Chapter 9.

"Well I suppose I should start sophomore year," Knight began looking nervous as he flicked his black ponytail behind his shoulder, "We were both new, and I had just been sent back in history to observe and help you when you actually appeared today."

"Let's skip the confusing time stuff; it's bad enough having to survive in an alternate dimension without lectures on the time/space continuum."

"Good point, uh…ok so our sophomore year. That summer Will's mom was killed."

"Jetstream died?"

"Yeah, she was hit by a train actually…after a villain tied her up…what is it?"

I smiled with sudden inspiration, "I know now…why would Jetstream die in this dimension and not the other, there has to be some connection. What if my father saved her in the other reality but was killed in this one before that could happen. Don't you see? We have a timeframe now; we know it had to be before the summer of our sophomore year."

"Yeah, it's still a pretty broad range though…and he might not have saved her in the other reality, he might have saved someone else who in turn saved her…or captured the villain who was responsible for her death."

I thought for a moment, but his words still couldn't dampen my spirits, finally I had a lead, "Keep talking."

"In a nutshell, Will was obviously deeply affected by his mom's death and he withdrew from his friends. He became more violent, rude…less of a hero I guess you could say," Knight paused and adjusted his glasses, "And he stopped hanging out with his group, broke up with Layla and noticed you."

"So that's when we went out."

"Yeah, he was quite the charmer, but his bad temper became more obvious after you'd both dated for a while. Meanwhile Layla…extremely hurt, directed her anger at you."

"So that explains the whole nasty attitude."

He laughed, "At least partially. Will started getting more violent and you kinda withdrew. You guys didn't break up yet but you started to talk about the situation with your lab partner…"

"Let me guess, Warren?" I said in a sickly sweet voice. This was all too much of a soap opera for me to believe.

"No," he looked amused, "Magenta. She, Warren and Zach had started eating lunch together after the group broke up. Ethan left the school midway through sophomore year and Layla began dating a string of boys, so they were the last remnant left. I started eating with them also, after you began dating Stronghold. Magenta told you straight out to dump him but you weren't one for listening…you didn't break up until after he'd nearly killed you."

"So why did he want to kill me?"

"Why does any villain murder? This time it was jealousy, he found out about your conversations with Magenta and got a little possessive. You tried to tell him off but he went wacko and attacked you. Fortunately it was on school grounds so we stopped him before…you know."

"Wow…hard to imagine Will doing anything like that."

"I suppose, though living through it helps you to understand…and I didn't know him before so…Anyway, you started eating with us; that was at the beginning of junior year. You and Warren started dating "officially" about three weeks ago, I think, during the summer."

"Things are so different" I said almost to myself, "And most of these changes revolve around Will and ultimately his mom dying…"

"It has to have some connection," Knight conceded, nodding, "We'll have to tell Fintan about this when we meet up."

"Thanks Knight," I said softly watching my cousin's face, realizing that he had sacrificed two and half years just to help me and ultimately my father. I knew that he must want to find my dad just as much as I did…hadn't he been just as much a father to him as he was to me? I wanted to hug him but it felt too awkward. He nodded and exited the car.

"So now you know…Fintan should find you soon, we'll need to start planning the rescue," then he left, shutting the door behind him.

I rolled down my window, "Hey Knight, this may sound strange but could you tell me how to get back to my house…I'm not sure I remember."

He leaned down, dark eyes looking amused, "Sure."

A moment later I turned the key in the ignition and buckled my seatbelt. I waved my hand at my cousin and rolled the window back up. He looked back with the same thin-lipped smile he'd worn before. I wondered how he could deal with all of this so calmly. Now all I had to do was go home to a psycho and meet up with the head of a secret agency. Just a normal to-do list, wouldn't you say?

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The house was relatively quiet when I got home. My uncle was sprawled over one of the navy-blue couches in the living room, his snoring bordering on obnoxious. Something like the cross between a hippo and a snake hiss. There was a note on the kitchen counter, I took it off and tried to decipher the scrawled writing after I set all my stuff down on the floor.

Lydia,

Take the garbage out

Finish the dishes

Start dinner

Dad

Ok, so now I was the maid? What had he done all day? Slept on the couch likely as not and planned some more evil villain plots. I carried my stuff to my room and set it down on the floor. The reflection of my face in the mirror caught my attention. I definitely wasn't looking my best today. The worry and stress had taken its toll and left me looking pale. Of course it just might have been the developing bruise that shaded my cheek. I touched my cheekbone gently and grimaced at the pain, it would be a nice one.

