring into Adam's dark eyes, Brennan murmured, "I think you can manage something."

Swallowing heavily at the unexpected contact, Adam whispered, "What happened to taking things slow?"

"Fuck it. We could die tomorrow," Brennan answered seriously.

He reached up and pulled Adam in for a long, deep kiss. Adam groaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Brennan's waist, aching to get closer. His hand moved slowly over the bare skin, fingertips avoiding the bruised and bandaged areas.

"Ah, Adam?"

Breathing heavily, Adam broke away from Brennan at Shalimar's hesitant call of his name, resting his forehead to Brennan's as he answered, "What is it, Shalimar?"

"Benny's on the phone, said that he needs to talk to you right away."

Adam straightened up and smiled ruefully at Brennan. "Hold that thought."

"I will," Brennan promised, grinning back at him.

Brennan tried to follow Adam, but his legs wobbled enough that he almost fell. If Adam hadn't caught him, he would have fallen.

"You're not going anywhere but to bed," Adam said sternly. "You way over-extended yourself and it will take time for your body to replenish."

"Looked pretty lively to me a few seconds ago," Shalimar teased.

Adam grinned at her and replied easily, "Adrenaline."

Glaring at the older man got Brennan nothing except helped back onto the bed. He couldn't sleep comfortably on his back because of the stitches, so Adam put together a mound of pillows behind him to rest on his side. Once he was settled, Adam brushed his fingers through Brennan's hair and ordered softly, "Try and get some sleep."

Brennan sighed, but nodded. "I will."

"Thank you," Adam replied, smiling.

Brennan watched them go, then sighed again and closed his eyes.

* * * *

Adam sat in front of the vid-phone and found a very worried Benny on the other end of the screen. "What's wrong?"

"The GSA's been sniffing around, Adam."

"Are you in danger?"

"Don't think so. I'm just some crazy old man," Benny replied dryly. "But just in case they have me under surveillance, I wanted you to stop coming here. I'll give you a buzz when I think it's safe again. I'm real sorry to do this to you, I know you've got few enough places to go as it is."

Adam shook his head and assured him, "Don't worry about it. Keeping you safe is the priority. Call us when you can."

"I will. Sorry, Adam."

Touching the disconnect, Adam sighed, thoughts racing as to their other safe houses, though these days he used the term loosely.

"Adam?"

Adam looked over at Emma and forced a smile. "We'll be all right."

"How can you say that when you can't even show your face in public?" Emma exclaimed. She crossed to him, gripping his shoulder as she continued, "None of your old contacts will even speak with you. Eckhart's not playing fair, but he's playing to win. He's going to pick us off one at a time, unless we do something to expose him."

Getting abruptly to his feet, Adam demanded angrily, "Don't you think that I know that? What can I do, Emma? Tell me, and I'll do it! Don't you think that it's killing me that Mason is winning? That every time any of you sets foot outside the door, it could be the last time I see you again?"

He broke off, turning away, trying to keep his thoughts and emotions to himself.

After a few silent moments, Emma came close, her hand resting on his waist as she leaned against him. "I'm sorry."

Adam turned around and pulled her into a tight hug. "Me, too. I wish I could think of a way out of this other than just resetting the whole damned thing."

"How's that coming?" she asked, resting in his arms.

He smiled faintly and replied, "I get a headache just thinking about it."

Chuckling, Emma pulled back and looked up at him. "You'll get it, Adam, don't worry. And even if you don't, you're doing all that you can."

With a mild grimace, Adam said, "Whatever I'm doing, it's not enough. I know that Mason is up to something big, I just hope it's something we can handle when he finally unleashes it."

* * * *

This particular room held only one stasis pod and Mason stared down at it with a combination of horrified fascination and desire. Horror, because surely after twenty years in stasis, the man within had to have gone mad, just as Ashlocke did. Desire, because the man within held all the power a single person could want, power that Mason himself would never wield.

Adam didn't know about this one, this mistake…this ace in the hole. Mason had been very careful to conceal it from him, knowing that the other would try everything within his considerable power to free him. He wasn't another Ashlocke, not really. This man was purely elemental, right down to controlling the electricity within his own cells and others. There was no equal on the planet that Mason knew of, not even Adam's precious Mulwray.

That, of course, made him very dangerous. The reason that Mason had been sending subliminal messages to the man's brain for the last six months. The last thing that the man had seen, after all, had been Mason standing to the side of the pod, calmly ordering his imprisonment. He had to take that rage and focus it on someone other than himself and who better than the current thorn in his side?

Mason wasn't foolish enough to rely solely on the subliminal messages. The room was currently flooded with two inches of water, which would electrocute them both if the man used his powers. He was more than reasonably certain the other man would see reason, but hadn't gotten as far as he had without taking chances.

Looking towards the window, he ordered, "Release him."

Mechanical groans and snaps echoed through the room as the pod's cover rose, the cool air inside converting to steam as it hit the warmer air. After a few moments, there was a human groan from within the pod and movement. Then, finally, the man inside lifted himself out, slowly getting to his feet with a minor splash.

Dark eyes stared at him blearily for a few moments before connecting his identity and a frown of suspicion and concentration spread over the handsome face. "Eckhart."

The voice was harsh with disuse, but firm. Mason half-smiled at the familiar tonality and replied, "Good afternoon, Mr. Kane."

Cold rage was clearly visible on the other man's face as he demanded, "Where is he? Where's my brother?"

The half-smile grew and Mason answered, "One thing at a time, Michael. First, why don't I catch you up on current events?"

The suspicion didn't abate, but Michael nodded slowly.

* * * *

"Hey."

Adam immediately looked over at Brennan's greeting and frowned. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Grinning, Brennan held up his hands and moved to sit in the chair with, "Not exerting myself, see? Just sitting here."

With a snort, Adam replied, "That remains to be seen."

"What're you working on?"

"What do I usually work on at two in the morning?"

"Ah. That."

"Yes, that."

"Shouldn't you, I don't know, get some sleep yourself?"

Adam tried not to smile at the pointed question, but failed. "Well, it's not because I don't want to. It's just…"

"Just…?" Brennan prompted softly.

Glancing over at Brennan, Adam admitted, "Mason's up to something. I can feel it."

