Runaways Remix: Teenage Wasteland
Issue Two
Los Feliz, California
1:49 A.M.
Muttering angrily to himself, Jake searched through the mass of shattered food displays covering the floor of the recently-saved Circle A, looking for anything that interested him. On the other side of the store, next to the ice/flavored syrup mixture machine stood the youngest robber, now freed of Chase's knife. He rubbed his neck where the teen had held him.
"So..." He said quietly, looking over the group. "Your superheroes or something?"
"Yep!" Karolina replied happily.
"No." Chase added, in the exact opposite tone.
"Sort of." Alex finished. Jake grit his teeth and sighed. How they could be so trusting of this guy after what had just happened...he didn't know. That, and they were being way, way to open with their personal information. He didn't like it, not one bit. Which was why he was rummaging for the things Molly had asked for instead of grilling the boy.
"Uh, could we finish this later?" Nico pleaded, looking out the window. From where he was, Jake could hear police sirens. "Like, when there's no chance of us getting arrested?"
"Good point." Alex said, turning from the boy they'd been "interrogating" ( in quotations, as he'd been the one asking most of the questions) to the rest of the group. "Lets find some grub and get the heck out of here." He turned back to the kid as the other three teens spread out to find stuff. "You can come with us, uh..."
"Topher." The boy replied quickly. "I'm Topher."
Jake had to clamp his hand to his mouth to stop a laugh. Topher? What kind of name was Topher? Sounded like some generic meat substitute...
"That's a pretty name." Karolina simpered. "Is it short for something?"
"Christopher, actually." Topher replied. His voice seemed full of relief. "And I think I will come with you." He sighed and looked down at his feet. "Don't really have much of anywhere else to go..."
"Wait, hold up!" Chase called angrily, from behind the counter. Jake noticed him stuffing aluminum bottles into his pockets, "Who said this dude could come back to my pad with us?"
"I did." Alex replied simply. "I don't see a reason for him not to. Besides it's not your "pad", it's our base. If we turn him away, Chase-"
"Hey, hey hey, don't use my real name around him!" Chase spat angrily. "Besides, he and his parents just tried to rob this place!"
"I told you that wasn't my fault!" Topher yelled in response. "I told you, my parents are evil! They made me do it!"
"That's what you say." Chase spat back. "Sorry if I don't trust you to much right now."
"Oh not this again." Karolina groaned. "This is just like a couple years ago when you didn't trust Ja-"
"Hardpoint, damn it!" Jake spat. "And before you bring me into this, I agree with Talkback on this one." He looked up from his pile of food to look hard at Topher. Inexplicable anger burned in his lungs and heart. To calm himself, he grabbed the slide of the pump-action shotgun he'd used against what he now guessed was Topher's mom, which he was carrying on his back.
"Oh, not you too." Nico muttered. "Just look in his eyes, both of you. He's obviously been through the same stuff we've been."
"Feel free to do that, Sister Grimm." Jake growled. "Just tell me when they flash yellow and he starts talking in an echoing voice so I can ram my knife through the parasitic snake in his stomach."
Silence fell on the group as they tried to figure out the meaning of Jake's sentence. Alex got it first.
"I highly doubt that Topher's a Goa'uld, Hardpoint. They kind of aren't real." He said. Jake laughed, a single harsh note.
"That's what I though Halo was. Then four nights ago happened."
"Wait, Halo? You mean the video game?" Topher asked in surprise. Jake glared at him, and was about to say something biting, but he stopped when the sirens he'd been hearing for the last couple minutes got much, much louder. Red and blue lights started to flash along the walls of the Circle A.
"It's the fuzz!" Alex called in panic. "Everyone move!"
The group reacted instantly; they grabbed what stuff they could (Jake grunting under the mixture of Molly's food requests and his own supplies, and Nico pulling Topher by the arm) and started to sprint for the van. Jake followed, but stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Pelican, still sitting where Nico had summoned it. An idea hit him.
"Guys, hold up!" He called. His fellow runaways followed his command and paused, turning. Jake quickly continued.
"The cops will be here any minute. We don't have enough time to get to the van with the stuff we're carrying and get out of here." He jerked his head towards the dropship behind him. "We can move faster if we ride the Pelican."
"That's what that is?" Karolina said in surprise. "You mean like the ship from Halo you were talking about a couple weeks ago?"
