"That girl," he almost whispered. "She looks like...she looks like my sister."

"Say what now?" Claudia did a double take and temporarily forgot about rousing Pete and Myka. "But isn't your sister..."

"Yeah," gasped Steve. "My sister is dead. And if she were alive, she'd be much older than this."

"Then it's just an uncanny resemblance?"

"Must be," Steve said, almost as if reassuring himself. Then Ellie opened her eyes and gasped. She sat up too quickly, and Steve gently pushed her back down. "It's okay, you're safe."

"Who are you? Where are Pete and Myka? Why..." She coughed and blinked weakly. "Why do you look like my Dad?"

"I don't know. Why do you look like my sister?" Steve started to become a little panicked. As he leaned over Ellie, Pete and Myka stood up, aided by Claudia and Artie.

"Steve? You okay?" Claudia walked across the wet sand and rested an arm on his shoulder. "Whoa,dude. You two do look alike."

Steve ignored Claudia and lifted the girl to her feet. "Come on, let's get out of here." As he turned away, a hauntingly familiar voice filled his ears.

"Hold on one second there, cowboy. That's my daughter you're taking with you. If you don't mind, I'd like her back."

Pete angered quickly. "Why? So you can lock her up in a dungeon like you did to us?"

"You underestimate me, Mr. Lattimer. Why on earth would I harm my own daughter?"

"You already have." Ellie managed in a croak. During this exchange, all the color drained out of Steve's face. Millard West turned to Steve. "Ah. New..." He stopped and froze, just as Steve had. Finally, Steve spoke.

"Dad?"

"Steven?" After a moment of shock, his face resumed its normal smile of false cheerfulness. "Ah...my son. How long it's been since we last saw each other." Steve glared at him. Millard seemed surprised. "Surely you don't think I am the wrongdoer here! In fact, I believe I am the one being wronged by these despicable people who are trying to take my daughter away from me."

"This is your daughter? How long were you going to wait to tell me I had a younger sister? I bet if you hadn't stalked and kidnapped my friends, you would never have told me."

"Nonsense, Steven. I-" Steve cut him off.

"It's Steve. But I don't expect that you would know that. Since you were gone my entire life. So you go by 'Millard West' now? What kind of name is that? And why are you doing all this?"

"Calm yourself, Steven- Steve. You are overreacting." Ellie, equally as shocked as Steve and everyone else, stepped forward.

"Overreacting? He's overreacting? You're lucky he isn't punching you! You're lucky I'm not punching you!"

"I think you're both taking this a bit too hard."

"Oh no!" Ellie laughed wildly. As she did so, Artie handed Myka and Pete teslas and motioned for them to move in while they were distracted. "He's right! When were you going to tell me that I have a brother? You told me I was an only child and my mother died in a car crash! I bet you lied about that too!" Ellie was now in tears. "My entire life isn't true. I've been living in a lie." Steve reached out a hand to comfort her.

"It's okay. We're in this together."

Ellie took his hand and turned to her father after mustering a weak smile at her brother. "What is your real name?"

"I hardly think that's relevant, Eleanor."

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" She screamed at him.

Steve squeezed her hand as more tears ran down her cheeks. "His name is Daniel Jinks. My name is Steve, and I promise that I will do anything I can to protect you." A high pitched hum accompanied the blue snakes of the tesla to the skin of Daniel Jinks. He collapsed, and A sobbing Ellie embraced Steve.

"All right, folks." Artie, grinning smugly, shuffled over. "Let's get you home. Within a matter of minutes, the police arrived, taking West/Jinks to the nearest police station. Myka, Pete, Steve, and Ellie were on the helicopter to the hospital, and Artie and Claudia remained to finish up. For Pete and Myka, it was finally over. But for Steve, it was just beginning.

Wh13

"Knock knock." Grinning, Claudia stood hesitantly at the door. While Pete had already been checked out of the hospital, Myka remained to re gather her strength. Pete sat next to her and held her hand. "Just checking in. Artie said that you were both doing fine."

