Standing there, looking at the destruction, seeing all that had been caused, it was enough to make one ponder their decision. Had they done the right thing? Years of work had lead to this. One person had caused this. But still they were unsure, was it right? Was it worth it?

Many times the groups had faced challenges that others would have died from. They had survived. Somehow they had found a way to survive. But there was only one way they would be able to survive this.

That was if the one who caused it, died in their place.

six weeks earlier

Shalimar sighed softly and stretched. It was a longer wait then she was comfortable with. To find a doctor who was willing to treat Brennan's wound no questions asked was hard enough. Finding one willing to do it quickly had proven impossible.

Jesse and Lexa had left an hour ago to find a place for the team to stay. The underground was not safe for them, sanctuary was destroyed, and Adam wasn't there to offer any suggestions either. Once again, they were on their own, this time with no recourses except the ones they were born with.

Finally, the doctor was finished with Brennan, and he and Shalimar exited the clinic onto a busy sidewalk. She informed him of the plan to meet their teammates in a secluded part of town as the two pushed their way through the milling people.

Despite the long time in the doctor's office, they still had an hour or so until it was time to get to the rendezvous point. They filled this time grabbing a quick bite to eat.

It was while she was throwing out her food container that Shalimar first sensed someone watching her. Already unnerved from the previous days events, she was immediately compelled to attempt to find the source of the unsettling feeling. She scanned the crowd nearby for anyone that might have any uncommon interest in her. There was no one. Just when she was about to count the feeling as an over stressed nervous system, she heard a low laugh behind her.

Shalimar spun around and came face to face with a small brunette girl no older then fourteen.

"Looking for me?" the girl laughed again. She was friendly in her attitude but still she unnerved the feral for some reason.

"Who are you?" Shalimar squinted at the girl. There was something familiar about her.

"A messenger of sorts." The teen was now all business. "I'm looking for the members of Mutant X."

"shh." Shalimar hushed her. "Do you want everyone one to hear you?"

"My voice is too low for them to understand me." The girl stated mater-of-factly. And her voice was rather lower then the average human voice. Shalimar just hadn't noticed, and she mentally scolded herself for it.

"It's not your fault. It's been a rough week." The girl reassured.

"Yeah, well that's still no-" Shalimar looked at the girl again and realization dawned on her. "pyonic?"

"Yup. And feral." The girl grinned. "But I'm not here to tell you about myself. Where are your teammates?"

"Brennan and I are on our way to meet them."

"Hey Shal, what's taking so long?" Brennan appeared at her side at that moment.

"I'm not sure actually." She muttered.

"I'll explain later." The girl nodded to Brennan. "I was told to give your leader this." She handed Shalimar a small packet.

"What's this?" Brennan frowned.

"Security." The girl cryptically answered. "He wanted to make sure you were able to hide from the fallout."

"Who?" the two older mutants asked in unison.

"Adam Kane." She said. Then turned and walked away.

The two just stared after her for a moment, looked at the packet, and then each other.

"shal, is this a good idea?"

"I have no clue. But we can have Jesse check it out for us."

"How?"

"Oh, right." There was so much to get used to. Usually the world of technology was at their fingertips. Now they couldn't even use their com-rings for fear of someone listening in. "let's go find out what they managed to dig up for us anyway."

Lexa and Jesse were sitting on the loading dock of a warehouse. Their search for shelter had turned up nothing. Just a few seedy hotels that would be fine for a night or two but nothing permanent.

"Jesse, do you think we're safe here?" the brunette asked tentatively. "shouldn't we be moving on?"

"There's always going to be danger. Why not just stay here and try to find a way to get to Adam?" he reasoned.

"Whatever, I just don't see the point in sticking around unless we're going to do something soon. Before they move him out of our reach."

"Point taken." He muttered.

"Yep, I definitely understand what you mean Lexa." A voice piped up behind them.

"Who the hell are you?" Lexa demanded, bringing her hand up in a defensive move, as she stood and turned towards the sound.

"A friend. Who you don't remember." The impish voice replied.

"Show yourself." Jesse ordered.

"Soon." The voice laughed. "But I'm just supposed to tell you to meet my friend here in a couple hours. We need your help."

"Who's we?" Lexa questioned.

There was no reply. She sent a burst of light into the dark warehouse behind them, but it revealed nothing. She sighed and turned back around and sat down again next to Jesse.

They sat in silence until Shalimar and Brennan arrived a few minutes later. The four compared their stories and discussed their options. None were willing to abandon Adam, although Lexa and Brennan were unwilling to take a long time in searching for him. A couple days then, they would be ready to relocate to a less memory filled city.

They also decided to meet the people who were claiming to be Adam's friends. Curiosity and desperation were combining in their minds into a dangerous blend of recklessness and they were just out of it enough to be willing a take chances they never had before.

Some time after night fell the group found themselves staring into the eyes of a tall blonde hair boy who had definitely not been there a second before. His appearance startled them, causing all of them to jump to their feet and assume defensive postures.

The boy just laughed. His voice was low like the girl who had met Shalimar and Brennan and he seemed just as sure of himself.

"Settle down people. I'm just here to take you to our Adam's office."

"Why should we go with you? Why should we trust you?" Shalimar spoke up. She was not entirely comfortable with the suddenness with which the team was being won over by these mysterious youth.

The boy only smile and looked at her. But for some reason this calmed her. And like the rest of the team, she followed the boy as he led them deeper into the maze of warehouses that populated the area they were in.