"...Y'know, if we just got a mini-bus, we wouldn't have to travel in a convoy," Jake pointed out.

Olivia covered amber eyes with her hands. "That's the kinda statement that will get you sent home, Jake."

"What for?" The curly-haired young man grinned at her, as if they were on the road trip of a lifetime.

"Do I need to remind you every time we're being serious?"

"It might help me catch the difference."

The red-masked turtle slapped the side of his head lightly. "Do you really think it's funny?"

Jake's face did fall slightly. "I know it's not."

"Then why do you act like you don't?"

He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I guess if I walk around moping, it's like admitting how bad everything is."

"Is that what you're accusing me of?!"

"No!" he protested swiftly. "I was only saying...Geez, Olivia. I didn't put anyone down. I was telling you how I feel. Apparently I'm not allowed to be corny or sad. I'll try to find another emotion to suit you."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Jake. I know I'm uptight, but this whole thing has me messed up."

The young man softened quickly. "I'd like to help, Liv, but you're not letting me."

"No offense, Jake, but there's not much you or anyone else can do. I love that you want to, and I'm really glad you're here. But you can't change what happened."

"No one can," he agreed. "At the same time, torturing yourself over the things you can't control, it won't bring them back either. If you talked about it, you might feel different. You won't know unless you try."

"Talk about what? Should I say I can't shut my eyes without seeing those beasts closing in on us? That my little cousins are haunting me around every corner? Or I wish I hadn't escaped, because at least I'd be wherever they are? Is that what you wanna talk about?"

"Olivia..."

She resisted the lanky arms which encircled her. "See? It doesn't help. Can we go back to the rest of the group? They have to be almost done nailing down details."

Jake's fingers softly traced the braided ends of her bandanna. "We can head over."

Since he relented so easily, Olivia didn't fight the arm that linked through hers, though she might have pushed the contact off otherwise. When she felt his steady gaze, however, Liv got irritated again.

"You're not gonna keep trying to cheer me up, are you?"

"Where'd you get an idea like that?"

"Jake, let it go, please?"

"I will if you do."

"What are you talking about?"

He gave her one of his infuriating grins.

"Don't you give up, nah, nah, nah,

I won't give up, nah, nah, nah,

Let me love you.

Let me love you."*

Olivia gritted her teeth with a scowl. "Haven't I warned you about Justin Bieber? You're so full of yourself. Do you actually think your voice can fix everything?"

His only response was to squeeze her arm tighter and repeat the same horribly infectious chorus.

Liv struck his shoulder hard. "You're ticking me off, and it feels like you're doing it on purpose. It's not too late for me to send you home."

"Then who would you beat up?"

"I still have a couple cousins for that." Olivia cringed. She couldn't mention that Charlotte and Tim were the ones she never raised a hand to, except in sparring.

Jake instantly pulled her closer. "You're gonna see them again."

"You don't know that. No one does."

"We're on our way to the bad guy's lair. It's a step in the right direction. "

"No, we are going to the bad guy's lair, and you're staying outside with our allies."

"Hey, I didn't screw up too badly at Ravensrock, and you weren't with me to supervise the whole time."

"You're not setting one foot inside. But regardless, they're only the human dingbats being used, not the alien warlords behind it all."

"Did you ever think you'd be saying stuff like that in an ordinary conversation?"

Olivia glared back at him. "Can we be serious for longer than three minutes?"

"I could, if you let me love you." He had the nerve to sing the chorus again.

"You are so annoying."

"I could get way worse if I have to."

"Then love me and get it over with!"

Jake nodded toward the family, who was now only a few yards away. "In front of your dad?"

"Why not? He sort of likes you."

"Doesn't mean he wants to see it."

"Then what have you been going on about, punk?" Olivia was so exasperated, she nearly shouted the words.

"I'm wearing you down."

She willingly accepted his embrace that time, resting her head against his shoulder for a long, silent moment. Meanwhile, the red-masked turtle still felt utterly empty. After waiting a few awkward seconds, Liv slowly pulled away.

"I don't feel better," she said apologetically.

"Well, yeah, but a lot of medications don't do the trick on their first dose either. That's why you gotta take a whole round."

Olivia had to smile at his persistence, and almost reached for him again.

Jake pointed over her shoulder instead. "We're being summoned."

She grasped his fingers while they hurried to close the distance separating them from the others, and met her father with a bleak look. "Sorry," the youth mumbled.

Raphael shook his head. "It's okay, Kouen. We just gotta go."

Jake raised his hand. "Can I ride with Liv this time? We've got a ways to go, right?"

"Yeah - a few hours. You guys do what you want, but remember they'll be other people in the car," he ended with a light threat, and ambled around the back of the first van.

Liv snickered softly. "He still loves you."

"Who can resist me?"

The twenty-year-old rolled her eyes. "I can't explain what's wrong with me."

"Why does something have to be wrong with you?"