"Eckhart's always up to something."

"No, this is...he's been too quiet lately."

"Quiet?"

Adam smiled at the incredulous tone and repeated, "Quiet."

Sighing, Brennan got to his feet and padded over to Adam, putting his hands on the other man's shoulders. "You're probably not hallucinating, but you still need to come to bed."

Surprise flashed through him as Adam asked, "With you?"

Brennan grinned. "You got a problem with that all of a sudden?"

"No, of course not," Adam answered instantly. "Just, I wasn't sure that you meant it, about taking things further."

Leaning against him, Brennan replied, "I might not be up for anything right now, but whatever I've got, it's yours. No more waiting. I either trust you, or I don't and…I want to trust you, Adam."

Adam gripped Brennan's hand and brought it to his lips. "You can, Brennan, I swear. No more secrets or treating you as if I know best. I promise."

For a moment, Brennan just stared back at him. Then, slowly, he nodded and agreed, "No more secrets. Come on. Let's get some sleep."

Adam got to his feet, the laptop and its problem forgotten for the temptation of once more being at Brennan's side.

Brennan had staked out the bedroom beside Adam's, and it was there that they went. He watched as Brennan started to take off his shirt with more care than he should due to his injured state and moved forward to help. Brushing his hands across the muscled chest, catching the fabric in his hands, Adam whispered, "Let me."

Swallowing convulsively, dark eyes wide with surprise and desire, Brennan nodded.

Adam slowly pulled the shirt over Brennan's head, following the line of muscles up with his fingers, then tossed the shirt aside. Unable to resist so much bare skin, he leaned forward and kissed Brennan's collarbone. Adam moved slowly across the other's chest, kissing gently, almost reverently, as he went. His hands caressed sore muscles, but did so with care, massaging and relaxing them with skill. He felt Brennan physically relax into the lovemaking with a deep sigh.

"God, Adam," Brennan breathed, his hands resting on Adam's shoulders.

Looking up at Brennan, Adam smiled and replied, "C'mon, let's get you into bed."

"You're going to have to do something about my pants first."

Adam chuckled at the slightly strangled statement and slid his hand over Brennan's crotch. "You mean like that?"

"Ah, not, not exactly," Brennan gasped, his hands tightening on Adam.

Feeling the hard length beneath the jeans, Adam took pity on his lover and carefully unzipped them, then pushed them down over Brennan's hips to the floor, along with the boxers. Brennan was definitely hard, his cock rising to meet his hand as Adam gripped it firmly. Brennan's fingers dug into him as Adam started a slow, hard jacking.

Brennan leaned forward and captured his mouth, devouring him with need and love, his tongue trying to get as well acquainted with Adam's tonsils as possible. Adam shivered in response and moved closer, his free arm sliding around Brennan's back. Brennan maneuvered them to the bed and broke the kiss once there to sit down on it, losing contact with Adam in the process. Running a shaky hand through his hair, Brennan joked, "So much for not being up for anything."

Chuckling, Adam answered, "So I see."

"Just strip, will you?" Brennan complained, regaining his balance.

Even though Adam was undressed in record time, Brennan was already sitting against the wall, sprawled comfortably on pillows, and waiting for him when he was done. The sensual image presented to him sent a surge of heat through him and Adam stopped, just to look, to burn the picture into his brain.

"Well?"

Adam grinned at the impatient demand and climbed onto the bed, straddling Brennan so that his ass rubbed suggestively against Brennan's cock. It had been so very long, but there was nothing he wanted more. "I don't suppose you're prepared for this?"

Wriggling his eyebrows, Brennan pointed to the night stand table and Adam reached over to pull out massage lotion. Brennan shrugged at Adam's curious look and replied, "Swiped it from the girls' bathroom."

Full out laughter escaped Adam at that and he said, "Somehow, I don't think they're going to want it back, so you better replace it later. But for now..."

So saying, Adam knelt as he poured some into his palm and reached behind to prepare himself.

"Oh no you don't," Brennan exclaimed, grabbing his hand and hauling him forward.

Off balance, Adam fell forward against Brennan and found his wrists pinned behind his back while Brennan again devoured his mouth. He was so engrossed in the kiss, that the first push of a finger startled him. Brennan demanded his attention, though, so he happily gave himself over to the other man's care. The first finger was slick and narrow enough to move easily inside after the first few minutes. The second brought a hint of the fullness he was craving as Brennan's fingers slid in and out in an increasingly hard rhythm.

Adam moaned into Brennan's mouth when the third finger joined the first two and spread his knees further apart. He was so hard that he felt about to come at any moment and pulled back gasping, "Now, Brennan, please!"

With a heavy-lidded stare, Brennan nodded and withdrew his fingers. Adam's arms were released and Brennan's hands went to his waist to help guide him down. When he felt the blunted tip of Brennan at his hole, Adam slowly sat down. Even though they'd spent plenty of time getting him ready and he was eager for it, it was damned uncomfortable the entire ride down. By the time his ass was flush against Brennan, Adam was torn between holding his breath and panting with the discomfort.

"God! Adam! You're so...oh fuck! This is, this is heaven! Have you ever...?" Brennan gasped, eyes rolling back as his head thumped against the wall.

Swallowing heavily, Adam nodded and answered, "Long time ago and, uh, only once."

Astonishment broke through the haze of lust and sensation and Brennan cupped his face, bringing him in for a long, sweet kiss. While they were joined at the mouth as well, Brennan's hand took hold of Adam's lax cock and started stroking it.

Adam closed his eyes and just rode the sensations: Brennan's cock throbbing in his ass, the taste and heat of Brennan's mouth, the way his cock was being squeezed and manipulated. Without thought, he started moving, undulating to create the friction between them. Brennan broke the kiss and Adam's eyes opened, though it took a second to focus on his lover's face. "Brennan? Am I, did I do something wrong?"

A groaning laugh rumbled through Brennan and he shook his head vehemently as he answered, "No, no way, Adam. You're so perfect, so fucking tight and good! I just, please, can I fuck you? I really, really need you, so bad!"

Heat like lightening struck Adam and he nodded. Before he was even done with the motion, Brennan had rolled them so he was on top and Adam's legs were splayed apart. He grabbed Adam's ass and lifted him, pulling out only to slam forward hard enough that they skidded across the covers. Adam reached above himself blindly for the wall and encountered pillows instead. He threw them aside and braced himself as Brennan let loose.

