Disclaimer: Don't own PR

Thanks so much for the reviews - although I would love some more from all the people who alerted. poke poke As usual, I am incapable of posting an update in a timely manner, but oh well - I'll always get to it eventually! Hopefully this will be an exciting chapter, filled with my attempt at a (short) fight scene, a rescue mission or two, and even a death! Yes, a death. Have I sufficiently frightened you?

XI. Awareness

Vigilance;

State of elementary or undifferentiated consciousness;

Having knowledge of.

Commander Cruger sat in the chair behind his desk in the Command Center, rubbing his temples. Z's kidnapping had been bad enough, but the missing red and blue rangers pushed his headache into a full-blown migraine. Neither Sky nor Bridge were answering their morphers, and while Cruger was almost certain the two had gone looking for Z he had a feeling that they were headed for trouble. Finally, his morpher beeped. He looked up and noted that Sydney's morpher was also getting the call.

"Should I answer, sir?" she asked. She could not hide the worry laced through her voice.

Cruger shook his head, imagining the many times Sydney would have to face the same worry, married to the red ranger. "I'll get it." He picked up his morpher, "Yes?"

Bridge's voice filled the room, although it sounded weak. "Commander! Sorry if Sky and I caused any trouble; we couldn't sleep and…"

"I'll deal with that later, Carson. You sound terrible; what happened?"

"I used my powers to follow the truck sir – well not the truck because I can't follow the truck but the kidnappers inside the truck. It really tired me out, that's all. We're pretty far from New Tech, but I think we found where they took Z." Bridge explained.

"Kat, get a lock on the co-ordinates of the blue morpher!" Cruger ordered.

"Sky already went in," Bridge continued, "he's morphed. I know we're usually supposed to wait for back-up, but I think in this situation there was no time to wait. Oh, and Sky told me to request medical help, too, just in case Z is hurt and, well, for me since I feel pretty sick. I have never pressed my senses that much, and I think I finally found their limit."

"Sit tight, Bridgey!" Sydney shouted. "We're coming for you!"

"I have the co-ordinates, sir," Kat announced.

"Then we will leave immediately. Sydney, contact Sophie and tell her to come with us in Flyer 3. You and I will take the Flyer 5, and I want the paramedics to get there as soon as possible. Did you hear that, Carson?" asked Cruger.

"Yes sir."

"Good; keep your communication link open and stay where you are. Cruger out." The commander replaced the morpher in his belt and ran out of the Command Center, followed closely by Sydney.

XXX

The hidden door opened to a long, sterile, white hallway. It was far too quiet; Sky could hear the lights above him hum with electricity, probably taken from the wires above the old train tracks. He wondered why there was still power running through wires for a train that no longer existed, but the thought was quickly dismissed. If this really was the new base for the Freller Research Laboratories, than stolen energy was the least of their offenses.

Sky crept down the hallway, using every bit of the enhancement given to his senses by morphing. There were no doors along the hallway, only lights. Finally, the corridor split into two parts and Sky was forced to make a decision. "What I wouldn't give to have Bridge with me now," he whispered. He looked down each hall, unable to see any difference between the two. "Come on, Tate, make a choice!" he muttered. "You don't have time to hesitate! But you don't have time to be wrong, either. Think faster!" With a last look both ways, he started down the right corridor.

"Sky…"

He whipped around, looking for the one who had called his name. There was no one behind him, or anywhere else in sight. Sky shook his head and continued. "Pull yourself together, man. Now is not the time to start hearing voices."

"Sky!"

He jumped and turned around again. "Who's there?" he whispered. "Where are you?"

"Left…go left!" the voice called.

Sky did not recognize the voice, but he was sure it was Bridge; it had to be. Who else would be able to get into his head? "Thanks, buddy. Now stop helping me until you get help for yourself!" Sky said. He turned around and went down the left hallway.

