Emma leaned down to comfort Jesse. "It's OK, Jess, are you sure we are in the right cave?" Emma was being practical – but she knew she was grasping at straws.

"We're not in the wrong cave, Emma," Shalimar responded as she wiped a finger in the red fluid on the floor. "This is Brennan's," she said, as she smelled the fluid. "Come on, you guys. I can track them. They can't have gone far." Shalimar wasted no time picking up on the scent of the beasts. Emma helped Jesse up, who staggered a bit due to a probable concussion. They followed Shalimar. "Shal!" Jesse yelled as he left the cave. "What the hell are we going to do when we catch up to them?" Shalimar didn't break stride. She was going to find Brennan.

Jesse looked at Emma and the two followed the feral.

XXXXXX

Brennan awoke to the jarring. Two beasts were carrying him over their shoulders and they were running. Brennan struggled not to scream. He was too wet to use his powers and he was too weak to fight them physically. He stifled cries of pain at the jarring his damaged body was taking. Mercifully, he felt himself passing out. He let it happen.

XXXXXX

"You can't do this, Bill," Adam pleaded. He used to call Draper, Bill, years ago when they worked with one-another. Adam hoped using this old nickname would help. It didn't.

"I can do whatever I please, Adam. You can't say anything about it." Draper was preparing a syringe of some type of medicine. Adam was powerless. Draper had tied his hand behind his back and attached the binds to a table.

"You're a doctor, Bill. We both are. Hell, all three of us are doctors." Adam was referring to Eckhart whom he hoped was still locked in the other room.

"So what!" Draper chided. "That means nothing to me." He continued working on his concoction.

"What about our oath, Bill?" Adam reminded. "You took an oath to first do no harm!"

"I lied," Draper responded. "There, it's ready."

"What is it?" Adam asked – fearing the answer.

"A bit of a stimulant," Draper responded. "It should really gear him up. From what I know about Brennan's history, I may need quite a bit of this to affect him. He had a bit of a – shall I say – problem in the past?" Draper smiled at the thought of Brennan having been so messed up mentally that he had developed a chemical abuse problem.

"You sicken me," Adam spat. He knew it was true – that Brennan did, indeed, have a drug problem when he was younger. But he was past that now and clean. Draper was an ass to demoralize him that way.

"No denial, Adam?" Draper asked as he turned around.

"Why the stimulant? His body can't handle that now, Bill. You know that," Adam was begging Draper to reconsider.

"Adam, you are an intelligent man. You can't figure this one out?" I need Brennan's power. In order to get Brennan's power, Brennan needs to be awake. In order to wake Brennan up, I will need this. It is really quite simple," Draper mocked.

"I told you before. He will never help you."

"Not willingly, I know. But I don't need him to be willing. I just need him awake. I will do the rest – with my great big beautiful brain." Draper said. He tapped his head with his finger and leered at Adam as he said the last six words of his sentence.

"If you do this, Bill …" Adam warned.

"You'll do what? You'll do what, Adam?" Draper was actually showing open anger now. No matter how crazy he is.

XXXXXX

The three mutants caught up with the group carrying Brennan very quickly. They followed at what they thought was a close distance. "They sure are jolting him around a lot," Jesse commented. He was concerned about Brennan's physical well-being.

"He's out of it," Emma noted.

"Shal, not so close!" Jesse whispered. She either didn't hear or didn't care. She was literally on top of the group of beasts. Shal didn't care, though; she penetrated the group without thinking.

Brennan was alert enough to realize that Shal was there and in danger. The beasts that were carrying him immediately dropped their burden and approached Shalimar. Jesse and Emma joined in. Shalimar took the first hit. She got in two good kicks upon her two attackers but before long, she was on the ground. Jesse was phasing in and out avoiding blows while laying some one. Emma was trying to crowd the minds of the beasts. She was having limited success. Brennan was trying to creep out of the fight. He managed to ground himself and take down three of the beasts with a tesla. He singed himself in the meantime.

One of the beasts realized that this fight was going nowhere. He made his way to Brennan, picked him up over his head and walked to the cliff's edge. He roared to get everyone's attention.

"Stop! You three will surrender now, or I will drop this one over the cliff!" Every one stopped fighting. Shalimar picked herself off the ground – ready to attack the beast holding Brennan. Jesse held her back.

"That's better!" The beast lowered Brennan and gingerly threw him over his shoulder. Brennan yelped as his ribs and the portion of his midsection with the hole in it made a violent connection with the beast's shoulder.

"Be careful with him!" Jesse yelled as he started towards Brennan. Another beast quickly wailed a furred arm across Jesse's already damaged head and he went down like a stone. Shalimar screamed and Emma cried. She considered using her power but Shalimar stopped her.

"Emma, you can't. The last time you did that, Draper got into your head. Emma, he'll do it again."

Emma looked at Shalimar with tears in her eyes. She looked at Jesse, now being carried by a beast, at Brennan, who was once again bleeding from his earlier injuries, and then back at Shalimar. "At least we will all be together."

Shalimar and Emma were pushed from behind. "Get moving!" the beast ordered.