Disclaimer: I do not own Mutant X, Tribune Entertainment, Marvel Comics, and Fireworks do.


Mutant X
"Mutant X's European Tour"
Chapter 4 - Spain


Airport
Madrid, Spain


Adam, Shalimar, Jesse, Brennan, and Emma arrived at the airport in Madrid very early in the morning when they got off of the plane Juan and Rosaria Cortez were waiting for them. Adam and Juan greeted each other and then they all headed to get baggage and then to the car. It took about twenty minutes to reach the Madrid Legacy House, it was the first of several houses they would visit. Madrid House was an old Spanish castle that they had restored. Juan had showed them all to their rooms and had shown them where they were located in the house. Rosaria and Juan Cortez left the five at the bottom of the stairs to go where they wanted. Rosaria and Juan headed to the library with Adam following. "Now what?" Brennan asked.

"I'm going to bed," Emma announced and started up the stairs.

"Me too!" Jesse said and walked Emma to her room.

"So?" Brennan asked Shalimar.

"I think I'll go see Adam for a while," Shalimar told him, and got up and headed toward the library.

"Damn it," Brennan said frustrated after Shalimar was out of earshot. Brennan turned around to go up the stairs and saw Jesse and Emma at the top of the stairs with concerned looks. Brennan started up the stairs. "Do either of you know what's wrong with Shal'?"

"No," Jesse told him.

"Adam talked to her," Emma informed him. Brennan reached the top of the stairs and headed to their rooms. "I know she had said something about thinking things through more. Not to be so reckless."

"So, does that mean she can't talk to me?" Brennan asked.

"Brennan, if Shalimar thinks that what she'll do will upset Adam, then she's not going to endanger her relationship with him," Jesse told him.

"You three were close before Mutant X became five, weren't you?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, we were," Jesse said, "but it's not that much different we just got you two. Our family just became a little bigger."

"Yeah, well I would like Shalimar to be able to actually talk to me," Brennan told them.

"Don't worry, Brennan. Just give her some time," Emma suggested. They arrived at their rooms. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Jesse said.

"Night," Brennan told them still frustrated.

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Library
Madrid House

Shalimar walked into the library to find Adam by himself. Juan and Rosaria had headed up to their rooms. "Shalimar? Is there something wrong?"

"No. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Uh huh? So, what's wrong?" he asked again.

"Adam, what if I'm in love with Brennan?" Shalimar asked as Adam sat down and she sat down next to him.

"You don't know?"

Shalimar shook her head, "I'm not sure. I mean with Richard...I...I knew right away."

"I remember," Adam told her smiling. "What does your heart say?"

"I thought you said for me to think more with my head?"

"I did, but Shalimar I wasn't thinking about you."

"What?"

"I was thinking about me. I don't want to lose you, Shalimar. I wanted it to be just you, me, and Jesse at that moment. I wasn't angry with you, but I was angry at Brennan for not being as responsible as I would like."

"But Adam, Brennan wouldn't let anything happen to me," Shalimar told him.

"He wouldn't be able to protect you from Gabriel and obviously neither can I. I took all four of you and ran. Shalimar, you four...well remember when Gabriel called all of you my children?"

"Yeah, so?"

"He was right, that's how I think of New Mutants, especially you, Jesse, Emma, and Brennan. I just am scared that with you and Brennan involved that you two will be out together, and Gabriel will try to take you...again and he'd get you both killed because he would be following his heart and not his head."

"Adam...don't worry," Shalimar told him putting her arm around him and resting her head on his shoulder, "because I DON'T love Brennan."

"But you said you didn't know?" Adam asked confused.

"Well, now I know," she told Adam as he held her. Shalimar fell asleep and Adam carried her up to bed. He tucked her in and then noticed that there was a single tear on Shalimar's cheek.

"I'm sorry I have to hurt you like this, but I love you too much," Adam told her softly as he kissed her forehead. Adam quietly left the room.

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Later That Day...