"The corny humor? The sappy love songs? I don't melt for boy bands or chick flicks, so why am I wrapped up over you?"

He smirked in return. "It's a gift."

"A gift that could get you throttled."

"I don't see you complaining much."

"You irritate me literally all the time!"

"And yet, you're the one who fought to bring me along on this trip. Why not leave me at home?"

Olivia had a feeling the only reason Jake had been allowed to come with them was group sympathy on her part. She didn't want the attention, but was willing to prey on it for that purpose. "Annoyance is a distraction from my mistakes."

"You didn't make mistakes!" he insisted.

She broke eye contact to end the argument before it started. "Let's hurry and choose a spot, okay? I like the back of the van."

"Me too. Especially if your dad's driving."

Greg passed them at that moment, twirling a set of keys. "No one with mutant DNA is driving us to Pennsylvania. I don't see why we're taking cars when we have the freaking jet."

"You can't be that thick, Heffernan," Kelley scoffed. "We'll need vehicles when we get there anyway. Why would we bother flying such a short distance?"

"Because it's faster," Greg emphasized.

"And it also requires your boys to behave like stowaways," Matthew countered.

"It's exciting. They like it," Greg defended weakly, eyeing Olivia.

"Oh yeah, exciting," she remarked dryly. "Especially when you're trying to prevent your baby sister from giving everyone away." Olivia felt a sense of longing for the little turtle the instant she mentioned Belle.

"You don't get to comment on the jet, because you've never flown with us," Greg told Kelley.

The Director's eyebrows rose. "When was I invited?"

"You could have come any time you wanted. You're the one who has to keep stuff separated," Greg shot back. "Where does your wife think you are currently?"

"I don't give her excuses any more. I just tell her I'm going, and never volunteer details. She knows not to ask."

Jake nudged Olivia's side. "I'll never let you get away with that, so we're clear."

Liv's hands went to her hips. "Can't travel without you now?"

"Nah, you can travel. But I have to know where you are at all times, so I can come to the rescue when you get in trouble."

Olivia laughed without meaning to. "Absolutely. You're the first one I'd call."

"You think I wouldn't come?"

"I'm positive you would, but then I'd have to rescue both of us from the bad guys."

"No reason to split hairs, as long as we make it home safe."

"No one will make it home period if we don't leave," Greg spoke up. "Are you riding with us?"

"Who else is driving?" Liv asked.

"They figured Luke would keep up the be-"

"You," Olivia interrupted, and snagged Jake's arm. "Hurry, before the seats are gone!"

Jayden woke to the sound of an argument in the front of the van.

"I told you we needed US-30 East!"

"You told me as we were passing the exit. Was I supposed to fly over the cars in the right lane?"

Kelley cursed. "I mentioned it was coming up ten miles ago!"

"Which was extremely helpful, as we were passing the exit," Greg replied heatedly. "I'm about to just pop a u-turn in the middle."

Jayden was briefly tempted to dare the man to do it, but his face clouded over when he saw the elohim stirring on the seat in front of him.

"Bahri?" Kamryn patted the alien's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"I am stiff," he said wearily.

"You've got more room to stretch out your legs. Why not take advantage of it?"

Jayden huffed his annoyance and raised his voice. "Where are we exactly?"

Matthew turned to face them. "A few miles outside Lancaster. Heffernan is determined to commit as many crimes in the process of this trip as possible. And the others are stuck following his lead."

"A u-turn is hardly a felony." Greg pulled into the narrow gap in the divider separating the sides of the highway. "Kids, don't try this at home."

"Whether it's a 'serious' infraction or not, you're the one putting your friends at risk if you get pulled over."

"I've never been pulled over in my life, and I won't start today."

Matthew shrugged. "I'm just saying..."

"Maybe there's a good reason we've never taken a road trip in the same vehicle, " Greg ribbed.

"I don't recall asking to go on this one," Kelley grumbled.

Jayden had grown bored of the men fighting like school children. He adjusted his pillow into a ball to provide better support, but the move was fairly worthless since the turtle was now wide awake.

"Are you ready?"

Jayden opened his eyes at the question, but Nate wasn't talking to him. He glanced at the orange-masked turtle sharing his seat out of the corner of his eye.

"I am not sure if I am 'ready', as you say, but I will do the best I can," Bahri answered uncertainly.

And this is the hope we're pinning our family's and Earth's future on. Fantastic. He sounds like he's already been defeated. I don't know what our dads are thinking, believing this is the best route to go. Jayden eyed the elohim warily, and a scowl automatically emerged.

Something flicked his shoulder, and the purple-masked turtle glanced back at Olivia. "What?"

She leaned over the seat so he could hear her whisper. "If you're gonna look at anyone like that, it ought to be me. I'm the one who lost them."

Jayden's dark eyes narrowed, though he wasn't angry with his cousin. "He's one of them, Liv," he returned softly.

"He's also our dads' friend, and has done nothing except try to help us."