This corridor had doors, but all of them were the same except for the numbers above them: white with a round silver handle and a place to swipe and access card. As quietly as he could, Sky upgraded to S.W.A.T. mode and pressed the side of his helmet against a door, hoping to overhear something useful. He heard nothing, so he went to the next door. He was halfway down the hall before he heard anyone, and almost at the end by the time he heard anything about Z. He stayed at each door for only a minute, afraid to waste time, and he was about to leave two men discussing cars when one mentioned seeing a model he liked in New Tech City the previous day.

"Weren't you supposed to have your eyes on the girl, not the cars?" asked a man called Jasper.

The other man, this one known as Wolf, replied, "Nah, I get to ride up front once we actually collect someone. How many people does it take to make sure an unconscious lady stays put? I'm sure they'll have me in the back again soon, though; somethin' always goes wrong, and even if it works this time they'll want ta' test it again."

"Did they finish already?"

Sky held his breath. "Oh no; the first part is finished, but they still have to monitor the experiment for changes – you know, blood tests and all – until delivery, which seemed to me like it would take at least two months, probably more. Then, assuming both Variable and Control survive, they've got to do more tests and see if it was a success," Wolf explained. Sky was not sure if this was good news or bad news, so he let the breath go and sucked in another.

"You know an awful lot for a collector, Wolf," said Jasper.

"I make sure I know what I'm getting myself into, that's all, and they know I do good work so they're willing to let me in on a few secrets."

"Hey, did they tell you where they're keeping the girl?" Jasper asked.

"Of course I know! She's in…" Before Wolf could finish, a cell phone ring cut him off. Sky cursed and prayed that the phone conversation would be short. Wolf spoke, "Yeah. / Already?! Did the experiment kill them? / Well then why do you need another host? / What do you mean 'useless'?! I scanned her myself, she's perfectly healthy and… / Ah, no, boss. Sorry 'bout that. We can't check DNA on the road. What are the chances, eh? / She is a human. / I don't know! Maybe she's a natural human freak! / Okay, okay. I'm on my way. I'll grab the boys."

Jasper asked, "What was that about?"

"There's something weird with the whole experiment, it had to be canceled. So, just when I was expecting a nice vacation, I have to get back on the road. If you want to watch, termination's in Room 36," Wolf said.

Jasper chuckled, "Not my kinda thing; I never liked that part of the job, but I suppose it happens. Have a nice trip."

"Very funny; have a…" Sky was already racing down the hallway. He skidded when it broke off, once again, into two sections; one going straight, the other left. The numbers were confusing; they didn't go in order.

"Left…"

"Bridge, remind me to buy you a gigantic present for your birthday this year," Sky muttered as he ran. This time, however, the hallway was not so empty. Sky managed to knock a few unsuspecting employees unconscious before they could warn anyone, but eventually a woman in a long white lab coat drew the attention of the others. Sky drew his blaster and shouted, "SPD! Stay where you are! You are all under arrest!"

Most of the people put their hands up, but a few – probably trained guards – ran forward with their own weapons raised. Sky avoided their shots and used his lasers to blast the guns out of their hands. One guard, an octopus-like alien with many tentacles avoided Sky by climbing a wall. The alien launched itself at the red ranger, tackling him sideways to the ground. Sky's Delta Enforcer flew out of his hand and skidded down the hallway.

Sky struggled to get out of the alien's grip, which was strengthened by the suction cups on the underside of its tentacles. He could see one of the other guards reaching for the Enforcer and used the voice command in his helmet, "Computer, lock the red Delta Enforcer!" Now at least if the guards had his weapon, they would not be able to use it.

"Give it up, ranger. You will not be leaving us anytime soon!" the alien hissed.

Under his helmet, Sky smirked. "Wanna bet? Computer, heat armor!" The S.W.A.T. portion of Sky's suit instantly rose in temperature, burning the alien's tentacles. With a yelp the alien released him and backed away, nursing its burnt appendages. "And here I thought we would never need that function. I am so glad Kat installed those upgrades last year," Sky muttered. He got to his feet and turned to the guard holding onto Sky's Delta Enforcer. "Do you really want to be holding that right now? How much do you want to bet those gloves you're wearing aren't fire proof?"

