A/N Once again, a longer chapter than most, but it's basically what I'd call the climax chapter. I can't believe it's been four years since I started writing this. Not just because it's taken me so long, but because this has been with me for that length of time, a length of time in which so much has happened to me. I've come far in terms of writing since I began, and there's a noticeable difference between this chapter and the prologue.

You might think this is a little anti-climactic, but I feel it does justice to what I have going for this story. I hope you think so too, or at least enjoy it!

Chapter 34: Everlasting Bonds

To an odd combination of relief and annoyance on Penny's part, Adam seemed to have gotten clear of the building. Or at least clear of this part of it. It had clearly taken him a while to notice that she wasn't behind him. Understandable, given the pandemonium that ensued following the explosion, but inconvenient now that she had to find Emily back for a second time. That sickening feeling returned in her stomach, but she ignored it. She had a good idea of where she was now, and it was quite probable that Adam had found her as well.

With any luck, so had Lightning.

With those priorities settled, her gut instinct was to chase after Calico and make him pay for what he'd done to her and her family. She had exhausted her 9mm ammunition, but she didn't need it to inflict serious harm on that man.

Another impulse was to bring her father's body with her out of the facility, but she knew all too well that he would put Emily's concerns ahead of his own. She knew better on both counts. Calico wasn't worth it and Mark had asked her to look after her family. She intended to do just that.

Reluctantly, she left the Primary Lab's entryway and went down the hall to the west wing. To her astonishment, most of Calico's men had deserted the facility. There wasn't even a squad of guards protecting the secure rooms. Whatever Calico had on them, it clearly wasn't worth it anymore. If not for her dismayed state, she would smile at that. Calico's power was depleted, his corporation fractured. Bruce and his family would be fine.

Now she had to ensure the same for her own.

As if on cue, Adam appeared on the opposite end of the next hallway she entered. When their eyes met, all of her doubts in him vanished in an instant, replaced in her heart by overwhelming joy. They both ran towards the other, and while Penny was expecting a tight embrace, Adam stopped a few paces short of her and awkwardly held his arms to his sides, wearing an expression of melancholy uncertainty. "There you are," he said, after a moment of hesitation. "What happened to you? Where's dad?"

Without warning, a new wave of tears filled Penny's vision. She looked down to the floor, forgetting about an attempt to hide it from him. "He's… Calico shot him," she uttered, barely audible. "He's gone."

Adam's entire figure dropped downward. His face went into even greater remorse. "Oh my… oh Penny, I…"

His voice was almost formless as well. Penny looked back up at him and their eyes held only for a moment before they both fell into the inevitable embrace. She held to him tight, trying and failing to control her sobbing. "Baby, I'm so sorry," he whispered in a quivering voice, stroking her back. "I'm so sorry."

Penny used thoughts of Emily to break herself out of her grieving, even though Adam's presence alone was enough. He never hated her for the plan she'd devised, she knew, nor had anything else about him changed. He was still the boy she'd fallen in love with. His apologies weren't necessary, but they helped immensely. "Emily," she whispered, forcing herself to pull back from her husband. "Have you seen Emily?"

Adam wiped his own tears from his cheeks. "Yes," he answered, regaining his composure. "I found her in the west side of the building, with Lightning."

A newfound joy sprang into Penny's heart. Lightning was all right and with Emily again. For once, a part of her plan actually worked out. "Where is she?" she asked.

"We went…" he began, sighing in anxiety. "We went looking for you. She's probably somewhere around here."

"You don't know where?" Penny asked, holding back her impatience and eventually regretting the question itself. It wasn't as though she hadn't done the same thing. "Where did you last see her?"

"We split up a ways back," he explained. "This guy… I didn't catch his name, told us that we'd find you going after Calico."

This guy. Penny recounted in her memory to know who that could possibly be, but soon abandoned the effort. "I'm not going after him. I just want to get out of here," she assured him.

"We'd better get moving," Adam said, starting to walk up the hall.

"Wait." Penny stopped him against her better judgment. "I… You need to get out of here. I'll go and find her."

As expected, Adam wouldn't have that. "No, Penny," he said firmly. "There's no way in hell I'm leaving you alone here. We're going to find our girl together."

"Adam, please," she said softly, taking his hands. "I don't want to lose you."

Adam squeezed her hands. "And I'm not going to lose you."

Their eyes gazed into each other for what felt like an eternity. Then, Penny wrapped her arms around Adam's neck and pulled him into an impassioned kiss that also dismissed any sense of time. Her world flashed back to that first kiss they shared on Calico's base twenty years earlier, to a time when she realized his dedication and importance to her. When she found her home back.

