Jane took off her Nanocom and handed it to Dexter. She could tell he was both angered and annoyed. As he looked over the Nanocom, she watched both melt into astonishment. When he was finished, he became calm and serious, handing it back to her.
When Jane returned to Genius Grove, Number 5 was gone. She walked around the house. Dee Dee waved to her. She headed over to the blonde.
"Do you mind doing me a favor?" Dee Dee asked.
"What kind of favor?"
"Could you stop some of those fusion-thingies from destroying my garden?"
"I would, but I don't have any weapons."
"Of course you do!" she said, pointing to the Nanocom.
"What are you talking about?" again Dee Dee pointed, giggling. Jane looked to see she was pointing to a button on her Nanocom, labeled 'I'. Giving the blonde a questioning look, she pressed it. A hologram popped up, and she realized 'I' stood for 'inventory'. She chose a weapon. "Okay, Dee Dee. Now where is this garden?"
Jane hacked away at the fusions for hours. She was just about to slice a Fusion Spawn in half, when she noticed something odd. It almost seemed like it was… begging for mercy? That doesn't make sense, Fusions don't have emotions! Do they? She lowered her blade. She looked right into its eyes. I guess I can spare one Fusion. She thought. Then she noticed the sun was near setting. She turned to the little Fusion.
"Okay, I'll spare you, partly because I need to figure out where I'll spend the night." She turned and walked away. And partly because I wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it.
Jane sat on a couch in one of many dorm/apartment-like rooms provided by DexLabs (usually for employees). She thought over the events of that day. Waking in the grass, meeting Dexter, her Nanocom, fighting. It was certainly a weird one. She lay down. If this was a dream, it was very realistic. If it wasn't… well, she'd find out sooner or later. Closing her eyes, one thought came to mind. That Fusion Spawn seemed a bit… afraid. Do fusions have emotions? Another thought came along. Do Fusions have souls? She drifted to sleep.
Jane awoke to the light of day. It took her a minute to remember where she was. The biggest reminder was the Nanocom still around her neck. She began making breakfast when Number 5 came in.
"Heard you spent the night here."
"Yah, sleeping on the couch wasn't bad."
"The couch? Girl, you do know there's a bedroom, right?"
"I didn't. Is there a reason you stopped by?"
"Check your e-mail." She pressed a button on her Nanocom, causing a hologram showing her e-mails to pop up. There was one from Dexter, telling her to drop by for some 'tests'. Jane began to eat her meal.
"Thanks, Number 5!"
After eating her breakfast, Jane walked through the halls of DexLabs. She knew exactly where she needed to go. She checked her Nanocom to make sure, and continued on her way. When she was finally there Dexter hand her stand on an 'x' on the floor. A glass tube fell over her. A light scanned her, then the glass lifted. She was then placed in a padded chair. Metal restraints covered her wrists and ankles. Dexter took a sample of her blood. Then the restraints disappeared. She rubbed her arm as she headed to the next test.
She stood in a white tiled room. A glass window allowed her to see Dexter at a control panel. On the wall across from her, holes appeared in the tile pattern. A glob of green goo shot passed her, which she recognized to be Fusion Matte. She dodged as more flew at her. Her hand gripped her Nanocom, and she equipped a Melee weapon. She dodged and sliced as more and more come speeding at her. Then, it suddenly stopped. She panted heavily, staring blankly at the glass window. I definitely don't want to be on his bad side. A door opened and she left, putting her sword away.
"You want me for a mission?" Jane asked. Dexter nodded.
"Here's a list of items, retrieve them from the Genus Grove infected zone." He handed he the list. She nodded, and headed to a warp pad. I wonder if this is another test.
Jane stepped off the warp pad of the infected zone. After taking a quick check over the list, she started. As she walked, an unbearable pain came to her feet. She looked to see her bare feet stand on Fusion Matter. The pain increased and she passed out.
When she awoke, Jane lay in a hospital bed. A nurse looked over to her.
"Oh, good. You're finally awake."
"What down you mean 'finally', how long was I out for?"
"Oh, only a few days." She felt a pain shot through her feet, like hundreds of little needles were poking them. "You're lucky Grim wasn't very busy. Oh, you should get your rest, your feet haven't fully healed yet." The nurse turned away. She took the nurse's advice, at least that way she could escape the pain.
When Jane came to, she saw a nurse leave the room. She sat up, and buried her face in her hands. That pain, I could never imagine pain like that. That nurse earlier mentioned Grim, I could have died!
"How could I be so stupid as to walk bare foot in an infected zone?"
"I was wondering the same thing." She looked up to see Dexter had entered the room.
"I'm sorry for not getting those items for you. What did you what them for, anyway?"
"I was testing your loyalty, I didn't actually need them."
"Do you mind telling me what the other ones were for?"
"I was suspicious that you were working for Lord Fuse. The first was to see if you were related to the incident concerning the energy signature. You were. The second was to see if you were a fusion in disguise. You weren't, but your blood type is O positive." She gave him a skeptical look. My blood type is AB positive, isn't it? "The third was to test your skills and reaction to Fusion Matter." He paused. "How are you faring?"
"Well, I definitely know this isn't a dream," She looked at her feet for a moment before continuing, "but I confused about how I could fall asleep in my bed and wake up… in a completely different reality."
"Explain the events that happened prior to falling sleep."
"I was using my computer, a power surge shut it down, I looked at the time, and I went to bed."
"What time was it?" she could almost see the gears turning in his head.
"Around 2 am."
"That was when the power surge happened here, and the energy a few minutes later. The energy must have created a portal between this reality and your own." She nodded. It made sense, but one part sparked up in her mind.
"You said Fusions caused the power surge."
"I'm sure of it."
"So why would they kidnap me?" Dexter was silent. After a few minutes, he left. Two, almost unrelated thought raced through her mind. Will I be able to walk again? And a louder why?