~~~

[Brennan and Shalimar's mind]

"We've been walking around forever where are we going?" asked a frustrated Shalimar

"I don't know but I am open to suggestions" spat Brennan "I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you"

"Well maybe we should try and contact the others" suggested Shalimar silently accepting his apology

Nodding Brennan lifted his ring to his mouth "Adam, Jesse, Emma can you guys hear me?" all he received was silence. He repeated the question and still he received no reply.

"Maybe we should just go to sanctuary?"

"Yeah but I still want to know what hell that was we experienced back there"

"Me too but let's see if we can find the others first" she replied as they approached a parked car "you wanna do the honors?"

"Cute" he replied as he got in and hot wired the car

"And he's still got it" she said as she got into the passenger seat

"Was there any doubt?" jokingly he asked as he pulled away

~~~

They arrived at sanctuary to find the place empty. They split up and searched the usual hangouts of their teammates and leader but found no one.

"This place is deserted" said Brennan

"Quiet, I hear something" Shalimar said as she used her feral hearing to pinpoint the location of the sound

"Of course you hear something my dear"

The two looked up over the dojo area to see Eckhardt standing there glaring down at them. "How the hell did you get in here?" asked Brennan letting the electricity come to life in his hand

"Does it matter?" he replied looking to his left

Brennan and Shalimar followed his gaze only to see about ten GSA agents standing there with taser rods ready to pounce.

"Get them" Eckhardt said and the men rushed the two mutants

They fought the agents but were unable to gain the upper hand. Finally Brennan had to suggest they leave and the two ran back towards the garage and got into the car and headed out of the mountain.

Once they were clear of the mountain Brennan pulled over and pounded on the steering wheel several times in frustration. "How the hell did they get into sanctuary?"

"I don't know but we can't stay here" she replied looking out the back window to make sure they weren't followed

"Where do we go?"

Scanning her memory, Shalimar remembered the location of an old safe house "Head back to town there is an old safe house, one of the first one's Adam ever opened we should be safe there"

Brennan did as he was told and headed back to town. Once there Shalimar gave him directions to the shutdown safe house.

They entered the safe house and managed to get the power working just enough for them to have some light. They gathered some blankets and old mattresses and put them in the main room.

Once settled they sat in silence for a while both trying to figure what the hell was going on. Brennan, as he usually did when he was anxious or mad began to pace. Shalimar merely sat silent on one of the mattresses and stared off.

Brennan stopped pacing and looked at Shalimar. The moment he looked at her all their other problems seemed to fade away. That was how it always was when it came to Shalimar. No matter how mad or down he was as soon as he saw her everything else seemed to fade away. Sitting down next to her he contemplated the best way to bring up the earlier scene.

"Go ahead and ask"

"What?"

"You want to know what it was like don't you?"

"Only if you want to tell me"

"It goes both ways" she replied looking at him. They were both silent for a moment

"My step father" started Brennan "never liked me. I still don't know if it was because I was a mutant or because if I wasn't his real son. But he always found a way to remind how I would amount to nothing. Before Mutant X I really didn't have a family or anyone I really cared about for that matter"

Shalimar just listened

"I tried to keep in touch with my mother after I left and moved out onto the streets but after a while we just lost touch. Part of it was I moved around so much the other part was I was afraid I would kill him if I ever went back there. So I stayed away" he looked at her when he was finished

"Well you know my story already. My parents put me in that hospital to make me 'normal' and all those doctors did was drug and beat me. You know I really thought I was over all of it but seeing him again and then seeing that it just brought it all back"

"Yeah I know the feeling"

"After I got out of that hospital I just went from place to place never really staying anywhere for too long. I think I was afraid they would find me and it would begin all over again. Then one day Adam showed up and gave a place to call home. I guess it is the feral in me but I consider the team to be like my pack and you are all my children and I would do anything to keep you guys safe"

Without even thinking about what he saying Brennan softly asked "is that all you see me as, one of your pack?"

~~~

TBC.....Well guys there is chapter 5. I am hesitant to keep posting b/c the reviews have become few and far between, especially for the last chapter. I will continue to post and all I ask in return is a review even if it is to tell me that the story sucks. Later