Sorry for making everyone wait so long. My floppy disk screwed up and I lost everything—I had to retype it all! Thanks to everyone for the awesome reviews-I'm flattered. Anyway, without further ado, the chapter you've all been waiting for.

Chapter 4: Trouble

Bright and early the next morning, Brennan and Jesse got up and went down to the Garage. As they walked inside, they were pleased to find four shiny, ready to ride snowmobiles parked in the middle of the garage.

"These are nice," Brennan commented. He turned to Jesse. "You mean to tell me you've never ridden a snowmobile before?"

"Nope," Jesse admitted, running his hand down the side of one of the vehicles. "I figure it can't be too different from riding a motorcycle."

"It is way different, bro," Brennan scoffed. "Prepare to eat my snow."

"Hey, if I can beat you racing a motorcycle, I can beat you racing anything," Jesse bantered.

"Well let's find out," Brennan challenged, swinging his leg over the side of the snowmobile. Within minutes they were speeding off into the trees, kicking up a trail of snow behind them.

No sooner had the two mutants left the garage, then Dr. Jules and two other men stepped out of the shadows.

"Follow them. Make sure you give them enough trouble to keep them away from here for awhile."

"Should we do away with them?" One of the men asked, cocking a shotgun he had been holding. Dr. Jules shook his head.

"No, I may need them."

Just then, Adam walked in the doorway. He had heard everything.

"Just what are you planning, Jules?" he asked angrily. Dr. Jules turned to his men.

"Go. I'll take care of him."

"How come we weren't introduced to your henchmen, Jules?" Adam asked as the two men hopped on the remaining snowmobiles and sped off.

"Now, Adam, there's no need to jump to conclusions, here," Jules said. His voice had a tone of warning, of danger, but Adam ignored it.

"What are you trying to pull here, David? We're not your enemies."

"Look, Adam, if you'd give me a chance to explain…"

"Call them back," Adam demanded.

"I can't do that."

"I'm not going to let you hurt them," Adam threatened. "CALL THEM BACK."

"You need to just calm down, Adam, before you do something you regret."

"I don't think so," Adam said, and lifted his COM ring to his lips. "Brennan, Jess…" He never got to finish his warning. A third henchman had come up behind him and hit him over the head with a pistol. Adam was out cold.

"It's a pity," said Jules as the henchmen dragged Adam away. "I so hate using violence."

"Shalimar!" Emma's voice was full of fear, and Shalimar came running from the bathroom where she'd been brushing her hair, to her friend's side.

"Emma, what is it?"

"One minute I was sitting here reading, and the next minute I had this…flash! Adam is hurt, and Jesse and Brennan are in trouble!" Shalimar sat on the bed next to Emma, an expression of concern on her face.

"Wait a minute Emma, what exactly did you see?"

"I didn't see anything," Emma explained, her voice still shaking. "I felt it. It was like a warning, from Adam. He was hurt, and he was worried about the boys." Shalimar was silent for a moment. She knew better than to underestimate Emma's psionic ability.

"Do you think it's this Jules guy?" Shalimar whispered. Emma nodded, looking down.

"What do we do?" In the absence of the men, Shalimar was the natural leader.

"I'll try to reach them," she said, and called out into the COM link. "Adam! Adam…come in!" No answer. The girls shared a look of fear. "Brennan! Jesse! Somebody answer!" But there was only static. There was a pause, then Shalimar turned to Emma. "Can you reach them?"

"I'll try Adam first," Emma said, and closed her eyes for a few moments. Suddenly, she gasped and her eyes flew open again.

"What is it?" Shalimar cried.

"They have Adam tied up…I don't know where, but he's in pain, and he's worried about all of us."

"We have to find him," Shalimar said, getting to her feet and heading for the door. "Get your coat on. If anyone asks, we're taking a walk."

"Where are we going?" asked Emma.

"We're going to find out where that creep is holding Adam. It's got to be somewhere in this building, they couldn't have gone far."

"But this place is huge!" Emma protested.

"You got a better idea?" Shalimar asked, irritated. Emma didn't say anything. "Okay, then let's go."

"What about the boys?" Shalimar stopped at this question.

"I know they went snowmobiling this morning. We'll just have to hope they can take care of themselves for awhile." They left their room in an uncomfortable silence.

Brennan and Jesse were speeding along on their snowmobiles, racing each other. They never even heard anyone call for them on the COM rings. Suddenly, a gunshot rung out, echoing through the trees. They slowed to a stop.

"What the heck was that?" Brennan exclaimed.

"Sounded like a gunshot," Jesse answered, looking all around. "I thought this place was supposed to be deserted." No sooner had the words left his lips than another shot was fired, this one embedding itself into a tree only two feet away from where they sat. Both mutants looked in the direction the shot came from, only to see two men armed with shotguns, sitting on snowmobiles less than a hundred yards away.

"Crap," commented Brennan.

"People just don't seem to like us, do they?" Jesse said nervously, trying to make a joke. Then the two armed men started speeding toward them. "Uh…go!" Jesse shouted, and both mutants raced off into the trees.

It was a dangerous chase, the two young men dodging trees and bullets at breakneck speed. Then, the unthinkable happened. Brennan and Jesse saw the huge fallen tree at the same time, but each reacted differently. They knew they'd have to jump it. It was too long and they were going too fast to get around it. Brennan slowed down, and made it over the log easily with a subtle thump, then he watched in horror as Jesse sped up, flying over the tree with incredible speed. As the snowmobile was in midair, one of the men behind took aim and shot directly at Jesse's fuel tank. The vehicle exploded in midair, and Jesse went flying several feet before landing in the snow, surrounded by smoldering debris. Brennan looked back at their pursuers, forming an energy ball in his hand, ready to fight. But the two men looked shocked at the explosion, and quickly sped away. Brennan sprinted over to where Jesse lay, unmoving, in the snow. The molecular was very pale, with blood running down the right side of his face from a deep gash above his temple. Brennan shook the younger man's shoulder gently.

"Jess. Jess, wake up bro." Jesse opened his eyes slowly, squinting them in the sunlight.

"I blew up," he mumbled.

"Yeah, they shot your fuel tank," Brennan said, helping Jesse slowly sit up.

"Didn't even see it coming…where did they go anyway?" He asked, holding a hand gingerly to his head.

"I don't know. What gets me is why they didn't come and finish us both off."

"Well, I'm kind of glad they didn't, thank you very much," Jesse said. "Besides, the real question is who were they, and why were they shooting at us."

"Yeah," Brennan agreed. Neither mutant voiced their fear that the others were in danger. They peered up into the bright white sky as snowflakes began to fall.

So how do you like it? I'll try to get the next one out quicker.