The guard dropped the Enforcer at Sky's feet. "Thanks," Sky grinned. "Computer, unlock red Delta Enforcer." He aimed at the remaining guards, "Now tell me where Room 36 is. Where are they keeping the pregnant woman?" Before anyone could answer, Sky heard a muffled scream coming from further down the hall. He ran toward the noise.

One of the doctors with his hands up called after Sky, "Wait! You don't understand what we're doing!"

Sky ignored him and stopped just in front of a door with the number 36 above it. The door was locked shut, but he could hear voices behind it; one he instantly recognized. "Anyone against the door stand back!" he shouted. He waited ten seconds before blasting the door open.

XXX

The pink and green flyers landed on the road next to the abandoned train station. Cruger, Sophie, and Sydney jumped out, unmorphed but prepared to fight just in case. Bridge, who had heard the noise of the flyer, went as far as he could to greet them. "Over here!" he called, 

leaning against the side of what had once been a ticket booth. "Man you guys got here fast; we should have taken a flyer in the first place!"

Sydney and Sophie ran to his side, each offering an arm to help him walk back to where the bike was hidden under a raised platform that had been used to help wheel-chair bound clients board the trains. There, Bridge sank to the ground again and pointed at something beyond their view. "Bridge, what is it? Are you alright?" asked Sophie.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be okay," he replied. "You have to go that way. There's a set of stairs, and a door in the wall; it's hard to see, but it is there. Sky's down there and I think Z is too – somewhere. Sky turned off the tracker on his morpher, though, so you are going to have to find him on your own beyond that."

Sydney frowned, "But are you going to be okay here, Bridge? One of us could stay behind until the parame–"

Bridge interrupted, "I told you, it's just that my powers need a break. I'll be fine, it's Sky and Z who need you right now. Shouldn't you be worried about your fiancé?"

Cruger was surprised by the venom that seemed to be in Bridge's speech, but he assumed that the blue ranger really had just pushed his mind – and perhaps his usual calm temper – to the limit. "Very well; Sydney, Sophie, and I will go ahead, you wait for the paramedics. Tell them to stay out here unless we call for them."

"Yes sir," said Bridge.

They left him under the platform and morphed into S.W.A.T. mode at the top of the steps. Once they got into the tunnel, they used Sophie's sensors to find the door Bridge told them about. Just like Sky had done thirty minutes earlier, they found the first hallway quiet and empty. When they reached the end where the hallway split, they tried tracking the red morpher. When they were unable to find a signal, Sydney offered a suggestion, "We could split up and contact one another when we find one of them."

Cruger nodded, "Agreed. You two take the left hall, I will go right. If you find nothing in the next twenty minutes, contact me again."

The girls saluted, "Yes sir."

XXX

"SPD, freeze!" Sky yelled as he entered with the gun raised. He was surprised to see that he had barged into a relatively comfortable looking room. There was a shelf filled with books, a small television, a chair, a bed, and a bed-side table. There were two doors in the side walls. The one that was open led to a bathroom and the other was shut. There was a large mirror next to the closed door, and it did not take much for Sky to guess at its real purpose: he was sure that anyone on the other side of the mirror would be able to see through it like a window. Other than the mirror, everything in the room was a sterilized white, even the clothes worn by its occupants.

Z was standing on the bed with her back against the wall opposite the hallway, wearing a pair of oversized white scrubs. A man in a long white lab coat stood next to the bed, a needle raised in his hand. All eyes had turned to Sky when the door flew open, and he was surprised to see tears running down Z's face. "Sky!" she screamed. "He's trying to kill me!"

"You must not carry on like that," said the doctor. "It is for the greater good! This experiment must be terminated!"

"I don't think so," Sky hissed. "Drop the needle and put your hands up."

"Sir, you really do not understand what–"

Sky cut the doctor off, "I said drop your weapon! Get away from her or I will shoot you!"

"I am only doing my job! If I let her go, the consequences could be horrendous!" the man shouted.

