D'Jok felt like he had a lump the size of a football in his chest as he and Corso searched for Micro Ice. Corso was extremely focussed and somewhat snappy with him. D'Jok felt horrible, but that didn't matter right now. Finding Micro Ice mattered. Tia was with Sonny. Corso sent him a look, before focusing back on driving.

"He'll get over it D'Jok. I just hope you get why he's angry, and do better next time." Corso said in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't help much. D'Jok was all too aware of his mistake.

"I should have paid attention. I was discussing some Resonance matter with Rocket instead of watching him." He muttered.

"Micro Ice can be stubborn when he gets an idea in his head, but don't be too hard on him." Corso said. D'jok looked at him.

"What makes you say that?" He asked. Corso smiled.

"Back when he told Sonny he wanted to be a Pirate. Sure, Sonny tried his hardest to talk him out of it, even when he was recovering from a laser blast to the back. Micro Ice had better things to do with his life than become one of us. But Micro Ice insisted. Even when he found out our lives weren't just fun and games. I admire that in him. Sonny as well." Corso said. D'Jok nodded as he fell silent. Micro Ice had considered leaving the Snow Kids before? He never told him about it. They really needed to talk...

Micro Ice got lucky.

That was all he could think about as he tried to shake his pursuer. Maybe he should have listened to Sonny's rules… Still, he tried very hard not to get caught. These people were serious. Sonny told him about it, but the information was incomplete. Micro Ice knew more than he told Sonny… Micro Ice promised himself that if he got out of this alive, he would tell him everything. Micro Ice grinned. Time to hit the ventilation shafts of the place. He checked his safety beacon. He turned the sound off, just in case. As he watched the angry Xenon, Micro Ice sank down against the wall, catching his breath. This was too close for comfort. He remembered the Xenon that entered the office as where he was held captive. How he boasted about his plan, thinking Micro Ice, wouldn't live to tell the tale. He had no idea who they were, but he knew where they had placed significant portions of their army from maps in that same office. That army was big. Probably even bigger than Technoid's. And the liquid in the tubes had to be some sort of Flux. Micro Ice had heard his captors talk about Sonny, and how he was the biggest threat to their plan.

To hear how Fluxes could be used as a weapon frightened Micro Ice. He hoped The Pirates would find him before this unknown group did.

Tia and Sonny reached the place the tracker said Micro Ice was; Genesis Stadium. A huge building to search. There were more people on the way to help. They were going to need it. Tia looked at Sonny as he fidgeted with his bracelet. She recognized it as the wedding gift from King Aldoor and Queen Marcia of Stellar Unix. He could use that for communicating with Corso and Callie telepathically. Sonny handed her a taser.

"For emergencies. Stay in touch. Let's find Micro Ice." He said. Tia smiled, noticing Sonny was getting stressed.

"Don't worry, we'll find him." She said. Sonny couldn't help but smile for a second. Sonny beckoned to the right with his laser. Time to split to cover more ground.

Bennett was paired with Mei for the search, and they approached the stadium from the western entrance. He also kept in close contact with Artie and Rocket, who approached from the south entrance. Sonny and Tia would come from the east entrance and Corso and D'Jok from the north. On the side entrances, other Pirates, paired with a Snow Kid where it was possible. Bennett startled as a bird flew inside the closed stadium. Mei looked around.

"It's different out of season." She said. Bennett kept silent. He just stared at the pitch. Had he just imagined it, or did he see something familiar? He shook his head to make the memories dissipate as Mei took a right turn.

They searched for hours, but no sign of Micro Ice. D'Jok considered calling his transmitter, but Corso advised against it.

"We're not the only one looking for him. Don't make him talk." Corso said as he signalled for a new split, him to the right, and D'Jok to the left. D'Jok felt sick to his stomach. This was all his fault. If he just did what he was told, this wouldn't have happened. Corso was about to say something, when a movement two stories up made his cybernetic eye focus. His normal eye widened in shock, as he snapped a few pictures. Corso felt cold. It couldn't be... Not them…

He was getting sick of the running. Maybe he should just give up and surrender. His hands hurt, his knees hurt. Everything hurt from crawling through those vents. He had to get out of the stadium and contact Sonny. Carefully, not to be spotted, Micro Ice removed the panel and got into another ventilation duct. This one would lead to the locker rooms. When he arrived, Micro Ice was about to let out a sigh of relief, when a cold hand, metal hand grabbed him. He let out a scream of sheer terror.

