Author's Note

Surprise! I decided to post another chapter as a gift to you all. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it, and if you do not, a very happy Unbirthday to you!

I just want to take a moment to thank all of you lovely readers. You are my motivation to keep writing, knowing that you enjoy this story and wish to see it's conclusion. Your favorites/follows/reviews mean the world to me.

I also want to send a special shout out to a guest who goes by Kedatz17. You know why. Thank you, very much. You made me feel better.

This chapter is where the line between movie and AU gets a little fuzzy. I hope you like what I've done with it

Now, go onward and enjoy!

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Liv stands by as Owen tries to talk sense into Claire and Masrani, but of course none of them listen. They're thinking of their jobs and their money. They want to save the Indominus if they can, not kill it.

But if they do this their way, a lot more people are going to die.

She sticks close to Owen because that is where she feels safest. Though it's not like anywhere is safe now, not really. The Indominus is going to explore her new domain and then come after Liv. There is no hiding from her, especially since she can still see Liv in a way no one else should be able to see.

Owen tries to get into the labs so he can find out for himself exactly what cocktail of genetics the scientists used but then security finally kicks them both out, forcing them into the main room of the Innovation Center.

"What do we do?" she asks.

He sighs deeply. "I don't know, Liv. I don't know."

Her stomach tightens. Those words scare her more than the Indominus for some reason.

Through the crowd, Liv suddenly makes out Claire, looking around frantically. Their eyes meet and Liv sees relief in hers as the woman rushes towards them.

"I need you," she tells Owen, looking like she's coming apart at the seams. That kind of scares Liv, too. What could have the put-together Claire falling apart like this?

Owen must think it too because all he says is, "Okay."

"I need your help. My nephews, they're out in the Valley. Please, if anything happens to them…."

Owen draws her aside so less people can hear them and Liv follows, a pit of unease forming in her stomach.

Nephews. Meaning she's the aunt of two boys.

"How old?" Owen asks.

"The older one, um, he's high school age," she stammers, holding her hand up to indicate how tall he is and then lowers her hand. "The younger one he's, um, he's a few years…."

"You don't know how old your nephews are?" Owen asks her because, seriously, even Liv's parents know how old she is.

Claire doesn't say anything, just looks at them helplessly. She really doesn't know how old her nephews are and that kind of cements the horrible idea that's been forming in Liv's mind since Claire asked for help. Honestly, she should have realized it sooner.

Who else would neglect to take an actual day off in order to spend time with her kid nephews?

"Your nephews," Liv says slowly, like she has to drag the words out. "Are their names Zach and Gray?"

Claire blinks at her a little owlishly. "You know my nephews?"

She takes in a shuttered breath, curling her hands into fists and digging her fingernails into her palms to keep them from shaking. "I met them, earlier today. We went to see Rexy and the Mosasaurus together before Owen called to pick me up. They said they were visiting their aunt but she was too busy to spend time with them and had left them with an assistant, who they then ditched." She closes her eyes, guilt heavy on her chest. "It's all my fault."

"Hey, come on, Liv," Owen says, placing a hand on her shoulder. "None of this is your fault."

"Yes, it is." She opens her eyes to look up at him, her head swimming with dread. "If I had just told someone they had run away from the person looking after them, they would be fine. And I'm the one who recommended they go to the Valley next."

And she can feel it, the Indominus, heading towards the Valley. What are the odds that she stumbles upon Zach and Gray?

If she had to guess, pretty high.

Her stomach turns. She's basically gotten them killed.

"It's still not your fault, Liv," Claire says earnestly, trying to give Liv a reassuring smile despite her anxiety. "The Gyrospheres were supposed to all be recalled but they didn't go back." Claire's jaw clenches. "And, really, if anything, it's my fault for not spending the day with them like I should have."

"Look, let's not go passing the blame around," Owen says. "It's not going to help them any."

Liv knows he's right, so she takes in a deep breath and forces herself to calm. "Right. Let's go find them."

She starts to head towards the side exit but Owen stops her. "Whoa, hey now, where do you think you're going?"

"I'm coming with."

"No, you're not. You're going to stay here where there isn't a rampaging dinosaur running around."