"You are already facing some pretty heavy consequences, and I swear if you touch her I will make it my personal mission to see that you spend the rest of your life in a containment card on some long-forgotten moon light-years away from Earth," Sky growled. "Now put the needle on the floor and step away from her with your hands up!" Very slowly, the man started to lower the needle.

"Sky behind you!" Z screamed.

Sky did not have time to turn around before he was hit in the back with two laser shots. The shots knocked him forward even though his armor protected him from any serious bodily harm. "Neljin, finish the job!" called the guard who shot Sky. Dr. Neljin raised the needle again and tried to grab Z's arm. She pushed him away and put her arms behind her back. "Just push it in somewhere! It doesn't have to be perfect for this!" the guard yelled.

Neljin tried again, this time preparing to shove the needle into any part of Z's flesh that he could reach. From the floor Sky grabbed Neljin's legs and pulled hard. The doctor fell and hit the floor face down. For a moment, his body shook as though he was having a seizure and then he went completely limp. No one else moved as Sky turned Neljin over; he had landed on the needle when he fell and pressure on the top of the plunger from the floor drove the poison into his body. Sky used the scanners in his helmet to check for signs of life. He shook his head and closed the man's open, shocked eyes. "He's dead."

Z turned her face to the side and bit her lip. The guard stared at Neljin's body for a minute before speaking. "Then I suppose it is my duty to finish this off the old fashion way." He aimed his gun at Z.

Sky was on his feet again before the trigger was pulled. He jumped in front of Z and took both shots. They knocked him onto the bed and back against the wall next to Z. He dropped the Enforcer and fell out of S.W.A.T. mode but managed to maintain his morph. Z ducked two more shots, "You idiot!" she shouted. "I could have avoided those, too!"

Sky groaned as he forced himself to stand again, "You're welcome." He pulled out one of the Delta Blasters and started to return fire, which was difficult in the small space.

"Very well," said the guard. "I'll just terminate you, first!" He aimed the laser blasts at Sky, ducking outside to avoid Sky's shots while Sky used the chair for cover. Z stayed on the bed, looking around the room for anything that might be helpful.

"Z, run!" Sky ordered.

"Oh yeah, that'll get me far. Where do you want me to go, straight into his line of fire?!" she replied.

"No, go through that other door!" he said. "The one next to the mirror!"

She shook her head, "It locks from the other side, and it would only lead me into the observation room! I don't know how to get out!"

Sky cursed and pulled out his second blaster. He made himself vulnerable for precious seconds in order to perfect his aim. The seconds were not wasted; he managed to hit the gun out of the guard's hand. Unfortunately, the guard had already fired and Sky had no time to avoid the dual shots. The lasers hit his chest and knocked him against the bookcase. He demorphed and the shelf shook dangerously before toppling completely. "SKY!" Z screamed. He rolled out of 

the way, but the edge of the shelf still smacked against the top of his head and knocked him unconscious.

Z looked from Sky to the guard, unsure of where to move next. Sky's blasters were too far away for her to reach quickly and his Enforcer was somewhere under the bookshelf. She knew she would need a weapon to get past the guard and everyone else in the hallway. The guard sneered, "Don't you worry, sweetheart. Here at Freller, we always have a Plan B. And when that fails, we have a Plan C." He reached into his boot and pulled out a long, sharp knife. "Unfortunately, it looks like you are all out of options."

Z's eyes went wide as the guard raised his knife and walked forward. She pressed herself into a corner, as far out of the man's reach as she could get but still not far enough. "First," said the guard, "we have to get rid of those monsters you're carrying." He brought the knife down on her stomach and Z screamed.

But then there was no pain. She looked at herself and saw no blood, although her shirt was ripped. The guard looked puzzled as well. He raised the knife higher this time and tried to use more force. Again, Z felt no pain. Her shirt ripped, but the knife could not bite into her flesh. Amazed, she lifted the shirt and gasped. The skin on her stomach glowed blue, with a bright white light at the center just above her naval. No matter how the guard tried, his knife bounced off her skin. Z looked over at the unconscious red ranger and whispered, "Sky? But how…?"

