Orphans Beloved: "Attack of the Fifty-foot Clones…"

Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved and Sheldon Swifties bits in my Buffyverse and Sheldonverse, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.

Disclaimer: No copy write infringement intended…

Note-There are always these minor consequences to any great advances in Science.

Part XI…

Dyad Institute…Garage entrance to the High Level Containment Facility…

"Sarah…I can't tell you how sorry I am about all this. Cosima, good to see you looking so well." Leekie beamed. "I wanted to meet with you both on arrival to assure…Beyond any shadow of a doubt…"

"Yeah, yeah…It's in your interests to cure us." Sarah glared. "Nice how you evaded Rachel's little plan…Marion helped you out, did she?"

"Indeed…But only because she felt it was in your interests." He noted. Hands in expansive gesture. "Look, Rachel is out of the picture as far as having any authority here. In fact she's suffering from an extreme example of your condition, Sarah."

"So I heard tell…" Sarah, dryly. "Fifty-feet? Not bad…Though I'd bet I could deck her in a fair fight."

"She's in no condition to fight anyone…And, thanks to your little brain surgery, she's pretty much reverted to her childhood, memory-wise."

"Good, if it means we'll be free of her trying to kill us all and take me daughter." Grim stare.

"Dr. Leekie…It is nice to see you alive." Cosima, attempting to smooth the waters. "Delphine always said you were…" she hesitated.

"…'Lesser of two evils', I know." He smiled. "I understand you would feel that way. I appreciate being the 'lesser'…" grin. "Sarah, I promise you…Whatever you went through here before, it will not happen again. And we'll do our honest best to help you."

"If I see that Nealon anywhere near my bed…Or wherever you put me…" Sarah eyed him.

"Dr. Nealon was only following Rachel's orders…But…" He put a hand up. "I respect your feelings and he will not be attending you directly. Though his research will be invaluable… Dr. Cormier and I will coordinate with you and Cosima."

"What about Alison?" Cosima asked. "Are you bringing her in?"

"We've a truck out now, meeting her at the place she designated. We'll have you together shortly."

"Great." Sarah, grimly. "Family reunion at the place of our birth, the Dyad. Lovely. And it won't be a full reunion, will it?"

"Helena…Yes, I know." Aldous sighed. "You see now how much better it might have been to have brought her in earlier. We could have done a great deal for her already."

"Rachel would've killed her or handed her over to Castor, for info." Sarah, coldly. "Don't try to sell me your Dyad Koolaide, Leekie."

"Well, at that we might have been lucky not to have had Helena and Rachel meet…" Aldous, shrugging wryly. "I suspect Rachel would have likely found her a handful."

"Aldous!" Delphine had come running from the entrance to the building complex into the garage. "There's a problem! Oh, my…Hello, Sarah." She stared.

"Yeah, hey." Grim look.

"Hey, Delphine." Cosima, slight nervous wave. "Remember me?"

"Stop it, you." Delphine sighed. "Are you still well?"

"So far, so good…" nervous smile.

"Dr. Cormier?" Aldous eyed her…Oddly enough Sarah eyeing her with the same stern look.

Problems? Both their expressions said…

"Our team to pick up Alison was attacked by another group. One of the survivors just called…" Delphine explained.

"Alison…" Sarah, anxiously…Starting to move off the flatbed…

"Sarah, wait!" Delphine called. "She's been taken, we think…But as yet we have no confirmation as to where or by whom…Castor, the Proleithians…Some other group…We don't know."

"Leekie here." Aldous was on cell. "I want aerial surveillance put out for Alison Hendrix and I want any information on Castor and Proleithian activities in town in the last twenty-four hours, at once."

"Another bleedin' group?..." Sarah frowned at Delphine and Leekie… "Whoelse wants a piece of us…?"

"Fans of fifties sci-fi and horror…?" Cosima suggested.

Uh… "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood…" she noted to the group of collective annoyed.

…..

"I want to know who you people are, now, and I want you to release me and my wife…" Donnie glared at the brunette in suit as she drove the truck, in back of which Ally now slept under a tarpaulin, cuffed and chained down… "And what was that you gave her?"

"A fairly powerful sedative…But it won't last long so don't force us to give her more, Mr. Hendrix. As for your other demands. You and your wife aren't going anywhere but to our place…And you are only being kept alive to keep her under control. I would recommend you remember that." she eyed him coolly.

Damn what the hell does she see in this guy? A unique creature like her, even if she is rather more of an abomination than the blessing Hendrik called her sister, should be a consort for a king…Or at least that fellow from Dyad with the marvelous pecks…Dierden, was it?