"Owen!" Claire hisses. "Keep your voice down. Do you want to cause a panic?"

"I'm still going," Liv says, both of them ignoring Claire.

Owen crosses his arms in front of his chest stubbornly. "I don't think so."

"I'm the reason they're out there, Owen, but I can find them."

He pauses, considering. "Can you really?"

She smirks. "Of course. I've met them before. I know what their auras look like."

"What are you two talking about?" Claire demands.

"You'll have to tell Claire," Owen says, probably expecting it to sway her, but not this time.

"I don't care. This is more important than keeping a secret, especially when it could save their lives."

He pinches the bridge of his nose in agitation and she feels bad about asking this of him, but it needs to be done. She's their best shot. "Fine," he gripes. "But you stay next to me at all times and do exactly as I say."

"Done."

Not exactly a promise but Owen doesn't catch the difference, just leads them back towards the tunnels, a bewildered Claire in tow.

They stop off at the ACU weapons locker so Owen can pick up a big, lethal, shotgun and then they commandeer an SUV to head off into the Valley. Along the way, Liv brings Claire into the circle of people who know her secret.

"You're a mutant?" Claire asks from the back seat, completely bewildered. Liv is turned around in the passenger seat to talk to Claire, sitting up front so she can direct Owen where to go.

"Yep," Liv says, trying to gauge Claire's reaction but it's mostly just shock right now. That's how it always seems to start but what will come after?

"And you can see…auras."

"Uh-huh."

"And you can use these auras to find my nephews?"

"That's the plan."

Claire nods decisively. "Alright. That's good enough for me."

Liv openly gapes at her. "Seriously, what is with all of you just being completely cool about the mutant thing? Why isn't there more freaking out?"

"You're not the first mutant I've ever met," Claire says and then hesitates a moment before adding, "My sister. She's a mutant."

And now Liv is back to gaping. "Zach's and Gray's mom? She's a mutant?"

"Yes. She's a bit of a telekinetic, though not very powerful. She'll use it for emergencies and that's about it."

Seriously, how can the world be this small? Or are there just a lot more mutants out there than Liv ever realized? "Are Zach and Gray mutants, too?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no."

Though, Claire doesn't know how old her nephews are, so Liv decides not to take her word for it.

Something prickles at her senses and Liv stiffens, slowly turning around in her seat. They're in the Valley by now, coming up on a hill, and she can sense something on the other side of it. Taking a look at the auras, she gasps in horror.

All those lives. How could she?

"Liv?" Owen says, head swiveling back and forth between her and the path before them. "What do you see?"

"Is it Zach and Gray?" Claire asks worriedly. "Are they alright?"

She swallows heavily, tears freely running down her face. She can feel their suffering. It's like the Triceratops but ten times worse. "It's not your nephews. It's…j-just look for yourselves."

They crest the hill and it's hard to miss. The Apatosaurus, lying on the ground. Owen brings the car to a stop and gets out, gun in hand, but it's not necessary. The Indominus is long gone, leaving death and decay in her wake. The Apatosaurus is scratched up and bitten and bleeding all over, the wounds deep, too deep. But her chest still rises and falls, labored, but still breathing. The Indominus just left her for dead. Didn't even finish her off, just left her to slowly suffer and die.

Flies are already buzzing around her body.

Liv follows Owen to the Apatosaurus's head and they kneel on the ground next to her. He strokes the dinosaur's head, whispering words of comfort. Liv closes her eyes, not just against the absolute grief she can see in the dinosaur's eyes or against her tears, but so she can concentrate. She looks over the dinosaur's aura to determine the extent of the damage and it doesn't look good. She's bleeding out and cannot survive on her own.

A presence next to Liv makes her look up. Claire stands next to her, eyes glassy, and slowly kneels down in the grass despite her expensive clothes. Claire is always calling these dinosaurs assets, distancing herself from them, almost like she's pretending they're not really living creatures who think and feel and want to live just like everyone else. This must be the first time she's truly connecting to the animals she looks after and Liv can see so much guilt and regret in her.

But they are not losing this dinosaur. Not today.

