At the begining

"I got the codes." Zarana looked up at Techno from where she was helping marina put together a puzzle.

"Then let's go- Crash, think you can handle following Long Range?" Panthera got up.

"I'm baby-sitting?"

"More like crash sitting." Gold eyes danced in amusement. "Let's go."

&&&&&&

Zandar stared at the clock in the lab. Only a few minutes had gone by, but it felt like forever. He wasn't going to survive . . . it hurt too much. He started to thrash and scream, although he didn't realize it. He just felt pain.

&&&&&&

"Looks like the wicked witch's castle." Marina's comment made everyone look at her, then back at the dark colored building.

"Y'know what? You're right." Crash blinked to clear some of the auras. "I don't think I want to go in there . . . the color of it is black . . . and it shivers."

"Don't you mean shimmers?"

"No. Shivers, like it's vibrating." Crash gulped. "I'm not going to be very useful . . ."

"Wait with the van then."

"By myself? No way." Crash glanced at Techno. "Can Techno run?"

"My legs are fully functional. I am capable of just as much movement as Marina." Techno's robotic eye glowed a moment. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah, let's go rescue Dorothy." Panthera smiled. "See you inside." She slipped away.

"Dorothy? I thought we were rescuing a guy named Zandar-OW! Tree." Long Range pulled Crash with him.

&&&&&&

Zandar went limp, faintly he was aware of someone sobbing; he was surprised to find it was himself. He couldn't think, it was like he was wrapped in bubble wrap.

"We'll finish this later, put him back in the cell." As he was dragged back, he heard them talking about a transfer, taking him to a new place, a new scientist. But it was all so far away.

&&&&&&

"We're in." Zarana glanced as Marina's human form shimmered, and then disappeared.

"Best way for me to explain it is I can project a hologram." Marina glanced around. "It's not an illusion, cause everyone can see it, it's not a psychic trick."

"Right, I'm plugged in. Go for it Panthera."

"You know I will . . ." Panthera grinned. Then she slipped through the ventilation system. She enjoyed breaking and entering, and now with a team, it was even more fun.

"Crash and I are in position . . . Ready whenever you are." Long Range perched in a tree, Crash just a branch lower. The two watched the building.

The vipers in the hallway never had a chance. Panthera dropped on them, and very quickly necks were snapped and throats were slit. Panthera hid the bodies and kept moving.

Zarana slipped past the guards on her end with less violence.

"We're in the cell block- how's everything topside?" Zarana and Panthera met at the holding cells.

"We're fortunate that this only had a few mutants and was run by computers and few humans." Techno glanced at Marina who was disposing of the bodies of the two men that had been running the room. Her large eyes looked hard. "Marina . . . you know you don't have any lips?"

"We're in a mid-stakes infiltration, and you notice that now?" Marina looked at Techno as if she was insane. "Are you glitching or what?"

" . . ." Zarana and Panthera glanced at each other. "Guys, argue about this later." Zarana sighed as Panthera started down the hall.

"Only cell that's locked." Panthera stared at the red light above the cell. "Techno."

"Cell block . . . got it." The light turned green. Zarana opened the door and Panthera stepped in.

Zandar managed to push away the pain long enough for him to reassure the children. He couldn't even sit up. He heard them whimper and felt them both press against him. Weakly he lifted his head. A girl dressed in black stood there.

"'Rana, We've got kids here, too." The girl spoke to someone outside. "Hey, let's get you all out of here."

"Who are you?" The boy tried to push his 'sister' behind him, trying to protect her.

"Name's Panthera." She moved forward. "We're getting you out of here. Now." She knelt down. "Can you walk on that leg?"

"Kind of . . ." He gulped. She had blood on her hands.

"What's your name, kid?"

"R-Rick. She's Jess."

"Okay, I need to check on your other friend, Rick-"

"Make it quick! We've got company coming." Zandar lifted his head up. He knew that voice.

"Za . . . rana?" He blinked. Then gasped as the girl picked him up like he was Jess's size.

"And you must be Zandar. C'mon." The girl held him easily. Zandar locked eyes with his twin as soon as they were out. He noticed her shock.