"The same one." Despite the situation, Jake felt himself smiling.
"Can you fly it?" Alex asked skeptically. Jake's smile turned into a grin.
"You bet." The words were out of Jake's mouth before he could stop them "And, before you ask, we don't have to leave the van here." He directed this last part at Chase, who had opened his mouth to complain. "We'll use the magnetic clamps to take it with us. They can carry a 66-ton Scorpion tank. I'm pretty sure they can carry a 4-ton van."
"Then let's go!" Karolina cried happy, floating over to the Pelican.
"Right, West Wing it!" Alex added, following her.
The rest of the group, after exchanging looks, followed. Jake opened the back hatch (the "blood tray", he remembered it was nicknamed), and let them in, before climbing into the cockpit. He tossed his mass of food into the copilots seat took up the controls without hesitation, despite the fact he was absolutely sure he'd never piloted one of these ships before. As he started it up, engines roaring to life and instruments glowing green, he heard the beginnings of a conversation between Topher and the other runaways.
"West Wing?" The boy asked.
"Walk and talk fast." Nico supplied. "Alex talks funny, but you're gonna have to learn what he means if you wanna roll with the Children of the Damned."
"Children of the..." Topher started. Jake could almost hear the sudden realization sliding into place. "Are your parents evil too?"
"Basically." Alex replied. He quickly launched into an explanation of how the group had gotten into their situation. Jake, once again, tuned it out; he focused more on getting the Pelican into the air.
He gripped the twin joysticks and moved them forward slightly. The dropship rose with a roar from it's engines and nosed out of the destroyed window. As it passed, Jake heard the far tips of the wings hit something. He cringed, but shook it off. Behind him, Alex wrapped up the Cliffs Notes on the origins of their group. Topher was silent for a moment as he finished, digesting it all.
"Wow." He said finally. "Your like, a junior version of the A-Team."
The runaways fell silent, obviously confused by the reference. Jake, however, got it perfectly.
"Damn right we are, Tofu man!" He shouted back into the troop compartment. "And I pity the fool that mess with us!"
"Talk later, fly now, Hardpoint." Alex ordered. Jake snapped a salute, swung the Pelican around, and snapped the magnetic clamps on, pulling Chase's van off the ground. He dumped fuel into the engines, and the dropship shot skyward. A quick check showed they were heading in the right direction for the Hostel. Behind him, Topher was asking more questions.
"How old are you guys anyway?" He wondered.
"Well, the youngest of us is Bruiser, who's back at base," Karolina added helpfully. "Then there's Arsenic, who's fifteen. Alex, Sister Grimm and I are all sixteen." She smiled happily. "Talkback is seventeen, I think..."
"Seventeen." Chase added quickly.
"And Hardpoint is-"
"Classified." Jake said quickly. "As should all that information you just told him should be."
"Okay then..." Topher muttered. He turned to the group. "Guess he really doesn't like me." He said.
Karolina smiled again and patted the boy's shoulder.
"Don't worry about him," She said soothingly. "You'll like him once you get to know him."
"Sure." Topher didn't sound all that convinced. And Jake was just fine with that.
Something blinked on the Pelican's control panel; a radar screen. Two red dots were blinking at the six o'clock position and closing in on them with every passing second. Jake snapped on the rear-view cameras and swore. Police cars, in hot pursuit.
"Boss, we go inbound boogies!" He called. Alex, startled, snapped his head up. He blinked and looked out the window installed on the blood tray. He saw the cars as well.
"Crap." He spat. "See if you can shake 'em!"
"No doing, man!" Jake called back. "This thing's built for safety, not speed!"
"I got it." Nico said, though the tone of her voice didn't inspire much confidence in Jake. She stood and gripped her staff. "Open the back." She ordered.
Jake, suddenly seeing what she was going to do, hit the switch. With a hiss of hydraulics, the troop compartment swung open. Nico planted her feet, swung her staff forward, and chanted something, but Jake didn't catch what it was, busy flying the dropship as he was.
He did see the results, though. A massive cloud of black smoke poured out of the troop bay, completely enveloping the pursuing police cars. The sound of screeching tires and wrenching metal came from within the cloud. Nico, job finished, sat back down.
"Huh, weird. Wonder why I didn't create a plane that time," She muttered. "Maybe I can only use each spell once?"
