The Man's office

Beneath the Pentagon

Hubble Urich was yelling. And the Man was developing a headache. So far, any attempts to wake the Subject from his self-induced coma had been in vain. The Man had left It in its cell, not willing to risk it making an escape attempt from sickbay and not able to move him, even if he could.

Each time anyone had gotten too close to the Subject, an energy surge had thrown them away like a discarded tissue. It was most frustrating. If only they had had a second Subject to run tests on, then maybe he could be able to figure out, what was going on.

"Sir?" For the first time in days, he was actually pleased to be disturbed. Anything to break the rant the President was on about his inability to comply to even the simplest of orders. He was more than tempted to kill the man right now.

"Yes ?"

"Research has found something, I think you should see. I'm patching it through to your computer now." The Man punched up the information and read it. Then reread it. This could be the break he was looking for. A cold smile, which chilled Urich to the very core, made it's way onto his face. Yes, this could be his big break indeed. Then he picked up his phone and started giving orders.

The Air ducts.

Beneath the Pentagon

Bettis had been close to getting caught twice now, once being able to make a slip and the second he was able to kill the goon before the goon killed him. As a result, he was now equipped with not only a gun but also a set of headphones, making it possible to tap into the intern communications of the place. Off cause that would end, when they found the dead guy and noticed the missing headset, but until then, it gave him an edge. One that he appreciated very much.

Something was up. Something big. Maybe the cavalry was finally about to arrive? In that case, he had to locate the prisoners ASAP. Cursing, and being thankful that he had not developed claustrophobia yet, he made his way through the tunnels again.

Zeke's Cell

Zeke had been watching a myriad of scientist come and go from Liam's cell, not one of them being able to figure out, what the hell was going on. He smiled contentedly. Liam was safe for the time being. He watched the kid again, as the flow of scientist made a break. In his sleep, he looked happy for once. Zeke couldn't remember when he had last seen that in the kid. Never, as far as he could tell. He couldn't help wondering, what the kid was dreaming about.

The Kimeran Commonality

Liam was laughing his head off. He knew, that these two Kimera was much older than him counting in years, but something about them made him feel amongst people his own age. His real age, that is.

And their tale of how one of their team-mates, Kiri'el, had once ended up in rather sticky, quit literally, situation while being involved in a rite of friendship on a low developed planet, was simply hilarious. A short distance away, Ca'el was watching contentedly. The Child was enjoying himself greatly. It was a joy to watch. And Anr'el would be pleased.

And when you spoke of the devil. He received a message from her. Worriedly he listened, then resend her orders to the people, who were needed. He hoped that this would work.

Washington Portal Station

A tall teenager was absentmindedly wandering through the crowd, more than once stepping on peoples toes, their angry yelps pulling her back to reality before her mind drifted off again. She was hugging herself, wrapping the long, much too large, leather trenchcoat close her slender body as if trying to keep hold of a memory. A long rug of unruly dark blond, slightly curled hair hid her features, which had a strangely haunting beauty to them, only allowing people, who came close enough to notice, a glimpse of sad green-golden eyes, which seemed to carry the sorrow of the world in them.

All the sudden all hell broke loose when a detail of soldiers exploded out of ID-space in a nearby portal. At the same time, other soldiers burst in the different exits, blocking every escape route there was. The teenager looked desperately around, trying to find a way out and people around her started to panic, as they noticed the glowing, brilliant white light emanating from her hands.

A vicious struggle took place, the teen almost making it away through one of the fire exits as a shot from a stun gun had her downed. A tall, imposing man with a cold smile on his lips and equally cold eyes walk up to the dazed girl lying crumpled on the floor.

"I do not know, how you have succeeded in remaining out of the DNA registers for this long. However, it was a mistake using the portal system." The Man said, a gleeful expression slowly making it to his face. The world was a wonderful place to him right now.

"BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY FATHER ?" She screamed, the desperate rage giving her the power to rise on wobbly legs.

"Why, ms Palmer, such language for a young lady like you. Didn't your mother teach you better ?" The Man laughed at his own joke. "No, that's right your mother doesn't even know you exists, does she? Your freak of a father saw to that." His voice sank to a menacing whisper. "Unless you wish your father to die a VERY painful death, I suggest you follow us peacefully." He smirked at the frightened expression in the girls eyes. The revelation, that the Freak had a daughter had been a blessing falling into his hands out of thin air. He had only found out about it due to the fact that the portal system had once been set up to alert him if anyone with abnormal DNA turned up. The DNA registers did have their uses.

