The bar was almost empty. In the corner, a jukebox played a vaguely familiar song from yesteryear. The bartender polished a glass as he talked to a balding man sitting at the bar.

A man with darting eyes, dressed in rumpled suit sat in one of the booths. He loosened his tie and looked around suspiciously, before quickly taking a drink from the whisky bottle which he was holding on to tightly.

Those two, and the middle-aged couple smoking and drinking simultaneously on the far side of the room made up the sum total of patrons. The place was always almost completely deserted, and that was precisely why Adam had chosen it.

"I see your ability to choose a venue for a riveting night out has not left you, Adam." Mason said.

Adam just smiled. "Just like old times, eh?" He said as they sat down at a table.

"Indeed it is." Mason said, thinking back to times passed. He simply couldn't believe that he was there. Surely they couldn't just go back to how they were back then. No, that was impossible. Even if Adam was willing to overlook the hard feelings between them, Mason would never be able to forgive him.

"Okay, what can I get you fellas?" The bartender asked, setting down the glass he'd been polishing.

"I shall have a dry martini. No ice." Mason said. The bartender nodded, then looked at Adam.

He thought for a while, then ordered a rum and coke.

"Coming right up."

"So, how has life been since I saw you last?" Mason asked after a few moments of silence.

"Well, it hasn't half been busy, but I can't complain. Though I expect this will change now. Now that Ashlocke's gone, and you won't be re-establishing the GSA..." It was more of a statement, but he looked at Mason questioningly nonetheless.

"No. I have neither the funds nor the desire to do that."

"It'd also make you a bit of a hypocrite." He said, leaning forward.

"How so?"

"It'd be hypocritical to continue rounding up and imprisoning new mutants now that you are one yourself. And I'm sure your stay in stasis made you rethink the morality of what you did to them."

"Not a pleasant experience at all. And Adam, I was not rounding up and imprisoning them. That is an out and out lie. I was working to prevent the world knowing about your careless mistakes."

Before Adam could say anything, the bartender arrived with their drinks. They both mumbled thank you. The bartender just shrugged and walked away.

***

Emma stumbled a little. She held her head in her hands as bright flashes and confused emotions filled her mind.

"I'm gonna sit down for a while." She told Shalimar, walking to the nearest table. Shalimar followed, a little concerned.

"You okay?" She asked, plopping down beside her.

"I...yeah, I'll be fine in a minute." She held her head in her hands and rubbed at her eyes.

"Hey, what's up?" Jesse said as he sat down across from the girls. "What's wrong with her?" He asked. Emma now had her head down on the table.

"I don't know. She said she'd be alright, but if she carries on like this I'm taking her home."

"You don't need to be so protective, she's probably just had a bit too much to drink." He shook the half filled glass in his hand.

"Yeah, that'll be it. Anyway, where's Brennan? I haven't seen him all night."

"Chatting up some blonde at the bar." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder.

"Hah. Why doesn't that surprise me." She said, folding her arms.

Emma lifted up her head. They both looked at her. Shalimar opened her mouth and began to ask if she was feeling better.

Her eyes flew open. "He's back!" She shrieked. A note of mortal terror was in her voice, and her eyes were vacant yet bore a look of utmost fear. Her eyes fell closed once again and she fell limply onto the table.

"Emma!" Shalimar yelled, her eyes growing wide. She looked at Jesse. He was frozen, and looking at Emma in disbelief. "Emma, please wake up. Please. Please, wake up." Her voice became more and more distraught.

***

It is widely known that a few drinks will make everyone a little more agreeable, and this situation was no exception. Adam and Mason began to talk like old friends should; reliving the good times, and forgetting the bad. That is, of course, until Adam brought up the subject of Mason's childhood.

"Adam." He said deliberately. "I think I made it perfectly clear that I do not want to talk about that."

"I just thought you might want to talk about it, that's all. If you want to, I'm always here for you."

"Thank you." He said with some difficulty, beginning to study the cigarette butts in the ashtray to avoid showing any awkwardness. The ashtray wobbled a bit, then lifted up into the air, aparently of its own accord. This took him by surprise. He grabbed it and set it back down on the table.

