Code: Wings 3 point 0

by Teen-Lyokofan7777

The vortex. Thanks to its mystery, the whole world knew about their secret. But what if it didn't stop there...? What if it alerted others from other universes to their existence? One mystery could give them the ride of their lives... literally. Cover by cutewolf1233 on deviantART.

13. Travel Plans

Hunter Moebius and I do not own Code Lyoko, Maximum Ride, or Kaitlyn Belpois. We do, however, own our own OCs and the plot.

I was out for a good four hours, long enough for both Ulrich and Odd to get extra-long full-body rubs and massages; Georgina was even able to give them both nice, slow full-body wipes, as well. The two boys came out of the bathroom feeling quite relaxed and refreshed, so when I finally awoke from my nap shortly after, everyone decided it was time to figure out what we would do next. Sister had told us that her father planned to send us tickets for a luxury cruise liner, but that the boat would moor in Maryland, so we'd need to head across the country to reach it. He gave us a month, which would be plenty of time for all of us to make whatever stops were needed, before ultimately ending up in Baltimore, to board the ship, and enjoy a nice, relaxing cruise back to Sceaux. The next phase was figuring out what exactly we'd do with all that extra time. To that end, we had unfolded a map across Dr. Martinez's coffee table, and began to plot our next course of action.

"So here's the plan," Max said, pointing on the map of the United States, "we'll make a few stops, then we will get you to the East Coast."

"I do hope some of those include restaurants," Odd smiled.

"Can you think about something other than food, for once?" Aelita jumped in, giggling with a mischievous grin. "We'll definitely hit a few restaurants, but isn't there anything special you'd like to see?"

"I have dreamed of going up in the St. Louis Arch," he considered.

My toes clenched in my shoes. "You're on your own. I'm scared of heights."

Odd looked over at me, grinning. "Not you, too, Cat Girl! I thought it was just Ulrich!"

"Ulrich, Yumi, and Jeremie," I corrected, gradually trembling with my fists clenching, "but yes. Remember? I hated that j-jet, and the c-chopper…"

Mi novio grimaced when he saw how I was reacting to that. "Yeaaaahhh… maybe you're right. I'll just take Princess and the others with me."

Yumi walked over to wrap me in a comforting, disarming hug, as Odd finished his sentence.

"Maybe there's something different that we can all do." Rubbing my back soothingly, she tried to tactfully change my wildcard's plans. "Something that doesn't involve heights."

"I have always wanted to see a rodeo," he realized. "Cat Girl, isn't there a special thing in Nebraska that you loved when you were younger?"

That suggestion, along with Yumi's gentle rubs and embrace, completely dissolved my worries. "You're right! Nebraskaland Days! It happens every summer in North Platte. Plus, they always have a rodeo there. And a parade! Ooh. That's a good land-based activity. And there's a pancake feed, and a kids' costume parade…"

I knew the words "land-based activity" would strike mi novio's funny bone.

"That's great!" he chuckled, placing his right hand against his chest. "They've got almost everything, there!"

"Yeah," I giggled. "They even have a Japanese restaurant."

Yumi grinned. "Maybe we could eat lunch or dinner there, after visiting Nebraskaland Days."

"Yeah, plus if there are some that don't want—"

"Hey! I wanna have some sushi!" Kiwi protested. "Yumi's mother's was the best! At least save me a kitty bag!"

My geisha friend bent down toward Kiwi, placing her hands on her hips, and smiled at the dog. "Don't worry, Kiwi. We'll be sure to save you a few spring rolls and some others, okay?"

"I guess we can't call them anything other than 'take-out bags' around Kiwi, can we?" Aelita added, with a cute giggle.

"Just not 'doggie,'" the puppy barked.

Nearby, Hunter started to look a bit unsure, as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. "I… guess I wouldn't mind giving that a try… I've rarely had Japanese food in the past… but I'm not really good at using chopsticks."

Yumi turned to him, offering him a warm, reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Hunter. I'll show you how to get the hang of them, before we get there. They're really not that hard, once you get used to them."

That relaxed him a bit. "Thanks, Yumi. I know you have to hold them a certain way, but I've only ever seen people do it; I've never really tried it for myself."

"I'm sure we all could use the practice," Jeremie smiled, voice cracking just a hair.

"I may have been an occasional guest at Yumi's since that time I fell in the Digital Sea in her place, but there are times where I forget," I nodded.

Yumi turned to me, next. "It's okay. Sometimes it takes constant practice to remember. Maybe I should invite you over for supper more often."

"True, even if it's just a temporary deal, considering that you, and Hiroki by proxy, are boarders," I smiled.

"That's true, too." She found my smile contagious. "But I'm sure my parents wouldn't say no to having me visit for a while, and even bring one or two friends over."

"I would love that," I grinned.

Even Max was intrigued. "Is there a limit on how many friends your parents will let you invite?"

"Just as long as we don't make a mess of the place. My dad hates it when the living room is trashed," Yumi noted.

"Oh, your parents know me!" Odd replied with a grin. "I never make a mess of the place!"

"That is true, surprisingly. He even cleaned up anything anyone else trashed. I was shocked he managed to water the bonsai," I giggled.

Yumi giggled, too, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "You're right. Dad was so surprised, he said Odd could come back anytime he wanted."

"Anyway, we do plan to stop at Albion, Illinois, too," Jeb smiled. "Cassidy, you have parents there, don't you?"

"Yes. I have a lot of relatives from being from a twice-extended family," I nodded. Thank you, Jeb, for not playing the "Ignore Cassidy even though She's Present" game.

"We'll finally get the chance to meet your family," Ulrich grinned, remembering something that had happened in the past.

"Yeah. It's just going to be several leagues unconventional." My cheeks heated up as I grinned.

"They can't be any more unconventional than my family," William interjected. "Have you even met my parents?"

"Um…no?" I squeaked, feeling ashamed. "Remember?"

"You almost did," Yumi added, looking over at me. "The day we brought him back from Lyoko, and destroyed Jeremie's clone."

"But I had blacked out…"

"Aaaaat least you'll get the chance to meet them sometime," Jeremie jumped in, realizing both of us had a point. "And maybe you'll see exactly how Cassidy's family compares to yours, William."

"Killer," William smiled.

"And I was distracted by the fact that my folks didn't show," I pointed out.

"You're right," Sister's voice drooped a bit, before returning to normal, not long after. "That's why, when it happened again at the Assembly, I wanted to make sure you didn't feel left out, dear sister! You've got family on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean!"

I nodded. "And I'm grateful for that."

"That makes two of us," Hunter noted, making me unsure if he was talking about what I said, or what Sister said. "And I can't wait to show my parents that I met you guys, and we all became good friends."

"That's so great!" Yumi nodded in agreement.

"So, how are we gonna sleep in a couple areas?" Ulrich asked. "I'm sure that we won't be able to spend time in a hotel often."

"Oh, I don't think that'll be too much of a problem," Jeb interjected, with a grin. "We'll make sure you guys always find a good hotel, no matter where you are. We might even be able to get you ones with a spa, in some places. So you won't have to worry about that."

"Plus there are a couple hotels I've been in that feel so nice to sleep," I smiled. "There's a Stoney Creek Hotel in St. Joseph, Missouri. Nature themed, but it is so great."

"That's not bad," Ulrich grinned at that idea. "It'll probably be like sleeping under the stars, like if we went camping."

"I'm glad that we are gonna be okay," Sam agreed, sipping her soda.

"You said it," Yumi agreed. "And going across the United States sounds like it'll be a lot of fun, too."

"At least we'll use wheels instead of—" I started.

"Don't worry, Cassidy," Kaitlyn reassured me, smiling in my direction. "We won't need our wings. It'll just be a nice, long, fun car ride. We can go sightseeing, walking through national parks, and even see what restaurants there are!"

"True. I just feel so scared of aircraft now. First XANA, then the whitecoats and Erasers… minus Ari…"

"None of us have to fly if we don't want to," Aelita reassured me, in her usual soothing, calming voice. "We can pretend we don't even have them, and I'm sure we can find jackets that we can wear, that will hide them completely."

"Also right…" I smiled. "Plus once we get confident enough, we can fly."

As usual, my ex-boyfriend felt confident right out of the starting gate. "You don't need to worry about that; I already feel confident! I can't wait to spread my wings, and see what it feels like to be a bird!"

"Feel free to practice if you want to," Max nodded. "But you know that you might want to see if they have grown to support you."

"It took us years to get them to do that," Fang agreed, towering over mi ex novio.

That took a bit of the wind out of his sails, his proud smile drooping, slightly. "Okay, okay. So I might need a bit of practice. But I feel like my wings are probably big enough to be able to lift me into the air."

"My own weren't enough to pick me up when Georgina gave me that lovely treatment," I shot back. "They flapped a bit, but I stayed on the floor."

He brought his hands up to his chest, their palms facing me. "Maybe you're right, Cass. I might not be as ready as I think I am. After all, I ended up screwing up on my first Lyoko mission. So, don't worry, I'm not gonna try to fly, until my wings are big enough to carry me. I've learned my lesson."

I smiled, a deep breath calming me. "Thanks, William."

"You're not one who tries to steal the show, are you, William?" Odd joked with a slight chuckle, folding his arms as he mischievously grinned at mi ex novio.

"It might take them a while to grow," Georgina soothed, "but I'll be sure to help you take good care of them. Yours and everyone else's, too."

"That would work," I nodded.

"I agree," Jeremie added. "They should probably be washed, whenever any of us goes to shower. And it might be hard for us to wash our own wings, and then you'd also have to deal with how it might feel to have your wings washed, or if it will affect them negatively, or—"

"I've had Georgina help me so far, Jeremie," Aelita reassured. Proxy-pie. "While Cassidy was sleeping in, she gave me such a luxurious bath. You were right—are you giggling, Cassidy?"

Indeed; this time, she caught me red-handed. But was I going to tell her that? "Sorry. I was thinking about a joke Odd said. That same one about the frogs' legs."

"Oh yeah!" Odd commented, before he burst out laughing, remembering the joke quite vividly. "That was hilarious!"

I then looked over at the others, seeing if anyone else remembered the joke, while I tried to keep my real reason for giggling a secret. Interestingly, I noticed Hunter was grimacing. At first, I almost giggled again, as I assumed he was reacting to Aelita's talk of getting an invigorating bath from Georgina, but as I heard his thoughts, the look on my face turned to surprise.

I remember that… I'm sure you enjoyed it, too… hopefully washing my wings won't involve washing the rest of my body, too… and what the heck is a "proxy-pie", anyway?! That doesn't even make sense!

And then his eyes widened, as his thoughts ground to a halt. Wait… how did I even hear that!

My jaw felt such an urge to detach itself from my mouth, even though I tried, with all of my might, to keep my head together. How could Hunter have possibly heard what Aelita was thinking, too?! He wasn't the psychic; I was! This didn't make any sense at all. Did he have a secret that he was trying to hide from the rest of us? Was he just pretending? Or did something else happen to him, that I either forgot about, or don't remember? This whole experience was just getting weirder and weirder. I wasn't even sure if I should try calling him out on it, or what. Maybe it was a fluke, a one-time thing? There was probably a lot of radiation in the room where the whitecoats operated on us, so it might just be a temporary effect, and it would go away not long from now. But this was just too weird. I almost didn't even know what to think about it.

"Are you okay, Cassidy?" Yumi jerked me from my thoughts, seeing my wide eyed look.

"Uh… Hunter… did I t-telepathically hear what I think I just telepathically heard you think?" I asked, not sure what to say to my geisha friend.

Hunter's head snapped in my direction, his teeth gritting as his eyes widened. "Y-you did hear it… d-didn't you?! All of a sudden, o-out of n-nowhere, I could h-hear Aelita's mind… s-she thought of s-something, just as she was t-telling you about the… um, you know, that… thing… that Georgina gave her… and I h-heard it! I don't know how, b-but I heard it!"

My body couldn't dive across the coffee table fast enough. "Please don't say it out loud!" I pleaded. "Proxy-pie" was Aelita's personal nickname for Jeremie, and while I knew to keep it a secret, I wasn't sure if I could count on Hunter, if he really did have psychic powers, to do the same. Still, this whole entire mess was bugging the both of us like nothing else.

He quickly slapped his hands over his mouth, slowly nodding his head, too afraid to say anything else.

Panting, my hands reached my collar and tugged it a couple times.

Seeing this, Dr. Martinez walked over to me. "Cassidy, honey, are you okay?"

My eyes shot up to her, my face paling. "Um… c-could we talk in private? You, H-Hunter, and me…"

She nodded, looking a bit concerned. "Of course. We can go into my office. Jeb and Georgina can come in with us, too."

I nodded, finding myself unwilling to speak.

Dr. Martinez helped me to my feet, before gesturing to Jeb and Georgina to follow her. She put her arm around me, and I watched Georgina wrap her arm around Hunter's back, as the five of us walked down the hallway, and into Max's mom's office. Before we left, I could see the others glancing at Hunter, each other, and me, about as confused as we were.

