Lilah groaned as someone shook her awake. She pulled the blanket over her, covering her eyes from the light. The person shaking her chuckled above her, and she felt the cover pulled off easily. Lilah growled, pulling her shirt over her eyes. "Come on, Lilah. You have to get up. We need to go meet Hillary and Hibiki." He lightly tapped her ribs with his foot.

"Fuck you," Lilah replied, giving him the bird. He sighed, picking her up in his arms. "Nope! Lemme down!" She kicked out, and the person chuckled again. "I thought I was being a good person, Stormy." She pouted, her lip jutting out dramatically for the sake of it. She was so tired, but she could live. If it was for this group and for son, she could stay awake forever.

"You have been," Storm Shadow agreed. "But we have to go talk to them about something really serious. Zartan called your phone last night. I want both of your siblings to hear about this. We will have a civilized conversion about it, and then we will proceed from there."

Lilah growled. "Grab my sunglasses, then hand me my phone. It records every conversion for later analysis." She held her hand out as he set Lilah on the ground. She felt her sunglasses first, putting them on quickly. She should not have drank so much. Storm Shadow refused her phone. "Stormy, give me my phone." He passed it to Flint. Who passed out to Jaye. Who passed it to Jinx. Who passed it to Roadblock. Who passed it to Snake Eyes. "Guys..."

"You don't need the distraction," Jaye said, throwing her a few pills. "So, take those with the water bottle over there, and get going. We will take care of other factors, including a plan. Any in particular that you would like to have?"

"I'll ask Joe about my bird." Lilah left, going to her Mazda and taking the passenger seat. Storm Shadow drove, obviously having memorized the path Lilah took. She dozed on the way, coming to attention when the car stopped. She lifted her head, opening the door and stepping out. "So what's the problem, Stormy? Don't give me that look. I'm not that blonde."

"We'll talk about it inside," was his short reply. Lilah snorted. "Lilah..."

"Fuck you." She opened the door. "Lilah here!" The blonde stepped into the living room, the area feeling tense. She looked around for a while. "Should I have brought a peace offering? Because I can go get one now."

"Zaltana," her sister said, using her middle name. "Sit down. Shut up." Lilah sat down, keeping quiet real quick. When Hillary used her middle name, the name she actually preferred to Annabelle, it meant business. Same went for Hibiki, but using Hillary's middle name was a death sentence. She loathed her middle name. Especially since her parents never even gave it to her. The nurses pulled up a name generator for all of them, picking a decent one for each of them. Hillary Griselda, Annabelle Zaltana, Lilah Lilac, and Hibiki Evan.

"Storm Shadow," Hibiki addressed the ninja. "Why did you call us so early? I'm usually asleep until noon, and it's ten o'clock." Hibiki was trying to make it fun. He was the baby of the family, the one who never got the full story because of his overly protective older sisters, and the one who got it easy because of that too. Lilah knew it was his way of coping, his way of dealing with serious matters that he couldn't pummel into the ground.

"Yesterday, while Lilah was out, we got a phone call from Zartan. If you've crossed Zartan, you wouldn't know. He's a master of disguise, perfect in every mask." Storm Shadow leaned against the door frame. "He's offering a deal. We can either hand Lilah over for... testing, or he will test Aron." Lilah's gaze snapped to her friend.

"Hang on, I wasn't told that an offer was made." She stood up. "Because if it was, then I need to go right now. Like, this very second. As in, give me the fucking keys-"

"Sis, calm down." Hibiki grabbed her shoulders, and she tensed up. "Before we go around making deals, we need to contact him. I prefer details, as you've known from my many times of cracking your diary." He grinned down at her, and Lilah couldn't help it. She grinned back up at him, missing the feeling of being with her brother. She could spend years and years with Storm Shadow and Firefly, but it would never quite feel like this.

Storm Shadow pulled out her phone. Lilah rolled her eyes. Of course Snake Eyes passed it back to Storm Shadow. What else would he do with it? It was on speaker phone, and Lilah knew how she was going to play it. She put up two fingers, forming a V. It was their sign to shut the fuck up or everything would go down in ruins. "Lilah, darling, I thought you would never call back now that you're with the Joes."

"With the Joes?" Lilah asked in a disgusted voice. "Please. Do you know how annoying those people were? I had to work to get their trust. Didn't think they would ever accept me until I threw a lily at Firefly. Say, can you apologize for me? I had to brush up on my acting skills." Hibiki raised a brow, and Lilah motioned for him to wait a while longer. She would have to tell them about the Joes, but they became such a tight mouthed group that she wasn't really worried.

"Nice to know you're still Cobra then. I suppose they told you I was trying to cut a deal?"

This was the test. "Yeah, something about my kid. However, my kid is dead, doll." She hesitated. "Plus, I'm not a fucking lab rat. If you wanna test something out on me, I suggest you kill me first. I don't take kindly to fucking needles."

