She looked up at the imposing building through the heavy iron gates. It had been so long since she had been back to the mansion in Old City; it had been so long since she had been back to Old City period. She couldn't help but wonder if she was making a mistake coming back now, but Dr Magnus had specifically asked her to come, she had all but begged. It had been over ten years since they had seen each other and they certainly hadn't parted on friendly terms so it was with trepidation and a heavy heart that she pressed the buzzer on the gates.

"Hello." said the deep husky voice over the intercom.

"It's Hannah." she answered with more courage than she was actually feeling, hoping there wouldn't be any need to elaborate any more than that.

The gate buzzed and swung forward and she walked up the long front drive towards the big entry doors.

As she walked up the front steps the door swung open before her and with one final quick breath she swallowed her fear and walked in. The doors swung shut behind her and she turned quickly jumping with a start when she saw the man beast standing beside the closed doors. She took him in for a brief second, his huge stature, his matted hair, his deformed face before a slow smile spread across her face lighting up her grey eyes.

"Aargh Hannah." he said with a quick double nod of his head.

"Big guy." she answered as she set bags on the beside the wall and stepped into his arms for a bear hug.

"Missed aargh aargh you." he said.

"I missed you too." she answered as she placed a kiss on his hairy cheek. "Where is she?" she asked as she glanced down to the floor to hide the anxiety she knew would be reflected in her eyes.

"Her office." he answered as he nodded down the hall. "Don't leave again without aargh aargh saying goodbye?"

She shook her head and placed her hand softly on his cheek before heading off down the hall.

"Who's that?" a voice asked quietly from beside the big guy as he watched her disappear down the hall. But he just shook his head and walked off in the other direction.

Will just looked at him and then hurried off after the girl.

"Hey. Hey wait." he called when she came back into view around the next corner.

She turned back and looked at him, she was slightly intrigued because he wasn't someone she knew from her past so she waited for him to catch up. She didn't mind the look of him at all with his slightly mussed short brown hair and average athletic build. She thought he was probably in half decent shape and his jeans sat nicely on his hips. As he got closer she was drawn to the soft texture of his mouth and the way his bottom lip sat slightly lower than his teeth exposing a row of pure human imperfection. She was taken by it immediately, by him and she couldn't draw her eyes away from his mouth. She knew instantly he was human, just as confidently as she would have known if he wasn't, it was a gift she had discovered when she was only twelve years old. While Dr Magnus had run multitudes of tests on subjects to determine what they were, Hannah just knew. But Dr Magnus's tests weren't always accurate anyway; they had never confirmed Hannah's abilities.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Will asked as he stopped beside her.

"I'm here to see Helen Magnus." she answered and turned to continue walking, there weren't many she had to answer to and he certainly wasn't one of them.

Will reached out and gently grabbed her arm.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked and then glanced into her eyes. They were the clearest grey he had ever seen. Deep and mysterious, the sort of eyes that held a multitude of secrets and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to start unlocking as many of them as he could.

"She sent for me." she replied in contempt. "So no I don't actually have an appointment, but she is expecting Me." she looked up into his eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly.

"Dr Zimmerman." he answered. He was confused by the unmistakable urge he had to create an impression on this girl. "Will." he added as an afterthought. "And you are?"

"Hannah."

He waited for her to elaborate.

"Hannah?" he confimed. "Just Hannah?"

She nodded and made to leave again.

"Do you want me to show you the way?" he asked. It was as good an excuse as any to stay with her a little longer and he had an irrational urge to keep her near and protect her as best he could. She would only be a few years younger than him, if any at all, and she came across as someone who knew how to look after herself but still he felt overly protective of her.

"That's ok. I know the way." she answered and walked off quickly.

He was left standing there in a bit of a stupor watching her retreating form. Her denim jeans were sitting low on her slim hips and her long brown hair cascaded down her back in long defined ringlets.

"She is beautiful." he thought as she disappeared around the next corner and out of his view. Will spent the next few minutes standing thinking. He was racking his brain trying to figure out which abnormal he could use as an excuse to interrupt Magnus and hopefully get a proper introduction to the mysterious visitor. He knew there was a pressing issue that he urgently needed to discuss with Magnus. He just had to figure out which one. He couldn't go busting in there with any flimsy old excuse.

Dr Magnus sat contemplative at her desk. She already knew the girl was in the building and on her way. She had seen her on the monitors when she first came to the front gate. She was excited at the prospect of seeing her again after so many years, her heart rate stepped up a notch, but she was also apprehensive about what her reaction might me. She knew she would have to be subtle about getting Will to give her a psych exam, subtlety was always the key with Hannah, she was positive the girl was not entirely stable, but she also lived in hope that she had grown out of her wild fantasies. She had tested the girls' blood extensively and she knew without doubt that she was nothing more than human. She didn't have abnormal dna and she hadn't been able to prove the girl could do what she claimed.

She was still sitting thoughtfully with her fingers entwined and her forefingers placed in a steeple when the knock sounded on the office door.

Hannah stopped outside the door for the briefest moment before knocking gently.

"Come in." came the voice from inside.

She put her hand on the handle and turned the knob pushing the door open before her. She walked quietly into the room and nodded at the woman sitting on the other side of the desk .

"Hannah." Magnus said as she reached her.