And the government had long wanted to get their hands on some of the Taelon- Human hybrids, which they knew was out there. This was just a bonus.

"Dad...Dad is dead..."The whisper came out low, almost inaudible as if she was facing a great grief.

"No, he's not. He's actually my guest. And so will you be, ms Palmer. Do not worry, we will not harm you. Much." His cold, cruel laughter once again rang out in the now almost vacant arrival hall. Good, no one seemed to have noticed his little exchange with this subject. And the arrival of soldiers could easily be explained. A possible terrorist attack from a Taelon Hybrid. The public would, easily fooled as they were, would believe it with out to many questions. The girl's eyes widened in horror and surprise as a hypo suddenly connected to her neck, administering a highly potent sedative, which had her unconscious in seconds.

As the soldiers dragged the girl to the nearby portal, no one noticed the small whisp of air as something moved to a now unguarded fire exit from behind a pillar. Seconds later, spectators, if there had been any, could have watched the surprising sight of the cargo door in an unmarked, dark van suddenly opened and closed on its own volition. Once inside, he deactivated the small Jaridian cloaking device, slowly fading back into sight. Augur handed his Global to Street, who started downloading the data from the portal to the mainframe.

"They bought it. She's in."

And Sandoval, Belman, Street and Augur could now only wait.

The Complex

Beneath the Pentagon

"We are running out of suitable cells, thanks to Bettis's little stunt. Take her down to the other Freaks cell and put her in with him. After all, who am I to not allow the great reuniting of a family." The Man allowed his good mood to shine through. He believed he now had the key to breaking It completely. He didn't notice the eyes of the girl opening slightly to mark the way the goons were dragging her, a slight glimmer of something alien shinning in them.

She was in. Her head was pounding with the agony from counteracting whatever drugs they had injected her with. Human physiology had its limits. But she was not human. And this was a very primitive drug, easily overcome. All she had to do now was find the Child, waking him up and wait for phase 2 of the plan to start. And it seemed these people was actually making it easy on her. Anr'el quickly closed her eyes completely to avoid them detecting, that she was awake, as the guard roughly yanked her into an elevator.

The Air ducts

Beneath the Pentagon

So that was what they had been up to. Strange. Bettis hadn't known about Liam having a daughter. But there were so many things he didn't know about the man. Poor girl. Thank good he had finally located the rest of the ODK cell. Now he only had to get them out again. He needed a distraction.

"I wonder if..."

He headed towards the power core.

Kimeran Mastship "Justice"

Orbiting Earth in ID-space

Ca'el had everything ready, finally. The Commander was in. Everything was ready for the second part of the plan. Now all they could do was wait for the signal. And pray that things went OK.

The Kimeran Commonality.

Liam was getting worried. Not too long ago, he had noticed a sudden increase in activity, followed by several Kimera, including Ca'el, exiting the link. Something was going on. He didn't know what, but it seemed serious.

"Anr'el ?" he sent carefully, not knowing exactly HOW to contact her.

"Child. Liam." A faint whisper in his ear.

"What's going on ?" His anxiousness was clearly expressed in his voice.

"Sh...Everything is OK. We are working on getting your body to safety." Her voice was getting more powerful as he sensed her presence increasing, although not in the Commonality. This seemed more...Physical ?.

"It is." She was reading his mind again.

"Why aren't you in here with me ?" He was getting frightened.

"I cannot allow the people around me to notice me being awake. Please be calm. We'll be together soon.." Liam, put slightly at ease by the soothing tone of Anr'els voice, didn't ask any more questions. If she was close to his physical body, working on getting him out, he would not be the reason why she was detected. All he could do was wait.

The Van

A couple of streets from Pentagon

The space was cramped and Sandoval was developing a slight notion of claustrophobia. Not to mention the weird flashbacks from his days in the FBI his CVI kept digging up. And the headache. He chalked it up to nervousness. In the old days, he would not have counted on one person alone to do this. He would have sent an entire squad. But then again, Anr'el wasn't your usual human. She was Kimera.

