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When Brennan was eventually returned to Emma, he had difficulty forcing himself to even look at her. He wanted to pretend everything was fine, but he hadn't been able to fall asleep in the lab, so there was still a lot of pain.
"So how was your day?" he asked as casually as possible, attempting to act normal.
"Well, I started a tiny brawl. Broke one guy's nose." She gazed at him, worried for a reason she couldn't figure out. "You?"
"It wasn't as bad this time," he lied before reaching to place his hand on the wall to help hold him up. The muscles in his arm quivered. He gave her a small smile. "I'm proud of you, by the way. Getting into a fight was stupid, but you don't look hurt. You're not, are you?"
"No, I'm not." She reached out to help support him. "It got stopped pretty fast. But you should see the other guy."
His smile broadened. "That's my girl."
Then he leaned back against the wall and winced. "Brennan?" she asked nervously.
He waved her off. "I'm just worn out. It's no big deal."
She seemed to sense the tears behind his eyes that he was desperately trying to hold back. He was also trying to keep himself from shaking. He refused to fall apart in front of her. He glanced at the camera. Eckhart wouldn't see his breakdown either. Nobody else was going to see him cry.
As Emma softly touched his face, he pulled away and then rushed to the bathroom. Dropping to his knees in front of the toilet, he retched. Not having anything in his stomach to throw up, he continue to dry heave, his body wanting to rid itself of whatever was causing the pain.
He shuddered as an aftershock from the electricity coursed through him. Emma had apparently followed him because she was now rubbing his back in small circles. He knew she'd feel the vibrations in his body and shrugged her off, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He wondered how much longer it would be before he stopped experiencing the involuntary muscle spasms.
"Brennan, are you sick?" Emma asked, trying to feel his forehead for signs of fever. He quickly drew back once more.
"No." He rubbed his temples in an attempt to ease the throbbing behind his eyes. There were no physical signs on his body this time, so he was able to lie. "Last few days just caught up with me for a second, that's all."
She felt herself want to cry. "Please don't lie to me."
He looked over at her before averting his gaze and staring at the wall. "Just don't touch me right now, okay?"
Letting her hand drop to her side, she fought back the steadily growing feeling of dread. "What's wrong with you?"
"How the hell should I know?" he snapped at her, catching her eyes for a fraction of a second and praying she hadn't seen his fear. "That would require me knowing what I am."
This time, she did touch him. Very gently, she placed her hand on his and willed him not to pull away from her. She kept looking at him with compassion. "You're you."
"Am I?" He blinked up at her, finally lifting his head. "I have never considered my gift as something that makes me feel out of place. I wasn't normal, but I wasn't a freak either. I was just me, different but me, and I could accept that. But this... I don't even think we bleed the same blood anymore. If we do, then I should be dead. I'm afraid of myself. Afraid I might be losing myself. You have no idea how much that terrifies me."
She moved until she was sitting by side and leaned her head on his shoulder, all the while still holding his hand, refusing to let go. "You want to know who you are?" she asked. "That's easy. You're Brennan Mulwray. You're a member of Mutant X. You're loyal. You like reading poetry and have a very odd fashion sense that although strange I still find endearing. You're a closet romantic, but you'd never admit to it. You consider Jesse to be a brother, and Shalimar is your family also but you lose the ability to form coherent sentences whenever she wears something revealing--"
Brennan started to object to that, but she continued anyway, not letting him get a word in edgewise. "And you're my best friend, so even if you have doubts about losing yourself, trust that I don't. I know you. And I will always love you. No matter what."
Not knowing what to say to that, he merely pulled her into his arms. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Em. You're keeping me sane."
She held onto him for a long time until she felt the slight fibrillation course through him. For a moment, she thought it might have been a held- back sob, but he tightened his grip on her and she knew it had been accompanied by pain.
Slowly, she eased back from him. "Come on, you need to get some sleep," she told him gently.
He shook his head. "No."
"What? Brennan, if you don't sleep, you're not going to feel better." She gave his hand a small tug, urging him to come with her.