Once inside, Jeb gently closed the door behind us, and leaned against it.

"I—" I tried to squeak, but shivered in fear.

Hunter wasn't faring much better, gesturing all around his head, as if trying to play a game of charades with us.. "What… uh… me, my mind! It's like… how did we… Aelita… I can… think—"

"Hey, relax, you two." Jeb stepped away from the door, placing his hands on our shoulders, and trying to be soothing. "Take a deep breath, and let's start from the beginning."

I tried to inhale, but it felt as if my throat was trying to constrict, from the sheer surprise and fear. I quickly stopped, exhaling fast as though my head had just broken the surface of a pool, and glanced over at Hunter. Maybe he'd have better luck than I was?

To some extent, a deep, cleansing breath did help him, but only just. "It was like… Aelita was talking…"

"HUNTER CAN READ MINDS!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Hunter jumped backward, freaked out by my sudden outburst, while Jeb, Georgina and Dr. Martinez looked at the both of us, surprised to hear this. They knew I was psychic, thanks to the monster, but Hunter? Something didn't add up.

"Is this what you were up in arms about," Jeb asked, trying to fill in the blanks in his mind, "in the living room?"

"He was about to reveal something only I knew until a few moments ago!" I squealed, body trembling, tears welling up in my eyes.

Georgina walked over, and wrapped her arms around me, before giving me a soft kiss on my temple. "Don't worry, sweetheart… I'm sure this might just be a big misunderstanding, or something we can't explain… there was a lot of radiation in the room where the scientists operated on you all, so he might be feeling the effects of that in weird ways."

Georgina's warm embrace helped me start to calm down, but I was still quite scared, as I sobbed into her sleeves. Hunter was starting to feel really freaked out as well, trying to keep himself together, but failing.

"I don't—I d-don't—I don't wanna have him re-reveal… w-what Aelita h-had tho-thought…" I moaned, tears still streaming down my face.

Georgina began to softly and slowly rub my back, in an attempt to calm me down even further. "I'm sure he won't. He looks scared enough as it is, almost as scared as you. Maybe I should help the both of you relax, after this. Maybe a nice, long bath for each of you will get rid of any radiation, to see if that's what's bugging him."

Dr. Martinez cupped her hand around her chin. "That could work… I'm not exactly sure how safe that laboratory of theirs is… so that might be for the best."

I nodded, still freaked out. "I'm so scared…"

"I understand…" Georgina soothed, before pulling me into a full-on hug. "Hunter's scared, too. He looks like he's about to overload."

I tried to calm down for his sake, not wanting another empathy-induced panic attack, but found it slightly hard. Indeed, looking underneath Georgina's arm revealed the black-haired boy was starting to shiver, tears streaming down his face as well, as Jeb softly rubbed his back, trying to get him to relax.

So I tried harder, as I didn't want Jeb to feel he had to resort to stinging my neck, or even Hunter's. Granted, that would help if Georgina tried to bathe him, but that wouldn't be a good idea, regardless. I closed my eyes, and tried to take another deep breath, trying again and again until my throat felt like it would finally open up, and continued it with some calming thoughts, while Georgina gave me another soft kiss on my temple.

"You're doing great, sweetheart… Just breathe…" she encouraged softly.

I could hear Jeb softly trying to console Hunter in a similar manner, the boy sniffing every few seconds.

"I… won't tell them… anything…" he squeaked out, his chest heaving. "I'm… too afraid to…"

"T-thanks…" I breathed, starting to find my rhythm.

Georgina continued to softly and slowly rub my back, cradling me in her warm, comforting embrace like she was my mother, and I was her child. It was these sorts of feelings, along with her wonderful, invigorating pampering skills, that made me also wonder what would happen to her, once we got back to Kadic.

Nearby, Hunter had closed his eyes, trying to relax himself even further, aided by Jeb's somewhat-gentle back rub, before he rubbed his eyes.

"This is… too weird…" he huffed. "Did the… whitecoats… do this… to me…?"

"It seems that way," I answered, unsure of it myself.

Hunter covered his eyes with his hands. "I don't even… they must've done something… to me… before I became an essence… that's the only… way I can… explain it…"

"I wish I could have seen everything," Jeb lamented. "But with the kinds of experiments the scientists tend to perform, they very well could have found a way to give you psychic powers, Hunter."

"But it could also be the radiation in that laboratory, too," Georgina reminded the two of us, before turning her gaze on Hunter. "I could pamper you first, before I wash you, to help you relax even better, but I should probably take care of you first, as the radiation seems to have affected you the most."

She then turned her attention to me. "Cassidy, do you feel like—"

Before she could finish her sentence, I could see Hunter gritting his teeth, and he replied in a way I really wasn't expecting.

"NO!" he yelled out, as if he had been storing up energy. "I don't care if I have a lot of radiation in me; you're not washing me, Georgina!"

She immediately turned to Hunter, a concerned look overtaking her features.

"Hunter, sweetheart," she soothed, "if you've taken in too much radiation, it's bound to poison you. At some point, someone's going to have to give you a bath, to get rid of it. I'll gladly give you a full-body wipe, full-body rub, and a massage, before I fill the tub, and help you into it. I'll even put in bubble bath, and give you a nice, long, head-to-wing-to-toe wash, as softly, slowly, and thoroughly as I can. Once I get you into the water, and start washing you, you'll calm right down and enjoy it. Don't you remember how you were, when I washed you, back in the laboratory?"

He folded his arms, his eyes starting to leak, again. "But I really don't want to!"

"Hunter, please…" Georgina cooed, not wanting to get angry at him. "I really care about you; we all do, and we don't want you to get sick, if you do have radiation within you. Please, let me give you a bath."

As she tried to get Hunter to change his mind, I had dropped to the floor, shaking in fear. He was scary when he yelled out loud. My system felt as though it was on fire from hearing him being a bit defiant. Tears welled up in my eyes. "H-H-Hunter… p-please…"

Jeb glanced over at Georgina, moments before he happened upon me, out of the corner of his eyes, and started to worry. He quickly ran over to me, just as Georgina walked over to Hunter, still keeping her soothing, warm demeanor. Ari's father knelt down by me, and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a warm hug, as well.

"It's okay, Cassidy," he tried to soothe. "Take a few deep breaths, and try to relax. Georgina will handle Hunter. Can you relax for me?"

I could see Hunter start to cower, as Georgina approached him, before wrapping her arms around his trembling body, and giving him a kiss on his temple.

"Please, sweetheart… you know I'm always soft and gentle when I rub and wash you. You're never going to get over your fear of bathtime, if you don't let someone wash you. C'mon, let's go into the bathroom. Let's do it for Cassidy, if you don't wanna do it for me."

Hunter slowly closed his eyes, without saying anything, and took a few deep, trembling breaths, trying to relax himself, even though I could still tell he wasn't liking the idea one bit.

I closed my eyes, trying to breathe deeply. "P-please… Hunter…"

After a few more deep breaths from him, and how worried he was that he had scared me with his random outburst, he opened his eyes.

"F-Fine…" he muttered with a ragged sigh, still sounding reluctant.

Georgina began to softly and slowly rub his back, knowing that he didn't like the idea, but trying to keep him calm, anyway. "There… that wasn't as hard as you made it out to be. We can stay in there for a few hours. I'll even let you stay in the water for an hour or more, and give you an incredibly relaxing, soothing, invigorating, and thorough, wash of every inch of your body, hair, and wings. You know you'll love it, once I start washing you."

Slowly, my mind started running on all four cylinders as my breathing deepened. "After him, could we get everyone else, including me?"

"Of course," Georgina smiled, looking back at me. "Everyone except you and Aelita might all have radiation, so it would be a good idea. If anything, I could give her and you another full-body wipe, and maybe a rub and massage, instead."

"That sounds like a good idea," I nodded.

"And we should let the others know what's going on, too," Dr. Martinez nodded.

"Just not… Aelita's thoughts…" I gulped.

She nodded, as she neared the door to her office. "Not a word. That stays in here."

"Thanks," I smiled, reassured as I got to my feet and followed her out.

A few moments after I walked out of her office, I heard three more pairs of footsteps behind me, as Georgina led Hunter down toward the bathroom, and Jeb followed down the hallway, coming up behind me, as Georgina and Hunter entered the bathroom.

As the three of us neared the living room, I could hear the others talking.

"What do you mean, Cassidy keeps a checklist in her mind?!" I heard Ulrich protest, making my eyes widen.

"It's true!" Odd replied. "She's been trying to keep a note of everything weird that all of us do, to make sure that we're who we say we are, and that we weren't secretly operated on by Doctor Shrank, while she was in her coma!"

"Odd!" I cried, feeling distraught and betrayed, racing into the bedroom I slept in the night before. "That was supposed to be private!"

"Huh?!" Odd whirled around, confused by what he had just heard. "Cat Girl?! Did she just…?!"

"I'm pretty sure she heard what you said," Aelita folded her arms, lowering her eyebrows at mi novio. "And I don't think she's very happy with you."

"But how was I to know she was gonna come out, when I was talking about it?" Odd interjected, starting to feel terrible.

"She said it was private!" Sister shoved a metaphorical knife into him. "You're her boyfriend, so you're supposed to respect that! Not go blabbing about it to your best friends!"

"Yeah, way to go, Odd!" Yumi chided him, her words dripping with sarcasm and ice, as she glared at him with folded arms.

I slammed the door, my back sliding down it, bringing my knees to my face as I wept. Why had this happened? First Hunter almost blabs one of Aelita's secrets, because he suddenly found that he also had telepathy, and now Odd's blabbing one of my secrets, like he was telepathic, too! What did I do to deserve this?! Had everyone gone crazy?!

It was a few moments later, that I heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" It was Jeremie.

Rising to my feet, I slowly opened the door, tears streaming down my face like my skin was a window in the rain. "Y-yes…"

The bespectacled blond gingerly walked in, before gently and slowly closing the door behind himself.

"W-what's w-wrong with m-mi novio?!" I asked him, my voice filled with distress and my chest heaving.

"Well, you see," Jeremie began, smiling uneasily as he brought his hands up to his chest, nervously tapping his index fingers together, repeatedly, "Odd's suddenly feeling… not quite like himself, for some reason. I have a theory as to his behavior, but it's almost as random as what happened to Hunter."

"T-that is…?" I whimpered, betrayal in every inch of my voice.

The blond immediately started waving his hands in front of his chest, now. "It's—it's not what it sounds like. He thinks he's turned into a… well, a psychic, just like you are, Cassidy, and the sudden change gave him such a surprise, he wasn't really sure how to react… but I assure you, he feels absolutely horrible about what you overheard, and wishes to apologize, but is afraid that you won't want to talk to him, now."

"A-a psychic… l-like ho-how he used to…?" I squeaked, trying to understand it all.

"Correct," he nodded. "For some reason, out of nowhere, he suddenly claimed he was able to read Ulrich's mind, and… well, he flipped out. He thought that the whitecoats had somehow given him a real-life Future Flash, and he immediately yelled at me for taking that power away from him on Lyoko, and when Ulrich asked him what was going on… somehow the subject got changed."

"To which?"

He glanced at the wall, going back to banging his index fingers together, as if it were a nervous habit. "That's, uh… that's where things get really tricky. He, uh… started to claim he was… um… a real-life ninja-cat warrior, and that he knew all of his girlfriend's—uh, I mean your, secrets. And… that's when he let out that you had… um… a sort of mental version of your vision journals. Naturally, Ulrich didn't want to believe it at first, but, uh…"

He started to chuckle nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand. "Odd can be really convincing when he wants to be…"

I trembled. "I—"

The uneasy smile slowly began to fade from his face. Even if he wasn't good at reading others' body language, he could make a valiant attempt every now and again. "But he's really, really sorry for having told us that, and he wanted me to tell you that, if you wanted to see him, he would tell you that himself, and promise that he would never tell us anything like that ever again. He said he's even prepared to beg, if he has to."

For some reason, that almost made me giggle. "He doesn't need to beg… But bring him in…"

He brought his fingers up to chest level, touching them together. "You… sure you wanna see him?"

"Einstein… he wants to do this…"

Jeremie nodded, before walking over to the door, opening it slightly, and sticking his head out to the right. "OKAY, ODD! SHE SAID YOU CAN COME IN!"

Jeremie soon stepped to the side, as Odd walked into the room.

"Hey, Cat Girl," he slowly walked up to me, a look of regret on his face as he spoke in a small voice. "I just wanted to say I'm… sorry for doing that to you. It was really dumb, and if you never wanna talk to me again… I guess I can understand that. But I shouldn't have done that to you!"