D'Jok, Corso, Sonny and Tia, heard the scream. They checked their trackers. They located where it came from. Since he had his telepathy bracelet on, Sonny and Corso could speak to each other.

"He's at the guest locker room. Whoever gets there first, secure Micro Ice and wait for help." Sonny commanded, rushing to the area at full speed with Tia in tow.

He had managed to tear himself loose, but the Xenon in front of him, wasn't in any hurry. If he even was a Xenon. Micro Ice saw this man change his appearance, like some sort of shape-shifter. Micro Ice was frozen in fear. This was it.

"You've caused a lot of trouble for us. Time for that to end." The shape-shifter said. Micro Ice felt tears well up as he searched for a way out.

"I didn't tell them anything, I swear." He tried. The shape-shifter moved closer, Micro Ice closed his eyes.

"Stop!" sounded a firm, female voice. Tia. A laser blast hit the wall to his far right. She was flanked by Sonny, also holding up his laser.

"Let him go, and we might let you walk away." Tia said, firmly aiming her taser at the shape-shifter. The shape-shifter snarled and let go of Micro Ice as he launched at Tia. In a split second, Sonny activated his flux. The creature was hanging in the air, trapped in a beam coming from Sonny's hands. It took a lot out of Sonny to keep him still.

At that moment, Corso and D'jok ran into the room. D'Jok headed over to Micro Ice and pulled him to safety. Corso looked at Sonny, who was burning through his Flux fast, trying to control the shape-shifter from breaking free. He scanned it with his cybernetic eye, as it looked familiar. He also had a feeling where they came from. But right now wasn't the time. Corso sent an order through his transmitter.

"All pirates to the guest locker room. We need help. NOW." Corso ordered. Sweat was dripping down Sonny's face from the strain. Corso knew he had to do something. He took off his own inhibitor, and got behind Sonny, putting his hands on his husband's shoulders.

"I will siphon as much Flux as I can. Just hold on." Corso said, as he started to strengthen Sonny's flux. They could see the energy grow stronger. Soon, the other Pirates arrived. They restrained their captive. As soon as the creature was securely restrained, Corso let go of Sonny's shoulders. Sonny sunk to his knees, exhausted. Mei and D'Jok looked worried as Corso carefully placed Sonny on the floor, placing a hand on his chest.

"Don't worry. He's just tired. I'll get him home to rest. He'll feel better tomorrow. D'Jok, you, Micro Ice and Mei take my car back to the house. We can deal with the rest later." Corso said. The snow kids nodded and made their way out of the Stadium.

The Pirates dealt with the creature as swiftly as possible. He was at a Shiloh Security Holding Cell and ready to be interrogated. Corso gently lifted Sonny from the floor, and carried him off to his car. He felt dizzy and tired. As Corso prepared to drive off, Sonny groaned and held his head.

"What was that creature? I can still feel his presence in my head." Sonny said, as he rubbed his forehead and took the water bottle Corso handed him. Corso nodded.

"I've seen them before. Shape shifters. I wonder why this one chose to look like a Xenon. I need to look at some classified files for more information." He said. Sonny propped himself up slightly.

"You've seen them before, haven't you?" Sonny managed. Corso nodded.

"They're a result of genetic experiments. Fortunately, there aren't a lot of them. I'll see if I can find out more." He sighed. "General Bleylock funded the project. It also had support from the military officials on my planet, Chissia." Corso sighed.

"Do you have any name to go on?" Sonny asked, looking at his spouse for an answer. Corso sighed.

"It's the Erwholer family. Bennett's family."

This is really becoming something interesting. What exactly has Bennett's family participated in? And what are these creatures? And will Micro Ice finally tell everything he knows?

Thank you Paranoidgirl, for all your help