"Thank you," said Phoebe as she accepted the mug of warm tea from the muscular woman who had saved her.

She was brought to the house of the woman in the powersuit; it was a veritable mansion, and the three of them retired in the large room that made up the lounge. There, once she was examined for injuries, Phoebe sat on a plush red leather sofa and swaddled herself in a large throw blanket.

The woman in the pantsuit sat cross-legged across from her on red loveseat while the muscular woman continued to stand. "So how are you feeling? Better?"

"Yes, extremely," replied Phoebe; she blew the steam away from her mug before taking a sip. "Thank you for saving me, both of you."

The in the loveseat smiled, resting her chin in her hand. "I know who you are. You're Dr. Heyerdahl. Your reputation certainly precedes you."

Phoebe stared into the liquid of the mug. "Apparently…"

"Allow me to introduce myself," the woman stood from her spot from the loveseat. I'm Rhonda Wellington Lloyd. And over here is my personal assistant-slash-bodyguard, Patty Smith."

She gestured over to Patty, who merely nodded in acknowledgement.

Rhonda suddenly became flustered. "Oh dear – what's customary for your citizens? Do you bow? I don't want to offend you…"

Phoebe smiled. "Please, that won't be necessary. I should be bowing to you for rescuing me from my earlier precarious situation."

Rhonda looked relieved. "Well, contrary to what happened tonight, you are quite the celebrity around here. The illustrious doctor from the other side of the world, destined to rescue us all."

"I'm mainly here on reconnaissance, actually…"

"Do you know the history of Last Haste?" Rhonda walked over to a large map hanging on a wall on the opposite side of the lounge. "It's quite fascinating: when the Earth was on the brink of destruction, the ruler of the Eastern Kingdom used her power to heal the entire planet. Technically, the entire world is under her dominion," she pointed to a spot in the middle of the map, "except for right here. Not quite healed, survivors in this region had the autonomy to create their own nation independent of the Queen…."

"Because her reach was the weakest in the spot furthest away from her power," Phoebe chimed in. "It was the last vestiges of the old world – that's where the name 'Last Haste' originated."

Rhonda's eyes brightened. "I should have known you'd be well-versed."

"Of course – I was actually born in Last Haste."

Patty said nothing, but looked at Rhonda, alarmed at the revelation. Rhonda smiled. "My, you are certainly full of surprises. Let's go for a drive."

Phoebe removed the throw blanket from around her shoulders. "Actually, I should really get back to my hotel…"

"Pish posh! We promise to return you, but for now, let's go on a little trip."


Phoebe sat in the back of the Rolls Royce with Rhonda as Patty drove them through the dark streets of Last Haste. for the second time that day, Phoebe was treated to a tour of the city, only this time, the theme was tied around the several buildings and businesses that Rhonda owned.

"And I own this factory….and that building…ooh!...that place does amazing sushi…"

Eventually they pulled into a familiar area. Phoebe looked around in confusion. "This is…"

"That's right," said Rhonda.

"But how do you know about…?"

Rhonda smiled conspiratorially. "Who do you think funded this super-secret project?"

The car drove underground for several minutes before stopping in front of a large steel door. The three women got out and Rhonda punched in her clearance numbers; the door opened with a thunderous clang and they walked down a long, narrow, windowless corridor.

"So you were born in Last Haste?" said Rhonda, making conversation.

"Correct," said Phoebe. "When I was nine, I had the highest test scores of all the other students in the nation, and I was given the opportunity to study with Professor Mizuno in the Eastern Kingdom. So I took it."

"Fascinating," said Rhonda. There was a beat, then she spoke again. "And…did you meet her?"

"Of course. I was under Dr. Mizuno's tutelage for-"

"No…I mean…did you meet…her?" she turned to look at Phoebe earnestly. "The Queen?"

"Oh. No….but, I did see her, once."

"What was she like?"

As she considered her response, Phoebe had a faraway wistful look in her eyes, uncharacteristic of her normal nature. "She was…magnificent."

"Hmm…I'm certain. And I hear her fashion sense is spectacular."

"I heard she's kind of a ditz," said Patty, speaking or the first time.

Phoebe stopped in her tracks. "What?"

Rhonda burst out laughing. "Well….when you're all-powerful, I'm sure being called a klutz is the least of your worries."