They remained in an embrace after their lips parted. Penny could only speak in a breathless whisper. "Look in the area close to the exit. If I find her, I'll go get you and we'll be out of here, okay?"

Adam leaned in and nuzzled his nose against hers. "Okay," he responded.

Penny pressed their foreheads together. "I love you," she said.

"I love you," he said, running his fingers through her frazzled hair.

Neither of them needed to say it, but even with all that Calico had done to them, after all he'd put them through, they would endure. Nothing could take away their family.

Adam went down the halls leading to the exit, looking back at his wife more than once as he went. Penny watched him for a couple seconds and then continued down the hall to the east side of the building, fighting back the urge to once again start calling out for Emily. Not that it would matter anyway. Even Calico's most loyal men had probably either been dispatched by Lightning or gone out to secure the perimeter. So she could hope, at least.

But she let those thoughts drift away. She would find Emily, they would escape together… they would recover Mark's body at some point, and then everything would be fine. It would be. They were safe. It was over.

Penny knew she was only kidding herself on that last count. None of this would be over until they were back in their home in Silverlake. Then and only then would it truly be over.

The surroundings gradually became more familiar to Penny as she progressed further into the east wing. She didn't exactly recognize each individual office she passed, but the building's format came back to her. She thought of using the layout she found on her father's tracking device, but remembered that, in her grief-stricken state, she'd left the rucksack and its few contents back in the Primary Lab. Dismissing the thought with a sigh, she unconsciously stuck a hand in her pocket and clutched Emily's bracelet. She should have given it to her before they parted ways again. Not that it would have done much good without the device.

As she considered the bracelet, she came into the hall that led into the Resource Collection room they'd visited. Her eyes fell across it just as the door closed, but not before Penny caught a glimpse of Lightning's bright white fur.

Her heart skipped a beat or several. On an impulse, she sprinted towards the door, sliding to a stop just in front of it. She looked for the door controls and came across the familiar keycard slot. How could she have gotten inside? After a moment, the chilling realization hit her: Emily still had the card. Penny didn't.

With several heavy hits, Penny rapidly knocked on the door, barely creating a sound even on her side of the door, only hurting her hand. Goddammit. She cradled her fist and looked hopelessly on the door. I'm so close. Why does this only happen when I'm this close? "Why can't I just keep my daughter close?!" she shouted out loud, kicking the steel-plated door.

With a few deep breaths, she cooled herself and leveled her head. Throwing a tantrum was exactly what she'd taught Emily not to do, and it was the one thing that was certainly not the thing to do now.

"Maybe I can help," a male voice said behind her.

Penny turned around, expecting to see Adam, but instead saw a middle-aged man with brown hair and a worn semi-casual outfit. Penny was at a loss for words. Someone willing to help her in these circumstances was very surprising, if not refreshing. "You… you have a keycard?" she asked awkwardly.

The man nodded, holding one up in his hand. "Don't worry," he assured. "I'm a friend of Talon's."

The name didn't immediately register with Penny, but the image of the man with a fedora standing in the rain just beyond Mittens's grave soon reiterated in her mind. She also thought back to the other man in the car during the ride Talon provided to her. Whoever this guy was really working for, he seemed to have a common enemy in Calico. That was good enough for her.

The man stepped forward and swiped the card through the slot. The door slid open with a hiss, revealing the rows of now-steaming cylinders. Emily and Lightning were nowhere to be seen, but they were likely looking for her here. Her heart skipped another beat when she turned back and saw the man had a pistol drawn. But he simply loaded it and nodded to her. "Be careful," he said, eyeing the room beyond her with great caution.

Penny nodded in return. "I'm only here for my daughter," she informed him.

"I know," the man responded. "I'll keep an eye out."

Penny would have reminded him that most, if not all, of Calico's security had bailed out, but her maternal reflex tugged hard enough at her mind to turn her around and start searching through the room. This time, she actually did call out Emily's name. And to her immense relief, Emily responded immediately.

"Mom?" Emily called.

"Emily!" Penny repeated. "I'm here, by the door!"

Rapid footsteps echoed across the room and Penny's heart rate escalated. She was just as eager as her daughter to be done with this.

"Quite a remarkable kid you got," the man noted behind her.