The first time had been nothing like this, there may as well have been no other time, Adam decided hazily. This was all heat and wet and moans and sucking and the feel of a hard, thick cock driving into him over and over. Then, without warning, something inside went off and he shouted in pleasure.

"Got it!" Brennan hissed in triumph.

Panting, forcing his eyes open, Adam gasped, "Prostate?"

Grinning fiercely, Brennan nodded and confirmed, "Oh, yeah. Hang onto you hats, cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Adam didn't even have time to protest the corny warning before Brennan struck gold again and his body jerked in shocked pleasure. Brennan bit and sucked at his chest and throat, marking him in ways that no one ever had before. All he could do was lay there and let Brennan do everything, the sensations overwhelming him to an ungodly degree. That seemed fine with Brennan, though, because through the fog of almost coming, Adam heard him mutter, "Fuck yeah, God so good, mine, fucking mine, Adam, gonna feel me into next week, gonna make you want me forever!"

He wanted to protest that he already did, but words were completely beyond him. Then the hard shaft inside him scraped across his prostate one too many times and he shouted, the world exploding into orgasm around him.

* * * *

Still high on his own orgasm, Brennan didn't move from the tight, warm haven of Adam's ass, clinging to the other man as his cock spasmed again, though there couldn't be anything left. All the denied emotions of the last five years had come down to this time together. He'd wanted to go easy their first time, but finally having Adam, finally tasting and touching him had driven Brennan too fast over the edge.

And to find out that Adam had only ever done this once, an age ago, had done something to Brennan. He'd never felt such a surge of possessiveness for someone else in his life. Though his breathing slowed and his heart resumed its natural rhythm, Brennan stayed exactly where he was. He didn't ever want to move from his plastered position on top of Adam.

Ever.

* * * *

When Adam woke, it was to find Brennan in exactly the same position as when he'd climaxed; though how long ago that was, was anyone's guess. He felt strange, stretched around Brennan's cock as he was, even though it was soft. At least, he thought it was soft. It had never occurred to him that of course, they would do this. His imagination when it came to physical things, was remarkably limited, though he'd always done his best to satisfy his female lovers and none of them had ever complained. Not that that necessarily spoke of anything good on his part, just that they were polite.

Snorting derisively to himself, Adam shifted a little to get into a slightly more comfortable position. His eyes widened in surprise when he felt Brennan's cock grow inside him. Well, that answered the question of whether or not the other man was soft. He was unable to help the automatic spasm of his internal muscles around Brennan, which, naturally, caused his lover to harden further.

Brennan mumbled in his sleep and undulated against him. Adam gasped at the unexpected movement, but didn't wake Brennan as it didn't really hurt. He waited, then curiously clenched his ass again. Like Pavlov's dog, Brennan hardened even further and started moving again. Adam felt his heart speed up and he groaned at the heavy push against his prostate.

Wrapping his arms around Brennan's shoulders, he whispered, "C'mon, Brennan, I can feel you're hard again. I'm all yours, love, take me."

Shuddering awake at the words, Brennan's mouth latched onto Adam's nipple painfully hard and his hips snapped against Adam's ass. Adam grunted at the forceful fucking, his cock as hard as it had been earlier. It was over too quickly when Brennan moaned a couple of minutes later against his chest and spilled his seed inside, but Adam was able to jerk himself off, his cock trapped between their bodies.

Panting, Adam stroked Brennan's back, twining his fingers through the short, thick hair on his head. "God, I love you, Brennan."

Brennan bit then sucked lovingly at Adam's nipple before replying in an exhausted voice, "Love you too, Adam."

* * * *

Shalimar couldn't help smirking when Adam and Brennan joined them for breakfast. The men hadn't been the least bit quiet about what they'd been doing the night before and her bedroom was right next to Brennan's. There hadn't been too much thumping of bed against wall, but the shouting had been pretty hard to ignore. Of course, to her senses, the smell had been pretty prevalent, too.

And damn, Brennan sure as hell knew how to talk dirty! She'd had her own minor, ah, session while listening to them.

Even if she hadn't heard the way things had gone last night, it would have been obvious from the awkward way Adam was standing and Brennan's extra solicitous behavior. She met Emma's amused look across the table before asking innocently, "Aren't you going to join us, Adam?"

Adam gave her an irritated look and replied, "You know perfectly well that I'll be standing today and why, Shalimar."

Given permission by his words, Shalimar grinned broadly. "It's about damn time you two got together."

Emma raised her glass of orange juice and agreed, "Hear, hear!"

Groaning, Brennan observed sourly, "You know, we don't ask about your sex lives."

"That's because we don't have sex right in the next bedroom," Shalimar pointed out wickedly.

Adam sighed in resignation and asked, "Could someone pour me some milk, please?"

One thing I don't know why,
it doesn't even matter how hard you try...
Time is a valuable thing,
watch it fly by as the pendulum swings.
watch it count down, to the end of the day,
the clock ticks life away, it's so unreal...
-- Doesn't Even Matter, Linkin Park

Emma's head jolted upright as she caught the deluge of emotion from Adam. She lurched to her feet and rushed towards the room that Adam had taken as his study and crashed into it to find Adam grabbing his coat. "Adam! What are you doing?"

"I have to go out, have to meet someone," he answered tightly.

"You can't!"

"I have to."

Emma planted herself in front of the door and exclaimed, "Adam, stop, you aren't thinking rationally! You can not go out. Public enemy number one, remember?"

"It's my brother!" Adam roared with all the wounded fury of a caged lion.

Stunned, both by the revelation and the force of emotion behind it, Emma didn't respond at first. The door bumped into her hard from behind, knocking her forward.

Brennan rushed in, saw Adam dressed to go out and demanded, "What's going on?"

Emma kept close to the door, arms crossing over her chest, and replied, "Adam's going out to meet his brother."

Looking as floored as Emma felt, Brennan asked, "Brother? Adam, you never said anything about…"

"That's because I thought he was dead," Adam snapped. He pulled off his coat and whipped it furiously at the wall. He stood there for a long moment, body rigid with tension as he struggled to find the right words. "Michael was ten years older than me and in the military. Shortly after I started working at Genomex, his plane was shot down and he was taken prisoner. We were told that he was executed and given his dog-tags and personal effects."