"You're right, Odd. You shouldn't have done that, but I had no idea that you had suddenly began to read minds, too." I wrapped my arms around him, still trembling. "I do want to keep talking to you, plus you're a great comedian… It would be selfish of me…"

He slowly returned the gesture, giving me a soothing and slow back rub with both hands, one that he knew I liked. "Yeah, it happened not long after you, Hunter, Jeb, Georgina, and Dr. Martinez went into her office. It was so weird! It was like I could hear these voices in my head, and they sounded like Ulrich, and Aelita, and… and Kiwi, too!"

"Kiwi's, as well?" I asked, about to giggle.

"Yeah!" His eyes widened. "They were about dog treats, belly rubs, Tutu, and wondering what was taking you so long! I didn't think my diggity-dog could worry about humans!"

"He did apologize to Ulrich about the bedsheets," I noted, about to explode into cackles.

Jeremie got a kick out of that, leading Odd to momentarily regain his usual grin, before glancing over at Einstein.

"And you thought my dog was brainless!" he chided.

That was all I needed to burst out laughing, realizing that mi novio was absolutely right. That was my boyfriend… he always knew how to make me, and the rest of my friends, laugh. I couldn't stop talking to him because of that, just like I had told him. Now, there's all the jokes I thought had all but gone…!

As Jeremie and I laughed up a storm, we were suddenly interrupted when the door opened, with Aelita behind it.

"Is everything okay, you three?" she asked, sounding worried.

"Yes, Aelita," Jeremie smiled. "Cassidy had a bit of a misunderstanding."

Odd nodded, grinning. "Don't worry, Princess. Everything's cool! Cat Girl's back to her old self again!"

Aelita slowly found Odd's grin to be contagious, a byproduct of the relief she felt. "That's great. I was afraid something terrible was going to happen."

"Jeremie told me, Aelita," I smiled. "Plus, I don't wanna break up with him. He's helped me at the hospital, and our noviazgo is still as strong as ever."

"Better believe it!" Odd's grin increased, as he gave Aelita a thumbs-up. "It takes more than a little misunderstanding to wreck my relationship with Cat Girl! If it weathered XANA, it can weather this, too!"

"Like, if he suddenly ended up insulting my love of horses, for example. I would not be afraid to pull my punches and get angry with him," I blinked. "I mean, Hervé did it by accident, but I still gave him something to worry about."

I felt him softly and reassuringly rub my back. "Besides, I'd never do that, anyway! But Hervé, he had it coming!"

"At least you didn't hit him where he would be in terrible pain, Cassidy," Aelita nodded.

"Hey, it was a shoulder punch. I wasn't going for the chest or anything. Sure, he had a slight bruise for a week, but it wasn't that awful." I shook my head.

"I thought you were gonna dislocate his shoulder, Cat Girl!" Odd recalled that event slightly differently than I did.

"From the way you were angled that day, it seemed that way, but I wouldn't do that. It was a reminder that if pushed, I will fight back hard. Plus, foreseeing Jeremie getting punched in the gut by Sissi, before we became bonded as sisters, I didn't want that to happen to Hervé," I grimaced.

Aelita's smile faded from her face, as she looked at Jeremie. "I'm still sorry I had Sissi do that to you, Jeremie. I thought I was going to save Odd and Yumi from getting liquidated by her father, if I gave myself up to the Schyphozoa."

"It's okay, Aelita. You were doing what you thought was the right thing," Jeremie reassured. "It may have hurt that day, but a little return trip, and I didn't feel a thing!"

She perked up. "You're right. Besides, I'm glad you left that note for Ulrich, Cassidy."

"I wasn't going to allow him to get his cell phone scrambled because Big Boy, Jr., affected anything electronic," I smiled.

Moments before I finished my sentence, we were soon joined by Yumi, whose face also bore a smile, remembering that day quite well. "That's how he knew how to turn it on, and set it up. If he hadn't, he probably would've fiddled around with it, and he might not have been able to save us in time."

"True, but at least Sister helped me that day," I giggled. "I was doing well when she jumped in with a metal bar, knocking him away from me. I still remember that hug she gave me."

And speaking of all things good, Sister just happened to overhear that part, as she walked in with a big smile on her face. "I just wish that Return to the Past hadn't made me forget. But at least you all were nicer to me, for a while after that."

"Yeah. We didn't want your father under arrest for kidnapping. So we had to return to the past," I blinked, looking over at her. "It was out of his control that day."

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed, with a nod. "I only made up that lie about him trying to blow things up to get Yumi, Jeremie, and Aelita out of the detectives' clutches. I know I didn't believe you at first, then, but now I can't believe I second-guessed myself."

"It's okay, Sissi," Jeremie smiled.

"You have proven to all of us that you have what it takes to be a Lyoko Warrior about a week and three days ago," I grinned.

Sister clasped her hands together, grinning happily. "That's great! I've always wanted to be a part of your little group, and I'm so glad I could prove myself to you, dear sister!"

While Sister was ecstatic, Yumi found something I had said confusing.

"How'd you know the exact length of time, Cassidy?" She rubbed the back of her head in confusion.

"I've been trying to keep a hold of the days since our kidnapping has happened. That way it'd be a good measurement, and you can't convert time into metric." I looked at her.

"That's true." Jeremie was also surprised. "But I thought you would've blocked out that moment in your mind, given your reaction."

"Kinda hard to do when you want me to be more open, Einstein." I gestured in his direction. "I'm trying to bare my soul without doing too much of it, but I think I failed in some areas."

"It's a process that takes some time. But I'm sure even I and the others have failed, as we were supposed to be doing the same thing, only for you."

"True. I mean, Odd almost had my tears retreat when we were abducted from Kadic. However, Yumi's words had unlocked the floodgate."

"I was worried, too," Yumi lamented, her smile disappearing, "and I didn't know if we were going to get out of that. I still wanted you to be strong, though."

"They just came out of nowhere!" Odd interjected. "How could any of us be strong? Even Ulrich and Kaitlyn felt like they were stuck!"

"My panic level was so high, even when the Eraser knocked me down," I remembered.

"I think we were all panicking," Jeremie commented, his voice drooping. "It's not every day characters from a book series you and Yumi read decide to come to Kadic, and kidnap us."

"At least we all got out of it safely," Aelita reminded us. "But that was one of the scariest things I think I've ever been through."

"How high does it rank?" I asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," she replied truthfully. "I can't make up my mind. Seeing the Men in Black kidnap Mommy ranks pretty high, next to losing my memories in Sector Five. But getting kidnapped by Erasers and whitecoats ranks just underneath the Schyphozoa attack."

"I'd have to rank it in my book a number two spot. Next to losing you to XANA, it's no contest."

For some reason, mi novio started to chuckle at that. "You'd compare getting kidnapped to getting attacked by the Schyphozoa?"

"Hey! XANA locked me in the Celestial Dome, Odd, just as I was having a vision—of one of the Sectors disappearing. By the time it was done, the damage was already taking over," I retorted slightly. "Aelita was…yes…and he was going to take over the world."

"Yeah, I know," Odd started to calm down. "I just thought it was funny, how you'd compare something terrible, to something that didn't even happen to you."

Jeremie stared at him, slightly surprised by his reaction. "How can you find humor in that?"

"Odd is um...Odd?" I shrugged, wincing when I remembered that Dr. Martinez had warned me not to do that for at least a day as my neck burned. "Ow…"

Aelita immediately walked up to me, concern painting her features. "Is everything okay, Cassidy?"

"I'm okay, Aelita. Just jostled the site where Dr. Martinez had removed the chip," I reassured.

Yumi walked over next, getting a good look at the gauze Max's mom had taped to the side of my neck, checking it over to make sure I hadn't loosened it.

"It's still in place," she reassured me. "Maybe we can help you to remember not to shrug, until it heals up?"

"That would work," I smiled.

"Just don't walk like an Egyptian!" Odd quipped. "Piece of cake!"

That struck my funny bone good, as I burst out cackling, nearly hugging my sides as I had a good laugh.

"There, ya see? A good dose of Vitamin Odd and she's eating out of my hand," mi novio smiled.

Even Yumi got a slight grin out of that one, as she rolled her eyes at my wildcard. "Oh, brother…"

"Speaking of brothers, Yumi, have you gotten in contact with Hiroki, or your parents?" Aelita pointed out.

"I called my parents this morning," Yumi replied, "but I haven't called Hiroki, yet. I can always do that later."

"That's true. Kaitlyn called Aunt Katie, and Patrick called Uncle Hector," Jeremie nodded. "I talked to my mom and dad. They are glad that the three of us are still alive."

A moment after Jeremie finished his sentence, Ulrich walked in, a curious look on his face. "How come everyone's in here?"

I couldn't make sense if I tried. "Christmas presents!"

"ALRIGHT!" Odd threw both of his fists into the air, before he fell backward, laughing his head off at my joke. I guess it was his turn to catch a bad case of the giggles.

Ulrich slowly began to grin as well. "Couldn't we have waited until Hunter came out of the bathroom?"

"I guess we ended up worrying over Cassidy so much, we forgot to leave the room," Aelita shrugged, abeam.

Odd slowly got onto his hands and knees as he calmed down. "Yeah! Why would we leave, when things were just starting to get interesting?"

I slowly drew a cool, cleansing, deep breath, slowing my cackling into nothing. "Sorry about that, Ulrich, sweetie. We ended up going a lot of directions with different topics in here."

"That's okay, Cassidy, I forgive you." Ulrich spoke as he walked in, before raising an eyebrow. "But why'd you call me 'sweetie'? Is Sissi rubbing off on you already?"

"She might as well, Ulrich, honey," Sister giggled. "We've spent time together for a good two months."

His grin slowly returned. "Even longer, if you count her coma."

"And I just couldn't stand by and let those doctors hurt her!" Sister folded her arms, standing proudly with a smile on her face.

"And I'm thankful for that," I blinked, a grin taking form.

"You really gave hospital security something to think about!" Odd praised her. "Guess those Pencak Silat classes really came in handy! And maybe Ulrich would've thought you looked pretty when your teeth sparkled, too!"

"If it weren't for that dirty tactic, I would have let them have it tenfold. But I was caught off-guard," Sister grinned.

"I should have paid more attention." Ulrich waved to one side.

Sister turned a grin to her former love interest. "Don't worry, Ulrich, sweetie. I made sure your sedation wasn't in vain!"

"I barely felt mine," Yumi recalled.

"But they nearly got Patrick, Kaitlyn, and me." Jeremie's mind's eye showed him the look Dr. Chantal gave him, when she taunted him about how I might not ever wake up, and if they wanted me to suffer needlessly forever, only to be proven wrong, moments later.

"Yikes. I guess it was a good thing that I woke," I winced.

"It was a very good thing," Aelita agreed, shining a disarming smile in my direction. "And your timing couldn't have been any more perfect."

"I think my body felt I healed enough so I could wake up and speak again."

"That could be," Jeremie began to hypothesize, "but then I also wonder if hearing our voices, indicating that we were in trouble, led you to make an effort to rise from your coma, in order to help us? But your theory might also be the answer."

"Let's see what Jeb thinks," I smiled. "Both sound good, but he might have one, too."

With this in mind, the five of us walked back down the hallway, soon finding Jeb in the living room, where we had left him and the others. We then popped the same question to him, curious about what he was going to say.

"Those are both good ideas," he began, after we had explained both of our theories to him. "My thought would be that it might have had something to do with whatever liquids were being sent into your bloodstream, intravenously. There's always a chance that they had replaced one bag with another, that would give your body enough enzymes to be able to recharge itself fully, within a much quicker timetable."

"I don't remember much of my coma, Jeb. There wasn't a white light or anything. I mean, I know God kept me safe, but—"

"Oh, yes, He certainly did," Jeb agreed, "but any number of factors could have contributed to your awakening. I almost wonder how long it would have taken you, if the doctors had given you a longer timeframe, rather than threatening to cut you off as early as they did."

"I don't know. I guess the first thing I remember before I woke was feeling my hand twitch, but I didn't have any idea what was going on."

"Then, maybe there's no way to explain it," Jeb smiled. "Cassidy, you are a special girl with extraordinary friends."

"I don't think I would have asked for anyone else," I grinned, brushing the pink strand of hair away from my view.

Aelita excitedly wrapped her arms around me, letting out a giggle. "And we're very glad to have you, and alive, as well, Cassidy."

I returned the gesture, laughing. "Jeremie did say that you can't always pick your friends, but in this case, I just knew that you all were very special."

"In a way," Jeremie admitted, walking over to my former first roommate and me, "we didn't pick you; you picked us."

"At least, the second time around," Jeb added with a slight chuckle. "But all of you seem like one, big, happy, extended family."

"A third extension that I would fight tooth-and-nail for. They fought for me, and I would do the same for them," I nodded, my heart giving a happy little jolt.

"What wouldn't we do for you?" Ulrich raised a fist into the air, almost reminding me of a similar gesture he made, when he wore that medical bracelet, an excited look gracing his features. "We're Lyoko Warriors, stronger after all!"

"Better believe it!" mi novio concurred, one of his Cheshire Cat-style grins overtaking his face.

