A/N: I apologize for the spelling and grammar errors in my last update. I didn't even notice them until I was re-reading it to type this up. Although, since nobody commented, I'll assume nobody noticed. But I will try to be more thorough in this chapter, I promise.

Disclaimer: Take everything said by a gossip with a grain of salt. Actually, take the whole friggin' shaker.

Dedication: Two reviews! I feel so loved!

Learning to Breathe

Chapter six: Planning

"So, how did the meeting go?" Zarana asked as Zartan walked into the break room.

"Let me put it this way, I wouldn't be surprised if we got banned from the next one." He scoffed.

"Was she really that bad?" Zarana asked.

"Let's see. She pinned the Baroness to the wall and tried to slice her head off." Zartan quipped. "Yes, it was that bad!"

"Yeowch." Zandar replied. "I knew that twerp was temperamental, but I wouldn't have thought she'd do that in front of the Commander."

"And would you believe that Destro thinks we are staging some sort of takeover?" Zartan asked.

"Why?" Zarana asked. "Even with the kids, there's no way to pull it off successfully."

"Well, the only bit of good news we have is that he allowed the transfer." Zartan sighed. "Maybe we can beat some tact into that child."

"Or at least teach her to watch that temper." Zarana said. "Being tough is one thing but talking back to superiors is something else."

"I agree." Zartan said. "It's high time those kids learned how to behave off the field as well as on it."

"Why can't we just turn them loose?" Zandar asked. "Let them learn from experience."

"They may be teenagers, but they're still young enough to need someone to teach them." Zartan said. "Haven't you learned anything from reading those case files?"

"Okay, I get it." Zandar said. "But why change bases? Shouldn't we focus on familiarizing them with this one?"

"It's not the base, it's the company." Zarana said. "With Destro and the Baroness looking down our backs, we won't be able to do very much with them."

"Precisely." Zartan sighed. "And a change of environment may help them hone in their powers."

"I thought most of them were honed in." Zandar said.

"Some fine tuning is needed." Zartan replied. "Not to mention some one-on-one physical training. But, we can worry over that another day. Right now, we ought to start packing."

XXXXXX

"You did what???" Zanya asked. The teens had all gathered in one of the unused storerooms to discuss the meeting.

"I pinned her." Andi stated. "And I'd do it again, too! If she thinks that she can rag on my family and get away with it, she is seriously mistaken!"

"But threatening to slice her head off ain't the way to go." Mitch said. "We could get fired."

"No." Andi said. "We're just going to get 'progressive training', whatever that means."

"Who said that?" Neal asked.

"Zartan." Andi said. "He wanted to ask for a base transfer. Thinks we need some time on another base to train, apparently. And across the country at that!"

"Oooh! Like LA?" Bryan shouted.

"No, as in Albany." Andi said. "Some base up there has some extra living space for us."

"Now it makes sense." Regan said. "I overheard the adults talking about the lack of space at our place. Maybe we're going there until they finish remodeling?"

"Possibly." Andi sighed. "I don't know what they have going on here."

"Was I involved in this 'progressive training'?" Zanya asked.

"Don't think so." The blue teen shook her head. "Just us."

"Yes!" The grass-haired girl hissed.

"Don't get too excited." Regan said.

"Yeah, he's probably got something really special planned for you." Bryan snickered.

"I'm not worried." Zanya waved.

"You should be." Kristen growled as she walked into the room.

"And just where were you all night?" Andi asked.

"Out." Kristen waved.

"Uh huh." Andi muttered. "And what were you doing while you were 'out'?"

"Just stuff!" Kristen shouted. "Why the interrogation?"

"You came in after I had left!" Andi snarled. "That's late, even for you. Especially since Zartan's talking about putting a curfew up."

"It's not a big deal." The dark haired girl protested. "I just made some new friends, that's all."

"We'll see." Andi said. "Ry and Zanya will explain the briefing to you."

"Where are you going?" Neal asked.

"She has to get shot." Kristen replied.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Not too much later, Andi was sitting in the med lab with the usual suspects. The shots had become fairly routine now.

"Just stay there." Mindbender said as he brought the syringe closer to her arm.

Nodding, Andi stared at her nails with undue fascination. Needles still terrified her, but he didn't need to know that.

"Just try your best to relax this time." He said.

This was mostly for his benefit. The last time he jabbed her without warning, a container of frozen something or another "mysteriously" exploded.

She closed her eyes and bit her lip as he injected the yellow liquid into her body. Treatment was hell, but the results, as of yet, were promising. Since starting the muscle shots, she experienced no more hallucinations. As an added bonus, she had finally learned how to keep the razor fins on her arms from appearing every time she shifted. Sure, her powers were still classified as unstable, but a light was finally starting to gleam through the shadows for her, and that was enough to continue the treatments.

"And done." Mindbender said finally. "Please don't do anything that makes you fall over." That time, the comment was aimed at her. The first day of treatments, she had been lying down on the table so they could scan her vital signs before the shots. She tried to stand, but couldn't figure out which way was up and landed on the floor.

"I'll be a good girl this time." Quipped the blond, standing up slowly.

The geneticist let out an exasperated sigh before saying "You can leave now, Atlantis."

"Thank you." She rolled her eyes before walking out.

"What did her blood work read back last time?" Zartan asked after the girl was out of earshot.

"Steadily mutating genotype." Mindbender said. "The only problem is that I don't know which aspect of her mutant abilities is mutating. It could even be the addition of a new power."

"And that's not good." Zartan sighed. "So her increase in control… is it good or bad?"

"Both." The scientist replied. "It means that she is gaining the mental dexterity to control her shifting, but the consequence is that her shifting is slowly advancing. She may be able to blend into backgrounds, or even become other people."

"That's some power." The master of disguise mused. "She has the potential to become the greatest spy Cobra's ever turned out."

"The issue is not the level of power, but of control." Mindbender warned. "Don't let her slack off."

"I won't." Zartan nodded, walking to the door.

"And one more thing." Mindbender called out.

"Yes?" Replied Zartan.

"The treatment is only treating the symptoms, not the attacks." Mindbender said. "However, it also means that she may start showing some symptoms prior to an attack, such as headache, nausea, and dizziness."

"I'll keep a look out for them." Zartan said as he walked out the door. "Maybe this time, we'll be more prepared."

So… like it? Hate it? Love it? If you like or love it, let me know. If you have a critique, definitely let me know. I don't want to confuse anyone here, and I will try to fix what is wrong if I know that there is something to fix.