Liv sniffles loudly, bringing her tears back under control, and shifts so that the dinosaur's head is nestled in her lap. "You two should back up."

"Liv, are you sure?" Owen asks. "The last time you healed a dinosaur it took a lot out of you and an Apatosaurus is a lot bigger than a Triceratops."

"It's okay. I've gotten a lot better since then. But either way, I have to do this. She'll die otherwise."

Owen nods in understanding and then stands, grabbing Claire's arm to pull her up as well. He backs them up, far enough away that they won't be hit if the Apatosaurus panics and lashes out.

Liv closes her eyes and sets to work. She reaches her aura out to the dinosaur's, connecting the two and transmitting feelings of calm and comfort, trying to reassure the dinosaur that everything is going to be okay. She then reaches out the rest of the way, enveloping the dinosaur's aura with her own, making sure there are no holes and she has complete control. Carefully, she manipulates the aura, concentrating on the worst wounds first. The damage is extensive but Liv doesn't pause for a second until she's absolutely sure even the smallest scrape is healed over like new.

Opening her eyes, she watches as the Apatosaurus gets to her feet, happily calling out with a noise that almost sounds like a horn or a trumpet. Liv smiles but it is short-lived. They both turn out into the Valley, at the many more bodies of Apatosaurus who have fallen to the Indominus.

Liv finds three more who haven't died yet, and even though she hurries, she only manages to get to two in time.

"I wish I could have done more," Liv says as she watches the three Apatosaurus stand over their fallen family, calling out. It almost sounds like they're crying. "They lost so many but I couldn't help them."

"Don't do that to yourself, Liv," Owen says, coming up beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "If it wasn't for you, these three would be dead as well."

"What you did is amazing," Claire says, her tears gone but she's strangely subdued. Humbled. "Owen is right, you gave them more than what they would have had. I'm sure they're very grateful to you."

It still doesn't feel like enough, but it'll have to be. Even she can't bring back the dead.

"But why did the Indominus do this?" Liv asks. "She didn't eat them. Just hurt them and left them to die."

Owen pulls her closer, shifting the gun in his hand uneasily. "You're right, she didn't kill them for food. She's killing for sport."

It's quiet in the car as they continue on, the revelation of just how sick and twisted the Indominus is falling heavy in their minds. Humans kill for sport all the time, not just food. But human hunters, the good kind, show mercy to the animals they hunt, killing them swiftly and with as little pain as possible.

The Indominus didn't do that. She is malicious and cruel and doesn't care.

Which is why Liv stays quiet when she sees that the Indominus's aura is right on top of Zach's and Gray's. She grips the sides of her seat tightly in her hands, her fingers curling into the leather, as she watches the auras dance around each other. There's a good chance the brothers are about to die but still she doesn't say anything. It won't do them any good. Besides, Claire will probably want to see whatever is left.

However, miraculously, Zach and Gray do seem to get away. She watches their auras gain distance from the Indominus and the dinosaur gives up the chase, circling away.

They are either really smart or really lucky. She's not sure which one.

When they come across the breach in the gate, leading to the restricted area of Sector 5, it's obvious what made the hole considering the twisted metal. The Indominus has been through here, but so have the boys, and Liv has to reassure Claire for several minutes that they are still fine, they're alive.

It's a lot harder when they find the trashed Gyrosphere and Zach's phone, though. This is where the Indominus found them, tried to eat them. But they got away. They are still alive. Liv can feel it.

Owen finds tracks, two sets of human shoes and the massive feet of the Indominus. The Indominus chased them and they follow the tracks on foot until they come to a small cliff where the creek turns into a waterfall and pools down below. The boys' footprints lead right to the edge.

"Oh, my God, they jumped," Claire says.

"Brave kids," Owen agrees, and Liv thinks they were probably a combination of smart and lucky then.

"Zach!" Claire suddenly yells out to the entire jungle. "Gray!" Owen tries to shush her but she snaps at him, "Hey, I am not one of your animals!"

"Listen," Owen urges quietly, "those kids are still alive but we will not be if you continue to scream like that."

She bristles. "Alright, then what do you suggest we do?"