The three women passed through a pair of large glass sliding doors and descended down a spiral staircase leading down to a laboratory. There, in the centre of the room, a suit hung on a mannequin. It was feminine in design, and had details that one would find in a sailor uniform. Close to the suit, but not attached, were two barrel-shape cuff weapons meant to be worn on the arms.

Rhonda stood in front of the suit and beamed. "Ta-da! Here we are- our ace in the hole to win against the rebellion!"

Phoebe examined the suit; she walked around it and scrutinized, but said nothing.

Rhonda could bear the silence no longer. "It's pretty, no? What the French like to call 'tres chic'. Although, we hope to get it as functional as it is fashionable. We're hoping that your expertise is the key element we're missing.

After circling the suit, Phoebe paused and shook her head. "It can't be done," she said softly.

Broken from her reverie, Rhonda regarded Phoebe. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said it's impossible. It can't be done. I know what you're all asking of me, and I'm telling you now I don't have the means to get this suit operational. I'm sorry."

"Just like that? You're just going to give up? You just got here! You haven't even worked on it yet! Tested it! We could be right on the verge of a breakthrough. With a little extra time I'm sure you can figure out what we need!"

"It's not that I don't know what the suit needs," Phoebe explained calmly. "It's that I DO know. It needs…a power source."

"A power source?" Rhonda mulled over that information, and a disappointed look washed over her face. "So that's it…"

"Of course that's it," said Patty, who purposely chose to stay as far away from the suit as possible. "That's always been it. The scientists here at Last Haste knew it from the start. The reason she's here is because they thought she'd have the knowledge to replicate the energy of the Crystal. But she doesn't. No one could replicate that."

"Is it true?" Rhonda asked. Phoebe nodded. "I see…"

The room went silent again until Rhonda clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. "You're tired – that must be it. You're jet lagged from your journey and you're not thinking straight…."

Phoebe sighed. "Rhonda…"

"Listen, I have faith in you. Frankly, I think that you lack confidence. But you're a brilliant scientist, Dr. Heyerdahl – you may not believe it, but I KNOW you'll unlock the secret to getting this suit to work."

"But Rhonda…"

"I don't care how powerful that Crystal is – it's just a silly little rock. If it can perform miracles, then so can you," she made her way back to the door leading to the corridor. "Come Patty – let's take her home. I'm sure the doctor has a very busy day ahead of her tomorrow."

Patty gestured toward the door. "After you."

Phoebe complied and the three women left the facility.


Mrs. Sawyer was in the living room, rocking back and forth in her rocking chair. She looked out the window to the outside world as she rubbed her large belly, placing a hand over the green fabric of her dress.

Mr. Sawyer was doing the dishes in the adjacent kitchen. He had just handed his wife a cup of tea but was still watching her, concern etched on his face.

They had gotten married soon after their encounter at the lake, and she had become pregnant not long after. He loved his wife, but from the beginning Mr. Sawyer there was something off about her. It was like the woman he loved was constantly grappling with some other force inside her. One moment she'd be caring and attentive, and in another instant she'd become distant and reserved. Occasionally she'd lash out at him, and when she did, it was like she became a completely different person. She would never remember the incident, which made him all the more certain she was at odds with something he didn't entirely understand.

"Aaah!" Mrs. Sawyer's tea cup shattered as it hit the floor. She struggled to get up, both hands on her stomach. Her pale face became even paler as she strained through her pain.

"It's coming…they're coming…" she gasped out.


Bridgette woke up abruptly, sitting up in her bed. She was breathing heavily; a cold sweat had broken out on her forehead.

"You okay, babe?" There was stirring beside her on the bed; a man with dark skin and tall hair was roused awake and looked at her in concern.

"I'm fine," Bridgette replied. "Just a bad dream, I suppose…"

"You've been getting a lot of those lately."

Bridgette chuckled softly. "Guess I'm just lucky like that. Go back to sleep; I've got princess duty and you've got to guard the palace."

The man groaned into his pillow. "Wanna switch places?"

She hit him over the head with her pillow. "Not a chance. Besides, you get the short end of the stick on that deal – trust me."

He rolled over and dozed back off. Bridgette laid back down, but couldn't will her eyes to close.

Something big was going to happen soon. She could feel it.

[A/N: Very seldom do these, but here goes nothing...Kryten - appreciate the feedback! Hope the world I build is to your liking. You were half right on Phoebe's rescuers, and I've added a new familiar face to this chapter. We may see more of him later.]