The guard yelled in frustration, "I don't know what kind of freak powers you have, but I am not about to let you survive! You might be able to protect your children, but I wonder if you have the energy left to save yourself!" He jumped onto the bed and plunged the knife into Z's shoulder. Z screamed; this time, the knife sunk into her flesh easily. "Your offspring can't live if you bleed to death!" the guard laughed as he pulled the knife down Z's arm.

XXX

Sydney and Sophie had almost reached the second division on their side of the hallway when they heard a commotion coming from the left section. Sydney peered around the edge and saw several people running around, some carrying the unconscious and others trying to raise the alarm. The real give-away was when a gun flew out of one room and skidded down the hallway while an unmistakable voice screamed, "SKY!"

The pink ranger pulled out her morpher, "Commander, I think we've found them, but it sounds like they are in a whole lot of trouble. Should we move in now?"

"Yes, but be careful," he replied. "I will be there as soon as I possibly can."

"You got it, commander. Drew out." Sydney put her morpher in her belt and pulled out her Delta Enforcer. Sophie drew her own weapon, and at Sydney's nod the pink and green rangers raced around the corner and shouted, "Freeze, SPD! Everyone stay where you are!" The people stopped moving and those who could put their hands up; one man even dropped the body of an unconscious alien in order to do so. Sydney assumed that Sky had given them similar commands upon his entrance. She was sure there were plenty of employees still rushing to erase all the evidence of their illicit activity, but a scream told her that she did not have time to worry about that. The girls ran down the hallway and into the only open door. "Oh my God…erm, SPD, freeze!"

Z was trapped standing on a bed in the corner of the room with blood soaking through her white shirt. A human male stood over her, brandishing a knife and there was dead man on the floor in front of them with a needle sticking out of his chest. A little further to the side, Sky lay unmoving next to a fallen bookshelf. "Drop your weapon!" Sophie shouted.

"Ha! You rangers aren't so tough! All I have to do is slit her throat and it will all be over. Hell, I'll even come quietly – but first I have a job to do!" said the man.

Sydney put her finger against the trigger and raised the setting on her weapon. "If you don't drop that knife right now you will be fried before you can so much as scratch her. Do you really want to bet the speed of your arm against my finger? Sophie here is a cyborg; inhuman speed comes in handy every once in a while, right Soph?"

"I thought rangers weren't allowed to kill," the man smirked.

Sophie glanced toward the pink ranger, "He has a point."

"Oh, but we are not going to kill him. This will just burn him so bad it'll be years before the blisters go away. I hope these doctors know how to do a skin graph," said Sydney. "Now you have until the count of three. One…two…" The man started to bring his knife toward Z's throat. There was a bright flash of light and the knife clinked against the floor next to a containment card. "Three," said Sydney, picking up the card. The man pounded his fists against the screen. "That's disappointing; I could have sworn it was on a different setting."

She pocketed the card and helped Z to sit on the edge of the bed while Sophie went over to Sky, checking his life signs. "Z? Where did he stab you? Did he do anything else?"

Z used the hole the knife had created in her shirt to rip off the sleeve completely. "Here," she answered.

Sydney grabbed the sheet off of the bed, ripped off several pieces, and pressed them against the wound. "That's an awful lot of blood."

Z called over Sydney's shoulder, "Is Sky alright?"

Sophie nodded, "Just unconscious; he might have a concussion, but I think he'll be fine in a couple of hours."

Z gestured to the doctor on the floor. "If Sky hadn't come when he did, I would have that needle in me instead of him. I'm glad you two showed up, too; if you didn't come, both Sky and I would have been in a lot of trouble."

"You can thank us later; for now just relax," Sydney said. "This has been a hell of a year for you; you've been kidnapped, stabbed, dragged out a window…" She would have gone on, but the commander's arrival interrupted her.

"What happened?" Shadow Ranger called from the doorway.

