Gene Nation

by Blood Clover

This is the sequel to Lost in the Crowd so read that first. The Roswell Gang, Serena and Oz are now employed by the US government, so this should be all sorts of fun....

A/N: This is NOT a crossover with X-Men, or anything else Marvel, even though they had a team named Gene Nation, This Is NOT them. However, for all intents and purposes, Maria now has the same powers as Psylocke, namely the psychic katana.
A/N 2: The song is Green Day's best ever, and it's called Good Riddance(Time of your Life)

In this Part: Maria awakens. Tess and Kyle tell the others about what happened to the orbs. Michael calls a truce. Max, Liz, Tess and Kyle find Serena and Oz in an awkward moment...

Quote of the Day:
"I was trying to build something. Think of it: Instead of sending a thousand troops into battle and losing a hundred, I'd be sending ten perfect soldiers and losing none."
Donald Lydecker- Dark Angel – 'And Jesus Brought a Casserole'

Part I: New Beginnings part 2
(Picks up right where New Beginnings left off in Lost in the Crowd)
Train Compartment
Maria is screaming for all that she is worth as Katie draws out her powers. Max, Michael and Liz soon come running to investigate and see what all the commotion is all about and find Katie assisting an exhausted Maria to lay down on the bench. Michael waits until Maria is asleep, then grabs Katie by the shirt.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Michael demands as Max and Liz check on Maria.
"What she asksed me to do." Katie replies, pulling away from Michael.
"And that is?" Liz asks quietly.
"Maria is like me and Amy and Brad. She's a mutant, I just helped her draw out her latent power."
"She never said…" Liz trails off, but Katie shakes her head.
"She didn't know." Katie corrects her.
"What exactly is it that she can do?" Max asks.
"I'm not sure, but she has a lot of power within her." Katie tells them
Max, Michael, Liz and Katie all look at Maria as she moans in her sleep. Michael reaches down to comfort her.

Storage Cart- RV
Kyle stares at Tess in confusion. "What do you mean, they're coming to take us home?"
"They're coming for me, Max, Issy, and Michael. They're coming to take us home to Antar." Tess replies.
"Just the four of you?" Kyle asks, forlornly.
Tess gives him a disbelieving look. "Kyle, I told you back in Roswell that I wasn't going anywhere without you. Did you think that had changed."
Kyle's frown vanished immediately and he smiles. "We should tell the others."
Tess nods. "But let's wait until later. I was comfortable." She says and pulls Kyle down onto the bed with her.

Storage Cart- Oz's Van
Serena and Oz are laying under the sheets of the bed in the back of the van. Their clothes are strewn all over the floor of the van.
"Well that was different." Serena says, a wide grin on her face.
"For me too." Oz concurs.
"That's never happened to you before?" Serena asks.
"Not like that, it hasn't." Oz replies.
"It felt like I was actually flying through the cosmos." Serena says. "I'll have to ask Tess if it's a side effect of all of this alien stuff."
Oz is quiet for a moment. "Do you want to do it again?"
"Not right now, just hold me." Serena answers and Oz complies, pulling Serena in close so that her head is resting against his chest.
They both look extremely content as they drift off to sleep.

'Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road'
Alex is playing with his guitar for Isabel. She's smiling happily, and bobbing to the rhythm of the music.
'Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.'
Max and Liz are eating breakfast.
'So make the best of this passing known as why'
Kyle and Tess are spooning on the bed in the RV.
'It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time'
Serena and Oz are sleeping soundly on Oz's van bed
'It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right'
Katie and Amy are talking over a cup of coffee.
'I hope you've had the time of your life'
Michael is kneeling by a slowly recovering Maria. She slowly opens her eyes and looks at Michael's careworn face.
"Why'd you do it, Maria?" Michael asks after a moment of silence.
"Because I didn't want to be the odd one out anymore, Michael. Besides, it would have happened eventually." Maria says, somewhat flippantly.
"You could have told someone about this before you went and did this." Michael snapped.
"Why you're not my keeper, Michael, and you don't own me." Maria shot back.
"Whatever. You know what- screw this." Michael says, moving to storm off, but Maria thinks he's going to hit her and lashes out, throwing him backwards with a psychic burst of energy. He hits the other wall of the compartment and slumps onto the seat, clutching his stomach in pain as if he had been punched hard in the gut. Maria squeaks and sits up.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" Maria stutters, but Michael doesn't listen as he makes his way out of the compartment, leaving a saddened Maria behind.