"Helen." she answered coldly in reply.

"I've missed you."

"Really?" she wasn't really surprised she had missed her, but she was surprised she was expressing it so openly. It wasn't like Magnus to be so open about her emotions.

"Come and sit down Hannah. I want to talk to you."

"Just cut to the chase Helen. Why am I even here?" she asked as she sat down on the end of the couch.

"Can I get you a drink first? Tea? Coffee? Something cold?"

"Coffee. Please." she answered. "Better make it a strong one I think."

Helen pressed the intercom and spoke quickly.

"Big guy will be here with it soon. So what have you been doing with yourself?"

"Trust me you don't want to hear it. But I didn't come all this way just to make small talk. What are you after Helen? You obviously invited me here for a reason."

"Can't I just want to see you?"

Hannah just shook her head. "Not after more than ten years, you shut me out all that time, it's not quite that easy to fix."

"You were the one who left."

"I was a kid! I was seventeen years old and you wouldn't believe in me. You didn't even try to stop me from leaving."

"You were such a strong willed thing, so much older than your years. I didn't know how to stop you. I didn't know what to do." Helen looked at Hannah and shrugged. "And obviously you are still just as strong willed?"

"So you just did nothing." Hannah shook her head before continuing. "I am older than my years, so no, the last ten years hasn't changed me much at all."

"Hannah don't start that again." Helen replied again shaking her head. "Let's not go back down that track."

"Why am I here Helen?" Hannah sighed in frustration. She knew nothing would have changed but she was hoping.

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"A couple of projects I am working on at the moment."

"And how am I supposed to help you Helen. I don't have any special talents remember."

There was a knock on the door and big guy came in carrying a tray with some hot drinks. He didn't even look at either of the women as he placed the tray on the sideboard and left again quietly.

"You don't need special talents." Helen said as she passed Hannah the mug. "You're strong and fit and know how to handle yourself... And with Ashley gone..."

"Is that what this is about?" Hannah interrupted. "You need someone to replace Ashley?"

"NO! That's not what I meant. I just need the extra manpower now, I need your help." Helen looked away as she did every time she tried to talk about Ashley, the pain ripping another hole through her heart. "Did you hear about what happened?" she asked with a tear threatening to slip down her cheek.

Hannah just nodded but didn't say anything; she couldn't get past the knot in her throat. She may not have been here but she knew every detail of what had happened to Ashley. She had been exacting her own revenge on the Kabal at the same time Druitt and Tesla had been destroying them. That was why they had never managed to find Dana; Hannah had already had her discreetly taken care of. One day she thought she might fill Helen in on those details, one day when she didn't hate her so much. But despite what Helen had done Hannah had never stopped loving Ash, that little girl was precious and didn't deserve what had happened to her.

Hannah remembered when she had left, she hadn't been able to just take off without saying goodbye to Ash, she had gone into her room and found her playing kill the evil abnormal with her GI Joe and Ken dolls. She hadn't had the most normal of upbringings. She had started crying as soon as Hannah had told her she was leaving, she tried to explain why but at eleven years old she was too young to understand anything other than the fact that she wasn't going to see her again. Hannah ended up holding Ashley until she fell asleep and then she snuck out. She had tried for five years to get Helen to listen to her, to believe her and she couldn't keep fighting any more, not even for Ashley. She made sure to send her birthday and Christmas cards every year but she hadn't been able to give her any more than that, and now it was too late.

"I really don't want to talk about Ashley."

"Of course." Helen answered. "Maybe later?"

"Maybe not?"

Helen nodded. "Will you stay though?" Helen wasn't used to feeling so desperate but seeing this girl before her after so long had stirred some long buried emotions that she was trying not to feel.

Hannah nodded. "For a little while, but I can't promise anything. We'll just agree to disagree for a while and see how it all goes. Ok?"

"Ok." Helen agreed with relief. "I can't ask for any more than that."

Helen picked up the walked talkie sitting on the desk.

"Will?"

"Yeah Magnus." he answered. He was standing about twelve feet from Helens office door trying to muster the courage to interrupt her.

"Will you come to my office please?" she asked.

"Be right there." he answered with relief, at least he didn't need an excuse now and he knew Hannah was still in there. He would have seen her if she had left.

He knew he hadn't waited long enough when he knocked on the door but he didn't really care.

"That was quick." Magnus commented as he walked in.

Hannah just looked at him and smiled.

"Will? I'd like you to meet Hannah, she will be staying with us for a little while. I have set up the bedroom on the upper level if you would be so kind as to escort her there for me."

"We met before." Will clarified, "But I'll be happy to show you around a bit. There are a lot of restricted areas here although you shouldn't accidentally wander into them anyway."

"I know my way around thanks Will, but I would still appreciate an escort to my room. I could go a nice warm bath. I assume it's one of the rooms with a bath."

Helen nodded and smiled. "Of course."

Will looked at Magnus with raised eyebrows.

"Hannah will not be restricted here Will. She has the same security level I do."

"And is that all the explanations I get then?" he asked. The frustration was evident in his tone.

"What? Am I a secret now?" Hannah demanded of Helen.

"No of course not." Helen answered although unable to say the words. It had been so long since she had thought of her this way. "Hannah is my daughter Will. She is my first born."

Will looked at her aghast.