"Oh, Adam," Emma breathed, feeling his pain like a physical thing: confusion, pain, horror, self-loathing.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Adam continued, "I should have kept looking. I should never have believed the government. All these years…all this time…"

Brennan reached for him, but Adam jerked back, avoiding him. Hurt, but trying not to show it, Brennan said, "You can't blame yourself, Adam. There was no way that you could have known. Why would they have lied? And you were, what, just a kid when it happened, right?"

"Twenty," Adam replied reluctantly.

"There you go. There was nothing you could have done," Brennan stated.

Adam looked him dead in the eyes and questioned, "What about now? Do I ignore him now? Let him rot?"

Brennan looked at Emma, but she shrugged helplessly. If either of them had a chance of dissuading Adam, it was Brennan.

"Adam, you will be recognized and captured if you go out in public," Brennan pointed out, trying to stay calm. "That won't help your brother one bit. Where's he being held?"

"Genomex."

Emma inhaled sharply at the revelation. No wonder Adam was flipping out. If Eckhart had his hands on Adam's brother, there was no telling what he was doing to the man.

Adam met her gaze and nodded, grim. "Exactly."

"Okay. So, uh, we'll put a plan together and get him out," Brennan blurted. "We'll get him out, Adam."

Shaking his head, Adam replied, "The message came from Mason himself, Brennan. Michael is under heavy guard and will remain so until I turn myself over to him. He's willing to do an exchange."

"I just bet he is," Brennan bit out.

Adam held out his hand and began, "Brennan…"

But Brennan shook his head and exclaimed, "No! This is exactly what Eckhart wants and I am not losing you again! Not after I just got you back!"

"Brennan, I have to. He's my brother," Adam pleaded.

"And I'm your lover, Adam. The man you've always put second to everything. The man who, despite all that, still loves you. Well, not this time, all right? I'm sick of it. You don't even know if this man really is your brother, but you're willing to drop everything, me included, just on the chance that it is. Do it yourself this time and don't expect me to be waiting when you get back."

Staggering under the overload of emotions blazing from the two men, Emma kept clear when Brennan slammed out of the room, radiating pain. She leaned against the wall for support, breathing heavily.

"Fuck!" Adam shouted, spinning and slamming his fist into the wall.

Emma winced at the cracked plaster and what had to be very painful knuckles. She waited silently as Adam shook his hand out and nursed the broken skin. "Adam, he's right about not knowing if this man even is your brother. I wouldn't put anything past Mason."

Shaking his head, Adam said, "It's Michael. He used a code we made up as kids. Well, I was still a kid, he was in high school at the time. He was already thinking of going into the military and we spent a month making up this private language. That's what the message was in, our code. God, Emma, what do I do? I can't leave him there, but Brennan…I just got his trust back, how can I betray it like this?"

"He was hurt, Adam, he didn't mean what he said," Emma assured him. "Once he cools off, he'll understand that of course you have to rescue your brother."

"No, he meant it, and he was right. I have always put him second. And God help me, I have to do it again, because I can't let Michael stay in Mason's clutches."

Grasping at straws, Emma exclaimed, "What about, what about resetting everything? How close are you to it?"

Adam glanced at the laptop sitting on the dilapidated desk. "Not close enough. And we don't even know what, if anything, it will accomplish."

"Adam, you can't just give yourself up. What about changing things back? What about Jesse and everyone else that shouldn't have died? You're their only hope."

"When did I become salvation, huh Emma? Why am I the only one who can fix things?" Adam demanded bleakly.

Helpless, Emma replied, "I don't know."

* * * *

Adam couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed, even though he knew it was impossible. Emma and Shalimar had promised not to follow him, even though they'd been pained and furious in turn when he made them do so. And Brennan…well…Brennan wouldn't even stay in the same room with him since he'd made his choice. He couldn't even apologize or say goodbye as he'd wanted.

Though really, Adam couldn't blame Brennan for feeling betrayed. He'd promised Brennan that he could be trusted and now he was breaking that promise.

Sighing as he reached the coordinates from the message, an abandoned warehouse, which was par for the course, Adam looked out from the alley. In the ruined parking lot were Mason and Michael, along with a battery of GSA agents. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he took in Michael and Mason talking, apparently at ease with each other. There was no sign that his brother was being restrained or coerced. Then again, there were a dozen armed man standing only a few feet away, so restraints weren't really necessary.

Taking a breath, Adam stepped out from his concealment and crossed the pavement, stopping a few yards from the group. Michael didn't look at all different from how he remembered, which was an astonishing thing. He looked just like the thirty-year-old man who'd been shot down. Which meant that... "Oh, God, Michael."

A cruel smile flashed over his brother's familiar face as the slightly larger man moved closer. "Why hello there, little brother. All grown up now, huh?"

Swallowing heavily, Adam asked, praying that he was wrong, "You, you don't look any different?"

"Of course not," Michael replied, bitterly. "That's what happens in a stasis pod. Or, so I'm told."

"God, Michael, I'm so sorry. I didn't…"

"Didn't what? Didn't mean to leave me to rot? Didn't mean to make the last twenty years a living nightmare? Didn't mean for me ever to see the light of day again? Why didn't you just kill me, Adam? It would have been a hell of a lot more merciful!"

Horror flooded Adam as he realized that Michael thought him responsible for the imprisonment. His eyes flashed to Mason and the smug trace of a smile on the pale face confirmed it. "Michael, no, that's not what happened! I thought you were…"

"An abomination, I know. Mason was kind enough to fill me in!" Michael interrupted, bringing his hands up.

Adam instinctively stepped back, recognizing the gesture as one that Brennan performed on a regular basis, just prior to unleashing his power. Sure enough, lightening flared from his brother's fingertips and ensnared Adam. Agony poured through him, shocking him over and over until he thought that his head was going to snap right off his neck.

A wordless roar of fury penetrated even the roar of electricity and suddenly the pain ceased, sending Adam to the ground. Dragging himself to his knees, Adam looked up to find Michael and Brennan battling it out, elemental to elemental. It was an incredible sight, the streaks of lightening twining and biting at each other, unable to reach their targets. It seemed that they were equally matched, because neither man was giving an inch.