"That would make sense," Alex said quietly. "It is the Staff of One, right?"
"The huh?" Topher sputtered. The group, which up until this point had basically forgotten about him, turned back.
Jake, sensing that the upcoming interrogation continuation wasn't going to need him, slid the cockpit door closed. He'd just turned back to his instruments when there was a quick knock on it. Jake glanced back to see Chase's face pressed against the viewing slit in the door. He opened it again, just long enough for the boy to clamber into the cockpit.
With a sigh, Chase took position in one of the commanding officer's chair behind Jake, the same one Sergeant Johnson sat in during the opening of the Outskirts level of Halo 2.
"Problems, Talkback?" Jake asked calmly. Chase snorted.
"You got no idea, bro." He replied. Jake flipped something on the controls and sent the Pelican higher.
"I have a pretty good one, actually." He kept his voice neutral. "Topher, right?"
"Damn straight!" Chase cried, slamming the armrest of his chair. He stopped, and looked around in fear for a moment.
"Go ahead and rant." Said Jake. "Cabin's soundproof."
Suitably comforted his outburst wouldn't be heard by the rest of the team, Chase let loose.
"What the hell do you think is up with all the girls? I mean, this kid tries to rob a fucking store, and instead of wanting to string him up by his nuts, they're basically dropping their pants and bending over for him! And Alex too! Next thing you know, we'll walk into some room in my place, my place, none the less, and see the four of them doing some weird group sex shit! What the holy fucking hell!" He ranted. Jake nodded sagely.
"You wanna hear my theory?" He asked, not at all sarcastic.
"Sure, what the fuck." Chase slumped in his chair.
"He's hurt. Or at least looks like it." Jake fell silent. Old memories fluttered into his mind; the same ones that had been aroused by Nico's outfit during the "meeting" four days ago. He'd had this conversation before...
But just like last time, he crushed them back into oblivion. He hadn't wanted to see them then, he didn't want to now.
He noticed Chase was looking at him strangely. Jake cleared his throat and continued.
"Sorry. Just trying to put what I heard from the dude on TV into Standard." He inhaled, exhaled, pushed on. "Basically, Topher's an injured kid. And in every girl, no matter how tough they may seem on the surface, has a spark of compassion and caring in them. And when there's someone who's been injured around them, that spark ignites. They want to take care of them, just like a little kid. Parental instinct or whatever. Same reason younger girls like to have dolls."
"Well, everyone except Bruiser." Chase said, cracking a thin smile.
"Yeah, well Bruiser's freaking diesel-ass mutant." Jake found himself smiling too.
"Still..." Chase's face fell again as he remembered what they'd been talking about. "We're going to have to keep an eye on this kid. Make sure he doesn't try nothing."
"Agreed. And if he tries something..."
"We'll rip his damn heart out." Chase said, with grim finality.
"Oh Rah." Jake replied. The two boys bumped fists.
Just Outside "The Hostel"
Bronson Canyon, California
2:03 A.M.
With a rumble of muffled jet engines, Jake set the Pelican down in a large crop of trees not far from the Hostel. In seconds, he shut off most of the important systems, leaving just enough power to cycle the blood tray open and shut it. The group climbed out, carrying their loot and chatting with Topher, and started for the Hostel. Jake, pile of food in hand, followed behind at a good distance. Chase fell into step beside him, just long enough to grin, wink, and slip something cylindrical, metallic and damp into Jake's right hand, the one he was mainly holding his loot with. Lacking anything better to do, Jake gave him a nod in response and stuck the object into his pocket.
Already, the rest of the group was moving through the "entrance" to their home. Jake hurried to catch up, wanting to get out of the night. He didn't know why, but something about it made him...uneasy.
Probably to many hours playing Halo, he decided. All the really hard levels in the games took place at night. The Truth and Reconciliation, 343 Guilty Spark, The Library, Keyes, Sacred Icon, Quarantine Zone...all night levels.
Could have something to do with all the weird dream/memory things that had been running through his mind for the last four days, too. Who knew what the hell he'd been through and couldn't remember.
But, whatever the reason for having it, his hope of getting in quickly was deflated when he noticed how small the entrance hole was. Not that bad for normally, but carrying a mass of food...