Penny faced him again, seeing a kindred smile on his face. The comment was somewhat awkward, coming from a man who somehow knew everything about her family's situation, but she could at least tell he understood, to some extent, how much family meant. Maybe that was what was driving Talon all along. Maybe that was why he'd been keeping such a close eye on Calico. At least, that was the explanation she would take if she didn't get another.

She actually didn't care anymore. She just wanted Emily back.

But the man's expression went from kindred to startled a split second before a red blotch erupted from his chest. His body fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Wilson!" Emily cried from across the room.

Penny spun around again to see Emily, standing cemented in place with an expression of horror, Calico's forearm wrapped around her throat. His other hand held his revolver, still smoking from the shot fired at Wilson. His face showed the deranged satisfaction he was feeling at that moment.

Then his eyes turned to Penny, and the barrel of his pistol was pressed against Emily's left temple. "Once again," Calico jeered in a sinister tone. "I demonstrate the penalty of questioning my resolve."

Penny's mouth went dry and her heart started pounding through her chest, the image of her wounded father appearing to her. "Calico," she uttered with sheer disgust, blood boiling. "You're insane. Your plans are ruined again. Your staff have deserted you and your base is in shambles. You really think you can run an honest business with the blood of two people on your hands?"

"Four, actually," he corrected, pressing the gun harder against Emily's head. "I'll gladly put my corporation on standby if it means exacting my revenge on your diminutive little resistance. Your deaths will fade into the local obituaries, covered by today's industrial accident. Then, once the smoke has cleared and our ducks are back in a row, nothing will stand in my way." His green eye appeared to twitch slightly as his finger fell over the gun's trigger. "Nothing."

Emily thrashed once or twice in Calico's grip, but he held her in line without waver. Penny had virtually no energy or patience left for this. She balled her hands into fists and stared daggers into Calico, hoping it would at least cause him to reconsider his circumstances. "It's not that simple. The authorities will investigate this and expose you," she continued, picking her words carefully. "You're not going to win here and you never will, not as long as you're willing to destroy others' lives to reach your goal."

Calico simply laughed maniacally, causing Penny to rethink her statement. Not that it did much good, but she had almost nothing else. "Now you see," he said, with another chuckle. "I always win."

In an instant, Penny's world collapsed around her. Her love, her pride, her joy. Her daughter. Cut down by a madman, a fate any parent would have taken in place of their child in a heartbeat without hesitation. When her life ended, so did Penny's. Everything was lost then. In the moment when Calico squeezed the trigger.

The shot that rang out was even more deafening than the one that had killed her father. Nothing else existed but Penny and her daughter. Her legs had gone to jelly, using their last ounces of strength to thrust her forward in time to catch Emily before she impacted on the floor. Her body was unsettlingly limp in her arms. Penny didn't look to see where Calico had gone. She didn't care. Emily was the only thing on her mind.

Penny turned her over in her arms, supporting her wounded head in her hand. Holding her daughter's fragile body in her arms took her back to the day of her birth, lying in the hospital bed with her newborn, the life she and Adam had created and were responsible for, in her arms. The day she'd promised to always be there whenever Emily needed her. Then her mind took her back to the first time Calico was defeated, when she made a pact with Adam and Bolt to always stick together and look out for one another. Then, she went to her father's side, just prior to his death, when she'd promised him that she would always take care of her family.

Now, all at once, those promises had been broken. She had failed. Herself. Her father. Her daughter.

Penny failed her family.

Emily's eyes were shut tight, her mouth slightly agape. The mere sight made Penny's eyes well up. She wrapped her other arm around her girl's shoulders and shook her lightly. "Baby…" she whispered, clutching her tightly in trembling arms. "Wake up…"

No. I'm not losing you. I promised. I'll never lose you. She pulled Emily close to her and rested the girl's head in the crook of her neck. "It's okay, honey," she assured, slowly rocking her back and forth. "Everything's okay. Mommy's here. Mommy's got you."

She would have given anything for Emily to wrap her own arms around her. Anything for a sign. Anything for a chance to go back, stop herself from doing this, from leaving her daugher, from breaking her promise. But there was nothing.

A white blur flashed in her peripherals.

She lifted her head from Emily's and saw Lightning with his jaws clamped down on Calico's leg as the latter attempted to flee up a ladder. In her sudden panic to get to Emily, she'd forgotten about him, a move which could have cost her her life. Another point for Lightning. With a desperate kick, he shook the dog off and continued to the overhead catwalks. Lightning shook his head and looked back to Emily, eyes widening at her current state. Penny nodded to him in a message which he seemed to reluctantly accept.