Strong arms pulled him up the rest of the way and Adam found himself between Emma and Shalimar. Almost resigned, he snapped, "You aren't supposed to be here!"

Shalimar grinned fiercely and demanded, "Since when do we do what we're supposed to when family's in trouble?"

They dragged him away from Brennan and Michael and he didn't have enough strength to argue. It was a few moments later that they pushed him into the back seat and Shalimar turned back to shout, "Move it, Brennan!"

"I'm working on it!"

"Work faster!"

Adam watched as Brennan slowly backed away from the fight, dividing his attention between the GSA agents and Michael. The light show had stopped, both elementals wary and at the ready. Adam couldn't understand how they all thought that they'd be able to get away. As soon as Brennan got in the car, Michael would fry them all.

A few feet from the car, Brennan zapped something off to the side and a deluge of water soaked the agents and Michael. Then he dove into the car and Shalimar took off.

Adam looked at Brennan, who was breathing heavily and sweating from the exertion, reminding Adam that the other man was still recovering from the explosion of power from the other day. "Are you all right?"

Brennan looked over at him at last and nodded. "Yeah, fine. What about you?"

"Sore," Adam replied. "But alive, thanks to all of you."

Wordless, Brennan took his hand and held it tight. "Don't ever go off on your own like that again."

Adam sighed and said, "Brennan, I can't…"

"Yes you can," Brennan insisted. "I'm willing to concede that you had to at least make sure of what was going on because he's your brother. But you shouldn't have gone alone, and I shouldn't have let hurt feelings keep you from being safe. You mean more to me than that, Adam, and I'm sorry."

Incredibly relieved that he hadn't completely messed things up, Adam pushed himself closer and wrapped his other arm around Brennan's waist. He was unexpectedly hauled onto Brennan's lap, but took advantage of it to hide his face in the crook of Brennan's shoulder, relishing the strength that kept him close. "I'm sorry, too."

Brennan heaved a deep sigh and held him fast, kissing his temple with, "You've got nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry it didn't work out."

The words brought back the fact that his own brother had just tried to kill him. The older brother that he'd idolized as a boy and whose death he'd ached with as a youth and a man, thought that he was responsible for being locked in a pod. Shuddering, Adam wondered how things could possibly get worse.

* * * *

"So somehow, Mason brainwashed him," Adam finished. Brennan's hand rubbed the back of his neck soothingly and Adam wanly smiled at him.

"Can't I just go in and bring back his real memories?" Emma asked from her spot on the counter.

Adam shook his head. "I don't think that will do the trick. He'll have been told about you and probably won't believe any memories you bring back."

"Besides which, you'd have to get close enough to touch him and I doubt that'll happen without some extra crispy Emma," Shalimar teased grimly.

"Agreed," Adam confirmed. "Michael is on Mason's side now. We'll keep an eye out for a way to get him back and clear everything up for him, but he's not going to be hurt. He's actually safest right where he is, ironically enough. Mason needs him, needs his powers, which rivaled Brennan's at the warehouse."

"Hey! I am still recovering you know," Brennan protested indignantly.

Adam grinned and replied, "Which is just as well, because for Michael to be safe, he has to be of use to Mason. And if you'd wiped him out with one shot, he wouldn't be any use."

Brennan made a face, but acknowledged the point. "So what now?"

"Now we lay low for a while," Adam answered. "Mason's going to be looking for a fight, but we can't afford to give him one. Not yet."

Shalimar sighed dramatically and commented, "There's a hardship. Depriving Mason Eckhart of something he wants."

There were chuckles all around and Adam leaned back into Brennan's arms. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

* * * *

Brennan looked his fill of the man sleeping in his arms and felt a contentment that he hadn't ever felt before in his life. Yeah, okay, they were all wanted fugitives and Adam's brother was nearly as powerful an elemental as him, and how weird was that, but right now, none of it mattered. It was just him and Adam tucked away in bed after a long, sweaty lovemaking with the other man collapsed on top of him.

His hands moved slowly up and down Adam's back, soothing, not teasing. He'd come to find out that for all his confidence and bravado, the other man was almost needy when it came to casual touches. Which made sense, given his life as an academic, always removed from others because of his brilliance. There hadn't been many people in Adam's life to just touch him for no reason, even those that had loved him, Brennan suspected.

Adam stiffened suddenly and rolled out of bed, lunging naked out of the bedroom. Brennan laughed softly and followed him, but not before tugging on some boxers and grabbing Adam's robe. He highly doubted that Em or Shalimar would be wandering around at three in the morning, but anything was possible.

The scientist was deep at work on the laptop when Brennan reached the study, exactly as Brennan had figured. He tossed the robe at the older man, but Adam didn't even catch it, completely engrossed in whatever it was that he was doing. Arching a curious eyebrow at Adam, he scooped up the robe and draped it over the older man's lap.

"Thanks," Adam said absently, not looking away from the screen.

Brennan watched the fingers typing rapidly over the keyboard then looked up at the monitor where formula after formula appeared and connected to the earth-space-time module. Shaking his head in fond amusement, Brennan kissed the top of Adam's head and went back to bed.

* * * *

"Has he come out of there yet?" Emma asked with a grin. "It's been two days."

Shalimar shook her head with a yawn and tossed aside the magazine. "Nope. Brennan tried to coax him out to eat something a little while ago, but couldn't manage it. At least he's dressed now, though."

Emma chuckled and shifted so that her legs hung over the too short couch, musing, "What if he can do it, Shal? What if he gets everything back and Jesse's alive again?"

"Then I will be the most grateful kitty on the face of the planet," Shalimar answered with a huge grin. "I'd give anything for that."

"Emma? Shalimar? Come in here, please," Adam called.

The women instantly bolted from their respective places for the study. Adam was sitting where he'd been for the last two days, behind the desk, but Brennan was standing against the wall looking mutinous.

"Yeah, Adam?" Shalimar asked.

"I'm positive that I've got the right module in place now," Adam began, rubbing his eyes. "The only problem is that I need an extra boost of power than what we've got available. I hate to say it, but we need to go on a hunting expedition."