"Oh, what did they do to you?" Zarana stroked his face.

"Reunion later, let's get out of here." Zarana nodded, and scooped up the six year old. "Techno." The door slid shut behind them. "We got the one we came in for, and two others."

Long Range smirked when he heard the group report they were free and clear from the building. He spotted Techno and Marina hopping the fence, and could see Zarana and Oanthera slip through the gate. "Looks like we're in the clear."

"Don't count your chickens till they're hatched." Panthera growled.

"A wise saying." They glanced to see a scientist with several vipers standing behind him. "Now surrender."

"Nope." Panthera moved, putting Zandar down and standing where any assault would have to get passed her first. "You're the one who should give up." Long Range shifted, so he was standing with his right side hidden behind a tree.

"We have you out numbered-!" Machine gun fire wiped out all but five vipers.

"Not anymore." Long Range smirked. The scientist wisely backed off, and ran away.

"I have yet to figure out how you can make a machine gun from a rifle." Zarana glanced at the attachments.

"Trade secret." He undid the attachments quickly. "C'mon, let's blow this place."

"Literally or figuratively?" Zandar tilted his head as he watched the girl and boy. Was it his imagination, or were they flirting?

"Both." Long Range held up a remote. "Want to do our demoltion special?"

"Marina get everyone to the van." Panthera took a gadget from Long Range. As everyone complied, she slipped off.

"This explains why Mindbender was angry about some of his bases being discovered, and a few others destroyed." Zarana tried to ignore the fact her brother was now furry, and seemed inclined to stay curled in a fetal position. "What have you lot been doing?"

"Well- it's been primarily Panthera. She escaped from one of the Cobra labs." Marina patted Jess's head as she handed her a water bottle. "She doesn't remember which one she was trapped in, so she's been sending tips to that anti-terrorist group- G.I. Joe? Via Techno's hacking skills about the ones she knows aren't the right ones- the ones where there's only animal experimentation."

"The joes have a group that helps teenaged mutants, they aren't going to experiment on them." Zarana sighed. "Do you all have trust issues or something?"

"Let's put it this way, you're the first adult we've trusted in a long time." Crash spoke up. "What's taking-"

BOOM!

Panthera and Long Range ran up, both grinning.

"Let's go." Long Range moved to get the passenger seat, and Zarana gunned the engine as Panthera hopped into the back, closing the doors behind her. It was a tense few moments before Zarana got to the interstate and went to a normal speed.

"Everyone okay?" There was a chorus of 'yes' before-

"No, I've got to go to the little boy's room." Everyone burst out laughing at Crash. "I'm serious."

"Sorry, you've got a couple exits before we can get to a rest stop." Zarana put on a red haired wig, she'd worn a similar wig back when she was posing as Carol Wheelder. Deftly, she applied normal lipstick and easily slipped a blouse on over her top. All while driving.

"And here I thought Naomi was the quick change artist." Long Range glanced back at his friend. "You okay? Looked like you almost got hit by some of the debris."

"I didn't almost get hit- Yowch!" Marina had yanked a nail out of her back.

"She did get hit." Marina stated.

"Yeah, one nail out of how much debris?"

"It's a screw actually." Marina was studying it.

"What's gonna happen to us?" Rick spoke up, small bat wings extended in what would have made him look bigger, but now just served to make him look cute.

There was a small pause of silence as everyone glanced at panthera and Zarana.

"You'll stick with us. No way we're going to let those creeps get a hold of you again." Panthera stretched out. "Crash, you want somethin' to drink?"

"No!" Crash had his legs crossed. "'Rana, hurry!"

A while later, all the kids were out, sleeping. Zarana quietly kept her attention on the road.

"Zarana." She glanced in the rear view mirror, looking at the now furry face of her brother.

"What's wrong, Zandar?"

"Nothing . . . just . . . thanks." He moved so he was sitting right behind her. "Knew you'd come for me. I wouldn't have minded the Joes either."

"Zandar . . . how'd they get you?"

"I had an argument with Zartan, before I did that chemical run." He sighed. "One of that's blokes assistants was right there . . . I told Zartan I was sick of being forgotten, sick of being a dreadnok. What it basically boiled down to was I was going to do that mission and then leave to sort out my head. If I wasn't back in a certain amount of time, then I'd gone off on my own."

