First I wish to express my sincere thanks to Jen23, GoldAngel2, and Whiteswan for their support and encouragement. I realize this isn't "standard" BotP but I believe part of writing is exhibiting freedom of expression and imagination. I've made changes by adding some years to the characters, giving them last names, etc…I intend to see this story through. As mentioned before Battle of the Planets belongs to Sandy Frank, Inc. and Gatchaman to Tatsunoko Productions.

CHAPTER 2

Mark continued to stare into the luminous green eyes before him. Princess shook her head in disbelief as her hands began to coil away from Mark's handsome face. Reluctantly she stood up from his hospital bed but kept her focus on him. The surge of joyful emotion that she'd felt at his awakening was now being replaced with a mixture of sorrow and confusion.

Feeling his strength returning, Mark began to maneuver himself slowly to a sitting position. His cerebonic enhancement began to make up for the previous shut down his body had endured. Visually, things were still fragmented but the young man was acutely aware of his surroundings – and he didn't like it one bit. Known as "The Eagle," Mark's perceptive blue eyes took in his current situation. The cool interior of Center Neptune's hospital room, the surrounding plexiglass with its undersea view of aquatic life, the intravenous machine with its catheter extending toward the prominent vein in his left arm, the feel of the hospital gown against his skin, the rush of air seeping into his nostrils.

With his now heightened sense of awareness, Mark snatched the oxygen's tubing out from his nose.

He angrily repeated what he'd said to the young woman only moments before. "You should have let me die!" Mark said, this time enunciating each word. His eyes were cobra-like as he took out his frustration on the only other person in the room.

Princess straightened. She recognized that tone but firmly stood her ground. "We weren't going to let you die Mark," Princess responded quietly but her green eyes flashed. If it was an argument he wanted, the Swan, as she was known as, was ready for him.

Mark took in the young woman's stance; her benevolence didn't go unnoticed. Mark saw the mass of jet curls spilling about her shoulders, the indignant pink pout of her full lips, and the arms crossed in front of her chest. Briefly Mark allowed the sweep of his eyes over Princess' body to turn predatory. For a nanosecond, he envisioned his lips covering hers and he doused the thought just as quickly as it had surfaced. Weakness was something he couldn't afford to project.

"Damn it, you had no right to interfere! I made a choice, a conscious choice…!" Mark shouted as he lifted a hand to his chest but the pull of the IV tubing was just another reminder of where he was. Princess reached for him before he could snatch the catheter from his arm. "Get this thing out of me now!" Mark bellowed.

Princess captured Mark's left hand and sat on the bed next to him in a fleeting attempt to soothe him. "Mark will you calm down? You're only going to make things worse behaving this way. Let us help you."

She was only inches away from his face, close enough to see those startling indigo blue eyes of his. Briefly Princess succumbed to there depths only to be snatched back to reality when the panel doors to Mark's hospital room slid open. It was then that she gasped for air.

In walked Chief William Anderson; he was G-Force's mentor and the head of the IFPP (Intergalactic Federation of Peaceful Planets). In close proximity were the remaining members of G-Force: Jason Devereaux (the Condor), Jack "Tiny" Harper (the Owl), and Keye Anderson (the Swallow).

"The monitor alerted us of your awakening Mark," Chief Anderson stated. He looked at his adopted daughter sitting next to the young man he considered a son.

"Well the cast of characters is complete!" Mark spat out. "But I'm not interested in playing the role of the misunderstood son! I intend to leave!" Mark withdrew his hands away from Princess after she succeeded in removing the IV from his arm. She had just placed a bandage over the site. She flinched at his abruptness and the look of rejection was visible on her face.

It was Keye, the younger team member, who came to his sister's aid. "Hey, don't treat Prin that way! If it weren't for her you wouldn't even be here!" the teenager retorted.

He cautiously approached his CO even though Mark remained in his hospital bed, rubbing at his bandaged arm.

Mark's eyes blackened as he gave Keye the once over and an almost feral grin formed on his face. "You know, considering the fact that you were conceived in a petri dish you've got a pretty big mouth!"

The verbal jab stained the boy's cheeks a fiery red and his eyes went opaque. Everyone knew Keye was sensitive about his 'lineage.' Turning on his heel, he quickly retreated from the room of shocked onlookers. Even Chief Anderson was stunned at Mark's rude outburst and found himself rooted to the spot, unable to go after his adopted son.

"That was uncalled for you bastard and you know it!" Tiny remarked glaring at the figure still sitting on the bed. The big man followed suit and left the room, hoping to find Keye.

With his hands in his pockets, it was Jason who walked forward and gave Mark his own disapproving look. He opened his mouth to speak but Princess stood up and placed a hand on Jason's arm, giving him a pleading look. Staring at Princess' vivid green eyes was to Jason's undoing. He responded by placing a reassuring hand over hers and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Mark witnessed this exchange between the two of them and grimaced, turning his head away. He then flung his legs out of bed and placed his feet flat on the floor only to discover an odd piece of metal around his left ankle.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded.

Finding his voice, Chief Anderson responded brusquely. "It's an electronic sensor. It gauges your movement, tells us where you are. We don't want there to be anymore mishaps considering what just happened recently," the older man stated staring directly ahead and looking at nothing in particular.

"If you think I'm dealing with this bullshit...," Mark began laughingly but without a trace of humor. His sentence was cut off by another figure entering the room.

"Commander Beckham you have no say in the matter!" stated Dr. Samuel Baxter, chief medical director of Center Neptune's hospital. The white coated figure took his place next to Chief Anderson.

Mark stood up quickly; too quickly, and almost lost his balance had it not been for his best friend, Jason. He clutched at Mark's shoulders but immediately the angry young man flung his arms away.