Flatly, Brennan translated, "He wants us to steal a nuclear power rod."

Emma was sure that she'd heard wrong. "Excuse me?"

With a grimace, Adam nodded and explained, "In order to fuel the device that I've designed, which is a variation of the one that got us in this jam in the first place, we need a lot of power. We also need a bigger place, one where people won't wonder what kind of things are going on at all hours of the night. Now, I won't need the rod for a couple of months at least, so that gives us time to plan things out. But I do need somewhere to work and a lot of tools."

"Which we also have to steal," Brennan added sourly.

Adam shot Brennan an irritated look and agreed, "Unless you all have credit cards that I don't know about, that is."

* * * *

Shalimar's nose wrinkled in agitation at the mechanical smells she encountered the moment she set foot in the workshop. Adam and Brennan and Emma had been working almost nonstop for five weeks trying to get the 'transporter' as Brennan had dubbed it, into working condition.

She stopped for a moment just to watch them, and grinned. Adam and Brennan looked remarkably similar with jeans and t-shirt, grimy faces and fairly wild hair. Emma was in shorts and t-shirt, just as grubby, and her hair was pulled into two pigtails. Except for Brennan, it wasn't a sight that Shalimar had ever thought to witness. The only reason that Shalimar had escaped shop class was because she'd been prowling around for information the last week or so.

"Adam! I've got the blueprints," she called, when the men turned off the blowtorch and paused for a breather.

Wiping sweat from his face, and leaving a black smear instead, Adam hopped nimbly over a large metal outcropping and held out his hand. Shalimar pulled out the disk and handed it to him. They all followed him to the massive computer terminal he'd set up in the corner that was very reminiscent to the ones in the old Sanctuary.

Adam slid the disk into the machine and a 3D hologram of a power plant sprang up. He looked it over, nodding to himself as he thought things through.

"So? Is that the place?" Brennan asked, pulling off his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face and chest.

Nodding, Adam glanced at him and paused, losing his train of thought as Brennan continued to wipe down. Clearing his throat, he dragged his eyes away and finally confirmed, "This is it. It's an old plant and not under a lot of security. They're still using the old nuclear rods which, while stable, aren't nearly as powerful or as clean as the new ones. It'll more than do for our needs."

They brain stormed for another couple of hours on a plan of attack before Adam was satisfied that every possible contingent had been covered. They would go in through the sewer, which was not alarmed like the rest of the facility, and change into uniforms once inside. Security inside the plant was remarkably lax with only cameras and the occasional guard, unarmed, patrolling the corridors. There was a general alarm for fire or security breach, and another for core meltdown.

Once they got to the inner sanctum, so to speak, Emma would pull the meltdown alarm and put the men and women on duty out of commission. Then she would shut down the plant following proper procedure. While she was doing that, Brennan and Shalimar would be changing into appropriate protective gear. Then they would enter the core room and withdraw the rod.

If everything went according to plan, they would be in and out in an hour.

* * * *

It was in the early morning hours, lying in bed together, that Brennan and Adam had taken to discussing things. Sometimes they made love before, sometimes they didn't. In either case, they were always wrapped around each other with the dim bedside lamp going when the talking began.

"Do you ever get the feeling that things are getting too easy?" Brennan questioned.

Adam immediately put his hand over Brennan's mouth and ordered, "Don't ever say anything like that again! Not with the year we've had."

Chuckling against his lover's palm, Brennan nipped lightly at the callused skin. Adam took his hand away and Brennan continued, "Not that I'm trying to jinx us or anything, but the transporter's done, we've got the rod, and Eckhart hasn't even shown his face in weeks."

"That's what worries me," Adam countered, resting his chin on Brennan's chest. "It's not like him to just sit and wait."

Brennan tightened his arms around Adam and questioned softly, "Opening night jitters?"

"Maybe."

"You've checked everything over as much as possible. There's nothing else that you can do."

"I know."

"You're worried about Emma."

"Among other things."

Sighing faintly, Brennan said, "There's nothing you can do except hope that it's not nearly as bad this time since she'll be expecting it. Not to mention she won't even be in the city when it happens."

"I hate hoping for something. It speaks…"

"Of bad planning, I know," Brennan finished for him.

Smiling ruefully, Adam asked, "I'm being obsessive, aren't I?"

"Well, since you are trying to save the world, I'll cut you some slack," Brennan teased.

Without warning, Brennan flipped them over and covered Adam completely. When Adam looked up at him in surprise, Brennan said softly, "No matter what happens tomorrow, you did your best and that's all you can do. If it works, if it doesn't work, there's nothing more you can do."

"It shouldn't be you," Adam whispered.

Brennan knew the fear that was running through Adam, it was the same fear that he was feeling. He took comfort in the arguments that they'd hashed out since first trying to determine who would go back. "Has to be. I'm the strongest one here, so I've got the best chance of surviving. Besides, you know that my being an elemental will only increase the force and give us a better chance of changing things."

"I can't go through with this."

Smiling wryly, Brennan said, "Then it's a good thing you're not doing it."

"You know what I mean!"

Using his superior strength to keep Adam pinned, Brennan asked softly, "Don't belittle me like this Adam, please."

Dark eyes widened and Adam insisted, "I'm not! I just…"

"Want to keep me safe, yeah, I've heard this before, remember? A lot."

Adam sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Brennan, I just can't pretend to be happy about this."

"You don't have to be. Just don't try and stop me. I'm the best choice for the job and you know it."

"Yes, I do," Adam agreed reluctantly. "I still don't want you to do it. I know it's selfish, and I know that it's wrong, but I don't think I could go on if you…"

Brennan rested his full weight on Adam and whispered into his ear, "You will, no matter what. You're needed too much to let everyone else down like that. And I'll come back and haunt your ass if you do."

Adam's shaky laugh changed into just shaking as his arms wound tight about Brennan's shoulders, bringing him down for a desperate kiss. Brennan tried to go slow, but Adam wouldn't let him. He grabbed the lube from the night stand and slathered it on Brennan's cock, stroking and pumping him hard, until Brennan gasped, "Stop, stop, or I'll come!"