After a moment, Jake started stuffing as much food as he could into his pockets. Though he had a lot of pockets, he had more food. But though he still needed to hold some of it, enough was out of the way that he could get through the hole pretty easy.
He crawled through just in time to see Topher, who was gazing at the interior of the Hostel in amazement, get blindsided by Old Lace.
This action set off a chorus of screams and cries of surprise from the group (including a surprisingly girly one from Topher), and (strangely) a massive, almost nauseating sense of deja vu for Jake. Along with this feeling came confusion;
Where the hell had he'd seen someone get attacked by a dinosaur before?
A snort from Lace snapped Jake back into the real world. Apparently, Chase was vainly attempting to shove Lace off of Topher (despite his earlier voiced dislike of the boy), an action which the dinosaur didn't seem very pleased at. She blinked her huge reptilian eyes at Chase in what looked like contempt. In the background, Jake heard a hurried exchange between Nico, Alex and Gert.
Then those same eyes widened as, slowly, Lace rose off the floor. The runaways (and Topher, to a lesser extent) looked in shock at the floating dinosaur. Chase and Jake, from their positions, saw what was causing it;
Molly, eyes glowing pink and with a huge grin plastered across her face was holding Old Lace up...with one had.
"Old Lace, play nice!" She said sternly, pointing up at her captive. Old Lace looked down at the girl holding her up and growled in confusion.
"Oh thank god!" Topher moaned, quickly scrambling away from Molly and Lace. "That thing was going to...eat me or something!"
"Nah." Molly grinned wider before gently setting Old Lace back down. "She's just playing around. Isn't that right, you big silly head?" She patted the dinosaur's flank as she said this. As she did, she noticed Topher, continued on past him, and glanced over at Jake, or more specifically, the pile of food he was still carrying and had stuffed in his pockets. "Hey, you got my stuff!"
"Yeah. Everything you had on that list." Jake replied. Molly rushed over, gave him a quick hug, and relived him of the food. Laughing softly, she skipped happily over to one of the couches, and promptly started stuffing her face with what appeared to be a burrito stuffed with potato chips and something that came out of a bag labeled "Phunky Phunky Chicken". She stopped for a moment, apparently finally noticing Topher.
"Who's the new guy?" She asked, spraying crumbs everywhere.
"I'm...I'm Topher." The boy stuttered out.
"Tofu?" Molly asked, sounding surprised. "You mean like that weird brown stuff Lucy in the Sky's mom and dad eat instead of meat?"
"No, ToPHER." The look on Topher's face made it clear he'd had to deal with this problem before. He opened his mouth to say more, but Old Lace came up to him and sniffed at his hand. The boy backed away hurriedly.
"Heel, Old Lace!" Gert snapped. The dinosaur rejoined her mistress, but kept her huge eyes on Topher the entire time.
"You have a dinosaur...named Old Lace." Topher sputtered out. Molly grunted.
"And you have an earing in your eyebrow. Nothing so special about that." She said simply. Topher looked at her in shock.
"What are you?" He whispered.
"If you mean Bruiser here, she's a mutant, and the rest of us, we're still trying to figure that out ourselves." Gert finished, crossing her arms and looking Topher over. Alex joined her.
"Topher, this is Gert-"
"My name is Arsenic!" Gert growled. Sudden realization filled Topher's face.
"Oh, now I get it! Arsenic and Old Lace! Like the play!"
"Um...sure." Gert said, unsure of what else to say. Alex pressed onward.
"And the girl who with no manners-"
"Hey, I can do what I want now, 'member!"
"-is Molly, who prefers to be known as Bruiser."
"Well, nice to meet you both." Topher said. With introductions finished, the group effectively split in two, Alex, Chase, Gert, Karolina and Nico on one side and Jake, Molly and Topher the other.
The newest runaway tentatively took a seat next to the younger girl. Jake, feeling adrenaline spike in his system, moved closer.
"So, your a mutant?" Topher probed. Molly nodded enthusiastically, throwing chunks of food onto the floor.
"Yeah, but not a bad one like Magneto. A good one, like Doop or Wolverine. And when I grow up I'm gonna start my own mutant superhero team, and we're going to be cooler than the X-Men and kick so much more butt than them and stuff, so you'd better not act prejudiced against me. Or I'll drop this couch on you."
In response, Topher smiled.
