Dee Dee couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned constantly, getting up every half hour to check the cameras, which always revealed the strange sight of Dexter glowing.

Eventually, at around five thirty that morning, she fell asleep.

Vague shapes swirl around in her mind. Here she sees half insect beings attacking Dexter, there she sees a beautiful but evil looking woman, here, the bucktoothed boy and two fairy companions that she had seen in the other universe, there, she sees Mandark with three teenage girls in strange uniforms and an older man in the same blue uniform.

She sees Dexter on the edge of an impossibly huge cliff. He is still wearing the same outfit he had been wearing when he came through the IDT. The sky is light orange and very thin. Dexter is being held by the throat by the evil looking woman over the crevice.

"Now, you die," she snarls as she swings the sword towards Dexter's head.

"Dexter!"

"No!"

Dee Dee sat up very quickly. She was covered in a layer of sweat and she was breathing heavily. Adrenaline was rushing through her body.

She got up to check the lab cameras. Dexter was still there, still glowing.

Relieved, she went into her bathroom and took a shower. The hot water and steam helped to calm her nerves and got rid of the sticky sweat. She let it run through her long blonde hair.

After about ten minutes, she got out and got dressed into new lab clothes and went downstairs for breakfast.

After breakfast she checked the lab camera one last time.

The room was completely black.

Switching to night vision confirmed her fears. Dexter was no longer in the sick bay.

She rushed into her lab and instructed the computer to scan for Dexter. After an internal sweep that lasted for an unbearably long thirty seconds, the computer announced no other anomalous life signs.

At that, she crumpled to the ground and wept again. she was so remorseful that she didn't hear the footsteps come up behind her.

"You're computer didn't detect me because of the so called anomalous energy readings."

Startled, she turned.

There, near a console, was Dexter. He had a wrinch in hand and was tightening some bolds on her computer's positronic mainframe. He looked much better than he had yesterday. The wounds were all gone. He was dressed simply in a black lab coat, grey pants, and black boots. His long hair was tied back into a ponytail. His traditional glasses were gone, revealing his blue eyes. He turned, stood and smiled at Dee Dee.

"Hi, Dee Dee. It's been awhile."

She stood, still a bit numb. Finally, after a few seconds, she broke into a run and embraced her long lost brother, crying. Dexter, who, by this time, had become a bit taller than Dee Dee, returned the embrace of his weeping sibling, a few tears falling from his eyes himself.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she said in between sobs.

"Me too, more times than I can count."

She gently broke the embrace and looked up at her younger brother. She searched his eyes. There were signs of toil and strife and suffering, but there was also a sign of peace that made his eyes twinkle.

"Dexter, what happened?"

Dexter smiled. "I knew you were going to ask that."

His stomach growled at that.

"But," he continued, "I can't tell a story on an empty stomach. I'm starving."

Dee Dee nodded. "Computer, have nourishment ready in the lounge. This bot will show you to the lounge. I'll be there shortly."

As Dexter followed the bot, Dee Dee prepared herself for the story. After seeing his new abilities, hearing hints from him and having that nightmare, she was afraid to hear what had happened, but she knew she had to face it.

When she got to the lounge, she heard "Come Dancing" by the Kinks playing. She saw Dexter nodding to the beat. She stood quietly in the doorway, watching Dexter dancing some strange but elaborate dance. When he saw her, his face reddened.

He said, "So, the inter-dimensional rift didn't stray far from our house. I love what you've done with your lab. It's so…you."

She smiled and stepped into the lounge. This was where she had come to relax at least an hour each day during the building of the lab and the IDT. Couches surrounded three walls of the room. There was a large TV on the remaining wall. On the table in the middle of the room were two trays. One had a bunch of half sandwiches on them; the other had a few cheeseburgers on them. A bottle of Cherry Splash Cola was in between them, as were two glasses.

Dexter clapped his hands and rubbed them together with glee. "Finally! After two years of rations and prison food, I'll never complain about not eating my crust again!"

"Prison?" Dee Dee asked as Dexter grabbed a plate and began to pile it high with food. "When were you in prison?"

"All in due time, dear sister," Dexter replied. "First, let me catch up on current events." He plopped down on one of the couches and began to eat.

Dee Dee grabbed a plate and picked up two half sandwiches and poured herself some cola. She took a seat across from Dexter.

"So, Dee Dee," Dexter said with his mouth half full, "what happened after I left?"

Dee Dee took a sip of her cola and began to tell him everything that had transpired in the past year, how she had mourned Dexter's loss, how she had discovered the mini universe behind her wall, how she had hacked Dexter unencrypted files to duplicate some of his technology to get better acquainted with science and how she had worked feverishly to create a working IDT with a little help from GD and the Test girls.

"Wow…" Dexter said in awe after she had completed her story. "That…that's quite a story." His tone became one of concern. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Dee Dee stood suddenly and threw her glass to the floor, where it shattered. "How could you do this to me? To your family! You're so selfish! Do you have any idea how I feel? Do you?"

Dexter said nothing. He stood up, crossed the room and faced his sister. He lifted her head and focused into it. He then reached up with his right hand and placed his thumb and forefinger on Dee Dee's forehead. His ring began to glow.

Images filled Dexter's mind. Images and emotions. He felt the pain. The sorrow, anguish, frustration, anger and rage. The emotions overwhelmed him. He felt her determination to bring him home, and he was grateful for that.

Other images filled Dee Dee's mind. She felt what Dexter had felt over the time he was gone. She saw him tortured to the point of death, she saw him in a deep state of depression, and she saw him nearly killed by a strange woman. All in all, she felt his determination to save the friends he had made, and she felt proud of him for that.

Dexter released Dee Dee and nearly fell down, breathing heavily. The ring stopped glowing.

"Dexter! Are you okay?" Dee Dee, anger forgotten, helped Dexter back to the couch.

"I'm still recovering," Dexter replied. "I'll be completely recovered in another day maybe. By that time, however, I'll be starting to lose my power."

"Yea, about that, Dex, where did you get this power?"

Dexter stretched and laid back down n the couch. "So, you became rivals with Mandark, I saw. Wonder how that must have affected him."

"Dexter, please."

"Oh, all right." He turned and sat back up. "I supposed I can use up my remaining power to show you. Sit next to me."

Dee Dee came over and sat next to him. Dexter placed both hands on her temples.

"My mind to your mind," he began, but Dee Dee interrupted him with an annoyed grunt.

"Sorry. Force of habit. Okay, here we go."

And thus he showed her what had happened.

Stay tuned for how it all began!

morbiusgreen