And that species had, as far as he could tell, literally thousands of years of experience in blending in and going undercover, although he suspected, that this was one of the first times they did so in not-so-peaceful intentions. He still had a hard time in dealing with the stuff, he had watched her do after Juliana had given her the requested blood samples.

One thing was being told about the shapeshifting abilities of the Kimera, another thing was watching it being done.

The Lair

Beneath Saint Michael's Church

2 hours earlier.

Juliana was entering the Lair, a large blood transport case in one hand, a very LARGE bag of medical supplies in the other and a rather breathless expression on her face. She hated the public transportation in Washington, but it was one of the few things, which made it possible for one of the most famous people on the planet to go unnoticed through the city.

No one expected her to use the bus anymore. That, and the fact that she was being disguised by a rather ugly looking set of clothes and an equally ugly wig. The downside was the fact, that she had had to run to catch that last subway train to get here. And she wasn't in as good a shape as when she was 20. Or had been just 5 years before.

"Face it, you are getting to old for this stuff," she muttered under her breath. But she would be damned if she wouldn't see this through. Liam needed her.

Anr'el noticed her entering.

"Have you got it ?"

"Yes." Juliana handed her two test tubes filled with a red liquid. "That one is a sample from Liam, taking just before his disappearance. Its kind of old now, but it should still have enough live cells in it for your use." She allowed herself a satisfied grin. "The other one is from Renee Palmer."

"What, you mean that bitch actually agreed to help us ?" Augur was surprised. After his last encounter with the Ice Queen, this was the last he expected. Julianna's grin grew.

"Who said, that I told her what it was for ?"

At Augurs laughter, Anr'els left eyebrow decided to do a Tuvok impersonation, doing its best to reach her hairline. That, off cause, made Augur loose it completely. Wiping the tears from his face he explained.

"When me and Sandy..." The nickname had Sandoval sending him a dark, very implant like, scowl. That didn't phase Augur at all, though. "When we was trying to hunt down people to help rescue Liam, she said some stuff, which I am not to repeat here. The message was clear, though: She wouldn't take time out of her busy schedule just to help an alien, even if said alien had saved the world. She didn't think Liam was worth it." He sighed, his good mood vaporised by the memory.

"And this makes you laugh because..." Anr'el failed to see the joke. Augurs smirk returned.

"Looks as though she's going to help anyway, though, wanting or not wanting to..."

Anr'el still failed to see the joke, but choose to let it go. Human humour... And she believed, that some of the stuff she found hilarious would probably receive the same reception if the tables were turned. Then she returned to the task at hand. Blending two sets of DNA was difficult, but possible, make her able to pass as a child of Liam's. She could have chosen to just go with Liam's DNA structure, but the people, who's attention they were trying to get, would probably get suspicious if a 100% identical twin turned up. She uncapped the test tube with Liam's blood. She was finally going to find out, exactly WHAT the Child looked like. The images of the dreamworld or the Commonality was based on people's own impression of themselves, and although mostly accurate, there were always some differences.

And computer images or photos would never be the same thing as watching the face in the mirror. She poured the small amount of blood into her right hand, her Shaqarava instantly gathering the information needed for the transformation. The world disappeared in a blinding white light, as the pain washed through her body, only with difficulty being kept from flowing trough her downtoned link into the Commonality. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the floor, her clothes feeling oddly tight in some places, like the shoulders and too loose at others. The genetic memories of Hag'el and Liam and all of those before them flooded her own mind, for a moment making it hard to separate her own mind from Liam's.

But after a while, she managed to do so and slowly rose, her viewpoint on the world now a couple of feet higher than that of her previous host. Sandoval moved to help support her, her still not being completely used to her new body. It had been amassing watching the transformation. The change had started gradually, spreading like ripples in the water and picking up speed as Anr'el's body had adjusted to the new DNA pattern.

And now he was staring at an identical twin of Liam's.

Off cause, Liam would never be caught dead wearing a tight tanktop and a skirt, not to mention high heeled boots, which would now be at least 3 numbers to small, but still. Incredible.

"A mirror..."Anr'el whispered hoarsely, not only looking like Liam but also sounding like him.

The awed Street quickly handed "him" her compact.

Anr'el looked in the small mirror, carefully running the tips of her fingers over the face, she saw in it. She had done it. Now for the hard part. She straightened up and handed the small mirror back to Street, then uncapped the second test tube.