Dining Hall
Madrid House


It was lunch time by the time the Mutant X team got up. Juan and Rosaria were waiting for them when they came down. Adam was dressed in his usual black suit, he sat next to Juan and across from Rosaria. Jesse was wearing a tan tank top with matching pants, he sat next to Adam. Shalimar was dressed in black pants and a 3/4 length shirt, she sat down next to Rosaria. Emma sat down next to Shalimar, Emma had on tan shorts and a blue short sleeve shirt. Brennan, however did not show up for lunch. Lunch began, they were being served traditional Spanish food. Shalimar was worried, she turned to Emma, "have you seen Brennan?"

"No," Emma answered. "What's going on with you two anyways. I mean you were both so happy before we left Sanctuary."

"Ladies," Adam interrupted.

"Sorry," Shalimar told him and began eating her lunch. She looked up to see Jesse watching her, he looked concerned, so she smiled for him.

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Brennan's Room
Madrid House


Brennan had been too upset to go down for lunch, instead he had decided to pack. When he was zipping up his bag he heard a knock at his door. "Yeah?" The door opened and he turned around and sat on his bed to see Shalimae walk in with a try. "I thought you weren't talking to me or something."

"Look, Brennan. We need to talk," she told him setting down the tray.

"What do we need to talk about?"

"Us."

"Do you love me, Shalimar?" Brennan asked.

"I can't," Shalimar told him.

"You have emotions. It's a yes/no question."

"Brennan..."

"Don't bother, I understand. Being Adam's good girl is more important to love. Because Shal'," Brennan started to cry, "I love you! Why are you doing this?"

Shalimar started to tear up, she tried to wipe Brennan's tears away and hers at the same time. "Brennan, you gotta understand that Adam has been there for me before you even joined Mutant X."

"Shalimar, DO you LOVE me?"

Shalimar wiped her tears away and took a breath. "Yes, but we can't..."

"Did you promise Adam or something?"

"I promised myself."

"Well, I'm leaving."

"What?! Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Sanctuary?"

"Nope. I'm going back to the streets."

"Brennan..."

"I don't wanna hear it, the fact that we love each other should be all that matters."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too," Brennan told her as he picked up his bag and left the room. Shalimar fell to his bed and cried herself to sleep.

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Library
Madrid House

Adam, Emma, and Jesse were all looking through the books in the house's rather large library. Brennan entered carrying his duffel bag, which instantly got everyone's attention. "Brennan, what are you doing?" Adam asked.

"What do you care?" Brennan asked him angry.

"Brennan, what's going on?" Jesse asked.

"Why don't you ask Adam?"

"Adam?" Emma asked putting her book down.

"I don't understand," Adam told them.

"You know Adam, for someone who's suppose to e helping New Mutants you suck sometimes I mean you took her away, WHY did you take her away?"

"Shalimar?"

"Yes, Shalimar."

"She's here. Somewhere."

"She loves me and I love her, BUT she says that you've done so much for her and she's known you longer. Shal' says that loyalty out weighs love."

"Brennan...I'm sorry, I just want all of you safe."

"Adam, life is short. We might as well live dangerously. Anyway, I'm leaving."

"What?! You can't leave!" Emma exclaimed.

"Emma, don't worry I'll be fine."

"Brennan, please don't leave..."

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One Week Later...

Gardens
Madrid House


Shalimar was in her bikini top with tan shorts on and sun glasses. She was stretched out in the sun. Brennan had left even though Emma and Jesse said that Adam told him that he would tell her to follow her heart. It was the first day she had been out of the house, and all she wanted was to be alone. Shalimar started to fall asleep when all of the sudden she felt cold drops of water land on her face. She opened her eyes, but didn't see anyone, her eyes glowed gold, she knew someone was close. All of the sudden she was blasted with cold water and Brennan jumped out of a bush. She instantly smiled. "Brennan!" she screamed and jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him and began kissing him. "I'm so sorry."

"So am I," he told her holding her.

"How sorry are you?" she asked with a spark in her eyes that he hadn't seen since before they left Sanctuary.

"Extremely sorry," he told her as he sat down kissing her.

"Ahem," Emma said as she and Jesse interrupted Shalimar and Brennan's welcome wagon. "So, it took you a week to come back?"

"Yeah, you know I think that means you won, Emma," Jesse told her.