"I'm not sure; when we got here Sky was unconscious and a man was stabbing Z. He tried to kill her, but I managed to contain him," Sydney explained. She pointed to the body on the floor, "That guy was already dead."

"Sky should be okay besides a pretty nasty bruise, maybe a concussion," Sophie added.

Cruger nodded, "Z, can you walk all right?

"Yeah, I think so." Slowly, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Sydney helped her to stand up and step around the body of Dr. Neljin. "It's okay, Syd, I can handle this," she moved Sydney's hand away and pressed the sheet against her own shoulder. "A little blood never hurt anybody."

"I disagree, and that's more than a little blood," Sydney mumbled.

"I think it would be wise to have you leave as soon as possible, Z," said the commander. He picked up the red ranger's blasters and handed one to Sydney and the other to Sophie before lifting Sky off the floor. The girls kept the blasters and their enforcers raised against anyone who might try to stop them from leaving, although Sydney kept half of her attention on Z in case her stubborn friend was trying to hide some more serious injury. The group entered the hallway with caution.

"No! You cannot let them live!" "You don't understand!" "The experiment must be terminated!" several F.R.L. employees shouted. Once the ranger pointed guns at them, most of them stopped protesting the rescue. No one actually tried to attack the rangers, cutting down the time it took them to get back into the first tunnel. At the top of the stairs they could see two ambulances parked behind the pink and green flyers, along with a jeep full of cadets. Bridge sat in the back of the first ambulance with his feet hanging over the edge and a blanket over his shoulders. A paramedic was injecting something into his arm and another handed him a bottle of water.

"Look!" he shouted, gesturing with the water bottle. "They're back!" More paramedics rushed to greet the rangers, two wheeling over a stretcher for Sky. They loaded him and Z into the back of the second ambulance and sped back to New Tech City.

A paramedic started to usher Sydney, whose gloves were covered in Z's blood, toward the first truck. "Ma'am, let's get you checked out."

"No, I'm not injured," she protested. "Power down!" The pink suit disappeared, leaving Sydney in a clean uniform. "See? No blood, not even a bruise."

Cruger had also powered down and was speaking to the cadets. "I want everyone down there arrested, but be careful not to destroy any of their equipment. Also look for more victims; we have no idea how many people they captured before we found them. Sweep the entire place, leave no door unopened. I will send in more help as soon as possible." He turned to the green ranger, "Sophie, I want you to go with them. Maybe your sensors can see if they are hiding any more people."

"Yes sir!" she replied. The cadets followed her down the stairs and into the tunnel.

Sydney stood next to a medic in front of Bridge. "You alright?" she asked.

"I'm not dead yet," he smirked. "In fact, I think I'm getting better! I feel fine, I think I'll go for a walk…"

Sydney rolled her eyes, "You have seen that movie way too many times, Bridge. But I am glad to see you're okay."

"What about Sky and Z?" he asked.

"I think they'll be okay now," she replied. "At least I hope so. Those doctors or whatever they were kept shouting about how Z 'had to die.' I don't know what they were talking about or what they did to her, but I get the feeling it wasn't good."

"Oh, so they kidnapped her and you were expecting them to give her a million dollars and a free trip to the spa?" said Bridge.

"Excuse me?!" Sydney exclaimed.

Bridge sighed, "I'm sorry, Syd. I don't know why I said that. My head is killing me; I guess my temper ended when my powers did."

She crossed her arms, "Maybe, but I sure hope neither of those things are gone for good. We'll get Kat to run a test when we get back to the base. I have to go help them clear the facility now, but maybe the commander will ride with you. Oh, wait, he's busy spending those million dollars." As Sydney walked away, Bridge groaned and put his aching head in his hands.

XXX

Sky woke up to white walls, the same kind that had been in the room at the underground F.R.L. facility. "Z!" He instantly sat up and looked around for a blaster until a hand pushed him back.

"I'm right here, Sky. We're okay; this is the SPD infirmary," she explained.