"I figured that, lady." He glared. "But you still haven't answered as to who you are…" he caught sight of a cross hanging from the rearview mirror of the truck cab in which he and the woman were seated, with three men in suits in the row of seats behind them. He looked back, staring at the men…

Yep, those weird fish belt buckles Cosima and Sarah had gone on about, to warn Ally and him in case any should show on their doorstep…

"So you're the religious nuts…The Pro whatevers?" he eyed her.

She did not look at him as she drove… "We prefer to think of ourselves as the last true Christians, Mr. Hendrix. Trying to save God's Word in the face of godless abomination."

"Like my wife?"

"Like what was done in creating her and the others…We're not…"

Donnie cut her off…

"Yeah, yeah…You're the American version…You accept Science, Helena told us about you. You want to force her to have your Leader's babies for some weird religious version of the Master Race or whatever…Religious Nazis, nice."

"Quiet…" one of the men growled.

"Henry…" the woman silenced him. "Hendrik Johannsen was a great man and a great teacher of the Word, Mr. Hendrix…" she glanced at Donnie briefly.

"Who liked to get women pregnant with his…Hey!" he fumed as another man struck him.

"Shut your foul mouth, you… 'Married' to that thing…" the man glared, sneering at the end, Donnie eyeing his grim look.

"That's enough, Charles. Where is Helena, Mr. Hendrix? Do you know?"

"I wouldn't tell you if I did, except…" Donnie gave her a tight smile. "…sure, you bastards can fight it out among yourselves. She's with those military guys, the Castors? Or whatever they are. They took her, God knows where. You want her? Go and get her, good luck. You can all go shoot each other and my sister-in-law will finish off the survivors, I'm sure. Just let me and my wife go."

"We can't do that, sir." She shook head. "We've taken the infertile to trade for the fertile. Just pray either Helena or Sarah is willing to sacrifice themselves for you and your wife."

"Alexis?" the first man to speak… "Bonnie wants the seed…Hendrik's spawn. We need Helena, the mother."

"All we need is the fertile womb, Henry." Alexis noted. "And the seed Helena stole away with her."

"Do you people talk like this all the time?" Donnie asked.

…..

Helena's stark theme standing in well for Godzilla's…

"How can she still be coming…?" the female corporal monitoring radar and radio communications in tent, anxiously asked Colonel Dierden. "The pilots were sure hits with the attacker's guns were scored. Even she couldn't take that kind of gunfire?"

"I've given up trying to apply the normal laws of nature to our ladies fair, Corporal." Dierden noted. "You might remember this one is fifty-feet tall which is physically impossible if I remember my biology class. But lets forgo speculation and focus on taking her if we can. All right, people!" he strode out to full view, bearing bullhorn. "Our target is acquired and coming this way, fast. Be ready!"

"Colonel, half a mile and closing!" the corporal called from her control center tent.

"Stand-by with those gas grenades, we'll try them first!" Paul called.

"Colonel? Urgent message!" the corporal had emerged from her tent. "Dr. Coady…"

"Not now! Tell the doctor we're doing all we can to…" he followed the corporal's pointing arm to see Dr. Coady now emerging from an armored personnel snowmobile.

"Colonel!" Coady called, hurrying his way, anxious look. "Has Helena…?"

"Sir!" Sergeant Parker cried, pointing. "Target is visual!"

"HEY! SOLDIER BOYS!" Helena, pulling at the make-piece covering about her, cooed. "You wants me so much, you gots me!"

"Floodlights on! Fire! Gas grenades only! Masks on!" Dierden called.

"Don't harm her!" Coady cried as the searchlights came on, catching a somewhat stunned Helena in harsh relief.

"Damnit, Dierden, what's this about Helena being fired on by your planes?!" Coady had reached him, angrily hissing at him. "If you and your people harm her…And damage the embryos…"

"Doctor, do not interfere!" Paul, grimly. As the grenade launchers began furiously firing.

"Bring the tanks up!" he ordered to the corporal who turned back to her communications tent.

"There's not a mark on her…" Sergeant Parker stared…Stepping over to Dierden and Coady. "The gunfire from that jet should've torn through her…" he noted, dumbfounded.

Cough…Cough…Helena waved hand as a few canisters exploded around her feet. "Oh, yeah? You see how you likes…" she fanned with a tent torn from her "clothing". The gas fumes blown back upon the dug-in forces, soldiers hurrying desperately to adjust gas masks, a number not in time.

"Colonel…" Coady gasped…A soldier clone just barely reaching her with mask in time… "Mother, here." He gently put the mask over her head, adjusting.