Hooking his legs around Brennan's hips, he pulled the other man down and Brennan pushed inside. It was just as incredible as always and not just because they hadn't done this a lot. He could feel how much Adam wanted him, how much he was loved, in every ragged kiss and panting breath. The tightness that swelled his cock didn't just have to do with where it was lodged, but with the overwhelming feelings that he'd had for this man for so long.

Neither of them lasted long, which he'd expected once Adam made it clear what he wanted. He drove as hard into Adam's willing hole as he could, fucking him hard enough to feel it for days, if necessary. Adam came first, groaning into Brennan's mouth as his seed splattered between them, his ass almost crushing Brennan's cock as he did. The additional friction pushed Brennan over the edge and he slammed one last time into Adam, pressing as hard as he could while his come flooded inside his lover.

He collapsed on top of Adam and stayed where he was, a habit they'd gotten into since that first night together. They might or might not wake for another go, but the connection was always wanted, no matter the discomfort it put Adam in the following day.

* * * *

Standing in the center of the ring, Brennan took a deep breath and kept his eyes on Adam. This was it. Time to get the show on the road and all that crap. He nodded once and Adam's hand raised to the switch. It hovered there for a moment, then descended with finality.

Lightening ten times that which he was capable of generating, slammed into him. Brennan screamed in agony and dropped to his hands and knees as the sparks ran through and over his body. He could barely hear Adam screaming his name, but it was faint over the roar that held him in a death grip.

The world exploded and then went dark.

* * * *

Pain was now a word with which Brennan was now intimately acquainted. He'd thought the other times he'd been beaten and tortured had been painful, but he hadn't had a fucking clue. Every atom and cell had been ionized and electrified as the world had exploded.

Why he was even still alive was a mystery. Whether or not he'd ever move again, was another mystery.

"Brennan? C'mon, man, get your sorry ass out of bed."

Shock of a different kind ran through him at Jesse's voice. He forced himself onto his elbows and gaped at Jesse lounging against his bedroom doorframe. What the hell? He was in Sanctuary, how did that happen?

"You okay, Bren? You don't look so hot," Jesse commented, coming closer with a worried frown.

Brennan still couldn't find his tongue as he drank in the sight of his best friend, healthy and whole and concerned for him. A sudden whoop of joy escaped and he shoved himself out of bed, ignoring the pain, and grabbing Jess in a bear hug. "Jess, Jess, man, you're alive!"

"Ah, yeah, last I checked," Jesse agreed, warily. "Did you hit your head, or are you on drugs?"

Before Brennan could answer, an all too-familiar bolt of electricity crackled through him and he dropped heavily to the ground, dragging Jesse with him.

"Ow! Shit! Brennan, what's going on!?" Jesse exclaimed, squirming free.

"No! Not enough time!" Brennan gasped, jerking with another bolt of energy. "Jesse, listen to me!"

Jesse bent over him and shouted into his comm, "Adam! Something's really wrong with Brennan! Get to his room now!"

A panicked, "On my way," came from Adam, but Brennan ignored it, hissing, "Listen to me!"

"I'm listening, it's going to be okay, Bren," Jesse assured him, blue eyes wide with fear.

Brennan's spine felt like it was being cracked in two and he groaned in pain. "Listen, listen to me."

"I'm listening, what is it?"

"A warehouse, it's a trap. GSA. There's an explosion and you shove me out, but, but you get caught in the blast!" Brennan gasped. "Stay out of it! Stop us all from going!"

"Brennan, God, Brennan, just hang in there!" Jesse shouted frantically.

But the whirlwind he'd reaped to get where he was had come back to claim him. All he could do was repeat through gritted teeth, "Listen, listen to me! Warehouse, don't go, don't go in, Jesse!"

The last thing he saw was Adam skidding across the floor on his knees to reach him in time, face contorted in frantic worry.

Then the world again exploded in pain.

* * * *

It just didn't seem fair to exchange one world of pain for another. Once the vortex released him and Brennan was able to think, he discovered the hard way that he was being used as a punching bag; or, more accurately, a kicking bag. A booted foot slammed into his chest and he felt something snap inside.

Not having the strength to even groan, Brennan wondered briefly what had gone so very wrong that Adam and Shal weren't there to protect him.

How could things have gone so very wrong? Even more than this nightmare year had previously shown them, even more than Adam had ever imagined. Staring blankly at the battered body, unconscious in the decrepit bed was almost more than he could take. Pain knifed through him and he swallowed back the hot tears as he brought Brennan's hand to his lips.

"Adam, you have to get some sleep," Emma whispered, touching his shoulder from behind.

Adam shook his head. "I can't, not when he might..."

Shalimar joined them and knelt on the floor beside him, gripping his thigh. "You won't do him any good by driving yourself into exhaustion. There's nothing you can do now. It's up to him."

"I can't leave him, and I can't sleep anyhow. Nightmares," Adam informed them shortly.

"You have to rest, Adam. Emma?"

Adam was turning towards Jesse's voice when a psychic blast from Emma sent him rapidly into darkness. Jesse's strong arms caught him and the last thing Adam saw was Brennan's bruised face, paler than it had ever been...as pale as death.

* * * *

Jesse looked down at his unconscious best friend and, for the hundredth time wished that he'd been around to stop it from happening.

What a weird freakin' year.

First Brennan had just disappeared in a blinding explosion of lightening, trying to warn him about some kind of trap. There had been no trace of the elemental and they'd been forced to conclude that he'd gone on overload somehow. That he'd spontaneously electrified himself, lost control.

Adam had fallen into a funk over Brennan's death that had almost cost them Emma. Fortunately, Jesse had taken Brennan's bizarre warning to mean they could all fall prey to a trap at any time and had followed Emma that day. They'd just barely been able to fight off the GSA agents and it had seemed to snap Adam out of his semi-conscious existence. There had still been a black hole of pain in Adam's dark eyes every single day, but the older man had forced himself to stay in the game.

There had been an attack on Sanctuary and they'd barely been able to repel it. The next few weeks had been filled with a frantic move to new, smaller quarters since the location was out somehow. Shalimar was on a blood-hunt for her ex, Zach, certain that he'd been the one to leak the information to Eckhart.