Following the same procedure as before, she managed to keep her DNA from changing into the Palmer DNA completely, stopping it midway through the process. The pain was excruciating, but again she barely managed to keep it from the Commonality. No use in upsetting Liam and everyone else unnecessary. Her clothes now felt more normal, although still a bit too tight. She was female again.

With a few alterations in her body, she managed to look like she was a teenager. Street spoke up.

"You need some other clothes. Those things you've got on is WAY to old fashioned if you want to pass off as a normal teen." She went over to a nearby dresser. "Thank God I never got around to cleaning this place up."

15 minutes later, Anr'el was still in the tanktop, but now with a pair of tight jeans and one of Liam's old trenchcoats. Augur had meanwhile brought the temporary portal online.

"Everything is ready here. The Portal records will have you having taken a series of jumps from somewhere in Canada to Washington DC. This portal will take you to the Washington portal station whenever you wish."

"Good. You and the rest better get in position at the portal station. We need the information of the frequency of the portals they are using if Ca'el and the others are needed to go in and get us out. Here." Anr'el, her voice now a pleasant soprano, handed Augur a small disk. "It's a Jaridian cloaking device. You activate and deactivate it here." She pointed at a small button. "You'll be able to see yourself and everyone around you, but no one will be able to see you. The device works by changing the frequency with which your body vibrates."

"Kind of like those cloaking devices in Star Trek, right?" Anr'el send Street a questioning look. Star Trek?

"I guess I will have to take your word for it..."She said, none of her acquired memories letting her know, what the heck the hacker was talking about.

"Cool, ready to rock !" Street announced loudly, heading towards the elevator. "Are you guys coming ?"

The Van

A couple of streets from Pentagon

Now.

Sandoval changed position for God only knew which time. The entire thing went down like a charm. As they had long suspected, even before the Taelons disappeared, there was a monitoring system rigged up in the Portals, and it had only been minutes from Anr'els arrival in the Portal Station to when she was caught.

The artificial trail Augur had set up had allowed for their opponents to know about her goal for a good 30 minutes before Anr'el actually activated the temporary portal. And as foreseen, the enemy had used a portal to remove themselves and their "prisoner" from the public eye. If they only knew, which kind of tiger they had let into their complex...

Augur had got the frequencies using a Global and the Jaridian Cloaking device and after having uploaded the information to the mainframe in the Lair, the AI of it had passed on the information for the Kimera through a link to their flagship, the "Justice". And now they were waiting for the final steps in liberating Liam, only a few streets from the place, where he was being kept a prisoner. All Sandoval could think of was, that his son was somewhere in there, in danger.

He changed position again.

"Sandoval, stop fidgeting." A slightly annoyed Augur said, getting a bad case of cabin fever himself. In the same moment, a loud beep from his global caught his attention. It was a short text, a signal from the Kimera. Part 2 of the plan was about to commence. The 4 people got ready to move.

The Power core

Beneath the Pentagon

30 minutes before.

The people, who ran this place, had made a critical mistake. They had thought him confined to the air ducts and only interested in getting out. They were wrong. And they had underestimated him. BIG mistake! Bettis sneaked out of an air vent close to the main control panel of the huge ID- core, which this place was powered with. If he could sabotage the core, making it overload WITHOUT blowing up (he had no intention of spending the rest of his life looking like a roasted chicken, thank you very much), it would take the rest of the powersystem with it, including the virtual glass barriers.

The portals had their own power supplies, so he had no worries there. And the distraction would be perfect for him getting the rest of the ODK people out. Hopefully, the commotion would also allow them to get to Liam, his kid and the Colonel fast and unnoticed if he timed the overload right. He quickly made the necessary alterations in the controls, then speeded back to the air ducts as a guard came a little too close for comfort.

Now for the others.

Liam's Cell.

Beneath the Pentagon

1 hour 30 minutes ago.

Zeke had watched them throw the stranger into Liam's cell, chasing the scientist types out. The Bastard had approached the pair.

"I suggest you wake up your precious father." Zeke gasped loudly, the shock too much for his already strained self-control. Father? He would never in a million years have suspected this! The Man ignored him and continued.

"Unless, off cause, you would like us to shoot him right now." The last remark was said with an evil smirk. He loved the power, this little game gave him.