"You've gotta learn to be more careful." Adam said in a hushed voice.

Mason hardly noticed; the man with darting eyes was staring at him, a mixture of fear and confusion in his eyes. When he made eye contact with the man, he looked away, and put down the bottle of whisky. He got up and shuffled quickly towards the door.

***

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Jesse asked.

"I don't know." Shalimar sobbed. She was still frantically shaking her. "Please wake up." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"I think we'd better call Adam."

"Yeah, good idea. He'd better be able to help." She said hurriedly. She grabbed Emma's wrist to search for a pulse.

"Adam." Jesse said into his comlink ring. He waited a few seconds. There was no answer. Another few seconds. Still no answer.

"Why isn't he answering?" She'd found a pulse, but not a strong one. Either way, she was still worried. Emma still wasn't responding.

"I don't know." A visible note of worry was in his voice.

"Go and get Brennan. Tell him what happened and tell him I'm taking Emma back home." She stood up and lifted Emma's limp form into her arms and started towards the exit.

***

"Adam!" Shalimar yelled, almost running on her way into Sanctuary. "Adam!" She went straight to the lab. It was empty. The whole place was, she discovered. "Oh, Adam, you do pick your times to disappear." She mumbled despondently.

She walked to Emma's room. Laying her on her bed, she frantically wondered what to do. It wasn't like Adam to go anywhere without telling them. She stalked out of the room. She'd just have another check.

A circuit around Sanctuary told her what she already knew; it was empty. But she did find Adam's comlink ring on his desk. Where could he have gone? She thought desperately. A mixture of fear and guilt forced her to sprint back to Emma.

As she entered the room, Emma's eyelids began to flutter.

"Hey, sorry 'bout that guys, I guess must have fallen asleep." She said, not fully awake. She opened her eyes properly and looked around. "Hey, where am I?"

"Emma!" She said, throwing her arms around her. "You're okay."

"What do you mean? Why am I here?" She said, confused and groggy.

"You don't remember what happened?"

Emma could sense alarm in her voice. She couldn't honestly remember. "Why, what did happen? What's wrong?"

Shalimar hurriedly told her what happened. "No, I don't remember any of that." Emma said, shaking her head. "I don't remember. What do you think it means? You don't think..."

"No. No, he's dead." Shalimar said bluntly. She couldn't possibly let herself think that, although that was exactly what was running through her head at the time.

"Shal, I'm scared. Even if it's not...it's still not good." She looked at her intensely for a moment. "Where's Adam?"

"I don't know. He's not here. His comlink ring is, but he's not." She shook her head.

"Not here? That's not like Adam. And he said he was busy. Why would he leave his comlink ring here?" She was glad to take her mind off what apparently had happened to her.

"I have no idea. I guess we can only wait until he gets back. I hope he hurries up though. Jesse and Brennan are on their way back as far as I know."

"How long was I out?" She asked.

"Half an hour, max. I brought you here as soon as I could. We only got back about five minutes ago."

Shalimar looked up. A sound, footsteps.

"I wonder where everyone is." Brennan commented as he and Jesse walked into the main room.

"Adam? Shalimar?" Jesse called.

"In here." She answered.

"Emma, you're awake. Thank God for that." Said Jesse. "We got here as fast as we could."

"Jesse told me what happened. How're ya feeling?" Brennan asked as he walked round to the other side of Emma's bed and sat down.

"Fine, really. But I don't remember a thing."

"Hey, where's Adam? I'm sure he'd know what was up." He asked.

"We don't know. I found his comlink ring on his desk." Shalimar told him.

"I thought you said he had work to do."

"Yeah, that's what he said. I don't know where he is, but I bet he wasn't counting on us coming back early and finding him gone."

"It's a good job Emma's okay, else he'd be sorry for disappearing and not leaving any way for us to contact him."

"I sure hope he gets back soon, 'cause if anything else happens to her, I just don't know what to do." Shalimar shook her head.