"That's right!" Jeremie grinned with his mouth closed, but I could still tell he was happy and excited.

"We're all here to protect each other," Aelita smiled warmly at me, "because that's what friends are for!"

"You got it!" Yumi gave me a thumbs-up.

"We're all in this together!" Sister agreed, beaming proudly.

"Yeah!" William jumped in, also giving me a thumbs-up. "And I'm gonna make sure I don't let any of you guys down, ever again!"

"Hey, you helped during XANA's weakening, so that's a plus in my book," I giggled.

"Killer!" he exclaimed, pulling a fist-pump. "See, I told you I'd redeem myself!"

"Plus you did try to snap me out of my relaxation trance, too," I nodded. "I still wish I had been quick enough to enact Plan 120."

He folded his arms, the smile slowly fading from his face. "Hey, what did Yumi and Aelita tell you about beating yourself up over that?"

Then his face softened a bit. "Besides, I don't know how relaxing Georgina's wipes, rubs, massages, and washes feel, so how can I blame you, anyway?"

"Georgina didn't wipe me down that time. Just rubbed, massaged, and washed me extensively. Plus, she's on our side. She's trustworthy," I smiled.

That was when Jeremie started to get slightly curious. "Speaking of Georgina, where'd she and Hunter go, anyway? We haven't seen them, since you and Hunter went to talk in private."

"Bathroom," I answered matter-of-factly.

Odd chuckled. "Your axe hand is swift, stewardess."

He got me good, again. I almost felt like I wanted to fall onto the soft carpet below my feet, as I started laughing my head off.

"Odd… You are doing so good," Jeb chuckled.

It was Odd's reply, his attack on my funny bone, and Jeb's reaction to Odd's quip that clued Jeremie in as to why I responded the way I did.

"Oh, now I get it," Einstein cut in, enlightened. "That conversation didn't go too well, did it?"

"It went as well as you'd expect. Odd's not the only one who just suddenly can read minds. Hunter read Aelita's by accident." When he stared blankly at me, I blinked. "Hey, don't look at me in that tone of voice. I'm not gonna say anything about what she thought."

Jeremie's forehead fell to the palm of his hand. "I don't believe this… first Hunter, and now Odd's suddenly gaining some form of telepathy while accidentally blabbing about one of your secrets?! What sort of damage did those whitecoats deal us, before the beginning of our out-of-body experiences?"

Aelita merely looked at me, worriedly, as a blush slowly formed in both of her cheeks. "He's… not going to tell, is he?"

"He said he wouldn't," I smiled in reassurance. "He said so in Dr. Martinez's office."

Kiwi woofed. "That's good, guys! But I wonder how Tutu will now take me talking and having wings."

Odd lowered himself down to his dog's level. "Don't worry, Kiwi. If Tutu really loves you for who you are, she won't care about any of that."

"True. She told me that she has a pedigree, and is a show dog, but she doesn't really care how good her bloodlines are. She wants a love for life, like you dreamed of, Odd, Master." He looked up and gently licked mi novio on the chin.

Odd blinked, and chuckled when his diggity-dog licked his chin. "See? Then what are you worried about? You'll be fine, and so will Tutu!"

"I have to admit, it was funny when you almost took her home," he laughed.

"Hey!" he playfully interjected. "I was so relaxed from my spa treatments, I couldn't tell a seahorse from a wild boar!"

Man, did Odd know how to strike my funny bone! I doubled over in laughter once again, leading the others' eyes straight to my wildcard in reply.

"Geez, Odd…" Kaitlyn smiled. "You know how to keep her occupied."

He grinned at her. "Hey, if I wasn't me, I'd laugh at all my jokes, too!"

"He ain't m-mi no-novio for n-nada!" I giggled.

"Better believe it!" Odd slightly cracked up at my reply.

"You are a good entertainer," Patrick smiled.

That brought out another one of his Cheshire Cat-style grins. "Yeah, I know!"

"She's always laughed at Odd's jokes," Jeremie noted.

"Even when he's not trying to be funny," Ulrich added, a slight look of mischief decorating his face. "Sometimes I wonder if all she needs to do is look at him, to start laughing."

"Actually, I laughed at his 'Fan club' joke," Aelita admitted, a smile on her face.

"And I wasn't even trying, then!" Odd reminded her. "Maybe one look at Odd the Magnificent Comedian makes you start laughing, too, Princess!"

I drew in another deep breath, cooling myself down. "Odd… You're my boyfriend, but that was great…"

Odd grinned at me, his version of "modest". "Yeah! Where mere comedians have failed, Odd the Magnificent, Comedian Extraordinaire, demonstrates his great ability to make Cat Girl laugh until she needs to breathe!"

"Well, Jeff Foxworthy came before you, but I digress. Your jokes have class, Odd, all their own."

He folded his arms in reply. "Better believe it! I don't need to make jokes about rednecks! I'm great at everything else!"

"True. You are one-of-a-kind to me, Odd," I smiled. "You have something within you."

"Yeah." Ulrich saw the opportunity to jump in, gaining a mischievous grin in the process. "But I'm not sure we want to know what that 'something' is."

"Samurai…" I warned playfully. "Don't make me sic your novia on you…"

That got him confused. "Huh?" He glanced over at Yumi, who laughed when she realized what I was talking about.

"You might really wanna be careful, Ulrich, anata," she jokingly warned him.

"Otherwise… you might be the victim of a certain 'something,'" I giggled.

"Uh… uh, yeah… uh…" His words bounced around in his mouth, before he brought up his hands, waving them back and forth defensively. "That-that won't be necessary."

"Oh, really now?" She turned a playful, yet mischievous gaze on him, folding her arms. "Are you sure about that?"

I smiled wickedly. "I'm sure she has something up her sleeve…"

"Cassidy's right." Yumi took a step closer to Ulrich. "C'mon, Ulrich. Don't tell me you're scared."

Now I could tell Ulrich was forcing himself to put up a front. "Me? Uh—dah… I'm not… scared…"

He squeezed his eyes shut, mentally yelling at himself like his father used to. "What-whatever made you think I was scared?"

My eyes widened. "Yumi, I think we might need to step back."

She looked over at me, and then back at her novio, her mischievous smile slowly fading into one of concern, and her voice adapting. "Ulrich? You okay?"

His eyes opened, as his eyebrows lowered. "Oh, no, you're not gonna pull that one on me."

"Ulrich, we're really concerned, this time. We were just playing, but if it makes you uncomfortable, we'll stop," I frowned, scared for him.

It seemed like he could see and hear my concern, as his face softened. "I, uh… I'm fine. It was just, uh… you know." He rubbed the back of his head, almost sheepishly.

He was distracted from this, when Sister walked up to him, a concerned look painting her face, and put her arm around his back.

"Ulrich, dear," she began, knowing he was slowly becoming used to that nickname, no matter how much he hated it before, "if someone makes you uncomfortable, don't be afraid to tell us. We're all your friends, and we care about you. We don't want to do something that makes anyone uncomfortable. Not you, not my dear sister Cassidy, or any of us."

"It's a bad habit of mine, I admit." I lowered my head, almost hanging it.

"She's right." Jeremie approached him, coming to a stop next to Sister. "It's something we all need to do better. Both speaking and listening."

"You're right, Einstein."

Feeling it was safe to do so, Yumi walked up to her novio, wrapped her arms around him, and embraced him in a warm, comforting hug, while softly rubbing his back with her hands.

"Don't worry," she cooed softly into his ear. "We're not gonna do anything that makes you uncomfortable, if we already know it does, or if you tell us, beforehand."

She then turned her head in my direction. "And you're making progress, Cassidy. If you can do it, Ulrich can, too. We all can."

"I-I am?" I asked, head popping up in slight surprise.

Yumi nodded, reassuringly. "Of course! We can all see it."

"H-how?" I wasn't aware that I had made such developments.

"Just a short time ago," Yumi cited as an example. "When you and Hunter freaked out, you pulled him aside. You could've just let it slide, but you took care of it."

I blinked. "I just couldn't let him suddenly blurt out Aelita's inner thoughts—stop staring at me, Einstein; I ain't saying it out loud—like that. It would hurt her in some respects."

Jeremie blinked, before finally pulling his inquisitive gaze off from me. "Well, whatever it is, it must be really important, and it must affect me."

Yumi giggled, closing her eyes with a smile on her face. "C'mon, Jeremie. You know she loves you. Why would she keep a secret like that from you?"

Aelita gave her knight-in-glasses a reassuring smile. "Yumi's right. It's nothing Earth-shattering, anyway. Besides, I would never hide anything important from you. You know that very well."

"Plus, you probably already know it," I grinned, keeping her secret safe.

Jeremie smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, you're all right."

Aelita gave Einstein a closed-eye grin, letting out a slight giggle at the same time. I could tell she was thinking about how cute her knight-in-glasses looked, whenever he acted like that.

Odd grinned, closing his eyes. "That's so beautiful!"

Indeed, it was. My former first roommate and her boyfriend were always so cute together, and none of us hid our enthusiasm from them. It was almost like Odd and I, in a way.

But as we were fawning over the two computer intellectuals, the next interesting thing happened, involving good ol' Samurai, himself.

At first, even he didn't realize what had just happened to him, but once the voices in his head started taking over, his eyes widened, and his hands zoomed straight into his hair.

"What the—?!" His voice rose in fear, almost becoming frantic. "Did I just—?!"

"Ulrich?" I asked, trembling. Ulrich?!

His eyes zoomed straight to me. "Cassidy! I… I mean… your voice! It was in my head! How did—?!"

"I-it was? But—" I was trying to figure it out, suddenly getting an idea. Taking in a deep breath, I thought, Ten gophers walked in a straight line. "Now, repeat what I, um… said."

His hands threatened to rip his hair from his head. "T-ten gophers w-walked in a… straight line!"

Now it was my turn to join him in freaking out. "N-not you, too, Samurai! First Hunter, then mi novio… and now you?!"

Then Jeb's eyes widened, taking a good guess as to what this meant. "Oh, no… the radiation must be taking over you, too, Ulrich."

His eyes quickly shot down the hallway. "And Georgina probably hasn't even started bathing Hunter, yet… you might have to go in there with him. There might not be enough time to wait."

My breaths started coming out in ragged, quick gasps, whimpering. "What in Saul Hill's going on with us?!"

Aelita and Sister immediately converged on me. My former first roommate pulled me into a warm, comforting hug, while the former snob gave me a very soft and slow back rub, with both hands.

"Don't worry, Cassidy," Aelita soothed. "I'm sure we'll figure things out. If it really is radiation, then I won't be affected, as Georgina washed every inch of me, earlier. But I'm sure all of this will die down, soon."

I took a short, shallow breath, trying to calm down. And it would've worked, too, had my former first roommate suddenly realized that not even a full-body wipe, nor a full-body rub, massage, or bath could have saved her from what was about to happen to her.

While she embraced me warmly, she felt something strange happen within her mind. It started out as a dull roar, but within a matter of seconds, what sounded like the voice of her beloved knight-in-glasses Einstein grew, until she could hear him talking in her head, even if he wasn't moving his mouth. I heard her gasp, which spiked my own nerves, when she found this out.

"Cassidy…!" she breathed, once she realized what was going on. "It's not radiation that's affecting us…!"

"WHAT?!" I shouted.

She pulled away quickly, recoiling backward at the sound of my voice, having been caught off-guard. As she tried to explain, her voice grew shrill. "Cassidy, I've… I've become telepathic!"

The effect of Aelita's sudden declaration caused me to lose my balance, and fall onto my back. "W—w—h—?"

Odd was nearly as flabbergasted as I was, as he gritted his teeth with wide eyes. "Oh, no! Not you, too, Princess!"

Jeb was surprised, too, but was able to think more logically.

"Strange… so radiation isn't the problem, after all… now I really wish I had seen what those scientists did to you, when they experimented on you. I've never seen anything like this!"

I now found myself unable to even string two syllables together, let alone rehearse my vowels. Everything was just spinning all around me, and I couldn't find anything to grab onto.

Jeb noticed this, and quickly rushed to my aid, giving me a soft back rub. "Calm down, Cassidy… relax, take a deep breath… take a few deep breaths… just breathe easy… we're gonna get through this, don't worry…"

I took a shaky breath, but it was shallow.

"You can do it," he continued gently encouraging me. "Keep trying, until you can take a nice, deep, cleansing breath."

Yumi soon walked over, her hand joining Jeb's in exploring the back of my shirt. "It's okay, Cassidy… we're all here, and we'll all get through this together."

Gradually, I took a deep breath, followed by another, and another. "W—A-Ae-Ael-Aeli-Aelit-Aelita?!"

"That's it, Cassidy," Jeb encouraged, noticing my progress. "You're doing great."

Aelita gradually relaxed as well, walking back over toward me, her hands softly caressing her temples in a circle. "It's okay, Cassidy. It surprised me how soon it came on, but I think I've got it under control. I'll just have to get used to hearing voices in my head, from now on."