Alex and Isabel's compartment.
Alex is still playing his guitar and attemoting to sing as Isabel laughs at his horrible attempt. The two of them look over as the door panel slides open and a tearfilled Maria enters.
"Ria? What's the matter?" Alex asks, dropping his guitar and wrapping his lifelong friend in a hug.
"I think that I made a horrible mistake and now there's no way that I can go back." Maria cries into Alex's shoulder.
"What mistake?" Isabel asks.
"Katie Beck has the power to sense the powers of other people and how powerful they are. She told me and Kyle back in the transport that she sensed that I had a lot of untapped power in me and offered to draw it out for me so that I could better defend myself. I accepted her offer and when I woke up I accidentally attacked Michael and now he hates me!" Maria blubbers, and both Alex and Isabel gather the trembling girl in a hug.

Diner Cart
"Well, it looks like we won't be getting married in 'Frisco'." Liz pouts.
"So we'll have to make plans for it in DC." Max tells her, and she grins. Her grin quickly fades as she recalls the vision she had a few nights before. Max notes the change of expression on her face immediately. "What is it?"
"With all the stuff that's gone on over the last couple of days, we forgot to tell everyone about the vision I had of Antar." Liz says.
"Oh yeah, we should probably round them up and let them know." Max says, but Liz grabs his wrist and stops him from getting up.
"When I said that there were three people that were with our group that I had never seen before. Katie Beck was one of them." Liz whispers. "Which was my reasoning to trust them."
"There could have been more people that go with us besides those three people." Max reminded her. "Your visions don't always have the whole story."
"I know, let's just hold off on telling them about the Katie part until we know more about the Gene Nation." Liz says.
Max nods. "Whetever you think is best, my queen to be." He says sweetly.
"Thank you, my king…" Liz says with a chuckle then she and Max both burst into laughter. "Come on, lets go find the others."

Compartment
Michael is sitting in a compartment by himself, watching MTV on the tv that had been installed above the seat across from him. He hears a knock on the door, and without looking over speaks. "Maria, I was pretty clear when I said I had nothing to say to you earlier, go away."
The person knocks again and Michael looks over, and sees that it's Isabel.
"Oh. It's you." Michael says, greeting Isabel with indifference.
"What the hell is the matter with you!" Isabel shouts at Michael angrily. "Maria just gave up any semblance of a normal life that she had the luxury of having that the rest of us- You. Me. Max. Tess. Liz. Kyle. Alex. Hell, even Serena and Oz. We don't have that opportunity anymore. She did, and she gave it up so that she could be with you and not be a burden and this is how you treat her? If that's how you really feel, then I feel sorry for you Michael."
"I'm trying here, Issy." Michael says.
"Well then I suggest you take your ass on out of here and go find Maria and make up with her. The ten of us need to pull together if we're gonna make it through this in one piece." Isabel says.
"Okay, fine. Where is she?"

Storage Car- RV
Kyle and Tess wake up at the sound of Max and Liz knocking on the door, looking for the pair of them. Tess gets up and throws one of Kyle's t-shirts on before answering the door.
"What's up guys?" Tess asks, sweetly.
"We need to have a meeting. Liz had a vision a couple days ago, and we didn't get a chance to tell anyone before all of this stuff happened." Max says.
"It did'nt have anything to do with us going to Antar did it?" Tess asks, jokingly. Max and Liz exchange a glance, that both Kyle and Tess catch. "Oh…" Tess says.
"How did you know?" Max asks curiously.
"I think I accidentally sent the signal for them to come and get us." Tess reveals. "Me and Kyle were lying in here and.."
"We heard the orbs beeping, and Tess went to get them. A few moments after she picked them up, they exploded and knocked her unconscious for a few minutes." Kyle finishes, not giving the full story of what they had been doing, but it's pretty obvious.
"So.." Tess says. "I think I heard Serena and Oz come in the storage car earlier, so their probably in Oz's Van."
The four hybrids leave the RV, and walk over to where Oz's van is parked further back. As the four approach, they can see that the windows are all fogged up. Max leads the way over and throws the side door open, causing a startled Serena to scream and Oz falls off of the bed. Serena gathers all of the sheets up around herself as fast as she can.
"Shut the door, are youy fucking crazy! Shut the door!" Serena screams at Max, who just stands there dumbstruck. Kyle takes charge and slides the door shut quickly.
"We're having a meeting in ten minutes. Freshen up and we'll see you there!" Tess calls out jokingly, drawing a smiley face on the side of the van's door.