"You get back. Liv and I will find them."

"No, we'll find them," Claire insists, pointing to the three of them."

"You'll last two minutes in there." He glances down at her feet. "Less in those ridiculous shoes."

Claire's mouth thins and her spine straightens and Liv can tell they are no longer dealing with the woman terrified for her nephews, worried that they'll die and telling herself that it's all her fault. This is her business face that eats board members for breakfast. With steady hands she unfastens the fashion belt around her waist, yanks open her buttoned shirt, ties the ends together below her breasts so it fits snugly, and rolls up her sleeves. She then places her hands on her hips and stares pointedly at Owen.

Owen, for his part, takes in in stride and bluntly asks, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm ready to go," she says, as if it's obvious.

Owen looks about ready to retort but Liv cuts in, "Owen, just let her come. We're wasting time and they're getting further away."

Owen still doesn't like it, but he relents and they're finally on their way again. Liv guides them, Owen staying close to Claire's side, glancing at her every once in a while as if he's afraid she'll fall, but Claire is surprisingly adept in her heels. She doesn't trip, not once and keeps up with their fast pace just fine.

Zach and Gray are obviously lost. There are no maps or road signs out here, though by the lay of the vegetation, Liv can tell they're entering the part of the island where the remains of the abandoned Jurassic Park reside. Still, any roads built back then are long since overgrown. It works in their favor though. Zach and Gray are taking a meandering path, unsure which way to go, but Liv knows exactly where they are and the best way to go in order to get to them.

It would be a pleasant walk if not for the urgency of it. She's always loved the jungle, but Liv doesn't take hardly any of it in as she guides them, her eyes focused only on the boys' auras. Nothing else is going to happen to them, not if she can help it. Her powers have never been good for much, but they can save Zach and Gray. She'll make sure of it. Single-minded determination is a good way to channel guilt.

And because of it, it only takes them about two hours to catch up.

Liv's pace has been steadily picking up for the past thirty minutes. The closer they get, the more anxious she gets to see them both alive, with her own eyes and not just looking at their auras. She trusts her mutant abilities, they're a part of her, but it's just not the same.

When they come across the old Jurassic Park Visitor Center she can tell right away Zach and Gray are inside. She takes off at a run, using a flashlight app on her phone to light the way through the dark corridors of the Visitor Center. Owen and Claire call after her but she doesn't stop, not until she reaches the back of the building and stumbles to a stop just inside the doorway of what looks like a garage.

Zach and Gray are there, just opening the hood of one of the jeeps. They look a little banged up but fine.

She slumps a little in relief but manages to stay on her feet. They're alive. They really are alive.

Gray notices her first, "Liv? What are you doing here?"

Zach's head snaps up to stare at her and she smiles.

"I'm here to rescue you, of course," she says, sauntering over and giving Gray a big hug. "You guys have no idea how happy I am to see you." Turning to Zach, she hesitates. For some reason, hugging Gray, a kid so much younger than her, is a lot different than hugging Zach. But she sucks it up and does it anyway, standing up on her tip toes in order to wrap her arms around his neck. His hands hover around her for a moment, surprised, before settling on her back, holding her.

She is just so, so happy they're alive.

"You came all by yourself?" Zach asks, his breath rustling her hair.

Liv suddenly realizes just how close Zach is. She's only ever let Owen get this close to her before. Not even Barry. Feeling anxiety creeping up her back, and with no little amount of embarrassment, she steps back, fighting down a blush. "Well, no, not entirely by myself. I was just the guide."

She turns around and in just a few seconds Owen and Claire come barreling through, finally catching up. Liv's eyebrow raises, impressed. Claire kept up with a running Owen in five inch heels. Is that something she has to practice or is it natural talent?

Both brothers look shocked. "Aunt Claire?" Gray asks.

"Oh, thank God," Claire says, relief washing over her even harder than it did Liv. She rushes towards her nephews, manhandling both of them and checking them for wounds. Her fear and panic and tears are right on the brim but Claire is much too stubborn to let them spill over. "Where did you go? Why didn't you come back? I was so worried about you."