"Don't worry," He said calmly, leaning his arms on his legs. "Some of my best friends are mutants."
"Cool!" Molly called. Seeing that he probably wasn't going to be needed, Jake switched his attention to the other half of the team. They were currently in a deep discussion about their newest member.
"So, is there any reason you decided to let this guy join out group?" Gert asked Alex acidly. The boy shrugged in response.
"Hey, he's one of us," He shot back. "If we didn't offer him help, we'd been no better than our parents."
"One of us?" Gert questioned, glowering.
"His parents are eeevvviilll!" Karolina explained, drawing out the last word like someone doing a really bad ghost voice.
"Well if that's our entrance requirement this cave is sure gonna fill fast," Gert muttered to herself. Jake found himself nodding.
"I mean really evil, Gert." Said Alex. "Like our parents level of evil."
Gert looked like (unsurprisingly) she wanted to reply, but Topher joined the group from Molly's couch, Molly herself in tow. Jake saw she was still chowing on her burrito.
"Hey, unless you guys need me, I'm gonna crash somewhere." He said, interrupting himself with a massive yawn. The group exchanged glances.
"Come on, I'll give you the run-through of the place. We'll see if we can find you a room." Nico volunteered. She took Topher's hand in her own and lead him off into the Hostel.
Alex started to say something, but it died in his throat as Nico climbed the stairs and rounded the corner.
"Dude, we told you this was a bad idea..." Chase murmured to Alex out of the corner of his mouth. Karolina, after looking around, spoke up.
"Can you guys do me a favor?" She asked, slipping her bracelet back on as she talked. "If Topher ask about me, could you please not say-"
"An alien?" Gert suggested. "Any reason why?"
"I...I just don't want to get him freaked out more than he already is." Karolina replied.
"I think it's kinda late for that..." Jake added. "He's been supposedly threatened by his parents, shot at, and attacked by a dinosaur...all in one night. I doubt that him not learning you're an alien will do anything."
"Look, I'm just asking, okay?" Karolina's voice took on an almost pleading tone. There was a pause as each remaining member of the group considered the girl's request, then a chorus of affirmatives. Karolina smiled at all of them and moved off to get some sleep. With her departure, the entire group splintered, heading off to do their own things. In seconds, only Jake, Gert, Old Lace, Chase, and Molly were left in the main room. Chase ditched his coat and started to mess around with his Fistigons, Gert sat on the couch and alternately watched him and tried to sleep, and Molly simply passed out, hybrid burrito still in her hand. Gert noticed and removed the snack.
Deciding he wasn't needed here, Jake left them to their own things and climbed the stairs. As he crested the top, the smell of coffee reached his nose. Normally, he wasn't into drinking java (most of his caffeine came from sodas and energy drinks), but he was curious as to what was causing the smell. And, lacking anything better to do, he went to investigate.
He stopped in his room (actually one of four he begun rotating between) and stuck his newly-acquired shotgun under the bed before searching for whoever had coffee.
The trail of smell lead him to a smaller room in what was unofficially called the "East Wing". It was surprisingly spartan as opposed to the rest of the rooms in the vicinity, it's furnishing consisting only of a table, several chairs, a fireplace...and Karolina, sitting at said table. The smell of coffee was coming from the cup held in her hands.
Karolina glanced up to see who had come in.
"Oh, sorry!" Jake called apologetically. Karolina laughed, a strange sick noise, then smiled.
"No need to be. Come on in." She beckoned. Jake gladly sat down in one of chairs opposite her.
"So, what's up?" Asked Karolina. Jake blinked, not really sure what to say.
"Not much, just...got bored, smelled your coffee, followed it...found you." He shrugged.
"You want some?" She held out the cup, sending steam into Jake's face. For a moment, he considered taking it.
"Nah, I'm fine." He said quickly, dismissing the notion.
"Sure, whatever works for you." Karolina took the cup back. Jake shifted in his chair. As he did, he felt the cylinder Chase had stuck in his pocket earlier. He pulled it out. It was an energy drink can, one of the brands he liked. Without hesitation, he popped the top open and drained it. A sudden thought hit him.
"Can I talk to you about something?" He asked. Karolina, looking curious, nodded.
"Sure, I guess. If it's about what happened on that hill by Molly's house..." She blushed and looked down at her cup.