I might as well start on the list, apparently in this reality my job was to take care of the house while my "father" slept. Maybe this meant he had a nightshift at his job, than I could investigate the house without any further restrictions. Though, the thought of hidden cameras made the exhilaration of that idea fall short. Time to play my part as the faithful daughter and do the dishes, hopefully he was a sound sleeper.

First I had a phone call to make; I reminded myself, bringing out the cell phone again and swiftly dialing the now memorized number. It rang several times, as I had expected, before the familiar voice answered on the other end, "We'll meet tonight, after he leaves, eight o'clock in the bushes past the fence of your backyard." Then the line went dead, not enough time to ask anything.

I sighed and slipped off my shoes. Well then, dishes it was.

I didn't have to wait long to find that my uncle was not a sound sleeper. He got off of the couch with a grunt and came into the kitchen where I was loading the dishwasher, rubbing his head as walked towards the fridge. He opened the door and pulled out the container of orange juice. His motor skills must have been impaired by something, alcohol perhaps, because he tripped over the tied up garbage and cursed as he dropped the bottle onto the floor. It promptly let out its contents onto the wood floor.

My onyx eyes shut tightly at the explicative, body tensed as he rose seething from the floor. I wiped my sudsy hands on my jeans, "Sorry 'bout that," I said quietly knowing full well it wasn't my fault.

"Sorry? Didn't I tell you to take the garbage out…was it really that hard to follow my instructions? They were even written out this time!" his voice grew louder as he threw the now empty container into the sink.

"Yeah…I mean no, I mean I'm sorry. I was going to take out the garbage after I finished the dishes."

"Well if you'd just done it like I wrote this wouldn't have happened! I've got to go to work in a couple minutes and now there's a huge mess to clean up. You're grounded!" he shouted.

I could have laughed if he hadn't looked so much like my father, the idea of my dad yelling like this made my eyes fill with unshed tears. How did this man think he could ever imitate my father? He was grounding me for what? For cleaning up his mess, for his hangover? I didn't say anything, that would only make the situation worse but my clenched fists shook slightly with the effort to withhold the torrent of questions and emotions. My uncle glared and turned, "You'll clean up this mess."

I ignored him and wrung out a rag from the sink, apparently the storm hadn't ceased because a moment later he was back in the kitchen in clean clothes, "Where's my dinner? You know I have to leave, you were supposed to put the pizza in the oven when you got home. One simple thing Lydia, that's all I ask you to do and you can't even do that right!"

I tried not to cry as I scrubbed, this wasn't my father, why did all of these words matter? The doorbell rang and he looked to it with a vicious snarl. The expression was erased in a moment and he was once again an imitation of a stern in-control parent, "We're not done talking about this, I have to go to work, but I want you to think about what I said."

Sure I'd think about it. I'd think about how glad I was that he was going to jail as soon as we saved my real father. I'd think about the pretty picture he'd make in a jumpsuit and power-draining handcuffs. I scrubbed the floor harder and then got up to rinse the rag out as my uncle answered the door. I looked back wrapping an arm around my stomach, everything felt coiled and tight like I was about to throw up. That would help the situation so much…if he didn't want a messy house then he definitely wouldn't want my puke all over the ground.

The door opened and I could see my uncle's back relax slightly as he greeted the person.

"Hey Warren come on in, I was just leaving for work," my uncle turned back to me I came out from the kitchen and as the tall pyro stepped through the door, "Lydia, did you remember to fill up the car hun?" I was appalled by the change in his voice.

"Yeah, the tank's full," I answered quietly.

"Good," he replied tightly, he patted Warren on the back ignoring the brooding gaze and left the house whistling. The door shut sealing me in the strange house with a solemn pyromaniac. At least he'd forgotten about my "grounding".

"So," I said, hoping for a more lucid reply then a grunt.

"Was that why you were acting like an idiot at school?" he asked bluntly.

"Uh…" it wouldn't exactly be lying for me to say yes would it?

"Come on, let's go for a walk," he said opening the door just in time to see my little car speed off with my uncle waving from the driver's seat.

"We could just stay here," I said not really feeling like walking in the foggy dampness that had come with early evening.

"I don't feel comfortable with us staying in the house alone while your dad's gone," he said with finality and picked up my coat from its position draped over the nearby couch. He held it out and I stared at it dumbfounded. I put my arms back through the sleeves wondering how the heck Warren had changed so much…or maybe it was just a side of him no one ever saw. Even so chivalry was not a word I'd normally associate with him.

AN: Thanks to everyone for the reviews, it's great to get some positive feedback for this story. Hopefully this chapter cleared up some things for you guys.

To my anonymous reviewers for the past couple of chapters: LaLaLa, you are always such an encouragement to me, thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to review!

Smokey, thanks for your review, I hope you keep reading!