I wrapped my arms around her, body trembling. Why couldn't we—?

"Easy, Cassidy…" my former first roommate soothed before I could finish my thought. "This has been a big day…"

"She's right," Dr. Martinez agreed with a nod, as she approached the two of us. "I think we all need to have a chance to relax. This might continue, and affect all of you, but rather than worrying about it, I think we should all calm down, unless it's going to affect our mental or physical health."

"Do you think Cassidy would benefit from another nap?" Jeremie asked, trying to be calm for all involved.

"But didn't she just have a nap?" Odd was confused; it had been at least an hour ago, after all.

"She did," Yumi realized. "But she's getting really shaken up. Do you have any ideas, Odd?!"

Odd's eyes widened, surprised my geisha friend was getting slightly defensive. "Okay! I thought she could get a massage, or at least a back rub, but since Georgina's still pampering Hunter… anyone else good with personal care?"

Sister's eyes widened, as a grin sliced across her face. "I just might have the ideal solution…"

While my mind was still somewhat clouded by our current situation, Ulrich seemed to realize where things were headed.

"What are you gonna do, Sissi?" he asked, sounding confused, yet curious. "Are you gonna try to rub her?"

"Something much better than that, Ulrich, honey. Something that she will enjoy," Sister nodded. "Jeb, do you think you could carry her to the couch, please?"

Jeb nodded, before gently picking me up, holding me as if I were his daughter, as well as Max, and carrying me over to the couch, while Ulrich watched, confused.

"We should… probably leave the room, shouldn't we?" Ulrich scratched his head.

"If you don't want to watch the movie I know my dear sister loves, then you are in your own right mind to leave, Ulrich, dear," Sister smiled, as she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a warm, comforting cuddle.

"Movie?" Jeremie asked, curiously.

"Of course, Jeremie, honey. She always loved movies. And thanks to the monster, I know the exact one she will relax more to."

"Bu-but does Dr. Martinez even have it?" he protested weakly.

Ella grinned, walking over to a shelf and taking a DVD case from the middle. "Is this the one you're looking for, Sissi?"

Examining the case, Sister nodded, her smile growing. "That's the one, Ella, sweetie. Could you be a dear and pop it into the DVD player and turn on the TV, please?"

"Of course!" Ella replied, happily doing as she was told. In a matter of seconds, the TV and DVD player were turned on, and the disc was inserted into the drive.

"Which movie did you pick out?" Ulrich asked. "Van Helsing?"

"No, something more with horses than monsters, Ulrich, dear," Sister sang.

While Ulrich was confused, Jeremie merely took a few moments to figure out what movie Sister wanted to play, based on my likes.

"Like… Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, by any chance?" Einstein suggested, a grin slowly sprouting on the lower half of his face.

Sister smiled more, grasping the DVD remote in her free hand. "Right again, Einstein!"

Even Aelita found herself smiling happily at Sister's choice. "That's a wonderful choice, Sissi. Cassidy will love it!"

"And, knowing her, she'll probably start singing the songs," Yumi chuckled.

Odd grinned, closing his eyes as a chuckle escaped his clenched teeth. "That's Cat Girl! You know, I think I might watch it with her! Can someone make some popcorn?"

His gaze then panned the room. "Anyone wanna join us?"

"I'd love to," my former first roommate smiled.

Ulrich shrugged. "I guess I could see what it's about."

Yumi grinned, walking over to find a spot on the couch. "Sounds great!"

In fact, everyone else thought it was a good idea, or at least felt like watching it, to the point where the couch could barely hold all of the viewers. As William found an open spot on the couch, he suddenly became curious, when he realized one member of the group was still missing.

"What about Hunter?" he asked, looking a bit concerned. "Georgina's probably giving him a body rub, by now."

"He'll probably join us later," Jeremie reassured. "If not, I'm sure Cassidy wouldn't mind rewinding the movie to the start when he does come to us."

A horse's neigh on the TV made me turn my head to the screen, just as a buckskin Kiger Mustang stallion galloped to the viewer and the background around him disappeared. I giggled as I realized that the movie was on the main menu. Soon the usual disclaimers appeared, before the Dreamworks logo started. The opening notes made my heart sing with relaxation as I hummed along.

Odd squeezed his hand free and dug in his pocket, sliding a 20 Euro bill in Ulrich's direction. However, to his surprise, Samurai shoved it back to my wildcard. I didn't make a bet with you, Odd!

Oh... he muttered in his head.

Although Aelita and I could hear their exchange, we ignored it in favor of the movie. I hummed and sang along to the songs I loved when the time came for them. "Here I am. This is me. I come into this world so wild and free. Here I am, so young and strong, right here in the place that I belong…"

As she listened to the song, and my singing along with it, something about it spoke to her. It reminded her of a time, which seemed long ago, when Jeremie had finally materialized her, and the way she thought. In a way, she was like a newborn, coming into a world that seemed so new and foreign to her. She had absolutely no memory of who she was, or what she had been; she could only focus on the present, and adjust to her new life, both on Lyoko, and on Earth.

"It's a new world, it's a new start. It's alive with the beating of a young heart… It's a new day, in a new land, and it's waiting for me. Here I am…" I sang, feeling myself get swept away with the movie.

Sister giggled, smiling at the little colt blowing a milk bubble. "Aw…"

And so it went. We enjoyed the movie, laughing at the moments that were funny, feeling the right type of emotions when there weren't and so forth. Jeremie's and Ulrich's collective eyes widened when Spirit met Rain, a paint horse that belonged to the Native American Lakota Little Creek. The scene seemed to be a frame by frame representation of how they met Aelita and Yumi and all their beauty.

Soon the movie drew to the final climax, Spirit jumped across the gorge with Little Creek on his back, prompting cheers from everyone who hadn't seen the movie. I, on the other hand, couldn't help but smile with pride. I loved that scene.

Soon, the mustang reunited with his herd, bringing Rain with him.

"That was really cool," Odd smiled.

"The horses never spoke a word, yet we could understand them," Kiwi agreed.

"The songs were perfect. Were they done by Bon Jovi, Cassidy, sweetie?" Sister asked.

"No, Sister. It was Bryan Adams. He's a famous singer," I giggled.

"I remember him singing 'Summer of '69' on the radio a couple times," Ulrich mused, now over the fact that he now could read minds.

"It is a good song," Aelita nodded.

And not only was that true, but it had seemed like Spirit had calmed me, and entertained everyone else. So things were going to be better now, right? Right?

It would have been, had something not happened to Yumi, nearly wrecking everything the movie had done to me. It was like Spirit: one moment I was free, then the next…more ropes.

"Odd, no, you are not getting more popcorn!" my geisha friend suddenly yelled, slicing through the silence following Aelita's answer like mi ex novio's zanbato.

I sighed, trying not to freak out. "You, too?"

She soon let her forehead land in her hand, her eyes closing. "It seems that way… I guess I'm the next to become a telepath."

I gulped, feeling myself shake. "I don't know what is going on, but this is scaring me!"

Sister approached me, placing her arm around my back, with a worried look on her face as well. "It's scaring me, too! Why are we all suddenly able to read each others' minds?!"

"Do you think it was our out-of-body experience?" Aelita asked.

"If it is, it's definitely not anything I've ever heard of," Jeb remarked, trying to get a grasp on everything that was going on. "My only suggestion is that the scientists might have done other things to the twelve of you, before your out-of-body experience began, and the avian DNA was injected into each of your bodies."

"Jeb may have a point," Jeremie agreed, pushing his glasses up over the bridge of his nose. "After all, we only saw bird DNA injected into our bodies, and in your case, Cassidy, Aelita's DNA as well. For all we know, there might have been a sizable delay, between our sedation, and our out-of-body experience, during which the whitecoats could have done anything at all."

Odd turned to look at Jeremie, confused. "So you mean that, when Georgina helps Hunter into the bathtub to wash him, he might grow gills and fins, and turn into a fish monster?"

"Not exactly, Novio," I blinked, having a hard time trying to calm myself. "I don't think anyone will turn into a merperson. I mean, that would make us very uncomfortable."

"Cassidy's right," Ulrich nodded. "We just have wings, and telepathy attached."

And speaking of telepathy, it didn't stop there. If Yumi's sudden reception of the gift set me off-guard, imagine what finding out Jeremie was next would do to me. But we didn't figure it out, at first.

Jeremie was contemplating the reasons why some of us had mysteriously become telepathic, when another thought flew into his mind, one he wasn't expecting. Starting as a dull roar, just like what happened to my geisha friend, he soon found his darling pink girlfriend's soothing, calming, and disarming voice echo through his mind, saying two words he never thought he'd hear, at least when others were around: Proxy-Pie.

At first, he couldn't believe what he had heard. He quickly looked in Aelita's direction, surprise overtaking his features, earning him a blush from his pink-haired beloved, who couldn't help but wonder if he had heard it. But since it was something she only used when he was the only one around, he wasn't about to go blabbing it to his friends, as Hunter had nearly done, an hour ago.

Still, the whole thing surprised him greatly, regardless. He also knew how I would react, which was another reason why he just kept it to himself. Unluckily for him, though, I not only read his mind, but his face, and instantly picked up on it.

My hand went to my chest. Things only seemed to want to get worse from there. This wasn't like William walking around with his XANAfied suit on during the assembly; it was worse. My ribs rattled, and I couldn't find breath. I hoped my entire body wasn't planning to seize up on me, as though I was cold with inadequate clothing on, and another emerging telepath would have easily pushed me that far.

Sister quickly pulled herself in front of me, and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a warm hug, the concern and worry pushing her voice to high levels. "No, sister dear! Please, calm down! You've got to! Just relax!"

Jeb walked over to me, his face looking similar to Sister's, but his voice was calmer. "She's right. Take some deep breaths, and it'll be okay. Having a few more telepaths isn't going to cause XANA to return so soon after his weakening."

As Sister started to softly and slowly rub my back with both hands, I closed my eyes, trying to let her relax me. She gently caressed my wings, causing a shiver of relaxation to shoot from my shoulders to my spine, down the column, and into my muscles. My breathing gradually regulated as my heart started to slow into a normal rhythm.

A smile slowly grew across her face, as she listened to my breathing return to normal.

"There," she soothed, keeping up her soft, gentle caress. "That's what I like to see… you really don't need to worry, dear sister. It's not gonna be the end of the entire world if more of us get the power to read minds."

"Sissi's right, Cassidy," Yumi agreed, smiling calmly and reassuringly at me. "Just because I've become a telepath like you, doesn't make me any different."

I opened my eyes, looking at her. "This is just happening so fast, I can't keep up. It's nothing against you or anyone. This is just coming in like a freight train. Or a hockey zamboni into a horde of deader-than-dead zombies."

Ulrich glanced around at the others. "She's right. Each of us is gaining mind-reading powers so quickly, she doesn't have time to adapt, before the next one gains their powers. There's gotta be some way to slow it down."

"I'm not sure that there is," Jeb threw out, confused. "We could always try all sorts of different things, from random drinks, to random foods, or even something like putting all of the non-telepaths into the bathtub. But I'm not sure what would work, if anything."

While Jeb was trying to figure out a solution, the door to the bathroom finally opened, and before Hunter walked out, fully clothed with wet hair and wings, myself and the others who had already gained telepathy could all hear an interesting thought coming from his brain.

Ugh… my skin already feels slimy… see, this is one of the reasons why I really don't like baths or showers, Georgina… I don't know if it's that Dove soap, or what… the soap I used to wash myself with did it as well… but I do appreciate that long, slow, and soothing second full-body wipe you gave me, after you rinsed me off, and helped me out of the tub. I only wish that had gotten rid of the slimy feeling on every inch of my body...

In reply, Aelita turned to look at him, a slight look of surprise painting her face, as if she wasn't sure how to reply.

Hunter, for his part, wasn't sure, either. Why's Aelita just staring at me? He thought, his eyebrows raising slightly.

I hid myself on the side of the couch. This was not going to end well, if the discussion in Dr. Martinez's office were any indication. I didn't want to put myself through any stress.

"Is… everything okay, Aelita?" I heard Hunter ask my former first roommate, curiously.

"Well… uh…" I could tell she was trying to find the most tactful way to spill the beans. "I was thinking, Hunter… when we all get back to Kadic… the next time Georgina gives you a nice, long wipe, rub, massage, and bath, I could… have her wash you, or wash you myself, with the soap I wash myself with… and see if that doesn't make your skin feel slimy?"

Hunter's eyes went to the ceiling for a brief moment. "Well, I guess it's worth a try. If not yours, then—"

And that's when it hit him. "Wait—wait… how did you—?! Did you just—?! Aelita, did you…"

I gulped, awaiting the not-made-in-Gazzy-and/or-Iggy explosion the house was about to receive. My knees met my chest as I pulled my hands over my head to a duck-and-cover position. Unfortunately, that motion made my neck twinge in pain, and my wings shoot open, tearing up my bra and shirt on the spot.