Jason, exasperated, waved at empty air space. " Oh come on man! Enough already! Will you just give it up?"

Mark responded by walking toward the room's closet in search of his clothes. Princess stood in a corner with her back turned, unable to face the turmoil at this point.

Chief Anderson decided to take control of the situation and walked towards the belligerent figure still in search of his belongings.

"You aren't going anywhere Mark. You've caused us enough distress these past several months and your actions recently have only confirmed some things that I and the team have been in denial about."

Mark pretended to ignore the authoritative figure speaking to him as he discovered a duffle bag at the back end of the closet.

"You are in desperate need of treatment Mark," the chief continued. " You've been missing for several days and when you were located it was in an area of this city known for it's high level of Spectran activity. You not only compromised your identity and your life but quite possibly the lives of your team mates as well."

Mark stopped his rustling through his duffle bag and closed his eyes at that statement; his spine had gone rigid.

" It's because of your actions that Dr. Baxter and myself feel it best that you be confined to Center Neptune to obtain the appropriate treatment," Anderson finished sternly.

Princess turned at this and met Jason's eyes across the room.

"I don't need any treatment," Mark venomously replied. "You and Baxter can go to hell as far as I'm concerned!"

Dr. Baxter intervened. "Precisely why you are to remain in this facility for the duration of your treatment! At this point, the behavior you are exhibiting is undisciplined and dangerous! These past several months, you've headed mission after mission that ended in failure secondary to your cutthroat tactics. You've been on a kamikaze trip. Drinking yourself into a stupor and now experimenting with drugs. Recently you've managed to consume an almost lethal combination of barbiturates that are still under investigation by our research department! We don't even know how you got them in your possession! To make matters worse," the doctor motioned toward Princess, " Officer Anderson found you in Sector 9 of Bay City, and area swarming with Spectran operatives in some sleazy hotel with a prostitute; I'm almost certain a Spectran agent!" Dr. Baxter approached Mark and stood directly before him. " As far as I'm concerned you have shown nothing but a waste of human capacity but I remember the young boy who grew up to be the fine young man to lead this unit and I intend to see to it that he returns." The physician was shorter in stature but his presence seemed to hover above Mark's head.

Mark turned his attention toward his team mates. Jason stood with his arms folded and began rocking on the heel of his shoes. Princess stood with her hands at her sides. Her face projected a fierce determination. Mark's blue gaze locked with Princess' green orbs and for several moments silence dominated the room.

Princess then spoke up directing her attention to Chief Anderson. "Sir, request permission to speak with you and Dr. Baxter privately." The female officer motioned towards the panel doors and already the trio was headed outside of Mark's hospital room.

Mark then removed his hospital gown and threw it to the floor. He returned to the bed and began putting on his blue jeans, mindful of the electronic device his ankle was encased in.

Jason spoke from across the room, standing where Princess stood only moments before; staring at the ocean's depths via the plexiglass.

The Condor remarked, " She's going to bat for you. You realize that don't you?"

Mark snorted an expletive as he continued to dress.

In the hallway, Princess began to plead her case to the two authority figures. "I believe

Commander Beckham would only continue to exhibit antagonistic behavior in this environment. I have a plan that might diffuse some of the tension and maybe make him more receptive to treatment."

"What's that Princess," Anderson questioned.

"Allow Mark… Commander Beckham to stay with me," she answered.

"Absolutely not," the chief responded in father-mode.

"Wait Bill let's hear the girl out," Dr. Baxter returned.

Princess continued. "Thank you doctor. Mark is so enraged. He's full of turmoil. All of this began right after discovering Colonel Cronus was actually his father. Then he had to deal with his death. His behavior disintegrated after that. I'm certain all of this ties in together with his suffering."

"I will not have that young man living under the same roof with you," Anderson responded, his voice rising an octave.

"Mark already has the mechanism on to alert you should he try to abort. He can't remove it. He'll still be responsible for obtaining treatment and therapy as scheduled. But he has to feel as if though he has some level of independence. I think he'll be more receptive to this rather than being confined to Center Neptune. His energy and effort would be spent on getting out of here," Princess concluded, her eyes darting between the two men.

Anderson looked at his colleague for support and frowned as he noticed the older man rubbing his beard.

"Sam you can't be serious about considering this. You said so yourself that Mark's behavior…," the chief was almost appalled.

Dr. Baxter raised his hand and smiled at Anderson. "Bill, your daughter has somewhat of an advantage. What 22 year old male wouldn't respond to the charms of a beautiful 21 year old woman?" Then the doctor turned serious. " We don't need Mark fighting us Bill.

Quite frankly, we don't have the time. Zoltar has been quiet for months and the sooner we get that young man into treatment the better. I realize this is unorthodox, almost unethical way to handle this but this is an unusual situation. Young lady, you are going to have your hands full. Are you willing to take on this responsibility?"

Princess responded, "Mark's life is at stake. He means a lot to me…and to the team."

Anderson contemplated his daughter's confession and then reluctantly agreed by answering, "Alright we'll make the arrangements for his release."

Princess breathed a sigh of relief mixed with gratitude and gave her surrogate father a brief kiss on his cheek. The doctor raised an eyebrow as Princess retreated and the chief's face warmed under Dr. Baxter's scrutiny. The old man's face crinkled into a tiny smile.

Princess entered the soon to be vacant hospital room. Mark, now wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans turned his attention toward the young woman.

Jason eyed her questioningly. "What's the verdict," the Condor asked.

Princess lips had suddenly gone dry when she met Mark's intense gaze and she allowed her tongue to moisten them. Mark's eyes blazed when the Swan spoke softly.

"You're coming home with me."

Thanks again to the "Encouraging Trio." Again constructive criticism is welcomed and I'd appreciate your reviews.