Calico had limped his way over to the control panel Penny and Emily had worked at earlier and started punching commands in with occasional baleful glances at them. Another desperate final offensive, but this time, it wasn't a bluff. A myriad of alarms began blaring through the facility. Penny gave Lightning another nod out of reflex and scooped Emily up as she stood.

"Come on, girl" she said to her. "I'm getting you out of here."

Ensuring that she had a firm grip on Emily, she turned around and ran back to the door, which was surprisingly open. There was also a small pool of blood where Wilson was gunned down, connected to a thin trail that led out of the room. Penny sighed in relief, but the relief was short lived. When she rounded the next corner, she found Wilson crumpled on the ground in another pool of blood, gradually growing, clutching the wound in his ribs.

Penny forced herself to stop and kneeled down beside him. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here," she urged.

"Just…" Wilson choked, his face twisted in agony. "Go… get out. Get her out… leave me…"

Penny knew she couldn't do that. Emily certainly wouldn't have allowed it. But Lightning came to the man's side looking as though he knew him. He probably did considering Emily knew his name. How big was Talon's role in all of this? More timeline details that could wait for later.

Lightning barked twice, standing over Wilson's writhing body. Penny could read the canine's eyes too well: Get out, I'll handle this. Emily also wouldn't have allowed this, but Penny chose the more recent development.

With yet another hope that Lightning would come through, she got back to her feet and kept running, assembling a mental map of the hallways to the best of her abilities. Fortunately, in addition to a self-destruct sequence, Calico's building designers also installed exit signs. Her heart skipped yet another beat out of joy this time when the eastern reception desk came into view. Adam and Bruce were standing at either side of the doors, both holding their ground until Penny appeared.

Adam's eyes held momentary relief followed immediately by horrified shock when they rested on Emily. Penny shook the nagging emotions away as the building began to shake violently. She passed through the doors, with both men's hands on her either of her shoulders, pushing her along.

"Get back!" a commanding voice shouted over the outdoor commotion. "Everyone get away from the building!"

Several engines of the fire department had arrived on the scene and firefighters were shepherding the crowd onto the grass towards the building's outer perimeter. Over the various shouts and screams, a sharp crack filled the air, followed by the sound of crumbling concrete and a shockwave that knocked everyone who hadn't cleared the parking lot off their feet. Penny's ears began to ring and she dropped to her knees, shielding Emily from the cloud of dense fog that enveloped the entire area.

Penny wasn't sure where Adam went in the minutes that followed, but she didn't detect any other movement around her even after the ringing left her ears. When she lifted her head and looked around, all she saw was a dark blue haze, only barely penetrated by the sun. A figure appeared out of the corner of her eye, walking at first and then running towards her. It kneeled down beside her, at which point Penny recognized his face.

"Are you all right?" Talon asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"That depends," Penny answered, turning her attention to Emily. "Sweetheart? Emmy… Emmy can you hear me?" Emily's eyes remained closed. Penny's heart began to sink and her voice grew more desperate. "Sweetie… come on, baby girl, wake up. Wake up! Come on!" She slipped a pair of fingers under Emily's jaw. "Please… dear God, please don't. Don't leave me, baby girl. Please stay with me…"

Astonishing exultation washed over her when a faint pulse throbbed against her fingertips. Penny lowered her face to Emily's and pressed her lips against the girl's forehead. "You stay right here, right with me," she whispered. "I'm here for you."

Talon extended a hand and rotated her head carefully to examine it. "She took mild blunt trauma to the back of her head," he noted. "How'd that happen?"

Penny slowly lifted her head. "Calico fired a shot. It just missed her, but it must have hit some pipe right behind them. I thought she'd…"

Talon nodded. "Nothing serious, but you'd better get it looked at."

He stayed beside her for a handful of moments longer, then began to stand. "Wait," Penny beckoned. "Who are you?"

At first, it looked like Talon was going to give a sarcastic answer, but shifted his demeanor. "I'm just a weary traveler trying to find my way in the world," he said simply.

Penny wasn't about to settle for that. "And why did you and your friend help us?"

Talon sighed, deciding not to evade the answer further. "We're black market smugglers, Clint, Wilson and I," he admitted. "Calico recruited us early on to help locate any threats to his 'Master Plan' and guide them into his clutches, your daughter particularly. But we'd heard more about his plans than he was telling us. The kind of corporation he had in mind was a threat to our operations, so we agreed to subtly undermine his plan. When we learned of you guys, we were able to do that with half the effort."

