Perelli roamed the halls of the overthrown Alpha Base, taking in the large amount of bodies from both sides with a cruel satisfaction. As he walked, he chanced upon one still form of a woman with a shaved head. However, he was forced to stop at this body when he saw the hazel eyes on her face betrayed the fact that she was living.
"Well, you're still alive then, are you?" Perelli crouched down at the woman's side, a nasty smile on his face. "Not to worry. We'll take care of that soon enough." To Perelli's surprise, the woman looked right up into his eyes without fear, and a self-satisfied grin on her face, as she forced something into his hand.
"For my family," she hissed in contempt. Perelli frowned in confusion as he looked into his hand, seeing the object was a grenade pin. A second later, horrified realization flashed on his face. Taking a knife, Perelli sliced into the woman's body suit, taking in the live bombs that were hidden underneath it. Perelli's face blanched instantly.
Roger and Mark stood on the roof of a building, where they had a clear view of Alpha Base going up in a ball of fire. Groaning, Roger reached out to squeeze Mark's shoulder in compassion. However, at that moment, debris from the explosion flew straight into the side of the building, shattering the structure. Almost instantly, the section of roof Roger was standing on crumbled away.
"Roger!" Mark shouted as his friend started to fall. The last thing Roger saw before being lost to darkness was Mark's face, watching helplessly as he lost to gravity.
The very first thing Roger was aware of was something cold and wet being slid across his face. Then he slowly became aware of familiar voices.
"I still say we should call an ambulance."
"No, Joanne. Trust me on this. Roger hates hospitals. He'll murder us if we took him there. Besides, look! He's starting to wake up!" Moaning slightly, Roger forced his heavy eyes open, only to close them quickly to block out the unbearably bright light. Moments later, he tried again, and this time the light was tolerable enough to keep his eyes open. However, he momentarily stopped breathing when the faces of his friends came into focus. They were there in front of him! Collins, Maureen and Joanne were all looking down at him.
"Well, look who's finally decided to join the world of the living!" Collins laughed.
"Collins?" Roger gasped. "You're here!? And Maureen? Joanne? But you're all… Oh, Go… I died. Am I dead?"
"I hope not," Mark's voice replied from behind him. Roger quickly turned to see Mark looking back in relief with Emily and the nine-year-old Penny at his side.
"Good to have you back, Roger," Emily smiled. "You've been out of it for hours now. I was seconds from calling Dr. Jordan." Roger blinked in confusion, looking around the Loft, which was exactly as it was the day he had the accident with the television. How was that possible? Wait! Penny! She was a little girl again! But didn't that mean… No, the time ray was destroyed when Alpha Base blew up. Then how…?
"A dream," Roger groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "It was all a dream."
"Must have been some dream," Penny noted with a large grin. "You kept muttering in your sleep the whole time ." Roger half laughed, half sighed, before looking around. Where was she? He'd seen everyone around him, but her.
"Guys, where's….?" Roger's question was answered before he could finish.
"I was hoping I was really hearing his voice!" Mimi announced, stepping out of the bathroom with a bowl of cold water, a large smile on her face. "Roger Davis, don't you ever scare me like that again! We found you passed out on the floor, and I thought you died on me!" Roger said nothing, and simply looked at her. "What are you staring at?" Mimi asked in the same tone of voice she'd adopted that night when they'd first met. Fighting back a laugh, Roger immediately got to his feet, ignoring Joanne's warning that he shouldn't strain himself so fast, and crossed the room in an instant. Without pausing for a second, he pulled Mimi to him for a long, lingering kiss, one that left them both breathless.
"Roger, what was that for?" Mimi asked, not even trying to hide her pleased surprise. "You're acting like you haven't seen me in years."
"You have no idea, Mimi. You have no idea," Roger chuckled, hugging her tightly.
"Hey, Roger, are you okay?" Mark asked. Roger turned back to his friends, smiling broadly at all of them.
"Yeah. I'm just fine. Never been better."
AN: See? Everything ends good, like I said. I'm not sure if I should end the story here, or add an epilogue. Can't decide. But for now, this is the end of this story. My next RENT story that's planned is a one shot called Her Saving Grace. It's a sequel of sorts to Babysitting in July. Hope you'll enjoy it. Until next time, this is Data Girl 3, signing off.