Penny bolts when confronted by not just Sheldon, but her own subconscious.

She was on autopilot. Her body moving independently of her mind. She took in her surroundings, and mentally shuddered. What the fuck was wrong with her? She tried to stop herself, to go back. Sheldon was right. She needed a doctor. But her damn legs kept moving. They took her further and further up the side street. Just ahead a man stepped out of a doorway. He had his hands in his pockets and he was watching her closely. She breezed right past him and he started to follow.

Penny felt her mind expand. It was like watching a coffee maker. Her mind was the empty urn and steadily a stream of memories began to drip into her consciousness. Her fear began to recede as she remembered. Slowly at first, but more quickly with each footstep. Ahead of her two more men stepped out of the shadows.

Her heartbeat evened out. She was no longer afraid. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail casually. She knew exactly what to do. And these men had no idea who they were messing with. She hoped they had medical insurance. They were going to need it.

Sheldon paced his apartment. Leonard sat on the couch, staring at his phone. It was nearing 2 am, and not only was Penny still gone, she wasn't answering her phone. He hadn't found a single clue to what was going on. But he had his suspicions. Suspicions that were outlandish, unsettling, and maybe even crazy. He glanced at his watch again. Where the hell was she?

"Hello Rene."

She nodded to the woman who sat down across from her. "It's been a long time," Rene said. She smiled wryly, "And yet, not."

Bernadette smiled. "How are you dealing?"

Rene shrugged. "Kind of fuzzy headed still, but nothing bad. The headaches were a bitch, though. I know they said they could be bad, but no one said a gun shot wound would seem like relief in comparison. You don't seem surprised."

The tiny blonde nodded. "I was expecting your call after Howard told me what happened at paintball. Are you complete, or are there gaps in your memory?"

Rene shook her head. "All there." She gave her former partner a mock glare. "An actress/waitress? Really?"

Bernadette grinned. "Well, the higher ups thought it best to keep you far away from anything that would trigger you. I figured serving cheesecake and trying to be the next Natalie Portman was about as far removed from your old life as it could get."

Rene laughed. "You're right. I'd still be Penny if not for an accident."

Bernadette looked uncomfortable. "You still are Penny. As far as anyone knows except me, you ARE Penny Queen. And you have to stay that way for a bit."

Rene looked at her carefully. "What's wrong?"

Bernadette bit her lower lip. "We think there's a mole. Maybe more than one. Someone's been digging into the archives. A few operatives are dead. Deep cover ops who should have been safe."

"Who?"

Bernadette looked uncomfortable and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Hale, Mitchell, and Ferguson."

Rene was stunned. "Hale? What was she doing in deep?"

"She was the one who stepped in when you retired."

Rene was silent for a few minutes. "What do you need?"

Bernadette sighed with relief. "I need you to stay in character. Keep up Penny's life. I want to keep you outside of it. I'll bring you what I have, all the intel and suspicions. Maybe you can spot something the rest of us have missed. You'll be the ace up my sleeve."

Rene paused and looked down at her coffee. "There's a wrinkle."

Bernadette raised an eyebrow and waited.

"I'm …interested in someone. And he knows it. He's also noticed that something is off," Rene said.

Bernadette looked surprised. "Really? I wouldn't have thought Leonard was that observant."

Rene shook her head. "Not him. Sheldon."

Bernadette's eyes widened. "You mean Sheldon "Whackadoodle" Cooper? The guy is tall, skinny, looks like a praying mantis, and collects comics! My god, Re..Penny! Of all the guys you could chose, did it have to be him? I don't know him as well as you do, but surely he's not your type!"

Rene sighed. "I didn't plan it. But he's very important to me, and has been for a very long time. The problem is the Penny persona. She had no self confidence. She wasn't capable of loving anyone. But even she was interested in him. As for me? The real me? I've always had a thing for alphas. And regardless of his quirks, he's definitely an alpha."

Bernadette smiled wryly. "Yeah, you've always had a thing for assertive, smart guys. To be honest, I never understood why Penny liked Leonard. I just figured it was a side effect of the altering."

Rene nodded. "She settled for Leonard because she was lonely."

Bernadette looked at her closely. "Are you going to be able to control this?"

Rene shook her head and stood. "I don't know. I think I love him. Or I'm so close, that it's pretty much a moot point." She paused and looked down at her oldest and most trusted friend. "I guess the blond hair stays?"

Bernadette stood and laughed joyfully. "Oh yeah, you're back alright. Yes, the hair stays. I'll do my best to get you back in the fold as soon as possible."

She was just stepping onto the landing when Sheldon jerked open his apartment door. He stepped out into the hall and opened his mouth, but Leonard pushed past him and wrapped his arms around Penny tightly.

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" Leonard said. He looked over his shoulder at Sheldon reproachfully and then turned back to Penny. "It's almost 4am, and you weren't answering your phone. Why didn't you call me? What did Sheldon do? You know how he is."

Penny saw the grimace of pain that flashed across Sheldon's face and pulled away from Leonard. She took a deep breath. How in the hell had she put up with this for so long? "Leonard, I'm a grown woman. I don't need to check in with you like a wayward teen. I was out with a friend."

Leonard frowned, a jealous gleam entering his eyes. "Penny? Who were you with?"

Sheldon watched amusement flicker across Penny's face. She looked detached, removed from the drama about to erupt. Once again, Sheldon felt as if he was seeing a woman he had never met before.

"A friend," she said again.

Leonard's face turned red and his hands curled into fists. "A guy friend?"

Penny tilted her head. "Don't you trust me, Leonard?"

Immediately Leonard gave her puppy eyes. Sheldon started to turn, but a look from Penny froze him in the spot. "Of course I do!" Leonard said soothingly.

Penny crossed her arms over her chest. "Then you don't need to know who I was with."

Leonard sputtered for a second. "If it was just a friend, you wouldn't need to keep it a secret," he pointed out, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He glanced at Sheldon and rubbed her arms. "Let's go inside and talk about this."

Penny shook her head. "Leonard, I don't want to date you anymore. You don't respect me. You don't trust me. I'm sorry to do it this way, but I figure it's like a band-aid. Better to do it fast. I want to be friends, but I'll understand if that's not possible." Penny turned to her door and opened it up. She looked back at Sheldon. "Come in, Sheldon. We need to talk about that little discuss we had earlier."

Sheldon looked back and forth between Leonard and Penny for a moment. Then he walked over and stepped into 4B. He glanced back at Leonard and saw anger and shock in his eyes. Then Penny shut the door and turned to him. Once again he felt like he was being analyzed.