"You had a bet?" Brennan asked.

"Not Shalimar, she hasn't talked to anyone," Jesse informed him.

"I said you'd meet us in the next country, and Adam, well he said we'd never see you," Emma explained.

"Aww! Did you miss me that much, Shal'?" Brennan asked her as Jesse and Emma sat down. Shalimar kissed Brennan. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Excuse me, do you mind if I join in?" Adam asked as he walked up behind Jesse and Emma.

Shalimar looked at Brennan and then back at Adam and started to cry, she got up and headed for the house. "Maybe I should go talk to her," Emma volunteered, and got up to go after Shalimar.

"I'm sorry," Adam told Brennan.

"I'm sorry, too. I know that you were trying to do what you thought was the best. But you've hurt Shalimar, Adam."

"I know."

"Adam, look, all three of us care about Shalimar. I love her."

"So do we Brennan," Jesse told him.

"Yeah, but I LOVE her."

"We know Brennan. I love her, too. I just love her like a sister," Jesse told Brennan.

"I love her like I love all of you, as my children. Just sometimes I'm a bit more protective of her and Jesse because I've known them longer, and we're closer. But I never wanted to hurt her," Adam said.

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Shalimar's Room
Madrid House


Shalimar was upset, so she decided to do what Brennan had done...she started to pack her bags. She would go back, she could make it on her own. She heard the door open and she spun around to see Emma enter. Emma sat on the bed next to the bag and watched her pack. Shalimar pulled on a white top over her suit top and laced it up. "Shal', where are you going?" Emma asked innocently.

"Emma, I'm going back," she told her quietly.

"Back where? To Sanctuary?"

"No. Gabriel might be there. I'll just stay with some friends or something, keep an eye on Gabriel..."

"You're going to live on the streets?" Emma asked.

"I'll be fine, Emma."

"You go, I go," Emma told her crossing her arms.

"Emma, you can't come."

"Why?"

"Because it's too dangerous!"

"Come on, Shal'! Don't give me that! I'm telling you...you go, then I go. If you try to ditch me then I can still find you, remember?" Shalimar let out a sigh, closed her eyes, and then began to unpack. "What are you doing?"

"Unpacking. I can't let you follow me, Emma."

"I want you to stay, Shalimar. You know you can always talk to me. If all else fails I can ignore Adam with you."

Shalimar smiled, "we can't ignore him for much longer. I think this last week has been the longest that I HAVEN'T talked to Adam since I joined Mutant X."

"Yeah, well it is kind of fun," Emma smiled.

"Well, we need to start talking."

"Why?"

"Because we're not having as much fun as we could."

"Can't we keep it going for another week?"

Shalimar laughed and then shook her head, "no, we need to stop it now."

"Oh, okay. Can we pretend like we're still mad until we do this?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

_______________________________________________________________________


Library
Madrid House


Brennan, Shalimar, Jesse, and Emma entered the library, they knew Adam would be there. Emma and Shalimar had clued the guys in on the plan, they would act like they were still upset and then tell Adam that they were ready to forget everything. So, they entered and Adam looked up from his book with a frown on his face. "Please, can we talk about this?" Adam asked as they all sat down at the table not talking. "Please?"

"Adam, you made me really unhappy," Shalimar said calmly.

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"And this has been the longest period of time in which I haven't talked to you...and I realized that running away wasn't the answer, even though I almost did it. But we haven't been having the fun that we could be having...so..."

"So?" Adam asked.

"So, we came to a conclusion," Brennan finished.

"ALL of us came to the SAME conclusion," Jesse added.

"We will TRY to stay out of your personnel life and TRY to act more responsible if you promise to AT LEAST remember that we are adults," Emma told him.

"I do know that you're all adults, it's just sometimes I get caught up in thinking of you all as my children. But I promise that I WILL TRY to remember that my children are now adults, but I can be reminded."

"Don't worry, we'll remind you," Brennan told him.

"And you can remind us if we act too much like children," Emma added.

"Okay...so, are we talking now?" Adam asked.

"Yes," Shalimar told him and then hugged him.

"I've missed you," Adam told her.

"We've all missed you, too, Adam," Emma said hugging him too.