Compartment
Alex and Maria are sitting in the compartment together, watching the landscape as it passes. The door slides open and Michael walks in. Alex gets up and starts to leave.
"It looks like you two have a bit to talk about." Alex says leaving the compartment. Michael nods at him in thanks, then turns to Maria who is still staring out the window, ignoring him.
"I wanted to apologize for earlier. I was a little jealous that you had a choice to have powers or not and that you chose to have them." Michael tells her.
"That's stupid Michael. Everyone else could defend themselves and I couldn't. You can blow things up. Max has his shield. Liz, Tess and Issy can blast, Serena's got her plasma bursts, Alex has his telekinesis, and Kyle can create fire from nothing. Even Oz has powers to an extent. I was tired of being the other person in the group, and now I'm not. I can do this." Maria says, and sticks her hand out and an energy sword materializes in her hand. She swings it around, moving to hit Michael with it, but letting it dissolve before it makes contact.
"Don't tell me that you're sorry, Michael. Prove it to me."
"If it's the last thing I do…. I will." Michael swears.
To Be Continued……

When I was walking up the stairs, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. I wish, I wish he'd go away.

Gene Nation
Part 2: Arrivals and Meetings

Quotes of the Day:
"If Vince and Paul Heyman wanted to put ECW on a network with no moral highground, hell no morals at all, they should just put it on the WB. God knows that they need the positive PR for keeping Charmed on for eight years."
Me on ECW's debut on Sci-Fi Channel

"We've had a lot of laughs tonight. But I'll tell you something that's not funny. Killing strippers. Strippers are people too. Naked people who may be willing to pleasure you for a price you negotiate later behind the curtain of a VIP room. Besides, theres no need to kill them, cause most of them are already dead inside. Goodnight everyone."
Peter Griffin- Family Guy

Authors Note: The whole Topolski and the remnants of the old Special Unit storyline will be resolved in the next two chapters, I promise and then we'll never have to see Darla… oopppsss Topolski again.
A/N 2: I have been in love with Katharine Isabelle since I saw her in Disturbing Behavior in 1998 when I was fifteen, thus I paired the character portrayed by me, with her character. Marry Me Katharine! Pleeeeese? Okay enough of that..

In This Part: The gang gets new accommodations and meets more members of Gene Nation. Topolski returns and proves that she is truly out for blood.

Four Days Later
Camden Station- Baltimore, Maryland

Tess, Serena and Kyle are watching the station come closer and closer from where they are hanging out the window. Kyle notes that the sign at the station says Camden Station- Baltimore, Maryland.
He turns to where Katie is sitting. "I thought we were going to DC."
"We are, there's a caravan of cars waiting by at the station that will take us into DC." Katie replies. "I don't lie to people. I don't know what I have to do to prove myself to you guys."
"It's alright Katie, we- I trust you." Serena says, and Tess nods after a moment.
"So where are we going to be living?" Tess asks.
Katie smiles. "We live about a mile under the Lincoln Memorial. There's a bunch of old bunkers that have been converted into the head quarters of the Gene Nation.
"And you all live down there?" Kyle asks. Katie nods with a grin.
"It's like a five star hotel." She tells them.
"Why did they want us in on this project so much?" Tess asks. "And bunkers a mile underground? They could lock us down and starve us if they wanted."
"I can personally assure you that isn't going to happen. I've been with the project for seven years now, recruited right after high school.' Amy says. "They even paid for my college tuition, something my dad wouldn't have been able to do on his best day."
"They'd pay for us to go to college?" Tess asks, her eyes brightening immediately, and Amy and Katie both nod.
"Before this all went down and we were forced to leave Roswell, I was supposed to go to Boston University for the fall. Maybe now I can go again."
Katie shrugs. "Talk to Edward Sinclair, the guy who runs the nation, but for the stuff he sends us on, I think that he'd prefer you guys going to college closer to home."
"And what exactly is it that he sends you on?" Kyle asks.
"Data retrieval, tracking and survellience, we even stand in as secret service for the president and top political figures from time to time." Amy lists off. "Nothing too dangerous."
"So in short, they want us to play soldiers." Serena sums up. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea."
"It's only be for a couple of months Serena." Tess whispers into the ear of her best friend, trying to be discreet, but Katie hears her anyways and makes a note to ask them about it later in private.
"What about my father and Agent Duff?" Kyle asks
"They're going to be working with us indirectly as part of the new and improved special unit." Katie answers. "We're almost there, so we should probably get ready to get off
The five of them leave the compartment to gather their personal things as the train begins to slow to a stop.

