Second chapter is up. Hopefully this is turning out alright; I always feel nervous whenever I post a new story/chapter.

I take full credit for the Ice-Wing Dragonflies. I came up with them about three years ago, when I watched Dex Hamilton for one of the first times.

"Your sister?!" Zap, Jenny and Tung shouted in unison. Dex flinched at their response. Alex watched in amusement as they bombarded him with questions.

"So you really didn't tell them" she commented.

Dex turned to face her. "And I suppose you told your team?" Alex looked taken aback by his retort.

"Well, um…I mean, Betas do things secondly based on the Alphas actions." The rest of Dex's team stared at her with blank faces.

"I'll take that as a no then" Dex responded dryly. "And where is your team?"

"Back at our ship. I told them to wait while I had a look around" she explained to her brother. "It wasn't an easy trip; alternate worlds aren't exactly fun to travel to and from you know."

Jenny spoke up, "Alternate worlds?"

Alex smiled at her. "Yep." She faced Dex again. "You didn't tell them anything did you." She wasn't even asking this time. Dex sighed and faced his team.

"Guys, there's something you should know. Alex and I aren't just brother and sister. She comes from another world, almost exactly the same ours."

"Wait, wouldn't that make you two…" Tung's voice trailed off.

Alex nodded, putting her arm over Dex's shoulder. "Alternate forms."

A loud gasp echoed through the room.

"How's that even possible?" Jenny asked, stunned.

"It's quite simple really" Alex explained. "You see, our father came from the world we're in now, what we call the Alpha Dimension while our mother was from the universe I came from; the Beta Dimension. When Dex and I were born, my mother returned to the Beta Dimension with me, but our father remained here with Dex."

"I thought parallel dimensions were only accessible with a phase glider" Zap stated.

Alex smirked and walked towards him. He clearly wasn't convinced, so she'd just have to show him.

"Let me guess; pilot, half-insect, and has one heck of a temper" she laughed.

"Huh" Zap gasped, taking a step back.

Jenny smiled at Zap. "I'd say that's a perfect description of him" she teased.

"How'd you know?"

"Because I have one my team just like him. Took me ages to convince her to stay with the ship when we crashed."

"Her?" Zap questioned, his attentiveness heightening. Jenny frowned slightly when his face seemed to light up.

Alex nodded. "Parallel Universes aren't exactly the same. If a coin was tossed, an Alpha Dimensioner might read it as heads, but for Beta Dimensioner, it would be tails. Your alternate form is also the opposite gender to you; hence why I'm Dex's sister."

Jenny looked thoughtful. "So, that means my alternate is—"

"Male" Alex finished off her sentence. "He's part of my team, and an engineer, just like you" Jenny smiled when she heard this.

Tung spoke up. "You mean there's another Tung out there?"

"Not exactly" Alex replied. She opened her mouth to explain it to him, but shook the thought away. It would take much too long for him to understand with his level of intelligence.

She looked to Dex. "You know, our ship is pretty badly damaged and my team and I are stranded in this dimension with nowhere to go." Dex blinked in surprise. Alex smiled sweetly at him, her eyes sparkling.

"I suppose you can stay here until you fix your ship" he offered hesitantly. She gave him a small hug.

"Thanks Dex. I'll go get my team" she said, running to the nearest Habitat exit.

"She seems nice" Tung commented once she had gone.

Dex grunted. "Agree to disagree."

"How come you never told us about the Beta Dimension?" Zap asked him.

"I have my reasons. Her being one of them" he said bitterly.

"She doesn't seem that bad" Jenny pointed out.

"You've known her for fifteen minutes; I've known her all my life."

When Alex returned with her team, she had informed Dex that she had told them the truth about the dimensions. The eight of them stood in the lab, Alphas on one side, Betas on the other, staring at each other in mixture of confusion and suspicion. They almost mirrored each other. Dex and Alex had nervous looks on their faces.

Zap stared at his alternate, a girl with black and white hair outlining a lightning streak. She had blue eyes like him and a black and silver uniform. She wore double spiked silver communicators on her wrists, and strapless goggles on her head. Both of them had their arms crossed as they stared unblinking at each other.

