By Jengrrrl
Everything on this dimension was just as it had been on his. The Naxcom building was right where it was supposed to be, just as it had been before his accident, before his blindness. Brennan didn't know what he was trying to accomplish by visiting the site, but he knew he had to do something. He couldn't sit idly by, waiting for the rest to rescue Adam.
He walked slowly, surveying the area methodically, almost ridiculous in his careful approach. What was he looking for anyway? A big portal with a sign attached, reading "This way home"?
"Brennan." The disembodied voice came from behind him, and Brennan swivelled fast, years of training working his body automatically, so he had his hands up, fingers ready to release deadly energy.
When the body that belonged to the voice emerged from the shadows, Brennan let out a gasp of air and put his hands down. It was Adam, looking like he was in the sort of state Brennan remembered being in not a few hours before. "Adam," Brennan said, reaching out to the man. Then, "Which one are you?"
"We have to fix everything or everything's finished."
Brennan frowned. "I know. Which one are you?"
"Take me back, Brennan. We'll go back to our world. Where we left Jesse."
"Adam, that's not your world."
Adam dropped to his knees and fought to catch his breath. Brennan knew there wasn't much time left. He looked to Adam for an answer. "It is my world, Brennan. My health's deteriorating at an accelerated rate because there are three of us here. I met them, Brennan. I met the man who was with you, and Jesse, in our world. He told me you could get us back. I believe you can."
Brennan shook his head. "No, I can't. That's not something I can control. It just...happened." He wanted to add, desperately, I don't even know if that's my world.
Adamant, the scientist pushed on. "You can! You need to concentrate on the location. You were blind before this. You didn't have a way to guide yourself. Now you can. You have to!"
"But..."
"We don't have any time for this Brennan. It's not just me dying. It's our entire planet."
Brennan screwed his eyes shut for long seconds. He had his answer. He'd leave this dimension. He'd leave Emma for good. He had to. "All right," he said. "Let's try this."
---
Genomex was a tangle of mazes, long corridors flanked by armed guards, state of the art technology watching over everything with the eye of big brother.
Fortunately, Mutant X had seen it all before. Uniformed, and carrying appropriate ID, Shalimar and Emma made their way to the holding cells as Jesse worked on breaching security through the Genomex mainframe. If all went according to plan, they'd be in and out of the building in less time than it took Mason Eckhart to arrange his toupee.
Surprisingly, all did go to plan, and Emma had the pleasure of unlocking holding cell 25B without sounding an alarm. It was refreshing. What was disconcerting, however, was opening the door to the cell and finding not one, but two Adams. One conscious, the other not. She cursed under her breath and felt the pressure of panic building in her chest. When Shalimar came up beside her, she could see the same look reflected on the feral's face. They both rushed to the Adams simultaneously. Emma put her fingers to the unconscious man's wrist. It was long moments before she was able to pull away and say, "I can't find it, Shal."
"What? What do you mean?"
"I can't...find his pulse," Emma said, the words sticking in her throat. Before she could continue, Shal was pushing her away from the body, putting her head to Adam's chest, listening for any hint of life.
"Shalimar," Emma whispered, feeling another tightening in her chest, feeling the moisture gathering in her eyes, which burned with unshed tears. They didn't have time for tears. Not with one Adam left for them to save. "Shal, please, we don't have time..."
Shal turned an angry glare at Emma, her eyes going feral for a split second before she cried, "We don't have time? This is Adam, Emma!"
Emma nodded, trying her best to sound calm. "Shal, I know that. But this is Adam, too, okay? And he's alive. We can save him. Please, we have to go now!"
Two seconds later, Shalimar released her hold on the dead Adam, and moved swiftly to pick up the other, barely conscious, man. Emma saw the determination in her face, and was glad of it. They made their way out, Shalimar communicating with Jesse as Emma glanced back briefly at the dead man in the cell, the man with the same face as Adam. The dead man who was Adam.
--
Lexa stole looks at her companions on their ride over to the Naxcom building. Now they'd found their way out of Genomex safely, they wouldn't need to help her. "Hey, so, what's the plan here?"
Brennan was behind the wheel of the van. Emma, bound and (mercifully) gagged, sat beside him. Shalimar sat in the second row. Jesse sat with Lexa in the back. It was Shalimar who looked back to answer her question. "We go back to our worlds. Simple as that."
Lexa raised an eyebrow. "Simple?"
It was Brennan who replied. "Yes. I can get us home," he said, staring at Emma, who seemed determined to avoid his gaze.
"What?"
"I can control it."
"What?" Lexa asked, angry. "Then why all this bouncing around, huh? Why the inter-dimensional ping pong? This is serious."
"I had to find her," he replied, a little too unsteady for Lexa's taste. He was talking about the psionic again. What was the obsession?
Lexa was still perplexed. So... "And how did she --"
But before she could finish her question, she was interrupted. The car slid to a halt and Shalimar said, "We're here," like it was "End of discussion." And so it was.