And it seemed as though Aelita was fearing something similar, as she calmly walked up to Hunter, and placed her hands upon his shoulders, before giving the black-haired boy a calming glance. "Hunter… while you were in the bathroom with Georgina, we… discovered something. First, we figured out that the cause of your telepathy wasn't radiation, but we didn't want you to think Georgina wiped, rubbed, massaged, and washed you for nothing. Second, the reason why we found out it wasn't radiation, was because… well, you're not the only one who can read minds."

Even though Aelita was trying to keep Hunter calm, the boy was still getting quite worked up. "W-w-wait… s-so you can… r-read minds, too? I-is that what y-you're saying?!"

Aelita embraced Hunter, hoping a warm, comforting hug would help him calm down, as Yumi approached him, next.

"Not only her, but Ulrich, Odd, Jeremie, and I, as well," she calmly explained. "Odd discovered his while you and Cassidy were in Dr. Martinez's office, and Jeremie, Ulrich, and I got ours while Georgina was washing you."

Of course, that was when Patrick and Kaitlyn suddenly felt strange feelings within each of their brains, as well. After a few moments, they could hear my thoughts, read aloud in my own voice, slowly get louder and louder, until it sounded as though I was standing in front of them. Their eyes widened, and they shared a worried glance, too afraid to mention this to everyone else, if my and Hunter's reactions were any indication to how well it would go over.

Hunter closed his eyes as he returned Aelita's warm hug, trying to let it relax him, even as she began to softly rub his back. "Okay… okiday… interesting… so, a-are we all gonna become telepathic…? Or just the six of us?"

"I don't know," I said, keeping myself in my spot.

Yumi soon glanced over at me, before bouncing back to Hunter. "But no matter how many of us get telepathy, we shouldn't let it bother us. The whitecoats could have done much worse to us, than just giving us psychic powers, bird DNA, and in your case, Cassidy, a strand of Aelita's DNA. Like Odd said earlier, you could have easily turned into a fish monster, when Georgina helped you into the bath, Hunter. So why don't we try to relax, and if the rest of us find out they can read minds, too, then let's just chill?"

I shivered. "I think I ripped my shirt…"

Sister walked over to double-check, soon nodding with a look of concern on her face. "You did, sister, dear. It must've happened when your wings popped out."

"It was my favorite… now what?" I whined.

In reply, Dr. Martinez walked over, picked up the Twilight Sparkle blanket that Hunter had given me for my belated birthday, unfolded it, and wrapped it around the upper half of my body.

"There," she soothed, once she was finished. "That should help you stay warm for now. Then, on your travels, if you happen to come across another one, we'll buy it for you."

"Okay, but there's the no shirt, no shoes rule. I'd look like one of those people—"

"Don't worry, Cassidy," Jeremie interjected, sitting down on the couch next to me. "If we have to, one of us will go in, and buy a shirt for you. Besides, I'm sure we could find a store that doesn't have that rule, or we could say that... that… you didn't feel like wearing anything above your waist."

Before I could agree to or rebuke the idea outright, my body vibrated, just like my entity did after the whitecoat petted me and before getting injected with bird and Aelita's DNA. "I think I'm getting a vision…"

Just as always, my eyes clouded in front of me. Within my mind, I could see the twelve of us, along with Jeb, Ari, and Georgina, driving down a highway, and the side door suddenly sliding open, with Jeremie getting sent flying out, over the guardrail, and off the bridge, yelling in fear as he fell.

In reality, I yelled, "JEREMIE, NO!"

Jeremie's eyes widened in fear, as he grabbed my shoulders, and began gently shaking them.

"Cassidy!" he called out, worriedly. "Snap out of it! You're having a vision!"

"No kidding, Einstein! She told us!" Odd snapped.

Quickly giving my wildcard a glance, before turning his head back my way, Jeremie lifted one hand up, and gently backhanded my head, hoping it would snap me out of it, like normal.

I blinked, my eyes clearing up to reveal Hunter and Jeremie with wide eyes, Ulrich staring confused, and everyone else bearing concerned glances.

"What?" I asked, unaware that I had yelled out loud.

"It sounded like something was going to happen to Jeremie," Aelita said in a worry-filled voice. "You said 'Jeremie, no!'"

"Because something bad will happen to Jeremie!" I replied, sounding a bit frantic.

"Hang on!" Jeremie raised his hands into the air, trying to calm everyone. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's no big deal. I don't think something is going to kill me, or seriously hurt me, so why don't we all take a deep breath, and try to relax, huh?"

That had the opposite effect on me, big time. For the first time in ages, I started pacing around the room. "Oh, yeah?! What about being flung out a van going the speed limit on the interstate, having no flying lessons learned, wings not even able to support you, over a bridge to your doom?!"

Jeremie's attempts at calming everyone had been completely slashed to pieces, with that. His eyes widening, I could feel him getting nearly as frantic as I was.

"WHAT?!"

Yumi quickly walked over to the bespectacled blond, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Jeremie!" she tried to calm him. "You've got to calm down. If you're as worried as Cassidy is, we'll never be able to find out when that's going to happen to you, and why. We might even be able to prevent it."

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, coming up next to Yumi. "It's just a vision. We can probably figure out when it happens, and then do whatever we can to stop it. We can change the future, if we know when it happens, can't we?"

My geisha friend wrapped her arms around the blond, embracing him in a warm, comforting hug, which helped him relax.

"Don't worry," she soothed, calmly cooing into his ear. "Just because Cassidy saw it in a vision, doesn't mean it has to come true."

In a few moments, Jeremie replied, feeling calmer than he had been. "Yeah… you're right, Yumi. I was worrying too much. I thought she had envisioned me getting killed from the fall, or slamming into something on my way down…"

With one last soft, soothing rub of Jeremie's back, Yumi broke the hug, and proceeded toward me, kneeling down in front of me, and placing her hands upon my bare shoulders, softly rubbing them in circles.

"We'll find a way to prevent that from happening." She gave me a warm, comforting smile. "Don't worry about it. Just try to relax, okay, Cassidy?"

"I-I'll try… b-but th-that was s-so—"

"We know." Yumi softly and slowly rubbed up and down my bare arms, next, as if she thought that caressing my bare skin would help me relax more easily. "Your visions usually are. But just because you see something happening, doesn't mean it can't be prevented."

Slowly, my brain ran on all cylinders. "I tried to prevent a couple things from happening in the past, but I messed up in some parts."

"Then tell us everything you remember seeing," Ulrich suggested, trying to form a plan. "If we know what leads up to it, we can try to stop that from happening in the first place."

So that's what I did. Starting from the first thing I saw, I told everyone everything, from the speeding van, to the door suddenly sliding open, and Jeremie getting shot out. However, when I went to explain the face I saw Yumi make, I realized that was when the vision abruptly ended. I knew Yumi did something, but I couldn't exactly remember what she did.

Immediately after, everyone could see why I was freaking out so badly, as they were now more worried than they had been. Even Jeremie was flabbergasted, especially since the vision involved something terrible happening to him. The room was filled with wide eyes, raised eyebrows, gritted teeth, and looks of fear, and nobody knew what to say, next.

"I'm—I—I don't want Jeremie to die!" I whimpered, my body shaking and my mind overloading.

"Then we'll just have to make sure he doesn't die," Jeb interjected, trying to sound positive, as he and Georgina walked closer, with Max and Ari's father standing in front of me, and the former whitecoat finding a spot on the couch next to me, embracing me in a warm, comforting cuddle.

"He's right," Georgina soothed, starting to softly rub my bare back, aiding Yumi, who continued to give the same gentle treatment to my bare shoulders and arms, "weren't we all just talking about how we could try to change things, so Jeremie doesn't fly out of the side door of the van? I think we can do it, if we work hard enough."

"Maybe we just… don't take the highway?" Hunter jumped in, trying to calm himself as well.

"That won't work, and you know it," Aelita ascertained.

Georgina continued to comfort me, cuddling me warmly, and softly rubbing my bare back with both hands. "I think it's time you and I headed back into the bathroom, don't you? A good bath will calm you right down. I'll even give you a soothing and thorough full-body wipe, full-body rub, and full-body massage beforehand if you like, or even massage you while you're in the tub, while I wash you. How does that sound, sweetheart?"

"G-good."

"Shall I help you up, dear? Are you okay like this, or would you rather keep that blanket around you?"

"Keeping the blanket on until we get into the bathroom…"

Georgina nodded, before pulling away from our warm embrace, and making sure the Twilight Sparkle blanket was gently, but firmly, wrapped around my upper body. She then placed her arm around me, moments before she glanced over at Hunter.

"How about you, Hunter, sweetie?" she calmly asked him, giving him a comforting smile, as well. "I'm sure someone could take you into a bedroom, and give you a massage, if not a body rub. I could even wet down another washcloth, so they could give you a full-body wipe, too."

"I'm good," he nodded, looking a bit less worried than he had been.

"M-may I go in?" Jeremie requested, pale as a sheet.

Georgina glanced over at me. "That's up to Cassidy. She might not want you to see her naked, dearie."

"Él es mi amigo. Of course, he can," I whimpered.

When the older woman turned to my friends, Odd found a reason to smile. "She said Jeremie's her friend."

"Oh, good. That one threw me for a loop. I tried to get the hang of it in high school, but couldn't string two words together," she beamed.

Jeremie grinned. "Italian is Cassidy's and my kryptonite."

"It's true," I muttered.

"I'm actually better at something than Einstein!" Odd gloated, as if he couldn't believe it. "Who knew he and Cat Girl would fail at Italian?"

I felt my cheeks heat up, more humiliated than defensive. "Hey…"

His face drooped a bit. "Don't worry, Cat Girl! I told you I'd give you lessons! It's just second nature to me, that's all!"

"I got so worried that Dad would—"

"My father would not chastise you for failing a test!" Sister jumped in, correcting me instantly. "Only if you fail it repeatedly, no matter how many times others try to help you! You don't have to worry about Daddy, sister, dear. He'll only try to get someone to tutor you."

I took a deep breath, something that I sorely needed. "Okay… Sorry about that…"

She walked up to me next, a soothing, calming smile overtaking her features as she looked down at me. "There… now don't you worry, dear sister. Everything's going to be just fine."

Her attention then turned to Georgina. "I think I'd like a bath, too, Georgina. It looks like my dear sister could use a team bath, and if we both wash her at the same time, I'm sure she'll relax even more."

"That would sound good," Aelita agreed.

Georgina nodded, her smile unchanging. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Let's all go into the bathroom. I'll wipe, rub and massage the two of you at the same time, or you or Jeremie can help me, Sissi."

She soon gently helped me to my feet, and slowly walked me down the hallway toward the bathroom, with Sister and Jeremie right behind. Stepping into the bathroom, we found it in the same state it had been, after Georgina had bathed me, the day before; she was good at cleaning up, so it was quite hard to tell she had bathed Hunter, earlier. Once all four of us were inside, Georgina closed the door to the bathroom, and helped me into a sitting position, before going for a bunch of towels in one of the cabinets.

I pulled my knees to my chest, still shaken up from the vision. They had scared me a few times in the past, especially with such things as fighter jet flights, and Yumi's possible run-in with a series of vines, but nothing like this had ever happened, especially with the possibility of someone nearly dying. The last thing I needed was having our Einstein possibly going splat when his wings weren't even fully grown.

Nearby, Georgina had began to pull towel after towel out of a cabinet, making two soft beds for Sister and I, as the former began taking off her clothes. As the two continued their work, Jeremie dropped to his knees in front of me, and I could tell he was not only worried as all get out, but curious about what I saw.

"Cassidy…" His voice was shaky, but I could feel he wanted to know. "Can you remember… where we were… when I fell out of the van…?"

"I'd rather forget the thing altogether!" I squeaked. "But w-we w-were over some b-bridge… I d-don't remember i-if there wa-was a river…"

Einstein's teeth clenched, his worry increasing. He really wanted to know the entire story, but given my own emotional state, he could understand I was just as freaked out, if not more so, than he was.

"T-t-t-that's okay," he chattered out. "Y-you don't need to… t-t-tell me everything. I-I-I understand."

I slowly drew in a deep breath. "T-thanks, Jeremie…"

"D-don't worry about it." He put a shaky hand atop my bare shoulder. Sheesh, now I think I should get a bath, after this...

You're not the only one, Einstein, honey. Our eyes widened as we heard another voice enter our minds. The most surprising part was, it wasn't Aelita's or Yumi's… but Sister's.

Looking up, I could tell she realized it, too, as she gasped, freezing in mid-motion as her pants were halfway down her legs, revealing her bra and underwear. "Huh?! Now… now I can read minds, too?!"

Raising my mental shield, I nodded. Keep calm… this isn't Attack of the Erasers, Parte Dos. Just breathe.

Sister looked at me, her own teeth gritting out of fear, as a worried squeak escaped between them, as if a rat had torn up another one of her fancy party dresses in front of her.