Zartan chuckled, and Lilah shared a nervous glance with Storm Shadow. He nodded, and she felt a good deal of tension leave her. "Sadly, Lilah, you're an asset. So either get to the White House with Storm Shadow in tow, or you will take a needle." Lilah hung up, and stood. She shared a glance with her siblings. "I'll get him out. I'm not going to leave my son to those..." She didn't finish.

"Go on," Hibiki said. "I'll help get him out. Just toss him to me, and run."

"Well, it won't take long to get him anyway. Where's Joe?"

"Right here," he said from the kitchen. "I'm trying to decide what I want for lunch and dinner." Lilah laughed. "Bird's out back. I'll get Hibiki to hit me later if you like." Lilah nodded, turning to the ninja, who threw two sets of keys towards her. Lilah hit the button under the cushion on his armchair, and heard it coming from the ground in the back.

"Hey, baby. I missed you so much."

Lilah landed the plane so Hibiki could see everything easily. Hillary was going to stay at Joe's place until they came back, and probably until a little bit after the summit if Lilah could help it. Storm Shadow had gone in before her, saying that she was checking to debug the plan in case. They knew Lilah to do something like that. The last time she didn't, she ended in Cobra. "What's the plan?"

Hibiki didn't blink. "You're going to go in, and Storm Shadow will distract Zartan until I can set off the alarm. You'll fend off as many as you can until Aron and I are a good deal away, then Storm Shadow will make a show of fighting you. You'll try to get away, barely managing it in the plane with both me and Aron on board."

"How are you going to set off the alarm?"

"I'm going to shoot down the guard up at the front and barge in, using a paralyze gun to shoot down anyone in my way." Lilah nodded. "I also have to wait about thirty minutes for you to find him."

"Good boy." Lilah left, closing it and making sure no one but she could get in it to find Hibiki there. Her blond hair was curled, pinned back in a ponytail. She came to the entrance, met by Storm Shadow and Zartan posing as the President. "Hope you didn't miss me too much, boys."

Zartan smirked, and Lilah felt her heart go faster as her imagination started getting the better of her. "Storm Shadow, cuff her." Lilah tried not to show the surprise on her face, taking this to be a test of sorts. "Make sure it's tight." Lilah scoffed, throwing the usual 'what the hell' card. "Lilah, you are sentenced to joining the Prototype Program, testing the new serum."

"What the hell are you fucking talking about?!" Lilah demanded, twisting and struggling in Storm Shadow's arms. "I demand answers, you-" She was cut off by Storm Shadow's hand slamming over her mouth. He had an unreadable expression even as the blond beauty bit him, tasting something metallic in her mouth. He took the tape someone offered, slapping it over her mouth so she couldn't be heard.

"You should've been careful," Zartan said. "You didn't think we wouldn't bother with a DNA test?" Lilah glared at him as she was taken away to the back, struggling in Storm Shadow's arms.

This was not part of the plan.

Storm Shadow threw her on the ground, closing the cell doors and locking them. "What are you doing, Storm Shadow?! I thought-"

"You thought wrong. I wouldn't jeopardize my place in Cobra for some kid." Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and she ignored it. "Have fun with your mother, Aron." Lilah looked back, everything beginning to click into place. She saw a boy, eight years old with big green eyes and dark hair. Lilah's breath caught as she gazed upon her son for the first time since he was a few weeks old.

"I was expecting a bit more out of my mother," he grumbled after a while. "I was hoping you'd actually get me out of here. What a great mother you are."

Lilah couldn't help but be slightly angry and slightly amused. "Well, you see, I kind of have this thing called a reputation. And I had a plan, but it just went down the fucking- holy shit, is that the President?"

"Yep," Aron said after a moment. "He ain't doin' so much down here though." Aron slammed his hand against the wall, getting the President's attention. "Mr. Pres, meet my mom. Well, the woman who gave birth to me. My mom is probably coming up with an actual plan with Uncle Hibiki." He was playing with cards, and Lilah immediately recognized the game.

"Solitaire? I didn't know children played that game today."

"You learn a few things when you're a prisoner."

"Well, I tried to get you out. I thought he bought it, but he didn't. What else do you want me to do, kid?"

"Actually get me out and back to the people who care."

Lilah went still. "So I don't care? Kid, if I didn't fucking care, would I be sitting in this fucking cell with you?! Would I have asked Joe to watch your fucking house?! I don't have that many favors because of the measures I've gone to just for you to sit here and bad mouth me. You've got fucking guts, but don't fucking say that I don't care."

"Mom doesn't think you care."

"Your mother also thinks that dying her hair blonde is healthy."

"She thinks that you're running away from yourself."

"Tch. Yeah, that's why I came back when they really needed me. That's why I don't make them call me Lilah."

"You're a bi-"

"I will still hit you, child." Lilah slammed her head against the wall. "What the fucking hell possessed me to have a child? One of me is bad enough!" She hesitated. "Is it bad that I suddenly have respect for both Hillary and Hibiki, Mr. President?"

"Not at all. I'm respecting them too now."