Camden Station
The train is now completely stopped and the gang is disembarking from it. Once they are all off of the train, Amy leads the way over to the parking lot where the caravan of eight black cars are waiting.
"What about our vehicles?" Oz asks. "That van has a lot of sentimental value to me."
"All of your vehicles will be moved to the parking complex above the Gene Nation. You can get them there later after you've been orientated into the nation, that is if you still want to do this." Katie says, and everyone, including Michael surprisingly, nods that they still want to be able to stop running.
"Okay then." Amy says. "Let's go to Headquarters.."
Tess, Kyle, and Katie got into a car together, Max and Liz, Michael, Alex and Isabel, Maria, Serena and Oz, and Amy got in to a car with some of the guards that had come with them. The other three members of Gene Nation had already flown back to rejoin their faction in DC, and they would probably not have anymore contact with the alien hybrids, Maria or Oz whatsoever.
About forty five minutes later, the cars pulled to a stop in front of what appeared to be a loading bay.
Tess and Kyle watched as Katie pulled a cell phone out of her jacket pocket and dialed a number quickly.
"Hey Lucas, It's Katie. We've got the new recruits, have Peters open the gate." Katie says quickly, then nods. "Yeah I missed you too. See you soon." She hung up. She looked over at Tess and Kyle who are smiling broadly.
"Is there some kind of backstory here?" Tess asks with a grin.
Katie blushes. "No. We grew up together in Massachusetts and he worries when we are separated for more than a couple of days, we've been tracking you since the explosion at Rogers a month back. Me and him and his brother Ryan all joined the nation about four years ago. We were high school sophomores at the time." Katie explains. "I wouldn't mind something happening between us, but I think he thinks of me like a sister." She adds as an after thought as the gate comes up and several heavily armed guards come out.
"Who are they?" Kyle asks, nervously, and Katie glances at the men.
"They're here to kill you." She says.
Kyle's hands burst into flames and Tess raises her arm to blast, but Katie waves her arms. "Relax, relax. They're just coming out to make sure that nobody else gets into the compound before the doors close again." Katie assures them. "They're here for our safety."
The caravan of cars pass through the threshold and into the building. They drive down a long tunnel that goes under the city. As the door begins to close, a masked person comes out of nowhere and guns down the three men guarding the door. The figure quickly ducks under the descending steel door, a garbage truck approaching with the two men that were in Roswell, planning to kill the gang. They get out, dump the bodies into the back and drive off. The figure unmasks and it's Topolski.
"Looks like I've got some business to wrap up." She quips, tossing the mask away and reloading the gun before following the caravan of cars down the tunnel.