"Well, he was right." Pete stood up and gently kissed Myka's hand before releasing it. "I'm going to go get some coffee. Want anything, either of you?" Myka shook her head and smiled after him.

"No thanks, bro. I'm good."

"Bye, Pete." When he was gone, Claudia turned to Myka and gave her an incredulous look. She dropped her bag on the ground and quickly sat in the vacant chair beside the bed.

"What's going on between you and Pete? You're not even arguing!" Myka smiled shyly, confusing Claudia even more.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah, of course! Spill."

"Well...when we were running away, Pete almost fell down a hole, and I caught him, and after I pulled him up I guess I was just looking at him in a new light."

"So..."

"So I kissed him."

"No. Frakking. Way."

"Yes. And it gets even better." Myka sat up more. "Just a few seconds ago, he asked me to go on a date with him.

"Oh my god. He asked you out? That is sooooo sweet! Oh my god! I'm so happy for you! I'll pass the good news along to Jinksy. He'll be happy, even though he's a bit preoccupied with...you know."

"Claud, you might want to hold off on telling for right now. I mean, he is going through a lot."

"You're right. You're right. I just can't quite believe that Steve, my Steve, our Steve, has an evil supervillain for a dad and a genius sister he's never met."

"Yeah...it's a lot to take in. And he'll get through it, we all will. Don't worry."

"Thanks, Myka. Feel better. And congrats on the...Pete."

"Hey Claud?"

"Yeah?"

"Anything else you want to talk about before you go?"

"No. Not really." Claudia sighed and sat down. "Actually, there is."

Wh13

Steve sat next to his younger sister in a row of empty, plastic airport seats. There was no conversation between them: both seemed to be worn out after the events of the last 24 hours. After a detailed explanation of the entire case, Steve's mother readily agreed to take care of Ellie for at least the next few weeks.

Both siblings were in deep thought when Ellie's flight was announced over the loudspeaker. Steve stood up and walked her over to the gate. He handed her the bag she had hurriedly packed under the supervision of her brother. Neither one knowing what to say, they stood there for a few seconds.

"So," Steve broke the uncomfortable silence. "Are you sure you want to fly to New Jersey by yourself? I can always go with you." She smiled weakly at him, then embraced him.

"Thank you for helping me out. For…" she grinned, and he was reminded of his older sister. "For being the big brother I never knew I had."

Steve pressed a kiss into her hair, and they waved as she rolled her suitcase onto the ramp. He sighed and turned away. Now that she was safe, he knew what he had to do.

Wh13

"What's up, Claud?"

"Well, I , um," she sighed. "I think I'm," twiddling her thumbs, she sighed again. "I think I'm in love with Steve."

"Wow...okay."

"But he's GAY! I'm not even supposed to love him, and he's never going to love me back!"

"He does love you, Claud."

"Not in the way I love him." Claudia seemed ready to cry, and Myka thought for a moment.

"When two people are truly perfect for each other, even the biggest obstacle can't stand in their way."

"What about Romeo and Juliet? They couldn't even communicate properly! How about death for an obstacle? And Romeo wasn't even gay!"

Myka smirked. "Some believe in a life after death."

"So you're saying that he won't love me until we're both dead."

"Interpret it however you want. If you're unsure of something, just take chances and see what happens."

"Thanks Myka, but I get enough figurative language out in the field." And with that, she left.

Up next:

Steve confronts his father in prison, artifacts get feisty, and something gets in the way of Pete and Myka's relationship. Things between Claudia and Steve get awkward, and Artie lands himself in the middle of the ultimate question: does he look good in red?

AN: I'm taking a break from the darker side of this fic and trying to bring back some of the humor from the early chapters. Sorry to anyone who was waiting a really long time for this chapter. I keep getting sick and I'm very busy with school and school-related things. Quick question: How do you like the element of Clinks I threw in there? Like, don't like, element of surprise? Please review and let me know.

-ThestralSpell14407