At the moment, I'm the queen of procrastination. I refuse to do my assignments so I'm updating this instead. I'm glad you guys like that bit with Melissa in the last chapter because I had so much fun writing it. Melissa's so much to write for because she can be . . . how shall I put this? She can be so incredibly bitchy. This chapter was so much fun because . . . well, you'll see why.

At lunch, someone tapped on my shoulder. I spun and raised my eyebrows as I saw Melissa because her wanting to talk to me was about as unpredictable as the truth of my heritage had been. She was shorter than me, so I had to literally look down my nose at the brunette.

"I hope you know about Dan." Melissa said gently, faking that she actually gave a damn about anyone but herself.

"What about Dan?" I asked cautiously.

"That he doesn't actually love you. He's just a really good actor and pities you." Melissa said. I might've believed her, if it wasn't for a few of factors; 1) Melissa was a horrible liar. 2) I knew Dan loved me. I had seen it when Mastermind was in my body and I saw it every second I spent with him. And lastly, after the incident with Steinberg, I'd learned not to believe everything people say to you.

I smiled sweetly at Melissa. "You know what, Melissa?"

"What?" Melissa asked, smiling back.

My smile dropped from my mouth as I spoke. "You're a scheming little bitch and –"

"We'll continue this conversation later." Dan finished as his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me away from said bitch. "Do you mind if I steal my girlfriend, Melissa?"

"Of course not." Melissa replied, giving Dan a smile that made me want to gag. I rolled my eyes as Dan pulled me away, dragging me inside the school. I trudged after him as we entered the broom cupboard and he pulled on the mop handle. When we exited the elevator, HQ was empty and I stomped forward, like a child having a tantrum. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was being childish and should at least try and handle the situation like a mature adult, but I pushed it away. I always handled things maturely. I wanted to act like a child for once.

Dan sighed as he followed me in. "What did she say?"

I threw my hands up and turned around. "What hasn't she said? When isn't she glaring at me? When isn't she trying to break us up?"

"Okay, stop for a sec. Remember who you are and tell me what she said to you just now." Dan told me.

I sighed. "Lies. As usual."

Dan raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine." I said. "She said that you didn't really love me and that you were only dating me because you pity me."

"Zo, you know that's not true." Dan said, stepping forward.

"Yeah, but . . ."

"What?" Dan asked gently.

"There is a little bit of truth to it." I confessed, looking at the floor. I pushed the sleeve of my jacket up, revealing the stamp of my heritage. I pulled my head up to look at Dan, whose attention was focused on the writing on my arm.

"You shouldn't love me." I said. "And this proves it."

"No, it doesn't." Dan said, sliding his fingers over the marking. "It says who you are. Like a birth certificate on your arm."

"But I hate who I am!" I cried, turning away from him. "I hate this mark."

I scratched at the yellow writing with my nails, half-hoping that it'd actually been paint all this time and I could scratch it off. But it didn't. When it stayed I stopped scratching at the now red skin and screamed in frustration. I was frustrated and angry with the world. I was frustrated that I wasn't normal. I was angry that the world had taken my sister from me. I was angry and frustrated that Melissa wouldn't get over her stupid crush.

You and Dan didn't have love at first sight, a voice in the back of my head said. You used to have a stupid crush on him too.

Angrily, I shoved the voice away from me, gagging it and tying its hands behind its back. I didn't want to listen to reason.

"I don't want to be V95." I whimpered, turning around. "I want to be Zoe London."

"What about later in life? What if you get married?" Dan asked gently, stepping towards me.

"Then I'll change my name." I said softly. "I really hate this mark."

"We could always tattoo over it." Dan said, tracing the letters and numbers absently.

"Uh . . . Dan? As much as I love you, I don't want you giving me homemade tattoos." I said.

Dan laughed. "No, I'm pretty sure that if you get parental consent, you can get a tattoo at sixteen."

I grinned. "Really?"

Dan nodded and I hugged him tightly. "Would you come with me?"

"Of course I will." Dan mumbled.

I smiled and tightened my arms around his neck while he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Do you want me to talk to Melissa?"

I nodded against his shoulder. "Please do. If I do it, I'll get so frustrated with her that I'll probably murder her."

Dan laughed and I realised that since we'd been together, he'd been a lot happier than I'd ever seen him.

"Thank you, Dan."

"What for?" Dan asked.