Gene Nation Briefing Room
There are four people in the room already, sitting around the table . Three look to be in their early twenties- two guys and a woman, and one is a middle aged man. The doors open and Amy and Katie walk in, leading the Roswell entourage. The four people gathered around the table stand in greeting and the middle-aged man motions for everyone to take a seat.
"Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Edward Sinclair, and I am the founder of this organization, Gene Nation. The purpose of Gene Nation is to create a safe haven for people with 'special' talents. In return, we ask that you work for the FBI. For those of you who are new, allow me to introduce you to the people that you'll be working with during your tenure in this organization. You have already met Ms. Beck and Ms. Bishop. To my left is Ms. Gwen Raiden, our electrical thief, and the two men to my right are the Masterson brothers, Lucas, our muscle man and Ryan, our speed demon. If you could all introduce yourself and name your powers." Sinclair requests. None of the gang seems to want to go first so Oz stands.
"I'm Daniel Osbourne, call me Oz, and I'm a werewolf." Oz says and sits back down, not noticing the look of wonder that Gwen throws him.
Serena stands next. "I'm Serena Crowley, originally from Anaheim, California and I can create and fire plasma bombs."
Tess gets up. "I'm Tess Harding, and I can manipulate people's minds. I can also heal minor wounds and unleash energy blasts."
"I'm Kyle Valenti, and my powers are like the Human Torch from Marvel comics, except I can't fly… that I know of."
The rest of the gang introduces themselves and get acquainted with the Gene Nation members somewhat before Sinclair gets a phone call and promptly ends the meeting saying that something has come up. He turns to Katie. "Show our new members where they will be staying from now on. Bishop, Raiden, Masterson, Masterson- with me."
Sinclair gets up and leaves the room, Gwen, Amy, and Ryan following quickly. Lucas hesitates for a moment, throwing a glance at Katie, who smiles.
"We'll talk later." She mouths and Lucas nods, following the others.
"Come on." Katie says, looking at the apprehensive faces of the Roswell entourage. "I'll show you to where the living quarters are."

Living Quarters
Katie leads the way into the luxurious lobby of the living quarters. She stops and addresses the gang.
"Okay, listen up everyone, cause I don't want to repeat this. The bedrooms are up the stairs to the left. Each of them has their own private bathroom. Kitchen, dining and recroom are up the stairs to the right. There is a pool and workout room down the east hall. The north hall under the staircases leads to doors. The left one is the computers room, and the right one leads to an elevator that will bring you up to the parking lot. Any questions?"
"About the bedrooms…" Tess trails off shyly.
"One per room. It's a stupid rule but this is Sinclair's show and he calls the shots. Sorry. " Katie says apologetically. Suddenly a gunshot goes off and Katie looks down to see a red mark begin to stain through the fabric of her shirt. The others all stare at her in horror. Katie limply touches her wound.
"But I…." Katie manages to gasp out before crumpling to the ground. Topolski is standing about fifteen feet behind her, a sadistic smirk plastered on her face and smoking gun in hand..
"We have unfinished business, Mr. Evans…" Topolski sneers.
To Be Continued…..

Gene Nation
Part 3: Political Prisoner

Quote of the Day:
"I don't regret the things I've done, but those I didn't do."
Lucas- Empire Records

Author's Note: With Oz and Gwen in the fic now, I will be bringing in one last character from the BtVS/AtV-verse to be a pairing for Gwen. Anyone wanna guess as to who it is? He will appear by the end of this fic.

In this Chapter: Max and Gwen save Katie. The gang checks out their new home. Oz gets a glimpse into Serena's past. Topolski reveals that there is a mutant and alien hunter out there who is more dangerous than Pierce, Hubble, and all of the Special Unit put together.

