A/N: Not going to lie here, I'm not a chemistry master. Please excuse any completely impossible elemental compound mixtures. It's just a story. ^^

chapter thirty six– Guinea pig Tish

London, 2009

When the sun finally rose, the two girls drove down to Martha's sister's place. Martha felt a bit bad about barging into Tish's place so early in the morning, but Rixel insisted. She just kept telling her it was important.

Martha went inside to wake her sister up while Rixel waited outside the front door. She fiddled with her locket nervously. What if it didn't work? What if it made things worse? What if she killed Tish? Or...or...well, what if it did work? Then what? The Sunstar virus wouldn't even happen for 33 years! She'd be 47 years old by then! Bleg. She didn't want to run around saving the world at 47. Nor did she trust herself not to get into time trouble by then. Just knowing where her parents were at this very moment drove her insane. She didn't know how much longer she could resist the temptation to run off and see them.

"All good." Martha poked her head out.

Rixel walked into the small town home. It was nothing like Martha's place. In here, it was messy and cluttered. Martha led Rixel into the kitchen.

"She's getting dressed." Martha said, putting a kettle on the stove. "Just give her a minute."

Rixel nodded and sat down at a stool by the counter.

"Are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Martha asked.

Rixel nodded. "When she gets down here. I'll explain it all."

A few moments later, Tish came thumping down the stairs. She didn't look too happy. She dragged herself over towards the stool next to Rixel and flopped down, resting her head on the counter.

"Morning Tish!" Martha sang.

Tish just grumbled.

"Hi." Rixel said.

"You better have a good reason for wakin' me up at the crack of dawn." Tish muttered.

Well, no time like the present to just dive right in. Rixel cleared her throat. "Tish, I noticed that you have red freckles."

"What? These nasty things? Yeah. Takes almost a quarter bottle of makeup to hide them every day! Stupid things."

Rixel could feel her whole body shaking nervously. "I...I think I know how to get rid of them."

Tish bolted upright. "You do?"

Rixel nodded. She pulled out the small capped needle from her pocket. Her hands trembled as she put it down on the counter between them.

Tish reached out for it, but Martha grabbed it first.

"What's this?" Martha asked.

Rixel took in a deep breath. "The freckles were caused by a chemical compound I've been carrying around. It's a small strain of virus. This is the cure."

"Give it, Martha!" Tish snapped.

Martha still held on to it. "Why do you have a virus strain with you?"

"It was in my mother's locket. I...I didn't know." Rixel replied.

Martha glanced down at the locket around Rixel's neck. "It's still in there?"

Rixel shook her head. "I encased it. It's safe. No one will catch it again. Well, not for a few decades."

Martha raised an eyebrow.

"Martha!" Tish yelled.

"And you figured out the cure?" Martha asked. "For a virus?"

Rixel nodded. "Wasn't easy, but yeah."

Martha didn't look convinced. "How?"

She'd expected this. Rixel pulled out her notebook and slid it over to Martha. The woman opened up and flipped through the paged until she came upon the compound written on the bottom of a page. Her eyes widened. "What's Eletinium?"

"It's an element. Hasn't been discovered yet."

"An element. From the future?"

Rixel nodded.

"And you expect me to trust you to inject my sister with this? Rixel, you're 14."

Rixel rolled her eyes. "Martha! You've seen amazing things! You've seen how fast I can heal, even! Why can't you just trust me on this?"

"You're just a kid!"

Rixel slammed her hand down on the counter. "You never listen! You always think that just because I'm young I can't do anything!"

Martha took half a step back, surprised by her outburst. "As a teenager, you think you know everything, but you don't."

"I never said I knew everything." Rixel replied, trying to calm herself down. "I just happen to know about the compound my parents were working on that I studied for 3 years in an underground laboratory."

"What?"

Rixel shook her head. "Just, trust me, okay? You know very well that if it hurts her you can just use some of my cells to heal her back."

Martha stared at her for a moment, holding the needle. She didn't look convinced. After a moment though, with her eyes still fixed on Rixel, she held the needle out to Tish.

Tish grabbed it.

"You better be right." Martha sighed.

Tish stared back as Rixel and Marta looked over her. "I'm okay, guys."

Rixel relaxed a bit, but Martha still didn't look convinced.

"I should take your blood pressure." Martha said.

"Martha! I'm fine!" Tish replied.

"Her freckles are almost gone." Rixel said.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Martha said, almost laughing. "They are just freckles!"

"I think it worked." Rixel stepped back. "I...I think I got it."

Martha sighed, but Tish seemed grateful. She snatched a silver bowl off the counter and glanced at her reflection. Her hand scowered over her cheeks. "Oh, that's going to save me so much makeup!"

Rixel chuckled. Slowly at first, but then it manifested into a full out laugh.

The sisters both looked at her like she was crazy.

"Don't you get it?" Rixel said, still laughing. "I did it! I found the cure!"

"Your friend's a nutter." Tish said.

"Rixel, that's not possible." Martha shook her head.

"Yes it is!" The red headed girl snapped back. "Just look!"

Martha only shook her head.

Rixel didn't care. She knew what she had done. Somehow, though it was impossible, she just cured the Sunstar Virus.

Martha picked up Rixel's notebook and frowned. "This compound looks terrible. What's the pH balance on it?"

Rixel shrugged. "It's pretty acidic. I'd even dare say zero."

"You injected her with a zero acid!" Martha's eyes widened.

Rixel bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Rixel! That should have burned her skin right off!"

"Oh, relax Martha." Tish rolled her eyes.

Martha ripped the sheet out of Rixel's notebook.

"Hey!" Rixel leapt forward, but Martha easily pushed her away. The woman grabbed a pen and wrote down the pH in front of the elemental compound.

"I'm taking this to work. See what they can tell me." Martha frowned.

"No, don't!" Rixel replied. "It's got too much from the future! You can't!"

"Rixel, you just injected my sister." Martha replied. "I don't trust it."

"But Martha-"

"What's phoenix?" Tish interrupted.

"What?" Martha turned to look at the girl.

Rixel froze. Phoenix. Her nickname with the Master. She hadn't though of him in years. The man who betrayed her and stole River's vortex manipulator.

"Phoenix." Tish said. She pointed to the paper in Martha's hand.

Martha held the page up. "No, it's two different things. The pH balance and compound of whatever it is she just injected you with. See? Ph of 0 and whatever that new element was, Nitrogen, Iodine and Xenon. Come on Trish, it's basic high school chemistry."

"I hated chemistry." Tish replied, snatching the paper back. "Besides, the way you wrote the pH before it and your zero looks like an 'o'. Ph0 E NI Xe. I'm not crazy."

Martha rolled her eyes. "Who cares what it looks like? It's just a stupid compound!"

Rixel could barely even hear them. Her ears were ringing and her heart pounded in her head. That wasn't possible. It was far too much of a coincidence to be real. Yes, it was a stretch since Martha did add the pH a little weird, but...the coincidence. It was too great. Too much.

Before either of the two girls could react, the red headed girl snatched the paper away from Martha and ran. She bolted out the front door and down the street. She was too far away to find her way back to Rattigan academy, but she didn't need to. She just needed to get far enough away then call Jessica.