"Everything." I replied, pulling back a little so I could see his eyes. They were the same brilliant blue they'd always been, with an underlying happiness that made them even more beautiful. I reached up to kiss him, my hands sliding to rest on his chest. Just before our lips touched, someone came out of the lift.

"Good, Dan, Zoe, you're here." Frank said.

"We're here." Dan said as I pulled away and walked towards the table, Dan behind me.

"So what's this about?" Dan asked. "We were –"

"Doesn't matter how many people know about his place, it's still a public place, Dan." Frank interrupted. Aneisha erupted into giggles and I rolled my eyes.

"What's going on?" Tom asked.

"Has anyone considered what Kloe was actually doing at that facility?" Frank asked.

"I have." Dan said. "When Zoe and I were inside, Steinberg mentioned someone – a female someone – being close to death and mentioned a V."

"So?" Aneisha asked.

"So you think that someone was Kloe and that V is me?" I asked. Dan nodded gravely and the tidal wave of realisation that followed almost knocked me over.

"KORPS . . ." I started, fighting to keep my voice steady. Dan took my hand and I took a deep breath before continuing. ". . . they obviously now know I'm no longer theirs. That I'm no longer Mastermind's perfect match. They no longer want me for Mastermind's consciousness. They want me to die. Painfully. The same goes for anyone I love. The war with KORPS is on a standstill. Right now, they're on an assassination mission. They're not going to stop until the streets run red with my blood, Dan's, Aneisha's, Stella's, Tom's, Frank's and who knows who elses." One by one, I glanced at each person; Dan, Aneisha, Tom, Frank, Stella.

"That's not going to happen." Dan said fiercely, his blue eyes blazing. "I will fight."

"This could turn into a bloodbath, Dan . . ." Stella started.

"I refuse to let them kill her." Dan snapped.

"I refuse to let them take away what I've fought for." I said. "I've beat death twice. I'm fully prepared to cheat it a third time for the people I love."

Stella nodded. "Don't go looking for them. If Zoe is right and they do want us all dead, they'll come looking for us. And we'll be ready."

The first part of preparing was, surprisingly, to go back to class. We all protested, saying that we needed to start preparing, but Frank and Stella insisted. So Dan and I went off to Maths while Aneisha and Tom had their study period. Myself, I couldn't keep my mind away from what I'd been told. I'd taken comfort in the fact that Kloe wasn't murdered in cold blood like Jamie. Now I felt stupid. Kloe had been found dying outside a KORPS facility. Of course she was murdered in cold blood. Then, nightmarish imagery began to seep back into my mind. I saw Mastermind's illusions all over again – tying Dan to a table and stabbing him over and over. I had found out during my time of sharing a mind with the head of KORPS that he had an obsession with knifes. He'd tried to kill Becky with one. He'd dreamed of killing Dan with one.

"Hey."

I pushed the horrific imagery away and turned to look at Dan, grateful for the distraction he offered that maths failed to deliver.

"You okay?" Dan asked.

I shook my head, swallowing past the lump in my throat. "If anything happens, Dan, I swear . . ."

"Nothing's going to happen." Dan said. He reached up and cupped my cheek. "KORPS will eventually realise that now you're just like any other agent."

"So we've just got to stay alive until then." I said. Dan nodded and brushed a few stray strands of hair away from my face. "Zoe, I almost lost you once. I can't . . ." He broke off, his eyes lowering to look at the table.

"Hey." I said, grabbing his free hand and squeezing it gently. "We'll be each other's strength."

Dan looked up and I could see that that brought a smile to his face.

"What?" I asked.

Dan shook his head as his slipped from cheek to rest over my hands. "Nothing. It's something Tom told me when you had your . . . visitor." Dan said softly, wording it carefully because we were in a crowded classroom.

"What was it?" I pressed.

"He told me that I was your strength; the only reason that you hadn't gone insane." Dan told me gently, his blue eyes searching my green ones.

I smiled. "You were, Dan. You still are."

Dan smiled and leaned forward, his mouth nearing mine.

"Morgan! London!" McNab snarled. "Ten centimetre rule!"

Dan sighed in frustration, letting his head fall forward. I laughed and ran my fingers through his blonde hair. He looked up and smiled at me. "I need to go have a chat with our dear friend Melissa." He said sarcastically, getting up and walking away. I smiled and turned back to my work. The discussion with Dan had left my mind clearer, happier. The horrific images had disappeared, leaving only happy memories of me and Dan in its wake.