"I..I don't know HOW !" The teen said, her voice choked with tears.

"Well then, ms Palmer, I suggest you start working on it. You have until tomorrow morning or else..." He laughed, then turned on his heels and walked away, still laughing loudly.

"Don't do it. They'll only start hurting him again. And in the end, you'll both end up dead anyway." Zeke tried to reason with the girl across the hallway, as she carefully approached the sleeping Liam. She shot him a surprisingly knowing and calm look.

"I know."

Zeke took one good look at the Girl. She looked like a teen. Behaved like one. And her features showed that she could be a child of Liam's. But the look in her eyes told a different story. And Zeke was deadcertain that something was up.

"Who..WHAT are you ?" he asked in his mind, not daring to ask the question out loud out of fear that the bastards were listening in. Anr'el couldn't afford more warning to the prisoner on the opposite side of the hallway. It was too risky. The walls in this place had ears. All she could hope for was that he knew how to keep up to pace when this place went up in flames.

She sat down next to Liam on the cot, his body instinctively recognising her as one of his own kind, as a no-threat creature. She grabbed his hand, clasping it palm-to-palm against her own, ignoring the glowing shaqarava, and entered the Commonality.

"Child" she sent. "It is time to wake up." Deep within the Commonality Liam heard her voice and slowly followed it back to the real world. His eyes fluttered open.

"Easy." A strange female voice said, her breath tickling his ear. "Don't let them know, that you are awake. You need to gather some strength. Rest." Tempting as it was to open them, Liam kept his eyes closed, the only outward sign that something had changed, the fact that he was no longer glowing. Anr'el send a message to Ca'el.

"Initiate part 2 when I say so. The Child needs to gather some strength." Ca'el's answer came through clearly. "Acknowledged. Keep safe, my friend. And keep your head down. This could get nasty."

"I will. See you soon."

The Kimeran Mastship "Justice"

Orbiting Earth in ID-space

Now

The signal came through nice and clear. Anr'el and the Child were finally ready to move. Ca'el gave the final order.

"Take us out of ID-space and open communications, override any frequencies the humans are using for communication." He took a deep breath to prepare himself, as he felt the "Justice" reenter normal space.

"Communications online in 3.2.1" Ca'el opened his eyes, looking every bit the strict commander of a huge war fleet.

"I am Ca'el of the Kimera. You have hurt one of our Children. Now you must get ready to face the consequences." And in the Complex, all hell broke loose...

The Man's Office

Beneath the Pentagon

He was watching the Subjects in cell SL27. He was still stunned at the mental strength the male subject, which he called A, had shown evidence of having. To be able to remove the memories of a birth from the mothers mind. Truly a feat. But Renee Palmers reaction to his questions about the whereabouts of the girl, they had tracked from Canada, had not been mistaken. She had been outraged, truly outraged, claiming, that there was no child. She hadn't lied. But DNA didn't lie either. So that left only one explanation.

Subject A had used her as a vessel for his bastard offspring and then removed the memories of the entire event from her memories. He wondered how many other aliens were out there. He would have to remember to ask. What a shame, that they couldn't drag in the DI president for questioning, but she was to publicly known. Maybe if...

That was as far as he got as the monitor suddenly flickered, the picture changing to that of an aliening, consisting of pure green energy. It spoke.

"I am Ca'el of the Kimera. You have hurt one of our Children. Now you must get ready to face the consequences. We know where he is. We know what was done to him. We are coming to get him. You can't stop us, so don't try. Resistance is futile and will only cost blood. YOUR blood. This is your last chance: Turn the man you know as Liam Kincaid, former Companion Protector and Resistance leader, saviour of your world and many lives, and those belonging to him, over to us unharmed and we will be merciful. If this order is not followed, if he or any of those with him is hurt any further, the Kimeran Warfleet will turn your planet into ashes." The screen blacked out. The Man hit an alarmbutton.

They were under attack.

Kimeran Mastship "Justice"

Orbiting Earth.