Sky looked around. The infirmary room was very similar to the other, but there was no book shelf or extra doors and he was lying on the bed while Z sat in a chair next to him. Feeling dizzy, Sky reached for his head and felt a bandage. "You've got a pretty nasty bump there," said Z. "Maybe you'll end up with a scar like mine, too." She pointed to her forehead where the mark she had gotten when their ship was attacked on the way to Niveus was still visible. "Which reminds me: what's your name?"

"What? Z, you know what my name–"

"Well of course I know what your name is, but what matters is if you know it. You had a concussion, Sky, and as a stupid man once told me 'they can be dangerous if you're not careful.' Now answer the question," she ordered.

"Schuyler Tate, red ranger of B-squad on Space Patrol Delta Earth," Sky answered.

"Great, you're fine," said Z. "I'm sure Dr. Felix will want to have another look at you before you're allowed to leave, anyway. I have to admit, you had me worried for a while there. That shelf knocked you out cold."

"So that was what hit me; I didn't think I got shot. What about you, are you alright? How did we get here?"

"Bridge called for back-up; Sophie and Syd saved our lives. Then Cruger carried you outside while Syd helped me, and we were whisked away by a bunch of paramedics who thought you cracked your skull," she explained.

Sky looked her over, noting that she was dressed in her regular clothes again. "So you're okay?"

"That depends on what you define as 'okay'," she pulled up her sleeve to show him a thick set of bandages.

"What happened?" he frowned.

"The guard turned my arm into a cutting board. Nothing fatal, though. A few stitches fixed it up, and in a couple weeks it'll be good as new. Good thing, too; I am going to need my arm to hold two babies."

Sky's gaze moved down to her belly. "How are they, by the way?"

Z's face hardened. "I don't know why you care…"

"Z, I –"

"But," she refused to let him speak. "According to Dr. Rou they seem perfectly healthy. She and Kat are running some tests to make sure whatever was in that needle was not harmful."

"What needle?" asked Sky, feeling the panic rise in his stomach all over again. "Z, what did they do to you?!"

"Dr. Neljin, the one who accidentally killed himself, injected some chemical into me. Actually, I think he injected it into one of the twins. He took my blood and then stuck the biggest needle I have ever seen in my entire life here," she pointed to a spot just above her naval, "and another one here," she pointed below her naval. "Those hurt at least as much as getting stabbed. I am pretty sure he used them to take blood from the fetuses. Then they put me in a room that connected with the lab, the one you found me in. That was about it until about ten minutes before you showed up."

"Why were they trying to kill you?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Evidently something did not go according to their plan."

"Nothing seems to be going according to plan these days," Sky sighed.

"No kidding. But you don't have to worry; Kat and Dr. Rou took some DNA from the twins, but I asked them not to look for a father to compare it with."

Sky bit his lip. "Look, Z…I don't know how often I can say I'm sorry or how else to show you that I really am."

"You think your sorrowsdo anything to help me?! This is not something you can make up for, especially not when you do not understand what you've done. But I guess I have to give you points for saving my life," she touched her belly, "for saving all our lives. I don't know how you did it, Sky, but I have to admit it was pretty amazing."

"What was?"

"I guess your powers acted on instinct or something, but when you were unconscious the guard tried to kill the twins directly by stabbing my stomach. He couldn't get the knife through; you generated a shield that protected the twins. Unfortunately, you weren't quite strong enough to defend the rest of my body, but you did save us," Z explained.

He gingerly rubbed his head, "I have never been able to do anything like that before. Z, I cannot make a shield without moving my arm. I tried while I was completely conscious, and all I ended up with was a headache."

"Maybe it was a paternal instinct. Who else could create a translucent blue shield?"

Sky shook his head, "I don't know. I wonder if all of our powers are getting stronger; when I was looking for you, Bridge told me which hallways to turn down even after he was completely spent. He wasn't even with me, and somehow he managed to find you."