"Who's that?" Zach asks, ignoring her questions and looking at Owen, who is silently berating Liv with his eyes for just running off like that, but his head swivels in Zach's direction at the question, more than a little curious to hear Claire's response.

"He's my, um, coworker," Claire answers uncomfortably and Liv has to fight from snickering. Maybe Owen still has a chance, after all, if she's so unsure exactly what to call him. She did go straight to him when she needed help.

"He's also my dad," Liv says, saving Claire from her nephew's questioning looks.

Claire recomposes herself, sending her a grateful smile, and adds, "Technically, he's not your father yet."

Liv wraps an arm around Owen's waist and he wraps an arm protectively around her shoulders, smiling down at her. "I don't know," she says. "I think Owen's been my dad for a while now."

"But what did you mean by 'yet'?" Gray asks. "Is he not your real dad?"

Owen gives her shoulders a squeeze and says, "I'm going to adopt Liv soon. Her real parents…aren't good people."

The silence is heavy and presses in on her stomach. She so does not want to talk about this, not right now, so she clears her throat pointedly. "Alright, so, Mission: Find Zach and Gray was a success. Now how are we getting out of here? We left our car a ways back."

"We were going to fix this one up," Zach says, pointing his thumb to the jeep he and Gray had been looking at.

Owen looks at the vehicle a little skeptically. "That jeep has been out here for twenty-two years. You really think we can get it up and running again?"

Zach shifts on his feet self-consciously, avoiding everyone's eyes. "It'll be no problem for me."

Gray looks up at his brother worriedly and Liv's brow furrows. Something's going on but she doesn't know what. Some instinct tells her to take another look at his aura though, so she does, paying close attention to every swirl and detail. He's scared, that much is obvious. There's something he doesn't want to admit. And the longer she stares, the more she starts to realize what it is.

"Holy crap," she whispers in stunned awe. "You're a mutant, aren't you?"

Zach takes a staggered step back, face draining of a bit of color. "H-How did you know that?"

"It's okay," she says, holding up her hands placatingly like she would to a wounded animal. She steps forward slowly but when he steps back again she stops. "Zach, it's okay. I know you're a mutant because I'm a mutant, too."

His eyes widen and some of the tension leaves his shoulders. "You are?"

She steps forward again and this time he doesn't back away. "Yeah, I am." She then digs a seed out of her pocket, holds out her hand between them, and grows a tiny blue flower in her palm. Both brothers stare at her, slack-jawed, and she grins. "Every living thing has an aura. I can see and manipulate those auras. It's how I found you guys and it allows me to do a few other things." With her other hand, she reaches out to Gray. He looks at her a little cautiously but doesn't flinch away, thankfully, and she lets out the breath she had been holding. Touching a finger to his chin, right next to a bloody scrape, she heals him, all of his little cuts and bruises.

"That…That feels weird," Gray says, disconcerted but staying still as she works. "What are you doing?"

"She's healing you, man," Zach answers for her in wonder.

"Seriously?" Liv pulls away and Gray lifts tentative fingers up to his chin, feeling around. His mouth drops open again when he finds completely smooth skin and he smiles. "That's awesome!"

"Thanks," she says, shrinking the flower back down to a seed and putting it back in her pocket. It's odd, hearing such praise for her abilities after so much of Vic's negativity. "So what can you do, Zach?"

He takes in a deep breath, probably saying this for the first time to someone not family. Liv can sympathize with how hard it can be. "I'm a technopath. Basically, I can control electricity and technology with my mind."

She grins. "That's awesome. So you were going to use that to get the car started?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

She turns to Gray. "Are you a mutant, too?"

Gray looks up at his brother before answering. "I don't know. I can retain a lot of facts and information for someone my age. I'm not sure if that's normal people smarts or if it'll turn into a mutation." He shrugs. "It could still be a few years before we find out."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up!" Claire says, looking a little frazzled. "Zach, you're a mutant? How did I not know this?"

"Aunt Claire, you couldn't remember how old I was when you last saw me," Zach deadpans.

Claire looks a little pained at that. "I know," she says somberly, "and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry about a lot of things. I haven't done right by either of you. It's just…do your parents know? I know about your mom being a mutant so I thought…I thought at least she would have said something to me."