Once again, words eluded Penny. These men who easily saved her family were nothing more than black marketeers attempting to keep their profits. But she sensed something else in Talon. Some ulterior motive. "Why did you help us?" she asked, unconsciously running a hand through Emily's hair.

Talon gave her a sideways glance. "I just told you."

"No," Penny interjected. "Why did you help us? Why did you come back just now?"

Talon went quiet for a long while, allowing the sounds of emergency personnel and vehicles to fill her ears. When he spoke again, it was in a far more reverent tone. "Your daughter," she stated. "Her devotion to her family is admirable. Let's just say she has a fan."

With that, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the sea of a disorganized crowd. Penny didn't know whether to say "Thank you" or "Good work". Maybe she didn't need to say either. The man had proved what was said mattered just as much as what was done.

Emily stirred in her arms, and all of Penny's attention was immediately back on her. The girl's eyes fluttered open and she grunted as she started piecing together where she was. Her half-open eyes rested on Penny and she weakly voiced, "Mom?"

Penny held back her tears and cleared Emily's face of a few stray strands of hair. "Hey, Emily. You're finally awake."

"You almost overslept again," Adam said.

Penny suddenly realized he was kneeling beside them with a hand on her shoulder. Emily winced in a failed attempt to lift her head, but smiled up at both of them. "What happened?" she asked weakly.

Penny and Adam exchanged glances, a gesture which they both knew Emily would pick up on even in this state. "It's… a long story, honey," Penny explained. "We'll talk about it later."

Emily started to nod, but suddenly remembered something and tried her best to look around. "Where's Lightning?"

A lump formed in Penny's throat and she looked back at the smoking ruins of Calico's base just now visible through the dissipating fog. Lightning had insisted that he stay behind to get Wilson out, but did he have time? Penny and Emily were lucky enough to make it out in the time that they did, but Lightning was still behind them. It was possible he chose to shield Wilson from the blast rather than attempt to get him clear of it, but that theory only raised another question: did he survive?

Bolt survived a similar blast during their attack twenty years ago, but he was younger and his molecular structure was more stable. Lightning's could have held out… it should have, at least.

Yes, it did. It had to have. He'd made it this far. There was no reason why he couldn't finish the distance. "He's okay, sweetie," Penny responded, realizing that it didn't completely answer Emily's question. "He saved you, you know."

Emily produced another weak smile. "Of course he did," she said. "He always does."

Both her parents grinned. That much was the absolute truth.

Penny carefully stood, still holding Emily in her arms, and swiftly ran over to the nearest unoccupied paramedic and explained in a brief sentence her daughter's condition. The medic examined her and subsequently gestured to one of her associates, who quickly brought a gurney over to them. "She's stable," the medic confirmed. "But we'll get her some attention at the hospital as a precaution."

She took Emily from Penny's arms and gently lowered her onto the gurney. Emily's eyes fluttered and darted around rapidly. "Mom?" she said nervously.

Penny quickly shot her arm forward and grasped Emily's in her own. "It's okay, honey. I'm still here. I'm right here."

Emily visibly calmed down at the contact, though she still kept an eye out for any sign of Lightning. Penny moved her hand up to her shoulder and turned back to Adam, who didn't need an invitation to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Penny returned the embrace and looked again at the wreckage of the facility, now clearly visible from the outside. A plume of black smoke still lingered over the site itself, giving Penny an involuntary shudder. Lightning was still inside, as was her father. Even though Penny reminded herself that the latter would have preferred Lightning to escape over himself, Emily was the only thing keeping her from charging back inside and seeking their remaining family member.

That, and Calico.

Considering he was near one of the epicenters of the blast, it was extraordinarily unlikely that he could even crawl away from that. Mark's body had a better chance of being unaffected than Calico did. He was so desperate to get revenge on her that he was willing to take his own life and dozens of innocents. That was the other factor which kept her away from that place for good.

Penny's eyes met Adam's and she could tell he was having the same thoughts. He moved closer and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "We're okay," he whispered, rubbing her shoulder.

Nuzzling her head under his chin, Penny nodded. It was a small gesture, but the kind he did best.

Her eyes drifted further to see Bruce standing a short distance off, holding Lindsay tightly against his chest. His eyes met Penny's briefly, or at least she thought they did, and he smiled candidly.

Whether he actually saw her or not, Penny returned the smile. She knew exactly what he was feeling.

Lightning was alive. He wouldn't cease fighting to come back to them. His love for his family was far too strong.