"Well, whatever happened, I still owe you my life and so do our children," whispered Z. She looked around to make sure there was no one else in the room and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

Before she could move away, Sky wrapped his arms around her neck and drew her back toward him. When she did not pull away, he kissed her lips. For just a moment, they looked like the perfect family. Granted both were in the infirmary, but the emotional pain was gone. They fit together, and Sky moved one of his hands down to rest on Z's stretched-out belly. For that moment, the former lovers allowed themselves to live in the world of what could have been.

Suddenly, Z pulled away and put a hand over her mouth. "Z? What's wrong?" asked Sky.

"I have to go!" she said before running out of the room. In the closest bathroom she could find, she threw up. When she was done, she leaned against the side wall and wiped her mouth on a paper towel. "What is wrong with me? How could I let him get that close again?!" She smiled mirthlessly and put a hand against her moving stomach, "Thankfully I have you two to keep me from my mistakes, eh? A little more warning would have been nice, though. Not even Sky deserves to have someone puke while they're still kissing him. I barely made it in here." One of the babies inside her jumped. "You think that's funny, do you? Just wait until the world gets through with you, young lady."

She used the wall to stand and flushed the toilet. After using her hands to drink from the tap, Z stared at her reflection in the mirror and lifted her bangs. "I think this world is just about finished with me; I can't think of much else that could go wrong. Maybe I should finish with this world first, that way it will never be able to reach you two. But I suppose all I can do right now is to pray that you will never, ever know such pain."

XXX

Six months ago, the three women had been in the same room, each holding similar positions: Z sitting on the edge of the examination table, Dr. Miriam Rou standing in front of her with a chart, and Kat leaning on the table next to Z. This time, Kat also had a chart of her own. "All things considered, this is very good news," said Dr. Rou. "Your daughters are perfectly healthy, and you haven't suffered too much damage, either."

"But what is it? What will this mean once they're born?" asked Z.

Kat and Miriam looked at one another. "We're not sure," Kat admitted. "Both DNA samples show signs of the same mutation in your DNA, just in a slightly different, more complex configuration. I expected that much, but one of them also has extra DNA, something that could not have come from a parent. It doesn't appear to be anything harmful, but no one could say for sure what changes it will cause."

"We spoke to some of the scientists arrested from F.R.L. who were involved with the pre-life experiments," Dr. Rou continued. "They told me that they were working with a sort of brain-stimulant. There are a few people who still believe that humans use only 10 of their brains, including the scientists at F.R.L., and the scientists believe they came up with a chemical to force humans to 'reach their full potential.' Their theory is that humans are capable of incredible mental powers, perhaps more than any other creature in this galaxy, and they would be available if we could only unlock the dormant portions of the human brain."

"Is that true?" Z asked.

Kat smiled, "Which part? Humans do have some of the most advanced minds in the galaxy, but I am happy to tell you that both you and Dr. Rou are currently using every bit of your brains. The human lifespan is regrettably short, so you learn everything much faster than most species. As for the pre-life experiments, they did have some rather unfortunate consequences on other children and their mothers, which I will not share with you, because the chemicals used actually over-stimulated the brain."

Dr. Rou continued quickly, seeing the panicked look on Z's face, "Signs of that would have already appeared in your case. I do not believe you have any medical reason to worry."

"Why did they want to kill us, then?"

"The scientists never accounted for already mutated DNA," Kat explained. "There is no way to tell exactly how it will react to the chemical, and they were not ready to deal with an extra variable."

"That's comforting," Z mumbled.

"Whatever happens, I promise we'll be here to take care of you and your daughters," said Dr. Rou.

"If you do end up with a physic baby, we can always talk to Mrs. Carson," Kat smirked. "I'd say she did a pretty good job raising one of her own." The three women laughed, and within Z a small creature kicked almost as though she was laughing with her mother while a second creature slept on.

You thought I was going to kill of someone important, didn't you? Well, you're going to have to wait a few chapters for that. By the way, this story actually has quite a ways to go since I have so many ideas for it. It will not end with the birth of the twins. If I left it there, very few things would be solved! That is not to say that I have much written on the following chapters, just in the more detailed, ever-changing summary I wrote for myself. So unfortunately I cannot promise a time for the next update.