Zach and Gray exchange nervous glances. "Actually," Zach says, hesitating before just spitting it out, "our parents don't know yet."

Claire's eyes bulge. "What?! What do you mean you're parents don't know?"

"We haven't told them."

Liv can see that fear back, in both of them, and a niggling feeling itches uncomfortably at the back of her mind. "Zach, why haven't you told them? You do know your mom's a mutant, right?"

"Yeah, of course," he says. "She told both of us when we were little. But…."

"But what?"

He sighs. "Our parents fight a lot, we told you that, but…sometimes it's about mom being a mutant."

"Dad's not very," Gray searches for the right word for a moment before saying, "approving."

Claire balks. "What? You think your dad's anti-mutant? But he knew she was a mutant before they got married!"

"Actually," Zach says, cringing a little, "based on some of the stuff we've heard, we're not so sure he did know."

"You've got to be kidding me," Claire says, pressing a hand to her forehead. "She told me he knew. I asked her and she said she told him. Do you know how he found out?"

"I think it was by accident, sometime after she got pregnant with Gray but before he was born. I think he stuck around for us, but…."

"They're getting a divorce," Gray finishes in a mumble, staring down at his shoes.

Liv flinches. She knows what it's like to live with someone who's anti-mutant. What kind of ridicule has their mom been enduring all this time? And now Zach is scared of his own father, afraid he'll treat him the same way. That's one of the same reasons why Liv never told her mom. She's afraid her mom will turn out to be anti-mutant too.

"Oh, no." Claire quickly steps forward and pulls her nephews into a hug. They both hug her back, even Zach. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She pulls back and looks them both in the eye. "As soon as this is all over, we're going to go to your parents and talk all of this out. I promise. We'll fix this."

Something like this can't always be fixed. Liv can tell they're all thinking it. But it's a nice thought.

"In the meantime," Owen says, stepping forward from where he hung back for the little family moment, "we need to get out of here. The Indominus is still out there somewhere. So what do you say, Zach? Can you fix this hunk of junk?"

Zach steps over to the car, looking down into the engine thoughtfully. "The jeep is in good condition, it's just old. I can use my mutation to fix most of this in just a few minutes, but I'm not sensing any electricity in the battery. It's completely dead. If there was a power source out here somewhere I could juice it back up."

"Nothing out here is powered anymore. Got a plan B?"

"The only other thing is to get a new battery."

"There was that trashed car we passed a while ago," Gray pipes up. "Could we use the battery from that?"

Zach nods. "Yeah. That'll probably work."

"Alright, sounds good," Owen says and squares his shoulders. "Gray, you come with me and show me where that car is. Zach, you stay here and get the rest of the repairs done. Liv, keep an eye out for the Indominus. And Claire," he looks at her in all seriousness, "you look after my daughter, you hear me?"

She smiles, placing a hand on Liv's shoulder that's surprisingly comforting and not awkward. "Don't worry, Owen. I'll take good care of her."

Author's Note

The idea for changing canon characters into mutants started with Claire. I didn't want her to be a mutant, honestly, I wouldn't know what ability to give her cause she's already awesome, but I wanted her to have experience with mutants already, meaning I wanted her to have a close relationship with one. Her sister seemed like a good choice, which then lead me to the idea of the divorce having to do with Karen's husband being anti-mutant. I really liked that idea, so I started thinking about how Zach and Gray would handle it which then made me think, what if one of them were a mutant too? I chose Zach to give him and Liv something more in common, a kind of solid ground that would help move them towards a relationship if they want it. I chose technopath because of some reviews of the movie I read. A lot of people say it was too easy for them to get a car started that's 22 years old and has been exposed to the elements for so long. I can't remember the specifics, but this was my answer for it.

And I saved the dinosaurs. In your face, movie, the raptors are next.

Next chapter will be a bit of a wild ride. Okay, a LOT of a wild ride. It's time to do some running. I'll probably still post it tomorrow, on Friday, but it won't be until later in the afternoon. I'm (hopefully) going to Universal Studios with my family, but I'll post when I get back.

Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!