Paul now in mask, grimly eyeing the scene…Helena obscured by the gas clouds now. The searchlights trying to fix on her.

Several immediately being smashed by a few small boulders thrown by her…

"Helena!" Paul called through his bull horn. "Surrender or we will open fire!"

"Aim for the head! Don't damage the embryos!" Coady insisted, grabbing at Dierden.

"Doctor, back off! Private?!" Paul whirled on a non-clone. "Escort Dr. Coady to the communications tent and see she stays there!"

"PAUL! YOU IS NOT A GOOD PERSON!" Helena cried. "SARAH WILL BE VERY ANGRY WITH YOU!"

"Damnit, Helena, surrender!" Paul called through his bullhorn. "We won't harm you or your embryos!"

"I'd not be worried about you harming me, soldier boy!" she replied, pulling up a tree by the roots and tossing it in his general direction. It fell upon a group manning a machine gun emplacement, who panicked, firing.

"Silence those guns, Parker!" Paul ordered.

"Knock it off, ya damned idiots!" Parker cried on radio, hurrying over.

Helena backing off for just a moment…Hmmn…Just like mosquitoes bites. No big deal. She continued.

"Look at the size of that thing…" Private William noted to his buddies in their artillery emplacement. Said buddies being clones… "Godzilless…Are we gonna fire or let her stomp on us?"

"The gas isn't getting to her, Colonel…" Sergeant Parker reported to Paul. "She's fanned it back on us, we've got about 12 unconscious, including one tank crew disabled."

Jesus…Paul sighed. Dr. Coady, again out of the tent, having refused to stay put, at his side, having promised not to interfere.

"Paul! Get out of my way or I will kick you out like child's sand castle!" Helena called.

"Fire, bring her down, Colonel!" Coady insisted.

"You promised not to interfere, Doctor…" Paul eyed her coldly.

"You are jeopardizing…" she began.

"Hey, what's with that tank?!" Sergeant Parker called as a tank came barreling up the road from the south, having skirted the halted column of tanks. "Tell those boys to get back in formation and hold off till…"

All ducked as the tank let off a round, a direct hit on one of the field artillery positions…

"What the…?" Paul stared. "Have that tank cease fire!"

"Sir, some of the batteries are opening up!" a private, clone, called.

"Silence those batteries, corporal!" Paul turned and yelled into the communication tent as several artillery batteries opened fire, mistaking the tank fire for an order to begin.

"The head or the legs! Aim only for the head or…" Coady cried. Paul grabbing her… "Private, take this woman into the tent and shoot her if she tries to …"

"She's hit, she's going down…!" a cry. Helena crying out, falling to her knees a moment.

Hmmn… That hurts…She eyed the wounds in her left arm and in her right thigh.

But not so much as might think…She eyed them as both immediately healed.

"Jesus Christ!…" Sergeant Parker stared. "She's up again…Sir?!"

Another round from the rogue tank landed a few yards away, explosion. Soldiers fleeing from their positions, some dragging wounded comrades.

"Stop that tank!" Paul called. "And give the order to fall back on the town!"

Several tanks rolled into position, two taking aim at the rogue A-5 tank.

"Yee-haw! That's what I call a distraction!" Rudy slapped Seth on the back. He sighted another artillery emplacement and fired again…

"They're coming after us, brother!" Seth called, viewing on television rear camera via monitor.

"Then we best get moving, brother. I think our sister can deal…"

"Fall back!" Parker called to his troops, the soldiers, clones and un- fleeing back now.

"The other tank is heading off!" the corporal reported to Paul. "Not responding to challenge…"

"Paul!" Helena cooed. He and the corporal, along with various soldiers halting in mid-rout, and Dr. Coady, under guard just about to enter the communications tent, looking up to see, just above them. "Was nice try. But I am going home now, bye." She stepped delicately over them and continued on carefully avoiding the tanks trying to site on her.

"Sir? Tanks?" Parker addressed a stunned Paul.

"No…No, hold fire, let her go on…" he told him.

"This is Parker…Hold your fire, do not fire! Repeat, do not fire!"

The group looked to see Helena rapidly vanishing in the distance…

"We hit her…In the arms…A leg too, I think." Parker shook his head. "But it didn't even slow her down."

"Instant tissue regeneration…Like you reported with the Manning child…" Coady noted to Paul.

"Only this was…" Paul stared.

"Naturally, enhanced with her height." Coady beamed, then looked round. "Get me a tissue sample if you can find one!" she called out to the milling soldiers, many dazedly stumbling round.