Chapter 14

By Jengrrrl

He was in sweats and a tank top, sitting casually on the same bed he'd crashed on not a few hours before. He was ... Brennan. There wasn't anything to identify him as anything but Brennan. Even the way he sat, the way he glanced up when he heard the click-clack of her heels on the lab's floor.

"He's gone." It was a statement of fact and Brennan uttered it himself before Emma had a chance to say anything.

"Yes," she murmured. A good five feet separated them but she could almost feel the current of energy that marked him, that feature she'd come to accept as part of him, the same way she could feel Shalimar's warmth, and Jesse's strength. "So's Lexa."

"What?" Real surprise on his features, and maybe even weariness. And weren't they all feeling it? Bone-weary of the whole thing.

"Gone," Emma affirmed, "who knows where." She crossed the remaining distance that separated them, that distance she'd been sure was enough to keep those feelings of familiarity at bay. She should have known that no amount of certainty mattered anymore. That the Brennan sitting beside her was the Brennan she knew seemed clear. She could feel it. That what she could feel and what she had to understand intellectually were at odds with each other disturbed her to no measure. "How are you feeling?" she asked, placing her hand flat on his shoulder, a kind of peace-offering, to reassure she didn't blame him, no matter what had happened, no matter what he thought he'd done.

"Right as rain," he replied, sarcasm tinging the guilt in his voice. "Why shouldn't I? I'm the lone Brennan now, right?" He shrugged away from her touch. "This is my world," he added darkly.

"Does it matter now?"

"You said it yourself, Emma. We belong where we belong. Should I accept this as my world just because he's gone? Should you be mine just because I want you to be my Emma?" He reached out for her, found her face and cupped it in one big hand. She let him, because the emotion that was washing off of him threatened to choke her. "What was he like, your Brennan? Did he love you the way I loved my Emma?"

"I don't know," she whispered, stock-still.

"You'd know. He'd tell you, or he'd show you, because I'd tell you, I'd show you." He closed his useless eyes and said, "I hope I told her." Then he leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth and she was so surprised she didn't even pull away.

"Brennan..." she breathed.

"That's me," he replied.

"We can't leave things the way they are."

"No? I didn't think so."

"We have to find Adam, the other Adam..."

"The great and powerful Oz..."

"...and get back to where we belong."

"You belong here. Where do I go?"

---

Lexa didn't like surprises. She didn't like being hit by big men, and she certainly didn't like being stranded on a world that wasn't her own.

When she woke up it was to find herself alone. Alone and with a bruise the size of a ping-pong ball forming on her cheek. She traced the edges of the swollen skin and winced. Son of a bitch could certainly swing a mean punch, couldn't he? Didn't matter, she'd get him back for that one.

She stood up, woozy (and damn but her head hurt), reaching into her pockets for her car keys, not surprised at all to discover they were gone. This certainly wasn't her day.

It was a few more seconds before the dizziness dissipated and she made her way out of the Naxcon building. Once outside, she discovered the sky was cloudy, threatening rain. Just like home.

"Now, Lexa" she wondered aloud, "if you were a traitor, where would you go?" Of course, she already knew the answer to that question. She'd find a car and head for Genomex.

--

"What are we going to do with her?"

Brennan raised his eyes to Shalimar; he didn't have to ask whom she was talking about. His cold gaze drifted over to the monitor that showed Emma DeLauro's sleeping form. "Get her home. Get ourselves home."

"How?"

"Same way we got ourselves here."

"How's that?" she asked, exasperated. But before he could propose an answer, she added, "Mason wants to see you."

Brennan groaned. He was tired of the pretense. "What's this one like?"

"Not like ours. Loathes Adam, for one. Even in death."

Brennan raised his eyebrows but didn't comment.

Shalimar continued, "Sick, too. Leaves the daily operations here to his underlings, which is how I was able to rise to the top of the ranks so quickly."

Smiling, Brennan replied, "Survival of the fittest."

Shalimar grinned her reply.

"What's he want?" he asked, eyes traveling back to the monitor that showed Emma.

"Can't say. Genomex is pretty unstoppable, what with the death of this Adam, and the virtual dismantling of Mutant X. It seems Mason's rudderless without an enemy to face."

"Aren't we all."

Noticing the direction of his gaze, Shalimar murmured, "She hasn't said much since we picked her up. Only that she wanted to see you." She shrugged. "But she didn't seem that happy to see you today. You screwed her over pretty good, didn't you Brennan? What'd you do, back home?"

Brennan's mouth twisted into a smile, but his eyes were dead. "Showed her how much we love her, Shal. Showed her how much I love her."

---

"Hey," Jesse whispered, hoping the girl in the next cell could hear him. "Emma!"

She looked up but her face didn't register emotion.

"Emma, it's Jesse."

She remained unmoving.

"What's wrong with you?" he muttered, more to himself than to her.

He was surprised when she finally spoke. "He won't want me talking to you."

"Who?"

"Brennan."

"Brennan," Jesse spat out, "is a bastard. We have to find a way out of here."

"No."

"No?" Jesse couldn't believe what he was hearing. This Emma clearly wasn't the same one who'd left with Brennan and Adam, was it? Was it possible there was another Emma on his world? That certainly would explain Brennan's sudden ability to see. And, well, the fact that he was evil.

"Emma, do you remember me?" If she was from another world, his double had to be on it too, didn't he?

She nodded. "You're dead. You shouldn't be here."

Jesse felt his flesh crawl. He didn't like hearing the words, even knowing they were only about a double on an alternate dimension. "Um, how did I die, Emma?"

"He killed you. We were together, we were leaving but he caught up with us. He... I'm sorry, I had to leave. I had to get away. I'm so sorry." She was crying.

"Hey, it's okay," he cooed. "I'm right here. Not dead, see?" Jesse was trying not to be morbid, but he had to know: "Who's 'he', Emma?"

"Brennan."

Jesse blanched. He was afraid she'd say that.