"But… why me?!" she whimpered, next. "I thought it would only be you and your other friends! They must have done it to me, too!"

"Maybe because of your efforts to keep me safe, then everything else." I tried to remember not to shrug. "It could be that."

As Georgina finished building the second bed of towels, she turned to Sister with a warm, comforting smile, as she reached for three washcloths, next. "Don't worry, Sissi, sweetheart. It's not the end of the world. It's not going to hurt you in any other way. You can relax. Why don't you finish getting undressed, and I'll tend to Cassidy?"

She nodded, resuming her original quest. Once upon a time, the sight of Sister in her underwear made me think she would put on a party dress to impress Ulrich. Now, it didn't faze me at all.

I had lowered my shield when Georgina approached.

"Now, let's get you undressed as well," she cooed, as Jeremie slid to one side, letting her place both of her hands upon my bare shoulders. "Then we can pamper you and Sissi, and help the both of you relax."

"Okay…" I nodded. I trusted her since she helped in our rescue.

"Just think, sister dear!" Sister had managed to cheer herself up, as her hands were around her back, unhooking her bra strap, shortly before it was removed and dropped to the floor. "Now I'll be able to find out if Georgina's as gentle as soothing as you said she was!"

"She really is," I smiled a bit, undoing the blanket. "At least my wings didn't rip my pants off. That would be embarrassing."

Jeremie, Georgina, and Sister nodded understandingly. They all knew how I felt about my own body, and that something like that would have made me feel even worse than I already was. On top of this, Dr. Martinez's house felt colder, even without my shirt and bra on, for some reason.

I unbuttoned and unzipped my pants. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it!" Sister grinned, as she stepped out of her underwear, before kneeling down on one of the towel beds Georgina had built. "But you're among your loving, adoring friends, so you don't have to worry one bit!"

"That's what I love so much," I beamed, feeling my heart flutter with happiness, slightly marred by worry about my vision, but I digress. Sister had become a mystifying butterfly during my coma, and her transformation came to me as a bit of a shock initially. When she came out and said XANA by name, I thought that Jeremie or the others had told her everything about Lyoko. However, as time wore on, I was deeply happy that Sister had become scared straight and sweet.

Jeremie nodded as well, his cheeks slowly heating up, tinted a slight pink. "That's true. I love 'em, too. They're the best friends I think I've ever had."

"I couldn't ask for better," I agreed, taking my pants off with the underwear. "I think I would have been a loner if it weren't for my psychic powers in the first place."

"I'm sure you would have found some friends," Sister tried to reason, concern taking away a slight portion of her former grin as she pulled out her earrings, and heart-shaped hair pins, "even if you hadn't met the ones we have now."

"But you know how the others treated me. They thought I was weird from the word 'go.' Believe it or not, Julian Xao passed by in front of me my first day, looked up at me, glaring, then kept on walking. I didn't even say 'hi' to him, and he acted as though he hated me," I blinked.

Sister's eyes widened, as her hands moved to her bare waist. "He did?! Well, the nerve of him! He's a dork, anyway!"

Jeremie was confused, as well. "He acted that way toward you, and you hadn't even said a word to him? I certainly hope he isn't psychic as well. Maybe he was just… having a bad day?"

"He's not psychic. But the bad day, maybe. I was new and everything. Dad took me in, Jim gave me the tour, showed me to my dorm, double occupancy. At first, Valerie was my roommate, but she moved to a single occupancy after the fall holiday. No explanation was given. I asked a couple times before Aelita was materialized, but she never gave a solid answer or she wasn't in the mood to talk," I explained, kneeling on my bed of towels.

"That doesn't make any sense," Jeremie remarked, slightly surprised, as he slid over in front of the bathtub, as Georgina walked over to the sink, and began soaking two of the washcloths. "But it might have been something different entirely. I really don't think it had anything to do with you, Cassidy."

"I agree," Sister chimed in, changing her position so she was now sitting on her bed of towels, facing me. "It could be anything, so you shouldn't assume she was leaving because of you."

"I just didn't know what caused the sudden move. Plus it unnerved me being alone for a while. That's one of the reasons why I was desperate to have Aelita as a roommate, Einstein, when the subject of 'we need to prepare for her arrival a little more' was brought up. I was alone," I blinked.

"I probably should have guessed that, from the way you were acting," he recalled, running through the memory in his mind. "I was doing my best to materialize her, and I wasn't sure if I could have gone any faster."

"Hey, you finally did, Jeremie. And I was happy not to be alone." I lowered myself down onto the bed of towels.

"And you did a wonderful job, Jeremie, dear," Sister agreed, before doing the same. "I don't think there's anyone who could have done it quite as well as you."

A grin slowly overtook the lower half of his face, his blush increasing in modesty. "Come on, girls… I only did my best."

"They don't call you Einstein for nothing, sweetheart," Georgina smiled greatly. "I don't think the scientists at the lab could compete with your caliber."

His gaze lowered to the carpeted floor, as his hand reached behind his head, giving its back a soft, gentle rub. "Aw, it was nothing…"

"It was not nothing!" I giggled. "You did what that one nuclear engineer told you was 'in the realm of science fiction!'"

That got him chuckling, as he looked up at me, while Georgina knelt down between me and Sister, and began to soothingly, softly, and thoroughly, wipe our bellies in slow, gentle circles with the soft, warm, wet washcloths. "That was almost perfect! He almost made me worry, when he told me that."

"Actually, I thought you looked ticked off, both at him, and Mrs. Hertz for calling you a dreamer. You wanted to know if it was possible to materialize somebody, and he dismissed you," I defended.

"You're right," he admitted, his face hardening slightly. "That did bother me. That's why I became more determined than ever to disprove them both."

"And now they know that you did the impossible. You nailed it, Jeremie, doing what would stump everyone and more."

Sister closed her eyes, a proud, confident smile stretching from ear to ear as she let Georgina's soothing wipes relax her. "And I think that deserves a team bath, too, Einstein, dear! Probably not now, because we have to worry about my dear sister's sensibilities, but after she's done, I'll stay in here, and help Georgina wipe, rub, massage, and even wash you. Trust me, it'll feel great!"

"Thanks, Sissi," Jeremie smiled.

The rest of my and Sister's full-body wipes was silent, as the two of us allowed ourselves to relax, while Georgina soothingly, slowly, softly, and thoroughly gave us an invigorating head-to-toe wipe, running each washcloth across every inch of skin on our respective bodies, at least twice. Sister even telepathically told me how relaxed she was, just from the full-body wipe alone, while I told her that it was only going to get better. She soothingly wiped every inch of both halves of our bodies, before moving onto the full-body rub.

This felt just as relaxing as the wipe, as Georgina slowly ran her left hand across Sister's front and back, and her right hand across mine, rubbing in slow, gentle circles on our bellies and backs as she passed them. When she changed to massaging, she began with me, focusing her time, and both of her hands, on giving my whole body a soothing, relaxing massage, sending me into incredible feelings of relaxation that I had come to expect from her. Every single knot in my back was soon worked out, in the time span of nearly forty-five minutes, before my legs, arms, shoulders, neck, and even my belly and sides were given soft, gentle rubs as well. Spending an hour on me, she then turned to Sister, giving her the exact same treatment, which I could tell she enjoyed quite a lot, if the look on her face was any indication. She had fewer knots in her back than I did, but she appreciated the invigorating massage all the same.

This time, rather than filling the tub while she was still rubbing Sister and I, Georgina waited until she had finished Sister's massage, before crawling over and filling the bathtub. Once she had started doing this, before she came back, she, too, began to undress, soon revealing she was wearing a one-piece swimsuit under her clothing, which surprised Jeremie, who wondered if she was planning to go for a swim, at some point. Bubble bath was poured into the soothing warm flow, creating a gigantic mass of suds atop the water, and as she waited for the tub to fill, she crawled back over to Sister and I, and gave the two of us another gentle, soothing, and thorough full-body wipe.

In less than fifteen minutes, the bathtub had been filled halfway with soothing warm water, as Georgina turned off the taps, while Sister and I got to our feet, our bodies dripping wet from the extra wipe. Excited grins soon came to our faces as we saw the bathwater, and took no time at all slowly stepping in, with Georgina getting in on the left, and Sister on the right, before both gestured to me, inviting me to sit in the center, which I happily did.

Georgina had plunged both washcloths into the soothingly warm bathwater, making sure they were thoroughly soaked, before reaching for the bottle of Dove bath soap, placing both washcloths on the edge of the tub, and lathering each one up incredibly well, until the suds that caked each cloth obscured it. Sister jokingly splashed me with the warm water a few times, before Georgina handed her one of the soap-caked washcloths and kept the second, and both slowly extended them toward me. In no time at all, I felt Sister gently and soothingly begin to wash my belly, a warm, comforting smile on her face, while I felt the second washcloth caress my upper back, Georgina applying a gentle amount of pressure as she began to scrub.

I can't even begin to tell you how soothing, relaxing, rejuvenating, and invigorating this bath was. Getting every single inch of my body soothingly, slowly, softly, and thoroughly washed by Georgina was one thing, but having both Georgina and Sister washing absolutely every inch of my body, each washing one side, was absolutely heaven. Sister was very gentle, soft, and thorough, as she sudsed up my belly and sides quite well, before moving up, and giving similar attention to my chest, shoulders, and neck. Georgina worked her magic as usual, soothingly and thoroughly washing my entire back half, lathering it up incredibly well, before tag-teaming with Sister to give similar treatment to my underarms. In about a good half an hour, we had all stood up, so Georgina and Sister could wash the rest of my body, and cake it in a thick layer of suds, like my upper half. Incredibly rejuvenating didn't even begin to describe the relaxation I felt. If a "team bath", as Sister called it, felt this good, if she ever got her way with her father when we got back to Kadic, I probably wouldn't mind sharing a bath with either her, or Yumi, if we could all do this with Georgina. Once we sat down in the water once more, Georgina began washing my wings, giving them the same gentle, soothing, and thorough washing that she and Sister did with the rest of my body, continuing my feelings of relaxation, nearly increasing them greatly. Next was my hair, a task the former whitecoat also took on, combining a wonderful hair wash with a scalp massage, as Sister tended to my face, giving it an even gentler, more soothing scrub than the had the rest of my body.

The entire process took a little over an hour, and soon Georgina and Sister had rinsed my entire body, the soap suds falling from my skin like rain into the bathwater, in a similar manner as what happened the day before, with the showerhead for assistance. And once the two had given every inch of me an invigorating rinse, the shower was turned off, before I carefully traded places with Sister, and the three of us sat back into the water. Georgina rinsed and re-lathered the washcloths in the same manner as before, before handing one to me, and we restarted the entire process for Sister. I remembered how much she had enjoyed the bath her whitecoat had given her, before getting unnerved by the natural earthquake. It was my second time actually washing someone other than myself, considering I helped Mom with my sister before I moved to Kadic, but since I was washing another girl, it soon became like second nature to me. Helping Georgina softly, slowly, soothingly, invigoratingly, and thoroughly wash every inch of Sister's body, wings, and hair, in the same manner as the two had done to me minutes earlier, the principal's daughter's face bore an ear-to-ear grin, barely able to contain the relaxation and rejuvenation she felt. She even complimented me, knowing how well I used to wash my own hair, and realizing I used to give my body a similar treatment. Another hour had passed, during which Jeremie had taken a nap, before every inch of Sister was caked in several inches of suds, and was similarly rinsed off.

After the bath had been completed, Georgina set right to work with drying every inch of my skin and hair. Before I was completely dry, I became aware of a new wet sensation falling down my shoulder. My eyes widened as I tried to find the source.

Sister seemed to realize this, too, a worried look overtaking her face as she stood in the bathwater, every inch of her body dripping wet, as she watched Georgina dry me. "Ooh… we forgot about the surgical site."

Georgina smiled softly, finding some gauze and tape in the medical cabinet. "It's okay, Cassidy. I can fix this in a jiffy."

The former scientist approached me from the side, gently patting the wound with the gauze, making sure it was not only dry, but that the bleeding had stopped for the moment, no matter how brief, before giving it a gentle amount of force, and taping it to my neck, with enough surgical tape to hold it in place, but not aggravate it, or me.

"There you are, sweetheart." She gave me a soft kiss on my temple, once she had finished.

A warm smile overtook the lower half of my face, a feeling of being loved welling up within me. "Thanks, Georgina."

"No problem, Cassidy. It will take a few days for that to heal. But keeping it clean is a good thing," she grinned.

"Now, we might need to wake Jeremie up," I giggled, deciding to switch tactics. "Hey, Einstein! XANA has returned and is activating a tower right now! We need to get back to France fast!"

As if someone had flipped a switch, Einstein sprang awake, his eyes wide open, and a look of fear overtook his face.

"Quick! Let's hop in Dr. Martinez's van!" He commanded. "We can't let XANA launch his attack! If we try, we can make it to the docks by sundown!"