Kyle and Serena spring into action, Kyle bursting into flames, and Serena charges up some plasma bombs. Alex pulls Katie over to him with his telekinesis. He turns to Max who gets ready to put up his shield.
"Max, you gotta heal her." Alex says. Max nods, and moves forward, placing his hands on Katie, pulling her up so that one hand is on the wound on her back and the other is on the bullethole in her chest. Alex tilts her head so that she is looking at Max, her eyes beginning to glaze over.
"Katie, listen, you gotta stay with me okay?" Max says, reaching out with his powers and making a connection with Katie as he begins to bring her back to life.
Kyle, Tess, Michael and Serena are facing off with Topolski.
"What the hell is your problem?" Michael yells, blasting Topolski's gun away.
"She's mutant scum, and makes for nice collateral when I get finished with you." Topolski says going for her gun. Serena blasts a stream of plasma at it and Kyle wraps fire around the blast, preventing Topolski from getting her weapon. She look dutifully impressed.
"So now, I'm unarmed. What are you going to- argghhh!" Topolski screams as Maria flings a psychic dagger at her, hitting her in the head and shortcircuiting her brain, knocking her unconscious.
"Mutant scum, huh." Maria sneers, staring at Topolski's unconscious form.
Max is still healing the extensive damage to Katie from the gun. After a moment he pulls back, and the damage is gone, but Katie still doesn't move. Max checks her pulse.
"She's gone." He says after a moment. Alex, Liz and Isabel look at the ground.
Suddenly the other members of Gene Nation; Gwen, Lucas, Ryan and Amy come running in. Lucas sees Topolski unconscious on the ground, the remains of the gun a few feet away Katie's body and runs over. Amy claps a hand over her mouth and starts crying.
Lucas looks at Katie and doesn't see anything wrong with her. "What the hell.?"
"I healed her, but it was too late." Max says sadly, his head down.
"Maybe not." Gwen says, making her way over quickly. "Put her on the ground Lucas, and everyone stand back, Now!"
Lucas realizes what she plans to do and lays Katie's limp form onto the ground and backs away, pushing Max, Liz and Alex back. Gwen walks up to Katie and kneels down beside her. She rubs her hands together then quickly slams the palm of her right hand against Katie's chest, pulling it back just as quickly. Katie's body convulses as a thousand volts of electricity surge through her and she gasps as she wakes up. She opens her eyes and Gwen backs off quickly, allowing Lucas to move in and pick her up.
"What happened?" Katie asks confused.
"Katie, you were shot, Max healed you and then Gwen jumpstarted your heart. I'm bringing you to your room so you can rest." Lucas tells her.
"Mmmkay." Katie says and falls asleep in Lucas's arms. Lucas looks at Max and Gwen and mouths a silent thanks before heading up the stairs on the left.
The other thirteen members of Gene Nation turn to look at Topolski's prone body.
"What are we going to do with her?" Amy asks after a moment of silence.
"Toss her in the brig, even I couldn't get out of there." Gwen suggests with a shrug.
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Amy agrees.
Ryan grabs Topolski by the collar of her shirt and hauls her over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a flash he says, shooting out of the room in a blur of motion. Gwen heads up to her room. Amy turns to the group. "You guys should probably find your rooms. Come on, I'll show you which ones have been designated to each of you."

Empty Bedroom
The door opens and Serena walks in, carrying a bag of that hold all that she owns, minus her car. She takes a look around the room, which is like Katie had said that it would be like. She grins and tosses the bag onto the bed. She opens it and pulls out a worn out beach towel, making a note to go shopping with Tess as soon as possible to get some more clothes and possibly a tv, provided that they could get reception a mile underground. She stripped out of her clothes and made her way over to the bathroom for a much needed shower.
After taking a relaxing forty five minute shower, Serena wrapped herself in the towel and got dressed in her last set of clean clothes.
She took her dirty clothes and went over to the closet, gasping as she opened the door. Inside the closet were several crisp black business suits and an array of various pieces of clothing for seemingly every possible occasion. Upon checking the tags on the suits, Serena found that they were exactly in her size.
"Wow, this must have cost a fortune." She says appreciatively. She grabs one of the suits and goes to try it on.

Parking Garage
Kyle and Oz are moving Oz's stuff out of his van and onto a dolley that they found in a closet.
"So…" Kyle starts, attempting to make conversation. "You and Serena, huh?"
"Last I checked, yeah." Oz replies
"That's good." Kyle says genially. "The two of you are good together."
"Thanks. Hey help me get the drum set out of here." Oz says.
"Why do you want all this stuff out anyways?" Kyle asks.
"Back when we were in Vegas, Tess told me that she played drums, Alex played guitar and Maria sang. So I talked to Sinclair about setting up something in the rec room and he agreed." Oz informs Kyle.
"Ah, Dan Osbourne's tour of Washington DC. We should sell tickets." Kyle says with a smirk and Oz chuckles.

Holding Cell #3
Ryan walks into the cell, Topolski still slung over his shoulder. He drops her unceremoniously onto the ground, and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. Topolski begins to come to and sits up.
"Shit, Roarke is never gonna let me hear the end of this." She mutters, pulling herself up against the wall.

Tess's Room
Tess is busy at work, recoloring the dull gray walls to black with white splotches in an attempt to make it resemble the night sky. Liz walks in and gasps in wonder at the display. Tess turns and sees Liz standing there.
"What's up Liz?" Tess asks.
"Max, Issy, Alex and I are going out to get pizza, and I was wondering if you and Kyle wanted to come?" Liz offers, and Tess nods after a moment.
"Yeah, just let me finish getting unpacked and I'll meet you down in the entry area in about ten minutes." Tess says with a smile.
Liz nodded with a grin and left the room, allowing Tess to finish her unpacking.