"No, no, this is me." Jake said sheepishly. "I just...well, I need to talk to someone about this weird shit that's been happening."
"Go ahead, then. I'm all ears." Karolina tilted her head sideways, like a cat watching a bird.
"Well, I've been having these dreams lately." Jake began.
"About the...the girl we saw?"
"Yeah, some. But most are, well, not really dreams. Hannah says they're actually memories, which my parents made me forget."
"Yet another thing they've stolen from us." Karolina muttered. Jake nodded.
"The thing is, they're getting...disturbing. I've seen myself do some wrong shit in them, K. Really wrong shit. And then there's this whole thing with these girls..."
"Oh?" Karolina perked up even more at the mention of girls. Jake continued on.
"Yeah. I keep seeing these...relationships that I know for sure never happened. Couldn't happen. But that's not what really weirds me out. I see through my own eyes in these...memories, and the person there isn't me. H'es...I don't want to say evil, but he's not a good person." Jake took a deep breath before continuing. "And I'm worried that this...'other me' from the memories is who I actually am. That what I know of my life is nothing but a sham put up by my parents, and that if I ever regain all of my memories...I'll turn into him."
"Oh geez." Karolina whispered. She put her coffee down and grasped Jake's hand with her own. "Did Hannah-"
"Say anything about it? Yeah. She said that it's not likely. 'Accidental total recall is extremely improbable' are her exact words."
"So why are you telling me?"
"Well, first I wanted to get it off my chest. And, well...your parents were actors. I just wanted to know if you thought what I am is just...a big act. An unconscious one, but an act none the less."
Karolina let go of Jake's hand and sat back, thinking. Finally, she shook her head.
"I think this is who you are, Jake." She said, smiling encouragingly. "If anything, that 'other you' is probably the act. I've seen how you are with Molly. You're good, through and through."
Jake let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The weight that had settled in his chest as he had told his story lifted. He found himself smiling.
"Thanks." He reached out and patted Karolina's hand, now once again around her coffee. "I think I'm gonna hit the sack now."
"Go right ahead." The alien raised her cup to her lips and took a long drink. "I'm gonna stay up for a bit more. If you wanna talk again..."
"I'll come to you, don't worry." Jake snapped a quick salute to Karolina and walked quickly back the way he had come.
As he did, he felt a familiar cold feeling in his skull.
Hannah was back in his head again.
Well, you certainly took your sweet time, he scolded her. His AI snorted.
Let's see you sort through a three-billion byte encrypted file in a couple minutes, she retorted.
So you got something on the Gibborim?
The wha- Oh, right, them. Yeah, got some stuff. But nothing interesting enough to tell. Just that Gert not only heard about them before, but she did a report on them for school at one point. That, and they do actually have fingers and toes.
Pity. Jake continued walking, heading for the main room again.
I notice you've picked up a new member.
Who, Topher? Yeah. Found him at the Circle A. Apparently, his parents forced him to help rob it.
You don't believe him.
Not in the least.
That's good, because from the readings I got off him, he's not normal.
Jake stopped dead, all attention focused on his AI's words.
Not normal how?
Not sure. I haven't been able to get a good scan. But I can tell you this; his biosigns are way wrong. Heartbeat is almost nil, same goes for respiration. And I'm not sure what's running through his veins, but it's not blood.
Can you confirm that? This might be a problem.
Of course I can confirm it. But I need-
To be closer. I can do that.
Then let's go.
Smiling, and feeling the surge of confidence that filled him every time he knew what he was doing, Jake set off in search of the newest (and possibly most dangerous) runaway.
End of Issue Two
A/N: Sorry this is so short. There's really not all that much action in the "real" second issue of Teenage Wasteland, so I found it hard to put more in this one.
Thankfully, all of this is build-up; You'll get your action before the arc is over. Much, much more than was in the actual one.
And as many people have asked, I will say this; no, it's not going to take two years to write this. I think the reason the last arc took so long was that I wasn't really ready for it. I was still in that early fanfiction stage where most of the stories suck and/or are basically self-insert filled crap. I'm far beyond that now. I should have this done by...November, at the very latest (and that's only if school, family, job get in the way and I'm attacked by a rabid herd of Grunts).
Finally; if anyone has suggestions for Jake's dreams/memories, I'm all ears.
Well, on to Issue Three!