He didn't budge. "I know. This has to stop, Em. So, the way I figure it, if I quit sleeping, hopefully I'll become weak enough that Eckhart won't be able to continue his tests."
She stared deeply at him, her expression very serious. "How far has he taken this?" When Brennan just turned away, she grabbed his shoulder. "Tell me!"
"I can't!" he shouted back. Couldn't she see he was trying to protect her? Why did she insist on knowing the details? He fell silent. There were things he could never let her know.
Eckhart had taken this beyond reason. He'd crossed a line when he'd actually killed him.
-----
Adam paced back and forth several times, then looked to Shalimar and Jesse. "Okay, let's go over this again. What do we know?"
Shalimar sighed. "We know the rings were a decoy to--"
"Just stop it," Jesse cut in, standing up. "We can go over things a thousand times. We still won't know where they are."
"Alright," Adam said, seeing the young man's agitation. "We don't know where Emma and Brennan are. So we change our strategy. We stop searching for them... and try to find Eckhart."
-----
"Penny for them," Emma offered as they lay awake. Brennan had simply turned his back to the camera and was still refusing to sleep.
Her voice interrupted his thoughts. "Huh?"
"You're a thousand miles away," she commented softly. "Wanna tell me what's on your mind?"
He sighed. "You ever wonder why some things happen the way they do?"
"You mean like our current situation?" she asked, not certain if he was talking about now or just in general.
He propped himself up on his elbow and stared intently at her. "Do you trust Adam? I mean, really trust him, with your life?"
"Yeah, of course I do," she replied without hesitation. "What brought this up?"
Shaking his head, he sighed again. "Nothing."
"I do believe that he'll find us." She watched him carefully. He was acting odd and still looked somewhat pained, and she wondered if he really was getting sick, although she figured that would be impossible now.
Brennan rested his back against the floor once more and gazed at the white ceiling. "He asked Shal to wash the cars, Jesse to upgrade one of the computers, and you to help in the lab. It was my job bring the new mutant into the underground. Alone."
She thought she could see where this was going now. "If I hadn't decided to take a break and tag along with you, I wouldn't be here," she summarized. "Our lives change with every choice we make, Brennan. That's just the way things are."
"Did you tell anyone you were coming with me?" he asked next, still very serious.
"They know we're together," she replied. "I left a note."
Sitting up, he put his face in his hands. "So nobody knew 'til after the fact." He slammed his fist against the wall. "He set me up!"
Emma sat also, confused once more. "You think the new mutant sold us out to the GSA?"
"Don't you get it, Em," he asked, grabbing her hands. "We never saw anybody but a whole shit-load of Eckhart's goons. They were waiting for me. Specifically for me. And they knew I'd be there."
She suddenly pulled back. He wasn't accusing the new mutant. Brennan was angry at the one person who'd had enough control to send only him. "You think Adam did this?" She couldn't believe it.
His expression was flat. "How else would they have known?" he said simply.
Shifting so that she was on her knees right next to him, she cupped his face in her palm. "Because you always go. Because of coincidence. Because the ambush would have been enough to take out all of us. Because life sucks sometimes." She made him look at her. "But not because Adam betrayed you. Not ever."
He just shook his head. His heart believed Adam couldn't have done this, yet logic argued otherwise. He sighed. "I hope to God you're right, Emma."
-----
When they came for him again, Emma fought. She begged them not to take him. Brennan could hardly even walk.
But it was pointless. One of the guards merely set off her governor and she crumpled to the floor. Throughout all this, Brennan didn't even lift a finger to resist as his hands were roughly cuffed behind his back.
On legs that felt like they could hardly support his weight, Brennan stood with the men he knew would hurt him. He'd play it safe one last time. This was his final shot.
"I'm sorry, Emma." He stared intently at her. "I am so sorry."
As the door was closed behind them, he looked to his guard. He was ready to place all his cards on the table. "I need to speak with Eckhart."
-----
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