Katie's room
Katie is lying in bed, sleeping lightly. Her nose twitches and she begins to wake up. She slowly opens her eyes. Sinclair, Lucas and Amy are standing by her bed.
"What happened?" Katie asks confused, the events of a few hours previous still fuzzy in her mind. She remembered being in a lot of pain all of a sudden, then blackness.
"Agent Kathleen Topolski, the woman who was trying to take out our new friends, found her way into the complex some how, and shot you in the back." Edward explains. "Max healed you, and Gwen jumpstarted your heart. I'm not going to lie to you Katie, you almost died tonight. I'm going to end that woman's career tonight." He says angrily, pulling his cell phone out and leaving the room to call Duff and Valenti.
Lucas moves in close to Katie. "You did give us quite a scare out there Kat. Don't do it again."
"I promise." Katie says, looking deep into Lucas's grey-blue eyes. He moves in and she licks her lips in anticipation. He kisses her forehead.
"Get some rest and we'll talk more in the morning." Lucas says, then gets up and leaves Katie's room. Amy watches the expression on Katie's face go from joyful to needing.
"You're really in love with him? Aren't you?" Amy asks, and Katie nods hesitantly.
"You can't say any thing though. Sinclair would take me off the team." Katie pleads.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna say anything, Kat. We've known each other for three years now. You don't have to worry."

Main Entryway
Kyle, Liz, Max, Isabel and Alex are all gathered around the entryway, waiting for Tess. She soon makes her appearance and bounds down the steps to join the group waiting for her. The six friends then head out to the parking lot of the complex and pile into the SUV, Alex taking the driver's seat and Issy taking shotgun. They drive off in search of a pizzeria.

Serena's room
Serena is looking though her black address book, looking for a number. After a moment she finds it, and pulls out her cell phone. She dials a number and waits while it rings. After the third ring, the answering machine picks up. "Hey You've reached the Crowleys, Susan, Liam, and Serena. Leave a message at the beep and we'll get back to you. Beep."
Serena opens her mouth to speak, but then quickly hangs up the phone.
"You never told your parents about your gifts or that you were leaving?" Oz asks from the doorway. Serena turns to face them.
" No. They're really old fashioned and I was afraid they would disown me." Serena explains sadly.
"Bigots?" Oz asks sympathetically.
"Somewhat, but they mean well." Serena replies, her voice strained.
"How long ago did you leave?"
"Bout a year and a half ago, give or take." Serena says shrugging.
"You should call them, they must be frantic." Oz says.
"I just need some time to settle in. You know that I haven't stayed in a single place for more than a week for the last year." Serena say. "Give me a little time to get used to not having to run anymore, and then I'll call them. I promise."
Oz nods and Serena walks over and kisses him. "What d'ya say we break in the bed lover?" Serena asks seductively. Oz grins and shuts and locks the door, then picks up Serena in his arms and moves toward the bed, Serena laughing in his arms and kissing him.

Holding Cell # 3
Topolski is sitting against the wall when the door opens and Lucas walks in, flanked by Agent Susan Duff and Agent Jim Valenti.
"Kathleen Topolski, you are hereby under arrest for breaking and entering, attempted murder of Federal Agent Katie Beck, and for violating the terms of your release from service.." Duff announces, moving forward. Topolski moves to attack her, but Lucas punches her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
"You have no idea what's coming." Topolski sneers, wiping the blood off of her cheek. "He's the one calling the shots now. An alien and mutant hunter more dangerous than Pierce, Hubble, and all of the special unit put together. He'll find out about this operation and He will erase all of you from existence." Topolski says scathingly. "And I'll have the last laugh."
Lucas has heard enough. He punches Topolski in the face again, knocking her unconscious. He turns to Duff and Valenti. "You can get her out of here now. Thanks for the help." Lucas says, leaving the room. Duff and Valenti quickly hoist up Topolski's limp form and carry her out of the room and out of the lives of everyone at Gene Nation.
To Be Continued…….