Wahi there! This one's really old, but I'll post it anyway. And I don't own anything. I'm poor. so suing would just be stupid.

"P.D. East once said, 'Love your enemies. It makes them so damn mad.' It sounds like a fun thing to try, just to see if it really works. I didn't think I could really love them though. until now."

The sun breaks through the window of Darien's apartment. A loud ringing is heard. Darien yawns and shrugs as he awakes from a deep rest. He habitually looks at his wrist for evidence of a red coloring, but sees none. He smiles and is amused by the fact that he no longer has to worry about that particular frustration. Darien steps onto the cold floor and makes his way to the telephone.

"Hello" he says in a general manner. "Fawkes, where are you?! We can't start on this case without you!" "Hold up Official, remember the whole I set my own hours thing?" "I don't care! Get yourself down here right now!"

Darien hung up the phone and yawned again.

"This is going to be one of those days" he says to himself.

Darien arrives at the agency in no particular hurry, but is met in the hall by Eberts who has obviously been looking for him.

"Darien, there you are. You must hurry the Official wants to see you right away." "So I've heard"

Darien walks down the hall and opens the door marked 202. He noticed several familiar figures in the room, but one person in particular caught his attention.

"Hey, aren't you that guy whose in charge of Adam Reese's case? Is everything ok?" "Not exactly" the man replied. "That's what I'm here about." "He's right" the Official chimed in. "You see, cryo-chambers do not stop growth, they only slow it down" the man stated. "Adam reached puberty while in the cryo-chamber and the disease has begun to eat away at him and we have not been able to formulate a cure. Even with the chamber slowing the disease, it is spreading at an unexpectedly fast rate and if nothing is done, we will lose him within a week's time." "Now do you see why I wanted you here" the Official butted in. "We believe Crystalis might have obtained a cure from the original creators of the disease. We were able to link several Crystalis members to the initial research. This might be one of their plans to destroy the human race" Eberts says. "And with your 'special skill', you can infiltrate the Crystalis H.Q. and see if you can find any files pertaining to the project." "Sure, anything to help the poor guy" Darien stated. "Am I going in alone?" "No, I want Hobbs there as your backup." the Official stated. "So what are we waiting for?"

Bobby and Darien get in the van and begin to formulate a plan as they make their way towards Crystalis' headquarters.

"What's the plan partner?" Bobby states. "The plan is there is no plan" Darien says as he looks out the window. "I think it will take a long time for us to find out enough to help the kid." "They said we have a week, and we can get closer than anyone else so we have the best advantage. I just hope Crystalis hasn't wised up and put in thermal security cams." "I think you are overestimating their intelligence my friend."

Bobby parks the van several blocks from the Crystalis building.

"That should be enough for them not to suspect us" he said. "Time for your disappearing act."

They both get out of the van and head into a nearby alley. Darien places his hand on Bobby's shoulder and allows the quicksilver to coat the both of them. Darien and Bobby quietly make their way down the street and into Crystalis' building.

Darien motions Bobby into an opening elevator door and they ascend into the core of Crystalis operations. Through much snooping and following of important-looking people, Bobby and Darien make their way into a secured room. By this time Darien was tired of standing and wanted to talk with Hobbs, but refrained from doing so. Bobby went into secret spy mode and began to carefully overlook the room. Just then, two scientists entered the room.

"The boy will enter puberty any day now, with or without the cryo-pod. It will no longer hold the disease back." "So, what's the problem then?" "He can't spread the disease if he is still frozen. Has the retrieval team been inoculated for the disease?" "Yes, but the inoculation might not be effective if one of them catches the disease before their bodies are able to work up a resistance." "Does Stark want us to work on a cure, just in case?" "It doesn't matter what he thinks anymore, but the new project leader wants us to make a backup cure." "How long do we have to develop it and test it?" "They are estimating that the disease will have gone into a non- contagious state within five days of it becoming active." "That means we don't have much time."

The scientists leave the room and Bobby motions Darien into a store closet which he had thoroughly checked for cameras. Darien lets the quicksilver fall away from their bodies.

"This is perfect" Bobby says. "They can tell us everything and not even realize it." "What did they mean when they said Stark's opinion no longer mattered?" "I don't know." "I hope those scientists can find a cure for it in enough time for us to get it back to Claire." "Me too"

Bobby and Darien hang around the room and leave at night to keep Claire updated on the situation. After three days of tailing the scientists involved with the cure, they run into Stark. It was night-time and the scientists had left. They were about to find their way out of the building when Stark came in and deactivated the cameras. He went over to the computers and opened all of the project's files. He saved the data to a disc and was on the verge of erasing the data from the computer when Darien, allowing himself to be visible, lunged at him and knocked him from the chair. Hobbs, now also visible, ran over to aid his partner.

"What are you doing here?!" Stark exclaimed. "Seems like the same thing you are. trying to steal the cure data" Darien responded. Stark felt it was his obligation to enlighten us on Crystalis' newest agenda. "They have all gone insane. They think any normal person, including the ones that founded this organization, are worthless to them. They were not planning on giving the cure to anyone besides themselves. That includes the normal people who work for them. I am no longer going to sit around and let them take over. This is not what Crystalis was founded on!" "Wait, hold up. You want to hurt Crystalis?" "Punish them; they need to be taught respect!" "We need the cure. If you give it to us we will make sure it is used to cure the boy that is harboring the disease" Hobbs says. "If I give it to you, you must promise to take the blame for this." "Sure, we usually do" Darien stated.

Stark reluctantly hands over the disc. Bobby and Darien watch as he erases all of the data in their files.

"This never happened" Stark said at last.

Darien quicksilvered himself and Bobby as Stark reset the security camera and made a hasty exit.

Back at the Agency, Claire goes over the files and completes the cure. The cure is rushed to the man in charge of Adam's case and the cure is immediately given to Adam. Darien watched as the cure was given.

"So are you going to un-freeze him now?" "No, he must stay frozen until the cure has completely destroyed the disease. Even with the cure, we don't want to take any chance of the disease being spread." "How long will it take for the cure to take out the disease?" "We aren't entirely sure, but we will notify you when he is taken out of the cryo-stasis."

A few days later, Darien goes to meet a boy on a public basketball court.

"Hey Adam, how are you doing?" "They told me what you did for me, thanks." "I told you everything would be ok. So, do you think that all that time out of action affected your shot any" Darien said as he threw Adam the ball.

Adam smiles as he dribbles towards the goal.

"Times like this make me wonder who the bad guy really is. I'm not sure what to think about Stark's decision to help us. He might have been saying those things just to get on our good side, or we might have been set up, but P. D. East was right, it ticks me off."

"What do you have to say about the incident" a young man asked Stark. "This should tell you that I am better off running the shots than any of the people you put on the case. At least I wouldn't have let the Agency infiltrate the building and steal files!" "Very well, you are to be put back in charge of operations."

Stark smiles with an heir of satisfaction.

End!

*looks at the button down there* well?