Jayden snorted. "'Try' is the key word."

"Jay." Nate's whisper was sharp. "No one blames you for being mad, but you shouldn't hold it against him. Bahri's not at fault."

Jayden crossed his arms and then returned to mashing his pillow against the window. He felt fingers brush his shoulder, and tried to ignore them. When the pressure persisted along with the feeling of someone breathing down his neck, he jerked away.

"Leave me alone," he proclaimed, partially muffled by his pillow.

"Jayden, we're not trying to gang up on you." Nate sounded genuinely apologetic, but the sixteen-year-old couldn't stand the invasion of his personal space.

"I said, leave me ALONE."

"Okay...sorry."

Jayden felt a little bad for snapping at his cousin and awkward for the outburst, but if he didn't acknowledge the embarrassment, it might not continue to bother him. However, the silence that persisted in the car for the next couple of minutes only added to the heat slowly rising in his cheeks.

"So, I'm impressed with the way you've handled Luke so far," Jake announced casually from the back seat. "I thought he'd be racing for the front spot out of the three vans."

Greg glanced back in the rear view mirror. "His wife being in the car helps. Marcus also threatened to box him in if he starts getting a lead foot."

Olivia chuckled. "Isn't Marc the one who actually got the Battleshell pulled over?"

Matthew twisted around. "Not seriously."

"Oh, it happened," Nate confirmed. "Back when they were chasing down Doc."

"Was that during the Morello incident?" Kelley whistled. "And yet, Luke's the one with a bad wrap for driving?"

"These signs proclaiming the speed, they aren't suggestions?" Kamryn seemed perplexed.

"No, definitely not a suggestion," Kelley told her.

"But if so many people disobey the sign, why do they bother?"

"Not everyone speeds," Greg answered.

"But you have been averaging over 80 miles per hour for the last three," Bahri noted.

"That's called keeping up with the flow of traffic. As long as you're traveling with a pack of cars going around the same speed, you're good to go."

"I was not aware it worked that way." Bahri sounded so serious, Jayden almost laughed, to his own chagrin.

"It doesn't," Kelley inserted. "And cops will still get you."

"But if they want to control their speed, why can cars go that fast to begin with?" Kamryn went on.

"It probably has to do with the general efficiency of the vehicle," Bahri said thoughtfully. "You must understand, the Earthlings deal with different moving parts than we employ, Kamryn. When a car approaches its top speed, the stress on the inner workings is most pronounced. Which would explain why it is designed to go much faster than most vehicles ever will."

Jayden rolled his eyes, even though the alien was technically correct.

"And it makes for more exciting car chases. Am I right?" Jake laughed.

"Yeah, that's how I'd describe it," Nate replied flatly.

Jayden glanced cautiously over at his orange-masked cousin, and straightened up on the seat. "It's better than missing everything."

Nate met his gaze questioningly. "If I know anything about this family, it's that there's always more 'excitement' right around the corner."

Jayden nodded pointedly, hoping it would suffice for an apology. "How much longer?" he directed up front.

"If Greg doesn't miss any more exits-"

"Maybe thirty minutes," Greg interrupted Kelley. "They aren't located in central Lancaster. We have to get to the outskirts, and figure out where to go from there."

"Where do we go from here?" Olivia asked. "Is there an actual plan, or is everything being improvised?"

Kamryn exchanged a look with Bahri, and the elohim answered hesitantly.

"It is my understanding that ventures of this nature are difficult to plan. We cannot account for the reception we will receive from these people. It is part of the reason I am nervous. I have been on missions in the past, but never in the position of manipulating someone to this extent."

Jayden hung over Bahri's seat slightly. "You've never lied before?"

"We arranged many covert operations in our time with the Overlords, but there was also more support," the elohim fumbled.

The purple-masked turtle shook his head. "You can't go in like this, dude. You're acting like you already blew it."

"I am unsure, and out of my element."

"We're all dealing with stuff we didn't expect," Jayden returned. "But if you don't think you have a shot of pulling this off, you shouldn't be doing it." He felt a death glare from Olivia's direction, but the alien was quick to concede.

"You are right, terrapin. I have been very negative."

"It's okay to be nervous," Nate said. "We all experience that, even our dads. But you gotta find some way to hide it from the bad guys, or...it could go south pretty quickly."

"Why would we go south?" Kamryn questioned. "Is that another term for running?"

Kelley turned around again. "No. It means things could go very wrong. That's why you have to find some way to demonstrate authority, Bahri."

Peering at the soft-spoken alien in front of him, Jayden still had serious doubts. But if our dads say he can pull it off, who am I to judge? I hope they're right about him, that's all I'm saying.

*"Let Me Love You" was written by DJ Snake and features Justin Bieber. I know I've complained a lot about Justin Bieber through the years, but I have a new respect for him. The mainstream media hasn't addressed it much, but he has changed quite a bit in the last year. Never judge people. You don't know what they're actually capable of.