Jenny faced her own alternate form. His blue hair was darker than hers slightly, but their eyes were the same shade of green. He was wearing a sapphire and indigo coloured shirt with folded up sleeves, and like her, he had goggles on his head. The belt he wore had an 8 engraved on it. Their eyes were narrowed slightly, in uncertainty.

Tung, on the other hand, had the biggest smile across his face as he stared into the eyes of his Beta form. She was slightly taller than him, with pale greenish skin and short moss coloured hair. Faint scales speckled her arms. She didn't wear goggles or a pack like him, but their uniforms were almost identical. She was smiling right back at him.

Alex stepped forward. "Dex, this is my team." She pointed to Tung's alternate first.

"This is Wave, my tracker. She's…"

"I'm a lizard-girl!" Wave finished her sentence. Alex smiled, before gazing at the girl with black hair.

"And this is Jaz. She, well" She paused and turned to Jaz. "Why don't you show them" she advised. Jaz rolled her eyes.

"Do I have to?" she asked resignedly. Alex gave her an encouraging gesture.

Sighing, she stood up straighter. From behind her, two sets of wings extended. They started to flap at a tremendous speed, turning to a blurry movement behind her. Zap's eyes widened.

"And last but not lease, this is Shade 8" she said, gesturing her head towards her final teammate. Shade smiled lightly.

Dex stood beside his sister. "Tung, could I get you to show Wave around the place? Help her adjust to this dimension."

Tung leapt with delight. "Sure! You can count on me" He turned to his alternate. "Come on Wave." The two of them ran off.

"Jenny, perhaps you could help Shade do the same" he suggested. Jenny looked surprised, but didn't argue.

"Uh, sure" she said sheepishly. They walked out of the lab together.

"Zap, I'm sure Jaz would appreciate some assistance bringing their ship into the hanger."

Jaz opened her mouth to object, but kept silent when Alex casted her a warning glance.

"I sure would" she muttered through gritted teeth, avoiding eye contact with her alternate.

Zap swallowed nervously. "No problem" he assured Dex. The two insect hybrids headed for the hanger, keeping a distance between them.

"I assume there's a reason you sent them off alone with their alternates" Alex asked him once they were alone.

"Drop the act Alex. I know you're not here for a family reunion. Why'd you come here, and more importantly, how'd you get here?" he questioned her.

Alex lowered her head. "I need your help" she murmured.

"What do you mean?" Alex looked into his eyes.

"It's Syrrus." Dex widened his eyes in shock.

"Syrrus? But we defeated him. I confronted him in his lair, stopped his super bug from destroying Metro City" he stammered.

Alex shook her head.

"Are you familiar with the Ice-Wing Dragonflies?" she asked.

"Rarest of the Odonata Species, many believe they are just a myth. Even I'm not sure they exist. Only one swam is believed in to be in existence; on Orus, coldest planet in the known galaxy. They can fly through space, time and cross dimensions. Their wings are made out of very delicate ice particles, but at high speed, are sharp enough to cut through steel, as well as allow them to travel up to twice the speed of sound. They're said to possess incredible telepathic powers" Dex finished identifying the mythical insect.

Alex pointed to the screen showing inside the cargo hanger where the two pilots were. "See her," she said, pointing to Jaz.

"What about her?" Dex asked.

Alex snickered. "Yours might be stronger and faster, but his insect DNA is nothing compared to hers."

Dex stared at his sister. "Are you saying what I think you are?" Alex nodded.

"Jaz is part Ice-Wing Dragonfly. She's not telepathic, but she has a strong connection with them. It's how we got here in the first place" Dex's gaze moved from her to the screen.

"Does she know?" he asked.

"That she caused the dimensional exchange? No, she doesn't."

Dex folded his arms. "I mean that you used her to get here" he elucidated.

Alex bit down on her lip, not responding.

"So you did use her"

"I had no choice" Alex said defensively. "It was the only way to get here. Dex look, our world's in danger, and we can't do this alone. Will you help us or not?" she asked, her eyes pleading. Dex took a moment, before smiling and putting his hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Of course we'll help. What are family for."

Each of the Beta Teams' name's have a significant meaning. However, it would take a little too long to try and explain them all. So, just enjoy them for what they are.