"And they nabbed you." Zarana whispered.

"My mistake, I thought I was safe . . . I let my guard down." Zandar sighed.

"Why'd you want to leave?"

"You kidding? Zartan always claims his loyalties are to the highest bidder, but have you noticed that Cobra Commander has always been that, especially when the organization's been running on bankrupt?"

"You've got a point."

"I know I do." Zandar grunted. His body was still sore. "Honestly, I've been having doubts since Cobra-la and that nonsense, I just never bothered to voice them." He finally got comfortable. "What about you Zarana? Cobra and Zartan still have your loyalty, or have you finally decided to go for that Joe?"

" . . . I love him Zandar, but I can't run to him just yet. Techno found something that we're going to go after- a sort of ticket for dealing with the Joes." Zarana glanced at the mile marker. "Destro and Cobra commander have something big going on. And it involves creating two types of super mutants to fight for them." Zandar let his eyes move towards Panthera.

"That protégé of yours is one of them isn't she?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"Cause, the scientist was talking about a mutant fitting her description as one of the 'Twelve Elite' The only one that got out of the main lab's clutches." Zandar glanced up. "She's numero uno on Mindbender's 'to capture' list."

"How badly does he want her back?"

"Don't know. It's about her healing factor though."

"What about it?"

"To put it mildly- anyone who has their mutation forced on them, mutants and mutates alike, have the possibility of dying or something else equally bad. Healing negates that entirely."

"So they can fiddle with her as much as they like without the consequence of losing her." Zarana scowled. "Well, they aren't going to get her or any of them."

"Agreed, sister." Zandar closed his eyes. "You won't abandon me like this, will you?"

"Would I have this conversation if I was going to? You're the reason I was looking for them in the first place." Zarana frowned. "Take a nap. We're going to have to sort this junk out later."

"Yes, mum." Zandar couldn't help it. He'd watched as the group had all but raided the gas station, 'acting' (although he wondered how much of it was an act) like normal teenagers on a trip with an unfortunate single mom drafted to be chaperone. And Zarana had definitely seemed natural for that part.

"Mum me, I'll lick you the best day you ever had." Zandar chuckled as he curled up. "Love you, little brother."

"Love you too, sissy."

Yeah . . . this went longer than I expected, partially cause I had trouble ending it. Ten Chapters, nine of them have either names of songs or words to songs as titles. Interlude doesn't (although, Interlude could be a musical interlude . . .) This popped up as soon as I published the other chapter. I have never gotten a chpater sketched and written so fast. And this story is over! Yay me, I completed a story that wasn't a one shot or drabble fic!

Zandar: I can see I am going to have trouble in the actual story . . .

Panthera: You and me both, what, are we your favorite victims or something?

Hey, the self heal ability would make it easier to mess with your DNA. And the idea kinda stuck with me after a failed draft . . . And then Zandar . . . Yeah, you're going to be my favorite victims.

Panthera: Great, we get the angst deal. Who gets insanity and crazed twists to their family tree?

Crash: Don't answer that!

Don't worry Crash, nothing bad happens to you . . . at least not too bad.

Long Range: You still haven't mentioned Jess's ability. Just Rick's and the fact Zandar has a new fluffy look.

Oh, yeah, I did . . . oops. I forgot about her. Okay, real quick- Jess is a mutant psychic. And Jess is short for Jessica.

Zandar: That's it? A sentence fragment?

Hey, I discovered that I made three mutants with similar powers to hers and I'm trying to fix it. Give me a break.

Toad: When are we going to get in on this story? Seriously, you've only just mentioned us as a nameless group.

Althea: Yeah, it's a Misfitverse story, you have to add us sometime.

I'm being invaded, this is not good! Oh great, here comes Mr. 2D.

Scott: You're adding nine to the misfits side. You have to add more to the X-men.

Bye! I'm getting out while the goings good.

Techno: While our author runs away due to lack of planning, please, read and review and recommend a good sedative. This story will be listed as completed, though she may someday re-upload better versions of the first four chapters, Keyword 'someday'.