"So, shall we start enjoying our vacation, again?" Jesse asked.

"I hear there's some really good clubs around here," Brennan told them.

"Sounds good," Shalimar agreed.

"I think I'll stay here," Adam told them.

"I know, let's go to a resturant first and then we'll go to the club and you can come home if you want. That way we'll all spend SOME time together," Shalimar said and everyone agreed.

_______________________________________________________________________


Club
Madrid, Spain


Adam had decided to go back to the house after dinner while the other four went to the club. Brennan and Shalimar hung out together trying to catch up on the week they had lost. Emma and Jesse had been spending a lot of their time together lately. Emma and Jesse were at the table sipping their drinks while Shalimar and Brennan were down on the floor. "So, do you think anyone else will try to bail out on the trip between now and the time we get home?" Jesse asked.

"Maybe, but I hope not," Emma told him.

"Yeah, but I think that it's just because all five of us have been spending TOO much quality time together AND Adam's been really protective ever since Gabriel..."

"Yeah, I've noticed. He's been a little out of control," Emma told him.

"A LITTLE out of control?" Jesse asked laughing a little.

"I was trying to be nice," Emma said laughing with Jesse.

"Yeah, well you were being REALLY nice, Emma."

"Excuse me," came a familiar voice behind Jesse. Jesse turned to see that it was Noah, his father, and he frowned. "Come on, Jess."

"What do you want?" Jesse asked obviously not happy.

"I wanted to just say hi to my son and see what he's up to," Noah Kilmartin told his son.

"Jesse?" Emma questioned.

"Dad, why do you care?"

"You're my son, Jess."

"Yeah, well the last time I saw you I tried to help you and you lied to me and could have gotten yourself killed."

"Please, Jess. Can we just talk?"

"Fine. It's not safe for us right now back home, so we're traveling Europe for a while, and you?" Jesse asked.

"I guess I'm just wandering."

"Well isn't that nice."

"Jesse?" Emma said again, but Jesse ignored her again.

"Why can't you just stop thinking about yourself?"

"Because I love you and you're apart of me Jesse."

"Yeah well we really should be leaving," Jesse said standing up.

Emma stood us as well, "I'm going to go find the others," Emma said passing Noah.

Noah pulled Emma into him and then injected her with something. He let her go and she fell to the ground. "It's posion, Jess."

"What did...What do you want?" Jesse demanded as he knelt down next to Emma. Jesse was angry, he cared for Emma...almost as much as Brennan and Shalimar cared for each other.

"I want YOU to come with me," Noah told his son.

"Where?"

"I want to show you off to some business men I know."

"What for?"

"They're into genetics and mutations."

"You want to make me a lab rat?"

"Not exactly."

"What about Emma?"

"I'll give her the antedote as soon as our deal is complete."

"How long does she have?"

"Twelve hours."

"Will that be enough time?"

"If you cooperate, Jess."

"Fine!"

"Let's go then..."

"But Emma..." Jesse said and then remembered his commring. "Brennan. Shalimar. Come quick!" he said before putting his jacket on and placing his ring in Emma's coat pocket.

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Madrid House


Shalimar and Brennan who was carrying an unconscious Emma quickly entered the Madrid House. "Adam!" Shalimar yelled as she watched as Brennan laid Emma on the floor of the foyer.

"What happened?" Adam asked immediately when he saw Emma.

"We don't know," Brennan answered.

"And Jesse's gone," Shalimar added.

Adam examined Emma carefully, "she looks like she's been posioned, but I won't know for sure until we can examine her blood."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know yet. One of you go get Juan OR Rosaria!" Adam said and Brennan quickly went looking for them.

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Helocoptor
Madrid House


"Thanks so much Juan," Adam said as he watched Shalimar enter the helocoptor and then Brennan who was carrying an unconscious Emma.

"I hope Antonio and his people can help Emma," Juan said. "Safe trip."

"Thanks you," Adam said before getting into the helocoptor. The helocoptor belonged to the Luna Foundation and it was taking them to the other Foundation House in Florence, Italy where they hoped Emma could be helped.

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TBC...

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Sierra's Sanctuary
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