Then, only a few short months ago, Eckhart had gone on national television and revealed the existence of new mutants. Not only that, he'd slanted the "blame" completely onto Adam's shoulders. Adam was effectively, and most likely permanently, grounded. What before had only been rumor, was now a scientifically valid fact and the backlash for suspected mutants had become horrific. Despite the cramped quarters and the lack of time to do more than breathe, MutantX had become an overnight underground railroad.

Not that they hadn't been before, but it was a lot like after the Civil War had started. Even those who weren't mutants had to be protected and moved somewhere new if they were suspected. Like free blacks who'd been captured and resold as slaves over two hundred years ago, people had no options once labeled a mutant, true or not.

The coup de grace, though, was Eckhart using Adam's own brother against him. Brainwashing the man who'd been held captive in a stasis pod that Adam was behind everything. The worst of it was that they hadn't had anyone able to fight Michael. None of the elementals were strong enough, and no one else could get close enough. Jesse had almost done it once, phasing solid in an attempt to resist the electricity, but Michael had somehow been able to use his power to control the electricity within Jesse.

It had been a very short attempt and a spectacular failure. Still and all, he was alive to talk about it, so it hadn't been a total bust.

For whatever reason, Adam had become agitated and on edge the week before, moving restlessly around Sanctuary3 and snapping everyone's head off. He'd finally taken off two mornings ago, despite their protests, and headed directly for an old warehouse in the industrial sector that Jesse had never seen before.

It was like watching a homing pigeon. Once they'd arrived, for some bizarre reason, Emma and Shalimar had paled, as though struggling to remember something, but unable to do so. Jesse had followed all three of them through the rubble, completely mystified. A gang of punks was kicking around someone on the ground, but it wasn't until Adam shouted in fury and Jesse rushed forward that he saw Brennan.

He'd instantly phased solid and slammed into the two kids who hadn't taken off at Adam's shout. From there it had been a nightmare of transporting Brennan back to Sanctuary without worsening his injuries or getting caught. Brennan had been unconscious the entire time and Adam hadn't left his side. Well, not until Jesse ordered Emma to knock him out.

Shaking his head, Jesse whispered, "Where've you been, Brennan? Where've you been the last God damned year, man?"

* * * *

The pain when he woke the next time was residual, but Brennan was pretty sure that would change to active if he tried to actually move. Figuring that his eyes would hurt the least, he opened them and wished that he hadn't, automatically closing them against the light, even as dim as it was.

"Brennan?"

Shalimar. A very anxious Shalimar, from the judge of it. Keeping his eyes closed, he accused, "You were supposed to wait for me to get back!"

Or, that's what he tried to say anyhow. It was pretty much complete gobbledygook due to the serious frog in his throat.

"Hang on, let me get you some water," she offered.

Attempting once more to open his eyes, Brennan was relieved there was no echoing spike of agony through his brain. Shalimar cradled his head and helped him drink a couple of sips of water, though most of it missed because he hadn't enough strength to purse his lips. Grimacing, he cleared his throat violently and tried again with, "Where were you?"

Shorter and easier to get out.

She frowned at him and replied, "What are you talking about? We thought you were dead for the past year! Just about broke Adam down completely, too, I'll have you know. We were all off our game. If not for Jesse, we'd have lost Emma to Eckhart and who knows what might have happened then."

Whoa. Okay. This was where the whole time-space continuum theory came in and it always gave Brennan a headache on a good day. He wasn't even going to try. He latched onto the important thing and demanded, "Jesse's alive? He's okay?"

"Better than your sorry ass," Jesse observed sarcastically from the doorway.

Brennan's eyes flickered past Shalimar to his best friend and relief surged through him. Everything was going to be okay now. They were all of them together and in one piece, well, himself relatively speaking of course. "Good to see you, man."

Snorting, Jesse came further into the room and answered, "Good to be seen, Bren, especially by you. Where've you been?"

"It's a long fucking story. Can I tell you when my head's not throbbing?" Brennan pleaded as exhaustion and pain tugged insistently at him again.

Jesse sat on the edge of his bed and took his hand with a grin. "Definitely. So long as you promise to stick around this time."

"For you? Anything, buddy," Brennan promised. He yawned hugely, then winced at the jab of pain in his jaw. "I don't think there's a single spot on my body that doesn't hurt."

Jesse rested his hand on Brennan's shoulder and agreed, "You're very colorful in body now, as well as spirit."

Snorting turned into a gasp and Brennan groaned, "Don't make me laugh."

"Sorry, sorry. Get some sleep, Bren."

It didn't seem like he had much choice, because his eyelids seemed to have developed sandbags, though he struggled to stay awake. It seemed like it was all a dream, that when he woke, Jesse would still be dead. He felt Jesse get up, and reached out for him, panicked, ignoring the pain to grab his friend's shirt. "Don't go! Just…stay, okay?"

Surprised, Jesse nodded and sat back down, saying, "I'll stay, don't worry."

Brennan shifted his hand and gripped Jesse's hand instead. Smooth, warm hands encircled his and Brennan relaxed again. Yawning again, he nodded and murmured, "Don't go, Jess, just stay."

"I will, I promise," Jesse soothed.

Sinking down into the blackness once more, Brennan felt contentment despite the pain. Everything was really going to be all right. He wished briefly that Adam had been there when he woke, but sleep quickly chased all thought away.

* * * *

Adam felt like he'd been kicked in the gut and leaned against the wall as he tried to reconcile the sight of Brennan clinging to Jesse, with his own feelings for Brennan. All the happiness and elation at finding Brennan alive, even though close to death, was still there, just…twisting inside. The hope that he could finally declare his feelings to Brennan died a swift and excruciating death.

He observed the gentle way Jesse stroked the back of Brennan's hand and the easy way that Brennan relaxed at the touch and his heart broke for a second time. He'd always wondered who Brennan would choose, and now he knew. Railing bitterly at the fate that would give him hope only to snatch it away, Adam pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes as if to wipe clear the image of the two young men together.

Straightening with an effort, Adam turned and headed down the hall, away from Brennan. If he was going to be able to face the others with any kind of normalcy, he had to get himself under control. For everyone's sake, he had to resign himself to the fact that it was Jesse, not himself, that Brennan wanted. For Brennan, he would do this.

The black hole of depression that had been his constant companion the last year welcomed him back with open arms.

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Created on ... April 29, 2003