So I got asked for another of these, and it caught my attention more than the other things I was asked for so here it is. Again, fans of the original might find it a bit familiar but hopefully you'll like it.


CHAPTER ONE

In the midst of a remote New York State forest, two young men were running. Stephen was doing his best to keep up but John had the benefit of years of Ultra training and special ops, as well as his brief period with Jedikiah's now defunct unit. Stephen was soon grimacing with pain as he pounded down the gravel track. John came to a halt and turned round to face Stephen, who panted a bit as he caught up to him. "You okay there, great leader?"he asked with a smile.

Stephen glared at him. "I don't know why you thought this was a good idea. If there's anyone who doesn't need to learn how to run, it's Tomorrow People."

"Ah, but you never know when we might lose our powers or have to hide them. Best to keep in shape. And fitness can be applied to a lot of things."

"Guess so,"Stephen conceded.

John's features softened slightly. "And besides, I thought you could use a distraction."

Stephen nodded, thoughtful. It was two months since the incident with the Thargons and Papa Minn, when he and the rest of the Tomorrow People had ended up helping a group of crashed aliens escape being enslaved by a human dictator. And in those two months, he hadn't found a way to quite make up for the choices he'd made at that time. "You've had experience of Cara not talking to you. How did you cope?"

"Cara talks to you,"John pointed out.

"Yeah, but not the way she used to,"Stephen argued. He saw John raise an eyebrow and rolled his eyes. "Not like that. It's like she doesn't even consider me a friend anymore."

"You hurt her feelings,"John told him. "And that's something she hasn't let anyone do in a long time. It's gonna take her time to get over it but she will." He clapped Stephen on the shoulder. "Race you back." And he set off back down the track they'd come down.

Stephen sighed wearily, resisted the urge to just teleport back, and set off after him.


Watching Sophie dance was always an odd experience for Cara. She accepted that her sister was good at it and she was glad that she had something in her life that gave her pleasure. Becoming a Tomorrow Person had consumed Cara's life for many years, which was one of the reasons why she had been worried about Sophie joining them, so she was glad she hadn't fallen into the same trap. But Cara always had the feeling that she wasn't enjoying the performance as much as the rest of the audience.

On this occasion, her discomfort was compounded by having Luca sat next to her. He did at least keep quiet during the actual show, but once the ballet had concluded, the applause had finished and the curtain had been lowered, he turned to her. "So…I haven't seen you at the house recently."

Cara shrugged. "You know, me and families, domestic stuff…"

"Stephen seems sad."

"I know,"Cara admitted. As a telepath, and as one who'd always had a strange and special link with Stephen, she couldn't fail to know.

She felt Luca probing her mind and let him in just a bit, enough for him to read the surface thoughts. "You miss spending time with him too,"he decided at last.

Cara sighed. She didn't really fancy getting into this with a sixteen-year-old, not even one who was dating her sister. Maybe especially not one who was dating her sister. "Look, your brother and I have a connection and we probably always will. Whether we're going to…connect the way we have in the past, well, that's something we have to sort out for ourselves. Okay?" He nodded. "Now let's get backstage and see Sophie."

Luca gave a mischievous smile as they looked over at the security guard. "Think he'll let us through?"

Cara smiled back. "Well, I guess we don't need him to."


"Table four!"Russell announced loudly, handing a plate to Lucy and gesturing vaguely in the direction of the table he meant. He turned to Astrid, by virtue of her being the only one behind the counter with him. "Why do I always get the busy shifts?"

The Lair, as Cara had dubbed it, was the café that served secretly as a hanging out place for the Tomorrow People and slightly less secretly as their main source of income. And, that evening, it was full.

"You can always call in help if you want,"Astrid suggested.

"Well, John and Stephen are off on their bonding session and Cara's taking in a show,"Russell pointed out. "So as ever, it falls to the Kwan to pick up the pieces." He glared at Charlotte, who was at the counter sucking a milkshake through a straw. "And why aren't you helping out?"

"Child labour laws,"Charlotte replied, as she often did.

"At least we only have to worry about the customers being served within fifteen minutes,"Astrid pointed out optimistically. "No psychotic break-outs or crazed paramilitary organisations or crashed alien spaceships."

Russell sighed. "Yeah, and next you'll be saying it's quiet at the moment."


Irene entered the Refuge's office with a small amount of reluctance. She never quite felt like she belonged there, since she'd rather be down in the old Ultra laboratory trying to find out ways to repair the ozone layer or something. But Tim had sent out a summons and, with Stephen, Cara and John all absent, it fell to her to answer it. "You got something, Tim?"

"Perhaps,"the computer replied. "I have continued to carry out Stephen's directive to search for anything unusual or dangerous. This has, I feel obliged to point out, required me to analyse several terabytes of data a day, which has taken up a considerable amount of my run-time."

"I'll get Andrew to polish your screen as a thank you. Was there anything else?"

"Yes,"Tim confirmed, his voice suddenly taking on a worried tone. "I have been intercepting transmissions from a UN military base located in Ohio. These are on a channel that would not normally be monitored by any known military organisation, suggesting a clandestine and possibly unauthorised project."

"And you think this might concern us?"

"It may concern everyone. It relates to something called Project Doomsday."