In a few seconds, however, his eyes returned to their normal height, a blush slowly filled his cheeks, and he looked up at me, glaring as he removed his glasses to rub his eyes.

"Cassidy! Couldn't you have come up with a better joke?!"

"Hey, you didn't want me to do anything involving Aelita and Odd getting married anymore. You didn't say anything about faking a XANA attack," I grinned, shooting the proverbial ball into his court.

"Still," Einstein answered, replacing his spectacles and slowly getting to his feet, "you really had me going, there. I know we only weakened XANA, but I would hope he'd at least have the decency to wait until we got back to France, before activating a tower again."

"I know, but what could I do to wake you up? Knock knock jokes? Too simple, and Odd could do better. A joke from Dexter's Lab? You might get it, but then you would probably yell at me for the appropriateness. Faking a marriage proposal? You told Ulrich and me not to do that anymore!" I blinked.

"Then maybe you should try waking me like a normal person would!" His eyebrows slanted downward, as he pushed his glasses past the bridge of his nose. "And that doesn't include tickling!"

I pouted. "But where's the fun in being normal? I think you missed the memo that like mi novio, I'm not normal."

Jeremie raised his hands into the air. "Well, you know what they say; the longer you hang out with someone, the more you turn into them!"

That was when Sister's eyes narrowed, her lips curving upward into a sly grin, as she folded her soaking wet arms. "Next time, dear sister, maybe we should take his clothes off, and give him a full-body wipe! I do plan to help Georgina give him a lovely, invigorating bath, after all."

"WHAT?!" Jeremie whirled to face Sister, flabbergasted. "I thought we were gonna wait until Cassidy was dressed and left! Her sensi-whatever!"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that today, Jeremie, darling," she giggled.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?! Cassidy's never liked seeing me, Odd, Ulrich, or any boy naked!"

"Simple: She's gonna take her blanket, underwear, and pants, dress herself, and leave. Right, dear sister?"

I nodded, already proceeding with Stage 2 of Sister's plan. I had pulled on my underwear while Einstein bickered with her, and was now starting to step into the left leg of my pants.

Once I had pulled them on, Georgina walked over to Sister, helping her out of the tub and onto a bathmat, where she lightly dried her body, seeing it pointless to dry her skin completely if she was going to get wet again, once the two reentered the bathwater with Jeremie. With my blanket wrapped around my torso like a towel, I soon left the bathroom, hearing the sounds of Sister beginning to coo to Jeremie, assuming she was about to help Georgina undress him, as the door closed behind me.

"You look happy for a change, Cat Girl! Georgina must've had the magic touch," Odd quipped, putting his fork beside his plate, as I walked back into the living room. "'Hungry? Dr. Martinez has made steak and baked potatoes for everyone. How would you like your steak?"

"Well done," I smiled.

"I'll have it done in fifteen minutes," I heard Dr. Martinez call from the kitchen, amid the sounds of sizzling steak. "Would you like your baked potato now, or do you wanna wait until your steak is ready?"

"I'll wait," I smiled.

Dr. Martinez nodded, as she turned her attention back to the pan in front of her, on the stove. Odd eagerly patted the spot on the couch next to him, hoping I would sit down.

Sure enough, I took the seat he tapped. "I wasn't in there for that long, was I?"

"We all got hungry," Aelita admitted sheepishly.

"It actually wasn't just Odd this time," Ulrich quipped, a sly grin on his face.

"I understand, both of you. I'm glad that you got a chance to eat. It wouldn't be fair to you all, or even me, that you have to starve while waiting for Sister, Einstein, and me," I pointed out.

"We would've made sure Odd didn't eat all the food," Yumi reassured me with a chuckle.

"I know, but still. If y'all need to eat, do it! Don't wait for me," I argued, a grin growing on my face.

A Cheshire Cat-style smile overtook the lower half of mi novio's face, as if my approval was all he needed. "Faaaan-tastic!"

"Besides, we all need to eat when our stomachs are empty."

Yumi nodded, understandingly. "That's true. And it's not like we all could have joined you, Sissi, and Jeremie for a bath, like in Japan, so we all could eat at the same time."

"Yep. So anyway, I'm sure that we'll make it through to Baltimore," I smiled. "I can't wait to see everyone at Kadic again."

Hunter grinned, swallowing the piece of steak in his mouth. "And I can't wait to start school, there. It looks like such an amazing boarding school, even though a few of the teachers kinda scare me a bit."

"It is a nice school. And don't worry about the teachers. All of them are nice as soon as you get to know them. Jim may talk tough, but he can be very gentle when need be, for example," I giggled.

I could hear him thinking about moments that the monster had showed him, particularly our camp-out at the lake, before he replied. "That's true. I've seen Jim's good side, but it seems like he shows his tough, authoritative side more often than not."

"Again, he's nice once you get to know him. I still don't know how I managed to get him to divulge his past when I was the only one around him, when he normally keeps that stuff locked up tight," I noted.

"We always knew you were special, Cat Girl!" Odd offered his explanation, before turning his gaze on the black-haired boy. "Don't worry, Hunter; you'll fit in just fine! You'll have us, your best friends in the whole entire world, to hang out with!"

"You may even get straight-A's like Jeremie and Aelita," Yumi encouraged.

"I still didn't want to outdo him," Aelita smiled modestly.

"I don't think it's a race, Princess." Ulrich held out his arms, his palms facing the ceiling. "You're both the smartest students in the whole school, anyway."

"That's true," I smiled. "I only got the straight-A bug for a semester without even realizing that my powers were being the cheaters."

"Huh?!" Odd whirled his head around to look at me, a surprised look overtaking his face. "Your powers were cheating?"

"Hey, I told you that they turned off during a card game. I didn't know that they were helping my academics until the time the wolves attacked—sorry, Aelita," I blinked, "—so I tried to back off as much as possible until I was in a dead-heat tie with Yumi."

Aelita rubbed the back of her head, looking a bit sheepish. "T-that's okay, Cassidy. I didn't realize you were trying to tone your powers down. You really didn't need to do that. I'm sure nobody would've thought anything different of you, if you were as smart as Jeremie."

"But I heard the collective groans and gasps Jeremie and I got from the other students when we finished a test at the same time. At first the praise was taking over me, but after Peter Duncan's attack, it started to affect me a little." I blushed, ducking my head a bit.

"They always did that whenever you and Einstein finished a test because you two ran through it like that," Ulrich interjected. "You shouldn't let it get to you. If anything, they're just jealous of you two."

"We all studied together, after all," Yumi reminded me. "They probably didn't like it because they didn't, or they forgot to. That's not your fault, Cassidy."

"I guess being third-in-command in memory wasn't such a bad thing," I blinked, looking up at them.

"Of course not!" Kaitlyn agreed, smiling reassuringly at me. "They want smart kids at Kadic, don't they? If anything, depending on how good Hunter is at his studies, you might have even more competition."

Hunter rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I don't know if I'll be that good… but I am pretty good at math, and science is a good topic for me, at least."

"That wouldn't be too bad," I smiled gently.

"And I'm sure any of us will be able to help you, if you get stuck on something," Patrick reassured him. "Jeremie's helped me with a few subjects."

"They've helped me, too." William chimed in, grinning. "I never used to study, but Cass made sure I did, and now a lot of us like to study together! You could study with us, too Hunter!"

"Even if you studied the wrong subject?" Yumi quipped, chuckling.

William froze, stuttering like crazy. "Well… uh, yeah—uh… um… yeah?"

The rest of us burst out laughing at that one. Yumi had definitely gotten him good.

"I might not have been there, but that was funny when I wrote it down in my vision journal," I giggled.

It took mi ex novio a few moments, but he soon remembered what exactly I meant, thanks to the monster, even if he dismissed it as a weird dream. While he was having that math test with Yumi, which he thought he had studied for the night before, only mistaking it for American History, I was running to the factory with Odd and Aelita, determined to help my former first roommate find a trace of her father on Lyoko.

While he recalled this event, Max and Ella's mother approached me, bearing a plate that held the steak she had finished cooking for me, along with a baked potato.

"Here you go, Cassidy. Do you want butter and cheese with your baked potato?" Dr. Martinez asked.

I nodded, mouth watering, a smile still plastered over my face. "Yes, please. I love cheese and butter on my baked potato."

Odd grinned at me. "You, too, Cat Girl? I thought I was the only one who knew the right way to eat a baked potato!"

"I always loved it that way. You forget that I came from here. And anytime my dad could, he would always grill out," I nodded. "Mom would microwave the baked potatoes. Then we would customize them."

That even got Hunter grinning. "Wow… that's incredible! I'll sometimes have butter on mine, but that sounds like it tastes even better!"

"Especially if there's bacon on it, too," I giggled, stabbing my steak and cutting it into small pieces.

"That does sound incredible," Yumi agreed, as she picked up another piece of steak on her fork. "Maybe we should have a cook-out at one of our stops, on our way to Baltimore."

"Albion, Illinois, it is," I grinned. "Dad loves cooking out, even in cold and snow."

"Even in the snow?" Hunter blinked, surprised. "My father used to cook-out on occasion, but only in the spring and summer. He had other things to do in the wintertime."

"Well, he had some experience, I have to admit," I nodded, soon finished with mutilating my meat and eating the pieces slowly.

"Experience?" Aelita asked for clarification.

"He did it for years. He has tough skin," I remarked. "But I love him. He's always loved me just as much as my sister."

"He sounds like a wonderful father," Aelita commented with a smile.

"He does," Yumi added.

After a while, nearly two hours in fact, the bathroom door opened once more, and Georgina, along with a freshly-washed Sister and Jeremie, who looked quite relaxed, if the dreamy smile on his face was any indication, emerged and filed into the living room.

"Cassidy… you were right. Georgina does have the magic touch," he exhumed, feeling as if he was floating on air. "I can see why you weren't able to return to your natural state to enact Plan 120…"

My head immediately drooped when I heard that. I guess Einstein was too out of it himself to realize how much that hurt me, even if he didn't realize it. Yes, I agree; Georgina knew how to give anyone the most soothing, relaxing, invigorating, and rejuvenating head-to-toe, full-body wipes, rubs, massages, and washes, where the bath wasn't over until every inch of your body, wings, and hair, were buried under at least two inches of soap suds. Everyone who had let Georgina give them any of those felt the same way. To top it off, she was such a wonderful, caring, loving person, especially to both Hunter and me, that if we ended up parting ways, before we got back to Kadic, I would be incredibly disappointed and heartbroken.

But despite all of this, the thought of the state the former whitecoat was capable of putting anyone she wiped, rubbed, massaged, and bathed into still liked to eat away at me, and was something I tried my hardest to block out. Even though Yumi and Aelita kept telling me to forgive myself, I still felt as though I could have prevented the whitecoats from giving us our wings, our telepathy, and whatever else they did to us, along with giving me a strand of Aelita's DNA, if I hadn't been emotionally wrecked by Reilly's sudden attack, if I hadn't asked Georgina for another bath, if I hadn't been so high on those feelings of relaxation, that I could have done something…

And it wasn't long before Yumi noticed my emotional state, since the look of shame on my face was a dead-ringer to everyone nearby, and she soon got up, and walked over in front of me.

"Cassidy," she reminded me, in a calm yet firm voice, "haven't all of us told you that you need to forgive yourself?"

"But, Yumi… I should have listened to William! Instead, my head was on Cloud Nine! I screwed everything up at that point. I know you want me to forgive myself, but I had the plan, I should have acted serious and taken control for you guys after the bath, but I failed you all." My brows slanted as I challenged my geisha friend.

"Haven't we told you about that, as well?" Her voice became firmer, yet remained gentle and calm. "Aelita has told you, too. Do you think any of us knew the whitecoats were gonna storm us like that? Did you think any of us knew Reilly was going to tackle you to the floor, after you taunted him like that? Sometimes you don't have all the answers, Cassidy! You can't keep blaming every single thing that happens to us on yourself!"

"I know that I don't have all the answers, Yumi. But—"

"We don't expect you to, Cat Girl." Odd could sense the tension in the room heightening, and tried to intervene. "Just be yourself, and don't try to be in control of everything, okay? We're a team. If one of us fails, it's not the end of the world."

Then his lips slowly curved upward. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Reilly had frogs' legs! Did you see the way he moved around?"

And that set Yumi and I both off. Our heads were flung backward as we erupted in laughter. If it was one thing we could all count on, it was mi novio knowing exactly how to lighten the mood, when things got crazy.

Once we had all calmed down, we returned to the planning that we had started earlier that day, marking out every single place we wanted to hit, on our way to Baltimore. Along with the ones we had already plotted, we made sure to choose enough destinations to fill out the month. Odd still wanted to see the Arch, so we decided that he could still see it on his own, considering that several of us had a fear of heights. Hunter and I would be glad to see our respective families once more, while I was sure the others would enjoy most of what the United States had to offer, just as much as I did.

But one thing was for sure; the next month was definitely going to be a blast.