"Send down the shuttles and have the troops deployed through the Washington Portal station. Then bring in the ships capable of entering the atmosphere, have them hover over all major government buildings in the city. Bring the "Justice" down on top of the building the Humans call the White House." Ca'el ordered, following Anr'els plan to the point. By drawing the attention of the humans away from the real point of action, they hoped to give the Commander the time necessary to get the Child to a portal and out. They would go directly to the "Justice". If time was too short or something went wrong with the portal, they would go to the surface instead, getting whisked away by Augur and the others in the van. And if everything else failed, 7 Kimeran teams were ready to use the information provided by Augur to portal in, invading the prison and freeing their people by force. Ca'el hoped, that this last option would not be necessary. It was much to dangerous. And the Kimera hated violence in general. But these people had hurt Liam. And any compassion Ca'el felt on behalf of the humans disappeared from his mind.

They would pay. The ultimatum delivered, the "Justice" entered the atmosphere. The time of waiting was over.

Liam's Cell

Beneath the Pentagon

Anr'el had given the signal, now she needed to get Liam out. If Ca'el had done his job, every monitoring device in this installation should be burned out now, the virus which caused the destruction carried by a special signal aimed at this complex, but masked by the message, he had just sent to the world above their heads. The rest was a matter of luck. Luck and speed.

"Time to open your eyes, Child." Anr'el didn't bother to whisper, as she got up and moved over to the virtual glass barrier, placing her hands on it, ignoring the burning sensation the matrix caused in her hands. Then she activated her Shaqarava.

Liam opened his eyes, fighting off the half-doze he had been in, just in time to watch the barrier disappear in a rain of bright sparkles. The tall teenager, who caused this, turned to him, holding out a hand and said with a small smile:

"Come, Child, it is time to go home."

Getting up on slightly unsteady legs, he made his way to the exit of the cell, getting offered and accepting Anr'els supporting shoulder. Then he remembered Zeke.

"Wait, we can't go without Zeke. He and his men got caught trying to get me out of here." He nodded towards the cell oppersite his own.

"Don't worry about me, just get the Hell out of here !" Zeke demanded loudly, wanting nothing more than seeing Liam safe out of here. Anr'el simply release Liam from her hold and turned towards Zeke's cell. "Duck."

Then she fired.

A Cell lane

Beneath the Pentagon

Bettis was watching his friends from the ODK in their cells. These ones were ordinary cells, with bars. It seemed like the bastards was running out of the VIP-ones with virtual glass. He grinned. His little stunt with the glasses seemed to have worked better than expected. His grin disappeared. There were more than enough guards to compensate for the lesser security, though. And he didn't favour Kamikaze missions. He could only hope, that his little ace in hole, the overloading power core, would create enough distractions for him to get his friends out.

Suddenly an alarm rang out, most of the guards running towards the other end of the corridor, apparently listening to something in their earpieces. He quickly activated his own.

"...attack, I repeat we are under attack ! All personnel please report to the top floor immediately!" Bettis could barely hold back a loud laugh. Looked like the cavalry was finally arriving. There was only one guard left. That caused Bettis no problems, and 5 minutes later, he and his ODK teammates were running towards the nearest elevator, heading towards the cells of Liam and Zeke. In the lowest regions of the Complex, a marker on a computer screen hit red.

A Hallway

Beneath the Pentagon

Things were going slow. They hadn't been noticed for now, but due to the serious injuries of Colonel Kincaid, they were forced to move more slowly than she liked. And Liam wasn't completely sure on his feet either. His long period of first torture and then inactivity in an almost coma had weakened him more, than she cared to think about. And even the almost 2 hours, he had been resting, had not been enough to restore him completely. As for the Colonel, the small amount of healing she had been able to administer without drawing any attention to them, had only helped marginally.

A cold fury woke inside her. If they had been this hard on Zeke, what hadn't they done to Liam ? No wonder, he had been in such pain. She was grateful, that his body had been able to heal the physical wounds, even if the mental ones were only now getting ready to emerge. And those would be the worst. She knew from bitter experience. Sometimes, being as archaic old as her had a terrible pricetag attached to it. Who ever was behind this, they would pay...

But right now, they needed to get out of here. Fast. She heard the sound of approaching feet and quickly dragged the two people in her charge through a door.

"In here, quick." It was a storage room. Lots of shelves with lots of everyday stuff on it. Even uniforms. Zeke grinned, as he realised it. He had just found a way of making their journey easier. A LOT easier. And from the look on Liam's face, he was thinking the same thing...

"I think we need a change of clothes." They said in unison.